The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper (July 25-31, 2022)

Malaysia defiant, to fight Sulu sultanate heirs’ claims MALAYSIA WILL protect the country’s assets over claims by the Sulu sultanate heirs, said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“Since they brought the case to court, we will also protect our assets

through legal channels.

I give the assurance that we will not compromise or even budge an inch in defending the country’s rights and sovereignty,” he told reporters after opening the 2022 National Security Conference here.

Ismail was responding to the legal action by the Sulu sultanate’s heirs who were reported to have threatened Malaysia’s interests and assets overseas, especially assets belonging to government Continue on page 5

Members of the Royal Council of the Sulu Sultanate composed of Sultans Ibrahim Bahjin, Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, Mohammad Venizar Julkarnain Jainal Abirin, Muizuddin Jainal Abirin Bahjin and Phugdalun Kiram II, and Sulu Governor Dr Sakur Tan. (Photo by Al Jacinto)

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July 25-31, 2022

Pagsusuot ng school uniform, optional na O

PTIONAL NA umano ang paggamit ng mga estudyante ng kanilang uniporme, partikular sa mga publikong paaralan, ayon sa order na inilabas ni Vice President Sara Duterte, na siya rin Education Secretary.

Sinabi ni Duterte na di na umano kailangan “Even before the malaki ang matitipid ng bumili pa o magpatahi ng pandemic, it is not a Continue on page 2 mga magulang dahil hin- uniporme.

DSWD removes 1.3 million people from 4Ps AT LEAST 1.3 million poor Filipinos who are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program were taken out from Continue on page 2

A tired fruit vendor dozes off in Zamboanga City.

The DSWD says it removed at least 1.3 million poor Filipinos from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. (Photo by Al Jacinto)

Marcos eyes to reclassify Marburg virus outbreak reported Covid-19 protocols PRESIDENT BONGBONG Marcos is seeking to reclassify public health protocols that are compatible with the current milder Covid-19 strains in the country.

Continue on page 4

A house is placed under lockdown due to Covid infection.

(Photo by Al Jacinto)

ARMM

Eastern Mindanao

THE WORLD Health Organization said it is marshalling resources to contain the outbreak of Marburg,

a highly infectious viral haemorrhagic fever in the same family as the more well-known Ebola virus

disease, in Ghana.

Ghana has announced the country’s Continue on page 4

Cagayan lawmaker wants more funds for Mindanao CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has urged the Marcos administration to increase the

Western Mindanao

budget allocation for Mindanao by at least 5% of the national budget or about P286 billion to promote

Cebu

peace and development in the southern region.

Rodriguez noted that Continue on page 6

Manila

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The Mindanao Examiner

July 25-31, 2022

Pagsusuot ng school uniform, optional na

Continued from page 1 strict requirement for public schools to wear uniforms (DepEd Order No. 065, s. 2010) to avoid incurring additional costs to the families of our learners. All the more that it will not be required this school year given the increasing prices and economic losses due to the pandemic,” ani Duterte sa kanyang pahayag.

Nakasaad sa DepEd Order No. 065, s. 2010 na: “The wearing of a school uniform shall not be required in public schools.

Students with existing uniforms may continue using these uniforms, if

they so desire, in order to avoid incurring additional costs for new attire.”

Magsisimula ang in-person classes at distance learning sa Agosto 22, samantalang ang fiveday, face-to-face classes ay sa Nobyembre naman.

Maraming magulang ang natuwa sa kautusan ni Duterte na huwag na munang obligahin ang paggamit ng umiporme.

Malaking tulong umano ito dahil makakatipid ang mga magulang sa gastusin lalo’t pa na mataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin.

Ngunit umani naman ng ibat-ibang reaksyon mula sa ibang mga magulang

ang kautusan ni Duterte.

“Ma’am Sara, mas mabuti po sana na may uniform kasi po, para parepareho po ang kasuotan ng mag aaral, pano na lang po ang mga pamilya na talagang sobrang hirap, baka po di na magsipasok ang mga bata dahil sa walang maayos na maiisuot ang mga estudyante nila. Kasi po pede pong pag simulan ng inferiority complex yan lalo na sa mga kabataan ng ang magulang eh talaga pong walang maibili ng mga maayus na damit ang estudyante nila,” ani Emerlinda Meneses.

Ayon naman kay Mari

Police hunt killer of poll officer BASILAN – Police continue the hunt for the killer of an election who was gunned down in a daring attack in Isabela City here.

Ruayna Sayyadi was shot by a gunman in the afternoon of July 19 at the satellite office of the Commission on Elections in the village of Doña Ramona. It was unknown how the assailant managed to carry out the attack in the city where the police headquarters are located.

No other details were made available by security and local government officials, but Rep. Mujiv Hataman, whose wife Djalia is the mayor of Isabela, condemned the murder.

“Mariin nating kinokondena ang pamamaril at pagpatay sa isang election officer ng Al-Barka Municipality ng Basilan na nangyari mismo sa labas lamang ng kanyang tanggapan at napakalapit sa isang paaralan sa Isabela City nitong araw lamang. Ang pagpatay kay Ms. Ruayna Sayyadi na dati ring election officer ng Sumisip, Basilan ay hindi lamang isang nakapangingilabot na krimen kundi isang paglapastangan sa ating demokrasya kung ito ay konektado sa kanyang trabaho bilang opisyal ng Comelec,” he said.

Hataman said the slain poll officer was his

friend and he called on the police to investigate the killing. “I call on the authorities to investigate this crime thoroughly, leave no stone unturned and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Pag-ibayuhin natin ang pagpapanatili ng kapayapaan sa ating lalawigan lalo na’t malayo na ang ating narating sa ating pagsisikap,” he said.

Sayadi’s family did not issue any statement.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the killing, but gun attacks in Basilan are not uncommon due to the presence of rebel groups and gunsfor-hire. (Mindanao Examiner)

Trishelle Aviente: “Thank you Mam VP. For now we should understand the situation. But hoping later the government can subsidize sets of uniform and school supplies. Having uniforms won’t make a student feel a little less or

higher than the other.”

“Sa totoo lang mas gusto ko po mi uniform kasi mas magastos bibili ng ibat ibang outfit. Mas madali din makilala ang student sa hindi lalo nat mi gang problem dito sa amin,” sabi pa ni Ori Sofi.

Sinabi ni Dr. Fakhrul Islam Babu na “Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River. Let us understand that, no need to wear a uniform until further order in public school. Thanks, VP!” (Mindanao Examiner)

DSWD removes 1.3 million people from 4Ps Continued from page 1 the 4Ps, said Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles.

Angeles said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) headed by Secretary Erwin Tulfo de-listed the beneficiaries after validating that they are no longer qualified under the government’s pro-poor program.

“Of note is Sec. Erwin Tulfo’s declaration that in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, at least 1.3 million beneficiaries out of 4.4 million are no longer considered poor as a qualification for the 4Ps benefits. This frees up P15 billion for other qualified persons to replace them and now be included in the 4Ps program,” she said.

She said Tulfo made the report before President Bongbong Marcos during a recent Cabinet meeting. It was unclear how the DSWD managed to validate the listing in just three weeks of the Marcos administration.

The DSWD is the lead government agency of the 4Ps, a development measure of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18.

A poor man sifts through the filthy garbage in Zamboanga City. The DSWD says it removed at least 1.3 million poor Filipinos from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. (Photo by Al Jacinto) It is patterned after the conditional cash transfer schemes in Latin American and African countries, which have lifted millions of people around the world from poverty.

The 4Ps also helps the Philippine government fulfill its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, specifically in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, in achieving universal primary education, in pro-

moting gender equality, in reducing child mortality, and in improving maternal health care.

The program operates in all the 17 regions, covering 79 provinces, 143 cities, and 1,484 municipalities. Beneficiaries are selected through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, which identifies who and where the poor are in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

July 25-31, 2022

The Mindanao Examiner

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The Mindanao Examiner

July 25-31, 2022

Marburg virus outbreak reported

(Photo from Times of India) Continued from page 1 first outbreak of Marburg virus disease. The Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal received samples from each of the two patients from the southern Ashanti region of Ghana – both deceased and unrelated – who showed symptoms including diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting.

One case was a 26-yearold man who checked into a hospital on June 26 and died the next day. The second case was a 51 -year-old man who reported to the hospital on June 28 and died on the same day. Both cases sought treatment at the same hospital within days of each other.

It is only the second time the zoonotic disease has been detected in West Africa. Guinea confirmed a single case in an outbreak that was declared over on September 16, 2021, five weeks after the initial case was detected.

WHO said it has been supporting a joint national investigative team in the Ashanti Region as well as

Ghana’s health authorities by deploying experts, making available personal protective equipment, bolstering disease surveillance, testing, tracing contacts and working with communities to alert and educate them about the risks and dangers of the disease, and to collaborate with the emergency response teams.

“Health authorities have responded swiftly, getting a head start preparing for a possible outbreak. This is good because without immediate and decisive action, Marburg can easily get out of hand. WHO is on the ground supporting health authorities and now that the outbreak is declared, we are marshalling more resources for the response,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

More than 90 contacts, including health workers and community members, have been identified and are being monitored.

Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases of Marburg

in Africa have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. WHO has reached out to neighboring high-risk countries and they are on alert.

Marburg is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Illness begins abruptly, with high fever, severe headache and malaise.

Many patients develop severe haemorrhagic signs within seven days. Case fatality rates have varied from 24% to 88% in past outbreaks depending on virus strain and the quality of case management.

Although there are no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat the virus, supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival. (Mindanao Examiner)

Marcos eyes to reclassify Covid-19 protocols Continued from page 1 Marcos said the alert level could be adjusted or improved if people get their booster shots.

“To avoid confusion, we will retain the alert level system for now. We are however thinking, we are studying very closely, and we’ll come to a decision very soon as to decoupling the restrictions from the alert levels,” Marcos said during a meeting with Department of Health (DOH) Officer-In-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Vergeire said the DOH could come up with new classifications by the second week of August, adding it is a suitable period to loosen up to allay fears of the medical community and give them time to make Covid-19 cases more manageable.

She said the country is currently experiencing an uptick in Covid-19 cases because of the highly contagious Omicron BA.5 variant. Based on current projections, more relaxed compliance to minimum public health standards would result in a higher number of Covid-19 cases, according to Vergeire, noting, however, that it is preventable.

With the emergence of new Covid-19 variants, the virus’ immune-escaping mechanism also increased.

Experts project that if eligible individuals do not take the jabs, the country will witness increased hospitalizations by September, she said.

“So that’s why we really wanted to capture all of this eligible population bago dumating ‘yung time na projection na sinasa-

bing September,” Vergeire said.

The DOH is also reconstituting the member agencies of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to only those with relevant and intended functions.

Pending the reconstitution, Vergeire said they will streamline IATF meetings and processes with clear directives to assist in safe reopening and will be utilizing the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council platform which will replace the National Task Force against Covid-19 to integrate it with the regular processes.

This will allow the IATF health expert groups to continue their work as they serve as the voice of science in the country.

(Mindanao Examiner)

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The Mindanao Examiner

July 25-31, 2022

Malaysia defiant, to fight Sulu sultanate heirs’ claims Continued from page 1 -linked companies. On July 12, the assets of Petronas’ two subsidiaries in Azerbaijan were reported to have been seized by court bailiffs acting on behalf of the sultan’s heirs who are claiming US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) from Malaysia.

The move was said to be part of legal efforts launched in 2017 by the heirs to receive compensation over land in Sabah which they claimed their ancestors had leased to a British trading company in 1878.

Ismail said he was made to understand that Petronas and law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar would give an explanation to Parliament soon on the seizure of the Petronas assets in Azerbaijan.

He said the Cabinet had, on July 14, agreed to set up a special task force to study, monitor and formulate an appropriate action plan based on the provisions of the law to address the issue.

When asked about the need to mobilise security forces to defend the country’s assets overseas, he said: “It’s not easy to bring security forces to other countries, unless under the United Nations flag.”

The Paris Court of Appeal allowed the Malaysian government’s application to stay the enforcement of the final award issued by the arbitration court on the grounds that it would affect the immunity of Malaysia’s sovereignty.

Wan Junaidi said that as a result of the suspension order given by the Paris Court of Appeal, the final award cannot be enforced in any country until a decision is made by the Paris court regarding the Malaysian government’s application for cancellation of the final award.

Dispute The dispute arises after “heirs” and “successors-in-interest” to Sultan Jamalul Kiram II initiated a claim against the government of Malaysia through an international arbitration proceeding in Madrid, Spain, Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) had said in a joint statement in March.

The ministry and AGC said the claim is based on an agreement Sultan Mohamet Jamal Al Alam, the Sultan of Sulu at the time, and Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent entered into in 1878 under which the Sultan of Sulu granted and ceded in perpetuity the sovereign rights over certain territories located in North Borneo, now forming part of Sabah, Malaysia.

“As a token, RM5,300 per annum was to be paid to the then Sultan of Sulu, his

heirs or successors. Following the Lahad Datu armed invasion, payment was ceased in 2013,” the statement read.

The statement was issued after the French arbitration ruling, a ruling which Malaysia pointed out it had not participated in.

“The government of Malaysia does not recognise the claim and did not participate in the purported arbitration proceedings because Malaysia has always upheld and has never waived its sovereign immunity as a sovereign state,” Putrajaya said in its March statement.

“In addition, the subject matter of the claim is not commercial in nature and thus cannot be subject to arbitration and the 1878 Agreement contains no arbitration agreement. We further stress that the claimants’ identities are doubtful and have yet to be verified,” it added.

The Financial Times also reported that if Malaysia continues to ignore the ruling, the money owed to the “heirs” is set to increase, and the claimants’ lawyers indicated that they would pursue more state assets if a resolution was not reached.

The arbitrator in France previously highlighted that for every year the Sulu heirs are getting unpaid, Malaysia’s outstanding liability to the heirs will rise by 10%, the report noted.

Bernama in May, citing Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah, reported that Malaysia will be sending diplomatic notes to 168 countries that signed the New York Convention as an early notification on possible unilateral legal claims by descendants of the Sulu Sultan.

The proactive move was taken so that 168 countries were aware of the unilateral claim, apart from hoping that the countries involved would inform Malaysia if there were such applications filed in their countries, Saifuddin reportedly said.

Unpaid cession money In March, descendants of the Sultan of Sulu have filed a case against Malaysia in a French court to claim over $32 billion in unpaid cession money as well as how much they believe they are owed for the oil and gas found in Sabah.

The Sultanate of Sulu, founded in 1457, continues to lay claim to Sabah which it obtained from Brunei as a gift for helping put down a rebellion on Borneo Island.

The British leased Sabah and transferred control over the territory to Malaysia after the end of World War II. The Sulu Sultanate said it had merely leased North Borneo in 1878 to the British North Borneo Company for an annual payment of 5,000

Malayan dollars then, which was increased to 5,300 Malayan dollars in 1903. The Sultanate of Sulu is believed to exist as a sovereign nation for at least 442 years. It stretches from a part of the island of Mindanao in the east, to Sabah, in the west and south, and to Palawan, in the north. But North Borneo was annexed by Malaysia in 1963 following a referendum organised by the Cobbold Commission in 1962, the people of Sabah voted overwhelmingly to join Malaysia.

According to the Malaysian newspaper The Star, a French arbitration court has “instructed” the Malaysian government to pay $14.92bil (RM62.6bil) to the descendants of the last Sulu sultan. It reported that Ar-

ate, nine Malaysian armed services personnel and six civilians.

The Star also quoted a report by the Spanish news website La Información which said that Stampa had issued the award, ruling that the 1878 treaty was a commercial “international private lease agreement.” By not paying the cession money since 2013, Stampa said Malaysia had breached the agreement and would have three months to pay up failing which interest would be charged if the decision was not accepted.

On March 17, 2020, Kota Kinabalu High Court judge Datuk Martin Indang ruled that Malaysia was the proper venue to resolve disputes arising from the 1878 Deed of Cession and not

Sultan Jamalul Kiram III reads the Mindanao Examiner regional newspaper in this file photo by Mark Navales, the paper's bureau chief in southern Philippines. bitrator Gonzalo Stampa, who is from Spain, issued the award in a Paris court.

The decision was based on the alleged violation of payments of RM5,300 cession money under the 1878 agreement signed by Sultan Jamal Al Alam, Baron de Overbeck and the British North Borneo Company’s Alfred Dent.

Malaysia stopped paying the Sultan Sulu’s heirs their annual RM5,300 cession money after over 200 armed followers of the Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III led by his younger brother Agbimuddin Kiram landed in Lahad Datu town in Sabah in 2013 to press the ancestral claim on the oil-rich territory. Malaysia responded by sending troops and launching airstrikes before the stand-off ended. The conflict, which lasted more than a month, resulted in the deaths of 68 men from the Sulu sultan-

the Spanish courts, which do not have authority nor jurisdiction over Malaysia. Justice Idang said this when deciding in favour of the Malaysian government in its suit against eight of the supposed descendants of the sultan of Sulu at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on March 17.

He said there was no binding agreement between the Government and the sultan’s heirs that compelled either party to also submit to arbitration in the event of a dispute.

The heirs’ claims were originally heard in Madrid until the Madrid High Court annulled Stampa’s appointment on grounds that Malaysia was not properly informed about the case and was thus “defenceless”. The case was later moved to the French capital.

Sultan Esmail Kiram III died in 2015 from renal failure at a hospital in Zam-

boanga City in southern Philippines. His body was brought to his hometown in Sulu’s Maimbung town and buried beside the tomb of his elder brother, Jamalul, whom he succeeded in 2013. The 75-year old sultan was one of the most influential members of the Royal Sultanate. And Agbimuddin also died early of cardiac arrest the same year in Tawi-Tawi province after escaping from Lahad Datu at the height of the Malaysian assault on his group.

Datu Phugdal Kiram, another brother, has reportedly assumed the throne, but the sultanate does not hold any power anymore in the modern-day Philippines, and is more of a title although Malaysia previously paid an annual rental for the island to whoever sits as the head of the Royal Sultanate. But there are dozens of sultans claiming to be the legitimate heir to the throne.

North Borneo Bureau Two years ago, the Philippines said it would revive the “North Borneo Bureau” to exert its claim to the mineral-rich Sabah even if Malaysia insisted it was theirs. Then Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. told lawmakers that he has decided to revive the North Borneo Bureau to uphold the country's claim to Sabah.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan previously said the cession money that Malaysia paid annually to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu was insulting. “The amount is insulting anyway, you can never change history,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

A report by ABS-CBN also quoted Locsin as telling members of the House Appropriations Committee that: “While we fiercely guard our waters, we are not forgetting our terrestrial domain. In pursuit of securing what is ours, I have decided to reactivate the North Borneo Bureau.”

“After realizing that the rest of us have almost forgotten our Sabah claim, casually designating it as another country’s territory, well we have not forgotten. This is one of several international disagreements we can afford to conduct in our best interest without any risk of loss of any kind for our country,” he said, adding, “Our honor is involved here.”

Even Nur Misuari, chieftain of the Moro National Liberation Front, said that what Malaysia pays to the Sultanate of Sulu (and North Borneo), was but a pittance.

Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte’s Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government has not abandoned its claim on Sabah.

“The position of the President, meron tayong claims.

Eh totoo namang may claim tayo di ba? That has been a bone of contention ever since,” he said.

Sultans Sultan Ibrahim Bahjin-Shakirullah II said North Borneo is an inextricable part and parcel of the Sultanate of Sulu.

He said the Sultanate of Sulu asserts its position on the following: 1.) The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo was never lawfully ceded to the Republic of the Philippines, and therefore remains a sovereign and independent state; 2.)

The stipulation in the Deed of 1878 that the lessees of North Borneo shall administer the territory for “as long as they choose or desire to use them” places it in the category of a “perpetual lease”, effective for 100 years under international law. The contract of lease has therefore expired and possession over North Borneo should now be exercised by the Sultanate of Sulu, its rightful owner. And 3.) The heirs of Jamalul Kiram III do not have private ownership of Sabah. The territory continues to be owned by the Sultanate of Sulu, and not any private person.

In view of the history of the Sultanate and the circumstances surrounding the lease of Sabah, he said: “We desire the recognition of the independent statehood and sovereignty of the Islamic Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.”

But Sultan Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, who claims to be the 35th Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, said his grandfather, Sultan Mohammad Esmail Enang Kiram, who was recognized by the Philippine government in 1957, “transferred the rights of North Borneo under the government of President Diosdado Macapagal in 1962.”

Kiram said his father, Sultan Mohammad Mahakuttah Abdulla Kiram, and he, being the Crown Prince of Sulu, confirmed the transfer of the rights of North Borneo to the Philippine government and this was made official through Memorandum Order No. 427 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1974. “We aspire for an amicable solution to the predicament that affects us all in this region,” Kiram said, adding, “The Royal House of Sulu firmly believes that diplomacy will allow us to move forward as governments and other parties involved play a crucial role from alleviating our people from poverty.”

The two are only among the 5 recognized sultans in Sulu. The others are Sultans Mohammad Venizar Julkarnain Jainal Abirin, Muizuddin Jainal Abirin Bahjin and Phugdalun Kiram II. (Free Malaysia Today, The Edge Markets and Mindanao Examiner)

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The Mindanao Examiner

July 25-31, 2022

Bringing back use of clean energy in Mindanao DAVAO CITY – To promote renewable energy in the southern Philippine region, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), Ateneo de Davao University and Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) signed a memorandum of agreement to establish the Mindanao Renewable Energy Advocacy and Coordination Hub or Mindanao REACH. The Mindanao REACH seeks to establish a platform for multi-stakeholder, grassroots-based strategies of promoting renewable energy in poor communities which are underserved and unserved by traditional gridbased electricity.

The hub will also advocate measures that would promote RE to revise fossil-dependence on Mindanao, electrify off-

grid communities to attain inclusive growth and provide access to information relating to renewable energy.

“We intend to make the center a venue for knowledge sharing, capacity building, and advocacy initiatives to push for renewable energy transition and ultimately address poverty,” MinDa Secretary Maria Belen Acosta said during the ceremonial signing of the agreement.

PEF Executive Director Roberto Calingo emphasized the need to establish the hub with rising fuel costs and exhausting fossil fuel reserves. “The need of having energy sufficiency together with food sufficiency has been more urgent,” he said.

Also present in the ceremonial signing are

Climate Change Commission Executive Director Robert Borje, MinDA Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro, and Ateneo’s School of Engineering and Architecture Dean, Dr. Randell Espina.

In a report by the Department of Energy last year, it said 31% of the installed energy capacity of Mindanao comes from renewable energy sources. But this was way lower than the 2011 data, where 65% of the total power generation mix in the South came from clean power. Over the years, the continued power supply problems paved the way for oil and coal-based power sources to be the primary sources of electricity, which now constitute 68% of installed energy capacity. (Mindanao Examiner)

The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper and the Philippine Daily Inquirer are the only newspapers in Cotabato City and Maguindanao. (Photo by Paolo de Jesus)

Cagayan lawmaker wants more funds for Mindanao Continued from page 1 Mindanao was allocated only 13% or some P650 billion in this year’s national budget. He argued that Mindanao is entitled to more funds because based on the 2020 census, it has over 26.3 million population or 24% of the country’s population of 109.6 million.

He said the region also contributes 17% of the nation’s yearly total output of products and services.

“If our island receives 5 percent more next year, or 18% of a possible P5.2 trillion budget, our total allocation would come up to P936 billion, or an additional P286 billion.

That would go a long way

in helping our people and developing our region,” he said.

He said President Bongbong Marcos could likewise include in his first State of the Nation Address the following projects for Mindanao - immediate funding for the P83-billion for the 102-kilometer first phase (Tagum-Davao City-Digos) of the planned Mindanao railway; the faster implementation of programs for coconut farmers under the Coconut Trust Fund Law; completion of the rehabilitation of Marawi City; and final peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People's Army for lasting peace in

the South.

To further speed up the island’s development, the lawmaker suggested that Marcos transfer the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to Mindanao, as well as appoint the secretaries of the two departments from qualified Mindanao professionals.

“The heads of these agencies will have their hands full in growing and exploring the farming and natural resources sectors, including minerals, in our island. However, the President should ban the highly destructive open-pit mining,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Bangko Sentral closes Rural Bank of Polomolok

KORONADAL CITY – The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it has prohibited Rural Bank of Polomolok in South Cotabato from doing business and ordered the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) to take over the problematic bank.

The Monetary Board said latest available records show that as of December 31, 2021, the Rural Bank of Polomolok has 3,326 deposit accounts with total deposit liabilities of P61.9 million, of which 96.3% or P59.6 million are insured deposits.

The PDIC assured depositors that all valid deposits and claims will be paid up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000 per depositor.

Individual account holders of valid deposits

with balances of P100,000 and below, who have no outstanding obligations or have not acted as co-makers of obligations with Rural Bank of Polomolok are not required to file deposit insurance claims, according to the MB. These individual depositors, it added, must ensure that they have complete and updated addresses with the bank.

For business entities and all other depositors, filing of claims for insured deposit is targeted to start by August 22. Borrowers are likewise reminded to continue paying their loan obligations with the closed Rural Bank of Polomolok and to transact only with designated PDIC representatives.

It said the PDIC shall likewise accept Letters of Intent from interest-

ed banks and non-bank institutions for possible purchase of assets and assumption of liabilities as a mode of liquidating Rural Bank of Polomolok.

The Rural Bank of Polomolok has its head office in the village of Magsaysay in Polomolok and has branches are in General Santos City, South Cotabato; and in Alabel and Maasim in Sarangani.

The BSP also closed the Banco Rural De General Tinio in Nueva Ecija; Farmers Savings and Loan Bank Inc. based in Bulacan; Metro-Cebu Public Savings Bank; the Rural Bank of Mahaplag in Leyte; the Rural Bank of Salcedo in Ilocos Sur.; the Rural Bank of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Siniloan); and the Rural Bank of San Nicolas in Pangasinan. (Mindanao Examiner)

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The Mindanao Examiner

July 25-31, 2022

Simpleng Sintomas, Pero Senyales ng Sakit!

Questioning our Faith

by Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo (Cebu) First OF all, is it important to ask questions?

Yes, because we are humans. It’s human to ask questions. God doesn’t have to ask questions because He knows everything. Angels don’t ask questions because they get their knowledge from God by mental telepathy thus, they also know everything. And of course, animals don’t ask questions.

We are the only creatures in this world that wonder. Perhaps animals have feelings or as they say crocodile tears but only human beings wonder. Wonder is the origin of all philosophy, according to the three greatest philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. When animals suffer, they just suffer. Their song is, “Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die.” Computers do not wonder because they have no physical or spiritual feelings and thus do not come up with questions. We program them but they don’t question their program. We too have been programmed by our heredity and environment, but we can question our programming. We doubt it. Doubt is glorious. Only one who can doubt can believe just as only one who can despair can hope, and only one who can hate can love. Just as only one who is tempted can sin and only those who overcome sin can be rewarded. This is all part of man’s freedom.

Another reason why asking questions is important is that they are the best way to learn.

Questioning means that our mind is hungry. If our body is not hungry, we won’t eat and if we won’t eat, we will not grow. If our mind is not hungry—if we don’t have wonder and the desire to know—then we won’t ask questions, and if we don’t ask questions, we won’t find the truth. And if we don’t find the truth that means our mind and spirit won’t grow. The more passionately we care about asking questions, the more truth we will find.

Lastly, God wants us to ask questions. He designed us that way. Jesus never discouraged questions. His disciples sometimes would ask silly questions but He would patiently answer them. In fact, the best question to ask starts

with the word ‘why’. Why? Because the answers usually are much deeper compared with those questions that start with ‘what’, ‘who’ and ‘how’.

Now the question is, “Should we question our faith?” The answer again is yes. St. Paul even encouraged it. “Test everything, hold fast to what is good.” (1 Thess. 5:21) How can we know what is good unless we test it, unless we question it? The more deeply, and honestly, we question, the more we will appreciate the answers we find. The reason why it’s not easy to know God and his teachings it’s because He wants us to seek them. As Jesus said, “Seek, and you will find.” (Mt. 7:7) When answers are provided to us without us asking them, we would not treasure those answers because we did not look for them ourselves. But if we seek the truth ourselves, because we are curious or we are in doubt or we are hungry for the truth, then we will surely value the answers like no other.

It’s good to ask for example, “Do Catholics worship saints or do we just pray to them by asking for their intercession?” We don’t worship saints. We only worship God. We pray to saints by asking them to pray for us because they are closer to God in heaven, therefore, they could help get our prayers answered. “Is the sacrament of confession found in Holy Scripture?”

Yes. St. James said, “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16) These are the common questions Catholics get to be asked especially by our Protestant brothers. We should have ready answers so as not to get swayed and begin to doubt our faith.

Doubting our faith is good if we seek to find answers to them. But to doubt our faith without sincerely trying to look for the answers means we just like to question things. Preferring questions to answers, is like preferring hunger to food. As G.K. Chesterton said, “An open mind is like an open mouth: it’s open so that it can chomp down on something solid.” So, it’s good to come up with good questions because good questions generate good answers.

With repentance, our faith becomes more alive

Ni Dr. Willie Ong (Manila) Bilang karugtong ng aking naunang isinulat, heto pa ang mga sintomas na dapat tandaan.

• Inuubo – Kalimitan ng inuubo ay dahil sa trangkaso, allergy o dahil sa paninigarilyo. Ngunit may mga seryosong ubo na nanggagaling sa tuberculosis at kanser sa baga.

Kapag matindi na ang ubo, magpa-chest X-ray.

• Nauuhaw, at ihi ng ihi – Kakaiba talaga ang sintomas ng diabetes.

Dahil mataas ang asukal sa dugo, lumalabas tuloy ang tubig at asukal sa ating ihi. Dahil dito, ihi ng ihi ang pasyente at lagi pa siyang nauuhaw. Ang iba ay pumapayat kahit malakas naman kumain.

Huwag matuwa kahit pumapayat, dahil baka diabetes na iyan. Ipagamot agad sa doktor.

• Nangingitim ang paa at binti – Isa pang senyales ng diabetes ay ang pamamantal at pangingitim ng paa. Ito’y

dahil sinisira ng diabetes ang mga ugat sa paa at nagkukulang ang daloy ng dugo at oxygen dito. Uminom ng gamot sa diabetes bago lumala.

• Nilalanggam ang ihi – Naku, siguradong diabetes na iyan. Mataas ang asukal sa dugo at lumalabas ito sa ihi.

• Maraming bula sa ihi – Posibleng may sakit sa bato o kidney. Normal lang ang makakita ng bula sa ihi, pero may pagkakataon na madami ang bula at hindi kusang nawawala.

Posibleng may protina na lumalabas sa ihi. Ipasuri ang ihi at baka may diprensiya na ang bato.

• Kumikipot ang dumi – Nakakatakot ang colon cancer, ang sakit ni Presidente Cory Aquino. Wala itong malinaw na sintomas. Ngunit kapag nagbago ang anyo ng dumi na para bang hugis lapis, posibleng may nagbabara sa malaking bituka. Ito’y isang senyales ng colon

Organic Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee isn’t really pricey

by Fr. Roy Cimagala (Cebu) WE NEED to see the close relationship between our repentance and its effect on our faith. This relationship was highlighted in the Gospel of St. Matthew (12,38-42) where some of the leading Jews at that time asked Christ for a sign.

Christ could not help but reproach them for their lack of faith. He said: “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.”

Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

When we repent and have conversion, when we have a change of heart, giving it to God rather than keeping it to ourselves, then everything in our life will lead us to God. We would not need any more signs. Everything will speak of God. We have to understand that repentance and conversion is a continuing affair for all of us in this life. We can never say that we are good enough to need repentance and conversion no more.

We are all sinners, St. John said. And even the just man, as the Bible said, falls seven times in a day. Besides, it is this sense of continuing

conversion that would really ensure us that whatever we do, whatever would happen to us, including our failures and defeats, would redound to what is truly good for the parties concerned and for everybody else in general.

It will enable us to see the things of God and of men more clearly and objectively.

For this purpose, we have to feel the need to cultivate the virtue of penance. This is just to be realistic about our human condition. It’s not to paint a dark world for ourselves. If we believe in God, we know that our life ought to be bright and cheerful, and that everything, including our mistakes, works out for the good.

But we cannot deny that we have weaknesses. There are temptations around. And in spite of our best efforts, we know that sooner or later we find ourselves falling into sin. We need to know how to deal with these conditions. We need to find a way to derive some good from them, since if we have hope, some good can always be achieved from them. Precisely, a working spirit of penance would enliven our faith, and together with our faith, our hope and charity would also become more vibrant.

But the virtue of penance goes farther than that. It grows when we put up the necessary defenses against the enemies of our soul and wage a lifelong ascetical struggle. Yes, our life will be and should be a life of warfare, a war of peace and love that will also give us certain consolations in spite of the tension.

And for this penance to be a true virtue, it has to include an indomitable hope that can survive even in the worst of scenarios. In fact, this hope gets stronger the uglier the warfare gets.

cancer. Magpasuri sa isang gastroenterologist.

• Matinding sakit ng ulo at pagkahilo – Posibleng istrok, altapresyon, o tumor sa utak ang dahilan. Una sa lahat, magpa-check ng blood pressure. Kapag lampas ito sa 140 over 90, posibleng altapresyon ang dahilan ng sakit ng ulo. Kapag nanghina o namanhid ang isang parte ng katawan, posibleng istrok na ito. Magpakita agad sa doktor.

• Mabigat ang dibdib – Bantayan ang sakit sa puso. Kung ika’y edad 40 pababa at wala namang ibang sakit, marahil ay hindi delikado ang pananakit ng iyong dibdib.

Ngunit, kung may iba ka pang karamdaman, tulad ng altapresyon, may katabaan, mataas ang kolesterol, at may diabetes, kailangan ipa-check agad ang iyong puso. Huwag balewalain ang mga sintomas na ito.

KIDAPAWAN CITY - Coffee lovers in the Philippines may now enjoy the best and the most expensive coffee in the world - Kopi Luwak - but not as pricey as every connoisseurs think.

Kopi Luwak is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. The cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet’s intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter,

they are collected.

In Manila, a kilogram of Civet coffee sells for as high as P15,000 and over $500 dollars abroad.

But Kopi Luwak can now be enjoyed by every coffee lovers for as low as P150 for a 16 oz. cup that comes with a drip bag, ground organic Civet coffee beans, two packets of brown sugar and a stirrer in a beautiful Kraft paper bag – thanks to the Mindanao Civet Coffee seller in Zamboanga City.

The new market player in the coffee business, although small, is now offering affordable organic Kopi Luwak – sourced and picked by farmers from the highlands of Mindanao, cleaned and dried and roasted to perfection to give coffee lovers that distinct aroma of Civet coffee berries – chocolaty and nutty and smooth bodied brewed drink.

Mindanao Civet Coffee, which started as a home reseller of coffee beans, now offers organic Kopi Luwak in 250 grams ground Civet coffee and 250 grams Civet coffee beans – all medium roasted to perfection.

Kopi Luwak is also available now in 3rd Cup Café at LM Metro Hotel in Zamboanga City, and resellers in Luzon, Cebu and other parts of Mindanao.

The Mindanao Civet Coffee is a favorite among travellers and tourists and coffee connoisseurs. And for those who wanted the perfect gift for all occasions, Kopi Luwak is the best choice.

And those who are interested to resell or perhaps enjoy a daily hot cup or cold brew of Kopi Luwak may call the Mindanao Civet Coffee at this mobile number 0915-3976197.

(AJC)

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The Mindanao Examiner Gallery

July 25-31, 2022

Pahati daing ha SPWC Sahaya Sin Kababaihan PANAWAG-TAWAG pa mga kabataan anak ilu' atawa amun tuud way ikagaus magtalus magiskul college, atawa incoming college students. In Sahaya Sin Kababaihan Orphanage, piyatindug sumugpat madawhat in yaangan-angan sin kamu makatalus iban dumayaw in susungun. Sumagawa in mga kamu ilabay sumariyahun sin Sulu Provincial Women Council bang kamu mapatut ha program.

Yari in mga bandingun : • Anak Ilu' atawa yruun tuud ikagaus tumalus magiskul College atawa Incoming College.

• Parayawun in pag-iskul atawa mataas in grades.

•

Saddiya humangti atawa humula ha orphanage sampay makatangbus.

• Maraw in aqeedah iban mapatut ha program * In mga courses kapag pian biya na sin BTLED (Bachelor of Technical Livelihood Education) iban BSIT (Bachelor of Science In Industrial Technology) dun ha Hji. Butu School of Arts and Trades atawa HBSAT. In Sahaya sin Kababihan Orphanage piyatindug iban panukuhi sin President sin Sulu Provincial Women Council, Hja. Nurunisah "Indah "Abubakar Tan. Para humati, Kadtu kamu pa SPWC Office, Isnin-Jumaat, 8am-4pm.

Magskul!

Photos from the Office of the Sulu Provincial Governor, Jaques Tutong, Maimbung Municipal Government, Rep. Shernee Tambut, Radyo Pilipinas Jolo, Noenyrie Asiri, and Aziz Salapuddin

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The Mindanao Examiner

July 25-31, 2022 Across :

MAF Trading Zamboanga

1. More ashen 6. Longing 9. TV network 12. Sports ring 13. Browning’s “before” 14. Track circuit 15. Minimum 16. Thai 18. Regrets 20. Make 21. High military rank 24. Was mistaken 25. Metallic rock 26. Not wavering 28. Pops 30. “___ Got a Secret” 31. Fall faller 35. Not lying 38. Knicks’ league (abbr.)

39. Not tipsy 42. Hen’s mate 44. Cold era (2 wds.)

46. Petition 47. Take back 49. Mrs. Bunker 52. Take food 53. Shooter’s group (abbr.)

54. Valleys 55. Wind direction (abbr.)

56. Hoagie 57. Beginning

062-9555360 / 0917-7103642

Answer to last week’s crossword:

Down : 1. Crony 2. Live 3. Figured out 4. Result 5. Evaluators 6. Affirmative 7. Actor ___ Idle 8. Approached 9. Transparent 10. Moisten while cooking 11. Velocity 17. Actress ___ Streep 19. Lustrous fabric 21. Zeus or Apollo 22. Memorable period 23. Prying bar 27. Fable collector

29. Clip 32. Involves 33. Honest ___ Lincoln 34. “The ___ Side” 36. Church instruments 37. Ohio city 39. Fire alarm 40. Atlantic or Pacific 41. Midler or Davis 43. Family car 45. Unbleached color 48. Bill 50. Golf gizmo 51. FDR’s successor

Weekly Sudoku:

Answer to last week:

Maritess Fernandez Publisher/Executive Producer Al Jacinto Editor-in-Chief

Reynold Toribio Graphics/Video Editor

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Boracay, Palawan, Cebu hailed world’s best islands

C

EBU – The New York-based travel magazine Travel + Leisure (T+L) has named Boracay Island, Palawan Island and Cebu Island as among “The 25 Best Islands in the World” because of its pristine beauty and rich natural resources.

The Philippines is also manifested in this citation of activities and sights, natural included in the “The 40 Most Travel + Leisure that included attractions and beaches, food, Beautiful Countries in the our Cebu, Palawan, and Bora- friendliness, and overall value.”

Boracay and Palawan also World” by lifestyle travel mag- cay in their prestigious list,” said azine Condé Nast Traveler Tourism Secretary Christina Gar- topped T+L's 5 Best Islands in Asia alongside Phuket, Thailand, (CNT). TimeOut.com also cia Frasco.

Boracay Island featuring its Bali, Indonesia, and The Malranked Manila among the top cities in the world. The ranking postcard-perfect sunset ranked dives.

"Travel + Leisure readers comes as a result of a survey 9th in the T+L World's Best Island among city-dwellers world- list, followed by Palawan at 11th fondly recalled pre-Covid-era with a photo of an idyllic lagoon visits to the best islands in Asia. wide.

The Department of Tour- in El Nido, and Cebu at 16th with Now that the region is reopening, they’re surely eager to return to ism (DOT) said it is elated over Taoist Temple, in Cebu City.

According to T+L, readers these five ports of call, including the choices made by the T+L were asked to “weigh in on trav- the islands of the Maldives, as and CNT. “The Philippines is tru- el experiences around the globe well as those found in Indonesia, ly blessed with the unrivaled — to share their opinions on the Thailand, and the Philippines,” beauty of our natural resourc- top cities, islands, cruise ships, the international magazine said.

Frasco thanked the two es coupled by the warmth and spas, airlines, and more. Readers endless talent of the Filipinos rated islands according to their prestigious magazines for fea-

Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park (UNESCO) turing the Boracay, Palawan and Cebu; and the Philippines.

Garcia inaugurates infra projects

Gov. Gwen Garcia inaugurates various infra projects in Cebu. (Photos by Donald Moga) CEBU – Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has inaugurated over P70 million worth of infrastructure projects, including the improvement of a causeway in the municipality of Daanbantayan.

The 121-meter-long and 4-meter-wide improved Tapilon Causeway Section is worth P7.6 million and funded by the Capitol, comes as a relief to port users who have been yearning for such infrastructure in the last 30 years that makes transport to nearby islands and islets convenient and safe.

Alex Baslan, a resident of Carnaza Island, works as a crew member of a motorboat that ferries passengers and essential commodities such as raw food products, ice blocks, cement, steel bars, fuel, among others, from the mainland to Carnaza. He said they deliver fish and other

ARMM

seafoods then sailing back to the mainland.

He said it used to be very risky especially on low tide.

They had to transfer passengers and goods using a flat-bottom boat to reach what used to be a makeshift port of rocks.

The newly-constructed causeway relieves them of all the trouble because they can moor with ease even if it is high tide or low tide. “Dili na gyud intawon mi magkamang-kamang sa kabatuan,” Baslan said.

Garcia said she makes sure she visits Capitol projects to see for herself the completion and the impact of these projects to the constituents.

“Mao nang moanhi gyud ko, motan-aw gyud ko aron masayod ko sa inyong sitwasyon.

Karon dili lang ni kay pantalan-pantalan lang, dili murag trak-trak nga tahay-tahay lang.

Pantalan o pier na gyud ni,” she said.

During tye inauguration, Garcia was assisted by Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, 4th District Provincial Board Kerrie Shimura, Dame Mariquita Yeung; Vice Mayor Ali Abucay, village leaders and councilors, as well as Cebu provincial police chief Erwin Lim. Aside from the P7.6-million Tapilon Causeway project, Garcia also inaugurated the 3.9-kilometer Poblacion-Tominjao-Maya Road Section (Phase II) worth P54.8 million.

The road is 6.1 meters wide and nine inches thick and will benefit residents in the villages of Daanbantayan: Talisay, Tominjao, Maya, Bagay, and Lanao.

“Dili nako masulbad ang tanang problema. Bisan pa og moinom ko tanang matang sa vitamins, dili ko mahimong superwoman. Apan akong himuon kutob sa akong mahimo al-

Eastern Mindanao

ang sa akong mga pinalanggang Sugbuanon,” Garcia said.

Another project completed in Tominjao is the reconstruction of a three-barrel reinforced concrete box culvert measuring 12 meters wide and 7.32 meters thick for a bridge in Alinsuob-Bagay areas. The project costs P8.6 million. For this project, Garcia said the provincial government saved over P16 million because initially the works would have cost P25 million, according to its contractor Engr. Romeo Villaceran, now mayor of Madridejos. (EEV)

“We express our heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to all tourism stakeholders from the public and private sector, the national and local government units, the efforts of the previous administration included, and all the hardworking employees and officials of the Department across the country for forging forward amidst the challenges of the pandemic and contributing in their own ways so our country may earn the title as one of the most beautiful in the world. The natural beauty of a country can truly shine through when we are united in heralding our best qualities,” she said.

Aside from the Philippines, the CNT also listed other countries such as Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States of America, among others.

TimeOut.com said the choice is a result of several criteria that include aspects like walkability, good public transport, safety, and sustainability other than a thriving nightlife, amazing food and drink, and art and culture.

It should be noted, nonetheless, that Manila is usually in reference to Metro Manila or the Philippines’ National Capital Region.

“May this global recognition of the beauty of our natural resources inspire our efforts to raise the Philippines’ standing in the tourism industry by introducing tourism infrastructure development and improvements that would enhance connectivity and convenience in reaching our destinations,” Frasco said.

(Cebu Examiner)

Cebuano assaulted in New York CEBU – An 18-year old Cebuano tourist visiting the United States was attacked in Manhattan in New York in what could be another case of hate crime, according to Newspaper.ph.

A hate crime is a prejudice-motivated crime that occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership in a certain social group or racial demographic. It is common now in the U.S. with New York alone has recorded 40 incidents since last year involving Filipinos either as a victim of hate crimes or criminal acts.

Western Mindanao

This was also confirmed by the Philippine Consulate General in New York, saying the Cebuano tourist was walking along with three other Filipinos near the corner of 6th Avenue and 46th Street when he was assaulted.

The victim, whose name was withheld by the Philippine Consulate General, suffered facial injuries due to the beating. The unnamed attacker was eventually subdued and was taken into custody by the police.

The Philippine Consulate General said it is coordi-

Cebu

nating with the New York Police Department to get more information about the incident. It advised Filipinos in New York to remain vigilant.

Just recently, a Filipino lawyer, John Albert Laylo, vacationing in the U.S. was killed during a random shooting in Philadelphia. The 35-year old Laylo was on his way to the airport with his mother to catch their flight to Chicago when their car was fired with six bullets. His mother was slightly wounded by glass fragments. (Cebu Examiner)

Manila