Mindanao Journal

03/11/2025

It’s raining pumpkins! I used to see this only in photos and videos from family and friends abroad. Finally, last week, I got to personally witness and experience a pumpkin festival in Germany. And for our first time, we were brought and treated by my daughter and son-in-law, to the world’s largest pumpkin exhibition… the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival.

Full Story:

In Photos: (left)Abbie, Gian and Belle with Mickey Mouse; (right) Glamma Jay and Glampa Jun with our Baby Belle It’s raining pumpkins! I used to see this only in photos and videos from family and friends abroad. Finally, last week, I got to personally witness and experience a pumpkin festival in G...

02/11/2025

DUTERTE OFFICE DISTRIBUTES FOOD PACKS AND BURGERS IN CEMETERY OUTREACH

Continuing a long-standing tradition started by former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, the Office of First District Representative Paolo Z. Duterte distributed food packs, cash assistance, and burgers to cemetery visitors, caretakers, and workers during the observance of Undas on Sunday, November 2.

Truckloads of orange food packs arrived early in the morning at the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Davao City, where the distribution was held around the resting place of the late Vicente Duterte, the former President’s father. The outreach extended to nearby cemeteries and surrounding communities, where thousands of Davaoeños gathered to honor their departed loved ones.

According to organizers, the Duterte office distributed food packs and cash to caretakers, employees, and visiting families, while children in and around the cemetery received free burgers from the team — a gesture that has become a much-awaited part of the annual Kalag-Kalag celebration.

Barangay Captain James Abadilla shared that the yearly initiative continues to bring joy to the community.

“Basta Kalag-Kalag diri sa amo, murag dagsa gyud ang tao kay tinuig ni nga panghatag. Lipay kaayo akong mga constituent. Kaniadto, naa gyud na si PRRD mag-gift giving,” Abadilla said.

For Rowena Abay, a long-time cemetery caretaker, the Duterte family’s gesture has always been something they look forward to.

“Tinuig mana ilang pahalipay panahon sa Kalag-Kalag, mao na mag-atang mi. Makamingaw lang kay wala si Tatay Digong karong tuiga,” she shared.

The activity was organized by the Office of Congressman Paolo Duterte with the help of local volunteers and barangay personnel.

It aimed to continue the tradition of extending kindness, solidarity, and remembrance — values deeply rooted in the Duterte family’s public service.

Aside from food and cash assistance, the team also provided water and ensured the orderly distribution of goods to the thousands who flocked to the cemetery grounds.

The simple act of giving remains a heartfelt reminder of the Duterte family’s continuing connection to the people of Davao, especially during moments of reflection and togetherness.

31/10/2025

Notice of Water Service Interruptions on November 2 to 3, 2025

30/10/2025

Chinese Consul General Leads Media Tour of Davao Durian Export Facility

Chinese Consul General Zhao Xiuzhen, together with Maylong Enterprises chairman Meiman Li, led a media tour of the durian processing facility in Barangay Ula, Tugbok District on October 30,2025. Workers were seen sorting and grading freshly harvested durian, with only Class A fruits processed for fresh export to China.

The facility also handles frozen durian from lower grades through food-safe packaging and industrial freezing.

📹 Jeany Fe Niñal

30/10/2025

Davao City a world center of attraction

* Now the country’s investment hub

* Tops in Safety Index and Best City to Visit

Davao City received another international accolade following the city’s inclusion in the CEOWORLD Magazine 2025 Safety Index ranking of 300 leading cities in the world.

Davao City ranks first in the Philippines placing No. 53 in the list. Other Philippine cities that made it to the roll are Makati City, No. 126; Iloilo City, No. 143; Cebu City, No. 220 and Manila City, 295. [Abu Dhabi and three other cities in the Emerites made it to the top 10 in the Safety Index].

The CEOWORLD magazine holds the distinction of being the world's most influential business publication, trusted by over 12.4 million global readers, including CEOs, CFOs, senior executives, investors, and high-net-worth individuals.

Earlier, The World Travel Index 2025 named Davao City as “The Best City to visit in the Philippines”. Davao also consistently placed 3rd among the Cities in Southeast Asia in terms of cleanliness, safety and livability.

These citations followed after the loose-tongued former putschist and Senator Trillanes made a careless assertion that Davao City is the most dangerous place in the Philippines.

Last week the independent Commission on vadInfrastructures rebuffed Trillanes for lying in public in claiming that the ICI had issued a summon to Sen. Christopher “B**g” Go to appear before the probe body.

The recognition of Davao City in the world community of stable peace, safety and its healthy investment climate has drawn the country’s top investors to the City. The Ayala Group, Gokongwei Conglomerates and Cebu-based entreprenuers have recently poured in billions of fresh capital for joint ventures with local business enterprises.

Davao City has also become part of international aitlines destination. Already Singapore, Qatar, Bangkok and HongKong has direct flight to the city. Xiamen Airlines from mainland China moreover flies direct to the City for bulk cargo of durian and other fruit products and fresh and process fish like tuna and other farmed marine species. Davao International Airport is now up for bid for modernization.

There are talks of Japan airline firms flying direct to Davao City which was once known as “Little Tokyo”.
https://mindanaojournal.com/davao-city-a-world-center-of-attraction/

30/10/2025

Will Mindanao Stand on Its Own? (THE THIRD EYE by Carlo Manubag)

For so long, Mindanao has been treated as the nation’s distant cousin—useful for its wealth, yet constantly looked down upon. From being branded with degrading labels such as “Sub-Saharan,” to enduring political pressure and unfair scrutiny, the people of Mindanao have borne it all with quiet strength.

Yet despite the hurts, insults, and injustices, Mindanao stands unbowed. It continues to contribute the largest share of natural wealth and agricultural output to the national treasury, even as many of its own communities remain wanting for support and development.

The question now is no longer about Mindanao’s capacity—it is about recognition. How much longer will the island’s people be treated as second-class citizens in their own land? Mindanao’s resilience
and self-reliance have long been proven. Its rich natural resources, strong industries, and the indomitable spirit of its people form a foundation sturdy enough to sustain an independent nation.

If only the same respect, accountability, and fair governance extended to other regions were given to Mindanao, it would not just survive—it would flourish.

Mindanao does not seek division for pride’s sake, but for dignity’s sake. It seeks a future where equality is not a favor, but a right long overdue. And perhaps, in the end, that is what true unity really means—when every region, every people, stand equally strong under one nation. https://mindanaojournal.com/will-mindanao-stand-on-its-own-the-third-eye-by-carlo-manubag/

📸 tourism.davaocity.gov.ph

30/10/2025

Sorghum Silage Ready; Bring In The Cattle! (FOOD FOR THOUGHT by Manny Piñol)

Three years after our small company, the Southseas Agri-Aqua Ventures Inc. (SAAVI), introduced Sorghum farming in Central Mindanao, we are now all set to contribute to the development of the Cattle and Small Ruminants Industry with the Sorghum Silage.

This was not an easy journey for us because convincing farmers to plant Sorghum and finding market for the grains proved to be great challenges.

Today, we have established our footing and we are ready to produce the Sorghum Silage needed by our Cattle Raisers.

Our seeds are ready and the equipment needed for Silage Production are in place.

Ready na ang pagkain, Baka na lang ang kailangan ng mga magsasaka.

Now, the ball is in the hands of government.
https://mindanaojournal.com/sorghum-silage-ready-bring-in-the-cattle-food-for-thought-by-manny-pinol/

!

!

30/10/2025

Every Peso He Signs (Editorial by Carlo Manubag)

"No one is innocent when power holds the pen that approves the nation’s spending."

Every major flood control project, every school building under construction, every farm-to-market road, every rehabilitation program, and every large-scale public work — all of these pass through the President’s desk. He reviews the plans, approves the budgets, and signs off on every peso spent under his administration.

That is why it is deeply offensive to hear the President claim ignorance of what many now describe as the worst corruption scandal in Philippine history. How can the man who approves every project and every disbursement say he knows nothing? He bears the ultimate responsibility for every financial decision made by his government.

The President is not a mere observer. He is the highest authority of the land, the chief steward of public funds. He knew the weight of this duty the moment he chose to run for office. When he took his oath, he promised to be honest, dependable, and accountable in his service to the Filipino people. That oath was not a ceremonial gesture — it was a sacred vow of leadership and integrity.

Yet what we see today tells a different story. Instead of confronting wrongdoing, this administration appears to prefer silence, deflection, and denial. Worse, his allies, trolls, and even Palace officials continue to mislead the public by blaming the previous administration. This is cowardice disguised as governance, a betrayal of public trust, and a grave insult to every hardworking Filipino taxpayer.

A true leader does not hide behind excuses. He does not protect friends or allies implicated in corruption. A true leader stands firm, takes responsibility, and acts decisively to correct the system.

If this administration is truly serious about fighting corruption, it must begin within the Palace walls. One cannot accept praise for successes yet deny blame for failures. Accountability cannot be selective. It is the foundation of public service.

In the end, the measure of a leader is not found in his speeches or slogans, but in his courage to face the truth and accept responsibility — even when it is uncomfortable or politically costly.

And right now, that courage seems to be missing in Malacañang.
https://mindanaojournal.com/every-peso-he-signs-editorial-by-carlo-manubag/

📸 PCO

30/10/2025

Of palay price ceilings (LETTERS FROM DAVAO by Jun Ledesma )

What is happening these recent days is no longer entertaining as the childish irrelevance of Antonio Trillanes, a fluke in the Philippine Senate.

Shortly before he left for Malaysia to attend the ASEAN Summit, Pres. B**gB**g Marcos announced that he issued an Executive Order 100 that establishes a floor price of palay to protect rice farmers from declining farmgate price. This sounds like another motherhood statement. At the start of his term he took over the helm of the Department of Agriculture with the promise and prospects of prosperity.

But nothing happened. I distinctly remember that China offered to sell several million tons of fertilizer at a marked down price on a government-to-government deal. DA Usec Domingo Panganiban even made a big news about it but this fizzled out along with Panganiban when Marcos and his defense advisers started saber-rattling on possible involvement in the China and Taiwan conflict in addition to the Scarborough claim.

But Marcos Jr. need not reinvent the wheel. His father Marcos Sr. and his DA secretary Arturo Tanco left a legacy, a template, that made the Philippines a rice exporter. Palace spokesperson Kler Castro recently revealed that PBBM has been talking to his late father, he could have just asked him what he did that farmers were so productive then and financially well off during his tenure.

The buying price of palay could never be legislated or decided by the issuance of an Executive Order. The Apo Marcos had the strategy that raised the price of freshly harvested rice always higher than the rice traders and yet the government need not come up with a price subsidy to do so.

Maybe Apo Marcos failed to advise Junior when they had a talk as Usec Castro disclosed. So this is briefly what actually happened to the best of my recollection. The late President Marcos did was to upgrade the National Grains Authority into the National Food Authority. NFA had buying stations in strategic places in Mindanao particularly in the undivided Cotabato province where he constructed a number of irrigation systems. The NFA stations are equipped with solar dryers, rice mills and silos. Each station had sufficient fund to purchase fresh palay harvests. The buying price of palay was always higher than the private traders.

While before traders dictate the price of freshly harvested palay, the farmers can no longer be intimidated because NFA is always there ready to buy their freshly harvested palay.

Newly harvested palay has high level of moisture content. Since most farmers lack drying facilities they are forced to sell their crops within two to three days otherwise it will turn rancid and will be unfit for human consumption.

With NFA, moisture content of unhusked rice can be reduced down to just 12% in solar dryer. In those days solar dryers are simply a vast cemented flooring where palay harvests are spread. Under the heat of the sun the moisture is removed. If the weather is cloudy or inclement palay is dried in silos. After drying NFA will proceed to mill the palay and then distribute the recovered rice ( roughly 60%) to authorize dealers. NFA makes a little profit which is augmented with the sale of byproducts which it sells to hog feed and fish food producers.

NFA has an adjunct agency called Food Terminal Inc. or FTI which has cold storage chain facilities again in strategic places. Its main storage facility is in Taguig because the biggest consumer market is in Metro Manila. FTI handles perishable products, like vegetables, meat and fish, from far flung provinces which are transported from the provinces by refrigerated vans all the way to FTI Taguig where these are sold to wholesalers and supermarkets.

These multi-billion infrastructures which brought bonanza to the farmers however were virtually mothballed when Marcos was ousted and Cory Aquino took over the helms of government. Either out of envy and ignorance of how NFA and FTI functioned, the two agencies were defunded, hundreds of silos and rice mills left to rot and rust. The real estate assets of FTI in Taguig were sold for a song to the oligarchs in Makati who helped feed those who supported the Edsa Revolt.

Five Presidents, including Marcos Jr., had since then taken over Malacanang but no one even bothered to revisit the plan and strategy that made Philippines a rice exporting country. What a shame and neglect. It was not only NFA and FTI that were mothballed, the irrigation systems were likewise neglected. The National Irrigation Authority until now have yet to conduct restoration and maintenance of the network of canals that feed water to rice farms resulting not only waste of irrigation water but destruction of dikes which had served as veritable farm-to-market roads.

What’s infuriating of it all is that the government spent trillions in ghost and substandard flood control projects which, as seen in Oriental Mindoro, even became the principal cause of inundation of rice fields and other farmers crop. Lately, Sec. Vince Dizon bared that they will have to dismantle a flood control projectin Davao de Oro as this only caused floods instead of preventing it.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has two years left. But one month is enough to get the idle NFA and FTI personnel submit to him the templates of these two agencies. I do not think whether Francisco Tiu Laurel would bother for he could have done so in day one instead of reducing the tariffs on imported rice and resort to unmitigated importation which slowly and surely tightened the noose on our farmers necks.

By the way where is Usec Domingo Panganiban? He was part of the Masagana 99 team. https://mindanaojournal.com/of-palay-price-ceilings-letters-from-davao-by-jun-ledesma/

📸DA

30/10/2025

Mindanao Journal's editorial cartoon of the week

30/10/2025

BENTE Productions participates in the Asian Contents and Film Market 2025

From September 19 to 23, 2025, BENTE Productions Inc., the multimedia company of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), took part in the Asian Contents and Film Market (ACFM), held alongside the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the BEXCO Exhibition Center II in Busan, South Korea.

BENTE Productions President Marilyn Manila expresses her excitement towards the films, saying, “It is not just the films that we brought, but the stories of change, stories of our communities that show courage and triumph despite challenges.”

“The opportunity to participate in this event is not just for our institution but for all Filipinos whose voices we strive to amplify. This recognition gives us the strength to continue creating meaningful stories of love and hope. For our community and partners, this is our shared success,” she added.

BENTE Productions’ participation in the ACFM also served as an opportunity to connect with several international streaming platforms to explore the possibility of showcasing the Filipino films to a global audience.

A Major Debut for BENTE Productions

BENTE Productions made a market debut as one of the Filipino production outfits featured by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in the ACFM. It serves as an essential opportunity to feature stories about the communities and share them with a broader audience.

Established on July 19, 2025, the institution focuses on producing meaningful films and stories inspired by the real-life experiences of microfinance communities. Its mission aims to spark inspiration to fight against poverty while promoting local talent in the film industry.

The institution’s first full-length film, I Remember You, was released this year and has received positive feedback from audiences for its storyline and the talent of community members.

For BENTE Productions, participating in BIFF and ACFM 2025 is more than just recognition; it is a significant step towards the global stage.

For more information, visit its official page at . (Josephine Ramos, Junior Writer/CARD MRI)
https://mindanaojournal.com/bente-productions-participates-in-the-asian-contents-and-film-market-2025/

- - - - - - - - -
In Photo: BENTE Productions spearheaded by its President Marilyn Manila (leftmost) brought stories from the microfinance community to the Asian Contents and Film Market in Busan, South Korea.

30/10/2025

Sen. B**g Go provides aids to indigent youths in Valenzuela City

The Malasakit Team of Senator Christopher “B**g” Go, in coordination with local officials, reached out and provided assistance to indigent youth workers in Valenzuela City on Friday, October 24.

“Bawat tulong na naibibigay natin ay isang hakbang papalapit sa mas maliwanag na kinabukasan para sa ating mga kababayan. Bisyo ko ang magserbisyo, kaya’t tuloy-tuloy po ang ating pagtulong sa abot ng makakaya,” Go said in a message.

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth, Go underscored the importance of providing meaningful opportunities for young Filipinos, especially those from underprivileged families, to gain valuable experience and prepare for future careers.

Through the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Government Internship Program (GIP), 33 indigent youth beneficiaries were oriented on the objectives and implementation of the program, which will soon allow them to gain hands-on experience working in various government offices. The program aims to prepare both in-school and out-of-school youths by equipping them with life and workplace skills while also providing them an opportunity to earn income to help support their educational and daily needs.

“Ang GIP ay isang magandang oportunidad para sa ating mga kabataang nangangailangan. Habang natututo sila ng mga kasanayan sa trabaho, nagkakaroon din sila ng pagkakataon na makatulong sa kanilang pamilya at magkaroon ng pag-asa sa mas magandang kinabukasan,” Go said.

He added that empowering the youth through such initiatives strengthens their sense of responsibility and commitment to public service.

“Ang mga kabataang ito ang pag-asa ng bayan. Sa pamamagitan ng programang ito, natutulungan silang maging mas handa, mas responsable, at mas inspiradong makibahagi sa pag-unlad ng ating bansa,” he emphasized.

Held at the Don Pablo Court, Don Pablo Subdivision in Valenzuela City, Go’s team also distributed snacks, pens, balls, shirts, and fans to the beneficiaries.

Senator Go highlighted his efforts in pushing for laws that promote accessible and quality education, including Republic Act No. 12077 or the Student Loan Payment Moratorium During Disasters and Emergencies Act, which he co-authored and co-sponsored, providing financial relief to students with outstanding loans during calamities. He also co-authored and co-sponsored RA 11510, also known as the Institutionalization of the Alternative Learning System Act, which ensures access to education for out-of-school and disadvantaged youth.

Go likewise co-authored and co-sponsored RA 11984 or the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act, which prevents schools from barring students from exams due to unpaid fees; RA 12006 or the Free College Entrance Examinations Act, waiving exam fees for qualified students in private higher educational institutions; and RA 11997 or the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, which increases the teaching supply allowance for public school teachers.

“Patuloy kaming magseserbisyo sa inyo dahil bisyo ko ang magserbisyo at ako ay naniniwala na ang serbisyo sa tao ay serbisyo ‘yan sa Panginoon,” underscored Go, who is known as Mr. Malasakit for his compassionate service to Filipinos in need. https://mindanaojournal.com/sen-bong-go-provides-aids-to-indigent-youths-in-valenzuela-city/

# # #