Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao News December 2015

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Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao Archived News
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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.

Officials ask Muslims to help Christians amid BIFF attacks

(PNA), JMC/NYP/EOF

ABDULLAH SANGKI, Maguindanao, Dec. 31 (PNA) -- Local officials here have asked Muslims and Maguindanaons to help protect local Christians from violence inflicted by the lawless Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Abdullah Sangki town Mayor Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu has also condemned the Christmas Day offensives by the BIFF that left eight civilian farmers of Barangays Kauran and Palian, all farming villages inhabited by Christian settlers.

“It was unjust and inhuman,” Mangudadatu said of the Dec. 24 dawn attacks perpetrated by the BIFF.

“And so we condemn the group that perpetrated this. Our municipality, Datu Abdullah Sangki, is one of the most peaceful towns in Maguindanao, where the Christians and the Muslims live peacefully together,” the lady mayor said in a statement.

She described the attackers as “anti-peace.” Two of the eight fatalities in the Christmas Day rampage were residents of Barangay Kakal, Datu Abdullah Sangki taown.

Like village officials, Mangudadatu stressed that the slain farmers were not armed and were never a member of para military troops as claimed by BIFF spokesperson Abuy Misri Mama.

Mangudadatu expressed sympathy with the widows of slain farmers after distributing relief items and financial aid to them.

Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, 6th Infantry Division commander, condemned the BIFF attacks and vowed to pursue them wherever they go to give justice to the slain farmers.

“The 6th ID condemns the treacherous act of the lawless group, BIFF, and will not allow them to continue thriving within Central Mindanao,” Pangilinan said.

Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Wednesday also condemned the BIFF offensives. He called on villagers in affected villages to remain alert and never resort to retaliatory attacks.

Hataman told residents the government is doing its best to address security issues in Barangay Kauran and adjacent communities in Ampatuan.

Hataman said the BIFF attacks were “acts of terrorism.” He added no legitimate revolutionary group who is fighting for the Bangsamoro people would harm or kill non-combatants.

Mangudadatu said residents, both Muslims and Christians, should look back to the years when they protect each other against lawlessness since they have been living together. In fact, there were inter-marriages within the two tribal groups.

The beleaguered residents of Barangay Kauran, Ampatuan, Maguindanao also urged the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels to help prevent similar attacks in the future.

Under the GPH and MILF ceasefire agreement, both the government and the MILFF will mutually cooperate in containing lawlessness in areas where the MILF operate, like Maguindanao.

Barangay Kagawad Rommel Rodriguez of Kauran, Ampatuan said the residents expect the GPH and MILF peace panels to interfere in the name of peace.

“Our village is peaceful, Muslims and Christians live together and work together, the problem started when the BIFF started dipping its finger on land claims,” Rodriguez told DXMS-AM Radyo Bida.

Rodriguez stressed there is no land conflict in the area and that Christians legally acquired the lands from Muslim owners.

“We have titles, we have legal documents, there is no land grabbing issue in Barangay Kauran,” Rodriguez told BIFF spokesperson who earlier accused the Christian settlers of land grabbing.

Rodriguez and other local officials were convinced the GPH-MILF ceasefire committee can do something.

Best cable project on track

By Ace June Rell S. Perez

THE implementation of BIMP-Eaga Submarine Terrestrial (Best) Cable System project is still on track as is expected to traverse in Mindanao by the end of next year.

The project will provide better internet interconnection and increase bandwidth within the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga) sub-economic region.

"Cable laying of the Best Cable project is ongoing, underwater laying will start next year and in fact by end of 2016 it will already traverse in Mindanao, particularly in Parang, Maguindanao," Romeo Montenegro, Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) director for investment promotions and public affairs told reporters in a recent Mindanao Power Stakeholders meeting.

The groundbreaking of the project connecting it to Parang is targeted on the first quarter of 2016.

The cable project which completed the connection this year from Brunei to Sabah will be connected to Malaysia to Guam, the same connection that will be tapped for connection to Southern Philippines, particularly in Parang, Maguindanao.

The cable system will link BIMP-Eaga region specifically Brunei, Sabah, Malaysia, Southern Philippines and Kalimantan in Indonesia, with extension to Guam that will connect with the US and the rest of Asean countries.

"It will be connected to Parang because the Philippine private sector proponent of the Best cable project which is EA Trilink has a telecommunication franchise in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)," lawyer Samuel Matunog, president of the ICT Davao Inc. earlier said.

The internet connection, once Best cable system, which is eyed to be operational in 2017, is expected to provide high capacity and speed, and affordable internet connection with an additional one terabyte bandwidth.

"For the early years of the laying down of the Best cable system, it will only serve ARMM, the challenge is how to get the connection out of ARMM. It will further boost Mindanao's position as an investment destination for ICT-BPO companies." Matunog said.

"Since the bandwidth will initially not go outside Mindanao, it will be used only in the island and outside the country," Matunog added.

The Best Cable System, initiated by Best Cable Corp. Pte. Ltd. (BCC), "is a regional 5,092 kilometer high bandwidth fiber optics cable system that allows telecommunication connectivity in the BIMP-Eaga region with the rest of the Asean and Asian countries, particularly Singapore, Hong Kong and US."

The additional bandwidth of one terabyte that the project will provide will be exclusive to Mindanao.

PH law enforcers look at UK model for Bangsamoro police

By Juliet Labog-Javellana (Chief, Inquirer Central Desk)

(First of two parts)

NORTH WALES, United Kingdom—Philippine law enforcement officials looking to find a model for the future Bangsamoro traveled thousands of kilometers to this part of Great Britain and found a police system that was to die for.

The British Council took a 12-member study group on a weeklong immersion with the North Wales Police last month. The group was tasked with producing a “community policing” blueprint or tool kit that could be applied to the Bangsamoro or elsewhere in the Philippines.

The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), still pending in Congress as the sun sets on the Aquino administration, provides for the adoption of community policing as an “essential mechanism” for peace and order in the proposed Muslim autonomous region.

“Their detention centers are even better than our police stations,” Anwar Malang, regional secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said after a tour of the custody suites at the divisional headquarters in St. Asaph City.

The suites have cots and urinals, and are watched with security cameras and remote pulse monitors. Detainees are served ready-to-eat meals (which include choices for meat eaters and vegetarians) and have access to hygiene and health services.

Police mindset

But more than the facilities, it was the police mindset here that impressed the group.

The British police consider offenders “customers” to be treated with respect, according to Insp. Paul Roberts, who took the Philippine group on a tour of the detention center.

This philosophy was evident in the physical setup of the station, which had a reception desk you would mistake for that of a corporate office rather than a jail facility. The only thing that gave away the purpose of the place was a circular platform behind the reception desk with security cameras showing each detention suite.

“It’s all about giving people dignity and decency. Everything we do here is to look after them so that when they leave, they leave in one piece,” Roberts said.

Apart from First World headquarters, cutting-edge technology and Mercedes Benzes for police cars, the group found a community-oriented police force which focuses on crime reduction and prevention, and operates on the principle of “policing by consent” of the public.

Knowing the community

From police officers teaching subjects like substance abuse in primary schools, installing safety devices on houses and properties, organizing summer camps for restless kids, rehabilitating the community’s “Top 20” troublemakers or tracking lost horses, the North Wales police showed that knowing your community was key to an effective and trusted police force.

The Philippine group, composed of police and military officials, toured the headquarters in Colwyn Bay, Wrexham, Flintshire, Mold and Deeside, and joined foot patrols to see the North Wales police in action. The tour included a visit to the Airbus plant in Broughton to see how a single police officer contributes to peacekeeping in the giant aircraft wing factory.

They also visited a massive central command in Wrexham, where emergency calls are received and where various parts and establishments are monitored by high-definition security cameras. Here, the Philippine group saw how a duty officer can control the CCTV cameras to focus on a street, an establishment or a person of interest. Shops have radios to alert the police about shoplifting, riots or other untoward incidents. From the control room, the police can track down the offenders and make arrests.

Another showcase was Caia Park in the same town, an impoverished community previously torn by racial tensions and crime but has now been transformed into a model community, and where the police perform not only law enforcement but also social work.

The group met with the North Wales police head, Chief Constable Mark Polin, and Police and Crime Commissioner Winston Roddick, the elected overseer of the force.

With a 1,500-strong force and 250 police community support officers (PCSOs), the North Wales police serves an area slightly bigger than Brunei, with a population of around 687,000 (2011 census).

Its jurisdiction includes Anglesey, where Prince William once served as a rescue pilot for the Royal Air Force and where he and his wife, Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, lived in a secluded farmhouse following their marriage.

ABS-CBN television news crew attacked in Marawi City

(With a report from Ely Dumaboc)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Motorcycle gunmen attacked a group a television news crew on Saturday in the restive city of Marawi in the Muslim province of Lanao del Sur, officials said.

Officials said the news team led by Ronnie Enderes, Emilito Balansag and Gary Montecillo just came from the town of Ditsa Ramain where they pursued a story on the spate of bombings of power lines in the province and travelling back to Marawi City when gunmen attacked them on Bangolo Street.

The trio survived the ambush after escaping their attackers who were on three motorcycles and then drove themselves to an army base where they sought refuge.

Col. Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, said the news team was fired upon by the gunmen along Bangolo. “They were able to elude the perpetrators, however, their service car was hit by two bullets – one t the driver’s side window, and another at the left side of the vehicle,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

He said troops from the 65th Infantry Battalion escorted the news team to Iligan City after they sought refuge to the army base following the attack. The motive and the perpetrators of the attack is still being investigated.

The ABS-CBN, the country’s largest television network, strongly condemned the incident and thanked the 103rd Infantry Brigade for providing temporary refuge to the news crew. “We urge the authorities to investigate this ambush and bring the perpetrators to justice soonest, even as we vow to continue with our duties as journalists,” it said.

Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman also condemned the slay try on the reporters and strongly called an end to violence against media members.

“The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao condemns the attack on the crew of ABS-CBN in Marawi City. We agree that the attack underscores the brazenness of armed groups to target even the media who are only out to do their duty as members of the fourth estate and perform their profession in the name of press freedom.”

“The Marawi police is ordered to investigate this attack and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The regional government of ARMM joins those who are calling to end media violence in the country as we stand with journalists and media organizations against these unacceptable attacks,” Hataman said.

Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr. has condemned the attack on the news crew and ordered the police to investigate the failed assassination.

“We condemn hostilities such as this done to our constituents and most especially, to the visitors of our province. The media have always been one of our links to our constituents and the whole country because through them, we know information on our development policies, programs and activities would be properly and effectively disseminated down to the grassroots level.”

“The fourth estate indeed plays a vital role in nation-building and therefore, we involve them in the process, not harm them. No one deserves such brutality, especially during this holiday season of peace. I therefore urge the PNP to immediately investigate this case and ensure that justice is served the soonest possible time,” Adiong said.

Last October, the police chief of Marawi City, Superintendent Abner Santos, was also ambushed and killed by gunmen. And so were 13 soldiers who were attacked in Marawi City while on a patrol near the Mindanao State University.

YSEALI YOUnified: A celebration of being young and free

(GMA News Online)

Young people love to appreciate the "here and now," and feel that there's no use worrying about the past or the future because there's nothing we can do about them. As we like to say, "YOLO"—you only live once.

And last December 12, a group of Filipino youth leaders from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) across the country also proved that you can never bee too young to lead.

YOUnified and YSEALI

The event, YOUnified, marked the second anniversary of YSEALI, a program launched by US President Barack Obama to strengthen ties among young leaders from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"YSEALI speaks to the 400 million young people under the age of 35—66% of the ASEAN population," Ryan Bradeen, Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer at the US Embassy in Manila, said in an interview. "These programs [under YSEALI] help that enormous population engage to address issues in this particular region."

Bradeen described YOUnified as a celebration of "youth empowerment." Quite notably, the event's main highlight were the simultaneous activities organized in 20 cities around the Philippines, each region centered on a particular theme.

Areas in Luzon (Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte, Baguio, Tarlac, and Mindoro) focused on youth engagement under the theme "Luz-ON"; areas in Visayas (Bacolod, Cebu, Dumaguete, Iloilo, and Tacloban) centered on paying forward to local communities under the banner "BeSaya"; and areas in Mindanao (Basilan, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Iligan, Marawi, Pagadian, Sarangani, and Tawi) focused on activities encouraging unity in diversity, thus the banner "Mindanao-ONE."

The activities included outreach programs, youth leadership workshops, and engagement activities targeted to young people aged 18 to 35, which is considered the YSEALI age bracket.

Take a look at some of the event's highlights across the country.

The US Embassy in Manila also produced a blow-by-blow account of YSEALI YOUnified.

Moro farmers' coop get hauler trucks from PaMaNa program in ARMM

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 24 (PNA) -- Thirteen cargo trucks were distributed Wednesday by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM) to farmers’ cooperatives under a government peace process programs, officials said today.

With the assistance, farmers are expected to at least improve income, especially in marketing aspects of their produce.

Beneficiaries of the post harvest equipment were former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Sulu and Lanao del Sur who formed farmers’ cooperative and engaged in productive farming following the signing of the GPH-MNLF peace agreement in 1996.

The cooperatives are listed and accredited by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA-ARMM).

Each hauler truck costs between PHP500,000 to PHP850,000, according to ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Alamia.

All the 13 hauler trucks amounted to about PHP6 million, according to Alamia. She said the project was part of the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayaman (PaMaNa) program of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and is implemented by DAF-ARMM.

Aside from hauler trucks, sons and daughters of MNLF former combatants also received cash assistance for their scholarship, also coming from PaMaNa program.

Last week, DAF-ARMM also distributed over PHP7.5 million worth of projects, comprising of farm equipment and livestock for livelihood, to cooperatives in Maguindanao province.

Alamia led the distribution of 16 farm equipment and 400 heads of livestock to farmer beneficiaries in ceremonies held at the ARMM compound here.

The farm equipment – composed of mobile rice mill, rice thresher, and corn sheller – are estimated to be worth over PHP3.7 million while the livestock – comprising of cows, carabaos, and goats – are estimated at PHP3.8 million.Beneficiaries of the program took turns in extending appreciation to the efforts of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and other government officials.

The PAMANA program is an initiative of the national government to achieve peace and development in conflict-affected areas.

On the other hand, the Agri-Pinoy Rice program is one of the banner initiatives of the DA targeting rice farmers aimed at uplifting the lives of Filipino farmers.

Maguindanao farmers to graduate on DAF-ARMM field school on rubber production, marketing

(PNA), JMC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 23 (PNA) –- About 140 farmers are expected to improve their productivity on rubber farming now that they are to graduate from a unique scholarship program through Farmers’ Field School of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM), officials said.

Kadiguia Abdulla of DAF-ARMM regional agriculture and fishery information division, said the 140 graduates have finished Rubber Production Technology and Marketing. The graduation rites will be held today at the DAF-ARMM covered court in ARMM complex, Cotabato City.

Hadja Jalika Mangacop, DAF-ARMM High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) Regional Program Coordinator, said 54 of the farmers were from the town of Parang town, 48 from Datu Odin Sinsuat and 38 from Sultan Kudarat all in Maguindanao.

Mangacop said the training on air lasted for about four months.

The Farmers’ Field School (FFS) is part of the weekly radio program hosted by Abdullah and aired every Sunday. During the program, farmers who are to venture into rubber production listen and follow the steps aired by the program hosts.

The program also benefited other farmers who were not enrolled in the FFS by simply listening to the program regularly and participate by sending text messages.

Newly designated DAF-ARMM Regional Secretary Alexander Alonto Jr will lead the graduation rites. It will be highlighted by sharing of success stories or impression about the program by three of the graduates.

Mayor Shameem Mastura of Sultan Kudarat, Mayor Ibrahim Ibay of Parang and Mayor Ombra Sinsuat of Datu Odin Sinsuat are to deliver messages.

Maguindanao Provincial Agricultural Officer Daud Lagasi has urged graduates ahead of the closing program to share the knowledge they earned to their family members and friends to spread technology on rubber production and marketing.

Orphans seek ARMM education aid

By Charlie C. Señase (Inquirer Mindanao, Philippine Daily Inquirer)

SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao—Nasieh Abbas wants to be a doctor someday but laments the “limited” education he has been getting.

“Arabic, English and the Koran are good foundation,” the 14-year-old boy said. “We also need the education to become professionals.”

Abbas is among a few of the nearly 300 children in an orphanage here who wished to avail themselves of a free standard education that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) government can offer.

The abandoned children, all males and mostly Maguindanaoan, Iranon and Maranao natives, were treated to a thanksgiving party and gift-giving on Saturday thrown at the orphanage in Barangay Gang by ARMM officials, led by Executive Secretary Laisa Masuhud-Alamia.

They want to be like other ordinary children in school, said Aladin Kamsa, 9. At the shelter, they are taught Arabic lessons daily and a weekly English course focusing on the Koran scriptures.

Another orphan, Omar Masandag, 17, said that at this stage in his life he would need employment or livelihood, but the limited education had served as a stumbling block.

Regional Education Secretary John Magno said his office would study the need to incorporate its formal curriculum in the primary and secondary educational system in orphanage centers.

Alamia said she was planning to tap the services of HELPS (Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Synergy), a regional emergency arm created by the Office of the Regional Governor, which tackles basic problems, such as education.

Its “close coordination” with the regional Department of Education “may hopefully resolve the problem,” she said.

Regional Interior Secretary Anwar Malang considered the educational issue confronting abandoned children vital and timely to address the problem on terrorism with the advent of the Islamic State (IS). “The young are vulnerable to indoctrination and deception by militant and radical groups,” he said.

The thanksgiving visit by ARMM officials was in time with the celebration of Shariff Kabunsuan Day. The orphanage received 30 sacks of rice and other food items, bedding, toiletries and two TV sets.

Soldiers of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and the Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team extended free medical and dental medicines, and other outreach services to orphans and villagers.

ARMM Public Works Act signed into law

(PNA)

COTABATO CITY: More projects are expected to be implemented in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao next year after Gov. Mujiv Hataman signed Friday the Public Works Act passed by regional legislative body.

Hataman signed Muslim Mindanao Autonomy (MMA) Act No. 326 or the Regional Public Works Act of 2016 that was ratified by the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) led by Speaker Datu Roonie Sinsuat.

MMA Act No. 326 authorizes the appropriation of a P10.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2016 for the region’s Public Works and Highways department (DPWH-ARMM). It states that consistent with the 2016 National Expenditure Program, the public works budget shall be used in the construction, development, upgrading, and operation or maintenance of roads, highways, bridges, water supplies, flood controls, ports, airports and other infrastructure projects excluding buildings.

Hataman said the appropriation will be effective even beyond fiscal year 2016, or until the budget is released in full, obligated and disbursed for the purpose.

Hataman said the DPWH-ARMM will implement the projects.

DPWH-ARMM Secretary Don Mustapha Loong, said they plan to build new roads and other infrastructure. He said the massive infrastructure program is expected to generate a jobs, mostly in areas where the projects are located.

Church-owned Radio network, ARMM bring educ assistance to IP village in Maguindanao

(PNA), SCS/NYP/EOF

SOUTH UPI, Maguindanao, Dec. 20 (PNA) –- More than 600 indigenous peoples and village educators received on Saturday “early Christmas gifts” from the Church-run radio network Notre Dame Broadcasting Corporation (NDBC) in partnership with the education department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“Salamat, Thank You,” were the only words that the beneficiary could say since it was the first time such activity has ever reached Biarong Primary School and Lamud Elementary School, both in the upland town of South Upi.

NDBC and education and the social welfare departments of ARMM, along with IP peoples organization and the Philippine Marines, travelled to the upland village and distributed school bags, school supplies and sleepers to IP public school students.

A feeding program was also conducted, according to Jeff Mendez, DXMS Radyo Bida and DXOL-Happy FM news and current affairs director.

The event was more meaningful with the presence of DepEd-ARMM Regional Secretary John Magno who personally witnessed the sorry state of two public schools.

Action man and result-oriented, Magno wasted no time to act and told local educators and their parents that DepEd-ARMM will repair the school buildings, provide brand new classroom blackboards and new arm chairs.

Obviously emotional seeing school children and teachers using dilapidated school building and facilities, Magno vowed to deploy more teachers to Biarong and Lamud schools.

Teachers and parents kept on clapping and applauding as Magno made the announcement. Some teachers were in tears, convinced that the simple outreach program of NDBC was translated into educational assistance from DepEd-ARMM.<

Before Magno ended his speech, he made one last announcement. “Your school will receive new solar panel for electricity and a brand new sound system you can use in all school activities and programs, courtesy of DepEd-ARMM,” he said in Filipino.

ARMM premier port back in international trading scene

(PNA), JBP/NYP/EOF

PARANG, Maguindanao, Dec. 19 (PNA) -- Business activities are rising in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's (ARMM) primary free port, bringing the region back in the international trading scene after languishing for some time due to perceptions of instability, officials on Saturday said today.

Foreign vessels have been using the Polloc Port as entry point of goods coming to portions of ARMM and Central Mindanao after it was declared a free port, according to Hexan Mabang, ARMM Regional Ports Authority administrator.

He said the government peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which led to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro has convinced traders that the situation in ARMM is now stable.

On Friday, a Vietnam base cargo vessel M/V Fortune Ocean loaded with 8,400 metric tons of cement arrived at the port. This was one of the many foreign cargo vessels that use Polloc Port as point of entry to the Philippines.

Mabang said this is not the first time that Polloc Port received a shipment of cement from abroad since 2006. Cement from China was also imported through the port without any hitches after all the certifications and documentations were complied, in particular the product standards required by the government.

The Portland brand cement, after being tested rigorously, has passed the standards required by the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) of the Department of Trade and Industry for cement importation.

Hence, for this shipment of imported cement, the BPS issued the necessary certification and documentation including its source or origin, which was validated by the provincial office of the Department of Trade and Industry as well as the Bureau of Customs.

All duties and tariffs were assessed and it is expected that full payment will be made before it enters the common market.

Mabang said the increased activities at the port means more revenue for the region and employment opportunities for the locals.

Polloc Port is situated in Barangay Polloc, Parang town in Maguindanao.

The port’s vital facilities have been upgraded when Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman assumed office. Mabang said a port plays major role in economic development of a certain area.

Early this year, officials of the ARMM’s premier port announced major rehabilitation of the Polloc Port as it declared the Regional Ports Management Authority (RPMA) earned PHP24.4 million worth of revenues in 2014.

Despite the peace and order problems that hit the region and its adjacent areas in 2013 and 2014, the port management earned 18 percent higher revenue as compared to 2013. In 2013, the regional ports authority earned only PHP9.4 million.

The ARMM’s largest seaport and a major export-import transshipment point for consumer goods, farm products and petroleum supply from Metro Manila and abroad, the port officials will focus first on the security aspect of the 120-hectare facility.

Also improved were the terminal building, the power facility and water system in compliance with the directive of Hataman to make the ARMM areas well prepared for the upcoming Bangsamoro government as a result of the 17-year peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Mabang is expecting more port activities during the first months of 2016.

Mabang said the importation of cement “could be the start of something big” for the Port of Polloc as traders gained confidence in using the port for their international trading activities.

For his part, Regional Board of Investments chairman Ishak Mastura, said: “I am glad that after such a long hiatus, traders have began to use Polloc Port again for trading of such an important and basic commodity as cement after complying with all the requirements for such importation, which the autonomous regional government has always facilitated for the benefit of the region and the consumers.”

10,000 out-of-school youth in ARMM get training from Australia-funded program

(PNA), LAP/BNB/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 18 (PNA) -- More than 10,000 out-of-school youth have benefited from the livelihood skills training of the Basic Education Assistance for Muslim Mindanao (BEAM), a program funded by the Australian government being implemented in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) since 2013, officials said Friday.

"At least 2,000 our-of-school youth in Tawi-Tawi alone were trained under the program," Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman said.

“BEAM-ARMM provides our out-of-school youth with opportunities to live a better life,” Tawi-Tawi Governor Nurbert Sahali told visiting Australian officials.

Last week, Australia’s Federal Justice Minister Hon Michael Keenan MP and the Australian Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission, David Dutton, were in the provincial capital of Bongao and met with local government officials and out-of-school youth representatives.

"The visit was part of Mr. Keenan’s trip to the Philippines to discuss counter-terrorism cooperation under the comprehensive Australia-Philippines partnership,” said a statement from Australian embassy sent to the regional government.

The Australian government is one of the largest donors to the country’s education sector with an annual investment of approximately PHP1.3 billion.

BEAM-ARMM is a five-year initiative on comprehensive education and youth development program that contributes to poverty alleviation and emergence of peace in ARMM through targeted investments in basic education and the training of out-of-school youth in technical-vocational courses.

The training courses include small engine servicing, masonry, electrical installation maintenance, carpentry, dressmaking, cooking, solar lamp installation and maintenance, and baking, among others.

One of the beneficiaries, Yasser Usani, 21, was trained to be a barber. He told visiting Australian officials that he is already earning from working part-time at a barber shop established last year with support from the program.

“The training helped me pursue my college education,” the Australian embassy statement quoted Usani as saying. Usani was not able to enroll in college in previous years due to financial constraints.

Another beneficiary, Sonora Sampang, 26, said she is now a dressmaker and hopes to put up her own dress shop.

Out-of-school youth who completed the BEAM-ARMM training receive Technical Education and Skills Development Authority certificates that can be used in applying for local and foreign-based jobs, the Australian embassy statement said.

200 stakeholders end 2-day ARMM' Bottom-up Budgeting summit

(PNA), RMA/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 17 (PNA) -- More than 90 local government executives and 110 representatives from civil society organizations from different towns, provinces participated in the two-day Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) summit in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that ends Thursday.

The summit aims to further enhance the program and strengthen government and basic sector partnership.

Dubbed ‘ARMM BuB Summit’, the activity started on Wednesday concluded on Thursday with Interior and Local Governments Sec. Mel Senen Sarmiento in attendance.

The summit was convened by the region’s Interior and Local Government department (DILG-ARMM) and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC).

“This program seeks to increase citizen’s access to local service delivery through demand-driven budget planning process, and to strengthen government accountability,” Anwar Malang, DILG ARMM regional secretary.

Jose Eliseo Rocamora, NAPC secretary, said the BuB Summit also covered the current implementation of the program in the ARMM, generate solutions to problems identified in the implementation and lay-out fundamental agreements on the proposed direction for BuB in 2017. A total of Php20 billion will be allocated for BuB 2017 program nationwide.

He explained that BuB is an approach in formulating budget proposals of national government agencies, taking into consideration the development needs of poor cities, or towns, as identified in their respective local poverty reduction action plans.

Such plans are formulated with strong participation from basic sectors and civil society organizations.

Among the BuB-funded projects implemented in the region are provisions of community water supply systems and new health centers, and initiatives on gender and development.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said a total of 119 projects under BuB have been completed and 144 others are on-going in the region from 2013 to 2015.

During the closing program of the 2-day summit, Hataman formally received 97 brand new police patrol cars as part of BuB program for the region.

Sarmiento led the turnover of the patrol cars which would be distributed to the different police offices in the region.

"The patrol cars will boost the region’s law enforcement capability specifically at local government level," Hataman said during the program also attended by PNP-ARMM regional director Chief Supt. Ronald Estilles.

Local government units in the ARMM have been part of the BuB program implementation since it started in 2012.

In a statement, the ARMM bureau of public information, said the reform program was implemented by the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster of the national government with the objective of attaining the Philippine Development Plan’s goals of inclusive growth and poverty reduction, and to promote good governance at the local government level.

Australia, ARMM put up learning centers

By JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL

COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao: Cooperation between the Australian government, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) Philippines and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that aims to provide quality education to grade schoolchildren was given a boost in far-flung areas of the region, aside from complementing the Southern Mindanao peace process. Dr. John Magno, ARMM’s regional education secretary, said the bilateral education goal is strengthened by learning centers being put up by BRAC Philippines through its Alternative Delivery Model. The BRAC learning center is also a component of the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao, funded by the Australian government. The Australian Agency for International Development earlier helped the Department of Education in ARMM (DepEd-ARMM) rehabilitate old school buildings in remote areas in the autonomous region.

ARMM, Maguindanao teams ready to deploy in areas hit by ‘Nona’

By Ali G. Macabalang

Cotabato City – Emergency response teams from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Maguindanao are ready to deploy and serve in areas of the Visayas and Bicol region devastated by Typhoon Nona, according to top government officials here.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman has issued orders for the region’s Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (Heart) to be “ready for transit” to the Visayas in the event that areas in the Visayas would need their help in the wake of the widespread displacement of residents and damage that “Nona” caused.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu has also put the province’s relief and medical teams on stand-by for possible deployment in the areas of Samar, Masbate and Sorsogon which bore the initial brunt of “Nona” when it made landfall Monday morning.

A report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that at least 700,000 people in coastal and low-lying areas in the Bicol region and in Northern Samar have been evacuated to safer grounds amid threat from typhoon Nona.

The NDRRMC said “Nona” was expected to hit severely Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Albay, Northern and Eastern Samar, and Biliran.

Mangudadatu said that since Southern Mindanao was not hit by the typhoon, it was only proper that Mindanaoans be ready to help their less fortunate countrymen.

The Maguindanao medical and relief team had been acknowledged as one of the country’s best organized and prepared provincial emergency response groups.

Magudadatu led a team of responders which was one of the first to come to the aid of grief-stricken residents of Samar and Leyte when Typhoon Yolanda hit in November 2013.

The governor and his team were immediately able to deploy and bring with them food packs containing fresh giant tilapia, rice, and canned goods, as well as medicine.

The funds spent for the relief mission was taken from what was supposed to have been the province’s annual anniversary celebration which Mangudadatu ordered postponed.

In a statement, Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III lauded his fellow Mindanao officials like Governors Hataman and Mangudadatu for their expressed readiness to assist Nona-affected provinces in the Visayas.

The Muslim leaders’ gestures exemplified “a sense of oneness in the country in trying times,” the Mindanao senator said.

Cotabato City power consumers brace for 6-8 hour daily brownouts, urged to use energy wisely

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 14 (PNA) -- The Cotabato Light and Power Company (Cotabato Light) is urging power consumers to seriously consider calls by a power firm to conserve energy and use electricity wisely as power supply continues to decline.

Cotabato Light on Monday announced longer power outages as power allocation from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) had been cut by 50 percent.

NGCP normally provides 24 megawatts to Cotabato Light but as of today it only provided the distribution utility with 12 megawatts, forcing Cotabato Light to schedule six to eight hours of rotational brownout in its franchise area.

“Cotabato Light is informing its customers that power supply situation within its franchise remains very tight,” Arlene Hepiga, the firm’s communications officer, said.“As of Monday morning, NGCP advised an additional deficiency of 40MW (in the Mindanao grid) due to the reduced capacity of STEAG power plant (in Misamis Oriental),” Hepiga added.

Aside from Cotabato City, Cotabato Light also serves parts of Datu Odin Sinsuat and Sultan Kudarat towns in Maguindanao.

However, Hepiga said the above schedules may still change or be cancelled depending on NGCP allocation, Power Plant capability and behavior of demand at a given period of time.

The bombing of NGCP Tower No. 68 in Barangay Pagangan, Aleosan, North Cotabato on Thursday last week made the power rotational brownout inevitable.

NGCP supplies power to Cotabato Light from Maramag, Bukidnon to Kabacan in North Cotabato. From Kabacan station, power is transmitted to Simuay sub-station in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao then to Cotabato City.

With the bombing, Cotabato Light gets power from Tacurong sub-station which has transformer problem.

Hepiga apologized to power consumers for the inconvenience caused by power interruptions which are beyond its control even as she urged power consumers to start conserving energy right now.

She advised consumers to use electricity wisely to save energy and avoid accidents like fire.

PNP chief creates special police unit in ARMM to ensure peaceful 2016 elections

By Noel Y. Punzalan and Edwin O. Fernandez [(PNA), SCS/NYP/EOF]

CAMP SK PENDATUN, Maguindanao, Dec. 13 (PNA) -- Philippine National Police Director General Ricardo Marquez has ordered the creation of a Police Special Unit (SPU) that will work to ensure that next year's elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be peaceful and orderly.

Marquez, who visited PNP-ARMM regional office over the weekend, received security briefings ahead of next year's balloting.

At least 70 of the 76 identified private armed groups (PAGs) in the country are found in the ARMM. These groups pose potential threats and could disrupt the 2016 national and local polls.

In ARMM, the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur are considered "areas of immediate concern" while Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are listed as "areas of concern."

Marquez said PAGs could work as mercenaries to push for the interest of politicians in the locality.

"We should not allow that to happen," Marquez told ARMM police officials and personnel.

He said the presence of PAGs, proliferation of guns, intense political rivalry could make the national elections bloody. These led to the creation of the SPU.

“The establishment of PSU means additional troops to be deployed, resources and logistics will be poured in ARMM as the election gets closer,” Marquez told reporters.

He also directed ARMM PNP, led by Regional Director Chief Supt. Ronald Estilles, to creation mediation teams that will lead in the resolution of clan wars and "rido" family feuds which are common in the region.

Marquez said the PNP is in the thick of preparations for the coming polls and learning from the experience in the 2010 and 2013 elections, new security plans have been prepared that PNP regional officials will continue to assess and evaluate as the election campaign period draws near.

He urged political leaders in the ARMM to cooperate with the local police in ensuring a peaceful atmosphere in the region throughout the campaign period.

Court of Appeals rules over Marawi City schools division woes

(PNA), PGL/TPGJR

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Dec. 12 (PNA)-- The Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court verdict that allowed a high-ranking education official in Marawi City to adjust her date of birth and extend her term beyond the mandatory retirement age of 65.

The Appellate Court said in its December 4 decision that Mona Macatanong, Marawi City schools division superintendent, has reached the compulsory retirement age of 65 on Oct. 18, 2013.

“Mona Macatanong is deemed to have already reached the compulsory retirement age of 65 by October 18, 2013 and has no right to continue or prolong the tenure with DepEd-ARMM,” the Appellate Court said.

She is also no longer allowed to “continue to receive salaries and emoluments from the DepEd-ARMM (Department of Education-ARMM), nor administer the funds pertaining to the office of the division schools superintendent of Marawi City…”

A Marawi City Court affirmed the incumbency of Macatanong in 2011. The decision also affirmed Macatanong's claim that her retirement should take effect October 2016.

The Court of Appeals, based on documents presented, ruled that Macatanong should have been out of government service since 2013, when she turned 65.

The assertion of Macatanong has created tension among the teachers under the Marawi City Schools Division as it interrupted the process of promotion mandated by law.

ARMM-Bureau of Public Information Chief Amilbahar Mawallil said Saturday that it also clearly exposed the remnants of a corrupt system practiced during the previous administrations.

“Her position became practically non-existent the moment she turned 65 (years old) and that was on October 18, 2013. She is considered retired as that is what the law is saying,” Mawallil said.

Dr. John Magno, then DepEd-ARMM assistant secretary, said earlier that Macatanong's office failed to liquidate the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of the schools. Magno later on became the secretary of DepEd-ARMM.

A number of teachers under her watch also failed to submit their daily time records (DTRs) promptly, further fueling suspicion over the actual services rendered by the teachers.

ARMM under the stewardship of Gov. Mujiv Hataman, as part of its reform agenda, went on a spree against ghost schools, ghost students, and ghost teachers.

The reform saved money funded actual projects, teachers, and students.

Hataman’s administration also successfully ended the woes of the teachers over back wages by allotting a budget for the payment.

“We cannot allow things such as this to continue because it will erode the gains of reforms that we painstakingly put in place and are in fact, collecting the gains,” Mawallil added.

ARMM investors call for government assurance on ease of doing business

By Carmelito Q. Francisco (Correspondent)

DAVAO CITY -- A group of business leaders with ventures in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has called on the government to ensure that ease of doing business will be guaranteed as Congress resumes its deliberations on the proposed law that will create a new Bangsamoro entity in Mindanao.

In an interview, Edgar L. Bullecer, co-lead convenor of the Promotion of Investments Sustainability Organization, said they are concerned that the version of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that will be passed will draw back the progress achieved in terms of making the ARMM an attractive investment site.

“We want the national government to at least assure us [on] ease of doing business in the region, to assure investors that it [will have] a good business climate,” said Mr. Bullecer, senior vice-president of Chiquita Unifruitti, Philippines, Inc., which is currently expanding its banana plantations in the province of Maguindanao.

Unifruitti affiliate Al-Sahar Agri Ventures, Inc. is pouring in the biggest approved investment in the ARMM this year at P3.7 billion for the development of farms for cavendish, the banana export variety.

Mr. Bullecer said their group, whose members include officials of companies operating in the ARMM as well as representatives of government agencies, is hopeful that lawmakers will ensure the new Bangsamoro territory will foster an enhanced business environment.

Citing a position paper that the group submitted in June to the Senate, Mr. Bullecer said the group’s members “simply wish to reassure ourselves that the ease of doing business that we experience in the ARMM be not diminished, in fact better if enhanced as we seem to see in the FAB [Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro] and the CAB [Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro].”

The FAB and the CAB, which are the basis for the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) still pending in Congress, were signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in October 2012 and March 2014, respectively.

Data from the ARMM Regional Board of Investments show that beginning 2012, investments have been on an uptrend, from P569 million that year to P1.46 billion and P3.87 billion in the succeeding two years and P6.5 billion this year.

The business group warned that certain proposed changes to the BBL, whose main provisions “were lifted” from the FAB and CAB, might violate the two agreements as well as the earlier peace deal that the government signed with another group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), on Sept. 2, 1996.

Most of the provisions of the ARMM Organic Act, the group’s paper pointed out, “have been substantially lifted (even verbatim) from the 1996 GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement.”

ARMM AS BENCHMARK

The position paper recommends that Congress use the existing policies in the ARMM as a benchmark for the provisions of the BBL.

“Benchmarking is something important in business, economics and in autonomy. Thus, after determining violations of the CAB, we have to look at the current ARMM autonomy as starting point of benchmarking,” the paper said.

It added that the “standards have to be maintained, otherwise we have no way of knowing whether we are complying with CAB or even getting an improved autonomy from that of the ARMM autonomy or not.”

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have introduced changes to the proposed BBL.

Among the key issues cited in the position paper was the need to clarify the extent of the powers reserved for the national government.

It also pointed out an inconsistency in the proposed revisions, which restrain the Bangsamoro government from accepting grants and donations from foreign agencies without the concurrence of the national government.

The group also questioned the national government’s exclusive powers over inland waters of the Bangsamoro area and their impact on allowing the autonomous government to develop its own energy supply system.

The two government-run hydropower facilities, the Agus and Pulangi complexes -- which have a combined installed capacity of about 950 megawatts and are providing bulk of Mindanao’s power requirement -- are within the proposed Bangsamoro territory.

Concerns over possible double taxation by the national and Bangsamoro governments were also raised.

ARMM inks PHP286-M road network project for Maguindanao

(PNA), JMC/NYP

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 10 (PNA) -- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) officials awarded Wednesday a PHP 286.5-million road network project that included a bridge to five construction firms in Maguindanao after passing government bidding standards.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, together with Department of Public Works and Highways – ARMM chief Engr. Don Mustapha Loong, both said the construction firms would undertake the construction and concreting of numerous vital roads in the province.

The project involves the concreting of the Tamontaka-Kusiong-Tapian Road in Datu Odin Sinsuat town amounting to PHP47,092,346; North Upi-Datu Blah Sinsuat Provincial Road – PHP68,436,703; Tapian – Datu Blah Sinsuat Road Phase 2 – PHP107,424,608; North Upi – Datu Blah Sinsuat – Lebak Road Phase 2 – PHP34,785,587; and Nuyo Bridge – PHP28,830,060.

Loong said a budget of PHP607,512 has also been allotted for security purposes on watching over government heavy equipment in the field during the entire duration of the project.

The winning bidders were the MUST Enterprises and the BRE Construction, which won in two undertakings; Dalanon Construction Company, and CS Construction, Inc.

2015 is ARMM’s best year ever with P6.5-B investments

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 9 (PNA) -- The year 2015 is considered as the best year ever for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) investments as it recorded, during the first 11 months of the year, a whooping Php6.5 billion total investments, officials said Tuesday.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, Regional Board of Investments (RBOI-ARMM) chair, said this year's investment has exceeded by 900 percent its 2015 target of Php700 million.

"This 2015, is the best year ever since the region has generated the highest value of investments in the 26-year history of ARMM," Mastura said during the Year-End Meeting of the ARMM Cabinet-Economic Growth and Linkages (EGL) Cluster Cotabato City.

Mastura said in 2015, RBOI approved eight investment projects with Al-Sahar Agri Ventures Incorporated as the biggest investor to develop a Php 3.7-billion cavendish banana plantation in Maguindanao.

It was followed by Chan C. Mining Incorporated which invested Php742 million for a mining and quarrying of nickel ore project in Tawi-Tawi.

The third biggest investor was Lamsan Power Corporation with its power plant expansion project of an additional 5.5 megawatts worth Php687 million, located in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

RBOI has recorded an increase of 70 percent in the total value of investments as compared to last year’s Php3.867 billion. These investments also provided 4,894 jobs which is 43 percent higher as compared to last year’s 3,433.

Mastura also revealed that 65 percent or Php .3 billion of the combined value of investment projects approved by RBOI this year are agri-based, while 24 percent or Php1.5 billion are energy related and 11 percent or Php742 million is a mining and quarrying project.

Other companies with investment projects approved by RBOI this year were: 1) Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading Corporation with a Php121-million petroleum project in Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi; 2) DS3 Fuel Tanking and Services Inc. with a Php252 million petroleum project operating at Polloc Free Port, Parang, Maguindanao; 3) Maguindanao Enegry Farms Inc. based in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao invested Php400 million for a 474-hectare napier grass plantation; 4) Matling Industrial and Commercial Corporation (MICC) to establish a Php194 million new cassava starch milling plant in Malabang, Lanao del Sur and; 5) Southsea Industrial Energy Corporation to build a Php471-million oil refinery project in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi.

ARMM distributes PHP11.3-M educational, livelihood aid to students, coops

(PNA), JBP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec 8 (PNA) -- To improve educational system and empower students, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has distributed PHP11.3 million worth of educational and livelihood assistance to students and cooperatives in the region, officials on Tuesday said.

The aid extended is under the government’s Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program of the region.

Dong Anayatin, PAMANA-ARMM program manager, said about 759 students received educational assistance amounting to PHP10,000 each for college students and PHP5,000 each for high school students. The beneficiaries are children, or immediate relatives, of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members in Maguindanao and Sulu.

According to Anayatin, the educational assistance was from the region's 2014 budget. He said it was a one-time grant and the beneficiaries were extensively chosen and recommendations of MNLF cooperative chairpersons were considered.

Under the program, Anayatin said ARMM is aiming to help 3,200 college students and 2,073 high school students across the region. Other beneficiaries will get their educational assistance before the year ens.

One of the beneficiary, Najma Dimaporo, 17, a resident of Matanog, Maguindanao, said that she will use the educational assistance she received for her school fees.

"I will use the assistance for my enrollment. Because of this, we can save money and I can help my family,” she told reporters.

"I hope the ARMM government continue this initiative to help more people,” said Dimaporo who is a first year student of the Cotabato City State Polytechnic College taking Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English.

Anayatin said the livelihood assistance was composed of 11 units of six-wheeler hauler trucks. These were given to three cooperatives in Maguindanao and eight cooperatives in Sulu.

Anayatin identified the cooperative-beneficiaries as MNLF Agribusiness Cooperative, Ganasi Kandalamdinga Marketing Cooperative, and Malangit MNLF Farmers Marketing Cooperative in Maguindanao; and Buhanginan Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative, Sahabat Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative, Kausawan Agricultural Producers Cooperative, Shareif Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative, Buansa Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative, Suba-Suba Producers Cooperative, Bandang Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative, and Darayan Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative in Sulu.

Datu Halun Amilussin, 64, representative of Buansa Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative in Indanan, Sulu, said the hauler-truck his group received will help uplift the lives of the people in his barangay.

"We will use the truck to help small businesses in our barangay. Most of us are jobless and this will help not only our cooperative but also our barangay,” said Datu Halun.

Datu Halun is a father of eight and has been an MNLF member for decades. He thanked ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman for this initiative. "We would like to thank Governor Hataman for this project. We have waited long and this is the first time that we receive such project since the creation of our cooperative in 2011,” he said.

The livelihood assistance was implemented by the region’s Agriculture and Fisheries Department (DAF-ARMM). He said that it is a continuing activity of partner agencies in the region.

ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman with Anayatin, and Atty. Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary and concurrent officer-in-charge of DAF-ARMM, led the distribution of educational and livelihood assistance on December 3 at this city’s ARMM compound.

Infra projects link ARMM communities to other markets

By John Unson (philstar.com)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Not only is the public works department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) interconnecting ARMM towns now with concrete roads, but linking local peasant enclaves with markets in Regions 10 and 12 as well.

Among these ongoing arterial network projects under ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and his engineers, Don Mustapha Loong and James Mlok, is the concreting of a road connecting the town of Datu Paglas in the second district of Maguindanao to Columbio, Sultan Kudarat.

Columbio, home to mixed ethnic Bilaan, Maguindanaon and Visayan residents, is a hinterland municipality in Sultan Kudarat in Region 12.

Mlok, chief of Maguindanao’s 2nd District Engineering Office (DEO), said the first phase of the road project, covering a span of 4.3 kilometers and funded out of ARMM’s 2013 infrastructure subsidy from the national coffers, is now 95 percent done.

Mlok said the second phase of the project, with a length of 2.6 kilometers, being constructed with allocation from ARMM’s 2014 infrastructure budget, is now almost 50 percent complete.

Mohammad Paglas, the mayor of Datu Paglas, said he and his Muslim and Christian constituents are thankful to Hataman, whom he tagged as “reformist governor,” for putting up the Datu Paglas-Columbio road project. Nation ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

“The residents of Datu Paglas are grateful to Gov. Hataman for this project and for many other projects of the regional government in the municipality, something never done by past ARMM governors,” Paglas said.

Mlok and Loong, who is secretary of ARMM’s Department of Public Works and Highways, on Saturday accompanied reporters to far-flung areas in the second district of Maguindanao to show infrastructure projects designed to hasten the socioeconomic growth of recipient communities.

Among these projects is a Bailey bridge connecting both banks of the Tukanalipao River in the now infamous Mamasapano town.

The Bailey bridge was built just meters away from the scene of the deadly Jan. 25, 2015 encounter between operatives of the police’s elite Special Action Force, guerillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and gunmen from a third group, the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The firefights, which lasted for more than 10 hours, left 44 policemen, 17 MILF members and five innocent villagers dead.

A newly concreted 880-meter farm-to-market road now connects the bridge to the center of Barangay Tukanalipao, passing by a P500,000 worth mosque recently constructed by members of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division using grants from Hataman’s office.

First 3-story school building in Maguindanao completed

(PNA)

GUINDULUNGAN, Maguindanao: An P11-million, three-story government high school building constructed at the heart of this agricultural town has been completed.

Engr. Zainal Mlok Jr., DPWH–ARMM of province’s 2nd district, said the nine-classroom building has been carefully adapted and designed for the conducive learning needs of the children as mandated by the Department of Education.

“The building could even withstand unexpected events like strong earthquakes for the safety of the children,” he said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways–Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DPWH-ARMM) said funding for the project was approved in 2013 but its implementation was delayed at the height of the military campaign against Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) led by the late Ameril Umbra Kato.

In 2010, the BIFM and its military wing Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) broke away from mainstream Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after the latter agreed to a comprehensive peace agreement with the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III to end the decades-old Moro insurgency in the south.

“With such development, the regional public works office successfully constructed the school structure with minimal problems,” DPWH-ARMM Secretary Don Loong said.

P471-M mini-oil refinery to be established in Tawi-Tawi

By Nonoy E. Lacson

Zamboanga City – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has continued attracting investments despite the uncertainty of the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Regional Board of Investments (RBOI) Chair Ishak Mastura said that during the last Joint Board and Management Committee Meeting for 2015 held last Wednesday for 2015 in Cotabato City, RBOI provisionally approved the registration of the investment of Southsea Industrial Energy Corporation, a P471-million mini-oil refinery, which would include storage depots in Tubig-Indangan, Simunul, Tawi-Tawi.

According to Mastura, Southsea is a wholly Filipino-owned company which will put up the first of its kind mini oil-refinery in the country using a new and innovative technology from South Korea with the assistance of a South Korean technical partner.

As such, the board provisionally approved the project pending the release of the endorsement of the project by the Department of Energy by the end of the month.

It is expected to start its commercial operations in the last quarter of 2017 and will provide 100 jobs, according to Mastura.

But Promotion of Investment Sustainability Organization (PISO) lead convener Edgar Bullecer, who belongs to the growing banana export industry in the ARMM, said that if the draft Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR), which provides less powers than the ARMM Organic Act, is passed, it will surely discourage and unsettle investors and affect the ease of doing business in the region.

He said investment rules will be changed by the BLBAR so that the power to issue permits and approvals for projects, which the ARMM already enjoys, will revert back to the central government.

Investments continue to pour in ARMM

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 4 (PNA) -- Despite uncertainty over the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), investors keep coming to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), investment officials said Friday.

The Regional Board of Investments (RBOI-ARMM) had provisionally approved the registration of the investment of Southsea Industrial Energy Corporation for a USD10 million or Php471 million mini-oil refinery including storage and depots in Tubig-Indangan, Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, Lawyer Ishak Mastura said in a statement.

Mastura, RBOI-ARMM chair, said since Southsea, a 100 percent Filipino-owned company, will put up the first of its kind mini-oil refinery in the country using a new and innovative technology from South Korea and with the assistance of a South Korean technical partner.

RBOI-ARMM provisionally approved the project pending the release of the endorsement of the project by the Department of Energy by the end of the month.

It is expected to start its commercial operations in the last quarter of 2017 and will provide 100 jobs.

Earlier, there were fears raised by investors in the ARMM, particularly through the Promotion of Investment Sustainability Organization (PISO) that the draft BBL, which has been substituted in both Houses of Congress with the draft Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR), had been watered-down, making the region less autonomous than under the ARMM Organic Act.

Edgar Bullecer, PISO lead convener who belonged to the growing banana export industry in the ARMM, said that if the draft BLBAR, which provides less powers than the ARMM Organic Act is passed, it could discourage and unsettle investors, thus affect the ease of doing business in the region as the investment rules will be changed by the BLBAR so that the power to issue permits and approvals for projects, which the ARMM already enjoys, will revert to the central government.

ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv S. Hataman said that with the registration of Southsea, the private sector investment in the ARMM has reached a total investment of P6.5 billion this year.

The amount is the highest ever recorded in the 26-year history of the ARMM.

This year, RBOI has recorded an increase of 70 percent in the total value of investments as compared to last year’s P3.867 billion. A total of 4,894 jobs were created this year which is 43 percent higher as compared to last year’s 3,433 jobs.

“This means that even with the delay in the passage of a BBL, the peace process will continue to bring stability to the region since both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are committed to the full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” Hataman said.

DENR-ARMM readies 1M tree seedlings for reforestation program

(PNA), LAP/NYP/

DATU ODIN SINUSAT, Maguindanao, Dec. 3 (PNA) -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DENR-ARMM) announced here Thursday that it is ready with one million tree seedlings for distribution and planting across the province.

The sprouts, settled at the DENR-ARMM nursery in Barangay Lomboy here, include hardwood varieties like Yakal, Lauan, Bagras, and Mahogany, among others.

Resilient fruit-bearing trees, such as Antipolo of the jackfruit class, are also being propagated at the nursery.

The village forms part of the protected 3,760–hectare Dimapatoy Watershed Area, the main source of potable water for the province and adjoining Cotabato City.

Some 200 local villagers are also beneficiaries of a daily Php 500 cash-for-work program for repacking and caring of the nursery sprouts.

“The more trees we plant, the better,” DENR-ARMM chief Kahal Kedtag said.

He said the region’s Balik–Kalikasan reforestation program bounced back to life after registering an eight percent increase in its forest covers this year.

“This means we have planted some 20,000 seedlings this year for the much needed reforestation in the region,” he said.

Kedtag noted that the one-million seedlings here would be specifically planted in the discarded surroundings of the Kabulnan irrigation project in South Upi and Shariff Aguak towns.

He said their office, together with environmental partners, are targeting to plant trees on 550,000 hectares at the Kabulnan land area.

The same reforestation effort would soon take place in Lanao del Sur and other ARMM provinces, he quipped.

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

Last year’s DENR-ARMM records indicated some 146,000 hectares of denuded parcel in the region.

Of the total figure, Lanao de Sur registered the biggest denuded land area at 69,442 hectares followed by Maguindanao at 43,087.

In 2011, an alarmed ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman declared a region-wide log ban after learning the region has only some 301,000-hectare residual forested shelters.

The ARMM has an entire land area of 27,512,700 hectares (27,5127 sq. km.), which is equivalent to four percent of the country’s total land span.

Catholic priest-cum-environmentalist Fr. Eliseo Mercado, for his part, said communities should closely monitor activities in their surroundings to bring back the existence of a green ecosystem.

ARMM hosts 1st Tourism Congress

(PNA), FFC/BNB/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 2 (PNA) -- As part of strengthening tourism programs in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), tourism officers and industry players across the region have gathered on Tuesday, officials said Wednesday.

Spearheaded by the Department of Tourism (DOT-ARMM), the gathering dubbed as 1st ARMM Tourism Assembly was attended by more than 160 tourism officers from the provinces, cities and municipalities of the region, including tourism committee chairs from local government units, and tourism industry players as well as policy makers.

“They (tourism officers) are our frontline service providers, those in local government units know the potentials in their areas better,” DOT-ARMM Secretary Maritess Manguindra said.

The day-long assembly aimed to present strategic initiatives and policies that will lead to an improved performance of the region’s tourism office.

ARMM is composed of the mainland provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

In 2014, about 170,000 domestic and foreign tourists arrived in the region based on DOT-ARMM data. This is roughly 11 percent higher as compared to 147,037 visitors in 2013.

Lanao del Sur topped among the five provinces with 53,394 visitors in 2014.

Without providing this year's data on the number of tourist arrivals, Manguindra expect the further increase the visitors this year.

Since 2010, more than 700,000 tourists arrived in the region, official figures showed.

Manguidra said the gathering includes tourism product exhibit wherein local products and product collateral from local producers, service providers and local government units within the region were showcased.

“Those exhibited are popular products tourists who visit our towns would usually look for,” Manguindra said.

Coming in to join the exhibits were the Al Jamelah "Inaul" Weaving Center in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao province. The weaving center produces "inaul", which is typically used as "malong," a tubular skirt wrapped around the lower part of the body.

Manguindra told reporters that the estimated gross receipt from tourism in the region in 2014 was approximately PHP3 billion generated from cultural, nature, sun and beach, diving and marine sports and other relevant events.

"It’s more fun in ARMM thus, we should be the first ones to develop these tourism destinations since we are the ones who know these areas well,” Maguindra said.

DAR Maguindanao seeks approval for acquisition, distribution of 3,000 ha

(IEroy/PBChangco-PIA Cotabato City/DEDoguiles-PIA12)

COTABATO CITY, Dec. 1 (PIA) — At least 3,000 hectares (ha) of new lands are ready for submission to the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, its Maguindanao Provincial Office reported during a recent meeting.

Hadja Bai Cabayan Bacar, provincial agrarian reform officer II, also disclosed that some “500 ha are already on the pipeline while 488 ha have been registered with the Registry of Deed and are ready for distribution.”

Bacar made the announcement at the fourth regular meeting of the members of the Provincial CARP Implementing Team (PCIT) here on November 24.

She also announced that “1,075 ha from previously approved survey plans with 513 emancipation patents/certificates of land ownership award (EP/CLOA) generation are now at the Office Regional Governor for signing and sealing while 304 ha with 48 landholdings are at LMS-DENR for verification and approval of survey plans”, Bacar said

For 2015 DAR- Maguindanao aims to acquire and distribute 3,500 ha.

The PCIT aims to sustain and strengthen the strong partnership between agrarian reform officers and other agencies to help address the land problems and challenges confronting the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and other related issues and concerns in relation to the program implementation in the province.

In ARMM, only Maguindanao has a PCIT.

Data from DAR Provincial Office-Maguindanao indicated that as of November 19, this year, 558.75 ha have been distributed to 221 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB)s in

Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Paglas, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Guindulungan, Kabuntalan, Talayan, Talitay and Upi towns.

Bacal added that in the past 10 months they have intensified their agrarian reform efforts, including holding of the 1st ARB provincial conference, distribution of CLOAs, meetings with agrarian reform communities, bamboo planting, turn over of farm-to-market road in conflict-affected areas and others.

“DAR turned over a six-kilometer FMR in Tamburong-Bunawan in Datu Paglas town on September 23,” said Bacal

ARBs also received several machineries under the Technical Advisory Support System including one corn sheller of ARBs in Mamasapano, one tractor for Kabuntalan and two hand tractors for Datu Paglas.

Several FMR projects are also underway, namely: 5.614 km. in Langkong-Bayanga Norte, Matanog; 3 km. in Ganta-Gambar, Kabuntalan; and 6 km in Marang-Gadung, Barira, Bacar added.

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