MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Prospero Nograles and House Committee on Housing and Urban Development Chairman Rodolfo Valencia appealed to the Senate for the early passage of a House-approved three billion pesos, resettlement and rehabilitation fund for families along waterways and other danger zones in Metro Manila.
"This is a very timely measure which originally intends to assist families to be affected by demolitions and clearing operations in Metro Manila. The recent typhoons made this program imperative," Nograles said.
Nograles noted that the bill was sponsored in plenary until its final approval by the House way back in January 2009 in view of the program to clear metro waterways, sidewalks and other danger areas.
"Nature's wrath that resulted to hundreds of lives lost and billions in damages to property, infrastructure and agriculture only underlines the necessity to use all available resources to clean up our environment and assist our people improve their lives," he said.
Housing Chairman Valencia said that HB 5623, which was jointly sponsored in plenary by the Committee on Appropriations chaired by Representative Junie Cua, had been transmitted to the Senate sometime in late January of early February 2009, way before the onslaught of natural calamities that flooded urban centers and many provinces of Luzon.
"If the budget under the P12-B supplemental program for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of damages in areas hit by recent typhoons does not include the resettlement of families affected by earlier demolitions and clearing operations, then HB 5623 must be given due course by the Senate," Valencia pointed out.
The original objective of HB 5623 when approved in January 2009 is to provide resettlement to some 126,320 families that were expected to be displaced by demolitions and clearing operations in Metro Manila as well as to some 12,082 families that will be affected by government infrastructure projects through the establishment of resettlement centers, home sites or town sites, whether off-site or beneficiary-led, through the Community Mortgage Program or other socialized housing programs.
"This is a permanent solution to the problem of informal settlers in Metro Manila and provide a live of dignity to our poor Filipino families," Valencia said.
The bill, which is pending in the Senate, designates the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council in consultation with the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee and the Local Government Unit as host site, to assist in the resettlement of beneficiaries through a beneficiary-led or off-site Community Mortgage Program or other socialized housing programs.
The bill also designates the responsibility to undertake the census of beneficiaries to the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor in coordination with the MMIAC and the LGU concerned. The census of beneficiaries shall be cross-checked with the census of the National Housing Authority. (Gil Bugaoisan)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
House urges Senate to fast track P3-Billion Aid and Resettlement Program
Filipino nurses seeking US jobs plunge 21%
MANILA, Philippines - The number of Filipino nurses that indicated their desire to seek employment in America by taking that country’s nursing licensure examination plunged by 21.38 percent in the nine months to September this year, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) reported Thursday.
Former Senator and TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera said a total of 11,854 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time from January to September 2009, a decrease of 3,225 compared to the 15,079 that took the test in the same nine-month period in 2008.
On account of its economic decline, America has lost some of its allure as a land of greener pasture for foreign nurses and other highly skilled professionals, according to Herrera, former chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development.
"The confidence of foreign workers in America’s economic supremacy has clearly been shaken by the staggering job losses there," Herrera said in a statement.
A total of 7.6 million Americans have lost their jobs since the start of the U.S. recession in December 2007. Since then, the number of unemployed Americans has doubled to 15.1 million, with the national jobless rate at 9.8 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Herrera said that in the July to September quarter alone, only 3,582 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time, down 1,660 or 31.66 percent versus the 5,242 that took the test in the same quarter in 2008.
The continued decline in the number of Filipino nurses seeking to practice their profession in America comes even after the establishment of an NCLEX testing center in Manila, which has made it easier for them to take the examination, Herrera pointed out.
Prior to the establishment of the local test center, Filipino nurses had to travel overseas to take the NCLEX in Hong Kong, Guam or elsewhere.
The NCLEX refers to US National Council (of State Boards of Nursing) Licensure Examinations for registered and practical nurses.
In the whole of 2008, a total of 20,746 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time. This was down 3.5 percent compared to the 21,299 Filipino nurses that took the test for the first time in 2007.
Filipinos still account for four out of every 10 foreign nurses seeking to enter the US nursing profession.
The aggregate remittances of Filipino workers in America, including some 200,000 nurses, fell by $635 million or 11.84 percent to $4.731 billion in the seven months to August this year compared to $5.366 billion over the same period in 2008, according to Herrera.
11 days into Irish priest kidnapping, Columban missionaries still has no contacts with captors in the Philippines
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 22, 2009) – Eleven days into his kidnapping, Irish missioner Michael Sinnott nor his captors have contacted Philippine authorities as fears for the health of the ailing Columban priest mount.
Sinnott, who will turn 80 in December, was taken from his home in Pagadian City in the southern province of Zamboanga del Sur on October 11 by six gunmen. And he is believed being held hostage in the Muslim autonomous province of Lanao del Norte, said regional military chief, Marine Major General Benjamin Dolorfino.
He said the ailing Sinnott, who had several heart bypass surgeries in the past, needs his medication. He previously said that Sinnott’s captors had contacted The Missionary Society of St. Columban in Mindanao, but this was denied by Sinnott’s superiors.
The motive of the kidnapping is still unknown and no group has claimed responsibility for it. But Dolorfino has tagged a notorious pirate leader Guingona Samal as behind the priest’s kidnapping.
Police also linked Jamat Latip, a commander of the rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the kidnapping. The MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, has denied the accusation and has joined the search for the Wexford native, who was on Thursday reported to have died from a heart attack.
Dolorfino said there has been no confirmation about the reports and that the priest is still alive and being held in the hinterlands of Sultan Naga Dimaporo, a municipality of Lanao del Norte and stronghold of Moro rebels.
“As far as we know, Sinnott is still alive and being held hostage in Sultan Naga Dimaporo. We have no reports that the priest had died from a heart attack,” he told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
Dolorfino last week ordered troops to box the area where Sinnott is being held to prevent the kidnappers from spiriting him out to Basilan Island, south Zamboanga City or hand the priest over to the Abu Sayyaf, which had previously kidnapped Catholic missionaries in the restive region.
Colonel Benito de Leon, commander of army forces in Lanao del Norte, said they have no reports that Sinnott had died in captivity, but is monitoring the area where the foreigner is being held.
“We have deployed many soldiers in Sultan Naga (Dimaporo) and other areas in Lanao where Sinnott has been reportedly being held. We are monitoring the situation and awaiting orders from superiors,” De Leon said.
The Missionary Society of St. Columban also said it has no reports about Sinnott and called on the public to pray for the safety of the elderly priest.
“As of this writing, we have no developments to report. The internet is rife with speculation and, to a large extent, inaccuracies. Please be assured that when there is news of a reliable nature, you will hear it through us. In the meantime, please continue to hold prayerful vigil in your hearts for Fr. Sinnott, the Columbans in general and the members of the Philippine Region in particular, as well as Mick's captors and those good people who are working hard for his release,” said Fr Arturo Aguilar, US Region Director of The Missionary Society of St. Columban.
“Your outpouring of prayers, support and concern continue to overwhelm me and indeed all the Columbans. We are more grateful than I can adequately express for your solidarity at this difficult time. I am certain your prayerful support is making its way to Fr. Sinnott in his suffering, giving him courage, hope and forbearance. Let us pray it is also making its way to the hearts of his abductors, filling them with compassion and the courage to do what is right,” he said.
The Missionary Society of St. Columban has last week appealed to US President Barack Obama to help secure the safe release of Sinnott, who is the third Irish missioner to be kidnapped in Mindanao since 1997.
Fr Des Hartford was held by rebels for 12 days, and in 2001, Fr Rufus Hally, a missioner from Waterford, was shot dead during an attempted abduction in the volatile region.
In June 2007, gunmen also kidnapped an Italian missioner Giancarlo Bossi, of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, in Payao town in Zamboanga del Sur province.
Bossi, then 57, was freed more than a month later after private negotiators paid a huge ransom. Bossi’s kidnappers had demanded P50 million for his safe release.
Philippine authorities said Bossi was kidnapped while celebrating mass in the village of Bulawan by brothers Akiddin and Wanning Abdusallam, both rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf.
Bossi was the third Italian priest kidnapped in southern Philippines decade.
Rogue MILF rebels kidnapped Fr Luciano Benedetti, 62, in Zamboanga del Norte province in 1998 and held for nearly 10 weeks until he was freed in exchange for a huge government ransom.
And in 2001, renegade MILF rebels and members of the bandit group called Pentagon Gang also snatched Fr Giuseppe Pierantoni as the 51-year-old from Bologna said mass in the parish church of Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur.
The priest was freed after six months in captivity in exchange for an unspecified ransom, but he claimed to have escaped from his kidnappers. (Mindanao Examiner)
Captors of 7 Filipino forest rangers make demands
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 22, 2009) – The captors of seven forest rangers abducted in the southern Philippines have demanded the government their ancestral lands and to cancel all forest agreements with commercial loggers in areas where there are presence of indigenous tribes.
The hostages - Emiliano Gatillo Jr., Gabriel Arlan, Rito Espinido, Teofredo Pujadas, Efren Sabuero and two others identified only as Clar and Abogatal – were taken on Wednesday near a forest checkpoint in Butuan City in Agusan del Norte province.
The hostages are all employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“A man claiming to be the captor of the seven foresters has made four demands for the release of the hostages. We are leaving the negotiations to the police and local government authorities for the safe release of the foresters,” Major Michelle Anayron, a spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in Mindanao, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Anayron said the captors demanded the cancellation of the Community-Based Forest Management Agreement in the town of Sibagat; the awarding of the Certificates of Ancestral Domain Title; government approval of customary farming and the cancellation of the Integrated Forest Management Agreement with commercial logging companies in their area.
He said the man who made the demands identified himself as Anoy Behing, a native of Sibagat town.
The province is a known lair of illegal loggers and a stronghold of communist New People’s Army insurgents. The illegal logging in Agusan del Norte continues unabated and is threatening water shed areas in the province.
Last year, some 500 leaders of indigenous tribes and representatives of nongovernmental organizations and the Catholic Church appealed to Manila to put an end to illegal logging and destructive mining in the province and other areas in the Caraga region considered as ancestral domain. (Mindanao Examiner)
Coca-Cola Holds Party For Zamboanga Media
Zamboanga City journalists during a recent party thrown by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Incorporated. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Jung Francisco)The party was held recently at the Inland Resort in Zamboanga City and members of the Zamboanga Press Club headed by its president Manuel Lacastesantos.
Among the Coca-Cola officials who organized the party were C. Aizon, F. Jumangit and A. Alvarez. (Jung Francisco)
Dirty Jobs In Zamboanga
Canal cleaners work without gloves and boots unmindful of the hazards of the dirty job Thursday, October 22, 2009 in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)Wednesday, October 21, 2009
House Speaker bats for incentives for small RP oil firms
MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Prospero Nograles on Wednesday said that since repealing or even amending the oil deregulation law is next to impossible at this time, the best way for the government to force the "Big 3" oil firms to shun their abusive pricing is to make the small players tougher as competitors.
"It's time to teach them a lesson by building their competition which is the only language they understand. Profit taking is their religion and the government must now drive a hard bargain and support the small ones," Nograles said.
Nograles noted the oil deregulation law apparently fell short of its original intent and spirit that should demolish the old monopolistic practices or cartelization among oil companies to foster competition and bring down prices.
The government, he added, must now consider more drastic measures to ensure that the so-called Big 3 - Shell, Petron and Caltex - are forced to keep their prices within the bounds of reason.
One solution, Nograles said, is to find ways to provide the small players with incentives so that they can expand while making their prices more affordable to the public.
"Right now we have no choice but to patronize the Big 3. They have more stations nationwide and we can hardly find small players. We should encourage these small players to expand by building more pumping stations in areas that are accessible to motorists," Nograles said.
Nograles said small players should also be afforded more opportunities to reduce importation costs.
"If small players are given enough incentives to import oil products they can bring down the prices and force the big players to follow. Today the big players get the incentives yet they blatantly abuse and hoodwink the system with the people at the losing end. Small players should also get government support to import more and compete with the big boys," he added.
Nograles admitted that repealing the oil deregulation law is easier said than done especially at this time when Congress is already racing against time. It might be more realistic, Nograles said, if the executive department, in consultation with Congress, can draw up and implement an incentive scheme to strengthen the small oil players.
"I think that even if we pursue the repeal of the oil deregulation law, we will be racing against time. That's being realistic although we will still try if Congresman Mikey Arroyo's committee could put the issue out on the floor," Nograles said.
"I think we have to study this alternative. If we can provide opportunities to strengthen these small players without going through the regular legislative mill, this can be easier and quicker to implement," he pointed out. (Gil Bugaoisan)
Roadside bombing kills Marine, 2 others wounded in South RP
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 21, 2009) – A Filipino marine was killed and two others were wounded in roadside bombing Wednesday in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said.
Officials said marine soldiers were patrolling the village of Tugas in Patikul town when an improvised bomb exploded at around 9 a.m. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the area in a known lair of Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terrorists.
A regional marine spokesman Major Ramon David Hontiveros said two soldiers and a civilian were wounded in the explosion. One of the two wounded soldiers, an officer, died before reaching the hospital, he said.
“A marine officer gave his life for his country while contributing to peace and order in Sulu. The officer was leading a foot patrol at around 9 in the morning in the village of Tugas in Patikul when an IED exploded nearby, wounding him, and Private First Class Ariston Casano and one civilian. The officer was pronounced dead on arrival at the trauma hospital in Jolo town,” the spokesman said.
The other soldier is in stable condition, he said, however, the fate of the lone civilian was unknown.
Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants also bombed Monday a communication relay tower of Globe Telecoms in the town of Parang, cutting off vital mobile phone services in Sulu, one of five provinces in the Muslim autonomous region.
The next day, soldiers foiled an attack on a bridge in Indanan town after recovering two improvised explosives made from ammonium nitrate, a banned chemical fertilizer widely used by terrorists in manufacturing homemade bombs.
Last week, rebels also bombed two bridges in Sulu’s Talipao and Indanan towns and another communication relay tower of Smart Communications also in Indanan.
Security forces were battling Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels in the province since September and had so far left dozens of casualties from both sides, including two members of the US Special Forces aiding the military in defeating terrorism in Sulu.
Fighting broke out after the military aided by US intelligence, mounted fresh offensives against the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels in Indanan town. The offensive coincided with the Muslim celebration of the Eid al Fit’r, which started on the day after Islam’s holiest month of Ramadan.
Early this month, rebel forces also attacked a major military base in the capital town of Sulu. It was the second time in eight years that rebels attacked the base. (Mindanao Examiner)
7 environment workers reported missing in Mindanao
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 21, 2009) – The Philippine military said it was verifying reports Wednesday that seven environment workers went missing in the hinterlands of Mindanao.
The seven are employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources who were manning a checkpoint in Butuan City in Agusan del Norte province.
“We have contacted two army battalions in the area to check on the reports, but so far we have not received anything about those reported missing in Butuan,” Major Michelle Anayron, a regional army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.
The area is a known lair of illegal loggers and a stronghold of communist New People’s Army insurgents, but it was unknown whether the seven men were abducted or not.
Television reports identified those missing as Emiliano Gatillo Jr., Gabriel Arlan, Rito Espinido, Teofredo Pujadas, Efren Sabuero and two others identified only as Clar and Abogatal.
The unabated illegal logging in Agusan del Norte continues and is threatening water shed areas in the province.
Last year, some 500 leaders of indigenous tribes and representatives of nongovernmental organizations and the Catholic Church appealed to Manila to put an end to illegal logging and destructive mining in the province and other areas in the Caraga region considered as ancestral domain. (Mindanao Examiner)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
House Speaker hits new oil price hike
MANILA, Philippines - Calling it "the highest form of ingratitude," House Speaker Prospero Nograles on Tuesday scored the decision of Shell and Petron to increase their fuel prices anew even as the Philippines is still reeling from the massive devastation caused by recent typhoons.
"This is not the time for ingratitude," Nograles said as he strongly appealed to the giant oil companies to "spare the people from bleeding."
Nograles said this decision to increase today prices for unleaded premium gasoline by P1.25 per liter, regular gasoline by P0.85 per liter, diesel by P2 per liter, and kerosene by P1.50 per liter is reflective of their insensitivity and lack of compassion for the millions of patrons whose lives are now in ruins because of the typhoons.
"This is really infuriating. While people around the world are trying their best to help us recover from the devastation caused by the typhoons, our own oil companies still have the nerve to increase their prices. This is the highest point of ingratitude," Nograles said.
Nograles also questioned the Department of Energy's inaction as he noted that the agency could have at least appealed to the two oil firms to defer the price increases until after the country has returned to a decent level of normalcy.
"Secretary Angelo Reyes could have at least called up these oil companies and appealed for compassion. Millions of people have lost their homes and are largely dependent on whatever support that is given to them by others. This makes me wonder if the Department of Energy is still part of the government," Nograles said.
Reyes is the Secretary of the Department of Energy. (Gil Bugaoisan)
Marawi City Hall blast kills 3, wounds 26 more
MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 20, 2009) – At least one person was killed and at least two dozen others were wounded in a grenade attack Tuesday at the Marawi City Hall in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the explosion occurred near the election office at the city hall compound where new voters lined up to register for next year’s local and national elections.
“At least one was killed on the spot and at least eleven others are wounded in the attack. The grenade was thrown at the compound of the Marawi City hall where registrations for new voters are going on.”
“This could be politically-motivated, but police is still investigating this incident,” Brigadier General Rey Ardo, commander of army forces in Lanao del Sur province, told the regional newspaper the Mindanao Examiner.
A local reporter of the Mindanao Examiner said she saw at least 26 people rushed to hospital, three of them seriously wounded from the blast.
“At least 3 people are dead and 26 more were wounded in the grenade explosion which occurred before one in the afternoon,” she said.
No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack ahead of the May polls. Elections in the southern Philippine are traditionally marred with violence and bloody in many provinces in Mindanao in Mindanao. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)
Filipino woman detained in Kuwait for practicing sorcery
MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 20, 2009) – Kuwaiti authorities arrested a Filipino woman accused of practicing black magic in the Arab state, reports said on Tuesday.
The Arab Times said police raided a house in Al-Qurain and arrested the Filipino woman. Police also seized magic charms from the woman who was not identified by Kuwaiti authorities.
The report said the woman offered her services to an undercover police agent in exchange for KD250. And that her arrest was covered by a warrant from the Kuwait’s Public Prosecution. It said the Filipino would be deported to the Philippines.
“It has been reported the suspect was caught red-handed when she offered her services to a police agent in return for KD 250. Police have allegedly seized from the woman magic charms and various types of tools used in the trade in addition to the marked police money and referred her to the authorities to prepare her deportation from the country,” the report said.
It was unknown whether the women was caned or not, but in her native country, witchcraft and sorcery are not uncommon even though majority of the Filipinos are Catholics. Many of those who practice black magic use this as miracle remedies for believers and trade for some in far-flung areas and remote Filipino provinces.
Last year, an Indian man was also arrested and detained in Kuwait for practicing sorcery. Police seized from the man a list of names of customers and amulets and charms. The practice of sorcery or witchcraft or black magic is illegal in Kuwait. (Mindanao Examiner)
Troops foil bridge bombing, but communication relay tower also blasted in Southern Philippines
Government soldiers foil the bombing of a bridge in Sulu's Indanan town after they recovered two homemade explosives planted by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants who are also blamed for the bombing of two communication relay towers of Smart Communications and Globe Telecom in the province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Nickee Butlangan).ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 20, 2009) – Troops foiled the bombing of another bridge in the Muslim autonomous province of Sulu in the southern Philippines, but rebels also blasted a communication relay tower and cutting off vital mobile phone services in the area, officials said.
Officials said patrolling troops recovered before dawn two improvised explosives planted under a bridge in the town of Indanan, where Abu Sayyaf militants recently bombed another bridge.
Regional military spokesman Marine Major Ramon David Hontiveros said the bombs were made from ammonium nitrate, a banned chemical fertilizer widely used by terrorists in manufacturing homemade explosives.
The foiled attack came hours after rebels bombed a mobile communication relay tower of Globe Telecom in the village of Wanni Pyanjihan in Parang town. “Operatives are increasing security measures in Sulu,” he said
Last week, rebels also bombed two bridges in Sulu’s Talipao and Indanan towns and another communication relay tower of Smart Communications also in Indanan.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the military previously tagged the Abu Sayyaf and Moro National Liberation Front rebels in the spate of bombings and ambuscades of soldiers in Sulu.
The military said dozens of rebels and soldiers, including two US Special Forces specialists, had been killed in fierce clashes in Sulu since September.
Fighting in Sulu erupted between rebels and soldiers after the military mounted fresh offensives against the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels in Indanan town. The offensive coincided with the Muslim celebration of the Eid al Fit’r, which started on the day after Islam’s holiest month of Ramadan.
The MNLF has declared a holy war or jihad against the military for disrespecting the Muslims. Different Muslim groups also condemned the attack during the Eid celebration.
Early this month, rebel forces also attacked a major military base in the capital town of Sulu. It was the second time in eight years that rebels attacked the base.
In November 2001, on the eve of the elections in the Muslim autonomous region, Abu Sayyaf militants and rebels loyal to Moro National Liberation Front chieftain Nur Misuari attacked the camp in Jolo and another group raided a village in Zamboanga City that left more than 100 people dead.
Misuari signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996 ending decades of bloody secessionist war. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. The Muslim autonomous region was meant to implement the 1976 Tripoli Agreement between Manila and the MNLF.
But despite the peace accord, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted. And Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement.
Presently, the governor of the Muslims autonomous region, Zaldy Ampatuan, a close ally of President Gloria Arroyo, is not a member of the MNLF which is said to be a violation of the peace deal signed during President Fidel Ramos administration.
Many former guerrillas were disgruntled with the peace deal, saying, the Arroyo government failed to comply with some of its provisions and uplift their standards of living. They accused Manila of failing to develop war-torn areas in the south.
Under the peace agreement, Manila would have to provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.
After the rebellion in Jolo and Zamboanga, Misuari then escaped by boat to Malaysia, where he had been arrested and deported to the Philippines and jailed.
Misuari also ran twice for governor in Sulu even while under detention, but lost. He also supported President Gloria Arroyo's election bid and her allies in the Senate and Congress in 2004 and again in 2007 in exchange for promises that he would be pardoned and freed. He was eventually set free. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sayyaf abducts school principal in Southern Philippines
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 19, 2009) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants seized Monday a school principal in the Muslim autonomous province of Sulu in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said about a dozen gunmen flagged down a jeep carrying teachers and forcibly took Gabriel Canizares in front of his terrified companions in the village of Tanum in Patikul town. The teachers were on their way home to the capital town of Jolo when the gunmen struck.
The 36-year old Canizares is the principal of the Kanague Elementary School in the town. “Mr Canizares was with his co-teachers in the jeep, and he was the only one abducted,” said Marine Major Ramon David Hontiveros, a regional military spokesman.
He said troops and policemen were tracking down the gunmen.
The motive of the abduction was unknown, but the Abu Sayyaf was previously linked to past kidnappings for ransom in Sulu and others parts of Mindanao.
The Abu Sayyaf is a small, but the most violent rebel group tagged by the police and military as behind the spate of attacks and terrorism in the troubled region. (Mindanao Examiner)Monday, October 19, 2009
Mindanao Examiner TV Week in Review October 4-10, 2009
Mindanao Examiner TV Week in Review Oct. 4-10, 2009 P2
Mindanao Examiner TV Week in Review Oct. 4-10, 2009 P3
Mindanao Examiner TV Week in Review Oct. 4-10, 2009 P4
Mindanao Examiner TV Week in Review Oct. 4-10, 2009 P5
Mindanao Examiner TV Week in Review Oct. 4-10, 2009 P6
House of Representatives presents performance card for 3rd Regular Session
MANILA, Philippines - Saying the "House of the People did what were right and needed by the people," Speaker Prospero Nograles said the House of Representatives has remained true to its constitutional mandate.
"We continue to face difficult times. I salute each member, whether from the majority or the minority or party-list groups, contributed their fair share of the burden of instituting policy reforms needed to push national development," Nograles said.
Nograles noted that the performance card reflects the record time second reading approval of the proposed 1.541-trillion pesos 2010 national budget and the crucial 12-billion pesos supplemental budget to help government meet the contingencies resulting from the devastation of typhoons Katrina and Parma and support the yet unfinished reconstructions of areas earlier hit by typhoon Fengshen in the Visayan region.
Based on actual statistical data of measures processed during the 3rd regular session released by the Committee on Rules chaired by Majority Leader Arthur Defensor, from July 27 to October 16, 2009, or a total actual 34 session days, the House plenary approved 912 national and local bills and various resolutions.
Nograles and Defensor noted that the 912 approved measures exclude some 137 bills and various resolutions processed and are classified as those falling under the "Unfinished Business" and "Business for the Day" which await consideration and approval by plenary come resumption of session.
With the total 1049 measures processed within the period July 27 to October 16, it would then show that the House processed some 30 measures per session day for 34 actual session days.
The Rules committee likewise revealed that during the said period some 419 bills and 260 resolutions were filed for a total of 679 measures of which some 289 committee reports were submitted for plenary consideration.
Of the measures approved in plenary, 75 were signed into Republic Acts (including the House Joint Resolution on the Supplemental budget, 15 national and 59 local bills). The House also adopted the Senate version of thee national and one local bills. The House also concurred with the Senate amendments on 9 national, two local and one HJR.
The House has ratified bicameral conference committee reports on 13 national, one local and one HJR. Still at the bicameral conference committee level are 16 national bills and 2 local bills, while the House has 34 national bills, 123 local measures and one HJR approved on 3rd reading and now pending in the Senate.
Awaiting 3rd reading approval are some 17 measures of national interest and 3 local bills already approved on 2nd reading when Congress went on recess last October 16. The House4 also adopted some 47 regular resolution and 120 resolutions on inquiries/investigations in aid of legislation.
The overall picture of the 14th Congress (1st, 2nd and 3rd regular sessions from July 23, 2007 until October 16, 2009)) would show that a total of 6,936 bills, 1559 resolutions, for a total of 8495 measures were filed of which some 2,456 have resulted to committee reports for plenary consideration.
During said period some 48 national and 173 local bills and 4 HJR became law. Overall, some 185 national, 981 local, 5 HJR and one HCR were approved on 3rd reading and now pending in the Senate. Approved on 2nd reading and await final passage by the House are 17 national and 3 local bills.
Among those awaiting the President's signature are:
1. HB 5982 - Establishing the Framework Program for Climate Change;
2. HB 5709 - Anti-Torture Bill;
3. HB 6407 - Pre-Need Code;
4. HB 6379 - Real Estate Investment Trust;
5. HB 5279 - Legitimation of Children Born to Parents Below Marrying Age;
6. HB 50 - Magna Carta for Homeowners Associations;
7. HB 6440 - Defining the Crime of Child Pornography; and
8. HB 6633 - Defining and Penalizing Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law.
The House instead adopted the Senate version of HB 3274 – amendments to the Customs Brokers Act which, along with the Pre-Need Code are LEDAC priorities. Also awaiting the President’s signature is HJR 48 – authorizing the use of Unprogrammed Fund not exceeding P12-billion pesos for the relief operations, rehabilitation, reconstruction and other services to areas affected by natural calamities.
"Our work does not stop here. There is a lot of work ahead of us. We will not fail our people," Speaker Nograles assured. (Gil Bugaoisan)
RP troops seize 6 tons of chemicals used by rebels in making homemade explosives
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / October 19, 2009) – Philippine authorities seized more than six tons of banned chemical fertilizers widely used by rebels in the manufacture of crude bombs, officials said Monday.
Officials said some 242 bags of ammonium nitrate were seized Friday from two locations in the southern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi province. The chemical fertilizers were believed smuggled into the southern Philippine from nearby Malaysia.
Regional military spokesman Major Ramon Hontiveros said the recovery of the contraband came after soldiers arrested a boatman in Bongao town in Tawi-Tawi who tried to smuggle out 225 kilos of ammonium nitrate in nine bags.
The arrested boatman led troops at a warehouse in the town where the rest of the chemicals were hidden and arrested a second man. “The contraband was allegedly bought in Malaysia,” Hontiveros said, adding the two men were being investigated by the military.
It was unknown whether the two men had any links with rebels.
Authorities also seized in July some 350 kilos of ammonium nitrate and 1,800 pieces of blasting caps and detonating cords from a cargo vessel in the central Philippine province of Cebu that was heading for Iligan City in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
House Speaker Continues Massive Projects In Davao City
Since being elected as representative in the 1st District of Davao City, Nograles has completed massive infrastructure projects that greatly benefited the residents and business establishments in those areas.
Nograles allocated a big part of his congressional development fund to finance these infrastructure projects through the Department of Public Works and Highways. Nograles has branched out his Oplan Kalsada program by initiating infrastructure projects in the third district.
Numerous road projects, school buildings, open-air and covered courts, and barangay halls among others were constructed in the premier district of the city through the efforts of Nograles.
Soon, through the effort of Nograles, a P100 million sports dome will rise at the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City.
The air-conditioned sports dome which locals long aspired can now host the Philippine Basketball Association games. It can some 7,000 people. For a long time, the PBA holds its games in Panabo City instead of Davao. The sports dome is set to be finished next year.
US officials, MILF rebels meet in Mindanao
Sayyaf, MNLF palaban pa rin sa militar
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / October 18, 2009) – Sa kabila ng pagmamalaki ng militar na nadaig na nito ang Abu Sayyaf ay patuloy naman sa paghasik ng karahasan ang nasabing grupo sa lalawigan ng Sulu.
Maging ang Moro National Liberation Front ay nakikipaglaban na rin sa militar dahil sa paglulunsad ng mga sundalo ng opensiba nuong Setyembre habang nagdiriwang ang mga Muslim ng Hari Raya matapos ng halos isang buwan Ramadan.
Isa umanong pagyurak sa Islam ang ginawang opensiba ng militar sa Sulu kung kaya’t maraming nag-alsa at nagalit sa Armed Forces. Lalong nawalan ng tiwala ang mga Muslim sa sundalo at militar, at gayun sa puwersa ng mga Kano na siyang nagbibigay ng intelligence sa Armed Forces ukol sa mga rebelde.
Ilang ulit na ipinagyayabang ng militar na “on the run” ang Abu Sayyaf at maraming lider nito ang napatay dahil na rin sa tulong ng mga daan-daang Kano sa Sulu na bahagi ng Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines na mas kilala sa Pentagon bilang “Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines.”
Kaliwa’t kanan ang pambobomba ng Abu Sayyaf at MNLF sa mga tulay sa Sulu na lalong nagpapahirap sa militar na makapagpadala ng mga puwersa sa ibat-ibang bayan sa lalawigan.
Sa panig naman ni Marine Major General Benjamin Dolorfino, pinuno ng Western Mindanao Command, ay sinabi nitong walang kakahayan ang mga rebelde sa Sulu na manaig sa puwersa nito. Sinabi rin nito na mahigit sa tatlong dosenang rebelde na ang napapatay sa Sulu, ngunit dalawang bangkay lamang ang nabawi ng mga tropa, samantalang mahigit sa isang dosena na ang casualties ng militar.
“Hindi naman nila tayo kaya eh. Alam nila yun,” ani Dolorfino, na minsan ng binihag ni MNLF commander Ustadz Habier Malik sa Sulu Kasama ang ilang mga opisyal ng Department of Defense nuong 2007.
Ang grupo rin ni Malik ang siyang kalaban ngayon ni Dolorfino na dating Kristiyano ngunit nagpa-convert sa Islam. (Mindanao Examiner)