Court battle begins on city’s ban on aerial spray

DAVAO CITY – From the halls of the city council and the newsrooms, the battle over the legislation to ban aerial spraying has proceeded to the court room.

The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, which indicated filing the suit in March, has asked the court Wednesday for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction against the city government’s implementation of the ordinance banning aerial spraying.

PBGEA filed the case at the Regional Trial Court Wednesday asking the court to declare the ordinance null and void.

The city government stood firm over the ordinance as Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said last month the city government will defend the legislation in court.

The city council approved the controversial ordinance on March 23 and gave the banana industry three months up to June 23 to prepare shifting to ground spraying.

City Administrator Wendell Avisado welcomed the suit saying the City Legal Office is ready and prepared to answer the case.

Seedlings for Pasalubong?

Only in Mindanao!
Well, not quite new but let me say something about this. Somewhere between the boundary of Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur is a string of stalls selling Falcata and other seedlings for pasalubong!

If I heard them correctly, the box containing at least a hundred seedlings, cost around P60-85! It could be a good investment if one has an area to plant these seedlings, actually take some time planting, and growing it as well.

Would you choose this pasalubong over say, Agusan Sur’s bulad or dried fish?

According to the attendant, one of the biggest buyers is an agricultural plantation executive  in Bukidnon. They bought a total of 72, 000 seedlings. Wow! What about starting it now?

Istambay in San Francisco

Istambay sa Mindanao got a new title today: Mr. Posing. It’s quite embarrasing but if that is what it takes to pose in front of Agusan del Sur’s wide oil palm plantations, I’ll do it.

When we saw the palm trees along the highway in San Francisco, ADS; we asked Gigi to stop the car. And I went up for a pose. Maybe that photo could land in a magazine cover someday, nyahahah.

For many reporters, to be called Mr. Posing, instead of Mr. Expose, is quite a reputation. Life is beautiful we should not waste it right? As a friend would say, “the last time I checked, this is still a free country.”

There has been a lot of promise about oil palm plantations. We have yet to hear the good stories and also the downside.

Maybe one day I’ll have a date with the oil palm farmers for a story.

Rice Cakes in Mawab, Compostela Valley

One of our favorite stops going  east of Davao City is Bibingka City in Mawab,  a small town in Compostela Valley province.

I like the taste of their bibingka or rice cake. It is typical Filipino. Also, bingka (the Cebuano term) is so natural in Mindanao’s rice-producing provinces. I (or is this Skippy’s take?) took a photo of bingka on display in Bibingka City.

I think it cost us P10 for a pack (made up of two pieces) of rice cake.
The packaging is so humble it could use a lot of improvement. But it is good and definitely a good snack for a day’s trip.

Mindanao Peaceweavers on Sulu: “spare relief operations, ceasfire now”

Today, April 29, the Mindanao Peaceweavers has called: “Spare relief operations from election interests, ceasefire now”

FULL TEXT OF STATEMENT: “From war zone, to economic zone” is the official slogan of the Province of Sulu.

But it is “back to war zone again”– that is how civil society describes
the situation in Sulu today. In this tiny, but perennially embattled
island, what is abnormal has become normal.

Catholics told to be ‘good shepherds’ in polls

TANDAG, Surigao del Sur – Catholics around the country are called to be good shepherds to the public, including politicians, a priest told parishioners here as the church marked Good Shepherd Sunday.Fr. Edgar Clare, parish priest of neighboring Cantilan town, said in his first mass homily everyone is called to emulate Jesus Christ as a “good shepherd.

He said the call is especially true for the upcoming May 14 elections when church members are asked to vote responsibly and to help ensure elections are fair, clean and peaceful.
“Do not just think of yourself only, take good care also of the rest of the flock,” he told around 500 churchgoers.

Davao in Surigao

Just very quickly: After experiencing Surigao del Sur in our quick trip to the province facing the Pacific, my friends and I decided to produce a “new” TV ad for second district Rep. Prospero Pichay.

The script includes a scene with the actor planting “pechay” along a muddy portion of the Surigao highway.

We thought of a genuine scene so we dropped by Tandag’s public market early morning to buy the green leafy vegetable.

We found out most of the vegetable supply in the market came from Davao City!

(Updated 3 w/ more photos) Why the roads in Pichay country are bad?

(Updated as of May 28, 2007. Thanks to the comment of Linda below. She has provided some answers to some of my QUESTIONS in this post. Despite her tone, her comments are fully appreciated. I’m pleased to be corrected also that I mistook the town where the bridge went down. It’s Cagwait, not Gigaquit as earlier posted. But I stand by my own direct and personal account of the conditions of the roads. Maybe its true long roads were paved. What we saw, however, is a series of disconnected paved roads where the rough parts appear to be longer. Anyway, Thank you Linda!)

I’m in Tandag, Surigao del Sur since April 26.

We were invited to share and exchange technology with a community initiative.
I’ll share some more about what has transpired in the training later.

For now, I can’t wait to tell you Tandag is in Pichay country and its the irony of ironies.

I cannot understand why the biggest spender in the senatorial campaign (at least gauging TV ads spending) cannot even raise support for funds to build good roads in the congressional district he is representing? (Photo courtesy of Skippy Lumawag, shows a portion of the road in Cagwait town, Surigao del Sur)

Pre-peace agreement fund raised but eyes still on talks

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/26 Apr) – The government announced actual development work going on in Mindanao’s conflict areas as the Canadian government added P40 million to the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF) made available prior to the signing of a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The World Bank announced that the fund, opened last year, had since been raised to $3.6 million.

But the Bangsamoro Development Authority (BDA), the development arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said it is nothing compared to what can be done if the final peace agreement is signed.

BDA is the development agency established in accordance with the humanitarian, rehabilitation and development aspect of GRP-MILF peace agreement in 2001.

Dr. Danda Juanday, BDA executive director, told MindaNews whatever they can achieve at the BDA would be useless without the final peace agreement even if they will be “learning by doing” in the effort.

“Peace or no peace (agreement), we have no choice but to develop our communities,” he said.

He said they have ongoing pilot projects in only six communities out of the 3,875 conflict affected barangays in 150 municipalities around Mindanao. Read full MIndaNews story here.

Quiboloy wields political influence on birthday bash

m26quiboloy (DAVAO CITY) – This Dabawenyo religious leader, who styles himself as “God’s appointed Son” managed to draw his crowd of local and national politicians on the celebration of his birthday Wednesday.

Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s 58th birthday celebration dubbed “Sonshine Across the Land” turned out to be not just a well-wishers’ party but a roll call for those who wants his endorsement.

Senatorial bets from both the administration ticket Team Unity and the opposition’s Genuine Opposition and members of local ruling party flocked to Quiboloy’s posh seven-hectare headquarters called “prayer mountain” in upland Tamayong village in Calinan around 60 kilometers southwest of Davao City.

Quiboloy, leader of the  Jesus Christ the Name Above Every Name Christian group, told reporters whoever was seen in the party is a preview of the list of candidates he is endorsing, which he will release on May 6.

To Disneyland and back in 10 hours

I’m back for a day of hiatus. “I just arrived from Disneyland in a quickie trip.”
I’ve wanted to use that quote the moment I thought I’m blogging on this.

Actually, before you would think about a stupid trip that I might have taken (10 hours?!!! even DL-HK, still not logical even if possible), I’ll put it straight.

I just arrived from Tamayong where the flock of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy runs a prayer mountain.

I got invited to cover the chief minister’s 58th birthday — with many politicians, businessmen and government officials present as guests.

The members of the Davao city council, who could barely form a quorum on session day were almost present in the party, except for two.

Politics delays relief operations in Sulu

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 April) – Help for thousands of displaced
persons in Sulu has been delayed as politicians, banned from taking a
direct role in the distribution of goods during this election period,
are allegedly hindering the process.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza told a media
forum on ‘Environment as a Peace Issue’ that it took time for relief
groups to firm up operations because local officials who are
candidates for the May 14 elections may take advantage of the
situation.

He said there is a convergence of groups distributing relief goods in
the area, among them the Philippine National Red Cross, USAID, World
Food Program (WFP), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process (OPAPP) and non-government organizations.