September | 2007 | Northern Dispatch (nordis) Weekly

Lawyers hail new SC ruling

September 30, 2007 in general, national

Another legal remedy vs. HRVs

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 26) — Families of the victims of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances may have another strand of justice to cling to now with the Supreme Court issuance of the writ of Amparo yesterday, Cordillera-based lawyers said as they welcome the high tribunal’s latest ruling.

Local lawyer groups welcome the Supreme Court rule claiming it provides stronger “coercive” power to the courts to order government and its military and police to act on cases towards the resolution of any human rights violations. Read the rest of this entry →

Ilocos farmer-leaders sue jailers

September 30, 2007 in general, Ilocos

VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur (Sept. 24) — For the freed Ilocos peasant leaders, their struggle is far from over.

Acquitted recently of murder and other charges in relation to the assault of a police station in Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur, Julian Daoa, Leonardo Sabalo and Rogelio Bilog, all of the Solidarity of Peasants against Exploitation (STOP Exploitation) are set to file counter-charges with various human rights bodies against police and military forces for fabricating cases against them. Read the rest of this entry →

56 couples in Baguio mass wedding

September 30, 2007 in Baguio City, general, people

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 27) — Perhaps one of the most wonderful times of their lives, 56 lovely couples from Baguio City tied the knot at SM Baguio Atrium on Thursday afternoon.

“It was our only chance,” said 55 year-old Candida Brosas who married her live-in partner for 21 long years German Ramboyong, 74. Read the rest of this entry →

Irisan dump site workers still unpaid

September 30, 2007 in Baguio City, employment, general

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 24) — The failure of a contractor to obtain necessary documents for a dump site rehabilitation contract further prolongs the agony of workers who remained unpaid of their hard-earned wages, representatives told the council Monday.

Appearing before the council, Vicente Camelon of Asia EnviroCon said, while the company is committed to pay its laborers and suppliers, it is experiencing cash flow problems because it could not collect from the city. Read the rest of this entry →

Env’t activists stand by N. Vizcaya mayor as Australian mining firm slaps lawsuit vs. LGU

September 30, 2007 in Cagayan Valley, general, mining

KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya (Sept. 26) — Pro-environment activists today vowed to launch an “international shame campaign” against an Australian-owned mining firm for filing a lawsuit against Romeo Tayaban, mayor of Kasibu town in Nueva Vizcaya, who only supported his constituents’ opposition to the firm’s exploration project.

In a statement, Kalikasan Peoples Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE) National Coordinator Clemente Bautista, Jr. slammed Oxiana’s “latest lawsuit against community leaders opposed to their exploration project”. Read the rest of this entry →

Webmaster warns public of identity theft

September 30, 2007 in general, international

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 26) — A Filipino web-master who lives in Honolulu, Hawaii is amazed at the developments in cyber technology here, but warns of some evils of a “paperless society”.

Atty. Juny La Putt said internet and websites are the in-thing in the United States, where he came from, and that he is surprised to see internet cafes mushrooming in downtown Baguio. He said he was impressed at meeting computer-literate high school and college students here. Read the rest of this entry →

English teachers undergo re-tooling to produce quality call center agents

September 30, 2007 in Cordillera, education, general

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 26) — For them to teach students who qualify as call center agents, Cordillera teachers underwent a competency upgrading training last week, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) disclosed Wednesday.

The training, aptly called a re-tooling of teachers in English, aimed to train teachers in English proficiency and computer-proficiency, said Dr. Ramon Santiago, CHED’s education program specialist in the Cordillera. Read the rest of this entry →

Baguio City IT graduates at par with the world

September 30, 2007 in Baguio City, employment, general

Fast becoming the cyber hub of the North?

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 26) — Computer schools here are fast becoming competitive compared to Manila-based counterparts producing world-class manpower, who usually land computer-related jobs here and abroad, government and private sector representatives disclosed in a media forum today.

The figures are not so high, especially in the hiring of call center agents, according to government statistics. The Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) noted that after a thorough training for near-hire manpower in call centers, the trend showed a big leap from one percent to three percent in recent years to a high of not more than 50% last year. The target was 80%, according to TESDA’s Chief Regional Officer Marilyn Nesisito. Read the rest of this entry →

Baguio City pays tribute to outstanding employees

September 30, 2007 in Baguio City, general, people

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 28) — The city honored this year’s outstanding and loyal employees during the traditional awards program and luncheon as the city celebrated the 107th Philippine Civil Service Anniversary at the Prince Plaza Hotel here.

Professor Rene Resurrection, an advocate for passion and perfection, served as guest of honor and speaker during the program. He exhorted the employees to strive for excellence always and to be the best in everything they do whether they are in the government or private service and whether they are working in or outside the country. Read the rest of this entry →

CSC-CAR recognizes outstanding public servants

September 30, 2007 in Cordillera, general, people

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (Sept. 28) — The regional Civil Service Commission (CSC–CAR) recognized outstanding public servants in the Cordillera with fitting ceremonies at the Hotel Supreme, here.

Leading the awardees is a group of researchers, also Lingkod Bayan Awardee (Group Category), for their work on the Development of Potato and Sweet Potato Varieties for the Cordillera of the Benguet State University. The group was earlier conferred the award at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on September 19, with 23 other awardees nationwide. The group is the lone national winner from Cordillera to the Search for Outstanding Public Officials and Employees, the most prestigious civil service awards conducted annually by the Commission. Read the rest of this entry →

Baguio dads grant P200T for SOFAD

September 30, 2007 in Baguio City, general

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 27) — The city council last week approved the request of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) and Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) for financial assistance of P200,000 to cover some of the expenses of the Scout Officials For-A-Day (SOFAD) in October.

Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., through a letter to Vice-mayor Daniel Fariñas and the city councilors also requested the release of funds considering the benefits the SOFAD gives to young scouts. Read the rest of this entry →

Impending tribal war averted in MP

September 30, 2007 in Cordillera, general

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (Sept. 28) — An impending tribal war between Barlig and Besao, Mountain Province was averted after a murder case that could have fueled it was settled the indigenous way.

Using the indigenous way of resolving conflicts, called the Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey and the Council of Elders of Bontoc, Besao and Barlig were able to resolve the inter barangay conflict between Gueday, Besao and Lias of Barlig, all of Mt Province on September 17. Read the rest of this entry →

Baguio Roundup: 30 September 2007

September 30, 2007 in Baguio City, general

Baguio earns more from city-owned Asin hydros

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 27) — City Administrator Peter Fianza claimed the city could earn more from the Asin Hydroelectric Plants (AHP) if it is run by the city government.

He also claimed the city could earn as much as P4 million a month as opposed to the city’s average share of P1-million a month when HEDCOR and the Baguio Water District (BWD) managed the power plants.

In a letter to Mayor Reinaldo A. Bautista Jr., the Technical Working Group (TWG) disclosed that the mini-hydros squeezed out 752, 623-kilowatt-hours (Kwh) from August 27 to September 26, which Fianza said amounts to P 3 million excluding power transformation losses to be provided by the Benguet Electric Cooperative. # Isagani S. Liporada/PIO

All-out campaign vs. measles up

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 27) — Dr. Florence Reyes, head of the Health Services Office of the Baguio Health Department (HSO-BHD) urged parents to participate in the “Knock-out Tigdas (KOT)” program which starts October 15 to November 15, in line with Garantisadong Pambata, a children’s health and welfare advocacy. Read the rest of this entry →

Cordillera This Week: 30 September 2007

September 30, 2007 in Cordillera, general

Gov’t implements peace accord

BAGUIO CITY (Sept. 28) — In the Cordillera region, government is looking forward to the full implementation of the peace accord with the Cordillera Peoples’ Liberation Army (CPLA) signed on September 13, 1986 in Mt. Data, Mt. Province as part of the implementation of the national government’s goal to end all hostilities by 2010.

Under the CPLA integration program, pursuant to Administrative Order 18, 264 CPLA members, 15 officers and 249 enlisted personnel (EP) were fully integrated into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) while six CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA) companies consisting of 528 members are currently deployed in the Cordillera provinces. Read the rest of this entry →

NL at a glance: 30 September 2007

September 30, 2007 in general, NL general

Isabela officials seek dam, power plant construction

SAN MARIANO, Isabela (Sept. 26) — The provincial government proposed to the national government the construction of a dam and a hydro-electric power project in this town to increase additional crop production and will generate additional power for the government.

The proposed project is now under study by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the provincial government has tapped a project coordinator who will study further the possible irrigation and power generation benefit for Isabelinos. # PIA Isabela

Most Bocaps not qualified for re-election

TUGUEGARAO CITY (Sept. 25) — Incumbent punong barangays cannot run for the same position in the coming October 29 barangay elections because they are covered by the three consecutive term limit ruled under the law as contained in the an advisory of DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno citing Sec. 2 of RA 9164. Read the rest of this entry →

Editorial Cartoon: 30 September 2007

September 30, 2007 in editorials, general, opinion

Editorial: Why we must push for Abalos impeachment

September 30, 2007 in editorials, general, opinion

Last Thursday, Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico filed an impeachment complaint against Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos for allegedly brokering the $329-million NBN-ZTE deal, after the bombshell revelations of Joey de Venecia and Romulo Neri that Abalos offered them hefty bribes for the deal to push through.

The impeachment complaint is significant in several ways. Read the rest of this entry →

Economics And Society 101: Policy behind jargons

September 30, 2007 in columns, general, opinion

By ARTURO BOQUIREN

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was reported by news dailies to have said during the week that the country will pursue bilateral and regional trade agreements as second-best solutions.

President Macapagal-Arroyo made the statement before officers of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a conference designed to mobilize aid for trade. Read the rest of this entry →

From Under This Hat: For a tummy going bananas

September 30, 2007 in columns, general, opinion

By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO

For almost a month, I was either complaining of a bum tummy or hyperacidity and I happen to have shared my complaint with a niece through email. She sent me this, which I believe is worth sharing (with minimal editing). She wrote: “After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again!”

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose. Combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. Read the rest of this entry →

Labor Watch: Woe again to the workers

September 30, 2007 in columns, general, opinion

By ALDWIN QUITASOL

A few days ago, big business represented by the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) with the help of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said that, in their analysis, about 1 million workers will not receive their Christmas bonuses.

This they declared, after the Arroyo administration boasted recently that the country’s economy is booming. Read the rest of this entry →