Cebu local news (daily update)

[cobraKing]

Conflicting statements on origin of fire

CEBU, Philippines – The city fire department is currently evaluating the affidavits of residents of Barangay T. Padilla who said the massive fire that left 3,300 people homeless originated from the house of a City Hall employee.
Senior Fire Officer 3 Roylin Maratas said the affidavits were issued by Merla Lavides and Romulo Bernal.
In her affidavit, Lavides said one of the boarders of the City Hall employee, Rosemarie Rizol, who occupied the third floor of her house allegedly used rubber to fuel the fire for cooking, which triggered the blaze. Bernal also reportedly saw the fire originating from Rizol's house.
Maratas told The FREEMAN he himself strongly believes that the fire was triggered by electrical overload or an unattended appliance.
In a separate affidavit, Rizol denied that she was renting her house, saying it was only her and her children who lived there. She was also not around when the fire broke out.
She said the fire started from the electrical wires from the nearby electrical post owned by the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) near their terrace.
She alleged that her late husband, SPO3 Bartolome Rizol, had complained of the wires to VECO sometime last year for fear they might trigger a fire, but complaint was reportedly left unheeded.
Maratas said Rizol was operating an internet café at the ground floor of her house with eight computer units. The electrical connection thereat might have also over-loaded and caused the fire.


The fire in Barangay T. Padilla last August 9 was so massive it gutted down 430 houses, eventually leaving 786 families or 3,346 individuals homeless.

[cobraKing]

DILG Directive: Mike, Tom differ on name credits

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama assured the immediate removal of the names or images of officials in government projects and vehicles as soon as he receives the formal directive from the Department of Interior and Local Government.
"Ato lang nga huwaton ang memorandum gikan sa Department of the Interior and Local Government aron mahibaw-an nato og unsaon sa pagtuman ang kamandoan," Rama said.
Rama said it was really his plan not to patronize what has been practiced by some politicians.
"Dihang midaug ako pagka mayor daan na nako nga gihuna-huna nga dili nako butangan sa akong ngalan ang mga sakyanan ug bisan unsa nga project sa dakbayan," Rama said.
The mayor's position on the issue is heading towards a collision course with that of former mayor and now South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña who believes that this is not necessary.
Osmeña said removing the names or images of officials from the vehicles would entail unnecessary expenses for the government because it would mean repainting the vehi-cles.
"I don't think it's necessary because it will cost money to repaint everything," Osmeña said.
Almost all government-owned vehicles belonging to various local government units have been printed with the names of the governor, mayor or even barangay captain.


In Cebu City, almost all of the city-owned vehicles have the name of Osmeña on it, while the vehicles purchased by the provincial government also have the name of Gov. Gwen Garcia.
The former mayor said that having his name on the vehicles is not a violation, saying that there was no law that prohibits it during the time it was printed.
The buses that were purchased by the government out of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of then congressman Raul del Mar also have the latter's name and pictures as well as that of his daughter, Rachel "Cutie" del Mar, who is now the city's north district Representative.
Raul however said his daughter is willing to comply with the new policy.
"We will make whatever changes maybe necessary at the proper time," Raul said.
DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said all DILG-attached agencies should refrain from putting up billboards, signages and other similar information materials bearing the names and images of personalities, including him and the President, on government projects.
Robredo's move is in line with President Aquino's order to refrain from associating his personality and identity to any government programs and projects.
The DILG Secretary said the old practice of putting up billboards and signages bearing the names of government officials in projects "does not sit well among our citizenry who are the major contributors in financing government undertakings, through the payment of their respective taxes."
A few days ago, DILG-7 regional director Pedro Noval already promised to immediately implement the order from their head office, saying that it is not proper for politicians to place their images and names on government projects and vehicles as if these belong to them.

[cobraKing]

Local officials ignore Estrada's privilege speech versus Davide

CEBU, Philippines – "Rehash" is how Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama described the privilege speech of Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada calling former chief justice Hilario Davide, Jr. as an "opportunistic politician" who does not deserve to head the Truth Commission.
Rama said the issues about Davide's alleged misuse of the Judiciary Development Fund and nepotism have long been put to rest.
"It's a rehash. Why bring back an issue that has long been rested," Rama said.
Cebu City South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña said Estrada does not have the credibility and he finds it unnecessary for him to comment.
"The truth is Estrada has very poor credibility in Cebu. No need to comment," reads Osmeña's text message to The FREEMAN.
For Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young, Estrada was just expressing his sentiments and should be given the chance.
"It's understandable. Sige nalang tagaan nalang siya og chance aron makapahungaw sa iyang gibati," Young said.
Estrada delivered a privilege speech last Tuesday lambasting the former chief justice over the latter's appointment as head of the newly created Truth Commission. Estrada described Davide's appointment as "ironic" because he is allegedly as guilty of corruption as former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who is the subject of the fact-finding of the Truth Commission.


According to Estrada, Davide "betrayed" his oath when he administered the oath of office of then vice president Arroyo in 2001. Arroyo ascended to power after the people uprising that forced his father, then president Joseph "Erap" Estrada, to step down from Malacañang.

[cobraKing]

Lingam massage: Honorary Consul contradicts Bullecer's claim on Koreans

CEBU, [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Philippines[/COLOR][/COLOR] – Honorary Consul General of the Republic of South Korea in Cebu lawyer Augusto Go yesterday contradicted the statement of pro-life advocate Rene Joseph Bullecer that Koreans visits massage and spas in the city to avail of lingam and yoni massage.
Bullecer said that some tourists especially Koreans have been flocking to massage parlors in Cebu City because of the lingam and yoni massage.
But Go challenges Bullecer to present evidence before coming up with a statement that will malign the reputation of the Koreans.
"How did he know? What is his basis? I don't want to believe that because it's just according to him. Show me proof first," Go told The FREEMAN.
Go pointed out that Koreans come to Cebu to visit historical sites and beautiful beaches.
Lingam massage is massage for the male customer's sexual organ while yoni massage is for the female genitals.
According to Bullecer, the yoni and lingam massage is being offered in massage parlors and spas in Cebu City.
Based on the records, the Koreans still rank the highest in terms of tourist arrivals in Cebu. It has been said that Korean nationals opt to study here because of the Fili-pinos' good command in English, aside from the fact that it is a lot cheaper to study language here than in their own country.


Go also said that some customers who avail extra service of yoni or lingam massage is immoral.
"That kind of service is immoral," Go added.
Like Go, City Councilor Margot Osmeña, chairman of the committee on tourism, said there is a "valid concern" to take up in the city council regarding the operations of lingam massage.
Osmeña was tasked by Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young to draft guidelines on lingam massage, a kind of service in local massage parlors and spas, so that it will not lead to "extra services."
Young said there are many foreigners and tourists who come here because of the lingam massage.
Lingam massage supposedly prevents or treats prostate problems for elderly male clients.
But Osmeña is not buying that argument.
Osmeña said she will be listening to some invited resource speakers this coming Friday's council session regarding the operation of lingam massage.
But Osmeña is also quick to say that she will not support it, if perceived to be immoral.
"Anything immoral is immoral, and it is not welcome," Osmeña added.
Last March, the Cebu City Council passed a resolution asking the Cebu Anti-Indecency Board and law enforcement agencies to investigate if these massage parlors offering lingam massage were involved in immoral and lewd practices.

[cobraKing]

Apartment loses P90,000 worth of items to thief

CEBU, Philippines – Occupants of an apartment along Gil Tudtud St., Mabolo, Cebu City, lost some P90,000 worth of items to a thief who sneaked into their place at 3 p.m. the other day.
Elizabeth Tio, 24, Christine Inding, 23, Mary Alice Damiles, 24 and Daryll Orat, 26, all lost their laptops, mobile phones and other items.
Tio and Inding are both call center agents while Damilies is a teacher.
Tio was the only one in the apartment sleeping when the thief broke in as the rest were out working. When Tio woke up, she noticed that their door knob was already damaged and that some of their valuables were gone.
"Wala jud koy nakit-an, nakatulog man gud ko. Pagmata nako, ako na lang nabantayan nga nawala na ang among mga gamit then guba na ang door", Tio said in an interview. (I didn't notice anything as I was sleeping.)
The theft carted away two gray Toshiba laptops worth P50,000, a portable play station worth P10,000, a Nokia mobile phone worth P7,000, and assorted jewelry worth P7,000. They also lost an Ipod Nano worth 3,000, a Motorola cell phone worth 1,700, and a dark green Adidas gym bag worth 1,600.
Further investigation revealed that the adjacent room occupied by Orat was also ransacked while she was out for work.
In another incident, a vehicle parked at JY square Basement Parking was robbed by unidentified theft at around 8:20 the other night at Lahug, Cebu City.


Roderick Brian Pecho Lim, 31, and a resident of Sto. Niño Village, Banilad, Cebu City, discovered the glass window at the back-right portion of his car was broken.
He lost his gym bag, a pair of shoes, clothes and several accessories. The police are still investigating both incidents.

[cobraKing]

Worker hospitalized after touching live wire

CEBU, Philippines – A worker almost lost his life after accidentally touching a high-tension wire of the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) the force of which sent him falling down to the ground from the rooftop of a mini-gym where he was working at that time.
The incident happened at 11 a.m. yesterday at the mini-gym of barangay San Roque, Talisay City.
Based on the police report, Jomer Pangandaman, of sitio Libo, Mohon of the same city, was attaching wire (alambre) at the barangay's mini-gym when the wire he was holding accidentally came in contact with VECO's high-tension wire.
By the force, Pangandam was sent off from the rooftop to the ground of the gym. The victim was working for a sub-contractor commissioned to work on the gym.
His workmate saw the victim shivering before he fell on the roof and then slumped to the ground. Pangandam was bleeding when people came to help him.
A still conscious Pangandam was taken to the Talisay District Hospital in barangay San Isidro, but was transferred to the state-run Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

[cobraKing]

Mayor tells police to step up drive vs. homegrown guns-for-hire

CEBU, Philippines – Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza is urging the police to intensify their drive against gun-for-hire syndicates that may be operating in the city.
Radaza wrote Police Inspector Antonio Detuya, chief of the Intelligence Section of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office the other day to tell him that recent intelligence reports reaching her office indicate that there are now several gun-for-hire syndicates operating in the city as evidenced by a number of suspects caught in relation to several ambush cases in Metro Cebu who are residents of the city.
According to Radaza, these syndicates are actively recruiting and training city residents.
"I fear that if the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office will not take action to nip this concern in the bud, these criminal elements will throw the city into a cauldron of violence and criminality," Radaza said.
Radaza urged Detuya to beef up the police intelligence efforts to go after these criminal elements who wish to set up base in the city.
The city mayor assured Detuya that the city will support the police in this campaign.

[cobraKing]

Cebu City, Abellana rescue group second in disaster preparedness

CEBU, Philippines – The Cebu City Government and the Abellana National School Rescue Group ranked second in the 2010 Gawad Kalasag awards for best local disaster coordinating council for highly urbanized city category and the best school category, respectively.
Kalasag, which stands for "Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan, Sariling Galing ang Kaligtasan," is an annual recognition of an individual or institution for excellence in disaster management and humanitarian assistance.
This is the second time that Cebu City participated in the search.
Makati City and Iligan City ranked first and third, respectively.
Mayor Michael Rama is happy for the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council after it was chosen second best in the Gawad Kalasag awards.
"Sige lang. We will try again next year basin pa diay ma number one ta. But it is not an issue if we are number one or number two," Rama said, adding what is important is that the city was not hit by a big calamity and disaster.
Alvin Santillana of the CCDCC, said the Gawad Kalasag aims to recognize the outstanding performances of local disaster councils and private, volunteer and government emergency responders involved in the implementation of disaster management programs and activities.
The CCDCC has been [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]training[/COLOR][/COLOR] the city's barangays on disaster response and preparedness.


The DILG through the Bureau of Local Government Development (BLGD) is the lead agency of the Gawad Kalasag search. Other member agencies of the selection committee are the Office of the Civil Defense, Philippine Volcanology and Seismology, Department of Social Welfare and [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Development[/COLOR][/COLOR], Department of Health, Philippine National Red Cross, Department of Education, and local government leagues.
In 1998, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) initiated the Gawad Kalasag as a recognition scheme in its search for excellence on disaster and rescue management and humanitarian assistance.
It provides the mechanism in obtaining sustained commitment and support from the highest level of government by recognizing the exceptional contributions of the various DRM practitioners and humanitarian workers in building the resilience of nations and communities to disaster.
The Gawad Kalasag also aims to recognize individuals, groups or institutions that have shown extraordinary courage, heroism, self-sacrifice, and bravery against all odds in times of natural and human-induced emergencies and disasters.

[cobraKing]

4 ka balay sa Talisay gipanglarot sa City Hall

CEBU, [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Philippines[/COLOR][/COLOR] - Upat ka balay sa sitio Pang-pang, barangay San Isidro, dakbayan sa Talisay ang gilarot sa demolition team sa kagamhanan sa dakbayan kagahapon sa buntag.
Ang mga tag-iya sa balay nga gipangguba mao sila si Bobby Tablega, Genevieve Sarita, magkapuyo nga Joan Sarita ug Rene Sabagat ug magkapuyo nga Jaqueline Tablega ug Warlito Quize.
Si Mayet Abarquez sa City Hall sa Talisay nga nahinabi sa Banat News nagkanayon nga 65 lang ka tawo ang benepisyaryo sa Villa Santa Cruz Homeowners Association (VSCHA) apan ang upat nga gilarotan sa balay dili sa asosasyon ug giingong nangangkon nga mga iredero sa tag-iya sa luna nga giugmad
Ang maong luna nga may gilapdong kapin sa 3,000 ka metro kuwadrado napalit sa siyudad niadtong tuig 2004 gikan sa pamilyang Llenes.
Matud ni Abarquez nga subay sa ilang pakisusi, ang pamilyang Llenes maoy gibaligyaan kaniadto sa nahisgutang luna sa apohan sa mga nangangkong iredero.
Ang mga pamilyang gilarotan og mga balay kanunay nang gipadad-an og notice to vacate gikan sa city legal officer sa siyudad aron sila makapangandam.
Niadtong tuig 2008 ang nahisgutang luna naugmad ug ang World Bank maoy mihatag og pundo sa paghinlo niini.
Ang matag benepisyaryo gigahinan og tag 35 metro kuwadrado nga datahan nila og tag kapin P400 matag buwan sulod sa 25 ka tuig.


Si Abarquez midugang nga walay nahitabong kagubot kagahapon dihang giguba ang upat ka balay kay gibantayan kini sa kapolisan .


Karnaper naratol nasikop

CEBU, [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Philippines[/COLOR][/COLOR] - Gidimalas ang usa ka 27 anyos nga estambay dihang pagpadagan niya sa kinarnap niyang motorsiklo natumba, busa naapsan siya sa mga naggukod ug nadakpan siya didto sa Cabahug Street, barangay Ibabao, dakbayan sa Mandaue kagahapon sa udto.
Giila ang suspetsado nga si Geraldo Amores ,27, minyo ug walay trabaho nga taga Sta. Rosa, syudad sa Lapu-lapu, samtang ang motorsiklong gikawat niya gipanag-iya ni Jonathan Rosaoro, 30, minyo, nga taga Cabahug Street, syudad sa Mandaue.
Sa imbistigasyon sa kapolisan sa dakbayan sa Mandaue , nasayran nga milipot sa likod sa balay sa biktima ang suspetsado kay mipasangil nga mangihi .
Apan mao nalay namatngonan sa mga silingan nga gisakyan na sa suspetsado ang motorsiklo sa biktima dayong pasirit og padagan niini.
Diha-diha gigukod dayon sa mga silingan ang biktima ug gumikan sa pagkaratol niini, na-slide ang motorsiklo busa naligid ug nabalintong siya sa karsada hinungdan nga dali ra kaayo siyang nasikop.
Gihatod dayon ngadto sa kapolisan sa Mandaue diin tua siya karon ibalhog samtang giatubang ang kasong carnapping

Nakuryente kritikal

CEBU, [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Philippines[/COLOR][/COLOR]
- Kritikal ang kahimtang sa usa ka 22-anyos nga construction worker human kini nakuryentihi kagahapon sa alas 11 sa buntag samtang naghigot og alambre sa atop sa gitukod nga badminton gym sa barangay San Roque, dakbayan sa Talisay.
Si Jomme Pananganan, taga sitio Libo, barangay Mohon ug construction worker sa sub-contructor sa Tuanzon Construction kinsa maoy mi-construct sa nahisgutang gym, nadala gyud sa Talisay City District Hospital, apan gibalhin kini sa Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
Ang kagawad sa barangay nga si Rafael Chan sa pakighinabi sa Banat News kagahapon nagkanayon nga ang badminton gym nahimutang daplin sa karsada duol sa linya sa Visayan Electric Company (VECO). Si Pananganan nagbugkos og alambre sa atop aron mabutangan og aluminum ventilator sa dihang misaghid ang alambre sa main line sa VECO. Matud ni Chan nakabati siya’g boto sa ibabaw. Iyang nakita si Pananganan nga nasangit sa trasher ug nagkirigkirig nga nagsiga ang lawas hangtod natagak

[pepponeskie]

thanks sa update boss...really appreciated it...