Crime Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Mindanaoan - Multi awarded CDO and New York Lifestyle Blog

Dec252009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Happy Christmas news in Mindanao – kidnapped Basilan school official released

Announcements, ARMM, Basilan, BIMP-EAGA, Campus, Controversial, Crime, Headline, Mindanaoan Update, Muslim Mindanao, News

They may have paid P100,000.00 for the "board and lodging" but what's the most important is that they have their beloved relative back. Dr. Orlando Fajardo, the vice president of Basilan State College in Basilan, Mindanao, was released a few hours before Christmas at an area between the towns of Tuburan and Tipo-Tipo. Fajardo was captured two weeks ago at the BSC canteen. The Fajardo family reportedly paid P100,000.00 for the "board and lodging" of their relative. The money was also reportedly paid in installment. Basilan Vice Governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul said Fajardo was released at around 9:30 p.m. Christmas eve Thursday. Initially, the kidnappers wanted P20 million in ransom. Then, the amount was lowered to P3.5 million. Eventually, no ransom was paid. Only the ...

Nov262009 by Mindanaoan Irene3 Comments

List of journalists killed in the brutal Ampatuan massacre

Commentary, Crime, Headline, Maguindanao, Media, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, News, Opinion, Personal

First of all, we should not call it "Maguindanao Massacre" anymore. We should now call it "Ampatuan Massacre." Ampatuan is the specific place where the mass graves were found. Maguindanao is the province here in Mindanao. Secondly, to fellow journalists out there (especially those from Luzon) who make the constant mistake of treating Mindanao as one "lawless island," (come on, you know who you are!) please...please be extra careful. Maguindanao IS NOT Mindanao. Mindanaoans like myself have been doing our best to help keep our place peaceful and safe. Unfortunately, like any other area, there are people who refuse to obey the law and think that they are above it. These people do not represent the entire island of Mindanao. One tiny yet misleading description of our island can re...

Nov252009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

President Gloria Arroyo’s press statement on the Maguindanao massacre

Announcements, Controversial, Cotabato, Crime, Headline, Maguindanao, Mindanaoan Update

Lame duck President Gloria Arroyo released a statement on the very gruesome Maguindanao massacre...the very massacre that led the International Federation of Journalists to declare that the Philippines is the most dangerous place for journalists to work in. Yep, after Efren Penaflorida's triumph as CNN Hero of the Year and after Mindanao Manny Pacquiao's 7th world title, the Philippines is again hogging headlines. And sadly, Mindanao is at the center of it all. I can't quite point a finger to it...I don't know but I feel icky whenever I read this so-called "press statement." Maybe because the government hasn't done a thing ever since this entire brutality took place. Or maybe because all of PGMA's mouthpieces have only exercised lip service and nothing else. Or maybe because I am just t...

Nov242009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Press statement: Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao on Maguindanao massacre

Announcements, Broadcasting, Controversial, Crime, Headline, Journalism, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Muslim Mindanao

The Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) condemns in the strongest possible terms the brutal murder of scores of civilians in Datu Abdullah Sangki town in Maguindanaoin, a bloody start for the 2010 elections. Among the hapless victims were UPLM treasurer Concepcion “Connie” Brizuela and UPLM member Cynthia Oquendo. Authorities claimed the victims were reportedly abducted by some 100 armed. They were accompanying the wife of Buluan Vice Mayor Ishmael “Toto” Mangudadatu , Genalyn, whose group was on their way to file her husband’s certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor at the Commission on Elections office in Shariff Aguak town, Maguindanao. This barbaric mass murder not only indicates the early onset of pre-election violence, but, also shows that the culture of impu...

Sep12009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

How ForMe Boutique CDO almost robbed me of nearly 400 pesos and how ForMe has lost a customer forever

Business, Commentary, Consumer, Controversial, Crime, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Personal, Style

What supposed to be was a fun Sunday shopping spree went sour when Mindanaoan was almost "robbed" of nearly 400 pesos by a boutique in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao. It's really disappointing and I'm writing about this to reiterate the need and importance of consumer protection and rights of paying customers. The CDO Limketkai Mall branch of ForMe, a company owned by Golden ABC (which also runs Oxygen, Red Logo, Memo, Regatta and Penshoppe), failed to bill me correctly and if I wasn't able to double check my purchases and receipt, I would have been "robbed" of P379.20 Here's what happened... I bought two tops at the Cagayan de Oro branch of ForMe at the Ground Floor of Limketkai Mall. The store was offering a sale. One top was originally priced at P998.00 (it had a barcode of 30...

Jul142009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Let’s not forget the 3 kidnapped teachers…part deux

Advocacy, ARMM, Basilan, Commentary, Controversial, Crime, Government, Mindanaoan Update, Muslim Mindanao, News, Sulu, Zamboanga Sibugay

MINDANAO - Opposition senator and reported 2010 presidentiable Francis "Chiz" Escudero and I share the same sentiments. Chiz Escudero, in his recent press statement, has asked the public that while it's true that we all should be happy for International Red Cross volunteer Eugenio Vagni's safe release from captivity in Basilan, we should still not forget the three teachers who remain hostages of the Abu Sayyaf. If you remember, these are my very thoughts last May 2009. The three teachers namely Jocelyn Enriquez, Jocelyn Inion and Noemi Mandi were abducted by last March 13 off the island barangay of Bangkaw-Bangkaw, Naga town, Zamboanga Sibugay while they were on the way home. “The end of Mr. Vagni’s ordeal should convince those working behind the scenes to exert more effort in...

Jul62009 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Why blame the Mindanao media all the time?

Advocacy, ARMM, BIMP-EAGA, Blogging, Broadcasting, Commentary, Controversial, Crime, Government, Headline, Journalism, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Opinion, Personal, Personalities, Sarangani, SoSCksargen, Tourism

My classmate in Ateneo and Sarangani provincial governor Miguel Rene Dominguez is asking for trouble. Not a few eyebrows will surely be raised after he reportedly blamed the Mindanao media for "always highlighting all the bad things that are happening in Mindanao." Same goes with Lt. Colonel Edgardo de Leon, commander of the 73rd Infantry Battalion, who also blamed the media. Dominguez said that the "insurgency and other conflicts in Mindanao is actually just a game of perception. And I blame the media for that!" He reportedly then said that the culture of the media today, except for a few who are practicing peace journalism, is not very commendable. De Leon, on the other hand, said that the rest of the country's and the world's perception of Mindanao at present is also the work of t...

May252009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Let’s not forget the kidnapped teachers in Basilan, Mindanao please

Advocacy, ARMM, Basilan, Commentary, Controversial, Crime, Mindanaoan Update, Muslim Mindanao, News, Opinion

Amid all the "controversies" these days --- from Dr. Vicki Belo's former flame Dr. Hayden Kho's sex video scandal to the two confirmed cases of A H1N1 in the country to Brillante Mendoza's amazing win as Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, it seems that we don't hear of any updates with regard to the six teachers that are still being held hostage in Basilan, Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). I find this very, very unfortunate. While it's true that to not talk much about the hostage taking may be good for the government's strategy to retrieve the hostages, one cannot also help but think if all the "current controversies" merely "cover" the more important and more pressing issues. Last I heard, there's a Basilan crisis management committee that's handling the matte...

Apr212009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

RTMI bus bombed in Kabacan, North Cotabato…and I was just there 2 days ago!

Bukidnon, Controversial, Crime, Iligan City, Koronadal, Lanao del Norte, Mindanaoan Update, Muslim Mindanao, News, South Cotabato

My, my...this really scared the wits out of me. Less than 24 hours after I posted this entry about my first ever trip to Koronadal City (where the Rural Transit Bus I took had a brief stop at Kabacan, North Cotabato), I found out that a Rural Transit bus with body number 2772 got bombed Monday afternoon. And I was just there...in the very same place...two days ago! An improvised bomb reportedly exploded inside the bus. A passenger, who allegedly boarded the vehicle in Bukidnon, left a bag at the back part of the vehicle. The bomb explosion left four people injured. Coincidentally, a bomb also exploded at a bridge in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Mindanao. The bridge has been declared "unsafe for passage." When will all these ever end?

Feb12009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Was Mindanaoan Gary Granada ripped off by GMA Kapuso?

Advocacy, Controversial, Crime, Media, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Music, Opinion, Personal, Personalities

Don't we just hate it when people, especially fellow Mindanaoans, are deprived of what's rightfully due them? And don't we just hate it when someone denies that a wrong has been done even when it's so blatant? Just take this case of Mindanaoan artist Gary Granada who alleges that GMA Kapuso Foundation took advantage of his work. GMA Kapuso Foundation allegedly used his work without proper recognition and more importantly, payment or royalties. According to Gary, who was born in Maco, Davao (Compostela Valley), GMA Kapuso Foundation took advantage of his work and the said foundation's lawyer even had the audacity to say that he merely changed a word or two. Worse, the camp of GMA 7 alleged that they don't owe Gary anything since the end product was a result of "collective work." A legal ...

Jan292009 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Breaking news: Basilan mayor slain in ambush

ARMM, Crime, Headline, Mindanaoan Update, News, Sulu, Zamboanga Peninsula

Karam Jakilan, mayor of Albarkah, Basilan, along with three others, was slain in an ambush just this afternoon. They were attacked in Tipo-Tipo, according to police reports. Basilan is located just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindanao, Philippines. Basilan, which is within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), is the biggest and northernmost among the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago. Basilan Police Superintendent Salik Macapantar reportedly said that the mayor, his driver and two unnamed persons - a man and a woman - were killed at around 4 pm today. Meanwhile, three people included in the convoy were hurt. Police believe that the motive of the killing was "rido," which pertains to blood feuds that often go unresolved over several generations. ...

Dec32008 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Finally, an update on Mindanaoan journalist Marlene Esperat’s case

Controversial, Crime, Government, Headline, Mindanaoan Update, News

I learned from Senator Richard Gordon today that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is set to revive the investigations into the brutal murder of Mindanaoan journalist Marlene Esperat. Esperat, who exposed an alleged illegal procurement of P432 Million worth of fertilizers, was slain in her own home in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao by an assassin who later on reportedly confessed that he was hired by two officials in the Department of Agriculture - Central Mindanao. What really dismayed me was the fact that she was even gunned down in front of her own children. “This time we will investigate why a resident Ombudsman in the Agriculture Department in Mindanao was killed because she wanted to expose an anomaly. So far, the case has made some progress in courts but the masterminds have ...

Oct282008 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Jeanette Lomanta drops libel case vs. radio man

Broadcasting, Controversial, Crime, Davao City, Headline, Journalism, Media, News, Opinion, Personalities, Radio

TV personality Jeanette Lomanta has reportedly submitted an affidavit of desistance in relation to the libel case she filed against former radio broadcaster Alexander Adonis. As a result, Regional Trial Court Branch 14 in Davao City is set to dismiss the case soon - BUT only if Adonis' other pending cases get settled as well. The libel case against the former journalist is in line with Adonis' series of commentaries over the air in 2001 alleging that Lomanta had a so-called tryst in a Manila hotel with then Davao 1st District Congressman now House Speaker Prospero Nograles. Lomanta reportedly withdrew her complaint after "adhering to the Christian values of forgiveness." Adonis, in a letter dated October 21, 2008, extended his apologies to her. He still has to face a pending libel ca...