Cebu official asked to prove vote-buying
CEBU CITY -- The man who wants to lead all 80 barangay captains in Cebu City needs to file a complaint if he can prove fellow captains received cash to vote for his rival, an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.
Busay Barangay Captain Eliodoro "Yodi" Sanchez took some heat on Sunday from administration party officials who, like the DILG, urged him to prove vote-buying ahead of Tuesday's election of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC).
"Dili man gyud pud na maayo nga magpataka lang ug pasangil. (It's not good to make unfounded accusations.) If he has proof, he can file a complaint at the DILG or the Office of the Ombudsman," DILG-Central Visayas Director Dr. Pedro Noval said.
Sanchez, in a separate interview, denied his rival's quip that he is getting "frustrated" by the thought of losing in Tuesday's polls. A seat in the Cebu City Council is at stake.
"I'm not frustrated. I'm just stating the facts. In a way, I'm already the underdog because Tommy (Rep. Tomas Osmeña) is with him (T. Padilla barangay captain Michael Ralota)," Sanchez said.
Sanchez said he did receive text messages saying some barangay captains received P1,000 each from Ralota during a lunch meeting last week.
He also claimed that Ralota gave some captains P5,000 each when Osmeña polled them to find out who they preferred between Ralota and Capitol Site barangay captain Manuel Guanzon.
"Pasagdi na lang na si Yodi kay frustrated na siguro na siya mao nga pataka na lang ug pasangil. Dili na tinuod nga namalit ta ug boto. In the first place, wa koy kwarta. Ikaduha, usa ka libo ra diay ang presyo sa mga barangay kapitan? (Let Yodi say what he wants. Perhaps he's frustrated, that's why he's making these wild accusations. It's not true I paid for votes. First, I have no money for that. Second, is he saying the barangay captains will sell their votes for P1,000?)," Ralota asked.
As of Sunday, Sanchez said he was not inclined to make a formal complaint on the alleged vote-buying.
"That is the problem," said Mayor Michael Rama in a separate interview. "Some people make statements and highlight personalities, but will not make it a formal complaint. That's not fair."
Rama said he will offer a mass on Tuesday for peaceful ABC elections.
Outgoing ABC president Eugenio "Jingjing" Faelnar said there was no need to bribe the barangay captains and added that never happened in previous federation elections.
"Wala na kinahanglana nang pagpalit ug mga boto kay mag-agad ra man gyud nang mga barangay kapitan sa i-indorso ni Tommy (There's not need to buy votes because the captains really just wait for whom Tommy will endorse)," Faelnar said.
Osmeña defended Ralota and, at the same time, expressed his dismay over Sanchez's allegation.
"Dili ko ganahan sa iyang mga (I don't like his) comments. He's going to lose anyway. Nadaut na ang reputasyon sa ABC iya pang pun-an (The ABC's reputation has suffered and he wants to make things worse)," Osmeña said.
Allegations about substandard or overpriced ABC infrastructure projects in the barangays recently caused a rift between Osmeña and Faelnar.
The congressman challenged Sanchez to prove his allegation by showing the text messages he received from the barangay captains, about the alleged vote-buying.
Osmeña added he will ignore the barangay captain from now on.
Sanchez, however, said he wants to apologize to the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan for the rift, but that he only wants to change some things in the ABC.
Sanchez said he hopes his conflict with Ralota will end once the federation elections are over and the ABC can still act "as one non-partisan organization." He said he will support Ralota if the latter wins.
Sanchez has gained the support of Santa Cruz Barangay Captain Jerome Lim, who is running for ABC director after being junked when Ralota and Guanzon joined forces to make one line-up.
Lim was in Guanzon's line-up.
Ralota admits he invited barangay chiefs to a party
T. Padilla barangay captain Michael Ralota, who aspires to become president of the Association of Barangay Councils, yesterday confirmed he invited barangay captains to a Christmas party he organized tonight.
12 multi-termer barangay chiefs won in Oct. polls - DILG
NBOO Director John Castañeda identified the 12 victorious multi-termers as:
- Enrique Bautista (Brgy Barrientos, Luna, La Union);
- Noel Lomboy (Brgy. Ribusan, Naguilian, La Union);
- Douglas Hagedorn (Brgy. San Miguel, Puerto Princesa City);
- Rogelio Carbonell (Brgy. Old Moriones, Ocampo, Camarines Sur);
- Ofelia Pati-on (Brgy. Tabun-ac, Toboso, Negros Occidental);
- Gregorio Canda (Brgy. Botoc Occ., Loay, Bohol);
- Bartolome Figueroa (Brgy. Bagacay, Daram, Samar);
- Bienvenido Tubog (Brgy. New Kidapawan, Kibawe, Bukidnon);
- Mario Cajucom (Brgy. 3, Caloocan);
- Conrado Cruz (Brgy. 12, Caloocan);
- Vicente Que (Brgy. 106, Caloocal); and
- Othello Ocampo (Brgy. 136, Caloocan)
According to Castañeda's report, all the 12 winners were formally proclaimed by the Comelec based on verification conducted by his office with the concerned DILG regional offices.
It added that save for Ofelia Pati-on of Brgy. Tabun-ac in Toboso, Negros Occidental, the other 11 winners have pending electoral protests filed against them.
The DILG submitted to the Comelec in September a list of barangay heads who were on their third or fourth consecutive terms and were disqualified to run for re-election
The prohibition is in accordance with Section 2 of Republic Act 9164 or An Act Providing for the Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, which states that no barangay elective official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms.
The Comelec, however, in a resolution issued on November 15, still proclaimed the village chiefs who won in the October 25 polls but whose names were found on the list of multi-termers submitted by the DILG.
The Comelec resolution said the concerned candidates were not given the chance to explain why they should not be barred from running in the elections.
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Luistro said it is not practical to spend so much for just one occasion, especially if the students' families cannot afford it.
No-collection policy in schools
Luistro earlier already warned public school officials not to collect various "fees" from students.
Under the DepEd's no-collection policy, no fees shall be collected from children enrolling in pre-school up to Grade IV at any time during the school year.
For school levels above Grade IV, there should be no collection during the enrollment period and the first month of classes.
Contributions should be "purely voluntary" and may only start in the second month of every school year.
This policy covers contributions for Boy Scouts of the Philippines, Girl Scouts of the Philippines, Red Cross, Anti-Tuberculosis Fund and Parent-Teacher Associations.
Regulating the non-tuition costs of public education has been part of the DepEd's more aggressive effort to keep every school-age child in school as part of its "Education for All " commitment, a promise of 100-percent enrollment of all children of school age by 2015.
Luistro said the no-collection policy is one of the government's anti-poverty measures.
The DepEd has also prohibited all public schools from imposing on students the wearing of uniforms or identification cards which could also be a financial burden for parents.
Government has allotted a budget to shoulder the expense for identification cards.
Also, Luistro made it clear that Parent-Teacher Associations are the only entity allowed to collect voluntary financial contributions.
But he said the non-payment of contributions by parents shall not be a basis for non-admission or non-issuance of clearances to the child by the school.
"No teacher or any school personnel shall be involved in such collection activities," he said.
Luistro said his department is duty-bound to make sure children are in school, and such fees may discourage parents from sending their children to school.
"Our goal here is to lessen the worries of parents about school fees which is one of the reasons why many children are out of school or have dropped out in the middle of schooling. If schools are collecting fees, they will be discouraging enrollment especially among the very poor. This is also why we have taken serious action against schools officials violating this policy," Luistro said.
He advised concerned citizens to report any violation of these policies through DepEd's hotline at 6361663,or email at action@deped.gov.ph.
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Law to regulate imported meat
THE city veterinarian warns market vendors against selling imported meat as local produce.
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries Chief Dr. Alice Utlang made this pronouncement following a new set of guidelines from the National Meat Inspection Services (NMIS) on the sale of frozen meat.
Utlang told Sun.Star Cebu there are reports some vendors wash frozen or chilled meat then pass it off as local meat.
Imported meat arrives in the country frozen or chilled to keep its freshness.
However, some unscrupulous meat vendors thaw the frozen product by using boiling water.
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"If they would help Ched, then that would justify my suspicions that Mayor Jonas Cortes was behind the closure order against us," said Dr. Paulus Mariae Cañete, MCC president.
Mayor Cortes declined to comment on the closure issue, as there are pending cases between him and Cañete.
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Graft investigator Maria Corazon Vergara-Naraja, in a resolution, said there was not enough evidence that the officials falsified academic credentials so the airport official could get appointed.
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TOWN officials failed to account for properties amounting to P209 million, the Commission on Audit's (COA) report on Consolacion's transactions in 2009 said.
State auditors have yet to receive an inventory report from the town, although the town officials, in last year's audit report, said they have already conducted a physical inventory of the town's properties.
The New Government Accounting System Manual requires town officials to submit an inventory report not later than Jan. 31 of each year.
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Development council supports request to fund study on north bulk water
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The Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) passed a resolution recommending to the RDC 7 the request of Rep. Rachel del Mar (Cebu City, north district) for funding for the pre-feasibility study.
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LeBron James' new fan base in Miami had a response. So did his teammates. Chris Bosh scored 27 points, Dwyane Wade added 26 and the Miami Heat scored 11 straight points in the final minutes to beat the Atlanta Hawks 89-77 on Saturday night -- winning their fourth straight to move a season-high five games over .500.
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