By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 23 2013 12:59 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/23 May)—The value of corn produced in Region 12 last year reached a staggering P15.6 billion, a regional Department of Agriculture (DA) official said. Zaldy Boloron, DA-12 corn… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 21 2013 4:41 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/21 May) — Despite decreasing production, Region 12 or Soccsksargen region remained as the top coffee producer in the country last year, Department of Agriculture (DA) officials said.… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 20 2013 3:50 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/20 May)— The ban on open pit mining in South Cotabato will remain a major stumbling block to the effort of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) to operate… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 16 2013 5:04 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/16 May)—South Cotabato Rep. Daisy Avance Fuentes (second district) won the hotly contested gubernatorial race, returning to the post she held for nine years, from 2001 to 2010.… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 15 2013 3:15 pm
ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat (MindaNews / 15 May) – Reelectionist Gov. Suharto Mangudadatu is widely leading the gubernatorial race here. And if he wins, this will make his family dominate the… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 15 2013 11:55 am
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 15 May) – South Cotabato Rep. Daisy Avance-Fuentes (second district) is leading the gubernatorial race based on the partial and official results released by the Commission… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 14 2013 3:33 pm
KORONADAL CITY(MindaNews/14 May)— Canvassing of votes by the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) in South Cotabato hit a snag Tuesday due to problems with the compact flash (CF) memory cards… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 13 2013 8:13 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/13 May)—For the first time, hundreds of inmates at the South Cotabato Rehabilitation and Detention Center here exercised their right to vote during Monday’s national midterm and local… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 13 2013 8:10 pm
For the first time, inmates at the South Cotabato Rehabilitation and Detention Center in Koronadal City cast their votes for the May 13 polls. MindaNews photo by Bong S. Sarmiento
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 13 2013 5:28 pm
TACURONG CITY (MindaNews/13 May)— Children were extensively used to distribute campaign materials of local politicians near polling precincts in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat in today’s national midterm and local elections, an… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 10 2013 6:37 pm
KORONADAL CITY(MindaNews/10 May)—The power generation units of the Alcantara Group in Mindanao have been instructed to be on full alert to ensure stable electricity supply to the Mindanao grid during… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 9 2013 12:55 pm
GENERAL SANTOS CITY(MindaNews / 9 May) – The volume of export-quality or sashimi-grade fresh mature yellowfin tuna landed at this city, the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines,” this year has… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 2 2013 7:56 pm
Balut Island in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat remains sparsely inhabited. White sand beaches dot the island surrounded by scuba diving and snorkeling sites. MindaNews photo by Bong S. Sarmiento READ STORY… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on May 2 2013 1:11 pm
KALAMANSIG, Sultan Kudarat (MindaNews / 2 May) – One of the best-kept secrets in Mindanao beach lovers ought to explore this summer or anytime of the year can be found… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on April 25 2013 7:24 am
Magdaleno Alaban (R) poses with daughter Rosemarie and grandchildren Laurence (front), John Paul and Jerald Jay (red shirt) at the Poral Beach Resort in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat on April 21,… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on April 24 2013 10:00 pm
KALAMANSIG, Sultan Kudarat (MindaNews/24 April) – They won’t basically stand out in a crowd but they have “rock star” popularity, at least in the locality. At this remote coastal municipality… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 31 2013 5:42 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/31 March)—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 12 is still clueless on who could be behind the massive illegal logging activities uncovered recently in… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 25 2013 11:30 am
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 25 March) – A Canadian company backing a gold mining project in T’boli, South Cotabato is seeking to raise around C$5 million or nearly P200 million… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 22 2013 4:32 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/22 March)—The communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels’attack on a police outpost in T’boli, South Cotabato last Wednesday was intended as a “punitive action” for the presence of… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 20 2013 10:14 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 20 March) – For those in Mindanao, keep those pamaypays (hand fans) ever ready this summer. This after an official of the National Grid Corp. of the… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 20 2013 9:31 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 20 March) – Unidentified heavily armed men launched separate attacks in different parts of Region 12 on Wednesday, leaving one person wounded, officials said. Col. Dickson… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 18 2013 9:43 pm
BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi (MindaNews / 18 March) – With still enough supplies of basic food commodities that saw some now commanding higher prices, businessmen here are reeling from slower sales with… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 17 2013 6:41 pm
BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi (MindaNews / 17 March) – The putting up of a one-stop processing center in Taganak in the Turtle Islands emerged Sunday as a solution to help returning undocumented… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 16 2013 7:04 pm
BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi (MindaNews/16 March) — One hundred eighty-four Filipino evacuees from Sabah arrived in Taganak in the Turtle islands Friday for fear of being rounded up by Malaysian authorities, a… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 16 2013 12:45 pm
BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi (MindaNews/16 March)—With the increase in price of gasoline coming from Sabah, Malaysia, several roadside gasoline vendors here have been forced to close shop as tricycle drivers were forced… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 14 2013 5:39 pm
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/14 March)—The Alcantara Group has formally taken over the 102-megawatt (MW) Iligan diesel power plant from the Iligan City government at a total project cost of P1.2… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 13 2013 5:41 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/13 March)— Price control measures are being put in place in the island-province of Tawi-Tawi in the aftermath of the Sabah crisis that triggered an increase in prices… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 11 2013 6:51 pm
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/11 March) – The Alcantara Group is due to rehabilitate the 102-megawatt (MW) Iligan-diesel plant after ownership issues with the city government has been resolved, a company… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 11 2013 6:48 pm
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 11 March) – The detailed design and engineering studies for the proposed $806-million coal-fired power plant that would supply the needs of the controversial Tampakan… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 10 2013 9:40 pm
Hundreds of tilapia fish cages, 13 times more than its carrying capacity, have been blamed for the terrible state of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato these days. A moratorium on… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 10 2013 9:14 pm
LAKE SEBU, South Cotabato (MindaNews/10 March) — A paradise lost. Seventy-five year old Sindoy Cuyan recalls how as a young T’boli girl, swimming in Lake Sebu was “pure fun,” its… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 9 2013 8:30 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/09 March)— United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on Friday met with Malaysia’s permanent representative to the UN to reiterate his hope that the crisis in Sabah be… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 7 2013 5:35 pm
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/07 March) — A consortium of Chinese-Filipino businessman is eyeing to open a P250 million six-story, 111-room high-end hotel in this city within the year. Domingo Teng,… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 7 2013 12:01 am
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/06 March) — President Benigno Aquino III continued blaming Wednesday the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu for the bloodshed in Sabah, Malaysia, noting it could have… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 6 2013 9:16 pm
The bloodshed in Lahad Datu, Sabah in Malaysia continues to hound President Benigno Aquino all the way to General Santos City Wednesday morning (March 6) where he again blamed the… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on March 5 2013 3:59 pm
KORONADAL CITY(MindaNews/05 March) — Ranking officials in Tawi-Tawi appealed Tuesday for a peaceful end to the conflict in Sabah, Malaysia to prevent further loss of lives and its impact on… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 28 2013 6:29 am
m27ambush KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/27 February) – Unidentified armed men ambushed the vehicle supposedly owned by a tribal chieftain supportive of the mining venture of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines,… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 28 2013 5:30 am
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/27 February) – A Canadian mining company has disclosed higher gold and silver reserve at a minefield in T’boli, South Cotabato as commercial production gears towards full stream… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 26 2013 4:50 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 26 February) – The Tampakan copper-gold project of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) is shaping-up as a major political issue in the May 13 local elections.… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 24 2013 7:54 am
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/ 23 February)— “A plot hatched in hell.” This was how the National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Far South Mindanao Region (NDFP-FSMR) described Friday the national government’s granting… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 20 2013 5:46 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/20 February) – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of South Cotabato rallied behind the provincial environment code that bans open pit mining method as the local Catholic Church urged the… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 19 2013 8:46 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/19 February)—Castigating Environment Secretary Ramon Paje for flip-flopping on the agency’s decision to now give foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. an environmental compliance certificate (ECC), South Cotabato Gov. Arthur… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 17 2013 10:48 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/17 February)—The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will file a case against the soldiers involved in the operations that resulted to the death of three civilians last October… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 15 2013 4:13 pm
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/15 February)—The Alcantara-led coal-fired power project in nearby Maasim, Sarangani is targeted to go on commercial stream by September 2015, a company executive said. Oscar Benedict Contreras… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 14 2013 7:42 am
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/13 Feb) – Insufficient road and port facilities in Mindanao have hampered the growth of the vegetable and fruit sectors in the island, results of a two-year Australian-funded… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 6 2013 10:44 pm
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/6 February)—The Mindanao CROSS, the oldest running Catholic weekly newspaper in Mindanao, turned 65th years old today (Wednesday). Eva Kimpo-Tan, The Mindanao CROSS editor-in-chief, said “The Little Paper… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 6 2013 8:20 am
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/ 5 February)— Construction of the Alcantara-led 210-megawatt coal-fired power plant near a world-class scuba diving spot is set to go full blast, a company official said.… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on February 3 2013 11:27 am
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/2 February)—At least 50 individuals, mostly women and children, have fled the mines development site of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. for fear of the growing militarization in the… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on January 31 2013 6:49 am
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/30 January) – Another member of a tribal clan opposing the Tampakan copper-gold project of Sagittarius Mines, Inc. was killed in an alleged encounter with the military. Capt.… »
By Bong S. Sarmiento on January 26 2013 6:53 am
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/25 January)—Describing typhoon “Pablo” (international name Bopha) as the most deadly storm globally in 2012 and the most powerful to hit Southern Mindanao in 100 years, a United… »
