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General Santos City News October 2011 (view source)

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==SOUTHERN COMFORT: The Mindanao power situation: Finding fault or finding solutions?==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2011/10/26/southern-comfort-the-mindanao-power-situation-finding-fault-or-finding-solutions/
*Wednesday| October 26, 2011
:by  Edwin G. Espejo
First of two parts
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/25 October) — With brownouts again becoming a regular occurrence in Mindanao, expect the debate on energy sources to intensify.
But it is wrong for advocates of renewable energies to accuse about everybody of contriving a power crisis to justify the construction of fossil-fired power plants.
Those who insist that there is no shortage of power supply or even refuse to acknowledge that two or three years from now Mindanao will suffer tremendously due to power outages are doing the people in the island even greater disservice.  Ignoring the present precarious balance of the island’s power supply could lead into laying out wrong solutions and relegate the Mindanao power situation into endless debates about long-term and strategic alternatives that do not give immediate relief to the people.
There is no doubt the path to clean and steady power supply is renewable energy.
Anybody who says otherwise can only be motivated by greed first, public service only second.
But as someone who always looks at things in their proper perspectives, it will always be looking at Mindanao’s energy crisis not solely caused by lack of generating capacities or renewable energy sources.
In fact, Mindanao has exceeded the 50-percent renewable energy source index with over 1,000 megawatts of installed capacities from the Agus and Pulangi River hydropower plant complexes and the 105-megawatt Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant.
Yet, Mindanao still suffers and will continue to suffer from recurring brownouts because no new capacities have been commissioned for the Mindanao grid since 2006, when the 210-MW coal-fired power plant of STEAG in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental went into commercial stream.
The Agus River hydropower plant complex could no longer deliver the 700-MW or so installed capacity in full because of antiquated facilities and aging turbines.  The Pulangi hydropower plant is operating at least 20-percent less of its installed capacity (255MW) due to heavy silt.  These two hydropower plants are only operating at a combined capacity of 600 megawatts out of possible 900MW.
The National Power Corporation (NPC) also lost 215MW of power source when it sold PB 117 and PB118 to the Aboitiz-owned Therma Marine Inc.  That is 215 megawatts off the Mindanao grid.
The Iligan Diesel Power Plant is operating at half its 100MW installed capacity due to neglect and poor maintenance schedule.  It is now owned by the Iligan City government.
In effect, only roughly 600 megawatts of hydro energy are available from NPC to service its Mindanao grid from where most electric cooperatives and distribution utilities are sourcing their power supply requirement.  The rest of the 1,300MW actual power supply demand for the island are sourced from independent power producers (IPPs) such as the diesel-power Southern Philippines Power Plant (55MW), the Western Mindanao Power Plant (100MW), and STEAG.
Distribution utilities are now forced to buy whatever shortfall of supply from NPC and IPPs.  In the case of the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative, it entered into supply contract with Therma Marine for additional 18 megawatts for the next three years after NPC reduced its supply to the distribution cooperative by 30 megawatts.  Davao Light and Power Corporation also bought all 40 megawatts of hydro energy generated by its sister company Hedcor in Sibulan, Davao del Sur.
Mindanao used to enjoy decades of cheap and reliable power supply from hydro sources when the Agus River Complex was built and commissioned in the 1960s and onwards.
The island’s development, however, is one that was never static.  By the late 1980s, the Agus River could no longer serve the power needs of the islands.
In the early 1990s, Mindanao plunged into darkness as demand far outstripped the supply.
Then President Fidel Ramos allowed independent power producers to buy power barges and construct diesel power plants to augment and fill the gap in power demand NPC could no longer supply.
Eventually, the Arroyo administration passed Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to rationalize the power industry.  The law effectively dismantled the monopoly of NPC and stripped the latter of its power to generate power capacities.
This opened up the energy industry to the private sector.
NPC’s transmission operation was also privatized (now the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines).
The IPPs brought temporary relief for consumers in Mindanao.
But it did not last long. (Edwin G. Espejo writes for www.asiancorrespondent.com)
==SOUTHERN COMFORT: Peace more than ever==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2011/10/24/southern-comfort-peace-more-than-ever/
* Monday| October 24, 2011
:by  Edwin G. Espejo
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/24 October) — Two more troubling incidents in Mindanao last week made the quest for just and lasting peace in the island all the more important.
We need to put a stop to all the violence around us.  We need to save the lives of combatants as well as others who are getting caught in this vicious cycle of mayhem and murder.
We need not tell the story of the orphans, widows and grieving mothers who lost their loved ones in Basilan last week all in the name of war for peace.  We need not fell another tree to carve out yet another coffin for one more missionary who will spend the next three decades of his life helping indigenous peoples in remote villages only to be gunned down by forces of war.
Anybody who has seen the ugly face of the conflict in Mindanao knows what grief is all about.
And everybody who has seen the war tear apart kinship and friendship knows this isn’t going anywhere if one’s meaning of peace is wiping out the protagonists of the conflict.
Shame on them who are again suggesting we embark on a mission to wipe out the Moro rebels who staged an ambush that led to the death of 19 soldiers, four of them young officers, in Basilan last week.
Woe to them who jumped with joy at the sight of former President Joseph Estrada urging all out war against the rebels who ambushed the soldiers in the manner he did when he was the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
And shame on those who ordered the killing of Italian missionary Fr. Faustino Tentorio all in the name of peace.
Now more than ever, we need to bring together the contending forces of the conflicts in Mindanao to the peace table.
Now more than ever, there is an urgent need to find a just and lasting solution to these conflicts.
Now, more than ever, we need to talk peace instead of wage more wars of attrition.
We have seen four decades of these conflicts and we have used all means to conquer our perceived enemies.
But after countless deaths throughout these years, we have not come closer to peace because many among us find meaning in peace as the annihilation of forces that are driven to wage wars.
We have to eliminate the reason why they take arms.  The raison d’ etre why they are waging wars.
True, the only peace that endures is the one you are ready to defend and make war for.
But how can you win a war with war when it is founded on injustice.
You cannot have lasting peace by waging an unjust war.
To paraphrase, the only lasting peace worth defending is one that is anchored on and brought by just wars. (Edwin G. Espejo writes for www.asiancorrespondent.com)
==Power users, city council urge review of coal plant deal==
*Source: http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/regions/9807-power-users-city-council-urge-review-of-coal-plant-deal
*Sunday, October 23, 2011
:by  Jerry N. Adlaw
GENERAL SANTOS CITY: Local power consumers and the General Santos City council has pressed for a review of the agreement between the South Cotabato Electric Cooperative II (Socoteco II) and Conal Holdings Corp. on the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Maasim town, Saranggani province.
Various groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Freedom from Debt Coaliation and Panaghugpong Mindanaw held protests recently against the deal, which they feared might lead to higher power rates.
Socoteco II supplies electricity to Saranggani and South Cotabato provinces, as well as General Santos City.
The militant groups said that the contract was signed without public consultation.
The city government urged the cooperative to postpone the project, since it was yet to undergo public consultiation.
City councilor Elizabeth Bagonoc, meanwhile, invited Socoteco officials to air their side on the matter.
“We will send a letter [to] the office of the Energy Regulatory Commission and the office of the Department of Energy, as well as the National Electrification Administration, [to prove that we did not] conform [to] the acts of the Socoteco II management for signing the contract with Conal Holdings Corp. as the content of the contract needs further study before it will be finally signed, and if ever the power member-consumers would agree or not, this will need a thorough public consultation,” she said.
==Pacquiao’s Army reservist status follows law, says aide==
*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/81227/pacquiao%E2%80%99s-army-reservist-status-follows-law-says-aide
*5:47 pm | Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
:by  Aquiles Z. Zonio
Inquirer Mindanao
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines —An aide of Manny Pacquiao took a swipe, on Saturday, at those who criticized the boxing icon’s appointment as lieutenant colonel in the Army’s Reserve Force.
“Love of country is shown by the willingness to serve and protect the people, not by possession of intellectual arrogance,” lawyer Franklin Gacal Jr., Pacquiao’s congressional chief of staff, said.
Gacal said the critics have forgotten the fact that the appointment was not actually a promotion for Pacquiao, who was previously a sergeant, but was prompted by the provisions of Republic Act 7077, which stated that elected and appointed officials could be commissioned into the Reserved Force based on existing military rules and regulations.
Also, under the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ circular issued on July 5, 2010, a congressman could be granted a rank of lieutenant colonel in the Reserved Force, he said.
“It is not promotion, technically,” Gacal said in a text message to the Inquirer.
Clarita Carlos, former president of the National Defense College of the Philippines, said Pacquiao should not have been appointed lieutenant colonel because he was not a college graduate.
She said the pugilist was not qualified to be appointed as such because of lack of a degree.
Other critics said they were wondering what would happen if Pacquiao was given the task of a battalion commander. Others were more blunt – it would be a disaster to trust soldiers’ lives in the hands of Pacquiao.
“They look down on him because he came from a poor family and he has not finished a college degree,” Gacal said.
He said while Pacquiao would stay and fight for the country in times of war, his critics might not.
“I doubt if they would stay here. They might fly out of the country. But (Pacquiao), I’m sure, will stay here and fight for his country,” Gacal said.
==Sarangani village water not safe for drinking due to coliform==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2011/10/21/sarangani-village-water-not-safe-for-drinking-due-to-coliform/
*Friday| October 21, 2011
:by  Allen V. Estabillo |
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/20 Oct) – Health officials in Sarangani have warned residents in a diarrhea-stricken village in Maasim town against drinking from all water sources in the area due to coliform bacteria contamination.
“All sources of water within Barangay Tinoto are not fit for drinking purposes,” Dr. Antonio Yasana, provincial health officer, said in a statement released late Wednesday afternoon.
Three children have died and at least 250 other residents in coastal Tinoto were affected by diarrhea since last week.
Yasana said an internal crisis committee (ICC) was created to plan and implement immediate actions even as the diarrhea outbreak has already subsided.
Yasana informed the municipal and barangay officials that the existing water source in Tinoto can be used for washing and laundry only and not even for washing dishes or kitchen utensils.
“What is definite is that all the water sources are infected, contaminated with coliform bacteria,” Yasana disclosed, citing the initial result of microbiological test of Tinoto’s water sources.
“The situation is manageable, meaning we are addressing the needs of the community. We do not want that there will be more (diarrhea) cases that will be happening,” he said
Fishing is the main livelihood of the people in Barangay Tinoto, which has a population of 4,534. Their water source is from two peddling tankers coming from Bawing, General Santos City and Siguel, and two local water systems.
Mayor Jose Zamorro said a municipal vehicle has been delivering containers of drinking water from the poblacion to the diarrhea-stricken village.
Last Monday, Dr. Jaileen Milar, municipal health officer, reported that diarrhea cases started to occur on October 11 with one death reported on the same date. Another two deaths were reported on October 15 and 16 and the cases of diarrhea escalated to 46.
The following day, the total number of cases reached 254 but mostly outpatient due to “mild presentation” of the illness.
Health workers continue their monitoring in the village even if the situation is already manageable, Yasana said.
He recommended the construction of a communal toilet, noting that there were “no sanitary toilets among the majority of the residents with no proper waste disposal.”
“Most of the patients interviewed do not practice simple and proper hygiene practices such as hand washing, Many were observed to have dirty long nails,” Yasana said.
The village has been placed under a state of calamity for the barangay government to use its five-percent calamity fund. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
==Two cops, ex-barangay captain killed in separate incidents==
*Source: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20111020nat5.html
*10/20/2011
:by  N E W S B R I E F S
Two cops and a former barangay captain were shot dead in separate incidents in General Santos City, Laoag Ilocos Norte and Nagcarlan, Laguna yesterday, police report said.
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., identified the fatalities as PO1 Danson Banas, assigned to General Santos City PNP; SPO4 Edwin Aquino, assigned to the traffic division in Laoag City and Rito Javier, 53 of Nagcarlan Laguna.
Police report said POI Banas was gunned down by his common-law wife, POI Rowena Banas who is detailed at the office of the deputy city police chief for operations yesterday.
POI Danson Banas was assigned to the General Santos City Police Precinct No. 8. He was rushed to the hospital was but declared dead on arrival by attending physician.
The local police are still conducting probe to determine what triggered the killing.
The wife is now under police custody.
Meanwhile, local police operatives are still identifying the lone gunman who shot dead SPO4 Aquino at the Department of Public Safety in Laoag, City Ilocos Norte around 4:25 a.m. yesterday.
In Nagcarlan, Laguna a former barangay captain identified as Rito Javier was stabbed dead while sitting in front of the cooperative office in Barangay Talahib, Nagcarlan, Laguna around 11:30 a.m.
Chief Supt. Gilbert Cruz, Laguna provincial police director, said the victim died on the spot due to stab wounds on his neck.
The suspect has remained at large at press time.
==Cop shot dead by wife in General Santos==
*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/78727/cop-shot-dead-by-wife-in-general-santos
*8:16 am | Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
:by  Aquiles Zonio
Inquirer Mindanao
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — A policeman was shot dead allegedly by his wife, also a member of the city police, during an argument early Wednesday, a report from the city police said.
Police 0fficer 1 Danson Banas, who was assigned to the city’s Police Precinct No. 8, was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival, police said.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting of Banas allegedly by his wife, PO1 Rowena Banas, detailed at the office of the deputy city police chief for operations, remains unclear.
An investigation is ongoing as of posting time.
==3 kids dead, 200 ill due to diarrhea in Sarangani village==
*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/78289/3-kids-dead-200-ill-due-to-diarrhea-in-sarangani-village
*3:32 pm | Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
:by  Aquiles Z. Zonio
Inquirer Mindanao
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—Three children died while about 200 people fell ill due to diarrhea in the village of Tinoto in Maasim, Sarangani, the town’s  health office said Tuesday.
Jaileen Majar, Maasim health officer, said an outbreak of diarrhea had been declared in the village because of the rising number of cases since the disease was first reported a week ago.
The victims that succumbed to diarrhea were five years old and below, Majar said.
The municipal hospital in Maasim is now crowded with patients seeking medical treatment for the illness, she said.
Because of the sheer number of diarrhea patients, Majar said the hospital could not accommodate all the patients so that makeshift beds had to be put up outside the facility.
She said the municipal health office had taken water samples from the village to determine what has been causing the illness.
Rajik Kudarat, Tinoto village chair said that because of the outbreak, the village had been declared under a state of calamity.
He said this paved the way for the village government to use its 5-percent calamity fund to assist diarrhea victims in their medication.
To prevent more people from being ill, Kudarat said the villagers had been advised to boil water for 10 minutes before drinking it to make sure that water-borne bacteria are killed.
A cleanliness drive was also ongoing, he said.
==Taganito mining firm seeks AFP support==
==Taganito mining firm seeks AFP support==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2011/10/16/taganito-mining-firm-seeks-afp-support/
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2011/10/16/taganito-mining-firm-seeks-afp-support/
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Malay, believed to be the wife of NDF Mindanao spokesperson Jorge Madlos likewise admitted they sent letters to the company in March this year, demanding revolutionary taxes from the mining companies.
Malay, believed to be the wife of NDF Mindanao spokesperson Jorge Madlos likewise admitted they sent letters to the company in March this year, demanding revolutionary taxes from the mining companies.
A military source who requested anonymity said TMC and its sister companies need at least two companies of special security force to prevent another NPA attack. (Edwin G. Espejo/MindaNews contributor, writes for the asiancorresondent.com)
A military source who requested anonymity said TMC and its sister companies need at least two companies of special security force to prevent another NPA attack. (Edwin G. Espejo/MindaNews contributor, writes for the asiancorresondent.com)


==Military secures mine sites in South Cotabato==
==Military secures mine sites in South Cotabato==
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