20 NOVEMBER 2018

Tuesday, 20 November 2018
Daily Tribune NATION
7
MOVE SEEN TO EASE OUT MIDDLEMEN
By Kuhlin Ceslie Gacula
Piñol earmarks P200-M for coconut farmers
In what is seen as the start of a
serious government initiative to
empower and help coconut farmers,
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol
has instructed the credit policy office of
his department to set aside P200-M in
loan assistance to the industry workers.
Piñol told the Agricultural Credit
Policy Council (ACPC) to earmark the
amount from the existing loan funds of
the Production Loan Easy Access.
The amount, which will be granted at
an easy six percent interest annually, will
be used as a working capital of various
organized and duly-recognized coconut
farmers groups to buy the copra produce
of their members and sell this directly
to the oil mills.
The move is seen as an attempt to
cut out the traditional “compradors”
or middlemen who serve as the link
between the disorganized coconut
farmers and the copra traders or the
big oil mills owners.
This system which has been going
on for the longest time has relegated
the farmers to poverty while enabling
middlemen to rake huge profits at their
expense.
As a follow through, Piñol said he is also
set to meet with the owners of the coconut
oil mills in the country and ask them to
allow organized coconut farmers funded
by the DA-ACPC to directly deal with them.
“It is an attempt to cut out the
traditional ‘compradors’ who serve
as the link between the disorganized
coconut farmers and the copra traders
or the big oil mills and who in the
process make more money than the
farmers,” he noted.
This system which has been
going on for the longest time
has relegated the farmers
to poverty while enabling
middlemen to rake huge profits
at their expense.
Moreover, he also disclosed that the
Philippine Coconut Authority will also
be directed to source funds so that the
farmers’ groups could be given support
equipment like hauling trucks and
modern drying facilities.
He added that by mid-2019, communitylevel
processing facilities to produce
various products like virgin oil, coconut
chips, syrup, sugar and coir, will also
be established in the different coconutproducing
regions of the country to be
owned and operated by the farmers
themselves.
“I thought of these three measures
as the immediate remedies to address
the very low income of coconut farmers
because of the slump in the prices of
copra in the world market,” Piñol stated.
Six months more Heavily -armed soldiers conduct thorough check on passing motorists along a highway
leading to Marawi City.
CO NTRIB UTED PHOTO
Public’s say in SC justice
selection sought
By Alvin Murcia
In its effort to pick the best possible candidate
who would replace the post to be vacated by
retiring Supreme Court Associate Justice Noel
Tijam, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is
urging the public to participate in the selection
process by sending their comments and opinions
against or in favor of any applicant.
The JBC said the public can send its comments
through e-mails or fax until 27 November or by
Tuesday next week.
This developed as the JBC on Monday scheduled
on 5 December the public interview of the six
remaining applicants vying for the position.
Those who will face the JBC panel are Court of
Appeals Associate Justices Ramon Cruz, Eduardo
Peralta, Ricardo Rosario, and Ramon Bato Jr.
They will be joined by Sandiganbayan Presiding
Justice Amparo Cabotaje Tang and Associate
Justice Efren Dela Cruz.
NDRRMC: ‘Samuel’
could ape ‘Urduja’
The National Risk Reduction and Management
Council (NDRRMC) on Monday urged the public
to stay alert and make necessary preparations, as
tropical depression Samuel may unleash rains as
intense as that of Tropical Storm Urduja, which
claimed at least 43 lives in December last year.
Samuel was spotted 660 km east southeast of
Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur at 4 a.m. Monday, packing
maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per
hour and 65 kph gusts, said PAGASA.
“If you are advised by your local government
that you need to temporarily evacuate or that
you need to proceed in more secure areas, please
do not hesitate to obey,” NDRRMC spokesperson
Edgar Posadas said. In Agusan Del Norte,
meanwhile, the disaster office mounted a predisaster
risk assessment and sent text messages
to barangay officials on how to prepare for
Samuel’s onslaught. Elmer N. Manuel
The country’s first barge terminal will finally open
on Thursday in Cavite and once fully operational is
expected to help ease the transport of cargo from
international ports in Manila while also freeing
up traffic in the National Capital Region and the
suburban areas.
The Cavite Gateway Terminal (CGT)
in Tanza was built under the ‘Build, Build,
Build’ infrastructure program of the Duterte
administration, through the initiatives of
NEWS BRIEFS
The 14 other applicants to the seat that will
become vacant on 5 January next year when
Tijam will be 70 years old, will no longer undergo
public interview by the JBC panel because their
previous interviews were still valid.
Tijam was the second magistrate appointed
by President Rodrigo Duterte after retired Chief
Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro.
The list released earlier by Justice Secretary
Menardo Guevarra indicated there are 13 Court
of Appeals justices who applied for Tijam’s post.
The JBC said the public can send its
comments through e-mails or fax until 27
November or by Tuesday next week.
Included in the list of applicants are Court
Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, De La Salle
University College of Law Vice Dean Rita Linda
Jimeno and former Ateneo Law School Dean
Cesar Villanueva.
7 young sex
workers rescued
Seven minors who were being forced to
work as prostitutes were rescued by the
police during an anti-white slavery operation
Sunday night in Brgy. Lagao, General Santos
City.
The victims’ pimp and handler identified as
Bernie Gapang alias ‘Brix’ was nabbed during
the operation. He however denied the charges
against him claiming that he was merely helping
the victims earn money.
Galang was arrested after he reportedly
offered the girls using his social media
account to an undercover operative who
pretended to be looking for young girls as
sex partners.
He was collared after bringing the girls in a
local inn where he presented the victims to his
would-be ‘customer’ only to find out that he was
dealing with a cop. Francis Eart Cueto
Country’s first barge
terminal opens this week
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade in
collaboration with the International Container
Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI).
Considered the first barge terminal of its kind
in the Philippines, the project will have 550 ground
slots for containers. It will accommodate barges
with an estimated two to three hours of ferry time,
with initial multiple pick-up locations.
Harbor Star, the barge operator for the CGT, will
deploy 150 TEU barges.
BR
ML extension
calls snowball
The martial law in Mindanao was twice extended already and the current one
is set to expire in 31 December unless reconsidered by Congress
By Perseus Echeminada & Hananeel Bordey
Calls for the extension of martial law in Mindanao
continued to gather momentum after various groups
and sectors including top political leaders and
personalities in the region expressed their support
to the initiative.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the
whole of Mindanao under martial law on May 23,
2017, several days after terrorists with links to the
Islamic State led by the Maute brothers, raided and
held the whole of Marawi City captive for several
months.
The martial law in Mindanao was already twice
extended and the current one is set to expire in 31
December unless reconsidered by Congress.
This developed as former Senator Aquilino
‘Nene’ Pimentel II said he supports the extension
of martial law in Mindanao because its declaration
has foiled the plan of the ISIS to set up a caliphate
in the region.
“It has deterred the plan of ISIS to establish its
foothold in Mindanao “ the former senator told the
Daily Tribune.
Structures of the Constitution
He elaborated that that the martial law declared
by the late former President Ferdinand Marcos in
1972 was vastly different from the current one.
“ As far as I know the implementation of martial
rule in Mindanao has followed the structures of the
Constitution and laws” he added.
For his part, Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar
Moreno told the Daily Tribune that the continuing
skirmishes between government troops and armed
groups in remote areas of the region, is a clear
signal that terrorism remains a major concern in
Mindanao.
“ It’s the constitutional mandate of President
Duterte to ensure the safety of the people against
terror attacks in Mindanao” he said.
Resolution filed
Over at the House of Representatives, Iligan
City Rep. Frederick Siao on Monday filed House
Resolution 2302 calling for six months extension
of martial law in Mindanao.
In the resolution, Siao urged President Duterte to
extend it from 1 January to 30 June 2019 to maintain
the peace and order in Mindanao and to protect the
lives and property of the people.
Siao said that he filed this resolution due to
“initial reports of terrorist plots” and there is a”
need to secure 2019 elections”.
Twisted objectives
He cited the “sporadic incidents of violence” as a
reason for the extension mentioning the Lanao del
Sur ambush where five Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency agents were killed.
“The ISIS, their collaborators among lawless
armed groups, and the illegal drugs networks
operating in Mindanao want to sow terror in pursuit
of their twisted objectives” he explained.
Earlier, several leaders of the House of
Representatives also rallied behind the possible
martial extension, even as they cited the need for
military and national security officials to apprise
Congress of the real situation on the ground.
Threat of violence
Deputy Speaker and Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro
and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers
expressed support to extend martial law beyond
December 31, 2018, to ensure peace and security
in the region.
Castro said he supports the possible martial law
extension because the threat of violence and terrorism,
has doubled due to the forthcoming 2019 elections.
For his part, Barbers said he will support the
extension (of martial law) if only to maintain peace
in the island.”
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte
likewise expressed readiness to support calls to
extend martial law.
Still in Cagayan de Oro City, a political leader
who requested anonymity said their group is
preparing a manifesto of support for the extension
of martial law which will be submitted to President
Duterte.
Their group will also hold rallies to dramatize
support for the shift of government from presidential
to federal system and the creation of a federal state
of MINSULA.
“Martial law has helped us live in peace because
armed groups are forced to hide in the mountains and
are isolated because of the presence of government
soldiers and the police” he said.
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