On the day of our trip I was still as healthy as a horse, so I had no choice but board the ship for the three-day trip (plane fare was prohibitively expensive back then, especially for missionaries like us). The long trip only served to heighten my apprehensions, even though our leader tried his best to convince me that everything was going to be all right. When we neared the city I stood at port and viewed the city from afar. Not so bad, I thought. But then the ship made a U-turn and I was soon faced with an island so beautiful I literally gasped. It was full of coconut trees, surrounded by the whitest sand I had ever seen. That was the moment I fell in love with Davao City – although I soon learned that it was Samal Island, Davao del Norte that I had seen.

When we got down at the pier I marveled at how clean everything was, in stark contrast to the pier in Manila. I also remember breathing in the air and realizing that sea air actually smelled good: all my life I had thought the sea smelled of rotten eggs since that was my experience whenever I went to Manila Bay. We drove out of the pier and again I was surprised at how orderly, clean, and open everything was. And the people! Everyone was friendly and accommodating, quite unlike Manileños who were rude and unfriendly. Our summer camp was also a special time for me, and I could see how hungry the youth were for God’s Word. I actually imagined myself staying for a longer period in Davao.

And that’s exactly what I did. We stayed only a week here, but at the end of the camp I had already begun praying that God would bring me back. When God confirmed this to me in Manila I readily asked our leader to assign me here, and after a lot of explanations he agreed. I arrived on July 20, 1990, and save for a few months in 1991, I have never left.

Davao has been good to me. I found my wife here, I found my calling as a journalist and as a worship leader here. My two children were born here. And, to quote a professor-friend who also fell in love with the city, Davao will be “the land of my dying breath.”Random Posts:

• Maligayang Pasko sa lahat!!!
• Shame on who?
• Rockin’ Lupang Hinirang
• ‘S’ is for sushi
• Capo di tutti capi

                          

No, it’s not an iron-fisted approach he’s advocating. Simply put, Biazon wants both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to suspend all negotiations during this transition period and maintain a “Period of Peace” in which both sides make no demands and offer no promises. “This would allow for a peaceful transition (in the peace negotiations) between government and the MILF,” Biazon told me in a one-on-one interview here in Davao City last Saturday (March 6).

This period of peace, of course, involves a cessation of hostilities, but more than that, it would prevail upon both sides to wait until a new administration is installed before actual negotiations are resumed. “The Arroyo administration cannot promise anything at this point because it cannot fulfill it. It should just leave it to the next administration to continue the negotiations,” Biazon said.

He noted that in the case of the 2008 Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA AD), it was widely opposed in Mindanao — and ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court — because it had some provisions that government could not have delivered without amending the Constitution.

“This administration could not guarantee amendments to the Constitution under this 14th Congress, what more under the 15th Congress? The composition of the 15th Congress, which will be the one to tackle any revision or replacement of the Constitution, will only be known after the May 2010 elections. No one knows how the 15th Congress will collectively think about changes to the Constitution, so even if the government gives in to the demands of the MILF for concessions outside the Charter, it cannot guarantee that the concessions will be followed by the new government,” he added.

How about the “enhanced autonomy” put forward by government chief negotiator Annabelle Abaya? “It should be abandoned,” Biazon said. To recall, Abaya had explained a few weeks ago that enhanced autonomy means the President “is offering to share powers” in such areas as tax collection and the control of natural resources in areas in Mindanao that Filipino Muslims claim as their ancestral domain.

Biazon, however, said aside from questions on what kind of and how much enhancement the executive branch can give without legislative action, “the issue of a midnight deal” comes to mind. “In the dwindling hours of the Arroyo Adminsitration, it shouldn’t go into such commitments,” he said.

“Instead of offering enhanced autonomy, the administration should just work for the adoption of a Period of Peace beginning now and until the new government takes office. During such period, both parties agree not to engage in hostilities and continue talks at the technical level in order to prepare the ground for fresh round of talks between the MILF and the new government,” he added.

Biazon said government must not adopt a “bahala na ang sunod na administration (let the next administration deal with the backlash)” attitude during this time of transition. “We must make sure the next administration will have good ground to stand on,” he said.Random Posts:

• Vibes
• Dadai
• Bro. Eddie’s reply to being called a ‘compromiser’
• DL4 update
• Perspective

                          

This was the simple but serious advice of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) Regional Corporate Executive Ed Calabio to Mindanaoans who are currently faced with a power crisis of epic proportions. We’ve seen worse, of course, but this current crisis is threatening to be the mother of all power crises because of the possible harm it can do to the country’s democracy.

The question has been asked over and over again in the past weeks as brownouts became more and more frequent in Mindanao: what would happen if a brownout of even one hour hits the island on May 10, election day? The result would surely be a derailed election as millions are unable to vote, and with no one declared winner, especially in the presidential race, the current resident of Malacañang would have reason to extend her term — perhaps indefinitely.

Is that a possibility? Should we be worried that the frequent brownouts are going to extend up to May 10? The short answer is yes. According to Ed, the problem is caused simply by low power supply, in Mindanao’s case a deficit of 390 megawatts (MW) or by about 32 percent. This is attributed mainly to limited available capacities from hydro power plants, most of which have water reservoirs that are drying up due to El Niño. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has said the prolonged dry spell caused by El Niño will persists up to May. “El Niño is here, El Niño is real,” Ed said during Monday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw held at SM City Davao.

The problem is that Mindanao is 51 percent dependent on hydro power, making it vulnerable to the vagaries of nature. Everything is fine during regular seasons when rainfall is regular, but let El Niño rear its ugly head and we are done for. Couple this with the fact that no new power investors have come in and we have the ingredients of a disaster.

“Hydro power is both a blessing and a curse for Mindanao,” Ed said. “It is a blessing because we have low power rates, but it is a curse because no one is putting in new power generators.” There is simply no incentive for power investors to pour in money in Mindanao because they will not be able to recoup their expenses. “This is how they think: ‘Why put up power plants in Mindanao when I can get higher returns in Luzon?’”

The crisis is worsening by the day, and each day that does not bring rain takes us closer to the brink of disaster. An NGCP press release dated March 1, 2010 says there has been an 80 percent reduction in the capabilities of National Power Corporation (Napocor) Agus Hydro-Electric Power Plants. Pulangi, also owned by Napocor, experienced 90 percent reduction in capabilities. Lake Lanao elevation as of 6 a.m. on March 1 was 699.08 meters, which is below the critical level of 699.15 meters.

If this condition persists, we are looking at the very real possibility of brownouts extending up to May 10, the day of the election. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said Napocor could mitigate the problem by saving up energy two days before May 10 so as to ensure that there would be uninterrupted supply on the crucial day. Ed, however, said no one really knows what is going to happen weather-wise in the coming weeks, or even how much water the hydro plants really have. It could well be that Napocor would need to save up water for its hydro power plants two weeks before election day.

And “saving up” power is not as easy as it sounds, particularly for us consumers. It would mean NGCP curtailing power for even longer periods just so there would be enough reserve to power up Mindanao for that one crucial day. In other words, we would have to suffer through several hours of brownouts for several days — perhaps as long as two weeks — just to be able to vote on May 10.

So what should we do? Ed said there are a number of “doable” steps that can be taken, including resuming the operations of the Iligan Diesel Power Plant (IDPP) which could add 35 MW to the grid; contracting additional power generators (if there are any); operating embedded generators (such as the Bajada power plant of Davao Light and Power Company) to ease the load on the grid; and urging private establishments like malls to use their generators instead of tapping the grid.

More than these however, Ed said it is important for the people to pray. “Pray for rain in the right places,” he said. The hydro plants need 120 square meters of water to run through per second to be able to generate the 700 MW the island needs; currently, the rate is at only 30 square centimeters per second.

So the answer is more water, and in the end, it is God who will save us. “Pray that God will send more rain,” Ed said. echoing the prayer of the prophet Zechariah: “Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain — The LORD who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man.” (Zechariah 10:1)Random Posts:

• About Me
• Davao
• Maligayang Pasko sa lahat!!!
• Comment!
• Coffee talk with Mar Roxas

                          

He began by pointing out that the Liberal Party (LP), of which he is standard bearer, had objected to the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) that the administration and the MILF had signed in 2008. “It was not inclusive and transparent,” he said. “Mindanao is composed not just of the government and the MILF.” There are also the indigenous peoples and the general population, neither of which, he said, were consulted when the MOA-AD was being crafted. “There are four sides in Mindanao, why were only two participating? It was like the government and the MILF came up with an agreement between themselves and then expected the other two groups to simply accept it,” Aquino said.

So if he becomes President, Aquino said, he will continue with the peace negotiations but in a more transparent and all-inclusive way. Nothing will be signed unless it has gone through a thorough consultation with everyone concerned — an admittedly tough job but one that is necessary nonetheless. Only such a process can lead to lasting peace in Mindanao, he said.

And once there is peace, Aquino said, “then we can work on the economy… Once peace is achieved, then we can go full blast.” He said among the first things that need to be tackled is the power supply in the island, which currently is at an almost one-is-to-one ratio; that is, the power supply is just about equal to the demand. This means that there is not only no room to grow, there will soon be a power crisis as the demand outgrows the supply.

He also said the transport system needs to be overhauled — but quickly added that a railway system may not be the best for Mindanao. There is, he said, a minimum distance in which such a system can be feasible, and so while trains are what many Mindanaoans have been clamoring for, a full study must first be conducted before anything of that magnitude is undertaken. Meanwhile, Mindanaoans must be open to the possibility that the best transport system could still be trucks on highways. The point is to set up a system that would allow the abundance of Mindanao to be transported from farm to market.

Aquino also noted that many local government units in Mindanao are non-performing, that is, the supposed leaders are not doing their job for the people who elected them into office and who pay their salaries through their hard-earned taxes. For these LGUs, he wants a cut in internal revenue allotment (IRA); LGUs that do their job, on the other hand, would get the full 40 percent IRA to allow them to do more projects. A Noynoy presidency would thus be a “meritocracy” in which those that perform well are rewarded while those that don’t will have their allotments slashed. (“If they cannot do what they should do, then we should reduce their resources,” Aquino would say three days later during the Inquirer debate held last Monday).

While he did not explicitly say so, he probably made the last remark in reference to Maguindanao, an arguably non-performing government that was nonetheless able to get a lot of funds from Malacañang allegedly because the Ampatuan clan was close to the President. Aquino said that would no longer be the case if he wins: it would be the people who will get the benefits from government. “At the end of the day,” he said, “my government will be one of consultation. We will ask the people what they need and what government can do to help them.”Random Posts:

• HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
• The poem: “Sanayan Lang Ang Pagpatay”
• Pray for rain
• What others say about me
• Conspiring against Mindanao

                          

I gathered this small but important bit of information from Mangudadatu himself when he guested in the December 16, 2009 edition of the Club 888 Forum at The Marco Polo, Davao. He mentioned it almost in passing, as if it weren’t so important, but my ears caught it because of the connection it made between the administration and the Ampatuan clan.

Mangudadatu (right) at the Club 888 Forum with forum moderator Tony Ajero (left)

Mangudadatu was detailing the events that preceded the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre, and he told of receiving reports of how the Ampatuan men — led by the governor himself — met a few nights before and planned the mass murder. “The old man was the mastermind,” he said. Governor Ampatuan had wanted the candidacy of his son, Andal Jr., to go uncontested, he said, and the old man would do anything to get rid of any upstart who would actually want to run for governor.

But before actually plotting the murders, Ampatuan coursed his frustration through several channels, including Teodoro. The problem was that Mangudadatu, himself no pushover since his clan is also influential, would not back out and was determined to run for the post.

And so it was that he found himself at the office of Teodoro on July 8, 2009. The topic was his candidacy, and that Andal Sr., a staunch ally of the administration, wanted him to forget the idea. The two prospective candidates — Andal Jr. and Toto — both belonged to the administration party (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), and it would be detrimental to the party for both of them to run for the same post.

I asked Mangudadatu if Teodoro asked him directly to back out, and he said no. “He could not do that because we were on the same side (Magkakampi kami).” But he also said he told Teodoro that he wanted merely to exercise a right that all Filipinos have: to run for public office. “I told him that no one can prevent another person from running for office,” he said. “I told him I must exercise my individual right to run.” In other words, the pressure from Teodoro to give up his ambition of becoming governor of Maguindanao was there, just that Mangudadatu would not buckle under it.

Why is this detail important? Because it was Teodoro brokering a deal between the two parties, accepting both as important elements of the ruling coalition. It was also Teodoro who was giving voice to Governor Ampatuan’s demand that he back out of the race, expressing to Mangudadatu what the old man’s wishes were.

Photo by Dann Pantoja

But when the massacre occurred, Teodoro was among the first persons not only to condemn the killings but also to practically declare the Ampatuans guilty of the crime. Just two days after the massacre, he had the governor, the junior, and another son — ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan — expelled from the party without due process and without waiting for any investigation to be conducted properly. He even went with Mangudadatu when the latter filed his certificate of candidacy (pictured at the top of this page, photo from Sarangani Information Office). Teodoro rode on the prevalent sentiment against the Ampatuans and made sure he was on the right side of public opinion.

It was as if he was too eager to shake off his association with the Ampatuans, and rightly so: as a Presidential candidate, he could not afford to be linked to a clan accused of the worst act of election-related violence in the country’s history. And a link there certainly was: Teodoro was Defense Secretary during the time the Ampatuans allegedly amassed their huge firearms cache and strengthened their private armies. He may not have had a direct hand in creating a monster, but he had command responsibility over it.Random Posts:

• Different issues
• Memorial
• A dangerous precedent
• A Gretsch experience
• Unbelievable

                          

He was a very pleasant man and gave a long interview with me and my wife Dadai (I am trying to search my files for the article I wrote so I can post it here). I do remember him giving this advice to Dadai, who is also an artist: Just keep painting. He said he painted every single day and would keep his good works in a chest, a treasure trove from which he could pull out gems whenever he needed it. One could wait for inspiration, he said, but nothing beats discipline. Even in art.

At the end of the interview my wife and I asked for autographs, and he did us one better by drawing sketches on our notebooks and signing them. I will try to find those sketches and scan them so I can post them here.

Thanks, Tatay Rene, for this great photo!Random Posts:

• Capo di tutti capi
• I read the news today, oh boy…
• Dadai
• Jammeeting
• Different issues

                          

Thankfully, the burger landscape in the city has changed over the past weeks with the entry of Brothers Burger, a ten-year-old all-Filipino brand that offers arguably the best burgers this side of the world. The Davao City franchise, located at the Damosa Business Park, soft-opened on November 6, and it has been opening up the palates of Davaoeños to a whole new experience in burgers.

The place itself is small, but that doesn’t seem to stop people from coming in, and in large numbers at that. When my wife and I went there one Wednesday afternoon, the place still had a number of customers even though it was well past lunchtime. Store operation specialist Arnel Macaganda, who had come in from Manila to oversee the opening stages of the franchise, said they have been overshooting their target sales by 40 percent — proving that when it comes to good food, price doesn’t matter for Davaoeños

Store operation specialist Arnel Macaganda proudly shows off the restaurant.

Not that Brothers Burger is necessarily pricey. While it is more expensive than fast food burgers, the place does have something for everyone. Prices range from P58 for the Baby Brothers Burger to P350 for the specialty Wagyu Burger (so named because it uses wagyu beef, known for its flavor, tenderness, and juiciness). In between these two is a wide range of products that, as the spiel says, satisfies one’s urge for real burger.

My wife and I tried a few items at Arnel’s prodding: the basic Brothers Burger, a Roast Beef Sandwich, and a Blues Brothers signature burger. Our food came in 15 minutes, fresh from the grill (“They’re flame grilled,” Arnel said, a process that maintains the beef’s taste but leaves out the grease) and looking, well, huge. No wonder they cost more: you really do get your money’s worth.

But size isn’t everything; as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The burgers were indeed a league apart from fast food fare: chunky without being tough, juicy without being greasy, it was pure, unadulterated, all-beef goodness. We dug into the Blues Brothers immediately, and as blue cheese lovers my wife and I fell in love with it. The strong, sharp flavor of the cheese complemented the round and subtle taste of the beef.

We were so full from the two burgers (plus a side order of onion rings) that we couldn’t even start with the Roast Beef Sandwich, so we bagged it for our teenage boy. In the end we spent more than we would on a meal, but this is no fast food restaurant, and its hamburgers are by no means junk food. As Arnel told us, Brothers Burger uses the best ingredients plus a secret recipe developed by one of its co-founders, Chef Quito Jose (one of the “Brothers”). That there’s actually an in-house chef tells you it’s not your usual burger joint.

There are plans to expand the franchise in Davao City, with eyes cast upon the upcoming Ayala mall along J.P. Laurel Avenue. For now it’s just the Damosa branch: the little restaurant with the big burgers.

Z5KM99YJ6NF9

Random Posts:

• More tricks
• Full disclosure
• Coffee talk with Mar Roxas
• A steal I couldn’t steal
• DL4 update

                          

Let me start by going straight to the end of the interview: by the time we were over, I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems we face as a nation. A feeling of pessimism crept up on me, the sense that no mater what we do — and no matter how much we  say that every little bit counts — we mere mortals can’t really effect change because those who have the money and the power will do all they can to thwart us.

But life must go on, and when we stood up after the interview I regained my sense that the future is worth fighting for and that, as Romans 8:28 promises, in all things God works for the good of those who love him. We were put here on earth for a purpose, and while it may seem that the ungodly are winning now, their end is actually destruction (see Philippians 3:19 and Psalm 73).

My colleague and I talked for about an hour, and I’d like to share some of the things we discussed. Here, in no particular order — and as much as I can remember — were the things she asked and how I answered. The following is heavily paraphrased, however, since I cannot reconstruct the entire conversation from memory:

1. What did you feel when I learned about the Maguindanao massacre

I was angry, and I was downhearted. I didn’t know any of the victims on a personal level, but I already knew at the time that some of them were journalists. It wasn’t until a few days later that we learned that the number of journalists in the massacre was 30 — with one missing — which was more than half the number of the victims. I immediately knew, without having to verify, that that was the single worst attack on journalists in history anywhere in the world, and I knew that any doubt about the Philippines being the most dangerous place for journalists was erased that day.

2. Are you now concerned about your safety?

Up to that time we journalists had thought that while our job was dangerous, we could at least count on our being observers as a shield against violence. Even the journalists who had been assassinated over the years were more or less  targeted for something specific they had done or reported on. But the 30 reporters who were with the convoy on their way to Sharif Aguak were only covering an event, something  all journalists do on a regular basis. To our knowledge they weren’t shot because of anything they had written about or reported on: they were killed simply because they were there, and so that, as one witness said, they could not report on what happened.

Whether we like it or not, and whether we believe it or not, a precedent has already been set. That is why it is so important to resolve this case and punish the guilty. If this goes unsolved, then other people would be further emboldened and continue to attack journalists. They know they won’t get punished. That is what the word impunity means, and that is why we rile against it.

3. Are you concerned for your safety even here in Davao City?

I think the events of the past weeks have dispelled the illusion that journalists are safe here in Davao City. The massacre was one incident; add to that the discovery that cocaine was being smuggled through our ports under the noses of the authority and all notion that we are protected goes up in smoke. We are not as secure as we had believed. Armed groups can easily come and stage attacks. Remember that we have a very long shoreline, and it’s very easy to smuggle in anything through them. The authorities have always denied this, but last week’s drug bust in the Maersk compound tells us that they’re not on top of the situation. They’re not on top of anything.

4. You’re originally from Manila, and you still have family there. What did they tell you when they learned of the Maguindanao massacre?

They were concerned for us, of course. Last week I went to General Santos City with my wife and daughter just to visit since I was on leave from work, and when my sisters learned about it from my Facebook status they asked immediately what I was going to do there. I had to assure them that I was just taking a break and our trip had nothing to do with the fact that many of the victims of the massacre were from GenSan.

5. Are you considering moving out of Davao City?

No! I still believe Davao City is the best place in the country in which to raise a family. There are many problems here, and like I said, the illusion of absolute safety has been dispelled for me, but it is still much safe here than in Manila. Here you know which places to avoid, but in Manila your next-door neighbor can be your murderer. And over there you can be shot dead over a simple traffic altercation.

Random Posts:

• Memorial
• Guitar talk with Kitchie Nadal
• Unbelievable
• Jamming in the dark

                          

That, of course, is a shout-out of sorts both to those who are conspiring against Mindanao and to those who believe there is a conspiracy in the first place. But really, it’s completely understandable that conspiracy theories would abound these days. The aforementioned incidents never happen in civilized society, but they occurred in rapid succession in various places in Mindanao in the span of three weeks. Let me repeat them, just to add to our sense of incredulity: Massacre, martial law, beheading, hostage-taking, kidnapping, two multi-million-peso drug busts, and a deadly jailbreak.

And so once again Mindanao is labeled a “lawless” and war-torn island. Conspiracy theorists claim these occurrences are related to each other, and they ask: is Mindanao being plunged into darkness (both figuratively and literally: did I mention that there is a looming electricity crisis that had been warned about for years but no one in government did anything about?) so that the island could be used as a pretext for a sinister grand scheme to perpetuate some people in power?

A number of groups and individuals have been asking this question practically from the time the gruesome Maguindanao massacre was committed. At the time the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was being scored for being too slow to arrest the prime suspects — members of the powerful Ampatuan clan — allegedly because the two parties were cooking up something to allow the clan to go scot-free while giving government the illusion of having served up justice for the victims and their families.

The events that followed seemed to confirm that: prime suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. turned himself in a full four days after the massacre, two days after receiving a “visit” from Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Jesus Dureza. Soon after that several large caches of firearms and ammunition were dug up in the homes of clan members in Maguindanao. Reports also became rife — from government sources, we have to note — that armed supporters of the Ampatuans were massing in several areas in the province. All of a sudden, what had been a relatively simple (if such an adjective may be used to describe such inhumanity) case of mass murder became a rebellion. The suspects were no longer just murderers, they were now rebels.

In one blogger’s words, this was a case in which a massacre was convenient: while no one thinks the murder of 57 people were government’s doing (at least not directly), it was an opportunity to stir things up and end up with a rebellion that could be a convenient excuse for declaring martial law. And as things have turned out, martial law was declared, and while it was lifted a week later, the question still remains: now that a precedent has been set, and with Congress not being able to review it, and with things in Mindanao still in flux, will it be declared again, this time with greater strength and scope?

Random Posts:

• Like fish to a sandbox
• Playing with Hof
• Closer…
• Jammeeting
• Barefooting

                          

Click here or on the picture at right to go to the gallery. (Tip: Wait for all the thumbnails to load before clicking on any photo for a better viewing experience)

Random Posts:

• Coffee talk with Mar Roxas
• Soil paintings
• Guitar gang
• Celebrate Laya
• Julia