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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.

ARMM polls in May 2013 to proceed if peace pact not signed this year; Leonen says no need to amend Consti

by Carolyn O. Arguil las


KUALA LUMPUR (MindaNews/26 April) – Elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will replace with a “new autonomous political entity,” will proceed as scheduled on May 13, 2013 if no peace agreement is reached by the peace panels this year. “Government is very aware in terms of timelines of our political exercises and in terms of the political realities,” government (GPH) peace panel chair Marvic Leonen told MindaNews. He said the roadmap would take on a different shape if the elections were to proceed and a new set of ARMM officials is elected. The timeline, too, may change given that the elected officials in May 2013 will, under the present law, serve a three-year term until 2016, he said. “It’s possible you’ll wait until 2016 but in 2016 what is the political reality?” he asked Declaring that the “status quo is unacceptable,” the GPH and MILF peace panels on Tuesday agreed to work for the creation of a “new autonomous political entity in place of the ARMM” as one of ten “decision points on principles” they signed that day at the Palace of the Golden Horses hotel. The present ARMM comprises the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan,Sulu and Tawi-tawi. No need Government peace panel chair Marvic Leonen, an expert on Constitutional Law, is confident there is no need to amend the 1987 Constitution to create the new entity that would replace ARMM. He said many of the proposals of the MILF are contained in the Organic Act (RA 9054) although he acknowledged that the MILF views this differently. “From the GPH point of view as of the moment, a Republic Act is more doable. But of course in so far as the Constitution is concerned, no Constitution is always permanent but the constitutional exercise requires a lot more than amending a law. And it’s always a balance between you change the rules first of the game before you mobilize the leaders. Is it exclusive? Mauna ito bago ito? Di ba pwede magsabay (Should this come first? Cannot they go together) and then later the political realities might be more favorable towards greater political exercise?” Leonen told MindaNews on Wednesday afternoon. MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal has yet to be convinced that there is no need to amend the Constitution to accommodate their demands. “The government says no need, but we hope they can demonstrate graphically how they do it without amending the Constitution. Our belief is this cannot be done,” he told MindaNews a day on Wednesday. The peace negotiations adjourned at 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, two days ahead of scheduled, after the parties signed the “GPH-MILF Decision Points on Principles as of April 2012.” The panels will resume talks next month. Congress on the other hand will resume sessions on May 7 and will go on sine die adjournment June 8 until it reopens with the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the President on July 23. The GPH peace panel in a press conference via Skype with the Malacanang Press Corps Wednesday noon, was repeatedly asked how soon the two panels can forge an agreement and how this would impact on the May 2013 elections in the ARMM. “If there is no agreement in due time then the elections of ARMM will continue (in 2013),” as provided for by law, Leonen said. Panel member Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, explained to the press corps that the peace agreement that will be signed “will not automatically suspend the ARMM or suspend the elections. Ibig sabihin maski magkapirmahan tayo bukas, marami pang requirements yan para ma-put in place. (This means even if we sign tomorrow, there are still many requirement for that new political entity to be put in place). For instance, we will need to generate support from Congress, from both the Senate and the House, to actually pass the law that will make it possible for some kind of implementing mechanisms to take place.” Ferrer acknowledged that the longer the negotiations take, the “normal political timetable” of elections in 2013 and Presidential elections in 2016 will set in “if all these steps are not done early enough.” She said signing the agreement does not mean it will be implemented immediately because there are many legislative requirements “that’s why we’re working closely with Congress, we’re working closely with the public so that they will be able to support all the requirements that will implement elements of that agreement.”

Timetables

The filing of certificates of candidacy for all elective positions in the May 2013 polls is on October 1 to 5 this year, according to the Commission on Elections’ Resolution 9385. Congress, after reopening on July 23, goes on break from mid-October to mid-November and Christmas break from mid-December to mid-January, leaving only a limited number of session days before the official campaign period for the May 2013 polls begins. The 90-day campaign period for senatorial candidates and party list groups is from February 12 to May 11, 2013 while the 45-day campaign period for candidates for the House of Representatives, provincial, city and municipal officials as well as the ARMM is from March 29 to May 11. The MILF in February last year proposed a Bangsamoro substate, an “asymmetrical state-substate relationship, wherein powers of the central government and state government are clearly stated, aside from those powers they jointly exercise, which are also defined in this draft.” The MILF summarized it as “less than independence but more than autonomy” apparently referring to the present ARMM. Government handed its proposal on August 22 last year,18 days after President Aquino met with MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Japan and both agreed to fast-track the peace process so that a peace agreement can be forged within the first half of the President’s six-year term, or by June 30, 2013, so that implementation can be done immediately. The President’s term of office ends noon of June 30, 2016. The GPH proposal was a “three for one solution” which involves three components: massive economic development, a peace accord, and cultural-historical acknowledgment.” The MILF peace panel rejected the GPH proposal, prompting Leonen to say, “We reject your rejection.” The talks went on an impasse with Malaysian facilitator Tengku Dato’ Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed shuttling between the panels until they resumed talks in December. The panels have been meeting every month since. In a press conference in Cotabato City in late August last year, Leonen said amending the 1987 Constitution was not a priority of the present administration. “The proposal of government to the MILF does not contain a proposal for constitutional amendment,” he said. “Autonomy as practiced by the ARMM in the past is a failed experiment. However it does not necessarily mean we do not learn from that experience,” he said, adding the autonomy they are proposing “comes close to the idea of self governance also of the MILF.” “We read sub-state also as autonomy. We do not see sub-state as a separate republic,” Leonen said then. He also noted in August that many of the fundamental aspirations of the MILF “can be fitted into the provisions of the current Constitution.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)






Dead sea turtles, corals seized in Vietnamese boat

by DAVID Y. SANTOS


MANILA, Philippines – Marine authorities in Tawi-Tawi said they have confiscated at least 50 dead sea turtles and bundles of rare corals from a Vietnamese fishing boat while docked at the port of Bongao town on Tuesday, April 24.

The seized items, which are classified as endangered species under maritime laws, were intended to be smuggled to other countries.

The Philippine Coast Guard Station in Bongao said the dead turtles were found along with 5 bundles of Black Corals inside SBF 48, a Vietnamese-registered fishing boat, during a routine inspection. The contraband was “concealed inside a refrigerated fish cargo hole located at the port side of the vessel.”

Bureua of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) National Director Asis Perez has confirmed that charges have been filed against the boat's 12 crew members, who were all Vietnamese, for violating laws forbidding the collection and sale of sea turtles and corals.

The cases, citing violations of Republic Acts 8550 or the Fisheries Code of the Philippines and 9147 or the Wildlife Act of the Philippines, were filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 5 in Bongao.

Among the different sea turtles, the Hawksbill turtle is commonly found in Tawi-Tawi and has been classified as critically endangered. Hawksbill shells are used for decorative purposes, while Hawksbill eggs and meat are cooked as a native delicacy. - Rappler.com

Airphil plane engine emits smoke before take-off, passengers ordered to disembark

by Nonong Santiago/Hader Glang


Hundreds of passengers bound for Manila, Davao, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi were stranded yesterday morning when a turbo-prop plane of the Air Philippines started emitting smoke in the middle of Runway 27 while it was about to depart for Sanga-Sanga Airport in Tawi-Tawi Province.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Manager Celso Bayabos disclosed that the plane was given the clearance for departure at 7 a.m. when the pilots noticed smoke coming from the right engine of the propeller plane while it was already 300 meters away from Runway 27.

The pilots had to stop the plane in the middle of the runway and ordered the affected passengers to disembark the aircraft resulting to the delay of the 7:45 a.m. Philippine Airlines flight for Manila, Bayabos said.

According to Bayabos, the inbound flight of Cebu Pacific from Manila to Zamboanga was also diverted to Davao City Airport because of the obstruction.

“Ang AirPhil bound for Sanga-Sanga Airport in Tawi-Tawi was given a clearance for take off at Runway 27, but rolling for take off mga around 300 meters away na sya beginning sa runway 27, biglang hininto ng piloto ang eroplano dahil nahalata na may diperensya ang right engine ng eroplano. Ang ibang flight ng PAL for Manila ay na-hold muna. Ang inbound flight of Cebu Pacific from Manila to Zamboanga was diverted to Davao City airport,” Bayabos said.

The airport manager said they had to borrow the tow bar of the Philippine Air Force to tow the plane out of the runway. Bayabos said the airport was cleared for landing and departure at past 8 in the morning. A Norwegian, Einar Solheim said his flight was supposed to be at 7:45 a.m. but due to the incident, it was delayed.

Rossnelly said this is not good because they are supposed to go to the Norwegian Embassy to apply for a fiancée visa. Some passengers were also clearly upset with the delay.

There is no clear report yet as to what was the cause of the incident.

Air Philippines flight to Tawi-Tawi aborted due to smoke from engine

by Julie Alipala

Philippine Daily Inquirer


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines— An Air Philippines flight to Tawi-Tawi was aborted on Monday morning as smoke emitted from the right engine of the plane, an official said. Celso Bayabos, manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines in Zamboanga, said the plane was about to take off when pilots noticed the smoke prompting them to park and order around 50 passengers to disembark shortly after 7:00 in the morning. “It’s not really fire, there was smoke. It’s good that pilots noticed it before they take off otherwise (it would be) another disaster,” Bayabos said. Other flights supposedly about to land at Zamboanga City international airport like Cebu Pacific from Davao city and Manila were advised to redirect their flights back. Fire marshalls and other airport personnel immediately towed the aircraft back to the taxi area to determine the actual cause of engine trouble.






P2.8-B infra projects for roads, bridges in ARMM under way

by JONATHAN L. MAYUGA / REPORTER


PUBLIC Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said several infrastructure projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are being implemented to boost economic development in the region. Singson said 26 projects worth around P2.8 billion are in various stages of implementation. All in all, the projects involve 117 kilometers of national roads and 132 linear meters of bridges.

“I’ve just met with President Aquino and the governors of the ARMM provinces and ARMM Governor [Mujiv] Hataman. We have reported the status of our program in ARMM,” Singson told reporters during the Communication and News Exchange (CNEX) forum at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) office in Quezon City.

The projects, he said, are part of the “Transition Investment Support Program for ARMM” being implemented by the Aquino administration. It has a total budget of P8.5 billion, P2.8 billion of which is for the repairs, rehabilitation and upgrading of major roads in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.

According to Singson, a total of three projects in Basilan involving the upgrading of 13 kilometers of road and 36.9 linear meters of bridge are now ongoing.

In Sulu he said the DPWH will implement a total of five projects that will construct 15 kilometers of road. Four of the projects have started.

Meanwhile, there are two upgrading projects involving 13 kilometers of road in Tawi-Tawi. “We are also looking at improving the water system in Tawi-Tawi,” he said.

In Lanao del Sur there are a total of eight projects. Five projects have just been awarded to private contractors while three others “will be awarded very soon.”

The projects involve the rehabilitation and upgrading of 33 kilometers of road and 75 linear meters of bridges.

“In Lanao we are also looking at upgrading the Agos River to improve and add 60 megawatts of power in Mindanao,” the DPWH revealed.

On the other hand, there are a total of eight ongoing projects in the province of Maguindanao, involving a total of 38 kilometers of roads and 20 linear meters of bridges. “We have updated [data on] the road networks in the ARMM. We now have a plan to fully restore the road networks there,” he said.

Shipper questions hold order on bark shipment

by Cebu Daily News


THE owner of the 1,000 sacks of tree bark of mangroves or tanbarks locally known as “tungog” that was seized by authorities last Thursday in Cebu City came forward to seek the release of the shipment. Erickson Kho of Sulu questioned the hold order issued by the National Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force. The foregst goods originated from Tandubas, Tawi-tawi, Mindanao. Edward Pamplona, head of the Regional Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force, told Kho that he failed to present a Certificate to Transport Forest Products to justify his claim on the shipment. Kho’s papers said he was the lone bidder who won and paid P25,520 for the 51.4 tons of tanbarks previously confiscated in Mindanao and put up for auction. But the potential market value of the bark is P14.39 million, according to Pamplona, making the shipment suspicious. A physical examination was made yesterday by the task force, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Community of Environment and Natural Resources (Cenro), Pamplona said 10 vans loaded with 280 tons of tanbarks were seized in Pier 8 Dec. 6 last year under Kho’s name. He said the tanbarks were released to Kho because no hold order was immediately issued. He said they have been “monitoring” Kho’s tanbarks shipment almost every month after reading documents that noted that the shipment was “bought through public bidding.” “Why isn’t this (tanbarks shipment) controlled?” Pamplona said. Pamplona said the National Anti-illegal Logging Task Force is meeting with the Forest Management Team to verify whether the tan barks were the subject of a public bidding. The shipment was consigned to Paul Bercina of barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City. It was seized from a motor boat by Navy personnel on Thursday. Tanbark is used in the production of paint, beads and food coloring. Correspondent Rhea Ruth V. Rosell

Magnitude 4.4 strikes off Tawi-Tawi

by http://www.abs-cbnnews.com


MANILA, Philippines – A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck off Tawi-Tawi on Thursday night, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Phivolcs said the earthquake occurred at 6:59 p.m. Its epicenter was located 260 kilometers southeast of South Ubian town.

The earthquake was tectonic in origin. It had a depth of 491 kilometers.

No tremor was felt in any part of the province. Likewise, no damage was reported.

Phivolcs said aftershocks are not expected from the earthquake.

Authentic HK Dimsum, Half-Price!

by SOL VANZI


MANILA, Philippines — In the '60s and '70s, there was only one place outside of Chinatown for Manila dimsum lovers: Kowloon House on A. Mabini, Ermita, just off the corner of Herran (now Pedro Gil). The selection was limited: but it was the only show in town. The short dimsum menu listed siopao (asado or bola-bola), siomai, hakaw (shrimp dumpling), shark’s fin, beef balls, wugok (fried taro balls filled with chicken and mushrooms) and custard tart for dessert.

Filipino Chinese businessmen, many born in Mainland China, often flew to Hong Kong for weekend R & R, to visit girlfriends or relatives. Highlighting their trips were dimsum binges at the ground floor restaurant of the Luk Kwok Hotel in Wanchai, setting for the Richard Mason novel that inspired the movie “World of Suzie Wong.”

MANILA’S AUTHENTIC HK DIMSUM -- Today, there is no need to fly to Hong Kong to feast on a vast selection of authentic Chinese dimsum. Nor do we have to negotiate the narrow streets and no-parking areas of Binondo’s Chinatown. Families and friends now gather for traditional Sunday reunions, or weekday meals, at the Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant on Diosdado Macapagal Avenue off Roxas Boulevard.

Not only do they enjoy the food, there’s the convenience of guarded parking spaces, and the assurance of enough tables, chairs and rooms capable of handling small, medium or large gatherings.

A family of 10 would need several Sunday reunions to taste everything on the Golden Bay’s dimsum menu, which lists 81 varieties. China-trained Chef Hui Chun Yuk, better known to diners and staff as Chef Ben, prepares all the iconic dumplings (siomai, hakaw), steamed buns (chicken pao), rice (machang), congee, steamed pig knuckle and tripe (goto), among others.

TRADITION AND INNOVATION – In addition to the familiar dishes, Golden Bay’s menu also carries dozens of dimsums incorporating non-traditional ingredients, which surprisingly blend perfectly with dimsum cuisine.

Succulently reminiscent of the ocean are the uncommon Yuan Yang Dumplings, filled with fish fillet and topped with deep orange crab roe. Each dumpling, glistening in the steamer, is accented with a whole baby abalone. How many can claim to have eaten, or even seen, whole baby abalone?

The small abalone comes from the clear blue waters of the Pacific, where fishermen from Aurora province pluck them from rocks and keep them iced for delivery to Golden Bay’s purchasing officer Joseph Wong.

Joseph travels from extreme northern Luzon to the waters of Sulu Sea off Tawi-Tawi in search of marine products for the restaurant and for export. His knowledge extends beyond the harvests’ economic value; like an artist, he collaborates with Chef Ben in creating new dishes, transforming and reshaping the sea’s bounty to produce spectacular tasty delights.

MINI BEGGAR’S CHICKEN – Golden Bay has a greaseless version of the common Machang (sticky rice, sausage, pork and mushrooms). Glutinous Rice with Chicken come as rectangular, single-serving packets of sticky rice layered with a filling of chicken, mushrooms and seasonings wrapped in lotus leaf.

The heady aroma of chicken and mushrooms wafts as soon as the lotus leaf is opened. Unwrapped, the contents resemble a rice sandwich. The flavors are complex yet complementary, much like Beggar’s Chicken which was the inspiration for the dish. Imported Chinese dried lotus leaves impart smoky and earthy undertones which could not be duplicated if one used other leaves, such as banana or pandan.

I took home a few pieces, kept them in the fridge overnight. The next morning, they were unwrapped and pan-fried until toasty crisp on the outside. Heavenly!

GIGANTIC HAKAW – The regular bamboo steamer basket is hardly big enough for one order of Hakaw, which are definitely the biggest shrimp dumplings I’ve ever seen. The wrapper alone is worthy of note: shiny, transparent as cellophane, quivering in the rising steam. Inside are several pink shrimp, firm to the bite and with a texture implying they’ve never been frozen.

“It is not a secret; to ensure quality tasting food, we make sure that we have fresh quality ingredients daily,” emphasizes Chef Ben.

EXTRA-ORDINARY SIAO LONG – There is a unique system to eating Siao Long, lovingly described by experts as “soup in a dumpling,” one of the trickiest dumplings to assemble.

Carefully, the dumpling is lifted to one’s mouth, making sure the skin stays intact. A small bite near the top would then allow the diner to slurp the juices before attacking the rest of the piece, composed of minced lean pork and herbs.

As with the other Golden Bay dumplings, Siao Long dumplings are large, and take at least three bites to finish. The pork filling is so lean there is no hint of greasiness or oil either in the filling or the “soup” inside its wrapping.

STEAMED GOTO – One item very few ever cook at home is tripe; even the most avid kitchen lover loses patience with the hours required to clean, soak, stew and simmer to make this animal part edible. Cooked well, though, tripe, or goto, is beyond description.

Golden Bay’s Steamed Goto is a dish that looks deceptively simple; this impression quickly disappears with the first bite, which bathes the mouth with indescribable richness. To enjoy the dish fully, one should chew very slowly, savoring the nuances of dozens of herbs the tripe was simmered in. A few slivers of fresh green and red chili peppers enliven the meat, elevating the experience to sensuous heights.

CONGEES AND OTHERS – Like many Hong Kong residents, I got used to congee breakfast, teamed with salty stuff. At Golden Bay, my favorite congee partners are Rice Roll with Abalone Sauce and Radish Cake with XO Sauce and Crispy Dried Scallops.

The Rice Rolls are Ho-Fan, or sheets of steamed ground rice batter rolled and bathed in thick Abalone Sauce. The Radish Cake is cubed, fried, bathed in sauce and covered with a thick layer of crisp shreds of fried dried imported scallops. How’s that for decadent?

Of course, one should not miss what we call Pata Tim, listed on the menu as Steamed Pig Knuckle with Preserved Beancurd. Melt-in-the-mouth pig trotters come with bone marrow that’s to die for, stewed in cubes of preserved beancurd which we call tahure. This is a welcome twist from the ordinary stew using salted black beans or tausi; it’s complex in flavor and more authentic. Makes one want to pour it over plain steamed rice.

CHEAPER THAN FASTFOOD – The Golden Bay’s dimsum menu regular prices are lower by half compared to dishes of the same quality in five-star hotels. This summer, there is an ongoing promo that is offering 50% off the regular dimsum prices.

Bottomline? Golden Bay’s authentic Hong Kong dimsum are now discounted to only P63 to P75 per order. This is definitely cheaper than most fastfood outlets considering the larger servings and superior quality.

“We are not after profits. Our aim is authenticity, pleasant ambience and to bring Hong Kong dimsum to Manila at prices that will be more affordable for more people,” Joseph Wong says, laying out the goals of the country’s premier dimsum destination.

Roperos: Cost of living pains

by Godofredo M. Roperos

Politics also


YESTERDAY, there was a story in this daily about the city’s waterworks system being the subject of complaints by some subscribers who suddenly found their water faucets dry. They realized that the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) had interrupted its services to repair pipe leakage in some parts of the city.

Of course, the subscribers failed to realize that what they experienced was one of the hazards of urban living. It is the way we live today that sometimes subjects us to certain discomforts.

When I was still a kid in the countryside, I often went with my grandfather to his farm about three kilometers away from the poblacion. There was a concrete tank on a promontory overlooking his cornfield. The Tangke was the source of the piped water to the houses in the poblacion.

No wonder the water turned brackish when there was heavy rain, and we were warned not to drink the water when it was brackish. Then, when it was election season, I remember candidates promising to improve our water system so we would not get sick when the water would turn brackish.

Many years later, when I started covering the rural areas from Aparri of the Cagayan Valley in the north, to Tawi-tawi in the Muslim country of the far south, I realized how gravely had water grown to be a national problem. This despite efforts of government to initiate various projects to provide water in our communities.

But then only recently, there was the typhoid outbreak in Tuburan that was generally blamed on water. It really seemed as if the problem of providing safe water source to our rural communities would drag on across the years as a continuing problem seeking solution. This is, of course, one of the basic political issues that our government is constantly challenged, just like the problem of power and the environment.

Not very long ago, our drainage canal was unable to function effectively. Imagine my surprise one morning when we awoke with rainwater flooding our ground-floor. Since rain went on for days, water also stayed on in our ground floor, until we sought the help of the mayor who had the highway drainage canal cleared of debris and plastic waste.

Now, it is my power bill that I am concerned with. But my request to Cebeco III to change my power meter has not been heeded in the past two months. With the cost of living having gone up, even the cost of kitchen gas going up a thousand pesos a tank, we pray that our basic services suppliers would listen to our appeal for help. But then, the contemporary existence is something we can no more avoid than we can climate change. It is a reality of our present urban existence that we just have to suffer through, and coyly live with.






Tawi-Tawi peace council convened to address Sitangkai conflict

by (PNA)

LAP/FMS/mec


ZAMBOANGA CITY — Governor Hadji Sadikul Sahali has convened the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) to settle a clan war in that otherwise peaceful province in Southeestern Philippines. Sahali, who chairs the PPOC, said that his agenda in convening the council was to address the armed conflict between two groups in the Municipality of Sitangkai that has been reportedly escalating. The PPOC chairman has directed the Police Provincial Director Sr. Supt. Rodelio Jocson to provide him with regular updates on the situation in the area. Initially, Jocson confirmed that there has been armed engagement between the two warring factions, which were not identified. However, he said that the groups have agreed on a ceasefire and settlement of the conflict is under negotiation. He also said that the peace and order situation in the Province of Tawi-Tawi is manageable and there is no cause for alarm. In the same manner, Task Force 62 Commander, Navy Captain Renato Yongque also said that Tawi-Tawi in its entirety is peaceful, “that is why there is no military movement,” he stressed. Yongque also cited that the military has made changes in its approach and has adopted the so-called “Internal Peace and Security Plan or the Bayanihan,” composed of teams of selected soldiers to help work for peace in the community. Meanwhile, Sahali said that the conflict in Sitangkai between the two groups is purely a clan war, which is normally occurring in the province and elsewhere. He stressed his optimism that such conflict could be addressed soon, just like incidents of the same nature that have already occurred in the past but were given solutions. “We have peace in Tawi-Tawi, and we will protect that peace,” the governor stressed.






Rescued

by www.tawitawi.net


Two alleged victims of human trafficking were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) while onboard a ship in Tawi-Tawi. Lieutenant Commander Algier Ricafrent, PCG spokesman, said that Coast Guard Station-Bongao received a report that two teenagers – Remelyn Ponce, 18 and Roselyn Ponce, 16 – who were reportedly victims of human trafficking, were held onboard MV TrishaKerstin-2 while en route to Bongao, Tawi Tawi on April 10.

Further investigation disclosed that the girls, who left home without the knowledge of their families, were promised jobs as domestic helpers in Malaysia. Upon learning of the incident, Ponce’s mother sought assistance from the Coast Guard.

Meanwhile, five persons were arrested in separate anti-illegal drugs operations in Quezon City since Friday afternoon. Investigators of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) identified the arrested suspects as Mary Jane Obarra, 39; Danilo Fernando Sr., 52; Theresa Cruz, 43; Gilbert Cruz, 22; and Aldrin Rivera, 22.






Promoting Tourism on Beautiful but Violent Tawi-Tawi

by Bongao.


The island’s pristine waters, prehistoric caves and mountain lookouts, it turns out, lie in the vicinity of fierce battles between rebel groups and the Philippine military.

Kidnappings are a recurring problem on Tawi-Tawi, and clan warfare, beheadings and roadside bombs are all too common on the surrounding islands in the southern Philippines. Nonetheless, Gov. Sadikul Sahali and local tourism officials are laying out the welcome mat, with a new promotional campaign aimed at trumpeting the charms of Tawi-Tawi and other nearby isles.

National tourism officials are opposed to foreigners visiting the area because of the dangers. A national tourism campaign, with the slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” has been something of a sensation on the Internet, though, and users have appropriated the slogan in postings on social media sites to celebrate — and mock — what constitutes “fun” in some areas. One such image under the heading “Vacation. It’s More Fun in the Philippines” shows a kidnapped couple flanked by masked, armed men in Mindanao, the easternmost island in the Philippines.

“If you are in central and western Mindanao, you should leave immediately,” states a recent travel advisory from the Australian government to its citizens.

“If, despite our very strong advice against travel, you decide to visit central or western Mindanao,” it added, “you should put in place robust measures to ensure your personal security, seek professional security advice and take out kidnapping insurance.”

The United States, Britain and many other countries have had similar travel warnings for more than a decade.

It is no surprise, given the recent history of the area around Tawi-Tawi, that visitors are urged to arrange security along with their tour packages.

On nearby Jolo Island in February, Philippine Air Force jets dropped two bombs that killed more than a dozen rebels, including top leaders of a regional terrorist network with links to Al Qaeda, military officials said.

A nearby island, Basilan, is a stronghold for the top terrorist organization in the Philippines, Abu Sayyaf.

Just beyond Basilan, in Zamboanga Sibugay Province, Warren Richard Rodwell, a 53-year-old Australian, has been held captive since his abduction on Dec. 5. In July, a vacationing American, Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann, her 14-year-old son and her 19-year-old Filipino nephew were kidnapped in a coastal area of Zamboanga City. All three are now free, and Ms. Lunsmann and her son have returned to the United States. No one has confirmed or denied rumors that ransoms were paid.

Despite the warnings, two European birdwatchers decided to visit Tawi-Tawi in hopes of seeing the extremely rare Sulu hornbill. They were kidnapped on Feb. 1 and remain in captivity. The violence and kidnappings in the south pose a significant problem for Philippine tourism officials.

“The Philippines remains an ideal destination, with foreign individuals and groups continuing to arrive,” the Department of Tourism said in a statement shortly after the birdwatchers were kidnapped. “So far, no cancellations have been made.”

In Bongao, on Tawi-Tawi, the desk clerk at the Beachside Inn, Nur Uddin, said by telephone that foreigners continued to arrive, although not very often. “If you come here, you should hire a security guard to make sure you are safe,” he said.

Salvacion Pescadera, a provincial tourism officer, said the kidnapping of the birdwatchers was an isolated case that, she said, occurred because they had not sought security clearance from the Tourism Department before visiting a remote area. She said that her office coordinated with the local police to provide security for visitors. “You’ll be in good hands,” she said.

DENR, tourism council seek more no-mining zones

by Kristine L. Alave

Philippine Daily Inquirer


MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Tourism Council last week endorsed proposals to delineate hundreds of areas as “no-mining zones.” According to Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, the DENR has recommended that the government add nine more sites to its current list of 239 protected areas. Of those already on the list, 178 of them would be further declared as “eco-tourism zones,” to expand their protection from all extractive activities, including small-scale mining. The nine new areas to be placed under the conservation area status are: Balbalan-Balbalasang National Park in the Cordillera Region, Zambales Mountains in Regions 1 and 3, Mts. Irid Angelo and Binuang in Region 4A, Polilio Group of Islands, also in Region 4A, Mts. Iglit Baco National Park in Region 4B, Nug as Lantoy in Region 7, Mt. Nacolod in Region 8, Mt. Hilong-hilong in Region 13, and Bongao Peak in Tawi-tawi Island. On strengthening restrictions in 178 protected areas, Paje said: “The priority land use in these areas is tourism,” Paje said. “We have agreed that these areas are no-mining zones,” Paje added. ‘In conflict’ He said government is supportive of the idea since it wants to bolster the country’s tourism industry. A few months ago, the Department of Tourism launched a campaign with a tag line “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” to entice more foreign tourists to come to the country. The move to delineate more protected areas came after DENR, Silliman University and the German aid agency noted that the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act of 1992 has loopholes that allow some extractive and commercial activities even in protected areas. Also, the review noted that current laws on protected areas and the Mining Act of 1995 are “in conflict” when it comes to areas that are open to mining and areas with a protected status. The Nipas law also mandates Congress to declare a particular area as a protected site, which is an expensive and long process.

DPWH Sec. Sadain visits, inspects Tawi- Tawi Projects

by (PR/BFC)


BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi- (March 11, 2012) Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Department of Public Works and Highways Regional Secretary Emil K. Sadain personally inspected on-going projects being undertaken by the ARMM government in the island provinces over the weekends.


Sec. Sadain made his province-hopping across the southern islands including Tawi-Tawi where he, along with local executives led by Gov. Sadikul Sahali officially inspected the continuing construction of three steel bridges worth approximately P97.0 M across the Sanga-Sanga-Lapid-Lapid rapids in Bongao town, which, if completed, will spur economic growth as well as boost social transformation in the islands.

Phase I and II of the project had been substantially completed while Phase III posted accomplishment now at 98.13 percent complete while construction works still continuing and expected to be finished by September this year. Construction started last June 10, 2010.

Bridge Project Engr. Jul-Arab Kong of the DPWH-RO-9 said that by April of this year, President Benigno Aquino III is set to inaugurate and declare it open for public use.

Sec. Sadain, con-currently DPWH-President Bridge Program Director with an appointment as national Assistant Secretary, pointed out that after decades at attempting to construct the bridge projects, it is only now that we are to realize it.

The bridge project, one of the priorities of the national government would connect the Bongao capital town island to the other mainland island towns making accessible trade and commerce as well as allow the movements of people to travel by land, according to Sadain.

Sec. Sadain also led the ocular assessment and inspection of Tubig Malum (Rio Hondo) in Sitio Malum, Barangay Magsaggaw, Panglima Sugala town about 6 kilometers from the capital Barangay Bato-Bato to determine the possibility for implementation of the proposed water system as a potential source of potable water. The water system will be tapped and distributed to the entire main island of the province. The river which stretches downstream from barangay Marang-Marang (Languyan town) to Barangay Magsaggaw extending further through Barangay Kulapi towards the southern tip of Panglima Sugala municipality has sufficient volume of fresh water that could cater a growing population.

Meanwhile, Gov. Sahali briefed Sec. Sadain about the proposal to undertake the project because it is a priority need of the people. The Governor said it’s high time that a viable and sustainable water works system harnessing the Malum River will address the perennial shortage of water supply in the island province Sahali, likewise emphasized his willingness to extend his local counterpart contribution to start with the project even as he toured the ARMM official to the site despite the difficulty in traversing the rugged road conditions and trails to reach the area.

“We must do an actual assessment of the situation on the ground and know where to start,” Sadain emphasized even as he assured to work for its realization under PNoy’s administration.

Accompanied by DPWH officials and staff, Sadain took time out to conduct consultations with the seven district officials of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, who joined him in Tawi-Tawi for the holding of the First Joint Regional and District Conference held at the DPWH district office in Bongao town, where the DPWH-ARMM Reform Agenda 2012 was laid down as a policy guidelines of the ARMM leadership by fully implementing important milestone projects using available resources and funding.

Tawi-Tawi DPWH District Engr. Bensoud Ajihil, who played host to the conference vowed to continue to support the ARMM Secretary in fulfilling the reform agenda as mandated by doing its share in developing the southern frontier of the country.

Sadain said that in support of the reform programs and good governance of ARMM, milestone targets has been set in place.

He declared that DPWH-ARMM has attained remarkable achievements in the pursuit of reform for good governance, defining its new policies and programs in the field of administrative, technical and financial matters, in just almost 3 months since he assumed.

He said, the first 100 days accomplishments, for both physical and financial inclusive of the difficulties encountered, the impact of the programs and activities as reflected in the reports as well as recommendations has been submitted to the ARMM regional Governor.

Discussions also centered on all the accomplishments of the department and the sharing of information on the problems experienced with regards to project implementation and on how to address them.

Sadain is optimistic, with help from all stakeholders to include local government units, Barangays, the NGO’s and the members of the community; ARMM will be able to take off from its slumber under the present administration of Regional Gov. Hataman.

Sadain, who assumed last January 17, 2012 as DPWH cabinet secretary promised to institute changes not only from within the system but also develop a scheme to address on the deep-seated “culture of people” working habits in bringing the desired development for the ARMM.

Earlier, Saidain said that when he was appointed as the DPWH-ARMM secretary, he noticed that it's not only the system that need to be changed but also the culture of the people working on it especially the public officials particularly those under his supervision from what he described as, “from the culture of officials down to workers in the office” and the department's programming on project implementation solely focuses on local roads which were then gradually destroyed as of this period.

On national roads with a total of 1,100 kilometers, about 70 percent of the road was done adding that with the marching orders of the President to the newly appointed ARMM governor to cover the 100 percent National paved roads by next midterm elections, due to that the 70 percent of the national roads should be given right priority under the program of DPWH-ARMM.

Sadain added he is now in the midst of undertaking the needed reforms within his department to set the right example and provide the avenue for real change to take its course for the good of the ARMM constituents.

Part of the reform effort focuses on reviewing falsified documents on the appointments of employees while upholding civil service rulings in cleansing his department on the old ways of culture to professionalize the bureaucracy, according to Sadain.

Sec. Sadain claimed that President Aquino’s choice for OIC Regional Gov. Hataman is welcome as the latter is sincere and committed in delivering reform in the ARMM Region even as he expects everyone to support.

The department also looks forward in developing some projects that would invite donor countries in the form of providing grants such as the USAID, Organization of Islamic Conference, JICA and others that extends assistance for member countries.

Much earlier, Sec. Sadain has issued a memo to the two district engineering offices which compliments the first district of Maguindanao and the second district of Lanao del Sur for the maintenance of road clearing for the commuters to feel comfortable in their travel from Cotabato City up to Parang and Malabang all the way to Marawi City which stretch up to 70 kilometers long. The road signage's on the sharp curves, street markings and kilometer posts were planned to be placed along the roadsides.

The department targets to cater about 80 percent of the budget focused on national roads and bridges and the balance will be considered by 2013. He further explained that he sub-divided their office programming, 80 percent of it for the national roads and 20 percent for the high-impact or strategic roads adding that these roads are those problematic roads on calamity or conflict affected areas.

While in Basilan, the secretary accompanied Governor Hataman to inaugurate the multi-million pesos worth of JICA-funded Integrated port Terminal in Lamitan City and inspected other infra projects.

In Sulu, Sadain, together with the regional governor and Sulu officials led the ground-breaking of Jolo-Taglibi-Tiptipun road network; inspection of the existing and on-going construction road projects; visit of the area equipment and the Sulu’s two engineering district offices; assessment of the proposed water and drainage systems in Jolo; and meeting with local officials led by Gov. Sakur Tan.

In the Secretary’s entourage were Maguindanao District Engineers Emran Buisan (Dist. 1), and Zainal Mlok (Dist. 2), Lanao District Engineers Tetinga Langit Sumagayan (Dist. 1) and Maldamin Decampong (Dist. 2), Sulu D.E. Taballang Atluh (Dist. 1) and Barlie Nahudan (Dist. 2), Basilan D.E. Bensali Kasim and Tawi-Tawi D.E. Bensoud Ajihil.

Simunul Mayor ousted

by Press Release


Nazif Ahmad B. Abdurahman, the mayor of Simunul, a fourth class and one of the 11 municipalities in Tawi-Tawi, has been ousted from office. This came about as Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 5 Acting Presiding Judge Peter V. Eisma of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, has issued a five-page Special Order dated April 2, 2012 granting the “motion for execution” of its February 10, 2012 order that “annulled and set aside” Abdurahman's proclamation and declared Benzar N. Tambut as the duly elected mayor of Simunul municipality, Province of Tawi-Tawi.

“Wherefore, judgment is hereby rendered, finding the protestant Benzar N. Tambut as the duly elected Municipal Mayor of the Municipality of Simunul, Province of Tawi-Tawi. The proclamation of the protestee Nazif Ahmad B. Abdurahman as Municipal Mayor of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi in the last May 10, 2012 elections is hereby ANNULED and SET ASIDE,” the Court stated in its February 10, 2012 decision.

The Court issued the order after Tambut, assisted by election lawyer Quirino Esguerra, Jr., has protested Abdurahman's proclamation citing various irregularities allegedly conducted and/or perpetrated by Abdurahman and/or his followers and cohorts during the conduct of the automated national and local elections on May 10, 2010.

Tambut has contested and impugned the results of six of the total 20 clustered precincts for the mayoralty position. Earlier, Abdurahman was proclaimed as the winner in the mayoralty race having garnered the highest votes casted and canvassed during the May 10, 2010 election with a total of 2,955 votes as compared to Tambut who obtained 2,386 votes, the second highest ranking in the race of six aspirants for mayor.

However, the Court, after the revision and judicial appreciation of ballots, has annulled and set aside Aburahman's proclamation since it found out that Tambut garnered 2,329 votes while Abdurahman garnered a total of 1,933 votes or with a difference of 396 votes.

The Court in its April 2, 2012 decision has cited “public interest” in granting the “motion for execution” filed by Tambut and Esguerra, his legal counsel.

“Public interest involved is beyond doubt that warrants the execution of the decision of this court pending appeal when this court established the true and genuine expression of the will of the electorate of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, thereby establishing protestant's right to the contested office by declaring him undoubtedly the true and genuine winner with a plurality of Three Hundred Ninety Six (396) votes as manifestly established in the decision promulgated by this Court on February 10, 2012,” the Court said.

“Public interest demands the immediate execution of the decision of the court and to rule against the execution pending appeal is greatly prejudicial to the constituents of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi whose true and genuine winner has been judicially determined by this court,” the Court added.






Court unseats Tawi-Tawi municipal mayor

by Bong Garcia


A REGIONAL trial court has unseated Nazif Ahmad B. Abdurahman as the mayor of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi province.

The Regional Trial Court (RTC) branch 5 acting presiding judge Peter V. Eisma of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, has issued a five-page special order dated April 2, 2012 granting the motion for execution of its February 10, 2012 order that annulled and set aside Abdurahman's proclamation.

The court declared Benzar N. Tambut as the duly elected mayor of Simunul municipality.

The court issued the order after Tambut, assisted by election lawyer Quirino Esguerra Jr., has protested Abdurahman's proclamation.

Tambut’s camp cited various irregularities allegedly conducted by Abdurahman or his followers and cohorts during the conduct of the automated national and local elections on May 10, 2010.

Tambut has contested the results of six of the total 20 clustered precincts for the mayoralty position.

Earlier, Abdurahman was proclaimed as the winner in the mayoralty race having garnered the highest votes casted and canvassed with a total of 2,955 votes as compared to Tambut who obtained 2,386 votes, the second highest ranking in the race of six mayoral aspirants.

The court has annulled and set aside Aburahman's proclamation after it found out after the revision and judicial appreciation of ballots that Tambut garnered 2,329 votes while Abdurahman garnered a total of 1,933 votes or with a difference of 396 votes.

The court in its April 2, 2012 decision has cited public interest in granting the motion for execution filed by Tambut and Esguerra.

“Public interest involved is beyond doubt that warrants the execution of the decision of this court pending appeal when this court established the true and genuine expression of the will of the electorate of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, thereby establishing protestant's right to the contested office by declaring him undoubtedly the true and genuine winner…,” the court said.

Simunul, which comprises of 15 villages, is a 4th class and one of the 11 municipalities of Tawi-Tawi.

Simunul has a population 31,962 people in 4,910 households based on the 2000 census of the National Statistics Office.

DENR-ARMM pursues greening program

by (EOR/APB-PIA 10)


MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, April 10 (PIA) -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DENR-ARMM) is engaging in a massive region-wide reforestation under the National Greening Program (NGP).

“We are vigorously pursuing the implementation of the NGP which seeks to address poverty reduction, food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation and adaptation,” said DENR-ARMM Secretary Kahal Kedtag during the 1st ARMM Summit on Environmental Protection held here recently.

He said the DENR-ARMM is set to produce 5,296,500 seedlings for the 2011-2012 implementation of the program.

According to him, these seedlings will be planted in 2,500 hectares of denuded and open forestland within the region’s five provinces, namely Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

It can be recalled that DENR Secretary Ramon Paje and ARMM OIC-Governor Mujiv Hataman inked an agreement earlier this year to ensure the full implementation of the NGP in the region.

A flagship program of President Benigno S. Aquino III, the greening program involves the growing of 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares of lands nationwide from 2011 to 2016.

ARMMAA 2012 reels off

by Bong Garcia


LAMITAN CITY, Basilan — The 2012 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Athletic Association (ARMMAA) meet kicked off Saturday with officials encouraging the athletes “to aim for the best.”

The week-long athletic competition is being participated by some 6,000 athletes composed of 12 athletic delegations coming from the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.

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The largest athletic contingent is from the province of Tawi-Tawi.

“Aim high and aim for the best,” Armm officer-in-charge Governor Mujiv Hataman told the athletes.

Hataman encouraged the athletes to set a goal not just in participating in the 2012 ARMMAA but to be able to reach to the Palarong Pambansa and possibly in the Olympics.

Hataman also enjoined them to be instruments of peace as this year’s sports competition is themed: “Bridging Peace, Unity and Development through Sports.”

“Let sportsmanship and discipline be the order of the day,” Basilan Congressman Jim Salliman, the elder brother of Hataman, told the athletes.

Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay said the hosting of the ARMMAA 2012 gives them the opportunity to showcase the best of the city especially in the field of tourism.

“We may not provide you excellent facilities but we will offset it with warm hospitality,” Furigay said.

Lamitan City has pristine beaches and beautiful falls like the Bulingan Falls.

Furigay has thanked Hataman and Salliman for their full support to the City Government in the hosting of ARMMAA 2012.

The holding of this year’s ARMMAA is the second time this city played hosts.

The first time Lamitan played hosts to ARMMAA was in 2005 when it was still a municipality.

Remote Villages Get Health Care

by ALI G. MACABALANG


COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Remote villages in the once scary Maguindanao province and the southernmost tips of Tawi-Tawi islands are now receiving health services and medical care which rural folks had longed for decades. Reports about the trend-setting outreach services surfaced at the education and health summit conducted here recently. Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr., incumbent health secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), told summit participants that more than 2,000 “deprived people” of Tawi-Tawi received medical attention and health services in a week-long (March 18-25) caravan on the island towns of Sapa-Sapa and Languyan. The “geographically disadvantaged” villagers of the two island towns received various “medical-surgical-safe motherhood outreach” services never done in one setting before, Sinolinding said in his presentation backed by statistics and photos. “Braving the scorching heat of the sun and the staggering hours of travel by sea, we once touched hearts and brought vision and hope among more than 2,000 people in Languyan and Sapapa island towns,” said the ARMM health official cum expert ophthalmologist.

Philippines says it is now ready to sign peace deal with Muslim rebels

by (Mindanao Examiner)


COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 2, 2012) – The Philippines said it is ready to sign a peace agreement with Muslim rebels fighting for self-determination in the restive South. The statement came ahead of peace talks set to begin this month in Kuala Lumpur.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front said peace negotiations are going nowhere after Manila rejected the rebel demand for a Muslim sub-state in Mindanao similar to Malaysia, which is brokering the talks.

“Government maintains that it is ready to sign a peace pact with the MILF in the soonest possible time. We have laid a very pragmatic proposal that will ensure real and genuine autonomy for the Bangsamoro on the table,” Marvic Leonen, chief government peace negotiators, said on Monday.

He said the last round of talks with the MILF in Marc have been very difficult, with both parties engaged in hard bargaining on the substantive aspects of the negotiations.

“Given the dynamic nature of the negotiations, it has to be understood that there are issues that may be hard to resolve. However, government is committed to work hard with its counterparts in the MILF to find mutually acceptable solutions and bring peace in Mindanao. Instead of trying to fuel people's apprehensions, we urge the MILF to work with government and meet our timetable for a peace agreement this year,” Leonen said.

The MILF said it will not sign any peace deal unless the Aquino government agreed on the creation of Muslim sub-state. “We cannot backtrack on our demand because it the will of the Bangsamoro people,” said Mohagher Iqbal, the chief MILF peace negotiator.

He said the MILF is unlikely to sign any peace accord anytime soon, saying, the government is not committed to forging a genuine and long and lasting solution in Mindanao.

The MILF said Manila has offered the five-province Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao which is composed of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao provinces.

“We will stick with our demand for a Muslim sub-state in Mindanao and nothing more,” Iqbal said.

The Aquino government has proposed the so-called “3-for-1” formula to achieve political settlement of conflict in Mindanao.

Among in the proposal is a roadmap for development and socio-economic rehabilitation in the Mindanao through the creation of the Joint Coordinating Committee on Development in which the Philippines offered partnership with the MILF in identifying and implementing socio-economic projects.

And peace accord through the creation of the Bangsamoro Commission that will be composed of representatives from the government, the MILF, and stakeholders in the Mindanao peace process and to re-craft an Organic Act for “genuine autonomy” and supervise the implementation of the peace pact.

And lastly is for the government to acknowledge the historical injustice of conflict and reconciliation wherein it is willing to officially retell the real history of Mindanao.

Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF vice chairman for political affairs, also expressed pessimism about the peace talks with the Aquino government, saying negotiations have been going on for a long time now, but nothing concrete has been achieved, except for the cease-fire agreement.

“We are very doubtful now whether we can sign a peace deal with government under this present administration,” he said following a recent caucus with senior MILF leaders in the South.

“The assessment of the political officers was the recently concluded peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Malaysia was very disappointing. What the government peace panel headed by Marvic Leonen did in the last talks was never our immediate expectation which is the reason why we are very much disappointed,” Jaafar said.

Damaged luxury cruise towed to port in Tawi-Tawi

by philstar.com


MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Ships are towing the damaged luxury cruise M/V Azamara Quest towards an island in the southern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi, police said today.

Philippine National Police spokesman Agrimero Cruz Jr. said that a towboat of the Philippine Coast Guard has started towing the ship anchored at Tubbataha Reef at around 9:45 a.m. and is expected to arrive at Taganak Island in Tawi-Tawi at around 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. They are being escorted by a Philippine Navy ship.

He added that all the passengers were still onboard the ship.

The 30,277-tonnage cruise ship, which has 590 passengers and 411 crew members, caught fire off southern Philippines Friday night while on its way to Sandakan, Malaysia.

Azamara Club Cruises, operator of Azamara Quest, said in an earlier statement that the vessel caught a fire in the engine room, but it was quickly extinguished; five of its crew members got injured, but no passenger hurt in the accident.

Because of the fire incident, the rest of the 17-day Azamara Quest's voyage was canceled.The ship started with the voyage on March 26 in Hong Kong and docked in Manila, Philippines' port on Thursday.

Luxury liner on fire off Tawi-Tawi island, authorities say - Inquirer.net

by Frances Mangosing, Julie S. AlipalaInquirer Mindanao,


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—A Filipino-manned luxury ship carrying about 600 American and European passengers caught fire off Mapun Island in Tawi-Tawi Saturday, a report from the Philippine Navy said. Colonel Jose Cenabre, deputy naval commander for Western Mindanao, said the ship was sailing 45 miles northeast of Mapun Island when fire of still unknown origin broke out. Cenabre said the Philippine Air Force in Western Mindanao has dispatched a plane to the area and a fishing vessel, which was near the ship’s location was also asked to assist in the evacuation of the passengers and the ship’s 121 crew, mostly Filipinos. “Rescue is underway,” he said. In a separate report, the Philippine Coast Giard said a crew member was injured. He was identified as Juan Carlos Rivera Escobar. However, Vice Admiral Edmund Tan of the PCG said they have yet to confirm if Escobar is Filipino. About 120 of the ship crew were Filipinos. In a travel alert by the Azamara Club Cruises posted in its website (March 30 12noon ET), the fire started on the engine room March 30 8:19p.m. ship time. However, no injuries of guests were reported. The mood onboard was “calm.” Also, “in an abundance of caution, the Captain deemed it necessary to muster all guests at their assembly stations. The ship is currently running on emergency power until full power can be restored to the engine room,” the statement said. As of March 30 6 p.m. EST, Azamara Quest is still located 200 miles off the coast of Balikpapan (Borneo), Indonesia, in calm seas, it added. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Omar Tonsay said the Philippine Navy sent its assets, including Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Emilio Liwanag, Leogivildo Gantioque, Juan Magluyan, and one multi-purpose assault craft for assistance operations. The Azamara Quest is currently on a 17-night sailing that departed Hong Kong, China, on Monday, March 26, with port calls to Manila, Philippines; Balikpapan (Borneo), Palapo (Sulawesi), Benoa Bali, Semarang and Komodo, Indonesia and will end in Singapore on Thursday.

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Tags: Cruise Ship , Marine Accident , maritime accident , Tawi-Tawi

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Tawi-tawi folks get health aid

by philstar.com


TAWI-TAWI, Philippines – Unfazed by kidnapping threats, health workers expanded their medical-dental outreach missions to the remotest islands here after being convinced that their patients will provide a thick layer of protection from criminal gangs.

The regional office of the Department of Health in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the office of Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali indicated that more than 2,000 villagers in islands near the Philippine-Malaysian border have been treated of various ailments.

The latest of the medical missions were held from March 15 to 18 in the island municipalities Sapa-Sapa and Languyan, dozens of miles off the provincial capital in Bongao.

Saberani Saparani, a Samah fisherman, who hails from a coastal village in Sapa-Sapa, said he has long resigned to the fate of not seeing medical workers in their community, until health workers arrived two weeks ago.

ARMM health secretary Kadil Sinolinding said their intensified operations would not materialize if not for the support of the provincial governor, Tawi-Tawi Vice Gov. Ruby Sahali, and the officer-in-charge of the autonomous region, Mujiv Hataman.

Sinolinding said lack of capability, in terms of mobility and other technical requirements, is the main cause of the operational constraint that has been hampering the delivery of health services to very far areas in the island municipalities.

The ARMM, which exists by virtue of its constitutionally-enshrined charter, the R.A. 9054, covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in Central Mindanao, the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan.

The morale of the rank and file personnel of DOH-ARMM just started to bounce back, dampened by the recent abductions in nearby Sulu province by Abu Sayyaf bandits.


In Tawi-Tawi, health workers have a peculiar sense of security, having that feeling of “protection” from the communities they serve and from the mayors and the provincial governor.

Sahali said they have fund allocations for health and social welfare services for all sectors in the province.

Sinolinding said among their thrusts in the province are the joint safe motherhood and reproductive health; maternal and child health; nutrition and immunization programs of the DOH-ARMM and the central office of the health department.

Majority of Muslim clerics here now supported the DOH’s reproductive health programs in the context of “birth spacing” through natural methods of contraception.

“Birth spacing, to ensure the socio-economic welfare of the entire family, is not a taboo in Islam,” said Imam Esmael Ebrahim of the Ulama Conference of the Philippines, who is a consultant for religious concerns of the DOH-ARMM.

The “Lakbay Buhay Kalusugan” program of the national office of DOH, meant to promote extensive health education to impoverished families in the countryside, has also been fully integrated in the service framework of the municipal and barangay health service facets scattered in the province.

“Ignorance, lack of even just the most basic knowledge on human health is just like a deadly plague than can kill people,” said Sinolinding.

Sinolinding first served as regional health secretary in 2010, under then acting ARMM Gov. Ansaruddin Adiong, and was, subsequently, retained by Hataman, who is to serve as regional chief executive on caretaker basis until 2013.

189 farmers join vermi composting congress

by PBCHANGCO/ TENGDATU


COTABATO City-- Some 189 farmers, agriculture officials and workers as well as local executives from Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi participated in the 2-day Regional Vermicomposting Congress held March 19-20, 2012 in the city as a continuing promotion of organic farming in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm). The activity was spearheaded by Director Silverio Tejada of the Department of Agriculture- Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM) in coordination with the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries-ARMM (DAF-ARMM) under Regional Secretary Sangcula Tindick. DAF-ARMM regional information division chief Dhigs Abdullah said, the activity is part of strengthening agriculture production in the fi ve provinces through organic farming through vermi composting and rapid composting using the facilities including shredder provided to farmers by DA-BSWM.

Abdullah said that DAFARMM regional secretary strongly urged the participants to fully utilize the facilities and machinery such as the shredder for the production of compost through the assistance of farm technicians not only to ensure increase harvest but also benefi cial to the protection of the environment. BSWM Director Silverio Tejada, on the other hand, called on the farmers particularly the recipients of the 105 shredder machine and vermitea facility to further strengthen practice of organic farming which would generate to increase harvest at a much lower production cost while help restore soil fertility, Abdullah said. Abdul lah said, Tejada warned that unutilized and idle equipment and machinery will be awarded to other farmerbenefi ciaries who are able and willing to use them in pursuit of the rice and food suffi ciency program of the department under RA 10068 - Organic Act of the Philippines. Meanwhile, ARMM executive secretary Atty. Anwar Malang expressed full support to the program as he stressed the importance and potential of organic rice, vegetable and other agricultural products in the local and world markets similar to halal food.






2007 population, 2010 revalidated figures in ARMM

by AMITA O. LEGASPI


The National Statistics Office (NSO) has uncovered a 1.08-million discrepancy in the population of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) based on its 2007 report and their revalidated 2010 figures — an important piece of information for the government as it moves to restore the credibility of the elections in the region.

“Based on their revalidation within, we found out that the population in 2010 was 25 percent lower than what was [initially] reported,” NSO administrator Carmelita Ericta told President Benigno Aquino III Wednesday during a meeting on ARMM voter-registration in Malacañang.

In 2007, the ARMM registered a population of 4.1 million. A revalidation in 2010, however, reduced the figures to 3.2 million.

“When we undertook the 2010 census, we validated the initial counts through the use of satellite maps,” Ericta explained to the President.

She also noted a substantial increase in the population of ARMM—from 2.8 million in 2000 to 4.1 million in 2007.

Ericta said the population rate of the country excluding ARMM grew at 1.89 percent between 2000 and 2007 while ARMM reported a growth of 5.46 percent.

“If you will see the provincial breakdown, Maguindanao had the biggest growth rate of 6.6% followed by Basilan at 6.44%,” she said.

The elections in ARMM, originally scheduled in August last year, were moved to May next year in what the Aquino administration described as a move to restore the credibility of the political exercise there.

Annulment of voters’ registration

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes said they have been cleansing the voters’ registration list in ARMM and they were able to nullify the registration of at least 236,000 double registrants.

He said they are also seriously considering the annulment of the existing voter’s registration in ARMM’s five provinces —Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan — and conduct a new one.

However, the poll body en banc has yet to decide on the matter.

“We’re discussing with [ARMM] Governor [Mujiv] Hataman the probability of having to annul all of the voters’ registration in all the five provinces. We’ll be talking with all of the governors and all of the civil society groups. In fact, I went to Cotabato to talk to them and discuss what are the problems,” Brillantes said.

He said the Comelec will need P430 million for the mobilization, deployment, procurement of machines for the new registration.

Restore credibility

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad assured those in the meeting that they can provide the fund needed.

“I think P430-million, Mr. President, will not be too much compared to the restoration of the credibility of the process there and we can afford that level of investment, Mr. President,” he said.

He said funding the registration is important considering the seriousness of the discrepancies.

“At the end of the day, we have to put more weight in the credibility of the coming political exercises especially since, you know, we’ve laid out an ARMM reform roadmap and the elections is always the… the most observed and an indicator whether we are serious about pursuing reforms in ARMM,” Abad said.

Abad said the fund could be sourced from the budget earlier allocated for the postponed ARMM elections and the President's contingency fund.

In an interview after the meeting, Aquino said he would leave it to the Comelec to decide if the voters’ registration list in the provinces will be annulled or not.

“Comelec will now meet the en banc and decide on exactly how to proceed whether the annulment of the entire registration for the five provinces should be done or can be done and then they will decide and that is the agreement,” he said.

“They will bring it—there is a decision of the en banc that is necessary before you effect the changes in the voters’ list in the ARMM,” he added. - KBK, GMA News





Suspected human trafficking victims rescued

by Jamie Marie Elona

INQUIRER.net


MANILA, Philippines—Suspected victims of human trafficking were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard in Zamboanga province, a report from Radyo Inquirer 990AM said Tuesday. The report quoted PCG spokesperson Lieutenant Commander Algier Ricafrente as saying that PCG received the information from the Visayan Forum Foundation Inc., informing them of nine suspected human trafficking victims onboard MV Trisha Kertin-2, which was then docked at the Zamboanga City pier but was just waiting for its departure time for Sandakan, Malaysia, via Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. Ricafrente said they took custody of the victims after discovering in a mandatory pre-departure inspection that all nine individuals didn’t have appropriate documents for their travel. The victims were later turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, he said.






Border Crossing Stations Beefed Up

by JUN RAMIREZ


MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is fielding more men in Mindanao following an upsurge of undocumented foreigners in the region.

BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. signed a memorandum order creating a border crossing coordinating committee (BCCO) that will oversee the deployment of immigration officers to border crossing stations near the country's borders with Indonesia and Malaysia.

The memorandum also spelled out the guidelines for deploying border crossing officers who will be fielded on a rotation basis.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. issued a memorandum on Nov. 16 last year directing the BI to augment its staff in Mindanao’s border crossing stations in view of the “alarming” increase in the number of undocumented Indonesians in the region.

David said the committee will coordinate all of the bureau’s activities on border crossing and formulate policies and initiate policies on border control and security.

According to BI personnel officer Danilo Lopez, there are 25 border crossing officers, holding the position of Immigration Officer III.

Lopez said the border crossing stations are in Bongao and Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi; Taganak and Balabac, Palawan; and Batunganding and Tibanban, Davao del Sur.

The committee will coordinate with Malaysian and Indonesian consulates on all border crossing matters and serve as the bureau’s liaison to regional offices and local government units in the border areas.

The main task of border crossing officers is to provide immigration services to foreigners arriving and departing at the border stations.

They will also detect and monitor activities of suspected illegal entrants and illegal aliens; monitor human trafficking activities; adopt measures for apprehending human traffickers and effect the exclusion of illegal entrants and overstaying border crossers.

Eight development projects up for implementation in ARMM

by (PNA)

scs/NYP/EOF


COTABATO CITY — The three-month-old administration of acting Regional Governor Mujib Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has entered into an agreement with the region's local government executives for the implementation of peace and development projects. ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) project manager Abba Kuaman signed, in behalf of Hataman, with the town mayors a program implementation agreement or incentive for World Bank-funded ASFP projects. ASFP will implement the Municipal Block Grant or MGB which costs P1.5 million per municipality for the community-driven development approach or CDD. These projects are empowering communities with supervision from local government units. Kuaman explained that the MGB aims to improve the project’s engagement from community or village level to the town level adopting the CDD approach. ARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Beneficiaries of the projects are the local government units of Lamitan, Basilan; Jolo, Sulu; Wao, Lanao del Sur; Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi; Upi, Maguindanao, Indanan, Sulu and Datu Paglas, Maguindanao. Kuaman signed the program implementation memorandum with Mayors Roderick Furigay of Lamitan, Husin Amin of Jolo, Jasper Que of Bongao, Tiblan Ahaja of Sitangkay, Elvino Balicao of Wao, Ramon Piang Sr. of Upi, Saipuddin Jikiri of Indanan, and Mohamad Paglas of Datu Paglas. These local government executives have good records of project implementation and good governance, thus they were chosen. "It is important that the LGUs have good record of project implementation for them to qualify as beneficiaries," Kuaman said in a news briefing. "More projects are coming and we expect local officials to improve their performance in terms of project implementation because we are pushing for reform," he added. "To ensure 100 percent performance on projects identified by the people and funded by ASFP, we will pursue this partnership up to the time we can attain the common goal of alleviating poverty and then attaining peace and development in the region." ASFP has been the peace development arm of the autonomous government for the past eight years.

Sun Cellular widens reach in Luzon

by Reynaldo Navales


FOLLOWING the initial wave of its network expansion in Mindanao, Sun Cellular strengthened its signal reach in Luzon.

“This is all part of our network enhancement program to be able to meet the demand of our customers from all parts of the country,” says Charles Lim, Chief Operating Officer of Sun Cellular.

“From Kalinga Apayao up in North Luzon all the way down to Tawi Tawi in Mindanao, our kababayans can now experience the power of Unlimited as only Sun Cellular can provide, and more,” Lim added.

Covered by this phase of the expansion program are parts of Benguet, Ifugao, Isabela, Kalinga Apayao, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora and Quirino.

Lim says these developments are made possible with the support of the PLDT infrastructure. “This is one of the advantages we get now that we are a member of the PLDT Group. Making use of synergies within our group plus enhancements to our own network help us expand our signal faster.”

Earlier, Sun Cellular also widened its reach in Mindanao in areas such as Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Camiguin, Zamboanga, Tawi-Tawi, Dinagat Island, Compostela Valley, Sulu, parts of Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro and Davao del Sur among others.

Among Sun Cellular’s new products available in these areas are the Power Text Unlimited 200 that comes with unlimited Sun texts, 4 hours of Sun calls and 500 texts to other networks and the Text Unlimited 150 that features 30 days of unlimited texting to fellow Sun subscribers.

It also introduced a new postpaid plan, the Plan 250 which includes unlimited Sun-to-Sun texts, four hours of Sun-to-Sun calls, 500 texts to other networks plus a free phone.

Of particular interest to residents of the new expanded areas in Luzon is Sun Cellular’s most affordable international services offerings, which allows those with loved ones abroad to call them for as low as P.50 per minute to selected countries or send text messages for only P 1.00 thru Call & Text International SIM to such destinations as the mainland USA, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Macau, Japan, Qatar, Brunei, Guam, Hawaii, Oman, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Turkey, Northern Marianas Islands, Jamaica, Bahamas, and Puerto Rico.

This network expansion in Luzon is said to be an important installment to Sun Cellular’s nationwide network expansion for 2012.

“Sun Cellular will continue to enhance its network and give the public more new and exciting best value products and services. We strive to be a true partner in communications for every Filipino wherever they may be,” Lim concludes.

Sun Cellular is a member of the PLDT Group.

Leaders sign pact to protect marine resources

by Bong Garcia


THE mayors of the 42 municipalities in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces led by their governors and some congressional representatives signed Thursday a covenant to protect the seas.

Also included in the covenant they signed is to provide fisheries-related livelihood project to their constituents.

The covenant signing held in Zamboanga City jumpstarts the beginning of Mindanao-wide consultations for possible finalization of the "Fish for Peace in Mindanao" program.

"The Fish for Peace program seeks to institute equity and sustainability in the use of the fisheries resources by local fisher folk residents," Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) national director Asis Perez said.

Perez noted that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), based on the data of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, has contributed in 2011 about eight percent of the country's 2.72 million metric tons production from capture fisheries and 37.3 percent of the total 1.84 million metric tons of seaweed.

"Protecting what remained of our pristine waters from destructive fishing must be the first among the list of our priorities if we are serious in providing fish for all our people," Perez said.

Perez said the program has three major components. These are: Bantay Dagat Pangkapayapaan that seeks to address habitat protection; Binhi Para Sa Kapayapaan; and KaPAYAOpaan for livelihood generation and resource rehabilitation.

"Peace and poverty-related problems continue to plague Mindanao particularly Armm, despite the vastness of their seas and the variety of fish and other aquatic organisms that abound," Department of Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Fisheries Salvador Salacup said.

Salacup said the program is not the typical dole-out livelihood program of the government as this is firmly anchored on a strong partnership and collaboration between and among the stakeholders, each partner having to give something to ensure that the program will be implemented properly.

"Even the fisherfolk-beneficiary, poor as they are, has to have a stake mostly in the form of labor to volunteerism in securing their own municipal waters from illegal fishing activities," Salacup added.

"This is the first time that serious attention is now being provided by the government to Armm," Perez said, citing BFAR had initially earmarked a total of P30.37 million -- the highest so far provided for Armm in the agency's more than six decades of operation.

Of the total allotment, Perez said P13.5 million will be used to purchase 1,000 units of 16-horse power engine that will be awarded as a counterpart to partner local government units (LGUs) which will construct patrol boats for Bantay Dagat operations.

Perez said the P13.5 million will also cover the purchase of seaweed farm implements for 850 project beneficiaries and 50 units of payao, a fish aggregating device.

He said the remaining P17.23 million is earmarked for the implementation of aquiasilviculture program in the five provinces of Armm.

The amount covers the establishment of five multi-species hatcheries at P1.2 million each; development of 80 aquasilviculture demo farms at P68,250 for excavation and fencing materials; and for the planting of 915,000 mangrove propagules that will benefit 305 fishermen who can earn as much as P18,000 in planting a total of 3,000 mangrove trees.

The initial project fund is expected to generate livelihood for 2,487 fisher folk families broken down as follows: 850 seaweed farms; 1,250 fishers for the payao; 305 for mangrove rehabilitation and 80 aquasilviculture farms.

In addition, Perez said a total of 305 hectares of new mangrove areas will be established that would help in resource enhancement and coastal protection.

"Our agency has yet to evaluate the significance of the multi-species hatcheries for resource generation and the protection of the fish habitat from destructive fishing as a result of strict law enforcement," Perez said.

PHL tourist arrivals up 17% to record high in Jan. – DOT

by VS/HS, GMA News


Visitor arrivals reached a record-breaking high of 411,064 last January, up 17.5 percent from 349,713 a year earlier, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday.

That was the same month that the government launched its popular "More fun in the Philippines" tourism slogan, which quickly became viral and a meme with countless online participants.

“We are happy to set a new all-time high for the industry, as we have now reached and surpassed the 400,000-visitor arrival mark for the first time in any single month,” the department said in a statement, citing Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.

It may also signal that the country has finally overcome the tourism setback caused by the massacre of eight Hong Kong tourists in August 2010, resulting in an immediate drop in tourism arrivals. The government has also had to cope with the effects of kidnappings of foreigners, including two bird scientists in Tawi-Tawi in late January.

The US' State Department issued a stern warning to its citizens in Juanuary about the dangers of travelling in the Philippines.

Jimenez is said to be a marketing genius, creating a spin that highlights the joyful spirit of Filipinos and papers over the country's myriad problems, from a high crime rate to unmaintained public toilets to an international airport repeatedly called one of the world's worst.

“We expect that these numbers will continue to steadily increase with the introduction of our new brand campaign this year and the convergence initiatives and efforts that the DOT has been undertaking with other government agencies and the private sector,” Jimenez added.

Koreans accounted for the biggest number of visitors at 102,166, or 24.9 percent of the total. “This achieves another feat for PHL tourism, as this also marks the first time that a market achieved more than 100,000 in any single month,” the department said.

Visitors from the United States were the second largest at 63,160 or 15.4 percent of the inbound traffic.

The Chinese market bested the Japanese market as the third biggest volume of 42,868 arrivals — a triple-digit growth of 173.8 percent from 15,656. The heavy influx of Chinese tourists was attributed the Chinese New Year in the third week of January.

The Japanese and the Taiwanese ranked as fourth and fifth top visitors, with 32,089 and 21,995 arrivals, respectively. The Japanese arrivals were 1.6 percent higher year-on-year and accounted for 7.8 percent of the total arrivals.

Tourists from Taiwan was 60.7 percent more in volume terms, capturing 5.4 percent of the total arrivals.

Overseas Filipinos — or Filipinos permanently residing abroad —accounted for 15,531 arrivals, or 3.8 percent of the total volume.

“We are excited to meet our year-end target of 4.6 million arrivals with the full roll-out of the campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” Jimenez said.

“Policy reforms and convergence projects with other government agencies will seek to address impediments to tourism growth, particularly accessibility, connectivity and entry procedures,” the secretary noted.

“More importantly, everybody’s support is critical in creating the fun and competitive image that we are selling to the world,” he added.

ARMM workers clamor for peace, efficiency

by John Unson


COTABATO CITY - Hundreds of government workers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao marched barefoot inside the 32-hectare ARMM compound here to show support to the Southern peace process and to Malacañang’s effort to reform the graft-ridden regional bureaucracy.

The event capped yesterday’s culmination of the ARMM’s Bangsamoro “solidarity week,” a yearly event highlighting the grant of autonomy to Mindanao’s Muslim communities as a solution to the bloody secessionist rebellion waged from the 1970s to the late 1980s by the Moro National Liberation Front.

For organizers, this year’s week of peace was peculiar because it was observed throughout the region at the backdrop of a caretaker administration taking over the regional government. President Benigo Aquino III has appointed the caretaker government to introduce reforms in the regional bureaucracy, perceived as synonymous with perennial large-scale embezzling of state funds, “ghost employees” and warlords relying on private armies to perpetuate political power.

Something new

“Marching barefoot for a cause inside the ARMM compound was an emotional experience for me. It was something the region’s rank and file personnel have not done since the region was established in 1990,” said FO2 Alipuddin Alibasa, a member of the region’s fire protection bureau.

The regional fire marshal, Senior Supt Warlito Daus, and the newly-appointed ARMM police director, Chief Supt. Mario Avenido, have both been very vocal about the support of their respective units to the on-going peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Avenido’s first official directive to all units in the ARMM police was the implementation of inexpensive, “indigenous” projects involving the communities they serve to complement the President's

confidence-building efforts with Muslim communities in areas that host MNLF and MILF forces.

Employees of the ARMM’s health department told reporters they joined the march to show they also support the joint efforts of Malacanang and the region’s acting governor, Mujiv Hataman, to fix the political, administrative and fiscal problems that have hounded the regional government since its inception through a plebiscite in selected Mindanao towns in 1990.

Hadji Nash Maulana, director of the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information, said the march was also meant to express their appreciation of the sacrifices of thousands of Moro guerillas that perished in the MNLF’s struggle for self-governance in the 1970s.

“It was the blood, sweat and tears of those martyrs that catalyzed the creation of the autonomous region, which is unique for having its own executive and legislative branches that govern its regional affairs,” Maulana said.

Peaceful solutions

Ustadz Esmail Ebrahim, executive director of the Ulama Conference of the Philippines, a 2,000-member organization of Muslim clerics, said he joined the march to show his support to the government’s separate peace overtures with the MNLF and the MILF.

“We want the so-called Mindanao problem addressed through dialogues among stakeholders and the Philippine government and all of its facets, such as local government units, in Mindanao,” Ebrahim said.

Ebrahim said he and friends in the ARMM’s natural resources department joined the march to show their opposition to any possible use of military solution to address the peace and security concerns in Moro communities.

The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, located in Central Mindanao, the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan.

The MNLF has dozens of communities in the autonomous region now dubbed “peace zones” under its September 2, 1996 peace pact with government.

The MILF, on the other hand, has more than 50 “minor and major camps” in the area.

All government-acknowledged enclaves of the group are covered by the Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities crafted in Cagayan de Oro in July 1997 by rebel and government negotiators as security mechanism to prevent any outbreak of hostilities in potential flashpoint areas while the GPH-MILF talks are underway.

ARMM DPWH Sec. Sadain conducts ocular inspection of projects in Tawi-Tawi

by zamboangatoday


Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Department of Public Works and Highways Regional Secretary Emil K. Sadain personally inspected on-going projects being undertaken by the ARMM government in the island provinces over the weekends. Sec. Sadain made his province-hopping across the southern islands including Tawi-Tawi where he, along with local executives led by Gov. Sadikul Sahali officially inspected the continuing construction of three steel bridges worth approximately P97.0 M across the Sanga-Sanga-Lapid-Lapid rapids in Bongao town, which, if completed, will spur economic growth as well as boost social transformation in the islands.

Phase I and II of the project had been substantially completed while Phase III posted accomplishment now at 98.13 percent complete while construction works still continuing and expected to be finished by September this year. Construction started last June 10, 2010. Bridge Project Engr. Jul-Arab Kong of the DPWH-RO-9 said that by April of this year, President Benigno Aquino III is set to inaugurate and declare it open for public use.

Sec. Sadain, con-currently DPWH-President Bridge Program Director with an appointment as national Assistant Secretary, pointed out that after decades at attempting to construct the bridge projects, it is only now that we are to realize it. The bridge project, one of the priorities of the national government would connect the Bongao capital town island to the other mainland island towns making accessible trade and commerce as well as allow the movements of people to travel by land, according to Sadain.

Sec. Sadain also led the ocular assessment and inspection of Tubig Malum (Rio Hondo) in Sitio Malum, Barangay Magsaggaw, Panglima Sugala town about 6 kilometers from the capital Barangay Bato-Bato to determine the possibility for implementation of the proposed water system as a potential source of potable water. The water system will be tapped and distributed to the entire main island of the province. The river which stretches downstream from barangay Marang-Marang (Languyan town) to Barangay Magsaggaw extending further through Barangay Kulapi towards the southern tip of Panglima Sugala municipality has sufficient volume of fresh water that could cater a growing population.

Meanwhile, Gov. Sahali briefed Sec. Sadain about the proposal to undertake the project because it is a priority need of the people. The Governor said it’s high time that a viable and sustainable water works system harnessing the Malum River will address the perennial shortage of water supply in the island province Sahali, likewise emphasized his willingness to extend his local counterpart contribution to start with the project even as he toured the ARMM official to the site despite the difficulty in traversing the rugged road conditions and trails to reach the area. “We must do an actual assessment of the situation on the ground and know where to start,” Sadain emphasized even as he assured to work for its realization under PNoy’s administration.

Accompanied by DPWH officials and staff, Sadain took time out to conduct consultations with the seven district officials of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, who joined him in Tawi-Tawi for the holding of the First Joint Regional and District Conference held at the DPWH district office in Bongao town, where the DPWH-ARMM Reform Agenda 2012 was laid down as a policy guidelines of the ARMM leadership by fully implementing important milestone projects using available resources and funding.

Tawi-Tawi DPWH District Engr. Bensoud Ajihil, who played host to the conference vowed to continue to support the ARMM Secretary in fulfilling the reform agenda as mandated by doing its share in developing the southern frontier of the country.

Sadain said that in support of the reform programs and good governance of ARMM, milestone targets has been set in place. He declared that DPWH-ARMM has attained remarkable achievements in the pursuit of reform for good governance, defining its new policies and programs in the field of administrative, technical and financial matters, in just almost 3 months since he assumed.

He said, the first 100 days accomplishments, for both physical and financial inclusive of the difficulties encountered, the impact of the programs and activities as reflected in the reports as well as recommendations has been submitted to the ARMM regional Governor. Discussions also centered on all the accomplishments of the department and the sharing of information on the problems experienced with regards to project implementation and on how to address them. Sadain is optimistic, with help from all stakeholders to include local government units, Barangays, the NGO’s and the members of the community; ARMM will be able to take off from its slumber under the present administration of Regional Gov. Hataman. Sadain, who assumed last January 17, 2012 as DPWH cabinet secretary promised to institute changes not only from within the system but also develop a scheme to address on the deep-seated “culture of people” working habits in bringing the desired development for the ARMM.

Earlier, Saidain said that when he was appointed as the DPWH-ARMM secretary, he noticed that it's not only the system that need to be changed but also the culture of the people working on it especially the public officials particularly those under his supervision from what he described as, “from the culture of officials down to workers in the office” and the department's programming on project implementation solely focuses on local roads which were then gradually destroyed as of this period.

On national roads with a total of 1,100 kilometers, about 70 percent of the road was done adding that with the marching orders of the President to the newly appointed ARMM governor to cover the 100 percent National paved roads by next midterm elections, due to that the 70 percent of the national roads should be given right priority under the program of DPWH-ARMM. Sadain added he is now in the midst of undertaking the needed reforms within his department to set the right example and provide the avenue for real change to take its course for the good of the ARMM constituents.

Part of the reform effort focuses on reviewing falsified documents on the appointments of employees while upholding civil service rulings in cleansing his department on the old ways of culture to professionalize the bureaucracy, according to Sadain. Sec. Sadain claimed that President Aquino’s choice for OIC Regional Gov. Hataman is welcome as the latter is sincere and committed in delivering reform in the ARMM Region even as he expects everyone to support.

The department also looks forward in developing some projects that would invite donor countries in the form of providing grants such as the USAID, Organization of Islamic Conference, JICA and others that extends assistance for member countries. Much earlier, Sec. Sadain has issued a memo to the two district engineering offices which compliments the first district of Maguindanao and the second district of Lanao del Sur for the maintenance of road clearing for the commuters to feel comfortable in their travel from Cotabato City up to Parang and Malabang all the way to Marawi City which stretch up to 70 kilometers long. The road signage's on the sharp curves, street markings and kilometer posts were planned to be placed along the roadsides.

The department targets to cater about 80 percent of the budget focused on national roads and bridges and the balance will be considered by 2013. He further explained that he sub-divided their office programming, 80 percent of it for the national roads and 20 percent for the high-impact or strategic roads adding that these roads are those problematic roads on calamity or conflict affected areas. While in Basilan, the secretary accompanied Governor Hataman to inaugurate the multi-million pesos worth of JICA-funded Integrated port Terminal in Lamitan City and inspected other infra projects.

In Sulu, Sadain, together with the regional governor and Sulu officials led the ground-breaking of Jolo-Taglibi-Tiptipun road network; inspection of the existing and on-going construction road projects; visit of the area equipment and the Sulu’s two engineering district offices; assessment of the proposed water and drainage systems in Jolo; and meeting with local officials led by Gov. Sakur Tan.

In the Secretary’s entourage were Maguindanao District Engineers Emran Buisan (Dist. 1), and Zainal Mlok (Dist. 2), Lanao District Engineers Tetinga Langit Sumagayan (Dist. 1) and Maldamin Decampong (Dist. 2), Sulu D.E. Taballang Atluh (Dist. 1) and Barlie Nahudan (Dist. 2), Basilan D.E. Bensali Kasim and Tawi-Tawi D.E. Bensoud Ajihil. PR/BFC

Cotabato hosts Mosque exhibit

by John Unson


COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A seven-day photo exhibit depicting 28 old mosques of high historical value opened here today to cap the observance of the Bangsamoro solidarity week in five Moro-dominated provinces in Mindanao.

The photo exhibit was jointly organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the local chapter of the United Architects of the Philippines, and the Bureau of Cultural Heritage (BCH) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The BCH is one of the more than a dozen support offices under the office of ARMM officer-in-charge Mujiv Hataman.

The solidarity week is a yearly activity of the regional government meant to highlight the infamous Jabidah Massacre in the late 1960s, and the bloody struggle for self-rule by Moro groups that eventually resulted to the government’s grant of autonomy to Muslims in Mindanao.

The photo exhibit, dubbed “Masjid: Sacred Islamic Architecture of the Philippines,” will showcase 28 stunning mosques in the country, including the P300 million newly-constructed worship site built along Tamontaka River here.

Masjid is an Arabic term for worship site.

The event will culminate on March 18, the anniversary of the Jabidah Massacre, where members of the Philippine military under President Ferdinand Marcos massacred in Corregidor some 200 Muslim trainees that staged a mutiny when they learned they were to start an insurgency in Sabah, Malaysia.

Sabah was ceded by the Malaysian royalty to the Sultanate of Sulu some 500 years ago as consolation for helping the Malaysians quell a rebellion in Brunei.

The island state was, however, leased by Sulu’s Sultan Jamalul A’lam on January 22, 1857 to the wealthy British North Borneo Company, conceding all rights and privileges over the ceded territory.

The Philippine government has not officially dropped its claim of Sabah until now.

The Jabidah Massacre is regarded by contemporary Moro communities as the incident that sparked the Muslim uprising for self-rule and subsequently ushered the birth of the secessionist Bangsamoro Independence Movement, and the Moro National Liberation Front of Nur Misuari.

Ardan Sali, executive director of the BCH, said their photo exhibit is a show window of the evolution of architectural designs of Islamic worship sites in the Philippines.

For Muslims, a Masjid is not only a place where to pray, but can also be used for peace dialogues and cross-section meetings to build consensus in addressing issues and concerns affecting the local communities.

Masjids are specially designed for worshipers to face the west, the direction of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the bastion of the Islamic religion.

The oldest, most valuable Masjid in the country can be found at Bohe Indangan in the island town of Simunul in Tawi-Tawi.

The 700-year-old worship site was built by Karimul Makdum, the first ever Arab Islamic theologian to set foot in the South to propagate Islam.

NBI: Illegal human traffickers move to Palawan, islands near Sabah

by PNA/PIA9-ZBST


The regional office here of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has confirmed that illegal human traffickers and illegal recruiters have transferred their operations to Palawan and island municipalities near Sabah, Malaysia. NBI Regional Director Manuel Almendares Jr. disclosed this after their operatives and agents have failed to see alleged illegal recruiters said to be operating in the past in Zamboanga City.

These illegal recruiters have also moved from this city to nearby island provinces, particularly island towns in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, including Taganak Island near Sabah.

He said that the transfer of operations of these illegal recruiters and illegal human trafficking came after all government law enforcement agencies began strict monitoring of their activities.

Government authorities have so far intercepted hundreds of victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking in this city. The victims were intercepted as they were about to leave the local port and private wharfs in this city aboard motor launches usually bound for Tawi-Tawi which borders Malaysia. There is a relentless drive against human traffickers in Zamboanga and the region and no less than City Prosecutor Darlene R. Pajarito has received the 2011 Global Trafficking-in-Persons Hero Award for prosecuting and jailing human traffickers in this city.

Public Employment Services Officers in the region have taken pro-active roles as advocates implementing workable strategies in their communities and the Federation of PESO Managers in the Zamboanga Peninsula serving as a strategic network to expand the reach of inter-agency efforts to control Illegal Recruitment and Human Trafficking in the area.

There is also a task forces on illegal recruitment and human trafficking that is monitoring these activities. However, Almendares said that although these illegal recruiters and human trafficking are now operating outside Zamboanga City or Western Mindanao region, the NBI regional office is keeping a close watch on such activities.

“We are now strengthening and intensifying our intelligence gathering of information of the possible re-entry of these illegal recruiters and human trafficking operations so that they will not be victimizing again innocent applicants for non-existing job opportunities abroad, particularly in Sabah, Malaysia,” the NBI regional director said.

Registration of Muslim Kids Aided

by TONY PE. RIMANDO


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – For the past many decades, most Muslim parents, largely due to ignorance, never bothered to register the births of their children with local Civil Registrar’s Office (CRO).

Consequently, their undocumented sons and daughters have caused thousands of grown-up children of various Muslim sub-tribes – Tausug, Badjao, Maranao, Yakan, Maguindanaon, and Samal – to face various personal, educational, and social problems.

But recently, this issue has become the major concern of Jabu-Jabu, Inc., a local non-government organization (NGO) that primarily works for the securing of government baptismal certificates – “Katarangan sin Paggunting” in the Tausug dialect – of locally undocumented children belonging to several Muslim sub-tribes in this city and other areas of Western Mindanao – or the Zamboanga Peninsula – and the island provinces of Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi.

Jabu-Jabu (The Calling) was founded by its president Jaafar Kimpa who almost single-handedly started the “Katarangan” early last year after he found out that most Badjao and Tausug youngsters were growing old without the benefit of their births being registered with the appropriate government office.

Kimpa noted that public elementary and secondary schools would refuse to enroll such undocumented children, or, if they did, the youngsters would return in the next school year using another name thus posing a problem to their school records.

According to Kimpa, Jabu-Jabu later made a tie-up with the local Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) research department, dxAS of Far East Broadcasting Corporation (FEBC), and the city government’s CRO to use the “Katarangan” as secondary document as basis for the eventual issuance of standard official birth certificate to the as-yet “colorum Muslim children and youths.”

Kimpa claimed that as of the end of February, the Jabu-Jabu has released over 2,000 “Paggunting” to as many undocumented Muslim children living in 17 city coastal villages, even as more Muslim parents have continued to show interest in initially registering the births of their children through the NGO.

Early this year, Kimpa said Jabu-Jabu released, during an appropriate ceremony, close to 50 individual “baptismal certificates” to as many unregistered Badjao children in Barangay Arena Blanco to the delight of their parents.

WMSU research department chief Chona Sarmiento explained to the Badjao parents during the occasion that copies of the “Paggunting” would be submitted to the CRO for the latter’s use in preparing the children’s official birth certificates.

Jabu-Jabu officer Ustadz Sayid Nurhasan Bahjin told the joyful Badjao elders that the certificates will help their children become better Muslims “as they will have better opportunity to get an education that will make them learn the peaceful teachings of Islam and ultimately get employed.”






New Simunul, Tawi—Tawi mayor proclaimed

by zamboangatimes.ph


After a protracted and grueling election protest filed by Mayor Benzar N. Tambut against losing Mayor Najif Ahmad B. Abdurahman for mayor of the Municipality of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi in the last May 10 national and local elections, Judge Peter V. Eisma of the Regional Trial Court,

Branch 5, Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, issued a decision finding protestant Benzar N. Tambut the winner with a margin of 396 votes.

The findings and decision of the court dated February 10, 2012 are testimonials of widespread cheating, stealing and fraudulent manipulation of votes which strangled the electoral system last elections.

Following the issuance of the said decision and as expression of the people’s support for Mayor Tambut’s crusade for honest fruitful and credible elections, the barangay chairman and kagawad and members of the Sangguniang Kabataan of the (15) Barangays in Simunul signed a manifesto of support for the victory of Mayor Tambut. Likewise, the people of Simunul sre indeed thankful for the Honorable Peter V. Eisma for giving priority to the genuine will and interest of the people of Simunul over and above the interest of one candidate. It is one feather added to his cap. Once again the will and interest of the people are shown to run supreme over personal interest and for this the people of Simunul are giving Judge Eisma the high fives.

This is not the first time that Mayor Tambut locked horns with the Abdurahmans in politics. In 2004 Mayor Tambut also filed and election protest for mayor of Simunul against Wasila Abdurahman, wife of losing Mayor Najif Ahmad Abruhaman and won. Now again he won the second time.

Now, on the shoulders of Mayor Tambut are reposed the dreams and aspirations of the people of Simunul and he will be busy to do more them with the wheels of times closing in on him.

State of Education in the division of Tawi-Tawi

by Aciri S. Herman

Retiree Bongao, Province of Tawi-Tawi


We wish to share some real insight of the state of education in the division of Tawi-Tawi. This perspective have been for more than two decades in existence which to our belief was left unchecked or kept hidden.

The division of Tawi-Tawi remained and contineously experiencing deterioration, and polluted educational systems. At present, it is compared to a ship manned by a crew rather a captain. Its course of direction is heading nowhere.

These maladies was aggravated when political influence was able to penetrate the very systems of education. Tentacles of politics were gradually seizing down to the grassroots level. Promotions, hiring of teachers, other transactions with politicians recommendations deemed highly and place as top priority.

Further, incompetent and self motivated education officials however, contributed much to the seemingly cutshort process in favor of their candidates with consideration involved, to the dismay and outright defeat of the duly prospective candidates. Infact, most promotables and hired employees are not qualified. For some schools administrators don't even have a school were promoted.

This practice became worst and popular during the regime of Ampatuan. Illegal syndicate borned out in cahoot with division, regional office and Civil Service Commission. Corruption gained its strenght and sustained gradually. Big and small transactions involved bribery. No wonder, schools administrators, teachers and other employees with fabricated records were made possible and are now enjoying. Relatively, fictitious employees, pupils, and school, same still existing up to this time.

Efficiency are no longer observed. Accounts of teachers, school nurses, other DepEd employees not in their official stations are numerous. Again, because of compromise.

Significantly, these are the factors that contributed to the very poor education performance and academic achievement of this division. Likewise, the reasons for the failure of National Educational programs and policies, and total waste of resources. We believe this is not a revealing tale. This is a long old story which was left unmindful even made to preserved as part of a grand modus for their evil motive and self interest.

The division of Tawi-Tawi is ailing. It needs immediate attention and proper medication. We are afraid if this situation are not being address seriously, the result will be a total bankrupt of education. Pitiful!

Now that the new ARMM leadership have been installed, hope for good governance is an ever long dreams for the people of ARMM. The people have been suffering too much. The people have been crying for justice, peace and prosperity.

Gov. Hataman must act as a leader rather being a politician. We urge him to exhauste all possible means to cleanse the DEPED ARMM as he promise in his 100th days in office. Verily, education is the answer to peace and prosperity.

To His Excellency President Aquino, we strongly believe of your notable slogan towards Daang Matuwid. We believe too, that you can serve us better. Leave legacy. A legacy that may serve as a guiding pillar to refine our history for a bright tomorrow.

Tawi-Tawi ‘honored’ to host ARMM PRISAA games

by Philippine News Agency


ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Provincial government of Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost province in Mindanao and part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), is hosting the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) for the first time.

Tawi-Tawi Vice Governor Ruby Sahali said the PRISAA included thousands of athletes, officials and delegations from Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Marawi City, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, all part of the ARMM.

Sahali said the week-long athletic activities started Thursday morning with a sports parade and lighting of the torch at the DEPED grounds to signal the official opening of the sports competition among the participating colleges of the ARMM Region.

Sahali said that the peace-loving people of Tawi-Tawi were highly honored by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) – ARMM’s choice of their province as the venue for this year’s PRISAA games.

The governor also commended Mahardika Institute of Technology (MIT) for hosting this athletic competition. The athletic delegations are billeted in schools in the province.

Sahali said that sports development was a priority program of the provincial governance, and for this, “we believe that the holding of the 2012 PRISAA regional games here lend a positive impact on our sports development program.”

She also reiterated that “while winning is important but how well you play the game according to rules of sportsmanship is most laudable and appreciated.”

Meanwhile, in support to the activities, the provincial government has donated P10,000 in cash each for the different athletic delegations.

The Vice Governor personally handed to each of the participating colleges at the opening ceremony of the regional games.

ARMM OIC governor, 5 governors of component provinces push for CHR regional office in ARMMBy Modesto Antonio G. Ibarra

by (PNA) RSV/magi


MANILA, March 5 — The Officer-in-Charge of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), together with the governors of the five component provinces, are agog in creating the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in ARMM. In the consultation meeting on the establishment of a CHR ARMM regional office held at the CHR national office in Quezon City on Monday, March 5, 2012, Attorney Anwar Malang, ARMM executive secretary, representing OIC-Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman, led the five component governors, Honorable Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, Maguindano; Hon. Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr., Lanao del Sur; Hon. Jum Akbar, Basilan; Hon. Abdusakur Tan, Sulu and Hon. Sadikul Sahali, Tawi-Tawi, thanked the national government and its implementing arm for human rights, the CHR, presented the urgent situations in their respective provinces that necessitate the establishment of a CHR regional office in ARMM. ARMM Exec. Sec. Malang said the foremost concern of the regional and national CHR is the establishment of CHR regional office. He expressed optimism on the smooth sailing of the course towards the creation of the CHR regional office. Final touches would be installed on their next consultative meeting later this month of March. The Mindanao Human Rights Action Center (MindHRAC) through Atty. Zainuddin Malang presented the situations, challenges and opportunities on the human rights in ARMM. In the situation of human rights Malang classified human rights violations (HRVs) as structural conflict related and non-conflict related. ARMM provinces are beset by the usual HRVs facing other provinces of the country (e.g. illegal arrest, torture, summary execution, etc.). In addition it is also beset by HRVs arising from structural violence (indiscriminate artillery, shelling, mass burning of homes) Basilan Gov. Akbar, the female provincial executive in ARMM, pictured her province to be the most vulnerable of human rights violation,citing the presence of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Abu Sayyaf and the lost commands, not to mention the violations committed by the police and the military in her jurisdiction. Govs. Tan and Adiong echoed the sentiments of Gov Akbar citing the previous human rights violations committed in their respective areas years ago. Both invoked the urgency of the ARMM regional CHR office even as they, Tan offered Sulu as the venue for the said office expressing readiness for his assistance financially and logistically, since he said, it is more difficult to travel from the ARMM to Cotabato, the seat of ARMM, than from ARMM to Manila. Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sahali had another concern in his province – perpetrators of human trafficking are making Tawi-Tawi the jump off point of human traffickers going to Sabah. Malaysia. He said he wants to stop human trafficking in his province, that is why a human rights office is very necessary in the province. For its part, CHR, headed by Chairperson Loretta Ann “Etta” Rosales, said the “creation of regional human rights mechanism in ARMM has long been in the pipeline. Previous attempts to legislate one into existence have failed due to several factors, foremost of which is the lack of structural safeguards to ensure the independence of the proposed regional human rights commission from contending political forces.” ”The CHR appreciates the expressed commitment of the Aquino Administration to help operationalize human rights protection and promotion in the region through the establishment of the CHR ARMM regional office,” the statement continued. It added, “In preliminary consultations with the CHR, the new ARMM leadership has explicitly expressed a preference at this point for an ARMM human rights body organically attached to the national Commission on Human Rights, instead of RHRC as contemplated in their organic act.” With their full support for this establishment of CHR ARMM regional office OIC Gov. Hataman and the five governors believe they can draw strong stakeholders for the realization of the proposal.

Tawi-tawi police chief: Gaticales let suspect in human trafficking go

by Jules L. Benitez


ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/04 March) – The provincial chief of the Philippine National Police in Tawi-tawi said Vema L. Gaticales, team leader of the Surveillance and Monitoring Team of the Municipal Inter-agency Committee Against Human Trafficking (MIACAT), was detained and charged for obstructing justice for letting a suspect go. Senior Supt. Rodelio Jocson told MindaNews in a telephone interview that Gaticales was arrested, detained and charged by the Bongao municipal police following the complaints of two victims of trafficking in persons (TIP). He said the Provincial Prosecutor found Gaticales lliable for releasing Sulma Sayadih, a Tausug woman in her early 60s, who was a suspected facilitator in human trafficking. Jocson said Gaticales, having encountered Sayadih in similar circumstances for the second time, could have called the police and have Sayadih investigated. Gaticales, formerly of Radyo ng Bayan in Bongao and now secretary of the Sangguniang Bayan of Bongao and team leader of MIACAT, was charged by provincial prosecutor Jerry Cuento for violation of Presidential Decree No. 1829 which penalizes Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders. She was detained for five days and was released after posting bail of P12,000. In the sworn affidavit of the two victims rescued by MIACAT on February 19, Sayadih was identified as among those who facilitated their travel outside of the country via Tawi-tawi. The two filed their complaint with the Bongao municipal police on the same date. In her affidavit, Gaticales said Sayadih had introduced herself as the aunt of one of the two victims but could not present an identification card to prove her claim. Having no proof to establish her relationship, Gaticales said she followed the usual MIACAT procedure by informing Sayadih of the consequences of her actions under the Anti-trafficking Law, including the possibility of being apprehended and jailed. She said Sayadih withdrew her claim and decided to go home, leaving behind the two victims at the municipal hall of Bongao. The two were later turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. She told MindaNews their procedure the past two years is that no arrest is made based on claims they are relatives unless it is during an entrapment operation. Jocson said that at the time of Gaticales’ arrest, he was in Zamboanga City attending a wedding. He said he was informed of Gaticales’ arrest by Atty. Darlene Pajarito, head of the Zamboanga Anti-trafficking Task Force. He added that upon receiving the call from Pajarito, he called the mayor of Bongao and asked him to look into the matter since it is “MIACAT laban sa MIACAT” (MIACAT against MIACAT). Jocson said he took offense at Gaticales’ insinuation that the Provincial PNP had a hand in her arrest and the filing of charges against her. “The Provincial PNP is part of the effort to curb human trafficking in Tawi-tawi,” he said. He added that the rescue of victims of TIP is a collective effort of various units, including the provincial PNP. The Municipal Welfare and Development Office of Bongao reported that MIACAT-Bongao was responsible for the rescue of 999 TIPs since 2011: 797 in 2011 and 202 as of February 19 this year. Gaticales told MindaNews that she acknowledges the efforts undertaken by the provincial PNP in the campaign against human trafficking along with the other agencies in the province. Earlier Gaticales raised her plight to the attention of the Regional Inter-agency Committee Against Trafficking (RIACAT) based in Zamboanga City and requested for an investigation on the alleged motive and role of the provincial police in Tawi-tawi in the filing of a case against her. Gaticales’ husband, P01 Jonard Ladjahassan, a member of the provincial police but detailed to the MIACAT, told MindaNews that on February 21, his uncle Patta Tarabas, a tricycle driver who is a neighbor of Sayadih, brought Sayadih to the Provincial Prosecutor to help secure Gaticales’ release. At that time, charges against Gaticales had already been filed. It is not clear why Sayadih was not presented to the police. (Jules Benitez, MindaNews)

Activist monitoring human trafficking in Bongao detained, charged

by Jules L. Benitez


ZAMBOANGA CITY (03 March/MindaNews) –An activist who leads an inter-agency surveillance and monitoring team against human trafficking in Tawi-tawi was jailed for five days and charged with obstruction of justice as her efforts to curb anti-trafficking through the backdoor are gaining ground.

Vema L. Gaticales, 47, Secretary of the Sangguniang Bayan of Bongao and de facto team leader of the Surveillance and Monitoring Team of the Municipal Inter-agency Committee Against Human Trafficking (MIACAT) was charged with violation of Presidential Decree No. 1829 Penalizing Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders by Provincial Prosecutor Jerry J. Cuento and was detained for five days.

She was released after posting bail of P12,000.

Gaticales, formerly of Radyo ng Bayan in Bongao, is known for her zealous and staunch campaign against human trafficking, was designated by Bongao Mayor Jasper Que to represent the municipal government in the MIACAT, which was created in 2006 through a Municipal Executive Order and works within the Regional Inter-agency Committee against Human Trafficking (RIACAT) based in Zamboanga City.

Within the MIACAT, Gaticales is recognized as the de facto Team Leader of the Monitoring and Surveillance Team against Human Trafficking.

999 rescued since 2011

The Municipal Welfare and Development Office of Bongao, reported that MIACAT-Bongao was responsible for the rescue of 797 trafficking-in-persons (TIPs) in 2011. This year, as of February 19, the group was able to rescue 202 TIPs.

The arrest, detention and eventual charging of case against Gaticales stemmed from a rescue operation conducted by the MIACAT on February 19 where two female trafficking-in-persons (TIP) from Zamboanga del Sur were rescued upon arrival at the port of Bongao en route to Malaysia.

Documents from the 5th Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Bongao-Languyan in Tawi-tawi, indicated that Gaticales “… did then and there willfully and knowingly obstructs, impedes, frustrates or delays the apprehension of Sulma Sayadih and the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases by harboring or concealing, or facilitating the escape of Sayadih”.

Sayadih is a Tausug woman in her early 60s, who according to Gaticales, presented herself as the aunt of one of the two TIPs that MIACAT has rescued on February 19 in order to secure their immediate release.

In her affidavit, Gaticales said, that she asked Sayadih to present an identification card that could indicate that she was indeed the aunt of one of the rescued victims. Having no proof to establish her relationship, Gaticales then proceeded to inform her of the consequences of her actions under the Anti-trafficking Law, including the possibility of being apprehended and jailed.

Sayadih then withdrew her claim and decided to go home, leaving behind the two TIPs in the custody of Gaticales in the Municipal Hall of Bongao. They were later turned over to DSWD.

Gaticales asserted that her actions were in accordance with the procedure that the MIACAT has followed in the processing of TIPs over the past years.

However, the Provincial Prosecutor, in the inquest proceedings found that Gaticales may have “reasonable ground to believe or suspect that Sayadih committed any offense under RA 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Person Act of 2003” and thus “preventing the arrest and prosecution” of Sayadih.

Tip of the Iceberg

Gaticales told MindaNews that her detention and the charges filed against her is meant to demoralize the MIACAT into inaction.

“The operators of human trafficking in Bongao is hurting badly and is moving to put a stop to our relentless campaign,” Gaticales said.

“One TIP rescued may mean a loss of P35,000 to human trafficking operators,” Gaticales said.

She added: “On the average, each TIP bound for Malaysia is supposed to pay the operators P35,000. We gathered this data from previous investigations with TIPs. If you multiply the 202 TIPs rescued this year alone, this will amount to over seven million pesos income losses for the operators.”

Gaticales said that MIACAT initially identified five human trafficking groups operating in Bongao. She, however, did not disclose who these groups are as it may jeopardize the surveillance operations being conducted on the said groups.

Gaticalesto raised her plight to the attention of the RIACAT based in Zamboanga City. “I have requested the RIACAT to conduct investigation on the motive and role of the Philippine National Police Provincial Headquarters in Tawi-tawi in the filing of case against my person,” Gaticales said.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg in as far as human trafficking operations in Tawi-tawi is concerned,” she said. (Jules L. Benitez, MindaNews)

Simunul, Tawi-Tawi has new elected mayor

by (PNA)

FFC/LAM/TPG/utb


ZAMBOANGA CITY, March 2 (PNA) -– The town of Simunul, a 4th class municipality in Tawi-Tawi province, has a new mayor.

This, as the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 5 in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, has annulled the proclamation of Nazif Ahmad Abdurahman and declared Benzar Tambut as the duly elected mayor of Simunul town.

In a 45-page decision, the Court has annulled Abdurahman's proclamation after Tambut filed an election protest praying among others, that an order be issued annulling and setting aside the proclamation of Abdurahman as the winner in the May 10, 2010 automated elections.

In his protest, Tambut assisted by election lawyer Quirino Esguerra Jr., enumerated various irregularities allegedly conducted and/or perpetrated by Abdurahman and/or his followers and cohorts.

Tambut has contested and impugned the results of six of the total 20 clustered precincts for the mayoralty position.

Tambut and Abdurahman were among six candidates who ran for mayor.

Earlier, Abdurahman was proclaimed as the winner in the mayoralty race having garnered the highest votes cast and canvassed during the May 10, 2010 election with a total of 2,955 votes as compared to Tambut who obtained 2,386 votes, the second highest ranking in the race of six aspirants for mayor.

However, the Court, after the revision and judicial appreciation of ballots, has annulled Aburahman's proclamation since it found out that Tambut garnered 2,329 votes while Abdurahman garnered a total of only 1,933 votes.

The decision, dated February 10, 2012, was penned by RTC Branch 5 Acting Presiding Judge Peter Eisma.

The municipality of Simunul has 15 barangays and with a a population of 31,962 people in 4,910 households according to the 2000 census of the National Statistics Office (NSO)


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