February | 2008 | Northern Dispatch (nordis) Weekly

Weekly Reflections: The ugly side of the State

February 18, 2008 in columns, general, opinion

By REV. LUNA L. DINGAYAN

“If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he does not, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up. ” — Daniel 3:17-18

Lozada’s Testimony

One of the most interesting parts of Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada Jr.’s testimony in the Senate hearing on the National Broadband Network (NBN) deal is about his experience with the “ugly side of the state.” According to him, the death threats he has been receiving as a star witness in the corruption controversy surrounding the NBN deal is not the first time that happened to him. His brother Fernando was brutally killed by police authorities in May 17, 2001 in a case of mistaken identity. Read the rest of this entry →

Women's Front: GMA, anti-women

February 18, 2008 in columns, general, opinion

By INNABUYOG-GABRIELA

There is no respite in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’ s persecution of women. She has been lashing at every woman and any woman who dare criticize her.

The most recent victims were media personalities Ces Drilon, Ellen Tordesillas and Dana Batnag. Rather than laud this women for courageously covering the Manila Peninsula siege, to deliver to the people the news despite the dangers posed against them by the situation, the Arroyo administration decided to persecute them. More insulting, it was done in the usual gutless manner of the AFP of spreading malicious and baseless statements. Read the rest of this entry →

Sagawisiw: 17 Feb. 2008

February 18, 2008 in general

By TITO B. SANQUI

Read the rest of this entry →

Burburtia Krokis: 17 Feb. 2008 (Puzzle)

February 18, 2008 in general

By ART B. BELISARIO

ACROSS
1 huwag magmataas (Ilok)
10 balisa, di mapakali (Ilok)
12 putulan ng sanga at dahon (Ilok) Read the rest of this entry →

Burburtia Krokis: 10 Feb. 2008 (Solution)

February 18, 2008 in general

By ART B. BELISARIO

Getting Lost: Saving the turtles for the future

February 18, 2008 in environment, general

By CHEN REYES-MENCIAS

Many years ago my family and I lived in a 100-footer dive boat that cruised remote islands and reefs in Palawan and the Visayas. My daughter Patricia, who was three years old at that time had the chance to swim with turtles that my husband and I would catch, tag and release, as part of the effort to monitor their population in the wild. It has been a while since I have been in the water with a pawikan, as it is locally called. So when I heard about a turtle center that is being managed by farmers, fisher folk and their wives, I quickly packed a bag and took my ten year old son Miguel and nine year old daughter Angel for a week-end of deep learning.

Addictive passion

It was a pleasant three-hour drive from Manila to Barangay Nagbalayong, a coastal village in Morong, Bataan. There we met Manolo Ibias, chairman of Bantay Pawikan, literally, Turtle Watch, a people’s organization composed of 22 members. The men and women of this group dedicate their time and effort in protecting turtles that lay eggs along the six-kilometer coastline and managing a hatchery designed to increase survival rate of juveniles. Read the rest of this entry →

Balancing Wheel: Camp 7 boys

February 18, 2008 in columns, general, opinion, people

By JOHN MARASIGAN

It started with four people and it grew out of camaraderie and good fate. It is not as big as the other cycling group and not even half their number. What makes ours (Sayote Riders) worth riding with is the big heart of every member. (Well, that is according to us, of course.) It is not a force to reckon with but rather a group worth hanging around with. I guess one of the vital spices of the gelling is the participation of people as humble and simple as the Camp 7 boys. I would like to applaud them and thank them personally in behalf of the group.

The Circuit. Romy doing the rounds on the Camp 7 technical track. Photo by John Marasigan/NORDIS Read the rest of this entry →

Makan a la Pinoy: Ensalada a sabunganay

February 18, 2008 in food, general

Ni BRENDA S. DACPANO

Daytoy a putahe ket manipud iti tatang ti gayyem ko a taga-Batangas. Ti orihinal a pampaalsem daytoy ket pias ken natimplaan ti bugguong Balayan. Ti inusar ko ditoy ket mangga imbes a pias ken tinimplaak ti bugguong nga aramang.

ENSALADA. (Akinngato manipud kannigid) Kinirog nga aramang, ensalada a sabunganay, ensalada nga utong, kilawen a tarong, mangga ken bugguong-aramang. Photo by Noel Godinez/NORDIS Read the rest of this entry →

SLU walkway anomaly surfaces

February 12, 2008 in Baguio City, education, general

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 8 ) ― An elected officer of the Saint Louis University Supreme Student Council (SLU-SSC), here, who was later expelled from his position after he demanded that funds used in the construction of the SLU covered walkway be returned to the student fund exposed what he described as anomalous transactions by its president.

NEEDED BUT REJECTED. The questioned SLU covered walk path should be funded by university fund not from the student fund, student leaers asserted. NORDIS Photo Read the rest of this entry →

Re-examining Panagbenga: A historical trail

February 12, 2008 in Baguio City, general, tourism

(First of two parts)

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 7) — While the public eagerly awaits what is in store on the 13th staging of the Baguio flower festival, the city council here remained in limbo over the official result of the government audit of some P7 million.

In a resolution filed in January, and approved Monday, the city council asked the Commission on Audit (COA) for an official audit report of city funds disbursed to the Panagbenga stagings for 2003 (P2 million) and 2004 (P2.4 million) including other disbursements (P1 million) allegedly from the Priority Development Assistance Fund of Congressman Mauricio Domogan. Read the rest of this entry →

Cordillera among the hungriest regions

February 12, 2008 in Cordillera, economy, general

TUBA, Benguet (Feb. 7) — The Cordillera is among the hungriest regions in the country as revealed in government statistical reports placing five of six provinces in the priority for hunger mitigation programs since 2006.

Mountain Province, regarded as among 10 on subsistence farming, is the only Cordillera province in the list of Priority 1 provinces, which includes eight Mindanao provinces, Camarines Norte, Masbate and all cities and towns in the National Capital Region. Abra and Kalinga are Priority 2 provinces for having been listed among the “poorest provinces” while Apayao and Ifugao are among those which previously received assistance along hunger mitigation. Read the rest of this entry →

Anti-public urinating ordinance passes first reading in Baguio City

February 12, 2008 in Baguio City, general

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 5) — In an omnibus motion, members of the city council here approved on first reading an ordinance to penalize persons who will be caught urinating in public places which are not designated as ‘urinating area’.

Read the rest of this entry →

Threats remain vs. Rafael kin even if 3 of 6 ambush suspects nabbed

February 12, 2008 in Cordillera, criminality, general

BAGUIO CITY (Jan. 31) — While three of the six alleged killers of Paracelis town Mayor Cesar Rafael are now in police custody, his daughter remains threatened with the suspects and mastermind allegedly still at-large.

The late mayor’s daughter, herself a mayor of another Mountain Province town, in an interview challenged authorities to effect the arrest of other suspects and the mastermind, she alleged to be still on the loose, as they pose a threat to her and her family amid their call for justice. Read the rest of this entry →

Arroyo a peculiarity of a bankrupt situation — Ibon

February 12, 2008 in general, national

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 8 ) — “She is the peculiarity of the bankrupt situation,” IBON Foundation Incorporated Executive Editor Rosario Bella Guzman said of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as she began her discussion in a forum at the Social Hall of St. Louis School Center.

Dubbed as ‘Issues and Prospects for 2008’, the said forum initially intended to be a national situation discussion. Guzman, however, opted to narrow down on Arroyo’s presidency. Read the rest of this entry →

Mountain Province solon dies of diabetes

February 12, 2008 in Cordillera, general, people

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 8 ) — Congressman Victor Dominguez, considered a political institution in Mountain Province, passed away Friday in a Manila hospital reportedly of complications from diabetes.

He is survived by his wife, Josephine de Castro-Dominguez, their four children and nine grandchildren. He was 72. Read the rest of this entry →

Ilocos HR group condemns coercion of peasant leader

February 12, 2008 in general, human rights, Ilocos

VIGAN CITY (Feb. 7) — A human rights group in Ilocos denounced the coercion of peasant leader months after his release from detention cells.

Ilocos Human Rights Alliance (IHRA), regional chapter of the human rights group Karapatan, expressed their strong condemnation over the forced and fake surrender of peasant leader Rogelio Vilog last January 25 initiated by the elements of the Philippine Air Force at Candon City, Ilocos Sur. Read the rest of this entry →

Abra folk unite vs. large scale mining

February 12, 2008 in Cordillera, general, mining

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 4) — “Uray kaano man ket saan a masukatan ti ili tayo a Licuan. Saan tayo koma a maalillaw iti kari dagiti dadakel a minas a pagdur-asan daytoy ti Licuan. Nasaysayaat nga uray napanglaw tayo ngem adda latta makuna nga ili a pagsublian uray sadinno papanan ken saan pay nga mapunas ti puli ken ugali”. (We should not be deceived by the promises of development or progress from these mining corporations. However poor we may be, it is still more important to have our land intact and protected, so that we will always have a place to come home to, a home where our customs, traditions will be nurtured and protected).

These words from an elder of the Banao tribe in Licuan-Baay, Abra province, captured the challenge to local residents of Licuan in an educational forum organized by concerned individuals last December in Poblacion, Licuan. Resource persons from the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) and Apit Tako (Peasant Alliance in the Cordillera Homeland) provided inputs on basic education large scale mining and its impacts to indigenous peoples, and on collective resource management and State concepts on land. Read the rest of this entry →

Dispute over Kennon Road management continues

February 12, 2008 in Baguio City, general, transport

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 8 ) — The Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) and the Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH) continue to contend over authority and management of Kennon Road.

SCOFFING AT THE LAW. Motorists simply ignore traffic signs along Kennon Road. Photo by Dorothea Ysabel B. Maranan/NORDIS Read the rest of this entry →

Baguio police stains press freedom

February 12, 2008 in Baguio City, general, human rights

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 5) — Campus press here assailed the manner by which peace-keeping forces and police authorities (mis)handled and (mal)treated the media during a student march-rally against oil price hikes recently.

Student journalists who were subjected to a certain level of police brutality also forwarded the call to stop the assault against press freedom, as they called on the Baguio’s finest, as the Baguio policeman was often referred to, to exercise maximum tolerance. Read the rest of this entry →

Editorial Cartoon: 10 Feb. 2008

February 11, 2008 in editorials, general, opinion