DAVAO CITY

4,000-strong barangay defense force to fight NPA

By MARILOU AGUIRRE-TUBURAN | Davao Today

The Task Force Davao (TFD) has organized a 4, 000-strong barangay defense system (BDS) to counter the growing number of Communist guerrillas operating in the outskirts of the city, Col. Oscar Lactao, TFD commander, said. Lactao said the military gathered local residents and organized them into a BDS to counter the growing presence of the New People's Army (NPA) in Toril district. He said the military recruited one "volunteer" from each household for the barangay defense system.

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Congress HR committee looks into extra judicial killings in Mindanao

By MARILOU AGUIRRE-TUBURAN | Davao Today


A witness takes oath to tell the truth during the public hearing conducted by the House Committee on Human Rights in August. Victims and witnesses from the Mindanao regions presented their accounts on the human rights abuses allegedly committed by the government troops. Rep. Lorenzo Tanada III, chairperson and Rep. Satur Ocampo, House Deputy Minority Leader, were present at the hearing. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)

The best deterrent to crime is when the wheels of justice, no matter how slow, really move and convict people who are guilty. This is the statement made by Lorenzo ?Erin? Ta?ada IIII, chair of the House of Representatives' committee on human rights, after a two-day hearing for the Mindanao regions of the ongoing Congressional inquiry on extrajudicial killings.

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Asian youth leaders call for resumption of peace talks

By GRACE S. UDDIN | Davao Today

The young religious leaders, representing Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian and other religions, are calling for the resumption of the peace talks between the government and the MILF, which collapsed after the failed signing of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) in August.

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