8 Tawi-Tawi youngsters hurdle PMA entrance exam

Bongao, Tawi-Tawi – Eight home-grown Tawi-Tawi students passed the 2010 Philippine Military Entrance Examination given last August 29, 2010 at Datu Amirbahar Jaafar Convention Center in MSU Prep High Campus.

The Philippine Military Academy Cadet Qualification Test (PMACQT) is considered to be the toughest exams in its category where mortality is highest at only 15% or less passing percentage. This year’s record showed that only 1,195 takers made it out of 8,007 applicants all over the country. One hundred twenty (120) applicants from different schools in Tawi-Tawi took the exam.

Of the eight qualifiers from Tawi-Tawi one female student from Science High School named Rose Ann M. Villarin passed the exam. The rest includes Nurwaylid Ikkao Askalani, Abdel-Aziz Abdurahim and Kevin Angelo Pon, all of them senior students of MSU Science High. Midzuan Hamis Omar is a senior student at MSU Prep High. Geoffrey Peta Cata-an and Ar-Mher Alih Ismah are both 2nd and third year BS Computer Science students respectively enrolled in MSU-Tawi-Tawi College of Technology & Oceanography. Mohammad Ishmael Jamahari Jamiri is also a product of MSU Science High and is currently enrolled in College in Zamboanga City.

‘I’m so proud of our youngsters who passed the PMAEE’, said Tawi-Tawi Governor Hji. Sadikul Sahali when asked for comment on this matter. ‘This is a milestone in our history not only making Bongao (Tawi-Tawi), starting this year, as one of the 35 PMA Examination centers in the country but also dismiss the notion that we are at the bottom in terms of literacy rate in the country. ‘Eight passers’ is already a huge success considering that there were centers who didn’t register even a single passer,’ the governor stressed. ‘Hopefully we can increase the number by next year and years to come so we can have more PMA officers in the AFP’.

The successful conduct of the exam in Bongao is largely attributed to the Office of the Provincial Governor with whom an Oversight Committee was created to plan, facilitate, assist and disseminate the information on the conduct of examination. The committee, chaired by Prof. Johnny Lee, went further by organizing review sessions ‘open to all applicants for free’ and held a ‘mock exam or trial test’ not only to familiarize the takers with the type of exam but also to simulate awareness ‘to follow the correct instruction’ which is the hallmark of a military-type of examination. Prof. Lee was ably supported by committee member Capt. Erick Kagaoan (PMA Class 87) of Task Force 62 who offered and shared his expertise by giving lecture/orientation on what to expect in the examination. Three teachers from Science High School were tapped by the committee to provide the review on Science, Mathematics and English which is the core subject mentioned in the PMA exam forms. Lt. Col. Fatima Irene Tillah Rasul, MNSC (Res.) was also in town as PMAEE Coordinator for Region IX and ARMM. She was the one who provided the materials for the mock examination.

‘It was really the concerted effort of the oversight committee members as well as the all-out support of the Governor that led to the successful conduct of the exam’, Lee emphasized. ‘Tuly the exam is so tough and without good planning to guide our applicants it will be extremely difficult to pass it’, he added. Prof. Lee is the father of soon-to-be captain 1st Lieutenant John Robert H. Lee, a member PMA Class of 2004. Lt. Lee is currently assigned in Baloi, Lanao del Norte as Philippine Army Artillery Commander. (JRL-TTM)

Tawi-Tawians rejoice 37th Kamahardikaan; Sahali leads celebration

While Tawi-Tawi strongman, Governor Hadji Sadikul A. Sahali leads Kamahardikaan celebration, Tawi-Tawians rejoice the 37th year independence of a province created on September 27, 1973 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 302.

Three-day commemoration that began September 25 marks another milestone in Tawi-Tawi’s history, as people unite and rally behind the provincial leadership to support the revelry of the province day.

Although Governor Sahali said it is “a celebration in parsimony,” the usual activities though trimmed, manifested the high spirit of the celebration with highlights on Budjang Tawi-Tawi pageant and the Agar-Agar festival, aside from the sports activities that included the 5th Governor Sahali Invitational Cup, a tennis tournament contested by Zamboanga, Sulu and local players; DTI Techno-Forum and Trade Fair, religious programs, sports march, and the culminating parade, which featured participants from the 10 municipalities, government and private agencies in native garbs.

In his welcome speech, he thanked the municipal officials for bringing their delegations in support to the 37th kamahardikaan celebration. He emphasized that unity in the name of progress should be upheld in order that the province would move forward to achieve the needed development.

Sahali also stressed that cooperation and understanding between leaders and the constituents needs to be strengthened and rift brought by political difference during elections must be erased in order that unity is obtainable to make Tawi-Tawi achieved what it needs to achieve.

Speaking before crowds of the agar-agar festival, he again reiterated his gratitude to all the municipal officials who took their delegations to support the activities and emphasized to bygone political difference and called for a meaningful unity.

He gave special mention to mayors of Taganak and Mapun who, amidst distance of their municipalities, have raced fast towards Bongao to bring their delegations.

Sahali was impressed by the solidarity of support from the 10 municipalities manifested by the presence of its 10 mayors, local officials, and the people who rejoiced over the success of the celebration, which proved once and for all, that he commands respect, loyalty, cooperation and support for any provincial endeavor.

Addressing the overwhelming crowds who joined the culminating parade gathered at the DepEd compound, Sahali reiterated anew that peace, love and unity is the key to move the province forward; that solidarity among the people and the government vis-à-vis is a step to achieve a common goal, the so-called “development of the province and the progress of its people.

Meanwhile, Vice Governor Ruby Sahali also conveyed her message of gratitude in her opening remarks at the Agar-Agar festival gathering at the DepEd Compound. She arrived from Manila on the second day of the celebration and was just in time for the gathering of major events in the commemoration.

Provincial Secretary Nurjay Sahali has also excellently organized the committees that prepared the celebration, which eventually contributed to the success of the affair.

Budjang Tawi-Tawi Pageant

The Search for Budjang (Miss) Tawi-Tawi is the main highlight event in the yearly celebration of Tawi-Tawi Kamahardikaan. Each municipality chooses the most beautiful and brainy bet to contest in the search.

On September 24, the traditional Search for Budjang Tawi-Tawi kicked off with 10 budjangs initially contested in a talent show at Datu Amirbahar Jaafar Convention Center. The next day, all the 10 candidates competed in their summer looks at Sandbar Resort and finally in the coronation night they competed in production numbers, badjao, batawi, casual, evening gowns and Question and Answer portion before meticulous but fair judges.

Of the 10 candidates, one surfaced to top them all. Miss Rizalia Francisco Salih of Panglima Sugala bested them in all categories, and won the title of BudjangTawi-Tawi.

Miss Aimeilyn Tiannok Jumli of Bongao was first runner-up, and Sherwina Abbas Sahipa of Mapun reaped the 2nd runner-up post.

The search was acknowledged fair and successful. The choreography was just fine and relatively handled by professionalism.

Chaired by First Lady Hadja Juana Sahali, the pageant also proved that Tawi-Tawi women also posses beauty and talent, like their counterparts in major cities of the country, including the Metropolis. “We have so many beautiful and talented women in the province, in fact, one of the contestants in the recent Miss Earth was a native of Tawi-Tawi,” Mrs. Sahali was quoted as saying.

Indeed, this local pageant, which has come to be a centerfold of every Tawi-Tawi kamahardikaan could just be a stepping stone for Tawi-Tawi women in national pageantry.

Agar-Agar Festival

Clad in native attires, the participants performed street dancing akin to farming the seaweeds. With floats (Sama Lepa) displaying materials and foodstuffs that demonstrate farmer’s life at sea while planting, cultivating and harvesting agar-agar seaweeds, the festival did showcase Tawi-Tawi’s number one product of export, a main economic source for most people in the islands.

Tawi-Tawi is considerably the largest producer of seaweeds in the country. This industry has brought a boom to the province’s economy. This festival is also a highlight activity, and categorically, a contested presentation.

Except for the Municipality of Languyan, which failed to participate in this year’s Kamahardikaan, all the 10 delegations exhibited apt in the agar-agar festival. The greatness went to Municipality of Panglima Sugala.

5th Governor Sadikul Sahali Cup

This is a “friendly invitational tennis tournament” stressed District Engineer Hadji Bensoud Ajihil, day before the celebration commenced.

Asked to give details, Ajihil said DPWH tennis courts would be the grounds for the tourney. Zamboanga and Sulu tennisters are invited to win a trophy and P20,000.00 in cash prize.

He said this activity is part of the 37th Kamahardikaan sports activities of which DPWH is assisting the provincial government in facilitating the tournament.

In the end, Zamboanga players bagged the trophy and cold cash. They went home with the honor of winning the invitational game.

Eid Mubarak in Tawi-Tawi has never been the same

As a Muslim in my childhood, I learned Hariraya Eidil Fitri as a festive day for Muslims to rejoice, and I was always happy whenever the yearly raya celebration comes. I was use to having new clothes, new pair of shoes, which my parents traditionally did for me, and extra coins to game on that special day, after kissing the hands of my elders and relatives. It was a custom and tradition that cloaked me in my childhood and so with other kids, but changed in my adolescence when I began to understand the essence of true Hariraya Eidil Fitri.

From my adolescence until today, I understand that the real quintessence of Eid Mubarak is not only a day to rejoice as a festivity but a blissful day of triumph from the war against jihadun nafs (self sacrifice against desire), by fasting the whole month of Ramadhan wherein God, the Almighty, has commanded the Muslims to perform as an act of worship unto HIM. It is one of the pillars of Islamic faith and those who have successfully performed it by the rules and procedure ordained by the Almighty God with piety, devotion, sincerity, and dignity shall reap the rewards that ALLAH has promised.

Yet raya celebration has never been the same since my adolescence in this Muslim province where Islam has first seeded through Sheik Karimul Makhdum, an Arabian missionary, who built the first and oldest mosque in the country, found in Simunul Island.

Notably, I felt that raya celebrations here lack meanings and seemingly has less spirit. It appears that people are not united in the stand of simultaneously celebrating the triumph of Ramadhan sacrifice on the same day, which eventually demonstrated its spiritless festivities.

An instance of proof is the just-concluded Eidil Fitri where the Eid prayers were done in three separate and subsequent days by Islamic believers of this Muslim province. Some groups did the prayer on Wednesday, others on Thursday and Friday. I certainly do not understand what brought the difference of the supposed same day Eid prayer among the Muslims here. It is just hardly conceivable to comprehend this difference or this non-unity in the conduct of the Eid prayer at the same time, which reflects a formidable disharmony against the Islamic principle of unity.

I was in Malaysia for several years and I noticed how Malaysian Muslims received the raya day with joy, happiness and unity.

Now do we make distinction with other Muslims of the world?

Allow me to answer my own question. YES, we do because we are in disparity in some Islamic aspects. Let us just hope and pray that by the Will of the Almighty ALLAH and by the Hadith of the Holy Prophet we shall not belong to the 72 groups of the 73 sects of Islam that will go astray.

Happy Eid Mubarak!

The Boxing Congressman

Quote: “When lions spar, the jungle awaits with bated breath to see who the victor will be. The loser is vanquished and either killed or banished to another part of the jungle.

When boxers fight, the world watches. But what happens to the spoils of the fight, once the fight is over? Should the winner take it all or does the loser have something to look forward to other than sore bones?” Unquote.

For Manny Pacquiao, whenever he throws his rapid punches toward his opponents in the ring, Filipinos in all corners of the world chant the name ‘Manny” as if he is a superstar, though he really is actually.

Of Manny’s there is no doubt that the pambansang kamao has made Philippines a name and fame in the boxing world. Mr. Manny Paquiao is a great fighter that Philippines ever had. He is pride of the Filipinos.

But his stint in the boxing arena, many opined, should be ended now that he is already an honorable. Being Congressman is dignity. The position carries respect in itself and in all sense.

As a lawmaker, the pambansang kamao should protect the dignity of his public office. Pursuing his boxing career while having an honorable position in the government will undeniably blemish his public image as a lawmaker.

Can any Filipino stand to see their lawmaker beastly fighting in a boxing ring battered, pummeled, pounded and thrashed like a fighting cock for a belt, fame and dough? Has there been any of this kind occurring in other countries? Well, probably none! It is only in the Philippines. And it’s just Manny!

So does this make Congressman Paquiao decide whether to pursue fighting Antonio Margarito or anybody, if he does, then such is viewed relegating the honor of his public office, or rather quit boxing to maintain the prestige of Philippine politics.

I think Manny should opt for the latter. The fact that he has graduated from a political refresher course in U.P. is an indication that he would make a good public servant dedicated to elevate the advancement of his constituency and his district of representation.

But if he pursues it he shall turn to be a laughing stock of the world, maligning the prestige of Philippine politics and the reputable law making body of the Philippines. It is for Manny now to give discretion between upholding world fame in the ring and clinging to the world boxing titles or sacrifice it in the name of dignity to the political career and respect to being a congressman.

If Manny still clings to the boxing arena, it is probably because there are rules that bind a professional boxer which needs his adherence. Well, I am not privy to what it is, but I believe that the multi-talented congressman; a singer, actor, lover, father and great champ should once and for all cease the boxing challenges if only, again, to revere his lawmaker position.

But I know it will be difficult for Manny to disregard the arena for it was here that he made a name for himself and his country. And doing so will also frustrate millions of his fans who love to see him doing the Muhammad Ali at the expense of respect to government position and being an honorable legislator.

Why do 1 in 5 Americans perceive Obama as a Muslim?

US President has turned up a hornet’s nest with his suggestion that a mosque be built on ground zero where the twin towers of the World Trade Center existed in New York. Now speculations are rife that he is recommending this probably because he is a Muslim, as his name suggests.

According to a recent poll by Pew Research Centre, close to one in every five Americans think wrongly that Obama is a Muslim, which is a far higher number than people who thought the same when he took up residence in the White House.

The survey was conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center and its affiliated Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and was based on interviews conducted before the controversy over whether Muslims should be permitted to construct a mosque near the World Trade Center site.

Little idea about their president

Only 34% of people polled correctly answered that Obama is a Christian. 43% said they had no clue about his religion, showing how little the Americans knew about the person who holds the privilege of being the ‘most powerful man on the planet’.

Most of the people (close to 60% of the respondents who felt he was a Muslim) said their perceptions were largely influenced by media information or mis-information in this case. And this feeling gained momentum once he supported suggestions by Muslim groups to construct an Islamic cultural centre and mosque near the 9/11 terror attack site.

The issue has also brought to the fore, the underlying and growing religious intolerance of US citizens, who consider all brown-skinned people as Pakistanis, unaware about the diversity of the different cultures in the Asian sub-continent.

Xenophobia has become rife in a country which was better known as the land for the free and fearless at one point of time. But post-9/11, people are on the edge and distrust most Asians, which is unfair.

Where ignorance is bliss, is it truly folly to be wise?

The Pew survey results show how important a role the media plays when it tries to influence people with their perception of reality. With the current viewpoint about Obama’s religion, his political career could see a period of turmoil, since most Americans have a not so favorable view about Muslims.

When Obama supported the creation of a mosque on ground zero, doubts started creeping into the citizens’ mind about his religious beliefs, which could have a direct impact on his popularity. He has already faced a lot of opposition on the health reform bill which he pushed through the Senate and the Pew poll shows that now 41% of respondents disapprove of his job performance as compared to 26% who voiced their disapproval in the agency’s March 2009 poll.

Following this poll Joshua DuBois, White House faith adviser shared his unhappiness and blamed certain factions in the media and his opponents for creating this wrong impression. “While the president has been diligent and personally committed to his own Christian faith, there are certainly folks who are intent on spreading falsehoods about the president and his values and beliefs,” he reportedly said.

Now the White House’s public relations machinery will have to work on an overdrive to highlight that Obama was actually born to a Kenyan father and an American mother. He grew up in Hawaii when his father left for Africa, when Obama was just two. He was raised by his maternal grandparents and incidentally his grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, was a Muslim.

The bone of contention

The Islamic educational culture centre which also houses a mosque whose construction Obama supported is actually two blocks away from Ground Zero. This 13-story building is led by the Cordoba Initiative, which is headed by Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, a cleric with a mosque in New York, who also belongs to an advocacy group that promotes improved relations between Islam and the West.

The group aims to educate local masses about the actual teachings of the Islam and showcase that the religion is not fundamentalist in nature nor does it preach hatred. The message that the group wanted to spread is that ordinary Muslim Americans and most Muslims around the world do not subscribe to the terror attacks carried out by a minority faction in their community, under the guise of religion.
Ironically, their centre itself has now come in the eye of the storm, with strong opposition from major Republican leaders. Amongst them is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who claimed that “Nazis do not have the right to put up a sign next to the Holocaust Museum in Washington. We would never accept the Japanese putting up a sight next to Pearl Harbor. There is no reason for us to accept a mosque next to the World Trade Center.”

Obama on the other hand tried to fervently convince his opponents, during an iftar dinner (a dinner which signals the end of a day-long fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan) telling that the believed that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as every other person in this country. And if they wish to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances, then such a move should not be opposed.

Bouquets and brickbats thrown in together

Obama has found some supporters for his move like New York City Mayor Michael R Bloomberg, who also supported the planned mosque. He described that Obama’s views were “a clarion defense of the freedom of religion”. But Republicans like former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin asked Obama, whether they should permit the building of the mosque steps away from where radical Islamists killed 3000 people?

The mosque is just a symbol now which shows what the general public opinion is about religious tolerance, especially a religion which has unfortunately been linked to most terror attacks to the world over. Co-relating its construction with the perceived religious beliefs or even the religion that the President of United States subscribes is not only foolish, but also counter-productive to his detractors in the long run.

Obama’s overtures to the construction of the Islamic center is a positive step in telling the world that the US is not prejudiced against any religion and supports their right to practice it peacefully in the country. One can only hope that his political peers see how this message will help assuage millions who have been trained to believe that the US is a demon to hated and feared and then inducted in terror camps in certain countries. (V. Bhatia, NewsCollective/8/20/2010)

DSWD-9 SET TO UPDATE REGION’S LIST OF POOR HOUSEHOLDS

The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office IX is set to conduct another household assessment to update the National Household Targeting System’s (NHTS) data. The said assessment or On-Demand Application (ODA) aims to provide an opportunity for households who were not included or assessed during the initial enumeration conducted last April 2009-March 2010 but whose place of residence was identified within the target area.

According to Mr. Hasan Alfad, DSWD IX Planning Officer and Focal person for NHTS the ODA will be primarily pursued in 16 priority municipalities of the region sometime this month to September.

Each municipality will have a scheduled 10-day assessment period where the local government units through their social welfare offices will assist the hired supervisors in the conduct of the activity.

The house-to-house interviews in the 16 areas will be handled by the area supervisors who were hired by DSWD.

Just recently, the supervisors attended an orientation on the conduct of the ODA with the respective municipal social welfare officers of the 16 areas.

The DSWD, in its drive to target the real poor households of the country as basis for government programs and services came up with the NHTS in 2009. It is a data bank and an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are. The system guarantees the generation and establishment of a socio-economic database of poor households which were gathered by enumerators from the barangays during the nationwide conduct of survey last year.

As a process, the data culled from the communities are encoded and elevated to the national project management office who administers the feeding of the data to a proxy-means test (PMT) system which generates the list of poor and non-poor households. This master list will then be downloaded to the DSWD regional office concerned which will further verify the accuracy of the data through a validation process. The validation process includes the posting of the master list in a conspicuous area in the community for further verification.

The 16 areas for the ODA are Buug, Diplahan, Imelda, Kabasalan, Naga, Siay and Ipil for Zamboanga Sibugay while Aurora, Guipos, Josefina, Labangan, Molave and Ramon Magsaysay for Zamboanga del Sur plus the cities of Zamboanga, Pagadian and Isabela.

Results based on the 2003 released statistics of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) showed that 30 families out of 100 are living in slums, or makeshift houses of indigenous materials, do not have access to clean water, are unable to send their children to school, and are generally denied of other essential services including hospitals. And out of the 30 families, 24 do not have enough food to eat. (DSWD-9, PIA9-BST)

Will Muslim rebels brace war if peace talks fail?

Muslim guerrillas in Mindanao have continuously undergone combat training at secret camps in southern Philippines and amassed more weapons to heighten their military strength in case eyed peace talks with the government wane, according to military reports.

President Benigno Aquino III and the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front have expressed readiness to resume Malaysian-brokered peace negotiations as early as September after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The talks collapsed in 2008, sparking massive fighting, and resumed in the final months of the tenure of Aquino's predecessor without reaching any major accord.

Aquino, who succeeded Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on June 30, has said efforts to turn around his impoverished Southeast Asian nation will be futile if it continues to be wracked by violent insurgencies. He has begun forming negotiation teams to resume talks with the Moro rebels and communist guerrillas.

While fresh talks loomed, the military has monitored at least nine separate combat trainings by hundreds of Muslim fighters and recruits in their strongholds in southern Mindanao region in the first half of the year, according to a military report that assessed national security threats. A copy of the report was seen by The Associated Press.

Muslim guerrillas have been holding combat training and "acquisition of logistics to ensure readiness if the peace talks will not prosper," according to the report, adding the rebels plan to intensify kidnappings and extortion to gain funds.

About 230 rebels underwent training on combat tactics for three days in March in a hinterland camp called Palestine near Butig town in Lanao del Sur province. Several guerrillas joined a month long training on intelligence-gathering in the same camp that month while 247 regular fighters were trained in "rigid jungle warfare" for 15 days in the southernmost province of Tawi Tawi, the report said.

About a hundred recruits were given basic military training for three months in Lanao del Sur starting in March. Other training involving an undetermined number of rebels focused on first aid and leadership, it said.

Muslim rebel negotiator Mohagher Iqbal acknowledged his group has continued to train fighters and seek weapons, which, he said, were obtained in the past from local and foreign sources, mostly gun-running syndicates.

"That's normal in a revolutionary group," Iqbal told AP. "It's not a sign of bad faith because there have always been two options while the problem remains unresolved: the peace process or war."

Iqbal, however, said that his group has primarily focused on the "peaceful track" and will reconstitute its peace panel once the government negotiating team has been set up. He denied that the rebels plan to resort to kidnappings for funds, saying they have relied mostly on civilian financial contributions.

Muslim rebel chief Al Haj Murad said he wanted the rebellion to end in his lifetime but added future talks were froth with obstacles and the guerrillas were bracing for a long battle.

"We are preparing the young generations to carry on the great task of liberating our people," Murad said in a statement posted on a rebel web site.

More than 120,000 people have died in the decades-long conflict in Mindanao, homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.

A shaky truce between government troops and the rebels has held for a year since their last major fighting in Mindanao's marshy heartland that killed hundreds and displaced as many as 750,000 people. (AP-08/12/10-NMT)