Baguio mayor urges dialogue; nationwide boycott of SM malls pushed: Large group rallies vs city trees’ cutting

By Alfred Dizon and Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY–In what is considered the biggest rally here ever, more than 5,000 folks held protest actions Friday urging a boycott of SM malls in the countryover the giant firm’s plan tocut or “ball” around 200 fully grown pine trees to construct a huge seven-storey parking lot beside its mall here.

Even as Mayor Mauricio Domogan offered to broker a dialogue between protesters, SM management and the city government, placard-holding protesters which included former Baguio Mayor Braulio Yaranon massed at Gov. Pack Road.

The road was full of people from the National Bureau of Investigation regional office to Session Road that police had to close the thoroughfare from the NBI, the rotunda below SM where four roads converge down to Malcolm Square.

Protesters let out fiery speeches and chants the whole afternoon starting 2 to 6 p.m. condemning the SM plan and paraded down Session Road to Malcolm Square urging concerned government offices to stop the project.

They were composed of various sectors of society from the young to the old which included militants. businessmen, housewives, students. professors and expatriates.

A sizable number of old time Baguio residents who migrated abroad said they came home just to join the protest actions and show concern for their city which they said “had become a haven of capitalist greed,” after reading facebook and other internet sites.

The groups urged SM management and owners to stop the project as it would be detrimental to the city as trees are necessary in purifying air, conserving water and in preventing landslides.

A signature drive was earlier startedlast week wherein signatories signed a letter addressed to President Aquino urging him to order the Department of Environment and Natural Resources or concerned government agencies to stop the project considering the government’s total log ban policy.

Mayor Domogan Wednesday bared plans to broker a dialogue on the SM Baguio tree-cutting issue which continued to heat up amid snowballing opposition that started in a popular social networking site and which spread on the streets with a mass rally staged by environmental groups Friday.

In his UgnayangPanlungsod press briefing, the mayor said the city will schedule a public consultation to give opportunity to both sides to come face-to-face to air their sentiments and clarify issues on SM’s expansion project that will entail the clearing of trees at its newly acquired property adjacent to the mall’s present site in Luneta Hill.

“Hopefully during the hearing, SM will listen to the sentiments of those opposing the project and the opposition will likewise take into consideration SM’s viewpoint,” the mayor said.

He said DENR representatives will also be invited to also explain its issuance of the permit “to cut, ball or prune” a total of 182 trees within the planned expansion site of the mall.

The mayor clarified that it was the DENR that issued the said permit along with the Environmental Clearance Certification (ECC) for the expansion project.

“When the matter came to our office, the plans have been made complete with the DENR permit and the ECC,” the mayor said.
He said the lot was sold to SM by the national government and therefore is now a private property of the retail giant.
“We cannot just stop the plan of SM because under our laws, they have their rights as private owner of that property and moreover, they were able to secure the necessary permits from the proper agency,” the mayor said.
Described by SM management as “green development,” the project will involve the construction of another seven-story building with a new parking facility, roof garden and rainwater collection system.

In a press statement, SM clarified that they will not cut any tree in the area and instead will undertake “balling out” of some trees to be replanted within the SM property under the supervision of tree balling experts
to ensure survival of the trees.

“In addition, rather than merely complying with the stipulation that we plant 20 saplings for every tree balled out, we decided to go beyond this requirement, and have increased this to 50 saplings for every tree we will transfer,” SM said.

Oppositionists to the project led by Cordillera Ecological Center director Dr. Michael Bengwayan who drummed up support to an on-line petition against the issue however denounced SM’s plan as anti-environment and anti-people.

They questioned the reliability of the earth-balling technique which they said does not guarantee the survival of the trees.

Even Domogan expressed doubt on the balling scheme citing the city’s past experience in Camp John Hay where balled trees registered a low survival rate.

Protesters Friday showed force drawing in massive participation during the rally dubbed “Occupy SM Baguio” to dramatize their objection to the plan.

The on-line petition started in Facebook was said to have gone viral and has gathered more than 4,000 signatures as of press time.

A “writ of kalikasan” was due to be filed in court by University of the Philippines professor Harry Roque as lawyer of Bengwayan.

Bengwayanearlier told the media they would be pushing for the boycott of SM malls nationwide if the project would push through due to its adverse effects on the environment.

“Balling” trees, as proven when trees were “transferred” from Camp John Hay, was not effective as 85 percent of the trees died, he said.

Cutting trees, he added, was more devastating top the environment.

Thousands of “netizens” worldwide have reportedly joined the move against the project in various internet networking sites while those in the Philippines said they would join the boycott.

Netizens expressed solidarity with local folk saying people of Baguio should not allow moneyed firms to trample on their right to breathe fresh air and destroy the environment, saying there should be a limit to greed for money.
The Baguio Regreening Movement which was reported earlier as in favor of the project didn’t issue a press statement on the matter.

Critics said the BRM, whose members are composed of city government and line agency officials (including the DENR) and church personalities should abolish the BRM as it had outgrown its use and become an instrument of “crass commercialism.”

DENR regional director Clarence Baguilatearlier told the media all papers of SM relative to the project were “in order” and the firm could start construction.

Baguilat said 22 “conditionalities” were imposed by the DENR for SM to comply with even as he denied allegations from critics that money changed hands, reason why the government agency allowed the project.

Domoganearlier said the controversial site was reportedly part of the property acquired by SM through an “auction” sale on April 22,1992 for a bid price of P69,000,995.52 in six separate amortizations which ended in 1997 located in Residential Section “A” described as Lot. Nos. 3-B, 114-A, 128, 115-B, 125-A, 126-B-2, 126-A, X—1 and Y-2.

Domogan said SM furnished his office documents for its expansion plans last year.

Former Rep Singson claims innocence on drug charges

By Mar T. Supnad

VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur- Freshly- arrived Saturday afternoon from Hong Kong after spending 18 months in jail, former Rep. Ronald Singson claimed innocence on illegal drug charges slapped against him but said he admitted the charges since the drugs were found inside his travelling bag when he arrived in Hong Kong airport.

A son of incumbent Gov. ChavitSingson, Ronald told his supporters and relatives in their jampacked Baluarte residence that he could do nothing when he was accosted except to accept it.

The former congressman blamed his foreigner friends who, he said, were the real owners of the drugs that they had inserted inside his bag when he went to Hong Kong last July, 2010.

Gov. Singson later asked authorities to hunt suspected drug lords who were behind the apprehension of his son.

In his remarks right after arriving here, Ronald said that he was not even a drug user as proven by the number of drug tests conducted on him in Hong Kong.

He said at first, the judge did not believe him that he was not using illegal drugs but when the results of the drug tests affirmed that he was negative, the judge believed.

He said he admitted guilt, despite his being innocenct, that the drugs were for his personal use “being a drug usher since I could do nothing anymore.”

This has prompted the Hong Kong court to sentence him to 18 months in jail.

Usually, a number of Pinoys caught with illegal drugs in other countries were sentenced for death.

From Hong Kong Airport, Ronald was fetched by his father on a private plane, then went directly to Laoag Airport where a number of media practitioners were waiting.

The Singsons had proceeded to their home in Baluarte in Vigan where they immediately held a mass.

“Siyempre masaya ang pamilya. Gusto sana namin private para sa pamilya pero marami ang nagmamahal. May thanksgiving din,”Ronald’s younger brother now Rep. Ryan Singson told newsmen.

Last May 28, 2011, the Commission on Elections held a special election for the post vacated by Ronald after he filed his resignation as member of the Lower House in Congress.

Ryan replaced him to represent the first district of Ilocos Sur after winning in a landslide victory.

But some of Ronald’s supporters said they were willing to elect the convicted congressman into office again if he decides to throw his hat again into the political arena.

Hijacked vehicles recovered in Isabela

By Charlie Lagasca

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – Eight luxury cars believed to have been carjacked were recently recovered in Isabela.

Chief Supt. Rodrigo de Gracia, Cagayan Valley police director, said the recovered vehicles were four Hyundai Accents, a Toyota Avanza, a Nissan Sentra, a Nissan Urvan and a Mitsubishi Adventure.

The vehicles, now in police custody, were seized in separate operations in the towns of Tumauini and Ilagan from Jan. 13 to 17.

The recovery of the stolen vehicles started when authorities pulled over a Hyundai Accent at a checkpoint in Baligatan village in Ilagan town.

The driver, Henry Ferrer, admitted the car was stolen and turned over three more Hyundai Accents to authorities.

Last Monday, authorities recovered a stolen Toyota Avanza driven by one ArsenioBucad, also at a checkpoint in the town proper.

Follow-up operations led to the recovery of the three other stolen vehicles.

Five fishermen rescued off Ilocos Norte waters

PASUQUIN, Ilocos Norte-- Five fishermen on board a capsized motorboat were rescued along waters off Pasuquin in Ilocos Norte, the Philippine Coast Guard reported Tuesday.

Lieutenant Commander Algier Ricafrente, PCG Public Affairs chief, said the PCG Currimao Station responded to a distress call from Barangay Chairman Elviro Agod of Barangay Davila in Pasuquin about five of his constituents in trouble at sea Jan. 15.

Elements of the PCG responded to the call for help and located the troubled fishermen and their motorboat approximately seven nautical miles west of Barangay Davila, Pasuquin.

The five fishermen were picked up by PCG rescuers and their capsized “M/B Russerl May” towed back to Pasuquin, said Ricafrente.

John Hay firm’s arbitration bid a desperate act: JHMC

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority Thursday dismissed as a desperate act Camp John Hay Development Corporation's filing of an arbitration case for P14.4 billion in damages arising from its failed lease contract.

"So, all of a sudden it is BCDA that will now have to pay when as late as July 1, 2008 CJHDevco recognized its obligations which have now reached P3.024 billion," BCDA chair Felicito Payumo said.

Payumo said he has been treating the row with CJHDevco, which developed prior to his watch, with fairness and objectivity.

He added the rescission of the 2008 Restructured Memorandum of Agreement was “provocative and complicated matters.”

“There are no questions about the amount of the arrears. The fact that CJHDevco signed a Restructured Memorandum of Agreement on July 1, 2008 was an acknowledgment of its obligations."

Payumo also clarified that the ruling of the Supreme Court revoking the tax privileges in the John Hay Special Economic Zone in 2003 is already a non-issue as it has already been rectified when Congress restored the tax incentives to the locators of JHSEZ in 2007.

“That was the reason why a deferment of payments had been granted and three restructurings had been done,” he said.

He also shrugged off as “old issue” the One Stop Action Center row which the CJHDevco has been trying to resurrect as an excuse to evade payments.

“To put matters in perspective, the OSAC has been operational. Otherwise, it would not have been able to issue 22 building permits in 2009, 28 in 2010, and eight in the first quarter of 2011. A total of 60 locators have been granted permits to operate,” Payumo said.

With respect to the applications for permit to operate that are still pending, including the CJH Suites occupancy, the John Hay Management Corp. clarified that CJHDevco still has some violations of the Building and Fire Code. JHMC is BCDA’s management arm in the JHSEZ.

Because the JHMC has no authority to issue tree-cutting and tree-balling permits which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) does not delegate, JHMC has actually arranged for a DENR representative to regularly visit and hold office at the OSAC for purposes of permit issuances.

“At any given time, there will always be a number of applications pending,” Payumo said, “but does that mean the OSAC is not operating? And is that a valid reason for CJHDevCo to withhold payment of its arrears totaling P3.024 billion?

“Clearly, the OSAC case is also a non-issue,” Payumo said.

Then again, the CJHDevco contradicted itself by saying it has set up an escrow account in lieu of direct remittances of its lease obligations, the BCDA added.

“Such account does not exist,” BCDA Vice President for Business Development and Operations Dean Santiago said.

He explained that it cannot be called an escrow account because the money allegedly deposited is unilaterally determined by CJHDevco, and only CJHDevco can withdraw from it.

Meanwhile, the BCDA vowed to explore all options available to protect the government’s interest in the Camp John Hay dispute and collect from the lessee CJHDevco all overdue accounts, even as it meets head on the legal moves being taken by the private developer.

Citing the Sobrepena Group’s history of failed big-ticket projects including the College Assurance Plan, Santiago said “ it came as nosurprise that CJHDevco, after defaulting on its lease payments for morethan ten years, would unilaterally rescind the Camp John Hay project.”

Internet-based crime prevention program launched in Cordillera

CAMP BADO DANGWA, LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Regional police office based here launchedJan. 13 a breakthrough in crime investigation and detective management with the “e-Blotter.”

The e-Blotter is a “stand-alone system” which will be installed in all police stations as a means of reporting and monitoring crime that transpired within an area as well as results and records of investigations conducted by the police stations.

The launching was graced by Baguio Rep. Bernardo Vergara, his daughter Gladys and Supt. Ricardo Marquez, executive officer of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Among the highlights of the launching was the turn-over of the e-Blotter by Rep. Vergara to regional police director Chief Supt. Benjamin B. Magalong.

The e- Blotter hardware for the 6 police provincial offices in the Cordillera, 10 police stations of Baguio are initiatives of Rep. Vergara.

In his speech, the Vergara assured police of his support in all the projects the regional headquarters would venture into.

Marquez,, in his speech said the DIDM with the Information Technology Management Service developed a more efficient electronic blotter system for recording crime incidents across the country with the National Capital Region as the pilot study.

Dubbed the e-Blotter, it does not only facilitate crime documentation and modernization of data storage but also presents quick, fast and reliable transmission of crime information from police stations to the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City as an effective management tool for decision makers and security strategies to have an intelligent way of mapping out peace and order and anti-criminality strategies.

The main goal of the project is to have a daily update on what is happening on the ground, particularly in every police station which is vital in mapping out strategies for quick response and crime prevention.

Prior to this launching, 80 officers representing the six provincial police offices and CPO attended a seminar workshop on e-Blotter starting Wednesday.

On Jan. 14, Magalong turned over to Baguio City police director Senior Supt. David Lacdan 12 e-Blotter hardware sets for city police.

Pampanga to enforce anti-overloading law;veggie dealers warned

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga – Officials here warned vehicle owners, which include vegetable dealers from Cordillera and Ilocos regions, not to overload their trucks as the province will now strictly implement Republic Act 9784, the Anti-Overloading Act, through cooperative efforts of various government agencies.

This developed after the provincial government signed Tuesday a memorandum of agreement with the Pampanga Environment and Natural Resources Office and other stakeholder-agencies for installation of additional weighing stations in different points of the province.

Vice Governor Joseller Guiao was designated by Gov. Lilia G. Pineda to sign the MOA with official representatives of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Land Transportation Office, Philippine National Police, Pampanga Truck Owners Association and the Pampanga Mayors League.

Guiao thanked all the signatories to the MOA, which he described as “makasaysayan (historical)” because “it was done in the interest of all stakeholders and for the residents of Pampanga”.

The provincial government provided the weighing scales, samples of which were shown during the signing, to be stationed at strategic areas where trucks may be monitored for compliance to the law.

Under the MOA, the province shall also operate the weighing scales and ensure that these are maintained in accordance with the standards imposed by the Department of Science and Technology.

The DPWH has the mandate of operating the weighbridges and portable weighing stations; determine and indicate in the prescribed form the actual load per axle and the total allowable gross vehicle weight; and identify the overloaded trucks and trailers.

The LTO shall deputize designated personnel that will monitor the law’s implementation and cause the apprehension and impose the penalties on overloaded vehicles.

The PNP shall enforce all laws and ordinances relative to the protection of lives and properties and maintain peace, order and public safety.

The PTOA shall strictly comply with anti-overloading law and pay the necessary weighing fee of P30 per truckload pursuant an ordinance issued by the SangguniangPanlalawigan.

Aside from the vice-governor, others present during the signing are Regional Director Oliver C. Macaspac of the LTO; PSSupt. Edgardo Tinio of the PNP; representatives of the DPWH Regional Director Antonio V. Molano and Arnold C. Liwanag of the PTOA; and Apalit Mayor Oscar Tetangco, Jr., vice president of the PML and an officer of the Quarry Operators of Pampanga.

Pampanga to enforce anti-overloading law;veggie dealers warned

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga – Officials here warned vehicle owners, which include vegetable dealers from Cordillera and Ilocos regions, not to overload their trucks as the province will now strictly implement Republic Act 9784, the Anti-Overloading Act, through cooperative efforts of various government agencies.

This developed after the provincial government signed Tuesday a memorandum of agreement with the Pampanga Environment and Natural Resources Office and other stakeholder-agencies for installation of additional weighing stations in different points of the province.

Vice Governor Joseller Guiao was designated by Gov. Lilia G. Pineda to sign the MOA with official representatives of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Land Transportation Office, Philippine National Police, Pampanga Truck Owners Association and the Pampanga Mayors League.

Guiao thanked all the signatories to the MOA, which he described as “makasaysayan (historical)” because “it was done in the interest of all stakeholders and for the residents of Pampanga”.

The provincial government provided the weighing scales, samples of which were shown during the signing, to be stationed at strategic areas where trucks may be monitored for compliance to the law.

Under the MOA, the province shall also operate the weighing scales and ensure that these are maintained in accordance with the standards imposed by the Department of Science and Technology.

The DPWH has the mandate of operating the weighbridges and portable weighing stations; determine and indicate in the prescribed form the actual load per axle and the total allowable gross vehicle weight; and identify the overloaded trucks and trailers.

The LTO shall deputize designated personnel that will monitor the law’s implementation and cause the apprehension and impose the penalties on overloaded vehicles.

The PNP shall enforce all laws and ordinances relative to the protection of lives and properties and maintain peace, order and public safety.

The PTOA shall strictly comply with anti-overloading law and pay the necessary weighing fee of P30 per truckload pursuant an ordinance issued by the SangguniangPanlalawigan.

Aside from the vice-governor, others present during the signing are Regional Director Oliver C. Macaspac of the LTO; PSSupt. Edgardo Tinio of the PNP; representatives of the DPWH Regional Director Antonio V. Molano and Arnold C. Liwanag of the PTOA; and Apalit Mayor Oscar Tetangco, Jr., vice president of the PML and an officer of the Quarry Operators of Pampanga.

Sagada Etag fest set Feb. 2-5

by Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -This year’s Sagada Etag Festival will be celebrated with exciting events from Feb. 2-5 by constituents from 19 participating barangays of this tourist town, guests and visitors.

Opening of “etag” (smoked meat) booths shall be observed on the first day of the festival along with the opening of the art gallery. The first SagadaEtag Festival was held Jan. 29- Feb. 2 last year to promote ‘etag’ and coffee Arabica.

Vice mayor Richard Yodong who chairs the executive committee of the festival said the activity furthers the promotion of local products including ‘etag’ and coffee and affirm culture as a guiding framework to community development and Sagada as a tourist destination.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin along with the community shall observe the ceremonial Presentation of Christ at the Temple and Purification of the blessed Virgin Mary which happens every Feb. 2 in the Christian calendar.

The celebration of the Holy Eucharist shall be done morning of Feb 2 followed by a bible quiz bee and a choir festival in the evening of same day.

A bike race coordinated by Paul Ballola and AlwynPiluden shall commence at Sagada Poblacion in front of the Community Coop store.

The bikers, around 150 of them shall proceed to Danum Lake on to Lazig hill to Langsayan Ridge and finally to northern Bangaan barangay. The bike race aims to promote environmental protection.

The race sees action on Feb. 4 with send-off ceremonies by Department of Tourism Regional Director Purificacion Molintas.

An art exhibit shall specially show paintings from Sagada’s visual artists including James Wandag, David Fowler, Eugene Magsino, and Janet Eason including works of Sagada potters Lope Bosaing. SiegriedBangyay- Rogers, and Tessie Baldo.

Coordinated by artist David Fowler, the art items shall be displayed at the fourth floor of the newly inaugurated municipal building.

Street dancing participated in by delegates from the four zones of the municipality shall see action morning of February 4. With fiesta theme , ‘Cultural identity, the Strength of our Community’, other cultural shows follow thereafter.

Indigenous games shall also be observed afternoon of February 5 at the community basketball court. Sanggol (arm wrestling), tulsi ( finger wrestling), tinnampaksiupu ( leg spanking) among others shall be played by delegates from the four zones of Sagada. Aeta archers shall be showing enthusiasts how to shoot with bow and arrow.

The National Commission on Culture and the Arts will sponsor most prizes in the cultural presentations and indigenous games.

The Baguio City National High School Rondalla and Rambak Cordillera Performing Arts shall be performing at the community court night of Feb. 3. The performances shall be followed with a literary- musical contest among elementary and high school students.
Search for Miss Sagada shall be done at St Jo Café conference hall eve of February 3 coordinated by Bernard Makellay and Divine Sibayan. Search for Miss Gay Sagada also follows eve of February 4 at St Jo Café Hall.

A quiz bee participated in by elementary and high school students shall be conducted at the Saint Mary’s School Quadrangle.

The above day activities will be done simultaneously with ball games and other sports including a muaithai tournament and a basketball shoot out and plotting game sponsored by SMART Telecommunications.

Mayor OK’s temporary site for market vendors

By Paul Rillorta

BAGUIO CITY – Due to cooperation showed by Block 4 vendors to voluntarily demolish and vacate their stalls last year, Mayor Mauricio Domogan approved their request for a temporary vending site to continue their business within the city market.

Domogan signed Baguio City Market Task Force resolution 04-2011 designating the perimeter area of block 4 as a temporary vending site for displaced block 4 occupants.

Prior to its approval, Domogan ordered the Baguio Market Task Force to inspect and assign a relocation site for vendors affected by the block 4 rehabilitation.

At least 87 vendors can be accommodated in the perimeter of block 4 as per reports by the Task Force which recommended the area suitable as a relocation site.

Vendors who are included in the 2006 and 2011 block 4 surveys will be assigned vending spaces except for occupants who used their stalls as bodegas and eateries prior to demolition.

Session Rd ordered closed for Panagbenga; No classes Feb 1

By Paul Rillorta

BAGUIO CITY – The scent of flowers will fill the air as the 17th edition of the Baguio Flower Festival starts in this mountain resort.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan also ordered the suspension of classes for Elementary and Secondary Levels both for public and private schools on Feb. 1.

“Suspending classes in both Elementary and High School levels will give them the opportunity to participate in the grand opening parade of the Panagbenga’ which falls on a Wednesday,” he said.

The grand opening parade is now converted into an open competition among participating elementary and secondary schools in the city.

This will jumpstart the bigger and better activities lined up for the month-long event.

The Panagbenga Flower Festival will be held Feb. 1 to March 4 with the theme “Community convergence for sustainable tourism Growth.”

Numerous traditional and community-led government supported activities will be featured during the event to boost the city’s robust tourism industry.

Classes for College level will also be suspended on Feb. 25 for the Grand street Dancing Parade.

Domogan also approved temporary closure of Session Road to vehicular traffic come Jan. 27 and certain days on February in line with the Pangabenga Festival.

The mayor said this discussed earlier in a forum with theme “Recreating People Friendly Session Road” which will be participated in by residents, students and visitors from Manila.

“The temporary closure of Session Road during the conduct of the activity will popularize the concept of public space and road sharing.” Domogan said. “This will also entail people to have a feel of the city’s landmark structures so they can appreciate Baguio City as it is.”

The organizers of the activity lined up events which would spice up the forum at the University of the Cordilleras theater.

The main concept would focus on the dream of some stakeholders for a carless Session Road which would in turn be replicated in major cities around the country.

The temporary closure will affect the whole stretch of Session Road from its junction with Magsaysay Avenue up to its junction with Fr. Carlo Loop from 8 am to 5 pm.

The junction of Session Road with Upper Lower Mabini Street will be kept open as alternate route for private and public vehicles.

Meantime, Domogan also ordered the temporary closure of major roads in and around the Central Business District (CBD) come February for the conduct of the 17thPanabenga Festival.

The South Drive Teachers Camp Gate to Military Cut-off rotunda to Lower Session Road and Harrison Road will be closed on February 1, 25 and 26 from 4 am to 1pm for the Flower Festival Opening parade, Grand Street parade and Grand Float Parade.

Upper Session Road (SM rotunda to Mercury Drug of Malcolm Square) to include roads and backstreets intersecting Session Road and Gov. Pack Road will also be closed on February 28 to March 6 midnight for the Session Road in Bloom.

Baguio City officials meet to fix traffic

By Julie G. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY – The Traffic and Transport Management Committee met last week to discuss issues on traffic to include exemptions, loading and unloading areas, parking areas, pedestrian lanes and concerns on jeepney groups’ rationalization scheme.

Chaired by Mayor Mauricio Domogan, committee members including Councilor NicasioAliping, Jr., Baguio City Police Office Traffic Management Group’s James Logan, OIC planning officer engineer Evelyn Cayat, representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways and drivers’ groups tackled the transport sector’s needs.

First, the mayor said, is inspection for vehicle owners’ application requirement as to existing private parking space, as this exacerbates vehicular traffic in city and barangay roads. Transport and traffic officers should be strict in implementing the ruling in such since the city is wanting in parking space, he said.

The uniforms for drivers should also be implemented, as to the administrative order issued by the mayor on the first week of January. This was the subject of clarification as queries arose if the uniforms are in accordance to the directives from the national transport office. Perfecto Itliong, Jr. of the local transport group made the clarification, and there is no need for an amendment as earlier mentioned.

Requests from several commercial establishments for motorcycle route exemption and parking along Magsaysay rd sidewalk and Session road were outright denied by the committee. Session road should be motorcycle-free, the mayor said, and sidewalks used as parking endangers pedestrians, as they are forced to walk instead on the road.

Additional loading area for a jeepney line was up for study. The said request came up with the observation that two jeepney units could better serve the riding public, lessen the lines snaking along the sidewalk and road.

A proposal for signal lights and an overpass at Lower Session road was also requested for further study.

Building contractors asking for exemptions for delivery trucks were denied by the committee, even as it was for a government project. The mayor however advised them to carry out the project during night time, as delivery trucks can ply city roads from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Trunkline color change can only be clarified with the Department of Transportation and Communication national office, it was so learned as an appeal for such change was logged in.

The change was requested on need for the usual parking space.

Crosswalks along Harrison road shall also be subjected to a comprehensive written report, Mayor Domogan said, as with the need for a wider space for the overpass along Abanao.

A report was submitted on traffic and pedestrian volume along Abanaostreet.

For DPWH projects, it was learned that all efforts are being done to finish all before the Panagbenga grand parades on Feb. 25 and 26. Adjustments are being done, the DPWH representative said.

Re-routing schemes for Kayangstreet was also assured by the committee, for the benefit of transport business and the riding public.

Luisita farmers decry raps filed by RCBC

ANGELES CITY– The AlyansangManggagawangBukidsaAsyendaLuisita (Ambala) and the AlyansangmgaMagbubukidsaGitnangLuson (AMGL) decried as harassment charges of grave coercion and illegal occupation of property filed against them by the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).

Felix Nacpil Jr., Ambala chairman, said the case involved some 184 hectares in Barangay Balete within the Cojuangco-Aquino family-owned Hacienda Luisita which the Supreme Court, in a verdict on Nov. 22 last year, awarded to the farmers.

“We decry RCBC’s criminalization of agrarian cases involving the lands it claims at Barangay Balete. We are determined to fight and assert our rights as legitimate owners also of the 500 hectares of land being claimed by Luisita Realty Corp. (LRC), Luisita Industrial Park Co. (Lipco) and RCBC,” he said.

Over five years ago, some 184 of the 500 hectares were turned over by the Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) to RCBC as payment for a loan.

In protest, the farmers started what they called “bungkalan” by farming the area.

Last Jan. 5, Ambalapetitioned the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to revoke its order six years ago converting the 500 hectares from agricultural to industrial land.
The DAR has yet to decide on the petition.

Nacpil said RCBC has filed grave coercion and occupation of real property charges against 23 leaders and members of Ambala after they cultivated the land starting July last year.
“We strongly believe that it was pure harassment to demoralize the struggling farm workers,” he said.

In a joint statement, Ambala and AMGL said that the criminal charges could be part of a ploy to harass farmer-beneficiaries of land reform covering 4,915 hectares in the hacienda.

Even leaders of the United Luisita Workers’ Union (ULWU) and their sympathizer Tarlac City Councilor EmmieLadera reported being harassed, the statement added.

The farmer groups also accused the Cojuangco-Aquino clan of backing RCBC in filing charges against their officers and members.

Joseph Canlas, AMGL chairman, said in October last year some 60 Army soldiers allegedly summoned by RCBC failed to dismantle camp structures built by the farmers tilling the lands.

“We are preparing for the worst in the RCBC case, as they are powerful and influential and the courts could easily decide in their favor,” he said.

“We are consolidating our members so that they would not fall for the Cojuangco-Aquino’s coercive moves.”

Canlas said should the court favor RCBC, “we would mobilize all our members in the region, to defend the campout.”

“RCBC is playing with fire, it should realize that the farm workers have endured the violent massacre in 2004, thus, plain issuance of warrants or whatever would not cow and derail them from occupying the hacienda. It is inviting the farmers’ wrath to fall on their Makati office,” he said.

“We are calling on our supporters in Metro Manila to immediately protest at the RCBC main office in Makati if the harassment of farmers continues.”

Cordillera tops nation’s newborn screening stats

By Paul Rillorta

BAGUIO CITY-- The Cordillera was found most compliant in following provisions of Republic Act 9288 (on newborn screening statistics) reports from the University of the Philippines, National Institute of Health revealed.

The Newborn Screening Reference Center (UP-NIH-NSRC) said the Cordillera Administrative Region topped the country’s Newborn Screening Program (NBS) implementation with 67.4 percent coverage besting Region 6 (Western Visayas) coverage of 60.5% who placed in second and Region 11(Davao) coverage of 60.3% who landed in third.

Also included in the performance evaluation are Region 1 (32.5%), Region 2 (40.4%), Region 3 (38.8%), NCR (51.6%), Region 4a (38.2%), Region 4b(43%), Region 5(21.5%), Region 7(36%), Region 8 (42.5%), Region 9 (33%), Region 10(50.6%), Region 12 (47.8%), CARAGA (36.4%) and ARMM (15.3%).

The monitoring also showed the country has increased its Newborn Screening Service from 15.6 percent or 234,000 of the 1.5 million babies born annually in 2007 to 42% or 713,580 of the 1.7 million babies born for 2011 which has undergone Newborn Screening.

The Newborn Screening Act was instituted to screen newborns for 5 metabolic disorders or defects that can be cured when detected right after birth.

It involves extracting blood from an infant’s heel to test for Congenital Hypothyroidism, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Galactosemia, Phenylketonuria and Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency (G6PD).

Recently, Newborn Hearing Screening have been introduced by Senator Loren Legarda as House Bill 1372 which aims for the early diagnosis, prevention and intervention of hearing loss among children as a separate legislation from that of RA 9288.

The Department of Health says early detection and treatment of these disorders could increase the infants chances of a normal life.

DOH-Center for Health Development-CAR says at least 71 Newborn Screening Facilities (NSF’s), have been their partner in the continued implementation of Newborn Screening Services in the region.

Still, efforts are being undertaken to ensure the nationwide implementation of the newborn screening law.

Life goes on for parents of dead conjoined twins

DAGUPAN CITY– For parents of conjoined twins recently born at the government-owned Region 1 Medical Center here but died the following day, the twins were a blessing and a reminder from God that life must go on.

“They are now in heaven,” said Samuel Cuadro, 25, father of the female twins named Sarah Grace and Sarah May, after popular singer-actress Sarah Geronimo, of whom their mother Sarita Prestoza, 22, is a big fan.

Cuadro, a farmer, said he knew his twins would not live long yet he considered them as God’s blessings to him and his live-in partner. The twins were born Dec. 28 but died the next day.

The twins had two heads and just one set of hands and feet, but had two hearts, in a rare case of parapagus dicephalus, according to Dr. Michael Canto, spokesman of the Region 1 Medical Center.

Canto said the hospital has had four cases of conjoined twins of different types, including Cuadro’s twins, which he added were the third case of parapagus dicephalus in the world.

The conjoined twins weighed 3.8 kilograms at birth. One of the heads was described as apparently weak and “incubated.”

Cuadro and Prestoza are not yet married, and the twins were their first-born. He said his family does not have a history of having twins.

Wife of cop stabbed dead still recuperating

By Teddy Molina

BANTAY, Ilocos Sur – The pregnant wife of a police officer is still recuperating after she was recently stabbed while trying to help her husband who was trying to pacify a melee on a basketball court here.

One of security escorts of Ilocos Sur Vice Gov. Deogracias Victor Savellano, PO2 Rufino Rapacon, the husband was knifed to death night of Dec. 29.

His six-month pregnant wife Florence, with rank of Police Officer 1, was seriously stabbed in the abdomen.

Investigation showed Rufino rushed out of his house near the basketball court in Barangay Cabaroan where a tournament was being held to pacify the players who were having a quarrel.

PO1 Estrellita Regua, assistant investigator of the Bantay police station, said the four brothers attacked Rapacon, with one of them stabbing him in the back with a broken beer bottle.

She identified the suspects as the Bautista brothers Roberto, 39; Roger, 48; Rollie and Ronnie, 33.

When Rapacon fell, Rollie Bautista stabbed the policeman in the chest with a knife. It was Roger who attacked the policeman with the beer bottle, Regua said.

Rapacon was not carrying his service firearm during the incident, as the guns of policemen were sealed to prevent indiscriminate firing during the New Year’s Eve revelry, Regua said.

The victim’s wife, Florence rushed to the scene with her pistol when she saw her husband fell, but she was stabbed in the abdomen.

Mrs. Rapacon was rushed to the Metro Vigan Cooperative Hospital where she and her unborn child were declared safe several hours later.

Also brought to the hospital were Rollie and Ronnie Bautista who Mrs. Rapacon managed to hit with her pistol.

Their two brothers are now in police custody.

8 towns illegal logging hot spots in Cagayan

By Charlie Lagasca

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya– At least eight towns in Cagayan Valley have been identified as illegal logging hot spots.

This was disclosed during a recent regional multi-sectoral forest protection committee meeting in Tuguegarao City.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-led committee identified the towns as Cabagan, Ilagan, Jones, San Guillermo, San Mariano and Tumauini in Isabela, and Maddela and Nagtipunan in Quirino.

It was also disclosed during the meeting that several areas in Nueva Vizcaya and Cagayan are still prone to illegal cutting of trees as shown in various apprehensions of hot lumber in 2011.

Based on these apprehensions, the towns of Kasibu and Quezon in Nueva Vizcaya are still havens of so-called carabao logging wherein loggers utilize water buffaloes to haul illegally cut timber from the forests down to the nearest access roads.

Forester Bernardo Valiente said a total of 934 cubic meters of illegal cut lumber placed at P10 million were confiscated or intercepted during the second quarter of 2011.

Overall though, the DENR said illegal logs seized by the anti-illegal logging task force, composed of the DENR, local government units, police and military, last year were significantly less than in previous years.

The DENR attributed this to its non-stop crackdown, with the help of the private sector, including Bantay Gubat volunteers, on illegal logging in line with President Aquino’s order for a logging moratorium nationwide.

Forester Benjamin Tumaliuan, DENR regional executive director, said they would further intensify their ground and aerial operations to eventually rid the region of illegal loggers or timber poachers.

The northern Sierra Madre biodiversity corridor, home of some of the world’s endangered flora and fauna species, including the Rafflesia leonardi, said to be the world’s biggest flower species, lies in Cagayan Valley, especially Isabela and Cagayan.

The northern Sierra Madre also hosts one of the country’s remaining largest forest covers. However, it continues to be threatened by illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming and environmentally destructive practices.

“There are no sacred cows in the implementation of the logging ban in the region. We have to protect our remaining forest cover in the region,” Tumaliuan said.

Clark int’l airport passenger list up

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — The Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) reported that over 700,000 international passengers arrived at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) last year.

CIAC recorded over 725,023 international passengers for the year 2011.

The CIAC Corporate Planning Department said international passenger volume increased to 19 percent from the 607,704 passengers in 2010.

The state-run corporation added that it expects Clark airport to experience an exponential growth in passenger volume in the next five to seven years.

“In December 2011 alone, the international passenger volume increased to 80,802, representing a 36 percent increase over the 59,045 figure on the same period last year,” said CIAC President Victor Jose Luciano, adding that they are still expecting the number to increase because of the tourism promotion initiatives of the national government.

By the end of 2012, Luciano said that passenger volume at Clark may reach 5 million once Air Asia Philippines, an international airline company, starts operations this year.

“We expect a growth in passenger volume once Air Asia Philippines starts its flights out of Clark,” he stressed.

He added that since 2003, the Clark airport has already carried more than 3.5 million international passengers.

“This is an accomplishment for the DMIA as it is the first time that a tremendous increase in international passenger volume was achieved. This only shows that the Clark airport is being recognized around the world,” Luciano said.

Luciano, however, said that there is an urgent need to construct a bigger terminal at DMIA as it can only accommodate about 2.5 million international passengers.

“The budget terminal is the only solution to accommodate the 5 million annual passengers that we expect from the slated operations of the Air Asia hub at Clark,” Luciano pointed out.

Luciano said the proposed budget terminal will be presented to Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas.

“The bidding process for the second phase of the expansion of the existing terminal has already started while CIAC officials prepare the plans for the construction of a separate and new budget terminal that will cost an estimated P12 billion with an annual passenger capacity of 10 million,” he said.

DMIA is being groomed to be the premier gateway of the country.

CIAC, the operating arm of DMIA, has already infused P338 million for the expansion of the existing DMIA Terminal 1, increasing passenger capacity to 2.7 million annually.

Mabalacat Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales, Co-Chairman of the Metro Clark Advisory Council, said the government should now look into the development of the Clark airport because “it had been proven several times that it can accommodate the entry of wide commercial aircraft, plus the fact that it will bring in more development to the countryside.”

He said that the country should have more than one premier airport to accommodate both foreign tourists and transfer of goods from the Philippines to other country and vice versa.

Isabela eyes change in cropping sked

By Charlie Lagasca

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – The provincial government of Isabela is considering adjustments in the cropping schedule of its farmers to suit the changing weather patterns.

“We have suggested to farmers and other stakeholders a possible revision in the cropping pattern being followed in the province (and the rest of the region) to avoid reaching typhoon months (when massive destruction of crops occur),” Isabela Gov. Faustino Dy III said during a climate change summit last Friday January 13.

Isabela lost more than P3 billion worth of crops, mostly rice and corn in last year’s typhoons.

Baguio mayor names 2012 priority projects

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan vowed to continue this year unfinished programs and projects which were either conceptualized or started last year to address various concerns of the city and attain the development goals set by his administration.

Topping his list were the projects pipelined for solid waste management particularly the rehabilitation of the dumpsite at Irisan barangay for conversion into a park, the continued improvement of the waste segregation scheme in the barangays and enhanced operation of the Environmental Recycling System (ERS)
machines.

The mayor said clearing and development works continue at the dump facility including the areas affected by the fateful trash slide using last year’s calamity fund.

He said bulk of the rehabilitation work which includes the construction of an all-weather retaining wall to stabilize the area as per the plan prepared by the technical working group composed of engineering teams from the city government and the top three universities of the city will be started once the city receives the P80 million fund from the national government.

On the environmental front, the mayor said programs on tree-planting and caring will be sustained along with the campaign for the improvement of air quality in the city and the clearing and cleaning of creeks and tributaries.

The city will also continue to prioritize the rehabilitation of the aging sewer treatment plant (STP) in tandem with the rehabilitation of community septic tanks to improve the management of the city’s liquid wastes.

The mayor said the city devoted the P25 million performance challenge fund it received from the national government to improve the capacity of the STP and this year, the city earmarked P50 million in the proposed city budget to continue the expansion.

The city will also pursue public-private partnerships on the following key ventures: development of Burnham Park, Asin minihydroelectric plants and the improvement of the abattoir.

The city is scheduled to open bids for the Asin hydropower plants on January while the terms of reference for Burnham Park and the slaughterhouse are still being firmed up.

Other priority projects lined up are:

*Improvement of Rose Garden with the first phase set for completion and the second phase under the planning process; Botanical Garden improvement for which a contract for the initial improvement has been signed with a budget of P10.5 million from the city and P2.5 million from the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA); Mines View Park initial improvement with P4 million fund;

*Various infrastructure projects in the barangays for which the city allocated P30 million or 40 percent of the 20 percent development fund and complemented by another P30 million from Rep. Bernardo Vergara’s development fund;

*Improvement of crime laboratory at the Baguio city police office with P6 million fund and increased social and health assistance programs for indigents.

Cordillera needs 6,000 cops; applications on

By Mar T. Supnad

CAMP BADO DANGWA, LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- The Police Regional office here announced the Cordillera is in need n of new policemen to fill the needed force totaling 6,000 new policemen this year.

To qualify, applicants should be citizens of the Philippines, of good moral character and should pass psychiatric/psychological, drug and physical tests to be administered by the Philippine National Police or any National Police Commission-accredited government hospital.

Applicants must also possess a formal baccalaureate degree from a recognized learning institution and must be eligible in accordance with standards set by the Commission.

Applicants must also not have been dishonorably discharged from military employment or dismissed for cause from any civilian position in government or convicted by final judgment of an offense or crime involving moral turpitude.

To be eligible, applicants must be at least one meter and sixty-two centimeters (1.62m) in height for male and one meter and fifty-seven (1.57m) for female; must weight not more or less than five kilograms from the standard weight corresponding to his/her height, age and sex an must not be less than 21 nor more than 30 years of age.

Applicants should also bring with them duly accomplished CSC Form 212; birth certificate authenticated by the NSO; Report of Rating of Eligibility authenticated by the issuing authority two pieces 2x2 black and white picture with name tag, transcript of scholastic records and diploma duly authenticated by the school registrar; and clearances such as barangay, local police station, municipal and regional trial courts and NBI.

The advisory also said that additional documents such as medical certificate issued by the local health office, copy of two valid IDs with pictures, signature and address; and certificate of good moral character issued by the college/university last attended by the applicant.

Man nabbed for poking knife at sleeping lady; robbing her of P5,000

CONNER, Apayao – A man here is now in jail for poking a knife at a sleeping lady and trying to rob her.

A police report said on Jan. 15 at about 11:40 p.m. at Barangay Malama here, DJ AbubakarAgcon, 23, married and resident of Purok 1 in the barangay was arrested by police for robbery and frustrated homicide.

The victim was identified as Emily G. Guib-awen, 40, married and resident of same place.

The report said Guib-awen was asleep inside her residence when Agcon entered the back door of the house and once inside, awakened the victim by pointing a knife at her.

The suspect demanded for money but the victim resisted which prompted the suspect to stab her and was able to cart away cash money amounting to P4, 918.

Responding police immediately brought the victim to San Juan Medical Clinic for medical treatment, while other cops conducted follow-up operations that resulted to the arrest of the suspect at his residence.

Agcon was failed at the Conner Municipal Police Station.

Kagawad jailed for trying to shoot victim

LAMUT, Ifugao – A barangay kagawad was arrested and jailed here last week for allegedly striking a resident’s face with a pistol after repeatedly trying to shoot the victim but the gun misfired.

A police report said on Jan, 15 at Ifugao State University compound in Barangay Nayon here, village council member Antonio Tayaban Allaga Jr. 58, married and resident of Nayon, allegedly using a firearm, struck the face of Atachi Pulig Saguilot, 30, single, also resident of said place.

Investigation disclosed prior to the incident, gunfire was heard at the residential area of the suspect prompting Noel Ballitoc, security guard on duty at IFSU to call for police assistance at Lamut Municipal Police Station.

Responding personnel immediately proceeded to said area where they saw the suspect holding a gun while confronting the victim with blood oozing on his face.

The suspect also was seen poking his firearm at the victim and squeezing the trigger several times but the gun misfired.

The suspect was immediately disarmed by police and confiscated from him a Cal. 9mm Tanfoglio handgun with serial number AB70257.

The suspect was requested to present documents of his firearm and showed a license issued last August 4, 2011 due to expire Feb. 7, 2015.

The suspect was submitted to paraffin test while the firearm was turned-over to Ifugao Crime Laboratory Office for ballistic examination.

Allaga is now under custody of Lamut police while charges are set to be filed against him.

P.5 marijuana bricks seized from young man

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Police arrested a man aboard a bus here Jan. 16 with eight pieces of marijuana bricks valued at half a million pesos.

Members of the Regional Anti Illegal Drugs Operations Task Group led by Senior Insp. MelchorOng and Regional Intelligence Unit-14 members reportedly set up a checkpoint along Alapang Road here after being tipped off and nabbed LardiDianzo, aboard Kibungan, Pine Tree Transit Bus with plate AVK 260.

The young farmer and a resident of Sablang, Sagpat, Kibungan, Benguet was caught with approximately 9,000 grams of marijuana.

The suspect told police he had no knowledge about the marijuana bricks inside two bags.

He said he was asked by someone to look for the bags during the trip, from kibungan to Baguio City.

Arrested person is now detained at La Trinidad Municipal Jail while documents are being prepared for the inquest proceedings.

2 miners jailed for shooting colleague in Itogon,Benguet

ITOGON, Benguet – Two small scale miners are now in jail here after shooting a man of the same profession here Jan. 16 around 5:30 p.m. at Antamok Mines.

Police identified the victim as Lawrence B. Nadudo, 44 while suspects were named as Chito H. Ballogan,29 and Edwin D. Duhalwon, 49.

All were natives of HingyonIfugao and at present residents of Gate 1, Barangay Ucab here.

A police report said prior to the incident; the suspects accosted the victim and accused him that he was the one spreading gossip that a certain Banawol, one of the suspects, was responsible for stealing gold ore inside the mine tunnel where they worked.

A heated argument ensued and suddenly both suspects brought out handguns and reportedly shot the victim.

The victim sustained two gunshot wounds, one on the right side of his neck and another on the left side of his abdomen and was immediately rushed to Saint Louis University-Hospital of the Sacred Heart for medical treatment.

Nadudo is still recuperating from his wounds.

The suspects were later arrested by responding police personnel.

Charges for frustrated murder were being prepared against the suspects at press time.

Finding solutions to the SM mess

EDITORIAL

The huge rally against the planned cutting or balling” of trees at SM Baguio could not have happened if the Department of Environment and Natural Resources didn’t issue a tree-cutting or “balling” permit and the city government didn’t issue a building permit to the giant firm to make a seven-storey parking lot.

The government is now being perceived again as the culprit. With the thrust of the Aquino administration for a total log ban, it is a wonder how the DENR granted the permit.

To SM, business is business, but to the protesters, it is a matter of environmental protection. So what gives? It is either SM will stop the project or the protests will continue as gleaned from Friday’s rally in downtown Baguio where more than 5,000 people came out of nowhere to air their sentiments against the project.

A dialogue on the matter as proposed by Mayor Mauricio Domogan is a positive step in finding solutions to the controversy.It is high time huge like SM and government officials should be more sensitive to the people. After all, is they who are the customers of the former while the latter’s salaries are being paid out of taxpayers’ money.
Being in a democratic society, a dialogue on the issue by stakeholders is wanting

A night with JHMC ladies /SM statement on tree-cutting

BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – Members of the media here one evening met Jamie Eloise Agbayani, new president and chief executive officer of John Hay Management Corporation and found out she was one friendly, pretty lady, much unlike her predecessor who now has to contend with the news-hungry media in Manila due to issues besetting her husband.

People were surprised when they were told she was the wife of former Pangasinan Gov. Agbayani.

It was during the occasion at The Chalet that I also espied lawyer Lyssa Pagano, longtime acquaintance, a beauty in her own right and former officer of the JHMC who said she was returning as consultant of the government-run corporation.

Lyssa, a former Bartopnotcher, said she had been working in Manila and returning to Baguio was always a “painful experience” nowadays, but I won’t tell you why. It looked like she didn’t age, but then, some people just have the genes.

The social niceties, I will talk about later in another column so more on the JHMC and the new president’s thoughts on the matter.

Ms Agbayani said part of her thrust would be to support and boost the city’s tourism and help in protection and preservation of the city’s remaining forest reserveslike Camp John Hay though various activities.

She earlier bared this during the Department of Tourism-Cordillera-led regional tourism conference here last week.

The JHMC is reportedly set to implement a Medium-Term Development Plan for Camp John Hay starting this 2012 whose primary objective is to help boost the city’s tourism by putting in more attractions inside the camp for both local and foreign visitors.

“We would like to bring more visitors including the city folks inside Camp John Hay,” Agbayani said.

First on the JHMC’s agenda is the rehabilitation of the camp’s historical core, which according to Agbayani, is the soul of Camp John Hay and one of the remaining original American architecture inside the camp.

“We are going to rehabilitate the core and we will put in activities such as arts festivals and concerts. I have already talked to the academe to help in bringing in the Cordillera culture, hoping to preserve such culture, not only by educating the tourists but the youth and the locals as well,” Agbayani added.

She also disclosed an agro-forestry project through a partnership with Canadian company, Rocky Mountain Arabica Coffee. “We are going to plant coffee on about 60 hectare area inside the camp, which somehow will also help in reforestation effort of the city.”

For other environmental projects, Agbayani said the JHMC is also pushing for renewable energy thus upgrading the mini-hydro inside the Camp John Hay reservation is in the works.

The mini-hydro which was built by the Americans is a 500kw power plant, but according to initial studies made by JHMC’s proponent, it can be upgraded to 3.8 Mwatts which could be shared to the city as the camp’s energy requirement is only about 1.5 Mwatts.

Agbayani also dismissed the issue that there is indiscriminate cutting of trees inside Camp John Hay. She said they have close coordination with the city government through Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Department of Environment and Natural Resources regionalexecutive director Clarence Baguio as far as monitoring and overseeing tree-cutting inside the camp is concerned.

Agbayani outlined the five-point development plan for JHMC to include IT Service Export Processing Zone; Medical Tourism Zone; Educational Tourism Zone; Sports and Recreation Centers; and Eco Cultural Tourism.
***
In the interest of fair play, we are printing hereunder en toto a statement of SM management, courtesy of media relations officer Karren Padilla, on the controversial and planned “cutting” or “balling” of around 200 trees at their Baguio establishment:

In 2005 and 2010, we experienced soil erosion in our Baguio property. Seeking permanent solutions, we researched the problem and consulted many experts. The collective inputs we received revealed that a careful enhancement of the area, was the best way to address this concern for the long term. We started to draw up plans. To help ensure alignment with globally accepted standards for green development, we also decided to aim for possible LEED accreditation.

These redevelopment plans will not only take the environment into consideration. The project will also create new opportunities for employment, business and tourism in the city. These include:

1. A new parking facility that will provide alternatives to street parking and, hopefully, help decongest the streets around the facility;
2. A roof garden with trees and shrubs to cover the building footprint;
3. A rainwater collection system to help control water runoff in and around the property, while providing a secondary water source for the facility’s needs.

We then sought the approval of the city government and all government agencies and secured these permits over time. We have strictly followed the stipulations on the permits. We are not cutting trees. Rather, we are going to ball out some trees carefully and have utilized recommended specialists for this activity who will replant them in designated areas within the SM property.

In addition, rather than merely complying with the stipulation that we plant 20 saplings for every tree balled out, we decided to go beyond this requirement, and have increased this to 50 saplings for every tree we will transfer.

We are grateful that our transparency has been appreciated by local government units, as well as city environmentalists and religious organizations when we made our presentations.

As a responsible mall developer, we shall continue to inform the public of our plans to help safeguard and improve life in the city by supporting the need to plant more trees, promote improved engineering and safety standards, help in traffic and vehicle management, and make better use of Baguio’s abundant rainfall.

We thank you for your kind understanding and patience.

Corona’s day in court

PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz

Finally, Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona had his day in court. Accused of betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption, and culpable violation of the Constitution, Corona was impeached by the House of Representatives and is now facing his accusers – eleven representatives of the people – before a Senate impeachment trial with the 23 senators sitting as judges.

Corona and his wife Cristina attended the first day of the trial to prove — as his chief defense counsel retired Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas pronounced — that he is not hiding anything.

But as it turned out, Corona’s defense attorneys demanded that the list of 45 properties allegedly owned by the Coronas not be accepted in the trial. If he was not really hiding anything, why would he object to the introduction of public information as evidence?

The impeachment trial is all about Corona’s character. It’s all laid out in the prosecution team’s opening statement, which was read by Congressman-prosecutor Niel C. Tupas Jr.

“As public servants,” Tupas began, “we took an oath to uphold the people’s will at all times. All who hold positions in the government of our Republic are accountable for their actions. For the power of the sovereign Filipino people is a power that is higher than the Executive, the Legislative or even the Judiciary. And therefore, no matter how high and mighty one’s position may be, one can never, ever be beyond public accountability. Today, we lay down before this impeachment tribunal the product of the collective voice of the people.”

Having said that, Tupas then crystallized the prosecution’s objective: “We are not here to indict the Supreme Court as an institution, or to do battle with the judicial branch of government. We are here to search for the truth so as to restore the strength and independence of the judiciary. We are here because one man — Chief Justice Renato Corona — has bartered away for a pot of porridge the effectiveness, the independence, and the honor of the Supreme Court. Mr. Senate President, your honors, one very important question before this honorable impeachment tribunal is, by what standards should Renato Corona be judged?”

After he briefly extolled two Supreme Court icons, Cayetano Arellano, the first Chief Justice and Jose Abad Santos, who preferred to die at the hands of the Japanese rather than betray his country, Tupas said: “The Code of Judicial Conduct demands that a judge must be like Caesar’s wife — someone who must not only be pure but must be beyond suspicion at all times. Therefore, a Justice must be judged according to the highest standards. Against such standards, we then ask: Who is Chief Justice Corona? What kind of a man is he?”

Tupas described Corona as a “loyal servant” to former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from the time she became Vice-President in 1998 until she became President in 2001. Then Arroyo appointed Corona’s wife Cristina to plum positions in the Camp John Hay Management Corporation and then appointed Corona himself as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and the “best reward” of all, Corona took a “midnight oath” as Chief Justice. Tupas said that Corona’s appointment as Chief Justice also served an “immoral” purpose: to shield Arroyo from prosecution for her misdeeds during her presidency.

Tupas then outlined the eight articles of impeachment against Corona. He mentioned Article 2 last, saying: “And finally, we come to Article 2 where the prosecution will prove that Chief Justice Renato Corona amassed ill-gotten wealth after he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2002. To give you an idea of this article, let me present to you some of the prized pieces of the Corona crown jewels,” and named several multi-million properties.

And in a stinging indictment of Corona, Tupas said, “The governing principle of our laws is clear: unexplained discrepancy between an official’s income and his assets, declared or undeclared, is prima facie evidence of ill-gotten wealth, and therefore, is an impeachable crime of graft and corruption.”

“In closing,” he said, “the message of the House, as the representatives of the people, is the same as that given by Oliver Cromwell when he dismissed England’s Long Parliament on April 20 of 1653. Before God and country, we say: ‘It is high time for us to put an end to your sitting in that place, which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice, you are an enemy to good government, as you have sold your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas Escariot betrayed your God for a few pieces of gold. Depart I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!’ ”

It was a lacerating rebuke to Corona who was at that time sitting at the VIP section with his wife. Makes one wonder how he felt? It must have taken him a lot of courage to make an appearance at the opening day of the impeachment trial, knowing that the prosecution team would certainly attack him. Could it be that his appearance was calculated to evoke public sympathy and make him a martyr in the public eye?

But it must be remembered that for several days prior to his “day in court,” Corona staged press conferences and public rallies and attacked several people of conspiracy to bring him down. First, he accused the Land Registration Authority (LRA) Administrator of producing a fake list of 45 properties that were allegedly owned by Corona, his wife and children, and in-laws. He branded the list as a “hoax.”

And just hours before the impeachment trial started, Corona told his supporters who gathered in front of the Supreme Court that three persons were conspiring to remove him from office. He said that the first wanted to stop the distribution of Hacienda Luisita to farmer-beneficiaries, the second lost in his bid to become vice president, and the third “desperately” wants to become Chief Justice.

Corona shouldn’t blame anybody but himself for the problems he’s having now. It must be remembered that when he was nominated for the soon-to-be-vacant Chief Justice position in the waning days of the Arroyo administration, several other justices were nominated including then-Associate Justice and now-Ombudsman ConchitaCarpio-Morales and Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. Carpio-Morales and Carpio declined the nomination noting that there was a ban on “midnight appointments.”

But Corona accepted the nomination saying that it was the dream of every lawyer to be appointed to the highest position in the Judiciary. However, many warned him that accepting a “midnight appointment” could be problematic in the future. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy and look where he is right now – fighting to keep the position that he dreamed about all his life.

It’s too early to see how the political weather vane would turn. But if Corona were acquitted, would history give him a place to occupy next to Cayetano Arellano and Jose Abad Santos? Or would an unforgiving people consign him to the dustbin of history when he steps down in 2018?
He had his “day in court.” Quo vadis, Corona?
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)

Two Ramons’ New Year’s resolutions

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March L. Fianza

The Ramons I know are both engaged in environmental protection. I do know how the one Ramon is dedicated to what he does in as far as trees are concerned, but for the other Ramon – I am not so sure.

Four years ago, the Ramon that I first knew had a New Year’s resolution to stop his association with wine and liquor which he sustained through the following New Years. He later stopped smoking.

By the way, even while being diabetic, he had a stent or tube “painlessly” inserted in one of his arteries around his heart. Friends who visited him at his bed in St. Paul told me he is back to his usual self with the normal smile accompanied by his extemporaneous jokes.

Let us say that the smile stays for as long as he is not shown his hospital bills.

While he went on fulfilling his New Year’s resolution year after year, he also continued working for the protection of the environment in his own capacity, not like the line government agency employee who works for the environment 8 to 5 because that is what is required in his job description and earns a monthly salary by doing so.

Ramon, the “sweet” guy with the “big” heart has been able to sustain his Eco-Walk project, having coordinated hundreds of tree-planting activities for several organizations.

Ironically, instead of harvesting trees that it planted, the Eco-Walk project reaped awards and citations from organizations here and abroad.

I am certain that when Mondax gets out of his hospital bed, the first thing that he will think about is how the trees at Busol are doing. I am sure that when Mondax gets up, he will again lead people to Busol. Mapanisuagmulati Pine Tree because that is one of the best things he wants to do.

Two years ago, GSIS agreed to allow the SM giant to build over a mini forest that the former owned beside the Baguio Convention Center.

While this was being opposed by the concerted effort of the media, concerned Baguio residents and some public officials; Mondax convinced colleagues in the media to plant more trees inside the GSIS lot.

The other Ramon that we recently knew had a New Year’s resolution that was different from Mondax’s. This Ramon who heads the country’s environment agency is the opposite of Mondax.

Last December, I saw him on TV talk about the floods that hit Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. In his interview, he pointed to both legal and illegal logging as the culprits.

He said, the “Total Log Ban” declared by PNoy through Executive Order 23 in January 2010 should be applicable all over the country since it is a national law.

He was referring to the manner by which EO23 was wrongly interpreted and therefore unimplemented by officials of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

They said that since they were “autonomous,” they were in control of their natural resources. That is why they issued their own tree-cutting permits.

Mr. Ramon Paje of the DENR is correct in saying that the total log ban should be implemented nationwide because it is a national law. He could have also known of the logging permits issued in the ARMM, but how come he did not run after the ARMM permitees?

If the Sendong flooding in CDO and Iligan did not happen, maybe he could not have come out on TV to say what he had said about the nationwide implementation of EO23.

If the Sendong disaster did not happen, maybe Ramon of the DENR could not have acted to stop both legal and illegal logging in the ARMM even while he knew that EO23 had to be implemented nationwide.

Ramon of the DENR is the opposite of Mondax. He implements his laws selectively.
On October 27 last year, contrary to the total log ban, the DENR again granted a tree-cutting and balling permit to SM giant upon his instructions.
Of course, the prime “protector” of the environment cited its own interpretation of the law to suit the permit that it issued.

With the permit, SM is set to sentence to death more than 180 trees by cutting more than 40 fully grown Alnus trees and uproot for balling more than 90 growing Pine Trees and more than 40 saplings that are growing within the Luneta Hill to give way for its expansion.

That is what I am saying about the two Ramons’ sincerity and dedication to implementing environment protection. The difference is glaring that Mondax is sincere in protection while the other Ramon is coldheartedly insensitive to the value of trees.

By issuing the tree-cutting permit, Mr. Ramon Paje displayed an act favoring a private business entity and has brought upon DENR the question from people why it allows the killing of trees instead of protecting them. Was this in exchange of money or other favors?

And why are our city officials abnormally silent on this? Did they also receive anything in exchange for zipping their mouths?

For SM representatives who have tried to defend their plan by saying that they went through due process in obtaining a permit, they are like their boss who prefers to work for greed at the expense of the green environment.

After a public protest rally last Friday, I wish to see us continue the fight to stop the “partnership” of Ramon and Henry, both of whom are about to sacrifice Baguio’s environment in favor of personal profit and money.

As we were saying, the two Ramons have opposite New Year’s resolutions. If only Mondax was strong enough to be with us today, I am sure he would be off to embark on what to do against the tree-cutting at the Luneta Hill.

The other Ramon with the DENR would only wish that his tree-cutting orders are implemented, no matter if PNoy’s total log ban was violated. “Daang matuwid” your ass. – marchfianza777@yahoo.com

Of representation, unity in Cordillera autonomy

HAPPY WEEKEND
Gina Dizon

Picking up from former congressman-lawyer William Claver’s sponsorship speech, An Act establishing the Cordillera Administrative Region, at the House of Representatives in 1989, it is interesting to note that representation of the legislative assembly of the proposed autonomous state in the first proposed Organic Act worked on by the then Cordillera Regional Consultative Commission included sectoral representation from the youth.

This inclusion apparently opened other sectors in being part of the Council of Leaders meant to be the policy making body of an envisioned autonomous Cordillera region; aside from the equal representation of provinces and cities.

Indeed, the ideals of the first Organic Act where such may have been the initial intention to include sectoral representation in the Legislative Assembly was not far from the creation of sectoral representation of the Mountain Province sub drafting committee for a proposed Organic Act in the Cordillera’s third attempt to establish an autonomous region.

Representative sectors-academe, business, church, elders, and Non-Government Agencies to include women and farmers- were identified in an earlier consultation called for by Mountain Province Gov. Leonard Mayaen late last year.

It is unfortunate though that such sectoral representation and what it was supposed to do to get the pulse of each sector had not worked out as it should be due to no funds to work on, or rather, the system to make use of the funds administered by the Regional Development Council -National Economic Development Authority (RDC-NEDA) intended for information was not facilitative enough to let full consultations proceed.

As noted during the municipal consultations in Mountain Province late last year, such were limited left with a strong clamor for barangay and sectoral consultations which haven’t seen implementation. It is in this context that the Sangguniang Bayan of Sagada in a resolution forwarded the need for consultations in the barangays and thus submitted a proposal to the Regional Development Council for their consideration.

And to make matters quick, House Bill 5595 was recently signed by congressmen Theodore Baguilat of Ifugao, MaximoDalog of Mountain Province, Eleanor Begtang-Bulut of Apayao, ManuelAgyao of Kalinga and Baguio City solon Bernardo Vergara. Benguet congressman Ronald Cosalan and Rep. Maria Jocelyn Bernos of Abra declined to sign with the reservation that the proposed Act needs further consultation.

To continue the topic on sectoral representation, the now proposed Organic Act does not mention any sectoral representation at all or even a youth representative for that matter in the legislative assembly. It only provides for two representatives per province and per chartered city, and one representative per component city.

Within the light of distinct sectoral concerns where these need special attention, the idea of a sectoral representation is indeed appropriate and wanting in a legislative body which the third autonomy act drafting committee has ignored.

Another proposal in the initial Organic Act is that of a Council of Elders which is meant to have functions similar to that of the Sandiganbayan. As AttyClaver forwarded, the Council of Elders with the Office of the Cordillera Chief Prosecutor are “patterned after the customary Council of Elders whose competence and integrity are a by-word word among the people.”

The now proposed Organic Act though does not mention the existence of a Council of Elders. Strange how such an organic Act ignores a very significant part of the socio--political systems of the Igorot where elders play a significant role in settling disputes.

While House Bill 5595 does recognize indigenous practises in maintaining peace and order, the special role of the Council of Elders was especially pointed out in the first Organic Act.

Now comes the rushed proposed Organic Act targeted for plebiscite before the 2013 elections as if we didn’t learn from history that the failure of the previous two plebiscites in 1990 and 1999 noted the lack of information and consultation from where informed comments and recommendations be taken note of.

In the words of Claver, “Consultations are the most democratic means of ascertaining the needs, demands, and dreams of the people. The phrase, ‘VoxPopuliVox Dei’ can never become a cliché, if only because it reflects a truism and a condition that seem to be always present among us; that the majority have a right to be heard, and when they are not listened to, they have the option to choose which weapon of empowerment they can resort to so that not only will their voice be heared, but will also be followed.”

And in crafting a vital legal document from where people shall craft a law to govern their distinct oneness as a people and the development that they want as a region, such may take years for people to get empowered of a regional autonomy that they want. For after all, the most vital of a government are the people.

Yet, congressmen now pushed by the chairman of the Third Autonomy Act Drafting Committee Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan and the Regional Development Council are that impatient and signed a document which in the first place needs enough consultation for people to get informed and in that manner come up with intelligent suggestions to get incorporated in a proposed law.

HB 5595 even carries a threatening provision that provinces which vote unfavorably shall go back to their mother region and that would be either Region 1 or 2.

How ironic. The current proposed Organic Act is trying to divide provinces of the Cordillera instead of gathering them as one region. From the words of a Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) founding leader Benjamin Solang who lobbied for regional autonomy of the Cordillera in the 1987 Constitution, such bogus regional autonomy is “divisive”.

Marketing of livelihood products”

FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
Ka Iking Seneres

After all that is said and done in the area of social housing and community development, everything boils down to the challenge of marketing the products that are coming out of these project sites.

This is the challenge that Bliss Marketing Corporation (Blissmark) took on about thirty years ago as an agency of the defunct Ministry of Human Settlements (MHS). I joined Blissmark as a Group Product Manager when I was recruited from the private sector, along with other marketing professionals from the operating divisions of San Miguel Corporation (SMC). The challenge was very simple, but we realized later on that the job was easier said than done.

The idea for a government owned marketing agency came after the MHS realized that the livelihood projects in the housing sites needed professional marketing support in order to be able to sell their products. The original idea was to provide affordable housing, but it became very obvious that without livelihood projects, the housing beneficiaries would not be able to sustain their amortization payments. As it turned out, the easy part was to fund the livelihood projects, but the hard part was to market the products from the projects.

Going back farther, the root challenge is really poverty alleviation and poverty reduction. On one hand, providing affordable housing is a means of poverty alleviation on the other hand, providing sustainable livelihood is a means towards poverty reduction. These two goals are not one and the same, even if they sound similar. On one hand, poverty alleviation is the goal of making poverty more bearable, like applying a pain reliever.

On the other hand, poverty reduction is the goal of removing poverty (or reducing it), like a surgical procedure. As the world has changed, there is now a huge market for products that could pass global standards for fair trade and organic grade. Consumer marks are now being used to identify the products that have passed these standards, and enlightened consumers all over the world will not buy anything that does not have these two marks.

In addition to these new marks, there is also a global system of identifying products that have passed halal standards. Finally, there is now a new trend to identify products that have low carbon footprints and more often than not, these are locally produced products that do not travel too far from the source.

There are many factories and cooperatives that could produce goods for the global markets, but not unless they could carry one or more of these four marks, they would not have a chance of selling anything in big volumes abroad. By the way, the fair trade mark is not only for food products, it is also for anything that is produced using human labor, and that is just about everything. That means that even arts and crafts are included, and that broadens the possibilities for small producers to take advantage of this opportunity.

In cooperation with the National Greening Program (NGP) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the CSR Coordinating Council (C3) now has the opportunity to award homesteads to poor families that would want to start a new life by cultivating tree farms in former logging camps and idle military reservations. This is really a livelihood project at the outset, but it will also have a social housing component, along with other social services in the context of an overall integrated area development (IAD) framework.

The main product in the homesteads would still be trees, but aside from trees, the families would also be growing cash crops and raising poultry and livestock with some fish and crustaecians in between. This is the essence of the forest biodiversity approach that C3 members Joseph Reynolds and WynSandico have perfected in Mindoro.

They are already producing moringa and turmeric capsules. C3 member Howie Mijares has also developed a system of growing eels and crabs in Cagayan Province. My former boss at Blissmark, C3 member Tito Osias is also ready to deploy bamboo growing technologies to these sites. We have many more “walk the talk” members at C3, but too many to name here for now.
For feedback, email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639997333011

Court case to stop cutting of more than 100 trees in Baguio: Nationwide boycott of SM malls pushed

By Alfred Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – Cause-oriented groups and concerned citizens urged a boycott of SM malls in the country, following expose of the giant firm’s plans to cut or “ball” around 200 fully grown pine trees to construct a huge three-storey parking lot beside its mall here.

The groups urged concerned government offices to stop the project saying it would be detrimental to the city as trees are necessary in purifying air, conserving water and in preventing landslides.

A signature drive was started wherein signatories would be included in a letter addressed to President Aquino urging him to order the DENR or concerned government agencies to stop the project considering the government’s total log ban policy.

A “writ of kalikasan” was also reportedly due to be filed in court by University of the Philippines professor Harry Roque as lawyer of Michael Bengwayan, executive director of Cordillera Ecological Center, an environmental nongovernment organization.

Bengwayan told the media they would be pushing for the boycott of SM malls nationwide if the project would push through due to its adverse effects on the environment.

“Balling” trees, as proven when trees were “transferred” from Camp John Hay, was not effective as 80 percent of the trees died.

Cutting trees, he added, was more devastating top the environment.

Thousands of “netizens” worldwide have reportedly joined the move against the project in various internet networking sites while those in the Philippines said they would join the boycott.

Netizens expressed solidarity with local folk saying people of Baguio should not allow moneyed firms to trample on their right to breathe fresh air and destroy the environment, saying there should be a limit to greed for money.

Environment groups were set to conduct rallies here on Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. to protest the project saying they were concerned the Baguio Regreening Movement was allowing it.

They called on residents to and supporters against the project to converge at Gov. Pack Road below SM.

Critics said with this, the BRM, whose members are composed of city government and line agency officials (including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources) and church personalities should abolish the BRM as it had outgrown its use and become an instrument of “crass commercialism.”

This, after DENR regional director Clarence Baguilat told the media all papers of SM relative to the project were “in order” and the firm could start construction.

Baguilat said 22 “conditionalities” were imposed by the DENR for SM to comply with even as he denied allegations from critics that money changed hands, reason why the government agency allowed the project.

As the controversy grew, mayor Mauricio Domogan denied having a hand in the issuance of a permit allowing cutting and balling of trees in the area.

The mayor said the authority to issue such permits was within jurisdiction of the DENR.

“My power as city executive to issue such permit is limited to emergency situations and since the SM case does not fall in said category, then I have no power to issue such permit,” Domogan said.

The site was reportedly part of the property acquired by SM through an “auction” sale on April 22,1992 for a bid price of P69,000,995.52 in six separate amortizations which ended in 1997 located in Residential Section “A” described as Lot. Nos. 3-B, 114-A, 128, 115-B, 125-A, 126-B-2, 126-A, X—1 and Y-2.

Domogan said SM furnished his office documents for its expansion plans last year.

He said he asked the company to include development of a centralized parking terminal for buses along Gov. Pack Road in the development plan measuring 1,500 square meters.

This would help decongest the central business district of vehicles, he added.

The Baguio SM management didn’t issue a press statement on the matter at press time.

Vizcaya town cop head axed over subordinate's killing

By Charlie Lagasca

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – The police chief of a southern town in this province has been relieved of his post following the Christmas Day killing of one of his men by a supposedly drunk colleague.

Chief Insp. Chevalier Iringan has been designated last week as police chief of Aritao town, replacing Chief Insp. Roberto Aldea, who was recalled to the regional police headquarters in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

Senior Supt. Elmer Beltejar, provincial police director, said Aldea’s relief came as a result of the pre-dawn fatal shooting last Dec. 25 of PO3 Edwin Marabut, and the wounding of PO2 Tomas Luis.

The two policemen were on board a patrol car to respond to a stabbing incident when they were shot.

The suspect, PO3 Roberto Discipulo, is now locked up in jail and is facing murder and frustrated murder charges as well as summary dismissal proceedings.

Discipulo earlier said he thought that he was being kidnapped after being roused from sleep at the back of the patrol car. With this in mind, he drew his firearm and shot his colleagues, an alibi that Aldea reportedly supported.

This angered Beltejar and Chief Supt. Rodrigo de Gracia, regional police director, especially after learning that some Aritao policemen, including Discipulo, were reportedly drunk when they responded to the stabbing incident.

There were reports that Discipulo and the victims had an altercation while they were having fun with their colleagues on Christmas Eve.

“We will not tolerate such behavior of our policemen. (Discipulo) has to face the consequences of his action. He has to substantiate his alibi,” Beltejar said.

Firm cries foul over bid for Sagada water project

By Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province – A firm for a huge water project is crying foul after this town government’s bids and awards committee found it had lowest bid but was “disqualified” by the BAC.

Benguet Builders who bid lowest at P32 .1 million for a P35.2 million improvement of Buasao irrigation system and construction of Tanulong Tribe Irrigators Association Water Services, was disregarded after taking part in the bidding Dec. 23, 2011.

In their motion for reconsideration, they said their disqualification was “discriminatory and rendering undue favoritism to FFJJ Construction.”

Claiming that Benguet Builders was accepted during the bid opening, engineer Thomas Batnag of Benguet Builders said “any question related thereto had already been considered waived by the BAC. To rule now for its (Benguet Builders) disqualification would result to advantage of FFJJ Construction.”

Following evaluation of the four bid documents submitted, the BAC found Benguet Builders “non-responsive” in its abstract of bids; and considered FFJJ recommended for the implementation of the project being the “most responsive.”

In their motion for reconsideration, Batnag said there was “substantial compliance of the requirements considering that they submitted the summary of cost estimates”.

The Procurement Law (RA 9184) provides, “Prior to Bid evaluation, the BAC shall examine first the technical components of the bids using "pass/fail" criteria to determine whether all required documents are present. Only bids that are determined to contain all the bid requirements of the technical component shall be considered for opening and evaluation of their financial component.”

Four bidders were considered for the P35.2 million Buasao waterworks project: Benguet Builders represented by Isabelo Abing, Cotabato –based FFJJ Construction, Tarlac-based BMK Construction and Tuguegarao-based Camia Construction- in the December 23 bidding.

FFJJ Construction bid P34.9 million with piping works worth P31 million, clearing and grubbing at P47 thousand, solid rock excavation at P710 thousand, and carpentry works at P136 thousand.

Benguet Builders bid the lowest at P32.1 million with piping works costing P20.7 million, clearing and grubbing at P2.8 million, solid rock excavation at P4 million and carpentry works at P951 thousand.

Benguet Builders said “What should be paramount is the benefit the bid works for the government and the procuring agency”, stating that its “bid is the most beneficial to the government and the procuring agency considering that it is the least burdensome on the government coffers with its bid of lower by P2.8 million than FFPJ Construction. Over and above technicality, the amount of almost 3 million pesos would be for the benefit of the government.”

The Buasao waterworks project is funded by P18 million from the priority development assistance funds of Sen. Teofisto Guingona 111 and additional funds from the Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Project. Said project is expected to answer the water woes of the tourist town of Sagada.

It was known further that Department of Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala in his visit to Mountain Province December last year said the DA shall be funding 30 percent of CHARMP project costs and CHARMP beneficiary barangays shouldering 20 percent of projects implemented in their locality.

Barangay beneficiaries source their counterpart from LGUs and other agencies. CHARMP shoulders 50 percent of the total cost of the project.