Aquino signs law creating Davao Occidental
MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has signed into law a measure creating the province of Davao Occidental, formerly Davao del Sur, which consists of five towns.
The capital town and seat of government of Davao Occidental will be the municipality of Malita. Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos and Saranggani also form part of the province.
Republic Act 10360 states that incumbent representatives and other local officials of Davao del Sur shall continue their term of office.
The President also signed RA 10359, declaring March 26 of every year as a “special working holiday” in the province of Cebu in commemoration of its liberation from the Japanese during World War II.
The President signed on Jan. 9 RA 10355, which doubles the bed capacity of the Jose Lingad Memorial General Hospital in San Fernando City in Pampanga from 250 to 500.
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From the Commission on Elections
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is
set to hold a plebiscite for the creation of the new Province of Davao
Occidental, simultaneous with the October 28, 2013, Barangay and
Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
On July 23, 2013, Congress enacted Republic Act 10360
or an “Act Creating the Province of Davao Occidental.” Carved out from
the present Davao del Sur, the new province consists of the
Municipalities of Sta. Maria, Malita, Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos,
and Sarangani.
In RA 10360, the COMELEC was mandated to
supervise the conduct of a plebiscite for the approval of the creation
of Davao Occidental by the majority of the votes cast by voters in the
affected areas, within sixty (60) days after the Act becomes effective.
However, the COMELEC on November 27,
2012, suspended the conduct of all plebiscite as a matter of policy in
view of the preparations for the May 13, 2013 National and Local
Elections. The policy of deferment was later extended by the COMELEC on
July 9, 2013.
The poll body in a meeting held on July
31, 2013, then decided to hold the plebiscite for the creation of Davao
Occidental simultaneous with the October 28, 2013 Barangay and
Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
According to the COMELEC, five out of the eight municipalities in the 2nd Legislative District of Davao del Sur shall compose the new Province of Davao Occidental, once approved in a plebiscite.
The registered voters of Davao del Sur,
excluding Davao City, shall participate in the said plebiscite. As of
the May 13, 2013 National and Local Elections, Davao del Sur, excluding
Davao City, has 523,862 total number of registered voters, the poll body
furthered.
Voters in Davao del Sur shall use a
different ballot in the October 28, 2013, Barangay and SK Elections as
it would also include voting for the plebiscite. The COMELEC shall be
printing special ballots for the purpose.
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1002nd Bde protects Danding Cojuangco in Malita, Davao del Sur
The 1002nd Brigade of the Philippine Army serves as the protector of
big bourgeois comprador Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco in Malita town,
Davao del Sur. Colluding with Cojuangco in sowing terror and raking in
huge amounts of money from various businesses in Malita is the town
mayor Franklin Bautista.
Hundreds of hectares of banana plantations are owned by the Cojuangcos in Malita and the same goes for the Bautistas. They continue to expand their plantations by deceiving the peasants or violently seizing their land. Currently, their main instruments in seizing vast tracts of land are the 39th and 73rd IB of the 1002nd Brigade.
Violence marks the Cojuangcos and Bautistas’ landgrabbing schemes. Seven persons were killed and hundreds were wounded in Tarlac when the Cojuangcos’ armed minions opened fire on striking farm workers in 2004. More than 20 persons have been killed by the Bautistas in the past several years in the town of Malita.
Malita’s upland areas and its neighboring towns are being targeted for mining operations. One of the companies with a pending mining application is Looc Mining which is also owned by the Cojuangcos.
Heavy military presence and the AFP’s “peace and development initiatives” have turned Malita into a virtual military garrison. The AFP imposes martial law through killings, food blockades, checkpoints, limits on the working hours and food brought by farmers going to their fields, interrogations, repeated harassment and maulings of civilians.
In 2011, four civilians were killed by the 39th and 73rd IB in Malita, with two of the victims slain in an exceptionally brutal way. They were hung on trees, hacked, stabbed and shot multiple times. These two battalions are notorious for human rights violations. Their crimes are brazen violations of the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
Alongside such violence is the deception foisted on the people through Oplan Bayanihan (OPB). Under OPB, the military conducts “peace building seminars and rallies,” the latest of which was held on February 25-27. About 200 people who had allegedly “strayed” and had now returned to the fold of the reactionary government were paraded before the public as surrenderees. In fact, they were civilians herded by the military from five interior villages of Malita.
Bautista and the 1002nd Bde also gave away P200,000 and a few goats to the “surrenderees” as a reward for returning to the government’s fold.
The people of Malita are intensely repulsed by such highly insulting actions by the reactionary government and the 1002nd Brigade. Because of Oplan Bayanihan, poverty, violence and the lack of democracy have worsend in Malita town. This has encouraged its residents to join and support the people’s war.
Hundreds of hectares of banana plantations are owned by the Cojuangcos in Malita and the same goes for the Bautistas. They continue to expand their plantations by deceiving the peasants or violently seizing their land. Currently, their main instruments in seizing vast tracts of land are the 39th and 73rd IB of the 1002nd Brigade.
Violence marks the Cojuangcos and Bautistas’ landgrabbing schemes. Seven persons were killed and hundreds were wounded in Tarlac when the Cojuangcos’ armed minions opened fire on striking farm workers in 2004. More than 20 persons have been killed by the Bautistas in the past several years in the town of Malita.
Malita’s upland areas and its neighboring towns are being targeted for mining operations. One of the companies with a pending mining application is Looc Mining which is also owned by the Cojuangcos.
Heavy military presence and the AFP’s “peace and development initiatives” have turned Malita into a virtual military garrison. The AFP imposes martial law through killings, food blockades, checkpoints, limits on the working hours and food brought by farmers going to their fields, interrogations, repeated harassment and maulings of civilians.
In 2011, four civilians were killed by the 39th and 73rd IB in Malita, with two of the victims slain in an exceptionally brutal way. They were hung on trees, hacked, stabbed and shot multiple times. These two battalions are notorious for human rights violations. Their crimes are brazen violations of the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
Alongside such violence is the deception foisted on the people through Oplan Bayanihan (OPB). Under OPB, the military conducts “peace building seminars and rallies,” the latest of which was held on February 25-27. About 200 people who had allegedly “strayed” and had now returned to the fold of the reactionary government were paraded before the public as surrenderees. In fact, they were civilians herded by the military from five interior villages of Malita.
Bautista and the 1002nd Bde also gave away P200,000 and a few goats to the “surrenderees” as a reward for returning to the government’s fold.
The people of Malita are intensely repulsed by such highly insulting actions by the reactionary government and the 1002nd Brigade. Because of Oplan Bayanihan, poverty, violence and the lack of democracy have worsend in Malita town. This has encouraged its residents to join and support the people’s war.
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