In Bacuag, Surigao del Norte, residents enjoy doing the laundry together in the “Labahan ng Bayan,” which utilizes water from a natural spring. Mindanews Photo by Bobby Timonera | View Photo Essay

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/27 Feb) — Two people’s organizations based in the coal-rich village of Ned in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato rejected over the weekend the proposed coal-fired power plant of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp, which the Aquino government is backing “as the solution to Mindanao’s looming power supply shortfall.” In a joint statement, the [...]

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/27 Feb) –  Tension continued to rise when three farmers in Barangay Lumbia were reported  missing after armed men occupied a disputed agrarian reform land purportedly to “enforce an order from the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (Darab). Sansin Manatad, 50, said his sons went missing amid the tension that [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/27 Feb) — The chair of the Moro National Liberation Front’s Bangsamoro Women’s Committee has appealed to the leaders of the MNLF to set aside their differences and unite for the sake of the Bangsamoro masses “who have fought, bled and died,” whose mothers, sisters and daughters “have been widowed” and  the masses [...]

DAVAO CITY  (MindaNews/26 February) – Go green and you’re in. The city government will provide incentives to investors who use environment-friendly and energy conservation measures — from building designs to adapting solar panels to energize buildings, Jason Magnaye, head of the City Investment Promotion and Tourism Office, said. “If they want to put up solar [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/27 Feb) –  Shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) no longer the poor man’s cocaine as it is has become “more expensive than cocaine and is more in demand,” the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here said. Emerson Rosales, PDEA regional officer-in-charge, said shabu sells for P10,000 to P12,000 a gram while cocaine sells for P6,000 [...]

GONE. Maisalam Dilangalen walks to where her house in Barangay Nangaan in   Kabacan,North Cotabato, stood. Her house was among those burned at the   height of the fighting triggered by a land conflict between clans allied   with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Mindanews Photo by [...]

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/26 Feb) — Rats have destroyed another 1,100 hectares of rice and corn fields, coconut and oil palm trees in Kabacan, including the barangays of Nangaan, Simone and Salapungan which were recently affected by armed conflict. Kabacan is one of several towns in North Cotabato severely hit by rat infestation, reports from the [...]

PENANG, Malaysia (MindaNews/26 February) –  They did not speak in the same session at the 4th Consolidation for Peace Seminar here but representatives of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) expressed optimism about the future of the talks even as they also acknowledged the challenges. [...]

PENANG, Malaysia  (MindaNews/26 February) –  When he introduced himself on the first of the three-day Consolidation for Peace seminar here, he said that as chair of a panel involved in an ongoing peace negotiations, he would be a “silent participant,”  that he would simply listen and learn but apparently inspired by the wealth of experiences [...]

KABACAN, North Cotabato — Nearly two weeks after they returned home from a month-long stay in the evacuation centers, residents of Barangay Nangaan are still coping with the difficulties of resuming their interrupted lives.

ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/26 February) – Thirteen victims of illegal recruitment were rescued by the police and the Sea Based Anti-Trafficking Task Force (SBATTF), the city police chief announced Saturday. Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo, director of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO), said the combined police and SBATTF also arrested the illegal recruiter identified as [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/26 February) —  The Japanese government has extended P4 million for the expansion of a skills training center in Maguindanao that caters to Moro women and out-of-school youth (OSY) in conflict-affected areas. Minister for Economic Affairs Akio Isomata of the Embassy of Japan graced the turn-over of the two-storey building in Barangay Simuay, [...]

PENANG, Malaysia (MindaNews/24 February) – As representatives of the  Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)  peace panels shared their optimism on the ongoing peace process with peacebuilders from Aceh and Patani at the three-day Consolidation for Peace seminar here, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,  Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, Presidential Adviser on the [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/25 February)—A militant Moro organization has added its voice to the opposition against the massive Tampakan copper-gold project of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. Arsad Solaiman, chairperson of the Youth for Bangsamoro Genuine Empowerment, has urged President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III to stop Sagittarius Mines from pursuing the Tampakan project “to save [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/25 February) – People Power” did not just happen in that “get-together” in Manila, as the people in the provinces have long struggled against the abuses of Martial Law, former Bukidnon governor Ernesto “Boy” Tabios said. For the businessman and accounting instructor turned activist during those dark years, people in Bukidnon had their [...]

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/25 February) – For returning a clutch bag containing P20,000 to his passenger on Tuesday night, a tricycle driver here received a certificate of commendation from City Vice Mayor Joseph Evangelista. Rene Adame, of Mundog Subdivision, received the award at the Sangguniang Panlungsod session hall around 10 a.m. yesterday. Aside from the commendation, [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/25 February) — Mining firm Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) may have abetted the proliferation of loose firearms in the hinterlands of Tampakan in South Cotabato where its mineral development site is located, a provincial official said. South Cotabato provincial board member Joe Madangit said he has received reports that some tribal leaders [...]

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanews/February 25) – Rubber production, a major industry in Basilan, will get a boost with the allocation of P50 million from the Department of Agriculture. Gov. Jum Akbar said Friday the projects include a P30-million rubber nursery, micro-processing plants worth P10 million and a P10-million farm-to-market road from Tipo-tipo to Barangay Magkawa of [...]

This 17th century church in Caraga town, Davao Oriental, is one of the oldest churches in Mindanao. It houses a bell that dates way back to 1802. An antique image of San Isidro Labrador , the town’s patron saint, can still be on its altar. Built overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the church was also used [...]

QUEZON CITY (MindaNews/24 February) — In Palace says ARMM failed experiment, Government lays down, in clearest terms, its theory on ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) and why postponing the ARMM elections is needed.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/24 February) – Several groups have pushed for the passage of a bill seeking to rationalize the use of the country’s lands. In a Mindanao-wide consultation on House Bill 478 held here today, the groups underscored the need for the passage of the legislative measure noting that the demand for lands [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/24 February) – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Region 12 or Southwestern Mindanao warned Thursday residents situated in coastal areas and flood-prone lowland communities in the region on the possibility of flashfloods and other calamities as heavy rains are expected in the coming days. Jerome Barranco, OCD Region 12 assistant [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/24 February) — The regional Department of Agriculture (DA) is closely watching the emergence of a suspected illness affecting goats called pinkeye disease in South Cotabato province, officials said. Amalia Datukan, DA Southwestern Mindanao director, said the disease was monitored in one of the farms in Sto. Nino, South Cotabato. “An inspection was [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/24 February) — Saying there are no compelling reasons to postpone the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), three Mindanao governors said they are “alarmed by the planned postponement”, adding the recommendation to defer the election did not go through a process of consultation. Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez [...]

ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews/24 February) – A  professor and a student who were abducted by unidentified armed men Saturday inside  the Mindanao State University campus in Marawi City had been released, Pastor Da Romas of the Seventh Day Adventist Church told MindaNews by phone Thursday evening. Romas said Cris Neil Gulfan and Aubrey Virtudez were released [...]

Canoto Budong strips abaca fibers using traditional tools in Barangay Caromata in San Miguel town in Surigao del Sur. Most Filipino abaca farmers still use manual ways of stripping abaca. The Philippines is the world’s top producer of abaca (Musa textilis). MindaNews photo by Jun Ayensa

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/23 February) — A tribal chieftain who staunchly supported the Tampakan copper-gold project of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc was killed Tuesday night by still unidentified gunmen, prompting the company to temporarily suspend operations in parts of the mines development site due to security concerns. The killing of Tonio Binuhay, tribal chieftain of S’bangken [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/23 February) – More provinces in Eastern Mindanao and many parts of the country have been reported attacked by swarms of field rats, in an infestation that an official blamed on climate change and human interference in Nature’s food chain. After farmers in eight barangays in the northern hinterlands of Davao City whose [...]

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/23 February) — Allegations of harassment and other irregularities from the losing group greeted the outcome of the union certification election Tuesday at fruit giant Dole Philippines Inc. (Dolefil) even as a regional labor official described the exercise as peaceful and orderly. The militant Asosasyon sa mga Mamumuo sa Dolefil alang sa Kalingkawasan [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/23 February) – Hospitals and wellness centers here offer the country’s cheapest dialysis treatment, but a medical director of an upstart wellness center also warned of the increasing number of kidney patients, including many diabetics. Hospitals and medical centers would charge P1,950 for a two to three times a week treatment to a [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/23 February) – It’s the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), not the Sangguniang Panlalawigan that sets electricity rates, Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative general manager Edgardo Masongsong today said, adding this authority [of the ERC] is provided for in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. This was Masongsong’s reaction to the opposition expressed by the [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/23 February) – A coastal village in Glan town in Sarangani province has been placed under a state of calamity following the onslaught of a strong tornado early Tuesday that left at least 500 residents homeless. Glan Mayor Victor James Yap said Wednesday the twister ripped through the center of Barangay Burias [...]

ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews/23 February)—An American national was reported missing and believed kidnapped by unknown persons but police and military authorities said they were baffled by the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. Milton Taylor was reportedly last seen on January 11 at Lamar Inn in Cagayan de Oro City in the company of some friends. Bobby Quijano [...]

MALAYBALAY CITY — As the bus approached a village in Salay, a town in the eastern side of Misamis Oriental, it slowed down to a stop beside a military checkpoint that leaned against a craggy slope. A soldier clambered aboard and shouted, “Tanang lalaki naug” (All males go down). He then inspected the passengers’ baggage presumably in search of firearms. Below the other soldiers frisked the males and randomly asked for cedula (residence certificate) and other identification documents.

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/23 February) — I was released from prison in March 1985 after 22 months of detention. But long before I regained my freedom, I had made a decision on how I would proceed in my engagement with human rights, justice and peace issues: as a religious Brother. So I joined the Congregation of [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 February) – Eight Mindanawons are among 27 examinees who made it to the Top 10 of the Nursing Board Exam held in December 2010. Two of the Mindanawon topnochers are from Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City, two from Davao City; and one each from Tagum City,  Butuan City, and Midsayap [...]

CATCH IT Players from Davao , General Santos and Kidapawan cities rough it up in the Ultimate Frisbee tournament held in Kidapawan City. MindaNews photo by Geonarri Solmerano

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/22 February) – The Valencia City council will suspend issuing endorsements of new agricultural plantations pending the completion of its Comprehensive Land Use Plan or CLUP, City Vice Mayor Azucena Huervas today said. Huervas said the suspension is indefinite as they are not yet sure when they would be able to finish deliberations [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 February) – After almost two years, nothing has come out of the investigation into the death of Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of New People’s Army leader Leoncio Pitao, with the police citing lack of witnesses as the primary reason. But regional police spokesperson Superintendent Querubin Manalang clarified today that the case has not [...]

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/22 February) — A Libyan vacationing with his family and Filipina wife here has expressed alarm over the deteriorating political situation in Libya as protests calling for the ouster of 40-year leader Muamar Khadaffy has been met with violence from State forces. “From what we have heard, it is virtually genocide [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 February) — In her letter, which the PPTRP obtained, Ex-Navy Lt. Senior Grade Nancy Grace Gadian alleged that in
the 2002 and 2007 Balikatan exercises where she was involved, it was usual for AFP activities to be conducted without official funds because fund transfer is delayed. To address the problem, loans are made from “dealers” with connections to military officers, a scheme described by Gadian as “cost of money.”

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanews/22 February) – A jail guard and an inmate were killed while another jail guard and a woman were wounded when seven other prisoners bolted the provincial jail in Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur, at 1 p.m. Monday, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesperson Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang today said. Cabangbang [...]

New Peoples Army (NPA) rebels grill meat inside their temporary guerrilla base in the hinterlands of Paquibato District, Davao City. MindaNews Photo by Ruby Thursday More | Read Story

PAQUIBATO DISTRICT, Davao City (MindaNews/22 February) – It’s a sunny day and Ka Ruben, a New People’s Army guerrilla, turned the dial of his portable radio to scan for FM stations. He stopped turning the dial upon hearing “Carrie,” a hit song of Swedish band Europe, and started to sharpen his bolo beside his hammock underneath the young ipil-ipil trees.

Young riders wait for tourists to rent their horses at the Pines View Park in Malaybalay City, the capital of Bukidnon. Tourists can rent the horses for P20 to P40 for a tour around the park. Officials expect an influx of tourists for the Kaamulan Festival on March 3 to 5. MindaNews photo by Froilan [...]

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/21 February) — The Aboitiz Power Corporation will open two run of river hydropower plants in southern Bukidnon, Sebastian Lacson, APC vice president said in a briefing. Lacson announced that the firm is building the plants in Sita and Simod rivers in Kitaotao town and that these will be completed in [...]

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/21 February) — A female former junior Navy officer who blew the whistle about the alleged corruption in the joint RP-US Balikatan military exercises four years ago has not gone into oblivion, showing up recently in a fighting mode as the controversial fund mess rocking the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) continues to grip the nation’s attention.

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/21 February) — Two members of the Mangudadatu clan have been charged for allegedly raping “Victoria”, a nursing student, inside a dormitory here in July last year. Prosecutor Lady Zozobrado charged Datu Naga Mitra Mangudadatu of Tamnag, Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat and his cousin identified only as alias Puti. But their four bodyguards, Erven [...]