Filipino Muslim Youth Introduce New Concept of Valentine Day

1. While Pinoy artist in Luzon unveiling Valentine project in Facebook, Muslim youth in Zamboanga introduce unique concept of celebrating the valintine day.
2. Instead of dating with especial someone, Muslim Youth Movement for Peace and Development members give blessing to the street children.

Pinoy artists unveil collaborative Valentines art project on Facebook

Despite some netizens’ negativity about the concept of love and Valentine’s Day, two Filipino multimedia artists took to Facebook to voice their optimism and to engage everyone in a feel-good exchange intended for this special day.

“I posted a poem from Kahlil Gibran with the header: pag-ibig findings. We used to have art exhibits way back using this title, every February 14 we do this. She thought of doing an online exhibit about it,” Zafra told GMA News Online.[read more 

Valentine 2012: Sweet memories with the street children

Valentine 2012, the youth spending their valentine with the street children in the city as their annual traditional practice of giving few blessing [read more]

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Peace Business in ARMM and Mindanao

1. Peace is always been big capital business in the ARMM and entire Mindanao. The major players are Government officials, politician, NGO, donors, and rebels? 

Investment and peace in ARMM

TUESDAY, 07 FEBRUARY 2012 19:07 MERCEDES B. SULEIK / FREE ENTERPRISE

THE Mindanao problem has been festering for far too long. Many of us do not fully understand it nor the peace processes that have been continually bruited about by every administration. Neither do we appreciate what is necessary to bring peace and development to Mindanao. 

In two fora sponsored by the Eisenhower Fellows Association of the Philippines (Efap), efforts to bring about an understanding of the Mindanao conflict and the developmental requirements of the region were held at the Ayala Museum last Oct. 7, 2011 and  Jan. 20, 2012.

In October 2010, the issue tackled was what the paper presentor, Mr. Ariel C. Fernandez, dubbed as “The Other 50 Percent of the Mindanao Conflict and the Challenges Ahead” in which was discussed the proposal that all the peace talks in Mindanao could solve at best only 50 percent of the conflict.  

The other half, Mr. Hernandez opined, is about Demobilization, Community and Enterprise Development, and Reconciliation, which is different from the Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration that was once offered by the Arroyo administration.  He emphasized the challenge of delivering the basic and social services to the communities affected by violent conflict, and the challenge to the business sector to invest in the conflict-ridden areas even as the peace agreement is still shaping up.  When people can participate in business and social enterprises, it will be the most effective demobilizing mechanism and will even be the answer to the disarmament issue.

Quite understandably, the business sector is wary of investing in conflict-ridden areas, and the question of whether or not it is possible to develop business models for expansion and replication from existing socil enterprises around Mindanao with cooperatives and NGOs.  Also, it is also asked if the time is ripe for business sector to actively participate in building a constituency of entrepreneurs as a key foundation to sustaining peace, and whether the business sector would be willing to share the production technologies and offer these to the market.

The second forum last January picked up from the first, and covered the topic “Opportunities Amid Conflict – A Forum on Business Opportunities in ARMM.”  Organized again by Efap together with the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the forum reached out to several business groups such as the Makati Business Club, the Financial Executives Institute, and the Management Association of the Philippines as well as to the interested public.       The keynote speech of ARMM OIC Governor Mujiv Hataman stated that “Investing in the ARMM is good for business, good for peace,”  and presented in the forum his plans on how to institute reforms in the region with the support of P8.59 billion that the current administration promised to invest in the ARMM to fast-track its economic development.

A panel of speakers shared their experiences on doing business in the ARMM.  Mr. John Perrine, Chair of Unifrutti Philippines (who by the way claimed that he chose Filipino citizenship, thus emphasizing his commitment to this country), gave his thoughts as CEO of one of the country’s leading banana exporters, and how it is actually expanding its operations in ARMM. He debunked the general impression that ARMM is unsafe for business, saying that it was no more unsafe than other places in Luzon, and that he and his family have lived there in complete freedom of movement without the need for bodyguards.  

Another ARMM industry leader and President and CEO of EA Trilink Corp., Dr. Alfredo Panizales, provided insights from his experience in managing the only franchisee and licensee to provide telecommunication facilities and services in the ARMM.  He said that EA Trilink also implements the Rural Information and Communications Technology Program of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area for the entire Mindanao and Palawan.

Two other panelists, Dr. Fermin Adriano, World Bank Consultant for Mindanao; and Mr. Ishak Mastura, former Chair of BOI ARMM also shared their insights for Mindanao peace and development.  

Dr. Adriano helped to formulate the World Bank strategy, which led to the creation of the multi-donor Mindanao Trust Fund.  He gave a list of 11 successful companies, some of which were foreign investors, with his observations on these companies operating in the conflict-affected areas (CAA), and some lessons obtaining from them. To cite a few:  (1)  Conflict did not prevent private investments in Mindanao’s CAAs; (2) Security and land access are critical investment constraints; (3) Risk-sharing through greater state participation; and (4) There is no single model for development. 

Mr. Mastura reported that as of the end of last year, private investments in the ARMM had for the first time reached the P1-billion mark, attributing the increase in investments to “gains in the peace process.”

merci.suleik@gmail.com.

BUSINESS MIRROR

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Basic Education aid for A.R.M.M.

1. I notice ARMM and national government as of this early 2012 concentrating the education program for southern Philippines. This serve good appreciation.

2. Recipients, poor of the poor children, expecting so much this project be implemented soon. 

MANILA, Philippines — The government is committed to strengthening basic education as a core strategy in investing in the country’s biggest and most important resource – its people. It brings educational services to most young Filipinos, even in the remotest barangays, including in the conflict-affected provinces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“Task Force ARMM” was organized on December 1, 2011, by the Department of Education to improve delivery of basic education services in the region. The task force is reviewing ARMM’s education situation and will recommend measures to ensure that Muslim education is culturally sensitive, Islam-friendly and able to respond to their learning needs. The ARMM leadership is overhauling this year the educational system to resolve issues and concerns plaguing the sector. About 21 percent of ARMM villages do not have schools, and in those with schools, student-teacher ratios are 80-100 to 1. Though 93 percent of the school-age population enrolls in grade one, 60 percent drop out before they complete elementary school, and the percentage of high school graduates is the lowest nationwide.

The Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills Phase 2 (EQuALLS2), the flagship education project in the Philippines of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is helping improve the quality of teaching by Mindanao teachers, with training programs in English, Science, and Math. USAID trained 175 local officials from 11 ARMM municipalities in education management in the second half of 2011.

The Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) is geared to improving access to basic education in ARMM. BEAM is funded by the Philippines and Australian Agency for International Development.

Under the ARMM Basic Education Act of 2010, the region formulated a six-year Basic Education Strategic Development Plan for 2009-2014. The plan targets the enrollment of 90 percent of eligible five-to-six-year-old children in schools, and 95 percent of out-of-school youth to become functionally literate. It seeks to increase by 15 percent the academic achievement levels of ARMM children in national and regional tests.

Through education, the people of the five provinces of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi – will have the chance to live in peace, improve their lives, work together to attain socio-economic growth in the region and be government partners in nation-building.

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Sulu Implements Infrastructure, Livelihood Projects

1. May this projects reach to the hand of Sulu people.


By NONOY E. LACSON

February 7, 2012, 6:09pm

JOLO, Sulu, Philippines – Multi-million-peso infrastructure projects and livelihood programs are being implemented in Sulu as part of the commitment of the provincial government to help its constituents improve their living conditions.

Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan said the provincial government has embarked on a massive implementation of support and livelihood projects to help the local residents.

Tan said the projects are vital for the people of the province to improve their income.

He said his administration will continue to provide the necessary development in the province, geared towards improving the lives of the people.

In another development, Mindanao Business Council (MBC) head Vic Lao said the business sector will step in to save the benefits from the proposed Tampakan project in the municipality of Tampakan in South Cotabato.

In a recent meeting with the members of the academe in Davao City, Lao said “the Mindanao business sector has decided to step in because we do not want the benefits of this project put to waste.”

Adding that the proposed Tampakan project can contribute a solid one-percent to the gross domestic product (GDP), “and it is of Mindanao’s interest that we all help protect this investment.”

Lao lamented that several laws and regulations are not friendly with the business community in Mindanao particularly in the mining industry.

“Mining is one of the biggest contributors to the Mindanao economy and we will not allow the national government to deny Mindanao of this industry and its benefits,” Lao said.

Also last week, the MBC sent an official communication to Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje expressing the Council’s disappointment over the DENR head’s decision on the Tampakan project’s application for an environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

The MBC letter signed by Lao himself stated that the DENR head’s action “was based on an unfounded basis undermines and threatens investor confidence and impacts on the stability of the local business environment in Mindanao.”

According to the feasibility studies conducted by the Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), the government contractor for the proposed Tampakan project, “the Tampakan mining project can contribute an additional 10.4 percent to the gross regional domestic product of regions 11 and 12 percent annually, throughout the mine life of the project.”

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Malaysia seeks verification from PHL of JI leader's death

1. Arm Forces of the Philippine shall prove the death of Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf leader Zulkifli Abdul Hi. 

Malaysia is asking verification from Philippine authorities on the death of Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf leader Zulkifli Abdul Hir, who Philippine authorities said was among those killed in a military operation on Thursday this week.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said police were liaising with their Philippine counterparts on handing DNA samples of Zulkifli's family for verification, Malaysia's The Star newspaper reported.

“Our team is now in Manila and is working closely with Philippine authorities. Police will arrange for the return of the body to Malaysia for burial if it is confirmed to be that of Zulkifli Abdul Hir,” he said.

Hishammuddin said police were also awaiting confirmation of the death of Bacho and Jeknal Adil, both members of the Darul Islam (DI) Sabah militant group.

Authorities in Malaysia have taken a DNA sample from a brother of Zulkifli, Mohd Tariq who works in Kuala Lumpur, according to a separate report on The Star.

Zulkifli, who was on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists' list, was reportedly killed in an air strike in Jolo on Thursday.

Also known as Marwan, Zulkifli, 46, was one of the world's most wanted men with an FBI bounty on his head.

Born in Muar, Zulkifli had trained as an engineer in the United States.

The Jemaah Islamiyah is a terrorist network linked to recent terrorist attacks in Asia, including the 2002 Bali bombings.

Preemptive measures

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said terrorist activities had failed to find a footing in Malaysia due to pre-emptive measures taken by authorities.

“This is one of the reasons why there are no serious terrorist threats in Malaysia. One of the reasons we have succeeded is because we have both proactive and pre-emptive measures in place to tackle the issue,” he said.

In Manila, regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said soldiers were still combing the jungle camp for Zulkifli's body, where 15 people were reportedly killed in the dawn air strike.

A military spokesman in Manila, Lt. Col. Marcelo Burgos, had initially reported that Zulkifli was among the fatalities. — LBG, GMA News

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Double Operations in Mindanao: Terrorist Leaders Dead

1. While the government initiating peace talk with Moro rebels US and Philippines military conducting their operations in some part of Mindanao.

2. Tell when this terrorist operation end? When and where they hide? Who created them?

3 wanted terrorist leaders killed in Sulu

Thursday, February 2, 2012

MANILA (2nd update 5:48 p.m.) -- The military said it killed three most-wanted leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah at dawn Thursday in one of the most significant successes against militants on their southern island stronghold.

Those killed included Abu Sayyaf leader Umbra Jumdail, a Filipino; Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan; and Singaporean Abdullah Ali, who uses the guerrilla name Muawiyah, said military spokesman Colonel Marcelo Burgos.

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Marwan is considered a top leader of the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah. Marwan carried a $5 million reward for his killing or capture and Muawiyah $50,000, both put up by the US government.

Burgos said the military carried out the attack early Thursday morning in Parang town on Jolo Island, the stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf and their allies from the Indonesian-based terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.

The Abu Sayyaf is behind numerous ransom kidnappings, bomb attacks and beheadings that have terrorized the Philippines for more than two decades.

US-backed Philippine offensives have been credited for the capture and killing of hundreds of Abu Sayyaf fighters and most top leaders since the 1990s. Jumdail, also known as Dr. Abu, had eluded troops in numerous offensives and emerged as a key figure in the radical movement.

The Filipino militants gave refuge to Jemaah Islamiyah operatives in Jolo and Basilan, the most senior among them Muawiyah and Marwan, who escaped authorities in their own countries.

In Malacanang, officials gave the Armed Forces of the Philippines a pat on the back for neutralizing three most-wanted leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups.

“We commend the AFP with this victory in the continuing fight against terrorism,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said. (AP/With Jill Beltran) SUNSTAR

JI, Sayyaf terrorists killed in US-led military ops in the Philippines
Thursday, February 02, 2012 05:17:27 PM

Zulkifli bin Hir.

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 2, 2012) – The Philippine military, aided by a US spy plane, bombed a terrorist hideout early on Thursday in the southern island of Sulu and killed as many as a dozen gunmen, among them two Jemaah Islamiya bombers and a senior Abu Sayyaf leader, officials said. Officials said two military planes struck the hideout of Umbra Jumdail – dropping bombs on the hinterland village of Lanao Dakula in Parang town at around 2.30 a.m. – and destroying the target. One military official told the Mindanao Examiner that an unmanned US drone helped tracked down the terrorist hideout before a pair of ageing Philippine Air Force OV10 planes bombed the Abu Sayyaf hideout where Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and Indian Abdullah Ali, alias Muawiyah, were also hiding. Zulkifli and Abdullah are included in the US wanted list and carried a $5 million and $50,000 bounty respectively, while Jumdail also had a $140,000 reward for his capture dead or alive. “We have reports that Jumdail, Marwan and Muawiyah were killed in the air strikes and along with many other terrorists and possibly at least a dozen are believed killed in the operations,” Senior Superintendent Antonio Freyra, commander of police forces in Sulu, said in a separate interview. Freyra, who led police commandos in the ground operation, said the terrorist hideout was totally destroyed. “Nothing is left of the camp and everything disintegrated at ground zero, but there is a report that some terrorists were able to take away some of the bodies. Two of six bodies recovered by the Abu Sayyaf were left behind for a still unknown reason. Our informants also spotted rebel leader Ahadun Adak with at least 21 followers near the area,” he told the Mindanao Examiner. The Abu Sayyaf has been coddling Jemaah Islamiya terrorists tagged as behind the spate of bombings in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

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Mindanao Phobia

1.The price of the kidnapping in Mindanao.

UK warns its citizens to avoid going to Mindanao

ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA, Philippines - After the kidnapping of two Europeans in Tawi-tawi earlier this week, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) warned British nationals to avoid traveling to Mindanao due to the "high threat from terrorism."

"We advise against all travel to south-west Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of on-going terrorist activity and clashes between the military and insurgent groups," the FCO said, in a February 1 advisory on its website.

South-west Mindanao covers the following areas: the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM, which includes Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and the islands of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) plus thep rovinces of Sarangani, North and South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay.

The FCO advised against all but essential travel to the rest of Mindanao because of ongoing terrorist activity. It noted there have been at least 10 bombings in the areas since November 2011.

The FCO emphasized the high terrorism threat. "Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers. Such places could include, but are not limited to, airports, shopping malls, places of worship etc," it said.

British nationals were also warned about the threats of kidnapping in the Philippines, especially in the southern region.

"Kidnapping could occur anywhere, including on coastal and island resorts and dive boats and sites in the Sulu Sea," the FCO said.

Last February 1, Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 47, and Dutchman Ewold Horn, 52, were seized by armed men in Parangan in the township of Panglima Sugala in the Tawi Tawi island.

Last December 5, an Australian citizen was kidnapped in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Aside from the threats to personal safety, the FCO advised against travel to areas in Mindanao that were affected by Tropical Storm Sendong last December, specifically Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro. It noted there is a heightened risk of diseases and an outbreak of leptospirosis in Cagayan De Oro.

British nationals are also advised to avoid flying with Philippine-certified airlines. There has been an EU ban on all carriers certified in the Philippines since April 2010, because the Philippine regulatory authority has been unable to verify that these airlines comply with international safety standards.

In 2011, over 130,000 British tourists visited the Philippines.

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Little Fruit of Bangsamoro Struggle

1. A little fruit of Bangsamoro struggle. They need more Mr. President.

Displaced Families in Central Mindanao rebuild lives through PAMANA

MANILA — A total of 295 shelter units built by the government under its PAMANA housing program were turned over Tuesday to the families displaced by armed conflict in Central Mindanao following the aborted signing of the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) in August 2008.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said that PAMANA is short for Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan or Peaceful and Resilient Communities.

Collaborating in the implementation of the project was the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the municipal government units in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato.

PAMANA is the Aquino administration’s program and framework for peace and development in conflict areas and communities covered by existing peace agreements. It aims to reduce poverty, improve governance and empower people through interventions that enhance peace and socio-economic conditions.

Instead of tents, small white houses made of plyboard stand in neat rows on the 10-hectare land lent by the municipal administrator.

With their new homes, these internally displaced persons (IDPs) are now ready to rebuild their lives reuniting with families.

OPAPP pointed to the case of an IDP identified as Tauntik, a 42-year-old father who thought he would not see his pregnant wife and two children anymore.

But the couple was reunited later and was a recipient of the PAMANA shelter program.

OPAPP cited another recipient,identified only as "Mamot" who said he was grateful for this government’s initiative. “We are now protected from the sun and rain unlike those days when we were living in a tent."

Healing the spirit

Even before the armed clashes between government forces and lawless elements occurred in their area, 34-year-old Alenith and her family took off from their home in Ganta, Kabuntalan and traveled to Cotabato to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Returning after a few days, they found the community deserted and many houses destroyed. “I suffered a nervous breakdown. My children were traumatized, always seeing armed men crossing the river,” she said. “We fetched some things from our house and went here (Libungan Toretta) to stay.”

Alenith related that various government and non-government assistance poured in Libungan Toretta. Among those she mentioned was the United Nations Children’s Fund’s trauma healing program. “Finally, my kids and I were healed from our traumas. As a volunteer, I also helped other IDPs suffering from the same problem.”

She narrated how hard it was to live in a makeshift tent made of scraps of wood and other materials. “But now, we have our own house. I am really thankful.”

Dreaming that someday her children will live better lives, Alenith said she hopes that a peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will be forged soon. “So that there will be no more bloody clashes,” she said.

Holding on to dreams

Twelve-year-old Salama said she did not mind being in third grade again as long as she would be able to continue her schooling, and eventually realize her dream of becoming a teacher.

When armed skirmishes in her hometown Kabuntalan erupted, her family escaped to Cotabato. “I was a grade three pupil then. I had to stop my schooling because of the war,” she said.

Salama recounted that fateful day in August when clashing forces entered their school grounds. “I was so scared that I cried. Our teacher yelled at us, telling us to take cover, but we wanted to go home because we were worried about our parents and siblings,” she related. “My family went to Cotabato to be safe. My aunt and I followed them there. After a while, we decided to go here (Libungan Toretta) where we lived in a tent for several months.”

After two years, Salama was able to resume schooling in third grade. With a house to call their own and newfound friends to stay, she feels contented.

“I want a happy life,” she said. “And I want to live here because nobody is fighting with another.”

Pursuing a just, lasting peace

The government, while addressing the needs of war-torn communities, continues to pursue a negotiated political settlement with rebel groups, particularly with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

“This administration is bent on resolving the decades-old armed conflict in the country,” said Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles. (PNA)

RMA/RBC/utb

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