Malacañang trying to cover up ugly record on labor issues

“In its desperation to cover up its failure to heed workers’ demands, the government is resorting to cheap shots against the KMU. It is dismissing workers’ legitimate demands on the issue of wages, contractualization, oil prices, demolition of poor communities, Hacienda Luisita, and US troops,” said Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson.

The brothers finished the race in 15 hours, 38 minutes and 33 seconds, ahead by at least 21 minutes from the second-placer.

Of 44 teams when the event kicked off on Saturday morning, 19 teams had finished the race as of 2:30 pm Sunday while 10 other teams quit  the race, said Tourism Officer Camilia Infiesto.

Thirty-year old Cresenciano told Mindanews it was their first time to reach the summit of Mt. Apo. He described the trek as grueling since it was raining when they reached the peak.

The brothers, both enlisted personnel at the Philippine Army,  prepared for only 15 days and it was even more on running because they had no mountains to climb in Metro Manila.

“Actually it was also our first time to race using bikes. We were the 18th  team to reach Barangay Sibulan,” said Cresenciano, dubbed as the “National Milo Marathon King.”

The Sabal brothers, who hail from Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat. The 30-year old Cresenciano is a corporal while 28-year old Gerald is a Private First Class.

The brothers were backed by Jhanalodin Lucman, a logistics crew. Each team has two racers and a logistics crew.

The Sabals represented their province in the Palarong Pambansa several times.

Team Bebang finished the race with a total clock time of 15:38:33 followed by Team Carmen composed of racers Jonathan Pido, Ronald Dagaang and logistics crew Edwin Bueno with a total time of 15:59:18.

The third placer is Team Apo Ville from Digos, Davao del Sur composed of racers Marcial Catanggui, Romeo Mascardo Jr., and logistics crew Hilario Ladra.

On Saturday, Pido and Dagaang  were the first to reach the boulders area with the Sabal brothers tailing them by 10 minutes.

Pido is a policeman while Dagaang works as a bank security guard.

Cresenciano recalled they were able to overtake Team Carmen on their way down at Checkpoint 14 in Sitio Tumpis in Barangay Kapatagan, already part of Digos City.

He said they arrived at the Ayala Staff house around 8 p.m.or 15 hours after the race started.

Since it was already two hours after the cut-off time, racers were no longer allowed to proceed to the water tubing event. Instead, the race resumed 5a.m. the following day.

The 27-year old Dagaang, also a triathlete, told MindaNews that  pebbles and sand got into his shoes. “Amo pa man gitanggal ang balas sa sulod kay sakit man sa akong tiil kung di tanggalon. Didto mi nila na-abtan” (we removed the pebbles and sand in my shoes because it was painful), he said.

Dagaang said they made a dry run of the trail a month before the race.

He said he also trained with Pido for a week, particularly on biking.

The race started at 6 a.m. on Saturday with a biking challenge from the town hall to Barangay Sibulan proper, some 18 kilometers away.

From the barangay hall, the racers started the grueling trek to the peak of Mt. Apo navigating through the rugged terrain, rivers, forest and the boulders.

Upon reaching the summit, racers headed back to Sibulan. Water tubing started from Ayala Staff house to the Sibulan bridge along the national highway, and from there run for 12 kilometers to the finish line in front of the town hall.

The race had 20 checkpoints.

Foreign athletes were tough competitors, too, said Cresnciano.

He said their opponents were strong athletes, particularly members of the Champion System Adventure from Hong Kong.

“Some foreigners are really strong but some of them may have been attracted to the scenic view of the mountain. Some were busy taking pictures,” he said.

Champion System Adventure racers Ryan Blair and Piers Touzel finished fifth place.

Touzel, an Australian national based in China, described the race as one of the toughest he has ever joined.

“The jungle trail was the toughest but coming down was the hardest. And we also lost our way but the locals helped us,” said the Australian who is known to be one of the top mountain bikers in Asia.

But he also admitted that he also enjoyed the view while being on top of the Mt. Apo.

The event’s website, www.boulderface.com,says the 24-hour endurance race covers around 70 to 80 kilometers. The event was organized by the Department of Tourism Xl and local government of Sta.Cruz.

The champion team gets P150,000 while the second and third placers get P100,000 and P75,000, respectively.

The top five finishers will also receive consolation prizes of P10,000 each.

The elder Sabal said they might  use the prize to buy their own mountain bike. “We may also use it to fund our trainings and other needs like our vitamins.”  (Keith Bacongco/MindaNews)

STA CRUZ, Davao delSur (MindaNews/28 April)  – Forty four teams are currently navigating through rugged terrain to scale  Mt. Apo, the country’s highest peak, as the 2ndInternational Boulder Face Challenge kicked off on Saturday morning and is expected end before lunch time Sunday.

As of  2:30 pm Saturday, Jonathan Pido along with his partner in Team Carmen from Davao del Norte was the first pair reach the boulders area after around nine hours of grueling challenge.

Pido, a policeman by profession, won the 1st International Boulder Face Challenge last year.

Tourism Officer Camilia Infiesto told MindaNews that the first team is expected to be back at Barangay Sibulan again before Saturday midnight or 2 a.m. Sunday.

Then they will continue to race at 5 a.m. Sunday with water tubing challenge from the Ayala Staff house to the Sibulan bridge, said Infiesto.

“When the racers arrive at the Ayala Staff House by 6 p.m. onwards, they will no longer be allowed to proceed to water tubing. The race will resume the following morning,” she explained.

From the bridge, the racers will run to the finish line at the municipal plaza, which will take about one hour, she added.

Of the 44 teams composed of two racers and a logistics crew each, 11 teams are foreigners from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam and other parts of Asia Pacific.

They will be competing with the teams from Metro Manila, Cabanatuan City, Cebu City, Davao City, General Santos City, Digos City, Bukidnon, Davao del Norte and from this province.

Also, four corporate teams from R.O.X., San Miguel Corporation and Franklin Baker will join the race that entails four disciplines: mountain biking, trekking, water tubing and running.

The racers left the municipal plaza at 6 a.m. and negotiated the national highway on their bikes all the way to Barangay Sibulan proper. The first pack arrived at the barangay gymnasium at around 7:30 a.m. where the logistics crew was waiting to hand food and water that they would carry on their trek to the peak of Mt. Apo.

Racers can only acquire assistance from the logistics crew at the designated checkpoints at barangay hall of Sibulan (Checkpoint 2) and  at the Ayala Staff house (Checkpoint 15) but they are allowed to refill water from water sources, the rules read.

This means from Sibulan proper, they are on their own all the way to the peak of Mt. Apo and until they are back at the Checkpoint 15, where they will jump off for water tubing.

The racers are also allowed to purchase food and medicine along the way.

Councilor Oliver Enot, who was at Barangay Sibulan monitoring the event, told Mindanews that it would usually take at least two days to reach the peak even for experienced mountaineers.

Although there are foreign extreme athletes, Enot added that they should not underestimate the capability of local racers because they are really familiar with the terrain.

He said the foreigners did not conduct any dry run on the trail but all of the racers were provided with maps.

The event’s website, www.boulderface.com, says the 24-hour endurance race will cover around 70 to 80 kilometers. The event was organized by the Department of Tourism Xl and local government of Sta.Cruz.

The champion team will receive P150,000 while the second and third placers will pocket P100,000 and P75,000, respectively.

The top five finishers will also receive a consolation prize of P10,000 each. (Keith Bacongco/ MindaNews)

In a statement, Alyansa Bukidnon chair Oscar Maniego said “armed goons deployed by the owner of the ranch have been running amok, and government inaction has emboldened them to commit human rights violations against members of the Panalsalan Dagumbaan Tribal Association (Padata) and even to murder a farmer last year.”

Maniego based his statement on the result of a fact-finding mission on March 29 that cited the alleged abuses perpetrated by the ranch guards against the farmers. The allegations included looting of farm animals and produce, firing at houses and damage to property, as well as harassment.

Veronica Candar told the fact-finding mission that the security guards of the ranch harvested her family’s corn from their one-hectare land twice, making them unable to recoup their expenses.

On March 2010, they installed a barbed wire fence around the cornfield so that the guards could not let the cattle eat their corn and prevent them from sneaking inside.

“We knew that they would still harvest our corn but we still tried to replant until June 2011 because we were hoping to harvest even a small portion from the cornfield,” the 46-year woman farmer said in tears.

But a month later, Candar said, they decided to vacate their hut inside the ranch because the guards reportedly destroyed it.

“We noticed that the guards were going towards our house and they were firing their guns in the air. We were really scared, so we ran towards the cornfield to hide. Then we saw them sawing the posts of our house until it eventually collapsed,” recounted her husband Anecito.

The Candar couple also said that the guards allegedly harvested some of their root crops and vegetables.

They are currently living with their only son in Barangay Dagumbaan, Maramag.

Had the local authorities, particularly the police, acted on the complaints of the farmers in the past years, Maniego said, it could have prevented the guards from committing the same abuses again.

“Since the local authorities, especially the police, are not doing anything to prevent these incidents, the suspects have become even more abusive. We know that the police are fully aware of these incidents because they have recorded these,” he added.

He said that Milo Ceballos, who is believed to be the head guard of the ranch and the primary suspect in the murder of farmer Welcie Gica, was able to flee Dagumbaan after a warrant of arrest was issued against him in December 2011.

Gica was killed in August last year.

On March 29, the police served the warrant of arrest against Ceballos and 14 others who were tagged in Gica’s murder, but the suspects were nowhere to be found.

“Had the police acted immediately, justice may have already been served to our colleague Welcie Gica,” Maniego stressed.

The mission report also disclosed that couple Joseph and Myrna Ople were reportedly strafed by the ranch guards on June 14 last year.

“Days before the incident, they already heard volleys of gunfire while they were putting their harvested tomatoes into boxes. On the day they were strafed, they already had 75 boxed tomatoes ready for delivery while the rest that were not boxed yet were estimated to reach, more or less, 140 boxes,” the report said.

It added the couple were forced to leave their house after the alleged strafing incident. Then on June 27, 2011, they tried to retrieve their tomatoes, but everything was gone and their house was allegedly demolished by the guards.

Edgardo Villalon, the ranch operator, first obtained the 15-year Pasture Lease Agreement (PLA) No. 1816 in 1981. When it expired, he applied for renewal. The PLA was later renamed FLGMA.

With the passage of Republic Act 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA), the renewal process has included a free and prior informed consent (FPIC) from the indigenous peoples in the community where the area subject of the lease agreement belongs.

Villalon obtained the compliance certificate in 2008 after the NCIP Ancestral Domain Office recommended it on August 8, 2008. But ten days after, the Padata members, backed by the Task Force Mapalad, lodged a protest before the NCIP, asserting the FPIC used to file for the extension of the FLGMA was fake.

In September last year, the NCIP en banc issued a “final and executory” decision on the ranch, denying the motion for reconsideration filed by Villalon for “lack of merit” and “for being filed out of time.” (Keith Bacongco/MindaNews)

Davao-based agri firm gets GGAP recertification

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/29 March) – For the fourth consecutive year, Davao Agricultural Ventures Corporation (Davco) has been certified as compliant with the high standards of the Global Good Agricultural Practices (GGAP).

GGAP or Global GAP is a private sector group that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe.

Davco has passed the recertification audit conducted by Latu Systemas Quality Austria (LSQA), the certifying body that sets the operational standards for agricultural practices to ensure product safety in different parts of the world.

But Elianora Lasay, Davco’s senior manager for operations, said the certification process was not easy as the company invested so much in its equipment, facilities and human resources to be able to comply with the stiff requirements.

With the recertification, Lasay added that it has contributed to the efficiency of the operations of the company.

“Although as a company, we already have our own policies in our day to day operations, GGAP has made us more efficient,” she said in an interview, adding that Davco was the first company in Asia to be accredited by GGAP.

Davco grows pineapple in Calinan and Baguio Districts in the city and in Don Carlos and Quezon towns of Bukidnon.

In its website, Davco said it adopts the GGAP protocol, which covers specific operational areas such as quality management system and documentation, review and training on workers health and safety, safety of the final product, environmental protection and animal welfare.

Under GGAP guidelines, Lasay pointed out that the company should comply 100 % of the “major must” and 95 % of the “minor must.”

“Even small amount of chemical dripping is not allowed,” she said, adding that strict compliance with a policy like this could not just help protect the environment but also help save company resources.

The GGAP accreditation, she noted, has made their workers more disciplined. “Also, we have an edge on the market because the customers are assured that our product is safe.”

Another example, Lasay said, is requiring first aid kits in every working area, as the company strictly implements a “no personal protective equipment, no work” policy as one big factor that strengthens and upholds the company’s standards in primarily maintaining the safety of both workers and the final product.

City agriculture officer Leo Avila welcomed the recertification of Davco, saying it is as a way towards sustainable agriculture.

Avila said good agricultural practices are a standard that he believes should be followed by a lot of agriculture industry players.

To ensure compliance with the guidelines, Lasay said they are conducting regular internal assessments or inspections as part of monitoring to ensure adherence to the GGAP’s control points and compliance criteria.

In its website, it reported that with the full compliance with GGAP, it has paved the way for Davco to increase its pineapple production from 3.9 million boxes in 2010 to 4.8 million boxes in 2011. This is the highest yield in the production history of Davco since its incorporation in 1981.

Davco produces fresh Del Monte Gold pineapples for export to international markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Middle East and New Zealand.

It is a joint venture between Del Monte Fresh Produce International Inc. and Anflocor, a Mindanao-based conglomerate with business ventures primarily in agriculture, industrial services, and real estate and resort development. (Keith Bacongco/MindaNews)

Although I also love to watch 4×4 off-road races but I still love motocross because it is more thrilling, I love to watch and shoot these high-flying machines.

In high school, I learned few BMX tricks with friends in Pigcawayan,(North  Cotabato) We also made a backyard race track and tried to fly our BMX.

On Sunday, it’s still amazes me to see this legendary rider – Glenn Aguilar – who dominated the expert and pro-open categories during the motocross race at the Moto-X Davao track in Crocodile Park, Maa, Davao City. The event , which was organized by Moto-X Davao, is part of the month-long celebration of the 75th Araw ng Dabaw.

If I  remember it right, I think the last time I’ve seen Aguilar on track was in Midsayap, North Cotabato. This town also hosts motocross race every year during its patronal fiesta, the Halad Festival, which is  every third Sunday of January.  It’s the feast of Sr. Sto. Niño.

During my elementary years in Koronadal, I have already seen this guy chasing Jovie Saulog, Ernie Leongson and Jolet Jao, who were then the top gun riders in the country.

Both Jao and Saulog ruled the Camel Motocross seasons for years but Aguilar later on dominated the motocross tracks in every race in different parts of the country.

I remember also that those were the days – 250cc machines era– when these riders were still backed by Petron-Kawasaki, Caltex-Honda and Shell-Yamaha teams.  Aguilar then rides for Shell-Yamaha. Now he rides for KTM.

On Sunday, Aguilar dominated the expert and pro-open categories against Kimboy Pineda, Ambo Yaparcon, Donark Yuzon and Shawn Lim.

Here in Davao, the race is free of admission while in other places, especially in the provinces, race organizers  are asking at least P100 per day. But the problem of having this for free,  organizers could hardly control the crowd because many of them would love get inside the track — even the old ones, the women and children.

They are really close to the speeding bikes. Sometimes the bikes would land just few inches from where they are standing.   In my years of watching this sport, I have never tried that close. Besides, I could not take good pictures if I’m really close to the subjects.  I’m not shooting  portraits or macro here

I’m inside the track because I have a job to do. But I avoid some dangerous spots of the track, I anticipate the path when crash happens. Especially if amateur riders are on the track, I really avoid dangerous spots like the whoops as well as some spots where they often attempt a double jump.

Even with the presence of the police and TF Davao, the crowd would still push themselves inside the track. But head organizer Bok Mata pleaded to the crowd to keep off the track in 10 minutes or else he would be forced to stop the race and proceed to awarding ceremonies.

Race marshalls sprayed water from a stand by firetruck to drive away the people from the track but it seems ineffective. Mata repeated the warning that they will be forced to stop the race if the crowd wont cooperate.

The warning paid off, with the help of the men in uniform, the spectators eventually left the race track. But then after one of the heats, they slowly returned inside the track.

Most of the spectators came to enjoy the race but many of them really don’t understand the dangers of this sport. I’m hoping that the race organizers would find means next race to keep the spectators off the track.

Maybe put some barriers; even used tires. Pile them up around the track to prevent the people from coming in. It may be costly but it’s better to be sorry.  This also makes the race more organized. For instance when an accident happens among riders, paramedics could easily navigate themselves into the track.

Riders, too, don’t want to inflict injuries among the crowd should accident happens inside the track. These riders have nothing to lose; they are paid to cheat death.

As Travis Pastrana says: “ I calculate risk for living.”

P.S. : Kudos to Bok Mata for organizing the race for free, for Davaoeños as well as for our guests to enjoy the weekend. For keep yourselves updated on motocross race in Mindanao, visit Moto-X Davao website.  Perhaps, the motocross on Sunday was the only event we have covered in this year’s Araw ng Dabaw celebration.)

Here are some of the photos taken during the race:

In this photo, Fr. Franco sorts the newly-harvested tomatoes from his backyard farm in Buda.

 Priest uses gourmet food to help the needy

What started as a hobby for Italian priest Franco Uras has become a money-making venture to help tribal children in the mountain village of Buda in Davao City.

The Salesian priest and his German doctor friend, Wolfgang Csato, are hosting benefit dinners to raise money for children in the village. The duo prepare Italian and German dishes that they sell for US$8 during benefit dinners in nearby towns. (Read More)

But this café is unlike any other gourmet shops in the city proper; the entire compound will soon become a home for the indigenous peoples, more particularly the children.

Managed by Italian missionary Fr. Franco Uras, the Bosco Center for Hope for Integral Development for Lumad Youth and Children offers a variety of homemade gourmet products, which have been processed using organically-grown ingredients.

Uras, who belongs to the Salesians of Don Bosco, sells his products, such as pasta sauces and homemade breads, to raise money for his program for the lumad children and youth.

His products include Vegetarian Pasta Sauce in Soya Oil, Vegetarian Tuna Sauce in Corn Oil, Pesto Classic (Italian) in Olive Oil, Herbed Mushroom Sauce in Corn Oil, Sundried Tomatoes in Soya Oil and Herbed Mushroom Sauce in Corn Oil. Each bottle costs between P205 and P385.

Uras doesn’t use any artificial flavoring or preservatives for his sauces, just herbs and vegetables.

“I have some herbs that others do not have and I also have my own formula, and that is my secret,” Uras, who has been in the Philippines for 48 years, intimated.

Asked why he went into gourmet making, the 68-year old priest replied: “Because I need money for the Lumad children, I need to raise money to help the less fortunate.”

Aside from the assorted sauces, the café also serves pizza for at least P150, tomato and onion bread, both for P25 each. Uras glazes his pizza with herbs and organically-grown spices from his backyard garden.

The café, which opens from 6a.m. until 7p.m., is located right beside the arc of the of the Department of Public Works and Highways, which is also the marker for the boundary between Davao City and Kitaotao, Bukidnon.

Benefit dinner

But the center is not just a mere café; the Italian missionary is now preparing the six-hectare property to cater to Lumad children who are studying in a nearby elementary school.

Starting May, Uras said, the children will be gathered in the center to assess their needs for the next school year.

But the children will not be staying in the center, the missionary clarified. “We will provide two snacks and a lunch. Then they will go home in the afternoon. Maybe after a year, that’s the time when we will require them to live in the center,” said Uras, adding he needs at least P500,000 a year to sustain their needs.

To raise the amount, the priest said he and his German friend Wolfgang Csato, a doctor by profession, will host a benefit dinner for the Lumad children on March 22 at Coffee for Health café in Catalunan Pequeño, about three kilometers away from Ulas junction.

Csato, who specializes in pain and trauma treatment, is a hobbyist cook married to a Filipina. “Like Padre Franco, I also love cooking. And I’m helping him in this benefit dinner for the Lumad children,” said the doctor who is also the President of the European Association for Pain Treatment.

For P350, Csato and Uras will serve authentic Italian and German cuisines. “But of course they can also donate cash for the children,” the priest said in Bisaya.

Aside from the benefit dinner, the German doctor will also help in fund-raising back in Europe for Uras’ project in Buda.

Moreover, Uras said he is accepting donations in kind for the Lumad children such as basic hygiene kits (toothbrush, toothpaste and soap), rice, corn, mongo beans, dried or fresh fish, canned goods, clothing, board games paraphernalia and even equipment for different ball games.

Hobbyist cook

Meanwhile, Uras said he never had any formal culinary training , adding it was just his hobby that pushed him into creating his own recipes.

But as an Italian, he said, it could be natural for them to love cooking. “I’m the youngest in our family and I never washed the dishes when I was a boy,” he quipped.

He recalled having learned cooking when he was already in the Philippines.

Aside from cooking, Uras also made his own beverages out of the available ingredients in his backyard. He said he has already fermented 17 kinds of wine.

“Before, preparing gourmet was just my hobby. But now, it is no longer a simple hobby because I need money for the less fortunate,” said Uras, who had served as executive director of Boys’ Town, a rehabilitation center for street boys in the city, from 1998 to 2003 before moving to Buda. (Keith Bacongco/MindaNews)

Dog Agility Contest 3rd National Davao Dog Summit in Davao City on Saturday, March 10. The dog summit, which gathered participants from Manila, Cebu, Bacolod and Davao,  is one of the activities for the 75th Araw ng Davao celebration.