Hurt as they are, the Mangudadatus assured yesterday members of the Ampatuan clan they would only prosecute the suspects in the Nov. 23 massacre of their relatives and that they would not subject to rido (vendetta) all Ampatuans not implicated in the atrocity.

Radyo Mo Nationwide (RMN)-Zamboanga joined the entire media industry in the country in the day of mourning for the slain colleagues in the profession who were part of the 56 victims in the recent Maguindanao massacre.
RMN Zamboanga Station Manager Joel T. Sanson yesterday afternoon led his team of news and program directors, reporters, anchormen, correspondents, disc jockeys, administrative personnel and staff in lighting candles and saying one prayer of peace and justice for the fellow mediamen who were brutally killed while performing their duty.

The Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School (FTTS) in Pitogo, this city yesterday celebrated Kurban (Turkish word for “Feast of Sacrifice” or Eidil Adha for Arabs)  with the distribution of plastic bags of beef to the city’s indigent or poor families.
Kurban is celebrated traditionally every year to share to poor people, supporters, local officials, law enforcers and friends of the school local and abroad. Its origin of celebration came from  the Republic of Turkey.

JOLO, Sulu – Sulu Vice Gov. Nur Anna “Lady Ann” Sahidulla  and Sulu 2nd District Rep Munir Arbison have bolted the  ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party  in this  province and have joined the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of business tycoon Danding Cojuangco last Monday.

A former barangay chairman in Buug Municipality, Zamboanga del Sur was               seriously wounded while his companions escaped unhurt after a gunman opened fire on them at Purok 4, Labrador, Buug last Tuesday night.
Fighting for his life in the hospital was Mariano Repuli, 49, married. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the body.

To fittingly celebrate Eid’l Adha, Mayor Celso Lobregat yesterday joined the Filipino Turkish Tolerance School (FTTS) in distributing beef meat to indigent families and various military and police units as well as the jail center. 
The distribution of the beef meat has become a tradition of the FTTS, led by School Director Mehmet Cetin during the celebration of Hariraya Hajj as a show of gratitude to Zamboanguenos.

Hundreds of students of Labuan National High School were joined by the faculty and staff in expressing their deepest gratitude to District 2 Congressman Erbie A. Fabian for the recently completed two-storey four classroom building in their campus.
During a simple inauguration and turn-over ceremony, Rep. Fabian was joined by officials of the school, barangay officials and DPWH officials who supervised the construction of the edifice.

Lawyer Vic R. Solis yesterday disclosed that the Supreme Court last Wednesday ruled that a “candidate is liable for an election offense only for acts done during the campaign period, not before.”

The National Economic and Development Authority-9 (NEDA-9) conducted the Regional Launching and Consultation on Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (DRR/CCA) in  Local Development Planning and Decision-making Processes at a local hotel last Thursday.
It is a project implemented nationwide by the NEDA,  with the assistance from the United Nations Development Programme and the Australian Agency for International Development.

“An early bird catches worm.”
With this old adage and without much fanfare, Congressman Erbie A. Fabian yesterday afternoon filed his certificate of candidacy with the City Comelec Office for reelection as congressman in District 2 under the Nacionalista Party of Senator Manny Villar.

Civil society groups and the city government have jointly called the public to rally behind the promotion of culture of peace and multi-cultural understanding and respect amid the hostilities and atrocities that are plaguing the island of Mindanao.
The call came as stakeholders here launched this year’s Mindanao Week of Peace celebration with a grand parade yesterday morning.

Re-electionist Mayor Celso L. Lobregat and resigned priest Crisanto “Monsi” dela Cruz lead voters preference by a wide and comfortable margin for next year’s elections for mayor and vice mayor respectively, according to a survey conducted among workers and office employees of 45 local construction firms released yesterday.
Of the 2,200 respondents, Lobregat tallied 85.58% as the preference for mayor while Nationalist People’s Coalition or NPC official mayoralty bet Mannix Dalipe got 9.91% with 3.51% undecided

Mayor Celso Lobregat has hailed Zamboangueños from different faiths, cultures and traditions as instruments of peace even as he lamented that people of Mindanao have long been in search of the very elusive peace in this part of the country. 
“All of us are in search of a lasting peace. Muslims, Christians, Lumads and people from other faiths want peace. This is the call that we shall continue to heed with all the efforts, with all the commitment and with all the dedication we can muster,” Mayor Lobregat said yesterday during the opening ceremony of the Mindanao Week of Peace at the jampacked EnriquezSports Complex in Baliwasan.

New flying resgistrants managed to register in an island town in Basilan during the last October special registration of voters conducted in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), according to local residents.
In a report sent to the Comelec in Manila by local folks of Tabuan Lasa municipality, Basilan, residents alleged that some 900 residents were transported to their town from different places to include Tongkil in Sulu, Maluso  and Isabela on board vessels for the voter’s listing thereat. Some, they said, came from Zamboanga City, and other nearby villages.

The municipality of Roxas in Zamboanga Del Norte will be soon become a super municipality in the country.
A group of European investors signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the local officials recently for the implementation of development projects in Roxas that were approved by the Office of the President, Department of Transportation and Communication, Department of Interior and Local and Government, Board of Investment, Department of Finance, Anti-Money Laundering Office and many others.