Northern Bulletin News Publishing, Ugac Sur (2026)

09/08/2026

| Human Trafficking

Human trafficking in the country has become increasingly sophisticated as perpetrators exploit digital platform and emerging technologies to recruit.

This should serve as alarm not only to law enforcers but the entire populations. Cases on Trafficking in Persons and online s*xual or exploitation of children are on the rise, according to the Regional Inter Agency Committee on Anti-Trafficking- Violence Against Women and Children. Last year, 248 cases were filed in court in Cagayan Valley alone as 12 new trafficking cases were recorded first quarter of 2026.

Corruption among officials in trafficking remain significant. Add to that is the attitude and behavior of most communities in the country. The government is serious and has sustained efforts as new laws are legislated to regulate fishing recruitment agencies in trafficking to disrupt industrial-scale human trafficking. Yet problems persist and need immediate action as we try to erase the image of the country as one of the most-trafficked country in the world. It sentenced majority of traffickers but whether such sentences are significant in terms of prison terms is another question.

The government has yet to identify the vast majority of potential victims among individuals exploited from on-line scam operations despite widespread reporting. It did not take effective measures to prevent the inappropriate penalization of potential victims solely for unmindful act committed as a result of being trafficked.

The government should investigate and prosecute traffickers and complicit officials and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers with significant prison term. A central data base for information on illegal recruiters and human trafficking cases should be created. It’s overdue considering the escalation of cases over the years. Services to returning Filipinos exploited in s*x and labor trafficking overseas should be well - provided.

Without increase in resources for task force and law enforcement units to conduct timely investigation, coordinated operation and prosecution, all efforts will be in vain.

It is a long and painful war and we need all what it takes to fight in head-on.

08/08/2026

| Species Survival

It’s ironic that the Philippines is one of the world’s most biodiverse country, it plays host to a great number of threatened species. Ironic as it is alarming too, that of the five causes leading to massive destruction of the ecosystem, four are man-made.

Pet trade is rampant and only a handful of the perpetrators are charged. Exotic birds from the country grace private collectors’ home as against specimens for conservation. Hunting and overfishing became legendary in the country as they are done deliberately with little tips from the community to authorities.

Plastic pollution is our rivers and seas have caused many of our endemic species to die even with stricter laws and other measures.

Deforestation and agricultural land clearing have caused unimaginable damage not only to the environment but have cause loss of lives of people and properties. Devastating has become a common word. Between 2000 and 2005, we lost 2.1 percent of our forest zone each year which threatened several hundreds of species. The Philippines ranked 9th on the list of the world’s fastest deforested country as 40 land mammals are threatened, 127 bird species on the list with 24 reptiles and 14 amphibian species included.

The dedication and commitment to conservation efforts in the country can never be doubted but there is a limited resources to implemented measures. Is the reason why most species are sidelined, underserved and underfunded? Of the hundreds of species, it is only the Philippine Eagle which was listed by the International Union of for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The country boasts of the Integrated Protected Area Systems (IPAS) but the intention has yet to be backed up by serious actions. The Philippine Eagle Foundation is in place so with the marine Conservation Philippines. Corruption among officials cannot be discounted.

Conservation efforts in the country is still a very long journey. It will be up to every Filipino to play ball and make sure it is in their hands.

07/08/2026

Cong. Lara Fast Tracks CSU- Baggao Campus establishment

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan – Congressman Joseph “Jojo” Lara of the 3rd district of Cagayan has asked the Department of Budget and Management to release a Php50 million fund to jumpstart the establishment of a new campus for Cagayan State University in Baggao town.

Earlier, the Committee on Higher and Technical Education chaired by Congressman Jude Asidre approved House Bill 9695 on second reading for the establishment of a CSU campus in said town.

The Php50 initial fund has been part of the 2025 General Appropriations Act and its immediate release is expected to fast track construction 29 classrooms and an administration building of the new campus in a four -hectare lot purchased by the family of the lawmaker in Barangay Santor.

He said that while Baggao is not part of his congressional district, he felt the need of establishing a campus in said town similar to what his office did in Solana.

The Congressman was a member of ethe Board of Regents of the university when he requested a feasibility study on the project which they did and approved.

Lara said the idea of establishing a campus in Baggao stemmed from a growing college student population in the area where 7,000 of them are presently enrolled in two campuses of the university in Tuguegarao.

The last few years saw an emerging clamor for a government school to cater to the needs of the population in Baggao to lessen expenses like transport, food, allowance and other basic needs of students.

“We saw the importance of establishing a quality tertiary school in the area,” Congressman Lara told reporters.

The initial fund of Php50 will construct 20 classrooms and an administration building. The lawmaker has expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the support of both the Cagayan State University and the Commission on Higher Education.
CSU officials led by Officer-In -Charge President Arthur Ibanez were present along with CHED chair Commissioner Shirley Agrupis during the deliberations in Congress.

Residents said a new government school will spell more opportunities and an increased economy as it will likewise cater to students in adjacent municipalities of Alcala, Gattaran and Penablanca.

“I hope we can start the Baggao campus before Congress will adjourn next year,” Lara said.

Baggao, along the foot of the Sierra Madre mountains, is the second biggest municipality in Cagayan in terms of land area. While it has seven secondary schools catering to 2,300 students, there is only one private school catering to the tertiary education needs of the population.

Meanwhile, CSU-Solana campus whose lot was likewise donated by the family of Congressman Larsa graduated 206 students for its first batch this year.

07/08/2026

| Legal Adoption Dilemma

In the Philippines, there is no enough families who are into adoption of abandoned and neglected children estimated by the United Nations Children Emergency Fund to be 1. 8 million. The Philippine Orphanage Foundation placed the figure at 2 million.
Despite the enactment of Republic Act 8552 otherwise known as Domestic Adoption Act of 1998, a report in 2012 said only 62 of 500 legally available children were adopted in the Philippines. This reflects a very small amount of interest for adoption among Filipinos.

Those adopted are generally aged 0-2 years old. The slow process is ageing out the children while the documents are being prepared by DSWD. It may take years. The Philippine condition of children is grim with 1 -3 percent of children and youth population in major cities as street children. Couples adopt motivated by personal fulfillment, altruistic reasons, family balance, infertility issues and social influences.

The issue is complex and a transformative journey as would-be- adoptive parents are faced with bureaucratic hurdles, financial strain, emotional stress, social judgements, integration issues and communication barriers.

Adoptive parents are often faced with issues like heightened stress which affect their responsibilities to children’s needs and attachments. There is a strong public opinion which said adoption is a source of maltreatment and violations of children’s rights. Young childr4en are often to be victims of abuse and neglect.

The process of adopting a child in the country is often accompanied by various complications that may come from parents, from the child or from their interaction. The resolutions are as many as varied but it needs a lot of character will from all sectors to contain or address such problems.

DSWD licensed 177 agencies, private social welfare agencies whose funding comes from international sources. While there have been reports of abuse against the children inside these facilities prior to their adoption, we have yet to receive convictions. Some of these agencies are manned by religious groups.

Per se, adoption is a most welcomed move for Filipinos who want to have their own to complete their union but there’s a need for comprehensive support system, policies and continuing research to address needs of the adoptive parents.

06/08/2026

| On Senior Citizens

Health care services, livelihood and economic well-being remain as major issues among senior citizens in the Philippines, surveys say. This, at the height of various laws, policies and programs installed by the government.

Add to that are retirement issues, abuse and enforcement of their rights under Republic Act 7432 or the Senior Citizens Act of 2010. We hear documented stories of physical, verbal and financial abuse of senior citizens perpetuated by family members themselves yet we don’t hear of cases filed against the suspects. We are Filipinos, after all, and we tend to dismiss it simply as ‘family affair.’

There are many senior citizens in the rural areas who have limited access to health care and the government has been doing its best to help them enjoy the benefits of the law. Government efforts are never enough and we need the private sector to dip its fingers into the well-being of the sector whenever they can. The government started establishing temporary haven for senior citizens in select areas in the country. The move should be supported by volunteer groups from the private sector.

LGU-based initiatives would make it politically sensible to help them as they are the most active participants during an electoral process. Many senior citizens receive pensions but they feel the amount received are inefficient for comfort. The provision of services through convergence is something to ponder upon especially in financial management aspect, in particular, those nearing retirement age.

One way of providing opportunities is by providing them part-time employment to augment pension. They need opportunities even in old age as they need a sense of purpose. The provision of discounts for every purchase of goods and services helps them stretch the shrinking peso.

It is time for every Filipino to do his part in addressing some of the issues facing the sector.

The youth of today are the senior citizens of tomorrow.

05/08/2026

| Land Ownership

The order of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to the Department of Agrarian Reform to fast -track efforts to ensure Filipino farmers receive rightful land ownership thru the Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program reflects the government’s commitment to land tenure services.

While it is a land title, it is not like an ordinary private land title that can be freely sold or transferred like residential lots. Ownership is subject to Agrarian Reform conditions. For Filipino farmers, it is empowerment. Secretary Conrado Estrella III admitted many beneficiaries have been waiting 15 to 30 years for their land titles to be issued. Land ownership and how it shaped the agricultural landscape is a sensitive matter in the Philippines. It strums a sentimental cord as early as during the colonization years.

CLOA is of significant importance as it is a legal proof of ownership for lands granted under agrarian reform program which can be used as collateral for agricultural loans and other financial assistance.

The distribution of CLOAs is not merely the handling of documents. It is the fulfillment of a long -cherished aspiration of securing land tenure for a better future. To be fair, it has been the dream of every administration as early as the incumbency of President Ramon Magsaysay.

Magsaysay enacted four laws as part of the agrarian reform program. It was President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. who issued the Code of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines which created the Department of Agrarian Reform. Through the years, various laws and decrees have been enacted and issued, some overlapping each other.

Except through hereditary succession, to government, Land Bank of the Philippines or to other qualified beneficiaries, it is illegal to sell or transfer the title. However, DAR still faces cases of the opposite.

The Filipino farmer who has yet to receive his land ownership believes DAR continues to burn its midnight oil to serve them.
“Land for the landless” is reality called CLOA.

05/08/2026

PANOORIN | Magsama-sama tayo sa ika-12 na episode ng BIR & YOU kung saan tatalakayin ang Business Update and Closure.

Makakasama natin si Rose Ann C. Quinto at Rio Jay S. Pontejos, Revenue Officers ng Bureau of Internal Revenue Revenue District Office No. 013 - Cagayan at Batanes, upang magbahagi ng mahahalagang impormasyon tungkol sa proseso ng pag-update ng business registration at tamang pagsasara ng negosyo alinsunod sa mga umiiral na patakaran ng BIR.

24/07/2026

Triple Treat In Buguey
(First of Three-Part Series on Malaga, Guraman and Tirem)

Oyster Walk

Forty-five years old Maring (not her real name) of Barangay Minanga in Buguey, Cagayan squatted silently on the sack-covered ground facing a big aluminum wash basin which has seen better days. Around her are three sacks of freshly gathered oysters, locally called Tirem, a mollusc. With a sharp kitchen knife on her hand, she began the tedious task of shucking two of the four species of oysters cultivated in the Philippines, the Talabang Tsinelas (Crassostrea iredalie) and Kukong Kabayo (Saccostrea malabonesis)
For Maring and the rest of the oyster farmers in town, Tirem is a cash crop which can be harvested from oyster farms or gathered in the wild. It is considered as small farm and family business. Her day’s work will fetch her Ph300 -Ph500 which is used to buy their daily needs. Part of her income is used to send one of her grandchildren to school. One of them already graduated.

The demand for the shellfish is high during non- offshore fishing month. There have been reports of interest from other countries to import oysters but production in the country hardly meets the demand.

“The potentials are there but it is difficult to enter into trade agreement as we are afraid we cannot meet the demand,” a producer in the Navotas and Malabon areas says.
For Maring, export may affect her livelihood.

“Uray kaskasano, dakkel naitulong kanyami ti Tirem,” she says as she glanced at her wrinkled hands, silent testimonies to her years of taking the meat from the hard shells which she sells at the local market during Saturday’s ‘Dapun’ at Barangay Pattao. Maring is not alone in the Tirem industry in Buguey.

BFAR said the waters of Minanga is suitable for oyster farming where salinity and temperature are most favorable.
BFAR in region 2 introduced in Buguey new farming methods of oyster culture piloted by the Buguey Brackishwater Technology Outreach Station thru demo farm. In April last year, the agency reported the dispersal of 900,00 oyster spats for 92 fisherfolks beneficiaries, a move appreciated by the local government unit.

“We are opening more doors for our oyster farmers if only to improve their livelihood,” Mayor Licerio M. Antiporda III, says. In fact. The LGU initiated a project to boost the image of the various farms and to add-value to the industry. Called the Oyster Walk, it is a 300 -meter bamboo bridge connecting the various farms. It is expected to become an attraction in the municipality in the coming days.

Traditionally, they are grown thru broadcast method, positioned in hard-bottom areas where there are natural population.
In Buguey, there are two methods used; the use of bamboos or the stake method and the hanging method where oyster shells are strung in polyethelene through a punch hole at the center of the shells spread at intervals.

But the Food and Agriculture Organization said bamboo poles accelerate the deterioration of the environment by creating a barrier to the free flow of water. Oyster farming is cheap as it feeds on natural food present in the aquatic environment. However, rapid siltation and pollution of bodies of water can take a toll on the industry.

In the Philippines, the spawning months for oysters are in May to August while its culture period between six to eight months. They are best gathered in March, April and May.

The inclusion of Tirem as a highlight commodity during Buguey’s Festivals is most welcome as it may pave the way for future programs and projects between and among stakeholders.

Meantime, let’s taste the oyster omelet prepared by the fulcrum of Buguey’s Festivals, Mayor Ceri Antiporda III.

(Next: Rabbits In Water)

23/07/2026

| 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗥𝗶𝗽 𝗩𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗹𝗲

The dismal bottom performance of tourism in the Philippines the last few years reflected how the various regions in the country are doing. It’s below bottom performance as the country receive seven times less than what Malaysia got.

From a choice destination the previous decades, the country’s performance has been blamed to various reasons save its tourism bosses. While the joint efforts of DPWH and DOT in creating accessibility to identified tourism potential destinations is worthy for a cause, it didn’t bring the targeted statistics.

Neighbor countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam share the common attractions but it seemed like these countries are now ahead implementing efforts to corner the tourism market pie.

Malaysia flexed its visa policy and introduced major infrastructure support. Do we have the political will to do that, too? Is it the geography? Maybe so because the Philippines got no border countries and just recently, Vietnam welcomed 16 million Chinese visitors who simply cross the border. Ease of travel? Accessibility at lower price is the key. Visiting famed El Nido or Boracay means you have to board a plane and take on water transport just to get there. Is that stress disguised as more fun?

Ot’s maybe in the pricing. A five Euro is more than enough in Thailand as against a 25 Euro in the Philippines. We are aggressive in our promotions going further into copying promotional videos of other countries to push our PR ventures. That scandal may have played a key role and shattered our image. Holy cow. Previous government scandals are not enough to place the Philippines in the backseat of tourism destinations.

We can’t help but asked whether the dismal performance of the Philippines is a silent protest or synchronized boycott by other countries due to perceive corruption.

It’s no secret that a foreign tourist spent far much more in the Philippines than in other Asean countries. This is in terms of transportation, food and accommodation. We see the foreigner as an ATM card and such perception can be seen in our nightmarish price for our services. This situation encourages Filipinos to instead visit other countries than their own backyard.

If Malaysia and Thailand can command tourist arrivals, tourism players from both must be doing something good. Can we speak of our own is the next question. There are even charges that private sectors find it difficult to invite or collaborate with the tourism agency.

The situation should be a wakeup call to all tourism stakeholders in the country. We appreciate the jobs done by the various tourism offices but we may try to sit down together to dissect what really ails the Philippine Tourism Industry.

We refuse to be the tourism Rip Van Winkle of Asia.

22/07/2026

| 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲

The recent Tacloban incident alarms the country and shocked us to watch, online, two secondary school students kill and wound 20 others. We need full disclosure as the incident takes its ebb.

The incident is rooted from bullying but for an alleged victim and a companion to carry fi****ms and mercilessly kill students at random is not normal. It happened and the country is at a loss on how to address the issue. Philippine schools are no longer safe as students and teachers face daily cases of bomb threats, riots, stabbing incidents, and bringing ammunitions to school.

Criminal acts among Filipino youth have become the new normal as it has become frequent even as extreme bullying have long been inside schools for so long. We tend to ignore it, not when members of our families get involved. Not even Republic Act 10627 or the anti-bullying Law of 2013 can protect the children and the community even if it required all elementary and secondary schools to adopt policies to address acts of bullying. Are there really policies?

School violence is influenced by family relations and situations, peer pressure, school condition, environment and social media; factors we can’t dismiss as they are the landscape where young criminals come from.

We need convergence to deal with the issue. At one in every three students are bullied every day, we rank as one of the highest in the world. The government has acknowledged there is an urgency to protect our children inside schools from any act of violence. Senate now proposes for a School Safety Act to institutionalize comprehensive approach against school violence.

The local government units should now heed the call of DILG to tap Barangay Tanod to close-watch the school without entering the campus. A move by the Department of Education has sent institutions to think and analyze the situation. DepEd will conduct an active shooter drill where students and teachers must learn to adopt under such incidents like shooting.

Criminal acts among Filipino youth have increased at an alarming pace.

We need to move. Copycats on a standby mode.

Northern Bulletin News Publishing

09/08/2026

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