The Provincial Environment and Development Office has recently recommended to close the Layawan River in Sangkol, Dipolog City to all haulers of sand and gravel. PEDO action Officer Remelo Damuag disclosed that the river has already been battered of constant extraction and has no time to recover its minerals. He disclosed that the river has been the usual source of sand and gravel of private permit holders and the city government for its various infrastructure projects.

To prevent further destruction like soil erosion and farm destruction, the PEDO planned to recommend to the Provincial Mining and Regulatory Board and the Office of the Provincial Governor to stop the extraction. Reports said that the landowners of the other side of the river and even the Sangguniang Pambarangay of Silawe, Polanco, Z.N. were already alarmed of the present status of the river. Both complained about the threat posed by the regular extraction by the Dipolog City government which prompted the office of the provincial governor to suspend the approval of the gratuitous permit asked by Dipolog.

The refusal to renew the gratuitous permit applied by the city government prompted Mayor Evelyn Uy to file a mandamus suit against Gov. Yebes. On the other hand, Gov. Yebes sued the former mayor Roberto Uy of Theft of Minerals and Abuse of Authority as two dumptrucks owned by the city government were allegedly seized for hauling gravel and sand without securing a permit. (Press Freedom, Vol. XIX No. 40)

The Zamboanga del Norte Federation of Visual Artists, Inc. (ZANFEVA) has invited international visual artists to conduct a two-day art workshops and exhibition at the Plenary Hall, ZN Convention and Exhibition Center, Dipolog City on July 1 and 2, 2007. According to ZANFEVA President DON GURREA, the team of visual artists is led by ALMA QUINTO from the University of the Philippines, Diliman and Japanese artist MIHO NAKANISHI.  TRAUMA, INTERRUPTED (www.trauma-interrupted.org), a team composed of faculty members at the University of the Philippines, presents the HOUSE OF COMFORT ART PROJECT which aims to empower marginalized communities through a collaborative and interactive way of making art. 

This art project is a work in progress that started in 2005 and is traveling in selected areas nationwide. It is currently built from one community to another as the team touches base with women and children who participate by stitching their quilts of dreams. It is envisioned as a collapsible, modular, portable structure with a roof, walls, windows, doors, kitchen, etc. very much like a real house, but where each element of the house will represent a participant's life.  The house will be mostly made of cloth from fabric scraps, old clothes and foam.

The resultant House will be exhibited in some selected areas where the workshops were held and possibly in Japan and Mongolia.  In Dipolog, target participants are the visual artists, cultural workers, art educators and Youth Residents from the Balay Dalangpan Sa Kabataan (DSWD) in Sta. Isabel and from the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth (DSWD) in Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte. (The New Nandau, Vol. XVI No.53)