On December 2009, while Ruby and I was on the road to Cagayan de Oro City with Kenny Nodalo and Jun of then Medco (now MinDA), Jun stopped at Calinan and offered a free ride to two teachers who had been waiting to hitch on passing vehicles — either private or government-owned.
We learned that many of them were actually waiting for any vehicle to offer them a free ride to Marilog district, where they teach in elementary and high schools.
On Monday, the first day of the school year, the teachers were on the road again and waiting for free ride.
MARILOG DISTRICT, Davao City (MindaNews/6 June) – Who says backpackers are the only good hitchhikers? Count the teachers assigned in this district who may have mastered the art of hitchhiking after all these years.
Public school teacher Marilyn Camarillo wakes up at 4 a.m. everyday to prepare her packed lunch, which she would bring to school.
Camarillo, who lives in barangay Maa, has to take a jeepney going to Ulas junction as early as 6 a.m. because she needs to catch the 7:30 a.m. flag ceremony at the Sto. Niño Elementary School at Barangay Datu Salumay in this district.
Although it would only take about an hour of jeepney or bus ride to reach her school in Marilog District, the 47-year-old teacher should be at the junction in Ulas before 6 a.m. to hitch a ride to get there. Marilog, located along the Davao-Bukidnon highway, is around 60 kilometers from the junction.
“As much as possible, we would opt for a free ride because we don’t have travel allowance and we are getting our fares from our own pockets,” Camarillo, who teaches grades three and four, told MindaNews.
On May 24-25, some 200 farmers belonging to the Davao Oriental Farmers and Farmworkers Alliance (DOFFA) staged a protest at the DAR-XI compound for the alleged “illegal exemption order” issued by DAR-XI regional director Yusoph Mama for the large real estates in Davao Oriental even as there is an ongoing process for coverage under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
As no one from the DAR would willing to face them, the farmers barged towards the gate and marched towards the office of the regional director. Apparently, Mama was not around. One of his staff told the media that his boss is in Manila.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/24 May) — Some 200 farmers forcibly entered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) – XI compound in Barangay Catalunan Pequeño on Tuesday and demanded the resignation of DAR-XI chief Yusoph Mama for his alleged illegal order exempting large estates in Davao Oriental from the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
The farmers, belonging to the Davao Oriental Farmers and Farmworkers Alliance (DOFFA), started to converge at the gate of the DAR compound at 10am and burned coconut husks and coconut shells to symbolize their protest against the exemption order.
The lone security guard failed to stop the agitated farmers.
Thirty minutes later, the farmers barged towards the gate and marched to the office of the regional director. [read full story]
Anyway, this slideshow is just an experimental work — combining a raw audio recorded from the picket line and few photographs — and this is a rough edit.
PANTUKAN, Compostela Valley (MindaNews/03 May) — In some towns of Mindanao, the sight of motorcycles is a sure sign that some of its remote areas are barely inaccessible by four-wheeled vehicles.
Although there are villages that can be reached using four-wheel drive vehicles, many would still prefer to ride the more reliable “habal-habal,” a customized single motorcycle that can carry several passengers along with their bulky cargoes. Read More »
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/30 April) — The Davao and Dipolog football teams will represent Mindanao in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) – Suzuki Under 23 (U23) National Cup in Bacolod and Laguna next month.
The Dipolog squad crushed the North Cotabato booters at 7 to nothing during the final round of the first game of the Mindanao finals at Tionko Football here on Saturday.
Sparke Espanola scored the opening goal on the 37th minute and another goal just three minutes later by Jerry Barbaso, a former Azkals splayer.
Then just two minutes before the first half ended, Michael Tulang scored for Dipolog making it three to nothing. Read More »
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/28 Apr) – The Davao Football Association’s team blanks visiting Dipolog squad in the opening game of the Philippine Football Federation-Suzuki Under 23 (U23) National Cup All Mindanao Finals at Tionko Football Field here on Thursday.
The Davao booters scored two goals in the first half of the game and another goal in the closing minutes of the second half.
Jomar Acedo made the opening goal for the squad on the 18th minute while Joven Benitez made a quick goal just two minutes later. Read More »
PANTUKAN, Compostela Valley (MindaNews/25 April) – For many miners, dying in a disaster like a landslide is better than dying from hunger even if dozens of their colleagues had been buried alive in different gold mining sites.
Even the miners at the landslide area in Barangay Kingking here admitted that several tunnels had collapsed in the past but most of them went unreported. Read More »
During my early high school years in Koronadal, I used to watch football games at school as well as during the regional athletic games. I never had an interest to play football because I was more inclined to play baseball. It’s because my grandfather in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato used to be a little league baseball when he was still teaching. Maybe he has influenced me since I was a kid.
But when I moved to Pigcawayan on my 2nd year high school, my interest in football slowly faded. I played baseball and sometimes basketball. In North Cotabato, football is only popular among the folks in M’lang. But I could remember during Coke Go-For-Goal tournaments in Marbel, wherein teams from Iligan, M’lang, South Cotabato and other top teams in Mindanao. I could not remember Davao.
Years have past, I barely watch football games even on TVs. During the 2010 World Cup, I rarely get updates. Aside from I don’t have a cable TV to watch the games live, I wasn’t interested. Kung may ara update, ti sige mabasa ko, kung wala, okay lang man ah. Read More »
On March 31, the nationwide transport strike crippled the some of the public transport systems in the country. But maybe not in Davao City since the city government has tapped several bus companies to takeover major jeepney routes. It seems that these oil price hikes are unstoppable.
All the while we thought that it’s going to be a “free ride” as the city government of Davao will have to hire the buses and pay the drivers, conductors as well as the fuel expenses. But when we asked some of the drivers, the commuters were actually paying regular fares depending on the tariff of the routes.
Ruby and I rode a bus to Panacan, just to see how is it like to be on the bus within the city. It looks good, it feels even more comfortable than a taxi. You have enough room, of course. But I think the city could not allow the bus for now because Davao City has quite narrow major streets. But they can give it a try in Bangkal-Panacan route via the Diversion Road.
P16 PER KILO. Workers wash bunches of banana before placing them in wooden crates in New Corella, Davao del Norte. A local trader has bought these bananas for P16 per kilo, for shipment to Cebu City.
Farmers put up straws in their tomato farm in Barangay Katipunan in Maragusan town, one of vegetable producing municipalities of Compostela Valley province.
"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."
Farmers put up straws in their tomato farm in Barangay Katipunan in Maragusan town, one of vegetable producing municipalities of Compostela Valley province.
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