No corner for criminals to hide in Davao City

 

    Criminals could not stay long in Davao City because there are many “eyes” watching for them in all corners of the city, said Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
The series of successful raids on drug dens last week are results of monitoring by police assets who are all over the city watching out for criminals, said Duterte in his television program Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa on ABS/CBN on Sunday.
The raids in Barangay Ilang, Quezon Blvd and Ponciano Street netted 35 suspects arrested and two dead.
The success of the raids also means that the policemen are working and the intelligence gathering has been raised to a new level, said Duterte.
He gave credit to the police intelligence operatives and their ‘assets’ who had worked in crime-prone areas for years.
Some of the operatives were already in place in these areas  since 20 years. I would like to assure that every every corner in the city is being watched, he said.
Duterte admits that drug-dealing in the city is rampant but said police would do its best to arrest the pushers.
He said earlier the city has become a magnet for drug pushers because of the concentration of people who are the ready market.
Shabu, the most common drug in use, are sourced from nearby provinces like Cotabato, said intelligence operatives of the Philippine Drug Ennforcement Agency in the Davao Region.
Marijuana, once the favorite drug before shabu, dubbed as the poor man’s cocaine, became popular, is staging a comeback, said the anti-narc operatives.
Several arrest of marijuana couriers have been made, with the pushers admitting they sourced the banned weed from provinces in the Davao Region.
A suspected drug pusher was killed and 15 others were arrested in two separate raids conducted by authorities here on Friday and Saturday.

    The raids carried out by joint elements of the Davao City Police Office, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Sta. Ana and San Pedro Police Stations, City Public Safety Company, and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency brought to 35 the number of suspects in a renewed campaign against drug peddlers.
Twenty persons earlier had been arrested in Barangay Ilang in Bunawan District.
Senior Supt. Ronald Dela Rosa, DCPO head, identified the fatality as Orlan Jonson Dela Cuesta, 41, of Purok 4, Barangay 23-C, Quezon Blvd., this city, who died of a lone gunshot wound in the head after he resisted arrest and fired back at the raiding team members Saturday morning.
Nine other suspects were arrested in the same raid. They were identified as Landring Dela Cuesta, a certain Anecito, alias Cetong Lim; Pangalian Macaway Palawan, Arnold Formarejo Lim, Jay-ar Villaflor Ladislao, Ampre Gulani Dela Cuesta, Nelson Buscado Gamale, Richard Dela Cuesta, and Jonebre Eulogio Pitao.
Dela Rosa said the raiders recovered from the lone fatality’s possession one .22 caliber revolver and two sachets of suspected shabu.
On the other hand, recovered from the possession of the other suspects were 19 sachets of suspected shabu, drug paraphernalia, two Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolvers, 12 bullets, and one mobile phone.
On Friday’s raid, elements of the San Pedro Police arrested six drug suspects in a buy-bust operation at Purok 5, Barrio Tagalog, Barangay 4-A.
Supt. Antonio Rivera, chief of San Pedro police station, identified the suspects as Arnel Sellon Andrion, 48; Albert Roy Andrion Espejo, 28; Hilario Anoya Olaer, 29; Melchor Anoya Olaer, 28; Perla Atangan Olaer, 45; and Celestino Juman Arballo.
Recovered from their possession were one big sachet and three small sachets of suspected shabu, one .22 caliber revolver, four pieces of live ammunition, 27 heat-sealed sachets of suspected shabu, three rolls of aluminum foil, a marked P500 bill, two improvised lighters, wrapped dried leaves of suspected marijuana, and other drug paraphernalia.

DAVAO CITY ORDINANCE SHIELDS GAYS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

WHEN IN DAVAO CITY, don’t ever make the mistake of jeering at, insulting or making fun of the limp-wristed specie of the human race.
The Davao City Anti-discrimination Ordinance authored by Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte would be in full effect soon, and woe to those who would look down on men and women of the third sex and subject them to verbal abuse or slam the door on those applying for jobs.
Humans of the “other kind’  are listed in the local ordinance that would protect anybody against any form of discrimination by virtue of sex, creed or race, with strong emphasis on the marginalized sector like the tribal people, elderly, physically handicapped and, yes, the LGBTs ( lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders).
The ordinance covers a wide range of human activities where gays could be discriminated against including opportunities for employment.
Under the ordinance, the machos and the straight girls should be in equal footing with those from the third sex, to protect their rights under the equal opportunity clause of the Constitution.
Duterte said the ordinance would be implemented this month. While under study by the Davao City Council, the anti-discrimination ordinance had gone through committee and public hearings which were attended by the local gay community.
Duterte has been openly supportive of gay causes, the support stretched up to entry of gays into the Philippine National police.
At one time he urged the police agency to abolish its perceived discrimination against gays in the force, saying that even the communist armed group New People’s Army has opened its doors to gay fighters.
Duterte however has admonished gays to tone down on their loud talks and giggles as they roam neigborhoods at night, over complaints of residents about being disturbed by the girlish guffaws even during wee hours.

Davao City House of Hope young cancer patients find hope in healing priest

HAND OF GOD. Healing priest Fr. Fernando Suarez ministering his curing power to a young cancer patient at the House of Hope. KIWI BULACLAC

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

 For the young cancer patients, there is hope in the House of Hope. There is also hope in Fr. Fernando Suarez, the healing priest who came to visit the House of Hope last week to help heal the stricken children.
    Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he had invited Fr. Suarez to Davao City partly for the cancer patients of the House of Hope, run in a room at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
    Fr. Suarez held a healing mass at the center for the young wards. He also held masses in two Catholic churches that were attended by an estimated 50,000 people.
    In the Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa television program hosted by lawyer Gerladine Tiu on ABS/CBN on Sunday where the healing priest was a guest, Duterte said the children are desperate to be healed.
    He hoped that through Fr. Suarez’ intervention, God would cure them.
    Duterte is helping raise funds for the House of Hope and the young cancer patients. He has also donated a house in Margarita Villa near SPMC for the patients and their kin tending to them.
    While some  patients come only for check-up and medication, many stay in the ward for long. The long stay causes inconveneince to family members attending to the patients as the SPMC has no sleeping quarters or other provisions for them.
    This prompted him out of pity to donate the Margarita property to SPMC spefically to be used for the young cancer victims.
    The house now serves as temporary home for the children and those attending to them while the patients are on the recovery period, said Duterte who adds that many of the families with cancer patients at SPMC  are from the nearby provinces and have no home in the city.
    Duterte said the Margarita house now serves as an extension of the cancer ward at SPMC where children who lost their limbs practice their newly-installed prosthetics.

Fr. Fernando Suarez ‘healing masses’ draw 50,000 Dabawenyos

HEALING PRIEST Fr. Fernando Suarez with Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo
Duterte and, at back, Duterte’s chief assistant Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go, right, and businessman Jun Te. KIWI BULACLAC

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

An estimated 50,000 Dabawenyos attended healing masses in three Catholic churces during the June-30 to July 2 visit in Davao City of ‘healing priest’ Fr. Fernando Suarez.
    Fr. Suarez who heads the Missionary of Mother Mary of the Poor has gained fame for his healing powers.
    Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he invited Fr. Suarez to come to Davao City to help heal the Dabawenyos and ‘feed our souls.’
    The large attendance in the healing masses was due in part to the announcement of Vice Mayor Duterte in the Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa television program hosted by lawyer Gelraldine Tiu on ABS/CBN, where Fr. Suarez was a guest, on Sunday.

    The masses were held at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish headed by Fr. Bong Gonzaga in Maa , Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish headed by Monsignor Cuizon in Bo. Obrero , and in the chapel of the Souuthern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) for young cancer patients of the House of Hope.
    Duterte said he had himself healed by Fr. Suarez, adding prayers are needed at this time when the world is beset with crisis and Dabawenyos are grappling with their own personal problems.
    When I am desperate that I could not get things right, I go to Fr. Suarez, he said.
    In the television program, Duterte said Fr. Suarez’ visit is a special blessing to the Dabawenyos.
    Duterte who frankly admits that he is not much into religiosity, said he invited Fr. Suarez because he believes that Dabawenyos could find God through the intervention of the healing priest. ROGER M. BALANZA

Kadayawan, SMI, Blaans and children’s education

We find it timely to write about Indigenous People  because Davao City is celebrating next month the Kadayawan Festival, the festival of thanksgiving for bountiful harvest and in honor of the city’s tribal communities, their customs and tradition.

While the Kadayawan, like other Philippine festivals, has been invaded by the virus of commercialism, it is worthy to note that its original indigenous concept has remained. The Hiyas ng Kadayawan (Festival Gem) search, for example, has limited contestants to girls with indigenous and Muslim roots.

Kadayawan, and other festivals anchored on concepts on the indigenous, however, should not be viewed as a mere celebration for IP (lumad) culture and tradition. Its spirit should extend beyond—to year-round concerns for lumad welfare, particularly education. Not only in Davao but elsewhere.

In South Cotabato indigenous people are hoping for President Aquino’s intercession in resolving the issues preventing them from benefiting from mining investments in the area after the provincial board enacted an environment code disallowing open pit mining. Tribal communities see the environment code as stumbling block to their aspirations as a people.

Sagittarius Mining Inc. (SMI) plans to mine for copper and gold in its $6 billion Tampakan project but its operation could be derailed by the environment code.

BLAAN CHILDREN. Their future hitched to progress and development to be contributed by the mining industry to South Cotabato

With the threat of derailed progress of South Cotabato and consequently to the IPs, progress that SMI could bring, the IPs are raising up their arms against the provincial government.

The IPs’ future is not the only thing at stake here. Even their rights. Despite strong IP support for SMI, the voice of the lumads is not being heard. The IPs of Tampakan have ancestral domain rights over part of the project area.The IP right over ancestral domain is enshrined in the Indigenous Peoples Right Act (IPRA). The right allows IPs to enter into agreements with business, sharing part of profits from company operations.

SMI, to the IPs, is an angel from heaven to bring progress to tribal villages and the financial capacity to send their children to school.

The Blaans, the IPs ofTampakan, however, see hope in a recent order of President Aquino for authorities to find a compromise on the mining issue in South Cotabato.

It is through SMI that their  children now will have access to health services and education, with SMI around.

But even as SMI faces stormy weather before it can operate, the company already has sent more than 8,000 Blaan students to school as scholars. Its corporate social responsibility, infact, includes adult education for the tribe, which is much welcomed by the uneducated elders.

SMI is expected to employ some 9,000 workers in its construction stage and over 2,000 when the mine starts full swing operations. Lumads would be given preference, which should be a reason why the IP communities are up against their provincial government for passing the environment code that threatens the SMI operation.

        To the IPs, work means not only food for the table but also education for their children.

Even South Cotabato governor Arthur Pingoy concedes that education has been the biggest beneficiary from the presence of mining companies in his province.

Governor Pingoy highlights gains in the education programs of his administration citing support from the mining companies and other private companies.

Our shortage of 15,000 chairs for all public schools in the province has already been bridged through the efforts of SMI and other companies, the governor said.

SMI is proponent of the proposed Tampakan Copper-Gold Project hosted by South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Sarangani, and Sultan Kudarat. It is said to be potentially the biggest single foreign investment in the country.

In a recent sustainability report released by the company, SMI has declared supporting 19,000 elementary, high school and college students for the year 2010 alone, in the form of tuition and other school fees and monthly allowances and has provided salary support for teachers within its proposed project area.

The report also declared that SMI has invested PhP135 million (USD3 million) in 2010 as part of its Corporate Social Involvement (CSI) initiatives including education, health, livelihood and enterprise-building programs.BY ROGER M. BALANZA

ON BUILDING A SQUATTER-FREE DAVAO CITY

 

 

 

All local government units have one common problem: informal settlers. In highly urbanized LGUs like Davao City, the number of informal settlers grows annually due to migration by people seeking better opportunities.

            Also spread out around the city are old settlements on private lands working out purchase plans with owners that could not be speedily pursued due to fund lack.

            While anti-squatting laws are in place to prevent illegal occupation of private and government lands by informal settlers, the spirit of humanity, sometimes, bind LGU hands from enforcing an iron-fisted policy.

            Urban land reform planning however is seen as a long-term solution to urban squatting.

            In Davao City, housing planners map out multi-pronged approaches to respond to relocation, funding source and creation of sustainable communities for thousands of informal settlers.

            On top of this grand plan to make Davao City squatter-free is the Local Housing Board chaired by the Mayor.  Armed with the Davao City Shelter Code, the landmark legislation authored by Councilor Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, the Local Housing Board identifies on-site and off-site settlements, approves funding for land purchase and guides the implementation of socialized housing projects. The Local Housing Board also interacts with key national government housing agencies to collaborate on implementation of housing projects.

           With the Davao City Council providing a guiding hand to support legislation strengthening socialized housing programs, the Davao City government is on the right track towards providing long-term solution to housing for the city’s thousands of homeless urban poor.

            The Urban Land Reform Program (ULRP) has been strengthened with the participation of the Socialized Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), which would absorb about 75 percent of cost of land purchase of local government socialized housing projects.

            The SHFC funding initiative under its Localized Community Mortgage Plan (LCMP) would quadruple the capability of the local governments P100 million stand-by housing fund to serve more informal settlers and other qualified sectors.

About 40 hectares of property where there was supposed to rise an export processing zone in the early 90s—for two decades a wide piece of abandoned land—has been turned into a settlement for thousands of homeless urban poor dwellers here.

Failing to take off after initial road works and several buildings and much fanfare, the First Oriental Ventures project on the 70-hectare property in Barangay Ilang, Bunawan District crashed even as it was touted as Davao City’s window to the world export market.

            But while the city lost its chance to be in the map of the country’s export processing zones, the First Oriental Ventures’ failure has come as a gift to indigent homeless families looking for a roof over their heads in this city of 1.4 million where acute housing is social problem.

            The First Oriental Ventures property had been foreclosed by the banks after the company closed down and abandoned the project.

            Today, this piece of grasslands could serve as model for the city’s ULRP.

            About twelve homeowners associations under the umbrella of the Kobbler Federation—a non-government organization of urban poor associations—has been born on the site.

           The Philippine Deposit Insurance Commission, the Fareast Bank and the Land Bank, which collectively own the property worth about P60 million, through their joint Asset Privatization Committee, has already issued intent to sell the property to the settlers numbering around 3,000 families after negotiation by Councilor Cabling.

           The property has now more than 3,000 families settled on the site which could own their lots under the Localized Community Mortgage Program (LCMP). A program of the state-owned Socialized Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), the program allows for purchase of settlement site with SHFC pitching in 75 percent of the cost and the local government the remaining 25 percent. Beneficiaries pay amortizations on a long-term contract, with the local government handling collection.

          There are several dozens more homeowners association existing as informal settlers are negotiations are underway for the city government to provide funding for land purchases.

            And as it looks to the future, the Davao City government foresees more migration coming in as the city’s unlimited opportunities as Southern Mindanao’s premier city lure migrants from other provinces and regions. But city planners have no doubt that the city government has already set into place the machinery for long-term solution to urban poor housing in the Shelter Code authored by Councilor Cabling and the political will of local administration to achieve the Dabawenyos vision to make their city squatter-free.

            Demolition of shanties of the urban poor was at the core why Mayor Sara Duterte punched a court sheriff who refused to grant her plea to stay the eviction that would have rendered homeless more than 200 families. This piece should thwart any misinformation that there might be something wrong with the city government’s program on urban land reform program. While the city government is serious about eradicating urban squatting, it is doing it with a heart. ROGER M. BALANZA

DUTERTE reveals why ex-Speaker Prospero Nograles can never be Davao City mayor – HEADLINE – The Durian Post No. 108

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

As far as the business community in Davao City is concerned, former House Speaker  Prospero Nograles stinks and it would move heaven and hell or spend millions of pesos, just so Nograles would not be city mayor.
There are many businessmen who would spend money so Nograles would not win, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said in the Ato ni Bay television program hosted by broadcast journalist Leo Villareal aired on SkyCable on Tuesday.
He said that in the 2010 election with Nograles battling his daughter now Mayor Sara Duterte in the mayoral race, three big businessmen offered to plunk in into his campaign kitty a large sum to ensure that Nograles is defeated.
He said he politely refused the offer, being then confident that Sara would win.

MOBBED EVERYWHERE he goes, the popularity of Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has never waned. Archpolitical foe Congresman Prospero Nograles is reported to be gunning for a fourth crack at the mayoral seat in the May 2013 elections, where he could possibly be facing Duterte for the second time. Nograles had lost three prior bids to capture City Hall from the hands of the Dutertes.
The local business community was apparently then edgy over a massive propaganda campaign launched by team Nograles that the former House Speaker would win the race hands down.

    When the dust of the battle settled down and the votes all in and counted, Mayor Sara Duterte won by a landslide, with a record-setting vote margin of 220,000 votes.
Reports say that Nograles would be taking a fourth crack at the mayoral seat in the May 2013 elections.
Dabawenyos turned down his mayoral bid in the fight against Duterte in 2992, against then Duterte political ally Benjamin de Guzman in 1998 and against Mayor Sara Duterte in the 2010 elections.
Vice mayor Duterte said his party Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod will still have to decide on whether he would seek reelection or run next year for mayor, the post that he held for 18 years.
He said he can not explain why Nograles could suffer the humiliation of political defeats and still go for another fourth debacle in 2013.
But he said he was sure of one thing.
The Dabawenyos and the business community simply do not like Nograles, he said.

The Davao City P268 million Sanitary Landfill

 

 

 

  

 

 

By ROGER M. BALANZA

“Our focus on the environment and natural resources will be principally directed on ecological solid waste management, watershed rehabilitation and coastal resource management. We will continue to pursue the path to sustainable development of our city.”

In December last year, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte gave the Dabawenyos the biggest gift of all: the P268-million ultra-modern Sanitary Landfill in Barangay New Carmen, Tugbok district.

Built on a 3.8-hectare property, the landfill, in compliance with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, have a capacity of 1.2 metric tons of residual garbage and a life span of eight to ten years.

With the project, Davao City is among few local government units which complied with RA 9003, which poised administrative charges against local officials failing to establish sanitary landfills five years after the approval of RA 9003.

RA 9003 is also known as “An Act Providing for an Ecological Solid Waste Management Program, Creating the Necessary Institutional Mechanisms and Incentives, Declaring Certain Acts Prohibited and Providing Penalties, Appropriating Funds therefore, and for other purposes,” mandates for all LGUs to be at the frontline in the implementation of the mandatory segregation of biodegradable, non-biodegradable and special wastes, recycling and composting and the establishment of a materials recovery facility (MRF).”

The ultimate aim of RA 9003 is to reduce garbage volume starting at home, with the community joining hands in segregation and recycling.

Davao City has long practiced throwing the nearly half a million tons of annual garbage volume churned out by its 1.4 million inhabitants into open dumpsites which is now outlawed by RA 9003.

In compliance with RA 9003, the landfill operates through the principle of waste segregation starting from the homes to the site to reduce waste to a few tons of residual waste.

At the landfill, engineering designs prevent lecheate from seeping into water tables, thus protect the city’s water resources.

Recycling transforms residual waste into bricks and tiles. Chemicals convert soft garbage through the process of decomposition using biologically-friendly processes to produce solid, liquid, and gaseous products.

The operation of the Sanitary Landfill as provided in the city’s Ecological Solid Waste Management Program has four components: public awareness campaign; waste segregation into biodegradable, recyclable, and residual components; recycling and composting of recyclable and biodegradable components; and landfilling of residual solid waste.

While the last is in full operation, sanitary personnel have yet to set into place the three others, particularly on the manner of segregation at the homes.

Nevertheless, the education, information campaign tapping barangays which are given responsibility to be active players in the solid waste management program are on stream. Some barangays have institutionalized the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), also mandated by RA 9003, which is the second step to recycling at home to reduce residual waste destined for the Sanitary Landfill.

The 3.8-hectare facility meets the standards of the National Solid Management Waste Commission Technical Guidelines for Sanitary Landfill Design and Operation.

It was designed by IPM Construction and Development Corporation and conforms to international standards on sanitary landfills, with lycheate retention pond, monitoring wells, drainage system, and gas vents. Mayor Duterte admitted garbage disposal is a major problem and the Sanitary Landfill is in reponse to this concern.

Mayor Duterte said a major focus of his administration is the preservation of the environment and public health through ecological solid waste management, watershed rehabilitation and coastal resource management.

The buck however does not stop at the Sanitary Landfill, whose three support components are still to be perfected.

“We will continue to pursue the path to sustainable development of our city,” Duterte said.

 

Mining company eyeing gold, copper in Davao City – The Durian Post No. 113 – Front Page

15,600-hectare concession awaiting okay of City Hall, NCIP

BY ROGER M. BALANZA, 

A mining company has applied to explore gold and copper in about 15,660 hectares in Marilog District in Davao City.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Region Eleven, in its website,  said the application of Mambusao Mining Corporation has already been endorsed to the Davao City government and the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) for their recommendation and comment.
The Mambusao Mining application is numbered EXPA 000116-XI as recorded in the list of applications with the MGB XI.
The application, covering 15,660 hectares was filed in 2005 and published in the newspaper in 2008
MGB’s last posting on Mambusao indicated it has been endorsed to the local government and NCIP in 2010.
But the Mambusao project may not push through with both Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and her father Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte warning that the local government would not allow mining in the city.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and MGB are aware of the local government’s posiition on mining that it will never be allowed here, said city planning officer Roberto Alabado when asked to comment on the application.
Alabado also said a pending bill in the House of Representatives authored by Davao City Third District Congressman Isidro Ungab would serve as another stumbling block to the Mambusao application.
The Ungab bill would declare Davao City as a “No Mining Zone.”
The Dutertes’ position on mining and the Ungab proposed bill are not the only mountains that Mambusao must subdue to secure a nod from government.
The communist New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the leftist National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDPF), the umbrella of all leftist organizations, had made public statements against mining in Davao City.
The NPA has a heavy presence in Marilog and nearby Paquibato, where the NPA Pulang Bagani Command under Kumander Leoncio “Parago” Pitao is based.
Vice Mayor Duterte said earlier said that the Davao City Council, where he is the presiding officer, would shoot down any request for mining projects in the city.
He said mineral resources in the city should be treated as a”piggy bank” for future Dabawenyos. He adds that mining may be allowed in the city in future when perfected technologies that would prevent accidents and threats to ennvironment and people are already available.
For her part, Mayor Duterte said mining could not bring economic benefits to ordinary people. She also noted shaky peacee and order situations in areas with mining operations. She said mining poses grave threats to the environment.
The Dutertes bared their position on mining amid a flood of foreign  investments pouring into the city.
Accordingly, some of the investors signified intentions to explore and mine minerals in Marilog and Paquibato, located upland of the city.
The Mambusao mining application has surfaced as sitio Ladian in Marilog was hit by a landslide that killed a 10-year old girl and prompted the local government to order the relocation of residents, mostly inndigenous people of the Matigsalog tribe,
The NDFP assailed the relocation order of Mayor Duterte, and tied the government action to alleged landgrabbing of ancestral domain in Marilog and to the Mambusao mining application, despite the publicly announced position against  mining of the Dutertes.
In a press statement emailed to the Durian Post, Rubi del Mundo,
NDFP-Southern Mindanao spokesman, said the “relocation of Matigsalog Lumad victims and declaration of hazardous areas in the wake of the landslides in sitio Ladian, Brgy. Marilog will be more beneficial to landgrabbing CADT holders and big mining corporations.”
A contagious area of over 120,000 hectares in Davao City, Bukidnon and
North Cotabato had been declared as ancestral domain by NCIP and awarded to the Kitaotao, Bukidnon-based Federation of Manobo-Matigsalog
Tribal Councils (FEMMATRICS) under Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) No. R-10-KIT 0703-0011. More than  half of the area covered by the title is located in Davao City.
Del Mundo said the relocation was aimed to clear the way for the Mabusao operation.
“Areas declared by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau as geo-hazardous are also areas opened by its head office, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to mining corporations such as the Mambusao Mining Corporation. The areas of sitio Mabuhay, Salumay, Namnam and East Marahan in Brgy. Marilog are being eyed by the same firm for its gold and copper mining operations covering 15,660 hectares, ” said del Mundo.
The communist spokesman also said “opportunist” tribal leaders have been selling ancestral domain lands under CADT No. R-10-KIT 0703-0011 to big business.
Wholesale landgrabbing of ancestral lands for private ownership by  (tribal leaders) are facilitated by the National Commission in Indigenous Peoples and paramilitary (indigenous people), said del Mundo.
“By all means, the masses should be protected from the natural calamities. But for them to be displaced from supposed perilous sites and to find their lands exploited by mining operations and landgrabbing Lumad clans, is indeed, the height of deceit, opportunism and oppression, said the rebel spokesman.

BINAY SLAMS DOOR ON EX-SPEAKER PROSPERO NOGRALES' ENTRY INTO PDP

If Dabawenyos cringed at the thought of Nograles as a politician and voted him down in his three bids for the mayoral seat, the feeling is the same even in the higher echelons of the national political scene.
    Nobody wants to be in the company of the former Davao City First District congressman and former House Speaker, except maybe the discredited former president Gloria Arroyo.
    Vice President Jejomar Binay, president of the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP) said Nograles has not applied for membership in the PDP, but his body language when interviewed by Davao City-based media showed Nograles may have no room in the party if he decides to join.
    Binay was in Davao City last week as guest speaker in an assembly of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) officials and a mining conference organized by the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers.
    The vice president, whose party has coalesced with the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of former President Joseph Estrada under the United Nationalists Alliance (UNA), said however that PDP has accepted Mayor Sara Duterte's resignation from the party.
    Binay's feeling about Nograles echoed down to Wendel Avisado, PDP secretary general and deputy commissioner of the Housing and Land Use and Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) headed by Binay.
    Avisado, who resigned as Davao city councilor shortly after the 2010 elections to join Binay, said PDP has closed the door for Nograles' entry into the party.
    Excuse me, but there is no basis for Nograles to be accepted as a member of PDP, said Avisado who accompanied Binay in the Davao City sortie.
    Avisado said however that the PDP would still support the Dutertes. ROGER M. BALANZA

DAVAO CITY VICE MAYOR RODRIIGO DUTERTE SUFFERING FROM HANGOVER OF 18-YEAR MAYORAL STINT

Rody to Sara: "Nag-meyor-meyor lang ko 'day"

    Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte continues to suffer from the hangover of having been city mayor for 20 years to explain why at times he acts and talks as if he is still the mayor.

    In the Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa television program hosted by lawyer Geraldine Tiu on ABS/CBN on Sunday, Duterte asked pardon from daughter Mayor Sara Duterte for his sometimes absent-minded intrusion into her domain.

    I forget sometimes that I am no longer the city mayor, he said.

    I am sorry, but naga-meyor-meyor lang ko, said Duterte who at times, when pressed for comments on issues involving the executive,  would say that official decisions must emanate from the city mayor.

    Most often however, he would issue "mayoral" statements like ordering police to crack down on crime, warning criminals about their fate if they persists or clash head-on with poliicies issued by the mayor.

    Duterte admits that The ' pa-meyor-meyor' (mayoral stunt) is a hangover from his having been city mayor for 18 years.

    But Duterte may be staging a comeback in 2013 to regain the mayoral seat, after he said that if he would run again it would not be for the congressional post.

    Duterte was the First District congressman from 1998 to 2001. He returned as mayor in 2001 after a one-term break.

    He said work in Congress is "boring and lousy."

    He said he is suited to the job of the mayor because he can come face-to-face with the problems of the people, especially on peace and order.

    Talks inside the Duterte-led Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod is that the elder Duterte would be running for mayor, Mayor Sara Duterte for the First District Congress seat against former House Speaker Prospero Nograles and councilor Paolo Duterte against incumbent congressman karlo Nograles in the vice mayoral contest.