One killed in Talakag clash

Asuspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed in an encounter Sunday in Barangay Tikalaan in Talakag, Bukidnon, the military said.

According to reports reaching the 103rd Infantry Brigade, troops operating in the area engaged in a 45-minute firefight against an estimated 30 armed men the military claimed to be members of the NPA.

Recovered from the clash site were two high-powered firearms and ammunition, radios and personal belongings.

Sunday’s clash came six days after another clash in the forested area of Barangay Rogero, Bubong in Lanao del Sur where one soldier was killed and another was wounded. Brigadier General Yegor Rey P. Barroquillo Jr, Brigade Commander, appealed to the suspected rebels to “lay down their arms and embrace peace as we will aggressively continue our mission to end terrorism here in our area of operations.”

(Marivic Omandan Davis / MindaNews)

The Davao Unity Awards is a thesis convention initiated by the city government in 2019 as part of the celebrations to the 86th Araw ng Dabaw. The event aims to find the most insightful thesis papers that may help in the improvement of the programs and services of the local government, all while promoting the discipline of academic research in the city

This year’s Davao Unity Awards has the theme: “Academic Research Towards Innovative Governance”.

To qualify, entries must be relevant to at least one of the 12-point priority agenda of the city mayor.

Four theses authored by Ateneo de Davao University undergradutes-- Zaldy Pagaduan (Development of a Cacao Disease Identification and Management App using Deep Learning), Jan Adrian Duban (Proposed Development of the Overland Transport Terminal), Kezia Marie Invidiado (Chemical Recycling of PET Water Bottles to BIS Terephthalate Oligomers by Glycolysis), and Gwyneth Vasquez (Imaginaries of the Digital Divide in Mindanao)-- won the awards for

Keith Caballero and his colleagues (Skincure: An Android Based Skin Disease Image Clasifier Using CNN) from Jose Maria College Foundation were awarded the Davao Unity Awards for the Health Development category, while Chenie Joy Tan and her collegues (COVID-19: Preliminary Analysis in Davao City) from University of Mindanao won the award for Peace and Order Development.

The chosen studies were judged for their relevance, suitability, and potential for commercialization and application to policy.

“The City should recognize its best thinkers,” Mayor Sebastian Duterte said in his speech.

“The goal is to keep them in Davao City. There are a lot of private entities that are after them, but in this way, they might consider getting into public service,” he added.

The mayor said government needs young people with fresh perspective to introduce new ideas to public service, which is why the award is geared at recognizing the achievements of young academics in the city and to showcase the potential impact of their studies to policy and governance. CIO