Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao News March 2016

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Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao Archived News

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Seal of ARMM

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: 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. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.

ARMM mango producers get equipment assistance from gov't

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=864963
• Thursday, March 10, 2016

(PNA), JMC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, March 10 (PNA) –- Mango chips producers in the autonomous region are expected to produce more and earn more profits after the government awarded them with PHP2 million worth of mango chips dryers Wednesday, officials said today.

Alexander Alonto, regional secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), personally handed over the mango chips dryer during simple ceremonies here to four identified farmers’ cooperatives in Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

“This is your government working for you,” Alonto told the farmers’ cooperative representatives present during the activity held at ARMM grounds.

Hadja Jalika Mangacop, DAF-ARMM High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) regional program coordinator, said each unit costing PHP500 was funded under the DA-HVCDP.

One unit was awarded each to the following cooperatives, namely Golden Valley Multi-Purpose Cooperative of Parang, Maguindanao; Masaganang Kabuhayan Producer Cooperative of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao; Rural Improvement Club of Jolo, Sulu; and Lupah Pula Farmers and Fisherfolks Marketing Cooperative of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

Mangacop said the Mango Chips Dryer has food grade stainless steel double. It is capable to dry 75 kilograms of wet mango pulp efficiently from 45-60 minutes due to a force draft fan rotating the temperature evenly.

Alonto said the post-harvest equipment is expected to make mango growers/producers hasten the drying capacity of mango chips and improve its quality.

Mango is among the major products of high value in ARMM.

Alonto said other cooperatives in the region will also receive their own post-harvest equipment depending on the agricultural products they produce.

Mango from the region, fresh and processed, are exported to major urban centers in the country along with other major products of the region composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

OCD-ARMM orients local disaster managers on PDRA

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=864555
• Wednesday, March 9, 2016

(PNA), JBP/NYP/EOF

DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Maguindanao, March 9 (PNA) -- To prepare disaster response at the local level, the Office of Civil Defense in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OCD-ARMM) has conducted Tuesday a day-long orientation Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) for Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers (MDRRMOs) of Lanao del Sur.

Myrna J. Angot, OCD-ARMM regional director, said the activity was vital to disaster managers, especially at the local level so they would analyze and understand the risk factors in their areas and would have possibly translate this into proper responses.

“Since PDRA is very significant in government action, it must be clear to everyone so they can come up with appropriate and timely action during emergencies,” according to NDRRMC Chief and Civil Defense Administrator Alexander P. Pama.

Pama, in a statement during the orientation, stressed that disaster managers in local government units must undergo pre-disaster risk assessments to come up with a design appropriate to their local needs.

Equally important, according to Angot, is the need for more efforts to make the public understand disaster warnings so they too can react accordingly.

OCD-ARMM is mulling to translate emergency signs in the vernacular for people in the countryside so they can easily understand the impact of disasters in their lives.

ARMM eyes free internet access

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=864125
• Tuesday, March 8, 2016

(PNA), JBP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, March 8 (PNA) -- Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said the regional government will provide free internet connection to public places to improve residents’ access to opportunities.

The first of its kind in the region and probably in Mindanao, the free internet access will be funded by the ARMM’s Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-ARMM.

According to Abdenul Campong, chief of information and communications technology of the ARMM governor's office, PAMANA will initially provide internet connection to public places in five identified local government units -- one site in each province under the ARMM.

This project has long been the desire of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman who consider the internet as agent of change the region is badly needed.

It aims at providing connectivity and free internet access and an avenue for service delivery mechanism enhancement in the areas of education, health, and disaster preparedness.

“The focus is to establish connectivity in government service agencies or offices to improve government services,” Campong said.

Initially, the connectivity is for use of the PAMANA communities availing government services such as online registration for birth certificate, marriage certificate, and National Bureau of Investigation clearance, among others.

But generally, all people who "wanted to connect" can avail of it.

Campong said the project’s Technical Working Group conducted a series of site validation during the first two months of 2016 to find strategic places for the connections and the presence of internet service providers in the areas.

He said the target local government units are Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao, Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, Bongao in Tawi-Tawi, Jolo in Sulu, and Lamitan City in Basilan. A total of PHP50 million was allocated for the entire year under the 2016 PAMANA ARMM Fund.

PAMANA is the national government’s peace and development framework that caters specifically to peace and development issues of conflict-affected communities.

Meanwhile, the DOST-ARMM will also embark on internet connection to more than 80 identified sites across the region.

The project, dubbed ‘Juan Konek’, will install free internet connectivity to public places such as plazas, parks, schools and health facilities.

“This project aims at accelerating the government’s efforts in enhancing internet accessibility for Filipinos to accelerate economic, social and educational opportunities,” said DOST-ARMM Secretary Myrah Mangcabung.

She said it is the national government’s initiative directly in line with the “Internet For All” thrust identified in the Philippine Digital Strategy 2011-2016.

The project, launched in July 2015, received P3 billion in total funding. The free internet can be accessed through 7,118 sites nationwide across 967 towns.

Hataman eyes all towns in the region should have internet connections in the next three years.

18 million ballots for OAV, ARMM have been printed

• Source:http://www.mb.com.ph/18-million-ballots-for-oav-armm-have-been-printed/
• Monday, March 7, 2016

By Leslie Ann Aquino

More than 18 million ballots for the May, 2016 polls have already been printed less than a month since printers started rolling at the National Printing Office in Quezon City.

Atty. Genevieve Guevarra, head of the Commission on Elections Printing Committee, said as of 11 a.m. Saturday (March 5), the number of ballots already printed is at 18,102,545.

“We are done printing the ballots for overseas absentee voting (OAV) and for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” she said in a text message.

What are being printed now at the NPO, Guevarra said, are mostly the ballots for the other provinces in Mindanao.

The Comelec earlier explained that the ballots for OAV, ARMM and far-flung areas will be printed first as these will be shipped first.

The total number of ballots verified, on the other hand, is at 8,494, 989.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista earlier revealed that due to the fast printing, the ballot verification process is lagging behind.

During the verification process, each ballot is being fed into the vote counting machine to see if it will not be rejected.

“I told you before that the printing was going to be quicker because of the shorter ballot…but because of this, the verification process has a difficult time to catch up,” said Bautista.

The poll body is printing 56.7 million ballots for the May, 2016 polls, which include those that will be used for local and overseas absentee voting, and the training ballots for the final testing and sealing, and Preliminary Logic and Accuracy Test.

This does not include the ballots that will be used for manual elections for local and overseas absentee voting totaling to 223,611. The printing of these were already completed last February 12.

Printing of the official ballot was postponed thrice before it finally started last February 18.

ARMM authorities eye measures to shield women from election violence

• Source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2016/03/06/comelec-trains-zamboanga-teachers-vcm-operations-461061
• Sunday, March 6, 2016

By Charlie C. Señase (SFM, Inquirer Mindanao)

COTABATO CITY – Local government units and security forces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Saturday vowed to protect women from threats and intimidation during the campaign period toward the May 9 elections.

In a forum organized by the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women (RCBW) and endorsed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), close to a thousand participants with police and military escorts filled the Sharif Kabunsuan Cultural Center and the surrounding ARMM Regional Complex with their vehicles that looked like a “Miting de Avance” of political parties.

It was a tightly secured event, said ARMM compound security chief, retired police general Marcelo Pintac, considering the presence of Comelec commissioners, provincial governors, town mayors, and other VIPs from various sector organizations.

Dubbed as “Gender and Election-Related Violence,” the gathering was the first-ever conceived by the RCBW that the Comelec would like to be duplicated in other parts of the country.

“This is a commitment to peaceful, orderly, and credible elections as embodied in the Fair Elections Act, that promotes gender equality,” said Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon.

Guanzon said women running for elective positions “need equal protection as they are more vulnerable to election-related violence.” Sittie Jehanne Mutin, RCBW chair, noted that the low participation rate of women in politics could be attributed to threats and intimidation. The forum held for the police, military and local authorities in the male-dominated political arena has been in line with the goal of transforming the country’s political environment into a fair and just playing field for all, Guanzon said.

She said that in the 2013 mid-term elections, only 18 percent of women candidates got elected into office.

In the 2010 national polls, 391 cases of election-related violence were reported and that number declined to only 196 in 2013, police records showed.

“This is a good indication, but we still have to ensure that the welfare of women candidates is advanced, and those manning polling precincts during elections are provided ample security,” said ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who led incumbent LGUs in the tightly guarded forum.

ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Masuhud-Alamia said the regional awareness program of the RCBW has been meant to enhance security for women involved in politics and election-related processes and the disadvantaged, and guard against voter disenfranchisement due to technical or illiteracy problems.

“The problem of illiteracy in the ARMM involves at least one-third of voters in the region,” said human rights advocate Amina Rasul-Bernardo, founding member of Women in International Security-Philippines, and lead convener of Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy.

ARMM candidates sign peace pact for peaceful elections

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=863525
• Saturday, March 5, 2016

(PNA), JBP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, March 5 (PNA) -- Candidates from regional down to municipal elective positions on Friday signed a peace covenant aimed at ensuring a peaceful and orderly elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, standard bearer of Liberal Party in the regional polls and Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Toto Mangudadatu, also of LP, both led the signing of peace covenant for peaceful ARMM elections, witnessed by poll, military, police and election watchdog officials at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Center here.

Maguidnanao 1st district Rep. Bai Sandra Sema and 2nd district Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu, both of LP and reelectionists, also affixed their signatures to help in the campaign for peaceful balloting.

Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, earlier said the signing was the highlight of a public forum on "Gender related election violence" organized by the Commission on Elections and the Bangsamoro Commission on Women.

"Women are the most disadvantage sector during elections and they usually become victims of election related violence (ERVs) before, during and after elections," Alamia told DXMS Radyo Bida's "Aksyon ARMM" program.

"Most if not all the members of the board of election inspectors are teachers who are women," Alamia added. "What they have learned form the forum will help them cope with the threats and intimidation that usually accompany elections in the ARMM," she added.

The forum, Alamia said, provided women workers during elections how to defend themselves and what to do when dangers come.

Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, 6th Infantry Division commander, led the military in signing the peace covenant aimed at saving lives during elections.

The four ARMM provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are traditionally hot spot areas during local, regional and national elections.

Alamia said it was the first of its kind in the ARMM and in the country where women's safety is assured during a forum participated also by officials of the poll body.

ARMM distributes Android tablets to LGUs to promote efficient health info

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=862958
• Friday, March 4, 2016

By Noel Y. Punzalan [(PNA), FFC/NYP]

COTABATO CITY, March 3 (PNA) -- In its desire to serve its clients more effectively and improve efficiency and transparency of health information, the Department of Science and Technology in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DOST-ARMM) has been distributing Android tablets with “eHATID” application to local government units (LGUs).

It is a software application for Android tablets offering real-time access to health information among LGUs and medical doctors.

According to Mon-Em Abangad, DOST-ARMM information officer, the provision of the tablet falls under the agency’s eHATID LGU project (eHealth TABLET for Informed Decision-Making of LGUs).

“The DOST-ARMM provides two Android tablets for each LGU, one of which will be used by the Local Rural Health Units. The project is free of charge and we initially targeted a total of 70 LGUs in ARMM as beneficiaries,” Abangad said in a statement.

As of Thursday, a total of 61 LGUs in the region already benefited from the project.

Abangad encouraged other LGUs to avail of the project the first step of which, is to submit a letter of intent to the agency.

“Once the LGU has submitted its letter of intent duly signed by the local chief executive, DOST-ARMM will assess the (LGU’s application) based on selection criteria,” said Abangad.

Abangad advised LGU officials to comply the following:

• local chief executive support for innovations;

• presence of development-oriented projects in the LGU;

• responsive health sector; and

• internet connectivity and technical readiness.

The project provides health information system support through an online and offline Electronic Medical Record that generates particular health reports for the Department of Health and Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

Abangad explained that the project aims to improve efficiency and transparency among stakeholders using an enhanced health information system model that promotes health information convergence and informed decision-making.

The eHATID LGU data are synced to a central database via cloud facilities of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of DOST.

The DOST-ARMM spokesperson said the system has security protocols that are strictly implemented to comply with the policies and program requirements for data security, privacy and confidentiality.

ARMM women's agency to host forum on gender and election related violence

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=862968
• Thursday, March 3, 2016

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, March 3 (PNA) -- To encourage greater participation of women in the coming national and local elections and help reduce election-related violence in the region, the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RCBW-ARMM) will conduct a forum on Gender and Election Related Violence (ERV) on Friday, March 4.

Sittie Jehanne Mutin, chairperson of the RCBW-ARMM, said the forum aims to discuss the connection between gender and election related violence (ERV) cases in the country, and "to gather recommendations and best practices to combat ERVs, especially against women.”

She admitted that women’s political participation remains low in the Philippines.

According to the RCBW-ARMM, only 19 percent of the candidates seeking elective posts in the national, local and regional level in the upcoming May 2016 elections are women.

Data provided by the RCBW-ARMM showed that in the 2013 mid-term elections, 18 percent of the candidates who got elected to office were women.

"Adding to the challenges on the stereotypes on the roles of women and lack of encouragement and support for women's active participation in election, is the vulnerability of women as easy targets for ERVs," Mutin added.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) considers all violence that has connection with the election as ERVs. It refers to "acts or threats of coercion, intimidation or physical harm committed to affect an electoral process."

In the 2010 polls, the police recorded a total of 391 incidents of ERVs, and 196 ERVs in the 2013 midterm balloting.

Mutin said the activity is a joint project with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC-ARMM) to be conducted at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex (SKCC) inside the ARMM Compound.

About 700 participants are expected to attend the day-long activity, including stakeholders from the House of Representatives Committee on Women and Gender Equality, Directors of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), representatives from political parties, national, regional and local candidates, the academe and women's and religious groups.

Mutin said her office will seek the commitment and support of participants in promoting better political participation for women and in ensuring a peaceful and violence-free election in the ARMM.

ARMM, composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, has been traditionally considered a "hot spot" area during national, regional or local elections.

MILF, MNLF jointly call on Bangsamoro for unity and solidarity

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=1&rid=862423
• Wednesday, March 2, 2016

(PNA), SCS/PR-PEACE PROCESS MEDIA BUREAU/EDS

COTABATO CITY, March 2 (PNA) -- As most Filipinos celebrated the 30th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution last Feb. 25, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) addressed in a joint assembly the Bangsamoro issue and called for unity and solidarity amidst the uncertainty brought by the non-passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

“The joint effort of the two Moro revolutionary fronts to assemble and unite is reflective of MNLF’s commitment to the agreed convergence of the two peace tracks of the MNLF and MILF into a single roadmap," said MNLF Chairman Muslimin Sema, adding that the event was also part of the MILF’s program of unification and reconciliation for Moro leaders.

The assembly, held in Carmen, North Cotabato, was headed by the MNLF’s Bukidnon State Revolutionary Committee and the MILF’s Kapalawan Provincial Committee.

During the 5th Ministerial Level Meeting of the Tripartite Review Process (TRP) of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) between the Philippine government and the MNLF, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Iyad bin Amin Madani highlighted their intention and understanding to combine the two peace processes of the MNLF and MILF into a single roadmap.

Madani said at that time that "there was a need for the two Moro fronts to find a common understanding since they share the same political clamor and aspirations as expressed in the [BBL]."

The review process that concluded last Jan. 25 maintained that the MNLF would participate in the 60-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) -- the transition government that would have bridged the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the proposed Bangsamoro parliamentary government as determined in the 2014 Comprehensive Agreementon the Bangsamoro (CAB) -- together with the leadership of the MILF and other stakeholders which would operationalize the convergence efforts of the MILF and the MNLF through a political exercise.

However, the BTA didn’t come into fruition due to the 16th Congress’ collective failure to pass the BBL.

“The division among the Bangsamoro people into different groups may have triggered the non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in the House of Representatives,” commented MILF Vice Chairman for Political Affairs Ghadzali Jafaar.

Jafaar, noting that the Bangsamoro people have been engaged in the peace talks for over 30 years going back to the leadership of MNLF, commented that they “will continue a peaceful peace process until Mindanao achieves an equally lasting peace.”

In a separate statement, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Undersecretary Atty. Jose Lorena said that with the completion of the TRP and in the incorporation of the MNLF agenda with the CAB under a single framework, “the CAB and correspondingly the BBL will become the inclusive framework for all the Bangsamoro in addressing the legitimate and validated Bangsamoro aspiration for genuine political autonomy and the right to self-determination. It is now clear that there will be a single framework through the BBL which will preserve the gains of the 1996 FPA and the CAB."

Bangsamoro youth key to unity, self-determination

In an earlier event held in Davao City, Jaafar commented that the Bangsamoro youth would be instrumental in realizing the Bangsamoro aspiration for genuine autonomy and self-determination as enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. “The goal of the Bangsamoro youth now should be to unite and to be at the forefront in realizing the aspiration of the Bangsamoro people to self-determination.”

Speaking directly to the youth, the MILF vice chairman said that they “should exhaust all means of diplomacy in fighting for the Bangsamoro struggle before thinking of engaging ideas of war.”

The MILF leadership had earlier confirmed the inclination of some Bangsamoro youth toward extremism as well as the ongoing recruitment of young people in organizations that have declared allegiance with global terror group ISIS operating within the ARMM, especially in the cities of Cotabato and Marawi.

Nevertheless, Jaafar expressed “high hopes for the Bangsamoro youth to serve their people someday and to become good Bangsamoro leaders.”

ARMM uses modern technology, GPS to determine extent of drought damages

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=862088
• Tuesday, March 1, 2016

(PNA), BNB/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, March 1 (PNA) -- With the use of modern technology and the global positioning system, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARRM), through its Agricultural Research Center (ARC) and Philippine Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is assessing drought damages to crops in Maguindanao, officials said Tuesday.

Saudi Mangindra, senior researcher of ARMM Integrated Agricultural Research Center (ARMMIARC), said under the Philippine Rice Information System Management (PRISM) program, researchers gather exact information as to crop damages using satellite imaging, global positioning system (GPS) and actual field imaging using smart phones.

"Using a tool for precision agriculture, we gather accurate data on the effect of dry spell to crops and the extent of pest infestation,” Mangindra told reporters.

Mangindra explained that using the GPS, actual damages are recorded. Data gathered are then processed by PRISM personnel.

“Accurate data on the extent of damages will help our policy makers and leaders determine what assistance the government can extend to affected farmers,” Mangindra said.

On the other hand, Bryn Arap, PRISM-ARMM focal person, said agriculture technical experts go to the fields, assess the situation and using smart phones gather data that could determine what kind of insects and pests have destroyed agricultural crops.

According to Johny Maloom, PhilRice researcher, the system is using satellite images to come up with drought map.

“What we are doing now is to pinpoint affected areas and come up with data that will help determine the extent of damages,” Maloom said.

Through PRISM, the DAF-ARMM could monitor the damages brought by calamities like floods and infestation using the technology.

This year's drought was the worst to hit rice and corn producing province of Maguindanao in recent history.

Most of the affected farmers rely on government subsidy to survive the dry spell.

And the government is acting by providing interventions from agricultural assistance to monetary aid so affected farmers could move on.