Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao News July 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.

ARMM holds successful quake, tsunami drill in Maguindanao

By Ferdinandh B. Cabrera 6:54 pm

KUSIONG, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao (MindaNews / 31 July) – Fifty-year-old Norhaiya Untong was only in second grade in this place when she was awakened by the catastrophic 7.9-magnitude earthquake in 1976.

At that time, thousands of people died in coastal areas facing the Moro Gulf. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) website listed 3,351 dead, 1,379 missing, 2,227 injured, and 43,534 left homeless in the calamity. It said the extent of damages to life and properties was high due to the fact that it happened just after midnight and the tsunami caught the people unaware.

“More than 200 people died here, including my father and relatives. Dead bodies littered around. Others were found 40 to 50 days later,” Norhaiya recalled.

She said if the people were only informed, trained on what to do, like in the earthquake and tsunami simulation conducted here Thursday for the culmination of the National Disaster Consciousness Month, many would have been saved in that tragedy.

To her recollection, the big earthquake on August 17, 1976 occurred just shortly after midnight, and lasted a few minutes.

As the shaking intensified, people were yelling and crying, and rushed out of their homes situated along the coast of Kusiong beach.

Then someone yelled “Tidal wave!” as the sea water receded then suddenly rushed back. Huge waves crashed into the coast, destroying anything and everything in its path. Everybody, including Norhaiya, rushed to the mountain about 500 meters away from the coast. Others did not make it and perished.

In Thursday’s replication of the calamity, residents sounded off the alarm using a traditional bamboo instrument. Residents rushed away from the shoreline toward the mountains using the safety route advised by the organizers.

A few minutes later, first responders – composed of personnel from the military, police, Bureau of Fire Protection and rescue groups – arrived.

A horrific scene greeted the responders. Motorboats and bancas turned upside down, houses destroyed, people crying for help while others were out in the sea.

In the aerial shot of GMA News, rescue workers hauled fisher folks, men and women from the sea. Many were “blooded,” others motionless. Rescue personnel applied first aid as fast as they could while others established emergency hospitals where the “wounded” were treated.

There is also a place where those who played dead are settled in one place for proper identification of relatives.

The simulation was skillfully carried out by representatives from various government agencies of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that composed the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC).

Engr. Rainer Amilbahar, PHIVOLCS-Cotabato station head, said the simulation was very significant because it provided the locals the basics of what to do in time of calamities like earthquake and tsunami.

“My initial assessment is very good. As all of us witnessed, the local people followed the instructions on what to do and where to go as escape route,” Amilbahar said.

Ramil Masukat, executive director of ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Response and Action Team (HEART), said two things are vital in a situation like this.

“We should prepare more on the aspect of communication and coordination, especially in areas where mobile phone signal is absent,” he said.

For Norhaiya, what is key is that the people now know “what to do, where to go.” She advised people not to panic but to keep calm so they can decide accurately what to do.

ARMM deworming program continues

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, July 30 (PNA) -- Health officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Thursday said the deworming activities in the region went on smoothly with some reports about confusions.

But Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr., ARMM regional health secretary, said the deworming campaign in all public schools in the region continued today after some clarifications, especially to parents.

Sinolinding said the “Oplan Goodbye Bulate,” a nationwide project of Department of Health (DOH) in all public elementary and high schools was implemented Wednesday but due to confusions and lack of information, DOH-ARMM decided to continue it after about an hour.

“Health providers and education officials observed the pupils how their body reacted to deworming tablet,” Sinolinding said, adding that some pupils in Lanao de Sur’s coastal towns have complained of dizziness, vomiting and abdominal pain.

But Sinolinding quickly added there was no food poisoning as what some text messages have proclaimed.

He stressed pupils should have taken breakfast or have eaten something before taking the pills, otherwise, they will experience stomach reaction.

Sinolinding said before the resumption today of the deworming activities, teachers and health workers briefly explained to parents the possible reaction of children’s stomach to the anti-bulate pill.

The teachers and health workers also reminded parents not to believe in text messages that spread about the negative effect of deworming pills.

“I appeal to the parents to refrain from spreading false information through text messages. Parents easily influenced by information because of the recent food poisoning cases that hit the country,” he said.

ARMM extends monetary aid to Maguindanao scholars

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, July 29 (PNA) -- Giving importance to education as a tool out of poverty, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has released financial aid to Bangsamoro scholars of Maguindanao, officials said Wednesday.

The financial aid was part the ARMM's "Empowering the Bangsamoro Region through Active Community Engagements in the ARMM (EMBRACE-ARMM)" program.

More than a hundred beneficiaries received from the regional government stipend covering the first and second semesters for school year 2014-2015 at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City.

Half-merit scholars received Php10,000 while full-merit scholars received Php20,000.

John Louie Balagot, ARMM’s deputy executive secretary and concurrent EMBRACE-ARMM program manager, said the regional government earmarked a total of Php24 million for the scholarship and as of this month, it has assisted 1,539 students across the region.

Checks were handed over by Balagot; Atty. Rasol Mitmug Jr., ARMM’s chief of staff; Jo Guro, financial management officer of the Commission on Higher Education- ARMM; and Atty. Kirby Abdullah, assistant secretary for Maguindanao convergence.

The scholarship program dubbed "Academic Investment for Muslim Mindanao" (AIMM) is known in the past as "Iskolar: Para sa Pagbabago, Para sa Bangsamoro".

It aims to help underprivileged students pursue college degrees. All valedictorian high school graduates from public and private schools in the region are eligible to avail of AIMM scholarship.

“The scholarship grant is part of ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman’s commitment to help poor but deserving students in the region especially those living in conflict-affected communities,” Balagot said.

He said that it is up to the beneficiary to choose the course and school he, or she, wants to study at and that the program is closely monitoring the scholar’s performance.

“We are very thankful to the ARMM government since this scholarship program helps us a lot, especially to me because my parents can’t send me to school,” Sittie Haya Naga, a 22-year-old scholar from Capiton, Datu Odin Sinsuat, said in the vernacular.

Naga, is a third year student at the Cotabato City State Polytechnic College taking up Bachelor of Science in Public Administration.

Abdilla Gintawan, a 46-year-old farmer from Mamasapano, Maguindanao and father of Saguira Gintawan, a recipient of a scholarship, said he commends the efforts of the regional government in helping poor families.

“We are still fixing the schedule of the distribution of checks in other provinces such as Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi,” Balagot said.

Moro traditional leaders call for passage of original BBL

By Edwin O. Fernandez [(PNA), RMA/RCK/NYP/EOF]

COTABATO CITY, July 28 (PNA) -- Muslim traditional leaders and Royal ladies of the Bangsamoro representing various sultanates in Mindanao have appealed for Congress to act on the passage of the agreed version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Traditional leaders have gathered Monday at Alnor Convention Center, Cotabato City and came up with a Manifesto calling on congress to immediately pass the agreed version of the BBL submitted by the Office of the President.

“We are now worried, however, by the fact that the document crafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission and agreed upon by the Office of the President is now substituted with another version – HB 5811 – whose provisions are inconsistent with the CAB,” the manifesto said.

“There are also provisions that will inevitably result to a Bangsamoro government that is even less autonomous than the present ARMM," it further said.

“We want a basic law that will address the legitimate grievances of – and correct the historical injustices committed against – the Bangsamoro,” the manifesto signed by several representatives of sultanates in Mindanao.

The gathering was organized by four local Civil Society Organizations, led by the Moro Women Development and Cultural Center, Inc. (MWDECC) together with Mindanao Action for Peace and Development Initiatives, Inc. (MAPAD); Kadtabanga Foundation for Peace and Development Advocates, Inc. (KFPDAI), and Bangsamoro Center for Justpeace in the Philippines, Inc. (BCJP).

Baina T. Samayatin, MWDECC executive director, said that this is one of the series of activities under the “Popularizing the Peace Process program” that are currently implemented to ensure that the peace process is widely supported by all stakeholders.

Samsodin C. Amella, Executive Director of MAPAD, said that the dialogue was aimed at hearing the views and opinions of the participants on the peace process.

“The participants were composed of various Sultanates such as the Sultanate of Buayan, Sultanate of Kabuntalan, Sultanate of Dikaya, Sultanate of Linatangan Dar us-Salam, Paramount Sultanate of Linantangan Buayan Dar us-Salam, Society of Empowered Royal Ladies in Cotabato Empire, among other principalities in the Bangsamoro core territory, he disclosed.

Copies of the manifesto were already forwarded to the Office of Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Malacanang.

Hataman: "State of ARMM mirrors Aquino's success in governance"

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

COTABATO CITY, July 27 (PNA) -- The successful reforms and application of good governance in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is proof of the Aquino administration’s commitment to its “Tuwid na Daan” objective.

ARMM Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman issued this statement ahead of President Aquino’s last state-of-the-nation address this afternoon.

“We are greatly indebted to the Aquino administration for the overflowing support that apparently emanated from its trust and confidence that we can stir positive change and ignite sustainable development in the region," Gov. Hataman said.

The current ARMM administration, according to Hataman, drew inspiration from the Aquino administration in pursuing a good governance agenda that eliminated practices of corruption and improved delivery of services to the people.

No less than Aquino himself branded ARMM a failed experiment. In May, however, ARMM passed the national government’s Good Governance Conditions, a first time in the region’s history.

For regional officials, the recognition reflected how effective the reforms are, as it showed the "revitalized and reformed autonomous region.”

“Many doubted our agenda. Many doubted our objectives. Many doubted that we can make change possible in ARMM. But we proved them all wrong," Hataman said.

"We saw the influx of investments and today, the business sector continues to put a keen interest in us. Economic investments are at an all-time high, funding for infrastructure, especially in connecting the island provinces to the mainland, have been approved, and renewed support for the agricultural sector has been felt by our farmers and fisher folk across the region,” Hataman said.

He cited how investments boosted the local economy resulting in increased employment and improved income for residents.

The construction of more infrastructure facilities means better mobility for his constituents as well as improved access to goods and services.

Additional support extended to ARMM farmers means more food on the table and a better life for farmers and fisher folk, he added.

The governor underscored, however, that the joint commitment of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for peace on the island is the biggest legacy the current national leadership would leave, noting no other administration has dared to go all-out to support the Mindanao peace process.

“Our dream is for the next government to continue what we have started; to sustain the reforms we have worked so hard for, and to provide us with opportunities to chart our own path as people of the Bangsamoro,” he said.

Hataman directed all ARMM employees to listen to the President's SONA this afternoon.

TESDA graduates in Maguindanao up by over 100%

(ARMM/Bureau of Public Information)

For the second semester of 2015, almost 400 students in Maguindanao completed their skills training under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The number of graduates reflects an increase of more than 100% from 2014.

Last Friday, July 24, during the mass graduation rites, a total of 395 technical vocational students graduated at the Regional Manpower Development Center, Brgy. Rebuken, Sultan Kudarat.

The training program, which expanded from 45 to 55 days, has the support of partner institutions and trade schools accredited by the TESDA. Schools in Maguindanao province and Cotabato City accredited by TESDA include Jcourse Technology Institute, Inc., Southern Kutawato Empire, CAD-IT, Microspan Software Technology Inc., and Ittihadun Nisa Foundation Inc.

“The marketplace in businesses demands employees with greater level of formal education and the vocational schools have always responded to the needs of employers for labor,” Shaima Agassor, vice-president of Ittihadun Nisa Foundation Inc. said.

Short-term courses offered under the program are computer hardware servicing, automotive servicing, consumer electronics servicing, electrical installation and maintenance, machining, plumbing, commercial cooking, consumer electronics, dressmaking, food and beverage and bread and pastry production, and driving.

Dr. Taugan Kikay, team leader of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)-Project Management Team, said the skills training is an educational component also of the Sajahatra Bangsamoro, which is a socio-economic initiative for Moro communities that avails wider access to opportunities in alleviating poverty.

Another key component is focused on health services, including the issuance of PhilHealth cards. The Sajahatra is aimed at accelerating the transition of conflict-affected communities into productive areas. “The program caters also to the MILF rebel-returnees and their dependents for key employment and job generation,” said Kikay.

Most of the graduates are MILF members and residents of ARMM and Cotabato City. They received certificates and tool kits to start their respective trade. The kits are based on the vocational courses they have finished.

Omarkhayyam Dalagan, regional operations division chief of TESDA-ARMM underscored the continuous effort of the agency to deliver quality and relevant technical vocational education to the people of the region. “Students can gain experiences they need for their job interests,” he added.

“TESDA helped us a lot, now it’s not late for us to start our own business,” 35-year old MILF member Abdulmohaimen Abo said in the vernacular. He has finished metals and engineering machining course and has encouraged other MILF members to take TESDA courses.

“Because of this program, many were employed and we hope its coverage would expand further,” said Noraisa Ambil, a pharmacy services graduate.

TESDA offices offer assessment services on a regular basis and those who pass the assessment are automatically issued a national certificate that serves as seal of excellence.

Corn takes centerstage in DAF-ARMM Nutrition Month Cooking Demo Contest

(PNA), RMA/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, July 25 (PNA) -- The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM) has joined the nation in the month long Nutrition Month Celebration with the theme, “Timbang Iwasto sa Tamang Nutrition at Ehersisyo” by conducting a Cooking Demonstration Contest (Corn-based Recipes) on Friday.

The celebration was held at the DAF-ARMM covered court inside the ARMM compound, Cotabato City.

Ramla Macatabang, Gender And Development (GAD) focal person, said four groups composed of DAF Employees showcased cooking abilities by making delicious “kakanin” out of the main ingredient, corn.

Each group was given time to demonstrate in front of the judges and co-workers their chosen recipe.

Group 1 (Pink Team: Norma Sambolawan and Alex Juanday) boasts of its Corn Suman while Group II (Blue Team: Lourdes Cabigas, Almirah H. Nader and Noraima Kusain) surprised judges’ palates with their Corn Kamote Turon.

The Group III (White Team: Gani Daud and Gemma Alauya) served delicious Corn/Rice Balls or Butungan and Group IV (Violet Team from DA-ARMM Integrated Agricultural Research Center (ARMMIARC): Sorainie Kamiad and Samraida Undong) wowed judges with their Corn Maja Blanca.

The board of judges were Human Resources Management Officer Chief Racma Malang Lucas, Corn Report Officer Jamer Guimba (Chairman of the Board), Ms. Lanie Guiling and Ms. Gladys Jiajorrah Solano based on the criteria of judging

The Corn Maja Blanca of the Violet Team won the 1st prize while the Corn Kamote Turon of Blue Team (2nd placer), Corn Suman of Pink Team (3rd) and White Team’s Corn/Rice Ball (4th). Each group received cash prizes.

Felix Mosne, DAF-ARMM Administrative and Finance Chief, lauded the participants and said that out of this activity, they can start to generate extra income for the family.

“Innovation on the said recipes can be applied to make it more salable,”, the official said.

Kadiguia Abdullah, head of the Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Division (RAFID), the department through the GAD has series of activities this month such as the nutrition jingle to be participated by DAF Employees.

DepEd-ARMM on education problems: Complicated but resolvable

By John Unson

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The education department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will do its best to address within 2015 the problems of teachers in Sulu, which the present administration merely inherited from past ARMM governors, a regional official said Friday.

John Magno, ARMM’s regional education secretary, said the fiscal and administrative issues hounding the department’s rank-and-file personnel in Sulu were discussed during the first ever provincial education summit early this week in Jolo town, capital of the island province.

"The problems are complicated but resolvable if local government units, teachers, the regional government and the local communities will hold hands together to beat the odds," Magno said.

Among the most pressing issues discussed during the summit, which elected provincial officials attended, were lack of teachers and school buildings in the province.

Magno said the Department of Education (DepEd) in the autonomous region and DepEd officials in Sulu agreed to cooperate in addressing the non-completion by certain contractors of school building projects in far-flung areas and the repair of old and dilapidated ones.

“We already have a monitoring team tasked to look into these concerns. We shall act on these concerns based on their findings and recommendations,” Magno said.

Among the participants to the summit was Sulu’s provincial vice governor, Hadji Abdusakur Tan Sr., who has been very vocal about the issues and constraints besetting public schools and teachers in the province.

Sulu was lucky to have had two residents to become ARMM governor, Nur Misuari (1996-2001) and Parouk Hussin (2001-2005), but none of them had solved the same problems hounding the area even before the creation of the autonomous region via a plebiscite in 1990.

The present ARMM administration has earmarked P560 million for school building projects for academic year 2015-2016.

Incumbent ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said teachers and the local communities in Sulu must vigilantly monitor the construction of new schools and the rehabilitation of old ones to ensure implementation efficiency.

Hundreds of new licensed teachers for Sulu’s 18 towns have been hired by DepEd-ARMM in recent months, replacing “ghost mentors” and unqualified appointees of past regional governors, enlisted based only on recommendation of politicians and facilitation, in exchange for money, by past education officials.

The extensive hiring processes the new teachers underwent were premised on admission exams and actual mentoring tests devised by Magno, an industrial psychologist and expert in the present ARMM administration.

“Those that applied despite lack of qualifications were told to go home and never return unless they become qualified to teach based on the standards set by the department and the Civil Service Commission,” Magno said.

The DepEd-ARMM held last month a similar education summit for teachers and school officials in the first district of Maguindanao in Parang town northeast of the province.

The ARMM, which has autonomous executive and legislative branches, covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in mainland Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi under a regional charter, the Republic Act 9054.

ARMM teacher aspirants undergo screening; medical logistics turned over to Sulu schools

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, July 23 (PNA) -- To ensure the education sector in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is manned by qualified teachers, the Department of Education has conducted a series of screening for teacher applicants in Sulu Schools Division Teacher 1 position.

"This is to boost proficient and quality education in the ARMM," Dr. John Magno, ARMM education secretary, said Thursday.

“We are implementing a systematic and professional selection of teachers,” Magno said.

A Teachers’ Assessment and Competency Examination was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday with panel interview as well as teaching demonstration before regional officials that include Dr. Magno, Atty. Sittie Mariam Balahim, DepEd-ARMM assistant secretary for operation; Fatima Abubakar, Director II of Bureau of Secondary Education; and Atty. Mojahid Guro, Chief Legal Officer, among others.

“We are selecting the best among our applicants, so that they will be able to produce achiever students,” Dr. Magno said. “We want our teachers to be globally competitive.”

Intensive screening of applicants’ pertinent papers such as Transcript of Records, General Weighted Average, seminar-training certificates and Licensure Examination for Teachers board rating, among others, were also conducted beforehand.

Twenty nine-year-old Al-Fadim Maih S. Asaali II was among the hopeful applicants who underwent the screenings. “I am hopeful I would be accepted and would receive an item after these screenings,” Asaali said.

After graduating from Mindanao State University-Sulu in 2012 with Secondary Education Degree, major in Social Sciences, Asaali worked in South Western Mindanao Islamic Institute for four years.

He is now a Grade 9 Araling Panlipunan volunteer teacher at the Jolo School of Fisheries receiving no compensation.

Another applicant was Elementary Education degree holder Sagida Pula, 24, also a volunteer teacher at the Hamid Halim Elementary School.

“I am hopeful I will be able to pass the screening as long as I do my best,” she said.

Dr. Magno said that the series of screenings were conducted to institutionalize the selection process wherein applicants were assessed in equal footing and to eliminate nepotism that beset the region’s Education department in previous years.

Meanwhile, DepEd-ARMM turned-over on Tuesday, July 21, medical logistics to Health and Nutrition Section of the Sulu Schools Division and to representatives from 89 public elementary and secondary schools in the province.

The distribution of logistics was led by Dr. Magno and Shareen Lakibul, RN, chief of Health and Nutrition Section of Sulu Schools Division.

The logistics include 89 blood pressure equipment, one set of dental chairs with compressor, 10 nebulizer packs and 3,000 units of anesthesia.

Sittie Pieron Du, RN, who serves as DepEd-ARMM’s chief of Health and Nutrition Unit, said the turned-over logistics “will help in catering to the medical needs of students, as well as of the teachers.”

The Sulu Schools Division has 106 school nurses, four dentists, four dental aides and one medical doctor serving more than 500 public elementary and secondary schools.

Pieron added eight other schools divisions across the region are also set to receive medical logistics this year, with Sulu as the first recipient.

“The logistics will benefit the students, and improve their nutrition status,” said Darwisa Anduli, RN, a school nurse at Salih Yusah Elementary School and Hadji Gulamo Rasul Elementary School, both located in this town. “Our teachers need not to go to hospitals for health attention,” she said.

For the first quarter of 2014-2015, the Health and Nutrition Section of Sulu Schools Division recorded 7,622 cases of dental caries, or tooth decay, which takes 20.29 percent of total ailments from elementary and secondary students.

ARMM welcomes PHP252-M petroleum project in Maguindanao

(PNA), JBP/NYP

COTABATO CITY, July 22 (PNA) -- Investment managers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has approved the registration application of DS3 Fuel Tanking and Services Inc., a PHP252-million petroleum project in Polloc port, Parang, Maguindanao.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, Regional Board of Investments (RBoI) chair, said the DS3 is the first foreign investor to invest in the downstream oil industry in the region highlighting business confidence among foreign investors in the region even as the BBL is still being debated in Congress.

He said the DS3 registration was finalized during a meeting with the firm’s representatives and RBoI–ARMM Board of Governors in Davao City last July 20.

The DS3 firm is engaged in providing storage facilities, marketing and distribution of petroleum products.

The company would be involved in the construction and operation of oil depots with a total capacity of 23 million liters per annum.

According to DS3, the region is consuming about 50 million liters of ground fuel per month, and their presence in the area could help much augment the fuel requirement of the territory.

The RBOI said the project is the fourth business venture it has registered this year next to the PHP741.8-million Chan C. Mining Incorporated in Tawi-tawi; the PHP686.7-M Lamsan Power Company Expansion Plant in Maguindanao; and PHP121.2-M Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading, also in Tawi-tawi.

To date, ARMM has recorded PHP1.8 billion in total investments for 2015.

Mastura said other investments in the pipeline includes a PHP3.7-billion Cavendish banana project intended for export market; a 5,000 hectare oil palm plantation in Maguindanao amounting to PHP1.3-B; and a Napier biomass fuel production with an estimated cost of PHP400-million.

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

ARMM electronic road mapping system launched

(Daily Zamboanga Times)

Officials on Monday launched in Cotabato City the first ever electronic road mapping system in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that functions like the renowned Google Earth.

“This is something new in Mindanao,” said Engineer Don Mustapha Loong, ARMM’s public works secretary.

The online recording system, dubbed Expanded ARMM Road Mapping and Management System (E-ARMM), can provide interested parties online access to all of the regional government’s road projects with corresponding funding details.

Other infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the autonomous region can also be monitored through the internet-linked network.

The system was jointly launched Monday morning at the regional office of DPWH-ARMM in Cotabato City by Loong and the governor of the autonomous region, Mujiv Hataman, in the presence of print and broadcast journalists.

Loong said browsers can easily download photos and locator charts for each of the road and other infrastructure projects in all of the ARMM’s eight engineering districts.

The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in mainland Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

“This is one way of ensuring transparency and accountability in our handling of road projects in the autonomous region,” Loong told reporters.

Loong said the money spent for the setting up of the network was drawn from savings of the ARMM’s Department of Public Works and Highways, which the Hataman administration generated in the past two years.

Hataman and Loong also inaugurated on Monday a new office for the resident auditor of DPWH-ARMM and guest rooms for employees from the provinces transacting at the agency’s regional office in Cotabato City.

Hataman said the new office for representatives of the Commission on Audit monitoring how the DPWH-ARMM is handling state funds from the national coffer will ensure timeliness of documentary and accounting processes for all fiscal transactions pertaining to infrastructure projects in the autonomous region.

Hataman had told COA representatives present in the inauguration of the newly-built auditing office, located inside the compound of the DPWH-ARMM, to provide journalists and interested parties full access to records on allocation of funds for each project of the regional government and corresponding programs of work.

El Gamma Penumbra urges ARMM residents to support peace process

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY – Shadow play group and “Asia’s Got Talent” winner El Gamma Penumbra on Monday urged residents of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to support the southern peace process.

The group came over Monday for an Eid’l Fitr performance at the 32-hectare ARMM compound in Cotabato City in a bid to generate cross-section support to government environment protection thrusts and the Mindanao peace efforts.

The show was arranged by the office of lawyer Kirby Abdullah, in-charge of the region’s Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team.

Abdullah earlier said El Gamma Penumbra can influence ARMM folks to support the regional government’s diplomatic activities involving the Moro sectors in support of Malacañang’s Southern Mindanao peace process.

Abdullah said ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman supported the plan to let the group embark on a “peace presentation” at the regional compound southeast of Cotabato City.

Laisa Alamia, ARMM’s regional executive secretary, said she is thankful to the group for responding positively to an invitation for them to entertain employees of different agencies and offices in the autonomous region and their families.

El Gamma Penumbra’s Marvin Marfa and Wahlid Minanga Bucana, who is an ethnic Maguindanaon from Cotabato City, told reporters that they are for the peaceful resolution of the Mindanao “Moro issue” that has been hounding the region for decades now.

“We are for the peace process. We hope it will succeed,” Marfa said.

Bucana said he is elated his homecoming after almost ten years of stay in Metro Manila.

Bucana hails from the Mabini area in Cotabato City.

Peace and order 'not hindrance' to project implementation

By Bong Garcia

THE problem on peace and order does not hinder although it causes delay in the implementation of infrastructure projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), said Governor Mujiv Hataman.

The governor attended Sunday's press briefing as the regional government, through the Department of Public Works and Highways-Armm, rushes the implementation of projects in the region.

Hataman said they have engaged with all concerned stakeholders, local officials and the community to ensure the projects will be implemented according to plans and specifications.

“Sa tingin niyo si barangay captain at si mayor papayag na sisirain ang daan papunta sa kanila?” Hataman pointed out.

He cited an incident in the municipality of Al-Barka, Basilan as a “concrete example” where members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led by Hadji Dan Asnawi pursued the Abu Sayyaf bandits who bombed the heavy equipment of the contractor undertaking road concreting project.

“When I stopped the construction, he (Asnawi) called me (and requested) to continue the works and they will provide security,” he added.

He said the road concreting project, which is part of the Basilan circumferential road, continued and was completed without any disturbance from the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

“Hindi na naulit (bombing of heavy equipment),” he said.

DPWH-Armm Secretary Don Mustapha Loong said they are targeting to pave at least 90 percent of all provincial and 50 percent of all municipal roads in Armm by next year.

Loong said this year’s budget of Armm for infrastructure projects is P10.1 billion.

Loong said they have identified 486 infrastructure projects, which include the concreting of 505.312 kilometers of major and local roads.

Andal Apmatuan Sr. kin: May his death bring peace

By Erwin Cabilbigan, for CNN Philippines

Cotabato City (CNN Philippines) — The loved ones of the former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. mourned Saturday (July 18) after he passed away on Friday night — days after he fell into a coma.

Raja Buayan Mayor Zamsamin Ampatuan, nephew of Andal Sr., said that they were saddened after learning that his uncle passed away.

The remains of Andal Sr. arrived in Cotabato City airport around 10 a.m. Saturday and was immediately brought to his mansion in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao for his burial.

According to his family, he will be buried in his final resting place between 3:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The family also said that they are hoping that the death of Andal Sr. may bring peace to everyone.

The 74-year-old Andal Sr. had been behind bars after being implicated in the November 2009 killing of 58 people — many of whom were members of the media.

Calls for peace highlight Eid'l Fitr celebration in Mindanao

(LAP/NYP/EOF)

COTABATO CITY -- Calls for peace reverberated around the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as Muslims around the world celebrated the Eid'l Fitr which signals the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Muslims celebrate Eid'l Fitr the way Christians celebrate Christmas.

Politicians, peace advocates and ordinary folks joined Islamic preachers in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao Del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in calling for peace in Mindanao and the entire country.

Leading those who called and prayed for the long awaited peace was ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman.

During the congregational prayer at the ARMM compound in Cotabato City, Hataman called on the country's legislators to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law so that peace could reign in the island.

"We must support the Mindanao peace process and push forward the gains of the 17-year-long peace initiatives of the national government," he said.

His Eminence Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, Archbishop of Cotabato, called on all non-Muslims to set aside biases and prejudices to support and sustain the gains of the peace process.

"Help us correct the historical injustices committed against Muslims by outsiders and insiders," Quevedo said in an interview over church-run dxMS.

"Let us join the healing process, let us give peace a chance, let us unite and let us show to the whole world that peace is doable in Mindanao," he said.

Hataman reiterated his calls for all ARMM officials and leaders to support all peaceful means of attaining peace and development.

Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, ARMM health secretary, also appealed for understanding and support for the peace process, saying all the people of Mindanao will benefit from the gains of the peace efforts.

He said Eid'l Fitr is an opportunity to forgive and forget and for the people to work together for peace on the island.

During the fasting month, Muslims around the world fast from dawn to dusk, offering more prayers and doing charity works as a religious obligation.

Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. also called for support for the peace process, saying nobody will work for peace in Mindanao but Mindanaons.

Even Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, stressed the need for exhausting all peaceful means in resolving misunderstandings and conflicts in Mindanao.

He said that with peace already within reach in Mindanao, the Army will be able to focus more on defending the nation from foreign aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

Pangilinan joined Muslim soldiers and officers of the 6th ID in a celebration Friday morning inside the Camp Siongco compound.

ARMM halal products making waves in Mindanao Halal Festival

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, July 16 (PNA) -- Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Thursday said Muslim products are making waves in the two-day exhibition of halal and halal-certified products, dubbed as 1st Mindanao Halal Festival at a mall in Davao City.

Secretary Myra Mangkabung of the ARMM Department of Tourism (DOT-ARMM), said Escider Inc., a business investment firm spearheaded the two-day halal festival (July 15-16) that features foods, apparel, fashion accessories, organic products and other services that are halal certified.

The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, ARMM’s Science and Technology department (DOST-ARMM) and the Davao City government supported the event.

Mangkabung said the 1st Mindanao Halal Festival is aimed at attracting more investors and partners to put up potential halal investments in Mindanao. The event provides entrepreneurs producing halal products an opportunity through the two-day market exposure.

It also serves as a key focal point for education of halal practices and what it means to improve business integrity through values perpetuated by truly halal role models, she added.

“This will help out entrepreneurs not only in ARMM but all over Mindanao and the country to promote skills and products that are halal certified,” said Ester Rulona, one of the exhibitors from ARMM.

Mangkabung reiterated that the two-day halal event also offers a chance for consumers to explore the diversity of the halal food market and its potential.

“Muslim Mindanao has great potentials to become a main source of halal products, which could spur the region’s economy,” said Sec. Mangkabung.

Among of the highlights of the festival is the launching of the country’s first halal ordinance in Davao City and the Mindanao-wide Qur’an recital competition.

For each night of the two-day event, the public will able to taste various halal foods through a nightly food festival with dishes based on Mindanaoan cuisine. Winners of the competition will receive monetary price and an all-expense paid pilgrimage trip to Mecca next year.

“We should further develop and promote our halal food particularly for export to also make our tourist destinations in the Philippines more friendly to Muslim tourists,” said NCMF Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao.

“Halal food is consumed by even non-Muslim consumers because it has highest standards of food safety,” she added.

As of May 31, the halal-certifying bodies accredited by the NCMF include Muslim Mindanao Halal Certification Board Inc., Mindanao Halal Authority Inc. and Halal International Chamber of Commerce and Industries of the Philippines Inc.

The NCMF is a national commission mandated under Article 2 Section 8 of the Republic Act 9997 to promote and develop the Philippine Halal Industry and accredit halal-certifying entities/bodies for the utmost benefit of Muslim Filipinos and in partnership or cooperation with appropriate agencies individuals and institutions here and abroad.

In ARMM, the DOST plans to conduct a halal congress in October this year to help propel the region’s bid to get a slice of the multi-billion global halal market.

“Ramadhan Village” showcases Moro culture, food

By Ferdinandh B. Cabrera

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/15 July) – Visitors to the Ramadhan Village inside the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) compound here have had their fill of cultural presentations and a taste of Moro culinary delights every night since the start of the month of fasting on June 16.

The Ramadhan village, also known as “Ramadhan Fair” may be likened to a Christmas village during the yuletide season.

After breaking the fast and a prayer called “Tarawi,” visitors would be entertained by various cultural presentations from different tribal villages inside the ARMM compound.

“Here you can tour the region in an hour,” said Samaon Ismael, one of the visitors who joined the congregational prayer Monday night.

Visitors can witness a war dance and listen to the melody of kulintang at the Iranon villages.

At the nearby Tausug village, they can watch the Pangalay dance taste free native Sulu coffee in front of the replica of Darul Jambangan Royal House.

The Badjaos in the next “village” display their prowess by performing the famous Jangay dance.

The Meranaw or Maranaw from Lanao del Sur are not to be outdone. They are showcasing the famous Torogan, the Royal House where handicraft and the world famous malong (shawl) are on display.

In between “tours,” guests can taste different Moro delicacies for a very reasonable price.

“The atmosphere is really great here; our identity is shown here, in just one setting. In less than an hour one can feel, learn and be educated about the Muslim culture, tradition and food,” Secretary Don Loong of the ARMM Department of Public Works and Highways said.

The Ramadhan village is a reflection of Muslim Mindanao, Bai Shalimar Candao, Maguindanao tourism chief, said.

“You can see here what you have not seen in the past because our history is reborn here,” Candao said in Filipino, citing the case of Maguindanao.

“This is Walay na Sultan (House of Sultan),” she said, gesturing to the structure nearby.

“The concept of Maguindanao village is to showcase the Maguindanao culture on how it has evolved from [past] centuries to the present,” she added.

“Of course we are very happy. It is only now that our visitors learn about our Iranun culture and how we evolved in the autonomous region,” said Mayor Abolais Manalao of Buldon, Maguindanao and host of Maguindanao Iranun village.

Days before the Eud’l Fitr celebration marking the end of Ramadhan, organizers said they have prepared a grand event that includes several cultural presentations for guests.

During Ramadhan Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and devote more time to prayers and charity works as a religious obligation.

Marawi City to host big peace confab in August

(PNA), FFC/NYP/MAS YAHYA

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, July 14 (PNA) -- The locally- based Aba Al-Khail Computer School (ACS), in coordination with the Rotary Club–Cotabato City Chapter, is set to spearhead an Aug. 6-7 peace forum at a resort here.

Karem Abduljabbar Indol, ACS president, said the gathering, which has the heading “Marawi Conference on Peace, Human Security and Conflict Prevention”, has for its theme “Understanding the Growing Need for Human Security.”

Expected to grace the event are Office of the Presidential Assistant to the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles and Philippine National Police Deputy Director for Operations General Marcelo Garbo Jr.

The conference aims to solicit proposals to address existing “ridos” (family feuds) in the locality and other forms of divergences.

Gabriel Calungsod, Rotary–Cotabato president, said the symposium would be joined in by province-wide organizations and elected representatives of civil society groups.

Other event guests are Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr., ARMM Regional State Prosecutor Ramy Guiling, lawyer Nasser Marohomsalic, national secretary of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and Col. Roseller Murillo, Army’s 103rd Brigade commander, among others.

ARMM officials surprise at Marawi ordinance on fasting month

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

COTABATO CITY, July 13 (PNA) -- Education officials and lawyers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) today expressed surprise over a local ordinance in Marawi City declaring month-long no-class day during the fasting month.

Dr. John Magno, ARMM regional education secretary, said those responsible for suspension of classes without any authority from the regional government could face sanctions.

Since fasting began on June 18, classes in public schools in Marawi City have been suspended in compliance with a local ordinance declaring no-class days.

Informed of the unusual practice, Magno urged Marawi City schools division superintendent Mona Macatanong to resume classes as soon as possible.

ARMM education officials are now consulting lawyers on why the ordinance was anomalous,inimical to public service a deprivation of students' right to education.

Marawi City is seat of the provincial government of Lanao del Sur. Both are part of ARMM.

Magno learned that the local edict started in Marawi City 2007 purposely to recognize religious freedom of those who observe the fasting month.

However, the ordinance validity over a national entity like DepEd has been questioned and subject to legal debates.

Magno also said previous ARMM and education officials did nothing to address the issue.

During the fasting month, Musims, including students aged 12 and below, fast from dawn to dusk during the Ramadhan as a religious obligation and as atonement for wrongdoings.

During the month-long religious event, Muslims focus more on prayer and doing charity works.Imam Maunie, a member of ARMM Madaris Education department and a trained islamic preacher in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, stressed no single verse in the Qur'an that tells Muslims may go on vacation during the fasting month.

"It was even wrong to use fasting month as an excuse for not working or not reporting for work," he said.

Macarampa Amoin, a Maranaw teacher, said he knew pretty well it was not right that classes are suspended for 28 days "but what can I do, all of us teachers simply obey our superiors."

Lawyers in the ARMM are carefully studying the issue but at first glance they said the Marawi City fasting month vacation ordinance was wrong.

"Nowhere in the code can one find a provision authorizing local government units to issue edicts that can alter calendars of activities of national departments," according to Lawyer Kirby Abdullah, ARMM’s assistant secretary for Maguindanao province.

Lawyer Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, said the ordinance was passed beyond authority.

"Questioning the ordinance was not being unIslamic. It is just being respectful of the laws of the land,” Alamia told reporters.

Rufus: BBL deliberations to resume August despite petitions in Supreme Court

By Carolyn O. Arguillas (MindaNews)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 12 July) – The House of Representatives will resume deliberations on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) next month without waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling on the petitions filed by the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) and a former representative “to declare as unconstitutional and void” the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL, said.

“We will continue deliberations in August,” Rodriguez told MindaNews in a text message Sunday afternoon, adding “there is no TRO (temporary restraining order) issued by the Supreme Court.”

The Philippine government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the FAB on October 15, 2012 and the CAB on March 27, 2014.

Both parties agreed under the FAB that the status quo was not acceptable and that they would work for the creation of a new autonomous political entity called the Bangsamoro, that would replace what is now the 25-year old Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). President Benigno Simeon Aquino III had earlier dubbed the ARMM a “failed experiment.”

The Philconsa, which also sought the issuance of a TRO and/or writ of preliminary injunction, is being represented in the petition by its President, Lakas Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, former Senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, Arcbhishops Ramon Arguelles of Lipa and Romulo dela Cruz of Zamboanga, Davao City’s Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla, and Norberto Gonzales, who held several positions in the Arroyo administration, including Defense Secretary and National Security Adviser.

The Philconsa filed its petition on June 19, the same day former Lakas Rep. Jacinto Paras of Negros Occidental also filed a similar petition. The Philconsa included former GPH peace panel chair Marvic Leonen, now Supreme Court Associate Justice, as among the respondents. Leonen was chair when the FAB was signed.

The other respondents in the Philconsa petition are GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.

The Paras petition, on the other hand, has Ferrer, GPH peace panel members Senen Bacani, Yasmin Busran-Lao and Mehol Sadain, as well as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles, as respondents.

The proposed BBL, drafted by the 15-member GPH-MILF Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) was based on the FAB and CAB. The BTC submitted its draft to Congress in ceremonial rites held at Malacanang on September 10, 2014.

The draft bill became HB 4994 in the House of Representatives and SB 2408 in the Senate.

“Halfway”

The 98-member Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law approved on May 20 by a vote of 50 in favor, 17 against and one abstention, its substitute bill, HB 5811, providing for a Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, in what Committee chair Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro described as a “historic vote,” an “affirmative action to fully correct centuries of neglect and injustice.”

The Committee version, however, has been criticized as offering an autonomous region that is less than the ARMM.

The House of Representatives suspended interpellations on HB 5811, the substitute bill to the BBL at 9:20 p.m. on June 10 before adjourning sine die.

Only eight of 38 representatives who signed up to interpellate finished: Minority leader Ronnie Zamora of San Juan City and Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya on June 2; Negros Oriental Rep. Pryde Henry Teves on June 3; Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos and Palawan Rep. Frederick Abueg on June 4; Gabriela party-list Rep. Luz Ilagan on June 9 and Bayan Muna party list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate and Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano on June 10.


Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat started interpellating on June 3, continued on June 4, 8, 9 and 10.

When the presiding officer ruled on the motion to suspend Lobregat’s interpellation at 9:20 p.m., Lobregat clarified if it was mere suspension and not termination.

By then, Lobregat had clocked a total of 10 hours and 32 minutes of interpellation in five days. On June 10, he interpellated for four hours and 47 minutes.

Lobregat, who had over a hundred proposed amendments during the Committee hearing, but whose motions were repeatedly defeated by a vote of the majority, had found his platform – the plenary – to say his piece.

He told MindaNews on Sunday that he does not know the decision of the House leadership on resuming deliberations on the BBL while petitions to declare the FAB and CAB unconstitutional are pending in the Supreme Court.

He said he has not finished his interpellation “but I think I will let the others interpellate first.”

MindaNews asked how far his interpellation would go and he said he was “nasa kalahati na” (halfway).

At the Senate, the Senate Committee on Local Governments ended its committee hearings before Congress adjourned sine die on June 10.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos had, during that week, delivered a privilege speech saying the BBl in its present form and substance would “lead us to perdition.”

Marcos had said he would submit to the Senate a substitute bill before the President delivers his SONA on July 27.

ARMM assures completion of infra projects before Bangsamoro advent

(Daily Zamboanga Times)

Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are confident they can turn over no less than a thousand kilometers of both rehabilitated and newly-built roads to an incoming Bangsamoro government they expect to be established before yearend.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, staunch supporter of the bilateral peace initiatives of Malacañang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), on Friday said he is contented with how the regional public works department and its eight constituent district engineering offices are implementing on-going road projects in far-flung areas in the autonomous region.

The Hataman administration has earmarked a total of P10.083 billion for various projects this year in the ARMM’s five provinces — P3.073 billion for Basilan, P2.4 billion in Sulu, P1.099 for Tawi-Tawi, P2.041 billion for Maguindanao, and P1.452.3 billion for Lanao del Sur.

Hataman said he is optimistic they can fully accomplish their on-going road projects in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi within the year.

More than P3 billion worth of projects are also being implemented presently by the Hataman administration in ARMM’s two other provinces, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in mainland Mindanao.

Hataman said his optimism was raised by latest reports from his regional public secretary, Don Mustapha Loong, detailing accomplishments and how local government units in the three island provinces are helping push the ARMM’s infrastructure thrusts forward.

Loong inspected this week the ARMM’s infrastructure projects in the Basilan-Sulu-Tawi-Tawi (Basulta) area, designed to spur economic growth and generate livelihood opportunities in beneficiary-communities.

Among the projects Loong inspected in Basilan were roads being built to interconnect hostile agricultural and fishing enclaves in Lantawan municipality northeast of the island province.

The ARMM government had poured out P420 million for a 16-kilometer artery straddling through coastal villages in Lantawan.

The ARMM has more than P3 billion worth of current projects in the island province of Basilan alone, according to records obtained from the Commission on Audit and the Department of Budget and Management.

Loong said among the most tangible projects recently accomplished jointly by the ARMM government and local officials in Tawi-Tawi province is a road network that now connects Panglima Sugala town to the trading center in Bongao, the provincial capital.

“It is only this administration that enabled land vehicles to get through these two areas via this road. Local folks had relied only on watercrafts to traverse the sea from one town to the other for so long,” he said.

Panglima Sugala Mayor Rejie Sahali said there have been recent improvements in the local economy, ushered in by the connectivity now between the trading centers in her town and in Bongao.

Sahali, an older sister of Tawi-Tawi’s provincial governor, Nurbert, said she is grateful to the ARMM government for embarking on multi-million projects in Panglima Sugala.

The ARMM’s on-going projects in Panglima Sugala include more than ten kilometers of roads meant to link fishing villages and local markets.

Loong also visited this week remote areas in Sulu to inspect more road projects straddling through barangays frequented by extremists belonging to the dreaded Abu Sayyaf Group.

Loong, himself an ethnic Tausug from Sulu, said he is certain the road projects will expedite the socio-economic growth of underdeveloped areas in the province, where extremists roam around to incite local folks to fight the government for the grinding poverty besetting their villages.

Loong and Hataman both said they are confident the present ARMM administration can turn over no less than P5 billion worth of fully accomplished infrastructure projects to incoming leaders of the Bangsamoro government which the MILF and Malacañang aim to jointly establish within the year through an enabling measure, the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The BBL, once enacted into law and ratified via a plebiscite in the proposed Bangsamoro core territory, will pave the way for the ARMM’s replacement with an MILF-led Bangsamoro self-governing outfit.

The draft BBL, however, is still pending in the House of Representatives, mired by controversies and questions on its constitutional viability.


UN, ARMM ink Maguindanao ‘livelihood restoration’ deal

(Daily Zamboanga Times)

The United Nations and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Wednesday crafted a $470,000 livelihood restoration cooperation program for conflict and calamity-stricken towns in Maguindanao province.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the coming in of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) to help rebuild areas wracked by armed conflicts, drought and recent floods is an overwhelming vote of confidence for the regional government.

Makmod Mending, Jr., who is ARMM’s agriculture and fisheries secretary, and UNFAO’s most senior representative to the Philippines, Jose Luis Fernandez, signed the agreement Wednesday afternoon at the Bajau Hall of Hataman’s office in Cotabato City.

The symbolic event was witnessed by key regional officials led by Laisa Alamia, who is ARMM’s executive secretary, and representatives of different media outfits in Central Mindanao.

The $470,000 worth livelihood package from UNFAO, about 20 million in Philippine currency, is earmarked for corn, rice and vegetable seeds, fertilizers and farm tools for distribution to peasant groups in Maguindanao.

Also to benefit from the agricultural package are farmers in Pikit municipality in North Cotabato.

Fernandez said the project, to start within month, will last until May 2016.

Mending said the support of UNFAO will help expedite the recovery of peasant communities affected by recent armed conflicts in Maguindanao and the drought that scorched their rice and corn farms.

“This will replace the productive assets lost or damaged during the crisis,” Fernandez said.

More than a dozen towns in Maguindanao were ravaged by flashfloods last week, spawned by heavy rains in surrounding hinterlands.

Australia reaffirms support to Bangsamoro peace process, invests in education

(PNA), RMA/PR/RSM

MANILA, July 9 (PNA) -- Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell has reiterated his country’s support for the peace process in Mindanao and their initiatives to improve the educational system in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM.)

"The Australian government remains steadfast in our support for the current peace process and for development in the ARMM and the Bangsamoro. As a strong supporter of peace, Australia would like to see peace and stability in Mindanao – to allow development and prosperity to take place in the region," Ambassador Tweddell said in a speech delivered during an Iftar dinner attended by foreign dignitaries, international development organizations, and members of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels.

Tweddell added that "a successful peace process can create the conditions for stability and economic development in the region – bringing about an improvement of the lives of all people who live in the Bangsamoro, in Mindanao and indeed in the Philippines."

The ambassador also said that the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) offered the basis for a durable political settlement for the people of Mindanao and the Philippines after many decades of violence and conflict in Mindanao.

"Australia has been a long-time supporter of peace in Mindanao – Australia has been providing funding to support peace since 1996. As I said at the Iftar here last year, and as many of you here will attest, the road to lasting peace is a long one. It’s important to stay the course; even when the road is difficult," he said.

The dinner was attended by Bangladesh Ambassador (Ret.) Major General John Gomes, PSC; Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Mohd Zamri bin Mohd Kassim; diplomats from the Embassies of Brunei, Turkey and UK; World Bank and UNDP representatives; GPH peace panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer; MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal; Secretary of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Yasmin Busran Lao; Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangundadatu and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles. Muslim community leaders and members of the academe and the government bureaucracy also came to break their fast at the reception.

Australian support to education in Muslim Mindanao

"Beyond our support to peace, Australia has been a long standing supporter of education in Muslim Mindanao. Our current program, which builds on its predecessors, is the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao: BEAM-ARMM," Ambassador Tweddell explained.

BEAM-ARMM is a program launched by the Australian Government in the ARMM that covers a wide range of educational interventions, including early childhood care and development; basic education access; training out-of-school youth in vocational and technical skills; improving sanitation and health in schools; and rolling out an alternative delivery model to get as many children learning as is possible.

"BEAM will continue until 2017 and I am pleased to let you know that we have just started the process of determining how we can continue to support education in the Bangsamoro to 2020 and beyond," he said.

Tweddell also revealed that a team in the Australian Embassy would start working with all stakeholders on how they could best support the education needs of the Bangsamoro in the future, and that they have extended their gratitude of the local government's support on their initiatives.

"We are pleased to have been able to support teachers and education staff from ARMM to study in universities around the Philippines and we are extremely happy to have been able to send ARMM teachers to Australia under the Australia Awards program to study at our world-class universities undertaking Masters Degrees in education policy, administration, and pedagogy," Tweddell expressed.

He noted that the chief reason for the low educational rating in the ARMM was the decades of armed conflict that had long denied communities access to a stable and productive education. "Peace and education are like two pillars holding up one bridge. Peace and education are intertwined and this is why Australia will continue to support both," Tweddell said.

Shared experience with Australia

Similar to the Philippines, Muslims in Australia has had a long history dating back to the 1600s. Aboriginal people living along the northern coast of Australia traded with the people from Makassar, now known as Indonesia. Tweddell shared that this trade influenced the language and culture of the Aboriginal people.

“Within the first decades of Sydney’s establishment, Muslims from as far afield as Oman and Bengal were active in the new town,” added the ambassador. He also mentioned that Afghan camel drivers in the 1860s proved invaluable during the construction of the Australia’s Overland Telegraph Line.

Australia Prime Minister Julie Bishop, meanwhile, recognized as well the long history of Islam in the country in her Ramadhan message. “More than 200 years later, Australia’s Muslim community remains diverse, tolerant and inclusive. Respect for one another, tolerance of our differences and celebration of our diversity are our great strengths as a nation,“ Bishop said.

“Muslims from all over the world have played an important part in developing Australia and will continue to play an important role in the years and decades ahead,“ the prime minister added.

NFA: "No fake rice in ARMM'

[(PNA), RMA/NYP/EOF]

COTABATO CITY, July 8 (PNA) -- No fake rice in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

This was the assurance of National Food Authority (NFA-ARMM) by saying "no synthetic, or fake, rice" in the region amid reports of such product sold in Davao City and in other areas.

Fernando Nunez, NFA-ARMM assistant regional manager, said his office has immediately conducted inspections in rice retail outlets all over the region since July 1 in response to reports of suspected synthetic rice sold in some provinces not only Mindanao but in Luzon and the Visayas as well.

“We closely supervise rice (distribution) in the region and so far, we have not monitored any fake rice,” said Nunez.

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

Fake, or synthetic, rice is reportedly made from other crops mixed with synthetic components, including chemicals related to the manufacture of plastic, and produced in neighboring countries.

NFA rice supply in Cotabato City and Maguindanao comes from General Santos City; rice retailed in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur is from Cagayan de Oro City; and in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, rice comes from Zamboanga City.

Nuñez said there are several processes and certifications in the legal importation of rice. The supplier is required to submit certificates of origin, of weight, and of quality in order to check if the incoming commodity conforms to current standards.

NFA rice is available in the region’s markets at a price of Php 27 per kilo for regular milled and Php 32 per kilo for well-milled. The region’s grains agency also offered tips when buying rice.

Consumers, it said, should buy only from licensed retailers, which can be found in designated public markets, from groceries and supermarkets, as well as in NFA-accredited outlets.

Licensed outlets, it added, display the full name of the retailer and the NFA accreditation number.

Consumers should also pay attention to the appearance of the commodity since the NFA imports long-grained and white rice.

Nunez said fake rice is reportedly not too white, usually round, and uniform in shape and size. NFA rice also does not smell of plastic. When cooked, there should be no layer of plastic above the rice. Avoid rice, the agency said, that weighs less than the usual.

Furthermore, the NFA official said if there is suspicious-looking rice bought, the consumer must provide a sample of at least one kilo of uncooked grains and basic information of when, where, and from whom it was bought.

He said reports on such product retailed in the market can be relayed through NFA-ARMM hotline at 421-2407and NFA’s Bantay Bigas hotline at 0906 436 3133.

DOH-ARMM starts campaign on obesity, overweight

(PNA), CTB/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, July 6 (PNA) -- Health providers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have started their massive information campaign to address obesity and overweight problems among residents in the region, the Department of Health (DOH-ARMM) said on Monday.

According to Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, DOH-ARMM secretary, his department has lined-up a series of activities including community-based information drives in the different towns in the region, provincial and regional health forums, and medical missions.

"Overweight and obesity refer to body weight that are greater than what is considered healthy in relation to a person’s height," Sinolinding explained.

This indicates, he said, excessive accumulation and storage of fats in the body. An overweight person has a body mass index (BMI) of greater than, or equal to 25, and an obese person has a BMI of 30 or over.

"Being overweight means having weight over and above the norm, while being obese means having excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body," Sinolinding added.

This year’s nutrition campaign is “Timbang iwasto sa tamang nutrisyon at ehersisyo (Achieve normal weight through proper nutrition and physical activity).”

In 2014, the department’s campaign focused on disasters and their effect on nutrition among Filipinos.

The National Nutrition Month is observed July of each year by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 491, which was signed into law in 1974.

“Our objectives are to increase awareness on proper nutrition and physical activity to prevent obesity, encourage action, to attain normal weight and manage obesogenic environment,” Sec. Sinolinding said during the region’s launching of the 2015 Nutrition Month on Monday, July 6, at the region’s seat of government in this city.

“Obesogenic environment (refers to situations) that encourage people to eat unhealthy food and not do enough exercise,” Sec. Sinolinding added.

He stressed that obesity has become one of the problems of the country, citing 31.1% of overweight and obesity prevalence among 20 years old and above in the Philippines in 2013.

The National Capital Region posted the highest number of obese and overweight Filipinos with 39.9 percent among the 17 regions, while ARMM is at the 14th spot with 23.2 percernt among adults.

Physical inactivity, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, and child under-nutrition that usually occurs during the first 1,000 days of life as well as poor breastfeeding practices, are among the possible reasons for overweight and obesity in the Philippines.

Sec. Sinolinding added having proper nutrition, healthy lifestyle, and regular exercise will lead to proper weight and a healthy body, thus solving the problems on obesity and overweight.

Former critic now wants govt to okay House version of BBL

By Manuel Cayon

DAVAO CITY—A Mindanao lawmaker whose committee earlier warned of a rejected Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) proposal if the Moro guerrillas would not surrender the firearms of the police commandos killed in January in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, expressed confidence of the passage of the House version of the law that would provide the legal basis for a new autonomous region in Mindanao. Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez of the Second District of Cagayan De Oro, chairman of the House Committee on the BBL, said his committee has ensured that the BBL, now called Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region “is constitutional.”

“We have made amendments and/or deletions to ensure that it is constitutional and consistent with the aspirations of the Bangsamoro,” he said in a statement posted by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp).

The Opapp said Rodriguez “is a constitutionalist” and former dean of the San Sebastian College of Law.

The Opapp added that Rodriguez has stated that his committee “made the refinements to the draft BBL after various consultations with different stakeholders.”Rodriguez said the refinements and assurance of the rectified provisions would persuade the plenary in Congress to approve it when Congress resumes deliberations on the draft BBL this month. He said the committee version of the BBL “is the country’s best chance for peace in southern Mindanao.” The Opapp said that another House committee member, Party-list Rep. Ibarra M. Gutierrez of Akbayan, has expressed confidence in the passage of the House Bill 5811, the lower house’s version of the BBL.

“If you listen to the explanations of some members of Congress who voted against the BBL, they were not talking about the substance of the law at all. They were talking about Mamasapano, they were insisting on tying the passage of BBL into some kind of a resolution of the Mamasapano issue, like return of firearms, filing of cases by the Department of Justice, or ambiguous standards like the MILF [Moro Islamic Liberation Front] showing sincerity as the government’s peace partner,” he said.

Gutierrez, a University of the Philippines professor, also pointed out that many of the provisions allegedly constitutionally questionable in the draft BBL were already found in Republic Act (RA) 9054, or the Expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao law.

“The BBL discussions have to go back to RA 9054 and the paranoia to its constitutionality makes us revisit the ARMM law. What is written on the BBL is a reiteration of what is in the ARMM with additional provisions that ensure genuine autonomy,” Gutierrez said.

Thousands to benefit from Jolo water supply project

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Residents of Jolo, Sulu stand to benefit from a multi-million hilltop reservoir being built to ensure supply of cheap clean water to areas where there is high prevalence of water-borne diseases.

The 1,000-cubic meter catchment facility, being constructed by the public works department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in Barangay Latih in Patikul, is expected to be operational before yearend.

Engineer Don Mustapha Loong, regional secretary of ARMM’s Department of Public Works and Highways, on Saturday said he is contented with the pace of the reservoir’s construction.

The reservoir is just one of the key components of the ARMM’s ongoing water system project that regional planners designed to provide residents of Jolo adequate supply of clean water.

Loong on Friday toured the project site, along with senior officials of the Sulu District Engineering Office, to assess the construction of the multi-million water reservoir.

“We are glad that the project has been going on smoothly with the help of local officials and barangay folks,” he said. Nation ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

The project, to include setting up of conduit pipes that would straddle through villages in the reservoir’s surroundings, will pump water on a 24-hour basis to Jolo, the capital of Sulu.

The intricate water system venture is being bankrolled by the ARMM administration with an initial P30 million allocation from the region’s 2014 infrastructure subsidy from the national government.

Loong said ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman is keen on providing an additional P40 million grant for the expansion of the project out of the region’s 2015 infrastructure budget.

“The large pipes to be used for the distribution of water to service areas have arrived in Jolo and are now ready for installation,” Loong said.

Loong said thousands of residents in Jolo, the seat of Sulu’s provincial government, are assured of adequate supply of clean water once the water system operates.

The facility will pump downstream to residential enclaves in Jolo and villages in Patikul clean water from the Kiram mountain spring, one of the top sources of potable water in the province.

Physician Kadil Sinolinding Jr., ARMM’s health secretary, said the medical community in the island province of Sulu is thankful to the Hataman administration for embarking on the project.

“Clean water means life, source of life. This project will boost our efforts of curtailing water-borne diseases among the local folks,” Sinolinding said.

95,000 people affected, more schools shut down as floods worsen in Maguindanao

By Dennis Arcon, InterAksyon.com

COTABATO CITY, Philippines -- The floods inundating Maguindanao worsened, affecting more than 95,000 residents in 13 towns of the central Mindanao province by Friday, up from 89,000 the day before, and shutting down 32 schools.

The Office of Civil Defense in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao placed the number of people affected at 19,032 families or 95,160 individuals in the floods that struck 81 barangays of the towns of Ampatuan, Datu Salibo, Sultan Sa Barongis, Rajah Buayan, Datu Abdullah Sangki, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Buluan, Mangudadatu, Pandag, Mamasapano, Paglat, Northern Kabuntalan and Datu Paglas.

The school shutdowns have affected 8,111 students while P6.6 million worth of crops in 859 hectares have been destroyed.

In North Cotabato province, flooding has affected six barangays in Pikit town, municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer Tahera Kalantungan said.

ARMM, Maguindanao aid workers extend help to flood victims

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, July 2 (PNA) -- Relief aid workers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are on their way to Sultan sa Barongis and other municipalities inundated by flood water due to low pressure area affecting Mindanao.

Lawyer Kirby Abdullah, focal person of ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team (HEART), told DXMS Radyo Bida thAt aid workers are to extend relief assistance to more than 2,000 families or about 14,500 individuals in 12 villages who were displaced by floods since last week.

Sultan sa Barongis, a town in the borders of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao provinces, have been placed under state of calamity after the Ala River and Kapingkong River overflowed.

Aside from Sultan sa Barongis, also affected were the towns of Datu Paglas, Paglat, Buluan, Mangudadatu, Pandag, Gen. SK Pendatun and Rajah Buayan, the office of Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Toto Mangudadatu showed.

Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous REgion in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Wednesday directed Abdullah, his assistant secretary for Maguindanao, to spearhead lead relief operations to Sultan sa Barongis where 14,565 villagers were displaced by floods.

The ARMM relief operation will complement the relief assistance extended by the office of Mangudadatu on Wednesday.

According to Lynette Estandarte, provincial budget chief, said the provincial government has dispersed three tons of food and non-food relief supplies to the affected Sultan sa Barongis residents.

Provincial relief workers also distributed pails, kitchen wares and sleeping mats to evacuees.

Estandarte said classes in flooded communities have been suspended since Monday.

With the rainy season, Estandarte said the provincial government employees are continuously packing food rations, comprised of canned goods, instant noodles and rice for distribution to flood victims in the 11 other flooded towns.

On Wednesday, the provincial relief team also distributed assistance to flood victims in Datu Paglas town where residents were forced to flee by rampaging flood waters from South Cotabato mountains.

Abdullah reported that at least 270 hectares of rice farms and 580 corn fields in the province have been flooded.

Bud Bongao council to develop municipal tourism management

(PNA), LAP/TPGJR

ZAMBOANGA CITY, July 1 (PNA) -– The municipal government of Bongao is eyeing the establishment of eco-tourism office that would manage the Bud Bongao Conservation Area.

Bongao Mayor Jasper Que said in a statement through the World Wide Fund-Philippines that the plan was discussed by the Members of the Bud Bongao Management Council (BBMC) in a recent meeting.

Que said they also discussed the development of a municipal tourism management and development plan aside from the establishment of an eco-tourism office.

“We will make Bud (Mount) Bongao better and maintain it as the most visible landmark in Bongao,” Que said.

Bongao, which comprises of 35 barangays, is a second class municipality and the de facto capital of the province of Tawi-Tawi. It has a population of 79,362 as of 2010 census.

The BBMC reviewed environmental issues and conservation efforts done over the past years for Bud Bongao through development grant support from the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation (PTFCF).

Bud Bongao has three types of management zones: strict protection zones; special zones; and, cultural zones.

There are 36 bird species and at least 36 tree species found in the area.

The revered mountain hosts a 102.64-hectare strict protection zone, plus a 222.64-hectare buffer zone.

It is the first local government unit-managed conservation area in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

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