Vice Mayor Paolo “Pulong” Duterte lashed out at the progressive labor group, Kilusang Mayo Uno and the protesting workers of the Japanese-owned Nakashin Davao International, Inc. saying the workers’ strike is humiliating the city.
Vice Mayor Paolo “Pulong” Duterte adjourns again the regular session of the City Council at Sanguniang Panlungsod due to lack of quorum.
Private and public school teachers in Davao region have one appeal to incoming President Rodrigo Duterte: fix the “extremely poor” delivery of services of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in Davao City.
It goes with the name Oplan Andam (Advocacy on Natural Disaster Awareness and Management), this is Davao del Norte’s community-based disaster awareness campaign which aims to build a calamity and disaster resilient communities.
President-elect Rodrigo Duterte skipped the proclamation of the winners of the Presidential elections Monday, May 30 as his spokesperson said he is busy finalizing the names of his cabinet appointees.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is now finalizing the damage report caused by the El Niño phenomenon on the crops and farms of farmers in Region 11.
Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte said he will not be attending the proclamation of the winners of the presidential elections on Monday afternoon, May 30.
Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Saturday, May 28 that he offered cabinet portfolio of Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to former National Treasurer Leonor Briones and Benjamin Diokno, respectively.
The annual Brigada Eskwela will be held on Monday, May 30 and an environmental group gave tips on how to conduct the annual school beautification.
DAVAO CITY — The photo of the Badjao girl that has gone viral on the internet is not merely a picture of a Morena beauty that the netizens hope to help.
The photo of Rita Gaviola, 13, begging in the streets of Lucban town, in Quezon province went viral after photographer, Topher Quinto Burgos, posted it on social media. The photo was taken during the Pahiyas Festival on May 15.
Netizens even created Facebook pages for Gaviola. The page “Badjao Girl” already has 58,672 likes, while Rita Gabiola “Badjao Girl” has 19,748 as of Saturday, May 28.
But for the Human Rights Watch, the image of 13-year-old Rita Gaviola is a picture of a tribe “who were displaced and forced into destitution following the armed confrontation between government forces and rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front in September 2013.”
Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for HRW, said the reports about Gaviola their plight as a “neglected tribe”.
“The city’s ethnic minorities, including the Badjao, were particularly vulnerable to displacement and forced relocation following the fighting,” Conde said pertaining to the 2013 armed encounters with government troops and MNLF which killed nearly 200 people, displaced more than 100,000 residents, and destroyed thousands of homes.
“The authorities, with little or no genuine consultation, forcibly moved the Badjao inland from their homes along the coast, despite their traditional occupation as fishermen. To this day, thousands of Badjao and other residents, mostly Muslims, remain homeless, living in dire conditions in evacuation sites,” he said.
The Badjao, who are commonly referred as “sea gypsies” “live in extreme poverty”, Conde said.
“The result is that many of them join the ranks of beggars in the Philippines’ urban centers or dive for coins thrown by boat passengers,” he added.
Conde said the public’s concern for Gaviola provides an opportunity for the incoming administration to address the needs of the indigenous peoples.
“The public concern for Rita Gaviola is an opportunity for the new Philippine government to strengthen efforts to ensure the rights of livelihood, housing and health to the Badjao and other indigenous peoples who, too often, are denied those rights in the face of discrimination, conflict or displacement,” he said.
For one, Conde said the government should start providing ”adequate resettlement based on consultation for the Badjao and the thousands of others who remain in squalid evacuation centers in Zamboanga City.”
“The government should also help ensure the livelihood of the Badjao by relocating them to areas that allow access to the seashore so that they can work as fishermen. Perhaps then Rita Gaviola – and the thousands of Badjao like her – can finally stop begging and return home,” he said. (davaotoday.com)
