Comments on: Mr. Elizaga replies on the Statement of the UP-ASP Cagayan de Oro Project http://blog.cdokay.com/uncategorized/the-rebuttal-of-mr-elizaga-on-the-asp-statement/ CDOKAY..."City of Golden Friendship gud, Okay gyud!" Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:04:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: Elson T. Elizaga http://blog.cdokay.com/uncategorized/the-rebuttal-of-mr-elizaga-on-the-asp-statement/#comment-2278 Elson T. Elizaga Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:42:36 +0000 http://blog.cdokay.com/uncategorized/the-rebuttal-of-mr-elizaga-on-the-asp-statement/#comment-2278 ON "MOCK REPORT": The article written by Ms. Cecil Rodriguez of the Philippine Daily Inquirer contained errors. This is admitted by Rodriguez in an email to me and in a statement sent to heritage1@googlegroups.com, which is the egroup of the Heritage Conservation Advocates (HCA). Let me repeat that I didn't describe the ASP publication as a "mock report". That would have been kind. What I said was worse: "Debatable and NOT scientific". Rodriguez and Geefe Alba from Business World have an audio record of my original statement. ON DEMOCRACY: The election of a person to a government office does not exempt him from scrutiny. When a government official is perceived to be at fault, he has to be examined. Even if he is seen as upright, he has to be checked regularly. Why? Because we pay tax. In 2003, the HCA filed a case against former mayor Vicente Y. Emano and his contractor UKC Builders, Inc. before the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB). EMB decided in our favor. Currently, Emano is facing numerous suits because of financial anomalies repeatedly discovered by the Commission on Audit (COA). If Emano is convicted in court, current law provides that he should be jailed. Execution is no longer an option. ON VIOLATION OF THE CODE OF ETHICS OF ARCHAEOLOGY: See http://elson.elizaga.net/archaeoethics.html. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <em><strong>More from Mr. Elizaga. This was sent to CDOKAY last August 28, 2007</strong></em> Our organization, the Heritage Conservation Advocates (HCA), issued a manifesto of protest against Emano in 2001 when he was still planning to destroy the Huluga archaeological site. HISCCOM was silent. It also didn't protest when Emano bulldozed Huluga in 2003. That year, HCA filed a case against Emano and his contractor UKC Builders, Inc. This year, HCA informed the public about the quarrying and treasure hunting in Huluga. We had a meeting with new mayor Constantino Jaraula, who called us "authorities". He is for heritage preservation. HISCCOM has only issued propaganda. Under pressure, Emano and HISCCOM commissioned the University of the Philippines-Archaeological Studies Program (UP-ASP) in 2004 to produce a report that would attempt to decrease the archaeological value of Huluga. This goal is indicated by three major acts: First, UP-ASP violated archaeological code of ethics by not consulting local historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and the archaeologist Dr. Erlinda Burton, who used to work with the famous British-Kenyan archaeologist Louis S.B. Leakey. UP-ASP didn't even consult the people who claimed ownership of the land excavated by UP-ASP. Second, UP-ASP ignored a midden known to UP-ASP and the National Museum since 2003. A midden is an ancient garbage site, extremely critical to archaeological work. UP-ASP also ignored the fossils and artifacts found on Huluga surface by HCA in 2003, such as the whale harpoon head, which as a National Museum accession number of X-1991-Q2-484. For a detailed discussion of this issue, put "elizaga trash archaeology" in google. My article is in mindanews.com. Third, UP-ASP made a confusing conclusion when it declared Huluga as "a habitation site, but unlikely a settlement site". These terms are SYNONYMOUS in archaeology. One only has to check the online reference-wordsmith.com by lexicographer, linguist and Registered Professional Archaeologist Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer. Instead of filing a case against UP-ASP for doing unethical and unscientific work disadvantageous to the people of the Philippines, HISCCOM wallow in ignorance, and keep repeating the UP-ASP gobbledygook like a bloated parrot. Elson T. Elizaga ON “MOCK REPORT”: The article written by Ms. Cecil Rodriguez of the Philippine Daily Inquirer contained errors. This is admitted by Rodriguez in an email to me and in a statement sent to heritage1@googlegroups.com, which is the egroup of the Heritage Conservation Advocates (HCA).

Let me repeat that I didn’t describe the ASP publication as a “mock report”. That would have been kind. What I said was worse: “Debatable and NOT scientific”. Rodriguez and Geefe Alba from Business World have an audio record of my original statement.

ON DEMOCRACY: The election of a person to a government office does not exempt him from scrutiny. When a government official is perceived to be at fault, he has to be examined. Even if he is seen as upright, he has to be checked regularly. Why? Because we pay tax.

In 2003, the HCA filed a case against former mayor Vicente Y. Emano and his contractor UKC Builders, Inc. before the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB). EMB decided in our favor. Currently, Emano is facing numerous suits because of financial anomalies repeatedly discovered by the Commission on Audit (COA). If Emano is convicted in court, current law provides that he should be jailed. Execution is no longer an option.

ON VIOLATION OF THE CODE OF ETHICS OF ARCHAEOLOGY: See http://elson.elizaga.net/archaeoethics.html.

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More from Mr. Elizaga. This was sent to CDOKAY last August 28, 2007

Our organization, the Heritage Conservation Advocates (HCA), issued a manifesto of protest against Emano in 2001 when he was still planning to destroy the Huluga archaeological site. HISCCOM was silent. It also didn’t protest when Emano bulldozed Huluga in 2003.

That year, HCA filed a case against Emano and his contractor UKC Builders, Inc. This year, HCA informed the public about the quarrying and treasure hunting in Huluga. We had a meeting with new mayor Constantino Jaraula, who called us “authorities”. He is for heritage preservation. HISCCOM has only issued propaganda.

Under pressure, Emano and HISCCOM commissioned the University of the Philippines-Archaeological Studies Program (UP-ASP) in 2004 to produce a report that would attempt to decrease the archaeological value of Huluga. This goal is indicated by three major acts:

First, UP-ASP violated archaeological code of ethics by not consulting local historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and the archaeologist Dr. Erlinda Burton, who used to work with the famous British-Kenyan archaeologist Louis S.B. Leakey. UP-ASP didn’t even consult the people who claimed ownership of the land excavated by UP-ASP.

Second, UP-ASP ignored a midden known to UP-ASP and the National Museum since 2003. A midden is an ancient garbage site, extremely critical to archaeological work. UP-ASP also ignored the fossils and artifacts found on Huluga surface by HCA in 2003, such as the whale harpoon head, which as a National Museum accession number of X-1991-Q2-484. For a detailed discussion of this issue, put “elizaga trash archaeology” in google. My article is in mindanews.com.

Third, UP-ASP made a confusing conclusion when it declared Huluga as “a habitation site, but unlikely a settlement site”. These terms are SYNONYMOUS in archaeology. One only has to check the online reference-wordsmith.com by lexicographer, linguist and Registered Professional Archaeologist Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer.

Instead of filing a case against UP-ASP for doing unethical and unscientific work disadvantageous to the people of the Philippines, HISCCOM wallow in ignorance, and keep repeating the UP-ASP gobbledygook like a bloated parrot.

Elson T. Elizaga

]]> By: Allan Cortez http://blog.cdokay.com/uncategorized/the-rebuttal-of-mr-elizaga-on-the-asp-statement/#comment-2189 Allan Cortez Mon, 03 Sep 2007 09:26:21 +0000 http://blog.cdokay.com/uncategorized/the-rebuttal-of-mr-elizaga-on-the-asp-statement/#comment-2189 It is actually quite revealing (and somehow entertaining, would it be not so sad) that certain people who always claim to be on the "right" and "good" side, are using half truths and non truths to get their issues delivered. For example, the PDI article says clearly "mock report", but in his reply Mr. Elizaga now states cowardly that he never said that. It is sad that the issue was always politicized by Elizaga's group not respecting democratic decisions of the Filipino people (i.e. the population of Cagayan de Oro). He fumes that the "City Council — monopolized by members of the mayor’s political party– enacted an ordinance authorizing the mayor to hire the ASP" and "didn’t consult local historians" (i.e. him). The mayor and the city councilors were duly elected in democratic elections and had therefore the mandate to negotiate this contract. It is again so said that some of our countrymen cannot accept the result of elections and then try to resort to character assassination (not only to Emano, but also to other members of the city council). I am just so happy that Cagayanons are getting more mature as shown in recent elections and did not buy the character assassinations of Mr. Elizaga and Co. . Emano was voted as Vice Mayor with more than 60 % of the votes. I understand that Dr. Burton is from Xavier University, whose motto is "the truth shall set you free - veritas liberabit vos". If Elizaga's group is really concerned about the issue and not about politics, it should go back to the facts and the truth. I hope the accusers have the courage and the heart to apologize. It is actually quite revealing (and somehow entertaining, would it be not so sad) that certain people who always claim to be on the “right” and “good” side, are using half truths and non truths to get their issues delivered. For example, the PDI article says clearly “mock report”, but in his reply Mr. Elizaga now states cowardly that he never said that. It is sad that the issue was always politicized by Elizaga’s group not respecting democratic decisions of the Filipino people (i.e. the population of Cagayan de Oro). He fumes that the “City Council — monopolized by members of the mayor’s political party– enacted an ordinance authorizing the mayor to hire the ASP” and “didn’t consult local historians” (i.e. him). The mayor and the city councilors were duly elected in democratic elections and had therefore the mandate to negotiate this contract. It is again so said that some of our countrymen cannot accept the result of elections and then try to resort to character assassination (not only to Emano, but also to other members of the city council).

I am just so happy that Cagayanons are getting more mature as shown in recent elections and did not buy the character assassinations of Mr. Elizaga and Co. . Emano was voted as Vice Mayor with more than 60 % of the votes.

I understand that Dr. Burton is from Xavier University, whose motto is “the truth shall set you free - veritas liberabit vos”. If Elizaga’s group is really concerned about the issue and not about politics, it should go back to the facts and the truth.

I hope the accusers have the courage and the heart to apologize.

]]>