Don’t strike Nur Misuari out just yet!
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman Nur Misuari successfully assembled hundreds of MNLF commanders, leaders and members during the 5th National Bangsamoro Consultative Assembly held at Zamboanga Sibugay, Mindanao.

Hundreds of MNLF members came (a lot even came down from the boondocks just for the event) that the local army reportedly got a bit alarmed. Thankfully, authorities understood what the event was for. It was, after all, a peaceful meeting among Bangsamoros.
The 5th National Bangsamoro Consultative Assembly aimed to obtain, through “shura” or Islamic consultation, the pulse of the Moro people regarding the peace talks between the government and the MNLF.
The press statement of the upcoming Mindanao Power Summit 2009 alarmed me. It said that “by 2014, projections have it that Mindanao will have a deficit capacity of 484 megawatts which is equivalent to putting out power in the five major cities of Mindanao – Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Butuan, and Cotabato.”
That means that five years from now, Mindanao will suffer a devastating power crisis and that the situation may reach the most critical state if we do not act fast and act now. The press statement also claimed that the entire Mindanao grid may experience regular rotating brownouts as early as next year (!), especially with the coming in of additional new investments that are anticipated to further deplete the grid’s reserve capacity.
I don’t know about you but their statement worries me.
What are we supposed to do now? What’s the government doing about this? Has society really been passive about the power crisis? Meanwhile, malls, shopping centers and skyscrapers are being built left and right here in Mindanao.
What’s going on?
Hopefully, doable solutions to this looming power crisis will be established during the Mindanao Power Summit 2009.
The event, organized by the Mindanao Business Council and the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will be held on December 2 and 3, 2009 at the Xavier Estates Sports and Country Club in CDO, Mindanao.
The 2009 Mindanao Power Summit is being organized “in response to the shrinking reserve capacity of the Mindanao Grid.”
It will tackle three major themes: Creating an Enabling Environment for Investors in Power Generation; Addressing Governance Issues for Sufficient and Reliable Power and; Mainstreaming Sustainable Responsible Investments in the Power Industry.
Zest Air, formerly Asian Spirit, is now back to serving the Zamboanga-Sandakan route. This is definitely good news for travelers who want a faster way to reach Sandakan, Malaysia…and hopefully a way to discourage people from using the back border.
The Zamboanga-Sandakan route is in consonance with the continuing confidence in the potentials of trade, tourism and investment in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). Zest Air is now plying the said route three times a week.
Check out the photo of the 56-seater MA60 modern ark aircraft below:

This Zamboanga to Sandakan, Malaysia route is, I believe, Zest Air’s first international flight here in Mindanao. The airline company currently serves flights to Hongkong and soon in Japan, Incheon Korea (December 4, 2009). Check out Zest Air’s website to know more.
The Ateneo de Zamboanga University Concert Band will mark its 77th anniversary with a ground-breaking tour of Mindanao.
“This concert tour is in celebration of the Sesquicentennial (150 years) of the return of the Jesuits to the Philippines,” said band director Apolonio “Poli” G. Enriquez. “This is also in celebration of 100 years of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University from 1912-2012.”
The band concert dubbed “Stint” will play at Xavier University on November 24th, (Tuesday) with a 3.00 PM Matinee and 7.00 PM Gala performance.
This will be followed by a similar performance at the Rodelsa Hall of the Liceo de Cagayan University on the 25th, Wednesday, 7.30 PM. Tickets are available from P 30 to P 150 at XU and at P 100 (for students) and P 200 (for non-students) at Liceo.
Fr. Tony Moreno, S.J., AdZU president, said he got the inspiration for the concert tour following the band’s superb performance at the Brebeuf gym during the latest Fiesta Pilar weekend. Moreno, a Cagay-anon who traces his roots to Balingasag, Misamis Oriental studied at Xavier University High School and Ateneo de Manila University.
“During the concert, I texted the Presidents of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan (XU) and Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) and both are thrilled at the thought of having a concert in CdO and Davao,” Fr. Tony recalls. “Many people tell me our band is the pride and joy of AdZU, but it saddens me if we can’t share their talent with our sister universities. The farthest they’ve been to is Basilan! I’ve long wanted to expose them as far as CdO and Davao. Our aim is to expose our band to other places, and get them to raise some funds for their aging instruments.”
Founded in 1932, the band was reorganized in 1952 with Prof. Arcadio Perez as band Director. It aims to develop the musical talents of the Atenean to help build a well-rounded person as well as help him get a Jesuit-inspired education through his musical talent.
The band had its latest transformation into a concert band from its previous reincarnation as a pep and marching band when Enriquez assumed his present assignment in 1991.
A member of the band during his high school and college days at the Ateneo, Enriquez studied conducting under Prof. Alfredo Santos Buenaventura at the Centro Escolar University Conservatory of Music and is also a choir director, arranger, conductor and brass teacher.
Band members undergo a two-year beginners’ course training that requires them to finish the elementary and intermediate method books. They are the elevated into the regular band and are entitled to 50% scholarship (tuition only). After going through the first and second advanced books, they qualify for a full scholarship. Beginners mostly come from the grades 4 and 5 levels.

At present, the band has fifty (50) members, twenty four (24) of whom are college students, twenty (20) are from the high school and six (6) from the grade school.
JOB OPENING IN MINDANAO – Mindanaoan is back to posting job openings in Mindanao. I know a lot of you out there have been sending me reminders through my contact form (thank you!) to post more job opportunities and I pledge to post more in the next few days.
For now, I would like to share this Mindanao job alert. If you think you or someone you know is qualified for this job, then go ahead and submit your application right away.
Nestle Philippines is in need of an area nutrition manager. The manager will do the rounds in North Luzon and Mindanao.
Qualifications: graduate of a 4-year science/medical related course, above average interpersonal, communication and presentation skills, proficiency with Windows programs, driving skills and excellent analytical, entrepreneurial and negotiation skills.
The ideal candidate must also have at least 3 years experience as an area head in a nutritional, pharmaceutical industry or related field.
Among the responsibilities of Nestle’s area nutrition manager are to manage performance of medical delegates in the assigned area, to identify and open new business opportunities and to synthesize key facts and figures of the area and execute an integrated plan to achieve business objectives.
If you’re interested to apply, submit your pertinent documents via email. You can send those to careers (at) ph.nestle.com
Alternatively, you can also apply online via Nestle Philippines’ official website.
Good luck Mindanaoan and don’t forget to let me know if you managed to get the job
To be kept abreast with the latest job openings in Mindanao, don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to Mindanaoan (CLICK!)












