by BJ Patiño, Panglantaw Mindanao   Davao City’s sanitary landfill is home to a small community whose residents engage in scavenging among the trash. The filthy surroundings that put their health at risk are also their only source of livelihood. This is a glimpse into their lives, their everyday struggles and their…(Read More)

  by Germelina Lacorte, Panglantaw Mindanao   Pro-environment advocates in Mindanao are protesting the construction of coal-fired power plants in the island, including one on near a fishing village that lies between Davao City and Santa Cruz town in Davao del Sur.   The website Climate Journal said the Aquino government is building…(Read More)

by Mick Jethro Basa, Panglantaw Mindanao   BALUT ISLAND, Philippines – “If the waters are calm, we could reach Indonesia in three hours or so,” Alfrede Lahabir points his lips toward the window of his nipa hut, where the Celebes sea can be seen.   “We go to Indonesia at least once a month,” he says…(Read More)

  by Keith Kristoffer Bacongco, Panglantaw Mindanao   An undetermined number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from different parts of Mindanao – referred to colloquially as ‘bakwit’, from the verb ‘evacuate’ – have not returned to their homes years after they sought refuge from the war. Local officials say at least 8,000 families of IDPs…(Read More)

  by Ruby Thursday More, Panglantaw Mindanao   Unknown to most Mindanawons, the martial arts Kuntao Silat used to be commonly practiced by Muslims in Mindanao. During the martial law years however, its followers had to train behind closed doors to evade suspicion. Restoring the practice of Kuntao Silat is the life mission of Abdulnasser…(Read More)

  by Alex Baluyut, Panglantaw Mindanao   Bukidnon is the home of the so-called Filipino cowboys. Clad in denim pants, leather boots and trademark high-crowned wide-brimmed hat, they maintain the appearance of the archetypal United States cowboy. This similarity is more than skin-deep as it was the Americans who established ranching…(Read More)

  by Alex Baluyut, Panglantaw Mindanao   The Teduray-Lambangian, an indigenous peoples group in Mindanao, practices a sustainable farming system that they call “sulagad.” However, the popularity of synthetic fertilizers and its threat to their land’s fertility has prompted them to acquire new knowledge — how to make their own organic fertilizer — by partnering…(Read More)

  by Bernard Julian Patiño, Panglantaw Mindanao   A tricyboat is a mode of transportation that’s popular in Davao City and other parts of Mindanao. It is a public utility vehicle that is basically configured like a tricycle except that its engine is the motor of a pump boat, thus the name. Practically…(Read More)

  by Alex Baluyut, Panglantaw Mindanao   Along the mountainous boundary between Bukidnon province and Cagayan de Oro City, a Higaonon community in Sitio Tigahon holds a vigil months after typhoon “Sendong” brought heavy rains in the area. The deluge sent river waters breaching its banks, rampaging into the port cities of Cagayan de Oro…(Read More)

  by Bernard Julian Patiño, Panglantaw Mindanao   A women farmers association in Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur this year facilitated the installation of simple solar systems in ten of its household members in Barangay Begong for their electricity needs. Each system is capable of powering a couple of light bulbs, a radio and cell…(Read More)