“Customs Davao Port is one with Mayor Duterte’s fight vs smugglers”- Collector Pacasum

jan 11, 2014

The Bureau of Customs Port of Davao acting district collector Datu Samsom Pacasum welcomed Wednesday the declared fight of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte against smugglers saying that “the BOC Port of Davao is one (with the mayor) in curbing smuggling in his jurisdiction.”

In a press release distributed to reporters, Pacasum said that in response to Mayor Duterte’s drive, the BOC Port of Davao has “further intensified its implementation of the tariff and customs laws, rules and regulations for any importation which passes thru the Port of Davao.”

“If any of importation does not have its proper entries filed, does not fully pay its duties and taxes, has spurious bills of lading, or makes a misdeclaration, BOC will immediately cause its seizure and institute the proper administrative proceedings against the goods and the persons involved in this kind of smuggling,” Pacasum said.

The acting collector further said he would “personally involve himself in helping Mayor Duterte track down and prosecute smugglers who not only evade payment of taxes to the government but most of all slowly kill our farmers and destroy the local rice industry thru unfair competition.”

“With the full cooperation between the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Customs and the Local Government, we sincerely believe that the war against smugglers and corrupt government officials will come soon to an end,” Pacasum added.

“The persons responsible for these will immediately realize that the efforts being made by said agencies, as headed by our Local Chief Executive, will slowly make the world small for them. Davao City is not a haven of smugglers and should not be made a port for the entry of their criminal trade,” he said.

The BOC Port of Davao further assured the public that its “unwavering crusade against smugglers will never cease and will only be further strengthened under the support and administration of the other concerned agencies.”

Moreover, Pacasum announced that the BOC Port of Davao posted a total of P6.115 billion collection for the whole year of 2013, which exceeded by P390.221 million from its target of P5.725 billion.

“By these results, we can see that the method being applied by the Port of Davao is so far successful in properly implementing the customs laws to every entity passing thru it,” he said.

Pacasum assumed office last Sept. 22 first as deputy collector for assessment amid BOC nationwide reforms and back-to-mother-unit personnel reshufflings, before being designated as the acting district collector.

Mayor Duterte earlier warned and threatened “to shoot” particularly rice smugglers caught in his declared drive to fight them to protect the rice industry.

His kill statement has him put anew at the glare of national media and met a word of caution from the Commission of Human Rights, to which he further twitted its chair “to shut up”. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Accident killing Chinese engineer mars construction of Aboitiz power plant in Davao Sur

 jan 10, 2014

An accident killing a Chinese engineer last Monday has marred the ongoing construction of the 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant of the Aboitiz company located in Barangay Binugao, Davao City, and Barangay Inawayan, Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur.

Construction works have been temporarily suspended in the affected part to give way for the “review of  all safety procedures and systems and re-certification of equipment used by the contractors of the power plant project to avoid repeat of accident in the future,” said AboitizPower corporate affairs manager Willy Rodolfo in an interview with Bombo Radyo Davao Friday morning.

A certain Sha Hong Bing, an engineer of project sub-contractor True North and Nantong Dragon was trying to pull a pulley he attached to a machine inside the plant’s Boiler No. 2 when a steel hook block part suddenly broke out and flew directly hitting the victim’s body killing him.

The deceased would be taken care of by the contractor including the flying back of his remains to China, said Rodolfo.

He added that since year 2011 AboitizPower Corp. started building up the coal-fired power plant under the company’s subsidiary Therma South Inc. (TSI).

“There are about 3,000 workers involved in the construction and no major accident happened since then at the project site until this one,” he said.   

“It’s an accident that had happened. We are baring this as we promised to the City Council, to the public to be transparent, to keep no secret to the plant and during the plant’s operations later,” he added.

Rodolfo also said that the company is building two power plants to supply first for 300 megawatts “which is just enough to meet the shortage of power at present, and for another 320-megawatts plant which would be completed by 2017-2018 to supply power needs in the future.”

He said TSI’s 300 megawatts would arrest the present occurences of brownouts in the provinces hitting electric cooperatives mainly energized by the power-deficient Agus-Pulangi plants.

AboitizPower Corp. is supplying ancillary augmentation power supplies to electric cooperatives through its subsidiary Therma Marine Inc. (TMI), which acquires the power barge in Maco, Compostela Valley from government over three years ago.     

AboitizPower is a power-selling unit of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Davao Norte police still pursuing, knowing identity of broadcaster’s killer

jan 11, 2014

The provincial police in Davao del Norte is still up to the computer-generated facial cartographic sketch of the suspect in its probe to the killing of broadcaster Tata Butalid.

“The latest we have on the case is we have the computer facial composite (CFC) of the suspect,” Davao del Norte PNP provincial director Samuel Gadingan said when asked whether the police is facing a blankwall in its probe and pursuit or whether it has already a lead on the case at press time.

He said that pursuing police intelligence operatives fanning out in various areas have been showing the suspect’s CFC to people and as of press time “the identity of the suspect is still to be known.”

“We are doing our best para ma-identify ang taong ito,” PSSupt. Gadingan told members of provincial media attending the Peace and Security Awareness Forum for Media Practitioners Thursday afternoon held in Davao del Norte Capitol at Mankilam, Tagum City. The event was sponsored by Philippine Information Agency.

“Medyo mabagal ang pace of investigation,” he added.

But Gadingan expressed hope that the killer would be collared by the police in due time, adding that “it is one of my prayers last Christmas.” 

Gadingan said that the CFC was generated based on one witness alone, baring that the police had initially drawn up many witnesses to the Butalid’s killing but they shranked from cooperating with the police out of fear except one.

He said it is not only the police that is investigating the crime but also other law enforcement agencies such as the CIDG, DOJ, NBI and others.

He also said there is a CCTV installed near to the site of crime but it was useless as its lens was directed towards the building and not outside where Butalid was shot dead.

Gadingan expressed appreciation to the increasing of the reward money to P200,000 with the additional P100,000 put up by the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (DANECO) under supervisorhip of the National Electrification Administration.

Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon first put P100,000 reward money from his personal funds immediately after Butalid was killed last December 11.

Mayor Rellon, in his part, said during the forum that he received many raw and still to be confirmed information about the location of the suspect since the killing of Butalid.

“All these information I referred to the police because it is their expertise,”he said.

Asked on the additional P500,000 reward money he pledged in his talk during the latest condemnation rally for Butalid’s killing, the mayor gestured for yes.

The mayor vowed to protect mediapersons operating in his city. 

On the other hand, police regional community relations chief PSupt. Filmore Escobal said that Butalid’s killer and his mastermind “wanted to instill fear in the city” even as he called for the Tagum community “to rise up and help each other” in solving extra-judicial killings in the city even as Gadingan stressed on the need for public support in view of the usual few number of policemen.

The provincial police has recently beefed up the Tagum city police with 30 new young police officers to help Rellon in his peace and security campaign.

Butalid was shot dead by a gunman who had a waiting cohort driving a single motorcycle on standby.

The victim was about to board his own single motorcycle after he finished his blocktime radio program at Radyo Natin-Tagum. The radio program was funded by DANECO-NEA. Butalid was considered as DANECO-NEA’s spokesman. He was also a barangay kagawad of Barangay Mankilam, Tagum City.

DANECO-NEA has a long running sometimes violent conflict with DANECO-CDA that has been competing it for legitimacy and control of the electric cooperative servicing Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley provinces.     

Butalid was the third broadcaster slain in two weeks’ time in last November-December which loudly reverberated in the country last Christmas season and pushed Malacanang direct the national police to make results over killings of journalists.   

The Center of Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said that if Butalid’s killing is proven media work-related, he will be the 22nd journalist killed in the line of duty.(Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Infra completion-oriented reshuffling to effect in Tagum City Hall in 2014

jan 2, 2014

 

Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon bared that he is effecting this new year 2014 an infrastructure-oriented personnel reshuffling “to do away from too much bureaucracy” that proved to delay completion of projects and city maintenance works.

 

He said that he would form at least four task forces that would affect mostly the personnel from engineering department while carting out some personnel from few relevant departments.

 

He cited to form the purok road and improvement task force, drainage construction and maintenance task force, asphalt plant operation task force, and small improvement and imaintenance task force.

 

“Trusted and capable personnel would lead in the task forces, and they would have to directly report to the mayor as I would have to directly engage with the task forces to complete and finish projects that were started during the previous administration like the new City Hall,” he said.

 

He expressed dismay that at the rate projects have been done in last year there seemed to be organized delay and even snobbish posture of some old personnel in the City Hall in the way they seemed to be unmoving over his directive to fasttrack project completion and maintenance works “even including submission of reports.”

 

“I’ll put in somebody whom I trust in each task force. Each has to render monthly accomplishment report detailing his day-to-day activities,” the mayor added. 

 

Rellon vowed anew to finish the more than P700-million still-unfinished new City Hall at Barangay Apokon, where the city’s spectacular fireworks display on New Year was successfully launched, even as he waits for the final go-signal from the Commission on Audit to proceed.

 

He said that the city government is already incurring more than P60 million annually or over P5 million monthly in interest payments alone for the bank debts owing to new City Hall construction. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte) 

VG Baby Suaybaguio is acting Davao Norte Gov

jan 2, 2014

Vice Governor Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio Jr is acting governor of the Davao del Norte as Governor Rodolfo del Rosario has been out of the country since December 28.

Acting Governor Baby Suaybaguio

The vice governor assumed the post as Gov. Del Rosario is in Macau to attend a family gathering on New Year. He is expected to be back on Sunday, January 5.
In behalf of the governor, Acting Gov. Suaybaguio wished to the people of Davao del Norte and all a prosperous New Year, expresing optimism for more growth and sustained development in the province for the year 2014.

He thanked the all-powerful Almighty for the blessings received and the unhindered programs and services that the provincial government gave to the people last year.

He said that the past year showed the Filipinos’ resiliency to worst calamities like supertyphoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake.

“People around the world realize that we as a people can bounce back, and stand up like a phoenix,” he added.

“For this New Year, as long as we’re united and we continue working, development comes to our dear province,” acting Gov. Suaybaguio said. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Davao Norte provl govt breaches P1 B budget

Davao del Norte Vice Gov. Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio, Jr.

dec 15, 2013

For the first time since creation, the Davao del Norte provincial government has breached P1-billion budget, and that is for next year 2014.

 “The Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the 2014 annual budget of P1,108,200,000 as proposed by the executive department,” Provincial Budget Officer Norma Lumain said over the weekend.

 “The increase was due to the P90-million increment of the province’s IRA (Internal Revenue Allotment) share, incomes from the three district hospitals and other income sources,” she added.

Vice Governor Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio, Jr. hailed the making of Davao del Norte as another billionaire province in the country, saying that with it comes the greater services, programs and projects for the greatest good of the greatest number of people in the province.  “It topped over other Davao del Norte’s indicators of growth, progress and development.”

The province hit the P1-billion mark 14 years after the carving of Compostela Valley as another province in 1998, or 46 years after its creation in 1967. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Tagum Mayor Rellon put up P100,000 reward money to arrest killers of slain broadcaster Butalid

dec 12, 2013

 

Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon has put up his personal P100,000 reward money for those who can give information leading to the arrest of two motorcycle-riding perpetrators and their cohorts who killed broadcaster Rogelio “Tata” Butalid Wednesday morning right after he finished his blocktime radio program.

Speaking during the Philippine Information Agency-sponsored media forum “BizTalk” at the Big 8 Corporate Hotel in Tagum City, the mayor denounced the killing of Butalid and vowed to give justice to the slain broadcaster. 

He bared that he has issued a directive for the creation of Task Group Tata Butalid to pursue and arrest perpetrators who killed “another good person”.

Mayor Rellon said that upon learning of the crime he immediately ordered the city police chief  PSupt. Solomon De Castella to hunt down the killers and produce results within immediate hours.    

Butalid, 46 years old, is Rellon’s classmate and political leader who ran for city councilor under the mayor’s slate in the last May 2013 election.

Butalid lost in the city councilorship but he succeeded getting his second term as barangay kagawad in Barangay Mankilam in the last October barangay polls. 

Butalid was known to be a lone opposition voice to the administration’s barangay leadership, barangay sources said.

Media colleagues described Butalid as hard-hitting in his blocktime program “Ang Kasayuran” at Radyo Natin-Tagum, every 8 to 9 A.M., from Monday to Friday.

They said that Butalid had been receiving death threats in his cellphone in connection with his radio program.

Butalid’s program is funded by the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco)-NEA, which has been at running rift with an opposing electric cooperative, Daneco-CDA, for more than two years now.

Daneco-CDA has also its counterpart blocktime radio programs in other FM stations in the city.

Blocktime anchors of the various radio programs had been defending and attacking and each other on various issues, the recent of which was about Daneco-CDA’s “fake official receipt”.

The province’s oldest media group, the Davao del Norte Press & Radio-TV Club has strongly condemned Butalid’s killing and called authorities to exhaust all their powers and means to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to the bar of justice. 

Butalid is the third broadcaster slain in two weeks’ time following Michael Milo in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur on Dec. 9 and Joash Dignos in Valencia City, Bukidnon on Dec. 11.

The Center of Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) said that if Butalid’s killing is proven media work-related, he will be the 22nd journalist killed in the line of duty.(Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

 

Customs Davao Port posts P531.46 M collection in November; report on shifted smuggling in Davao Port belied

dec 7, 2013

There is no bust in the collection of the Bureau of Customs Port of Davao when now resigned Commissioner Ruffy Biazon was still on its helm as the port posted 7-percent increase or P531.46 million cash collection for the month of November 2013. 

 

For the said month BOC Davao targeted a total of P496.42 million.

Contributing most in the total collection are BOC Davao’s two ports- in Sasa and Tibungco- which collected from November 1 to 27 cash worth P467,397,874 from customs duties and charges, which is 4-percent up from its P451,586,741 collection target, bared BOC Davao acting cashier Melody Magdadaro. 

 

BOC Davao’s sub-port in General Santos City grossed a cash collection of P64,067,152.62, a 47-percent up from the target of P45,527,771.  

 

The usually laggard sub-ports of Parang and Mati, posted no collection, with targets of P956,488 and P350,000, respectively.

 

Meanwhile, a BOC Davao insider belied report that Davao Port is one port outside of Manila’s ports to where smugglers have shifted their hot shipments as Manila port was put under tight control amid the massive reforms pursued by Biazon.

 

“Whoever spinned that rumor up must have made a good cover to continue their illegal operations there at the expense of us and our good collections,” he said.

 

“Kawawa naman kami, parang inaapi na, na-SONA na kami, na back to mother unit na kami, tapos yang rumor na naman yan,” he added. 

 

Last August 8 when Biazon visited BOC Davao Port to lead the opening of 6 seized container vans with contrabands worth P7.2 million, in a press conference, he even congratulated BOC Davao Port officials for “always surpassing the targets, which makes it different.”

 

BOC Davao Port has been consistently hitting its target this year despite reeling from having no regular collector and experiencing frequent organizational changes and revamps resulting from Biazon’s reform moves.

 

For the past five years, the BOC Davao has consistently surpassed its assigned collection even as the entire Bureau of Customs and major ports in Metro Manila and other parts of the country failed to reach their target.

 

BOC Davao OIC collector now is Customs Collector IV Samsom Pacasum, who assumed the post last October 21, after the temporary restraining order filed by several customs officials against Biazon and Dept. of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima to oppose their transfer to DoF’s Customs Policy Research Office (CPRO) was finally dismissed by a regional trial court in Manila. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Typhoon Pablo-struck banana industry makes Davao Norte’s P1.92 B tax goal hard to attain

dec 6, 2013

 

The Revenue District Office No. 112 based in Tagum City can certainly not attain its tax collection goal of P1.92 billion by December 2013 as it only collected taxes worth P1.68 billion only as of the end of October.

 

Revenue District Officer Nelia Demalata said in an interview Thursday that the target balance of P227 million is barely hard to collect considering that it has only two months left to collect while RDO 112’s average monthly tax collection target is P100 million. 

 

Demalata attributed the biggest shortfall in the tax collection from the banana industry, which had already a goal-to-collection deficit of P233 million until September 13, 2013.

 

With this and the general trend of economic slowdown after typhoon Pablo struck December last year has given negative impact to the tax collection efforts of RDO 112, she added.

 

RDO 112 is in charge of the collection of taxes in the provinces of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, where the export cavendish banana production thrives as Top 1 throughout the country.

 

Typhoon Pablo, which just crossed its one-year anniversary, badly ravaged the banana production of the two provinces. 

 

“Compared to last year, banana planters paid paid taxes but with a decrease of 12 percent as of October 2013 while in the previous years before Pablo they posted an average growth rate of 25 percent in tax collection,” Demalata said.

 

She said that RDO 112’s tax collection has ever relied on the stable tax accounts such as the remittances from withholding taxes from national government agencies and local government units, general merchandises, wholesalers and retailers, “which have already hit 12.35 percent over from the tax goal.”

 

RDO’s figures for November 2013 have yet to be consolidated at press time. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Bukidnon Governor Zubiri furious over broadcaster Dignos killing, putting up reward to arrest the brain and killers

dec 4, 2013

Vowing “justice must be served to him”, Bukidnon Jose Maria Zubiri  Jr was furious over the killing of hard-hitting broadcaster Joash Dignos last Friday night at downtown Valencia City by four motorcycle-riding assassins.

 

Bukidnon Governor Jose Ma. Zubiri, Jr.

In phone-patch interview Tuesday with DXVM Ukay Valencia with anchor Jun Estore, the governor vowed to act within his power to give justice to Dignos, whom he described as a “close friend” who “was killed because he stood on issues.”

A visibly furious governor said on the air that “it’s the first time I heard and come to know of a mediaman killed in Bukidnon in my 40 years of residing here.”

He bared that he has been following up with the Bureau of National Investigation and other law enforcement authorities to arrest the mastermind and hired killers and bring them to justice.

He said that by the coming Monday session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan he would be seeking authority from the legislative body to put up reward money out from the province’s peace and order budget for those who can give information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.

“There were times that Joash hit me (on the air). He is a fighter. He fought against abusers, and that’s his legacy to us,” the governor said.

He said he wanted Dignos’ killers especially “sa utok” (brain) arrested and put behind bars.

He said it is not only Dignos whom he wants to be given justice but also for others murdered in strings of  killings involving barangay captains, even as he expressed worriness over the rising crime incidents in his province that he said has long been tranquil and peaceful under care and administration.

He also said that he is looking into reports that there is “a syndicate of hired killers” in the province.

The governor wanted them uncovered whether they are backed up by few armed politicians in the province and neutralized.

Gov. Zubiri also wanted the police to neutralize drug pushers and illegal gamblers in his campaign against criminalities which he said would be thrust in his administration as he reassumed his new first term after graduating in his three terms in 2007.

He declared he would not seek reelection anymore by 2016 if he could not neutralize and contain the problem of criminality. 

The governor swapped post with his now Vice Governor Alex Calingasan last May polls to recapture the old post he held for three terms.

Various press clubs in Bukidnon, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Bukidnon Chapter and other press clubs and media organizations in the country have strongly condemned the brutal killing of Dignos and called authorities to swiftly arrest and bring perpetrators to justice.

Meanwhile, the NBI, CIDG and the police have already their suspects in Dignos killing who are now subject of a wide manhunt, following President Aquino’s directive to get them, said provincial Board Member Gordon Torres, the franchise owner of DXGT Radyo Abante in Maramag town, where Dignos had a blocktime program “Bombardeo”. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)