April | 2011 | Northern Dispatch (nordis) Weekly

Weekly Reflections: What kind of students are we?

April 24, 2011 in columns, Featured, opinion

By REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

“And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.” — Mathew 13:23

Last of three parts

Students as Thorny Soil

Furthermore, in yet another way, God’s Word is heard. It sinks into the life of a student or a person who has heard it. That Word means something; its message is living and vital and relevant. But, like some seeds in the Parable, it falls among thorny bushes and vigorous weeds, which choke the plant to prevent healthy growth and harvest. Jesus describes these thorns as worries and riches and pleasures. They are the weeds which so vigorously and quickly choke out God’s Word.

We all have worries: the concerns of family, of health and of the future; the difficulties of coping with the demands and pressures of life; the so many problems affecting the church and society, our OFW’s in Libya trapped in a civil war; our compatriots in New Zealand trapped in the ravage of a devastating earthquake. How easily such worries can take over the center of our lives, choking out God’s Word with all its promises, so that there is no more growth and fruits.

Then, there is the matter of riches: We need money to live; its purchasing power enables us to enjoy many wonderful things in life. But all too subtly we can begin to focus our energies on accumulating wealth.

In our extension class in Tabuk, Kalinga, some of our students said that one of the main reasons why very few young people enter the Christian ministry is because of the very small financial support that pastors received from the church.

Similarly, in the recently concluded seminar-workshop we conducted in Umingan, Pangasinan, at least three former deaconesses testified that they shifted to teaching in the public schools because of the very low salary in the church. Of course, there are also those people who made use of religion to become millionaires or even billionaires.

Riches then become a curse. They can become such an obsession and take up so much of our time and thinking that they choke God’s Word and stifle our joy in our true and eternal treasures in life. The prevalence of graft and corruption in our government as well as church institutions testifies to this fact. As a result, there is no growth or fruit in our Christian life.

Pleasures also can be a problem. We all like to be happy; we all need rest and recreation, and holidays are often necessary. We would like to enjoy ourselves while studying in the Seminary. Sometimes we would like to do here in the Seminary what we cannot do in our church assignment. Sometimes we enjoy our vices, and thus, we are no longer fit to listen and to receive God’s Word through our teachers and mentors.

Jesus’ Parable of the Soil calls us to do some serious self-introspection so that worries, riches and pleasures – natural and good though many of them are – do not crowd out God’s Word and its potential for a good and fruitful ministry.

Student as Fertile Soil

Finally, we can say that Jesus’ Parable of the Soil is a story of wastage. Though the Sower faithfully does his sowing, and though the seeds fall on the ground, many seeds do no bear fruit or bring a good harvest. One could hardly blame the Sower if he became disillusioned and gave up sowing.

But this is precisely the miracle and message of the Parable: Though there is much wastage, the Sower continues to sow because he knows that there is always some fertile soil. Though there are students who quit in their studies, which may be a waste of time, efforts, and resources, still we continue to teach and preach God’s Word; still we continue to equip students for the ministry, because we know for sure that there are always students who are like the fertile soil.

Much of God’s Word falls on infertile and unfruitful soil, where many things work against it and prevent it from being effective. Yet God’s Word continues to be taught and proclaimed because here and there, now and then, God finds fertile soil. Just as seeds in good soil grow up and produce grain, God’s Word that is heard by some is retained in a good and obedient heart and produces the desired fruit.

That’s what fertile soil is: a good and obedient heart. That’s what God wants us to have, and that’s what we need to pray for. We need to have a good and obedient heart, a heart in which there is no deceit, which is genuine, which wants to be right with God, and therefore longs to receive God’s Word of love.

God’s Word must be obeyed. It is not enough to hear it and learn it; we must also do it. Jesus said: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. And James also said: Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. By God’s grace, may we have the courage and persistence to live God’s Word, to put it into practice, and to do what it says. Then there will be fruit-bearing. Slowly but surely, God’s Word will produce the fruits of faith.

Assessing ourselves

And so, how do we assess ourselves after this whole year of listening to God’s Word being taught and proclaimed, equipping ourselves for the ministry. What kind of students are we? What kind of soil are we? Are we the footpath, the rocky soil, the thorny soil, or the fertile soil?

It is our hope and prayer that all of us should aspire to be like the fertile soil, receiving God’s Word and retaining it in our good and obedient heart. And let it grow and bear fruits in our Christian life and ministry. And may God bless us all. Amen. # nordis.net

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King Midas in Benguet

April 24, 2011 in Cordillera, Featured, mining

By KIMBERLIE OLMAYA NGABIT-QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

Have you heard the story of King Midas, the king who because of his greed wished that everything he would touch turn into gold?

Map source: MINC MANAGEMENT DIVISION, SURVEYS SECTIONS, MINES ANG GEOSCIENCES BUREAU-CAR, AUGUST 2010

In the beginning King Midas was so happy he could turn everything in his castle into gold. But when he could not drink or eat because the moment he touched the glass of water and food all turned into gold. He was even more devastated when he turned his beloved daughter into a golden statue. Luckily when the fairy saw that King Midas has truly learned his lesson she gave him a magic pitcher and told him to fetch water from the spring to sprinkle on those that he touched and turned into gold.

Just like in King Midas, many are bedazzled by the radiant yellow glow of gold. Unfortunately not many have realized that there are things far more precious than gold. So the influx of large mining companies in Benguet lured by the high grade gold ore locked in its mountains. In their want to extract more gold they have overmined and unearthed the ill effects of their operations to only destroy sources of the most basic needs for people to sustain life.

The experience of the Benguet people proves that commercial and large scale mining operations adversely affect the environment, the water, earth and air and ultimately threatening the very existence of people.

The Ibalois of Loakan, Baguio City have learned this from the stories of their ancestors.

According to Vicky Macay, an elder and member of ASPULAN, an Ibaloi organization in Baguio, there used to be a river flowing from the present export processing zone that splits at the present airport area. One tributary falls where the Kennon Road is and the other goes towards Kias.

Macay said that due to mining explorations in the early 1900s the river dried up and the community could no longer plant rice because the source of irrigation was gone.

She added that there used to be ricefields where the Baguio airport is right now. She explained that the ricefields were their primary source of food and that cattle raising was their main source of meat and cash back then.

Some decades ago the colonial government then approved a resolution banning mining with in the boundaries of the city but by then the Demonstration mines, Black Mountain and Benguet Exploration was operational in the fringes of Loakan. The Airport and the Philippine Military Academy was also built. The river was diverted, their lands were expropriated without due process. The Ibalois were pushed to the edge. .

Itogon and Mankayan

Indigenous people (IP) of Itogon and Mankayan continue to suffer from the irreversible effects of large scale mining. The Benguet Corporation Incorporated (BCI), Atok Bigwedge (AB) and Itogon-Suyoc Mines (ISM) are all in the town of Itogon and BCInc. has operated since 1903 as a mining company.

According to Vergel Aniceto of the Itogon Inter Barangay Alliance (IIBA), the conventional tunneling method of the operating mining companies hit the water table causing it to subside. He explained that because of mine tunneling the water table drops deeper and finds other outlets depleting the host community’s water supply.

Earlier interviews with mine workers revealed that mine tunnels could be as big as a regular bedroom or a church.

“We are in constant fear of subsidence as our community has been mined out yet mining activities disguised as small scale continue. But we have no where else to go,” he stressed.

At present, small scale mining (SSM) activities exists within the mining claims of the said companies. Most of the SSMs are under contracts with the mining companies. Despite closing down in the late 1990s, the mining claims of these multi national companies remain.

Aniceto revealed that the contract lease scheme started in 2008. He said SSMs sign the contract as mining companies insist that they still own the areas. He added that most of the SSM in the area are commercialized and employ harmful chemicals such as cyanide.

He stressed that Itogon residents are forced to engage in SSM to sustain their family because the soil is no longer fit for agriculture and due to the scarce water supply brought about by destructive mining operations.

He also pointed out that Itogon’s river systems has become acidic due to mine wastes dumped by the mines. He added that the ill effects of mine wastes dumped since the 1900’s in Itogon’s river systems continue to haunt the community even after the BCI, AB and ISM closed down over a decade ago.

He further said conventional underground mine operations also require the cutting down of timber as these are used as posts for the tunnels. He stressed that for over a century of operations these large mining companies have denuded majority of the forest cover of Benguet. He added that by the time these mining companies closed down the forest cover of the province was already devastated.

In the 1980s, after employing the aged timbering mining method, BC employed the open pit mining method at their Antamok Gold Mine Concession that removed whole mountains and entire villages from the land surface to recover the minutest gold content of the land. At present the open pit area is abandoned.

The Balatoc and Acupan Mine Concession had to close shop due to unviable continuation of underground mining for deeper levels reaching below the sea level and due to the drastic fall of gold prices. While holding on to their mining claim over the Ibaloi lands, BC converted their profitable ventures into tourism enclaves, real estate development and contractual SSM activities where the mined ore is solely bought by the company at a low price and the sharing of the produce is favored for BCI.

IIB-A continues to call on all Benguet folk to move as one in addressing the problem on mining. The group calls on all concerned to revert back to the traditional way of extracting and processing gold. At the same time they demand that the mining claims of the three large scale mining companies in Itogon be revoked and that the government return the ownership and management of these land areas back to the IPs.

The said three mining companies including the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMCo) in Mankayan, Benguet were established by the Americans when they took over the country and eventually the mining claims of the Spanish conquistadores in the 1900s. Unlike the other three, LCMCo’s large scale operations continues and it is even expanding.

Mankayan residents and other affected communities downstream the Abra River have reported alarming environmental impacts of the more than 70 years of LCMCo operations. They complained of agricultural and fishing yield, loss of plant life, death of wild domestic animals and various health complaints.

An environmental investigatory mission (EIM) conducted by the Save the Abra River Movement (STARM) in 2002 revealed that the mine waste of LCMCo in its tailings dam 5A contain high levels of cyanide and acids. This was contrary to the company’s claim that they are discharging clean water.

STARM findings also explained a phenomenon affecting all mines whether underground tunneling or open pit mines, the acid mine drainage (AMD). AMD happens when large amount of soil is dug up and exposed to the surface prompting chemical reactions and produce acids. These acids eventually wash into the rivers. The acids then melt chemical in the rocks. These acids kill off plants and fishes in the river.

The group also noted that silt have destroyed ricefields downstream the Abra River. It also found high amounts of total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids (TDS) at the mine’s carbon in pulp (CIP) mill outlet and tailings dam 5A.

According to Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) data, along the 25 kilometer stretch of the Abra River, some 465 hectares of riceland has been washed out. It further pointed out that the high level of TSS and TSD from the CIP mill and dam 5A indicates that the silt in the river comes from LCMCo’s operation.

Water pollution and siltation largely contributed to the deteriorating agricultural yield in downstream communities. Rice farmers in Cervantes, Quirino, Ilocos Sur complained that their ricefields along the riverbank were cemented by silt while their animals get sick and die from drinking from the river.

Aside from polluting the Abra River, LCMCo’s operations also endangers Mankayan folk from massive land movement such as sinking and subsidence.

In August 1998, several houses were destroyed along Aurora St., after the area sunk by more than three meters. Parts of the Mankayan Central School (MCS) collapsed and was buried then.

The same year, five houses, many farms and portions of the Mankayan-Cervantes Road was washed-out after the sinking of about 14 hectares near the catchment basin of Lepanto’s mine tailings dam 5A, CPA records showed.

The next year, the MCS two-storey building collapsed entirely and 50 more houses were destroyed. In the year 2000, ground subsidence which affected more communities including Tupdak, Bulalacao and Sapid. Large ground cracks formed continuously on the Mankayan-Cervantes Road.

Last 2008, a portion of the slaughter house in Barangay Poblacion sunk after a large crack on the ground occurred.

On June 5, 2009, at least 10 meters of land sunk near the premises of St. Joseph Parish and the main grounds of the Mankayan National High School affecting at least 10 houses. The Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-MGB) later declared the sinking area in Mankayan a “danger zone”.

The air is not spared from the LCMCo operations. In the 1980s, residents complained of withering of plants, death of animals and high incidence of respiratory illness due to the copper ore drier exhaust. In 2000 the residents again complained of the same problems due to the Tohking exhaust.

These affected communities have staged protest actions, signed petition papers and lobbied to concerned government agencies and local government units (LGUs) for the stoppage of LCMCo operations but to no avail.

The national government is bent on pursuing its mining revitalization plan despite of the strong opposition of various IP groups and supporters. In line with the government policy of export oriented and import dependent economic strategy, it has again opened up the countries natural resources for extraction and gargantuan profit earning for joint big comprador and multi-national mining corporations at the expense of the IPs.

Unfortunately, in the real world there is no fairy godmother to would provide a magic pitcher to reverse the environmental degradation brought about by the incessant hunger for gold and other minerals. King Midas learned his lesson only after he was famished and lost his daughter.

Aniceto asked, “must we wait for the day when there is no water to drink, no fertile soil to plant on? What kind of environment would the next generation inherit? …There is still hope, all it takes is a unified and concerted action to reclaim the people’s sovereignty over gold.” # nordis.net

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The gravitational gold concentrator

April 24, 2011 in Cordillera, Featured, mining

By LEONARD CABLOY/CDPC
www.nordis.net

The gravitational gold concentrator is the Cordillera Non-Government Organizations’ and Peoples’ Organizations’ alternative to cyanide and mercury gold processing for small-scale mining.

TESTING. Staff of CDPC and KADUAMI test the gravitational gold concentrator. Photo courtesy of CDPC

The Cordillera region of the Philippines is endowed with rich natural resources and one of which is gold.

Prior to the Spanish colonization in the Philippines, indigenous peoples were already engaged in extracting and processing of the gold deposits in their communities to barter for goods with other communities. In the Cordillera in particular, especially those from the province of Benguet, small-scale mining has been a long time source of livelihood aside from agriculture. They barter gold for other goods they need with people from the lowlands like salt, tobacco, etc. They extract and process the gold ore in a very sustainable way through their indigenous knowledge and cultural practices.

Although Spanish colonizers were able to take control of the mining areas in Mankayan, Benguet by expropriating mining lands in 1856 to Spanish corporations that started a copper mining operations, it was only during the American colonial period when large-scale extraction of gold and copper with the use of heavy equipments and hi-technology machines and hazardous chemicals started in the Cordillera, especially in the province of Benguet. The Americans were able to operate freely by enacting several lands and mining laws to dispossessed the Indigenous peoples and deprived them of their ancestral lands.

Since then, despite aggressive operations of large-scale mining companies in the region, indigenous peoples still persist to engage in small-scale mining activities through sustainable and indigenous method at least up to the early 1980s.

However, starting early 1980s to the present, small-scale mining activities in the Cordillera is now a full blown occupation by most indigenous peoples in most part of the Cordillera for both livelihood and profit, and it has gone beyond subsistence and sustainable approach of extraction and processing gold.

Initially, the push for a shift from sustainable to irresponsible extraction and use of chemicals in the processing of gold was attributed to the loss of farmlands due to the operations of large-scale mining and logging especially in the province of Benguet.

Recent developments however show that lack of socio-economic services from the government, pushed the entry of middle men, the control of some government officials over small-scale mining areas for their personal gain.

The lack of information and knowledge among most small-scale miners on the effect of their activities upon the environment, poor implementation of government programs for environment protection and management, and the increasing impact of climate change to agriculture are the reasons for the increasingly wide-scale unregulated small-scale mining activities in all parts of the Cordillera region.

In view of the negative developments in small-scale mining areas in most parts of the Cordillera, and because there are still few small-scale mining areas that still practice sustainable method, the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera network in cooperation with various peoples’ organization under the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance has started in the early 1990s to conceptualize an environmental friendly and chemical-free extraction and processing of gold.

This technology search goes along with the push for small-scale mining controlled by the communities as an alternative to large-scale mining that is controlled by a few elite in the government and by foreign corporations.

Various researches for appropriate technologies; participation to national and international conferences on large-scale and small-scale mining, environmental issues and solutions; a series of consultations among NGOs, POs, Church, academe has been done to finally came up with a concrete program to respond to the environmental issues specific to small-scale mining activities.

The program was called “Clean Gold” because it will not use chemicals to process gold, as well as promote and campaign for responsible extraction of gold in small-scale mining areas.

Part of this program is the development and fabrication of the chemical-free appropriate technology “Gravitational Concentrator”. This will be tried and tested in small-scale areas in the the Cordillera. Naturally if it is successful it will be promoted for use.

After 9 months of testing and development according to the standard set, the gravitational concentrator is now in use at the small-scale community of Ucab, Itogon in the province of Benguet. The plan of replicating the same technology in other SSM areas in the Cordillera has started as well. # nordis.net

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Bakun folk heightens struggle to defend land

April 24, 2011 in Cordillera, Featured, land rights, mining

By ALMA B. SINUMLAG
www.nordis.net

The umili (villagers) of Gambang, in Bakun, Benguet has a rich history of resistance against mining companies – both foreign and local. Presently, their resistance, in defense of their ancestral domain, amid the continuing violations of their rights as indigenous peoples (IP).

FIRM STAND. Gambang folks expressing their firm stand against Royalco mining exploration during the supposed Congressional inquiry in Gambang, Proper, Bakun, Benguet. Photo by Jullian Okubo/nordis.net

Dominga Gaspar, a leader of the municipal wide people’s organization BaKUN Aywanan, retold a legend of how Gambang got its name. A long time ago, there was an old woman cooking swine food in a big pot which the locals call gambang. An American was lost on his way to Lepanto. The American saw the old woman and asked the name of the place. The old woman did not understand what the American was asking. As she assumed that the American was referring to the big pot, she answered gambang.

Gambang is an Ilocano term for copper. Gaspar did not hear any stories explaining the relationship of their barangay’s copper deposit and its name. Since time immemorial, the community had been lived by farming. “It was only before the Japanese regime that traditional small scale mining occured,” Gaspar said.

However, a story told by one of the elders in Gambang that even before the war, they bartered utensils and pots made of copper to other provinces in the Cordillera and nearby lowland areas. They also bartered their products for livestock, like carabaos.

Gaspar also said that Gambang folk fought and stopped encroachment of mining companies, including Lepanto’s plan to expand their mine operation to their village. It was only in the 1960s, she said, that local and foreign mining companies aggressively tried to enter Gambang for mine purposes.

Entry of foreign mining companies

In 2009, a rights group based in Vancouver, Canada, the Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR) initiated a research into the alleged violations to the Indigenous Peoples rights in Gambang.

The said rights group is an organization of Filipinos and Canadians working for the promotion and defense of human rights in the country.

The investigation team was participated in by the Commission on Human Rights – Cordillera Administrative Region (CHR-CAR). In the commission’s report, it confirmed that since 1960s, the town has been a favorite exploration spot among various local and foreign mining companies.

Itogon-Suyoc Mines Inc. (ISMI), made the first attempt to introduce mining activities. However, it was met by the villagers’ concerted opposition. This experience caused the villagers to organized themselves to vigilantly protect their ancestral domain.

Gaspar said Gambang folk organized delegations and trooped to the Benguet Provincial Capitol to seek the help of then Governor Bantas Suanding. In a face to face dialogue, the governor advised them to register their ancestral lands as mineral claims. Only few took his advice to register their mineral claims. Those who registered were bonded to the Boma Mining and Exploration Company (BOMEXCO), Gakian and Casenaba.

But some part of the people’s ancestral domain, a total of 844 hectares, was declared by then Pres.Ferdinand Marcos as a Forest Reserve under Presidential Decree 150 and therefore was excluded for mining purposes.

By the turn of events, an exploration permit by the Bureau of Mines was awarded to BOMEXCO. Through various feasibility studies and exploration work, BOMEXCO found out that the area had a rich copper deposit.

BOMEXCO, in 1995, registered at the MGB-CAR an Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA) which was designated as APSA No. 050. BOMEXCO assigned its mineral rights to Dalton Pacific Resources Inc., an Australian owned mine firm. It consolidated this APSA with an Exploration Permit Application No. 1, MGB-CAR records show.

As the ExPA application is located in indigenous communities, MGB-CAR required Dalton to undergo Free Prior and Informed Consent process with the concerned IPs in Bakun. The said mine firm did not pursue its application instead, it assigned its mineral claims to Oxiana Philippines Inc.

Gaspar, who was one of the opposition to the application of Dalton then told this writer that the mine firm knew that they cannot get the consent of the community because of the overwhelming opposition. “That could be the reason why, Dalton did not pursue its application,” she said.

Oxiana in 2006 complied with the FPIC process. A consultation was then conducted in Gambang that was followed by a referendum on February 16, 2006 in Bagtangan Elementary School and at the Barangay Hall. 454 voted against the application while 45 voted in favor. Thus, the next day, a Certificate of Rejection was executed and submitted to the regional office of the National Comission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

On October 9, 2006 however, NCIP issued new FPIC guidelines. CHR report states, “Accordingly, a new FPIC process was needed to be undertaken under the new auspices of this new FPIC guidelines over the same applied area of Oxiana”. On August 9, 2009, Oxiana informed NCIP that it has changed its name into Royalco Philippines Inc.

Royalco’s divide and rule tactic

The community lead by the BaKUN Aywanan and the Gambang Indigenous Peoples Association and Community Organization (GIPACO) cried foul over Royalco’s division of barangay Gambang into several phases. Gaspar alleged this as a “divide and rule” tactic of the mine firm. “Gapu ta ammu da haan da a maala ti consensus a decision mi, ginudwa da dakami,” (Because they knew that they cannot get our consensus decision, they divided us), she pointed out.

Santos Mero, the Deputy Secretary General of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), regional wide association of peoples organizations said in an interview that the people in Gambang had already gave their decision in the 1st FPIC process. “Apay gamin a kasapulan a paulit-ulit nga i-hold ti FPIC nu madin ngarud ti tao ti proyekto,” he said.

Fausto Maliones, chairperson of the GIPACO iterated in several dialogues and inquiries that the division of Gambang into several phases is contrary to the provisions of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). He and Gaspar believe that they as indigenous peoples in one barangay community should decide as one.

Maliones even revealed that aside from the division into phases, Royalco divided phase II into two clusters and even entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with individual lot owners. “What is now the use of FPIC processes with what they did?,” he asked adding: if the company can enter into that kind of agreement with individuals, then they as IP community has no difference from other non-IP communities.

Moreover, in the two congressional inquiries held, Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño hit the NCIP for the division which he termed “chop-chop FPIC”. It is a grave violation to IP rights, he said.

Meanwhile, Atty Severino Manuel Lumiqued, the Provincial Legal Officer of NCIP-Benguet said the suggestion of dividing the community came from the community itself. This was however belied by BaKUN Aywanan and GIPACO saying that the suggestion did not come from the community as a whole. It was a suggestion from few members of the community who are pro to the exploration application, it added.

Furthermore, CHR report states that securing separate FPIC processes in one IP community like Gambang is inconsistent with the underlying principle of cultural integrity. It has accordingly sowed discord among members of the community. The commission observed that “there is now a gap and enmity among IPs in Gambang brought about by the unnecessary division allowing selfish and individualism to rule and wreck havoc on the cultural integrity”.

Atty. Lyndon Morales of the CHR explained, in a dialogue in Bagtangan Elementary School in 2010, that the IPRA law and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) treated IPs collectively as a community and not as individual member or independent faction within the indigenous community. This was corroborated by an explanation in their report that IPs have unique nature of imbibing and practicing common cultural and customary beliefs, traditions and laws under the spirit of unwavering solidarity.

This divide and rule tactic of the mine firm, stated the CHR, works efficiently to defeat the enshrined human rights of the IPs in barangay Gambang considering their acknowledge vulnerabilities when aggressed separately. “Certainly, this is not what the Constitution and IPRA envision in promoting and protecting the rights of ICCs/IPs,” the CHR report reads.

Violations to the FPIC guidelines

Municipality of Bakun was granted its Certificate of Ancestral Domain. Barangay Gambang is only a parcel of the said domain. In the 2006 FPIC guidelines, it says: “When the area affected covers only a portion of the ancestral domain, only the ICCs/IPs in such portion shall be involved in the FPIC process, or in special cases, whose consent shall be validated”.

This according to CHR report aptly applies to Bakun where only a portion thereof is affected. The report added that it is very significant to note that a single FPIC process shall still be conducted in this portion of the domain.

Accordingly, there is no provision in the IPRA and the FPIC guidelines that allows the division of Royalco’s Bakun concession into five separate phases.

Continuing violations

Despite the CHR findings and recommendations, dialogues and inquiries that exposed irregularities in the FPIC processes, the mine firm continues to claim that all the said processes were done regularly and in full compliance with the 2006 FPIC guidelines. The mining company’s claim is supported by the report of Lumiqued that process did observe the IPRA and the FPIC guidelines.

On April 11 this year, Royalco and Vale showed to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan regular session and insisted that they had not received any report of Royalco’s violation to IP rights. They got their information only from the news articles of various media outfits.

Despite the nullification of Phase III’s Compliance Certificate by the NCIP Central Office through an Enbanc resolution, the said companies insist on the legality of their application in Gambang. Their equipments are ready to be brought to the said phase.

However, their entry or transport of equiptment was block by the community. The company has already filed a motion for reconsideration for the said nullification of their phase III application. They also filed a motion to inhibit NCIP commissioner Zenaida Hamada-Pawid from participating in any field investigation and FPIC processes in Bakun as they alleged that Pawid showed bias infavor of the anti mining exploration group.

In their statement, the company iterated that their exploration project is extremely different from the mining proper. This was however hit by Reps. Teodoro Baguilat Jr and Casiño.

Growing community resistance

Presently, Gambang folk, specially in Phase III, are on guard against the entry of any exploration equipment. Since Royalco entered Gambang, BaKUN-Aywanan fearlessly and tirelessly struggled to defend their ancestral domain. They lobbied their issues up to the congressional level, trooped to the Provincial Capitol twice, and even traveled to Quezon City to forward their grievances.

According to Gaspar, their will to defend their ancestral land from mining plunder keeps them fighting. “Makapabannog ngem kasapulan nga aramiden tapno haan a madadael ti pangkabiagan mi ken para iti annak mi,” (It is really tiring but we have to keep fighting so that our source of livelihood will not be destroyed and for the sake of the future generations), she said in an interview.

On the other hand, CPA called the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Benguet to enact a pro-people environment code. “It is time that the province issue a moratorium on the entry of large scale scale mining for the province to recover from environment devastation brought by more than a century of mining plunder,” it said. # nordis.net

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Waste management is a mass movement

April 24, 2011 in Baguio City, Featured

By ADELA WAYAS
www.nordis.net

Long time ago, this city was green clean, with untainted roads and streets, and fresh air to breathe. But then the garbage piled up and remains a constant problem of Baguio that until now is unresolved.

BAGUIO’S DUMPSITE. The once closed Baguio City dumpsite is again open for all kinds of garbage. Despite several extensions the garbage dump is still in use and once more exuding with the unmistakeable stink. Photo by Adela Deyaen Wayas/nordis.net

This city of Pines was planned for about 25,000 people; but more and more people kept coming in this city without control or added service. Aggressive development and human activities have contributed to forming a mountain of garbage dumped in Irisan. According to the present mayor, the city is collecting a total of 160 tons of waste per day.

During the time of then Mayor Braulio Yaranon, piles of waste were seen along the city streets and roads. It became an eyesore as well as an irritant because of the foul smell.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources passed an ultimatum, at the time of former Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr, to all local government units all over the country to stop the operations of their dump sites. The garbage problem of the city became worse. Wastes were not totally collected in all areas of the city. The people were complaining of the stinky roadsides where the wastes were placed for collection.

Because of the closure of the Irisan dump site, the city has to look for another landfill area. Many areas have been cited as possible landfills but the locales did not allow a garbage dump in their communnity. The city spent millions hauling the city waste and dumping it at Capas, Tarlac.

Recently, the city government bought two Environmental Recovery System (ERS) machines, P64 million each, from Pro Tech company. The machines came all the way from Japan. Some city officials and representatives were sent to Malabon and Japan to investigate the actual process of the machine.

According to Mayor Mauricio Domogan, the ERS machines could solve the garbage problem of the city and could even give profit by means of the fertilizer produce being processed by the machine. But as of press time, one of the ERS machines is not operational. Domogan said that a part of the motor of the machine was damaged and has to get replacement.

Stinky and dangerous

The dump site was closed because of the barricade of the people in Irisan. The dump site for others is their livelihood but the health of the many children, men and women at the area is at risk.

“Nu kalkalkalen da iti basura, rumwar iti naangot ket napudot iti sang-aw na,” said Janet Dalio, a resident beside the dump site. She shared that her family is experiencing stomach aches and breathing problems because of the foul smell coming from the dump site. In our 20 years of residency here, she added, the smell is becoming worse especially when it is hot.

Janet related their story when they joined the barricade. She said that only a few of them joined the barricade because others do not like to loose their work. It has been victorious that time when we were able to stop the bringing in of waste in the area, she added.

Disaster waiting to happen

She also fears that the retaining wall would break under the piling weight of garbage and would cover the houses below the dump site. She said that during rainy days they are always in fear that the an avalanche of waste would bury their houses. During the typhoon Pepeng, she said the retaining wall cracked.

Shiela Mae Untalan, 17, said the plastics from the dump site are blown by the wind uphill which adds to the litter scattered on the roadside. We always have to keep cleaning our surrounding, she said. Shiela added that even their laundered clothes smell like garbage.

The “pickers” and the “sorters” at the dump site do not seem to realize the risk in their jobs. Their children are also exposed to the workplace as they tag along to carry the recyclable waste that their mother or father has sorted and bring it to the junk shop nearby.

Since the ERS machines were stationed in the area, the city has started dumping garbage again. During a press conferences and other media briefings, City mayor Domogan said that the two ERS machines can convert biodegradable waste to high grade fertilizer. The capacity of the two machines is 24 tons each only of biodegradeable waste processed per day, far from the 160 tons of waste that the city is collecting per day of which 66% is biodegradeable.

Who generates more waste?

In a traditional knowledge journal (www.tk-network.blogspot.com), shows that “indigenous migrants to Baguio City are bearers of traditional knowledge and cultures with extremely light ecological footprints… before recycling became the rage, indigenous peoples had mastered the art of zero waste management, making optimum use of resources at hand.”

This was supported by Gerry Cacho of the Organi-sasyon dagiti Nakurapay nga Umili ti Syudad (ORNUS) who said that the rural and urban poor people are the ones accused by the local government as generating the garbage problem. She however says that these people are the ones helping in mitigating the problem.

She cited that the poor are the one scavenging even at night to collect recyclables. They are the ones who reuse these waste from big or small establishments. They convert the trash into useful products.

Plastics wrappers from junk food are converted by individuals and cooperatives into wallets, bags and decorations. News papers and magazines are used to make baskets and beads.

Cacho said that the poor should not be blamed to be aggravating the garbage problem. Small hog growers collect the “ubbak” or the vegetable cleanings from the trading post and market, and left-overs from restaurants, hotels and food chains, she added.

Hog manure is also utilized to produce biogas. The journal explained that “biogas technology, also known as anaerobic digestion, turns waste matter into energy. All kinds of organic wastes, including animal manure and garden wastes, are placed into a digester. There, the wastes are decomposed by bacteria, and produce methane gas that is channeled for fuel.”

“The multiple benefits of biogas technology include: savings on cooking fuel, turning refuse into resource, sanitation measure for backyard piggery, elimination of bad odors and pollution generated from raising animals, better relations with neighbors, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”

“The government should be enlightened and should support these kind of activities of the poor in alleviating the garbage problem. We have a very good waste management system but the city does not recognize it nor support these little ways,” she added.

A man residing near the dumpsite, who requested anonymity, said government should invest towards lessening the solid waste in the city. He said that there are more solid waste than biodegradable waste. “Konti lang naman ang biodegradable hindi katulad ng solid waste na karamihan ay nanggagaling sa mga malls at grocery stores,” he said. According to him, most of the dumped waste are plastics from malls and toxic materials from Texas Instrument and Moog Controls Corporation.

It seems that big companies in the city do have their own garbage mechanisms to help in waste management. These business establishments should stop hauling their waste here, he said. “The government’s action to re-open the dump site is a mistake.” He said that the retaining wall is not a guarantee that the houses are secured from the possible slide.

Political Will, the power of the people

Janet Dalio said the government should stop hauling garbage at the dump site. She is hopeful that the government would keep their promise and look for an alternate landfill area. She said the people of Irisan should be united against the dumpsite.

The problem of garbage is not just the problem of the people in Irisan. Everyone is responsible for alleviating it.

Cacho said the government should support the solution of the people.

According to her the millions of pesos that the city is spending for garbage is also a waste of money and effort. She said if the traditional knowledge is recognized and practiced by the people, the city would go back to being greener and being a healthy city.

A clean and healthy environment is what we can pass on to our children. The call to end the problem is very simple said Cacho “waste management is a mass movement and must be given attention to be organized as such.” # nordis.net

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Persistence of indigenous practices, laws on forest management

April 24, 2011 in Cordillera, Featured

By ED MP LAIGO
www.nordis.net

“While the present generation has the right to land and natural resources, it must use only what it needs so that it has something to entrust to the next generation.” This is one of the principles that the upland Tingguian tribes of Abra uphold in their practice of forest management.

Within the ancestral domain, the forestlands, rivers, hunting grounds and the natural resources are communally owned by the tribe. Regulation of these communally owned lands have been practiced for ages to ensure the balance of the eco-system and the sustainability of its natural resources.

The forests are of different species of trees, bamboos and shrubs. These include different kinds of soft and hard wood like narra, pine trees, white lauan (apnet); bamboos and rattan; fruit trees (wild lomboy, guava, citrus and mango) and the recently introduced varieties like ipil-ipil, madre de cacao, and other fruit bearing trees. These are used for lumber in constructing houses and timber for the small scale mines, for consumption, as cash crop, for fertilizer (ipil-ipil, wild sunflower, kakawate and, madre de cacao) and for fuel. Other trees and shrubs are also used as shade, fences, and boundary markers.

Wild animals that thrive in these forests include: wild boar, deer, monkeys, different species of birds like eagles,chicken and owls, wild rats, snakes and iguanas, honey bees and others flourish. Hunting is a yearly activity. Meat produced through hunting is used for home consumption and as a commodity. Live animals caught are raised and taken cared off then sold or eaten. Honey gathered are mainly sold and horns of deers and bones of boars or eagles are used as decorations, bartered or sold.

The forests have been the source of traditional herbal medicines and more herbs are being discovered for this purpose. Through the facilitation of the Community Health Workers trained by the Community Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region (CHESTCORE), herbal plants have been nurtured and studied for herbal medicinal production and extensive use.

The forestland ensures the sustainability of the watershed area. Springs and the river system provide abundant potable water and irrigation for rice fields. Fishes, crabs, crustaceans and molasses are readily available while running water is extensively used for small scale mineral production.

The land provides our life needs, that we have to nurture.

Traditional cooperative practices

The people are stewards of the Land and everyone shares the bounty it provides. To survive and enjoy the benefits, the Tingguians of upland Abra practice different forms of cooperative endeavors. Free labor for different undertakings are quite common for all tribes.

Alluyon refers to a system and practice of mutual cooperation based on group labor exchange. However there are instances wherein an individual would join without expecting any reward or pay.

Pango refers to cooperative work, similar to alluyon, it also requires labor exchange which usually transpires during house building, irrigiation canals repair, construction of rice granaries, stone walls or development of rice puddies and fishponds.

Piknik is a method of seeking help or assistance for an immediate need from neighbors, relatives and other members of the community. Labor is rendered free as long as the concerned individual or host family provides drinks and would butcher animals for lunch. It is practiced for hauling lumber for house construction, hauling of palay and baggage and bringing the sick to the municipal health unit or to the passenger embarcation point.

In Malibcong, Abra, a traditional practice of equally sharing water for irrigation of rice fields is widely practiced. This is called Lampisa. This traditional practice has ingrained with the people a sense of cooperation, hard work, discipline and upliftment for mutual benefit and food self-sufficiency.

Through these practices, the people have developed the spirit of tribal or community responsibility for a comprehensive management of the Ancestral Domain. To protect the forest and it’s natural resources, they devised the Lapat system while implementing the anti-lasag that maintains and ensures the sustainability of wild animals.

Lapat and anti-lasag concepts of Upland Abra

The Lapat is a traditional system of regulating the use of the forestland among the Tingguian tribes. It is guided by customary laws, directing all tribe members ( barangay(s) or inter community ) to refrain from cutting trees from the forest, gathering of endangered plants, fruits or herbs or produce, hunting wild animals (specifically termed lasag) and fishing in the river. Appropriate penalties are meted to any violator by the elders council of the tribe or community.

A research of Philip Tinggonong states, “the lapat, while common to almost all of the mountain tribes of Abra, is varied in scope and application. In some areas, it covers all types of timber and non-timber species, including wild life. In others, only premium species of timber and some species of flora and fauna are covered. Still in other areas, even fishing in the river at a given period is prohibited.”

In Ududyaw Sallapadan, a forest in the southern part of the community is considered a protected area by the populace and is declared a lapat area, or where the rules and regulations of the lapat are imposed. Although other areas are also considered lapat areas, the rules and regulations are loosely imposed.

The lapat system of forest management in the past was strictly imposed on all the forest land of the barangay and it even covers the management of the river systems. It regulates the gathering of forest and riverine products and imposes penalties on violators. But now-a-days, the only forest product that is covered by the lapat is the gathering of rattan, locally termed uwoy at the lapat area.

For the months of March, June and July are allowable times for gathering rattan to be used for house, rice granary (agamang) and foot bridge repairs. The gathering of rattan shoots which is for consumption is strictly prohibited.

For a time after the 1990 earthquake, cutting narra trees was prohibited. All downed narra trees were allowed to be cut for construction purposes and not to be sold out of the tribal area. Though there were times there was a proliferation of illegal sale to the capital town.

Gathering of honey is regulated and follows strict guidelines for identifying ownership, caring and technique for harvesting to ensure the honey bees are not wiped out.

The lapat also penalizes burning of the forest and the use of electrically powered devices to catch fish. The use of tuba, a tree with toxic elements, is also banned to gather fish from the river or the rice fields.

The elders in Lacub also say that the lapat system before the entry of the Cellophil Resources Corporation, a logging concession during the martial years, was strictly enforced. Depletion of the forest due to wanton logging has affected the peoples resolve to protect their forest.

Gathering bamboo is allowed only during the months of September to December since the months of January to August is the growth period for bamboos. In cutting trees for construction purposes, one is allowed to do so seven days before and after the full moon.

During this time, planting or harvesting of food crops is prohibited. It has been observed that the plants are fragile or anemic and are susceptible to insect or pest infestation. Seeds gathered and stored have rotted or molded in a short span of time.

Factors that have caused depletion of the forest are : the mushrooming of small scale gold mining operations in Lacub that supplies the pocket communities for mine timber, camp construction and fuel; pasture land or grassland fires, erosion of the soil due to forest depletion or natural causes and gathering of products for cash.

The depleted forest products can be pictured by the distance the people take to gather them. It takes a day hike to reach the forest where the people can gather rattan, honey and wood for construction (narra and other hard wood) while it takes half a day to find bamboo.

Along the boundary of Lacub with Tineg and Malibcong municipalities, the anti-lasag practice is being sustained by the people. Though the traditional way of hunting (traps with stakes, lasso, noose and rattan rope) is still practiced, the use of guns and blasting fodder is predominant. This has caused undue depletion for even the young wild animals. Open season for hunting was set for the months of September to February. These are the months when the wild animals are robust while the other months are the time for them to forage for food and nurture their young ones. But this practice needed a more dynamic and progressive approach.

The lapat area bounding Sap-al and Talipugo of Barangay Buneg and the Barangay of Mataragan of Malibcong within the Central Cordillera Range had practiced the anti-lasag lapat area where they decided to prohibit hunting for a two year period for the wild animals to thrive. After this period was a regulated hunting period of 3 months for the coming year.

Strict prohibition of setting up blasting fodders and gun traps is to be enforced. This would be duplicated the next years so as to sustain the lapat practice through the anti-lasag concept. This has been accomplished for a two cycle period but has been abruptly affected by incessant bombing and military operations in the area.

As of now, the people’s organizations are ensuring community meetings while elders are reminding and advising the people on the current practice of the lapat while the barangay officials are fully supporting this endeavour.

The Lapat must survive

For the IPs, land is life.

For a more lasting and enduring protection and development of the eco-system, the lapat should be developed and strengthened. This is part of the over-all campaign to ensure the comprehensive protection and development, utilization and sustainability of the Ancestral Homeland. # nordis.net

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Burburtia Krokis: April 24, 2011

April 24, 2011 in Featured

Ni ART B. BELISARIO
GNU-GPL copy left 2002-2011
(http://www.gnu.org)

ACROSS
1 Gumawa (Ilok)
8 Halik (Ilok)
11 Malapad (Ilok)
16 Mabundok na bayan sa La Union
17 Talo (Ilok)
18 Bayan sa dulong-hilagang Cagayan
19 Humingal (Ilok)
20 Larawan (Eng)
21 Instrumentong pang-perkusyon (Sp)
22 Sa Bibliya, toreng itinayo ng mga apo ni Noah
24 Edad (Eng)
26 Pamilya ng mga hari’t reyna ng Britanya
27 Bakod (Ilok)
28 Hayaan (Eng)
30 Kahulugan ng simbolong “@”
31 Jet __: Tsinong aktor na sikat sa martial arts
33 Hadlang, bara (Ilok)
34 Komon na eksklamasyon sa mga wikang Pilipino
35 Inis (Ilok)
37 Bayan sa Pangasinan
39 Itlog ng lisa (Eng)
41 Bawasan (Eng)
44 Hindi tama (Tag)
45 Commanding officer (abbrev)
46 Ekspresyon ng pagkabigla o pagtataka (Tag)
49 Balahibo ng butil (Eng)
50 Tinta (Eng)
52 Katapat ng lalaki (Ilok)
55 Maggulay (Ilok)
58 Kamay (Ilok)
60 Mga idolo (Eng)
61 Gaano kahalaga, sa pera (Tag)
62 Sila (Ilok)
64 ___, two, three…
65 Teritoryong mahirap sakahin o panirahan (Eng)
66 Katad, pinatuyong balat ng hayop (Ilok)
68 Haring Araw (Eng)
69 Unit ng energy
71 Pamahid ng dumi sa puwit (Ilok)
72 Great Britain (ISO abbrev)
74 Ginto (Eng)
75 Dangliw, Hibiscus tiliaceus: klase ng puno (Ilok, Tag)
79 Komon na pangalang Muslim
81 Isang kislap sa radar screen (Eng)
82 Pangatlong planeta mula sa Araw (Eng)
83 Bansang Namibia (ISO abbrev)
85 James ____: Popular na secret agent
87 __-__: sakit sa balat
88 Saudi Arabia (ISO abbrev)
90 Parrot sa New Zealand
91 Paghugas ng mga damit (Pil Sp)
93 Mga rosas (Eng)
95 Tawag sa mas bata (Ilok)
97 Mga transaksyon (Eng)
98 Sa parehong sandali (Ilok)
100 Taas (Ilok)
101 Tila-daga na hayop ng Australia
102 Ulyanin, hukluban (Eng)
103 Lady ____: Popular na mang-aawit sa Amerika
104 Asin mula sa bromic acid (Eng)
105 Matalas na tagaytay ng bundok (Eng)
106 Kumupas, maglaho (Eng)
107 Pamatay na suntok (Eng)

DOWN
1 Maigsi (Ilok)
2 Papasyal kung saan-saan (Tag)
3 Magtabi, magkatabi (Ilok)
4 Naghari (Eng)
5 Hingal (Ilok)
6 Shortcut ng ‘militar’
7 Baligtad ng Out
8 Balikat (Ilok)
9 Sipag (Ilok)
10 Kayod sa kabuhayan (Eng)
11 Tambang (Ilok)
12 Yunit ng pananalapi sa Turkey
13 Lagyan ng bakod (Ilok)
14 Ideal na katangian ng buhay-nayon (Eng)
15 Magsuot ng alahas sa tenga (Ilok)
17 Katuwang ni Ina
18 Klase ng radio broadcast modulation na hindi FM
23 Mister, sa wikang German
25 Bayan sa Pangasinan
28 Swerte (Eng)
29 Hinlalaki sa paa (Eng)
32 Katuwang ni Amang
35 Southeast (Eng abbrev)
36 Amoy-sunog (Ilok)
38 Kabalat, kauri (Eng)
40 Gilid ng bunganga (Tag)
42 Tupa ng Persia
43 Sumabit sa mga buhol (Eng)
47 Suot (Ilok)
48 Dampa, maliit na bahay (Ilok)
51 Umakyat (Ilok)
53 Inuming hawig sa serbesa (Eng)
54 Iceland (ISO abbrev)
55 Cake na natimplahan ng almonds (Eng)
56 Panduro sa mga baka (Eng)
57 Wakas, katapusan (Eng)
58 ___, dalawa, tatlo…
59 Aral (Ilok)
62 __ Duce: Tawag sa diktador na si Mussolini
63 Bayan sa Benguet
65 Tatak-selyado ng mga dekreto ng Santo Papa
67 Magyakapan (Ilok)
68 Humagulhol (Eng)
70 Hindi matanda (Tag)
73 Nakakahiyang palpak (Eng)
76 Dumi (Pang)
77 Gumawa ng serbesa (Eng)
78 Bansang Ghana (ISO abbrev)
80 Sira-ulo (Eng)
83 Natalo (Ilok)
84 Tunawin hanggang sa matanggal (Eng)
86 Hayaang malaglag o mawala (Eng)
88 Walis (Ilok)
89 Kasabihan (Eng)
91 Sa mathematics, isang intermedyang theorem
92 Bulaklak na panghardin (Eng)
94 Murang benta (Eng)
96 Ngayon (Ilok var)
97 Madilim na kapalaran (Eng)
99 Probinsya sa CL na sinalanta ni Palparan (abbrev)
100 Ahensya ng butil bago naging NFA (abbrev)
101 Tabingi (Eng)
104 Ekspresyon na patanong (Tag)

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The pagburnayan in Vigan

April 24, 2011 in Featured, Ilocos, the arts

By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net

VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur — The visit to the natural wonders and historical sites of the Ilocandia is not complete without going to this city’s pagburnayan, where various jars and other pottery products, which come from various sizes, shapes and designs, attract the visitors.

STUDNET AND SON. Eduardo Go, the son of the national artist Fidel Go, demonstrates the making of burnay (jar) to students of Easter College. Photo by Arthur L. Allad-iw/nordis.net

Whether arranged or by chance, a chat with the potter-owner would also reveal the rich history of the decade old industry.

After Eduardo Go, 40, demonstrated the burnay or jar making – which wowed the visitors, I cornered him for an interview. He revealed the rich history of burnay-making in this city’s pagburnayan, and how the business thrived up to the present period.

Asked about the soil materials they used in the burnay-making, he said in Ilocano: “Amin a klase ti daga ket mabalin a materyales para iti panag-aramid iti burnay, pwera lang ti darat” (All kinds of soil can be used as materials in pottery making, except sand).

He then explained that a carabao is made to step on the (soil) materials to crush and refine it. Still with the carabao, they mix the soil and water it to come up with clay. The clay is wrapped with plastic to preserve it for a month, Go explained.

Through the use of a manual potter’s wheel, a burnay is shapped by a potter’s hand. How artistic the burnay produced depends on the potter’s skills, he explained in Ilocano. The products are then hardened when baked inside a brick and clay ground kiln at a very hot temperature.

We can make 100 jars (even with various designs) and scrape 400 to 500 (4″ x 5″) salt beds daily, said Go adding that their produce was enough to cover orders from their customers. Though he pointed out that the walk-in tourists were their best customers. “The small jar items are sold fast to customers as their remembrance and pasalubong (gift) to their friends and relatives.”

Our burnay-making has also experienced a period where we thought it was no longer viable, shared Go whose management of their Rubby’s Pottery was passed on to him by his award winning father. “But the Department of Trade and Industry helped us on the viability of the business,” he said. Now they are doing fine as they supply orders from hotels, malls, and other institutions in the country.

History of burnay-making

While at the height of our conversation, his father, Fidel Go, 70, arrived. As it was the time for our bus to leave for our next destination, I requested our Ilocana guide for few minutes to interview the older Go.

Fidel Go traced their burnay-making to 1922 when his father established it after he married his mother who was a native of Vigan. From a family of businessman, his father arrived from China, and was a known producer of jars in the ancient time.

In the 1970s, he inherited the business from his father with a meager amount to start with. With strong determination, he was able to stabilize their business which is popularly known in Vigan City as the Rubby’s Pottery. From their business income, he was able to buy vehicles to deliver their wares and pay wages to sustain a number of workers, enough to produce jars based on the market demands.

National artist award

It was from sustaining the craft of burnay-making that the late Pres. Corazon Aquino recognized the role of Fidel Go in the pottery industry.

In 1990, the National Commision on Culture and Arts (NCCA) recognized and awarded him the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan Award, a recognition which inspired him to encourage his children to continue their burnay-making industry.

As my interview ended, I shook hands with him, had a picture taken with me, and bade goodbye to the awarded national artist. My visit to the Vigan City’s pagburnayan not only enriched my personal knowledge on the history of the burnay-making industry. I fortunately met personally the man behind this industry. And it is a history that I will surely treasure. # nordis.net

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Makan a la Pinoy: Crepes

April 24, 2011 in Featured, food

Ni BRENDA S. DACPANO
www.nordis.net

Ti crepe ket popular idiay France. Maysa a tipo ti pancake/hotcake a naingpis. Manipud iti Latin a crispa wenno “curled.”Idiay Sweden maawagan daytoy ti pannkaka, pannenkoeken kadagiti Dutch ken pannekoek idiay Africa.

Photo by Brenda S. Dacpano/nordis.net

Arina, itlog, gatas, butter, danum ken sangapirit nga asin ti ramen daytoy. Kadawyan a maikkan ti palaman a prutas a presko wenno sinam-it no kanen a kas dessert ken mapalamanan ti karne, natnateng wenno itlog no kanen a kas main course.

Ramen:

1 tasa nga arina, all-purpose
2 nga itlog
½ tasa a danum
½ tasa a gatas
Sangapirit nga asin
2 kutsara a butter, narunaw

Preparasyon:

1. Iti dakkel a malukong, paglaoken ti arina ken itlog. In-inut nga ilaok ti gatas ken danum. Saan a kiwaren a nabayag ti battertapno saan a natangken ti batterno maluto.

2. Ipapudot ti pariok wenno not-stick paniti kalalaingan na a pudot. Ibukbok ditoy ti ¼ tasa a batter. Ipasikig ti pariok santo ipatayyek tapno naingpis ti batter.

3. Iluto ti batteriti agarup maysa minutos iti agsumbangir wenno agingga ag-brownbassit.

4. Idasar a napudot. Mabalin a palamanan ti saba ken naluom a mangga a naiwa iti naingpis. Ikkan ti all-purpose creamken/wenno jam. # makan.nordis@gmail.com

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No job plans for new graduates

April 17, 2011 in employment, Featured, national

By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The estimated 400,000 fresh graduates have a bleak future looking for employment as the administration of Pres. Benigno Aquino III has no substantial job plans for them.

Kabataan Rep. Raymond Mong Palatino pointed out that the career orientation and employment coaching seminars being undertaken by the Aquino administration, through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), would not suffice at addressing the growing need for quality employment of the new graduates and the ballooning number of unemployed Filipinos.

In the Cordillera, Anakbayan said that the career orientations and seminars are band aid solutions to the absence of government substantial program to the employment issue. These DOLE programs only cater to the needs of the imperialist countries on jobs such as nursing, call center, computer technicians, among others. The government does not focus on producing jobs that would serve the needs of the country, says Anakabayan spokesperson Tracy Dumalo.

Dumalo challenged the Aquino administration not to push fresh graduates into taking jobs that are not fitted to their degrees. “Foreign jobs are given high priority (by the government), but this should not be the option for Filipinos as their curity in other countries are always threatened,” she said.

From the estimated data, there were 14,492 college graduates from the various tertiary education in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), according to the regional office of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd-CAR).

Most of these graduates have the degrees in health related courses followed by the hotel and restaurant management, a staff said in an interview.

“More than seminars, what President Aquino should ensure is the availability of quality jobs for our graduates. No amount of coaching would be useful if majority of our graduates won’t have jobs in the end. There is an urgent need for President Aquino to be more committed in generating jobs,” Palatino said.

“I urge President Aquino to improve its job plan for our graduates and unveil this plan to the public,” Palatino said.

Aside from the unemployment problem, contractualization and labor importation are among the policies that the new administration has not addressed substantially.

Unemployed, underemployed

Palatino cited official figures that there around 2.8 million unemployed Filipinos where half of which are aged 15-24 years old while a third are 25 to 34 years old

“The talents and skills of our youth will only go to waste if decent work is not provided to them,” said Platino. He added that “compounding the problem of unemployment is the increase in part-time or contractual work especially after the explosion of the global economic crisis in 2008.”

He cited DOLE data where the average number of underemployed persons with less than 40 hours of work per week has increased from 11.9 million in 2008 to 12.9 million in 2009. Of the 12.9 million, as much as 4.6 million even work for less than 20 hours per week.

“More and more jobseekers are given no choice but to accept underemployment in the form of part-time or contractual work. It is an issue as urgent as unemployment for it points to the quality of available work in the country,” added Palatino.

He pointed out that under contractual labor, workers are deprived of basic workers rights like inability to demand for higher pay or job security unless they want to be replaced immediately.

Inherited labor export

Palatino also lamented that President Aquino has yet to break away from the ineffective labor policies of the Arroyo government’s aggressive labor export policy.

“Forced migration is being presented by the Aquino administration as the solution to our labor problem when in fact it is a labor problem. It can never be a sound solution to unemployment. It is the very lives of our OFWs that are put at risk by forced migration. The recent death of three OFWs in China add to the tragic story of migrant labor, made even more tragic by the administration’s tight clinging to labor export,” Palatino said.

Palatino said that the solution to unemployment is for the Aquino government to adopt a policy for national industrialization which shall not only generate jobs but also national development.

“The country’s backward and foreign-dominated economy cannot be transformed through labor export and the presence of more foreign corporations. We have to develop our own industries created through the untapped potential and strength of our labor force,” Palatino said. # nordis.net

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Socio-econ agenda includes IP concerns

April 17, 2011 in Featured, national

By EMPL
www.nordis.net

Baguio City — In an interview, Rafael Baylosis, member of the NDFP Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and Economic Reforms (RWCSER) said the upcoming consultations with the people of the Cordillera during the celebration of the 27th Cordillera Day in Lacub, Abra will further enrich the draft of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER).

The draft will be negotiated on between the Government of the Republic of Philippines panel (GPh) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

“The issues concerning the Indigenous Peoples of the country have to be clearly defined and stated in the CASER to ensure their right to Ancestral Lands, right to Self-determination and other specific demands would be forwarded and acted upon,” Baylosis elaborated.

On the other hand, Beverly Longid, president of Katribu Party list iterated, “the indigenous peoples of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao including the Lumads have persistently held on to their identity and their ancestral homeland even in the face of development aggression, militarization, eviction and discrimination. We need positive steps to address our concerns and we will forward our proposals during this peace consultation.”

Ednar Dayanghirang, a mandaya native from Davao Oriental and a member of the GPh peace panel, confirmed his attendance to the Cordillera Day consultation.

NDF CASER proposal

Randall Echanis explained, “In the CASER draft of the NDFP, the huge task of addressing the root causes of the armed conflict begins by identifying the social forces, institutions, and their processes that have hampered our country’s progress and development and kept it backward in economic and social terms.”

He said, “the NDFP CASER draft identifies two social virtues as its core principles in addressing the roots of the armed conflict: One is upholding of our economic sovereignty and independence. The other virtue is social justice. This virtue shall guide us toward implementing a thoroughgoing redistribution of our social wealth in order to do away with the grossly iniquitous social and economic relations that bind our people to a life of exploitation, poverty, and extreme want.”

“With these two virtues as core principles, the NDFP CASER next draws the two main programs which are crucial to addressing the roots of the armed conflict. These are genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization,” he concluded

Baylosis also said the NDFP panel has been developing and incorporating the urgent and basic social and economic reforms in their draft CASER even after the past Arroyo Regime unilaterally ended the peace negotiations in 2004. They have redrafted the two sections of the working draft which are “Economic Sovereignty and National Patrimony” and “Agrarian Reform and Agricultural development.”

“Before the breakdown of the peace talks, both RWCs of the NDFP and GPh had been able to take up and more or less agree on the text of two sections of the working draft: the Preamble and the Declaration of Principles.”

Meanwhile, Windel Bolinget, CPA Chairman said they are also drafting proposals specific to the Cordillera peoples demands, aspirations and recommendations to be submitted to the two panels on April 27 consultation. # nordis.net

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Talubin-Callacad Road fully paved by 2016

April 17, 2011 in Cordillera, Featured, public works

By MICHAEL UMAMING
www.nordis.net

BONTOC, Mountain Province — If targets were achieved now, then the people of Paracelis need not go around crossing three provinces before reaching this capital town to transact business.

During the Regional Development Council (RDC) meeting here in April 6, 2011, Regional Director Edilberto Carabbacan of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said that by 2016, the Talubin-Barlig-Natonin-Paracelis-Callacad Road should be fully paved under the 2012-2016 DPWH Multi-Year Target Plan.

The road is classified as Secondary National Road with a total length of 111.8 kilometers. It is in bad shape with only 18% or 20 kilometers paved along the town centers of Barlig, Natonin and Paracelis, Barangay Chatol in Barlig and Barangay Saliok in Natonin.

The road is impassable during the rainy season but even during the dry season, some commuters prefer to pass via Ifugao (municipalities of Potia and Aguinaldo), Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao (municipalities of Lamut, Lagawe, and Banaue) and finally Bontoc.

Carabbacan also said that in 2010, the DPWH released an amount of P169,351 million to pave a 9 kilometer road along intermittent sections. The project is now 96% complete with only drainage and slope protection construction being done.

Another P444,153 million is programmed for 2012 to pave a 19 kilometer road section.

Meanwhile, DPWH also reported that requirements for the conversion of the Sagada-Besao Road into a National Road had been accomplished and submitted to DPWH Central Office.

An RDC resolution was passed extending the road stretch to Quirino, Ilocos Sur and Tubo, Abra. As a requirement to the conversion of the provincial road to a national road, it must connect two regions or it must lead to significant tourist destinations or historical sites.

In April 2009 DPWH Department Order No. 20, declared the Dantay-Sagada Provincial Road (Rev. John Staunton Provincial Road) a National Road by virtue of its being a tourist destination.

The conversion of local roads into national roads shifts the responsibility of road maintenance and improvement to the DPWH which has enough funds and logistics to do so. # nordis.net

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Health workers vulnerable to harassment

April 17, 2011 in Cordillera, human rights

By ADELA DEYAEN WAYAS
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Even health workers and volunteers are vulnerable to state harassment. The cases of the Morong 43 and the Cordillera health workers are evidenceof the continuing impunity of government in the country said Dr. Erlinda Palaganas.

Palaganas claimed that the safety of the health workers and volunteers was not guaranteed in the past regimes up to now.

In the forum on “stop harassment of Cordillera health workers” held by the Community Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region (CHESTCORE) on April 14, testimonies from health workers were shared.

Rosalinda Suyam, Networking and Advocacy desk coordinator of CHESTCORE, claimed she was a victim of harassment since 2007 in Gawaan, Balbala, Kalinga. According to her,, she and her companions were interrogated by the elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and they were accused of being members of the New People’s Army (NPA) despite the official permits and documents they had on their activity.

Milagros Ao-wat, a staff member of CHESTCORE received death threats through her cellular phone. She said she was traumatized when she received these text messages.

Also in the forum were some members of the Morong 43. Ma Teresa Quinawayan and Merry Mae Clamor attested to the realities of harrasment and human rights violations of their experience in Camp Capinpin in Rizal in the hands of the military men.

Palaganas said all of these only proves that the violators of the human rights are those who are in power.

Why health workers

Palaganas explained that the presence of the health workers and volunteers to the communities is because the health services of the government is not enough and does not reach far flung areas. She said there are health workers and volunteers in the communities because of their commitment to help, serve and educate the people of their right to health.

“The health situation reflects the widespread poverty and that is the reality,” Palaganas said.

She added the majority of the barrio citizens are poor and government does not prioritize health care services for them. CHESTCORE and Morong 43 are among those volunteers who extend health services to the poor and are being harassed, Palaganas iterated. These volunteer health workers even shell out from their own pockets, she added.

The government has not alloted enough budget for health care, she said. She cited that Joseph Estrada was the only president who has alloted so far the biggest budget for health.

Palaganas said the government spends so much for debt payments instead of for social services. And yet, she said, medical service is becoming an item for the tourism industry. The poor are expected to pay shell out for their own.

The right to health

CHESTCORE and the Morong 43 said that their harassment experience will not stop them to reach out for the poor.

Clamor and Quinawayan said their experience inspires them to continue serving for the people. “We shall not be scared because it is the people we are serving,” they said.

CHESTCORE added they will not stop educating the people of community-based health care and on their right to health.

“The health workers increase the awareness of the people of their rught to health, hindi pwedeng mangmang ang mamamayan,” Palaganas said. # nordis.net

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TF local governance visit mining communities

April 17, 2011 in national

By MARY LOU MARIGZA
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The Task Force on Participatory Local Governance (TF-PLG) had just concluded its Co-mentoring visit to the anti-mining struggle of the Cordillera People last April 10 – 14.

The co-mentoring visit was participated by 12 partners from Visayas and Mindanao of the Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED). The project is a recognition that there are varied practices of PLG employed by EED partners, thus the need to develop, sharpen, enrich and sustain the partners’ capabilities for PLG work. The visit was hosted by EED partners in the Cordillera — TFIP, KADUAMI, CWEARC, MRDC and CPA.

The co-mentoring visit went to several mining communities, and barrios soon to be mined for the knowledge sharing and mutual learning. It veered away from the usual input and training style of knowledge generation and sharing. It exposed the participants to the community of people and stakeholders who engage in PLG in different forms and expanse.

The focus of the learning is on the Task Force Indigenous Peoples (TFIP) experiences on the Cordillera peoples’ struggle against the operation or existence of mining companies.

TF-PLG of Visayas and Mindanao partners look at participatory local governance beyond the Local Government Code as the critical perspective is based on what the community, that is the marginalized, voiceless, nameless, desire.

PLG, they believe, can be an important strategy that can be used in all programs like health, sustainable agriculture, education and others. It is aimed at making the local governments work for the people despite their differences in principles and approach.

It is essential that the poor who are powerless should be empowered first so they can assert, organize and speak out. PLG is a dialogue with and among the poor. It works for the assertion of human rights of the people.

Among the objectives of the co mentoring visit are the identification of PLG practices employed by TFIP in situations where there are mining companies and how they affect the development work of the TFIP members in the Cordilleras, identify the challenges, learnings and risks of the TFIP PLG practices and how these were overcome.

Mining communities visited were Itogon, three barrios of Mankayan and Bakun. In a synthesis, the participants described the learning experience as a river with fresh water that represents the beauty and bounty of the IP environment. They became aware of customs and practices of indigenous people like unity pact, community spirit as seen in small scale mining where the whole community benefits and not only a few individuals who are not even from the community.

In Itogon (which means pakisabi -please tell- in Waray ) the community is a showcase of mining oppression for both the people and the environment. The VizMin participants concluded that the principal struggle is between the community people and the mining company. There was dis-information from the local government on the benefits they got from the company.

The effect of mining on the Abra river which traverses Benguet, Abra and Ilocos Sur is destroying their ricefields and source of water for the homes. The future of the people who depend on the river is uncertain as the mining companies continue to dump their mining wastes on the river.

Some PLG responses range from dialogues, legal and extra legal approaches. The mutual learning pinpoints that the VizMin practices were also seen in the Cordillera engagement: 1) organizing the critical mass in the communities; 2) dialogue with and for the poor; 3) working with the marginalized.

It was also clear that the struggle against mining is a basic human right for it involves the right to life, to basic food security, to clean environment and gainful employment. As VizMin partners they saw that their learnings in their areas are confirmed in the experiences of the mining communities in this exposure program.

The comentoring activity ended with a solidarity program at the CPA office last Wednesday. A sharing of songs, dances and campaigns with development workers in the Cordillera sealed a resolve to work for and with the communities the partners are involved in all over the archipelago. # nordis.net

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Benguet dads urge NCIP to issue non-consent vs Atlas

April 17, 2011 in Cordillera, mining

By ALMA B. SINUMLAG
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) in their regular session on March 14 approved on second and final reading a resolution “earnestly requesting the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) through Commissioner Brigida Pawid” to issue a certificate of non-consent (CNC) relative to Atlas Mines exploration in the Province.

It can be recalled that Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation (ACMDC) forwarded a letter to the August body November last year through its consultant, Pablito Ong. The said letter contained their Exploration Perrmit Aplication (EXPA) No. 69 covering municipalitites of Atok, Bakun, Kapangan, and Kibungan.

Moreover, in the documents forwarded to the SP by Engr. Octavius Mano of the Procurement Governance Office – Environment and Natural Resources Office (PGO-ENRO), it was stated that ACMDC application covers a total area of 3,198 hectares: 598 hectares in Atok which covers barangays Naguey and Poblacion; Bakun barangays are: Ampusongan, Central Bakun, Dalipey, and Sinacbat; And, in Kapangan: barangays Beling-Belis, Buklaoan, and in Kibungan, barangays Luba and Sagpat.

On January 20 this year, the SP according to the resolution received a letter from Atok Mayor Peter Alos manifesting the strong opposition of the municipality to all forms of mining application particularly, the application of the ACMDC.

Also, NCIP-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) director, Atty Amador Batay-an informed the body that a free prior and informed consent (FPIC) process had been conducted in 2005 in the municipalities of Bakun and Kibungan relative to the EXPA 69. Accordingly, the said EXPA has been strongly rejected by the said municipalities.

It was stated further in the resolution that the NCIP-CAR already submitted their Terminal Report to the NCIP Central Office for the issuance of the CNC. However, the Central Office has not acted on it up to this press time. # nordis.net

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Mine firm challenged to prove Pawid’s partiality

April 17, 2011 in Cordillera, mining

By ALMA B. SINUMLAG
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Gambang folk challenged Royalco Philippines Incorporated to prove their allegation that National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) commissioner, Zenaida Hamada-Pawid is bias against the anti-mining exploration group in Gambang, Bakun.

Last month, the said mining company filed a motion to inhibit commissioner Pawid from participating in any field investigation or free prior and informed consent (FPIC) process in the municipality of Bakun. The basis of their motion is that “Pawid’s actuations during the conduct of Field Investigations in Bakun are so evident to favor the opposition to the exploration project”.

Their motion for inhibition stated that Pawid’s “obvious partiality and bias has also disconcerted the indigenous peoples (IPs) who welcome the conduct of exploration activities within their ancestral domain”.

Moreover, Royalco’s motion for inhibition stated that Pawid has breached her mandate as an officer that “should strike a balance between the interests of the IP and the developers”.

However, Fausto Maliones, chairperson of the Gambang Indigenous Peoples Association and Community Organization (GIPACO) challenged Royalco to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Pawid is bias to the opposition. He added that it is wrong for Royalco to accuse Pawid of being bias for her “actuations during a field investigation” because according to him, there was never a field investigation that the said commissioner attended. He pointed out that it was only during the Congressional on-site inquiry that Pawid participated.

Maliones believes that there is no concrete evidence to prove the mine firm’s allegations. He added that it was only in the imagination of Royalco that Pawid is being bias.

He recalled that the NCIP Central office issued an Enbanc resolution No. A-004 nullifying Royalco’s certification precondition (CP) in Phase 3 of the mine’s Gambang concession. Felicito Masagnay, the designated officer-in-charge (OIC), was not authorized to sign the CP hence Royalco’s CP was invalid.

He added that along with the Enbanc resolution nullifying the compliance certificate is also the NCIP resolution creating an investigation team to look into the alleged irregularities in the FPIC processes. The team is headed by Pawid.

“Adda sa met gamin ti kabuteng ti Royalco nga maduktalan isunga ipa-inhibit da ni commissioner,” Maliones said.

The said nullification was contested by Royalco in their motion for reconsideration stating that “the designation of Masagnay as OIC and the identification of the duties and reponsibilities which he has to perform is a valid delegation of authority”. The CP according to them is then valid.

As of press time, the said mining company, together with its partner, Vale are trying to bring in their equipment in phase 3 however the residents are on guard. Members of the community are guarding all possible entry points.

Meanwhile, during the onsite Congressional inquiry in Bagtangan, Gambang on February, Ifugao Representative Teodoro Baguilat Jr. and Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño hit NCIP’s neutral stand saying that NCIP was created to be bias for the interests of the IPs. # nordis.net

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Apayao raises 4 conditions on CAR autonomy

April 17, 2011 in Cordillera

By GLADYS PATRIA F. DIAROS
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The province of Apayao raised four conditions in exchange of their support for the for the regional autonomy of Cordillera.

According to Henry Aliten, vice president of Cordillera Alliance for Regional Autonomy Development Inc. (CARAD), the province of Apayao came up with of four conditions with regards to autonomy.

He said the provincial officials cry for the following: 1.) equal treatment of Cordillerans; 2.) subsidy as to be provided for in the Organic Act should be divided equally among the Cordillera provinces and cities; 3.) all government positions in the autonomous government should be distributed equally among same provinces and cities; and 4.) the Organic Act should provide that the Regional Capitol should be located in the Province of Apayao.

In an interview, Mayor Mauricio Domogan, chairman of the drafting committee of the 3rd Organic Act said that he does not object to the proposal. However he said practicality should be considered.

“With regards to the demand of the province of Apayao, I do not object with their proposals but let us look for the practicality if it is worth it,” he said.

Domogan explained that the subsidy from the government will be distributed equally with all the province and cities of the Cordillera. On the government positions he said qualifications should be sacrificed and should be followed. “Saan tayo ipappapilit ti kayat tayo,” he added.

According to Domogan all the decisions should be governed by the Civil Service Law and it will be based upon the beneficial contribution for the populace of Cordillera.

The 3rd Organic Act has to undergo a plebiscite where two or more provinces of CAR have to ratify in order to achieve Autonomy in the region. # nordis.net

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Baguio market block 3 occupants to only pay rent

April 17, 2011 in Baguio City

By MAY ANN R. AGCAOILI
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — “There is no curtais to be paid, no goodwill, no rights, the vendors will pay only the rental fees,” Councilor Rondez said.

Rondez,chairperson of the Committee on Market Development, said that no changes have been made regarding the rents of stalls but there is a proposal for the increase of rents. She clarified that the rent of each stall shall remain at P280 per month.

On the other hand, Rondez said the review of appeals for reconsideration of Block 3 is partially finished. She also said that there are only 465 stalls to be occupied at Block 3 because of the expansion of stalls and alleys.

Of the over 700 demolished stalls last August in 2010, only 250-300 vendors would get back to the renovated Block 3. Rondez said that 165 stalls are available for new applicants. She also said that after the screening is the awarding of occupation.

Rondez explained that those who will not be able to make it for Block 3 will be considered in Block 4. She said that the clearing operations for Block 4 will soon start after vendors have already occupied Block 3.

Meanwhile, she clarified that deliquent vendors outside Block 3 who were not paying their rents in the previous years were removed. The councilor said their stalls were already bidded out last March.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan reminds the vendors of their responsibility to pay their rents. # nordis.net

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Strawberry Fest needs improvement

April 17, 2011 in Cordillera, tourism

By CHARMIE J. ACIO
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Mayor Greg Abalos said the recently concluded strawberry festival of this town has a lot of room for improvement despite some positive feedbacks it received.

“We have to establish our own unique identity,” he said adding that the festival should not be limited on strawberry alone.

La Trinidad produces different colorful Flowers and this is one rightful claim we will showcase in the future he further said. However, he added that it need not be like Panagbenga. “It can be a part of our festival that will complement Baguio’s flower festival,” he said.

Despite the late preparation, Abalos said the festival did receive good feedbacks from the local residents. “So, I can say that It was successful,” he added.

He iterated that they will have to find identity of their own through activities that the La Trinidad people can relate with. He added that activities like the rose wedding and the horse race called “Dongba ni Kabajo”, received positive response from his constituents. “That is something that the people of La Trinidad found belongingness,” he iterated. These positive feedbacks, he said, motivates them to work harder for a better celebration next year.

Abalos further told this writer that they will be having a post evaluation meeting with all major participating groups to prepare an action plan for next years’ event.

Meanwhile, Leona Damaso, 55 years old, a resident of barangay Wangal of this town, and a vendor, said “Maganda naman ang benta maraming bumili hindi lang strawberry pati mga vegetables at mga bulaklak.” She added that for one day she was able to sell 20 kilos. She also said, she earned more during the celebration.

Moreover, Erlinda Garoy, 44 years old, a resident of barangay Bahong, a cut flower vendor explained that during the strawberry festival, flowers sold were priced P150 for smalll boquet while large ones was P250 and a long stemmed rose cost P10. # nordis.net

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CAR bodies seek reactivation

April 17, 2011 in Cordillera

By MAY ANN R. AGCAOILI
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — “We admit the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) bodies did not perform much by the time we had budget but we are hoping that they (the government) will grant us this time,” said Atty Nestor Atitiw, executive director of the Interim Cordillera Interests Group (ICIG).

During President Cory Aquino’s reign, Executive Order 220 was promulgated for the creation of the CAR bodies. Unfortunately on May 2000 they were deactivated because of lack of funds and now they are shouting again for reactivation.

During the Kapihan on April 13, Wednesday, the panel spoke about their eagerness for reactivation and for the release of funds for them to conduct an Education and Information Campaign (EIC).

Atitiw said that they requested for a release of fund from the Regional Development Council (RDC) but no amount was given to the group. It could be recalled that they also sent a letters to the offices of President Benigno Aquino III and congress requesting their reactivation. He said there was no positive response but advised to coordinate with the RDC. He added the two offices do not understand the intention of the CRA.

He said that it is impossible for the government not to have allocated some funds for the operation of CAR bodies. He also said that the previous P36 million budget for CAR was not enough for salaries and remittances. He pinpointed that the fund requested now will be used to finance their programs and activities.

“Kasla danum nga imbes nga magna iti naurnos nga ayos, ada met shortcut na,” Ciriaco Filog of the Cordillera Executive Board said regarding the distribution of budget.

However, Jack Dulnuan, new chairman of the Interim Cordillera Regional Assembly (ICRA) said that even without a budget what is important is the realization of autonomy. He said even without the budget of the CRA they are still for autonomy. According to him, the realization of regional autonomy is more important than money though he pray the government would support them.

Bienvenido Balweg, CRA vice chair, reiterated that they will continue to reactivate and perform even without a budget. “We are reactivating ourselves to achieve reactivation,” Victor Laoacan added.

Atitiw also said that they are exerting all their efforts and are doing their best to harmonize and coordinate with other groups to achieve unity even without funding. # nordis.net

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Monthly Archives: April 2011

Weekly Reflections: What kind of students are we?

King Midas in Benguet

The gravitational gold concentrator

Bakun folk heightens struggle to defend land

Waste management is a mass movement

Persistence of indigenous practices, laws on forest management

Burburtia Krokis: April 24, 2011

The pagburnayan in Vigan

Makan a la Pinoy: Crepes

No job plans for new graduates

Socio-econ agenda includes IP concerns

Talubin-Callacad Road fully paved by 2016

Health workers vulnerable to harassment

TF local governance visit mining communities

Benguet dads urge NCIP to issue non-consent vs Atlas

Mine firm challenged to prove Pawid’s partiality

Apayao raises 4 conditions on CAR autonomy

Baguio market block 3 occupants to only pay rent

Strawberry Fest needs improvement

CAR bodies seek reactivation

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