As twin bombings rocked the heart of Iligan City yesterday, the Davao del Norte police is more keeping up its toes these Yuletide days in putting up full-alert security in Tagum City and the province especially for the dawn masses.
Provincial police director PSSupt. Benelito Bianzon said that he placed on full-alert status his police force starting the first day of the December until the New Year. He said that everybody in his police force has been alerted for any eventualities and to thwart any terroristic acts of rebels that would do harm to the people.
Yesterday, RMN Iligan City reported at 4:00 P.M. that two blasts in Iligan City hit first the Unicity Mall at around 1:35 and 15 minutes after hit another adjacent Sista Mall while a bomb was recovered and defused by the police in the adjoining Jerry Shopping Center.
The establishments are located along Aguinaldo Street, a major thoroughfare in the city. Bombo Radyo reported at least 5 were killed and at least 28 injured from the twin bombings.
The elusive MILF’s Kumander Bravo has earlier threatened to make bombings in retaliation to hot pursuit of authorities, said the radio report. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)
If there’s one good topic good-natured politicians in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley must discuss during the merrymaking in the Yuletide Season it is the death of vibrant democracy in this part of the country. This death has been with us since two elections ago. This dying little by little occured starting when Fernando Poe Jr. ran for President, and when Kampi emerged as a new pro-administration party that fought against Lakas in 2004 polls. In FPJ’s loss, a song was made with a lyrics, “sa Pinas ang talo ay naging Pangulo.”
Since then electoral battles in Davnor and Comval have been engaged by Lakas and Kampi parties although there was such exemption when former Davao del Norte Governor Gelacio “Yayong” Gementiza was forced to jump ship and went to United Opposition (UNO) after a political wrangling. But then Yayong’s muckracking wasn’t against Lakas nor Kampi being opportunist political parties, while his campaign went only for rallying around his personality and not much on issues. It was in that 2007 polls when Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario clutched in straws both the Lakas and Kampi bets that threw a monkey wrench to the District 2 bets of former Cong. Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr.
Comval in 2004 polls has that political unification with former Gov. Jose “Joecab” Caballero running under Lakas with erstwhile political rivals, former Cong. Pros Amatong, Cong. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora, and the Lakas mayors while Kampi then scarcely fielded municipal slates. It was in 2007 polls, when Caballero was shoved out from Lakas forcing him to use Kampi to engage in feverish battle with the Lakas titans.
When Kampi emerged only with few flickers in 2004 polls, it turned out to be a serious, alternative power contender against Lakas in 2007 polls, but in so far as the national bets were concerned, just the same to Lakas, Kampi also rued for Malacanang bets.
Without now the strong presence of Erap’s PMP, De Villa’s Reporma, Danding’s NPC, Drilon-wing Liberal parties in the two provinces, alternative political figures in the opposition are largely absent in the present political landscape.
At this writing, nobody even from the losing bets especially those having provincial stature and prominence, while not yet considered as political has-beens have engaged in even discursive engagements with Lakas and Kampi incumbents in critical and gut public issues of the day. Well, then Gob. Yayong and then Gob. Joecab are not yet seen as has-beens and spent force as far as my jaded eyes can see, but the former chose to still play a guessing game with the media when he earlier said he was convenient also to run with Gov. RDR, while the latter is still reportedly entertaining to be with the administration through Kampi. Santa Banana! Basa na ang record sa Lakas ug Kampi these days for pure and simple political opportunism while corruption issues are burning the fences of the administration, but sadly in our locales, no non-incumbent politician has yet emerged to engage in democratic discourse pertaining the incumbents’ policies and ways of running the government, nor someone from them has risen to be counted on as representative of the legal opposition.
But maybe potential legal oppositionists in our provinces, if really there are still souls out there, are just waiting for Lakas and Kampi parties to turn from basa to baho in the likes to what had befallen into KBL (Kilusang Bagong Lipunan) during the dying years of Marcos dictatorship. It seems that the blunder of legal oppositionists occurs not only when they continue to be in the comfort zone but more so when the refuse to see the writings in the wall, like the sentiments of our bishops these days, and feel the pulse of people. Look only how people gave political fortune to Isabela Governor Grace Padaca and Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio, who read well the temper of their own people.
For their continued silence as we now enter in electoral year a few days from now, while people observe, see and listen the failings and arrogance of administration Lakas and Kampi parties over the media, legal oppositionists in our provinces have only themselves to blame when they are routed again comes 2010. It’s they who voice for the practical check and balance in the provinces. The legal opposition place is right in the bedrock of our democracy. It’s the safety valve of peace. Without it, the alternative is the underground opposition, that only begets further violence and bloodshed we can only regret. It seems they don’t rage to the dying of the light or choose to become bystander in their own dark tunnel. (For online edition, visit my blog: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, txt 09069104553, e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)
Some 201 new policemen admitted into service yesterday morning were immediately deployed by the regional police officials for their first assignment-the guarding for the third Misa de Gallo just this dawn.
The policemen just passed for their graduation-acceptance rite yesterday morning held at San Gabriel training ground and admitted into service, a Bombo Radyo report said.
They were all conferred with the rank police officer 1 (PO 1).
The new policemen were ordered to report by 10 PM last night to city police director Senior Superintendent Ramon Ramon Apolinario who subsequently deployed them to various churches holding the dawn mass.
Some 175 new cops were assigned in the city, while the rest were deployed to Davao del Sur.
Attending the rite were police director Benjamin Villareno Jr of the Police Training Institute representing PNP chief General Jesus Versoza and regional and city police officials led by regional police director Chief Superintendent Pedro Tango. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)
Davnor, Comval Capitols to release P10 T performance bonus
dec 18
Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy said yesterday that he could not give 13th month Christmas bonus to contractual employees saying that the Commission on Audit disallows it for them.
He said in radio interview that a law prevented him from proceeding of his plan of sharing also Christmas bonanza to contractual employees even as he bared that the City Hall has money for it.
He added that he would give the bonus for them it might be later be subjected to refund.
In that supposed case, the mayor said he has not regret if the money would be put to good use, but added it would be a problem if it would be splurged to booze.
Permanent and casual government employees in national government agencies, government-owned and -controlled corporations and financial institutions across the country have been receiving bonuses since late November, and since lately of the P10,000 performance bonus as covered by President Arroyo ‘s Administrative Order No. 250 signed last December 10.
Both the Capitols in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley are accordingly releasing the performance bonus either today or tomorrow, sources said.
At press time, however, the amount of the performance bonus from said Capitols could not be known as it is to be funded from agency savings as contained in the Dept. of Budget and Management’s EO 250 circular for national State workers.
Said circular stated that if the savings is insufficient to cover for the P10,000 performance bonus smaller amount could be released provided it is the same and equal to all employees. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)
It’s not only the Panabo City Council which is in a hurry of wrapping up things before this mid December. The council steered by Vice Mayor James Gamao had made marathon sessions since Monday to beat a finish before yet the middle of the month.
Yesterday, it made its last for this year to compensate the no-session Mondays beginning today until the New Year. Just like the Congress that is in a hurry of settling the thorny issue on CARP extension, municipal and provincial sanggunians also want now to have their Christmas vacations.
This has been easily so with our government officials while ordinary government men have a hard time getting approval for official leaves during the Yuletide Season even while they have a lot of earned leave credits. The department heads, on the other hand, try to beat the elected officials to the draw by setting at the most early date the closing of books as far as the COA rules could allow. In turn, many well-meaning suppliers-those who won their bids fair and honest- will end up scratching their heads for not getting their checks before the New Year. Now there’s a long Christmas vacation waiting out there, compliments of GMA’s holiday economics. Surely, banks will be closed, and government checks have to wait for encashment by 2009 na.
OK, there’s this great race for Christmas. The kargadors in our palengkes and all those in the underground economy remain to be hopeful of earning good bucks before Christmas day. They are hopeful of the Season’s big consumer spending when OFW remittances are heavy and bulk of yearend savings are splurged. Oh, that Pinoy spending again. There’s still no crunch for our OFWs and their families back home, I observe. Bettors are also extra hopeful- of winning the Last 2 that has now proliferated in Davao del Norte and Comval. The estimate three years ago is that each day bettors delivered at least P3 million bet money in our two provinces. (Is this underestatement? I ask our authorities). That’s a cool P1.095 billion industry yearround since Last 2 has no holiday. Multiply it by 365 days.
OK, our farmers on the other hand are hopeful, too, over the yearend benevolence of their landlords not to take fully their shares and give gifts to them, although the landlord- and Lakas-Kampi-dominated Congress as of this writing is in the thick of of marathon discussions on whether to extend CARP or not. But I bet my usual, seldom P10-worth Last 2 bet: the Congress will end up giving not the pantawid sa gutom but a pantalya legislative measure that would be left hanging on the Yuletide’s air since like Davao del Norte District 1 Congressman Arrel Olano they want to have the Christmas vacation so they can resume their gift-giving of rice, noodles and sardines, the “electoral gifts” (I should kindly repeat the words of naughty and malicious pundits in our kantos, inggit lang mo).
Anyway, also in this season of oil price decreases, presidentiable Senator Mar Roxas is crying SOB to the Palace for wanting to effect more price rollback to the level of over P20 per liter for gasoline as the crude oil price in the world market is further nose-diving, so poor Juan dela Cruz in the Pilipins and the Tagumenyos -because of Mayor Uy’s novel flexi-fare ordinance- could have one biggest pinaskuhan in this Yuletide Season of 2008. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, for comments and reactions, text 09069104553, or e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)
Despite still harder times, several Davao del Norte politicians are moving on these days giving groceries and foodstuffs to constituents in kindling the Christmas spirit.
So as not to be interpreted, Davao del Norte District 1 Congressman Arrel Olano defused speculations that his gift-giving of grocery package consisting of rice, noodles and sardines is not for politicking purposes.
In a report of Periodico Norte, he said in vernacular that as his tradition he has been giving “give-aways every December and in fact I started giving these in September in my district”.
Since last week Olano’s house was reportedly flocked in by droves of people including children who lined up to wait for their to receive the foodstuff.
Tricycle drivers have also received insurance certificates besides the groceries from the last-termer congressman.
The same, Olano was consistent in his earlier media statement that he is a “partidista” and would not fight the present governor, vice governor and city mayor, who are all reelectionists, saying that they all belong to Lakas party like him.
But he has a caveat for this: “unless Lakas breaks up.”
Not to be outdone, the other day Asuncion Mayor Municipal Joseph Pareñas showed to the local media his stockpile of Christmas gifts, still packed groceries, ready for distribution to his needy constituents.
Where before DXDN Radyo Ukay in Tagum used to have a lot of time for commentaries, now the primetime from 7:00 to 9:00 A.M. is booked to seconders of Christmas greetings from city councilors up to the governor.
The much-touted RDR on Wheels of Governor Rodolfo del Rosario, on the other hand, is scheduled to make a lot of municipal sorties during this Yuletide Season.
In most of its sorties, provincial officials and manpower drew out various provincial services such as medical check up and medicine distribution, dental services, therapists’ massage, dispersal of agricultural products and animals, while the governor gave thousands of Philhealth cards and acted as collective ninong of mansibados (unmarried in the Church).
Sources said that the RDR on Wheels hit bumps when it drew scarce constituents begging for provincial services in municipalities whose mayors are known to be political proteges of former Cong. Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr.
The Floirendos and Del Rosarios have had political, family and business feud which started near the time before the May 2007 polls.
MeanwHile, sour-graping pundits however said that Christmas gifts consisting of the familiar rice, noodles and sardines that have been going to barangays every election time are therefore suspect. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)
They say it’s officially Christmas starting today, with the first Misa de Gallo held just this dawn. This is one cherished Filipino custom that lasts for nine days, from today until the Christmas eve, December 24. It started during the Spanish colonial period, and accordingly was initially intended for farmers who wanted to attend Christmas Mass but could not leave their fields.
There’s this passing nostalgia to be with kababayans each dawn, and the longing to share victory in a cool, foggy Yuletide Season after a fight not to drowse off during each dawn mass. Well, that was so before in my youth in a backwoods of a countrysides. There was so much excitement to meet the dawn while serving as sakristan under the tutelage of a motherly Sister Cima of fma, like when we were made to believe then that Santa Claus is coming to town to give toys to good boys and girls.
It was also then that barangay farmers, when the GKKs weren’t so strong, for which the dawn masses were first intended for them by the friars, had no luxury to rise up at dawn just to trek downhill for long walk to the church in the poblacion. But I saw a few of them possibly rising by 2:00 or 3:00 dawn to walk for 1 or 2 hours just to catch up dawn masses.
It was only last year (a poor churchgoer am I) that I learned that GKK chapels had then been holding dawn mass celebrations. The GKK, the harbinger of the purok, offers a most proximate and so closed affair for Misa de Gallo, with your own neighbors and other familiar faces attending. I must say that in towns, where there are no long-known vendors of the common puto maya and tsokolate, dawn mass goers have been savoring the shrunk pandesal they bring home after a drop in a town bakery. Though lacking in snack delicacies like the many that spring up abundantly and cherish in other places like in Luzon or in Cebu in church frontyards, the Yuletide cheer and wish for abundant life isn’t lacking for the Mindanaoan probinsyanos subsisting on pandesal after dawn masses.
It is also so for the forsaken farmers and poor to merry over what they could easily afford from what’s left from their bonuses, if ever there is still after going from London (loan dito, loan doon, the teachers’ lingo, you know), even while TV advertisements have always show the noche buena meal of the privileged after the December 24 night Misa de Aguinaldo: lechon, hamon, cheeses, a variety of salads, pasta, embotido and sweets.
Del Monte seasons these locally, while Davao del Norte and Comval bananas show the craving of the rich countries for desserts on the table during the Holiday. But otherwise, and sadly, beyond our preference for the basic staple rice, Compostela and Pagsabangan landowners now plow their fields for dollars’ sake, but understandably, out of economic necessities beyond what rice could offer for their children and future. Ultimately, it’s for Pete’s sake.
There’s also this nostalgia creeping in us for a so cool, so foggy dawn. Before it was always raining during the Yuletide Season. The thick fog and the rains are gone now. There was hot streak of sunlight yesterday. The cool and humid December before is gone now. After decades of unabated illegal logging activities in our provinces and illegal loggers have continued to have still their best laughs, while our environment and local government officials continue to see and hear no evil, this is what we have now: our weather has become so feckle, and for the other man-made destructions against our surrounding and environment, nature has been fighting back like what it struck in Masara and Diwalwal landslides, and in the flooding in the many lowlands in our provinces.
After today’s first Misa de Gallo, I can only reminisce on those good old dawns when so mountain-fresh and so thick fog envelop entirely my hometown Nabunturan in so cool embrace during the Yuletide Season. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, for comments and reactions, e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)
Our congressmen have backpedalled in their Con-Ass assault. We may surmise that days prior Friday’s Makati rally either our own congresssmen have stood in the sidelines yet supportive to the move of Kampi and Lakas to pursue the path of converting Congress into constituent assembly to change our Constitution by their own, or became part of the rabid Con-Ass movers led by Cong. Luis Villafuerte of Kampi and Speaker Prospero Nograles of Lakas.
We know for sure that Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario, being the Lakas regional chairman, would feign no qualm over the Con-Ass move. After all, he’s the one in charge to crack a party whip in this part of the country, for good or for bad for the party, while the Con-Ass move shows that it is just too divisive for the country.
There are expectations from the kanto that should the ilk of Villafuerte and Nograles made true the convening of the Congress into Con-Ass last week and sailed on despite the legislative stalemate posed by the Senate’s resolution of nixing the move, pro-administration rallies led by Lakas in the provinces would be mounted. We know of the superficial Lakas unity in Comval and Lakas-Kampi unification in Davao del Norte. Just like in Marcos time when a mammoth crowd of KBL kapitans and municipal officials could be mobilized in Tadeco using government resources, the Lakas in Davao del Norte and Comval could do a KBL separately in the provinces and pledge support while our Supreme Court tackles the legality of the Con-Ass without the Senate. But since Nograles had backtracked the other day while Villafuerte mumbled in the corner, The kanto expectations nevertheless died down.
This local show of support to the administration is one that is yet unchallenged. Fact is, there is yet no organized legal opposition in the two provinces. Our time hasn’t yet reached the time before when erstwhile opposition politicians in the provinces stood to be counted on in the fight against Marcos dictatorship. Before we have Bal Sator, Rolly Marcial, Tony Lagunzad, Jess Albacite, Rey Castillo, and later Florante Garcia castigating Marcos. What we have at present are the traditonally noisy organizations in the Left But these are few, disjoined, scattered and only propaganda-obsessed. No politician of the caliber of Sator et al in their past mold (forget them at present) has yet taken even a voice of a legal opposition in Davao del Norte and Comval. And this is alarming to the democracy in this part of the country!
The check and balance of governance in the provinces and in the lives of towns and provinces has been practically played by opposition politician figures. When all incumbent politicians now, chiefly those constituting the legislative departments, bid for blessings for patronage of the Lakas chief executives and rabidly vie for inclusion to the Lakas party slate in 2010 polls, while politicians outside who lost in 2007 polls couldn’t yet shake off their losing Kampi membership or either constantly pray for inclusion to Kampi slate once again or the better as replacement for Lakas open post, and emerging ones are afraid to rock the Lakas boat, provincial and municipal governance is left to rot of itself. Check and balance becomes a misnomer. Politics becomes so opportunistic, so obsessed for political career’s sake. Transparency and accountability in governance are absent as these have been left at the discretion of power holders.
With the people in the sidelines, without the legal opposition, and with the Lakas-Kampi opportunistic politics foisted upon us, I must say a living democracy has already died in our provinces. It seems the death of our democracy comes voluntary with the acquiescence and opportunism of our politicians, reigning or otherwise, to the opportunistic baton of the pro-administration Lakas and Kampi parties. Time has indeed changed. (For online edition, visit my blog at: cha4t.wordpress.com, for comments and reactions, e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)
The Tagum City government will be securing a new P400 million loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines to fund the completion its new City Hall building, which needs another P250 million, and for the other priority projects of Mayor Rey Uy.
On Monday the City Council approved Resolution No. 573 authorizing Uy to negotiate with the DBP for a P400-million loan payable for 10 years.
The half of the amount or P250 million would be used for the acquisition of equipment and land and for the construction of city’s food terminal complex, said Vice Mayor Allan Rellon.
The city government has already spent P200 million, still secured on DBP borrowing, for the new City Hall building, which is located at the eleven-hectare lot in barangay Apokon donated by the Ayala family.
It is being built in-house using the City Engineer’s Office and city’s own manpower and equipment including its batching plant under the guidance of a project management office and project consultant.
While the fresh loan to be sought is on top of previous loans, the City Budget Office clarified that the P400-million loan amortization is still way below the city’s loan amortization cap of P42 million as computed by the Department of Finance.
City Engineer Gilbert Mambulao has reported that the building with the initial P200 million is now “60 percent complete” standing in skeleton with columns, beams, slabs and roofing parts.
He said that they have the original target of completing the building and “fully furnished” by September 10, 2009 before the 2010 elections.
The DBP has offered to put the interest rate of the planned P400 borrowing on floating interest rate and not a fixed one noting on the prevailing economic uncertainty due to international financial crunch and the possible vulnerability of local banks in case of economic downtrend.
On the other hand, the P100-million food terminal complex, that is planned to have a food packaging center and which is one of the Regional Development Council’s identified regional projects, is planned to be constructed in progressive type of development, said Sonny Manigo of the City Planning and Development Office.
He said that from what the city government could build private investors could infuse investments if they choose to locate within the food terminal complex. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)
DAVAO CITY- The Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board -XI has warned public utility jeepney drivers and operators to fully implement the reduced fare until Friday or both of them would be fined P3,000 each for overcharging as the implementation of fare rollback started yesterday.
But the LTFRB-XI has still given a grace period for the PUJ drivers and operators to secure the LTFRB’s fare matrix, otherwise another P500 fine would be charged to them as few were seen lining up at LTFRB office in Ecoland road yesterday to secure the free fare matrix.
“Drivers who would be caught overcharging and even undercharging would be apprehended and fined with P3,000 and if the operator has instructed the driver not to reduce the fare he would also be fined with P3,000,” LTFRB Davao spokesperson Edgar Violan said in a Bombo Radyo phone-patch interview yesterday.
With further oil price decreases in the recent days, the LTFRB has ordered for a fifty centavo fare rollback from the latest P7.50 for the first 4 kilometers to a rounded P7 minimum fare and P1.40 from P1.50 for the succeeding kilometers thereafter.
Violan, also the LTFRB-XI administrative officer, said that few were lining up to secure the fare matrix even it is being released for freeadding that “since that it is advantageous to them”.
He added that the new fare is just provisional and covers the period December 15 until March 15 next year, a longer period that is rarely ordered by LTFRB since the recent months.
The stopping of the P10-additional fare of taxis was also effected yesterday but taxi flag down rate remains the same, P20 for the non-airconditioned and P30 for airconditioned units.
Violan called on taxi drivers and operators to detach the “plus P10 sticker” in their units that marked for the P10-additional fare that has been levied after every a taxi ride.
Meanwhile, the tricycle regular fare has remained at P6. Tricycles are covered with local franchise and the City Hall decides on the matter of its fare reduction.
The LTFRB has also ordered corresponding fare reduction for provincial buses.
LTFRB effected here the first P0.50 fare rollback last November 7 bringing down the minimum fare to P7.50 and P6 for the students, differently-abled and the elderly.(Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)
