OPINION: Baby’s confidence

BLOGISTA

By Cha Monforte

jan 15

The gun ban started last Sunday and in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley provinces a few police and military elements and private persons were arrested. It’s a good sign that our police force made arrests at the start, since we know that armed bodyguards of politicians abound in our provinces. We hope the PNP conducts a no-nonsense and no-sacred-cow campaign for the gun ban until victors are declared in the May elections. For one, we know of a congressman having armed bodyguards in tow. What to do with them now? Are they exempted from the gun ban?

Tagum City PNP chief Giusseppe Geralde bared that not even with those in the intelligence community including police and military assets who are armed in public places and not in operations are exempted from the gun ban. They face apprehension by Geralde’s uniformed policemen. This is to prepare and ensure peaceful May elections.

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PSupt. Geralde has an early assessment that for Davao del Norte and Tagum City he expects peaceful elections to come considering the lack of rivals of incumbents, and knowing that Mayor Rey Uy is a “strong candidate”. Besides, Governor Rodolfo del Rosario has no opponent, he said. We have long known also that Uy’s rivals- former Governor Yayong Gementiza and Congresman Arrel Olano aren’t warlord type politicians who have a bunch of armed bodyguards in company.

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It was Vice Governor Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio Jr who said to me that Davao del Norte’s politics is by nature good. It’s where you see rival politicians reconciling and becoming friends again. He cited ex-Gov. Yayong, who opposed Gov. Del Rosario in gubernatorial fight in 2007 polls, being seen later shaking hands with the governor during last year’s State of the Province Address. It’s good that in this side of the country, politicians fought tooth-and-nail, with doses of black propaganda during the campaign period, and later before the next polls they reconciled. Vice Gov. Baby once fought City Mayor CO in a hotly contested mayoral bout in 2004, and now they belong to the same opposition party- the Liberal Party of Noynoy-Mar tandem. Baby lost in that political battle. He is confident of Mayor CO ’s backing of him in his current reelection bid for vice governor.

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BLOGS AND BITS: Rival politicians in Davao del Norte were seen elbowing each other during the opening of a new FM station in Tagum City- the 100.7 Perfect Seven Radio Caritas. Seen were Gov. RDR, ex-Gov. Yayong, Vice Gov. Baby, BM Israel, ex-Kons Boyet Gementiza, who’s running again for councilor. Cong. Olano and Mayor CO , who were both invited, were not there. It was almost a party…. NTC regional director Josue Go was also there. With regards to local FM stations “usurping airwaves” of Davao City FM stations, he said he has yet to receive complaints from the public. Either the local FM signal is too strong, or the signal of Davao City FM stations is weak, Go offered an initial explanation. But NTC should investigate on this with or without a complaint. Youths going loco over new musical hits have been complaining of hearing only one FM station in their locality after its operation which shut down reception of other FM stations especially those from Davao City which offer variety of music genres to choose from…. Heard in the rounds that the Daneco board is “infected of aliens”. Buzzwords said that some Daneco BOD members allegedly want to make the cooperative come crushing down to smithereens for the private sector to come in. Deja vu Aboitiz privatization buy-out scheme? (e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)

NEWS: Tagum City Hall wins in 16-hectare land case

By Cha Monforte

jan 15

The Tagum City government won recently in the case involving 16 hectares of land in Barangay Apokon which could secure tenure and relocate thousands of occupants and landless families in the city.

City Legal Officer Roland Tumanda said in an interview that with the city’s winning after over a decade of legal battle with the Aguinaldos of the erstwhile famed Aguinaldo Development Corporation (Adecor) firm, the Dept of Environment and Natural Resources has decided to award portions of the land that are not yet titled in favor to the city government.

Mayor Rey Uy expressed elation over the decisions and had created a task committee last December to determine the situation of occupancy and residential structures over the land and recommend measures for onsite resettlement of occupants and identify lands for relocation of qualified landless families within, as well as identify vacant lots for city government’s use, Atty. Tumanda said.

The sprawling 16-hectare land had been claimed by Aguinaldos as represented by a certain Gregorio De Carlos with other occupants and urban poor associations including the known Gabayan association joining the claims and petitions over portions of the land.

Some portions though were already titled in favor of Aguinaldos and other occupants, and have already been developed into formal housing sites such as the Dreamville Subdivision.

“The committee will recommend what to do with those who have titled their occupied and claimed lots,” Atty. Tumanda said.

He added that the committee would also recommend what to do with portion of about half a hectare claimed by a barangay official.

“Obviously, it’s too big a land to benefit him alone,” the city legal officer said.  (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

NEWS: Daneco prexy slams NEA’s delay in publication of vacancy of GM post

By Cha Monforte

jan 14

The board president of Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative has slammed the delay of the National Electrification Administration in acting on the board of directors’s resolution asking it to publish in national newspaper the notice of vacancy and search for regular general manager so applicants can be drawn nationwide.

Dean Briz, Daneco BOD president, said yesterday in an interview that the Daneco board  approved the resolution December 12 last year and forwarded it to NEA national office in Manila last December 21, but as of press time, no action yet has been made by NEA on it.

“That’s the problem with NEA and the 15-day period for NEA (officials) to make an action has already lapsed,” he said.

He charged that the NEA officials can be answerable for violating Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees).

The law obliges all public officials and employees, , among others, to act promptly on letters and requests. within fifteen (15) working days from receipt thereof.

Briz charged that there seemed to be “conspiracy” in implementing the required publication of the notice of vacancy of the GM post. He did not name names.

He said that currently Allan Laniba is still acting as officer in charge (OIC) GM since after the death of former GM Edgar Savellano mid last year.

“(Daneco) will shoulder the cost of publication. Thirty days after the publication, acceptance of applicants is closed, then NEA will screen the applicants and submit to the Daneco its list, and we will select and approve who will become the general manager” Briz said on NEA’s rules on GM selection.

He added that after the Daneco board selected the GM, NEA will then further evaluate the selected GM and make “background checking”, and if NEA found him to be worthy, “then NEA will confirm and the GM becomes probationary GM for six months,” within which the Daneco board “can still terminate him” if he is found not fit to the position. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

OPINION: Hacked conspiracy theory on automated elections

BLOGISTA

By Cha Monforte

jan 13

Still, until this writing Emily Alvarez, better half of former DOTC Secretary and former Congressman Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez, is largely absent in the district where she is running for congresswoman- District 1 of Davao del Norte. We’ve not even seen her own Christmas greetings in tarpaulins hanged along streets. We’ve heard that the ex-Secretary, partially known of the Piatco scandal, met with political leaders in Davao City over the weekend purposely to map out plans for Manny Villar’s candidacy as Alvarez is reportedly one of Villar’s Mindanao coordinators. Maybe Emily’s running is yet to take off soonest as my source said “sa half of February na” that we’ll expect visibility of Emily who is running against the governor’s son Anthony Rafael del Rosario (AGR).  This stance is asking for the moon. We know that AGR has long been promoting himself in provincial mass gatherings and over the media including running an infomecial over the most influential TV station in the region, the ABS-CBN Davao. Winning in the polls requires long exposure in public, and the Alvarezes should not expect miracle to happen within the limited 50 or so days before the election day.

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There’s this little secret talk from a friend working in one of the Malacanang offices and now there’s this conspiracy theory on the computerization of the coming May elections. The theory, I guess, is that software program for the automated election has already been programmed by Malacanang computer hacks. The imbedded program, running through the computer hardware and CPUs, would do tallies of results with number of votes intended to win favored candidates automatically mixing and canceling out votes in dagdag-bawas manner with the true votes before results are relayed to the central hub for the municipal, provincial or national level of counts, or dagdag-bawas occurs right at the tallying central hubs. Now shaded votes can no longer be watched, counted and monitored at the voter’s level as there’s no more manual tallying. Shaded votes for varying candidates are automatically read and distributed to separate tallies, while there’s no more human counting and watchers are eliminated in the automated polls. The results would be tilted to the favored candidate with veneer of credibility as dagdag-bawas are programmed not to give suspicious margins or overpadded votes. I hope that Macalanang computer nerd was just joking. Time now for the civil society and progressive-minded IT savvies to move on the make sleuthing about this. We hope this is false, given that most of the electorate are computer-illiterate and most of the youth especially those in the provinces where they abound are IT newbies. If such hacked program is true and uncovered before the polls or at a time when votes are still being counted and tallied in matter of days, another election scandal will blow over us and that’s a recipe of national chaos and the scenario of failure of election. Surely, PGMA will smile if that happens.

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There’s no truth to the nasty rumor that the current BIR re-shuffling of revenue district officers (RDOs) nationwide was inspired by Malacanang for fund-raising purpose in view of the coming May elections. “Some RDOs are promoted, some maybe have not performed in relation to their revenue collection targets,” that resulted to the domino-like reshuffling of RDOs, said Manuel Trias Jr, the new RDO of BIR 112 serving Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley provinces. He replaced RDO Ester Palala who was re-assigned to RDO 98 in Cagayan de Oro City. Trias came from RDO 114 in Mati, Davao Oriental, which he said was his first assignment as an RDO after his stint at RDO in  Makati City . He said that his Mati assignment was a promotion but a “demotion in place of assignment”. He served Mati for nine months until the recent re-shuffling. Trias, in mid 40s, said that always there’s a challenge in each new assignment. We knew though that a previous RDO (not Palala) once left BIR Tagum with a heavy heart, with parting words: “wa man gud koy lakas sa mga politiko”. Until now we are still guessing who were those politikos? The national or local ones?

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BLOGS AND BITS: A Compostela Valley mayor earlier declared he would be making a “vote for one” for his brother running for a boardmember’s post. But recent survey results bared that his brother was not within the Top 5 choices for boardmembers. Just a logical move…. Davao del Norte ex-boardmember Shirley Aala, while a candidate for boardmember now, will actively campaign for her son Bong Aala who is running for councilor in Tagum City . Maybe she knows too well of the councilor’s mandate deserted by her son when he went to Japan and forgot to return until last year. The Tagum people know of the son’s mandate desertion too well (e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)

NEWS: Intels, assets advised not to carry arms in public places or face arrest under gun ban– Tagum City police

By Cha Monforte

jan 12

Undercover agents including police and military assets are advised not to carry their guns in public places unless they are in pursuit of operations as they face arrest under the gun ban that took effect nationwide Sunday, Tagum City Chief of Police Giusseppe Geralde in an interview yesterday.

He said though that arrested agents and assets due to the gun ban would however be coordinated with and cleared by their superiors, and release of those arrested would be subject to the approval of PNP Provincial Director Jose Pante.

“If he (PSSupt Pante) would say we’ll file a case to those arrested elements under the gun ban, then we will do so,” PSupt. Geralde said.

The city police chief also bared that the city police would also arrest armed police and military personnel who are not wearing their uniform.

“We will even directly arrest those not wearing their uniform who are found to have deposited their guns and signed in the logbooks of malls and other establishments in the city,” he added.

“That’s covered under the Comelec rules on the gun ban,” he said.

For Tagum City , regular checkpoints implementing the gun ban would be put up this week to conduct check and inspection in the entry and exit points of the city,” he further said.

The nationwide gun ban is being implemented nationwide to make the May elections peaceful and violence-free. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

BALITA: Bawal ang pagbutang ug political poster sa mga kahoy sa Comval

Sa Takasan green ordinance

Ni Cha Monforte

jan 11

Hugtanong gipahibalo ug usab ang mga nagadagan nga mga kandidato nga subay sa naaprubar nga ordinansa sa probinsya gidili gayod ang pagbutang sa bisan unsang advertisement material o subay sa politikanhong panahon karon, sa bisan unsang election propaganda material sa mga kahoy kilid sa kadalanan.

Kini ang gibutyag ni Boardmember Moran Takasan human siya makadawat ug taho nga may mga pagpanglapas na nga nahitabo sa Distrito 1 sa probinsya sa  Provincial Ordinance Number 05, series of 2009 nga iyang gisulat ug naaprubar sa miaging tuig.

Ang maong ordinansa probinsyal magamulta sa nakalapas ug kantidad ng P5,000 o dili kaha pagkapriso sa unom ka bulan sa third offense.

Boluntaryo lang nga molangkat sa mga advertisement material gikan sa mga kahoy sa gasto sa nakalapas sa first offense, samtang sa second offense, pwersado na nga langkaton na sa mga personahe sa probinsyal nga kagamhanan ug bayran sa nakalapas ang entirong nagasto sa probinsya sa pagpanglakat sa mga advertisement materials nga gibutang sa mga punoan.

Sumala pa sa mga taho, si controversial ex-police officer Cesar Mancao nga midagan pagka kongressman sa Distrito 1 namilit sa iyang greetings posters niadtong panahon sa kapaskuhan sa mga poste ug bongbong apil na ang mga punoan sa kahoy. Ang gipilit nga greetings poster ni Mancao may hulagway ug pangalan niya.

Matud pa ni Takasan, mipahibalo na si Boardmember Maricar Zamora-Apsay sa mga pagpanglapas sa ordinansa ngadto kang Governor Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy.

“Mopagawas usab si governor ug usa ka executive order nga mopahibalo sa tanang mga municipal mayors ug tanang barangay kapitan sa tibuok probinsya kabahin sa ilang mga papel sa padayong full implementation sa ordinansa,” pamulong pa sa author sa ordinansa.

Matud niya iyang gihimo ang ordinansa aron protektahan ang mga kahoy ug kinaiyahan, ug sa pagmentenar sa kalimpyo samtang gusto pod niyang mahalayo sa disgrasya ang mga pasahero ug motorista tungod kay ang mga outdoor advertisement nga gipatak-ag butang sa mga kahoy kilid sa kadalanan makapalingla sa mata ug atensyon sa mga drayber sa sakyanan sanglit gitumbok kini nga usa ka hinungdan sa disgrasya sa kadalanan.

Dili lamang ginabawalan sa ordinansa ang mga politiko, kay lakip usab ang mga tawo ug mga negosyo nga nagabutang ug mga commercial outdoor advertisements.

“Unsay sala sa kahoy nga imo mang gilansangan?” pamulong pa ni Takasan nga para ngadto sa nakalapas sa iyang green ordinance.  (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

OPINION: Beware of Takasan’s green ordinance

BLOGISTA

By Cha Monforte

jan 11

Compostela Valley candidates have really to be aware of Takasan’s green ordinance. That Provincial Ordinance No. 05, series of 2009, authored by Boardmember Moran Takasan has a political logic: It levels the electoral playing field among candidates, poor and rich alike.

It was two elections ago that I was bedazzled by the propaganda materials massively put up in trees along Comval’s District 1 roads and highways by a rich candidate for boardmember. The material made of sack and painted red with the name of the candidate obviously resulted to a good name recall for the candidate. Because he has a fleet of trucks and an army of campaigners, it was easy for him to mount his propa materials even in high trees that could not be reached by the oplan langkat of rival candidates. Because of such feat, he landed one of the top in the boardmembers’ race even if it was only his first time of running districtwide, and to think that he was by and large an unknown politician who came from a hinterland (but please, don’t count yet his thousands of kabos and liners during that 2004 election).

What now with the Takasan’s green ordinance? What’s in store for the candidates in Comval in so far as their posters are concerned? Takasan’s green ordinance reinforces Comelec laws and rules on outdoor propaganda materials. But then, there are other places where candidates can run around with such Comelec rules on common posting areas especially now that we’re not yet in the local campaign period and there are these blurred, gray areas until this time following the Supreme Court’s reversal on early campaigning that virtually allows candidates to run berserk in their early campaigning including the mounting of outdoor propaganda materials.

There are the electric posts, the walls without “post no bill” warning, walls of empty, closed stores, various posts, residential fences and the like that are open targets of poster-conscious candidates. The controversial ex-police officer Cesar Mancao, for one, had made his message clear- of violating, when he massively put up his greetings poster just days before the last Christmas beating to the draw his congressional rivals Atty. Jun Lopoz of the Liberal Party and Boardmember Maricar Zamora-Apsay of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party.

But as they say, it’s still OK and you don’t have to worry over being disqualified for premature campaigning for as long as you don’t have to put the word VOTE in your greetings posters or tarpaulins. Give Cesar his due. But the problem is Cesar’s greetings poster (with his name and face who looks like either a poster boy or General Echeverri or so) really looks like an ordinary election campaign poster during the era when there was yet no such concept of Comelec common posting area.

C’mon Comelec give us also a break. Time to issue now a Comelec circular on posting of posters even as most of the local candidates are still largely making a “wait and see” on the posting of propaganda materials. But time’s up to issue now a provincial order to Cesar to remove his posters hanged and nailed in trees at his own cost. But whew, P5,000 fine is such a peanuts, but maybe imprisonment will do good again for Cesar. We knew that Boardmember Apsay has already informed Governor Chiongkee Uy of the violations. We’ll wait then for the governor’s action, and know how many of the Cesar’s posters have been hanged and nailed in trees and thus violated the Takasan’s green ordinance. As the author says, “unsay sala sa kahoy nga imong gilansangan?”. Relevantly in this electoral season and at this time of global warming, Takasan’s green ordinance is worthy to be replicated in all provinces.

BLOGS AND BITS: Maybe most local politicians are afraid yet to mount their posters, while national politicians have all the gall to mount theirs, as the former are afraid to be disqualified and become losers of politicking for a living…. Boardmember Moran Takasan said he’s not afraid to lose “kay wa nako pakasli ang politika”. Politicians should be like him…. Politicians who don’t believe on propaganda are condemned to lose and repeat running in the next election. A déjà vu message for the running pildidos in towns…. Tagum City Councilor Nickel Suaybaguio Jr is shying away from local media invitations. He’s “you see me don’t, you see me don’t now”, said one media hack. Err ….Guess, who’s this mayoral candidate who has la affairs with many women in the province? (e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)

NEWS: Takasan green ordinance in Comval bone in the neck among early campaigning candidates

By Cha Monforte

jan 11

COMPOSTELA VALLEY – An environment-enhancing provincial ordinance prohibiting posting and hanging of any advertisement material, or applicable in this political season, any election propaganda material is serving to be a bone in the neck among early campaigning poster-conscious candidates.

Caught violating the Provincial Ordinance Number 05, series of 2009 approved mid last year, would be fined of P5,000 or imprisonment of six months for the third offense, shouldering of the entire cost in removing and tearing down of advertisement materials to be forcibly carried our by provincial government personnel for the second offense, and voluntary removal of materials at the cost of the violator for the first offense.

Reelectionist Boardmember Moran Takasan (District 2), author of the ordinance, has reminded candidates to be aware of the ordinance in the running of their respective promotional campaigns following reports he received on violations occurring in the first legislative district of the province.

Reports said that controversial ex-police officer Cesar Mancao, who is running for congress in the district, massively mounted before the Christmas day his greetings poster emblazoned with his photo and name in walls, posts and trees in all towns of the first district.

He said that administration’s congressional candidate Maricar Zamora-Apsay has already reported the violations to Governor Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy.

“The governor will issue an executive order to all municipal chief executives and barangay captains in the province to remind them on their roles in the continuing full enforcement of the ordinance,” Takasan said.

He said he authored the ordinance to protect the trees, promote the environment and cleanliness and safeguard the riding public and motorists as billboards and advertisement materials hanged or posted in trees along highways distract the sight and attention of drivers and have been found out to be one cause of road accidents.

“It restricts not only politicians but also persons and businesses putting up commercial outdoor advertisements in any form. Candidates in the coming election should be aware that violation to the ordinance is a ground for criminal offense,” he said.

“What has the tree sinned unto you that you nailed it?” he added referring to violators of the ordinance.

Takasan said that when he ran for councilor in his town of Pantukan and for boardmember in the past polls he was not poster-conscious as he had to put his propaganda material in Comelec-designated common posting areas and had to rely much in personally touching base with the electorate on the ground during the campaign period. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

OPINYON: Pildidong linya

TSA PWERA

Ni Cha Monforte

jan 8

Bag-ong tuig, bag-ong paglaum. Alang sa mga politiko, misulod na sila sa panahon sa piniliay. Kulbahinam alang kanila kining gisudlan nga panahon, kay sa umaabot nga Mayo, lima na lang ka bulan gikan karon, hukman na sila sa katawhan.

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Alang sa katawhan labi na sa nagkuging mga kabus, ang mahatagan ug maayong panglawas aron makapadayon sa pagkayod ug pagpaningkamot aron adunay mahatag nga pagkaon sa pamilya matag adlaw mao lamay kanunayng ginaampo, ginapangayo. Bonus na kung mahatagan ug buenas karong tuig 2010.

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Pangayo natong tanan karong tuiga nga unta ang atong mga opisyales sa gobyerno unahon na ug tan-aw ang kalisud sa kinabuhi sa mga kabus sanglit ila untang himoog prayoridad ang pagtubag sa nag-unang problema sa kakabus ug pagkawalay trabaho ug panginabuhian sa katawhan, kakulang sa mga serbisyo sosyal ug medikal, ug pagpabaya nganha sa mga kabatan-onan nga mahatagan sila ug maayong edukasyon. Subo nga palandungon nga padayon pa gihapon kining mga problema ginabuno sa katawhan samtang padayon gihapon ang atong mga politiko ra kaayong opisyales sa gobyerno sa pagpasagad sa pagduso sa ilang mga proyekto ug programa nga makaserbisyo una sa ilang mga personal nga intereses usa ang nagkalisud nga katawhan.

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Ang pinakagrabe na nga ehemplo sa pagkadaut sa pagdumala sa pangamhanan mao kining pagtan-aw nga ang munisipyo, kapitol o city hall usa na ka dakong negosyo sa mayor o gobernador ug sa ilang pamilya. Grabe ang taho nga kung nganong naadunahan ug nahimong gamhanan ang mga Ampatuan sa Maguindanao kini giingon nga tungod sa pagpangawkaw sa Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) nga bahin unta sa munisipyo, syudad o probinsya gikan sa nasudnong kagamhanan alang unta ngadto sa mga proyekto apan naadto na hinoon sa pribadong bulsa sa mga nagadumala.

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Gikan sa alegasyon ni North Cotabato Vice Governor Manny Pinol ngadto sa mga Ampatuan, nasayran nato nga may dako pod nga posibleng mahimong gatasan sa mga mayores or gobernadores kining pagpang “download” o pagpanghatag ug pondo sa proyekto sa mga national agencies (ehemplo: suspek numero uno- Dept. of Agriculture) diin kuhaan na kini ug komisyon sa taas nga mga opisyales sa nasudnong panggamhanan ug itumo-tumo sa mga mayores or gobernadores sa beneficiary local government unit nga naimplementar na nga proyekto apan wala diay, tungod kay kunsabo man sa Sekretaryo ug uban pang taas nga opisyal sa pagpangawkaw sa maong pondo.

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May tsansa pa sa kabag-ohan, labi na kung ang atong mga opisyales sa gobyerno sensiro sa magpaklaro sa mga lakaw, proseso ug transaksyones sa kagamhanan ngadto sa katawhan.Kung ang  prinsipyong transparensiya mao untay ginahatagan ug importansy sa mga  nagadala sa atong kagamhanan ug ginatratar sa tiunay nga ang pangpublikong opisina gipanag-iyahan man sa publiko ug katawhan, busa dili kini gipanag-iya sa mga nagahupot sa gahom ug dili para sa ilang kaugalingong intereses, tataw nga kita makakab-ot ug tinuod ug maayo nga kagamhanan nga maoy yabe sa pagkab-ot sa tiunay nga kalamboan sa katilingban.

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TINALIGSIK: Halos pildido na man sa miaging eleksyon ang linya sa bise mayor ug mga konsehal sa oposisyon sa lungsod sa Nabunturan, matud pa sa usa ka magbabasa ning periodico sa pagtubag kanako sa akong nahaunang opinyon nga kusog ang linya ni kandidato pagkamayor Raul Caballero. Tan-awon nato ‘tay…. Morag over security conscious ra man ang civil security unit nga naga gwardya sa main entrance sa Panabo City Hall. Paging Mayor Joe Silvosa, paki check daw kang CSU personnel Eduardo Acol ug police personnel Malegro kay matud pa daghan na ang nagmulo kanila sa ilang pagka istrikto nga mga gwardya, matud pa sa akong bubuwet….May maayong sugyot si Atty. Rex Lopoz, kandidato pagka kongresman sa Distrito 2 sa Comval, ug kini ang pag-establisar sa free port ug special economic zone sa sulod sa coastal municipalities nga Maco, Mabini ug Pantukan, ug suportaran kini sa paggama ug ikatulong legislative district sa Comval nga mao ang coastal district. Nah, magamay na hinoon ang imong distrito attorney kung modaug ka? Ok lang matud niya, kay wa siya naggukod nga maka pork barrel ug dako nga may dakong kantidad. Matud niya, dakong source of corruption ang pork barrel sa mga kongresman. (email: chamonforte@yahoo.com)

NEWS: “Create free port, new legislative district in Comval”- congress bet Lopoz

By Cha Monforte

jan 7

ATTY. REX LOPOZ

COMPOSTELA VALLEY- District 2 congressional candidate Atty. Rex Lopoz (independent) is dishing out new ideas – free port in coastal towns, and creation of new legislative district in Compostela Valley which was immediately labeled as “strange” by pundits here.

Lopoz, in a phone interview yesterday, said that he has “in mind a legislation creating free port to be situated either in the coastal town of Pantukan, Mabini or Maco considering that Mindanao has no free port yet, and with it thousands if not millions of income and jobs would be miraculously created for our people.”

With it, he said, the basis is laid for the coastal district to become a special economic zone that would even serve the southern and central Mindanao and Caraga regions.

But strangely Lopoz is also proposing to gerrymander his own district where he is running for congressman, since “the three contiguous coastal towns of Maco, Mabini and Pantukan deserve to have a separate legislative district primarily owing to the sameness of their coastal characteristics and this is in support the free port. We can make this coastal district as the third district of Comval”.

The lawyer said that “the smaller second district would be composed of Nabunturan, Mawab and Laak and possibly include Montevista of the first district”.

But pundits here immediately frowned upon Lopoz ideas on the creation of the new district as “strange” saying that it would chop off into smaller turf the province’s District 2.

“While such idea can correct a geographical infirmity of making one to travel from the capital town of Nabunturan by passing first Tagum City before he reaches the coastal towns or Laak, it is strange knowing that congressmen usually want to have bigger area to get bigger slice of pork barrel,” said Romelito Juson, co-convenor of the Movement for Change in Compostela Valley.

But Lopoz laughed off the charge saying he is not afraid to serve even in a district with smallest area and smallest population, adding that “true public service knows no confines nor bounds”.

“What the people now clamor is change,” he said. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)