Mindanao Examiner Newspaper

Mindanao Daily

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Zamboanga City, Philippines

Dec. 17-23, 2012

PEACE TALKS MAKE PROGRESS ON BANGSAMORO ISSUES

(Muslim women and an MILF soldier walk past a sign in Mindanao supporting the peace talks. Mindanao Examiner Photo - Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY – Peace talks between the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front held in Malaysia ended with substantial progress on the Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.

“It was a very rigorous process with hard and exhaustive discussions but we are pleased to note that the GPH-MILF table has found common language on many of the remaining issues” chief government negotiator Miriam Ferrer said.

She said peace negotiators made substantial progress on the draft annexes that, together with the

Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, will make up the comprehensive agreement.

The peace panels formed a new team made up of two members each and their respective heads of secretariat to flesh out the annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities.

“We will now be conferring with our principals on all the current drafts produced by the technical working groups and elevated to the Panels for resolution,” she said.

Ferrer said while it has been the goal of both parties to complete all the an-

nexes this year, the panels are cognizant of the remaining amount of detail that still needs to be worked out.

“Flexibility has always been our trademark in this process. There are difficult issues, but no issue is insurmountable,” she said.

The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed in October and would replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which is composed of the province of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, including the cities of Marawi and Lamitan.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Pangasinan mayor accuses gov of financing illegal gambling, files plunder charges MANILA – Pangasinan Gov. Armando Espino is facing criminal charges after a town mayor and a village chieftain linked him to illegal gambling operations in the province.

Mayor Rodrigo Orduna, of Bunggalon town, said he came out in the open to put a stop to the nefarious activities that involved hundreds of millions of pesos in Jueteng operations.

Village chieftain Fernando Aligmano also said that

police officials were protecting illegal gambling in the province.

Interior Sec. Manuel Roxas has ordered an investigation into the accusations and told Espino to get a lawyer who will defend him against all charges. Roxas also ordered a revamp in the provincial police force for failing to stop illegal gambling in Pangasinan. Several police officers were also taking bribe money from Espino.

Orduna, a former bagman of Espino, filed plunder charges against the politician, who denied all accusations against him. Espino said all the allegations were politically motivated.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the resolve of government to eradicate illegal gambling operations is unwavering.

“The President has directed Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel

Mar Roxas to build a strong case and ensure the safety of the witnesses who will testify against Jueteng operations and the alleged involvement of Governor Espino in the Province of Pangasinan,” Lacierda told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said Roxas’ order of reshuffling of police personnel in Pangasinan is to determine culpability, if any, and to guarantee that there will be no whitewash in the investi-

gation.

“We are determined to pursue this case to its logical end under the rule of law and should serve as a warning to syndicates and coddlers of illegal gambling operations to stop or be stopped,” he said.

Retired Lingayen and Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who is a known antiJueteng crusader, said people behind or involved in Jueteng have resorted in the past silencing people that have gone

against or exposed the intricacies of the multimillion numbers racket.

“Maingat na maingat ako sa mga pagsabi ng mga whistleblowers sapagkat meron nang dalawa sa aming mga kasama ang pinatay at hinahangaan ko sila sa kanilang paglabas at panalangin na sana’y patnubayan sila,” he said in a report by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

The Zamboanga City Hall, adorned with colorful lights, attracts hundreds of people every night, posing for pictures in front of the century-old building once used as garrison of Spanish, American and Japanese forces. And residents walk in the colorful and decorated Plaza Pershing also in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. The public square is named after U.S. General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing, who was military commander and governor of the Moro province where Zamboanga was then the capital.(Mindanao Examiner Photo)

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The Mindanao Examiner

Dec. 17-23, 2012

Bank accounts ni Pagadian Mayor Co nasa ‘freezer’ na!

PAGADIAN CITY – Tikom ang bibig ng kampo ni Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co ukol sa e s k a n d a l o n g kinakaharap ngayon ng pulitiko kaugnay sa pagkakadawit diumano nito sa investment trading scam sa kanyang lugar.

Isinabit ng mga investors si Co sa P12 bilyong scam ng Aman Futures na pagaari ng Malaysian national na si Manuel

Amalilio na ngayon ay nagtatago na sa kanyang bansa.

Ilang ulit naman itinanggi ni Co na may kaugnayan ito sa scam at sinabing biktima rin siya ng Aman Futures, ngunit pinasinungalingan naman ito ng ilan sa mga nagsabing nagbigay umano sila ng malaking halaga sa pulitiko.

Libo-libong katao ang nabiktima ng Aman Futures sa Pagadian City

at kalapit na lalawigan nito simula pa nitong taon.

Ipinag-utos na rin ng Korte ang mahigit sa 70 mga bank accounts ni Co at ng asawa nito, gayun rin ang iba pang mga hinihinalang nakinabang sa scam. Patuloy naman ang pagiimbestiga ng Anti-Money Laundering Council sa mga ito.

Si Co ay kilalang kaalyado ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino at

In a light moment, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (left) shares a good laugh with his son and Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile during the induction of new members of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino in Manila. The young Enrile will run under the banner of United Nationalist Alliance in the midterm elections next year. (Photo by Ben Avestruz)

All praises for boxing champ Nonito Donaire!

MANILA – Top Filipino boxer Nonito Donaire, Jr. defeated Mexican Jorge Arce on Sunday and remains the WBO super bantamweight champion.

Donaire said he

would rest for a while after defending his belt against Arce.

Manila praised Donaire, whose fight came days after Philippine pride Manny Pacquiao was brutally knocked out

JUST SAY

NO!

by Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez.

“Along with the Filipino people, we congratulate Nonito Donaire, Jr. for successfully defending his WBO super bantamweight belt via a third round knockout against Jorge Arce of Mexico,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

She said: “Once again, the Filipino Flash displayed his speed and skill in the ring, and showcased the strength and toughness of the Filipino on the world stage. This triumph reflects our country’s ability to face and overcome any challenge that confronts us.

No punch will keep us down; no strike will shake our spirit. Any challenge only intensifies our collective desire to bring glory to our nation.”

(Mindanao Examiner)

miyembro rin ng Liberal Party at inaasahan na malaki ang magiging epekto ng eskandalo sa political career ng mayor na tumatakbo bilang congressman ng Zamboanga del Sur. Ibinintang pa nito sa kanyang mga katunggali sa pulitika ang lahat ng bintang laban sa kanya.

Naunang kinasuhan si Co at ang asawa nito kaugnay sa scam.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Kakaiba ang puwesto ng mga electric meters na ito sa isang bahagi ng Metro Manila na kung saan ay mapapamangha ang isa kung mapapansin ang taas ng pagkakalagay nito at kung paano babasahin ng mga taga-Meralco ang konsumo ng kuryente ng gusaling ito. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Enrile eyes better working conditions for domestic workers in 2013

Cagayan Representative Jack Enrile is optimistic that 2013 will be a banner year for almost 2 million domestic workers in the Philippines.

He said that is, if — hopefully — the Batas Kasambahay is signed into law by President Benigno Aquino before the year ends.

Enrile was the first member of the House of Representatives who seriously looked into the plight of local domestic workers back in 1998 during his first term in office. Sensing that they are the most vulnerable sector of the labor force, he initiated the filing the Magna Carta for Household Helpers, now House Bill 553.

“It is unfor tunate that our household helpers like yayas are not covered by any laws or legislation. This, sadly, dr ives some of them to commit crimes because they think they can get away with it, and conversely, others who are abused because they have no protection under our laws,” Enr ile said.

Since then, the Magna Carta for Household Helpers has spawned 16 more similar bills on domestic rights which were eventually consolidated into House Bill 6144.

Last September, the House approved the bill on its third and final reading. Its Senate counterpart known as Senate Bill No. 78 was passed on December 2010.

“Never mind if it

took us 13 or 14 long years to get here. The important thing is we have for mulated another landmark legislation that will benefit a major sector in our labor force,” Enrile ssaid.

“This is the success not only of Jack Enrile, it is the success of the House of the Representatives, it is the success of the Senate of the Philippines and it is the success of a very progressive and independentminded President Noynoy Aquino,” he added.

An administrationbacked measure and certified urgent by President Aquino during his State of the Nation Address on July 2011, Batas Kasambahay effectively provides a set of standard protection for almost 2 million domestic workers in the country.

Under the provisions of HB 6144, employers are mandated to provide their kasambahay with three basic things:

board, lodging, and medical assistance. In addition, they are also required to register their household helpers as members of SSS, PagIBIG, and Philhealth.

The proposed legislation also identifies the following acts against domestic workers as unlawful. These include requiring domestic workers to make deposits, where deductions will be made in case they lose or destroy household mater ials, debt bondage or requiring a person to render service to a household for an unspecified amount of time as a form of debt payment, hiring minors as household help, assigning domestic workers to non-household work, and inter fering with a worker’s freedom to dispose his or her wages as they wish, as well as withholding the wages of a domestic worker. ( With a report from Francis Hidalgo, Jr.)

The Mindanao Examiner

Dec. 17-23, 2012

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OFW son abandons school for sister; takes role of Pa to own family DAVAO CITY – Begie Himonda could have been a college sophomore this year, but he opted to temporarily quit in favor of his younger sister – and his family’s longing for a father also challenged him, being the eldest of three siblings, to stand firm. “ When my father went to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to work as welder, I was caught by surprise because we did not talk about it,” laments the 19-year old son of an overseas Filipino worker. “I felt my family will not be complete anymore because my father would be away from us for 3 years or more,” he says.

With his mother’s presence, Himonda says he was able to cope and was hoping that he could finish his studies already because of his father’s

work outside of the country. But things suddenly changed six months after his father left in 2010.

“We were receiving less remittance than what my mother used to receive,” says Himonda, a first year management student.

Given the limited resources, Himonda gave up his studies and let her sister continue with her schooling. “I am actively involved in our community as youth volunteer,” shares Himonda,” and the Anak OFW program of the Mindanao Migrants Center for Empowering Actions helped me in analyzing my family’s situation.”

Rosalind Tumanda, of the MMCEAI, says the program aims to provide children of OFWs with avenues for sharing, peer development, self-journeying, and awareness.

“Although we are starting

Begie Himonda, spokesperson of Anak OFW, poses with his artwork. (Photo by Mark Clif Henry) with scratch, especially Mark Clif Henr y, the at the ground level, we group’s program staff. can see the impact has on “It was a surprise bethe children who feel cause in the context of abandoned by their par- migration, many people ents working abroad.” believe that these chilIn a random survey dren of OFW have greater conducted by MMCEAI chances in finishing their last year, it showed that school but they are not around 37% of the total because their parents are out-of school youth in sending less and less,” Davao City are children Henr y reveals. (Rick of OFWs, according to Flores)

Z AMBOANGA CIT Y – Isang kilabot na magnanakaw ang natagpuan patay at pugot ang ulo sa isang dalampasigan sa Zamboanga City.

Kinilala naman ng pulisya ang napatay na si Muksin Akmad, ngunit hindi pa natatagpuan ang ulo nito.

Mismong mga kaanak at pamilya ng biktima ang kumilala sa bangkay na napadpad sa Barangay Taluksangay.

Isa rin umanong mangingisda si Muksin at natagpuan r in ang kanyang banca sa dikalayuan ng bangkay nito. Hindi pa mabatid ang motibo sa pagpatay

at kung sino ang nasa likod nito.

Ngunit may hinala ang pulisya na posibleng paghihiganti sa mga pagnanakaw nito ang dahilan sa pamamas-lang. Hindi naman nagbigay ng pahayag ang pamilya ni Muksin. (Mindanao Examiner)

A man sells barbecued chicken feet or popularly called ‘Adidas’ outside a restaurant in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. The barbecue is a favorite among many Filipinos.

(Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Kilabot na tirador, pinugutan ng ulo sa Zamboanga!

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Dec. 17-23, 2012

Wife of OFW survives on courage, faith and odd-jobs DAVAO CITY - All she wants for Christmas is for her four daughters to finish their studies despite the seeming abandonment of her husband who is a seafarer since 2010 while hoping for a family reunited.

Courage, faith, and working on odd-jobs sum up the face of Maria Salome Tabudlong, wife of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), who continuously survives her family through on-call catering, selling home-made bibingka, kutsinta, puto, and other kakanin (rice cakes).

“Our children were growing up and we realized that his work as a machinist in a shop in Matina Aplaya cannot sufficiently provide for our needs, especially for the education of our children,” narrates the 45-year old Tabudlong.

Because of her constant prodding, Tabudlong’s husband applied for a job overseas. “It was really challenging then because his applications resulted to nothing while we have spent so much already,” she reveals. It was not until, 2010 with a financial support from a person with whom Tabudlong’s husband had allegedly a personal affair, that their pursuit of an overseas work realized.

During the first month after her husband was hired as seafarer - even though he never finished any maritime course - she was receiving P20,000 a month.

“I was really contented then because the amount was more than enough to respond to our needs but things suddenly happened,” shares the former lanky baker of a known bakeshop, “be-

The Mindanao Examiner Media, Film and Television Productions Maritess Fernandez Publisher/Executive Producer (On Leave) Al Jacinto Editor-in-Chief/Producer (OIC) Gregorri Leaño Joanna Valerie Wee Video Editor Mindanao Examiner Productions Web Master REGIONAL PARTNERS Mindanao Daily Business Week NEWS/ADVERTISING OFFICES Mark Navales ARMM

Giovanni Solmerano Eastern Mindanao

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Asa Madale Lanao Provinces Ely Dumaboc Zamboanga Sibugay/Zamboanga del Sur/Zamboanga del Norte John Shinn III California The Mindanao Examiner Newspaper/Business Week/Mindanao Daily is published weekly/daily in Zamboanga City and Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao, Philippines.

The Mindanao Examiner Television is broadcast in Skycable 54 in Zamboanga; Lupah Sug Cable in Sulu province and Basilan Cable in Basilan province.

Our business and editorial offices are located at Units 15, 3rd Floor, Fair Land Bldg., Nuñez St., Zamboanga City Phone & fax: +63 62 9925480 Mobile: +63 9152756606 URL: mindanaoexaminer.com E-mail: mindanaoexaminer@gmail.com

cause he was sending less and lesser.”

Her husband’s obsession with a woman led to their separation. “My eldest daughter was not able to cope with our problem and she even slashed her wrist out of frustration and discouragement,” Tabudlong reveals.

Coping with this kind of family had never been easy, she says, as her children resorted to confide their problems with peers who were members of a dance group. “My eldest daughter will go out of the house and will return past midnight and my second daughter also did the same thing,” says Tabuldong as she wipes her tears during the interview.

Discipline, she says, was really hard because her husband was away.

Creativity, borne out of her desire to protect her daughters, was Tabudlong’s strength. “I personally decided to join them in their hangouts that would last until 2 a.m. and after several accompaniments, my daughters eventually gave up and told me that they would rather stay at home,” says Tabudlong.

The seeming abandonment forced her to seek opinion from the Public Attorney’s Office.

She says the public lawyer, based on her demand that her husband would provide her and their daughters with P30,000 a month financial support, advised her to rethink her position.

“I am in the position to demand because my husband even restricted me to ask for his actual salary from his employer,” she says.

Built inside the 300square meters compound owned by his husband’s family, Tabublong says she wants to keep their house as it is, but laments since there is no one to repair the house. “Things become difficult when there is no guy in the house to fix some damages,” she says.

A suggestion from a friend encouraged Tabudlong to approach the Mindanao Migrants Center for Empowering Actions, a nongovernmental organization that promotes the welfare of OFWs and their families.

“We had counselling and peer sharing of experiences with other OFW abandoned families from other parts of Davao City.

It was there that we realized that we have our rights, as well,” shares Tabudlong.

Through MMCEAI’s Women Reintegration and Recovery program, women like Tabudlong are given soft financial capital to engage in survival business.

“I was able to start a small food business like bibingka and puto. Earnings from this support also helped in paying my daughter’s college tuition fee and some needs of the household,” says Tabudlong. (Rick Flores)

Maria Salome Tabudlong. (Photo by Jane Plana)

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Dec. 17-23, 2012

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The Mindanao Examiner

Dec. 17-23, 2012

7 Reds declare 29-day truce in Philippines The Mindanao Examiner

Dec. 17-23, 2012

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines pillar lawyer Democrito Mendoza and San Juan City Rep. JV Ejercito Estrada during the TUCP national convention on Friday, December 14, 2012 in Quezon City. TUCP endorses the son of President Joseph Estrada in the senatorial elections next year.

TUCP endorses JV Ejercito Estrada for 2013 senatorial elections MANILA – The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines endorsed top senatorial candidate San Juan City Rep. JV Ejercito Estrada during its national convention in Quezon City recently.

Ejercito Estrada, who is a consistent top placer in separate surveys of the Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia, is running under the United Nationalist Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

The lawmaker was invited as keynote speaker in the convention. TUCP Chairman Lawyer Democrito Mendoza led the endorsement of Ejercito Estrada.

“Rep. JV Ejercito Estrada has been endorsed by

the TUCP,” Alan Tanjusay, TUCP advocacy officer, told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

Ejercito Estrada said he was honoured by the TUCP endorsement. “TUCP Chairman Democrito Mendoza endorsed me too. I am honored and humbled,” he said.

The TUCP also paid tribute to Mendoza, who is considered one of the pillars of trade unionism movement and one of the prime movers of the labor movement in the country.

The convention, a onceevery-five-year event, was held at the TUCP compound in Elliptical Road in Diliman. (Mindanao Examiner)

IN DEFERENCE TO THE VICTIMS OF TYPHOON PABLO, NDFP-MINDANAO DECLARES A 29-DAY UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE; CONDEMNS IMPERIALISM, LOCAL RULING ELITE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PLUNDER AND CLIMATE CHANGE The NDFP-Mindanao extends its sympathies to all victims and survivors of typhoon Pablo, especially the people hardest hit by flash floods and landslides in Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, Surigao del Sur, Davao del Norte and most parts of Mindanao, including Palawan and certain areas in the Visayas. We would also like to sympathize with the bereaved families of AFP soldiers whose lives were taken by raging mudflow in New Bataan, Compostela Valley.

In typhoon Pablo’s wake, the death toll in Mindanao has already reached 400 as of latest estimate, and rapidly reaching the 500 mark, thousands are injured and hundreds more are missing. Damage to crops and property is estimated at Php 1.8 billion in Davao del Norte alone and over Php 4 billion for the rest of the affected areas, leaving thousands of farmers distraught. Cities were also heavily inundated, killing several and forced to flee their homes.

In response to this catastrophe, and on behalf of all revolutionary forces, the NDFP-Mindanao has declared a unilateral ceasefire on the part of the New People’s Army (NPA) in areas affected by the calamity to allow the safe, unhampered and speedy rescue and retrieval of all the victims, and to facilitate the fast and unimpeded delivery of relief services to affected communities. This ceasefire shall immediately take effect on 12:00 PM of December 5, 2012 to 12:00 PM of January 3, 2013, and may be extended when deemed necessary after duly assessing the conduct of the ceasefire.

In consultation with the Mindanao Commission of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the concerned commands of the NPA in the areas affected, all NPA units covered by this ceasefire declaration are hereby ordered to desist from launching tactical offensives within the aforementioned inclusive date. However, we demand that the AFP-PNP-CAFGU desist from using rescue, retrieval, relief and rehabilitation operations and the COPD as cover for launching military operations against the NPA and the masses in the area. Should this happen, all NPA units have the right to defend themselves and the people who are already battered by calamities.

We also call on all NPA units in the affected areas, to help, if resources and the security situation permit, in the rescue, retrieval, relief and rehabilitation efforts. In the same manner, we call on all the revolutionary forces and masses in Mindanao who are less affected, or not at all, by typhoon Pablo to pool together their resources and show, once again, our concern for all the victims. We demand that all big mining, logging and agri-business plantations must shoulder substantial amount for relief and rehabilitation efforts.

The greater damage with far-reaching effect, which may not be immediately perceived, is typhoon Pablo’s destruction of hundreds of thousands of remaining forests in the Southern

and Northern Mindanao. This destruction results from radical climate change, which is caused, on one hand, by the irreversible damage inflicted onto the earth’s natural environs by imperialist mining, logging and agri-business plantations. While, on the other, the overheating of the earth’s atmosphere is due to the excessive emission of carbon into the atmosphere from imperialist over consumption of fossil fuel in the name of super-profit. With the remaining rain forests gone, we can expect compounded negative effects on our environment which may cause more frequent and more damaging typhoons to come, including the possibility of longer La Nina and El Nino phenomena.

The Aquino government has never learned from the dire and painful lessons of typhoon Sendong, the Ormoc flash flood, and all similar man-made and natural disasters. It has only bragged that it is “prepared” for any disaster, but, in reality, it has miserably failed the people in terms of preparedness and defense against natural calamities.

Hardest hit were the towns of Bagangga, Cateel and Boston in Davao Oriental; New Bataan and Monkayo in Compostela Valley; and Lingig and Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur. These towns are overspread with vast banana plantations owned by Dole and Sumifru, as well as despoiled by largescale mining operations such as Indo-phil. The Diwata mountain range, which connects these municipalities, have been ravaged in the last 50 years by large-scale logging put up by imperialist US and Japan, conniving locally with the likes of Valderama, Alcantara, Sarmiento and PICOP’s Andres Soriano.

Days before Pablo struck, Noynoy Aquino was irked by people who did not respond immediately to the call for evacuation, and scoffed at them saying, “This is not a joke!” May we point out that instead of blaming the people, he should rather act to reverse the liberal policy on mining, logging and agribusiness plantations. With the passage of EO 79, the lopsided provisions of the Mining Act of 1995 are only reinforced, exposing the Aquino government’s collusion with foreign monopoly capitalist companies, made at the expense of the lives of people and the habitat of mankind it claims to serve.

Decades ago, Davao and Bukidnon were the least prone to devastating calamities. But, motivated by the greed for super-profit, imperialists and the local ruling classes together helped create and unleash climate change. Thus, we call on the Filipino people to strengthen the movement to stop imperialist, mining, logging and agri-business now. It is imperative for the people of the world to unite and stop the imperialists from heating our planet. We must fortify our act now before it is too late, before storms far stronger than Pablo and hurricane Sandy that struck New York City, USA will literally efface all of us to oblivion!

Unite and save the environment! Unite and fight against imperialists’ and local ruling class’ plunder!

(Sgd.) Ka Oris Spokesperson NDFP-Mindanao

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Dec. 17-23, 2012

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The Mindanao Examiner

Dec. 17-23, 2012

Media watchdog criticizes Pacquiao’s assistant trainer, adviser for attacking lens man

COTABATO CITY – The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has criticized the Filipino training assistant and a foreign advisor of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao for assaulting a sports photographer following the brutal knockdown of the Philippine pride against Mexican fighter Juan

Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas.

Buboy Fernandez and Michael Koncz attacked photographer Al Bello for taking pictures of the downed Filipino champion. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach also stopped Bello from taking the photos.

The assault was witnessed by the huge

crowd in the MGM Grand and photos and news of it quickly spread in the Internet and international media.

“It is clear that Bello was merely performing his obligations as a photojour nalist and, besides, had every right to take pictures of the fallen Pacquiao. Koncz and Fernandez had ab-

solutely no reason to attack him and their doing so was actually in the nature of a criminal act, just as Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach had no right to order Bello to stop taking photos.”

“Such boorish action by the members of Team Pacquiao, no matter how distraught they were by his loss, is inex-

cusable. We appreciate that the Nevada Athletic Commission has promised to review the incident and we hope it takes appropriate action to discipline Koncz and Fernandez. But it should not stop there.

Manny Pacquiao himself should take action against these two, whose boorish and un-

sportsmanlike reaction to the loss can only tarnish the reputation for sportsmanship that has endeared him to millions of fans,” the NUJP said.

There was no immediate statement from the camp of Pacquiao, who is also a legislator in the Philippine.

(Mindanao Examiner)

HK tourist injured in falling metal sheet in RP airport MANILA – An elderly Hong Kong tourist was rushed to hospital after she was hit on the head with a piece of a metal sheet that fell off from the roof of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

The woman was walking at the Terminal 2 when the accident occurred.

She was taken to the St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Authorities did not release the identity of the

A public toilet in Zamboanga City run by the Zamboanga Market Stall Operators, Inc. now the subject of a complaint after a student said she saw a dead rat in one of the smelly rest rooms.

She paid P5 to use the toilet. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

foreigner, but said she was okay.

The NAIA has been several times cited by travellers and blogs and other travel websites as one of the worst airports in the world.

The website called “Sleeping in Airports” called the NAIA as the worst airport in Asia for this year, alongside with airports in India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Vietnam.

(Mindanao Examiner)

Parak itinumba sa ZC, investment scam sinisipat sa krimen!

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Isang parak ang pinatay ng mga armadong kalalakihan sakay ng motorsiklo matapos ng mahabang habulan sa isang barangay sa Zamboanga City.

Kinilala naman ng pulisya ang biktima na si SPO1 Raymond Dalida, na naka-destino sa Police Security and Protection Group.

Napaslang ito sa Barangay Lunzuran gabi ng Biyernes at ayon sa mga

saksi ay narinig nilang sumigaw ang mga armado sa parak na ibalik ang kanilang salapi.

Sinabi naman ni Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, hepe ng lokal na pulisya, na posibleng konektado sa Aman investment scam ang krimen. Mahigit P12 bilyon ang natangay ng Aman Futures mula sa mga investors nito sa Mindanao.

Patuloy ang imbestigasyon sa pamamaslang

sa parak upang mabatid kung may koneksyon ito sa scam o naging ahente ng Aman Future na pagaari ni Malaysian national Manuel Amalilio na ngayon ay nagtatago sa Sabah matapos na gumuho ang kumpanya nito.

Ilang parak rin ang nagsilbing bodyguards ni Amalilio sa kasagsagan ng kanyang raket sa Zamboanga del Sur. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Dec. 17-23, 2012

MAYAN ‘APOCALYPSE’ ONE WEEK AWAY HUMANITY has just one week left to get its affairs in order, if you believe the doomsayers.

The world will come to an end on December 21, according to one interpretation of the Mayan calendar that has found a number of believers online. Many different apocalyptic scenarios are envisioned, from a cataclysmic asteroid strike to a monster solar storm.

The source of the anxiety is the Mayan Long Count calendar, whose 13th bak’tun (or 144,000-day cycle) wraps up on Dec. 21. To the ancient Maya, this milestone would have marked the end of a cycle of creation — a fact doomsayers have seized on to bolster their dire predictions.

But there’s no evi-

dence that the ancient Maya themselves would be on board with this apocalyptic interpretation, say experts in Mayan history. Rather, they likely would have celebrated the event and simply rolled the calendar over to a new bak’tun.

Scientists agree that we have nothing in particular to fear on Dec. 21.

No gigantic asteroids or mysterious rogue planets are on a collision course with Earth, they say, and there’s no reason to think a massive, civilizationthreatening solar storm is in the offing, either.

Indeed, the sun has been fairly quiet during its current 11-year activity cycle, which is known as Solar Cycle 24. And Earth has a histor y of weathering whatever the sun, or anything else,

throws at it.

“Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” NASA researchers write in an apocalypsedebunking FAQ. But that’s not to say Dec. 21 is an insignificant date. It’s one of the year’s two solstices, marking the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the onset of summer in the South. (The other solstice occurs in June.)

So while some p e o p l e a re h u n k e r i n g down in bunkers awaiting the end, others will b e c e l e b ra t i n g t h e changing of the seasons on our ancient and a b i d i n g E a r t h . ( Mi k e Wall, SPACE.com Senior Writer)

ICRC scales up effort to help typhoon victims

MANIL A - Typhoon Bopha, locally known as Pablo, destroyed more than 90% of the infrastructure in the eastern half of the southern Philippines, with severe consequences for over a hundred thousand people, the Inter national Committee of the Red Cross said, adding more than 900 deaths have already been confirmed.

In response, ICRC together with the Philippine Red Cross, is scaling up its operations on the ground. To meet the most critical needs of some 200,000 people, the ICRC is launching a preliminary appeal for P433 million (10 million Swiss francs).

“This typhoon left a staggering level of damage along the eastern coast of Mindanao. In the worst-hit communities of Baganga, Cateel, Boston and Caraga, people are left with almost nothing. Not only have they lost their homes, but they are worried about their future since the crops they depend on to earn a living have been almost totally destroyed,” Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC’s head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement sent to

ARMM

the Mindanao Examiner.

“Our priority will be to provide people with emergency assistance, keeping in mind the mid-term goal of helping them to resume their normal lives,” Aeschlimann said.

“Most of the funds we are calling for will be spent on food and basic shelter materials that can be provided right away.”

On Friday, a Boeing 747 jet brought emergency supplies to Davao and will make two more trips to bring a total of 280 tons of tarpaulins and other shelter materials, mosquito nets and basic household items from the ICRC’s emergency stock in Kuala Lumpur.

The ICRC, which has been working in this part of the southern Philippines for decades, and its partner, the Philippine Red Cross, have already delivered food and items essential for cooking and hygiene to tens of thousands of people.

Since local water systems were damaged, joint ICRC-Philippine Red Cross emergency teams are treating water and transporting it to strategic locations so that people will have

clean drinking water.

The ICRC has also helped local hospitals to cope with the influx of injured patients by providing medicines and medical supplies. In addition, it plans to support repairs to some rural health facilities in the area to ensure that people have access to suitable medical care.

Ang mga governors ng ARMM habang nakikinig kay Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan ukol sa ipinatayo nitong gusali para sa Women’s and Children’s Center sa bayan ng Jolo. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ARMM guvs namangha sa kagandahan ng Sulu SULU - Binisita ng mga gover nors ng Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ang lalawigan ng Sulu sa imbitasyon na rin ni Gov. Sakur Tan. Dumating sa Sulu si Basilan Gov. Jum Akbar, Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali, Maguindanao G ov. Esmael Mangudadatu at kinatawan ni Lanao del Sur G ov.

Mamintal Adiong, Jr., at ARMM G ov.

Mujiv Hataman. Dalawang araw rin nagtagal ang mga ito sa Sulu na kung

saan ay inilibot sila ni Tan sa ibat-ibang proyekto ng pamahalaang panlala-wigan.

Ipinakita rin ni Tan ang malaking pagbabago ng lalawigan, partikular sa bayan ng Maiumbung, ang sentro ng Sultanat of Suku and No rth Bor neo, at namangha ang mga opisyal sa kanilang nakitang pagbabago.

Todo naman ang pasasalamat ng mga governors sa imbitasyon ni Tan sa kanila at

ganoon rin naman ito sa pagpapaunlak sa kanyang paanyaya sa kabila ng mga hectic schedules ng mga ito.

Maraming proyekto si Tan, na itinuturing na siyang nagbigay ng baging pag-asa sa naturang lalawigan. Sa ilalim ng pamumuno ni Tan ay maraming mga pabahay at paaralan ang naitayo nito, bukod pa sa m a r a - m i n g impraistraktura sa ibatibang bayan ng Sulu.

(Mindanao Examiner)

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