theregions A The Manila Times TUESDAY D e cember 7, 2010 7


HE Muslim leaders in the country have appealed for unity towards the attainment of lasting peace in Mindanao as the Muslims all over the world celebrate today the Muslim New Year known as Amun Jadid.


Amun Jadid falls on the first day of the first month of Muharram 1432 in the lunar Hijra calendar that is equivalent to December 7 in the Gregorian calendar. It is determined by the appearance of the new cres- cent moon.


Aleem Said Ahmad Basher, chair- man of the Imam Council of the Philippines and a graduate of Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt ex- plained that in Muslim calendar the changing of the date commences


Caviteños living with HIV-AIDS form group


TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite: Forty people living with the HIV and AIDS in Cavite have formed an organization to fight the various forms of discrimination encountered by the victims, as well as educate the public about the ways to prevent the spread of this disease. Dr. Vilma Diez, the provincial health officer of Cavite, revealed to The Manila Times that the new organization called Cavite Support Group also aims to be the “speaker”—when it comes to the dissemination of correct informa- tion about the HIV and its full- blown version, AIDS—such as the true causes of this disease, its modes of transmission, conse- quences, means of prevention and control. Diez said that there are about 153


people reportedly with HIV/AIDS in Cavite and the formation of this advocacy group supporting them appears to be a welcome develop- ment here, because its membership has been increasing. The group emphasizes that although they are notoriously called “a dead man walking” because the disease is incurable, he can live with dignity and be productive if instead of being discriminated against, he can enlighten others on how not to be afflicted with this disease. The provincial health officer said


the young people with AIDS in Cavite—between 7 to 12 years old—acquired the disease during the pregnancy of their mothers who contracted the disease by them- selves or through their husbands. The oldest victim is a 60-year-old


woman and “maybe, before she reaches 70 years old, she is already dead,” said Diez. She said that some of the 153 people with AIDS in Cavite were referred by the Department of Health to the Cavite Provincial Health Office. The other victims are confined at the San Lazaro Hospital or are staying at their homes while getting their supply of medicines through the Health department. The retroviral medicine is given


free by the department thru a grant provided by the World Health Organization.


Each daily dose of medicine to


prolong their lives costs more than P2,000. Diez revealed that many of those


who are infected in Cavite are overseas foreign workers and seamen, who come from the large cities and municipalities here, but most of them contracted the disease during their deployment in foreign countries. Diez said that under the law (Republic Act 8504, or the Philip- pine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1988), it is prohibited to reveal the true identity of those with HIV/AIDS. The penalty for “violation of Confidentiality of Section 30-32 of RA 8504” shall be imprisonment of six months to four years.


ROGELIO LIMPIN


Muslims want lasting peace on ‘Amun Jadid’ T


BY JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL CORRESPONDENT


right after sunset unlike in the Gregorian calendar the changing of the date starts 12 midnight. Hence, today December 7 corresponds to Muharram 1, 1432, Basher further explained.


The Hijra calendar was first intro-


duced by one of the closest compan- ions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Umar Ibn Al-Khatab, which marks the Hijra or migration of the Holy Prophet from Mecca to Me- dina to establish the first Islamic state.


Rep. Tupay Loong of the First Dis- trict of Sulu and chairman of the House Committee on Muslim Af- fairs asked his fellow Muslims to join him in his quest for a lasting peace in Mindanao as the Muslim world celebrates today the advent of the Muslim New Year. “As we usher another Amun Jadid in the Muslim world today, I join everyone in the celebration of this Muslim New Year with our hope and prayers for a better homeland,” Loong said.


He also added: “I call on my fel-


low Muslims to join this representa- tion in our quest for peace as we welcome the first day of Muharram.” In like manner, Secretary Bai Omera Dianalan-Lucman, together with the officials and employees of the National Commission on Mus- lim Filipinos greets the Muslim ummah (community), particularly the Muslim Filipinos, on the occa-


sion of Amun Jadid. “While we do not celebrate Amun


Jadid as grand as our non-Muslim brethren celebrate the New Year of the Gregorian calendar, let us view Amun Jadid as an occasion for self- reflection to gauge our good deeds and mistakes that we have commit- ted for the year that just passed and make it a reference to ensure that our good deeds immensely over- whelm our mistakes in the year ahead.” Lucman emphasized. Dr. Parouk Hussin, chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front Committee on Foreign Relations and former regional governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said basically Muslim New Year is the time to share espe- cially with the needy.


Just like any other Muslim leader, Hussin also on the occasion of Amin Jadid urged every Muslim to unite together and refrain once and for all


the unnecessary bickering so that the Muslim Mindanao region can go on with its development. Finally, Sultan Fuad Kiram, First of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah) also on the occa- sion of the celebration of the Mus- lim New Year sent his greetings not only for the Muslims in the Philip- pines but also the Christians alike. Sultan Fuad is also praying for the


elusive peace to reign over the conflict- affected communities of Mindanao. “We greet all Muslim faithful and our Christian friends a blessed Amun Jadid or Muslim New Year. And in this time of turmoil in Mindanao we pray to Allah that elu- sive peace descends on our land for we deserve the bounty and divi- dends of peace leading to prosper- ity for all Filipinos,” Sultan Fuad further said.


Under Presidential Decree 1083, or the Code of Muslim Personal


Pagasa to put up automatic weather station in Bicol region


LEGAZPI CITY: In an effort to intensify disaster preparedness in the Bicol region with the onset of bad weather disturbances, the Philippine Atmos- pheric, Geophysical and Astronomi- cal Services Administration (Pagasa) will put up an automatic weather station in Albay.


The establishment of the new gadget will be implemented to en- hance disaster-monitoring system in Albay, thus intends to serve as an early warning device among disas-


ter managers and responders here, Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay said. The provincial government of


Albay through the Center for Initia- tives and Research on Climate Adap- tation (PGA-CIRCA) signed a memo- randum of agreement between the Department of Science and Technol- ogy led by Mario Montejo. The automatic weather station will be put up in first congressional district, which will primarily serve as an early warning and monitoring


NPA rebels kill 10 soldiers in Mindanao clash


ZAMBOANGA CITY: Communist rebels have announced the killing of at least five government soldiers in fierce clashes in the south- ern Philippines. The New People’s Army (NPA) said at least 10 more soldiers


were wounded in recent fighting in the village of Paloc in Compostela Valley’s Maragusan town. It also accused the 10th Infantry Division of covering up for the government’s casual- ties and for saying that six rebels had died from the clashes. Daniel Ibarra, a spokesman for the NPA’s Rhyme Petalcorin Command, said only one rebel was killed in the fighting. “There is no truth to these reports. The truth is that the 50- man column of the Fifth Scout Ranger Company of the Sec- ond Scout Ranger Battalion suffered heavy casualties resulting from the ambush by a platoon of Red fighters under the Rhyme Petalcorin Command Front 27 Operations Command-NPA.” “At least five enemies were killed-in-action and another 10


wounded-in-action. Three command-detonated claymore mines were switched, directly hitting the enemy,” Ibarra said. He said the government troops have intensified their com- bat operations against rebel forces in Compostela Valley prov- ince and other areas in Mindanao, but he also warned the NPA would also launch more offensives against military targets in the southern region.


AL JACINTO


Sandigan convicts 4 Cebu City officials


THE Sandiganbayan sentenced four Cebu City officials from six to eight years behind bars for signing vouchers that allowed another official to obtain money more than P11.1 million through unliquidated cash advances.


The anti-graft court convicted Cebu City administrator Alan


Gaviola, city treasurer Eustaquio Cesa, cash division chief Benilda Bacasmas and city accountant Edna Jaca for partici- pating in the crime of payroll master Cleofe Delute, who ac- quire P11.18 million from the city coffers. The Commission on Audit learned of the unliquidated cash


advances made by Delute, who is now serving sentence before the Corrections bureau. “Delute could not have possibly accrued such huge short- age [of unaccounted cash advances] without the participation of [the four] accused,” the prosecution said. In a 43-page decision of the Sandiganbayan First Division, the justices said that the vouchers that bore the signatures of the accused proved that they had a hand in the processing of Delute’s cash advances.


“If their individual signature was not important, it should


have not been required in the first place,” the ruling read. According to the decision penned by First Division Chair- man Justice Efren de la Cruz, the signatures of the officials allowed the fraudulent cash advances to move from one office to another as they were “go signals for the voucher to forward to the next step.” Furthermore, the decision faulted Bacasmas for allowing the amount in the vouchers to be rounded off, which the justices said was a violation of “an elementary rule in accounting.” The justices also noticed the practice of the four accused in signing the vouchers even if “salaries” was only written on it, without the specified pay period and the name of the employee receiving the pay.


The accused “willfully closed their eyes from [the] hazard of double or multiple payments” for signing the vouchers with- out the details, the ruling read.


During the trial, the court found out that Cesa had weak


oversight on Delute despite being the senior. The court learned that Delute kept a different cashbook, which Cesa failed to balance.


The accused also affixed their initials without ensuring that


the payrolls were attached to the vouchers. The defendants said it is because the payrolls were “voluminous,” and in Gaviola’s case, he only relied on the signatures before him “because he was laden with so much works.” JOHN CONSTANTINE G. CORDON


system for disaster mitigation in the first district of Albay, Salceda said. The project will be funded under the MDG-F 1656 project, a joint program and partnership by the United Nations Development Pro- gram and Spanish government that seeks to mainstream climate risk reduction into key national and lo- cal development planning and regu- latory processes, enhancing capaci- ties of key partners and communi- ties to undertake climate resilient


development and testing of inte- grated adaptation approaches with upscaling potential. Meanwhile, the provincial govern- ment of Albay is set to conduct the second part of the second Island Lo- cal Government Summit+31 in Visayas where the league of cities’ of- ficials will be gathering next week in Iloilo to come up with solid action to address the impact of climate change. Manuel Rangasa head of Circa told The Manila Times that the out-


put of the summit is the input to be submitted to climate change com- mission for necessary action. Last month, the Albay govern- ment conducted the First Climate Change Summit for Luzon partici- pated by the league of the gover- nors where the 40 governors forged a strong commitment to come up with necessary action to lessen the impact of global warm- ing that triggers climate change. RHAYDZ BARCIA


ARMM to receive Galing Pook Awards


GALING Pook Awards will be given for the first time to local governments in the Au- tonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that continue to address poverty, health, education, economic, peace and governing concerns Since 1993, the Galing Pook Foundation


has awarded 270 local governments throughout the country. This year it opened the “Awards Program for Good Governance” exclusive to local governments in ARMM. The foundation acknowledges that amid political concerns in ARMM, lo- cal governments in the region are also worthy of recognition, especially with programs that innovate changes and al- leviate life in the locality. As many as 41 local governments from


the region initially applied for the Galing Pook Awards. Through a rigorous screening and monitoring process, only eight program finalists have made it to the final judging. The eight finalist programs are: Tulay


sa Kalilintad (A Bridge to Peace): Peace Building (Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur); Sulu Area Coordinating Center (Sulu Prov- ince); SLAM Health Program for the Poor (Southwestern Ligwasan Alliance of Mu- nicipalities, Maguindanao: Datu Paglas, Paglat, Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun and Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao Prov- ince); Solid Waste Management Program (Wao, Lanao del Sur); BISITA (Bringing Integrated Services and Innovation through a Team Approach) sa Barangay (Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao); Admin-


istrative and Fiscal Reforms for Local De- velopment (Bongao, Tawi-tawi); Project Rendaw: Education through Community Participation (Upi, Maguindanao); and Watershed Co-Management Develop- ment Program (Wao, Lanao del Sur). Each representative of the local gov- ernments on Monday will be given a chance to present to the foundation panel why their program should be given the prestigious Galing Pook Awards. The awarding ceremonies will be held at Malacañang early next year. The Galing Pook Awards in ARMM


was made possible with the support of United States Agency for International Development and The Asia Foundation. EUDEN VALDEZ


Laws of the Philippines, Amun Jadid is considered as an official Muslim holiday which shall be observed in the following areas: Provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte and Zam- boanga del Sur, and in the cities of Cotabato, Iligan, Marawi, Pagadian and Zamboanga. However, upon proclamation by the President of the Philippines, Amun Jadid and other special Mus- lim holidays may also be officially observed in other provinces and cit- ies of the country.


The same Presidential Decree also provides that all Muslim gov- ernment officials and employees in places other than those enu- merated above shall also be ex- cused from reporting to office in order that they may be able to observe Amun Jadid.


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