Bacolod Councilor Claudio “Kalaw” Puentevella yesterday said he will resign as number 11 councilor if the result of the manual recount shows that the camp of Mayor Evelio Leonardia is correct. However, in an interview over Aksyon Radyo, Puentevella said that if they are proven right and the result will show there was some discrepancy, he also challenged the Grupo Progreso candidates to resign. Puentevella said if they are not worried about anything, they should not delay further the opening of the ballots. This was in reaction to a motion to defer the hearing of the case filed by the group's legal counsel, Joselito Bayatan before Electoral Contest Adjudication Department of the Commission on Elections requesting for the hearing to be moved from July 27 to September 28 because of the voluminous documents he has to prepare. The election protest was filed against Leonardia by former mayor Monico Puentevella and against Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran by defeated vice mayoralty candidate Vladimir Goinzalez, who are both seeking a manual recount or audit of the ballots cast in the May 9 elections. Puentevella got 97,993 votes against Leonardia who got 120,231 votes, while Gonzalez got 86,611 votes against El Cid Familiaran who got 108,360 votes. Councilor Puentevella said the supporters of the Pamilya MKK believe that the result of the May 9 election was questionable. His father, defeated mayor Monico Puentevella and Gonzalez, received the notice of the Comelec at the same time the camp of Leonardia did. If they are not afraid of the result, they should not delay the opening of the ballot boxes, Councilor Puentevella said. Leonardia said the Comelec had conducted an audit and the automated poll system shows that the accuracy of the Vote Counting Machine is 99.9 percent and this includes the protested ballots in Bacolod. With these cases alone, it is already safe to say that the results must have also been perfect, he said. “Bayatan said the time left for him to prepare was very short so he had to ask for a postponement. But definitely, we have no fear,” Leonardia said. They saw the trend in the previous protests conducted by the defeated mayor, that if he won the machine was okay. But if he lost he will complain against the machine, he said. Leonardia recalled that his votes even became bigger when former mayor Puentevella filed for a recount and the same thing may happen again. According to Bayatan if the defeated mayor had garnered higher votes, his son would have also have the same. If his son, an incumbent councilor, was not supported by the Iglesia Ni Kristo he would also have lost, he said. Leonardia said postponement is a matter of right and is part of the process. But it depends if Comelec will grant their request. They will just follow whatever will be the decision of the Comelec.*CGS Visayan Daily Star BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO Megaworld has given the Araneta Group of Companies until August 30 to clear the 34-hectare property in Barangay 41, Bacolod City of informal settlers so it could start the initial development of the area. Executives of Megaworld met with Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and representatives of the Araneta Group yesterday at the Bacolod City Government Center to discuss the concerns of Barangay 41 residents in the property. Harold Geronimo, Megaworld assistant vice president for Public Relations and External Affairs, yesterday said they are giving the Araneta Group a deadline to clear the area in compliance with their agreement. He said there are many Business Process Outsourcing companies who want to expedite the development because they really want to relocate to Bacolod City. And a lot of them are first time locators to Bacolod. Under their portfolio, there are about 130 companies that are already leasing with them. If they bring in 20 companies that will already be big for Bacolod which could generate a lot of employment, he added. Geronimo said that the entire development is not a joint venture with the Araneta group since they bought the 34-hectare property from them and that they have agreed that once the land is turned over to them, it should be clean, meaning everything should be settled. He also pointed out that it should be the Araneta family to settle the issue with the informal settlers and not Megaworld. Geronimo said they need to build the roads inside the township by September 1. They can't start development if there are informal settlers entering the property. They are appreciative of Mayor Evelio Leonardia's effort to find a solution to this issue. He will mediate talks between the barangay officials and affected residents, he said. Geronimo said Megaworld is looking forward to really start the Upper East development which will bring in initially about 5,000 to 6,000 jobs on the first phase of the BPO company, So this will be able to generate a lot of employment for Bacolod once they complete the first three BPO towers which will be state-of-the-art modern office buildings, he said. Included in their township development are residential condominiums, hotels, mall and retail developments, open parks, and tourism and recreational facilities in the 34-hectare property. They are building wide state-of-the-art road networks inside the township to help ease the traffic in Bacolod, Geronimo said. They are already pressuring the Araneta Group because they need a clean development and want them to comply with the agreement so they can already start the development, he said. Geronimo said the residents were given enough time by the Araneta Group and the barangay captain even signed a waiver. They want the Araneta Group to already enclose the property that is rightfully their because they have already paid for it, he said. A township can be completed in a period of about five to seven years and 10 years is usually the minimum number of years for a township to mature, he added. Geronimo said they want the Upper East to become the next central district of Bacolod to which the mayor, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and Councilor Caesar Distrito agreed. They will retain all the trees especially the centuries old trees inside the property because they believe this is a major feature of the development. They are very concerned about the environment and the historical value of the entire property, he added. Leonardia recalled that they had a long talk with Geronimo five or six years ago, when Megaworld was just planning to invest. And this time the investment is real. They had initial talks with the informal settlers and plan to bring them together this week because Megaworld believes there is an urgency and they don't want the project delayed. According to them this eventually will mean 250,000 jobs directly or indirectly, he said. “These are call centers raring to locate in Bacolod because we have made a name already. We started with zero in 2016, we're within the top three,” he said. Before he left as mayor in 2013, Bacolod was elevated into a center of excellence and he believes it is a plus factor that will draw investors to Bacolod, he added. Leonardia said they will consider the side of the business and employment opportunities that are being laid down by Megaworld and on the other side, the human consideration that there are people whose convenience could be affected. “I think the role here of the city is to reconcile and come up with a win-win solution,” he said. Leonardia said they had proven that Bacolod is conducive, and is a fertile ground for call centers and he believes they have to cash in on that momentum. Also present during the meeting were Carla Uykim, Megaworld vice president for Corporate Advisory Compliance, and Richard Minerva and Felix Manuel Trebol of The Araneta Group- Visayas.*CGS Visayan Daily Star BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO 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 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 |
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