Cebu local news (daily update)

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Governor to confer with NBI on release of P300T reward

CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said she would like to confer with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) when the reward money of P300,000 can be given to the informant who was instrumental in the arrest of suspect Bella Ruby Santos in a mall in Metro Manila.

She said NBI has direct access to the informant who helped the bureau find Santos, who is now detained at the Naga City jail.Santos, who was arrested last Oct. 6, wants to gain temporary freedom while awaiting the trial of the kidnapping with homicide charge against her and British boyfriend Ian Charles Griffiths.

The defense lawyers formally asked Judge Ester Veloso to allow Santos to post bail in a pleading filed yesterday.

Governor Garcia, meanwhile, plans to discuss the P300,000 reward with the NBI officials next week during the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the bureau on the provincial lot the they will be occupying in Sudlon, Lahug, together with the Cebu Provincial Police Office.

“I hope by that time, we will also be turning over the rewarda of P300,000. I will still have to confer with the NBI if the informant will be ready to accept,” the governor told reporters in an interview at the second stop of the Suroy-suroy sa Sugbo in the City of Naga.

Capitol will also be giving citations to NBI agents who have distinguished themselves in the arrest of Santos. Garcia said among them is NBI special investigator Arnel Pura.

Companion

When she arrested, Santos was accompanied by a woman whom she had met three days ago and who agreed to let her stay at her apartment on A. Bonifacio Ave. in Quezon City. An informant helped the NBI find the suspect.

Santos and Griffiths, who is freed on bail commitment pending further inquiries by London authorities, were charged with the killing of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique.

In their pleading filed yesterday asking Judge Veloso to allow Santos to post bail, the defense lawyers outlined at least five legal arguments why the accused should be allowed to temporarily step out of jail after her arraignment next week.

“No less than our 1987 Constitution guarantees an accused the right to bail except in a capital offense where the evidence of guilt is strong,” the motion signed by lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo said.

Bail motion

The defense filed the bail motion on the same day Veloso, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court Branch 6, tackled the omnibus motion that seeks to drop the kidnapping with homicide case and recall the arrest warrant for Santos and Griffiths.

Judge Veloso sought clarification from the defense panel why it filed numerous pleadings despite the fact that Santos is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 24.

Ronel Ubod, one of the defense counsels, said they asked the court to resolve their motion for bail after Santos' arraignment.

Veloso set the defense's motion for reconsideration for resolution after the prosecution's panels, who include a three-member panel of state prosecutors and the Children's Legal Bureau, submitted their opposition to the defense's motion.

The prosecution is also expected to object the defense's move asking the court to allow Santos to post bail.

‘Not just weak’

In their motion, the defense said that notwithstanding the heinous nature of the crime, they still believe Santos is entitled to bail since the evidence of guilt against her is “not only weak, but practically nothing and nonexistent.”

The defense said no one really saw who killed the Pique, who was abducted allegedly by a big male foreigner and a Filipina last Feb. 8.

Santos’s lawyers said the court also should allow Santos to post bail because the police seized the wrong vehicle and the prosecution still only has two witnesses.

The defense added the police withheld and suppressed the release of the DNA results, while the cartographic sketches do not match the facial and physical descriptions of Santos and Griffiths.

Apart from allowing Santos to post bail, the defense also asked the court to require government prosecutors to present evidence proving the evidence of guilt of the accused.

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

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TRO goes after Ciudad partner

REP. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district) demanded yesterday that four internal roads the Ciudad project promised should be opened before the development is tackled.

While the Cebu Provincial Government already made a commitment, Provincial Attorney Marino Martinquilla said the opening of the access roads is not up to Osmeña, but Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.The absence of representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 derailed what was supposed to be a public hearing yesterday on an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the Ciudad project.

However, that didn’t stop Osmeña from addressing the hearing participants, attacking not only the Ciudad project but the Dino family behind it.

“The developers are lying... They cannot give you jobs... They cannot open four roads, they don’t own the lots,” Osmeña told some 150 participants.

The 2.8-hectare property in Barangay Apas belongs to the Province and will be developed by Fifth Avenue Property Development Corp.

Osmeña discussed his allegations against the project developer while using a microphone in the Barangay Apas Sports Complex, as Michael Dino, a representative of Fifth Avenue, looked on.

Osmeña blamed the family for the demolition of the Ramos public market and the “overpriced” Cebu City Condominium.

Old beef

It was Allan Dino who represented the R2 Builders that demolished the Ramos Public Market and was supposed to rebuild it too, but there were impediments under the contract, which led to its cancellation.

Michael defended the Dino Family, saying it was City Hall that canceled the contract.

As for the City Condominium, Michael pointed out it’s still standing and operating, and the issue on price is not for the Dino family to answer because the project went through a public bidding.

Michael continued that the issue really was the public hearing for Fifth Avenue’s ECC, the only remaining document the developer needs to get a building permit for its project in Banilad.

However, representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 failed to attend the public hearing it called for.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young tried to call the office and was told there was a conflict in schedule.

Earlier, Osmeña wrote DENR 7 not to push through with the hearing.

He talked

As Young, Dino and Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman huddled to schedule another public hearing on Nov. 22, Osmeña approached them and said, “I want to talk, can I talk?”

After Ayuman handed the microphone to Osmeña, the congressman asked him about the tarpaulin that read, “Yes to Ciudad—Barangay Apas.”

Ayuman told him that the council is for the Ciudad development, but Osmeña said Apas does not have a resolution saying so.

Osmeña told the people that if they didn’t want to listen to him, they can leave; but if they wanted to, then they should stay.

“Ganahan ba kamo ana (Do you want that project)?” asked Osmeña, who provoked mixed reactions from the crowd.

Sun.Star Cebu also tried to get random reactions from those who attended, and most said they were against the Ciudad project because it is near their properties.

“It is very near our house. The tendency is they will expand and leave us homeless,” said Rosalinda Leogan, 59, a resident of Apas for almost 30 years.

‘Not aware’

Ayuman admitted that a lot of residents are still not aware of the advantages of the Ciudad development.

As to fears of expansion, Ayuman said the Ciudad project will not affect their homes.

Some Barangay Luz residents also attended and Councilor Nida Cabrera, the former Luz barangay captain, accompanied them. They are against the project because of the traffic it might cause.

But Fifth Avenue has plans to decongest traffic on Salinas Drive and Gov. Cuenco during peak hours.

The opening of the Central Command access road will lessen traffic on Gov. Cuenco during morning peak hours between 7 and 9 a.m.

From Salinas Drive, there are also two alternative roads that will exit to Gov. Cuenco during afternoon peak hours, to decongest Archbishop Reyes as traffic becomes heavy northbound.

There is also an eight-meter setback for drop-offs from private vehicles and a jeepney stop inside the property to minimize traffic on the major thoroughfare.

Open them

Osmeña did not hear these plans, which were presented to media after the postponed public hearing at the Grand Convention Center, but he knows that Fifth Avenue plans to open four access roads inside the P1.2-billion joint commercial development with the Province.

However, he is not convinced internal roads will be opened because the Province has not proposed a budget for it nor prepared a program of works and estimates.

“Open roads, then we’ll see if traffic improves,” demanded Osmeña.

Both Michael and Martinquilla said both parties have already made the commitment to open access roads and are willing to put it in writing.

“There is a commitment from the governor to have it opened, wala’y magboot sa governor og Fifth Avenue (no one should decide for the governor and Fifth Avenue). It’s their decision, no one else’s. It will be opened once development starts,” said Martinquilla.

Yesterday was the second time the public hearing for the ECC was postponed. When asked if Fifth Avenue is getting impatient, Fifth Avenue consultant Roger Gopaoco said, “We waited six years for this, what’s a few more weeks?”

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

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Priest conducts prayer ritual at massacre victims’ house

CEBU CITY -- A prayer for deliverance was offered Friday in the Ponce residence “to drive away bad spirits disturbing the house” where six lives were lost in a murder and suicide last Sunday.

Also, the remains of Melinda Ponce, 53, and her children -- Elaine Grace, 26, Heather Joy, 24, and Emlin Bridge, 18 -- will be transported Saturday to Sorsogon City in Bicol. The remains will be transported by plane to Manila, transferred to Legazpi City, then to Sorsogon.Emmanuel Ponce, 55, who shot all five victims before killing himself, will be laid to rest in Queen City Memorial Gardens at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City.Their house helper Anastacia Deniega, 34, will also be buried Saturday in Talisay City.

Anastacia’s family received P30,000 cash assistance from the Cebu running community on Friday.

‘Strange happenings’

Fr. Roy Cabradilla of Mary’s Little Children Community conducted the deliverance, a way of casting out evil spirits, after reports of “strange happenings” in the family’s home in Palm View Village in Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City.


CEBU. Fr. Roy Cabradilla leads deliverance prayers at the Ponce residence in Tabunok, Talisay City. (Allan Defensor)

Paul Redula, a relative, told Sun.Star Cebu they initially requested for a mass in memory of the deceased.

But because the Ponce family’s remains were at St. Peter Chapels on New Imus Road in Cebu City, the plan was scrapped.

“Also, the priest heard about the strange things happening in the house,” Paul added.

During the deliverance, the relatives of the victims were asked to participate in a rite of confession to pour out any grievances so they will not become mediums of “evil spirits.”

‘Weak faith’

“If you have weak faith, spirits supposedly could easily possess your body,” Paul said.

The lone survivor and youngest of the Ponce children, 13-year-old Embrelaince, reportedly heard someone call her name when she entered the house for the first time on Friday. She covered her ears.

Fr. Cabradilla said they have been doing deliverance prayers since 1998 in Cebu and other parts of the country.

“And it is really proven that it helps, but you really have to be careful about it,” the priest said.

Cabradilla also told the relatives that they must accept the death of the Ponces, the same way the deceased should accept their fate.

“This is to let their souls rest in peace,” he added.

Blessing

Relatives and friends attended the deliverance. Neighbors watched from outside.

Cabradilla blessed the house with holy water, including the cars owned by the family.

Some valuables the family owned were burned as they could become “entry points” for bad spirits.

Cabradilla also explained that the reported presence of spirits in the house were not of the departed family members.

“Souls do not wander, only bad spirits pretending to be their souls. What we should do is to pray for them,” he said.

Meanwhile, members of the Ungo runners handed an envelope containing P30,000 aid to Anastacia’s husband, Ronaldo, 34.

The money was part of the proceeds of a unity run conducted by the local running community to pay tribute to Melinda, a champion marathoner whom the group described as an “inspiration”. (DSM/Sun.Star Cebu)

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

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Cebuano medical student dies in skydiving accident

CEBU CITY -- A Cebuano medical student of the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila died in Ormoc City last Thursday afternoon after a skydiving accident.

The 24-year-old Loui Raymund Pestaño, son of a former director of the Philippine National Police Finance Service and former provincial director of Capiz Police Provincial Office, was with members of the Cebu Parachute Club when the accident happened around 2 p.m.The Cebu skydivers were invited to perform in a skydiving exhibition during the 64th Charter Day celebration of Ormoc City.

A ship brought the young man’s remains to Cebu City Friday afternoon.

Witnesses said the student’s parachute did not open after he jumped from a Cessna plane with his instructor identified only as Gary. He landed on a rice paddy meters away from the airport runway, and was rushed to the Ormoc Sugarcane Planters Association-Farmers Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Ormoc City Police Office director Nilo Donaire said Pestaño was with the group of skydivers who were training at the Ormoc airport. He was with another student for their beginner's jump. The other student, however, did not push through with the jump after the briefing.

Donaire said members of the Cebu Parachute Club who performed the skydiving exhibition all landed safely.

Pestaño’s father, Orlando, witnessed the accident.

According to Donaire, the older Pestaño said he will have the parachute malfunction investigated.

The father declined to answer questions upon arrival in Cebu Friday afternoon. (Sunnex/With KAL of Sun.Star Cebu)

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

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‘LIKE AN EXPLOSION’ 10/22/2011



Cebu student crashes in skydiving mishap


He had never done skydiving before but that didn’t stop Louie Raymond Pestaño from trying it out.

Unfortunately for him, his first skydiving attempt turned out to be his last.

The 24-year-old Pestaño died after his parachute malfunctioned during a 3,500-foot jump at barangay Airport in Ormoc City, Leyte, last Thursday afternoon.

His remains arrived on board the MV Wonderful Stars vessel of Roble Shipping in Pier 3 of the Cebu City port at 4 p.m. yesterday.

The family and friends of Pestaño were at the port area to receive his casket brought out of the vessel.

Pestaño’s casket was placed in a wooden crate with white flowers placed on top of it.

Among the family members at the port were his father, retired police Chief Supt. Orlando Pestano, and some of his relatives.

Orlando was the former director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) finance service and a former provincial police director of Capiz City.

Louie, the second of three children, was found in a rice paddy 150 meters away from the airport runway.

The force of his crash caused a two-foot deep imprint on the ground.

Pestaño, a resident of Cebu City, was a medical student of the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila.

He went to Ormoc to learn how to skydive from members of the Cebu Parachute Club.

The club was scheduled to do a skydiving exhibition in the morning of Oct. 20 as part of Ormoc City's 64th Charter Day celebration.

He and engineer Gil Gantuangco, an Ormoc Builders Association member, were supposed to do a beginner’s jump at an altitude of 3,500 feet at 2:20 p.m. on Thursday.

But Gantuangco got cold feet after the briefing.

Only Pestaño pushed through and jumped off from a Cessna plane with his instructor, identified only as Gary.

Witnesses said they saw Pestaño whirl in the air after the jump.

But his main parachute didn't open when he pulled it, said barangay Punta chairman Glenn Alvin.

He said Pestaño may have lost consciousness while spinning and was thus unable to pull his reserve chute. He fell into the middle of a rice field.

Resident Dennis Omega said he heard a “bomb-like explosion” and went into the rice field to investigate, only to see Pestaño’s body.

The Ormoc rescue team brought him to Ormoc Sugarcane Planter’s Association-Farmer’s Medical Center, where physicians declared him dead.

Relatives, family and friends wept and hugged one another on seeing the wooden crate carrying Pestaño’s coffin.

The victim’s father Orlando rode the vehicle that bore his son’s coffin to the St. Peter’s Funeral Homes in barangay Day-as, Cebu City.

Pestaño’s remains was checked by the embalmer in the morgue and later brought to the family home in barangay Labangon, Cebu City, at 6 p.m.

White flowers were sent by the elder Pestaño’s friends in the military and police, including one sent by Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo Jr., Police Regional Office-7 (PRO-7) chief. The family declined to be interviewed.

In an interview, 1st Lt. Til Andal of the Civil Military Operations division of the Philippine Air Force’s 560th Air Base Wing said skydiving and similar private-, commercial- and government-sponsored air shows should be cleared by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

He said skydivers and pilots must be cleared and should present to CAAP documentary requirements like a flight plan, certificates from a skydiving school, physical examination records and insurance. /Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos and Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza with an Inquirer report

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Talisay police nab suspect in whistle-blower’s slay 10/22/2011




THE suspect in the gruesome killing of drug whistle-blower Bernard Liu late last month was arrested in a raid yesterday afternoon.

Police found a .38 revolver and two bullets in the house of Rhem Balquin alias Rembat in sitio Rattan, barangay Tangke, Talisay City.

Judge Enriquita Belarmino of RTC Branch 57 issued the search warrant for the police.

Supt. Eddie Recamara, acting Talisay City police chief, said they will verify if the firearm confiscated is the same gun that was reported stolen from Liu.

Liu was found dead at the back of his residence in barangay Tangke, Talisay City. The autopsy conducted revealed that he was strangled.

A rope was found tied around his neck when his decomposing body was uncovered outside the kitchen of his house.

The autopsy also revealed that his head sustained blunt force trauma caused by a hard object.

Soft tissues in his abdomen and some internal organs were missing.

Liu landed in the headlines a decade ago when he testified in a House inquiry on drugs against his former employers, brothers Peter and Wellington Lim.

But the police said Liu's death is unrelated to his testimony as witness.

They suspect that Liu was killed during a burglary since a gold bracelet and a P50,000 metal urn containing his father's ashes were missing.

The house was also in disarray when Liu’s remains were found. /Correspondent Gabriel C. Bonjoc

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Canadian offers cash for missing SUV info 10/22/2011




Yet another reward money was offered in relation to the kidnap-murder case of 6-year-old Ellah Joy Pique.

This time it’s not the province, which earlier offered P360,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of homicide suspect Bella Ruby Santos.

Santos’ lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo said a Canadian former law teacher offered a P100,000 reward for information leading to the location of a Pajero bearing plate numbers 679.

Villagonzalo was with other lawyers of Santos when they filed a petition for bail in court on her behalf yesterday.

Her lawyers declined to disclose the Canadian’s identity.

The numbers “679” were seen by three classmates of Ellah Joy on the vehicle used by two persons who fetched her from their school in Minglanilla town last Feb. 8—the last time she was seen alive.

Days later, the child was found dead below a cliff in Barili town.

The plate numbers reportedly belonged to a vehicle boarded by Norwegian Sven-Erik Berger and Karen Esdrelon.

Berger and Esdrelon were cleared after they presented evidence that they were in a Cebu City hotel at the time Ellah Joy was kidnapped.

Santos’ Pajero, which was seized by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), bore the plate number LHJ 382.

Villagonzalo showed a text message to local media purportedly from the Canadian who offered the P100,000 reward money on behalf of Bella and her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths.

“I appeal to anyone anywhere in the Philippines who knows the whereabouts of the black SUV with the partial plate number ‘679’ and can identify its owners to contact the defense team in Cebu,” the Canadian’s text message read.

Villagonzalo said the Canadian can be reached at telephone number 32-2551588 or e-mail address: defence@cdnexgen.com.

Griffiths was recently placed on the international red list of Interpol for his alleged complicity with Santos in the kidnap and murder of Ellah Joy.

Santos and Griffiths are facing a nonbailable offense of kidnapping with homicide.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the accused has the right to bail unless he or she is charged with a capital offense where evidence of guilt is “strong.”

Santos' lawyers believed Santos should be allowed to post bail, saying the evidence against them are weak.

Joan Suarez-Pabriaga of the Children's Legal Bureau (CLB) said the motion for bail filed by the defense is “premature” since the prosecution has yet to present their evidence in court.

The bureau is representing the victim's family in the case.

In their petition, the lawyers for Santos said no one saw who murdered the victim.

They also said the police seized the wrong Pajero vehicle, which bore a different license plate number than one spotted by Ellah Joy’s classmates.

The lawyers said the prosecution's witnesses are just a second set of persons who were asked to testify following the dismissal of the charges against Berger and Esdrelon.

They also said the police suppressed the release of DNA results on bloodstains taken from the belongings of Santos.

They added that the cartographic sketches didn’t match the facial and physical description of Santos and Griffiths.

Defense lawyers also asked the court to conduct “marathon hearings” or trial at least twice or thrice a week to expedite resolution of the charges.

Regional Trial Court Judge Ester Veloso of Branch 6 has yet to resolve the pleadings.

Santos was arrested by an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) inside SM Megamall in Mandaluyong Manila last Oct. 7. /By Ador Vincent Mayol and Patricia Andrea Pateña

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Officials to file raps against organizers 10/22/2011




THE Caloocan City barangay officials who fell ill after partaking of a dinner buffet in a Cebu City hotel will file a complaint against the organizers of this week’s Lakbay Aral tour that they joined in.

Manuel de Leon, a barangay chairman in Caloocan City, told Cebu Daily News that he and other barangay officials will submit their complaints to the Liga ng mga Barangay against the barangay committee that organized the tour.

De Leon, one of the officials who was confined in one of two Lapu-Lapu City hospitals for acute gastroenteritis, said they were compelled by the tour organizers to sign a waiver so they can be discharged and take the scheduled return flight to Manila last Thursday afternoon.

De Leon said another batch of barangay officials will come to Cebu and stay in the same hotel they were billeted in, the Crown Regency Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City, for a three-day Lakbay Aral tour.

“They didn’t even take care of us. They should have allowed us to recover first before going home,” De Leon said in Filipino.

He said he asked for a medical certificate but was dissuaded from doing so by the organizers.

Lapu-Lapu City Health Officer Dr. Rodulfo Berame said their department sent their sanitary inspectors and found nothing wrong with the food handling and preparation of the Cebu City hotel.

Earlier Dr. Bolivar Miñoza, chief of the Lapu-Lapu City District Hospital where some of the barangay officials were confined, said initial lab tests are inconclusive and they needed more time to verify them.

He said they are not ruling out food poisoning as the cause of the incident.

Miñoza said the barangay officials were supposed to be admitted for observation but they signed a waiver to be discharged from the hospital so they can continue treatment in Manila.

He said they were given oral rehydration solutions and advised to drink plenty of liquids for their trip back home.

Eduardo Sanggol, the manager of Crown Regency Hotel in Osmeña Boulevard, said they are conducting their own investigation into the incident. /Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza

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City Hall to shell out P75M for SRP, traffic master plans 10/22/2011




ABOUT P75 million will be set aside by Cebu City Hall to pay for six new master plans for various projects in the city.

City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete said the master plans will cover the South Road Properties (SRP), traffic, coastal management and the beautification of downtown and uptown Cebu City.

Each master plan is estimated to cost P10 million.

A sixth master plan proposed by Mayor Michael Rama will focus on the city's drainage, maintenance and flood-control projects and would cost P25 million.

Poblete told Cebu Daily News that the cost estimates for the proposed master plans were based on the “cost of prevailing studies.”

“The mayor wanted a master plan to serve as guide. We can't let development dictate its own phase,” Poblete told Cebu Daily News.

Poblete said while the Rama administration already implemented programs for the revitalization of downtown Cebu City, it still lacks a master plan for all programs and projects intended for the area.

“It’s easy to draft a study. We just have to contract it out to qualified consultants,” Poblete said, when asked if the city could finish the six master plans next year.

Poblete said they are also proposing that P30 million be appropriated for consultants who could help expedite the preparation of Program of Works and Estimates (POWE) by the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW).

Poblete said the engineering offices needed outside assistance in preparing the POWE.

Rama is proposing P700-million worth of road improvement projects and P500-million worth of drainage improvement projects in his 2012 executive budget.

Included in the projects is P10 million for the improvement of the Osmeña Shrine, which Rama’s predecessor and now Rep. Tomas Osmeña wanted to be converted into a multifaith cemetery.

Rama also proposed the construction of three new parks worth P55 million, a new terminal worth P50 million and a pocket forest worth P10 million.

“It is always good to dream (of having all these). All the things that we see is part of a dream,” the mayor said.

Rama said the 2012 budget would address the city's need for good roads and help boost its economic growth.

“It's a big insult to the Cebuanos if our roads remain in disrepair,” the mayor said.

The City Council called on City Treasurer Tessie Camarillo and Budget Officer Nelfa Briones to clarify where the city would source the mayor's P11.8 billion budget for next year.

Councilor Margot Osmena, the council's budget committee chairperson, said the fund sources identified for the 2012 budget appeare “very bloated.”

Of the P700 million, about P400 million will go to road concreting, P200 million will pay for road repair and maintenance and P100 million will cover road widening.

The DEPW budget also includes P500 million for drainage improvement projects and another P100 million for the installation of slope protection measures.

About P20 million will go for parks to be built in barangays Cogon Ramos and another P25 million for the Pasil park.

A third park for senior citizens worth P10 million would be set up in a proposed location across the City Hall annex building. /Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac

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City puts in place plans as landfill set to close 10/22/2011




The Cebu City government is planning to use a lot owned by Inayawan barangay captain Rustom Ignacio for a transfer station once the planned closure of the landfill is implemented on Nov. 7.

Even as Mayor Michael Rama plans to send starting next week representatives to discuss with officials of Consolacion town and Naga City, the alternative garbage diversion sites, about the city’s garbage program.

Rama said he was even considering visiting Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes to discuss the use of Mandaue City roads for the transport of Cebu City’s garbage to Consolacion.

The Mandaue City government has earlier banned the Cebu City garbage trucks from using Mandaue City’s roads to transport garbage to Consolacion.

On the planned transfer station, Cebu City Councilor Edu Rama Jr., City Council's public services chairman, said the city could lease Ignacio's property located close to the landfill to receive garbage from the barangays and load these into leased trucks that would bring these garbage to the diversion sites.

“We intend to just lease at least 10 trucks to bring garbage to the designated sites. Dili siya risgo unya mas ekonomiya pa,” Rama told Cebu Daily News.

Mayor Rama would have wanted landfill activities stopped starting on Oct. 1. But the plan was postponed to Nov. 7 because of problems on the route that city garbage trucks would take on its way to the privately run garbage facility in Pulog, Consolacion.

There were also the concerns on the condition of barangay garbage trucks to travel long distances and the capacity of the Asian Energy Systems Corp. to only accommodate one garbage truck at a time inside their facility.

Rama said the city is putting up a transfer station and lease garbage trucks to transport garbage to Consolacion town.

He said they are also considering the possibility of using the garbage facility in Naga City as an alternative diversion site.

Meanwhile, Councilor Nida Cabrera, environment committee chairperson, said confusion on who should attend the Solid Waster Management Board meetings resulted in few people attending.

Cabrera said that there seems to be confusion on who among the old and the new board members should be attending the meetings.

She said that while the mayor's office already released last August the board's new composition, its new members were not issued appointment papers. /By Doris C. Bongcac, Chief of Reporters