Tag: Mindanao

PNoy should have addressed Mindanao power crisis as soon as elected

March 31, 2012January 18, 2014 Ilda 94 Comments

It’s getting harder and harder for President Noynoy Aquino to blame the previous government for the problems besetting the country today. One such problem is the ongoing energy crisis gripping Mindanao. Yes, the problem already existed even before he was elected but he has done nothing to address the situation. His obsession with the persecution…

Development, Economy, Environment, Government, The South

MalacaÃ±ang finally admits excessive preoccupation with prosecuting Arroyo

December 27, 2011December 27, 2011 benign0 10 Comments

In the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Typhoon Sendong upon northern Mindanao which may ultimately claim up to 2,000 lives, the administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has released an official statement admitting that it may have been distracted from warnings coming from climate and environment experts… Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda admitted that…

Development, Environment, Government, The South

Template disasters, the backhoe and why Andal Ampatuan is like Typhoon Sendong

December 22, 2011December 22, 2011 benign0 5 Comments

A lot of people who have followed the investigation, apprehension, and building of a case against accused mass-murderer former Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr had made that topic the epicentre of everything about the Philippines that has to do with impunity. Ampatuan is accused of masterminding the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province,…

Culture, Environment, Government, Media, Society, The South

Does donating fireworks money to Sendong victims make sense?

December 21, 2011 benign0 5 Comments

It makes perfect sense. Why spend money on stuff that will simply go up in smoke on New Year’s Eve when you can instead donate those funds to the relief effort in Mindanao which had recently been devastated by Typhoon Sendong. This is the appeal of Secretary of Health Enrique T. Ona in a press…

Economy, Money Talks, Society

What Typhoon Sendong’s destruction of Cagayan de Oro City says again about us

December 18, 2011December 18, 2011 benign0 147 Comments

While scanning the news the other day, a friend of mine made a rather glib remark. She said that Filipinos have lately been so fixated on their petty politics — the bickering among politicians and justices over the jurisdiction of their respective offices — that the only way to force people to step back from…

Development, Environment, Media, Politics, Society

To those calling for war or peace in Mindanao: You’re not asking the right questions

November 1, 2011November 1, 2011 benign0 43 Comments

Despite having been to Mindanao more times than the average Manila resident when I was younger, I can’t really say I know the place as well as some of those who are quick to offer “solutions” to the “situation” over there. To begin with, it was mainly its major cities that I’ve been to —…

Development, Politics, Religion, The South

PNoy and the Philippine Armed Forces both stunned by the MILF

October 28, 2011October 31, 2011 Ilda 41 Comments

Someone from a public forum was disappointed that I did not have an opinion readily available for him about the situation in Mindanao. He wrote to me: Hi Ilda. It’s rather odd that you did not have the time for this issue that’s been in the news for over a week, and in fact, this…

Government, Media, The South

Do Filipinos need iron-fisted leadership?

July 8, 2011November 26, 2015 Ilda 103 Comments

Filipinos do not know what they want. In 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos took to the streets to rally against the late strongman, former President Ferdinand Marcos. The three-day protest eventually led to the ousting of the so-called “dictator” and alleged human rights violator. Twenty five years later, Filipinos from the Mindanao region of…

Civics, Crime, Development, Government, Politics, Society