EDGEDAVAO
VOL. 10 ISSUE 226 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018
SUBURBIA RISING7
Abu Sayyaf men seize government engineer
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AMBOANGA CITY -- A government engineer was abducted by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members in the province of Sulu, the military reported Wednesday. Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, identi�ied the victim as Enrico Nee of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DPWH-ARMM). Sobejana said Nee, who belonged to the �irst engineering district, was seized at around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday in Barangay San Raymundo, Jolo, Sulu. Sobejana said the victim was waiting for a tricycle approximately 20 meters away from his residence when a lone gunman approached and at gunpoint forced him to board on a waiting Tamaraw-type jeep.
He said the jeep sped off towards Barangay Anuling, Patikul municipality. “The incident may be part of the express kidnapping of the ASG to get ransom payment and sustain their terror activities,” he added. He said rescue operation was immediately launched by the Joint Task Force Sulu and the police forces in the province. “We already recovered the get away vehicle and closely tracking the escape route (of the ASG),” Sobejana said. “We are appealing to the public to immediately inform us on any monitored hostile plans of the ASG so that we can take immediate appropriate action,” he added citing the public should be aware that security is everybody’s responsibility. (PNA/with reports from Ely E. Dumaboc)
6 killed in Surigao provinces as‘Basyang’batters Caraga
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ENERAL LUNA, Siargao Island (MindaNews / 13 Feb) – Six people have died in separate landslides in the mining towns of Carrascal in Surigao del Sur and Placer in Surigao del Norte as Typhoon “Basyang” battered Caraga Region Tuesday morning, of�icials said. Carrascal Mayor Vicente “VJ” Pimentel III told MindaNews over the phone that a landslide in Barangay Panikian killed three people and hurt one while another incident in Barangay Babuyan killed one and injured 10. Several infrastructures have been damaged, according to the mayor. Placer Mayor Michael Patino, meanwhile, said two people died due to a landslide in Barangay Mapaso. In Surigao City, �loods hit different parts of the city and reportedsly wiped out a steel bridge in the mining village of Mat-i. The Surigao River swelled as “Basyang” poured water since Monday, causing �loods in several low-lying villages such as portions of Barangay Luna, Washington, Rizal, Mat-i, Serna, Togbongon, and San Juan, according to city information of�icer Annette Villaces. In Alegria town in Surigao del Norte, mud descended in the villages after a landslide. Concerned Alegria resident Pontius Gogo shared to MindaNews his pictures of Ba-
rangay Alipao that was affected by the landslide. He said several houses were almost buried by a swath of mud cascading down from the mountain. “Small-scale mining has been operating in this barangay since the early 1980s,” Gogo said, adding that miners cut the trees for use in the tunnels without replanting. “They are focused on getting the precious gold and neglecting the danger of destroying nature,” he lamented. Engr. Henry Marapao, district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Surigao del Norte, said the Magtiaco Bridge along national highway in the municipality of Alegria is impassable this was damaged as water in the river rose. Another bridge in Barangay Bangonay in neighboring Jabonga town in Agusan del Norte is also reportedly not passable. Two power transmission lines of the National Grid Power Corporation (NGCP) in Barangay Quezon in Surigao City were reportedly toppled, causing blackout in parts of the city and in the municipalities of San Francisco and Malimono in Surigao del Norte. NGCP spokesperson Mae Roselle Curiano said it might take some time to bring power back because they still have to wait for �loodwaters to recede before linemen could do repairs. (Roel N. Catoto / MindaNews)
HARVESTING ABACA. Native to the Philippines, the abaca plant (known in the science world as Musa textilis) is a kind of palm tree related to the common banana palm. The fiber is extracted from the
leaf sheath around the base of the plant. Harvesting of abaca stalks usually takes place between 18 and 24 months from the first shoots. Photo by Henrylito D. Tacio
7 rebs surrender in Maguindanao A
MPATUAN, Maguindanao -Tired of hiding from pursuing government troops and empty promises of their supposed leaders, seven communist New Peoples’ Army (NPA) guerillas surrendered Tuesday to the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion (MIB) based here. Lt. Col. Lauro Oliveros, 1st MIB commanding of�icer, said the surrenderees belonged to Platoon My Phone of the NPA Guerilla
Front 73 Far South Mindanao Regional Committee, operating in the hinterlands of Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat. The rebels turned over
�irearms and explosives composed of two M-14 ri�le, M-16 ri�le, two M1 Garand ri�les, one homemade M-16 sniper ri�le, one Spring�ield ri�le, a .38-caliber revolver, a hand grenade, and one improvised explosive device with wire and triggering device. Oliveros said the surrenderees decided to return to the folds of the law due to hardship they experienced in hiding in the mountain-
ous area of Sultan Kudarat while evading government troops. They also realized promises of their communist leaders were all false. “The surrenderees were also convinced by their relatives and other former rebels who bene�ited from the government’s Comprehensive Local Integration Program or CLIP and live a peaceful and secured life,”
initiative, which is dubbed unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program. She said they were tasked to lead the validation and implementation of the program in parts of Region 12 and in the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Also known as Soccsksargen, Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and North Cotabato, and the cities of Gen-
eral Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato. “After the actual validation, we will release the list of bene�iciaries and endorse them for the subsidy,” Taha said. The of�icial said the validation would be based on the current database of the agency’s “Listahanan” survey or National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction. She said it would cover at total of 197,149 poor households in Region 12 and 235,326 in the ARMM.
In Region 12, the validation will involve 73, 315 households in North Cotabato, 44,583 in South Cotabato, 43,932 in Sultan Kudarat, 27,253 in Sarangani and 8,066 in Cotabato City. A total of 121,654 households will undergo validation in Lanao del Sur, including Marawi City, and 113,672 in Maguindanao. Sohra Guialel, DSWD-12’s policy and plans division chief, said they would hire some 1,441 validators, 125 admin-
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432K poor households eyed for TRAIN subsidy in Region 12, Armm
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ENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 12 is targeting to cover around 432,000 poor households for the subsidy program in line with the implementation of Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law. Bai Zorahayda Taha, DSWD Region 12 director, said Wednesday they are set to launch a series of validations to properly determine the quali�ied bene�iciaries for the
432K,P13