DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/09 January) — Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr., has been staying in the seaside Camp Panacan Station Hospital of the Eastern Mindanao Command here for exactly a month as of January 7, for various ailments that are manageable and do not necessarily require hospital confinement, among...

SCHOOL REHEARSAL. Lumad and Visayan children at a hinterland Lumad school in Bayugan, Agusan del Sur rehearse their repertoire for an inter-schools festival. (davaotoday.com...

By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today DAVAO CITY— If Christmas wishes could be granted, Bayan Intise, 25, wanted to see his father and mother again. His father, Federico and mother Nelly were last seen on October 26 three years ago in Purok Puting Bato in Barangay Calumpang in General Santos City, where his father...

By JOSE HERNANI and GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today MONKAYO, COMPOSTELA VALLEY— Militant groups marched the coffin of Conrado Cañete, 57, the slain father of a commander of the New People’s Army, around the town of Monkayo on December 9 before bringing it to the cemetery for burial. Activists interpreted his...

DAVAO CITY—It will be a fun-filled and total entertainment night for the residents of Compostela Valley Province  on December 23. Top singer-comedians Anton Diva and Joy Viado are set to bring their endless laughter and singing prowess on stage. “We want to entertain our people through fun and...

The Armed Forces of the Philippines’s (AFP) posturing as hero in the aftermath of the Ampatuan massacre is hypocritical in the face of hidden arms caches found in the Ampatuan warlord’s mansions and vast properties. These military-owned high-powered rifles, ammunition, and war materiel are evidence that...

“The Philippine Supreme Court must continue to rule on the seven pending petitions praying for the declaration of Presidential Proclamation No. 1959 as unconstitutional and void.” This is the message of human rights lawyers from the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and India as they gather together for a...

DAVAO CITY– Renowned Ata-Manobo datu of Talaingod, Davao del Norte, Datu Guibang Apoga, was hailed as one of the ten awardees of the Gawad Bayani ng Kalikasan (Environment Hero) Awards and the Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) – Philippines last December 10. “Pig-ila noy no kanaming inoy woy...

The streets are alive during the December 10 celebration of the international human rights day as people from all over Southern Mindanao call for justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings under the Arroyo administration.(davaotoday.com photo by Jose...

JUSTICE. Another family of a New People's Army leader was brutally murdered on November 28 after attending a fiesta in a nearby barrio. Family, friends and members of progressive groups marched the coffin of Conrado Cañete, the father of NPA commander Ka Jinggoy, around the town of Monkayo, demanding...

Davao City—The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) lambasted House Speaker Prospero Nograles for his rabid support of the martial law declaration in Maguindanao in a picket rally at his Davao City office today as members of the House deliberated on the Proclamation No. 1959. John Birondo, Bayan Southern...

(An NDF statement on the 61st Universal Declaration of Human Rights) The National Democratic Front (NDF) of the Philippines-Southern Mindanao calls Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a certified fascist and dictator with the martial law declaration in Maguindanao only among her latest and shameless schemes to continue...

Davao City—Dr. Anthony C. Sales, regional director of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), together with the officials of the Hydrology for Environment, Life, and Policy (Help) met with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) representatives to conduct a...

The December 3 ambuscade by the red fighters of Conrado Heredia Command Front 20 Operations Command-New People’s Army against the troops of 25th infantry battalion (IB) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in gold-rich Brgy. Diwalwal, Monkayo town is nothing short of a glaring testament to the...

The 4th Pulang Bagani Company of the New People’s Army (PBC-NPA) in Southern Mindanao condemns the brutal killing of Conrado Cañete, a 57-year old farmer whose sole basis for being the target for murderis that he is the father to Ka Jinggoy of the 4th PBC-NPA. He was last seen attending the fiesta...

DAVAO CITY – The death of Rebelyn Pitao early this year was followed with the killing of the father of an NPA commander last November 28, indicating that the military and its deathsquads are still at it: retaliating against the New People’s Army (NPA) by attacking the families of its...

DAVAO CITY—The killing of Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of NPA Commander Leoncio a.k.a “Parago” Pitao was brought to fore by more than 100 members of various non-government organizations led by the Exodus for Justice and Peace in the convergence of peace advocates, collectively called “the pilgrims for...

POOLED EDITORIAL At a time when even war itself strives to be humane, the carnage that killed 57 people in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, shocked people beyond words, not only because of the scale and brutality of the attacks but also because the targets had been unarmed: political supporters who were out to file a...

GOODBYE MOM. Eldest daughter Sunshine bids goodbye to her mother, Lawyer Concepcion ‘Connie’ Brizuela. Brizuela was laid down to her final rest on Monday, November 30, in their residence in Del Carmen village, President Roxas town in North Cotabato. She was one of the victims of the gruesome massacre...

By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today MONTEVISTA, COMPOSTELA VALLEY—Released New People’s Army prisoner Corporal Dominador Alegre said he will face whatever sanctions his higher command will impose for the successful NPA raid in his Monkayo detachment that led to his capture three weeks ago. “Whatever they...

STONEMILL. Carl Adolp Pansoy, a seven-year old Manobo boy grinds precious corn on a stone mill, a family heirloom. He attends classes at a multigrade elementary school run by the nuns of the Missionary Sisters of Mary in Bayugan, Agusan del Sur. He says he will be a farmer and vows to take care of his...

DAVAO CITY� Around 30 media practitioners across the region gather starting November 20 until November 21 at the Eden Nature Park and Garden Resort in Toril, Davao City for a two-day human rights reporting seminar-workshop. With the theme: �Sensible & Sensitive: Journalism for Human Rights,� the...

NPA FREES PRISONER. After holding him captive for two weeks, the 4th Pulang Bagani Company of the New People’s Army releases Corporal Dominador Alegre on Sunday, November 15, in the hinterlands of Montevista town in Compostela Valley. Alegre was captured on November 2 when the NPA raided the...

By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today DAVAO CITY– Months before the official start of the campaign period, the sons and daughters of Davao City’s top political clans are already wooing potential voters for the 2010 elections. Sara distributes rice, noodles and canned goods in Calinan. (photo by the City...

By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today DAVAO CITY– The New People’s Army in Southern Mindanao said military operations have hampered the release of Corporal Dominador Alegre, the detachment commander captured in an NPA raid in Barangay New Kapatagan in Monkayo town two weeks ago. Rigoberto Sanchez,...