Author: DAVAO TODAY

This author has written 3251 articles

NTC Circular Vs Broadcasters Denounced; Duterte Calls It ?Wrong, Very Stupid?

By Cheryll D. Fiel and Germelina A. Lacorte
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY ? ?Wrong.? ?Very stupid.? ?Very gray.?

These were the reactions by Davao officials to the reported National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) circular banning broadcasters from using anonymous sources in their newscasts and reports.

The circular, which the NTC disclosed on Saturday, was just the latest in the government?s alleged efforts to control the Philippine press, despite the lifting of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s Proclamation 1017 that many critics said specifically targeted the media.

The NTC reportedly issued a circular officially adopting the guidelines, supposedly drawn up by the industry group Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP), among them that a station ?may not broadcast news to which it cannot attribute a source.?

(more…)

Continue ReadingNTC Circular Vs Broadcasters Denounced; Duterte Calls It ?Wrong, Very Stupid?

Of Strokes, Figs and Canvases

Even the uninitiated can tell if a work of art was done by someone from Mindanao or who has been influenced by the island’s peoples, culture and the strife. You can sense this in the strokes, in the medium, in the subjects.

In this issue of davaotoday.com, five visual artists who all hailed from Mindanao share their passion for the arts and for Mindanao. Some of them are fresh out of college while others have been around since the ?70s. Through their craft and their vision ? of the people, of nature, of revolution, to name a few — they depict not only their world but ours.

(more…)

Continue ReadingOf Strokes, Figs and Canvases

Diwalwal’s Never-Ending Tragedies

The series of violent incidents in Diwalwal last October – a huge fire, a gas poisoning, and a cave-in – could be part of the plot by vested-interest groups to drive small-scale miners out of Mount Diwalwal.

By Daisy C. Gonzales
davaotoday.com

DIWALWAL, the Philippines — Alma Placio, 33, looked exhausted. She just had a baby. Six days after the child was born, Alma lost her husband. On this day, she was at the mining company’s small office here, sitting in a corner.

Evidently grief-stricken, Alma sits calmly as she stared blankly at the television in front of her. The TV was showing images taken days before of a rescue operation inside one of the mining tunnels here, where several died. One of those who perished was Alma’s husband, Al.

Alma was new to this place, so was Al. The lure of Mount Diwalwal, however, was no stranger to them. Earlier this year, they left their home in Manila, where they had stayed for almost two decades, and found their way into this mountain village. Al’s brother had worked here and had convinced Al that he, like him, could work here as a “helper.”

Al went to Diwalwal ahead of his family. In June, Alma and her two children reunited with him. Little did Alma know that the reunion would be short-lived.

Alma’s husband was among the 31 declared to have died in the October 26 tragedy inside the mine tunnel operated by the JB Management and Mining Corp (JBMMC). The cave-in, which was said to be precipitated by an explosion, is the latest reminder here that the main issues about this contested gold-rush mountain village in Monkayo town, in Southern Mindanao, are far from resolved.

(more…)

Continue ReadingDiwalwal’s Never-Ending Tragedies