Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte blamed global warming and the resistance of landowners against City Hall's drainage projects for the unprecedented flooding that hit the city early in June.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the National Security Council has come up with a revised draft of the government's position on ancestral domain to resume peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Farmers groups in Davao are dismayed over the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) until December 31. They're calling instead for the approval of the "Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill" that seeks to implement free distribution of lands to farmers and lift the heavy amortization rates shouldered by CARP beneficiaries. It also seeks to promote cooperatives and other mutual-aid techniques, which the KMP believes will raise the productivity and the standard of living of farmers, eventually "laying the foundation for national industrialization."
SOAKED. As rainy season begins, vehicles in Davao City never fail to immerse in heavy rains and floods. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan) SOAK. This portion of JP Laurel Avenue…
Arroyo said she has ordered an all out military offensive not only against the Abu Sayyaf, but also against the Communist New People's Army (NPA) so that the government can finally "return Mindanao to its people," she said.