Cebu local news (daily update)

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Police arrest man with Liu’s weapon

A man allegedly involved in the death of whistleblower Bernard Liu was arrested yesterday afternoon in Sitio Rattan, Barangay Tangke, Talisay City.

Police identified the suspect as Rhem “Rembat” Abalquin, 19. His alleged cohorts reportedly evaded arrest.Recovered from his possession were a .38 revolver and two live bullets.

Regional Trial Court Branch 57 Enriqueta Belarmino issued a warrant against Abalquin last Oct. 19. The warrant was served against the suspect at 5 p.m. yesterday in front of barangay officials.

Talisay Police Station Chief Eddie Recamara said the police will check if the gun is that of Liu, which was one of the items declared missing from his house where he was found dead last Sept. 29.

“Aside from the testimonies of the witnesses, this is also direct evidence,” Recamara said.

Police will file a complaint of illegal possession of firearms under Republic Act 8294 against the suspect.

Investigation on Liu’s death continues.

Ten years ago, Liu, 50, was a witness in a congressional inquiry on a syndicate involved in illegal drug trade in Cebu.

Last month, his decomposing body was found outside his house in Naya Subdivision, Tangke, Talisay.

The police medico-legal officer said Liu had been dead for more than two weeks.

Police believed he was robbed and killed, and that his death was not related to his role in the congressional inquiry.

Ananias Dy, another witness in the inquiry, was gunned down in July 2006 in Cebu City.

Aside from his .38 revolver, the police reported that a gold bracelet and the P50,000 metal urn that held the ashes of Liu’s father were missing.

An autopsy later revealed that some of his internal organs were also missing. It also said Liu was hit by a hard object in the head.

Liu’s family has refused to be interviewed by the media due to security reasons.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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2012 budget includes SRP lot revenues

TO have enough funds for its P11.8-billion proposed budget for 2012, the Cebu City Government will have to market the South Road Properties (SRP).

This is one of the four fiscal policies in the 2012 budget, which is the biggest proposal in the history of Cebu City and among local government units in Cebu Province.“Market the SRP to local and foreign investors in order to attract employment opportunities for the people,” read the third fiscal policy in the proposed budget signed by Mayor Michael Rama.

The other fiscal policies of the mayor are: enhanced tax collection through a “vigorous” tax information campaign and intensified tax collection efforts; tax-mapping; and establishment of satellite tax collection offices in strategic places to decentralize collection.

So far, there are only two locators at the SRP: SM Prime Holdings Inc., which is planning to build one of its biggest malls in the Philippines and the biggest in Cebu; and Filinvest Land Inc., which is building a condominium.

Econ zone

Rama stressed that the original goal of the SRP is for it to become a special economic zone, which will generate thousands of jobs for Cebuanos.

The budget proposal prepared by the local finance committee includes an allocation of P10 million for the SRP’s master plan.

There is also an appropriation of P150 million for SRP Management and a P5.4-million financial aid to the Cebu Investment and Promotion Center (CIPC), the marketing arm of the SRP.

Rama said he prefers that the SRP be managed by an independent body so that it would be “free from the whims of any politician.”

Some city officials will sit as members of the management body to protect the interests of the City.

The 2012 proposed budget also includes P540.9 million as payment for the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) loan the City had availed itself of to finance the construction of the SRP. The sum is broken down into P320.7 million for the principal loan and P220 million for the interest.

Balance

After the payment is made, the City will have a balance of P2.476 billion.

When City Hall obtained the funds for the SRP in 1995, its loan from JBIC was only P2.8 billion. But due to the appreciation of the yen, City Hall’s loan ballooned to P4.652 billion, excluding interests.

The City Government’s executive branch is proposing to construct, repair and improve buildings of the Department of Engineering and Public Works, Department of Public Services and the City Agriculture, which are given an allocation of P150 million in the 2012 budget.

There is also a separate item, named “City Hall block at the SRP,” in the proposed budget for the construction of a warehouse and other public infrastructure for P70 million.

The Cebu City Traffic Operations Management’s (Citom) impounding area, also at the SRP, is set to be developed for P23 million, as proposed under the 2012 budget.

The proposed annual budget also includes a buffer wall at the SRP, which will is projected to cost P30 million.

The budget proposal also includes P20 million for the construction, improvement and renovation of the SRP Entertainment Block where popular Manila variety shows are accommodated.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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Asilo’s ownership put under investigation

WHO owns Asilo?

An organization involved in running the Asilo orphanage and home for the elderly has caused an inquiry in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the institution’s owners.Lawyer Sabino Padilla Jr., counsel of the Daughters of Charity (or the Hijas de Caridad), is questioning why and how the non-stock and non-proft group Asilo de la Milagrosa became Asilo de la Milagrosa Inc. and later Dolores Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (Dafi).

Dafi, he said, is a stock corporation whose address is listed as that of Catalina Ybañez of Gorordo Ave., Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

Padilla wrote Atty. Lindeza Roger-Gavino, SEC Cebu Extension Office acting director, last May 26.

Clarification

In response to the letter, SEC officer-in-charge Atty. Lorna Fick-Cubero issued a memorandum to Director Benito Cataran of the SEC’s Company Registration and Monitoring Department “to seek clarification.”

Padilla said that from the SEC letters, it appears that the documents pertaining to the original Asilo de la Milagrosa had disappeared.

What exists, according to SEC Cebu Extension Office records, are those for Asilo de la Milagrosa Inc., registered in 1966.

On Aug. 16, 2002, Asilo de la Milagrosa Inc. changed its name to Dafi.

“It now appears that there are two Asilos,” Padilla said.

Titles

Dafi petitioned the Regional Trial Court (RTC) to amend three transfer certificates of title, corresponding to properties that comprise the Asilo de la Milagrosa Compound on Gorordo Ave., changing its owner’s name from Asilo to Dafi.

The petition was reportedly granted by RTC Judge Silvestre Maamo Jr. in a ruling promulgated on June 8, 2004.

But a ranking official from an Aboitiz-run foundation denies any irregularity in the development.

The foundation’s official, who asked not to be named, said the lot that the titles described originally belongs to the Aboitiz family.

The source presented a contract between Asilo de la Milagrosa Inc. and the Hijas de Caridad, signed in 1972, which leases the properties to the DC for 99 years.

Agreement

The Aboitiz official said the DC nuns who presently run Asilo de la Milagrosa are all new and are not privy to agreements signed between the Aboitizes and the previous group of sisters, including a meeting to discuss the matter “sometime in 2001 or 2002.”

“I think I should meet them again,” the source said.

“They are probably only emotional because of this flyover proposal,” the source stressed, adding that Rep. Tomas Osmeña’s (Cebu City south district) suggestion that the property be sold is also not helping.

She said the DC sisters should not worry because the lease contract stipulates that the DC will have full use of the property for its orphanage and home for the elderly until the lease expires.

Not selling

“By then we would all be dead,” the source said.

She stressed that there are no plans to sell the property.

She said the Aboitizes are not involved in any plan to sell the Asilo lots to pave the way for the construction of a flyover in the area.

But Padilla, in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, said the property should never have been titled to Dafi to begin with.

He said that even if Don Ramon Aboitiz was one of the DC-run charity’s biggest benefactors, the property on Gorordo Ave., belongs solely to the original Asilo de la Milagrosa.

He said the original Asilo obtained the property through lot purchase and donations.

Some parcels of the land were also “sold by the City of Cebu to Asilo de la Milagrosa at very low prices,” he added.

History

He said Asilo de la Milagrosa was registered as a corporation under the Mercantile Registry of the Bureau of Commerce, the predecessor of the SEC, in 1934 yet. The registration had a validity of 50 years, meaning it would have required renewal in 1984.

But as early as 1966, he said, a group of individuals registered another corporation named Asilo de la Milagrosa Inc.

Padilla said he has written the Aboitizes, through their lawyer, in behalf of the DC. He expects the matter to result in litigation, given the value of the Gorordo Ave. property.

He suspects that the Aboitizes will sell the land after transferring the orphanage and home for the elderly.

“We’ve never even initiated discussions regarding that,” the Aboitiz official said.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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Guv oversees truce of warring gangs

THREE warring gangs in Minglanilla, Cebu signed a peace covenant yesterday.

It was one of the activities during the first day of the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo Southern Heritage Trail, which kicked off in the town.The treaty expressed the commitment of the three groups—Bloods, Crips and Hardcore--to settle future disputes peacefully.

It also served as an order to end the hostilities among themselves.

Members signed it before Gov. Gwen Garcia, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, Vice Mayor Elanito Peña and Manolo Delgado, president of the town’s Association of Barangay Councils.

Some 300 caravan participants also witnessed the signing, which took place at the Minglanilla Central School.

Assurance

The governor invited the members to join the caravan on its first day, grateful for their commitment to work with the Province in its campaign against graffiti and to help keep peace and order in the town, said Annebelle Simine, barangay captain of Poblacion Ward 3 where most of the gang members live.

Philip Adlawan, 18, who is acting leader of Crips, assured the officials his group will be guided by the covenant.

Pakigne Barangay Captain Vicente Abella said gangs are a problem in his barangay.
He thanked the governor for helping them address it.

The groups’ leaders were urged to consult among themselves from time to time to discuss the implementation of their treaty.

Meanwhile, first-time and repeat participants of the Suroy-Suroy, including Japanese and Korean tourists, were impressed by the warmth and hospitality that welcomed them.

Thomas Tieng, 68 who is based in the US, was accompanied by his nephew Anthony Yu who lives in Cebu City. Both are first-timers.

Popular program

Yu said he has been to the beaches in the south, and looks forward to seeing them again.

The governor said the Province’s tourism program is very popular, adding that many who join end up coming back.

Stanley Go, a trustee of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce, said this is his third Suroy-Suroy.

He said he feels like he’s joining a retreat since the itinerary includes visiting churches.

The caravan visited eight towns yesterday.

After Minglanilla, the Sugat capital of Cebu, the group’s next stops were Naga, San Fernando, Sibonga, Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy and Boljoon.

Products and tourist destinations of each town were showcased like Sibonga’s Abogon pottery.

Participants ended up buying souvenirs like miniature stoves with pans or water jugs made out of clay by the Rural Improvement Club, a livelihood project consisting of mothers.

They also feasted on lechon (roasted pig) and other native delicacies. They were serenaded with Visayan songs and entertained by dances.

Today, the caravan will visit eight towns, from Oslob to Moalboal.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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Officials from Caloocan fly home after stay at hospital

SOME 50 barangay officials from Caloocan City left Cebu yesterday after they were hospitalized for a few days.

They were admitted to the Mactan Doctors’ Hospital in Barangay Basak and the Lapu-Lapu City District Hospital for acute gastroenteritis.Although they stayed in a hotel in Lapu-Lapu City, they reportedly ate the spoiled food in the hotel’s Cebu City branch last Wednesday night.

Not everyone, though, was ready to leave yet.

One of the barangay officials, who requested anonymity, plans to file a complaint before the Liga ng mga Barangay after the Liga’s organizing committee allegedly forced them to leave the hospital.

He plans to take his case to Liga president RJ Echeverri.

Premature

The official said they were discharged immediately after organizers of the Lakbay Aral urged them to take their flight back to Manila, even though some of them were still undergoing intravenous fluid therapy to gain normal hydration.

The official also said the hospital personnel were reluctant to release them, but the organizers allegedly signed a waiver and promised that the barangay officials would continue their fluid therapy in Manila.

A second batch of barangay officials from Caloocan will arrive in Cebu to attend the seminar organized by the Liga. They will reportedly stay in the same hotel in Lapu-Lapu City.

Lapu-Lapu City health officials sent sanitary inspectors to the hotel’s branch in the city.

Dr. Rodulfo Berame of the Lapu-Lapu City Health Office said they initially found nothing wrong with its food-handling and food preparation.

Berame said they are taking steps to prevent a similar incident in their city.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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Suspect in death of engineer caught

ONE of the suspects in the killing of an engineer last year was arrested after he went to the Cebu Provincial Police Office in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City to claim his motorcycle.

Dulceno Aton was taken into custody last Wednesday morning by Supt. Henry Biñas after the latter recognized him as one of the three men tagged in the death of Ernesto Porras, an engineer at Taiheyo Cement, in Bulacao, Talisay City in October 2010.

Warrant

Biñas, head of the Provincial Investigation and Detective Management Branch, said Aton has a standing warrant of arrest issued by Judge Wilfredo Fiel Navarro of Regional Trial Court Branch 19.

Biñas was head of the Talisay City Police Station when the incident happened.

Aton was presented to Judge Navarro, who sent the suspect to the Talisay City Jail.

Last year, Porras, his wife, their 14-year-old daughter and two helpers were on board their vehicle when two men on a motorcycle ambushed them at the Mansueto Subdivision.

Porras, who was driving, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the back, right arm, chest, right shoulder and left arm. His wife was also shot in the chest.

The couple’s daughter and the two helpers survived the attack unscathed.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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City finally launches official Sinulog flower

AFTER more than a decade, the Cebu City Government launched yesterday the official flower for the Sinulog.

Unknown to many, Franklin Seno, consultant of the Hillyland Management Board, said the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) has declared the “celosia” as the official Sinulog flower in 2000 yet.However, Seno said the flower has not been officially launched to the public until yesterday because the Hillyland Management Board became stagnant for years.

In yesterday’s activity in Barangay Sirao, the celosia flower was also named by the City as the “Halad sa Sto. Niño” flower as it features the prominent colors of the garment of the Sto Niño: yellow and red.

SFI executive director Ricky Ballesteros, who attended yesterday’s launching, said they will be using the celosia flower to adorn the stage for next year’s Sinulog grand parade.

Arnel Opte, one of the growers, said the celosia can last up to two weeks after cutting.

If placed in pots, Opte said the flowers could last up to three months.

While the celosia flowers are grown in the mountain barangay of the city, Opte said they are not usually seen in the markets here.

“Wa man guy halin diri (They don’t sell here),” he said, adding that it is expensive compared to other flowers. A bundle of celosia flower, he said, costs P20.

Opte said the celosia flowers that they grow are delivered to Central Luzon.

In an interview yesterday, Seno said the generic name of the flower “celosia” is a Greek word that means “flaming love.” It also refers to the flame-like head of the flower.

The flower’s shape is similar to that of a rooster’s comb and has silky blooms that make it all attractive.

“Nindot gyud kaayo siya tan-awon (It’s very nice to look at),” Ballesteros said.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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Archbishop Palma honors departed mother in homily

A BEAUTIFUL mother not just in looks but also in her simple way of loving.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma paid tribute to his mother in his homily during the memorial mass celebrated at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral yesterday.Ester Serofia Palma, 83, had kidney problems and passed away before midnight of Oct. 13, Thursday, said Archbishop Palma.

“When she (Ester) was in Manila, I was told, ‘‘Nyor, gwapa man si Nanay nimo (Monsignor, your mother is beautiful),” Palma said.

“Gwapa siya (Ester is pretty) and she also looks like me,” he said.

Last Monday, her body was flown to Iloilo from Manila while the funeral mass is set on Sunday 1 p.m., Oct. 23 at Palma’s hometown, Dingle.

Palma related that after his father's death that his mother bravely coped with the struggle of bringing up eight children on her own.

“I thought my mother would be at a loss in sending us to school. But she managed the farm, she knew how to make us (her children) close to each other,” he said.

“She was the center point of our family. She was the uniting point of all of us,” said Palma, who added that yesterday's mass was supposed to be the culminating activity of the third batch of priests to go on retreat.

Instead, more than 100 priests celebrated the mass with him and Bishops Emilio Bataclan and Antonio Rañola at the Cathedral.

The church was filled to the brim with priests and nuns, as well as members of lay organizations and students of Catholic schools.

The 61-year-old prelate expressed his gratitude to the congregation in behalf of Ester's “six surviving siblings, 21 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.”

Palma also shared that his mother, after a brother was elected Barangay Captain, was “like the first lady of that little barangay.”

He also gave her a rosary, which he kept for 44 years, as a reminder for him of the prayers she offered.

To those who were present during yesterday’s mass, Archbishop Palma asked them, “I would like to ask you to thank God with me for the simple woman who loved her children, her apo (grandchildren) and great apo.”

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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Beauty titlist motivates children to eat nutritious food, drink milk

THE Laki sa Gatas advocacy of Bear Brand teamed up with Maria Venus Raj, fourth runner-up of the Miss Universe 2010, for its campaign to instill the value of proper child nutrition at the Lahug Elementary School in Cebu City yesterday.

The group believes health, together with proper education, is the way to achieve one’s dreams.As for Raj, the Department of Social Welfare and Development recently named her its ambassador for poor children. The agency tapped her to promote the rights of Filipino children, particularly their rights to education and health care.

According to the group, Raj’s story will help motivate the children to eat nutritious food and drink milk. That way, they can fulfill their ambitions.

Having been born into poverty didn’t stop Raj from growing up to win the Bb. Pilipinas Miss Universe crown. She said proper nutrition played a big part in her journey.

She said she still brings “nilagang saging” (boiled bananas) to the set of “Umagang kay Ganda,” which airs on weekdays at ABS-CBN, where she is one of the hosts.

“Eating healthy food keeps me fit. And to the moms, breastfeeding for the child is really important,” she said.

With the improved program of Laki sa Gatas campaign, it is expected to effectively educate more Filipinos about proper nutrition.

The campaign has so far visited more than 2,000 schools and has reached out to more than two million students, mothers and teachers nationwide. Angelique Ann L. Rufin, PIT AB Comm intern

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.

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Officials to lose gym membership

CEBU City officials were only following the directive of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) when they worked out at a local wellness and fitness center, with the City picking up the tab.

City Councilor Jose Daluz III secured a copy of a CSC memorandum, reiterating the commission’s 1995 order to all local government units (LGUs) and government agencies to adopt a health and fitness program for its personnel. The program was dubbed “The Great Filipino Workout.”“This (memorandum circular) is our legal basis why we are into a health program,” he said.

Daluz sponsored the resolution that authorized Mayor Michael Rama to enter into and sign a contract with the Cebu Holiday Gym and Spa for the annual membership of 20 city officials.

Not overpriced

It would have cost the City P360,000, or P18,000 for each official, covering the month of May this year to May next year.

Daluz denied the membership was overpriced.

He said the P12,500 annual membership that came out in reports referred to youth membership.

Regular membership is P24,000, he pointed out. With the City spending only P18,000 for each public official, he said the City was able to save P6,000 per member.

In their memorandum issued last July, the CSC ordered government officials and
employees to allot a reasonable time for regular physical fitness exercise.

CSC also ordered the inclusion of physical fitness exercise in seminars, training programs and similar occasions.

It said one hour each week should be allotted for a health awareness program and 20 minutes daily for a wellness or fitness program.

Allocation

“Where public services will be unduly disrupted or prejudiced, the personnel may be divided into groups who shall undertake such activities in different times of the day and different days of the week,” the CSC said in a statement.

It also ordered LGUs and government agencies to adopt plans for continuing physical fitness and sports activities.

Daluz said the City has to set aside funds from its coffers to implement these plans.

“How can these plans be realized if ang atong mga tawo ang atong paggastuhon (If we ask the officials or employees to use their own money)? The adoption of plans already authorizes the City to charge its implementation to the coffers of the City,” he said.

But due to public outcry, Daluz said the City Council will cut short the city official’s contract with Cebu Holiday Gym and Spa. Instead of one year, it will only be up to Oct. 31.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 22, 2011.