Northern Philippine Times

Ladao new CLpolice chief

>> Tuesday, May 10, 2011

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Chief Supt. Edgardo Laddao assumed directorship of Central Luzon regional office here Tuesday as Chief Supt. Allan Purisima relinquished the post.

Turnover rites were held at the PRO Clubhouse, here. Laddao, current director of the Northern Police District, said he was ready to take on the challenge of neutralizing all criminal groups in Central Luzon.

Purisima, who was set to be promoted to director (equivalent to 2-star general rank), will be the new National Capital Regional Police Office director, officials at this camp said.

Anti-narcotics agents train on GPS to locate marijuana plantations

By Emely Cayandag Fama

CAMP DANGWA, Benguet – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Cordillera has taped services of geodetic engineers on use of Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate marijuana plantations in the region.

With this, around 35 operating personnel of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency – Cordillera Administrative Region will be trained by the Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines, Incorporated on GPS.

The first-rate training, slated Friday, at the Northern Philippine Root Crops Research and Training Center in Km. 6, La Trinidad, Benguet, will enhance the anti-drug operatives’ competency in carrying out marijuana eradication operations in the Cordillera which had been tagged as main producer of the banned drug in the Far East.

Engineer Jo Raymund O. Fernandez, GEPI member and fifth placer in the 1999 geodetic engineering professional board exam and a Baguio boy, will serve as trainer.

Participants will be oriented on GPS units and system. Fernandez is the sole proprietor of the J.R. Fernandez Surveying and Engineering Services.

He specializes in geodetic surveys, geographic information system, mineral, land, cadastral and engineering surveys, computer aided design and GPS mapping.

He is affiliated with the Society of Philippine Accredited Consultants or SPAC, and Confederation of Filipino Consulting Organizations or COFILCO.

Meanwhile, the training program of instruction includes practical exercises, and tutoring on how to maximize the use of Google Earth.

Engineer Aliver E. Mangonon, GEPI-CAR chapter president and other officers will be present during the training.

GPS can be very useful in times of medical emergency during eradication operation or when there are hostile forces in the area, where evacuation or search and rescue operations are needed immediately.

The latest massive marijuana eradication in the tri-boundaries of Benguet, Ilocos Sur and La Union had been efficiently carried out through mapping out of coordinates.

Travel time of operating units was significantly lessened, wherein choppers were used and pilots were able to land troops in target sites resulting in the eradication of more marijuana plantations.

Wage board rules out pay hike in Cordillera

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – The Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board, in a board meeting recently ruled out the issuance of another wage hike order this time despite the pending clamor for wage adjustments to cope with skyrocketing prices of petroleum products and basic commodities.

Board Secretary and regional Department of Labor and Employment officer-in-charge Ted Delson said under the present circumstances, the Board sees no supervening condition or event that can be a legal basis to issue another wage hike order.

“Though there is really an increase in the price of basic commodities, it is still not extra-ordinary to warrant another wage hike. Though we still continuously monitoring the economic situation in the region,” Delson said.

He said the RTWPB issued a wage hike order last January, a P12 increase in the daily Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) of private employees. “Within one year since the last pay hike, there should be a supervening condition to order another wage hike order.”

Aurora 2013 politics heats up; bets mulled

BALER, Aurora – Political leaders in this province are reportedly working out a Noveras-Angara tandem in the 2013 local elections involving the two protagonists in the 2007 vice gubernatorial race.

Political circles are abuzz here with reports that Vice Gov. Gerardo Noveras is being eyed to run for governor by the Angaras with businessman Rommel Angara as his running mate even amid reports that Rommel’s uncle, outgoing Baler Mayor Arthur Angara is also eyeing the governorship.

Noveras, son of the Noveras patriarch, former vice governor Isaias Sr. and younger brother of ex-vice governor Isaias Jr., defeated Rommel, nephew of incumbent Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo in the 2007 race by over 1,000 votes, spoiling an Angara-Angara team at the Capitol.

Angara-Castillo is on her third and last term as provincial chief executive and is reportedly eyeing a return to Congress in 2013 with another nephew, outgoing three-term Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara running for the Senate.

The Noverases are on record as the father-and-sons with the distinction of having been voted each as vice governor of the province.

Noveras’ victory triggered the political divorce between the Angaras and their earstwhile allies, the Tangsons of San Luis town, whom the clan suspected of junking Rommel in favor of Noveras, a claim which San Luis Mayor Annabelle Tangson and her younger brother, ex-provincial board member Mariano, denied.

Asked to comment on the Noveras-Angara team-up, Noveras described it as a “good tandem.”

Noveras brushed aside the possibility of joining the Tangsons and run as their standard-bearer.

For his part, Rommel said the possibility of him teaming up with Noveras is not distinct.

“Our rivalry is nothing personal. We are very cordial with each other, something that is not plastic,” he said.

The Angaras have reportedly maintained cordial relations with Noveras because the vice governor kept his vow not to be a stumbling block to the development agenda of Angara-Castillo and the Angaras.

DOH exec warns public against summer diseases

By Lito Dar

BAGUIO CITY- Even as this city was on a festive and vacation mood, the Department of Health reminded the public of health risks and diseases affiliated with summer.

This reminder was issued as a mix of sunny and cool weather was experienced by tourists flocking the city to escape the heat in the lowlands.

Amidst this scenario, City Health Services Office Medical Officer Dr. Donna Bel Tubera, said with the hot summer weather, diseases that usually appear include food and water borne diseases – like food poisoning and typhoid.

She advised the public to always ensure hygienic handling or preparations of food and to eat the food while it is still hot or just been cooked as bacteria easily multiply with hot weather.

Tubera said measles was another disease prevalent during summer, though it is now being addressed by the nationwide “Iligtas sa Tigdas ang Pinas’ Measles-Rubella door-to-door vaccination. Other summer diseases Tubera mentioned were sore eyes, chicken pox, skin diseases (rashes, heat rash) and boils.

Heat stroke was another, though there was no recorded case yet in the city.

“Each individual should increase their water intake or drink at least eight to 13 glasses of water a day and stay in shade or avoid staying under the sun for too long, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or at least they should use sun block lotions,” she said.

She said it good to use use light clothing, at least with cotton material which can absorb the sweat, and to use umbrella, caps and maybe even sunglasses.

For those planning to go swimming or to the beach, they should plan for an early morning or late afternoon swim, Tubera advised.

Tubera said dengue cases have also increased even in the absence of rain.

The hot weather makes mosquito quicker to multiply, she explained as she advised the public to clean their homes, especially ensure that artificial or any other man made containers are clean and properly sealed.

Gov’t urged: Avert power crisis

BALER, Aurora — Sen. Edgardo J. Angara urged the national government to develop plans to avert a looming energy crisis in Luzon that is projected to cause rotating blackouts by 2013.

Angara, the Chair of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering who hails from this province, said there is a pressing need for the government to speed up the development of alternative and Renewable Energy (RE) sources that can help prevent the said looming energy problem in Luzon.

The senator said that according to Professor Rowaldo del Mundo from the University of the Philippines National Engineering and Electricity Center, the Luzon grid will be unable to handle the increased power demand from growing business and industries.

He added that rotating blackouts are likely to occur in 2013.

Dr. Alan Ortiz, former president and CEO of the National Transmission Corp. has also stated there is a chance of power outages if growing power needs are not addressed.

Angara added that COMSTE has been working closely with RE developers in wind, solar, and biofuels such as algae, to create a focused approach between government and the private sector and speed up the development of RE sources and industries that can complement existing coal fired plants.

“We should be able to take advantage of collaboration with the private sector and develop more energy projects that can take advantage of the Renewable Energy Act,” Angara said.

He added alternative energy sources will help address the growing power demands while lessening the negative environmental impact that coal fired power plants have.

The Renewable Energy Act of 2008 exempts renewable energy sources from Value Added Tax (VAT), grants a seven year income tax holiday, and prioritizes the purchase, grid connection and transmission of electricity generated by companies from renewable energy sources.

CORDILLERA POLICE FILES

With Leon Talleo

17 nabbed for illegal gambling in Abra
BANGUED, Abra – Seventeen persons were nabbed at the residence of a certain Amelia Pabuayon, an overseas contract worker here at Borbon Street, Zone 6 on April 30.

Joint forces of provincial police led by Supt. Dexter Ollaging and investigation chief Inspector Tomas Jonathan C. Sabado arrested Virgilio Villacurta y Sandan, 61, head checker, native of Mabini, Santiago ,Isabela and 16 others for illegal gambling.

Gambling paraphernalia, computer software and other related items on illegal gambling were confiscated.

Cases are now being readied against the suspects for filing in court.

Guard falls down Banaue creek; dies
BANAUE, Ifugao – A security guard identified as Bernard Bandao Ballangi, 42, a resident of Barangay Tam-an here was found dead on a creek in the area on April 29 around 8:20 a.m.

Police said the victim was a nightshift duty guard at Banaue Central School.

The victim reportedly died when he fell down the creek as he was walking home to his boarding house.

The Ifugao police crime laboratory and municipal health officer examined the victim to determine the real cause of his death.

Farmer shot dead along Tineg River
DOLORES, Abra – A farmer was shot to death and later found along the Tineg River here at Barangay Isit on April 30 around 7:30 a.m.

Town police received a telephone call from a barangay chairman Rogelio Apolinar informing that a dead person later identified as one Rey-Ann Bersalona Y Galazo, Aka Ambot”, 23, single, and native of Naglupacan, Bulbulala, La Paz town was found dead with multiple hack wounds on his face.

Police said early morning of April 29, the victim told his mother that he was going to Isit but did not return in the afternoon.

The body of the victim was later found by Eddie Tan, 35, married, farmer and a resident of Isit who immediately reported the matter to Apolinar.

Police are now investigating to identify the perpetrator,.

Trike men shoot dead meat vendor
BANGUED, Abra – A meat vendor identified as Marilou B. Hernandez, 48, single was shot by two still unidentified men riding a motorcycle in tandem here along Mckinley St. Zone 2 on April 30 at about 5:20 a.m.

A police report said the victim was waiting for a tricycle in front of their residence when the suspects suddenly appeared and shot her and immediately fled away after the incident.

The victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds on her body and was brought to Abra Provincial Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The police team recovered eight empty shells and five deformed slugs.

The case is still under investigation.

Girl falls down high building, survives
BANAUE, Ifugao -- A ten year old girl identified as Melanie B. Gumuwang of Angadal, Poblacion here allegedly fell a 35-foot high unfinished three storey building here on April 29 at about 3 a.m.

Police investigation revealed the victim was watching the search for Miss Embayah 2011 being conducted in the building when she suddenly fell.

She was immediately brought at the Good News Clinic for medical treatment.

The victim sustained multiple fractures on her left hand, left thigh and bruises on her face and body.

Six wanted persons nabbed in Cordillera
CAMP DANGWA, La Trinidad, Benguet -- Six persons in the Cordillera were nabbed as a result of “Implan Tugis.”

In Tayum, Abra, town police led by the Senior Insp. Teodoro C. Tuzon arrested Remedios B. Cabading, 55, of Barangay Gaddani here following an arrest issued by Judge Corpuz B. Alzate of Regional Trial Court, Branch 2, Bangued, Abra for the estafa with a recommend bail of bond P40, 000.

Alzate is now under the custody of Tayum police.

In La Trinidad, Benguet, police nabbed on April 29 Alexander P. Garchitorena, 43, married, businessman, native of Lupi, Camarines Sur and at present residing at NR 62 Santo Rosario Valley, Campo Sioco, Baguio City.

A warrant of arrest was earlier issued by Judge Edgardo B Diaz De Rivera Jr, presiding Judge of RTC Branch 10, La Trinidad, Benguet for violation of Presidential Decree 705 with a recommended P40,000 bail for his temporary liberty.

On April 30, La Trinidad police also arrested Benjamin P. Dona, 59, married, laborer, native of San Fernando, La Union and resident of Tabangaoen, Balili, La Trinidad, Benguet for estafa.

Judge Maria Clarita Casuga Tabin of Municipal Trial Circuit Court, Baguio City earlier issued the warrant for his arrest and was later released after posting a P12,000 bail bond.

On May 1, Mankayan, Benguet town police arrested a security guard identified as Albert Masedman, 41 for mineral high grading.

He had a recommended bail bond of P34,000 issued by Agapioto Laogan, presiding judge of RTC Branch 64 ,Benguet.

Masedman was arrested at Barangay Paco.

On May 2, same operatives arrested Maximo D. Agdasiw, 52, married, driver and resident of Bulalacao, Mankayan for acts of lasciviousness.

The suspect was arrested at Barangay Bulalacao by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Rodolfo Malingan, presiding judge of 3rd Municipal Trial Circuit Court, 1st Judicial Region Benguet.

No bail was recommended for the suspect.

In Baguio City on May 2, police nabbed Mimbal S. Domingo, 48, married, businesswoman, of Barangay Bakakeng Sur.

He was arrested at Upper Mabini Street after Antonio C. Reyes, presiding judge of RTC Branch 61 for violation of Republic Act 9165.

He is now detained at city jail.

OFW sitting on porch shot dead
TABUK CITY, Kalinga – An overseas contract worker was shot dead by a still unidentified person here May 1 around 10:30 p.m.

Police named the OFW as Dison M. Limbo, 40, married, and resident here of Barangay Bantay.

A police report said the victim with his mother-in-law and daughter Diane were sitting at the porch of their house when shot several times in different parts of his body.

Police recovered seven empty shells and two slugs of Cal. 45. at the crime scene.

Traders divested of P35,000 by robbers
PINUKPUK, Kalinga -- A businessman and his two companions on the way to buy hogs lost P35,000 to highway robbers who held them up here at Kapanikian, Camalog April 30 about 3:20 p.m.

Police identified the victims as Jonathan P. Julian, 31, businessman, Mario A. Catral, 42, married, farmer and Allan L. Dumog, 29, married tricycle driver, all residents of Kasinggoban Junction, Pinukpuk.

Police said the victims were traversing the Pinukpok –Tabuk road and boarded a tricycle to buy hogs when they were flagged down by four still unidentified person armed with a shotgun and calibers 45 and 38 pistols.

Army intel man shoots superior dead in Cagayan
By Charlie Lagasca
TUGUEGARAO CITY – A military intelligence officer who reportedly shot dead his superior officer inside their office here allegedly in a fit of anger is now under the custody of city police here.

Authorities identified the victim who succumbed to three bullets from a Cal. 45 pistol as Master Sergeant Jimmy Quilang, 46, of Linao East village, Tuguegarao City.

Reports disclosed that Quilang’s alleged assailant, Staff Sergeant Erwin Aplascador, 36, shot him three times in the head April 30 after he reportedly got piqued by his superior’s constantly berating him.

Both officers were assigned with the Armed Forces’ military intelligence group (MIG) in this city.

According to reports, the three bullets all exited at the back of the head of the victim causing his instant death.

Reports also indicated that few days before the incident, Quilang had allegedly manhandled the suspect and continually berated him until they crossed paths again April 30 inside their office.

Tuguegarao City police director Supt. Pedro Martirez said the suspect is now under their custody while charges are being readied against him.

Harassment of Chestcore health workers in Kalinga

LETTERS

No one can deny the vital role that community health workers have played in the survival of our indigenous peasant communities in Kalinga.

Since the days of the Marcos dictatorship, they have fought side by side with us in our struggle to defend our ancestral lands, and thus our very existence as communities, against greedy corporations and oppressive regimes.

They have come to the remotest of our villages to educate and train us so that we can take care of our own health, given government’s lack of attention to it. Where there are no medical professionals to tend to our ailments, there is CHESTCORE, and the knowledge and skills that it has equipped us with.

CHESTCORE, Community Health Education Services and Training in the Cordillera Region, first sent its staff to Kalinga in 1981, at the height of our communities’ struggle against the Marcos dictatorship’s Chico dams.

Many of our communities then had little awareness of sanitation and preventive health care. CHESTCORE’s doctors, nurses, and educators were among the first community health workers to teach us the importance of such basic things as penning our pigs, digging latrines, and keeping our drinking water clean.

Even in this day and age, most of our communities still have no ready access to professional medical services. Although the state has established district hospitals in Kalinga, none are fully staffed or equipped, and all are poorly supplied with medicine.

To consult a doctor and avail of medical treatment, we have to travel all the way to the provincial capital, Tabuk, or the capital of the neighboring Mountain Province, Bontoc. The cost of the trip alone is formidable to us, who have mostly remained subsistence farmers. It is thus a great help to have among us a significant number of women and men who can competently provide alternative medical assistance – the community-based health workers (CHWs) whom CHESTCORE has trained in five of our province’s eight municipalities, Tinglayan, Lubuagan, Balbalan, Upper Pinukpuk, and Upper Tabuk.

Their services have saved many among us from dying of malaria, typhoid, dengue, measles, pneumonia, tuberculosis, other infective diseases, and infected wounds, and from continuing to suffer rheumatism and other debilitating illnesses common to rice farmers.

In recent years, however, both trainers and trainees have been persecuted by the state’s security forces. In 2006, a death squad operating under the command of the Police Provincial Director at the time attempted to assassinate CHESTCORE’s chief partner in Kalinga, Dr. Constancio Claver.

From early 2007 to late 2010, the 21st and 77th Infantry Battalions of the Philippine Army either monitored the movements or outrightly interrogated CHESTCORE staff and volunteers who visited our communities, and tried to disrupt almost every training seminar they conducted.

At present, the soldiers and the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU) operating in our villages keep tabs on our CHWs and harass them by accusing them of providing medical support to the insurgent New People’s Army.

State officials should be ashamed. They have not been able to ensure that government health services reach our mountain communities. And they persecute the people who have filled this gap!

It is our turn to point the accusing finger at them. We accuse them of neglect of duty. We accuse them of failing a most basic responsibility.

If the state cannot help us citizens to survive, then it should at least stop threatening our survival.

Timpúyog dagiti Mannálon ti Kalínga
Provincial Road, Appas, Tabuk, Kalinga
Probinsyal a Tsapter ti Alyánsa dagiti Pesánte iti Taéng Kordilyéra
apittako@gmail.com

Bin Laden and human rights
Bin Laden dies but struggle to end terrorism and Human right violations in the country continues

Osama Bin Laden, the presumed mastermind behind the horrifying 9/11 attack nearly a decade ago was killed last Monday, causing a great stir all over the world. Most especially to the Americans, Bin Laden’s death finally laid justice to the thousands which have been killed in the ruthless 9/11 attack. All over the world, his death is considered as a prized triumph against terrorism.

In the Philippines, the government alerted their armed forces to prepare for a possible retaliation from Al Qaeda’s associate groups in the country.

The Guild welcomes this event as an extinguishing of a burden in the security and human rights of the people. However, specifically in the country, the Guild is standing firm that we should not be overwhelmed by Bin Laden’s death, touting it as a big blow against terrorism. In our country, terrorism has a deceptive face. It is the terrorism sustained by those who are supposed to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens – the state.

Since the term of Gloria Arroyo and up to now in Noynoy Aquino’s regime, the government has never flinched in violating human rights and pulverizing its identified critics. This is the terrorism that all of us must be warier of.

The more publicized cases of the Morong 43 which have been detained illegally for several months and Leonard Co, a botanist who was shot dead last year are only two of the many human rights violations perpetrated by the government. Often, the people arrested or killed are purported to be members of the New People’s Army.

Like last March, Rodel Estrellado, farmer and a member of Bayan-Muna Partylist Sorsogon Chapter was abducted in the town’s market before being killed. In Mindoro, Mangyan communities have recently experienced intimidation from the military. Amidst threats of large-scale miners and dam builders, armed military men were in sight during the Mangyan Day last April 15.

Here in our region, the disappearance of James Balao, member of the Cordillera People’s Alliance who actively fought for the rights and welfare of indigenous peoples, has remained unsolved after two and a half years.

So will terrorism eventually die down after Bin Laden’s death? Here in the country, the answer is certainly no. Terrorism here is not committed by supposedly lawless elements that wield guns and harass civilians. Mostly, terrorism is perpetrated by the state itself, which is eternally protective of their interests and will do its best to stifle progressive elements trying to expose their evils.

College Editors
Guild of the Philippines

‘5,000 pesos a month can’t be a bribe for peace’

LETTERS

SOMEWHERE IN MOUNTAIN PROVINCE -- While everyone in the barrios is busy working their farm this season of heavy panagtutuned, Mountain Province Gov. Leonard Mayaen appears just as hard at work himself, making rounds to ask local guerrilas to lay down their arms and join the mainstream.

He calls this ‘livelihood program for rebel returnees’—another lackluster surrender campaign that challenges the four-decade-strong and surging New People’s Army.

We regret to inform the governor this: as with other surrender campaigns of past administrations, our growing number of optimistic and determined revolutionary guerillas will surely weather this one. To say he now has 23 ex-rebels under the program is actually both dubious and surprising.

That number is not from the Leonardo Pacsi Command, nor from our neighboring NPA fronts. On the contrary, we are counting new recruits. The six-million provincial fund allotted for this program will only be milked by fixers of false surrenderees and more corrupt civil and military officials.

Pushing for surrender is actually going against the current progress and spirit of the ongoing peace talks. And we should oppose and expose the militarist segments of the Aquino Regime who are hellbent on sabotaging the peace talks. Formal talks between the Aquino government (now designated as GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) have resumed just a month ago.

On the table is the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) or what the NDFP panel calls the meat of the four-point peace negotiations agenda. “By addressing the root causes, we lay the ground for resolving the armed conflict, ending the poverty of our people, and eventually achieving a just and lasting peace in our country,” Ka Randall Echanis, member of the NDFP Reciprocal Working Committee- Social and Economic Reforms, puts it simply.

Included in the CASER outline are concerns for indigenous and minority communities that Mayaen surely shares with us. Introducing articles on Economic Sovereignty and National Patrimony, the NDFP draft reads:

“The Philippine environment has been wantonly violated and degraded. This disaster impelled by the exploiters’ greed for profit has caused displacement of hundreds of thousands of our people from their habitation, among them the national and ethnic minorities from their ancestral lands.

The rapacious activities of foreign corporations and their local partners take no heed of the wellbeing of our people and their environment.”

For all public and natural resources, the draft asserts: “legitimate rights of settlers and national and ethnic minorities shall be fully respected.” (Article 2) It even maintains that mining must be regulated to ensure domestic processing “while at the same time guaranteeing environmental protection, social compensation for disturbance and damage caused as well as democratic consultation with, and the consent of, the people in the communities immediately and directly affected by such operations.” (Article 3) For certain, the present stage of the negotiations is very important.

Mountain Province has much knowledge to offer both sides so that we can expect a fruitful output. The province remains host to some of the poorest barrios occupied by national minorities. Our people suffer dwindling rice production and are threatened by disasters and climate change.

In Besao, Barlig and Sadanga and other areas, pests consume up to half of supposed rice harvest. In Paracelis and part of Natonin, super typhoon Juan totally damaged corn and banana plants and farmers grimace at the continued low prices of farm produce while that of agriculture inputs shoot up.

In response, the governor ought to work for the people’s livelihood, not just those of supposed returnees.

He must raise the issues here on to the negotiating table. Better, he could start acting on them, understanding that it is plainly beyond the capacity of the provincial government to comprehensively address the concerns of locals who join the underground movement. That is true unless the local government could end centuries of social chauvinism of the national minorities, the continuing encroachment of ancestral land by foreign and domestic economic aggression, and inadequate and utter government neglect of basic social services for the national minorities.

Surely, it will not be difficult for Mayaen to appreciate the profound reasons to rebel in the current system. So, instead of asking us to tolerate it, surrender and die the mainstream death, it would be best to work for a just peace of mind, body and tummy—at least for the people of Mountain Province.

Besides, 5,000 pesos a month can’t be a bribe for peace.

Civil responsibility of providing basic services should not be relegated as just an appendage to the AFP’s counter insurgency plan. Peace can not just be downgraded to simply giving loose change to a destitute kid but is a self satisfying condition of the majority of the people provided and sustained by a system that nurtures peace based on justice and democracy. For as long as the semi-colonial and semi-feudal system coupled by national oppression of the indigenous people persist in the Cordillera, the national minorities have all the valid and legitimate reason to rebel until final victory.

As for us in the guerilla zone, the governor has nothing to worry about. We are flourishing in the shade and before he knows it, the people of Mountain Province alongside other national minorities in the Cordillera and the rest of the oppressed people nationwide will be marching in the wide open to claim what is rightfully theirs. Those accountable would best be scampering.

Ka Magno Udyaw, Spokesperson
Leonardo Pacsi Command
New People’s Army
Mountain Province

Brouhaha over Marcos burial

EDITORIAL

Why is it that all of a sudden, a renewed attempt is being pursued to bury the remains of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery)? Indeed, the brouhaha over the burial of his remains at the Libingan has ignited a maelstrom of controversy that is dividing the country once again.

The latest call for his burial at the Libingan reached fever pitch when the strongman’s only son, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., requested President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to accord his father a hero’s state funeral at the Libingan. But what was eerily surreal was he made his call while the country was preparing to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution that toppled his father from power in 1986.

Recently, Amando Doronilla, a respected columnist, wrote, “The call provoked a deeply divisive public debate, aggravated by the fact that Marcos Jr. rubbed salt on festering wounds when he made the insensitive proposal in the run-up to the national celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution that toppled the dictatorship, drove Marcos, his family and cohorts to flee for their lives to Honolulu, Hawaii, (and enjoy their loot thereafter).”

While Noynoy did not reject Bongbong’s proposal outright, he asked Vice President Jejomar Binay to decide on the matter citing the need to distance himself from the issue due to his “personal bias,” which could be construed that he is against the proposal.

Evidently, ingrained in the Aquino psyche is the belief that it was Marcos who ordered the assassination of Noynoy’s father, the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., on August 21, 1983 at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport as he was stepping down the flight of steps from the plane that brought him back from exile in the United States. It was the beginning of the end of the conjugal Marcos dictatorship.

On the fateful day of Feb. 25, 1986, Marcos was ousted from power in a four-day “people power” revolution when more than two million Filipinos answered the “call to arms” of the late Cardinal Jaime Sin and converged on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in front of Camp Crame to support a small band of military rebels led by then-Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile and then-Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos.

Thus began the reign of Cory Aquino, Ninoy’s widow and Noynoy’s mother, who emerged as the president of a revolutionary government. The following year, a new constitution was passed in a referendum, which is what is being used to this day.

Last year, Noynoy was swept to the presidency on the crest of a popular anti-corruption movement. His first promise during the campaign was to recover the “Marcos loot.” However, after he was declared the winner of the election, his first announcement was that he had reconciled with the Marcoses after receiving a congratulatory text message from newly elected Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos.

Noynoy’s pronouncement of “reconciliation” with the Marcoses may have sent the wrong signal to the Marcoses, which may have prompted Bongbong to boldly propose that his father be buried at the Libingan.

On March 23, 2011, Rep. Salvador Escudero III, who served as Agriculture Minister during the Marcos regime, gathered the signatures of 216 congressmen in support of a resolution urging Noynoy to allow the burial of Marcos at the Libingan. Of the 216 signatories, more than one half belongs to opposition parties, to wit: Lakas-Kampi-CMD – 91; Nationalist People’s Coalition – 29; and Nacionalista Party - 21.

There is talk the 216 congressmen signed the non-binding resolution out of respect for elder Escudero, whose son, Francis, is a member of the Senate. It’s one of those things that lawmakers understandably extend to each other – “I sign your resolution this time, you sign mine next time” – without uttering a word. It’s quid pro quo in its simplest form.

In a recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), 50% of the respondents said Marcos was “worthy” to be buried at the Libingan while 49% said he was “unworthy” of burial at the Libingan. However, of the 50% who said Marcos was “worthy” of burial at the Libingan, 30% said he should be “buried with official honors” while 20% said he should be given “private burial only.”

In other words, more than two-thirds of the respondents believe that that Marcos was not a hero. And isn’t the Libingan a hallowed place reserved for heroes only? And neither is it intended for private burials.

But it was reader Bert Celera, who put the issue in perspective, to wit: “Wikipedia defines a hero as: A hero (heroine for females), in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity. This definition originally referred to martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence.”

Celera then asked, “Did Marcos sacrifice himself for the good of all Filipino?” His own answer was: “No, instead he corrupted everything and robbed us blind. He is not definitely a hero and cannot be qualified to be buried in that hallowed ground of the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. If the Ilocanos loved him so much that they recognized them as their hero, then let them make a Libingan Ng Mga Bayani in Ilocos and bury Marcos there!”

Celera’s idea to bury Marcos in Ilocos was not new. Back in 2008, Marcos’ widow and now-Rep. Imelda R. Marcos considered burying her deceased husband in a 50-hectare area up in the mountain near the village of San Pedro, Batac, Ilocos Norte. She called it a “paradise” and said that it would be suitable for an eco-park tourism area.

Recently, it was reported in the news that Imee said that the Marcos family was considering alternative sites. Indeed, as far back as 2005, Imee had been trying to convince her mother, Imelda, to bury her late husband in a simple ceremony in Ilocos Norte instead of campaigning for him to be buried as a hero at the Libingan.

A burial in Ilocos Norte would certainly put a closure to an issue that has been lingering and “haunting” the nation for more than two decades. Superstitious Filipinos believe that the ghost of a deceased who’s not given proper burial would roam the earth until his or her remains were laid to rest.

It’s about time the Marcos family bury their deceased patriarch in a place where the Ilocanos -- who love and revere him as their most venerable “Apo” -- would honor him. He deserved no less.

On the other hand, a burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani would only inflame the emotions of a large number of Filipinos who may have forgiven Marcos in an act of Christian compassion but will never forget the atrocities he committed during the darkest days of our history.

It can then be said: If forgive we must, then forget we should not lest history will repeat itself.

Stopping squatting

BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – Lola Elena had been paying taxes for the land she bought here in the 1960s at Barangay QM. But then, the killer quake struck in 1990 and she relocated to Manila due then to the dire situation of this city. The lot was classified as a tax declaration.

Unknown to her, an enterprising sanamangan squatted on her property and declared it as his. He even had the land registered at the Land Registration Office of the regional Department of Environment and Natural Resources. How this happened is a mystery.

Then, this sanamagan sold the lot to an unsuspecting buyer who built a house over the area. When she came back to Baguio to check on the lot, Lola Elena was surprised there was a house already over her land. When she inquired, the “owner” told her she bought it from the sanamagan. So Lola Elena filed a case in court which is now pending.

There are a lot of cases like that of Lola Elena in this summer capital and the rest of the country. In Baguio, squatters who are now being termed by government officials and the media as “informal settlers” have over the years taken over public or private lands which were not theirs. “Informal” my ass, they should be termed “illegal squatters” for what they are.

These professional squatters have even built houses over canals, rivers including sidewalks and sold these to the gullible. Sooner or later these sanamagans could build houses atop pine trees or anywhere they could hammer a nail or pour cement. So don’t be surprised if another enterprising sanamagan would declare Burnham Park as his.

Violence had already happened between legitimate owners and these speculators and it is high time the government puts more teeth in its anti-squatting drive before more lives would be lost and innocent landowners harmed.

Along Dominical Hill here, squatters reign supreme. There is a titled and sizable lot owned by former Benguet Electric Cooperative members which had been taken over by squatters.

They had asked the city government to demolish the squatters’ houses. But then, they were told by city officials they had to pay a hefty sum as required by the city government before they would demolish these.

Since some are jobless now, they could not pay the amount. For those who have the money, they wouldn’t want to shoulder the payment which should be shared by the others.

Now, while the real owners are in a dilemma on raising the money to evict the squatters, the latter are enjoying the fruit of their evil deeds. According to the real owners when they went to visit the area, they were even threatened by the squatters who were brandishing bolos to leave or they would die.

These cases are a clear indication of how enormous the problem of squatting is not only in this city but elsewhere. The situation is the same in many other squatter colonies all over the country invoking Republic Act 7279, otherwise known as the “Lina Law.”

Many are actually professional squatters who refuse eviction and relocation from properties unless they get paid a hefty sum. While poverty deprives many Filipinos the opportunity to have their own homes, the law’s original intent to address socioeconomic inequity and provide socialized housing for the poor has been abused and misused.

The Lina Law requires consultation between property owners and illegal occupants, with a 30-day notice of eviction plus a provision for adequate relocation for settlers. But this was the loophole that encouraged people to put up structures everywhere they liked - idle lands, vacant lots, condemned buildings, riverbanks, roadsides and even under bridges. They appropriated these as their own by simply invoking the Lina Law.

There is no justification that gives poor people or professional squatters the right to expropriate any property they want, totally disregarding the rights of legitimate owners, many of whom may have acquired their piece of land through hard work.

The usual modus operandi of these professional squatters is to scout for idle lands, start a colony (like that in Peripin Bato in nearby La Trinidad, Benguet) immediately encourage homeless people to put up structures, then wait for the aggrieved owner to pay them a “disturbance fee” before agreeing to leave voluntarily. In no time, they move on to another area and do the same thing all over again.

These “professional squatters” make a hell a lot of money as landlords - renting out shanties and charging their “tenants” excessive rates for basic utilities like water and electricity known to be tapped illegally anyway.

Many of these colonies even have their own sari-sari commercial centers that are tax-free businesses while the real landowners continue to pay real estate taxes.

The Lina Law is one of the reasons for the congestion, crime and overpopulation in urban areas like Baguio or Metro Manila because it literally encourages the influx of people from the provinces.

One reason why squatter colonies should be relocated is disasters that residents themselves face - the threat of fire due to improper/illegal electrical connections, flooding and the spread of diseases because of garbage compounded by lack of clean water and sanitation facilities.

While the original intent of the Lina Law may have been good, it has become clear that its many loopholes made it susceptible to abuse by opportunists, undermining the very rights of property owners, instigating chaos and anarchy and going against the rule of law.

The time for Congress to repeal this law has come. There is a need for better and more equitable legislation that would promote the interest of all parties concerned that is fair and just.

Karmic whammy hits Gloria

PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz

With the abrupt resignation of Ombudsman Merceditas “Merci” Gutierrez, the door is now wide open for President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III to fulfill his election promise of bringing ex-president and now-congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to justice.

Indeed, with three cases – and more coming -- already filed against her, karmic whammy is hitting Gloria with a punishing jolt that could knock her out from the impregnable “fortress” that she built around herself. And with Merci no longer around to protect her, Gloria’s first line of defense was broken.

The first case against Gloria, a graft complaint by the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), was filed on July 1, 2010, the day after P-Noy was inaugurated as president. The case was in connection to the controversial NBN/ZTE bribery scandal.

However, newly appointed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima put the complaint on hold so not to duplicate the work of the newly created Truth Commission whose purpose was to investigate corruption during Gloria’s administration.

The second case was a plunder complaint filed on August 17, 2010 by Danilo Lihaylihay over the alleged anomalous sale in 2007 of the 54.5-hectare old airport in Mandurriao, Iloilo. The property was sold to the giant real estate developer, Megaworld, for P1.2 billion.

Lihaylihay, who is the president of the Philippine Association of Revenue Informers Inc., claimed that Gloria’s administration paid the National Treasury the P18 million documentary stamp tax on the sale but did not remit the six-percent tax collected -- P72 million – to the national treasury.

But Kim Henares, the newly appointed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner, said that the government was not “disadvantaged” when Gloria ordered the sale. She said that if anyone should be filing a case, it should be the government, not Lihaylihay.

The question is: where did the P72 million go? It’s interesting to note that in addition to Gloria, the other defendants in Lihaylihay’s complaint were former Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, former chairman of the Department of Finance Privatization Council John Sevilla, former Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, and Megaworld chairman Andrew Tan.

The third case – the second plunder complaint – was filed before the Department of Justice last April 26, 2011 over alleged misuse of P551-million worth of funds from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). Former Solicitor General Frank Chavez and the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) group, Migrante International, filed the complaint.

Chavez claimed that Gloria violated the Plunder Law for allegedly misusing the funds for “questionable” acquisitions and for her reelection campaign in 2004. Chavez told reporters: “Today is one of those days of reckoning. Some people think that they can run but they cannot hide. The long arm of law will catch up with them in the fullness of time.”

Gloria left a long crooked trail of anomalous transactions involving billions taken from various government funds as well as questionable foreign loans for overpriced projects with layers of hidden “commissions” earmarked for influence peddlers and corrupt government officials.

Indeed, no sooner had Gloria warmed up to the job after ousting Joseph “Erap” Estrada from the presidency on January 20, 2001 did the first anomaly occur under her watch. Within four days, her new Justice Secretary, Hernani “Nani” Perez, approved the contract with the Argentine firm, Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad Anomina (IMPSA), to build the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) power plants. In 2002, then Manila Congressman Mark Jimenez testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that Perez received $2 million in return for the favorable ruling on IMPSA. His testimony was collaborated by then Rep. Willie Villarama who said that the money was part of the $14-million bribe offered to officials of Gloria’s administration.

With the resignation of Ombudsman Merci Gutierrez, Gloria is now vulnerable to government prosecution on a multitude of graft and plunder cases that have accumulated and gathered dust in the Office of the Ombudsman.

The day after Chavez filed the plunder complaint against Gloria, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson -- Gloria’s nemesis – said he was looking into the possibility of filing a case against her. He said that he has a “baul” (trunk) full of documents, which detailed the anomalies committed during Gloria’s administration.

He also said that some former government employees told him that they were willing to help by providing him with “additional documents.” “It’s about time she explained to the people what happened and why there were many anomalies in her administration. Juan de la Cruz deserves an explanation or two from her,” Lacson said.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who would play a pivotal role in building the cases against Gloria said that she would be looking into other cases with the Ombudsman that were shelved because Gloria had presidential immunity from lawsuits.

Now that Gloria is disrobed of her presidential immunity and her first line of defense dismantled with the resignation of Merci, a tsunami of cases is going to hit her in the courts.

Known for her resiliency – and instinct for survival -- during her tumultuous presidency, Gloria is now faced with an uncertain future. With a new Ombudsman to be appointed soon, the wheel of justice is about to start moving again.

And what are Gloria’s options? Not many. Her first option would be to fight like hell. This is going to be a long and costly legal process. How long can she last?

Her second option would be to offer a compromise. But what would she be willing to offer? Return the money or plea a bargain? This would be her best option. But the question is: would the government be willing to bargain with her?

And her third option would be to flee like hell. This might be the easy way out. But where would she go where the long arm of the law couldn’t reach her? Perhaps she might go into exile in a country where the Philippines doesn’t have an extradition treaty… like Portugal.

At the end of the day, Gloria might find a way to wiggle out of her predicament or escape from the law. But one thing for sure, she can’t escape from the Law of Karma. As someone once said, “Nothing escapes the Law of Karma. You get from the world what you give to the world.” And what has Gloria given to the world that she deserves to be given back? Indeed, what goes around comes around. (PerryDiaz@gmail.com)

Prison release

BENCHWARMER
Ramon Dacawi

BAGUIO CITY -- Mayor Mauricio Domogan will be in prison early this Sunday afternoon, to toast with the city jail inmatesthe day’s twin themes of motherhood and humanitarian volunteerism.

“We, too, would like to celebrate, being either mothers or, like others, children with mothers,” a resident of the female dormitory of the city jail said Friday as she was finalizing the program for the computer print-out.

The rest in the cells of double-deck beds were scribbling their thoughts while a male detainee waited, so he could organize them into poetry or essay to be read in this afternoon’s program with the mayor.

“We are also observing Red Cross and Red Crescent Day,” another male inmate said. “We have set aside from our livelihood programs a little something for the calamity victims in Japan.”

He couldn’t give a figure but said the support from inside might help give substance to the Red Cross and Crescent theme “Find the Volunteer Inside You”. The inmates are no strangers to the humanitarian side of things. Years back, they pooled over a hundred pesos for the ailing son of a pony boy at Wright Park who was suffering from congenital heart ailment.

Two years back, they counted from a hat that passed through cells P721. They then divided the amount, half for a woman detainee afflicted with cancer and the other half for Trinalyn Mangisel, then a two-year old girl born with a hole in her heart.

(Trinalyn eventually underwent corrective surgery, thanks to Peter Ernst, a Swiss benefactor, Jim Ward, a Zen Buddhism practitioner, and then five-year old twins Aira and Rhea Acosta who scooped clean their coin collection amounting to P476.25.)

Last March, the prisoners, for the third straight year, joined the rest of the world in marking “Earth Hour”. Cities and towns all over were in darkness for an hour. The inmates had it for three hours as with the visiting bands Blugraz and Shakilan pi9ercing the darkness of the courtyard with folk and country music

They were into preparations for “Earth Day” last April 22, only to reset it upon realizing the day falls on “Good Friday”. They wanted to lump it into this Sunday’s program but wardress, Sr. Inspector April Rose Ayangwa, said it would be better to focus on the environmental theme on a separate occasion.

It will coincide with the launching this month of the sale of now one-year old pine seedlings that the inmates began producing last year with support from the city and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Jail warden, Chief Insp. Severino Khita, has asked groups planning to plant trees during the rainy season to order their seedlings from jail in support of its reformatory program.

This Sunday afternoon’s marking of Mother’s Day and volunteerism are part of prison reform, Khita noted. For the inmates, the twin celebration may serve as a reminder that, like the rest in the world outside, they are not what they own. Or do not have.

In-between these observances, the prisoners are into sharpening their writing skills through an informal journalism class, as an antidote to boredom and for the release of thoughts and emotions confined by their confinement. Among those who recently went to prison to help guide the writing course were multi-awarded Baguio poet Frank Cimatu and Sunstar columnist Nonnette Bennett.

Last week, Cimatu had the newly re-established PNP Cordillera Press Corps adopt as its project the enrichment of the jail library. Soon, the Cinderellas, Baguio’s multi-awarded women’s football team, will follow suit, this time to introduce the indoor game of futsal.

LT mall public hearing set in confusing times

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
By March Fianza

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Watch out for a change in schedule, but a public consultation for a proposed mall on the present market parking area, according to Mayor Greg Abalos, was set for May 12, Thursday. No time was specified but I believe it will start in the morning.

Most often, proponents do not properly announce schedules for public consultations so that the public will be confused. As a result, people who are not sure about a schedule will not be able to attend the next time another public hearing is set.

But that is what the proponents want. As much as possible they want that not so many people will be able to attend. As much as possible, the proponents want that those in attendance are on their side. The proponents along with their gang in the municipal government want lesser opposition to the construction.

These are people who “love” La Trinidad in other ways, that is – they want to help shape a “future” for La Trinidad, and will make it a point to be present in the public consultation and tell the proponents that they are in favor of the proposal to build a mall on the parking area.

Certainly, newspapers tell us about present-day public officials anywhere in the country who have successfully turned their positions into gainful money-making ventures. Some of them could have received something in exchange for “endorsements.” La Trinidad folks should not allow that to happen.

But that is all up to us if we allow public officials of that kind to be in government, especially those who came to live and survive in La Trinidad just a few decades back who are now masquerading as “doing public service.”

Anyway, the truth is they ran for public office not because of the perks, favors, fringe benefits and the “pagsay-atan and pakakitaan,” but they really “care” about La Trinidad. I am not naming anyone because every La Trinidad citizen knows who these “public officials” are.

On the other hand, there are true-blue La Trinidad boys and girls who feel bad about a misplaced mall on a people’s park. Km3 down to Km6 is too crowded now and traffic jams have become ordinary. What more with a big mall at the parking area by Halsema-Pico road intersection?

See you at the public consultation.
***
Another confusing item that failed to catch the attention of past officials is the power of LGUs to collect taxes from institutions that have been making money out of contracts signed by them as tax-exempt entities and their profit-making partners.

In La Trinidad, the mayor who is also a lawyer is convinced that Benguet State University has not been paying the right taxes due to the host municipality when it started leasing its properties to private commercial establishments such as fastfood chains, banks, barber shops, a hotel, restaurants, wagwagan stalls, and other commercial buildings.

Mayor Abalos also believes that Beneco should pay certain forms of taxes to the municipality. All these, he said, will improve the municipal government’s financial status.

Talking about improving LT’s economic situation, Abalos, together with certain officials of the towns of Tublay and Sablan are thinking about “merging” together to boost each other’s potentials. But that is another story that newsmen can follow up with Abalos.
***
One more matter that our lawmakers would want to know more about is why Ombudsman Merci Gutierrez resigned. But that is not what bothers me. What is confusing even to lawyers is why she allowed Gen. Carlos Garcia who was charged for plunder to plead guilty to a lesser offense while a plea bargain in relation to the plunder charge was still being heard in court.

Worst is, Garcia was also allowed to post bail with P60,000 only, even while the Sandiganbayan has not yet approved the plea bargain. There were also unconfirmed reports that a retired military officer helped Garcia gain freedom just so he does not let the cat out of the bag and name the people involved in his crime. The irregularity of Garcia’s plea bargain and bail raises serious confusion, especially among ordinary people including me.
***
What could be more intriguing than confusing is the recent news about Osama Bin Laden’s “controversial death.” First, the American raiders said Osama put up a fight that is why he was killed. Later, a second report said he was unarmed.

When Muslims said on world TV that he could not have been killed because they did not see his body, the Americans said Osama’s body was taken into custody and was immediately buried at sea. Then later, news from Washington said, President Obama is deciding if they will show to the public the pictures of the remains of Osama. But then, Obama decides not to.

Some of the pictures, however, managed to slip under public camera and Muslims said they did not appear like Bin Laden’s.

The news items about Osama’s death appear to have brought justice, especially to the families of 2,977 victims of the “Nine-Eleven” attack, majority of whom were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries, as gleaned from most news media interviews after the “shooting.”

But there are questions that remain unanswered. What is the truth behind Osama’s contentious killing? Where is the body? Pakistani’s ask why they were not consulted about the attack – which gives rise to suspicions that there was no Osama killing, etc.

And if the incident actually happened and Osama was unarmed, how come the raiders composed of war experts killed him – not maim him, when their bosses in Washington knew all along that capturing the “terrorist” leader alive was very important because of the information that they could squeeze from him.

Maybe if this was the “actual” scenario, instead of what the news says about what “really” happened, then this could result to more pogi points for Obama. Anyway, that, I think is the main reason for all the brouhaha. – marchfianza777@yahoo.com

The value of cultural values

BANTAY GOBYERNO
Ike Señeres

MANILA -- Well known stage Director Fernando Josef of Tanghalang Pilipino says that it is important for Filipinos young and old to “rediscover” our cultural heritage, because our values as a people are rooted in our culture. I think that this topic is directly related to the issue of our having a “damaged culture”. As a matter of fact, I also think that the pervasive presence of massive corruption in our society is largely due to that “damaged culture”.

Even if we accept for argument’s sake that our culture is “damaged”, that does not mean that it is “gone” now, or that it is “gone” forever. We could also accept for argument’s sake that many components of our culture are already “endangered”, but again that does not mean that these are already “extinct”, at least for the most part. This is where the need for “preservation” or “restoration” becomes important, as the case may be.

Modifying slightly what Director Josef said, I would rather say that many of our people, especially our youth, would still have to “discover” our cultural heritage in all its aspects, considering the fact that they have not seen or heard about the parts and pieces of this heritage, much less its full glory in a collective sense. As the saying goes, what you do not know won’t hurt you, but in this case, we could say that what our people do not know about our culture will not make them proud.

I was not looking for another cause or advocacy, since I know that I have already a bias for the advocacy for national development in general, and for anti-poverty in particular, along with anti-hunger and anti-homelessness so to speak. I was not at all inclined to take on the anti-corruption advocacy, because I thought that many people are already doing that, besides, I like economic programs more than political causes, not being a politician.

Whether I like it or not however, I always encounter the reality that the poverty in our country is either caused by corruption, or is aggravated by it. Of course I know that poverty is an economic problem, but as it turned out, Director Josef has given me a fresh insight that corruption actually has a cultural dimension, and it would not be farfetched to say that a more culturally proud people would become more patriotic, and becoming so might perhaps them (or us) to become less corrupt, out of a newly inspired love for this artistically rich country of ours.

As one opportunity led to another, Director Josef and I, together with a growing band of artists and culture advocates, are now working on a set of cultural preservation projects that will be housed in a highly suitable location. I am not at liberty to disclose this location yet, but suffice it to say that all those who are now supporting these projects are now very excited about the possible outcomes.

As planned, the set of projects will include a paintings gallery, a sculpture gallery, a photo gallery, a gift shop, an arts museum, an arts school, an arts theater and a film archive. All of the projects are meant to be income generating, so that rent and other overhead costs could be covered, and so that funds could be raised to support the preservation of our cultural arts in general, and the education of our young artists in particular.

As we tried to define the scope of our cultural arts, we realized that we should also include Filipino folk arts and Filipino martial arts, a decision that will surely lead us to a journey of discovery or rediscovery, as the case may be. At first glance, it is obvious that our folk arts should include all of our ethnic art and tribal arts, as well as our festival arts and church arts, the last two being closely intertwined.

The search for Filipino martial arts has become both fascinating and intriguing. So far, we have come across “dumog” and “buno”, two native forms of wrestling. We also came across “yo-yo” and “trompo”, both believed to be ancient weapons of war that have now become modern day toys. At some point, I realized that weapons of war are difficult to separate from the art forms, and this is the case of “arnis”, “balisong”, “latigo” and many others.

What started as an effort to preserve the costumes of the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Dance Company and the videos of Tanghalang Pilipino and Ballet Philippines has now grown into a cause that will democratize the opportunities for young artists, and will immortalize the role of Filipino women in art and society, the latter being an idea of Sister Mary John Mananzan of St. Scholastica’s College.

On the technical side, the project proponents will study the successful methods used by the Vargas Museum in preserving paintings, fabrics and artifacts through temperature control and humidity control, by way of computer chips. Luckily, these technologies are not alien to us, and there are volunteers who could help.

Tune in to KA IKING LIVE! 6 to 7pm Thursdays in Global News Network (GNN), Channel 8 in Destiny Cable. Emailiseneres@yahoo.com or text to +639997333011. Visitwww.senseneres.blogspot.com. Join Coffee Clutch Fridays

The first rains of May

HAPPY WEEKEND
Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain province -- I love the first rains of this rustic town. Ugly brackish waters and dirt of all sorts accumulated for the past many months flowed down the streets and disappeared down the drain.

Such relief to see accumulated dirt, smear and dust swept off , in this tourist town which gets its peak tourist arrivals in December and April and regular arrivals of local tourists every Saturdays and Sundays. With the expansion of the population and visitors coming and going, expect also dirt accumulating equally commanding cleanliness and waste management.

Nature takes control in what humans fail to do or wait for nature’s intervention . And so the rains came and did their part. I am thankful. With human intervention, waste management is being articulated by the local government unit including the reactivation of the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) project with the involvement of the Sagada Solid Waste Association Inc (SSWAI). I look forward to this.

I cleaned the dirt in the front and backyards of the house and washed some clothes over the weekend. With water getting scarce especially in the summer months, rain water is a relief and a joy to feel getting under the pouring rain.

Ice pellets came fast and cold, dropping down in staccato movements. A sight to behold. It never rained ice pellets in Sagada for quite some time. The last time was when I was younger some years ago. Or it must have rained ice at the time I was not in Sagada for quite some time.

I am beginning to love staying here again. The occasional rains, the regulated sun, the nostalgic streets, and a people who laugh loud to add to some domestic responsibilities at hand, it’s a joy to be home. The air smells good the morning after. Sunshine warmed the cool morning air. It’s gonna be a cool sunny day. And so it is.

First rains talk of planting beans and corn. In the previous years, planting legumes and corn usually happen in the months of March and April when the first rains come for the year. This year, it must be climate change with the rains pouring down on May.Tomorrow, am going to plant corn and beans.

My mama and la Aunora

G-SPAT
Grace Bandoy
(Writings from Rowe Naval Bandoy)

My mom is a huge fan of Nora Aunor, when my parents were newlyweds, my mom would go watch a Nora Aunor film, my dad on the other hand would see a Charles Bronson film and they would meet again in a restaurant after they’ve watched their preferred movies.

My mom said the only film they’ve watched together was “Banawe” (obviously because of the setting of the film that was probably the only reason my dad agreed to watch the film, the setting of the movie, Igorot pride). Later on, already with three kids, same thing, only this time it would be on three different theaters, my mom would watch her beloved idol, my dad still can’t let go of his western fantasies, and us (the kids) laugh our hearts out on Tito, Vic and Joey films.

My mom would walk us inside the theater and instruct us not to change seats; she picks us up after the film (or until she cried her out and sympathize with her idol in another theater). The only Nora Aunor film I’ve ever watched with my mom was “Mga Tinik sa Dibdib” co-star Philip Salvador and Dina Bonevie, the story as I remember is about a young couple, sharing a house with the male character’s family (including his step mom, whom he has an illicit affair with), but the dialogue “aking mga tinik sa dibdib” was towards Nora Aunor’s ailing angry dad.

It was a film of course I cannot at all relate with, I believe nor is my mom. But still she cried and cried and sympathized with Nora Aunor’s plight as a sacrificing daughter and as a wife who knows nothing of her husband’s affair with his step mom. My dad used to call her “bakya” and mom would call him dreamer of America.

At home we can only watch soap operas like “Flor de Luna” or “Anna Liza” when my dad is not at home, but in his presence we were only allowed to watch the news or “Dallas”, “Falcon Crest” or “Knots Landing”, Jay R’s (Larry Hagman) character of course is my dad’s favorite (and his prime influence in his fashion and temperament), then later on McGyver and 21 Jump Street.

Every Sunday of course is “Superstar” night co-hosted by German Moreno and Jograd de la Torre, my dad would simply go inside their bedroom and from time to time makes sarcastic comments about my mom’s idol inside their bedroom or he pretends to get a drink just so he can go out of their bedroom and make more gnarly comments on Nora Aunor.

My mom is a huge Nora Aunor defender, still sympathizing with her walk through life; when Nora Aunor’s love relationship fails, my mom blames Nora’s children and alalays for not being supportive enough; when Nora’s entrepreneurial attempts / financial status fails, my mom blames Nora’s business associates for taking advantage of her lack of education; when La Aunor lost the gubernatorial race, my mom blamed the politicians who took advantage of Nora’s stardom and was not supportive of her political ambitions; when Nora Aunor’s singing prowess died down, my mom blamed the producers who made Nora worked tirelessly; and when Nora Aunor’s career turned cold, my mom blamed the press for writing negative write ups about her.

Nora Aunor had truly battled with life’s reality from her humble beginning in Bicol to her struggle to become a star in Philippine Cinema that’s been for years pinag-harian ng mga mestizo and mestiza. The very same years when my mom struggled defending her (Nora Aunor) against my father’s westernized ideology of entertainment.

When asked why I chose to pursue my education on Philippine Studies and Philippine Literature, I give credit to my mom. My Filipinism and Igorotism were developed only in my adult life, an identity I struggled as a child and as a teenager whose life and activities revolves around John Hay, cabled television, Hollywood movies, and around people all struggling and planning to live life in the states.

My mom introduced me to Nora Aunor, the Filipino audience, to Filipino komiks, and the facts of Filipino life outside the glam of Hollywood movie screen and boob tube. My mom like many is a “bakya” fan, for me she is an educator who educated me about Philippine Literature, Philippine Sociology, Philippine Movies, the Filipino audience and Philippine Identity.

Gambling lords, jai-alai in turf war; Baguio mayor wants relief of city PNP chief:

>> Friday, May 6, 2011

BAGUIO CITY – Despite Lenten homilies on the evils of gambling, jueteng has clawed its tentacles on the populace of northern Luzon where the illegal numbers game is now thriving.

According to sources, jueteng is now up and about in northern Luzon as most local officials and police authorities are “on the take or giving protection” to illegal gambling operators.

Religious leaders particularly Archbishop Oscar Cruz also said jueteng wouldn’t operate if government officials are against it.

In the Cordillera, cause-oriented and religious groups including bettors have identified places where jueteng abound like Kalinga, Benguet (the towns of La Trinidad, Tublay, Itogon, Tuba, Buguias and Mankayan) including Baguio.

In the summer capital, Mayor Mauricio Domogan said Tuesday he would ask for the relief of city police chief Senior Supt. David Lacdan if jueteng wouldn’t stop.

Almost all provinces of Region1 (Ilocos) and 2 (Cagayan Valley) are now reportedly also areas where operators are amassing huge profits

In Pangasinan, there is now a turf war between jueteng lords and jai-alai operator Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. with National Bureau of Investigation operatives saying they are caught in the middle.

The people behind the “slanted report” denouncing the NBI and its operatives, according to the bureau, are the people also behind the jueteng operations and their financiers who were gravely affected by operations against the illegal numbers game.

The NBI said it conducted a discreet investigation into a report received by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo that Atong Ang, who is reportedly behind Meridien’s operations, allegedly used NBI agents to raid local jueteng dens in Pangasinan and supplanted the numbers game with his own.

The NBI said the probe was in response to the request of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the president of the League of Governors of the Philippines.

The PCSO said revenues of small town lottery have been affected by illegal gambling.

But Senior Supt. Rosueto Ricaforte, provincial police director, said no two rival groups could operate jueteng here, as “there is no jueteng in Pangasinan in the first place.”

No. 3, 4 cols
Marijuana plants eradicated in Tabuk, Kalinga plantation
TABUK CITY – A marijuana plantation was discovered here last week which resulted eradication of around 1,000 fully grown plants valued at P200,000.

A report said in the afternoon of April 19, at about 5 p.m., a concerned citizen informed police about the plantation intercropped with bushes at Pacak, Agbannawag here near the river bank going to the catch dam of Abut, Quezon, Isabela.

The following day at about 5 a.m. Insp. John Bangcawayan Jr. led a team to the area and invited concerned officials to witness the eradication drive.

The confiscated MJ plants were turned over to provincial police officials in the presence of Randy B. Fangi, barangay official of Agbannawag for proper disposition.

Korean jailed for ‘fingering’ woman

By Mar T. Supnad

ANGELES CITY- A Korean national spent his Holy Week in Philippine jail after he allegedly touched the private parts of a woman inside a restaurant here.

Police reports said John Amisel, 31, a Korean tourist and temporarily billeted at California Hotel along Malabanias road, Plaridel 1 Subdivision was immediately sent to jail by city prosecutor Oliver Garcia who conducted an inquest proceeding following the suspect’s arrest.

Investigation showed at about 3:15 a.m. morning of Holy Friday, elements of Police Station 4, responded in the area to investigate a case lasciviousness committed by suspect.

Police said that complainant identified as Crisanta dela Cruz, 22, single, resident of No. 5 Osamis Street, Gen. Lim Subd., Quezon City, told police she was then about to take snack at Jumong Korean Restaurant, Fields Avenue, Balibago, Angeles City when the incident happened.

Further investigation conducted by the police disclosed that victim was about to sit down on the chair when suspect intentionally placed his hand on the chair of victim.

The suspect inserted his finger, touched and pressed the private part of the victim who was shocked by the incident.

The victim immediately left the place and sought help of policemen who were then conducting patrol on said place.

The suspect was charged for lasciviousness during inquest proceedings before Fiscal Garcia who recommended his detention

Marijuana plants eradicated in Tabuk, Kalinga plantation

TABUK CITY – A marijuana plantation was discovered here last week which resulted eradication of around 1,000 fully grown plants valued at P200,000.

A report said in the afternoon of April 19, at about 5 p.m., a concerned citizen informed police about the plantation intercropped with bushes at Pacak, Agbannawag here near the river bank going to the catch dam of Abut, Quezon, Isabela.

The following day at about 5 a.m. Insp. John Bangcawayan Jr. led a team to the area and invited concerned officials to witness the eradication drive.

The confiscated MJ plants were turned over to provincial police officials in the presence of Randy B. Fangi, barangay official of Agbannawag for proper disposition

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