Castañeda a good choice for city LEEO portfolio

“Not everyone can be trusted. I think we all have to be very selective about the people we trust.” Shelley Long

By Alex P. Vidal

IT’S the trust and confidence that matter most.

Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog made the right decision to appoint Ariel Castañeda as the new chief of the Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO).

The apprehensions registered by key leaders of market vendors associations in the metropolis about Castañeda’s “lack of experience” to handle the job are but natural, but experience alone is not the end-all and be-all qualifications to manage and rebuild the anomaly-ridden LEEO.

Castañeda, Mabilog’s hitherto political affairs consultant, is a reformist who carries with him the competence, dynamism and idealism of a leader necessary to streamline and iron out the kinks in the LEEO.

In choosing Castañeda, Mabilog was not entertaining a quick fix solution to the mess left behind by the office’s previous boss, Vicente de la Cruz.

Mabilog wanted to infuse integrity back in the LEEO and revive the people’s faith in the office marred previously by accusations of irregularities and mismanagement.

With Castañeda’s solid background in leadership and good credibility, Mabilog is confident the LEEO will once again experience a renaissance under a new manager.

Marker vendors associations will easily get along with the unassuming Castañeda as he is one of the most accessible and easy-to-approach members of the Mabilog cabinet.

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THE church's silence on the proposed legalization of the Small Town Lottery (STL) in Iloilo province is deafening.

They have not made a stand or issued a statement since Governor Arthur “Art” Defensor Sr. announced last month that he was in favor of the move of the provincial board which had passed a resolution pushing for legalization of the numbers game.

With Defensor’s full approval, it’s only a matter of time before the resolution authored by Board Member Manny Gallar will bear fruits in favor of the STL.

Three operators have been queuing for the franchise to be issued by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). 

They are: Around D’ World Gaming Corp., Fairpoint Marketing Corp. and Iloilo Small Town Lottery Gaming Corp.

The grapevine says the PSCO will soon approve the franchise to any of the three. 

Like a thief in the night, STL will invade the Iloilo province without any resistance.

The church has been actively spearheading the clamor to halt any attempt from the local government unit (LGU) to legalize any form of gambling in the past.

Priests even used the pulpit to chide those who pushed for legalization of gambling.

Why they are silent on this issue is what boggles the minds of the Ilonggos.

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THE image of Boracay Island will suffer in the global tourism industry if reports were true that the level of coliform bacteria in the beach increased 47,460 most probable number (mpn) per 100 ml and, therefore, “not safe” for swimming.

Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) regional director Jonathan Bulos had clarified that the water sample containing the high level of coliform bacteria was taken from the mouth of Bulabog Beach where there was a drainage system.

For a body of water to be considered safe for swimming, its coliform bacteria level must not exceed 1,000 mpn/ml, according to the EMB, an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The presence in the Boracay waters of coliform bacteria, found mainly in human and animal waste, soil and vegetation, have been reported many years back but the DENR assured beach goers the situation was not alarming.

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FORMER North Cotabato Gov. Manny Pinol, a part time boxing manager and sportswriter, told me recently that he was not sure if he would go to Las Vegas to watch the Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. duel on May 2.

“Ka mahal sang ticket. Makahuluya man kay Manny (Pacquiao). Kon tag P200,000 per ticket e times mo ina sa 50 ka tawo nga mangayu libre mga P10 million na ina. (The ticket is so expensive. If Manny gives each of only 50 persons free tickets it’s already P10 million),” Pinol said.

I told Pinol that Pacquiao spent some P20 million for the tickets he bought from the Top Rank for distribution to fellow congressmen, showbiz characters, friends, hangers-on, and members of the Boston Celtics when Pacquiao fought Ricky Hatton on May 2, 2009.

“Against Mayweather, even if Pacquiao will spend an equivalent of P50 million for the freebie tickets, he won’t mind it,” I told Pinol.

“Bisan pa. Kahuluya. Kuarta man ina gihapon. Ang iban ‘ya wala lang naga paminsar. (It’s still money. Those who ask for free tickets should think about it and have some shame.),” he replied.

Defensor: Lucero is an honest man, some of his men aren’t

“Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.” George Washington

By Alex P. Vidal

ILOILO Governor Arthur “Art” Defensor Sr. described Engr. Gracianito Lucero, chief of the Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO) as “an honest man.”

“Honest ini sia nga tawo. Dugay ko na ini sia kilala. I trust this man, but not some of his men. Damu gid man dira kawatan kag gina pa imbistigar naton ina (He is an honest man. I have known him for a long time. I trust this man but not some of his men who are really thieves. And that’s why I am investigating them),” Defensor told me in front of Lucero inside the governor’s office on Friday morning.

The governor was referring to the “pa-ihi” or fuel pilferage scam allegedly committed by some corrupt PEO employees.

Defensor has tasked Provincial Administrator Raul Banas to leave no stone unturned in the investigation.

“We are now doing the investigation,” Dr. Banas told me.

Executive Assistant Ruel Von Superio confirmed that “there is an ongoing investigation.”

Broadcaster Ibrahim Calanao, meanwhile, has owned up to the “pa-ihi” expose.

“Ako sina una nag expose, Lex. Ulihi na lang ina ang write-up mo. Dugay ko na ina gina hambal sa radyo. Ang iban nga truck didto gapa amolya sa patyo sang Janiuay ho. Didto nila ginapasuyupan gasoline ang tangke. (I was the one who first made that expose. Your write-up came later. I have been announcing this anomaly on my radio program. Some of the trucks were brought to a cemetery in Janiuay where the fuel pilferage was done),” Calanao said.

Lucero, by the way, told me his wife, who is a doctor, owns the “expensive” vehicle referred to by a source in my previous column.

 -o0o-

My visit in the governor’s office on Friday morning actually coincided only while Defensor was waiting for Lucero to arrive.

They had an important meeting regarding the “pa-ihi” imbroglio.

Defensor showed strong eagerness to rid the PEO with corrupt elements.

I went there together with former North Cotabato Gov. Manny Pinol, who asked me to accompany him and his brother, Mlang, Cotabato Mayor Joselito, in his second visit to Defensor in one week.

Pinol, who was there two days earlier, was head of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s advance party in the courtesy call to Defensor.

I was not part of Duterte’s activities in Iloilo. 

I came only because of Pinol, my long-time colleague in sports writing (we first met in 1991 during the House committee on youth and sports hearing on alleged sports anomalies when Pinol was still writing for Tempo, sister publication of Manila Bulletin).

Pinol, who dabbles as boxing manager, and I last met in Las Vegas three years ago when Manny Pacquiao lost by KO5 against Juan Manuel Marquez.

“This is your first visit in my office since I became governor (for the second time),” Defensor told me.

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WE support the call of the Animal Welfare Association (AWA) of Iloilo headed by Anna Marie Rivera Wharton to halt the use of carbon monoxide poisoning via the “tambutso” or car exhaust in exterminating stray dogs and cats.

City Veterinarian Tomas Forteza has confirmed the practice in a radio interview, according to Wharton in her letter dated February 23, 2015.

Wharton’s expose surprised Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog who admitted “he has no idea of a humane method of killing stray animals that is lawfully acceptable.”

Mabilog referred the matter to Dr. Forteza and asked him to “research and check on the methods that may not be considered afoul with the law.”

Republic Act. No. 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998) mandates that “the killing of animals shall be done through humane procedure at all times.”

Humane procedure, under the law, “shall mean the use of the scientific method available as may be determined and approved by the committee (Committee on Animal Welfare).”

The law does not, however, specify these scientific methods, according to a recent article written by Wenceslao Mateo.

“But is killing of stray animals by carbon monoxide suffocation lawfully acceptable and a scientific method?” asked the article.

The article added: “A news report abroad reveals that carbon monoxide killing of stray animals, especially those in shelters, is outlawed in the US states of California, Tennessee, Maryland and Rhode Island.

“Also, both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Humane Society of the United States reject killing by carbon monoxide.

“They observed that carbon monoxide poisoning causes animals to suffer horribly while they are slowly suffocated, and often scream and go into convulsions while struggling for air.”

Ilonggos in Malacanang if Binay becomes president

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” Brian Tracy

By Alex P. Vidal

ILOILO Governor Arthur “Art” Defensor Sr. is an “aksyon agad” leader.

Immediately after he read our article about the fuel pilferage issue allegedly committed by some dishonest employees and officials of the Iloilo Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO), he directed provincial administrator Raul Banas to task PEO chief Gracianito Lucero to investigate the matter and face the media.

Lucero denied during a press conference on Friday our other allegations here earlier that some provincial engineers owned expensive vehicles and paraded those luxury cars in the capitol parking areas in violation of government policy on ostentatious display of wealth.   

"As far as I know there are no luxury vehicles owned by provincial engineers. If there is any I think they have the means to have that and they acquired those not through what is stated in the article,” Lucero said, quoted by The Daily Guardian reporter Louine Hope Conserva in her article.

Lucero added: “As government officials and employees we submit every year our SALNs. In fact within the week we received a letter from the Human Resource Management and Development Office (HRMDO) to submit our SALNs before April 30.”

In a follow up report, Conserva quoted Banas as saying that he would form a fact-finding team to look into reports of “pa-ihi” or fuel pilferage in the PEO.

Banas confirmed he heard the report as early as in 2011 but could not identify the culprits due to lack of evidence and probably lack of cooperation from involved parties and witnesses.

Even the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) requested by Banas to investigate the matter, failed to solve the malfeasance, admitted Banas.

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If we base our assessment on what we regularly read in the newspapers and in the social media; what we saw and heard on TV and on broadcast media, we can now, more or less, have a bird’s eye view on who will possibly join Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay in Malacanang Palace from Iloilo if agitators of the Aquino Resign Movement (ARM) succeed; or if Binay wins the presidency in 2016.

Binay has been diligently wooing Iloilo leaders in these past 24 months, and we are seeing the same faces of local politicians tagging along and swapping laughter with the diminutive kingpin of Makati in his out-of-town sorties.  

They will always insist there’s no politics involved in those visits with municipal mayors, municipal councilors, village chiefs and smaller private organizations, but as the popular saying goes, “tell it to the marines!”

Retired Philippine News Agency (PNA) Iloilo chief Neonita “Mommy Nitz” Gobuyan recently told Binay straight in his face: “Sir, you will be the next president of the Philippines.”

“Of course, I could not tell him that if I were still in government,” Gobuyan sighed. “Now that I am retired, I am free to say anything without any fear.”

Gobuyan said she noticed “a groundswell of support” for Binay in the countryside.

INTERESTED

“People are not anymore interested on the investigation of the alleged corruption in Makati under Binay. People are more interested now on the Mamasapano massacre of 44 troopers and they are angry,” she added. “I met Binay (in Iloilo). Ang naga drive sa iya si Nelson Golez (a popular DPWH contractor).”

The almost all pro-Franklin Drilon Iloilo city council will be decimated once the formidable members of the “Voltes 5” led by Councilors Joshua Alim and Plaridel Nava start to bolt out and go all-out for Binay.

Alim and Nava are two of the most active and visible Binay allies in the city. They joined Binay in his trip back to Manila last Friday.

Maasin Mayor Mariano Malones has openly hosted Binay in his recent Iloilo trip where the vice president visited five municipalities.

Depending on the result of tug-of-war between Iloilo fifth district Liberal Party loyalist Rep. Neil “Jun-jun” Tupas Jr. and younger brother, Vice Governor Raul Tupas, the latter might end up running for congressman in their district under Binay against Yvonne Angeli Lee Tupas, Junjun’s wife.

ADVOCATE

But for RAM Iloilo advocate Atty. Pascual “Junie” Espinosa Jr., “Binay is already a spent force.”

“He has reached his peak and will slide down (in the survey),” predicted Espinosa. “His popularity will have no match against the endless accusations of corruption in the senate hearing. Once people perceive you as a corrupt leader, you will go down in the long run.”

Espinosa and his RAM Iloilo cohorts demand for President Simeon Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s “immediate” resignation owing to the Mamasapano 44 fiasco, but are not inclined to support Binay as Aquino’s successor.

They want a shift to federal system of government as a solution to solve the country’s problems on the Moro secessionists.

Work and woman don't mix

"It is the vice of a vulgar mind to be thrilled by bigness." 
--E. M. Forster

By Alex P. Vidal

The engineer who lost his job in a construction company tasked to repaint the Iloilo Capitol after admitting he ordered the vandalism on the building's dome, will only have himself to blame.
Engr. Jose Maria Cesar Uychocde, representative of contractor V.N. Grande Builders and Supply that bagged the repainting job, reportedly wanted to impress a certain "Adele", who works in a restaurant in front of the capitol, thus he ordered the painting of “Hello, Adele” graffiti on the capitol dome.
The imposing scribble has nothing to do with the contractor's job order and can be seen and read by pedestrians and passersby downstairs especially in adjacent buildings. 

ANGERED

The vandalism angered Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. who ordered the temporary stoppage of the firm's P3.2-million contract unless somebody admitted the misdemeanor.
After several finger-pointing and dilly-dallying, Uychocde finally owned up the wrongdoing in front of Defensor last Thursday. He then resigned from the company. As of press time, the governor has ordered the resumption of the repainting works.
It was not immediately known if Uychocde, who is probably in his 60s, was married or not, but the moral of the story is: work and woman (we refuse to use the term "womanizing" because we don't have any evidence that the engineer pursued Adele lecherously) don't mix.

ENAMORED

It is none of our business if Uychocde is enamored with Adele (whoever she is) or not, but the story clearly illustrated the risk and consequences a naughty laborer has to endure if he mixes his job with women.
If Uychocde manifested his interest on Adele privately, there would have been no vandalism; no temporary suspension of repainting job, no media ruckus, no scandal, no resignation and embarrassment. 
There would have been no fuss if government property was not involved in his attempt to flatter Adele. The "Hello, Adele" has now become a "Goodbye, Adele!"