Radio blocktimer’s request for consultant’s contract denied

A radio block-timer’s request for a certified copy of a Capitol consultant was turned down last September.

The incident was discussed yesterday in the Cebu Provincial Board (PB), where some members questioned the Davide administration’s new policy in a Nov. 8 memo restricting access to public documents by requiring a written request.

“I brought this up because there is a danger that if we go on with it, we will deny outright the right of the public to information,” said PB Member Arleigh Sitoy.

The request of Oscar Pasaporte, who was then anchorman of radio dyCM and is now with radio dyRF, was an offshoot of the status of a female casual worker related to him, according to Capitol sources.

Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino, who was invited to the regular PB session to explain the status of two other pending consultancy contracts worth P58 million, said he was aware of the “backlash” the refusal would cause.

He said he respects the freedom of information, but after being attacked on air by Pasaporte, who also hit two other officials, he said there had to be “limits.”

“I’m really just guided by this. We have to strike a balance. My only intention is to protect the institution,” said Tolentino, a lawyer and trusted aide of Gov. Hilario Davide III.

Pasaporte wrote the administrator two months ago asking for a “certified true copy”of the consultancy contract of Rocelyn Zosa, who he described as the OIC of two departments, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development (PSWD) and Human Resources Management Office (HRMO).

Pasaporte, in his letter dated Sept. 23, said this document was “for the benefit of truth, fairness, and accuracy for the public through my daily radio program VIGILANTE over dyCM.”

His request was turned down by Tolentino in a letter one week later.

Tolentino wrote to Pasaporte saying that he “has regularly been making defamatory remarks against Ms. Zosa, Mr. Jone Sepe, and myself over your radio program.”

“I am advised that your follow-up requests on this reply have been made in “a very arrogant and threatening manner and that you have even been bragging that you would be attacking Ms. Zosa, Mr. Sepe and me in your radio program today.”

With this, “it is clear that you have no other intention than to use the document you have requested for no other purpose than to further malign Mrs. Zosa, and quit possibly, Mr. Sepe and myself.”

From Capitol sources, it was learned that Pasaporte’s wife, a casual employee in the Governor’s Office, was about to lose her job due to performance issues. In October, her 6-month contract was not renewed. However, she was later rehired as a casual of the office of the Cebu vice governor.

This background was not mentioned in the PB discussion yesterday although several legislators were familiar with the prior conflict.

The anchorman’s spurned request for a document targeted Zosa, an executive assistant in the Governor’s Office since May this year and is OIC of the PSWD.

Before that, Zosa was project manager of a team of eight consultants engaged by the Province of Cebu in 2014, to review programs, activities , planning and personnel under a P1.2 million contract with the Development and Consulting Group Inc. approved by the PB.

“If there’s nothing to hide, why should we be afraid? There are remedies to derogatory remarks. You can go to court and sue for that,” PB Member Sitoy told Tolentino.

Sitoy said the only way the matter can be solved is by doing away with the policy of denying the public the right to access information based on “assumptions”.

Sitoy stopped short of asking for a recall of the Nov. 8 memo, but asked the the administrator “to think about it” again.

Sitoy, a former administration ally, left the Liberal Party in October to run for mayor in Cordova town, where the LP is supporting his half-sister for the same post.

“There was a precedent,” replied Tolentino.

“This media personality had been attacking Ms. Zosa, myself, and Mr. Sepe many times over a period of several days, several weeks in fact.”

Tolentino, a lawyer, said he had reflected on the matter “many times” and was aware of the backlash he would get for his decision in this case.

Both Tolentino and the Provincial Board agreed that the case was already “closed.”

GWEN’S MEMO

Access to public documents in the Capitol came under new rules earlier this month with a Nov. 9 memo issued by Tolentino.

It reminded all officials, department heads and employees of a 2010 memo issued by the Office of the Governor during Gwen Garcia’s term setting guidelines for “giving information and access to official records including the furnishing of copies.”

Each request must be made in writing, stating the purpose. Release needs written approval of the department head, and all documents released must be reported to the Office of the Governor.

Tolentino confirmed that a prior policy was set by former governor Garcia but that it required approval by the Provincial Legal Office.

This time, Tolentino added, under policies released in June 2015, during Davide’s administration, the Capitol did away with requiring the PLO to give approval.

“But we have left it to the discretion of the respective department or office heads,” he said.

Tolentino said he respects the freedom of information, but that there are also limits.

PB Member Grecilda Sanchez, in her comment, recalled how she was denied Capitol documents by department heads when she was still a private citizen asking for papers related to the usurpation case that eventually led to the suspension of former governor Garcia in 2012.

“The letter was simply a request for a copy of a contract. To me, that is legitimate. There is nothing wrong with a contract. I do not know the reason it should have been simply denied,” she said since this is a public document.

“A consultancy contract shouldn’t be interpreted by the possibility of using it for maligning, but by the content itself.

If there’s maligning, with our without the contract, it can actually be done,” said Sanchez.

PB Member Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, whose relatives manage radio dyCM, said he has already spoken to Pasaporte. He said he understood Tolentino’s situation that his reply to the radioman was borne out of emotion.

“For Mark who is not familiar with ways of how everything works, that probably resulted in the letter,” said

Martinez. After the encounter, Pasaporte transferred to radio dyRF.

Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, presiding officer, said she had to include the Pasaporte case in the agenda to accommodate the request of a former ally, Sitoy.

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What was supposed to be a simple, straightforward campaign to eliminate the use of refilled butane canisters became politicized when the cans were plastered with campaign slogans.

The discovery of some butane canisters refilled with LPG gas bearing the campaign slogan “Type O” caused mayoral candidate Tomas Osmeña to call for a press conference and criticized his successor, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

Osmeña questioned the mayor’s decision to crack down on stations selling refilled butane canisters.

Rather than solve the problem, Osmeña warned that mass confiscation would worsen the situation and force operators to go underground and still sell the cheap cooking fuel.

So who’s in charge of enforcing the law?

The task force formed after a recent explosion of a home-based operator that injured eight of her workers is supposed to be headed by Councilor Dave Tumulak.

Will it succeed?

It depends on political will.

A directive of the Department of Energy (DOE) already bars the sale, distribution and use of “single trip” or disposable units like butane canisters to store Liquefied Petroleum Gas.

It’s illegal and a fire hazard.

There are penalties and fines, but obviously not hefty enough to discourage existing LPG operators from following it.

Adding fuel to the issue is the lobby of the Cebu LPG Budget Gas Industry Association for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to standardize and regulate the use of butane canisters.

If local entrepeneurs can make a sturdy can to retail LPG safely, that would be a boon to low-income families and steer them away from risky one-time-only butane canisters.

But there is a protocol for inventing and standardizing this new container. It’s use and testing should be applied for with the right government standards authorities to ensure that consumer safety, not commercial profit, is the overriding interest served.

If it’s a good idea, the one who gets the patent and is first to mass production can corner the market — legitimately.

In the meantime, the safety of households and communities cannot be compromised by backyard refillers.

The LPG association has all the freedom to experiment and invent a new container but not to make thousands of consumers the guinea pigs by bringing a it to market before all quality checks are made by the proper authorities.

Which is indeed cheaper: buying LPG refills in thin butane cans or landing in a hospital for burns and other injuries after an accident? Do the math.

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A FORMER policeman was shot and wounded by a still unidentified man in Toledo City, midwest Cebu early morning yesterday.

Rogelio Gutang, 30, was relieving himself outside his house in barangay Bitoon when he was shot in the right leg by someone hiding behind a banana tree.

Relatives rushed to Gutang’s aid and brought him to the hospital.

Supt. Ali Baron, chief of the Toledo City Police Station, said the motive of the attack is still under investigation.

Gutang told investigators he could not think of anyone who could be responsible for the attack. He said he had no known enemy in their place.

Supt. Baron said Gutang had a rank of police officer 1 when he was dismissed from service in 2014.

Supt. Baron said it was his predecessor, Supt. Ricky Delilis, who filed administrative charges against Gutang for absence without official leave.

The administrative charges led to Gutlang’s dismissal from police service.

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A security guard of Seaford shipyard in Mandaue Negros Waterfront Corp. in Mandaue City. mans the entrance of the shipyard where a cargo ship caught fire yesterday. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

A cargo ship caught fire while docked in a shipyard in barangay Opao, Mandaue City yesterday afternoon.

Welding work was going on when one of the storage rooms of Seaford 7 caught fire.

SFO2 Cipriano Codilla, arson investigator of the Mandaue City Fire Station, said they received the fire alarm at 4:20 p.m.

The fire was put under control at 5:20 p.m.

Eight fire trucks responded to the fire alarm.

Codilla said it took time for firefighters to reach the shipyard because of  heavy traffic on the way.

Welding sparks that fell on a pile of sacks caused the fire, said Codilla.

Security guards barred reporters from entering the private shipyard.

Codilla said that according to ship captain Leoncio Nazareno, the lack of proper coordination among the ship crew members contributed to the fire.  Some personnel were instructed to clear the storage room from the pile of sacks before the welding works, but this was not followed.

The ship had 15 crew members. No one was hurt in the incident.

Codilla said they were not able to talk to the cargo owner to determine the cost of damage.

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Former COA commissioner Sofronio Ursal during the book launching at the Cebu City Public Library. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

A book on the life of chieftain Lapu-Lapu, the first Filipino hero, was launched yesterday in time for the celebration of  National Book Week.

“The Bisayan” written by lawyer Sofronio Ursal tackles historical accounts of the life of Lapu-Lapu and his encounter with Magellan along with the first group of Spaniards that arrived in Cebu in 1521.

Though his book is partly fiction, Ursal, former commissioner of the Commission on Audit, said it will encourage readers to appreciate history.

“As a man goes old, he would prefer to look back than to look forward. I find pleasure in going through accounts of our history. And this book is the product of that love for history,” he said during the book launching at the Cebu City Public Library Hall.

Present during the event were Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza, Cordova town Mayor Adelino Sitoy, and Cebu City Vice Mayor  Edgardo Labella.

In her message, Radaza said she was happy over Ursal’s decision to write an in-depth study about Lapu-Lapu.

“Yes, the book is partly fiction. But there’s that noble intention to relive that glorious past so it won’t be forgotten,” she said.

Radaza said she believes “The Bisayan” will cultivate the desire of young people to look back at history for a better appreciation of the present.

“I’m confident that with this book, the glorious past will never be forgotten. The people of Lapu-Lapu City will forever be grateful to Atty. Ursal for what he has done,” she said.

Sitoy discussed Mactan’s history and Cebu City’s history to remind people about what transpired in the past.

“The Bisayan” answers questions about  Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan’s travel into the Visayan seas in 1521, and salient details about Lapu-Lapu.

Ursal said the story of “The Bisayan” is a product of artistic license using history and folklore as binding elements, and should be taken as such.

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ORGANIZERS of next year’s International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) held a closed-door meeting with top police officials yesterday to discuss security plans for the event that will  draw more than 10,000 foreign and local delegates in January.

Chief Supt. Prudencio Bañas, Police Regional Office (PRO-7) chief, said he will ask for additional personnel from other provinces  to secure the delegates.

“The IEC organizers wanted a template similar to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit here last September and October, but we told them  the template was based on an executive order of Malacañang,” Bañas said.

He and other police officials  walked through  the new IEC Pavilion behind the archdiocesan seminary along Pope John Paul II Avenue in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City where most of the activities will be held.

Bañas also talked with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo and the IEC organizing committee about their preparations.

He said this includes preparations on how to handle media coverage for the event.

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MORE than 500 passengers on board a passenger vessel were stranded since Monday afternoon at pier 6 in Cebu City.

MV St. Pope John Paul II of 2Go Shipping encountered problems in its roller sheaves of the  ramp where cargoes cannot be unloaded.

Commodore Enrico Evangelista, commander for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Central Visayas, said that the passenger vessel came  from Manila.  It docked in Cebu and was enroute to Cagayan de Oro.

It had 551 passengers and 143 officers and crew on board with a passenger vessel capacity  of 1,985. Its  shipmaster was  identified as Captain Candido Rasonabe.

As of 1 p.m. yesterday, the ramp was successfully repaired and usable.

Evangelista said 2Go management was willing to refund  tickets of passengers or  let them transfer to MV Pope Leo The Great. As of 2 p.m. yesterday, at least 27 passengers asked for a ticket refund.

MV Pope Leo The Great was expected to arrive at 7 p.m. last night and is also bound to Cagayan De Oro.

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THE Cebu provincial government may award by  year end a P26-million consultancy contract for the development of five-year disaster management plans for 51 city and muncipal  governments  in Cebu.

Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., the Capitol’s disaster management chief, said  the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) is negotiating terms of  reference with non-government organization Kaabag sa Sugbo Foundation Inc. in the  post-evaluation stage following a public bidding.

“Hopefully, we will be able to award the project within 2015,” he said during a  Kapistorya session at the Capitol yesterday.

Damage by supertyphoon Yolanda in a street leading to the municipal hall of Daanbantayan town, where the eye of the storm visited northern Cebu in Nov. 8, 2013.

The contract, however, still has to be awarded,  signed by the governor and submitted to the Provincial Board for review.

Three NGOs submitted  bids for  the project  for  “Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in Cebu Province Local Governance: Development of DRRM-CCA and Contingency Plans of 51 LGUs of Cebu (Phase 1).”

The three are Freedom from Debt Coalition, Kaabag, and Naga College Foundation.

Out of the three, Tribunalo said only Kaabag met the criteria set by his office.

According to its website,  Kaabag is “a network of 28 Cebu-based NGOs engaged in various aspects of social development work”.

It is headed by Teresita Fernandez, who also heads Lihok Filipina.

Tribunalo said the criteria  for selection was experience in community-based facilitation and DRRM and contingency planning, strong qualitative data gathering skills, and proficiency in written and spoken Cebuano and English, among others.

He said he expects the project to start  after the contract is awarded.

“If the contract is awarded in December, then I expect the consultants to start by January next year,” he said.

The P26-million project will run for seven months to cover 51 towns and cities with each local government  allocated close to P500,000 each.

The output at the end of the period is a  five-year contingency and DRRM plan for each of the local government units.

The consultant is also expected to come up with the contingency and DRRM plans for Cebu province, a book on tools and designs to conduct DRRM planning and capacity to train personnel from the province and the different LGUs on DRRM.

At present, 42 out of 51 Cebu towns and cities have  DRRM plans while 20 out of 51 have Climate Change Adaptation plans. However, these only cover one year.

Tribunalo said the BAC and the NGO are still discussing the terms of reference.

The  PDRRMO is requiring the consultants to widen the coverage of risk assessment.

Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino appeared in last Monday’s regular Provincial Board (PB) session to shed light on this pending  consultancy contract.

Tolentino said that he has been interviewed several times to clarify the matter by print and broadcast media.

“The governor advised us and he deems it prudent that maybe the best time for us to explain would be when the documents have already been forwarded to the Provincial Board  and when they have already been awarded,” he said.

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A Cebu-based radio anchor said he plans to file  charges against the Cebu provincial administrator for denying his written request for a certified true copy of a Capitol consultant’s contract.

“According to my lawyer, we will be charging Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino with  violating the Anti-Red Tape Act,” radio anchor Oscar Pasaporte of dyCM told Cebu Daily News yesterday.

Under Sec. 8 on Accessing Frontline Services, all applications or requests to a government office shall be acted on no longer than five working days for simple transactions and 10 days for complex ones.

Any denial of the request  has to be fully explained in writing and state  the grounds.

Tolentino turned down the block-timer’s   Sept. 23 request for a certified copy of the former consultancy contract of Rocelyn Zosa, who is now an executive assistant of Gov. Hilario Davide III and OIC of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO.)

In his written reply,  the administrator said he learned that  the radio anchor had been attacking  Zosa, Jone Sepe of the General Services Office, and himself on air and  had clear intent of using the document to “further malign” them.

Pasaporte   anchors the program Vigilante on radio dyCM and has  a blocktime program on radio dyRF on weekdays.

Before joining dyCM in 2013, Pasaporte said he worked in El Nuevo Bantay Radyo, a network managed by PB Member Gigi Sanchez.

In last Monday’s Provincial Board’s (PB) regular session, where the incident was brought up by PB Member Arleigh Sitoy, Tolentino said he  respects the right of freedom of information but after being attacked on air, believes there had to be “limits” set.

Tolentino admitted he was acting on the assumption that Pasaporte would use the  contract for more attacks gainst him and his colleagues.

Tolentino said he would have easily given the document if someone else had asked for it.

Pasaporte in an interview yesterday admitted that he did “attack” Tolentino on air  on issues involving the bidding process and later a Nov. 9  memo  issued by Tolentino with guidelines on the handling of requests for information and release of documents by Capitol officials, and employees.

The anchorman said he was neither for nor against the Davide administration.

“It’s something between me and Mark,” said Pasaporte, but would not elaborate.

According to Capitol sources, the on-air attacks and request to get hold of the consultant’s contract was related to the status of Pasaporte’s wife, who was dismissed for performance issues as a  casual in the governor’s office.

In a text message yesterday, Tolentino said he wasn’t  surprised by the radio commentantor’s plan to file a case.

“I’m not surprised. He had been making such insinuations anyway,” he said.

The administrator, who was out on official business, said he would give  clearer picture of his side of the story once he returns tomorrow.

Tolentino stood by the November 9 memorandum he issued to  all Capitol department heads and employees reminding them of  existing rules on handling requests for inofrmation and documents, and requiring them to be made in writing. Tolentino said the  protocol is a watered-down version of a memo issued in 2010 by former governor Gwendolyn Garcia, which earlier required  all requests for documents to be approved by the Provincial Legal Office.

Today, only the department heads have to  approve written requests, said Tolentino.The releases should also be reported to the governor’s office.

During Tolentino’s appearance in the session last Monday, PB Member Arleigh Sitoy said he worried that the policy would  lead to the  outright dential of the  public’s right to information.

Tolentino said he still believes a balance must be made  in freedom of information and protecting the government as an institution.

“I don’t see any reason to lift it at the moment. It is even more lenient than the previous one. And it is directed to our personnel to ensure that there is clearance from their head,” Tolentino said yesterday.

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A newborn  boy was found abandoned inside a  red  shopping bag left by the roadside  in Lapu-Lapu City yesterday.

The baby still had his umbilical cord attached, indicating his mother had just given birth.

He had a  gray scarf  for a blanket and a dark piece of cloth as a pillow.

The woman who discovered the infant, 38-year-old resident Rubelyn Cambor, said she was about to buy something at 6 a.m. in the sari-sari store in sitio Sto. Niño, barangay Basak  when she noticed the paperbag on the ground was moving.

Unless the mother of this baby boy comes forward, he’ll be put up for adoption. The infant was found in a shopping bag left by the road in barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City. (SCREEN GRAB FROM LUZ MENDOZA’S VIDEO ON FB)

She said she was shocked to find the infant inside with no sign of where he came from or the baby’s mother.

Cambor said she took the child and asked her neighbors if they knew who the parents were butno one seemed to know. .

The baby was later brought to the Lapu-Lapu City Hospital  where he was declared in stable condition.

Photos of the newborn,  who has fair skin and Asian features, circulated widely on the Internet after it was posted.

The discovery was reported to social worker Chery Montebon, said PO2 Raquel Gacoscosim of the Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) of the Marigondon police precinct.

The baby will be referred  to the care of Norfil Foundation Inc., a non-government organization that takes custody of abandoned children and later offers them for adoption.

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Armand Henzkel Bangolan Canoy of Cebu Institute of Technology emerged on top of the 9,482 civil engineering graduates who took the November 2015 Civil Engineering Licensure Examination this month.

Canoy got a 94.80 percent rating.

Another CIT graduate Jerry Ricacho Marte Jr. landed in the 4th top spot with 93.75 percent rating.

Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) got an overall passing rate of 48 percent with 84 passers out of the 173 who took the exam.

According to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) only 3,935 out of 9,482 passed the exam that was held in nine cities around the country including Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Cebu, Manila, Baguio, Lucena and Tacloban.

Other top-nochers are Rayniel Joseph Martin Salonga of Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Main (2nd place), Juncel Garces Bayogo of the University of Eastern Philippines-Catarman (3rd), Jesse Harold Perez Hilario of the University of Santo Tomas (4rth, tie with Marte), Carlo Camu Villacorta of Catanduanes State University-Virac (5th), Almario Villaruz Lim of Adamson University (6th), John Dominic Cabotaje Tomelden of the University of Pangasinan (7th), Mike Christian Tan Alejandro of Bulacan State University-Malolos (8th), Kevin Callos Cañaveral of Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Lopez (9th) and John Cedrick Lagman Chan of Baliuag University (10th).

Top three schools were University of the Philippines-Los Banos with 57 passers out of the 59 who took the exam, followed by the University of the Philippines-Diliman with 80 passers out of the 89 who took the exam. Technological University of the Philippines-Manila rounds up the top three with 65 passers out of the 77 takers.

MORE PASSERS:List of Successful Examinees

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THE Regional Trial Court dismissed the case filed by former prosecutor Romulo Torres against the Cebu City Council to bar the use of proceeds from the sale of the South Road Properties (SRP) earlier this year.

Presiding judge Alexander Acosta denied several motions filed by Torres and dismissed his petition.

Acosta said there is no conflict between a Cebu City Council ordinance and a City Council resolution which authorized Mayor Michael Rama to sell the two SRP lots through public bidding.

Acosta said the ordinance authorizes prior authorization and not ratification from the City Council on the disposal of the SRP lots.

“The ordinance is merely an implementing resolution and cannot be construed as being in conflict with the ordinance,” the judge said. Acosta also denied Torres’s petition to remand the case to RTC Branch 23 and his motion for reconsideration on the order dated October 1.

Administration officials welcomed the decision.

“There’s no more legal impediment for the city to use the P8.3 billion down payment from the sale of the SRP lots,” City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo said.

Torres’ case has prompted the City Council to suspend the approval of the city’s P2.8 billion Supplemental Budget whose sole fund source is the excess proceeds from the SRP lot sale down payment.

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POLICE seized illegal drugs worth more than P1.4 million in two separate anti-drug operations last Thursday.

Three persons were arrested by operatives of the Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) in a buy-bust operation in barangay Bawo, Sogod town, northern Cebu.

Rustom Montejo Braga was the target of the buy-bust operation. He allegedly sold a pack of suspected shabu worth P500 to a poseur-buyer.

Police also arrested Braga’s companions Julius Cesar Tampus and Nelson Macatu.

Police said they seized from the three men 71 grams of suspected shabu worth P837,000 .

A separate buy-bust operation in Talisay City, southern Cebu led to the arrest of Hilario Palmera.

Confiscated from him was shabu worth at least P600,000.

Palmera allegedly yielded 12 big packs and 12 sachets of suspected shabu, said SPO1 Reynante Solante.

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A POLICEMAN assigned in Minglanilla town, southern Cebu was accused of extorting money from a truck driver and his helper last Wednesday night.

SPO1 Renato Masangcay allegedly demanded P1,000 in exchange for the release of the driver’s license.

Ruben Rosell, supervisor of GM Industries, lodged a complaint against Masangcay before the Provincial Investigation and Detective Management Branch (PIDMB) of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO).

Rosell said they hired the wing van to deliver some equipment of a telecommunications company to Negros Oriental.

He said policemen on board a patrol car flagged them down in barangay Tungkop.

Masangcay allegedly took the truck driver’s license.

Rosell said Masangcay told them that they will be issued a temporary operator’s permit (TOP) because one of the truck helpers was only wearing slippers.

It was then that the policeman demanded P1,000 in exchange for the release of the license of the wing van’s driver.

“Akong gihangyo nga isyuhan nalang mi ug TOP kay malangay na mi ba, pero ni-insist man gyud nga bayran ug usa ka libo. Ako nalang gihangyo nga 500 (I told him to just issue us with TOP to avoid delays. But he insisted that we give him P1,000. I haggled it down to P500),” said Rosell.

He said he was surprised why the policemen apprehended them, but did not do anything about habal-habal drivers who were not wearing helmets.

PO3 Norman Años, chief investigator of IDMB, said Masangcay will be asked to answer the accusations against him.

Años said Masangcay may face administrative and criminal charges.

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CARBON Market vendors are appealing to the Cebu City government to fasttrack the renovation of Unit II.

They are also asking former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña to withdraw his move asking the court for a temporary restraining order against the project.

Sol Jumao-as, one of the vendors, said the new market will allow them to earn more as they will no longer block the roads.

The vendors have put up their stalls along the roadside after a fire gutted Unit II several years ago.

Ermita Barangay Captain Felicismo Rupinta told reporters that if the city will fasttrack the renovation, a proper signage that will serve as customers guide will be installed.

Rolly Lequigan, a director of the Cebu Vendors Private Corporation (CVPC), said  phase 1 of the project started in the second quarter last year. It will be completed by the first quarter of next year.

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With the court’s dismissal of the case questioning the sale of two South Road Properties (SRP) lots, Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella wants the City Council to act on the stalled P2.8 billion Supplemental Budget 1 (SB1).

He wrote the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas to ask for the issuance of an order directing the City Council to immediately act on the SB1.

In a letter dated November 26 to Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Paul Elmer Clemente, Labella said the office has the duty to direct employees of the government to “stop, prevent and correct any abuse or impropriety in the performance of duties” based on Republic Act 6770 or the Ombudsman Act of 1989.

“The majority Sangguniang Panlungsod members’ deliberate and baseless refusal to act on SB1-2015 is a disservice to the City and, to the city’s employees, an undue deprivation of property in violation of their Constitutional right,” Labella said in his letter.

Labella, a lawyer by profession, had served as director of the Office of Ombudsman before he became an elective public official.

He noted how the City Council sat on the SB1 due to the case filed by former prosecutor Romulo Torres questioning the validity of the sale of the two SRP lots earlier this year.

He also said the majority bloc of the City Council “squelched subsequent motions for lifting the deferment of discussion on SB-1” for five consecutive regular sessions.

He said the court already denied the petition of Torres for a temporary restraining order as early as October 1.

But the majority bloc of the council still refused to act on the budget considering that it hasn’t been dismissed yet.

But eventually, the court also dismissed the main petition.

Labella said the dismissal removed any doubt on the validity of the sale of the SRP lots.

He said this should be more than enough reason to act on the additional budget already.

He added that the grounds for the refusal of the majority bloc of the City Council to act on the additional budget, which is alleged pendency of the civil case, should be rendered inexistent.

Labella said he has yet to meet with the other members of the council’s minority bloc to map out their next move.

He said the council is required by law to act on the budget — either to approve, disapprove or slash the proposed items and send it back to the mayor’s office —  and not to just sit on it.

Labella said it is the “bounden duty,” or obligation, of the City Council to act on SB-1 as mandated by the Local Government Code in Sections 305 (a), 321 and 458 (a) (2) (i).

Mayor Michael Rama submitted the proposed SB1 last August 14. It is to be funded from the P8.38-billion down payment for the SRP lots acquired by an SM-Ayala consortium and Filinvest Land.

The SB-1 contains the P2.4 billion prepayment of the SRP loan, P87 million garbage tipping fees, and P77.3 million Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) for City Hall employees, among others.

Labella said the most important item under the SB-1 is the prepayment of the SRP loan since the city government has already completed the requirements for the loan payment.

“The prepayment would save the City of Cebu an estimated average daily interest of P148,000. It is an estimated amount due to the presence of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The prepayment would also secure the city from any possible international financial fluctuations. In fact, the City of Cebu has already suffered foreign exchange loss in the total amount of P1.748 billion,” he said.

Labella said he hoped the Ombudsman would act on his request for assistance as soon as possible, saying this is based on “legitimate and valid grievance.”

The post Labella seeks Ombudsman intervention on stalled SB1 appeared first on Cebu Daily News.

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama’s results of the drug test he took on Oct. 13 showed he didn’t use illegal drugs.

Dr. Alice Utlang, Cebu City Office on  Substance Abuse Prevention chief, presented the laboratory results to the media yesterday after allegations of Rama being a drug addict surfaced in the social media.

Some netizens and former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña accused Rama of using drugs. Osmena’s accusation was posted on his Facebook page last November 25.

Dr. Utlang presented to the media a copy of the laboratory test showing the negative results from the use of shabu and marijuana.

Utlang also said the results of the drug tests on the mayor and the rest of his department heads were negative of methamphetamine (shabu) and tetrahydrocannabinol (marijuana).

Utlang also belied Osmeña’s claim that Rama only submitted a urine sample, which filled only half of the container.

On allegations linking the mayor’s loss of weight to drug use, Rama said in another interview that he has been closely watching his diet since his family has a history of diabetes.

“I have already undergone a drug test, and all my results are negative. I’m not doing another drug test to prove to everyone that I’m not into drugs. It’s already enough,” Rama said.

Rama and 40 department heads and assistant department heads took a surprise drug test last Oct. 13.

“We were having a meeting on that day at the eighth floor of City Hall. The vice mayor was even present” Utlang said.

She said that it was really a surprise drug test contrary to what the mayor’s critics claimed.

Utlang said no one influenced her to conduct a drug test on that day.

Osmeña, meanwhile, fired another salvo at Mayor Rama yesterday on his Facebook page. He posted that having been mayor of the city, he has spoken to several people in law enforcement about drugs and that shabu can become undetectable three days after its use.

Therefore “ it’s not a surprise that the drug test is pointless,” said Osmeña on his Facebook post.

Osmeña also asked why the mayor is so defensive about the drug issue.

But Utlang cited the results of the drug tests to belie the drug allegations on Mayor Rama.

“We don’t have to prove (anything) to anyone. The results speak for themselves,” said Utlang.

The post ‘Rama’s drug test results negative of shabu, marijuana’ appeared first on Cebu Daily News.

A RELIGIOUS group yesterday postponed the removal of the controversial big yellow billboard at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).

This after the Cebu provincial government gave the group the go signal to take down the “Never Again”  billboard.

Assistant Provincial Administrator Ramil Abing said he issued an authorization letter yesterday to organizers of the Jesus Reigns event that will happen at the CICC grounds on Nov. 30.

Abing said organizers may take down the billboard any time before the event.

He also said that no Capitol staff will be sent to help them.

As of 8:30 p.m. yesterday, the banner was still up.

A high-ranking member of the group told Cebu Daily News that they expect to take down the banner tomorrow when they have enough manpower to do it.

Abing earlier said only volunteers from the group will roll down the banner on the billboard.

Members of

The controversial banner on the billboard will soon be taken down after the Capitol gave the okay to remove it.

(CGGD), the group that claimed to have put up the Never Again billboard at the CICC, said they are amenable to the request of the religious group.

CGGD spokesman Renil Oliva, in a text message, said they will be sending volunteers from their group to help.

Abing said organizers of Jesus Reigns sent a letter to the Capitol about two weeks ago asking  for the use the CICC grounds for an event on Nov. 30.

The post CICC banner still up; group to remove it today appeared first on Cebu Daily News.

Dr. Augustus Nizami Reconalla attended to teacher who was given expired insulin

The Provincial Health Office has asked for the resignation of the doctor who attended to a public school teacher, who died in the Tuburan District Hospital allegedly after having been given expired medicine.

Dr. Cynthia Genosolango, PHO head, said Dr. Augustus Nizami Reconalla will have to take responsibility for his actions.

Reconalla, not Dr. Jataporn Vatanagul as erroneously reported in the Nov. 27 issue of this paper, was the attending physician.

“Dr. Tang (Vatanagul) was not even on duty,” a close relative of Dr. Vatanagul told Cebu Daily News.

CDN tried to reach Dr. Vatanagul to get his statement, but all calls to his phone were left unanswered.

Teacher Hezil Relavo Aparecio, 39, died on Nov. 18 on her way to a hospital in Cebu City after having been referred by Dr. Reconalla.

Reconalla admitted that they administered two low doses of insulin to treat the teacher’s blood sugar levels, but found out that the medicine used was way past the expiration date.

“I don’t know if you can call it honesty. But the doctor told the patient’s husband she needed to be brought to the city because the expired insulin had no effect anymore. That’s what he said in front of the family,” said Genosolango.

She asked Reconalla to tender his resignation from the public hospital.

“We’ll just have to own up to our responsibilities. He has to face whichever court he will be sent and give his side with all the honesty he can muster,” Genosolango told reporters yesterday.

The attending nurse, on the other hand, will not be asked to resign.

Although she was the one who gave the dose to the patient, Genosolango said “command responsibility” needed to be observed.

“If I were the attending doctor, I wouldn’t include the nurse in this,” she said.

Like the case of Reconalla, however, she said this does not free the nurse from any liability the patient’s family might come after her for.

Genosolango said Reconalla said he just wanted to help.

Genosolango said it was Reconalla who looked for ways to obtain insulin since the public hospital didn’t have any in its stock.

Diabetes cases are usually referred to big hospitals nearby or hospitals in Cebu City, she said.

Even expired medicines have “allowances” of several months, the chief said. She said that these only lose efficacy, but are not supposed to turn lethal or toxic.

However, she clarified that it is not for her to say anything about the dose that was used on the patient.

Genosolango said she visited the wake of the patient last Sunday.

At the request of the family, Genosolango has advised the pharmacy where the insulin was bought to refrigerate its stocks and place them in plastic to preserve it.

She said that they will seek help from the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to conduct a toxicology study on the particular dose that was given.

She said the patient already showed manifestations of acidosis due to diabetes and might have died on her way to the city due to organ failure.

When Aparecio was brought to the Tuburan District Hospital on Nov. 17, her blood sugar level was at around 500. She was also said to have been suffering from urinary tract infection.

“An ordinary doctor would know that it is dangerous for a diabetic to have an infection in any part of their body. It can multiply a thousand fold versus a person who is not diabetic,” said Genosolango.

The post Doctor told to resign from Tuburan hospital appeared first on Cebu Daily News.

The opening of Sm Seaside City Cebu causes heavy traffic on the Cebu South Coastal Road. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Minor traffic changes introduced in SRP

Traffic was bumper to bumper on roads around and leading to the South Road Properties (SRP) as excited Cebuanos trooped to SM Seaside City Cebu, the biggest mall in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The traffic situation was so bad that some taxi drivers refused to transport passengers who wanted to go to the mall.

It also compelled the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) to implement minor traffic changes in the area.

Rafael Christopher L. Yap, CCTO head, said the unprecedented heavy traffic is just because people are curious about the mall, which was opened to the public yesterday.

He said they will continue to assess the situation in the area in the coming days.

“All roads leading to SM Seaside experienced heavy traffic. But it’s flowing. It doesn’t get stuck,” Yap told reporters yesterday.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, traffic congestion was heavy along N. Bacalso Ave., near the corner of V. Rama Ave., along the Mambaling flyover, along the SRP viaduct and along Vestil St. or the Mambaling Access Road leading to the mall.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama welcomed the opening of the new mall, which he described as an “iconic, catalytic monument.”

“SM Seaside’s entry creates an impressive landscape for the City of Cebu and even the entire Cebu. And thus, we’ll continue to have more elements that will assure the continuing competitive level of the City of Cebu,” he told reporters yesterday.

Cebu City was awarded the Third Overall Most Competitive City by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) next to Manila and Makati.

In the infrastructure category, Cebu City ranked second next to Manila.

CONGESTION

Yap said the congestion on the roads leading to SM Seaside started as early as 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., or around an hour before its opening at 10 a.m. This continued until yesterday evening.

He said the congestion was caused by the number of private vehicles heading to the mall especially since SM’s MyBus is not yet fully operational. Only three units were issued a franchise by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

“We think it’s (congestion) only because of the opening. But we will assess in the coming days if this is going to be the new normal. This is what will happen if MyBus doesn’t get approved,” Yap said.

Yap said the number of vehicles on the road would lessen if a mass transport system serves the SRP.

CCTO operations chief Jonathan “Joy” Tumulak said they implemented a no-left turn for vehicles coming out of SM Seaside that want to go to the Mambaling flyover.

Tumulak said they also opened a service road across the University of Cebu Campus in Mambaling for vehicles coming from Cebu City that are bound for Talisay City without having to pass through the busy Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) near SM.

The mall has 5,000 parking slots, including basement parking and other designated spots. But only the basement parking was opened yesterday.

Tumulak said he didn’t know the capacity of the basement parking area.

But he said the basement parking area was full and some of the cars were parked outside the mall like in the area leading to the Calungsod Chapel.

No parking was allowed on the main roads to avoid worsening the traffic congestion.

AVOID

Since more people are expected to check out the new mall in the next few days, Tumulak said the public should avoid the roads near the new mall as much as possible.

“If you’re not planning on going to SM Seaside, just pass through N. Bacalso Ave. and not through the South Coastal Road,” he said.

At least 30 traffic personnel were deployed by CCTO to man traffic on roads leading to the mall.

CCTO executive director Rey Gealon said that while traffic was still manageable, despite the heavy volume, it was really slow-moving due to the sheer volume of vehicles coming in and out of SM City Seaside.

“Noticeable, it can be said that the number of vehicles may have tripled, if not quadrupled, compared to the usual number passing through these roads prior to SM opening,” he said, referring to the Vestil St. and the South Coastal Road.

Meanwhile, SRP manager Roberto “Bu” Varquez said there are ongoing projects in the SRP that will help alleviate the traffic concerns in the area.

He said there are U-turn lanes being constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) near the SRP Viaduct and under the bridge going to Talisay City, which are expected to be completed by next month.

“That will help decongest that area. Right now, if you come from Talisay, you turn left to Mambaling which will create traffic since the volume of the vehicles will go there,” he said.

Once the U-turn slots are completed, he said a no-left turn policy will be implemented along the South Coastal Road.

SM Seaside City is located within the 30-hectare SM Seaside Complex being developed by SM Prime Holdings, Inc. into a lifestyle city at the SRP.

SM Prime president Hans T. Sy said it’s the fourth biggest mall in the country, after SM Megamall, SM North Edsa and SM Mall of Asia.

Between 160 and 170 tenants opened yesterday at the mall while 60 others are expected to open in the next several weeks. The mall can house more than 400 tenants and is expected to employ up to 10,000 workers.

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