May | 2008 | Northern Dispatch (nordis) Weekly

Shelter, rice, wage and oil top urban poor list

May 26, 2008 in Baguio City, general, situationers, urban poor

Ornus celebrates silver anniversary

BAGUIO CITY (May 23) — While the city’s urban poor remained hopeful that the demolition of structures would end in the communities where they have settled, the current rice crisis and the rising price of oil add burden to their daily struggle against poverty.

“Nagtalinaed a ti kangrunaan a dawat dagiti nakurapay nga umili ket ti desente a pagnaedan iti syudad,” (Urban poor’s priority demand remains to be a decent home in the city) Geraldine Cacho, chair emeritus of the Organisasyon dagiti Nakurapay nga Umili ti Syudad (Ornus) said during the alliance’s 24th anniversary assembly at the Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary here. Read the rest of this entry →

Condotel complex to rise in Baguio

May 26, 2008 in Baguio City, general

A joint project of SM and GSIS

BAGUIO CITY (May 24) – A plan to alter the land use of pinestand within the Baguio Convention Center was confirmed before the city council Monday by Shoemart Development Corporation (SMDC) Representative Carlo Alampay.

The plan includes the construction of a condotel complex under a joint venture between the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the SMDC, according to Alampay. Read the rest of this entry →

Employers opt for non-wage benefits

May 26, 2008 in employment, general, national

BAGUIO CITY (May 21) — The Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) recognizes the workers’ clamor for a wage increase but are more willing to provide more non-wage benefits.

According to Marlou Abaja of ECOP during a media forum here Tuesday, many employers could not afford to increase wages just as yet.

Read the rest of this entry →

Cosme devastates La Union

May 26, 2008 in agriculture, economy, general, Ilocos, public works

La Union (May 23) — Typhoon Cosme hit the southern towns of La Union, night of May 17 causing millions of damage in agricultural production, fisheries, infrastructure and leaving seven persons dead and five injured.

Worst hit were the municipalities of Rosario, Sto. Tomas, Agoo, Aringay, Caba, Tubao and parts of Bauang and Naguillan. A total of 97 barangays and 7,147 families were affected. Some 695 houses were totally damaged while 5,407 partially damaged mostly along the coast. Read the rest of this entry →

Red Cross needs more blood donors

May 26, 2008 in Baguio City, general

BAGUIO CITY (May 24) — The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC-Baguio Chapter) is again appealing to the public for voluntary blood donors to have enough blood reserve especially for the rainy season.

Dr. Jasmin Igama, a consultant of the of Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center and SLU Sacred Heart Hospital, and former PNRC Board of Director, said during the Kapihan sa Baguio last week that with rainy season during the months of July to November, most ailments occur, particularly dengue cases, aside from emergencies which require blood transfusion. Read the rest of this entry →

Journalists in Ifugao “snapping” incident fear for their lives

May 26, 2008 in Cordillera, general, human rights, media

Asks Task Force Usig for security

BAGUIO CITY (May 21) — Baguio City-based journalists Ma. Elena Catajan and Redgie Cawis of the national daily Malaya are fearing for their lives after the “snapping incident” at Alfonsolita town involving Vice-mayor Clarence Polig and several others two weeks ago.

Seriously asking Task Force Usig for security arrangements, Catajan said Police Director Jess Soriano had called her to confirm her and Cawis’ request last Saturday. Read the rest of this entry →

NPA-Abra notes flaws in military victory report

May 26, 2008 in Cordillera, general, insurgency

BAGUIO CITY (May 22) — The New People’s Army’s (NPA) Agustin Begnalen Command (ABC), operating in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions, pointed out inconsistencies in the military reports that underscored victories in dismantling rebel fronts in northern and central Luzon.

In a statement, Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed victory in its operations to dismantle guerrilla fronts in Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac. Read the rest of this entry →

Cordillerans in Hong Kong unite to defend ancestral lands

May 26, 2008 in Cordillera, general, international

HONG KONG (May 15) — The sound of gongs reverberated in Chater Road on May 4 as migrant workers from the Cordillera region reaffirmed the defense of their land, life, livelihood and resources in celebration of Cordillera Day in Hong Kong.

Organized by the Cordillera Alliance, the event focused on the issue of mining plunder and state terrorism in each of the six provinces in the region, namely Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province. Read the rest of this entry →

Baguio declared under state of calamity

May 26, 2008 in Baguio City, general

BAGUIO CITY — The city council last Monday declared the city in state of calamity due to the damages wrought by typhoon “Cosme.”

The declaration was made upon the request of Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. after assessing the damage wrought by the howler and decided that the city would need to avail of the calamity fund to speed up the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure. Read the rest of this entry →

Cosme damages P1.7M Beneco equipment

May 26, 2008 in Cordillera, energy, general

Beneco incurs P2M revenue loss

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (May 23) — More than P1.4 million of Benguet Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Beneco) poles, transformers and other equipments were destroyed by super typhoon Cosme over the weekend that caused massive power outages in Baguio and Benguet.

Beneco Operations and Maintenance supervisor Zac Torres said that 23 crews made up of two-men plus eight contractors with nine personnel each worked 24 hours to restore power especially in Baguio City where the typhoon hit the hardest, and where most of the damaged equipment were located. Read the rest of this entry →

Regional Council for the Welfare of Children recognizes 3 photo-journalists

May 26, 2008 in Baguio City, general

BAGUIO CITY (May 23) — Three acknowledged photo-journalists recently gained additional recognition for their photos that captured images of Filipino children.

The Regional Council for the Welfare of Children- Cordillera Administrative Region (RCWC-CAR) recently recognized three of the 35 entries from CAR which made it to the top 30 finalists in the 2007 Bright Child Photo Contest. Read the rest of this entry →

Ifugao town gains from biometrics

May 26, 2008 in Cordillera, general

MAYOYAO, Ifugao (May 23) — Punctuality and attendance among government employees here, are ensured with the installation July 15 last year of the biometrics system at the entrance of the municipal hall.

Biometrics is a device that accurately scans fingerprint. It is globally used in offices and companies purposely to easily monitor and manage attendance of employees. Read the rest of this entry →

Cordillera This Week: 25 May 2008

May 26, 2008 in Cordillera, general

Day care centers in the workplaces

BAGUIO CITY (May 24) — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) called on companies and corporations to put up day care centers in their workplaces to form part of non-wage benefits for workers and their families.

DOLE Sec. Marianito Roque said the DOLE Regional Offices, under the family welfare program (FWP), will intensify campaign for the establishment of day care centers especially in companies with more women workers to help lessen the expense of early childhood education and ensure the children’s safety and health.

Firms with day care facilities already in operation are the Philex Mining Corp. and Lepanto Mining Corp. in Benguet, Unilever Phils. in Manila, and Central Azucarera Don Pedro in Batangas as well as the Tahanang Walang Hagdan in Rizal. Firms with lactating facilities, on the other hand, include the PAPTI, MNTEC, and Mitsuwa at the Cavite Export Processing Zone in Cavite; among others. # PIA-CAR

DA officials ordered to link up with SUCs

BAGUIO CITY (May 24) — Department of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has given orders to DA regional executive directors (REDs) to link up right away with state universities and colleges (SUCS) and work on collaborative agricultural extension services for farmers and fisherfolk.

Yap said the DA needs active partners like the SUCs to bring down new technologies to farmers, especially those in the 49 priority provinces that are envisioned under the Rice Self-Sufficiency Plan of 2008-2010 to deliver about 92% of total harvests over the next five planting seasons. Read the rest of this entry →

Editorial Cartoon: 25 May 2008

May 26, 2008 in editorials, general, opinion

Editorial: Ka Bel, Immortal

May 26, 2008 in editorials, general, opinion

If Lu Yan (character of ‘The Forbiden Kingdom’), is right that one who is remembered and shall never be forgotten is an immortal, then Ka Bel is one who will not be forgotten and therefore is an immortal.

All those whose life he has touched in one way or another, will not forget that gentle, work-and-weather worn smiling face. Especially that face tightened in vehemence, courage and resolve as he raises his fist in unison with the proletariat, “Mabuhay ang manggagawa! mabuhay ang masang Pilipino!” Read the rest of this entry →

Advocate's Overview: Enact Rep. Beltran’s

May 26, 2008 in columns, general, opinion

By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW

Oil prices have hit the common Filipinos. Oil Companies increased the prices of oil at least eight times this year if I remember it right. I can count at least 12 times the oil price increased last year. As a result, the people are now left to adopt any remedy to cope with the increases in the price of goods.

As people can barely cope with the skyrocketing prices of goods, workers are pushing for an increase of their wages. As always, the government would turn them to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), a creation of RA 6727 known as the Wage Rationalization Act. Since the creation of the RTWPB, its task is to periodically assess wage rates and determine minimum wage rates applicable to each region or industry. It is good to assess though how this government agency has served the workers welfare. Read the rest of this entry →

From Under This Hat: The pinestand and the 13 floors

May 26, 2008 in columns, general, opinion

By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO

How easily the people of Baguio forget. Maybe they are not really from Baguio or care what happens to it for anyway they are leaving for the States, Canada or Japan.

In the earthquake of 1990, the 11- storey high condominium in Pacdal, the 17-storey Skyworld building in Session Road, the Hyatt Hotel, the 7-storey Baguio Park Hotel, the Nevada Hotel, and the massive Baguio Hilltop Hotel all fell like a child’s toy building blocks on the floor. Read the rest of this entry →

Statements: Ka Bel, Bayani ka ng Masang Pilipino! Highest Salutations to the Grand Old Man of Philippine Labor

May 26, 2008 in general, opinion, statements

By KILUSANG MAYO UNO — CORDILLERA

May 20, 2008

“If helping the poor is a crime and fighting for freedom is rebellion then I plead guilty as charged” — Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran (21 years ago on the rebellion charges against him by the Marcos dictatorship)

The militant workers of the Cordillera Region under the flagship of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Cordillera join the Filipino masses in celebrating the life and works of the great leader and fighter of the oppressed Anakpawis Representative Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran, who died at 11:48 A.M. on May 20. Read the rest of this entry →

Weekly Reflections: Cry tears for Burma

May 26, 2008 in columns, general, international, opinion

By REV. LUNA L. DINGAYAN

“God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the ocean depths; even if the seas roar and rage, and the hills are shaken by the violence.” — Psalms 46:1-3

Natural calamities

The season of typhoons and other destructive natural calamities had already begun. These past two weeks we had witnessed through the mass media two among the worst natural calamities in recent times: the powerful Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the devastating earthquake in China, wherein thousands of people died and still missing and countless properties were destroyed. This is not to mention typhoon Cosme that also killed several people and destroyed millions worth of properties in Central Luzon, Northern Luzon and the Cordillera Region. Read the rest of this entry →