President Arroyo To Inspect Projects In Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines — Just hours after her arrival from Hong Kong, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to visit Jose Abad Santos town in Davao del Sur province in Mindanao on Thursday to inspect a road project, according to the official Philippine News Agency.

The completion of the road project in the village of Balangonan will pave the way for the construction of the Kitayo-Balangonan and the Meybio in the towns of Jose Abad Santos and Glan. These road sections are part of the P30-million Davao del Sur-Sarangani Coastal Road.

Upon her arrival in Balangonan, Arroyo is expected to be briefed by Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane on the road project construction and development, according to Assistant Regional Director Reynaldo Tamayo of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Tamayo said the concreting of Davao del Sur-Sarangani Coastal Road (Kitayo-Balangonan section) in the village of Kitayo and Balangonan in Jose Abad Santos would make it easy for farmers to transport agricultural and other products to the agri-industrial center in General Santos City.

Started in August 2008, the Kitayo-Balangonan section is expected to be completed in July 2009.

If completed, the project will provide better linkages and access to other villages and hasten the economic development of the municipalities of Jose Abad Santos and Glan in Sarangani.

The clearing and construction of the Davao Del Sur-Sarangani Coastal Road (Meybio, Jose Abad Santos-Glan section), willl also provide access to the municipalities of Don Marcelino and Jose Abad Santos, both in Davao Del Sur, and Glan in Sarangani.

The DPWH said some 50,000 residents of the 16 isolated villages of Jose Abad Santos will directly benefit from the project.

Located in the village of Meybio and Balangonan here, the 21.420-kilometer road project has a total funding of P100 million.

The road is envisioned to provide a direct link between the agriculture-rich municipalities of Davao del Sur and Sarangani, particularly to the fast-growing General Santos City.

Once completed, the project will serve as an effective access to the communities in the interior parts of the two provinces whose potentials as agriculture production areas have remained largely untapped due to lack of roads.

Davao-Bukidnon Road Project Continues Despite Threats Of Rebel Attacks

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 19, 2008) - The Department of Public Works and Highways in Mindanao said it will continue with the P226.9 million road project connecting Davao del Norte with Bukidnon provinces despite various threats posed by the New People’s Army.

The rebels have threatened to disrupt the project after its contractors refused to pay revolutionary taxes.

DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Southern Mindanao Regional Director Jerome Dela Rosa said 20 percent of the project is already completed. The road project, which is expected to be finished, next year, is included among the Super Region projects of President Gloria Arroyo.

Lt. Col. Rolando Bautista, spokesman of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said troops were deployed to protect the project from NPA attacks.

Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario said the project serves as a profound evidence of Arroyo putting a hand on the economic policies and projects she asserted in her State of the Nation Address.

The road also serves as an alternate route to the Davao-Calinan-Bukidnon and Agusan-Davao routes. It would also connect two industrial centers in the southern Philippines - Davao and Cagayan de Oro cities. (Romy Bwaga)

DND Masama Ang Loob Sa Release Ni Satur Ocampo

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 03 Apr) – Naghihimutok si Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. kasunod ng desisyon ng Korte Suprema na payagang makapagpyansa kanina si Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo.

Gayunman ayon kay Ebdane, kahit masama ang loob, wala silang pagpipilian kundi ang sundin ang direktiba ng Kataas-taasang Hukuman.

"We are living in a democracy, while we are not happy with it. We have to abide by the law. When the Supreme Court grants [Ocampo] bail, then so be it," ani Ebdane.

Ngunit, hindi aniya ito nangangahulugan na hihina ang kampanya ng militar laban sa purging activities ng komunistang grupo.

Naniniwala rin si Ebdane na kung tutuusin, hindi ordinaryong krimen ang ginawa ni Ocampo para lang basta palayain.

"It's not an ordinary murder. It's actually tantamount to genocide and is not actually bailable… There were some defects in the filing, these will becorrected anyway," ayon sa kalihim.

Nababahala lamang si Ebdane na magawang makatakas palabas ng Pilipinas at magtago si Ocampo dahil sa pagpipyansa nito.

Kumpyansa naman si AFP Public Information Office (PIO) Chief Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro na matibay ang mga ebidensya ng militar at may mga testigo rin silang positibong magtuturo sa pagkakasangkot ni Ocampo ang mass murder.

Samantala, bagamat may hinanakit rin ang mga pamilya at kaanak ng mga biktima ng purging activities, umaasa ang mga ito na mapapanagot ang kongresista.

Lumutang ang may 24 pamilya ng mga biktima ng mass killings at iniaapela sa Korte Suprema ang paglilipat sa Leyte ni Ocampo upang makaharap sila at mapatunayan ang kinalaman nito sa mga krimen.

Buo ang paniniwala ng mga ito at may ebidensya na kabilang si Ocampo sa nag-utos bilang lider ng komunistang samahan sa pagpatay ng kanilang kamag-anak matapos na pagdudahang espiya ng gobyerno.

"Wala talagang magagawa, desisyon ng Korte. Maghihintay na lang kami kapag iniharap na ang taong yun," ayon kay Leonardo Tanaig, dating miyembro ng NPA.

Handa naman sila na humarap sa Supreme Court kung iaatas upang maihayag ang kanilang panig sa usapin. (Juley Reyes)

Text Power, Inilunsad Sa Maynila!

QUEZON CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 27 Mar) – Inilunsad ng Department of National Defense ang kampanya nito sa pamamagitan ng text messaging service (SMS) upang maipabatid sa ahensya ang mga reklamo at problema ng publiko.

Tulad ng text campaign ng Philippine National Police at iba pang sangay ng pamahalaan, gagamitin ng Defense department ang TXT 2920.

Partikular na tinatarget na makalap ng ahensya sa pagbubukas nito ng komunikasyon sa taumbayan ay ang mga problema sa panloob at panlabas na banta sa seguridad, gayundin ang mga sumbong ng katiwalian sa hanay ng militar.

Naniniwala si Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. na sa pamamagitan ng naturang hakbang ay makakatulong ang mga impormasyon buhat sa mga mamamayan upang mapalakas ang kampanya kontra insureksyon at terorismo.

"It is a direct line for the Human Rights Security Act to be more vibrant and interactive, with an open avenue for reports from all over the country," ani Ebdane.

Gayunman, dadaan pa rin naman aniya sa masusing beripikasyon ang mgamensaheng matatanggap ng kanilang tanggapan. "Yung mga tsismis, we know how to deal with it," wika pa ni Ebdane.

Samantala, sinabi ni Ebdane na hindi na nito kakailangan ang karagdagang pondo para sa operation ng DND text 2920. (Juley Reyes)