Mindanao Ecologists and Trekkers to Explore Mt. Malindang

By:  ARCHIE AJIAS

OROQUIETA CITY -- The grandeur of Mt. Malindang will be showcased during the 15th Mindanao Forum and Climb on November 27-30, 2009 after the province, represented by Malindang Ecology Rehabilitation and Conservation for the Youth-Mountaineering Society (MERCY-MS), won the bidding held during the 14th Mindanao Forum and Climb in Cagayan de Oro City.

 
Mindanao Forum and Climb is an annual mountaineering event in Mindanao initiated by Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines Incorporated (MFPI).

“Last November 29 to December 3 nga hosting sa Cagayan de Oro gi-present nato ang Mt. Malindang, ang rota nga Lake Duminagat North Peak trail and then through sa presentation giganahan ang mga participant ug guest mao ng ang Malindang nakadaog,” MERCY-MS president Mar Mira pointed out.

The participants, according to Mira are eager and excited to trek the trail and witness the beauty of Mt. Malindang especially on its biodiversity.

 
“Ang highlights nato karon, mapakita ang katorse ka klase nga lumot, klase-klase nga species sa tanum ug kabulakan,”  Mira said.

Originally, the event is exclusive to Mindanao trekkers, but mountaineers from Luzon and Visayas who are members of MFPI showed interest to join as their “reunion”.

“Sa registration sa online, naay taga Luzon like University of the Philippine Mountaineers, Bicol mountaineers ug part sa Visayas,” he added.

In the event, trekkers will start their long and exciting walk from Brgy. Mansawan in Don Victoriano on November 27 going to Brgy. Lake Duminagat to take rest and meet local settlers.

From there, the group has to walk a couple of miles before reaching the lake and enjoy.  The participants will come back to Oroquieta City on November 30.

 
Aside from trekking, more activities like basic mountaineering course, single rope technique, beach volley ball, henna tattoo body art exhibit, wall painting and arts, food and drinks exhibit, reggae party and other contests are also included, which shall be held at Jingle Bells Beach Resort in Brgy. Tabuc Sur, Oroquieta City.

“Gi-invite nako ang tanan nga mga kahigalaan, mga amigo ug mga ganahan sa bukid kinsa tong ganahan mag-online register sa  www.15thmindanaoforum.tk o kontak lang mo sa ako sa cellphone number 09267669480,” Mira appealed.

Sinacaban SB Regulates Extraction of Riverbed Materials

Republic of the Philippines
Province of Misamis Occidental
MUNICIPALITY OF SINACABAN

Office of the Sangguniang Bayan

EXCERPT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF SINACABAN, MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL HELD AT THE SB SESSION HALL ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2009.

   HON. ANECITO S. MEJARES, Vice Mayor – Presiding

LAURITO C. ABUTON      RAEM A. NARANJO      ISIDRO V. MACALISANG
       SB Member                    SB Member                       SB Member

JOSUE M. VENTE                JULIO L. TIU                 MA. ELENA B. PAILDEN
    SB Member                       SB Member                           SB Member

WILFREDO V. DECENA      MAMERTO S. AGANOS      DANILO A. ENOT
      SB Member                      SB Member                     ABC President
      
          RE P. NARANJO                                GREJESBRIC E. BRIOSO
            FSK President                                               SB Secretary
 

----------------------------------------

ORDINANCE NO. 4, SERIES 2009

AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE EXTRACTION OF RIVERBED MATERIALS WITHIN THE MUNICIPALITY OF SINACABAN, MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL

BE IT ORDAINED by the Sangguniang Bayan of Sinacaban, Misamis Occidental, that:

Section I.  Definition of Terms.

Riverbed Materials  –  materials found on riverbed such as sand, gravel and boulders.

Quarry Sites – sites determined for quarrying that conformed DENR rules and regulations and other existing laws.

Section II.    Extraction of riverbed materials should only be allowed and used solely for Local Government Unit public work and infrastructure projects;

Section III.    Extraction of riverbed materials shall only be allowed on designated quarry sites;

Section IV.    Extraction shall be based on the volume of the requirements of a certain public works and infrastructure projects, subject to the issuance of gratuitous permit by the Provincial Government.

Section V.    Extraction of boulders shall only be limited to head like sizes;

I HEREBY CERTIFY to the correctness of the foregoing resolution, which was duly adopted by the Sangguniang Bayan during its Session on September 18, 2009.

GREJESBRIC E. BRIOSO
Secretary to the Sanggunian

ATTESTED:

ANECITO S. MEJARES
Municipal Vice Mayor
Presiding



                             APPROVED:

DELLO T. LOOD
Municipal Mayor

Remembering Lawyer Cailing and Other Mindanao Heroes

By:  CARLOS ISAGANI I. ZARATE


For quite some time now, as Filipinos visit cemeteries or memorial parks to remember and honor their departed loved ones on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, I am again reminded of how, even in death, there is an apparent disparity in the way we honor our martyrs and heroes.


On several occasions in the past, we read stories that new names of martyrs and heroes were etched on the black granite Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Park in Quezon City, as decided by the people behind the Bantayog ng mga Bayani (Monument of Heroes) Foundation. 


Accordingly, those named as “martyrs” were those killed before the 1986 People Power Revolution, while those names listed as “heroes” were those who survived martial law and continued their struggles for genuine political freedoms until they died.


However, a closer look at the names already etched in the Wall of Remembrance as martyrs and heroes would reveal that they mostly came from the northern part of the country—Manila and Luzon, especially—and, as always, apparently forgetting that the struggle for the restoration of democracy was a national one, intense in the other parts of the country, particularly in Mindanao. Maybe this was not a deliberate act of forgetting, yet it would be well perhaps if people behind the foundation will do further research, especially, on the southern part of the country.


Perhaps, in the next batches of honorees, the foundation may very well consider the following members of the legal profession who valiantly fought with the people and sacrificed their lives so that “justice and respect for human rights” will prevail in our society today: 

• Crisostomo Cailing, a lawyer from Balingasag, Misamis Occidental, who was killed on July 6, 1985 by unidentified armed men; 
• Romraflo R. Taojo, a labor and human rights lawyer from Tagum, Davao del Norte, killed April 2, 1985 inside his home; 
• Zorro Aguilar, a human rights lawyer from Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, killed Sept. 23, 1984 in Dipolog City; 
• Luisito S. Villanueva, a human rights lawyer from Calamba, Misamis Occidental, killed Feb. 21, 1986 in Calacan, Calamba, Misamis Occidental; 
• Jose T. Gonzales, a human rights lawyer from Butuan City, who was included in the military’s Order of Battle, when he died in 1985; 
• Vicente Mirabueno, a human rights lawyer from General Santos City, killed Feb. 6, 1988 at the General Santos City Public Market; 
• Gil Getes, a human rights lawyer from Agusan del Sur, shot dead inside his home on March 4, 1990; 
• Ferdinand Reyes, a human rights lawyer and crusading journalist killed Feb. 12, 1996 in Dipolog City; and 
• Judge Eugenio Valles, killed April 25, 2002 in Compostela Valley Province.

The following lawyers may have escaped violent death during their lifetime, yet their demise from natural and other causes did not diminish the degree of their contribution to the struggle for the restoration of our democratic freedoms: 

• Laurente “Larry” Ilagan, the most prominent Mindanaoan lawyer imprisoned by Marcos, died of cancer on Nov. 15, 2001; 
• Alfredo Aquino, a human rights lawyer from Bukidnon, who also died of cancer; and 
• Judge Benedicto U. Hallazgo, a human rights lawyer from Misamis Oriental before he joined the judiciary, who died sometime in 2001. 

Other prominent Mindanaoan human rights lawyers that should also be remembered are: Rudy Agravante, Florante Garcia, Antonio Navidad, Felix Calatrava and Jake Zafra.


These are just some of the names, a mere handful of the names that we should always remember. 


The other sectors—youth, women, Moro and Lumad—definitely have also their own heroes, heroines and martyrs, like youth leader Ariel Yumang, labor leader Oscar Bantayan, women’s advocate and journalist Edith Eco. These are the names that should be etched not only in walls of remembrance but more importantly in our collective soul as a nation.


We honor our martyrs and heroes to remind us that they are not really “dead,” as they continue to live among us in our recollections, in our dreams, in our choices, in our current struggles.  Indeed, the conditions that these martyrs and heroes aspired to change are still the very conditions that we continue to grapple with at present long after a hated dictator was ousted, and, probably, even long after an administration founded on stealing, cheating and lying is already out of power.