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Dr. Aland Mizell Datu Bago awardees: Touching the lives of Filipinos
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Dr. Aland Mizell Datu Bago awardees: Touching the lives of Dabawenyos
“HEROISM is not a concept brought by recognition and praises but an innate human trait stemming from idealism. It lives within us as we keep our belief, optimism, and aspirations alive… I commend the Datu Bago Awardees 2018 for their significant efforts and involvement in the growth and development of the City of Davao; and for their invaluable contribution to the preservation of the Davaoeno cultural heritage. We are giving this award, not only to recognize their deeds, but also to inspire future generations to do the same. I hope they remain steadfast in upholding their ideals as they carry on doing their good work for our home city,” wrote President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his message on the occasion of the Datu Bago Awards 2018 which was held last Tuesday, March 13, at the Royal Ballroom of the Royal Mandaya Hotel, Davao City.
CITY Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio
The most senior Datu Bago awardees who attended the special event as part of celebrating the 81st Araw ng Davao included Antonio T. Uy, Aida Rivera Ford, Jesus G. Dureza, Julian P. Rodriguez, Irene M. Santiago, Rizal D. Aportadera, Joji Ilagan Bian, Paul G. Dominguez, Ma. Luisa L. Aportadera, and Alfonso Guino-o.
PAST President of the DBAO Guillermo P. Torres Jr., (DBA 2011)
It was last year when I asked some candidates for the Mutya ng Davao who among the Datu Bago Awardees they admire the most and serve as inspiration for them. Sadly, not one was able to answer my question. The Datu Bago Awards have been conferred upon outstanding individuals (both Filipinos and foreigners who have made Davao City their home) who have made significant contributions to Davao City. The Datu Bago Award was created in 1969 under the leadership of then Mayor Elias B. Lopez, a Bagobo.
JAPANESE Consul Tomoko Dodo, Paul G. Dominguez (DBA 1998), Secretary Jesus G. Dureza (DBA1983), Councilor Halila Sudagar and Councilor Jimmy Dureza.
This highest award given to Davaoenos is, according to Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, “A celebration of the indomitable spirit of the Davaoeno, his resilience, his strength, and his ability to stand tall amidst any crisis. It is only fitting, therefore, that we give this award during the Araw ng Davao festivities—a time when we look back to appreciate the lessons of the past and move forward to an even brighter future.”
JOJI Ilagan-Bian (DBA 1997), Alfonso Guinoo (DBA 2004) with Michael Dakudao, Dr. Emily Soriano and Dr. Karen Alabado-Laurel and husband.
“We are one with our fellow Davaoenos in this celebration as we pledge our continuing commitment to serve and contribute to the development of our beloved city…We commit to continue finding innovative ways to make our city progressive and work towards a better quality of life for all. May our Datu Bago Awardees serve as inspiration to all Davaoenos,” stated the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Datu Bago Awardees Organization, Inc., Dr. Guillermo “Willie” P. Torres, Jr., who served tirelessly from 2011-2016. Dr. Torres was among the Datu Bago Award recipients for 2011 which included the Reverend Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla, D.D.
The Datu Bago Awardees Organization’s Board of Trustees under the chairmanship of Councilor Pilar C. Braga (2016-2019) is comprised of outstanding citizens of Davao City who are all Datu Bago awardees themselves. These are Councilor Pilar C. Braga (Chair), Dr. Guillermo P. Torres, Jr. (Immediate Past Chair), lawyer Antonio B. Arellano (Vice-Chair), Amelia B. Bonifacio (Trustee and chair of the Education Committee), Fe Bada Arobo (Trustee and Chair of Membership Committee), Dr. Perfecto A. Alibin (Trustee and Former Chair of Search Committee), Dr. Marina Bello-Ruivivar (Secretary), Carmelina V. Francia (Treasurer), Salvacion U. Leuenberger (Auditor).
DATU Bago descendants joined the prestigious event for the first time.
AMELIA B. Bonifacio, Datu Bago Awardee 2015, DBAO member of the Board of Trustees.
Chosen as 2018 Datu Bago Awardees are Bro. Carlito M. Gaspar, Norma T. Javellana, Belen C. Laud, Dr. Aland David Mizell, Ricardo N. Obenza, Jr., Beethoven N. Sur and Nieto L. Vitto.
Bro. Carlito M. Gaspar or Bro. Karl, is a Redemptorist missionary, theologian, anthropologist and prolific writer. He has been championing the indigenous peoples cultural and resource rights and as such, has been promoting a deeper understanding of lumad culture among the non-lumad population of Davao City.
Norma T. Javellana is a proud Davaoena “whose vision for the community and environment made her an environmental pioneer and traiblazer, and a long-term advocate for the protection of children’s rights.”
Belen C. Laude was nomianted for the Datu Bago Award by cooperatives and organizations on the basis of her “outstanding leadership and tireless effort;” “exemplary services and dedication;” “outstanding performance, service and leadership;” and for being a “model of excellence.” Laude received numerous national awards for her brand of self-less community services. She is a cancer survivor and is engaged in SMILES for its cancer awareness program.
Dr. Aland David Mizell is an American social scientist who has been living in Davao City for more than a decade to serve the disadvantaged and the marginalized. He established the Minority Care International to put up programs to benefit the underprivileged youth; including scholarships for the disadvantaged minority students to enable them to study in local colleges and universities. Dr. Mizell also organized a student exchange program that sends two Filipino students to the USA for study and internship annually.
Ricardo N. Obenza, Jr. is an environmentalist, teacher and visual artist who has devoted his life to ensure a better environment through arts and tree planting programs for Davao City’s future generation to enjoy. He has gained international exposure when he was featured in a Japan Foundation magazine where he was described as a modest, local activist whose way of life and teaching is a work of art in itself.
Beethoven N. Sur is a Philippine Coast Guard Auxilliary director who leads volunteers in safeguarding the perilous coast of Southeastern Mindanao while assuring the safety of life and property at sea. His advocacy includes environmental protection and preservation; support for education; and humanitarian outreach operations. Not to mention Sur’s popular programs for fitness and health.
Nieto L. Vitto is an educator who focused in the field of Special Education in USEP. He also headed a program for BS Social Services major in the Care of Older Persons and the BS International Studies major in Japanese Language Studies at the Mindanao Kokusai Daigako. Vitto has trained coaches and athletes with disabilities and was instrumental in their participation in national and regional competitions.
Despite the long wait for Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s appearance, this year’s 48thConfernment of Datu Bago Awards 2018 program went smoothly with the strict madam Amelia B. Bonifacio as program host. Congratulations to all the Datu Bago Awardees for 2018; and the Datu Bago Awardees Organization’s Board of Trustees for a job very well done.
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Dr. Aland Mizell Met with Maria Lourdes Aranal Sereno current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
Maria Lourdes Aranal Sereno is the 24th and current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. At age 52, she became the second youngest person and the first woman to head the judiciary.Lawyer-academician Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno was appointed on August 16, 2010 as the 169th Justice and on August 24, 2012 as the 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Born on July 2, 1960, she is the youngest to be so appointed to the SC in the Philippines
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Israel Prepares To Go To War With Hezbollah
If war breaks out again soon between Israel and Hezbollah, I would not be surprised. Iran has become the winner of the current Greater Middle East project, although the strategy was intended to redraw the map in favor of the West and Israel. Because Iran is entrenching itself in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, the Gulf countries, and Lebanon, Israel will not sit by idly while Iran roots itself into these neighboring nations. Basically, Israel is preparing for a proxy war with Tehran on its northern border of neighboring Lebanon, an area backed by Hezbollah.Today Hezbollah has become stronger and has the military might to destroy the Israeli army. This scenario is not too dissimilar from what is happening today in Syria. Turkey saw as an opportunity to fill the vacuum and to flex its muscles on the world stage, justifying its ongoing war against the Kurds by giving the excuse that it is clearing terror from its border. Now Israel is going to use Turkey’s rationale to purge Hezbollah from its border. Turkey, Russia, and Iran view America’s retreat from the Middle East as an opening to redesign the Middle East the way they want. Because of America‘s failed leadership under the Obama and now the Trump administrations, few world leaders take America seriously anymore, so that Washington has lost its influence there. Continue reading
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President Trump Should Move US Embassy from Iraq to Erbil As Capital of Kurdistan
The United States has a track record of fighting its wars in the Middle East by generally recruiting local forces as proxies but then casting them off when regional politics intercede. Particularly evident in the Middle East, this pattern of abandoning allies is one of America’s least appealing characteristics. This failure to stick by those who take risks on its behalf in the region has led to mistrust in both the Middle East and in some other areas of the world. Currently, this syndrome is happening again in Kurdistan, as a Kurdish militia group known as the Peshmerge, proved to be the United States’ best ally against the Islamic State, only to be jettisoned in its time of need.On December 6th, US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and initiated the process of moving America‘s embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city. The move sparked global condemnation from world leaders especially Arab and European ones. After World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain took control of Palestine including Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. In 1948, however, Israel’s independence gave the newly reconstituted nation East Jerusalem and Jordan the West portion, but at the end of the 1967 Six –Day War with Syria, Egypt and Jordan, Israel seized control of the entire city. America should have sanctioned Jerusalem as the capital at Israel’s independence rather than today. Continue reading
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Commission on Higher Education Department and Social Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Business Sign a Memorandum of Understanding on College Education Behind Bars (CEBB) Nationwide Expansion
More than 68 inmates are getting another chance at leading a productive life once they get out of prison with an earned college degree obtained from the University Southeastern Philippines through the College Education Behind Bars initiative. The program, the first in the Philippines and possibly in all of Asia, in collaboration with the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP), through a Memorandum of Agreement with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Social Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Business Institute (SETBI), has successfully launched the College Education Behind Bars (CEBB). Inmate students enrolled in USEP and will complete college courses taught by USEP faculty. Before students enrolled in the program, SETBI interviewed them about their motivation, length of sentence, and background. USEP administered the admissions exam and screened detainees for basic literacy and readiness for college, using such assessment tools as the Test of Adult Basic Education to determine their grade level and vocational assessment needs. Out of the three hundred assessed, seventy passed the entrance exam with forty-five males and twenty-five females qualifying. SETBI is offering the first batch of students two courses on the degree plan for a Bachelor of Information Technology (IT) and a Bachelor of Agri Business and intends to teach Social Entrepreneurship and Hotel and Restaurant Management courses for a Bachelor of Science. In collaboration with USEP, SETBI determines the college degree plan, develops the curriculum, and governs the management structure of the partnership between the prison and the university. What makes the College Education Behind Bars unique is that it incorporates the college education program with a recovery program. Inmate students also take a recovery class as well recovery program classes, the prerequisites for inmates to enroll in the program. CHED Commissioner, Dr. J. Prospero E. De Vera III, praised USEP’s President Dr. Lourdes C. Generalao, Dr. Aland Mizell, Attorney Susan Cariaga, BJMP RO-XI Regional Director, J/Ssupt. Amelia Abarriao Rayandayan, Jail Warden JSupt. Grace S. Taclun and Assistant Warden JSInsP Robertto C. Gotico for this noble project designed for inmates not to waste their lives but to experience productive years while in prison. CHED Commissioner Dr. Prospero would like to support jointly and for the Philippines Commission of Higher Education to recognize officially the Education Behind Bars program, so that CHED will adopt the initiative as a nationwide educational mode. Continue reading
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Davao City Councilor Pilar C. Braga Privilege Speech on College Education Behind Bars
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Dr. Aland Mizell Receives Commendation
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Dr. Aland Mizell, President of Minority Care International, at the Philippines Councilor’s League’s 3rd Quarterly National Executive Officers and National Board Meeting, Davao City, September 18, 2017
The president of the Social Entrepreneurship Institute, Dr. Aland Mizell, told several thousand councilors attending the Philippines 3rd Quarterly National Executive Officers-National Board (NEO-NB) Meeting and 2nd 
Series of Continuing Local Legislative Education Program (CLLEP) of the Philippine Councilors League that it is an undeniable fact that we live in a society where people do bad things, sometimes so bad that being to sent to prison is the only option. The event was held at the SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang Premier, Davao City on Monday, September 18, 2017. Dr. Mizell added that it is also an undeniable fact that most of the inmates inside the jail today will not be in forever, and sooner or later they will be free to go back into society. The question is will their re-entry be a one-way trip? Will each of them leave the jail never to return? To follow that route, inmates must know how to succeed when they re-enter society. Statistics are stacked against them. When prisoners get out, eventually, most of them find themselves back in. There are many reasons for the recidivism, but studies consistently show that the primary cause is unemployment. On the outside they need a job to eat, a place to live, skills to support their family, and the ability to hold their head high and know they can handle the freedom. But jobs are hard to find when they carry a prison record with them. Still, they cannot use that as an excuse. With solid training and a recovery program to transform lives, released prisoners can overcome a prison record and the stigma. Dr. Mizell concluded that we still have more work to do. We need to initiate College Education Behind Bars in every jail in the Philippines. The more this programs is reproduced in other jails, the less money the jails have to spend. In the future, we need to prepare as many inmates as possible to return to society as productive, law abiding citizens. Some city councilors indicated an interest in replicating the program in their cities as well. Continue reading
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Dr. Aland Mizell, President of Minority Care International, Receives Prison Education Award
The president of the Social Entrepreneurship Institute, Dr. Aland Mizell, receive
e in founding this innovative program for the incarcerated, and for his effort to show that learning has the power to change lives. The award was presented during the BJMP’s 26th Anniversary Gala, which was held in Davao City on August 24, 2017. Dr. Mizell’s being selected to receive this award highlights MCI‘s strong commitment to community service and to providing bright and motivated students with opportunities to experience the transformational power of higher education. During the ceremony the Mayor thanked Dr. Mizell for his noble work on behalf of the Davao City community and the Philippines.Mayor Duterte said that the rehabilitation programs of the BJMP lead to the reformation of the detainees and help them to become law-abiding and productive members of society once again. The BJMP–Davao regional director, Senior Superintendent Amelia Rayandayan, thanked Dr. Mizell for implementing this model rehabilitation program. She said that increased educational opportunity is key to providing economic stability for both ex-offenders and their families, to reducing recidivism, and to securing long-term success after their release. Dr. Mizell acknowledged that a college degree tears down barriers that block gainful employment and also keeps men and women from returning to prison, although many outsiders fail to recognize this potential. Continue reading
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