Administration propaganda one-sidedly presents growth, peso appreciation, lower public deficits and foreign investments as if these were development ends in themselves. But the deteriorating social conditions of joblessness, hunger and poverty are the sharpest rebuttal of any government economic hype.
Davao City prides itself with, among other things, perhaps being the only city in the Philippines that successfully implements a ban on firecrackers and pyrotechnics during the Christmas and the New Year. Although many think of this policy as “KJ” (kill joy), many support it because it reduces the number of firecracker-related injuries and accidents.
It has been the experience of Davaoenos that during the New Year, except for a few bangs here and there, their city is probably the quietest in the world. Today is going to be no different as Mayor Rodrigo Duterte vows to continue implementing the ban.
The move by the Arroyo administration to turn over US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, who has been convicted of raping “Nicole,” to the custody of the US embassy has the makings of another Meiring, according to the human-rights group Karapatan, referring to Michael Terrence Meiring, an alleged CIA agent who blew himself up inside a Davao City hotel in May 2003. Meiring was accused of hoarding explosives in his hotel room, which were to be used, allegedly, for terrorist attacks in Mindanao. But agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation spirited Meiring from the hospital, prompting outcries from leftist groups and local officials, among them Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who called the move an affront to Filipino sovereignty.
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.
