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Mindanao Daily News, Thursday, April 14, 2016
Wayward... from page A4
An incongruous thought popped in my head: On the season that celebrates rebirth in faith, there can’t be prayers for the dead on the Sundays of Easter. Who will pray for the fallen? Can the prayers wait till Monday? At around 1pm, I called up Dr. Lolina Bajin, the resident psychologist of the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga with whom I’d work for trauma event management of the Albarka incident that claimed 19 lives in October 2011. The good doctor was on leave and had no information of the work awaiting her return. When I told her it was 44IB that suffered the most casualties, she cried. I, too, do not know how Dr. Bajin sustains her passion and commitment in working with traumatized soldiers even as she has to handle the overwhelming task of assessment for recruitment and re-enlistment. Perhaps she too grew up to have good memories of the foot soldier. Or maybe working with soldiers has rubbed off on her that notion that tasks are stuff that had to get done, and done well. As the day progressed, more anguished messages came in, most from troops in the ZamBaSulTa area. Some were from friends and colleagues who are privy to my concern for the Filipino soldier. Even my mother, retired and barely managing to survive the heat wave in Iloilo, texted to say she was praying to my recently departed father to help the boys out there. The Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines has some explaining to do. So does the wanna-be Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines. It better be an explanation my sainted mother would find acceptable seeing as she prayed for the dead on the Third Sunday of Easter. (MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Wayward and Fanciful is Gail Ilagan’s column for MindaViews, the opinion section of MindaNews. Ilagan teaches at the Department of Psychology at the Ateneo de Davao University. She is head of the Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services. You may send comments to gail.ilagan@ gmail.com. “Send at the risk of a reply,” she says.)
Suan... from page A4
beautiful garden scene with Jesus sitting in a chair. I’m slumped on the ground at His feet, my head on his knee, and He is caressing my hair. That lovely scene puts me in touch with heaven! Meditation can also be a wonderful way to take instant vacations in your mind. This is actually called imaging. Vacations are rejuvenating and relaxing things. We need it to invigorate our health and
wellbeing. If we can’t afford it, we can always fake it. The body cannot distinguish between what is real and what is make-believe. If the mind says that it is on a vacation, the body believes it. You may be stuck in snarling traffic, but in your relaxed mind, you are in Camiguin swinging on a hammock, sipping iced tea. The same endorphines and happy hormones are released. Where the mind goes, the man follows. Studies suggest that meditation can help manage the symptoms of a variety of life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and pain. The relaxation effect from meditation improves heart rate, breathing, lowers blood pressure, and enhances our response to stress. Relaxation exercises can boost our natural killer cells, thus it strengthens our immune system and makes us more resistant to viruses. Meditation can lead to changes in brain patterns that promotes attention, learning and memory. It perks up optimism and positivity. That is the biggest benefit of meditation. It changes the way we approach our problems. Instead of responding with anger and cynicism, which makes our problems seem huge and overwhelming, we tackle our difficulties in a constructive and affirmative way. Problems are not obstacles to make us fall, but challenges to make us strong. Meditation sweeps out the cobwebs from our mind, and makes us see clearly the beauty of life. Our thoughts become gentle and radiant, after scrubbing off the junk of pessimism and negative thinking. Meditation and prayer come from the same vital force that move the universe. What we consider as trials, is actually God’s hand lovingly and wisely rearranging our lives.
Detained... from page A8
for income, earning 200 pesos every 15 days from selling it at five pesos per kilo. The binangay variety, a table banana, fetches a higher price but it cannot survive the heat. “Maluto sa kainit” (It gets cooked by the heat) Like Tatay Dionisio, Edwin also relies on “lagutmon” for meals, along with alugbati, a drought-resistant vegetable. Both Tatay and Edwin said the food given them since they left their village on March 28 until the dispersal on April 1 was “bastante” (enough). “Damo pagkaon” (plenty of food), Tatay said. Tatay sought refuge with four others in a house near the highway. It turned out to be the house of the Fabligars, whose son Enrico, a welder who just happened to pass by during the dispersal was shot dead.
Edwin ran along with six others in another house where they sought shelter. The police found them there. Bail At the Senate hearing on April 7, Efraim Cortez of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said the court had set bail for (P12,000) for each of the detainees but they would move for the reduction of the bail to P2,000. Pimentel said “the Committee will join you in the manifestation.” Cortez said some of the women were told they would be brought home, were fed spaghetti but ended up detained. He said they were trying to negotiate options for the recognizance for the three pregnant women and senior citizens “and hopefully church leaders will agreed to be custodians.” The motion to reduce bail was filed by Dionesio Alave, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in North Cotabato, on April 8 and was heard on April 11, with another hearing set for April 13. (see other story) Fr. Peter Geremiah, assistant parish priest of Arakan, told MindaNews on Friday that two of their parish health workers — nurse Allie Ray Palma and volunteer Jolito Marianto Gomez — were released on bail Friday upon payment of P12,000 each. He said the two came from Arakan and were approaching Spottswood after the dispersal to check on parishioners who may have joined the barricade and needed medical attention, when they were arrested by the police. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
Join...
from page A7
agencies which benefited our organization” Galabin said. Agrarian reform beneficiaries presented three issues affecting them during the dialogue. First, the effect of climate change to agriculture, second is on government financial support to agricultural production, and third, on the continuity of support services programs for ARBs beyond 2016. As a response, USec. Herman Ongkiko, who represented the DAR Secretary, underscored the major programs implemented and facilitated by DAR as mentioned by Galabin and assured of continuing support services to the agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations in the agrarian reform areas. USec. Ongkiko also informed that DAR is currently updating and preparing climate- proofed Agrarian Reform Community Development Plans with support from CARP implementing agencies as part of adaptation and mitigation measures against the effect of climate change. (Arnold V. Quicoy)
Pledge... from page A2
immediately followed by the recitation of the “Integrity Pledge” and the subsequent signing of the Peace Covenant by all the attendees. A briefing on the COMELEC Resolution Nrs. 9991 and 10049, which are the rules and regulations governing campaign finance and disclosure and the Fair Election Act respectively, were given by Atty. Jenniver F. PonponAncla of COMELEC. The program was solemnly ended with a message from Fr. Jojit Besinga, Chairman of the PCCRV/NAMFREL, Davao del Norte. (CMO, 60th IB, 10th ID, PA)
Court... from page A1
following the violent dispersal of the barricade along the national highway here last April 1 will have to wait for two more days as the Municipal Trial Court here will hear anew on Wednesday the motions for reduction of bail filed last Friday by the farmer’s defense counsel. Judge Rebecca Elena De Leon set the new hearing on Wednesday to allow the defense team to provide judicial affidavits of the social workers on the indigency of the accused and the attending physicians for those who moved for the transfer of hospital confinement, as well as original copies of the indigency and medical certificates. Lawyer Dionesio T. Alave, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in North Cotabato, on Friday asked the court to reduce the bail for the provisional release of the farmers from P12,000 to P2,000. “As extremely poor farmers with very limited means, it is impossible for them to pay the full amount of their bond… The Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office can attest that they belong to the indigent sector of our society,” he said in the motion. Among the 79 farmers detained in Kidapawan Gym, Kidapawan Convention Hall, and Cotabato Provincial Jail in Brgy. Amas are a 78-year old grandmother and three pregnant women. Orlando Daño, district attorney of the Public Attorneys Office, argued that most of the farmers are not capable of paying the bail as they can even hardly afford to buy rice for themselves. “The accused belong to the farmers and lumads. They are hit so much by the El Niño that a mere statement that the rice would be given induced them to come out of their far-flung areas to Kidapawan City,” he said. The prosecution said they did not object to the motion to reduce the bail but the amount of P2,000 that the defense team sought the court to grant is too small and “might cause convenience and temptation on the part of the accused to ignore court processes resulting to
the delay of trial.” “We do not object as to the reduction of the bail… we are objecting to the amount of bail they are asking, considering the gravity of charges that we filed,” prosecution lawyer Eugene Seron told reporters after the hearing. He also said they wanted to ensure the appearance of the accused farmers in court as they live in the far-flung neighboring municipalities. There are a total of 79 farmers who are charged with illegal assembly and direct assault upon a person in authority. Although they are farmers, Seron said it was not clear how much they earn and if indeed they are incapable of paying the bail. “If the only basis is the allegation that they are extremely poor farmers, all of them through their counsel failed to attach evidences as proof of their income for a specified period of time, no affidavit to prove the authenticity of these… financial capacity is not the only consideration to grant reduction of bail,” the prosecution’s comment to the motion stated. Gregorio Andolana, representing the Diocese of Kidapawan and the Integrated Bar of the Phlippines’ Committee on Legal Aid here said the farmers should not be charged, in the first place, as they only exercised their constitutional right to peacefully assemble. “How can a 70-year old grandmother inflict harm?” he asked. He maintained that the motion be granted on the grounds of humanitarian considerations as he emphasized that setting a bail beyond their capacity to pay is also a deprivation to bail. “The government has all the resources, the government has also many recourses … the government is not short of any alternative,” he said in response to the prosecution’s manifestation that those who post bail may not appear in the hearings of the case. De Leon also requested the defense team to submit judicial affidavits from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 12 to back the certification of indigency of the farmers as proof of their incapability to pay the bail. Representatives from DSWD 12 who were present during the hearing manifested to comply with the affidavits on the same day. On the transfer of hospital confinement, Judge De Leon told the defense team to supply original copies of the medical certificates and judicial affidavits from doctors who attended to the accused victims. In a separation motion, accused Darwin Magyao and Alfie Awe, both confined at the Madonna General Hospital Inc., prayed that they would be allowed to transfer hospital confinement to Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.
“Both accused are presently confined at the Madonna Medical Hospital in Kidapawan City, due to gunshot wounds they sustained. They need to undergo operation and further medical procedures,” the motion said. It added that the Madonna Medical Hospital already allowed their transfer but Judge De Mesa said motion must have a supporting medical certificates and judicial affidavits of the attending physicians. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
Police... from page A1
Police officials justified the use of firearms saying they received reports that some of the protesters who numbered around 5,000 were armed. However, the police have yet to show proof of such claim. Since March 28, the farmers had massed in Kidapawan to demand rice subsidy from the North Cotabato provincial government, as the dry spell had damaged their crops. On March 30, they blocked a portion of the Cotabato-Davao highway. Members of a Special Weapons and Tactics unit were then sent to deal with the protesters resulting in a violent dispersal that left two farmers killed and scores of others injured. Police said dozens of their officers were also hurt. The incident prompted separate investigations by the Philippine National Police, Senate, and Commission on Human Rights. “In Kidapawan, a difficult situation got out of control,” Kine said. “Transparent and impartial investigations are needed to find out what went wrong, who should be held accountable, and what is needed to restore trust in the police.” (MindaNews) EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT AND PARTITION Notice is hereby given that the intestate estate of the Late BIENVENIDO L. PADILLA, who died on September 22, 2005 at Jasaan, Misamis Oriental; left a parcels of land in conjugal ownership with his wife FLORINA P. PADILLA particularly described as follows: “A parcel of land, (Lot M of the subdivision plan, (LRC), Psd-103324, being a portion of a parcel of land described on plan, H-84667, L.R.C. Rec. No. H. Pat. No. 31401), situated in the Barrio of Dalipuga City of Iligan. Containing an area of TWENTY ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED FORTY (21,840) Square Meters, more or less and covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-63,454 (a.f.), is the subject of EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT AND PARTITION, made and executed namely; FLORINA PANGAN PADILLA, of legal ages, Filipino Citizen, widow and resident of Iligan City; BELEN PADILLA BARTILAD, of legal age, widow, Filipino Citizen and resident of Iligan City; ARMANDO A. PADILLA (deceased), herein represented by his wife and surviving heir CELESTINA C. PADILLA, of legal age, widow, Filipino Citizen and resident of Iligan City. Under Notary Public of ATTY. AUDIE G. PADUGANAN; Doc. No. 168; Page No. 35; Book No. 54; Series of 2016. MDN: Mar. 31, Apr. 7, & 14, 2016