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June 3-9, 2019
Duterte, magre-resign! N
AGBANTA ANG PANGULONG Duterte na magbibitiw sa puwesto kung itutuloy ng anak nitong si Congressman-elect Paolo ‘Pulong’ Duterte na tumakbo bilang House Speaker. N a k a r a t - kung kaya’t agad itong sign ako kasi marami na tayo, nandiyan yun ing sa Pangulo ang bali- nababala kay Paolo. tang may naguudyok sa “Itong si Paolo, sabi- kapatid mong mayor kanyang anak na pun- hin ko sa kanya, if you (Sara Duterte) tapos ah, tiryahin ang posisyon ng run for speakership let what if someone is also pagiging Speaker of the me know. Kasi kung uneasy about it.” Continue on page 2 House of Representatives tatakbo ka, magre-re-
MILF rebels to get financial aid; SAF 44 kin demand justice Davao Mayor Sara Carpio greets her father President Rodrigo Duterte while son Paolo looks on in this PCOO photo.
Defeated Zambo lawmaker files electoral protest vs. popular mayor
Re-elected Zamboanga Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco Salazar is proclaimed winner by the Board of Canvassers in the May 13, 2019 midterm polls. ZAMBOANGA CITY – Following his terrible defeat in the midterm polls, former congressman Celso Lobregat has not conceded and accepted that he lost the mayoralty election against incumbent and more popular Maria Isabelle Climaco Salazar. Lobregat, who ruled
Zamboanga for two decades as mayor and congressman, filed an electoral protest with the Commission on Elections in May 23 and claiming alleged irregularities and fraud, among others for his defeat. And he wanted the poll body to declare him winner in the May 13
elections despite Salazar’s overwhelming victory against him. Salazar won with over 30,000 votes against Lobregat and the Board of Canvassers declared her the winner in the polls with an overwhelming 146,079 votes as against Lobregat’s 112,343 votes. Continue on page 2
Security officials inspect weapons of police commandos surrendered by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on February 18, 2015 in Maguindanao province. MILF rebels took the weapons from members of the Special Action Force they killed in fierce clashes in Mamasapano town on January 25, 2015. Among those who also witnessed the handover of weapons were (then) Brigadier General Carlito Galvez, Major General Dato Abd Samad bin Yaakub, Head of Mission of the International Monitoring Team; Senior Superintendent Noel Armill. (Mindanao Examiner File Photo - Mark Navales) Read Story on page 5
Gov’t to help surrendered militants Read Story on page 2
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June 3-9, 2019
Duterte, magre-resign! Continued from page 1 “I believe in democratic practice…but then again the Vice Mayor(-elect) (Sebastian) anak ko yun; and Pulong as Speaker, ako ang Presidente eh hindi na maganda yun, so if you will insist…that’s your own life to live. If you insist on running, maniwala ka sa mga advisers mo, go ahead let me know three days in advance before you make the announce-
ment and I will tender my resignation,” ani Duterte. Itinanggi naman ni Paolo na may balak itong maging House Speaker at sa kanyang Facebook page ay ito ang kanyang isinulat: Puede ba tubag ani?: PULONG TO PRESIDENT DUTERTE: I DID NOT SAY I WANT TO BE SPEAKER....may nagkamali na naman bulong sa tenga mo Mr. President.” Noon ay pinalagan rin umano ni Duterte ang
suhestiyon na pagtakbo ni Paolo bilang mayor sa Davao at ang nakakatandang kapatid nito na si Sara ang siyang kumandidato at nagwagi. Si Sara ay nagsilbing vice mayor ni Duterte noong 2007 hanggang 2010 at mayor hanggang sa kasalukuyan. May ambisyon rin diumano si Sara na maging Pangulo sa pagtatapos ng termino ng kanyang ama. (Mindanao Examiner)
Intensify anti-smuggling ops, Zambo mayor orders authorities President Rodrigo Duterte (PCOO)
Gov’t to help surrendered militants From page 1 MARAWI CITY – The Philippine Army said the government is ready to provide aid to pro-ISIS militants who surrendered peacefully and returned to the fold of the law. Over a hundred militants had surrendered to the government since last year after security forces
defeated them in Marawi in 2017 following a deadly siege that left the city in ruins and displaced residents. The surrendered militants have undergone a process aimed at identifying what government programs are necessary for them to live a normal life with their family.
The 103rd Infantry Brigade is tasked to run the process and provide inputs to the government which shall decide what programs and aid would be given to those who surrendered. Most of these programs are financial aid and livelihood skills training, among others. (Mindanao Examiner)
Defeated Zambo lawmaker files electoral protest vs. popular mayor Continued from page 1 Now, Lobregat said he included members of the Board of Canvassers along with Salazar as respondents in his electoral protest. Lobregat, who was never defeated in his entire political career, said the results of the elections were “unbelievable,” saying his family - from his grandfather Pablo Lorenzo, was once Mayor of Zamboanga and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1934 to his mother, Maria Clara who also served as mayor and congresswoman – served the city well. Jomar, Lobregat’s younger brother, also ran twice in the polls since 2013 as congressman in District 2 and the same position in District 1, but he too lost terribly. In 1984, Lobregat’s mother also lost to Salazar’s grandfather Cesar Climaco in the mayoralty race. Salazar strongly denied all Lobregat’s accusations
and told the 71-year old politician to accept defeat and respect the “true” will of the people. The 52-year old mayor, popularly known here as “Beng Climaco,” also cited historical statistical data to prove her victory was beyond any doubt. She said her victory over Lobregat was a clear indication of the strong support of the people for her third term. Salazar, an educator and guidance counsellor for children and family affairs, said the results of the 2019 polls mirrored the 2004 local elections. In both elections, Salazar said she received more than 140,000 votes as vice mayor, while Lobregat got a little over 113,000 as mayor for first term. And Salazar said when she ran for her first term as mayor in 2013, she garnered 174,725 votes; in 2016 for second term she had 175,599 votes; and in 2004, when she ran for vice mayor,
she received 140,225 votes. She said in comparison, Lobregat got only 113,447 votes in 2004 when he ran for mayor on his first term; and 110,867 votes in 2007 for his second term, and 118,227 votes in 2010 for his third term. Even in congressional races, Salazar said she outperformed Lobregat by as much as 11,000 votes. “There is no historical evidence that suggests Lobregat is more popular than I, but there is overwhelming evidence that I am a more popular candidate than him,” Salazar said. During the campaign period, Lobregat claimed that 78 of Zamboanga’s 98 village chieftains were supporting his candidacy and he even came out with a signed manifesto and published in two local dailies. But Salazar eventually won in 78 villages while Lobregat managed to win only in 20 villages. (The Zamboanga Post)
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Photos released by the Zamboanga City government show Mayor Maria Isabella Climaco Salazar inspecting suspected smuggled cigarettes seized from a warehouse in the village of Arena Blanco on Saturday night, May 25, 2019.
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco Salazar has ordered authorities to intensify anti-smuggling campaign here following the confiscation of 500 boxes of suspected smuggled cigarettes from a warehouse last week. Salazar said the cigarettes, branded as Union, were confiscated in the village of Arena Blanco. “Three workers who were loading the boxes of cigarettes to a truck were also
apprehended by authorities,” she said. She also inspected the warehouse and the seized cigarettes and ordered police and military authorities to remain vigilant and alert following the seizure of the contraband. Authorities were investigating whether the cigarettes had been smuggled from abroad or had fake stamps. Salazar commended authorities for their continuous efforts against
smuggling in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s unwavering anti-smuggling campaign. The mayor is active in the government’s anti-smuggling campaign and vowed to put a stop to the nefarious activities by unscrupulous traders who used Zamboanga’s long coastline to smuggle rice, petrol and sugar among other commodities from neighboring countries of Malaysia and Indonesia. (The Zamboanga Post)
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June 3-9, 2019
Food terminal for farmers opens in Davao DAVAO CITY – Mayor Sara Duterte has recently opened the P70-million Davao Food Terminal Complex in Toril to serve farmers and provide them access to market. “Given how this food terminal can ensure that
farmer’s products can be directly sold to the consumers without the intervention of middlemen, the project shall be of mutual benefit for the farmers and the customers in Davao City,” Duterte said. She said the food
terminal for will benefit fruit and vegetable farmers, adding, the complex is the local government’s response to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nu-
RCBC executives charged with anti-money laundering FIVE EXECUTIVES of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation or RCBC are facing anti-money laundering charges filed by the Department of Justice in connection with the $81-million cyber heist at the Bank of Bangladesh three years ago. Facing charges for violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) before the Makati City Regional Trial Court are RCBC Retail Banking Group treasurer Raul Victor Tan, national sales director for retail banking Ismael Reyes; regional sales director Brigitte Capiña; customer service head for its Jupiter business center Romualdo Agarrado, and senior customer relations officer Angela Ruth Torres. The accused filed their motions for reconsideration, but the DOF denied all of them and
in its 10-page resolution approved by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon, the DOJ noted that the officers still allowed the transactions to push through even if there were evident red flags. Prosecutors cited the “willful blindness doctrine” as “the deliberate avoidance or knowledge of a crime, especially by failing to make a reasonable inquiry about suspected wrongdoing, despite being aware that it is highly probable”. “There is no better way to describe the acts of respondents than this,” the resolution read, adding that with the notices received on the possible fraudulent transfer of huge sums of money, the respondents should have conducted an investigation. “By the very nature
of their work in handling millions of pesos in daily transactions, the degree of responsibility, care and trustworthiness expected of bank employees and officials are greater than those of ordinary clerks and employees,” the resolution read. “Their complacent attitude in handling the suspicious remittances is unacceptable and rocked the integrity of our banking system.” RCBC Jupiter Branch Manager Maia Santos-Deguito was found guilty of seven counts of violation of the AMLA. Makati RTC Branch 149 Judge Cesar Untalan imposed a penalty of up to 7 years imprisonment for each count and was also required to pay not more than 200 percent of the value of the laundered amount or almost $110 million. (Benjamin Pulta)
trition, and promote sustainable agriculture. The mayor said the food terminal also seeks to boost food security and defeat hunger amid the changing climate and increasing food demand across the globe. The construction of the food terminal at the old Daratex property was conceptualized in 2014 as a partnership between the City Government and the Department of Agriculture in Region which funded the project. According to DA Re-
gional Director Ricardo Oñate Jr., the project is part of three primary support for farmers to become productive and have sustainable sources of income: technology, financing, and marketing. He said the food terminal also ensures that farmers like those from far-flung villages of Toril in Baguio district, Marilog, Paquibato, and Malabog will not have a hard time selling their goods because they can directly deliver their products to the food terminal.
Under the partnership, the local government will oversee the operations of the food terminal until the formation of farmers’ cooperative and association that will eventually manage it. Duterte said she looks forward to more similar partnerships, especially those that “will elevate our local agricultural industry and empower our agricultural players, especially our small-scale farmers, to be at par with our global counterparts.” (Lilian Mellejor)
Officials of the Rural Transit of Mindanao Inc. led by Celer Estolaga pay their courtesy call to Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco Salazar. The company maintains a fleet of commuter buses in Zamboanga plying the routes of Zamboanga Peninsula in Western Mindanao to Cagayan de Oro City in Northern Mindanao. (Kathy Wee Sit)
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The Mindanao Examiner
June 3-9, 2019
Efficient payment scheme awaits 4Ps beneficiaries INSTEAD OF WAITING in long lines to receive over-the-counter or OTC payments, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps beneficiaries will now own cash cards for easier
and more efficient transactions, the Department of Social Welfare and Development or DSW) said. DSWD said it targets to complete the more efficient delivery of payments
by December this year and ensure financial inclusion of the poor and it also contemplates converting existing cash cards accounts to transaction accounts. “We will also explore
Pulisya nagbabala vs. investment scams
Nagpulong ang pulisya upang bigyan ng babala ang publiko laban sa investment scams sa Mindanao. NORTH COTABATO – Nagpalabas na ng public advisory ang pulisya sa North Cotabato laban sa mga ibat-ibang “quick money” or investment scams matapos na makatanggap ng maraming reklamo mula sa mga biktima na naniwala sa malaking interest na ipinangako sa kanila kapalit ng malaking halaga. Sinabi ni Lt. Col. Aldrin Gonzales, tagapagsalita ng Police Regional
Office 12, na kailangan maging mapanuri ang publiko sa mga nagaalok ng mga ibat-ibang investment schemes na nagbibigay ng 30%-400% interest sa loob ng ilang linggo lamang. Matuturing itong Ponzi scheme na tulad sa naganp noon sa Pagadian City sa Zamboanga del Sur na kung saan marami ang nag-imbak ng salapi sa Aman Futures na kinalaunan ay bumagsak dahil
isa itong scam. May mga nabiktima rin ng mga “paluwagan” na naghihikayat sa mga investors na magbigay ng malaking halaga kapalit ang pangakong interest sa kanilang puhunan. Nanawagan pa si Gonzales sa mga nabiktima ng scam na agad magtungo sa awtoridad upang makapaghain ng reklamo laban sa mga nasa likod nito. (Rhoderick Beñez)
new financial technologies and infrastructures for the efficient payment systems,” DSWD Undersecretary Camilo Gudmalin said. Apart from the payment process, the DSWD has also looked into upgrading its compliance verification process via working with the Department of Education to link the information systems to fully automate the compliance verification system. “We will just maintain the learner reference number of students and link up with DepEd to digitally pull up their enrolment and attendance data,” Gudmalin said. These and more improvements are expected after President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11310 which aims to institutionalize 4P’s, the government’s national poverty reduc-
tion strategy that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum of seven years. “The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order thereby uplifting its citizens and marginalized sectors from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and improved quality of life for all,” the law reads. The law mandates the DSWD to use a standardized targeting system to identify, select and revalidate qualified 4Ps beneficiaries every three years. Eligible for the program includes farmers, fishermen, homeless families, indigenous peoples, and those in the informal settler sector and those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas including those in areas without electricity.
Under the law, the government will give a monthly cash grant of not lower than P300 per child enrolled in day care centers and elementary programs for 10 months of the year; P500 per child enrolled in junior high school, and P700 per child enrolled in senior high school. A health and nutrition grant not lower than P750 per month for a maximum of 12 months per year shall also be extended by the government to the 4Ps beneficiaries. It will be a fixed amount and does not depend on the number of family members. The families eligible for cash grants must be classified as “poor and near poor,” have members aged zero to 18 years old or members pregnant at the time of registration, and willing to comply with the 4Ps conditions. (Christine Cudis)
Duterte man takes over Mindanao Development Authority DAVAO CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte has named Assistant Secretary for Mindanao Concerns, Nathaniel Dalumpines, as officer-in-charge of the Mindanao Development Authority in concurrent capacity following the demise of its chairman, Abul Khayr Alonto.
Dalumpines, who was Duterte’s former chief-ofstaff in Davao City, said he will take the lead in ensuring the continuous and effective delivery of public service and pursue the socioeconomic mandate of Mindanao Development Authority. As officer-in-charge,
he will also serve as the Philippine signing Minister for the Brunei Daruss a l a m - In d o n e s i a - Ma laysia and Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). The agency acts as the Philippine Coordinating Office for the BIMP-EAGA. (Mindanao Examiner)
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The Mindanao Examiner
June 3-9, 2019
MILF rebels to get financial aid; SAF 44 kin demand justice
SAF weapons seized by MILF rebels are returned to the police in this file photo.
Sulu utilities told to improve services
From page 1 WHILE KIN of police commandos brutally killed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF rebels and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters or BIFF in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town continue to demand justice, the Duterte government ironically is proposing to provide P100,000 in cash to each of the 12,000 MILF guerrillas as a gesture of goodwill and part of the peace process. According to reports, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez said the proposed financial aid will cover MILF fighters who will surrender their weapons as part of the decommissioning process, although there is no provision in the peace deal that the government will pay for guns collected from the rebel group. The funds, the reports claimed, will come from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity which Galvez heads. About P1.2 billion is needed to pay off the MILF members who will also be provided
with livelihood skills training to help them integrate into mainstream society. Families of those who died demanded that rebel leader Murad Ebrahim, now Chief Minister of the Muslim autonomous region, to surrender those behind the gruesome murders. The commandos, members of the Special Action Force or SAF, were sent on a clandestine mission deep inside MILF territory in Tukanalipao village on January 25, 2015 to capture Malaysian bomber Zulkifli bin Hir. But Zulkifli was eventually killed and commandos cut off his finger for DNA analysis. The elite group was on its way to re-join more than 300 SAF commandos when MILF forces aided by BIFF militants attacked them and sparking daylong clashes. At least 18 MILF and five BIFF militants were killed in fierce fighting the Aquino government originally claimed was a mis-encounter. Barely a month after the fighting, the MILF,
which signed an interim peace deal with Manila in 2014, surrendered at least 16 automatic weapons it took from slain police commandos. The surrender of the weapons further bolstered reports by lawmakers and human rights groups that MILF rebels had finished off wounded commandos and collected their guns, among others. The weapons were handed over to the police, but SAF sources claimed the weapons had been tampered and that many of its parts were either taken out or replaced with defective mechanism. Because of the killings, lawmakers shelved the Bangasamoro Basic Law (BBL) until investigations into the deadly clashes between SAF and MILF is completed. The BBL was eventually passed in the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, but families of the slain commandos were still crying out for justice. The MILF said it will not surrender those involved in the slayings. (Mindanao Examiner)
Davao nurse arrested for alleged illegal recruitment
Sulu Provincial Government photo shows Gov. Toto Tan and his father, Dr. Sakur Tan, the in-coming governor, in a recent meeting with water and electricity providers in Patikul town. SULU - Governor Toto Tan met with representatives of Sulu Electric Cooperative (SULECO), National Power Corporation (NPC) and Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) to discuss about problems affecting the supply of water and electricity in the southern Sulu province. Tan pressed hard on the representatives of the agencies to be truthful about
the whole situation so that the Provincial Government can help the utility firms in order to alleviate people’s sufferings as a direct consequence of the problems. Residents have sought the help of the Provincial Government because of the lack of water and electricity supply in many areas in Sulu. Officials of SULECO, NPC and LWUA said they will submit reports to Tan,
who also volunteered to “knock on the doors of concerned national agencies in order to solve these problems of water and electricity.” Tan, who was elected vice governor in the May 13 midterm polls, is set to step down on June 30 to formally assume his new position. His philanthropic father, Dr. Sakur Tan, is the new governor-elect.
DAVAO CITY – Authorities are holding a 49-year old nurse accused of largescale illegal recruitment for jobs in Japan, Australia, and Germany, officials said. Regional police chief Marcelo Morales said Vera Flor Delos Reyes, a native of Davao City, was arrested recently in her hideout in Muslim village in Ecoland here after being tracked down by the Talomo Police. Morales said several
complainants have filed formal charges against the suspect and two other persons on August 2016 at the Department of Justice in Manila. He said the complainants alleged that Delos Reyes and her colleagues promised them jobs in Japan, Australia, and Germany as butchers and meat processing workers in exchange of money ranging from P30,000 to P120,000 as processing fee and payments for oth-
er documents. Several months passed, the complainants discovered that Delos Reyes and other respondents did not have the authority or license to engage in recruitment or placement of Filipino workers abroad, according to Morales. There was no immediate statement from Morales on the allegations and accusations against her. (Rhoda Grace Saron)
SUPPORT PEACE IN MINDANAO
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June 3-9, 2019
Across : 1. I’ll will 6. Ike’s monogram 9. Guided 12. Jeopardy 13. Sweet potato 14. ___ de toilette 15. Sports locale 16. Learned 18. Frighten 20. Actress Meryl ___ 23. Pseudonym 27. Metal spike 28. Tiny speck 31. Not home 32. Classic song 33. Charged particle 34. Lack of secrecy 36. Lions’ homes 37. Coins from Mexico 38. Come out 40. Knife or fork 43. small bomb 46. Bangor’s state 50. Nothing 51. Mild exclamation 52. Not outer 53. Raises 54. Culmination 55. Hot chocolate Answer to last week’s crossword: Down : 1. Health farm 2. ___ capita 3. Extreme anger 4. Christmas glitter 5. Gladden 6. Tinter 7. Small arrow 8. Act like 9. Luau garland 10. Munch 11. Payable 17. Sandwich store 19. Orchard fruit 20. Be nosy 21. Brownish gray 22. Ceremonies 24. More frosty 25. Accompanying
26. Feel 29. Classified ___ 30. Gets up 32. Visible to the audience 35. Name word 36. Franklin ___ Roosevelt 39. Imitate 41. Paradise 42. Destitution 43. African antelope 44. Pull apart 45. Raised railroads 47. Co. abbr. 48. Agent Smith’s nemesis 49. Historic time
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June 3-9, 2019
7 Partylist coalition wants to retain 32 key posts in 18th Congress
The Mindanao Examiner
THE PARTYLIST COALITION Foundation Inc. or PCFI is insisting on retaining all positions it presently holds in the House of Representatives to whoever the Speaker will be in the 18th Congress, according to Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. “Gusto namin, amin pa rin ang mga posisyon na hawak na mga party-list congressmen ngayon,” said Garbin, who is a member of the PCFI board of trustees. Among those positions include the chairmanships in the House committees on suffrage and electoral reform, cooperatives, women and gender equality, government reorganization, micro, medium and small enterprises development, overseas workers affairs, and poverty alleviation, among others. Partylist lawmakers
also hold two seats in the powerful Commission on Appointment, as well as two seats in the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal. They also hold ranking positions as deputy speaker, deputy majority leader, and deputy minority leadership positions. “We want to retain these positions in the incoming Congress, no matter who will be the next Speaker,” Garbin said. There will be 61 party-list lawmakers - from 51 partylist groups that won in the midterm elections - who will sit in the 18th Congress and 54 belong to the PCFI. Members of the so-called Makabayan bloc and the Magdalo partylist group do not belong to the coalition. Garbin said that the PCFI has been solidifying its forces in voting for the
next Speaker, as partylist representatives want equal treatment with district congressmen. He said the PCFI has invited all those who expressed interest in the Speakership post to ask for their respective plans for the 18th Congress and also for the coalition. These included Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, Taguig Representative-elect Alan Peter Cayetano, former Speaker and Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, and returning Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez. Garbin said the PCFI will vote as a bloc and will come out with only one candidate to support for Speaker. The lawmaker said the endorsement of Malacañang, if any, will also give weight to their decision. (Jose Cielito Reganit)
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June 3-9, 2019
High hope for Cebu LRT project
C
EBU CITY – Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino expressed optimism that the Metro Cebu and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project would materialize now that Cebu province and Cebu City have new elected leaders belonging to the same political party. Dino also assured thority (MCDA) may soon a new governor, Gwendolyn Cebuanos that the Metro have its “breath of life” be- Garcia, and Edgardo Labella Cebu Development Au- cause the province now has as new Cebu City mayor.
Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, Michael Lloyd Dino (center), leads the group handshake with Cebu Governor-elect Gwendolyn Garcia (left) and Cebu City Mayor-elect Edgardo Labella during the Unity and Solidarity Meeting held in Cebu City recently. With the election of Garcia and Labella, Dino expresses confidence that the Metro Cebu Development Authority and the Light Rail Transit project would soon materialize. (OPAV Photo)
Cebu braces for prolonged dry spell CEBU CITY - With the dry spell expected to last until August, the Cebu Provincial Government has asked local government units or LGUs to submit requests for assistance that will cushion the impact of the El Niño phenomenon. This, despite the transition of power with Governor-elect Gwendolyn Garcia taking the helm at the Provincial Capitol, while incumbent Governor Hilario Davide III will assume as the new presiding officer of the Cebu Provincial Board as vice governor. Rhee Telen Jr., information officer of the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said delivery of assistance to LGUs will continue until the hot weather
phenomenon subsides in the next three months.“We can proceed with revalidation with the request and distribute the available assistance because those purchase requests have been prepared prior to May 13 mid-term elections,” Telen said. The dry spell has affected the cities of Bogo, Danao, Carcar, Mandaue, Toledo, and Naga and also the towns of Alcantara, Alegria, Asturias, Aloguinsan, Balamban, Badian, Dalauete, Ginatilan, Malabuyoc, Moalboal, San Fernando, Santander, Sibonga, and Pinamungajan, Bantayan, Santa Fe, Compostela, Consolacion, Carmen, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remegio, Tabuelan, Tuburan, Tudela, Pilar, Poro, and San Francisco in Camotes Iisland. According to the Philip-
pine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, there is a 70% probability that the El Niño weather phenomenon will continue until August. Earlier report from the Provincial Capitol said the dry spell resulted to a total damage amounting to P121 million on crops and livestock from 35 of the 51 LGUs in Cebu. The town of Bantayan declared the highest damage - with P24 million – that affected 300 hectares of seaweed plantations and Tuburan, known for its locally-grown coffee, has reported around P19 million worth of damage to livestock and crops. And at least 16 of the affected LGUs have declared their respective areas under state of calamity. (John Rey Saavedra)
Garcia is Cebu’s 3rd district congresswoman while Labella is Cebu City’s vice mayor and both won in the midterm polls. Dino said the LRT project may be operational before President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ends in 2022. The Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB) pushed for the approval of an executive order creating MCDA that will act as the overall body to oversee services that have multi-local government unit or metropolitan-wide coverage. The MCDA will also formulate, coordinate, regulate and monitor the short, medium, and long-term plans, policies, and programs for the sustainable development and integration of Metropol-
itan Cebu Area. Dino said the construction of the LRT would start soon after the approval of its feasibility study by the National Economic and Development Authority. He said the national government would likely help Cebu, now that local government officials here are united and have the same vision of development as Duterte. “President Rodrigo Duterte, as promised, wanted to refocus infrastructure projects from only in Luzon to Visayas, specifically Cebu City and Cebu Province,” he said, adding, the LRT, as mass transport backbone of Metro Cebu, will serve the Cebuanos from end-to-end under the Department of Transportation’s Integrated Inter-modal Transport Sys-
tem (IITS). Garcia, for her part, expressed support to the IITS project, saying that she believed the solution to traffic can be solved through coordination of the towns and cities in the metropolis. She said the traffic problem is not limited only to Cebu City. Metro Cebu has three independent cities, Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, and four component cities namely Danao, Talisay, Naga, and Carcar with 6 municipalities Compostela, Lilo-an, Consolacion, and Cordova in the North, and Minglanila and San Fernando in the South with 2.849 million in population spread all throughout 349 villages. (John Rey Saavedra)
Labella prioritizes hospitalization program CEBU CITY - Mayor-elect Edgardo Labella said he plans to make the services of the City Hospitalization and Medicine Program (CHAMP) available 24 hours a day when he assumes his post in July. “I will make the services of CHAMP available 24 hours a day so that City Hall would be able to assist indigent residents with their immediate medical needs and during emergencies,” he said. Labella said local residents can avail of P25,000 assistance for hospitalization through the program as well as P5,000 for medicines and P5,000 for laboratory procedures. To avail these benefits, he said a patient or his representative only needs to present the hospital bill or doctors’ prescription together with voter’s certificate and barangay clearance as proof of residency.
He said CHAMP personnel will be assigned at the Cebu City Medical Center, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, and accredited private hospitals to cater to the needs of the patients anytime of the day. Private hospitals where CHAMP services will soon be made available include the Cebu
Doctors University Hospital, Cebu Velez General Hospital, Chong Hua Hospital, and St. Vincent General Hospital. Labella said he hopes these private hospitals would not refuse patients who cannot pay any deposit since CHAMP will be there to guarantee payment. (Luel Galarpe)
Cebu City Mayor-elect Edgardo Labella
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