DOE backs Conal’s Sarangani project

“Renewable energy not ready for country’s power needs”

By ROGER M. BALANZA

Renewable energy is still on its promotional stage. Coal-fired power plants are the cheapest sources of energy. The country is facing an energy crisis.

With these scenarios as a background, the Department of Energy is forced to support coal-fired plants as a solution to the looming crisis.

DoE Undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan said in Davao City last week that coal remains as a solution to the power crisis.

He told local media renewable energy sources may be a solution in the long-term, but “we cannot do away with coal yet.” Zamzamin however said DoE stands pat on its promotion of renewable energy sources, but advocacy could never be an answer at this point in time.

He said when the crisis hits Mindanao would be in a cold seat, as high demand during peak hours takes a toll on the Mindanao power grid.

Ampatuan bared DoE’s support for coal-fired power plants as Conal Holdings Corporation starts building a 200-megawat plant in Sarangani.

Majority-held by the Alcantara Group of Companies, the $450 million coal-fired power plant in coastal town Maasim help boost support for the 484-MW reserve requirement on the power supply needed by Mindanao.

Civil society and church groups fearing risk to health and environment are opposing the Conal project. The company has allayed public fears, with an investment of $7.5 million in reforestation of about 8,000 hectares to absorb carbon exhausts around the plant..

Gregorio S. Gonzales, project manager of Conal Holdings Corp., said the project consists of two phases: one, construction of the first 100-megawatt plant and the common facilities for the whole power station complex; two, construction of the second 100-megawatt capacity plant.

The plant will be in full operation by 2012, said Gonzales earlier in General Santos City, among areas to be supplied by the Conal Holdings plant.

In reports published in local papers on an earlier presentation to the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GSCCCI) and the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II) in November last year, Aboitiz Energy solutions warned that reserve capacity in Mindanao will fall to 7.5 per cent or 84 MW short of its 212 (MW) requirement in 2010.

Archimedes Flores, general manager of the sister company of Davao Light and Power Company, said by 2011, Mindanao will likely face a shortage of 174 megawatts (MW) of power supply.

Transmission Corporation (now the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines-NGCP) said that in 2008, the total dependable capacity in the island is only at 1,510 MW.

Generating plants are, however, required to keep 13 percent of its generating capacity for reserve, straining the reliability of power supply in the island as experienced by long and frequent power interruptions during the last several months.

Flores said the power demand in the island is projected to increase by at least 5.76 percent annually starting next year.

NGCP General Santos City manager Manuel Jamoy said based on the trend in demand growth, the company is projecting a 2,556 megawatt required capacity for the Mindanao grid by 2014 while the Department of Energy (DOE) pegged it at 2,283 megawatts.

In October last year, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes warned that by this year, electricity demand in the island will "outstrip supply in Mindanao."

The DOE said this year would already be critical for the Mindanao grid with peak demand reaching 1,525 megawatts excluding the additional capacity requirement of 100 megawatts.

For its part, Conal Holdings pegged the growth in power demand at a conservative three percent per annum in the preparation of its expansion plans using 2008 with a peak demand level of 1,288MW as the base year.

At this rate, the actual reserves in the Mindanao grid will likely fall to 60MW in 2014 and to 16MW in 2015 before completely going in deficit in 2016. When reserve capacity goes down to this level, any plant outage in the grid will lead to power outages. Thus, the completion of the second 100MW of the project in late 2014 will just be in time to stave off a regime of rolling brownouts due to a shortage in capacity in the Mindanao Grid.

Conal Holdings Corporation vice president for business development Joseph C. Nocos said whichever statistics are used in projecting the dependable and generating capacities in the island, Mindanao would most likely experience prolonged power interruptions if no new power plants are commissioned by then.

"When forecasting power demand, the relevant period for anticipating power supply demand is five years because it will take at least that long to plan, build and operate a power plant," Nocos said.

He said the 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant they will build will not totally solve the looming power shortage in the island, especially since "none of these projections anticipate the entry of large new industrial loads such as the Hanjin ship building facilities in Tagoloan or the new shopping malls that are coming up in General Santos City," Nocos added.

"But it will help ease the shortfall. What is paramount is for the Socoteco II to have a reliable and cheap source of power supply which our company will provide," he explained.

Davao Region’s biggest appliance store opens Mindanao’s biggest show room

Antiqueno makes it big in fastest-growing industry

By ROGER M. BALANZA

After becoming the Davao Region’s fastest growing appliance and furniture dealer, the LYR Group has added another feat with what could be Mindanao’s biggest showroom.


Its latest project, Rubi Grand Showroom, with a 7,400 square meter floor area in Ulas, Talomo in Davao City, opened this week.


Larry Ysulat Rubinos, LYR president and founder, said Rubi Grand aims to capture the large market not only in the southern part of the city but also nearby provinces in the south including Central Mindanao.


The LYR Group has now a total of 10 showrooms throughout Southern Mindanao with four in Davao City, another four in Tagum City, and one each in Nabunturan in Compostela Valley and in Digos City in Davao del Sur.


A large part of Davao City’s southern sector is booming with residential housing projects, giving Rubi a ready market. It is also a strategic link to Davao del Sur, General Santos City and Central Mindanao.


Rubinos, with roots from Antique and calls Davao del Norte his home, had parlayed his company from a small furniture shop in the early 80s that started in Mabaos in Tagum City into what is now Mindanao’s biggest appliance and furniture dealer.


"Progress is now in the southern and northern parts of the city, but we opened in the south as it is also easier for people from outside Davao to access," Rubinos told mediaat Rubi’s grand opening on December 22, 2009.


He said Rubi’s expansive showroom gives more options from the upscale sector to the lower C and D markets and allows for comfort and ease when customers make their choice under the roof of Mindanao’s biggest appliance and furniture showroom.

Investors pour P5.9 billion in Davao City in 2009

Floirendo-Ayala project is top investment

By ROGER M. BALANZA

Abreeza, the mixed-used property development project of Ayala Land Inc. and the Floirendo Group of Companies, is the single biggest investment in Davao City in 2009.

Pegged at a cost of about P3 billion when completed, Abreeza would have shopping centers, business processing outsourcing firms, office spaces, banking and financial centers, and hotels. Construction of the property is already underway.

Built on a 10-hectare property of the Floirendos in downtown business district JP Laurel Avenue, Abreeza accounts for more than half of P4.2 billion poured into real property development and tourism, said Roberto Teo, head of the Davao City Investment Promotions Center (DCIPC).

The Ayala-Floirendo joint venture was started middle of last year and joins other existing big malls on prime land JP Laurel Avenue. It is said to be completed this year.

All in all DCIPC processed investment worth P5.9 billion, said Teo, at a year-end interview on status of investments in the city, adding real estate development beat other sectors in terms of investments volumes.

The property development projects Chula Vista, Santiago Villas, Villa Azalea, and Deca Homes Resort Residences also chipped in volumes to make the sector retain its vibrancy as the city’s most preferred investment areas.

DCIPS is the local government’s investment promotion arms and grants a line of incentives for investors into preferred investment areas on Tourism and Recreational Facilities, Agri Business and Food Processing, Light Manufacturing and Assembly, Property Development, Transshipment Infrastructure, Establishment of Foreign Bank Branches, Medical, Educational, Training, and Sports Facilities, Telecommunications.

Maguindanao Massacre 17: ANDAL AMPATUAN SR. IS NOT SICK

MANGUDADATU: AMPATUANS A SHAME TO MORO PEOPLE

By ROGER M. BALANZA

Buluan, Maguindanao Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and two sisters in the infamous Maguindanao Massacre, said the Ampatuans behind the murder of 57 people are a shame to the Moro people.

But the Muslim leader, in a forum in Davao City, said the Ampatuan clan led by former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., should be differentiated from the rest of the Ampatuans who have nothing to do with the most gruesome political killing that included 31 local journalists on November 23, 2009.

Andal Sr., along with sons Andal Ampatuan, Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay town, and Zaldy Ampatuan, governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), several other relatives and more than 100 militiamen, have been implicated in the mass murder.

They are a shame to the Moro people, he told a business forum on Wednesday, as government continues to probe the massacre that has triggered national and international uproar.

Mangudadatu noted that even Davao City residents are happy the Ampatuans, who are now under arrest, met a dead road after decades of ruling Maguindanao with impunity. On top of the 57 killed on November 23, the Commission on Human Rights said about 200 others may have been murdered by the Ampatuans.

We heard about them shooting people in Davao City. We also heard about their public display of arrogance, he said.

But Mangudadatu said the crime of the Ampatuan clan should not be imputed on the others carrying the Ampatuan name. There are good Ampatuans, he said.

But Mangudadatu dismissed as a lame excuse the claim by Andal Sr. that he is sick. Andal Sr. is now being detained at a military hospital in Davao City, and has not yet appeared in court to face the rebellion and multiple murder charges filed against him and his clan members.

Prior to his arrest, he was always playing in the casino in Manila, said Mangudadatu.

Mangudadatu however is thankful that the government is serious is making the Ampatuans answer for the heinous crime of murdering 57 people in one setting. He should be treated as a high profile criminal to be kept not in a military hospital but in maximum security like former President Estrada (charged with plunder) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chair Nur Misuari (for rebellion), he said.

On November 23, Mangudadatu sent his wife and relatives and women supporters with 31 journalists in a convoy to file his certificate of candidacy in Sharrif Aguak municipality. But more than 100 militiamen, led by Andal Jr., intercepted the convoy.

Despite the tragedy, Mangudadatu, a political rival of the Ampatuans, is pushing through with running for governorship of Maguindanao in the May elections in 2010.

APOLLO QUIBOLOY FIELDS BET IN DAVAO CITY POLLS

DAVAO SOLON UP AGAINST ‘SON OF GOD’


By Roger M. Balanza

Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab could be the only candidate in May 2010 facing a rival backed by one who claimed to be the Son of God.

But Tamayong Barangay Captain Greg Canada may find his godly-supporter helpless against the incumbent Ungab, who is leading with wide margins in surveys against four wannabes eyeing his Third District congressional seat. Ungab also has the support of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, head of the local bloc Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod, which has ruled local politics for years.

Televangelist Pastor Apollo Quiboloy is in his first open foray into bigger politics with his support for Canada, who won his seat as barangay chair of Tamayong in the 2007 barangay polls also with the backing of the head of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name also known as the Kingdom. Barangay Tamayong is home to Quiboloy’s Prayer Mountain, the seat of his religious empire.

Canada joins three other Ungab rivals who are already losers before the bells ring to signal the fight: come-backing former congressman Ruy Elias Lopez and last-termer councilors Nonoy Al-ag and Vic Advincula.

Lopez already has sealed the doom of his political future in a split with Mayor Duterte in 2004 over GMA’s impeachment which the then congressman supported. His brother Rene, who run for the post left vacant by last termer Lopez in 2007, lost to Ungab who was supported by Duterte.

Lopez is on a come-back trail and has pitched camp with Speaker Prospero Nograles of the Lakas/Kampi/CMD. Nograles is running against Vice Mayor Sara Duterte in the mayoral race, with Mayor Duterte as her vice mayor. Joining the Nograles-Lopez company is another loser, former Mayor Benjamin de Guzman who facing up to Mayor Duterte.

Quiboloy, who proclaims himself as the Son of God, heads the Kingdom, now an international religious phenomenon claiming hundreds of thousands of followers worldwide.

But in the Third District, the Kingdom lacks the political footing to push Canada as a winning bet backed by a religious group, with its membership said to be only a thin 1,500. The district has about 350,000 in registered voters, nearly half of whom voted for Ungab in the 2007 polls in his first crack at the congressional seat.

To break the Ungab grip, the Canada camp is trying to sell the idea that he is supported by Mayor Duterte, who has Quiboloy as religious adviser and confidante. Al-ag and Advincula are gambling on possibility Mayor Duterte may declare the Third District as a Hugpong free zone, thus upping their chances of winning.

But on the ground however, Mayor Duterte and Vice Mayor Sara made clear who would be the Hugpong candidate in May by having Ungab tag along in their barangay sorties.

MATI NOW A FULLFLEDGED CITY

Triple celebration for Mati City residents



By ROGER M. BALANZA

Mati residents have one other reason to celebrate December with jubilation. Coming ahead of Christmas and New Year, Mati has realized its dream to become a city.

In a pre-Christmas offering to jubilant Mati residents, the Supreme Court has endowed Mati, along with 15 other aspiring local governments, the much awaited status as a city

The High Tribunal in a 6-4 vote reversed its earlier ruling that granting city hood to the towns was unconstitutional. The ruling stemmed from a petition by other local government units opposing grant of city hood to 16 towns, including Mati.

Mati Mayor Michelle Rabat and Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon welcomed the decision saying Mati as a city would have economic ripple effect on the entire province and a big break for Mati residents.

Mati City would be the lone city in this province with the oldest towns in the country.

Civic groups and non-governmental organizations, who backed local government officials and residents in opposing the earlier ruling by the high court, joined in the celebration over Mati’s new status.

Mayor Rabat said she expects the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to restore the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) after the SC decision. Mati, which received annually P180 million in IRA as a town, would have an IRA of P450 million as a city.

Mati already has been receiving the bigger amount until the earlier Supreme Court ruling that declared its cityhood as unconstitutional.

In its latest ruling, the Supreme Court granted cityhood to Baybay in Leyte; Bogo in Cebu; Catbalogan in Samar; Tandag in Surigao del Sur; Borongan in Eastern Samar; Tayabas in Quezon province; Lamitan in Basilan; Tabuk in Kalinga; Bayugan in Agusan del Sur; Batac in Ilocos Norte; Mati in Davao Oriental; Guihulngan in Negros Oriental; Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte; Carcar in Cebu; El Salvador in Misamis Oriental and Naga in Cebu.

Mining bureau rapped for allowing mining in landslide prone area

Davao tribal small scale miners in grave risk

By ROGER M. BALANZA

The government is pushing indigenous peoples into small scale mining in Compostela Valley to the valley of death, by identifying mining sites for them that have a history of deadly landslides.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has recommended two mining sites as Minahan ng Bayan (People’s Mining) in Barangay Napnapan in Pantukan municipality for tribal natives.

But Governor Arturo Uy said the mine sites Purok Mangispis and Sitio Pulang Lupa are landslide-prone, and had already claimed at least 25 lives.

Uy wondered why MGB made the recommendation after the agency ordered the closure of all mine tunnels there after landslides hit the area in May 2009. The tragedy had prompted Gov. Uy to order the total stop in mining operations as government probed risk to life of small scale miners.

The governor said he would ask the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board to study the MGB recommendation and may oppose declaration of the two mine sites for people’s mining to save lives of indigenous peoples.

Noel Angeles, MGB Davao Region officer-in-charge, said findings of an MGB technical team has declared as safe to operate 23 mine tunnels in Purok Mangapispis and 17 in Sitio Pulang Lupa. One tunnel operator whose site was declared as critical has been forced to stop operation, after the ocular inspection by the technical team.

Angeles said the MGB recommendation to open Mangispis and Pulang Lupa, a traditional mine site for tribal natives of the Mansaka and Mandaya tribes since the early 80s, is supported by findings of safety and in line with government program to support small scale mining to enhance economic growth in the countryside and provide employment for indigenous peoples.

Northern Mindanao: No to Maguindanao cops

There is no place in Northern Mindanao for policemen in Maguindanao linked to the November 23 massacre of 58 people by the Ampatuans and their henchmen.

Reports they have been transferred to Northern Mindanao has fired up opposition of the region ending up as dumping ground for killer cops.

Congressman Rufus Rodriguez, echoing public sentiment against the transfer, said there is need to check if the policemen are involved in the mass murder of the victims that included 31 journalists.

Reports said 31 policemen from the volatile Maguindanao province have arrived to replace the Regional Mobile Group which has been reassigned to Maguindanao, after the entire police force of the province was placed on the freezer after the gruesome killing.

It would be a gamble to have policemen who are killers and rapists patrolling our streets, said Rodriguez. Investigators said some policemen had been involved in the worst political violence in the prelude to the 2010 May elections.

The victims of the mass slaying in Shariff Aguak included the wife and two sisters of Buluan vice mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, a political rival of the Ampatuan clan.

They were on a convoy to file the certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor of Mangudadatu when they were stopped by armed men led by Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. Charges of multiple murder have already been filed against Ampatuan Jr., his father former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., his brother Zaldy Ampatuan, governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), several other Ampatuan clan members and militiamen who served as the Ampatuans’ private army.

The lawmaker’s reaction is but among the various responses generated by the transfer of the Maguindanao-based policemen, some of whose colleagues are implicated in the massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town last November 23.

The policemen arrived at Camp Alagar here over the weekend, but their assignment is still unknown.

Rodriguez said the policemen need to be checked for their involvement in the massacre.

“They must be subjected to debriefing and undergo the moral recovery program of the Regional Police Office. We don’t want to take chances, said a police officer who begged anonymity.

Cagayan de Oro Mayor Constantino Jaraula however said public apprehension may be unfounded.

Jaraula said he also believes that the policemen are not implicated in the mass murder and were reassigned to Northern Mindanao because of our moral recovery program here.

“Also, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is national in scoop—policemen can be reassigned to anyplace at anytime. That’s something we cannot prevent,” he added.

Maguindanao massacre: How rich are the Ampatuans?

Datu Unsay mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., principal suspect in the November 23 Ampatuan Massacre that left at least 58 persons dead, 31 of them media workers, is the richest among the Ampatuans, posting a net worth of P39.3 million as of yearend 2008, his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) says.

The junior’s declared net worth is more than twice the declared net worth of his father, Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., at P18.5 million as of yearend 2007; and his elder brother, Datu Zaldy, the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, at P16.41 million as of year-end 2007, certified true copies of their SALN filed with the Office of the De-puty Ombudsman for Mindanao, showed.

Ampatuan Sr.’s net worth based on his SALN as of yearend 2007 is P18.5 million, almost twice his net worth in 2001, his first year as Maguindanao governor.

Datu Zaldy, who has been serving as ARMM governor since 2005, dec-lared a net worth of P13.93 M as of yearend 2005; P14.94 M as of yearend 2006 and P16.41M as of yearend 2007.

Ampatuan, Jr., listed in his SALN his two wives (Reshal Santiago Ampa-tuan and Baibon K. Ampa-tuan) and their nine children -- six with Reshal and three with Baibon -- born between November 1998 and December 2008.

Baibon is a business-woman but the company name is not indicated in the SALN.

Reshal is municipal administrator of Datu Unsay town, where Andal Jr. is the mayor. Andal Jr.’s annual gross salary is P287,687 (P23,973.91 a month) while Reshal’s is P262,269 (P21,855.75 a month).

The annual gross fa-mily income -- referring to “income of declarant, spouse and declarant’s children below 18 years of age living in declarant’s household” -- is P3,100,200, Andal Jr.’s SALN shows. Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews

Maguindanao massacre: 7 police officers facing summary dismissal

Probers: Cops covered up massacre

Seven Maguindanao police officers are in hot water and could face dismissal for neglect of duty at the height of the massacre of 58 people in Shariff Aguak on November 23.

The PNP high command has recommended the summary dismissal of Superintendent Abusama Mundas Maguid, officer in charge (OIC) of the Maguindanao PPO; Chief Inspector Sukarno Adil Dikay, deputy provincial director; Inspector Armando Sanday Mariga of the 1506th Provincial Mobile Group (PMG); Inspector Saudi Matabalao Mokamad of the 1507th PMG; Inspector Rex Ariel Tabao Diongon of the 1508th PMG; Senior Inspector Abdulgapor Benasing Abad of the 15th Regional Mobile Group; and SPO2 Badawi Piang Bakal of the Ampatuan Municipal Police Station.

In a report on its investigation of what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre, the PNP said the Maguindanao police provincial office PPO remained clueless of the massacre even as other police agencies were verifying reports on the gruesome mass murder blamed on the Ampatuans and their private army.

The Maguindanao provincial police insisted that “no such incident has transpired in their area of jurisdiction” and called the radio reports “exaggerated,” when the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division (RIDMD) in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Armm) tried to verify the incident with the provincial police, said the PNP investigation report.

The PNP report said that with the provincial police clueless, the RIDMD then dispatched their own team to Maguindanao to discover the murder of 57 people, including the wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu and 30 journalists.

The RIDMD’s report on the provincial police has been submitted as vital evidence against the police officers.

In the report, RIDMD said that “other police officers and their men were present along the highway and were situated from 2 kilometers to 5 kilometers from where the actual abduction and eventual murders took place, and yet the subject police officers claimed to have not noticed anything unusual, nor heard bursts of gunfire, emanating from the killing fields.”

“Hence, it strengthens the presumption that they were trying to cover up the crime committed,” the RIDMD report added.

CONG. RUFUS RODRIGUEZ LINKED TO AMERICAN PEDOPHILES

IS THIS BLACK PROPAGANDA?
fromthemails
BY BRADLEY HUGHES

Congressman Rufus Rodriguez is seeking re-election in his district of CDO, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines and a situation has been brought to our attention that we want to inform him of.

Rufus Rodriguez owns a rental property in CDO that he rents out to a American expatriot of questionable agendas, records and past. I highly doubt Mr. Rodriguez knows of the kind of people his house is harboring so have decided to inform both him and the internet community in hopes of enlightening the situation during this campaigning period.

The American national currently residing in the house is one Gordon Elletson who goes by Gordy and posts on many internet forums using the name TexKano. Gordon Elletson is of a deffective mental state and is a admitted child abuser and basher of the Filipino populace. Please see link below of how Gordy Elletson , using his TexKano nic, admitted to hitting Xavier Madlangbayan with a cane and then proceeding to call the boys grandfather, Dr. Severino Madlangbayan,(who is seeking a city council seat in Iligan City) a banana eating monkey. Is this kind of elitest American truly the sort of expatriot that a elected Congressman wants to be connected to? Well Gordon Elletson seems to think the congressman loves him and will washover any mess he gets himself into. I find it hard to believe a elected congressman will forsake his constituents , who elected him, in a effort to protect a abusive foreign national.

The second expatriot, now deceased, is one Randall Chester Goings who goes by Bubba and posted on net under nic Bubbabobbaker. This fellow had a lengthy criminal record which included multiple drug charges. Randall Goings was brought to the Philippines by Gordon Elletson where he lived , together with Gordy, in the proprty owned by Congressman Rufus Rodriguez of CDO, Cagayan de Oro. This property is located on 69 bong bongon street CDO and even before Randall Goings moved to such property he was allready posting perverted things all over the internet. One example of his perversions took place on a internet dating site where he searched for a 4′ tall bi-sexual and stated in his ad “the smaller you are the more I will love you”. Evan smaller than 4′? Yikes, Was he looking for a dwarf or a underaged girl?

Anyway, I hope this message reaches Congressman Rodriguez and he can see below link for proofs regarding the accutations of the kind of expatriot he is harboring and who states the Congressman is protecting him. I feel the congressman has the right to know the facts in below link.

http://sexpatswallofshame.blogspot.com

Congressman Rufus Rodriguez is seeking re-election in his district of CDO, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines and a situation has been brought to our attention that we want to inform him of.

Rufus Rodriguez owns a rental property in CDO that he rents out to a American expatriot of questionable agendas, records and past. I highly doubt Mr. Rodriguez knows of the kind of people his house is harboring so have decided to inform both him and the internet community in hopes of enlightening the situation during this campaigning period.

The American national currently residing in the house is one Gordon Elletson who goes by Gordy and posts on many internet forums using the name TexKano. Gordon Elletson is of a deffective mental state and is a admitted child abuser and basher of the Filipino populace. Please see link below of how Gordy Elletson , using his TexKano nic, admitted to hitting Xavier Madlangbayan with a cane and then proceeding to call the boys grandfather, Dr. Severino Madlangbayan,(who is seeking a city council seat in Iligan City) a banana eating monkey. Is this kind of elitest American truly the sort of expatriot that a elected Congressman wants to be connected to? Well Gordon Elletson seems to think the congressman loves him and will washover any mess he gets himself into. I find it hard to believe a elected congressman will forsake his constituents , who elected him, in a effort to protect a abusive foreign national.

The second expatriot, now deceased, is one Randall Chester Goings who goes by Bubba and posted on net under nic Bubbabobbaker. This fellow had a lengthy criminal record which included multiple drug charges. Randall Goings was brought to the Philippines by Gordon Elletson where he lived , together with Gordy, in the proprty owned by Congressman Rufus Rodriguez of CDO, Cagayan de Oro. This property is located on 69 bong bongon street CDO and even before Randall Goings moved to such property he was allready posting perverted things all over the internet. One example of his perversions took place on a internet dating site where he searched for a 4' tall bi-sexual and stated in his ad "the smaller you are the more I will love you". Evan smaller than 4'? Yikes, Was he looking for a dwarf or a underaged girl?

Anyway, I hope this message reaches Congressman Rodriguez and he can see below link for proofs regarding the accutations of the kind of expatriot he is harboring and who states the Congressman is protecting him. I feel the congressman has the right to know the facts in below link. hughes3864@yahoo.com

Hunt still on for Basilan escapees

Choppers drop “wanted” leaflets

There was a rain of leaflets in Basilan last week as Huey choppers dumped about 14,000 of them urging people to report remaining escapees sprung by armed men from the Basilan provincial jail on December 13.

Some of the escapees are members of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) or Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mohammad Dolorfino, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) chief, said the leaflets contained the names of the escapees and cash rewards for their capture. The leaflets also warned communities the escapees are dangerous and should be reported immediately to the military and police.

The most notorious of the escapees is Commander Hadji Dan Laksaw, the deputy commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) 114th Base Command, with a P2 million on his head.

Brigadier General Eugenio Clemen, chief of the Basilan-based First Marine Brigade, said the military resorted to distributing leaflets as there is no radio station in Basilan that could reach remote areas.

Armed men said to be MILF elements stormed the provincial jail in Sumagdang, Isabela City on December 13 and freed 31 inmates including MILF rebels, Abu Sayyaf bandits and common criminals.

MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE: Ampatuans in watchlist

Maguindanao ‘demons’ in immigration watch list

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera has ordered the Bureau of Immigration to include on its watch-list 27 people facing a complaint for rebellion in Maguindanao and more than 600 others.

In her memorandum, Devanadera asked the bureau to include on its watchlist the following: Mayor Yacob "Jack" Ampatuan of Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao, Mamasapao Mayor Banarin Ampatuan, Datu Ulo Ampatuan, Datu Ipi Ampatuan, Salibo Vice Mayor Datu Kanor Ampatuan, Sultan sa Barongis Vice Mayor Sukarno Badal, Barira Mayor Alexander "Alex" Tumawis, Datu Undin Mayor Ombra Sinsuat, Parang Mayor Abu Talib, Engr. Nurie Unas.

Sub-leaders Abedin Alamada alias Commander Beri, Akad Macaton, Alex Zaipon, Bong Andal, Butukan Malang, Dainga Ampatuan, Kempar Silongan, Latip Gani, Macton Bilongan, Manny Ampatuan, Muhamad Sangki, Rene Guipal, Sanggutin Musa, Sukor Kamsa, Theng Sali. Thong Guiamani and Zamora Sambulawan.

"Pursuant to the letter of the Philippine National Police and in the interest of the public and so as not to frustrate the ends of justice, you are hereby directed to include in the Bureau's Watchlist the names of the leaders, sub leaders and their 611 followers who are all respondents in a criminal complaint for rebellion," Devanadera said in memorandum.”

The order is valid for 60 days.

Another autopsy urged on Maguindanao massacre victims

AMPATUAN, Maguindanao – A foreign forensic expert has suggested new examinations on the corpses of victims of the Maguindanao Massacre, saying substandard procedures were used in the first autopsy.

Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Commissioner Jose Manuel Mamauag said the "reverse forensic investigation" has been recommended by the agency's consultant, Peruvian forensic expert Dr. Jose Pablo Baraybar.

Baraybar found the earlier exams done on the corpses as "substandard compared to internationally recognized procedures," said Mamauag.

The exam results would serve as evidence in the multiple murder charges against Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and several others.

Andal Jr. was said to have led more than 100 militiamen in the November mass killing of 57 people including 30 journalists.

Mamauag said Baraybar the "substandard examination" could lessen the case against the suspects and may be used against the prosecution later.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said the poor handling of the remains and contamination of the massacre site could weaken the case against the suspects.

People coming and going in the massacre site and the exhumation effort aided by a backhoe "compromised the site and the remains," said the NUJP.

Mamauag said permission of the families of the victims is required for the exhumation of the bodies and the conduct of the new autopsy.

OPPOSITION TO ALSON COAL PLANT REACHES CRESCENDO

CONAL RAPPED FOR BRIBERY


By ROGER M. BALANZA

SARANGANI - An official of the Alcantara-led company constructing a 200-megawatt coal plant in Maasim has been accused of bribing opposition to the $450-million project.

Opposition to the project of Conal Holdings, owned by the Philippines’ Alsons Corp. and Thailand’s Electricity Generating Public Co., has intensified lately with the formation of the Maasim People's Coalition on Climate Change (MP3C).

MP3C joins the Santa Cruz Parish Against Pollution and the Socsksargen Climate Action Now (Socsksargen CAN) and the Catholic Church in opposing the project.

Johnny Panerio, a founding member of the MP3C, said Conal project manager Gregorio Gonzales lured him with a P2,000 honorarium as a member of the Multi-partite Monitoring Team (MMT) in exchange for his silence.

The MMT is a multi-sector body tasked by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources/Environment Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) to monitor compliance to provisions of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). Conal was issued the ECC in April.

Gonzales and two companions on June 29 went to my house and asked me to sign a sign a memorandum of agreement that would make me a member of the MMT, said Panerio. “They told me I would get a P2,000 honorarium, but I did not sign.”

Gonzales admitted having invited Panerio to be a member of the MMT but denied the bribery.

The offer to Panerio to be a member of MMT was for his group to be given a chance to check our compliance to the ECC, he said.

Gonzales said he invited Panerio, who was recommended by the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office of Maasim, to make Conal transparent to those opposing the project.

"The fact that we invited him even if he is a member of the [Socsksargen] CAN, attests to our desire to be transparent and above board in our dealings," he said. Had he signed, Panerio would have become witness to the MOA between Conal Holdings and the Environmental Management Bureau that will create the MMT, he said.

Gonzales said the monetary offer comes with the job as MMT members. As practiced across the country, MMT members are each given honorarium of not more than P2,000, he said.

P2-billion railway system in the pipeline

P2-billion railway system in the pipeline

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said the feasibility study on the P2 billion Mindanao Railway System (MRS) project is almost completed.

In a briefing this week DOTC Undersecretary for Rails Guiling Mamondiong said the study on the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan-Corridor (CIC) component of the MRS would have to be approved by the Regional Development Council (RDC) before it will be submitted to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in Manila.”

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez, Mayor Constantino Jaraula and some municipal mayors whose areas will be covered by the railway system attended the briefing on the much-awaited project.

MRS is the government ambitious plan to connect by rail all key areas in Mindanao.

Rodriguez and Jaraula has vowed to find ways hastenrail system that would also link the city to Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental, which has a newly-completed international standard airport.

Rodriguez authored House Bill 1855 in 2008 which created the Mindanao Railways Corporation.

“We already have P10-Million budget for the office of the MRS,” Rodriguez said, with P51 million about to be released to start construction.

Jaraula said the Mindanao Railway System project is expected to spur economic development in the region saying the project will pave way for an efficient, cheap and reliable railway network.

Rizal remembered in Dapitan

Rizal landmark to rise in Dapitan

DAPITAN CITY - A memorial would be rising on the spot in Dapitan City where Dr. Jose Rizal first touched ground when he was exiled by Spaniards over a hundred years ago.

The Punto de Desembarco de Rizal (Rizal’s Landing Site) memorial would be unveiled by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on December 28 as one or the highlights of the fourth Handuraw Festival commemorating Rizal’s exile in Dapitan from 1892 to 1896.

The P30 million bronze sculpture at the coastal barangay of Sta. Cruz was constructed by the public works department with funds from the office of Congresswoman Cely Jalosjos-Carreon.

During the unveiling, fishermen would reenact Rizal’s arrival in a fluvial parade.

The Rizal landmark is the second big tourism project here after the Gloria de Dapitan, a local theme park named after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

President Arroyo will be joined by Dapitan City Mayor Dominador Jalosjos, Jr., City Vice Mayor Patrick Chan and other city officials as well as former Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, the Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines, Zamboanga del Norte Governor Rolando Yebes, former Congressman Romeo Jalosjos, Congresswoman Cely Carreon, and Congressman Cesar Jalosjos.

FEAR FACTOR ROILS CHRISTIAN MASSES IN MAGUINDANAO

MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE A BLOODY REMINDER

By ROGER M. BALANZA

DATU PIANG, Maguindanao – Christmas is a celebration of peace but in this Muslim-dominated municipality, the Simbang Gabi---the Philippine Christians’ 9-day tradition of welcoming Christmas Day with dawn masses---has become a terrifying experience.

Maguindanao province remains volatile: On November 23, Datu Unsay municipality Andal Ampatuan Jr. led more than 100 militiamen in the mass murder of 57 people in Shariff Aguak town. The victims included women and 30 local journalists in the most gruesome murder of the century linked to the 2010 elections.

The victims were in a convoy to file the certificate of candidacy of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadato, who is running for governor of Maguindanao in May against an Ampatuan, the Mangundadatus’ rival for political supremacy in the province. Among the dead were his wife and two sisters and women followers.

The Ampatuans, including former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and several other clan members, are now in government custody charged with multiple murder and rebellion.

Fear is what envelopes the small Christian community of Sta. Teresita parish in this town, when they go to church for the Simbang Gabi which starts at 4:30 AM.

Most of the militiamen, loyal to the Ampatuans, who butchered the 57 in what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre, are on the loose and hunted by police and military.

There could be firefight anytime, said parish priest Eduardo Vasquez.

The fear factor has diminished attendance to the dawn masses since it started on December 16, but Fr. Vasquez has a mission to continue the religious tradition.

But for now, he has his ears on the ground for a looming clash between government troopers and the Ampatuan fugitive henchmen.

If my parishioners’ lives are in danger, we can make the dawn mass a daylight mass if we get information about a crisis situation, he said. "If I sense danger, I would transfer the masses in the afternoon."

"So far, we have been up to the traditional schedule. But I told the people we would be very flexible," Fr. Vasquez said.

KONTRA PAPUTOK IN CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

ZERO CRACKERS INJURY IN CAGAYAN DE ORO


CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Health authorities here have launched a massive campaign to save people from losing a finger, an arm or an eye as this city celebrates Christmas Day and New Year with fireworks.


The government hospital Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) aims for zero-injury holidays but is preparing its emergency facilities for firecracker victims, if the campaign fall on deaf ears of some people pushed to celebrate the days with the traditional big bang.


We are ready for any eventuality, said Dr. Enrique Saab, coordinator of NMMC's health management staff.


But Dr. Saab is hoping the campaign on safe handling of pyrotechnics could cut the number of casualties.


We are campaigning that as much as possible there would be zero-injury. But we have already prepared our emergency department for any eventualities. Our staff is all ready. We have been doing this for the past years," said Dr. Saab.


NMMC figures show that in 2007 there were 13 persons treated with firecracker injuries, which rose to 17 in 2008.


He jokes that the victims were those who had no chance to appreciate his hospital’s campaign about the danger of handling firecrackers: More than half of the victims were heavy with alcohol.


For disregarding safety nets, the victims suffered burn injuries in the eye, hand and other parts of the body, said Dr. Saab, who makes the hospital his home on Christmas and New year just to be able to attend to the victims.


Northern Mindanao, with Cagayan de Oro City contributing a fatal statistic, was in the top ten regions in the country with the most number of injuries in 2008, accounting for 46 people injured.


Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as declared under its Kontra Putok campaign a red alert for all government hospital on December 24, 25 and 31, 2009 and January 1, 2010 to ensure government response to victims.

CAGdeORO Comelec: Smooth sailing in Monday registration

"NO ROWDY MOBS"

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – No rowdy throng of registrants fighting for space to get in line.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said they are bracing up for long queues on Monday when it opens for a special five-day voters registration for those who failed to make it to the October 1 deadline.

We are ready for an orderly registration with the mob, said lawyer Carlito Ravelo, Comelec provincial election supervisor in a joke aimed at procrastinators who missed the deadline.

Ravelo may have his basis for a speedy and orderly registration: Comelec has added two more biometric machines to make the process of registration faster.

He sees a different scenario on Monday that would not be like previous registration days when registrants spent long hours in the long lines because Comelec then had only two biometric machines.

A total of 249,755 people have been listed up in the Comelec roll in Cagayan de Oro City when registration closed Oct. 31, about 26,400 of them new voters.

The new round of voters’ registration comes as the Supreme Court granted the petition for extension of registration until January 9 to accommodate first time voters, to start on Monday.

PRES. ARROYO SHIES AWAY FROM AERIAL SPRAY BAN

Idis, Maas run berserk
By ROGER M. BALANZA

First they forged the signature of Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla in an alleged church issuance supporting aerial spraying. Then they insulted Court of Appeals justices in Cagayan de Oro by gifting them with rotten bananas for thrashing the Davao City ordinance banning aerial spraying. Running amok after shaming the justices, they chained themselves at the gates of the justice building, which was followed by a die-in at a Cagayan de Oro City main avenue where they disrupted traffic and were arrested.

Inspired by a tsunami of donations from abroad, they held a vigil at the Supreme Court---where the Davao City ordinance is facing as dull a fate as it did in the appeals court in Cagayan de Oro City---believing that noises and lies could influence the high court against aerial spraying.

They have been peddling the lie that there are toxic showers from aerial spraying---a claim persistently denied by government agencies---with a nationwide campaign of toxic lies against the banana industry.

The pseudo-environmentalists just could not satisfy their hunger for publicity to sell the tall tale that aerial spraying is bad for the health.

Now, IDIS (Interface Development Interventions) and MAAS (Mamamayang Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying) are pushing their comical stunts farther, this time aiming their bazookas at Malacanang.

Hey, Philippines! These NGOs from Davao City---where NGO, because of IDIS and MAAS, now means No Good Organization---are nothing but a pack of paid hustlers using the aerial spraying issue to lure foreign donors for their cause that no one believes in the banana-growing Davao Region.

Malacanang on Thursday cancelled an executive meeting with government line agencies---that would have provided inputs on the fate of aerial spraying. At the center of discussion would have been a Department of Health order yet to be signed by Secretary Arthur Yap that would ban aerial spraying.

A motley group of IDIS and MAAS elements led a protest outside Malacañang Gate 5 over the cancellation of the executive meeting, with shaved heads, angry and frustrated. Some students from the Ateneo de Manila---who could not have seen a banana tree---joined the ruckus that hardly attracted attention.

The banana industry concentrated in the Davao Region and neighboring provinces is one of the biggest industries in the country employing more than 200,000 directly-hired workers and earning $400 million in exports annually.

Fungicide used in aerial spraying against the deadly black sigatoka is non-toxic, according to the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) which said that no one has died from exposure to aerial spraying in the forty years that it had been used in banana plantations in Davao. The claim by IDIS and MAAS that people have been dying in communities near the plantations, that they suffer from skin and respiratory diseases, also have been disputed by the Department of Health and the Regional Interagency Committee on Environment and Health in Region Eleven, and by a Special Investigating Team organized by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte composed of the City Planning and Development Office, the City Legal Office and the City Health Office.

Methink, Secretary Yap is misled by the tsunami of lies peddled by IDIS and MAAS. Methink, GMA, no matter her low regard for anything that pleases us, is smart enough not to believe liars, her self having much experience in the field of lying. Methink, GMA knows that aerial spraying is bad for the health of the banana industry and the hundreds of thousands of workers and their families depending on the industry; and good only for IDIS’ and MAAS’ clever agenda to get loads of dollars from foreign donor agencies.

That is the reason why GMA aborted the Thursday meeting with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

GMA has no time to discuss Secretary Yap’s pending order banning aerial spraying or IDIS’ and MAAS’ lies against aerial spraying. GMA has made her mind: banana and aerial spraying are here to stay and that IDIS’ and MAAS’ arguments against the industry are as rotten as rotten bananas.

If GMA is running for president in 2010, I would campaign and vote for her for saving the banana industry. Unfortunately, she could not.

NOW IDIS AND MAAS ARE ANGRY.

"This wasn't the only reason that angered us but also Malacañang's corresponding order to create a task force to study on aerial spraying,” said Lia Esquillo, IDIS chairman, in an interview with Sunstar Davao. The study, according to her, is a win-win situation for the banana industry: the study could turn in favor of export Cavendish bananas’ battle against sigatoka---a fast spreading leaf disease that could cripple the dollar earning industry---or could be used by banana farmers to continue aerial spraying until after the completion of the study.

Malacanang is siding with the banana plantations, Esquillo said.

"What we've kept on saying was that all three departments, DA, DOH, DENR, have already given their reactions that aerial spraying is harmful then why do we still have to conduct more study? These are all executive bodies. Why question their observations?" Esquillo said.

Oooops! Methink, Ms. Lia is lying again.

DA, DOH, DENR merely adopted a study commissioned two years ago conducted by a team from the University of the Philippines in Camocaan, Hagonoy, Davao Del Sur, indicating threat to health from aerial spraying. Ms. Lia should tell her public that that study had been declared “inconclusive” and has been subjected to peer review to validate its findings. If there are rotten bananas, there are also studies that are shot full of rotten data.

When it comes to lying, MAAS and IDIS are good at mobilizing loudspeakers to reecho the lies to the border of truth.

"The government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo missed the opportunity to correct gross injustice that has been happening for over 30 years by playing into the hands of corporate interest," said National Task Force Against Aerial Spraying (NTFAAS) coordinator Rene Pineda, said the report in Sunstar, NTFAAS is an offspring of IDIS led by Esquillo and MAAS founded by Dags Magaway. When two liars cohabitate, they sire nothing else but a liar.

"Malacañang's inaction manifests its lack of concern to the plight and health of ordinary people. It also failed to make decisive action despite recommendation from it very own Health Department," said Manny Calonzo, president of the EcoWaste Coalition. DOH, FPA and Davao City Hall have said no one has died nor has contracted disease from exposure to aerial spraying and Calonzo would know this if he visits Davao City Council records of proceedings on the aerials spray ban ordinance and the banana plantations in Davao City where banana farmers and growers have declared Esquillo and Magaway as persona non grata for lying against industry that fed them for decades.

"Natiis naming tumira dito sa Maynila ng limang buwan at matulog sa tabi ng kalsada tapos ito ang pamasko ni Presidente Gloria? Wala talaga siyang awa sa aming mga mahihirap," said Loloy Languitan, a farmer from Maragusan, Compostela Valley. My advice to Loloy is that he ask in what five-star hotel Esquillo and her gang checked in while he slept in the sidewalks.

"We will go back to Davao to tell people that GMA (Arroyo) has blood in her hands. She is condoning the silent massacre of thousands of helpless rural poor living in banana plantations," said Tom Villarin of the Siad Initiatives in Mindanao Convergence for Asset Reform and Rural Development (Simcarrd), an NGO promoting sustainable agriculture and member of NTFAAS. Would the Dabawenyos believe you, Mr. Villarin?

LABOR DEPARTMENT: Aerial spray ban to cause massive unemployment

By ROGER M. BALANZA


400,000 farmers.

This is the troubling figure that should be considered if aerial spraying in banana plantations is banned.

Aerial spraying of fungicide---a non-toxic chemical according to the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority---is the fastest, most cost-effective and safest method of fighting the deadly leaf disease black sigatoka.

The Philippine government agonizing over whether or not to ban aerial spraying that has been practiced in banana plantations for over 40 years should seriously weigh its options before making a final decision.

Without aerial spraying, Philippine export Cavendish bananas could drop in volume and quality to affect its standing in the world market.

Without aerial spraying, the Philippine labor department predicts trouble in terms of livelihood and employment and the economy of the Davao Region and neighboring provinces.

An order banning aerial spray would be a huge blow to Philippine bananas, affecting an estimated 400,000 banana plantation farmers in Davao Region alone, said the labor department.

Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Davao Region Director Jalilo dela Torre knew whereof he speaks. He is based in the Davao Region, where growing of export Cavendish bananas is the major industry.

Banana exporting is one of the region's strongest economic drivers, he said, to emphasize how the ban would impact on the local economy.

But he said, putting a damper on the banana industry like the ban on aerial spraying could also have a reeling effect on the Mindanao and national economy.

"The banana industry contributes a lot to Mindanao's economy and the country's foreign exchange, Dela Torre adds.

With about 200,000 full time employees and another 200,000 indirect employees hired in banana plantations, we can indeed see trouble if aerial spraying is banned," dela Torre told media in Davao City.

"I would really encourage those responsible for formulating the (ban on aerial spraying), whether DA (Department of Agriculture) or DOH (Department of Health), to really consider the employment side on this matter," dela Torre.

"If the banana plantations will be forced to abandon the method of aerial spraying, especially multinational corporations, they might decide to relocate. This will pose a tremendous negative impact on the employment scenario in Region 11. I understand they've already taken steps to relocate to other countries," dela Torre said, adding the multinational corporations could simply transfer to other countries if they are pushed to the wall by the ban. He said he knew of several companies now taking the option of scouting for banana farms in India, Indonesia or India.

Foreigners out to kill Philippine banana industry

WHERE DID IDIS AND MAAS GET THE FUNDS FOR A ONE-PAGE AD?

If they are mere farmers, where did MAAS and IDIS members get the funds to pay for the P200,000 one-page ad in a national daily newspaper that blasphemed the banana industry?

From foreign banana companies out to kill the Philippine banana industry?

Or from their environmentalist donors in Europe?

No matter where the huge moolah came, Davao banana farmers and growers has warned President Arroyo not to believe the lies in the ad against aerial spraying.

Arroyo must not be deceived by lies and half-truths on aerial spraying, Reynante F. Bangoy, chair of the 911-Save Our Sagingan Movement said.

The ad is one of pressure tactics by critics of aerial spraying to pressure the government to ban aerial spraying in banana plantations, said Bangoy.

But Bangoy said the banana industry has been following government regulations and has not violated any government regulations on health and environment.

"Those opposing the aerial spraying are the ones who have shamefully and blatantly disregarded the right of the people, particularly the farmers," he said.

He said these groups are the ones threatening the livelihood of the 500,000 individuals who are relying on the banana industry in the Davao Region, by using "a tainted study to suit their campaign."

On the Department of Health recommendation, Bangoy said even the Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Health junked its earlier recommendation to stop aerial spraying.

"I wonder why (Secretary Francisco T. Duque III) came up with a recommendation on his own without convening the committee. Does he have a motive of his own?" he said in a report in Davao City local dailies.

He said the 2006 study on Camocaan, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur that the department commissioned has been "proven to be rigged not only by experts of the banana industry but also by independent organizations like the University of the Philippines-Manila and the World Health Organization."

He was referring to the peer reviews of the organizations, which concluded that the study was inconclusive and could not be made as basis for a "harsh recommendation."

He appealed to Arroyo to also "listen to us because the industry has not done anything that violated Philippine regulations, unlike those groups that have claimed to have protected the rights of the people when all that they wanted was to obtain funding from international donors."

"We appeal to you Mrs. President to heed our call. Stop these people who have been harassing us," he added as he said his group and other allies will continue their mass actions until their demands are granted.