U.S. Embassy Statement:U.S. Cooperation Continues with Testimony of NCIS at Alleged Rape Trial of U.S. Marines Investigators

Consistent with our commitment to seeing that justice is served in a fair and impartial trial, the Government of the United States has agreed to allow several U.S. Government employees to testify at the trial of four U.S. Marines accused of rape.

Included are two officials of the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) posted to the U.S. Embassy in Manila whose diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention the U.S. Government has waived for the limited purpose of testifying at this trial. The U.S. Government will also seek to bring back to the Philippines two additional NCIS employees who participated in the investigation of this case.

This decision was made following discussions with the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and upon completion of the appropriate steps for requesting court testimony from persons covered by the Vienna Convention.

NCIS had provided the entirety of its preliminary written reports beginning in November 2005 to both the Office of the City Prosecutor in Olongapo and the defense counsels.

The U.S. Government has worked with Philippine authorities under the precepts of the Visiting Forces Agreement throughout the investigation of this alleged incident, and will continue to do so through the completion of the judicial proceedings.

The U.S. remains committed to seeing that justice is served, and looks forward to a fair and impartial process that can provide for a just outcome.

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Bugo's 2 'chairs' sue each other

THE warring leaders of Bugo, Nerio Obliosca and Perseverando Araña Jr., yesterday filed charges against each other in hopes of quickly breaking a standoff that stemmed from a power struggle last Monday.

The two village politicians have each claimed to be the legal chair of Bugo, one of the biggest and vote-rich barangays of Cagayan de Oro. Since Monday afternoon, Obliosca and Arana have been separately holding office in their houses.

Obliosca was appointed chairperson of the barangay by Mayor Vicente Emano after Arana submitted a letter of resignation last February.
But on Monday, Arana attempted to reclaim Bugo’s top post, arguing that President Arroyo failed to accept his resignation.

Jose Alejandro Pallugna, Obliosca’s lawyer, filed a petition to prohibit Araña from exercising the powers of the barangay chair. Pallugna filed a petition for mandamus and a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO).

Pallugna said the petition was aimed at protecting Obliosca’s post from being contested by anyone.

Pallugna said Obliosca would step down only if the court says so.‘‘You cannot take the law into your own hands,’’ said Pallugna, referring to Arana.

But Araña through his lawyer, Rogelio Bagabuyo, filed a petition for quo-warranto to prevent Obliosca from continuing to serve as Bugo’s barangay chair.

Obliosca is facing an uphill battle because none of the barangay councilors are supporting him. Despite this, Obliosca is clinging on to the post, maintaining that he is had the legal edge.

He said he has an oath of office to prove that he legally assumed as the village chief after Arana resigned early this year.

However, Araña maintained that he has remained as the barangay chair of Bugo because President Arroyo did not sign his resignation papers. He said his resignation letter only reached Mayor Emano.

Araña and Bugo councilors questioned the legality of the Obliosca’s "oath of office.""The proper authority to confirm or approve the resignation of the government officials is the office of the President and not that of the city mayor’s," Araña said.

Bagabuyo said only the President has the authority to accept the resignation of any member of the barangay council, including the chair, based on Republic Act 9340.

A provision in RA 9340 states that "all incumbent barangay officials shall remain in office unless soonest removed or suspended for cause until their successors shall have been elected and qualified."

With the terms of the Sangguniang Barangay extended until 2007, Araña said he had opted not to take advantage of the holdover capacity rule, hence his February resignation.

But Arana said the political crisis in Bugo prompted him to stage a comeback last Monday. He said he could not ignore the calls of his fellow barangay councilors for him to reassume.

Thus, at the height of Independence Day celebrations last Monday, Araña tried to retake the barangay hall with the full support of Bugo’s councilors.

"I am still the barangay captain of Bugo and I will not step down unless the court will says so," said Obliosca as he filed three cases against Arana.

"Araña is now coming back like an intruder," said Pallugna.

Araña, a lawyer by professon, said he would sign transactions on behalf of Bugo because he is "still the legitimate barangay chairperson." He reiterated that he did not receive any document that
would show that President Arroyo accepted his resignation.

"I did not even receive an order or an approval in regard to my resignation from the office of Mayor Emano," Araña said.

Pallugna warned that Araña could be charged with "usurpation of authority" if he forces the issue.

"He became an ordinary citizen of Bugo after he resigned," Pallugna said.

Obliosca sharply criticized Araña, saying he created ‘‘chaos’’ in Bugo.

"He has been deceiving people. He resigned and then he wants to return just because councilors want him to," said Obliosca.

Obliosca called Arana a "man with no words."

Bagabuyo, Arana’s lawyer, disagreed. He said Obliosca was the one who has been usurping on the powers of village chief because he was ‘‘not properly elected.’’

‘‘The assumption of Obliosca is unlawful,’’ said Bagabuyo.

Bugo’s councilors dislike Obliosca. They have accused Obliosca of forging signatures of villagers for the "People’s Initiative" campaign for Charter change early this year. They have also accused him of bypassing the barangay council in some of decisions like the termination of workers’ services.

Tension has been gripping Bugo since councilors and villagers padlocked the barangay hall last month. Anti-Obliosca rallies were staged in Bugo prior to Arana’s attempt to retake the chairmanship of Bugo last Monday.

Obliosca is facing charges of illegal dismissal and misconduct before the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). (That can be read at Gold Star Daily)


">http://www.blogger.com — www.blogger.com Link

Sue me, Nanding challenges critics

EMBATTLED Councilor Reynaldo Advincula has lashed back at his critics and dared them to sue him in connection with his business interests at the city hall-owned Cogon public market.

Advincula also dared his critics, including opposition Councilor Zaldy Ocon, to show proof that he broke laws.

He challenged Ocon to a debate before the city council’s blue ribbon committee or anywhere in the city.

"I can prove in public that I have not committed any illegal act," said Advincula.

Advincula was fuming over Ocon’s stinging commentaries over DxCC, a station of the Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) where the opposition councilor is program director and commentator.

"If Ocon believes that he is correct, he should sue me," said Advincula, adding that he wants to answer the issues at the ‘‘proper forum and proper time.’’

On separate occasions, Ocon and prominent Cagayan de Oro lawyer Frederico Gapuz have accused Advincula of violating the government’s code of ethics for public officials and employees by doing business at Cogon public market. They said Advincula also violated a provision of the Local Government Code.

Advincula denied conflicts of interest on his part, insisting that his business at the 3rd level of the city hall-owned market was legal.

Over DxCC, Ocon accused Advincula of taking advantage of his position in city hall to do business at Cogon public market. He said Advincula has been using his influence for his and his family’s interests.

"He (Advincula) is taking advantage of the people, he is anti-people," Ocon said.

He also accused Advincula of monopolizing the 3rd level of the public market for his business when hundreds of vendors have complained of not being awarded stalls at the city hall-owned property.

Advincula said there was nothing wrong with the ‘‘videoke’’ and video game machine business because all government requirements were complied with. He said the business is supported with business permit, clearances and other government papers.

Advincula hurled brickbats at Ocon, accusing the broadcaster cum councilor of being unfair.
"Where is balanced of reporting? He (Ocon) did not call me so I can air my side. His reports are always one-sided," Advincula said.

"Why is Ocon always attacking me over the radio? He should face me. I think he does not know what he is saying," Advincula said.

Advincula said Ocon and his other critics should immediately file charges against him if they are really serious in their accusations.

‘‘Prove that the business is illegal,’’ he said.

Advincula has argued that, technically, he has no lease contract with city hall because the market’s 3rd level is being ran by UKC Builders under a build-operate-transfer scheme contract with the local government. It was UKC that redeveloped the Cogon public market.

Meanwhile, Advincula said he has asked the Cogon police precinct to guard the 3rd level establishments and keep unwanted persons from the place.

He said he asked the police precinct chief to launch a ‘‘saturation drive’’ at the upper levels of the market to make the places safe for the public.

"can be read at Gold Star Daily>Link

Emano leaves Trampe's fate to Alagar

CAGAYAN de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano said he would leave the decision to replace or retain embattled city police director Aurelio Trampe in the hands of Camp Alagar.

‘‘The decision will be up to (Chief Supt. Florante Baguio),’’ said Emano on the call of councilors to oust Senior Supt. Aurelio Trampe.

Emano said he recognized the right of Baguio to make decisions in regard to the appointment of Cagayan de Oro’s police director.

He said he and Baguio talked about Trampe but the mayor did not elaborate.

It was Councilor Reynaldo Advincula who first called for the ouster of Trampe due to an apparent breakdown in law enforcement in the city. He said Trampe should quit as a result of the rising cases of petty crimes, including cable thefts, in the city.

Two Mondays ago, the council passed a resolution expressing dismay over Trampe’s performance.

Over DxIF-Bombo Radyo, Emano said he did not initiate the moves to oust Trampe. He strongly denied reports he was behind the city council’s moves to have Trampe replaced.

"The issue is being politicized. If you ask me, I don’t want him (Trampe) to resign but if he really has problems facing criminals, it’s now up to him," Emano said.

But in the event that Camp Alagar decides to replace Trampe, Emano said he would also leave the appointment of a new police director in the hands of Baguio.

Emano said he was told that Trampe was willing to resign if ordered by Baguio. "Trampe is willing to relinquish his post."

Meanwhile, Camp Alagar said it was evaluating the performance of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) to determine if there was a basis for the call to replace Trampe.

But Baguio said the city police has intensified its efforts to solve crimes and in arresting criminals.

Baguio said a rise in the city’s crime rate is not enough reason for any police official to resign.

Meanwhile, former vice mayor Antonio Soriano has expressed disgust over what he described as
‘‘malicious accusations’’ against Trampe due to his alleged negligence.

‘‘Trampe is the most qualified and abled police chief the city ever got. He is a PMA graduate and a lawyer at that,’’ said Soriano in a statement sent to Cagayan de Oro Journal.

Soriano said that even if the crime rate has accelerated, Trampe ‘‘must be given the chance to prove himself and I believe he has made measures to counter all of these.’’

Soriano said Trampe should also be given full support by the local government. ‘‘Otherwise, he cannot move as expected of him.’’

"Can be read at Gold Star Daily>Link

A Ray of Hope for the forgotten Katipunan Revolt of Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MIKE BAÑOS / June 13) – There are now two initiatives underway in the Philippine Senate to recognize the forgotten Katipunan revolt of Mindanao and recognize it by altering how the present Philippine flag looks like, one which has been continuing for some time now and another more recent.

Senator Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr., a native son of Cagayan de Oro, has long been advocating for a ninth ray in the Philippine flag in recognition of the Moros indefatigable struggle for independence against the Spaniards.

"I have delivered speeches on it but I do not know whether I still have copies of the speeches," he wrote in reply to an email last Monday. "Today at the Pinaglaban Independence Day Rites, I reiterated it. I said that the Moros of Mindanao deserve a 9th ray in the Flag."

More recently, Senator Richard Gordon has been laying the ground work for the petition to add a ninth ray to the sun depicted in the Philippine flag, (which as every schoolboy and schoolgirl knows, represents the first eight provinces in Luzon which rose in the fight for freedom against Spain in 1896) in recognition of the "Mutiny at Calaganan" as the first Katipunan instigated revolt in Mindanao.

In fact, it was not only the Moros as represented by a group of Maranaos from Balo-i, Lanao del Norte, but in fact all three of Mindanao's tri-people who joined in the revolt: the Christian immigrants, the indigenous natives in the person of 50 Higaonons from Bukidnon, and a group of Moros from Lanao, making it not only a Katipunan revolt, but one in which all three of Mindanao's tri-people joined in as well.

Antonio J. Montalvan II, a local historian of note and a former member of the Cagayan de Oro City Historical and Cultural Commission, says that what local history has heretofore named as the "Calaganan Mutiny" was apparently not a mutiny at all, but a true-blue revolucion sparked by the Katipuneros of Luzon.

Montalvan admits a direct link between the Katipunan uprising in Luzon and the Calaganan Mutiny has yet to be established 'beyond a reasonable doubt', but there appears to be extant sources which appear to indicate that such a link did exist, and that Pio Valenzuela did indeed come to Mindanao on the instructions of Andres Bonifacio to foment a revolt against the Spaniards.

"Should a direct link be established between Bonifacio's Katipunan revolt in Luzon and the Calaganan Mutiny, then the people of Mindanao can rightfully petition the national government to add a ninth ray to the sun in the Philippine flag," Montalvan said.

What needs to be done at this point is to verify primary sources such as the Consular Letters of the French Embassy in Manila to Paris where the Calaganan Mutiny is described in detail, Montalvan added.

The letters are now in the archives of the National Museum in Manila, as are other extant documents like the historical account of the Jesuit historian Pablo Pastells in which the "Calaganan Mutiny" is also described in detail.

The Calaganan Mutiny is also detailed in the letters of Vicente Elio y Sanchez of Camiguin to the Manila-based Spanish newspaper La Oceania Española and two other historical sources but has never been linked to the "First Cry of Balintawak" led by Andres Bonifacio. One reason for this could be that Elio's letters never got past Spanish censors anxious to douse the flickering flames of revolution which had broken out in Luzon.

In late August of 1896, the Katipunan uprising against Spain had broken out in Luzon. Exactly a month later, or September 29, 1896, the mutiny exploded among the so-called Disciplinarios, a group of Filipinos from Luzon deported to the Spanish fort in Calaganan for training in military discipline to fight against the Moros of Lanao. Upon receiving instructions from the Katipunan in Manila, they raided the Spanish armory and proceeded to Cagayan to attack the town, being joined by some Moros (Some oral accounts claim that most of the Disciplinarios were in fact Katipuneros who were arrested by the Spaniards after the first salvo in Pugad Lawin or covertly sent to Mindanao to start another uprising there).

On the way, they ransacked convents and homes of Spanish peninsulars. However, a joint force of Spanish soldiers led by the Gobernadorcillo Juan de Pratts and Tercio de Voluntarios de Cagayan (volunteers, among them local hero Apolinar Velez) repulsed the Disciplinarios in Sta. Ana, Tagoloan.

From Cagayan, the rebeldes proceeded to Sumilao, Bukidnon where they were joined by a band of 50 Higa-onons. They next attacked Balingasag, and raided the outpost of Gingoog on January 1897. By that time, news of Rizal's execution had reached Cagayan and Misamis, and this further stoked the anger of the town folk, fanning the flames of the local Katipuneros. It took the Spanish gunboat Mariveles, recalled from the Tercio Distrito de Surigao, to finally subdue the resistance in Gingoog.

This was the only known Katipunan revolt in the whole of Mindanao which occurred at about the same time as the general uprising in Luzon, but two-time Palanca-award grand prize winner Antonio Enriquez says there was one other which occurred later (1898) in Zamboanga which successfully ousted the Spaniards and established the Zamboanga Republic under General Vicente Alvarez in that rinconcito de España, only to sputter later against the superior firepower of invading U.S. forces.

What appears to be remarkable about the 'Calaganan Mutiny' is that besides happening at approximately the same time as the Katipunan revolt in Luzon, there is apparently a direct link between it and the Katipunan revolt in the person of Pio Valenzuela, a cousin of the woman amazon Arcadia Valenzuela of Lapasan, Cagayan de Misamis (as Cagayan de Oro was then known) who visited Mindanao during this period (ostensibly on instructions from Andres Bonifacio himself!) to instigate a similar revolt in Mindanao.

Augustinian Recollect chronicles confirm that this revolt was in fact instigated by a communication from Katipuneros in Luzon, making Mindanao the ninth province to join the Katipunan revolt, albeit not included in the eight rays of the sun in the Philippine flag which represent the eight provinces which first rose in revolt against Spanish tyranny.

mike_banos_2000@yahoo.com>Link

Ambassador Kenney visits in Oro; helps Green Bank's 30,000th microloan client

(LEFT PHOTO) Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney (second from left) during her June 8 visit to Cagayan de Oro strikes a pose with Omar Andaya (1st left), President, Green Bank; Rosie Bilog (center); Ismael Andaya, Chairman Emeritus, Green Bank; and John Owens USAID (3rd and 4th from left). Kenney attended a ceremony at Green Bank to recognize the bank's 30,000th microloan client. Bilog (center), who started a home-based business processing cashew nuts for sale to retailers and wholesalers. Green Bank participates in a USAID program that helps banks provide loans to microenterprise customers, creating economic growth and prosperity for families in Cagayan de Oro. (RIGHT PHOTO) Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney talks with microenterprise owners who are recipients of micro-loans from Green Bank, a Cagayan de Oro bank that participates in a USAID program that helps banks provide loans to microenterprise customers. These women have all started small businesses thanks to these micro-loans. Also pictured are Ismael Andaya, Chairman Emeritus, Green Bank (partially hidden) and Omar Andaya, President, Green Bank (far right). (Photo supply by MIKE BAÑOS)

" mike_banos_2000@yahoo.comalternate email : mike_banos@walla.com, mikebanos@zamboanga.com>Link

Transport group demands LTFRB action on Super 5 case

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - A TRANSPORT group yesterday warned it would paralyze much of the public transportation in this part of the country unless the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) acts on a complaint against a bus company for undercharging.

The group, calling itself Bonded and United Members of Provincial Endangered Route (Bumper), gave LTFRB officials in Manila until this month to act on its problem with the bus company Super 5.

The LTFRB has set a pre-hearing of the case against Super 5 on June 30.
"The workers are getting hungry day by day," said Bumper lawyer Her-nan Tabalba as he decried the practice of undercharging.

The group said many operators and drivers of public vehicles have long been complaining about the ‘‘unfair competition’’ from Super 5.

Tabalba has accused Super 5 and the firm’s owner, Paul Padayhag, of defying a LTFRB order against the illegal fare reduction.

‘‘It’s killing the drivers and their families,’’ said Tabalba.

Unless Super 5 is stopped, Tabalba said he feared Padayhag would soon monopolize the public transport business in this part of the country by ‘‘sabotaging the industry."

On May 11, LTFRB suspended the operations of Super 5 for one month due to violations. The Board even warned that defiance would mean the seizure of the firm’s buses.

But Tabalba said Super 5 merely ignored the order and continued to operate under the noses of authorities.

"Padayhag received the order on May 2 but Super 5 continued to operate until May 20 and only stopped on May 21.

This means they stopped operating for 12 days only and not 30 days. The 30-day suspension order was ignored," said Tabalba.

Tabalba said he could not understand the inaction of concerned government agencies in regard to the Super 5 problem when several cases have been filed against the company.

"If nothing happens during the June 30 pre-hearing, we will be forced to stage a demonstration. We need immediate action. To delay the cases would be to delay justice," he said.

Bumper, is the umbrella organization of nine transport groups that include the Iligan Drivers’ Association, Iligan Cooperative Jeepney Operators Inc., Iligan Transport Services Cooperative), West Misamis Oriental Operators, Drivers and Dispatchers’ Cooperative Association, Iligan-Lugait Drivers’ Association;
Iligan, Kulambugan, Kapatagan Operators and Drivers’ Association; and the Iligan, Kauswagan, Operators and Drivers’ Association.

The biggest bus company in this part of the country, Rural Transit Mindanao Inc. (RTMI), will be joining Bumper’s cause, according to Tabalba.

RTMI, he said, has also been complaining about Super 5’s ‘‘unfair’’ business practices. (With a report from AMOR BARLISAN)

"can be read at Gold Star Daily>Link

Envoy : Nothing Underhand in Bounty for Terror Tipsters

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