MORE NEWS, BAGUIO CITY

Baguio booze bizmen get boost; no more checks
By Isagani S. Liporada

BAGUIO CITY –Mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Jr. has ordered issuance of business permits to booze-serving establishments without prior inspection by the permits and licensing division of the City Treasurer’s Office.

Bautista, in issuing executive order 02-2009 last week said, “We need to fast-track collection of taxes in order to fund our project. He said tax collection could be boosted by cutting the waiting line for tax-conscious businessmen.

“These businessmen were responsible for upping our tax collection by more than 40-percent since our administration took over government reins, from a budget bordering P600-million, we are now looking at close to a billion for 2009,” he added.

Last year, the requisite “character seminar” which mandated liquor dispensary owners to learn how to seek salvation while selling booze was scrapped.

For 2009, EO 2-2009 would be the third executive issuance geared towards making paying taxes easier for the taxpayers.

Administrative Order 5-2008 issued January 10 dropped the sewerage inspection, fire safety compliance, and building safety certificates as pre-requisites in the issuance of business licenses.

AO 11-20087 meanwhile provided clearances from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Social Security System (SSS), and Phil-Health may now be secured after the biz licenses are issued.

Bautista however warned, “After the permits are issued and the establishments were found to have failed in securing the necessary certificates or reports, their licenses to conduct business shall automatically be revoked.”

To ensure prompt action on the part of businessmen in securing other requisite documents for their respective trades, the mayor enlisted the Public Order and Safety Division to beef up the treasury’s manpower in inspecting post-permit compliance of the required documents.

Treasurer Thelma Manaois said with Bautista’s move, her office expects more “early birds” to pour in money to the city’s coffers. “The city’s strict implementation of prior compliance with requisite documents has been hampering efficient collection. We have been backwards in expediting collection and processing of permits, which has kept us way behind in the list of top performing cities in the country.”

“With the innovations that th


800 illegal deep wells operating in Baguio
By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – The illegal operation of at least 800 shallow and deep wells in this mountain resort city is now posing a serious threat on the ground sources of water for local residents and visitors, especially during peak seasons like the current staging of the Panagbenga or Baguio Flower Festival.

This was bared by Salvador Royeca, assistant general manager of the Baguio Water District, who added appropriate stapes must already be undertaken by concerned government agencies to stop the mushrooming of illegal deep wells in the city that threaten the acquifers, the primary sources of water being pumped into the establishments and houses of their customers.

However, the BWD has allowed the operation of 23 deep wells in the city but under strict conditions that they must cease operations once their production in adjacent wells would be reduced by such operations.

At present, the water district has at least 60 functioning wells in the different parts of the city which produce an accumulated output of 55,000 cubic mte5rs of water daily.

Royeca, an engineer, said the attention of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has been called on the pressing matter to regulate the operation of the deep wells but they have yet to receive the actions taken by the agency on such concern.

The NWRB is said to be the agency under the supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which is take to issue permits relative to the drilling of deep wells used for the supply of water.

According to the BWD official, their current production at 55,000 cubic meters per day is still sufficient to cater to the artificial increase in water consumption due to the influx of people wanting to witness the highlights of the Baguio Flower Festival, citing that their ability to provide efficient water service has been proven in similar cases in the previous years.

Royeca called on concerned citizens to immediately report to their office unscrupulous individuals who are maintaining illegal wells so that they could submit the data to the NWRB for appropriation action.

He said illegal connections of water must also be reported to their office so that they could act accordingly to help reduce its 40 percent systems loss which is being charged to the consumers.

With the onset of the dry season, the BWD assistant manager, said people should save on use of water because of the expected artificial shortage as a result of some of their wells not being able to pump out enough supply due to the lack of rain.

During peak seasons like the month-long staging of the flower festival and other activities lined up for the coming months, the city’s water demand increases to over 100,000 cubic meters per day due to the sudden influx of tourists that fill up the numerous hotels and lodging houses, thus, causing an artificial shortage of water in some areas.
Royeca revealed they are on alert to augment the pumping of water supply in areas that need more allocations so that people will not complain on the supposed lack of water supply when in fact they are able to address the problem on time.


Trial basis: Baguio execs allow Beneco to maintain streetlights
By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The city council last Monday allowed the Benguet Electric Coop. to manage the city’s unmetered streetlights on an experimental basis for three to six months to prove the power firm’s contention that it can do a better job in maintaining the lighting system.

Beneco earlier offered the trial maintenance at no cost to the city to support its bid to take over the management of the city’s streetlights from the city government.

During the trial period, the power firm is expected to maintain the unmetered streetlights at the present billing basis of ten burning hours.

It will also replace busted bulbs and photo switches at no cost to the city. Facilities with damaged fixtures will not be included in the deal.

The body also approved the conduct of a joint study on the cost benefit analysis on the present energy consumption by the city and Beneco within two months effective Feb. 2.

The result would also help the city decide on the whether to allow Beneco to manage the streetlights on a permanent basis.

Beneco offered to take over the operation of the streetlights from the city engineer’s office but the offer would increase the number of hours being billed from ten to 12 burning hours.

The power firm however assured this will benefit the city in terms of efficient and effective service.

Some city officials particularly members of the city local finance committee have expressed reservations on the proposed takeover and sought more time to study the proposal vis-à-vis the city’s original plan to pursue the metering system.

During the council session, Beneco general manager Gerardo Verzosa said the metering system “is not that ideal” in terms of operation and maintenance.

City budget officer Leticia Clemente however said the local finance committee’s stand that a more comprehensive study be done before the city council acts on the matter.


Baguio City gov’t braces for court battle vs NPC
By Isagani S. Liporada

BAGUIO CITY – After failed attempts at reaching a compromise over a land swap deal brokered between the City Government and National Power Corp. 34-years ago, the age-old deadlock was submitted for judicial determination.

The object of the tug-of-war: a parcel of land owned by NPC situated in North Sanitary Camp where the city’s Sewerage Treatment Plant now stands.

The NPC in its complaint dated Sept. 17, 2008 said, “Since 1974 and up to the present, the city government has consistently failed living up to its promise to provide NPC with suitable replacement for the construction of its office.”

NPC claimed there were several talks and offers between the parties but these were not consummated and “unceremoniously delayed at no fault on the side of NPC.”

NPC claimed the city never paid a single centavo since the time it occupied the property.

But the city government represented by legal officer Melchor Rabanes in an answer dated February 4 claimed while it is true that erstwhile mayor Luis Lardizabal requested for use of the property for purposes of constructing an STP in 1974, Baguio actually occupied said lot only in May 1994.

He added, “The land-swap deal failed not because of the city’s fault but due to several factor among which is the rejection of NPC of a number of lands identified and offered by the city.”

Rabanes said there is no basis for rentals now claimed by NPC since there were no contracts ever entered into by the parties.

The NPC complaint alleged that in November 26, 1974, Lardizabal wrote NPC seeking authority for the use of 10-parcels of land covering 6, 332-square meters for use as STP.

Earlier, NPC demanded accrued rentals amounting to P17.3-million and for the city to vacate said property. It now prays the court an award of P500-thousand by way of litigation expenses against the city.

The city however claimed, “The request of Lardizabal did not cover the whole 10-parcels of land.”

“Of the total area owned by NPC, the city occupied merely a fraction of the same amounting to 2,596-square meters,” Rabanes in the city’s pleading said.


NPC complained that due to the accommodation of the Lardizabal request and failure of the city to swap lands, it was forced to rent office space. The city claims however that the lot where the STP now lies, is right-of-way for NPC’s power lines and therefore “not suitable as office site.”

The case now falls under the jurisdiction of Regional Trial Court Branch 5. Until said court conducts a pre-trial conference and a full-blown trial is had, hope in settling the issue via a compromise agreement is still an option.



Drinking, gambling banned in Baguio funeral parlors
By DEXTER A. SEE

BAGUIO CITY — The city council has approved an ordinance banning drinking and gambling in funeral parlors to keep the solemnity of wakes.

Councilor Nicasio Aliping Jr., author of the ordinance, said while gambling and drinking are traditions of Filipinos during wakes, these vices should be prohibited in funeral parlors to show respect for the deceased and to keep solemnity of the wake.

As it is observed in funeral parlors here, drinking of liquor and gambling are rampant.

When drinking and gambling are allowed, noise, rudeness, and sometime violence are inevitable, it was noted.

This situation sometimes results in heated arguments and altercations that lead to fistfights, thereby marring the wakes which are supposed to be solemn, Aliping said.

The ordinance states that owners of funeral parlors in the city are obliged to install signs that gambling and drinking are prohibited in their premises.

Persons found violating the ordinance are to be penalized with a fine of P500 or imprisonment upon discretion of the court.

Owners or employees of the funeral parlors found violating the ordinance are to be penalized with a fine of P5,000 or revocation of their permits to operate.

City policemen are directed by the ordinance to conduct frequent inspection of the different funeral parlors in the especially at night.

This is intended to ascertain that people attending wakes as well as owners of the establishments are strictly following the provisions of the newly approved ordinance.

Aliping noted frequent violent incidents in funeral parlors that come as a consequence of drinking and gambling. He said this should not happen because wakes are considered solemn and the grief experienced by the families of the dead should be respected.