Studes give their best in dance presentation

A beautiful dance number was rendered by high school students from a public school in Sarangani, SOCKSARGEN.  I am not sure what their dance is called, but there’s one thing that I noticed – you can tell that the pupils gave their best in this brief presentation.  And it was much appreciated! Was it Filipino hospitality?

Hollow Block Manufacturing

Military enforces strict camp regulations in Mindanao

In the wake of continuous bomb threats by terror group, all military camps in Northern and Northeastern Mindanao implemented stricter measures to prevent any terrorist attacks.  Area command chief of the Northern and Northeastern Mindanao Fourth Infantry (Diamond) Division Brig. Gen. Jose T. Barbieto on Wednesday ordered all brigade and battalion commanders, including operational control (Opcon) unit commanders, to strengthen their respective headquarters’ defense perimeters and conduct round-the-clock patrol and combat operations without letup against suspected communist insurgents’ lairs.

He also ordered field unit commanders to extend full security assistance to key vital installations such as power, communications, sea ports and airports to avert any surprise terrorist attacks.  Barbieto also directed its field commanders to closely coordinate with the local government units (LGUs) in the all-out campaign against terrorist groups.

The recent directive was in view of the recent bombings in Central Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula that killed and wounded several innocent civilians.

Maj. Samuel C. Sagun, regional Army spokesman, said “measures are being studied to help alleviate the plight of the people affected by the inconveniences brought about by the new anti-terror measures.”

He sought the cooperation of those affected as “the security and safety of our personnel and those living inside the camp is the paramount reason of this stricter enforcement of camp regulations.” (PNA)

USAid Workers Kidnapped in Sulu

Sulu Governor Benjamin Loong warned the kidnappers of three engineers working for a US-funded project and their driver who were abducted Tuesday to be ready to face the consequences if the victims are not released immediately.  Loong also ordered construction work on US-funded projects in the province stopped while the victims remain in captivity.  In Metro Manila, Armed Forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro said troops in Sulu have launched pursuit operations against the kidnappers and have pinpointed their whereabouts. But he refused to give additional details, saying this could derail the operations.

One of the three engineers, Romeo Rivera, was working on a road project funded by the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) when kidnapped by armed men in Parang town on Tuesday afternoon. Rivera was with his friends — Reynaldo Rubio and Larry Bautista, and their driver, Isidro Amarado — when abducted.

GEM is the implementing body of the USAID (US Agency for International Development) projects in Mindanao.

Rivera is a native of Davao City and is an employee of Monolithic Construction and Concretes, a firm contracted by GEM to implement the project.

Loong said Bautista and Rubio of Terra Syme Chemical based in Metro Manila are Rivera’s friends, who went to Sulu hoping to get a sub-contracted project.

Amarado, on the other hand, is a Zamboangueño who works for Loong as a family driver and carpenter.

Loong said he has tapped “relatives and the immediate family” of the suspects, whom he did not identify, to negotiate for the release of the victims.

“I also directed the kidnappers to return the victims or else face (the) consequence,” Loong told the Inquirer. He did not elaborate on what “consequence” meant.

“This is a no-ransom negotiation, just turn over to us all the victims safely, not a single demand,” he added.

Senior Superintendent Ahirum Adjirim, Sulu police director, identified two of the kidnappers as Adznar Ibnaihi and Bong Sakandal.

Sakandal, he said, is employed by Maas Abda, the chief of security of the GEM construction facilities and equipment in Parang. Abda is Sakandal’s uncle-in-law.

“They (suspects) are not Abu Sayyaf. We sense that there’s an internal problem in (GEM construction) operation. The Abu Sayyaf is out of the picture here,” Adjirim added.

Police have recovered the government-owned pickup truck the victims were riding when abducted. It was found in Lanao Dakula in Parang town Wednesday morning.

“Our troops are focused on running after these high-value targets…They are still in Sulu,” Bacarro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.

Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, chief of Task Force Comet, said three battalions of soldiers under the 104th Brigade were dispatched to Parang and nearby municipalities to conduct a search-and-rescue operation.

“We are not part of the negotiations. We are conducting our own independent move that is to operate,” Sabban said.

Colonel Pablo Lorenzo, chief of the 35th Infantry Battalion, said they will give way to the negotiations. “But if talks fail, then we will launch full-scale operation against the kidnappers,” he said.

Naval assets have been deployed to the Sulu coast to prevent the kidnappers from escaping with their victims, Bacarro added.

He said the kidnappers have also asked for a “board and lodging” fee from the victims’ families but could not say how much.

INQ7

Kili-Kili National High in Wao, Lanao del Sur Province

I took a photo of the school’s computer laboratory room that was burned about a year ago. The poor school was able to retrieve all computers and peripherals just in the nick of time!  This is a typical public school infrastructure especially in the outskirts where most schools do not receive enough funds from the government.  This is only one of the many schools in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). 

 On another note, its a very interesting name for a national high, isn’t it? Regardless of how it sounds or what it means, I’m impressed at how accommodating our hosts had been during our short visit.  What a pledge of Filipino hospitality!