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28/07/2023

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 28 July)—City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Z. Duterte has called the national government to provide a counterpart fund to construct the Japanese government-supported waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration facility.

Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte delivers his State of the City Address before members of the city council at the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Friday (28 July 2023). MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO

During his State of the City Address (SOCA) at the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Friday, Duterte said he remains hopeful that the government, particularly the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, would support the establishment of the WTE facility in Davao.

He said that the Japanese government already signified its interest to help build this facility by providing the local government a grant but added that the project would also require a significant counterpart fund from the national government.

“Mohangyo lang ko na madayon na ni… Unta madayon na ni, please po (I would just like to request. Hope this will happen. Please),” he said.

In August 2022, the City Council of Davao passed a resolution urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to provide a counterpart fund worth P3.486 billion for the WTE project here.

The resolution, authored by 1st District Councilor Tek Ocampo, said the country should seize the opportunities offered by the Japanese government to avail of technical and financial assistance to develop sustainable ways of managing solid wastes.

Ocampo, chair of the committee on environment, said the Japanese government expressed the intention in 2018 to donate 5.013-billion yen, or equivalent to P2.052 billion, to partially fund the project of the WTE facility.

According to data from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, some 600 to 800 tons of wastes are generated daily in the locality.

Davao-based environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability Inc. (IDIS) had earlier opposed the construction of a WTE incineration facility in Davao due to the health and environmental risks that it may cause.

Lawyer Mark Peñalver, IDIS executive director, said a study conducted by Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, a professor of environmental science and engineering at the Silliman University in Dumaguete City, found that WTE incinerators release large amounts of highly toxic substances called dioxins and furans into the air.

Emmanuel was former chief technical adviser on global environment projects of the United Nations Development Program.

The group added that inhalation of dioxins and furans causes an “increased risk of tumors, cancer, asthma and other fatal diseases.”

“If we want to push for a sustainable Davao City, then our policy makers, our decision makers should think twice in investing in dirty energies and dirty solutions like a WTE incineration project,” Peñalver said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)

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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 28 July)—City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Z. Duterte has called the national government to provide a counterpart fund to...

28/07/2023

TANDAG, Surigao del Sur (MindaNews / 28 July)—Rep. Romeo S. Momo, of Surigao del Sur’s 1st District, announced that the rehabilitation of the dilapidated section of the Daang Maharlika national highway, stretching from Trento to Sibagat town in Agusan del Sur, is scheduled to commence next year.

A 10-wheeler truck full of falcata logs along the highway in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. MindaNews file photo by BOBBY TIMONERA

The project, estimated to cost P5 billion, will be initiated once the funds are released, the congressman told MindaNews Wednesday.

The initiative came after Momo advised officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to create a specialized program to address the deteriorating road conditions along the stretch from San Francisco to Trento towns in Agusan del Sur.

The sorry state of this highway segment has drawn criticism from netizens, with online comments denouncing the condition of the road, even in the wake of spending on events like the recent Naliyagan Festival.

Agusan del Sur Gov. Santiago Cane Jr. clarified that the rehabilitation of the Maharlika Highway is not a project under the provincial government but falls within the domain of the DPWH.

Although Momo is legislator of the nearby province of Surigao del Sur, he is chair of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Works and Highways.

Momo, a former DPWH undersecretary, also advised the DPWH to reconsider the thickness of the concrete road pavement, recommending an increase from 9-10 inches to 12-14 inches to ensure greater durability, with a projected lifespan of 30-40 years.

Repair efforts for this section of the highway will align with a proposed multi-billion-peso loan from the Asian Development Bank. This loan aims to expand the Agusan-Davao Daang Maharlika Highway, adding two more lanes on each side. However, the exact loan amount remains undisclosed as it is still in the planning stages.

Engineer Ben Alden Serna, the DPWH District II chief, expressed challenges in maintaining the highway due to budget cuts, with their allocation reduced from P60 million to just P20 million last year.

Momo attributed the premature deterioration of the road to fault lines affecting certain portions of the highway and the overloading of 10-wheeler trucks. Based on observations during their time at the DPWH Caraga Regional Office, they noticed cracks in some parts of the road after earthquakes or storms. Notably, the damage is more pronounced on the right lane heading north due to overloaded trucks transporting falcata logs.

With the scheduled rehabilitation and planned expansion, the authorities hope to improve the condition and durability of the Daang Maharlika highway for safer and smoother travel for all users. (Chris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)

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TANDAG, Surigao del Sur (MindaNews / 28 July)—Rep. Romeo S. Momo, of Surigao del Sur’s 1st District, announced that the rehabilitation of th...

28/07/2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 28 July)—Mayor Grace Carmel Paredes-Bravo of this town has willingly joined the National Unity Party (NUP) in Agusan del Sur, becoming a part of the local ruling political party led by Rep. Adolph Edward Plaza from the province’s second congressional district as she took her oath earlier this month.

San Francisco Mayor Grace Carmel Paredes-Bravo takes her oath as new member of the National Unity Party before Agusan del Sur Gov. Santiago Cane Jr. at the governor’s office earlier this month. Photo from the page of Team Eddiebong

Her affiliation with Plaza’s group, known as “Team Eddiebong” (after Adolph Edward’s nickname), has put an end to the bitter political rivalry that spanned decades between her father, Ceferino Paredes Jr., a former governor and congressman of the province’s lone district, and Democrito and Valentina Plaza, the political patriarchs of Agusan del Sur who have since passed away.

Before joining the NUP, Bravo sought permission from her parents, Ceferino Jr. and Eden, who gave her their approval.

Her mother Eden said in a private message interview on Thursday that Bravo indeed had asked permission from them. “It was her decision being a mature and independent politician,” she said.

The rivalry between the Plazas and the elder Paredes began in 1984 when Ceferino ran as an opposition candidate for a seat in the Batasang Pambansa but lost to Democrito. In 1986, Ceferino was appointed officer-in-charge governor after the EDSA revolt. He won the 1988 election against Valentina when she made a comeback bid. However, Valentina, a long-time governor during the Marcos regime in the 1970s, defeated Ceferino Jr. in the 1998 polls.

Ceferino Paredes Jr. served as congressman for two terms, from 1992 to 1998, before challenging Valentina again.

Bravo’s older brother, John Columban, tried for the mayoralty seat in the 2019 elections but narrowly lost to administration candidate Solomon Rufila. Bravo, however, secured a significant victory against Rufila in last year’s election. John Columban won as Sangguniang Bayan member in year’s polls.

The elder Paredes and his wife Eden, both in their late 70s, have since lived a quiet life and stayed away from public eye.

In a private message interview, Plaza and Gov. Santiago Cane Jr. revealed that Bravo’s decision to join NUP had no political dynamics; she expressed her desire to join, and Cane and Team Eddiebong accepted it.

Recently, Bravo took her oath of office as an NUP member before Cane at the provincial capitol. While her political allies from the 2022 local election ran as independent candidates under the “Gugma sa Lungsod” group, Bravo stated that some of them might join NUP individually, but it would be their own decision, not influenced by her.

Bravo mentioned feeling comfortable joining NUP, citing her brother-in-law, former congressman Narciso Bravo Jr. from Masbate, as one of the party’s pioneers and secretary-general since 2019.

As for the upcoming 2025 local polls, Bravo clarified that it remains unclear if she will be the administration’s candidate, as that decision will be up to the party. (Chris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)

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SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 28 July)—Mayor Grace Carmel Paredes-Bravo of this town has willingly joined the National Unity Pa...

28/07/2023

A trisikad driver takes advantage of an empty Bankerohan segment of Quirino Avenue in Davao City to ferry passengers dawn on Friday (28 July 2023). MindaNews photo by YAS D. OCAMPO

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A trisikad driver takes advantage of an empty Bankerohan segment of Quirino Avenue in Davao City to ferry passengers dawn on Friday (28 Jul...

28/07/2023

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 28 July)—Army troops killed the top honcho of the New People’s Army in Northern Mindanao as he and his companions were about to settle for the night in Gingoog City late Wednesday afternoon.

Scene of encounter in the mountains of Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental. Inset: Dionisio Micabalo alias “Muling.” Photo courtesy of EastMinCom

Maj. Gen. Jose Maria R Cuerpo, commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said Dionisio Micabalo alias “Muling” was killed immediately when operatives of the 58th Infantry Battalion surprised the rebels around 5:50 p.m. in Barangay Libertad in Gingoog City.

He said Micabalo was the only casualty in the firefight that lasted 20 minutes. Cuerpo said troops were able to seize his firearm, an AK 47, several magazines and a caliber .22 rifle.

Micabalo’s body was brought to a local funeral parlor in Gingoog City on Thursday where an autopsy was done by the PNP Scene of the Crime Operatives.

“Micabalo was identified by his former comrades who have already surrendered. That is confirmation enough for us,” Cuerpo said.

Micabalo, 61, headed or was the secretary general of the NPA’s North Central Mindanao Regional Committee, the military said. He reportedly figured in several events like release of prisoners of war and sometimes act as spokesperson of the rebels.

Col. Christian Uy, commanding officer of the 58th Infantry Battalion, said his troops were on the trail of Micabalo since three months ago after they learned the rebel leader had transferred to Gingoog City from Bukidnon where he used to operate.

He said two sections of soldiers caught up with the rebels as they set up camp in Barangay Libertad, some 600 meters from the highway.

“The soldiers told me they first saw two armed women and then spotted a lone rebel leaning on a coconut tree. My soldiers fired volley upon volley yet the rebels fired, ensuing a 20-minute gun battle,” Uy said.

With Micabalo dead, Cuerpo said only Ka Maria Malaya, wife of NPA leader George Madlos who was killed by Army troops on Oct. 29, 2021, remains at large among NPA leaders in the region.

“After the dismantling of all seven guerilla fronts under NCMRC since 2020, this is high time and an opportunity for those remaining members to lay down their weapons,” Cuerpo said. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)

The post Top NPA leader in NorthMin slain in surprise Army attack appeared first on MindaNews.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 28 July)—Army troops killed the top honcho of the New People’s Army in Northern Mindanao as he and his comp...

27/07/2023

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – The Office of the President on Tuesday issued Proclamation No. 301 declaring Sept. 1 a special non-working day in Bukidnon in observance of the province’s 109th founding anniversary.

The Bukidnon Provincial Capitol in Malaybalay City. MindaNews file photo by H. MARCOS C. MORDENO

The proclamation signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the local holiday intends to give the people of Bukidnon the “full opportunity to participate in the occasion and enjoy the celebration.”

Bukidnon started as a municipality of Misamis in 1860 until it became a sub-province of Agusan by virtue of Act 1693. It was then called Malaybalay (meaning “few houses”), which became the name of its capital town and now city.

Bukidnon became a province on Sept.1, 1914 by virtue of the creation of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu under Act No. 2408 that took effect on this date.

On March 10, 1917, Act No. 2711, or the Revised Administrative Code of 1917, reaffirmed Act No. 2408. This became the basis for the observance of the province’s founding day every March 10.

However, prior to the centennial of Bukidnon in 2014, there were debates on whether the province should reckon 1914 or 1917 as its founding year.

The matter was brought to the National Historical Commission, which decided in favor of 1914. (MindaNews)

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MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – The Office of the President on Tuesday issued Proclamation No. 301 declaring Sept. 1 a special non-w...

27/07/2023

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – Two police officers were hacked to death while two other law enforcers were injured during a hacking and shooting incident involving members of the indigenous tribe in Calinan District here Wednesday afternoon, an official of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) said.

One of the policemen hacked to death. Photo courtesy of DCPO

The confrontation around 4 p.m. Wednesday at Purok 4, Barangay Lacson also resulted in the death of the suspect, Benao Maanib Landas, and the arrest of his companion, Rico Masacay.

Based on the report released by DCPO, the slain police officers were identified as PCMS Tito Didal Lague and PCpl. Mark Anthony Elman Corsino while those wounded were PCpl. Ken Leo Diango Gumanoy and Donald Ombrete, driver of the police mobile.

Capt. Hazel Tuazon, DCPO spokesperson, said that contrary to earlier reports, the incident was not a “pangayaw” (tribal war) but one involving a “family problem.”

She said the police personnel were immediately dispatched after the Calinan Police Station received a phone call from a certain Jericha Gubat Isod who reported a commotion at her residence at Purok 4 of the same barangay.

Tuazon said that Corsino, one of the responding personnel, approached a certain Angelito Maanib Landas, the father of Benao, in the hopes of pacifying his son and convincing him to put down his “bolo” but to no avail.

Col. Albert Lupaz, DCPO director, told reporters in a press conference that the suspects were “violent.”

He said Corsino initially fired a warning shot on the ground but Landas whipped out his bolo and hacked the police officer, hitting him on his left wrist.

“The suspect who was killed was already told by his father to surrender his bolo,” Lupaz said.

He said Corsino fought back in defense by shooting Landas numerous times but the bullets did not pierce his body and went on hacking the victim, until he was fatally wounded on his right cheek and fell on the ground.

The police officer managed to call for backup, Lupaz said.

Lupaz said locals believed that the suspects had amulets and were possessed by “evil spirits.”

He claimed that a video was captured of the police shooting the suspect in defense but the bullets did not pe*****te, and “smoke emitted from the suspect’s body” during the initial confrontation. [MindaNews asked for a copy of the video, DCPO promised to send it, but still not able to by 6:30 p.m., or about two hours later.]

“You can see several empty shells from the firearm in the crime scene… He Landas) was hit on his stomach but the bullets did not pe*****te,” he said.

Lupaz said that based on investigation, the family involved belongs to a certain group of “mananambal” (healers) in their community.

He said the commotion happened as Landas got jealous of his sister and her husband who were recognized as leaders of their group.

Asked if this group was a “cult,” Lupaz said he could not confirm but added that authorities recovered human bones, a firearm, and several bolos from their “church” in their community.

Tuazon said that the suspect also chased and hacked Ombrete, the mobile patrol driver, who was hit on his head, and Police Auxiliary Richard Mendoza.

She said Mendoza, who escaped unscathed, saw another suspect, Masacay, picked up the firearm of Corsino and shot the police officer’s body several times.

She said that when the reinforcers arrived, the bolo-wielding Landas and Masacay, who were also equipped with a short firearm and long firearm, respectively, opened fire at the police backup.

Tuazon added that an armed confrontation ensued between the suspects and the police officers, which resulted in the death of Landas and wounding of Lague and Gumanoy, two of the backup police personnel who responded to the incident.

She said, however, that the injured Lague was hacked from behind by Masacay.

Police brought Lague to Isaac T. Robillo Memorial Hospital in Calinan but failed to reach the hospital alive.

Meanwhile, she said responders brought Gumanoy to Camp Quintin S. Merecido Hospital and Ombrete to Southern Philippines Medical Center for proper medical treatment.

After the incident, Masacay immediately fled carrying the fi****ms and a bolo but he was later arrested during a joint hot pursuit operation.

The remains of the slain and that of the Landas’ were brought to Angel Funeral Homes, this city.

Tuazon said the arrested suspect is now under the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Management Unit.

Authorities confiscated from Masacay a K2C1 Rifle with one magazine loaded with 13 ammunitions, a Galil ACE with one magazine loaded with four live ammunitions, and two bolos.

Lupaz said Landas was a “bahani” (tribal warrior) while Masacay was a former member of the Special CAFGU Active Auxiliary (SCAA).

He said cash assistance was given to the families of the slain police officers. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)

The post 2 cops hacked dead, 2 others injured appeared first on MindaNews.

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – Two police officers were hacked to death while two other law enforcers were injured during a hacking and ...

27/07/2023

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – A total of 26,000 combatants of the 40,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (M**F) would, have been deactivated this year with the resumption of the decommissioning process on August 3, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said.

M**F combatants. MindaNews file photo by B**G S. SARMIENTO

He said that 1,301 M**F combatants would be deactivated with the resumption of the third phase of the decommissioning process, which is expected to be finished before the end of 2023.

“Once that number is decommissioned, it will complete the first, second and third phases involving a total of 26,000 [M**F fighters],” Galvez said in Filipino in a statement issued Thursday by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).

“Next year at sa susunod na taon, may 14,000 or 35% remaining na ide-decommission (Next year and the succeeding year, we will be decommissioning another 14,000 M**F fighters or the remaining 35%),” he added.

Galvez gave updates for the decommissioning process during the post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) discussions attended by several government agency heads on Wednesday in Pasay City, two days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered his SONA.

The decommissioning of M**F fighters is part of the Annex on Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the peace agreement between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the M**F signed in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations.

Under the normalization aspect of the CAB, members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the M**F’s armed wing, will be decommissioned as key milestones of the peace agreement.

Phase 1 of the decommissioning process took place in June 2015 in the municipality of Sultan Kudarat in the then undivided Maguindanao province, following the signing of the CAB. The late President Benigno Simeon Aquino III graced the occasion. It involved 145 M**F fighters and 75 high-powered weapons.

Phase 2 commenced in September 2019 with former President Rodrigo Duterte attending the event in the same town. It was completed in March 2020 with the decommissioning of 12,000 M**F combatants, 2,100 assorted weapons and at least 500 ammunition.

Phase 3 started in November 2021 also in Sultan Kudarat town, involving 14,000 M**F combatants, or 35 percent of its forces, and about 2,500 weapons.

Galvez said that the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) is expected to complete the decommissioning process before the first election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in 2025.

The first parliamentary elections in May 2022 was postponed by a law signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte. The postponement effectively extended the transition period in the BARMM until June 30, 2025, when the first set of regional officials shall have taken their oaths of office.

In his SONA, Marcos said that he is “proud of the progress that the BARMM has taken. It will be self-governing, progressive and effective.”

Galvez noted that “it’s very critical that we build on the peace gains and ensure continuing progress.”

Based on the CAB, it is the IDB, which is composed of international and local experts, that oversees the decommissioning process of M**F combatants and weapons so that these are put beyond use.

“The partnership between the government and the M**F enabling the final leg of the Phase 3 of the decommissioning to push through serves as a testament that both sides are sincerely committed to implementing the nine-year old agreement,“ said Cesar Yano, chair of the government’s Peace Implementing Panel for the GPH-M**F peace accord.

Yano, a retired military general, said the deactivation will allow the M**F fighters to transform from “being combatants into productive members of civil society.” (B**g S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)

The post Galvez: 26,000 M**F fighters totally deactivated by end 2023 appeared first on MindaNews.

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – A total of 26,000 combatants of the 40,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (M**F) would, have be...

27/07/2023

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – Noting that conditions seven years ago have been “significantly mitigated or reduced,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday issued Proclamation 298, lifting “effective immediately,” former President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation 55 which declared a “state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao” in September 2016.

The lifting, according to Proclamation 298, aims to “boost economic activity and hasten the recovery of the local economy.” The Official Gazette has posted copies of Proclamations 297 and 301 dated July 21 and 25, respectively, but has not posted a copy of Proclamation 298 dated July 25, 299 and 300 as of 12 noon on July 27.

MindaNews obtained a certified copy of Proclamation 298.

Antonio Peralta, chair of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines – Southern Mindanao Business Council hailed the lifting as a “welcome development as it would start the process of correcting Mindanao’s image which has considerably improved greatly over the last few years.”

“We believe this will allow senior executives and their employees to come and explore business opportunities in Mindanao because now they can be covered by their insurance firms,” Peralta told MindaNews.

“Previously, they could not travel given the higher risk,” he said.

Proclamation 55 has been repeatedly cited in travel advisories against Mindanao even as its scope is nationwide. Even embassies have advisories against travel in some parts of Mindanao for their staff and nationals.

Secretary Mabel Acosta, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) wrote President Marcos on June 26, requesting him to lift Proclamation 55.

Adrian Tamayo, head of the Public Relations Division of MinDA told MindaNews that Acosta wrote the President “based on the recommendations of the Joint Foreign Chambers, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Mindanao, the local business chambers, the Mindanao Development Forum discussions where the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity and the rest of the public safety and security sector all convincingly presented that there is no more lawless violence in Mindanao.”

He said the Department of Foreign Affairs also strongly supported the initiative to request the President to lift Proclamation 55.

Tamayo said that with Proclamation 55 still in effect, the business communities in Mindanao experienced difficulties in “elevating attractiveness of the island for investment and travel, amidst a generally peaceful and safe Mindanao.”

2016 to 2023

Between 2016 and 2023, the peace processes involving the Bangsamoro in Mindanao went into implementation phase while the other major peace process – with the National Democratic Front – collapsed under the Duterte administration.

Duterte placed the entire Mindanao under martial law from May 23, 2017, Day 1 of the Marawi Siege, had it extended thrice until December 31, 2019, even as he declared Marawi “liberated from the terrorist influence” on October 17, 2017.

The GPH-NDF peace panels on Day 2 of the talks in Oslo, Norway on August 23, 2016. The reciprocal working groups on socio-economic reforms, political-constitutional reforms, end of hostilities and disposition of forces, JASIG/releases and ceasefire are meeting simultaneously on Days 3 and 4. Photo by Edwin Espejo / OPAPP

Duterte called off the peace negotiations with the NDF in December 2017 and tagged the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) as terrorist organizations. After the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 was passed, the Anti-Terrorism Council designated the CPP-NPA as terrorist organizations under ATC Resolution 12 in December 2020 and the NDF under Resolution 21 in June 2021.

The security sector has been reporting a decline in the number of the NPA in Mindanao which, for a time, hosted the most number of guerrilla fronts and combatants. The NDF’s Mindanao leader, Jorge Madlos aka Ka Oris, was killed in October 2021 in Bukidnon.

In the Bangsamoro peace processes, Republic Act 11054, the enabling act of the government’s peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed in 2014 during the Aquino administration – was passed in 2018 under the Duterte administration. The law was ratified in a plebiscite in January 2019, paving the way for the inauguration of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) which is currently being run by an 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte sounds the gong to signal the inauguration of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City on March 29, 2019, marking what he said was a “new dawn” for the Moro.’ Joining the President is BARMM interim Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ibrahim (M**F chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim). ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

The BTA is the governing body during the transition period that was supposed to have ended on June 30, 2022 but was extended to June 30, 2025 through the postponement of the first election of the Bangsamoro Parliament from May 2022 to May 2025.

The transition period was extended to 2025 by Congress under Duterte but he left it to Marcos to appoint members of the BTA who would serve during the extended transition from June 30, 2022 to June 30, 2025.

Among the BTA members Marcos appointed are the son and daughter of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari, and five other members of the MNLF under Misuari.

The MNLF under Muslimin Sema and Yusoph Jikiri were represented in the M**F-dominated Bangsamoro Transition Commission from 2017 to 2019 and the BTA since 2019. The then undivided MNLF had earlier signed with the government the Tripoli Agreement of 1976 and the Final Peace Agreement in 1996.

“Significant gains”

Proclamation 298 said the government has made “significant gains” in improving and restoring peace and order in the region through “successful focused military and law enforcement operations and programs that promote sustainable and inclusive peace” and conditions then prevailing for which Proclamation 55 was issued, “have been significantly mitigated or reduced.”

Duterte issued Proclamation 55 on September 4, 2016, two days after a bomb exploded at the Roxas night market in downtown Davao City, killing15 persons and injuring at least 70 others. Terrorists were blamed for the bombing.

In justifying his declaration, Duterte cited the “long and complex history of lawless violence perpetrated by private armies and local warlords, bandits and criminal syndicates, terrorist groups, and religious extremists” in Mindanao, and a spate of violent and lawless acts across many parts of Mindanao in recent months, “including abductions, hostage-takings and murder of innocent civilians, bombing of power transmission facilities, highway robberies and extortions, attacks on military outposts, assassinations (of) media people and mass jailbreaks;”

Aftermath of the explosion at the night market along Roxas Avenue on Friday, 02 September 2016

which killed 15 persons and injured 70. MindaNews photo by Carolyn O. Arguillas

The Roxas night market bombing was only one of six reasons Duterte cited for declaring a state of national emergency. In fact, then Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said Duterte had planned to declare it even before the September 2 bombing in Davao City.

“Hindi ‘yan nag-trigger. (The Davao bombing did not trigger that). Actually, nasa planning stage na ‘yan (declaration). In fact, nagda-draft na nga kami ng proclamation eh,” GMA Online News quoted Panelo as telling its Super Radyo dzBB on September 4, 2016.

Panelo cited four reasons behind Duterte’s planned declaration: the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, criminality, terrorism, and the offensive against the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Proclamation 55 directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to “undertake such measures as may be permitted by the Constitution and existing laws to suppress any and all forms of lawless violence in Mindanao and to prevent such lawless violence from spreading and escalating elsewhere in the Philippines, with due regard to the fundamental civil and political rights of our citizens.”

Proclamation 55 failed to prevent the Marawi Siege of 2017.

Duterte did not lift Proclamation 55 when he placed the entire Mindanao – then comprising 26 provinces and 33 cities — under a state of martial law on May 23, 2017, Day 1 of the Marawi Siege.

President Rodrigo Duterte visits Marawi for the fourth time on Monday, 11 September 2017. SIMEON CELI, JR / Presidential Photo

Martial law in Mindanao was supposedly for 60 days only but he sought an extension which Congress granted, thrice, until December 31, 2019. In lifting martial law in Mindanao, Proclamation 55 continued to be in effect.

Duterte in 2016 told reporters the State of National Emergency, to be implemented nationwide, was effective immediately “until there is threat against the people and against the nation” and “until such time I say that it’s safe for everybody.”

Duterte, the first Mindanawon to rule the nation, stepped down as President on June 30, 2022, without lifting Proclamation 55. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)

Proclamation 55

1Proc55

The post Marcos lifts Duterte’s “state of national emergency” proclamation appeared first on MindaNews.

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – Noting that conditions seven years ago have been “significantly mitigated or reduced,” President Ferdina...

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28/07/2023

28/07/2023

28/07/2023

28/07/2023

28/07/2023

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27/07/2023

27/07/2023

27/07/2023

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