500 Masons in Mindanao converged in Davao City

feb 23, 2014

More than 500 members of the highly respected masonry organization from all masonic lodges in Mindanao ended their two-day Mindanao communication Saturday at Grand Men Seng Hotel Davao in Davao City.

“It’s actually a convention, which we call as communication. We have a very successful event,” said Felicisimo Ramos Sr., grand lecturer of Masonic Lodge 149 in Davao City.

He said that the national communication of masons is scheduled on the coming third week of April in Metro Manila.

The Mindanao masonic affair was graced by national mason grand master Juanito Espino and Mindanao mason grand master Floren Lumo.

It was hosted by Masonic District R 11-A, which is composed of 7 masonic lodges in Davao City and one in Digos, Davao del Sur.

The other masonic lodges in Davao Region is Masonic District R-11-B, which is composed of two masonic lodges in Tagum City, Davao del Norte and two masonic lodges in Mati, Davao Oriental.

Ramos said that there were already 10 Mindanaons who had become masonic national grandmasters, among whom coming from Davao City were businessman Desiderio Dalisay, physician Rizal Aportadera and former public works regional director Juanito Avergas.

Wikepidia describes freemasonry or masonry as referring to “a civic movement promoting fraternity and good works. Freemasonry defines itself as ‘a regular system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.’ In particular masonic meetings are characterized by initiations and rituals. As such masonry has been viewed historically by churches and governments as secret societies.”

“Its historical origins date as far back to 1717 in England, during the Enlightenment period. During that time, an intellectual movement arose throughout Europe based on rationalism, which held that only eternal truths could be attained by reason alone. Members are organized into lodges, the basic organizational structure, which operates under the jurisdiction of a grand lodge,” says Wikipedia.

In the country, the first masonic lodge in the Philippines was established in 1856 by Jose Malcampo Monje, a naval captain who became the Governor General of the Philippines from 1874 to 1877.

It was a group of young Filipino students studying in Spain who helped spread the movement rapidly in Philippine circles, among whom were Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena and Jose Rizal.

Upon their return to the country, many formed lodges first in Manila in 1891and later throughout the archipelago, even as far as Zamboanga. In 1893 these different lodges were organized under the Grand Regional Council led by Ambrocio Flores. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Duterte still coy in running for President

feb 21, 2014

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is still coy to the idea of running for President.

In his speech before local government treasurers and assessors who gathered for their national convention Tuesday in Davao City, Mayor Duterte threw series of conflicting political statements in view of the upcoming presidential election by 2016.

He has been overwhelmingly endorsed to be President by netizens in the social media, which he acknowledged.

Apparently joking with the audience gathered in huge SMX conference hall of SM Lanang Premier, he said, “I’ll not run kay ako lang dapat ang sikat, wala ng mga general o admiral. When the time comes.”

Then he continued: “It’s getting late in the day. I started as a mayor here, and end as a mayor. I really don’t know.”

Before he spoke, the mayor had a hard time going on stage as a lot of treasurers and assessors mobbed him for a “selfie” photo shoots with the backdrop of the event’s mural.

“Before we need to have a photographer to take pictures, now with the new technology it comes to be easier. Picture-picture daw pag may time kasi magiging next President na daw,” he mayor said.

Duterte also made comic potshots hinged on recent issues and events involving him like the rice smuggling issues involving David Tan, and on his exchange of words with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Human Rights Commissioner Etta Rosales.

He said it is all but “all verbal” stories in his shoot and kill statements to smugglers and about extrajudicial killings on crime suspects.

The mayor shared a bit on Davao history and on his family’s life that featured his mother Soledad Roa, a teacher, and his father Vicente Duterte, former governor of the old, big Davao that consisted today’s Davao and Compostela Valley provinces.  His father and mother came from Leyte and Cebu, respectively.

He recalled the difficulties that his parents met in migrating to settle in the old Davao.

“We hacked our way here,” he said adding that Davao then was divided among bigwigs and in various modes of productions as Davao del Norte went for hemp and banana production, Davao Oriental went to Rabat and coconut production, and southern Davao to Almendras.

Duterte is on his new first term as a mayor after graduating twice as three-termer mayor in the city, interrupted only by sliding to become congressman and vice mayor, both for a term only, when he met a term limit since 1988.

He is credited for making Davao City as one of the most peaceful cities in Southeast Asia. He would be 69 years this coming March 28. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

MGB-XI notifies deficiencies of Nadecor-Calalang group in copper-gold exploration application in Pantukan, Comval

feb 21, 2104

The Mines and Geo-Sciences-XI has recently bared its findings stating eight deficiencies in the application of Nationwide Development Corporation (Nadecor) for copper and gold exploration in gold-rich barangays in Pantukan, Compostela Valley.

The application for the Declaration of Mining Feasibility of Nadecor under the group of a certain Conrado  Calalang was assessed to have suffered deficiencies, among which are the proof that Calalang is the authorized signatory of Nadecor, environmental compliance certificate (ECC), prior free and informed (PFI) consent of the indigenous people and endorsements of LGUs of five barangays, Sangguniang Bayan of Pantukan and Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Compostela Valley.

The MGB-XI’s letter was dated Feb. 7, 2014, signed by OIC regional director Noel Angeles.

The letter found its way to the legislative council of the municipality.

One municipal councilors who came to have a copy of the letter said on the condition of anonymity that all they wanted is peace and order to reign in the area following the burning of a backhoe owned by the municipal LGU Wednesday last week by still unidentified elements.

He said he did not know why the municipal backhoe was deployed in the mining area and as to which competing group Mayor Roberto Yugo is siding with in the present dispute.

The gold-rich areas have been lately disputed by two contesting groups from the same corporation Nadecor- the Conrado Calalang group and Jose Ricafort group, which are locked in corporate and legal struggle that reached in the Supreme Court.

The burning was the latest violent incident following armed skirmish between the hired tenement guards of the two groups last year that resulted to the killing of one belonging to Ricafort’s group.

Three years ago Nadecor started exploring the area as one company backed up by its service provider St. Augustine Services, Inc. (St. Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd.) which has a tie-up with Aurubis Ag, a multinational foreign mining firm.

The exploratory phase accordingly found the areas to be rich of copper and gold resources.

The same requirements had already been complied by erstwhile united Nadecor which were claimed by the Ricafort’s group being the original board of directors.

Calalang’s group earlier set up its own new board of directors that triggered corporate battle.

St. Augustine firm is reportedly backing up the Calalang’s group.

Nadecor has an approved Mineral Production Sharing  Agreement (MPSA) over 1,656 hectares, which attracted St. Augustine firm to make a tie up with Nadecor.

The MPSA covers five barangays- Kingking, Magnaga, Tagdangua, Araibo and Napnanap. The barangays are adjacent to the small scale mining sites that experienced disastrous landslide in 2011.

Environmental groups which barricaded the town’s highway section last year to oppose open-pit mining said that St. Augustine is the local firm put up by a US-based multinational mining firm named Russel Mining and Minerals, Inc.  (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Mayor Duterte to farmers: “hit a jackpot, plant cacao now”, he’s choco-allergic though

feb 10, 2014

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has advised farmers to seize on the opportunity promised by cacao plant, telling them they might “hit a jackpot” as there is a current “hiatus” or supply shortage of it now due to the uncontained plant disease that brought destruction to the huge cacao plantations in South America.

In his weekly “Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa” TV program Sunday, the mayor aired his directive to his city agriculturist and workers to go to the rural areas and lecture farmers on how to plant cacao.

“It can easily be planted, intercropped under coconut trees or just under the forest. I’ll make connections for the farmers with my businessmen friends,” he said.

In his discussion on cacao, the mayor bared a bit of revelation of one of his diseases at his old age now. He is allergic to cacao’s sweet by-product – chocolate.

“Allergic ko sa chocolate, kung makakaon ko mangluspad ko, magsuka ko after 5 minutes (I go pale and vomit),” he said, adding he shared the same disease with a lady friend who would suffer a migraine and even rolled on the floor when a chocolate-induced allergy hit her. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

2 Customs Davao execs cry foul over ABS-CBN TV Patrol report on rice smuggling

jan 26, 2014

Two officials of the the Bureau of Customs Port of Davao singled out in ABS-CBN TV Patrol news report Friday evening by its reporter Jay Ruiz as suspected to be in cahoots with rice smugglers cried foul, saying that the report is “grossly unfair and malicious”.

BOC Davao Collector Pacasum (left) and Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte

In an interview Friday night, BOC Davao Acting District Collector Samsom Pacasum said that he was deeply hurt by the news report that seemed to portray him along with former Acting Collector for Operations lawyer Edward James Dy Buco as being punished for the recent release of rice shipments passing the Davao port.

“We were just following the order of the courts and even sought for the Commissioner’s appropriate action,” Pacasum said, referring to the rice shipments in 167 containers that were issued of alert and hold orders by BOC Davao late last year due to lack of import permits from the National Food Authority.

The Regional Trial Court of Davao City, Branch 16 and the RTC of Manila, Branch 16, in December last year respectively issued injunction orders to BOC Davao to cease and desist from issuing any alert, hold or seizure order to specific shipments of the contesting shipper.
Pacasum said that he was guided by the memorandum issued by BOC Commissioner John Sevilla that specific shipments subject of injunction that subdued the requirement of lack of NFA import permit would have to be released upon compliance of applicable customs rules and regulations.

For his part, lawyer Dy Buco texted his statement: “I vehemently protest the false and malicious news item broadcast (Friday night) over ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol News program stating that I, together with Collector Pacasum, were removed from our posts as punishment for allowing the release of 167 containers of rice in Davao City.

First, I’m no longer assigned in Davao Port when the rice shipments were released. I have been reporting with the Legal Service under the DepComm for RCMG. The new CPO directed me to report to the Office of DepComm RCMG which happens to be my mother unit.

Secondly, the rice shipments were released pursuant to a court order and not because Collector Pacasum wanted it released. We tried to hold the release of the rice due to persuasions from higher officials and various offices to defy the injunction order.

Collector Pacasum was the one who issued the alert and hold orders which I prepared. How could they say then that we allowed its release and be punished for such action. I have sent an urgent request to the Secretary of Finance (Cesar Purisima) and Commissioner of Customs for a clarificatory statement on this matter that caused grave damage and injury to me and my family, otherwise, appropriate charges will be filed before the court and proper bodies.”

The report said that Pacasum and Dy Buco were among the 12 BOC officials relieved by Commisioner Sevilla from their posts this week and were ordered to be transferred to Customs Policy Research Office under the Dept. of Finance. (Cha Monforte)

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Watch the ABS-CBN TV Patrol report:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/01/24/14/excl-corruption-system-rooted-too-deeply-customs-chief-says

Read the news in ABS-CBNnews.com:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/01/24/14/customs-chief-cleans-house-12-officials-axed