The Northern Dispatch Weekly

BAGUIO CITY — A local broadcast journalist branded as baseless, malicious and entirely false the allegations of La Union Rep. Thomas Dumpit that a Baguio-based TV station downplayed – by not airing on TV - the July raid and discovery of a trillion-peso shabu laboratory in Naguilian, La Union.

Dhobie de Guzman claimed Dumpit delivered in the House of representatives a privileged speech which identifies him as among the journalists who was ordered to downplay the shabu lab raid in La Union by not airing it on their TV network. De Guzman is the news desk editor of the ABS-CBN in this city. (more…)

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Typhoon Karen left six dead and a total of 69 households evacuated in the Cordillera Region with landslides and flood waters resulting from heavy down pour from early dawn August 26 until August 28 morning.

ROAD, ERODED. The big landslide spanning about 30 meters along Gawa, Tocucan, Mountain Province that stopped traffic for a few days. Photo courtesy of Glo A. Tuazon

At least four were reported dead and 23 families evacuated in Benguet, one in Abra and one in Baguio City. (more…)

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Dumanon iti 50 nga ektarya a daga iti La Trinidad swamp area ti nalayus gapu iti bagyo a ni Karen.

Kinuna ni Municipal Agriculturist Nida Organo a saan nga amin ket namulaan ti strawberries. Adda dagiti dadduma a natnateng a naimula ditoy a pakaibilangan dagiti sibuyas, letsugas ken celery. (more…)

BAGUIO CITY — Police forces identified the body found early morning of August 16 under a bridge in A. Tabora barangay here.

The body was clad in a black leather jacket, black sweat shirt and brown pair of pants, with a gun holster. The gun, however was reportedly missing. (more…)

BAGUIO CITY — Only a few weeks after Mayor Reinaldo A. Bautista Jr. apologized for a garbage transport deal, a former congressional candidate here took a serious look at yet another contract the mayor signed without proper bidding.

Lawyer Edgar M. Avila told the Baguio press Friday he just wanted to offer some help as he pointed out some lapses that seem to be following a trend. He warned the mayor may face plunder raps for allowing a private company to collect taxes in behalf of the city, allowing 25% as payment for its services or a hefty P480 million within the five-year contracted period. (more…)

BAGUIO CITY — Representatives of two government agencies advised the city council to pay Metro Waste Management Corporation after it produces legal documents to justify the payment.

TWO OF BAGUIO’S PROBLEM. Garbage and night spots are now usually seen at the heart of the university belt in Baguio City. Photo by Lyn V. Ramo/NORDIS

As soon as Metro Waste submits requirements for a hauling contract the city will pay for the services rendered from July 23 to 31, which the city council last week refused to settle. (more…)

BAGUIO CITY — The city received some 30 offers as sites for its engineered landfill, aside from those previously evaluated, according to City Administrator Peter Fianza.

Fianza confirmed what Mayor Reinaldo A. Bautista Jr. has earlier mentioned that there are no contracts yet involving any offered lot. (more…)

BAGUIO CITY — When it rains, it pours.

Camp John Hay lawyers Georgina Alvarez and Hilario Belmes are facing disbarment raps before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

This after being sued last month for robbery, malicious mischief, grave threats and coercion before the City Prosecutor’s Office together with other key officials of the privately run-Camp John Hay Development Corporation (CJHDevCo) in connection to complaints by business concessionaire Corazon Aniceto who claimed her restaurant inside the John Hay Special Economic Zone was illegally demolished upon their orders. (more…)

BAGUIO CITY — A reputable company from the city’s South Korean sister city has offered the city a proposed joint venture for the development and operation of the Asin mini-hydroelectric plants.

Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. told his weekly media briefing Thursday that K Water, a reputable government water service firm responsible for making 95 percent of water in South Korea potable, proposed a US$20 million deal for the city’s mini-hydros. (more…)

BAGUIO CITY — “How are we going to feed our children?” This is the question an ordinary mother in the Cordillera region raises.

In the latest Innabuyog Regional Council Meeting on August 15-16, 2008, hunger was seen looming for ordinary Cordillera women.

The urgent issue that the Regional Council discussed is hunger and poverty. According to Innabuyog Chairperson Vernie Yocogan-Diano, Cordillera women play a big role in the food assurance of their families and communities—from ensuring the traditional seeds to the planting and harvesting and finding remedies along with their husbands, to ensure food on the family table and other basic needs like education and health. (more…)

Mankayan, Benguet — “Continuing Commitment in the defense of Cultural Heritage” the theme to commemorate the 14th International Day of Indigenous Peoples 2008 draws a crowd of more than 1000 to the “Ballangbang” Concert-Jam on August 16 at the Open Gym, Poblacion, Mankayan, Benguet.

The International Day of IPs was declared on August 9, 1994 by the United Nations.

According to Rima Mangili, Anakbayan spokesperson, the Ballangbang concert hoped to gather the youth of Benguet especially Mankayan for the celebration and to unite them behind their role to protect and promote the positive aspects of their cultural heritage; for their rights and welfare; and most of all to divert the youth’s attention to more productive activities. (more…)

Typhoon Karen exposes city’s waning soil base

BAGUIO CITY—Banging Northern Luzon with maximum winds of up to 140-kph and gusts of up to 170-kph at its high point, typhoon Karen’s unrelenting rainfall validated earlier findings of Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (MGB-DENR) regarding critical and landslide susceptible areas within the city.

Despite being placed under typhoon signal No. 1, a total of 29-weak soil base related incidents were reported to the City Disaster Coordinating Council–Disaster Operations Center (CDCC-DOC).

CDCC-DOC chief Engr. Archomore Ellamil said, “We believe most damage to property related incidents that involved landslides and collapsed ripraps were located in the red zones identified by the MGB-DENR in its geo-hazards map, which was submitted to the city earlier this year.”

“On the other hand,” he said, “the reported 10-fallen trees or trees in danger of falling are located mostly in densely populated areas where forest cover is close to nil.”

Meantime, the CDCC placed the City Camp Lagoon on a round-the-clock watch as water reportedly threatened residents of possible flooding. # Isagani S. Liporada/PIO Baguio City

Fariñas to DA: more NFA outlets please

BAGUIO CITY—Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas wanted the Department of Agriculture (DA) to open more outlets of the National Food Authority (NFA) rice in the city and other urban and rural areas in the country to ensure ample distribution of the subsidized rice to the poor.

“If indeed the country has sufficient rice supply, there is a need for the DA and the NFA to open more rice outlets that would cater to the needs of the ordinary Filipino citizen and prevent the occurrence of long lines in selected NFA outlets,” Fariñas said.

“As a stabilizer, the DA and NFA must flood the market with its sufficient rice stocks to help lower the price of commercial rice and to prevent politicians from interfering with the distribution of rice as well as erase the doubts in the minds of the people that the rice shortage is being used to cover up other sensitive national issues.” # Aileen P. Refuerzo/PIO Baguio City

Medicine charity campaign at SM

BAGUIO CITY—SM Baguio is inviting its shoppers and pharmaceutical companies to donate their unopened and unexpired medicines and share these with the less fortunate in SM Foundation’s Gamot Para sa Kapwa charity campaign.

Donors can bring their medicines at the Gamot Para sa Kapwa booth located at the Upper Ground Floor of SM City Baguio, near the elevator beside Watson’s.

The project will reach out to the underprivileged families in far flung areas as well as disaster victims. Your cash and in kind donations will help Philippine National Red Cross raise funds and to highlight their contribution to society. # SM Release

PROCor to field police forces to Mindanao

CAMP DANGWA, Benguet — The Cordillera police is willing to field its mobile force to Mindanao if the need arises, Police Regional Office Cordillera (PROCor) Chief Supt. Eugene Martin said.

“We only need the go signal from the President and we are going to dispatch our team,” Martin said in an interview with the media. He said that the relative peace in the Cordillera can allow for the dispatch of his men to the conflict-ridden Mindanao particularly in the Lanao provinces.

Martin said that they are losing their focus of containing insurgency in Cordillera.

“Our role is to maintain peace and order with focus on the insurgency particularly in Kalinga, Mountain Province and Abra. Fortunately, we have the Philippine Army in these areas,” he said.

He also said that they are keeping watch over the Maranao traders in Baguio and other urban areas in the region.

“We have a good relationship with the Muslim community in the region. We have to secure the situation so that there would be no spillover of the conflict in the region,” Martin said.

“We have close coordination with the Muslim leaders. We have to pledge their assurance that they would keep the peace,” he said. # Mau Victa

Gov bats for irrigation fees from lowland regions to rehab Cordi watersheds

TABUK CITY, Kalinga — There is a need for a more efficient collection of fees from lowland regions like Regions 1 and 2 that utilize water from the Cordillera region to irrigate their farm lands.

Presenting his concern before members of the Regional Development Council  here last week, Ifugao Governor  Teddy Baguilat raised the need for more funds to rehabilitate the Cordillera watershed areas, as funds coming from the national sources are not enough to finance on-going rehabilitation projects.  

If we can establish systems of generating income, through fees from our watershed resource, people living in these places would see it as potential source of living, Baguilat stressed.

Baguilat  mentioned that Agriculture  Secretary  Arthur Yap himself admitted the need to protect Cordillera watersheds  as  people in the lowlands, are the “end-users” of water coming from it.

Baguilat  underlined this concern as among the major agenda in the forthcoming inter-regional water summit for Northern Luzon later this year. # L.Lopez/ PIA Kalinga

“You had it coming.”

That is what people who have given advise say when disaster hits the one advised who has put off or neglected to heed their advise. In the light of all these disasters that befell our country this passed three weeks: by typhoon Helen, Igme, and now, Karen; the illusive gold medal in the Olympics, the war in the south. Did the Filipino have it coming then? Some doomsday prophets would predispose. (more…)