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==[[Bangsamoro youth leaders commit to peace-building]]==
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==[[Marawi's Darangen Dolls start anew]]==
==[[Marawi's Darangen Dolls start anew]]==


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Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.

Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion.

But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened .

Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions.

  • Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE?
  • Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace?

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:
  1. The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice.
  2. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.

Bangsamoro youth leaders commit to peace-building

(OPAPP PR)

COTABATO CITY -- Youth leaders and peace advocates committed to build a culture of peace in the Bangsamoro region during the three-day "MasterPEACE: Bangsamoro Youth Model Parliament” that concluded here Saturday.

"We want to contribute (to) the Bangsamoro once it is established so that the legislators can see that the youth have a place in all this," said 22-year-old Bryan Gonzales, a member of the National Society of Parliamentarians (NPS).

Gonzales joined 80 other Bangsamoro youth leaders in manifesting their commitment to peace-building efforts.

“Ang maganda dito (summit), sa kabubuuan ng Bangsamoro region, represented ang lahat ng kabataan at naririnig ang kanilang boses (The good thing about this summit is that the youth sector of the entire Bangsamoro region is well-represented and their voices are heard)," he said.

The summit included a simulation program, in which the participants acted as district representatives, party representatives, and sectoral representatives under the prospective Bangsamoro Parliament.

The Bangsamoro youth discussed critical issues in peace-building as they crafted and deliberated on proposed bills at the committee level and plenary sessions.

"'Yung setup ng Bangsamoro Parliament is hard to facilitate because it is very different from Congress (The setup of the Bangsamoro Parliament is dificult to facilitate because it is very different from Congress),” Gonzales said. “At least dito nakikita namin kung ano 'yung mga pagkukulang, mga procedural issues na pwede ma-resolve, and mag-introduce ng reforms (At least in this simulation program, we can see which areas need improvement, what procedural issues need to be resolved, and what reforms we can introduce).”

One of the proposals made during the plenary session was the integration of conflict transformation and peace-building awareness through peace education in the Bangsamoro.

The proposed bills will be turned over to the Regional Legislative Assembly through Assemblywoman Irene P. Tillah.

During her remarks, Youth Peace Ambassador Farrah Ghodsinia encouraged her fellow youth leaders to be proactive in promulgating peace in their respective regions.

"They have to hear our voice and we have to make our voice known because this future community that we have, this future region, it is we who are going to live in it.

That is why we need to be active in achieving what we want to see," she said.

The "MasterPEACE: Bangsamoro Youth Model Parliament" is the third installment of the MasterPEACE series and is in line with the celebration of National Peace Consciousness Month every September.

It was spearheaded by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, co-organized by the Democratic Leadership and Active Civil Society Empowerment (DELACSE) Bangsamoro, a European Union-funded project implemented by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Philippines, and the Institute for Autonomy and Governance. It was done in partnership with the NPS.

Marawi's Darangen Dolls start anew

By Anna Gabrielle Cerezo (ABS-CBN News)

The conflict in Marawi City barely left its residents with anything apart from collapsed structures, bullet-ridden walls, and a pile of debris.

When the siege broke, hundreds of thousands were forced to abandon their homes empty-handed. Months after, the residents remain displaced as they come back only to see their house in ruins.

Among those displaced residents are Sainuddin Malawani Moti and his group of Maranao doll makers.

"Before the Marawi siege, we used to have a thriving business called Darangen Doll Shop," Moti recalled.

The famous Darangen Doll store was one of the many structures in Marawi that suffered extensive damage during the conflict.

"Everything was gone. My shop and collections included," the craftsman said.

Moti first created the unique dolls clad in traditional Maranao garments in 2011. At their peak, there were six pairs of hands working on the craft.

Today, only his sister remains.

The siege forced the group of Maranao dollmakers to seek refuge at the homes of their respective relatives. "They are in Lanao del Sur while we are currently staying at Iligan City in Lanao Norte," Moti explained.

"Although they no longer work for the shop, they still sometimes come by to visit and try to help," he added.

INSPIRED BY UKAY-UKAY

The Darangen Dolls' fame and success is attributed to their colorful garments, which have become the most widely known representation of customary Maranao attire.

According to Moti, each doll is crafted to inspire young Maranaos to embrance their rich and unique heritage.

"I created the dolls in our traditional attire to preserve our very own cultural royal regalia and to encourage our youth to be proud of our very elegant [attire]," he said.

In contrast to the class that Marawi's famous doll exudes, the idea was birthed from Moti's frequent trips to ukay-ukay shops.

"I always noticed files of flashy, glittering clothes from Malaysia and Brunei in volumes at ukay-ukays, so I thought of doing something to recycle it," Moti said.

"After several days of brainstorming, I came up to the idea of making dolls of our own traditional wear. Then it happened."

The Darangen Dolls are dressed in a colorful malong, known as landap, a distinctive Maranao clothing. The blouse is a long-sleeved pull-over bejeweled with glittering buttons.

The doll also sports a pinalot hairstyle, adorned by a headpiece called combong, giving the doll an elegant and regal look from head to toe.

Each Darangen Doll is patiently stitched and glued by hand. Moti believes his creations pay homage to the Maranao's rich culture, something the creator wishes to share with everyone, including those outside the Muslim community.

STARTING OVER

Moti has brought his dolls to many exhibits locally and abroad. In 2011, the Darangen Dolls won the Children's Choice Award, besting 75 other countries at the Prague Quadrennial Biennial Stage and Theatre Space Design Competition in Czech Republic.

However, the wrath of the conflict the Maute brought to Marawi paid no care to the Darangen Dolls' initiative and reduced the Maranao craftsmen's hard work to rubble.

"It was the unimaginable experience of a lifetime," Moti recalled, saying their escape from Marawi City in May last year felt like an apocalyptic movie scene.

"I felt fear. Fear of the Maute-ISIS presence in the street declaring war, fear of our male family members to be taken as new recruits, fear of the silence in the street of what used to be a busy avenue, and fear of the start of air strikes," he added.

Despite his worries, Moti made an effort to remain composed, saying he knew he had to take charge. He and his family hurriedly fled from their residence empty-handed, and came back home months later without a single thing to salvage.

This, however, did not stop Moti from continuing his mission to share Maranao's rich culture.

Thankfully, the business is picking up. While the shop is gone, the rare dolls can be purchased online.

"For a new start, it's survival. I trust the Almighty Allah for all the blessings," Moti declared.

DAF-Armm spikers rule

By ADAM B. MORRELL

THE Davao Optima-bannered Department of Agriculture and Fisheries-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-Armm) ruled the recently-concluded 5th Abreeza Kadayawan Open Volleyball Tournament held at the Abreeza Ayala Mall parking lot.

Veteran-laden DAF-Armm men's team unleashed vicious attacks against youthful Davao City National High School (DCNHS), 25-22, 25-12, in their finals clash to annex the men's division title.

DCNHS took the the silver while the University of Mindanao (UM) Davao settled for bronze after posting a 25-22, 25-12 win over Panabo City.

In the distaff side, 2015-2016 champion Davao Optima, now DAF-Armm, reclaimed the women's crown after surviving a 25-23, 29-27, 25-16 thriller against UM Davao.

UM Tagum, meanwhile, rolled past Philippine National Police Lady Patrollers, 25-15, 17-25, 25-19, to place third in the event organized by Abreeza Ayala Mall in partnership with the Balibolista de Dabaw.

Marawi Bond issuance possible by October, November

(PNA)

MANILA -- Issuance of the planned Marawi Bond may happen either in October or November this year once funding requirements have been finalized, National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon said.

In an interview at the sidelines of the budget hearing in the House of Representatives Monday, De Leon said date of issuance of the planned securities depends on when Bangon Marawi will submit its rehabilitation proposals and the necessary funding.

The government has allocated PHP10 billion under the 2018 national budget for the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City.

Aside from this budget, the rehabilitation effort has also received funding commitments from other sources.

Earlier, it was reported that the rehabilitation would need around PHP60-80 billion, with the latter including the amount for compensation for those who lost their real properties.

“We’re just waiting for the amount that are needed for the projects to be set by Bangon Marawi,” De Leon said in Filipino, referring to the group established to spearhead the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi City.

She said the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has readied its system for the debt paper issuance, which would be in the form of Retail Treasury Bond (RTB).

“We are ready. We have the online system already in place,” she added.

ARMM, NTC launch radio communications' summit on disasters

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

COTABATO CITY -- Pinning their hopes on the use of communication equipment in times of disasters, some 500 members of civic action groups and amateur radio clubs from across the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) gathered here Friday to participate in the first-ever region-wide radio show summit.

ARMM's Regional Telecommunications Commission and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) launched the Sept. 14-15 summit at the Shariff Kabunsuan Complex, the provisional seat of the ARMM in this city, amid inclement weather.

“We need to update ourselves on the use of communication equipment for coordination or systematic manner to better extend help to affected communities during disasters,” said ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Alamia, who is also concurrent head of the region’s social welfare department.

Representatives of the Philippine Amateur Radio Association lectured on the rules and regulations of using ham radio during emergency operations.

An exhibit of radio units, equipment, antennas, and other industry-related products was also showcased.

Alamia, a lawyer by profession, described the summit as “timely” amid the entry of Typhoon Ompong in the northern Philippines.

An update from the weather bureau said the typhoon had hit land in Baggao, Cagayan province in Luzon before dawn Saturday and is headed for Ilocos Norte.

“We have been monitoring this (typhoon) for two days now and what we have done at ARMM-HEART (Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team) is to coordinate with these radio clubs and civil action groups,” Alamia said.

“(We want you) ham users in communities to communicate with us anytime for us (through ARMM-HEART) to quickly respond to emergencies and humanitarian crisis,” Alamia said.

NTC directors Hamid Bayao of ARMM, Froilan Jamias of Region 12 (Soccsksargen), and Nelson Cañete of Region 11 (Davao Region) were all present to help facilitate the activity.

Capping the activity on Saturday is an NTC examination for amateur radio operators, where passers will be given the Radio Amateur Operator Certificate.

Para sure ang supply! Tawi-Tawi gov’t lauds proposal for establishment of rice trading center

By Noel Punzalan

The local government said that the recommendation of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol was a good news.

“Indeed, a long-term solution. A good news! Thank you Sec. Piñol!” the provincial government said.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) chief has proposed to President Rodrigo Duterte to allow the establishment of a rice trading center in Tawi-Tawi to be supervised by the National Food Authority (NFA).

He made the proposal after Zamboanga City, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi experienced high prices of rice recently.

According to Piñol, the strategy is expected to curb rice smuggling in southern Philippines as rice supply would be brought in legally by going through quarantine inspections, sanitary and phytosanitary requirements and payment of tariffs.

He has said that the volume of rice to be imported should not exceed the total consumption requirements in the area which is about 200,000 metric tons every year.

ARMM’s pivotal role in Asean barter trade

By Nash B. Maulana

Cotabato City―The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao would be a significant economic factor to reviving the old barter trading with neighboring members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, officials said.

On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte said his meeting with the administration’s economic managers would also delve on revival of barter trading, and enhance trade link with Sabah where rice price is comparatively low.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said inter-regional maritime trading in the south is an old tradition traced back from ancient barter trading, but which is viewed in modern times as a form of smuggling. Nash B. Maulana

Duterte said he would revive the old barter trading through which the country could import cheaper rice from Sabah. Exchanges of goods via inter-regional maritime trading have traditionally determined for the island provinces and neighboring territories their priorities in agricultural and fishery production since the pre-colonial era.

Statistics show that rice production is traditionally low in the country’s southern island provinces: It is pegged in Sulu at 1,914.25 metric tons (MT); in Tawi-Tawi at 582.40 (MT); and Basilan with 2,675.40 MT and these have hardly gained increase since 2015.

ARMM Regional Agriculture Secretary Alexander Alonto Jr. noted that the region’s 2017 rice production increased to 544,486 metric tons by 11.53 percent, and its aggregate area of production also marked a 9.56 percent increase to 212,927 hectares from the 2015 figures.

Sittie Anida Tomawis Limbona, administrative director of ARMM’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, said provincial databank should store the most updated agricultural statistics in aid of research and development (R and D) for the welfare of the incoming Bangsamoro in the ARMM government.

Hataman said 2016 statistics saw the region’s economic performance improving by 0.3 percent when it contributed 0.6 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

It was when the ARMM’s agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector shared 56.3 percent in the region’s output, indicating a 3.0 percent contraction, according to the CountryStat, a project of the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Reports of alleged rice smuggling have prompted the Malaysian and Philippine authorities to check on shipment loads to and from coasts closely linked by sea transports along territorial waters of the Philippines and Malaysia.

Ferdinand Marcos in 1975 legalized minor maritime import-export economic activities with Labuan, Sandakan in Malaysia, and Singapore through the barter trading center in Zamboanga City.

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said the island provinces should be required to develop a “rice production project with an initial 1,000 hectares as pilot area.”

Alonto on Wednesday said Tawi-Tawi had acquiesced to Secretary Piñol’s proposal, adding that reports from provincial agriculture offices also indicated that the other island provinces –Sulu and Basilan―had each committed 1,000 hectares in support of Secretary Piñol’s formula.

P20-M facility for Marawi health, rescue workers up for construction

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

COTABATO CITY – Health and rescue workers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will soon have a PHP20-million, three-story operations center in Marawi City.

Once completed, the building will house hundreds of health workers in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur province, as well as host the satellite office of the ARMM’s Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team (ARMM-HEART) in the area.

On Wednesday, ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman inked a memorandum of agreement for the construction of the building, and along with other officials, led its groundbreaking ceremony in Marawi.

“Creating a safe and high-quality health care environment will boost the passion of the health and rescue workers to provide sustainable and essential services to the regional government’s constituents,” the governor said.

Norkhalila Mambuay-Campong, head of ARMM’s Office of the Regional Governor, said the allotment for the project is taken from the special purpose fund of the region’s chief executive.

“Through the many years of existence of the Integrated Provincial Health Office of Lanao del Sur, this is the first time that health workers in the area would have its own building to better serve the people,” said Dr. Alinader Minalang, Lanao del Sur provincial health officer.

Currently, health workers in Lanao del Sur are occupying a small space inside the Marawi City Hall.

Hataman said the ARMM-HEART Marawi satellite office, which will be accommodated in the same building, could provide quicker response during emergencies to Marawi City and municipalities in Lanao del Sur.

Lanao Sur town gets new P20-M public market

By Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

COTABATO CITY – The economy of Saguiaran is expected to get a shot in the arm with the completion of a PHP20-million public market built by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional government.

“Saguiaran must rise up and move on,” ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said during the ceremonial turn over of the public market on Wednesday.

Saguiaran town is next to Marawi City and was equally affected when terrorists laid siege on the Islamic City in May last year.

The 1,200-sq. meter market, which has both wet and dry areas, caters to the displaced families who are rebuilding their lives. Saguiaran currently hosts almost a thousand families from neighboring Marawi City.

Saguiaran Mayor Macmod Muti said the establishment of a public market in his town will not just provide livelihood for internally displaced persons (IDPs) but will also resolve the vehicular traffic problem in the municipality.

“We really need this public market,” Muti said, adding that aside from providing a decent place for market vendors, it will also resolve traffic woes because there is now one marketplace that people would frequent, unlike before when stalls are scattered everywhere.

“We hosted thousands of IDPs from Marawi City who are still here. We respond to their needs by providing them with a marketplace so our economy is alive again,” he added.

In response, Hataman said the public market is just one of the projects of the regional government for Saguiaran as another one is coming.

“I told Mayor Muti to find a sizable lot area that can be developed for housing projects, commerce is very much alive here,” Hataman said.

During the event, the governor thanked two barangay chairmen for donating parts of their adjoining villages for the ARMM housing projects.

“Their gestures are acts of true Muslims, sharing for the less fortunate,” he said.

Hataman said the housing projects would prioritize families who remained in tents and in the town's gymnasium, who are trying to cope with deteriorating health conditions.

Gov’t extends aid to Maguindanao displaced families

By Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

COTABATO CITY – The local government of Datu Abdullah Sangki in Maguindanao, backed by the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion, has extended emergency aid to some 150 families displaced by armed hostilities in the past four days.

Datu Abdullah Sangki Mayor Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu said Wednesday the families from the interior barangay of Tukanalugong have fled to safer grounds due to harassment by armed men against a multi-national banana plantation operating in the area.

The displaced families, consisting of about 900 individuals, were given food packs and rice, courtesy of the local government.

Most of the displaced families were workers of Delinanas banana plantation who fled to safety upon sightings of the heavily armed men.

“Later, the gunmen engaged in a firefight,” the mayor said, adding that intermittent clashes between the two groups have been ongoing since Monday.

Members of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion accompanied the local disaster office in distributing assistance to the internally-displaced persons.

Mangudadatu earlier presided over the meeting of the municipal peace and order council, during which, local village officials were directed to immediately alert the local police and military authorities about the presence of armed men in their communities.

She assured the affected residents that the government is on top of the situation and that the police and military authorities are regularly assessing the situation.

Initial reports said the warring groups, whose leaders are yet to be identified, are fighting over parcels of land near the banana plantation.

PCSO opens office in Maguindanao

By Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

BULUAN, Maguindanao -- The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) highlighted its opening of an office in Barangay Poblacion in this town Tuesday by extending medical assistance to indigent patients here and those coming from other parts of the province.

This capital town, situated in the southern tip of the province, is the hometown of Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu.

While here, charity workers led by PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan, also turned over a check worth PHP1 million as an endowment fund for the Buluan District Hospital, which intends to improve its health facilities, including the setting up of an intensive care unit.

“This is our way of helping indigent people of Maguindanao, (and) at the same time contribute to the government’s desire to address poverty and rebellion here,” Balutan said.

A former Marine general assigned in Maguindanao, Balutan said he personally saw the difficulty of poor families from remote areas of the province in availing of government health services, particularly those from the so-called SPMS box.

The SPMS box is a military term used on a particular set of areas where the terror group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters operate.

It comprises the adjoining towns of Shariff Aguak, Pagatin (Datu Saudi Ampatuan town), Mamasapano and Shariff Saydona, all in Maguindanao’s second district.

Health officials in Maguindanao have lauded the PCSO’s decision to put up an office here to facilitate medical assistance to indigent patients.

Campaign period for Marawi village polls starts Sept. 12

By Ferdinand Patinio (PNA)

MANILA -- The campaign period for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Marawi City will start on Wednesday, Sept. 12.

In a statement Tuesday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said those who are participating in the village and youth polls have eight days from Sept. 12 until Sept. 20 to persuade voters to vote for them in the upcoming polls.

One barangay chairman and seven barangay kagawads will be elected on September 22.

Also, one SK chairman and seven SK kagawads will be elected during the scheduled polls.

A total of 79,289 total ballots will be used in the Marawi BSKE, 53,009 of which will be for village voters and 26,280 ballots for youth voters.

The election period began Aug. 17 and ends September 29.

Last May 14, the barangay and SK polls were held nationwide, except in Marawi City, which was torn by the five-month conflict between government troops and the Maute terrorist group.

Maguindanao guv conferred doctorate degrees

By Edwin Fernandez

COTABATO CITY -- The Royal Institution Singapore (RIS) on Friday conferred two honorary doctorate degrees on Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu for outstanding leadership in the field of governance.

The Maguindanao provincial information office said Mangudadatu received from the RIS the Doctor of Public Administration and Doctor of Humanities degrees during the organization’s 20th International Conference and Conferment Ceremony held at the KJC Hall, Jose Maria College in Davao City.

The RIS also accepted Mangudadatu as a Royal Institute Fellow in the same ceremony.

Anchored on the theme, “Toward Quality and Excellent Educators of the World”, conference organizers recognized Mangudadatu's "excellent leadership in Maguindanao, not only as a local executive but as an official giving primacy to education as a vehicle to social development."

In his speech, Mangudadatu said he has worked hard as a public servant to prove that a Moro leader like him can be a role model for his constituents.

"I strongly believe that education is a key to peace and development in Maguindanao,” said the governor, whose administration has sent more than 5,000 poor constituents to college through the provincial government’s flagship scholarship program. (PNA)

Tawi-Tawi gets P940-M nickel mining project

By JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL (TMT)

COTABATO CITY: The Regional Board of Investments of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM) on Thursday approved the registration of Mina Vida De Mindanao Corporation’s P940.5 million nickel mining investment in Languyan, Tawi-Tawi, an ARMM official said on Friday.

Ishak Mastura, chairman and managing head of RBOI-ARMM, said that with this registration, the ARMM has achieved more than 100 percent of its investment target of P2.1 billion for 2018.

The project was endorsed by the ARMM Department of Environment and Natural Resources for registration.

Mina Vida’s non-pioneer registration did not give the project any fiscal incentives; instead, it will only entitle the firm to avail of reduced duties for importation of capital equipment in case they apply within a limited period of time per the guidelines from the national BOI.

The project will employ at least 500 people mostly from the locality of Tawi-Tawi.

On top of national taxes the ARMM levies a five percent regional wealth tax for mining in the region.

Mastura said that for this year, RBOI has registered total investments of P2.2 billion with the bulk of investments in agriculture.

It consists of the banana plantation investment of Ekasalam Agriventures amounting to P290 million and ChocoInvest Corporation’s integrated cacao project worth P1.016 billion, both located in Maguindanao province, and lastly, Mina Vida’s investment of P940.5 million in Tawi-Tawi.

“We have had a good run of investments these past few years despite the challenges. Slowly but surely the return to normalcy in the region is encouraging investors to take a second look at our investment prospects,” said Mastura.

Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman lauded the consistent achievement of ARMM’s annual investment targets from the beginning of his term in 2013.

“Hitting our investment target every year for the past five years is proof of the conducive business environment currently prevailing in the ARMM even as we transition to the BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law),” said Hataman.

The outgoing ARMM governor added that he is hopeful that the incoming Bangsamoro government will continue to carry the ball with BOL just the same in the years to come.


2.7M sacks of rice to be delivered to Zambo, ARMM provinces

By Antonio Colina IV

DAVAO CITY — The government will set aside a total of 2.7 million sacks of rice to Zamboanga Peninsula and the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) amid the reported rice shortages and price increases in basic commodities.

A joint statement of the government’s economic development cluster emailed on September 5 said that at least 4.6 million sacks of rice stored in the warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA) will be immediately released while another 2 million sacks previously contracted will be delivered by the end of this month.

The NFA Council has also authorized the importation of 10 million sacks of rice. An initial 5 million sacks will arrive in the country over the next one-and-a-half months while the other half early next year.

Some 12.6 million metric tons of rice equivalent to 252 million sacks are expected to boost the rice supply as the harvest season in many parts of the country has started, the statement read.

The economic cluster consisting of the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), and some members of the National Food Authority (NFA) Council convened on September 5 to counter increasing food prices.

In addition, economic managers would recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte the “issuance of a directive to further simplify and streamline the licensing procedures for rice imports of the NFA” and urged the Senate to immediately pass the rice tariffication bill within the month.

The economic cluster has also recommended the creation of a monitoring team consisting of National Bureau of Investigation, police, DTI, NFA, and farmer groups for surveillance of rice from ports to NFA warehouses and retail outlets.

The country’s inflation rate soared to 6.4% in August 2018, surpassing the 5.7% recorded in July, driven by increases in electricity, gas, fuels, fish, rice, personal transport, vegetables, and meat.

In Mindanao, the inflation rate in the ARMM was at 8.1%; Zamboanga Peninsula, 6.4%; Northern Mindanao, 6.1%; Davao Region, 7.1%; Soccsksargen, 7.9%; and Caraga, 4.8%.

To counter the increasing food prices, the economic cluster has pushed to pursue agricultural reforms to resolve supply issues. It maintained that “a committed effort from government in the agriculture sector to boost supply of key products and introduce policy reforms will bring down prices for all Filipino families.”

“This is supported by the lowest regional inflation rate recorded in the food-abundant and agriculturally-productive Region III (Central Luzon) at 3.6 percent,” it added.

Also, the DA committed to replicate the issuance of certificates of necessity to allow imports to be distributed in the wet markets in the country and work with DTI to convene poultry producers and set up public markets where producers can directly sell to consumers to reduce the gap between the farm gate and retail prices.

The economic cluster also took up the opening of importation of sugar to direct users by the Sugar Regulatory Administration and prioritization of the release of essential fooditems in the ports by the Bureau of Customs.

The economic team also blamed on seasonal weather conditions for the price increases of vegetables and that they expect a relief after the typhoon season.

Sept. 11 holiday in ARMM, other Mindanao parts for Islamic New Year

(Politiko Mindanao)

The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) has declared September 11 a holiday for the celebration of Amun Jadid or the Islamic New Year in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and other parts of Mindanao.

In a Memorandum issued on September 4, NCMF said the specific places covered by the Muslim holiday are the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, and the cities of Cotabato, Iligan, Marawi, Pagadian and Zamboanga.

The holiday declaration is pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1083 or the Code of Muslim Personnel Laws of the Philippines, which recognizes Amun Jadid as a Muslim holiday.

All Muslim government officials and employees in places not covered by the law will be excused from reporting to office in order that they may be able to observe Muslim holiday.

The law also provides that the President of the Philippines may, by proclamation, require private offices, agencies or establishments to excuse their Muslim employees from reporting for working during a Muslim holiday without reduction in their usual compensation.

ARMM opens child minding center in Cotabato

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao opened here Thursday a Child Minding Center (CMC) inside the Sharif Kabunsuan Complex, the provisional seat of the region situated in this city.

Lawyer Rasol Mitmug Jr., ARMM education secretary, and Norkhalila Mae Mambuay-Campong, chief of staff of the Office of the Regional Governor (ORG), led the opening of the CMC at the regional library section of the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Center building.

The children’s center, an initiative of ORG-ARMM through its gender and development focal point system, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5: p.m. every Monday to Friday.

“I see working ARMM parents bringing their young children to the office because they do not have a place to leave them as they also do not have confidence in the nanny system. Now, we have this child center,” Campong said.

Kamilah Unda, head of the regional library, said the ORG will hire social workers and nurses who will look after the children during their stay in the center, adding that a story-telling activity would also be conducted every Wednesday.

“We could now focus more on our jobs knowing that our children are safe,” Campong said.

Landbank, JICA launch agribusiness loan for Mindanao

(PR)

MANILA -- Landbank President and CEO Alex Buenaventura, Office Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Cotabato Director Wendell Orbeso, Embassy of Japan First Secretary Tetsuharu Mori, and JICA Philippines Senior Representative Yo Ebisawa led the launching of the program called HARVEST.

It is a welcome news at the heels of the recent passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

HARVEST stands for Harnessing Agribusiness opportunities through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Supportive of peaceful Transformation.

It is a ‎4.928 billion-yen (PHP2.12 billion) official development assistance from JICA that seeks to provide concessional loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), corporatives (plantation farm management services), large agribusiness enterprises, cooperatives, and participating financial institutions in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and other conflict-affected neighboring areas.

The five-year relending facility will give private enterprises access to a credit line with Landbank for their capital investments, operations, expansion initiatives, and agriculture-related projects that support agri-related economic activities in the region.

“By improving access to finance and stimulating economic activities, the cooperation aims to help create jobs, improve living standards, and contribute to peace building,” Ebisawa said.

In the Philippines, farmers remain one of the country’s poorest sectors, with poverty incidence as high as 34.3 percent, based on a 2015 report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Situations are worse in conflict-affected areas.

"Giving them access to finance will help sustain job creation and raise their productivity through equipment and trainings, while also boosting the region’s agro-industry sector,” Ebisawa added.

Under the program, JICA will provide human resource training and technical assistance to Landbank, agriculture cooperatives, and other participating institutions.

“Through this investment opportunities in agribusiness, we hope to help fuel growth in a region beleaguered by decades-old conflict, and ultimately uplift the quality of lives of our fellow Filipinos in these communities,” Buenaventura said.

Aside from finance support, availers of loans under the HARVEST Project will also be provided with technical assistance in the form of capacity-building trainings, seminars, and market linkage initiatives.

Landbank and JICA signed the loan agreement for the HARVEST Project on Jan. 12, 2017, with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte leading the bilateral signing ceremony held at the Malacañang Palace.

Youth power in Bangsamoro

By Antonio Colina IV

DAVAO CITY – A young Moro leader from Basilan province hopes the newly signed Bangsamoro law would end the decades-long armed conflict, and bring a new era of “peace and progress” in Mindanao.

Moro leader Hatima A. Sahal, 24, brims with optimism while sharing how she wants to engage her fellow Moro youth in changing the “image” of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), most especially in her home province and Marawi City, Lanao del Sur that was destroyed by a five-month armed conflict between the military and Islamic State-inspired Maute Group.

Sahal is a member of a group called Action Bridges Aspiration (ABA), which conducts trainings for students, out-of-school youth, and young professionals in Zamboanga, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi.

“As a Bangsamoro, what I want is for us to have a peace progress and not just peace process always. After the peace talks, there would be implementation and then they would go back to peace talks again even if they have not yet completed what should have been implemented. We feel it becomes a cycle that keeps repeating,” she said.

She is hopeful that the Moro people can move into a real “peace progress” as the development cannot be attained if the Bangsamoro Law remains just like a “concept paper.”

Sahal encouraged her fellow youth to keep their hope amid the growing “disappointment and frustration” stemming from the failed promises, emphasizing the need to continue their participation in the peace-building activities in their communities.

“I hope they would participate and be aware of what’s happening as this is their right as a youth. They are useful even the OSY (out-of-youth), and the old and young.

All of us have the right. If they do not take part, if something happens, they will not understand because they are not informed,” she said.

She said enlisting the youth for peace-building would keep them away from the influence of the terrorist groups.

Work for peace together

She hopes the people will work together to achieve a peaceful Bangsamoro.

She asked: “When do we have the peace progress? When does this end? When do all of us in the ARMM start working for peace?”

“The government is just there but sometimes we cannot also blame the youth if they no longer want to participate because they might feel it wouldn’t be sustained and it would be gone again,” she said.

Sahal urged the youth to “continue doing what is right and continue what our predecessors have started because we cannot start if we do not know our roots and our identity.” She said it’s important that they know their origin to achieve understanding among people in a multi-cultural society.

A member of the Basilan Young Leaders Program in 2015, she knew the work for peace would not be easy because there would always be “misunderstanding.”

“In peace-building, there will be misunderstanding, for example, when you go to the community to give projects and, of course, projects are targeted for specific beneficiaries. But people will tend to ask why only Basilan? Why only Sulu? Why only Tawi-Tawi,” she said.

But she emphasized that it’s important to keep on despite the difficulty and do not promise the youth something that cannot be done or sustained.

“Some people are afraid of us. ‘They are Muslims.’ We cannot avoid that because it’s what they see on social media. We wish that one day nobody would be afraid of us because everyone is welcome in our home. They can visit us in our place,” she said.

She shared that her province of Basilan has quite a number of beautiful destinations and a melting pot of diverse Moro, Christians, and Lumad cultures.

“In ARMM, there are so many things that we lack. Like our heroes, we are not taught in schools who they are,” she said.

She cited the importance of incorporating in “peace education” the rich history of the Bangsamoro, narratives, and heroes in schools.

Growing up, she felt bad the youth knew nothing much about the heroes in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur,and Maguindanao.

“We consider ourselves leaders but who are our great leaders? Who are they? What are their stories?” she said.

Water tank project launched in Marawi

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Residents of two conflict-stricken barangays in Marawi City now have additional water supply facilities built with the help of private benefactors.

Lanao del Sur Vice Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. said Saturday they launched early this week the 20,000-liter stainless water tank projects for internally-displaced families in Barangays Pagasa and Buadi Itowa in Marawi City.

The projects were joint humanitarian interventions of the Lanao del Sur provincial government, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation and the Pepsi Cola Products Philippines Inc.

“We ought to thank these two private entities for helping provide IDPs in Marawi City with clean water that they need every day,” Adiong said Saturday.

Adiong said the new water systems will help ensure good health of children, the most vulnerable to water-borne diseases.

No fewer than 300,000 villagers in Marawi City were displaced by the May 23 to Oct. 16, 2017 conflict there that combined Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists instigated.

The five-month hostilities resulted in the deaths of hundreds, among them dozens of soldiers and police personnel, and left old historic Maranaos dwelling enclaves in ruins.

The government is still to fully rebuild Marawi City from devastation.

Adiong said they are also to focus, along with the Task Force Bangon Marawi, a series of community water management and hygiene trainings under the Marawi City Water Sanitation and Hygiene Masterplan.

Marawi City is the capital of Lanao del Sur, a component province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The ARMM government awarded last month to beneficiaries dozens of core shelters in Marawi City it constructed for Maranao IDPs.

The executive department of ARMM has also been helping communities affected by last year’s conflict in Marawi City through its Bangsamoro Regional Inclusive Development for Growth and Empowerment program.

The program is being implemented in all of ARMM’s five provinces --- Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur in mainland Mindanao and the islands of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi --- by the office of Gov. Mujiv Hataman, the chief executive of the autonomous region.

The Lanao del Sur provincial government and the office of Hataman also recently embarked on a “people’s day” outreach mission in Marawi City, facilitated by the ARMM government’s Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team.

Adiong said he is grateful to all government and private entities that have continuously been helping thousands of IDPs in Marawi City and nearby Lanao del Sur towns.

Maguindanao health program to benefit 10K patients

By Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

COTABATO CITY -- Health officials in Maguindanao are expecting to serve more than 10,000 indigent patients during a four-day “Gamutang Pangkalahatan,” a medical-dental mission that started Tuesday.

Dr. Tahir Sulaik, Maguindanao health director, said people from 36 municipalities of Maguindanao are eligible to avail of health services, including major surgical operations, at the Maguindanao Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) and at the Maguindanao provincial hospital situated in Shariff Aguak town.

Sulaik said this is the third year of the “Gamutang Pangkalahatan,” where more than a dozen government and private physicians converge at the provincial hospital to offer free health services to indigent patients.

“We also conduct mobile health services but major surgical operations are to be done at the hospital in Shariff Aguak,” Sulaik told reporters Wednesday.

Sulaik said the program, his brainchild, aims to provide better health services to the province’s poorest of the poor - in partnership with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. The health services also cater to patients from nearby provinces of Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato.

“We even have patients from South Cotabato and Lanao del Sur,” Sulaik said, adding that government health services recognize no boundaries.

The IPHO services include major and minor surgical operations, blood donation, dental services, free checkup and distribution of free medicine, pregnancy test, CT scan, ultrasound, X-ray services and many others.

The opening of the Aug. 28-31 outreach program was highlighted by the soft opening of the Hemodialysis Unit inside the Maguindanao provincial hospital.

12,000 households in the ARMM to receive core shelters

(Bureau of Public Information-ARMM/PIA-10)

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)-- About 12,000 households in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will receive core shelters from the regional government’s anti-poverty program.

The move is to improve shelter and living conditions of poor families here, government sources said.

The 7,000 family-beneficiaries in 2018 and 5,000 in 2017 are recipients of ARMM’s Bangsamoro Regional Inclusive Development for Growth and Empowerment (ARMM-BRIDGE), or ‘Apat na Dapat’ program that combats poverty and uplifts the living condition of the poorest households through the provision of basic needs.

ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman led the groundbreaking ceremony of housing projects and distribution of food supplies in the towns of Matanog, Buldon, and Barira in Maguindanao on August 23.

He also led the ceremonial breaking of the ground for shelter projects in Barangays Pura and Matuber in Datu Blah Sinsuat on August 22. Gov. Hataman said through the BRIDGE program, beneficiaries will soon move into secure homes since among the basic needs of these families is decent housing.

For 2018, the regional government earmarked roughly Php2.9 billion for 7,000 family-beneficiaries.

About 5,000 households in the region benefited from Php1.9 billion allocated under the program in 2017.

Each beneficiary will receive a core shelter in a 120 square-meter lot, food supplies for six months, livelihood training, water and sanitation, and electricity.

Official data from the ARMM-BRIDGE showed that Php2.2 billion is intended for housing projects, Php94 million for water systems, Php180 million for the supply of electricity, Php320 million for food supplies, Php140 million for livelihood, and Php25 million for hygiene kit.

Saira Macauyag, a mother of seven and a beneficiary in Barangay Poblacion in Barira, said she is excited to live in their new home as they currently stay in an abandoned house.

“Matagal ko na pong pangarap na magkaroon ng sariling bahay kaya kapag natapos na po ito, isang katuparan po ito ng pangarap namin (I have been dreaming to have my own house so when this ends, this will be a realization of our dream),” Macauyag said.

For their daily living, Macauyag’s sons are helping her in harvesting corn. “Swerte na po kung may dalawang libo kaming kita mula sa pagha-harvest ng mais sa isang buwan, kaya malaking tulong po talaga ang food supplies ng ARMM-BRIDGE sa amin (It is already lucky to earn around Php2,000 from our corn harvest in a month. Thus, the food supplies from the ARMM-BRIDGE is really a big help to us),” she shared.

Under the livelihood component, her barangay will receive a mini-grocery store and a vegetable production project.

“Masaya kami kasi nakikita talaga namin ang malaking pagbabago sa aming lugar, may maayos na rin kaming kalsada dito, pabahay at marami pang iba (We are very happy because there is really a big change in our area, we now have a good road, housing project and more),” she added.

1 million residents benefit from ARMM program

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

COTABATO CITY – Some one million residents from 553 barangays across the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have benefited from projects implemented under the ARMM’s Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Governance, and Synergy (ARMM-HELPS) program.

Anwar Upahm, ARMM-HELPS program manager, said that since the regional government started implementing the program in 2014, it has so far completed 1,062 of the 1,713 infrastructure projects, including the serving of 374 of 563 targeted cooperatives, and building of 257 of 530 barangay halls.

“Projects for 2018 are ongoing and we hope to implement all of these before the transition to the new Bangsamoro entity,” Upham said during a press briefing here Tuesday.

Unfinished projects since 2014 would be finished within this year, Upahm said, adding that they are currently in their 92 percent of physical accomplishment of the ventures.

Other ARMM-HELPS projects include the provision of essential medicine in barangays, construction of barangay birthing facilities and health stations, water and sanitation projects, construction of community learning centers, support to standard madrasah development program, and delivery of basic livelihood and enterprising projects, among others.

Since 2014, the ARMM has earmarked PHP6.2 billion for the high-impact projects in its component provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, and Lanao del Sur, including the cities of therein of Marawi and Lamitan.

Upahm said the ARMM has 2, 490 barangays and that barangay projects beyond 2018 would eventually be handled by the Bangsamoro entity.

ARMM-HELPS is a convergence initiative established to achieve a more coordinated and focused intervention at the barangay level and is regarded as the centerpiece of the regional administration under Governor Mujiv Hataman.

“Our goal is to make our constituents in the region feel that there is a government ready to attend to their needs anytime,” the governor said in a statement.

ARMM flagship program builds progressive communities

(Desk Man, Bureau of Public Information)

COTABATO CITY – With efforts of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to build empowered communities, about a million people from 553 barangay or villages have received various projects through the region’s flagship program dubbed ARMM’s Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Governance, and Synergy (ARMM-HELPS).

Since the program’s implementation in 2014, the regional government has earmarked P6.2 billion for high-impact projects. ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman reiterated that the regional government continues to make greater progress in improving the quality of the peoples’ lives, improve their living environment, and create more development opportunities in beneficiary communities.

Official data from ARMM-HELPS showed a total of 1,062 of 1,713 infrastructure projects targeted for construction were completed; 374 of 563 cooperatives were served, and 257 of 530 barangay halls were built. “Projects for 2018 are on-going and we hope to implement all of these before the transition to the new Bangsamoro entity,” Anwar Upahm, ARMM-HELPS program manager said.

ARMM-HELPS is a convergence initiative of the regional government and is regarded as the centerpiece of the Hataman administration. It was established to achieve a more coordinated and focused intervention at the barangay level and eventually to create maximum impact of services delivered to the community.

Projects include provision of essential medicines, setting up of birthing facilities, construction of barangay health stations and water and sanitation projects, construction of community learning centers, support to standard madrasah development program, and delivery of basic livelihood and enterprising projects, among others.

Gov. Hataman said he is confident that before the new Bangsamoro political entity comes in, the ARMM government has already helped improve the lives of at least a million Bangsamoro people and has strengthened local governance in the region.

“Ito naman talaga ang goal natin na maramdaman ng mga kababayan natin na may gobyernong handang tumulong sa kanila,” Gov. Hataman said.

Projects that have not been completed since 2014 will be finished within this year, said Upahm.

ARMM housing project marks new beginning for Marawi IDPs

(Bureau of Public Information-ARMM/PIA-10)

SAGUIARAN, Lanao del Sur, August 13 (PIA)--Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman led the turnover ceremony of a 36-unit housing project for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Lumbaca Toros, Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur on August 10. Among the recipients of the housing project are Daud Radia, 65, and his wife Inday, 62.

Before the Marawi siege last year, Daud was a driver, while Inday worked as a tailor. “Hindi kami mayaman, pero noon, mayroon kaming sariling bahay (We were not rich before but we had our own house),” Inday said.

After the displacement brought by the siege, the couple with their four children, found refuge in a small lot in Lumbaca Toros, an area where a tent city was built for displaced families.

Being highly dependent on relief goods provided by the government and without a stable job, the 62-year old driver could no longer work since his license has expired and he has no sufficient money to have his license renewed.

Living inside a tent for a year, Inday said they are constantly worried about their situation – especially for their grandchildren. “Basta umuulan, umiiyak ang mga bata. Natatakot na kasi sila dahil noon, nabagsakan ng kahoy ang tent namin dahil sa lakas ng hangin (Whenever it rains, the children will cry. They were afraid of such since a tree already fell on their tent due to strong winds),” she recalled.

Now that the Radia family has moved from a tent to a housing unit, the couple has gained peace of mind.

“Hindi kami nakakahiga sa kama noon. Matanda na kami, kaya mahirap na ang humiga sa banig. Ngayong may bahay na kami ulit, mas safe na ang pamilya namin at maginhawa na ang buhay namin (We were not comfortably lying on a bed. We are already old. Thus, we find it hard to sleep on a mat. Now, we already have a house again. Our family is safer and life is better),” Inday said.

Daud’s plan is to save money to have his license renewed to jump start the family’s income. “Hindi ko na poproblemahin ang pang-araw-araw namin. Panatag ako sa asawa’t mga anak ko (We no longer worry on our daily expenses. My wife and children no longer worry on anything),” he said.

Inday, on the other hand, will return to tailoring as soon as the family settles down to its new home. “Parang bagong buhay sa amin ito. Iba na ang lugar, pero sa tulong ng gobyerno, makakabalik kami sa kung ano ang buhay namin noon (This is a new life for us. Though the place is new, with the help of the government, we can certainly go back to our old life),” she said.

The new housing project is part of the regional government’s objective to build homes for families displaced by the siege in Marawi. Another housing project with 144 units in Barangay Pantaon, Saguiaran, also for IDPs, will soon be completed.

Meanwhile, Hataman encouraged the IDPs to keep the faith since Islam teaches that with every hardship comes ease.

He also assured displaced residents that government agencies are united in the endeavor to rebuild Marawi.

Muslim cemetery sought in ARMM

By ANTONIO P. RIMANDO

COTABATO CITY: The putting up of a Muslim cemetery in every town in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), was proposed recently by Maguindanao regional Assemblyman Khadafe Mangudadatu who noted that practically all municipalities and cities in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi do not have public cemetery for their dead.

Mangudadatu attributed the situation to the centuries-old tradition of Muslim sub-tribes of Maranao, Tausug, Yakan, Samal, Iranon and Maguindanaon of burying their departed relatives in private lots or farms.

Assemblyman Mangudadatu’s bill seeks “to require every local government unit to provide at three to five hectares of land for the communal graveyards of Muslims, “explaining that his proposal aimed at providing a decent hallowed resting place for Moroland’s inhabitants, especially the indigent ones living in villages or sitio (sub-village).

Cleric Esmael Ibrahim, a member of the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), has strongly endorsed the Maguindanao legislator’s proposed law for regional operation.

He emphasized that Mangudadatu’s measure “will definitely help our impoverished Moro sectors in Muslim Mindanao, considered by many as the country’s most depressed and disadvantaged region.”

Mangudadatu said his family is more than willing to donate a piece of land in their hometown of Buluan for conversion into a Muslim burial ground even before the Regional Legislative Assembly can enact his bill into law.

ARMM welcomes Global Filipino School Program

(PIA-12 Cotabato City)

COTABATO CITY (PIA) – The education department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) welcomes Globe Telecom’s Global Filipino Schools (GFS) Program as it recently opened in the area.

The GFS program is a long-term modern approach to education that allows 21st century learning methods to be introduced and implemented in public schools nationwide.

It seeks to transform select public schools into centers of excellence in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and innovative teaching methods.

Expressing appreciation for Globe Telecom’s partnership, DepEd-ARMM Secretary Rasul Mitmug said the program will help strengthen the skills of teachers in delivering quality education in public schools through the use of modern technology.

Globe Telecom, Incorporated has committed to deliver the GFS program to one high school, or integrated school, to each of ARMM’s schools divisions.

Also, the schools will receive free internet connectivity that teachers and students can use and internet communications technology equipment and proficiency training for teachers on each selected school.

Globe Telecom Senior Vice President on Communications Maria Yolanda Crisanto said, the GFS program now covers all regions around the country including ARMM.

“With the ARMM on board, we are very happy to say that the GFS project is already in the 17th of the 17 regions in the entire Philippines.

“As fast as we can adopt using the internet, using all the latest technologies available to us, the sooner it will be better for all of us. We want to be competitive and a huge part of that competitiveness starts with education, we are glad that ARMM is open with this kind of project,” she said.

Crisanto also said that Globe will be promoting the Digital Thumbprint Program created by Globe Telecom, Optus, and Singtel, which aims at turning the Filipino youth into responsible online citizens.

Cotabato City invites bikers in 1st Mountain Bike Challenge

(Politiko Mindanao)

The city government of Cotabato is encouraging all the bikers in the city to participate in the 1st Mayor Frances Cynthia J. Guiani-Sayadi Mountain Bike Challenge to be held next month.

The local government said those who will be joining the Mountain Bike Challenge on September 1 can choose from any of the two categories: Cross Country and Fun Ride.

There will be age brackets for each category.

The winners will receive cash prizes and medals.

Registration is free, the city government said.

LTO opens extension office in Tawi-Tawi

By Teofilo Garcia, Jr (PNA)

BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi -- Land Transportation Office (LTO) Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante on Wednesday enjoined the agency’s personnel to work with dedication and commitment as he led the inauguration of the LTO Extension Office here.

The new office, located along Capitol Road in Barangay Tubig-Boh here, is under the supervision of the LTO Region 9 headed by lawyer Aminola Abaton.

Galvante urged extension office personnel to always evaluate the services they render for the satisfaction of the clientele of LTO.

He said the opening of the extension office aims to bring closer the services of the LTO to the people, especially those in the transport sector.

“There is no need for them to go to Zamboanga City to acquire driver’s license as well as register a vehicle,” Abaton said.

Abaton said the LTO of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (LTO-ARMM) has stopped its operations here in 2000 and the new satellite office was an initiative of Bongao Mayor Jimuel Que.

Que said the construction of the building that houses the extension office was funded through the 20-percent development fund of the municipal government.

He said the extension office will greatly lessen the expenses of those who wanted to acquire driver’s license, as well as those registering their vehicles.

“The one-way boat fare to Zamboanga City from here is already PHP1,200. How about the food expenses? Where to stay there? It is very costly just to acquire a driver’s license,” Que said.

He said it is more costly to register a vehicle since the owner is required to present the unit for inspection to register.

P4.8-b for Marawi rehabilitation in 2019

By Rio N. Araja

The national government is allocating another P4.8 billion for rehabilitation efforts in Marawi City under the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget next year, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said on Sunday.

​Pimentel, a member of the House committee on appropriations, said P3.5 billion will be for disaster funds while the remaining P1.3 billion will go to the engineering brigade of the Philippine Army that will be helping in the reconstruction and rehabilitation program.

“On top of the P3.5 billion, government is also spending another P1.3 billion to support the activation of the Philippine Army’s 55th Engineering Brigade for the purpose of aiding in the restoration of Marawi,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in his 2019 budget message to Congress, said he was pleased with the ongoing efforts to revive Marawi City.

The government is already spending P10 billion this year to make Marawi City livable again, complete with homes, schools, places of worship, hospitals, public markets, roads and bridges as well as basic services.

Over 2K displaced Maranaos trained by TESDA to help rebuild Marawi

By Ma. Cristina Arayata (PNA)

MANILA -- Over half of the 5,015 internally displaced people (IDP) of Marawi, who were given free training by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), will now help rebuild the war-torn city, a TESDA executive told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Thursday.

Of the total graduates, 2,360 finished construction-related courses or technical vocational education training (TVET). These graduates will help in Marawi City's rehabilitation efforts, according to TESDA.

In May 2017, the terrorist Maute Group brought violence to Marawi City, killing innocent people, causing fears, burning houses and establishments. The war with military troops ended in October 2017.

"We have 5,015 graduates who had their training from July 2017 to May 2018. There were two training modalities -- community-based and institution-based," TESDA-10 Regional Director Tarhata Mapandi told the PNA.

These graduates were those who went to nearby towns during the siege.

"They were the IDPs in Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, and Iligan. There were also those who went to Saguiran, and those who went back to Marawi City after the siege. We were also able to provide training in barangays there," Mapandi added.

The Marawi IDPs were equipped with knowledge and skills through construction-related courses. Among these were Carpentry, Electrical Installation and Maintenance National Certification (NC) ll, Masonry NC I, Multiple Plumbing, Pipefitting, Tile Setting, Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC l, Heavy Equipment Operator NC ll, Plaster Concrete or Masonry Surface, Technical Drafting, and Electrical Installation & Maintenance NC ll.

The other graduates took courses related to other sectors, such as tourism, electronics, agriculture and fishery, health, garments, and social and community development services.

Under TESDA Secretary Guiling Mamondiong's 17-Point Agenda, the IDPs are among those prioritized in the provision of skills training.

Mamondiong earlier noted that providing the IDPs with the necessary training could help them with their livelihood and help them get back to normalcy.

TESDA will continue helping Marawi IDPs, Mapandi said.

ARMM guv orders DPWH district offices to fast-track infra projects

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

COTABATO CITY -- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman has ordered the region’s Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH-ARMM), particularly its district engineering offices, to speed up the completion of pending infrastructure projects in their respective areas.

Hataman said he will also meet local government executives and project contractors to ensure the smooth completion of the projects.

“Our goal here is to check on the status of these projects before the end of the year,” Hataman told reporters here on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the governor met with DPWH-ARMM people, led by regional DPWH secretary Don Mustapha Loong, for updates on the infra-projects during the Governor’s Initiative for Systems Assessment event held here.

Hataman said the deadline for the projects has been set within this year in preparation for the assumption of the incoming Bangsamoro government.

To date, the DPWH-ARMM has paved 1,547 kilometers of roads and built 83 bridges; installed 210 units of water supply systems; constructed 30 flood control structures, 60 units of drainage structures, 89 seaports, and 51 shore protection foundations, among others.

The ARMM comprises the cities of Marawi and Lamitan; and the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, and Basilan.

DILG undertakes potable water project in Marawi

By Chito Chavez

A P76-million water system project in Marawi City will be undertaken to provide potable water to residents through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG’s) Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig para sa Lahat (Salintubig) program.

DILG officer-in-charge (OIC) Eduardo M. Año said that more than 2,156 households in Marawi will have access to potable water upon completion of the project by December 2019.

Año was designated by President Duterte as the Martial Law Administrator in Mindanao during the five-month-long Marawi crisis last year. “The DILG has actively contributed to end the Marawi siege and in reclaiming of the city from the local terrorist group. Now the Department continues to be proactive in its rehabilitation,” Año said.

The Salintubig project covers seven priority barangays namely: Sagonsongan, Mipaga, Emie Punod, Basak Malutlut, East Basak, Poblacion, and Moriatao Loksadato.

The DILG and the Department of National Defense as co-leads of the inter-agency Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Sub-Committee on Security, Peace and Order are responsible for the restoration of water, electricity, and other public utilities in Marawi.

A tripartite Memorandum of Agreement was forged among the DILG Region 10, DILG Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and city government of Marawi for the implementation of the project.

DILG Assistant Secretary for Peace and Security Alexander Macario handed over a check worth P76-million to the City Government of Marawi for the implementation of the Salintubig potable water supply project.

The Salintubig program in Marawi is part of the P10-billion rehabilitation program under the 2018 General Appropriations Act which includes the establishment of potable water system in the priority areas.

Preventing violent extremism

Along with the Marawi rehabilitation efforts, the DILG is also in coordination with other government agencies in preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE).

“The Marawi incident is a complex crisis that is rooted on poverty, corruption, and misled ideology. Countering violent extremism would require not just a whole-of-government but also whole-of-nation approach involving communities,” said Año.

He noted that the DILG has tapped its attached agency, the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC), for a localized or whole-of-community approach for PCVE advocacy campaign against terrorism and communist insurgency.

A series of training programs on PCVE has been jointly held by the DILG, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, PPSC and other agencies for an integrated community action against radicalization and extremism that will be cascaded down to barangays and local government units.

AFP, PNP launch first blood bank for Marawi

By WILLIAM JUN GARCIA (TMT)

MARAWI, Lanao del Sur: A blood bank called Project “Daloy” was launched by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police at the Amai Pakpak Medical Center on Friday.

Spearheaded by the 1403rd Regional Mobile Force Company (RMFC), Project “Daloy (Flow)” refers to the blood shared by local stakeholders for the PNP and AFP personnel based in Marawi and also for Marawi City residents.

A partnership agreement ceremonial signing was held among the 1403rd RMFC, 12th Civil Military Operations Battalion of the Philippine Army, Amai Pakpak Medical Center (APMC) and the Provincial Government of Lanao del Sur, City Government of Marawi, Integrated Provincial Health Office of Lanao del Sur (IPHO LDS), Lanao del Sur Police Provincial Office and the 103rd Special Action Company (SAC), Special Action Force.

Sixty-five blood bags were collected from 92 volunteers who were screened after the blood-letting activity participated in by the strategic partners 1403rd RMFC, APMC, IPHO LDS, 12th Command Battalion, 103rd SAC, together with the Mindanao State University, JCI Kulintang Inc, 107.1 Love Radio and Marawi City residents.

“This is our first step of building a stronger Marawi, by promoting synergy among law enforcement units and stakeholders in Marawi, through the establishment of the blood bank,” Police Chief Insp. Janz Vladimir Hilarion, 1403rd RMFC company commander, said.

The blood-letting activity will be conducted every quarter to promote sustainability of the blood bank project.

Lanao del Sur Gov. Bae Sorayah Alonto-Adiong, Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra, Vanni Luague, JCI Kulintang Inc. head and APMC officer-in-charge Dr. Luz Saber supported the community-centered project said a “first step toward lifelong commitment” is not only in giving blood and saving life but also in promoting unity toward peace and development.”

Barangay, SK elections in Marawi set on September 22

By Paterno Esmaquel II (Rappler.com)

The barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in Marawi City are scheduled 4 months after the same exercise was held in other parts of the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – The barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in strife-torn Marawi City will be held on September 22, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced.

In a statement, the Comelec said the barangay and SK election period in Marawi City will run from August 17 to September 29.

The campaign period will run from September 12 to 20, the Comelec added.

The last day for filing statements of contributions and expenditures is on October 22.

The Comelec released these details in Resolution 10412 promulgated on Wednesday, August 1.

Marawi is the site of a 5-month siege between government forces and terrorists, killing 168 government troops, mostly soldiers.

The Comelec earlier decided to suspend the barangay and SK elections in Marawi because of the conditions in the city. Elsewhere in the Philippines, the barangay and SK elections were held on May 14.

Celebrity guests laud traditional cuisines in ARMM

(Bureau of Public Information-ARMM/PIA-10)

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA) -- As the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) showcased its traditional Moro cuisines in a food festival, celebrity guests lauded the region’s unique food and delicacies noting they would promote ARMM in many ways they can. The ARMM food fest puts the spotlight on culinary delights of the region’s five provinces as part of the 29th founding anniversary celebration.

Certified foodie and blogger Erwan Heusaff, celebrity chef Boy Logro, actor-restaurateur Diether Ocampo, BecomingFilipino blogger Kyle ‘Kulas’ Jennermann, and Anak Mindanao Executive Director Djalia Turabin Hataman were among the event’s judges. Chieftains and representatives of each village wore their traditional attire during the event.

Compared with the cuisines of other regions, which tend to be sweetened, the Moros’ cooking remains strongly ancestral utilizing a good deal of coconut milk and rich in ground spices. Typical ingredients include chili, turmeric, sambal, coriander, lemongrass and peanut butter. Because of Islamic laws, pork and alcohol are absent in the native cuisine of the Moros.

“It’s amazing, the culture and beauty that is here in the region, from the people to the colors to the music to the dance to the food; these are incredible,” Canadian blogger Jennermann said. “It is so much hard to promote the food here because you don’t even know how to describe how amazing it is, so everybody in the Philippines should see this and understand this,” he added.

Promoting the culinary delights in the ARMM through his blog, Heusaff said: “I do videos and I think I just want to focus on the food and culture here in ARMM and I will put it into video and hopefully people will get curious and actually realize that they can travel here and experience it for themselves.”

“Food here in ARMM is really good, everything was really surprising, actually most of the dishes I’ve tasted I wasn't familiar (but those were) really tasty and delicious and I’m glad I was able to taste the food here and looking forward to joining more (events),” he added. The food festival marks the celebration of the region’s diverse flavors reflecting its culture and a celebration of cuisine and culinary talents of the Moro people.

Popular actor Ocampo noted that joining the food festival is a great opportunity to share the good news not only to Filipinos but also to the world.

“It’s about time to recognize (our own) – the culinary expertise in our country, something I’ve always been looking forward to. Now that I have the chance to have a great experience with them, I think we should definitely continue doing this in the next couple of years,” Ocampo said adding that experiencing the food in the region is a great surprise for him.

He also suggested that each village should share their recipes so they can share these delights in other parts of the country.

PH, Aussie navies hold maritime security exercise in Tawi-Tawi

By Teofilo Garcia, Jr (PNA)

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Philippine Navy's Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) command and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) are holding a joint exercise off the coast of Tawi-Tawi, an official said Tuesday.

Rear Adm. Rene Medina, NFWM commander, said the 10-day joint exercise -- the second leg of the 4th Combined PN-RAN Maritime Security Activity -- kicked off on Sunday in Tawi-Tawi.

Lt. Commander Musksin Jasid, NSJM chief, and Lt. Col. Judd Finger of the Australian government’s Joint Task Group 629 led the opening ceremony at the Naval Station Juan Magluyan (NSJM) in Batu-Bato, Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi.

It was followed by a fellowship games between the PN and RAN delegates and a boodle fight meal, which served as a symbol of brotherhood and strong bond between the two navies.

Medina said the 4th combined PN-RAN Maritime Security Activity includes the conduct of a series of meeting procedures and maritime patrols in the Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs), particularly in the waters of ZamPeLan, (Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao) Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.

He said there will also be various ship drills aboard PN and RAN vessels to test the readiness of the crew.

The PN vessels BRP-Felix Apolinario (PC-395), BRP-Anastacio Cacayorin (PC-387, and Multipurpose Attack craft BA 482 are participating in the activity. The participating RAN vessels are the HMAS Wollongong and HMAS Ararat.

Medina underscored the importance of the activity in enhancing the maritime inter-operability between the PN and RAN and other regional state navies. It also complements the current operations of the Naval Task Group Basilan and Naval Task Group ZamPeLan to pre-empt and end piracy, kidnappings and terrorism in the maritime domain, he added.

The first leg of the Maritime Security Activity was held in the Naval Forces West Area of Responsibility in Palawan from July 16 to 25, this year.

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