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The Mindanao Examiner
Apr. 10-16, 2017
ARMM, NCCA implement cultural mapping project for Muslim communities
Militants protest the appointment of Senior Superintendent Alexander Tagum as the new Davao City police chief in this photo released by Kilab Multimedia to the Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper.
Protests greet new Davao police chief Continued fr om page 1 from For his part, Tagum thanked the Carpio – the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte – for choosing him to replace De Leon, despite street protests by militants in Davao City. “I am deeply honored by her confidence in me and I am now encouraged to do my best as director of DCPO,” Tagum said. But Carpio’s decision in choosing Tagum did not sit well with human rights groups Karapatan and Bayan whose leaders strongly condemned his appointment as police chief in Davao City. “Tagum must be held liable for the deaths of 2 individuals including a bystander and wounding
several peasants during a violent dispersal in Kidapawan City last April 1, 2016,” said Jay Apiag, a spokesman for Karapatan in Southern Mindanao. He also accused Tagum as behind the illegal arrest of nearly 100 hungry farmers, including 16 of their leaders, during the dispersal of protesters who were demanding rice subsidies from the government in Kidapawan which was hit by the dry spell. “Tagum's appointment as acting director for Davao City Police Office illustrates the reign of culture of impunity in this government,” Apiag said. Sheena Duazo, Secretary-General of Bayan in Mindanao, said Tagum should answer for his al-
leged human rights violations during his stint as provincial police director in North Cotabato. “It is disgusting to note that instead of holding him accountable over various crimes, he is being hailed by the government. His deployment here will surely be met with growing resistance as we reiterate our call to prosecute him and hold him accountable over Kidapawan massacre and various crimes,” she said. Tagum had repeatedly denied all accusations against him and said protesters attacked policemen with guns and rocks and that farmers shot and killed two of their own during the violence. (Mindanao Examiner)
COTABATO CITY – The Bureau on Cultural Heritage (BCH) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) are implementing a cultural mapping project for Muslim communities. Officials of the two institutions met recently for a consultative meeting on a research and documentation initiative that will come up with an inventory and registry of cultural properties that need preservation and protection. NCCA is the planning and policy making body of the government on the preservation and protection of culture. Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA, NCCA Commissioner for Cultural Heritage, described cultural mapping as a process of identifying, recording, and using cultural resources and activities in building communities. “Ang kultura ay parang kaluluwa ng bansa. Everything emanates from our culture; this is why we would like to preserve it for our identity as people of the
ARMM, and as Filipinos. Kaya gumawa tayo ng sistema so that we will be able to pass on to our children what we have in the past, that still exist in the present, that they can use in the future,” Fr. Rentoria said on the need to preserve cultural heritage and the cultural mapping. Fr. Rentoria also called on local government units in the region to support and take accountability on projects relating to cultural heritage. It is important, he said, to craft projects that will aid in their preservation and protection. “Ang progress and development natin ay hindi lang sa mga current na pamamaraan, dapat kasama narin ang ating nakaraan. Marami nang mga pag aaral at mga success stories if we are able to preserve our heritage and this can be really good for our socio-economic development as well,” Fr. Rentoria said Meanwhile, Executive Director Marites Maguindra of the BCH-ARMM expressed optimism on the
region’s renewed ties with the NCCA. This is not the first time the two agencies worked together, but Maguindra said stronger ties with the NCCA is very beneficial for the ARMM since BCH has limitations in resources. “Marami tayong plans on cultural preservation and we have already done some of them even with our constraints and limitations, and we are looking forward that NCCA will help us bridge those gaps,” Maguindra said. “Nakakatakot na in 10 years time kapag hindi natin na-preserve hindi lang ang mga items, kung hindi pati ang transfer ng skills, baka tuluyan ng mawala ang mga heritage na ito,” she adds. The consultation meeting was also a venue for BCH to propose to the NCCA possible projects that they could jointly implement in the future. One of these is the operation of the ARMM Museum, or the Regional Center for Cultural Heritage. (Bureau of Public Information)
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