Baste urges stakeholders to bring sustainable projects to Mindanao

After 10 years of being mothballed, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is bringing back the Mindanao Development Forum (MDF) on Thursday at the Acacia Hotel Davao, which aims to prompt Mindanao’s peace and development transformation through efficient alignment and coordination of development policies and programs.

Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, who graced the opening of the forum, urged the stakeholders to always bring in sustainable projects in Mindanao.

“It falls upon us, as public servants and stakeholders of Mindanao to ensure that we not only bring in development but development that is sustainable and recognizes the complex, histories, and cultures of the various ethnolinguistic communities of Mindanao. We must seek development that is not at the expense of the environment and the gifts that nature has given to Mindanao,” the mayor said in his message.

The activity gathered industry leaders, policymakers and experts committed to supporting strategic partnerships for peace and development in Mindanao.

There were forum discussions guided by the 10 Mindanao Priority Development Agenda which includes people’s well-being; food, water, and energy; jobs and industry; international partnerships; connectivity; digital innovation; ecological integrity; preparedness and resiliency; peace, governance, and institutions; and enabling conditions.

“The MDF shall provide a venue for government to discuss its development priorities and to lay down areas

FBASTE, P6

Sara, Arroyo get together after VP left Lakas-CMD

Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio and former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo got together hours after the former bolted the Lakas-CMD party, which she once shared with Arroyo and Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Arroyo posted a picture of their lunch on her Facebook page.

“Picture was taken after May 19 lunch hosted by Mr. Manny Pangilinan to celebrate the birthdays of Vice-President Sara Duterte, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, San Pedro Mayor Art Mercado (far right) and Mr. Bong Santamaria (far left). Second from right is former Undersecretary Pearl Viernes,” Arroyo’s Facebook page said.

Arroyo’s birthday was last April 5, while Duterte-Carpio’s birthday is on May 31.

Duterte-Carpio hours earlier announced her resignation from the Lakas-CMD, which came days after the House of Representatives demoted Arroyo from Senior Deputy Speaker to Deputy Speaker.

In her resignation statement, she said, “I am here today because of the trust of the Filipino people in me to lead and serve them and the country, and this cannot be poisoned by political toxicity or undermined by execrable political powerplay. “

The Vice President however did not make any reference to the events in the House.

Arroyo earlier said she heard she was being tagged

FSARA, P7

On the graduation if new Philippine National Police recruits:

“I am not questioning God’s power! It is God who gave us reason and circumspection! It is God we serve by exercising prudence!” – Dan Brown, Angels and Demons ***

Most Filipinos, especially today’s generation, may have never heard of Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. Some tennis players may probably know him.

Ashe was an American professional tennis player who started to play tennis at six years old. He became the first African-American to win the NCAA singles title (for the University of California at Los Angeles in 1975). His professional career featured 33 titles, including the 1968 US Open, the 1970 Australian Open, and the 1975 Wimbledon.

Despite his peak physical condition as a professional athlete, Ashe did not escape the grasp of cardiovascular disease. In fact, he was biologically predisposed to cardiovascular disease as it ran in his family. Both his parents suffered related illnesses.

In 1983, he contracted the human immunodeficiency virus

HENRYLITO D. TACIO THINK ON THESE!

(HIV) through infected blood administered during heart surgery. When people learned about it, a lot of his fans wrote him letters.

When he was confined in the hospital, he received a letter that struck him. It had this question: “Why did God have to choose you for such a horrible illness?”

He once described his life as “a succession of fortunate circumstances.” And so, Ashe replied with a very long explanation. It’s worth sharing here:

“Many years ago, about 50 million children started playing tennis, and one of them was me. Five million really learned to play tennis, 500,000 learned professional tennis, 50,000 arrived at the circuit, 5,000 reached the grand slam, 50 arrived at Wimbledon, 4 reached the semi-final, and two reached the final and one of two was me.

“When I was celebrating the victory with the cup in my hand, it never crossed my mind to ask God, ‘Why me?’ So, now that I’m in pain, how can I ask God, ‘Why me?’”

The said anecdote is being shared in social media. One author even wrote an insightful thought about it. “Happiness keeps you sweet. Trials keep you strong. Pain keeps you human. Failure keeps you humble. Success keeps you glowing. But only faith keeps you going.”

The unknown author further said, “Sometimes, you are not satisfied with your life, while many people in this world dream to have your life. A kid on a farm sees a plane flying over him and dreams of flying. But the pilot on that plane, flies over the farm and dreams of coming home.”

Life is what we make, so goes a saying. Enjoy whatever you are experiencing right now. Life is not always a bed of roses; it goes up and down. Sadness and happiness happen but they don’t stay forever. Both have endings.

“If wealth was the secret to happiness, the rich should be dancing in the streets. But only poor kids do that,” the unknown author penned. “If power ensured security, important people should walk without bodyguards. But only those who live humbly, dream quietly. If beauty and fame attract ideal relationships, celebrities should have the best marriages and it’s not.”

Don’t be envious of what others have accomplished or what they possess. You may have wished for what they have without knowing that they also wish what you have. Listen to this advice from Og Mandino, author of The Greatest Salesman of the World:

“I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine. I will love the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many. I will love the young for the faith they hold; I will love the old for the wisdom they share. I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace.”

There are good days and there are bad days. Both are there for you to learn and adjust. Again, here’s Mandino: “I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.”

Do the best not because you want to impress others but be-

CHRISTOPHER RYAN MABOLOC, Ph.D

Theory And Practice

Kuala Lumpur – Thomas Friedman once suggested that the Arab world should have changed after the Taliban fell when the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001. Instead, the Arabs hated the US more. America has remained the symbol of global domination. With its intent of doing in Afghanistan what it wanted to do in Iraq, the US experimented on a Western-inspired type of government that it tried to support with hundreds of billions of dollars and military weapons, only to fall in less than 10 days to the Taliban after US President Joseph Biden finally pulled out US troops in Afghanistan. Now, the Taliban are back, and with it, its harsh brand of leadership, curtailing women’s rights and putting to risk millions of lives in a country that is in a state of disrepair.

In a not-so-distant past, a terrorist organization called Dawlah Islamiyah, locally known as the Maute Group, raised the ISIS Flag in Marawi City on May 23, 2017. A narrative published by Mindanao State University – Marawi researchers suggested that international terrorists joined that siege, including young women who entered Marawi City as students. The Maute Group had one aim – to establish the first Islamic caliphate in this part of Southeast Asia. Led by two brothers, Omar and Abdullah Maute, the group made an alliance with another terror organization – the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

The Abu Sayyaf, famous for the Sipadan hostage crisis and numerous beheadings, has been prominent in international headlines. The notorious terrorist organization, with links to Al-Qaeda, was organized by Abdurajak Janjalani. Janjalani fought alongside Osama Bin Laden against the Russians during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, cause that’s what God wants you to do. As Martin Luther King, Jr. puts it: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”

Again, have you ever questioned God before? You may find a consolation for these words of wisdom from Matie Stepanek: “I never question God. Sometimes, I say, ‘Why me? Why do I have such a hard life? Why do I have this disease? Why do I have siblings who died? But then I think and say, ‘Why not me?’”

Someone said, “If you are unwilling to question your beliefs, you will never know if you are following the truth or lies.”

Pundits say that in relation to God, we need to ask the following: 1) that His name will be honored, 2) that His kingdom will come, and 3) that His will should be done.

In relation to ourselves, we have to ask: 1) that God will provide what we need, 2) that God will forgive our sins, and 3) that God will deliver us from evil.

The World In The Age Of Terror

which the Soviets lost. It has been reported that Janjalani received six million dollars from Bin Laden to establish the Abu Sayyaf. The militant organization follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. The ASG attracts young Muslim Filipinos, mostly from the provinces of Basilan and Sulu.

Before the US 9/11 attacks, according to Peter Bergen, Bin Laden “was consolidating power as the absolute leader of Al-Qaeda.” Many Muslims did not believe that Bin Laden planned 9/11, writes Friedman, thinking that it was a conspiracy concocted by the CIA and Israel’s Mossad. Confiscated tapes and other documents, of course, after Bin Laden was found and subsequently killed by US Navy Seals in 2011, at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, with then US President Barack Obama watching the whole operation via live feed at the White House.

But who was Bin Laden?

The son of a wealthy Saudi industrialist, Bin Laden inspired his disciples, who often described the experience with the terrorist as a spiritual awakening. Bergen writes that the “first encounters with the Al Qaeda leader by his followers were found to be awe-inspiring.” The same were felt with God-like reverence. Bin Laden gave up a life of privilege in his pursuit of his terrorist agenda. Bergen says that the terrorist was viewed as an extraordinarily charismatic man. Bin Laden, in fact, was the symbol for Jihad or Holy War. Extremist groups conduct their war as the struggle against what they claim is US hegemony in the world. Terrorist leaders persuade their young recruits to wear suicide vests by presenting to them a type of an unjust socio-political order in which US imperial interests undermine the rights of Muslims. But terrorists have no ideology to speak of. They sow fear and only intend to disrupt peaceful civilian life. Nick Fotion thinks that “there are, of course, degrees of innocence and guilt; but terrorists who choose all their victims in a random or near-random fashion cannot help but victimize people who are innocent of any political wrongdoing.”

In modern times, violence is seen as an effective way to coerce and intimidate not only people, but governments and societies as well, in order to advance political interests and religious goals. Terrorism, however, is not a modern-day phenomenon. Alison Jaggar explains: “The word terrorism was introduced in late eighteenth-century France when Robespierre initiated his Reign of Terror that was meant to deter all of his counter-revolutionary critics.” Jaggar adds between 1793 and 1794, “thousands of French citizens were executed, mainly by the newly invented guillotine.”