Mindanao Examiner Newspaper

Mindanao Daily

Founded 2006

mindanaoexaminer.com

P10/RM1

Zamboanga City, Philippines

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

GOLD, NO MORE! AUTHORITIES finally shut down dozens of illegal mining operations in the southern province of Zamboanga del Sur, enforcing a long due government order to halt all forms of destructive mining practice in the area.

The operations targeted small-scale miners who are members of the Monte de Oro Small Scale Miners Association operating in Balabag Hill in Bayog town, where the TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. also operates.

A police convoy, briefly halted by a roadside explosion in the town, swooped down in Balabag and dismantled dozens of rod mills and other structures used by illegal miners. Members of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group were also in the area supervising the operations.

Policemen also seized illegal chemicals, including mercury, nitric acid and cyanide, used by local miners in the processing of gold.

ELATED “We are happy that authorities finally enforced the government order to put a stop to all illegal mining activities in Balabag,” Lullie Micabalo, a spokesperson for TVI Resource Development (Phils.)

Inc., told regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

Lawyer Eugene Mateo, TVIRD president, lauded the provincial police force and the National Bureau of Investigation for the peaceful and swift implementation of the “cease

Illegal mining operations in Bayog town in Zamboanga del Sur province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo) and desist” order on illegal nicipal government, the the stoppage order is a victory will stop the environmentally- cious metals in gold extracmining activities in Balabag. Mines and Geosciences Bu- for the rule of law as it will destructive methods and prac- tion plants.

“It was a swift implemen- reau and Environmental Man- put to end the regime of ille- tices of illegal miners.

In July, a private secuPOLITICAL WILL tation of the order. Neverthe- agement Bureau for putting a gal mining which have conrity guard shot Godofredo The Zamboanga del Sur Jungoy, Jr. dead an illegal less, rights of people were stop to illegal activities by tinuously defied national and given utmost consideration by miners who are members of local laws by engaging in provincial government and miner Wilbert Catamour law enforcers that resulted the Monte de Oro Small Scale mineral theft, wanton disre- the Mines and Geosciences pungan who was trying to gard of environmental laws, Bureau of the Department of smuggle chemicals and fuel in a diplomatic and peaceful Miners Association.

The Mines and Geo- tax evasion, child labor, Environment and Natural Re- inside an area where the TVI operation,” Mateo said.

He commended the sciences Bureau issued the criminality, unprovoked vio- sources have previously or- operates. multi-agency group led by the cease and desist order in April lence, and lawlessness,” dered a stop to all hazardous The company said the Mateo said, adding the and illegal mining operations security guard was only deZamboanga del Sur provincial this year.

“The implementation of government’s decisive action in Balabag, especially those fending himself after he had government, the Bayog muinvolving the Monte de Oro been attacked and mauled Small Scale Miners Associa- by a gang of mine workers. tion, but the unabated illegal The illegal miners, who are mining activities still con- members of the Monte de tinue.

Oro Small Scale Miners AsThe Monte de Oro Small sociation, were sneaking Scale Miners Association in- under cover of darkness sisted its operation is legal bags of cyanide, activated and even applied for a permit carbon, and diesel fuel to so its members can continue use in their outlawed gold their activities, but the Provin- processing plants in cial Mineral Regulatory Balabag.

Board also issued a resolution Jungoy, accompanied denying the group’s applica- by his lawyer, told police tion to mine. that he was trying to stop a Illegal miners have been group of illegal miners, who operating in Balabag for more were smuggling illegal than a decade now and were chemicals within the area of largely blamed for the de- TVI in Balabag where the struction of the mountain and company has a Mineral Proenvironmental pollution in duction Sharing Agreement the town. with the government.

Authorities said it shut MPSA is an agreement down a total of 13 carbon-inbetween a TVIRD and the pulp plants and 17 rod mills.

Philippine government Carbon-in-pulp is a conwherein the firm is granted tinuous process that uses activated carbon in a cascade of exclusive right to conduct large agitated tanks, which mining operations within have been widely used to re- Balabag. (Mindanao ExamLawyer Eugene Mateo, (center) TVIRD president. (Mindanao Examiner Photo) cover or concentrate pre- iner)

ARMM

Northern Mindanao

Davao

Manila

Zamboanga Peninsula

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The Mindanao Examiner

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

Nur Misuari, nangangamba sa arrest warrants

Nur Misuari (Mindanao Examiner Photos)

DAVAO CITY – Nagtatago na nga ba si Nur Misuari? Ito ang katanungan ng publiko at media matapos na umano’y lumutang ang balitang may warrants of arrest ito sa mga diumano’y nakaraang kaso sa Mindanao.

Matatandaan ilang paksyon ng Moro Nataon rin nakulong si tional Liberation Misuari, lider ng isang Front, matapos itong

akusahan ng rebelyon ng pamahalaang Arroyo dahil sa pagaalsa at atakeng ginawa ng mga miyembro nito sa Jolo at Zamboanga mahigit isang dekada na ang nakaraan.

Naunang sinabi ni Deputy Pre-sidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte na bineberipika nila ngayon kung may umiiral na arrest warrant kay Misuari matapos sabihin ng dating rebelde na balak daw siyang ipaaresto ng gobyerno dahil sa kanyang pambabatikos sa Bangsamoro agreement ng Malakanyang sa karibal na Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“To my knowledge and please do not hold me to this, there are better people in government who can answer this question but we’re checking that particular piece of information kung merong outstanding (arrest warrant),” ani

Valte.

Lumagda si Misuari sa isang peace accord sa pamahalaang Ramos nuong September 1996 at naging gobernador ito ng Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, subali’t nabigo naman ito na mapatakbo ng maayos ang ARMM at ilang ulit nabatikos dahil sa palagiang biyahe sa abroad at panunuluyan sa mga mamahaling hotel habang nagugutom ang mga dating rebelde sa kabundukan sa ibatibang panig ng Mindanao. “ K a i l a n g a n maintindihan ni PNoy (Pangulong Benigno Aquino) kung talagang siya ay makatarungan.

Sinasabi ng OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) na - no single country can have two representations.”

“Tignan ninyo ang ginawa ni (dating

Pangulong) Gloria (Arroyo) at ginawa na ang lahat before and they were shuttling between Islamic cities and capitals and others at walang nangyari diyan dahil labag ang kanyang kilos sa mahigpit na patakaran ng OIC that every single country can only have one single representation,” ani Misuari.

Sinabi pa ni Misuari na mayroong 17,000 MILF rebels ang sumanib sa MNLF, ngunit tinawag naman itong propaganda ng MILF. May bahay si

Misuari sa Zamboanga at Sulu province, subali’t hindi na umano ito nagpapakita sa publiko at sikreto na lamang ang pagbibigay ng personal interview sa media. At kalimitan ay cell phone na lamang ang gamit nito sa pagbibigay ng pahayag, ngunit posibleng naka-bugged na rin ito.

Nuong nakaraang linggoay kinansela ni Misuari ang press conference nito sa Hotel Rembrandt sa Quezon City dahil sa pangambang arestuhin siya ng mga awtoridad.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Pesteng blackout, reklamo rin sa Kidapawan City

President Aquino’s rating up, survey says MANILA – Manila trumpeted the latest Social Weather Stations survey which shows an increase in satisfaction rating in President Benigno Aquino’s performance, calling it a “statistical tie of its best rating” in 2010. Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said Aquino’s rating has risen to +62.

“No other administration has had the consistently high ratings of the Aquino administration since the SWS began this poll in February 1989.

Continued and sustained public satisfaction with the Aquino administration is an affirmation of public support for our projects and initiatives.

More importantly, this is indicative of the success of our reforms to ensure effective and equitable delivery of public services,” she said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

She said heady increases in net satisfaction registered

throughout all geographic regions, economic classes, and an overwhelming number of indicators. The administration scored well in key economic issues such as providing jobs (+43) and fighting inflation (from -6 to +19) while notable increases in satisfaction with fighting crimes (from +16 to +42) and eradicating graft and corruption (from +12 to +40) were also noted, according to Valte.

Valte said the strongest scores of the administration were in helping the victims of disasters (+73), helping the poor (from +35 to +59), and promoting welfare of overseas Filipino workers, foreign relations, and defending the country’s territorial rights.

“We take these survey results as a challenge to further improve our capacity to address key issues and to keep government attuned to the needs of our people and the challenges of our times,” she said.

Isang kandila lamang ang nagbibigay ng liwanag sa tindahan na ito sa Kidapawan City sanhi ng kawalan ng kuryente.

(Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geonarri Solmerano) KIDAPAWAN CITY – Wala pa rin humpay ang talamak na blackout sa lungsod ng Kidapawan at halos ilang oras ang itinatagal ng kawalan ng kuryente na ngayon ay umaapekto ng malaki hindi lamang sa mga amamayan, kundi maging sa mga negosyante.

Tinawagan naman ng Sanguniang Bayan dito ang pamunuan ng Cotabato Electric Cooperative upang magpaliwanag sa krisis na ngayon ay bumabalot sa lungsod.

President Benigno Aquino

Seasoned commander is new WesMin chief

ILIGAN CITY – A seasoned army commander, Major General Rey Ardo, is named as the new Western Mindanao military chief replacing Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes, who was appointed as Armed F o r c e s Vi c e C h i e f o f Staff.

Ardo was the former commander of the 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao province in central Mindanao before being named as Coballes replacement. He is replaced by Maj. General Ceasar Ordoyo, chief of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Coballes took over the position of Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, who

retired recently.

A decorated brigadier, Col. Daniel Lucero, who commanded the 103rd Infantry Brigade in Lanao del Sur province, was also promoted to Brigadier General.

Lucero is also among “The Outstanding Philippine Soldiers (for) 2011” and one of the most respected and decorated officers in the army.

TOPS had this to say about Lucero: “A military man has long been seen as stoic and content to let his actions speak for him, but what differentiates a man who has been appointed to speak for his peers?

This was a challenge faced by (then) Col. Daniel A. Lucero, who

was appointed as spokesperson of Southern Command in Zamboanga City in 2002, and as Chief of the Public Information Office of the AFP and concurrent Spokesperson in 2003.”

“His 24/7 availability to the media, along with his skilful handling, allowed him to effectively respond to the negative feedback thrown against the AFP during his assignment as Spokesperson. As Commander of the 18th Infantry Battalion stationed in Basilan, his group received the Commanding GeneralPhilippine Army Streamer Award for 2001.

The success of the Balikatan Exercises be-

came a model for the Americans who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, and resulted in relative peace in Basilan from 2001 to 2006.”

Lucero graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1983 and holds Masters Degrees from the University of the Philippines, and obtained a degree in International Relations from the Australian National University.

Armed Forces chief, General Jesse Dellosa, is also set to retire in January next year and Philippine Army chief, General Emmanuel Bautista is the stronger contender to replace him. (Mindanao Examiner)

Halos bahain na rin ng reklamo ang Cotabato Electric Cooperative mula sa mga galit at inis na residente dahil sa perwisyong dulot ng paulitulit na blackout araw-araw.

Hindi lamang Kidapawan ang apektado ng blackout, kundi buong Mindanao at ang ibang mga lugar ay halos 8 oras na walang kuryente.

Isinisi naman ng mga kooperatiba ang blackout sa kakulangan ng kuryente sa Mindanao.

(Geonarri Solmerano)

The Mindanao Examiner

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

MILF chieftain praises Bangsamoro accord

MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Mark Navales)

Cebu Pacific opens new route: Zamboanga-Cagayan de Oro ZAMBOANGA CITY – Cebu Pacific opened its new route in northern Mindanao with launching of its maiden flight from Zamboanga City in Western Mindanao to Cagayan de Oro City in the northern side.

Michelle Eve De Guzman, Cebu Pacific’s Corporate Communications Assistant Manager, said they now fly three times a week, servicing Zamboanga in the western part of Mindanao, and Cagayan in the northern side.

“From 14 hours by bus, now travellers from Zamboanga can go to Cagayan in less than an hour flight in the latest Cebu Pacific route,” she said.

Cebu Pacific also flies four other routes from Zamboanga City to Davao, Cebu, Tawi-Tawi and Manila.

From January to June this year, Cebu Pacific flew over 216,000 passengers and posted an 11% increase compared to last year, according to De Guzman.

She said Cebu Pacific is the largest network in the Philippines, reaching all of the country’s major island groups and much of Southeast and North Asia.

De Guzman said the

Michelle Eve De Guzman, Cebu Pacific’s Corporate Communications Assistant Manager, gestures as she announces to the press the launching of the maiden flight between Zamboanga City and Cagayan de Oro. The low-cost airline now flies three times a week from Zamboanga to Cagayan. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

low-cost carrier now has over 30 domestic destinations and 60 routes in the Philippines.

And these are on top of 19 international destinations and over 30 international routes operating more than 2,000 flights weekly.

“Cebu Pacific will also take – between 2012 and 2021 – delivery of 20 Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321

Neo, and 4 Airbus A330.

And these (air crafts) will allow us to have a much longer range and to fly more cities and destinations in the world with nonstop service,” she said, adding it will enable them to serve Australia, India and Northern Japan.

(Mindanao Examiner)

MAGUINDANAO –The secluded leader of the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group Murad Ebrahim praised the Muslim homeland deal they signed with Manila, but says the path to peace in the restive southern region still has a long way to go.

Peace negotiators from both sides signed the Framework Agreement that would pave the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro autonomous region which would replace the existing five-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“Please be reminded that the task ahead is bigger and more complex and complicated and translating this agreement into reality on the ground. And the success of this agreement hinges on its implementation and the ultimate realization of what it envisions.”

“It goes without saying that there is still a long process to go through. The negotiations are far from over as both MILF and Philippine peace panels are yet to sit down again in Kuala Lumpur in mind-November to work in the details of the Framework Agreement on the unresolved issues in power-sharing, wealth-sharing, intergovernmental relations, and normalization,” Ebrahim, who spoke to reporters at a rebel base in Mindanao, said.

He said while the engagement is no longer adversarial and has taken on the form of a close partnership between the MILF and the government, they still have to ascertain that the letter and spirit of the Bangsamoro accord will govern the outcome of this partnership effort that would resolve once and for all the

Bangsamoro Question.

“The signing of the Framework Agreement is a great leap forward in our concerted effort to address and resolve the Bangsamoro Question on the negotiating table. No doubt the framework agreement is a veritable compass in mapping the normalization of the totality of the relationships between the Philippine State and the Bangsamoro people,” Ebrahim said.

“It confers the upon the Bangsamoro people the recognition of their identity by the Philippine State and the international community, restores to them the core of their national homeland, and affords them the right to rule over themselves with the least interference from the central authority.”

But the rival Moro National Liberation Front headed by Nur Misuari strongly criticized the accord, saying it violated the September 1996 peace agreement his group signed with Manila.

But Ebrahim said the Bangsamoro agreement will bring peace to Mindanao and benefit its people. He appealed to the MNLF and other Muslim groups to support the peace process.

He said the agreement resolves the complex issue of sovereignty as well as the problem of peace and order that had been a major stumbling block in the government’s effort to attain full economic development, progress and political stability in Mindanao.

Ebrahim said the Bangsamoro deal is a “winwin solution to the sovereignty-based conflict that has pitted the ideology of Philip-

3

pine national sovereignty and territorial integrity against the alienable right of the Bangsamoro people to selfdetermination.”

“In this context, we are inviting all our brothers and sisters in the Moro National Liberation Front as well all other Moro groups who still harbor reservations about this agreement and the commitment and sincerity of the MILF and GPH to join us in making this agreement work.

We now have to think, act, and work together as one Bangsamoro nation so we can move forward to this new phase of engagement and struggle,” Ebrahim said.

“Our main task this time is to rebuild the nation, entrench the culture of self-reliance, and develop that sense of belonging among our people to make them feel and realize that the Framework Agreement is not only an agreement between the MILF and GPH, but an all inclusive agreement between the Bangsamoro people and the Philippine State,” he added.

The MILF chieftain also appealed to the Philippine media to support the peace talks by reporting only the truth. ”I take this opportunity to appeal also to the members of the media to sincerely journey with us in our quest for peace in Mindanao. Please be the messengers of goodwill, fair play, and truth and support the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the result of almost 16 years of hard bargaining across the negotiating table, seriously interrupted by three major allout wars in 2000, 2003 and 2008,” Ebrahim said. (Mark Navales)

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The Mindanao Examiner

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

Military attacked us: MNLF ZAMBOANGA CITY – Former Moro National Liberation Front rebels accused the military of attacking its members in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, sparking a fierce gun battle that left 17 soldiers dead and wounded.

It said marine soldiers attacked a group of MNLF members who were only harvesting coconuts in Patikul town.

But the Western Mindanao Command insisted that troops clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants under Radullan Sahiron and Tahir Sali, an allegation strongly denied by the

MNLF, which signed a peace accord with Manila in 1996.

Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, a military spokesman, said a team of marines were patrolling the town of Patikul following intelligence reports about the presence of kidnap victims when the fighting occurred.

“The marine company was conducting patrol to verify reports of the presence of kidnap victims in the area.

The encounter killed a total of four soldiers and wounded 13 more,” he said.

He said 2 gunmen were also killed in the fighting.

Cabangbang did not re-

lease the identities of the kidnap victims reported in Patikul, but among those believed to be in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf are Australian adventurer Warren Rodwell, 57, who was kidnapped in December last year from his seaside home in the town of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay province.

And also two European wildlife photographers Ewold Horn, 52, from Holland; and Lorenzo Vinciguerre, 47, from Switzerland, who were also kidnapped earlier this year in Tawi-Tawi province. The Abu Sayyaf is still holding a Japanese man

and three Filipinos in Sulu.

Philippine authorities have imposed a news blackout on the kidnappings of the foreigners, although there were reports that negotiations for the safe release of Rodwell and the other foreigners are going on.

In September, the Abu Sayyaf freed a kidnapped Chinese man Jian Luo, 48, in Zamboanga City after his family paid some P5 million ransoms.

His compatriot Jampong LinYuankai, 38, was later rescued following a gun battle in a village also in Zamboanga City.

The two men- who are

natives of Guangdong province and are engaged in buying and selling of manganese and other minerals - were kidnapped by followers of Abu Sayyaf leader Khair Mundos in Kabasalan town near where Rodwell was snatched by five men disguised as policemen.

Mundos is wanted both by the Philippine and US authorities for his role in the transfer of al-Qaeda funds to the Abu Sayyaf which had been used to carry out terror attacks in Mindanao and other parts of the country.

According to the US Rewards for Justice Program, Mundos is a key leader and

financier of the Abu Sayyaf.

He was arrested in May 2004 and confessed to having arranged the transfer of funds from al-Qaeda to Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janjalani. But in February 2007, Mundos escaped from the Kidapawan Provincial Jail in North Cotabato province.

It was unknown whether Mundos was also involved in Rodwell kidnapping. The former Australian soldier was last reported being held by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan province near Sulu.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Philhealth taps more hospitals to treat prostate cancer cases

ARMM Gov Mujiv Hataman shares a meal with an elderly Moro woman in Manila who fled the fighting in Mindanao (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Mark Navales)

ARMM celebrates Eid'l Adha MANILA – Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao led Muslims in the celebration of the Eid’l Adha, one of the most important Islamic event in the Philip-

pines.

The Eid’l Adha, also known as “Feast of the Sacrifice,” is celebrated by Muslims across the world to honor the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice

The Mindanao Examiner Media, Film and Television Productions Maritess Fernandez Publisher/Executive Producer (On Leave) Al Jacinto Editor-in-Chief/Producer (OIC) Gregorri Leaño Joanna Valerie Wee Video Editor Mindanao Examiner Productions Web Master REGIONAL PARTNERS Mindanao Daily Business Week NEWS/ADVERTISING OFFICES Mark Navales ARMM

Giovanni Solmerano Eastern Mindanao

Merlyn Manos Iligan City

Geonarri Solmerano Southern Mindanao

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Asa Madale Lanao Provinces Ely Dumaboc Zamboanga Sibugay/Zamboanga del Sur/Zamboanga del Norte John Shinn III California The Mindanao Examiner Newspaper/Business Week/Mindanao Daily is published weekly/daily in Zamboanga City and Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao, Philippines.

The Mindanao Examiner Television is broadcast in Skycable 54 in Zamboanga; Lupah Sug Cable in Sulu province and Basilan Cable in Basilan province.

Our business and editorial offices are located at Units 15, 3rd Floor, Fair Land Bldg., Nuñez St., Zamboanga City Phone & fax: +63 62 9925480 Mobile: +63 9152756606 URL: mindanaoexaminer.com E-mail: mindanaoexaminer@gmail.com

his young first-born son Ismail as an act of submission to God’s command and his son's acceptance to being sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead.

Hataman also visited Muslims in Manila and told them the prospects of achieving peace in the troubled region following the signing of a peace pact between the Aquino government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

In his Eid’l Adha message, Hataman said: “The Eid’l Adha is an important three-day religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God. This story forever inspires Muslims to make necessary sacrifices to uphold the common good and advance a noble goal.”

“We in the regional government value this sacrifice and we know that good governance as one of our key pillars also entails great sacrifice. Almost a year ago, we have embarked on a journey aimed at reforming the regional government. Today, with barely months left on our administration, we are proud to say that the impact of the reform agenda we have unveiled is now being felt by our people.”

He added: “The recently signed Framework Agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is also a testament that our people can now turn dreaming into realizing a peaceful and progressive Mindanao.” (Mark Navales)

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation has signed up 13 hospitals in the country to treat prostate cancer cases at a packaged rate of P100,000 per patient.

Philhealth president Dr. Eduardo Banzon identified the enlisted hospitals as the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City; Philippine General Hospital in Manila; Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City; Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in San Fernando City; and Cagayan Valley Medical Center in Tuguegarao City.

And the Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research

and Medical Center in Cabanatuan City; Batangas Regional Hospital in Batangas City; Bicol Medical Center in Naga City; Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City; Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City; Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City; and the Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City.

The P100,000-benefit payment covers the full cost of treatment, hospitalization and professional fees, according to Banzon, adding they are now negotiating with other hospitals to add up to the list.

“We are now in talks

with other public as well as private hospitals to see if they can be contracted to treat low to intermediate-risk prostate cancer cases at the packaged rate,” Banzon said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

The Department of Health said prostate cancer is the second most widespread cancer among Filipino men. Most prostate cancers grow slowly and never pose a threat.

However, some prostate cancers advance rapidly t o t h e b l a d d e r, r e c t u m , bones and lymph nodes, and cause death.

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

The Mindanao Examiner

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The Mindanao Examiner

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

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The Mindanao Examiner

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

Police seized weapons cache, explosives in Balabag raid

Arrested illegal miners in Balabag.

PAGADIAN CITY – Police seized a cache of weapons and explosives and tons of hazardous chemicals used by illegal miners in the mountain town of Bayog in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur. Police also filed criminal charges against a town councillor and 15 others following a raid at the miners’ hideout in Balabag, site of recent government crackdown against illegal mining operations.

Senior Superintendent Edgar Danao, regional chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said they raided the com-

pound owned by Bayog town council member Julieto Monding and seized assorted weapons and explosives.

He said also confiscated from the compound were 13 high-powered firearms, including M16 rifles and KG9 sub-machine gun; 4,000 meters of detonating cord, four sacks of commercial dynamites and assorted munitions, including nitric acid and tons of highly toxic and deadly cyanide, used in illegal gold processing operation.

Danao said they have 21 search warrants issued by the court. They also swooped down on

Monding’s 14 rod mills and dozens of carbon-in-pulp plants.

Monding - who is running for mayor in next year’s polls - is also a member of the Monte de Oro Small Scale Miners Association, which is illegally operating in Balabag for decades now. Their operation was halted after a government order was enforced recently by authorities that put a stop to all forms of illegal mining activities in the town.

“The operation is not mining related, nor it is related to the implementation of the cease and desist order issued by the Mines and

Huge expenses for President Aquino’s ‘giant’ delegation to Australia, New Zealand MANILA - A Filipino migrant’s rights group has questioned the huge expenses for President Benigno Aquino and delegation for his state visits in Australia and New Zealand.

“President Aquino, please explain to us why you need to bring along with you over 90 delegates on your state visits to Australia and New Zealand that would cost multi-millions of Filipino taxpayers money? Who are these people traveling with you besides your 7 Cabinet members? What will they be doing here?” asked Dennis Maga, Migrante Aotearoa New Zealand National Coordinator, in light of the reported P44 million budget for Aquino’s state visits.

“This massive spending for unnecessarily giant delegation is a gross act of corruption and total insensitivity amid recent reports of growing malnutrition and poverty of Filipinos,” Maga added. Earlier Migrante Sectoral Party – New Zealand also scored Aquino for issuing Administrative Order 31 last October 1 which allows for the increase of all government fees.

“AO-31 is the last

President Benigno Aquino

thing Filipinos need on top of incessant price hikes of basic commodities and services in the Philippines.

Imposing additional fees through AO-31 would spell more hardships and indebtedness for Overseas Filipinos,” Francisco Mangulabnan, Coordinator of MSP-Zealand, said.

“It is outrageous that

the Office of the President is spending millions of taxpayers’ money while his bosses, the millions of poor Filipinos can hardly get three decent meals a day. President Aquino must cease from imposing further economic burdens through AO-31 and other means,” Maga said.

Geosciences Bureau. It is purely police matter. It is more on peace keeping since it is widely known that there are high-powered firearms and explosives in Balabag.

It is for crime prevention because we know there is lawlessness and high rise of criminality in the area,” Danao said.

“We could not have filed airtight cases without the hard work of our intelligence operatives in the area.

I am commending my men because while they worked hard to meet our objective, respect for people’s rights were observed,” he added.

He said nine of those charged are members of the indigenous Subanon tribe who are natives of the area.

There was no immediate statement either from Monding and the others or the Monte de Oro Small Scale Miners Association about the charges against them.

The Department of Interior and Local Government earlier ordered an investigation into the illegal activities of Monding and other town officials allegedly involved in clandestine mining operations in Balabag.

WRIT OF KALIKASAN The National Bureau of Investigation is now consolidating pieces of evidence that will lead to the filing of Writ of Kalikasan against illegal miners in Balabag due to the magnitude of environmental destruction they caused during their almost 30 years of mining operation.

Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy under Philippine law which provides for the protection one’s right to “a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the

rhythm and harmony of nature.” It also protects one’s right for a healthy environment.

Lawyer Jose Rommel Ramirez, chief of the NBI’s Environment and Wildlife Protection Division, said decades of illegal mining operation in the area have affected not only the residents of Bayog, but the province as well.

He said Bayog town Mayor Leonardo Babasa, Jr. and several village officials have submitted their sworn statements attesting several violations by illegal miners of the Mining Act of 1995 and other environmental laws.

Zamboanga del Sur Governor Antonio Cerilles said illegal mining operation in Balabag has contaminated water supplies in Sibugay Valley that is largely used by farmers in their irrigation in the town of Bayog, Imelda, Buug, Diplahan and Siay.

“Farmers from these municipalities are getting irrigation waters from Dipili River whose tributaries include Balabag and Depore Creeks,” he said.

He said tons of mine wastes heavily laden with mercury and cyanide flowed out freely from shallow ponds dug by illegal miners and merged with the waters from Dipili River. The Dumaguillas bay has become the catchment basin of the waters from river.

Fish kills were also reported in the area and had been largely blamed to illegal mining operation from Balabag.

Cerilles said wastes from Balabag might be one of the causes of the recurring red tide in Dumaguillas Bay, the source of marine products in the province.

Depore village chieftain Romeo Sungcad said many residents have suffered long enough from the environmental destruction wrought by the illegal mining operations. “We can’t make use of the Dipili River anymore because we know it is laced with toxic chemicals like cyanide and mercury,” he said.

Sungcad said his rice paddies have turned reddish due to pollution caused by illegal mining and that he reported this to the Department of Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Ernesto Mancao, a council member of Depore, said the massive siltation caused by illegal mining activities flowed from Balabag down to residential and farming areas.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Zambo resto owner, wanted ZAMBOANGA – Police is searching for a restaurant owner who allegedly tortured a boy who is accused of stealing his television set in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

It said the boy was caught by the restaurateur’s workers and handed over to him where they interrogated the minor into admitting his crime. They also took turns in beating up the boy and burned him with cigarettes and inserted a piece of metal into his anus.

One of the workers, who took pity at the boy, secretly phoned his family to call the police and rescue the victim.

Police arrested all those who took part in torture, except for the restaurant owner who managed to escape. (Mindanao Examiner)

8

The Mindanao Examiner

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

150 Filipino children join art showcase in Mindanao

A typical scene of an overloaded passenger jeepney in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Philhealth sets benefit payment for childhood leukemia The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation has set a P210,000-benefit payment for standard-risk acute lymphocytic leukemia, or fast-growing cancer of the blood in children.

The Department of Health Acute said acute lymphocytic leukemia accounts for about 75% of all childhood leukaemia cases while the remaining 25% is classified as chronic or slow-growing cancer in children.

Philhealth president Dr. Eduardo Banzon said the P210,000-benefit payment will adequately protect Philhealth members against the risk of incurring ruinous medical expenses in the event a child develops acute lymphocytic leukemia.

“This is our second-largest single benefit payment for a catastrophic illness, next to our P600,000-package for end-stage renal disease requiring a kidney transplant. We will spare no expense to save our children with acute lym-

phocytic leukemia. Almost 90% of cases are curable, though a number of side effects of treatment can linger well into adulthood,” Banzon said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

He described acute lymphocytic leukemia as a harsh disease that requires prolonged and costly treatment, hospitalization and recovery.

“The illness tends to create a financial hardship for the family. In some cases, the father or mother has to totally stop working just to be able to look after the child,” Banzon said.

He said the P210,000benefit payment covers the cost of the entire treatment course lasting up to three years in contracted hospitals, including chemotherapeutic drugs, the necessary laboratory tests, confinement, and the professional fees of specialists.

He said Philhealth members, including overseas Fili-

pino workers, who have children with standard-risk acute lymphocytic leukemia may avail of the benefit package in any of the 13 specially contracted hospitals countrywide capable of treating the disease.

These are the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center, Cagayan Valley Medical Center, Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center, Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital, Batangas Regional Hospital, Bicol Regional Teaching and Training Hospital, Bicol Medical Center, Western Visayas Medical Center, Northern Mindanao Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and the Davao Regional Hospital.

Negotiations are ongoing with additional public as well as private hospitals that may be enlisted by Philhealth to deliver the benefit package, Banzon said.

DAVAO CITY – Some 150 children participated in a poster, collage and sloganmaking competitions launched by a Filipino nongovernmental organization called Child Alert Mindanao as part of the celebration of the Children’s Month.

With the theme “Bata Atimanon Para sa Maayong Kaugmaon,” the Child Alert Mindanao said the competitions showcased the children’s perspective. The art showcase was the first part of its tripartite celebration of the Children’s Month.

Child Alert Mindanao, which advocates child protection, organizes communities in order to help them build their own child protection mechanisms. Currently, it or-

ganizes 5 villages in Davao Talomo, Dumoy, Crossing Bayabas, Toril Poblacion and Daliao.

It also offers capacity building for service providers and children, data banking, and establishing protective networks and referral system for children who are victims of violence and abuse.

“Through our activities, we wish to alert the local government units, parents and even the children about the plight of most children in the country,” Bernardo Mondragon, executive director of Child Alert, in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

He said they organized several activities in order to

raise awareness on child protection in the community and also to showcase the talents and skills of the children coming from the organized communities.

“We wish for the materialization of the Philippines’ goal to reduce child labor by 75%, come 2015. As for our part, we will continue to lobby for changes in the community level,” Mondragon said.

According to a recent survey of the International Labor Organization, there are over 5 million child laborers in the Philippines. The National Statistics Office said some 2.9 million child laborers are victims of prostitution and drug trafficking in the Philippines.

Saudi Arabia detains 2 OFWs because of condom in wallet and porn video in phone MANILA – Saudi religious police detained 2 Filipino workers accused of prostitution following a raid on their flat that yielded a condom and porn video stored on a cell phone.

Migrante-Middle East, a Filipino migrants’ rights group, said relatives of one of the Filipinos sought help from their affiliate in Riyadh and informed them of the plight of the two men.

“The OFWs who were able to speak over the phone to their kin said they were shocked and furious that their accommodation was raided and on that same day sent them to jail allegedly in possession of a condom and pornographic video stored in a cell phone,” John Leonard Monterona, Migrante’s regional coordinator, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

The Filipinos are now imprisoned in Al-Hair. Prostitution in Saudi is punishable by up to one year in prison and 100 lashes.

Monterona said they have already informed the Philippine Embassy about the OFWs so they can be represented and defended in court.

“We were given an assurance by officials of the Philippine Embassy’s Assistance to Nationals Section

that they will closely follow the case and will recommend to the Department of Foreign Affairs to hire a local lawyer to defend the two Filipinos in court,” he said.

Monterona said they also asked the Philippine embassy in Riyadh to raise serious concern to appropriate Saudi authorities regarding the arbitrary raid of the police on the flat of the Filipinos, saying it violated their rights.

He said it was not the first incident of arbitrary search as there were also previous cases.

“This case depicts a

clear violation of migrant’s right to privacy and to secure himself as guaranteed in the UN Convention on the Protection of Migrants and Members of their Families and of the International Human Rights Law.” “We appeal to the concerned authorities to respect our rights as migrant workers and human beings as we vow to strictly follow the immigration rules and respect the social norms and tradition of the host government,” Monterona said.

Photos released by the Child Alert Mindanao show participants to the art showcase in Davao City.

9

The Mindanao Examiner

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

The Emotional Calculus of Conflict

The aftermath of heavy rains in Zamboanga and Kidapawan cities in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Geonarri Solmerano)

Heavy rains flood villages in Kidapawan, Zamboanga KIDAPAWAN CITY – Heavy rains flooded several villages in the southern Philippines, but local governments reported no serious damages or casualties.

In Zamboanga City, a school was submerged in flood after a river overflowed. Several houses were also affected by the

floods in the eastern side of Zamboanga.

Flash floods also affected low-lying villages in Kidapawan City, but there were also no reports of injuries.

Weather experts said the tropical storm SonTinh is affecting the country.

(Geonarri Solmerano)

HOW DO I HURT THEE? Let me count the ways.

Statistics from the AFPPNP over a 33-year period (1978-2010) report an aggregate of 29,553 fatalities in the ongoing conflict between GPH and the CPP-NPA categorized thus: 13,412 Communists (45%), 8,264 military and police (28%) and 7,877 civilians (21%). This further translates into 80 deaths daily for the period: 36 Communists, 23 soldiers and police, and 21 civilians.

When the GPH and CPPNPA-NDF peace panels met in June in Oslo to declog a peace process mired in a contrapuntal word and ground war, both sides raised their bills of particulars. The CPPNPA-NDF listed over half a dozen issues pertaining to safety and immunity guarantees for their consultants (JASIG), bilateral agreements, the release of political prisoners, terrorist listing of the CPP-NPA and Jose Ma. Sison, and indemnification of human rights victims. (These issues have been, and will be, addressed elsewhere.)

The GPH panel focused on a demand to “lower the level of violence on the ground”, with particular reference to the use of land mines and child soldiers by the NPA. “There is no meeting of the minds there” Satur Ocampo wrote in his Philippine Star column on Sept. 1, 2012. NDF chair Luis Jalandoni echoed this sentiment when he said, in a forum also on the same day, that peace talks must not be reduced to mere ceasefire negotiations.

For GPH, the issues of child soldiers and land mines are not marginal or peripheral to peace negotiations. Chil-

dren, in the barest sense, are our future; when we imperil them we risk our future. International humanitarian law and Philippine law prohibit the use of child soldiers, a practice staunchly denied by the CPP-NPA but belied by regular news reports, among the latest, that on a 17-year old (recruited when he was 13) among NPA casualties in an Aug. 31, 2012 Davao encounter.

The CPP-NPA-NDF takes pains to point out that the NPA uses “commanddetonated” land mines (as against “pressure-activated” ones which kill anyone) whose use is allowed by international conventions. But land mines do not always obey instructions, time and again killing and maiming hapless civilians, (Recently a grenade targeted at a military site landed on merry making barangay folk in a Davao perya or fair in Paquibato district, injuring 47; the NPA has belatedly owned up to the deed.)

Unlearning war must begin here and now, not who knows when, or with the inking of the final pact. Violence has taken too high a toll on our families and villages and communities, rending them asunder. In the poem Brave Woman by Grace Monte de Ramos, a village woman (perhaps widow?) soliloquizes about her two sons, unschooled and unskilled, joining the army “when they were young”; and her third and youngest son, abducted at 17—by soldiers or rebels? She cannot say. As she seeks his bones, she laments that perhaps her older sons have “given other mothers sorrow … Perhaps my (youngest) son had to pay for what they bor-

rowed.’

And violence has taken too high a toll on our psyches, most especially those who have come within arm’s length of it. The former pastor of a campus Protestant church was one of three children in the 70s serving the NPA as errand boys. His peasant father jailed by the military, his mother in the US to earn money somehow, he had to survive by his wits, thus ending up with the NPA in Isabela, his home province.

Decades later, by dint of hard work, struggle and sacrifice, and luck, he became a pastor, as did one of his fellow errand boys. The third took his own life.

The inner wounds inflicted by violence take a lifetime (and amazing grace) to heal. The inner demons one cannot always slay. King Badouin I of Belgium has said, “Youth is the first victim of war; the first fruit of peace. It takes 20 years or more of peace to make a man; it takes only 20 seconds of war to destroy him”.

This is where GPH is coming from. This is the emotional calculus that compels the GPH panel to raise the issues of land mines and child soldiers and press for reduced levels of violence during negotiations. These do not ne-

gate the GPH’s commitment to socio-economic-political reforms. For GPH, seeking peace in the here-and-now is a foretaste or token of the just and enduring peace that we all want. Muting the gunfire during peace talks, keeping children and civilians out of harm’s way, will mean one life, or two or three or more saved, and that will have been worth it.

American peace mentor John Paul Lederach once said, when we choose gunfire as the modality by which we communicate, it becomes difficult to go back to words.

Herein lies the challenge: of finding a common ground, of finding the right words to cut through the crap and the gunfire, of matching word with deed, resolve with will, of restoring integrity to words so that we do not engage in wordplay (and verbal sleightof-hand) but mean what we say and say what we mean, of unlearning war in order to wage peace. (By Jurgette Honculada. The author is a member of the Philippine peace panel negotiating with the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front.)

ZAMBO TO RAISE ELECTRIC RATES Founded 2006

mindanaoexaminer.com

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Zamboanga, touted as one of the highly-urbanized cities in the Philippines, is now suffering from pestering power outages and despite this problem, the local power cooperative is pursuing a new hike in electricity charges.

Residents have been from electricity shortage. complaining of long hours of But residents in Davao blackout almost several times where Aboitiz Power plans to every day and that this has put up coal-fired power plants been going on for weeks now. are strongly protesting beThe power outages also dam- cause of the pollution brought aged many of their appli- about by this facility. ances.

Mindanao needs about The Zamboanga City 1,597 MW daily and its curElectric Cooperative has rent power output is below blamed the lack of sufficient 1,200 MW. power supply in Mindanao as In Zamboanga City, the the cause of the blackout. It daily power consumption is said this is aggravated by the about 100 MW and the maintenance shutdown of the Zamboanga City Electric Cocoal-fired power plant run by operative gets a little over Steag State Power in Misamis half of its total requirements.

Oriental province.

With the power outages Just this year, the in Zamboanga, the Conal Zamboanga City Electric Co- Holdings Corporation now is operative also inked a deal putting up a 100 MW coalwith Aboitiz Power’s Therma fired power plant, despite Marine Incorporated (TMI) strong opposition from many for additional 18 MW (mega- residents in the village of watts) of electricity and put- Talisayan where it plans to ting the burden of paying P37 operate. million to the consumers.

Conal Holdings has alTMI, which operates ready signed a memorandum power barges in Mindanao, is of agreement with the also supplying electricity to Zamboanga City Freeport other areas in Mindanao due and Economic Zone for the to power curtailment imposed fossil fuel power station. And by the National Grid Corpo- the coal-fired power plant ration of the Philippines, was even granted a so-called which is owned by tycoon “no-objection” resolution by Henry Sy, Jr. the Zamboanga City Council, The Aboitiz Group has although a few council membeen involved in the Philip- bers have rejected the project pine electricity industry the because of pollution and its past seven decades. It said it effect to the environment. would allocate P35 billion Last year, the head of the more for Mindanao to in- Zamboanga City Electric Cocrease power capacity in the operative was sacked by the region which is suffering National Electrification Ad-

ARMM

Zamboanga City, Philippines

ministration (NEA) over anomalous transactions involving millions of pesos in funding.

Many of its incumbent and former board directors were also removed and disqualified from holding any position in rural electric cooperatives in the country.

Those accused denied all allegations against them and said all their transactions were legal and sanctioned by the NEA which had denied it.

Local business and civil groups, and politicians questioned the extravagant spending of the power firm despite its ballooning debts which reached over P1 billion.

NEA installed Engineer Jesus Castro as Project Supervisor to oversee the operation of the cooperative, but he was also removed due to alleged anomalies.

Communist rebel leaders said the power crisis in Mindanao is a “grandiose show” to deceive the people and force them to accept the privatization of power plants and the construction of dirty coal-fired power plants.

“The current power plants on the island are capable of producing enough electricity for all of Mindanao’s regions. The power plants are purposely not being operated at full capacity to create an artificial power shortage,” said Jorge Madlos, of the National Democratic Front.

Madlos was referring to the state-run hydropower and geothermal plants.

Northern Mindanao

Davao

P10/RM1

Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2012

Linemen of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative work on a high-tension electrical wire without safety helmet, leather or rubber gloves and safety shoes. Zamboanga City is experiencing long hours of pestering power outages the past weeks and the electric cooperative blames the lack of power supply in Mindanao, but despite this problem it is pushing for new hike in electricity charges, reports said.. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

“In Mindanao, the Alcantara, Dominguez and Aboitiz families exploited the situation to expand their power generation enterprises in the last two decades. Now, Henry Sy is using the same scheme to slowly buy out private and government-owned power plants and monopolize control over the island’s energy sector. Since the energy sector is deregulated, Sy can

Manila

raise power rates whenever he wants after he gains possession of the island’s power plants,” he said.

“The monopolization of the island’s energy sector will further raise power rates and cause more suffering to the people of Mindanao. At present, power rates are already high due to profit-hungry independent power producers and the imposition of

the Value-Added Tax.” The state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation said it was planning to privatize the Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants in Mindanao for reasons that the government cannot afford its maintenance. (Mindanao Examiner)

Zamboanga Peninsula