DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Davao City Vice Rodrigo Duterte defended the decision of the city council to override the veto of his daughter Sara, who is mayor, of the ordinance reclassifying land in Barangay Binugao from protected medium industrial zone to protected heavy industrial zone to allow the construction of a proposed 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant.
The elder Duterte said the override was expected because the council had already voted in favor of the power plant.
“They voted in favor of the project before, it is expected that they will override it (veto). Do you think they will change their minds?” Duterte told reporters. Read More »
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/12 December) — Twenty-one councilors voted on Monday to override Mayor Sara Duterte’s veto of an ordinance reclassifying a parcel of land in Barangay Binugao, Toril District from protected medium industrial zone to protected heavy industrial zone, to allow Aboitiz Power Corp. to construct a 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant.
While the session was going on, some 200 protesters had already gathered in front of the City Council building to protest against the establishment of the coal-fired power plant. Read More »
It could be a bleak Christmas for 422 families in Barangay 1-A in Davao City after their houses were razed to ground after the two-hour fire on Friday.
While we were still at home, we were already monitoring radio reports that the fire was really big and and classes at the adjacent Magallanes Elementary School was suspended. Actually, three classrooms were partially damaged by the blaze.
As we arrive Anda St, we could already smell the stench coming from the fire — about a block away.
We passed by the narrow alley beside Menseng Hotel. We were familiar of the area because we’ve been there a couple of times months ago, we took pictures of the community.
At the covered court, we saw the pile of belongings of the fire victims.
Residents say the fire started around 9:15am and quickly spread to houses, which were mostly made of light materials.
Ruby and I moved around and took several shots of residents and scavengers scouring the area what every they can salvage from the pile of ashes.
While some firefighters were still putting out fire in the rubble.
On our way out, Ruby overheard an old woman telling her neighbor that her husband was able to save his motorcycle and their two dogs. All the rest of their belongings, were razed to the ground. Nothing left on their two-storey house but the six concrete posts.
Pacito Fabiaña, in his 60s, told MindaNews that the fire started 50 meters away from his house.
He recounted that when the blaze was already near his house, he immediately evacuated his motorcycle and the two family dogs to the nearby gymnasium about 100 meters away.
“Aside from the motorcycle and our dogs, I was not able to save any personal belongings,” he said, adding that when he tried to return to his house, the firefighters and some barangay officials would no longer allow him and the neighbors as the fire spread so fast.
Two hours later, Fabiaña went back to check what was left of his house – only the six concrete posts of what used to be a two-story house by the riverbank were still standing.
His wife, Anita, told MindaNews that she was in Samal Island about to see a quack doctor when their neighbor informed her of the fire. “I immediately rushed back home. Sadly, my husband was not able to save most of our belongings,” she said as one of their dogs leapt towards her. (Source: Mindanews)
DAVAO CITY—Citing studies of the damage a coal-fired power plant could bring, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio junked the ordinance seeking for land reclassification for the establishment of the 300-megawatt plant in Barangay Binugao in Toril District in this city.
Duterte-Carpio said the project is prejudicial to the general welfare of the public, adding that she was “disturbed with the environmental and health implications resulting from the operation of the project.”
On November 15 the city council passed Ordinance 0200-11 Series of 2011 reclassifying the area for the proposed 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant project. The move was made upon the request of the Aboitiz Power Corp.
In her three-page message obtained by this writer, the mayor said: “The subject measure is hereby vetoed pursuant to Section 55 [a] of Republic Act 7160 on the ground that the same is prejudicial to public welfare.” Read More »
MARAMAG, Bukidnon (MindaNews/04 December) – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of South Bukidnon believes it can meet its target to distribute the lands covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) before the year ends.
But Task Force Mapalad (TFM), a national federation of farmers, farm workers and individuals working for agrarian reform, doubts the agency can meet its target given the current pace of the implementation of the program.
Norberto Paquingan, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) of South Bukidnon, claimed that they can meet the 2,126-hectare target before December 31. Read More »
MARAMAG, Bukidnon (MindaNews/03 December) – Gonzalo Pinuti held his hammer tight as he detached the barbed wire from a fence of a former cattle ranch amid the blistering heat of the sun. With help from a fellow farmer, it took him about five minutes to detach the barbed wires and put down three wooden posts and let his colleagues enter the ranch with carpentry tools, round timber and tents for their temporary shelter.
These farmers were not intruding into a private property but reoccupying a portion of the ranch where they used to dwell.
About 30 minutes later, 57-year old Pinuti, his frame silhouetted below the blue skies, scaled one of the posts to nail one of the frames for a makeshift tent. “For now, we will sleep under this tent while we are building our permanent houses,” the farmer who had worked in the sugarcane plantation in the same area in the 1970s said. Read More »
The habalhabal is a motorcycle with wooden extension behind its body to serve as extra seats, with or without a roof to protect the passengers from sun and rain. Along with its big brother the “Skylab,” which has extensions protruding sideways that make it appear like its namesake, the habalbal is ubiquitous here in Mindanao and can navigate through narrow streets and even overtake four-wheel drive vehicles along rough roads. Read More »
Some vendors in Agdao Market, Davao City brought TV sets to watch the Pacquiao-Marquez fight. At around 9am, some vendors are already glued on the TV watching the undercard fights. One of the meat vendors noted that the market goers flock in Agdao as early as 5am until 8am.
In the meat section, I also noticed that only few stocks of meat were left. The vendor said they only butchered one pig because they are afraid that they wont be able to sell all the pork by lunchtime.
Normally, from 5am to 9am is the busiest time every Sunday in Agdao market. But this morning, it was not an unsual Sunday in Agdao.
Posted: November 12th, 2011 | Filed under:News Events |
Today, November 12, family members and friends gathered at San Pedro Memorial Park and offered a prayer for Gene Boyd Lumawag –who was gunned down while shooting a sunset at a pier in Jolo seven years ago.
Then we had our lunch at Liza’s Ihaw-ihaw at Times Beach area.
Thousands of friends and sympathizers joined the four-kilometer funeral march from Kidapawan City Cathedral to the cemetery inside the Diocese of Kidapawan Compound on October 25, 2011. Fr. Pops was buried beside fellow Italian missionary Fr. Tulio Favali, who was killed by dreaded vigilante group Ilaga 26 years ago.
"These images we have collected in the first 10 years of the new millennium, we would like to share with you. The photographs in this book offer a ringside view of Mindanao through the lens of MindaNews photographers."
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Davao City Vice Rodrigo Duterte defended the decision of the city council to override the veto of his daughter Sara, who is mayor, of the ordinance reclassifying land in Barangay Binugao from protected medium industrial zone to protected heavy industrial zone to allow the construction of a proposed 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant.
DAVAO CITY—Citing studies of the damage a coal-fired power plant could bring, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio junked the ordinance seeking for land reclassification for the establishment of the 300-megawatt plant in Barangay Binugao in Toril District in this city.
MARAMAG, Bukidnon (MindaNews/04 December) – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of South Bukidnon believes it can meet its target to distribute the lands covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) before the year ends.
MARAMAG, Bukidnon (MindaNews/03 December) – Gonzalo Pinuti held his hammer tight as he detached the barbed wire from a fence of a former cattle ranch amid the blistering heat of the sun. With help from a fellow farmer, it took him about five minutes to detach the barbed wires and put down three wooden posts and let his colleagues enter the ranch with carpentry tools, round timber and tents for their temporary shelter.
Some vendors in Agdao Market, Davao City brought TV sets to watch the Pacquiao-Marquez fight. At around 9am, some vendors are already glued on the TV watching the undercard fights. One of the meat vendors noted that the market goers flock in Agdao as early as 5am until 8am.
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