ISTAMBAY SA MINDANAO

Participants take time to smile and relax for a date with posterity (Photo by Skippy Lumawag courtesy of Mindanews)

The formal sessions of the 4th Mindanao Media Summit just concluded early afternoon today, 09 August 2008.

The theme: “Mindanao 2020: The vision begins with us”, is placed in an imposing tarp at the back draft. It was a reminder to me as a member of the group who took on “drafting” the vision from the participants. “Where are the other members of the styling committee?” I asked myself.

I ate a late breakfast today as I stayed late for my recent attempt to write a narrative report. So when I entered the summit hall, I have to do some catching up on who did what the night before.

I caught up on the secretariat who were busy calling the rest of the group for the picture taking.

Meanwhile, I picked the shiniest plate on the buffet table and proceeded to feast on hotel breakfast. In my peripheral vision and hearing I could hear Jocan talking me to drop the breakfast for a moment and smile it out in the photographic firing squad.

I managed some sips of brewed coffee and few scoops of the one-serving steamed rice and the hard-boiled egg and beef curry sud-an. I have to or I couldn’t move a muscle to say “cheese”. Oh, I went there seconds later as I have to squeeze in my summit shirt. I went there to see if the pool was really tempting enough for some laps of swimming, to regret I didn’t plunge when I could last night.

The last day of the three-day gathering of Mindanao media’s “decision-makers” started with quaint picture taking by the poolside of the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Lanang, Davao City.

It was supposed to capture for the future the faces of the news professionals who participated in the summit in a step to improve capacity as stakeholder to peace and development in Mindanao. Read the rest of this entry »

This is another attempt to return to up-to-date blogging.

First and foremost, thanks to those who are behind the Top 100 Mindanao Blogs of 2007.

Nakatunga nalang ang 2008, ayha pa ko naka comment ani. I’m trying to convince myself that it’s “Better late than never!”

I am glad that Istambay sa Mindanao was included in the list, despite being stagnant most of the time.

Blogging has good prospects but my new work terrain here in Bukidnon required realigning priorities.

After publishing 32 issues of our weekly local newspaper Central Mindanao Newswatch, I have mixed reactions. Read the rest of this entry »

The Central Mindanao Newswatch, Bukidon’s local newspaper, is launching this week its online journal Bukidnon Newswatch Online.

This is the paper’s second attempt to put up a blog for the community newspaper based in Malaybalay City.

This try was triggered by a recent mechanical problem, which delayed the release of the week’s issue. The paper received constant queries on when to release the paper.

This inspired Newswatch staffers to put online some of the paper’s top stories.Going online, at least in the blogosphere, would be among the new ways the paper can serve the people of the province who are in Bukidnon and in many parts of the world.

This becomes part of the way the paper celebrates 20 years in service as “press freedom fighter from the Heart of Mindanao”.

From now on, Istambay sa Mindanao will be blogging from Malaybalay City, Bukidnon still in Mindanao, Southern Philippines.

I’m back to my home province Bukidnon and on my day one as editor of Malaybalay’s Central Mindanao Newswatch.

Actually I’m just a consultant to the 19-year old weekly paper. From 2000 to 2004, I worked as a full time staff here, from being a marketing officer, reporter and editor before resigning in April 2004 and joining the Davao staff of MindaNews in June 2004.

After a meeting with the manager in the morning, I was scheduled to meet the communication development interns from Bukidnon State University.

Tomorrow, I hope I really make it to Bendum, Busdi, Malaybalay City for an assignment with MindaNews. I will stay connected to our cooperative of journalists based in Davao City.

These and a correspondent work with the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) should keep me busy as a freelance reporter in this province.

For a while I would miss Davao City, but this should be a welcome respite –back to base.

I hope I could still give substantial updates on Mindanao from Bukidnon. Best wishes to all.

Since November 2004 to November 2007, I have posted a total 0f 920 entries in this blog.

I admit this is a ‘halo-halo’ or mixed collection of entries, mostly my news stories published on www.mindanews.com.

When I shifted to this minimalist Hemingway theme as of November 7, I found out it provides information on the number of entries I tagged to a category.

Here are the top 10 categories on Istambay sa Mindanao that had the most number of entries over three years of amateurish (versus niche) blogging:

1. Mindanao (576)
2. Davao City (474)
3. Governance (435)
4. Business (227)
5. Economy (186)
6. Peace Process (180)
7. News(178)
8. Security (172)
9. Bukidnon (143)
10. Human Rights (136)
The rest in the 100 plus category include: Justice, Safety, Environment, Elections in Mindanao, Agriculture, Health and the BIMP EAGA.

What does it tell me? Perhaps, I could say, those categories are favorite subjects I blogged about in three years.

So? I think that much of my blogging tendencies favor those in the list. Should I consider going into niche blogging it should be among those categories.

The Asia Media Forum forwarded this to me today. I’ll share this just in case: 

Once referred to as the ‘most hacked blogger of Malaysia’, Jeremiah Foo moves around in the music, publishing and computer industry circles — yes, all of those. He co-founded the eMuse Network, a pioneer in digital media and content development in south-east Asia. Before becoming a full-time journalist, Foo was the artiste and repertoire manager for Sony Music Entertainment. The multi-awarded songwriter and composer was also co-founder of the National Music Society of Singapore. 

Today, Foo is lecturer and Convergent Media programme manager of ShantoJeremiah Foou University in China, and visiting lecturer of The University of Hong Kong. He is producer-at-large of Asia247.tv, Asia’s first podcast-only English news station, which assists traditional print media to enter the realm of rich media. He is part of mybloggercon, which gathers together Malaysian Chinese bloggers in the hope of promoting Chinese-language blogging as well as to give them a venue to voice out their views about issues in the region. Read the rest of the entry here.

In principle, I believe the commitments sought here as proposed on Saturday are OK. There could be other matters to be discussed but maybe its wise to raise them later.

I believe that the first response to the challenge of Paring Bert Alejo’s propositions in his presentation could be to pen down our signature. I believe some already signed?

Alejo raised several calls such as Mindanao bloggers are ought to be pro-active; culturally, socially and historically relevant; sensitive and also vigilant. High and tall orders, indeed. But it matters.

I think signing this document makes it an unpretentious, comprehensive and concrete achievement of the summit. Read the rest of this entry »

Online journal writers or bloggers from Mindanao were urged to go beyond writing about personal matters and instead use their internet platform to help promote peace and understanding in Mindanao.

Speaking to at least 60 bloggers at the opening ceremonies of the 1st Mindanao Bloggers’ Summit, organizers and resource speakers took turns in urging bloggers to publish entries that contribute to understanding

Oliver Robillo, head of the organizers said blogging, if done collectively, could help influence society.

“As bloggers, we are in possession of a potentially influential medium, and it is that ability that we can harness in order to impress upon the world that Mindanao is in fact a beautiful place. We know that ourselves. We know that we are of diverse, and yet somehow harmonious, cultures. We have in our midst different but fascinating traditions,” he said.

Robillo said bloggers could tell the rest of the world the real situation in Mindanao. Read the full report on MindaNews.com. Also this one by Carolyn O. Arguillas.

I’m posting this from NCCC Mall Level 4 where the Mindanao Bloggers’ Summit 1 is going on. Many surprises awaited Mindanao’s bloggers in their first ever island-wide gathering.

Lead organizer Blogie Robillo gave the welcome remarks. He told the initial audience of around 60 participants that blogging could be used to change the image of Mindanao and could be a tool for peace and understanding in Mindanao.

Davao City Councilor Pete Laviña, who was introduced as the first elected official in the country to blog, also gave a presentation on participatory governance through blogging and other blogging stuff such as wikislation. He said blogging promotes responsible “netizenship”.

Pro-blogger Bob Martin also gave a presentation on why an American like him blogs on Mindanao. He also gave a virtual tour around Mindanao by showing photos he took during his trips around the island.

Organizers also raffled door prizes such as Google shirts and IBM notebooks —yes, not the think pad.

Several blogging topics, issues and skills and even business opportunities were scheduled in the afternoon sessions.

Paring Bert Alejo, a Jesuit priest from the Ateneo de Davao University, is now giving his presentation on Conflict, Culture and Communication in Mindanao. (as of 11:40a.m.)

Fr. Alejo gave a “very educational, substantial and inspirational presentation”. I overheard the first two reactions from some participants and the last from Blogie when he thanked the speaker.

His presentation appeared to be a Mindanao 101 as it outlined both the mainstream and the sidestreamed issues in Mindanao. More of his presentation hopefully in next posts. (as of 12:45 p.m.)

Kim of Southism blog fame gave a presentation on niche blogging out from emo/ego blogging. The 19-year old blogger (did I get my facts right?) made some useful points especially to neophyte bloggers. Among the salient points I picked up as I was entering the hall was the need to be relevant even if a blogger is taking a personal tone in writing entries. (as of 1:35p.m.)

There’s supposed to be a bloggers’s party at 9p.m. tonight at a cafe, which is still a part of the summit activities. At this point, well deserved congratulations and cheers to the organizers. To put together the number of bloggers, sponsors and speakers together was one great act they pulled off with success.

I hope the fruits of the summit will go a long way for bloggers on Mindanao in the aspiration to blog for culture, identity and understanding.

(A Personal Essay)

It’s still a world of instant coffee.

A friend from academia dropped a message in my inbox to ask for an online chat via Yahoo Messenger or Google Chat. I was surprised since the last contact we made was two years ago in a UP e-group.

He said as a journalist I could give him a quick explanation about Mindanao, its indigenous peoples, the issue of ancestral domain, the Mindanao conflict, why some IPs oppose mining, and also the peace process. He was trying to prepare a primer on Mindanao.

I knew it was an overview paper. It was an ambitious overview paper. It is doable I’m sure. I find preparing a primer on Mindanao, however, out of synch and possibly a waste of time. Such primer could be for anyone rushing. But I think one shouldn’t rush any attempt to understand Mindanao. Read the rest of this entry »