Mindanao Daily NEWS northmin . caraga . davao Your Mindanao-wide Community Newspaper
Volume II, No. 063
web portal: www.businessweekmindanao.com
Wednesday
August 14, 2013
Dads to probe irregularities at boulevard port SURIGAO City––The city council here is set to conduct investigations on the supposed irregularities at the Surigao Boulevard Port after a series of mishaps occurred last week, which include trucks and heavy equipment plunging into the sea. The area is being used as docking area for outrigger motorized bancas plying
the Surigao City – Dinagat Island route. City Councilor Jose Begil Jr. told reporters on Monday they would call all the boat transport groups and owners, all concerned government line agencies – which include the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) – and all arrastre and stevedoring services
operating at the boulevard and other concerned parties to shed light on the irregularities. Begil’s announcement came after a series of mishaps that happened at the boulevard last week. One incident involved the unregistered boat M/L Roy Sea Star, whose hull collapsed while loading a 10-wheeler truck full of
construction materials. Yet another passenger boat met the same fate also last week while loading a boom truck and a big engine machine. Last month, two trucks owned by mining companies also plummeted into the sea as these were being loaded on a boat for Dinagat, according to Chamber of Mines president Dulmar
Raagas. Begil, who chairs the committee on transportation of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, said the investigation will also look into reports that some Coast Guard employees are being bribed by some boat owners to clear their vessels for departure. Begil said cargoes such
P10.00
Lawmaker wants life jail term vs smugglers
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto has filed a bill seeking to declare big-time smuggling as a capital offense by imposing the penalty of life imprisonment to anyone See probe, page 11 who will engage in unlawful importation of goods valued more than P1 million. “Smuggling continues to bleed our nation of muchneeded taxes, which is considered to be the country’s lifeblood. It directly deprives the Filipino people of resources that could have been used to improve their quality of life,” Recto said. “I therefore consider smuggling, especially those in unconscionable proportions, to be a grave offense against the nation.” In filing Senate Bill 456, the senator took note of a recent statement made by a former finance secretary that the total value of smuggled commodities in the Philippines is estimated at almost $20 Billion (P800 billion) annually. “The figures are staggering. Imagine how many billions of pesos in taxes can be collected and put to better use if we can curb smuggling,” Recto said. Aside from losing potential government revenues to smugglers and their cohorts at the Bureau BALLOT BOXES. Workers repaint the ballot boxes at city hall ground in preparation for the forthcoming Ba- of Customs (BOC), Recto said that smuggling rangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election on October 27 2013.
‘Pablo-hit’ towns in Davao get fresh aid
C
ATEEL, Davao Oriental–– The disaster re sp on s e ar m of Manny V. Pangilinan Group of Companies distributed Wednesday last week 700 school kits, teachers’ kit and books in Cateel Central Elementary School and signed livelihood assistance with the provincial government.
Mindanao Daily News photo by Rolando “Baby Lando” Sudaria
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Lumads caught in AFP-NPA conflict, says international group
By Roel N. Catoto of MindaNews
SURIGAO City––Indigenous people in the Philippines are caught in the middle of the conflict between the military and the
New People’s Army and could hardly “cope with their repeated dislocations and the accumulated effects of property loss or damage and income decline,” according to a recently published report by the Swiss-based
Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC). “Caught between the two warring parties, the Lumads are exposed to high levels of violence and are at risk of abuses by both sides,” the IDMC said in its 42-page
report titled “Living in the Shadows: Displaced Lumads locked in a Cycle of Poverty” released this month in time for the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People on August 9. See group, page 11
See smugglers, page 11
US wanted old Davao airport as drones HQ By EARL O. CONDEZA of DavaoToday.com
DAVAO City--Mayor Rodrigo Duterte revealed that on several occasions, the United States government had sought his permission to make use of the old Davao Airport as a station for its drones or spy planes. Duterte, known for his anti-US pronouncements, told reporters in a briefing Monday, he refused such See drones, page 11
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