MORE NEWS, BAGUIO CITY

Bibak overseas reach out to baby, family in grief
By Ramon Dacawi

Expatriates from Baguio and the Cordillera have responded to pleas for support to Lyka Cadaweng Masgay, a seven-month old baby with a complicated congenital heart defect and to the family of a young girl who recently died.

From his post in California, bibaknets administrator Harry Basing-at e-mailed that members of the website have pooled $400 for Lyka who has been in and out of the hospital for a month now. “I will try to hit the 500 mark before I leave for the Philippines,” Basing-at said.

Lyka’s maternal grandmother earlier appealed for support through bibaknets, The baby, first and only child of Edward and Agustina Masgay, was born with TGA (transposition of the great arteries), VSD (ventricular septal defect) and PFO (patent foramen ovale).

Lyka’s grandmother had applied for charity surgery in Israel where she works, but her parents were still working out a medical plane travel grant for the mother and child and an accompanying cardiologist. Edward said the costs would be more if the baby would be operated on in Metro-Manila, estimated about P500,000.

From Vancouver, Canada, another member of BIBAK (the organization of those who trace their roots to Baguio and the Cordillera region) wrote that he and a friend in Australia are offering a two-pronged support to the family of eight-year old Jessica Tampol who was buried the other week.

The two friends (who will be identified when they agree to have their names mentioned) offered to provide a no-interest loan, to enable Jessica’s mother Melina to cook and sell food again to jeepney drivers plying the route to Beckel, La Trinidad at their Happy Glen Loop staging area. They offered to help 17-year old Jayson, the eldest of the three surviving Tampol children, return to and finish high school.

“ I am willing to pay for his tuition fees and minimal stipend to help him secure what he needs in school,” the e-mail sender said, adding he may be able to support him in college if “he has the focus and determination to achieve a career”.

Jayson quit high school to earn as a barker for jeepneys plying the route to Pacdal. His father is an unemployed gardener and his mother quit serving food to the jeepney drivers when Jessica complained of chest pain and was hospitalized last December. The girl was diagnosed for diabetes and later succumbed to complications. While trying to cope with her loss, the family also worried where to and how to bury her.

Shoshin, a Germany based foundation headed by former world traditional karate champion Julian Chees, shouldered a P6,000 shortfall of the costs of funeral pegged at P15,000. Jessica’s schoolmates and teachers at the Rizal Elementary School pooled P1,738 for her burial while the Beckel Drivers delivered P800 during the wake.

Samaritans can get in touch with the Tampols by calling 09202383342, the cellphone number of Pacing, the sister of Pablito, or visit them at their shack at 42 Happy Glen Loop. Those giving support to Lyka may ring up Edward’s cellphone number 09202973570.


Probe set on treasure hunting in Baguio
By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The city council last Monday approved a resolution asking Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. to direct the Baguio City Police Office in coordination with the city engineer’s office to conduct a thorough investigation on alleged treasure hunting or illegal diggings and tunneling activities in the city.

Vice Mayor Daniel Farinas who proposed the resolution said there are reports of continued treasure-hunting activities in the city and these have to be thoroughly investigated.

“Baguio City had always been a favorite haven for treasure hunters on account of the truth to the fact that the Golden Buddha and other alleged Yamashita treasures had been found and are ceaselessly and persistently being sought, pursued and uncovered to this very day,” Farinas noted.

“There have been innumerable instances of swindling and rip-offs by unscrupulous personalities who dupe financially able people to invest in treasure-hunting claiming to be experts and are certain of locations that undoubtedly and ‘definitely’ are ‘the spots’,” he added.

“Most often that not, if none at all, such diggings have never been confirmed to contain treasure and which had only led to the bankruptcy of ambitious financiers and more importantly had only to the destruction of the environment, endangered life and limb of workers and jeopardized the safety of unsuspecting people because of such diggings and excavations that have hollowed out the earth beneath.”

Farinas said, “Such wanton destruction of our precious environment and the trickery of innocent gullible people by clever criminals who devise treasure hunting as their bait should not be allowed to be left unpunished and that such acts should be filed for all the charges and damages they effected.”

He said reports of these activities must be thoroughly investigated by the authorities to put a stop to these hazardous activities and pinpoint perpetrators for filing of appropriate charges.


Baguio folk indicted for blocking dumpsite
By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The City Prosecutor’s Office has found probable cause to indict Irisan barangay residents, who caused the padlocking of the gate to the city’s open dumpsite in August last year, for the crime of grave coercion.

Prosecutor III Elmer Manuel Sagsago filed an information dated Jan. 29 for the prosecution of the criminal case for grave coercion against Leonardo Taganas, John Siloy, Amadeo Binwag and several unidentified others who were accused of “conspiring, confederating and mutually aiding one another, taking advantage of their numbers and displaying hostile attitude, arrogance and intransigence and by actually closing and padlocking the gate to the dumpsite.”

The information said the acts “amounted to moral, force and intimidation and harassment and without any authority of law, prevent the complainants from doing something not prohibited by law, which is to dispose of waste matters into the dump site.”

Sagsago in a Resolution also dated January, 29 reversed an earlier decision on the complaint filed by city environment and parks management officer-in-charge Cordelia Lacsamana, Anthony Saguco and Jimmy Pugoy which found no probable cause to indict the respondents.

“That complainants were prevented from performing an act not prohibited by law is as clear as day. That the prevention was not of complainant’s own doing but arose from the acts of respondents is equally as clear as the fact that respondents were not acting within the bounds of the law. Righteous causes do not authorize any person to take the law into his own hands. This is the ration d’etre behind the law punishing grave coercion,” the resolution reads.

“In the face of such display of hostility, one can not but agree with the complainants that they were intimidated into not doing what they were supposed to do. There was coercion within the letter and spirit of the law.”

The case will be handled by the City Prosecutor’s Office as it is prosecuted in the name of the Republic of the Philippines.

As this developed, the city council last Monday approved the budget for the stabilization of the Irisan dumpsite.

The work consists of the construction of perimeter riprap wall, main canal outside the perimeter fence, litter fence around the dumpsite, application of soil cover and vegetation.

The work is still part of the overall plan to close the dumpsite in line with the requirement of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

A portion of the dumpsite is also being cleared to accommodate residual wastes when the city ceases to haul out its wastes to Capas, Tarlac in the coming months due to lack of budget.


Guidelines, penalties set on land dev’t in Baguio
By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The city council Monday approved on final reading an ordinance setting guidelines in monitoring subdivisions and other real estate development projects in the city.

Authored by Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr., the measure provided penalties for violations committed by developers and proponents of all subdivisions, constructions and real estate development intended for sale or for commercial purposes that require the issuance of Preliminary Approval and Locational Clearance (PALC), Development Permit and/or Final Approval of Subdivision.

“There is a need to monitor the activities of these developers and contractors to ensure strict compliance to existing laws including the city zoning ordinance and other applicable local resolutions and ordinances,” Cosalan noted.

The measure mandates the creation of a monitoring team to be headed by the city planning and development office and the city council committee on urban planning, lands and housing as chair and co-chair respectively with the following offices as members: city engineer’s office, city buildings and architecture office, city administrator’s office, city assessor’s office, city treasurer’s office and a representative from the private sector.

The monitoring team will conduct periodic inspection of all subdivisions to which the city issued the requirements, will receive and act on complaints of violations, recommend to the city council and the city mayor the imposition of fines and penalties and will recommend to the city council legislative measures for effective monitoring of development activities of the real estate developers and contractors.

The measure also sets penalties for failure to secure the needed requirements. For the simple subdivisions, fines ranging from P500 to P3,500 were set while for complex subdivisions, the penalties range from P1,500 to P5,000.

The following acts will be the grounds in the imposition of fines:
*failure without just cause to secure, before any development activity, any of the clearances, permits or approval that are required by law or regulation from the city council or the city mayor;
*failure to comply with any or all of the conditions set forth in the clearances and permits;
*failure to complete development or non-provision of the required facilities, non-compliance with the approved development plan or altering plans without the approval of the city council;
*misrepresentation of facts and circumstance relative to the project at the time of application or monitoring; and
*failure to comply or obey orders issued by the city council or the city mayor after monitoring the existence of any violation.
The following will be the procedures:
*Upon receipt of a complaint of information of violation, the monitoring team shall immediately notify the violator and inspection shall be conducted;
*If there is any violation found, the fines and penalties for the first offense will be immediately applied;
*A 90-day period shall be given to the developer/owner/contractor to comply with the all the requirements or cause the needed mitigating measures. The fines and penalties for the second offense shall then be applied for any non-compliance;
*A 60-day complying period shall be set prior to the application of the fines and penalties for the third offense;
*Failure of any developer or owner to secure the necessary permits and clearance or to institute mitigating measures within 30 days after the third offense shall constitute just cause for the cancellation of the locational clearance, development permit and business permit and a recommendation for the revocation of the License to Sell and Certificate of Registration will be made to the Housing Land Use Regulatory Board;
*Violators may seek reconsideration of extension only on instances where the period of implementing mitigating measures is justifiably not enough provided any request for extension shall be exceed 90 days.


CHED, Arroyo urged to freeze school fees
BAGUIO CITY -- Campus journalists here pressed the Commission on Higher Education and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to immediately act on their call for a freeze on tuition and other school fees as the nation faces the challenges of a global economic crisis.

They also urged school administrations to find conscience in considering “no increase” for the next school year.

“With the global economic crisis hitting hard on the country, increasing tuition, miscellaneous and other school fees will cause immeasurable hardships on students and our parents,” said Marc Mendiola, chairperson of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines Baguio-Benguet chapter.

He added an increase will cause income loss on the part of private school owners as more students are expected to drop out.

“This will further burden students with already empty pockets. If school owners insist on taking more from us, students will most likely transfer to tight-budgeted state universities or even drop out of school.” he said.

Mendiola called on CHEd to invoke its duty to protect their right to education by declaring a tuition moratorium on all levels.

He urged the President to support this move by doing what she did last summer for elementary and high school levels. “These are the government institutions bound by law to aid us in these hard times. They must assume this responsibility instead of crafting outrageous proposals like the five-year program.”