Saturday brings Twin Bomb Blasts in Mindanao

Two separate bomb blasts occurred in Mindanao on Saturday, hitting Cotabato City and Koronodal City. At least 4 people were injured in the incidents police said.

Although there has been no claim of responsibility, it is suspected that both blasts were done by Al Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf.

Those wounded in the Koronodal blast were identified as Rey Noglita, a tricycle driver, his passenger Renato Bayona, 33, a resident of Paraiso, Koronadal City and Jocelyn Magbanua, 21, a resident of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.

Shortly after the Koronodal blast, police located and diffused a second bomb rigged with a cell phone as the trigger device.

Check the SunStar Network for full details on the blasts.

Governor: File Charges against Soldiers in Magpet Shooting

Governor Emmanuel Piñol has issued orders for a speedy investigation and filing of any appropriate charges against soldiers involved in a shooting incident at Datu Celo, Magpet. Two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the incident.

“I want justice done. I want justice delivered to the families of the victims as soon as possible,” Piñol said during a public affairs radio program Wednesday.

You can read full details of the incident in SunStar Davao.

Radio Station Update

This story about the Valencia City Mayor shutting down the local affiliate of Radio Mindanao Network is really getting hot!

It seems that the Cagayan de Oro Press Club board of directors met on Thursday and this was the hot topic of their meeting! The board issued three resolutions:
1. Declared Valencia City as a “Media Hotspot”
2. Declared Mayor Galerio as a “Media Terrorist”
3. Created a debating team to challenge the Mayor to prove the legality of his order to close the station.

Keep an eye on SunStar Cagayan de Oro for full updates on this fast moving story.

Preparations Complete for August 8 ARMM Elections

After an earlier failure of elections in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), it looks like everything is ready for elections on August 8.

According to SunStar Cagayan de Oro:

MARAWI CITY — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Resurrecion Borra confirmed Friday the agency’s readiness in the forthcoming Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Armm) elections on August 8.

In an interview, Commissioner Borra said he brought along with him his staff from Regions 6 and 7 to assist in the election process.

Borra told the media that with close coordination with the registered voters, the Philippine Army, Philippine National Police (PNP), the Philippine Marines and Task Force Hope, he is confident that Lanao del Sur can hold honest, orderly and peaceful election (Hope).

Commissioner Borra said the OIC in Lanao del Sur brought along with him the election paraphernalia to include sample ballots and Comelec forms now at their office in the Provincial Capitol.

He said these are heavily guarded for security purposes.

The canvassing for 38 barangays shall be done in Marawi City to include the elective posts of assemblyman, while the gubernatorial and vice-gubernatorial elections will be done in Manila.

In a related development, the Philippine Marines under the 1st and 2nd Marine Brigade were already deployed to augment the security force before and after the election process.

Additionally, according to Mindanews, 31 foreign election observers will observe the ARMM elections:

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Executive Director Pio Joson said here Thursday the observers come from as far as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and New Zealand. There are also representatives from Taiwan, India, Tajikishtan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, all members of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA).

New Luxury Vehicles for Davao del Norte Lawmakers!

The economy in Davao del Norte must be booming, or so it would seem! Recently, the Provincial Board approved a new budget which included the purchase of new LUXURY vehicles for themselves!

When citizens of the province began complaining about the purchase of the vehicles during a time of economic hardship, Vice Governor Anthony del Rosario said:

“When the SP (Provincial Board) reviewed the provincial executive budget for 2005, we came around to discussing the purchase of new vehicles for SB members but I did not approve of it because there are many pressing matters that needs to be given priority,” del Rosario said during the Kapihan sa Kapitolyo in Tagum City.

Funny though, as del Rosario continued, he said that the Province will still buy the vehicles, they will just be re-assigned to others! It would not seem that this would be a good way to address “pressing matters that needs (sic) to be given priority”.

For the full article, check SunStar Davao.