Author: DAVAO TODAY

This author has written 3254 articles

Pushed to the Wall

Click here to view the slide show (actual size).

For months, the workers at a Davao del Norte banana plantation owned by Marsman-Drysdale, one of the largest agri-business companies in the country, were not paid their salaries. This plunged the workers? families into extreme conditions and indebtedness. The company also failed to remit the workers? SSS, Philhealth and Pag-IBIG payments. Desperate, the workers banded together, forcing the company to pay up. Davao Today staff writer Marilou M. Aguirre reports.

For more Davao Today stories and special reports on the problems being faced by workers in the banana plantations of Southern Mindanao, click here.

(more…)

Continue ReadingPushed to the Wall

The Vanishing

Nelly and Federico Intise, a Davao City couple known for their work in the NGO community, disappeared last month without a trace. Davao Today contributor Gingging Avellanosa, a friend of Nelly?s, writes that anxious family and friends believe that the military took them.
Nelly and Federico Intise, and their son Bayan's painting
Nelly and Federico Intise have been missing since late October. At right is their son Bayan’s painting of Nelly’s favorite slippers. (Contributed photos)

(more…)

Continue ReadingThe Vanishing

Young Davao Filmmaker Triumphs

Sherad Anthony Sanchez
Sherad Anthony Sanchez: Young and victorious

The independent digital film “Huling Baylan ng Buhi (The Last Priestess of Buhi)” by 21-year-old Davao filmmaker Sherad Anthony Sanchez won the top prizes, including best picture and best director, in this week’s Cinema One Originals competition in Manila. In an Inquirer story, Robbie Tan, the film producer who was one of the jurors, said “Huling Baylan” is ?a well-conceived symphony of sounds and images, pushing the language of cinema across new boundaries.?

(more…)

Continue ReadingYoung Davao Filmmaker Triumphs

Furor Over JPEPA: Will Davao’s Banana Workers Benefit From It?

A controversial bilateral trade agreement between the Philippines and Japan promises enormous economic opportunities for Filipinos, among them agricultural producers such as the banana workers and growers in the Davao regions. That, at least, is the Arroyo administration’s line. What they’re not telling the public is that, apart from the environmental hazards it poses, the agreement is a one-sided trade pact that benefits the Japanese more. The agreement, according to some economists, will also set a precedent that will further erode the Philippine economy. Davao Today’s Carlos H. Conde reports.


Davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan
Will these workers in a banana packing plant in Compostela Valley benefit from JPEPA? Some economists don’t think so. As it is, many of these workers are overworked and underpaid. Several of them, in fact, have been fired by the company. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
(more…)

Continue ReadingFuror Over JPEPA: Will Davao’s Banana Workers Benefit From It?