Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao News June 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.

Tausug girl dreams high, lands No. 6 in Nursing board

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

COTABATO CITY, June 30 (PNA) -- A 20-year-old nursing graduate of Notre Dame of Jolo College (NDJC), in Jolo, Sulu has sent a message to the people of Sulu and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (ARMM).

Her message was simple: "Dream big and dream for peace in Mindanao."

She also proved that for dreaming big, a Tausug from war-torn Jolo, can excel in national board examinations.

Graduating cum laude with Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at Catholic-run college in downtown Jolo, Tazmeen Amin Mariwa ranked No. 6 in this year’s national nursing licensure examination, the first for NDJC nursing grad.

“Landing Top 6 out of 17,000 takers is a miracle and a bonus from Allah,” Mariwa said as greetings keep pouring in through her social media account. She has a passing rate of 84.80 percent. The top passer was Benedict Rey Montas Serrano from Bicol University in Legazpi City (86.40 percent).

Showing humility despite the honors and recognition she earned “for making it big” in the board exam, Mariwa said the “gift was so precious it came during the fasting month of Ramadhan.”

The good news reached Mariwa three days before she turned 20 on June 27. “My greatest gift from Allah,” said the youngest daughter of government servants - Reza Cyrus Angsa Mariwa and Gemmalaine Amin Mariwa of Sulu Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Interior and Local Government, respectively.

In a phone interview, Father Romy Saniel, NDJC president, described Mariwa “very shy and reserved but very amiable.”

“One can hardly recognize her as an achiever because she seldom participated in academic competitions,” Fr. Saniel said of Mariwa who was a consistent honor student from elementary to college.

After graduation last March, Mariwa and the nursing graduates of NDJC took intensive review classes at Ateneo de Zamboanga University Review Center in Zamboanga City.

“I really wanted to become a nurse in order to help my parents who have sacrificed so much for me and so I worked hard for it. My success is not mine alone. It is a collaborative effort of my parents, relatives, teachers and friends,” said the shy Mariwa, known in school as “Taz.” “As a nurse, I want to be an instrument for peace in my troubled land.”

“You have to conquer your fears in order to reach your dreams in life,” said Mariwa who, her parents said, dropped out of grade school “because of fear of strangers.”

Her parents never gave up on her; they journeyed with her until the day when she had to deliver her message as a NDJC Cum Laude.

She belonged to “Class Salus Advocatus” (defender or protector of good health) of NDJC which registered 94 percent passing rate in the 2015 nurses’ board exam.

One may ask, “What made Mariwa and this group excel?”Fr. Saniel has ready answers. He said the group has been consistent during three years but got more serious during their last year at NDJC.

“Taz together with some friends initiated group studies during their vacant hours which turned into bonding moments and food trips,” Saniel recalled.

“We have been oriented to claim it, just claim it in our hearts and minds,” she said of the review classes. “If ever you can’t make it then its fine because you’ve done your best,” Mariwa said, quoting review mentors.

“However, landing Top 6 out of 17,000 takers is a miracle and a bonus from Allah.”

Saniel said this is a living testimony that an ordinary Muslim Tausug girl like Taz, from the war-torn town of Jolo, can excel when given proper motivation and support.

Speaking during the 57th NDJC Commencement Exercises last March, Mariwa said: “Fellow graduates, the past four years have given us so many experiences which transformed us into someone who can. We can dream big for our families. We can dream high for a peaceful and prosperous Mindanao. We can truly become the pride of our Alma Mater, NDJC - Catalysts of Change, Lovers of Peace and Genuine Witnesses of God’s love.”

As previously announced by college administrators, NDJC graduates landing in the top 10 of licensure examinations will get P50,000 cash reward.

“For making the school proud,” Fr. Saniel said a motorcade around Jolo down town and a recognition program is scheduled Wednesday (July 1).

ARMM officials grateful for P10-B allocation for infra projects

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Local officials were elated with the P10 billion worth of infrastructure projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) this year in support of the southern peace process.

Vice Mayor Roderick Furigay of Lamitan City, capital of Basilan, on Monday said the 2015 infrastructure projects will hasten the bilateral effort of Malacañang and the present ARMM administration to restore normalcy in areas still rising from devastation wrought by armed conflicts.

The five provinces of ARMM - Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in mainland Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi - are shared bastions of the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Furigay said Lamitan City has been benefiting extensively from the infrastructure, education and social welfare thrusts of the present ARMM administration, interventions that ushered in improvements in the city’s economy.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and his regional public works secretary, engineer Don Mustapha Loong, separately announced last week that residents of the autonomous region stand to benefit from an additional P10-billion infrastructure package this year.

“We ought to thank President Benigno Aquino III, the House of Representatives and the Senate for all of these good tidings,” Hataman told The STAR.

Hataman said the package will partly cover the rehabilitation of old roads and the construction of new arterial networks, 45 ports in seaside trading centers in coastal towns and 91 water supply systems.

Loong, who has ministerial control over eight district engineering offices scattered in the autonomous region, said they intend to build 500 kilometers more of roads interconnecting municipalities in the region using fractions of the P10 billion 2015 infrastructure fund.

Reports obtained from state auditors and civil society organizations to countercheck ARMM’s spending of its 2014 budget, indicated that the Hataman administration now has a 71.3-percent accomplishment of projects funded out of the region’s public works allocation for last year.

The ARMM government had targeted in its 2014 infrastructure objectives the construction of 400 kilometers of arterial networks in the region.

“That target includes the rehabilitation of old roads,” Loong said.

The ARMM government had also earmarked the construction of 13 bridges, 17 seaports and 12 drainage systems in oft-flooded areas using money from its 2014 infrastructure subsidy.

“This more than 70 percent project accomplishment rate was achieved with the help of local executives in beneficiary municipalities and their provincial governors,” Loong said.

Loong said the Department of Public Works and Highways-ARMM is also focused on flood mitigation projects in perennially flooded areas in the autonomous region, including Maguindanao towns near the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta in Central Mindanao.

“These projects will boost the region’s tourism industry and will attract more tourists and potential business capitalists,” he added.

Loong, Hataman and two mayors in Maguindanao, Ibrahim Ibay and Abduradzak Tomawis of Parang and Barira, respectively, forged last June 24 at the Office of the Regional Governor in Cotabato City a special agreement on the implementation of P214 million worth of infrastructure projects in the two municipalities.

The fund shall be spent for the construction of the Padang-Padang Park access road, the Sarmiento-Landasan road, the Parang-Barira road and Matanog-Barira-Buldon road.

A part of the P214 million grant will be spent for the construction of the Tagudtungan and Litayin seaports in Bongo Island, which is about five kilometers off Parang, and the rehabilitation of the Polloc Port in the same municipality.

Also to be built out of funds sourced from the same grant is a water system in Barira, a known stronghold of the MILF.

The local governments in Parang and Barira both belong to the Iranun Development Council (IDC), a socio-economic development bloc of four towns that are bastions of the ethnic Iranun group, whose dialect is a mix of the Maranaw and Maguindanao vernaculars.

Loong and Hataman had also signed on June 24 pertinent documents on a P197 worth infrastructure development initiative in the island province of Tawi-Tawi, located in south of ARMM.

The fund shall cover for the concreting of the 17-kilometer Maraning-Marang-Marang Road in Languyan town, which will connect fishing villages in the area to the municipal market in Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi.

“The implementation of these projects will be open to scrutiny by media and interested civil society organizations,” Hataman said.

Ibay, chair of IDC, said he and other mayors of Iranun towns are confident the projects will expedite the government’s normalization efforts in areas made poor by secessionist conflicts.

“These projects deserve our utmost support,” Ibay said.

25,000 evacuated from floods in 15 Maguindanao villages

By Edwin Fernandez (SFM, Inquirer Mindanao)

TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines – At least 25,000 persons in 15 villages of Sultan sa Barongis in Maguindanao province have been displaced by floods, which in some areas were as bad as neck deep, officials said.

Sultan sa Barongis Mayor Ramdatu Angas said the local government has declared a state of calamity in the entire town as flood water from the Ala River has been rising due to the torrential rain in the mountains of Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato.

Rasol Angas, a resident of Barangay Barurao, one of the hardest-hit villages, said the characteristics of flood water remained unpredictable as it receded and suddenly rose although Maguindanao experienced no rain.

“It could be raining up there in the mountains of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat,” he said, pointing at Daguma ranges south of Sultan Kudarat province.

Zenaida Sandig, 28, a resident of Barangay Paidung, said the water level in her village was at its highest late Saturday afternoon, reaching as high as five feet.

Sultan sa Barongis, a town situated in the borders of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, is at the direct path of Ala river, a major tributary emanating from South Cotabato.

“Floods here come and go but this is the worst so far,” Mayor Angas told reporters. “We are at the forefront of the flood catch basin,” he added.

Aside from Sultan sa Barongis, also flooded were the towns of Datu Paglas, Mangudadatun, Datu Paglas, Pandag, Paglat, Rajah Buayan, Buluan and Datu Salibo.

It was the third calamity to hit Maguindanao province this year. In late January, Maguindanao was hit by man-made calamities when thousands had to be evacuated when military forces pursued members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups. This was followed by the five-month dry spell.

“We can still handle this,” Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu said of the floods that hit nine of Maguindanao’s 36 municipalities. He said the province has enough calamity fund to use until year end.

But the governor admitted the situation has become “very difficult for our people” because of the Ramadan when Muslims abstain from food and water at day time.

He alerted local executives of towns around the Maguindanao marshland of possible sudden rise of water as unfavourable weather continue in nearby provinces.

Mayor Angas blamed a flood control dike constructed by a banana plantation company. He said the firm put up a dike to save its farm site but the flood water from Ala river was diverted to his town.

Last week, four persons were killed in separate landslides triggered by moderate to heavy downpour in South Cotabato, Sarangani and Koronadal City.

Is Tawi-Tawi ready for tourism?

By Pia Ranada (Rappler.com)

Its residents are eager to shed the image of a conflict-ridden province and introduce its beauty to tourists. But is it advisable to visit Tawi-Tawi?

BONGAO, Philippines – We were welcomed at the Sanga-Sanga Airport in Tawi-Tawi by a colorful foursome in sequin-embroidered blouses and shiny sashes.

As they adorned us with woven lei-like necklaces, one of them introduces herself as the winner of Tawi-Tawi's Next Top Model.

This was just one of the many surprises I encountered during my first few minutes in Tawi-Tawi, one of the southernmost islands in the Philippines notorious for armed conflict and kidnappings.

My companions and I were there to hold a Rappler workshop supported by the Marines, the provincial government, and Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Just a month ago, local media reported the abduction of a mining executive in Bongao town, where our hotel was located.

The next surprise came minutes later as we, and our luggage, are loaded onto a military 4-by-4 vehicle loaded with Marines in full battle gear.

The contrast is symptomatic of Tawi-Tawi's current state.

Its people want progress and peace. But it is typecast as conflict-ridden in large part because of its proximity to more unstable areas like Sulu.

Tawi-Tawians are eager to shed this image.

"That is one of the stigma we are trying to fight. If you say Mindanao, it's trouble. If you say Mindanao, it's poverty. If you say Muslim-dominated place, it's going to be kidnapping and so many insurgency matters," said Tawi-Tawi Representative Ruby Sahali. (WATCH: Changing the stigma against Tawi-Tawi)

Is it safe?

Sahali's family, a powerful political clan in the province, has been working hard to turn Tawi-Tawi into a tourism destination.

Among their efforts is a video showcasing Tawi-Tawi's natural and cultural wonders using footage from world-famous Filipino director Brillante Mendoza who shot his film, Thy Womb, in the province.

Third Marine Battalion Executive Officer Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Cabanlet was quick to downplay the danger of visiting Tawi-Tawi.

"Tondo is more dangerous than Tawi-Tawi. More people die from road accidents in Commonwealth Avenue," he told me.

His immediate supervisor, Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Leo Frincillo called Tawi-Tawi "generally peaceful." But it remained a staging site for kidnappings of members of rich families and businessmen.

But Sahali maintained, "We don't have insurgents here. If there was, they're from Sulu."

Tawi-Tawi experience

Our 4-day stay in Tawi-Tawi yielded no violent incidents save for an accident involving foolhardy motorists and an unfinished road.

We were accompanied by a military escort everywhere. I was even assigned a "bodyguard" as I separated from the group to conduct interviews around the villages we visited.

I'm not sure if the level of security we were given is typical for a normal tourist. It probably had something to do with the fact that we were there at the invitation of the local government.

Cabanlet told me that tourists traveling to remote areas are often escorted by some form of security. Tourists are still warned to stick with their security and to not go off wandering alone.

In other words, being a tourist in Tawi-Tawi is not like being a tourist anywhere else.

The province's tourism officer Salvacion Pescadera admitted that anyone wanting to visit Tawi-Tawi should have a local contact before making the trip.

It's not so much a safety concern as it is a lack of tourism facilities to cater to drop-ins. There are only very few hotels and only one restaurant.

But what Tawi-Tawi lacks in facilities, it makes up for in travel itineraries.

Visitors can dive in pristine coral reef systems, visit virgin white sand beaches, interact with Sama tribes in their stilt houses, and explore caves.

Another must-see is the oldest mosque in the country in Simunul, a town that proudly calls itself the "cradle of Islam" in the Philippines.

Thirsty for progress

Because of the stereotype and despite all its attractions, tourists are not coming in droves. Yet.

Pescadera said that recent years have seen a modest rise in tourists because of blog posts and television shows that have featured the province.

It won't be surprising if these numbers increase in the next few years. One thing working in their favor is how easy it is get to Tawi-Tawi from hubs like Metro Manila.

We took a plane to Zamboanga City and then a transfer flight to Tawi-Tawi. We left Metro Manila at 4 am and arrived in Tawi-Tawi just in time for 8 am breakfast at our hotel.

The province is keen to capitalize on tourism as a driver of development.

Some key infrastructure projects are already in the works to make this happen.

The airport has obtained a P240-million funding from the Department of Transportation and Communication, said Sahali. A longer runway will mean it can cater to bigger aircraft.

The government is also building more roads to connect Tawi-Tawi's islands and urban hubs.

Already being constructed is a major water pipeline that will being fresh water from the Malung River to Bongao town and other areas.

The project is critical if Tawi-Tawi wants to attract investors. Some food chains hoping to put up branches in Tawi-Tawi were concerned about the lack of fresh water, said Sahali.

It's also seen as a way to spur the province's largest source of income – the seaweed industry.

Around 80% of Tawi-Tawians earn a living from seaweed farming. Farmers usually sell the raw material for P5/kilogram if wet, and or P30/kilogram if dried.

The seaweed is processed elsewhere to extract carrageenan – a gelling, thickening, and stabilizing substance used mostly in dairy and meat products.

But the province's economy could do so much better if locals processed the seaweed themselves, said Sahali. The main input needed for processing is fresh water.

Tawi-Tawi has become such a significant source of carrageenan that it has been called the "carrageenan capital of the world."

Its major cultural festival, held in September, is called the Agal-Agal Festival. Agal-agal or agar-agar is the local term for seaweed.

Going for sustainable

There are other knots Tawi-Tawi still has to untangle before it can become a tourist hub.

Its poor solid waste management and lack of sewage facilities could condemn it to a future like Boracay's present – in which the island paradise has become soiled by pollution.

Young Tawi-Tawians identified garbage as one of the biggest problems confronting their province.

The waterways which have earned it the nickname "Venice of the South" are clogged with plastic bags, bottles, broken nets, and the occasional floating slipper.

Dr Filemon Romero of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) says the province still throws its garbage in an open pit, which under the country's Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, should have been phased out a long time ago.

Open pits, unlike sanitary landfills, do not make use of regulatory procedures and equipment. Often, leachate from garbage is allowed to seep through the soil, contaminating groundwater. Sanitary landfills would have lining to contain the leachate.

The provincial government is also just about to purchase two garbage collection trucks. Part of the funds were raised during a clean-up fun run held in Bongao on Earth Day, April 22.

Authorities know more planning is needed to transition Tawi-Tawi into the future it wants for itself.

Last year, the province asked renowned urban planner Felino Palafox Jr to evaluate a possible tourism development plan.

But if she had her way, Sahali would want Tawi-Tawi to retain its natural charm.

"We want it to be a sustainable kind [of tourism]. Like if you're from another island, you come here, you bring your buildings, it shouldn't be like that. You come and experience what we have and you have good memories and then you go back."

4,562 students earn vocational degree from TESDA-ARMM

(PNA), RMA/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY — Now armed with technical know how, a total of 4,562 students in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have successfully graduated from Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and received certificates in vocational courses giving them better opportunity to land a decent-paying job, officials said.

Datu Omar Shariff Jaafar, TESDA-ARMM executive director, said the 2015 first semester graduates were part of the region’s efforts to develop and improve the socio-economic status of residents in the region.

“There is no age limit as long as they want to be trained and we are encouraging out-of-school youth, persons with disability, and those who do not have a job (to enroll in TESDA courses),” Jaafar said.

As new graduates entered the job-seeking sector, Jaafar urged out of school youth and anybody in the ARMM, regardless of age, to enroll and avail of various courses that include automotive and land transport, computer systems servicing, electronics products assembly and servicing, dressmaking, healthcare services, pharmacy services, security services, 2D animation, visual graphic design, metals and engineering, bartending, bread and pastry production, food and beverage servicing, and front office services.

For this year, TESDA-ARMM hopes to generate 24,500 tech-voc graduates with employable skills in the region.

Jaafar said the TESDA central office has allotted Php 21.28 million to 2,358 slots under the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), and Php10.86 million for 1,203 slots under the Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA) in the five provinces of ARMM.

TWSP and PESFA are scholarship programs currently implemented by TESDA that address equity and access issues by providing direct financial assistance to deserving technical-vocational education and training enrollees nationwide.

After finishing a program, a graduate will undergo competency assessment to determine if he can be certified as technical education and skills development specialist. Passers will be awarded TESDA National Certificate, or Certificate of Competency.

“After the 36 days of training, my welding skills will help increase my chances of getting a job,” said Rhiden Aguilar, a 35 year old graduate of Shielded Metal Arc Welding Course.

Jaafar said unemployed women can also avail of training that could earn extra income, or even launch a business enterprise, such as food processing.

Among them was Fatima Mamaluba, a 51 year old housewife in Upper Capiton, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao who said she learned a lot from her training in food processing.

At late age, Mamaluba still believed that she can earn decently after taking free vocational courses that for her is expected to give additional income for the family.

TESDA programs are free of charge to out-of-school youth, persons with disabilities, as well as employed and unemployed residents of the region.

Mindanao transforming on back of fresh investment

By Aya Lowe (CNA/jb)

After being ravaged by conflict for years, Mindanao is starting to see more signs of investment and infrastructure improvement.

AMPATUAN, Philippines: The region known as the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is one of the poorest areas of the Philippines but the situation is slowly changing as investors start to capitalise on the area’s rich natural resources.

In the past two years, fields have been transformed from barren lands to profitable banana plantations. ADVERTISING

Investors have shied away in recent times due to ongoing conflict involving rebel groups, which has plagued the area. Only in the past couple of years, since the start of the peace process, have businesses felt safe to invest.

According to the ARMM government's executive secretary, Laissa Alarma, investments this year are worth around US$130m.

It is a huge jump from almost no investment they received three years ago and has created more than 3,000 jobs.

"In the 25-year history of the ARMM there have been no investments. Nobody would want to invest in the conflict areas when they perceive you have conflict and a corruption-laden local government unit,” Ms Alarma said.

Investments from mostly local businesses have focused on alternative sources of energy, agriculture, distribution of petroleum products and mining. To encourage investment, the government has increased the budgets for infrastructure projects over the years.

For instance, the Department of Public Works and Highways has raised its expenditure 10-fold in three years to US$220m this year.

It aims to complete most of the provincial roads, 90 per cent of which are unpaved.

"(In) this area there has been an area of high conflict and because of that we’re investing in a lot of roads and even boulevards to ensure that people will be able to feel that there’s presence of government,” said its secretary, Don Loong.

According to Secretary Loong, by opening up these areas solated communities can trade more easily and in the long term he hopes to convince armed rebel groups to return to the mainstream and help build an environment where guns are not needed.

But, while the region is starting to benefit from a flow of investments, many local indigenous groups are pushing for a higher share of the revenue.

The local government unit of Lanao del Sur receives less than one per cent of the revenue from the area’s hydropower plants, which supply nearly 60 per cent of Mindanao’s electricity.

As the region starts to see its resources put to profitable use, the next challenge is to ensure the local population benefits more from this influx of investment.

DPWH-ARMM to construct P10-B worth of projects this year

(Bureau of Public Information)

Cotabato City (June 24, 2015) – The Department of Public Works and Highways of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DPWH-ARMM) has programmed this year various projects in the five provinces of the region with total allocation of P10 billion.

In a press conference dubbed “Tapatan sa ARMM” on Wednesday, June 24, newly installed Secretary Don Mustapha Loong said his department is speeding up work to meet its target of implementing these projects within the year.

Secretary Loong is continuing the reform agenda started by the previous administration of former secretary Engr. Emil Sadain and the regional government. Engr. Sadain, the head of the regional public works agency for the past three years, is now the DPWH national office’s assistant secretary for foreign-funded projects.

Secretary Loong reiterated that the DPWH-ARMM has many flagship projects in the region’s five provinces. In 2014, the DPWH-ARMM targeted P5-billion worth of projects, which include 400 kilometers of roads, 13 bridges, 17 seaports and 12 drainage structures.

“As of now, projects for 2014 had achieved a physical accomplishment of 70%,” Sec. Loong said. The P10-billion worth of projects this year includes 500 kilometers of roads, 45 seaports and 91 water supply systems.

“We are now doing things faster and systematic and strengthening our partnership with the local government units for the people of ARMM in order for them to have cheaper transport of goods and products, better access to tourism sites, and mainly to uplift the lives of the people in the region,” he added.

The agency is currently working on flood control and drainage improvement projects to minimize flooding during the rainy season. DPWH-ARMM is also focusing on roads leading to tourist spots in partnership with the ARMM’s Tourism department.

“This will boost the region’s tourism industry and will attract more visitors and tourists,” he added.

Ethnic communities in ARMM shine in cultural showcase

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Fasting college students Aliyah and Fatima decided to cut classes Monday night just to watch an awaited cultural show at a Yakan model village in the compound here of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

They both saved their school allowance for the day for an iftar, the first meal after a day-long fast, in one of the food booths near the Yakan and Maranaw villages at the eastern side of the 32-hectare ARMM compound, about an hour before the show began.

“Value-wise, missing an hour-long class is nothing compared to missing a show that could educate us, Maguindanaons, on what Yakan culture is all about,” Aliyah said.

The iftar of classmates Aliyah and Fatima while at the ARMM compound was comprised of native Maguindanaon foods sinina and pastil.

Sinina is chevon cooked in heavy oil with burnt coconut shavings called palapa, while pastil is rice topped with finely shredded sautéed chicken meat rolled in banana leaves.

The Yakan cultural show - dances and dramatization of the daily life in a typical Yakan village in the province of Basilan - was organized by industrial psychologist John Magno, incumbent ARMM regional education secretary.

Monday night's Yakan cultural presentation was part of the ARMM government’s nighttime Ramadhan festivities meant to showcase the cultures and traditions of ethnic communities in the autonomous region, home to some six million Muslims with distinct tribal identities.

The model tribal villages in the ARMM compound were opened for public viewing on June 18, first day of Ramadhan, a fasting season that lasts for one lunar cycle, or about 28 to 29 days.

Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during the Ramadhan as a form of sacrifice and to be reminded of the importance of self-restrain to achieve spiritual perfection. They also focus on reparations for wrongdoings and acts of piety during the Ramadhan, a holy month in Islam.

Eliza, an elementary teacher in Maguindanao, said she took photos of Yakan dancers that performed Monday night which she can use as teaching aid.

“Nothing can be a better classroom visual device than real photos of Yakan dancers performing a tribal dance,” she said.

Christian students of Catholic schools in Cotabato City who were still in their uniforms were just as visible in the surroundings of the Yakan village while the cultural show went on.

Magno, who is from Maluso, a seaside town in Basilan, said he is thankful to Yakan employees of different line agencies in the autonomous region, including the region’s chief executive, Gov. Mujiv Hataman, for helping facilitate the event.

Hataman is himself a Yakan from a seaside fishing village in Sumisip town in Basilan.

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

Non-Muslims watch Ramadan festivities in Mindanao

By By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Thousands have been flocking to the seat of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to watch nighttime Ramadan activities depicting the area's pluralistic culture.

A big number of non-Muslims, among them members of the indigenous non-Moro Teduray group, have also been touring the 32-hectare ARMM compound southeast of Cotabato City to watch the regional Ramadan festivities, which started June 18, the first day of Ramadan 2015.

People on Sunday night saw Don Mustapha Loong, public works secretary of ARMM, recite the azan (call) to an evening prayer in a mock Tausug village, while the region's education secretary, John Magno, hosted an iftar, the first meal after a day-long fast, in a Yakan enclave nearby.

Loong, who is from Sulu, and Magno, of Maluso town in Basilan, are the chieftains of the ARMM's model Tausug and Yakan villages, respectively.

Loong said Tausug employees of different regional agencies are helping manage their village, a prototype of the champion in last year's contest that capped off the celebration of the 24th founding anniversary of ARMM.

"The challenge for us now is how to make at par this time, if not surpass, our good show during the ARMM anniversary celebration where we won as top in the tribal village competition," said Loong.

Magno had put up a loom weaving facility in the Yakan village for people to see how Muslims in Basilan produce the "Yakan cloth" using equipment invented by their ancestors.

"We recommend the viewing of these tribal villages to teachers and students for educational purposes," Magno said.

The villages are showcases of the distinct identities of cultural communities in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in mainland Mindanao, and the islands of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Among those who brought family members to the ARMM compound Sunday night was Maria Theresa Talan-Chua, a key staff member of the Region 12 office in Koronadal City of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Chua and her children dined together in one of the food booths in a trade fair run by the DTI-ARMM, located near the Yakan and Maranaw villages.

Entrepreneur Lalaine Duque, who is engaged in food catering business, also toured the villages to observe the Ramadan activities of ARMM employees.

Urbano Saliling, a Teduray from Upi town in the first district of Maguindanao, said he chartered a small passenger vehicle for P500 just for his family to reach the ARMM compound, 38 kilometers from their municipality.

"Para sa akin mahirap kitaain ang halagang ginastos ko para lang kami makarating sa lugar pero yung mga natutunan naman ang aking mga anak at mga apo sa aming pagpunta sa ARMM ay mahalaga at nakadagdag pa sa kanilang kaalaman," Saliling said.

Sounds of brass gongs and kulintangs have been reverberating around the ARMM compound every after dusk since June 18, played by Iranun and Maguindanaon musicians as part of the nightly shows in their villages.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, the main planner of the evening Ramadan activities, said this year's cultural events could the last for regional employees under the autonomous government.

"The ARMM shall be replaced soon with a new Bangsamoro entity through a proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law," Hataman said.

He said his administration looks forward to the enactment into law of the draft BBL.

"We are confident the Bangsamoro entity will continue these activities to show to the Filipino nation and to the whole world what we have as a people with a proud identity," Hataman said.

The Bangsamoro bill, still pending in Congress, mired by controversies, aims to replace ARMM with a Bangsamoro government, to be led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front based on its 2014 peace deal with Malacañang.

"In the meantime let us focus on observing the Ramadan in peace and solemnity," Hataman said.

Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims, where they fast at daytime and focus on reparation for wrongdoings for one lunar cycle, about 28 to 29 days, as a religious obligation and a form of sacrifice for them to learn the importance of self-restraint to achieve spiritual perfection.

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the "five pillars" of Islam, which include absolute belief in Allah, praying five times a day facing west, giving of zakat (alms) to the poor and, for those who can afford the cost of travel, performing the hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah in Saudi Arabia.

Noy poised to have BBL passed during his term

By Aurea Calica With Robertzon Ramirez, Celso Amo (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino is determined to have the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) passed during his administration, Malacañang stressed yesterday amid calls not to rush its approval so it could be further scrutinized.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said everyone must have a “sense of urgency” vis-à-vis Mindanao peace and development because these had been evading people in the south for so long.

He said this was the reason why the President was determined to push for the peace process during his term.

Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Collin Bagaforo advised Aquino to consider leaving the passage of the BBL to the next administration to make sure the proposed measure would be cleansed of all constitutional infirmities.

Bagaforo, in calling for a more thorough study of the proposed BBL, noted there were not enough consultations with stakeholders.

The BBL was not passed before Congress adjourned its session last June 11. Congress will resume session on July 27. Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Bagaforo suggested the government should form a committee with government lawyers, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) legal persons, lawmakers, former Supreme Court justices, deans of law schools and the Philippine Constitution Association.

“Achieving long-term peace, stability and progress in Mindanao is also a top priority of the government. Thus, it is working towards the passage of the (BBL). Although debates about the BBL went beyond the last session of Congress, we see this as an opportunity to harmonize the differing viewpoints,” Coloma said.

There are various oppositions to BBL and a petition seeking to declare the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro unconstitutional was filed before the Supreme Court on Friday.

Coloma said all angles were being considered to come up with a BBL that would conform with the Constitution and every aspect of the proposed measure was also being studied continuously.

He explained the President even formed the National Peace Council to review Malacañang’s version of the bill and its members found the BBL adheres to the Constitution.

Nevertheless, Coloma said Malacañang recognized the duty of lawmakers to ensure the legality of a bill that they would pass into law.

“But we are also stating the importance of having (the BBL) implemented already because, if we look at the bigger picture, we have counted decades of time when there has been no strong foundation for peace in Mindanao,” Coloma said.

He said the executive was ready to coordinate with the Senate and the House of Representatives as regards BBL when asked whether the President would seek reorganization in the Senate and have Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. replaced as chairman of the local government committee.

Marcos said the BBL was full of unconstitutional provisions and that not all stakeholders were consulted, the reason why he would file a substitute bill.

“We are open to have discussions with them, to (have an) understanding. Because it is important for us to have an understanding and consensus because what is at stake here is an important aspect of our national interest,” Coloma said.

“We really do not have a problem with those expressing disagreement because we believe that through discussions there will be clarifications,” Coloma added.

BBL, not political reasons

On the other hand, the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID) called on lawmakers to spare the BBL from their political interests for the 2016 elections.

PCID president Amina Rasul said lawmakers might have their reasons why they seem to be delaying the passage of the BBL and it could be related to preparations for the 2016 elections.

Rasul, however, remains hopeful the national leaders will set aside their political interests by putting the interest of the country first.

“We are lobbying, and we are hopeful that the majority of our national leaders will put the interest of the community, the interest of the whole nation as a priority because what will be good for the Muslim region, what will be good for Bangsamoro, at the end of the day will be the good for the entire the country,” Rasul said.

“I hope this is not tied-up to the 2016 election,” she added.

Rasul noted Marcos has proposed to draft a substitute bill to the BBL but she is worrying that the BBL might not be approved before President Aquino’s term ends in 2016.

“Will the next president be open to these discussions? Because if the next administration and the next Congress (will disregard BBL) what, are we going back to warfare independence? Is our country prepared for this?” she asked.

Rasul stood firm that now is the right time for the passage of the BBL as the comprehensive agreement between the government and the MILF was already signed in March last year. She questioned lawmakers why they still cannot pass the BBL as it already went through comprehensive “hearings and meetings” during the congressional process last year.

“It took a year for the Bangsamoro Transition Commission to come up with a draft bill, it was already reviewed by Malacañang and it took months before it was released and was submitted to Congress,” she said.

The criticisms against the BBL were brought out following the Mamasapano incident where the MILF was involved in the killing of 44 policemen.

She said the Mamasapano incident became the “collateral damage” of the BBL.

Rasul said they are expecting the amendments to be submitted to Congress, but some lawmakers are just making some delays on the passage of the BBL.

Some lawmakers, church leaders and a former justice asked the Supreme Court to void the agreement forged by the government with the MILF for the proposed creation of the Bangsamoro entity in Mindanao.

Critics also said the government should carefully study the passage of the BBL, and that all stakeholders should be consulted.

When asked about the substitute bill proposed by Marcos, Rasul said she hopes the committee report will be out before July 27.

She explained the substitute bill would again take time, as it will still have to undergo the legal process.

“It is already out of time, it seems that this will be passed to the next administration, and personally, I don’t think it is a good idea,” she said.

The BBL was crafted under the peace agreement with the MILF to create a new autonomous region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, however, warned the P35-billion budget for the Bangsamoro government for the first year of operation has no provision to shoulder the retirement of ARMM officials.


Decommissioning a painful 'healing process' for MILF

By John Unson (philstar.com)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — The Moro guerillas decommissioned on June 16 are still trying to move on from separation with guns that were for them a badge of courage and icon of a never ending struggle for self-rule.

For now disarmed guerillas Abdulwahid and Guiamudin, who had figured in many encounters with soldiers in hostile areas in Central Mindanao, moving on from their having turned in their rifles for safekeeping by the International Decommissioning Body is like detaching slowly from pain caused by a death of a family member.

"But we have to move on just the same even if we aren’t sure yet if our (peace) agreement with government shall be implemented in letter and spirit because this is a healing process and there must be trust, there must be giving and sharing," Abdulwahid said in the Maguindanaon dialect.

The figurehead of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Murad Ebrahim, most known as Hadji Murad, and MILF's chief negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal, had both said it was so difficult for the 145 guerillas to agree to disarmament by the Turkey-led IDB amid uncertainties on the fate of their final peace compact with government.

Turkey is a member-state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of more than 50 Muslim nations, including petroleum-exporting countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Also helping in the government-MILF peace efforts are the European Union and Norway and OIC-members Malaysia, Indonesia, Libya and Brunei. Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Matas, who also decommissioned last June 16 before President Benigno Aquino III during the symbolic disarmament of a group of MILF fighters in keeping with a normalization deal with government, said many of his younger companions cautioned him against turning over his firearm to the IDB, but proceeded nonetheless.

"Maybe by agreeing to disarm and to have my gun kept by the IDB, people opposing the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law) will realize that we are indeed dedicated to this peace process," he said in the vernacular.

Some of the 145 rebels that bade their firearms goodbye had, in the 1970s, fought combatants of the Philippine Army and the now defunct Philippine Constabulary alongside Hadji Murad, then still a field commander of the Moro National Liberation Front, from where the MILF had splintered from in the early 1980s.

Murad said each of the 145 guerillas have stories of pain, hunger, dislocation and joy in their many years of fighting better armed government security forces.

The guerillas turned in infantry rifles and 25 crew-served weapons such as shoulder-fire B-40 anti-tank rocket launchers, 60 and 81 millimeter mortar launchers, a .50 caliber machine gun and home-made .50 caliber long-range sniper rifles.

Some of the 145 rebels had told reporters it was for their respect for their central committee that they agreed to disarm, unmindful of the security constraints they could possibly experience without guns now to protect their communities from aggressions of all sorts.

Malacañang had promised to provide the decommissioned rebels socio-economic interventions needed to hasten their assimilation into the mainstream.

In a text message Saturday, Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said his office can provide them vocational schooling through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

"Our TESDA office and its regional training center are ready to accommodate them. We have the HEART (Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team) ready to help them too," Hataman said.

Physician Kadil Sinolinding, Jr., who is Hataman's regional health secretary, said they will extend free general evaluation of the health of the 145 guerillas and members of their immediate families.

Sinolinding said Hataman want them and members of their families tested for diabetes, hypertension, respiratory illnesses and eye problems.

"We can also provide cataract surgery to those that have cataracts," Sinolinding said.

Hataman said they will also extend livelihood support to the 145 guerillas for them to have other sources of income needed to sustain the schooling of their children.

For Esmael, who had also turned his firearm in, the most important intervention the national government can initiate now, in addition to the immediate socio-economic packages from ARMM and Malacañang, is to ensure the enactment into law of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law according to its original draft.

The draft BBL, now pending in Congress, mired by controversies, is the enabling measure for the replacement of ARMM with a more empowered MILF-led Bangsamoro political entity based on the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB).

The CAB was signed on March 27, 2014 in Malacañang by government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF counterpart, Muhaquer Iqbal, in the presence of President Aquino, Hadji Murad, and foreign diplomats.

ARMM gives P10K to human trafficking victims

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Ten human trafficking victims received a P10,000 fund assistance each from the social welfare department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The release of the monetary grants capped off Wednesday’s “People’s Day” outreach activities of ARMM, now a regular, continuing outreach mission via a one-stop facet for direct services to walk-in clients.

“These victims of trafficking in person can also avail of vocational schooling through TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) to enable them to start life anew,” said human rights lawyer Laisa Alamia, incumbent regional executive secretary of ARMM.

Alamia personally handed over the cash assistance to each of the 10 victims, among them Farhana Gendeng, 17, a resident of Datu Piang town in the second district of Maguindanao.

The victims were rescued in one operation after another in recent months from recruiters who were to force them into illegal employment after having been duped with promises of convenient and good paying jobs somewhere in Metro Manila and abroad.

The office of ARMM Vice Gov. Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman, who is concurrent regional social welfare secretary, facilitated the allocation of the P10,000 assistance for Gendeng following completion of all documentary and counseling requisites.

“They can spend the money for schooling, or to start a small business, such as backyard dry goods store in their villages,” Alamia said.

Officials of TESDA-ARMM said they are ready to admit the 10 rescued human trafficking victims to technical classes in the region’s main training center in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

RBOI-ARMM conducts consultation on investment priority guidelines

(Bureau of Public Information/APB/PIA-10)

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, June 18 (PIA) --- Investors and business leaders in the province of Maguindanao participated in a public consultation on 16 June in Cotabato City to promote the region's industries and to review the 2014 ARMM Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

The Regional Board of Investments of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM) led the consultation with concerned government agencies and other stakeholders.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, chairman of RBOI, said the exercise is part of the regional government’s objective of increased participation of stakeholders in the planning of the region’s economic development.

“We will conduct the same public consultation in the other provinces of the region (Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi),” RBOI chairman Mastura said.

The 2014 IPP is a tool for industrial development, economic growth and consists of specific economic activities that are based on industry studies, plans and roadmaps.

This corresponds to the Regional Development Plan of ARMM in accordance with the 2011-2016 Philippine Development Plan. The identified priority economic activities are the basis for the incentives granted to qualified investors in the region.

Mastura said the parameters in the review of the projects include net value added, job generation, multiplier effect and measured capacity.

The 2014 ARMM IPP preferred activities, or key industries, are agriculture; agribusiness; aquaculture fishery; basic industries; consumer manufactures; infrastructure and services; industrial service facilities; engineering industries; logistics; BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Association of Southeast Asian Nations Growth Area) trade and investment enterprises; tourism; health; education; services and facilities; and halal industry.

As of June 2015, a total of about Php1.5-billion worth of projects were invested in the region. Chan C. Mining Inc. invested Php741.8 million for its nickel ore mining and quarrying project in Tawi-Tawi. The Lamsan Power Corp. expanded its existing power plant to an additional 5.5 megawatts capacity worth P686.7 million in Maguindanao, and the Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading, a company into importation and distribution of petroleum products, invested Php121.2 million including building an oil depot in Tawi-Tawi.

RBOI also registered firms into Promotion of Investments Sustainability Organization (PISO) to strengthen investments generation in ARMM through a strong partnership with the private sector. The PISO will serve as an advisory body on issues related to investments and will help promote the region as a viable business destination to potential investors.

Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan officially starts June 18

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

COTABATO CITY, June 17 (PNA) -- The more than seven million Muslims in the Philippines and in other countries will start fasting Thursday in observance of one of the five pillars of Islam.

The 30-day Ramadhan fasting season begins before dawn of June 18 where Muslims are allowed only to eat and drink water at night and fast from dawn to dusk.

Only physically-fit Muslims are required by faith to fast as a religious obligation. It will last for 28 to 29 days.

Ramadhan is the holiest month in Islam where fasting, one of the five pillars of Islamic faith, must be performed by able-bodied individuals except pregnant and lactating mothers, children below 12 years old and elderly who cannot abstain from food at day time.

Aside from fasting, the other pillars of Islam are absolute submission to Allah, praying five times a day facing the direction of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, giving of “zakat” (alms) to the poor, and performing the Hajj (pilgrimage) at least once in a lifetime.

This is only required for Muslims who who can afford the cost of travel to Mecca.

During the fasting month, Muslims are to do things to correct the wrong they have done, rebuild community, promote peace and love among other faithfuls and seal broken family relationships, and family ties severed by misunderstandings.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu called on the people of Maguindanao to pray for peace, work for peace and be an instrument of peace that remained elusive in the province since time immemorial.

“Let’s keep praying for peace and for the success of the peace efforts of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front during this holy month,” Mangudadatu said in his Ramadhan message.

Earlier, Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said Muslim employees are allowed to leave office and workplace at 3 p.m. to allow them to prepare for the breaking of the fasting at 6 p.m.

They are required to report for work at 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. without noon break.

"Let us take this opportunity to spread the message of love, compassion, and peace among us and to our non-Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao, the Philippines, and across the world," Hataman said in his Ramadhan message to about five million Muslims in the five provinces of ARMM.

Part of the Ramadhan celebration is the creation of mock tribal villages inside the ARMM compound where tribal groups from the five provinces of ARMM will show what their respective communities can offer to people within and outside the ARMM.

ARMM implements new approach in economic development

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 16 (PNA) -- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has implemented a new approach to actively involve all players in the planning of the region's economic development, particularly on investment matters, the Regional Board of Investment (RBOI) said Tuesday.

To realize this program, RBOI has conducted public consultation to potential and existing investors, business leaders, concerned government agencies, and other stakeholders to help review the 2014 ARMM Investments Priorities Plan (IPP) and formulate the ARMM IPP for the year 2015.

Held at the Al Nor Complex in Cotabato City, the consultation was part of the regional government’s approach to actively involve all players in the planning of the region’s economic development particularly on investment matters.

The IPP shall correspond to the Regional Development Plan of ARMM in accordance with the 2011-2016 Philippine Development Plan.

The identified priority economic activities shall be the basis for the granting of incentives by RBOI to qualified investors in the region. Investments projects shall be founded on the following parameters: (1) project’s net value added, (2) job generation, (3) multiplier effect and (4) measured capacity. Though the 2014 IPP to include the ARMM List is a rolling three-year plan to ensure continuity, consistency and predictability however, it is subject to annual review over the three-year period.

The 2014 ARMM IPP lists the following as priority activities: export; agriculture, agribusiness or aquaculture fishery; basic industries; consumer manufactures; infrastructure and services; industrial service facilities; engineering industries; logistics; BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Association of Southeast Asian Nations Growth Area) trade and investment enterprises; tourism; health, education, services and facilities; and halal industry.

The approval of the ARMM IPP is signed by the Office of the President, a function which was not devolved to ARMM government.

Lawyer Ishak V. Mastura, RBOI chairman, said that as of June 2015, about Php1.5 billion worth of projects were invested in the region.

Chan C. Mining Inc. is the largest investor spending Php741.8 million for its nickel ore mining and quarrying project in Tawi-Tawi.

Second is Lamsan Power Corporation which expanded their existing power plant to an additional 5.5 megawatts capacity worth Php686.7 million in Maguindanao.

Third, is Tawi-Tawian Petroleum Trading, a company into importation and distribution of petroleum products which invested Php 121.2 million and is currently building an oil depot in Tawi-Tawi.

All of these projects are listed in the ARMM IPP.

Recently, RBOI organized its registered firms into Promotion of Investments Sustainability Organization (PISO) to further strengthen investments generation in ARMM through a strong partnership with the private sector (PISO members).

The PISO will serve as advisory body on issues related to investments and will also help promote the region as a business destination to potential investors.

CLOAs, equipment distribution marks CARP anniversary in ARMM

(PNA), JBP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 15 (PNA) -- More than PHP20 million worth of common service facilities and equipment were distributed to agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations as the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) celebrated Monday the 27th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Amihilda Sangcopan, DAR-ARMM regional secretary, said the anniversary celebration was even more meaningful to farmer beneficiaries as they have received certificates of land ownership awards (CLOAs).

The distribution activities was done under the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS).

The activity was held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex.

Sangcopan said the event was aimed at celebrating the achievements of agrarian reform in the region. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was signed into law by the late President Corazon Aquino on 10 June 1988.

The ARMM has distributed under its land tenure system a total of 263,563 hectares to 68,087 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), contributing roughly 6 percent of the nationwide accomplishment of 4.45 million hectares land distributed.

The region, Sangcopan added, has 112,290 hectares more to dispose which is expected to benefit at least 37,430 more beneficiaries.

Data showed that a total of 8,832 cases under agrarian justice delivery were resolved in the last 27 years, and 19,392 ARBs were capacitated through training in the area of human development, financial management, and agricultural technology.

The program dubbed ‘Balik Tanaw sa 27-Taon ng Pagpapatupad ng CARP’ bannered the theme “Nurturing the Gains, Strengthening Partnerships for Reform and Sustainable Rural Development.”

The ARCCESS is the department’s strategic intervention to retain the awarded lands of the ARBs through production and engagement in agri-based and related enterprises.

The facilities included six units of four-wheel drive tractors, three units of corn sheller-huskers, three units of hand tractors and one unit of power tiller cultivator.

Gulam Omar, chairman of the Mangal Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development Cooperative (MARBEDCO) based in Sumisip, Basilan received one unit of four-wheel drive tractor.

The MARBEDCO, which started in 1994, has been operating for 21 years with 246 members. He said the tractor will facilitate the transport and delivery of agricultural products such as rubber and coconut.

“Malaking tulong ang tractor dahil hindi na kami mahihirapan i-deliver ang aming mga produkto (The tractor would be a big help to us since it would be easier to deliver our products to the markets),” Omar said.

Lawyer Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, urged the beneficiaries to continue the "bayanihan" spirit in their respective communities.

“To our rightful ARBs, I encourage you all to continue the things that you have already started for your own good, for your family and for the community where you are living,” Alamia said.

Another highlight of the celebration was the launching of the new website of the agency.

The website is a way to introduce the region’s Agrarian Reform department and reintroduce CARP to the public.

No let up on Philippine tribesmen fight for identity and territory

By Ronald Reyes

THE TEDURAYS along with other Philippine tribesmen have continued their fight for identity and territory under the proposed new Bangsamoro territory in Mindanao despite lacking in numbers and weaponless.

“Because we are not armed… this, however, does not mean the lumads or the indigenous peoples in Mindanao do not have legitimate concerns. Our territory is part of what is being proposed as Bangsamoro Territory,” said Jennevieve Cornelio, a Teduray woman leader of the Timuay Justice and Governance.

Cornelio like other lumad delegates travelled to Manila to push for the full inclusion of their rights in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

On June 8, Cornelio raised again their concerns in a media forum in Manila which was also attended by Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and lawyer Christian Monsod, as part of the Peace Council.

“Our distinct identity as Teduray, Dulangan Manobo and Lambangian is being subsumed as Bangsamoro people. We cannot allow this,” Cornelio said.

Cornelio added that their struggle to assert their rights of identity and territory “has started long before the MILF-GPH peace talks.”

“We have been consistent about this,” Cornelio said.

Cornelio noted that in the forum Iqbal said that the “indigenous peoples have representatives in the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law” in reference to Teduray members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC)–Ms. Froilyn Mendoza, appointed by the Philippine government, and Melanio Ulama, appointed by the MILF.

Also revealed in the forum was that the Office of the Presidential Affairs on Peace Process held 32 consultations with indigenous peoples.

“But what was done by the OPAPP were information, education, campaign and not consultations with the indigenous communities,” said Cornelio.

In a statement, Cornelio acknowledged that there were indeed two Teduray representatives in the BTC.

“But only one actually held consultations with the IP communities. Comm. Mendoza held several community consultations, and we participated in those. .. it was through these consultations that they were able to discuss and propose IP provisions in the draft BBL.

“We originally had 145 proposed provisions….However, after Comm. Mendoza brought these to the BTC, it was reduced to 69, then later, 13 provisions. Now, none of our substantive proposals – not on IP identity, on our ancestral domain and the articulation of Rep. Act 8371 or Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) are there; but what can she do, Comm. Mendoza was the only one in the BTC fighting for our rights,” Cornelio said.

Alim Bandara, another Teduray leader, earlier urged the Congress to review all the provisions in the BBL related to indigenous peoples.

“We are expecting that Congress will study carefully all the provisions in the BBL related to IP identity so that we will not be victims of forced assimilation or integration (to the Bangsamoro); the recognition, promotion and protection of our collective and individual human rights; our rights pertaining to land and natural resources (ancestral domain), and the applicability of Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) in the Bangsamoro,” Bandata said.

According to Bandara, the Teduray and Lambangian population is around 8,000 not including those who evacuated due to the wars.

Bandara said that last April 15, 2014, they sent a letter to Pres. Beningo Aquino III, asking for “attention and intervention” on their plight as indigenous non-Moro people in the Bangsamoro political entity.

They appealed to Pres. Aquino to “hear us and give attention to all our concerns that our bundles of rights re ancestral domains, self governance and empowerment, social justice and human rights and cultural integrity be entrenched in the Bangsamoro Basic Law under the Bangsamoro Ministerial Government.”

“More urgent among others is the current ancestral domains delineation by NCIP in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) but opposed by Hon. Director Fatima Kanakan of the Office of Southern Cultural Communities in ARMM,” Timuay supreme chief Sannie S. Bello said in a letter, a copy of which was furnished to this writer.

The letter is part of the other documents given which Bandara said can help the public to understand the situation inside the Bangsamoro which was more known before as ARMM.

“We sent Aquino our letter and also our working paper as early as 2012 especially after there was 10 point agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF. But before that, actually we ‘ve been active in giving our position papers, however they were ignored,” Bandara said.

In their documents, Bandara claimed on the basic information of affected indigenous people in ARMM, covering 84 barangays (villages) in portions of eight municipalities and whole of other three municipalities in Maguindanao.

Based on IPDEV census, there are 122,914 indigenous people including other tribes in mainland ARMM, with an Ancestral Domains land area of 201, 850 hectares.

The major tribes are Teduray, Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo.

The group disclosed that ancestral domain areas of the three tribes are in portions of Datu Sangki, Ampatuan, Datu Hoffer, Datu Unsay, Datu Saudi, Guindulungan, Talayan, Datu Odin and whole municipalities of South Upi, Upi and Datu Blah Sinusat, all in Maguindanao province.

Major concerns raised by the group is the two MILF Camps within the domains (Camps Omar and Badre) and the occupation/encroachment on indigenous peoples’ areas.

The group also noted that all other public lands (ancestral domains) are “targeted as host to banana, oil palm, cassava, napier grass, coconut and other plantations by politicians in their respective municipalities.”

While Upi, South Upi and Datu Blah Sinusat are also object of mining (gold, copper and coal).

They also raised alarm on issues of land grabbing in their territory.

In their document on “Self-governance within the New Political Entity”, the group maintained that “Teduray and the Maguindanaon have common ancestry.”

“This is an accepted story on both sides despite the existence of several versions of the story. The brothers Mamalu and Tabunaway parted ways when the latter became a Muslim, committing in a sacred covenant, to respect each other’ beliefs and each other’s territory.

“This is the reason why the Teduray have lived separately from the Maguindanaon, each one developing its own customary laws in the course of time. Although living separately, they also promised, in the same covenant, to help each other in times of need. This is also an accepted story on both sides.

“So, now the Maguindanaon have become a people, and so do the Teduray. They are the same yet distinct, each possessing the inherent right to self-determination within their respective ancestral domains, affirmed by themselves as well as by the UN Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights,” it said.

100 Days of ARMM’s mock cultural villages in full swing starting June 15

By Mariz Revales / LBG (GMA News)

After it reopened on June 10, the mock cultural villages that showcase the seven major tribes of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is set to stage cultural performances in Cotabato City starting June 15, as part of the "Discover ARMM in 100 Days journey" presentations highlighting the Bangsamoro tribal culture.

The ARMM regional government, through its Maranao Traditional Kulingtang and Kambayoka (traditional songs and dances of the Muslims), will showcase live performances on the 5th day of the cultural journey starting 3 p.m. on Monday at the city's Governor Compound.

Songs and dances of the Bangsamoro tribal villages will be performed by students of Lacoto Ayaon Memorial National High School of Barangay Sawer, Masiu, Lanao del Sur under the sponsorship of the Gov. Mujiv Hataman.

Department of Transportation and Communications-ARM executive dir Pama Dimanapat urged all Maranaos to attend the program and requested them wear their Maranao attire.

"For DOTC personnel and staff, attendance is a must," Dimanapat told GMA News.

For his part, Governor Hataman said the cultural fair will culminate on Oct. 22, 2015.

The mock cultural villages that showcase the seven major tribes of the ARMM reopened on June 10.

The affair first opened to the public last November as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of ARMM.

The seven major tribes covered in this event are Maguindanaon, Tausug, Sama, Maranao, Yakan, Iranon, and Teduray. Each village will feature traditional living, culture and arts pf communities in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

ARMM ports officials announce hike in revenue, port improvements

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 12 (PNA) -- Officials of the premier port in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Thursday announced major rehabilitation of the Polloc Port as it declared the Regional Ports Management Authority (RPMA) earned PHP24.4 million worth of revenues in 2014.

Mimbalawag Mangutara Jr, regional ports manager, said despite the peace and order problems that hit the region and its adjacent areas in 2013 and 2014, the port management earned 18 percent higher revenue as compared to 2013.

In 2013, the regional ports authority earned only PHP9.4 million.

As the most awaited Bangsamoro government is coming, RPMA officials are rushing to refurbish and rehabilitate Polloc Port in Sitio Polloc, Barangay Sarmiento, Parang, Maguindanao.

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

Mangutara said also to be improved are the terminal building, the power facility and water system.

He said the rehabilitation facilities was in compliance with the directive of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman to make the ARMM areas well prepared for the upcoming Bangsamoro government as a result of the 17-year peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Mangutara also said that ARMM officials expect an increase in volume of port activities once the new political entity is in place because the business climate will improve.

Pupils of Maguindanao remote school get bags, supplies from ARMM

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 11 (PNA) -- Public school students in a remote village in South Upi, Maguindanao have received Wednesday school supplies from the office of Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

It was the first time students of Looy Elementary School received school bags and school supplies from ARMM officials.

Amin Hataman, the ARMM governor’s son, joined his father in the distribution of these items as well as in school inspection. The giving of school bags and school supplies is a joint-effort of the ARMM government and the STI-Cotabato team as well as the local media ABS-CBN TV channel.

Blessy Mae Fantingan, a nine year-old Grade 4 student of Looy Elementary School said: “Masaya po kami at nagpapasalamat dahil tunay na bag na ang aming gagamitin hindi na po plastic bag. (We are happy and thankful because we will now use school bag instead of plastic bag.)”

Looy Elementary School has 13 instructional rooms and 17 teachers.

Noli D. Severo, school head, said it is the first time that a high-ranking official of the ARMM government visited the school.

Gov. Hataman also inspected Looy Integrated Technical Vocational High School and vowed to rehabilitate four classroom buildings. “We will allocate PHP1.5 million for the classrooms rehabilitation of Looy High School,” he said. Some students and teachers cried when they heard the governor’s announcement.

“Kahit maliit lang ang sweldo namin, okay lang, dahil nakikita namin kung gaano ka pursigido ang mga estudyante na makapagtapos (Although our pay is low, we feel fine since we see our students determined to finish school),” Belleardo Ciciro, a volunteer teacher said.

There are 85 volunteer teachers in South Upi district in 38 elementary and five secondary schools.

Domingo Bagis, school head of Looy Integrated Technical Vocational High School, explained the difficulties the school and its teachers face. He said the school used to cater to more than 200 students with only four dilapidated classrooms.

“Students here are very diligent, those who live far walk several hours just to get here,” Bagis said.

An example is Maikee Roales, a 17-year-old Grade 10 student who lives in Sitio Santa Fe. She walks three hours everyday just to attend school.

“Kahit malayo po ang bahay namin dito, walang problema, basta makapasok lang ako sa paaralan, dahil gusto ko pong makatapos sa pag-aaral at matulungan ang pamilya ko (Our house is far but that’s not a problem since I want to finish school and help my family),” Roales said.

Most of the students of Looy Elementary School and Looy Integrated Technical Vocational High School belong to the Teduray tribe, the dominant tribe in the mountain town of South Upi.


ARMM guv's office bats for ISO certification

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Who says the Bangsamoro knows nothing about good governance?

This was raised on Tuesday by Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao after signing the Quality Management Systems (QMS) manual for the executive department of ARMM.

The manual was drafted with the help of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) and researchers from different ARMM offices and civil society blocs helping improve the public administration capability of the regional government.

The symbolic approval of the QMS manual for the Office of the Regional Governor (ORG), held at the Bajau Hall of the Bangsamoro Office in Cotabato City, is necessary to achieve an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certificate for Hataman’s office.

The ORG, known as the “Little Malacañang” of the autonomous region, wields ministerial control over some 40 line agencies and support offices devolved by the national government based on ARMM's old charter, the Republic Act 6734, and its amended version, RA 9054, which was enacted into law and ratified via a plebiscite in 2001.

“The Development Academy of the Philippines is honored to be a part of this improvement process. The DAP and the ORG are partners in furthering good governance and we are so excited about this ISO certification,” said Evangeline Macariola director of the academy’s Service Quality Division.

Hataman and his subordinate-officials, Norkhalila Mae Mambuay, ARMM’s cabinet secretary, Regional Executive Secretary Laisa Alamia and ORG’s chief-of-staff Ras Mitmug signed the QMS manual in the presence of representatives from different regional offices and reporters.

“This QMS manual shall be our legacy to the Bangsamoro people,” Hataman said.

He said the global service quality policy the ORG is introducing into its divisions is meant to ensure efficiency in serving the ARMM constituency - the Moro, Christian and lumad communities in the region’s five component provinces.

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

Vice Mayor Roderick Furigay of Lamitan City, provincial capital of Basilan, said he was elated learning that the ORG now has a QMS manual.

Furigay said he is confident the ORG can secure an ISO certificate by September 2015 as targeted.

“We have been witnessing dramatic improvements, remarkable improvements since 2012 in the regional government’s implementation of infrastructure projects and delivery of health, education and social welfare services to far-flung areas,” Furigay said.

Hataman said the seemingly imminent grant of an ISO certificate to the ORG will prove that it has an extensive capability to govern, contrary to assertions by people opposed to the enactment into law of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which is pending in Congress.

The bill aims to replace the ARMM with a more administratively and politically empowered Bangsamoro entity, based on the March 27, 2014 final peace compact between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, dubbed Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro.

Hataman said he and his subordinate regional officials are ready to cooperate in the transition, from ARMM to an MILF-led Bangsamoro government, immediately after the draft BBL is approved and ratified via a plebiscite in its proposed territory.

Muslim religious leaders urge DTI-ARMM to protect consumers during Ramadhan

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 9 (PNA) -- Muslim religious leaders here asked the Department of Trade and Industry in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DTI-ARMM) and other concerned government agencies to protect Muslim consumers from dishonest traders who may take advantage of the fasting month of Ramadhan to raise prices of basic commodities.

The call was raised Tuesday as Muslims all over the world prepare the observance of fasting month, tentatively scheduled on June 17 or 18, depending on the sightings of the moon.

The Muftis (Islamic law interpreter/jurisconsults) and Ulama (Islamic scholars) gathered for the 2nd National Assembly of Mufti and Ulama in Davao City last week and also issued appeals to DTI-ARMM and similar government agencies through a joint resolution to look into the perennial hike of prices of basic commodities during Ramadhan.

The Muslim religious leaders said they observed in previous years that when Ramadhan was approaching, traders, including street vendors took advantage of the fasting season to double or triple the prices of goods.

The assembly participants requested the “Regional Darul Ifta” (RDI-ARMM) in the ARMM to coordinate with concerned government agencies to appeal for the protection of Muslim consumers against spike in prices by traders, including Muslim businessmen, during the religious event.

They noted that under the Consumer Act of the Philippines, it is a stated policy “to protect the interests of the consumers, in particular against deceptive, unfair and unconscionable acts and practices.”

The Muftis and Ulama also noted the existing “Bantay Presyo” mechanism of DTI and urged the concerned agency to strengthen the price watch measure with the participation of the RDI-ARMM and its network of Ulama.

The highly respected personalities in Muslim communities are the Mufti, Ulama and Asatidz (Madrasa teachers) are the sources of Islamic knowledge.

Fasting during the month of Ramadhan is obligatory to able-bodied Muslims, both male and female. The religious practice prohibits eating, drinking and engaging in carnal act from dawn till sunset.

The activity, hosted by the RDI-ARMM, had the theme “And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah and do not become divided,” a verse from the Holy Qur’an.

ARMM to hold 'Ramadhan Trade Fair' during fasting month

(PNA), FPV/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 8 (PNA) -- The Department of Trade and Industry will organize a month-long Ramadan Fair this month as part of the observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The Ramadan Fair is considered the most popular annual multi-product consumer exhibition in the region.

Dr. Susan Anayatin, DTI-ARMM chief of technical exhibitors and visitors, said this year, 40 food exhibitors and 20 non-food exhibitors will showcase ARMM’s best goods and services from five provinces that include Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi.

During the Holy Month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world are required to fast during the day.

This year’s observance is expected to start on June 17. DTI-ARMM will be the Ramadan Fair’s lead agency together with the Department of Tourism of ARMM (DOT-ARMM).

According to Anayatin, the event will attract exhibitors and visitors from ARMM and neighboring areas.

Among the activities lined up for the month-long Ramadan Fair is the Qur-an reading competition headed by the Bureau of Madaris that aims at communicating messages written in the Holy Qur’an.

Each of the line agencies will also sponsor free Iftar (fast-breaking) offering to the selected mosque in the region. DOT-ARMM will sponsor Islamic symposia throughout the Holy Month of Ramadan where various ARMM government agencies will conduct Islamic gatherings.

With this year’s theme “100 Days of Journey in Understanding the Culture and History of Bangsamoro Towards Peace and Development”, the tribal villages inside the 32-hectare compound of ARMM in Cotabato City will also form part of the Ramadan festival said Secretary Marites Maguindra of DOT-ARMM.

Major tribes covered in this event are Maguindanaon, Tausug, Sama, Maranao, Yakan, Iranon, and Teduray. The tribal villages will allow visitors to feel the traditional life of the people of the ARMM.

It was the third time that the ARMM host 'Ramadhan Trade Fair" aimed at promoting indigenous products from the region's five provinces.

the successful trade fair in the past made the agency to conduct the same activity as part of the month-long fasting of Muslim faightul.

It will still be held at the ARMM compound in Cotabato City.

DAR-ARMM set to distribute farm equipment on CARP anniversary

(PNA),SCS/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 7 (PNA) -- On the 27th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) on June 15, Moro, Lumad and Christian farmers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will receive "early Christmas" gifts as the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR-ARMM) will distribute farm equipment.

Amihilda Sangcopan, DAR-ARMM regional secretary, said on Sunday her office will disperse brand-new farm tractors and other farm equipment to different farmers’ organizations in the ARMM.

About 15 tractors procured by the agency’s national office, some are on display at the ARMM compound here, will be distributed during the event.

Aside from tractors, DAR-ARMM will also distribute mechanized corn husking and shelling machines as part of the package aimed at giving the farmers the opportunity to become more productive.

According to Sangcopan, the farm equipment packages are part of DAR’s Common Service Facilities program, meant to hasten the economic growth of agrarian reform communities (ARCs).

Recently, DAR-ARMM initiated a dialogue with ARCs in the region to determine what interventions are needed to help address poverty and underdevelopment in CARP areas.

Just last week, Sangcopan led the distribution of certificates of land ownership to about 100 farmers in Maguindanao, mostly relatives of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members.

The awarding of CLOs was held during the First Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Conference at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City. It was followed by similar activity in Basilan, one of the component provinces of ARMM aside from Maguidnanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

According to Sangcopan, the land parcels awarded to peasants in Maguindanao were part of the 112,290 hectares of arable lands in ARMM that are still subject for distribution under CARP.

She said during the anniversary of CARP, her office will also distribute CLOs aside from farm equipment. More CLOs are also up for distribution during the third and fourth quarter of 2015.

DOH to launch universal health care summit in ARMM

(PNA), JBP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 6 (PNA) -- To further improve the health conditions of the more than 4 million residents of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Department of Health (DOH) will launch on Monday (June 8), the national government’s high impact strategies that “can improve health outcomes," officials said Friday.

Kadil Sinolinding, ARMM regional health secretary, said the department will conduct the Universal Health Care High Impact Five (UHC-HI-5) Summit for ARMM “to produce the greatest improvements in health outcomes and the highest impact on the population within a short period of implementation.”

“UHC-HI-5 is a strategy that focuses on five critical universal health care interventions such as prioritizing the poor, providing tangible outputs, which are felt within a breakthrough period of 15 months through synchronized implementation of activities,” said Sinolinding.

For the rest of 2015, he said, DOH-ARMM will focus on five universal health care programs that are directed towards reduction of maternal deaths, improved infant health and reduced infant deaths, improved children’s health under five years old, combat human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and malaria and other diseases, and implement a service delivery network in all areas of the region.

DOH-ARMM will implement a series of activities to meet and pool stakeholders to reach the targets for the health sector.

Official data showed that in 2008, ARMM documented 245 maternal mortalities in every 100,000 live births. There were also 55 infant mortalities in every 1,000 live births.

These figures were greatly reduced in 2013 with only 51 maternal mortalities per 100,000 live births and 32 infant mortalities per 1,000 live births.

As of 2013, the Philippine Statistics Authority said the country was beyond the targets for under-five years old and infant mortality rates, at 12.7 and 8.7 child deaths per 1,000 live births.

In 2014, ARMM was recognized as the most improved region in reducing maternal and infant mortality under the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

In the first quarter of 2015, DOH-ARMM reported 17 cases of HIV/AIDS in the region; two cases were recorded within the said quarter.

The ARMM Bureau of Public Information has quoted a data from the DOH central office which showed that for this year, 21 such cases are recorded on a daily basis.

From 2009 to the first quarter of 2015, there are already 15,760 cases of malaria in the region -- 39 were reported this year.

Sinolinding said, through the pipeline strategies of the Health department, they will seek to address these issues. He added these activities will help in the objective of “bringing in better health services to every family in the region, down to the barangay level.”

Nemesio Gako, DOH central office undersecretary, is expected to arrive here for Monday’s HI-5 Health Summit at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in this city.

The summit targets to gather governors, mayors, local government units’ committees on health, members of the Regional Legislative Assembly, provincial, city and municipal health officers, chiefs of hospitals, Islamic scholars, regional line agencies and health development partners, among others.

DOST to host Halal Congress as it prepares for the ASEAN integration

(PNA), FPV/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 5 (PNA) --In preparation to the ASEAN integration, the Department of Science and Technology in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DOST-ARMM) will conduct a Halal Congress in August this year to help propel the region’s bid to get a slice of the multi-billion global halal market.

Myra Mangkabung, DOST-ARMM regional secretary said the highlight of the congress will be the launching of the ARMM Halal Ecosystem (AHE), an inter-agency body that will oversee and coordinate the region’s efforts to become the hub of the halal industry in the country.

She said the congress is expected to draw in participants from all stakeholders including various government agencies, local and foreign businesses, and foreign dignitaries particularly from Malaysia.

Halal products from different manufacturers will also be exhibited during the congress.

Halal products are those considered to be permissible in Islam, which are entirely free of pork, alcohol and, in case of poultry and livestock, slaughtered in accordance with what is prescribed in Islam.

Mangkabung said the event will allow stakeholders to discuss the latest updates on halal industry development in the region.

"The ARMM aims to be the center hub of the halal industry, not only in the Muslim Mindanao but the entire country," she said.

ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman has assured his full support for the conduct of the activity and the region's halal industry.

The development of the region’s halal industry is among the top economic agendas of the present ARMM administration.

Apart from enforcing policies encouraging investment in and the development of halal ventures, the ARMM has put up a Regional Standards and Halal Testing Laboratory located at the DOST-ARMM regional office in Cotabato City.

The testing lab is manned by highly-competent Muslim chemists, who undergone rigid trainings on halal laboratory procedures.

It aspires to be the center of credible halal certification in the country.

Cotabato City hosts the most modern, state of the art and only Double A "Halal Slaugherhouse."

ARMM to launch youth caravan to empower younger generation

(PNA), FFC/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 4 (PNA) -- About 1,000 youth leaders from five provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are expected to join in a region-wide caravan this month meant to promote youth empowerment and advance their involvement on various social issues.

Themed "Kabataan, Now Na," the youth caravan is organized by the Health Organization of Mindanao (HOM) in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The ARMM government is supporting the activity through its different regional line agencies.

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

In a statement, HOM said the caravan “aims to reach 10,000 adolescent and youth (both in-school and out-of-school) through fun and creative exercise” that will help participants “have a common understating on social issues, create a common voice in co-owning their role today, and contribute to a bigger vision of creating a better society for all.”

The ARMM Bureau of Public Information said the schedule of youth caravan is as follows: Lamitan, Basilan - June 10; Jolo, Sulu - June 12; Bonggao, Tawi-Tawi - June 14; Marawi, Lanao Del Sur - June 16; and Buluan, Maguindanao - June 18.

The caravan will feature various interactive and educational booths.

Participating government agencies will impart respective advocacy centered on youth development through interactive discussions, distribution of information and education campaign (IEC) materials and scholarship grants.

HOM said the caravan will also mark the culmination of the first phase of the Creating Connection Project supported by UNICEF.

HOM Executive Director Selahuddin Yu Hashim said the caravan will encourage youths to develop a positive change in their outlook and empower them with sound and life-changing principles.

"It is imperative that our youth be equipped with essential, timely and accurate information about their role as responsible citizen of the country or simply as valuable peace builder, leader, and humanitarian, actor in their own ways,” he said.

About 60 percent of the ARMM's 5 million population belong to the youth sector.

ARMY, ARMM rebuild damaged Maguindanao school

(PNA), CTB/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, June 3 (PNA) -- Now that most of the internally displaced persons in Maguindanao have returned home and with the resumption of classes in schools, the military has shifted its attention to education.

On Wednesday, soldiers and local officials have joined hands in helping damaged schools get repaired and rehabilitated in the town of Datu Unsay where the Army and Moro bandits started fighting in February.

That incident displaced more than 120,000 individuals but most have gone back home.

Datu Unsay town is located in the second district of Maguindanao where the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) dominate and even ran a shadow government and mulcting on civilians, the military said.

"Now that they were driven out of civilian communities, your military will help in the education of young Moro as they are seen as the future of the province," Major Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, 6th Infantry Division chief, said.

The school building project in Barangay Meta, Datu Unsay was launched by Major Gen. Pangilinan, Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and town Mayor Monawara Ampatuan.

Also present to help ensure the construction of school building was Lt. Col. Noman Alcovindas and his subordinates in the 6th Civil Military Operations (CMO) Battalion.

The CMO battalion will lead the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Datu Unsay Elementary School (DUCES) in Barangay Meta.

“The local government unit of Datu Unsay will do its best to help hasten the completion of this school building project and protect the soldiers constructing the building,” Mayor Ampatuan said.

Alcovinda's men earlier refurbished the dilapidated classrooms in the same campus that were damaged when attacked by BIFF guerillas. They also torched one building with four classrooms.

The repair works cost the ARMM government about P700,000 taken from the special purpose funds.

Aside from repair of classrooms and school buildings, the Army and local government of Maguindanao also distributed school bags and other school materials for public school pupils.

Armm, Philhealth top beach volley

(Visayan Daily Star)

VISITING Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and Davao City-based Team Philhealth annexed the men's and women's titles of the just-concluded Davao City Summer Fest 2015-Mindanao Open Invitational Beach Volleyball at Liza's and Marithes Seafoods Grill Restaurant at Times Beach, Matina.

The Gabshar Tahiluddin and Halim Khan-powered Armm spanked Davao Optima's Carven Sarte, a National University Games and BIMP Eaga Friendship Games gold medal performer, and Edmar Flores in the best-of-three finals, 15-11, 12-15, 15-12.

Tawi-Tawi tandem of Nur-Amin Madsairi and Roldan Medino Jr. walloped the pair of Johnel Amora and Danilo Arat, Jr. of Davao Norte in their battle for third, 21-14.

Philhealth's Liezl Manatad and May Shiel "Mitch" Agton, meanwhile, topped the women's event after hacking out a 21-18 victory over Maricel and Cherry Cabus of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in the finals.

Tournament director and Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) D'Artagnan "Daks" Yambao said only one set was played during the women's finals game due to time constraints.

RCube composed of Analyn Diaz and Renelyn Raterta placed third following a 21-18 triumph at the expense of Davao Norte's Dannah Quisado and Mary Ascua.

The champions took home P36,000 while the next three placers P27,000, P18,000 and P9,000, respectively.

The event was presented by the City Government of Davao through the Sports Development Division of the City Mayor's Office and organized by the Davao Volleyball Association with PVF-Davao.

ARMM's ports revenue up 12% in first semester

By John Unson (philstar.com)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) generated a P5.5 million income from seaport operations in the past six months, higher than its collections in the same period in 2014.

Hanie Bud, general manager of the ARMM's Regional Ports Management Authority (RPMA), said their collections in the past six months were 12 percent higher than the first and second quarters last year.

The ARMM government had collected a total of P12 million from its port operations from January to December last year, much higher compared to the combined yearly collections in 2010 and 2011.

"Based on the present trend of collections, we are confident that we will exceed our P12 million revenue earnings target for 2015," Bud said.

He said despite their meager operation budget, the RPMA still managed to pursue three projects in the Sulu port last year—the fencing of the wharf's right wing, renovation of a collection booth and the repair of its administrative building gate.

"We also procured office equipment, furniture and other provisions for our port office there," Bud said.

The RPMA operates the seaports in Jolo, Sulu, in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi and in Lamitan City in Basilan.

The agency also helps local government units manage smaller ports in Siasi in Sulu, in Maluso, Basilan and in the island towns of Mapun, Sitangkai and in Sibutu, all in Tawi-Tawi.

Bud said credit would have to go to ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who is active in helping manage the RPMA's operation.

"It is something previous regional governors did not do," he said.

Hataman first assumed as appointed caretaker of ARMM in December 2011 and, subsequently, became ARMM's 8th elected regional governor during the region's May 13, 2013 polls.

Retrieved from "http://zamboanga.com/z/index.php?title=Autonomous_Region_Muslim_Mindanao_News_June_2015&oldid=858258"