Leaders of the Manobos trooped to the offices of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Tuesday to report abuses purportedly committed by the military in their community of Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
Church and civil society groups based in the United States will hold an online forum livestream and webinar to show solidarity with the more than 1,300 Talaingod Manobos who have evacuated their homes in Talaingod, Davao del Norte since April 2.
FILING FOR TAXES. Thousands crammed the office of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Davao City as the deadline for the filing of tax income draws near at 5 pm of April 15.
FLOWERS, LEI FOR GRADUATION. Vendors squeeze their graduation lei and flowers between grills to a potential customer during the graduation ceremony at the University of Southeastern Philippines Davao City.
The New People’s Army said they burned heavy equipment in two of the biggest foreign mining investments in Mindanao last week, including one co-owned by the fourth richest Filipino tycoon.
FIRE VICTIMS LINE UP. Thousands who had lost their houses to the April 4 fire flocked to the Mini-Forest Gym in Barangay 23-C to receive government assistance of P 10,000 each. (Ace Morandante/davaotoday.com)
A HOUSE USED TO STAND. Residents along Boulevared had put up markers like these on the lots where they houses used to stand, anticipating that they will return after local officials announced it would rehabilitate the area following the fire that razed over 1,000 houses. (Ace Morandante/davaotoday.com)
FREE WATER. Residents who lost their houses to the fire at Quezon Boulevard last April 4 avail of free water at their community at Barangay 23-C to bathe and wash clothes. (Ace Morandante/davaotoday.com)
Last week, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization issued its report that the countries, including the Philippines, would not be able to achieve the target as 57 million children “are still failing to learn, simply because they are not in school.”
Around a week ago, when the reports of the Talaingod Manobo exodus first began trickling in, I happened to glance at a copy of a Mindanao regional daily at a local cafe. The front page proudly bannered that two battalions had been brought in from Luzon to add to counter-insurgency operations here in the Davao region. In my gut, I knew that this happy headline had something to do with the misery of my friends and many others in Talaingod.
