Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao News February 2015

From Philippines
Jump to navigation Jump to search
→ → Go back HOME to Zamboanga: the Portal to the Philippines.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Create Name's page

Regions | Philippine Provinces | Philippine Cities | Municipalities | Barangays | High School Reunions

Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao Archived News
ARMM seal.png
Seal of ARMM

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:
  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 registers Php863-M investments in Q1 '15

(PNA), LGI/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Feb. 28 (PNA) -- The Regional Board of Investments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM) on Friday announced it has registered a total of Php863 million worth of projects during the first two months of 2015.

The RBOI-ARMM, during its joint board and management committee meeting, approved the new investments.

The projects approved for RBOI registration were Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading Corporation and Chan C Mining Incorporated.

Both companies based in Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi are expected to provide 553 employment opportunities to residents of the area.

Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading Corporation is into importation and distribution of petroleum products with a project cost of Php121.25 million generating 56 jobs.

The company will operate at Barangay Garing Baunoh where the 3 oil tanks depots are currently being constructed with a capacity of 7.6 litres per annum.

It is expected that the whole province of Tawi-Tawi will soon enjoy cheaper petroleum products that will eventually expand to Sulu province.

Chan C Mining Incorporated is new mining operator in the Province of Tawi-Tawi investing Php741.8 million and to create 497 jobs.

The company is engaged in mining and quarrying of nickel ore to be exported to China.

The company’s operation is located at Barangays Karaha and Dungon with a capacity of 1,000,000 WMT per year.

Contrary to the views of many that there might be a slowdown in the influx of investments in ARMM due to the Mamasapano incident, Lawyer Ishak V. Mastura, RBOI-ARMM chair, said investment keeps coming.

He said that despite the Mamasapano incident, investors’ confidence is still high.

“In fact, there are fresh investments coming in Maguindanao with a project cost of Php1.3 billion on palm oil and a Php2 billion project on banana.

A multi-logistic assembly auction of heavy equipment company also signified their intention to do business in ARMM,” Mastura added.

Mastura further said that aside from fresh investments, a string of projects in the ARMM are in the pipeline this year coming from some of RBOI-registered firms.

Some of these are the expansion of the capacity of a biomass power plant, rehabilitation of a starch factory, expansion of banana plantations, and the construction of an oil depot at the Port of Polloc in Parang, Maguindanao by Iron Blaze Corporation.

Mastura expressed optimism that despite the region in a spate of the Mamasapano clash, the investments generation effort of RBOI was not affected.

Forty-four elite police, 18 Moro rebels and five civilians were killed during the operation against Malaysian terrotist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias "Marwan" who was also killed in the police operation.

3,000 more households added to Maguindanao IDPs

By Dennis Arcon (InterAksyon.com)

COTABATO - An estimated 3,000 families left their homes in various villages of Maguindanao Province on Friday, adding to the swelling numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) feeling the armed conflict between elements of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and pursuing troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Additionally, military sources report at least three Army soldiers wounded in the running clashes.

The affected towns include Datu Piang, Datu Saudi, Datu Salibo, Mamasapano, Shariff Saidona Mustapha and Shariff Aguak, according to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team and ARMM Executive Secretary Atty Laisa Alamia.

Local government authorities prepared relief packs and other material assistance to look after the welfare of the displaced villagers, along with emergency supplies provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).

According to the Red Cross, it has been almost a month since people in the affected communities started to flee from their homes. Some have sought shelter in temporary evacuation centers, while others have been staying with relatives, in Pikit, North Cotabato, or in Pagalungan, Maguindanao.

"We left our homes because we feared for our lives. The fighting was less than a kilometer away from where we lived. The evacuation center was already crowded, so my family and I had to sleep on the ground under a tree. We left all our belongings at home," said 48-year-old Muhammad Impus from Barangay Kalbugan in Pagalungan.

On February 25 and 26, the ICRC and the PRC distributed two weeks’ worth of food rations, along with hygiene kits, tarpaulins and jerry cans, to 1,696 families, or around 8,000 people, in Pagalungan.

Aside from receiving relief items, as shown in the ICRC photograph taken by by L. de la Cruz below, displaced families at the old public market in Pagalungan will be provided by the ICRC and PRC with potable water.

“This will supplement the assistance being provided by the authorities. We will make a similar delivery of relief items to 2,275 displaced families in Pikit,” explains Maria Carmen Echezarreta Inurritegui, head of the ICRC office in Cotabato.

Every day, as from Friday, the ICRC will truck 28,000 liters of clean drinking water provided by the Pikit Water District to two evacuation centers in Pagalungan.

As it is important that health facilities in areas affected by armed violence are able to treat wounded people, the ICRC provides regular support for five hospitals in Mindanao.

In central Mindanao they are the Cotabato Provincial Hospital and the Dr. Amado Diaz Provincial Hospital, both in North Cotabato, and the Maguindanao Provincial Hospital.

The ICRC will continue to closely monitor the humanitarian situation in the provinces of North Cotabato and Maguindanao and, together with the PRC, it remains committed to assisting vulnerable people in need of support.

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization, whose mandate is to protect and assist victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. In Mindanao, it has offices in the cities of Davao, Zamboanga, Cotabato and Bislig.

ARMM Palaro 2015 kicks off in Maguindanao

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

PARANG, Maguindanao, Feb. 26 (PNA) -- The 2015 Palarong Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Athletics Association (ARMMAA) officially kicked off today, February 26, at Parang Central Elementary School here with approximately 5,000 officials and student-athletes from across the region in attendance.

ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman led the opening ceremony which was also attended by thousands of spectators and government officials including Education Secretary Jamar Kulayan, Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, Rep. Bai Sandra Sema of the Second District of Maguindanao and Parang Mayor Ibrahim Ibay.

The region-wide athletic meet will last until March 3 with athletes both from elementary and secondary competing in sports like basketball, volleyball, football, athletics, boxing, wushu, arnis, wrestling, taekwondo, and archery.

The athletic delegations represent the nine schools divisions in the region, namely: Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Lamitan City, Marawi City, Lanao del Sur I and II and Maguindanao I and II.

Officials emphasized the significance of the annual regional games not just to sports, but also to the state of peace and security in the region.

“Napapanahon ang paglunsad ng Palarong ARMMAA dahil sa kabila ng malungkot na mga trahedya ngayon ay maipapakita natin na tayo ay nagkakaisa para sa kapayapaan (This Palarong ARMM is timely as it came while we are trying to move on after the infamous Mamasapano incident that threatens peace in our communities," Hataman said.

"Ang mga atleta natin ang siyang magdadala ng sulo ng kapayaapan sa mas mabilis, mas mataas at mas malakas na antas na larangan ng sports (Our athletes will carry the torch for peace in a faster and higher form of peace advocacy through sports),” Hataman added.

It is the second time for the games to be held in the town of Parang, Maguindanao.

Some of the students from Maguindanao participating in the games have to hurdle setback caused by the recent conflicts in the province, which disrupted both their regular class and practice.

ARMMAA has served as initial training ground for some of the region’s promising and professional athletes particularly in swimming and volleyball.

For his part, Secretary Kulayan said he is hoping for the region to do a better performance in the upcoming Palarong Pambansa.

“Gusto nating mas tumaas ang ating ranggo at makakuha tayo ng mas maraming gold medals (We aspire higher ranks in the national level, we want you to win more gold medals),” he said.

In 2014, Lamitan City Division bagged the over–all championship for the secondary category while the Division of Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao I grabbed the second and third place, respectively.

Maguindanao II Division emerged as over-all champion for the elementary category and the Division of Tawi-Tawi and Lamitan City landed on the second and third spot, respectively.

Winners from the various team and individual sports events will represent the region in the upcoming Palarong Pambansa on the first week of May in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

Hataman's EDSA anniv message: 'win freedom without violence and choose peace and win battles nonetheless'

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Feb. 25 (PNA) -– Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman Wednesday urged the Filipino people to seek justice, not through violence, but through peaceful means like the famous First EDSA Revolution that the nation is commemorating today.

In his statement on the 29th Peoples Power Revolution, Hataman reminded everyone of the cruelty of war and violence.

“We remember how we, as a nation, stood together against a dictatorship that has taken away our land, our families, and our homes, our lives,” Hataman said in his EDSA anniversary message.

“Now as we recollect the glory of the 1986 EDSA Revolution, it would not hurt if we also look at ourselves and our humanness in the face of our proclivity to judge swiftly, to desire for violence instead of good, to persecute instead of compassion, to hate instead of love,” Hataman said, adding that “the call of time these days is for us to regain our rights and freedoms.”

Hataman strongly believed that freedom can be attained without violence.

“Didn't we show the world how we can rally behind a common cause, win freedom without violence and choose peace and win battles nonetheless?” he said

The regional executive said the quest for peace must continue regardless of what. Battles from battles made peoples’ lives difficult, he said.

“We are not strangers to battles, as countless battles have gone beyond the fields and into our lives. Here at home, it is our collective experience in the Bangsamoro that makes our voice and actions all the more valuable in realizing this country's dream for the future, our quest for just and lasting peace,” he said.

Hataman described how brave Filipinos were when everything was downright difficult and the world was bleak, the Filipinos responded with collective change to the call of the time – “to mobilize ourselves, go out on the streets notwithstanding the uncertainty of what was ahead.”

“It was one of the best things to do -- to arise. It was a revolution that left a mark and stunned the world that froze in sheer admiration over a people, a nation that successfully ended the reign of terror. It was peaceful,” Hataman said.

Hataman recalled that Filipinos smiled how strong they were to topple a dictator but, somehow, Filipinos changed.

“Fast forward to today, we reminisce with a smile and pride how Filipinos ended the country's dark years without blood. It's not impossible, we say. But as we look back, we also realize how time changed us as a nation, as a people. As times passed us by, many of us lost it,” he said.

According to Hataman, the incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao which claimed the life of 44 police commandos, 18 Moro rebels and five civilians in exchange of the life of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan” showed how Filipinos changed.

“The recent Mamasapano incident exposed how Filipinos have become over the years. While the EDSA People Power 29 years ago saw the unison marching of millions of feet under the rhythm of peace, a stark contrast is unfurling before our very eyes today, something that is doubly ominous given that we are a nation that values democracy,” he said.

He said the families and loved ones of 44 SAF commandos, families of 18 Moro rebels, and of slain civilians, were all seeking for justice.

“Will violence result in justice?” Hataman asked.

“The grieving can last longer than we can imagine, but -- as we all know -- an act of violence can never correct an act of injustice. History will tell us that; this life will teach us that. And this is something that we all know too well. We saw this in 1986. What happened in January 25 in Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao was, as has been said, tragic,” Hataman said.

He said the aftermath of the Mamasapano incident showed civilians suffering the brunt of that tragedy. “And in the middle of the clamor for violence, the civilians' wounds are left open, gaping wide, bleeding profusely, as their cry for justice slowly silence to only disappear through a sky darkened by a looming war,” he said.

Hataman responded that no matter how difficult, Filipinos and the Bangsamoro people should not surrender to few who are calling for war in Mindanao.

“We should not surrender to a prescription that will only leave more and more broken lives, as if Mindanao has not had enough of deaths in the name of war since the 70s,” he said.

“Yes, 29 years hence, peace is still the most powerful message of the revolution, and it is a message we should never forget,” Hataman, a supporter of the government peace process in Mindanao.

“Together, we have moved forward and have gone from the dark days of a dictatorship to days of hope and promise. More than ever, we need to take care of our hard-earned gains, to remind each other why there is no other option but peace, and to ensure that the message is not lost despite the noise of a few who have forgotten what we fought for. May we never forget,” Hataman said.

Palace expects House plenary debates on BBL by May 4

By Louis Bacani (philstar.com)

During the meeting with President Aquino, Coloma said many of the lawmakers expressed their support to the BBL despite the Mamasapano tragedy.

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang expects the controversial Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to soon hurdle the committee level at the House of Representatives even if it has been shelved following the bloody Mamasapano incident.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said President Aquino reminded House leaders in their meeting on Monday that the proposed BBL should be passed in a timely manner.

"Uulitin natin, tuloy na tuloy ito. There is not a better alternative for the rest of the country," Coloma quoted Aquino's statement to the lawmakers.

Coloma said the BBL should be enacted into law immediately to pave the way for the holding of the Bangsamoro plebiscite and to give the Bangsamoro Transition Authority sufficient time to show that it is better than the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

"Sa tingin ko ang sinasabi lang naman ng Pangulo dito, kung naniniwala talaga tayo sa prosesong kapayapaan at kung naniniwala tayo na maaaring maging instrumento para sa pagtamo ng kapayapaan itong BBL, unawain natin na kailangan nitong maipasa sa lalong madaling panahon," Coloma said.

Responding to Aquino, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the BBL should be tackled in the House plenary when Congress resumes its session on May 4.

Rodriguez is the chair of the House ad hoc committee on the BBL.

"Ang sabi niya (Rodriguez), 'On May 4, when we resume dapat plenary na.' Ang pagkaunawa ko doon there could be a reasonable expectation or an aspiration na dito sa intervening period between now and May 4 magagawa na 'yung nararapat para ihanda 'yung BBL na 'yon for plenary discussion or plenary voting," Coloma said in a press briefing.

Congress will be on recess from March 20 to May 3. It will resume session on May 4 and will adjourn again on June 11.

'Solons support BBL'

The BBL will serve as the enabling law for the proposed Bangsamoro entity that would replace the ARMM. It is a result of the comprehensive peace agreement signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) last year.

The measure will specify the power and wealth-sharing arrangements between the national government and the Bangsamoro region.

The House panel on the BBL has indefinitely suspended its proceedings until after the various government probes on the fatal Mamasapano encounter are completed.

The deaths of 44 police commandos in the hands of the MILF combatants and its breakaway group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, have cast doubts on the peace process and on the sincerity of the rebels.

After the repeated calls to lawmakers not to abandon the BBL, Aquino met with House leaders on Monday to discuss the Mamasapano incident and its implications on the Bangsamoro peace process.

During the meeting with Aquino, Coloma said many of the lawmakers expressed their support to the BBL despite the Mamasapano tragedy.

"Sa akin pong nasaksihan, nandoon naman ‘yung pagiging bukas nila, 'yung kahandaan nila para talakayin ito," Coloma said.

"Marami naman din sa kanila ang nagpahayag na naniniwala sila at sumusuporta sila sa prosesong pangkapayapaan," he added.

Besides Rodriquez, present during the meeting were House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II and Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora.

Also in attendance were former senior military and PNP officers who are now House members: Samuel Pagdilao, Romeo Acop, Leopoldo Bataoil, Gary Alejano and Ashley Acedillo.

Also present were the chairpersons of the House committees that conducted hearings last week: Jeffrey Ferrer of the committee on public order and safety, and Jim Hataman Salliman of the committee on peace, reconciliation and unity.

ARMM introduces 'Green Super Rice' to farmers

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Feb. 23 (PNA) -- After a successful harvest at the two-hectare demonstration farm in Maguindanao of the Green Super Rice (GSR), the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will introduce to farmers in the region the GSR rice for commercial production.

Lawyer Macmod Mending Jr, ARMM agriculture and fishery secretary, said they are “pushing for the commercialization of this variety for increased productivity and better income for our farmers.”

The GSR has been developed by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to be climate resilient and resistant to rice diseases such as sheath blight, bacterial leaf streak viruses and false smut.

The variety can lead to more stable yield with lesser fertilizer and pesticide inputs.

ARMM currently ranks 18th in terms of rice production in the country with a 3.1 metric tons per hectare yield.

Mending said they expect to increase this to 7.7 metric tons per hectare with the introduction of the GSR.

The region’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) has distributed GSR seeds to 500 farmers during the rice farmers’ field day and harvest festival held in Sultan Mastura town, Maguindanao last week.

The GSR is part of DAF-ARMM’s Php3-million technology-driven programs that include the Rice Crop Manager (RCM), Philippine Rice Information System (PRISM) and the Next Generation (Next Gen).

The programs are designed to help increase the productivity of rice farmers in the region with the use of modern technology in farming.

RCM is an internet-based application that provides recommendations on nutrients, pest, weeds, water management based on the variety of input and site-specific conditions.

PRISM is a system provides data and maps out rice growing areas affected by natural calamities and pest outbreaks.

The NextGen project involves the introduction and adoption of high-yielding rice varieties and hybrids, such as the GSR, with tolerance to "biotic" and "abiotic" strain in rice production.

DAF-ARMM also provided a P1.6 million-worth combined harvester to the farmers in Sultan Mastura. The machine can simultaneously reap, harvest and thresh rice.

“ARMM aims to address the challenges on farming by taking advantage of new technologies that increases farm productivity, and making them available even to the poor farmers in the region,” said Mending in a statement issued by the ARMM Bureau of Public Information.

DSWD supports peace talks in ARMM to sustain efforts for the poor

(PNA), SCS/OPAPP-PR/PJN

MANILA, Feb. 22 (PNA) -- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman believes that if negotiations on the peace process is derailed, it would impede the gains that the government has achieved in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Soliman cited that because the situation has stabilized, 416,637 families have benefited from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the region.

“Continued armed conflict would [reverse] the investments on the education and health of Pantawid Pamilya children-beneficiaries,” Soliman explained.

She said that in times of conflict, communities are displaced, schools and health services are discontinued, and food becomes inadequate.

“Children’s schooling will definitely be suspended, including the 1,158,021 Pantawid Pamilya children-beneficiaries,” Soliman stressed.

Aside from Pantawid Pamilya, the DSWD has also undertaken various programs and projects in ARMM. These include construction of day care centers, Modified Shelter Assistance Project, Emergency Shelter Assistance, Supplementary Feeding, Sustainable Livelihood, and Cash-For-Work.

In Mamasapano alone, DSWD has implemented the following projects: Pantawid Pamilya for 3,494 families (2009), Sustainable Livelihood Program for 1,500 families (2012-2014), modified shelter under the PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) for 53 families (2012), training center under the Bottom Up Budgeting (2013), PhP2 million worth of livelihood assistance (2015), supplementary feeding for 1,616 children (2012-2015), and social pension for 826 indigent older persons (2012-2015).

Maguindanao poised to become top producer of green super rice

By John Unson (philstar.com)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - The province will emerge as top producer of the new high-yield Green Super Rice (GSR) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao by 2017 if the fragile peace in the area will continue in the coming months, officials said Friday.

Officials of the ARMM’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries announced on Friday, during the Regional Farmers Field Day in Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao that Muslim and Christian peasants have reported a two to three-fold increase in their harvests in the past three cropping seasons using GSR seeds.

“The GSR is a very promising rice variety,” said Makmod Mending, regional secretary of DAF-ARMM.

The gathering of hundreds of peasants from Maguindanao’s 36 towns was jointly organized by DAF-ARMM Secretary Makmod Mending Jr. and the region’s chief executive, Gov. Mujiv Hataman.

The DAF-ARMM is advocating for the massive propagation of the six now popular GSR varieties in the autonomous region.

"These are all aromatic varieties," said Salik Panalunsong, DAF-ARMM's provincial agricultural officer for Maguindanao.

Rice farmer Danny Tabudlo told reporters the six GSR varieties are drought-tolerant and can withstand heavy rains.

Farmers in Maguindanao that tried propagating the GSR harvested no less than seven metric tons of rice per hectare, higher than their 3.1 to 3.3 metric tons yield per hectare while still still planting in-bred rice varieties.

Karim Makud, an ethnic Maguindanaon peasant, said all they need now is calmness in their surroundings for them to master the propagation of GSR varieties.

“As long as we can till our farms peacefully, we will continue to have bumper harvests,” Ilonggo farmer Rey Mosne, a father of three, seconded in Hiligaynon.

Friday’s gathering of farmers from across Maguindanao was capped off with the dispersal of a new P1.6 million worth Japanese-made mechanized rice harvester to a group in Barangay Tapayan in Sultan Mastura.

Mending said the combine harvester was the third to be awarded to Maguindanao province in just 12 months.

Three units of the same combine rice harvesters were earlier released by Mending’s office to peasant organizations in Lanao del Sur.

The DAF-ARMM has dispersed more than P300 million worth of farm machinery, rice and corn seeds, fertilizers and farming tools to different peasant groups in the region in the past two years.

Officials of different peasant groups that attended the DAF-ARMM activity in Sultan Mastura urged journalists to help them drumbeat their desire for the peace overture between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to continue so they can forge ahead with their GSR propagation projects unimpeded.

They told reporters they are worried of a possible backlash in the government-MILF peace initiative as a consequence of the deadly January 25 police-rebel encounter in Mamasapano town in the second district of Maguindanao.

“Any outbreak of hostilities due to a possible impasse in the peace process will make our lives so miserable. Our families can go hungry and even become homeless,” Oscar Sanchez said in Cebuano dialect.

Maguindanao farmers earn more if peace prevails in communities -- DA execs

By Edwin O. Fernandez (PNA), CTB/NYP/EOF/RSM

COTABATO CITY, Feb. 20 (PNA) –- Maguindanao will soon emerge as the top producer of a new high yield green super rice about two years from now, agriculture officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) today said.

This is if the fragile peace in and order situation in the province will improve, officials of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF-ARMM) said.

Lawyer Makmod Mending, regional secretary of DAF-ARMM, speaking during the Regional Farmers Field Day in Sultan Mastura town in Maguindanao, said that Muslim and Christian farmers have reported that their income increased two or three times using GSR seeds, a new high-yielding variety of rice.

“The GSR is a very promising rice variety,” Mending later told reporters.

The gathering of farmers was organized by Mending and ARMM Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman.

With the peace process continuing, Mending said his office had been promoting for the massive use of six varieties of GSR seeds.

"These are all aromatic and tasty rice varieties," according to Salik Panalunsong, Maguindanao provincial agriculture officer.

According to Danny Tabudlo, a rice farmer in Maguindanao, said the GSR varieties are resistant to drought and heavy rains.

He said farmers in Maguindanao have tried and tested GSR varieties in the last three cropping season during which they claimed to have triple production and profits.

He added the new variety gave farmers seven metric tons of palay per hectare as compared to 3.1 tons using other palay varieties.

Another farmer who received GSR seeds assistance from the government said they wish is that peace and tranquility will forever prevail in their communities.

”If armed conflict occurs in our area, our farming activities will be affected and it will disable our capability to plant and earn profits,” he said.

”That is why we are happy that despite the violent incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, peace process was not affected,” he added.

He was referring to the Mamasapano carnage that left 44 police commandos, 18 Moro rebels, four civilians and Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias “Marwan” killed.

The delay threatened the future of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which both the government and the MILF are pushing.

The fathering today gathering of Maguindanao farmers was highlighted by the turn over of a brand new P1.6 million worth Japanese-made mechanized rice harvester to a group in Barangay Tapayan in Sultan Mastura.

It was the third harvester DAF-ARMM had turned over to farmers in the ARMM.

The same equipment were earlier dispersed to farmers in Lanao del Sur.

Since 2013, DAF-ARMM has released more than P300 million worth of farm equipment, rice and corn seeds, farming tools and fertilizers to farmers’ cooperatives.

ARMM conducts survey in 58 towns

By JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL

COTABATO CITY: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DENR-ARMM) started a cadastral survey last month to establish the political boundaries of 58 municipalities in the region, according to a high official.

ARMM Environment Secretary Hadji Kahal Kedtag said the cadastral surveys are done to create, mark, define, retrace and re-establish boundaries of public lands.

To mark the start of the survey, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Datu Saudi Ampa-tuan town, in Maguindanao province recently.

Kedtag said the Project Control and Political Boundary Survey (Category B) is a national project of the government that aims to determine and define land boundaries between and among political territories in the country.

He added that the survey is directed at correcting political boundaries to resolve territorial disputes and conflicts between and among communities and the local government units (LGUs) of different towns.

DENR-ARMM had earlier conducted a cadastral survey of 60 other municipalities in the region. The present survey, which has a P580-million budget, will be completed by May 2015, according to Kedtag.

Mayor Samsuddin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, encouraged the barangay chairmen of their town to support the project and to help disseminate information to residents for their cooperation in the successful completion of the survey.

Dimaukom, who is known as the “Pink Mayor” since every structure in his municipality including his house, the Mosque, and the municipal building are all painted in pink, said the DENR-ARMM cadastral survey project will avoid differences and misunderstandings of two adjoining municipalities whose boundaries are overlapping with one another.

P150-M dredging project up in Maguindanao

By Ali G. Macabalang

Buluan, Maguindanao – While the government continued to deal with hostilities in two other towns in this province, local authorities forged here last week a memorandum of agreement (MOA) prescribing cohesive effort for a R150-million project to dredge portions of the vast Liguasan Marsh that spill floods on low-lying communities during rainy days.

Regional officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which administers the project, facilitated the signing of the MOA singing among Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu and Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu in a symbolic ceremony here that wrapped up last Saturday’s two peace-building events – the Fourth Sagayan Festival and the Bangsamoro Bike for Love that coincided with the Valentine’s Day.

Mayors Sajid Khan Pendatun of Gen. S. Pendatun, Zihan Mamalinta-Mangudadatu of Pandag, and Zulaika Langkuno of Paglat also signed the MOA in behalf of their municipalities comprising parts of the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta targeted in the project.

DPWH Region 12 Director Reynaldo Tamayo said the dredging works would commence within this quarter as initial implementation of the more than P6-billion Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation and Development (MRBRD) project funded under the General Appropriation Acts of 2015 and 2016.

At the signing rite, Gov. Mangudadatu aired his gratitude to President Aquino for giving Maguindanao top priority in the project, saying he had asked the attention of the Chief Executive last year about the ills of instant inundations in his province during rainy days.

Maguindanao literally means “land of flood plains.”

He said a full completion of the MRBRD project would “greatly relieve” Maguindanao people from the agony of inundations that displace thousands of families from time to time.

Mangudadatu said frequent flooding aggravates miseries in Maguindanao, spawned by the adversities of feudalism and armed hostilities that peaked in the 2009 massacre of 52 people including media workers in Ampatuan town and the deadly clash in Mamasapano that left 44 police commandos, 18 Moro rebels and five civilians slain, and thousands of villagers displaced.

Armed skirmishes over territorial disputes also occur sporadically in the province between field forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). Latest of such in-fighting broke out in Pagalungan town last Saturday, leaving six rebels slain and displacing hundreds of mostly Muslim families.

The MRBRD project was scrapped in the early months in office of President Aquino but was revived in 2013 by DPWH assistant secretary Emil Sadain, concurrent public works chieftain for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, in collaboration with the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) on the heels flooding in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and North Cotabato that year.

Health office in Lanao del Sur explains importance of oral health

(APB/PIA-10)

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Feb. 17 (PIA) -- Poor oral health can affect a person’s physical, mental and social well-being thus it is important to take proper care of one’s teeth.

This was the message of Dr. Artawan P. Indar, supervising dentist of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), during the Ozor ka, Ranao! radio program of the Philippine Information Agency and DxSO Radyo ng Bayan Marawi Monday, February 16.

Dr. Indar said routine dental cleansing and exams are the best ways to ensure and maintain oral health.

“We should brush our teeth every after eating or thrice a day especially during night time,” she said.

According to her, the foods that are consumed during the day may stick to the surfaces of the teeth and may create bacteria build-up or plaque.

“Dental examinations should also be conducted twice a year to determine if a person has dental problems,” she added.

Meanwhile, the IPHO and Philippine Dental Association–Lanao Chapter with the support of local government units is providing dental package services to various areas in the province.

Our dental package services include dental check-up, tooth extraction, provision of free toothbrushes and toothpastes, and oral health education, Dr. Indar said.

She said they are also conducting tooth brushing drill to teach children the proper technique of brushing teeth.


DepEd boosts groundwork for K-12 senior high school in ARMM

By Joel Locsin / KG (GMA News)

The Department of Education has boosted the groundwork for the full implementation of the Senior High School (SHS) under the K-12 system in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao by June 2016.

DepEd officials held a planning and orientation session on the SHS curriculum with key officials in DepEd in the region.

“We can always base everything on the curriculum we have already formulated, but I assure you, plain implementation of the curriculum will not bear quality results,” DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said.

Luistro discussed the overview of SHS with ARMM regional secretary Jamar Kulayan and other DepEd officials, noting the new curriculum is culture-based.

He stressed the need for educators to identify the needs inside the classroom to effectively implement SHS.

Also, he said reforms are meant “not only for education itself but also reforming the ways of the Department, its officials, administrators, and educators.”

“Newly revised and programs are updated but the belief stays the same: access to quality education for all,” he said.

DepEd Undersecretary for Programs and Projects Dina Ocampo, Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Francisco Varela, and DepEd-ARMM Assistant Secretary for Planning Noor Saada joined Luistro and Kulayan in mapping out the goals for the nationwide implementation of Grades 11 and 12 in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Planning sessions

The DepEd said the ARMM event is the last in planning sessions for SHS implementation.

DepEd started the sessions in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon.

The DepEd aims to have at least one DepEd SHS per city or town by June 2016.

SHS curriculum

The SHS curriculum contains four tracks that learners and schools may choose from:

• technical-vocational-livelihood
• academic
• sports
• arts and design

These tracks will help prepare graduates for higher education, entrepreneurship, further middle-level skills development, or work.

"All tracks contain a core curriculum that would enable graduates to pursue higher education should they wish," DepEd said.


These services, among others, are being provided by IPHO during its community outreach program in line with the Oral Health Month celebration this February.

Dr. Indar said the areas identified for their community outreach program this month are Marawi City and the municipalities of Saguiaran, Masiu, Taraka, Buadipuso Buntong, and Balindong.

ARMM health chief: 'Help us assist Mamasapano kids, donate used toys, books for children

(PNA), CTB/NYP/EOF

MAMASAPANO, Maguindanao, Feb. 15 (PNA) –- To help children in conflict affected villages here, the health department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) today appealed for donations of used but playable toys.

Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr, regional health secretary of the ARMM, is seeking help from anyone to donate “used but playable toys and children books” to help children in conflict afflicted town of Mamasapano, Maguindanao overcome fear and anxiety.

Sinolinding led a series of medical and psychosocial intervention in the village of Tukanalipao and other areas in Mamasapano following the January 25 carnage that left 44 elite police, Moro rebels and civilian killed in the 10-hour fire fight.

The elite PNP Special Action Force (SAF) killed its target during the surgical operation, Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan who was linked to several deadly bombings in Mindanao and in Luzon.

His Filipino cohort, Abdul Basit Usman, was seriously wounded and managed to escape along with a dozen followers.

“After a series of health interventions in the war affected communities in Mamasapano, we found out that trauma brought about by the January 25 clashes is the most difficult to manage,” Sinolinding said of the children of Mamasapano.

“Fears, anxiety, uncertainty and worries were the most common terms to describe feelings of the affected population,” he added.

“Five or six of 10 children have been traumatized and we pity them. We need to help them cope with the sufferings they are in now,” Sinolinding said.

To arrest the psychological effect of the conflict, Sinolinding launched a campaign aimed at giving the population an intervention for them to overcome fears and anxiety.

Dubbed as “Laruang Pambata, Alay sa Kapayapaan,” the campaign is to solicit donations in kind such as toys, children books and other toys that will help the young minds forget about the conflict and refocus their attention to something worthwhile.

“May I therefore appeal for used but playable toys, children books and magazines for children of Mamasapano,” he said.

He quickly added: “Please avoid items that will remind them of war like toy guns, blades, weapons, toy tanks, etc.”

“Please help us help these Mamasapano children cope with the effects of conflict so they will leave like normal children in other areas,” he said.

For those who have extra used toys and would like to donate, Sinolinding suggests that these stuffs be dropped to collection units in the ARMM.

Collection units include all Rural Health Units and government hospitals in the ARMM. The region is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Sinolinding also sought partnership with local media organizations in Central Mindanao region with its offices as drop-off points.

Donors outside the region may contact Dr. Tato Usman, Dr. Analyn Dimapanat and Ms. Faisalea Ungkakay at Department of Health (DOH-ARMM) regional office in Cotabato City through telephone numbers (064)421-6842 and (064)421-3988, email www.doharmm@yahoo.com or visit its website www.doharmmgov.ph.

DepEd boosts groundwork for K-12 senior high school in ARMM

By Joel Locsin / KG (GMA News)

The Department of Education has boosted the groundwork for the full implementation of the Senior High School (SHS) under the K-12 system in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao by June 2016.

DepEd officials held a planning and orientation session on the SHS curriculum with key officials in DepEd in the region.

“We can always base everything on the curriculum we have already formulated, but I assure you, plain implementation of the curriculum will not bear quality results,” DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said.

Luistro discussed the overview of SHS with ARMM regional secretary Jamar Kulayan and other DepEd officials, noting the new curriculum is culture-based.

He stressed the need for educators to identify the needs inside the classroom to effectively implement SHS.

Also, he said reforms are meant “not only for education itself but also reforming the ways of the Department, its officials, administrators, and educators.”

“Newly revised and programs are updated but the belief stays the same: access to quality education for all,” he said.

DepEd Undersecretary for Programs and Projects Dina Ocampo, Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Francisco Varela, and DepEd-ARMM Assistant Secretary for Planning Noor Saada joined Luistro and Kulayan in mapping out the goals for the nationwide implementation of Grades 11 and 12 in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Planning sessions

The DepEd said the ARMM event is the last in planning sessions for SHS implementation.

DepEd started the sessions in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon.

The DepEd aims to have at least one DepEd SHS per city or town by June 2016.

SHS curriculum

The SHS curriculum contains four tracks that learners and schools may choose from:

• technical-vocational-livelihood
• academic
• sports
• arts and design

These tracks will help prepare graduates for higher education, entrepreneurship, further middle-level skills development, or work.

"All tracks contain a core curriculum that would enable graduates to pursue higher education should they wish," DepEd said.

ARMM to conduct massive info drive on disaster preparedness

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

COTABATO CITY, Feb 13 (PNA) -- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will conduct a massive information drive to improve the disaster preparedness of identified hazard-prone areas in the region beginning this month.

Ramil Masukat, ARMM’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) director, said ARMM want to generate more awareness and equip communities with the knowledge and ability to respond to any disaster accordingly.

He said they’ve designed a set of information, education and communication materials with the help of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) that was unveiled this week in the town of Kabuntalan, Maguindanao.

The town regularly suffers massive flooding that affects thousands of residents and vast areas of farmlands. In 2014, more than 20,000 individuals in 17 of its barangays were displaced due to the flood.

Masukat said Kabuntalan scored highest in terms of flood hazard in the whole province of Maguindanao.

“We know that educating our people and giving them all the helpful information can better prepare them for emergencies,” he said.

Large posters showing how people should react to flooding were placed in different conspicuous locations around the town.

Masukat said they are going to disseminate similar information materials in other hazard-prone areas of the region.

All is set for the Army-led 'Bangsamoro Bike for Love' on Heart Day

(PNA), FPV/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Feb. 12 (PNA) -- A Roman Catholic Bishop and an Army major general will lead the first ever 90-kilometer "Bike for Love" on Heart Day in support of the government's campaign for peace in Mindanao and the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo and 6th Infantry Division commander Major Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan will lead the activity dubbed as BBL or "Bangsamoro Bike for Love."

The mountain biking activity, also known as "We ride together for BBL," will be participated by representatives from various sectors, such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), GPH and MILF peace panels, International Monitoring Team, officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), business, academe and non government organizations.

"All the expected participants are working for peace," said Capt. Joanne Petinglay, speaking for the 6th Infantry Division which organized the bike for peace.

MNLF Chairman Muslimin G. Sema also expressed support to the peace activity.

Peinglay said the fun bike primarily aims to encourage support for the Bangsamoro Basic Law and to foster the spirit of solidarity among bike enthusiasts who can be called heralds of love and peace.

"The activity will showcase the concerted efforts and cooperation among stakeholders as a mechanism for strong support to peace," Maj. Gen. Pangilinan said in a statement.

Pangilinan calls for unity among all the biking enthusiasts to join in the endeavor for the speedy passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

"He is very optimistic that the proposed law will cultivate peace and provide solution to decades-old conflict in Mindanao," Petinglay said of the 6th ID chief.

Petinglay said the bikers will proceed to Mamasapano in Maguindanao, site of the January 25 clash between government forces and Moro rebels that left 44 policemen, 18 rebels and five civilians dead.

The bikers will commence the "Bangsamoro Bike for Love" in two separate venues. One group will leave the 6th ID compound in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao and the other emanates from the Tacurong City Hall compound. Both groups will be linked up in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao for a short program before proceeding to Mamasapano, about 7 kilometers away.

Bishop Bagaforo said he expected about 300 bikers participating in the event which will also express solidarity with the call for justice for the "Fallen 44" and all other victims of the Jan. 25 incident.

Bagaforo said the Archdiocese of Cotabato will take part in the “Bangsamoro Bike for Love” as the Church's way of showing their confidence in the peace process.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has issued a pastoral statement on the draft BBL now pending in Congress.

The CBCP statement stressed that “peace goes hand in hand with justice,” stressing it is “not the fruit of a mere handshake or an embrace.”

Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan in a separate statement said more than the absence of conflict, peace is the “assurance of respect for fundamental human dignity and human rights”.

“For the Bangsamoro, justice means the recognition of their centuries-old aspiration for self-determination, their right to chart their own destiny in dignity and freedom. For the whole country justice requires the acceptance of the overarching right of national sovereignty and national territorial integrity,” he said.

DOJ-NBI special team mulling whether to conduct ocular inspection in Mamasapano, Maguindanao

(PNA), SCS/PTR/SSC

MANILA, Feb. 11 (PNA) -- The Department of Justice-National Bureau of Investigation (DOJ-NBI) special team is still studying whether to conduct an ocular inspection of the scene of the encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015.

According to Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima, she will meet with the members of the special team this week to talk about the possible conduct of an ocular inspection.

De Lima said the special team is meticulously monitoring the investigation being conducted in the Senate and the House of Representatives in connection with the incident.

She added that they are also coordinating with Philippine National Police (PNP) Director Benjamin Magalong, the chair of the Board of Inquiry (BOI), to ask for a copy of all the pieces of evidence gathered, particularly the sworn statements, so that the special team can start with the examination of the evidence.

Fund drive launched for slain MILF fighters

(ABS-CBNnews.com)

MARAWI CITY- At first, the money came in trickles. Coins, P20 bills, then P50 bills.

Then as suddenly as it started, everyone was throwing bills of P100, P500 and even P1,000 into the striped blue, green and white tarpaulin laid on the ground of Plaza Cabili in Banggolo in the heart of downtown Marawi.

As a group of women counted the money, cries of “Allahu Akbar” rang throughout the park from hundreds of boys, girls and residents who trooped to the plaza to participate in the Bangsamoro National Day of Mourning rally on Tuesday.

The women started counting the bills, making sure that there is proper accounting for donations to the 18 fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and four civilians killed in the January 15 Mamasapano clash in Maguindanao province.

“They are our 'shaheed' (martyrs). They died for us and the Bangsamoro,” rally organizer Achmad Lao said.

At total of 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) troopers also died in the clash triggered by a law enforcement operation to get Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir alias Marwan.

Lao said they collected P50,00 and several thousand pesos more in pledges during the 3-hour rally.

He said a similar fund drive was simultaneously launched in the nearby town of Baloi, Lanao del Norte.

“Kahit piso-piso lang we can gather enough money to the families of the slain fighters and civilians who died in the Mamasapano clash,” Lao said, pointing to a group of children giving their “baon” to the cause.

“We can not afford the millions that is given to the SAF 44 but we want to tell the families of our martyrs they are not forgotten,” he said.

YapaKapayapaan draws hundreds of peace advocates in Lanao del Sur

By Johaniah N. Yusoph (PIA-10)

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Feb. 9 (PIA) --- Hundreds of peace advocates here gathered and marched barefoot from KM. 0.00 to the People’s Park compound to call for truth, justice and solidarity.

The barefoot walk for peace dubbed YapaKapayapaan was organized by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) government together with civil society groups.

It was held simultaneously in the regional government compound in Cotabato City and in the five component provinces of ARMM on Friday, February 6.

"This is a solidarity walk to sympathize with the civilians who were affected by the Mamasapano incident," said Asec Ding Cali, YapaKapayapaan focal person for Lanao del Sur.

He said the barefoot walk was anchored on the theme "Ituloy ang lakad. Don't give up on peace” to condemn the needless loss of lives and displacement of families due to armed conflicts.

Wearing black t-shirts, the peace advocates also called for support to the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and the on-going peace process.

"Ang lakad na ito ay nagsisilbing mensahe na tayo ay patuloy parin sa pagsulong sa usaping pangkapayapaan masakit man ang pagtahak sa daan nito," said Alibasher Pocaan Camar, one of the peace advocates who joined the walk.

Unit endorses P863-M investments in ARMM

By Bong S. Sarmiento

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/8 February)—Two big-ticket projects worth P863.05 million were endorsed to operate in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, head of the ARMM’s Regional Board of Investments, said on Friday “that these investments reflect that business confidence in the region is intact” despite the deadly encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

The fierce clashes last January 25 left 44 elite police commandos and 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters dead.

Members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) launched the operation to arrest alleged Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan” and his Filipino cohort Abdul Basit Usman.

The US government, which confirmed the death of Marwan through a DNA test, has offered US$5 million for his capture and another US$1 million for Usman, whom authorities said had escaped.

The PNP-SAF troopers clashed with the elements of the MILF and the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters during the operation.

“Investors in the ARMM are unfazed by the recent Mamasapano incident that is seen to have imperiled the Mindanao peace process,” the press release from Mastura said.

The RBOI, a regional government entity promoting the area’s investment potentials, through its management committee (ManCom), has endorsed the application of the two companies to operate in the region, it said.

The ManCom endorsement means that these investment projects will now proceed for deliberations and final decision by the Board of Governors of the RBOI in a meeting set to take place within the month.

The two projects endorsed by the ManCom are the P741.8 million nickel ore mining project of Chan C Mining, Inc. and the P121.25 million fuel depot project of Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading Corporation.

Both are located in Panglima Sugala town in the island province of Tawi-Tawi, which is far from the encounter site in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao province.

The wire agency Agence France-Presse earlier reported that the Mamasapano encounter “is scaring investors” in the vicinity.

However, Mastura said that despite the Mamasapano incident, the RBOI continues to process investment projects in Maguindanao province.

These include ventures in oil palm and banana plantations and expansion of biomass power plants, he added.

A potential multi-billion peso logistics center in Polloc Port in Parang town, Maguindanao has likewise been proposed to the ARMM regional government by investors and is now being facilitated by RBOI together with the port authorities, Mastura said.

The ARMM will be replaced by the Bangsamoro government as envisioned by the final peace agreement signed last year between the Philippine government and the MILF.

MILF promises cooperation in gov’t effort to capture Basit Usman

By Allan Nawal, Jeoffrey Maitem, Nash Maulana, Williamor Magbanua (Inquirer Mindanao)

COTABATO CITY—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Saturday said it would provide full cooperation in the government’s effort to capture Filipino bomber Abdul Basit Usman, who had escaped from the Jan. 25 Mamasapano operation that led to the death of 44 elite policemen and Malaysian Zulfikli bin Hir or Marwan.

“We will help on the aspect (of capturing Usman) but we need to talk it over. The mechanism provides that we should work together. The government can also carry out their own operation provided it is coordinated with us,” MILF chief negotiator Mohaqher Iqbal said.

Iqbal told the Inquirer by phone the MILF’s participation in the manhunt for Usman would be through the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (Ahjag).

Ahjag, which was created in May 2002, is the joint government-MILF body tasked “to interdict and isolate” criminal groups, such as kidnappers and terrorists.

“We have an existing mechanism that can be used for his arrest,” Iqbal said.

But he said the MILF had no idea where Usman was. Military and police intelligence sources said Usman remained near Mamasapano, where the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the MILF operate.

“He is not in our territory,” Iqbal said.

He said this was also the same reason why the MILF could not possibly heed President Benigno Aquino III’s call to the MILF to turn Usman in.

“While it is expected of the MILF to fully cooperate in the quest to bring to the folds of law Basit Usman, all Mindanaons must also do their share to secure peace and order in the area,” North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza said.

She said civilians could also help by maintaining vigilance.

“Restrain and vigilance must be observed. We should all be alert or aware but let us not be impulsive or quick to the draw,” Mendoza said.

Iqbal also said the MILF had decided to return the firearms taken by its ground forces from the slain SAF policemen.

But he said the MILF, as agreed during the meeting of the central committee, would conduct an accounting of firearms to determine how many actually fell into the hands of its men.

As the MILF was still trying to parry allegations of treachery in the aftermath of the Mamasapano incident, another MILF unit was being accused of launching offensive in Tulunan, North Cotabato.

At least 27 B’laan families had fled Barangay New Bunawan there after clashes between militiamen and MILF rebels under the 108th Base Command took place starting Thursday, according to Alfredo Satore, chair of the nearby Barangay Maybula.

The evacuees, Satore said, fled to as far as Maybula.

Satore said it was not the first time the MILF rebels—under Commander Kaming Maligaya and Sandatok Maligaya—attacked hinterland Tulunan villages that served as the province’s borders with Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

In January, three civilians were also injured when MILF rebels came in, he said.

Satore said a long-standing land conflict between MILF members and settlers was the main reason for the violence.

Peace panel: Greater resolve to pass Bangsamoro law despite violence

By Camille Diola with reports from Jim Gomez, Associated Press (philstar.com)

MANILA, Philippines — The government peace panel sees hope amid the tragedy in Mamasapano, Maguindanao where dozens of members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) were killed Sunday.

"This incident and other recent acts of violence by other armed groups manifest the diverse security challenges that confound the peace process," Peace Panel chairperson Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said in a statement Monday.

"But our resolve to see through the process of legislating the Bangsamoro Basic Law and implementing the different normalization programs, including the security components, is only further strengthened," she added.

Police confirmed Monday that 43 SAF commandos have been killed in a fierce battle with Muslim guerillas.

The commandos had sneaked into the Muslim rebel community in two groups, but apparently had a "misencounter" with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the main Muslim insurgent group.

The MILF had signed a peace deal with the government in March and has had a relatively successful ceasefire agreement with government troops in recent years.

Under the truce, government forces are required to coordinate anti-terror assaults and other law enforcement operations with the Moro rebels to prevent accidental fighting. But the approximately 100 police commandos did not notify the rebels before they arrived in the dark, Moro rebel leader Mohagher Iqbal said.

"If somebody barges into your house, what will you do?" Iqbal said.

Members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters also engaged retreating SAF members in neighboring village.

Meanwhile, Ferrer said encounters with militant groups in Mindanao can be prevented with "better cooperation."

The SAF team conducted law enforcement operations in the township in pursuit of Malaysian bomb-maker and Jemaah Islamiyah operative Zulkifli bin Hir, known as Marwan.

READ: Defense chief: SAF members killed top Jemaah Islamiyah operative

"This objective of arresting the growth of extremist cells lodging themselves in our interior villlages and sowing indiscriminate violence remains," Ferrer said.

She also honored the fallen government forces, whose "steadfastness in answering the call of duty" and "sacrifices" contributes to efforts toward peace.

"To their families and loved ones, we convey our deepest condolences," Ferrer added.

Following the incident, Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. suspended Senate proceeedings on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will create a new Mindanao region based on agreement with the MILF.

Faced with constitutional issues and time limitations, Marcos said the bloody encounter might derail further the passage of the BBL.

DOH-ARMM conducts post-conflict medical, psychological intervention to IDPs

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

MAMASAPANO, Maguindanao, Feb. 6 (PNA) -- The Department of Health in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DOH-ARMM) has started conducting stress debriefing and counseling for non-combatants in Barangay Tukanalipao where government forces and Moro rebels clashed on January 25.

The Mamasapano encounter which left elite police, Moro rebels, civilians and Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir dead has emotional effect on non-combatants, Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, DOH-ARMM health secretary, said.

"Farmers and villagers here have experienced trauma and need medical and psychological intervention," he said.

Sinolinding said his office has conducted a medical mission aimed at giving displaced families medicine as prevention for diseases common in evacuation centers.

"They need counseling and psycho-social intervention because of their traumatic experience of running away from a day-long fire fight," Sinolinding said.

One of those showing signs of trauma was 29-year-old Fahima Acmad who has four young children and a resident of Barangay Tukanalipao.

"I have difficulty sleeping at night, I have not experienced a full night sleep since the conflict," she said in Filipino.

"I fear the police will return and engage the rebels in war again," she added.

She said her 74-year-old father chilled during the day-long fighting in Tukanalipao. "He is hypertensive, he showed signs his blood pressure shot up during the fire fight," she added.

Acmad recalled that she was awakened by a series of gun bursts at about 5 a.m. of January 25. "The gun fire appeared to be near our home so we hurriedly left with only our clothes on," she recalled.

"It was a very traumatic experience for many here," Sinolinding said.

Displaced families have started to return home but according to Acmad, life will never be the same again because she is now afraid to walk by the corn field and beside the river where the rebels and the policemen had fought.

SAF officer preferred ARMM assignment

By RHAYDZ B. BARCIA, ANTHONY BAYARONG AND ERNIE ESCONDE (CORRESPONDENTS)

VIRAC, CATANDUANES: Police Senior Insp. Max Jim Tria wanted an assignment in Mindanao as he vowed to fight lawless people so others may live peacefully.

The 27-year-old Tria is among the 44 members of the Philippine National Police–Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) who were brutally killed by rebels belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the terrorist group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on January 25 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province.

Fondly called Macmac in his native land Catanduanes, Tria spent his last birthday on September 1 with his family in Virac but immediately returned to the war-torn Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) despite the protest and pleas of his loved ones.

In Olongapo City, thousands lined the streets as the remains of PO3 John Lloyd Sumbilla, a fallen SAF 44 member, was brought in a hearse from Morong, in Bataan province for the cremation rites here yesterday.

Students, government employees and private sector workers took the time out to witness for the last time their fallen hero as some offices suspended work during the hours that the funeral march was made.

In Morong town, Bataan province, Acting PNP-SAF Chief Noli Taliño said the morale of the officers and men of his unit remain high despite the loss of 44 members.

He also paid his last respects to the fallen Sumbilla yesterday.

In recalling the life of his son, Police Senior Insp. Guillermo Tria, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Internal Affairs Service of the Catanduanes Provincial Police Office, said he has asked Max Jim to give up his assignment in Mindanao and focus instead on getting a higher post in Catanduanes.

But Max Jim simply shrugged the idea off and expressed his desire to go back to the ARMM area and fight for peace. Max Jim belonged to the Kaisang-Bisig Class 2009 of the Philippine National Police Academy. He is the second son of Guillermo.

His batch mates or mistahs said Max Jim’s tour of duty in Mindanao was already over but the latter preferred to stay and accomplish its mission of going after terrorists and lawless members of the society.

Police Senior Insp. Sheena Sevilla Guzman, current chief of police of Canaman town in Camarines Sur, classmate and spokesperson of Kaisang-Bisig Class 2009 of the Philippine National Police Academy told The Manila Times that Max Jim is a man of courage, bravery, a fighter and intelligent although sometimes reserved.

She said Max Jim went through the Philippine Army’s Scout Ranger training before going through the PNP-SAF training.

Max Jim is part of the PNP-SAF blocking force that came under heavy fire while ensuring that the attacking PNP-SAF force, which killed terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as Marwan), are able to make an exit. Max Jim was the commando’s topnotch sniper.

Brigadier General Carlito Galvez, head of government’s coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities said that Tria was the last man standing in the combat zone.

Tria’s 304 mistahs had their hairs shaved to signify their call for justice and respect for the SAF 44.

On Saturday, Tria’s body will be laid to rest in Virac.

Hataman to lead 'barefoot walk for peace' in ARMM

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Feb. 4 (PNA) -- Hundreds of peace advocates including government workers in the five provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and in this city will walk barefoot on Friday to amplify the call for peace and denounce violence.

The activity dubbed as "YapaKapayapaan" or “barefoot walk for peace” is being organized by the ARMM government with the support of civil society groups, religious organizations and the indigenous community.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the activity, which carries the theme “Ituloy ang lakad, don’t give up on peace,” aims to magnify the call for an end to the needless loss of lives and displacement of thousands of families in Mindanao due to armed conflicts.

He said it is also the region’s way of denouncing a military solution to the January 25 incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that led to the death of 44 police officers, 18 combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and 5 civilians.

Hataman said the incident must not lead to the derailment of the peace process.

"YapaKapayapaan" will be held at the ARMM government compound in Cotabato City, designated locations in the region’s five component provinces and two cities, and at the Quezon City Memorial Circle in Quezon City on Friday afternoon.

Peace advocates from civil society organizations, religious groups including Muslim Ulamas, indigenous community, and the academe are expected to join in the solidarity walk for peace.

In a flag ceremony at ARMM’s seat in Cotabato City on Monday, Hataman said the ongoing peace process between the government and the MILF presents the most durable solution to the conflict in Mindanao as he offered his condolences to the families of all those killed in the Mamasapano encounter.

He said that war is not the solution and the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) “is for the interest of peace” and Filipinos must support it.

However, he added that peace must be based on justice, and there can be no justice without the truth.

To restore confidence between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Hataman urged the MILF to return the firearms its forces recovered from the 44 slain Police Special Action Force members in the Mamasapano incident.

ARMM government extends assistance to 1,324 displaced families in Mamasapano

(PBChangco/PIA Cotabato City)

COTABATO CITY, Feb. 3 (PIA)—The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao through the Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (ARMM-HEART) has provided immediate relief assistance to more than 1,000 families affected by the January 25 clash at Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

According to ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Alamia, the HEART staff conducted an initial assessment and validation of affected families by the armed confrontation in Mamasapano on January 26.

Based on latest report, as of January 30, some 1,324 affected families or 6,620 individuals have been extended relief packages, These displaced families were from the villages of Daladap Madrasah, Pedsandawan, Tuka, Tukanalipao, Pembalakan, Desikel and Linantangan.

Of the total 1,324 affected families, 66 are housed at the Daladap Madrasah evacuation site and rest are living with relatives.

Alamia said, aside from relief packs, the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Central Office (DSWD) has provided cash assistance of P25, 000 each to the families of the four casualties and P10, 000 each to the four injured.

The local government of Mamasapano in coordination with the GPH and MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) has likewise distributed an initial 600 food packs and assisted in the retrieval operations, Alamia said.

Classes remain suspended in 13 public elementary and secondary schools in Mamasapano affecting 6,046 students and 126 teachers.

The ARMM government will continue to closely monitor and validate the situation of displaced families while coordinating with authorities ensuring security in the affected area to restore normalcy and stability, she said.

Lanao del Sur vies for world record by forming largest human power symbol

(APB/PIA-10)

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, February 2 (PIA) -- Some 716 women here attempted to set a new world record by forming the largest human power symbol Sunday, February 1.

The women wearing yellow hijab (veil) and landap (traditional malong) challenged Canada’s world record which consisted of only 364 participants.

The activity was organized by the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RCBW-ARMM) to highlight the 2015 World Hijab Day celebration in the region.

Anchored on the theme “Hijab WALK: Women’s Access to Livelihood ay Karapatan,” the celebration was aimed to emphasize women’s important role in nation building. It was intended to promote women’s right to decent livelihood.

RCBW-ARMM Chairperson Jehanne Mutin said it is a call to all the women, that they have rights to access livelihood programs of various government agencies.

The activity started with a solidarity walk from the People’s Park to the Provincial Capitol Gymnasium where the human power symbol was formed.

It was participated by different line agencies and non-government organizations in the province and in the ARMM including the business, religious, traditional leaders, youth, and academe sectors.

Mutin said the human power symbol represents women empowerment. “Ito ay isang simbolo na ang mga kababaihan ay empowered (it is a symbol that women are empowered),” she added.

According to her, the activity is the official entry of RCBW-ARMM to the Guinness World Book of Records (GWBR).

“We want the world to know that women in Mindanao, particularly in ARMM, are capable of doing everything that they want to do,” she said.

The world-record attempt was witnessed by Judge Aboali Cali of the Ulama League of the Philippines and GWBR consultant Arnold Garbanzos.

Garbanzos said the records and video will be sent to London for validation by the GWBR.

The World Hijab Day is a worldwide event that encourages Muslim and non-Muslim women to wear hijab and experience what it is like to be a Hijabi woman as part of a bid to foster better understanding.

Maguindanao clash probe starts

By Third Anne Peralta (Sunnex)

MANILA -- The fact-finding team investigating the clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that left 44 police commandos dead has started interviewing survivors of the encounter, a police official said Sunday.

Philippine National Police (PNP)-Special Action Force (SAF) officer-in-charge Chief Superintendent Noel Taliño said the Board of Inquiry, whose members are PNP officials, interviewed 15 SAF members who were in the encounter with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The board will also find out possible lapses in the January 25 police operation aimed at nabbing terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and Filipino bomb-maker Abdul Basit Usman.

Marwan was reportedly killed during the clash but this has to be validated by DNA tests to be conducted in the United States, which offered $5 million for his capture.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, however, has denied knowledge of or involvement in the police raid, according to a report by Reuters.

"The FBI was not involved in the planning or execution of the operation. We do express our deepest condolences to the brave officers of the Philippine National Police who lost their lives in the line of duty," FBI spokesman Josh Campbell was quoted as saying in the report.

PNP spokesperson Generoso Cerbo Jr. said Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II did not give a timeline to the Board of Inquiry but the result of the investigation will be released as soon as possible.

Sacked SAF commander Police Director Getulio Napeñas earlier claimed responsibility for the death of his men as President Benigno Aquino III scored him in a televised speech last week for allegedly not coordinating with other government agencies.

Meanwhile, the slain SAF men could only attain justice if the country unites and stands to fight terrorism and, at the same time, support the Mindanao peace initiative, Malacañang said.

"Mabibigyan po natin ng ganap na katarungan ang kanilang malaking sakripisyo kung tayo po ay magkakaisa bilang isang bansa sa layunin na pigilin at tapusin na ang ligalig at panganib na hatid ng terorismo," Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a radio interview.

Coloma asked Filipinos to support the ongoing peace efforts to eventually achieve an enduring peace in Mindanao.

There is no way but through dialogue to ensure a more stable Mindanao, he said, adding decades of war have not made the region stable and progressive.

The government also vowed to extend assistance to the families of the SAF men through livelihood programs, educational grants and housing benefits.

Retrieved from "http://zamboanga.com/z/index.php?title=Autonomous_Region_Muslim_Mindanao_News_February_2015&oldid=825769"