The Mindanao Cross | June 12, 2021The Mindanao Cross | June 12, 2021

Vol. LXXIII| No. 18| Cotabato City | Saturday, June 12, 2021 |8 Pages | P10.00

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Cong Toto files bill for Muslim cemeteries

CHURCH / P4

Pope names Cardinal Tagle to Eastern Churches congregation

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VSAT in BARMM to boost governance, security

The Mindanao Cross issuu.com/mindanaocross mindanao.cross@gmail.com

PUBLIC WARNED ANEW VS COVID-19

By John Felix Unson

Officials have urged the public in central Mindanao to adhere religiously to antiCOVID-19 protocols in the wake of the continuing surge of coronavirus infection cases in the region.

The regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is doing its best to help local governments address the problem, according to BARMM's spokesperson, Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo.

Emergency and calamity responders of BARMM's quick deployment Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence are busy helping in the transport of patients to treatment facilities and cadavers of fatalities out for burial, for Muslims, and cremation, for non-Muslims.

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Cotabato Regional Medical Center, BARMM, Region 12 COVID-19 referral hospital.

Photo courtesy of CRMC, HEPO

BARMM to report BARMM expenditures transparent, budget intact, spox says on spending

By Edwin O. Fernandez THE Bangsamoro government fully disclosed as contrary to performance. governance. via IGRs f i s c a l t r a n s a c t i o n s a r e allegations that the budget Sinarimbo said the Basically, BARMM

By Nash Maulana THE Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will present its pre-semestral reports to the national government in Manila on an undisclosed date this month.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM spokesman and minister of interior and local government, said the region normally submits its periodic performance and financial reports to the national government through intergovernmental relations (IGR) groups provided under RA 11054, the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

Under the BOL, the BARMM and the national government maintain channels of relations in IGRs on budget and finance management, energy, infrastructure development, and one shared by the BARMM Parliament and Congress in which the House of Representatives and the Senate are represented.

In each of the IGRs, the national and regional governments are represented for coordinative charting of programs and projects, budgeting, and releases and utilization of financial resources.

Earlier, Sen. Imee Marcos urged the Senate Finance Committee in a resolution to look into BARMM spending of its 2020 funds provided for the rehabilitation of conflictaffected areas, including its part in the rehabilitation of Marawi City.

Sinarimbo said regional

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transparent, above board, legal and no irregularities, an official of the young political entity said.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, speaking for the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), stressed that the regional government and all its offices and ministries have been implementing, from day one in office, the government’s full disclosure policy.

“Budget appropriation is

of the regional government is not fully disclosed,” said Sinarimbo, also the BARMM interior minister, during a news conference Wednesday.

In fact, all the annual budget and how these government funds are spent can be viewed at BARMM government ministries websites, denying claims that the regional government was over spending and nontransparent in its fiscal

BARMM’s annual budget is appropriated out of the annual block grant from the national government, share in the national government taxes, fees and charges collected in the Bangsamoro territorial jurisdiction, and projected collections on regional taxes, fees and charges for the operation of the regional government, all within Chief Minister Adod Ebrahim’s advocacy for moral

started sometime in mid-2019 using the unspent budget of the defunct ARMM, pointing out that there was no block grant in that year.

“We are open to audit anytime,” Sinarimbo told reporters.

In 2020, BARMM has total allocation of P65.9 billion pesos as budgeted by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament.

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Cotabato City IATF limits religious gatherings

No negative antigen test, no entry

By Fr. Rock Saniel, OMI THE novel coronavirus 2019 10 days under observation (COVID-19) virus continues until the announcement of to spread in Cotabato City the local government unit affecting many people. This (LGU). is an alarming news for According to City Mayor the safety of the people of Cynthia Sayadi, there were Cotabato City that forced 332 active cases recorded the city LGU to return to in Cotabato City last May a stricter health protocols 2021. Interestingly, this is under GCQ. almost the same with the I n a s t a t e m e n t , cases recorded in September C o t a b a t o C i t y C y n t h i a 2020. As COVID-19 infection G u i a n i a n n o u n c e d t h a t surged, death cases also a l l r e l i g i o u s a n d m a s s increased as of the record. gatherings in Cotabato City Executive Order 401 or are temporarily discouraged. the 2021 containment This will be within 7 to order of Cotabato City,

By Edwin O. Fernandez ALL officials and employees of personnel are directed to the Cotabato City government undergo the saliva antigen must undergo a weekly rapid test every Monday, the first antigen test for free to help workday of the week. curb rising cases of novel “Correspondingly, all coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). tested negative shall be given Starting Monday (June a wristband that will serve as 14), the 2,565 employees of passport before entering the the city government, mostly city hall premises,” Juanday working at the city hall, will said, adding that the wristband be tested of any symptoms of would only be good for a week.

COVID-19 through rapid tests.

Clients, visitors and In a memorandum issued anyone transacting business

by Cotabato City Administrator at the city hall are required to Dr. Danda Juanday, by the undergo the same rapid test, authority of Mayor Frances he said.

Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, all “Guards on duty are

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DID YOU KNOW? June is National Disaster Resilience Month

PREVENTIVE MEASURE. Village watchmen implement focus containment in Barangay Rosary Heights Mother, Cotabato City, led by Barangay councilmen Datu Rudy Ampatuan and Andy Mangansakan as step to arrest rising COVID-19 cases.

Karl John Daniel

National Disaster Resilience Month is observed every July by virtue of Executive Order No. 29, signed on June 28, 2017.

Originally known as National Disaster Consciousness Month, it was renamed to shift from disaster awareness to building disaster resilience. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is the lead agency tasked to implement all programs under this order.

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June 12, 2021

THE MINDANAO CROSS

Cong Toto files bill for Muslim cemeteries

TO help Muslims in other parts of the country find final resting place for a departed loved ones, Maguindanao 2nd District Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu has filed a bill urging all local government units across the country to allot lots for Filipino Muslim cemeteries.

In a phone interview, Mangudadatu said he filed House Bill No. 9589, an act requiring all LGUs in the county to allocate suitable tracts of land in their localities for Muslim cemeteries.

“Despite the growing number of Muslims relocating to various parts of the country, only a handful of cemeteries for Muslims exists,” Mangudadatu said.

Mangudadatu, who is the House vice-chair of the committees on Mindanao Affairs and Local Government.

The former Maguindanao governor more Filipino Muslims migrating from Mindanao for greener pastures and notably, here has been

a rise of Muslim population and communities in almost all parts of the country.

As they moved there, they brought with them not only their trade and skills but also their culture and religious beliefs and practices.

“Part of our culture and practice is our strong adherence to the burying of our dead relatives in less than 24 hours upon demise,” he said.

“This is why it is only appropriate that we bury them in a place that can exclusively host the body of our departed Muslim brothers and sisters,” he added.

He said based on 2019 data of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, there is an estimated

12,699,550 Filipino Muslims across the country.

Muslim families are also forced to immediately transport, usually by plane, the remains back to the place of origin of the deceased for fitting burial rites.

“It is not a joke to transport the remains of our Muslim brethren (to their hometowns) due to expensive transport fees. Not only it is stressful especially during this pandemic, but it also causes financial distress to the grieving families,” he said.

“And must be done within 24 hours after death” he added.

He hoped his bill will become a law within the year. Edwin O.

Fernandez

COVID-19 stifles passage of BARMM laws COTABATO CITY — Three new regional laws are out, two of which are now being used as reference in the setting up of the infant Bangsamoro government’s pioneering personnel structure.

Members of the 80-seat Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) known as the interim regional parliament, said Thursday they could have drafted and approved more regional laws if not for the COVID-19 pandemic that stifled their operation.

The Bangsamoro g o v e r n m e n t ’ s spokesperson, lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, said Thursday they are thankful to the BTA for having passed the Administrative, the Civil Service and the Education Codes that are essential to regional governance.

Sinarimbo, regional government minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said there are still other draft regional codes being studied now

by BARMM’s parliament, led by Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim.

Ebrahim is the chairman of the central committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front whose two decades of peace talks with Malacañang resulted in the creation

in 2019 of BARMM that replaced then the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Sinarimbo said the enactment into law of these codes disproved insinuations by skeptics and pessimists that the BARMM parliament has no sensible legislative agenda.

“These are regional edicts formulated via extensive consultation with the local communities, based on the peculiar socioeconomic and geographical settings of BARMM, attuned to the region’s charter, the Republic Act 11054,” Sinarimbo said.

The RA 11054 is also known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law that voters in the core territory of BARMM ratified via a plebiscite in January 2019.

Sinarimbo said the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the supposedly continuing effort of the 80-member regional parliament to pass more regional laws needed for the now 26-month BARMM to fully take off.

Among the draft BARMM laws still being deliberated on by the regional parliament are the proposed local government, election and internal revenue codes.

John Felix Unson

Vice mayor, wife assume Tacurong’s top posts

MORE ARMY FRONTLINERS OUT. The 185 new personnel of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division are to perform anti-COVID-19 frontline missions besides their peacekeeping duties in areas under 6th ID’s jurisdiction.

Photo courtesy of 6th ID

Kampilan’s new frontliner troops

THE Army’s 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division has 185 new personnel for deployment to units involved in government COVID-19 containment op erations in central Mindanao.

Major Gen. Juvymax Uy, 6th ID commander, said the new 185 soldiers completed their basic training, as requisite to admission into the Philippine Army, only last June 1.

The 185 neophyte soldiers were also lectured on the religious intricacies of the culturally-pluralistic communities in central Mindanao that they are to serve as Philippine Army troops and as antiCOVID-19 frontliners.

They were trained for five months at the Division Training School in Barangay Semba, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, not too

far away from Camp Gonzalo Siongco, where 6th ID’s headquarters is located.

“Besides their peacekeeping missions they shall also help in the government’s war on coronavirus. They shall be the `manpower complement' for the medical frontliners out there enforcing antiCOVID regulations,” Uy said.

The 6th ID covers

New BARMM education execs take oath

EIGHTEEN more officials of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) have taken their oath to help deliver moral upliftment in the field, a regional education official announced Thursday.

MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal said the group belonged to the fourth batch of the newly appointed MBHTE officials whose appointments he signed before the oathtaking ceremony held Wednesday afternoon.

During the ceremony at MBHTE main office here, Iqbal reminded the new employees of their pledge towards exemplifying moral governance in the service to the Bangsamoro community.

“I reminded them that we have to purify our intentions when we do our tasks and responsibilities in line with the mandates of the Bangsamoro education ministry,” Iqbal said in an interview here with reporters.

He said the 18 officials, appointed to plantilla positions, went through a rigorous screening process conducted by the ministry’s Regional Human Resource Merit Promotion and Selection Board (RHRMPSB) which was based on the required qualifications, written and online examination, and interview.

“The first three batches of appointed and promoted officials also took their oath before me earlier,” Iqbal said.

Alongside the hiring and promotion processes in the regional office, the MBHTE also continuously conducts screening processes for teaching positions in the schools' division level, he added.

“We have no room for corrupt practices in the education ministry considering that MBHTE consists of the largest workforce in the region,” Iqbal said.

The MBHTE-BARMM has over 20,000 teaching workforce across the region. PNA

the provinces of North Cotabato, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Sarangani provinces and the cities of Cotabato, Tacurong, Koronadal and General Santos.

There is an alarmingly high prevalence of COVID-19 cases now in all of the provinces and cities under the jurisdiction of 6th ID. John Felix Unson

TACURONG City Vice Mayor Lino Montilla has officially assumed as the city mayor here on Wednesday afternoon.

Montilla filled the vacancy left by his elder brother, Mayor Angelo, who passed away on June 6.

The vice mayor took his oath of office as the new local chief executive before Barangay Poblacion chair Maria Rhodora Pauya while Victoria Dolido, the city's local government operations officer, stood as a witness.

Mayor Angelo, 69, succumbed to coronavirus disease 2019 while undergoing medication in a hospital in General Santos City. His death came as a surprise for city government employees since he was last seen performing his duties as mayor on June 4.

Vice Mayor Montilla’s assumption to the mayoralty post complies with Section 44 of the Local Government Code stating that “if a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of the governor or mayor, the vice governor or vice mayor concerned shall become the governor or mayor.”

Meanwhile, based on the same provision, Sangguniang Panlungsod Member Lalaine Montilla, Lino's wife, being the councilor with the highest number of votes in the 2019 elections, subsequently took her oath of office as the new vice mayor.

The couple vowed to pursue the primary dream of the late mayor for Tacurong City, which is improving the lives of all its constituents.

“My brother has left a legacy that I ought to sustain for the city,” Lino said during a short telephone interview here.

The urn that contained the ashes of the late mayor lies in state at his residence while the burial date is yet to be announced. Edwin O. Fernandez

Money, guns, personality-based polls soon a thing-of-past

TOP leaders of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are “not preparing” the ground works for the May 2022 election, even as some officials have embraced party-based reforms pushed by the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP).

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM spokesman, said UBJP builds on the principles of “transforming our political exercises so that elections perennially

influenced by moneyand personality-based politics will soon become a thing of the past.”

Sinarimbo said it did not happen by coincidence that four local officials in Basilan and more provincial elected officials in Tawi-Tawi would join in and embrace the principles espoused by the party, along with their Maguindanao counterparts. It was also learned that the Ompia Party of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal “Bombit” Alonto Adiong

was forming a tactical alliance with UBJP which he also confirmed.

A concurrent B A R M M l o c a l government minister, Sinarimbo said the region’s proposed Local Governance Code (LGC) sets professional standards for mayoral and other local candidates, and that it bars the politician’s child from succeeding an elected parent already in the third of the three (three-year) terms.

Sinarimbo said that provision of

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June 12, 2021

Public warned anew vs COVID-19...from P1

Isolation wards in central Mindanao’s main COVID-19 treatment facility are now full and their supply of oxygen is now running out, the center announced this week.

In a Faceboo k statement, the management of the Cotabato Regional Medical Center (CRMC) here said it also needs more ventilators for COVID-19 patients.

Local officials have urged residents of this city and nearby towns in Maguindanao province to adhere to government anticoronavirus protocols to prevent the situation from getting worse.

Major Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, said personnel of their units have been directed to provide manpower support to LGUs enforcing anti-COVID-19 regulations in the barangays.

"We have very dedicated men and

women out there, ready to serve without being wary of what could happen to them.

We are thankful for having these brave men and women in our ranks," Uy said.

The isolation facilities in Maguindanao’s nearby South Upi and Sultan Kudarat towns of the Ministry of Health are both almost full of patients now, according to administrators.

Physician John Maliga, spokesperson of the CRMC, said they do not have limitations in admitting COVID-19 patients despite the center's situation now.

"The patients who are not severely ill can be treated in hospitals in the provinces," Maliga said.

Sources from central Mindanao’s medical community told reporters Tuesday reagents for COVID-19 swab procedures and testing kits have run out and there are dozens of residents with flu symptoms supposedly subject to such tests.

BARMM expenditures transparent, budget...from P1 After BTA Parliament’s approval of the budget, Sinarimbo noted, it was published in newspapers and government websites.

Sinarimbo also said that anyone who wishes to find out where the BARMM money is can go to the Bangsamoro Treasury Office and the offices of various ministries to find out.

T h e B A R M M spokesperson also said that about P40.8 billion (62 percent) of the P65 billion budget for 2020 remain as balance in the accounts of the Bangsamoro Treasury Office (BTO), and ministries and offices.

“The regional government has been very circumspect in its expenditures,” Sinarimbo

said, adding that Chief Minister Ebrahim’s marching order to all BARMM leaders is to spend money wisely, legally, correctly and for the benefit of every Bangsamoro.

This year, BARMM has a budget of P75.6 billion and only four percent or about P3.38 billion pesos has been allotted in the first quarter of the year.

No negative antigen test, no entry...from P1

directed to check if personnel and clients are wearing their wristbands,” Juanday said in the same order.

The city engineering office is currently temporarily closed for disinfection after several of its employees tested positive for the virus, he said.

Juanday said antigen test results could be reported within 15 minutes after the test was administered. Health workers will administer the test.

Halima Satol-Ibrahim, city information officer, said the local government is on skeletal workforce mode in all departments of the city government.

“We have been working on shifts or at the minimum since the increase in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks,” Satol-Ibrahim said.

Juanday and Mayor Sayadi remained hopeful the move will help stop the spread in the city hall premises, the homes of the city employees and their immediate environs.

Police Lt. Col. Joy Andrade, regional chief of HPG-BAR, said Saturday members of the team that intercepted the Monicos also seized from them an unlicensed .45 caliber pistol found inside their car.

The suspects were immediately booked and turned over by the HPGBAR to the Cotabato City Police office for prosecution.

Police Brig. Gen. Eden Ugale, director of the Police Regional OfficeBangsamoro Autonomous Region,

said their intelligence operatives are now verifying the possible links of the suspects to terror groups belonging to the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Three men were intercepted by soldiers and policemen only about two months ago in Shariff Saidona Mustapha, Maguindanao while on their way to deliver somewhere in the municipality 6,000 rounds of ammunition for M16 assault rifles. John

`Machinegun smugglers’ charged in...from P8

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

Felix Unson

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

Notice is hereby given that the late Mario E. Flores & Co-owner the late Anatalia E. Flores who died on October 14, 2018 & December 12, 2020 at Kidapawan City, respectively left a parcel of land Lot 56, Block 18, Pls-59 situated in Bo. Poblacion, Kidapawan, Cotabato, covered by TCT No. T-101767, with an area of 100,667 sq. mts., more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate with partition & waiver of rights before Notary Public Atty. Belner Pdawag as per Doc. No. 233; Page No. 46; Book No. IV; Series of 2021.

Notice is hereby given that the late Mario E. Flores who died intestate on October 14, 2018 at Kidapawan City left a parcel of land Lot 3113-B-2-A Psd-124704019542 situated Bo. of Poblacion, Municipality of Kidapawan, covered by TCT No. T-83270, with an area of 164 sq. mts., more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate with waiver of rights before Notary Public Atty.

Belner Padawag as per Doc. No. 235; Page No. 46; Book No. IV; Series of 2021.

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

MC: June 12, 19 & 26 2021

Notice is hereby given that the late Johnny Siao Ngo who died on June 9, 2009 at Cotabato City, left a parcel of land situated in Bo. of Poblacion (N.D Avenue), Cotabato City, covered by TCT No. T-44839, with an area of 58 sq. mts., more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate before Notary Public Atty. Agnes R. De Castro - Jagunap as per Doc. No. 3145; Page No. 3145; Book No. XXVII; Series of 2021.

MC: June 12, 19 & 26, 2021

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THE MINDANAO CROSS

MC: June 12, 19 & 26 2021

Notice is hereby given that the lateJesus Buncalan Balgos who died on November 22, 2016 at Baguer, Libungan, Cotabato left a parcel of land situated in Bo. Poblacion, Parang, Cotabato, covered

by OCT No. P-25804, with an area of 300 sq. mts. (3 ares), more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate with deed of absolute sale before Notary Public Atty. Agnes R. De Castro - Jagunap as per Doc. No. 3175; Page No. 3175; Book No. XXVII; Series of 2021.

MC: June 12, 19 & 26 2021

BARMM to report on spending via IGRs...from P1

heads of offices will present summaries of their reports on the utilization of BARMM Block Grant funds.

Under the BOL, BARMM gets an annual share equivalent to five percent (5%) of the net national internal revenue tax collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the net collection of the Bureau of Customs from the third fiscal year immediately, preceding the current fiscal year.

For 2020, that amount was roughly P70 billion.

Sinarimbo said most of the annual block grant funds released in 2020 to the region from the national government were actually reverted back to the regional treasury, after most of BARMM agencies and offices had not disbursed their funds on time.

He said that due to the restrictions of movements because of COVID-19, implementation of several projects were delayed which resulted to BARMM only spending about 38 percent of the amount.

Officials said special allotment release orders (SAROs) of the national government’s Modified Disbursement System (MDS) have validity periods for specific purpose of spending.

Similar to the national level, the Ministry of Finance and Budget and Management (MFBM) also releases Notices of Cash Allocation, a cash authority through government-authorized banks to service MDS for government agencies like BARMM.

Cotabato City IATF limits religious...from P1 which was released last Friday (June 3), includes the cancellation of all religious and mass gatherings in Cotabato City, among many others.

Monsignor Nicasio Lozada, DCC, who is assigned in Rosary Heights Parish in Cotabato City, supports the city mayor’s call for the cancellation of religious gatherings.

“Although it will have a huge effect to many parishes, I believe the city mayor only looks after the safety of her constituents. We have many ways of deepening our faith. This pandemic should not lead us to sacrifice the safety of our parishioners. I believe this is a win-win solution - people will be happy

for their safety and God will also happy not to sacrifice the lives of the people,” Msgr. Lozada said.

The surge of COVID-19 cases in Cotabato City was due to loosening of the protocols especially in the checkpoints and the reopening of the different establishments while the city was under MGCQ in previous months.

Mayor Sayadi has encouraged all Cotabateños and those from other provinces to support the program of the government and follow the protocols to fight against COVID-19.

“Now is the high-time that we take COVID-19 seriously,” Mayor Sayadi said.

BARMM police starts new recruitment...from P8 the applicants.

“Only the applicant’s qualifications will be evaluated in determining if he/ she will be accepted in the police force,” Brig. Gen. Ugale added.

The recruitment process started with the first process of taking the Body Mass Index (BMI) and the Physical Agility

Test.

The applicants who passed these events will proceed to written/oral examination, oral Examination, and Physical, Medical and Dental Examination (PMDE).

The recruitment process will run until 12, 2021. Edwin O. Fernandez

CIDG says Montawal operation legit...from P8 were the targets of CIDGBAR’s operation, based on tips from neighbors privy to their possession of unlicensed firearms.

The CIDG-BAR agents involved in the search operation had a warrant issued by Judge Allan Edwin Bongcavil of the Regional Trial Court Branch 19 in Sultan Kudarat province.

CIDG-BAR agents were forced to return fire when Sansaluna wounded Quitoriano in the butt with the service pistol he

grabbed from the officer.

CIDG-BAR agents recovered in the house they raided a 12 gauge shotgun. John Felix Unson

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

Republic of the Philippines Region XII City Government of Cotabato OFFICE OF THE CITY CIVIL REGISTRAR

Notice is hereby given that the late spouses ALBERTO J . PA C H E C O a n d MANUELA ALTOBANO, who died intestate on May 12, 1994 and April 09, 20001 at Tamontaka and Labungan, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, respectively, left parcels of land Lot 315, Pls-519 and Lot 316, Pls-519, covered

by OCT Nos. P-32482 and P-32483, respectively, with the total area of 321,093 sq. mts., more or less are the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate with simultaneous sale before Notary Public Atty. Agnes P. Paracha-Balleque as per Doc. No. 489; Page No. 98; Book No. 05; Series of 2021.

In compliance with Section 5 of R.A. Act No. 9048, a notice is hereby served to the public that Bai Isradean Sinsuat Datukan has filed with this office a petition for change of first name from Yuan Caleb Miguel to Datu Azeez Yuan Zachary in the birth certificate of Yuan Calib Miguel Cuison Datukan who was born on June 12, 2015 at Davao City and whose parents are Datu Ashahd Sinsuat Datukan & Gretchen Aquino Cuison.

Any person adversely affected by the said petition may file his/her written opposition with this office.

NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

Notice is hereby given that the late Helen C. Beric who died on April 7, 2021 at Libungan, Cotabato left two savings account in Landbank of the Philippines under account No. 1001-192697 & Metrobank under account number 3343-33400937-9 are the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate with simultaneous waiver of rights before Notary Public Atty. Alberto T. Eramis as per Doc. No. 20 ; Page No. 4; Book No. CXXXIII; Series of 2021.

Notice is hereby given that the late Mrs. Leocadia Sanches Latada left a parcel of land Lot 5-B, Psd12-002003, situated Bo. of Crossing-Pinaring, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao covered by TCT No. T-27275, with an area of 4,821 sq. mts., more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate before Notary Public Atty. Armando U. Lauban as per Doc. No. 430; Page No. 86; Book No. 05; Series of 2021.

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

MC: June 12, 19 & 26 2021

Notice is hereby given that the late JUANITO PALMAERA, who died on February 26, 2005 at Poblacion, Tulunan, Cotabato, left a parcel of land situated in Tambac, Tu l u n a n , C o t a b a t o , covered by TCT No. CT31265, with an area of 24,814 sq. mts., more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate with waiver of rights before Notary Public Atty. Agnes R. De CastroJagunap as per Doc. No. 3007; Page No. 3007; Book No. XXVII; Series of 2021.

Notice is hereby given that the late Spouses GREGORIO L. SALJAY, SR., and ELENA O. SALJAY, who both died at Pigcawayan, Cotabato on October 25, 2014 and October 24, 2007, respectively, left a parcel of land Lot 2, Block 12, Psd-34835, situated in Poblacion, Libungan, Cotabato, covered by TCT No. T-70939, with an area of 340 sq. mts., more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement with simultaneous deed of sale before Notary Public Alberto T. Eramis as per Doc. No. 194; Page No. 39; Book No. CCXXXII; Series of 2021.

Notice is hereby given that the late JUANITO Q. BORNEA and JOVITA ANITO-BORNEA, who died at Midsayap, Cotabato on August 5, 1984 and September 28, 2013, respectively, left a parcel of land Lot 2451A, Psd-23727, situated in Katingawan (now Central Katingawan), Midsayap, Cotabato, covered by TCT No. T-999, with an area of 20,000 sq. mts., more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate with waiver of rights before Notary Public Noel A. Gretare, CPA as per Doc. No. 1675; Page No. 40 Book No. LXXV; Series of 2021. MC: June 5, 12 & 19, 2021

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

Notice is hereby given that the late Nestor V. Espinilla & Adolfa D. Espinilla who died on June 22, 2020 & November 02, 2002 at Cotabato City & Davao City left a parcel of land situated Barrio of Colina, Cotabato City, covered by TCT No. T-28026, with an area of 139 sq. mts., more or less is the subject of extrajudicial settlement of estate with waiver of rights before Notary Public Atty. Agnes P. Paracha-Belleque as per Doc. No. 71; Page No. 15; Book No. 06; Series of 2021.

MC: June 12, 19 & 26 2021

MC: June 12, 19 & 26 2021

MC: June 5, 12 & 19, 2021

MC: June 5, 12 & 19, 2021

MC: May 29, June 5 & 12, 2021

(Sgd.) TOHAMY M. LAUBAN Registration office IV

MC: June 12 & 19, 2021

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June 12, 2021

THE MINDANAO CROSS

Pope names Cardinal Tagle to Eastern Churches congregation POPE Francis on Wednesday appointed Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as a new member of the Vatican body that supports the Eastern Catholic churches throughout the world.

The cardinal was the sole addition to the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, which also assists the Latinrite Catholic dioceses of the Middle East.

As prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples or Propaganda Fide, which oversees the church’s vast “mission territories,” Tagle’s new appointment was not surprising.

Formerly known as the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, it began as part of the Propaganda Fide, established

by Pope Pius IX in 1862.

In 1917, Pope Benedict XV declared it independent and named it Congregation for Eastern Churches.

Tagle’s new role in the Vatican will allow him to work alongside Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, who has

been its prefect since 2014, and its other members.

To date, the congregation collaborates with about 23 Eastern Catholic churches and communities, and works to ensure that the universal Catholic Church treasures its diversity, including in liturgy and spirituality.

The dicastery also runs eight colleges in Rome and coordinates the work of a funding network known by the Italian acronym ROACO. Since arriving in the Vatican in February 2020, Tagle has also been a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which operates like the Vatican’s central bank. CBCP

NEWS

PPCRV asks help of dioceses to encourage voter registration WITH less than four months before the deadline, a Church-based poll watchdog encouraged the dioceses to help encourage voter registration for next year’s elections.

Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting executive director Maria Isabel Buenaobra said the PPCRV will formally ask the dioceses to help raise awareness on the importance of voting.

“We are collaborating with dioceses for this campaign to encourage everyone, from the youth, those deactivated, and even OFWs, to get registered and reactivated,” Buenaobra told Radio Veritas.

Voting in the May 2022 presidential elections, she said, is important because it gives people a voice about who they want in office and it is an opportunity for change.

“Let us get registered because

the May 2022 polls is a high-stakes election. We need to use our rights to vote,” Buenaobra said.

Comelec data showed about 3.7 million applicants for voter registration filed since January 2020.

Officials estimate that there will be some 4 million new applicants or those that just turned 18, who will get registered.

The poll body is also looking at some 1.5 million applications being filed for other types of transactions including transfer from other municipality, transfer within the same municipality, transfer with reactivation, and correction of entries.

The Comelec has earlier said it is unlikely to extend the nationwide registration period beyond the September 30, 2021 deadline as they prepare for the May 9 polls. CBCP

News

Priest condemns vaccine profiteering in Philippines

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

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Seeds of the Kingdom REFLECTIONS

A Catholic priest has called on the Philippine government to put a stop to people trying to profit from Covid-19 vaccines procured with public money.

Such corruption runs contrary to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, according to Father Benjamin Valencia of the Prelature of Batanes in northern Luzon.

His call followed reports that police had filed criminal charges against two people who allegedly sold places in vaccination queues for 15,000 pesos (US$300).

“Governmentprocured vaccines must be free. No one should be using them to make a profit at this moment.

rowth is a fact of life. is our final home as Jesus Living things grow and promised, “ I go to prepare reproduce themselves. a place for you” (Jn. 14:2-3).

Jesus tells two parables of While we are in this place growth in today’s gospel (Mk. of exile and while we look 4:26-34). The first parable is forward to union with God, about a man who scattered we also have obligations to seeds in the ground. Given fulfill, in union with God’s a fertile ground the seed will. We often pray, “Thy Rev. Fr. Antonio P. Pueyo, DCC grew even when the man was will be done on earth as it tonypoy_dcc0@yahoo.com sleeping. The seed contains is in heaven.” There is a in itself a potential for life. This reminds me of the first continuance between this earthly life and the next life line of a poem I learned in grade school that says, “In as St. Paul reminds the Corinthians, “For we must all the heart of a seed, buried deep so deep, a dear little appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each plant lay fast asleep.” The second parable was about a may receive recompense, according to what he did in man who planted mustard seeds. Even though the seeds the body, whether good or evil” (2Cor. 5:10). We are were small they grew into a big bush that became a caught between staying and saying goodbye. shelter for birds. Jesus likens the spread of the kingdom In this present condition of the pandemic, we are of God to the growth of seeds. confronted with the realities of life and death. In the The first reading from the prophet Ezekiel compares past month alone we have lost friends, colleagues, and the survival of the people of Israel to shoot of a tree people we have known, to the pandemic. Indeed death that was transplanted and grew in its new ground (Ez. comes like a thief in the night and is not a respecter 17:22-24). Ezekiel lived during the exile of the Israelites of social status, age, or gender. We have said goodbye in Babylon (Iraq). He wanted to give them hope that to our friends, while also trying to continue whatever even in a new environment they would survive as a works and responsibilities they have left behind. In our people. They must persevere in their faith in a God own church circle we have recently lost three priests, who will take care of them. In the second reading St. one religious sister, and some lay partners.

Paul encouraged the Corinthians to remain steadfast We have also witnessed the dedication of our front in their faith while they are still “in the body” or earthly liners such as our health workers in the effort to existence (2Cor. 5:6-10). Although they would rather vaccinate our citizens and to take care of the victims of leave the body and go home to the Lord, they should the Covid-19, at great risk to their own life and health. strive to please the Lord while on earth. Just like the These are actions that make present the Kingdom of Jews in Babylon, the Christian disciple is also an exile God in our midst. The kingdom is about caring for life on this earth looking forward to going home to the Lord. as Jesus Himself articulated, “I came that they may These two themes of growth and exile come together have life, and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10). As citizens in describing the Kingdom of God. On the one hand the of this world and God’s kingdom, let us do our part to Kingdom of God is present and visible in this world. protect the physical health and spiritual well-being of Wherever the seeds of unity, justice, love, peace and care our families and communities. Today is the feast day of are planted then the Kingdom is alive and growing. St. Anthony, a saint of miraculous healings. We ask for On the other hand, the Kingdom of God extends to his intercession to protect our families and communities the realm of the unseen and the spiritual reality. It in these difficult times. St. Anthony, pray for us. MC

As far as I know, all vaccines are procured by the government using our taxes, so no one should be paying for anything,” Father Valencia told UCA News.

He said the selling of places in vaccine queues had become rampant and was being advertised on social media.

“I’ve seen several ads on social media asking for money in exchange for a vaccine slot. One of them even bragged he has contacts within the government. The price also varies depending on the brand of vaccine on offer. The Chinesemade Sinovac is the most affordable,” Father Valencia added.

One churchgoer in Manila claimed he

received a text message from a classmate who offered to place him higher on a vaccination list for 12,000 pesos.

“This was really insulting to me as a taxpayer and a businessman. These vaccines should go to people who need them most first,” said Norman Rabaya from Las Pinas City.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos said profiteers would face criminal cases.

“I warn you, the full extent of the law will be applied here. Even those who buy places will be prosecuted,” Abalos said when asked about the p r o f i t e e r i n g . Joseph

Peter Calleja/UCA News

Meditation Fr. Rock Saniel, OMI

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings:

Ezekiel 17:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34

Put your Trust in God How many times we are drawn into despair and frustration? We easily give up. We easily fall apart. When life throws at us unimaginable burden and we are feeling hopeless because of our dire situation, how many of us are left weakened and bruised and unable to rise again?

That is life. At times we must get hurt and pained but that is not all about it in this life.

There’s always sunshine after the heavy rains and storms. So just be faithful. Be steadfast in believing that God will come to rescue you.

Prayer: Lord, help me to trust you rather than to seek to control everything.

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THE MINDANAO CROSS

June 12, 2021 EDITORIAL

Independence Day Revisited

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ith every Filipino focused on the Corona Virus Pandemic, previously important events such as the Independence Day celebration has been put on hold (or probably skipped for a better time in the future). It is a sad commentary that something a nation fought so hard to get cannot be given its rightful time to be remembered for posterity.

Why is the Philippine Independence Day different from the rest of countries in Asia?

Most of Asia were monarchies which already had its own economy and government. They went through a process of turning over the monarchy to a democracy (such as in Thailand, Cambodia, Japan). In the case of the Philippines, a semblance of independence was worked out by a group of Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo. This was during the colonization of Spain. The Philippines’ flag was raised and its national anthem was played for the first time on June 12, 1898. However, liberty was short-lived because Spain and the United States did not recognize the declaration. . The Philippines started a revolt against the United States in 1899 and achieved national sovereignty only on July 4, 1946. Independence Day was officially observed on this date until the Republic Act No. 4166 as signed by President Diosdado Macapagal, which set out to move the holiday to June 12. This was approved on August 4, 1964.

There was no violent upheaval similar to the latest movie entitled “Independence Day featuring Will Smith. Of course, that occupation was initiated by aliens from another world who wanted to gain control of earth. Our independence concerned only the small group of islands in the Pacific Ocean.

It may sound funny to some, but despite how small the islands are, independence is still a byword. Being independent is closely associated with the pride and culture of its people. It is not just self determination, but a whole gamut of social, economic, political, religious aspirations. Thus, we have a succession of separatist movements demanding to be given independence.

For simple people with no grievances against the government, Independence Day celebration before was a big deal. Years ago, schools gave importance to this day, which made Filipinos like me take pride for being independent.

Everyone supported the move from July 4 to June 12, because celebrating independence on the same day as the United States made us look like little brown Americans. Even the national anthem sounded better when sang in Pilipino.

Probably, I belong to that era when we take pride in being a Filipino by heart, contributing to the development of our community. That was a far cry from today’s society where having a green card or foreign citizenship is a measure of one’s success in life. MC +

is published every Saturday by the Mindanao Cross Publishers, Inc., Sinsuat cor Quezon Avenues, Cotabato City. Tel Nos. (064) 4217161 and E-mail Address: mindanao.cross@gmail.com | mincross101@yahoo.com.ph

Fr. Rogelio Tabuada, OMI, Chief-Executive-Officer Eva Kimpo - Tan, Editor-in-Chief Edwin O. Fernandez, News Editor Gemma A. Peñaflor, Administration and Marketing Executive Julito P. Torres, Circulation Officer Karl John B. Daniel, Graphic-Layout Artist COTABATO CITY / ARMM CORRESPONDENTS

John M. Unson Ferdinandh B. Cabrera Charlie C. Señase Nash B. Maulana

NORTH / SOUTH COTABATO CORRESPONDENTS Williamor Magbanua Romer “Bong” Sarmiento Roel Osano Orlando Dinoy CARTOONIST Lourd Jim Diazon

Member: PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTE The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

Entered as Second Class Mail at Cotabato City Post Office under Permit No. 91-01 Dated August 15, 1991.

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ooking at the news earlier this week, we cannot help but ask the question: what good has the constant lockdown brought us really?

According to one online news report, more Filipinos lost their jobs again in April with the reimposition of strict quarantine measures. Based on the latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the news report said the country’s unemployment rate rose to 8.7 percent in April. This translates to some 4.14 million unemployed Filipinos, 87 out of every 1,000 individuals. In March, the unemployment rate was at 7.1 percent, equivalent to 3.44 million Filipinos who are jobless. It is not hard to imagine what this means for the families dependent on them – less food on the table, less opportunity to get an education, less chances to adequate health care which is needed now more than ever with this pandemic engulfing us.

The World Bank meanwhile has downgraded its growth forecast for the Philippines this year saying recovery may happen at a much slower pace as an effect of the reimposition of quarantine measures due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases more than a year into the pandemic. The World Bank now sees a gross domestic product of 4.7 percent for 2021, down from its March forecast of 5.5 percent. This new figure is also much lower than the government’s revised target of six to seven percent growth for the year. Last year, the country’s GDP was at 9.6 percent, the lowest in decades, according to another online news report.

But the pandemic did not cause it; it just worsened an already bad economic situation. According to independent socio-economic think-tank IBON Foundation, the Philippine economy has been weak even before the pandemic, characterized by slow growth, a swelling government debt, failing agriculture and manufacturing, and poor job generation. Wages were shrinking amid soaring prizes and poverty was widespread – “12.4 million Filipino families (over half of the population) surviving on just P132 or less per person per day.”

In the midst of the pandemic and with what it described as the government’s “inept response,” IBON said we are seeing a record economic collapse with negative growths in agriculture, construction, wholesale

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HREE erudite persons from outside the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) raise the issue of “popular democracy” and electoral “mandate” on the proposed term extension of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to three more years from May 2022. They contend that the only legitimate governance is one run by officials voted to office in an election. That is, as if they do not know the ills of democracy in innumerable cases of election fraud still unresolved in the Commission on Elections and even in the Supreme Court.

But saying that “the choice of (BARMM) rulers is undemocratic being appointed by the President and nominated by the MILF,” I doubt if one of these three persons took reading of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) seriously--if ever he did.

With all due respect, these scholars’ opinions, as amplified by a Manila-based Muslim lawyer in a national daily op-page ed miss more essential points in things they either don’t see or refuse to see. First, in the country’s history, even for the U.S. which champions democracy in all parts of the world took its government one year to run the First Philippine Commission (1899- 1900) and seven more years to put in place and stabilize the Second Philippine Commission from 1900, before the first popular election of the Philippine Assembly (Lower House) was held in late 1907. This historical experience on the development of democracy in the country should be reviewed in the light of the fact that the government is dealing with a revolutionary group whose members have not been part of electoral exercises as a democratic process for decades. Now, they are on their way back to mainstream society by a multilateral process called Normalization.

Second, they missed the opportunity to present a friendly, scholarly view, let alone a lay appreciation of the Bilateral Intergovernmental Relations (IGRs) under the BOL, as an academic case study on a distinct setup, a bureaucratic mechanism on key policymaking that now charts the course of organizing the regional bureaucracy, operationalizing budget and finance management, drawing up policies on infrastructure baselines and revenue-sharing, and on the exploration and preservation of natural resources—as well as the multilateral Normalization Process that is now involving the helpful presence of matching programs of development organizations of the international community.

Normalization forms part of the Comprehensive

Looking at the news Thinking Aloud Carlos C. Bautista caloyb@gmail.com

and retail trade, and a high trade deficit of P6.4 billion.

There is record joblessness with the real number of unemployed as high as 5.4 million (IBON estimates), even lower wages amid higher prices, and there is record hunger: “15 million families, (62.1% of total) went hungry last year.”

Restrictions have been the primary approach to combatting the spread of the deadly COVID-19, police action to fight a medical menace. Vaccination, seen by experts worldwide as the most effective way to stem the spread of the disease, has been snail-paced at best. According to IBON, there have been only 1.02 million fully vaccinated as of May 25, 2021. There are 145,243 vaccinations per day versus 615,930 needed to reach target 70 million Filipinos by December 2021 and vaccines delivered are just enough for 4.1 million Filipinos.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, still holding on to the post despite continued criticisms and calls for his resignation or ouster from various sectors, confirmed the continuing lack of vaccines Wednesday in an interview on national television. Duque was quoted in an online news report as saying: “The vaccine optimism is illusory because we still don’t have enough vaccines. Yeah, there are vaccines, fine. But are there enough vaccines? No… We only have less than what? 10% of our vaccine given?

And only 2 to 2.5% of our people have completed their inoculation.” Add to that the fact that almost half of the Filipino population are hesitant to take the vaccine, and many continue to spread unfounded conspiracy theories and what not about it.

Looking at the news, we see that we are far from out of the crisis a year since it began. God have mercy on us. MC

Transitions are given ample time even by Champions of Democracy

Penlight Nash B. Maulana

nash.penlight@gmail.com

Agreement on the Bangsamoro (Annexes) entered into by the Aquino Administration and the MILF in 2014. These make their’ arguments wanting in terms of objectivity, review of related literature in historical comparison of similar situations in two different times, and the timing itself.

“How many times did the Committee meet to discuss the bill?” “Who were the resource speakers?” I believe the Senate Legislative Records Office would be more than kind to share the right information. Some of the information I got is that prior to the Period of Amendment, a province not part of BARMM had been inadvertently allotted three representation seats in the BTA Parliament in one provision of the proposed Bill.

But when the Senate Local Government Committee Staff went back to see the records of previous public hearings, it was found out that the governor of that province had consistently represented the concerns of his people in most of the hearings.

One of the three scholars raises the contention that the ratification of Bangsamoro Organic Law (RA 11054) via plebiscite in January and February 2019 has “shifted the law from the realm of legislation to being a ‘social contract’ involving the people.”

From a lay point of view, a “social contract” is more “philosophical” than a “legal” matter in the formation of society. Laws, whether or not ratified in a plebiscite (or in a referendum) “explicitly” constitute a “social contract”-just as “implicitly”, a “social contract” is also expressed in raising one’s hand to speak and engage a class or a forum in a discourse or dialogue.

The U.S. Constitution, the most popular example often cited as an “explicit” social contract, was ratified in a realm of representative democracy by state legislatures; not via direct popular vote. The Philippines has all the time to wait until the current Constitution or the BOL (both ratified via direct vote) collectively becomes another popular example of an “explicit” social contract—of a Charter or a law ratified via direct popular vote MC

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June 12, 2021

THE MINDANAO CROSS

HEALTH CORNER

Learn from experience

authorities.

A DOH report this week showed Cotabato City had 63 COVID cases, the highest in the Bangsamoro out of its regional total of 96.

Charlie Señase Prompting management csenase@yahoo.com of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center to HE world seems to be getting s m a l l e r e v e r y d a y w i t h t h e announce that its intensive care never-ending people dying from units and other facilities are “fully Coronavirus Disease of December booked” in the midst of being under2019. This week alone, COVID-19 staffed and its dire need of additional took the lives of over three million oxygen machines and ventilators. already and still rising amid global The urgent appeal was meant to all concerned citizens in the government inoculation.

What could have happened in the a n d p r i v a t e s e c t o r t h r o u g h t h e absence of medical science to come-up “Bayanihan Spirit.”

Out of 1,867 COVID cases in with the pandemic vaccines and other Cotabato City since its outbreak in antidotes?

In the year 165 AD, an ancient March last year, the June 6 DOH p a n d e m i c k n o w n a s “ A n t o n i n e record showed a death toll of 76 that Plague,” considered then as small included three Catholic friars.

Death happens to all irrespective pox or measles with unknown cause, had a death toll of about five million of persons that we have to prepare from Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece and without fear and reservation. The Italy affecting mostly members of the pandemic is nothing but spiritual awakening and reconciliation with Roman Army.

But more devastating was the the Creator whose salvation is life yearlong Bubonic Plague or “Black everlasting.

COVID took the life of Tacurong Death” of 541 AD that killed 25 million and followed by the same City Mayor Angelo Montilla, a sad health malady that left 75-to-200 news that surprised many to learn, million fatalities in the span of seven that through the law of succession, his vice mayor, Lino Montilla, is now years from 1346 to 1353.

The deadliest influenza or flu was the new city mayor and the number the two-year old pandemic of 1918 one elected councilor Lalaine Montilla that killed 50 million. And the more is the new vice mayor.

It has become the talk of the town recent was the HIV-AIDS, sexual transmitted disease, that killed 36 that the political change of command million from 2005 to 2012, according in Tacurong looks like a family affair to world health science research of-sort. Dynasty or destiny? It will depend on the electorate during center on killer plagues.

Prudence dictates to subject political exercises. Whoever wins and ourselves to health experts with whatever political parties they belong d i v i n e g u i d a n c e i n p r a y e r w i t h let’s support them for all governing authorities are God’s appointed supplication.

As of this writing, government (Romans 13).

With our stubbornness to health has already inoculated more than five million Filipinos and urged citizens to protocols and government authorities, sustain health standards and other we experience not only upsurge of COVID cases but also Filipinos’ protocols.

The rise of COVID cases has unemployment woes affecting 3.4 now moved from Metro Manila in million in March to become 4.14 Luzon to Mindanao and some parts million in April, an increase of 8.7 of the Visayas, according to health percent. When will we ever learn? MC

True to Form

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regretfully, we cannot all the pomp and Excerpts from a Virtual have glamour of a traditional Commencement commencement exercises we have been accustomed Exercise to.

Let us not willfully bemoan our situation.

Victoria R. Franco, RPh, MS Pharmacy T h e p a n d e m i c s t r u c k franco1573victoria@gmail.com everyone on its path, it is an equalizer, both rich o each and everyone of you and and poor, young or old, the 2021 graduating class, we male or female, powerful or powerless., extend our most sincere well educated and uneducated. Yet, by trying wishes, and warmest welcome. to stay out of its harm’s way, by staying We are thankful that you have at home, keeping safe for this past long chosen to join us today albeit through fifteen months so far, our priorities have this virtual platform. I am missing the changed, our lifestyles have changed. sounds of the applause, the beaming We have become more prayerful, proud looks of parents as they watch more conscious of our relationships. their child receive their diploma.

We become mindful of our health. We Let us all express our appreciation learned new ways of doing things. We to our beloved President Dr. Cecilia read books , including the bible , wrote Camello Barroga and the members of journals . Housecleaning, cooking, the Board of Trustees gardening has for the opportunity become pleasurable to explore other chores. The first means of bringing the thing we hold in school to your homes are hands in the in this trying times, morning , and the especially for the last we embrace at educational system, night are Facebook, and for encouraging Instagram , twitter. us, challenging us to Our friends in these discover and develop platforms keep skills we never us knowledgeable thought we could about what goes on have. Bless also DSA, outside the confines the company that of our homes and enabled us to reach updates us with you, and from whom their “kaganapan”. our faculty received excellent guidance We were able to watch a one in our in the nuances of vi ritual learning. lifetime eclipse.

None of these gadgets - internet, wifi, This pandemic will pass, when?

G5 existed in our days, therefore, I ask When we learn to strictly follow you to be patient with our generation the protocols, wear a mask, and a for living in the days of di.di.di dot dot shield, wash your hands, observe social dot, or operator assisted calls. Never in distancing, get vaccinated, and take the history of mankind have there been care of your immune system. a tragic situation as devastating as this Your class won’t be defined by what pandemic.At the dawn of this crisis, we lost to this virus but how we respond we at St. Benedict College of Cotabato to it. The world is yours now and I can’t Inc, and of Maguindanao, mourn for wait to see what you make of it. From the losses of the world due to Covid19 the bottom of our hearts, I wish you all that is still prevailing . Expecting the the very best for the future. And now, cursed days will be over, we celebrate the ball is in your hands, the hard work the success of hard work, though begins. Congratulations. MC

The Stuff of Life

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The world is yours now and I can’t wait to see what you make of it.

Instruct Patient to stay in isolation preferably in separate room with adequate ventilation.

Ensure good flow of fresh air and open windows where possible. Minimize dose contact with others (households and/or visitors). If within 1 m of others, patient should wear a mask, and caregivers should wear PPE. Wash your hands regularly.

If there is fever, treat with antipyretic, such as paracetamol.

There is no need for for antibiotics unless bacterial infection is suspected. In areas with other endemic infections (e.g. malaria, TB, dengue), follow routine treatment protocols for fever. Advise patient taking medications for chronic conditions (e.g. diabetes or hypertension) to continue with them.

Encourage patient to stay hydrated, eat well and take rest when needed but to try to resume activities at appropriate pace.

Support patient’s psychosocial needs, such as through listening carefully to their needs and concerns and addressing them.

Advise patient to monitor for worsening of symptoms, such as chest pain, fast or difficulty breathing (at rest or while speaking), fast heart rate, palpitations, confusion, altered mental status, or any other emergency signs. If present, instruct patient to call for emergency help according to national protocols.

EMERGENCY SIGN: Obstructed or absent breathing severerespiratory distress, cynosis, shock, coma/or convulsions

Killing Time Productively…

If patients is at risk for severe disease, monitor oxygen saturation with pulse oximetec at least twice a day. If SpO2 is >90%, instruct patient to call for emergency help. If between SpO2 is between 90-94%, call for urgent help, as this range may be an early sign for deterioration in someone with previously normal lungs. Oral cortecosteroids may be prescribed as this time.

Risk factors for severe disease includes: older are (>60 years) hypertension, diabetes, cardiac disease, chronic lung disease, cerebrovascular disease, dementia, mental disorders, chronic kidney disease, immunosuppression (including HIV) , obesity, cancer.

In pregnancy, increasing maternal age, high BMI and chronic conditions are also risk factors.

the time to replenish our stock of knowledge.

There is a lot more ways to do this now than before. You can pick up that book you bought a long time ago Danny Buenbrazo danny_buenbrazo@yahoo.com and never get to read or find books and other ith the current situation we reading materials on are in, people are unlikely to the internet. Watching National be going anywhere within the Geographic, History Channel, and next six months or so. Travels and similar TV channels would help us movement of people being curtailed understand better the events that or regulated from time to time, many transpired, how things work, and the find so much time on their hands with wonders of nature. On Netflix and nothing to do. similar platforms, we have access Personally, I wish I could be in to movies about important people or that situation where I can do things about significant events in the world’s of my free choice than driven by history. obligations to work. I can think of Business is a key to a better a dozen things that I would to do if f i n a n c i a l f u t u r e . T h o u g h t h e I have more free time on my hands. traditional brick-and-mortar or the As COVID-19 continues to get physical store is not the most ideal worse in the countryside, restrictions way to do business these days, those on the movement of people will who have business inclinations can continue to be imposed and many spend some of their free time to come will find themselves at home due up with business ideas and develop t o l o c k d o w n s , w o r k - f r o m - h o m e them to see which ones appear to be arrangements, prohibition of face- the more viable. From this short list, a to-face classes, among other reasons. business plan then be drawn as a step I can remember one movie I towards the actual establishment of watched ages ago, not for its nice story the selected business option. but for an interesting line delivered Good relations help you gain by one of the villains. The criminal peace of mind. With people we know boss asked his henchmen if they getting the disease and expiring, it already carried out the hit he ordered, is not a bad idea to mend fences with to which they replied that they would those we had unpleasant encounters. do it the following day. Incensed by If we need to take the initial step of the procrastination of his underlings, improving relations with people we he slapped one and said, “time is a might have offended or have rubbed luxury short in supply.” us the wrong way, so be it. We have Clearly, time is something of a everything to gain when we improve premium and when we have plenty personal relations. of it on hand, let’s draw a list of how Financial security means personal we can spend it productively. stability. Getting your financial Health is wealth. People should matters straightened means time spend time to shore up their state of well-spent. Write a plan on how to health by exercising, making extra move from deficit-spending to a more effort to prepare healthy food, and saving habit. Find ways to increase putting attention to mental health your net worth and on planning for through medication or going to yoga ways to have passive income and classes and the like. steady cash flow.

Information is power. Now is So, get started! MC

Market Driven

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June 12, 2021

VSAT in BARMM to boost governance..from P8

inspired terrorists before they occupied Marawi City in 2017.

The BARMM and the UNDP has entered into several partnership undertakings, including support to MILG’s LeAPS program, designed to bring government services closer to the people by utilizing digital technology, officials said.

On Monday, the MILG BARMM officially turned over in a virtual ceremony the VSAT under its LeAPS program to municipal officials of Butig and Piagapo in Lanao del Sur. With the installation of the VSAT facilities in these two pilot sites, UNDP Program Manager Mitzi M Mendoza said he hoped that digital centers will soon raise to fully realize the dream of a #DigitalBangsamoro for the pilot municipalities.

LeAPS, a collaboration between MILG and UNDP, is geared towards transforming local governance in the Bangsamoro Region by significantly accelerating connectivity in communities and enabling citizens to capitalize on the benefits of digitalization and capacitybuilding through improved access to services and information, community enterprise development, and skills development.

Operations and Management Services Director, Fausiah Romancap Abdula stated that this initiative will allow better coordination between and among BARMM ministries and other public entities in the delivery of services to boost transparency accountability in public transactions at all levels of government offices.

During the virtual handover, members of the MILG Technical Working Group (TWG) physically attended the ceremonies, separately, in Butig and in Piagapo utilizing for the first-time internet connectivity provided by a newly installed VSAT equipment In Piagapo, municipal employees now enjoy faster internet connectivity in aid of their official functions in daily work, through zoom meetings and in exchanges of emails for official correspondence to and from the MILG and other BARMM offices and LGUs. Lawyer Dimnatang Pansar, Butig Mayor, and Piagapo Vice-Mayor Engr Ali Sumandar both said they were profoundly grateful to the MILG and UNDP for bringing in the program.

UNDP Resident Representative, Dr. Selva Ramachandran expressed appreciation of the active participation and contribution shared by the pilot LeAPS in Butig and Piagapo LGUs led by the vice mayors In a press statement, the UNDP said

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THE MINDANAO CROSS

Ramachandran recognized their support that “throughout the implementation of the project enabled the laying down of the foundation of the program (from) initiating its starting phase in 2020.

The significance of the digitalizing program is in simplifying the business processes of MILG, LGUs and different Ministries in BARMM, in order to improve on local public service delivery and make services more accessible to the people using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) solutions.

“This connection is important to recognize the (development level as envisioned by) Minister Naguib in providing efficient and effective services to LGUs and BARMM citizens and look forward to MILG leading the rest of the BARMM Government institution,” said Dr Ramachandran.

The installation of the ICT facilities in Butig and Piagapo are primary component in the deployment of the digital centers and call centers in municipalities.

While the procurement and deployment of the necessary ICT equipment for the digital and call centers are planned in the coming months, the pilot LGU staff may utilize internet services to facilitate their daily work, zoom meetings and official communication with MILG and other BARMM LGU and Ministries.

Dr. Ramachandran expressed his optimism that a full rollout in LeAPS program this year, involving 10 more LGUs and five ministries, will pave a way forward, realizing a five-year digital Bangsamoro roadmap after 2022 covering all the 116 municipalities and cities of BARMM. Sinarimbo said the turnover cast a shadow of the future governance in the Bangsamoro.

“That is technology facilitating in enhancing governance and service delivery in every corner of the Bangsamoro no matter the distance.

The VSAT facilities that we are formally handing over to the pilot sites Butig and Piagapo, like the images we all imagine rotating far into the outer layer of the earth will hopefully leapfrog the next century of the Bangsamoro,” Sinarimbo, also BARMM spokesperson, said.

“The dream for the digital Bangsamoro is slowly but surely becoming a reality,” he added.

“The dream for better services for our people is also becoming a reality.

Together let us leapfrog into the future of governance and transform our services into the best we can, our people deserve it,” Sinarimbo said. Nash B. Maulana

Cops eye grudge in Darping murder POLICE authorities here are looking at personal grudge and work related as the possible motive in the murder of village chairperson here Thursday.

Major Rustom Pastolero, Police Station 2 chief, said initial investigation showed that the motive in the murder of Chairperson Danny Matabalao Darping of Barangay Kalanganan 1, Cotabato City could be related to his job as “punong barangay” or personal grudge.

“We are focusing on

that two things but we are also looking at other angles,” Pastolero said.

Pastolero said Darping was sitting in a roadside car wash center while waiting for the washing job to be completed when two men on motorbike arrived.

He said one of them pulled a pistol and shot the unsuspecting Darping in the head and body, killing him instantly.

The crime scene was a car wash center not far from his home in Barangay Rosary Heights 8, Cotabato City

at 8 a.m.

The suspect fled to unknown direction, police said.

“The family vowed to cooperate with the investigation,” Pastolero said, adding that the police are awaiting for the family to complete the burial and grieving period.

He said the family told police probers that the slain village official has been receiving threats to his life.

Police found two empty shells for cal. 45 pistol at the crime scene.

DXMS Radyo bida

PRO-BAR bars 4 hopefuls for fake RT-PCR

HONESTY is one of the requirement in joining the ranks of the Philippine National Police (PNP), police authorities in the Bangsamoro Region pointed this out during recruitment process.

On Thursday, Brig. Gen. Eden Ugale, police director for the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (PRO-BAR), ordered the filing of appropriate cases and disqualification of police applicants who deliberately submitted fake RT-PCR result in the ongoing PNP recruitment process in PRO BAR. Four applicants and two civilian cohorts were criminally charged before the Maguindanao Provincial Prosecutor Office for Falsification of Public Documents and violation of Republic Act No.11332.

Ugale said based on the investigation conducted by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG BAR), there were 66 PNP applicants who submitted questionable RT-PCR Results.

Upon verification and validation, four out of the 66 applicants have submitted RT-PCR results that were proven to be fake and spurious.

Three police applicants are now arrested and under the custodial facility of CIDG while the fourth applicant was tested positive for COVID-19 and is now confined at Parang District Hospital Quarantine Facility in Parang, Maguindanao.

Investigation also showed that four applicants did not undergo swab test and were given RT-PCR results from two civilian cohorts for a fee.

Ugale said the aggressive reform in the PNP Recruitment System is a long-term internal cleansing measure initiated by Police Director General Guillermo Eleazar under the Intensified Cleanliness Policy (ICC) when he assumed the top post on May 8 this year.

It was a move to demolish the culture of corruption and “padrino system” in the PNP recruitment system. Edwin O. Fernandez

Al-Khobar blamed for YBL burning...from P8

The Al-Khobar, a sub-group in the Dawlah Islamiya, which uses the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as banner, has a reputation for bombing establishments and public transportations

if owners refuse to shell out “protection money” on a monthly basis.

The municipality of Mlang is under the jurisdiction of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

Even so, 6th ID’s

commander, Major Gen. Juvymax Uy, is helping the North Cotabato provincial police put closure to last week’s incident in Mlang via intelligence initiatives.

John Felix Unson

Money, guns, personality..from P2 the BARMM LGC would apparently not sit well with politicians who have become used to cycle of family succession in elections, turning public offices into a matter of inheritance.

He said these political reforms pushed by the BARMM leadership formed part of reasons why some local officials would apparently oppose plans to extend the three-year term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to up to 2025.

The BTA is the BARMM interim governing body, constituted by an 80-member Parliament; 41 of whom nominees of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and 39 named by the government as representatives of such groups as the Moro National Liberation

Front (MNLF), and various sectors like Christian Settlers, Women, Indigenous Filipino Communities, Persons with Disability among others.

Republic Act 11054, known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law, sets the first election of Parliament members for May 2022 along with local and national polls. Elected Parliament members will vote from among themselves for a chief minister, at least six deputy ministers, as well as the speaker and deputy speakers, among others.

Broad-base reforms, Sinarimbo said, will also be embodied in the proposed BARMM government Electoral Code, which is being drafted at the level of the BARMM Cabinet.

Nash B. Maulana

ADVERTISE WITH US LIFE SAVERS. The Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC) now has augmentation medical equipment like oxygen tanks and other medical supplies, thanks to the Ministry of Health in the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao. MOH-BARMM Minister Dr. Bashary Latiph hands the aid to DOH-12 Regional Director Aristides Concepcion Tan. Photo courtesy of MOH BARMM

Call (064) 421-71-61

8

THE MINDANAO CROSS

June 12, 2021

VSAT in BARMM to boost governance, security

MODERN technology will now boost connectivity to improve local capability in community security and transparency in public offices in two Lanao del Sur towns.

Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Al Hadj Murad Ebrahim said the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) piloted vulnerable Butig and Piagapo towns in Lanao del Sur for the installation of VSAT (very small aperture terminal) facilities.

Ebrahim said BARMM’s Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) implements the project through its Localizing e-Government for Accelerated Provision of Services (LeAPS) program, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

BARMM MILG Minister Naguib

Sinarimbo said bringing the technology in to improve electronic transmission signals is a giant leap to BARMM’s digital transformation. The VSAT facilities are the first equipment system to provide high speed broadband internet in the two municipalities.

Sinarimbo said this will foster delivery of services and improve connectivity through the most effective and efficient way possible to help secure BARMM communities.

It can be recalled that Butig was the first town occupied by the extremist Maute Group, suspected ISIS-

P7

BARMM police starts new recruitment scheme

POLICE authorities in the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao today started recruitment of new police officers, fighting off “padrino system.”

Brig. Gen. Eden Ugale, police director for the Bangsamoro Region, said the new recruitment scheme is in line with the directive of PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar.

“This new recruitment scheme aims to ensure PNP get the best cops,” Brig. Gen. Ugale said in a statement.

Ugale led the beginning of what the PNP called as “faceless and nameless”

recruitment process with the PNPBARMM Recruitment Service and Health Services.

The recruitment was launched here, the headquarters of PNPBARMM. Ugale stressed that this new system will provide “only the most qualified and deserving applicants solely based on their credentials and capabilities.”

He explained that under the recruitment scheme, a QR (quick response) Code System will be used to conceal the identity of

P3

CIDG says Montawal operation legit

THE Criminal Investigation and Detection Group clarified Thursday its operation in Montawal, Maguindanao last week that resulted in the death of a suspect was legitimate, done by the book.

Agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (CIDG-BARMM) were forced to neutralize the recalcitrant Saidali Sansaluna when he grabbed the pistol of Patrolman John Paul Quitoriano and shot him in the butt.

"The operation was done according to Philippine National Police rules.

There was nothing wrong with it," Police Major Esmail Madin, provincial chief of CIDG- Maguindanao, told the Mindanao Cross.

He said they were to peacefully search for firearms in the house of Arman Maulana in Barangay Bulit, Datu Montawal, Maguindanao but the operation turned awry when housemate Sansaluna resisted, provoking a gunfight.

Maulana is also known as Astron Maulana, tagged in criminal activities in the municipality and nearby areas in North Cotabato province.

Maulana and Sansaluna

P3

`Machinegun smugglers’ charged in court

A criminal case had been filed against the two men who tried to bring into the city a .50 caliber machinegun, the Mindanao Cross learned Thursday.

Sources from the Cotabato City confirmed this, citing that the suspects are now detained, awaiting prosecution.

Personnel of the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG) foiled an attempt by two men to smuggle into the city a .50 caliber machine gun, ammunition and cal. 45 pistor.

The duo, relatives Mohaddin Sabal Monico, 35, and the 28-year-old Alidatu

Abdul Monico, are now clamped down in a detention facility here of the Cotabato City police.

Members of the HPG-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region first flagged them down near the Delta Bridge at the border of Cotabato City and Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao only to ask them about the car’s license plates.

HPG-BAR personnel saw the machinegun inside the vehicle and they noticed that both turned jittery when they started asking questions about the vehicle’s registration documents and their identities.

THE police and military believed the Al-Khobar terror group was responsible for last week’s burning of a bus in Mlang, North Cotabato that killed three passengers and hurt six others.

Col. Henry Villar, North Cotabato provincial police director, said they are now validating persistent reports from residents of Mlang and in nearby towns purporting that the Al-Khobar was responsible for the arson attack.

The group was tagged in the bombing of a unit of the Yellow Bus Line in

Tulunan, North Cotabato last January that left a passenger dead and injured five others.

Two men barged into the Yellow Bus unit after its bus inspector alighted in Barangay Bialong. A commotion ensued between the bus conductor and one of the suspects before the man poured gasoline and set it on fire.

Three passengers, Johnny Roy Tadeo Ramil, 28, Hazel Mallo Galardo, 30, and the 48-year-old Arnold Patron, were burned alive inside the bus.

Al-Khobar blamed for YBL burning

P3

P7