By Samira Gutoc , YMPN (03-07-Mar-2010) 

Happy Women's Month to all the ladies out there! The celebration of March 8 as International Womens Day and March as Women's Month has been more than 100 years now. Thanks to the Cagayan de Oro (CDO) Press Club led by Uriel Uriel Quilinguing for hosting a Women's Press Conference of Young WOMEN PROFESSIONALS last March 7.

Now it can be told. It’s a neck to neck race between NOYNOY and VILLAR for president.

March 3 marked the 100th day of the Ampatuan Maguindanao Massacre. Justice has not yet been served the slain families of 32 journalists and their staff, the Mangudadatu family and the lawyers.

SOS! What is Mindanao without Lake Lanao and Pulangi, the sources of energy? The AGUS hydroelectric power plant in Lake Lanao and the Pulangi plant in Bukidnon, major sources of the Mindanao grid, might be forced to SHUT DOWN if their critical low water levels continue, raising the possibility of a Mindanao-wide blackout, industry stakeholders said.

President Gloria (PGMA) REPLACES Cabinet members who are running. No substitution for Agrarian Sec. Nasser Pangandaman, the lone Muslim in the Cabinet.

Applicants to the newly-passed law the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos sectoral Commissioners are well underway. Maranaos are again grappling for the positions. It’s god the NCMF is multi-tribal to accommodate the several cultural groupings. Lanao del Norte Rep. Abdullah Dimaporo is supposedly eyeing the chairmanship of the NCMF.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)’s Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) is now pushing to amend an existing announcement it criticized as “castrating” (taking away the strength of) its residents’ right over the use of local strategic minerals.

Lanao del Sur Assemblyman Ziaur-Rahman Alonto-Adiong in his privilege speech protested against the inflexible laws governing the alleged exploitation of natural resources in the ARMM.

He asked the RLA to initiate an amendment to existing laws including Republic Act (RA) 9054 or the ARMM Organic Act of 2002, which he said denies the regional governance of its rights to and shares from the exploitation by “outsiders” of “strategic minerals” in the region.

A $30 million fund sought from the World Bank (WB) for ARMM development programs awaits approval, ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) announced last March 4. The WB additional financing earmarked for ARMM alone, amounting to P1.41 Billion pesos, will run for three years with two compartments: The Community Development Assistance (CDA) and the Institutional Strengthening and Governance (ISG).

The murder charge complaint filed against Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu was dropped by the Office of the City Prosecutor in Davao City for lack of evidence.

Lanao del Norte is now identified as the fishing capital province of Northern Mindanao. To finance the implementation of the development of the province’s “mariculture” and “aqua” tourism projects in Lanao del Norte province, The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has awarded a financial assistance worth P25 million .

Adopting Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes’ suggestion, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is supposedly set to declare a Power Crisis in Mindanao. To be followed by this declaration is the implementation of emergency measures amounting to P 10 Billion.

MILF would continue to pursue Peace talks with the government but with the country’s next administration, the front said.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Southern Mindanao is looking at two politicians suspected to be involved in illegal drugs proliferation in Mindanao.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) slammed local colleagues for allegedly failing to play its role in seeking justice for the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre of 32 journalists and media workers in Maguindanao.

Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. said that he was more worried by double registrants and flying voters in his province than by private armies. He said there are about 500,000 registered voters in Lanao del Sur nowadays when the number should only be between 300,000 and 350,000.

The Philippine Government said that a part of the draft of the Peace pact presented with the MILF was a “self-governing ARMM” during the Question-and-Answer session (and no negotiations) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

With the El-Niño phenomenon getting worse, an estimated 1,000 employees of 27 electric cooperatives in various areas in Mindanao may be affected if the power crisis continues to worsen.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported that a suspected terrorist, who was alleged in bombings in General Santos City two years ago, was arrested in an operation last March 5.

The government is now making moves to Reduce the Abu-Sayyaf’s ways of recruiting, a report stated.

National Power Corporation (NPC) planning on cutting Mindanao Power down to 50% less. Businesses affected by this stunning plans questioned the NPC and asked the NBI and other agencies to investigate the (Nat’l Grid Corp. of the Phil) NGCP for possibly contravening the “Mindanao power crisis” to just increase power rates.

The GRP is still confident of coming up with a new Peace deal with MILF by June 30, before President GMA steps down from her Presidency.

Greetings to the delegates to the First MUSLIM YOUNG CONFERENCE on SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY (SA) hosted by Alliance of Network of SA held on March 5 at the Felis Resort, Matina, Davao City.
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Advance Happy Women's Month this March  to all grandmothers, mothers, daughters  and all the hard-working single ladies out there!

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