Zijin Mining Group announces proposed takeover bid for Indophil

Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd today announced its intention to make a takeover offer for Indophil Resources NL, a funding shareholder of Sagittarius Mines, Inc (SMI).

If the acquisition is successful, Zijin Mining Group would hold a 37.5% interest in SMI’s Tampakan copper-gold project in the southern Philippines.

Xstrata Copper, which holds a 62.5% controlling interest in SMI, today lent its support to the proposed takeover offer by announcing an agreement with Zijin Mining Group in respect of its 19.9% stake in Indophil, subject to certain conditions.

SMI President, Peter Forrestal said that SMI would welcome the introduction of a party, such as Zijin Mining Group, that has the capacity to support the advancement of the Tampakan Project.

“The Zijin Mining Group is a well established international mining company with a focus on the exploration and development of gold and base metals.

“Their interest in Indophil demonstrates the potential of the Tampakan Project which is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in South East Asia.

“We remain focused on completing the Tampakan Project Feasibility Study in the first half of 2010 and finalising specialist studies and stakeholder engagement activities for the EIA in the second half of next year,” he said.

SAGITTARIUS MINES RECEIVES HIGHEST AWARD FOR ITS INDUSTRY LEADING PRACTICES IN TAMPAKAN

Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) has been awarded the Presidential Mining Industry Environmental Award (PMIEA) by the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) at the 56th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference held in Baguio City on 14 November.

SMI General Manager Mark Williams said that the PMIEA recognizes excellence in the mining sector relating to the environment, safety and health management, as well as community development.

“We are honored to receive this award. This confirms our continuing commitment to employ the best available technologies and practices in safety, environment, community development, and stakeholder engagement,” said SMI General Manager Mark Williams.

SMI had an overall rating of 98%. SMI received a perfect score for its Social Development and Management Program (SDMP), as did the Information, Education, Communication (IEC) program. Environmental Management also scored highly with 39% out of 40%, while the Safety and Health program received 19% out of the allocated 20% weighting.

This is the third time for the company to be a PMIEA recipient. In 2004 and 2006, the PMIEA selection committee also recognized SMI’s performance in the conduct of its mineral exploration activities.

“While we ensure compliance with the legislative requirements, we also hold fast to the stringent expectation of our major shareholder, Xstrata, and the communities in which we operate, in all aspects of our operation,” said Mr. Williams.

SPECIAL FORESTRY AWARD

SMI also received second runner up in the Best Mining Forest Program as recognition of its forest development initiatives involving volunteers from the host communities. Special forestry awards were also given to SMI in 2006 and 2008.

Since the company launched the Maleh Tu Kayu (Blaan for ‘let us plant trees’) reforestation program in 2005, SMI together with its partners and volunteers from the community have planted and distributed over 300,000 tree seedlings.

“SMI is committed to advancing the Tampakan project in line with leading environmental and industry best practices and in partnership with our stakeholders.”

“I would like to thank the host communities and our stakeholders for supporting our various programs and initiatives and making it possible for us to win these two awards,” said Mr.
Williams.

Mining firm team up for the environment with local TV station

Sagittarius Mines, Inc. continues its advocacy to greening the environment by supporting various tree-planting activities within and surrounding its Tampakan project area.

In the 13th anniversary of ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol Socsksargen in Gen. Santos City, the TV station partnered with SMI and other volunteer groups in Gen. Santos City to pant trees along the Buayan River.

Around 120 volunteers including SMI and ABS-CBN employees, City Environment and Natural Resource Office (CENRO) representatives and student volunteers from RD foundation and AMA Computer Learning Center gathered to replant the barren Buayan riverbank. A total of 2,000 seedlings, five hundred (500) of which came from SMI’s seedling nursery, were planted.

“We would like to impress to our stakeholders our commitment in caring for the environment. We recognize the need to preserve our environment and so we are fully supportive of initiatives like this,” said Bella Lechonsito, SMI’s Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Superintendent.

“This commitment is evident in our continuing efforts to initiate tree-planting and reforestation activities and supporting environment campaign activities in partnership with Local Government Units (LGUs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs),” said Jose Sebua, SMI’s Social and Environmental Superintendent.

SMI has been actively involved in various environment awareness and protection campaigns. Its reforestation program which was launched on 2005 has already planted and distributed over 250,000 seedlings in the project area and neighboring communities.

Currently, the company is embarking on a robust forest rehabilitation and management program within and surrounding its proposed final area in the Tampakan project. University of Queensland and Leyte State University is helping SMI in the program which involves baseline studies of the remaining forests, massive tree-planting, and forest management.

SMI ANNOUNCES MINERAL RESOURCE UPDATE FOR THE TAMPAKAN COPPER-GOLD PROJECT IN THE PHILIPPINES

Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) announces a revised Mineral Resource estimate for the Tampakan copper-gold project in the Philippines with significantly improved confidence levels, including a 25% increase in Measured tonnes and a 12% increase in Measured and Indicated tonnes.

The new Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource estimate totals 2.4 billion tonnes at a grade of 0.6% copper and 0.2 grams per tonne gold and contains 13.5 million tonnes of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold, using a 0.3% copper cut-off grade. The Mineral Resource also contains estimated average grades for molybdenum of 70 parts per million (ppm).

The total tonnage of the Mineral Resource has increased by 8%, compared to the 2007 estimate, reflecting increased metal price assumptions. The significant increases in Measured and Indicated tonnes are the result of further drilling work comprising 41 drill holes totaling 14,900 metres.

SMI President, Peter Forrestal, said the latest results confirm Tampakan's position as one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in South East Asia and its emerging development potential.

“During our evaluation of the Tampakan project, we have increased the size and improved the confidence levels of the Mineral Resource, confirming the potential of the project.

“Our current focus is on completing the Feasibility Study during the first half of 2010 and on managing extensive specialist studies and stakeholder engagement activities for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment which we expect to complete by the end of 2010.

"We are committed to advancing the Tampakan project in genuine partnership with the Philippine government and authorities, local institutions and our neighbouring communities,” said Forrestal.

The previous Mineral Resource estimate of 2.2 billion tonnes at 0.6% copper, using the same cut-off grade, was published in December 2007.

The Pre-Feasibility Study into the development of the Tampakan Project, completed earlier this year, outlined a potential mining operation based on:
 An annual average copper production of 340,000 tonnes per annum and 350,000 ounces per annum of gold, based on a 20 year operation.
 Mill recovery rates of 83-90% for copper and 60-80% for gold, with a copper concentrate grade of 37-34%.
 An initial stage-one capital outlay of US$5.2 billion, including provision for associated infrastructure.
 A potential schedule for development with commissioning and first production in early 2016.
This Mineral Resource update provides additional support for the project’s scale and development potential, for further evaluation during the Feasibility Study program.




Tampakan Measured, Indicated & Inferred Mineral Resources* as of 30 September 2009
Mineral Resources
Measured Indicated Inferred Total
Tonnes (Mt) 780 890 700 2400
Copper (%) 0.71 0.55 0.5 0.6
Gold (g/t) 0.28 0.19 0.2 0.2
Molybdenum (ppm) 81 69 60 70
Copper contained (kt) 5500 4900 3100 13500
Gold contained (kOzs) 7000 5500 3300 15800


* Mineral Resource Estimates are reported above a 0.3 % copper cut-off and are shown on 100% ownership basis as of 30 September 2009. Numbers in the above table are rounded, generally to two significant figures with tonnes and grades for Inferred Resources and grades in the total column rounded to one significant figure and the contained metal numbers rounded to nearest 100k.

Competent Persons: Mr Damien Nihill, MAusIMM, who is a full-time employee of Sagittarius Mines Incorporated, takes responsibility for the quality of the exploration data used as the basis of the Tampakan resource estimates and for geological interpretations that constrain the resource estimates. He qualifies as a Competent Person under the meaning of the 2004 JORC Code.

The resource estimates at Tampakan have been performed by Dr Phillip Hellman, FAIG, who is a Director of Hellman & Schofield Pty Ltd (“H&S”) and who qualifies as a Competent Person under the meaning of the 2004 JORC Code.

SMI’S LEADING SHAREHOLDER, XSTRATA NAMED AS SECTOR LEADER IN THE DOW JONES

Sagittarius Mines announces that Xstrata plc, the mother company of its leading shareholder Xstrata Copper, has been named as the Mining Sector Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)for 2009/10.

This is the third consecutive year that Xstrata topped all other mining companies in sustainability performance. It was also named sector leader in 2008 and 2009.

The DJSI invites the world’s largest 2,500 companies to participate in its annual survey which is based on sustainability trends. The assessment covers economic, environmental, and social performance with a clear focus on long-term shareholder value creation.

Xstrata has been identified as the company best prepared to seize the opportunities and manage the risks deriving from economic, environmental, and social development in the mining sector.

“We are proud that our sustainable development and management practices at SMI and Tampakan Copper-Gold Project are aligned with that of Xstrata’s,” said SMI General Manager Mark Williams. “As SMI advances the feasibility study phase of our Tampakan Copper-Gold Project, we can assure our stakeholders that our activities will continue to be governed by the standards set by the Philippine laws, our host communities, and the leading standards of our leading shareholder.”

SMI adheres to and operates within the structure of Xstrata’s leading standards of corporate governance as set out in Xstrata's Statement of Business Principles, Sustainable Development Policy - and 17 Sustainable Development Standards. Our compliance with these standards is regularly audited on an internal and external basis. The annual external audit was conducted in June, while the next internal quarterly audit will be in November until December.

As part of the Xstrata Group, we endorse the principles set out in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation Conventions. Xstrata is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and has aligned its SD framework with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.

Genuine sacrifice for the public

The wreckage brought by Bagyong Ondoy resulted to genuine union among Filipinos after years of disunity (the last authentic union I could remember was during the first EDSA revolution).

Civilians, professionals and men in uniform collaborated efforts to render much-needed help to the typhoon’s victims.

Filipinos bore witness to the heroism of artists, yuppies, professionals in different fields and especially ordinary policemen and policewomen, who were used to be tagged as good for nothing cops who are last to rescue, in whatever crime and whatever calamity.

This time, cops were not the last. In fact, policemen and policewomen were captured on television rescuing our distraught countrymen from neck-deep floodwaters or helping distribute relief goods to victims of the deluge.

Hundreds of them sacrificed in helping their own families who are also victims of Ondoy in order to render even a little relief to many families who also need help. Policemen this time answered the call of their duty, sacrificing the call of their respective families.

A good example is the 90% of the police force in Marikina—whose homes were also devastated by “Ondoy” who preferred not to go home to rebuild their lives because of, according to Chief Supt, Nick Bartolome, the “call of duty.” They could not go home yet because they have been assigned in the relief, rescue and clean-up operations in the Ondoy-battered areas.

“Policemen are also victims themselves, but they are not minding their problems at this time. They are concentrating on rescue, relief, and clean-up operations,” Bartolome, head of the PNP community relations group, said in a media interview. “Also, they have cancelled leaves so they cannot attend to their problems.”

Nevertheless, these cops remain in high morale, he said, because they are able to help other people.

In Quezon City, a thousand policemen "armed" with shovels, rakes and brooms led the cleanup in flood-devastated areas like Tatalon, Bagong Silangan and the corner of E. Rodriguez and Araneta avenues.

These unsung heroes are increasing in number under the watch of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno as National Police Commission (Napolcom) chairman.

During the recent celebration by Napolcom to mark its 43rd foundation anniversary, the Napolcom recognized the acts of heroism and gallantry of several policemen who almost lost their lives in carrying out their mission as protectors of the people.

“The acts of bravery of these police officers clearly manifests their commitment to serve and protect the people,” Escueta said during the Napolcom anniversary program.

These good things that we’ve been hearing about the PNP are the fruits of the moral transformation program that Puno, as Napolcom chairman, is helping the police organization implement on his watch.

Puno, who has always fiercely defended the PNP from criticisms, lobbied, cajoled and begged Malacañang to increase his Department’s budget to enable the PNP to acquire more patrol cars, guns and other equipment; build more police stations; refurbish their tanks and patrol boats; raise the salaries of its personnel; and provide retirees with more pension benefits.

Escueta pointed out during the Napolcom affair that Puno has done much on his current watch as Napolcom chairman to improve the living and working conditions of our police officers.

We can see for ourselves that what Escueta said is true.

Police stations have been refurbished; many of our police officers now have spanking new patrol cars and motorcycles, and in some districts, they even carry Blackberries and use GPS systems to track down violators of the law.

Puno wants to make both our police officers, and the people they serve, proud of what they are doing as “protectors of the people,” in keeping with the PNP mantra “to serve and protect.”

Sen. Edgardo Angara, who delivered the keynote speech during the Napolcom anniversary celebration, likewise credited Puno for having the “vision and energy” in helping transform the Napolcom into a “well-structured, well-directed” agency that exercises control and supervision over the PNP.

The Napolcom awardees were:

oP/SInsp. Elmer Santiago who on the evening of July 25, 2009 in Hermosa, Bataan, together with two other policemen, valiantly fought a group of armed communist insurgents belonging to the Marxista Leninista Partido ng Pilipinas/Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan. The encounter led to the death of one of the rebel leaders and the arrest of another member of the communist group.

oP/C Insp. Gilberto Tuzon, for his exceptional courage as the ground commander of the police teams dispatched to Mindanao to pursue MILF rebels in Cotabato.

oPO3 Rommel Salcedo, for his conspicuous act of gallantry when he shot it out with members of a crime group believed to be responsible for a series of bank robberies in Metro Manila. Salcedo mortally wounded a member of the gang during one of their attempts to rob a UCPB branch office in Barangay Poblacion in Makati City.

Gibo-Ronnie tandem gets edge

Filipinos are looking at four tandems for the 2010 elections: Gibo-Ronnie, Noynoy-Mar, Chiz and Erap whose running mates are still unidentified as of yet.
Who has the edge among the four, is the strongest and whose strength will last even up until the election period?

Surveys show that even with all the mud thrown at President Arroyo, she still has a solid 25% support (or approval rating) among Filipinos, that would translate into about 8.25 million voters going to the anointed bets of President Arroyo.

The rest of those dissatisfied with the President, which number around 45% would vote for the other opposition bets—meaning that the likes of Noynoy, Erap and Chiz would have to fight over this 45%. The 30% who are undecided could go either way.
This scenario gives the Gibo-Ronnie team a head start because even without doing anything they are already assured of 8.25 million of the 10 million votes or so needed to win in 2010, just by being identified with President Arroyo.

The Gibo-Ronnie tandem is assured of some 8 million votes at the start of the race by just being endorsed by President Arroyo.

The Noynoy-Mar tandem’s familiarity and good smell to people are too limited, and cannot sustain until the election period. They have to work hard to earn people’s votes for them. Their works are obvious. We have Noynoy using her sister Kris Aquino who dominates most of the shows on a TV network and whose frankness irritates the public. Mar is using a lot of expensive infomercials like “Padyak,” but he still has not earned points from people. Chiz is still waiting for his 40th birthday to qualify to run for Presidency. Erap? I cannot believe an impeached President still has guts to run.

Clearly, President Arroyo’s endorsement, along with the administration party's well-oiled political machinery reaching down to the grassroots level and the candidates' qualifications, proves the clear edge of the Gibo-Ronnie tandem.

We will not settle for less

He has not learned his lesson. After he struck out on his proposed Gibo-Ate Vi tandem, Prospero Pichay had another item on the table—naming Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando as running mate of Gibo.

Pichay told a media forum that BF is ready to run for VP. However, he found his foot stuck in his mouth because within hours of his revelation, Fernando said in a TV interview he denied having an interest in running for Veep and that he didn’t know why Pichay floated that idea.

This is a big slap on Pichay who said he got the info from one of the MMDA chairman’s aides.BF has strongly denied Pichay’s claim that he is interested on the VP slot of the ruling coalition, and said nobody in his staff was authorized to speak on his behalf.

Pichay is trying so hard to become a national political expert despite apparently he cannot be one. He cannot even win his personal political battle. Poor him, he still has not realized that Filipinos will settle for his proposal which is the least of all the proposals the Filipinos deserve.

Settling for less – as what Pichay wants Filipinos to do – will drag the Philippines into mud – and Filipinos won’t allow that.

Somebody should tell Pichay to shut up and cease and desist from his political free-lancing.

Shoud we give our trust

Whatever they do, they cannot weaken the Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and presidential adviser Gabriel Claudio, together with Chairman Prospero Pichay of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) are doing a dirty scheme for their vested political interesets.

They are uniting their effort to draft Batangas Governor Vilma Santos Recto as vice presidential candidate of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

This, despite the fact Ate Vi has stated it very clearly before she left for Canada to promote her recent movie “In My Life.” Ate Vi made this clear: “Batangas politics Is My Life.” And definitely not the vice-presidential or VP post. Ate Vi had made up her mind. She would stay at the Capitol in Batangas.

First political interest. Astute political analyst and former presidential adviser Lito Banayo said in his Malaya column, Ermita will be “hitting two birds with one shot” with this scheme because (1) he will be able to elbow out Puno from the VP slot, and with “Ate Vi” leaving Batangas to be Teodoro’s runningmate, (2) his daughter—Rep. Eileen Ermita Buhain who is on her third and last term as Batangas congressperson—will have a chance to become governor come 2010.

The three continue with their tactic despite the fact that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD had expressed its preferences for national office–Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro for president and Ronaldo “Ronnie” Puno for VP.

Second political interest. This Gibo-Ronnie tandem has apparently scared the wits out of opposition leaders and strategists because as soon as this team was announced by Claudio (yes, him) at the end of the NEC meeting last Sept. 16, their spin doctors and hacks in the media started vilifying the two as candidates who can win next year only by large-scale electoral fraud.

In effect, the feckless brokering of Ermita, Claudio and Pichay will have the effect of weakening the party, dragging down its morale and sending the wrong message to the people to divert the people’s trust to their supported party.

The people should ponder on this. Will we allow the other party to manipulate our minds so we’d give them our trust which the Lakas-Kampi-CMD had genuinely earned from us?

Protectors of the people

To protect and serve

Every time I see a member of the Philippine National Police, I can’t help but feel sad. The constitution stipulates that they must serve and protect the society. But this isn’t happening. They bring fear and distrust to people, instead. This was my perception. Then, until I enrolled in a school where I have two police classmates.

While I was looking over my baby who’s in the hospital due to flu, I received a message from my police classmate detailed in South Cotabato asking if we know of someone who can provide them a chemical that dissolves rocks so they can rescue miners trapped in a tunnel in North Cotabato.

This one single, genuine act of my classmate made me realize that the PNP force is changing for the better. They are not anymore the corrupt, good-for-nothing mulcting cops who sleep on the job and won’t budge an inch unless you give them some “padulas” or “kotong.” They’re willing to render assistance even to those who are not within their area of responsibility.

The good things that we’ve been hearing about the PNP are the fruits of the moral transformation program that Napolcom chairman and Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno is helping the police organization implement on his watch.

Puno, who has always fiercely defended the PNP from criticisms, lobbied, cajoled and begged Malacañang to increase his Department’s budget to enable the PNP to acquire more patrol cars, guns and other equipment; build more police stations; refurbish their tanks and patrol boats; raise the salaries of its personnel; and provide retirees with more pension benefits.

Napolcom vice-chair Ed Escueta pointed out during a Napolcom affair that Puno has done much on his current watch as Napolcom chairman to improve the living and working conditions of our police officers.

We can see for ourselves that what Escueta said was true.

Police stations have been refurbished; many of our police officers now have spanking new patrol cars and motorcycles, and in some districts, they even carry Blackberries and use GPS systems to track down violators of the law.

Puno wants to make both our police officers, and the people they serve, proud of what they are doing as “protectors of the people,” in keeping with the PNP mantra “to serve and protect.”

Sen. Ed Angara, who delivered the keynote speech during the Napolcom anniversary celebration, likewise credited Puno for having the “vision and energy” in helping transform the Napolcom into a “well-structured, well-directed” agency that exercises control and supervision over the PNP.

Thanks to Ronnie, we now have reliable police force who are true to their mandate of protecting and serving the people.

Mining firm advances for environment

Officials and employees of mineral development firm Sagittarius Mines Incorporated joined local residents of Tampakan, South Cotabato in a global clean up drive by clearing of litters and debris a 1.5-kilometer portion of the Lambato River in this town.

The drive last September 19 is in keeping with the environmental volunteerism campaign Clean Up the World program which aims to promote environmental awareness and preservation, remarked Jose Sebua, SMI’s Social and Environment Superintendent.

SMI workers fished out from the river non-biodegradable materials and cleaned riverbanks.

Local residents along with the Environment Brigade volunteers, MENRO-Tampakan representative and local government officials also participated in the day-long activity.

“We would like to impress to our participants their individual responsibilities in looking after the welfare of our river systems as this could also largely affect and contribute in their lives and health," Sebua said.

SMI, which has recently launched its feasibility study in tapping what could be southeast Asia’s largest copper-gold deposit in the hinterlands of this town, is known for its continous efforts in environmental preservation campaigns.

He has done nothing; what can he do now?

Who can forget Noynoy’s “wear yellow if you want me to run” gimmick that triggered Mar to slide down to VP? He was not willing to slide down as Noynoy’s VP but when he entered the room where the meeting was to take place, the people who Mar thought were solidly behind were all wearing yellow. He realized maybe that he is fighting a losing battle if he continues to run for Presidency.

It is the most intelligent thing to do. The latest August Pulse Asia survey had reported that Mar Roxas did not sustain his May rise from 8 percent to 13. His rating decreased to 11 percent, putting him again in the 5th place. And he has not improved since then despite tactics to condition the minds of the public on his victory on the May 2010 elections.

A fellow member in the opposition, former Ambassador Ernesto Maceda, pointed out before Mar’s decision to give up his 2010 presidential bid that in the latest Pulse Asia survey, "Mar could not even carry his native Visayas where Manny Villar beat him decisively by a 30-16 score."

Even the people of Capiz won’t probably won’t vote for Mar, too.
Has Mar done a major accomplishment in his province? The Roxas clan had politically controlled Capiz for several decades, but we don’t hear of any outstanding achievement that the family has done to improve the living conditions of the province’s residents.

The Roxases are the political kingpins of Capiz that its capital is named after them (Roxas City), and yet they have left the province to fend for itself such that it has remained one of the least developed provinces in the country.
If Mar has done nothing to lift Capiz from its backwater status despite his having served for so many years either as Cabinet member or senator, what can he do for the entire Philippines assuming he gets elected vice president?

Veep: Which is which?

Filipinos are looking at two candidates for Vice-President come 2010 elections. DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno for Lakas-CMD and Senator Mar Roxas for the Liberal Party.

Who should we vote?

Let me present to you these candidates:

Senator Mar Roxas

Astute political observers like former Ambassador Ernesto Maceda, have noted that Roxas hasn’t improved a bit in the ratings game.

“The latest August Pulse Asia survey had reported that Mar did not sustain his May rise from 8 percent to 13. His rating decreased to 11 percent, putting him again in 5th place,” Maceda wrote in his recent column in the Daily Tribune.
Even more disheartening, was Maceda’s observation that, “the survey also confirmed that Mar could not even carry his native Visayas where Manny Villar beat him decisively by a 30-16 score.”

The argument that Villar is leading the surveys because he is the biggest spender when it comes to advertising does not wash. If that were the case, then Roxas should now be at No. 2 in the surveys because he’s the biggest spender next to Villar when it comes to airing those “padyak” and “ramdam ko kayo” infomercials.

Inquirer columnist Conrad de Quiros was correct in his opinion (despite what Mrs. Palengke, Korina Sanchez, is ranting about him) that Roxas was simply “not capturing the people’s imagination.”

De Quiros was correct in saying that Roxas’ withdrawal from the presidential race “saved him from a fate worse than death."

Even sliding down as Aquino’s running mate would’t be too comforting either for Roxas.

Despite all his efforts to underplay his elitist background, first through his “Mr. Palengke” ads and later, through his “Ramdam ko kayo” and “padyak” infomercials, plus his “bakya” attempts to open his personal life to the masa via a televised pamanhikan and a church-hopping spree to choose a wedding venue for his marriage to TV celebrity Korina Sanchez, Mar always betrays his true colors

DILG Secretary Ronni Puno

The preference for Puno as the VP candidate of the Lakas-CMD might very well change the dynamics of the 2010 presidential election.

Senator Edgardo Angara said it best during the recent anniversary of the Napolcom. He called Puno the “master strategist of his generation.”

Angara, not given to loose words and hyperbole, is well aware of Puno’s track record of managing three successful presidential campaigns. With Puno as the preferred VP of the Lakas-CMD, he will apply his mastery of winning big elections to win one for himself and Gibo Teodoro.

Puno is the modern-day political strategist, coupling the nuts-and-bolts of political operations with technical savvy, a keen sense of demographics, a superb grasp of political trends and, most important of all, a razor-sharp, unfailing analysis of political situations.

On the profound side, Puno is essentially the modern management man who, again, is credentialed with reforming, energizing, modernizing private and public institutions placed under his management.

In his present Cabinet posting, for instance, it would take us more than another piece to discuss the reforms he has put in place in the DILG to further empower local government units and professionalize the Philippine National Police (PNP) along with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

He would bring this amazing skill set to the office of the VP or to the Cabinet portfolio that may be assigned to him. He would be a perfect VP to Gibo Teodoro, the most brilliant among the presidential hopefuls and a certified policy wonk like Puno.

Puno’s leadership of the DILG is essentially a story of breathtaking reforms, innovations and re-engineering of institutions toward one dominant goal – full empowerment of the country’s LGUs. Puno made breakthroughs in his effort to secure corporate powers for the LGUs: borrowing development funds from mainstream credit sources, monetizing IRA allotments in advance to fund pet projects, and the power to correct mismatches between development projects planned by the national government and the actual needs at grass roots level.

To give LGUs a voice in the national decision-making process, Puno gave up his board seat with the NEDA and assigned it to a designated representative of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), which is the umbrella group of all organizations of local elective officials from governors down to barangay and Sanggunian Kabataan (SK) officials.

Puno is also credited for conceptualizing, implementing or completing P18.7 billion worth of infrastructure and capability-building projects for LGUs across the country.

Puno’s reform-minded ways do not only cover the re-engineering of institutions to fully empower the LGUs. Among his other landmark initiatives are not corporate at all but directed at the protection of the marginal sectors of society.

He launched a special protection program for women and children, institutionalized anti-graft and anti-red-tape measures at the LGU level and increased the visibility of the police force. He has worked long and hard to get more benefits for police officers, firemen and other public safety officers.

Miriam is to blame for Larrañaga brouhaha

Almost twelve years ago, heinous crimes were committed. The Chiong sisters- Jacqueline and Marijoy was kidnapped, detained, raped and killed by a half-Filipino and half-Spanish Francisco Juan “Paco” Larrañaga’s. He was convicted together with his apprentices.

It was not that long, after 10 months of hiding that Davidson Valiente Rusia came out and turned into a state witness. He recounted the abduction and the consequent rape of the Chiong Sisters.

Rusia narrated what had happened that time, from kidnapping to the murder of the Chiong’s sisters.

The Chiong sisters, Rusia explained, were taken to a house in Guadalupe, Cebu City, where Larrañaga and three others raped them in separate rooms. The other two then drove the van to Carcar town where Marijoy, with head wrapped in masking tape, was pushed off a cliff.

Jacqueline, meanwhile, was taken back to the city early the next day.

Following Rusia’s testimony, the authorities hauled off Larrañaga, Aznar whose family owns several properties in Cebu including Southwestern University, Sacred Heart Hospital, and Alta Vista Golf and Country Club; Adlawan, brothers James Andrew Uy, 17, and James Anthony Uy, 16; and van driver Alberto Caño and conductor Ariel Balansag.

To this date, Jacqueline’s body has still not been found.

Just this month, Larrañaga was granted the privilege to transfer to a penal facility in Spain under the RP-Spain TSPA.

With the RP-Spain Transfer of Prisoners Agreement (TSPA), Francisco Juan “Paco” Larrañaga was granted to transfer to a Spanish prison to serve the remainder of his sentence for the abduction and death of the Chiong Sisters triggered anger and disappointment among many Filipinos given the fact that he is likened to other convicted rapists in the country such as Romeo Jalosjos and Antonio Sanchez.

Unknown to many of us, this was initiated by, again, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, who was the lead proponent of this “little known” RP-Spain Transfer of Prisoners Agreement (TSPA), the sole reason the convicted murderer and rapist was allowed to be transferred to Spain.

Santiago was the one who sponsored and defended the resolution ratifying the treaty in the upper chamber. This prisoner swap treaty was signed in Madrid on May 18, 2007 and, with the help of the senator, was ratified by the Senate on Nov. 26, 2007.

The senator, moreover, was the brains behind the joint resolution filed last year that authorized the DOJ to issue implementing rules and regulations with respect to the treaty.

Santiago, who is the Committee on Foreign Relations Chairman, signed on June 2, 2008 Senate Joint Resolution no. 7 entitled "Joint Resolution Authorizing the Department of Justice to Issue the Implementing Rules and Regulations on the Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the Republic of the Philippines and the kingdom of Spain and Appropriating Funds for its Implementation".

This is a big whack on our face, justice rendered but our very own Senator Santiago denied the granted so called ‘justice’ to the victims by pushing this treaty. Crime had been committed in our country, this man should therefore be penalized and suffer in this the same country.

SMI embarks on extensive ESIA specialist studies for the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project

Sagittarius Mines has recently begun extensive specialist studies for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of its world class Tampakan Copper-Gold project located in southern Philippines.

Speaking at the 18th Mindanao Business Conference in Koronadal City, SMI Corporate-Community Sustainability Manager Elvie Grace Ganchero said that a USD 74 million Feasibility Study (FS) and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) had commenced into the Tampakan project.

“As we embark on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, a range of specialist studies on environmental and social aspects are underway. To ensure a well-informed environmental management plan, all the studies are being conducted by international and local experts who are recognized as authorities in their fields,” said Ganchero.

In August this year, international experts conducted the soil and land capability study to determine the properties of the soil within the project area, and its suitability for use in post-mining rehabilitation. Local experts from the University of the Philippines at Los Banos assisted in the study. Another group of experts conducted the survey of flora and fauna to determine the ecological importance of the proposed mine area, and develop appropriate conservation programs for these plant and animal species.

The University of Queensland and its local counterpart, Visayas State University are now working on a robust forest rehabilitation and management program.

SMI has also conducted extensive studies of water (hydrology) and aquatic biology that commenced before the ESIA phase. SMI has collected more than two years of high quality data on these environmental components through international experts from Hydrobiology.

Upcoming studies on air, noise, rehabilitation, waste management, terrestrial biology, water, health and visual impacts, and socio-economic impacts will all be conducted by specialists in each of these areas.

“In parallel with the FS and ESIA, we continue our best practice of regularly consulting the various stakeholder groups that may be directly or indirectly affected by our proposed operation.

"This transparent and open engagement will ensure that all stakeholder concerns are gathered and considered in the conduct of our technical studies, and eventually, in the development of plans to mitigate and manage the effects of our operation,” said Ganchero.

Subject to the completion of a positive final feasibility study and all necessary community, government and company approvals, SMI estimates production may start by 2016 of what could be the biggest mine in the Philippines, and one of the top copper producers in the world.

Conal dialogs with Sarangani residents on coal-fired power plant

ALLAYING fears of massive environmental degradation, Conal Holdings Corp. said on Tuesday it has addressed all potential environmental hazards that will result from the operation of its proposed 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant.

In a statement, Conal Holdings said it is also more than willing to hold dialogs with groups protesting the construction of its 200-MW coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani, to correct the impression that the plant will cause environmental damage.

Conal Holdings added that the dialogs are important in ensuring that the public is given only factual information about the project and not just generalizations on coal-fired power plants that do not apply to the plant that will be built in Maasim.

Conal Holdings has allayed fears of “massive environmental degradation” once its P21-billion coal-power project goes on commercial stream.

“We have already addressed all potential environmental hazards that will result from operating the plant,” Joseph Nocos, Conal Holdings vice president, said.

Nocos said Conal Holdings will use circulating fluidized bed combustion technology that will capture sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and other particulates that could pollute and harm the environment.

“Existing and proven technologies coupled with our commitment to strictly comply with all regulatory standards are our assurances that no harm will be done to the residents in the area and the environment,” he added.

Nocos revealed that the 7,500-hectare agro-forestry will address the carbon-dioxide emissions that protesters said will contribute to global warming.

“Although we are not mandated by law to institute measures in addressing carbon-dioxide emissions, we have taken it upon ourselves to mitigate these emissions by embarking on this multimillion-peso project to make our plant virtually carbon-neutral,” he said.

He also dispelled reports that “thousands will be displaced” by the project. “We are building the plant in a privately owned property which we already bought,” Nocos said.

He said informal settlers residing near the private property would be relocated and given housing assistance. Some 100 families are now living along the coastline in the village of Kamanga near the site where the plant will be constructed.

The Catholic Church, headed by Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez, is strongly opposing the coal-fired power-plant project.

Nocos said they presented in detail to some members of the Maasim Parish Economic Council and a group of Redemptorist priests working in Maasim the mitigating measures they will adopt to address concerns raised by the Church and environmentalist groups.

He urged those protesting the project to visit coal-fired power plants that use similar technology the company will employ to see the communities thriving around these plants as living proof that indeed, these plants do not destroy the environment.

link: http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/16117-conal-dialogs-with-sarangani-residents-on-coal-fired-power-plant-.html

Miriam, now in different tune

Senator Miriam Santiago was among the 18 senators during Estrada administration who defended and voted for the RP-US Visiting Forces of Agreement (VFA).

Now, Sen. Miriam, who chairs the Senate foreign relations committee, sings a different tune.

She is now saying that the VFA should be terminated because it “continues to foster an attitude of dependency on our part and an attitude of arrogance on the part of the US.” This was the same argument used by anti-VFA protesters 10 years ago!

She changes her mind with a blink of an eye. One time, she said she would jump off a helicopter head first if then President Estrada were removed from office. When Estrada was ousted via Edsa Dos and the lady senator was reminded of what she promised to do if she was proven wrong, she laughed hysterically and said, “I lied.”

Sen. Santiago was reprimanded by the Supreme Court when she used foul language, calling members of Tribunal “a Supreme Court of idiots”. Yet, she claimed that she was commended by the Tribunal’s member.

How can Miriam deny the fact that she wasn’t censured by the high court when it pointed out that she had violated Canon 8 and Canon 11 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which enjoins lawyers from using abusive and offensive language and from disrespecting the courts and judicial officers?

Who would say that the Tribunal’s members commended her in this speech she bestowed:

"I am not angry. I am irate. I am foaming in the mouth. I am homicidal. I am suicidal. I am humiliated, debased, degraded.

“And I am not only that, I feel like throwing up to be living my middle years in a country of this nature. I am nauseated.

“I spit on the face of Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and his cohorts in the Supreme Court, I am no longer interested in the position [of Chief Justice] if I was to be surrounded by idiots.

“I would rather be in another environment but not in the Supreme Court of idiots."

That’s her – Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago., unique, intelligent and ‘brenda’ (brain damage in short).

Governors and local officials express support to Gibo

Forty nine out of fifty governors who attended League of Provinces of the Philippines expressed their support to Gilbert Teodoro.

“There are more governors supporting him, not just 49… I think about 80% of the governors throughout the country are supporting Gibo. I would say that in terms of Congress, very easily you will have 80 to 100 congressmen who will declare their support for Gibo.” Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno said.

“I’m confident that with Gilbert Teodoro as our presidential candidate, Lakas-Kampi will go very far and actually win this next election.” Ronnie Puno said.

Ronnie Puno said he is endorsing the 45-year old defense chief as standard bearer of the party because he believes that it is now time for the “younger generation to come in” and take over the challenges of the presidency of the country.

“On top of that, I will be able to contribute to him a channel of dialogue for local concerns which has been my entire career,” added Puno. “So I believe that this combination--the energy and the youth of a very qualified, a valedictorian, a bar topnotcher of a candidate, with the, many many long trying years of public service that I have—that will result in a lot of positive things for the country.”

“Speaking as an aspirant for the nomination of the party, I believe that my own candidacy will be stronger if it is with the candidacy of Gibo Teodoro for president,” he stressed.

As for the fighting chance of a Gibo-Ronnie teamup, the DILG chief says he combination of his many years of experience in the government service (close to 35 years), and Gibo’s dynamism and energy would spell victory for the Lakas-Kampi party next year, and that I believe.

Our hope for development, Gibo-Ronnie

Being the renowned political strategist, Ronnie Puno was expected to keep silent until the party will have chosen its standard bearer for the Lakas-Kampi. Many were expecting him to mum about his preference.

Hours after the Sept. 9 announcement by Sen. Noynoy Aquino of his decision to run for president in 2010, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno dropped his own bombshell of political news by announcing his support for the presidential bid of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

Puno said in a news conference in Camp Crame that a tandem with Gibo, would be a “winning” move for Lakas-Kampi and we can’t help but agree.

Along with the formidable Lakas-Kampi political machinery, and the support of the majority of the country’s provincial governors, a Gibo-Ronnie teamup could seal the victory for the administration party in 2010.

“We believe that with Secretary Gilbert Teodoro as our presidential standard bearer, and I, speaking for myself, as an aspirant for vice president, I believe that running with Gibo Teodoro is going to be a winning move,” he said.

Ronnie Puno said that as Gibo’s vice president, he can serve as an elder adviser who can counsel him on various issues by drawing from his experiences in his many years in the government service, especially in the field of local concerns, “which has been my entire career.”

Let’s all be fair

Look around us, observe the good example our colleague is practicing, be a leader to those who leads astray. Never try nor plan to do what one-‘brenda’ senator did --- being myopic and disparaging with others; and is always on the lead scrutinizing other people especially those Cabinet and local officials who aired their respective ads.

I agree with what Mr. Sesinando Santos, a Phil. Daily Inquirer reader who wrote the publication to comment on the infomercial topic, had wrote; pointing out that Sen.Miriam Santiago should not be myopic and see only wrong doing of the others. How about the infomercials of her fellow senators? stressed the perceptive letter writer, a certain Mr. Sesinando Santos, in the Inquirer’s Friday issue.

Mr.Santos questioned whether Sen. Miriam can "spew the same fire and venom" to her Senate colleagues as she did to the Cabinet officials with infomercials during her investigation.

I asked myself too, who are the identified candidates of the 2010 election whom Sen. Miriam never had her infomercial inquiry with? I wonder---- if she included in her list names of her Senate colleagues like Sen. Manny Villar and Senator Mar Roxas who have been running infomercials like crazy. In fact, they have been spending tens to hundreds of millions of pesos running those self-serving infomercials.

If Santiago were really sincere, why limit her infomercial inquiry to members of the executive branch?

These senators have all the advantages, when it comes to premature politicking.
They have their Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF (a.k.a. “pork barrel funds”), which are—by practice—beyond state audit unlike officials of the executive branch whose expenses are rigorously audited and examined by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Proceeds from their PDAF outlays can bankroll the senators' higher ambitions, including the funding of infomercials.

Santiago has pointed out that Cabinet secretaries and other officials of the executive branch have so far collectively spent P218 million in advertising expenses.

But reports have it that one senator salivating for the presidency has already thrown away close to P500 million for his infomercials alone!
We doubt whether Santiago will choose to include this senator in her investigation, as the word "fairness" is obviously not part of her vocabulary. Please. Try to be fair. Learn to be fair.

Green Spaces For The Metropolis - DFernandez

ONE does not have to be a genius to figure that any large city – Metro-Manila, for example – generates a huge carbon footprint by way of car and truck emissions, the generation and improper handling of waste, buildings and homes that are not green enough, and the lack of enough green spaces that can serve as carbon sinks while generating oxygen at the same time.

In the case of our own metropolis, short-sightedness on the part of many past administrators would find them making decisions on the basis of expediency rather than the consideration of the longer term suitability of the city as a habitat for man, flora, and fauna.

Thus, if a road had to be widened, any tree getting in the way would be immediately cut or destroyed, instead of seeking out a win-win solution where the road could be widened but not at the expense of such trees. Instead of encouraging the practice of separating garbage at the source in each and every single household and institution, we still have unsightly garbage dumps containing all sorts of detritus. This situation is what attracts the scavengers who seek to eke out a living by trying to salvage the recyclable or usable materials from plain garbage.

There are already too many environmental problems in the city begging for attention. For now, we will focus on the simple task of seeking empty spaces in the metropolis and converting these into green spaces.

As a example, I just have to point out what I have done within my own property and in the alleyway adjoining it. Not to mention the adjoining streets and some of the areas in our village park.

Over the years, I have taken to picking up seedlings –many of them sprouting now that the rainy season has started – and putting them in small pots or containers for future planting activities.

Lately, I have tried to obtain more balete (climbing fig) varieties, knowing that these grow very quickly and also attract all kinds of birds. I am still mourning the loss of practically all or our Aratiles trees that were cut down upon instructions by a village official because she found them messy!

Aside from disappointing many villagers, their children, and even househelp from the pleasure of picking and eating the nice sweet berry-like fruits of this tree, we also deprived a lot of birds and other living creatures that depended on this link in the food chain.

Now that I have whole banks of trees growing in my property, I can enjoy the sight and sounds of many birds that have made our place their own. My friend, the nature habitat specialist Ed de Vera, passed by one day and pointed out that my trees had a whole family of yellow orioles. I see them at various times during the day, together with other birds, frolicking near our fishpond area.

It does not take much to create a green space. Even companies get into the act. I saw this in some of the companies like Toyota that have set aside areas for mini-forests in their properties.

A green space can range from a few square meters to a few hectares. The idea is to keep the space well planted, using organic methods only, and allowing nature to take its course. That is the logic I used when we set up the mini-forest in our village. We planted the trees close together to simulate a forest environment, and then left nature to weave its magic. Pretty soon we had a combination of tall trees and small saplings in a small space of a few hundred square meters, providing an attractive base for other flora and fauna to take root in.

Unfortunately, good intentions can only go so far. A series of unenlightened do-gooders subsequently introduced “innovations” like concrete pathways and even a gazebo into the mini-forest, aside from the sacrilegious act of placing pebbles to act as a floor for the whole forest!!!! The whole purpose of keeping the area as pristine as possible went down the drain. Succeeding teams of do-gooders even used a portion of the mini-forest to “burn” fallen leaves and twigs, destroying fully a quarter of the area previously planted.

This should serve as a lesson to all concerned. Just because one has set aside a green space for plants and trees does not guarantee that it will remain that way. One will have to literally fight the attempts of others who see nothing of value in green spaces. That is why it is also important to choose potential green spaces that will not be used for other purposes. One idea is to utilize those neglected portions of the parks or similar areas that have been set aside by law for green spaces.

The area where we live has a large property owned by one of the country’s better -known families. This property was earmarked for development a few years ago, but residents of adjoining villages objected strenuously. I am hoping that the property remains as is because it has become home to countless numbers of night herons. One can see them start to take off at dusk, heading for Laguna de Bay to do their fishing and eating. They can also be seen at times making the return trip after a satisfying hunt. My friend Ed de Vera and I have been witness to this spectacle many a time, and we never tire of watching the night herons fly off to feed.

Another time, I was able to catch a glimpse of some fireflies in the same area, which means that they also made use of the stream traversing the property. There is nothing that evokes memories of days gone by than the sight of fireflies.

When the birds, butterflies, moths, bees and hornets, and even bats move in, one will know that he or she had done well with a given green space.

link: http://blogs.inquirer.net/notjustforprofit/2009/06/15/green-spaces-for-the-metropolis/

'Kami ang naa sa sagingan!" - 911 Movement

“Kami ang naa sa sagingan, kami ang nagpuyo palibot sa sagingan, wala ma'y namatay ug nagkasakit kanamo [We are the ones inside the plantation, we live surrounded by bananas and yet not one of us has died]," Renante Bangoy, chairman of 911 Movement said in an article published online.

The "911 Movement: Save the Philippine Banana Industry," the pro-aerial spray group was formed in Panabo City Saturday in the meeting of plantation workers and growers who will be directly hit by the adverse effects of the aerial spray ban on the banana industry.

"If the ban gets implemented, the quality of our bananas will fall, the market will collapse and the industry will have to close," Bangoy said.

At present, there are over 30,000 hectares of agricultural land in the province of Davao del Norte that are existing banana plantations, directly employing an estimated 60,000 people and indirectly employing another 60,000.

"We have to speak up as it is our families that are at stake now. They are trying to kill the very industry that feeds thousands of families. What will they do when the plantations close? What will happen to us?" Bangoy added. "Sila ba'y mupakaon sa amoa [Will they feed us]?"

The 911 Movement leader also challenged the banana industry critics to actually visit a banana plantation and see if there is any one community that will agree to their claims on the adverse effects of aerial spraying.

"Ihunong na nila nang pag pangintriga nga walay mga facts [They should stop spreading these stories that are not based on facts]," he added.

KC Concepcion helps provide food for school children in conflict areas

I was monitoring developmental issues when I came across this news--- this is really something for me--- I am not a showbiz aficionado, but for this act a lady extended for our young generations,it is really something we should support!
_______________________________________


KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/8 Sep) -- Actress KC Concepcion, who is a national ambassador against hunger of the United Nations World Food Programme, continues her advocacy providing nutritious meals to school children, particularly in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.
The WFP and Concepcion are teaming up with Bayo, one of the leading apparel brands in the Philippines, to support the children in war torn areas in Mindanao.


Also a fashion designer, Concepcion created a series of hooded sweatshirts and t-shirts that Bayo will do the marketing through its “You” campaign.


As the product endorser, she was convinced that the company’s social responsibility program could help the WFP in fighting hunger in war stricken areas in Southern Philippines.

“Portion of the sales of the ‘You’ collection will go towards providing school meals to children. Every time you buy a hoodie from the You collection you will be giving a hungry child the chance to learn and enjoy a healthier life,” a WFP press statement said.


The WFP and Bayo partnership are set to provide 90,000 school meals to children in Mindanao (WFP later corrected this in a press statement that says it would provide 150,000 school meals).


To date, WFP has provided school meals to around 75,000 children in 427 schools in the province of Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato.


The partnership will also help promote awareness of WFP’s global “Fill the Cup” campaign, which aims to raise funds for school meals in the developing countries, including the Philippines.

WFP noted that some 66 million primary school children in developing countries around the world regularly turn up hungry in class.


“WFP thanks both KC and Bayo for this initiative. We are proud of KC’s commitment to do more to support children in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao through WFP,” said Stephen Anderson, WFP country director in the Philippines.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency and the UN’s frontline agency for hunger solution. In 2009, WFP aims to feed 108 million people in 74 countries, including 20 million children in schools. (Williamor A. Magbanua / MindaNews)


link: http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6949&Itemid=50

Filipinos:Pray for Transparency

Indeed, transparency is what we,Filipinos, need to avoid uncertainties in any way. We have everything in our country--corruption, coup d' etat, martial law...what else could we ask for?! Transparency from our leaders is what we need, I need. Let’s take for example the case involving cabinet members and other government officials who are accused of using government funds for their own benefit—through infomercials.

I, myself questioned their credibility -- they are using our money!!! this is where my taxes go, infomercials for their candidacy!!!

That was what I thought, and I knew I was wrong. Since I have known a certain organization who revealed themselves in the public, claiming to fund a certain agency for the purpose of info dissemination, I was ashamed of my allegations but somehow, I felt relieved and gladly embraced the fact that not all of them think of their own benefit.

In the interest of transparency, those paying for the infomercials of government officials should really identify themselves. They should follow the lead of groups like “Friends of Ronnie” (FOR), an association comprising supporters of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno, who have come out—in the interest of transparency—to say that they were the ones who produced the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) infomercials and paid for their TV placements.

FOR members said they wanted to show the programs of the DILG, through the Philippine National Police (PNP), in establishing Women and Children Protection Desks in every police station, and in hiring at least 3,000 new policemen and policewomen each year. During their August launching, FOR officers and members said in a press statement that they support Secretary Puno’s advocacy in “empowering local government units and developing a new breed of law enforcers and public safety officers in the DILG”.

As pointed out in their press statement, FOR members merely asked Secretary Puno to appear in the series of infomercials as DILG secretary.

Neither FOR nor Puno is guilty of using government funds and of premature campaigning through the DILG’s series of infomercials highlighting the department’s accomplishments, for the FOR members used their own money to pay for the TV ads.

Legal eagles said that Secretary Puno cannot be held liable for violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or Republic Act 3019, or for disregarding the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials, which prohibits public officials from accepting gifts, because the infomercials cannot be considered as gifts given by FOR to the DILG secretary.

The TV ads could not be classified as a “gift” given to Puno because the secretary did not benefit from the TV ads. In fact, the rank-and-file of the PNP are the ones benefitting from the infomercial because of the strong positive image of policemen and policewomen that are being projected in the ads. Even the public are benefitting from the ads because they are, through the infomercials, being made aware of the PNP services that they now enjoy or can avail of.

Let us make this clear, DILG’s infomercials are not an “election campaign” or “partisan political activity”. They inform the public of the department’s programs and achievements. They do not promote the election or defeat of a candidate because the contents of the TV infomercials do not deal with the 2010 elections.

Secretary Puno, in addition, is not a “candidate.” Under Section 79(a), a candidate is the one who “has filed a certificate of candidacy to an elective public office.”

Be the best!!!

Struggling to be the best! That’s how I’ve known our great senator is,Miriam Santiagao--- intelligent, sharp and now in denial. In denial of what she became. She had gone too far. She is known of twisting facts--- as well as denying the obvious situation.

The eccentric lady senator is claiming that the Supreme Court did not censure her when it stressed in its recent decision that she had “undoubtedly cross[ed] the limits of decency and good professional conduct” when she called the Tribunal’s members “a Supreme Court of idiots.”

How can she deny the fact that she wasn’t censured by the high court when it pointed out that she had violated Canon 8 and Canon 11 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which enjoins lawyers from using abusive and offensive language and from disrespecting the courts and judicial officers?

The Court’s decision was based on a privilege speech she delivered in the Senate in 2006 after the Judicial and Bar Council struck her name from the short list of nominees for the post vacated by Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban. The JBC had then ruled that non-Supreme Court justices were ineligible to vie for the post of Chief Justice.

“The court wishes to express its deep concern about the language Senator Santiago, a member of the bar, used in her speech and its effects on the administration of justice,” the high tribunal said in its decision.

Moreover, the Supreme Court noted that her colleagues in the Senate had failed to discipline Santiago for her improper remarks.

It said “her peers bent over backwards and avoided imposing their own rules on her.”
Santiago had chosen to overlook all these statements which clearly showed the high tribunal’s disapproval of her behaviour and said that instead of censuring her, the Court even praised her! She had deliberately taken the Court’s words out of context to suit her purpose. In the proper context, the Court’s words meant that it had expected more out of Santiago when it comes to exhibiting proper decorum and behavior, given her achievements as a lawyer.

I wouldn’t deny the fact that I voted her—for being a true and loyal genuine Ilongga she is--- now, I am ashamed of what she did and is still doing! And I am talking it aloud, I vouch not to be an ally in any way I could, for her and for her kind.a

Mining firm renew strong and genuine partnership with host communities

Mineral development firm Sagittarius Mines Incorporated (SMI) took recognition from the municipal government of Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, when the town declared August 5 of every year as SMI-Columbio Partnership Day.

The declaration, as contained in Resolution 2009-37 of the Municipal Council, was done during the 49th Foundation Day Anniversary of Columbio.

Acting Mayor Amirh M. Musali said the resolution manifest the desire of the people of Columbio to continue the town’s development partnership with SMI.

“Maraming naitulong sa amin ang SMI. Maraming development opportunities ang dumating sa mga taga-Columbio dahil sa kanila,” he said.

Continuous commitment
Since 2005, SMI has worked jointly with Columbio local government in creating opportunities for growth and progress of the people.

One of the company’s most significant contributions is the Extended Education Support program. The company has been assisting the local government in its education campaigns which include scholarships and rehabilitation and building of classrooms

The SMI education support program originally catered to its host barangay only, in Datalblao. Later, the company extended its scope of beneficiaries and expanded the program to address the education needs of the youth of Columbio.

In response, SMI vowed to pursue its commitment in supporting the education programs and other development programs of Columbio. The company gave P1-million financial assistance to assist the students’ need for a quality education.

Lasting partnership
Mayor Musali and SMI Corporate Community Sustainability Manager Elvie Grace Ganchero forged a declaration of strong and genuine partnership for the development of the Tampakan Copper Gold Project. The declaration recognized the common goal of both parties – development of the communities and upliftment of the quality of life of people.

“Ang tanging hangarin lang naman ng SMI ay development for the people. Makakaasa kayo na kami ay magiging tunay na kaagapay ninyo para sa kaunlaran,” Ganchero said

They who do not know the reality---

Priests who should promote impart upon people that which is true, honest and with bases are telling people wrongs and unfounded claims.

Lilia Mosqueda of the Gagmay Kristohanong Katilingban (Small Christian Community) said Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying president Cecilia Moran and a certain Liezl Bacalso were reported to have talked to the parishioners during mass for the Feast of St. Ignatius at the Ateneo de Manila University last July 30, to the seminarians at the Ateneo School of Theology, to students of the Ateneo Law School at Rockwell in Makati and to socialites at the Nine-Mile Bar along Kalayaan Avenue in Quezon City.

"Their forum is a grossly one-sided affair and is a repudiation of Ateneo's time-honored tradition of being issue-confronting but dialogic and educative," said an Ateneo Law School student.

Cecilia Moran’s neighbours expressed shock and dismay that some priests in Manila have fallen for her emotional outburst against Davao's banana industry.

Barangay Captain Romulo C. Tubal of Dacudao, Calinan said people opposing the aerial spraying are totally disconnected from Barangay and reality. Tubal said that they insist on using "pesticides" because Manila residents associate it with "insecticides" and therefore harmful when the truth of the matter is that what is being sprayed is low-dose fungicide. He said that they do not represent the majority sentiments of the people who are daily witnesses to the good agricultural practices of the industry and who have actual experience for the past 30 years of the effects of low-dose fungicide to their health and environment. "It is not harmful as it is milder than table salt, coffee or laundry soaps contrary to their claim that it is as strong as insecticides," he said.

Coal supplier eyes Mindanao for expansion

A COAL supplier plans to capitalize on increasing coal demand in Mindanao to expand its market reach.

Due to high and unpredictable world oil prices, MG Mining and Energy Corp., a unit of Sultan Mining and Energy Development Corp., said canneries and other manufacturing plants in the region are converting their boilers to run on coal instead of bunker fuel.

"Coal is only one-third the price of fuel," Michael Morales, MG Mining vice-president for sales, said.

Banking on growing demand, MG Mining said in a statement it would expand its market to Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga and Davao, with Mindanao sales expected to hit 20,000 metric tons a month as a result.

MG Mining sells at least 5,000 tons a month in General Santos alone, where it commands a 95% market share.

Bunker fuel prices are expected to go up again as world oil prices recover, Mr. Morales said, forcing manufacturers in Mindanao to retool their plants.

"They spend an initial P25 million to P30 million to buy new coal-fired boilers but are able to recoup this investment in less than a year from savings," Mr. Morales said.

MG Mining operates within a 10,470-hectare coal property in Surigao del Sur, defined by three Coal Operating Contracts (COC). COC 106 and 45 cover over 8,000 hectares, while COC 127 covers about 2,000 hectares.

MG Mining expects to expand its production further through a larger coal property in South Cotabato, which is still under development.

link: http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW090109/content.php?id=044

NEIGHBORS APPEAL TO MORAN, ET AL TO TELL THE TRUTH

The neighbors of Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying president Cecilia Moran in Barangay Dacudao, Calinan yesterday expressed shock and dismay that some priests in Manila have fallen for her emotional outburst against Davao's banana industry.

"Where is their (priests) sense of discernment?" asked Lilia Mosqueda of the Gagmay Kristohanong Katilingban (Small Christian Community) reacting to reports that Moran is on a six-month tour in the National Capital Region under the auspices of the National Task Force Against Aerial Spray many of whose members does not know anything about banana much less have seen a Cavendish banana plantation.

Moran and a certain Liezl Bacalso were reported to have talked to the parishioners during mass for the Feast of St. Ignatius at the Ateneo de Manila University last July 30, to the seminarians at the Ateneo School of Theology, to students of the Ateneo Law School at Rockwell in Makati and to socialites at the Nine-Mile Bar along Kalayaan Avenue in Quezon City.

"Their forum is a grossly one-sided affair and is a repudiation of Ateneo's time-honored tradition of being issue-confronting but dialogic and educative," said an Ateneo Law School student.

Banana grower Moises Torrentira, 60 of Subasta, Calinan called on Moran and Bacalzo to stop their tirades against banana growing and the aerial spraying of low-dose fungicide as they know deep in their Christian hearts that they are not telling the truth.

"They are totally disconnected from the barangay and reality" said Barangay Captain Romulo C. Tubal of Dacudao, Calinan. He said that they do not represent the majority sentiments of the people who are daily witnesses to the good agricultural practices of the industry and who have actual experience for the past 30 years of the effects of low-dose fungicide to their health and environment. "It is not harmful as it is milder than table salt, coffee or laundry soaps contrary to their claim that it is as strong as insecticides," he said.

Tubal said that they insist on using "pesticides" because Manila residents associate it with "insecticides" and therefore harmful when the truth of the matter is that what is being sprayed is low-dose fungicide.

Meanwhile, a member of a women's support group, Damayan, based in Ultrect, The Netherlands alleged that the charitable Dutch agencies funding the lobby against the Philippine banana industry might have no idea that their humanitarian aid have been misused to promote economic interests.

"If what we heard are true that Dutch-funded cause-oriented groups are into lobbying against Davao's banana industry then said industry is in trouble as, contrary to popular belief, they are a David facing a Goliath of well-funded networks," she said in an e-mail to Sulong Mindanao Foundation. She requested that her name be witheld at the moment.

She claimed that among the funding agency is one of the biggest in the European Union having a declared asset of a billion guilders and counts 370,000 institutional and individual donors in the Netherlands alone.

Traffic violators and over speeding drivers, disciplined

Tuesday last week, I was waiting for a tricycle for home when lovers on a motorcycle were hit by a bus running at 180 kph while the lovers were trying to maneuver over the opposite street. It was so sudden that the last thing I saw were the lovers’ cadavers, “heads” spread on the street.
The nauseating view has not left me until now. I was so enraged with anger to the bus driver who was over speeding on the highway.

While reading a national paper, I was somehow delighted to know that DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno is heightening his move against drivers over speeding and other violators of traffic laws and regulations.

Puno directed the PNP’s Highway Patrol Group (HPG) headed by its director, Chief Supt. Orlando Mabutas, to increase its visibility on national roads and other major thoroughfares and step up its crackdown against traffic law violators.

“Upon the instructions of the President, I have directed Chief Superintendent Mabutas of the HPG to step up its campaign against overspeeding motorists, drunk drivers and other violators of traffic laws,” Puno said.

Puno noted that most motorists seem to be unaware of the maximum allowable speed limits as prescribed under existing laws.

The prescribed maximum allowable speed limits under Republic Act 4136, otherwise known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code are 80 km/hr for passenger cars and motorcycles, and 50 km/hr for trucks and buses in open country roads “with no blind corners not closely bordered by habitation.” On “through” streets or boulevards clear of traffic with no blind corners, the limits are 40 km/hr for passenger cars and motorcycles and 30 km/hr for trucks and buses .

On city and municipal streets with light traffic and not designated as through streets, the speed limit for cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses is 30 km/hr. For crowded streets “approaching intersections at blind corners, passing school zones, passing other vehicles which are stationary or for similar dangerous circumstances,” maximum allowable speeds are 30 km/hr for cars and motorcycles and 20 km/hr for trucks and buses.

I hope drivers now will take safety a part of their culture. We do not know who will suffer tomorrow, who will bereave over someone’s loss or who will lose a father, mother or a bread winner due to the negligence of others. I believe Puno’s cause against undisciplined drivers will go a long way.

How a mining firm turns to illegal logging firm? Curious huh?!

This is a great threat to environmentalist, to big mining firms who are committed for a responsible development. Nowadays, only few of the hundreds of these mining firms are committed not mainly to gain profit but to commit themselves to bring development in every communities affected.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/network/gov%E2%80%99t-hunting-down-chinese-mining-exec

TECHNICAL REVIEW: DOH STUDY RIGGED

The Technical Committee and consultants of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) declared Saturday that "the DOH-commissioned study on the people's health and environment of Sitio Camocaan was rigged to give credence to the claims of Dr. Romeo Quijano that said sitio was poisoned due to the aerial spraying of low-dose fungicide."

PBGEA spokesperson Anthony Sasin said that the conclusion was arrived at after painstaking investigation which finally established beyond reasonable doubt that Dr. Dionisio and his co-investigators undertook the research with strong bias against pesticide, used environmental samples of questionable integrity and fabricated illnesses among residents.

"The fact is that they cannot dissociate themselves from Dr. Romeo Quijano contrary to their claims as Dr. Dionisio's co-investigator, a certain Dr. Lynn Crisanta R. Panganiban, sits as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pesticide Action Network Philippines headed by Dr. Quijano himself," Sasin said.

He said that PBGEA have already provided the top-level Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Health (IACEH) a copy of their findings including the videotaped testimonies of witnesses, among them a barangay health worker, who said that they were left alone by one of the investigators, Engr. Ana Francisco Rivera, to gather water and soil samples.

Rivera, in an open forum June 3, 2009 during the People's Inquiry on said study said that she gathered water from a fishpond and from an irrigation canal. Mrs. Adela Amado, the barangay health worker, pinpointed the exact site where she took the water sample: in a mangrove pond some distance form the village where water from two newly-developed fishponds accumulate. On page 21 of the DOH study, said samples were cited as drinking water.

Mrs. Amado also testified that she gathered soil sample not from undisturbed soil but from a pile of sweepings which experts find grossly unscientific especially for a health risk assessment study. "Engr. Rivera just sat in the shade while were gathering these samples," said Mrs. Amado which made apparent that Engr. Rivera does not have personal knowledge of the integrity of the environmental samples.

It was also found out that Dionisio's team used an HPLC to analyze air samples of which four out of six samples proved negative for pesticide residue, one with an allowable level and one with residues slightly above the acceptable level. Experts say that these samples should have been confirmed by mass spectrometry since the samples were not actually sprayed with fungicides. A fungicide was also analyzed by a non-selective detector (electron capture) so this should have been confirmed also.

The very same haphazard sampling was done in Sitio Baliwaga where Mrs. Nara Ventura, a barangay health worker in the area since 1986, testified that a soil sample was taken in a mud alley to Purok Dagsa. Said purok was not mentioned in the study. Mrs. Ventura also said that majority of the residents whom they invited for a free check-up, free meals and hauled to the barangay center were from said Purok Dagsa where the households use fishpond water for laundry. This was also not cited in the study and buried under the sweeping statement that "the residents have dermatologic ailments probably due to pesticides used in a nearby mango plantation." Said mango plantation is actually a good two kilometers away from coastal Baliwaga.

The municipal health officer of Hagonoy, Dr. Patricio Hernane and of Sta. Cruz, Dr. Lorraine Ana Lindong, were both quoted a week ago saying that until now, they have not received the list of people that Dionisio claimed to be sick due to aerial spraying so that they can be attended to. Dionisio promised to give said list last June 3, 2009.

"It has been three years and several months since they made the study. How long will we wait?" asked Rowelito Tigao of Camocaan. He said that he and his daughter were among those who submitted to Dionisio's free check-up but until now was not informed whether he or his daughter is sick. He said he works in a banana plantation and is regularly exposed to pesticides.

A local health official who requested anonymity said that they now understand why Dionisio and company hid the study for three years, did not open it for peer review, allowed it to be used as a prop in a television show, held a very low-profile public discussion on said study mostly with militants and resist contrary findings, an attitude that is un-scientific. She disclosed that the first time they heard of the study was when she received a text message from Dr. Dionisio on the day that the pesticide issue will be aired on TV. Dionisio urged them to see the show so that they will be able to handle queries from the media.

"Our track record the past thirty years proved that low-dose fungicide poses no risk to people's health and environment. It is milder than table salt, coffee, nizoral shampoo or of the obnoxious and deleterious carbon monoxide which people from all walks of life are exposed daily or of the acetaldehydes, chloromethanes, dioxane, phosphates and alkylbenzene sulfonic acid in laundry soaps and detergents used daily by millions of households in the country" Sasin said.

"No amount of theatrics can cover-up their wrong premises, false postulates and falsified attestations," said Sasin as he expressed optimism that the DOH, despite Engr. Ana Francisco Rivera sitting as chairperson of IACEH's Secretariat, will still be able to appraise Dionisio's study with scientific objectivity and finally bring out the truth that whatever raw risk that they tried to establish against aerial spraying is purely anecdotal and non-existent.

JUST ANSWER ISSUES

No amount of posturing and claim of infallibility as a medical doctor can cover-up for the irreversible technical and ethical lapses committed by Dr. Alan Dionisio and his team in their controversial Camocaan study.

This was the main gist of PBGEA spokesman Anthony Sasin's repartee to Dr. Romeo F. Quijano, president of the Pesticide Action Network Philippines whose allegations of Camocaan villagers being "sick and dying due to aerial spraying" were all found to be anecdotal and unfounded.

"Being a medical doctor does not license him to be infallible," said Sasin as he expressed dismay at Quijano's run-around of the issues raised against him as the principal instigator of the DOH study of Camocaan, a fact he repeatedly denied and which Dr. Alan Dionisio and Dr. Annabelle Yumang announced during the July 3 Public Inquiry hosted by the municipal government of Hagonoy.

"Who will believe them?"asked Sasin appalled at the repeated denials of a fact that they themselves wrote in unequivocal terms that said study was made in response to Quijano's allegation that Camocaan is a poisoned village.

Sasin said that Quijano's challenge for a new study is just a rehash of the very same challenge he posed to the group. "Why make a big fuss out of something that is almost a non-issue?" he asked saying that all it takes is for them and the rest of the doctors who subscribe to their findings to just visit Camocaan, talk to the residents, the mayor, the barangay health workers, the municipal health officer, the tribal chieftains and anyone of those they claimed to be adversely affected by aerial spraying.

"Camocaan is a typical Filipino village that is peaceful and where the villagers are hospitable and friendly and they welcome everyone with honest intentions," said Sasin.

Sasin said that they can also talk to Mr. Lolong Pelletero, an NGO worker in Digos City and Mr. Ramil Murillo, both of whom were brought to New Zealand by Quijano sometime in 2006 and paraded before delegates of a pesticide-elimination convention as "survivors of a poisoned village."

"I am not a doctor and one does not need to be a doctor to appreciate the actual situation in Camocaan and separate facts from lies," said Sasin who also wish that the good toxicologist marry his own thoughts. "He said he is a well-trained toxicologist and has the people's welfare at heart, then why recommend ground spraying? Sasin asked.

The PBGEA spokesman told media that it will take just 30 liters of low-dose fungicide to cover a hectare while it will take 60 or more liters in ground spraying. "So where is the logic in his proposition as a toxicologist? That the more chemicals we spray, the safer?" he asked.

"That calls for a second opinion, right?" Sasin concluded

Protecting Women & Children

Others may be mouthing women and children advocacies but none has taken concrete steps—like what Ronnie Puno has been doing—to really protect Filipino women and children.

Besides setting up Women and Children Protection Desks (WCPDs) in every municipality nationwide on his watch, DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno is also supporting another women- and child-friendly program to further empower them in pursuing justice and fighting for their rights.

This initiative, dubbed the Barangay Human Rights Program, aims to increase the awareness of women of their basic rights and that of their children under the country’s judicial system.

According to media reports, Ronnie has called on local officials nationwide to support the training initiatives under the Barangay Human Rights Program, which also aims to enhance the proficiency of barangay officials particularly the member of the Lupon Tagapamayapa “in performing their mandated tasks and responsibilities towards good local governance.”

“[The training] is designed to provide necessary tools and practices in the administration of the Barangay Justice System to enable the poor, particularly women and children, to pursue justice through increased knowledge about basic rights and the judicial system,” Ronnie Puno said in his circular.

The DILG’s training arm, the Local Government Academy, and the various DILG regional offices will conduct the training with the central theme “The Barangay Human Rights Program: Accessing Justice through Gender-Responsive and Child-Friendly Barangay Justice System” in the country’s capital towns and cities.

Hence, besides the WCPDs, where distraught women and kids can turn to for assistance when they are abused and exploited, the DILG has a complementary program that will help prevent women and children from becoming victims—by educating them about their basic constitutional rights.

This training on human rights at the barangay level is being conducted to ensure the smooth implementation of the Department’s Local Government Human Rights Program, which is designed to ensure the accountability of local authorities in the protection and promotion of human rights in their respective localities.

The Local Government Human Rights Program is a flagship initiative of the DILG on Ronnie Puno’s watch.

Ronnie has ordered teams of DILG trainers to go to all capital towns and cities in every region to spearhead the training, which will be conducted in partnership with other stakeholders in the locality.

This program, along with the establishment of over 1,800 WCPDs nationwide, is concrete proof of Ronnie’s determination and resolve to empower our vulnerable sectors, particularly women and children.

As they say in the vernacular si Ronnie ay “punong-Puno” ng determinasyon para sa pagsusulong ng karapatan at kapakanan ng ating mga kabataan at kababaihan.”

Come to think of it, it appears that at this point, only Ronnie Puno among the 2010 wannnabes has been advancing the interests of women and children.