If there is anything that Councilor El Cid Familiaran must be given credit for, he has expressed alarm over the spate of big time crimes in Bacolod City.
And he is right in that these incidents could deter investors from coming into the city to make their business here. When they find out that they cannot be sure of police protection for their investments. That’s a reality. And City Mayor Evelio Leonardia need not remind Supt. Edgardo Ordaniel of the Bacolod City police not to allow robberies like that of the F & C Pawnshop and Jewelry Store to recur. Unfortunately, the warning has become superfluous with the most recent and spectacular break in of the pawnshop by more than a dozen robbers. That was just one of the several major criminal incidents that had rocked Bacolod the last few months. And most of these remain unsolved. Like the murder of Atty. Chua of Barangay Villamonte. That was why I was sort of alarmed recently when I spotted a lot more tanod outposts in several subdivisions areas of the city. Not only in Capitol Heights where police inaction to calls for help had remained unheeded by the local lawmen. Now, if you will notice, most of these incidents had happen in Villamonte. And Familiaran is right. If this continues, there may come a time when those already inside the city may eventually pack up and go elsewhere as in Talisay City, where the chief policeman, Supt. Tomas Martir, has been doing great guns in running after criminals. One reason for the decision to put up tanod outposts in the Capitol Heights are the report by local residents that their call for police assistance in curbing robberies have remained virtually unheeded. And efforts to get the police to solve thefts and robberies have remained forgotten. So, what do the local residents do? Hire their own security force, not ideal because it means added expense to subdivision villagers, but a must if one wants safety to a certain extent. That was the reason why my daughter, Mate, paid through the nose for a contribution to the hiring of a Tanod to man the two outposts in Kalamansi Street. That is not supposed to be done. It is just another street, beside that of the adjacent one. But the Avocado outpost cannot prevent the entry into our street of thieves. These are reportedly form neighboring Fortune Town. And, perhaps, some other nearby haunt of criminals. Oh, the police will give you all their theories about who must have robbed your place. But that’s as far they can go. Nothing else after that. It is good that the Bacolod City Prosecutors office had filed a robbery in band charge against the 20 members of the so-called Ozamis gang and the driver of the van in robbing the F & C Pawnshop and Jewelry Store along Gonzaga Street, Saturday. Wagner Manggol of Camaloc Tabuk, Kalinga Apayao, Gudaneco Monopollo Jr. with unknown address: Henry Bagiwan of San Carlos Heights, Baguio City James Gonzales of Cubao, Quezon City, were among the names cited in the information filed by the City Prosecutors Office. They also named as Rolan Tambasen, 45, driver of the Maroon Escapade van rented by the suspects and 16 other John Does. Supt. Ordaniel said a witness saw Tambasen at the driver’s seat of the van while the robbery was in progress. After wards, when the policemen arrived in Brgy. 36, they are same the packing tape already around Tambasen’s neck. In fairness, Regional Police director, Chief Supt. Agrimeoro Cruz, immediately ordered the relief of BCPO intelligence chief, Senior Inspector Jose Mulleta Saturday. He appointed Insp. Mark Jungco as his temporary replacement while the search is going on for the permanent replacement of Multa. Frank Carbon, head of the Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the series of robbery incidents could send potential investors away. While Ordaniel also blamed the businessmen for failure to exert effort to secure their establishments. Negros Occidental Provincial police officer Senior Supt. Celestino Guara, claimed that three of the suspects were spotted in a resort in the eastern part of Negros Occidental after the Saturday robbery. If true, how come the police did not try to arrest the suspects? Afraid of a firefight? The Visayan Daily Star Rolly Espina
0 Comments
A Bacolod City Technical School will soon rise in this city as the Sangguniang Panlungsod approved on first reading yesterday the resolution authored by Councilor El Cid Familiaran, establishing the said school. Familiaran said this is to cope with the demand for technical/technological work that necessitates for Bacolod City to review its own policies and readiness towards this reality. A positive response to this reality will enable the city to strategically address the gaps, especially in the field of education, vis-‘-vis for work opportunities in the country and around the world.
Familiaran’s resolution also states that there is a need for the City of Bacolod to establish a free vocational/technical/technological school that will prepare its youths as human resources to meet the global demand for work. The proposed site for this school is the Food and Southbound Terminal, and its surrounding areas in Brgy. Alijis. To implement this ordinance, the resolution states that the city will allocate an initial fund.*(EBColmo) Negros Daily Bulletin Edith Colmo A proposed ordinance that seeks to establish a Bacolod City Technical School was passed on first reading Wednesday by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Authored by Councilor El Cid Familiaran, the proposal said the demand for technical/technological work requires the Bacolod City government to review its policies and readiness towards this reality. Positively responding to this reality will enable the city to strategically address the gaps, especially in the field of education, vis-à-vis the work opportunities in the country and around the world, it said. It added there is a need for the City to establish a free vocational/technical/technological school that will prepare its young as human resources to meet the demand for work globally. Bacolod City should consider the Food and Southbound terminal and its surrounding areas in Brgy. Alijis, as site of the Bacolod City Technical School, it said. by CGS Visayan Daily Star Bacolod City Water District officials inaugurated yesterday the firm's waterline extension in Brgy. Vista Alegre, Bacolod City, that will provide potable water to about 565 households in the far flung puroks of Villa Nena, Oto and Kapisan.
Baciwa has put up pipelines measuring 1,860 lineal meters or approximately 1.8 kilometers from its pumping station in Vista Alegre. The project which was started on Feb. 1, 2012 and was accomplished in July 31 by virtue of Board Resolution No. 009, series of 2012, has an actual project cost of P961,219.73. The inauguration was led by Baciwa chairman of the board Lawrence Villanueva, director Marichi Ramos, general manager Julie Ann Carbon, engineers Samuel Penado and Jenelyn Gemora, assistant general manager for operations, and engineering department manager, respectively, among others. Bacolod Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Councilors Archie Baribar, El Cid Familiaran and Em Ang, and former Baciwa director Greg Gasataya also attended the inauguration and blessing of the project Villanueva said Baciwa water is affordable, clean and safe at P20.80 per cubic meter or equivalent to 5 gallons of water or 2-cents per liter. Water is life and they are grateful to serve the people of Bacolod, he said. Carbon said this is a realization of the direction of Villanueva to reach as many waterless community in the city. The people here can now enjoy potable water supply at the confines of their homes, she said. Barangay Captain Emmanuel Rectra said that they are grateful for this opportunity to have access to potable water. With the opening of the water line extension in Vista Alegre, women in the area will no longer wash their clothes, take a bath and take water from a public water pump,. Gemora said. Sayson said that as Bacolod grows, services should also grow or improve. This (project) is a big milestone for the development of the city. Councilor Baribar noted that the people of these three puroks are grateful for the water extension line project of Baciwa. “Water is here and so with life,” he said. CGS Visayan Daily Star I commiserate with the local Liberal Party candidates for the shabby treatment they got from Sen. Franklin Drilon during the Team PNoy visit here on February 22. They were left out from the rally that can be considered among the most attended and best organized so far.
But in politics that is how the wheel turns and the best way for those in politics is to roll or get crushed. There is confusion in the circumstances that led to the isolation of the LP candidates for Bacolod City councilors. Rightly did councilor Archie Baribar say that what the LP national officials did was “a most unliberal way of marginalizing its loyal members and the most liberal way of empowering its highly unreliable and most unlikely allies” in Bacolod. What play of words but that nails down the puzzle. The local LPs got marginalized while the coalition with the NPC and the NP got the booster shot. They have much to be unhappy about, but that is politics – it is always the numbers game. If you have the numbers you can clobber anybody, without it you get sidetracked or ignored like a used rag. Perhaps from the national perspective of the party, the LPs in Bacolod do not have enough strength to produce the warm bodies, the numbers to make its team win or at least get a sizeable number of votes in Bacolod. Indeed, do the national LP officials consider the greater possibility that its local allies, meaning the Nationalist People's Coalition and the Nacionalista Party in Bacolod, will solidly support the LP senatorial line-up than their own local party-mates? Baribar describes it as unreliable. Actually nobody in a temporary political marriage is reliable. The more unlikely, the more it is unreliable. Or do they think that the local LP is weak that it will be unable to deliver the votes to the LP senatorial line-up? When one considers the higher plane and more panoramic of the situation in Bacolod, would it be wise and more fruitful for the national LP to deal or ally with the NPC-NP than rely on the local party? Simply put, does the local LP have the means to make the LP senatorial line-up get the votes? From the actuations of Drilon, it seems that his faith is in alliance with the NPC-NP of Bacolod than in the candidates of his own party who are, in fact, official candidates of the party. The LP here is now asking for clarification as there are legal implications, like representation with the Comelec and banner carriers. Or maybe who should handle the party funds and appoint party watchers? The most practical approach is that of Councilor El Cid Familiaran who seems to have accepted the fact of their isolation and has philosophically or rationally said that the endorsement of Grupo Progreso has no effect on his candidacy. That is a reaction of a candidate who is sure of his election. He needs no endorsement from national officials because in the end the people of Bacolod will decide and he thinks he has enough standing to get elected with or without the endorsement. I think the problem with some LP candidates for the city council is their alliance with Monico Puentevella whose image is a direct opposite of the philosophy of government of the President Aquino – remember the matuwid na daan? But, as some candidates justify the most important is getting elected whatever the alliance. On the other hand that alliance with Puentevella also worked against them, as we see now. Rightly did Baribar, Familiaran, Sonya Verdeflor and Elmer Sy distance themselves from Puentevella so that they could not care less about getting Drilon's endorsement. To be more poetic about it, they carry the LP flag unhonored and unsung. By continuing to court the endorsement or bashing Drilon, some local LPs are only projecting the image of weakness. They should show that even left alone, they can fight this battle and hopefully win. In the end, the winner can twit their noses at the national LP leadership who will have to court them in 2016. Then they will not be ignored and even get their revenge. Winners, after all, are never orphans particularly in politics. On the other hand by insisting on their rights, for indeed these are rights as party members, they can be isolated further by their leaders whose primordial consideration is victory. There are matters that probably dictated the decision of their hierarchy that cannot be divulged without causing more harm than good. If they remain faithful followers, who knows what goodies they will get considering that the LP is the party in power? At this late hour, would it be wise for Drilon to reverse gears? MODESTO P. SA-ONOY The Visayan Daily Star |
Categories
All
|