May | 2009 | Northern Dispatch (nordis) Weekly

Workers picket Lepanto mines

May 31, 2009 in Cordillera, workers

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

MANKAYAN, Benguet — The mine workers of the Lepanto Mine Division of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMCo) staged a picket at the general office of the company management to demand a stop to the extended work-rotation scheme and other unfair labor practices.

Lepanto Employees Union-National Federation of Labor Unions-Kilusang Mayo Uno (LEU-NAFLU-KMU) President Manny Binhaon Jr. called on management to heed the demands of its workers who are working very hard. Binhaon said the union has talked with management many times about their issues but only a few were addressed. Read the rest of this entry →

Teachers seek 9,000 salary increase

May 31, 2009 in Baguio City, national

By WENDY ATUBAN
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Representing 500,000 public school teachers nationwide, Professor Antonio Tinio, Alliance of Concerned Teachers president, reiterated the call for a 9,000-peso salary increase over a period of three years during the National Leadership Training and Seminar here on May 29-31.

Tinio said teachers have become poorer and their situation more difficult under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration. He explained this as due to the absence of salary increase of teachers in six years from 2001-2006. Read the rest of this entry →

Vendors, dads meet on city market plan

May 31, 2009 in Baguio City

By LYN V. RAMO
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Vendors here appeared satisfied as they reached a compromise with the city council on the design of the proposed market temporary building that would replace the makeshift sheds they built after the fire in March.

Acting on the vendors and stall owners’ request to provide passages between the stalls, the council session came close to a standstill as vendors participated in the discussion on the floor layout of the market. The temporary edifice will restore the burned down market place. Read the rest of this entry →

Ex-employee files libel against JHMC

May 31, 2009 in Cordillera

By ART ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — An employee allegedly dismissed illegally by the John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC) Monday filed a libel case against five of his former employers for an advertisement that reportedly maligned him.

Earlier dismissed for his alleged dishonesty and unsatisfactory performance, Hector Hugh L. Ngales said the advertisement, printed in a local paper, has degraded him and has no other purpose than to demean, humiliate and bring utter disgrace and shame to him, and to cause him serious emotional damage. Read the rest of this entry →

Urban poor celebrates 25 years

May 31, 2009 in Baguio City, urban poor

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The Metro-Baguio wide alliance, Organisasyon dagiti Nakukurapay nga Umili ti Syudad-Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Ornus-Kadamay) celebrated its 25 years of organizing the urban poor in the city Sunday.

According to Ornus-Kadamay Chairman emiritus Geraldine Cacho, the organization started with six community associations and people’s organizations: The Sinakde-an ti San Vicente, Nakukurapay nga Umili ti West Quirino Hill, Bontoc Village Community Association, Bontoc Village Women’s Organization, Maligcong Village Community Association and Maligcong Village Women Organization were organized 25 years ago to address the rampant demolition of urban poor homes at that time. Read the rest of this entry →

2 positive for H1N1 in Cordi

May 31, 2009 in Baguio City

by LYN V. RAMO
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The Cordillera surveillance on possible cases of people afflicted with the influenza A (H1N1) virus yielded 14 cases as of the last press briefing at the Department of Health (DOH) regional office here Friday afternoon. Two tested positive of the virus.

Earlier on Tuesday, there were only four cases under observation (COUs) in three unidentified provinces in the Cordillera. Read the rest of this entry →

The revolution goes on despite Balweg’s capture — NPA

May 31, 2009 in Cordillera

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The Chadli Molintas Command (CMC) of the New People’s Army (NPA) of the Ilocos and Cordillera Region said the more than four-decade armed struggle would continue to live on despite the recent arrest of one of the NPA’s top cadres.

The CMC in an emailed statement said the capture of Jovencio “Ka Dawa” Balweg and the subsequent arrest of his wife, Carmen “Ka Dumay” Balweg is a tactical setback for the local revolutionary movement. The CMC added, however, that the announcement of the leadership of the Philippine National Police-Cordillera that Balweg’s capture would spark an end to the local revolutionary movement is far from reality. Read the rest of this entry →

Cordi veggies to land in major food-chains

May 31, 2009 in Cordillera

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Major food chains in the country are in the cross-hairs for a Department of Agriculture (DA) organized dry-run order system for temperate vegetables produced in the Cordillera, DA regional officials disclosed here Friday.

Food chain stalwarts Jollibee, McDonalds and Max’s are likely to post orders for bell pepper, tomatoes, lettuce and carrots once the supplies pass the set standards for quality, volume and the agreed schedule, for the dry-run delivery which is poised for June, according to DA Agri-business Division Chief Patricio Ananayo. Read the rest of this entry →

Benguet joins anti- plastic bandwagon

May 31, 2009 in Cordillera

LYN V. RAMO
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The provincial board adopted Monday a resolution that supported the passing of a law imposing fines on the use of plastic bags in retail outlets.

Introduced by Board Member Nelson Dangwa, the board resolution supporting the passage of H ouse Bill 4134, still pending in the House of Representatives adopts a similar measure Resolution No. 33-09 by the provincial board of Aurora on March 31. Read the rest of this entry →

Youth jam against the VFA

May 31, 2009 in Baguio City

By Paula PAMINTUAN-RIVA
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Members of the militant youth organization Anakbayan gathered at the Peoples’ Park and held a cultural jam on May 2, 2009 to echo the 10-year call against the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Singing and playing instruments under a banner declaring “10 years is enough!” youth and students expressed their dismay at the government’s continuing slavery to the United States that is manifest in its eagerness to expose the country’s resources to foreign exploitation. Read the rest of this entry →

City council asks BWD to explain water contamination

May 31, 2009 in Baguio City

By LYN V. RAMO
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The city council asked the Baguio Water District (BWD) to submit a complete report on the alleged contamination of a water source that has made at least 342 individuals in five barangays sick.

In its regular session Monday, the council approved the proposed resolution of Councilor Betty Lourdes F. Tabanda that also sought to identify measures to prevent similar instances of water contamination and diarrhea outbreak. Read the rest of this entry →

EDITORIAL: The sad state of Philippine education and economy

May 31, 2009 in editorials

With the opening of classes on June 1, the school-year begins bringing with it all that is good and bad about formal education in our country.

As in most developing countries, Filipino families consider education – the earning of a college diploma in particular – as the passport from poverty to prosperity. And parents will do everything in their power to see their kids through college, if only to ensure a better future for their family. Read the rest of this entry →

BRUTALLY FRANK: Principles of interpersonal leadership: think win/win

May 31, 2009 in columns

By MARY ANN “MANJA” BAYANG
www.nordis.net

We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life. — Edwin Markham

Think win/win which is habit 4, is the habit of effective interpersonal leadership. Win/Win is not a technique; it is a total philosophy of human interaction. In fact, it is one of six paradigms of interaction. The alternative paradigms are Win/Lose, Lose/Win, Lose/Lose, Win and Win/Win or No Deal. Habit 4 and onwards discuss how we relate with other people.

Habit 1, 2 and 3 discussed how we relate with our own self. Read the rest of this entry →

WOMEN’S FRONT: Cariño Doctrine

May 31, 2009 in columns

By INNABUYOG-GABRIELA
www.nordis.net

This is an Intervention entitled “On the Marginalization of Indigenous Peoples in Urban Areas and the Cariño Doctrine of Native Title” submitted by Jacqueline K. Carino, vice-chairperson of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) to the United Nations Permanet Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).

The paper presented by Ms. Carino was endorsed by the Asia Pacific Indigenous Youth Network (AIWN) and the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP). Read the rest of this entry →

WEEKLY REFLECTIONS: The Holy Trinity

May 31, 2009 in columns

By REV. LUNA L. DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

SECOND OF THREE PARTS
We believe in God, who has revealed Himself to men and women most clearly, and walked with them to draw them tenderly back to Himself.

God’s revelatory and redemptive acts continue. The Israelites were promised by God through their prophets a deliverer or a messiah (Micah 5:2). They always thought of the Messiah as one, who could deliver them from the hands of the Roman Empire; one who could lead them in a rebellion against the empire, so that they could obtain their independence.

Jesus came into the scene. The minds of his disciples were dominated by that hope for a political messiah. Two of his disciples even asked him what would be their place in the Kingdom (Mark 10:37). By that, they meant the time when Jesus would succeed in overthrowing the Roman Empire and would rebuild the Davidic Kingdom of antiquity. But their hopes faded away, and they were very much frustrated when they saw him ended up in the cross. They did not understand the real meaning of his messiahship. Because of this, they decided to return to their former vocations. Read the rest of this entry →

LABOR WATCH: The workers’ hero

May 31, 2009 in columns

By ALDWIN G. QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

SECOND of two parts

The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. — Benjamin Disraeli

Two years ago, Ka Bel was in Baguio City to receive an award from the Baguio General Hospital, which recognized his outstanding assistance to the indigent patients who cannot pay their hospital bills through funds coming from his Country-wide Development Fund (CDF). He also authored house bills for the poor patients.

He visited Cordillera Labor Center office. I was then with the trade union organizing center. My son who was turning four years old then was with me at the office. He saw Ka Bel many times on national TV. My son knows Ka Bel as a congressman who helps the oppressed. He keeps on telling how Ka Bel helps the poor. Read the rest of this entry →

On the Cordillera water crisis

May 31, 2009 in environment, statements

By THE CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS IN THE CORDILLERA (CDPC)
www.nordis.net

With its deteriorating water quality and the decreasing water yield, the Cordillera as the “Watershed Cradle of the North” is in a grave danger.

Mining tenements within the watershed areas of the Cordillera region continue to pose challenges to the watershed protection of communities and local governments of the region. As 1700 hectares of watersheds are ruined annually (DENR 2009), National Policies on the revitalization of the mining industry would undermine efforts in the rehabilitation and management of deteriorated watersheds. Read the rest of this entry →

The working class through the artists’ looking glass

May 31, 2009 in lifeways, the arts

By LUCHIE B. MARANAN
www.nordis.net

(At a recent Art Criticism Workshop sponsored by the Baguio Writers Group and the Bencab Art Foundation, fellows were tasked by art critics and lecturers Lito Zulueta and Yason Banal to pick out any artwork to review at the Contemporary Art Gallery of the Bencab Museum. The latter is home to a treasure trove of paintings by the Masters and other contemporary artists. It showcases other art pieces and artifacts that renowned artist Bencab has collected through the years.)

From among the numerous works on the walls, this fellow was drawn to two works by two known social realists that present an interesting study of contrast: Antipas Delotavo’s “Katas ng Manggagawa” and Emmanuel Garibay’s “Nakidueto kay San Miguel”. Both are impressive illustrations and interpretations of the working man’s alienation from his own milieu and portray the plight from economic destitution so prevalent in a society wrought with unresolved social and economic conflicts. With similar perceptions, Delotavo and Garibay take divergent approaches in their rendition. Read the rest of this entry →

BSU launches organic market

May 31, 2009 in Cordillera

By LYN V. RAMO
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Addressing the popular clamor for more outlets to get organic fruits and vegetables, 17 farmer-cooperators of the Benguet State University (BSU) will set up the organic market across the town hall Wednesdays and Fridays.

The organic market kicked off Wednesday offering a healthy complementation to the La Trinidad Organic Producers (LATOP), which is reportedly not meeting the growing market for organic vegetables and fruits. Read the rest of this entry →

Fundamentally fetish: Staring at Ronald Ventura’s Basic I

May 31, 2009 in lifeways

By ABIGAIL TORRELIZA*
www.nordis.net

Every spectator who happens to pass by and appparently stare at Ronald Ventura’s usual 9″x12″ oil, acrylic, and graphite on canvas paper is ultimately engulfed into a state of voyeurism. However, such enticement of gratification could only be partially sensual and initially sexual.

Projected through a canvass paper measuring 91 x 122 centimeters with the use of acrylic, and graphite, Basic I immediately reminded me of Gelacio Guillermo’s Working Clothes. This poem promulgates the poetic imagination of the male human body as the working clothes themselves. Parallel to this is Basic I entangling the spectator to interrogate fully the perspectives of the artist regarding the hegemonic intertextuality of the heterosexual female human body, the self, the commodity as both subject and object of a spectator’s gaze. Read the rest of this entry →