Cebu local news (daily update)

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‘Hot’ fish to go to 6 charities

SIX charitable institutions in Cebu City will have P44,800 worth of fish for their meals in the next few days as the Cebu City Bantay Dagat Commission (CCBDC) seized over 810 kilos of fish in an operation last Wednesday dawn.

Ret. Col. Ranulfo Sebusa, CCBDC project director, said the operation was conducted at 2 a.m. at the Pasil Fish Market where they found 18 boxes of sardines, locally known as tuloy, from San Remigio in Cebu and Masbate.Samples of the seized fish were examined by the Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and the agency found out that an explosive or dynamite was used in catching the sardines.

Operation

Sebusa said that the commission coordinated with the Cebu Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force of the Provincial Government to inquire if the latter does not have an operation about the reported delivery of blasted fish.

After verifying that the task force did not have any operation, the CCBDC then conducted an inspection for market denial against an alleged delivery of blasted fish to the Cebu City market.

Market denial is a program of the Cebu City Government where illegally caught fish will not be sold in the markets.

The team of operatives that conducted the operation was composed of Sebusa, SPO2 Felix Noval, PO3 Temistocles Ambos, PO2 Garlico Alverastin, fish warden Leonardo Barinan, Teodulo Bavida, Rodrigo Racal, Antonio Tahir and BFAR examiners Lucero and Cabangbang.

The fish sent for charity were those without remnants of explosives.

Sebusa explained that even those sardines caught legally, but were mixed with fishes from dynamite fishing, will be seized.

Sebusa said most of the fish seized from Cebu City markets are from Zamboanga and Dumaguete City from the south and Masbate from the north.

Task force

Meanwhile, aside from confiscating blasted fishes, operatives of the Capitol’s task force on anti-illegal fishing now has an added role: to run after traffic violators, after they have been deputized by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7.

The task force, particularly the Team Eskina, can start going after violators of the Land Transportation Code of the Philippines. It will start operating anytime this month.

Among the violations that they need to monitor are motorcycle drivers who are not in proper footwear, and those with expired licenses and registrations.

The team may also confiscate the driver’s license of the violators.

The Province requested the LTO to deputize the members of the task force because of the need to expand the Team Eskina.

A seminar has been conducted for the 32 members of the task force.

LTO 7 Director Raul Aguilos will issue an order listing their deputized functions.

With the additional job of the task force, Capitol Consultant Jose Maria Gastardo said personnel from the78th Infantry Battalion, the police and Naval Forces Central will go with the task force to ensure the safety of the personnel.

The task force will also be enforcing the provincial ordinance on hauling and go after violators of load limits on trucks traveling the provincial roads.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 20, 2011.

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Rama lauds independence shown by Apas

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama lauded Barangay Apas for exercising its autonomy when it signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Fifth Avenue Realty Property Corp., the developers of the Ciudad project, which treads on Provincial Property.

Rama reminded the other barangays that economic growth in Apas will spill over to the neighboring barangays.“The economic spur in Apas will always spread to the neighboring barangays, they should remember that. Just like the economic activities in Cebu City extended even to the municipalities because if we have visitors in Cebu City and they want to see the sea, they can go to Moalboal or Badian or in a few minutes to Lapu-Lapu City and even Cordova,” said Rama.

Four barangays—Luz, Talamban, Guba and Budlaan—have passed separate resolutions opposing the Ciudad project because of traffic considerations particularly Luz, which is near Apas.

On the part of Talamban, Guba and Budlaan, they fear that traffic will turn off investors in their barangays.

The MOA being referred to was the assurance of Fifth Avenue that Barangay Apas residents will be prioritized in employment during construction and when the project opens.

About 3,500 jobs will be available, said Fifth Avenue's consultant Roger Gopaoco.

“That will bring in more people in Apas, therefore, more people securing clearance, more taxes and more income,” the mayor said.

Doubts

But Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district) doubts if the MOA will be fulfilled because Fifth Avenue will have no control over the lessees' hiring of employees.

Osmeña has always been against the Ciudad project. He foresees that when the project opens, other businesses in Lahug and Apas will close.

He cited as example the case of a mall opening that compelled several establishments in downtown Cebu City to close.

But this is not how Rama sees healthy business competition. He said that more business establishments mean more job opportunities.

“Lupigan pa ang SRP (It's even better than the South Road Properties),” Rama joked about the thousands of jobs to be generated by Ciudad.

Rama hopes that other barangays will emulate the autonomy being practiced by Barangay Apas and not depend too much on the City Government.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 20, 2011.

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Emmanuel allegedly told a friend that he would shoot someone

TWO months ago, Emmanuel Ponce was heard by his friend saying that he would shoot someone.

“Ang ako lang makit-an niya maglakaw na siya guol kaayo lago na kaayo mura’g pinasagdan ba (I saw him walking one time. His clothes were dirty and he seemed to be lonely and neglected),” Armando Alcantara said in an ABS-CBN “TV Patrol Central Visayas” report. “Naghisgot siya dunay pusilon pero wa ko kahibaw kinsay pusilon (He once said he would shoot someone. But I didn’t know who the person was),” he added.Alcantara said he sympathized with Emmanuel, whom he described as a good man.

Ponce killed his wife Melinda, 53, their children Elaine Grace, 26, Heather Joy, 25, Emlin Bridge, 18, and house helper Anastacia Deriega inside their home in Palm View Village in Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City last Sunday morning.

The 55-year-old retired overseas Filipino worker (OFW) then pulled the trigger on himself. The couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Embrelaince, survived the massacre after Ponce let her escape.

Meanwhile, some neighbors, tanods and police officers, according to television reports, have noticed strange occurrences at the house since the tragedy.

Jenie Lawas told TV5 Cebu’s “Aksiyon Bisaya” that someone whistled at her when she passed by the house.

Tanod Roberto Bacus said they heard the telephone ring even if the line was already disconnected, and they usually heard the howling of the three dogs inside the Ponce compound.

Others also saw one time a taxi unit stopped in front of the house and someone opened the door, but no one alighted from the vehicle.

On the other hand, in the same TV Patrol report, Melinda’s family spoke for the first time about the tragedy.

“Hindi lang isa nawala eh (It is not just one who died),” said Bela Dio Lumagod, who is Melinda’s sister.

A certain Alice also expressed her anger about the death of Melinda, whom she described as her best friend since their younger days.

“She was so concerned about me,” she said.

The remains of the Ponce family will be buried in Sorsogon, Bicol on Saturday.

Msgr. Esteban Binghay, episcopal vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu, held a mass at the
wake in St. Peter’s Funeral Homes in Cebu City.

“God has promised hope for us, hope in every man. That’s why I told them to be very close with the Lord because whatever happens on earth, we are with him and we have a safe place in heaven,” he said.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 20, 2011.

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Secretary charged over fake annulment papers

FOUR counts of falsification of public documents were filed yesterday against a former legal office secretary.

The filing of charges came after several months of investigation to identify and charge people making and selling fake nullity of marriage rulings in Cebu.Charged before the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office was Joahanna Lariosa Padua, who allegedly asked for P60,000 from a client.

Padua is the former law office secretary of lawyer Rowel Juban, one of the three private offended parties in the complaint.

“Early advice on the action taken hereon is highly appreciated,” wrote lawyer Edward Villarta, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 director.

It was Villarta who ordered the probe after receiving complaints.

The NBI launched two separate investigations on the alleged sale of fake nullity of marriage rulings in Cebu. The first culminated with the filing of a criminal complaint against lawyer Luis Diores Jr. late last July.

Diores remains at-large and the complaint remains pending.

According to the complaint, Diores allegedly asked P60,000 in exchange for representing Aileen Colina-Bell in a nullification of marriage proceeding she wanted to initiate before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in 2008.

Diores allegedly gave Bell a copy of a court ruling, issued purportedly by Judge Olegario Sarmiento Jr., saying her marriage was no nullified. She learned it was fake two years later, when she had it authenticated with Sarmiento’s court.

In the latest incident, it was RTC Judge Ester Veloso, and her clerk of court, lawyer Christine Doller-Poligrates, who lodged the complaint, that got the NBI to investigate.

“I was shocked upon perusing the said decision as the signature appearing above my printed name was not mine and I was not at all familiar with the names, facts and depositions stated therein. In short, I never rendered such a decision,” Veloso said.

Together with that of Juban, Veloso and Poligrates’s affidavits will be used as evidence in the preliminary investigation that the Office of the
Talisay City Prosecutor will conduct to determine whether or not to elevate the complaint to court.

The preliminary investigation begins with Padua being asked to respond to the charges with a counter-affidavit and controverting evidences.

“There are four counts because there were falsified documents,” said NBI Supervising Agent Renan Oliva.

He enumerated them as the petition for nullity of marriage Padua filed in behalf of client Cheryl Valle, the decision that supposedly granted the nullification, a certificate that supposedly declared the ruling to be final, and a National Statistics Office certificate indicating that Valle was now single again.

“Although petitions are private documents, it becomes public when it gets filed in court,” Oliva explained.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 20, 2011.

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Bella Ruby’s lawyers ‘rejoice’ over dismissal of porno case

LAWYERS of detained suspect Bella Ruby Santos yesterday rejoiced over the dismissal of the child pornography charge a group advocating children's legal rights lodged against her in July.

“We admire and appreciate the objectiveness of Prosecutor Napoleon Alburo,” defense counsel Julius Ceasar Entise told a press conference yesterday.“This is just the start of series of victories we are aiming for,” another defense lawyer, Rameses Villagonzalo, said.

As the defense lawyers celebrated, government and private prosecutors and the police’s lawyers met yesterday at the Office of the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor and mapped out preliminary preparations for the trial.

The Children’s Legal Bureau (CLB), which acts as private prosecutor, will seek a review of the case dismissal.

Prosecutor Alburo, chief of the Office of the Naga City Prosecutor, confirmed on Tuesday the dismissal of the complaint the CLB filed against Santos for alleged violation of the Anti-Pornography Law.

Alburo said the complaint against Santos, who is facing a kidnapping with homicide case with her British boyfriend, ought to be junked for lack of evidence.

Santos is now detained at the Naga City jail following her arrest last Oct. 7 in Metro
Manila.

In the press conference, Entise said they expressed gratitude to Prosecutor Alburo for not allowing himself to be influenced or swayed by public perception, and instead resolved the complaint based on merit.

With the charge dismissal, Entise said Santos was apparently cleared of allegations that she and Ian Charles Griffiths, 51, engaged in the child pornography business.

In filing the complaint in July, lawyer Joan Saniel of CLB said at the time the pornographic materials, such as the DVD porn covers found inside Santos’s room during the raid, were used as basis in the filing of additional charges against her.

But Entise said the pornogprahic materials supposedly seized from Santos’s residence during the raid were “fruits of a poisonous tree” and would not be admissible as evidence.

Villagonzalo, for his part, said the defense is ready for any “trumped up charges” that may be filed against Santos.

The defense team will try to convince Judge Ester Veloso tommorow to review her order denying their pleading to drop the kidnapping with homicide case and recall the arrest warrant for Santos and Griffiths.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 20, 2011.

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Brgy chiefs get a lashing

LAPU-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza scolded barangay captains who failed to implement local solid waste management programs.

Radaza said in a press conference yesterday that majority of barangays in the city violated certain provisions in the local solid waste management ordinance.The violations, she said, included failure to segregate wastes and the use of open dumpsites.

Radaza said among the alleged violators are Pajo Barangay Chief and Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) President Leo Mercado.

She said some barangay officials continue to violate the ordinance even after they were sanctioned.

The mayor also admonished the city’s Solid Waste Management Office, led by Rodrico Tagaan, for allegedly failing to monitor garbage problems in the barangays.

She said Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor Evangeline Gicale has expressed concern for the violations and recommended that the mayor take legal action against the erring barangay officials.

If barangay officials are proven guilty, they could face imprisonment for violating City Ordinance 484-97, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Environmental and Sanitation Code.

Local officials can also be sanctioned for failing to implement Republic Act 9003,
otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

Barangay chiefs asked Radaza in a meeting yesterday that they be allowed to fully implement solid waste management programs in their barangays. They promised to strictly enforce the measure.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 20, 2011.

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Cebu City may miss P4.6 billion target

CEBU CITY -- While the Cebu City Government aims to operate on a budget of P11.8 billion in 2012, its treasury department admitted it might not be able to meet its P4.6 billion budget in 2011.

In an executive session with the City Council Wednesday, Acting City Treasurer Tessie Camarillo said the City may fall short by at least P900 million this year.As of October 15, Camarillo reported that the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) has only collected P3.2 billion, which is P1.4 billion short of the City’s budget for 2011.

She said, though, that the treasury department still has P500 million in collectibles for the last quarter of the year.

Camarillo said they will fall short of the target because they will not meet the projected earnings from the South Road Properties (SRP), the share from economic zones, real property taxes and earnings from special accounts.

Upon learning about this, Councilor Margarita Osmeña, chairperson of the council’s committee on budget and finance, said “the City is budgeting more than we are collecting.”

Asked how the City will make up for the shortage, City Budget Officer Nelfa Briones said the local finance committee will review the 2011 budget.

“We will see what items are not urgently needed, and which may be deferred or implemented next year,” she said.

The local finance committee is composed of the city treasurer, budget officer, city accountant, city administrator and the city planning and development officer.

Based on the records of CTO, the City has received P670 million out of the P1.1 billion in estimated receivables from the sale of lots at the SRP. The City is at least P500 million short of its target.

Eco zones

Also, the City was only able to get P35 million from its projected P145 million share from economic zones in the city, including the IT Park.

For the remaining months of the year, Camarillo said the City is estimated to collect only P5 million from economic zones, which means that the City will run short by P105 million.

For real property taxes, the City was only able to collect P250 million out of their P450-million target collection.

Camarillo said they will be able to collect P100 million more in real property taxes in the remaining months of the year. But the City will still be P100 million short of its projected earnings.

On special accounts that include City Traffic Operations Management, Cebu City Medical Center, Cebu City Condominium, Cebu Zoo and Fort San Pedro, among others, the City was only able to earn P110 million out of its P330-million target.

This means that the City will fall P220 million short of its estimated earnings from these services.

However, Budget Officer Briones said the City will only determine if it will really fall short of its budget this year by December yet.

During the executive session on Wednesday, Briones also presented to the council the City’s status of obligations for its appropriations this year.

P5.5B total

For 2011, the City’s total appropriation amounts to P5.5 billion, including the P47-million first supplemental budget and the P473-million second supplemental budget.

Of the P5.5-billion appropriation, Briones reported that at least P4.1 billion has already been allotted or earmarked for expenses.

Out of the P4.1 billion earmarked for expenses, Briones said that only P2.1 has been obligated. The City has still has an unobligated balance of P2 billion.

According to the 2010 comparative statement of receipts, the Cebu City Government’s revenues increased by 36.36 percent from 2009 to 2010.

If the City keeps growing at that pace, it may be expected to have a P6.14 billion in revenues this year.

Even before the projected shortfalls were made public, questions were already raised about the executive’s proposed budget of P11.8 billion for 2012.

Which of the items are truly urgent?

One of the questioned proposed expense items is a P50-million barge, which is not a common item for a local government unit to purchase.

But Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama defended the proposal, saying the barge will have many uses and will cater to the 14 coastal barangays of Cebu City.

Barge in

For one, the barge will be used for cleaning the waters of Cebu City, with the mayor saying there is garbage underwater that needs to be hauled. The barge may also be used to ferry a fire truck in cases of fire in the coastal barangays.

Representative Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district) wondered why there is no allocation for possible obligations on the road lot of the heirs of Fr. Vicente Rallos and the property of Roque Ting at the South Road Properties.

These are subjects of court cases, with the Supreme Court already ruling with finality that the City Government should pay the Rallos heirs.

But Rama said it’s not over until it’s over.

“We are still fighting. When the Cebu City Council puts an amount (in the budget), then it means we’ve lost,” said Rama.

He has formed a battery of lawyers to fight the garnishment order that would draw P133.5 from the City’s depository banks as payment to the Rallos heirs.

Mayor Rama declined to answer when asked what services would be sacrificed if that amount is garnished.

So far, however, the council has taken a similar position on the Rallos case.

Councilor Noel Wenceslao earlier penned a resolution for the executive department to allocate funds in the proposed budget for the City’s statutory obligations—including payments for the Rallos heirs.

Councilor Edgardo Labella, though, said that would be premature because there is still a legal remedy being sought on the court ruling in favor of the Ralloses.

The resolution was withdrawn.

‘Cheating’

This was not the only criticism Osmeña, the former mayor, raised on the proposed 2012 budget, which identified a P2-billion line of credit as a potential source of funds.

“That’s cheating. He will borrow money then he will let the next mayor pay,” said Osmeña.

Rama reserved his right to answer questions during the hearing on the proposed 2012 budget, to be arranged by the council.

City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete, though, already explained that a line of credit is just an identified source of funds. This doesn’t need to be drawn because by next year, the City will be earning more income.

The line of credit will only serve as stand-by fund. This was also done in the fifth supplemental budget of 2010.

Back then, the council did not question the identified source of funds, but when the same source was identified in the second supplemental budget 2 this year, the council questioned it.

In 2010, Rama and the members of the council all belonged to the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan. (Sun.Star Cebu)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 20, 2011.

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Dads block hiring plan

TO avoid expenses, the Cebu City Council wants the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) to tap the barangay registration committee for the registration renewal, revalidation and re-evaluation of socialized housing beneficiaries.

The council said the hiring of 40 job-order employees who will conduct the renewal of registration, as proposed by DWUP Chief Collin Rosell, will cost the City P904.7 million.But Rosell told the council that he cannot use the barangay registration committee as its main task is to identify and register qualified socialized housing beneficiaries.

The barangay registration committee is created through Republic Act 7279, also known as Urban Development and Housing Act.

Synchronized

Rosell said the 40 job-order employees he is proposing to hire will conduct a “synchronized” re-registration, revalidation and socio-economic survey for 70 days of all on-site beneficiaries of the City, which is estimated to reach 15,000 families.

During its regular session last Oct. 12, the council deferred the approval of the hiring of job-order employees. Councilors said they heard reports the job-order workers would be used for the re-election of Mayor Michael Rama in 2013.

In appearing before the council yesterday, Rosell told the body that his office will not be used in any political activities.

Councilor Margarita Osmeña hopes Rosell is telling the truth.

She cited the accomplishment report earlier submitted by then City Hall consultant Leonardo Chiu, which revealed that the mayor’s former adviser met DWUP employees and other officials in December last year to discuss Rama’s re-election.

Osmeña said that Chiu also met with Rosell last June 1 to discuss DWUP staff who have to be booted out.

Rosell pointed out that he assumed the post of DWUP chief only last May. He said he cannot remember meeting Chiu last June.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 20, 2011.

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CALUNGSOD NEAR SAINTHOOD 10/20/2011


Cardinals endorse Visayan youth martyr to pope


The country's first Visayan martyr may soon become its second saint after St. Lorenzo Ruiz.

This developed after the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints “unanimously” decided to endorse Blessed Pedro Calungsod's canonization to Pope Benedict XVI.

It's now up to the Pope to evaluate the recommendation of the cardinals, particularly the authenticity of a miracle, which is a requirement for the formal declaration of sainthood.

“The (congregation) has no further questions,” said Msgr. Ildebrando Leyson, a key lobbyist for the slain teenage catechist in the lengthy process of sainthood in the Catholic Church.

“Only the Holy Father can declare if there is a miracle (made through Calungsod's intercession or not). We are hoping that Blessed Pedro Calungsod will become a saint,” said Leyson, who is vice postulator of the cause of Blessed Pedro Calungsod.

Text messages of the advance of Calungsod's case circulated widely yesterday among devotees, including one in Italian.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma confirmed the report in a text message to CDN.

So did Fr. Mhar Balili, a Cebu diocesan priest who is in Rome studying for a Licentiate in Liturgy in the Pontifico San’t Anselmo.

“It's been approved by the cardinals but not yet by the pope. The cause (for canonization) has to be forwarded to the pope. We still continue to pray,” said Fr. Balili.

Fr. Leyson likewise said the pope would have the final word and that the decision may come late this year or early next year.

The approval itself would have to be made in a Mass traditionally held in St. Peter's Square where the pope would issue a document or “bull of canonization” that would recognize Calungsod as worthy of public worship in the entire Catholic Church.

Calungsod's status was also mentioned in the Facebook fanpage of Cardinal Vidal. It read: “Il VATICANO - afirmativea vota dal tutti cardinali e dal santo padere per la canonizatione del beao Pedro Calungsod. We now have our second Filipino Saint.”

Many devotees look forward to seeing Calungsod, who is held up as a role model for youngsters, canonized and joining fellow Filipino Lorenzo Ruiz among the Church’s pantheon of saints. It took six years before Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, the first Filipino saint, was elevated to sainthood.

Ruiz and 15 companions were beatified by Blessed Pope John Paul II on February 18, 1981. He was canonized six years after. Calungsod was beatified last March 5, 2005, in Rome.

Calungsod, a teenager from the Visayas, was among the first to serve on a mission organized by Fr. Diego de San Vitores to the Ladrones Islands, now known as Guam, in the Western Pacific, Marianas, on June 16, 1668.

Trained by the Jesuits, Calungsod mastered catechism and learned how to read, write, and speak in Visayan, Spanish and Chamorro.

Some natives in the island resented the work of missionaries, who faced physical danger in their day-to-day activities.

On April 2, 1672, Pedro and Fr. Diego were speared with a cutlass by two villagers in Tumhon, Guam, for catechizing and baptizing the natives. One of the killers was the father of the baby they baptized against his will.

A Chinese quack doctor named Choco had started rumors that the baptismal water used by the missionaries was poisonous after some sickly infants who were baptized died.

The bodies of Calungsod and the priest were thrown into the sea.

Little is known of Calungosd other than his mention in documents of Fr. De San Vitores, a Spanish priest

Like beatification, a miracle should be attributed to the intercession of Calungsod for him to be declared a saint. The miracle can only be declared valid by the pope.

Fr. Leyson said accounts of possible miracles attributed to Calungsod were scrutinized by a group of experts including medical doctors.

Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, the postulator for the cause for Calungsod's sainthood, earlier revealed that he submitted a case to the Vatican about a female patient in a Cebu hospital in 2003 who suffered cardiac arrest and was declared brain dead. The woman returned to life after her family prayed through Calungsod’s intercession.

The cardinal refused to reveal the woman’s name, saying only that she is working in Cebu. The cause for sainthood was passed on to a group of theologians who verified that the possible miracle was made through Calungsod's intercession.

The group then endorsed it to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The congregation recently voted unanimously and passed on Calungsod's cause to Pope Benedict XVI.

“Only the Holy Father can declare if there is miracle or not. The three groups that conducted the investigation before him can't force the Holy Father to canonize Calungsod,” Leyson said.

Leyson said the group of medical experts, theologians and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints helped the Holy Father in deciding on Calungsod's cause. He declined to talk about the possible miracles attributed to Calungsod.

“If the process is over, we will talk about it,” Leyson said. Calungsod's feast day is celebrated every April 2.

Msgr. Arthur Navales, chairman on the Commission on Youth, said Calungsod's canonization would make a difference among the Cebuano youth.

“This time, our youth needs a role model. It shows that despite the struggles of the youth, you can be blessed and become a saint if you just show your faith,” he said.

Calungsod was declared the Patron Saint of Youth for the Archdiocese of Cebu by Vidal because “his virtues (need to be inculcated) to be the mind and the heart of the youth.”

Navales said the youth needed to be guided back by the teachings and values of the church since they are faced with many temptations brought by the prevalence of social media.

“His experience in Guam may be from a different time and situation but he overcame the challenges and expressed faith, belief and loyalty to the Lord,” he said.

Navales said they will celebrate Calungsod's beatification through the blessing of the youth center on the side of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Nov. 12.

The two-story building will offer courses like Tourism and Hotel and Restaurant Management and will also house various formation activities.

For his part, Ginatilan Mayor Antonio Singco said he is proud that Blessed Pedro Calungsod will now become a saint.

In a phone interview, Singco said while there is no documentary proof that Calungsod came from their town, he is still proud that he will soon be canonized. “We feel proud. We admit him as the son of the town,” he said.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia welcomed the developments.

“It is truly a distinct honor for Cebu and a great blessing for all Cebuanos,” said Garcia in a text message.

She said it's best for Cebuanos to honor Calungsod “by keeping the faith and recognize God's indispensable presence in each of our lives. /By Ador Vincent Mayol and Candeze R. Mongaya with reports from Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus and Dale G. Israel

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‘Flyover funds for drainage, traffic master plan instead’ 10/20/2011




Instead of flyovers, Cebu City officials and businessmen opposed to the projects appealed anew to rechannel the funds to other projects instead.

Sylvan Jakosalem, chairman of the Cebu City Integrated Traffic Operations Management (Citom), said the government should use the funds to build either a drainage system or a Metro Cebu-wide computerized traffic network.

“The mayor and even the council may ask the national government or president to realign the funds. No harm in trying,” he said.

Jakosalem, who said road widening is the better option in order to accommodate more vehicles, said Cebu City shouldn’t be like Manila, which has many flyovers but was unable to resolve its flooding problems.

He said if there will be a flyover, the M.J. Cuenco-General Maxilom Avenue area is more acceptable compared to Gorordo Avenue especially if the M.J. Cuenco area is widened.

Businessman Bunny Pages said the suspension of the two flyover projects gives time for both the government and the private sector to raise P30 million for a traffic master plan.

“This is just a small amount for the future of Cebu,” he told Cebu Daily News.

Pages said businessman Bobby Aboitiz told him about the need to search for experts who can work on Cebu's traffic master plan. A master plan could be done in one year, he said.

Public Works and Highways undersecretary Romeo Momo issued an Oct. 7 memo that ordered a suspension in the flyover projects unless the concerns raised by stakeholders are addressed.

A public hearing on the two projects is tentatively scheduled on Oct. 28.

Reps. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar and Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s north and south districts, respectively, signified their interest to attend the public hearing in support of the projects.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who opposed the projects, said it’s better that experts and not public officials should attend the hearing.

Pages confirmed that he showed a copy of the DPWH memo to former congressman Raul del Mar and tried to convince him to reconsider his support last week.

Pages said the business sector is pushing to update the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transport Study (Mcluts) that was good only until 2000.

“I think the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) can fund the master plan because nobody is objecting to it,” Pages said.

Even some residents in Gorordo expressed reservations to the flyover project.

Fifty-year-old Mercedes Perpetua, who owns a restaurant across the Asilo dela Milagrosa church, said they have nowhere to go once their house is demolished to make way for the flyover.

Perpetua's house is located in a government-owned lot in the area.

Rep. Del Mar earlier asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) to spare the Asilo church due to its cultural significance.

Perpetua said they've been staying in the spot across the church for 15 years selling food.

Another resident, a beauty parlor manager named Loisan Zamora, said officials should dialogue with the affected residents first before deciding on implementing the flyover project.

Though the government promised to provide financial compensation for their lot, Zamora said they would rather stay in the area. /By Doris C. Bongcac, Marian Z. Codilla and Candeze R. Mongaya