MINDANAO DAILY TRUTH. JUSTICE. PROGRESS.
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1923
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2020: YEAR OF THE RAT Volume IX, No. 183
www.mindanaodailynews.com
Wed-Fri, January 1-3, 2020
R
AT is the first sign from the 12 animals cycle--rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig--of the Chinese astrology, and for this reason, 2020 is considered the year of new beginnings and renewals.
Rat natives are going to have long-term relationships with the loyal Ox, adventurous Dragon, and the smart Monkey. However, they can’t stand the ever-changing Horse. Online sources say that people born in the year of the rat are instinctive, acute and alert in nature which makes them to be brilliant businessmen. See YEAR, page 11
TARSIER. The Protected Area Management Office of
the Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape (PAMO-MMPL) has limited the entry of visitors to the tarsier sanctuary in Barangay Linan, Tupi town in South Cotabato province to protect the critical primate and its habitat. It prohibited the entry of walk-in visitors to the site as part of their enhanced conservation and protection measures. (Photo courtesy of PAMO-MMPL)
TARSIERS IN MT MATUTUM
No more ‘walk-in’ visitors in sanctuary GENERAL Santos City--In a bid to protect the critical tarsier and its habitat in South Cotabato, environment personnel have limited the entry of visitors in a declared tarsier sanctuary at the foot of Mt. Matutum, the province’s landmark peak. Forester Gabriel Baute, area superintendent of the Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL), said they stopped accommodating walk-in visitors at the sanctuary in Barangay Linan, Tupi town starting this holiday season as part of their enhanced conservation and protection program. He said the influx of visitors might disturb the tarsiers, dubbed the world’s
smallest primate, and threaten their natural habitat. Baute cited that tarsiers are nocturnal animals, normally sleeping during the day and active only during the night, like owls. “Hence, visitors are enjoined to avoid disturbing these animals in their natural habitat or when visiting the tarsier sanctuary,” he said in a statement Thursday. The official said that like other wildlife species, tarsiers are best left in their natural habitat rather than being captured and caged as pets. Tarsiers are known to commit suicide when in See VISITORS, page 11
‘96% of Filipinos to enter 2020 with hope than fear’ By RUTH ABBEY GITA-CARLOS, PNA
THE majority of Filipinos have expressed optimism that they will have a better life in 2020, based on the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS). The SWS poll, fielded from Dec. 13 to 16, revealed
that 96 percent of adult Filipinos have “hope” rather than “fear” as they are about to face the new year. The number of hopeful Filipinos is 4 percentage points higher than
See HOPE, page 11