DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 23 Jan) – “If we only have a choice, we don’t want to live here.”
This is the common sentiment of those living at the flood-prone Jade Valley Homes in Barangay Tigatto here. Read More »
A month after super typhoon Pablo devastated New Bataan town in Compostela Valley province, survivors are slowly picking up the pieces to rebuild their lives.
The first time I passed this route was in December 2007. I was traveling from Boston back to Davao City. I could still remember the lush surrounding along the road. But on December 21 — 17 days after Typhoon Pablo — all you could see are fallen trees, broken trunks, landslides and water is almost everywhere. One more heavy rain and more portions of the road will collapse.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/14 December)– “Miracle ang nangyari sa akin (What happened to me was a miracle),” Second Lieutenant Jose Enrico Nuas said of his harrowing experience while Typhoon Pablo battered them last week.
In fact, “God” was the only word that the junior officer recalled uttering that time while struggling to resurface from the raging waters in Barangay Andap, New Bataan in Compostela Valley province, one of the hardest hit areas of the typhoon.
Recuperating from various wounds at a military hospital here, the 26-year old officer recalled his tormenting experience after they were washed away by flashflood on December 4. Read More »
MONKAYO, Compostela Valley (MindaNews/ 13 December)—In times of natural disasters, it is not just human beings who suffer a lot.
Animals do too.
HOMELESS, TOO Typhoon Pablo’s wrath did not only leave humans homeless but animals, too. Like these dogs sharing some space with their masters at the evacuation center in Compostela town in Compostela Valley province. Mindanews Photo by Keith Bacongco
Like humans, companion pets such as cats, dogs and farm animals were also rendered homeless when Typhoon Pablo devastated several towns in this province, Davao Oriental, Agusan del Sur and other provinces. Read More »
NEW BATAAN, Compostela Valley (MindaNews/8 December) – Typhoon Pablo did not only change the lives of the people in this valley town but the landscape as well.
What was once the center of Barangay Andap in New Bataan, Compostela Valley province is now a new riverbed with an estimated width of nearly a kilometer stretching up to eight kilometers down to the town proper. Mindanews Photo by Ruby Thursday More
This town is known in the province for its natural spring resorts in Barangay Andap, which is seven kilometers from the town proper.
What was once a green landscape of coconut trees and agricultural crops is now swathed with nearly a kilometer-wide of boulders and rocks that stretch down to the poblacion area. Read More »
The City Government of Tagum has been making school chairs from seized illegal lumber instead of leaving them to rot.
As of October 16 2012, at least 78, 000 chairs have been delivered to different schools in Mindanao, the Visayas and Luzon under the Care for School Chairs Program since it started in August 2011. READ STORY
It’s the busiest time of the year for the workers of the Puentespina flower farm in Baguio District, Davao City. Workers need to produce around 30,000 bundles of Chrysanthemums and 10,000 bundles of Lisianthus in time for the All Souls Day. These flowers are shipped to Metro Manila and to the different cities and provinces in Mindanao and Visayas.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/21 October) – I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have witnessed and documented the most historic event for Mindanao, the signing of the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro at the Malacañan Palace a week ago.
Along with my colleagues – Carolyn Arguillas and Froilan Gallardo – the event is important for me not just as a journalist but more importantly as a probinsyano stakeholder.
As a young boy, I have been a witness to the animosity in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato, one of the gateways to the former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) main headquarters – the Camp Abubakar Assidique that straddled Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and North Cotabato. Read More »
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 17 Oct) – The cry for justice still continues and grows a year after the death of Italian missionary Fausto “Pops” Tentorio of the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME), said his fellow missionary Peter Geremia.
But Geremia could not hide his disappointment on some Department of Justice officials who had earlier promised to come over to discuss the case. None of them paid a visit.
“It’s been a year since we’ve been calling an investigation but we got no results. Justice delayed, justice denied,” lamented the Italian priest after a mass held beside the cemetery inside the compound of the Diocese of Kidapawan on Wednesday. Read More »
