PO2 Jamaron Sandag: ‘Liberator of Siocon’ Page 3

  Vol. II No. 39 • ISSN 2094-4098 March 7-13, 2011 • P15.00

OIL FREEDOM
IF PNOY
KNOWS
HOW
Pinoys shortchanged in EDU projects? By HERNZ CUARE

S
EVEN years of oil production. Seven long promised to the province
was tagged as the root of
years of freedom from oil importation and the murder of radio broad-
cast journalist Dr. Gerry
thereafter the start of making the Philippines Ortega.
as oil exporter far ahead than other countries Ortega was said to have
criticized former governor
in South East Asia. Joel T. Reyes for highly-
These seven glorious years are not far from the coun- irregular practices using
these big funds.
In fact, Reyes was ac-
title Palawan the big share believe to have reserves of
from the gas extraction. crude oil.
cused of selling out Pala- Started by predeces-
wan when he agreed to EDU rights continously sors, the present adminis-
a compromise with the auctioned off tration continues to exploit
national government in the natural wealth of the
an issue of whether or EDU stands for explo- country. However, it also
not Malampaya is located ration, development and continuously auctioning
within the province to en- utilization of sites being To page 2

try’s reach.
That is if President Benigno Simeon “PNoy” Aquino
knows how.
This Dyaryo Magdalo
learned as ExxonMobil,
the world’s largest pub-
licly-traded international
oil and gas company, and
BHP Billiton, the world’s
largest integrated resourc-
es company, hit positive
signs in its exploration
projects in four areas of
South Sulu Sea within
Service Contract 56. It has
an estimated oil reserve of
over 750 million barrels.
These seven glorious
years are the country’s
dream from Sulu Sea ex-
ploration alone without
counting oil reserves in
the regions of Luzon and
Visayas.
To further the country’s
dream in broad daylight,
there are 112 oil eploration
targets within the North-
west Palawan basin with
potential oil reserve of
11.5 billion barrels.
Not counting the
Sulu Sea oil exploration,
President Noynoy Aquino
boasted that oil reserve in
Palawan is almost equal
to Iraq’s stock, the second
biggest proven reserve
Justice sunk in Princess
next to Saudi Arabia.
The President was also
uplifted with reports on
sizeable natural gas field
taxes of the project’s ser-
vice contractors were de-
ducted from the govern-
ment’s 60 percent share as
of the Star sea tragedy
MONEY, money, money. whose voyage turned out to be to heaven or hell.
in Mindoro Occidental. reflected in 2009 report of
But, can these billions the Department of Energy. A lot of money in hundreds of millions of pesos From what happened, Dyaryo Magdalo believed
of oil reserves and billions The Malampaya Gas were seen as the guiding star in the investigation of that the insurmountable wealth of Sulpicio was uti-
of financial gains be felt Project, one of the largest the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) concerning the lized to silence the victims and families, buy services
by Filipinos who longed industrial undertakings in overturning of Princess of the Star in the waters off of the courts, and pay the principles of government
for domestic economic the country, extracts natu- Romblon. officials tasked in investigating maritime disasters.
stability? ral gas under the waters This is the opinion of Dyaryo Magdalo as to The families of the victims claimed they were
Or, will this be one to off the northwest coast what happened. This opinion was based on what the paid P200,000 per dead loved ones. Those who ac-
remain an eternal dream of Palawan. It transports newsweekly perceives as a concoction of narratives cept the cold cash were made Sulpicio’s lawyers to
just like the boastings of the gas by a pipeline to a by Coast Guard officials. execute affidavits of quitclaim.
the country’s Malampaya gas plant in Batangas for It is Dyaryo Magdalo’s opinion that these officials
600 million barrels of oil processing and delivery to changed their tones of reasons purportedly to bury Ex-PCG chief exonerated Sulpicio
reserve that has enriched three power stations. the truth of who are to blame in the death of about
not the Filipinos but the The service contractors 700 passengers of what turned out to be a “floating Based on the evidence gathered by Dyaryo Mag-
foreign consortia? that operate the natural gas coffin,” MV Princess of the Stars. dalo, it is of the opinion that then Coast Guard Com-
project are the US-based Literally, the ship floats no more off the coast of mandant Wilfredo Tamayo and his successor Com-
Loss despite rich gas Chevron, Anglo-Dutch San Fernando, Romblon on June 21, 2008. modore Luis Tuason determined the tone of the
Shell Exploration and the That sea tragedy happened two years ago. But findings of the Board of Maritime Inquiry (BMI).
As can be gleaned from PNOC Exploration Corp. until now, the family of the long-buried victims and The said “findings” were reviewed by no one else
the Malampaya Natural those whose bodies were not found are still hungry but Tamayo being the chief then of the Coast Guard,
Gas Project, the Commis- Is this loss valid of justice. which, in turn, has powers over the Board of Mari-
sion on Audit has found or invented? It is theorized that millions of pesos of Sulpicio time Inquiry that actually conducts maritime disas-
that the country, instead of Lines swayed in the delay of judgment despite the ters.
gaining, has lost P53.140 The answer may be naked face of truth that Sulpicio is all to blame. During a congressional inquiry, the PCG and of-
billion between 2003 and found in the huge amount For the deaths of still unacounted passengers, it ficials of Sulpicio Lines conspired in blaming the
2009 from its share of the of money that was given was said that Sulpicio had already been paid by the captain of the ill-starred ship, who was Captain Flor-
net proceeds from the sale to the Province of Palawan insurance firm. Sulpicio was also said to have earned encio Marimon.
of natural gas and conden- as its share for the devel- other millions of money from an international com- Marimon, they said of their findings, must be the
sates from the Malampaya opment of national wealth. pany that salvaged the ship. Before all these pay- only one who should be blamed because he sailed to
project. In fact, the reported ments came, it was said that Sulpicio had already the eye of the storm despite prior information that
The corporate income $2 billion of shares com- gained millions of pesos from the fares of passengers To page 6
 2               Vol. II No. 39 March 7-13, 2011

Six-year-old girl’s brutal death,

Cebu cops’ ‘brutal’ mistake By HERNZ CUARE

T
HE arrest of
a Norwegian
tourist and his
nurse girlfriend
in Cebu as sus-
pects in the brutal death
of a six-year-old girl last
February 9 is turning po-
lice investigators into
“police predators.”
It looks more that the
National Bureau of In-
vestigation (NBI) is cor-
rect in asserting that the
death of the girl cannot be
blamed to the couple who
were lining up for a plane
flight when picked up by
police operatives from the
queue.
If it turns out that the
NBI is correct, then Cebu
cops, including their
chief, must answer for
the brutal mistake in their
investgiation now that the
damage done to man and
woman they arrested is
beyond repair.
Girl found with
broken skull
Before discussing the
incompetence, let this be-
gin from here.
It could have been a
prelude to a series of ab-
duction of children for
trafficking in the province
of Cebu. But the unprec-
endented kidnapping and
murder of a six-year-old
elementary pupil, Ellah
Joy Pique, has put to stop
the evils that might have
fallen on the “angels” in
the countryside.
Ellah Joy, who studied
at Calajoan Elementary
School in Minglanilla,
was kidnapped. Her bat-
tered nakedness was
dumped at a cliff along
the national road in Ba-
rangay Sayaw, town of
and creams.
Her abductors’ pa-
tience must have ran out
as shown by slaps laid on
Ellah’s face that resulted
in laceration and bleed-
ing of her lower lip. Her
head was banged on ve-
hicle’s dashboard till her
skull fractured causing
her brain to bleed.
In solving the contro-
versial crime that haunted
the province of Cebu, the
police looked for leads
with a theory that a male
suspect has a look of a
foreigner with pedophile
taste and with painted
(tattooed) body, while the
other is a Filipina prosti-
tute.
Armed with this the-
ory and the cartographic
sketch of the suspects,
the police started running
around the bush until a
couple, a Nowegian and
a Filipina, with the sem-
blance of the suspects,
was stopped at the Mactan
Airport on Saturday night,
February 10.
The Norwegian, Sven
Erik Berger, 49, from
Oslo, Norway, and his
Filipina fiance Karen Es-
drelon, 24, were to spend
Valentines Day and hold
their formal engagement
in Hong Kong for five
days when they were
pulled out from the wait-
ing line at the Mactan
International Airport for
being suspects in the ab-
duction and killing of El-
lah Joy.
However, the police
theory on the suspects
went out of taste for
Berger has a clean body
and has no semblance of a
pedophile, while Esdrelon
is no prostitute. Esdrelon
is a single mother, a Ce-
Esdrelon even joked that erred in accusing and ar- 679) stopped in front of the only daughter guage course about 3:30
the sketch looked like her resting Berger and Esdre- them. of the Pique family. pm of Feb. 8.
boyfriend Berger. lon. But before the NBI The car’s door opened The agents also viewed
When informed that can report to Garcia, the with a Caucasian man NBI report security videotapes of the
they were suspects in the PNP filed in rush before on the driver’s seat and Waterfront Lahug Hotel. Its
killing of Ellah Joy, and the prosecutor’s office a Filipina woman sitting The independent in- camera recorded the couple
when press photographers the “complex crime” of beside him. Ellah, who vestigation by the NBI checking in at 4:40 p.m.
took their shots, Esdrelon kidnapping with homicide was offered a ride home, confirmed that Berger Despite the findings
went hysterics, denied the and violation of the Anti- boarded the car, sat on and Esdrelon were tell- that can overturn the ac-
accusation with prayer Trafficking of Persons the woman’s lap, smiled ing the truth that they cusation of Cebu PNP, the
and tears. But her shouts Act. The charges were and waved at her friends were in Cebu City in the NBI can no longer inter-
and tears were of no use based merely on three goodbye. afternoon of Feb. 8, when vene in the case for the
for the police instantly de- kids’ positive identifica- At 7:55 am the fol- Ellah Joy was abducted in charges against Berger
clared that with the arrest, tion of the couple. lowing day, Ellah’s poor the southern town of Min- and Esdrelon were al-
the “case is solved.” naked and lifeless body glanilla. ready filed before the
With the purpose of Background was found wrapped in Following the itiner- prosecutor’s office.
detaching themselves two cream-colored bed- ary described by Berger Berger who proposed
from the crime, the cou- Ellah Joy was on her sheets and blankets with and Esdrelon, the NBI mariage to Esdrelon,
ple listed down their ac- way home at 4:00 pm of three rocks and gray cable agents talked to the staff mother of a three-year olf
tivities on Feb. 8, the day February 8, following wires snaked around her of Norwegian Language boy, had flown into Cebu
Ellah Joy was abducted 10-year-old twins after tiny frame. School in Lahug, where from Norway a day before
in front of the Calajo- school when a black SUV Ellah Joy was the the sweethearts visited to the abduction of Ellah Joy
an Elementary School, (Pajero with plate number youngest child and enroll Esdrelon in a lan- on Feb. 7.
but PNP Cebu Director
Erson Digal, instead of
checking the couple’s ls-
ited itinerary, wasted his
time talking to reporters,
speculating and insinuat-
ing, winning his media
mileage by destroying the
dignity of the couple.
But, are the couple re-
ally the perpetrators of the
crime?
“Definitely, not!” De-
clared by Cebuano medi-
cal practitioners in their
rally for justice for Ellah
Joy, Esdrelon and Berger.
The same is the campaign
in Twitters, blogs and
Facebook. They fear that
the true criminals are scot-
free and are now hunting
for their next prey.
Facebook social page
– “Justice for Ellah Joy
Pique” – has postings of
Cebuanos and Norwe-
gians, all are optimistic
that Berger and Esdrelon
are victims of a “wrong,
mistake” police operation.
The Cebu PNP was
even accused of being

Oil freedom if PNoy...

Barili, province of Cebu, buana registered nurse hungry-for-money for
in the morning of Febru- who worked at Tuburan railroading the investiga-
ary 9. Health Center from July tion against Berger and
From page 1
It was believed her to December 2010, while Esdrelon, and conclud-
unstoppable tears and Berger is a computer en- ing that the case of Ellah
longing for comfort of gineer and chairman of Joy is closed, therewith off exploration and devel- is composed of ExxonMo- and South Korea’s SK En- rels of oil.
her family has consumed a photography club in empowering them to feast opment contracts to for- bil that owns 50 percent ergy for a good price. The Tindalo 1 oil well
the patience of her abduc- Kongsberg, Norway. on the P100,000 bounty eign conglomerates. interest in the contract, Galoc produces 15,000 is flowing 15,000 barrels
tors, a male caucasian and When showed with alloted by the town coun- Australia’s Nido Petro- Australian firm BHP Bil- to 20,000 barrels per day. per day.
a Filipina, who probably the cartographic sketch cil of Minglanilla and leum Ltd. had successful liton Pty Ltd. owning 25 Galoc lies within SC Nido also identified
tried to tame her inno- and being unaware that P25,000 added by the city completion of the drill- percent stake and local 14 in 300 meters of water, over 20 prospects in shal-
cence by giving her two they were suspects in the council of Cebu. ing of two wells in SC company Mitra Energy some 60 kms offshore of low waters with an esti-
50-peso bills for candies now controversial crime, Jergen Eide com- 54 where the first oil dis- Philippines Ltd. owns Palawan. mated potential for 200
mented that the police has covery in the Philippines the remaining 25 percent The Galoc reservoir is million barrels.
already traced the Mit- in the last 14 years was working interest in the some 2,200 meters below However, all those
subishi Pajero with plate made. project. the sea floor and its first that were produced were
number 679 used in the The two wells there, SC 56 is 900 kilometers production commenced in not sold to the Philippine
abduction of Ellah Joy, Yakal-1 and Tindalo-1, southwest from Manila, October 2008. market.
but for still unknown rea- about 5.5 kilometers apart, 200 kilometers northwest Galoc Production The practice of ex-
son, they blinded them- confirmed a combined from the Municipality of Company (GPC), in which porting the country’s oil
selves and, worst, they gross oil column of ap- Bongao and 65 kilometers European trader Vitol has products is already an old
sacrificed the dignity of proximately 200 meters. from the Municipality of 68.6 percent stake and practice just like what hap-
MAGDIWANG Berger and Esdrelon.
Eide further claimed
Shell Philippines Ex- Mapun in the province of Australia’s Otto Energy pened to the extracted oil
ploration B.V. hired drill Tawi-Tawi in the Autono- has 31.4 percent interest, of Malampaya which were
PUBLICATIONS that the owner of Pajero ship Frontier Phoenix in mous Region in Muslim is the operator of the field, sold to South Korea.
Publisher: “was accused of kidnap- conducting “exploratory Mindanao. with a 58.29 percent share. The Calauit oil field in
RONALDO E. RENTA ping five years ago, but drilling” in another auc- ExxonMobil expects The remaining 41.71 per- offshore Northwest Pala-
Editorial: the Cebu PNP (Philippine tion packaged as Service its Service Contract 56 to cent share of the field is wan, a site of two oil dis-
TOTO CAUSING National Police) does not Contract 60 in offshore yield potential oil reserves split between Nido Petro- coveries in the 1990s that
Editor-In-Chief care.” northeast Palawan. of 750 million barrels, leum, with 22.28 percent, flowed a combined 10,000
Design & Layout: Cebu Governor Gwen- Shell Philippines oper- enough to cover for the and several Philippine barrels of crude per day,
RONALDO B. HERICO dolyn Garcia, not con- ates SC 60 and holds 55 country’s daily consump- partners. is explored by Australian
Disclaimer:  vinced by the investiga- percent of the contract, tion of 275,000 barrels per Nido also had two suc- firm Otto Energy Ltd. The
  All news articles and opinions expressed by the writers tion and operation of the with Kuwait Petroleum day in seven years. cessful oil discoveries in field is projected to contain
are entirely their own and do not reflect the opinion of the Cebu PNP, asked for an owning 30 percent and In another project, in- Philippines—Yakal and between 13 and 67 million
publisher, the management or the editor of this publication. independent probe by the South China, a local com- stead of using locally the Tindalo—covered by Ser- barrels of oil reserves.
All Rights Reserved: National Bureau of Inves- pany, accounting for 15 country’s oil, the Philip- vice Contract 54 off Nort- The Marantao offshore
  No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced tigation-Central Visayas. percent. pines exported hundreds west Palawan, explored by prospect in Palawan con-
nor translated in any language or form for commercial pur- The NBI conducted an Then there is this Ser- of thousands of barrel car- Asutralian Nido Petroleum tains an estimated 1.8 tril-
poses without prior written permission from the publisher in depth investigation and vice Contract 56 in South goes of Galoc’s crude or Ltd., have the potential to lion cubic feet of gas and
and its writers or columnists. discovered that the PNP Sulu Sea. This consortium Palawan Light to Thai Oil yield over 35 million bar- To page 7
 March 7-13, 2011 Vol. II No. 39 3               

By HERNZ CUARE & TOTO CAUSING

PO2 Jamaron Sandag: ‘Liberator of Siocon’

Justice elusive
for Muslim
Valor medalist
T HIS Muslim cop is the real hero deserving
a hero’s burial—not former Armed Force
Angelo Tomas Reyes.
The star of this Muslim cop shines so
bright, far, far brighter than four stars on the
shoulder of Reyes whose bravery to face death came
with cowardice in facing the charges of corruption.
That corruption ac-
cusation consisted of a
welcome fund of P50 mil-
This is the scream-
ing phrase that greets one
when he or she enters Lib-
low cops at the Siocon
Police Station and 25 Abu
Sayyaf raiders.
years later Sandag was
decorated the Medalya
ng Kagitingan, the PNP’s
Americans and Filipino
scouts to have been in the
losing end and knowing
were no longer the area.
To serve justice to
Sandag, the Philippine
der were Police Officers 2
Borjan Jawali and Asmad
Badlis; Police Officers 1
lion given him when he ingan ng mga Bayani. At that time on May equivalent of the Medal of that their machine gun a National Police created Said Wahid, Sukarno Ad-
took over the helm of the The message is clear: 4, 2003, PO2 Sandag was Valor in the Armed Forces. kilometer away had be- Task Force Sandag, com- jod and Roderick Mag-
AFP, the funds used by that the cemetery is ex- a living-out prisoner at Thereafter, Sandag was come silent, Calugas con- posed of elements from the sano, all assigned at the
his wife Teresita in travel- clusive for all who had Siocon Police Station in given the name as “The vinced 16 of his comrades Criminal Investigation and Southern Police District
ling abroad 42 times along unquestionably glorious the town of Siocon, Zam- Liberator of Siocon.” to run amid the hails of Detection Group (CIDG), (SPD).
with the wife of Lt. Gen. deaths, and no one must boanga del Norte. Over The official Medal of bullets to the gunnery and Aviation Security Group, Ten of the 13 civilians
Jacinto Ligot, the chief have been there having a hundred of Abu Sayyaf Valor citation reads:  use it. Southern Police District, charged for murder were
handler of the military questionable deaths. men raided the town, tak- “Although a detainee Only Calugas and a Rizal Provincial Police Of- Aljon “Junjun “ Pawai
funds during his time, and One of those buried ing its mayor hostage and at the Siocon Police Sta- buddy made it through the fice and Crime Laboratory. Sala, Haron Gacao alias
others. there is a Muslim cop who killing all policemen and tion, PO1 Sandag self- rains of Japanese bullets. But his death until now Pahambong, Gaini “Gani
If only P100,000 were proved his heroics beyond soldiers. lessly fought the aggres- As he took charge of the has never been resolved. “ Wadja, Asman Amila-
spent for each travel, then compare. Seeing everybody sors, using the M16 rifle of machine gun, he repaired The task force until now san alias Abuel, Salim
Mrs. Reyes at least spent This Muslim cop is dead, Sandag took a rifle a wounded co-policeman it first before using the is carrying an empty bag. Janihim, Ramili Wahid,
P4.2 million, an amount Police Officer 2 Jamaron of his dead colleague and in defending said station.  same to rain it on the ad- This is appalling and sick- Jahim Payao, Hadji Mobin
that cannot be justified by Sandag. started fighting off the With remarkable intrepid- vancing imperial forces. ening for the killers not to Payao, Majid Adbulhaman
the P37,000 monthly sala- Sandag demonstrated bandits. He stopped the ity, Sandag not only bewil- Before darkness came, be punished, much more alias Shariff Larudin and
ries of the AFP chief. The extreme gallantry in action attempt to burn the police dered the enemy but also the Japanese forces were that the one they killed Gamar Janihim, the al-
fact that she traveled with that can be equaled only station and he killed many disrupted their plans, spe- turned back. was a treasure of the na- leged mastermind.
the wife of the comptrol- by United States’ Medal of them. The raiders were cifically the burning of the Thus, Calugas was tion being a medal of valor
ler reinforced the idea that of Valor awardee Sgt. Jose withdrawing when the re- Police Station.  By bravely buried in a hero’s grave in awardee. Justice elusive
the funds they were using Calugas Sr. inforcements of the gov- standing his ground until Washington State, given The task force has for Valor awardee
came from the military. A member of the Spe- ernment came. reinforcements arrived, a park for his name, and never been heard to have
While there are many cial Action Force, Sandag While battling it out, PO1 Sandag and other apartment complex also to continuously worked on But the fate seems bit-
who insist Reyes died hon- singlehandedly repulsed Sandag was said to be defenders repulsed the en- his name. the case to unmasked the ter for the Valor awardee.
orably, there is no question the attack of more than moving from one place to emy attack.”  In the case of Sandag, killers of the hero. There is no clear sight
that his death was highly 100 members of Abu another that the attackers On the part of Sgt. he was buried in Libingan Circumstances which that justice may be served
questionable. Sayyaf as he defended the might have gotten an im- Calugas, his story of hero- ng mga Bayani. led to the key to murder of for the Valor awardee.
“I do not know the town of Siocon. pression the bullets rain- ism and gallantry occurred Unlike Calugas who the Valor awardee All the accused escaped
dignity of his birth, but I They said 35 were ing on them were coming during the World War 2, died gloriously by a natu- Knowing that the hero before charges could be
do know the glory of his killed when Sandag sprang from not just one soldier. 1942. ral death, Sandag died in a was a member of a Mus- filed at the Department of
death.” to action, including 10 fel- Nevertheless, four Seeing the forces of mysterious and brutal way. lim tribe in Mindanao, the Justice. They all remained
Sandag’s death must crime investigators must at large till today.
have become more bru- have known the tradition Indeed, it was estab-
tal when the former AFP of “rido” or vengeance kill- lished that the murder of
Chief of Staff was buried ing until all members of the Sandag was the result of
along with him in Libin- family of the one who ag- decades of clan war.
gan ng mga Bayani. grieved are wiped out. His family in Sibuco,
The task force inves- Zamboanga del Norte
Mystery of tigators must have also was involved in a “rido”
Valor awardee’s death known the murder charge or vendetta with another
filed against PO2 Sandag, Muslim family, Payao.
Medal of Valor award- regarding the killing that The Payao family
ee Sandag died in a myste- was said to have been vowed to kill all male heirs
rious way. committed by him when of the Sandag clan.
He was later found to he was 13 years old. Raised from a family
have died meaninglessly These circumstance of farmers, Sandag was
in 2009. must have been looked determined to become a
His body was found into for it is always possi- policeman after earning
in an advanced state of ble that the Valor awardee his criminology degree.
decomposition and with a was killed in the pursuit of He worked as a jani-
bullet hole in the head. “rido.” tor at SAF Headquarters,
It was discovered in a The task force must passed the stringent PNP
landfill in Barangay San have also investigated the entry requirements, and
Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal family of the person who then hurdled the 6-month
on March 16, or, 19 days was allegedly murdered commando training. 
after he was reported held by Sandag when he was In whatever measure,
hostage by a group of 13 years old. Sandag’s story is for a
armed men inside a Taguig Thus, this led the task film.
MARHS BATCH 1966- Alumni of the 1966 Batch of Manuel A. Roxas High School on San apartelle in West Bicutan, force to build up a case He is a legend of one
Gregorio St., Paco, Manila pose for posterity during their 45th Annual Alumni Homecoming Taguig. and filed it against persons man fighting against mon-
held at the Composite Wing Savings & Loan Association, Inc. (CWSLAI) under Colonel Dell Operatives of the who were of a Muslim sters or truckloads of war-
Ocbina, (Ret.) CWSLAI chairman, on January 30, 2011. Sitting in front (left to right) are: Jean Southern Police District tribe. riors who were impossible
Posis, Helen Barredo, Cora Ocbina, Petrona Torres, Vivian Villanueva, Lolita Gatbonton and conducted a rescue op- Those accused were to subdue without an aid
other unidentified alumni members. Standing on the 2nd row are: Flor Gonzales (2nd from eration during the reported five policemen and 13 ci- of an “agimat,” “bertud,”
left), Connie Millize, Lut Jolly (5th from left), Lettie Florendo, Merle Gorospe, Lourdes F, Rivera hostage-taking in Taguig vilians, some of them ba- “anting-anting” or amulet
(8th from left). Standing alone on the third row is Tisha Dominguez. on February 25, 2009 but rangay officials. or charm, like in the films
PHOTO BY JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL Sandag and his captors Charged for his mur- of Ramon Revilla.
 4               Vol. II No. 39 March 7-13, 2011

A reply to ex-PMA superintendent

[Author: This is Third, let me stress officers who have been We have seen
a reply I wrote to a you are correct in say- hardened to the basic EDSA 2 where Gen-
former superinten-
dent of the Philippine
ing that however it is
unfortunate that com- Privileged spits rules of goodness, of-
ficers trained how to
eral Angelo Reyes and
others chose side to
Military Academy pared to alumni of other moderate universal oust a legitimately-
(PMA) who answered institutions the gradu- greed, officers molded chosen president in-
my general call to the ates of PMA are unique- By Toto C. Causing to become unselfish stead of doing what
PMAers to stand up ly placed in a circum- to the point of giving the Egyptian military
and demand change. stance that when they up life in the name of did: stay neutral and
In respect to privacy begin to serve they are come so incurably cor- of greed for wealth and the fine soldiery skills country and people, of- let the people shout
of communication, I placed in positions that rupt and dishonest. power of PMAers. and techniques they ac- ficers who do not mis- out to their hearts con-
am not publishing the hold extremely high Perhaps you felt the Perhaps, the conscien- quired from their school take honor and glory tent as long as they
said answer.] public trust and confi- silent majority amongst tious PMAers, who we but think these men as as equivalent to wealth stay peaceful and let
Dear Sir Manuel, dence. us the people cheer- believe are in the major- bastards, sons who have or political power, offi- them battle it out with
First, let me thank However, with this ing when some of your ity, will understand when no fathers. cers who are willing to whoever the sitting
you for honoring me unique situation the alumni seized Oak- we the people rage at the Pardon our rudeness die ahead of their men, president is.
with your reply. PMAers are in, we the wood hotel to stand up appearance of military as taxpaying civilians officers who stay neu- We have seen many
I understand your taxpayers are more of- against the corrupt Glo- money being wasted in- who also have contrib- tral during non-violent senior PMAers sub-
position and I believe ten unkind in arrogantly ria. Perhaps you felt stead of being sent to uted some of our rela- political upheavals like jecting themselves
in your assertion of demanding more from our frustrations that our our beloved soldiers who tives to the PMA and what was displayed by to political kingpins
facts, having come PMAers by arguing that hopes died when these died for us not in the many of them died as Egyptian military of- that they would give
from one who has per- we pay for your school- PMAers were even manner we expect but in unsung heroes unlike ficers in between the unconditional coop-
sonal knowledge of ing and services so that made to surrender by the way our hearts and Angelo T. Reyes who maze of protest and the eration even to the
what he saw, heard, they must return our fa- other PMAers who were conscience revolt: as in killed himself instead demand of Mubarak to point of running in
felt, experienced and vor to our satisfaction. in cahoots with Gloria. the beheading of our sol- of facing to disprove ac- assert to stay in power. conflict with the peo-
understood from all We do this not be- Perhaps you felt the diers in the field due to cusations of immorality To the contrary, we ple they serve. They
these observations. I cause we pay for their cry of the silent ma- the mortars that ought to yet he got the privilege have not seen the major- were trained with the
credit this to you be- schooling and salaries jority of us the people reinforce did not fire be- of being buried in a ity of PMAers asserting sanctity of the chain
cause you are a for- when they serve. We do when the very persons cause of ammunition that place whose gate pro- what is right when their of command but we
mer superintendent of this more because most to whom we pinned our went dud. nounces to the whole senior officers looked have seen many se-
the Philippine Mili- of us placed most of our hopes, our dreams, and Perhaps the good of world: “I DO NOT clearly in wrong places. nior PMAers breaking
tary Academy (PMA) hopes and future in the our future were the very the PMA officers and KNOW THE DIGNITY Thus, we often won- the chain just to edge
whose portals say: hands of these suppos- same persons who col- gentlemen understand OF HIS BIRTH, BUT I der: if these men are will- out fellow PMAers in
“Courage, Integrity, edly gallant and true laborated with Garcil- our shallow thought DO KNOW THE GLO- ing to die by the bullets the contest for promo-
Loyalty.” honorable men. You lano to trample with our when we see colonels RY OF HIS DEATH.” of Moro separatists, Abu tions.
Second, let me cannot deny that we voices. and generals doing cor- Pardon us for what Sayyaf men and NPA reb- We have seen the
thank you that your civilians looked at the This is truly sad. rupt acts as we see to- we see immediately is a els, why can’t they risk system of promotion
views reinforced my PMAers as our saviors; Perhaps, keeping day with the “Pabaon” picture of blame point- their lives just to stand up as nothing more than
belief that the good- and that we looked at your justifications in and “Pasalubong” scan- ing to the imagined fail- for what is right? a battle of who are the
ness or badness of a them as our last bulwark your heart, the PMAers dal along with PMAer ure of the PMA to train We have seen so closest to the authority
man is not exclusive that cannot be corrupted will understand when police officials linked its cadets to become real many coup d’etats that promotes.
in the institution of even if the system of we are blinded by rage to carnapping, like Gen. disciplined officers. during Cory’s time Perhaps, the
learning where he politics or governance when we see our taxes Boysie Rosales: that Pardon us if we ex- and these were led by PMAers will under-
came from. or all others have be- going down the drain we immediately forget pect PMA to deliver us PMAers. stand us, the people.

Smuggling rumors linked to Bongbong 2016!

TOO many names and sioner Lito Alvarez re- If it’s already impos- Kho and Villar are
big names are dragged portedly ordered a stop sible to revive the anti- fuming mad when the
to the smuggling hul-
labaloo at the Bu-
reau of Customs, like
to benchmarking prac-
tice of the bureau. For
onlookers, the act of Al-
Hernz quarry smuggling group, why
port players seemed
shaking and turning all
group of Salipada,
former PASG-Basulta
director, initiated the
the name of Senator varez is advantageous stones to prevent its re- move lobbying in the
Bongbong Marcos, to government. But for turn? And why they’re palace for the revival
the son of the former port players who have
By Hernani Cuare proposing the creation of PASG.
strongman whose the byword of early of an anti-smuggling What an intrigue?
body still lies in a re- election fund, it looks task force not by the The fact that Vil-
frigerated coffin. somewhat like offering guide the tri-media – only effective weapon “Bebot” A. Villar Jr. president but by Alva- lar and Kho have
But what’s the them a pot to fill defi- TVs, radios and news- in hitting the target col- The referral letter rez himself? kept their silence and
fuss with Bongbong’s nitely not for the gov- papers – to report only lection of the bureau. shook the knees of port Somebody is cook- have distanced them-
name at the Customs ernment coffers. Any- praises and no port ho- He is convinced that players and others with ing something at the selves from the ports
clandestine smuggling way, will Bongbong cus-pocus. there are other means of personal interest in the OCOM. after the abolition of
operation? Why his really do what Senator It makes me wonder satisfying or surpassing unabated smuggling un- Anyway, the refer- PASG is a concrete
name is so gigantic Manny Villar did years why the bureau needs the target collection. dertakings. ral letter from the Pal- display of submission
that port officials and before the 2010 polls? a handler when its per- At present, the BOC With the sheer pur- ace was received by the to whatever decision
players are squab- Villar lost in his 2010 formance has satisfied reported that it has ex- pose of halting the OCOM two weeks ago. of the present admin-
bling to gain more and presidential bid. expectations. ceeded the collection move of someone who Since then, no words istration.
save more billions of Benchmarking refers I was told that Alva- target for the month of wants to head the anti- yet have come from Al- Moreover, Villar
funds? to a payment of P10,000 rez has lifted the bench- February 2011 by P582 smuggling group, the varez. has submitted himself
After the 2010 for every importation marking and the name million. names of respected In reading the turn to the pleasure of the
elections, Bongbong via 20-footer container of Bongbong has been The bureau’s collec- government officials of events, the ultimate president by announc-
has been the talk of van and P20,000 per the talk in the corridors tion goal is P20 billion were drawn to the fore. purpose of barring the ing in public, before
town. The year 2016 40-footer container van of the country’s first and it collected P20.58 Benny Kho was revival of the anti- his kababayans in
is far, too far, from without the benefit of defense against smug- billion. Alvarez is not namedropped. As if, smuggling group by Pangasinan, that he
imagination. But his physical examination gling. contented with this he’s a ghost ready to Malacañang is to secure is willing to leave his
handlers are some- of the imported goods. What an intrigue? achievement of his of- haunt. As if, he’s the the interest of kings and present government
what in a hurry and Benchmarking payment It’s nonsense to tow fice, so, he allegedly man to be talked first queens at the BOC. post if PNoy orders
they’re quite pretty is an assured collection the name of Bongbong discarded benchmark- before reviving the anti They don’t want oth- so. He even encour-
sure that the Pal- for government coffer to whatever clandestine ing. smuggling body. Kho ers to enter the playing aged members of his
ace has already been aside from duties and smuggling plan at the Before the lifting of was reportedly with the field and take a piece local political party,
drawn in to his palm. taxes. ports. benchmarking, a refer- defunct EIIB and Task of the pie that they “Biskeg Pangasinan,”
As if for reason of I’ve heard the name However, I believe ral letter from the Of- Force Subic. guarded for months to support the pro-
his name, the Bureau of Bongbong for the that Bongbong has to fice of Executive Sec- I have nothing since PNoy appointed grams of PNoy.
of Customs has re- throne late last year clear and distance his retary Paquito Ochoa against Benny Kho for Alvarez as BOC com- These port crocs
portedly opened the when I was told that name from port crocs was received by the we have worked to- missioner. who are namedrop-
gate for smugglers. As he was in need of a before it’s too late. OCOM (Office of the gether for years when However, in mani- ping the respected
if it has already been speechwriter. His name Somebody is digging a Commissioner, Bureau I served PASG as its festing their desire men in government
declared that “let’s cropped up the second grave, burying the in- of Customs). The let- writer from 2007 until to corner port illegal service should be dis-
rush to gain and save time last week when tegrity left of the good ter was about the des- its abolition in 2010. operations, they have ciplined early for oth-
early for 2016.” As if somebody approached senator. ignation of the new Persons with interest wronged big men that ers not to follow.
saying that this is all me and talked about The lifting of bench- head of the Presidential at the BOC contended they namedropped, like They are sowing
for Bongbong. Customs’ public rela- marking is likely giv- Anti-Smuggling Group that the act of reviv- Kho and Bebot Villar intrigues by sacrific-
What a mess? tions. ing away the assured (PASG), the defunct ing PASG is nonsense who kept their silence ing the integrity of
The gates of BOC I was told that the government gains. But anti-smuggling body for President Noynoy for long after PNoy took honorable men who
are now open to smug- bureau is in need of a Alvarez might have that was once lorded by Aquino has already de- the reigns of power. have treasured their
glers allegedly after high-caliber PR handler thought otherwise for now Dangerous Drugs clared it dead due to du- These men of vested names in the service
Customs Commis- who has the capacity to benchmarking is not the Board Chair Antonio plication of functions. interest claimed that of the country.
 March 7-13, 2011 Vol. II No. 39 5               

Jerry’s Blogs Luding Bongaling’s jueteng

“Jueteng kobradors”
of Baguio City migrat-
ed to a new gambling
nest: the province of La
Union.
The reason? The
jueteng of Luding Bon-
galing in Baguio City
has temporarily closed
shop and the illegal num-
bers game in La Union is
now in full swing.
Baguio City “kobra-
dors” claimed that hun-
ger strikes their digestive
systems and their stom-
ach worms are likely in
protest due to the unex-
pected stop of jueteng
operations.
However, the “kobra-
dors” reached La Union
to their dismay. Lud-
ing has already formed
a powerhouse to run
By Jerry S. Yap
the lucrative 1602 opera-
tion. Weary in their travel
with no gains, the Baguio
City “kobradors” returned
to the City of Pines with
smiles no more.
Luding, on the other
hand, is enjoying the fruits
of reigning and running
alone La Union’s jueteng
collection! Luding proud-
ly declared that “grease
money” has already soft-
ened the PNP and the NBI
in that province.
They are partners in
crimes as claimed by one
who introduced himself
as bagman of the National
Bureau of Investigation
(NBI).
The bagman, who
slowly gains influence is
ironing the jueteng opera-
tion in La Union to the ex-
tent of gaining for himself
the nametag: PROTEC-
TOR/FINANCIER/NBI
BAGMAN. He came from
the clan of VILLANCA.
Who can be among
them, Boyet?
Luding’s operation in
La Union sends to naught
the ONE STRIKE POLI-
CY of the PNP.
Tsk tsk tsk … What
could be the feeling, GEN.
RAUL BACALZO?
Jueteng of Tony ‘Bulok’
Santos drawn in Marikina
for QC to CAMANAVA areas
He is now known as
the “most sophisticated
jueteng operator” in the
country. He is Tony “Bu-
lok” Santos.
Just take note. Bolok’s
invades La Union
jueteng is drawn in
Marikina City but his op-
eration is in Quezon City.
Indeed, it’s impossible
to catch his too sophis-
ticated illegal operation.
You’re great, “boy bulok”!
And because of his un-
conventional style, Bulok
has extended his operation
to CAMANAVA (Caloo-
kan, Malabon, Navotas,
Valenzuela).
Yes, Bulok has all
the laughter to the ONE-
STRIKE POLICY of the
PNP. His discreet op-
eration has dealt out the
INTEL UNIT and DI-
RECTOR’S OFFICE of
Quezon City Police Dis-
trict (QCPD).
One “PAPA MAYOR”
is the shining shield of
jueteng operator Bulok
Santos. Do your men assign mer PASSCOR chief.
Now, what can you say, “quota” too high and too This could be a mess.
GEN. BENJARDI MAN- strict? Or, do they count Gen. Tan might clash
TELE? off some of their collec- with Captain Manuel
tion? Wong who has posted
“3 bad eggs” are many security guards of
new bagmen of MPD Gen. Tan is new chief of Passcor.
Airport Police Department Rumors circulate at
The bagman of Manila the airport that when
Police District (MPD) was Airport Police Depart- the general assumed his
struck out. ment (APD) has allegedly new post last Thursday,
His throne was taken acquired a new boss. Captain Wong was out
over by three bad eggs. He is retired Gen. AL- of reach or cannot be
These three are known GER C. TAN, PMA Class located. Wong allegedly
as alias BEN HANDU- ’79. went to Camp Crame to
LAN and TATA PUNY- General Tan took over ask for help (SOS) from
EN-TE ABET who are the post of ret. Gen. Sal- a police general who
now alive and kicking, vador Peñaflor who took happens to be his broth-
and the one standing like a over the position of Col. er-in-law?
rooster, TATA BHER. Rene Gonzales at IID- Well, it’s time to
What puzzles us is the PASS CONTROL OF- watch and see of who’s
MPD’s speedy change of FICE. the barrel-chested, Gen.
bagman/collec-tong. We have no in-depth Tan or Captain Wong.
Why, oh, why, Gen. background of Gen. Tan
Roberto Rongavilla? except of his being the for-

I first met the then
Maj. Gen. Angelo Reyes
a few years ago at the
Philippine Army Head-
quarters in Fort Bonifa-
cio when I was doing a
story about the Army’s
anniversary. He was at
that time the Command-
ing General of the North-
ern Luzon Command
(Nolcom).
I tried to interview
him about the Army’s
activity in connection
with their anniversary
but he begged off. He in-
stead referred me to the
Army’s spokesman, the
then Col. Cardozo Luna.
That was my first
and the last time to meet
him in person, although
I learned from a friend
he became an Honorary
Member of the Pugad
Lawin Philippines, Inc.
where I used to be the
first Muslim Secretary
General in 1994. In
Pugad Lawin my Call
Sign is “Maharajah,” my
actual title in the Sul-
tanate of Sulu & North
Borneo (Sabah), while
that of General Reyes
is “Bantayog” or monu-
ment.
The next time I saw
him was through a tele-
vision. That time, he
was the Chief of Staff of
the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP), dur-
ing the administration of
former President Joseph
Estrada.
Before going further,
let me recall that General
Reyes later said goodbye
to his outgoing Com-
mander-in-Chief Estrada
at the culmination of
what they called “Edsa
II.” That was the time
when Erap succumbed
to the mass protest and
decided to cross over Pa-
sig River. To my mind,
Reyes was there not to
actually say goodbye but
to make sure Erap vacate
Malacañang. I observed
as if there was nothing
unusual to Reyes. That
Jannarally
speaking
By JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL
was unlike most of the
then President’s Men who
genuinely appeared wor-
ried, including our wed-
ding sponsor Mayor Ed-
ward Hagedorn of Puerto
Princesa City and the for-
mer commander of Presi-
dential Security Group
(PSG) Brigadier General
Rudy Diaz. The two even
shed tears when Erap
boarded the Philippine
Coast Guard barge.
By the way General
Diaz is also my long-time
friend. Our acquaintance
started during the martial
law days, just after it was
proclaimed by Marcos on
September 21, 1972. I was
in my first year at the Min-
danao State University
campus in Bongao, Tawi-
Tawi. General Diaz was
among the young officers
of the Philippine Marines
who landed in Tawi-Tawi.
He was then holding the
rank of captain in the Ma-
rine Battalion Landing
Team that encamped in the
town of Bongao under the
Sulu Sea Frontier Com-
mand (Susefcom).
Going back to Gen-
eral Reyes, he continued
his service as the Chief of
Staff under Gloria Maca-
pagal Arroyo until he was
forced to retire by his age.
Upon retirement, he
was rewarded by Gloria
with several Cabinet posts.
At first, he was appointed
as the secretary of the De-
partment of National De-
fense (DND) from 2001 to
2003.
In 2004-2006, he was
appointed as the secretary
of Department of Inte-
rior & Local Government
(DILG), succeeding Joey
Lina.
He was then appointed
as the secretary of the
Department Environment
& Natural Resources
(DENR), succeeding Mike
Defensor. He occupied the
DENR post from 2006 un-
til 2007.
Thereafter, Gloria
named Reyes as the secre-
tary of the Department of
Energy (DoE). He carried
the portfolio until Arroyo
finished her term on June
30, 2010.
Reyes again grabbed
the headlines.
This time, he was at
the top of the news of sev-
eral television stations and
newspapers and even the
main menu of the com-
mentaries in different ra-
dio stations.
He was made the palat-
able food concerning the
P50-million “pabaon” that
was received by Reyes as
revealed by the former
budget officer of the AFP,
retired Lt. Col. George
Rabosa, during the Senate
committee hearing.
Rabosa, who admitted
he benefited also from the
taxpayers’ money, said that
when Reyes retired as Chief
of Staff the latter was given
P50 million as a “send-off”
money or a “pabaon” in
pursuance of the military
tradition that started several
decades ago.
This is in contrast to
the “pabaon” of former
Senator and now Muntin-
lupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon,
who served as AFP Chief
of Staff in 1991 during the
time of the late President
Corazon C. Aquino.
In a radio interview
over DZMM, Biazon said
he received a “pabaon”
when he retired, but clari-
fying that what he got was
P1.3 million as his retire-
ment pay. He said it is a
“legal pabaon” out of his
3-year lump sum retire-
ment pay, accumulated
leave credits, and all other
legal benefits.
Biazon, the chairman
of the House Commit-
tee on Defense, opined
that Rabosa’s statement
is credible, citing that
Rabosa himself admitted
that he, too, benefited out
of the taxpayer’s money
by pocketing parts thereof
every time there was a re-
tiring AFP Chief of Staff.
This revelation of
Angelo Reyes:
Flight means guilt
Rabosa must have prompt-
ed Senator Jinggoy Estra-
da to widen the Senate in-
vestigation by inviting all
other retired generals who
served as chief of staff.
Perhaps it will go even
up to the time of former
President Fidel V. Ramos
who also served as AFP
Chief of Staff during the
administration of Presi-
dent Cory Aquino.
Reyes fought back by
filing a case of an anti-
graft and corrupt practices
act before the Office of
the Ombudsman against
Senator Estrada and
whistle-blower Rabosa.
But the senator just be-
littled the charges, saying
how he could be charged
with graft when he has
not squandered taxpayer’s
money. He also said that
he was clothed with a par-
liamentary immunity from
suit as it was an official
proceeding of the Senate.
But when Reyes killed
himself before his moth-
er’s grave, the charges of
Rabosa all the more hard-
ened up into the truth.
There was no other rea-
son why he chose to end
his life. It was the extreme
fear to face the extreme
shame.
That suicide was not
meant to “save” the repu-
tation of the AFP. It was
not meant to shield his
wife and children from
the unavoidable forfeiture
case because of the docu-
mentary evidence showing
the 42 travels of the wife
during his time as AFP
chief cannot be explained
by his salaries.
If he held evidence
to his innocence, Reyes
could have been bold as a
lion to present them to the
Senate.
If he chose to depart
from the real life world,
then it apt to apply the
common argument that
says: “flight means guilt.”
The last wish of a child
with cancer-stricken eyes
“My both eyes can now
be removed after I can
have my last wish that is to
see my idol, movie actress
Marian Rivera,” says a
six-year-old girl confined
at the East Avenue Medi-
cal Center in Quezon City.
This was shown in
national television news
and I was so touched by
the predicament of that
young girl who remained
unknown to me. It has
prompted me to include
her story in this Jannarally
Speaking column.
I failed to write the
name of the child but
her story as I have said
touched me so much.
Anytime from now on the
doctors at the East Avenue
will remove her both eyes
due to cancer. Perhaps, by
the time this column sees
print, this young girl can
no longer see.
One of her eyes is total-
ly blind and the other one
can hardly see. Her attend-
ing physician said her two
eyes should be removed
otherwise the cancer cells
will engulf the rest of her
body.
Thus, the choices were
“to save her life or to save
her vision.”
The brave young girl
opted that her life be saved
and does not mind at all if
her vision would be per-
manently impaired.
But her last wish be-
fore her eyes were to be
taken away was to see
popular movie and televi-
sion actress Marian Rivera
and she appealed to her to
visit her at the East Avenue
Medical Center.
After hearing the story
of this child, I said to my-
self: “I am good enough
that although I now wear
a reading glass. I am lucky
that my vision is not yet
totally impaired. How I
wish, too, that this child
can have an eye transplant
even in just one of her eyes
if having both sounds to
be very expensive! I hope
there will be an eye donor
or a Good Samaritan that
can help this poor girl.
***
POSTSCRIPT: This
columnist would like to
thank the lovely couple
Dell and Cora Ocbina
who are regular hosts of
the reunion of their 1966
high school batch from
the Manuel A. Roxas High
School (MARHS) in Paco,
Manila.
I have attended their
annual homecoming
twice. Dell and Cora gra-
ciously attended to their
classmates and some of
the spouses of their class-
mates. I am one of those,
being the spouse of Maria
Lourdes Rivera , or simply
“Ludy Rivera” to them
a.k.a. Hadja Sharifa Ainee.
During their Janu-
ary 30 reunion held at the
usual place of Dell, the
Composite Wing Savings
& Loan Association, Inc.
(CWSLAI) at the Bayani
Road in Fort Bonifacio,
Taguig City, I met some of
the 1966 Batch of MAR-
HS high alumni coming
from the different parts of
the world. I learned many
of them succeeded in their
chosen careers.
I met Helen Angeles
Barredo who was kind
enough to introduce to
me her name. Helen was
with her husband Caloy,
whom I supposed a retiree
already and the couple as I
knew is based in Virginia,
USA.
Then another class-
mate of them is Alex
Punzalan, who introduced
himself to me also as the
classmate of Ludy right
from elementary until high
school. Alex is based in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
And you know what? Alex
used to be the manager of
the assembly department
of the McDonnell Douglas
Canada, Ltd. of The Boe-
ing Company, the one that
manufactures the Boeing
aircraft passenger jet.
Other alumni are Can-
ada-based, the couple
of Gardy and Lettie
Florendo, who donated
imported T-shirts for the
raffle; Merly Gorospe of
California, USA; Vivian
Torralba-Villanueva, of
New York, USA, who
donated some green
bucks.; and the couple
Ernie and Jean Posis,
who donated several
colorful Las Vegas Fi-
esta Casino T-shirts that
were raffled to the mem-
bers; and others who do-
nated cash amount.
Another classmate of
Ludy and her Facebook
friend is Flor Gonzales,
who is based in Daly
City, California. Then
sitting in the same table
with us, I met also their
other classmate, Petrona
Torres with her husband
Karl where I had our
“kodak” together, but I
did not have the chance
to talk to him since he
speaks only their Ger-
man language. Achtung!
As usual, I was so
glad to meet again other
1966 high school batch
of “Roxas High” who
are Manila-based, like
the forever-friendly
Rolly Vasquez, and
Ross Pestano, the vice-
president of my health
insurance, MEDoCare
Health Systems, Inc.;
Andy Musngi; and also
our neighbors from
Pandacan, Manila who
are also from the same
batch like Cirilo Tisado
and Lolita Gatbonton.
Last but not the least,
one of the popular alum-
ni of Roxas High School
is former Ambassador
Orly Mercado, whom
I met during our East
Asian Regional Me-
dia Programme in last
March 2010 in Jakarta,
Indonesia.
***
For comments and
suggestions, e-mail the
author at jannaral69@
gmail.com or contact
him at +639167957154.
 6               Vol. II No. 39 March 7-13, 2011

Justice sunk in
Princess of the Star
sea tragedy
From page 1

typhoon signal No. 3 was on his route from Manila

to Cebu City.
Tamayo and Tuason showed the Master Oath of
Safety Departure (MOSD) issued by Marimon.
An MOSD is a waiver of a ship captain which
stands for silence admittance that it will all be his
fault for whatever happens (accident) after his vessel
leaves the port.
What is sad is that Captain Marimon cannot rise
from whereever he is now to defend himself. The
accusation can no longer be rebutted by him. Cap-
tain Marimon had been counted as among the dead.
Dyaryo Magdalo sees this act of the PCG and
Sulpicio as an insult to the truth. They therefore
must answer.
It was so wise for them to point fingers at the
dead captain. Nobody can refute their assertion ex-
cept for other circumstances that can overturn them claimed he inspected the coming down the gang- Memorandum Circular imagine that the process captain, said that Mari-
if indeed the Coast Guard has the genuine interest in ship for only 15 minutes. plank or passing through 04-07. However, reports can be done in half an mon told him he was go-
pursuining justice. Maritime experts his post at the dock. and circumstances said hour. “It’s impossible to ing ahead with his sched-
“Dead man tell no tale,” so they said. talked to by Dyaryo Nelson Durano, an otherwise. do that in 10 days,” he uled departure at 8 p.m.
To further crucify the dead captain, Dyaryo Mag- Magdalo said that it is employee of United According to MC says. on Friday, June 20.
dalo is of the opinion that the PCG officials invented impossible to complete Dockhandlers Inc., said 04-07, a vessel shall not Mata also questioned At that time, a ty-
the story of an “alternate route” which was alleged the inspection of a ship he did not notice any be allowed to sail when the competence of the phoon was developing
by it to have been “brained” by the dead captain. as big as Princess of the PCG persoinnel disem- storm signal No. 3 is de- PCG boarding team, or in the Visayas. But in
To make their unbelievable story believable, the Star in 15 minutes. The bark from Princes of the clared. Sardan. Manila, only Storm Sig-
PCG presented Petty Officer 1 Felix Sardan for the ship as big as that re- Star prior to the depar- So that even if there The inspection job nal No. 1 was declared
latter to claim he boarded MV Princess of the Star quires at least two hours ture. were “alternate route” is supposed to be car- by Pag-asa, indicating
15 minutes before it left the Manila port. or at least 120 minutes This Vilda report was supposed to have been ried out by an official winds of up to 60 kilo-
In his story, Sardan said he told Marimon about for one PCG officer to solidified when the PCG presented by the captain with the equivalent rank meters per hour. Signal
signal No. 3 on his route to Cebu but the captain complete his inspection. Legal Service affirmed of Princess of the Star, and experience of a ship No. 2 was hoisted far-
showed him an “alternate route” to ferry the passen- Moreover, the in- its findings. still it was a standard op- master and not just a pet- ther along the route, with
gers to safety. vestigation of PCG In- With the goal of sav- erating procedure, no ifs ty officer. gust winds of up to 100
When asked to present a copy of the “alternate ternal Affairs Services ing Supicio Lines from and no buts, for the PCG “He’s going out there kph as expected.
route” supposedly drawn up by the captain, Sardan (CGIAS) said in its com- damage suits, officials not to allow any ship blind. He doesn’t know Sardan said that
failed to present one to the congressional inquiry. munication dated August also blamed the Al- from leaving the port of what to look for,” said Marimon told him he
The story of Sardan was put to a big doubt by 26, 2009 and transmitted mighty for the sea trag- origin. Mata, vice chief of the had developed an al-
Dyaryo Magdalo after voyage experts divulged that by Naval Captain Danilo edy. Before Princess of Board of Marine Inquiry ternative route to take
the ship will suffer the same fate since it has no other M. Vilda to Tamayo that They said: “It was an the Star left, there is no (BMI) that investigated if the storm—desig-
route but the waters in Western Panay that is adja- it uncovered that Sardan act of God.” dispute that the Phil- the June 21 sinking of nated locally as “Frank”
cent to Sibuyan and Mindoro seas where typhoon did not board the MV But no one was will- ippine Atmospheric, the Princess of the Star. and internationally as
Frank passed. POTS. ing to try the Creator of Geophysical and As- He said that in count- “Fengshen,” or “God of
The experts said that the winds of the typhoon ran Captain Adrian Es- heavens and earth, so, tronomical Services ing passengers, the Wind”—will intensify in
“counter-clockwise” and there was no way for the pera, in his testimony, Congress threw off the Administration’s (PA- boarding party usually the Tablas Strait, dubbed
Princes of the Star to hide from the ravaging winds never mentioned Sardan accusation of lawyers. GASA) issued a news looks at the bunks and on as a “graveyard” for the
even if it reached Western Panay where strong winds boarding the vessel 15 In saving their juicy bulletin that sginal no. 3 that basis decides wheth- number of vessels that
of typhoon Frank was to traverse through directly to minutes before its depar- positions at the PCG, will hit Masbate, Biliran, er the vessel is crowded had met deadly disasters
north of Panay Island. ture. Tamayo and Tuason re- the route of the ship from or not. there.
However, it was obvious that Sardan conspired Allan Ybarsabal, the ported to Arroyo that Manila to Cebu. In international prac- “I agreed with the
with his superiors in modifying the findings of the guard on duty, did not they followed the PCG The same MC 04-07 tice, he said that no such plan,” Sardan claimed.
inquiry of the Coast Guard. This is because he see any PCG personnel Guidelines based on was obviously not also pre-departure inspec- The PCG was taken
observed by the PCG. tion takes place, adding to task for allowing the

Education on the air

This is so because it al-
lowed Princess of the
Star to leave Manila
without unloading the
passengers for the vessel
that governments rely
on the captain’s signed
Oath of Safe Departure,
which states that every-
thing’s been done to put
Princess of the Stars to
depart in the face of a
brewing typhoon.
Pagasa was lambast-
ed for failing to issue

launched in ARMM to take shelter.

The Department of
Education (DepEd) of
the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) has launched
recently a radio-based
instruction program to
provide people in re-
mote areas of ARMM
functional literacy and
help reduce the record
high illiteracy rate in the
region.
It can be noted that
ARMM has the high-
est illiteracy rate in the
country, according to
government statistics.  ternative Learning System
Acting Regional
Governor Ansaruddin
Alonto-Adiong and Ra-
mon Bobier, project di-
rector of the Basic Edu-
cation Assistance for
Mindanao (BEAM) of
the Australian Agency
for International De-
velopment (AusAID),
By JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL
officially kicked off in DepEd-ARMM in acquir-
simple rites here in this ing the necessary permit
city the operations of the and license to operate
dxED (Radio Da’wah), a the radio station from the
foreign-assisted radio sta- National Telecommuni-
tion located on 99.7 FM cations Commission and
frequency. forged a partnership with
The radio facility, the Philippine Broadcast-
housed within the DepEd- ing Service (PBS)-Radyo
ARMM compound here, is ng Bayan, giving it ready
funded with P1.5-million access to programs and
by the BEAM-AusAID other educational services
and managed by DepEd- of the government.
ARMM’s Bureau of Al- The radio facility will
mainly run a school-on-
(BALS). the-air program anchored
Its 1000kw radio trans- on the Basic Education
mission facility reaches Curriculum (BEC) for
most of the remote vil- the Alternative Learn-
lages in mainland prov- ing System (ALS) – a
inces of ARMM, namely set of competencies that
Maguindanao and Lanao can be acquired via non-
del Sur including Marawi conventional teaching
City, Bobier said. methods – for thousands
BEAM assisted the of out-of-school youths
The PCG also clearly
violated MC 04-07 when
it failed to monitor and
in far-flung villages get the entire weather
in the two provinces, bulletin at all times and
DepEd-ARMM Sec- disseminate the same to
retary Baratucal Cau- all shipping and PCG
dang said. units.
The radio programs The PCG Task Force
will likewise allow lis- Sea Marshall Command-
teners to acquire live- er also failed to report
lihood and vocational every four hours as to the
skills, functional liter- status of the vessel in the
acy, and critical infor- high seas.
mation on health and What further aggra-
nutrition, he said. vated the lies of the PCG
Caudang said nego- officials was the fact that
tiations are underway MC 04-07 can never be
for the ARMM’s Bu- the basis for regulating
reau of Public Infor- the departure of ships
mation headed by Ex- during typhoon for it
ecutive Director Ali G. was never published in
Macabalang to make the Official Gazette nor
use of the radio facil- in any newspaper of gen-
ity as an added avenue eral circulation.
in its campaign to keep Benjamin P. Mata,
the regional populace 77, a retired rear admi-
abreast with the opera- ral, called the invented
tions and thrusts of the inspection by Sardan as
autonomous gover- “a joke.”
nance. He said he cannot
his vessel out of harm’s
way, and whether it is
carrying a dangerous
cargo.
Unfortunately, here,
it’s just a piece of worth-
less paper.
In other countries,
governments usually
just issue weather alerts.
Ships take notice.
According to Mata it
is only in the Philippines
where pre-departure ar-
rangements are in place
and ports are not shut
down during typhoons.
The claims of Sardan
Sardan, 42, who has
spent 13 years in the
Philippine Navy before
he joined the PCG in
2001, dosclosed that he
merely verified the valid-
ity of documents on the
ferry’s seaworthiness.
“It’s MARINA that does
the inspection.”
Sardan, during his
meeting with the ferry’s
timely weather bulletins.
Seeking to exculpate
itself from any liability,
Sulpicio Lines declared
that the tragedy was an
“act of God.”
But Manila Archbish-
op Gaudencio Cardinal
Rosales said it was “an
act of a stupid person,”
blaming the ferry for
sailing onto Frank’s dev-
astating fury.
Retired Commodore
Amado Romillo, 77, dis-
missed a P4.45-million
civil suit filed by Sulpi-
cio Lines against Pag-asa
for failing to inform the
ferry of an approaching
typhoon.
“You do not need to
look in the papers that
there is a typhoon be-
fore you start getting the
weather report. It’s rou-
tine. All the reports that
come out the whole day,
you must have that on
board, even if the weath-
er is good,” Romillo
said.
 March 7-13, 2011 Vol. II No. 39 7               

Depleted justice for Esperat for killing Esparat. Unfolding of events Justice (DOJ) formed a setbacks before the case’s the witnesses, the result
By HERNZ CUARE

T
Despite these, Monta-
ñer and Sabay were able
WO public officials, a woman and a man, draw freedom and – on
were accused of graft and corruption at the top of it – return to their
Department of Agriculture. They were pin- work.
pointed to as brains behind the killing of jour- It was like a reward
nalist Marlene Garcia-Esperat. for the murder of their cri-
The triggerman and the co-conspirators admitted tique, Esparat.
that these Agriculture officials contracted them to kill The murder case
Esparat. against Montañer and
But the tagged brains of Esparat murder were able Sabay proved useless in
to return to their work on February 18, 2010 as regional 2005 after it was trashed
officials of the department for Region 12. by Judge Francis Palmo-
These officials are identified as Osmeña Montañer nes of Tacurong City Re-
and Estrella Sabay, finance officer and accountant of gional Trial Court on Au-
the Department of Agriculture for Central Mindanao, gust 31 of that year. It was
respectively. said that this decision was
The triggerman and his fellow conspirators were adopted by the Cebu RTC.
sentenced by reclusion perpetua after pleading guilty The dismissal of the
murder case against
Prior to her work as
journalist, Esperat was
employed at the DA Re-
gion 12 from 1987 to
2004. There, she uncov-
ered numerous graft and
corrupt practices commit-
ted by public officials, in-
volving rampant misuse of
public funds intended for
the use of marginalized
farmers.
Esperat had worked as
a chemist at the DA and
later as a DA resident om-
budsman.
She accused Montañer
and Sabay as “corrupt,”
responsible for the unre-
prosecution panel led by
Cotabato City prosecutor
Tocod Ronda, said to be
an ally of Montañer.
Ronda endorsed the
dismissal of charges
against the two officials
on June 29, 2005.
A month later, DOJ re-
organized the prosecution
panel without Ronda who
was later stripped of his
prosecutorial post.
On July 4, 2005, Bis-
manos, Grecia and Cabay-
ag pleaded guilty. Barua,
on the other hand, turned
into a state witness.
The case, previously
tried in a Tacurong, Sultan
transfer to Cebu.
The trial in Cebu City
started on February 15 of
that year before Regional
Trial Court Branch 21
Judge Eric Menchavez,
after rejecting the motion
filed by the prosecution to
reconsider the dismissed
murder charges against
suspected masterminds
Montañer and Sabay
In the hearing, Ba-
rua detailed to the court
how Montañer and Sabay
asked for plan to kill Es-
perat to the point of hiring
Bismanos and company
to “silence” the journal-
ist. He also detailed the
fell short of expectation.
Convinced that there
was miscarriage of jus-
tice, former Justice Sec-
retary Raul Gonzalez
ordered government pros-
ecutors to immediately
reinstate charges against
Montaner and Sabay.
Esperat’s sister, Valm-
ie Garcia Mariveles,
who re-filed the charges
against Montañer and Sa-
bay, gathered more evi-
dence.
The refiling of murder
charges happened in Octo-
ber, 2008, but that seemed
toothless compared to the
influence and money of

Breaking
Montañer and Sabay was
perceived as a maneuver
from the true color of jus-
tice. This, despite the fact
that another suspect Row-
mitted government’s share
of GSIS premiums of DA
12 employees from Janu-
ary to December 1997.
At DA, Esperat stum-
Kudarat court, was trans-
ferred to Cebu through
the endorsement of the
Supreme Court acting on
the request of Esperat’s
P120,000 payoff for the
hatchet’s job.
The court handed
down a decision, convict-
ing to life imprisonment
Montañer and Sabay, who
even managed to return to
government service.
Where is justice?

the rules
ie Barua, was accepted as
a state witness after pin-
pointing to the two DA of-
ficials as the masterminds
bled on the controversial family and the Freedom Bismanos, Cabayag , and
fertilizer scam that has Fund for Filipino Journal- Grecia. With this development,
rocked the nation. ists, Inc. (FFFJ). The Esperat murder it is not known how jus-
She uncovered that DA Esperat’s head legal case is a disgrace to the tice be served for Esparat

of “rido”
By JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL
FOUR warring clans in
Lanao del Sur have fi-
nally smoked the peace
pipe after engaging in
bloody family feuds
called “rido” that had
cost 10 lives.
This came after the
provincial government
led by Governor Ma-
mintal “Bombit” Alonto
Adiong Jr. initiated ne-
gotiations for settlement
among four families.
Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) Spokesman
Ali Macabalang said that
the protagonists and their
relatives shed tears of joy
when the final peace pact
was done in settlement
rites before the governor
and the spectators.
Macabalang said this
was reported to him by
Masiding Yahya, the
provincial coordinator
ised to co-exist peace-
fully and set aside their
conflicts as they signed
the covenant of peace.
They also agreed to
drop all cases they filed
in court related to the
rido, which had claimed
more than 10 lives from
among their families,”
Yahya said in his report.
The settlement cer-
emony was coordinated
by Lanao del Sur Pro-
vincial Ulama Council,
the provincial Council
of Elders, Lumbaca Un-
ayan municipal mayor
Itomama Guro; Lum-
batan mayor Mamintal
Rasuman and Marogong
vice mayor Sultan Adul-
gafor Dumaorog.
Yahya said the gover-
nor gives priority to set-
tling of “rido” cases be-
cause these form part of
the major impediments
of the crime.
As if it was unreason-
able for the court to grant
the petition of the suspect
to turn into a state witness
without considering his
accusation against the ac-
cused, in this case, Monta-
ñer and Sabay.
Esperat, a columnist
for Sultan Kudarat paper
The Midland Review, was
a host of radio program
“Madame Witness”
where she exposed cor-
ruption in government, es-
pecially at the DA Region
12. She was also elected
president of Region 12’s
Tri-Media Association un-
til her death on March 24,
2005.
First husband of Esparat
was killed like her
Esperat, like her hus-
band Severino  “Rino”
Aguihap Arcones, was
killed for exposing cor-
ruption in government.
Arcones was an area
manager of Bombo Radyo
when he was gunned
down in front of his house
in the morning of October
regional office had distrib- counsel, Atty. Nena San- country’s justice system and her children and other
uted to the local farmers tos, said they were ex- for despite a clear identifi- members of her family.
insufficient, inferior, and pecting a favorable trial, cation of the masterminds Whatever, the question
far cheaper fertilizers than despite enduring several and full cooperation from remains: Where is justice?
what was originally listed
in the official department
budget.
Her discoveries
DepEd: Kindergarten program
sparked a Senate probe
into the multi-million
fertilizer scam that
early list-up in ARMM smooth
dragged controversial THE early registration of kinder- on the program implementation are
Agriculture former Un- garten students for the opening of strictly complied with.” 
dersecretary Joc-joc Bo- classes on June 2011 in the Autono- The K+12 or Kindergarten plus
lante, further implicating
mous Region in Muslim Mindanao 12 years basic education is a public
former President Gloria
(ARMM) went on smoothly, a high education system mostly applied in
Macapagal Arroyo who
was accused of using education said recently. the United States and Europe effec-
the fertilizer fund for the Regional Secretary Bart Cau- tively. The model adds two years to
2004 elections. dang of the ARMM’s Department of the current education model of 10-
Esperat, along with
Education (DepEd) said the registra- year basic education program in the
several witnesses, also ex-
tion that simultaneously took place Philippines, he said.
posed the deliberate burn-
ing of DA office in Cota- all over the country last January 29 The ARMM education secretary,
bato City on May 7, 1998. was an initial implementation of the who is very enthusiastic about the
The fire, she asserted, government’s Enhanced K+12 Basic program, explained that it will help
was meant to destroy the
Education Program. students to acquire intensive knowl-
hard evidence in the cases
A few days before the registra- edge that will help them become
against Montañer and his
companions. tion, Caudang directed all schools globally competitive, emotionally
Frustrated by the coun- administrators and teachers across mature and be ready as well in the
try’s slow due process, Es- ARMM to “see to it that most if not future by the time they apply for
perat turned to the power
all prospective registrants are ac- jobs.
of the pen and airwaves to
commodated on time and that rules JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL
expose her bothering dis-
coveries. This, however,

Oil freedom if PNoy...

of the ARMM’ Bureau
of Public Information for
Lanao del Sur.
“It’s another feat for
the administration of
Lanao del Sur Gover-
nor Mamintal ‘Bombit’
Alonto-Adiong Jr.,” Ya-
hya said in a dispatch to
Macabalang.
Yahya said that the
reconciliation rites were
officiated by religious
and traditional leaders
at the provincial capitol
complex in Marawi City
recently, where the lead-
ers of the warring four
families swore before
the Holy Qur’an to bury
their hatchets.
Yahya named the
families involved in the
just-settled “rido” cases
as those of Lumbaca
Unayan ex-mayor Hadji
Aziz Apolo Aloyodan;
former Lumbatan vice-
mayor Hadji Ibrahim
Ampuan; Barangay chair
of Calolon, Lumbaca
Unayan Datu Aragasi
Bacontol; Bukari Raado,
and their relative-sup-
porters.
“The parties prom-
to peace and growth in
his province.
Records show that
in his almost four years
as the governor, Adiong
has settled more than
a dozen of bloody clan
wars.
He said “rido” is usu-
ally begun by disputes
in politics, property,
and wrong exercise of
“maratabat” (pride)
among Moro tribes.
In Maguindanao,
Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-
Tawi, which are the oth-
er provinces making up
the ARMM, hundreds
of similar clan wars also
play a major obstacle to
peace efforts.
For this, Adiong has
started working with
his younger brother,
ARMM Acting Regional
Gov. Ansaruddin Alonto
Adiong, to try to settle
clan wars in other prov-
inces.
The Alontos and Adi-
ongs hold the distinction
as families free of “rido”
while most politicians in
the ARMM provinces are
haunted by this problem.
17, 1989, seven (7) days
after he celebrated his 37th
birthday on Democracia
St., Jaro, Iloilo.
Three bullets were em-
bedded into the body of
Arcones to kill him on the
spot.
Arcones was the an-
chorman of the top-rated
public affair programs
“Zona Libre” and “Good
Morning, Philippines.”
He was a hard-hitting po-
litical radio commentator
who feared no one.
The police arrested
Arcones’ alleged killers
identified as Bienvinido
Santerva alias Ka Ranie, a
Sparrow Unit leader in Il-
oilo, and Gilbert Demon-
teverde alias Ka Rambo,
a ranking leader of Urban
Partisan Committee of the
Communist Party of the
Philippines-New People’s
Army.
The Ilonggos were not
convinced that Santerva
and Demonteverde were
the real killers of Arcones
for his exposes were di-
rected against the corrupt
and not against the CPP-
NPA.
led to her death.
In early 2005, Monta-
ñer and Sabay purportedly
drew a plan to permanent-
ly silence Esperat through
ex-military intelligence
officer Rowie Barua.
This plot succeeded.
Prosecution & trial
of ‘masterminds’
Barely two weeks after
the killing of Esperat, sus-
pect Randy Grecia surren-
dered, and identified his
three companions – Barua
as coordinator, ex-Sgt.
Estanislao Bismanos as
lookout, and Jerry Cabay-
ag as the gunman. oil and gas exploration
On March 24, self-
confessed killer Gerry
Cabayag said he shot Es-
perat in the head in front
of her two children while
they were taking their
supper inside her house in
Tacurong City.
An amended April 15,
2005 murder complaint
was filed against two of
the suspected master-
minds, Sabay and Monta-
ñer.
The Department of
567 million barrels of oil.
Shell Philippines Ex-
ploration B.V. (SPEX), the
local oil exploration unit of
Royal Dutch Shell, is con-
centrating drilling activities
at its Service Contract (SC)
60 in Northeast Palawan.
Joining SPEX with a
majority 55 percent stake in
SC 60 are Kuwait Foreign
Petroleum Co. (30 percent)
and South China Resources
Inc. (15 percent).
The Department of
Energy opened at least
nine to 10 new sites for
under the administration
of President-elect Benigno
“Noynoy” Aquino III. The
areas will include Pala-
wan, Mindanao and also in
Central Luzon.
More oil explorations
More than 90 pros-
pected drilling sites within
offshore northwestern
Palawan alone, estimated
to be holding as much as
11.4 billion barrels of oil,
were identified by Austra-
lian Nido Petroleum.
These prospective ar-
eas were located within
its five service contract
areas: Service Contract
14C1, which covers the
Galoc oil field; SC 54A,
Tindalo oil prospect; SC
54B, Gindara, Lapu Lapu
and Princesa Deep drilling
candidates; SC 58, and SC
63, Aboabo-1.
Accordingly, SC 58 is
estimated to hold 5.701
billion barrels; SC54A
, 205 million barrels;
SC54B, 2.403 billion bar-
rels; SC 63, 3.071 billion
barrels, and SC 14 C, 82
million barrels.
Sulu Sea drilling
ExxonMobil has
drilled its fourth explora-
tion well in the deep-water
of Block SC 56, and dis-
covered natural gas.
The previous wells
were Palendag-1 from this
July, and Dabakan-1 and
Banduria-1, drilled be-
From page 2
tween October 2009 and
February 2010.
Partners in Block SC
56 are operator ExxonMo-
bil on 50%, Mitra Energy
with 25% and BHP Billi-
ton holding 25%.
By 2013, the West
Linapacan consortium is
targeting to draw oil from
the oil field northwest of
Palawan.
Pitkin is confident that
this scheme could tap the
reservoir to yield 10,000 to
20,000 barrels of oil a day.
With a hint that the
government will sell off
the country’s oil reserved,
the Filipinos hope that
PNoy will not repeat what
former President Fidel
Valdez Ramos did as Nur
Misuari accused him of
negotiating the sale of 2.5
trillion cubic meters of gas
for only P4.5 billion.
PNoy must there-
fore examine policies on
EDU of the oil and min-
eral fields. It looks like the
Filipinos have been short-
changed.
 8               Vol. II No. 39
ELECTRONIC JEEPS
HIT MUSLIM MINDANAO
T
HE Autono-
mous Region
in Muslim
Mindanao
(ARMM)head
office in Cotabato City
has acquired recently
two electronic cars or e-
jeepneys similar to what
Makati City’s commer-
cial zone is using.
Ali Macabalang,
ARMM spokesman,
told Dyaryo Magdalo
these two electronic
cars were acquired by
the ARMM out of sav-
ings from the increased
value of Philippine peso
against the US dollars
in the market.
The visitors and
government workers of
agencies housed inside
the 21-hectare ARMM
compound in Cotabato
City are now enjoying
the service of the e-cars
free of charge while
traveling in the wide
compound of the seat
of power of the Muslim
autonomous region.
ARMM’s Public
Works and Highways
Secretary Titingalangit
Sumagayan had long
disclosed the “good
news” to the local me-
dia. But the journal-
ists were able to finally
witness the E-jeepneys Cooperation Agency
services only during the (JICA) intended for
recent launching offici- poverty-alleviating
ated by Regional Exec- and peace-building
utive Secretary Naguib projects.
Sinarimbo and assisted He said that each
by Sumagayan himself. of the e-jeepney costs
Sinarimbo drove P650,000.
one of the brand new Sumagayan said that
fuel-less transport fa- for the start of the e-jeep
cilities, with over two operations, passengers
dozens of Cotabato and of the two e-cars will
Maguindanao media not be charged for fares.
men riding as maiden But later, when they are
passengers of the cer-
emonial travel around
the sprawling ARMM
complex here.
used to it, a reasonable
fare may be collected to
defray the maintenance
cost of the units.
Each of the two He urged the rid-
14-seater e-cars runs on ing public to help take
electricity without any care of the new ve-
smoke emission. It can hicles, saying that such
reach a maximum speed units are valued highly
of 35km per hour. The by the administration
12 batteries that power of Acting ARMM Re-
it needed four hours of gional Governor Ansa-
charging to go on an ruddin Alonto-Adiong
eight-hour operation, as a “fruit” of its sav-
Sumagayan empha- ings from efficient fis-
sized. cal management of the
Sumagayan said JICA loan due to the
that the environment- empowered value of the
friendly vehicles were peso against the US dol-
purchased with the lar.
funds from the P6- Sumagayan said
million savings made that the dollar posted
by the ARMM’s De- a much higher rate
partment of Public against the peso when
Works and Highways the loan from JICA was
out of the loan from approved.
the Japan International In the course of the
March 7-13, 2011
ARMM’s E-cars: These two brand-new electric-run cars acquired by the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) were launched early this month to serve visitors
and government workers free of fare inside the 21-hectare ARMM compound in Cota-
bato City. Inset photo shows ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo assisted by
Regional Public Works Secretary Engr. Titing Sumagayan driving one of the vehicles
during the launching rites. ARMM CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
By JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL
project implementa- other vehicles for var- more convenient but getting additional units
tion, he said that the ex- ied purposes out of the it also supports the re- of the e-jeepney to ser-
change rate tipped in fa- same savings. gional government’s fo- vice Polloc Freeport
vor of the peso, causing For his part, Si- cus on green technology and the planned housing
them to have savings. narimbo said the e-car and other environmen- community for ARMM
He said that apart operation is intended tally-sound projects. employees should the
from the two e-cars, the not only to make com- The ARMM execu- pending scheme prove
DPWH-ARMM also muting around the tive secretary said they to be very sensible and
acquired a number of ARMM compound are contemplating on practical.
Cash grants transform
lives in Sulu
LOCAL officials of Jolo, Sulu Munib Estino, mayor of the 69,631 families in the province
are commending the condi- town of Panglima Estino. and around 187,000 families
tional cash grant program of Estino said the monthly sub- for the entire ARMM, which is
the government for helping sidy of as much as 1,400 pesos home to the country’s poorest
transform the lives of almost received by each family goes a provinces, she said.
70,000 indigent families in the long way in enabling them to The government spent P10
province. meet day-to-day subsistence billion last year to support a
The entire province of Sulu, and attend to basic health ser- million recipients across the
under Gov. Sakur Tan, is com- vices. country thru the 4Ps.
posed of 19 municipalities and Sulu is one of the poorest In her recent visit to the
it is covered by the Pantawid provinces in the country with ARMM, DSWD Secretary
Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 65% of the population living Corazon “Dinky” Soliman dis-
4Ps, a flagship program of the below the poverty line, way closed that majority of the ad-
Department of Social Welfare higher than the national aver- ditional 2.3 million target ben-
and Development (DSWD) age of 32%, according to sta- eficiaries of the 4Ps nationwide
that targets to curb poverty in tistics. this year would come from the
the country through invest- Acting secretary of DSWD- ARMM.
ments in human capital. ARMM Pombaen Kader said The national government
“4Ps is instrumental not the 4Ps was started in the prov- has already allotted P21 billion
only in alleviating poverty but ince in 2008 with the town of more to allow the expansion of
also in enhancing the quality of Jolo as pilot area. the program.
life in our constituency,” said Today, the program caters to JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL