August | 2009 | Northern Dispatch (nordis) Weekly

Didigra a naiyablat, Benguet Corporation ti masingir ken mangsungbat

August 30, 2009 in statements

Ti ITOGON INTER-BARANGAY ALLIANCE
www.nordis.net

August 29, 2009

Kuna ti maysa nga opisyal ken residente ti Barangay Loacan, Itogon ket panagsingir ni Apo Daga dagiti didigra a mapaspasamak iti uneg ti maysa a komunidad a pagminasan.

Mamati kami a gapu iti agtultuloy a dakes nga epekto ti dadakkel a panagminas ti Benguet Corporation (BC), isuda ti rumbeng laeng a masingir. Ti nakaam-ames a pannakareggaay ti daga idiay Luneta, Loacan ken mismo a disso ti 440 Antamok Open-Pit idi Agosto 6 inggana 7 ket maysa laeng pakakitaan ti kinaranggas ti dakkel nga opersayon ti minas. Daytoy a kabutbuteng a pasamak ket nagbanag iti pannakapukaw ti intero nga eskwelaan nga elementarya. Awanen ti pagadalan dagiti 182 nga ubbing. Agpegpeggad a matinnag ti Mt. Zion Lutheran Church ken ti 15 a balbalay iti komunidad. Ti napeggad a kasasaad iti lugar ket gapu iti BC. Read the rest of this entry →

Reject lavish spending, reject Arroyo!

August 30, 2009 in statements

By NUSP-BAGUIO-BENGUET, ANAKBAYAN and KABATAAN PARTYLIST
www.nordis.net

We gather today on moral duty to banish Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her lavish lifestyle out of Baguio. Enough is enough for Arroyo’s nine-year term during which our conditions have turned from worse to worst.

The plights of our parents have not improved while Malacañang boastfully justifies the extravagant spending of one million pesos for a single dinner. Read the rest of this entry →

PGMA the new Marie Antoinette

August 30, 2009 in general

By ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED TEACHERS
www.nordis.net

Living in luxury as Filipinos starve

We, members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Teachers’ Party-list, strongly condemn the lavish dinners and foreign travelsof Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo amidst the ever-worsening hunger and poverty problems of our country.

Shameless opulence and excessive luxury have no place in a third-world country like ours – grappling with huge foreign debts and perennial budget deficits along with millions of hungry mouths, malnourished children, foodless farmers and jobless workers. Read the rest of this entry →

Cabugao’s struggles of the past and the present

August 30, 2009 in Ilocos

By ARTHUR ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net

Cabugao town of Ilocos Sur is my newest discovered lovely place. A coastal town along the South China Sea, is not only gifted with natural beauties – like the Salomague Island but also rich with the history of their ancestors’ anti-colonial struggles.

After we attended the founding of the Ilocos Sur chapter of the National Union of Journalist of the Philippines, I learned from our hosts and appreciated the struggles of their ancestors against the Spanish, American, and Japanese colonizers. Read the rest of this entry →

Sugarcane wine and September

August 30, 2009 in general

By JUN VERSOLA
www.nordis.net

Last of two parts

For the benefit of aspiring small-scale mill and winery operators among us: a 5-hectare canefield planted to a non-flowering, highsucrose cane variety can produce juice for more than 200 cooking batches per season – enough supply for a veritable wine and vinegar factory.

But I didn’t write this piece merely to encourage cottage-industry capitalism. I wrote it to explain why basi became so explosive an issue during Spanish times that it triggered a revolt, the 200th anniversary of which we commemorate this month of September. Read the rest of this entry →

Makan ala Pinoy: Panagaramid ti yogurt

August 30, 2009 in food, lifeways

Ni BRENDA S. DACPANO
www.nordis.net

Ti yogurt ket mayadi a produkto manipud iti gatas (whole, lowfat, nonfat wenno skim). Gatas ti baka ti kadawyan a maar-aramid a yogurt ngem uray ania a klase ti gatas ket mabalin nga aramiden kas ti gatas ti nuang, kalding, kabayo, ken karnero.

Maaramid ti yogurt babaen iti panangilaok ti bakterya a lactobacillus ken streptococcus iti medyo napudot a gatas (110°F). Dagiti nasao a bakterya ket agparnuay ti lactic acid nga isu ti mangpapalet (coagulte) iti gatas. Umalsem bassit ti raman na ngem adu ti sustansya na. Mabalin nga alunosen wenno kas ramen ti putahe. Read the rest of this entry →

IP partylist seeks accreditation

August 23, 2009 in national

By KAMP
www.nordis.net

MANILA — “The time has come for us to step up to another field of parliamentary struggle,” this was the statement of Nelson Mallari, Secretary General of KATRIBU Partylist, as they filed for accreditation for partylist to the Commission on Elections.

Together with other representatives of indigenous people from Cordillera and Mindanao, the group held a small march accompanied by sound of gongs, an indigenous instrument, toward the office of COMELEC in the Palacio de Gobernador in Intramuros Manila. Read the rest of this entry →

RP’s UN mission walks-out on IPs

August 23, 2009 in international

By MARY ANN BAYANG
www.nordis.net

GENEVA, Switzerland — An official of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva flared up and walked out in the middle of discussions with representatives of indigenous peoples, organizations and support groups here on Thursday, August 13.

Mr. Denis Lipatan of the Permanent Mission shouted and pointed his trembling fingers at the IP representatives and support groups from the Philippines, “Do you even know what FPIC is (Free, Prior and Informed Consent)? Do you even know what ancestral domain is?” and left the meeting room. Read the rest of this entry →

LGU asks Lepanto to answer or stop

August 23, 2009 in Cordillera

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

MANKAYAN, Benguet The residents of Mankayan together with the Local Government Unit (LGU) were convinced that the underground of the municipality is void because of poorly back-filled mining tunnels therefore causing massive sinking and the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMC) be held liable and compensate the people.

In a forum held in the municipal hall of Mankayan, Geologist Rick Saturay of the Philippine Center for Environmental Concerns presented observations and study on the area where a massive land subsidence took place. Saturay showed the audience the difference between land subsidence and landslides.

Saturay said that the possible causes of land subsidence are geologically weak lithology and rock formation, faults and creeping soil, topography where there are steep slopes, hydrologic conditions there are high rainfalls, high water table, gully and headwater erosion, blasting and the most probable is voids in the underground. Read the rest of this entry →

Pagmimina sa Ilocos, kinondena ng masa

August 23, 2009 in Ilocos

By Roda Tajon
www.nordis.net

VIGAN CITY — Kinondena ng isang grupo ng magsasaka sa rehiyon ng Ilocos ang panibagong bugso ng pagmimina sa probinsya ng Ilocos Sur, partikular sa karagatan ng Metro Vigan upang mangalap ng tangigi o magnetite sand.

Ayon kay Zaldy Alfiler, pangkalahatang kalihim ng Solidarity of Peasants against Exploitation (STOP Exploitation), mula aprubahan ng Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) ang mga exploration permit ng Colossal Mining Corporation noong 2007, nagsimula nang minahin ng kumpanyang ito ang mga karagatan gamit ang mga barko na nagresulta sa pagkabahala ng mamamayan sa apat na munisipyo ng Metro Vigan. Read the rest of this entry →

Clean and green awardee violates solid waste law

August 23, 2009 in Ilocos

By ARTHUR ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net

CABUGAO, Ilocos Sur — Region 1 cleanest, greenest and safest municipality and a hall of fame awardee for earning the award on the years 2004, 2006 up to 2008, this coastal town however may be violating RA 9003 known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 due to its “open dump” waste disposal area.

Cabugao’s waste disposal area hosts un-segregated, large mounds of garbage that is bulldozed downhill and believed to be polluting rice fields and the water aquifer of residents in Sitio Baliw, Barangay Quezon of this town. Read the rest of this entry →

Ilocos journalists unite for rights and welfare

August 23, 2009 in Ilocos

By Roda Tajon
www.nordis.net

CABUGAO, Ilocos Sur —Media practitioners in Ilocos provinces organized last August 15 to form a chapter of the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) in face of the issues confronting the media in Ilocos.

Practitioners from Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, NBN 4, Radyo Tirad Pass, Ilocos Times, Northern Dispatch and DWFB Radyo ng Bayan attended the chapter formation of NUJP-Ilocos Sur chapter in the Amytony Resort, Cabugao, Ilocos Sur. Read the rest of this entry →

Justice system to prevail in the Sagada murder case

August 23, 2009 in Cordillera

By Wendy Atuban
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The communities of Tulgao, Tinglayan, Kalinga and Sagada, Mt. Province can now rest as they are assured of peace and order at home, by no less than the Mayor Franklin Odsey of the town of Bontoc, Mountain Province.

Fears of a tribal conflict spread between members of the two communities when a reported murder case revealed the parties involved were from Tulgao and Sagada. Mayor Odsey, however assured people in a forum that the Philippine justice system shall prevail over the murder case. Read the rest of this entry →

Busol residents assert land ownership

August 23, 2009 in Baguio City

By WENDY ATUBAN
www.nordis.net

“We are not squatters”

BAGUIO CITY — The embattled residents of the government declared Busol watershed reservation here admitted being hurt by labels referring to them as squatters while they assert the right to hold on to the land their ancestors bequeathed them.

The ancestral land claimants at the Busol watershed who have been issued demolition orders despite having pending applications for ancestral land titles at the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) confessed being disturbed by labels such as “squatters,” “professional squatters,” and “informal settlers” used to refer to them especially by the media. Read the rest of this entry →

Half price for essential medicines:BGH

August 23, 2009 in Baguio City

By NONETTE BENNET
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY – Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center has complied with the Department of Health order to hospitals and pharmacies for half the price on essential medicines since August 15, said OIC- BGHMC Medical Chief Jimmy Cabfit during the BGHMC Advisory Board meeting on August 19.

Medical Social Worker Dolores B. Beniahan reported that some of the 27 beneficiaries of the medicine fund had a monthly per capita income of P986.76 below the United Nations observed $30 minimum income to live decent lives in third world countries. Read the rest of this entry →

Council grills trash head over garbage problem

August 23, 2009 in Baguio City

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Members of the City Council hit one of the heads of the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) with questions over the controversial hauling of garbage that contiously hounds the residents of Baguio.

In the City Council’s regular session on Monday, some councilors expressed that they have the feeling that the CEPMO do not like to use the seven garbage trucks purchased at Subic in Pampanga on July as Engineer Ruben Cervantes of the Technical Working Group asked for another allocation for the hiring of additional trucks from private firms. Read the rest of this entry →

Editorial: Undermining Philippine Sovereignty

August 23, 2009 in editorials

www.nordis.net

Contrary to claims that the continued stay of US troops in the country is beneficial for us, the truth is the presence of foreign troops undermines our sovereignty, and prevents us from resolving our own internal problems peacefully.

While some lawmakers welcome the presence of US troops in the country, they always caution their remarks with the proviso that these troops should not be involved in combat operations.Why this precautionary proviso is explained by the fact that US troops are actually involved in combat operations, and our officialdom knows it, although they always deny or play it down when the fact becomes undeniable. Read the rest of this entry →

From under this hat: How to hide a garbage dump

August 23, 2009 in columns, general

By KATHLEEN OKUBO
www.nordis.net

Last weekend, on assignment, I had the opportunity to visit Cabugao, Ilocos Sur with some colleagues. While being shown around the town and asking questions about the town, I thought that maybe Baguio of the mid 50’s would have been like the Cabugao of today.

For Baguio that time, it did have a central city plan, the one made by Architect Daniel Burnham in 1905 to carry a population of some 20-25 thousand only. Baguio had a town-wide sewerage system wanting repair but working; a garbage disposal system which was composed of well placed garbage bins; a few garbage trucks but well organized collection system; a holding space and a large incinerator at what is still called Sanitary camp. Read the rest of this entry →

Traditional Knowledge: Learning the language of my ancestor

August 23, 2009 in columns

By JUDY Cariño
www.nordis.net

Finally, some city-bred Ibaloi folks are doing what they had previously resolved to do some day: to learn the Ibaloi language.

I have always been a bit shamefaced and sheepish when my relatives would try to start a conversation in Ibaloi, needing to decide quickly what to do. Do I just nod my head and pretend to understand, or be honest and admit that I never learned the language? And when we attend clan reunions, cousins joke each other that we need an interpreter to be able to understand what is going on.

So, we have started our Ibaloi language lessons. Vicky Macay and Auntie Rebecca from Loakan are our teachers. We are learning the Ibaloi of Baguio, which is slightly different from the Ibaloi of Itogon, and other neighboring towns. Our strategy is to have informal conversations in Ibaloi, and to question each other and our teachers on ways to express common ideas and phrases. Each student takes notes, which are reviewed over the week, in preparation for the next lesson. Read the rest of this entry →

Labor Watch: Afford to pay million but denies its obligation

August 23, 2009 in columns

htttp//www.inthepalace.com
(how thick is the pagmumukha-walanghiya sa worldwide)

The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society — more briefly, to find your real job, and do it. — Charlotte Perkins Gilman

(how thick is the pagmumukha//walanghiya sa worldwide)

The Filipinos especially the poor can only get hungrier and angrier after knowing how much President Gloria Arroyo and her cohorts spend for those luxurius dinners abroad. The Filipino workers’ blood pressure shoot up after learning that this administration failed to pay P19.2 billion debt to the Philippine Health Corporation (Philhealth). Read the rest of this entry →