GOVERNANCE/POLITICS

COTABATO CITY --- The 44^th founding anniversary celebration of the now peaceful Maluso town in Basilan this week brought together key leaders in the island province.

Among the many officials who graced the event were Gov. Jim Salliman, Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman, who is lone congressional representative of the island province, and local officials led by Mayor Hanie Bud.

COTABATO CITY  --- One of this year’s recipients of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awards is a Maranao who is a member of the Bangsamoro parliament.

Ziaur-Rahman Alonto Adiong shall receive the TOYM 2019 award on December 13 during a special ceremony at the Manila Hotel.

The grant of TOYM citations is an annual activity of the Philippine Jaycees Incorporated, meant to honor Filipinos with remarkable community service feats.

Adiong, more known as “Zia,” is younger brother of Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr.

COTABATO CITY  – The Maguindanao Electric Cooperative (Magelco) will resort to drastic move in a bid to let its member-consumers into paying monthly electric bills for the cooperative to free from the bondage of debt.

Magelco General Manager Ashary P. Maongco said the cooperative have no other recourse but to implement a power shut down unless member consumers settle its obligation with the power distributor.

COTABATO CITY --- The local government unit of Isabela City received P5 million from the Dangerous Drugs Board for a rehabilitation facility for abusers to hasten the resolution of domestic narcotics issues.

Isabela City is one of two cities in the now markedly peaceful island province of Basilan in the Bangsamoro region. The province also covers Lamitan City, the provincial capital, and 11 neighboring towns.

MANILA - The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) signed on Wednesday a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a multiyear partnership to strengthen the government’s efforts for the Philippines to reap the benefits of demographic dividend and for other initiatives to integrate population dynamics as well as reproductive health issues with sustainable development planning and programming.

NGCP Advisory: Scheduled power interruption in parts of General Santos City, South Cotabato, and Sarangani province.

Affected: SOCOTECO II Schedule:

November 28 (8AM - 6PM) November 28 (8AM - 12NN)

December 1 (8AM - 5PM) Reasons: Preventive maintenance activities at Gensan Substation.

Specific areas that will be affected shall be determined by the electric cooperative.

NGCP will exert all efforts to restore power earlier, or as scheduled.

COTABATO CITY --- North Cotabato Gov. Nancy Catamco has asked indigenous communities not to move out of their earthquake-stricken ancestral lands to keep their entitlement to such domains.

Catamco said in an emailed statement Monday that declaring “no build zones” in ancestral lands of indigenous groups in the province has to be subjected to dialogues first among tribal chieftains and the provincial government.

KORONADAL CITY - The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) honored over the weekend at least 70 individuals as this year’s BayanI Ka! Awards, known as the agency’s local version of Nobel prize for volunteers in the development sector.

The Barangay Sub-project Management Committee of Kaltuad in Glan Sarangani Province was also recognized for their Best Improved Local Governance Category while the Keytodac Water System Association from Lebak, Sultan Kudarat was proclaimed as winner for Best Sustained Community Group.

KIDAPAWAN CITY - The Commission on Population and Development XII (POPCOM) in partnership with Department of Health (DOH) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the provincial government of Cotabato jointly launched the Intensified National Program on Population and Family Planning (NPPFP) through a kick-off at the provincial gymnasium in Barangay Amas.

COTABATO CITY  - The moral governance inspired leadership is considered as “good harvest” for the Bangsamoro Government.

This was how Interior and Local Government Minister Attorney Naguib Sinarimbo described the 28 Local Government Units (LGU’s) conferred today in the Seal of Good Local Governance awarding by the Department of Interior and Local Government in Manila.

“This made us stand the longest on stage to join Secretary (Eduardo) Ano congratulating the awardees in our region,” he said in his facebook post.