MORE NEWS, BAGUIO CITY

Councilor denies ‘vendor protector’ tag in speech
By Julie G. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY – A city councilor here denied accusations he was “protecting” illegal vendors.

Councilor Nicasio Palaganas in a privilege speech last week said “while in quest for a better solution to the problem of illegal vending, the campaign against vendors should be suspended until the mayor in compliance with the law, shall have found and designated a relocation site (for the vendors.)”

The move stemmed from accusations from a colleague that Palaganas is protecting illegal vendors, due to his request earlier for the release from the public order and safety division of three confiscated carts, which were not being used for vending.

“The three empty and idle food carts illegally confiscated by POSD men while not in use for vending have been parked for weeks in the rear-most nook of the Tabora Park,” the councilor said in his speech.

“There was no agreement between the owner of the carts and me in exchange for his vote or political support in the future. Politics never crossed my mind at that time.”

The councilor added his note-request to POSD head Greg Deligero was unjustly used against him, with allegations that he is protecting illegal vendors, for political purposes and that is to solicit votes for the next elections.

He also said the allegations, though not specifying him as the guilty party, made him appear “by innuendos” in a television interview, that he is.

The privilege speech, he said, was meant to “defend myself against these charges.”
Palaganas said the illegal vendors’ campaign needed to be studied, adding he supports investigation and identification of “flaws of our program on ambulant vending and consequently, to institute any needed reforms thereon.”

The privilege speech was referred to the council committee on ethics, government affairs and personnel, though the committees on market, social services, ways and means.


Garbage crisis looms : Baguio fails to establish sanitary landfill in towns
By Dexter A. See and Mike Guimbatan

BAGUIO CITY – This mountain resort city is expected to suffer from a garbage crisis due to failed negotiations on a plan to establish a sanitary landfill in the neighboring towns of Tuba and Itogon in Benguet.

The crisis is predicted to hit the city in the next three months when Baguio’s Irisan open dumpsite is totally closed.

Baguio City is one of the local government units in the country which have not complied yet with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act that requires the closure of open dumpsites and the establishment of sanitary landfills or controlled dump facilities.

Earlier, Environment and Natural Secretary Joselito Atienza warned local officials the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will impose stiff sanctions on them if they fail to stop the operation of their open dumpsites in a six-month period.

Residents of Itogon and Tuba opposed the plan for the construction of the city’s sanitary landfill in their areas because of pollution of the environment and risks it poses to health of the people living in the surrounding communities.

The city government is trying to implement waste-segregation to minimize huge volume of wastes being dumped at the Irisan dumpsite but the increase in the volume of garbage is expected to complicate the problem once the open dump is closed.

The city generates at least 300 tons of garbage daily with the city market accounting for nearly half of the volume being collected in the city.

Section 1 of Rule 13 of RA 9003 provides that within three years from the effectivity of the law, all open dumpsites are to be converted into controlled dumpsites. Controlled dumpsites are to be operated only in five years, and after five years, these facilities are to be closed or phased out.

Records show there are 359 controlled dumpsites nationwide, and 826 open dumpsites that have yet to be closed.

Environmentalists have branded open dumpsites as "unsanitary" because these attract all kinds of parasites that, in turn, afflict people with illnesses.

Aside from diseases, garbage that is accumulated in the open dumpsites produces leachate, a toxic susbtance that contaminates the ground water, thereby posing a serious threat to the sources of potable water.

Because of its failure to comply with the law, the city government is contemplating of privatizing garbage collection and disposal.

Mayor Reinaldo Bautista said last week the city is faring well in its efforts to close its dumpsite at Irisan barangay.

However, he also admitted there are setbacks in the city’s bid to establish a sanitary landfill, which is perceived as a permanent solution to the garbage woes.

At present, the city has closed 70 percent of the dumpsite and the remaining 30 percent of the area is being operated as a controlled dump facility.

Bautista said a privatized setup is preferred, adding the city can change its 10-year waste management plan to accommodate the scheme.

He said, however, that this option would depend on two conditions: first, the private company to take over the system must be ready to absorb all the city personnel doing garbage collection as well as all the equipment invested by the city in the project; and second, the firm must be ready to take over the task of establishing and managing a sanitary landfill.


RDC I acknowledges role of CAR as watershed cradle
BAGUIO CITY - Alarmed with reported unregulated expansion of the vegetable farms in the Cordillera that poses a serious threat to the already critical situation of watersheds in the region that would in turn affect neighboring areas, the Regional Development Council (RDC) of Region I is ready to support interventions RDC-CAR will undertake in abating such situation.

In a letter of RDC-I Chairman, Ilocos Sur Govenor Dogracias Victor Savellano to RDC_ CAR Acting Chairman Juan Ngalob, he took cognizance that the unabated widening of farms in CAR will have negative impacts on the domestic and commercial water supply of the Ilocos region.

"This critical situation is also a major concern to us because the watersheds in the Cordillera serve as headwaters of the major river systems of Region I namely: Abra River in Ilocos Sur, Agno River in Pangasinan and Amburayan River in Ilocos Sur and La Union.", Savellano wrote.

"Water in irrigated areas will be depleted thus agricultural yield will be reduced. If the situation can not be controlled at the soonest possible time, land erosion will possibly happen generating risks to human lives and loss of properties in our regions.", he added.

In a similar letter to Cordillera National Irrigation Administration Regional Director Abraham Akilit, Savellano said RDC I will support the five-year watershed rehabilitation and management plan of the NIA-CAR and the reforestation program of DENR-CAR.

Ngalob described Savellano's letter as a 'landmark communication' recognizing
the critical role of the Cordillera as the watershed cradle of the North.

Relative to this, he urged the RDC members to take the opportunity to explore the region's comparative advantage as a watershed cradle and balanced ecosystem model as a key focus of development and the challenge of addressing the competing demands on the use and management of watersheds.

In the CAR's updated regional development plan 2008 to 2010, among the efforts to improve the region's forest cover include the various reforestation programs, CHARMP 2, Itogon Integrated Watershed Management Project and the Chico River Master Plan. ** JPilotin/PIA -CAR


Phil. Embassy in Korea warns illegal matchmaking agencies
Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Luis T. Cruz reiterated the Philippine Embassy's warning to Filipinos against agencies that act as a front for mail-order brides amidst reports that the South Korean government is also set to crack down on interracial matchmaking agencies that violate local laws and use deceptive advertising.

The Philippine Embassy said Philippine Republic Act 6955 or the Anti-Mail-Order Bride Law, makes it illegal for a "person, natural or juridical, association, club or any other entity" to "establish or carry on a business which has for its purpose the matching of Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals either on a mail-order basis or through personal introduction."

The law also makes it illegal for anyone "to advertise, publish, print or distribute or cause the advertisement, publication, printing or distribution of any brochure, flier, or any propaganda material calculated to promote the prohibited acts" earlier mentioned. Further amendments included its applicability to mail-order bride schemes using "mails or websites in the Internet."

While matchmaking agencies are considered legal in South Korea, Korean law requires these agencies to be registered and to be aware of issues concerning interracial marriages and ethics.

Cruz notes that many Filipinos enter South Korea through marriages arranged through these matchmakers. Many are lured by promises of work or a better life.
As of Jan. 31, approximately 5,000 Filipinos married to South Koreans reside in the peninsula, some of whom met through matchmaking agencies.


GMA orders release of P12.57B unremitted IRA shares of LGUs
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the release of the P12.57-billion unremitted Internal Revenue Allotment shares of LGUs for the years 2001 and 2004.
The President issued Executive Order No. 723 directing the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Interior and Local Government to ensure that the LGUs get their unreleased IRA differential due to the reenactment of the General Appropriations Acts in 2001 and 2004.

Under the Order, the President said LGUs can get their shares in the P12,576,938,000 IRA differential either in advance or on installment basis for a period of seven years starting in 2009 up to 2015.

She directed the DBM to determine the share of each LGU from the unreleased IRA differential based on the formula prescribed in Republic Act No. 7160 and then issue the corresponding Notice of Payment Schedule to inform the LGUs of their share and the schedule of payment.

The LGUs also have the option to avail in advance of their unreleased IRA shares through the IRA Monetization Program that would be arranged by the DOF by opening the necessary Special Trust with government financing institutions which would serve as the trustee banks.

Under the monetization program, LGUs can collect in advance their unreleased IRA shares from trustee banks at a discounted value, net of interest and other charges.
On the other hand, she ordered the DILG to assist LGUs in the IRA monetization program, consolidate and submit to the DOF the Subscription Agreement, if any, and the corresponding Sanggunian Resolution of the LGUs stating the Special Purpose
Trust to be constituted and designated, the authority of the head of the LGU to bind the LGU for the IMP participation and the trustee bank that will receive the proceeds of the monetized IRA.

In 2006, the President also directed the DBM to automatically appropriate the IRA shares to the LGUs so they can implement right away their priority development projects.