Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office in Manila to postpone the hearing for the poll protest filed by defeated mayoral bet Monico Puentevella. City Legal Office (CLO) head Atty. Joselito Bayatan said Leonardia has asked to reschedule the hearing from July 27 to September 28, as they received the notice from the Comelec only on July 22. Bayatan explained they need more time to prepare the “voluminous” documents needed, including election returns, certificate of candidacy, and vote counting machine (VCM) audit logs to mount their legal defense. Earlier, Puentevella and his running mate, businessman Vladimir Gonzalez, filed an electoral protest seeking a manual recount of ballots cast during the May 9 elections. Puentevella got 97,993 votes against Leonardia’s 120,231 votes, while Gonzalez received 86,611 votes against El Cid Familiaran’s 108,360 votes. City Election Officer Mavil Majarucon-Sia earlier said Comelec has directed her to submit documents from the 198 clustered precincts in 45 barangays here which will be needed for the hearing. Puentevella wanted the Board of Canvassers to facilitate the manual recount and the city treasurer to secure the ballot boxes, VCMs, and other paraphernalia and records until ordered otherwise by Comelec, Bayatan /Watchmen Daily Journal By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
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Responding to the city’s recent failed solid waste management inspection, Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran urged barangay officials to take the lead on the matter. “We have to call the attention of our barangay officials to implement solid waste management,” he said. Familiaran explained the barangay would be a big help since the source of waste comes from individual households. He said, in order for the implementation to be successful, we need the cooperation of our barangay officials to discipline the community in their respective areas. Every barangay is also supposed to have an annual allocation for solid waste management, or programs in their own barangay. “We must have a partnership with them,” the vice mayor added. “I hope the Mayor will also conduct a meeting for this.” Familiaran mentioned there is a problem in the pick-up of garbage in barangays. “Our compliance started when we constructed the sanitary landfill, however, we failed in the implementation,” he added. “After we have complied, we did not use it properly, thus we made it an open dump site.” Familiaran further reminded that the implementation of solid waste management is part of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which states a government entity must “set guidelines and targets for solid waste avoidance and volume reduction through source reduction and waste minimization measures.” A notice of violation has already been issued to the city by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The agency has, likewise, called for a technical conference with the city’s Solid Waste Management Board./WDJ Watchmen Daily Journal By Nicole Surriga, Intern BACOLOD City – Mayor Evelio Leonardia asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to postpone the hearing for the election protest that defeated mayoral candidate Monico Puentevella filed against him. Leonardia asked to reschedule the hearing at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office in Manila from July 27 to Sept. 28. He received the notice only on July 22, City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan said. They filed the motion seeking the postponement on July 25. More time was needed to prepare the “voluminous” documents needed, including election returns, certificate of candidacy and vote counting machine (VCM) audit logs, according to Bayatan. Puentevella and his running mate, the defeated vice mayoral candidate Vladimir Gonzalez, filed election protests before the Comelec’s Electoral Contest Adjudication Department. They sought a manual recount of the ballots cast during the May 9 elections here. Puentevella lost to Leonardia, while Gonzalez lost to now Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran. Puentevella got 97,993 votes, while Leonardia got 120,231 votes. Gonzalez had 86,611 votes, while Familiaran garnered 108,360 votes. City Election Officer Mavil Majarucon–Sia earlier said Comelec has directed her to submit documents from the 198 clustered precincts in 45 barangays here which will be needed for the hearing. Puentevella wanted the Board of Canvassers to facilitate the manual recount and the city treasurer to secure the ballot boxes, VCMs, and other paraphernalia and records until ordered otherwise by Comelec, Bayatan said. “In the event the manually recounted or audited votes … show that … Puentevella is the rightful winner … Comelec shall annul and withdraw the proclamation of … Leonardia … and proclaim Puentevella as the duly elected mayor,” the former mayor said in his protest. Leonardia, in his counter-affidavit, said the protest was “bereft of any initiatory proof of facts about the alleged fraud or irregularities.” He claimed Puentevella was also “guilty of forum-shopping inasmuch as there is a similar pending case [for] recount filed before Regional Trial Court Branch 42.” The case at the court was filed by Richard Calulut and several other Puentevella supporters against the city Board of Canvassers and City Treasurer Giovanni Balalilhe. Leonardia also asked Comelec to dismiss the election protest for “lack of merit.”/PN Panay News BY MAE SINGUAY THE Bacolod City Council unanimously approved during its regular session on Wednesday the appropriation ordinance amounting of P60 million intended for Environment and Sanitary Services. On July 26, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, who was acting city mayor from July 21 to 27, requested the appropriation in behalf of Mayor Evelio Leonardia who was on leave. The fund will be sourced from the underestimated income for 2016 for the essential needs of the city, based on the certification issued by City Treasurer Giovanni Balalilhe. Familiaran said the P60 million will be used for garbage collection from September 2 to December 31 this year. The contract between the City Government and hauler Dynamic Builders and Construction Co. will end on September 1. Familiaran said a bidding will be conducted to find a new contractor. He added that the garbage collection of the city only costs more or less P15 million a month, whereas the previous administration had been city spending between P25 million to P30 million on a monthly basis. The city has a P170-million appropriated annual budget for the collection and hauling of garbage for 2016, but the fund was already used by the previous administration from January to June. “So what will happen in the next six months?” Familiaran asked. Last week, the Solid Waste Management Board convened and approved a resolution requesting the Bids and Awards Committee to conduct a bidding for garbage collection. Zamboanga.com By Merlinda A. Pedrosa A benefit run for Rolando Espina, Jr., the first and the only Filipino to qualify for the Spartathlon, is set for Sunday in Bacolod City. The benefit run which has 10km, 5km and 3km categories was organized by Espina's colleagues from the Negros Occidental High School Batch '85 and the Rotary Club of Bacolod Central. Running shoes donated by friends of Espina will also be raffled in the benefit run. Espina, a Bacolodnon nurse currently based in Ireland, paid a courtesy call to Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran today and called on Negrenses for support. Veteran triathlete Rolando Espina, Jr., who is set to compete in the Spartathlon this year, met with Bacolod Vice-mayor El Cid Familiaran.
ABS-CBN News Barbara Ann Mijares BACOLOD City – Councilors approved a P60-million budget for the collection and hauling of garbage here after the city government’s twice-extended contract with its garbage collector ends on Sept. 2. The amount will be sourced from city hall’s “underestimated income” and local taxes. Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran — on behalf of Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who was on leave for official business until Wednesday — requested for the appropriation on Tuesday. Familiaran said the city allotted P170 million for garbage collection and hauling for the entire 2016, but the budget lasted for only six months. Last week, the Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) asked the Bids and Awards Committee to hold a bidding for the next garbage collector. It also sought the creation of a technical working group that shall, among others, draft the terms of reference for the contract. The city government’s contract with Dynamic Builders and Construction Co. (Phil.), Inc. ends on Sept. 2. Originally, it was supposed to end on Jan. 2 but was extended to July 1, and then again to Sept. 2. The law will no longer allow further extensions, according to Department of Public Services head Nelson Sedillo, an SWMB member./PN Panay News BY MAE SINGUAY BACOLOD City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran on Wednesday assured the unpaid casual employees of the previous administration that they will receive their pay. “As long as they have their appointments and daily time records signed by their department heads, there is no reason they will not be paid," Familiaran said. On Monday, about 50 former casuals went to the New Government Center to ask how they could claim their unpaid salaries for June. The following day, some of them also went to the Vice Mayor’s Office, but Familiaran said he was not around when they came. He said they are now validating the list of the unpaid casual employees. Lawyer Allyn Luv Zamora-Dignadice, administrative officer IV of City Administrator’s Office, had earlier said they have not yet received the official list of names of the complainants, but City Administrator John Orola directed them to validate their claims. Sun Star Bacolod ByMERLINDA A. PEDROSA THE Bacolod City Council unanimously approved during its regular session on Wednesday the appropriation ordinance amounting of P60 million intended for Environment and Sanitary Services. On July 26, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, who was acting city mayor from July 21 to 27, requested the appropriation in behalf of Mayor Evelio Leonardia who was on leave. The fund will be sourced from the underestimated income for 2016 for the essential needs of the city, based on the certification issued by City Treasurer Giovanni Balalilhe. Familiaran said the P60 million will be used for garbage collection from September 2 to December 31 this year. The contract between the City Government and hauler Dynamic Builders and Construction Co. will end on September 1. Familiaran said a bidding will be conducted to find a new contractor. He added that the garbage collection of the city only costs more or less P15 million a month, whereas the previous administration had been city spending between P25 million to P30 million on a monthly basis. The city has a P170-million appropriated annual budget for the collection and hauling of garbage for 2016, but the fund was already used by the previous administration from January to June. “So what will happen in the next six months?” Familiaran asked. Last week, the Solid Waste Management Board convened and approved a resolution requesting the Bids and Awards Committee to conduct a bidding for garbage collection. Sun.Star Bacolod By MERLINDA A. PEDROSA An ordinance appropriating P60 million for environmental and sanitary services of Bacolod City from September 2 to December 31, was unanimously passed by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on first, second, third and final reading yesterday. Acting Bacolod Mayor El Cid Familiaran requested the SP on Tuesday for the passage of the appropriation ordinance as Mayor Evelio Leonardia was away on official business. The fund to be used for garbage hauling and collection under a new contractor will be sourced from the underestimated income for 2016 local taxes based on the certification issued by City Treasurer Giovanni Balalilhe. Familiaran was designated by Leonardia as officer-in-charge from July 21 to 27, while Councilor Cano Tan was designated as acting Vice Mayor. The P60 million will be used for garbage hauling and collection covering the period September 2 to December 31, Familiaran said. This will only cost the city about P15 million a month compared to the current contract where the city spends about P25 million to P30 million a month for garbage collection, he said. Familiaran said this will involve a new bidding for garbage hauling and collection since the city can no longer extend the services of Dynamic Builders and Construction Co. after having extended its services twice already. He said the city has appropriated in its 2016 annual budget about P170 million supposedly for the collection and hauling of garbage for one year. Unfortunately, the budget was already used up in just six months from January to June. So they passed a supplemental budget for July to August, he said. Councilor Caesar Distrito pointed out that the city had spent almost P230 million for payment to the garbage contractor covering eight months after the contract of the Dynamic Builders was extended. Meanwhile, Department of Public Services head Nelson Sedillo said the Solid Waste Management Board convened last week and approved resolutions requesting the Bids and Awards Committee to conduct bidding for garbage collection, as the extended contract of Dynamic Builders with the city government will expire on Sept. 2. The board also approved a resolution creating the Technical Working Group that will come up with the terms of reference for the contract with the new garbage collector, he said. Sedillo, a member of the SWMB, said that the city must start the bidding process for garbage collection since the law will no longer allow the existing contractor another extension after its contract with the city ends on Sept. 2. Before the city extended the contract of Dynamic Builders from July 2 to Sept. 2, its contract had already been extended for six months covering January 2 up to July 1, he said. Sedillo said that with the re-organization of the SWMB, changes could be made in the terms of reference in which the city pays the contractor based on the volume of garbage collected per cubic meter. He said the city pays Dynamic Builders about P30 million a month for garbage collection, hauling and maintenance, compared to previous the contractors, Metrowaste Solidwatse Management and Enviroking which were paid a fixed amount of P9 million a month for garbage collection and hauling only. BAC chairman and City Agriculturist Goldwyn Nifras said they can only start the biding process once there is already a purchase request.*CGS Visayan Daily Star Bacolod councilor has sought the National Bureau of Investigation's help to determine who are the persons behind the spread of text messages falsely accusing him of being an illegal drugs financier so that legal action can be taken against them. Councilor Cano Tan yesterday said he sought help from the NBI through Ferdinand Lavin, former NBI Negros Island regional director and now national spokesman of the bureau. Tan said he submitted to the NBI the phone numbers from which the text messages accusing him of being an illegal drugs financier came, and so far, the sender of one has been traced for investigation. He urges those who get anonymous text messages accusing him of having links to illegal drugs to provide him with the phone numbers used so they can be submitted to the NBI. Those spreading messages falsely accusing others should not be tolerated, libel cases should be filed against them, Tan said. This is not the first time such false accusations have been alleged against him, it has been going on for the past 20 years, especially near election time, Tan said. But he said the NBI and the police have certified that he is not engaged in the drug trade, and is not on their watchlist, he said. “I want to put an end to all of that…it is painful for my family for me to be wrongfully accused,” Tan said. It is no joke to be falsely accused of being involved in the illegal drugs trade, he added. “I have never engaged in any illegal business, my life and business have been open books,” he said. Tan said he, too, has campaigned against the use of illegal drugs. Meanwhile, Tan said he has been designated acting vice mayor from July 21 to 26, and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran will be acting mayor while Mayor Evelio Leonardia is out of town.*CPG Visayan Daily Star BY CARLA GOMEZ |
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