JOLO, Sulu, Philippines — The municipal government here has allotted some P900,000 to finance a training program for 100 out-of-school youth (OSY) in the filed of livestock production, in an effort to make them productive in their respective communities. Mayor Hussin Amin said the local government shouldered the cost of the training, and equipment needed, including payment for the venue where the training is conducted.

Amin said similar programs will be held in this town in an effort to uplift the living condition of the poor residents. He said training the people on how to earn a living is one of the basic things that his government is pursuing. (Nonoy Lacson)

Tree planters

UPI, Maguindanao — Families of 300 residents, formerly engaged in firewood production and charcoal-making out of trees they illegally cut, now become planters cum environmentalists through a “food for work” scheme designed by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (ARMM’s) present regime in implementing a 300-hectare agro-forest project in Barangay Kibukay here.

Robert Angi, a farmer earning P70 a day for working in a cornfield, admitted having indulged in charcoal-making for the past years just to augment his dismal income albeit unlawful. “This is a great help to my family income and in my desire to stop charcoal-making for good,” Angi said in the vernacular. (Ali Macabalang)

Assistance drive

COTABATO CITY — Barely three months before Malacañang appoints officers-in-charge (OICs) to take over the reins of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the outgoing administration of ARMM acting Gov. Ansaruddin Adiong has doubly intensified its thrusts to reach out to far and underprivileged sectors of the region.

ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo personally led the start of the distribution of palay seeds to farmers among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in three identified return sites in Maguindanao. (Ali Macabalang)

Recitation match

DAVAO CITY — Understanding the sacred writings of Islam is one of the greatest ambitions every Muslim could ever have. But before they could even understand the Qur’an, their task is to fully master Arabic – the original version the book is written. Learning the Semitic language of the Arab world could be daunting – especially for Muslims in the Philippines.

They say learning the language is hard, taking them a lot of years before they could even pronounce every word written in the Qur’an. As this developed, the Malaysian government yearly organizes the world recitation contest to cultivate interest in the Islamic religious book. (Mick Basa)

Peace initiative

PALIMBANG, Sultan Kudarat — A senior military adviser to the government peace panel has appealed to the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to find solutions to stop the “rido” or clan fighting among leaders of its base commands in Central Mindanao.

Brig. Gen. Restituto Aguilar, senior military adviser to the government peace panel, reported an alleged dispute between the leaders of the MILF’s 104th and 105th base commands over a land dispute in this town. “I call on the MILF to solve the clan wars between their base commands now, it’s time for them to discipline their forces,” Aguilar said. (Nonoy Lacson)