Mindanao Daily Set A (March 31, 2017) by Mindanao Daily News

MINDANAO DAILY T H E P U RV E YO R O F T R U T H , J U S T I C E , A N D D E V E LO P M E N T

Volume VI, No. 251

Website: www.mindanaodailynews.com

Friday

P15.00

March 31, 2017

Guv’s program to turn war-torn areas productive By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN Contributing Editor

SAN Francisco, Agusan del Sur--Poor farmers of the once conflict-stricken villages of this progressive town are pinning their hopes that the flagship Upland Sustainable Agri-forestry Development(USAD) program of Governor Adolph Edward

Plaza will turn their farms into productive areas. At least 209 farmers in the villages of Bitan-agan, Lucac, Das-agan, Alegria and Mate were listed as new enrollees of the USAD program, a development partnership initiative between farmers and the local governments to help them cultivate different suitable crops to make

Military slams NPA for attacking public school in Bukidnon CAGAYAN de Oro City-The military on Wednesday denounced the burning of a public school allegedly by the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the hinterland village of Concepcion in Valencia City in Bukidnon. A belated military report reaching here said that the NPA rebels allegedly burned the public school in Concepcion last Sunday after school officials refused to give in to the rebel’s extortion activities.

Jica, Neda to help M’nao energy sector

their farmlands more productive. Bitan-agan, a once conflictstricken village influenced by the New People’s Army in the dark years of Marcos regime, made it more significant venue for the USAD launch that already benefitted thousands of lowly farmers in other hinterland villages of the province. The four other neighboring

villages however were not spared from the atrocities in the past when San Francisco town was gripped with fear by presence of the dreaded Lost Command where extra-judicial killings prevail almost daily drawing more people to seek refuge to the communist movement. During the troubled years, Bitan-agan and adjacent remote

See PRODUCTIVE, page 7

“The teachers refused to give in to the demands of the NPA rebels, who resorted to terroristic activities,” Lt. Erwin Bugarin, the spokesperson of the Army’s 8th Infantry Battalion, said in the report. Without considering the effects of their actions to the civilian populace, especially the students of the said school, the armed group burned the faculty room, one classroom and the school library, Bugarin Agusan del Sur Governor Adolph Edward Plaza (center in light blue shirt) handed an USAD farmer a seedling which See school, page 7

he will grow in his farm to turn them into productive farmers. Photo courtesy of Noel Barrete/PIO

Comelec releases sked for brgy, SK polls

THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) signed this week a 771 million yen (about P340 million) grant aid project to support the energy sector in Mindanao’s conflict-affected areas. According to a news release issued Thursday, the project will be implemented by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) and is part of JICA’s continuing support for peace and development Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST) now University of Science and in Mindanao. Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) graduating students troop to their yearly job fair last Wednesday in their main campus in Cagayan de Oro City. The project will See energy, page 7

villages of Das-agan and Lucac have been the breeding ground for massive recruitment of predominantly lumad residents to become NPA guerillas. These have been also the areas where the rebels briefly abducted local administration bets during elections. Plaza led the USAD

By Ferdinand G. Patinio of PNA

Despite plans to postpone the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has released the calendar of activities for the said polls. Based on Comelec Resolution No. 10177 dated March 28, it has set the election period which will be from September 23 to October 30. Acts prohibited during the election period include the alteration of territory of a precinct or establishment of a new precinct; carrying Photo by Mark Francisco for Mindanao Daily of firearms or other deadly

weapons; use of security personnel or bodyguards by candidates; and coercing, threatening, intimidating, or terrorizing any election official or employee in the performance of his election functions or duties. Also forbidden during the election period are transfer or detail of officers and employees in the civil service including public school teachers; organizing or maintaining reaction forces, strike forces or similar forces; and suspension of any elective provincial, city, municipal or barangay officer. Likewise, the poll See polls, page 7

MINDANAO DAILY SECOND FRONTPAGE

Jaafar: No ISIS in Mindanao but… mark francisco, Section Editor EDITOR: RUEL V. PELONE

Friday

March 31, 2017

By Antonio L. Colina IV of MindaNews

ORO Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) first vice chair Ghazali Jaafar said global terrorism group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has not penetrated Mindanao yet but said the younger generation of local terrorist groups are growing impatient over the current status of the Bangsamoro. During the commemoration of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao City, Jaafar said he knows of five or six groups operating in Mindanao, among them the Maute Group, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and Abu Sayyaf, but none of them are allied with the ISIS. Jaafar, who is chair of the 21-member Bangsamoro Transition Commission,

said ISIS may penetrate Mindanao as the local radical groups may need support to back their operations. The BTC is tasked to draft a new enabling law that will implement the CAB. “I believe this Maute, BIFF, at yung iba pang grupo, hindi mga ISIS ito (and the other groups, these are not ISIS). I guarantee you but papasok yan dito sapagkat yung mga ito naghahanap yan sila ng finance (but they will come because they are looking for

finance). This is the reality of the situation, dapat tanggapin natin ito (we need to accept this),” he said. Jaafar said that GPH and MILF troops are not fighting because they have a bilateral ceasefire agreement but added the other groups in Mindanao are continuously fighting. “But the guns of the ASG and the guns of the BIFF and the Maute are continuously fighting and there is no guarantee to stop these unless there is BBL

(Bangsamoro Basic Law) na tanggapin nila sapagkat kung ang Bangsamoro Basic Law, na ipapasa ng Congress ay hindi nila tanggapin (because if the version of the Congress is not acceptable to them), I doubt,” he said. But ISIS incursion, Jaafar said, is preventable when Congress will pass an enabling law that is seen to address the issues on selfdetermination and self-governance of the Bangsamoro people in “accordance See No, page 7

Roa Duterte meets with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Prof. Nur Misuari at the Presidential Guest House in Davao City on March 27, 2017. Misuari is accompanied by his wife, Madam Tarhata and son, Abdulkarim. (RENE LUMAWAG/PPD/Malacanang)

Senator Aquino: Are police scalawags now above the law?

bam aquino

MDN: Mar 31, 2017

DUTERTE meets Misuari. President Rodrigo

Instead of promising pardon to scalawag policemen who will be convicted in the performance of their duties in the fight against illegal drugs, President Duterte should let the justice system takes its course and punish those who will be found guilty of abuse and other crimes. “With his promise, it seems that there are individuals and groups who are above the law,” said Sen. Bam, referring to Duterte’s commitment to police officers who would be convicted in the performance of their duties. “Mas magandang hayaan muna nating umusad ang ating sistemang panghustisya bago ang anumang

pangako,” he added. It was reported that among those who could receive pardon are 19 police officers involved in the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa. The police officers were ordered arrested and charged with murder. The police officers killed Espinosa inside the Baybay subprovincial jail last year. They claimed that the mayor fired at them while they were about to implement a search warrant. In the Senate hearing, however, a medico-legal officer from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) See ABOVE, page 7

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Friday, March 31, 2017

Opinion

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Display of faith

TRUST or reliance? What means faith for you? To say it clearly: without faith we are really nothing. Faith is belief; believe in us, beliefs in our works, talents and personalities. We also should believe in our parents or better, in the whole family, including the black sheep, who can be found everywhere. We should also believe in our friends, even sometimes it seems to become a very difficult task. A friend? A real friend? An expatriate friend...? Without faith, we will be reaching the rock bottom. Please don’t say, it’s a likely story. The German poet Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1815)

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Klaus Doring

a wishy-washy optimism. First and second Chapter of Thessalonians, for example, give encouragements to all Christians, who have been undergoing persecution for their faith. And, Corinthians 13:2 says: “If I have faith it can move mountains!” +++ Email: doringklaus@ gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter or visit www. germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www. klausdoringsclassicalmusic. blogspot.com.

Elusive justice before now tamed

THE justice that was once so elusive during the Aquino administration is now being tamed under the Duterte’s administration, untarnished by deceit and cunning. Yes, justice has now been restored in totality. Many people would try to reach the bar set for EDITORIAL someone else, designed for ALLAN M. MEDIANTE someone else, like grabbing Editor-in-Chief power and to erase that ruel pelone CRIS DIAZ someone from the face of the Managing Editor Executive Editor earth. It was the intention CHENG ORDOÑEZ (on leave) MARK FRANCISCO of the political adversar Associate Editor Lifestyle Editor ies of City Mayor Celso G. Regencia to eliminate him GILBERT Y. CHAO gerry lee gorit from the face of the earth Motoring Editor Photo Journalist or from the city’s politi PAT SAMONTE CHRIS PANGANIBAN cal arena, because he was Regional Editor Caraga Regional Editor-Davao a blocking wall for them to do an ignoble deeds. Rene Michael BaÑos uRIEL C. QUILINGUING So that he was accused of Regional Editor Northmin Contributing Editor usurpation of authority that AL JACINTO JOE FELICILDA catapulted his suspension Regional Editor-WestMin Editorial Consultant for six (6) months period, although his suspension RODRIGO B. SEVILLA JOE PALABAO order penned by Secretary Regional Editor-Davao Feature Editor Ochoa was devoid of legal ATTY. MARIO T. JUNI propriety. Such suspension NOTARY PUBLIC- JUNI LAW OFFICE was accepted by him without CELL NO: 09352379999/ (088) 8573595 rancor or regret, as a law ---------------------------------------------------------------

Ernest back to health, he talked with the agnostic Scotsman of his own strong faith in God and showed him that, even in the midst of suffering - there is hope - and faith! Faith is indeed tantamount to convincing and conviction. Richard Wagner, a German classical composer and poet found the following lyric: “Blessed are those people, who know how to life their life in humility and faith!” Well, let’s even continue believing in our government. Faithful hope is loyal, reliable, exact and honorable. Faith looks beyond the transient life with hope for all eternity. The hope we read in scripture is not

Agree or disagree

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CRUZ TAAL ST., CAG. DE ORO CITY Legal Counsel

mentioned in his drama “Maria Stuart”: “Even the word might be dead, but faith keeps it alive.” Yes, I can live with this. Faith and hope belong together. In his book “Through the Valley of the Kwai”, Scottish officer Ernest Gordon wrote of his years as a prisoner of World War II. The 6’2’’ man suffered from malaria, diphtheria, typhoid, beriberi and jungle ulcers. Many circumstances quickly plunged his weight to less than 100 pounds. Lying in the dirt of the death house, he waited to die. But every day, a fellow prisoner came to wash his wounds and to encourage him to eat parts of his own rations. As this fellow prisoner nursed

abiding citizen. But after his suspension for six (6) months period, he was accused as the mastermind of the fake ambushed of the former Congressman Vicente Belmonte, Jr., a fabricated accusations with the help of high ranking police officers to make it appeared as real and true. As its consequence, he was incarcerated for more than one (1) year therein he experienced of what we call human cruelty that only few human beings can endure and, yet, with humility, he endured without rancor or regret. Certainly, a man under such influence, though he may be cruel but never can be brave. In that score then, it is precisely believed “that no tendency of reason can alter the truth, for the truth will always prevail in the end. That a lie cannot be made true by another lie. And no amount of lying can stand to the truth that one proclaims by a good and honest life.”

We, Christians, know for a fact that God is truth, and for His being as such, He knows how to put a proper prize upon the truth. And it would be strange indeed if so celestial the article of justice based on truth should not be highly considered. God will not abandon to one who relies on Him completely. Which is why City Mayor Celso G. Regencia was exonerated of the fabricated cases filed against him by the then former Congressman Vicente Belmonte, Jr. He endured the suffering from lies, deceit and fabricated accusations. His endurance and courage to injure the injustices committed against him by his political enemies was rewarded instead with victory after all in the end. He abates nothing of his just demand and that is his exoneration and his freedom. We know for a fact that our city mayor is a peace loving person. He does not like to go to a conflict. In fact

Demosthenes P. Maglasang Sr.

he keep his cool and patience almost to the brim, for he is slow to rise to provocation. The devilish schemes and cruelty of his arch enemy former Congressman Vicente Belmonte, Jr. had almost provoked him to the point where he must grasp a sword. If that provocation have lost his cool and patience, he does not easily forgive his enemy for having produced the situation. Our City Mayor shall fight in anger---he shall fight for the very reason that he was forced to go to a conflict. Good that his cool and patience have prevented him instead. The dignity of man cannot be found on his possession, his position in government as congressman, his power, his money, his overbearing See JUSTICE, page 7

Think a minute

The Invisible Father

THINK a minute. A 58-year-old man was sharing his memories of his father. He said his father had been a workaholic who was always busy with work and his own personal interests. He never came to his son’s sports games or activities. In fact, the son said his dad almost never spoke to him. By the time the son was 18 years old, in his last year of school, he’d become a very good football player. When his team qualified for the championship, he begged his father to finally come see him play this one time; so his dad promised he’d be there. On the day of the championship, the son was on the field warming up just

before the game when he saw his dad come into the stadium with two other men. Then, just before the game started, his dad left with his friends and never returned. It’s now been 40 years since that day, yet this 58-year-old son says the painful rejection and disappointment he felt as a teenager is still very real. When his father recently died at age 83, he stood alone next to his dad’s coffin at the funeral home and said: “Dad, we could have shared so much love and good times together, but I never knew you.” Thinking back on this man’s childhood, and especially that day of the football

game, I wonder what that father thought was more important than being there for his son. Was his time with business associates more important than caring and being interested in the success of his own son? That father let the years go by without doing his job at home. He failed in his most important responsibility as a father. A father has tremendous power and influence in the lives of his children. Studies have shown that the number one cause of troubled boys and young men is that they had fathers who didn’t really care. They didn’t spend time with their sons so they weren’t close to them. There

Jhan Tiafau Hurst

are millions of invisible fathers like this. But “No man stands as tall, as when he stoops down to help his son.” How about you? Do you need to give more time and attention to your children? It’s never too late to change. Why not ask Jesus Christ to forgive you for your failures as a father? Then ask Him to help change you so you can become the caring, loving father your children need. Just Think a Minute.

Forum

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Friday, March 31, 2017

Day of the Landless

IBON renews call for free land distribution NOTING that seven out of 10 poor Filipinos live in the rural areas where landlessness remains widespread, IBON reiterated on Thurday the urgency of doable reforms such as free land distribution. The research group made the statement as various peasant organizations and land reform advocates across the country mark the “Day of the Landless” today. IBON pointed out that land continues to be heavily concentrated in the hands of big landlords and businesses with less than a third of landowners controlling over 80% of agricultural lands in the country. Meanwhile, half of all farms are under tenancy, lease and other forms of tenurial arrangements. The group said that government’s past land distribution programs have failed. After almost three decades of implementation, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) reported an 88%

Photo credit: asianews.it

accomplishment rate. But 76% of CARP beneficiaries are unable to amortize the land granted to them under CARP and thus are at risk of losing their land.

IBON added that the Philippines can learn from developed countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan that did not require their agrarian reform ben-

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eficiaries to amortize and had the lands distributed freely. Genuine agrarian reform, first and foremost, should involve effectively

breaking up land monopolies, the group said. It should be accompanied by support services from government including credit and subsidies as well as

agricultural infrastructure such as adequate and accessible farm-to-market roads, irrigation, post-harvest facilities, etc. The program must also be sustained by agricultural science and technology to boost productivity and rural industries. Despite the many challenges, there are recent developments that are favorable to the prospects of genuine land reform and rural development, IBON said. The ongoing peace negotiations between the Duterte administration and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), for instance, have social and economic reforms that include agrarian reform and rural development as their top agenda. It is thus crucial for the country’s policy makers and the public to support the peace talks to help address landlessness and chronic poverty that have been long plaguing the country, IBON stressed. Source: IBONG.org

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Friday, March 31, 2017

IBON hits big miners over threat of int’l arbitration

T H E C O M P r e c e nt l y warned that affected mining companies could file arbitration cases should the government not honor mining contracts. It said that a number of these are foreign mining firms that have bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and they could sue the government for compensation. The DENR previously announced the cancellation of 75 mineral production sharing agreements (MPSAs), and plans to close 23 mines and suspend five others. According to IBON, international arbitration is an instrument of investment liberalization, which corporations use to unhamper and secure their profitseeking to the detriment of countries’ sovereignty in determining what is in the best interest of its people.

The World Bank International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), for example, is known for siding with transnational corporations (TNCs) and strictly enforcing decisions that include expropriation of assets, said the group. This mechanism is further institutionalized under free trade deals (FTAs), said IBON. Countries negotiating the Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP), for instance, can be sued by investors whenever it is perceived that government policy, law or action harms present and future profits. IBON’s recent mining study shows that extractive companies have a history of suing governments through international arbitration when their profits are compromised. See MINERS, page 7

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Tamed... from page 4

arrogance and his influence of the power that be especially from former President Noynoy Aquino, from former DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and from former Secretary of Justice Leila De Lima that help him twist the truth in its totality. Consequently, it made us to believe as a miscarriage of justice. His dignity then as a man and as public official, a congressman at that, only rests on his treatment to his political adversary, his political rival, City Mayor Celso G. Regencia, by giving him the opportunity to serve the people that elected him. Therefore, there is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right through lies and deceit and fabricated accusations. It is devoid of moral compass. It is wrong— deadly wrong to deny City Mayor Celso G. Regencia to serve the Iliganons as their local chief executive, because the Iliganons love him very much, in fact, for several instances, they put their shoulder to the wheel to root out the injustices committed by Congressman Vicente Belmonte on his many attempts to take City Mayor Celso G. Regencia by force, all failed. Unexpectedly, God’s time came like a thief at night that declared victory in totality: victory for the truth, victory for City Mayor Celso G. Regencia and victory for the Iliganons. Now, he is free at last to personally rule Iligan City with order and reason as City Mayor. Most assuredly, the development initiative of his administration will be implemented in a booster like pace, as it is now being implemented to be in that manner, that will ultimately change the physical structure of Iligan City, as it is now changing. In the long run then it will be envied by other cities. The people of Iligan City welcome the Department of Justice Resolution for the withdrawal of the previous “Probable Cause” hastily declared by the previous prosecutors that prosecute the cases against City Mayor Celso G. Regencia and on the landmark decision penned by Judge Ferdinand C. Baylon exonerating him completely beyond reasonable doubt, which prove also beyond reasonable doubt that justice in the Philippines is still alive. Thanks be to God that the subject corroborated decisions made by both the Department of Justice and the Regional Trial Court 77 of Quezon City have restored back our confidence with our justice system. City Information Staff, Office of the City Mayor, City of Iligan.

Miners... from page 6

For example, American oil company Occidental Petroleum Corporation cost Ecuador US$1 billion when the government expropri-

ated Occidental’s assets after it illegally sold its rights to another company. Mining company Pacific Rim, a subsidiary of Australian miner OceanaGold since 2013, sued the government of El Salvador for US$301 million for denying the permit for the El Dorado mine due to environmental concerns. IBON urged the Duterte government to stand firm on DENR’s order to protect the country’s remaining natural and mineral resources. The closure order will give a respite to the massive drain of mineral resources and the destruction of ecosystems. The group also stressed that government should revoke existing bilateral agreements that allow big local and foreign businesses to plunder the nation’s mineral wealth and that secure corporate interests mechanisms such as international arbitration.

No...

from page 2

to their own way of life.” He said the MILF has created an Ad Hoc committee that studies the causes of Moro radicalism to be able to formulate a plan on how to fix this. “I am assuring you now that I think and I believe the only solution is the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). Let us pass the (new) BBL,” he said. GPH implement ing peace panel chair Irene Santiago said BTC will complete the draft of an enabling law by May 18 and submit it to Congress by June this year before it will go into sine die adjournment on June 3 and resume on July 24 with Duterte addressing them in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24. “Peace is also all of us building relationships that are just and equal – in politics, in the economy, in our social life. Peace is also peace for all,” she said. Santiago added that implementing panels are working on a program of normalization “which includes decommissioning of combatants, transforming their communities to productive and peace places, and lastly, implementing the recommendations of the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission, primarily the establishment of the National Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission on the Bangsamoro,” Santiago said. She added that the NTJRCB will deal with the issues of historical injustice, human rights violations and land dispossession that are at the core of the armed conflict.

Above... from page 2

determined that the shots were fired when Mayor Espinosa was lying down. Other details regarding the

Friday, March 31, 2017 altercation also raised alarm bells with fellow police who narrated these to the Senators. According to its report, the Committee on Public Order, chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Espinosa’s murder was premeditated and the involved policemen committed abuse of authority. Source: Senate.gov.ph

School... from page 1

said. He said that it becomes evident “that the NPA exempts no one in their extortion activities, not even the schools which are essential in providing education to the pupils and students living in marginal communities.” Bugarin said that the military and also the civilian community denounced the cowardly acts that “show the real character of the NPA as a terror group even at a time when the resumption of the peace talks was scheduled to commence in the first week of April.” (PNA)

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upgrade the power distribution equipment of the six electric cooperatives (ECs) operating in the area. Data from the ECs show an average of 26 percent in energy losses due to the aging equipment used for energy transmission that have been built in the ‘70s. Meanwhile, according to government data, the 36 percent electrification rate in the area is also lower than the average rate of 74 percent in Mindanao. “This project is part of our continuing commitment to support peace and development in Mindanao,” said JICA Chief Representative Susumu Ito. “By helping resolve the power supply issues in conflict-affected areas, we aim to help the Philippines create more economic activities in the region.” Government poverty statistics data in 2015 showed that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao remains mired in poverty with a 53.4 percent poverty rate, higher than the national average of 21.1 percent. Forty years of conflict have deprived this region of opportunities to access social services and quality investments and jobs. The JICA grant aid will help reduce energy distribution losses to about 7 percent and assure reliable, resilient energy supply to nearly 44,000 households in the area. “We will do what we can to support the people in Mindanao’s conflict-affected areas realize the dividends of peace in their lives and ensure a better future for the next generation,” added Ito. JICA’s support for the energy infrastructure in Bangsamoro is also part of the agency’s development cooperation with the Philippines. The project

was identified under the JICA-assisted Bangsamoro Development Plan 2 meant to jump-start economic activities in Mindanao’s conflict areas and draw up a medium- to long-term development plan (2016-2022) for the region’s inclusive and sustainable development. (PNA)

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body has set the period for the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) from September 23 to 30. Candidates running for the village and youth posts are allowed to campaign from October 13 to 21. The Comelec reminded the aspirants that prohibited acts during the campaign period are the following: removing, destroying, obliterating, defacing, tampering or preventing distribution of lawful election propaganda; making any donation or gift in cash or in kind; appointing or using special policemen, special/confidential agents or the like; and using armored land, water or air craft. Also prohibited during the campaign period are: cases of policemen and provincial guards acting as bodyguards or security guards of public official or candidates; construction or maintenance of barangay funded roads and bridges; and appointment or hiring of new employees, creation of new position, promotion, giving salary increases, remuneration or privileges. On the eve of Election Day, October 22, and on Election Day itself, the Comelec said it is prohibited to campaign; sell, furnish, offer, but, serve or take intoxicating liquor; and giving, accepting free transportation, food, drinks and things of value. On Election Day, all poll-

ing precincts nationwide will accept voters starting from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. On the other hand, all candidates have until November 22 to file Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE). Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has filed House Bill 5359, which is seeking to postpone the scheduled polls to May 2020. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier proposed to postpone anew the Barangay and SK elections and instead appoint village officials. (PNA)

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program launch on Wednesday in Bitan-agan where farmer-enrollees coming from the five recipient villages formally receive different seedlings of cacao, rubber, abaca, coconut and coffee apart from agricultural forestry development intervention on the production of falcatta timber, mongo, peanut, corn, cutflower and vegetable production that will at least benefit 356 hectares of farms. Plaza challenged the USAD farmer-enrollees to take the partnership seriously in improving their lives saying development still lies in their hands not on total reliance to government sustenance. “We are just enablers and development of your farms now depends on you,” Plaza told the USAD farmers. The governor admitted the provincial government has introduced many initiatives in the past with various agricultural development programs but failed even as he is confident that USAD as the “last card” could now really take off to bring development in the province into greater heights. He challenged San Fran-

cisco Mayor Jenny de Asis to endeavor more in mobilizing the municipal agriculture office to led the serious implementation of USAD or the provincial government might withdraw the program. In her response, De Asis said the governor’s call is a tall order but likewise took it on a positive note telling USAD farmer-enrollees “the ball is already in our hands, it is now imperative that we double our efforts to realize it,” the mayor said. For her part, Bitan-agan village chair Estela Navarro accepted the governor’s challenge telling residents in her speech that the role of the government is just secondary to guide and extend assistance to the farmers to turn their areas into fruitful farms. “If we will not strive hard, nothing will happen to our lives,” she said. Navarro is the widow of the Bitan-agan’s long-time village chair Raymark, a former NPA leader who yielded to the government after the EDSA revolution but was killed by still unknown assailant along the village road while driving his way home in 2014. Aside from USAD, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources also led in the distribution of free patent land titles to residential lot occupants which include 64 beneficiaries in Bitan-agan, 22 in the village of Tag-anahawan in Esperanza town and 17 in the village of Sinai in Sibagat town. The municipal government also launched infrastructure projects including the reblocking of San Francisco Road Around Network Phase 3 covering a length of 178.4 meters and concreting of Barangay 1 to Bitan-agan Road at Barangay 1 section.

FREE Publication of PRESS RELEASES for corporate accounts to Mindanao Daily News and BusinessWeek Newspapers

EDITOR : MARK FRANCISCO

Friday

community March 31, 2017

Motorela driver named Modelong Ama 2017

Mahinog, Camiguin – A motorela driver here has been proclaimed as the grand winner of the Search for Modelong Ama by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Alfredo Nahial Jr. bested other 17 regional nominees to the national search of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Pamilya) for all male beneficiaries who demonstrated promotion of gender and development by maintaining strong family ties, positive family values, and have positive impact in their respective communities. A solo parent to four female children, Nahial serves as inspiration for all male beneficiaries and proof to the public that the program helps in achieving positive changes in the lives of beneficiaries though a gender sensitive program. The Search for Modelong Ama looks for an exceptional male Pantawid Program beneficiary who is a father, a husband, or a solo parent, with age of at least 28 years old. The nominee must also be free from any criminal liabilities, belongs to a household Alfredo Nahial Jr. of Mahinog, Camiguin holds his plaque with pride after he was declared national grand winner for the Search for Mod- that is at least 85% compliant to elong Ama 2017 in a ceremony at AIM, Makati City Wednesday, March all the program conditionalities, and a recognized role model within 29, 2017. Nahial represents Region 10 to the competition.

his household and community. Alfredo’s wife left the family when their eldest was only 5 years old. Since then, he raised his children and provided for their needs through various works in a local mill, then as habal-habal driver and recently as motorela driver, a public local transport in Camiguin. Despite financial challenges and the emotional burden of being snubbed by his wife for many years, he inculcated good morals to his children and respect for others. To date, all of his children are regular students and of good moral character with academic merits. He also supports a niece and a nephew. His children, with his eldest being 16 years old, are very much supportive of him and are looking up to him as their role model. He also devoted time to community activities. He is a social role model among parent leaders, majority of which are women, of the Pantawid Pamilya. An active lay minister of the Roman Catholic Church here, Nahial is also a volunteer in disaster response, a president of the Parents-Teachers Association, and a

volunteer for the projects of KalahiCIDSS NCDDP (Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan — Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services -National Community— Driven Development Program) of DSWD. He also attended various trainings and seminars such as on Parent Effectiveness (PES) incorporating Empowerment through Reaffirmation of Paternal Abilities (ERPAT), DTI livelihood trainings, among others. During validation and interviews, Nahial displayed his capabilities in communication and in expressing his thoughts on positive discipline, on gender equality, on various laws relating to protecting the rights of children and women. Alex Abaladejo Jr of Negros Island Region settled the 1st Runner-Up post; Benny Binando of Region 2 (2nd Runner-Up); Concrado Achuela of Region 1 (3rd Runner-Up); and Martial Gepte Sr of Region 11 (4th Runner-Up). The Pantawid Pamilya is a national government’s intervention for poor families by investing in their children’s health and education. It also gives them access to livelihood opportunities in order to support them socio-economically.