SOCO confirms human remains in firing range; CHR probe hampered by lack of warrant

The Commission on Human Rights-led Task Force probing the alleged dumping ground of bodies of summary killings in Davao City has found human skeletal remains but its probe has been hampered by the delay in the issuance of a search warrant from the local court.

This was revealed by CHR Chairperson Leila M. De Lima in a statement dated July 7, 2009.

The original search warrant being held by the Task Force has been issued by The Regional Trial Court Branch 34 of Manila. While the warrant authorized them to search a burial site within the Gold Cup Firing Range owned by retired policeman Bienvenido Laud, it did not however include a man-made pit in a creek where they found a human leg bone.

“The team immediately endeavoured to apply for a new search warrant at the RTC-Davao City; the application was however passed from one judge up to the fourth who appeared to reluctantly conduct the summary proceedings,” the statement said. It added that the presiding judge made a very discouraging comment “alam nyo ba ginagawa nyo?”

The CHR said the presiding judge promised to act on the application before 5PM of July 6 but directed the applicant to wait for the following day July 7. The CHR statement was sent to NBN Davao at 1PM of July 8 sans any update as to the status of the warrant application.

The PNP Special Investigation Task Group or SITG applied for the original search warrant based on the “sworn statement of a former self-confessed DDS member/eyewitness” under the belief that the Gold Cup Firing Range has been used as a dumping ground of bodies of victims of summary killings in the city.

CHR said the digging, which was led by SITG’s PSSupt. Fajardo, “resulted in the findings of several fragments identified by the SOCO as human remains”. With such a positive result, CHR said, “The team is very optimistic that more remnants of summary executions are about to be unearthed.”

The other members of the SITG Team implementing the search warrant include CIDG-NCR under PS1 Sy, CLS led by PCI Palmero, Atty. Villena of HRAO, CIDG PRO XI’s PSupt. Masauding assisted by the Regional Mobile Group led by PSupt Quinsay, PACER Mindanao led by PSupt Briones. (photos by: Rene Lumawag)

Victims Of Davao Summary Killings Unearthed At Laud Shooting Range

The Commission on Human Rights has unearthed dead bodies, said to be victims of summary executions right at the Laud Shooting Range in Maa, Davao City. Team member Atty. Eduardo Villena said a team under the CIDG is in charge of digging the area so they could not give any details yet as it is on-going.

Barangay Maa secretary Edgar Jose Balasa said he is not aware of anything going on in the area and all he knows it that it is a firing range owned by retired police Bienvenido Laud who is the younger brother of Maa Barangay Captain Loreto Laud, Jr.

In a letter addressed to the CHR authorities, landowner Bienvenido Laud, Jr. said he has authorized his lawyers Atty. Juan R. Zamora and Atty. Victorio Advincula to "negotiate and have a dialogue with the CHR" in connection with the search warrant issued against him.

"I never allowed nor consented to the implementation of the said search warrant," Laud said. Villena however said there is no need to get the consent of an individual when there is a valid search warrant.

The entrance to the Laud Firing Range is presently being manned by the military on a 24-hour basis and no one is as yet allowed to go inside the area.(thanks to Ms. Ethel Constantino of NBN for the photos)

P5M virtual library to boost Davao Region’s investment, tourism Opportunities

The pearly white beaches in Mati, the unexplored islands in Kopiat, Davao del Norte and the exotic wonders held by the pristine clean waters of Samal Island will soon be within your fingers’ reach.

Investors and tourists looking for information about the Davao Region no longer have to go to the specific cities and provinces they want to know about to get that information. With the virtual library, they only need to access the Internet right at the privacy of their homes or offices.

The Davao Region Geographic Information Network or DR-GIN, is a P5 million project that aims to aims to strengthen the presence of the Davao Region online. The long name aside it is actually a virtual library that aims to promote local and regional development through information sharing.

“It is expected to facilitate the promotion of the region’s localities for trade, investment and tourism and cater to the needs of the private sector for business planning and research,” DR-GIN chairperson and National Economic Development Authority XI Director Maria Lourdes Lim said.

The virtual library project became official after the signing last June 23, 2009 of the Memorandum of Agreement among the different local executives of the Davao Region as well as the regional directors and office heads of the involved national agencies to include the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Finance, National Statistical Coordination Board and NEDA among others.

Armed with geo-referenced information on the region’s business and investment prospects as well as its bio-geophysical, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, investors can easily pin-point and decide which areas of investment they can pour their money into. The easily-available information and economic profile will provide a one-stop information center which will aid investors in their market research and business planning.

Each of the signatories, Lim said, have agreed to “provide technical expertise and financial assistance as well as contribute to the pool of information technology resources for possible linkages and utilization in the regional GIS.”

Lim said the virtual library project will specifically address issues involving data gaps, duplicating data for specific indicators and other issues that usually lead to confusion and faulty data analysis by both government and the private sector.

While there is available virtual information about the different Davao Region, these are scattered information that sometimes contains conflicting data leading to confusion among future investors and tourists. Lim said they expect to remedy this by unifying the region’s major data sources into the DR-Gin Network.

Under the project, the network of local government units, the regional offices of the national government agencies, the congressional district offices and the private sector will make available up-to-date, accurate and reliable information about the Davao Region.

With exhaustive information easily accessible to investors, the region can expect more investor interest in the region which can translate to more actual investments and tourist visits.

“Aside from facilitating the promotion of the region’s localities for trade, investment and promotion the project will also respond to the professional and business information needs of the region’s private sector for research, business planning and investments,” Lim said.

The project will not forever be at the mercy of available government funds since they have already planned strategies for its sustainability. In the long term, DR-GIN will expand its operations and will provide other IT services for a fee such as web mail, web hosting, online advertisements, video and teleconferencing and related ECT capability trainings. (Edge, July 2009)

FEATURES: Mindanao Trade Expo Bounces Back, Aims For Peace In Mindanao

The war-stricken areas of Mindanao may be a long way from the air conditioned rooms of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas but the Mindanao Trade Expo has bounced back to continue its mission of encouraging peace in the island by making sure Mindanao’s tri-people are holding fibers to create works of arts instead of guns.

“Mas mabuti nang materyales and hawak nila kesa baril that’s why we are reaching out to Mindanao’s tri-people especially the Indigenous People by trying to give them livelihood projects,” Mindanao Trade Expo Foundation, Inc. (MTE) founder and president Ann T. Pamintuan said. “

MTE has been known for bringing to fore the various indigenous products made in Mindanao including Pamintuan’s gold clad wires and other materials from Gilded Expression, the exotic fibers produced by Katakus or the innovative hand-woven products of Crystal Seas.

However, there is more to MTE than what meets the eye of the demanding buyers and the connoisseur. Foremost is the Foundation’s vision of making known to the world the best of Mindanao’s products.

“We initially wanted to provide a venue where we can showcase our products and then it evolved into something deeper than that,” Pamintuan said. Today, there is to make a difference in the lives of Mindanaoans not only in terms of helping entrepreneurs market their products but in keeping people busy creating things rather than destroying the island through war.

It is am ambitious dream, Pamintuan said, but it may be possible in the long run. True enough, the so-called strife in Mindanao is not merely a result of political ideologies but rather of empty stomachs. It follows that empowering people with skills and livelihood projects to make dreams for themselves may be a way to mitigate the problem.

But even this idealistic dream is in danger of vanishing no thanks to the global recession that has made the work more challenging for the Foundation. The MTE started in 1996 with nothing but a vision. Barely twelve years later, the annual trade show was able to amass P630 million in total sales including a P51.780 million cash and retail sale during the actual exhibit days.

The increasing competitiveness in the market as well as their individual businesses has prevented the Foundation officials from staging the MTE last year. Pamintuan said she was willing to just let go and concentrate on my own business until we were approached by exporters who said “matapos niyo kaming i-encourage na mag export iiwan nyo kami sa ere (after encouraging us to go into exporting you will leave us hanging in the air)?”

“And now we are bouncing back and ready to once again provide a venue for Mindanao’s micro, small and medium enterprises,” Pamintuan said. And since 2009 is International Year Of The Fiber it will be the theme of the MTE 2009.

Expect an explosion of Philippine fibers the moment you walk inside the BSP lobby for the MTE 2009 on August 13 to 16. Even the pavilions inside the main exhibit area will be decorated in bamboos and natural fibers. The pavilion, which will have 20 booths each, will vie for the Best Pavilion Award.

The expo will showcase gifts, toys and housewares, furniture and furnishing, home textile, fashion accessories, fine jewelry, processed food, fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers and ornamentals and allied services. Pamintuan said they are targeting a minimum of 100 exhibitors from all over Mindanao but they can make room for more.

The expo is expected to get more exhibitors this year since the organizers have lowered the exhibit fee to only P8,000 for members for a 2x2 sqm booth and P9,000 for non-members for a booth of the same size.

“What goes with MTE is not just market promotion but product development and business linkaging as well, “ Department of Trade and Industry XI director Marizon Loreto said.

MTE 2009 Chairperson Domingo Ang said aside from the exhibit the MTE will also showcase an Exporters Forum where the stakeholders can sit down and discuss the strategic plans in combating the worldwide economic downturn. “Without the exporters we cannot market out products to the world so this is an important component of the expo,” he said.

An Exporters Expo which will feature export overruns will also be held back to back with MTE 2009. Exporters will showcase and sell product overruns at very affordable prices.

The rebirth, rather the relaunch of MTE 2009 has managed to stir not only Mindanao’s business sector but the residents as well into believing that despite the world economic crisis there may be a hope for local manufacturers and even for locals who can benefit from the livelihood projects and other opportunities that will come as a result of the expo.

Given its track record of accomplishing what seems to be impossible and that includes bringing in 1,590 exhibitors , 577 buyers from the country and from other countries and generating P630.68 million sales from 1996 to 2007 the MTE is indeed on the right track. But most of all you should look forward to adding more to the already 162 thousand lives touched by MTE during that span of time(EDGE, June '09)

DMC Confirms Transfer Of Suspected A(H1-N1) Patient From Butuan to Davao

Davao Medical Center chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega confirmed this morning the transfer of a 4-year old patient from Butuan suspected of carrying the A(H1-N1)) virus to the Davao Medical Center last Friday.

“The Butuan and Cagayan de Oro hospitals are willing and have the capabilities to handle the case but it was the choice of the patient’s guardian who is the grandmother to bring the patient to Davao,” Vega said. DMC cannot deny any patient who wants to avail of their services even in cases like this.

The child will be placed in continuous treatment even before he has been diagnosed positive for the virus. Vega said they need to get three negative results from three swab tests before he can be released and declared free from the virus.

Both the child’s parents work in HongKong and the only immediate contact he has had here are his grandmother, his nine-year old cousin and the latter’s parents---all of whom have been quarantined.

Davao Movies: Star Trek Is Back!

After the newest Star Wars movie hit the city several months ago here comes another space movie legend, the Star Trek. Compare the eyebrows of the stars in the old Star Trek posters and the new posters. At least, the eyebrows aren't that exaggerated anymore.

Star Trek is a science fiction movie franchise and television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It has so far spawned six television series and eleven films. It has also inspired a host of video and computer games, novels and other money-making venture including a Las Vegas themed attraction.

Star Trek is showing at SM City Cinemas 1 and 6 and NCCC Cinema 3.

Pacquiao KOs Hatton In Round 2

Here's a spoiler. The fight between Manny Pacquao and Ricky Hatton has not started in the Philippines yet but a brother who watched the boxing bout in Dubai called up and said Manny Pacquiao just knocked out Ricky Hatton winning over his opponent in Round 2!

I am not much of a boxing fan and I have not even tried to do sports reporting so I am not sure if the terms I am using are proper but as per the latest report from my bubwit in Dubai, PACQUIAO indeed reigns!