Philippine Chief Justice Renato Corona, center, gestures before he leaves the Supreme Court compound in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday. Pic: AP.

And on the 40th day of his impeachment trial, a day grieving Filipinos lift their period of bereavement, Corona may have just started his own political demise.

Corona stripped himself of all judicial decorum and courtesy when he began to speak in defense of himself.  He insisted on reading an opening statement and proceeded with a lengthy narrative of his own appreciation of things.  Despite being courteously reminded to proceed with his testimony, Corona lashed out at his perceived political and personal enemies.

As promised, he was accorded all the respect and allowed to do his act despite continuing objection from the prosecution, which was barred from interrupting to manifest their objection to hearsay and irrelevant testimonies of the Chief Justice.

Corona, ironically, resorted to the very tactics he is accusing his detractors of.   He resorted name-calling, even washing dirty linen in public, desecrating the memory of the dead and using the language of the bully, and exposed his true character – a man not worthy of his position.

He also displayed a manifest lack of the intelligence required and expected from the highest magistrate of the land with the way he conducted himself after delivering his scathing monologue.  He took all 23 senator-judges, including politically-reborn Juan Ponce Enrile, for a ride and led them into believing that he is fully submitting himself to the jurisdiction of impeachment court only to arrogantly walk away with a smug on his face.

In a singular act of shamelessness and cowardice, he tried to leave the Senate building. But Enrile wanted nothing of his stage act.

What a pathetic sight it was when Corona was finally brought back to the Senate impeachment court.  Contrived or not, his being led into a wheelchair instantly reminded everybody of his principal benefactor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was also denied exit (escape, too?) at the Manila International Airport.

It seems flight was always the option for those who enjoyed power, too much of it, during the previous government.

It now matters no more whether Corona is guilty or not of all the charges hurled against him by the House of Representatives.

By his own doing yesterday, he proved he really did not deserve one day as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Corona came into the Senate session hall waving his hands to the public and his few supporters.  When he arrived, he was full of swagger.  He left limping, though, in a wheelchair.

Read AP’s report on Tuesday’s dramatic day in court here

When these tunas eventually end up in posh Japanese restaurants abroad, they command a hefty price.  The record price for the more pricey bluefin tuna was US$396,700 for a 754 pound fish.  But in a recent auction in Tokyo, a single tuna reportedly fetched $736,000 or roughly $1,240 per pound.

Fresh chilled tuna are in such high demand in Japan that even the Manila grade tunas are being boxed up and flown to Narita airport.

Two or three years ago, no honest-to-goodness tuna trader would even dare entertain such thoughts.

But the times they are a changing, to paraphrase Bob Dylan.

John Heitz, who has been trading fresh chilled tuna since the ’80s, said the ‘abnormal prices’ of tuna are driving local traders out of the market but is giving local tuna fishers a huge bonanza.

“Daghan lipay nga mga (A lot of happy) local fishermen, which is good,” Heitz commented.  But he said traders like him whose principal market is the US are increasingly finding it hard to compete with the Japanese market.

Japan consumes more than 80 percent of the world’s supply of fresh chilled yellowfin tuna.

Headless and US bound yellowfin tuna. Pic: Edwin Espejo.

Heitz can just watch in awe and disbelief when a top Japanese henchman for a local tuna processor is now personally picking off tuna at Market 1 of the General Santos City Fish Port Complex.

“Ambot giunsa nila na pagbligya didto sa (I do not know how they are able to sell that in) Japan,” the former American Peace Corps volunteer said.  Heitz is married to Filipina Muslim and his Cebuano dialect sounds as if he was born into it.

Grading the tuna

Fresh yellowfin tuna are basically classified into four quality grades.

On top are the sashimi grade tunas (called Ulo – head – in local parlance) which are flown out straight from the General Santos City airport to either Osaka or Narita in Japan or Seattle or LA in the US following a brief transfer stopover in Manila.  They are marked by their deep-red color with higher fat content. (Do not be fooled by that pink bright color of tuna loins sold at your local deli store.  Chances are they have undergone the smoke-filter process which explains their color). Sashimi grade tunas are further classified into three sub-grades with prices separated by Php10 (USD0.23).

Next in line are the Manila grade tunas, the ones served at posh Manila hotels.

Then Davao grades before General Santos City finally gets whatever leftovers there are.  These, leftovers, mind you, can still cost, per kilo, more than a half-day’s pay for a minimum wage earner in General Santos.  Minimum wage in the city is pegged at Php285 (US$6.60) per day.

Gone are the days when mature yellowfin tuna are sold for Php0.50 per kilo (USD0.011) in the old filthy ‘landing fish’ area across the General Santos City public market (now site of the water treatment plant).  Or when they were just buried on the shores because there were no cold storage and processing plants yet.

No idea

In an article that appeared in www.atuna.com, restaurant owners in the US said they have no idea why prices of fresh tuna have gone up so wildly.

“From I’ve been told, it’s kind of a perfect storm [of tuna deficiency],” said BJ’s Kitchen Manager Michael Fritz of Maryland, USA.

Others blamed it to the ongoing ban on tuna fishing in two pockets of seas in the Western Pacific region.  The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission has been imposing a ban on purse-seine tuna fishing.

According to WCPFC, “pocket 1 covers Palau, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia, areas closest to the Philippines where local tuna fishing companies frequently operate.  Pocket 2 is bounded by the countries of Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tuvalu, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and parts of Kiribati.”

The ban apparently has caught fire, driving many suppliers to demand higher prices.

Over the years, health-conscious diners have developed the fine taste of fresh-chilled tuna, said to be rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, vital for normal metabolism.

Tuna-less sushi. Pic: Edwin Espejo.

As a result of the ban, more importers have been buying frozen tuna but the US government has reportedly been cracking down on imported frozen tuna because of alleged contamination issues.

“Years past, there’s been a lot of frozen tuna steaks, but apparently the FDA has been cracking down on them, I guess that’s putting a lot more pressure on the fresh market,” disclosed Melvin Pruitt of United Shellfish in Gransonville, Md. “They’ve been checking every container [of fish].” (http://www.atuna.com/apps/public/ViewArticle.asp?ID=11204)

Consequently, demand for fresh chilled tuna increased.  Local catches in General Santos however has been in steady decline.

The Japanese market however has not wavered a bit.  They are willing to pay the price of fresh tuna in their sushi and their sashimi.

The Filipinos, meanwhile, are now increasing their poultry and pork diet because of the prohibitive prices of fish.  Talk about a boon for one is another’s bane.

“The Philippines can fish in high sea pocket 1 only and any reporting in the press otherwise is wrong,” said Glenn Hurry, executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

Hurry said they do not expect a significant increase in Philippine tuna catch following the WCPFC decision reached during its annual conference in Guam in December last year.

The WCPFC is a sanctioning body with at 18 members and 33 participating countries.

The Philippines is a signatory to the conference.

The governing body for fishing in the Western Pacific said the temporary lifting of the ban in Pocket 1 covers only the Philippines.

“We’ll get a better idea after six months of fishing to see what comes out of there, but I’m not expecting it to be high,” Hurry further said.

WCPFC will again meet in Manila in December to assess the impact of the new policy that gave preferential treatment to Philippine tuna fishers.

The other pocket of seas covered by the ongoing ban on tuna fishing remains closed to Philippine tuna fishers.

This area is bounded by the countries of Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tuvalu, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and parts of Kiribati, a tuna fishing ground which is much more distant from the Philippines and beyond the reach of medium-size Philippine purse seiners.

The country is likewise limited to 36 traditional Filipino fishing vessels in the opened pocket of seas.  WCPFC said freezer tuna boats or large purse seiners remain banned in both pockets of seas.

Filipino vessels however will be required to comply with the rules of the WCPFC which includes 100% observer coverage on board.  These fishing vessels will also be required to be on the Commission’s vessel monitoring system.

Several Philippine fishing companies, among them RD Fishing and Frabelle Fishing, however have already established based in Palau and Papua New Guinea and are expected to take advantage of the preferential treatment from WCPFC.

The Philippines has been lobbying for the lifting of the WCPFC ban arguing that it has dislocated hundreds of fishermen and workers dependent on its tuna industry. It even cited the slaying of 15 fishermen off the coast of Basilan in southern Philippines in January due to rivalry over narrowing fishing grounds as a result of the WCPFC ban.

In 2011, the second year of the ban, total tuna landing at the General Santos City fishing port complex dropped by 21 per cent from 143,139.17 metric tons in 2010 to 112,891.81 MT last year.

Volume of landings of mature yellowfin tuna has also been on a steady decline from 33,369 MT in 2007 to mere 9,061.13 last year.

How many of us once dreamed we are the caped action heroes who crushed the evil and outlaws and once saved a damsel from falling from the Empire State building, or wherever, like Superman?  Or if you are more current, recent Marvel comic book superheroes Iron Man, Thor and Captain America in the ultimate world box-office record-breaking superaction movie The Avengers (still running in theaters worldwide)?  Going more local, Captain Barbell and Darna, Mars Ravelo classic super heroine?

Conquering one's fear of heights means having a majestic view of the mountains and the sea

To defy gravity and be able to hold yourself up in the sky with nothing to separate you from hundreds of feet above the air and the rocky mountain and cliffs below is every child’s dream.  To be able to conquer heights and your fears of flying.  It could be dizzying.  Enthralling.

But in the real world, it could also turn your stomach inside out and even induce self-inflicted death.

Those who have inordinate fear for the heights (acrophobia) will find the pteromerhanophobics (people who fear flying) luckier.  With fate hanging on both hands, the thin line between heavenly ecstasy and morbid and agonizing death will be staring at your face with one serious miscue or miscalculation.

But for some, they make a living and actually have some fun out of it on the side.

Frenchman Armand Dard has been taking off cliffs and mountain edges as a certified paragliding pilot and instructor for the last 17 years.

He was invited by brothers Coco and Ian Tan to take a look at the otherwise barren cattle ranch of the latters’ family-owned San Andres Fishing Industries (SAFI) Inc. in Seguel, Maasim.  Armand gave it a try.  He immediately fell in love with the place, said to be the only one of its kind in Mindanao and perhaps the best location for mountain launch paragliding in the country today.

Fear of heights

Over the last few years, you see, I have developed this fear of standing at the edges of tall buildings.  So when my time to try how it feels when you lift and hold yourself aloft in the air strapped in a harness with a handful of superstrong strands holding you and you friendly paragliding pilot from falling to your death, you have to conquer all those fears.

Geared up and ready to fly

We had to drive all the way up on a 4×4 SUV to negotiate the steep and rocky edges of a cliff where, atop, a small clearing had been hastily built a few days before for a friendly competition among 10 paragaliders that included several Canadian friends of the Tan brothers and a Taiwanese man a day earlier.

The pre-flight instructions were very brief.  Just the basics.

The author (in white shirt) being 'geared up'

We will be riding in tandem, says Armand, and you will have to follow my instructions.  When I say roll over to your left, just lean towards your left and cross you right leg over your left.  When I say right, do it the other way.  When I say straight forward, just sit and relax on a built-in seat in your harness.

We have to run against the wind to have a quick and good lift and continue kicking your feet in running motion in case of aborted flight to avoid injuries when ‘crashlanding.’  We will land on the same head wind and take two steps backward upon touching ground before turning to your left towards the chute to avoid being dragged backwards.

The instructions from the Frenchman were in halting English, understandably.  Before I knew it, I was all ‘harnessed’, strapped from my back to Armand’s front and waiting for the right gale of wind for liftoff.

It was a short dash.  Three or five arms length and we were up in the air.  What happened next was the longest seven minutes of my hidden acrophobic life.  I felt the adrenalin rush.  At first, I cannot seem to focus on objects below me including the vehicles parked at the edge of the landing are which still has a visible landing accuracy target.  Those vehicles looked like miniatures of matchboxes!

We made two turns each to our right and left before Armand decided the wind, at 2:30 in the afternoon, is not good enough for a long flight.  By long flights, paragliders said it is 15 minutes or more.    The Taiwanese friend of Coco said he was up in the air for two hours earlier in the day for their after-tournament fun fly. We landed smoothly.

When the adrenalin rush subsided, it was one joyous ride

Armand says accidents do happen.  It can come from misjudging the headwind and direction, a sudden downward draft or a faulty landing.  Coco still had his left foot in a cast courtesy of a recent faulty landing.  So too was his Canadian friend who had to be rushed to the hospital after he could no longer endure the pain in his ankle, probably sprained or, worse, twisted.

Future world attraction

Coco said a team from the world association of paragliders will be coming over next month to evaluate the site for possible inclusion in world paragliding tour competitions next year.  If accredited, it will be the first of its kind in the Philippines.

Armand said the site in Seguel is by far the best throughout the country; even the ones Carmona in Cavite and Montalban in Rizal don’t come close.

watch?v=eTVD7-ei0bU&feature=related

What makes Seguel more attractive is the majestic view of Sarangani Bay and the day long wind that one paraglider can only dream of.   The French instructor however says the best time to fly is between 10am. and 1pm.

Paragliding in this part of Mindanao is barely out of the woods.  But as of Sunday, Coco said there are already 10 enthusiasts and plenty more waiting to do some solo flights.

The gear however can cost a fortune for some ordinary fixed-income earners.  But it’s a one-time emptying of the pockets.

Brand new complete paragaliding gear can cost as much as Php150,000 (US$3,500).  Second hand, like Ian’s gear, it can be had for Php60,000 (US$1,400).   Fees for fun flyers could range from Php1,500 to Php3,000 (USD35-70).

For bookings and instructions in getting to the place, contact Chris Romano 09426204950.

[FOTOS BY COCOY SEXCION AND EDWIN ESPEJO]

Boxer and politician Manny Pacquiao speaks about his views on same-sex marriage at his home in Los Angeles, Wednesday. Pic: AP.

Filipinos have begun to embrace gays and LGBT definitely has already seeped into the language and consciousness of a considerable portion of Filipino society.  LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.  A few months back, the student council of the country’s premier state university, University of the Philippines (UP), elected its first transgender chair in breaking the barrier of sexual preference.

But in a country where more than 80 percent are Catholics, many are still struggling to accept that LGBTs have as much rights as ‘straight’ people to enter into marital union.  Even among the country’s Muslim community, which comprises 5 per cent of the population, being gay is ‘haram’ or prohibited.

Manny Pacquiao, the evangelist, sportsman and congressman became a vocal opponent of same sex union.

Pacquiao the congressman, for all who have not followed his political views, has always been on the conservative side of issues affecting American society.  Even in his own country where he earned, and paid for, the right to express his political views, Pacquiao is always an ally for conservatives.  He was just being true to form on his views on gay marriage.  Pacquiao, in fact, is a strong ally of the Catholic Church against the Reproductive Health bill, calling it a proposed law that encourages abortion.

In 2008, he said he was supporting US Sen. McCain John McCain, a Republican who ran and lost to President Barrack Obama.   Of course, McCain is the author of the Muhammad Ali Act which protects professional boxers from exploitative managers and promoters.

Writer Granville Ampong, in whose article Pacquiao now finds himself the target of attacks from the LGBT community, is a Filipino Republican activist in theUS.

Ampong has officially apologized to Pacquiao for the storm his story created.  Ampong was correct, Pacquiao never cited a phrase in the Bible in expressing his views on gay marriage, which became a hot copy in the US when Obama gave his support to it.  Ampong has admitted that it was he who quoted Bible passage Leviticus 20:13 in supporting Pacquiao’s views on gay marriage.

Republicans naturally would love to have someone lend his powerful voice to oppose such moral issues.  Ultra conservatism among Republicans in the US is again on the rise after they were given a thrashing by Obama in 2008.  In November, Republicans are hoping to unseat Obama who still enjoys popular support among Americans.

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank is, however, a Democrat who served under the late Sen. Robert Kennedy at the Attorney General’s office as a young Harvard Law School graduate.

Pacquiao has grown into a man of his own such that as an elected Philippine congressman he is now obliged to field questions on everything remotely related to politics whether in his country or in the land of milk and honey where he earns his living.

America is a democratic and free country.  Anyone is entitled to his own political views.

The Filipino boxing champion however now carries an added weight on his shoulders.  He is now a member of Philippine Congress and protocol dictates that he refrains from commenting on such thorny issues involving elected officials of another country in their own territory.

I would have no problem with Rep. Manny Pacquiao expressing such a conservative view in the Philippine media, although I certainly do not share the same views.

Like I had repeatedly said, Rep. Pacquiao, who never hides his presidential ambition, now lives in a fishbowl.  Anything he says will be magnified and scrutinized.

But Monday’s appearance of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, for former colleague of Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona, at resumption of the latter’s impeachment trial may yet be the game-changer in this highly-charged Philippine political drama.

Philippine Government Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, left, shows documents as defense counsel Serafin Cuevas listens during the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona on Monday. Pic: AP.

By calling Carpio-Morales to the witness stand as an adverse and hostile witness, the Corona defense panel failed to buttress its claim that the impeachment of the Chief Justice was a result of political vendetta and virulent attack by President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III.

Instead, the gamble exploded before the faces of the lawyers of Corona.  Certainly, including the Chief Justice.

Carpio-Morales was allowed, by a unanimous vote, to present detailed information on Corona’s alleged dollar accounts and their attendant transactions through a PowerPoint presentation.  The vote was the first of its kind for the Senate Impeachment Court instigated by, of all Senator-Judges, Senator Miriam Santiago who is perceived to be sympathetic to Corona.

Why the Court voted to allow the presentation can only be put down to its members’ curiosity because, until Carpio-Morales waved the 17-page document from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), nobody among them had any inkling about the intricate web of transactions involving Corona’s dollar accounts.

Carpio-Morales’ possession of the AMLC report also caught the defense panel off guard.  They never knew what hit them – members of Corona’s battery of high-priced lawyers.  They never knew the extent and details of the Ombudsman’s investigation into their client’s dollar account deposits.  When waived the copy, defense lead counsel Serafin Cuevas, a former Supreme Court associate justice like Carpio-Morales, conveniently forgot to get the details which was the subject subpoena.

But there was no denying the court.

Mind you, Carpio-Morales is not done yet.  She could be swayed by both the prosecution and the impeachment court to testify beyond the dollar accounts of Corona.

There is no way for Corona’s defense team to explain their client’s multimillion dollar deposits without putting him on the witness stand, which at this stage may already be a helpless situation.

Corona may yet be able to spring surprises to his favor.  After all, he has not rested his case.  But frankly, is there really a way out for Corona?  He already crossed his Rubicon.  The way forward may be is just to fade quietly into the horizon.  That, too, may no longer be an option for him given the way things took a turn for the worse for him.

The game may be over for Corona.

The impeachment trial of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona resumes in today with his defense counsels taking the biggest gamble yet in the four-month old high political drama by calling hostile witnesses in a dramatic dash to the finish line.

Renato Corona. Pic: AP.

Repeatedly scolded by Presiding Judge Juan Ponce Enrile for ‘cluttering’ the trial by presenting ‘immaterial and irrelevant’ witnesses, the defense panel dropped the bombshell last week  by offering its client in the witness stand in exchange for the appearances of several personalities in connection with Corona’s alleged dollar account or accounts.

Ironically, one of them might just be the kind of witness that will open a Pandora’s Box on how the Chief Justice is presiding over the country’s High Magistrate.  One who knows the tightly guarded inner workings of the Supreme Court.  One who could have in her possession details of his foreign currency deposits.  One who is his nemesis.

Corona and his wife must also have felt forsaken with relatives of his spouse coming out in the open to further reveal the character of the Chief Justice.  While the family feud over the Basa-Guidote property and corporation is not included in any of the articles of impeachment, it has become a telling and damning sidebar of the Corona trial.

Corona and his lawyers must have seen the futility of weaving a story for his defense without the accused himself offering his direct testimony.

They could and should have already presented their best evidence to refute all charges against the Chief Justice after a break of over a month.  But with the patience of the senator-judges growing very thin every time the defense presents witnesses that only prove the existence of these and those documents that otherwise can be had through judicial notice, even former Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas now admits that only Corona can save himself.

By agreeing to testify and defend himself before the Senate Impeachment Court, Corona has crossed his rubicon.

Corona has repeatedly claimed President Benigno Aquino III was behind the move to impeach him and hopes that the potential hostile witnesses he asked the Impeachment Court to be subpoenaed will buttress his defense theory.  If that is the case, Corona is no longer as interested in defending himself, but more interested in bringing down with him the Aquino government.  If not now, at least in the future.

Renato Corona. Pic: AP.

Repeatedly scolded by Presiding Judge Juan Ponce Enrile for ‘cluttering’ the trial by presenting ‘immaterial and irrelevant’ witnesses, the defense panel dropped the bombshell last week  by offering its client in the witness stand in exchange for the appearances of several personalities in connection with Corona’s alleged dollar account or accounts.

Ironically, one of them might just be the kind of witness that will open a Pandora’s Box on how the Chief Justice is presiding over the country’s High Magistrate.  One who knows the tightly guarded inner workings of the Supreme Court.  One who could have in her possession details of his foreign currency deposits.  One who is his nemesis.

Corona and his wife must also have felt forsaken with relatives of his spouse coming out in the open to further reveal the character of the Chief Justice.  While the family feud over the Basa-Guidote property and corporation is not included in any of the articles of impeachment, it has become a telling and damning sidebar of the Corona trial.

Corona and his lawyers must have seen the futility of weaving a story for his defense without the accused himself offering his direct testimony.

They could and should have already presented their best evidence to refute all charges against the Chief Justice after a break of over a month.  But with the patience of the senator-judges growing very thin every time the defense presents witnesses that only prove the existence of these and those documents that otherwise can be had through judicial notice, even former Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas now admits that only Corona can save himself.

By agreeing to testify and defend himself before the Senate Impeachment Court, Corona has crossed his rubicon.

Corona has repeatedly claimed President Benigno Aquino III was behind the move to impeach him and hopes that the potential hostile witnesses he asked the Impeachment Court to be subpoenaed will buttress his defense theory.  If that is the case, Corona is no longer as interested in defending himself, but more interested in bringing down with him the Aquino government.  If not now, at least in the future.

Nobody bothered to explain why, but for the boys of summers this ritual served as an anesthetic. After all, there were no surgical knives for the pain and no antiseptics for the cut.  The quivering helped dull the pain and minimize the flow of blood.  There was no disinfectant and povidone-iodine solutions to prevent infection.

For the Boys of Summer, the anesthesia is a prolong dip in the water. FOTO BY COCOY SEXCION

For the boys, it was young guava shoots chewed then spit on the slit of the foreskin that served as a roadside antiseptic.

Yes, those were the days when pubescent boys in very loose T-shirts sans underwear nervously awaited their turn at the annual summer ritual, also known as circumcision.

Those were the rude days when elderly uncles or gandpas initiated them into manhood.  With homemade knives crafted by your neighborhood blacksmiths (are they still around?) serving as the only ‘surgical’ instrument.   The pointed tip of the razor-sharp knife is inserted into the foreskin of the penis and hammered by a wrist-size branch instantly cutting an incision (traditionally called pukpok).  The sight is ghastly to some.  For others, it’s a fulfillment of a promise and entry into the ‘brotherhood of men’.

After all, no Filipino kid wants to be teased for being ‘supot’, or uncircumcised.

Not all, however, are fans of circumcision. Some have called it mutilation.

Others said today’s practice of lopping and snipping the foreskin of infants is unethical and a form of human rights violation.

Former Asian Correspondent blogger Carlos Conde said “circumcision should only be done on adults.”

“I know it’s just the foreskin but how is circumcision different from genital mutilation? And doing it on infants doesn’t make it any less barbaric – on the contrary, cutting the child makes it even more reprehensible because the thinking behind it is the child could only cry out in pain, not curse those who cause the pain,” said Conde, also a former New York Times correspondent.

The Department of Health has issued advice for those who will undergo circumcision to be psychologically ready.

With the increasing prevalence of human immune virus (HIV), the DoH agrees with medical science that circumcision, one of the few rituals that both the Jews and the Arabs share in common, helps prevent the spread of the AIDS-leading virus.

Yes, circumcision is as old as religion with close to 70 percent of Muslims worldwide being circumcised.

According to a Wikipedia entry, “circumcision is most prevalent in the Muslim world, parts of Southeast Asia, Africa, the United States, the Philippines, Israel, and South Korea.”

It is relatively rare in Europe, Latin America, parts of Southern Africa, and most of Asia and Oceania. Prevalence is near-universal in the Middle East and Central Asia.

But still, more than half of the world’s male population is not circumcised by reason of culture and tradition.

One Filipino blogger, in fact, has dedicated his blog extolling the ‘virtues’ of being supot, a derision that sometimes leads to fatal confrontation.

They now do it at the hospital, clinics or as in the case of above picture, at the village health centers.

In the Philippines, especially in the provinces, local government officials are leading summer drives for kids to undergo this annual rite of passage.

Modern science and wider access to health care are however now affording kids painless incisions with antibiotics and antiseptic.  But elsewhere it is still done the old fashioned way.

Now, go jump into the river!

The win erased his two previous disappointing encounters with the gritty Mexican boxer, where he lost by a unanimous decision and held to a draw that was later declared no contest after Romero was tested positive for illegal drug substance in their fight second fight.

Villoria started slowly but quickly picked up pace by knocking down the challenger in the third round with a well-timed left hook and again in the fifth round.

Romero was also deducted a point for a low blow in the fourth round.

The Filipino-American champion, who hails from Hawaii, was never in danger and was in control of the fight starting in the third round with his accurate jabs and crisp combinations against the suddenly tentative Romero.

He opened up a cut above the right eye of Romero in the fourth round.

In the fateful ninth round, Villoria sent Romero reeling to the ring near the corner of the Mexican.  A flurry of follow-ups buckled the knees of the challenger before his corner climbed the ring to stop the fight.

But by then the referee had already waived the fight despite protests from Romero.

In the main supporting bout, former world light flyweight champion Rodel Mayol scored a lopsided win over another former world title holder Julio Cesar Miranda to keep his second world title bid alive.

Campaigning in the flyweight division where he said he is more at home, Mayol repeatedly rocked the rugged Mexican but failed to put him away.

Mayol totally dominated Miranda who counts stoppage victories over Filipino opponents Richie Mepranum and Ardin Diale.  The scores were 100-90, 99-90 and 97-91.

It was the third successful defense for Villoria who won his second world title in as many weight classes from Miranda who saw action in the undercard.

Villoria improved his professional record to 31 wins (18 knockouts), 3 losses and one no contest.

Seventeen of the 22 workers living in the dormitory at the third floor of the building perished in the inferno.  One of those killed was a five-month pregnant worker.

Three survived by jumping out of the building’s top story but suffered injuries.  One worker is listed as still missing.

According to the leftist labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) chapter in the city, the fire started at the ground floor and quickly spread throughout the NOVO Jeans and Shirts Department store along Montilla Blvd Wednesday (May 9) dawn.

“They were unable to escape the fire as they were locked from the outside and there was no accessible fire or emergency exits,” the KMU said in a press statement.

NOVO Jeans operates a chain of garments store in the country.

The Butuan City branch reportedly has at least 40 workers, more than half of them are living in the dormitory.  Most of them are casual workers who are laid off from work after five months to avoid labor standards that require employers to elevate to regular status all workers who have worked for more than five months.

Labor officials are also investigating the incident following allegations that the victims were also paid below the mandated minimum wage.

Authorities are now conducting investigation including finding possible criminal charges against the owner of the garment store chain owner.

The deadly fire was the third to hit the Caraga Region, some 950 kilometers south of the Philippine capital of Manila, in the last six months.

According to the KMU, four (4) casual workers of Filipinas Palmoil Plantation, Inc. (FPPI) were also burned to death last November 18 and December 21 because of ‘unsafe working conditions.’

I have seen tapes of Villanueva’s fights and was lucky enough to be at the ringside in one of his fights.  No doubt, he packs a lot of power.  Beyond that, he is below average.  He sorely lacks defense.  Stamina is virtually non-existent.  He is flat-footed.  A one-dimensional fighter as he can get.  Undisciplined inside the ring.  And at 26, he is no longer a spring chicken.

His story as a breadwinner who solely relies on earnings from boxing is a good copy.  One that is heart-rending.  But boxing is a cruel sport.  You have to be able to absorb the heaviest punches as well as you can dish them out.

In a sport where longevity is measured by your skills and power and a little bit of luck, Villanueva is nowhere the elite class.

His record may still be an excellent one despite his crushing defeat to Indonesian  Daud Cino Yordan Saturday.  But frankly, I believed he was thrust into the lion’s den too much too soon or rather too late at his age given his skills set.

I, however, tip my hat to Manny Piñol for developing a stable of boxers under his Braveheart  Promotions.  He has a good stable of fine young talents with incredible potentials.  Villanueva may not be one of them, his boxing record notwithstanding.

I may be wrong but how I wish I am.

I empathize with the former Cotabato governor, too.  There is a dearth of boxing promoters in Mindanao who are willing to gamble good money to have quality boxing cards despite the fact that some of our current world boxing champions and rated boxers are from the island.

Many boxing promoters and managers are forced to give up their promising wards to foreign promoters who can land them the big fights.  Former Gov. Piñol himself has given up some of his boxers due to prohibitive costs of training and maintaining a stable of boxers.

Without regular boxing event in the provinces, boxing fans will be content on watching replays and live feeds on TV and cable.

Without a big fan base for live boxing, promoters and boxing managers have to go elsewhere if they cannot stomach being feed by trial horses and bum opponents for their prospects.  Once these young talents go elsewhere, they begin to realize that the outside world is far crueler and that they need more than a bit of luck to succeed.

I can run you a list of young talents from Mindanao who failed to make it big time in the international scene precisely because of the lack of quality fights while they are beginning to climb up the ladder.  But of course I might be unfair for them.

Lawa ‘lost’ to Jose Zamorro by one of the narrowest margins of victory in the 2010 local elections – 15 votes – or so said the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine which erroneously transmitted results of the canvassing of nine votes during a test run at Precinct 21 in Kablacan village of Maasim prior to the sealing of the machine.

But in the certified election returns from the precinct canvassed on Monday, Lawa actually received 136 votes as against only 62 votes by Zamorro bringing the total votes he garnered to 5,440 as against 5,382 of his chief rival – a margin of 58 votes.

As a Commission on Election ruling prohibited pre-proclamation protests, Lawa was left to file his protest before the commission en banc.  Lawa won his case but Zamorro filed an appeal which eventually reached the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court fortunately upheld Lawa’s victory.

Armed with the Supreme Court ruling, Lawa tried to claim his seat last year but by then municipal election officer who admitted to the PCOS machine error had already retired.

In March this year, Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo ordered Zamorro to vacate his post and appointed Vice Mayor Uttoh Salem Cutan as acting mayor.

On May 7, Lawa, dressed in long sleeves finally held office for the first time as Cutan immediately relinquish his post as acting mayor.

Lawa was one of the two mayoralty candidates from the Sarangani Reconciliation and Reformation Organization (SARRO) party who survived the onslaught of winning candidates from the People’s Champ Movement of Rep. Manny Pacquiao who grab the lone congressional seat of Sarangani province.

Filipino boxing champion Rep. Manny Pacquiao poses beside a poster of the late labor leader and Congressman Crispin Beltran. The question of whether Pacquiao will get the chance to fight boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. before ending his own boxing career in 2013 remains to be seen. Pic: AP

Mayweather was never in danger of absorbing his first career loss but for the first time in 10 years, he was into a competitive fight.

Cotto came bent on keeping his crown but Mayweather simply has far more superior skills and was far faster than any fighter he has ever met, except for, again, Pacquiao.   Cotto came close to going down in the 12^th round when a left uppercut from Mayweather found his chin.  Cotto had his moments but he fell short again against an elite fighter.

If anything, Cotto at least survived Mayweather.  That cannot be said of Pacquiao who put him down twice before being rescued by the referee from further punishment in the last round.

Cotto likewise exposed some holes and cracks in Mayweather’s defenses that work against right handed fighters.   Mayweather looks very much vulnerable against left hooks and straights from a southpaw where his shoulder roll defense will be ineffective.  Take note of that, Coach Freddie Roach.

And while Mayweather basked at the glory of picking up Pacquiao leftovers, his greatness will always be tied up with the Filipino boxing champion.   Before, during and after the Cotto fight, Pacquiao was always in the equation in future fights for Mayweather.  But as the color commentators of the Mayweather-Cotto fight said, one wonders if that will ever happen.

Despite all the Mayweather ranting and diatribes, boxing fans and aficionados will always view him as the sole obstacle from making the Pacquiao fight a reality.  Mayweather will repeatedly find excuses in torpedoing any fight deal with Pacquiao despite the huge financial bonanza that awaits both fighters.

When pressed by Larry Merchant in the post-Cotto fight, Mayweather again paid lip service to the fight but has not categorically said when he is going to take up the challenge.  Come to think of it, if Mayweather wants the fight all he had to do is fight – no ifs, ands, or buts.

But then again, why risk losing all the money he can get fighting handpicked opponents if he loses to Pacquiao?  For as long as Pacquiao keeps fighting, Mayweather will always find the gullible in us who he would like to believe that he will one day fight the Filipino boxing idol.

And for Pacquiao, with or without Mayweather, 2013 will be the last year of his colorful and spectacular boxing career.  Let us wait and see if Mayweather will continue to be a PPV attraction once Pacquiao is gone from the boxing scene.

For more than 20 straight years, the South Cotabato first district congressional seat was controlled by the Antoninos.   First by Adelbert Antonino then his wife Lualhati before daughter Darlene served it out for three consecutive terms.

Their ally, Rep. Pedro ‘Jun’ Acharon Jr now occupies that position.  It was Acharon who filed the bill reapportioning the first and second congressional districts of South Cotabato and separating General Santos City as a lone congressional district.

When the framers of the 1987 Constitutional apportioned the number of legislative districts, it set a minimum in the number of population (one congressional district for every 250,000 population).  Little did they anticipate that General Santos City, whose population at that time was just a little over 180,000, will rise to become one of the highly urbanized cities in the Philippines.

Today, there are over 536,000 residents in General Santos City, well over the minimum.  Based on the 2010 population census, it is now even entitled to two legislative districts.

I have been repeatedly putting forward this idea since relocating here in 1999.  (In 1997, I was commissioned by former councilor Aristeo Albay to make a study for possibly re-districting Davao City into four congressional districts.  That paper was submitted to then 2nd District Rep.  Manuel ‘Nonoy’ Garcia who said it cannot be done without amending the Constitution.)

The latest incident where I had the opportunity to discuss this matter was with then Rep. Darlene Antonino who, in 2010, was then running for mayor.

I understand that it will take an amendment of the Constitution to re-apportion the congressional districts as it is incorporated in the transitory provisions.  The law provides that no new district shall be created unless a new territory is created.  Re-districting the city and South Cotabato will not result into the creation of a new province or city.  But it has been done before without resulting into amending the Constitution.

Darlene Antonino-Custodio, now city mayor, however said it cannot be done without resorting to charter change which effect could lead to the opening of Pandora’s box.

Acharon was also not receptive to the idea when he was still a mayor.

The two were also lukewarm, if not dismissive, of dividing the city into two political and legislative district (east and west) with Silway River as its natural boundary, similar to nearby Sarangani whose two poltical districts is separated east and west by General Santos City (Sarangani, too, has a lone congressional district).  This will enable the city to increase the number of seats in the city council which is long overdue.

Silway River serves as antural boundary between the east and west side of the city.

Having only 12 elected councilors for a city of over half a million is a political anomaly.  Residents here deserve at least 16 councilors – eight for each districts – for wider representation.  It will also lessen the campaign cost for candidates for the city council as they will no longer campaign at large.  And it can be done without even having to disturb the congressional districts.  But if it can be done simultaneously, why not?

It may be too late to effect changes in the districting and representation at the city council but this could be a good platform for next year’s local elections.

It was a crucial meeting where he reportedly drew the line and put an end to all speculations, maneuverings and machinations inside his ‘growingly’ monolithic political party.

A year ago, Pacquiao likewise presided over a meeting among all mayors of Sarangani allied with him to announce his decision to run for governor and trade places with Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez who is on his third and last term.   Many tried to downplay the inevitable union with his erstwhile political rival.  In fact, until the latest meeting where Pacquiao finally put down his feet, not a few of his supporters and political advisers were still in the 2010 mode.

But Pacquiao was reported to have told doubters enough is enough.

Pardon me for the quote but he was reported to have said: “Kung uban ta, uban ta.  Kung dili mo uyon, magbulag na ta karon (If we are together, we are together.  If you disagree, let’s go our separate ways now).”  Or something to that effect.

Pacquiao was of course referring to his political union with Dominguez.

Last week, Pacquiao was seen conferring with Dominguez and all the mayors of Sarangani in Baguiao City further ending all talks about a failed unity between the two influential leaders in the province.

Rep. Manny Pacquiao (in red T-shirt) meets with Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez (in black jacket) and mayors of Sarangani at his Baguio Hotel.(FOTO from Bren Evangelio)

Pacquiao and Dominguez fielded different slates during the 2010 elections, which was said to be the most expensive campaign in the history of local politics.  Although Pacquiao handily won over Roy Chiongbian, a longtime family ally of the Dominguezes and the Alcantaras, he was forced to fork out close to half a billion pesos (US$10 million) in the run-up month and to the election.  Counting expenses in preparation for his second run for a congressional seat, he is said to have spent close to P700 million, in total.

The Chiongbian-Dominguez camp itself was reported to have also spent at least P120 million.

From the economic and financial points, a Pacquiao-Dominguez tandem makes every sense.  It saves both camps money.  With boxing retirement on the horizon, Manny cannot afford to again gamble his well-earned riches for a public office which pay cannot even cover for the monthly upkeep of his two mansions in General Santos City.

Besides, Manny’s favorite brother Roel is eyeing the congressional seat for the first district of nearby South-Cotabato-General Santos City.  He needs to bankroll the candidacy of Roel as well as support his friend Ronel Rivera who is running for mayor in the city against Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio.  Or presumably against Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr if the latter is prevailed upon by Antonino patriarch Adelbert to return to his former position.

Two costly electoral contests in two different fronts for Pacquiao will be asking too much from his resources.

With Manny setting his sights for a Senate run in 2016, he needs to save whatever resources he has and is going to earn in the next two years, indeed.

Another factor that may have weighed heavily on Pacquiao’s insistence of honoring an earlier political pact with Dominguez is his soured relations with Malacañang.  Pacquiao is no longer the poster boy of the presidential palace like he was during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  In fact, his closeness with Arroyo is probably the reason why President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino II has not warmed up with him.

Without Malacañang’s  support, Pacquiao is a lost kid in the House of Representatives.  Another three years of being a wall flower at a dance party will not advance his cause for a Senate seat.

With all the above-cited factors considered, I always believe Pacquiao is more cut for any elected executive post where his connect with the masses will reinforce his heart for the poor.  Where he might lack the eloquence and articulateness in congressional debates, we will have plenty of compassion with people who, like him, knows poverty like there is no wealth and abundance in their vocabulary.

Only the insipid will insist Pacquiao goes for the political kill in Sarangani by abandoning his commitment to forge an alliance with Dominguez.  And there are still many around him.  Pacman knows as his signature T-shirt says.

The Alcantara-built and operated bunker-fired SPPC is located in Baluntay village in Alabel, Sarangani.

SPPC went on commercial stream in 1998 under the build-operate-own (BOO) scheme but all power supply it is generating is already contracted to Napocor.

In a resolution unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Bayan (municipal council), the local legislative body cited Section 5(i) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 7638 otherwise known as Department of Energy Act of 1992 which allows the host town to get 25 percent of the available capacity generated by SPPC in times of energy shortage.

Alabel and the rest of Sarangani, along with General santos City and the south Cotabato towns of Tupi and Polomolok, are under the distribution franchise of Socotecto II.

Councilor Joel Aton said Alabel, capitol town of Sarangani, has an average monthly consumption of 1,953,500 kilowatt hour.

Aton said DoE has sent word it will dispatch personnel for technical evaluation.

Socoteco II resorted into daily rotational brownouts of up to four hours following advice of reduced supply from Napocor.

Socoteco II manager for institutional service department Geronimo Desesto said supply from Napocor went further down from 75 MW to 45 MW in April prompting the cooperative to purchase a total of 30 MW additional power supply from Therma Marine Inc.

Alabel is one of the growing numbers of local government units who are demanding preferential treatment from power plants located in their areas.

Last month, Kidapawan threatened to launch protest actions if their demand for power supply from the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation is not met.

Kidapawan, which is experiencing brownouts of up to eight hours daily,  is host to the 110 MW Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant.

Last month, President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino graced the Mindanao Power Summit in Davao City which tackled the worsening power crisis in the island.

The president however told Mindanao residents they will have to pay more for steady power supply.

Mindanao’s actual and available capacity is now down to less than 1,200 MW or some 170 MW less than the peak demand of 1,350 MW.

The deficit in power supply has been blamed on antiquated and poorly maintain hydro-electric power plants and the sale of other Napocor generating assets that included the two power barges to Therma Marine.  Power Barges 117 and 118 have a combined capacity of 200 MW.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pic: AP.

Pacquiao, after all, fought three boxers who all suffered defeats from Mayweather before bowing to the Filipino boxing icon.

While Pacquiao and Mayweather both emerged victorious against them, the two scored contrasting victories against the same opponents.

Pacquiao’s wins over Ricky Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya and Shane Mosley were more emphatic and decisive than Mayweather’s victories over them. Pacquiao quickly sent Hatton to dreamland in two rounds while it took Mayweather 10 rounds to inflict the first defeat in the Briton’s colorful but already over career.  Pacquiao, in addition, sent Hatton to retirement after knocking him out.

Pacquiao also made de la Hoya quit, something that cannot be said of Mayweather who eked out a disputed split decision victory against the former Golden Boy of boxing.  Not a few, in fact, said de la Hoya deserved the win.  Like Hatton, de la Hoya also quit boxing after his humiliating loss to Pacquiao.

Against Shane Mosley, Pacquiao and Mayweather were forced to go the distance.  The difference however is that Mosley, after going down in Round 3, rode on his bicycle throughout the fight leaving the Filipino very frustrated in victory.  Mayweather, on the other hand, almost went down in Round 2 against Mosley.  While he eventually toyed with Mosley, Mayweather was not able to intimidate his opponent into retreating.

The tables, however, have now changed.

It is now Mayweather picking up the pieces left behind by Pacquiao by going after Miguel Cotto after the latter had already tasted two devastating stoppage defeats – against Antonio Margarito and Pacquiao.  Although Cotto is much younger than Mayweather, one wonders if those two debacles did not render him a damaged good.  Cotto is the second Pacquiao victim that is picked up by Mayweather.  The other one was Juan Manuel Marquez, who Mayweather tricked into agreeing to a catch weight limit only for the latter to come in two pounds over the agreed weight.   Mayweather indeed taught Marquez a neat boxing lesson but style was the more contributing factor as the smaller Mexican was forced to be the aggressor rather than the counterpuncher that he really is.

Pacquiao will no longer be picking up fights against somebody who was or is defeated by Mayweather.  Mayweather has not fought a new face in the welterweight division in the last five years.  Besides, Father Time is not on his side with prison awaiting him after his Cotto fight.

But Mayweather may again fight late this year and he may choose from among the following – Antonio Margarito, Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander or Amir Khan – when he gets out of jail.

Of the four, Margarito and Bradley loom as the next Pacquiao leftover for Mayweather.

Pacquiao, on the other hand will always have the luxury of giving Mayweather his comeuppance.  After all, he fought three of the boxers that should have mattered most in the American’s undefeated record.  Where Pacquiao bravely fought the bigger Cotto, Margarito and Mosley, Mayweather avoided them when he should have taken those fights five or seven years ago – the way he is avoiding the Filipino pound for pound king today.

On May 5 (May 6, Sunday in the Philippines), Mayweather will be having for dinner his own words as he goes up against Cotto.

Riot police block protesting workers in Manila in 2006. The number of trade unions, and strikes, are dwindling fast in the Philippines. Pic: AP.

The marchers were a merry mix of leftists, moderates and rightists.  But the loudest color was that of the leftist Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), then the dominant labor center in Mindanao. KMU earlier spearheaded an island-wide general strike which paralyzed transport and commerce in most of Mindanao’s key cities in solidarity with workers throughout the country who have been demanding for a wage increase for all workers nationwide.

The newly restored Philippine Congress thereafter passed a law granting a P25 across the board pay hike.  It was however the last of its kind since the fall of the Marcos dictatorship.

In the same year, the Herrera Law (Republic Act 6715) was also enacted which amended the Labor Code of the Philippines.  Among its major provisions is the “rationalization” of wage increases, leaving the determination of the minimum pay scale to the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board created under Republic Act 6727.

It also granted the labor secretary broad powers to assume jurisdiction over labor disputes in the name of national security and public interest, a carryover of the draconian Marcos era- Presidential Decree No. 442 (old Labor Code).  Moreover, the Herrera Law, while prohibiting labor only contracting, provided legal covers how employers can resort to labor contracting.

Today, most manufacturing and services companies have almost exclusively contract employees and workers.

More than two decades of RA 6715, too, the number of organized workers nationwide dropped from a high of 2.97 million unionized workers before the law was passed, it was down to mere 555,000 in 2004 which further dropped to 319,408 in 2010.  The 2010 number of organized workers was a pathetic 10.6 per cent of the total 3,020,168 wage earners in the country at that time and less than one (1) percent of the country’s 2009 labor force of 39.39 million (www.bulatlat.com).

In addition, the real value of wages has ‘stagnated’ if not contracted.  According to the Ecumenical Institute Education and Research, wage index dropped from Php128.5 in 1989 to Php112.9 in 2009.  In other words, workers lost Php15.60 in real value of their daily wage in 20 years of the Herrera Law.

Research and think-thank group IBON today said the “current NCR minimum wage of Php426 [US$10] is grossly insufficient to provide for even a small family.

“The largest part of this wage breaks down into just approximately: Php204 per day for food; Php2,096 per month for rent; Php1,150 per month for fuel, light and water; Php28 per day (or Php843 per month) for transportation. These account for some 80% of total spending with the balance going to personal care, clothing and footwear, education, medical care and others.

“This indicates the poor quality of life that minimum wage earners in Metro Manila can afford. IBON added that this contrasts with, for example, the amount spent by the richest 10% of families in NCR who average Php18,041 per month just on food.”

Against this backdrop, trade union centers in the country today have largely become nominal ‘spokesentity’ rather than the formidable labor voice they once were immediately after the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship.

The Kilusang Mayo Uno, which challenged government trade union centers backed and later seized dominance in the post EDSA labor movement, has seen its clout greatly reduced and is now back to where it was during the dark years of martial law.

Its main organizational and ideological rival, the AFL-CIO backed Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, did not escape the decapitating effects of the Herrera Law, ironically authored by one of its leading stalwarts, former Sen. Ernesto Herrera.

In the late 80’s, when KMU has more than 600,000 unionized members and tens of thousands more under its effective influence, it became bold enough to challenge the government to allow workers to organize along trades.  The proposal, while never translated in a proposed law, was flatly rejected by employers and its rival, mindful of the growing influence of the militant labor group in the labor movement.

Today, however, KMU, TUCP and the unions affiliated with the World Free Trade Unions can only regret why they did not organize along trades, for together with the rapid and steadily decline of the number of organized workers, strikes have also dramatically dropped if not disappeared altogether.  Newly registered unions dipped from 627 to just 279 in 2008.   From 197 strikes in 1989, these hit almost rock bottom to just 4 in 2009.

With close to 8 percent of the country’s 39,200,000 (2011 figure) workforce out of jobs and competing for whatever available job there is in the market, trade unionism will have to take the backseat in favor of day to day survival as if the existing laws and conditions are not deterrent enough for trade unionism to again spring back to life.

But as its history will suggest, trade unionism, at least the more militant and progressive side of it, rises and falls along with the crisis political economy of the Philippines.

A Philippine communist New People's Army rebel, right, strums his guitar while meeting a few invited journalists (unseen) at their camp in the jungles of Mindanao island in southern Philippines. Pic: AP

The firearms, the majority of them high-powered rifles, are more than enough to arm another company of New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas.

The NPA rebels belonging to the Cesar Cayon Command of the North Central Mindanao Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) reportedly posed themselves as agents and operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation in subduing the four guards manning the agency last April 23 (Monday).

The raid was over in 10 minutes.

The security agency Earth Saver is reportedly owned by a retired Philippine Army general Paul Nario and has been providing security services to several mining companies in the Caraga region.

The rebels took away 46 AK-47 assault rifles, 3 M14 sniper rifles, 10 shotguns and 7 assorted handguns without firing a single shot, according to rebel spokesman Allan Juanito.

The rebel loot on Monday was the biggest in recent years in Mindanao. In 2010, the NPAs overran an army detachment in North Cotabato fleeing with them at least 32 assorted high-powered rifles.  The biggest number of firearms seized by the rebels, however, was during an assault at a military armory in Negros Islands in the 1980s where the NPAs fled with over 200 rifles and light artillery.

Two days later, on April 25, NPA rebels in Ifugao in Luzon ambushed a convoy of soldiers returning from a military operations killing 11 Army personnel on the spot and wounding several others.  Two other soldiers died several days later.

On the same day, NPA rebels also tried but failed to overrun a military detachment in Davao del Sur resulting into the death of two soldiers and four rebels.

The NPAs have been waging a Maoist-inspired guerilla warfare for more than four decades.  It is one of Asia’s longest insurgencies.

Peace talks between the CPP-NPA and its political umbrella the National Democratic Front and the Philippine government have been revived following the election of President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III.   But the peace negotiation has again hit a brick wall after the rebels demanded the release of their captured comrades who they claimed are consultants to the peace negotiations.

There is no showing signs that the anti-open pit mining dominated Provincial Board is going to amend, scrap or even relent to a review of the Provincial Environment Code.

With SMI also hesitant to go to court to question the constitutionality of the Code, it can, for the moment, kiss goodbye to its bid to commence commercial operation in 2016 after the Environmental Management Bureau of the environment department rejected its application for an environment clearance certificate, although it is now on appeal.

SMI, a wholly foreign-owned company controlled by the world’s fourth largest mining company Xstrata Plc, will have to re-apply and go through another tedious process of obtaining a required clearance if its pending appeal is likewise denied or rejected.

You can always argue that the hands of SMI were all over behind the recent resolution passed by host town Tampakan supporting the mining project.

And only the naïve will say SMI was not involved in frustrating separate successive attempts by two fact-finding teams to reach Bong Mal where the indigenous Blaan tribe has vowed to resist the company.

While those who blocked the church-backed mission this week and the one organized by the Left the week before to commemorate Earth Day were members of the Tribal Councils that have thrown support behind SMI, one also cannot be faulted if these anti-mining activists will accuse SMI of coopting the tribal leaders in exchange of promised job and other business opportunities.

Most of the tribal chieftains in the host communities that will be affected by the mining operations have been recipient of grants, favors and even contracts to supply manpower.  They have been given luxury vehicles and have been constantly bombarded with all glowing promises by company community organizers.

But the resistance put up by some tribal leaders has some valid points and real concerns.

For one, SMI recently announced it will no longer include residents and tribal community members in the proposed relocation plan raising the possibility that those who will not relocate will be forcibly evicted.  SMI itself has announced that as many as 4,000 families will have to be relocated away from the village centers of Folu Bato (not Pula Bato), Danlag, Tablu and Bong Mal, all in Tampakan.  Also probably not explained is that these residents will no longer be allowed inside the almost 4,000-hectare mining area site and who knows how many more hectares for SMI’s buffer zones.

Tribal opposition has also evolved into spontaneous armed resistance with a group of armed Blaan men owning responsibility to a recent ambush that killed three drill men under contract with SMI.

Of course, Wednesday attacked by communist guerillas at a military detachment in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat is another grim reminder that SMI, while welcomed by some, are also despised and hated by others.

SMI will have its hands full in addressing concerns from communities and residents that are against tis operations.  It will also have to answer issues on the environment and the fragile ecology of the mining area.

There is no easy way in for the company.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled with finality to award the vast tracts of land owned by the Cojuangco side of the family of President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aqujino III to their tenants and farm workers, more than 20 years after a landmark land reform law was passed during the presidency of the late Corazon Aquino, a third generation Cojuangco.

President Corazon Aquino, right, discusses some points with Agrarian Reform Secretary Philip Juico, left, pictured in January 1988 before signing an agreement placing her family-owned 6,000 hectare (15,067-acre) Hacienda Luisita sugar plantation under land reform. Pic: AP.

The close to 5,000-hectare Hacienda Luisita is the crown jewel of the Cojuangco family having gained control over the land in the 1950s when the late President Ramon Magsaysay, fearing the powerful Lopezes family of Iloilo gaining control over the land, sold it instead to Jose Cojuangco, grandfather of President Noynoy Aquino.

Located in Tarlac in Central Luzon, a bastion of feudal lords and peasant uprising, Hacienda Luisita was a lucrative sugar cane hacienda during the Spanish, American and Japanese colonial and occupation periods.

The Cojuangcos continued to reap the windfalls during the heydays of the sugar industry until a devastating crisis hit the sector from which it hasn’t fully recovered.  Then the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (Republic Act 6657) was passed in 1988 covering all tenanted and agricultural lands in excess of five hectares throughout the country.

Although many met the agrarian reform law with skepticism, tenants welcomed the Hacienda Luisita coverage only to be frustrated when the Cojuangco family opted for the stock distribution scheme to effectively maintain control of the land.

The peasants went to the court.  It took more than two decades before the court recognized their ownership over the land.

Faced with the prospect of finally ceding control over the vast prime property, the Cojuangco family sought a compensation package that will further enrich the clan.

Unfortunately or fortunately, an adversarial Supreme Court is now holding sway and an impeached Supreme Court Chief Justice is one of President Noynoy Aquino’s political arch enemies.  Hacienda Luisita has even become a side issue in the ongoing impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In a most recent decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the compensation package should be pegged at the 1989 prices, the year when RA 6657 was passed into law.

The Supreme Court decision can be viewed as a frontal attack against the president and his family.

It deprives the Cojuangco family a portion of their economic base.  At the same time it ensures that the political vendetta between Aquino and former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will continue to dominate the former’s presidency.

The Corona-controlled Supreme Court is widely perceived as an installed ally of Arroyo.

For now, the peasants who lost so many of their protesting colleagues and comrades fighting for the right to own the land can cherish the sweet smell of victory.

The victory would have been sweeter if it did not come under the present political situation.  It was victory nevertheless.

But the peasants, after going through all the stages of their struggles, are fully aware that while the battle has been won, the war is not over.  Until the last of the Cojuangcos are out of Hacienda Luisita, they still cannot declare a complete victory.

The major agreement is contained in a joint declaration signed late Tuesday afternoon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which has been hosting the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the country’s largest Moro rebel group.

In a report, Mindanews’ Carolyn Arguillas said the two parties have also agreed to meet again in May.

The joint declaration contained 10 principles that will guide both parties in addressing the decades old Moro rebellion in Southern Philippines.

GPH peace panel chair Marvic Leonen said the signing of the agreement is a major step in “the discussions of substantive issues in these negotiations.”

Leonen explained that the 10-point principles “are commitments that can be properly accommodated by our current legal and political realities.”

Tuesday’s Kuala Lumpur meeting also included a “list of agreed principles focused on power-sharing and wealth-sharing between the national government and the new political entity, with the following matters reserved for the competence of the national government: defense and external security, foreign policy, coinage and monetary policy, citizenship and naturalization, postal service; common market and global trade, although it added a footnote that the power to enter into economic agreements already allowed under RA 9054 “shall be transferred to the new political entity.”

The peace talks stalled in August last year when the Philippine government offered a 3-for-1 proposal that limited its commitment to “massive economic development; political settlement with the MILF; and cultural-historical acknowledgment.”

It was rejected outright by the MILF who accused the government of failing to address its ancestral domain claim.

Both parties earlier expressed optimism for a negotiated political settlement after Philippine President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III and MILF chair Ibrahim Al Haj Murad held an unprecedented meeting in Japan also in August last year.

The ARMM was created in 1989 under Republic Act 6734 as a result of the then ongoing peace negotiations between the government of the late president Corazon Aquino and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) headed by Nur Misuari.

The law was amended by Republic Act 9054 which expanded the provinces and cities that composed the ARMM. At present, ARMM includes the provinces Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi and all their component cities.

The MILF however has reject ted the ARMM and has demanded a delineation of what it claimed a Bangsa Moro juridical entity or a sub-state.

The MILF broke away from the MNLF in the early 1980s after major disagreement over the signing of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and the decision of Misuari to abandon its secessionist stand.

Under the chairmanship of the late Salamat Hashim, the MILF grew to become the largest armed rebel group in the country.

After the death of Salamat, the MILF dropped its bid to establish an Islamic state in southern Mindanao as it opted to enter into a negotiated political settlement with the Philippine government.

Negotiations between the MILF and the Philippine government have been marked by major armed clashes.

In 2000, former President Joseph Estrada declared all out war against the MILF out laid siege to the rebels’ major encampments in Mindanao.  The government overran most of the MILF rebel camp but failed to wipe away the rebels.

In 2001, ex-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pursued peace negotiations with the MILF only to launch a major counter-offensive in 2008 in the wake of Moro rebel attacks following the botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).

There is no cause for alarm, however, as the coach and student will again hook up in the US when Pacquiao wraps up his Baguio leg of training and flies to the US in the first or second week of May.

Baguio has become the second training home for the eight-division world boxing champion.  It is where he builds up his stamina by running at high altitude and through thin air.  Besides, there is nothing in what Ariza has been doing that cannot be done by Pacquiao’s Filipino trainers.

In addition, I personally saw how the Bible-quoting champion looked very trim and already fit after just a week of hitting the gym in General Santos City (more on this chance encounter later).  Pacquiao probably weighed no more than 154 pounds two days before he left for Manila en route to his Baguio camp.

Ariza of course has always been very vocal about Pacquiao’s penchant at throwing a monkey’s wrench on the conditioning regimen he has been preparing for the boxing champion by allowing so many distractions.

The recent presidential snub, no matter how Pacquiao downplayed it, will be more than just an annoying episode.  But Manny being Manny could also be fired up by it. Pacquiao has mastered the art of reigning over the organized chaos around him, some even caused by him.   He thrives under pressure and cherishes the underdog image.  No, Pacquiao is not the underdog against American Timothy Bradley.  He is heavily favored to defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight title – perhaps by an early knockout.

He is up against the tenant at the Presidential Palace as a budding politician.  And it is still a long way before 2016, when Pacquiao could try his political fortunes in a nationally-elected position.  But next year’s mid-term election could be another curtain raiser for his second day job because, like it nor not, Manny still spends more of his working time in boxing than in Philippine Congress where he is a member of the House of Representatives.

Now back to that Waterfront Insular Hotel episode in Davao City where Pacquiao and I stood side by side inside the restroom.  It was purely an unexpected incident.

As many already know, Pacquiao said he filed a libel complaint against me for that story about his friend who was placed under surveillance for the latter’s alleged involvement in carjacking activities.  His libel complaint was reported all over the papers and available mass media.

Up to this writing, however, I have not received a copy of his complaint although a member of the city prosecution team confirmed that it indeed had been filed.  Why it was not served to me, I honestly do not know.

So when we two almost literally ‘bumped into each other’ one would expect high drama.  Instead, we greeted each other as if nothing ever happened.  More than anything else, Pacquiao did not expect to see me 147 kilometers away from our homes.  His initial reaction upon seeing me was at first a brief disbelief.  By my own reckoning, it was not after almost three seconds when he slowly grinned and greeted me, “O, naa man diay ang akong amigo dire.”  (To the non-Visayan, pardon me but I will not provide you a translation)

After saying he is leaving for Baguio the following Monday in reply to my question, he went out of the rest room just the way we were before the libel complaint.  We were never really close.  We are not enemies either.  Being a continuing subject, I always maintained a safe distance from him.

Sorry for those who expected the unexpected from our brief exchange of cordial and civil greetings, if you will call them as such.  Like you, me and Manny obviously wanted to exchange ideas under different circumstances.  Bitin, ano?

General John ‘Black Jack’ Pershing was a major in the US Army when he was sent “to suppress the insurrection” in Mindanao and Jolo in 1899.  He also saw action in Lanao during the Filipino-American war and was a war hero in the American colonial war in Cuba before he was assigned to the Philippines.

Pershing was also the regimental quartermaster of the 10^th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army which was immortalized by the late reggae master Bob Marley in his signature song ‘Buffalo Soldiers.’ Marley described the regiment as an Army unit which took in Cuban slaves to fight for America.

Members of the Patriyotiko Mindanao kicked off their protests against continued presence of American troops in the island on April 15 in General Santos City.  They were joined by their fellow militants from Davao City in Cotabato City where a brief scuffle ensued allegedly involving a still unnamed soldier who punched a woman protester in front of the headquarters of the 6^th Infantry Division in nearby Awang, Maguindano.

The protest caravan also brought them to the cities of Koronadal, Pagadian and Ipil before finally winding up in Zamboanga City.   The protesters who claimed their numbers have swelled to 4,000, arrived in Zamboanga City Wednesday evening.

The Philippine and US governments will hold joint military exercises in Glan, Sarangani in June as part of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the two countries.

Glan, along with Zamboanga City, is one of the earliest settlement areas of the American occupation troops in Mindanao.

The first batch of Thomasites actually arrived in what is now Kiamba town in Sarangani in 1907 after the Filipino-American war.

US military advisers and troops have been stationed in in the cities of General Santos, Cotabato and Zamboanga over the last seven years.  They have been providing intelligence and war materiel support to the Philippine military in the fight against terrorism.

Some however are accusing US military troops of directly participating in combat operations against Philippine insurgents, a violation of the VFA.

Both the Philippine military and US embassy officials in the country have denied the allegations.