THE MOUNT BALATUCAN MONITOR

It has been repeated over and over again. Every time an encounter erupts, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front would blame the military for “failure to coordinate with them.” Exactly what “coordinate” means remain unclear. If the military would just conduct patrols is that already tantamount to a provocation?

The scenario is just repeated. An encounter erupts, which will be described as an encounter with military and the terrorist Abu Sayaff. Then when these “Sayaff” men withdraw and chased by the military, the MILF will come in and claim that the military intrude into their areas of control. With these frequent encounters, it could be plausible that MILF prodded Abu Sayaff to initiate the encounter and instruct the latter to run into their territories and claim that it is the military who attacked the rebels.

Despite this pattern of encounters, the MILF always deny that they are colluding with Abu Sayaff. But there is an interesting comment of its Information Chief Mohaqgher Iqbal who admitted that it is a Moro tradition that when group is involved in the encounters, other Moro groups would usually come to its aid. There might be no collusion on command level, but there might be on the ground level. These people are closely related to each other and it’s not impossible that on their personal level they may have an unwritten agreement of cooperation in times of encounters.

The MILF accuses the government of insincerity but it does not show that it is totally faultless on its part. Their stonewalling stance on the issue of ancestral domain is one issue that is stalling the progress of the talks and that the MILF should reconsider its position on the matter if it is sincere in moving the peace process. It is one huge block that both the MILF and the government should settle and compromise. Yet, the MILF seems not to budge on submitting the ancestral domain question to the Philippine Constitution. Its continuous tirade against the GRP does not help much in easing the tension and building confidence to the negotiations. Worse, the encounters and the blame game further hurt the prospects of moving the peace negotiations.

With the vehement refusal of the MILF to soften its stand on the issue of ancestral domain, the prospects of a peace agreement with the government is dim.

The Filipino people, especially Moro people, are tired of an extended war in Mindanao. The Christians and the Muslims in Mindanao now wanted to live a normal life of peaceful co existence with each other. They know that everyone loses in war. With almost 4 decades of Moro rebellion it should have waken all the concerned parties that conflicts and disagreements could be better resolved in negotiations and compromise than through guns and bullets. Today is the age of compromise and negotiations. Recalcitrance has long turn off our people and any organization adopting such a posture is risking rejection and alienation.

In the meantime, encounters like the recent one would continue, shying away investors in the area, stunting economic growth, worsen the poverty of the people and displacing the residents once more as the safety of their families and properties remain uncertain.

I just want to react on an excerpt of Joe Pallugna’s column “Act Swiftly” in today’s issue of Mindanao Gold Star Daily. In his column he described fiesta as a mere eating, drinking and pestering occasion.

Let me talk of fiestas as the month of May is fiesta month in the Philippines. Fiesta for me, is such a bore and unnecessary expense.

Imagine people going to my hometown Gingoog City and paying a fare of P150 for a Bachelor’s Express bus one way from Cagayan de Oro or a round trip of P300 just to attend the city fiesta. You could very well buy one kilo of lechon for P300 and let your children eat to their heart’s delight while staying at home. No risks of accidents in bus travel, no hassles of children getting dizzy on the bus ride, no drunks pestering you for old times you could hardly remember when you reach your hometown, no relatives asking for money you don’t even have a budget for in the first place.

So the next time there is a fiesta, I wont go anymore and be pestered later on.

I sympathize his feelings about the fiesta. These incidents are true. But the question is, would we allow this minor inconveniences to ruin our fiesta celebration? If we start to think fiesta as a mere occasion to indulge in eating and drinking, then fiesta would really be such a bore. 

And yes, one could just buy a kilo of lechon than to travel miles to attend fiesta and eat lechon. But there is a big difference in eating lechon in your house and eating lechon during a fiesta. Its like taking a swim in your swimming pool and swimming in the beach. The latter is much more exciting.

But fiesta celebrations are more than that. Fiesta, like Christmas and New Year celebration, is an occasion for our families to get together and share moments with. Its also a time to see our long lost relatives and friends and rekindle that past we shared. In some parts of the country, people will forego homecoming on Christmas and New Year but not fiesta. Fiesta has a different aura or ambience of a celebration compared to others. Ask the Boholanos. Wherever they are in the world, they would go home in May to Bohol just to attend the fiesta.

The excitement is not on the day of the fiesta itself but on its entirety. From the arrival of the guests and relatives from other places in the world, to the installation of buntings, to the basketball and the amateur singing contests, to the beauty pageants, to the class reunions, to the slaughtering of the animals, to the stacking up of softdrinks and spirits, and to the baking of pastries, the excitement is constantly building up which will culminate in a concelebrated mass to be presided usually by the bishop. This makes fiesta unique, exciting and a very much anticipated occasion, far from the boring description of the Filipino fiesta by Mr. Pallugna.

In the movie “Beautiful Mind” the lead character played by Russel Crowe complained about the boring pace of life. His wife retorted, “Life is a bore, just add meaning to it.” To which I can advice Mr. Pallugna, “fiesta might be bore, just add meaning to it. Indeed everything that has no meaning to you, becomes a bore.

“Papogi” thrusts of the administration in implementing projects admitted.

Nograles urged solons to design “visible” projects.

Obet Samonte
Mindanao Gold Star Daily

Butuan City- House Speaker Prospero Nograles has urged collegues to design and implement projects that people could “see and feel” as he declared his support for continued fund allocations given to finance projects.

In a program launching the Mt. Mayapay Reforestation Project here on Wednesday, Nograles said that despite clamor from some quarters to discontinue “pork barrel” allocations to members of the House of Representatives, he stressed their importance especially in programs and projects with long term impact.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did not make it to the project launching as she led the inauguration of the Caraga Regional Office at around 12:30 pm.

He cited the Mt. Mayapay Reforestation Project which “the people can see and feel and the benefits they themselves will be the beneficiaries,” as an example of an undertaken that “no one could question.” The rehabilitation and reforestation of Mt. Mayapay is one of Agusan del Norte 1st Dist. Rep. Jose Aquino II’s priority projects.

Some 2,000 people arrived at the program site at around 7 am and took part in the planting of tree seedlings from the mountain base up to its peak. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Caraga headed by OIC Regional Director Edilberto Buiser provided tree seedlings to the participants composed of DENR, regional line agencies, city hall employees, students, non government and religious organizations and civic minded private individuals.

City Mayor Democrito Plaza II led city hall employees in the affair.

Speaker Joe De Venecia had proclaimed that what he will testify may bring down the Arroyo government. For the first time from several weeks ago, this is the best news I ever heard. For sure, the Meralco issue is hogging the headlines, but people know that this is just both a diversionary tactic and a retaliatory measure against ABS CBN because of its extensive coverage of the scandals which the administration in involved into. For sure, the issue of free text as suggested by the DOTC caught the fascination of our people, who are known as the texting people of the world. But we all know, that the suggestion was just a teaser for the government to gain public support.

This Joe de Venecia declaration is so far the only real news that matters in this past few weeks.  Forget classroom shortage, they are recurring every year with boring familiarity. Forget about power rates, the government is not even sincere in how to lower it. This De Venecia expose is the real deal.

This early, the government is now trying to downplay the testimony of De Venecia. Prior to Jun Lozada’s damaging testimony in the Senate, Malacanang also downplayed Jun Lozada’s expected revelations in the Senate. It was proven that Lozada’s testimony was earth shaking for the Palace and it was reeling after that.

Now we see the same tack taken by the Palace. What’s so intriguing that even their lackeys in the Senate like Joker Arroyo is dissuading JDV from speaking up. Why? Maybe Joker know too well that JDV might open a Pandora’s box or a can of worms once he will speak in the Senate. Joker only know too well that he and his cohorts will be looking like clowns defending GMA once JDV will spill the beans before them.

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Gloria Arroyo and husband Mikey Arroyo played golf for media consumption Saturday. The said activity was a prelude to a day of discussing the supposed merger of Kampi and Lakas CMD.

This is another insult to the intelligence of the Filipino people. Last week pictures were appearing in major dailies showing GMA and husband Mike playing golf in Shenzhen, China with ZTE officials. Those images have been engraved in the minds of the people. The difference is that those images were associated with impropriety with the President playing golf with a project supplier.

Judges are enjoined, out of propriety and delicadeza, from having a coffee time with any of the litigants to avoid doubts and questions of partiality and fairness. Of course, the natural reaction of the people would be that the case has been fixed over a cup of coffee. Now, why would that GMA ZTE golf game be treated differently. The pictures would not lie that GMA played golf with a supplier who is bidding for a contract. There was impropriety there for sure but the administration has lost the sense of delicadeza and would just insincerely justify the act as aboveboard even how clumsy the alibi would be.

Perhaps the new golf game is hoped to erase the stigma of the Shenzhen golf game. That the said occasion was intended for an “official business activity”, which is the merger talks between Lakas and Kampi was just a subterfuge, a façade. If it was seriously a merger related activity, why it have to be done during a golf tournament and why there are no Lakas figureheads present in that golf game ever mentioned. Was there really a serious Lakas-Kampi merger summit? Or was the said merger activity was only used as a front to staged a remake of that infamous golf game which was the main objective in the first place.  That for them playing golf is just for official business, no hocus pocus whatsoever.

Looks like they are running out of good scripts out there.

Kailan ka magigising O Luzviminda tanggapin ang totoo

Wag ka nang magbubulagan pa hindi na siya magbabago

Ginagawa ka nyang laruan pinapaikot ikot ang yong ulo

O Luzviminda gumising ka na wag mong sirain ang yong mundo

Gising na, gising na, gising na

“Luzviminda”
by: Freddie Aguilar

Ikaw ay nagtiwala buong puso sa kanyang mga pangako
Tamis ng kanyang dila pinakinggan akala mo ay totoo
Ang ginanti nya sa pag ibig ay pro pagbabalatkayo
O Luzviminda gumising ka na wag mong sirain ang yong mundo
Gising na, gising na, gising na.

Tumanaw ka sa paligid at maglinaw ang yong mga mata
Ngayon na ang tamang oras o Luzviminda wag ka nang maghintay pa
Ikilos mo ang yong mga kamay, ihakbang mo ang yong mga paa
O Luzviminda gumising ka na wag mong sirain ang yong mundo
Gising na, gising na, gising na.

O Gising na Luzviminda
Ikaw ay di nag iisa
Ikilos mo ang yong mga kamay, ihakbang mo ang yong mga paa
O Luzviminda gumising ka na wag mong sirain ang yong mundo
Gising na, gising na, gising na.

Kailan ka magigising O Luzviminda tanggapin ang totoo
Wag ka nang magbubulagan pa hindi na siya magbabago
Ginagawa ka nyang laruan pinapaikot ikot ang yong ulo
O Luzviminda gumising ka na wag mong sirain ang yong mundo
Gising na, gising na, gising na.

O Gising na Luzviminda
Ikaw ay di nag iisa
Ginagawa ka nyang laruan pinapaikot ikot ang yong ulo
O Luzviminda gumising ka na wag mong sirain ang yong mundo
Gising na, gising na, gising na.

A simple opening of a consular office in Butuan City has merited a banner story for local dailies which normally would be done without so much fanfare. Last Wednesday, Gloria Arroyo visited Butuan City to inaugurate the opening of the consular office. Like a queen, she was met by politicos in Caraga region namely, Rep. Joboy Aquino (1st Dist. Adn), Rep. Edelmiro Amante (2nd Dist. Adn), Butuan City Mayor Democrito Plaza II, Agusan del Sur Governor Ma. Tina Plaza and Surigao del Sur Gov. Vicente Pimentel.

Gloria Arroyo then boasted to the people of Caraga region that they will no longer go to Cagayan de Oro or Cebu just to process their travel papers outside the country because the DFA satellite office will be serving them right there in Butuan City. At the outset, the project seems to be laudable and deserve praise. But analyzing deeply, it took so long for this administration to put up a consular office in that part of Mindanao when the said clamor have been a long standing cry of Caraganons.

In contrast, GMA was so quick to grant the Cebuanos request for a substantial presence of the national government in their locality. Not long after she was proclaimed, she lost no time in establishing a useless Malacanang in the South which had done nothing except for aesthetic purposes. If this government can afford to spend a lot of money setting up a façade of government presence in Cebu why it took them 7 years before they finally have decided to put up a DFA office in Butuan City? People in Caraga have been clamoring this need for more than 7 years and only now they have acted on it. Something might have motivated the administration into finally acting on this overdue request.

Come to think of it, where in the world one can find that the mere opening of a department in its own country (take note) is attended with much hoopla, graced with the presence of no less than its President? It is because people in Malacanang only know too well that given the number of Filipinos going abroad, (with its misplaced view that sending an army of OFW would prop up the economy) a simple opening like this will generate much public attention and make it look good in the eyes of the people.

Lately, the government has been on to some publicity offensive just to win public support and sympathy. First, they use the issue of power rates to gain public approval and to divert the attention of the people from graft scandals at the expense of hapless Meralco, whose stocks kept falling after government officials took turns in subjecting the power firm to trial by publicity. Second, the suggestion of the DOTC to make SMS messaging free, at the expense of telecommunications firms smacks again of a publicity gimmick. Without hope of overhauling its double digit negative approval rating, the GMA administration is scraping the bottom of the barrel for opportunities of publicity stunts like these.

But whatever it is doing, people are discerning enough to determine if these moves are motivated by sincerity or for political survival. These moves are not new to them. In fact this has been the hallmark of GMA administration since day one of its political power. Provide people with promotions instead of addressing their real concerns with sincerity.

REHAB OF CITY’S STREETS BEFORE FIESTA ASSURED

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (PMP, 2nd Dist. Cagayan de Oro City), yesterday urged contractors of the concreting of Velez Street here to move faster in order to complete it before the city’s fiesta in August.Rodriguez made the statement after his office received complaints of the slow pace of cementing of the city’s major thoroughfares here.

“The contractors said that their work is hindered due to rains but I asked them to move a bit faster,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez however, said that the concreting of thje street fronting the Pelaez Sports Center has already started as well as portions of Dolores Streets. While the project’s timetable is to be completed on June 13, this has to be move due to rains. But, Rodriguez assured the public that the project would be finished before the city fiesta on August.

“We should not delay this project so that we could decongest the traffic,”

Rodriguez added.

The Road and Traffic Administration (RTA) had rerouted traffic in the area while concreting is going on. Earlier, Rodriguez asked the DPWH and the contractors to implement the project by phases to allow the motorists to still use the road while the work is going on.

The rehabilitation of Don Apolinar Velez has started three months ago. It is a premier national road inside the city. The project cost is estimated at 29 million.

Lito Rulona

Gingoog city hall has declared an all out war on illegal logging even as it threatened to slap environment officials with charges in connection with the illegal logging operations. Speaking before the provincial board on Monday, Gingoog City Mayor Ruthie Guingona confirmed the massive illegal logging operations in the woods of the Misamis Oriental component city and its neighboring areas. Guingona faced the province’s legislature which started an investigation into the logging operations after three trukloads of illegal logs were seized in Magsaysay, the last eastern town of Misamis Oriental after Gingoog City.” Guingona said.

Guingona said the Gingoog government was preparing charges against ranking environment officials in Northern Mindanao, including former Gingoog City Environment and Natural Resources Officer, Julito Fabre, for the proliferation and unabated logging operations in the Misamis Oriental City.

Officials said charges were also being prepared against one Roger Edman, alleged owner of the confiscated logs.

“Dili lang si Edma but also the other loggers who operated in the area.”

She said.

The Gingoog government she said would bring the matter to the attention of President Arroyo and Environment Secretary Lito Atienza. Guingona said illegal logging operations cost Gingoog City half of Mt. Lumot, a forest reservation in Barangay Lunotan.

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From: durianpost

Apollo Quiboloy’s tirade against the New People’s Army (NPA) has all the more exposed his true color. In his desperate bid to muddle legitimate issues leveled against him and his Task Force Davao/73rd Infantry Battalion-AFP protectors as an offshoot of the Barangay Guianga attempted massacre and killing, the truth is gradually but clearly emerging.

As he tries to divert public attention from real issues that has put him in a very bad light, he further invites attention to the injustice that prevails and incites people to let out sentiments that range from ridicule to denunciation.

First, he berates media people for supporting the cries of the Diarog family and threatens them with eternal damnation. Then, fashioned after Pontius Pilate, he makes a blanket, albeit, baseless denial of any involvement in the cold-blooded massacre. But bereft of any courage to face the lumad victims, he hides behind the legalistic mantra of his lawyer. Now he warns of a 20,000-strong armed offensive against the NPA.

Freedom of worship is a right upheld by the revolutionary movement. This is enshrined in the 12-Point Program of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). But to exercise such freedom as an instrument to oppress and exploit the people is an altogether different matter. Apollo Quiboloy is free to bask in illusions of grandeur, live the royal lifestyle of the rich and famous while preaching his religious beliefs. But to utilize his religious, economic, political and military influence to establish and expand his estate, cause the evacuation of lumads from their ancestral lands and add misery to poor peasants constitute sinister acts that justly deserve condemnation.

If he desires to be a warlord, aside from being a tree plantation owner, real estate developer, eco-tourism advocate, media mogul and padrino-traditional politicians while moonlighting as a luxury car collector, practical shooting enthusiast and aspiring helicopter pilot, then let him be. If he dreams of fortifying his vast mountainous estate in Calinan by organizing a Quiboloy Brigade, shuttling from the pulpit to the machinegun post, then let him be. Marcos’s martial law, the past regime’s total war and Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya 1 failed. Despite being hard-pressed by Gloria Arroyo to fulfill her pipe dream of eliminating the NPA by 2010, Oplan Bantay Laya II is fast turning to be one big and expensive frustration for the AFP. Thus, Apollo Quiboloy’s verbal antics is of no consequence to the people’s army.

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