BACOLOD City – Councilors El Cid Familiaran and Archie Baribar questioned how the city government was spending the budget for its solid waste management program this year. “Amo na gid ini kapisan maghaboy sang ila basura ang mga pumuloyo nga tunga pa lang sang tuig naurot na ang budget sa basura (Are the public dumping this much waste that the city’s budget for garbage collection was already used up this early)?” Baribar asked. Familiaran also wondered why the city government was spending so much on solid waste management. Some P254 million has been allotted for the solid waste management program this year. Mayor Monico Puentevella requested for an additional P68 million through a supplemental budget. Once the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) approves the supplemental budget, it will raise the solid waste management allocation to P332.9 million. SP records showed that, of the total budget, P150 million will be used to pay Dynamic Builders Construction Company Philippines, Inc., the city government’s contracted garbage collector; P42 million to build an additional garbage cell at the sanitary landfill; P17.9 million for the Department of Public Services; and P45 million for the solid waste management programs of barangays. Furthermore, P6 million of the proposed supplemental budget will be used for street cleaning, while P62 million will be allotted for the city’s environmental and sanitary services, including garbage collection. While he was satisfied by Dynamic Builders’ performance, Familiaran believed the P150-million budget for garbage collection to be spent within six months was too much. The city government can save at least P10 million if the budget is reviewed, he stressed. Baribar, on the other hand, said the city government should explain further why it needs more budget for solid waste management. Councilor Claudio Puentevella, SP committee on finance and appropriation chairperson, earlier confirmed that the P150-million budget for garbage collection has already been spent./PN By MAE SINGUAY Panay News Negros
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BACOLOD City — The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) here approved two resolutions seeking clarifications on transactions between the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (Bredco) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
In one of the resolutions, the SP requested Bredco, operator of a private port in this city, to furnish the SP an assessment of the charges it pays the PPA. In the other resolution, the councilors requested the PPA to give them a list of the charges it imposes on Bredco and all shipping lines operating at the port. Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya said the resolutions are required for the proposed delineation of the Banago port here. Prior to their approval on Wednesday, the resolutions were referred to the committee on laws, ordinances and good government, chaired by Councilor Ana Marie Palermo, and the committee on urban development planning and government assets, chaired by Councilor El Cid Familiaran. Palermo and Familiaran’s committees were in charge of holding a series of hearings for the proposed Banago port delineation. The PPA could not start its port development project without an endorsement from the city council./PN By MAE SINGUAY Panay News BACOLOD City — A “third force” in Bacolod politics may emerge in the 2016 national election, a city councilor claimed.
From what he has gathered, the group that aims to face the city’s major political forces was asking support from a “kingpin” in Negros Occidental, said Councilor El Cid Familiaran. Familiaran did not name any politician who could be a part of the looming “third force” but denied any involvement. He did not identify the “kingpin.” Political archenemies Mayor Monico Puentevella and Rep. Evelio Leonardia have strong following among voters in this capital city. Leonardia, after serving three terms as mayor from 2004 to 2013, ran for lone district representative in the May 2013 mid-term election and won. In the same election, Puentevella won as mayor and consequently replaced Leonardia. In Negros Occidental, the two most influential political key players were former ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco and 3rd District’s Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez. Leonardia has been a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition under the leadership of Cojuangco. According to Familiaran, those behind the “third force” were already holding a series of meetings. While he did not name names, the councilor said the “third force” comprises mostly former councilors identified with Leonardia. Familiaran said that, in politics, it is normal for some politicians to form another group, especially if they no longer feel comfortable with their present allies. Puentevella, for his part, is willing to face any political force in 2016. The mayor said that “third force” might end up siding with him. And that is “very good, that politicians who were against me before will become my allies,” he said. “That is good for Bacolod.”/PN By MAE SINGUAY Panay News BACOLOD City – Boga, an improvised noisemaker popular during the holidays, is dangerous and must be banned.
It is detrimental to life and limb, said Councilor Elcid Familiaran, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s Committee on Police, Security and Jail Management and Penology. His proposed ordinance outlawing boga hurdled first reading in the city council. Boga is a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cannon. It is made from a length of PVC pipe of substantial diameter mated to a toy gun. The more daring use small projectiles like marbles as boga bullets. Boga has become potent that some use it for hunting, said Familiaran. The ban aims to protect city residents as boga can be detrimental to public safety, he said. Boga is not covered by Republic Act 7183, the law regulating the sale, manufacture, distribution and use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices. Under Familiaran’s proposed ordinance, it is punishable to possess, carry and use boga. Violators will be fined not less than P2,000 but not more than P5,000 or imprisoned from three to six months, or both, at the court’s discretion. Minors violating the ban shall undergo counseling and rehabilitation at the city’s Social Development Center. National health officials have repeatedly warned against use of boga which carries a risk of blast or burn injury. In some instances, boga users prematurely open it whenever it fails to fire, causing any delayed blasts to fire upon the unsuspecting user’s face. In 2012, the Police Regional Office 6 described Western Visayas as a “special concern” because it was the only region with a considerable number of boga-related injuries, with most of the victims children./PN BY MAE SINGUAY Panay News, Negros BACOLOD City — Bacolod City College students, city government employees and members of the media planted 1,000 mahogany seedlings at the sanitary landfill in Brgy. Felisa in celebration of the Arbor Day.
The 200 students and the other participants proceeded in a caravan to the landfill site to plant the seedlings along the landfill’s perimeter. City Ordinance 533, series of 2011 institutionalizes the celebration of Arbor Day here. It enjoins all sectors — particularly requiring the city scholars, summer jobbers and BCC students — to participate in the celebration and plant at least 10 seedlings every year. Councilor El Cid Familiaran said the activity is also in compliance with the mandate of President Benigno Aquino III through the National Greening Program. The seedlings were placed about a meter apart to provide a “buffer for the smell and flood,” according to the city’s environment officer. Also, the sanitary landfill was provided with a black liner to filter the water and silt from the wastes so that the water in the cleansing chamber is clean enough to water the seedlings. Mayor Evelio Leonardia thanked the BCC students who joined the tree planting activity. “Bacolod City College is now felt in another scope in the community,” he said. Now the BCC students are “active in civic action … a more comprehensive education for the students,” the mayor said. Other personalities who participated in the activity are Secretary to the Mayor Moises de la Cruz, BCC Administrator Dr. Johanna Ann Bayoneta, Environment and Natural Resources Officer Max Sillo, Clean and Green Task Force Engr. Elma Advincula; Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Environment and Natural Resources head Max Sillo, City Disaster Management’s Joemari Vargas, Executive Assistant Roger Giganan, Department of Department of Public Services head Nelson Sedillo, barangay officials of Felisa and their Punong Barangay Mona Dia Jardin. (With a report from the Philippine Information Agency 6/PN) Panay News Negros BEFORE I tackle the subject, let me say that the inhibition by the chairperson of the Commission on Audit (COA), Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan, in the case involving the Occidental Negros government and the Ayala Land Inc. is a step in the right direction — although I think this is not enough, considering the facts I have cited here.
Nevertheless, the discussion of this issue can be suspended until we know what action the COA will take on this lease and sale contract. I don’t know if by the time this column comes out, COA shall have decided, since they were reported to have met last week and an information early last week (not from Bacolod) said that COA is set to decide. This is not news, though, because we heard that indeed last week COA’s Commission Proper was scheduled to meet. The case of the relationship of Rep. Albee Benitez with SM becomes academic at the moment and can be better discussed as an election issue. So I am putting aside this topic … for now. The political pot in Bacolod was simmering right after the Lenten Season but last week, the brew was starting to boil with names already mentioned as to who is running for what. On April 14, at a funeral, one would-be candidate was already shaking hands — not condoling, it seems, but shaking hands and button-holing several. He was not attired for attendance at a funeral but for leisure walking with short pants. The dead or the solemnity of the occasion is no longer respected but exploited for political purposes. This is a sad commentary on the extent to which politicians would go to get elected. I think these politicians do not realize that they only leave a bad taste for bad manners. Several names cropped up over the weekend. Frank Carbon was said to be running for Bacolod councilor. Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), succeeded Bobby Montelibano who held the post since it was organized years ago. But when Carbon accepted the chairmanship of the Liberal Party (LP) Bacolod, I suspected that he’s got political plans. Thus, when the MBCCI under his leadership filed a suit questioning the validity of the city’s tax code ordinance, the move confirmed my suspicion that he is after a political position. Unfortunately, if his candidacy is confirmed, then the MBCCI suit has political intents and throws MBCCI, a nonpolitical organization, into the political arena. It will turn this business organization into a politicized group. Unless Carbon resigns from MBCCI, the organization will be dragged into the political quagmire. The known candidate for Bacolod mayor is Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson. Who will challenge him is unclear. Former congressman Monico Puentevella is rumored to be eyeing the mayoralty post. But rumors also fly that he would try to regain his legislative post. This should be interesting because he will again be pitted against Mayor Evelio Leonardia who is barred by law from reelection for another term. Puentevella and Leonardia are political archenemies. If the former runs for mayor, he shall have avoided another confrontation and possible defeat since he had not bested Leonardia despite several attempts. For Cong. Anthony Golez, it is still unclear whether he will seek for reelection or leave the field to Leonardia and run for mayor. In a radio interview, he did not make a categorical answer about his plans. But there were earlier indications that he would try his destiny by running for mayor. Some people in the Golez camp think that the congressman has a bigger chance of winning in a three- or four-cornered fight that in a face-off with Leonardia. The Golez camp believes that Golez has better chances against Sayson. This is, ironically, the same thinking among the supporters of Puentevella. In the same situation Sayson will have a better chance because of his traditional block votes that carried his father before him and still supported Sayson in all his political battles — the reason he has never lost an election. Councilor El Cid Familiaran was also said to be running for mayor. As the No. 1 councilor, El Cid has plenty of supporters, especially now that he is the highest-ranking member of the LP – Bacolod and thus the possible standard bearer of the President Aquino party. Carbon, however, stands on the way; expect an intraparty fight. There’s Vladimir Gonzales who tried is luck last time and lost. But since then, his business commercials had been portraying him in the best of lights so that he is being groomed for vice mayor. One belief is that Gonzales has the money and is expected to finance a political organization. But will he bite? He didn’t the last time and lost./PN Modesto Sa-Onoy Panay News Negros In the local scene (Bacolod City), we heard that Monico Puentevella’s vice mayoralty slot has narrowed down to Vlady Gonzales and Archie Baribar.
Elcid Familiaran, who is also positioning himself for the post, apparently is out of the picture, which explains the rumor he is poised to abandon Monico’s camp and is now gravitating towards Thaddy Sayson. Archie would make a strong teammate for Monico. Although he miserably lost when he ran for Congress, he resuscitated his political career by topping the Sanggunian elections in 2010. Archie commands a strong following among the middle class and maybe even among the elite, but he does not seem to have strong roots among the C-D classes. Unfortunately for him, he does not have Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s appeal. Nor does he have Leonadia’s famed Mona Liza smile. Archie comes out too formal and too distant from the rabble. Vlady Gonzales, on the other hand, had demonstrated a strong following among the independent voters when he ran, albeit foolishly, for mayor in 2010, like Don Quixote tilting with the windmills. A hastily built political organization minus the “precinctual” structure of both Monico and Bing Leonardia also earned him a share in the mass votes. Unfortunately for Baribar, his appeal is concentrated mainly among the city’s professionals, a sector which also went to Vlady in 2010. Assuming that the professional-middle class is evenly divided between them, Vlady’s distinct advantage over Baribar is that his votes are organizational, no matter how adequate it was in 2010. In other words, Vlady’s votes are transferrable, something which Baribar cannot claim as his votes coming mainly from among the independent voters who have minds of their own and therefore “cross-vote” if voting for the other teammate suits them./PN Ely delos Santos Panay News Negros I HOPE news reports are true that Cong. Iggy Arroyo’s remains will be brought to Negros Occidental, particularly in his 5th District.
Many of those who want to view him for the last time but who can’t afford going to Manila for that purpose will be thankful that they can personally bid him farewell. For sure, his family will make the proper announcement once they have decided to bring him here before interring him in his final resting place. Again, my heartfelt condolences to the family he left behind. *** If Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia of Bacolod City were a queen, then Familiaran and company are all the “queen’s loyal opposition.” The Galeno Construction vouchers and checks exposed by Donard Nojas should have fired up Familiaran’s and his group into action as Nojas provided them with another ammunition, the most damming so far, in the long and sordid corruption record of the Leonardia administration. On second thought, their paralysis in the face of Nojas’ exposé may not be surprising. After all, there were two vouchers amounting to hundreds of thousands pesos issued to the Sanggunian. If indeed, this amount was divided equally, then who is to complain? *** Those issued to Leonardia are in gargantuan amounts. One voucher alone is in a cool million. Yet, I have not heard His Honor issue even a lame denial that he had pocketed the amount. Maybe, Bing believes that silence is golden. This time, however, the adage is not just simple words. There’s really gold in silence. That Nojas’ exposé was met with strong silence speaks in clear and resonant words: GUILTY! *** We said in a previous column and in reaction to Leonardia’s pompous claim that his tax measure was motivated by his good intentions, that the road to hell is also paved with good intentions. The only difference is that hell will befall on the business community rather than on him. *** The prosecution continues to get a beating from the members of the Impeachment Court in addition to its inability to match the trial skills of defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas. What is even more pronounced is the fact that while the prosecution has a battery of lawyers to take care of every charge in the Articles of Impeachment, Cuevas single-handedly cross swords with all of them and always comes out the winner at the exchange, making the prosecution look like freshmen in the courtroom. The prosecution’s latest gaffe, which accents its drive to convict Chief Justice Renato Corona through trial by publicity, was when it presented to the Impeachment Court a list of Corona’s 21 properties. Sen. Ralph Recto called the prosecution’s attention to their oft repeated claim over the media that Corona has 45 properties to which the prosecution can only lamely deny that it was not the one who released to the media the claim of Corona’s 45 properties. The senator-judges were aghast at the denial, insisting that the prosecution regaled the media of Corona’s alleged 45 properties which it strongly hinted were ill-gotten. One senator-judge angrily accused the prosecution of trying to win its case in the media rather than in the Impeachment Court. Again, the prosecution made much of the alleged erroneous declaration of Corona’s properties in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. When Presiding Senator-Judge Juan Ponce Enrile inquired whether perjury, which the prosecution tries to pin on Corona, is an impeachable offense, the prosecution lawyer can only stare blankly. The prosecution is clearly bungling its case against Corona. I will not be surprised if, notwithstanding the Aquino administration’s obsession to impeach him, Corona is acquitted by the Impeachment Court./PN Ely delos Santos Panay News Negros |
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