DavNor marks anniversary as an insurgency-free province

The provincial government of Davao del Norte marked its first anniversary as an insurgency-free province at the DavNor Gymnasium on Tuesday.

“Karon adlawa isa ka dakong garbo sa probinsiya sa Davoa del Norte nga atong na sustain ang atong gain as insurgency-free province since 2022 nga na declare ta as well as the Davao Region as insurgency-free. Malipayon kaayo ko ug angay lang nga magmalipayon kitang tanan sa probinsiya sa Davao del Norte tungod nga nahimo natong achievement nga ang Davao del Norte luwas na sa kahadlok, luwas sa dakong problema sa kagubot nga maoy hinungdan nga ang development sa atong probinsiya nahatagan ug dakong pagtagad ug karon ang atong ekonomiya sa probinsya adunay taas na pag-uswag,” said Governor

Edwin Jubahib in his message. He underscored that the insurgency problem is one of the things that has hindered the development of the economy in the province as well as in each of the barangays.

He thanked former president Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) 70, which seeks to institute a whole-of-nation approach in ad-

Known as the iconic bird in mythology, the sarimanok is part of the Maranao cultural heritage. Embellished by later elucidations, the iconic symbol is depicted today as a feathered friend “characterized by its colorful feathers, scroll, leaf and other motifs on its head, and the fish that it carries on its talons or in its beak.” A talon usually refers to claws belonging to birds of prey, such as an eagle, hawk, falconet, kite, buzzard, or even an owl.

Bird symbols in Philippine mythology abound and their provenance is strongly linked to ancient Hindu tradition via the Madjapahit and Srivijaya empires that once ruled south Asia.

These domains, however, evolved from a much earlier kingdom, the Cham, a name im-mortalized in the name of Cambodia. The Cham, which dates to the second century AD, is a civilization whose imprints

ANTONIO V. FIGUEROA FAST BACKWARD

Origins Of Bird Iconography

are visible in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, in the Pacific Islands, and South America, chiefly through complex infrastructures such as Borobudur and Angkor Wat.

The Philippine scripts (i.e., baybayin) and the Golden Tara, a Buddhist-inspired icon un-earthed in Butuan are said to be influenced by the Cham culture.

Daniel de Guzman, in “The Role of Birds and Serpents in Philippine Mythology” of The As-wang Project, wrote of bird symbolisms that are smaller versions of eagle-like Hindu-inspired icons.

Among the Mandaya, their bird icons do not have names but possess the power of creation. To the Tagacaulo tribe, the limokon (turtledove) relates to the origin of mankind. Among the Mandaya, the same bird, when its song is heard, announces an incoming ominous event.

Recent studies propose that the Cham civilization migrated to Sulu between the 10th and 13th centuries, citing the Yakans of Sulu as among its direct descendants. Through the Cham-pa people, via Indonesia, Sulu received civilization in its Indic form. (Champa is the old name of Vietnam.)

One of the most meaningful Cham legacies is the Hindu-inspired Garuda, an eagle-like bird. In iconography, it is either in bird form or in part-human shape with “an eagle-like nose, beak or legs, his eyes are open and big, his body is the color of emerald, and his wings are golden-yellow.”

A Garuda is a Hindu demigod depicting the mount (i.e., vahana) of the Hindu god Vishnu and is often described as the king of the birds and a kite-like figure.

Garuda icons in Philippine

FRED C. LUMBA SPECKS OF LIFE

“Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” - MAYA ANGELOU. *******

This is one of the most dreaded events that I hate to happen.

Taiwan is just about two hours plane ride (or a little bit more) north of the Philippines.

There are (as of my personal recollection) close to 800,000 OFWs in Taiwan earning a living and receiving very decent pay which comfortably provides food, shelter and schooling to their families back home.

It is a quiet place to work far away from your love ones, unlike several other places where we know many OFWs - especially domestics - are being maltreated and a number even slain or killed.

Unceasing flow of negative news reports that China is gearing itself to attack Taiwan are emanating from various media sources.

A news dispatch speculated that perhaps Xi Jin Ping may follow the footsteps taken mythology and iconography abound. Among the Maranao people, it refers to a race of winged, eagle-like people residing beneath the sea with big teeth and huge talons that can carry six men. They transform into humans when in their dens.

In Pampanga lore, the Garuda (i.e, garula) is identified as the winged assistant of Mariang Sinukuan, represented by a giant eagle that is supposed to be a purveyor of storms. Similarly, the artifacts collected from the Tabon Caves of Palawan depict the same bird-like image.

Garuda, a Sanskrit term, is also described as “either in a zoomorphic form (a giant bird with partially open wings) or an anthropomorphic form (a man with wings and some ornith-ic features) … a protector with the power to swiftly travel anywhere… and an enemy of eve-ry serpent.”

To the Tagalogs, the mythical fowl is represented by a small, azure color bird known as the tigmamanukan, the Philippine fairy bluebird regarded as the chief sky lord.

The American Museum of National History describes the eagle-like icon as having many faces: “In Hinduism, Garuda is a single character, but in Buddhist stories, there are many Garudas. The Hindu Garuda carries the god Vishnu on his back, while in the Buddhist world Garuda is an agent of the faith, wrestling with Nagas [i.e., serpents] until they become Bud-dhist.”

Garuda, as a cultural and national symbol, is espoused by Cambodia, China, India, Indo-nesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Suriname, Thailand, and the United States. Davao City, for one, adopts the eagle, a spitting image of the Garuda, as one of her symbols.

WILL TAIWAN BE ANOTHER UKRAINE?

by Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin who, despite clear visible warnings from the EU, NATO, the US and other Western nations, invaded Ukraine two years ago in February.

The military operations, as Putin worded it to avoid using war in his language, came two days after the end of the Winter Olympics hosted by Beijing.

In fact, Putin even visited Beijing and lent his presence during the closing rites of the quadrenial competition.

China is consciously weighing in on the American military presence in the Philippines where EDCA sites strategically rose from four to nine that allowed the pre-positioning of highly sophiscated weaponry and military equipment.

Although Philippine and American defense officials insist that these were meant to promptly respond to calamities, China, short of calling it a “b……t,” warned that the US may be fanning the flames of war.

The Chinese have been playing the cat and mouse game.

They have been continu- ously building structures in the contested reefs and islands in the West Philippine Sea.

Despite a big number of diplomatic protest notes from the DFA, the Chinese Coast Guard have been driving away and scaring Pinoy fishermen who dare enter and fish into the nine-dash-line area that the Chinese stubbornly claim as a territory that is part of the China mainland.

India does not also like the Chinese attitude. It has huge trade relations with Taiwan where shipments of exports and import from both countries need to traverse the contested body of water (South China Sea) to reach the respective ports of destination.

Australia also is into a similar situation because it is also a trading partner of Taiwan. It does not like the presence of Chinese Navy and fighter jets doing reconnaisance around the tiny Taiwanese nation.

If any, the Chinese government may be lying in wait till a better window appears.

China trade routes also uses the same route to convey its exports to Europe (from South

China Sea passing through the strait of Malacca to the Indian Ocean).

If China invades Taiwan and unceremoniiously triggers a halt to the trade situation where the latter is engaged heavily and tied with, Beijing would also be endangering their own economic relations and status.

The Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, connects the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

This is a wide expanse of east-west sea communication linkage that China itself considers as its “maritime lifeline.”

The US, India and other Indo-Pacific allies and partners, could use the maritime route as a chokepoint by installing a blockade that will disrupt the flow of Chinese trade, energy resources and raw materials sourcing.

India and China used to have a border conflict but the issue has died down without any significant posturing from each other.

Still, the Chinese keep bad- gering the Philippines.

So, the answer to our headline seem to be a “No.”

At the moment, Taiwan is merely being cowed to toe the line by Xi Jin Ping in a variety of ways.

The Taiwanese Armed Forces may be in the ready but they know honestly well that if push comes to shove, they are a mismatch.

China possesses an unparalleled military superiority but the world looks unkindly of it because of its bullying tactics.

As inflation becomes global and recession is feared, China is better off enhancing their business and trading connections with the west as friendly and as harmnious as ever.

Much of China’s huge investments may not be earning good dividends. One such is in Pakistan where the country of 260M people is in danger of a civil war.

“Leave Taiwan alone” would be a good advice Xi Jin Ping should heed. (Email feedback to fredlumba@yahoo. com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!