VIVA SENOR. Devotees of St. Michael the Archangel chant “Viva Señor!” during the  procession for the feast of the city’s patron saint on Wednesday, 29 September. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera

VIVA SENOR. Devotees of St. Michael the Archangel like this father and son team chant “Viva Señor!” during the procession for the feast of the city’s patron saint on Wednesday, 29 September. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera

VIVA SENOR. Devotees of St. Michael the Archangel chant “Viva Señor!” during the  procession for the feast of the city’s patron saint on Wednesday, 29 September. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera

PROCESSION. Devotees of St. Michael the Archangel along Iligan City’s highway during the  procession for the feast of the city’s patron saint on Wednesday, 29 September. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera

The flight back to Vegas was a bit crowded and relatively uneventful. The flight attendants were more than exceptional. Strike or no strike, PAL remains my airline of choice. Good things have to end though, because having to endure the hostility and rude manner of the lady immigration officer who processed me was less than [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (29 September) – The recent Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Peace Summit revealed signs that can lead the Moros either to or away from the realization of a political settlement as a solution to their problems in fulfillment of their right to self-determination.  How they read the signs and act accordingly is [...]

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/29 September) –  At least 300 policemen  from Maguindanao who were relieved from their posts immediately after the November 23, 2009 massacre and dispersed to five other Mindanao regions have been ordered recalled, allegedly on orders from the Philippine National Police central office in Metro Manila. Sr. Supt. Federico Castro, chief of staff [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/29 September) – Bukidnon Gov. Alex P. Calingasan refuted reports that dengue cases and deaths caused by the viral disease this year have increased to alarming levels. He said the real story is how the many “unsung heroes” in the municipalities and barangays have responded to the outbreak of the disease in late [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/29 September) — After sailing more than a thousand miles the small flotilla of frail wooden “Balangay” boats that embarked on an epic voyage across four nations in Asia arrived in Singapore last Sunday amid cheers from Filipino workers in the city state, Philippine officials yesterday said. The Balangay boats sail past Jurong [...]

PLACER,  Surigao del Norte – Fishing boats used in “liba-liba” operations dock at a small pier in Placer town, Surigao del Norte. Liba-liba is a fishing method that destroys coral reefs. Authorities in Surigao del Norte have failed to crack down on this illegal form of fishing that threatens the sustainability of marine resources in [...]

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/29 September) – Police arrested on Tuesday six of the 10 suspects who allegedly abducted and raped a 21-year old government nurse in South Upi, Maguindanao province. South Upi town councilor Warlito Bansigan identified the suspects now placed under the custody of the local police as Glenn Saldoa, son of a retired employee [...]

SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/29 September) — The new provincial police director of Surigao del Norte promised he will soon review and dig deeper into the case of kidnapped banker Johnson Cuiting. In an interview at his office, Delos Santos said he will review and reassess the sworn statements of all the witnesses and will coordinate with [...]

FIREWOOD. A young farmer in Barangay Imbayao, Malaybalay City walks back home with a few pieces of wood for fuel. Most households in Malaybalay’s rural barangays still depend on firewood for cooking. MindaNews photo by Aries Sandino M. Mordeno

SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/28 September) – The Surigao Metropolitan Water District has admitted it has been unable to provide enough water to its consumers the past few months due to the ongoing drought and destructive activities in the city’s watershed area. SMWD General Manager Benjamin Ensomo Jr. said the Parang-parang watershed in Barangay Mat-i, the city’s [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/28 September) — Changes in weather patterns are bringing about a decline in raptor migration to Southeast Asia, a member of the Asian Raptors Research and Conservation Network claimed. Lim Kim Chye, a member of the ARRCN, said at the First Asian Bird Fair held here last week that raptors coming to Southeast [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/28 September) — It’s high time for Congress to upgrade the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) into a department to sustain the development and competitiveness of the country’s fishery sector, tuna industry players here said in a resolution. The resolution noted that the fisheries sectors in other countries are being [...]

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/28 September) – Government health workers from South Upi town in Maguindanao province today staged an indignation rally in Cotabato City condemning the gang-rape of their co-worker. They demanded justice for ‘Florence” (not her real name), a volunteer nurse assigned in South Upi who was raped on Saturday by at least 10 males. [...]

PLACER, Surigao del Norte (MindaNews/28 September) — Several boats used in the illegal fishing method called liba-liba have made this booming town of Surigao del Norte their unwilling host due to the existence of a huge ice plant, the drawing power of the local flesh trade and, an official disclosed, the protection offered by some [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/28 September) – Palay farmers in South Cotabato and other rice-producing areas in the region may now avail of loans through a new credit facility opened by the Land Bank of the Philippines to boost rice production in Region 12 or Southwestern Mindanao. Reynaldo Legaste, South Cotabato provincial agriculture office chief, said [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/28 September) – Some 3,500 school children in South Cotabato were chosen as beneficiaries for the fourth phase of the province’s anti-malnutrition initiative Kapit-Bisig Para sa Kabataan project. Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr. said they decided to continue with the project’s implementation this year in a bid to further lower the prevalence rate [...]

STARMAKER. A vendor makes small stars in his makeshift shop under the shade of a tree along Tionko Avenue in Davao City. MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo

BAG MAKER. A tailor labors on making conference bags in one of the shops in Davao City. Despite glowing government forecast, a huge number of Filipinos are working hard in small shops like this. MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/27 September) – Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo erred in issuing Presidential Proclamation 310 which granted 670 hectares of land taken from a state university in Bukidnon as part of the ancestral domain being claimed by a Manobo-Talaandig tribe, the Supreme Court said in an en banc decision posted on Friday in its website. [...]

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/27 September) – Police today launched a manhunt for at least 10 suspects in the gang-rape Saturday of a 21-year old government nurse assigned in Maguindanao province. Inset Map Courtesy of Wikipedia.Dr. Tahir Sulaik, provincial health officer of Maguindanao, said the victim was a volunteer nurse who was assigned in Timanan, South Upi [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/27 September)  – The business community here urged the national government to intervene in the operations of the National Power Corporation’s (NPC) hydroelectric plants in the wake of daily rotational brownouts that hit this city and various parts of Mindanao during the last two weeks. Manuel Yaphockun, board member of the General [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/27 September) – An open letter to Bukidnon legislators published in a social networking site about the intensity of the dengue fever problem in the province has elicited reactions and may have exposed a latent political tension in this rich agricultural province. Dr. Janet Q. Molina, in an open letter posted in Facebook, [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/27 September) – Officials of six government agencies under the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Region 12 or Southwestern Mindanaoforged an agreement over the weekend with civil society groups in the region to promote transparency and accountability in their operations to help eliminate graft and corruption. “It [agreement] pushed [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/27 September) — City Hall will support the filing of criminal charges against  the driver and operator of the “uso-uso” jeepney that rammed against a softdrinks delivery truck on Friday, killing nine passengers and injuring others. At the same time, Mayor Sara Duterte criticized the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation [...]

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/27 September) – Faulty wiring might have caused a fuel truck to catch fire while heading towards Pagalungan town in Maguindanao, around 730 p.m. on Saturday, reports said. Lt. Col. Domingo Gubuay, commander of the 7th Infantry Battalion, said vehicles tailing the truck along the highway in Kabacan, North Cotabato saw smoke and [...]

(A khutba delivered at the Institute of Islamic Studies, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City on September 25, 2010.) Muqaddimah. We are entering a new phase of our history particularly our relation with the “other.” In the early 20th century, the source of antagonism between the Muslim world and the rest was generally defined [...]

KASADYA SA ILIGAN. Participants of the Kasadya Street Dancing Contest two days before the Sept. 29 fiesta of Iligan City in honor of St. Michael the Archangel sweat it out in the sun. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera

SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/27 September)—Fears of possible contamination of the Parang-parang watershed in Barangay Mat-i here have been raised following the recent discovery by the Surigao Metropolitan Water District (SMWD) of 115 illegal gold-mining tunnels within the 967-hectare reserve. Miners usually use toxic chemicals such as mercury, borax and carbon in extracting gold and other minerals. [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/26 September) – Bukidnon vice governor Jose Ma. Zubiri wants provincial police chief,  Supt. Nerio Bermudo and his deputy for administration, Supt. Jerry Linsagan out, citing their alleged failure to stop illegal gambling and other crimes in the province. Zubiri made the call at the question hour on Sept. 22 when the Sangguniang [...]

KASADYA. Participants of the Kasadya Street Dancing Contest two days before the Sept. 29 fiesta of Iligan City in honor of St. Michael the Archangel sweat it out in the sun. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera

TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL. The epic battle between St. Michael the Archangel and Lucifer is reenacted during the Kasadya Street Dancing Contest two days before the Sept. 29 fiesta of Iligan City in honor of its patron saint. MindaNews photo by Bobby Timonera

BANCARERA. Thousands gather at Queen Tuna Park Sunday, September 26, to witness the Sarangani Riders who dominated bancarera or motor boat race staged by Bombo Radyo Gensan as part of the celebration of  Tuna Festival 2010. (Cocoy Sexcion/Sarangani Information Office)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/26 September) — An all-women contingent of the Civilian Protection Component (CPC) of the International Monitoring Team will be launched in Aleosan town, North Cotabato on October 4. The launching comes ten years after the adoption of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325 which acknowledges the importance of the participation of women [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/26 September) — Mindanao exporters are lobbying for government to grant them the same exemptions and privileges enjoyed by firms within the export processing zones in the country. Bonifacio Tan, former president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCCII), said government should follow the examples of China where firms are [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/26 September) — The National Food Authority (NFA) in Region 12 (Southwestern Mindanao) is targeting to purchase some 685,000 bags of palay in the region under its subsidized buying program. Gil Pepito Paqueo, NFA Region 12 director, said Sunday they have opened all their warehouses in the region to accommodate the projected [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY  (MindaNews/26 Sept) — A city councilor has reportedly received death threats after turning down earlier this month an alleged P2 million bribery attempt by suspected gambling lords based in the city. Councilor Dante Vicente, chair of the city council’s peace and order committee, told reporters over the weekend that he received the [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/26 September) — Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte shrugged off reports on renewed killings in the city but sternly warned reckless jeepney drivers they will not be given a “second chance.” “These people will really kill,” he said, referring to abusive jeepney drivers who call themselves, ‘uso-uso,‘ notorious for reckless driving in the city. [...]

SIGN OF THE TIMES. Two school girls walk past a beach sign that discourages swimming in the waters off Davao City because of pollution. Unchecked disposal of wastes and illegal enclosure of beaches have polluted Pakiputan Channel between the cities of Davao and Samal. MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo

SIGN OF THE TIMES. A child reads a beach sign that discourage swimming in the waters off Davao City because of pollution. Unchecked disposal of waste and illegal enclosure of beaches have polluted Pakiputan Channel between the cities of Davao and Samal.  MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 September) — Ignoring their government’s advisory against visiting the Philippines, Hong Kong birdwatchers are in Davao for the 1st Asian Bird Fair, claiming they are on a mission for the environment. “Bird watching is no pure enjoyment,” said Samson So, 27, a member of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society. “It is [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY  (MindaNews/25 September) — Caregiving courses are out, commercial cooking and housekeeping are in. Caregiving courses are still being offered but executives of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) say government is no longer supporting it through its scholarship program this year because of low demand in the market. Engr. Edgar Sales, [...]

4 A.M. alarms went off in the usual way but it was only Nicky who seemed to have stirred. Much later, it was Felix then Adri and Trinket and Carmela. I did not want to get up and laid perfectly still hoping not to be noticed. “I’m afraid I shall have to forgo the trek today” I heard Ixi say. “I am still very tired and have not recovered from yesterday’s trek.”

MARAWI CITY (MindaNews/25 September) – A driver abducted September 14 at the GMA terminal here was freed Friday afternoon without ransom, as five Maranaw victims kidnapped Wednesday in Maguindanao were also freed. The freed victim, Haris Daud, was reportedly released through the intercession of a Council of Elders. Daud, who was abducted while driving passengers [...]

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/25 Sept) – The North Cotabato Provincial Police Office has established additional outposts in strategic areas along the highway as they start today the implementation of the Comelec gun ban in preparation for the Oct. 25 synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. The ban is from September 25 to November 10, 2010. Outposts [...]

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/25 September) – A still unidentified tricycle driver rescued a wounded baby python near the foothills of Mount Apo but later  sold it to a pet shop here saying he could not afford to feed it. Ryan Cabante, manger of Pet Shop Nemo, said the 1.5 feet long python needs treatment and extra [...]

DRAWING BIRDS. School children learn to draw various Philippine birds at the First Asian Bird Fair and 6th Philippine Bird Festival in Davao City on Sept. 24. MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo