Aim for “Oro”- CM Almonte

by PJTremedal,BNDMisOCC-CIB/OCM

Oroquieta City – Aim for “Oro” is the message of City Mayor Jason Paredes Almonte to the 325 delegation of Team Oroquieta in the upcoming Northern Mindanao Regional Athletic Association Meet at the Mindanao Civic Center in Tubod Lanao del Norte from February 2-6 this year.

Almonte who supported the City Division Athletes and Coaches together with the local officials thru the Special Education Fund of the City Government will be sending 325 team delegation to include 217 athletes from the elementary and high school level.

The NMRAA 2011 will be hosted by the Lanao del Norte Provincial Government under Governor Khalid Q. Dimaporo administration who bid for this year Palarong Pampook. As agreed by the Regional DepED Office under Regional Director Dr. Luz S. Almeda of DepED 1-, the venue for the athletes billeting will be distributed to different schools of Lanao del Norte that is nearer to the Mindanao Civic Center.

To recall, in 2006, Tubod also hosted the Palarong Pambansa 2006.

Meanwhile, Team Oroquieta who is also a record holder in some events, cannot join some events due to equipments and quality athletes like in Boxing,Swimming,Taekwando, Gymnastics however, according to Mr. Prescillano Gemina, Team Oroquieta Athletic Manager this will not hamper the enthusiasm of Team Oroquieta in aiming for the “oro”. “Oro” is the Spanish name for Gold.

More or less 1-M was the amount given by the City School Board thru the Special Education Fund which the City Government has initiated in supporting the City Schools Division.

Civil society, gov’t link to mobilize public support on peace process

Manila, Jan. 28 – In light of the upcoming peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) next month, civil society and government organizations have been undertaking collaborative efforts to mobilize public support on the peace process.

In a project working paper on peace constituency building, Prof. Jennifer Santiago Oreta of the Ateneo de Manila University – Department of Political Science said that the resumption of the talks is “a golden opportunity to finally put an end to the violent conflicts that have ‘hostaged’ the country’s development for so long”

“It is within this frame that a peace constituency building project is envisioned,” she stated.

Oreta, who is the lead convener of Ateneo’s Working Group on Security Sector Reform and one of the project organizers, stressed that this convergent initiative of the government and civil society sector aims to engage the people to act and commit themselves for peace through various modes of participation; and make known to the wider public that there is a broad constituency supporting the peace agenda.

“These positive interventions will not only mainstream the peace agenda as a national concern; it can also add pressure to the peace panels on both sides (the government and the MILF and the CPP/NPA/NDF) to sit down and put an end to the decades-long issue that has imperiled the country for so long,” she said.

Oreta related that several activities have been lined up to encourage participation of stakeholders.

These include reading of pastoral message on Feb. 6 in Catholic churches calling on the faithful to support the peace agenda; “Bells for Peace/Prayer for Peace,” a nationwide synchronized ringing of church bells at exactly 1:00 p.m. on Feb. 6; “Light Up for Peace,” a candle lighting activity on Feb. 8 to symbolically show the public’s support for peace; “Signature Campaign on Peace Wall” on Feb. 14; and “Peace Walk/Rally” that will coincide with the EDSA revolution anniversary on Feb. 25, among others.

Non-government organizations involved in the peace constituency building project are the Philippine Coalition on International Criminal Court (PCICC), Sulong CARHRIHL, Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute (GZOPI), Institute for International Dialogue (IID), Libertas, Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), Confederation of Student Governments of the Philippines, People Power Volunteers for Reform, among others.

Participating government agencies include the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Government of the Philippines-Monitoring Committee on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).(OPPAP Media Bureau)

EastMinCom reminds troops to protect every citizen

Major General Arthur I Tabaquero AFP of the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) reminded the troops in Sultan Kudarat that the government Armed Forces are there to protect every citizen. MGen Tabaquero said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly the EastMinCom will give its full support to the 1^st Marine Brigade and all of its sub-units. (1MBde/PIA9-BST)

ISABELA CITY, Basilan – Major General Arthur I Tabaquero AFP of the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) reminded the troops in Sultan Kudarat that the government Armed Forces are there to protect every citizen.

In a press statement, MGen Tabaquero said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly the EastMinCom will give its full support to the 1^st Marine Brigade and all of its sub-units.

“The Marine Brigade was deployed in Sultan Kudarat with the objective of providing protection to every citizen resides in the area of responsibility (AOR) of the 1^st Marine Brigade. On our part, we need to make a move so that the people will feel our presence, they will feel that they are protected and not neglected”, MGen Tabaquero said.

He also emphasized to the troops that the job the soldiers are doing is for the people, for the stability of peace in the place, but admits that there are instances when “we can’t serve all the Filipinos, especially in areas where there are no military bases.”

“With this new military base in Sultan Kudarat, we are hopeful that we will meet the people’s concerns and we will be able to provide them protection twenty four-seven. The troops 1^st Marine Brigade will be there for the people,” MGen Tabaquero added.

The troops of 1^st Marine Brigade (1MBde) and Marine Battalion Landing Team-1 (MBLT-1) based in Lebak and Kalamansig, both in Sultan Kudarat Province welcome the team of Major General Arthur I. Tabaquero AFP during his visit on Wednesday (January 26).

In a meeting, Marine Commanders, Colonel Alexander F Balutan PN (M)(GSC) of the 1^st MBde and Lt.Colonel Edwin E Amadar PN (M) of MBLT-1 reported to MGen Tabaquero about the status of their troops and equipment.

MGen Tabaquero also spent time to all enlisted personnel during the “talk to the men” period.

Colonel Balutan disclosed that the 1^st Marine Brigade was formerly based in Basilan Province and was transferred to Lebak, Sultan Kudarat last November 24, 2011. He revealed that upon arrival, the troops made several adjustments in their military approach since majority of the populace are Christians.

“We are also very cautious in our actions because we are just starting to interact with the people in the area,” he said.

He also reported that the 1MBde will have several civil military operations (CMO) projects which will commence this February 2011. This is a joint activity by the 1^st Marine Brigade and various stakeholders such as the local government units (LGUs), NGOs, LGAs the visiting US Forces from Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines.

“We are thankful that we are supported by various stakeholders and the people of Sultan Kudarat,” Colonel Balutan said. (1MBde/PIA9-BST/rvc)