Original Article

THE Zamboanga City sub-depot, a government-run storehouse where cheaper but good quality office supplies will be made available for local government units (LGUs) in Zamboanga Peninsula and nearby areas, will formally open on May 25.

Established by the Procurement Service (PS), an attached agency to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the sub-depot will be temporarily located at the Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in the village of Tetuan, east of the city.

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It is a joint project of the PS, DBM and the City Government of Zamboanga.

DBM Secretary Florencio Abad is expected to grace the event, which will be highlighted by the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by and between Abad, Mayor Celso Lobregat, Procurement Service Executive Director Estanislao Granados Jr., DBM Regional Director Nilda Cemine and City Administrator Antonio Orendain Jr.

Lobregat said the Zamboanga City Sub-depot will cater to the commonly used supplies and other equipment needs of LGUs and National Government agencies within the region and nearby areas.

Temporarily, Lobregat said, the sub-depot will be located in Tetuan until the time when the City Government can establish a permanent place for the sub-depot.

The sub-depot is set to be constructed at Pettit Barracks, specifically at the back of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)-Zamboanga Branch.

The establishment of sub-depots in the country is intended to raise compliance of the new procurement law, Lobregat said.

The inauguration and opening of the sub-depot in Zamboanga City will be held at 10 a.m. on May 25. (Bong Garcia)

Original Article

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Communist guerrillas on Tuesday released a policeman they had held captive for more than a month.

The guerrillas freed Police Officer 2 Faizal Juhaili, who was taken captive during a guerrilla raid on four government buildings in Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur, on April 9. Juhaili was freed in Bayog town.

Chief Superintendent Napoleon Estilles, police chief for Western Mindanao, said Juhaili’s release came after negotiations facilitated by an uncle identified only as Ustadz Jamiri.

Chief Superintendent Manuel Barcena, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations, said Juhaili was released in the barangay hall of Kanipaan in Bayog town.

Jorge Madlos, spokesperson of the National Democratic Front in Mindanao, said Juhaili was freed after the communist movement found no case against him.

“The NPA (New People’s Army) did not find any strong case against Juhaili while performing his duties as police officer assigned in Tigbao, so they have released him for humanitarian consideration,” Madlos said in a statement.

Madlos said Juhaili was afforded his rights while in the custody of the NPA.

An investigation, said Madlos, “yielded no evidence to prove that he committed grave crimes against the people except that he only acted according to his duty as a police officer.”

“At the same time, there were no formal charges filed against him at the court of the people’s democratic government,” said Madlos.

“Therefore, there was no material basis anymore for his continued detention, warranting his release,” he added. Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao

Original Article

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The New People’s Army (NPA) rebels have freed the policeman they seized more than a month ago in a raid of a police station in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, a top police official said Wednesday.

Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) director Chief Supt. Napoleon Estilles said the captive policeman was released around 4 p.m. Tuesday in barangay Kanipaan, Bayog municipality, Zamboanga del Sur.

Released after one month and six days in captivity by the NPAs was Police Office 2 (PO2) Faisal Juhaili, who is assigned in the municipality of Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur province.

Juhaili was one of the four policemen on duty when some 40 NPAs raided the police station of Tigbao municipality last April 9. The NPAs also carted away seven M-16 Armalite rifles, an M-14 rifle and a .9-mm pistol.

Tigbao, a fifth-class municipality, has only 23 policemen and is the second smallest police station, in terms of strength, in the province of Zamboanga del Sur.

Estilles said Juhaili was released for humanitarian reasons following negotiations between the NPAs and the victim’s family headed by Ustadz Abdul Juhaili. The NPAs handed over Juhaili to his relatives at the barangay hall of Kanipaan, Bayog municipality, Estilles said. He said Juhaili will be subjected to debriefing, which a former hostage usually undergoes after release from captivity.

National Democratic Front (NDF)-Mindanao spokesman Jorge Madlos alias Ka Oris said in a statement they released Juhaili since he has no pending cases with the revolutionary movement and since he has no derogatory records in the police service and in the community he is serving.

Original Article

ZAMBOANGA CITY, May 16 (PIA) — Having an attractive and orderly airport can help increase investments and improve tourism, Director Teresita Socorro Ramos, Vice Chair of the Regional Development Council 9 said, during the launching of the Zamboanga International Airport Interior Design Contest yesterday, May 15.

Speaking to media, Dir. Ramos said that the contest is a move to improve the airport citing economic development that will result from the project.

“Our ports, both air and sea ports, are our doors to those not from here. The look of these can either persuade or discourage investors and tourists from coming back here,” Ramos said.

Regional Director May June Bugante of Department of Tourism-9 affirmed Dir. Ramos’ statements on improved tourism in the city.

“Tourists immediately notice the airport. This creates an impression of the place. If they have good impression, then it makes them want to come back. This project will really help improve our tourism”, Dir. Bugante stressed.

The contest was conceived after the Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC) of RDC-9 made a visit to the airport last year for inspection. The visit made it clear that the improvements made in the airport is still lacking and that further initiatives should be made, thus, the idea of an interior design contest was discussed.

Engr. George Ledesma, RPMC-Ad Hoc Committee Chair in charge of the contest, said the need to improve the airport gathered support since the proposed transfer of the airport in the east coast may have to wait for a while due to the lack of funds and vital requirements to justify the transfer.

“This contest aims to improve the present airport especially its interior to improve services to the public. We have received a lot of complaints especially in the check in area. At present, we don’t have any blue print for improvement of our airport. This contest aims to address that issue. We need to have a master plan for future improvement of our present airport to make our city more attractive to visitors,” Engr. Ledesma said.

“Facilities wise, we know where we are. We still lack some facilities for our airport. What we can do right now is to improve the services for the public that is why we are focusing on four areas of improvement, the check-in, pre-departure, mezzanine and arrival areas,” Ledesma added.

Engr. Rodrigo Sicat of the City Planning and Development Office clarified that the plans to improve the present airport does not mean that the transfer of the airport will not be pursued.

“The transfer of the airport is still one of the top priorities of the city government. This does not mean that we are abandoning that project. It is part of our long term plans. However, we also need to improve our present airport, as it gives visitors the idea of what Zamboanga City is all about,” Engr. Sicat pointed.

As to the budget for the proposed improvement of the airport, Mr. Reynaldo Alforte of the Civil Aviation Authority-Zamboanga International Airport said the contest was already made known to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)-Manila.

“CAAP-Manila has already committed funds for the improvement of the airport. After the contest, we will be coming up with a proposal for the implementation of the needed improvement,” Alforte said.

With the contest officially on, architects and interior designers in Zamboanga City and the region are all encouraged to participate in the event.

Arch. Domingo Abarro III, Dean of Western Mindanao State University-College of Architecture, said the design should focus on the cultural characteristic of the city and the region, most notably, coinciding with the city’s brand name of “Asia’s Latin City.”

“The entries should feature Spanish designs, but also integrating other indigenous cultures found here in Zamboanga City and the region. The creativity of designers will be tested here. The challenge is incorporating all that is inherent in Zamboanga City and the region, and making them as one,” Domingo said.

For interested participants, registration forms can be secured at CAAP-Zamboanga Int’l Airport, the launching of the contest. Each contestant should submit a Computer Aided Drafting Design or any computer-generated drawing of floor plans and interior designs, highlighting the four areas mentioned earlier. It should be mounted on a 20” x 30” illustration board. Deadline of submission is on June 28, and a soft copy of the design should also be submitted in a compact disk (CD).

Criteria for the contest include creativity and originality (40 percent), presentation (20 percent), relevance to the city/region (30 percent), and passengers’ choice (10 percent). (JPA/MVC/PIA9-ZBST)

Original Article

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has urged international groups which have been active in the southern peace process to strengthen their role in pressuring the Philippine government to be committed in signing the final peace deal.

“Like a good salesman or sale lady, it takes his or her intervention to make a customer decide and buy a commodity after a lot of hesitation,” the Front said on Wednesday, pointing out the momentum of the talks as both parties have already made substantial progress on the negotiations.

“However, in this case, the pushing should be more directed at the government of the Philippines, because it has a good history of hesitancy, besides possessing clearly a lot more hurdles to overcome; e.g. the hold of the privileged class under the prevailing system, the unwieldy nature of politics in this country,” the Front added.

The statement came as the parties are expected to resume their negotiations in Kuala Lumpur to discuss other major issues that were not part of the agreement signed by the peace panels.

Among these issues are the general area of the scope of the territory; how to integrate the agreed points in the Constitution, the basic law of the future autonomous political entity, as well as the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program for the MILF.

Earlier, both parties reached a consensus on the points dealing with the citizenship of the Moros; the creation of a new autonomous political entity in place of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; that the new autonomous political entity shall have a ministerial form of government; to have a mechanism that will put in place the agreements during the transition period; and the taxation and strengthening the Moros’ political rights and the Shari’ah courts. The MILF asks the international community to rally with them in urging the government to finally agree in allowing Moros to govern their own territory. — Darwin T. Wee