Politics

Monday’s protest march against the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel will continue, despite President Benigno Aquino III’s statement that the pork barrel system will be abolished.

President Aquino III’s announcement Friday that “it is time to abolish PDAF” or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) spurred epicurean invectives from journalists, activists and academe all over social media. They’d rather call it by other edibles.

The New People’s Army claimed they attacked an army headquarters in Mabini, Compostela Valley last August 5 killing six AFP troops and wounding five others.

Non-government organizations supporting organic food and farms want local and national laws to ban genetically-modified crops such as the controversial Golden Rice for its detrimental effect to health and farmers’ income.

Davao journalists are leading the call for Davao’s version of the one-million people march against pork on August 26 to call for the abolition of the pork barrel or the now infamous Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF.

While an international monitoring group points to increased armed conflict between the military and the communist rebels
as the culprit of the Lumads’ dislocation, the heart of the matter is the Lumads’ right to control over their rich ancestral domain.

The city council wants to find out what happened to the 30-million peso calamity fund provided to eight villages in Paquibato District.

Aquino’s assassination by the Marcos dictatorship led millions to march in his funeral and protests that followed nationwide; the first national welgang bayan was staged in Davao in 1984.

Alibo, Jonie Javillo, 18, and Jomarie Esnardo, 21, were discovered cutting copper cable around midnight by a resident who alerted company security guards in Cadena de Amor St. at Feeder Road 3, Tibal-og village.

Part 1 in a 3-part series

While the streets of Davao reverberated with dances and chants during the Kadayawan parade over the weekend, 500 Lumad evacuees saluted their own escape from threats to their lives and safety.