In one of their stories of long ago, the Mansaka, an indigenous tribe from the provinces of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, once possessed a golden guitar, which they played when they sang their songs of longing, aspirations and victory.
Tags: Compostela Valley
Farmer Remains Missing After Being Beaten, Abducted by Soldiers
A farmer in Compostela Valley who last seen beaten and forcibly taken allegedly by soldiers on July 4 remains missing. Alvin Lopez, 25, a resident of Monkayo was hogtied and forced into a military vehicle during a military operation. Alvin’s mother, Erlinda, has filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights against the military’s 26th Infantry Battalion. Read the full story
Anti-Mining Activist Killed in Compostela Valley
BY BULATLAT An anti-mining activist was killed by unidentified men two days before Christmas, an environmentalist group in Compostela Valely said. Fernando Sarmiento, 39, secretary general of Panalipdan-Southern Mindanao Region (SMR), was killed by still unidentified men, December 23, around 7 p.m. at Purok 1, Barangay Cabinuangan, New Bataan, Compostela Valley Province. Francis Morales, spokesperson…
Unrelated Killings or an Undeclared War?
Is the recent spate of activist killings in Southern Mindanao an unfortunate series of coincidences or are they somehow related to the Philippine military’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya 2? Successive reports and claims of shootings involving a red XRM motorbike; the use of a .45 pistol and the fact that three Bayan Muna (People…
Another Bayan Muna Leader Killed, Three Lumads Tortured
A Bayan Muna (People First) leader who was shot and wounded by two unidentified men in Monkayo, Compostela Valley last November 30 died yesterday at the Davao Regional Hospital. Isabelo Celing, 47, barangay (village) coordinator of Bayan Muna Party List in Haguimitan was shot and wounded by armed men on board a red XRM motorcycle…
Mindanao-based Green Group Links Military Operations to Mining
The spokesperson of an environmentalist group in Southern Mindanao said that the setting up of the Investment Defense Force (IDF) and the mining liberalization policy of the Arroyo regime ‘further strengthen the previous military support granted by the Arroyo regime to large-scale and foreign mining corporations.’ BY BULATLAT HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH A broad alliance of…
Lumad Group Decries Army’s Vilification Campaign
‘WANTED’ posters are used by the police against common criminals. In Compostela Valley, however, the Philippine Army uses the same to track down a leader of a Lumad organization. BY RONALYN OLEA INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S WATCH Bulatlat.com Volume VIII, Number 29, August 24-30, 2008 ‘WANTED’ posters are used by the police against common criminals. In Compostela…
In Compostela Valley, Lumads Flee Homes amid Military Operations
BY JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat Posted 5:01 p.m., May 15, 2008 More than a hundred Lumads from Mangayon, Compostela Valley have fled from their homes because of the military operations conducted by the Philippine Army’s 67th Infantry Battalion in their ancestral territory last May 13, fearing that this may give rise to human rights…
Japanese Pastors Learn Shocking Things About Davao Bananas
Outraged by the “inhuman” treatment of workers in a Compostela Valley banana plantation, a Japanese pastor promises himself to stop eating bananas. BY GERMELINA A. LACORTE Davao Today Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 1, February 3-9, 2008 Outraged by the “inhuman” treatment of workers in a Compostela Valley banana plantation, a Japanese pastor promises…
In New Bataan, Canvassing Snags — From Threats to Blackouts
BY CHERYLL D. FIEL Davaotoday.com Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 15, May 20-26, 2007 DAVAO CITY — The canvassing of votes in New Bataan, Compostela Valley province, hit another snag when a congressional candidate filed a petition Wednesday seeking the transfer of the canvassing to another venue. Joselito B. Brilliantes, who is seeking a…