by CHERYLL D. FIEL
On the day Cory was buried, Davao activists saw it fitting to pay tribute by going out to the streets.
Leonardo Ortilano, 60, a jeepney driver parked his jeepney, letting go of the few pesos he could have earned, just to attend the street program. He said it pays to remember the woman who brought home the idea that no dictator will go unopposed. For Ortilano, Cory became the symbol through which people recognized their strength to fight the evils of Martial Law. Read on.
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
DAVAO CITY — High-ranking military officers earlier named in the Davao lawyers’ petition for writ of amparo failed to show up in court for the scheduled hearing on Wednesday.
This was the second time that Judge Jose Manuel Castillo of the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 called a hearing on the amparo petitions of Davao-based lawyers, Carlos Isagani Zarate, Lilibeth Ladaga and Angela Librado-Trinidad. Read on.
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
Dr. Rogelio Bong Peera, head of the Department of Health (DOH) epidemiological research and surveillance unit tasked to monitor and address the A (H1N1) flu cases in the region, was killed in his car while going home. He was active in political campaigns that sought governments attention to the sordid state of the countrys health care delivery.
Piera was also a member of the groups Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), the Rx for Peace and the Health People United for the Removal of Gloria (Purga), a group of medical practitioners and health workers calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Read on.
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
DAVAO CITY — Three lawyers whose names were in the military Order of Battle list filed a petition for a writ of amparo at the Regional Trial Court to preempt impending threats to their lives.
Davao lawyers Carlos Isagani Zarate, Lilibeth Ladaga and Angela Librado-Trinidad filed the petition before the RTC clerk of Court on Tuesday, June 16, asking the Court to order the respondentsmostly top military and police officers in the regionto produce all documents related to the inclusion of their names in the OB list and to suppress or destroy these information. They also asked the military to make a public apology to rectify the damages to their reputation and to explain why their names were put in the list. Read on.
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
Human rights advocates wanted authorities to look beyond the fact that Monzon was killed by ski-mask wearing men on motorcycle.
They (investigating authorities) should look into the fact that Monzon was once vilified by the military, said Erlin Balinton, a volunteer of human rights group Karapatan who documented the circumstances of Monzons death. He had a case filed with the Commission on Human Rights in October last year about how the military harassed him. They should look into his activities when he was still alive, if only to establish who could possibly have the motive to take his life.
Balinton said that Karapatan has yet to find out about what police actions were being done in Boston. Read on.
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
Ludenio Monson, a Mandaya farmer and leader of Nagkahiusang Mag-uuma sa Boston (United Farmers of Boston), was shot at around 4:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday, a volunteer from the Solidarity Action Group for Indigenous Peoples (Sagip) told Davao Today in a text message.Monson was with a companion at the time of the incident.
He told colleagues last month that he (Monson) was already a marked man in his area. He said he got information that his name was in the militarys Order of Battle list and that he could be taken anytime. He was among those strongly opposed to mining. Read on.
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
BREAKING NEWS | Celso Pojas was the secretary-general of the Farmers’ Association of Davao City and spokesman of the KMP in Southern Mindanao. He was the first militant leader assassinated in Davao city, according to Karapatan-Southern Mindanao.
Slain farmers’ leader Celso Pojas during the peasant month press conference in October last year. The words on his hat reads “Land, not bullet.” (davaotoday.com file photo by Barry Ohaylan)
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
Environmentalists are saying that altering the natural conditions of these important bodies of water in Mt. Apo would mean loss of biodiversity and, eventually, the death of the mountain. This could spell disaster for the Davao region, whose lands are nourished by its natural topography, which, in turn, ensures the year-round bounty of fruits and produce.
Members of Panalipdan hold an Earth Day protest in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office in Lanang, Davao City. (davaotoday.com photo by Jonald Mahinay)
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
Growing plants in the summer could be very difficult, especially for farmers in Mindanao more prone to the risks of temperature increase. But farmers in a Panay town can help Mindanao farmers cope with harsh weather.
Some of Nepthalie Betito’s home-made organic fertilizers. (Photo by Cheryll D. Fiel)
by CHERYLL D. FIEL
For a country in the tropics surrounded by a belt of the world’s most active volcanoes and regularly visited by typhoons, the need for stories that deal with disasters – how to avoid them and manage the risks – becomes more compelling. Unfortunately, in a country so prone to disasters and yet so lacking in mechanisms to prevent its adverse effects, there is a dearth of such stories.