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.

Video clips during the Women’s Market at NCCC Mall in Davao City on March 8-9, 2012. The event was organized by Oxfam Philippines.

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The Women’s Market, the Philippines’ first market of women’s products and ideas, gives you a chance to help some of them concretely and to make a statement that rural women — who grow part of the country’s food — count. Read More

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.  

He also lashed at the critics of the proposed coal-fired power plant, telling them to carefully study the technology first.

“To those who are very vocal, you don’t know everything in this world. If you think you are intelligent, we are more intelligent than you,” he said.

Mayor Duterte expressed frustration over the decision of the city council.

“I’m frustrated, I’m sad …They should have heeded the veto because it is a powerful message that the city mayor is against their measure,” she told reporters on Tuesday, a day after 21 of the 22 councilors present at the session voted to override her veto.

Councilor Paolo Duterte, an ex-officio member representing the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC), abstained.

When she issued her veto, the mayor said she also told the councilors to review all the materials related to the coal-fired power plant’s technology.

“But apparently, on the day itself I issued the veto, (it was) the same day also that the reports came out that they will override the veto,” she said Duterte-Carpio.

“Let history judge them na lang,” she added.

Last week, her father had already hinted of the override, saying the city council had the final say and leave the mayor no choice but to implement the project.

While Mayor Duterte acknowledged that the councilors were just exercising democracy, she said she had yet to consult the city legal counsel to explore other options to block the power plant.

The override has earned the council the ire of groups opposed to the power plant, with some 200 of them staging a protest at city hall as the session took pace.

Source: Interkasyon.Com

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.

Twenty-two councilors attended the session but Councilor Paolo Duterte, an ex-officio member being the chair of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC), abstained from the voting.

After Majority Floor Leader Tomas Monteverde III read the veto order of the mayor before the council, presiding officer Councilor Karlo Bello granted his request for a three-minute recess during which the lawmakers agreed who would speak first.

After the break, Duterte told the council he would not participate in the voting.

Addressing his colleagues, Councilor Melchor Quitain acknowledged that there are alternative sources of energy which are less harmful such as solar, wind and hydro power.

He, however, added: “To say there are alternative sources of energy is not the same as saying that they are available. And to say that they are available is not the same as saying they are available now. And to say that they are available now is not the same as saying that they are doable and workable here in Davao City.”

In her previous media interviews, the mayor has been urging “to explore other alternative sources of energy instead of the coal.”

Opposition groups echoed the mayor’s suggestion to explore alternative sources of energy.

While Quitain was speaking, five protesters silently walked inside the session hall with placards showing their opposition to the coal-fired power plant project.

The council’s sergeant-at-arms tried to put the placards down but Bello signaled at him to allow the protesters to go on with their silent protest.

After Quitain’s speech, Bello called for a vote on whether or not to override the veto of the mayor. Except for Duterte’s abstention, the motion to overrule the veto got a unanimous vote.

They were: Nilo Abellera, Victorio Advincula  Jr., Bernard Al-ag, Al Ryan Alejandre, Dante Apostol, Conrado Baluran, Joanne Bonguyan, Louie John Bonguyan,  Pilar Braga, Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, April Marie Dayap, Jimmy Dureza, Melchor Quitain, Edgar  Ibuyan,  Emmanuel Galicia Sr., Rene Elias Lopez, Tomas  Monteverde III, Jashera Gonzales, Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, Jose Louie Villafuerte, and Rachel Zozobrado.

Councilor Jimmy Dureza then asked the presiding the officer if they could move to adopt the explanation of Quitain so that they would not have to explain their affirmative vote one by one.

The council moved to adopt Quitain’s explanation.

After the voting, the protesters marched out of the session hall while shouting “mga traidor sa katawhan” (traitors of the people).

Franchie Buhayan, secretary general of Bayan Southern Mindanao Region, led the protesters in a noise barrage in front of the City Council building.

Buhayan accused the councilors as traitors and of allegedly being more loyal to the Aboitiz Power Corporation than to their constituents.

“They refused to listen to the people, particularly those living in the project site,” she screamed.

Tom Villarin, convenor of Dabawenyo Ayaw sa Coal (DAC) claimed that scientific studies over decades have proven the negative impact of coal-fired power plants.

“We don’t need dead bodies before we say coal is unsafe,” Villarin said in a statement sent to media.

In her veto message, the mayor said: “As a mayor of our city, I should be at the forefront of effecting the observance of the right of our people to health and balanced ecology, and the correlative duty of the people, which I suppose rests largely upon the government, to refrain from impairing the environment.” (Keith Bacongco/MindaNews)

Source: MindaNews.Com

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.”

Section 55 (a) of Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code, provides that the mayor may veto an ordinance if it is deemed to be prejudicial to the general welfare.

Duterte-Carpio cited possible risks of the project to the environment and public.

In her previous media interviews, Duterte-Carpio has been saying “to explore other alternative sources of energy instead of the coal.”

The vetoed ordinance reclassified parcels of land in Barangay Binugao from protected medium industrial zone to protected heavy industrial zone.

The mayor cited the US Presidential Task Force, which was created to look at ways to alter the energy direction of the United States energy providers, that favors the trend away from coal-fired power plants.

“It would seem, therefore, that allowing the establishment of a coal power plant in our city is to adopt a power source technology which is now being rejected in most part of the world, most especially in the US, because of the environment hazards it poses to our planet and humanity,” said Duterte-Carpio, adding that introducing it in the city would be a step backward rather than forward to progress.

Dr. Jean Lindo, convener of No to Coal Davao, commended the mayor’s decision, saying it is a people’s victory.

But Lindo added that they would remain vigilant because “there might be ways to overturn this.”

The City Council has yet to vote during their plenary session next week whether to override or accept the veto.

The city has 26 councilors, and they must have 18 votes to override the veto. Twenty-one of them have voted for the ordinance reclassifying the plant site.

Also, majority of the council members believe the plant will bring economic benefits to the city and will help in the current energy crisis in Mindanao.

As of this writing, sources from Aboitiz Power Corp., one of the biggest power producers in the country, said they have yet to release a statement on the mayor’s veto.