When Ruby Thursday  More was still working on her portfolio about Moro women, we happened to meet Bai Romina Pendatun-Ali in the marshy town of Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun sometime in March this year.

After making some arrangements on our trip to one of the villages in Liguasan Marsh, Bai Romina shared to us that she has been encouraging the women in GSKP to learn the craft of mat and bag weaving since there are so many indigenous materials available in the area.

“Para naman hindi na sila mahirapan na sumama sa mga asawa nila para mangisda sa Liguasan Marsh. Grabe ang init ngayon,” she stressed.

She bared that there is a Moro women’s group in GSKP that is that is into bags and mat weaving. The group is also sharing the technology to other interested women.

I was really interested to interview this women group but we had no time anymore and it is not our priority yet. Our main target for the days is to get in to the marsh. So I asked her if we could go back in GSKP and interview the women group. And she said, YES.

But last August 19,during the opening of the Mindanao Trade Expo 2010, the women group I was looking for is among the 100 exhibitors.

Finally, I have a story now! I was able to interview the head of the women group. I also introduced the women group to my fellow journalists. But the head of the group, still invited us to visit their place and meet their women weavers.

Women’s group making money from water hyacinths in the Liguasan Marsh

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/20 Aug) – While water hyacinths are being blamed for clogging and flooding some areas near the Liguasan Marsh, a women’s group based in Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun (GSKP) town of Maguindanao is making money out of this aquatic plant that can be found in the marshy villages. The water hyacinths, which are free-floating perennial aquatic plant, are commonly found in the towns surrounding the Liguasan Marsh that straddles the boundary of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/12 Aug) — I was browsing the official Kadayawan sa Davao website on Wednesday morning to check for upcoming events when I noticed a familiar photograph of then Vice Mayor (now Mayor) Sara Duterte hailed by her supporters outside the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office after filing her certificate of candidacy for mayor.

I thought it was Ruby Thursday More’s photograph because it was not posted on my Flickr account, where I usually upload my dispatched photos. But when I checked on the sent folder of my email, it turned out it was my photo after all. Continue reading »

Before, they say PAL means Plane Always Late. But now, it could be Pilots Are Lacking or Pilots Are Leaving.

I don’t believe that the PAL management did not anticipate that pilots are leaving soon and would seek for greener pasture abroad. They knew it. But the problem is that, I think some qualified pilots would rather try their luck abroad rather than work with the flag carrier.

Obviously, it’s because they would earn much higher than our airlines. It could be 100 percent higher.

PAL pilots earn at least $4,000 to $7,000 a month, a news report said. I’ve also read somewhere that some of these pilots are overwork. Does the management realize that this has an implication on the safety of the passengers?

I think with what is happening now, the flag carrier could hardly recruit new and qualified pilots. If I’m a qualified pilot, I’d rather try my luck abroad, too.

Maybe, some Philippine Air Force pilots are now tempted to jump in and fly these passenger jets.

What else can you do on this problem Mr. President?

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/02 August) — After popularizing the rare Waling-waling (Vanda sanderiana), Charita Puentespina is now pushing for another source of income among local farmers: cacao farming.

Puentespina, who first introduced hundreds of Waling-waling seedlings to the public in 1986, is also advocating natural farming method among farmers.

She particularly recognized the potentials of cacao as an alternative source of income among farmers in the highlands. [read more]

On Saturday, July 31, we had a chance to interview Mindanao Economic Development Authority chair Jesus Dureza if what could be the long term priorities for Mindanao that could help boost the economy of the region. He identified two things: mining and power.

This could mean more mining applications under Aquino administration as well as more proposals for hydro-dams in major rivers in Mindanao. I asked him if what are the potentials of having alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar. He said yes but it’s pretty expensive for the government to develop these alternative sources of energy.

Although he acknowledged that there are potentials but it may be enough to ease out the ‘power shortage’ in the future.

Power, mining are drivers of Mindanao development–MinDA

HAGONOY, Davao del Sur—Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chairman Jesus Dureza has identified the power and mining industries as among of the top long-term priorities to help boost the economy in Mindanao.

When El Niño hit Mindanao from January to May this year, Dureza said the island also suffered power outages that affected the business community in the area.

Currently, most of the power from Mindanao is derived from hydro-dams in the island, he said.

The MinDA head also expressed the belief that there is a continuing need to develop more hydro-power dams and other sources of energy in Mindanao.

“We have learned from our experience during  El Niño. In the past, the cycle of the dry spell is about 10 years. But now experts say it could be shorter. So we must be prepared for it. Otherwise, Mindanao’s economy will suffer,” said Dureza, who spoke in barangay Aplaya during the turnover of the ACT for Peace livelihood project to the community.

HAGONOY, Davao del Sur –  Two days after offering to relinquish the chairmanship of the  Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), laywer Jesus Dureza on Saturday said he has not   received any feedback from the President.

Dureza, who also serves as National Programme Director of Action for Conflict Transformation for Peace Progam (ACT for Peace), added he is ready to share with his successor his experience as chair of the defunct Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) and Office of the Presidential Assistant for Mindanao (Opamin).

“If the President makes a choice, I’m willing to share my experience because I have served since the time of President Ramos and President Arroyo,” he said.

Asked if he could recommend somebody  to replace him, Dureza replied, “We’ll see if the time comes.” [read on]

This afternoon, I happened to pass by Duterte St and I found these turtles sold by two guys for P40 to P50 each.

These are South Asian Box Turtles (Cuora amboinensis) from marshy villages of Midsayap, North Cotabato sold for P40 to P50 each along the street in Davao City. A biologist from University of Southern Mindanao (USM)- Kabacan that this turtle’s  status is "vulnerable." This is commonly found at the periphery  of Ligusan Marsh. The Protected Areas and Wildlife Division (PAWD) says trade of  this specie is strictly regulated. Continue reading »

Just for P5 only, some people grab a stick or two and another P5 (I think) for rice as a dinner! And this is available in almost every corner in Davao City.

DAVAO CITY  (MindaNews/24 July) – An estimated 100 Lumads (indigenous peoples) from various parts of the country will gather at the foot for Mt. Kitanglad in Bukidnon for the fourth State of the Indigenous Peoples’ Address (SIPA)  in time for President Benigno Aquino’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 26.

The SIPA will begin at 1 p.m. on Monday and will end on the 29th of July.

Erwin Quinones, campaigns paralegal of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan (LRC-KsK), told MindaNews that the IP representatives will be coming “from  areas affected by development aggression.”

He said this includes encroachment of mining, plantations and hydro-power plants into the ancestral domains of the indigenous peoples. [read more]

Last Friday, Bureau of Internal Revenue officials disclosed that some of the business establishments at Chinatown in Davao City may not be complying with the country’s tax laws. They also bared that most of the stores in Chinatown are not issuing official receipts to their customers.

If we need cheap hardware tools and some stuffs need at home, we actually find them at the stores in Chinatown here in Davao. The stores there do not actually issue receipts; you can even ask for a discount on selected items. It’s like: Name it, they have it.

Most of the Chinese traders in the area don’t speak English or Tagalog. I wonder how they communicate with their workers. I have some owners  give instruction through hand signals to their workers.

The BIR said that the wholesale dealers declared only an annual income of P1.5 million. It is under-declared, the BIR suspects. I believe too that  the figure is under-declared.  I have seen several wholesale dealers in DCLA and 168 Mall.

There is a store in DCLA that if you’re not a wholesale buyer, sales clerks won’t allow you to enter in some portions of the store.  They will not allow you to pick some items, they want to do it for you.  Weird.