Monday, October 31, 2011

News Update Philippine farmers cash in on civet coffee dung

Philippine farmers used to hunt and kill the civets that ate their coffee beans -- until they realised the animals' droppings were worth a small fortune.
Now the ravenous nocturnal raider with the pungent faeces has a status akin to the fabled goose that lays the golden eggs among farmers like Rustico Montenegro, who cleans up after the weasel-like mammals.
"Never in our dreams did we suspect that we could make money out of them," said Montenegro, 44, who switched a few years ago from picking ripe cherries on coffee trees to gathering the undigested seeds excreted on the forest floor.
The small, tree-dwelling palm civet eats the outer fruit of the coffee bean but passes the rest through its stomach.
It is there that the enzymes and acids in the civet's hyper-active digestive system remove the normally bitter aftertaste of the coffee bean and give it a distinctive fruity aroma.
"It has no acidity whatsoever, very full-bodied and the taste is very complex... there's a little bit of spice, a little bit of fruitiness," said chef Jude Mancuya, a civet coffee fan, as he sipped on a cup at a Manila cafe.
Mancuya paid 295 pesos (about $7) for his cup, which is about double the price of a regular brew in Manila but extremely cheap compared with prices people are paying for civet coffee in the West as its popularity booms.
In the United States, Heirloom Coffee in Massachusetts advertises on its website a brewing and tasting deal at $49 for two cups, with a choice of civet beans from the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
In New York, one coffee shop sells the exotic beans at a staggering $340 a pound ($748 a kilogram).
For Montenegro and other farmers in Lipa, the capital of the Philippines' coffee industry a couple of hours' drive out of Manila, the civet coffee craze has changed their lives.
Montenegro said he and his wife collected up to eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) a day of beans in the peak season between March and May, washing them in natural springs.
At 1,200 pesos a kilogram, five times the price for ordinary beans, the couple easily clear 9,600 pesos ($230) a day in the peak season, a fortune in a country where a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
The palm civets switch to eating wild fruits as well as cultivated papayas and bananas when coffee trees are not fruiting, however.
Then the Montenegros' income plunges to roughly 500 pesos a week, when they just sell vegetables and whatever fruits the wild animals have not filched.
Montenegro sells his beans to Vie and Basil Reyes, traders who became interested in civet coffee in 2004 and are now the Philippines' largest exporters of the product.
Vie Reyes said she stumbled on the exotic brew while working on a project to save the sugar palm tree, the favourite abode of the civet that also drinks the sugary sap from its flower stems.
Her company, Bote Central, processes the sap into boutique vinegar and exports it to Belgium, but the coffee is now her most important product.
Bote Central has grown to have an annual civet coffee output of about three tonnes, which it exports across Asia and to the United States. South Korea and Taiwan are among the company's largest foreign markets.
Montenegro and Reyes belong to a cooperative that aims to protect the civets, amid a growing trend among farmers and producers to place the animals in cages in a bid to increase harvests.
"I feel bad about it because we sort of opened a Pandora's box wherein people think it's all about money," Reyes said.
She estimated that 80 percent of civet coffee in the Philippines was now produced using caged animals, and said there were similar problems in Indonesia.

News Update Philippine farmers cash in on civet coffee dung

Philippine farmers used to hunt and kill the civets that ate their coffee beans -- until they realised the animals' droppings were worth a small fortune.
Now the ravenous nocturnal raider with the pungent faeces has a status akin to the fabled goose that lays the golden eggs among farmers like Rustico Montenegro, who cleans up after the weasel-like mammals.
"Never in our dreams did we suspect that we could make money out of them," said Montenegro, 44, who switched a few years ago from picking ripe cherries on coffee trees to gathering the undigested seeds excreted on the forest floor.
The small, tree-dwelling palm civet eats the outer fruit of the coffee bean but passes the rest through its stomach.
It is there that the enzymes and acids in the civet's hyper-active digestive system remove the normally bitter aftertaste of the coffee bean and give it a distinctive fruity aroma.
"It has no acidity whatsoever, very full-bodied and the taste is very complex... there's a little bit of spice, a little bit of fruitiness," said chef Jude Mancuya, a civet coffee fan, as he sipped on a cup at a Manila cafe.
Mancuya paid 295 pesos (about $7) for his cup, which is about double the price of a regular brew in Manila but extremely cheap compared with prices people are paying for civet coffee in the West as its popularity booms.
In the United States, Heirloom Coffee in Massachusetts advertises on its website a brewing and tasting deal at $49 for two cups, with a choice of civet beans from the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
In New York, one coffee shop sells the exotic beans at a staggering $340 a pound ($748 a kilogram).
For Montenegro and other farmers in Lipa, the capital of the Philippines' coffee industry a couple of hours' drive out of Manila, the civet coffee craze has changed their lives.
Montenegro said he and his wife collected up to eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) a day of beans in the peak season between March and May, washing them in natural springs.
At 1,200 pesos a kilogram, five times the price for ordinary beans, the couple easily clear 9,600 pesos ($230) a day in the peak season, a fortune in a country where a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
The palm civets switch to eating wild fruits as well as cultivated papayas and bananas when coffee trees are not fruiting, however.
Then the Montenegros' income plunges to roughly 500 pesos a week, when they just sell vegetables and whatever fruits the wild animals have not filched.
Montenegro sells his beans to Vie and Basil Reyes, traders who became interested in civet coffee in 2004 and are now the Philippines' largest exporters of the product.
Vie Reyes said she stumbled on the exotic brew while working on a project to save the sugar palm tree, the favourite abode of the civet that also drinks the sugary sap from its flower stems.
Her company, Bote Central, processes the sap into boutique vinegar and exports it to Belgium, but the coffee is now her most important product.
Bote Central has grown to have an annual civet coffee output of about three tonnes, which it exports across Asia and to the United States. South Korea and Taiwan are among the company's largest foreign markets.
Montenegro and Reyes belong to a cooperative that aims to protect the civets, amid a growing trend among farmers and producers to place the animals in cages in a bid to increase harvests.
"I feel bad about it because we sort of opened a Pandora's box wherein people think it's all about money," Reyes said.
She estimated that 80 percent of civet coffee in the Philippines was now produced using caged animals, and said there were similar problems in Indonesia.

News Update Philippine farmers cash in on civet coffee dung

Philippine farmers used to hunt and kill the civets that ate their coffee beans -- until they realised the animals' droppings were worth a small fortune.
Now the ravenous nocturnal raider with the pungent faeces has a status akin to the fabled goose that lays the golden eggs among farmers like Rustico Montenegro, who cleans up after the weasel-like mammals.
"Never in our dreams did we suspect that we could make money out of them," said Montenegro, 44, who switched a few years ago from picking ripe cherries on coffee trees to gathering the undigested seeds excreted on the forest floor.
The small, tree-dwelling palm civet eats the outer fruit of the coffee bean but passes the rest through its stomach.
It is there that the enzymes and acids in the civet's hyper-active digestive system remove the normally bitter aftertaste of the coffee bean and give it a distinctive fruity aroma.
"It has no acidity whatsoever, very full-bodied and the taste is very complex... there's a little bit of spice, a little bit of fruitiness," said chef Jude Mancuya, a civet coffee fan, as he sipped on a cup at a Manila cafe.
Mancuya paid 295 pesos (about $7) for his cup, which is about double the price of a regular brew in Manila but extremely cheap compared with prices people are paying for civet coffee in the West as its popularity booms.
In the United States, Heirloom Coffee in Massachusetts advertises on its website a brewing and tasting deal at $49 for two cups, with a choice of civet beans from the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
In New York, one coffee shop sells the exotic beans at a staggering $340 a pound ($748 a kilogram).
For Montenegro and other farmers in Lipa, the capital of the Philippines' coffee industry a couple of hours' drive out of Manila, the civet coffee craze has changed their lives.
Montenegro said he and his wife collected up to eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) a day of beans in the peak season between March and May, washing them in natural springs.
At 1,200 pesos a kilogram, five times the price for ordinary beans, the couple easily clear 9,600 pesos ($230) a day in the peak season, a fortune in a country where a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
The palm civets switch to eating wild fruits as well as cultivated papayas and bananas when coffee trees are not fruiting, however.
Then the Montenegros' income plunges to roughly 500 pesos a week, when they just sell vegetables and whatever fruits the wild animals have not filched.
Montenegro sells his beans to Vie and Basil Reyes, traders who became interested in civet coffee in 2004 and are now the Philippines' largest exporters of the product.
Vie Reyes said she stumbled on the exotic brew while working on a project to save the sugar palm tree, the favourite abode of the civet that also drinks the sugary sap from its flower stems.
Her company, Bote Central, processes the sap into boutique vinegar and exports it to Belgium, but the coffee is now her most important product.
Bote Central has grown to have an annual civet coffee output of about three tonnes, which it exports across Asia and to the United States. South Korea and Taiwan are among the company's largest foreign markets.
Montenegro and Reyes belong to a cooperative that aims to protect the civets, amid a growing trend among farmers and producers to place the animals in cages in a bid to increase harvests.
"I feel bad about it because we sort of opened a Pandora's box wherein people think it's all about money," Reyes said.
She estimated that 80 percent of civet coffee in the Philippines was now produced using caged animals, and said there were similar problems in Indonesia.

News Update Philippine farmers cash in on civet coffee dung

Philippine farmers used to hunt and kill the civets that ate their coffee beans -- until they realised the animals' droppings were worth a small fortune.
Now the ravenous nocturnal raider with the pungent faeces has a status akin to the fabled goose that lays the golden eggs among farmers like Rustico Montenegro, who cleans up after the weasel-like mammals.
"Never in our dreams did we suspect that we could make money out of them," said Montenegro, 44, who switched a few years ago from picking ripe cherries on coffee trees to gathering the undigested seeds excreted on the forest floor.
The small, tree-dwelling palm civet eats the outer fruit of the coffee bean but passes the rest through its stomach.
It is there that the enzymes and acids in the civet's hyper-active digestive system remove the normally bitter aftertaste of the coffee bean and give it a distinctive fruity aroma.
"It has no acidity whatsoever, very full-bodied and the taste is very complex... there's a little bit of spice, a little bit of fruitiness," said chef Jude Mancuya, a civet coffee fan, as he sipped on a cup at a Manila cafe.
Mancuya paid 295 pesos (about $7) for his cup, which is about double the price of a regular brew in Manila but extremely cheap compared with prices people are paying for civet coffee in the West as its popularity booms.
In the United States, Heirloom Coffee in Massachusetts advertises on its website a brewing and tasting deal at $49 for two cups, with a choice of civet beans from the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
In New York, one coffee shop sells the exotic beans at a staggering $340 a pound ($748 a kilogram).
For Montenegro and other farmers in Lipa, the capital of the Philippines' coffee industry a couple of hours' drive out of Manila, the civet coffee craze has changed their lives.
Montenegro said he and his wife collected up to eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) a day of beans in the peak season between March and May, washing them in natural springs.
At 1,200 pesos a kilogram, five times the price for ordinary beans, the couple easily clear 9,600 pesos ($230) a day in the peak season, a fortune in a country where a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
The palm civets switch to eating wild fruits as well as cultivated papayas and bananas when coffee trees are not fruiting, however.
Then the Montenegros' income plunges to roughly 500 pesos a week, when they just sell vegetables and whatever fruits the wild animals have not filched.
Montenegro sells his beans to Vie and Basil Reyes, traders who became interested in civet coffee in 2004 and are now the Philippines' largest exporters of the product.
Vie Reyes said she stumbled on the exotic brew while working on a project to save the sugar palm tree, the favourite abode of the civet that also drinks the sugary sap from its flower stems.
Her company, Bote Central, processes the sap into boutique vinegar and exports it to Belgium, but the coffee is now her most important product.
Bote Central has grown to have an annual civet coffee output of about three tonnes, which it exports across Asia and to the United States. South Korea and Taiwan are among the company's largest foreign markets.
Montenegro and Reyes belong to a cooperative that aims to protect the civets, amid a growing trend among farmers and producers to place the animals in cages in a bid to increase harvests.
"I feel bad about it because we sort of opened a Pandora's box wherein people think it's all about money," Reyes said.
She estimated that 80 percent of civet coffee in the Philippines was now produced using caged animals, and said there were similar problems in Indonesia.

News Update Philippine farmers cash in on civet coffee dung

Philippine farmers used to hunt and kill the civets that ate their coffee beans -- until they realised the animals' droppings were worth a small fortune.
Now the ravenous nocturnal raider with the pungent faeces has a status akin to the fabled goose that lays the golden eggs among farmers like Rustico Montenegro, who cleans up after the weasel-like mammals.
"Never in our dreams did we suspect that we could make money out of them," said Montenegro, 44, who switched a few years ago from picking ripe cherries on coffee trees to gathering the undigested seeds excreted on the forest floor.
The small, tree-dwelling palm civet eats the outer fruit of the coffee bean but passes the rest through its stomach.
It is there that the enzymes and acids in the civet's hyper-active digestive system remove the normally bitter aftertaste of the coffee bean and give it a distinctive fruity aroma.
"It has no acidity whatsoever, very full-bodied and the taste is very complex... there's a little bit of spice, a little bit of fruitiness," said chef Jude Mancuya, a civet coffee fan, as he sipped on a cup at a Manila cafe.
Mancuya paid 295 pesos (about $7) for his cup, which is about double the price of a regular brew in Manila but extremely cheap compared with prices people are paying for civet coffee in the West as its popularity booms.
In the United States, Heirloom Coffee in Massachusetts advertises on its website a brewing and tasting deal at $49 for two cups, with a choice of civet beans from the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
In New York, one coffee shop sells the exotic beans at a staggering $340 a pound ($748 a kilogram).
For Montenegro and other farmers in Lipa, the capital of the Philippines' coffee industry a couple of hours' drive out of Manila, the civet coffee craze has changed their lives.
Montenegro said he and his wife collected up to eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) a day of beans in the peak season between March and May, washing them in natural springs.
At 1,200 pesos a kilogram, five times the price for ordinary beans, the couple easily clear 9,600 pesos ($230) a day in the peak season, a fortune in a country where a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
The palm civets switch to eating wild fruits as well as cultivated papayas and bananas when coffee trees are not fruiting, however.
Then the Montenegros' income plunges to roughly 500 pesos a week, when they just sell vegetables and whatever fruits the wild animals have not filched.
Montenegro sells his beans to Vie and Basil Reyes, traders who became interested in civet coffee in 2004 and are now the Philippines' largest exporters of the product.
Vie Reyes said she stumbled on the exotic brew while working on a project to save the sugar palm tree, the favourite abode of the civet that also drinks the sugary sap from its flower stems.
Her company, Bote Central, processes the sap into boutique vinegar and exports it to Belgium, but the coffee is now her most important product.
Bote Central has grown to have an annual civet coffee output of about three tonnes, which it exports across Asia and to the United States. South Korea and Taiwan are among the company's largest foreign markets.
Montenegro and Reyes belong to a cooperative that aims to protect the civets, amid a growing trend among farmers and producers to place the animals in cages in a bid to increase harvests.
"I feel bad about it because we sort of opened a Pandora's box wherein people think it's all about money," Reyes said.
She estimated that 80 percent of civet coffee in the Philippines was now produced using caged animals, and said there were similar problems in Indonesia.

News Update Philippine farmers cash in on civet coffee dung

Philippine farmers used to hunt and kill the civets that ate their coffee beans -- until they realised the animals' droppings were worth a small fortune.
Now the ravenous nocturnal raider with the pungent faeces has a status akin to the fabled goose that lays the golden eggs among farmers like Rustico Montenegro, who cleans up after the weasel-like mammals.
"Never in our dreams did we suspect that we could make money out of them," said Montenegro, 44, who switched a few years ago from picking ripe cherries on coffee trees to gathering the undigested seeds excreted on the forest floor.
The small, tree-dwelling palm civet eats the outer fruit of the coffee bean but passes the rest through its stomach.
It is there that the enzymes and acids in the civet's hyper-active digestive system remove the normally bitter aftertaste of the coffee bean and give it a distinctive fruity aroma.
"It has no acidity whatsoever, very full-bodied and the taste is very complex... there's a little bit of spice, a little bit of fruitiness," said chef Jude Mancuya, a civet coffee fan, as he sipped on a cup at a Manila cafe.
Mancuya paid 295 pesos (about $7) for his cup, which is about double the price of a regular brew in Manila but extremely cheap compared with prices people are paying for civet coffee in the West as its popularity booms.
In the United States, Heirloom Coffee in Massachusetts advertises on its website a brewing and tasting deal at $49 for two cups, with a choice of civet beans from the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
In New York, one coffee shop sells the exotic beans at a staggering $340 a pound ($748 a kilogram).
For Montenegro and other farmers in Lipa, the capital of the Philippines' coffee industry a couple of hours' drive out of Manila, the civet coffee craze has changed their lives.
Montenegro said he and his wife collected up to eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) a day of beans in the peak season between March and May, washing them in natural springs.
At 1,200 pesos a kilogram, five times the price for ordinary beans, the couple easily clear 9,600 pesos ($230) a day in the peak season, a fortune in a country where a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
The palm civets switch to eating wild fruits as well as cultivated papayas and bananas when coffee trees are not fruiting, however.
Then the Montenegros' income plunges to roughly 500 pesos a week, when they just sell vegetables and whatever fruits the wild animals have not filched.
Montenegro sells his beans to Vie and Basil Reyes, traders who became interested in civet coffee in 2004 and are now the Philippines' largest exporters of the product.
Vie Reyes said she stumbled on the exotic brew while working on a project to save the sugar palm tree, the favourite abode of the civet that also drinks the sugary sap from its flower stems.
Her company, Bote Central, processes the sap into boutique vinegar and exports it to Belgium, but the coffee is now her most important product.
Bote Central has grown to have an annual civet coffee output of about three tonnes, which it exports across Asia and to the United States. South Korea and Taiwan are among the company's largest foreign markets.
Montenegro and Reyes belong to a cooperative that aims to protect the civets, amid a growing trend among farmers and producers to place the animals in cages in a bid to increase harvests.
"I feel bad about it because we sort of opened a Pandora's box wherein people think it's all about money," Reyes said.
She estimated that 80 percent of civet coffee in the Philippines was now produced using caged animals, and said there were similar problems in Indonesia.

News Update Philippine farmers cash in on civet coffee dung

Philippine farmers used to hunt and kill the civets that ate their coffee beans -- until they realised the animals' droppings were worth a small fortune.
Now the ravenous nocturnal raider with the pungent faeces has a status akin to the fabled goose that lays the golden eggs among farmers like Rustico Montenegro, who cleans up after the weasel-like mammals.
"Never in our dreams did we suspect that we could make money out of them," said Montenegro, 44, who switched a few years ago from picking ripe cherries on coffee trees to gathering the undigested seeds excreted on the forest floor.
The small, tree-dwelling palm civet eats the outer fruit of the coffee bean but passes the rest through its stomach.
It is there that the enzymes and acids in the civet's hyper-active digestive system remove the normally bitter aftertaste of the coffee bean and give it a distinctive fruity aroma.
"It has no acidity whatsoever, very full-bodied and the taste is very complex... there's a little bit of spice, a little bit of fruitiness," said chef Jude Mancuya, a civet coffee fan, as he sipped on a cup at a Manila cafe.
Mancuya paid 295 pesos (about $7) for his cup, which is about double the price of a regular brew in Manila but extremely cheap compared with prices people are paying for civet coffee in the West as its popularity booms.
In the United States, Heirloom Coffee in Massachusetts advertises on its website a brewing and tasting deal at $49 for two cups, with a choice of civet beans from the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
In New York, one coffee shop sells the exotic beans at a staggering $340 a pound ($748 a kilogram).
For Montenegro and other farmers in Lipa, the capital of the Philippines' coffee industry a couple of hours' drive out of Manila, the civet coffee craze has changed their lives.
Montenegro said he and his wife collected up to eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) a day of beans in the peak season between March and May, washing them in natural springs.
At 1,200 pesos a kilogram, five times the price for ordinary beans, the couple easily clear 9,600 pesos ($230) a day in the peak season, a fortune in a country where a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
The palm civets switch to eating wild fruits as well as cultivated papayas and bananas when coffee trees are not fruiting, however.
Then the Montenegros' income plunges to roughly 500 pesos a week, when they just sell vegetables and whatever fruits the wild animals have not filched.
Montenegro sells his beans to Vie and Basil Reyes, traders who became interested in civet coffee in 2004 and are now the Philippines' largest exporters of the product.
Vie Reyes said she stumbled on the exotic brew while working on a project to save the sugar palm tree, the favourite abode of the civet that also drinks the sugary sap from its flower stems.
Her company, Bote Central, processes the sap into boutique vinegar and exports it to Belgium, but the coffee is now her most important product.
Bote Central has grown to have an annual civet coffee output of about three tonnes, which it exports across Asia and to the United States. South Korea and Taiwan are among the company's largest foreign markets.
Montenegro and Reyes belong to a cooperative that aims to protect the civets, amid a growing trend among farmers and producers to place the animals in cages in a bid to increase harvests.
"I feel bad about it because we sort of opened a Pandora's box wherein people think it's all about money," Reyes said.
She estimated that 80 percent of civet coffee in the Philippines was now produced using caged animals, and said there were similar problems in Indonesia.

News Update Philippine farmers cash in on civet coffee dung

Philippine farmers used to hunt and kill the civets that ate their coffee beans -- until they realised the animals' droppings were worth a small fortune.
Now the ravenous nocturnal raider with the pungent faeces has a status akin to the fabled goose that lays the golden eggs among farmers like Rustico Montenegro, who cleans up after the weasel-like mammals.
"Never in our dreams did we suspect that we could make money out of them," said Montenegro, 44, who switched a few years ago from picking ripe cherries on coffee trees to gathering the undigested seeds excreted on the forest floor.
The small, tree-dwelling palm civet eats the outer fruit of the coffee bean but passes the rest through its stomach.
It is there that the enzymes and acids in the civet's hyper-active digestive system remove the normally bitter aftertaste of the coffee bean and give it a distinctive fruity aroma.
"It has no acidity whatsoever, very full-bodied and the taste is very complex... there's a little bit of spice, a little bit of fruitiness," said chef Jude Mancuya, a civet coffee fan, as he sipped on a cup at a Manila cafe.
Mancuya paid 295 pesos (about $7) for his cup, which is about double the price of a regular brew in Manila but extremely cheap compared with prices people are paying for civet coffee in the West as its popularity booms.
In the United States, Heirloom Coffee in Massachusetts advertises on its website a brewing and tasting deal at $49 for two cups, with a choice of civet beans from the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
In New York, one coffee shop sells the exotic beans at a staggering $340 a pound ($748 a kilogram).
For Montenegro and other farmers in Lipa, the capital of the Philippines' coffee industry a couple of hours' drive out of Manila, the civet coffee craze has changed their lives.
Montenegro said he and his wife collected up to eight kilograms (17.6 pounds) a day of beans in the peak season between March and May, washing them in natural springs.
At 1,200 pesos a kilogram, five times the price for ordinary beans, the couple easily clear 9,600 pesos ($230) a day in the peak season, a fortune in a country where a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day.
The palm civets switch to eating wild fruits as well as cultivated papayas and bananas when coffee trees are not fruiting, however.
Then the Montenegros' income plunges to roughly 500 pesos a week, when they just sell vegetables and whatever fruits the wild animals have not filched.
Montenegro sells his beans to Vie and Basil Reyes, traders who became interested in civet coffee in 2004 and are now the Philippines' largest exporters of the product.
Vie Reyes said she stumbled on the exotic brew while working on a project to save the sugar palm tree, the favourite abode of the civet that also drinks the sugary sap from its flower stems.
Her company, Bote Central, processes the sap into boutique vinegar and exports it to Belgium, but the coffee is now her most important product.
Bote Central has grown to have an annual civet coffee output of about three tonnes, which it exports across Asia and to the United States. South Korea and Taiwan are among the company's largest foreign markets.
Montenegro and Reyes belong to a cooperative that aims to protect the civets, amid a growing trend among farmers and producers to place the animals in cages in a bid to increase harvests.
"I feel bad about it because we sort of opened a Pandora's box wherein people think it's all about money," Reyes said.
She estimated that 80 percent of civet coffee in the Philippines was now produced using caged animals, and said there were similar problems in Indonesia.

News Update Filipino offensive kills 5 militants; leaders fled

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine military assault has killed three al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf commanders and two other gunmen in a jungle encampment in the mountainous southern Sulu province, but failed to snare a key Southeast Asian terror suspect.
Military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said Monday the five killed during the weekend air and ground operation by OV-10 bomber planes and marines were Filipino members of the violent Abu Sayyaf group.
Intelligence officials are trying to determine the whereabouts of the two escaped suspects, Malaysian leader Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and group commander Umbra Jumdail.
Washington has offered huge rewards for their capture.

News Update Enrile: Peace talks might be part of MILF's delaying tactics

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front may be using the upcoming peace talks with government this November as a delaying tactic to regain its strength, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile warned the government Sunday.
Enrile, who served as defense minister under the Marcos administration, said the government may become weaker while the MILF stronger if the former continues to accommodate the latter.
“I’m not very optimistic about these peace talks. Delaying tactics lang yan," he said in an interview on dzBB radio.
He added that when the MILF broke the ceasefire agreement in Basilan, it was testing the government’s willpower.
“Inumpisahan ng MILF magpaputok ng baril, they violated the ceasefire, anong ibig sabihin? What is the message of the MILF preparatory to this negotiation? ... Tine-test nila (kung) gaano katigas ang dibdib ng gobyerno," he said.
“The longer we go on like this, the weaker we become and the stronger the enemy will become," he added.
Talks to tackle clash
But Malacañang on Sunday reiterated the government and the MILF will talk about how to avoid such incidents in the future during the November meeting.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said President Benigno Aquino III’s expectation of the talks is “how do we push forward the talks in light of the Basilan incident."
“Katulad ng sinabi ni Secretary Deles kahapon (Saturday), the Basilan incident will certainly be discussed with the panel when they meet for informal talks early next month," she said on government-run dzRB radio.
Also, Valte said “the president has not given any indication he is unhappy with Secretary Deles. We remain of the position that presidential peace adviser enjoys the trust and confidence of the president," she said.
Last Saturday, Deles said the government and the MILF will hold informal peace talks in November, likely to be held in Malaysia, adding that the two sides may take up the clash in Basilan in mid-October where 19 soldiers were killed.
The killing of the 19 soldiers sparked calls to scrap the peace process between the government and the MILF, but President Benigno Aquino III rejected such calls and adopted an “all-out justice" stance instead.
Aquino ordered that while government troops intensify their pursuit against the perpetrators, the peace talks with the MILF will continue.
But Enrile pointed out that avoiding violence for now may lead to greater violence in the end.
“In the end, mas madugo ang kalalabasan niyan. We are avoiding violence but we will meet greater violence...," he said.
Enrile also said that while he is not espousing using an iron fist to deal with the MILF, the government should respond accordingly to the MILF’s actions.
“We study the situation at gamitin ang dapat gamitin na remedyo. Kung binabaril ka, barilin mo rin sila," he said. — LBG

News Update Net 'hot money' inflow plunges 94%

MANILA, Philippines - The net inflow of foreign portfolio investments, known as hot money, plunged 94 percent in the second week of October amid the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the economic uncertainly in the US, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported over the weekend.
Data from the central bank showed a net inflow of foreign portfolio investments of $10.74 million from Oct. 10-14 or $161.99 million lower than the net inflow of $161.99 million in the same period last year.
Gross inflow of “hot or speculative” money fell 45.7 percent to $174.15 million in the second week of October from $329.92 million in the same period last year while outflow increased 10.2 percent to $163.41 million from $148.18 million.
However, the net inflow of foreign portfolio investments jumped 126 percent to $3.207 billion from January to September from $1.42 billion booked in the same period last year despite the slowdown in the amount of capital that flowed into the country last September. Gross hot money inflow surged 84 percent to $13.223 billion in the first nine months of the year from $7.189 billion in the same period last year while outflow expanded at a slower pace of 73.6 percent to $10.015 billion from $5.769 billion.
For the month of September alone, the BSP said net inflow plunged 69.7 percent to $149.68 million from $494.05 million in the same month last year. Gross inflow retreated 2.4 percent to $1.388 billion in September from $1.422 billion in the same month last year while outflow surged 33.4 percent to $1.238 billion from $928.62 million.
Monetary authorities said the easing external payments position of the Philippines over the past few months was only temporary and would recover in the coming months on the back of the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. earlier said the flow of funds into emerging market economies including the Philippines has been affected by the risk contagion from the fragile global economic environment as well as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.
“There may be some rebalancing of investor portfolio positions going forward due to uncertainties in the global arena but structural flows, I believe, will continue to be supported by our own domestic fundamentals,” Tetangco stressed.
Latest data showed that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) retreated for the first time in 19 months to reach $75.639 billion in September or $301 million lower than the revised record level of $75.94 billion booked in August on the back of the revaluation losses of the gold holdings of the central bank as well as the payment of foreign loans by the National Government.
The GIR is the sum of all foreign exchange flowing into the country. The BSP originally saw the GIR hitting a new record level of between $63 billion and $64 billion but was later revised to range of $68 billion and $70 billion and finally to $75 billion. The country’s foreign exchange reserves surged 41 percent to a record $62.37 billion last year from $44.24 billion in 2009.
On the other hand, the country’s balance of payments (BOP) surplus grew 51 percent to $9.721 billion in the first nine months of the year from $6.443 billion despite a sharp decline last month due to the reversal of foreign capital inflow. The BOP surplus contracted to $719 million in September from a surplus of $3.062 billion in the same month last year.
The BOP refers to the difference of foreign exchange inflow and outflow on a particular period and represents the country’s transactions with the rest of the world.
Originally, the BSP sees the country’s BOP position posting a surplus of $6.7 billion this year and $4.4 billion next year. Last year, the BOP posted a record surplus of $14.4 billion on the back of strong remittances of overseas Filipinos, high earnings of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, sustained export growth as well as surging foreign capital flows.
As early as August, the BOP target of $6.7 billion set by the BSP was breached due to strong foreign capital flows to emerging market economies, including the Philippines.
“We are still running way ahead of our current projections,” Tetangco explained.
Furthermore, Tetangco added that the “three-pronged” agreement reached by European leaders to help Greece put its national finances in order and prevent the region’s huge debt crisis from spreading to larger eurozone economies, including Italy, would calm the volatile global market and boost investors’ confidence.
“We are nevertheless hopeful the measures would be sufficient, at least, in shoring up confidence and calm in the markets,” Tetangco stressed.
Last Wednesday in Brussels, eurozone leaders agreed to raise the main euro bailout fund known as the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to one trillion euros from the current 440 billion euros while private banks holding Greek debt accepted a 50 percent loss.
Furthermore, an agreement on bank recapitalization was reached wherein banks would now be required to raise about 106 billion euros in new capital by June 2012.
BSP officials said the country’s strong external payments position continued to provide the Philippines with comfortable buffers against possible external shocks and helped ensure its external debt sustainability.
Last June 23, the Philippines received another credit rating upgrade from London-based Fitch Ratings that raised the sovereign rating to ‘BB+’ or a notch below investment grade on the back of the country’s strong economic growth, improving fiscal position as well as robust external payments position. - By Lawrence Agcaoili

News Update Philippines welcomes symbolic '7 billionth baby'

The Philippines welcomed one of the world's symbolic "seven billionth" babies Monday, after she arrived to a celebratory cheer at a packed government-run hospital.
Weighing 2.5 kilos (5.5 pounds), Danica May Camacho was delivered just before midnight Sunday amid an explosion of media flash bulbs in the delivery room at Manila's Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital.
"She looks so lovely," the mother, Camille Dalura, whispered softly as she cradled her tiny baby.
"I can't believe she is the world's seventh billion."
The baby is the second child for Dalura and her partner, Florante Camacho, who quietly stood in a corner wearing a white hospital gown as television crews and photographers crowded to get a shot of his daughter.
The parents and the baby were met by top United Nations officials in the Philippines, who presented the child with a small cake.
There were also gifts from local benefactors including a scholarship grant for the child's study, and a livelihood package to enable the parents to start a general store.
Also on hand to witness the landmark event was 12-year-old Lorrize Mae Guevarra, who was declared the world's symbolic six billionth baby in 1999 and is now in the sixth grade.
"I am very happy to see this cute baby. I hope like me she will grow up to become healthy and well loved by everyone," Guevarra said.
The child is one of several in countries around the world being declared a symbolic seven billionth human.
It was hoped she would arrive at exactly midnight, but she was delivered two minutes early.
Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the arrival of the world's seven billionth baby also presented the Philippines with an opportunity to assess population related issues.
According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) State of the World Population Report, the Philippines is the 12th most populous country in the world with 94.9 million people.
China continues to have the biggest share of the population at 1.35 billion, followed by India at 1.24 billion.
The report noted that in many parts of the developing world, where population growth outpaces economic growth, reproductive health care remains a crucial issue.
UNFPA representative Ugochi Daniels said that while the Philippine population remains young, with people under 25 making up 54 percent of the total, they needed to be taught proper "life skills" and about sexual issues.
She said that while women were having fewer children globally, the overall population continued to go up.
"While our world of seven billion represents a complex picture of trends and paradoxes, there are some essential global truths we observe," she said.
"Conversely, there is no one global population outlook."
The UNFPA said 10 percent of Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 have started child bearing, with many of the young also increasingly vulnerable to HIV.

News Update Palace: Raps await coddlers of Ligots

MANILA, Philippines - Coddlers of former military comptroller Jacinto Ligot and his wife Erlinda will face charges, Malacañang warned yesterday.
“Certainly, (possible coddlers) will have a liability under the law. I’m not quite clear if it would be aiding and abetting a fugitive or the offense under the special penal law of obstruction of justice,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told radio station dzRB.
The Ligots are being hunted down by the police after the couple reportedly went missing following the issuance of an arrest order by the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) for tax evasion.
Valte said the Palace was not disappointed that the couple could not be found since they were free to travel before the warrant was issued for their arrest.
This time, she said the Department of Justice can issue a hold-departure order for the fugitive couple.
“That is the normal procedure to be done,” she said.
Valte said they would look into the case of the Ligots and determine why they managed to evade arrest.
“From what I understand, there was a case filed against them, but there was no warrant of arrest prior to that. Even from the Senate, there were no restrictions on their movement and on their travel. But we will have to see,” she said.
Valte called on the Ligots to come out and face the charges against them in court.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima earlier said that based on records from the Bureau of Immigration, the couple is still in the country.
CIDG joins manhunt
Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have joined the hunt for the couple.
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said the police force is mandated to arrest individuals wanted by the law.
“Part of the PNP mandate is to go after persons with warrants of arrest… CIDG has trackers teams for the purpose,” said Cruz of the manhunt against the Ligots.
The Department of Justice had ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to lead the manhunt and effect the warrant of arrest issued by the court against them.
De Lima said the Ligots are now considered fugitives from justice since they have not posted bail.
They are facing charges for violation of Articles 254 and 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code for attempting to evade payment of tax from 2002 to 2004.
In a resolution issued by the CTA, the Ligots were accused of failing to report a total income of P165.4 million and as a result incurred a total tax deficiency of P153.2 million, exclusive of interest and penalty charges.
The resolution was promulgated on Sept. 28 but was made public only last Friday.
The court decision covers only the taxable year 2003. Four other tax evasion charges filed against the Ligot couple remained pending at the CTA.
Last March, the Bureau of Internal Revenue filed tax evasion raps against the couple for failing to declare their income of about P459.6 million from 2002 to 2004. The Ligots allegedly used the money to acquire several properties here and abroad.
The BIR said the couple also owed the government 428 million from 2003 to 2004.
Of the P428 million, the retired general has a tax deficiency of P290.2 million while his wife owes the government P137 million.
‘Surface to ferret out truth’
The military yesterday said it would be best if the Ligot couple surface to help ferret out the truth about their case.
“We cannot tell them what to do since they are not under our jurisdiction but this (surfacing) would help shed light on the issue,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said in a telephone phone interview.
“It (surfacing of the Ligots) would be beneficial since it could ferret out the truth,” he added.
Burgos also said that measures have been undertaken to stop corruption in the military.
“(AFP chief) Gen. (Eduardo) Oban (Jr.) is serious about combating corruption. We are implementing reforms in our procurement and financial systems,” he said.
“We have been working with agencies like the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to ensure that the funds would be handled properly,” the AFP spokesman said. – Cecille Suerte Felipe, Alexis Romero - By Aurea Calica

Sunday, October 30, 2011

News Update Philippine offensive targets key terror suspects

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine bomber planes and troops have assaulted a stronghold of al-Qaida-linked militants in a new offensive targeting a key terrorism suspect in Southeast Asia.
Regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang says troops found the bodies of three unidentified militants after the assaults Sunday in the Abu Sayyaf group's mountain stronghold near Indanan town in southern Sulu province.
Police Chief Inspector Amil Baanan says the targets of the offensive included Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan. He is a U.S.-trained Malaysian engineer long hunted by U.S. and Filipino authorities for his alleged role in past bombings and other terror attacks.
Washington has offered $5 million reward for the capture or killing of Marwan.

News Updatetruck carrying 43 people from a wedding has plunged into a ravine

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A truck carrying 43 people from a wedding has plunged into a ravine in the mountainous northern Philippines, killing at least five people.

The Office of Civil Defense says 38 other passengers were taken to three hospitals late Saturday after rescuers retrieved them from the bus wreckage at the bottom of a 80m-deep ravine in Bauko township in Mountain Province.

Police say they will resume a search for other possible victims and belongings on Sunday. They stopped retrieval work due to heavy fog and darkness a few hours after the accident.

It was not immediately clear what caused the truck to veer off the Halsema highway, a winding upland road popular for its mountain scenes but notorious for frequent deadly accidents.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ? The Department of Justice Philippine

The Department of Justice (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Katarungan), abbreviated as DOJ, is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for upholding the rule of law in the Philippines. It is currently under the leadership of Former Commission on Human Rights Chief, Secretary Leila De Lima.


The Department of Justice traces its beginnings at the Revolutionary Assembly in Naic, Cavite on April 17, 1897. The establishment of a regime of law was tasked to Don Severino delas Alas who headed the Department of Grace and Justice. Shortly after the proclamation of Independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898, President Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree on September 26, 1898 reorganizing the Department.

A year later, the American military force established the Office of the Attorney of the Supreme Court in place ofthe Department. On June ll, 1901, the new office was renamed the Office of the Attorney General and on September 1, 1901, the Office became the Department of Finance and Justice.

In the 1916 government reorganization, the Department became a separate entity and was given executive supervision over all courts of first instance and other inferior courts.

Under the Japanese occupation, the Department was made a Commission. The civilian government established by the Japanese in 1943 changed it to a Ministry. After the war in 1945, the Govemment of the Philippine Commonwealth was re-established and the Department of Justice was re-activated. The Department continued in this form under the Philippine Republic.

Presidential Decree No. 1 during Martial Law reorganized the Executive Branch of the national government. Letter of Implementation No. 20 of December 31, 1972 organized the Department proper into the Office of the Secretary, the Financial and Management Service, the Administrative Service, Technical StaftQ the Prosecution Staff, the Legal Staff and the Judiciary Division; the Commission on Immigration and Deportation, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Govemment Corporate Counsel; the Board of Pardons and Parole; the Bureau of Prisons; and the Citizens Legal Assistance Office.

Under the 1973 Constitution, Department became a Ministry of Justice. The 1986 People Power Revolution ushered in the contemporary Department of Justice.

With the adoption of the 1987 Constitution and the Administrative Code of 1987 (Executive Order No. 292), the Department of Justice was named as the principal law agency of the Republic of the Philippines serving as its legal counsel and prosecution arm.

Today, the DOJ continues to pursue its primary mission "To Uphold the Rule of Law" with its "Justice for All" motto. The Office of the Secretary (OSEC) is composed of the National Prosecution Service, the Legal Staff, the Administrative, Financial, Technical and Planning and Management Services and the Board of Pardons and Parole. The constituent and attached agencies include the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Public Attomey’s Office (PAO), Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), Bureau of Corrections (BuCOR), Parole and Probation Administration (PPA), Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the Land Registration Authority (LRA).

News Update tax-evasion charges against national artist

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to file tax-evasion charges against national artist and film director Carlo Caparas for incurring deficiency taxes amounting to almost P102 million.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue earlier investigated the film director following media reports he produced two television shows funded by the Philippine Charity Sweepstake's Office through a P1.3 billion contract.
As producer of the shows – NBN Channel 4's "Ang Pangarap Kong Jackpot" and IBC Channel 13's "Kroko" – Caparas reportedly earned P850.95 million from 2006 to 2009.
The BIR filed 12 counts of failure to file Quarterly Income Tax Returns, four counts of failure to file Annual Income Tax Returns (ITRs), and 48 counts of failure to file Value-Added Tax (VAT) Returns for taxable years 2006 to 2009.
In his defense, Caparas claimed the amount cited by the BIR in its complaints was already the "net of taxes," or the money he received after tax had been deducted already. Based on his knowledge, Caparas said the PCSO should have already withheld the taxes and should have remitted it to the BIR already.
Caparas also presented documents to prove he had filed his ITRs for the years in question.
In her resolution, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rosanne Elepano-Balauag said that while Caparas submitted his ITRs, he did not present documentary evidence to prove he filed VAT returns.
"Recognizing his obligation as a taxpayer, respondent filed his annual ITRs for taxable years 2006 to 2009 despite knowing that the payments he received from PCSO were 'net of all taxes,'" Balauag said.
"Consistent with this premise, respondent should have likewise filed his VAT returns for the same period because he is a seller of services. Regrettably though, none was made," she added.
She said there was probable cause to charge him for violation of the National Internal Revenue Code, particularly for failure to file VAT returns, with an equivalent of tax duties worth P101,819,722.19.
However, the other charges against Caparas – particularly involving his ITRs – were all dismissed.
Balauag stressed that both the BIR and Caparas could respectively file a Petition for Review, "should either or both feel inclined to question the findings of the DOJ Task Force." — LBG

News UpdateDOJ: No decision on Arroyo travel request before Undas

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will have to spend All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day in the Philippines as her request to travel abroad will not be decided on by the Department of Justice until next week.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters on Friday she was taking every step to ensure she would be making a "balanced" judgment on whether to grant or reject Arroyo's request to be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad for her spine problem.
To make her decision-making easier, De Lima said she has enlisted the help of Health Secretary Enrique Ona in evaluating a medical abstract earlier submitted by Arroyo to the DOJ to justify her request to seek medical treatment for her condition.
"I... sought the help of Sec. Ona for him to evaluate the medical abstract... Wala naman tayong expertise dito sa pag-evaluate ng ganitong medical abstract because this is couched in technical and medical terms so I deemed it appropriate na magpatulong kay Sec Ona," De Lima said.
As of posting time, De Lima said she has yet to receive any feedback from the Health Secretary.
"I think alas-tres na at wala pa akong naririnig kay Sec. Ona so I don't think you can expect anything within the day," De Lima said.
At the soonest, De Lima said, she might finally decide on Arroyo's request when regular work resumes on November 2. "Ayoko naman magpalabas ng kahit anong order ng nakabakasyon tayo," she added.
De Lima said allies of the former president should not accuse the Aquino administration of being too stringent on Arroyo.
"Kaya ko to ginagawa kasi I'm just exercising due diligence and extra caution and prudence that before i make the decision, I have the benefit of all these facts and insights para di po tayo magkamali," she said.
She said it was also "unfair" for her to be described as "un-Christian and inhuman" by Mrs. Arroyo's son, party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo just because she did not immediately decide on the former president's request to get an Allow Departure Order (ADO).
Arroyo has to secure an ADO from the government because she is the subject of several watch list orders in connection with pending plunder and electoral sabotage cases against before the DOJ.
De Lima said she cannot do anything if Mrs. Arroyo has already booked her trip abroad before the long weekend. "Siguro [kaya] mino-move na lang nila [ang schedule] dahil wala pang desisyon," she said.
Ang primary consideration kasi sa exceptional reasons ay yung actual medical condition ng dating pangulo... is there a compelling necessity for her to seek medical treatment abroad at this time?" she said, adding: "Kaya kailangan ko ng tulong diyan para tama ang aking desisyon." — LBG

News Update Clinton to make quick visit to Philippines

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to make a brief visit to the Philippines next month on her way to a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Indonesia, the foreign department said Wednesday.
Clinton will call on President Benigno Aquino during the November 15 trip to Manila, Filipino Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters.
"It (the Clinton-Aquino meeting) will be in terms of bilateral and multilateral issues. We are looking for a discussion on many areas of cooperation," del Rosario said.
The official said he expected human trafficking to be on the agenda but would not give further details.
The United States in June removed the Philippines from a human trafficking watchlist and put it on so-called Tier 2, for countries that do not fully meet standards on human trafficking but are making efforts to do so.
The State Department annual report on trafficking cited an "intensified effort" by the Philippines, which it said had convicted 25 trafficking offenders over the year, compared with nine in the previous 12 months.
Some of the recent cases include the country's first-ever convictions for forced labour, it added.
About a million people leave the Philippines every year in search of work, with about nine million currently living abroad, according to official estimates.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

News Update Survey: Leyte farmers getting older, their farms getting smaller

TACLOBAN CITY -- Leyte farmers are getting older and their farms are getting smaller; the Department of Agriculture (DA) said citing preliminary data gathered through a survey this year.

Result of the National Farmers Registry System (NFRS) showed that 52 percent of farmers in the province are 50 years and above, while 25 percent of the farming workforce are 40 to 49 years old.
Farmers within the 30 to 39 age bracket accounts 17 percent of farm owners and workers. Those in the age of 20 to 29 are only 6 percent while those with age of 20 and younger comprise only 26 percent of the workforce.

“Nearly half or 46 percent of farmers in the province owns a land with an area of only one to three hectares. This confirms projections that a land owned by farmers are getting smaller. This is a result of dividing their properties equally between their heirs,” said DA regional technical director for research and regulations Wilson Cerbito.

Farmers tilling a land with an area of three hectares account only 35 percent of the total number of farm owners. Those cultivating farm with one hectare area and lower is getting a bigger share at 18 percent.

DA Regional Executive Director Antonio Gerundio agreed that agriculture is not drawing the interest of younger generations.

“The best way to make technology work in farms is through the younger generation. If we are going to train these old farmers, it’s hard for them to adopt new technologies considering their educational attainment and their high preference for traditional methods,” Gerundio said.

The official urged state universities and colleges and farmer leaders to show to the youth that there is money in agriculture. “If we can’t motivate them, more of them will lose interest in farming. Adding to uncertainties is the negative impact of climate change.”

Piloted in Leyte province, the NFRS is now 90 percent complete and DA is eyeing to finish the project by December 2011.

The survey, which aims to reach out over 157,000 farmers in Leyte, aims to establish a reliable database of farmers and farm parcels to be used for more effective planning, program design and monitoring of agriculture support services. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)

News Update Mindanaoans, journalists urged to boycott national media

MATI CITY -- Several Mindanao-based journalists are requesting their colleagues in southern Philippines to temporarily halt sending stories to national publications and broadcasting networks that are publishing stories calling for an all-out war declaration in the region.
In a statement circulating through social networking sites and text messages, concerned Mindanao-based journalists also urged all Mindanaoans to boycott corporate media for its "irresponsible and blood-thirsty reportage on Mindanao."
"Let us stop buying national newspapers and stop watching the evening news. We call on Mindanao journalists to stop submitting stories to the gatekeepers in Manila. We also call on Mindanao leaders to stop granting interviews to national journalists. Let us do this in the next seven days for the sake of truth and peace," the statement said.
On his Facebook account, Froilan Gallardo, a journalist from Mindanao, posted: "Panawagan lang ni sa mga (Calling all) Mindanao-based journalists who want a sober coverage of this current madness in Mindanao. Can't we make a stand against our colleagues from Manila whose news agenda clearly promotes an environment of war. Puwede kaya tayo mag sign nang petition or something (Can we sign a petition). After all, Mindanao is our home and surely it will be our families and friends who will be affected. Not theirs. They can go back to the comforts of their lives in Manila after covering the war here while we face the sad reality."
A few days ago, Muslims in Marawi burned the logo of ABS-CBN TV Patrol and photos of anchors Noli de Castro, Korina Sanchez and Ted Failon because of the result of the program's poll survey asking viewers if it's about time to stop the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and declare an all-out-war.
The poll survey showed a high percentage of the participants favoring the declaration of an all-out war.
But the poll did not sit well with other journalists as well, including Manila-based who frequents Mindanao for coverage.
Veteran and award-winning journalist Ed Lingao, on his article "Media goes to war", said: "I propose, for our safety and sanity, that everyone now agitating for immediate all-out war be equipped with the latest gadgetry and weapons, and airdropped into Al-Barka so they can live out their deepest fantasies in the mud and coconut trees of Al-Barka. The mediamen can bring all their alalays and their makeup kits if they wish. After all, we all want to look good doing our stand-ups, don't we? Oh and they can bring their writers too, since many of them can't write sensibly even if their lives depended on it. Don't bother to bring your expensive cellphones and blackberries; walang signal dun. Don't bring your iPads, especially if you intend to stay for several days; walang kuryente dun para mag charge. Ang angry birds dun, ibang klaseng bomba ang iniitsa. Bring sunblock, bring bug spray. Bring hairspray na rin."
"And if you still have room in your pack, try to bring lots of good sense, though, and bring an open mind. No matter how gory and bloody and terrifying it looks in the movies, Hollywood will never ever get it. You can never smell real fear in a movie house. Oh before I forget, let Erap take the lead too. In fact, he is welcome to dress up again in his army uniform so he can prance around the hills of Al-Barka while the rebels nip at his heels and show him what it really means to be a tough guy," added Lingao.
Compostela Valley Representative Maria Carmen Zamora-Apsay, meanwhile, expressed support on the call for sobriety.
"We must keep our sobriety intact, be done with all-consuming hate, and never give in to the temptation of untempered rage," Apsay said.
She said peace negotiations with the insurgents must be continued, and cooperation and confidence between the two sides be "reinforced rather than undermined."
She also called that justice should be served "under a rule of law, and never under a rule of arms."
Apsay also criticized warmongers, saying there has been too much bloodshed in Mindanao and the never-ending cycle of violence has impeded the growth and development of the island.
"Force may be all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived. We cannot shake hands with those who attain temporary peace with hands stained by blood," she said.
The all-out war call was earlier rejected by President Benigno Aquino III, who said it is not appropriate at this point, believing that rash decisions can only dishonor the memory of soldiers who sacrificed their lives and the many others lost in efforts to win the peace.
Nineteen soldiers were killed in an encounter between government troops and MILF rebels in Al-Barka town, Basilan, last week. The clash also left several others wounded.
The President said, however, that he will not declare an all-out war in Mindanao despite the Basilan clash, which was followed by a series of attacks blamed on the MILF in Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay.
He said his administration will not jeopardize the lives of more civilians and would pursue peace talks, which is a longer term solution for the conflicts in Mindanao.
Aquino vowed to go after those responsible for the clash but through all-out justice, which he said is "sober and fair" and could lead to lasting peace.
Twenty-six Mindanao governors and 16 city and municipal mayors have, so far, expressed support to the President's stand.
Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario, president of the Confederation of Provincial Governors, City Mayors and Municipal Mayors League, assured the President on Thursday of their full support.
He said declaring a war against Moro rebels will neither address conflict in some parts of Mindanao nor will provide a better solution to the island's peace problem.
"We are supporting the president. After all, tayo lang din naman ang makikinabang dito (we will all benefit from such policy)," he said.
Del Rosario said a close coordination with the local government units all over Mindanao, especially those directly affected by the conflict, is an important aspect in solving the Moro insurgency problem. (Ben O. Tesiorna/With JOP/Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)

News Update School execs hit for suspected ‘questionable evaluation’

SOME nursing students of a university in Cagayan de Oro held a protest on Thursday as they criticized the management over alleged “questionable and unjustified evaluation” of some students who are supposed to graduate this month.
The students are also calling for a dialogue with the school administration and the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) to air their side.
The students and their parents rallied against the nursing administration, particularly the clinical instructors and dean, as they cried foul for their alleged “lack of compassion and mercy towards the students.”
It was reported that at least 126 nursing students failed while only more than 80 graduated.
On Thursday, the students aired out their grievances in front of the school while other nursing students were entering the premises for their graduation rites.
Various placards and streamers were posted at the school gate saying “College of Nursing, walay klaro,” “Balhin nata sa XU, Lourdes, COC, CU,” “Nagtarong mi skwela pero walay pulos,” “We paid hard for nothing,” “Kaloy-i among ginikanan,” “Iuli among tuition” and “Walay pulos among paningkamot.”
A student, who refused to be named, said their grades were released very late and that they were just informed that they failed in their subjects.
The student added that the preliminary grades were the only grades they saw.
“We have not seen our grades for the midterm, semifinals and finals. How can we evaluate ourselves in terms of grades if we didn’t see our midterm and semifinal grades?” the student said.
The student added they even paid the graduation fee early and that their parents are expecting they would graduate this month.
“We tried to approach the nursing administration to ask for reconsideration but we just kept on waiting. The office said they will conduct a meeting but nothing has been materialized,” the student said.
Another student said their failure was unjustified and questionable since the teachers didn’t let their questionnaires be seen to prove whether they have failed or not.
The student added that the school was unfair for not giving consideration like what they did last year when there was an alleged “leakage” in the nursing exam and that reconsiderations were given.
“We want to be given the same consideration just like what they gave to the previous batches. This protest is not new to the school since it happened in the previous years, except last year when all students graduated,” the student said.
According to the students, “guided review and duty” were not given simultaneously last year reason why all students graduated.
However, this year, they said “guided review and duty” were given simultaneously, which resulted for the failure of some students.
She said the school reasoned out that there were not enough rooms for guided review.
However, the student alleged that they were forced to sign something that indicated they agree that the grades will not be recomputed.
“It is a burden and pressure for us. We paid more than P30,000 per semester for this course,” one student said.
The students said they tried to bring the case to Ched but the commission said it cannot do anything for the student, only the school.
“We want to have a dialogue with them,” the student added.
This paper is withholding the name of the university until their side is heard.
School officials were not available for interview on Thursday since it was their graduation day.

News Update BI goes on heightened alert vs terrorists, traffickers during Undas

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has been placed on "heightened alert" to prevent foreign terrorists and human traffickers from taking advantage of Filipinos' observance of All Saints'' Day and All Souls' Day, according to a statement from the agency.
In a memorandum issued to all international airports and seaports, Immigration chief Ricardo David Jr directed immigration personnel to be "extra-vigilant" and to subject under a "secondary inspection" all tourists whose purpose in visiting the Philippines is "doubtful."
David said foreigners entering the country who are considered as a threat to national security or are blacklisted by the government "shall be excluded and booked on the first available flight to his or her port of origin."
David warned that immigration personnel will be sanctioned with suspension or dismissal if they violate the memorandum.
For her part, BI acting intelligence chief Maria Antonette Bucasas-Mangrobang said foreign terrorists and human traffickers should be warned that they are "off-limits" to the country's ports.
“We cannot relax our vigilance during these periods when the country’s attention is focused on the observance of a religious tradition, adding that “alien terrorists and human traffickers should be served notice that our ports are tightly guarded daily," she said. — LBG,

News Update DOJ: No decision on Arroyo travel request before Undas

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will have to spend All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day in the Philippines as her request to travel abroad will not be decided on by the Department of Justice until next week.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters on Friday she was taking every step to ensure she would be making a "balanced" judgment on whether to grant or reject Arroyo's request to be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad for her spine problem.
To make her decision-making easier, De Lima said she has enlisted the help of Health Secretary Enrique Ona in evaluating a medical abstract earlier submitted by Arroyo to the DOJ to justify her request to seek medical treatment for her condition.
"I... sought the help of Sec. Ona for him to evaluate the medical abstract... Wala naman tayong expertise dito sa pag-evaluate ng ganitong medical abstract because this is couched in technical and medical terms so I deemed it appropriate na magpatulong kay Sec Ona," De Lima said.
As of posting time, De Lima said she has yet to receive any feedback from the Health Secretary.
"I think alas-tres na at wala pa akong naririnig kay Sec. Ona so I don't think you can expect anything within the day," De Lima said.
At the soonest, De Lima said, she might finally decide on Arroyo's request when regular work resumes on November 2. "Ayoko naman magpalabas ng kahit anong order ng nakabakasyon tayo," she added.
De Lima said allies of the former president should not accuse the Aquino administration of being too stringent on Arroyo.
"Kaya ko to ginagawa kasi I'm just exercising due diligence and extra caution and prudence that before i make the decision, I have the benefit of all these facts and insights para di po tayo magkamali," she said.
She said it was also "unfair" for her to be described as "un-Christian and inhuman" by Mrs. Arroyo's son, party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo just because she did not immediately decide on the former president's request to get an Allow Departure Order (ADO).
Arroyo has to secure an ADO from the government because she is the subject of several watch list orders in connection with pending plunder and electoral sabotage cases against before the DOJ.
De Lima said she cannot do anything if Mrs. Arroyo has already booked her trip abroad before the long weekend. "Siguro [kaya] mino-move na lang nila [ang schedule] dahil wala pang desisyon," she said.
Ang primary consideration kasi sa exceptional reasons ay yung actual medical condition ng dating pangulo... is there a compelling necessity for her to seek medical treatment abroad at this time?" she said, adding: "Kaya kailangan ko ng tulong diyan para tama ang aking desisyon." — LBG,

News Update Philippines to seize Marcos properties

The Philippines is to seize three Manila properties belonging to flamboyant former first lady Imelda Marcos as payment for money she embezzled nearly three decades ago, the government said Friday.
The houses are worth a total of 43.8 million pesos ($1.1 million), the government said.
The move ends a legal battle that began in 1987, a year after her late husband Ferdinand Marcos was toppled from power, said Nick Suarez, spokesman for the government's Presidential Commission on Good Government.
Suarez said it was not known whether the Marcos family had ever lived in the houses, which will provide compensation for 10 million pesos taken illegally from the state rice importing agency in 1983.
"It is a victory for the Filipino people and the government because we were able to recover what is stolen," Suarez told AFP.
The commission has been seeking to recover the billions stolen by the late dictator and his family during his 20 years in office.
A special anti-graft court ruled in April that the family must return the money to the government, plus interest, and the same court ruled this week that the government may now seize the properties after the family failed to pay.
Spokesmen for Imelda Marcos could not be contacted for comment.
Ferdinand Marcos ruled the country from 1965 to 1986, much of this time as a dictator. His family and their allies are accused of stealing billions of dollars in state funds during this period.
Imelda Marcos was known for her lavish, jetset lifestyle despite the nation's poverty and a massive collection of thousands of her shoes was found at the presidential palace after the family fled to the United States.
The commission has said that it has recovered more than 85.64 billion pesos in Marcos funds since 1986.
However the officials said the lack of a paper trail and delaying tactics employed by lawyers for the Marcos estate had prevented the commission from recovering more.
The fallen dictator's family returned to the Philippines after his death in 1989 and have regained some of their influence in recent years.
Imelda Marcos and their son, also named Ferdinand, were elected to parliament last year.

Friday, October 28, 2011

News Update They won it together - with a Lion's heart

MANILA, Philippines - San Beda has lost its MVP center Sudan Daniel to an ACL injury even before the 87th NCAA seniors basketball tourney, but everyone in the Red Lions’ den was raring to come forward and chip in to their title bid. There’s Mythical Five guard Garvo Lanete, who stood at the forefront of the assault in their 16-2 record in the elims and top seeding with 18.6-point, 4.9-rebound and 2.2-assist averages. There’s Finals MVP Dave Marcelo, who manned the lane with ferocity, particularly in their 2-0 sweep of San Sebastian in the finals, logging averages of eight points, 13 rebounds and one block. Marcelo’s fellow big men Jake Pascual, Kyle Pascual and DJ Semerad also did their share, as with rookie Baser Amer and backup guard Mar Villahermosa, who played solid ball in the title series. “I really had a good feeling we’d win the championship,” SBC coach Frankie Lim candidly shared after their title-clinching 57-55 win over the Stags, the Lions’ fifth crown in the last six years and a league record-tying 16th overall. “It’s just that I didn’t expect we’d get a record of only two losses since we’ve absorbed a big blow when Sudan got injured. It was hard in terms of having to compensate for his loss. But the best thing is that my bigs responded to the challenge,” added Lim. The veteran mentor, who could summon different heroes nearly every game, especially in the finals where Lanete was slowed down by flu, credited this conquest to team play. “The good thing about this year’s team was that off the bench, there were guys who delivered in the finals. In the first game, Villahermosa delivered. You also saw how Baser played. In the second game, the twins (Semerads) played well. “It’s called team effort. If one guys is off, the other steps up. For me, it’s just perfect,” said Lim. Marcelo, who used up his playing years alongside Daniel, Lanete and Villahermosa, said the seniors and frontliners took it upon themselves to fill in for their injured import. “It’s tough but we had to buck the odds. With Sudan out, we, the seniors, needed to contribute, particularly off the boards. We pulled it off by helping each other,” said Marcelo in Filipino. The Lions played second fiddle to San Sebastian most of the season, with the Stags going undefeated after 15 games. But San Beda roared mightily in the homestretch, routing the Stags, 91-70, to catch up at 16-2, and repeated with an 88-85 verdict in the playoff for No. 1 seeding. “That was the turning point for us. Those back-to-back wins meant a lot. It showed that SSC isn’t that strong, that we can beat them even without Sudan,” said Lim. - By Olmin Leyba

News Update Military declares victory in Sibugay

MANILA, Philippines - The military leadership in the Zamboanga peninsula yesterday declared victory over a group headed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander Wahid Abdusalam in Zamboanga Sibugay.
Military officials led by Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer yesterday set foot in the highly fortified stronghold of Abdusalam and his men at Sitio Talaib, Barangay Labatan in Payao town following days of heavy fighting and bombing sorties that left 13 dead and forced thousands of civilians to flee.
“The safe haven of kidnapping operations and terrorist activities in Zamboanga Sibugay has fallen,” Ferrer declared.
Ferrer directed the operations to capture the encampment of Abdusalam on Thursday morning, marking the troops’ apparent victory in its two weeks offensive operations.
The government has described Abdusalam as a renegade MILF commander and his forces as “lawless elements.”
“We have re-established our authority in this part of Payao and we owe it to the joint forces – our Army, Air Force, Navy and the police – that fought long and hard,” he added.
Abdusalam and several of his men reportedly slipped through the cordon of the government forces with the troops seizing two .50 caliber machine guns at the encampment.
Most of the estimated 100 gunmen holed up in the camp had fled, although two surrendered earlier, Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz said.
“Yes, the camp of Commander Waning has been overrun,” Ortiz said, referring to the alias of Abdusalam.
“There are reports that he fled with 40 of his men and that he had been wounded and unable to walk due to his injuries,” Ortiz said.
Army’s 1st Division chief Maj. Gen. Noel Coballes said they are monitoring the same reports that Abdusalam was wounded and fled with some of his followers.
“The penetrating forces have monitored some of the rebels fleeing from the area under the cover of the swampy mangrove and there were reports that one of those wounded was Waning Abdusalam,” Coballes said.
“Our forces on the ground conducting the clearing operations are verifying this information,” he added.
Ferrer, on the other hand, said there was no report that Abdusalam and his men have escaped.
Intelligence sources said some of Abdusalam’s men have sought shelter in Zamboanga City while the rest have joined him in his boat going to Sabah, Malaysia.
“Most of the high value targets are no longer in the area,” the source said.
The source added they are also validating reports that the MILF elements that killed the 19 soldiers in Al Barka, Basilan last week have also relocated to other areas outside of Basilan.
Despite the victory, continuous clearing operations are still going on in the area to locate Abdusalam and about 100 of his followers.
Military ground commanders could only say that Abdusalam, since he was wounded, could be among the 27 gunmen killed in the massive air strikes and ground assaults.
If not, he and his men could have already dispersed into smaller groups and are now hiding in a wide mangrove area along the long coastline of Barangay Labatan.
Satisfied
Malacañang, on the other hand, expressed its satisfaction over the ongoing military operations in the region.
“I think we’re all satisfied right now with the pace of the action against the lawless elements,” Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said in a press briefing.
Carandang said Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles and Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo would personally check what was happening in Basilan and Zamboanga Sibugay.
Carandang said the three Cabinet officials would be joined by local officials and the police for an assessment of the situation.
“We just want to know what’s happening. We want to get the latest information on the ground about how the operations are doing. It’s one thing to hear about it when we’re here; it’s another when you’re actually seeing the results. So they want to get a firsthand look at how the operations are going,” Carandang said.
He said the military has already informed them that it would already be safe to go to these two areas.
“They are going to go to some areas…where it’s calm already. There are still operations going on in some areas so they can’t go everywhere. But the three secretaries will go to areas where their safety will be ensured,” Carandang said.
Carandang said they were not seeing any spill over of the violence from the military’s theater of operations in the region.
He also said the number of people affected by the ongoing military operations was not as big as earlier reported.
Carandang said it would be up to the military to decide on the time frame to carry out the “all-out justice” order of the President.
“Operationally, it’s going to be left in the hands of the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the military. So as to how long, how many troops—it would be up to them. We won’t get into operational details,” Carandang said.
“We want it to be as soon as possible; we want it to be as clean as possible. If we can do this without harming any civilians, innocent bystanders, if we can do this in a way that doesn’t displace too many people which we are doing right now, then I think that’s the goal and so far, so good,” he said.
‘Impenetrable area’
Several hundred troops were combing through the 3.5-square kilometer rebel encampment located in a marshy area in Zamboanga Sibugay that had been fortified with reinforced concrete bunkers.
Coballes said the soldiers were continuously conducting the clearing operations as the haven, accessible only by patches of land bridges and dikes, was rigged with land mines designed as booby traps.
He said ground forces have entered the area since Wednesday evening. Ground forces said the rebel camp was “developed as an impenetrable area” by the gunmen.
The regional police led by Chief Superintendent Elpedio de Asis is helping the military in clearing the encampment of unexploded land mines and searching the mangrove area nearby where the rebels could have dumped their weapons when they escaped.
De Asis added the police is helping in the manhunt of Abdusalam and his men that he said “may have slipped the cordon during the night.”
The government has accused Abdusalam and his men of killing four soldiers and four policemen in ambushes in Zamboanga Sibugay last week, as well as for previous kidnappings.
Abdusalam and his group were initially identified as members of the MILF, but the MILF disowned them last Tuesday.
“Considering that we have overrun and captured their stronghold, it’s victory on our part,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos declared in a press briefing yesterday.
What used to be the defense strong point of the lawless group, Sitio Talaib, is now an empty fishing village, except for the presence of the soldiers, he said.
On the north side of the village, Burgos said there was a small mosque and blood is everywhere.
“I guess this is where they brought their wounded and dying comrades. Gun emplacements were found at the northern part of Sitio Talaib,” Ferrer said in his report to the Army headquarters in Manila.
“The area is so defensible and lined with mines that you have to admire the ground troops for their steadfast determination to regain the territory from the lawless group,” Ferrer added.
Ortiz also claimed the seized camp was strategically located in Zamboanga Sibugay province, which also served as the camp of the MILF’s Special Operations Group.
Military operations chief Brigadier-General Jose Mabanta said two soldiers and six gunmen were killed during the earlier stages of the operation against the camp, adding they were verifying reports 16 other gunmen had died.
The troops also discovered yesterday more than 15 freshly dug graves at Talaib Point where a local cemetery is located.
“I gave instructions to our soldiers not to disturb the graves anymore,” Ferrer added. – With Aurea Calica - By Jaime Laude and Roel Pareño

News Update Gov't forms anti-kotong task force

MANILA, Philippines - Government agencies and transport groups have formed a task force to wage an all-out war against “kotong” or extortion by some traffic and law enforcers, which cuts by half the income of public utility vehicle drivers, officials said yesterday.
Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said the campaign will be different from previous anti-kotong campaigns since the DILG will adopt measures to ensure the sustainability of the drive, which will be initially implemented in Metro Manila.
“There would be a system of monitoring from the time a complaint is received, to the effort to gather evidence until the filing of charges,” Robredo said during the launching of the intensified campaign against extortion.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said police officers will go after those giving and taking bribes. “Kotong is a two-way crime where both parties are equally liable as offenders,” he said.
The task force’s creation coincided with the launch of the DILG’s anti-kotong hotline, 0918-8882749, where the public can submit information about extortion activities.
Robredo launched the campaign along with Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Francis Tolentino and Bartolome. Leaders of various transport groups, present at the event, lauded the effort of the government.
Robredo said task force personnel, not police officers, will receive the complaints so the public will feel comfortable when filing charges. “First, this will be above the PNP... Second, there will be regular reporting done publicly and third, the DILG will report the action taken after two months,” he said.
The DILG chief said the action will depend on the gravity of the complaint.
In his speech during the launch, Robredo said his eldest daughter was nearly victimized by a corrupt traffic enforcer when she unintentionally violated a traffic rule recently.
He said his daughter admitted her violation and asked the enforcer to issue her a traffic violation ticket. According to his daughter, Robredo said the enforcer proceeded to give her a lecture, apparently encouraging her to give grease money, but she insisted on a ticket.
“When my daughter gave her driver’s license, the enforcer saw her surname as Robredo. She was asked if she was from Bicol and she said yes. The enforcer then asked how she is related to the DILG secretary. My daughter answered, ‘He’s my father.’ The enforcer let her go and told her to be more careful next time,” Robredo said.
The DILG secretary said traffic rules should be applied to all regardless of status in life and connections.
Robredo said there is no data on how much money PUV drivers lose to corrupt enforcers each day. In 2007, the group Kontra Kotong and Kolorum reported that rampant extortion by enforcers and the operation of unregistered PUVs cost each legitimate taxi and jeepney driver P7,000 a month. - By Cecille Suerte Felipe

kopi talk Landscape of greens, haven of trees

MANILA, Philippines - Say the word ‘city’ and people immediately think of drab grey buildings and noisy, congested streets, full of modern comforts certainly but devoid of natural beauty. But South of Manila is a bustling Filinvest development where the serenity of nature mixes masterfully with various structures and edifices to create an inviting urban destination.
Filinvest Alabang is the premier central business district and major urban locale that sprawls 244 hectares and master-planned to be at par with the world’s most modern metropolises. A place of many faces, it is a business hub by day, a venue of culture and leisure at night and a center for family entertainment all week. It encompasses a fast-growing number of establishments and institutions that include Festival Supermall, Northgate Cyberzone, Westgate Center and The Palms Country Club. It also features office towers, shopping and dining destinations, condominiums, hotels, and serviced apartments, making Filinvest Alabang a vibrant community that can provide a range of amenities.
What makes it even more exciting is that it is a ‘breathing and living’ community whose beauty is enhanced by its environment. From trees to water forms, these natural amenities weave a stunning backdrop that truly enlivens the surroundings.
Trees are beneficial for people because they make life more pleasant. Most of us respond to the presence of trees beyond simply observing their beauty. There’s a feeling of serenity, peace, and tranquility in a grove of trees. More importantly, trees alter the environment in which we live by moderating climate, improving air quality, conserving water, and harboring wildlife.
There are more than 3,000 date palm trees incorporated into the landscape, lining the main thoroughfares: Corporate Avenue, Commerce Avenue, Parkway Avenue and Bridgeway Avenue. Thought of as one of the world’s oldest food producing plant, the date palm is a perfect choice given the Philippine climate as this type of tree thrives in dry, warm places. With its long trunk topped by large crowns of leaves that can grow as long as 20 feet, the date palm has a majestic look that enhances the city skyline.
From the arcaded pathways and tree-lined promenades, to the parks, greenbelts, elevated walkways and underpasses, the presence of beautiful date palm trees make Filinvest City a veritable pedestrian’s paradise. To ensure that the number of trees keeps growing, the fruits and seeds of the trees are harvested every year. Last year, over 2,000 kilos of fruits and 50 kilos of seeds were harvested.
One of the main roads, Civic Drive is also lined with hundreds of samanea saman, also known as rain trees. Rain trees grown in the open usually reaches a height of 25 meters, and its crown grows a typical diameter of 30 meters – this allows the rain tree to have its characteristic umbrella-shaped canopy that provides cool shade especially during very sunny days.
The sidewalks of Civic Drive are also lined with hundreds of the yellow Poinciana. Also known as copper-pod, the yellow Poinciana is a flamboyant flowering tree that can grow up to 50 feet tall. The refreshing hue of the tree’s flowers adds another dimension to the already colorful beauty of this major road.
Beside the Festival Supermall, on the other hand, is a living creek. The gurgling water of the creek is home to many types of fish such as catfish, mudfish, and tilapia. Snake turtles are even occasionally sighted, making it an attraction to the many pedestrians, joggers, and cyclists in the area.
With the freshness of green livening up the sea of grey, as one will see in the thousands of trees artfully placed in this expansive development, Filinvest Alabang truly provides an urban escape. In this haven of trees, people can enjoy living and working in a vibrant city with a refreshing backdrop.
Filinvest Alabang is a prime development of Filinvest, a leader in property development for over 50 years. Filinvest is committed to making the Filipino’s dreams to have a home of their own come true. Guided by the Gotianun tradition of integrity, quality and service, it forges ahead with renewed dynamism. Beyond building homes and communities for Filipino families, Filinvest comes to the fore of building dreams for the Filipino.
For more information, call (02) 809-6517 or (02) 8460278.

News Update 4 NPAs slain in Cagayan clash

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – Four New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas were killed and scores of others, including three civilians, were wounded in a running gunbattle yesterday between the insurgents and men of the Army’s 17th Infantry Battalion in Baggao, Cagayan.
In a report, the Armed Forces’ Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) said the clash started as early as 5:30 a.m. when the Army’s Bayanihan patrol led by 2Lt. Kenneth Pangcoga was fired upon by a group of NPA rebels.
The identities of the slain rebels were not immediately known, but the three civilians wounded in the crossfire were identified as Zaldy Durado, 25; Arnold Pasion, 30; and four-year-old Amolito Durado.
Nolcom said civilians tipped off Pangcoga as early as 4 a.m. to warn the group of the rebels’ presence in Barangay San Miguel, Baggao town.
Items recovered by government troops included two M-16 rifles, a shotgun, a generator set, a laptop and computer printer, a cellular phone, and subversive documents, Nolcom said.
Nolcom spokesman Capt. Jovily Carmel Cabading said, “We, as soldiers, do not rejoice in the death of these four rebels. They are our fellow Filipinos.”
“It is just unfortunate that they opted to trek the wrong path. We will find more fulfillment in our mission if people like them will voluntarily lay down their arms and start life anew with their loved ones. We do not want unnecessary bloodshed,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Alvin Flores, the commander of the 17th IB, requested for medical teams instead of the usual combat reinforcement to the scene of the firefight.
“We are sending a message to the wounded NPA (rebels) that we will receive them with open arms and will definitely attend to their medical needs. We have no choice but to stop the hot pursuit operations because they opted to hide inside the civilians’ abode,” Flores said.
“If they fire at our troops first, we cannot immediately fire back fearing for the presence of civilians inside the houses. If they continue to hide inside the houses, it will appear that they are holding the civilians hostage,” he added. – With Ric Sapnu, Charlie Lagasca, Raymund Catindig, Artemio Dumlao, Jaime Laude - By Ding Cervantes

News Update Philex doubles earnings

Philex Mining Corp., one of the country's largest miners, more than doubled its net income in the first nine months of the year.

Philex told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday that it posted its highest nine months reported net income in its 55-year history at P4.35 billion, more than double the P2.12-billion reported net income in the same period in 2010.

Core net income jumped 72 percent to P3.98 billion over last year's P2.31 billion.

Consolidated revenue also posted the highest level thus far at P11.83 billion, higher by 37 percent than the revenue of P8.63 billion a year ago. Contributing 58 percent of this year's revenue, gold sales amounted to P6.89 billion, while copper contributed 37 percent or P4.41 billion.

Costs and expenses for the period, meanwhile, increased 7 percent to P5.28 billion

“Earnings would have been slightly higher were it not for the recent weakening in gold and copper prices which has adversely affected the value of later shipments, with final prices falling at the last month of the third quarter," said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman and chief executive officer of Philex. “Nevertheless, we continue to be optimistic that we would still see record earnings this year." -

News Update DOJ places Arroyo couple, Abalos on watch list

The Department of Justice on Thursday placed under government watch list more than 40 people accused of electoral sabotage in the 2007 elections, including former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo.
Based on the 10-page watch list order issued by DOJ Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III, the 40 names were taken from the list of the joint panel probing the supposed 2007 poll fraud in North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Maguindanao.
Paras said immigration officials in Manila "are hereby ordered to include on the Bureau of Immigration watch list the names of the above-named persons."
He said the order would be valid for two months or 60 days from today (October 27) "unless sooner terminated or otherwise extended."
Two watch list orders were issued at the same time: one including the names of respondents in an electoral sabotage case against former Comelec chairman Abalos and 35 others for supposed poll fraud in North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Maguindanao.
A second watch list order, which basically places the same individuals named on the first – plus five other names – pertained to an electoral complaint filed by Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III.
Apart from the Arroyo couple and Abalos, other individuals also named in the order were: former Maguidnanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr,
former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra,
former Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer,
former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol,
former Maguindanao administrator Norie Unas, and
Col. Reuben Basiao, formerly of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Ampatuan is currently detained inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on multiple charges of murder in connection with the November 23, 2009 killings of 57 people in Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao.
Also included on the watch list were several election officers and assistants who participated in the conduct of the respective elections in the three Mindanao provinces.
Arroyo is being probed "for giving direct instructions to manipulate the results of the senatorial elections in Maguindanao by ordering Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr to implement a 12-0 result in the Province of Maguindanao in favor of the Team Unity Senatorial candidates, and alter or change the results if necessary."
Andal Sr, meanwhile, was included in the investigation for "conniving" with Mrs. Arroyo and giving direct orders "to implement at all cost in his province [Arroyo's] 12-0 instruction in favor of the Team Unity Senatorial candidates."
Agra was likewise recommended for preliminary investigation "for covering up the manipulation of the election results in South and North Cotabato." — LBG, GMA New