July 16, 2009
Advocacy, Announcements, BIMP-EAGA, Cotabato, Gifts, Mindanaoan Update, News, Sarangani, SoSCksargen, Soccksargen, Socsksargen, South Cotabato, muslim mindanao
MINDANAO NEWS – Asia America Initiative, a non profit organization based in Washington D.C., United States, is set to visit Mindanao on July 27, 2009. This non-government organization is set to carry out an emergency relief mission to assist more than 90,000 men, women and children who have been displaced by heavy fighting in central Muslim Mindanao.
The mission will be led by AAI president Albert Santoli.
Mindanaoan gives this two thumbs up!
According to a statement posted in the AAI website:
“The evacuees are living in muddy open fields, under heavy rains with minimal plastic tarps to protect them. The temporary encampments have no clean water or sanitation facilities resulting in high incidences of fatal fevers, diarrhea, and viral infections and dehydration. AAI’s Catalyst for Peace, led by AAI coordinator Rohaniza Sumndad, will distribute medicines, re-hydration salt and water purification tablets. At present, AAI receives no government funding. We are appealing for public donations to successfully conduct this mission.”
If you wish to donate, please don’t hesitate to visit the Asia America Initiative official website.
My fellow Mindanaoans who will benefit from this relief mission will definitely be thankful!
AAI banners its slogan: “Peace through education, community building and economic development”
To the AAI team – good luck and God bless you for your efforts to help Mindanao!
LikeJuly 6, 2009
Advocacy, BIMP-EAGA, Broadcasting, Commentary, Controversial, Crime, Government, Headline, Journalism, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Personal, Personalities, Sarangani, SoSCksargen, Soccksargen, Socsksargen, Tourism, armm, blogging
My classmate in Ateneo and Sarangani provincial governor Miguel Rene Dominguez is asking for trouble. Not a few eyebrows will surely be raised after he reportedly blamed the Mindanao media for “always highlighting all the bad things that are happening in Mindanao.” Same goes with Lt. Colonel Edgardo de Leon, commander of the 73rd Infantry Battalion, who also blamed the media.
Dominguez said that the “insurgency and other conflicts in Mindanao is actually just a game of perception. And I blame the media for that!” He reportedly then said that the culture of the media today, except for a few who are practicing peace journalism, is not very commendable.
De Leon, on the other hand, said that the rest of the country’s and the world’s perception of Mindanao at present is also the work of the media. “The image of Mindanao can be blamed on the media,” he said. De Leon even went on to claim that his battalion had once invited the media to cover the peace rally the 73rd IB had organized but none covered it. Instead, he got a very disheartening news from the media: “Pa-pogi lang yan. Huwag n’yo
nang puntahan yan.” (I would really, really love to know who said this, if ever this is true!)
“Most my battalion members is not from Mindanao and we are doing everything to improve the image of Mindanao, but media personalities, media workers from Mindanao hindi man lang naisip to improve the image of Mindanao,” he lamented.
As a Mindanawan peace advocate and journalist, De Leon’s last statement really burned my ears. Hindi man lang naisip, he says! Colonel, please, don’t generalize!
Truth be told, there are just so many things to say about this news item. In fact, there have been so many debates over this. Officials tend to blame the media because it’s easy for them to do so.
While it’s true and unfortunate that there are fellow Mindanao media practitioners who do need to be more cautious in their reports about Mindanao, I think there’s no need to put the entire blame on us. Dominguez’s claim may be correct at some level but to put the blame entirely on the hands of the media is unnecessary.
Truth be told, I think Mindanao-based media practitioners would love to report the good, the beautiful and the exciting side of Mindanao. Who wouldn’t want to do that? Who wouldn’t want to tell the rest of the world just how fascinating Mindanao is and just how warm and friendly the people here are?
BUT…it wouldn’t be fair to sugarcoat things. As much as we all want to project the image that Mindanao is a peaceful place to live in, the truth of the matter is Mindanao has its problems, just as Luzon and Visayas have their own. Just as Honduras, Iran and North Korea have their own. And yes, Mindanao’s problems aren’t caused by just one thing. Mindanao’s problems are deep and long-standing.
It’s true that the media plays a critical role in the peace efforts of the country, not just Mindanao. The media has the responsibility to show the world that Mindanao and its people value peace and harmony.
However, let’s do away with the finger pointing. Putting the blame on the Mindanao media will only discourage media practitioners…and will only show the world that indeed there are conflicts, even between officials and the media.
This got me thinking when I received a press release from the Office of Sen. Richard Gordon recently. The PR read: “Turn around Mindanao’s image as RP’s ‘Wild West’ – Gordon” The senator said that Mindanao has “gained a negative reputation in the international media as the country’s “Wild, Wild West” due to the continued spate of kidnappings, sporadic bombings, and the poor peace and order situation.” Is our beloved island Mindanao really the Philippines’ version of the so-called “Wild West”?
In a meeting with the Regional Development Council of Region 12 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Gordon challenged Mindanao executives to turn around Mindanao’s negative image from being the “Wild West of the Philippines ” into a premier tourist destination with its unique history and culture.
Gordon also emphasized that “there is no governance in area. Schools are decrepit; roads are bad; farm-to-market roads are non-existent and there is no focus on helping them solving their problem, or empowering them so they can conquer their own selves.”
Gordon, chairman of the Senate tourism committee, also stressed that the people of Mindanao should not wait for the national government to take the initial steps towards lasting peace and development of Mindanao.
“You should define what Mindanao is and assert yourselves as a people. Manila is never going to solve it for us. It is never going to be a solution. Mindanao should be self-sufficient,” he said.
The senator also said that Mindanaoans should encourage more tourists to visit Mindanao instead of other places.
What are your thoughts on this?
The Province of Bukidnon is set to host the 8th Mindanao Island Conference of the The Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines. The event, themed “One Island, One Mindanao, Give Peace a Chance,” will be held at the Kaamulan Open Theater, Malaybalay City from November 12 to 14, 2008.
Bukidnon 2nd District Board Member Atty. Nemesio Beltran, Jr. said that the conference will see the attendance of hundreds of provincial legislators from all over Mindanao. Beltran also said that Bukidnon’s very own, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, is expected to attend the event. Zubiri, who previously served as Bukidnon 3rd District Congressman, is set to deliver the keynote speech.
Bukidnon Board Member Ben Pancrudo will act as lead convener.
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Mindanao peace and development hostaged to politics
August 27, 2009
Commentary, Controversial, Government, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Personalities, Politics
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Senator (and rumored presidentiable) Francis “Chiz” Escudero has said it and I agree — the peace and development here in Mindanao is hostaged to politics. The kind of politics that run in “Imperial Manila.”
One of the things that the next president should do is bring together all stakeholders in Mindanao to craft a development agenda — one that’s doable, cost efficient and worth all of our time and efforts — that will not be hostaged to any change in administration.
“Only an all-stakeholders approach will lead to the long-sought peace and meaningful development in this region, not Imperial Manila’s “urong-sulong, atras abante” approach since we gained independence,” Escudero said.
The 39-year old lawmaker said the country’s development will greatly be accelerated if authority is devolved to the lowest level of government.
He said that regions and provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays should be able to act on their problems without waiting for Malacañang’s imprimatur.
To achieve this, Escudero stressed the need for the next administration to increase the share of local governments in the internal revenue collections from 40 to 60 percent in the next six years.
The latest National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) figures show that the contribution of Mindanao to the country’s overall output is roughly 17.7% compared to the budgetary allocation of only 11 to 14% being given by the government to the region.
Can you imagine that? Mindanao is one big contributor and yet we’re often disregarded or forgotten when it comes to budgetary allocations!
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?