Ten marijuana bricks seized

Tabuk City, Kalinga - An inspection conducted by police at the Talaca checkpoint in Agbannawag, this city, around 4:20 PM of December 18 on a passenger bus bound for Manila yielded 10 dried marijuana bricks weighing around 10,000 grams with estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P250,000.00.

The police said the contraband were packed in a carton box without markings or address of owner and was loaded in the running board of the Dangwa bus bearing plate number AYC 449 with body number NE 836 being driven by Joseph Laguito Ente with his conductor Rogelio Mariano Dayao and bus inspector Montano Walac.

Kalinga Police Provincial Director Maximino Valiente said that when the policemen asked the bus crew and the passengers who owns the carton, nobody admitted ownership of the baggage.

Valiente said the apprehending policemen acted on information dried marijuana bricks are being transported by buses and jeepneys from Tinglayan, this province, the primary source of marijuana in the locality, and are intended for other provinces including Metro-Manila.

The police team which was led by Inspector Naddiahan Pinkihan of the 160th Mobile Group and SPO4 Celestino Dong-as of the Drugs Enforcement Unit (DEU) here flagged down the bus and requested the driver for an inspection of the bus which resulted in the find. **by Estanislao Albano , Jr., ZZW Dec. 23, 2007

"Local reds should do some soul searching" - Yano

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Philippine Army Commanding General Alexander Yano has called on the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) to lay down their arms and join the free market of ideas because if their ideology is superior, they will be victorious in the end.

Yano who was at the 501st Infantry Brigade camp in Calanan, this city, December 14 as part of his Christmas rounds of the troops told local newsmen that the CPP-NPA should take their anniversary on December 26 as a time to do a deep soul searching and accept that their ideology is unacceptable to Filipinos.

Yano claimed that after more than three decades, the CPP-NPA has not made any positive contribution to society but on the contrary, has brought hardships to the country.

Yano said that it is rather ironic that while other countries have repudiated the ideology because they have found that it does not work, the CPP-NPA keeps on trying to establish it in this country.

Yano, however, said there is nothing wrong about local reds espousing their ideology for so long as, they do not use force and arms to force it into Filipinos.

In reaction to the comment of a local media-man that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is fighting the NPA the wrong way because "the only way to win against the guerilla is to out-guerilla him,'' Yano said it is a simplistic view of the "problem because insurgency is multifaceted and complex and the military aspect is just a small part of it.

"This is not just an AFP and PNP problem because it involves social, political, economic and psychological aspects. Even if we address the armed NPA if the other components are not addressed by other agencies, we will not be able to win. The approach should be wholistic," Yano said.

Yano said that even if the AFP annihilates the NPA if other sectors of society including the media think that insurgency is purely a military matter and "we cannot put out act together, we can never win the war."

In his pep talk to the troops, Yano emphasized that the 80,000-strong Philippine Army is a team and its mission is to defeat the CPP-NPA and other threats to the security of the nation.

Saying that in the Army every member counts, he exhorted the soldiers to shake off the culture of mediocrity and do their best in whatever role they are given because the failure of a part in the Army will affect the functioning of the entire complex machine. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW Dec. 23, 2007

Kalinga DILG acts on Rizal ABC controversy

Tabuk City, Kalinga - The Department of Interior and Local Governments here has ordered the board of canvassers of the Liga ng mga Barangay (Liga) of Rizal town to report within 72 hours on how the Liga conducted its elections on December 11 which resulted into two different sets of officers.

Provincial Director Francisco Gamatero said the report should have been submitted within 24 hours after the elections but as of December 18, his office; had not yet received it. Gamatero said that his order for the BES which is headed by the Municipal Local Government Operation Officer with the Municipal Election Officer (MEO) and a representative from an NGO or the religious sector as members to submit sworn statements on how the elections were conducted.

Gamatero explained that while it is true under the Liga election guidelines, the BES should have ruled on the controversy with its decision appealable to the national Liga but the DILG provincial, office decided to intervene to facilitate the resolution of the case "to "preserve relations among our people in Kalinga."

After being informed of the election of the two sets of officers, the Kalinga DILG right away referred the matter to the legal division of the DILG regional office for legal recommendations.

"While the BES was organized as a quasi-judicial body to perform mandates pursuant to Liga policies and guidelines, we also recognize how valuable relations are especially in this part of the region which are manifested by strings of relationships that bounded us since time immemorial. Furthermore, the Liga is supposed to foster camaraderie among its members all for the progress of the province and should therefore not be a cause of dissension," Gamatero said.

Gamatero confided that he had expected it was the Liga elections of Lubuagan which would again give the DILG-Kalinga headaches this year as the town has a history of disorderly Liga elections "but it turned out to be the most orderly and peaceful."

"Expecting some trouble, I requested for police assistance for the Lubuagan Liga elections but it was smooth and took only 30 minutes as the incumbent Liga president of the town conceded defeat immediately," Gamatero said.

Gamatero said that it appears the cause of the row in Rizal was the change in the Liga policy on the payment of dues on all levels as a qualification to vote and be voted upon.

Under the old policy, no Liga member could stand for elections unless he is fully updated with his obligations to the Liga in all levels with the cutoff date for payment on December 6.

"However, on December 5, Memorandum Circular 2007-156 was issued deferring the payment of dues at all levels, anyway those who will win will be confirmed as requisite for sitting in the council and before confirmation, they should have settled all their dues which means that during the December 11 elections, all had equal chance to vote and be voted upon. We disseminated the circular through text messaging and hard copies and I believe Rizal had a copy," Gamatero said.

Gamatero continued that majority of the Liga chapters in the province questioned the new policy on election day but when his office clarified the issue, all the other chapters accepted the new guideline except for some Liga members in Rizal. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW Dec. 23, 2007

Kalinga coops slam new cooperative regulations

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Cooperatives in this province have signed a manifesto opposing the Manual on Rules and Regulations (MORR) for credit and savings cooperatives calling the regulations "both a nightmare to us and an angel of death for the cooperative movement."

In a rally organized by the local chapter of the nationwide United Cooperative Movement (UCM) on December 10, local cooperatives lambasted the MORR which was drafted by the Cooperative Development Authority and approved by Malacanang for implementation on October 16,2007 as illegal, in bad faith, anti-people and destructive.

Lawyer Dick Bal-o, member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod here, opined that the MORR violated the procedural and substantive requirements for the passage of laws.

Citing sources, Bal-o said that the MORR did not undergo proper public hearings where the stakeholders would Have been invited to express their opinion on the proposed regulations.

Bal-o also said the MORR has contents which are not consistent with the Cooperative Code of the Philippines which it is supposed to implement citing as samples the inclusion of appointment to government office among the disqualifications for doctors of cooperatives and also the requirement for cooperatives to secure licenses.

Bal-o also said the MORR was not published in a generally circulated newspaper which is mandated by law.

One of the most objectionable contents of the MORR to the local cooperatives is the provision which requires candidates for directors to be college graduates.

Tabuk Farmers' Multi-purpose Cooperative manager Emilio Dulnuan questioned the provision .saying that by contrast, the law only requires candidates for elective positions in the government to be merely able to read and write.

He pointed out that many cooperatives in the countryside have been started and nurtured by non-college graduates and now all of a sudden the government disenfranchises these cooperative pioneers.

Dulnuan said that instead of picking on the lowly officers of cooperatives, the government should attend to worthwhile concerns to help farmers many of whom are members of cooperatives such as the price of palay which stagnated in the last 10 years and in contrast, the price of fertilizer which has tripled during the same period.

UCM-Kalinga chairman Bishop Renato Abibico pointed out that the apparent intent of the MORR is to make cooperatives operate like banks which could not be since the two institutions have different cultures and values.

He also said that with the implementation of the MORR, cooperatives will be supervised by authorized bodies and the service fees required for this supervision will be a heavy burden on cooperatives.

Abibico said that using the MORR formula for supervision service fees, the Tabuk Multi-purpose Cooperative (TAMPCO) whose assets stood at P332M at the end of October 2007 would have paid P325,000.00 had it been supervised for the first ten months of the year.

"The standards and rules set by the MORR are so stringent that small cooperatives will have nothing else to do except try and cope with them," Abibico said.

Provincial Engineering Office Multi-purpose Cooperative CEO Bansen Bangibang claimed that with the MORR, the government now appears to be looking at the cooperative sector as a source of revenues. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW Dec. 16, 2007

Narra worth P0.4M apprehended in Tabuk

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Police here confiscated an estimated 7,500 board feet of narra fliches and lumber loaded in a 10-wheeler truck at the police checkpoint at Callagdao, Bulanao, this city, dawn of December 11.

Personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) told the media the contraband has an estimated value of P400,000.00 in this city but could fetch more or less P1,000.000.00 in Metro Manila.

City chief of police Supt. Florante Camuyot said the local police acted on a tip there was a stockpile of narra fliches and lumber somewhere in Callagdao which about to be transported and had conducted a stake* out operation since December 9 at the place.

Camuyot said that when the truck bearing plate number BCU 770 passed the Callagdao checkpoint at around 5 AM, the police flagged it down to check its documents and because the documents presented by the driver, Angelito Mones, 35, married, of Del Pilar, Cabatuan, Isabela, looked doubtful, they brought the truck to the city police station in Dagupan Centro for further verification.

Camuyot said when DENR personnel inspected the load of the truck, they found the narra lumber underneath layers of sacks of rice husk.

Police investigators learned from Mones and the crew, namely, Leo Francisco, 29, Dante Galot, 36, Romeo Galot, 35, Alfredo Rivera, 42, Federico Ballejos, 50, Romeo Geronimo, 39, Alex Cortez, 29, and Roger Paragas, 37, all of Nagrumbuan, Cauayan City, Isabela, that they were hired by a certain Pedro Velasco whom they described as the barangay captain of Nagrumbuan.

They also alleged that Velasco owns the lumber.

Tabuk City Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer Geoffrey Sidchogan said they will be filling the appropriate charges against those involved in the transport of the lumber which will also be subject to administrative proceedings for confiscation in favor of the government. **by Estanislao Albano , Jr., ZZW Dec. 16, 2007

Problems facing Kalinga tourism industry

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Kalinga has a lot to interest tourists but how to bring the tourists in is the problem.

Governor Floydelia Diasen and newly installed Provincial Tourism Council (PTC) chairman Natividad Sugguiyao acknowledged this fact during the induction of the officers of the reorganized council on Decembers.

Diasen concedes that although Kalinga has a lot to offer tourists such as its rich culture and traditions it is difficult to bring them in due to negative perceptions of outsiders regarding the peace and order situation in the province.

The governor said that outsiders are afraid to come due to the stigma of tribal wars on the province which she said is unfounded because, according to her, what are happening in the province are disruptions of the peace agreements between tribes caused by crimes and other factors, not tribal wars.

"We have to stress that , there are no tribal wars in Kalinga, only disruptions of the peace and order or peace agreements," Diasen said even as she challenged the new officers of the PTC to spearhead the effort to change the wrong perceptions of outsiders on the province.

Aside from misconceptions on the peace and order situation in the province, the governor said that there is also the need to improve infrastructure because tourist cannot go to places where the road is bad which she said is the current situation of municipalities in Upper Kalinga.

Sugguiyao, marketing manager of the Chico River Quest, Inc. (CRQI), the local Whitewater rafting and kayaking operator, also pointed out that despite its wealth of cultural and natural resources, tourism industry-wise, Kalinga is lagging behind some less endowed provinces because of the lack of strong partnership between the public and private sectors when it comes to the tourism industry.

"There should be a sustained romance between these two sectors and not just interludes or co-terminus relationships with the administration," Sugguiyao who is credited for successfully marketing locally and internationally the Chico River as a prime water sports destination said.

Sugguiyao said that since the tourism industry in Kalinga is still at the fledgling stage, the government should extend a "strong helping hand" but also warned the private sector against too much dependence on government.

Saying that the CRQI broke into the international scene because of sacrifice and substantial investments, Sugguiyao said that depending too much on government will bring frustration "and we will never grow.

Sugguiyao said that the ideal working relations between government and the private sector when it comes to tourism development is a 50-50 partnership.

She also recommended aggressive marketing and promotions and event and destination development as among the most immediate agenda of the PTC. **By Estanislao Albano , Jr., ZZW Dec. 9, 2007

SP nixes transfer of Rizal town to Cagayan

Tabuk City, Kalinga – In a bid to squelch the ongoing move to transfer one of this province's towns to Cagayan, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has formally registered its opposition to the plan which it assailed as bereft of a valid basis and is selfishly motivated.

Through Resolution No. 2007-325, the SP also called on all the congressmen and the Regional Development Council (RDC) of the Cordillera to block any legislative act for the transfer of Rizal to Cajgayan.

The resolution refuted the claim of the proponents that Rizal is being neglected by Kajinga saying, "the projects, programs and activities implemented thereat by the various agencies of the government reveal the said allegation and other allegations mentioned in the petition are false and misleading, selfish and self-serving."

The SP also mentioned that the transfer will diminish the area of Kalinga and the Cordillera region.

Aside from the alleged neglect by Kalinga, the petition also bewails that Rizal residents conduct their trading in Tuguegarao City because of the rampant robberies alang the road to Tabuk City and likewise the bias of the bodong (native justice system) against lowlanders.

The main ground cited by the petition is that lowlanders consist 83 percent of the town's population.

Sanggunian Secretary Mathew Matbagan told the media the SP was responding to information the proponents of the transfer are already lobbying among congressmen for the planned transfer although they are not yet through gathering signatures for their petition.

Matbagan said the objective of the resolution is to make Cordillera representatives aware the Kalinga LGU is opposed to the planned transfer and also to try and preempt the submission of the petition to Congress.

Matbagan said that according to information, any representative from the Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera could act on the petition by filing a bill seeking the transfer of Rizal to Cagayan.

Municipal Administrator Marcelo dela Cruz who was j ust replaced by his son Chris Mark as. mayor of the town is the alleged moving spirit behind the move to transfer Rizal to Cagayan. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW, Nov. 25, 2007

Napolcom bats for beefing up ofTabuk police

Tabuk City, Kalinga - As a result of a survey which showed that this city accounts for two-thirds of the crimes takingplace in the province, the National Police Commission (Napolcom) office in the province has recommended the reassignment of three to four policemen from each of the seven towns of the province to this city.

The survey which was conducted by the local Napolcom at the instruction of Governor Floydelia Diasen and Vice Governor Jocel Baac covered the period January 2006 to June 2007 and revealed that of the 161 crimes which occurred in the province during the period, 104 or 65 percent took place in the city.

Of the 36 murders perpetrated in the province during the period, 24 or 66 percent were committed in Tabuk City. All the five homicides recorded during the period also took place in this city.

Kalinga Napolcom Director Fernando Cosidon said the survey confirms what has been accepted for a long time: Tabuk City is a crime-prone locality.

Rizal and Pinukpuk were distant second and third registering 28 and 17 crimes during the survey period, respectively.

On the opposite end were Tanudan and Tinglayan towns with the former registering zero crime rate during the period and the latter with just a case of threat and coercion disturbing its peace during the 18 months.

The recommendation of Cosidon jibes with the proposal of Tabuk City Mayor Camilo Lammawin, Jr. during the provincial peace and order council (PPOC) regular meeting November 9 that the city police force be augmented from the police contingents of other towns on the rationale that these towns are peaceful anyway.

Lammawin said that the assignment of more policemen in the city would enable the establishment of check points in Nambaran and Lacnog, the two notorious hold-up zones in the city.

The mayors of Tanudan, Tinglayan, Pinukpuk and Balbalan who all reported that there were no crimes in their towns in the past month balked at the proposal but Lammawin who is the president of the local chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines said that the matter will be discussed during their meeting.

Saying that problems in peace and order is but natural among population centers like Tabuk City, Cordillera Police Director Eugene Martin who was present during the meeting promised that some of the 150 new police recruits will be assigned to Tabuk City "to show our concern for peace here."

Police Chief Inspector Romulo Danglose, who was just relieved as OlC^chief of police of this city, has informed the media the city police force is seriously undermanned.

"If we follow the prescribed policeman to population ratio for cities which is one to 500 residents, we lack 57 policemen. Compounding our problem is the wide area of the city," Danglose said.

Danglose admitted that the crime-prone Tabuk-Tuguegarao and the Tabuk-Roxas highways are the two main headaches of city law enforcers and are ruining the city in the eyes of businessmen and even ordinary commuters even as he expressed the hope that the new police provincial director will prioritize these highways.

Police Senior Superintendent Maximo Valiente assumed as Kalinga's police director last November 9. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW, Nov. 25, 2007

Moral lessons in arithmetic

Is our government morally corrupt? I do not think so; and it is untenable perhaps for anyone to feel it really is. Judgement prudence dictates a dichotomy of the institution itself and those individuals within it. Our government institution is standing on solid grounds formed by perdurable sound political theories. Only that some, surely not all, of those individuals within it are morally bankrupt. It is the individual either who has a sense of moral mandate to preserve the integrity of the institution or has the audacity to tarnish the sanctity of the institution by which he works for his living.

Over the past weeks we heard the news. We heard scandals involving overpricing of government contracts or projects; we saw the left-leaning groups, hooligans or mobs marching along the main thoroughfares of Metro Manila, insensitive always as they are causing inconveniences to the motorists. We heard calls for moral revolution from head honchos, especially politicos - who by the way let their sons, daughters, and kins shrewdly participate in government biddings or secure government contracts notwithstanding of the prohibitive provision of law. This is a sham call for moral reformation. Finally, we heard the bomb blasts in Glorieta 2 and Batasan Pambansa; the seat of one of the most important elements of our government was not spared from shenanigans.

I am quoting this email I received last Friday, November 23, 2007. I am not sure if this is a joke or a serious thing. Whether it is meant to traduce certain politicos or give credit to a putatively moral person turned politician. The title is “A Lesson in Arithmetic”.

I'm 100% sure this income disparity is replicated in all the provinces of the Philippines.

If we had more Ed Panlilios in our government, we would be just like Singapore in a short time. Read on......

We hope we are witnessing what will be a sustained revolution in good governance in the Province of Pampanga , under its newly elected governor, Fr. Ed Panlilio.

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer of August 26, only one month after Fr. Panlilio assumed his gubernatorial duties, the province's income from the quarrying of volcanic ash from Mount Pinatubo had reached P29.4 million. (Haulers pay a fee of P300 per truck of volcanic ash that they haul from the quarry.)

By contrast, during his predecessor Mark Lapid's term as governor, the province's income from the same quarrying operations amount ed to only P29 million a year.

This gaping variation in official incomes from the same activity should inspire a new set of textbooks in Arithmetic, especially for the school children of Pampanga.

There is nothing like local color and local situations to cultivate comprehension in young minds.

Sample problems: If Fr. Ed's provincial government can collect P29.4 million in 26 days (we assume no quarrying on Sundays), how much does it collect in one day?

Answer: An average of P1.130 million.

If Fr. Ed's provincial government collects an average of P1.130 million a day from quarrying operations, how much can it collect in one year of 313 days (365 days less 52 Sundays)?

Answer: P353, 690,000, or P354 million.

If Fr. Ed's provincial government can collect P354 million a year, and Mark Lapid's provincial government collected only P29 million a year, what is the difference in their official yearly collections?

Answer: P325 million a year.

If Mark Lapid was governor for four years and his provincial government's annual collections from quarrying amounted to an average of P29 million, how much did his provincial govt. officially collect in four years?

Answer: P116 million.

If Fr. Ed manages to remain as provincial governor for four years, and his provincial government's annual collection from quarrying were to average P354 million, how much will his provincial government collect in four years?

Answer: P1.416 billion.

What is the difference between P1.416 billion and P116 million?

Answer: P1.3 billion.

Where did this P1.3 billion go? Answer: Only God and the Lapids know. ('Lapids' is in plural because Mark, as a second generation political dynast, succeeded his own father, now Sen. Lito Lapid. We don't know how much Lito's provincial government officially collected from quarrying operations during his watch. Should be a good investigative project for media.)

If Gawad Kalinga spends an average of P75,000 per low cost house, how many low-cost houses can P1.3 billion build?

Answer: 17,333 low-cost houses.

If the average Pampanga family were to consist of five persons (father, mother, three children), how many people would be benefited by 17,333 low-cost houses?

Answer: 86,665 persons.

End of Arithmetic lesson.

Fr. Ed is to be congratulated for setting a high benchmark for collection from quarrying operations against which his predecessors have a moral obligation to explain why their collections were so low, and against which future governors will be judged by the people of Pampanga.

Volcanic ash, by the way, is a superior building material. Many of the buildings, aqueducts & monuments of the Roman Empire that have survived for almost 2,000 years are known to have been built with volcanic ash, quarried from the environs of Mount Vesuvius after it erupted in 79 AD.

We don't expect Fr. Ed's moral victory in Pampanga to be remembered for the next 2,000 yrs.

We would be happy with five, ten or 20 years, enough, we hope, to spawn a moral-revolution- by- example to save the Filipinos from their worst enemies – themselves.

GOOD LUCK Philippines !

“Therefore, the primary cause of poverty is not overpopulation of the Phil! It's because our county is overpopulated with corrupt officials.”(emphasis mine)

This lesson is formulated with impressive bravado. And yeah it maybe a lesson that does not draggily contain a dabbling joke. Neither do we simply dismiss it as mere trivial innuendos.

I might say it is a serious demonstration of truth. And the truth hurts indeed! Isn't it?

Just two weeks ago, according to an insider, a team from the Kalinga Provincial Government, mostly from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office and other officials, visited Pampanga to observe and learn the quarry operations there. We just hope that the educational trip would not be just another waste of people's money. And by the way in Kalinga there are projects that just became white elephants and building constructions implemented by the provincial government that remain unfinished despite the fact that about tens of millions of people's money were already spent.

Murder in Tabuk might rouse tribal grudges

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Local police investigators are looking into the possibility the tricycle driver found dead on the driver's seat of his tricycle at Purok 7, Bulanao, this city, 8:10 AM of November 8, was killed because he was mistaken to be a member of the Naneng tribe. Tabuk City OlC-Chief of Police Romulo Danglose said that according to their initial findings, victim Salvador Carpio, 42, married, presently residing at of Purok 6, Bulanao, used to live in Balani, Lucog, this city, and spoke the Naneng dialect fluently although he was an immigrant.

Incidentally, according to a source, Carpio had transferred his family to Bulanao after their house in Balani was destroyed by a landslide in August 6,2006. The victim who himself was injured in the landslide, lost two of his children in the tragedy.

Danglose said that based on descriptions given by witnesses, they have identified Primo Binay-og as suspect in the shooting to death of Carpio and police investigators are now trying to establish the motive of revenge for the shooting to death of relatives Noel and Jose Binay-og by alleged Naneng gunmen on June 29, 2005 at Maledda, Ipil, this city. Danglose said that the Binay-ogs and the Nanengs were feuding over a parcel of land.

The Sadanga tribe to which the Binay-ogs belong, however, deny a hand in the killing of Carpio even as they expressed willingness to perform the sapata to clear themselves. The sapata is an indigenous ritual whereby a person who is being suspected of a crime solemnly avers his innocence under pain of harm befalling himself and even his family if he is lying.

Several persons who were not members of either warring tribe have been killed on mistaken identity during tribal wars here in recent years.

The shooting of Carpio was the first of three violent incidents occurring in the city since last week.

Around 8:55 PM of November 11 Estabillo Galamto, 17, resident of Purok 5, Bulanao, Bemie Balicao, single, laborer, also of Purok 5, Bulanao and Adrian Dayawon, 23, single, student of the nearby Kalinga-Apayao State College and resident of Paligatto, Balawag, this city, were walking along the Provincial Road on their way to Hilltop, Purok 6, Bulanao when shot one after the other for still no apparent reason.

Galamto was killed, 17, Dayawon was injured and Balicao who was also shot once escape unscathed.

Initial police investigation show that three were accosted by two men in front of the National Irrigation Administration compound. One of the two men then shot them at close range. His companion was unarmed. Scene of the Crime Operative from the KPPO recovered three empty shell for a caliber 45 pistol in the crime scene. Danglose said the investigation has been stalled because Balicao could not give any useful information while Dayawon is still recuperating in the hospital.

Dawn of November 14, Reynaldo Dugayon, 32, married, a farmer who also buys and sells gold, and a resident of Bullalayao, Pantikian, Balbalan, this province, was shot dead in his room at the Las Vegas Lodge in Dagupan Weste by still unidentified gunman for still unknown reason. The victim was shot twice as evidence by two empty shells recovered in the room by police investigators.

Investigator Paul Payan told the media that Dugayon had checked in at a different hotel but transferred to the Las Vegas Lodge sometime in the evening where he, together with gay waiter George Garcia, 20, and waitress Mary Ann Crisologo, 17, drunk in the Los Angeles Videoke House on the third floor of the hotel from 8 to 10:45 PM.

Quoting a Jerry Alvendo, 26, the cashier of the hotel, Payan said that from the videoke bar, the three transferred to the room of the victim in the second floor where they ate and then continued drinking until 3 AM when Garcia and Crisologo left Dugayon.

It was around the time when Garcia and Crisologo left the victim's room that shots rang out in the hotel. Danglose said that robbery has been ruled out as a motive for the crime because a cash of 29,750.00 was found in a pant pocket of the victim. Danglose said they are now looking into information the murder is connected with a hold-up which took place in Gaang, Balbalan on October 28 wherein the victim was the suspect.

Danglose said the information appears to tally with the statement of witnesses in the first two videoke bars where Dugayon had a drink that evening and also at the Las Vegas Lodge where a man wearing a black leather jacket was following him. **By Estanislao Albano Jr., ZZW, Nov. 18, 2007

Two government troopers killed in an ambush

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Two government troopers were killed and five of their comrades were wounded when they walked into an ambush set up by the New People's Army (NPA) at sitio Butol, Apatan, Pinukpuk, this province, morning of November 15, according to reports. The victims were identified as Corporal Glenn Cadilinia and CAFGU Macario Mangwag and those injured as 2Lt. Allen Rey Sadio and CAFGUs Rolando Dres, Venancio Lumawig, Rolando Andrade and Benny Bonggawon.

The government troopers numbering around 20 were coming from an operation in Ab-abaan, Balbalan, this province, early morning of November 15 when they were ambushed at Butol by the insurgents numbering more or less 40.

The source said the government troopers fought back and the firefight lasted from 7 to 11 AM.

There were no reported casualties on the side of the rebels. **Estanislao Albatto, Jr., ZZW, Nov. 18, 2007

17 locals qualify for call center training

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Of 60 local applicants, 17 passed the rigid screening given by the Sutherland Global Services (SGS), a leading multi-national Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm, to prospective call center agents of the company during their recruitment activity conducted here November 7 and 8.

SGS recruitment assistant Lady Ferlyn Victoria said that the written exams and two oral interviews were intended to test the communication skills of the applicants.

Victoria informed the media that those who passed will now take a two to three weeks training in the call center site of the SGS in Clark, Pampanga adding that the qualifiers are virtually hired because it is very rare applicants would fail in the training stage.

Victoria said that aside from Clark, the SGS also has call center sites in Makati, Davao and Camarines Sur and is expanding its operations in the country where at present, it already employs 1,500 call center agents.

Loyda Saboy , Public Employment Services Officer-designate of Tabuk City said that if the qualifiers will be hired, their starting basic salary will be PI2,000.00 exclusive of allowances and other benefits.

Saboy said Tabuk facilitated the recruitment activity of the SGS by providing the venue, the snacks, coordination, advertisement and technical assistance and it was the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) which arranged the coming of the SGS to the city.

The locals who will be finally hired will join the over 17,500 professionals working for the company in its 18 delivery centers in India, the United States, Philippines, Canada, and Mexico. **Estanislao Albano , Jr., ZZW, Nov. 18, 2007

Slanted

Unfortunately for us, opinion polls are in fashion during our time. They ask the totally uninformed to render an expert opinion.

The results are treated as news. They grab the headlines. They influence the design of policy. They dictate the behavior of political leaders. They shape public expectation of what ought to be done. They conserve dogma.

And  it is called democracy. The way that word is understood these days is that it is a condition where the banal opinions of the uninformed should take precedence over the sound conclusions of the expertly informed.

If we take this notion of democracy to undue extents, much tragedy could be produced.

For instance, if we ask people by means of an opinion poll if they wanted to be taxed, guess what the outcome would be? If, by means of an opinion poll, we asked them to choose between a proper national budget or simply distributing cash to every citizen, they will likely choose the latter.

If opinion polls were to be obeyed, we would have a regime that collects no taxes, subsidizes oil and food and gives away housing to all who have none. It would be a regime that is bankrupt, paralyzed and mired in debt. But what the heck, it will be a regime with high approval ratings — although eventually it will be a regime that runs out of the means to meet pompous public expectation and be overthrown.

A few days ago, the SWS released a poll where 13% said they were better off now after the peso appreciated and 30% said they were better off before appreciation. 57% said things were the same. In the usual neat way that SWS outcomes are reported, the numbers are broken down into income brackets and across regions of the country.

The news media dutifully carried out the results as a big story, concluding, as the SWS does, that the peso’s appreciation by a net effect of -17% harmed more Filipinos than it helped. The implication is that the peso’s appreciation is bad.

But how did we know that?

Those who said their lives were better before might have been simply reporting the usual erosion of inflation on fixed incomes rather a negative effect of peso appreciation. But since the SWS questionnaire linked income erosion to peso appreciation, we are all brought to what might be a contrived conclusion. It is entirely possible we might get the same profile of responses (or even worse) if the peso was depreciating.

And what about the 57% who said the behavior of the currency did not matter? That is a pretty impressive number. Why was this not the headline story?

Some of my readers have asked me this really unwarranted question: If the peso was behaving so well, why are oil prices still rising?

Well, over the past few months, the price of crude simply rose faster than the peso appreciated. From about $30 a barrel, the price in now well over $90 so quickly. If the exchange rate remained the same, we would be paying P100 per liter for fuel. *(Prof. Alex Magno) Read more...

Not many people aware of model pagta

Tabuk City, Kalinga – The Kalinga tribal elders organized by Congressman Manuel Agyao to address the peace and order problems of the province are calling for the conduct of a massive information education campaign (IEC) on the model pagta as amended during the 5th Kalinga Bodong Congress (KBC) in April 2002.

The model pagta are the laws of the bodong, the tribal peace pact system practiced in Kalinga and some parts of Mtn. Province and Abra, drafted by the 4th KBC in 1998.

The Agyao Peace and Order Movement (APOM) said the IEC is necessary because most bodong practitioners in the province are not aware of the amendments made by the 5th KBC, which includes the prohibition of vengeance unless and until all peaceful means of settling have been exhausted.

In a resolution addressed to Agyao and Gov. Floydelia Diasen, the APOM requested for a P100,000.00 allocation to fund the reproduction of the model pagta and the conduct of IEC.

APOM chairman Ruben Tuazon informed this writer that IEC will be conducted in all bodong-practicing tribal communities ahead of the conduct of another bodong congress next year.

Among the proposed amendments that will be discussed in the next bodong congress are the acknowledgement of national laws as over and above the bodong , a blanket prohibition on the severance of the bodong even in cases of killings, and that Kalinga policemen should be exempted from the effects of the bodong while in the performance of their duties.

The practice of some tribes of invoking the bodong and penalizing Kalinga policemen who go after suspects belonging to Kalinga tribes has always been an irritant between police authorities and the bodong community. **Estanislao Albanao Jr.

Body of missing person found

Tabuk City, Kalinga – The dead body of the gatekeeper of the National Irrigation Administration Chico River System at Bado Dangwa, this city, who went missing during the height of typhoon Kabayan night of November 4 has been found in Faire, Piat Cagayan on November 8.

Office of the Civil Defense provincial officer Cristeta Reyes said that the searchers from Malin-awa, this city, village of victim Elpidio Balawag, 54, married, were led to his body by Faire residents who were fishing along the Chico river.

Mary Pidcasen, 54, married, residents of Malin-awa, this city who reported the matter to the police the following day, said that Balawag went to close to close the gate at around 7 PM of November 4 and that was the last time he was seen.

Residents of Malin-awa believe that Balawag was carried away by the strong water current of the Chico river brought about by heavy rains spawned by the typhoon Kabayan and drowned. The gate of the dam is across the river from Malin-awa.

Malin-awa residents as well as those of the other barangays in the area use the dam to cross the Chico river which is overflowed by water when the river is swollen.

Despite NIA authorities prohibiting people from crossing the Chico river on the dam, they persist in doing so and since the construction of the dam in the early 80s, at least 10 people have already died after they were carried away by the current while crossing the river on top of the dam. **Estanislao Albano Jr.

Pardon/money for nothing?

While I may not have really been blown by the decision of the President to grant executive clemency or pardon to Erap Estrada and his plundering ways, I was shocked though by the rush (or is it rash) by which it was granted. Apparently, there is some political wisdom in pardoning Erap – at least for GMA's shaky perch. However, the very act of giving Erap what he wanted (so desperately, you might add) immediately as soon as Erap's lawyers (not Erap for Chrissake) had asked for it betrays an administration that must deal from a position of weakness of a self-inflicted kind. Still, conventional wisdom suggests that GMA could have held back her decision a few more days and, in the process, earned some respect from Erap and her other detractors. She didn't even wait for any clamor to grant Erap his pardon! If GMA would be treated like a lameduck President after this, it is totally her fault.

What bothers me most about the decision was that the pardon was given without any show of remorse from Erap. When one asks to be forgiven, which is what asking for pardon is, you must first make an admission that you have committed a sin and make a show of SINCERELY being sorry. There was nothing sincere about Erap's request, nay demand for pardon. In fact it was totally hypocritical. Didn't Erap say he was submitting to the wisdom of his lawyers to seek for GMA's pardon because he no longer believed in our country's justice system? I am pretty sure Erap is not that stupid as to not know that pardon is part of the justice system he no longer believed in. Likewise, Erap is still trying to fool people into believing he didn't commit any crime. If you're not guilty, why ask to be pardoned?

Some apologists tried to explain, by way of extolling the decision for some, that granting Erap his pardon demonstrates the magnanimity if not the humanity of the Arroyo administration while taking note of Erap's age (70) and the state of his mother. There are also those who claim that GMA's act is consistent with her call for reconciliation and the timing of the decision's announcement should be a non-issue. It is time to move on, they say.

It is also worth noting that before last Thursday's announcement, Malacañang stoutly proclaimed that there are conditions Erap must accede to before he may be pardoned. Based on the reports, it appears that the Estrada family agreed to recognize the legitimacy of GMA's presidency. Yes, readers, the Estradas' recognition of the legitimacy of Arroyo's leadership is a lot more important than Erap's admission of guilt. If anything, the act is an admission of guilt, not by Erap but by GMA who's not really sure she is the legitimate President of the Republic as suggested by Malacañang's act of requiring Erap to legitimize her presidency.

This development may have a very serious impact on our view of morality. You could almost hear the man on the streets say it: Kung milyun-milyon ang ninakaw mo, bibigyan ka ng pardon. Pero kung barya-barya lang, bubugbugin ka ng buong bayan. And we say street people have a crooked morality?

--oO0Oo--

Despite that shocker of a pardon, Erap is nowhere near as popular as he or other people would like us to believe. I am pretty sure if a poll were conducted to determine the most popular Pinoy right now, Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio and Joey de Venecia would easily be the runaway top two while Erap would be looking up way behind Manny Pacquiao and Kokey.

--oO0Oo--

Following Panlilio's bomb several Arroyo supporters tried to picture Panlilio as a fool but so far have only succeeded at painting their depravity for our viewing (dis)pleasure. Take Environment Sec. Lito Atienza, for instance. When he said that the giving of money to local congressmen and local officials by Malacañang is nothing out of the ordinary (read: normal, a standard practice), I am pretty sure he didn't have the permission of his boss to make such a stunningly revealing statement. An administration not as desperate as the present one would have sacked him right away for such careless pronouncements. When you come to think about it, Raul Gonzales and Ignacio Bunye are still cabinet secretaries despite several faux pas to their names.

What disturbs me about the issue is that the government normally deals with checks, not cash. If, as Atienza claims, receiving money from Malacañang is nothing out of the ordinary, then why give it in cash? And if it is, indeed, true that the money was meant as assistance to the provinces for this week's barangay elections, is it the normal practice to hand the money over to the governors and not to the agencies concerned? Does this also mean that a governor may be summoned to Malacañang (in the guise of a meeting) just for the simple errand of delivering money from Malacañang (or wherever it came from) to his province? Looks to me like Arroyo's allies could do GMA greater service by shutting their yaps since all they have achieved so far is provide more nails to crucify her with.

--oO0Oo--

Baguio City congressman Mauricio Domogan denied receiving money during the controversial meeting in Malacañang. I can believe him. Domogan is a favorite of former president Fidel Ramos who remains an influential figure in Lakas, the party whose support GMA needs to make it through 2007. It would indeed be rather patronizing of GMA to hand Domogan a “paltry sum” considering his importance to the coalition. A project with an eight-digit funding may perhaps be more like it.

—oO0Oo—

This Monday’s barangay elections hold some particular interest especially so that it is being held only five months after the midterm elections. It will be interesting to see how the politicians who lost in the May polls would respond against those re-electionist barangay chairmen who played a key part in their electoral defeat. Will ex-Congressman Laurence Wacnang and his son-in-law James Bejarin lend their resources in bringing down those barangay captains who blindsided them last May? Of course, this is not to say that the incumbents would sit back, relax and amuse themselves. They’ll be working hard to get their own people into position.

The more interesting aspect in the barangay elections though, at least in the case of our very young city, is that running for a post in the remote barangays is more expensive than gunning for a post in the more progressive barangays. The poorer the barangay, the costlier it is to get elected. As one candidate rued, butchering one carabao used to make enough of an impression to the voters but that seems a long, long time ago.

Which makes me wonder how accessible had Mayor Camilo Lammawin Jr. and Vice-Mayor Rainier Sarol been these last few days. The two gentlemen should pay attention to the fact that only eight of the Tabuk City’s 43 barangays are classified as urban while the rest are struggling – an unusual ratio for a city, if we may say so.

—oO0Oo—

In Barangay Bulanao where I live, an interesting contest has shaped up between the incumbent Benny Sugguiyao and Illo Gunnawa, both of whom belonging to the Lubo tribe and related by blood, too. It can easily be argued that Gunnawa is the most feared resident of this fearsome barangay while the incumbent is the most outspoken.

I don’t want to comment on this one as Sugguiyao is my uncle while Gunnawa is my cousin. I can’t help but wonder though if we will finally see the last of jueteng in Tabuk if Manong Illo does get the Bulanao chairmanship? If you’re wondering about that last comment, ask a Tabukeño. **Bani Asbucan

Dying young

Last Wednesday my nephews Joshua Asbucan Banoey, 8, and his brother Evan James, 7, were laid to rest in their grandparents’ backyard.

Based on what we were able to piece together, Joshua and EJ went to take a bath at a pond where excess water from the rice fields spill over sometime before noon last Sunday. What remains unclear to us is how both brothers got themselves into a portion of the pond that is a little too deep for them. The pond is some distance from the nearest houses so that about 30 minutes had passed before somebody passed by and learned that the brothers had drowned. Their bodies were already stiff and bloated when they were recovered. They were embracing each other.

Joshua and EJ are children of my cousin Eleonor, a public school teacher, and Johnny, an army sergeant. Leonor requested to be transferred to the Rizal National School of Arts and Trade to be together with all her children. When Leonor gave birth to Joshua, she was pursuing here master’s degree on values education in a prestigious Manila university, thanks to a scholarship grant she had been very fortunate to avail of. Joshua grew up in the care of his grandparents, Uncle Benjamin and Auntie Linda Asbucan. Since Leonor had been assigned to Amdalao, Pasil all those years before her transfer to RNSAT, Joshua practically grew up as the “last child” of Uncle Benjie and Auntie Linda.

As we were laying Joshua and EJ to the ground, I could almost hear my heart breaking as Uncle Benjie sang his thanks to the Lord in tears. Just three years ago, Uncle Benjie lost a son, a victim of a fatal love triangle.

We don’t know what really happened yet. But the family has embraced one theory based on the state of the corpses and the signs of struggle on the scene of the tragedy. It was easy to see that Joshua had drowned longer. We all agreed that he may have drowned trying to get EJ out of the water. Leonor herself claims that her eldest is very protective of his ading and would be sure to fetch EJ from school on his way home. As for EJ, he might have refused to leave his brother instead of trying to save himself.

Few deaths could actually touch the depths of my soul, but the death of the very young stirs up raw emotions that overwhelm my being. It also makes me brood over the meaning of life. Joshua and EJ’s tragedy brought back to mind the many times I could have drowned, having taken in water through my nose, but somehow managed to swim my way out of danger by sheer force of will. There were also those few times I lost my footing catching coins on top of the big rock at Mines View. There was also that summer in 1983 when the Buliyat family took my younger brother Gerald and me to a picnic by the Asin River. As the rest were enjoying their lunch, Gerald and I stayed on the water. Somehow Gerald got carried away to where the water got too deep for him (he was no swimmer) and he was taking in water as he struggled to stay afloat while he calling me for rescue. Instinctively, I swam after him and managed to grab him as he was about to go under. However, the current was too strong for my eight-year old body and we only got carried further downstream. Fortunately somebody spotted us – I cannot remember who but I can remember a scream – and the men immediately scrambled for us. Judge Francis Buliyat must have reset the sprint record that day as he quickly bounded down the stony path towards us and we were soon safely out of the water.

I am quite sure that Gerald and I could have easily shared a similar fate with Joshua and EJ if we didn’t have people who cared enough to watch over us. The irony of that rescue was that when I got home, I found the taste of the cough syrup I was taking in at the time too hard to resist and I drank more than I was supposed to. I ended up in a hospital that same night for a near fatal overdose.

Life remains a complete mystery to me. I had courted danger several times and had managed to cheat death each time by, I suppose, plain luck. Others were far worse at it than I was but have stayed around like the proverbial weeds in the garden. My nephews could have used a slice of that luck but it was not meant to be.

It must be very hard to lose boys like them. EJ, especially, has a very sweet disposition and an easy smile and that will be how I will forever remember him. My wife, Maria Christina, could not sleep for three straight nights upon receiving news of the children’s death. The tragedy had shaken her peace of mind so she kept going back to those moments we got Joshua and EJ to come over to our house for some celebration.

***

The boys' death capped a week filled with death by accidents and natural causes.

The teen-aged nephew of my co-teacher, Ms. Suzette Arboleda, was killed as a drunken man slammed his vehicle at the boy who was helping push a stalled vehicle on the other side of the highway.

Before that, provincial assessor Jeffrey Uyam was trying to overtake another vehicle when he crashed into a motorcycle bearing a couple moving from the opposite direction. The couple died while Manong Jeff was fine but only in the physical sense: his lady victim happens to be his immediate neighbor.

A Tabuk policeman who jumped off a jeepney that had mechanical trouble on an uphill road in Tanudan ended up an "accidental hero" as he got caught under the jeepney, which was loaded with women and children, preventing it from plummeting down a ravine -- at the cost of his life.

Two of my co-workers lost their fathers to infirmities while the husband of Mrs. Pacita Litorco, our Makabayan department head, died of choking. Sometime during the evening of Oct. 18, Lakay Angnganay passed on to the other side after more than 90 years on earth.

My condolences to: Leonor and Johnny and their respective families, the Pugao family (he did his duty to the end -- to serve and protect), the Tabbang family, the Litorco family, the Arboleda family, the Sarol-Arobel family, Manong Doming Oclarino, and the Angnganay clan of Lubo.

***

Happy birthday to EJ (Oct. 17, the day of his burial), my sister Golda Mira (Oct. 18), my beloved son Nathan (Oct. 19) and my niece Queenie (Oct. 20). Except for EJ, may you have, indeed, many more birthdays to come.**Bani Asbucan

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Five Pasil Towns allow geothermal explorations

Tabuk City, Kalinga - The tribes of Balatoc, Colayo, Dalupa, Guinaang and Dangtalan in Pasil municipality, this province, have signed separate free and prior informed consent (FPIC) documents and memoranda of agreement (MOAs) for the exploration and possible production of geothermal energy in their ancestral domains in favor of Guidance Management Corporation (GMC) and Aragorn Power and Energy Corporation (APEC), two Makati-based firms.

A source who witnessed the signing which took place during the first and second weeks of October said the councils of elders and leaders signed in behalf of the tribes. Earlier in Tabuk, GMC executive vice president and chief operating officer Salvador San Jose and APEC executive vice president Bernardo Lim signed the MOAs. National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Chairman Eugenio Insigne will also sign the documents in behalf of his agency.

The source said the five tribes hold 14,722 hectares of the 24,939 hectares covered by the Geothermal Service Contract application of the corporate partners with the Department of Energy (DOE). The remaining area is located in the ancestral domains of the Uma tribe in Lubuagan municipality and Dananao, Tulgao, Sumadel, Bangad and Tinglayan tribes in the municipality of Tinglayan.

The source said that the Tulgao tribe has already out-rightly rejected the proposal due to fears that the exploration will affect their water sources while negotiations are still underway for the consent of the other tribes.

The source said that with the signing of the FPICs and the MOAs by the five tribes, the NCIP could now issue the Certificate of Precondition, a condition for the issuance by the DOE of a Geothermal Service Contract which give permission to the applicants to explore and produce in the event the geothermal resources are found viable for commercial production.

The MOAs will be effective within the exploration period which will be five years and renewable for another two years.

The MOAs provide that in the event that the exploration will determine the geothermal resources to be of commercial quantity, the GMC-APEC will have the exclusive right to conduct geothermal operations within the contract areas for 25 years and an additional extension of 18 years.

However, before the start of commercial operations, the parties will execute an addendum to the MOAs to cover the "work and financial obligations of the parties in accordance with the IPRA and other pertinent laws in proportion to the geothermal resources within the area."

The MOAs mandate the two corporations to exercise cultural sensitivity by implementing the project and performing their obligations under the agreement with due consideration to the customs, traditions, values, beliefs and interests and institutions of the tribes.

Also among the obligations of the GMC-APEC embodied in the contract is the funding and implementation of community development projects.

The source said that the five tribes differed in some of the development projects they chose, but common among them are educational scholarships, construction and improvement of roads, construction of school buildings and concreting of irrigation systems.

The MOAs also provide that the GMC-APEC to prioritize members of the tribes in employment except in positions which requires skills not available in the indigenous cultural communities concerned.

Department of Energy geologist Ronald Pendon projected once the project prospers, the plant will be the biggest in the country. **by Estanislao Albano, Jr., Zigzag Weekly, Oct. 14, 2007

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Kalinga Board places province under state of calamity

TABUK CITY, Kalinga - The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) here during its session last week has declared the entire province under a state of calamity on account of the heavy damage inflicted by tropical depression Hanna and tropical storm Ineng on crops and infrastructure in the province.

The action of the SP was based on the consolidated report of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) which placed the total damage on local and national infrastructure at P 62M and on crops at P 8M.

The report also revealed that there was one casualty in Pinukpuk municipality in the person of Ronald Te-od, Sangguniang Kabataan president of the Bayao. He was drowned on October 2 while crossing the creek between Bayao and Tuga, Tabuk City which was swollen by rains dumped by the two storms.

The report also stated that some 1,695 families were affected by the calamities. The houses of six families in Pasil and one in Lubuagan were partially damaged by landslides.

Included in the PDCC report were damage estimates from the Department of Public Works and Highways and the National Irrigation Administration which claimed their infrastructures incurred damages worth P19M and P5M, respectively.

SP Resolution 2007-277 also authorized the use of the five percent calamity reserve from the first to third quarters "to alleviate the effects of the calamities." **Estanislao Albano, Jr., Zigzag Weekly, Oct. 14, 2007

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Kalinga police: Torn between 2 Regions

TABUK CITY, Kalinga - The implementation of General Order DPL 09-11 issued a month ago by then Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Calderon placing the police commands of Kalinga and Apayao under the control and supervision of Police Regional Office 2 (PR02) has put the two commands in a confusing situation.

That's because instead of fully transferring control of the two police forces to PR02, the police authorities of PR02 and the Police Regional Office-Cordillera Administrative Region (PROCAR) have decided that only the operations of the Kalinga and Apayao commands be transferred to PR02 while the administration will remain with PROCAR.

Kalinga OIC-Provincial Director Florante Camuyot told the media that he gathered during a PROCAR police command conference last week that the Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership is hesitant to fully implement the general order because of the threat of being charged administratively and criminally for undermining Executive Order 220 which created the CAR.

He identified the local officials of the region and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines as the groups poised to file the charges against the PNP lead­ership on account of the general order.

Camuyot said that with both regional offices issuing direct orders to the two police commands, "there is confusion sometimes."

He cited the case of the security preparations for the coming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections where he has to deal with the PROCAR for financial support and with PRO2 for troop augmentation.

Camuyot also said that their gas allowance which is not much to begin with is also being affected by the situation because he has to attend command conferences in both regions.

"There are a lot of work where we need the assistance of a boss. We do not know whom to turn to now," he said.

Camuyot expressed the wish that the issue under which region the Kalinga and Apayao police would be finally placed should be resolved at the soonest possible time "for us to know our real boss and to remove the confusion."

Camuyot also said that with the Kalinga LGU vehemently opposed to the transfer of control and supervision of the Kalinga police to PR02, some of the command's activities have been hampered.

He cited the directive of PR02 for the conduct of a command conference regarding the deputation of tanods and auxiliary units in the province but he is hesitant to set it up because he doubts it will be productive considering the non-acceptance of Kalinga officials of the general order.

He added the Kalinga government expressed Willingness to give some fund for physical improvements in Camp Juan Duyan, the police headquarters here, but since the issuance of the general order, he noticed that the local officials are no longer as keen on pushing through with the project. **By Estanislao Albano, Jr., Zigzag Weekly, Oct. 14, 2007

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Police chief bashes amicable settlement practice

Tabuk City, Kalinga - The chief of police of this city has lashed anew at the practice of suspects here of threatening complainants and witnesses and forcing them to agree to amicable settlement of cases.

PCI Romulo Danglose called the two practices "the agony of policemen here because they practically undo our work in investigating, identifying and filing cases against suspects."

"Settlement of cases is the in thing here. We cannot prevent the victims from agreeing to amicably settle their cases because that's their right. The problem is as a result, criminals continue to roam about the city," Danglose said.

Danglose made the remarks in connection with the filing of a robbery case against the three suspects in the robbing of a chainsaw store here and the killing of a tanod and the wounding of another evening of September 21."

Danglose explained that they have only filed the case for the robbery because they still do not have enough evidence to pin down the suspects for the murder and the wounding of the two tanods.

"We still do not have an eyewitness although the evidence at hand appear to show that the three suspects could be the same persons who shot the two tanods," Danglose said.

Danglose did not mention the names of the three suspects one of whom has already been arrested "for the safety of the complainant and the witnesses."

The police investigation showed that at around 8:30 PM of September 21, three men held up Arnel Francisco, 22, single, an employee of the Powersaw Trading stores at Dagupan Weste and Magsaysay, both in this city, while he was on his way to the latter branch.

The three men who were armed with short guns took away his Seiko Diver's watch, Nokia 3315 cellphone arid the key to the Dagupan Weste branch which two of the suspects used to open the store while the other guarded Francisco.

The two suspects took away from the store two chainsaws worth P74.000.00 and one portable generator worth P8,000.00 and cash collections of more .or less P50,000.00 after which they returned for their companion and Francisco whom they used as their hostage in their flight.

While they Were about to pass the Magsaysay barangay hall, however, a passing vehicle illuminated them and Francisco took the chance to make a run for it. He sought help from people who were drinking at a nearby store who brought him to the police station.

Danglose said that Francisco had positively identified the suspect who was arrested.

The police said that later that evening Patrick Pasabing, 49, married, a barangay tanod of Appas and and fellow-tanod Paul Ducayag, 39, saw three persons passing by carrying two chainsaws and one portable generator.

Suspecting that the persons were rohbers, the two coordinated with other tanods to block the suspects afterwhich they followed the suspects themselves, and when they reached the boundary of Appas and San Juan, they were fired upon by the suspects hitting Pasabing fatally.

The tanods who were supposed to block the path of the suspects namely Ramon Pinartoc, Lambayong Cumisa and Noel Marquez were also fired upon with Pinartoc getting hit in the stomach. **By Estanislao Albano Jr.

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Person with P300,000.00 prize on his head arrested

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Joint in­telligence operatives from the Police Regional Office of the Cordillera, from Baguio City and this province and the Kalinga Provincial Mobile Group arrested last Saturday a suspect in a kidnapping case committed in Baguio City some­time in 2003.

Roger Agtulao alias Ludlud, 31, native of Pingad, Sabangan, Mtn. Prov., has a P300,000.00 prize on his head.

Kalinga OIC-Provincial Police Director Florante Camuyot said that Agtulao who had been hiding in Bangad, Tinglayan, Kalinga, the residence of his wife, was on his way to Tabuk from Tihglayan when surprised by the police at sitio Patiking, Naneng. this city, 8:15 morning of September 29.

Camuyot said that the police were armed with a warrant of arrest for the crime of kidnapping issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 62 in La Trinidad, Benguet.

Camuyot also informed that all of the other suspects in the crime have already been arrested and are undergoing trial.**By Estanislao Albano, Jr., Zigzag Weekly, Oct. 7, 2007

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Dialogue on areglo system in the offing

Tabuk City, Kalinga - A multi-sectoral group composed of businessmen, doctors and clergymen which had a dialogue October 4 with the police over the rash of robbery incidents in the city intends to consult with lawyers and exponents of the areglo or amicable settlement practice.

This plan was prompted by the information from the police during the dialogue that along with the shortage in logistics and personnel, the areglo system is one of the major problems in the enforcement of laws in the city.

Businesswoman Christine Wangdali, one of the convenors of the dialogue, quoted the police as saying that even with the arrest of the suspects in robberies, the case will not prosper because victims normally resort to areglo or out of court settlement with the suspects.

"We sympathize with the police because once the parties agree to settlement, there is nothing anybody could do with it anymore," Wangdali said.

Dr. Cynthia Rojo, also one of those who initiated the dialogue, said there is a need to hear the positions of legal minds and binodngans (bodong practitioners) on the issue because the areglo system is one of the reasons it's the same people committing robberies in the city again and again.

She quoted Rev. Luis Aoas, one of the more active amicable settlement negotiators in the province, as saying that supposed to be, only the civil aspect of the case will be settled to bring peace to the parties involved and for the criminal aspect of the case to take its course so that the culprits would be punished and learn their lesson.

Rojo, however, said that the dilemma is that as practiced, the amicable system requires the execution of an affidavit of desistance by the complainants.

Wangdali said that aside from the plan to thresh out the issue on the areglo system, the multi-sectoral group will also help the police by lobbying with city and provincial government for the extension of more financial support to the police especially in the form of gasoline allocation.

Pending the response of the LGUs, the businessmen offered .the police 200 liters of gasoline. The police also agreed to reestablish the detachments in the Spring area along the Tabuk-Tuguegarao Road and in Luyocan along the Tabuk-Roxas Road as well as maintain a 24-hour visibility in certain areas in the city to deter criminal activities.

The group also agreed to activate a text brigade composed of concerned citizens who will report incidents and give useful information to the police through its hotlines.

The Kalinga Medical Society, the association of doctors in the province, also intends to conduct a search for model policemen as a means of encouraging better performance amongst them. **by Estanislao Albano , Jr., Zigzag Weekly, Oct. 7, 2007

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“Bolt cutter” gang on the loose in Tabuk City

Tabuk City, Kalinga - A gang which makes use of bolt cutters to destroy padlocks to gain entry into buildings appears to be on the loose in Tabuk City adding another woe to store owners in the locality.

On the night of September 14, three business establishments in downtown Tabuk were burglarized through the use of bolt cutters.

The Safe Value Convenience and Drug Store lost coins amounting to P2,930.00, the Nansev Grocery Store lost change amounting to P5.000.00 and checks amounting to P28,000.00 and Casigayan Farm Supply could not account for more or less P50.00 in coins after the break-in.

Tabuk City Police Chief Investigator Manolito Meana said that had the robbers been professionals, they would have taken expensive medicines from the victimized drug store.

Betty Cawilan, owner of the Casigayan Farm Supply which is infront of the Tabuk public market, observed that the two padlocks and chain which the robbers cut were worth more than the amount taken from the store.

Cawilan complained that the police were sleeping on the job because had they been patrolling, there is a chance they may have apprehended the culprits if not in her establishment, in either of the two other victimized stores.

Meana brushed aside the comment that the bolt cutter robberies were a slap on the face of the police because the robbed establishments were within 300 meters from the police station.

"These criminals monitor the police station who might have seen that the police car just entered the compound and that was when they struck." Meana said.

Regarding the robbery on the Safe Value Convenience and Drug Store which is around 100 meters away from the police station, Meana said that the neighbors heard loud metallic sounds coming from the store but they did not alert the police.

Robbery is still one of the most prevalent crimes being committed in the city.

Starting September 1, some 14 burglaries and stick-ups have been reported in the police blotters.

These include the hold-up to two employees of the Motortrade Company who were on their way to Tuguegarao City on a motorcycle when they were stopped by three men armed with guns. The two employees lost P 13,400.00 in cash and also their cellphones.**by Estanislao Albano, Jr., Zigzag Weekly, Sept. 23, 2007

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Competitive

The optimistic forecast, at the start of this year, was for the exchange rate to hold at P46:$1. That was subsequently revised to P45:$1.

This week, a number of investment houses have readjusted their projections. Some of them are looking at an exchange rate of P40:$1 by the end of this year.

If that happens, the peso will likely be the best performing currency in the whole world.

Last Monday, the Philippine Stock Exchange charged ahead to a new record high. The bullishness was attributed to positive jobs growth data in the US, indicating that major consumer economy was not about to slide into recession in the foreseeable future. Read more...

New bid to pass law for cheap medicines

LOBBY AT WORK: Too many Filipinos suffer or die just because they cannot afford to buy good medicine. Senate Bill No. 1658 seeking to provide quality and affordable drugs to the public has been sponsored by Sen. Mar Roxas to correct that.

The bill is the resurrection of a similar Roxas measure approved by the Senate in the last Congress — but dribbled to death by the House of Representatives until adjournment overtook it. Its demise in the House had been traced to an expensive lobby by drug companies, some of them multinationals. Read more...

Aggression

We will have peace and quiet for a few weeks. Congress is in recess and the politicians are off on their favorite junket destinations.

Last week, however, we saw the sort of belated Halloween the politicians intend to pop on us when they get back from their break.

After savaging their guests during the NBN hearings, the senators started to savage each other before the recess (and their respective flight schedules) forced a time-out on the hostilities. Read more...

Stop US Intervention Against Breastfeeding!

Just this morning, October 5, 2007, I opened my email inbox and found out a message that is so shuddering in my mind. How the hell could the US officials and businessmen trivialize the health and nutrition of babies worldwide? That is inhuman; plain and simple!

I am quoting some texts of the message and ask you to please sign the online petition.

Help us save 16,000 Filipino children’s lives every year and 1.5 million babies dying every year throughout the world, because they were not breastfed.

To counter the mounting pressure that US officials and businessmen exert against breastfeeding advocates and Philippine health officials to prevent them from strictly implementing the laws that protect breastfeeding, the initiator of this petition-signing organized two simultaneous breastfeeding Guinness World Records in single and multiple sites in the Philippines, synchronized breastfeeding worldwide and initiated Senate and Congress hearings in her country. The battle has reached the Supreme Court and the case is still being adjudicated. The case constitutes a precedent that may affect the Breastfeeding Movement in the entire world, especially in developing countries where the financial muscle of multinational corporations and official American pressure are influencing national policies.

We humbly submit for your consideration this petition to the people and leaders of the United States from the mothers and breastfeeding advocates of the world, in consideration of the coming US presidential election, and the opportunity it provides us who are gathered here from all over the world, to acquaint them of our concerns, especially those of the poor countries, that they may better exercise their role as the leader and role model of the world.

And the dispositive portion of the petition reads as follows:

Now therefore, the undersigned mothers and breastfeeding advocates, representing themselves, their organizations and their respective nations, as well as American citizens who believe in the cause of breastfeeding, do humbly and respectfully petition the people and leaders of the United States,
(1) to enjoin the multinational milk companies as well as the United States government to respect the 2001 Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health that Public Health is far more important than issues involving intellectual property rights (WTO on 14 November 2001 declared, “The TRIPS Agreement does not and should not prevent members from taking measures to protect public health”; a joint WTO-WHO study in 2002 reaffirmed that statement);
(2) to enjoin US embassies to observe international protocol in presenting their demands to other countries, that is, to course their demands in writing through the Foreign Ministry of the country involved, instead of utilizing back channels and verbal intervention to impose its will on government officials, especially when it involves issues of Breastfeeding;
(3) to make sure that the breastfeeding issue is taken up in every political platform in the coming US presidential elections for the consideration of the entire electorate; and finally
(4) to make it understood among all nations on earth that America ’s main business is NOT “business itself” or corporate profits, but more importantly, international amity and the betterment of all humankind, as befits a nation with the might and power to lead the world.

Please sign this petition at: http://www.petitiononline.com/probf1/petition.html

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Tabuk City hybrid rice production down

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Tabuk may have lost its reputation as the informal hybrid rice capital of the country after its hybrid seed and hybrid commercial rice production plunged in the last three years.

After it exceeded 700 hectares for F1 or hybrid seed production in 2003 and 2004 and 7,000 hectares for commercial hybrid rice or F2 production during the same period, it is now down to 40 hectares for F1 production and 1,579 for commercial rice production this wet season.

City Agricultural Services Officer Gilbert Cawis said that development is attributed to a lot of factors including the deterioration of the quality of both the F1 seeds and the A x B seeds (parent lines of F1).

According to Cawis, many commercial rice farmers were turned off after their supposed the F1 seeds yielded multi-variety rice while the seed producers were also discouraged after their A x B have been found to be impure.

Cawis hinted that the Philrice, one of the government agencies promoting the hybrid rice technology, is partly responsible because, it is the source of the A x B seeds and some of the A x R being planted in the area.

Cawis also blamed Tabuk farmers because some of them do not rogue or remove the off type rice plants and likewise the seed inspectors of the Kalinga LGU for not being strict in the implementation of the procedures of F1 production.

It's not only local farmers who are victimized by the low quality seeds but farmers in other regions where the F1 production of Tabuk are being sold. Cawis said he has learned from the Agriculture Training Institute that Bicol farmers are complaining of the impure seeds sold to them by Tabuk farmers.

According to Cawis, rouging is necessary because once the seeds are harvested, there no longer is a way to determine if they are F1 or not because they look the same although their genetic characteristics are different.

Another factor in the case of F1 production is the difficulty in collecting payments from the Department of Agriculture - Cordillera, Cawis said adding that there are times when the it takes two cropping seasons before the payment of the seeds are collected.

"If the farmer has only two hectares and he has planted the whole area to A x R, where will he get his operational expenses for the next cropping season if his seeds are not paid on time?" Cawis asked.

Cawis also said that farm workers compound the problem by charging higher rates for pulling and planting seedlings on the grounds that hybrid rice farmers earn a lot from their crops.

He said that for inbred rice, farm workers charge P3,600.00 for the pulling and transplanting but demand P4,000.00 for hybrid rice.

Cawis also said that the change in the eating quality of the Mestizo 1, one of two government hybrid rice varieties, has worked against the promotion of hybrid rice among farmers.

Cawis alleged that the higher price of hybrid seeds as against inbred rice seeds is also turning away farmers.

This cropping season and with the government subsidy for each bag of F1 at P1,000.00, the farmer's equity is P1,400.00. It is higher if the seed is produced by the private companies.

The question in the mind of Cawis and other agriculture officials in the province is how to recover the billing of Tabuk as the leading hybrid rice producing locality in the country.

Cawis said that the recent entry of private firms engaged in the production of hybrid seeds in Tabuk is an initial step along this direction because these firms are very strict in the enforcement of the standards of seed production.

Just this cropping season, the SL8 Agritech, the leading private seed producer in the country, has expanded its operation to Tabuk planting 14.5 hectares to it's A x R and Cawis said that this might increase depending on the result of the trial. **by Estanislao Albano , Jr.

Kalinga now has crime lab

Tabuk City, Kalinga – In what is seen by many as a shot in the arm of crime fighting in the province, a crime laboratory has just been established here. It was inaugurated September 26,2007.

Inspector Joel Bentican, chief of the laboratory, said that pending the appointment of more personnel and provision of more equipment, they will be initially performing paraffin tests and authentication of the identity of motor vehicles in addition to conducting scene of the crime operation (SOCO).

Bentican said that examinations which their office cannot perform will be forwarded to the regional crime laboratory and to the national crime laboratory in cases of DNA testing.

Bentican believes that with the presence of a SOCO in the province, the criminal elements win lie low because they will have to contend with the scientific means of investigating and prosecuting crimes.

Kalinga Philippine Nation Police investigation chief PSI Joe Baday also said that the coming of the crime laboratory will be a great.

To prove his point, Baday informed that a SOCO could only be done on the murder of Vice Governor Rommel Diasen last April three days after and two days after the bloody demolition in Malapiat, Rizal last June because the SOCO team came all the way from Camp Dangwa in Benguet.

Baday said that while it is true that local police investigators are also trained in evidence gathering and handling, the SOCO are specialists and with them, “the proper way of gathering, preserving and transporting of evidence will be observed.”

“With the SOCO team already here, we can go together to the crime scene instead or waiting for them to come later,” Baday said.

Cordillera crime laboratory Chief Dalmacio Magastino, who was present during the inauguration on September 26, informed the media that there are five slots for the crime laboratory available this year to beef up the seven initial manpower of the office.

He also sees the addition of a forensic chemist to the team in the near future. With the addition of three such items for the Cordillera “one of whom will most likely be assigned to Kalinga.”

He informed that the establishment of the Kalinga laboratory is part of the program of the national leadership of the PNP Crime Laboratory to set up crime laboratories in all the provinces adding that the Kalinga crime laboratory is the second opened this year. **Estanislao Albano, Jr.

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Congressman fields anti-robbery teams

Tabuk City; Kalinga - In a bid to finally put a stop to the rampant robberies along the two major entry points to the province, the office of the congressman here has fielded two teems of elders to the Tabuk - Tuguegarao Road and the Tabuk - Roxas Road sections where these robberies have been taking place starting this September.

Ruben Tuazon, peace and order coordinator of the office of the congressman, informed the media that the two teams composed of elders from native tribes living along the two roads are tasked to convince the people in the areas to turn from hold-ups to legitimate livelihood activities and also to point to hold-uppers and stand as witnesses against them.

Tuazon said that Congressman Manuel Agyao has decided to hire and field the eight elders who are divided into two teams because for quite a time now, the hold-ups have been happening despite the presence of the police.

Tuazon said that Agyao is ready to help the people in the hold-up areas to engage in banana and beans production as alternative livelihood activities and will look for direct buyers for their future produce.

The frequent robberies occurring in these roads have the effect of driving away businessmen who want to do business in Tabuk and likewise give people who want no come and visit second thoughts.

Tuazon informed that on September 24 the team working the Tabuk - Tuguegarao Road has already scored an initial success after it was able to convince the culprits in a robbery staged there that day to return their loot to the victim.

Tuazon related that one Napoleon Matute who was then riding a motorcycle with his kid was held-up near the cemetery in Nambaran and was divested of his cellphone and wallet containing Pl,000.00 cash.

Learning of the robbery, a roving member of the team who happened to be near the site of the hold-up called on the other members of the four-man team and tracked down the robbers to their hiding place.

Tuazon said that at first, the culprits denied that they pulled off the stick-up but would later admit and surrender the items taken from Matute to the elders.

Later, the elders and Matute went to the police station in Bulanao to report the incident. However, Matute was afraid to press charges and the elders just executed affidavits naming the hold-uppers and pointing to their whereabouts. **By Estanislao Albano, Jr.

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NFA denies there is rice shortage in Kalinga

Tabuk City, Kalinga – The National Food Authority (NFA) here denied the allegation of the business sector that this province is experiencing a rice shortage.

The business sector points to the abnormally high price of commodity and the limited supplies of the local rice millers as indicators of the allege short supply of rice. From an average of P900.00 – P1,000.00 per bag of rice is now selling at as high as P1,250.00 per bag.

However, NFA provincial manager Eduardo Mercado asked how there could be rice shortage in a surplus area which harvest 3M bags of palay and consumes only 400,000 of rice.

He also cites the latest survey of the Bureau of Statistics which indicates that there are still 61,000 bags of rice in households in the province which he says is a sizeable volume of rice reserve.

Mercado explains the high price of rice in the province as a result of undisciplined businessmen taking advantage of the situation.

“Due to the drought which affected Northern Luzon from May to August, the planting has been delayed in Region 2 which produces 40 percent of the rice yield in the country resulting in a decrease in the supply of palay and milled rice. With the limited supply, naturally, the law of supply and demand come into play, thus, the higher price of rice. The situation is made worse by businessmen who are not satisfied with small profits setting domino effect. This is a shameful mentality among us Filipinos,” Mercado said.

To remedy the situation, Mercado met with local rice retailers and millers on September 3 to appeal to their conscience and warn them that the NFA will strengthen its monitoring system and apprehend violators. He reported, however, that they have not apprehended anybody until now because, according to him, local retailers are good in hiding their illegal activities.

Mercado also said that they have fielded rolling stores to sell in Tabuk City markets four days a week “for visibility and availability of government rice and also to somewhat dampen the price of rice.”

Mercado said that they must be succeeding because the retailers have been complaining that the NFA is competing with them in the distribution of government rice.

Mercado said that the situation is about to stabilize because farmers in Rizal, Kalinga and also Isabela are starting to harvest their rice crops. **Estanislao Albano, Jr.

WB to repair upper Chico irrigation system

BAGUIO CITY – In the 70’s, the World Bank was set to fund a controversial multipurpose dam but was fiercely opposed by the tribal communities in Kalinga and Mountain Province.

The Chico River Basin Dam Project was halted after thousands of tribal men and women including the revered Kalinga leader Macli-ing Dulag fought the project then pushed by former strong­man Ferdinand Marcos.

Now, the WB is back with the repair of the Upper Chico River Irrigation System (UCRIS) starting soon with a P507 million loan to the Philippine government.

According to Kalinga Provincial Irrigation Management Office (K-PIMO) OIC Alfredo de Guzman Jr., the signing of the agreement between the WB and the government is expected this last quarter. He said the improvement work will be carried out until 2010, adding that the four-year repair of UCRIS will be jointly implemented by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and K-PIMO.

Of the total project cost, De Guzman said P378.6 million will be spent on civil works where P218.4 million is allotted for the improvement of the canal system; P93.1 million on diversion works; P36.1 M on drainage facilities; P11.7 million on canal service roads; P15.7 million for farm level facilities; and P3.5 million for project facilities. Read more here...

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