Mindanao DAILY THE PURVEYOR OF TRUTH , JUSTICE, AND DEVELOPMENT
Volume VI, No. 061
web portal: www.mindanaodailynews.com
Monday
See MAYOR, page A7
P15.00
A1
5 soldiers, 2 rebels killed in clashes in Comval, Bukidnon
Mayor denies allegations he is drug lord
COTABATO City––A town mayor in Maguindanao tagged by police authorities in Sultan Kudarat province as a suspected drug lord has denied the allegations and challenged authorities to show evidence against him. “I strongly deny this report, so malicious and politically motivated,” Mayor Montasir Sabal of Talitay said in an interview with GMA News. Supt. Joefil Siason, police chief of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat claimed that Sabal’s name was among those cited in the search warrant issued by a local court and implemented by the police on Saturday, July 30, in Barangay Kalawag, Isulan. Sixteen persons were arrested and P1.3 million worth of shabu and paraphernalia were seized, including an alleged blue book and bank transaction receipts that contained the group’s clients. Siason said Sabal was in the bungalow that was subjected to police surveillance operations but managed to escape along with its owners.
August 8, 2016
MILITARY, NPA CLASHES. Maj. Gen. Rafael Valencia (second from right) pays his respects to Cpl. Rolen Roy Sarmiento, one of four soldiers killed in two separate encounters with the New Peoples Army (NPA) in Compostela Valley province on August 5. Twelve other soldiers belonging to the Army’s 25th Infantry Battalion were also injured. MindaNews photo by Keith Bacongco
DAVAO City––Five soldiers and two members of the New People’s Army (NPA), one of them a female, were killed in a series of clashes in Monkayo and Maragusan towns in Compostela Valley and in the outskirts of Valencia City in Bukidnon on August 4 and 5, less than a week after President Rodrigo Duterte lifted his July 25 order declaring a unilateral ceasefire with the National Democratic Front (NDF). In Compostela Valley, a total of four soldiers and two NPA members were killed while 12 soldiers were wounded in clashes in Monkayo and Maragusan towns on August 4 and 5, the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) said. In Bukidnon, the 4th Infantry Division reported one killed in a clash between the Army’s 1st special Forces Battalion and NPA guerrillas allegedly “conducting extortion activities at Sitio Kambangon, Brgy Lilingayon, an outskirt community of Valencia City,” at around 2 p.m. on August 5.
Business leader: Endo okay, but... By RUEL V. PELONE Managing Editor and MARK D. FRANCISCO Correspondent
CAGAYAN de Oro City–– The Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation (Oro Chamber) is backing President Rodrigo Duterte on his plan to stop “Endo” short for “End of contract,” but with “reservations.” Speaking on behalf of
his group, Oro Chamber President Jeffrey T. Ang said the government needs to conduct a thorough consultations before it would implement such a policy to avoid complications. Ang said “Endo” can easily be enforced for those establishments employing only one to five persons, but not for employers with more than 100 employees. “If you are a large firm employing around 100
people or more, then they will definitely be affected,” he emphasized, adding, “the last thing we know is for these firms to go bankrupt and close shops.” “As a consequence, there will be a massive unemployment,” said Ang. Ang’s statement runs counter to Duterte’s remarks in Davao City last week that he would not give in to excuses by businesses See BUSINESS, page A7
Broadcasters plant trees, mangroves By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN Contributing Editor
SAN Francisco, Agusan del Sur––Putting the words they broadcast in the air into real action to show that they really mean what they say in their crusade to save the environment. With this in mind, local broadcast SEEDLINGS. Students get their seedlings that they journalists in the neighboring provplanted for the tree planting activity at Mt. Magdiwata inces of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Watershed. Mindanao Daily photo by Chris V. Panganiban Sur simultaneously led the collaborative
massive planting of trees and mangroves yesterday morning in the environmentally disturbed areas. The activity spearheaded by members of Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters ng Pilipinas (KBP) Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur Chapter was part of the annual simultaneous nationwide tree planting activity dubbed as KBP Oplan Broadcastreeing 2016. At least four areas in the neighboring See PLANT, page A3
See clashes, page A7
Digong urged to free sick, old prisoners to decongest jail facilities Imagine five prisoners crammed into one square meter of jail space. Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto cited the congestion rate in the four most tightly-packed jails in the country in prodding government to initiate reforms in the country’s penal system which, with 135,000 inmates, are almost at four times their capacity. Recto said it is no longer accurate to call our prisons “parang sardinas sa sikip.” The correct term, he said, is “daig pa ang siniksik na longganisa.” One of the quick fixes Recto is proposing is for President Duterte to grant parole or pardon to “old, infirm, or gravely- or terminally-ill prisoners,” especially those who are not guilty of heinous crimes. If Duterte is planning to release so-called “political prisoners” as part of the trust-building steps to cinch a peace deal with Communists, “then he must set in motion a process that will See free, page A6
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