SULU IN THE NEWS
Rebel kill 4 soldiers in Davao
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US cited for police violence, racism in scathing UN review on human rights – Al Jazeera
What does it take to make Duterte run? By Jerry Dureza
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Payo ni Dr. Willie T. Ong
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ill the B angsamor o B asic Law or BBL Bangsamor angsamoro Basic succeed and the go ver nment peace pr ogov ernment process pr ev ail o ver those who opposed the prev evail ov new M uslim autonomy in M indanao? Muslim Mindanao? This y many people by This is just one question being asked b in M indanao wher eM uslims ar e longing to rrule ule o ver Mindanao where Muslims are ov their terr itor ies in the miner al-r ich, but rrestr estr iv e rreeterritor itories mineral-r al-rich, estriv ive gion in souther nP hilippines ust last w eek, tthouhousouthern Philippines hilippines.. JJust week, sands of M uslims in S ulu pr ovince hav e sho wed up for Muslims Sulu pro have show another public hear ing b y the S enate on the pr oposed hearing by Senate proposed BBL BBL..
Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., attended the consultation held at the provincial gymnasium in Patikul town. Sulu Governor Totoh Tan and Vice Governor Sakur Tan led local government officials in the joint public hearing. Vice Governor Tan
said many locals were not even aware or have read the provisions of the BBL. Marcos, who heads the Senate committee on local government, said the proposed law, as transmitted by President Benigno Aquino to Congress, will pass in its
Police Taekwondo team bags championship trophy in national tourney
Members of the PNP Taekwondo Team with Senior Superintendent Roberto Fajardo and their instructor Chief Inspector Lorenzo Cobre. MANILA – The 64-member of the Taekwondo team of the Philippine National Police has won 45 medals – 11 Gold, 14 Silver and 20 Bronze in different categories- in the recently concluded National New Face of the Year Taekwondo Championship where it bagged the top place. The team bested
ARMM
some 1,100 other “jins” to win the championship trophy, according to Senior Superintendent Roberto Fajardo, the Program Director of PNP Taekwondo, and also the head of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group. “Hopefully we can produce more black belters and instructors, and provide more training to our uniformed and non-uni-
formed personnel. Sa pamamagitan nito, mailalapit natin ang PNP sa interest ng ating mga kababayang nasa larangan ng palakasan,”Fajardo said. He said the Taekwondo team – composed of 48 policemen and 16 policewomen – is already planning to expand training to all police units and offices to promote camaraderie,
Southern Mindanao
Davao
discipline and other positive values which is considered as essential elements for effective law enforcement. Fajardo said the PNP Taekwondo Program is supported by the Philippine Taekwondo Association that aims to promote world class combat sport training for police personnel. (Mindanao Examiner)
original draft because of many contentious issues. Lawmakers have repeatedly said that some provisions in the BBL are unconstitutional and among these include the option to increase the Muslim terr itor ies through 10% votes by local residents and police pow ers. Members of both House of Representatives and Senate also want to amend the BBL. Previous BBL consultations were also held in Sulu, but the Bangsamoro Transition Commission headed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) vice chairman and chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, ignored all recommendations made by the provincial leaders and representatives of various civil groups and organizations in the province, and the same also in Basilan and Tawi-Tawi provinces where similar public consultations were also held last year. Many Muslims in Sulu and Basilan and Tawi-Tawi do not want to be included in the proposed Bangsamoro autonomous region in central Mindanao, and instead wanted to be
Western Mindanao
Cebu
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back as part of Western Mindanao or Region 9, for va rious reasons. Majority of the people in Sulu are Tausug while Yakan in Basilan and Sama Bangingi in Tawi-Tawi; and Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which is also part of the autonomous region have also its own tribes. And indigenous people from other ethnic tribes in Mindanao also wanted to be represented in the proposed new autonomous region and not Muslims alone. Various indigenous groups that belong to the Lumad Mindanaw Peoples Federation also appealed to Marcos for the full inclusion of the Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Senate Bill 2408 or Bangsamoro Basic Law. “Above all it is the recognition, protection and promotion of our rights to territories or ancestral domains, including the resources because that belongs to the generations yet to born,” it said in a letter – signed by 16 tr ibal leaders – sent to Marcos. Continue to page 2
Manila
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The Mindanao Examiner
May 18-24, 2015
Yes, No to BBL...
Sulu Governor Totoh Tan speaks to Sen. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., during a public hearing on Wednesday on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law in Patikul town.
Police hunt cop killer Police were still searching for the gunman that killed a cop in an attack in Zamboanga City last week. Officials said PO1Jerome Alpa, 31, was shot many times in the village of Santa Catalina. Alpa, a member of the 9th Regional Maritime Group, was on a motor-
cycle when gunman shot him near his house. Chief Inspector Dahlan Samuddin, a regional police spokesman, said forensic investigators have recovered two bullet slugs and 7 cartridges of .45-caliber pistol in the area when Alpa was killed. “The Zamboanga City Police Station is conduct-
ing a follow-up operation to determine the motive, identity and arrest of the suspect,” he said. No individual has claimed responsibility for the shooting, but gun attacks are not uncommon in Zamboanga City where hired killers are actively operating. (Mindanao Examiner)
The body of policeman Jerome Alpa. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
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Continued fr om page 2 from “Bangsamoros are neither more than us nor we, Lumads lesser than them.We value mutual respect and coexistence because we share this Island (of Mindanao) as home of our peoples long, long before the advent of the (Spanish) conquistadores that our ancestors were able to resist, endure, survive and remain in their life ways. And so today, we are standing on our ancestors’ shoulders to continue that struggle for land and life. Our progress and advancement are consistent to culture and tradition handed to us by our ancestors. Mutual respect and understanding will result to peace and co-existence not domination and oppression,” it added. In Zamboanga, Mayor Beng Climaco reiterated her tough stance for the inclusion of this city to the proposed autonomous region. “Let us be firm in our stand on the city’s non-inclusion to the BBL,” she said. Climaco has repeatedly declared that Zamboanga should never form part nor be included in the Bangsamoro region because it is the “collective stand of Zamboanga on the issue of the BBL.” “We expect Congress to pass a law which is consistent and harmonious with and not contrary to the 1987 Constitution and a law that truly addresses grievances that bring about secession and armed conflicts in Southern Philippines and not merely for appeasement. A law that treats every MIndanaoan on even keel, a law that respects the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Republic of
the Philippines,” she said. In March, three influential Muslim governors and other leaders in the autonomous region have publicly come out to support Aquino following the deadly clashes between MILF and police commandos in Maguindanao during an anti-terror operation that killed Malaysian bomber Marwan. Vice Governor Tan, who was among those who openly declared support to Aquino, said he and other provincial officials and mayors were supporting the president. Tan along with former Tawi-Tawi Governor Sadikul – who represented Governor Nurbert Sahaliand Basilan Governor Jum Akbar, including Tawi-Tawi Rep. Ruby Tan, pledged their all-out support during a public forum attended by leaders of various groups from the three provinces, and student and youth leaders in Zamboanga and Sulu. “We want to reaffirm our unconditional support to the President,” Tan said. Tan emphasized Aquino’s sincere leadership and his aspiration for peace and progress in Mindanao. and at the same time strongly criticized those who are calling for the president’s resignation or ouster. He said Aquino has never spoken about war, but peace for the country, especially in the Muslim autonomous region and other parts of Mindanao where the president poured billions and billions of pesos in development projects in support to peace and development efforts. “There are certain
people who believe in going to war to be able achieve peace. But we are now talking peace because they went to war. There are so many groups, the BIFF, the MNLF, the MILF – they all went to war and now they are talking about peace, but in the case of President Aquino, he has not been talking about war, he’s never talked about war (but peace),” Tan said. He said although the Mamasapano clash was a tragic incident, Aquino had not resort to violence. Akbar and the Sahalis also echoed Tan’s statement, saying, they all support Aquino. Many groups demanded Aquino’s resignation over his failure to prevent the brutal killings of nearly four dozen police commandos on January 25 deep inside MILF territory in Mamasapano town. The elite Special Action Force commandos were ambushed by MILF forces and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters on their way out of the remote village. The MILF signed a peace accord last year, but the peace process is yet to be completed with passage of Bangsamoro Basic Law now pending in Congress following the carnage. Tan’s group was the first in Mindanao to come out in the open and express their full support to Aquino. They are also expected to issue their own provincial manifesto in support to Aquino. Lawmakers shelved the BBL until investigations into the deadly clashes between SAF and MILF was completed. The BBL is important in crafting a new autonomous region in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
May 18-24, 2015
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SULU IN THE NEWS
Gov. Totoh Tan during the inauguration of a peace and development project in Talipao town. (Photos from Province of Sulu)
Maimbung municipal officials led by Mayor Samier Tan and Sulu Provincial Women’s Council head Hajja Nurunisah Tan during the recently concluded public hearing on the proposed Bansamoro Basic Law presided by Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (Photos from Maimbung Municipal Government)
Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is met at the Jolo airport by Sulu Governor Totoh Tan and Vice Governor Sakur Tan for the public hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law. (Photos from the Sulu Provincial Government)
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The Mindanao Examiner
May 18-24, 2015
Rebel kill 4 soldiers in Davao DAVAO CITY – At least a dozen soldiers were killed and injured in simultaneous attacks by communist insurgents in Davao City in southern Philippines, a New People’s Army rebel spokesman said. Parago Sandoval said rebels launched the attacks recently in Calinan District in retaliation to continued human rights violations by the army against innocent civilians and tribesmen. He said 4 soldiers were killed and that 8 more had been wounded in the fighting in Dalagdag village. He said rebel forces overpowered troops from the 69th, 84th and 71st Infantry Battalions and claimed to have confiscated assorted weapons – one M203 grenade launcher, two automatic rifles, 400 pieces of bullets for M60 machine gun, 200 more for K3 machine gun, 8 army packs, 5 combat boots, 34 magazines, 10 military vests, including a military tactical map and cell phones. The fighting, he said, lasted over 2 hours and
that there were no casualties from the side of the NPA, which has been waging a separatist war for many decades now. “The tactical offensive proved that a just war will always prevail in the face of the enemy’s cunning and trickery. It was part of the 1st PBC’s campaign against the 15 columns of AFP units operating in Calinan, Buhangin and Paquibato districts, Davao City.” “It was a fitting punishment against the brutal operations of the Oplan Bayanihan counter-revolutionary forces who have instigated aerial bombing last March 23 and 26 and in a separate occasion last April in Paquibato,” Sandoval said. He accused the Eastern Mindanao Command and 10th Infantry Division for violating the rights of villagers in Davao. “True to their cruel form, the AFP troops trained their guns against the masses in cowardly vengeance. They mauled the residents and filed
trumped-up charges against progressive leaders and members of Paquibato peasant organizations who were not deceived by their nefarious psychological warfare schemes,” Sandoval said. “No matter how the 10th Infantry Division and Eastern Mindanao Command try to conceal it by declaring Paquibato as peace and developmentready, Red fighters raise the banner of enduring sacrifice by launching tactical offensives and daring counter-attacks against the enemy. The people’s army, thus, urge foot soldiers and AFP junior officers to abandon its headquarters and detachment, denounce the US-Aquino regime, and side with truth and justice for the interest of peasants, workers and other basic sectors,” he added. The military has not issued any statement about the allegations, but some of Davao’s hinterland villages are known strongholds of the NPA. (Mindanao Examiner)
Ahmed Turabin Hataman at the 8th annual International Sustainable World Energy Engineering and Environment Project Olympiad (I-SWEEEP) in Houston, Texas. PHOTO BY REP. SITTI TURABIN HATAMAN via TV5
ARMM governor’s son wins bronze medal in international science fair in Texas COTABATO CITY – Ahmed Turabin Hataman took the bronze medal in the 8th annual International Sustainable World Energy Engineering and Environment Project Olympiad (ISWEEP) in Houston, Texas. Hataman was third among 426 finalists from 71 countries for his biode-
gradable plastic invention. Unlike other plastics, Hataman’s coconut-made plastic biodegrades in 20 days. This invention also won for Hataman the gold medal in last year’s International Young Inventors Olympiad in the USA. Ahmed Hataman, who is better known as Amin, is
son of ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman and Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin Hataman. The congresswoman said this is one of the best Mother’s Day gifts she has received from her eldest. I-SWEEP is an international science fair program. (Dennis Arcon, InterAksyon.com)
Troops seized smuggled rice in Zamboanga City GOVERNMENT troops have seized some 500 bags of smuggled rice being transported in two trucks in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, officials said. Officials said the trucks were stopped by soldiers in the village of Upper Calarian near the military’s
Western Mindanao Command headquarters. The confiscated rice shipment was handed over to the Bureau of Customs. Officials did not say who owns the shipment, but it was the second rice seizure since last month after troops also confiscated 1000 bags in Arena
Blanco village here. Most of the rice shipment came from nearby Sabah in Malaysia and is being sold between P600 to 750 per bag of 25 kilos and is cheaper than commercial rice which is between P965 to P1300 per bag. (Mindanao Examiner)
POEA strips recruitment agency of its license MANILA – The Philippine Overseas and Employment Administration has cancelled the license of a job recruitment agency for allegedly deceiving and exacting placement fees from a domestic worker. Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said the Valentino Promotion Recruitment International Agency, Inc. was stripped of its license for misrepresentation and collection of placement fees from household service workers deployed to Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Cacdac said that in the case of illegal fees exaction, the complainant against Valentino Promotion alleged that a staff member of the agency promised her employment as a household service worker in Singapore with a salary of 600 Singapore dollars. She signed the contract, and was charged an amount equivalent to 8 months of her salary as placement fee, to be paid through salary deduction. She worked in Singapore for 15 months, but with a salary of no more than US$400 a month. “With an exchange rate of P43 to a US dollar at the
time of her deployment, the worker would have paid P17,200 per month or P138,000 in 8 months, which violates both Philippine and Singaporean laws on recruitment and employment,” Cacdac said. Household service or domestic workers should not be charged any placement fees. POEA Governing Board Resolution No. 6, Series of 2006 prohibits recruitment agencies from collecting such placement fees. “The mere fact of charging or asking for placement fees warrants the penalty of license cancellation on the part of the recruitment agency,” Cacdac said. In the case on deception or misrepresentation which the POEA initiated against Valentino Promotion, Cacdac said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Abu Dhabi, UAE endorsed the case of a domestic worker who took shelter at the OFW Center, 10 days after arriving in the said country. In her sworn statement, the worker claimed that she signed an employment contract indicating a monthly salary of US$400. Upon arrival in Abu Dhabi, however, her employer dis-
closed that she would only be receiving 800 dirhams as salary per month. The employer sent her back to Emirates Falcon Manpower Services, Valentino’s counterpart agency in Abu Dhabi, when she refused to accept the job. The agency owner wanted her to reimburse the expenses incurred in her recruitment, and threatened to detain her if she would not pay. Cacdac said misrepresentation was established when Valentino Promotion submitted for POEA processing the employment contract of the complainant indicating a salary of US$400, only to be reduced to US$200 or 800 dirhams at the jobsite. “Obviously, the recruitment agency committed such misrepresentation to facilitate the processing of the documents of the worker at the POEA with dispatch. She would not have been allowed to be deployed unless the stipulations in the contract of the worker complied with the provisions of the POEA rules on the deployment of household service workers,” he said, adding, it was Valentino Promotion’s third offense. (Mindanao Examiner)
May 18-24, 2015
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The Mindanao Examiner - FOREIGN
May 18-24, 2015
US cited for police violence, racism in scathing UN review on human rights – Al Jazeera THE UNITED STATES was slammed over its rights record Monday at the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, with member nations criticizing the country for police violence and racial discrimination, the Guantánamo Bay Detention Facility and the continued use of the death penalty. The issue of racism and police brutality dominated the discussion on Monday during the country’s second universal periodic review (UPR). Country after country recommended that the U.S. strengthen legislation and expand training to eliminate racism and excessive use of force by law enforcement. “I’m not surprised that the world’s eyes are focused on police issues in the U.S.,” said Alba Morales, who investigates the U.S. criminal justice system at Human Rights Watch. “There is an international spotlight that’s been shone [on the issues], in large part due to the events in Ferguson and the disproportionate police response to even peaceful protesters,” she said. Anticipating the comments to come, James Cadogan, a senior counselor to the U.S. assistant attorney general, told delegates gathered in Geneva, “The tragic deaths of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Michael Brown in Missouri, Eric Garner in New York, Tamir Rice in Ohio and Walter Scott in South Carolina have renewed a long-standing and critical national debate about the even-handed administration of justice. These events challenge us to do better and to work harder for progress — through both dialogue and action.” All of the names he mentioned are black men or boys who were killed by police officers or died shortly after being arrested. The events have sparked widespread anger and unrest over the past year. Cadogan added that the Department of Justice has opened more than 20
investigations in the last six years — including an investigation into the Baltimore Police Department — as well as the release of a report of thePresidential Task Force on 21st Century Policing in March, which included more than 60 recommendations. But advocates like Morales say the U.S. could do much more. “Use of excessive force by police was a major part of this year’s UPR, and the fact that we still don’t have a reliable national figure to know how many people are killed by police or what the racial breakdown is of those people is a travesty,” she said. “A nation as advanced as the U.S. should be able to gather that number.” The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment. Although the problems are not new, the death of young men like Grayand Brown and the unrest that followed their killings in U.S. cities over the past year has attracted the attention — and criticism — of the international community. “Chad considers the United States of America to be a country of freedom, but recent events targeting black sectors of society have tarnished its image,” said Awada Angui of the U.N. delegation to Chad. The U.S. responded to questions and recommendations from 117 countries during a three-and-a-halfhour session in Geneva on Monday morning, with the high level of participation leaving each country just 65 seconds to speak. Among the various concerns raised by U.N. member states was the failure to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility, the continued use of the death penalty, the need for adequate protections for migrant workers and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples. Member states also called on the U.S. to end child labor, human trafficking and sexual violence against Native American and Alaska Native women
and to lift restrictions on the use of foreign aid to provide safe abortion services for rape victims in conflict areas. Pakistan, Russia, China and Turkey were among the most vociferous of the member states, with Russia informing the U.S. that “the human rights situation in the country has seriously deteriorated recently” before presenting seven recommendations to the U.S. delegation. Pakistan Ambassador to the U.N. Zamir Akram told the delegation that Pakistan has “serious concerns about the human rights situation in the U.S.” Akram’s eight recommendations included calls for the U.S. to use armed drones in line with international norms and to compensate innocent victims of drone strikes with cash. He also said the U.S. should end police brutality against African-Americans, cease illegal detentions at Guantánamo Bay and prosecute CIA operatives responsible for torture. The March findings of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on torture were not overlooked by international delegates. Many echoed the concerns of the Danish delegate, Carsten Staur, who recommended that the U.S. “further ensures that all victims of torture and ill treatment, whether still in U.S. custody or not, obtain redress and have an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation and as full rehabilitation as possible, including medical and psychological assistance.” Under the UPR, every U.N. member state is subject to the same peer-review of its human rights record on a four-year cycle. The UPR was created as part of the mandate of the Human Rights Council, established by the U.N. General Assembly in 2006 to replace the widely discredited Human Rights Commission, which included among its members some of the world’s most egregious human rights abusers.
The council consists of elected members which, when electing new members, according to the resolution that created it, should “take into account the candidates’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments made thereto.” Still, according to Freedom House — an organization advocating for democracy and human rights — repressive regimes nonetheless gain council membership and can weaken the effectiveness of the council and the UPR. And the process is not without hypocrisy, as countries that frequently abuse the rights of their citizens line up to offer their critiques of and recommendations for other member states. “Obviously, everybody has improvements they can make to their human rights record. We do believe that everybody from the most powerful country on down should be called to task on their rights records, and we value the opportunity to do so,” said Morales. “We like to focus on the substance of the comments rather than the source of them,” she added.
The U.S. faced its first review in 2010, when member states presented the delegation with 240 recommendations; it accepted 171. According to Human Rights Watch, the U.S. has failed to act on many of those recommendations. About a fifth of the 2010 recommendations urged the U.S. to ratify or withdraw reservations on a slew of international human rights treaties and conventions. After that review, the U.S. accepted recommendations to consider ratifying key human rights conventions, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. But according to Human Rights Watch, no new human rights treaties have been signed or ratified. A representative for the State Department was unavailable to comment on U.S. progress on ratification of these treaties. Recommendations accepted by the U.S. in 2010 include a commitment to “find a solution for all persons detained at Guantánamo Bay” — yet 122 men are still detained at the facility. The execution of three
Mexican nationals in Texas since 2011 also appeared to undermine a U.S. agreement to “resolve the obstacles that prevent the full implementation of the Avena Judgment,” which requires a review of death sentences handed to foreign nationals who were denied their right to consular notification of their detention. A majority of countries pushed the U.S. to establish a moratorium on the death penalty at the federal level, with a view to full abolition. While the number of executions taking place in the U.S. has been declining, member states raised concerns about the use of lethal injection in light of botched executions over the past year. While rejecting recommendations to establish a moratorium, the U.S. agreed to “take all necessary steps to comply with minimum standards under international law relating to the death penalty.” However, people with serious mental shortcomings continue to be executed — most recently in March 2015, when 74-year-old Cecil Clayton, who had lost part of his brain in a sawmill accident, was executed via lethal injection. (by Natasja Sheriff)
What does it take to make Duterte run? By Jerry Dureza HE IS the most talk about political leader in the country today. Ever since he emerged from his cocoon as mayor of one of the cities in the Philippines, he had flown the distance hopping from one place to another in one of the most grueling oneman crusade peddling Federalism and opening the eyes and minds of those who wish to listen, to learn and hopefully become disciples to the system which, according to him, remains to be the best panacea to the iniquitous iniquity in the country today. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte never expected that huge crowds would assemble to lend their ears to the man which now and then crops up in national news dispatches about how he deals with criminals and how he is being dealt with by Human Rights Commission and Department of Justice for his unorthodox means of confronting drug and kidnapping syndicates and other criminal recidivists. These days Duterte emerges larger than life. An undeclared candidate for President, he landed 3rd in the surveys done by Pulse Asia and SocialWeather Station. Still, most of the giant media establishments are not about to give him the limelight and he space and would rather focus on the garrulous politicians who relish to bask under the klieg lights in vainglorious claim that that they are less corrupt and that VP Jojo Binay is enmeshed in deep shit of corruption. But this, the people are already fully aware of and nauseated. Obviously Federalism is not as popular an issue as Duterte’s reputation. Amidst the rising tide of corruption and criminality people would assemble and
listen appraising what man is this that makes Davao City one of the most peaceful, livable and child-friendly cities in the world despite its being adjacent to the most troubled region in the Philippines? Duterte’s Federalism road show severely lacks the requisites of election campaign and propaganda. He moves around in a shoe-string budget. He lacks financial resources but he has friends in many places who gladly offer him a room to pass the night. He is averse to expensive food and would rather go for steamed dilis wrapped in banana leaf. In short lutong bahay. He has no qualms about being dressed appropriately because he thinks that denims and T-shirts are okay. The only time I saw him in borrowed suit was when he stood as sponsor to a wedding of a friend’s son. Because it was such a rarity his friends had a picture taken as a souvenir of him in an “amerikana”. Well, the other time I saw him wear a decent barong Tagalog was when he appeared before a senate hearing on smuggling cases in the country. Talking of formalities Duterte admits he does not have the niceties of diplomatic language like those of his peers. In the same hearing in the Senate hall he straightforwardly declared that if the suspected smuggler (which he identified) will surface and do his thing in Davao City and attempts to fight it out with the law he “will gladly shoot him”. He shocked the squeamish lawmakers, the CHR Chairwoman and the Justice Secretary. He never hides his annoyance against crime and in unguarded quips would say that if he is President he will restore death penalty and not by any ex-
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The Mindanao Examiner - OPINION
May 18-24, 2015
Alan Navales North- South Cotabato Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat Jeng Fernandez Juna Subd., Matina, Davao City
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Ely Dumaboc/Jun Feliciano Zamboanga Peninsula The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper is published weekly in Mindanao, Philippines. The Mindanao Examiner Television is broadcast in KISMET Cable TV and Pagadian Cable Television Channel 63. Our main business and editorial offices are located at Units 15, 3rd Floor, Fair Land Bldg., Nuñez St., Zamboanga City Phone & fax: 062- 9925480 Mobile: 0917-7103642 URL: mindanaoexaminer.com E-mail: mindanaoexaminer@gmail.com
pensive means but hanging using laundry wire. What you see in him is what you get and what you hear is what you should expect. Duterte is a man of few words but he engages his audience about Federalism for hours. But the open forum would stretch the more because, having heard and seen him in person, the discussion would graduate into earsplitting call for him to run for President. It is an apparent mindset that the people agree to his proposition to shift the present unitary system of government provided he is President. Thus the challenge. What will it take to make the man to run especially one who shuns the power of the Presidency but deserves it most? Duterte dodges the clarion call for him run but gives us not just a glimpse but a clear agenda of how he will deal with the debilitating cancer of corruption that is gnawing at every fiber of government establishments. He need not prove anything on how he would deal with criminal syndicates because he has demonstrated this in more ways than what one can find in the books. He says he lacks the qualification but he tells us of how and why, if he is president, some government corporation like the GSIS and the SSS be privatized and run by more competent corporate managers to make these yield better profits and improve the benefits of the members who are tired of the inefficiency and bureaucracy in these two government controlled corporations. Davao City was again judged as the most child-friendly city in the Philippines and yet Duterte the mayor tells us that he does not have the quality of a leader that the people are looking for. He says he does not possess the skills to communicate like those who present themselves as presidential material. On the contrary, Duterte singularly holds the distinction of being able to talk with separatist fronts and communist insurgents right in their turfs. UP Prof. Clarita Carlos describes Mayor Duterte as the man with “a fire in his belly” and “intelligently courageous”. Courage here includes the threat to dismantle both houses of Congress if within six to one year he, assuming he is President, will not achieve the reforms that he envisions. That he will do this after proclaiming a revolutionary government. The problem with Duterte is that he is like a chef who prepares the most delectable cuisine, lay this on the table where seated are hungry men, women and children. They salivate but have to wait because the clock hasn’t struck 12. The mortal sin that Mayor Duterte commits in the event that he will elude the call for him to run for President is to consign the Filipino people to still another decadent era of corruption and unabated criminality. The supreme aggravation here is that Federalism will forever be entombed in the catacomb of oblivion. What will make Duterte run for the Presidency? I do not have the answer but I hope that this little piece will dwell in the innermost recesses of his mind and heart and tickle his conscience until he takes up the challenge. (Jerry Dureza – jerrydureza@yahoo.com)
Top 3 Sakit Ng Pilipino Payo ni Dr. Willie T. Ong MAY MGA sakit na halos pangkaraniwan na sa mga Pilipino. Dahil napakarami ang apektado nito, dapat malaman natin ang pagiwas sa mga sakit. 1. High Blood Pressure o Altapresyon. Kapag ang blood pressure niyo ay palaging lampas sa 140 over 90, ang ibig sabihin ay may high blood pressure o altapresyon ka na. Isa sa 4 na Pilipino ay may high blood pressure. Ang normal na blood pressure ay mas mababa sa 140 over 90. Heto ang mga tips: (1) Magbawas ng timbang; (2) Magbawas sa pagkain ng maaalat. Umiwas o magbawas sa paggamit ng asin, toyo, patis at bagoong; at (3) Mag-ehersisyo ng 3 hanggang 5 beses bawat linggo. Kapag palaging mataas sa 140/90 ang iyong blood pressure, kailangan mo nang uminom ng gamot. Kumonsulta sa doktor. 2. Diabetes. Kung ika’y may nararamdamang pamamanhid, laging nauuhaw, madalas umihi, o namamayat, magpacheck sa diabetes. Kapag ang iyong blood sugar ay higit sa 126 mg/dl
Dr. Willie T. Ong pagkatapos ng 10 oras na hindi pagkain (fasting blood sugar), nangangahulugang may diabetes ka na. Umiwas sa dalawang bagay: Matataba at matatamis na pagkain. Magehersisyo din ng regular at huwag magpataba. Depende sa taas ng iyong blood sugar, may mga mura at mabisang gamot sa diabetes, tulad ng Metformin at Gliclazide. Ang pag-inom ng gamot ay depende sa taas ng blood sugar at reseta ng doktor. Kung hindi mo makokontrol ang iyong blood sugar, ay mapapabilis ang pagdating ng komplikasyon nito. Mamamanhid ang paa at kamay. Lalabo ang mga mata. Masisira din ang ugat sa puso at utak. 3. Sakit Sa Kidneys
(Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco)
(bato). Maraming Pilipino ang may sakit sa kidneys. Kung mayroon kang diabetes o high blood pressure, kailangan mong bantayan ang iyong kidneys. Ang diabetes at high blood ay nakasisira sa kidneys. Bantayan at i-kontrol ang antas ng iyong blood sugar at blood pressure. Magagawa mo ito sa pamamagitan ng tamang diyeta, ehersisyo at paginom ng maintenance na gamot. Huwag maghintay ng sintomas. Kadalasan ay walang nararamdaman ang mga taong may sakit sa kidneys. Kapag may kidney failure na, humihina na ang daloy ng ihi. Heto ang tips para alagaan ang kidneys: (1) Bawasan ang alat ng pagkain; (2) Limitahan ang protina sa pagkain. Mas kumain ng isda, gulay at prutas; (3) Iwasan ang paginom ng pain relievers (gamot sa kirot); (4) Uminom ng 8-10 basong tubig bawat araw. Tandaan: Ang regular na check-up sa doktor ay makatutulong sa iyong pagpapagaling. Good luck po.
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P15 May 18-24, 2015
K to 12 program, barugan sa Gobyerno
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IBARUGAN sa Malakanyang a n g pagpatuman s a K to 12 program taliwala sa mga petisyon batok niini sa Korte Suprema. Matud pa ni Sec. Herminio Coloma Jr., ipatuman pa gihapon sa gobyerno ang K to 12 program samtang walay kamanduan ang Korte Suprema kalabot sa gihimong petisyon ni Sen. Antonio Trillanes. “Mahalaga sa kinabukasan ng bansa ang K to 12 kaya’t
paninindigan ng pamahalaan ang kahalagahan nito sa SC,” (Mahinungdanon sa kaugmaon sa nasud ang K to 12 maong gibarugan sa gobyerno ang kamahinungdanono niini sa SC),” pasabot pa ni Coloma. Kahinumdoman nga gi-kuwestyon ni Trillanes ug Magdalo Party ang K to 12 program sa High Tribunal nga giingong batok kini sa Konstitusyon. “Ginagawa ang lahat para sa maayos na pagpapatupad ng program at isinasaalang-
alang ang kapakanan ng mga mag-aaral at guro,” (Gihimo ang tanan alang sa maayo nga pagpatuman sa programa ug gihuna-huna ang kaayohan sa mga tinunan ug magtutudlo) dugang pa ni Coloma. Pasabot pa ni Coloma, ang mga giingong disbentahang dala sa pagpatuman sa K to 12 gitubag na sa Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education ug Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. (Elvira C. Bongosia)
The Mandaue-Mactan Bridge. (From the website http://www.iammandaue.com)
PhilHealth, nipasidaan sa mga senior citizens batok sa mga fixers
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I PA S I D A A N ang Philipp i n e He a l t h Insurance C o r p o ra t i o n s a m g a senior citizens nga magbinantayon batok sa mga fixers nga
mangayo og bayad isip hulip sa pagtabang kanila sa pag-enrol sa PhilHealth. Su k a d g i p a t u m a n ang balaod niadtong No by e m b r e 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 , nagpanon na og adto
ang mga senior citizens sa mga lokal nga buhatan sa PhilHealth offices aron mo-enrol s a p r o g ra m a n g a w a damhang nakamugna og kahigayonan sa mga fixers sa
Gidaghanon sa mga gi-gutom, mikunhod sa unang kwarter sa 2015
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IKUNHOD sa tulo ka milyong pamilyang Pilipino ang nakasinati og gutom sa unang kwarter sa tuig. Kini base sa survey sa So c i a l We a t h e r St a tions (SWS) nga gipahigayon niadtong Marso 20 hangtud 23 s a 1 , 2 0 0 k a re s p o n dents. Ka p a re h o k i n i s a 1 3 . 5 p o r s i ye n t o n g a national hunger rate nga mas ubos og 3.7 porsiyento kun itandi sa 17.2 porsiyento o 3.8 milyong pamilya n i a d t o n g Di s ye m b re 2014.
Ma t u d p a s a S W S , kini na ang pinaka-ubos nga hunger incidence sulod sa 10 ka tuig sukad Mayo 2005. Sa 13.5 porsiyento n g a h u n g e r ra t e, 1 1 . 1 p o r s i ye n t o o 2.5 m i l yo n g p a m i l y a a n g nakasinati og moderate hunger o panagsa lang ug 2.4 porsiyento o 522,000 pamilya ang n a k a s i n a t i o g s e ve re hunger o kanunay. Gi k a l i p a y sa Ma l a k a n y a n g ang pagkunhod sa gidaghanon sa mga gigutom nga Pilipino. Matud pa ni Presid e n t i a l Sp o k e s p e r s o n Ed w i n L a c i e rd a , k i n i
tungod na usab sa mga p ro g r a m a sa administrasyong Aq u i n o i l a b i n a a n g “ Tu w i d n a Da a n” n g a gihatagan og pagtagad ang k a a yo h a n sa publiko. Apil sa solusyon ni P Noy a n g Pa n t a w i d Pamilyang Pilipino Program nga nagtinguhang m a p a m a a yo ang kinabuhi sa mga kabos sa nasud. Tungod sa resulta sa pagpaningkamot sa administrasyong, miingon si Lacierda nga mas paningkamotan pa nila nga masolusyonan ang kakabos sa nasud. (Elvira C. Bongosia)
pagpahimos sa ubang senior citizens nga nanginahanglan og tabang. Matud pa ni P h i l He a l t h P r e s i d e n t Alexander Padilla, libre ang enrollment sa maoang programa mao nga walay angay bayaran ang mga senior citizens. “D o n o t d e a l w i t h fixers. Enrollment in the program is free, wala po kayong dapat bayaran. Huwag ninyong hayaan na maging biktima kayo n g m g a f i x e r s” ( Ay a w pakig-deal sa mga fixe r s. L i b re a n g e n r o l l ment sa maong programa, walay angay b a y a ra n . Ay a w t o g o t i nga mahimo kamong
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biktima sa mga fixers), pahimangno pa ni Padilla. Matud pa nga walay angay dalian sa pag-enrol tungod kay makapahimolos man sa benepisyo sa PhilHealth kun kinahanglan na nila kini, ma naa man o w a l a’ y P h i l He a l t h I D. Kinahanglan lamang nilang ipakita ilang senior citizen card tungod kay nakig-koordinar na ang PhilHealth sa ilang mga accredited health care providers kalabot niini. Ang P h i l He a l t h nipagawas sa Circular 33, series of 2014 nga nag-awhag sa mga senior citizens sa pag-enr o l s a P h i l He a l t h s a
Paglugway sa maternity leave, giduso sa Kamara
IDUSO sa Kamara ang balaodnong ilugway sa 90 ka adlaw ang maternity leave sa mga kababayen-ang
empleyado aron mas makarekober sa dili pa mobalik sa trabaho. Amyendahan sa House Bill 5701 ni Las Pinas Rep. Mark Villar ang kasamtangang
Pilipinas, British Columbia milagda og kasabotan sa pamuo
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NG Pilipinas ug ang lalawigan sa British Columb ia milagda og memor a n d u m o f u n d e rstanding (MOU) nga nagtinguhang mapauswag ang pagkabutang sa mga Pilipino didto. Si Pre s i d e n t e Be n i g n o A q u i n o u g British Columbia Premier Christy Clark misaksi sa paglagda sa MOU Concerning Co-
ARMM
operation in Human Resource Deployment and Development. A n g k o o p e ra s yon g i l a g d a a n n i l a n g De partment of Labor and Em p l oy m e n t Se c . Ro s a l i n d a Ba l d oz u g British Columbia Minist e r f o r In t e r n a t i o n a l Trade Teresa Wat sa usa ka yanong seremonya nga gipahigayon sa Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver ning bag-o lang. Ang maong kasabotan sa pamuo
midason sa lig-ong panaghigala ug nagtubong relasyon tali sa Pilipinas ug lalawigan sa British Columbia. Ang MOU nagtinguha sa pagpahisayon sa employment ug deployment sa mga mamumuong Pinoy sa British Columbia aron pagkab-ot sa panginahanglan sa pamuo nga paga-ilhon sa labor market information.
Southern Mindanao
Davao
pakig-koordinar sa ilang nagkadaiyang Office of Senior Citizens Affairs o pinaagi sa buhatan nga gitugotan sa lokal nga kagamhanan, sa lokalidad diin sila nagpuyo. Gitahasan usab niini ang Department of Social Welfare and Development, senior citizen organizations n g a re h i s t r a d o s a angay nga nasudnong ahensiya, bisan u n s a n g n o n - g ov e r n ment organization o bisan unsang nonprofit private organizations sa pagsiguro sa coverage sa PhilHealth sa mga senior citizens. (Elvira C. Bongosia)
Ang kooperasyon nagtinguha usab sa pagpatuman sa k a s a m t a n g a n g patakaran aron maprotektahan ang mga mamumuo ug pagdasig alang sa “sound, ethical, and equitable recruitment and employment practices.” Ang maong MOU gipaabot nga magpaligon sa kinuging pagtambayayong aron wagtangon ang mga babag sa certification,
recognition ug matching of skills ug kwalipikasyon sa mga Pinoy agig pagsunod sa panginahanglan nga gitakda sa Br itish Columbia regulations. Pinaagi sa Philippine-Province of British Columbia MOU, matabangan ang mga Filipino workers nga nangandoy nga per manenteng makatrabaho ug mamuyo didto. (E lvira C. Bongosia)
Western Mindanao
Cebu
balaod nga naghatag lamang og 60 ka adlaw nga maternity leave. With pay ang 90day maternity leave nga giduso ni Villar ug human niini, mahimo pang mohangyo og dugang 30 ka adlaw nga mater nity leave ang empleyado pero wala na kini bayad. Nahisulod usab niining balaodnon ang mga single mother. Ubos sa Commonwealth Act 647, limitado lamang sa mga kababayen-ang adunay bana ang ihatag nga maternity leave. Matud pa ni Villar, dili kini makatarungan tungod kay murag gikonsiderar nga second class citizen ang mga single mother. (Elvira C. Bongosia)
Manila