Shen Zhou Mining Group Corporation (SMGC) had deposited the P11-million royalty fee for the Lumads on May 10 yet. But the amount had not been withdrawn as of Tuesday afternoon due to the failure of four signatories of the Mamanwas’ bank accounts to sign the withdrawal slip.

SMGC operates in parts of Claver and Gigaquit towns in Surigao del Norte covered by Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) 048 held by the Mamanwas.

On Tuesday afternoon, seven tribal chieftains belonging to the “indirectly affected” beneficiaries of CADT 048 and several of their members went to the National Commission on Indigenous People’s (NCIP) provincial office here for word from the four tribal chieftains who did not sign the withdrawal slip.

On December 5 last year, 18 leaders of CADT 048 passed a resolution that 30% of the royalty fee shall be allotted for the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan or ADSDPP.

The remaining 70% will then be divided as follows: 10% will be allotted for the honorarium of the 18 tribal communities; 90% will then be divided again into a 40-60% sharing where 40% will be go to the directly affected communities and the 60% to the 16 “indirectly affected” ones.

Datu Emiliano Gedi, tribal chieftain of Katikuyan, Barangay Camam-onan in Gigaguit town said that two of the signatories, Vilma Coter and Bae Joan Hukman, promised to return to the NCIP office at about 3pm on Monday.

But he declined to comment why Coter and Hukman failed to return and if they refused to sign the withdrawal slip.

NCIP sources who requested anonymity said Coter texted that she was still in a hospital while Hukman said she will still talk to the two other signatories, Datu Enrico Olise and Datu Ferdinand Lebrigo.

Coter did not reply to a text message from MindaNews.

Mamanwas who had gathered at the NCIP office said Coter’s group told them she will sign the withdrawal slip if they will agree that the amount for the ADSDPP would instead be divided equally among the CADT communities.

The Mamanwas also alleged that Coter’s group asked the tribal chieftains to “donate” an undisclosed amount from their royalty share allegedly to defray the expenses during the barricade held at the mine site of SMGC on May 2.

However, the tribal officials at the NCIP office said they would rather wait for a final decision by their group before issuing comments.

NCIP acting provincial officer Randy R. Rosas said his office will issue an official statement after they see the December 5, 2011 resolution of the CADT holders.

The Mamanwas of CADT-048 in the past got embroiled in a controversy over the handling of millions in royalty fees they were supposed to get from Taganito Mining Corporation.

The controversy led to a congressional inquiry in January 2011 and the suspension of NCIP regional director Jose Jake Dumagan and NCIP provincial officer Vicente Baldoza in July last year.

On Friday, MindaNews learned from NCIP provincial legal officer Mark Bernal that as of May 10, SMGC had deposited P11 million in four Metrobank accounts of the Mamanwas.

On May 2, Mamanwas mostly from Urbiztondo and Taganito in Claver barricaded the mine site of Shen Zhou mining for its alleged failure to pay them their royalty fees.

The Mamanwas also called for the stoppage of the firm’s mining operations based on the cease and desist order issued by the NCIP En Banc on January 12.

Shen Zhou corporate secretary Jacqueline de Leon said the company can only respond to the order once they receive the writ of execution. (Vanessa Almeda/MindaNews)

Bernardo Pinol Jr., filed the civil case at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) branch 17 here, around 1130 a.m., on Tuesday.

Pinol said the multi-million suit, docketed as Civil Case No. 292-112, stemmed from a rape case filed against him shortly before the May 2010 elections by Ronald Catamco and Rengie Oclarit, one of Catamco’s staunch supporters.

Pinol accused the congresswoman of using Oclarit and the rape complaint to destroy him and influence the outcome of the election.

He said that a day before the election, Catamco’s camp circulated flyers, pamphlets, and other handouts about the alleged rape.

“This was how Catamco’s camp destroyed my person. She used black propaganda,” he said.

Pinol filed the case two years after the event alleged in his complaint.

“I had to consider lots of things before doing this. My wife and my children wanted justice so here am I doing the act, which I believe, would prove that what Catamco and her camp did in May 2010 was wicked, wrong,” he said.

Pinol is seeking P2.4 million in moral damages.

Catamco called Pinol’s act unreasonable and irrational.

“First, Pinol filed the damage suit two years after the rape case was dismissed. Why do it now?   I supposed it’s highly-politicized,” she said.

“If he runs next year so be it. I don’t care. Just don’t use dirty politics. He accused me of black propaganda? But people know who used such style during elections. It was not me for sure,” the lawmaker said.

Catamco won against Piñol by 6,677 votes.  She got 119,294 votes against Piñol’s 112,617 votes. (Malu Cadelina Manar/MindaNews)

Human rights defenders, civil libertarians, church leaders and political activists from all over Mindanao are expected to pay their last respects to Gapuz in the necrological service cum tribute that will start at 5:30pm.

In an program emailed Wednesday, lawyer Mario Paul A. Labis, secretary general of the city chapter of the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) said their chapters from all over the island will send their representatives.

“The funeral will be on the following day (May 18) to take off at 6:00 am from the city to proceed to Alubijid town, Misamis Oriental, where a mass will be held at the Roman Catholic Church followed by interment rites at the Alubijid Cemetery,” the program reads.

Lawyers Beverly Selim-Musni of Karapatan-Northern Mindanao, UPLM secretary general Carlos Isagani Zarate, Eduardo Estores of UPLM Southern Mindanao, Jose Begil of UPLM Caraga, National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) president Edre Olalia and Makabayan party leader Satur Ocampo have confirmed their attendance, said Labis.

He added that progressive sectoral organizations Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), and Anakbayan will also send representatives.

“Representatives of Buffalo-Tamaraw-Limus (BTL) from Bukidnon province will also pay their respects. Manong Fred (Gapuz) used to be their legal counsel in their struggle for land against Central Mindanao University in Maramag, Bukidnon,” said Labis.

Detained political prisoners in different parts of the island will also bid farewell to Gapuz through video clips, which will be shown at the tribute.

In the course of his legal career, Gapuz had represented political prisoners since the Martial Law years, including National Democratic Front peace consultant Wilfredo “Ka Paris” Mapano, who is currently detained at the Misamis Oriental Provincial Jail.

Gapuz himself was arrested at the outset of Martial Law and detained in Camp Evangelista, the 4th Infantry Division’s headquarters in Barangay Patag here.

“Poverty is a question of law. It is our challenge as public interest lawyers to save what remains of the law for the benefit of our people’s human rights, as we envision a social order where equality is lived and does not merely exist as a concept in legalese,” the late lawyer had said.

Gapuz, 77, passed away in the afternoon of May 12 at his residence in Alubijid, Misamis Oriental. He is survived by wife Liberty Janubas-Gapuz and children Emmanuel, Michael, Andrew, Maria Catherine and Fernando Frederico. (Cong Corrales/MindaNews)

Senior Inspector Francis Sonza, provincial commander of the Criminal Intelligence and Detection Group, said that Mely Meneses, the suspected pimp managed to escape after sensing that it was an entrapment operation.

The entrapment operation took place inside Babes Bakeshop on Lapu-lapu Extension.

Sonza said they planned the entrapment after receiving reports that prostitution involving minors is rampant in the place.

Meneses allegedly enticed them to have sex with the three minors for P1000.

Police operatives went to the bakeshop close to midnight yesterday. But after a brief negotiation during which money for the supposed sexual services changed hands Meneses allegedly fled.

The three girls have ages between 15 and 17 years. Two are from Davao del Sur while the other one is from Magpet, Cotabato.

The rescued minors are now under the custody of the Digos Social Welfare and Development Office while charges are being prepared against Meneses. (MindaNews)

Chief Supt. Napoleon Estilles, Police Regional Office-9 director, said Police Officer 2 Faisal Juhaili was released around 4 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay Kanipaan, Bayog town.

Estilles said Juhaili was turned over to his relatives headed by Ustadz Abdul Juhaili, the policeman’s uncle, at the barangay hall of Kanipaan.

It was Ustadz Juhaili who led the negotiation for the release of his nephew, Estilles said.

Juhaili was one of the four policemen on duty when some 40 rebels raided the police station of Tigbao last April 9 and carted away seven M-16 Armalite rifles, an M-14 rifle and a .9-mm pistol.

With only 23 personnel, Tigbao’s police station is the second smallest in Zamboanga del Sur in terms of strength.

In a statement today, National Democratic Front (NDF)-Mindanao spokesperson Jorge Madlos said Juhaili was released since he has not committed “grave crimes against the people except that he only acted according to his duty as a police officer” and “he cooperated well with and displayed a good attitude towards the members of the NPA’s custodial unit.”

“Apart from these, PO2 Juhaili, already in his 50s and has seven children, is also being released on humanitarian grounds in response to the plea of his family, relatives and friends for his immediate safe release,” Madlos said.

He added they observed the rules on the treatment of “prisoners of war.”

Estilles said Juhaili will undergo debriefing, a procedure that police and military personnel captured by rebels usually go through upon release from captivity. (MindaNews)

The Martial Law era tested Manong Fred’s mettle not only as a lawyer but also as a human rights defender. Despite having suffered torture in the hands of the military he never wavered and remained committed to his calling as an activist lawyer.

On several occasions Manong Fred would relate his experience as a political prisoner at the 4^th Infantry Division headquarters in Patag, Cagayan de Oro. He described in detail the torture he went through. He said he was brought to the firing range where he was to be shot. Luckily, he narrated, a high-ranking military official who knew him arrived at the scene.

I first met Manong Fred in 1984, when he stood as a sponsor in the wedding of a fellow activist. He impressed me with his straightforward manner of speaking, not to mention the booming voice that seemed not to match his small frame.

Manong Fred was a father figure to the human rights lawyers in Cagayan de Oro City. Officially, he did not head the Free Legal Assistance Group chapter in the city. But then FLAG-CDO chair Oscar Musni and Edgar Cabanlas, then the chair of the local Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ Human Rights Committee, always looked up to him for advice.

An effective speaker, Manong Fred was often invited to speak in paralegal seminars and forums on the human rights situation under President Marcos and even during the succeeding administrations.

The smart trial lawyer that he was, Manong Fred managed to get an acquittal even for political prisoners facing cases that appeared hopeless based on evidence presented by the prosecution. Thus we always saw to it that he got to handle the most difficult cases brought to our office.

Moreover, Manong Fred never confined himself to the courtroom. He joined fact-finding missions to war-torn villages in Misamis Oriental. He joined us in investigating the extent of the food blockade in Claveria, which at the time was the site of several encounters between the New People’s Army and the military.

He also took a leading role in the so-called parliament of the streets. In one welgang bayan (people’s strike) in 1985, members of the defunct Philippine Constabulary arrested and briefly detained him in Camp Alagar. That incident must have brought back to mind the ordeal he went through in Camp Evangelista at the onset of Martial Law.

For all his effort, he never received any substantial financial reward apart from the token – and often delayed – allowance from FLAG. Yet like the other human rights lawyers in the city, Manong Fred knew he should not expect anything in return from us or from the clients, most of whom could only afford a sincere “thank you.”

I left Cagayan de Oro in 1996 to work for an environment group based in Malaybalay. But I knew through old friends that Manong Fred had chosen to continue battling to the end the old demons that have refused to go away.

Goodbye, Manong Fred, and thank you for inspiring us during those dark, difficult times. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno was a human rights activist during Martial Law.)

The place is Prague and the time is spring. Locals say there’s no lovelier time to see this city than in spring when the days are long and the weather is fine. Darkness doesn’t come till around ten at night and it goes away early. You blink and you miss it. People stay up late just walking about or meeting friends at sidewalk cafes for a nip of what is boasted to be the best beer in the world.

The weather was fine for the most part since I’ve been here. Fickle sometimes. Like, the sun decided to peep out of the clouds at odd intervals today. I’d run out to the castle courtyard to soak in the warmth.

Leaving home, Google promised warm days, but it turned cold when I got here. And on my last night in the land of Kafka, the conference at that old castle ended late. I was so looking forward to a walk across Charles Bridge. It rained. There goes the walk.

Am staying at a cozy hostel along Nerudova Road in Mala Strana. Out on the street is a row of souvenir shops. They give an education as to which aspects of Prague tourists find relevant. I’ve been up and down that road many times in the last three days.

Crystals and glass and ceramic. Puppets and porcelain dolls. Historical sites and notable tourist spots replicated a million times on mugs and shirts and key chains and refrigerator magnets and sports jackets. Pralines and wafers and gingerbread. Altar stuff and rosaries. Christmas stuff and the Infant Jesus of Prague. Old, old books. And paintings.

An Italian priest told me that Prague was a most solemn city twenty years ago. Last night, a local said it has turned into one big Disneyland, attracting tourists from all over, especially now when the economy in much of Europe is down and travel costs so much less. Not solemn, exactly. His tone was most somber. He didn’t like how McDonalds and Thai massage and matrioshka dolls on souvenir shops were changing the culture of the old town. I thought it best not to comment on American pop music playing on the radio.

I tuned out when they started talking about how men past fifty are a throwaway in Europe, in America. I was in a conference with academics from 17 countries in four continents and I heard the same thing there at tea. It’s hard to be on a mission to bring Mindanao to the world when the world has other things to worry about closer to home. Time to hit the streets.

Brick roads. I guess if I find the yellow one I’d be Dorothy. Out there somewhere is the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion and I’m willing to bet that the global economy is not foremost on their minds. I met black horses instead. They snorted. Like men past fifty in Europe, in America.

Sidewalk artists and musicians. And hordes of walking tourists; like an endless parade, they just keep moving.

The cobbled streets require walking shoes, so it’s a delight to see fashionable women in heels negotiating the uneven road. Beauty first before comfort.

Prague was made for walking. Going out that door is like strolling inside a postcard. But, like the endless stream of visitors to this city, I’m just passing through. (Wayward and Fanciful is Gail Ilagan’s column for MindaViews, the opinion section of MindaNews. Gail heads the Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services at the Ateneo de Davao University, where she is also the editor of the university’s journal, Tambara. For comments, email her at gail@mindanews.com.)

Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, who heads MINDA, said she presented the four-page executive summary detailing the profitability of the hydro plants – to the tune of P68 billion over a 10-year period – to President Benigno Aquino III on Monday.

“We can operate them profitably and even allot a P200-million annual budget to protect the watersheds around the hydro plants,” Antonino told reporters during a break in today’s presentation of the Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework.

“Privatization is out of the question. Agus and Pulangi hydro plants should remain in government hands,” she stressed.

Citing figures they recently obtained from the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM), Antonino said the net income of Agus and Pulangi hydro plants from 2001 to 2011 was P68 billion.

But these income over the years were later used to pay off the losses incurred by coal-fired and oil-based power plants amounting to P83 billion over the same 10-year period, she said.

Among the heavy losers are the power plants operating in Zamboanga City and Alabel, Sarangani province. Both plants are owned by Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc.

She said part of the income was also allotted to pay STEAG State Power, Inc., which operates a 210-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Misamis Oriental, the amount of P1.08 billion a year.

“The government is bound to pay because of the contracts we have with these independent producers,” Antonino said.

Antonino said they are optimistic that government corporations can make a profit on the hydro plants and sustain their operations, noting that the contract between the two power plants in Zamboanga and Sarangani provinces would end sometime before 2020.

Antonino said she is now inclined in getting the President’s approval to set up Mindanao Power Corporation, a government-owned and controlled entity that will operate the hydro plants.

She said the figures and proposals for a Mindanao Power Corporation was in the executive summary she submitted to President Aquino in Davao City last Monday.

“We have looked at the financial statement. We have shown proof that the hydro dams can be operated with a profit,” Antonino said.

Ricardo Juliano, Mindanao vice president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the move of the MINDA chair on the hydro plants.

“The Agus-Pulangi hydro plants are too big for one group of investors. It is the jewel of Mindanao,” Juliano said.

President Aquino earlier favored privatization, saying selling the hydro plants to private investors who have the money to rehabilitate the ailing hydro plants and expand Mindanao’s generating capacity.

The idea of President Aquino is supported by the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association who said energy investments to Mindanao are nil compared to Luzon and Visayas where government have allowed private investors to come in.

Lobbying for privatization of the Agus-Pulangi hydro plants, the groups told news organizations in Manila that investors will not build power plants in places like Mindanao because of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

The law mandates the privatization of the National Power Corporation, the biggest loser among state agencies, but banned the selling of the Agus-Pulangi hydro dams until 2011. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)

No casualties have been reported but an initial 27 houses and farm sheds were confirmed damaged after a twister battered two villages in Norala town while another 25 houses were affected by flashfloods and landslides that hit a remote community in Tupi town.

In Norala town, municipal social welfare officer Alice Fuentes said the twister, which came after a heavy downpour, struck Barangays Matapol and Simsiman around 3 p.m. and battered communities in the area for about an hour and a half.

She said the strong winds brought by the twister tore off the roofs of houses and uprooted trees along its path.

“The main road going to Barangay Matapol was initially inaccessible when we first responded to the area because it was blocked by felled trees,” Fuentes said in a radio interview.

Citing their initial assessment, she said three houses in Purok Paghidait and five more in Purok Milagrosa of Barangay Matapol sustained partial damages as a result of the incident.

Fuentes said the damages to the affected structures in the area were initially valued at P60,000.

The official said personnel from the Norala Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) were still evaluating the extent of the damage caused by the tornado in nearby Barangay Simisiman but said 19 houses were initially reported as damaged in the area.

In Tupi town, officials of Barangay Cebuano reported that a house was totally destroyed while 24 more sustained partial damages after a flashflood and landslide swept Sitio Tucay-el on Monday afternoon.

The floods and landslides also destroyed agricultural crops and several community structures in the area.

The Tupi MDRRMC, which immediately released relief assistance to the affected residents, is still assessing the extent of the damage in the area Tuesday morning. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)

Cabantan told MindaNews Monday that San Isidro Labrador should remind the modern agricultural city of Malaybalay of the need to resort to organic farming, the method used by the Spaniard saint during his days as a farmer. San Isidro Labrador, he added, is also the patron saint in Madrid, Spain.

Malaybalay celebrates the feast of its patron saint on May 14 to 15. The parish focused this year’s celebration on the theme: “Kinaiyahan gasa gikan sa Dios: Angaya’ng Ampingan ug atimanon” (Nature is a gift from God, let us nurture and take care of it).

He said San Isidro was an ordinary but prayerful farmer who used organic farming techniques.

He said celebrating the fiesta reminds the parishioners of their duty to God. The patron saint focused his farming life to serving God and also helping others by being generous to the poor.

Cabantan, who is also the parish priest here, said the saint was successful because he was helped by his wife, who also became a saint, Sta. Maria dela Cabeza.

He said San Isidro’s family served God and fellowmen and demonstrated farming that helped others and the environment.

The bishop welcomed that the Malaybalay city council passed a resolution imposing a moratorium on expansion of agricultural plantations.

But he said the moratorium is not enough. The city government must level up by implementing organic farming in the city. He said large plantations, too, must already shift gradually to organic farming. The city government sponsored several events in time for the fiesta, including sports and entertainment events. (Walter I. Balane/MindaNews)

Robredo made the declaration in a press conference here Monday afternoon when asked if his trips to the provinces are already part of the preparation for his candidacy for senator.

Robredo, along with Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, are reportedly being groomed by the Liberal Party (LP) to run for senators in the 2013 mid-term elections.

Robredo said his provincial sorties are part of his official function to personally see and monitor the proper implementation of government projects as the chief of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Robredo has served as the mayor of Naga in the Bicol Region before President Benigno Simeon Aquino III appointed him to the DILG top post.

He made a stopover here and met with government officials, including top police officials, after he visited Monday the nearby province of Basilan.

Robredo led the groundbreaking ceremonies for the construction of two police stations in Basilan.

One of the police stations will be constructed in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province, and the other one in the municipality of Al-Barka.

Top police and other government officials from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) joined Robredo during the groundbreaking ceremonies. (MindaNews)

magpakita.firetrap. deny.deny. building.permit.inspection.corruption.authority. responsibility.lagayan.

fire.department. building. permit.license. LGU.company.policy.padlock. 17 salesgirls.padlock.inside.

outside.key.security.guard.firetrap.labor. investigate.employer. corruption.novo. tindahan.prisohan.

building permit.license.inspection. corruption.anti-labor.exploitation.inhuman. novo.LGU.company.

policy.tampalasan. 3 survivors.bintana. black.smoke.tindahan.prisohan.investigate.fire.inspection.

authorities.permit.license.17 salesgirls.padlock.inside.outside.punish. deny.punish. deny.DILG.

suffocate. employer.key. inside.outside. novo.explpitation. deny.exploitation. greed. 3 survivors.

key. 25 thousand.funeral. assistance.dili.paigo.kinabuhi. barato.company. policy.insurance. novo.

tindahan.prisohan.deny.corruption.ambak. bintana.black. smoke.lagayan.dili.magpakita.punish.

3 am.inhuman. condition. deny. deny. 25 thousand. funeral. assistance.tindahan.prisohan.deny.

made. in. china.LGU. fire. trap.company. inhuman. policy.licensing. inspection.insurance.ambak.

novo. tindahan. prisohan.deny. punish. deny. justice.company. policy. 18. salesgirls.dead…..

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaViews. Ramon Jorge B. Sarabosing is a writer and visual artist based in Butuan City.)

But Monday’s appearance of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, former colleague of Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona, at resumption of the latter’s impeachment trial may yet be the game-changer of this highly-charged Philippine political drama.

By calling Carpio-Morales to the witness stand as an adverse and hostile witness, the Corona defense panel failed to buttress its claim that the impeachment of the Chief Justice was a result of political vendetta and virulent attack by President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III who wants him out of the Supreme Court.

Instead, the gamble exploded before the faces of the lawyers of Corona. Certainly, including the Chief Justice.

Carpio-Morales was allowed, by a unanimous vote, to present detailed information on Corona’s alleged dollar accounts and their attendant transactions through a Powerpoint presentation. The vote was the first of its kind for the Senate Impeachment Court instigated by, of all Senator-Judges, Senator Miriam Santiago who is perceived to be sympathetic to Corona.

Why the Court voted to allow the presentation can only be interpreted as one in answer to its members’ curiosity because, until Carpio-Morales waived the 17-page document from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), nobody among them had any inkling about the intricate web of transactions involving Corona’s dollar accounts.

Carpio-Morales’ possession of the AMLC report also caught the defense panel off-guard. They never knew what hit them – members of Corona’s battery of high-priced lawyers. They never knew the extent and details of the Ombudsman’s investigation into their client’s dollar account deposits. When waived the copy, defense lead counsel Serafin Cuevas, a former Supreme Court associate justice like Carpio-Morales, conveniently forgot to get the details which was the subject subpoena.

But there was no denying the court.

Mind you, Carpio-Morales is not done yet. She could be swayed by both the prosecution and the impeachment court to testify beyond the dollar accounts of Corona.

There is no way for Corona’s defense team to explain their client’s multimillion dollar deposits without putting him on the witness stand, which at this stage may already be a helpless situation.

Corona may yet be able to spring surprises to his favor. After all, he has not rested his case. But frankly, is there really a way out for Corona? He already crossed his Rubicon. The way forward may be is just to fade quietly into the horizon. That, too, may no longer be an option for him given the way things took a turn for the worse for him.

Game may be over for Corona. (Edwin G. Espejo writes for www.asiancorrespondent.com.)

Bishop Jose A. Cabantan said that because of the recent killings in Kalasungay and Aglayan in Malaybalay and in Lantapan, Cabanglasan, Kibawe and other municipalities, the province is now in a “crisis situation” and thus needs the united efforts of its leaders.

“We need leaders to act as one. There are many problems and issues that have to be resolved. This is no time for bickering,” Cabantan told MindaNews Monday, referring to the squabble between Gov. Alex Calingasan and Vice Governor Jose Ma. R. Zubiri Jr.

He stressed that the killings have to stop, adding that he was worried that “people will take [the killings] as normal and take these for granted.”

At the May 7 convocation program of the provincial government, Zubiri was supposed to give an inspirational talk. But he used his time instead dressing down Calingasan and defend himself from brewing reports he would be suspended after the Commission on Audit investigated a complaint filed by an anonymous group accusing him of various wrongdoings, including releasing public funds not following standard procedures.

He has denied the accusations repeatedly on convocation programs and on air.

Zubiri  accused Calingasan to be behind the negative propaganda against him, based on an alleged report of a local politician. Calingasan denied he was out to destroy Zubiri and was quoted in a press release as saying he hoped the unity among provincial officials stays. He said some people are out to pit the province’s top two officials.

Calingasan served as vice governor to Zubiri’s three consecutive terms ending in 2010, when they had to switch posts because of the three-term limit for elective officials.

Cabantan said the two officials must be humble enough to set aside personal squabbles, sit down, and tackle together the issues and problems of the province.

“They should do that, that’s part of their commitment to the people,” he added. The bishop admitted that the people are caught in the crossfire between the two officials’ squabbles, which extend into the airwaves.

He said politics has been said to be dirty. “But the real politics is focused on good governance for the common good,” he added. (Walter I. Balane / MindaNews)

Mitmug, 31, was a member of the staff of Senator Teofisto Guingona III prior to his appointment as OIC Assemblyman of the 1^st district of Lanao del Sur. Previous to that, he served as Deputy Executive Director of the Cotabato City-based Mindanao Human Rights Action Center.

Chosen Speaker Protempore is Dayang Carlsum Sangkula-Jumaide of  the lone district of Tawi-tawi.  Romeo Sema of the 1^st district of Maguindanao is Majority Floorleader; Irene P. Tillah of the 2^nd district of Sulu is Assistant Majority Floorleader while Minority Floorleader is Maguindanao 2^nd district’s Khadafe Mangudadatu.

ARMM insiders told MindaNews the choice of Mitmug was made last week in a caucus shortly after the May 8 oath-taking rites of the RLA members in Malacanang and that Monday’s election was merely a formality.

The OIC governor, Mujiv Hataman, is from Basilan and the OIC vice governor, Hadja Bainon Karon,  is from Maguindanao.  ARMM’s three other member-provinces are Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Of the 27 appointed legislators, six are holdovers from the 6^th RLA – those elected in 2008 and who had been sitting on holdover capacity since September 30, 2011 when the August 8, 2011 ARMM election was synchronized with the national mid-term elections on May 13, 2013.

The six legislators are now referred to as the “minority” while the 21 members constitute the “majority.”

On behalf of the 21 legislators, Mitmug read a nine-paragraph statement vowing to “push forward for the reform agenda in the ARMM, to foster regional unity, and to enhance better life for the Bangsamoro.”  Mitmug read the prepared statement at the lobby of the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex  in the ARMM compound in Cotabato City, before they proceeded to the RLA for the turnover rites from the 6^th RLA represented by former Speaker Datu Roonie Q. Sinsuat, and the first session of the appointed legislators at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 14.

The statement said they “commit to Electoral Reforms,  consonant with the agenda of His Excellency President Benigno Simeon Aquino III;” are “unified” in the reform efforts of the President and OIC Governor Hataman, especially in “reform in governance, socio-economic development, and peace and security in the region.”

The statement also noted that they are “humbled by the responsibility and confidence entrusted to us by the national government”  which mandates them under RA 10153, to “study, review and propose amendments for the Organic Act of the ARMM (RA 9054) particularly in this point in time where positive developments are made in the Peace Processes in Mindanao.”

The government and MILF peace panels on April 24 signed a ten-point agreement on “Decision Points on Principles as of April 2012” where they agreed, among other points, that the status quo is unacceptable and that they would “work for the creation of a new autonomous political entity in place of the ARMM.”

The statement also explained they would “continuously cherish the great efforts of our forefathers and the current self-determination struggle of our people for the enhancement of meaningful self-rule and to ensure better life for the Bangsamoro people” and that they would conduct “regular consultation and hearing among constituents and sectors.”

The statement acknowledged they are “racing against time” in conducting district and sectoral consultations, given that RA 10153 which mandates them to“conduct a study and review” of RA 9054, the law that amended RA 6734, the Organic Act that created the ARMM,  provides that they “submit recommendations to the Congress of the Philippines within six months from their assumption into office.”

The OIC legislators have until November 14 this year to submit its recommendations.

The statement added that they are “strongly determined to be a functional Regional Legislative Assembly, aiming to effect change and timely passage of meaningful legislative measures.”

The six “minority” members are  Khadafe Mangudadatu of Maguindanao,  Rajam Akbar of Basilan, Ziaur-Rahman Adiong of Lanao del Sur’s 1^st district,  Yasser Alonto Balindong and Alexander Bolot-Malawani Menor of Lanao del Sur’s 2^nd district, and Abdel Sangkula Anni of Sulu’s 2^nd district.

Khadafe  is a brother of Maguindanao Governor Toto Mangudadatu; Ziaur-Rahman is a brother of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong and former Acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto Adiong; Rajam is sister of the late governor Wahab Akbar and sister-in-law of  the incumbent governor Jum Akbar; Yasser is the son of Rep. Pangalian Balindong; Menor ran as in independent candidate in 2008 while Anni was the running mate of  Governor Sakur Tan who lost in the 2010 polls.

The 21 “majority” members are  Basilan’s Juni Ilimin, Jarah “Jerry” A. Hamja, Rajam Akbar; Lanao del Sur 1^st district’s Atty. Majul U. Gandamra and Mitmug; Lanao del Sur 2^nd district’s Sittie Norhanie H. Lao; Maguindanao 1^st district’s Suharto Ibay, Arafat S. Kusain, and Romeo K. Sema; Maguindanao 2^nd district’s  Bassir D. Utto, Rahima D. Alba; Sulu 1^st district’s Mahendra A. Madjilon, Satrina Tulawie and Nedra Burahan; Sulu 2^nd district’s Irene P. Tillah, Abdel S. Anni and Atty. Bhydir B. Sarapudin; Tawi-tawi lone district’s Rodolfo A. Bawasanta, Dayang Carlsum Sangkula-Jumaide, and Nurjay N. Sahali; and sectoral representatives Yasir Pangadapun Naga, Deonato Mokudef,  and Samira A. Gutoc.  (MindaNews)

Reynaldo Legaste, South Cotabato agriculture officer, said the continuing rains in the last two weeks have helped revive some 3,000 hectares of standing palay crops in the province’s upper valley area that were earlier at risk of devastation due to the intense summer heat and the lack of irrigation.

South Cotabato’s upper valley area, which is considered as the province’s rice granary, comprises the municipalities of Banga, Surallah, T’boli, Norala, Sto. Nino and Lake Sebu.

On May 1, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) closed down the Allah River Irrigation System (RIS), the area’s main irrigation source, to undergo repair and rehabilitation for three months.

Local agriculture and NIA personnel earlier noted that the closure of Allah RIS dams 1 and 2 would affect around 9,000 hectares of palay farms in South Cotabato and an additional 2,000 hectares in Sultan Kudarat.

Legaste said they informed local palay farmers as early as December regarding the irrigation facility’s scheduled rehabilitation but most of them still gambled to plant several weeks before it closed down.

Of the 6,000 hectares that were planted, he said they initially expected that around 50 percent or 3,000 hectares would eventually dry up due to the closure of the Allah RIS.

“(The rains) saved our farmlands from totally drying up. If the present condition continues until the end of the month, we’ll have around 6,000 hectares of palay ready for the next harvest,” he said in a radio interview.

South Cotabato and other parts of Region 12 or the Soccsksargen Region have been experiencing almost daily rains in the last two weeks due to the expanded Low Pressure Area and Intertropical Convergence Zone that affected Mindanao.

Dante Ariola, weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) station here, said residents should expect more rains in the coming days based on the present weather pattern.

He said the area’s climate is already on transition from summer to the rainy season, which usually intensifies in the months of June and July.

Meantime, aside from palay, Legaste said around 36,000 hectares of the province’s corn farmlands were also benefiting from the present rainy period.

He said most of the standing corn crops were situated in the upland areas, which normally depend on rain for irrigation.

“Our corn crops are in good situation right now because the dry period has not extended up to this month,” Legaste said.

But he said they are closely monitoring the impact of the rains on the province’s fruit production, especially of mangoes and other tropical fruits.

“Summer is normally the flowering stage for our mangoes, lanzones and rambutan. We’re just hoping that the rains will not hamper our fruit production,” he added. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)

GOLD PANNING. Life goes on for these local settlers inside the mining area in Barangay Mat-i, Surigao City where seven men died inside a tunnel probably due to "oxygen deprivation" on May 10, 2012. Photo by Vanessa L. Almeda

Avila is still recuperating at the Caraga Regional Hospital here and still awaiting several other X-ray results to determine his total condition, Dr. Chery Gotinga told MindaNews.

He said it was his father Bernardino and Manong Baste, who first came to the city and joined the gold rush area now in the middle of a debacle with a local water utility firm over the Capitol-initiated proposal to convert the illegal mining site into a “Minahang Bayan” or a people’s small-scale mining area.

Berdan only followed early in January join his Papa. But when asked why they had to leave their place, which according to him is still lush and green, the young man chose to keep quiet.

It was his stepmother, Angelita, who told this reporter that it was the promise of a good life that led her family to come to the small-scale mining area. “We were encouraged because we know some whose lives improved, who now have concrete houses,” Angelita said.

Berdan said he will go home to his hometown in San Agustin, Surigao del Sur to recuperate, but he will return in Sitio Pinaypayan, Barangay Mat-i, this city, to enter another tunnel and look for gold.

“His condition is improving,” Gotinga said, adding that attending doctors made the patient undergo a head and elbow scan to determine his full condition. The patient is said to have suffered an abrasion at the back of his head, which Gotinga said could explain why he still suffers nausea.

Fateful day

It was still 7:30 in the morning of Thursday when Berdan’s Uncle Julius told fellow abanteros Jomar “Loloy” Estrella and Dexter Antipac (not Antipaz as earlier reported) to retrieve a hose at Tunnel 12. (Abanteros are mine workers who do the work inside the tunnels, as against the atraseros who bring the ores out.)

Berdan said the two had not eaten their breakfast yet, except for a cup of coffee to warm their stomachs.

Unfortunately, there had been no mining operations in Tunnel 12, and so there was no blower machine installed there to supply oxygen inside the tunnel.

After a few minutes, when Estrella and Antipac did not return, it was then that his Uncle Julius went to fetch his co-miners in the same tunnel, Berdan said.

It was at this juncture that when his uncle also did not return, his father Bernardino sought the help of other miners and went to Kapinohan where Tunnel 19 is supposed to be operating.

Berdan said there were about 10 of them who went to Tunnel 12. At this time, the group was already suspecting that the men were already dead as they already saw bodies slumped inside the tunnel.

The young man said it was Delvin Antipac who went first. But then when Antipac also failed to return, Faustino Pacquiao followed, and then also his older brother Baste.

When his brother did not surface, another fellow miner identified as Joel also went inside the tunnel. But according to Berdan, Joel only went inside briefly and rushed his way out. He said Joel immediately vomited upon getting out of the tunnel.

By this time, the miners already had the blower machine functioning and so oxygen was now available inside, and thus Berdan went inside the tunnel.

But 10 meters into the tunnel, he started to feel nauseated from the smell coming from the tunnel, which he said smelled of earth, and then went unconscious. “I was maybe just seven arms’ length inside the tunnel when I fell, my head hitting the ground first,” Berdan said, holding his head.

The smell of earth was the last thing he remembered. He regained consciousness at the hospital.

Unanswered question

Berdan was quiet when asked if it was true that the group did not ask permission from the tunnel owner when they entered it. It was his stepmother who said that they also do not know since it was the team leader, Julius, who knew about it. “But he is already dead so we cannot give you an answer on that,” Angelita said.

Distraught father

Berdan’s father, Bernardino, is still distraught. Like his son, he has not been eating properly since the accident.

The stepmother, Angelita said the Nagkahiusang Gagmay’ng Minero (NAGAMI) came to visit them and offered to assist. She said the NAGAMI will talk with the funeral parlor owner.

Earlier, NAGAMI said they will be extending a small financial assistance to the families of the victims.

There have been no word yet from local government officials. (Vanessa L. Almeda / MindaNews)

Joy Celeste Alora, information officer of the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II), said Monday the daily rotating brownouts in the area have gone down to “minimal level” since the middle of last week after Napocor increased the cooperative’s power allocation by 25 megawatts (MW).

“They increased our supply contract to 79 MW when Pulangi IV (hydroelectric plant) was restored to the Mindanao grid. We still have power curtailments but they’re very minimal,” she told MindaNews.

Some areas in the city experienced brownouts lasting 30 minutes to an hour during the period, which Alora said were mainly due to line trouble repairs and its de-loading scheme.

Napocor reduced Socoteco II’s monthly supply contract to 54 MW for the month of April and further slashed it to 45 MW when it shut down the Pulangi plant in Bukidnon last April 17 to undergo repair and rehabilitation.

The repair works on the 255-MW Pulangi IV hydroelectric plant was completed last May 8, or nine days ahead of its original target. During the Pulangi plant’s closure, Socoteco II received an augmentation of 35 MW from the Aboitiz-owned Therma Marine, Inc. but it remained short of 25 MW based on its peak requirement of 105 MW.

This prompted the electric cooperative to implement daily rotating brownouts in four phases lasting about four hours each, or a total of 16 hours for the areas served by its 44 feeder stations.

Socoteco II serves this city, the entire Sarangani province and the municipalities of Tupi and Polomolok in South Cotabato.

For this week, Alora said they have not yet issued any advisory or schedule for the rotating brownouts but noted that local consumers should expect some curtailments since Mindanao’s overall power situation has remained “under red alert” based on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) advisory to power cooperatives.

As of Monday morning, NGCP said Mindanao’s power capacity stands at 1,174 MW or still 74 MW short of its 1,245-MW peak power demand.

But Alora said the current power deficit is much lower now when compared to the shortage on Monday last week that reached 350 MW based on the NGCP’s advisory.

“We hope that the situation will further improve in the coming days so we can also cut down on our use of the backup power from Aboitiz (TMI),” she said.

Alora said the power augmentation from TMI is mainly drawn from diesel-fired power barges, which are more costly to operate when compared to the hydroelectric plants.

From the P6.5618 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) in March, she said Socoteco II raised its minimum rate for residential consumers to P6.9027 per kwh for April due to the increased utilization of TMI’s backup power.

But for this month, she said they expect the charges to go down by about 70 centavos because of the increased power allocation from NAPOCOR. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)

Pimentel, Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) president, has described Zubiri as a “thorn” in the UNA political coalition during a press conference here Sunday night.

Pimentel’s declaration came after Zubiri’s statement that there was no stopping him from joining the (UNA) and most likely its 2013 senatorial slate.

UNA is a newly-formed political coalition of PDP-Laban headed by Vice President Jejomar Binay as its chairman and Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) headed by former President Joseph Estrada.

Pimentel said that as a matter of principle Zubiri should not be accommodated into the political coalition.

“He (Zubiri) stays with Lakas and run. Why join the PMP?” Pimentel asked.

The Pimentel-Zubiri squabble started in the 2010 elections where Pimentel protested over Zubiri’s proclamation, the latter having garnered the 12th (and last ) senatorial position, with Pimentel trailing by only less than 20,000 votes. Pimentel cited massive cheating, particularly in Maguindanao under the reign of the Ampatuans, where he lost heavily to Zubiri.

After a protracted electoral protest, both in the Commission on Elections and in the Senate Electoral Tribunal, Zubiri resigned as senator in August 2011, four years after the elections. Pimentel was finally sworn in as senator a few days after, with the SET ruling that he led Zubiri by over 250,000 votes.

Pimentel said he will officially file a complaint before the coalition’s executive committee against the entry of Zubiri into the senatorial slate of UNA.

Pimentel, along with four others – namely, Senator Gregorio Honasan (Independent), Representatives Jackie Enrile (PMP), Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito (PMP) and Jose de Venecia III (PDP-Laban) – are so far among the five candidates for senators announced by UNA.

Pimentel said he would not also leave his party for the sake of accommodating Zubiri by UNA.

“I will stick it out with my party,” he declared. “Let him run with Lakas and you can vote for him,” he added. (MindaNews)

USM officials, however, urged enrollees to pay in full the tuition and miscellaneous fees during enrolment to defray salaries and wages of their contractual and job order employees and other maintenance and operating costs for the whole semester.

But if students could not afford it, school officials proposed they pay at least half of it, according to Dr. Antonio Tacardon, USM’s vice president for academic affairs.

“The money that would be collected from miscellaneous fees would be used to finance students’ laboratory activities,” said Tacardon.

The school has also strict policy against fixers.

“We advise students not to ask help from the fixers when enrolling. This is not allowed here,” said Tacardon.

Last month, the CHED allowed a 10-percent hike in tuition of the colleges and universities all over the country. But the schools can only increase tuition if they had submitted the necessary requirements, which include a letter of intent to increase fees, consultation with students and parents, and certificates of consultation and intended compliance.

Seventy percent of the increase are supposed to go to the salaries of the teachers while the rest should be directed to the improvement of school equipment and facilities.

The USM has more than 15,000 students in at least three campuses in Kabacan, Arakan Valley, and in Kidapawan City, all in North Cotabato.

The USM campuses have a total land area of 5,129.97 hectares – its main campus in Kabacan town has 1,024 hectares; and annexes campuses in Arakan Valley, 4,091 hectares; and USM-Kidapawan City Campus, 14.97 hectares.

Most of its land is used for agricultural projects. (Malu Cadeliña Manar / MindaNews)

In an interview Monday, City Deputy Fire Marshall Sr. Insp. Pedro B. Felicilda said the owner of Novo is liable under Republic Act 9514, Section 11.001, which states that it is strictly prohibited to lock fire exits.

Felicilda was saddened after learning that their counterparts in Butuan City received flak over the Butuan fire.

He stressed that the owner of the building are the ones responsible to follow the laws.

“It is in the Fire Code not to lock fire exits, so there was intent to violate the Code,” said Felicilda. “Ignorance of the law excuses no one,” he stressed.

Similar to the burned Novo store in Butuan, the branch located at Velez St. here also used to be a cinema house. Felicilda said the branch here houses 20 employees.

He noted that many similar establishments owned by Filipino-Chinese businessmen house their employees inside the store, usually in the second floor, while the exit doors are locked with padlocks.

“We have issued a notice to comply with the Fire Code today. They will be given 15 days to comply,” he said.

Last week, Felicilda said they conducted a surprise inspection of the Novo branch here. “As usual, the fire exits were open because it was daytime. Nevertheless, we will conduct a surprise night inspection to be sure they are following the Fire Code,” he said.

He said that first violation of Section 10.001 of the Fire Code metes a penalty ranging from P37,500 up to P50,000.

Felicilda added that the owner of Novo can be charged “administratively, in (violation of the Fire Code resulting to multiple homicides) and also held liable criminally for gross negligence which resulted to multiple homicides.”

“It is understandable that owners of stores like Novo would lock even the fire exits to deter pilferage and robbery. But these should be locked from the inside and not with a padlock because in times of emergencies such as fire, one cannot have the time to look for the key. A simple bolt lock should be sufficient,” said Felicilda.

“If they want they can also invest in installing one-way and self-locking doors just like those used in cinema houses in the malls,” he added.

“Even before we received the memorandum from the regional director (OIC Superintendent Lindy C. Lauzon), we conduct regular inspections of disco houses, dorms, boarding houses,” Felicilda said. Specially mentioned in the memorandum were mercantile and textile shops like the Novo Jeans and Shirts Company.

This reporter tried to interview the branch manager of Novo but one of the saleslady, who refused to give her name, said their “branch manager is out of town.” (Cong B. Corrales / MindaNews)

Repeatedly scored by Presiding Judge Juan Ponce Enrile for “cluttering” the trial by presenting “immaterial and irrelevant” witnesses, the defense panel dropped the bombshell last week by offering its client in the witness stand in exchange for the appearances of several personalities in connection with Corona’s alleged dollar account or accounts.

Ironically, one of them might just be the kind of witness that will open a Pandora’s Box on how the Chief Justice is presiding over the country’s High Magistrate. One who knows the tightly guarded inner workings of the Supreme Court. One who could have in her possession details of his foreign currency deposits. One who is his nemesis.

Corona and his wife must also feel so alone with relatives of his spouse coming out in the open to further reveal the character of the Chief Justice. While the family feud over the Basa-Guidote property and corporation is not included in any of the articles of impeachment, it has become a telling and damning sidebar of the Corona trial.

Corona and his lawyers must have seen the futility of weaving a story for his defense without the accused himself offering his direct testimony.

They could and should have already presented their best evidences to refute all charges against the Chief Justice after a break of over a month. But with the patience of the senator-judges growing very thin every time the defense presents witnesses that only prove the existence of these and those documents that otherwise can be had through judicial notice, even former Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas now admits that only Corona can save himself.

By agreeing to testify and defend himself before the Senate Impeachment Court, Corona has crossed his Rubicon.

And he might as well just being candid when his lawyers said he will drag President Benigno Aquino III to wherever his trial will eventually end up. Corona has repeatedly claimed the President was behind the move to impeach him and hope that the potential hostile witnesses he asked the Impeachment Court to be subpoenaed will buttress his defense theory. If that is the case, Corona is no longer as interested in defending himself as to bringing down with him the Aquino government. If not now, at least in the future. (Edwin G. Espejo writes for www.asiancorrespondent.com.)

Nobody bothered to explain why, but for the boys of summer, this ritual serves as an anesthetic. After all, there are no surgical knives for the pain and no antiseptics for the cut. The quivering will dull the pain and minimize the flow of blood. No disinfectant and povidone-iodine solutions to prevent infection.

For the boys, it was the old fashion young guava shoots chewed then spit on the slit of the foreskin that serves as roadside antiseptic.

Yes, those were the days when pubescent boys in very loose T-shirts sans underwear nervously form the beeline for their turn to the annual summer ritual also known as circumcision.

Those were the rude days when elderly uncles or gandpas initiate them into manhood. With homemade knives crafted by your neighborhood blacksmiths (are they still around?) serving as the only “surgical” instrument. The pointed tip of the razor-sharp knife is inserted into the foreskin of the penis and hammered by a wrist-size branch instantly cutting an incision (traditionally called pukpok). The sight is ghastly to some. For others, it’s a fulfillment of a promise and entry into the “brotherhood of men.”

After all, no Filipino kid wants to be teased “supot” or uncircumcised.

Not all however are fans of circumcision.

Some have called it mutilation.

Others said today’s practice of lopping and snipping the foreskin of infants is unethical and a form of human rights violation.

Human Rights Watch director for Asia Carlos Conde said “circumcision should only be done on adults.”

“I know it’s just the foreskin but how is circumcision different from genital mutilation? And doing it on infants doesn’t make it any less barbaric – on the contrary, cutting the child makes it even more reprehensible because the thinking behind it is the child could only cry out in pain, not curse those who cause the pain,” the former New York Times correspondent said.

The Department of Health has issued an advice for those who will undergo circumcision to be psychologically ready.

With the increasing prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the DoH agrees with medical science that circumcision, one of the few rituals that both the Jews and the Arabs share in common, helps prevent the spread of the AIDS-leading virus.

Yes, circumcision is as old as religion with close to 70 percent of Muslims worldwide being circumcised.

According to a Wikipedia entry, “circumcision is most prevalent in the Muslim world, parts of Southeast Asia, Africa, the United States, the Philippines, Israel, and South Korea.

“It is relatively rare in Europe, Latin America, parts of Southern Africa, and most of Asia and Oceania. Prevalence is near-universal in the Middle East and Central Asia.

But still, more than half of the world’s male population is not circumcised by reason of culture and tradition.

One Filipino blogger, in fact, has dedicated his blog extolling the “virtues” of being supot (http://supotandproud.blogspot.com/), a derision that sometimes lead to fatal confrontation.

In the Philippines, especially in the provinces, local government officials are leading summer drives for kids to undergo this annual rite of passage.

Modern science and wider access to health care are however now affording kids painless incisions with antibiotics and antiseptic to boot when they go home. But elsewhere it is still the old fashion way.

Now, go jump into the river! (Edwin Espejo / MindaNews contributor)

“(It is) so sad to note that our Philippine economy encourages children to labor for (a) living. The government must look into the plight of the poor, strengthen our economic life, (so) that everyone would have equitable share of wealth,” Fr. Nathaniel Lerio, SAC director, said.

Recently, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole 13) rescued 30 children working as haulers of logging operators in Jabonga, Agusan del Norte. Dole 13 formed its “Quick Action Team” in response to a report by Mindanao Goldstar Daily News Caraga Correspondent Ben Serrano on the dire conditions of children employed to haul logs in the upland villages of the towns of Jabonga, Kitcharao, Santiago, Tubay, RTR, Carmen, Buenavista, Nasipit and Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte.

“A profile of the children done by the Quick Reaction Team showed that 10 of the 30 children are in school while 20 are drop-outs with a few reaching only third year high school,” a report on Dole’s official website (http://www.dole.gov.ph/secondpage.php?=2846) reads.

“Almost half of them are between the ages of nine and 12; three are six to 10 years old; six are 13-15 years old; and eight are 16-18 years old,” the same report quoted Dole 13 Regional Director Ofelia Domingo as saying.

For Bangon Kagay-an spokesperson Dr. Bob Ocio,  the persistence of child labor, especially in the impoverished rural villages in the country, is a testament to government’s “neglect.”

“Child laborers who were rescued in Agusan (del Norte) were doing the most unthinkable and unspeakable kind of oppression — dragging those logs for a kilometer or so on foot. It shows how the government (has neglected) its own people and (its) wrong sense of priority for it could have rescued those (children) earlier by providing the means to livelihood and education which are rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” he said.

With the mid-term elections fast approaching, Ocio said the  “batang karabaw exposé in Agusan should serve as a wake-up call to all Cagayanons to vote local officials who will commit to address and implement livelihood and environmental programs in the (city’s hinterland barangays).”

“As early as today, Bangon Kagay-an proposes for a new local government to take the lead (in creating and establishing) an alternative, comprehensive, sustainable and ecologically viable livelihood program (in the city’s upland barangays) where this kind of oppression is most likely practiced because of the absence of government programs in those areas. Bangon Kagay-an has established an interim core group (for this),” he said.

“The loggers do not only destroy the environment but they insult the very essence of humanity—respect for human rights and the children’s right to humane treatment,” added Ocio.

Edwin Dael, supervising agriculturist at the City Agriculture Office said child labor is “the result of areas that were once very rich in natural resources but have been exploited by greedy people.”

“The people, especially children, will be the first victims of this greed. Look at Barangay Tagpangi (one of the city’s 40 rural villages) that was once very rich in forest products. (It is) now a very sleepy town. Who benefits (from) this exploitation—of course—the (outsiders and not the residents of the place),” he said.

Worse, he added, the damage done in the hinterland villages are irreversible. Dael recently finished a course on Tropical Plantation Forestry and Rehabilitation of Degraded Lands at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Noel Mora, spokersperson of Save CdO Movement said in an e-mail that  it’s time to “promote green homes as opposed to homes boasting of using hardwood materials.”

Save CdO Movement started as an online forum for local residents to protest this city government’s perceived “poor” response at the wake of Tropical Storm Sendong last year. The group has since morphed into citizen-led movement advocating for good governance and transparency in government.

“It is a reflection of a very complex social problem. We need to survive so we work. To have a better job, we get education. But along the way, we realize that it is not that simple. Man has somehow created a social structure based not really on merit but on greed. I have seen carpets in Egypt woven by children. Granting that I could afford to buy, I would not,” said Mora.  (Cong Corrales/MindaNews)

SPO3 Norberto Calayca, investigator at the Makilala police, identified the victims as brothers Marlon Sulutan, 36, and Randy, 32,  both farmers and residents of Purok-Eden, Barangay Cabilao in Makilala town.

Marlon was president of the BarangayDefense System (BDS) of Barangay Cabilao, which the New People’s Army (NPA) had repeatedly said was a tool of the military in its anti-insurgency campaign.

The brothers suffered multiple chest wounds from M14 armalite rifles, Calayco said.

Makilala mayor Rudy Caoagdan ordered a thorough probe on the Sulutan murders. “This was a case of a summary execution done by the NPA,” he said.

Marlon’s wife, Gwen, said some 60 fully-armed men who  identified themselves as members of the NPA) arrived at their house at  around 7 p.m., on Saturday, looking for her husband.

Marlon was not around. Gwen said she led them to where he was, near the church, drinking with some friends.

When she presented Marlon to the armed men who identified themselves as NPA, they immediately chained him and brought him to the basketball court near the barangay hall, Gwen said.

Another group of armed men brought Randy to the same place, she said.

Barangay Cabilao chair Gideon Bugoy quoted the armed men as saying the brothers committed grave mistakes to the community and to the NPA and that they deserved to die.

“I was shocked, fearful of what’s going to happen.   But I knew he was going to die,” Gwen said.

She explained that if she did not bring Marlon to them, they would probably massacre her family –  her three children, two nieces, her father and stepmother.

Bugoy said that minutes after the Sulutan brothers were presented to the community, they were brought near the river, just few meters away from the village center, where they were shot.

Bugyo said they heard six gunshots.

He said they retrieved the bodies of the brothers after the armed men left.

At around 8 a.m., on Sunday, the bodies were brought to the Torreda Funeral Homes in Makilala town.

Marn, Marlon’s eldest child, wants justice for his father’s and uncle’s death.

The NPA has not issued a statement on the killing of the Sulatan brothers which came two weeks after  it raided a detachment of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in nearby Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur. Two NPA members were killed. (Malu Cadelina-Manar/MindaNews)

He was 77 years old.

“UPLM is deeply saddened by the loss of Atty. Gapuz, fondly called Tatay or Manong, for his inspiring and exemplary commitment as peoples’ lawyer, nationalist and defender of  peoples’ rights spanning six decades,” the statement read.

Gapuz served as  UPLM chair from its founding in July 2005 until his death.

In 2008, he was also elected as the National President of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).  He was later elevated as the President Emeritus of NUPL.

Gapuz was also among the leaders of  the Concerned Lawyers’ Union of Mindanao for Nationalism (COLUMN),  founded in 2004 while still under martial law.

UPLM was organized in July 2005 to respond to the needs of the times, for more lawyers to attend to a seemingly ever increasing number of cases of human rights violations in Mindanao.

That’s what “human rights lawyers” of Mindanao did in 1984, when they organized COLUMN, that’s what “peoples’ lawyers” or public interest lawyers did in 2005.

“This is a big continuation,” Gapuz told MindaNews  in 2005. He was 71 then, a veteran of the parliamentary of the streets.

At that time, Gapuz cited one difference between COLUMN and UPLM: “when we were in COLUMN, we were concerned primarily on legal defense but right now, we in UPLM… we must not only legally defend them but we must help our people understand the structure that may have given rise to the situation because whether we like it or not, do we really have a democracy? No we have an autocracy, an elite democracy.”

UPLM said that aside from COLUMN, Gapuz was also active in the Movement for Civil Liberaties.

“As a nationalist, he once said that his blood boils when he senses oppression and exploitation. As an aspiring lawyer in the 50’s, he was already at the forefront in the fight against the American Parity Rights and the US military bases,” the statement read.

“As UPLM chair, he lent a strong voice in Mindanao campaigns for defense of human rights and respect of social justice amidst threats of impunity and militarism in the island,” UPLM said, adding Gapuz had shown “that peoples’ lawyering is a lifetime devotion for the poor who need their rights to be defended.” (MindaNews)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/13 May) — MILF Panel Chairman Mohagner Iqbal’s opening and brief closing statements strongly state the MILF position as of April 2012 for all to know and for Government to consider in relation to the “Decision” while pursuing the negotiations on substantive issues. Government knows. OPAPP Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, in the April 26 OPAPP report, saw the ensuing negotiations to be “tough and serious”.

Three top MILF officials have spoken to media in relation to the “Decision” – MILF Chairman Al Had Murad Ebrahim, MILF Vice Chairman for Political Affairs Ghadzali Jaafar and MILF Panel Member Maulana Alonto. With Iqbal, they affirmed the MILF position: The “new autonomous political entity” must be the substate envisioned in the MOA-AD as revised in the MILF Draft Agreement 2011 – call it by whatever name.

Murad spoke to the MILF military and political leaders (Luwaran, April 26). He said of the “Decision”: “This is a breakthrough in the almost two-year drought in talks under the Aquino administration.” He also considered it a “far-sighted shift from the government’s ‘three-for-one’ formula”. However, he told the Moros not to be complacent but to pray for the success of the negotiations as “the road ahead is more rugged and tricky”.

The success of the talks, he emphasized, hinges on how the negotiations on substantive issues can institute the “transition mechanism” to empower “the Moros to exercise self-determination” as “part of the larger agenda”.

Alonto, to quote Luwaran of April 25, “said that this document (Decision) is vital to the success of the negotiation for a new political entity in the form of a Moro substate” that will replace the ARMM. He then qualified that this “new substate political entity” will be established into “the ministerial form of Bangsamoro government”.

To quote Luwaran further, “He also said that this would fulfill the MILF’s formula of transforming the totality of relationships between the Philippine state and the Bangsmoro into an asymmetrical state-substate arrangement consonant with the right to self-determination of the Bangsamoro people.”  He notednoting that the arrangement precludes the MILF”s “option to secede”.

Jaafar, as reported by the Philippine Star and Philippine Daily Inquirer on April 30, 2012, together with some senior members of theMILF Central Committee held a press conference in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao last April 29. As vice chairman for political affairs, his thinking about the “Decision” in relation to the peace process and the on-going negotiations is most significant.

The two leading national papers cited or quoted him as saying:

About the “Decision”: It is not the answer to the Bangsamoro problem, “…not an agreement which will address the Bangsamoro issue”. It will only serve as guide in the succeeding talks aimed at resolving the conflict in Mindanao. (Philstar)

He must be cautioning against the optimism that with the “Decision” the much-awaited peace agreement is just around the corner when he stressed “that as far as the MILF is concerned, it will only enter into a peace agreement with the government if the problem of the Bangsamoro is totally and truthfully addressed”. (Philstar)

At a glance, he sounds contradictory. Government and MILF have agreed to resolve the Bangsamoro problem through the “Decision”. Why is it not the answer to the problem? But on reflection, he must be saying that as guide, the “Decision” may or may not lead the talks to the total and truthful solution to the Bangsamoro problem.

The Solution: After MILF “has abandoned its bid for total independence, the only solution is full autonomy”. This Bangsamoro government “will exist and function under the national government”. (Philstar)

As a political solution to the Bangsamoro problem the “new autonomous political entity” must be the Bangsamoro substate; MILF has not changed the core of the political settlement it has been seeking. (Philstar)

Confusing?

This Philstar report may be confusing to the Manila media and to those in the majority that rely mostly on reports from government sources or that consider reports from Mindanao reliable only when these check with sources in Manila. Most reports about the “GPH-MILF Decision Points on Principle” in Manila media were practically the same coming from Leonen or Deles. Generally, the reports were upbeat on the prospects of having a peace agreement at last with appeals for support from the people.

The April 29 commentary of Rene O. Bas, editor-in-chief of The Manila Times, is most revealing.  He said that at first he could not believe the April 24 reports of Al Jacinto and Munir Jannaral, the Times correspondents in Mindanao, on the MILF views concerning the “Decision” — that it has not abandoned its “substate” position — for being contrary to the stories of Manila reporters. He finally balanced the diverse sources; in his editorial, he profusely quoted Leonen and MILF to come out with positive and fair opinion.

In his commentary, Bas quoted extensively Luwaran stories sourced from Murad and Alonto – obviously avoiding the risk of misunderstanding or of being misunderstood. What must have finally put Bas to rest was Al Jacinto’s interview with Iqbal. Bas said:

“Subsequently, Correspondent Al Jacinto was granted an interview by MILF panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal, who confirmed the correctness of the ‘fact’ that the MILF still wants their political entity that will replace – subsume – the ARMM to be a sub-state.”

Quoting Al Jacinto’s story:

“Whatever the new Muslim entity that will be put up in the South will be called, it will still be a sub-state as far as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is concerned.

“MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said that the MILF and the government panels have yet to decide what to call the new entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) based on the ’10 Decision Points on Principle’ signed by the two panels on Tuesday in Malaysia which is seen as a ‘breakthrough’ in the peace talks.”

Bas quoted more of Al Jacinto’s interview with Iqbal and the Luwaran report of Murad’s comments on the “Decision” and his call for “prayers” for the success of the negotiations. For more clarity, he ended his commentary with a paragraph – “Dean Leonen is right, too” citing his clarification that the “Decision” is “far from being the final agreement”.

Name It BMSG

In that same press conference last April 30, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Jaafar as having suggested that the new autonomous political entity (NAPE) “shall be called the Bangsamoro State Government or BMSG”. This will be composed of the present ARMM and adjacent areas subject to future negotiations.

This must be Jaafar’s “personal” choice, consonant with Iqbal’s personal choices as quoted by The Manila Times: “Moro state, Moro sub-state, Moroland,Moro country, or simply Bangsamoro.”

At this point, this much is the understanding: MILF has agreed to abandon its bid for independence and opted instead for full autonomy to be a part of the Philippine State and under the supervision of the President. The government agreed to create NAPE out of ARMM as the “full autonomy” for MILF; the NAPE, however, is not a sub-state – not a state separate from the Republic.

The term “sub-state” is very sensitive; it is nowhere to be found in the “Decision”. It appears MILF is willing to accept any name for the “full autonomy” without the specific use of “subs-state” as long as it is essentially the sub-state envisioned in MILF Draft Agreement 2011 or the Revised MILF Comprehensive Compact.

The MILF insistence that NAPE is still a “sub-state” and Jaafar’s suggestion that is shall be called BSMG will surely be sticking points in the ensuing negotiations.   (“Comment” is Mr. Patricio P. Diaz’ column for MindaViews, the opinion section of MindaNews. The Titus Brandsma Media Awards honored Mr. Diaz with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his “commitment to education and public information to Mindanawons as Journalist, Educator and Peace Advocate.” You can reach him at patpdiazgsc@yahoo.com.)

(To be Concluded: Recap: Rough Road Ahead)

The city government re-scheduled the massive and simultaneous clean-up drive on dengue preventive measures from Saturday, May 12  to Tuesday, May 15.

City Health Officer Dr. Rodelin Agbulos said on Saturday that they decided to re-schedule the activity to give them ample time to properly inform and encourage the residents’ participation.

Last Wednesday, Mayor Celso Lobregat declared a dengue outbreak following the report on732 cases with nine fatalities for the first four months of the year.

In declaring a dengue outbreak, Lobregat cited records from the City Health Office showing that dengue cases have reached outbreak level in April requiring urgent and uninterrupted measures to search and destroy breeding places of dengue carrier mosquitoes.

Agbulos said the outbreak threshold for the month of April is 225 cases but the actual reported cases for the period reached 234.

The dengue cases that have registered for the past four months this year are higher by 426 cases compared to last year’s  306 covering the same period.

The city government has allocated P553,000 from its emergency funds  to purchase larvicides and other chemicals to be used in the campaign against dengue.

Agbulos said he met all officials from the city’s 98 barangays on Friday to seek their support and cooperation in the fight against dengue.

During the meeting, Agbulos said Lobregat has distributed mosquito swatters to the barangay officials to help in the preventive measures.

Lobregat emphasized there is an urgent need to undertake immediate interventions to control and prevent the spread of dengue fever in this city by implementing the “4S” strategy of the Department of Health (DOH) but not limited to the following: search and destroy breeding sites of dengue mosquitoes, self protection (using mosquito nets, repellent, protecting clothing, seek early consultation and management and say no to indiscriminate fogging.

He has also appealed for voluntary blood donations to ensure availability of supply of blood for dengue patients at the local Red Cross blood bank.

Agbulos also convened the representatives of private hospitals and other health facilities including the Zamboanga City Medical Center and other health personnel to talk on the possibility of setting up fast lanes for dengue patients. (MindaNews)

Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan said has approved the formulation of a Provincial Tourism Master Plan (PTMP) to establish a clear direction and provide the necessary information and strategies to develop a viable tourism industry in the province.

In a press statement, Tan said  Sulu’s natural beauty, unique environment structure and refined white sand beachfronts are a come-on to local and foreign travellers.

A tourism multi-stakeholders forum was held on Wednesday at the provincial capitol to gather insights into the development and identification of potential tourist destinations in the province.

Those who attended the forum include Zamboanga Peninsula Tourism Director Mary June Bugante and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-Department of Tourism (ARMM-DOT) Assistant Regional Secretary Bai Shalimar Candao.

“The people of Sulu are losing so much for years of neglect of these untapped resources, the development of tourism in Sulu can be the biggest source of income and revenue for the province and its people,” Tan stressed.

No mention was made as to how the province would address the security situation, Sulu being associated with the Abu Sayyaf and kidnappings, among others.

But Tan told MindaNews in a text message that the security situation is “far better than many other places that claim to have no peace and order problem.”

“Ours is only imagined and perceived by people who have never come to Sulu at all and those who have not returned in months and even years,” he added.

“I hope no new groups are organized that may just disturb the peace and quiet,” Tan said.

The province, he said in the press statement, has  a number of fine beaches such as the one-kilometer long white sand Maubo Beach in municipality of Patikul, the town next to Jolo, the capital of the province.

He said Sulu is also known for its excellent diving spots, the best of which is Tubbataha Reef, a 33,200-hectare underwater splendor drawing divers from all over the world with its marvelous marine wilderness and special ecosystem; that the  Sulu Sea is dotted with coral reefs,  with attractions like the pearl farm at Marungas Island. (MindaNews)

Rubber tapper Samson Dayanan, 49, was bitten by one of their puppies sometime in March, his wife Malou said.

Malou said the puppy died the next day but her husband just shrugged his shoulders when told the dog might be rabid and that it might kill him.

Last week, Malou said her husband experienced fever and numbness. Later, her husband had hallucinations and became hydrophobic.

When reports about Dayanan’s death reached the City Health Office and City Veterinarian Office, they immediately went to the victim’s place and gave the family doses of anti-rabies vaccine.

The two offices are still verifying reports that another resident died of rabies.

Doctors at the hospital where Dayanan was brought for treatment and where he died,  told the public to be extra cautious of dog bites as the animal might be a carrier of rabies virus.

The freedictionay.com defines rabies as an “acute viral disease of the central nervous system that affects humans and other mammals but is most common in carnivores (flesh-eaters).”

The disease can communicated to humans and is “almost exclusively transmitted through saliva from the bite of an infected animal.”

The disease is also known as hydrophobia, which literally means “fear of water,” a symptom that is reportedly shared by half of all people infected with rabies.

“Other symptoms include fever, depression, confusion, painful muscle spasms, sensitivity to touch, loud noise, and light, extreme thirst, painful swallowing, excessive salivation, and loss of muscle tone. If rabies is not prevented by immunization, it is almost always fatal,” it said. (Malu Manar/MindaNews)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/12 May) –  The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is as eager – or even more – to see a peace agreement coming to stay; but it is cautious. From the statements of its negotiating panel chair and top officials, MILF will engage in the negotiation of substantive issues as agreed in the “Decision” without deviating from the political settlement Government has agreed to in August 1998, June 2001 and June 2010.

‘Rejoice’ and ‘Dare’

MILF Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal did not publish his post-signing remarks – not in the MILF’s  Luwaran; not in other local media like MindaNews (Iqbal’s closing statement was not written but spoken – Ed.) However, attached to the signed documents he sent MindaNews Editor Carolyn O. Arguillas, as well as this writer, he said his “closing remarks was very brief”, summarizing it in four points:

First: He congratulated the facilitator, ICG, GPH and MILF for working hard to give way to the signing of the document.

Second: He said, “Now I can say that we have achieved something to move us away from the stranglehold of the tight situation.”

Third: He cautioned with a dare: “However, while we rejoice with this achievement, I reminded everyone that the real hard works still lies ahead. It is where the devils lie in ambush.  But I dare everyone to face the devils squarely. We will triumph especially if the Aquino administration makes the resolution of the Moro Question a ‘national commitment of his government’.

Fourth: Nevertheless, he was positive: “I am hopeful that with the cooperation and decisiveness of the parties, the GPH, MILF, ICG and the facilitating country or the facilitator, we would be able to sign the comprehensive compact sooner or later.”

Not Doomed

In his opening statement, Iqbal says the “peace negotiation is not doomed” despite that “the current peace negotiation is passing through a very difficult situation” noting that almost “two years into the Aquino administration, the two parties have barely moved from where they left off in 2010”. He pointed out the fact that “the most substantive part of this negotiation leading to the signing of the comprehensive compact is practically untouched”.

He presents three causes of the “very difficult situation” that has paralyzed the peace talks under the Aquino administration — two years since the signing of the June 3, 2010 Declaration of Continuity with the Arroyo government. In his Point 3 above, he says the “sooner or later” signing of a peace agreement largely depends on President Aquino III. Our naughty question: How soon is the “sooner” and how late is the “later”?

1^st: Unitary System

How soon or late a peace agreement can be signed depends on the willingness of the Aquino III government to recognize the unacceptable status quo, its inequities on the Moros and the remedies. This puzzles since this in “Key Point 2” of the “Decision”. Government says it does recognize and has agreed to change it.

Iqbal explains the Bangsamoro perception: “From President Manuel Quezon in 1935 until President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Philippine policy and thinking about the Moros have not basically changed. It is all about incorporating them into the national body politic, treating them as an integral part thereof, and sending the full force of the armed forces when they become restive or unruly.”

The Moros are still waiting for signs of change. “We have yet to see that under the Aquino administration things will start to shape differently and for the better. We still want to see that under his matuwid na daan (straight path) policy, he would agree to do away with the paralyzing effects of [that] status quo or the unitary system” – pointing out the unacceptable – “where subnational units are created and abolished and their powers may be broadened and narrowed, by the central government.” [Emphasis supplied]

The unacceptable status quo is the unitary system. The “much desired” solution: “a shift to the asymmetrical arrangement inherent in a federal system … wherein a group of members are bound together by covenant, with a governing representative head, which provides further that sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces)”.

Where is the “very difficult situation”? The Aquino government and MILF widely differ in their perception of what “unacceptable status quo” is and in how to resolve this issue.

2^nd: Different Approaches

Government and MILF differ in their negotiation approaches, Iqbal pointed out. “For the MILF peace panel, we want to see a process where we agree first on basic principles, concepts, frameworks, and parameters, then the elements, and then the parts or details. Obviously unknown to some, much has been achieved already in this regard.” This relates to “Key Point 3” of the “Decision”.

Iqbal continues to assert that the “basic principles and frameworks and the essential elements of the future Moro entity have been settled and agreed by the parties in many past documents” – enumerating those documents from the General Framework of Intent Between the GRP and the MILF of August 27, 1998 to the Declaration of Continuity for Peace Negotiation between the GPH and the MILF of June 3, 2010.

Why the Parties must negotiate from past agreements: To (1) “understand the current situation and move to the future with greater confidence and speed”; (2) “conduct the negotiation as faithfully as possible”; and (3) achieve “the much desired mutual trust and confidence between the parties [so] vital in moving forward”.

Iqbal relates circumstances MILF considers relevant to this rationale for continuity:

First: The Malaysian facilitator Datuk Othman Bin Abdulrazak, during the 2005 talk impasse, “frankly told not just the MILF peace panel but its Central Committee … that he cannot continue facilitating the talks with a secessionist agenda of the MILF … Either the MILF mellows down its stance to autonomy with no option to secede or the Malaysian government ceases its facilitation”.  MILF yielded after a “series of consultations” that “culminated on May 29-31, 2005 … in Darapanan” which was graced by top officials of the OPAPP and the GRP peace panel. [Emphasis supplied]

Second: The talks during the time of Secretaries Silvestre Afable and Rodolfo Garcia, a retired army general, steadily led to the initialing of the MOA-AD due to the “healthy interpersonal relationships between the [GRP and MILF] peace panels”.

Third: The Supreme Court declared the MOA-AD unconstitutional but “rendered [it not just] little but big justice … by noting ‘that it can be renegotiated or another one will be drawn up to carry out the Ancestral Domain Aspect of the Tripoli Agreement of 2001, in another or in any form, which could contain similar or significantly drastic provisions’.”

He considers it significant that by this decision the Court “conferred upon the Tripoli Agreement of 2001, considered the mother of all agreements between the government and MILF, that validity and binding effect on the government”.

This makes the Tripoli Agreement of 2001 more significant since it “served as the main guiding post for all subsequent agreements most especially that hoped-for ‘new formula’ contained in the proposed comprehensive compact.  This is the reason why the MILF peace panel starts and situates its core position in this negotiation on this framework agreement.”  Obviously, “new formula” refers to the MOA-AD. [Emphasis supplied]

Fourth: Reiterating that “the MILF stance is firmly anchored on the principle of right to self-determination of people” under a litany of international laws and agreements, Iqbal cites the “new formula”: “The negotiation and peaceful resolution of the conflict must involve consultations with the Bangsamoro people free of any imposition in order to provide chances of success and open new formulas that permanently respond to the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people for freedom.”

The Final Message: After his recital, Iqbal restates: “The ultimate goal of the talks is to consider new modalities to end the armed hostilities with responsibility, to protect … human security, [and] to resolve the legitimate grievances and claims for the people of Moro ancestry and origin.”

Recalling the August 27, 1998 General Framework of Agreement of Intent, he avows that MILF is “consistent and faithful” to the GRP-MILF “intention and commitment”,  as stated in Article I of that agreement, to “pursue the peace negotiations on the substantive issues as soon as possible, resolutely continue the negotiation until the parties reach a negotiated political settlement”.

Apologetically, but to emphasize the difference between the GPH and MILF approaches, he lets go his restraint to say bluntly that “even the 3-for-1 proposal put forward by the government is in the category of an old formula that should not have been put forward if only to fast track the ongoing negotiation, as agreed by President Aquino and Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo, Japan on August 4, 2011”. [Emphasis supplied]

To cap the MILF position, Iqbal said it “very frankly”: First, “the MILF cannot slide down anymore lower than our current proposal for the establishment of a substate for our people.”  Second, “the totality of relationship between the Philippine state and Moros, which is so one-sided against the latter, must be altered, if we are to see real peace and development in Mindanao.” Third, “the MILF cannot and will never accept a ‘recooked ARMM even with all the spices and ingredients to make it palatable to the MILF’.”

The MILE appeal to Government is its resolve: “Please do not offer the ARMM or any similar entity to the MILF again, because we will reject it with the same intensity, as we have done before, in 2000, in 2001, in 2003, and in 2010. It is only a waste of time, energy –- and goodwill.”

3^rd: No Meeting of Minds

Iqbal explains in concrete the third cause of the difficult situation which is “there is no joinder of issues. The parties are speaking on dissimilar or irregular wavelengths and measures. The MILF proposes a comprehensive compact, which is what that declaration of continuity document obliges the parties to undertake, while the government puts forward a three-part proposal”. In other words, there are two propositions on the table; resolving one will not satisfy the other. There is no meeting of minds. [Emphasis supplied]

To negotiate the ancestral domain aspect of 2001 Tripoli Agreement, the GRP and MILF panels agreed first on the basic principles then on the strands of ancestral domain to have a common template or pattern. They separately formulated their proposals based on the template, then arranged these in a matrix – Column 1 for MILF proposal, 2 for GRP. The proposals and counterproposals were deliberated point by point – writing the text of the agreed points in Column 3. Where they had disagreements, they continued deliberating.

Iqbal observes: “This meticulous procedure was pursued patiently and objectively until they initialed the MOA-AD on July 27, 2008. … it was not easy … in truth, they … negotiated … for three years and eight months. But the collaborative efforts of the parties, notwithstanding the impasses, non-appearances, and walkouts, cemented their mutual respect with each other that [GRP Panel Chairs Silvestre] Afable or [Rodolfo] Garcia can call on their counterparts from the MILF even at short notice.”

He affirms that “nothing is personal in negotiation”; that “personal cultivation of trust and confidence amongst negotiators … in no small way helps bolster the productiveness of the parties”.  While professing his trust in President Aquino III and “high respect for our current counterparts in the government”, Iqbal is unmistakably saying there is a need for more “joinder of issues” or meeting of minds between the Government and MILF negotiators.

Iqbal’s opening and closing statements at the 27th exploratory talks last month reflect his thinking. Being the chief negotiator, his thinking is the beacon his panel members look up to. Does his thinking mirror the thinking of the MILF chairman and other top MILF officials?. (“Comment” is Mr. Patricio P. Diaz’ column for MindaViews, the opinion section of MindaNews. The Titus Brandsma Media Awards honored Mr. Diaz with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his “commitment to education and public information to Mindanawons as Journalist, Educator and Peace Advocate.” You can reach him at patpdiazgsc@yahoo.com.)
(Next: NAPE or BSMG)

Vilma Coter, a Mamanwa representative told MindaNews on the same day that they won’t budge despite the reported payment of royalty fees on Thursday amounting to P11 million.

In an interview Wednesday, Datu Renante Buklas said the issue is not about the royalty fees but the cease and desist order of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) issued on January 12, 2012 against Shen Zhou mining.

View Claver in a larger map

“Unless the rights of our tribe are not respected we won’t leave,” Buklas said in Cebuano, adding they were perplexed why the local NCIP has not acted on the order until now but instead told them that the company will still operate because it legally holds a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement or MPSA.

He said the royalty fees are not an issue because “this is the obligation of the Shen Zhou.”

On Tuesday, members of the 132nd Regional Public Safety Company (RPSC), Task Force Taganito, soldiers, militiamen, company guards and private security guards stormed the mining site and dismantled makeshift tents and barricades set up by the Mamanwas.

The presence of the group, according to Shen Zhou corporate secretary Jacqueline de Leon was “the decision of the crisis committee” as the company is facing an “ongoing dispute.”

She assured that the company is exercising full restraint in handling the situation and that “there is no harassment. In fact, kami nga ang hindi makaigib nang tubig at hindi makapasok sa site kasi pinigilan nila (we are the ones who could not fetch water nor enter the site).”

Saying the company is willing to pay the Mamanwas, she showed reporters DBP account no. 0850-027398-030 in the names of Shen Zhou Mining Group Corp. and NCIP TF (Trust Fund). The passbook showed that the first deposit was made on January 6, 2011 in the amount of P1.697 million. The last deposit was dated May 5, 2012 in the amount of P7.947 million.

The Mamanwas started their barricade on May 2, last week.

De Leon said there have been several negotiations that took place in the past showing the firm’s intent to settle “whatever issues” the Mamanwas have raised including the reported “boundary dispute” between Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur. Such dispute also caused a dispute between a Manobo leader named Kumander Jack and Buklas.

But Buklas said this is a non-issue as the claimant of the land being disputed is covered under the group’s CADT-048. He said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) refers to the same document, which means his group’s claim is legitimate.

The tribal chieftain said the issues should not be muddled since it is the Mamanwas’ right as owners of the ancestral land to exercise control over it.

“They will pay but they will have to get out,” he said.

Scuttled talks

MGB regional director Alilo Ensomo told Mindanews his office has not received the supposed cease and desist order from the NCIP and so could not act on it.

The process, he said, would have been that the line agencies concerned should have addressed its decision to MGB Manila or for that matter the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which issued the mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA), which is the permit to operate.

Ensomo said he was only furnished a copy of the letter addressed to MGB Director Leo Jasareno.

“I can only issue a cease and desist and stop the operations of a mining company if there is imminent danger to lives and properties, (and) unless otherwise ordered by the Secretary,” he said.

Ensomo said he even brokered a “preliminary meeting” with Buklas and his lawyer, NCIP Surigao del Norte and the mining company on Friday, May 4, which was held at the NCIP provincial office in Surigao City.

A meeting planned on Tuesday was scuttled when Buklas and another tribal chieftain Datu Alicio Patac snubbed the invitation.

The scuttled talks could have preceded the arrival of government troops on Tuesday afternoon at the mine site together with NCIP officials, and reportedly Claver local officials.

Claver’s chief of police Senior Inspector Christopherson Cauilan said Mayor Rosemarie Mira-Gokiangkee formed a municipal crisis management committee to settle the tension in the area.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gokiangkee met with another tribal chieftain, Bae Joan Hukman of CADT 048 and Coter. In a text message, Coter said the talks still boiled down to telling them to accept the royalty payment and then leave the area.

Coter said the talk still reached a stalemate with them sticking to their call for Shen Zhou to stop operating and leave port.

Harassed

Rorok Buklas, a council member of the Taganito claimants who led the barricade at the dike going to the causeway of the mine site, said at least a hundred armed men are deployed around it.

“They even put up shields to prevent us from entering,” he said in Cebuano.

Buklas also said on Wednesday morning that police allegedly pointed a gun at his companions when they tried to stop them from going towards a barricade set up at one of the roads inside the mine site.

Cauilan, who was there at the interview, promised to investigate any of his men who will commit violations against the Mamanwas. The group has filed a report on the incident at the municipal police station.

On January 12, 2012, the NCIP En Banc ordered Shen Zhou Mining to cease and desist from operating after finding that the certificate of precondition (CP) issued by the regional NCIP is “void and invalid” as it was signed by only one NCIP commissioner.

A CP is issued upon obtaining the Free and Informed Prior Consent (FPIC) from the indigenous community where the mining applicant or contractor will operate.

It is also one of the requisites for the issuance of an Environmental Clearance Certificate by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. (Vanessa Almeda/MindaNews)

M11mamanwa

Mamanwas want mining firm out of Surigao

CAGDIANAO, Claver, Surigao del Norte (MindaNews/11 May) – Mamanwas vowed to continue barricading the mining site of Shen Zhou Mining Group Corporation here until the company shuts down and leaves port.

Vilma Coter, a Mamanwa representative told MindaNews on the same day that they won’t budge despite the reported payment of royalty fees on Thursday amounting to P11 million.

In an interview Wednesday, Datu Renante Buklas said the issue is not about the royalty fees but the cease and desist order of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) issued on January 12, 2012 against Shen Zhou mining.

“Unless the rights of our tribe are not respected we won’t leave,” Buklas said in Cebuano, adding they were perplexed why the local NCIP has not acted on the order until now but instead told them that the company will still operate because it legally holds a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement or MPSA.

He said the royalty fees are not an issue because “this is the obligation of the Shen Zhou.”

On Tuesday, members of the 132nd Regional Public Safety Company (RPSC), Task Force Taganito, soldiers, militiamen, company guards and private security guards stormed the mining site and dismantled makeshift tents and barricades set up by the Mamanwas.

The presence of the group, according to Shen Zhou corporate secretary Jacqueline de Leon was “the decision of the crisis committee” as the company is facing an “ongoing dispute.”

She assured that the company is exercising full restraint in handling the situation and that “there is no harassment. In fact, kami nga ang hindi makaigib nang tubig at hindi makapasok sa site kasi pinigilan nila (we are the ones who could not fetch water nor enter the site).”

Saying the company is willing to pay the Mamanwas, she showed reporters DBP account no. 0850-027398-030 in the names of Shen Zhou Mining Group Corp. and NCIP TF (Trust Fund). The passbook showed that the first deposit was made on January 6, 2011 in the amount of P1.697 million. The last deposit was dated May 5, 2012 in the amount of P7.947 million.

The Mamanwas started their barricade on May 2, last week.

De Leon said there have been several negotiations that took place in the past showing the firm’s intent to settle “whatever issues” the Mamanwas have raised including the reported “boundary dispute” between Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur. Such dispute also caused a dispute between a Manobo leader named Kumander Jack and Buklas.

But Buklas said this is a non-issue as the claimant of the land being disputed is covered under the group’s CADT-048. He said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) refers to the same document, which means his group’s claim is legitimate.

The tribal chieftain said the issues should not be muddled since it is the Mamanwas’ right as owners of the ancestral land to exercise control over it.

“They will pay but they will have to get out,” he said.

Scuttled talks

MGB regional director Alilo Ensomo told Mindanews his office has not received the supposed cease and desist order from the NCIP and so could not act on it.

The process, he said, would have been that the line agencies concerned should have addressed its decision to MGB Manila or for that matter the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which issued the mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA), which is the permit to operate.

Ensomo said he was only furnished a copy of the letter addressed to MGB Director Leo Jasareno.

“I can only issue a cease and desist and stop the operations of a mining company if there is imminent danger to lives and properties, (and) unless otherwise ordered by the Secretary,” he said.

Ensomo said he even brokered a “preliminary meeting” with Buklas and his lawyer, NCIP Surigao del Norte and the mining company on Friday, May 4, which was held at the NCIP provincial office in Surigao City.

A meeting planned on Tuesday was scuttled when Buklas and another tribal chieftain Datu Alicio Patac snubbed the invitation.

The scuttled talks could have preceded the arrival of government troops on Tuesday afternoon at the mine site together with NCIP officials, and reportedly Claver local officials.

Claver’s chief of police Senior Inspector Christopherson Cauilan said Mayor Rosemarie Mira-Gokiangkee formed a municipal crisis management committee to settle the tension in the area.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gokiangkee met with another tribal chieftain, Bae Joan Hukman of CADT 048 and Coter. In a text message, Coter said the talks still boiled down to telling them to accept the royalty payment and then leave the area.

Coter said the talk still reached a stalemate with them sticking to their call for Shen Zhou to stop operating and leave port.

Harassed

Rorok Buklas, a council member of the Taganito claimants who led the barricade at the dike going to the causeway of the mine site, said at least a hundred armed men are deployed around it.

“They even put up shields to prevent us from entering,” he said in Cebuano.

Buklas also said on Wednesday morning that police allegedly pointed a gun at his companions when they tried to stop them from going towards a barricade set up at one of the roads inside the mine site.

Cauilan, who was there at the interview, promised to investigate any of his men who will commit violations against the Mamanwas. The group has filed a report on the incident at the municipal police station.

On January 12, 2012, the NCIP En Banc ordered Shen Zhou Mining to cease and desist from operating after finding that the certificate of precondition (CP) issued by the regional NCIP is “void and invalid” as it was signed by only one NCIP commissioner.

A CP is issued upon obtaining the Free and Informed Prior Consent (FPIC) from the indigenous community where the mining applicant or contractor will operate.

It is also one of the requisites for the issuance of an Environmental Clearance Certificate by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. (Vanessa Almeda/MindaNews)

Karapatan said the 10th and 4th Infantry Divisions bombarded Sitio Upper New Visayas, Barangay New Visayas, Trento on May 7 resulting in displacement and alleged abuses against civilians.

View Trento, Agusan del Sur in a larger map

Rev. Jurie Jaime, spokesperson of KARAPATAN Southern Mindanao, was quoted in the statement as having said the operations also took place in Monkayo, Compostela Valley.

He alleged the operations were intended to clear the areas for large-scale mining ventures.

Karapatan said it sent a team to Trento and found that 83 families or close to 400 individuals evacuated from Sitio Upper New Visayas and Sitio Maitom of Barangay New Visayas due to the reported bombing runs by the military on May 7.

The statement said a pregnant woman and another who had just given birth complained of heavy bleeding as a result of the evacuation.

Karapatan said the military arrested a 16-year old boy who was allegedly paraded as a child warrior and brought to the 4th ID headquarters in Cagayan de Oro City.

In a statement on Thursday, the NPA’s Front 20 said that on May 7 they ambushed members of the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion in the boundary of Trento and Monkayo.

“Three soldiers were killed, four were wounded, including the company commanding officer, Lt. Masumpad,” the rebel statement claimed.

The NPA said that after three hours they engaged 102nd Division Reconnaissance Company at Bahayan River, Trento wounding two soldiers, including one Capt. Braganza, the company’s commanding officer.

It added the encounters triggered the reported bombings which caused the evacuation. (MindaNews)

Timmy Rejano, supervising agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Region 12, said Friday they intercepted the victims while their alleged recruiter identified as Mary Ann Linao was trying to secure their clearances at the NBI regional office in Koronadal City on Wednesday.

He said they immediately arrested Linao, who was charged late Thursday for violation of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Acts of 2003.

“While processing the clearances, our agents discovered that some of the birth certificates they presented were bogus while others were tampered to make it appear that they were no longer minors,” Rejano told MindaNews.

He said they immediately took custody of the 16 victims, who were all residents of Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao.

During questioning, Rejano said the victims admitted that they were only aged between 16 and 17 years-old.

He said they were allegedly recruited by Linao for supposed jobs in Kuwait in earlier visits to their villages in Shariff Aguak.

Rejano said Linao, who reportedly maintained an office in Purok Malipayon in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat but resides in this city, initially claimed to be working for a Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration-licensed recruitment agency based in Metro Manila.

“But it turned out during our verification that she was not among the authorized agents of the agency. With that, she is considered an illegal recruiter and large-scale human trafficker,” he said.

Rejano said one of the rescued victims, who was transferred Thursday to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Region 12, claimed that Linao instructed her to alter her birth records so she would qualify for the overseas job.

The 17-year-old was specifically told to change the listed year of her birthday from the original 1993 to 1989, he said.

The official said the victims also admitted that the supposed National Statistics Office (NSO)-authenticated birth certificates that they presented were not issued by the NSO field office here as they
indicated but were just “manufactured” in a house in Shariff Aguak town.

He said they were now tracking down the source of the counterfeit NSO-issued birth records through the NBI Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional office, which has jurisdiction over Maguindanao.

Based on their records, Rejano said the rescued victims were the second batch that Linao recruited this year.

He said Linao was able to secure NBI clearances earlier for 16 other overseas-bound recruits through the regional office in Koronadal City.

“(But) we already had doubts then. We just didn’t have enough in our hands at that time to pin her down,” he said.

Rejano said they are currently gathering information and other necessary evidences regarding the initial batch of Linao’s recruits, especially where they eventually ended up abroad.

The official said they are presently investigating Linao’s possible links to human trafficking syndicates in the region that mainly recruit young women to become sex slaves in mainland Malaysia and some
parts of the Borneo Island.

In July last year, NBI Region 12 agents arrested an alleged human trafficker identified as Norodin Kusain, who also tried to secure clearances for 50 women recruits from Maguindanao at the NBI regional office in Koronadal City.

But the suspect, who also yielded two firearms, was later released by the local police after the recruits refused to cooperate with authorities.

“We recovered photographs (from Linao) that showed her and Kusain together,” Rejano said.

He said they received information that Kusain has resumed his illegal recruitment activities in Maguindanao and was seen several times in the area recently. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)

The figure covered the period January 1 to April 30 this year, and was higher by 426 cases compared to the same period last year.

Mayor Celso Lobregat, who issued the declaration, said records from the City Health Office showed that dengue cases have reached outbreak level in April requiring urgent measures.

The outbreak threshold for April was 225 cases but the actual reported cases for the month reached 234, according to City Health Officer Dr. Rodelin Agbulos.

Records from Agbulos’ office showed that five barangays registered high number of dengue cases for the first four months this year. These are Guiwan, 51 cases; Canelar, 31; Tugbungan, 57; Tumaga, 63; and San Roque, 47.

Barangays Zambowood, Cabatangan, Sta. Maria, Putik, Mercedes, Sangali, Maasin, Divisoria, Pasobolong, Lumbangan, Rio Hondo and Tetuan also recorded several cases of dengue.

Agbulos noted that the barangays with high number of dengue cases have rivers and cemeteries that serve as breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

To prevent further rise in the number of dengue cases, he said he has scheduled a massive and simultaneous citywide clean up drive on Saturday.

He said they will target the barangays with the most number of dengue cases.

Meanwhile, Lobregat has authorized the release of at least half a million pesos from the emergency funds to purchase larvicides and other chemicals that will be used in the war against the mosquito-borne disease.

The mayor also called on residents to do their part in getting rid of the deadly mosquitoes.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is an acute infectious disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti, a day-biting mosquito which lays eggs in clear and stagnant water found in flower vases, cans, rain barrels and other vessels.

The adult mosquitoes rest in dark places of the house. (MindaNews)

Lt. Col. Alexis Noel Bravo, commander of the 27th Infantry Battalion, said Friday they seized the camps after several intense encounters with suspected rebels under the NPA’s Front 72 and Southern Alip Regional Guerrilla Unit.

“After our encounters, we continued to search the general area and found the abandoned temporary camps,” he said.

View Columbio SK in a larger map

But he said they found the three NPA camps already dismantled supposedly to prevent his troops from using them.

Bravo said they recovered from three camps several documents and personal belongings believed to be owned by the rebels and their leaders.

The Army official described the fallen positions as “major or big camps with trenches and foxholes” and located near several caves that the rebels had used as shelter.

“There’s a cave system in the mountains of Columbio and the rebels have used them for many years as escape route or for their protection,” he said.

Bravo said their troops have taken over the abandoned NPA camps, which they consider as strategic positions in connection with their continuing operations against the communist rebels.

He said one of their units is presently securing the area to prevent the NPA rebels, who reportedly fled towards nearby Tulunan town in North Cotabato, from reclaiming them.

The 27th IB launched the offensives against the NPA rebels following an encounter late last month at the boundary of Columbio and Magsaysay town in Davao Del Sur that left a soldier and five rebels dead.

Prior to the encounter, an estimated 40 NPA members stormed a military detachment in Barangay Bacungan in Columbio, which is near the mines development site of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines Inc.

Bravo said the rebels, posing as mining workers, attacked the detachment on board a hijacked forward truck. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, May 11, 2012 – The “Decision” is a “breakthrough”. This is the tone of the popular reaction. Topping the commendation for the Parties in reconciling their positions is the optimism that a peace agreement will soon be reached; an influential leader in the Senate promised to lead in fulfilling the legislative aspects of the agreement.

Opinion makers in the Manila media, critics and keen watchers of Government-MILF peace negotiation are silent. Are they satisfied with the “Decision”?  Is the Mindanao issue just drowned by more sensational national and international issues? Or, does the “silence” mean a “wait-and-see” stance?

As earlier posed, the intentions of the “Decision” are clear. But what it intends to happen may not be what the Parties really want to happen. In reality, principles as means are often interpreted to suit the ends of the interpreters. Will the Parties treat the “Decision” differently? What have they said to foster a “wait-and-see” stance?

According to Mandate

In his opening statement, GPH Panel Chair Marvic Leonen addresses “reports quoting various sources from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front voicing some concerns about the GPH and its position in relation to these negotiations” particularly in “decision-making procedures”. The panel receives its mandate from the President and those “we identify as stakeholders” through consultations, he explains. The President makes the policy, not the panel chair or the presidential adviser on the peace process.

Evidently, from Leonen’s explanation, the panel uses the empirical approach to arrive at its position. “Possibilities discussed during the negotiations, be they formal or informal, are simply that: possibilities for the consideration by the other side. They should never be confused for actual positions already. We do state when we are ready to take a position and to discuss the interest and reasons behind such positions. We take care that these positions are always just and legitimate.” [Emphasis supplied]

He continues to relate how the government panel came to agree with MILF to formulate the “Decision”, the principles of autonomy and their relevance to the negotiation. These will be discussed in “Recapitulation”, the concluding article of this series.

The empirical approach characterizes the President’s two-point order when he constituted the panel.  The order as Leonen recalls in his post-signing statement: “(1) to consider the Government’s ability to deliver, politically, economically and socially, commitments made and signed at the negotiating table and (2) to continue sincere and open dialogues not only with the MILF, but also with all sectors affected by the negotiating process.”

Regarding the “common points” of the “Decision”, “these … are commitments that can be properly accommodated by our current legal and political realities [according to the first order]”. And more important for Government, “… having these common points in writing and making [the document] public are part of its sincere commitment to maintain transparency in these talks, as far as practicable, and to continue dialogues and consultations with affected sectors [according to the second order]”.

Mutuality, Scope

In his post-signing statement, Leonen, referring to the “Decision” as “the document”, first describes it as mutually acceptable. “For the GPH, this document is a preliminary listing of common points, which the Parties have mutually identified, coming from their respective initial positions: the MILF, from their February 2011 Revised Comprehensive Compact and the GPH, from its 3-for-1 August 2011 proposal.”

Of cynical remarks concerning the failure of Parties to agree “on the substantive issues at the core of the negotiations”, he says, “Today, we dispel this cynicism. We have collated our points of mutual understanding, which have, indeed, significantly inspired both the substance and direction of our discussions.”

Then he refers to the document as “an insight to the breadth and scope of issues encompassed by our discussions” pointing out that (1) “this document is not an exclusive statement of all common points which the Parties may already share, or which the Parties may find consensus on in the future”; and, (2) it is not “intended as a detailed and precise statement of agreements”.

What are among the intentions? It is a guide. The document “is a memorandum for the Parties of the general directions of the substantive negotiations”; it allows them “the necessary space to navigate the details and context in a comprehensive final agreement”.

As such a document, the “Decision”:

• ·articulates “in language mutually acceptable to [the Parties] the current extent of their consensus in the course of their long, difficult and productive discussions on the substantive issues”;
• ·lays “down [the Parties’] ostensible points of agreement or ‘common points’” that put in writing “fix their positions in the current stage of the negotiations” and also “help clarify various outstanding issues and more detailed questions that the Parties still need to explore”.

Mutually evolved, the “Decision” is a mutually acceptable guide of the negotiation.

Meaningful Autonomy

Acknowledging the June 2010 Declaration of Continuity, Leonen affirms Government’s “steadfast commitment to maintain the continuity of negotiations embodied in agreed documents”. This is significant. It can refer only to the past GRP-MILF agreements.

In obvious reference to the ARMM, Leonen states: “The GPH recognizes that the ‘status quo is not acceptable,’ and thus continues to pursue reforms in this respect.” He clarifies this when referring to the “Decision” as “this listing” he said:

“It is clear that what the Parties are discussing are the parameters of meaningful autonomy for the Bangsamoro people, under a new autonomous political entity that can replace the current ARMM created under Republic Act No. 9054. The autonomous political entity envisioned is a secular political unit, existing within the Republic of the Philippines, located within its territory and subject to its sovereignty as a State”.

Report and Invitation

In this opening and post-signing statements, Leonen was telling the MILF negotiators in the presence of the Facilitator and the International Contact Group of the government’s readiness to continue the negotiation and its desire to have an agreement signed early enough for the Aquino administration to implement substantially. They have agreed in the “Decision” the way to do it.

After the 27^th exploratory talks, Leonen and OPAPP Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, in their press statements, conveyed to the people their optimism that with the signing of the “Decision” a peace agreement with MILF would soon be reached. At the same time, they invited them to participate actively in its achievement.

At the peace briefing in Malacanang on April 26, Deles expressed her confidence for the “Decision” to “pave the way for the eventual signing of the peace agreement” which will center on the “creation of a new autonomous political entity in place of the ARMM”. In that briefing, Leonen gave the assurance “such entity will definitely be with the Republic of the Philippines”. The assurance is a must to win support from the national majority.

As reported in the website of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process last April 28, Leonen the government was making public the “Decision” due to its policy of transparency – to inform the people of the “direction and substance of the negotiation” and the “status and projection of the peace process”. The government panel will hold “more consultations” so as “to know the viewpoints of the public on the peace process”.

The same website reported last May 3 that Deles, in a speech, urged the “public to read and study the GPH-MILF issues” in order to “see how broad and deep the GPH-MILF peace process is”. She exhorted: “Ordinary citizens should take part in supporting and guarding the peace talks.”

At this point, the question is: Will the much awaited peace agreement come soon –sooner than soon? (“Comment” is Mr. Patricio P. Diaz’ column for MindaViews, the opinion section of MindaNews. The Titus Brandsma Media Awards recently honored Mr. Diaz with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his “commitment to education and public information to Mindanawons as Journalist, Educator and Peace Advocate.” You can reach him at patpdiazgsc@yahoo.com.)

FATHER'S ANGUISH. Mang Dodoy Antipas, father of brothers Delfin and Dexter who died of suffocation in a mining tunnel in Mat-i, Surigao City in the morning of 10 May 2012, cries at the site of his childrenÕs bodies. Seven miners died in the incident as they entered the abandoned tunnel without oxygen support. MindaNews photo by Vanessa L. Almeda

Noli N. Arreza, mining engineer at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and chair of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB), said the miners may have died of suffocation while inside the tunnel that is said to be almost 26 meters deep.

The dead were identified as Baste Avila, 24, from San Agustin, Surigao del Sur; brothers Delvin and Dexter Antipaz, from Malimono, Surigao del Norte; Jomar Estrella, 26; Faustino Pacquiao, Julius Mayola and Arnel Palasan. The survivor was identified as Berdan Avila, younger brother of Baste, who went to the tunnel on his own in search of his brother.

Junribel M. Bustillo, spokesperson of the Nagkahiusang Gagmay’ng Minero (NAGAMI, or united small-scale miners), said their initial investigation showed the miners, all NAGAMI members, went inside the tunnel about 7:30 a.m. to retrieve a hose and a submersible pump that will be used in a separate tunnel.

They were not, however, able to use a blower machine as oxygen support, causing their deaths, he stressed. There had been reportedly no operations in the tunnel for over a month and thus there was no blower installed. There was no notice, too, that it has been not operational for a long time.

Bustillo said the incident is big lesson for the group to strictly follow regulations with regards to operating the mining tunnels.

Ernesto Villa-Abrille, who was among the first to enter the tunnel to rescue the victims, said the miners entered the tunnel without informing its owner, and thus nobody knew there were people inside.

NAGAMI officials estimated that the miners lost oxygen support about 17 meters into the tunnel, where the bodies in various positions were found.

NAGAMI members said that normally, the “abanteros” (mine workers who do the work inside the tunnels, as against the “atraseros” who bring the ores out) experience being out of breath at a distance of 15 arms length (or “dupa” in the vernacular) from the mouth of the tunnel.

The bodies were retrieved past 9 a.m., Villa-Abrille said.

Ralph Rowan, head of the city government’s Quick Action Response Team, said they helped retrieved all seven victims and immediately brought them to the Caraga Regional Hospital. But physicians declared that the miners were already dead upon arrival at the hospital.

NAGAMI president Ignacio Arevalo said they will be extending aid to the victims.

Based on interviews with Bustillo and several of those who were able to get into the site related that it was possible the men met some foul smell due to the long period that the tunnel was not in use.

When asked if the deaths could have been due to methane gas poisoning, Arreza said only an investigation can ascertain if methane gas is present in the tunnel. He maintained that as far as initial investigation is concerned, the cause of the miners’ deaths is “suffocation due to oxygen deprivation.”

Emedio Salado, a member of the board of NAGAMI, said that a similar incident occurred in 1983 where abanteros entered a tunnel without oxygen support. But none of them died as they were immediately rescued.

As per standard operating procedure of NAGAMI, miners are not allowed to enter a tunnel that has not been operational since everyone knows that it does not have a machine to provide support for oxygen.

Bernardino Avila, father of Baste and Berdan (the survivor who is now admitted at the Caraga Regional Hospital), told this reporter that he tried to stop his sons from going to Tunnel No. 12 because he already knew operation there had stopped. But his sons prevailed.

He narrated that his sons had not even had breakfast yet. “Baste’s rice on the table, up to now has not been even touched yet,” Bernardino said.

Arreza ordered NAGAMI officials this afternoon to put a “no entry, temporarily closed” notice at Tunnel  No. 12.

The Surigao Metropolitan Water District has said that the operations of small scale miners in Mat-i are still illegal because these are not covered by permits.

A dozen of the mining tunnels have reportedly encroached the buffer zone of the Surigao watershed. (Vanessa L. Almeda with reports from Roel N. Catoto / MindaNews)

Nestor Libaton, who worked for TIMRA member DXHM, a radio station based in Mati City which is an affiliate of the Catholic Media Network, was killed on Tuesday by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Tarragona town in Davao Oriental.

In a statement, Fr. Ignacio Rellin, OMI, chief executive officer of the Notre Dame Broadcasting Corporation (NDBC) and a conven0r of TIMRA, said the group has joined colleagues in seeking justice on Libaton’s killing.

Rellin said that whether the attack was work-related or based on a personal grudge is not important. What was apparent, he stressed, is that Libaton, who has not been involved in any crime, does not deserve such kind of death.

Libaton, the statement said, is the third member of media killed within the last 15 days.

On April 24, Rommel Palma of Bombo Radyo was killed in Koronadal City in South Cotabato.

Six days later, Michael Calanasan was shot to death in Laguna province.

“We call on anyone, the witnesses in particular, with vital information to help authorities identify the suspects so that justice for the Libaton killing would be served,” said the statement. (Malu Cadeliña Manar / MindaNews)

“Konti lang political names dyan” (there are only a few political names there), Hataman told MindaNews  in reply to a query on why the appointees are dominated by political families.

He assured that majority of the RLA appointees are for reforms. “Am sure majority are reform-oriented,”  he said.

On June 30, 2011, at the signing of  the law that reset the August 8, 2011 ARMM polls to synchronize it with the national mid-term in 2013, the President said, in Pilipino: “It remains vital that we maintain a steady vision of what we want to happen in this country. And what we want to do for ARMM is simple: we want their citizens to be heard; to do this, we are putting an end to the rule of political families who have fostered a culture of electoral fraud, and we will abolish their private armies.”

Of the 27 appointees, six are holdover RLA members (those elected in 2008 and who stayed on a holdover capacity since September 30, 2011 when the August election was reset), eight are women.

An initial research on the appointed officials shows that two are brothers of the incumbent provincial governors, one is the son of a governor, another is the sister-in-law of a governor, one is the wife of a mayor, another is the brother of a mayor  while the rest are relatives or allies of  incumbent officials. Civil society representation is minimal.

The profiles of the RLA members have not been posted on the ARMM website. The RLA  information officer, Sammy Peralta, told MindaNews Thursday that the newly-appointed members will  assume their post on Monday. MindaNews asked Peralta for profiles but he replied,  “no profiles.”

Only 26 took their oath of office before President Aquino in Malacanang Tuesday morning.

The President was supposed to have appointed 27 members of the RLA  — three for each of the eight congressional districts in the five-province region and three sectoral representatives for women, indigenous peoples and farmers – but Sulu’s first district had only two names based on the list Hataman’s office e-mailed to MindaNews late Tuesday evening.

Other listings included the name of Nedra Burahan, who, Hataman confirmed Wednesday morning,  was among the appointees.

Her absence at the oath-taking triggered speculations of a last-minute name-switching but Hataman told MindaNews that Burahan wasn’t able to make it to the oath-taking because “nagka-emergency daw” (allegedly there was an emergency).

The announcement of the appointment and oath-taking of the RLA members on May 8 came four months and 17 days after OIC Governor Hataman and OIC Vice Governor Hadja Bainon Karon assumed their posts, and exactly two weeks after the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels signed the “Decision Points on Principles” during the last peace negotiations in Kuala Lumpur.

Hataman and Bainon, who took over the ARMM on December 22, 2012, were tasked by the President to “reform” the five-province, two-city ARMM.

RA 10153, which postponed the August 8, 2011 elections in the ARMM and synchronized it with the May 13, 2013 mid-term national elections, also allowed President Aquino to appoint OICs to serve in the interim until the new set of elected ARMM officials takes over on June 30, 2013.

The appointed assemblymen and women are mandated under Sec. 6 of RA 10153 to “conduct a study and review” of RA 9054, the law that amended RA 6734, the Organic Act that created the ARMM “and submit recommendations to the Congress of the Philippines within six months from their assumption into office.”

The OIC legislators have until November to submit their recommendations.

The “Decision Points” of the government and MILF peace panels, provides that the status quo is “unacceptable” and that the two panels will “work of the creation of a new autonomous political entity in place of the ARMM.”

The appointees:

Basilan, lone district
Mr. Juni Ilimin, Mr. Jarah “Jerry” A. Hamja, Ms. Rajam Akbar

Lanao del Sur, 1^st district
Mr. Ziaur-Rahman A. Adiong, Atty. Majul U. Gandamra, Atty. Rasol Y. Mitmug, Jr.

Lanao del Sur, 2^nd district
Mr. Yasser A. Balindong, Mr.  Alexander B.M. Menor, Ms Sittie Norhanie H. Lao

Maguindanao, 1^st district
Mr. Suharto Ibay, Mr. Arafat S. Kusain, Mr. Romeo K. Sema

Maguindanao, 2^nd district
Mr. Bassir D. Utto, Mr. Khadafeh G. Mangudadatu, Ms. Rahima D. Alba

Sulu, 1^st district
Mr. Mahendra A. Madjilon, Ms. Satrina Tulawie
(Hataman says the third RLA member from this district,  Nedra Burahan, did not make it to the oathtaking due to an emergency)

Sulu, 2^nd district
Ms. Irene P. Tillah, Mr. Abdel S. Anni, Atty. Bhydir B. Sarapudin

Tawi-tawi, lone district
Mr. Rodolfo A. Bawasanta, Ms Dayang Carlsum Sangkula-Jumaide, Mr. Nurjay N. Sahali

Sectoral Representatives
Mr. Yasir Pangadapun Naga, Mr. Deonato Mokudef, Ms Samira A. Gutoc
The sectoral representation is provided for under RA 9054, a 2001 law,  but was not set up by previous RLAs. This is the first time the RLA has sectoral representatives.

Naga represents the agricultural sector, Mokudef the indigenous peoples and Gutoc represents the women sector.

The six holdover legislators appointed by President Aquino to be OIC legislators are: Khadafe Mangudadatu of Maguindanao,  Rajam Akbar of Basilan, Ziaur-Rahman Adiong of Lanao del Sur’s 1^st district,  Yasser Alonto Balindong and Alexander Bolot-Malawani Menor of Lanao del Sur’s 2^nd district, and Abdel Sangkula Anni of Sulu’s 2^nd district.

Khadafe  is a brother of Maguindanao Governor Toto Mangudadatu; Ziaur-Rahman is a brother of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong and former Acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto Adiong while Rajam is sister of the late governor Wahab Akbar and sister-in-law of  the incumbent governor Jum Akbar.

Yasser is the son of Rep. Pangalian Balindong. Menor ran as in independent candidate in 2008 while Anni was the running mate of  Governor Sakur Tan who lost in the 2010 polls.

One of the appointed legislators is Nurjay Sahali, son of Tawi-tawi governor Sadikul Sahali.

Guiamel Alim, Executive Director of the Kadtuntaya Foundation and a member of the Council of Elders of the  Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society which has its main office in Cotabato City,  said, “I know very few people in the RLA,” he said, adding the rest are “sons and daughters of prominent politicians.”

Alim headed the screening committee for nominees and applicants for secretaries in the regional cabinet. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)

Asis G. Perez, BFAR director, said that Liguasan Marsh supports a rich biodiversity that not only includes fresh water fishes but also other wildlife species.

“BFAR is planning to develop a portion of Liguasan Marsh into a center for freshwater fish biodiversity. Tilapia is one of more than a dozen freshwater species found in Liguasan,” he said in a recent statement.

“[The marsh] also supports endemic flora and fauna that include 92 species of birds, six species of reptiles and five species of amphibians, among others,” he added.

Aside from being a stronghold of the MILF, Liguasan Marsh is also reportedly a refuge of criminal elements involved in kidnapping and terrorism.

Perez bared the plan after BFAR, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, released P24.53-million worth of fishery and livelihood projects to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) last month.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the BFAR assistance would benefit thousands of fisherfolk families in the impoverished Muslim region.

He said that ARMM local government units benefiting from the project provided a counterpart, either in the form of labor or materials.

Perez said the amount included the provision of motor engines to 67 patrol boats for the Bantay-Dagat program to protect ARMM municipal waters from illegal fishermen and poachers.

Of the total P24.5 million, more than half or P12.9 million was used to procure 16 units of non-motorized bancas, 15 motor engines, 10 fish driers, 2,500 fish pots and 250 units of gill nets which were distributed to about a thousand fisher-families along the Liguasan Marsh, which is bounded by the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

Another P8.8 million was allotted for an aquasilviculture program that included the establishment of five multi-species hatcheries (P6M), mangrove rehabilitation (P1.4M), and setting up of 20 aquasilviculture techno-demo farms (P1.36M), BFAR said.

Perez said with the fund infusion from the national government that is matched by beneficiary LGUs, “the potential of further increasing ARMM’s fishery and aquaculture remains high.”

In 2011, the region produced 909,320 metric tons (MT) of fishery and aquaculture products, valued at P14.58 billion at current prices, BFAR said, citing data from the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. The volume represents 18.3 percent of the country’s total production, at 4.98 million MT.

The ARMM remains as the country’s top seaweed producer.

Last year, it harvested 686,450 MT valued at P4.3 billion, which represents 37 percent of the country’s total seaweed output, at 1.84 million MT worth P11.39 billion, according to the BAS.

Early this year, Perez said the DA-BFAR conducted a regional consultation in Zamboanga City on a proposed “Fish for Peace” program in Mindanao, attended by dozens of LGU officials who all agreed on the program’s concept.

The “Fish for Peace” program aims to effect sustainable fisheries development in Mindanao through the implementation of environment-friendly livelihood projects, and fishery and marine conservation measures. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)

Bienvinido Narciso, who is among the facilitators, said the dialogue came about from the desire of the parties involved to resolve their long-standing conflict in three towns in the area – Kalilangan and Talakag in Bukidnon and Bumbaran in Lanao del Sur.

“We intend to check and identify the conflicts in the area. It is not only about rido (clan wars); this is about tenurial issues,” Narciso said. But he added that as of now there is really no definitive information on the claims that’s why they will hold the dialogue to verify the claims.

With a theme: “Ikaw, Ako Usa Ra,” (You and I are one), the dialogue is dubbed as a “dialogue for peace and development.”

Narciso said the dialogue, expected to be attended by at least four major conflicting parties, will gather the mayors of the three towns, the church, government agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and the 4th Infantry Division’s Real Estate Office (DREO).

Bishop Jose Cabantan has confirmed he will attend the dialogue. He was scheduled to give a “word of wisdom” with Imam Kusain Macarambon. Bukidnon Gov. Alex Calingasan was also invited.

Representatives from DENR and DAR of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur will present data on the area aside from the claimants. In the program, organizers identified a certain Disurimba Samburon, Jaran Kalaw, and Col. Amor Jumala representing the Adiong clan, as “alleged claimants” who will present their claims in the dialogue.

Narciso cited among the parties involved include a Lanao del Sur politician’s family, an armed leader identified as Kumander Gubat in Bumbaran, a certain Adiong Kuta from the Kalilangan side, and a group who claimed they were able to obtain a presidential proclamation during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos for an area that includes a portion of the 48,000-hectare Camp Kibaritan military reservation.

He said DAR already distributed about 16,000 hectares to a number of beneficiaries.

Narciso noted that some of the claimants have been known to have belonged to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front. But he added that the local initiative is separate from the peace process involving the MILF.

He said based on their initial assessment, the conflicting parties have been fighting over tenurial, not political, issues. But he noted that if they found out it has implications on the peace process
between the government and the MILF, they will seek the assistance of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

He said the cast of characters of the conflict along the border of Talakag and Bumbaran involving about 10 villages were also invited to the dialogue, which organizers said is the first of a series to finally resolve the conflict.

Narciso said the different parties have been in conflict for decades but since the claims have been overlapping it was not easy to settle.

“Now the tri-people in the area have expressed interest to co-exist,” he said.  Narciso heads Abag Kalambuan, Inc, a non-government organization, which runs programs in the area. He said the resolution of the conflicts is important as no development will come in without peace.

The group has implemented a project since 2010 dubbed as Livelihood Enhancement and Assistance for Development of Tri-people in Kalilangan, a town in the boundary of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur.

It was Fr. Mariano Chia, parish priest in Kalilangan, he said, who requested the organization to implement the project to help push for peace and development in the area.

The NGO, with the help of the local government unit in Kalilangan, has organized groups of Muslim women and youth as part of the Diocese of Malaybalay’s efforts for interfaith dialogue and apostolate for tri-people, he said.

Lt. Col. Jose Maria Cuerpo, chief of the 8th Infantry Battalion, confirmed that the conflict in the areas is about the Camp Kibaritan military reservation. He noted that the dialogue was an initiative of the local government and Abag Kalambuan, Inc.

Aside from Abag Kalambuan, the dialogue was sponsored by LGUs of the towns of Kalilangan, Bumbaran and Talakag, 8IB, San Vicente Ferrer Parish, and TRIPPARD, Inc. (Walter I. Balane/MindaNews)

Also asking for a “retraction and printing a public apology to the offended parties” is  the organization of photojournalists – the Philippine Center for Photojournalism (PCP) which called the caption’s  heading “uncalled for, insensitive and even libelous.”

The caption NUJP and PCP referred to reads:  ”SECURITY RISK? President Aquino greets a Muslim woman wrapped in a burka and niqab during the oath-taking of officers in charge of the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly held in Malacañang on Tuesday. The unidentified woman is reportedly a relative of one of the officers.”

But the one-star or first edition of PDI distributed in cities like Davao and Cotabato had this caption:  “PALACE GUEST. President Aquino greets a Muslim woman garbed in a burka during the oath-taking of officers in charge of the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly held in Malacanang on Tuesday. The unidentified woman is a relative of one of the officers.

Zamboanga City had both first and second editions.

The “unidentified woman” is Estrellita Tan Yap who embraced the Islamic faith when she married and is now known as Nurjanah Mitmug. Nurjanah, which means “light of paradise” or “light of heaven,” is the wife of Civil Service Commissioner Rasol Lamping Mitmug and  mother of  newly-appointed ARMM assemblyman Rasol Mitmug, Jr.

In a statement, the Philippine Center for Photojournalism (PCP) said the heading in the photo caption is “uncalled for, insensitive and even libelous” and  requests PDI to “exercise the proper course of action by issuing a retraction and printing a public apology to the offended parties.”

“Although the burka is frowned upon in some Western societies, it remains to be part of the culture of Islamic societies. We believe labeling a dress a security risk does not take into account the nuances of the Islamic culture. It is also an affront to the minority Muslim population of this country that a symbol of Muslim culture is labeled outright a security risk and further fuels the stereotyping of our Muslim brothers as terrorists,”  Fernando Sepe Jr., PCP chair, said.

In a statement, the NUJP said it is “disturbing that the paper cleared such a blatantly bigoted caption, especially after the firestorm of criticism it reaped in the wake of the Demetrio Vicente fiasco, when PDI ran a series of unflattering photos of the stroke victim when he appeared at the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona and labeled it ‘Character witness.’”

“Clearly, the PDI owes an apology and an explanation to the public, to Muslims and to its own staff photographer,” the NUJP said, noting that “because of the caption writer’s irresponsibility, the blame might be unfairly laid on the photographer whose byline accompanies the photograph.”

“Needless to say, it should also promise to be extra careful never to let this happen again,” the NUJP said.

The PCP, in its letter to PDI, said that part of its mission when they set up the organization in 1997 was to “establish professionalism in the industry and to promote the ethical practice of photography in the Philippines.”

“We therefore deem it our role to cite instances detrimental to our profession, such as this incident, and call the responsible party/ies to action,” the PCP said.

Lawyer Laisa Alamia, newly-appointed director of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)  in her personal posting on Facebook said the use of “security risk” in the caption “makes it appear that Muslim women in the country, particularly those wearing burqas (and in my experience, even the ordinary veil), are security risks. I thought this only happens in airports or malls. For a national paper such as PDI to also subject Muslims to this kind of treatment is the height of it all.”

In a text message, Alamia said the media is a very powerful institution in our society and along with other sectors, “has a major responsibility in shaping perceptions and mindsets of the people in the mainstream.”

OIC Assemblyman Mitmug, a member of the staff of Senator Teofisto Guingona before his appointment,  told MindaNews  that when he saw the photograph of  the President shaking his mother’s hand,  he was “very happy.”

“Pag naka-burqa kasi, mahirap pumara taxi. Sinsundan sa mall. Hirap sa inspection. (When she’s using a burqa, it’s difficult to hail a cab.  She is being followed in the mall. She has difficulties during inspection). Pero with the President happy acknowledging her presence and being highlighted is very redeeming and very happy. I bet ganun din mom. Then nag-flood mga text,” he said.

Mitmug said in his excitement seeing his mom on the front page, he did not immediately notice the caption. He said he would write the newspaper.

The photograph,  taken by Lyn Rillon, was not the subject of criticism. The heading “security risk?” was.

Warina Jukuy of Sulu, who wears a burqa, wrote in her blog that instead of “security risk,” the caption could have been written differently.

“Why write ‘SECURITY RISK?’ as a caption? Shoulda been: PROVEN SECURITY RISK NOT AT ALL! or A Historic Handshake Erasing Histrionics About Security Risk!”  Jukuy said.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, PDI had yet to respond to NUJP and PCP.  (MindaNews)

UPDATE: PDI posted an apology on its website at 1:55 a.m. Friday, below the letters of PCP and NUJP.

It said: “So very sorry. We say so sorry to those who have taken offense over the caption head (“Security Risk?”) for the photo of President Benigno Aquino III shaking the hand of a Muslim woman garbed in a burqa, which appeared on Page 1 of the May 9 issue of the Inquirer. We are especially sorry to have hurt the feelings of our Muslim brothers and sisters. —Editors”

Capt. Ernesto Aguilar, commander of the Bravo Company of the 57th Infantry Battalion, said soldiers of “good moral character” will surely “win people’s hearts.”

Aguilar has issued a stern warning to his men: “Avoid abuses in the community.”

“This is real peace building… that we, as the real soldiers of the people, must demonstrate upright attitude. Thus, we must avoid alcohol, girls, and gambling,” said Aguilar.

Those who are caught violating his strict policy would be sanctioned, he said.

Aguilar said they only allow women and girls to stay in the detachment if they are relatives of the soldiers.

“Prostituted women or those who are not the legal wives of the soldiers cannot stay in the barracks for even a night. I am very strict with this policy,” he stressed.

If caught, a soldier loses his 15-day vacation leave after three months of continuous duty at the outpost or detachment.

Also, Aguilar said that for them to win the war in the hinterlands, they must show respect and deeper understanding of the culture of the people.

He admitted, though, that some of his men have problems with attitude, especially when dealing with residents in the hinterlands.

Just recently, one of his men accused five members of the Manuvu tribe in Barangay Kinarum, a hinterland village in Magpet town, as supporters of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA), which he said offended the sensitivity of the natives.

In fact, the tribal council in Barangay Kinarum has called for a dialogue with the soldiers in the village.

Such unfortunate incident, he said, was a result of their failure to appreciate the culture and the language of the people.

So as not to repeat the same “false move,” he encouraged his men to study the dialect of the residents.

“I am a pure Tagalog. But when I was assigned in Magpet town where residents speak Ilonggo, Cebuano, and Manuvu, I tried to study their dialects. It’s so important to learn the language of the people for you to win them,” said Aguilar.

Barangay Kinarum in Magpet is one of the villages in North Cotabato considered as “highly influenced” by the communist guerillas. (Malu Cadeliña Manar / MindaNews)

The Catholic church-run dxDB reported that Zubiri aired his tirade against Calingasan during a convocation program at the capitol. It was the first time that Zubiri openly hit his long-time ally, although frictions between them had surfaced as soon as they switched positions in 2010.

Zubiri cited reasons for his attack on Calingasan. But he omitted one reason – the real one – which the governor explained to dxDB: Zubiri was incensed over reports Calingasan will seek reelection in 2013.

Calingasan denied he is running for the same post next year and maintained he won’t go against Zubiri. He said it was the people around the vice governor that sowed intrigues between him and his acknowledged patron.

The governor did not stop there. He said that before the May 2010 election he agreed to Zubiri’s imposition to resign six months after sitting as governor. Zubiri would then negotiate for Calingasan a Cabinet position granting Senator Manuel Villar won.

Although an ally of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Zubiri supported Villar’s bid for the presidency.

Calingasan said that since Villar lost, Zubiri told him to stay put [as governor].

But based on reports from my sources at capitol, relations between the two highest provincial officials have turned sour after the elections. A source said that in a function attended by capitol employees Calingasan announced his plan to lay off some job order and contractual workers to optimize the budget for other purposes.

However, in his speech during the same event Zubiri declared no employee would be removed. His word prevailed over Calingasan’s, my source added.

This and other incidents relayed to me by my sources suggest that Calingasan was just being diplomatic when he told dxDB that Zubiri did not press him to resign after six months as governor. The vice governor’s actuations indicated impatience, if not annoyance, over having to wait for 2013 to get his old post back.

Calingasan did the right thing in not resigning despite the reported agreement with Zubiri. Neither of them – Zubiri in particular – has the right to consign a sovereign decision to political whim. Even the fact that Zubiri played a key role in Calingasan’s victory is no reason to treat electoral mandate as an ordinary chip that can be disposed at will.

Zubiri had already enjoyed three straight terms as governor, and before that, three straight terms as congressman. Is three years too long too wait?

Or – and this is what I really wanted to ask ever since – isn’t it time to try new faces? (H. Marcos C. Mordeno mainly writes on the environment, human rights and politics. He can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com.)