Editorial

by ERNESTO T. SOLIDUM

Heroes Are Honest And Industrious

The provincial and municipal officials of Kalibo led thousands of participants in a civic parade and commemorative program that marked the 116th anniversary of the 19 Martyrs of Aklan. March 23, 1897 is remembered by freedom loving Aklanons as a day of triumph over injustice and oppression. Delegations in their colorful uniforms, marching cadence accompanied by ruffle of drums traced the symbolic path of 19 Martyr’s St. and Veteran’s Avenue up to the Gen. Francisco Castillo Freedom Shrine. A lone float from Malinao depicted Candido Iban’s revolutionary exploits worthy of national pride and emulation. 

Mayor William S. Lachica in his welcome address said that the death of 19 members of the Katipunan is an act of valor and sacrifice for freedom. Their noble deeds continue to inspire us to fight adversities in life such as government corruption, poverty, hunger, ignorance and natural calamities.  

Gov. Carlito S. Marquez called for renewed zeal in fighting poverty even as the country has achieved justice (doubtful) and independence. The party leadership has created conducive economic climate for investments since we have a tourism boom and neutralized the communist insurgency. Marquez noted the cutting edge in tourism development created more employment and windows of opportunity for small and medium industries like piña and abaca, processed foods and souvenir items. 

Kasangga Partylist Representative Teodoro T. Haresco, Jr. believes Aklan is now on economic take off. That the choices are open for the Aklanons to consider opting for a better life or the long road to poverty and deprivation. The freedom that we enjoy now must be used for personal (community people) advancement in health, education and livelihood.

Cong. Joeben T. Miraflores quoted George Santayana who said that those who cannot remember the past are bound to repeat it. He noted that oppression and injustices are bound to resurrect themselves on those who remain complacent and unfocused in life. The Aklanon martyrs could be emulated in dire circumstances that despite being outgunned, outnumbered and ill-trained they continued to fight for the cause of freedom. 

Their struggle could not be in vain if we unite ourselves to strengthen civic awareness by paying taxes, practicing moral values like honesty, loyalty, and dignify labor. To our leaders in government, the clarion call is for effective governance and the promotion of public interest. Aklanons have all the chances to become heroes like the 19 martyrs, concluded the congressman. 

(If they have no insatiable greed not only of money but honor and power in governance. The situation needs honest and dedicated officials.)

The re-enactment of the martyrdom the Kalibo Pilot Elementary School teachers and pupils presented drew loudest applause and admiration from the audience. Agile dancers and charmed performers captivated young and old alike with sensitive yet strong choreography. Backdrop of props and cacophony of sounds of mortar fire, agony and pain inflicted on hapless civilians ripped through the blazing noonday sun. (Can we enjoy watching foreigners killing our people?)

The play depicted two OFW’s in Australia named Candido Iban and Francisco Castillo who worked as pearl divers. After winning a lottery ticket, both decided to come home to Aklan and join the revolutionary struggle of Supremo Andres Bonifacio. The pot money was donated to the Katipunan used to buy a printing machine. Armed volunteers came from New Washington, Batan, Malinao, Kalibo, Lezo, Banga, Balete and Altavas. Initiation rites called Pacto de Sangre or Blood Compact was first held in Cawayan, Batan, now New Washington.

Confiscation and destruction of fishing boat named Sagrada Trinidad by Spanish authorities led to open revolt by Gen. Francisco Del Castillo and his men. The target was the Spanish garrison in Kalibo manned by local militia headed by Captain Juan Azarraga on the morning of March 17, 1897. The general astride a horse was shot and killed by a sniper. 

Death of Gen. Del Castillo gripped the authorities and people with terror. To quell the rebellion it issued a call for political amnesty. Many members and sympathizers surrendered only to be tortured and jailed. Of the over 100 prisoners, twenty were detained as principal suspects. Fortunately, one was released through the intercession of Fructuosa Meren, Spanish mestiza and prisoner’s wife.

On March 23, 1897, all 19 prisoners were summarily executed by a firing squad in the town square. Their bodies were hastily buried in a mass grave inside a cemetery. By virtue of a Municipal Council resolution, the mortal remains of 19 martyrs were transferred to its present site at corner M. Laserna and Veterans’ Avenue on March 23, 1926.

Today, we honor the patriotism and courage of our Aklanon forbears namely: Roman Aguirre, Tomas Briones, Domingo dela Cruz, Claro Delgado, Angelo Fernandez, Simeon Inocencio, Catalino Mangat, Lamberto Mangat, Valeriano Masula, Maximo Mationg, Simplicio Reyes, Valeriano Dalida, Isidro Jimenez, Canuto Segovia, Gavino Sucgang, Francisco Villorente, Benito Iban, Candido Iban and Gabino Yonsal. To them and their descendants we offer our endless gratitude. /MP  

Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ambrosio R. Villorente

Extortion At NAIA

Vice Pres. Jejomar C. Binay urged the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Tourists visa holders to report instances of extortion by officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Binay said, “I dare you to report to us any case of extortion, and then and there we will arrest the suspect”.

According to Vice President Binay, several investigation officers who were caught extorting money from plane passengers were suspended and replaced just recently.

Malicious Press Release

A concerned citizen from Estancia, Kalibo, Aklan has reported a procurement anomaly to the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Visayas against Mayor William S. Lachica and other elected officials of the Ati Atihan Town of Kalibo”. 

But a check with Ms. Nanie Roldan, Budget officer, LGU Kalibo, the EF found out nothing is anomalous. Ms. Roldan explained the procurement procedure was really observed by LGU Kalibo concerned officials in the procurement of “nine-in-one” heavy equipment which amounted (cost) to 14.74 million pesos from CAMEC JCB Corp., exclusive distributor of JCB 4CX ECO Backhoe”. Ms. Roldan claimed the LGU Kalibo Bids and Awards Committee was greatly involved in the purchase of the said equipment.

The press release by one who claimed to be concerned citizen is just malicious. 

3-Year Tricycle Franchise 

Greg Malapad, former member, Sangguniang Bayan of Kalibo vowed to work for the restoration of the 3 year tricycle franchise in Kalibo if he is able to return to the Kalibo SB in July 2013.

To recall, passenger tricycle franchise in Kalibo was valid for three years. This was reduced to only one (1) year by virtue of Kalibo Municipal Ordinance No. 2011–024 which provides for new rules in the grant of franchise or motorized tricycle operators permit. One change is the reduction of the permit from three (3) years to only one year.

According to Malapad, the DOTC guideline on the motorized tricycle operator’s permit allows to be valid for three years renewable to the same period. This guideline became effective on July 1, 1992.

To recall, Kalibo Municipal Ordinance No. 2011 - 024 was submitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan for review. However, the SP Aklan returned it to the SP Kalibo without action. The SP Aklan requested SB Kalibo to incorporate the separability and repealing clauses in the ordinance. This was not complied.  SB Kalibo did not re-submit it to SP Aklan. /MP  

Aklan SP Disapproves LGU Banga’s Intent To Loan

by ODON S. BANDIOLA

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan disapproved the ordinance of the municipality of Banga authorizing its municipal government to borrow P50 million from a bank to finance the procurement of heavy equipment.

The disapproval of the ordinance followed after the Provincial Local Finance Committee (PLFC) concluded that LGU-Banga is not qualified to incur bank loans as it has never been issued the Seal of Good Housekeeping by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

The requirement is embodied in Local Finance Circular No. 1-2012 dated April 16, 2012 making the Seal of Good Housekeeping a major requirement to LGUs to contract loans, according to the PLFC.

The SPs disapproval on the Banga ordinance was passed during its 9th Regular Session on Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

The disapproved Banga  Ordinance is No. 2013-003, “An Ordinance Authorizing The Proposed Loan of the Municipality of Banga, Province of Aklan In the Amount of Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000,000) To Fund the Purchase of Various Heavy Equipment: Namely; One Bulldozer, One Wheel Loader, Road Grader, Crawler Excavator(Back Hoe), Garbage Compactor, Six-Wheeler Dump Truck and Mini Dump Truck To Be Used for Road Opening As Well As Rehabilitation, Construction, Expansion of Municipal Roads, Circumferential Road, Access Roads, Feeder Roads, Farm To Market Roads, Dredging of Aklan River Shoreline(Municipal Territorial Jurisdiction), Solid Waste Management Program And Other Various Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Development Projects of the Municipality of Banga.”

Before its disapproval, the SP returned the same ordinance without action to the Sangguniang Bayan of Banga for lack of the required number of votes for its passage.

The Local Government Code prescribes that any enactment authorizing a local government unit to borrow money shall be approved by the majority of all the members of the local (SB) legislative body. /MP

Journey To Ixtlan: Lessons of Don Juan

by ALEX P. VIDAL

“For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous desert, in this marvelous time. I wanted to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while; in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.”  DON JUAN

Carlos Castaneda’s “Journey to Ixtlan” pales in comparison to “The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge” and “A Separate Reality”, the books he wrote while he was an anthropology student at the University of California, but “Journey to Ixtlan” and the lesson the Peruvian-American author has given the readers present an awesome vision of the world that is both a literary masterpiece and the gateway to a new and more profound way of thinking about ourselves, of living our own lives.

Castaneda’s third book is about an alleged apprenticeship to the Yaqui “shaman,” Don Juan. It is the record of Castaneda’s initiation into the mysteries of sorcery--of becoming a “man of knowledge”--at the hands of one of the most remarkable personalities ever to emerge from anthropological investigation: Don Juan, the Yaqui brujo (sorcerer). 

Don Juan’s profound insight into the nature of things and his deep, disturbing knowledge of human nature made “The Teachings of Don Juan” and “A Separate Reality” immediate classics. His brooding, powerful and vivid presence has haunted, perplexed and illuminated the lives of several hundred thousand readers.

HALLUCINOGENS

The two earlier books were concerned with the use of hallucinogens in Don Juan’s sorcery and recorded Castaneda’s experiences, sometimes searing and terrifying, as he underwent the long and arduous apprenticeship of becoming a “man of knowledge.” Journey to Ixtlan transcends these experiences to show the reader the means by which a “man of power” sees, as opposed to merely looking, and how by his concentrated “seeing” can, indeed, “stop the world.”

Castaneda reaches for power in a series of startling encounters with the unknown--a confrontation with death and the past in the form of an albino falcon; with the twilight wind that is really power; with a flesh-and-blood mountain lion that Don Juan attracts by using Castaneda as the bait in a test of courage; with a mountain fog that brings visions and terror in the high mountains and in the bright, arid desert.

These visions and experiences from the lessons of Don Juan, the techniques and concentration and compassion of the hunter--the man who is “without routines, free, fluid, unpredictable”--finding in the world around him the power that he has learned, see, use and control.

The title of this book is taken from an allegory that is recounted to Castaneda by his “benefactor” who is known to Carlos as Don Genaro (Genaro Flores), a close friend of his teacher Don Juan Matus. “Ixtlan” turns out to be a metaphorical hometown (or place/position of being) to which the “sorcerer” or warrior or man of knowledge without reason or thoughts is drawn to return. This is because his elevated perspective leaves him little in common with ordinary people, who now seem no more substantial to him than “phantoms.” The point of the story is that a man of knowledge, or sorcerer, is a changed being, or a Human closer to his true state of Being, and for that reason he can never truly go “home” to his old lifestyle again.

TEACHINGS

In Journey to Ixtlan, Castaneda essentially reevaluates the teachings up to that point. He discusses information that was apparently missing from the first two books regarding stopping the world which previously he had only regarded as a metaphor. He also finds that psychotropic plants, knowledge of which was a significant part of his apprenticeship to Yaqui shaman Don Juan Matus, are not as important in the world view as he had previously thought. 

The book shows a progression between different states of learning, from hunter, to warrior, to man of knowledge or sorcerer, the difference said to be one of skill level and the type of thing hunted, “...a warrior is an impeccable hunter that hunts power. If he succeeds in his hunting he becomes a man of knowledge.”

Throughout the book Castaneda portrays himself as skeptical and reserved in his explanations of the phenomena at hand, but by the end of the book Castaneda’s rationalist worldview is seen to be breaking down in the face of an onslaught of experiences that he is unable to explain logically. /MP

Sugilanon Ni Tita Linda

Ni Tita Linda Belayro

Tikbalang

Ro tikbalang hay aeang-aeang. Tawo baea ra? Hayop ra? Ro tikbalang hay katunga nga kabayo ag katunga nga tawo. Kon siin naghalin ro unang tikbalang, owa man it nakasayod. Ogaling may isaeang ka historya nga may kaangtanan sa unang tikbalang. 

Si Loro hay isaeang ka binata nga naga alila it kabayo. Sa mga kabayo nga guina pa alilaan kana, may parayaw imaw nga isaeang ka babaye nga kabayo. Guin hingaeanan nana kay Black Princess. 

Ko olihi, nagtiyo si Black Princess ag guin tawag nana kay Black Jackie. Hapan uhan ni Loro nga may bueawan nga buhok sa anang idaeom it ikog ro tiyo. Nangin swerte kay Loro si Black Jackie. Permi imaw naga daog sa sugae ag maskin anong hampang ro anang guina intrahan. Kon owa imaw it makaon, naga bo-oe imaw it sangka buhok ag daehon sa alahera agod ibaligya. 

Sa kada daea nana it bueawan nga buhok, naga kangawa ro alahera kon siin imaw naga bo-oe. Guin papanid-an it alahera si Loro. Ko olihi, nasayuran nana kon siin naga halin ro bueawan nga buhok. Bangod sa kasueok it manggad, nagdesisyon ro alahera nga takawon ro kabayo. 

Ko gabi-e ngaron, guin sakay sa karito ro kabayo ag guin daea sa isaeang ka kwadra, sugo it alahera. Nag pa-ongae ro kabayo. Nagpilit nga maka libre. Eomompat imaw sa mataas nga pader ag nagpadueong idto sa isaeang ka eongib. Ro eongib hay gina estahan it mga kabayo. Guin baton imaw it pinuno it mga kabayo.

Naggueowa tanan ro mga kabayo ag doeongan nga nag haginghing. Samtang guina inusoy ro kabayo ko mga tawohan it alahera. Nag gueowa ro mga kabayo sa liwan it eongib ag guin abangan ro mga tawo nga naga usoy kay Black Jackie. Guin pang baril ro mga kabayo ogaling owa guid tanan sanda madutli. Nag abot dayon ro pinaka puno it mga kabayo. Sa kusog ko anang gahum, guin himo nana ro mga tawo nga tikbalang. Ro andang ibabaw hay tawo ogaling ro andang siki hay kabayo. Nagkaduea ro mga kabayo ag nagbalik sa eongib. Habilin ro mga tikbalang una sa kagueangan. 

Owa eon sanda makauli tongod sigurado nga kahadlukan sanda it mga tawo. Nagbalik kay Loro si Black Jackie kaibahan ko anang ina. Padayon pa guihapon it pag alila it mga kabayo si Loro. Hanungod sa mga tikbalang, si Loro eamang ro nakasayod kon ham-an it imaw ro andang nadangatan. /MP   

Reason & Concern

Ronquillo C. Tolentino

The Sabah Standoff

The Sabah standoff which started on February 12, 2013 in Tanduao village in the Sabah town of Lahad Datu had already claimed 63 lives. As a consequence, the United Nations through Secretary General  Ban Kimoon called upon the parties for a peaceful resolution. He also expressed concern on the impact of violence to the civilian population and migrants in the region.  

As I write this, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifa Aman had been reported to have  boldly announced in the state-run radio the adamant stand of the Malaysian government to negotiate a peaceful  end to the Sabah crisis.

Documentary evidence and historical titles would show the strong claim of the Philippine government to Sabah.

As a brief backgrounder, the Sultan of Sulu became ruler of northern Borneo through a cession from the Sultan of Brunei in recognition and gratitude to the help of the Sultan of Sulu in putting an end to a rebellion in 1704. In January 1878, Baron von Overbeck negotiated with the Sultan of Sulu for the lease of Sabah.  Questions on the lease of Sabah came in 1936 when the Sultan of Sulu died.   

                                                          

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, in a speech he delivered   on September 30, 2002 before the University of the East, College of Arts and Sciences symposium said: “The contract which carried the date of January 1878, was drafted by Overbeck and written in the Malaysian language in Arabic characters. The contract used the Malaysian word “padjak” to described the nature of the agreed transaction. The British and Malaysian claimed the word  “padjak” meant “sale or cession” and not “lease”. But scholars and Spanish documents translated the word “padjak” to mean the English word “lease” or the Spanish word “arrendamiento”.

Early on December 18, 1939, the High Court of the State of Borneo declared in a decision in Civil Suit No. 169/39, through a decision statement of Chief Justice C.F.C. Mackaskie that the heirs of the sultan were legally entitled the payment for North Borneo, “which the decision calls “cession payment” on the basis of an English translation by Maxwell and Gibson”. Although an obiter dictum opinion, Mackaskie categorically stated that the  Philippine government is the successor-in-sovereignty to the Sultanate of Sulu.

With the signing of the Federation of Malaya Act on July 31, 1957 as a sovereign country within the British Commonwealth came the termination  by the Sultan of Sulu  of the Overbeck and Dent lease effective January 22, 1958. When Peninsular Malaya was granted independence    on August 31, 1957, it included North Borneo (Sabah) in the concept and as part of Malaysia on May 27, 1961. This forced President Diosdado Macapagal to initiate the filing of the Philippine claim in North Borneo (Sabah). On April 24, 1962, the Heirs of the Sultan of Sulu ceded sovereignty over Sabah to the Philippine government. 

Actually, this was followed on September 12, l962 when the Sultan of Sulu ceded all rights, proprietary title, dominion and sovereignty to the Republic of the Philippines. I recall the resolution (Resolution No. 321) on February 5, l962 filed by Rep. Godofredo P. Ramos of Aklan stating among others, thus: “It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the claim to North Borneo is legal and valid”. The resolution was unanimously adopted even as it urged President Macapagal to taking concrete and necessary steps for the recovery of North Borneo (Sabah). Then Vice-President Emmanuel Pelaez addressed the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, l962 asserting the Philippine claim to Sabah to be valid and legal and historical grounds. Pelaez emphasized that the claim has been put forward with the sincere assurance of the Philippines’ desire that the issue be settled by peaceful means.

Notwithstanding the Manila Accord on August 5, l963 on the policy agreement signing by  the Federation of Malaya, the Philippines  and Indonesia  (MAPHILINDO) to peacefully resolve the issue on North Borneo coupled with a joint communique by the foreign ministers of the  three countries on August 5, 1963 that the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaya would not  prejudice the Philippine claim. Malaysia rejected the Philippine claim on July 17, l968 during the Bangkok talks. The Malaysian government, speaking through its foreign minister, stated that the position of his government is that” the Philippines has no claim at all, that there is nothing to settle, and there is nothing to talk about.”

In the 23rd session of the United Nations General Assembly on October 15, 1968, when the Philippine delegation declared its policy statement to bring the issue to the World Court, consistent with the Manila Accord agreement, Malaysia stated that the people of Sabah had shown their desire to be with the Federation of Malaysia ending that there is no Philippine claim and therefore nothing to discuss.

So many events have then transpired. The Supreme Court, in its decision in G.R. 187167, July 16, 2011 in upholding the baseline law stated that R.A. 9522 did not repeal R.A. 5466 and that, therefore, the Philippine claim over Sabah is retained and can be pursued. The decision further states that Section 2 of  RA 5466, which RA 9522 did not repeal, keeps open the door for drawing the baseline of Sabah.  That said section states:” The definition of the baseline of the territorial sea of the Philippine Archipelago is without prejudice to the delineation of the baseline of the territory around the territory of Sabah situated in North Borneo over which the Republic of the Philippines has acquired dominion and sovereignty.” 

The landing of the followers of Jamal Kiram on a Sabah village on February 12, 2013 should be peacefully settled and resolved by the Philippines with the Malaysian government without abdicating the Philippines’ peaceful claim to Sabah. /MP

NVC Schedules Special Summer Workshop

The Northwestern Visayan Colleges (NVC) yearly Special Summer Workshops for children ages 3-15 years old will be held this summer beginning April 10, 2013. The main objective of the workshop is to discover and develop the innate talents and skills of the children in the province of Aklan and its neighboring provinces.

NVC Special Summer Workshop is the longest running and the most participated workshop in Aklan since its inception. This year, there are around 500 participants who are expected to attend.

The workshops play a supportive role in finding ways for youth to express their perspectives that can have an impact in society.

The workshops also aim to raise community participation and build partnership with the business sector, civic organizations, foundations and individuals in order to provide the same opportunities to less privileged children to show-off as well as enhance their talents and be able to participate in this kind of activity.

The workshop duration is for one (1) month offering the following: Art/painting Workshop; Computer Kiddie Camp; Keyboard Lessons; Dance Lessons: a) Ballet and b) Modern/Ballroom; Cooking and Food Preparation; Theatre Arts; Violin Lessons; Guitar Lessons; Voice Lessons; Speech lessons; Martial Arts (Taekwondo); Sports Clinic (Basketball and Volleyball); and Tutorials for Academic Subjects: a) English, b) Math and c) Science. 

NVC is a private non-secretarian institution and had started modestly as a learning institution in all the branches of arts and sciences offering classes in pre-elementary, elementary and secondary instructions as well as graduate and collegiate courses. Its six decades and five years of existence boasts of a record high in enrollment in the municipality of Kalibo and in the province of Aklan in general. The institution has been consistent with its role as a college in which learning are promoted and nurtured. /MP

Ducks On Pasture Lay High Economic Benefits

by ERNESTO T. SOLIDUM

Most livestock projects like cattle and swine production need big capital outlay and enough know-how to succeed in commercial scale. Critical considerations are essential management aspects like selecting desired breeds, housing and fencing, feeding practices, pest and disease prevention, breeding and marketing. To a high school graduate like Ferdinand Qualiza, 28 of Pudiot, Tangalan, Aklan, this is a very tall order. He simply does not possess the technical skills and financial capability to undertake them. In hog raising for instance, 80 percent of the cost goes for feeds. Many have lost their shirts in cattle farming. 

In 2003, Ferdinand then single and jobless thought of raising a small flock of Khaki Campbell ducks for the family food and to augment income. He fed them rice bran and corn grits while ducks foraged in a nearby creek for most of their protein and mineral requirements. Egg production was fairly good at 70 percent. It didn’t took long that natural food supply was depleted. Meanwhile his ducks rose to 100 layers while animal feed was critically low. 

Ferdinand got married in 2006. His challenge was to prepare for the growing family needs. He thought of “pasturing” his ducks into newly harvested rice fields after seeking permission from farm owners. Of course, this required the services of a caretaker usually a teenager who is paid P1,500 a month. Substance allowance, makeshift shelter and plastic netting enclosure are provided by the business proprietor.

Ducks usually feed in groups relishing palay leftovers, insects, earthworm and golden apple snails. They are herded back to plastic enclosure late in the afternoon where they lay eggs the following day or before dawn.

Ferdinand says that 150 eggs could be produced by 200 layers or 75 percent efficiency. This is very significant since no supplemental feed or concentrate is used. Golden apple snails or kuhol provide the best substitute and considered one of the major rice pests in the Philippines. After an area is “cleared”, birds are transported in mass to another location by jeepney or specialized trailer attached to a trike. Priority is nearby municipalities where rice harvesting is done. In some cases they go as far as Mambusao, Capiz or Sibalom, Antique. “If my duck population increases to 700 I plan to have it taken to Mindoro where the rice cultivation is continuously done the whole year, said Qualiza, the enterprising poultry raiser. 

Presently, Ferdinand has 1000 duck eggs inside his home-made incubator that will hatch in the next few days. A craftsman with practical know-how, he first designed and constructed a thermo chest incubator with 300 egg capacity. He said the batch of day old chicks are on purchased order priced at P60.00 each (female) and P30.00 (assorted) and will be picked up by the buyer. It takes 28 days to incubate the eggs artificially since egg type ducks don’t sit on their eggs. It is only the meat type or muscovy duck that does so. 

Market demand for duck eggs and processed one – balut, penoy and salted are so high in Boracay that suppliers from Mindoro and Batangas unload several thousand eggs there daily. Ducks rank next to chicken in terms of eggs and meat production. Eighty six percent of our estimated 6 million ducks are raised in backyard farms while the rest is in commercial scale. Prof. Pelagio O. Olanday, Jr. of the University of Southern Mindanao said that annual growth rate of 2.4 percent is very low compared to other Asian countries like China, Bangladesh and Thailand. This is the reason why we have serious protein, vitamin and mineral deficiencies among children, pregnant and lactating mothers. 

Poultry specialists recommend for duck egg production Mallard (native of Philippines), Khaki Campbell (England), Indian Runner (East Indies), Tsaiya (Taiwan) and Cherry Valley (Cherry Valley, England). Cherry Valley is a commercial hybrid duck that can lay 285 eggs a year with an egg weight of 7.6 grams.

Ready to lay breeders cost P250.00 each but buyers are assured of better health, early capital turnover and adaptability. For the first two weeks, ducklings are fed rice gruel (lugao) because of fragile digestive system. This is mixed with ground shrimps or dilis. Optimum temperature is maintained inside its brooder. Later commercial chick starter and growing mash are given until they attain sexual maturity in 5 months time. For normal egg production, ratio of male to female is 1:15. Unfertilized eggs result to penoy when incubated.

The youthful farmer now has three kids. He greatly enjoys the impact of the business to his life, family and community. With his wife, the daily net income of P700 from egg sales (150 eggs x P6.00 each equals P900.00 minus P200.00 for caretakers’ wages and subsistence) has allowed them to put up a semi-permanent double storey house, acquired electrical appliances and second hand multi-cab.

What is remarkable about this duck egg raising is the non allocation for feeds, housing, land rental, veterinary drugs or expensive equipment. It’s business operation is pared down to the barest essentials show an economic analysis unmatched as to return on investment. If geese lay golden eggs the best waterfowl is most likely ducks because it has brought culinary fame – the tasty balut Westerners considers exotic. /MP 

Aklan SP Probes Boracay Ati Spokesman Murder

The Aklan Sangguniang Panlalawigan sought updates from Aklan police authorities and of Boracay on the status of the murder case against the suspect of the brazen killing of Boracay Ati spokesman, Dexter Condez.

Condez was brutally killed by a lone gunman in the evening of February 22 at Barangay Manoc-manoc, Boracay Island. He suffered eight gunshot wounds including one which pierced his heart. He was gun down while walking together with his two lady companions on the way to the Ati Village at Barangay Manoc-manoc, Boracay Island.

Police authorities apprehended a certain Daniel Celestino. He was tagged by witnesses as the alleged gunman. Celestino was reportedly a security guard of a resort which is disputing ownership of the land granted to the Ati tribe by the Philippine government through a Certificate of Ancestral Domain title by the National Commission on Indigenous People last Nov. 11, 2011.

Through Resolution No. 2013-027 the SP passed during its 7th Regular Session on March 8, 2013 sponsored by SP member Phoebe Clarice L. Cabagnot. The SP asks police authorities to apprise the members on the status of the case and the measures taken to prevent similar incident in the island of Boracay.

Cabagnot emphasized that the SP should take the Condez case as exceptional and that importance and attention must be given to hasten resolution of the case.

The SP said, Condez’ murder sets an extremely terrible precedent which can result into more violence, murders and killings over land disputes. The case must be given proper attention as it is one of the critical indicators of the kind of security existing in the island of Boracay.

The SP has invited police chiefs of Aklan, Malay and Boracay including other interested parties to its 8th Regular Session. (by ODON S. BANDIOLA) /MP

P5 A Cubic Meter Sand & Gravel

by ODON S. BANDIOLA

The decision of the provincial government of Aklan to engage the STL Panay Resources LTD, to dredge the Aklan River downstream the Kalibo-Numancia bridge to its mouth at north towards the Sibuyan Sea, highlights a very big question to the minds of our people.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE P100 MILLION DREDGING PROJECT OF THE DPWH IMPLEMENTED BY ITS REGIONAL OFFICE IN ILOILO CITY IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 2008 TYPHOON FRANK IN THE SAME AREA OF THE RIVER?

The implementation of the DPWH dredging project was considerably delayed even after Typhoon Frank and therefore the whole appropriations for the said project was spent and the dredging deemed completed in 2011.

This proposed dredging project of the Aklan provincial government with a private firm will only indicate less or nothing had happened to mitigate the flooding of Kalibo and  Numancia and other towns along the Aklan River. Abnormal and heavy rainfall brought by Tropical Depression Quinta proved the P100 million dredging project at the Aklan River in the aftermath of Typhoon Frank was worthless after two or more years.

The draft agreement between the STL Panay Resources LTD and the provincial government for the dredging project shall entail no cost on the part of the LGU Aklan. The provincial government shall be compensated at P5 per cubic meter of dredged (sand and gravel) materials commercialized by the STL Panay Resources.

Some critics said the arrangement is a sell-out at P5 per cubic meter. STL Panay Resources is expected to dredge about 15 million cubic meters, or, P75 million income for Aklan province without any investment but allows excavation, hauling and marketing.

Of course, the implementers of a dredging project will always conveniently reason out that siltation and sandbar formations will always return to the dredged area after completion of the dredging due to natural phenomenon in a river system.

Dredging projects can always become a lucrative business for dredging contractors with less accurate monitoring and accounting of funds disbursed by government agency-implementor.

No one can also be held accountable for siltations and sand bar formation to develop in the dredged area even in the immediate aftermath of a dredging project completion. /MP

Sugilanon Ni Tita Linda

Baeangaw Tulay It Mga Diosa

Ni Tita Linda Belayro

Sa bukid it Olympus naga estar ro mga Diyosa. Duro ro naga bantay sa andang pagpanaog sa patag. Kon magtunga ngani ro baeangaw, naga patima-an nga may Diyosa nga manaog sa datag. Sa anang pagpanaog, naga daea imaw it kamaeayran sa tanan nga makakita kana tongod sa kutob nga anang maagyan hay naga tao it bueawan o kon ano nga maeahaeon nga bato. 

Sa isaeang maeapit nga baryo, may naga estar nga manog gatas it baka nga si Milka. Imaw ro kabulig ko anang ina sa paggatas sa mga hayupang baka. Sa mga baka nanda ro andang kwarta ga halin. 

Sanda hay mga kabulig ni Don Gustavo, isaeang ka istrikto nga tag-ana it maeapad nga eogta maeapit sa bukid it Olympus. 

Ko agahon ngaron, samtang naga pahaom it paggatas si Milka, may nagtunga nga baeangaw sa eangit. Kinoeba-an imaw ag nag pang eamig ro anang eawas.

Naga daywa-daywa ro anang paino-ino kon mapanaw imaw o indi agod bantayan ro pagpanaog it diyosa. Tongod sa masyadong estrikto ro andang amo ag permi pa sanda nga guina sakit, guin pili ni Milka nga mag pasimpaead.

Inaywan nana ro mga baka ag dumaeagan para magbantay sa pagpanaog it diyosa. Owa mabuhayi, naghayag ro baeangaw. Masilaw nga mayad. Guin piyong nana ro anang mata. Madali manlang ro pagpiyong. Pagmuk-eat nana, hakita nana nga ro diyosa it kabueakan ro nanaog ag nagpamasyar sa isaeang ka hardin. Guin sunod ko anang panueok kon siin maghalin ro diyosa hasta nga naduea. 

Nagbalik sa eangit ro diyosa paagi man sa baeangaw. Pag-abot nana sa lugar nga guin agyan it diyosa, hakita nana ro naga hayag nga mga bato ag diyamante. Nangin bueawan man ro kutob masaghiran nga mga dahon ko anang eambong. 

Dali-dali ni Milka nga guin pueot ro mga bato ag guin pang kotoe ro mga dahon ag isueod sa anang boesa.

Mabakas nagbalik sa mga baka si Milka. Sa anang pag-abot, haabutan nana nga akig it duro ro Don tongod bu-ot nana nga mag inom it gatas, ogaling owa pa maka gatas. Guin paea-as nana ro mag ina nga naga taeangison. Indi haeos mag halin si Milka kay Don Gustavo, ogaling pilit imaw nga guin pahalin. 

Busa, naghalin ag nagpanaw sanda. Pag abot sa palhi nga lugar, guin pakita ni Milka sa anang ina ro anang daeang mga bato. Nagpaeayo ro daywa ag nag adto sa syudad. Idto sanda nag estar ag naka patindog it negosyo sa alahas ag naga obra it mga mwebles. Naka bakae man sanda it maeapad nga eanas nga guin patindogan it paktoriya it gatas. 

Owa nakasayod si Don Gustavo nga ro anang dating sueogo-on ag manog gatas hay pareho mang negosyo ko ana. 

Mabu-ot guid matuod ro Diyos. Maeapit imaw sa mga kubos ag mga tawong guina tuya-tuya. Kaantiguhan imaw kon hin-uno Nana ikaw paga taw-an it kapahuwayan. Ayaw guid pagdali-a Imaw, ro mahae nga Diyos. /MP

6th Regional YES-O Congress, A Success

by ELENITA M. REYES

Over 3,000 participants trooped to the town of Kalibo on February 8-10, 2013. They participated in the 6th Regional Youth for Environment in Schools Organization (YES-O) Congress.

With the theme: “Kalikasan Kalingain, Batas Tuparin”, this year’s gathering of youth environmentalists was spearheaded by the YES-O Advisers Association of Region VI. Ms. Maria Magnolia Q. Danganan, DENR National Desk Officer served as keynote speaker. National and local bigwigs graced the opening program who are Aklan Governor Carlito S. Marquez, Vice Governor Gabrielle V. Calizo-Quimpo, Congressman Florencio T. Miraflores and Kasangga Partylist Representative Hon. Teodorico T. Haresco, Jr., Kalibo Mayor William S. Lachica and DepEd Aklan Chief, Dr. Jesse M. Gomez.

In her speech, Ms. Danganan stressed to the participants the urgent need to transform their commitment into noble actions, which is the ultimate goal of the YES-O program. Gov. Marquez on his part extolled the organizers for coming up with the event which he referred to as a good avenue to teach students to come up with appropriate actions in response to global concern on climate change adaption. 

YES-O members on the other hand wore their best smiles when they were referred to as “Ambassadors of Nature” by Cong. Miraflores. Kasangga Partylist Rep. Ted haresco gave emphasis on the vital role of students in environmental conservation and preservation. Vice Gov. Calizo-Quimpo pointed out that the YES-O Congress is a good venue in educating the youth in terms of caring nature. 

Kalibo Mayor William S. Lachica welcomed the delegates. He talked about the local tourism industry as he promotes “Manggad It Kalibo”, the Ati-atihan Festival and Piña Weaving Industry. Dr. Gomez on the other hand, pointed out the use of multiple intelligence in advocating the care for the environment. 

YES-O Congress highlighted the many lined activities and contests which were dominated by YES-O Aklan contingent.

To recall, the Youth for Environment in Schools Organization came to life by virtue of Department of Education Memorandum No. 72, Series of 2003. The YES-O congress is expected to establish specific and doable programs, projects, and activities to address the important role of students in climate change adaptation, ecological protection and disaster preparedness. /MP 

EDITORIAL

Be Aware of “Oplan Katok”

by ERNESTO T. SOLIDUM

“Law Enforcement and Fire Prevention” is the topic of Kapihan held at Payag Street Lounge on March 9, 2013. The guests are Fire Insp. Donie M. Torre, Kalibo Fire Station, SPO4 Luzbella M. Isada, PS Insp. Renante D. Matillano, Kalibo MPS and SPO3 Abraham T. Regatalio, Kalibo MPS.

Insp. Matillano disclosed that the Philippine National Police (PNP) is implementing “Oplan Katok” in compliance to the Comelec gun ban that covers from January 13 to May 30, 2013 or the midterm elections. As of 25 February this year, a total of 1,150 firearms license failed to be renewed by gun owners while about half or 1,005 are considered loose firearms.

Kalibo, being the capital town has 743 expired licenses. The owners are advised to renew their individual license, pay corresponding penalty (P5,000 per handgun) or turn them over to PNP for safekeeping. Presently, the police is engaged in info dissemination through the mass media. So far, the result is satisfactory. Some 28 gun owners had renewed their licenses while 700 are still being processed. 

SPO3 Regatalio reported that crime incidence in Kalibo is mainly theft and robbery committed mostly by minors. Children in Conflict with the Law or RA 9344 provides forbearance on the part of law enforcers to impose stiff penalties if offenders are less than 17 years old. The youth is presumed innocent when he/she lacks discernment of the crime.

Instead of applying the full force of the law as in adult cases, children together with their parents, are given proper counseling by PNP and DSWD personnel. Regatalio warned that recidivists or those arrested more than three times will be evaluated for other possible infringement of the law.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) cites March as Fire Prevention month in compliance with Presidential Proclamation No. 115-A of former Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos. Inspector Torre averred that based on record, March has the highest incidence of fire in the country although this needs review today with climate change. Fire is both friend and foe so people must exert extra diligence to prevent and contain fire outbreak that may result to loss of lives and property. 

The best advice during a conflagration is never to panic: call immediately fire station hotline 143 (Pantelco) or 160 (Cruztelco). Fire Marshall Torre added that in the event of fire with ordinary combustible materials, the first three minutes is crucial since it can be extinguished either by physical, chemical or mechanical control measures.

SPO4 Isada mentioned that the PNP Community Relations Division is implementing RA 9262 or the law protecting and enhancing women’s rights. A series of dialogues is held in Linabuan Sur and Tinigao to orient women as well as men on the basic rights and responsibilities. 

Gender-based discussions give women insights into their multi-tasking role as wife, mother, counselor, manager, and wage earner. It is unfortunate that wives often forget to feed their hungry husbands or being obsessed with gambling itch like “tong-its or mahjong” and that’s where the trouble or violence erupts, said Isada. 

The total crime volume in 2012 the Akan Police Provincial Office (APPO) reported shows a decrease of 3.69 percent compared to 2011. The actual data is 919 cases in 2011 while this fell to 885 in 2012. The improvement is also noted in crime solution efficiency with an increase of 10.8 percent for the one year period. P/Supt. Pedrito Escarilla believes the overall improvement in performance is the Pro-active Policing System (PAPS). Undoubtedly, the higher police visibility and professionalism have contributed much to regain public trust for police personnel. 

Considering that rules of engagement in highway checkpoints manned by Comelec and PNP forbid the body searches for hidden weapons and/or drugs, law enforcers must use K-9 units to flush out contraband items. Trained canine dogs however is a rarity in the Philippines. Its services are mostly confined to international airports and seaports. Boracay, being a premiere high end tourist destination in the country, must have them to effectively eradicate the scourge of drugs and loose firearms.

Observation shows the lamentable acute shortage of guns and ammunition in the PNP. There is also lack of service vehicles and fire trucks. It is difficult to imagine responding to a crime on foot. Worse, for 10 out of 17 towns in Aklan have no fire stations to call in case of emergencies. Yet, directive of BFP states that firemen must come to the rescue within five minutes after the call is made. Urgent appeal is made to our elected officials and civil organizations to provide at least a functional fire station with two service vehicles in each municipality.

Do you agree that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty? Crime prevention is not only the responsibility of law enforcers but everyone in the community. The peace and freedom that we enjoy are the fruits of our collective efforts. Indeed, without peace there can be no development. /MP 

Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ambrosio R. Villorente

Ombudsman Suspends Libacao Mayor, 

Dismisses Case Against Turang

Mayor Charito Inventado Navarosa of Libacao, Aklan, “in irregularly and knowingly appointing (Paterno D. Jr.) Turang as Libacao College of Science and Technology (LCST) College Administrator despite the latter’s lack of qualification therefore tarnished the image and integrity of (his) her office. 

“As the Municipality Mayor of Libacao, Aklan, the very position which allowed (him) her, thru Municipal Ordinance No. 005-04, to function as chairperson of the Board of Trustees of LCST, charged to appoint the College Administrator. Mayor Navarosa should be indicted accordingly. The complaint is dismissed as regards respondent’s Paterno D. Turang, Jr. Mayor Navarosa is held administratively liable for Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service and is imposed the penalty of suspension of six (6) months and one (1) day.”

These are the decisions of the Office of the Ombudsman after its Joint Review on the complaint filed by Dr. Arturo I. Zonio against Mayor Charito I. Navarosa and Mr. Paterno D. Turang, Jr. who are Libacao Mayor and LCST College Administrator respectively.

The complaint alleged that the appointment of “Mayor Navarosa of Turang as LCST College Administrator is illegal for being strictly prohibited” as provided for in RA 7160 which provided”, no candidate who lost in any election shall, within one year after such election be appointed to any office in the government.

The complaint alleged that Turang lost in the May 10, 2010 election for Vice Mayor of Libacao. He was appointed Consultant on July 1, 2010, barely 50 days after the election in May 2010. 

In his counter-affidavit, Mayor Navarosa cited political reasons for filing the complaint and out of resentment because the complainant, Dr. Arturo I. Zonio yearned to be re appointed as LCST Administrator.

The issue on Turang is his qualification to be appointed College Administrator.

However, Turang contrary to complaints claimed he graduated with the degree BS Industrial Education and finished Master of Arts in Education. He also took up units in Doctoral Education. After reviewing the complaint, all the necessary information submitted by both parties, the Ombudsman concluded that: 

1. The powers and duties inherent to the position of LCST Administrator do not fit into the nature of professional job order employment. The job does not entail a piece of work of short duration requiring special or technical skills but obviously is managerial necessitating full time service;

2. Mayor Navarosa in designating Turang as LCST College Administrator, traversed the prohibition set under Section 15, Rule XIII of CSC Memorandum Circular No. 40, S. 1998 that no consultant, contractual or non-career employee shall be designated to positions exercising control or supervision over regular and career personnel”; 

3. Mayor Navarosa intended Turang to hold the position of LCST College Administrator notwithstanding the latter’s lack of qualifications in the guise of a consultancy services in order to avoid the application of one year prohibition for appointment of defeated electoral candidates, but violated the prohibition Under Section 15, Rule XIII of CSC Memorandum Circular No. 40, S. 1998;

4. Turang’s appointment on July 1, 2011 as LCST College Administrator remains invalid because his appointment was not upon the recommendation of the Selection Committee with the concurrence of the Sangguniang Bayan of Libacao. The appointment did not show “it was a collective act of the LCST Board of Trustees as provided for in the Municipal Ordinance No. 005-04 of Libacao. 

5. The requirement of having a doctorate degree was not complied with, the Ombudsman decision stated. Turang’s appointment as College Administrator appeared not to have been submitted to the CSC for approval as provided for in the Libacao Municipal Ordinance No. 005-04.

Hence, as charged, Ombudsman found there is probable cause for Article 244 of the Revised Penal Code. “Mayor Charito I. Navarosa, Municipal Mayor of Libacao should be indicted accordingly. He is also held administratively liable for Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service…imposed the penalty of six (6) months and one (1) day suspension”.

“The complaint against Paterno D. Turang, Jr. is dismissed”.

The Regional Director, DILG, Region VI is directed to implement the administrative aspect of the Joint Review and promptly submit to Ombudsman its compliance report. /MP

RC Kalibo Hauls Award

The Rotary Club of Kalibo earned another prestigious crown for being awarded, “Outstanding Club of RI District 3850 for the Club Year 2012 – 2013. RI District 3850 is composed of the Rotary Clubs in Panay, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Zamboanga provinces, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi Tawi.

The award was given during the District Convention held in Bacolod City on March 6 – 9, 2013.  

But not only that. There are other five (5) major awards RC Kalibo brought home. Dennis Lim walked away with the Outstanding Club President Award; Dr. Raphy Tayco brought home the Most Outstanding Club Secretary; RC Kalibo got the Most Outstanding In Vocational Service Award; the Regional Science High School was awarded the Outstanding Interact Club; RC Kalibo Outstanding Service Recognition; and 100 percent in the Rotary Foundation Giving Award.

The major considerations of the giving of awards are the club and individual performances following the criteria for each category. The evaluation and selection are done by the District Awards Committee organized at the start of the club year in July. /MP

Aklan PNP Probes On Ati Spokesman Murder

Task Group Condez of the Aklan Philippine National Police does not stop in merely filing a murder charge against the alleged gunman in the killing of the Ati tribe spokesman in Boracay. It as well, extends its investigation to finding the “brain” behind the heinous crime.

Aklan Provincial Director PSSupt Pedrito Escarilla, TG Condez Head and PSINSP Joeffer Cabural, Chief, of the PNP’s Boracay Tourists Assistance Center (BTAC) revealed during the 8th Regular Session of the Aklan Sangguniang Panlalawigan on Wednesday, March 13, 2013. Police authorities in Aklan were summoned by Aklan SP to seek an update on the case against those responsible for the gunslaying of Dexter Condez, Boracay Ati tribe spokesman in Boracay Island in the evening of Feb. 22, 2013.

According to Cabural, overt and covert follow-up investigation on the case is still on-going aimed at identifying the mastermind behind the killing.

This, Escarilla and Cabural said because the police believe that it is possible the suspect was hired to silence Condez. The police have theorized that the present land dispute over a 2.1 hectare land occupied by the Ati community is taken seriously as the motive of the killing.

Said police official reported that Condez had been very vocal on his fight for their ancestral rights over the land being disputed by two or more claimants.

By killing Condez, the assassins were motivated to sow fear among the Ati community in order for them not to pursue their claim over the disputed land.

Condez, 26 years old, organizer and spokesperson of the Ati community in Boracay, was gunned down by the alleged assassin at about 8:45 in the evening of Feb.22 at Sitio Lugutan, Manoc-manoc, Boracay while walking towards the Ati village in the company of a certain Edelyn S. Tamboon and Leonida T. Bartolome.

The Ati spokesman suffered gunshot wounds at his left shoulder, left armpit, left chest, right armpit, right arm, right upper eyebrow and right face. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Dr. Ciriaco S. Tirol Hospital in Boracay Island.

Escarilla and Cabural reported that five witnesses surfaced and issued corroborating statements, though circumstantial, detailing the facial and body description of the suspect who was later identified as Daniel Celestino. The police said that according to one of the witnesses, the suspect with a companion was seen in the morning of Feb. 22 at the Ati community village at Lugutan, Manoc-manoc riding on a green Rascal Motorcycle. Both hurriedly left when Condez went out of his house.

On February 26, Cabural said, a criminal case for murder was filed against Daniel Celestino and John and Peter Does at the provincial prosecutor’s office in Kalibo, Aklan.

The police said the suspect was a former security guard of a security agency but later resigned and became a bodyguard of a ranking executive of a resort which also claims ownership over the disputed land occupied by the Ati community. /MP