Bill for IPs in Bangsamoro passes second reading at BARMM Parliament
CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 01 March) – The Bangsamoro Parliament approved on second reading Parliament Bill No. 273, a measure that would recognize, develop and protect the rights of the indigenous peoples in the autonomous region.
Deputy Floor Leader Mary Ann Arnado said public consultations would be held once the proposed measure called the Bangsamoro Indigenous Peoples Development Act hurdles the third reading in the parliament.
Arnado said the bill guarantees the “equitable share of the IPs in the revenues of the BARMM generated from exploration, development and utilization of resources” within the autonomous region.
She said the bill also assures that the processing of Certificates of Ancestral Domain Title and Certificates of Ancestral Land Title will be free of charge and will be funded by the Bangsamoro government.
The bill recognizes and seeks to develop the ancestral domain of the IPs, strengthen their political structure and protect them from marginalization and discrimination. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
Leaf fall disease hits rubber trees in Caraga
CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 01 March) – The Department of Agriculture is conducting technical workshops among municipal agricultural officers and farmers to address the spread of the leaf fall disease on rubber trees, also known as Pestalotiopsis, in the Caraga region.
DA Caraga regional director Ricardo Oñate Jr. said the tree disease was first observed in two tree farms in Agusan del Sur in April last year but has since then spread to 1,765 hectares as of February 7, 2024.
“The disease can infect leaves, shoots, twigs, and seeds of a rubber tree. It causes leaf defoliation up to 80-100 percent, which will affect latex production,” Oñate said.
He said more than 1,200 farmers have already been affected.
Philippine Rubber Research Institute training specialist Engineer Evangeline Garcia said the disease, which is airborne, infected untended tree farms that have become forest-like, had no fertilization and did not observe planting distance.
Rubber is Agusan del Sur’s fourth largest cash crop but data from the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research showed only 50 percent of total rubber trees planted are productive due to neglect in farm management. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
Police hunting suspects in ambush of mayor’s secretary in SK
CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 01 March) – Police are hunting two suspects who ambushed the secretary of Mayor Ferdinand Andy Agduma of Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat on his way to work last Tuesday.
Lambayong town police chief Major Jethro Doligas said Borhanudin Delna survived the ambush with multiple gunshot wounds and is now being treated in an undisclosed medical facility for his protection.
Doligas said the 40-year-old Delna was on board a tricycle when two gunmen shot him near Barangay Poblacion.
Agduma asked the police to arrest the suspects and pleaded with the residents to help solve the crime. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)