Mindanao Examiner Newspaper Nov. 18-24,

Killer of ex- Tungawan mayor hunted

Boy killed, mother injured in lightning strike PAGE 2

Muslim preacher gunned down near mosque in Zambo Sur

Family feud heating up in Zambo town

PAGE 4

PAGE 3

Army awards medals to 'Tabak' soldiers

PAGE 7

Opinion Page

PAGE 8

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Nov. 18-24, 2013

MISERY, DESPERATION!

M

iser able and desiserable per ate is all ho w perate how CNN anchor Anderson C ooper Cooper descr described described the unimaginable human suffer ing and situation in suffering Tacloban City in the centr al F ilicentral Filipino pr ovince of Leyte pro Leyte,, one of many ar eas dev astated b y monareas devastated by ster typhoon H aiyan.

Haiyan.

Cooper, who was in Tacloban covering the disaster with other CNN personalities, reported his account of what it is like to be in the center of a destroyed city where dead bodies are side by side with the living amid the scattered ruins of what was once a booming provincial capital, 580 kilometers southeast of Manila, ravaged by the typhoon.

Below is some part of his report on Jake Tapper's program “The Lead”.

“It’s a miserable situation here and it does not seem to be getting better day by day and we are now on the 5th day since the storm hit here Tacloban. Just, we are here at the airport now, what’s left on the airport there are hundreds of people here sitting all night just, they have nowhere else to go and three blocks from that direction you’ll find people sleeping in makeshift huts basically you’re sleeping out in the exposed rains close to bodies of their loved ones which nobody has picked up because there’s nobody here to pick them up.”

“You will expect perhaps to see maybe a feeding center that have been set up about five days after the storm, we have not seen that certainly not in this area.

Some food are being brought to people here at the airport, some water being distributed but it is very, very difficult condition for people here on the ground. It’s not clear how much longer it can continue like this, something has got to give, there is hope that the airport will at some point will be opened by the US marines to operate on a 24 hour basis, that has not happened yet. There’s a lot of talk about that yesterday that has not occurred and we have been here all night and no flights were coming in once night came. It is a very desperate situation among the most desperate I have seen in covering disasters over the last couple of years.”

Death toll Media reports said as many as 10,000 people may have died

ARMM

President Benigno Aquino inspects the condition of victims of typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban City in Leyte province. (Photo by Ryan Lim) and missing from the typhoon, but President Benigno Aquino, citing government records claimed the death toll would be around 2,500.

Aquino was also interviewed

by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour where he enumerated the government’s relief efforts in areas devastated by the typhoon.

“When asked about his government’s reaction to the crisis, President Aquino told Amanpour he feels the immediate response has been reassuring to the vast majority of people but that two or three local governments were simply overwhelmed by the severity of the typhoon that hit the islands. For example, in Tacloban, only 20 of 290 police were available when disaster struck; many were tending to their own families, he said.”

“There was emotional trauma involved with that particular estimate quoting both the police official and local government,” he said, adding that “they did not have a basis for it. He did however acknowledge that the number might still get higher,” the CNN report said.

The Philippines News Agency also quoted Aquino as telling Amanpour “we have been able to demonstrate as a government and as a people, collectively, that we take care of each other and the government’s immediate response, I think, has been reassuring to the vast majority of our people.”

Aquino said the catastrophic death toll estimates was pegged at 10,000 in the worst-hit areas in Tacloban alone, is too much and added that local officials, suffering from emotional trauma may have made wrong assessments of the actual death figure. “They were too close to the incident. They didn’t have basis for it,” he said.

“But so far, 2,000 to about 2,500

Southern Mindanao

is the figure we are working on as far as deaths are concerned,” Aquino said.

The President and his Cabinet members inspected the areas hit by the typhoon and led relief operations there and at the same time assured victims of government relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Looting was so massive and widespread in Tacloban and other parts of Leyte, that security forces were simply overwhelmed. People raided warehouses, groceries and supermarkets, and even gasoline stations were not spared by the looters who also sold their stolen items openly in public. A liter of stolen diesel was being sold as high as P1,000 and the supply would not last for long as many people needed fuel to run their vehicles and generator sets.

Criticism A Filipino teacher’s group also strongly criticized the Aquino government for failing to immediately address relief operations to tens of thousands of families left homeless by typhoon Haiyan. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers or ACT said a week after the typhoon struck the region, relief aid and assistance from the Aquino government is yet to be received by the survivors.

“It is appalling to know that the national government under President Benigno Aquino seems to be inutile in responding to the disaster faced by our brothers and sisters, especially in the Visayas.

Nasaan na ang ipinangalandakan ni PNoy na handa ang gobyerno sa pagharap sa kalamidad?” asked France Castro, ACT’s SecretaryGeneral.

Aquino said during a television broadcast on November 7 that “fully mission capable po ang tatlo nating C-130 (Philippine Air Force

Davao

Hercules cargo plane) upang rumesponde sa nangangailangan.

Naka-stand by na rin po ang 32 na eroplano at helicopter ng ating Air Force. Naka-posisyon na po ang 20 barko mula sa ating Philippine Navy sa Cebu, Bicol, Cavite, at Zamboanga. Ang mga relief goods ay naka-preposition na rin sa karamihan ng mga apektado o maaaring maapektuhang lalawigan; sa mga hindi pa po naaabot dahil pinagbawalan nang pumalaot ang mga barko dahil sa peligro, umasa po kayong darating agad ang tulong paghupa ng bagyo.”

But Castro said relief services were not delivered by the national government.

“Victims are still struggling to survive each day. They don’t even have safe water to drink. The government now must use all its resources to reach the survivors in the fastest way possible. We are saddened with the recent of turn of events wherein the president even prioritized transporting military personnel (foreign and local) to the affected areas rather than food, water and medicines which are very needed by the survivors,” she said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

Aquino has sent police and military forces to augment the security personnel and restore peace due to massive looting.

But Castro said peace and order situation in the area can only be restored if the essential needs of the survivors such as food, water and medicines are attended to by the government. “Gutom an mega tao at kailangan at ginagawa nila ang lahat upang sila at ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay ay maalpasan ang gutom na ito. We are afraid that if this situation per-

Manila

sists, people who successfully survived the wrath of typhoon Haiyan may die also out of hunger and disease,” Castro said.

Saving face The youth group Anakbayan also expressed frustration and extreme disappointment over the government’s snail-paced relief efforts, saying Aquino seems to be more concerned with saving face than saving lives.

“We are disappointed and outraged by the fact that President Aquino seems more concerned with downplaying the number of dead and politicking. What is important now is that we ensure that no more Yolanda victims succumb to hunger, thirst, exposure, and disease. We call on the government to act swiftly and immediately deliver relief goods to our kababayans,” Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of Anakbayan, said in a separate statement.

“There is no excuse for what is happening right now. Now is not the time for inaction, opportunism, corruption, dirty politics and victim-blaming. The national government is the one with the resources and manpower to address the needs of typhoon victims. The natural disaster is compounded by a man-made disaster - the incompetent and anti-people Aquino administration,” Crisostomo said.

Anakbayan has held mass candle-lightings, prayer vigils, and other assemblies across the country to urge the public to continue various efforts to provide relief to victims of typhoon Haiyan, particularly in Tacloban City, one of the worst hit areas in the central region. (Mindanao Examiner.

With reports from CNN and PNA)

Zamboanga Peninsula

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The Mindanao Examiner

Nov. 18-24, 2013

Muslim child dies in Zamboanga evacuation center ZAMBOANGA CITY – Another child died at a refugee camp in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines and raising the death toll to 28 as tens of thousands of Filipino evacuees continue to suffer from hunger and poor health services.

Many of the evacuees are in tents inside the sports complex where the child - Al Kaiser - died from severe dehydration and diarrhoea. Kaiser’s mother, Filomena Abdulhamid, could do nothing, but cry to the loss of her son.

She lost her house and everything valuables after her village - Santa Catalina - was burned down during September’s fighting between security forces and separatist rebels that left over 400 people dead and wounded.

Evacuees themselves were complaining about the poor sanitation at the sports complex – now dirty and diseases are threatening the lives of the sickly and the old, and children who do not have immediate access to basic health services.

The Red Cross have put up clinic in various tents, but is also overwhelmed by the huge number of the sick and people needing medical assistance.

Many evacuees have complained about not getting enough food or medical care from the local authorities while other begged to be allowed to return home and rebuilt what is left after three weeks of street battles that forced more than 130,000 people to flee their homes.

Just this month, six

evacuees - looking for a warm place to sleep - broke into a storage room of the Commission on Elections inside the sports complex and used it as their temporary shelter.

The six refugees Abdul Ataolla, 57; Nursida Majid, 39; Amina Haiber, 49; Nerma Dabbang, 54; Insih Febres, 53, and Arsaima Ablayan, 27, were investigated by the police and subsequently released.

Police said the refugees are all residents of Rio Hondo village who also fled the fighting.

Police said Allan Corpus, 42, an employee of the Commission on Elections, reported to authorities the break in. It said some confidential documents were allegedly destroyed as a result of the trespassing.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Aid groups appeal for more help for typhoon victims MANILA - In the wake of the devastating typhoon Haiyan that recently struck central Philippines, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is appealing for 87 million Swiss francs (94.6 million US dollars) to assist the estimated 10 million people affected by the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall in recorded history.

Widespread damage has been reported across nine regions of the Philippines. While the authorities are still confirming exact numbers of casualties, thousands are presumed dead or missing.

The emergency appeal aims to assist the Philippine Red Cross to deliver essential relief to thousands of affected families.

Within the overall appeal, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is appealing for 72 million Swiss francs to provide 100,000 families with food, clean water, shelter and other essential relief over a period of 18 months.

“Help must reach those in need as soon as possible,” said Jagan Chapagain, IFRC director for Asia Pacific. “The added advantage of the Philippine Red Cross is our vast network on the ground, coupled with strong support from all our Movement partners globally, which enable us to reach the most remote communities quickly.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appeal for 15

million Swiss francs is specifically for areas already affected by armed conflict.

“Samar Island has suffered unimaginable destruction and will be the main focus of our initial response,” said Alain Aeschlimann, ICRC head of operations for the region. “This includes delivering essential aid such as food, water, shelter and basic health care. We will also help separated family members contact each other, and work with the authorities to provide reasonable conditions for detainees.”

In recent months, the Philippine Red Cross has been responding to multiple emergencies, including typhoons and floods, and most recently the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Bohol.

Dr. Myra Aranan interviews Muslim refugee Felomina Abdulhamid whose child has died at an evacuation center in Zamboanga City in Southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Ely Dumaboc)

Another LBC branch robbed in Zamboanga Sibugay province ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY – Gunmen stormed a branch of the courier firm LBC in downtown Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay province and carted some P380,000 in cash, police said.

Police said the firm was about to close when three gunmen barged and announced the robbery. It said the assailants threatened to shoot Jemiliza Agasita, the cash custodian, is she will not surrender the money.

“One of the suspects proceeded to the location

of the deposited box and took away all the money inside and then threaten the cash custodian to be killed if she won’t give the money, thus, she gave the money for fear of being killed. The suspects hurriedly left the area,” police report said.

The gunmen escaped on a motorcycle after the heist. Police investigators said the firm’s security camera failed to record the heist because it was turned off for a still unknown reason.

Just last month, two armed men robbed also

robbed another LBC branch in Buug town in Zamboanga Sibugay and escaped with over P180,000 in loot.

The employees were about to close their shop when two gunmen barged and declared the robbery.

The assailants fled on a motorcycle after the heist.

The cargo forwarder was manned by only three employees - Rutcher Pagayon, Allen Capas and Palen Banseloy – when the gunmen barged and forced them to open the vault.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Boy killed, mother injured in lightning strike A T W O-YEAR OLD boy was killed and his mother severely burned in a lightning strike in the southern Philippine port city of

Zamboanga, police said.

Police said the lightning bolt hit Angelyn Francisco, 22, and her son Regie in the village of Lanzones during a thunderstorm.

The boy did not reach the hospital alive due to his burn while his mother is still under observation at the Zamboanga City Medical Center.

A 38-year old woman, Elsa Dumolon, was killed after being struck by a lightning in June inside her bedroom in the nearby province of Zamboanga del Norte.

The woman was instantly killed from the lighting strike that went through

her window.

Lightning strike is known to go through windows and can travel through electrical equipment and even plumbing or any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring.

There is no immediate statistics as to the number of documented casualties or injuries from lightning strikes in the Philippines, but those struck by lightning and survived suffered from a variety of long-term symptoms, including memory loss, chronic pain, numbness, dizziness, muscle spasms and depression among others.

(Mindanao Examiner)

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The Mindanao Examiner

Nov. 18-24, 2013

Killer of ex-Tungawan mayor hunted ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police have launched a manhunt for motorcycle gunmen who attacked the group of former Tungawan town mayor Arsenio Climaco in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines.

Climaco, who was

wounded in the attack, died in the hospital. His wife Helen, and grandson Shelmar were both wounded in the shootings.

The victims were in a vehicle travelling in the village of Guiwan when gunmen attacked them near a

bridge.

Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman, said the attackers escaped on two motorcycles and are being hunted by police forces.

“There is an operation to track down the attack-

ers,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Huesca said police are still investigating the attack to determine who were behind it. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Mindanao Examiner)

Notorious thief arrested in Zambo Norte

DIPOLOG CITY – Police arrested a young man who was allegedly behind the series of robbery incidents and thievery in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Norte.

Police said Junard Alba was nabbed after one of his victims, Amy Baya, was shocked to see one of four stolen cell phones being sold at a shop in downtown

Manukan. The 43-year old Baya sought the shop owner, who admitted buying the phone from Antonio Retes, who was Alba’s cohort.

Retes told police investigators that Alba instructed him to sell the phone. The shop owner has returned the phone to Baya.

It was unknown whether police would file charges against the shop

owner for violating the AntiFencing law.

According the Revised Penal Code, “fencing is the act of any person who, with intent to gain for himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of, or shall buy and sell, or in any other manner deal in any article, item, object or anything of value which he knows, or

should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft.”

Any person guilty of fencing shall be punished the penalty of “prision mayor” - 6 years to 12 years in prison - if the value of the property involved is more than P12,000 but not exceeding 22,000 pesos. (Mindanao Examiner)

Pagadian City employee dies from fall in own house AN AMPUTEE died after falling from the second floor of his house in Pagadian City in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibugay, police said.

It said Robinson Ampoco, 48, who worked as a utility man for the City Engineer’s Office, died instantly from the fall after suffering head and body injuries. Police said Ampoco was fixing his clothes at the second floor of his house at

Levi’s pants are so expensive that the Gateway Mall in Zamboanga City has chained these denim pants to prevent shoplifters from taking them. A pair of Levi’s denim pants can cost up to several thousand pesos, but a fake Levi’s brand only sells as low as P180. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Purok Sili Dos in the village of Danlugan when he fell on the ground floor.

Police did not say if the victim was alone in the house or not, but authorities have sought the City Health Office to conduct a postmortem examination on the body of Ampoco.

No other details were made available either by the police of Ampoco’s family about his death. (Mindanao Examiner)

Freak accident injures several people in Zambo Sur highway

Cadaver found in Sibugay ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY – Police said a corpse of a man was found at a rubber plantation in the town of Kabasalan in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibugay.

It said the cadaver was discovered in Good Year village by a plantation worker, Boyet Ventocillada, who informed authorities about the decomposing body.

Police said also recov-

ered in the area was a cellular phone, two SIM cards, two memory cards and a gold-plated necklace believed owned by the victim.

The still unidentified cadaver was brought to Pathfinder Hospital in downtown Kabasalan for post-mortem examination. It was not immediately known whether the victim was murdered or not until the forensic report is finished.

JUST SAY

PAGADIAN CITY – Several people were injured in a freak accident involving two vans and a truck on a highway in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur, police said.

Police said a van, driven by Leo Ceniza, 52, of Cagayan de Oro City, collided with another van which also rammed a truck transporting fish in the village of Lacupayan in Tigbao town. The driver of the van, Jose Yurong, 54, of Libertad town in Zamboanga del Norte, and the truck driver Dionesio Matildo, 47, of

Pagadian City, were also injured.

Two van passengers – Noynoy Enojardo, 18, and Arlen Castimado, 42, both of Lakewood town in Zamboanga del Sur, were also injured in the accident, according to the police.

Police said Ceniza overtook the truck, owned

by E and L Fishing Enterprises, and ended on the other lane, but it rammed head on with the other van. All the vehicles were impounded by the police as investigation into the accident continues. (Mindanao Examiner)

NO!

KISMET Cable Channel 63 Pagadian City

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The Mindanao Examiner

Nov. 18-24, 2013

Terrible destruction complicating relief efforts after typhoon

A military personnel carrier in Isabela City in Basilan province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Man shot in Isabela City BASILAN PROVINCE – Police said a man was shot and killed in an attack by a lone assailant in Isabela City in Basilan province in the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

It said the attacker gunned down Carlo Lota along Roxas Avenue. Lota

was shot in the face and neck and was instantly killed.

The gunman escaped after the shooting and police are still investigating the killing and who was behind the murder of the motive of the attack.

Police did not release

any background about the victim except that Lota was resident of Calle Onse in the city’s East Side village.

Gun attacks and killings are not uncommon in Isabela City and many murder cases remain unsolved up to now.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Muslim preacher gunned down near mosque in Zambo Sur PAGADIAN CITY – A Muslim preacher was shot and killed near a mosque in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur, police said.

Police said Ustadz Esmael Malaco was allegedly shot in Dimataling town by Esmael Mandapal, who is also from the same place and fled after the shooting.

Melaco was shot twice in the body and died before reaching the hospital.

The motive of the attack is still unknown, but police are investigating the shooting, according to Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman.

“He (Melaco) was rushed to Chavez Medical Clinic for immediate

The Mindanao Examiner Media, Film and Television Productions Maritess Fernandez Publisher/Executive Producer (On Leave) Al Jacinto Editor-in-Chief/Producer (OIC) Ahmed Baldomero Joanna Valerie Wee Graphics/Video Editor Mindanao Examiner Productions Web Master REGIONAL PARTNERS Mindanao Daily Business Week Mindanao Star NEWS/ADVERTISING OFFICES Mark Navales Central Mindanao Richard Suarez Pagadian City Zamboanga del Sur

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Richard Falcatan Basilan Province Ely Dumaboc Zamboanga Peninsula The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper is published weekly in Mindanao, Philippines.

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Our business and editorial offices are located at Units 15, 3rd Floor, Fair Land Bldg., Nuñez St., Zamboanga City Phone & fax: 062- 9925480 Mobile: 0917-7103642 URL: mindanaoexaminer.com E-mail: mindanaoexaminer@gmail.com

medical treatment, but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician,” he said adding the preacher was shot with a .45-caliber pistol based on recovered slug and bullet shells.

“The recovered items are now under the custody of Dimataling police station for subsequent submission to provincial crime lab office for ballistic examination. Dimataling Police station is now conducting a followup investigation and manhunt operation for the possible arrest of the suspect,” Huesca said.

(Mindanao Examiner)

MANILA - In a matter of hours, Typhoon Haiyan – one of the strongest storms ever recorded – completely devastated parts of eastern Visayas in the central Philippines.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is closely coordinating its relief efforts with the Philippine Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and a number of National Societies of other countries.

The ICRC has an office and staff on the ground in Tacloban city and will be focusing its emergency response in Samar province, where it has been operational for many years in the context of the armed conflict in the southern Philippines.

“This area has been

totally ravaged”, said Sebastien Sujobert, head of the ICRC office in Tacloban. “Many lives were lost, a huge number of people are missing, and basic services such as drinking water and electricity have been cut off.”

There was also, he said, extensive damage to other infrastructure, and communication was difficult for those working to aid the stricken population. Both the Philippine Red Cross and the ICRC offices in Tacloban had been damaged, forcing staff to relocate temporarily. “To make matters worse, the security situation is tense. People here need every type of aid.”

On November 6, with the storm already bearing down on the area, ICRC Manila dispatched 11 trucks to Tacloban loaded

with food and other essential relief supplies such as hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, jerrycans, tarpaulins, water bladders and watertreatment units, emergency latrines and medical supplies. However, the trucks were held up for a few days in Surigao city as all sea traffic came to a halt. These supplies have yet to reach Tacloban.

“There’s an urgent need to speed up the humanitarian response,” said Graziella Leite Piccolo, deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Manila. The organization was therefore sending additional staff by air from Manila and Davao to support personnel already on the scene. The priority, she said, was to survey the needs, and this would be done together with the Philippine Red Cross.

The Mindanao Examiner

The Mindanao Examiner

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The Mindanao Examiner

Nov. 18-24, 2013

Family feud heating up in Zambo town PAGADIAN CITY – A sixyear old Muslim girl was fatally shot in the head in an attack by a group of gunmen in the town of Labangan in Zamboanga del Sur province in southern Philippines, police said.

Police said the gunmen attacked the house of vil-

lage chieftain Mohibat Pagayao and four other houses in Old Labangan and hit the girl Danah Maguindra.

The victim died while being rushed to hospital in Pagadian City, police said, adding the attacks may be connected to a family feud.

Farmer shot in Zambo Sur village hall AF ARMER was shot and FARMER wounded while on a drinking spree at a village hall in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur, police said.

Police said Joselito Carillo, 24, was drinking with his friends when allegedly shot by Novie Cator za at Purok 2 in Gutlang village in Molave town.

In vestigators said the gunman used a .38-

caliber revolver and escaped after the shooting.

Carillo was rushed to Salug Valley Medical Center. The attack was believed triggered by an old feud and that policemen were searching for the gunman, who lives by the next village.

It was not immediately known why Carillo’s group was allowed to drink at the village hall which is illegal.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Police said the houses of, Mike Pagayao, Jumael Buhisan, Sabila Maguindra and Zaidal Zamplidan were strafed by gunmen, who escaped after the shootings.

Earlier in November, motorcycle gunmen also shot and wounded Abdul Racman Talumpay, village chieftain of Dalapang in Labangan town, in Pagadian City. Talumpay was attacked near Agora Market along Pajares Avenue in Santa Lucia District.

In October, a village chieftain in Labangan town, Leopoldo Selada, of Nuboran, narrowly escaped death after gunmen strafed his house with automatic weapons. Selada was sleeping alone in the house when the attack occurred.

It was unknown whether the gun attacks were connected to each other, but prior to that, a suspected bomber was killed after an improvised bomb he was transporting exploded in the village of Tapodoc in Labangan town.

Police recovered an improvised bomb assembled from a 60mm mortar and rigged to a detonator and a cell phone, not far from the dead man’s decapitated body at a rice paddy near the highway. (Mindanao Examiner)

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War refugees in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Hungry war refugees rally in front of social welfare center DOZENS OF HUNGR Y war HUNGRY refugees rallied in front of a social welfare center in Zamboanga City and demanded foods as more and more evacuees were complaining about the lack of provisions and other basic necessities two months after they fled the bloody fighting here that left over 400 people dead and wounded.

About 40 refugees trooped to the operations center of the Department of Social Welfare and Development at the local sports arena, but foods packs were only released on the next day.

It was not immediately known why refugees were complaining about the lack of food when there are tens of millions of pesos worth of

donations from various local governments and international and local donors.

Thousands of families are still in temporary shelters in the arena where 28 people, mostly children, had died from various diseases.

Just recently, a Muslim child, Al Kaiser, died in the same evacuation center due to severe dehydration and diarrhoea.

Evacuees were complaining about the poor sanitation at the sports complex – now dirty and diseases are threatening the lives of the sickly and the old, and children who do not have immediate access to basic health services.

The Red Cross have put up clinic in various tents, but is also overwhelmed by

the huge number of the sick and people needing medical assistance.

Many evacuees have complained about not getting enough food or medical care from the local authorities while other begged to be allowed to return home and rebuilt what is left after three weeks of street battles that forced more than 130,000 people to flee their homes.

Just this month, six evacuees - looking for a warm place to sleep - broke into a storage room of the Commission on Elections inside the sports complex and used it as their temporary shelter. Police said the refugees are all residents of Rio Hondo village who also fled the fighting. (Mindanao Examiner)

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The Mindanao Examiner

Nov. 18-24, 2013

Army awards medals to ‘Tabak’ soldiers

PAGADIAN CITY – The Philippine Army has awarded medals to 9 soldiers who took part in defending Zamboanga City from separatist rebels in September, a spokesman said.

Captain Jefferson Somera, of the 1st Infantry Division, said the soldiers displayed gallantry in action during the Zamboanga crisis. They were awarded Gold Cross, Bronze Cross and Wounded Personnel medals during a simple ceremony at the army headquarters in Labangan town in Zamboanga del Sur province.

He said the Gold Cross Medals - the third highest medal for gallantry in

combat - were awarded to First Lieutenant Robert Martin Dimailig, Sergeant George Neri, Corporals Sajack Alam and Ramil Castillon.

The Bronze Cross Medals went to Technical Sergeant Eduardo Abog, Staff Sergeant Thuaheron Pangulima, Sergeants Kashir Hussin and Manuel Suarez Jr, and the Wounded Personnel Medal was given to Sergeant Freddie Centenales.

Somera said Brigadier General Felicito Virgilio Trinidad Jr, the commander of 1st Infantry Division, led the pining of the medals.

“The heroism and gallantry displayed by these soldiers during the Zamboanga City siege have

been seen and known far beyond the four corners of our Command. Their deeds speak the nature of a fine Tabak trooper- brave, professional and always ready to serve our countrymen.

We should always carry these principles in all our undertakings, for our Command, for our family and for every Filipino people,” Somera quoted Trinidad as saying during the ceremony.

Troops liberated Zamboanga City from hundreds of Moro National Liberation Front rebels who simultaneously attack several villages. The fighting, which lasted three weeks, left more than 400 people dead and wounded.

(Mindanao Examiner)

2 killed, 11 wounded in grenade attack ZAMBOANGA CITY – Two people were killed and at least 8 others wounded in a grenade attack on a coastal village in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, police said.

Police chief Senior Superintendent Dennis Basngi said 11 people were wounded in the attack.

Police said the attack occurred at the house of Diosterides Librado, the village chieftain of Ayala. Most of the victims were candi-

dates running for the special village elections this month.

“The victims were having a meeting with their leaders and supporters when the attack occurred,” Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner. Citing an initial police report, Huesca said the attack was carried out by two motorcycle men. “Police are still investigating the motive of the attack and the identity of the grenade throwers,” he

said.

The wounded, including Librado, were rushed to the hospital, but the village secretary and a councilman were killed in the blast.

It was unknown whether the attack was connected to political rivalry or not. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the grenade attack.

Huesca said policemen were deployed to hunt down the assailants. (Mindanao Examiner)

Brigadier General Felicito Virgilio Trinidad Jr, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, pins the Gold Cross Medal to First Lieutenant Robert Martin Dimailig, one of four soldiers who are recipients of the third highest medal for gallantry in combat. (Photo by Sergeant Jesse Akiatan)

Gunmen attack bus in Zambo Sibugay ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY – Philippine police said at least 4 people were wounded after gunmen attacked a provincial bus in the southern province of Zamboanga Sibugay.

Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman, said the air conditioned bus, owned by Rural Transit Mindanao, was travelling in the town of Naga when it came under attack near the village of Baga.

“The bus was strafed by unidentified armed men and four passengers were wounded in the attack,” Huesca told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

He said the wounded

were rushed to the Pathfinder Hospital in the town of Kabasalan in Zamboanga Sibugay. The bus, which came from Zamboanga City, was heading to Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province.

“Police are now conducting an investigation into the strafing and police forces are also tracking down the attackers,” Huesca said.

Police did not release the names of the victims, but a local radio network dxRZRadyo Agong identified three of the wounded as Danilo Fuentes, the bus conductor; Ramon Navalta, its driver, and passenger Ailyn Canos, of Pagadian City.

Earlier this month, four

gunmen, who posed as passengers, also held up another Rural bus in the town of Kabasalan and shot and wounded one passenger before escaping with their loot.

Police said the four men flagged down the bus, driven

by Alexander Atis, in Naga town and declared the heist upon reaching a secluded village.

The men were armed with guns and knives and threatened the passengers as they collected wallets and personal belongings from the terrified civilians. One of the gunmen fired at the bus and hit one passenger, Marie Francis Sungkuya, 28. The bus was travelling to Pagadian City from Ipil town.

(Mindanao Examiner)

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The Mindanao Examiner

Nov. 18-24, 2013

Dateline Mindanao

Pencing

By Jun Feliciano

By Al Jacinto Suffer ings and mor e suffer ings ... ufferings more sufferings ings...

Watching television reports on the devastation of monster typhoon Haiyan in central Philippines, particularly in Tacloban City, it is very hard not be emotional seeing many Filipinos are suffering from the wrath of this natural calamity. Corpses scattered the streets of Tacloban and people resorted to looting.

CNN and BBC ran long news stories about the tragedy and this helped – I mean a lot – in telling the whole world what happened in central Philippines.

Really sad, too sad that many people died and many are still missing and unaccounted for. My heart bleeds for these people. Human sufferings are unimaginable to many who survived deadly trail left by Haiyan.

President Benigno Aquino also visited many areas in central Philippines, tagging along his Cabinet members, but have not stayed in Tacloban for long.

Unlike during the fighting between security forces and separatist rebels in Zamboanga, Aquino, along with the same political personalities, stayed for a week and supervised the operations against a ragtag army of about 400 rebels who occupied several villages. And lots of photo opportunities and interviews for Aquino’s Cabinet chiefs in Zamboanga during the crisis that lasted three weeks. Without the media, I don’t think those people would stay long in Zamboanga.

It’s good to know that Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero is now the new commander of the Western Mindanao Command headquarters in Zamboanga City.

Now, information will again flow freely to the media, but Gen. Guerrero should first put his own information officer and writers in place.

We had difficulty in getting news information from the Western Mindanao Command during the time of Generals Noel Coballes, now the army chief; and Rey Ardo, who retired recently from the service. The spokesmen of these people were unreliable!

And I got this unforgettable debate with one female civilian writer of Western Mindanao Command, who probably thinks she’s the military commander, for defending her bosses. Naalala ko tuloy yun kasabihan na “ang langaw kung nakapatong sa ibabaw ng kalabaw eh ang tingin niya sa sarili ay kalabaw na rin.”

For those who were not able to read the news article about this, well here is a reprint from the Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper entitled: “Media hindi priority ng militar” dated July 9, 2013.

"ZAMBOANGA CITY – Daig pa ng isang civilian writer ang mga commander ng Western Mindanao Command sa Zamboanga City matapos itong mapikon sa tutyada ng media dahil sa hindi paglalabas ng militar ng mga balitang nagaganap sa area of responsibility nito.

Sinabi ni Pai Paglala, na siyang writer ng Public Affairs Office ng Western Mindanao Command, na ang misyon umano nila ay abisuhan ang

publiko at hindi ang media ukol sa mga kaganapan sa nasasakupan ng naturang kampo.

“Ang primary mission namin is to inform the public and not to inform the media,” ani Paglala.

“You have your own interest to protect and kami rin. There are news sa level namin na kailangan pang i-sanitize for public consumption. But if the news you want is those that are coming from the fields (sic) pwede kayo maghanap ng source dun. They are authorized to disclose essential information to the media,” dagdag pa nito.

Ipinagtanggol pa ni Paglala ang Western Mindanao Command at sinabing naglalabas naman sila ng balita, ngunit karamihan sa mga ito ay pawang mga activities naman ng militar tulad ng pagdating ng mga bisita o opisyal sa kampo nito sa Zamboanga City.

“Try to check, reminisce and everything. You will realize na hindi lang ganun pinapalabas namin. Masyado ka namang nagdedemand, di ka nman nag-eeffort magtanong kung anu ang news,” ani pa ni Paglala.

Sinabi pa nito na kung gustong makakuha ng balita ay kailangang pang pumunta sa Western Mindanao Command upang makapanayam ang mga opisyal doon.

“But we appreciate the effort of the media in helping us in this crusade. And in addition, while demanding sabayan mo din ng effort to ask, to interview or anu pa diyan. Huwag mong daanin sa kung anu-anong tira ginagawa mo diyan wala ka naman bases,” wika pa ni Paglala.

Maraming reporter ang nagrereklamo dahil sa walang makuhang mga balita sa militar ukol sa kaguluhan sa Western Mindanao. At maging ang pagkuha ng mga litrato at video ng media sa mga sundalong sugatan sa labanan ay mahigpit na rin ipinagbabawal ng Western Mindanao Command.

Dahil dito ay hindi na rin naging interesado ang mga miyembro ng Defense Press Corps na magtungo sa kampo dahil sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon.

Malayo umano ito sa kapanahunan ni dating Western Mindanao Command spokesman Col. Randolph Cabangbang at mga iba pang nauna sa kanya.

Si Col. Rodrigo Gregorio ang kasalukuyang spokesman ng Western Mindanao Command at ito naman ang sinabi niya bilang pagtatanggol sa sarili: “Just to set the record straight: I might be the Chief, PIO of WMC pero ako po ay isang hamak na extension po lamang ng Commander at WMC po. Anything we publish here, be it press or 'praise' release is not entirely my own because they are all cleared by my boss. Please don’t take it personal. Trabaho lang po tayo.

Napag-utusan din lang po ako."

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BASNGI enters ‘Lion Lion’’s den den’’ unscathed THE WORD: “DESTROY THIS TEMPLE AND IN THREE DAYS, IT’LL RISE AGAIN.” (Jesus was referring to his own body as the real temple of God and not the church-building).

IT was a cordial treatment reserved aptly for the new Zamboanga City Police Officer-In-Charge, Senior Supt. Dennis Basngi, when invited to show up and enlighten the City Council on the real peace and order condition of Mi Ciudad de Zamboanga after the two colossal crisis (the three-week bloody standoff perpetrated by the breakaway MNLF-Misuari armed group and the massive deluge that swiftly followed) wreaked real havoc in the city’s worst hit areas.

THE reserved and composed-looking police colonel from the Cordillera Region in Luzon took his time first listening to the August Body’s top listed guests coming from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines out to explain to the same August Body in their own supposed face-off for some clarities and verifications on certain contentious issues affecting the Zamboanga City International airport.

AFTER they were done, the August Body took turn on focusing upon major police matters—specifically on its security aspect.

TOGETHER with his two key officers Senior Insp. Cesar Memoracion, the police traffic head and another ranking cop (whose name how I wish I knew while covering the Council’s regular session on November 13), Basngi didn’t budge as he stood his ground when responding to all those queries feasted on him by the August Body.

ONE concern was how the local police utilizes its checkpoints to beef up its security measures for the City’s ample security and protection.

WITH regards to providing additional permanent checkpoints, aside those two known in place at Malagutay and at the perimeter of the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in the west coast, Senior Supt. Basngi informed this has to be threshed out first with Task Force Zamboanga Commander under Army Col. Andy Colina.

HE said Task Force Zamboanga is taking charge of setting up checkpoints in areas where high suspicion of insurgency can be basically detected.

“BUT, we’re usually conducting our checkpoints randomly, citywide,” Basngi pointed out.

NOW, on the strong recommendation coming from the supposed various sectors for the total lifting of the curfew( currently from 12 midnight to 4 a.m. the following), Senior Supt. Basngi buttressed the fact on the strength of its own police journal, that from said period, “a zero crime rate has been recorded.

Good News!

BASGNI, when asked if he therefore favors the continuity of the said curfew hours, sans any doubt, said he’s all out for its permanent stay if only to help avert the commission of crimes in Mi Ciudad de Zamboanga.

ON those mentioned 4-hour curfew period, it has been largely noted that the usually outrageous late night noises, just like those from the known risk-taking and thrill-seeking youngsters staging their so-called “drag race” right on the City’s major thoroughfares like the dimly-lit main road of R.T. Lim Blvd. have been totally stopped.

“Tungkol sa curfew hours, nawala na mga iyon distorbo sa atin ciudad (Because of the curfew, this kind of noises has already dissipated),” one top police official attested.

SO, what’s the ruckus then?

BUT, to the business sector, this doesn’t sound great at all.

“ONCE, they say we’re back to our normal activities, what’s the need of the curfew? It doesn’t make sense at all,” protested one concerned biz-man in here.

BEFORE I wind up my piece in my column, I would like very much to wish Good Luck to these kagawad aspirants I happened to meet and have sought my very indulgence to include their names in Pencing - Jay Mejia (Sta. Maria running under Abe Solis Tan’s ticket, Jake Fabian (Tumaga) and Nonong Santiago (Tumaga).

OF course, to all those vying for seats in the Nov. 25 special barangay polls in Mi Ciudad de Zamboanga, let’s be good sport in victory and in defeat.

Let’s not resort to further bloodbath, like what has just happened in Barangay Ayala on November 11 that resulted to 2 Kagawad bets killed and 11 others wounded in a despicable grenade-throwing incident.

DE demonyo kel trabaho!

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Nov. 18-24, 2013

NASA DAMAGE MAP HELPS IN PHL TYPHOON DISASTER RESPONSE

When Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded on Earth, struck the Philippines Nov. 8, 2013, it tore a wide swath of destruction across large parts of the island nation. (Image Credit: ASI/NASA/JPL-Caltech)

A

new new,, space- based map gener generated by ated b y scientists at y, P asadena, C aet P ator Prr opulsion Labor Laborator atory Pasadena, CaNASA's JJet lif., in collabor ation with the IItalian talian S pace Agency collaboration Space ts sho ws the rreeto assist in disaster rresponse esponse effor shows efforts gions hilippines hit har dest b y S uper Typhoon Philippines hardest by Super g ions in the P H aiyan. The typhoon tor e a wide swath of dev astation tore devastation acr oss the island nation on N ov ember 8. across No This 27-by-33-mile (43- surface changes caused by by-53-kilometer) map covers natural or human-produced a region near Tacloban City, damage.

The technique is most where the massive storm, one of the most power ful sensitive to detecting destrucever recorded on Earth, tion of the human-made enmade landfall. It was made vironment. In the image, damfrom radar imagery obtained age detected by radar is shown before and after the typhoon as an overlay on a Google hit. It was processed by JPL's Earth image. Areas in red reAdvanced Rapid Imaging and flect the heaviest damage to Analysis (ARIA) team using cities and towns in the storm's X-band interferometric syn- path. The estimated intensity thetic aperture radar data of damage is proportional to from the Italian Space the opacity of the red. When Agency's COSMO-SkyMed the radar observes areas that satellite constellation. The have little to no destruction, its technique uses a prototype image pixels are transparent. algorithm to rapidly detect The satellite data used to gen-

ARMM

Southern Mindanao

erate the map span the time frame from Aug. 19 to Nov. 11, 2013. Each pixel in the damage map measures approximately 33 yards (30 meters) across.

ARIA is a JPL- and NASAfunded project being developed by JPL and the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. It is building an automated system for providing rapid and reliable GPS and satellite data to support the local, national and international hazard monitoring and response communities. Using space-based imagery of disasters, ARIA data products can provide rapid assessments of the geographic region affected by a disaster, as well as detailed imaging of the locations where damage occurred.

NASA is making the data publicly available for agencies that might be responding to

Davao

the event through the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Data Center's Hazards Data Distribution System, as well as through NASA's ARIA website.

The ARIA team began developing and evaluating this technique using case studies from the magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, in February 2011 to detect building damage, landslides and liquefaction. Following the magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Tohoku, Japan, in March 2011, the team used the technique to assess tsunami damage, as well as ground defor mation from high-rate GPS network and imaging radar satellites.

Those ground-deformation data were downloaded more than 1,400 times within the

Manila

first two days they were available. Following last year's Hurricane Sandy, the team produced damage maps that were delivered to the International Charter 11 days after landfall and subsequently validated with crowdsourcing with the assistance of the GISCorps.

The ARIA team continues to improve its response time for generating products -- the Haiyan satellite data were available three days after landfall and were processed within 11 hours of data acquisition. The improved response time has been aided

by NASA's recent joint collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, which operates four identical radar satellites. (http://www.jpl.nasa. g ov / n e w s / n e w s. p h p ? re l e ase=2013-333)

Zamboanga Peninsula