From the mail:

“Dear Friends,

EDWIN MARTHINE O. LOPEZ
Executive Director
Alter Trade Foundation Inc.”

Israel has failed to defeat the Hezbollah. It caused the massive destruction of Lebanon with untold death, injury, dislocation, misery and sufferings of mostly civilians.

But the best-equipped military force in the Middle East has failed in its mission to finish off the Hezbollah. Instead, Israel has succeeded in creating a new Arab hero.

The Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is now the “Che Guervarra with a turban,” in reference to the Latin American revolutionary whose face is in millions of posters, shirts, buttons, etc. around the world.

Walden Bello, who is now in Lebanon as part of a civil society-parliamentarian mission, reports that Lebanese see him as another rising Gamal Abdel Nasser. He who nationalized the Suez Canal and championed Arab nationalism.

They are still having trouble at Heathrow airport since last week’s reported foiling of a terrorist plot to blow up airliners flying to the US from London.

So, once again the center of attention was focused on this man. He who has long been the centerpiece at an artist’s booth in one of Davao’s malls. He may be the world’s most wanted and maybe even hated man. But here, mall goers just admired the artist’s hands.

This is disturbing for the “freest media” in Asia.

Websites of opposition groups are experiencing attacks in cyberspace. Both the philippinerevolution dot net and dot org sites of the communist party, which I have not visited, had suffered “denial of service” or replaced with “search page.” The site of the research NGO, Ibon Foundation, on the otherhand, has been down for a week.

Has the government extended its “all-out war” into cyberspace?

Crimes rings, not hackers, are the true internet villains today. Does government count as crime ring?

Posted at The ABCs

We have been monitoring the prices of certain items at the public market that includes onions. There has been an erratic price movement of this bulb which is a regular in Filipino cooking.

In our last price watch, onions were at P36 per kilo, down 5.3 percent from the previous week. It’s price ranged from a low of P36 per kilo to a high of P65 on July 10.

Most of the Philippine onions are grown in central Luzon, particularly in Nueva Ecija, where Davaoeno, Alex Monteaguado, heads the police office.

Expect the price of onions to slide down if this report of the importation of 2 million bags from India were to flood the market. Maybe good for the consumers, but truly bad for our farmers. Massive importations will certainly kill the local onion industry.

In the long run, we risk our own food security with dependence on importation. This will ultimately hurt both farmers and consumers.

Posted at The ABCs

The campaign of Davao for an “open skies” policy has gained a tremendous boost last week when NEDA Director General Secretary Romulo Neri brought up the idea to the President.

The President, accordingly, gave consent to study the proposal.

Three years ago, Davao asked for this air liberalization policy but the President granted only the request of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark. Since then, many new foreign air lines - mostly budget carriers - serviced the central Luzon airport.

An “open skies” regime for Davao and the eventual service by more foreign air carriers would augur well to the goals of develoment in Mindanao. It would benefit not only local travelers and foreign tourists, but many Mindanao overseas contract workers returning home from abroad.

Posted at Davao dot come!

The City Council is set to discuss the committee report on the proposed Ordinance to regulate LPG cylinders to protect consumers.

Defective LPG tanks has been one of the key causes of fires in the city and many consumers complained of underweight cylinders.

The proposed measure seeks to regulate the manufacture, repair, requalification, sale, distribution and refilling of the LPG tanks.

Posted at Davao Consumer Net

Some of my schedules for this month:

August 8 - Forum on Child Labor in Commercial Agriculture at Kuya Ed’s Restaurant;

August 10-12 - Mindanao Island Congress of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL);

August 13 - Motorcade and launching of the Davao Musicians Association where I serve as adviser - Magsaysay Park to MTS;

August 15 - Opening Thanksgiving Mass for the Kadayawan 2006 Festival (up to August 20);

August 21 - Cocktail reception for 61st Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia at the Indonesian Trade & Cultural Promotion Center;

August 30 - Septermber 1 - Liberal Leadership Training of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation at the Asia Institute of Management; my topic New Public Management in Practice: Case Study of the City of Davao

Posted at The ABCs

A Washington-based foundation is set to launch next month in such design centers as New York and San Francisco an education campaign for a child-labor-free carpet industry.

RugMark’s search for The Most Beautiful Rug aims to create consumer demand and help eradicate child labor particularly in carpet and rug producing nations as India, Nepal and Pakistan.

The consumer awareness campaign will run for three years.

Buy only carpets and rugs that has the RugMark label. You are assured that it was made not by tiny hands.

Posted at Tiny Hands

Highlights of the Calendar of Business of the City Council regular session on August 8:

Invocation - Councilor April Marie C. Dayap (youth sector representative);

First Reading - Item Nos. 2655 - 2684 (30 Items)

e.g. Item No. 2660 - Letter-request from the Davao Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for exemption from the payment of amusement tax for the benefit concert featuring the Himig Singers on August 17, 2006 at the CAP Auditorium;

Item No. 2678 - Application for Development Permit (DP) of New Fatima Homeowners Association located at Mintrade Drive, Barangay Centro, Agdao District containing an area of 10,198 square meters;

Item No. 2682 - Application for Preliminary Approval & Locational Clearance (PALC) of Catotal Realty and Agri-Dev Corp for a subdivision at Barangay Calinan Proper, Calinan District, containing an area of 39,135 square meters.

Unfinished Business - Item No. 2137-B on the sale of expired food products and those without expiry dates;

Commitee Reports (Deferred Items) - (6 Items)

e.g. Item Nos. 2057, 2067 and 2147 all relative to the reported occupation and illegal cutting of trees of watershed areas in Barangay Carmen, Baguio District, threatening the destruction of sources of water for five barangays;

Item No. 2485 - Situation Report on the Davao City Coastal Zone and Recommendations of the Coastal Resource Management Technical Working Group;

Committee Reports (New Items) - (24 Items)

e.g. Item No. 2407 - Application for DP of Palm Ridge subdivision located at Barangay Malagamot, Buhangin District, containning an area of 56,800 square meters;

Item No. 188 - Request for Congress to enact legislation for the establishment of additional branches of Metropolitan Trial Courts in Davao City.

Posted at The ABCs