NEWS: Street decors, lights, tallest Xmas tree, crackers, fireworks display in Tagum this Christmas,“For the children”- CO

nov 6

TAGUM – The city mayor here doesn’t hide his feelings and he says he would be fluttering a lot of Christmas colorful decors and lights in the streets this Yuletide Season- for the children to be happy.

Feared for his tough stance against criminals, City Mayor Rey Chiong Uy is laudably kindest for the children while he visibly wants to give a season’s best cheer to every Tagumenyo in the forthcoming days towards Christmas and New Year.

In yesterday’s phone interview with anchors of Sonshine Radio of the known Appointed Son God Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, the mayor bared that aside from the decors, lights and the city’s feature of lighting a still tallest Christmas tree in Mindanao, the firecrackers that are banned in Davao City would continue exploding in his city in the Filipino’s traditional way of feeling the Christmas spirit and celebrating the Nativity.

And come December 31 at exactly 12:00 midnight the City Hall is enjoining everyone to meet the New Year just like last year with a wonderful fireworks display in the night sky which would be based at Briz highway, Uy said.

He told radio listeners that fireworks would still be sold at designated place at Rotary Park grounds.

When Tagum City was first dubbed in 2006 as Palm Tree City of the Philippines, by Christmas that year Uy in his first term after a comeback erected a stunning 153-feet Christmas tree with over 200,000 light bulbs.

As it became one gigantic attraction and spectacle in the city especially at night time, the City Hall held an unofficial record for having the tallest Christmas tree in the country. It was even claimed to be the highest in Southeast Asia. This year however the city’s Christmas tree is lower, equal to Puerto Princesa City’s 100 feet-tall Christmas tree in 2006.

Asked on the report that his son Councilor Di Karlo “Oyo” would be the next mayor in Tagum, he said that he has still one more term to serve in his political career.

As to his style of management, he said he doesn’t like sitting always in his office and prefers to go to the field. “Halos once or twice in a week, naa ko sa palengke nagsuroy-suroy,” he said.
He also said that while his city is experiencing unprecedented developments at present under his administration “nagkadaghan pod ang mga buloy… labad sa ulo.”

And as to Barack Obama, who was still leading in the US elections during the radio interview morning yesterday, he jokingly said that if America would have its first black President, then in that case the country has already “a Mandaya sitting in the White House.” (By 1 P.M. yesterday, the blacks, whites and browns were already jumping for joy over BBC and CNN for the historic victory of the 47-year old Obama as the 44th US President).(Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News) http://ruralurbanews.blogspot.com

NEWS: Flexi-fare ordinance geared up for approval next week

CO asks for patience of commuting public

nov 6

Tagum City Mayor Rey Chiong Uy has bared that the flexi-fare ordinance that he initiated is geared up for approval by the city council next week following the recent public hearing and amid calls for fare rollbacks due to further decreases of gasoline prices in the recent days.

In a phone-patch interview yesterday with “El Kapitan” program anchors over Sonshine Radio 711 of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Davao City, Mayor Uy asked for patience of commuting public in the city to wait saying, “gamay lang gyud nga agwanta kay kinahanglan man gyud ug balaod usa mapaubos nato ang pletehan.”

He reiterated that the flexi-fare ordinance has brackets of tricycle fares that would either increase or decrease depending on the current pump prices of gasoline.

Under the ordinance, the City Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board is the one which will call for fare increase or fare decrease from time to time.

“It’s one of our firsts and with it, we do away with the long process of making an ordinance where public hearings and other tedious processes are to be taken,” Uy said in venacular in view of the current volatility of the gasoline prices.

It was learned that the mayor himself pegged the price brackets in the draft ordinance made by City Legal Officer Atty. Roland Tumanda a week after the ordinance on fare increase from P7 to P10 effected last September 19.

During the public hearing on the flexi-fare ordinance, reports said that some tricycle drivers were asking that that new ordinance would be effected by January next year so they could recoup their losses when the fare was still P7 and the gasoline price had once hit P60 per liter sometime in July. In January this year, gasoline prices only hovered around over P30 per liter. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News) http://ruralurbanews.blogspot.com