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President Rodrigo Duterte with Sulu Vice Gubernatorial Candidate Toto Tan.
P10
February 18-24, 2019
President Rodrigo Duterte with his official lone candidate for Governor in Sulu Sakur ‘Datu Shahbandar’ Tan.
Duterte Opens Up The Philippines To Chinese Workers, As Filipinos Seek Jobs Overseas
C
hinese workers are “flooding” the Philippines. That’s according to a story published recently in South China Morning Post. Worse, Duterte’s administration is losing count of how many Chinese workers are in the country legally or illegally, according to the same source. The flood of Chinese flop on the South China workers follows Duterte’s Sea disputes, and allegedabandoning the Philip- ly, an agreement between pines close ties with the China and the Philippines US and the cozying up to to relax visa restrictions. A total of 3.12 million China. This major shift in Chinese citizens entered the country’s foreign the Philippines from policy includes a big flipContinue on page 2
Zambo mayor is among ‘Top 5 World’s Best Mayors’ ZAMBOANGA CITY – Mayor Beng Climaco of Zamboanga City in southern Philippines has been chosen as among “Top 5 World’s Best Mayors” by the prestigious City Mayors Foundation. Climaco, a multi-awarded politician, was named along with Valeria Mancinelli, Mayor
ARMM
of Ancona, Italy who is the Winner of the 2018 World Mayor Prize; Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, UK; Nathalie Appéré, Mayor of Rennes, France; and Charlotte Britz, Mayor of Saarbrücken, Germany. In its award to Climaco, it heavily cited the local mayor for her Continue on page 4
President Rodrigo Duterte and President Xi Jinping
Indonesian executioner in IS video killed in Syria battle AN INDONESIAN militant shown killing a foreigner in a 2016 Islamic State group video was killed last month in a battle with U.S.-backed forces in Syria, Indonesian police and
Eastern Mindanao
a family member said Monday. National police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said Muhammad Saifuddin, who used the aliases Abu Walid and Moham-
Western Mindanao
med Karim Yusop Faiz, was killed on Jan. 29 in eastern Deir Ezzor province where an international coalition is trying to defeat remaining pockets of IS group extremists.
Cebu
“He was killed by shrapnel from a Syrian forces tank in the battle,” Prasetyo told The Associated Press. Saifuddin’s older brother, Continue on page 4
Manila
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The Mindanao Examiner
February 18-24, 2019
Duterte Opens Up The Philippines To Chinese Workers, As Filipinos Seek Jobs Overseas
Continued from page 1 January 2016 to May 2018, according to the Bureau of Immigration. Within these figures is a number of Chinese workers, which is still unknown. What isn’t unknown is the number of Filipinos seeking jobs overseas, which reached 2.2 million as of 2016. That begs the question: Why is the Philippines opening up its labor market to foreign workers when it cannot provide jobs for its own people? It is known that the Philippines unemployment rate stands at 5.1% in 2018, well above China’s 3.82%. Mean-
while, China’s GDP growth stands at 6.5%, well ahead of the Philippines 6.1%. That begs another question: Why are Chinese workers heading to the Philippines when there are better opportunities at home? There are good answers to both questions. Duterte’s Philippines isn’t open just to Chinese workers. It is also open to Chinese contractors, real estate developers, gamblers, etc. Chinese contractors have been heading to the Philippines to get a piece of the country’s infrastructure
spending boom. “A combination of Philippines President Duterte’s USD180bn ‘Build, Build, Build’ program and the Chinese One Belt, One Road initiative has created one of the largest infrastructure construction booms in Asia,” Eijas Ariffin in a piece in THE ASEAN POST. And as is the case in Africa and other Asian countries Chinese contractors are bringing along their own engineers and their own workers. Apparently, the pay is better than home. Meanwhile, Chinese citizens are snapping up local properties in rich districts. “In
Manila’s main financial district and its fringes, signs of the new inhabitants are everywhere: the restaurants serving steaming Chinese hotpots and dumplings, Mandarin broadcasts at the Mall of Asia, and the soaring property prices,” reports Bloomberg. Then there are gamblers heading to the Philippines, as the Chinese government cranks down on conspicuous gambling in Macau by its citizens. And as Chinese gamblers come to the Philippines, so do related businesses, like restaurants and entertainment staffed by Chinese workers.
“An estimated 100,000 migrants, mostly Chinese, have flooded into pockets of the Philippines capital since September 2016, and the deluge is rippling through the city’s real estate market in ways that are unique among the world’s urban centers,” continues the report.“While Chinese investors have been snapping up big swathes of high-end housing in Hong Kong, London and New York for years to move their money offshore, this new rush is motivated by something different: Manila’s booming gaming industry.” Apparently, once again
pay is better than home.While China won’t turn the Philippines into another Sri Lanka anytime soon, it may turn it into a new Macau.That won’t help Filipinos. They will still have to seek jobs overseas. Just recently, a Chinese woman Jiale Zhangwas arrested after she splashed soybean drink to a cop who prevented he from riding a train where food is prohibited. Another Chinese man Zhang Yang was charged with acts of lasciviousness after groping 3 local women. (Panos Mourdoukoutas - forbes.com. With a report from Mindanao Examiner.)
The ‘Black Flag’ Flies on Facebook THE FIRST news that militants had taken to the streets of the Islamic City of Marawi on May 23, 2017, came from Facebook. Pictures of masked men carrying assault rifles and waving the black flag of the Islamic State were swirling across social media well before Philippine and international news channels picked up the story. By the time the military and the media had begun to respond, Marawi’s residents were already streaming out of the city by the tens of thousands to seek refuge from the violence. The fact that news of the siege spread first on Facebook isn’t surprising. Over 60 million Filipinos have access to the internet; of those, 97 percent are on Facebook. For many, Facebook is the internet, a circumstance encouraged by local telecoms that offer free access to the social media site without the need for a paid data plan. While the proliferation of Facebook makes Filipinos some of the most digitally connected people in the world, the five-month battle for Marawi in 2017 laid bare a darker side of social media: its power as a tool of violent extremism. In the months leading up to the siege, there had already been speculation that extremist groups were trying to use social media to reach and recruit Muslims across Mindanao. Stories collected from schools and universities in Marawi following the siege confirm that this was the case. The rise of online violent extremism in the Philippines over the last few years occurred despite significant strides in the Mindanao peace process. The island region has been gripped by armed rebellions for more than four decades, caused largely by local grievances against the state. But protracted negotiations with two major rebel groups in Mindanao have produced
two peace agreements, the most recent in 2014 between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The acceptance of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in a plebiscite on January 21 is the fruit of decades of peace talks. Suicide bombings in the city of Jolo just days later by a group aligned with the Islamic State are a stark reminder that many challenges remain. As early as 2014, after the declaration of the caliphate in Iraq and Syria, images and videos had begun appearing online showing armed groups in the Philippines pledging allegiance to ISIS. These groups reject the formally negotiated path to peace, and some of them are now engaged in online extremism to promote or defend their armed efforts in various parts of Mindanao. It was two of these groups—Abu Sayyaf, and Maute—that led the attack on Marawi in 2017 in the name of ISIS. With online extremism and the siege of Marawi as a backdrop, The Asia Foundation, in partnership with the online media organization Rappler, set out to study the role of social media in the messaging and recruitment practices of violent extremist groups in the Philippines. The project closely engaged with young Filipinos active on social media and at risk of being exposed to extremism, to understand how they use the internet and the content they encounter online. The project studied thousands of pages, groups, and profiles on social media to analyze the methods and networks that allowed extremism to flourish online in 2018. The study’s findings were released in December in the report Understanding Violent Extremism. Despite efforts of the Philippine government and social media companies in the wake of the Marawi siege,
online violent extremist activity continues. While much of the coordinated publicity that circulated during the siege has vanished, extremists are still sharing news of their activities online and using the tools of social networking to connect with one another and with potential recruits. Violent extremist content in the Philippines remains a serious challenge for authorities to monitor and detect. Posts are commonly in local languages that defy software translation, making them difficult to detect using off-the-shelf security tools such as content blockers and scrapers. In addition, content draws predominantly on local grievances, highlighting how both terrorist violence and the conditions that give rise to it in the Philippines are highly local and even idiosyncratic. This local nature of content on social media confirms the organic character of online extremism in the Philippines. The violent extremists studied in the Foundation report are digital natives, but they are also digitally naïve, spreading messages in an opportunistic and unsophisticated manner that mirrors the way other digitally active youth often use social media in their day-to-day lives. Posts featuring poor-quality images of young men—often boys— posing in front of an Islamic State flag while camped in the jungle reveal how those engaged in terrorism share their lives online in a similar manner to their nonextremist peers. The content is full of the confidence and bravado that is common among teenagers and young adults on social media. Efforts to radicalize others are mostly confined to private messages or debates on local-interest Facebook groups. Extremist content typically appears in the comment threads of popular or controversial posts.
Where private messaging takes place, it is commonly through digital networks that replicate a person’s offline community, suggesting that the primary candidates for online radicalization and recruitment are drawn largely from a person’s friends, family, and acquaintances. There are instances where people have been contacted by strangers, but such outreach is rare, and usually occurs when the target individual has posted content that already appears sympathetic to the extremist cause. Looking ahead, the new report suggests that the future of violent extremism on social media in the Philippines is hard to predict. The uncoordinated nature of current extremist activity on social media indicates that the immediate danger is low, but the evolution of digital security threats demonstrates that all actors must remain vigilant and engaged in monitoring developments in online activity.
One thing that’s clear is that simply removing offensive content from Facebook is ineffective. Even when the original post is deleted, extremist messages and content can continue to be shared. Meanwhile, those whose posts are censored or deleted may become isolated from more positive communities and begin to conduct their online activities in a secretive manner. There are specific actions that government, NGOs, social media companies, and others can take to mitigate the influence of terror groups on Facebook, but taken together, the report’s findings emphasize the need for timely, targeted interventions to thwart extremist activity online. Capacity building at the community level, such as courses promoting digital literacy and critical thinking skills among young Filipinos, is one concrete activity that could effectively blunt the tactics of extremists on
social media. Online violent extremism is a global problem for governments and social media companies. What the Philippine case reveals is that within this international trend, local dynamics and social relations are the foundation of extremist messaging and recruitment. Tailored responses that address local grievances are still the best tools to limit the influence of dangerous online content. (By Nathan Shea. This essay is drawn from the report Understanding Violent Extremism: Messaging and Recruitment on Social Media, written by Nathan Shea, Derkie Alfonso, Kathline Tolosa, Datumanong Ebil, Ethan Geary, and Sam Chittick with support from Rappler. Shea is a senior program officer in The Asia Foundation’s Conflict and Fragility Program. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author, not those of The Asia Foundation.)
NOTICE TO DISSOLVE THE COOPERATIVE LSK MULTI-PURPOSE COOPERATIVE DATE & TIME: March 3, 2019 at 1 o’clock in the afternoon VENUE: LSK MPC Bldg., Lower Saguing, Makilala, Cotabato AGENDA: VOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION OF LSK-MPC
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The Mindanao Examiner
February 18-24, 2019
Duterte distributes land titles in Maguindanao
President Rodrigo Duterte MAGUINDANAO – President Rodrigo Duterte has recently led the distribution of Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Buluan town in Maguindanao province. Duterte awarded a total of 834 land titles to 780 farmers from 17 municipalities – Ampatuan, Buluan, Datu Abdullah Sangki, Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Paglas, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Guindulungan, Kabuntalan, Mamasapano, Mangudadatu, Rajah Buayan, Sultan Kudarat, Sultan sa Barongis, Talayan, Talitay, and Upi. “Kung ano man ang makuha mo sa gobyerno na lupa , hawakan mo ‘yan, pwede mong ipasa ‘yan sa pamilya mo. I always tell everybody, military, police, lahat, even the cabinet na tayo po ay hindi magkakaroon ng kapayapaan hanggang walang resolusyon yung mga kapatid natin nag-rebelde na mabigyan ng lupa. Hindi natin yan madadala sa patayan, mauubos lang sa walang kakwenta-kwentang bagay,” he told the farmers. Duterte said that he will dedicate his remaining three years in office in achieving a long and lasting peace in Mindanao. He instructed Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John Castriciones, who was present in the event, to give all the government’s lands to
the people. “Ibigay mo na lahat yan sa panahon ko, pati bukid ibigay mo na para mataniman,” he said. Regional Secretary Dayang Carlsum-Jumaide of DAR-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) underscored the objectives of Monday’s event. “Mandato po ng DAR-ARMM ang pagpapatupad ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program upang maipamahagi ang mga lupang sakahan sa mga magsasaka at tulungan silang umunlad at magkaroon ng maayos na pamumuhay,” she said. She also mentioned the positive impact of the incoming Bangsamoro government to ARBs. “Panatag po ang kalooban namin sa pagsalubong natin sa Bangsamoro autonomous regional government na hindi mapapabayaan ang ating mga agrarian reform beneficiaries, bagkus bubuti pa lalo ang kalidad ng kanilang buhay na nagnanais ng pangmatagalang pangkapayapaan at kaunlaran,” she said. For his part, ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman said: “Sa puntong ito, anumang araw ngayon ay lilisan na ang ARMM. Masaya akong bababa sa ARMM, dahil alam ko, marami tayong pinagsamahan at marami tayong nagawa. Isang halimbawa na lamang po ang araw na ito. Kahit papaano, ang ating mga magsasaka dito sa Maguindanao ay nakikinabang
din sa mga titulo ng lupa na kanilang pag-aari na habambuhay.” He also thanked the President for supporting the regional government. “Kung anuman ang natamasa niyo at kung anuman ang tagumpay ng ARMM, kung meron man kayong nararamdaman na pagbabago, hindi po mangyayari yun kung hindi tayo tinulungan ng pambansang pamahalaan. Sa ating Pangulo, nais ko pong personal na ipa-abot ang aking taus-pusong pasasalamat sa inyong suporta sa ARMM,” he said. Wilson Balena, a Teduray from Upi and one of the beneficiaries, was emotional in thanking the regional government and the President for fulfilling his dream to have his own land. “Napakahalaga po kasi ng lupa para sa amin. Ito ay katumbas ng aming buhay at magdadala ng kinabukasan ng aming mga anak. Instrumento po ito ng kapayapaan at kaunlaran sa amin. Pagbubungkal ng lupa ang aming ikinabubuhay pero ni minsan hindi po kami nagkaroon ng lupang matatawag naming sa amin. Ngayon lang po, ngayon lang,” he said. The CLOAs covered a total area of 1,740.3 hectares. To date, DAR-ARMM has already transferred a total area of 224,708.73 hectares to 67,801 farmers all over the region. Sixty percent of these are in the province of Maguindanao. (Bureau of Public Information)
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Zambo mayor praises law enforcers ZAMBOANGA CITY – Mayor Beng Climaco has reiterated her order to authorities to intensify the government’s anti-drug campaign as she praised the police and other law enforcement agencies for their active role in eradicating illegal drugs here. Just last week, undercover cops arrested a village chieftain of Tawi-Tawi province following a drug sting here. Regional police chief Emmanuel Licup said the 47-year old Julficar Ladjahali, of Bongao town, was arrested along with Nixon Imdani, 46, after they allegedly sold methamphetamine hydrochloride also known as “shabu” to anti-narcotics agents in the village of San Jose Gusu. He said members of the Drug Enforcement Unit also seized six packets of suspected shabu, one .45-caliber pistol and a magazine loaded with
15 ammunition, 25 bullets for 9mm pistol and two magazines for automatic rifle and 10 ammunition. “The arrested persons are now detained and all the confiscated items were brought to Zamboanga City Crime Laboratory Office for examination,” Licup said. Climaco also asked officials of Zamboanga’s 98 villages to submit a checklist detailing security and safety measures in their respective areas. The security checklist was given out during the expanded meeting of the City Peace and Order Council and the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council on January 31 which Climaco heads. Village officials are to submit the following: List of notorious personalities or suspected armed groups, list of Barangay Intelligence Network members, list of barangay tanods, list of foreigners
staying in the barangay, list of religious leaders and elders and other persons of influence, list of all residents, list of all civic, religious organizations and sectoral groups to include youth groups and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer), guard system of tanods, list of finger wharves, list of bancas and other water crafts, list of current government projects in the barangays, list of issues and concerns the barangay is facing. Climaco said checklist is part of the comprehensive security measures that the police, military and all other law enforcement agencies have implemented here following the recent twin suicide bombings at a cathedral in Jolo town in Sulu province and the grenade attack on a mosque in Talon-Talon village here. (Mindanao Examiner)
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The Mindanao Examiner
February 18-24, 2019
Indonesian executioner in IS video killed in Syria battle
Continued from page 1 Muinudinillah Basri, said the family learned about the death through an instant messaging app. “There was a photo of his body and I can recognize it,” he said. Saifuddin was a recruitment tool for IS and appeared in several videos on radical websites. They included a 2016 video that showed him along with two other militants from Malaysia and the Philippines killing three foreigners, including Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who were dressed in orange jumpsuits and forced to kneel before being slain. The United States in August designated Saifuddin and the two other killers in the IS video, Malaysian Mohammad Rafi Udin and Filipino Mohammed Reza Lahaman Kiram, as global terrorists. Basri said the family hadn’t heard from Saifuddin since he left Indonesia to join IS in Syria with his wife and children about four years ago. They believed he was originally radicalized by a Christian-Muslim conflict in Indonesia’s Ambon region from 1999 to 2001 along with his twin brother, who died in the conflict. One of Saifuddin’s Indonesian friends, convicted militant Sofyan Tsauri, said that in radical circles Saifuddin was perceived as trusted by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as a leader of Southeast Asian Islamic militants. Tsauri, a former member of the al-Qaida-affili-
ated network responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings who now collaborates with Indonesia’s counterterrorism agency, said Saifuddin fled to the southern Philippines shortly after the Bali bombings with two other senior Indonesian militants. He was arrested in the Philippines while attempting to return to Indonesia with weapons and explosives and sentenced to nine years in prison in 2007. After marrying the widow of an Indonesian suicide bomber following his early release in 2013, Saifuddin sank below the radar of authorities but reappeared several years later in an IS propaganda video that urged Indonesian Muslims to oppose the government and join violent jihad in Syria or the southern Philippines. “Since long ago he had aspired to go international,” Tsauri said. “He had a convincing track record that gained trust and an important position in IS.” In a news conference, Prasetyo said police early last month arrested an Indonesian militant, Harry Kuncoro, at Jakarta’s international airport, thwarting his plan to travel to Syria via Iran with Saifuddin’s help. Prasetyo said Kuncoro, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2012 for harboring Bali bomber Umar Patek and illegally possessing weapons, used the Telegram instant messaging app to communicate with Saifuddin after being paroled last year.
Saifuddin sent Kuncoro $2,100 (232,300 yen) for traveling to Syria, ad-
vised him to travel via Iran’s Khorasan province and gave him contact
numbers for Indonesian militants living in Khorasan, Prasetyo said. He
had obtained a passport using a fake national identity card. (AP)
Zambo mayor is among ‘Top 5 World’s Best Mayors’
Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco (Photo by Kathy Wee Sit) Continued from page 1 commitment to offer Zamboanga harmony, security and prosperity. “Shortly after being elected in 2013, Climaco was confronted with an armed uprising by Islamic rebels. Parts of Zamboanga City were under siege for 19 days and by the time government forces had defeated the rebels, 183 people had died and more than 120,000 residents were displaced.” “During her first term in office, Climaco made it her priority for the victims of the attack to receive justice and compensation. She has also been determined to heal any divisions between the city’s Christian and Muslim communities. The Inter-Religious Dialogue Council, she convened, has been successful in promoting peace. In a city, which was often perceived as violent, there have been no bombing or
kidnapping incidents since 2016. In 2017, Mayor Climaco’s administration won the award for the most improved local government,” the philanthropic City Mayors Foundation, an international research think tank dedicated to local government, said. In winning the award, Climaco, a known religious woman, praised and said: “To God be the glory! Muchas gracias a Dios y La Virgen Maria y San Jose. Thank you so much for being an inspiration in my journey as Mayor! Vaya con Dios!” In a series of personal essays, the finalists for the 2018 World Mayor Prize described the reasons that motivated them to enter politics, the challenges they face as mayors and how they envisage their towns and cities to develop and prosper in the future. They stress the importance of women
in politics and urge young women always to aim high. In her essay, Climaco describes how the values of family members formed her political and social beliefs. “My grandmother was a champion of Filipino women’s right to vote and it was from her, we all learned the value of community service.” She also wrote that in times of crisis her faith in God sustained her. And today, Zamboanga is the 4th Most Resilient City in the country as recognized by National Competitiveness Council or NCC. NCC also adjudged Zamboanga City, First Place as “The Most Improved Local Government Unit” in 2017 among 33 Highly Urbanized Cities throughout the country and among 145 cities nationwide, Zamboanga also ranked 16th in “Overall Competitiveness”
category. Climaco, who is seeking re-election in the May polls, was also recognized as the “Most Outstanding Mayor” by the Federation of Local Councils of Women in the Philippines in 2017. These awards and rankings were based on indicators and measurements such as economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency. These recognitions are feats never before achieved by any administration. The City Mayors Foundation said it awards “The World Mayor Prize and Commendations” every two years to mayors who have made outstanding contributions to their communities and have developed a vision for urban living and working that is relevant to towns and cities across the world. (Mindanao Examiner)
Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco
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The Mindanao Examiner
February 18-24, 2019
ARMM inaugurates Bangsamoro Museum in Cotabato City COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) formally inaugurated its first Bangsamoro Museum on Monday at Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex here. The Bangsamoro Museum is a facility established under Executive Order No. 32 s. 2019. It serves as repository of artifacts, works of art, as well as textual and iconographic records relevant to the cultural memory of the Bangsamoro people in the ARMM. Governor Mujiv Hataman, who led the opening of the museum recently said it was not easy for the regional government to put up such facility. However, he said the assistance of a national curator and the competence of the workforce of the Office of the Regional Governor drove him to push for it. “Ito rin ang ating motibasyon upang buoin ang museo na ito. Ayaw na nating maranasan na hirap at kung sinu-sino lamang ang magkukwento sa atin ng kwento ng buhay at aspeto ng ating pagiging Moro,” he said. The Bangsamoro Museum also symbolizes the determination of Hataman’s leadership to deliv-
er a smooth transition to the incoming Bangsamoro government through reformed governance. “ItongBangsamoro Museum, kasama na rin ang Regional Library, ay simbolo ng pagkokonsolida natin sa mga dokumento para sa transisyon ng gobyerno,” he said, noting, the importance of the inauguration of the facility for ARMM and for the next generation. “Ang mahalaga, sa pagtatapos ng ARMM, mayroon tayong maiiwan na pwedeng tawaging ‘legasiya’ at pwede ninyo rin itong tawaging regalo namin sa mga henerasyong darating,” he added. The Bangsamoro Museum was organized under independent curator and institutional critic Marian Pastor Roces. She emphasized that the purpose of its establishment is to collect significant stories of the Bangsamoro people through the exhibition of different artifacts from the region. Roces said she admires the resiliency of the Bangsamoro people and this is the reason why during the conceptualization of the museum’s theme, her group collected objects that convey stories of courage and
survival as their main value. “Karaniwan, ang isang museo ay naglalaman ng magagarang exhibits. Ngunit sa museong ito, karamihan po ng makikita ninyo ay hindi magagara, hindi mamahalin. May naka-exhibit na parang basahan… parang sira na (kung ituring). Bakit? Dahil mas mahalaga yung taglay na kwento ng bagay na iyan,” Roces said. Curation is a process of organizing and managing artifacts to ensure that they remain tangible and visible for the years to come. The Bangsamoro Museum has its permanent exhibition, which presents artifacts from the different parts of ARMM that have existed for centuries now. Visitors can see these, including textiles produced by Maranao women during the Marawi Siege as means of survival; recordings of the Tausug Kissa-chanting of the Bud Dajo massacre; personal library of Moro Islamic Liberation Front founder Hashim Salamat; and the 2,000-year-old archeological artifacts of Kulaman plateau, specifically burial urns. Aside from these artifacts, the museum also has ample space reserved for receiving important
documents in the future. The museum currently exhibits documents related to the peace process, including the Bangsamoro Organic Law. With the establishment of the museum, the incoming government will immediately learn that ARMM looks forward to the future of the Bangsamoro. “Itinayo ito para bigyan ng karampatang pagtingin ang lahat
ng nagawa para umabot dito,” Roces said. Meanwhile, Bangsamoro transition Commissioner Mohagher Iqbal expressed his gratitude to the efforts of Governor Hataman’s administration in ensuring a smooth transition through the preparation of pertinent documents that would be submitted to the new regional government. Iqbal also turned over to the
Bangsamoro Museum and Regional Library books he authored in 1982, which documented peace processes in southern Philippines. Along with the launching of the Bangsamoro Museum was the formal opening of the ARMM Regional Library, although it has already been made available to the public. (Bureau of Public Information)
South Cotabato allots initial P11-M for crisis intervention program GENERAL SANTOS CITY - The provincial government has allocated an initial P11 million for the implementation of its expanded social services assistance program for the poor or indigent residents in South Cotabato. Haidee Agustin, acting head of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, said the funds will be utilized as emergency financial grants and other related assistance under its crisis intervention program. This include grants for burial, hospitalization and other medical needs as well as the provision of financial, welfare
goods and transportation assistance to residents in crisis situations. The crisis intervention program was designed to immediately respond to emergency needs of walkin, referred, reported and monitored individuals and families who belong to marginalized sectors. “It aims to help the socio-economic well-being of poor individuals and families in times of crisis,” Agustin said. Under the program, qualified residents may avail of P5,000 in mortuary assistance and up to P15,000 for hospitalization. It also caters to other
medical-related needs like laboratory tests for various major illnesses and dialysis and physical therapy. To avail of the financial assistance, residents who are in need are required to submit medical abstracts, referrals, certificates of confinement and funeral receipts and contracts. Last year, the provincial government allotted some P37.7 million for the program through its annual general fund and supplemental budget. It released a total of P37.38 million worth of financial assistance to over 9,000 beneficiaries. (Frances Kristine Alvero)
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The Mindanao Examiner
February 18-24, 2019
Across : 1. Off kilter 6. Asian sauce 9. Building extension 12. Yule visitor 13. King Kong, e.g. 14. View 15. Maryland’s capital 17. Crow’s call 18. Nuisance 19. Wine (Fr.) 20. Fat for frying 21. Mature 23. Distress letters 26. Wipe out 29. Upright 31. Lymph___ 32. Pleasant 36. 14th letters 37. Relate 38. Lincoln, et al. 40. Psychic letters 41. Valley 45. Moved swiftly 46. TV and radio (2 wds.) 48. Newark time zone (abbr.) 49. Compass point (abbr.) 50. ___acid (nutrient) 51. Braying beast 52. Rent 53. Musical tones
Answer to last week’s crossword:
Down : 1. PDQ’s kin 2. Lion’s hair 3. Country lodgings 4. EMT’s word 5. Chump 6. Mouth liquid 7. Stated a viewpoint 8. Positively! 9. Adventure 10. Shakespearean king 11. Bawdy 16. Finished 20. Insane 21. Prevent 22. Fine fabric 23. Baltic, e.g. 24. Association (abbr.)
25. Snakes 27. ___-gallon hat 28. 19th letter 30. Average grades 33. Relaxed (2 wds.) 34. Small hound 35. Mouth parts 38. Locale 39. Freshwater fish 41. Floor model 42. Revise 43. Fishing string 44. Thailand’s neighbor 46. Director___Brooks 47. Fellow
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The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper is published weekly in Mindanao, Philippines. ZAMBOANGA CITY OFFICE: Unit 15, 3/F, Fairland Building, Mayor Vitaliano Agan Avenue Phone & Fax: (062) 9925480 Mobile: (0995) 5202358 DAVAO CITY OFFICE: Door 2, 402 Nidea Street, Barrio Obrero Phone: (082) 2841859 Mobile: (0925) 7621914 URL: mindanaoexaminer.com E-mail: mindanaoexaminer@gmail.com
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The Mindanao Examiner
February 18-24, 2019
OPINYON:
Bangsamoro future by Amir Mawallil
THE BANGSAMORO as we know it now is fueled by the energy and the strength of the youth. It was our youths who actively campaigned—online and offline, feet on the ground going house to house and community to community for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). The participation of our young ones in this plebiscite process was awesome to behold. They stomped the campaign grounds all the way to the day of the Jan. 21 and Feb. 6 legs of the plebiscite. These young Moros showed us just how you show the courage of your convictions. They walked their talk. Our youths spoke of what they wanted, openly and well. These young Moros stayed at the precincts from the opening of voting to the time the precincts closed. They were present at the canvassing, some of them even sleeping outside the vote-counting areas until the results were proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). These youths have shown us their resilience and determination to build peace. Their energy to dream and to focus on making real what they
aspire to create is infectious—and we would do well to match that energy and that dedication to working for the homeland we want to create. These young Moros had studied the issues surrounding the BOL, reviewed our narrative, and made their choice: They chose peace—and they are working to make that so, beginning with campaigning for the ratification of the BOL, and continuing with guarding the votes cast. They are telling us, with their actions, that they are in this process for the long haul. They say that the youth are our future. Let me tweak that saying for precision: Our youth are the citizens who are building our future, step by step, with sweat equity and with participation in their governance here in the Bangsamoro. The Moro youth is stepping up and taking their rightful place as part of the engine of change for peace and progress here in our part of the Philippines. We welcome all of these young ones, and those who will join them in our communities. Majority of the voters in the Bangsamoro region are young: More than 50
percent of the electorate here who cast their ballots in the plebiscite were youths. We have won more than just the ratification of the BOL and the expansion of the territory of the Bangsamoro with the conclusion of the plebiscite. We have won the opportunity for our youths to dream, and the sure knowledge that they can work to turn those dreams into the reality they have helped to craft. Everyone who contributed to building the Philippines as a nation did so as a young man or woman— almost all of this country’s heroes were young. It is no different now, in Mindanao, among the Bangsamoro’s youths. It is the young who have the stamina, verve and clear vision of what the future can hold for all of us. Their hands are steady, their minds sharp, their hearts are beating in the right place. The future of the Bangsamoro is bright indeed, thanks to the light cast upon it by our youths, the future of our nation and our homeland. We move into tomorrow’s peace and promise alongside them knowing we are all in this together and glad to have them take up their rightful places with us.
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February 18-24, 2019
Heroes’ Lounge eyed for Mactan airport Terminal 2
C
EBU CITY - With the opening of the Mactan Cebu International Airport’s (MCIA) Terminal 2 to cater to passengers of international flights, the private airport management said it is planning to open a new and separate Heroes’ Lounge for soldiers and policemen. Avigael Ratcliffe, head refreshments, such as coffee of Corporate Affairs and and water but no alcoholic Branding Department of beverage, with reading maGMR Megawide Cebu Air- terials readily available. She said the airport port Corp. (GMCAC), said the Heroes’ Lounge will management has assigned accommodate members an attendant to serve the of the Philippine National needs of the soldiers and poPolice and Armed Forces of licemen who use the facility the Philippines who will be at Terminal 1. However, the taking international flights. attendant’s duty hours are The airport, Ratcliffe only from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. “GMCAC, together with said, has an existing Heroes’ Lounge in Terminal 1 the Mactan-Cebu Internathat operates from 7 a.m. tional Airport Authority, to 11 p.m. “It still accom- highly value the sacrifices of modates cops and soldiers the members of the country’s travelling beyond the oper- armed forces and the police officers in protecting the ating hours,” she said. Ratcliffe said the He- country. To show our suproes’ Lounge is furnished port and appreciation, Hewith comfortable seats, roes Lounge is made availtelevision, and designated able for them free of charge, flight information display so they can comfortably stay system (FIDS), and serves while waiting for their flight
to their next assignment or for their flight home to their families,” Ratcliffe said. Family members traveling with the soldiers and police, as well as retired personnel are also welcome to use the lounge, she said. “The criteria for the use of the Heroes’ Lounge came from Malacañang and, currently, the criteria only cover Filipino armed forces and police,” she said. Ratcliffe said after President Rodrigo Duterte directed the Department of Transportation in 2016 to open a Heroes’ Lounge to cater to the country’s military and police forces, GMCAC immediately complied by opening a similar facility. Although there was no formal launch, the lounge was immediately made available for the use of uniformed personnel. Based on records, about 900 uniformed personnel used the Heroes’ Lounge in 2018, she said. (John Rey Saavedra)
COMELEC to use new system vs. illegal voters in May polls CEBU CITY — The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said illegal voters can now be easily detected through a new technology that it will introduce for the May 13 midterm elections. Lawyer Jerome Brillantes, Cebu provincial election supervisor, said part of the training modules - given to teachers who will serve in the electoral boards - is the process of verifying information through the Voters’ Registration Verification System (VRVS). “Bag-o lang ni na-introduce be-
cause Cebu is one of the pilot provinces chosen by the COMELEC to test the new system in verifying voters’ information,” he said. The information, are stored in the database of the commission and can be accessed through the VRVS. The system can be used to check the record of every voter in a jurisdiction, he said, adding, the system will detect a voter who would show up in two or more precincts to cast their votes. “We have huhungingong (rumors) about dead people who were able to cast their votes, we will prevent
it from happening through the voters’ registration verification system,” he said. Brillantes said more than 11,000 teachers in Cebu are now undergoing training in operating VRVS. The system will give the Board of Election Inspectors a quick way to identify voters and will show to them if a voter has actually voted or not. “Makita nato kinsa ang botante, registered ba siya nga botante,” he said. He said the voters’ biometrics found in the database are the data that can be found under the VRVS. (John Rey Saavedra)
Photo by GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. shows a Heroes’ Lounge at the Terminal 1 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu province where soldiers and policemen can stay while waiting for their flights.
Visayas cops praised for exemplary performance CEBU CITY -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) praised the Police Regional Office 7 for maintaining its highest level of competence in serving the people in Central Visayas region. Police Deputy Director General Archie Francisco Gamboa said he would always mention PRO-7’s exemplary performance. “You are very lucky that amidst administration here in PRO-7, you are led by a very industrious and innovative regional director,” Gamboa said. He said PRO-7 headed by Chief Supt. Debold Sinas would not be successful in its operations without the support staff, command group, and the city and municipal police directors. “Whenever I conduct conference on my oversight (committee) both on internal discipline and illegal drugs, I cannot escape from
mentioning Region 7 as my example,” he said. Gamboa also reminded the police to internalize the directives of President Rodrigo Duterte in relation to the campaign against illegal drugs and insurgency. He told the police that the PNP is recalibrating the operational thrust involving law enforcement concerns and initiatives to sync well with the national policy. The operational thrusts of the police force must be in cognizance of Duterte’s thrusts against illegal drugs, Gamboa said, adding, the police organization in the country has also adopted a different approach in the fight against insurgency. “We need to accomplish the order of the President to finish the insurgency problem in our country. We have neutralized so many of them, but it (should be) in focused law enforcement
operations or through other non-violent means,” he said. Gamboa also reminded the region’s police force regarding the wearing of police uniform, which is “like a sacred national costume that sets us apart and different” from the population. “The PNP uniform should not be worn lightly,” he said, noting that policemen’s “lives and limbs are at stake every time we wear them on duty, either (we become) wounded or killed in action.” “From the time we took our oath, we already separated ourselves from ordinary (people). We all became leaders who bridge the barriers between the police force and the greater public, (which) requires massive reforms anchored on leadership by example,” Gamboa said. (John Rey Saavedra)
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