Photo: Mangrove Used As Firewood

A village store in Jolo island sells mangrove. Illegal cutting of mangrove in the southern Philippine island of Jolo (top photo) in Sulu Archipelago and Zamboanga City in Mindanao continues unabatedly and authorities do nothing to stop the locals from destroying the marine habitat of many animals and fishers. The wood is used as firewood and sells five pesos ($0.10) a bundle. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

Photo: Philippine Navy Officer Antonio Trillanes IV

A picture of a detained coup leader, navy officer, Antonio Trillanes IVis displayed inside a tightly guarded Philippine Air Force base in Zamboanga City. Trillanes is running for senator in May 14 elections with politicians opposed to President Gloria Arroyo's rule. Trillanes is one of many military officers accused of trying to oust Arroyo during the so-called Oakwood mutiny on July 27, 2003. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

Photo: Scavengers Feast On Aftermath Of Zambo Fire

Dozens of scavengers dig for scraps Saturday, 14 Apr 2007, on what is left of a commercial building burned in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

Photo: Dangerous Jobs

Two men -- one sitting on a reserved wheel of a passenger jeep and the other standing on the rear of a delivery truck -- make their living out of these dangerous jobs in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Photo: At The Zamboanga International Airport

More and more readers are switching to the Mindanao Examiner. Even these passengers at the Zamboanga International Airport read the Mindanao Examiner while waiting for their flight. (Photos by Mark Tia)

Photo: Sidewalk Food Stalls Pose Health Hazards In Zamboanga

Ambulant food vendors make brisk sales outside the Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City. Many students buy from vendors unaware of diseases they may get from contaminated food. Vendors hold food with bare hands. Flies and dust also contaminate food they sell. Green mango with diluted shrimp paste, fried fish and squid balls and fruit juices laden with banned sweeteners and artificial coloring top the favorites. (Mindanao Examiner)

Zamboanga Ferry Yields Bombs

A Philippine soldier inspects seized mortar bombs Thursday 08 Mar 2007 in Zamboanga City, where troops have tightened security. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 08 Mar) – Philippine soldiers seized ten mortar bombs from a ferry bound for the southern islands of Tawi-Tawi and Jolo, where security forces are battling Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants.

Army Col. Nonato Alfredo Peralta, commander of a local anti-terror task force, said troops, acting on a tip-off from a civilian, searched the ferry MV Kristel Jane and found the bombs concealed inside a rice bag.

“Information provided to us by a civilian led soldiers to the recovery of the ten mortars. We still do not know who owns them, but soldiers have tightened in Zamboanga.”

“We are closely coordinating with the port authorities and other law enforcement agencies to prevent the smuggling of weapons and explosives in this part of the country,” he said.

No passengers claimed ownership of the cargo and soldiers failed to arrest any suspects.

It was unknown where the bombs came from or whether they were intended for the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants hiding in Jolo island, about 950 km south of Manila.

Filipino authorities blamed both the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya for the string of deadly bombings in the troubled southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)

In Zamboanga City, Even Toddler Begs For Alms

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 06 Mar) A twelve-year old Muslim boy tags his younger brother to beg for money and food in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

He says he lives in the Muslim enclave of Rio Hondo, one of the poorest in Zamboanga, now branded by local politicians as Asia's Latin City, because of Spain's influence and the "corrupted" dialect known as Chabacano, which is widely spoken here.

The boy says he and is brother go out every morning and returns later in the night, when they is enough money to buy a kilo of rice. His father died a long time ago and his mother does the laundry and takes care of their shanty in the village.

Many Muslim villages in Zamboanga City have been neglected because most of the government projects are concentrated in Christian areas. Help does not come easy for people like them in the so-called Asia's Latin City. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: For Official Use Only!

A service vehicle of the Philippines' Social Security System (SSS), with license plate number SHP 869, is parked outside a Thai massage parlor in Zamboanga City on 22 Feb 2007. Many government officials, both local and those working with national agencies, use government cars other than for official business. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Photo: Gun Of Zamboanga

Two unidentified boys play at a mountain park in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, where a World War II anti-aircraft gun once defended the sky against Japanese Kamikaze pilots. Zamboanga was used to be a former base to Japanese Imperial Army. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Photo: Jamal Khalifa's Relief Organization In Zamboanga City

Filipino students walk in front of the abandoned International Islamic Relief Organization in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. The IIRO, its facade painted white after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, was previously ran by Jamal Khalifa, brother-n-law of al-Qaeda chief Usama bin Laden. Khalifa was shot dead Wednesday 31 Jan 2007 inside his home in Madagascar in an apparent robbery attack. Khalifa lived in Zamboanga City until he escaped after RP authorities linked tagged IIRO and his Al-Makdum University as front to channel funds to terrorists and Muslim rebels in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Photo: Troops Bound For Jolo Island To Join Hunt vs Sayyaf, JI

Philippine troops in Zamboanga City board a ferry bound for Jolo island where security forces are pursuing members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and Jemaah Islamiya, blamed for the spate of bombinbgs late Wednesday Jan. 10, 2007 that killed at least 7 people and wounded about 4 dozens more in the troubled island, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: Sunset In Zamboanga

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Sunset in Zamboanga (Mindanao Examiner)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 18 Dec) – A violinist of the group Psalm of David performs at a beach front in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines to raise money for charity.

The group, composed mostly of teenagers who are out of school, is based in General Santos City, but many of them have ventured to other places and raise anti-poverty awareness through their talents and music. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: Islamic School In Southern Philippines

An Arabic teacher, Harun Mohammad, is seen from a hole of a plastic wall in his dilapidated school room as he lectures students at the Ma'had Da'wa al Islamie in Taluksangay village in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. Mohammad says the school lacks rooms and has no library. Government support to Muslim schools in the south is almost nil. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: My Flower

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Photo: Bajau: Sea Gypsies Of The Southern Philippines

A Bajau diver jumps from his boat off the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga. Called the sea gypsies, the Bajau tribe lives mostly at sea.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Spectators Flock To Zamboanga For Annual Sailboat Race

Some scenes Sunday 08 Oct 2006 from tThe annual sailboat race called Regatta de Zamboanga off the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga. Tens of thousands of Catholic faithful flock to Zamboanga City every October 12 for the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival in honor of the century-old Virgin Mary, believed by many to be miraculous. (Mindanao Examiner)

(Mindanao Examiner Video)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 08 Oct) – More than a thousand spectators flocked Sunday to a beach in Zamboanga City to watch the annual sailboat race called Regatta de Zamboanga.

The race was part of the weeklong celebration of the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival where tens of thousands of Catholics come here join the mardi gras to honor the century-old Virgin Mary, believed by many to be miraculous.

Dozens of wooden boats, fitted with colorful sails called vintas, raced at sea off the Santa Cruz Island as crowds cheered wildly. Local festival songs and music played during the entire race.The winners were given awards and cash prizes.

“This is good and we are having fun watching all these racers trying to out do each other. The mood is festive and there are so many visitors,” one visitor, Samuel Cruz, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Mayor Celso Lobregat was also spotted with some council members at the beach in R.T. Lim Boulevard. Lobregat was busy promoting Zamboanga as Asia’s Latin City.

The basis for branding Zamboanga as a Latin city is the existence of Chavacano, a derivative of the Spanish language that in turn is an outgrowth of Latin, the old Roman tongue.

Chavacano is spoken by a majority of the people here, in Basilan and other parts of the Zamboanga Peninsula. Chavacano, where more than 70 percent of its vocabulary is pure Spanish in nature and origin. The remaining percentage of Chavacano is picked from local dialects.

The growth of Chavacano in Zamboanga can be traced to a concentration of Spanish nationals in Zamboanga at the height of the Spaniards colonization efforts in Mindanao that lasted for centuries until the late 1800.

Lobregat said the branding of Zamboanga as Asia’s Latin City spearheaded by the League of Cities, the World Bank and the involvement of the different local sectors.

Local officials said this would give the city a positive shift since it carries an international appeal and anchored on the rich Castilian influence and history of Zamboanga City.

The branding of Zamboanga will provide the city with a competitive global outlook instead of just comparing it with other cities in Mindanao, accodring to the mayor.

Zamboanga City had been under Spanish rule in the past and was also used as a base for American soldiers. The city is also popularly known as "Zamboanga Hermosa." (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: Where Does Ye Leadeth Me Father?

A boy and his blind father beg for money outside a Catholic church in downtown Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. Lack of job opportunities and livelihood program for the poor have forced many to beg for alms on the dangerous streets of Zamboanga. (Mindanao Examiner)