SPECIAL REPORT (3): Transitioning from revolutionary group to governance team
COTABAO CITY (MindaNews/09 November) – Months before the hysteria over the P5-million fund for the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute (BLMI), lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo,...
SPECIAL REPORT (2): P5 million for peace, P14 billion in 15 months for AFP...
COTABAO CITY (Mindanews/08 November) -- Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin may not have intended the contrast but after a soldier asked about the P5 million...
SPECIAL REPORT (1); What’s the fuss over a P5-M investment for peace?
A P5 million check the Philippine government gave the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute (BLMI) in August became headline news two months later -- specifically a week after the October 18 clash between the military and the MILF in Al-Barka, Basilan –- but with a spin: that the check was given by President Aquino to MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Japan; that the amount “may have been used” or “might be used” by the MILF to buy guns and ammunition that would be used against the military; and that the amount was not P5 million but P5 billion.
The Bangsamoro Dream (4): What’s wrong with the ARMM structure?
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/10 September) – “Learn lessons from our mistakes,” Parouk Hussin, the Foreign Affairs chief of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) who became the second and last MNLF official who served as governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said five years ago when asked what advice he would give the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which was then nearing an impasse in the peace negotiations.
The Bangsamoro Dream (3): 21 years of ARMM, 32 years of autonomy experimentation
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/09 September) – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is 21 years old but the“autonomous region” set-up or “experiment” as many refer to it, including Malacanang, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has been existing for the last 32 years, spanning six administrations..
The Bangsamoro Dream (2): “Guberno a sarwang” (alien government)
nd of a series
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/08 September) – The supposed grant of autonomy by the first Aquino administration to what would be the Autonomous...
The Bangsamoro Dream (1): Why offer a “failed experiment” as platform for peace?
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/07 September) – When President Benigno Simeon Aquino III met with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Japan on August 4 to talk peace, he did what his mother did 25 years ago: meet with rebel leader Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in his homeland in Sulu, to talk peace. Aquino the son would have wanted to meet with Murad anywhere, even in his camp in Darapanan, Maguindanao.
Battling extinction in Mt. Kitanglad Range: Reemerging species
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/14 July) – Elito Guinoay, a Higaonon Lumad living in Sitio Lantud, barangay Sagaran in Talakag, Bukidnon, is one of the buffer zone residents who availed of livelihood funds for abaca production. A traditional crop, he said abaca helps in conservation because it thrives best in cool, shaded areas and so the farmer would do well not to cut the trees [around his farm].
Battling species extinction in Mt. Kitanglad Range: The economics of conservation
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/12 July) – Until the 1980s, the country’s natural resource protection regime had relied heavily on law enforcement. Forest protection in particular made use of forest rangers as the front line of defense against illegal logging and violations done by holders of Timber License Agreements. The ranger system proved to be a failure though, leaving the forests to the tender mercies of loggers many of whom were also politicians.
Battling species extinction in Mt. Kitanglad Range
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/11 July) – In 1992-1993, American biologist Dr. Lawrence Heaney made a survey of faunal species in Mt. Kitanglad Range, a natural park in Northwestern Bukidnon. He recorded at least 16 species out of the list of endemic birds in Mindanao which can be found in the mountain range (area: 47,270 hectares).
How to cure Philhealth’s woes?
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—The General Santos District Hospital (GSDH) here was not the only hospital that was investigated by Philhealth for fraudulent claims. Tertiary hospitals such as the AFP Medical Center, St. Luke’s Hospital, Philippine Orthopedic Hospital, University of Sto. Tomas Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Cardinal Santos medical Center, Medical City, and National Kidney and Transplant Institute have been investigated at one point or another for alleged Philhealth fraud.
Bogus claims haunt Philhealth
MANILA, Philippines—For many years you’ve been paying your Philhealth dues, and so has your company. But that money may have been misused to finance bankrupt hospitals and fatten doctors’ salaries. As early as four years ago, a scandal hit the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., which confirmed allegations that some private hospitals and doctors have been defrauding the state-run health insurer.
Tokenism in environment conservation: The case of Bukidnon’s major uplands
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/24 April) -- Aside from forestry laws and the National Integrated Protected Areas Act, there are other policies at the local and national levels that seek to preserve the country’s remaining forestlands. With the onset of climate change and its adverse impacts, there has since emerged a stronger demand for a serious implementation of these policies.
Tokenism in environment conservation: The case of Bukidnon’s major uplands (4)
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/23 April) -- In their watershed management and development plans, the local government units having jurisdiction over Mt. Pantaron, Mt. Kitanglad and Mt. Kalatungan identified environment-related problems affecting the water bodies and forestland/uplands. For water bodies, the leading problem is decrease in water quality caused by pollution and contamination, and for forestlands and/or uplands, deforestation and denudation and the attendant loss in biodiversity. Deforestation has further led to soil erosion and siltation of water bodies.
The case of Bukidnon’s major uplands: How much for the environment?
( Third of five parts)
At the national level, implementation of the protected area system has suffered from a major deficiency: lack or absence of...
Tokenism in environment protection: The case of Bukidnon’s major uplands Second of five parts:...
Laws relating to biodiversity conservation had been enacted in the Philippines as early as the American colonial period. It was only in 1992, however,...
Tokenism in environment conservation? The case of Bukidnon’s major uplands
Bukidnon lies in the central part of Mindanao. Categorized as a first class province, it has 20 municipalities and two component cities and is divided into three congressional districts. As a landlocked area, it plays a crucial role as a physical artery that facilitates economic and other exchanges between the northern and southern regions of Mindanao, aided in large part by the improved condition of roads leading to Davao City and Cotabato provinces.
SPECIAL REPORT: Who’s afraid of a Bangsamoro sub-state? (6)
(Questions the Bishops and Business execs asked of the MILF peace panel)
Last of six parts: Will conflict take a backseat?
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/06 April) –...
SPECIAL REPORT: Who’s afraid of a Bangsamoro sub-state? [Part 5]
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/06 April) – “We are a national franchisee operator for our trucks. In other words, we are franchised to operate anywhere in the Philippines. Our trucks operate from Luzon to Mindanao.What happens to our franchise when there is the Bangsamoro area … how will a grant of national franchise affect our operations?,” Gabriel Atega, vice-president of Ansuico Incorporated, asked the peace panel of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
SPECIAL REPORT: Who’s afraid of a Bangsamoro sub-state? (Part 4)
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/04 April) – If the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity of the ill-fated Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain of 2008 was perceived “very nebulous” by the majority, as Datu Michael Mastura, senior peace panel member himself acknowledged in the consultation with Mindanao’s business sector last March 31, and the proposed “Bangsamoro sub-state” is still a mystery to many, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) apparently needs to simplify its terms to communicate apparently needs to simplify its terms to communicate its proposed "asymmetrical relationsihp" with the Philippine government.
SPECIAL REPORT: Who’s afraid of a Bangsamoro sub-state? (Part 3)
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/03 April) -- On the issue of territory, Cotabato Arcbishop Orlando Quevedo asked the panel: “You and I know that Christians vehemently objected to that portion which was beyond Category A (of the botched 2008 Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain or MOA-AD) and especially people from Zamboanga, Davao and North Cotabato were vehement in their objections and yet I still find those very disputable contentious things in the draft. For historical reasons I can understand the MILF position but for the feasible and viable acceptance of this, for those who were vehemently opposed to this especially people from Manila, Zambonaga, Davao and North Cotabao, why should it still be there? For practical purposes, why should it still be there and risk again non-acceptance?”
SPECIAL REPORT (2): Who’s afraid of a Bangsamoro sub-state? (Questions the Bishops and Business...
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/02 April) – Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo noted that the proposed territory of the proposed “Bangsamoro sub-state” of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) covers areas that are presently the subject of the implementation of the agreement between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and government; and that it is also the present territory of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
SPECIAL REPORT (1): Who’s afraid of a Bangsamoro sub-state? (Questions the Bishops and Business...
What is this “Bangsamoro sub-state” the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is proposing? What is its composition? Who will lead it? What happens to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao? Are you speaking for the entire Bangsamoro people? What about the Moro National Liberation Front? What about the practice of religion? What happens to our national franchise in a “Bangsamoro sub-state”? How do you deal with constitutional issues?
The 1976 tsunami: Maguindanao had highest death toll
LINEK, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao (MindaNews/23 March) – “Pagdating namin dito, maraming bangkay. Ang kamalig sa palengke sa Dimapatoy, puno ng bangkay. Ang mosque sa Mompong puno ng bangkay. Yung kalsada dyan, puno ng bangkay.”
35 years after the 1976 Moro Gulf tsunami: whatever happened to the preparedness plans?
LINEK, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao (MindaNews/21 March 2011) -- President Aquino wants a review of the country’s preparedness in dealing with earthquakes and tsunamis and the Senate wants a probe on the same matter, even as an apparently forgotten report on the “Moro Gulf Tsunami of 17 August 1976” written 33 years ago, had recommended simple but doable preparations on what to do and where to go, should a tsunami strike again.
Babu Minang, survivor of 1976 tsunami: “Nothing was left”
“After the earthquake, we went outside the house and heard a strange sound. My father said it was the wind. But the coconut fronds were not moving. A niece said it sounded like water. Two huge waves came rushing in. It was so fast. I lost consciousness. When I came to, I was on the side of the mountain.”
Second of two parts: Ex-Navy whistleblower says she has evidence on AFP fund mess
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 February) -- In her letter, which the PPTRP obtained, Ex-Navy Lt. Senior Grade Nancy Grace Gadian alleged that in
the 2002 and 2007 Balikatan exercises where she was involved, it was usual for AFP activities to be conducted without official funds because fund transfer is delayed. To address the problem, loans are made from “dealers” with connections to military officers, a scheme described by Gadian as “cost of money.”
SPECIAL REPORT: Ex-Navy whistleblower says she has evidence on AFP fund mess
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/21 February) -- A female former junior Navy officer who blew the whistle about the alleged corruption in the joint RP-US Balikatan military exercises four years ago has not gone into oblivion, showing up recently in a fighting mode as the controversial fund mess rocking the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) continues to grip the nation’s attention.
Smaller tuna catches worry traders
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/24 January)—High-quality large tuna stocks caught and unloaded daily in this port city, the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines,” are getting...
SPECIAL REPORT: Bt crops: boon to farmers or genetic hoax? (3)
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/21 Dec) - Sometime in 1961, Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey declared: "Agriculture is the greatest story America has ever had... The scourge of the world today is hunger and famine, and we're the only nation in the world in a position to do something about it. It's a far more powerful weapon than nuclear fusion. The Russians may be cheating on nuclear tests, but we're not cheating on agriculture. We're only timid about using it as a weapon for peace."
SPECIAL REPORT: Bt crops: Arguments for and against (2)
SPECIAL REPORT
2nd of three parts
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/20 Dec) - Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a soil bacterium embedded in the genomes of plants such as...
SPECIAL REPORT: Bt crops: boon to farmers or genetic hoax? (1)
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/19 December) -- In the 1970s, at the onset of the martial law era, the Marcos government implemented a program called the "Green Revolution," which purported to increase agricultural production many times over using "modern" farming methods. Farmers were convinced to plant hybrid rice varieties churned out by scientists at the International Rice Research Institute of the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, with ample help from multinational companies and donor institutions such as the Rockefeller Foundation and even by United Nations agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization and UN Development Programme.
Lanao town attacked in ’08 forms peace commission
KAUSWAGAN, Lanao del Norte (MindaNews/13 August) -- The municipal government here has formed its own peace commission to enhance peaceful coexistence among Christians and...
The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (9): On Elections 2010
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews) — Will the election next month be a watershed, a turning point, a defining moment for the Philippines as it was...
The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (8) On foreign ownership,on US military
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews) — In September 2008, a month after the controversy of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) broke out, Speaker...
The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (7): On Charter Change
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews) – It has been suggested that one of the solutions to the conflict between the Philippine government and the Bangsamoro is...
The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (6): Goin’, Growin’ Bananas
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/08 April) -- The latest Green Electoral Initiative survey of Greenpeace Southeast Asia and Ecowaste Coalition shows that seven of the nine...
The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (5): Logging, Mining,
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/07 April) -- How do the Presidential aspirants care for the environment. Do they care at all? Are they aware of environmental...
The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (4): On loose firearms and warlords
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/06 April) -- On November 29, 2008, then National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales told a gathering of young Mindanawon leaders in Davao...
SPECIAL REPORT The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (3):The Bakwits, the NPA the Abu Sayyaf
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/05 April) – There were more villagers displaced by war under the Estrada administration in 2000 but the Arroyo administration will be...
The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (2): On the Bangsamoro peace processes
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/04 April) -- The Arroyo administration started in January 2001 with a supposed “all-out peace” policy but two wars broke out against...
SPECIAL REPORT The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao 2010-2016 (1): Their Mindanao
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/03 April) -- How do the Presidential aspirants view Mindanao? What will be the first thing they’d do for Mindanao when elected?...