MABUNGAHONG BAG-ONG TUIG 2009 KANINYONG TANAN! – GIKAN SA RURAL URBAN NEWS

ITSA PWERA
Ni Cha Monforte

2009 Year of the Ox

Tuig sa Baka ang 2009. Kini base sa Chinese calendar. Daghang ineglish nga ngalan sa baka. Papyular na kanato ang cow. Ang klase sa baka nga kasagaran ginagamit pangtrabaho sa uma o pangkargada gitawag nga ox. Bull ang tawag sa lalake nga baka, ug ang baye nga baka nga nakaanak ug sobra duha gitawag nga cow. Stag o bullock ang mangton lake nga gikapon na. Way pili ta, bisag unsa, lami kan-on ang baka!
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Matud pa sa usa ka astrologer, ang ox usa ka simbolo sa pag-asenso o pagkaadunahan pinaagi sa grabeng pagtrabaho ug pagkamaayo. Sama sa ox nga baka, sa sunod tuig, moasenso ang tawong pasensyoso, kalmado, malinawon ug hilom samtang way puas ug way angal sa pagpatulo ug singot. Gwapo kini nga mga hiyas alang sa atong mga politikasan sa gobyerno.
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May 12 ka ngalan sa mga hayop ang Chinese calendar ug mobalik-balik kani kada dose ka tuig. Tama ra pod nga Year of the Ox ang 2009 kay seguro kining mga hiyas ang gikinahanglan natong tanan sa pag-abot sa epekto sa pangkalibutanong krisis pinansyal. Modagsa na balik sa atong mga probinsya ug kalungsuran ang atong mga igsoong OFW kay mawad-an na ug trabaho sa 2009. Morag wa pay preparasyon atong mga lokal nga opisyales aning problemaha.
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Morag maayo ang mahumanay na nga Year of the Rat sa 2008 kay misikat ang nasud tungod sa mga kadaugan sa atong people’s champ, boxing icon Manny Pacquaio, ug sa pagkunhod sa pletehan ug sa presyo sa gasolina ug krudo apil na ang atong bugas. Apan di ba karon pod tuiga mitaas ang mga presyo ning mga produktoha? Morag balik lang sa normal ang pagpaubos sa mga presyo.
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May na lang may duha ka beses nga may fare rollback sa syudad sa Davao ug Tagum. Sa Davao City, human sa pagtaas sa pletehan, may duha ka 50 centavos nga pagpaubos sa pletehan, ug sa Tagum City may duha pod ka tag P1 nga fare rollback. Dako man gud ang nasugdan sa Tagum gikan sa tag P7 paingon sa tag P10 nga minimum nga pletehan. Karong Enero 2, balik na sa tag P7 ang pletehan sa Tagum.
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Apan sa umaabot nga pagbalik sa P7 nga pletehan sa Tagum, kagahapong adlawa, hapit na mopaubos sa menus P30 ang presyo sa gasolina matag litro ug kung kini mokunhod pa sulod sa bracket nga P20 paingon sa P29.99 matag litro, nagpasabot nga tungod may flexi-fare ordinance sa syudad, ang pletehan sa Tagum mahimo nang tag P6. Gwapo gayud ning flexi-fare ordinance sundon sa ubang dapit kay kini makamasa man gud nga lokal nga palisiya.
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Para di magkagubot sa Tagum bahin sa pletehan, maayo segurong mobutang ang City Hall ug mga electronic billboard nga may pulang suga ug letrang: “TRICYCLE FARE TODAY: P7″. Sama kani sa mamalitay ug kopras nga may anunsyong, “COPRA PRICE TODAY: P__ PER KILO”.
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Ang flexi-fare ordinance man gud sa Tagum naglagda nga ang pletehan sa tricycle, ang moda sa transportasyon sa syudad, nagadepende sa presyo sa gasolina. Kung motaas kini, di motaas pod ang pletehan, kung mokunhod, di moubos pod ang pletehan nga wa na manginahanglan ug public hearing ug pagsubay sa taas nga proseso sa paghimo ug ordinansa sa bag-ong pletehan.
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Daghang mga party ug overnight sa dagat human sa Pasko. Sa Comval mainland nga way dagat, daghang miadto nangaligo sa beaches sa Comval coastal towns- Maco, Mabini ug Pantukan (ang opposition country sa mga national candidates kay midaug man si Fernando Poe Jr. niadtong 2004 nga piniliay ug mga opposition senatorial candidates sa 2007 piniliay).  Tinoud, ang katawhang way dagat angayan gayud nga makaligo sa dagat bisag kausa sa usa ka tuig. Sa kapanahonan sa Pasko gayud kani kanunayng mahitabo…..Mabuhay ang mga civilian barangay police sa poblacion Nabunturan sa ilang foundation day sa panguna ni barangay kagawad Conie. Nag-overnight ligo, Xmas party pod sila sa dagat sa Samal niadtong Sabado ug Dominggo aron preparadong mosugat sa pagboluntaryo na usab alang sa kalinaw sa Bag-ong Tuig 2009!
MGA TEXT REAKSYON SA MIAGING KOLUM: Kabahin sa Movement for Good Governance (MGG)- “nganong si joe almonte man gyud? politiko gihapon na cya, kanang wala unta manggikan sa gobyerno?” – magdadaro sa comval 09216313174…. “taga poblacion tagbina, surigao del sur ko ug gusto q magpamiyembro sa MGG”- junesio baclado 09059246687.
(Alang sa inyong mga reaksyon ug komentaryo, mo-text lang sa 09069104553 o mag-email sa chamonforte@yahoo.com)

Filed under: 2009 year chinese calendar, mabini, maco, pantukan, 2009 year chinese calendar, mabini, maco, pantukan

OPINION: Short draft memoirs: Joecab at his loneliest

BLOGISTA
BY Cha Monforte

It was the day after. Jose “Joecab” Caballero was finally defeated- confirmed by humiliating election results. He was then called as phenom- for slaying big political dragons- long-reigning old Davnor politician Gregorio Dujali and he became a vice gov in the then big beautiful undivided country of Davao del Norte; next the Sarmientos- then known as an institution, first the matriarch Dona Luz, then he became the first Comval gov after Comval was separated from Davnor in 1998; next the son politico-economic heir Roger “RMS” in the 2001 gubernatorial toss up, then Joecab got his second term and went straight getting his last term without a hitch knocking off a token candidate suspected to have run for a proxy war within the unified Lakas ticket in 2004.

But for the so much heck of his organized sectors including the kabirs on dispersal binge Joecab’s camp was so much enthralled and so his formidable opposition camp was also so much enthralled of his nine-year rule characterized by a patronage-driven populist programs. They both seemed put in so overblown expectations that on one hand, Joecab got the province’s District 2 for his own congressional bid and put her daughter then Boardmember Kristine for the gubernatorial bid, while on the other hand, the unified opposition ruing against him had all but made an overkill in plugging all holes in skittish electoral campaign against Joecab’s political machinery and logistics which turned out to be only made of so much hoopla and pretensions. Joecab the phenom was overwhelmingly defeated already in the night of May 14, 2007 election day when the first rush of low turn out of votes for him and Kristine started trickling in to his Dragon headquarters. I heard that in the dead of that night his headquarters was already deserted by his lawyers, loyal followers, so-called strategists, so-called planners, so-called propagandists. I was not in the inner circle of them.

In the early morning of May 15, 2007, at around 6:00 A.M. I and Rey Castardo, also an info man, visited Dragon, and there we saw a gloomy pall of light iinside. Joecab had apparently no sleep, also with Kristine and Madam Mimi. Except for Anamei’s pretty, red-eyed PGO ladies who were sipping San Mig light beer perhaps for a drowse or juices in cans, there were already no Rey Pajarito and lots of political CAOs upstairs of Dragon, that building by the church which became the base in erecting the foundations of the Comval provincial government. There were few CAOs downstairs, but reports said the CAOs failed to deliver the goods for the liners while some of them allegedly stashed it for themselves kept pestering as gripes in the rounds. Accordingly, one had already taken an early vacation, while another one had bought a brand new motorcycle. Joecab had as mouthful on dirty politics and massive vote buying.

Seeing our presence supposed meant to troop around to empathize and give our last salute to the man who recruited us in the first place, he directed me to write a PR for ABS-CBN and the Inquirer. I hurried to write a piece from his dictates. When it was made, as usual he made corrections carefully choosing words not as a politician but more as a lawyer. Almost the journalistic PR was mangled by his own legalese words. I couldn’t do otherwise but finalized it, still fine-tuning it within journalese acceptability. And the usual of him as one abante-atras PR chief dawned again on him. He kept the PR close to his chest, reflecting. He was beaten to the draw in post-election news as a sore loser.  The final PR was never faxed to news outlets. Towards the midday when Dragon was at its loneliest, I and Rey Castardo called it quits. We hit the road for home gutom. The End.

Last month at the height of the issue on ZTE deal on Diwalwal, I got a chance to see Joecab, the citizen, for the first time at his Panorama home after that gloomy day for an interview on the issue. He said he has already secured peace as plain citizen and stopped counting his political wounds. “I enjoy being a fulltime father now,” he said adding that for nine years he had been always with the people of Comval. But Joecab even berated me in dragging him to the issue, that he would be summoned (not in legalese usage) in an SP probe-inquiry, and even questioned who am I writing for now. It was just like Cong. Way Kurat last Tuesday for suspecting me to be still loyal to one-way PR conscious Joecab. But by that I got the opportunity to level off with Cong. Way K. For all and sundry, I’m back to fulltime media works after a long interregnum. Chief government propagandists who have been used and out of delicadeza and deference must also bow down to the new power holders and not cling to positions even protected by the CSC.

We were with the defunct Northern Star in the days of the cut-and-paste newspaper layouting, covering Mankilam to as far as the interior Sto. Tomas, Pantukan. Laak, New Bataan and up Diwalwal. Also, the good thing in the media now, Press Sec. Jess Dureza, is that the Internet and cellphone spell a difference in getting and sending facts and news at least expense compared to the past ever-peripatetic days. It’s different now in the media, you can now live by and with it but a story is always made for the love of writing and of the profession, said publisher Bert Gorgonio last April when rice prices skyrocketed. “Gwapo ni kay wa tay mga amo,” he added. But the blood of a writer runs deep in me just like Bert, who also had a stint working in Surigao government. Objectivity and fairness in journalism has always been our constant guide. At the end of the day, it will always be our readers who will judge and sustain us. When we err just like any human, we are humbled by your notice of correction or side as we take your right to reply as sacrosanct to a working press. We just always try and strive to be your real press. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, e-mail: ruralurbanews@yahoo.com or chamonforte@yahoo.com)

Filed under: cha music, comval, dona luz sarmiento, gregorio dujali, laak, new bataan, pantukan, rey pajarito, roger m sarmiento, sto. tomas davao del norte, cong way kurat zamora, dona luz sarmiento, ex gov joecab caballero, gregorio dujali, roger m sarmiento

NEWS: MILF’s “dormant” Pantukan camp also watched- police

aug 25

Text messages on MILF attacks to Boringot false

Madaum not likely an MILF entry point- Chiongkee

Although the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s camp in Pantukan is described by the military as “dormant’ but nevertheless it is also being watched just in case.

Regional police spokesperson Chief Inspector Querubin Manalang Jr., in one news report over the weekend, bared that ”there are also MILF units in Madaum, Tagum and in some parts of Davao Oriental” but he discounted that the possibility that nearby MILF units could launch attack to Davao City.

Earlier, AFP vice chief of staff Lieutenant General Cardoso Luna said that the other MILF camps being watched, especially those in the Davao Region, which are considered as dormant besides the one in Pantukan are located in Tarragona in Davao Oriental and Sarangani in Davao del Sur.

He identified the MILF areas in the Cotabato-Maguindanao area as well as those in Lanao provinces as the most active these days.

But Compostela Valley Governor Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy defused talk that the Madaum could be an entry point for MILF attack saying that it is mostly populated by Kalagan Muslims whom he long knew to be peace-loving and “mababait” (good) people.

Madaum is where the Uy family hailed from since when the father of the governor and City Mayor Rey Chiong Uy arrived in the city and had his residence and trading business there with a lot of Muslim sukis until they moved in to the city proper in 1980.

Gov. Uy said that the Kalagan Muslims at Madaum had in effect adopted his father as one of their own while the latter stayed long in the place and as they cared for his father, who first arrived as a stranger Chinese merchant in the place populated by Muslims. “Palangga nila si Papa”.

He added he grew up there until when he was twenty something and had learned of the good ways of the Muslims which he said allowed to even speak the Kalagan dialect.

As this developed, Sidlak’s police sources said as “false and untrue” the text messages the circulated last Friday about armed attacks being carried out by MILF in Comval like the gold mining area in Boringot, Compostela.

Chief Inspector Manalang also said that in their 24-hour monitoring they have not yet seen any MILF troop movements and sightings in the region.

Manalang described the likelihood of MILF attack to Davao City as “very slim” adding that the MILF could not match yet the superior firepower and number of personnel of the police and military.

Aside from the round-the-clock monitoring, the police has also increased its number of mobile checkpoints.

Earlier, Tagum City Police Superintendent Dario Gunabe said that the city’s 100-strong police have been doing their best to ensure the safety and security of the city populace and are always ready to counter terrorist threats in the wake of the MILF attacks in Lanao, Cotabato and Sarangani provinces.

Meanwhile, listed in the annexes to the aborted Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain ((MOA-AD) between the Government of the Philippines and the MILF are all the 13 barangays of Pantukan including the poblacion that are subject to territorial ancestral domain claims by the MILF and are subject for inclusion to the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) through a plebiscite, 25 years after the signing of a Comprehensive Agreement with the MILF.

Pantukan’s 13 barangays are Araibo, Bongabong, Bongbong, Kingking (poblacion), Las Arenas, Magnaga, Matiao, Napnapan, P. Fuentes, Tagdangua, Tag-Ugpo, Tambongon, and Tibagon.

These are under Category B or the ” Special Intervention Areas which refer to conflict affected areas outside the BJE which shall be the subject of special socio-economic and cultural affirmative action implemented by the Central Government pending the conduct of a plebiscite not earlier than twenty-five (25) years from the signing of the Comprehensive Compact to determine the question of their accession to the BJE.” These are subject to further negotiations by the two parties.

In all, Davao Region has 32 barangays subject for inclusion in JBE thru a plebiscite, but it has none in Davao del Norte.

Gov. Uy opposed the inclusion of the entire Pantukan saying that it was a “foolish idea” made without consultations with the Pantukan people (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News with various reports)

Filed under: comval, madaum, MILF, pantukan, tagum, gov. chiongkee uy, mayor rey uy, tagum sev scandal