LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March L. Fianza
Eight months and four
days after the selection of the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative to
the Baguio City council, a certificate of affirmation is yet to be signed by
the regional director of the NCIP.
The reason why it is
taking him so long to sign even after the Baguio NCIP office and a special
review body he created upheld the selection process is anybody’s guess now.
Exchanges of communication letters that I saw did not help resolve whatever
problems there were, instead, they seemed to have worsened the situation.
First, in an attempt
to find out the sentiments of IPMR-elect Roger D. Sinot Sr., he received a letter
of invitation from Atty. Moises P. Cating, the Chairman for Life of the Hotel
and Restaurant Association of Baguio Inc. Surprisingly, the NCIP asked a
private person to intervene and chair a body that will try to resolve matters
related to IPMR issues.
It further confuses me
to think of the correctness or wrongness of authorizing Atty. Cating. Later, it
is found out that his son is interested to replace Mr. Sinot who has not been
disqualified. To me, that makes Atty. Cating very partial as presiding chair of
a meeting.
Second, the private
organization Onjon ni Ivadoy illegally used the letterhead of the NCIP to
invite Mr. Sinot to a meeting at the Baguio City multi-purpose hall, a venue
that is not neutral.
The use of the NCIP
letterhead was careless and whatever basis was employed in authorizing Onjon ni
Ivadoy to invite Mr. Sinot was questionable since members of the committee that
tasked itself to settle the IPMR issue had already prejudged Mr. Sinot even
prior to explaining himself.
In fact the signatory
in the invitation letter is also a signatory in the original letter-complaint
against Mr. Sinot. Furthermore, some members of the committee had stated their
interest to become IPMR. Don’t these situations make them biased against Mr.
Sinot?
***
Councilor Edgar Avila
has proposed an ordinance to provide amnesty for the requirements in the
issuance of building permits for those in actual, physical and notorious
possession of lands in the city. That is music to the ears of many Baguio
residents and good for the city as well because of the revenues. However, there
are suggestions that the land where a structure with no building permit stands
must be covered by a Tax Declaration, and an approved TSA or approved survey.
Without these, the ordinance will surely invite squatting. Amnesty may also be
applied for buildings outside civil, military, forest reservations and
ancestral lands.
It appears that
politicians are now interfering with the duties reserved for the DENR as the
caretaker and administrator of state lands. The reason why the Bureau of Lands
is there is to keep politicians away from interfering with land issues. LGUs
cannot issue building permits unless the DENR gives provisional permits. This
was so in order to keep elected officials from politicizing public
lands.
***
When illegal actions
are unstoppable, more or less these are carried out by persons with authority.
Although that may be the case, it does not necessarily follow that the “person
with authority” acted with the blessings of a higher boss. In another sense, it
may be that the action of one person in authority was not stopped but that does
not mean that it was or was not lawfully authorized.
Take for example the
issue about Jueteng cum STL (small town lottery). Out of the blue, the operations
of jueteng in combination with STL suddenly appeared in La Trinidad. I chanced
upon councilor Henry Kipas who told me about it. This was confirmed by friends
and tayadors who said the bet collectors of jueteng in the capital town of
Benguet were the same bet collectors for STL. The difference is that, with STL
the bet collectors were provided uniforms and may no longer move and collect
incognito.
The question now is:
Who authorized the illegal to appear legal? I am sure councilor Kipas and his
colleagues in the municipal council will ask the same question. The next
question is: Can it be stopped? Or, who can stop it? Of course, jueteng and STL
can be stopped if the town’s officials do not want it to operate. And even
while the officials want it to operate because of the revenues that gambling
contributes, any police authority from PNP chief Bato dela Rosa down to RD Elmo
Francis Oco Sarona to COP Macliing should not allow it because it is illegal.
Ironically, illegal gambling is not authorized but for obvious reasons, it is
not being stopped.
In Baguio, it has been
a long holiday season for our police and illegal gambling operators since Bato
and President Duterte were busy fighting the Maute terrorists in Marawi. I
honestly believed in the pronouncement of Bato and President Duterte that after
shooting it out with drug dealers, they will start running after illegal
gambling operators. But the opposite is happening in Baguio. Illegal gambling
operators do not see eye to eye especially in Kayang because one operator was
asked to stop while a rival got the blessings of the police.
A friend from the PNP
told me that sometimes he felt like puking, knowing that the boss sided with
Toyoy while he eliminated Nardo. And so, unstoppable operations carry on along
Kayang which is very near the office of the COP. I also gathered that no less
than the highest ranked person in Camp Dangwa is knowledgeable with what is
going on in his area of responsibility. That is a given but as I said, gambling
is not allowed but the police do not stop
it.
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