Luczon: 'Basurahan' issue revisited - It was more of 'fear' than science (1st Part)

MANILA -- Commission on Elections (Comelec) director and spokesperson James Jimenez has "brought up the other side" in explaining the controversial "basurahan" issue in Cagayan de Oro in the 2010 local elections.

"You have to understand that issues arising in the automated elections are based on fear and not so much on science," Jimenez said.

Luczon: Musings with Trisha

SHE stood there one night, in the corner of the street which was named before a national hero who was praised to have spurred our nation’s liberation from the Spaniards more than a century ago. She bathed in her silhouette caused by the lamp posts, but her dark eyes gleamed as she watched her friend being fetched by a motorcycle-riding man.

Vugt: Peace building in Mindanao

THE successful peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) should be an exhortation for the NPA/NDF to speed up their peace building with the national government so that finally there will be peace in Mindanao and the whole of the Philippines.

Speak Out: The big lie of Enrile

THE entire memoir of Juan Ponce Enrile is a big lie. It deodorizes the naked power grab of one faction of the ruling classes against another and the massive corruption and theft of national wealth by Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies, including Enrile.

Enrile would like the people to believe that the martial law regime was benign but for the unmitigated greed of Imelda Marcos and Fabian Ver, which was supposed to have undone Marcos.

Amigo: Meaningless cyber law

IT’S very true the cyber world has grown out of proportions that is too close for comfort and is at the same time too far for comfort too especially among our political leaders, who after putting necessary safety nets on mass media, found themselves all too vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Luczon: Love for Bangsamoro

A GROUP of student performing artists from a Manila college awed the tourists inside an all-Filipino restaurant in Intramuros. They danced gracefully like silk in the windy tropical landscapes as they portrayed the best of Filipino folk dances.

Then in one special number, the dancers changed costumes that depicted the culture of the southern country and portrayed the dances from where I was born – Mindanao.

Dureza: Romancing ‘Brenda’ in the sky

WOW, snow. It was freezing cold at approximately one degree Celsius when we stepped out of the shuttle bus amidst howling winds at 5,000 feet elevation. Light snowflakes fleetingly hit me on the face. "Wow snow!" exclaimed Dra. Sheila Marie "Sheng" Tuazon of the INC Koronadal City as she and the rest started out on a trek to a high point to view the whole 2,800 hectares of mined-out area. The Pinoys were agog! Of course, it was just a fleeting moment of snowflakes, unusual at this early onset of autumn. But we were high up in the sky, that's why.

An Open Letter: ‘We will not be cowed by any design of judicial harassment’

WE, FROM Kalumbay, express alarm over media releases by A. Brown Company that warn a possible lawsuit for support groups that call for justice for the slain indigenous leader, Gilbert Paborada, and cry foul against the documented cases of land-grabbing and human rights violations among lumad farmers in Bagocboc and Tingalan, Opol in Misamis Oriental.

In a statement published in a local daily, the company declared that they are convinced to file charges against the people who were spreading allegations which accordingly "maligned" the good name and reputation of the company.

Wenceslao: A lesson from the MNLF peace treaty

ONE of the vital concerns that had been evaded like plague by the peace negotiators in the Philippine conflicts is the issue of disarmament. The absence of mechanisms that mandate the surrender and destruction of weapons is what makes peace treaty like one signed by the government and the Moro National Liberation Front a mere palliative instrument that will soon be violated.

Dureza: Visiting Canada's biggest open pit mine

LAST night after leaving Vancouver and visiting Xstrata's Brenda Mines, we stayed for the night in a cozy hotel named Capri Coast Hotel in downtown Kelowna, Okaganan Valley. It was a chilly night so we clustered close by a fireplace that was fired by methane gas and a pile of make-believe logs. Though not so authentic, it gave warmth nevertheless while the temperature outdoors was registering at about 10 degrees Celsius.

Luczon: ‘Looky-loos’ be warned

THE recent bombing in Cagayan de Oro City may not yield the soonest leads the investigating authorities could come up, but somehow it re-echoed one important aspect when it comes to suspicious stuff: safety first, and never become a “looky-loo” or “usisero.”

Although it’s an unfortunate that lives were lost because of the incident, but if only the victims, Rudy Jote heeded what his colleague said to go away of the place as reported, and also Expedito Endan, their lives would have been spared.

Speak out: Fortunately, we’re human!

IT IS rather irksome to hear people apologize yet uses human frailties as excuse. “Pasaylo-a ko bai, tao ra man gud ko.” It’s sad to note that we sometimes we think that being human is a misfortune even if the real cause of misfortune are the lapses that we make consciously (if not, an apology would be rather absurd).

If I, for instance, would be in such a fit of rage that I’d blow my top and physically hit someone, most likely my personal lack of self-control is the basis for such action, and not human nature. Being human doesn’t bind us to commit mistakes because even though humanity allows room for error, humanity is not focused on error. Further, it is not focused on the potentiality to be wrong or do wrong.

Emata: The weird Filipino voters

MANY Filipinos are wondering why they remain poor for decades and the country is struggling everyday for even longer period. A lot of them could not eat three times a day and living in dilapidated homes while others even live much harder. There is no solution to their age-old problems no matter how they move on to survive. It appears there is no clear solution and they will go on life in such situation.

Indeed, this is terrible and really unbearable.

Vugt: Premature campaigning

OUR newspaper, Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, reported last October 9 that our City Mayor Dongkoy Emano filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) at the Comelec Office.

But before that, Emano went with his team, including Vice President Jejomar Binay, to the St. Augustine Cathedral to hear Mass. Fr. (Msgr.!) Elmer Abacahin officiated the Mass in front of hundreds of supporters of Emano, inside and outside the Cathedral.

Dureza: The devil is in the detail

LOS ANGELES -- I was in Vancouver, British Columbia on my way to Los Angeles when I got word that a Peace Framework Agreement was signed between the government and the MILF. Great news! This is a great relief! We congratulate the MILF and the government for making this happen.

Let's make this clear at the outset. This is not the Final Peace Agreement yet. This is just a "framework" that will guide the Panels hereon in the further negotiations. It's a roadmap that both sides will use as reference as they travel the not-so-easy road towards its final destination: a comprehensive peace pact.

Ravanera: Welcome to the 11th National Cooperative Summit

THE three-day 11th National Cooperative Summit reels off today at the Atrium of LimketKai Center in Cagayan de Oro with the coming together of some 3,500 cooperative leaders from all over the country.

In behalf of the Cooperative Development Authority in Northern Mindanao and the 1,516 active cooperatives in the region, our warm welcome to kindred who are gathering with a firm collective intent to advance cooperativism as an instrument of social justice in a highly skewed societal order where only 400 families control the economy.

Luczon: Cyberspace, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings

YESTERDAY (Tuesday), the vigilant crowd in the country went to the streets, including Cagayan de Oro City, led by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Cagayan de Oro Chapter, again in an uproar to repeal, if not to a stop, Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

In the Supreme Court as of press time, there are already 15 petitions filed by various concerned groups in order for this law not to take effect as they called it unconstitutional, citing that this extremely violates the exercise of freedom of expression and unjust seizures and arrest without due process.

Vesagas: The downside of Modernity - A sociological reflection

A FAST-PACED lifestyle regulated strictly by the ticking clock, a highly rationalized system of rules and procedures to follow and a wide range of technological gadgets, devices and other material culture invented to supposedly simplify the complications of post-industrial living.

Vugt: To own the pearl of great price

IN THIS article, my friend Ernesto R. Mondoñedo calls the Good News a pearl of great price.

The Good News, the Christian faith, is a precious gift to us. But you come to realize this only when you make the Good News your own by constantly reflecting on it in silence.

Luczon: Church and politics - A (not so) secret love affair

THERE they were: clutching banners and ribbons of purple and yellow, an unusual crowd from a typical day have been waiting outside and inside the walls of St. Augustine church. And there they were: their champions in front of the altar, seeking enlightenment from the divine providence, to guide their path.

After a solemn mass, there they were, marching towards the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to formally lodge their papers in a bid for an electoral post in the government, under the spiritual guidance.

Vugt: In God’s Company

IN MY previous columns I have dealt with God’s Face, his Name and his Place. This time, I would like to speak about God’s Company. For this purpose, I want to quote a passage from Psalm 27, which has the general motto: In God’s company there is no fear.

Speak Out: No to mining operations in Surigao, no to another Padcal

RESIDENTS of Barangay Anislagan in Placer, Surigao del Norte denounced the plan of Philex Mining Corporation to have its Silangan Mindanao Projects fully operational by 2017.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources very recently ordered the closure of Philex’s Padcal mine in Benguet when its tailings pond broke down at least twice, and unleashed mining waste causing damage to property, livestock and crops, among others, reports from community and residents say.

Emata: Hunger, hunger

IN METRO Manila and elsewhere in the country, we see so many people, young and old alike, going around hungry. You will see them examining trash cans and garbage places looking for something to eat. We see them every day, rain or shine, and some are lucky to pick up something to eat. Nothing in their pocket except tears and sweats.

We can read from their outlooks the feeling in their heart. We see them fighting each day to retrieve whatever food there is thrown in the trash boxes. It is so painful to look at them and passing the same place every day, you will know the same people fighting for their lives the hard way.

Dureza: Mine visit in Canada

VANCOUVER. I am with a team that is visiting this week several mining sites in Canada, home of giant mining companies of the world. PAL flies direct to Vancouver from Manila 11 hours non-stop. We landed in Vancouver one day “earlier” we left Manila. The Philippines is 15 hours ahead on the clock.         I remember the last time I visited Vancouver was in 1989 when former President Cory Aquino made a State Visit to Canada. I was a member of her advance party then. It's so long ago that I can't even recall now what Vancouver looked like more than 20 years ago.

Adaza: Of Saints and Gays

PEDRO Calungsod is the second Filipino saint to be canonized on October 21, 2012 in Rome. San Lorenzo Ruiz is the first to be canonized.

Educated and knowledgeable Catholics will have to decide to go to Rome, if they have the means for such a trip. Knowing Catholic Filipinos, they will try to raise funds to join the entourage.

Luczon: Mugged to mum

IT WAS Sunday when I arrived at the Lumbia domestic airport after a quite long journey that consumed half the month of September. Home at last. Work as usual.

I was wondering what would be the future of Lumbia and nearby communities once the domestic airport will be transferred to Laguindingan town, now that it has flourished subdivisions and commercial establishments along its highway. But I think they will get by with it, that’s if you have the comfort of your own mode of transportation.

Vugt: The Place of God

DURING my childhood I learned from my parents that God is our Father in heaven. Heaven is his place.

When I went to the seminary, I studied Latin and Greek and from the Roman and Greek poets and writers I learned that their world view is polytheistic. For them, all the elements of the world are attached to a particular god or goddess. They are polytheists.

Turning point in Mindanao’s conflict areas

IT has been decades of fighting for independence which resulted only in misery, divisiveness, loss of lives and opportunities in what is now known as the areas of conflict in Mindanao.

First, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and then later, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The former saw the futility of its struggle and signed a peace accord and given an autonomous region to govern and be able to address the grievances that they fought for.

Vugt: The Name of God

THERE is an adage that says: What is in a name? A name says who a person is. It gives a person’s identity. People have been asking me: what is the name of God?

The people in the Old Testament believed that God has no name. When Moses asked God: Who are you? What is your name? God answered: I am Yahweh. Yahweh is a Hebrew word that means: I am who I am. This is an English translation of the word. You hardly can call that a name.

Speak Out: October is Cooperative Month

HOW will the One Thousand Five Hundred Sixteen cooperatives in Region 10 with over half a million members celebrate a month in a year that has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of the Cooperatives?

For everyone’s information, by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 493, October has been declared as Cooperative Month. The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the year 2012 as the International Year of the Cooperatives (IYC) through Resolution 64/136 to raise public awareness of the contribution of cooperatives to social and economic development.