Team Unity gets Ilongo votes

Team Unity candidates in Ilo-Ilo – (from left) Prospero Pichay, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Tito Sotto, Chavit Singson and Migz Zubiri – raise their arms to acknowledge the cheers of their supporters after holding a Pulong-Sulong as part of their campaign sortie in Iloilo City last week. (Team Unity Photo Supply)

Home

Minimum jeepney fare in Region 10 reduced to P6.00

CAGAYAN DE ORO JOURNAL (Ben Balce / March 22) Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) yesterday announced a provisional decrease in jeepney fares in Northern Mindanao by an average of 50 centavos.

This means the fare is now down from P6.50 to P6 for the first four kilometers.

LTFRB chair Thompson Lantion made the announcement when he met with local transport leaders during a consultation last Wednesday, March 21, 2007.

Mandangan Darimbang, LTFRB director for Region 10, said the adjustment was based on the fuel-price decreases since January.

It was the Transport Federation of Cagayan de Oro (Trafeco), the biggest organization of jeepney, van and taxi owners and drivers here, that asked the LTFRB to lower the fares, said Darimbang.

“Desisyon kini mismo sa among grupo nga mag-petition mi for a decrease sa pletehan,” said Trafeco president Virgilio Valmoria.

Valmoria cited several reasons, one of which was the LTFRB decision to stop imposing the P3-thousand penalty on jeepney operators who failed to renew their LTFRB papers.

“We are helping the LTFRB because they also approved our request to reduce the penalties,” said Valmoria.

Second, Valmoria said, the group was dismayed because many passengers only pay P6 despite the P6.50 minimum fare.

”Mao ra man gihapon, maningil mi ug P6.50, P6 ra gihapon ang itunol sa pasahero. Mas maayo na lang nga i-P6 sirado lang ang minimum (fare) para di mi masakitan,” said Valmoria.

LTFRB will be giving the jeepney operators fare matrices for free. In the past, LTFRB imposed fees in exchange for fare matrices.

Trafeco said it would help the government in making sure that the adjustments are made in the jeepney fares under a campaign called Bantay Pasahe.

Lantion said the LTFRB would conduct another hearing on whether the jeepney fare would be pegged as is or adjusted. A decision would be made in July.

“It will really depend on the market forces by the time.” he said.

Parallel to the decrease of jeepney fares is the decrease in special privilege fares for senior citizens, students and the disabled also at 50 centavos. The minimum fare for these people is now pegged at P5 for the first four kilometers.

Darimbang said the jeepney fares in the region would remain the same as long as the average price of fuel is below P39. if the prices shoot to P39 or more, the fares would be increased based on the agreement, he said.

Lantion also took time to look into the long drawn-out dispute between the Rural Transit of Mindanao (RTMI) and Super 5 over the issue of undercharging.

Cagayan de Oro Journal

Mis Or guv turns over P3.8 million worth of medical equipment

TURN-OVER OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT. Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar S. Moreno recently turned over a P3.8 million worth of medical supplies and equipment to the seven district hospitals funded by the Philhealth Capitation Fund. These include an anesthesia machine, nebulizer sets, bedside pulse oximeter, glucometer, centrifuge machine, basic surgical sets, banmanometer, ECG machine, among others. The seven district hospitals in Misamis Oriental are located in Gingoog City , Balingasag, Talisayan, Initao, Claveria, Manticao, and Magsaysay. Revenues of these hospitals have so far increased brought about by the much improved quality of service. This can be partly attributed to the huge number of Philhealth enrollees all over the province. For 2007, the capitol has enrolled 100,000 indigent families at the Philhealth Indigency Insurance Program benefiting at least 500 thousand individuals. (MISOR PRESS OFFICE)

Home

MILF: "We respect the supremacy of the ongoing talks with RP"

CAGAYAN DE ORO (Teng Datu/March 21) - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) officials yesterday emphasized that they respect the supremacy of the ongoing peace agreement as they reply to the press statement of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo over the weekend.

In an interview with the MILF Chief aired over a local radio station here, Chairman Murad Ebrahim mentioned that the MILF leadership respects the impasse peace process and existing ceasefire agreement despite of the latest skirmishes in town Midsayap, Cotabato and some boundaries of Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan provinces.

“We are always committed to the ongoing peace talks with the Philippine government,” said Ebrahim.

He said, the MILF is continuing to adhere whatever the agreement given by the International Monitoring Team and Government of Republic of the Philippines in order to guard the sanctity of the peace process.

The MILF Chairman said that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has no intention to neither quarrel its own nest nor violate the existing ceasefire so as to preserve the significance of peace accord,

The Bangsamoro person is tired to move to one place to another, which is resulted to the on going clashes in the area, he added.

Chairman Ebrahim, claimed that there some groups who took advantage the situation who do not want peace in Mindanao may be due to their vested interest such as economic and political interest.

He said, there is no other solution to the Mindanao problem except to conduct comprehensive negotiation, the solution to the century old problem is must be anchored to the culture and certain belief of the Bangsamoro people which will absolutely foreign from the Constitution of the Philippine Government.

He said in a press statement that reached in the Cagayan de Oro Journal that the Bangsamoro people would only exercise their own culture and religious law through to Right to Self Determination (RSD).

Right to Self Determination is being recognized not only by the Philippine Government but in international law. except the provision that contradict to the Philippine constitution. He added.

In the last of statement, the MILF chief stressed that Development and infrastructure projects of the conflict-affected areas by the foreign donors is the off shoot of the peace agreement to fully support the on going peace talks between the MILF and GRP.

Cagayan de Oro Journal

Another Transco Power Pylon toppled in Marawi

Cagayan de Oro City (Mike Banos/Mar 16) – Another transmission pylon of the National Transmission Corporation has been toppled near Marawi City.

Engr. Emmanuel Abellanosa, Transco assistant vice president for Mindanao operations and maintenance, confirmed that another Transco power pylon was toppled in Bgy. Sogod, Marawi City around 11:30PM Tuesday when all four legs were ripped off by an improvised explosive device.

This follows two earlier attacks Sunday evening on Tower No. 7 located in Buenavista, Upper Abaga , Balo-i, Lanao del Norte and Tower No. 39 in the hinterland barangay of Bagtik, Puga-an Iligan City which were similarly attacked with the use of improvised explosive devices, though the latter failed to topple.

Although the three attacks failed to interrupt electric power service in Mindanao, Abellanosa said power service to the Picop plant in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte and Mindanao Silicon in Manticao, Misamis Oriental have been curtailed. Up to this time, Mr. Abellanosa said no threats or demand letters of any kind have been received by Transco.

"We need more fresh troops to patrol our lines," Abellanosa said. "Kulang kayo."

The area is under the jurisdiction of the 103rd Infantry Brigade under Col. Raynard Ronnie Y. Javier, an organic unit of the Philippine Army's 1st Infantry "Tabak" Division based in Kuta Major Cesar L. Sang-an, Bgy. Pulacan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur under the command of Maj. Gen. Raymund Ferrer.

In an earlier interview by a local ABS CBN here, PNP Region 10 Director Chief Supt. Teodorico Capuyan said the bombers may have been motivated by revenge following the pullout of the Philippine Marines from the area of the attacks.

Although there were no attacks on Transco power pylons while the Marines were assigned in Lanao, Capuyan said there were a number of incidents involving the Marines and various armed groups from the area which may have triggered the present spate of attacks.

The series of attacks recall the February 28, 2003 incident when alleged Muslim rebels bombed a power station and toppled five Transco power pylons in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte, cutting off electricity to almost all of Mindanao for several hours and costing the National Power Corporation P10-million in repairs to its 138-kilovolt Abaga-Lugait transmission line at Transco tower 5 which took almost a week to complete.

Reports from Camp Aguinaldo said the alleged rebels initially attacked a Napocor transmission tower with an IED at Tuminado, Lanao del Sur, causing the relay station in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte to trip and plunging the whole Mindanao grid into darkness.

Homemade bombs were also used earlier to topple five other transmission towers in Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao, including the only remaining power link between the northeast and southeast of the island.

The MILF subsequently denied responsibility for the bombings saying it has never been their policy to attack civilian centers or power lines. So far, the MILF has not commented on the present series of attacks.

Home

Moreno condemns Salay killings

CAGAYAN DE ORO JOURNAL (Maricel Casino-Revira/March 15) -Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar S. Moreno on Wednesday requested the police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a thorough investigation on the recent spate of killings in Salay, town Misamis Oriental.

Moreno called upon PNP Provincial Director PS/Supt. Danilo Pelisco and NBI regional director Atty. Virgilio Mendez to “leave no stone unturned in solving these killings and bring the perpetrators to the bar of justice.”

Moreno condemned in “the strongest terms the cold-blooded” killing of Sichi Gandinao last Saturday.

In a statement, Moreno said that “coming, as it did, very closely after the killing last month of Mr. Dalmacio Gandinao, one would naturally suspect that these killings are linked.”

His statement further reads, ”putting an end to a person’s life disturbs every decent peace-loving individual all throughout the world.”

“More so, if the termination is done by violent means. No well-meaning person will ever accept this kind of barbarism.”

“Misamis Oriental is blessed with peace-loving, hard-working and patriotic residents and the provincial government is firmly committed to promote Misamis Oriental further to higher levels and help its people achieve their dreams,” Moreno said.

Cagayan de Oro Journal

Seniors stage rally over GSIS pensions

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Ben Balce/March 6) - A group of retired government employees on Friday trooped to the streets for a demonstration aimed at pressuring the Government Service Insurance Corp. (GSIS) to increase their pensions and give more benefits.

Members of the group, called Government Retirees’ Association of the Philippines (Graphil), braved the heat of the sun as they staged rally near the GSIS office in Carmen, this city.

They demanded that GSIS increase their pensions again by at least 12 percent each year or even more.

Graphil leader Roberto Mabulay said the retirees were dismayed after GSIS reduced the annual pension increase to three percent.

The group also questioned the GSIS’s move to stop giving benefits to the beneficiaries of the deceased.

The organized retirees also demanded that GSIS compute loans based on the actual years of public service of the pensioner.

The GSIS, they said, make the computations based on the number of years when they served as regular employees of the government. Many of them started as casual/contractual employees of the government and were regularized years later.

Former mayors Pablo Magtajas of Cagayan de Oro and Jaime Abarrientos of Talisayan, Misamis Oriental, joined the protesters. Former city health officer Dr. Jacinto Frias also came.

The pensioners accused the GSIS of corruption.

The alleged corruption, they said, has resulted in delays in the release of pensions.

The pensioners claimed they have yet to receive their pensions this year.

“GSIS is cruel,” said Mabulay. “Why they are always delaying our claims? Where are our pensions? They should explain to us what really happened to our pensions.”

“It’s Charter is a social legislation whose mission is to serve its members,” Mabulay, a lawyer who once served in GSIS, told crowd.

Mabulay’s group raised five major concerns:

- restoration of the annual increase of 12 percent which was reduced by the agency to three percent in 2004.

- resumption of Christmas gifts;

- increase in burial benefits from P20 thousand to P40 thousand;

- appointment of retiree to the GSIS board;

- establishment of GSIS bank

Luz Briones, the head of the local GSIS office, appeased the protesters by talking to them.

Briones in a news conference, said GSIS temporarily stopped releasing some of the benefits after the office discovered there were many false claims and discrepancies.

A number of pensioners did not inform GSIS that they have remarried or that their children, who are beneficiaries, have already turned 18.

Briones said she would refer the complaints to her superiors in Manila.

Home

GSIS gave P.5b to false claimants yearly

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Ben Balce / March 3)The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is purging its list pensioners so half a billion pesos would not go to false claims yearly officials said yesterday.

Edgar Eduardo, GSIS vice president for field operations for Visayas and Mindanao, said GSIS uncovered a financial leakage when it started computerizing its database of spouses and children of deceased GSIS pensioners.

Beneficiaries of “survivorship pension” are entitled to benefits as long as surviving spouses does not re-marry and the children-beneficiaries have not reached 18 years old.

Eduardo said GSIS has been sending checks to about 81,000 beneficiaries of survivorship pensions for quite some time. The average pension is some P2,400 each month.

However, officials discovered that many of the beneficiaries have long ceased to qualify.

Eduardo said the discovery prompted the GSIS to reevaluate all survivorship pension claims.

As part of the “massive cleansing,” GSIS opted to temporarily suspend releasing survivorship pensions since January, he said.

Initially, he said, the GSIS found that 15 thousand of the 81 thousand beneficiaries were no longer qualified. The figure translates to some P36 million monthly or P432 million annually.

Eduardo admitted that the move was unpopular but the GSIS had to decide whether to condone the losses or temporarily suspend the release of survivorship pensions until it could purge the list.

“We chose to do what was right. We had to suspend pensions until we could cleanse our database. The GSIS is the money of government employees. It is immoral to throw away their money just because we are afraid to correct the survivorship pension records,” he said.

Eduardo said beneficiaries need not worry because the “massive cleansing” would be completed before the month ends.

Home

10 NPAs, 2 soldiers killed in Bukidnon

CAMP EVANGELISTA, Cagayan de Oro City (Ben Balce) - TEN New People’s Army rebels and two soldiers were killed and three other government troopers were wounded in a firefight in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon last Thursday, the military reported yesterday.

Maj. Samuel Sagun, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said that the military preempted the communists’ plans to sabotage the ongoing festival in the city following the eight-hour firefight.

Sagun said elements of the 26th Infantry Battalion were conducting combat operations in the hinterlands of the city when they caught up with a 30-man fully-armed rebel group belonging to the Front Committee 89 at around 8 a.m.

Sagun said the military commanders sent an MG-520 attack helicopter to provide air support for the soldiers at the height of the firefight but it was not able to able to perform its assigned task.

"It was not able to provide air support because the troops were dangerously close to the rebels, the soldiers might be hit. It just went on a precision flight, it just flew above the encounter area," said Sagun.

He said the fighting lasted up to 4 p.m., resulting in the death of the 10 rebels, two of them females, and two soldiers – Cpl. Antonio Jamanda and Pfc Franklin Tan – and wounding of three other troopers, two of them militiamen.

Also recovered from the scene of the encounter were one M16 and one M14 rifles, a landmine and assorted ammunition, said Sagun, adding that government forces have launched pursuit operations against the remnants of the rebel group.

Home

Cop slain in gunfight at Buk'n police HQ's gate

MALAYBALAY City (Aurelle P. Arais / March 2)- A policeman was killed in a gunfight at the gate of Bukidnon provincial police office headquarters here at around 9:20 in the evening last Wednesday.

Police Supt. Juan Ratunil, Bukidnon provincial police director identified the fatality as PO2 Procoro Lutrago, a member of the 1003rd provincial police mobile group.

According to reports, the slain policeman was on duty at the gate, when two unidentified persons approached and shot him several times using an unknown caliber of hand guns.

Two other policemen responded prompting an exchange of gun fires.
However, the suspects were able to flee to an unknown direction.

It was not known if any of the suspects was hit during the encounter.

Some witnesses said that the two suspects fled from the crime scene riding a motorcycle.
During the hot pursuit operation, police recovered an abandoned motorcycle at Barangay 9, this city without a license plate number believed used by the suspects.

Ratunil said that before the suspects fled, they grabbed the Armalite rifle of the slain policeman.
The slain policeman succumbed to death with 20 gun shot wounds in various parts of the body.

It was also known if the incident was a direct attack against the provincial police office or personal motive in nature.

As of press time, an investigation is still going on.

Meanwhile, Ratunil clarified that the said incident will not affect the on going Kaamulan Festival and 90th Foundation Day of the province.

Bukidnon provincial police office beefed up its security measures to deter a similar attack in the future.

Home

More Cafgus seen to defect to rebel group, says military

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Ben Balce / Feb 27) – The military yesterday said it was looking into the possibility that three more militiamen would defect to the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Misamis Oriental.

This came about after a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) reportedly defected to the rebel group in Salay, Misamis Oriental.

The Militiamen Boy Gonzales, was reportedly convinced by relatives to sever his ties with the army an army battalion.

The 8th Infantry Battalion yesterday confirmed that Gonzales has gone Awol.

Three other Cafgu members are reportedly planning to follow and 8th IB is keeping an eye on them, said battalion commander Col. Erick Binuya.

“We are not concerned because he brought with him government-owned firearms,” said Binuya. Gonzales reportedly took with him two M14 rifles.

“The firearms are the accountability of Gonzales and we’re exerting efforts to locate him,” said Binuya.

Binuya has denied allegations that Gonzales’s family was being threatened by soldiers.

Binuya said the 23rd Infantry Battalion in Agusan del Sur which had administrative charges against the militiaman. More charges are being prepared, he said.

A manhunt is also ongoing against Gonzales.

Maj. Samuel Sagun, spokesperson of the 4th Infantry Division, said Gonzales was pressured by his relatives in Salay to join the rebel group.

Home

AFP, PNP intelligence units start surveillance of media in Region 10

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mike Baños / Feb. 27) - Military and police personnel conducted surveillance of media practitioners in two activities last week, in what many media personalities labeled as a graphic demonstration of the "culture of impunity" which has led to killings of a growing number of leftist militants and journalists.

The surveillance started last February 14 in Salay, Misamis Oriental when armed soldiers using cellphone cameras identified as members of the Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Battalion took full-face photos of five media practitioners who were covering the burial of peasant leader Dalmacio Gandinao, the second militant leader slain in Misamis Oriental and Region 10.

Despite the publication of photographs showing soldiers engaged in the activity, Fourth Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Jose Barbieto denied his men were involved in the surveillance.

Manila Bulletin and Agence France Presse stringer Gerry Gorit admitted the knowledge that the military took his photograph has caused him anxiety and sleepless nights.

The burial of the slain peasant leader was also attended by Bayan Muna party-list representative Satur Ocampo and other regional and local leaders of Karapatan, Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and the Misamis Oriental Farmers Association.

Last Friday, February 23, the surveillance was repeated in a larger scale when at least ten military and police personnel in civilian attire identified to be members of the 4th Infantry Division Civil Affairs Unit, the Philippine Army's Civil Relations Group and the Philippine National Police R2 trailed the indignation rally against the "Culture of Impunity" led by the Cagayan de Oro Press Club all the way from its starting point at the Misamis Oriental Capitol Gardens to the Cagayan de Oro City Amphitheatre in Plaza Divisoria where the rally was held.

"Again, we want to know what these shots are for. The next time it might just be another shot but of a deadlier kind," said COPC president Hugo "Jerry" Orcullo. "They have been taking pictures of us since we started the rally," DXCO Station Manager and former Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas-Cagayan de Oro chapter president Jonas Bustamante announced as he started his talk. "I am coming forward to tell them that we know what they are doing and that we will not be cowed."

However, Diamond Press Corps president and press club director Vic Cabanag played back a taped interview of Barbieto during the rally in which the military officially assured he has not issued any orders ordering his men to conduct surveillance of mediamen. But he also issued a caveat, saying "If photos were taken and surveillance is being conducted on these mediamen, it is because they too are taking photos and doing surveillance works."

"As far as we are concerned, we guarantee the safety of all media within the 4th Infantry Division's area of responsibility,"Mr. Barbieto added.

Rally participants noted the identified military and police personnel taking down notes and surreptiously taking photographs of the rally.

A lady personnel in civilian clothes later identified to be a member of the PNP R2 (Intelligence) group based at the Police Regional Office-Region 10 at Camp Alagar even went around brazenly taking full-face photos of the media present. When asked what she was doing, she replied she was only testing her camera but couldn't answer when asked why she couldn't test it someplace else since there were other subjects in the area but nevertheless continued taking photos of those who joined the rally.

Asked about the presence of his men conducting surveillance on the indignation rally, 4th Civil Affairs Unit commander Maj. Samuel Sagun texted back, "4CMOU man yan, no longer 4ID. Headquarters Phil. Army na yan. Wala ako tao diyan."

"We're in a democratic country," Mr. Sagun's texted reply continued. "You are in the AOR (area of responsibility) safest for journalists. Quote me."

However, media present talked to personnel of Mr. Sagun's unit who were personally known to them who admitted they were only conducting routine surveillance according to orders previously issued to them by their superiors.

Military and police officials have often cited how Region 10 remains to be the only region in the country where a journalist has yet to be killed during the incumbency of Pres. Arroyo.

PNP-10 Press Corps President Michael Angelo Bustamante said he also received similar assurances from PNP PRO-10 Regional Director Chief Supt. Teodorico Capuyan that protection would be afforded to Cagayan de Oro media.

Among the key figures who attended Friday's rally were Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippine (CBCP) vice chairman and Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma and Monsignor Elmer Abacahin, Vatican Press Corps Representative and also a member of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club.

Archbishop Ledesma said the Church is one with the media in calling on government to stop the killings against media practitioners and give justice to the relatives of the victims.
"We join the media in condemning these killings and calling on government to resolve them in order not to (allow this) climate of suppression of freedom of expression," Bishop Ledesma said.

The rally was held on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the murder of Muhammad Yusop, the first journalist killed during the incumbency of Pres. Gloria Arroyo.
The anniversary has coincided with the publication of the findings of the Melo commission and an investigation by the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Philip Alston.

Former COPC President Uriel Quilinguing noted it also marked the declaration of Proclamation 1017 last year that marked the start of a crackdown on media outlets.

Home

"After all, there is no gene for fate"

By Dr. Jose Nilo G. Binongo

Life can be tough when one is born with physical traits that have not been in vogue in the history of humankind. It becomes even tougher when, for the rest of one's life, one is stuck with a set of undesired congenital marks. But should one lose hope? Should one allow one's genetic makeup determine the future?

Growing up, I realized that, to be socially `in', I should stop sitting in my favorite corner of the library all day long. I thought participating in sports might earn me more popularity points than being adroit at fiddling with the card catalogue. But alas, in my attempt to fit in as an athlete, I came to realize I had the stature of a pygmy and the grace of a dodo – my posture and body movement were devoid of dexterity, assurance, and style.

Well then, if I wasn't built for sports, perhaps a leadership role might suit me better. So I considered running for student council president in my final year in high school. But my closest of friends dissuaded me. They confided that my chance of winning was as good as my height. I agreed; in many people's minds, one's ability to lead is a function of one's stature. So I ended up as class beadle – a position I held since my elementary years in Macasandig –where height was not a job requirement for monitoring classroom misdemeanors from my seat.

But if there was something positive that came out of this predicament, I learned early on the importance of focusing on academics. In this arena, I could compensate for my physical shortcomings. As it turned out, I wasn't wrong in my self-assessment.

After graduating from Xavier High School, I went to Ateneo de Manila as an academic scholar. This was my first time away from home, living in a place where the day-to-day language was different from my own. In my first few weeks in the Philippine capital, it was impressed upon me that Cebuano, as a language, doesn't have the same level of sophistication as that of Tagalog. My friends in the dormitory were amused with my corruption of the Tagalog vowels.

I would effortlessly change the `e's to `i's, and the `o's to `u's. Whenever I said `aku' instead of `ako' or `lalaki' instead of `lalake', my friends from southern Philippines were quick to point out, "Ka-Bisaya ba gyod nimo!" (You're so hopelessly Bisaya!)

To this very day, I've never fully understood why it is such a bad thing to be Bisaya, as we deprecatingly call ourselves. Just like my short standing, I didn't choose to be born, to be raised, or to be thrown into a community of heavily-accented Cebuano speakers. But did my Visayan-speaking friends realize that they were really discriminating against their own kind? Were they aware that they implicitly accepted our inferiority as people speaking a less refined language? Cebuano is not a dialect. Linguists have repeatedly told us that Cebuano is a bona fide language on its own. As languages, both Cebuano and Tagalog have a written form, and, to my knowledge, many literary works of quality have been written in both languages.

Moreover, if we accept that Philippine languages belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family, then, surely, `aku' or `lalaki' is more faithful to the original pronunciation. Malaysians and Indonesians alike say `aku', not `ako', when referring to the first person singular; similarly, Malaysians say `lelaki' (or `laki laki' in Indonesian) when they refer to the male sex. As I went on and on, I realized my explanation was falling on deaf ears. Steve, a good friend from Davao, gently patted my back and suggested that I shouldn't worry about matters of no importance.

After graduating from Ateneo, I went to Tokyo to take up graduate studies at Sophia University (another Jesuit institution) as a research scholar of the Japanese Ministry of Education. The Japanese didn't care whether I was uprooted from the deepest recesses of my country or what regional language I spoke. It was good enough that they knew I was from the Philippines, and that I could speak respectable Nihongo.

Unfortunately, they did discriminate in other ways. Women from the Philippines were stereotyped as entertainers (a euphemism for women in the sex trade) and Filipino men as undocumented construction workers whose jobs could be succinctly described by the three k's: `kiken', `kitsui', `kitanai' (which I translate as the three d's: dangerous, difficult and dirty). I was discriminated against not because I spoke Cebuano, but because I come from a country that sends illegal workers to Japan. Quite understandably, some Filipinos in Japan were not forthright about their country of origin, fearing unwanted social repercussions. I, on the other hand, had to launch a personal campaign, asking Filipinos with legal status to make their nationality known to their Japanese acquaintances. This, to me, was an important step towards tackling the discrimination problem.

Of course, in Japan I didn't grow taller than a young cherry blossom tree, and my height remained an item for picking. One day, I was frantically searching for the blackboard eraser in my pre-calculus class at a high school in Fukuoka (a metropolitan area in southwestern Japan).

After finding it, I learned that a student had deliberately kept it hidden on top of the board. I had made it clear to all my students that, as teacher, I was very open to constructive criticism (which I defined as "things that I can change"), and that I was intolerant of destructive feedback (defined as "things I cannot possibly change"). By hiding the eraser 6.5 feet above the floor, the students were making a statement about my height! Just before I could unleash my impending anger, one of the students, Seung Woon, explained that the class was having a tough time catching up with my board work. In an instant, what I had perceived as destructive feedback wilted into something constructive. I calmed down, smiled gingerly, and patiently waited for my students to finish copying what I had scribbled on the board.

I now teach in the United States, having left Japan several years ago. In this country, somebody has yet to deride me for being a Bisaya, or discriminate against me because I come from the Philippines, or because I was raised in the battlefield of Mindanao. (Some Americans don't even have an idea of where the Philippines is on the map!) But still, some people can't help but pick on my unique height, let alone the physical features that go with it. In his high school senior speech, a former student, Zach, talked to his audience of five hundred people about his "hobbit-like math teacher, Dr. José Nilo G. Binongo, who stood at about three inches above five feet."

I gave Zach credit for remembering my complete name (including the middle initial!) and for choosing an appropriate analogy. Undeniably, my physical appearance fits that of a hobbit – short height, long, dark, wavy hair, and big feet (allow me to add, though, that my feet are not hairy). My unimpressive appearance is in stark contrast to Zach's model-like features. Maintaining the flawless physique of a lacrosse player, Zach was recently featured in MTV's reality show, "Made."

There are things in life that I cannot be held accountable for. It wasn't my choice that I have a significantly below-average height. It wasn't my choice to grow up embracing Cebuano as my mother tongue. It wasn't my choice that I have a Philippine passport or that I have typical Southeast Asian looks. Even with modern day medical technology, it would be difficult to undo these congenital marks of my personhood. Yes, I have many qualities that many people do not deem `cool', but I do believe there's a reason why I possess them. Though I have yet to fully understand, all I know now is that these God-given gifts define who I am and shape my uniqueness as an individual with a mission in this transient world.

Perhaps, Zach's speech is more telling: "Dr. Binongo did find passion in his work, in a way that inspired even the most unenthusiastic students.… He even took jokes about his size, voice, and hair with a confident smile. It was those qualities that made me respect him, but I was unsure about what made him a great example of manhood. He did not embody any of the qualities I set out to acquire, yet I believed him to be one of the greatest men I had ever met."

So as not to be misconstrued, I am responsible for many things in my life. I have made many decisions, some of which, in retrospect, I wish I did not have anything to do with. Some I am very happy with.

Becoming a teacher is one such happy decision. The teaching profession has allowed me to touch many people's lives at any given time.

Before a crowd of prospective students and parents, Ashley (a former student in my advanced placement calculus class) candidly admitted: "In Dr. Binongo's class, I experienced two firsts: my first F (a 63 to be exact) and the first time I have ever found myself looking forward to a math class." Even as Ashley portrayed me as being a very difficult teacher, I smiled at those words. As she continued on her speech, I became more confident that I understand correctly what God wanted me to be. It's a great comfort to know that I've been treading on the right track all these years. I'm not a rich man probably because I chose to be a teacher, but this is a decision I take responsibility for and a decision I don't regret making.

Years before Zach made me the subject of his high school speech, my own son, Rai, had decided to do the same, entitling his speech, "Life with José." While it is true that I felt uncomfortable when Rai revealed privileged information about myself to the entire school (for example, my abortive attempts at karaoke every Sunday morning), I was all smiles when he summed up his speech with these words: "Despite all these negatives, I think my Dad made a good decision to become a teacher. I sure benefited from his passion and I know others will, too."

It's been a long time since he gave that unforgettably embarrassing speech, but it was only recently that I came to believe that my son truly meant what he said in his concluding lines. Last week, he drove more than eight hours (crossing three state borders) to participate in a ceremony at Emory University recognizing my efforts in teaching. I felt pride in his heart when Molly (a graduate student in public health) read these words during the commencement ceremony: I am presenting this award to a professor who received a standing ovation on the first and last day of class this past semester. I was definitely surprised at the enthusiasm of the students for this professor until I actually experienced his teaching. Somehow, this professor made the very difficult subject of biostatistics fun and comprehensible. … He spends the few extra moments he has during the day to ensure that every student completely understands the material that he teaches. Then he makes you promise to get enough sleep the night before a test so that there are no confounding variables. Although this professor once said, "I'm not a magician, I'm just a
statistician, " I believe he underestimates his teaching abilities. This professor is more than a magician — he is a teacher. Dr. José Binongo, are you out there?

My son was one of the first to congratulate me on receiving the Rollins Professor of the Year Award. Though there are things in life that I can't change, I do have total control over how I respond to them. I could have chosen to get angry with my parents, blaming them for bringing me into this world and raising me as a native of Mindanao. I could have wished I had Brad Pitt's looks. I could have wished I had Michael Jordan's height and athletic prowess. I could have wished I spoke with a legitimate American accent. I could have wished I were as smart as Albert Einstein.

I could have wished I had Bill Gates' wealth. While it is true that my genes and my demographic characteristics define who I am, they do not completely determine my fate. It's the personal choices and decisions I've made – along with never-ending prayers for discernment – that have led me to where I am now, and where I will be.

My DNA, or the environment I grew up in, cannot limit my humanity and my human spirit. Although I'm painfully aware of the inconveniences, I don't feel deprived just because I'm not the standard height.

I am not sorry for choosing a profession that doesn't pay well. Hearing from students that I've made a difference in their lives is, to me, priceless. And yes, I take pride in the fact that I have my roots in Cagayan de Oro. I am proud of being a Bisaya, with Cebuano as my native language. I feel truly blessed that I have a Filipino heritage. I'm happy to be me.

(Dr. Jose Nilo G. Binongo, a Filipino academician at Emory University in Atlanta, USA, who studied in Japan and was recognized as Rollins School of Public Health Professor of the Year in 2006.)

Home

ROSEVALE SCHOOL HOLDS "2ND ROSEVALE INVITATIONAL FOOTBALL FESTIVAL"

CAGAYAN DE ORO JOURNAL (Mike Baños/Feb. 24) - Although considered by many as the number one sport in the world, football otherwise known as soccer (to differentiate it from other types of football games) is not as famous in the Philippines as it is in other parts of the world.

Thus, when the first Rosevale Football Team was organized four (4) years ago there were only a handful of local teams that it could play against. Encourage by the string of victories and remarkable finishes that the Rosevale Team accomplished, the Rosevale School through the efforts of School President Joe Nebrao and Board of Trustee Sports Committee Chairman Tonyboy Fernandez organized the 1st Rosevale Football Invitational in February 2006.

The one-day sporting event at the Xavier Estates Football Field was attended by eight (8) teams from Cagayan de Oro City and Bukidnon competing in various age-group divisions.

This year, with the continued support of School President Joe Nebrao and Committee Chairman Tonyboy Fernandez and with the assistance of Cagayan-Misamis Oriental Football Association (CMOFA), Rosevale organized the 2nd Rosevale Football Invitational on February 24, 2007 at the Xavier Estates Footfield Field, Xavier Estates Phase 4 and expects the tournament to be attended by at least 16 teams not only from Cagayan de Oro City and Bukidnon but also from Davao City, Cebu City and Iligan City.

It can be said that truly, the Rosevale School believes that physical fitness is an important component in the development of a child in agreement with the dictum "men sane en corpore sano" ( a sound mind in a sound body).

ROSEVALE SCHOOL EXPANDS HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS

At present, Rosevale School which is located at Xavier Estates Phase 4, Fr. William Masterson Ave., Cagayan de Oro City offers Prep School (Toddler, Nursery, Junior Kinder and Senior Kinder), Grades One to Six, and First to Second Year High School.

Starting in the coming school year 2007-2008 Rosevale School offer the 3rd Year High School curriculum in accordance with its school development plan.

Two years ago, the school started to offer High School courses to fulfill its vision of providing quality education in consonance with spiritual development, among others.

To better fulfill this vision, the Rosevale School once again offers scholarship programs to qualified students in all three levels of its high school curriculum starting next school year. The granting of scholarships will be based on the previous academic performance of the student and his/her present financial capacity.

For inquiries, please call 088-5871605/8587689 or see Ms. Paula Estacio or Ms. Kristine Labitad at the Rosevale Office.

Home

Dog saves family from cobra, is killed

By HERBIE GOMEZ

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Feb 16) – A pit bull terrier proved beyond doubt that a dog can become a man’s best friend when it saved and gave its life for its master’s wife and her grandmother in Barangay Lapasan here.

The dog named “Chief,” saved 87-year-old Liberata la Victoria and her granddaughter Maria Victoria Fronteras from a cobra that snaked through an opening in the family’s kitchen shortly around 8 a.m. Monday.

On two occasions, the snake was about to attack the women when the dog dashed from a corner and used itself as a shield.

Marlone Fronteras, an employee of Nestle Philippines who owned the terrier, said Chief seized the venomous snake in the neck with its teeth and repeatedly slammed it on the floor until it died.

The dog was bitten too by the cobra; it died a few minutes later after giving its master a farewell gaze, according to the dog owner’s friends Mare Sabelita and Derf Ian dela Rama.

An organization of pit bull terrier owners here, Royale Pit Bull Club-Ancient Fraternal Order of the Pit Bulls Inc., honored Chief and gave it the moniker “grandfather” of all pit bulls in the community.

Marlone told the Cagayan de Oro journal, that he, his family and members of the pit bull owners’ group gave the dog a “hero’s burial” the same day.

“We just waited for the children to arrive from school because they loved Chief so much,” said Marlone.

Sabelita said Fronteras’s wife Maria Victoria was teary eyed when she narrated the dog’s “heroism” to friends.

“The snake was in front of us., maneuvering a deadly attack,” Sabelita quoted Maria Victoria as saying. “I screamed out loud to ask for help.”

Hearing this, the four-year old pit bull terrier dashed from its sleeping area to fight off the deadly snake, said Sabelita quoting Maria Victoria.

The cobra fought back and bit Chief at the lower left portion of the jaw. The dog then repeatedly slammed the cobra after it succeeded in immobilizing the snake with its sharp teeth, she said.

Dela Rama said la Victoria was watching television when she panicked and alerted her granddaughter. The old lady said the cobra was about to attack her and the dog came to her rescue.

Maria Victoria said she saw the cobra expand its neck as soon as she turned the lights on. She said the cobra looked like it was spitting as its inched closer, about a meter away, toward her.

De la Rama said the terrier, “out of nowhere,” jumped on the cobra , bit it the neck, and then shook it till it died.

Moments later, the dog slouched flat and fainted, spreading its arms and feet on the floor, after killing the killer snake.

De la Rama said the dog went wobbly and lost control of its organs some 30 minutes after being bitten by the cobra; it started to urinate and defecate uncontrollably as it grasped for air and panted heavily.

The Fronterases sought the help of veterinarian but they were reportedly told that it was too late because the snake bite was near the dog’s brain and the venom had already spread.

Sabilita said Marlone rushed home when his wife called him up to tell him of what had happened and the dog’s master was stunned.

The Fronteras children, who treated Chief like a member of the family and who called the dog “Kuya Chief,” were deeply affected, according to Sabelita.

The last thing Chief did was waggle its tail and gaze at Marlone who had just come from work, said Sabelita.

“Chief gave his two deep breaths and died. (It) was fighting and saving (its) last ounces of breath to see a glimpse of (its) master for the last two seconds of (its) life,” added dela Rama.

Sabelita said he hoped people would change how they look at pit bull terriers, a breed strongly discouraged in many countries and banned because of their “cruel looks.”

We never get the change to know them more,” said Sabelita.

Home

Satur calls Gonzales 'patent liar, immature'

CAGAYAN DE ORO JOURNAL (Ben Balce/Feb 15) - Street parliamentarion cum congressman Satur Ocampo yesterday lashed at National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales for campaigning against left-leaning party-list groups, calling the official a "patent iar" and "immature intriguer."

At the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC), the Bayan-Muna representative said Norberto's call baseless and illegal.

"The malicious intent of Gonzales is to slander the progressive party-list groups and to devide the broad united front against the despicable Arroyo regime," said Rep Ocampo.

Ocampo also accusedd the Palace of being behind Gonzales's campaign. He called the move an attempt to cover up the reported 127 extra-judicial killings in the country since 2001.

Earlier, Gonzales has called on the Armed Forces to reject left-leaning party-list groups.

The Civil Relations Service of the AFP has expressed its support for Gonzales and it reportedly urged soldiers not to vote for the groups that are perceived to be communist fronts.

Ocampo said Gonzales's pronouncements are "pure fabrications of a fascist and a puppy of US imperialism."

Home

Press Club elects directors, officers

THE Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) held the annual election of its 15 Board of Directors on Saturday, February 10, and subsequently elected past president Jerry Orcullo as the president for the third time.

Eight incumbent directors were reelected and seven others, including Orcullo, composed the new COPC Board.

Orcullo, who served as COPC president in 2003 and 2004, got 62 votes out of the 74 members who voted in the election, the first in more than a decade without proxy votes.

NEW PRESS CLUB BOARD. Assistant city prosecutor Gregorio Borja (extreme right), Comelec chair and past president of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club, declaring the winners in the election of the 15-man COPC board, Feb. 10, 2007. After which, COPC past president Jerry Orcullo was chosen, for the third time, as club president.

The eight incumbent directors who were re-elected include Atty. Gil Banaag of the Golden Banner; Maricel Casiño-Rivera of the Provincial Press Office; Lizanilla Amarga and Joey Nacalaban of Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro; Mike Baños of Business World and Mindanao Gold Star Daily; Vic Cabanag of DxIM Radyo ng Bayan; Ben Balce of Malaya and of the Mindanao Gold Star Daily and Tony Albania.


COPC past presidents Allan Mediante, Ed Montalvan and Herbie Gomez were also elected to the 15-member Board. They were consequently chosen as executive vice-president, vice president for print and corporate secretary, respectively.

Cabanag, the only broadcaster in the Board was chosen vice president for broadcast, Banaag as treasurer and Baños as the auditor. Banaag, publisher of Golden Banner is a certified public accountant and a practicing lawyer.


Other elected members of the Board are Rudy Balangiao of the Mindanao Current, and Bobby Goking and Bingo Alcordo, both opinion writers of Mindanao Gold Star Daily.

Orcullo said during the campaign period, he received death threats, disinformation and discouraging words, intrigues, numerous charges and/or allegations through text coming from several numbers, which he claimed maligned his person.


“I just ignored these messages. My landslide victory again is not only clear vindication of my person but total shame to those cowards, idiots and morons,” Orcullo said.

For his colleagues in the media, he said he would ask nothing more but love and solidarity.

But for those who cowardly continue to threaten him, Orcullo said he can face them anytime and anywhere, adding that “they cannot raise a single hair from a survivor of the many fiercest fires.”

Orcullo will serve as COPC president for one year.


For his third term, Orcullo hopes to continue the educational assistance for the dependents of members and the medical and welfare assistance.

He said he would also look for a seed money to be used as capital for a consumer store, to be built at the ground floor of the COPC building, where members could buy in cash or get basic goods on credit at lower prices.


Unlike the past elections, this year was significant, according to COPC immediate past president Uriel Quilinguing.

Quilinguing said this is because proxy votes were no longer allowed starting this year’s election, based on a resolution passed by the members during the general assembly held on Feb. 11, 2006.


He said the resolution would mean that members would have to cast their votes personally, unlike in the previous elections when issuance of proxy votes are rampant.

Although the COPC By-Laws allows reelection for its president, Quilinguing did not seek reelection, saying he withdrew his candidacy for the Board “for the sake of unity in the club.”


Only former four-time corporate secretary Jasper Uy expressed his interest for the presidency but failed to make it to the 15-man Board.

Home

50 killed in Zamboanga tanker blast

FIREFIGHTERS battle a fire on a fuel depot after a tanker exploded Friday, Feb. 2, 2007, in suburban Mandaluyong east of Manila killing at least one person. Another tanker truck carrying compressed carbon dioxide gas exploded on a mountain road in Zamboanga, the southern Philippines Friday, after overturning, killing at least 50 people and injuring 13 others.

CAGAYAN DE ORO JOURNAL - The death toll from a tanker explosion in Zamboanga, the southern Philippines has risen from 27 to 50 after authorities accounted for the remains of more victims, officials said Saturday.

At least 65 others were hospitalized, said provincial social welfare officer Conchita San Diego.

Many of the victims were passengers of a minibus that was following the tanker truck or motorists who were slowed down by the traffic caused by the accident, San Diego said.

A destroyed passenger bus that tried to pass the overturned tanker when the explosion occured.

The tanker truck was negotiating a downhill stretch of the highway in Tigbao town in Zamboanga del Sur province Friday when its brakes failed, causing it to slam into the side of the mountain before overturning and killing its driver, police said.
Minutes later, someone shouted there was a fire from beneath the truck, but before people could flee, the tanker exploded with such force that it completely demolished the vehicle and blew away the roof of the minibus and flung it to the opposite lane, provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Ramon Ochotorena said.

The truck owner told police the tanker contained liquefied carbon dioxide that was to be delivered to a Coca-Cola plant in Zamboanga city, Ochotorena said.

Home

Northern Mindanao most wanted criminal falls

OROQUIETA City (Edgar Catane / Feb 5) - The long most wanted and notorious criminal with P250,000 bounty on his head was finally captured in his lair at dawn Tuesday in Barangay Sumalig, Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental by a team of Regional Mobile Group (RMG) headed by Col. Edgar Daniel and Capt. John Encinereal.

The suspect was identified as Ricardo S. Uy Jr., popularly known as alias "Halap" married and a resident of barangay San Roque, Ozamis City and is the principal suspect in the killing of PO1 Rainsfold Gamotin, and widely known as one of the biggest "drug lord" operating in Ozamis City.

Halap was also allegedly involved in various "gun for hire" operations, drug trafficking, a series of bank robberies in Cebu and Manila and many other murder cases.

After four months of intensified manhunt, Uy was arrested at his hideout together with a certain Gary S. Santos, Romeo G. Pabatao and a lone woman Ana Anita C. Sarsaba.

The three were caught point blank, naked and confiscated from them one homemade caliber .22 rifle, four M-16 rifle short magazines, one caliber .45 pistol, one tooter, one small rolled aluminum foil, three big rolled aluminum foils, one key chain, 19 pieces of caliber 5.56mm live ammo. 6 pieces of caliber. .45 ammunitions and one bandoleer of unspecified ammunitions.
The suspects were presented to the media by governor Loreto Leo Ocampos who said that he toiled much to curb criminalities in the province together with the new provincial police director Col. Erwin Villacorte.

Ocampos said, the provincial government and the police regional director are working for the giving of a reward leading to the arrest of "Halap."

Ocampos commended Col. Villacorte, Col. Daniel, Capt Encinereal and the men of the RMG and all the civilians who have assisted in intelligence gathering operations.

"The arrest of "Halap," Ocampos said, is a tangible proof that no one is above the law," adding, "the authorities have been running after him for so long due to his towering docket of crimes particularly drug trafficking, yet the difficulty of his arrest has finally come to an end, a showing that when a community works in unity, nothing is too difficult," Ocampos stressed.

The governor said, he is appealing to the citizenry and to the government officials, especially the mayors, not to compromise themselves by cuddling criminals, but to run after them, as it is a deterrent to our common cause of maintaining peace and order in the province and to our common objective of preserving the moral fiber of our society," Ocampos added.

Home

Army expects NPA chief to give up

CAGAYAN DE ORO JOURNAL (Ben Balce / Feb 3) – New People’s Army spokesman for Mindanao Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, is believed ready to surrender because of his failing health, military officials said yesterday.

But Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Vicente Emano belied reports that according to him, Madlos would only surrender if “dead.”

Madlos who was last reported to have been trapped by elements of the 36th and 58th Infantry Battalions in his base in Barangay Santa Juana, Tagbina, Surigao del Sur reportedly the reason of his surrender.

“He (Madlos) will not surrender or even give up,” said Emano adding the last time they talked on phone (during Fr. Bula’s whereabouts) that his life would only surrender him.

Emano said Madlos confirmed him that even he was now undergoing medication for his kidney failure that caused him much health problems only his life would stop bringing the organization (CPP-NPA) to victory against the government.

“Madlos’ commitment with the group is incomparable, word “surrender” for him is a traitor. he will not surrendered as I know him for so long,” Emano said.

Meanwhile, Army’s 4th Infantry Division spokesperson Major Samuel Sagun said the reported plan of surrender of Madlos came after they received reports from 401st Infantry Brigade officials that Madlos’s failing health was the main reason of his plan of coming back at the mainstream society.

However Sagun did not confirm if the surrender filler was legitimate and came from Madlos himself.

“If the report is true, we will help him (Madlos) to recover from his failing health at this time,” Sagun said even added the division will bring Madlos at V Luna hospital in Manila for complete medication.

Sagun said for humanitarian reason, Madlos will receive treatment the same as an ordinary citizen and to experience equal protection from the military if he surrendered.

Sagun said Madlos’ group suffered a big setback last Wednesday when the Army’s 36th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Joel Madarang assaulted and captured two caves in Sitio Greenfields of Barangay Santa Juana.

Sagun said that the said areas considered likely as Camp Abubakar of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which were the NPA’s biggest bomb-making and ammunition depot in Mindanao.

Sagun said an earlier firefight with Madlos’ group last Jan. 18, also in Greenfields, led them recovered several high powered firearms like of an RPG launcher, a B40 anti-tank weapon, a motorcycle, and subversive documents.

Sagun also said troops of the 401st IB aided by helicopter gunships and assault choppers are still pressing the fight against the NPAs in Tagbina.

Home