Davao Oriental?s Slice of Paradise

Former ?Mutya ng Dabaw? and Davao Today columnist Joan Mae Soco has always dreamed of enjoying the beaches of Phuket, Thailand. Little did she know that, only six hours away by land, in Baganga, Davao Oriental, is a paradise that is just as lovely. She filed this report about a recent trip there.

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Rituals at the Longhouse

The indigenous peoples of the Malaysian state of Sarawak have to contend with forces of tradition and development that often clash. The resultant cultural, economic and political stirrings are not unlike what the Lumads in Mindanao go through. Davao Today associate editor Germelina A. Lacorte, who spent weeks in Sarawak earlier this year as part of her journalism fellowship with the Southeast Asia Press Alliance, chronicles the struggles of our neighboring tribes.

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Where Will the Children Go?

Tudaya Kids (davaotoday.com photo by Germelina Lacorte

The Bagobo-Tagabawas, a tribe in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, fear not only their displacement if an Aboitiz-owned power company succeeded in building a power plant in Tudaya. Ultimately, their leaders say, the children will pay the price. Text and photos by Davao Today?s Germelina A. Lacorte.

Related story: The Ritual at Tudaya Falls

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Davao City Hall Slammed for ‘Sell-Out,’ ‘Anti-People’ Report on Aerial-Spray Ban

The environment group Interface Development Interventions Inc. has criticized City Hall’s recommendations on aerial spraying, calling it a sellout. Below is the group’s statement:


An environmental NGO criticized the report of Eng. Luis Jacinto, city planning coordinator, on the controversial proposal to ban aerial spraying in Davao City branding it as a ?sell-out that intentionally omitted glaring facts to come up with recommendations tailored to favor only banana corporations.?

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