Miag-ao mayor to ambulant vendors: police your ranks

By Alex P. Vidal

THE first-ever protest rally in front of the municipal hall of Miag-ao, Iloilo on March 9 ended three hours after ambulant fish vendors, aided by General Assembly Binding Women for Reform Integrity Equality Leadership and Action (Gabriela)-Panay, agreed to the suggestion of Mayor Macario Napulan during a dialogue that they “police your own group” and to form an organization.

The rally started at past one o’clock in the afternoon spearheaded by Lucy Francisco, Gabriela regional coordinator.

“We came from Antique province and we are here to help the ambulant vendors (in Miag-ao) because we are celebrating the International Women’s Month and we don’t want their rights to be violated,” Francisco said.

Some15 minutes after the rally started, Senior Inspector Cyril Octavio, Miag-ao police chief, approached Francisco and Ma. Leonora Egarde, leader of ambulant fish vendors, and invited them to the municipal hall.

Municipal administrator Joselito Eiman, municipal legal officer Ramil Naciongayo and Councilor Ma. Teresa Jambre faced them in a dialogue in the conference hall.

ARREST

Egarde protested the arrest of their three members and the seizure of their fishes saying the municipal government violated the verbal agreement they entered with Napulan allowing them to sell inside the public market from 5:30 in the afternoon up.

Egarde said Napulan issued them a business permit after paying a fee of P495 on January 20, 2015.

The permit, issued in the name of Rosine Montalvo and approved by licensing unit chief Stephen Intal, is good until December 31, 2015.

“If we will be arrested and our fishes are confiscated, we will lose our livelihood and we will go hungry,” Egarde sobbed.

But the municipal officials chided Egarde’s group for its failure to honor a previous agreement to sell only in designated areas.

Some of Egarde’s fellow ambulant vendors sell their fishes outside the public market and even before five o’clock in the afternoon in violation of the municipal ordinance, Naciongayo disclosed.

Jambre said she herself caught several ambulant vendors selling beyond what was contained in the agreement.

ABUSE

Napulan, who came late in the two-hour dialogue, rapped the ambulant fish vendors for “abusing the privileges” he extended them.

“They abused our agreement. I myself saw some of them selling in the gates of the public market as early as six o’clock in the morning,” the mayor said.

Napulan said he also discovered that some ambulant vendors allowed themselves to be used in a hocus pocus committed by some registered or authorized vendors inside the public market.

“Some ambulant vendors are relatives of registered vendors. Sometimes three vendors are using one permit,” Napulan said.

To resolve the problem, Napulan urged ambulant fish vendors to form an organization and “police your own group” by doing the following:

-get a certification from the barangay that they are bonafide residents of Miag-ao; and

-produce identification cards showing that they are indigents.

Napulan said through regulation they can protect and prioritize Miag-ao-based ambulant fish vendors as transient ambulant vendors from other municipalities come in from time to time.

ENCOURAGE

He also encouraged them to sell fishes taken from the shores of Miag-ao.

“Our own fishermen are at the mercy of wholesale buyers who sell the fishes taken from the Miag-ao shores to the Iloilo fishing port (in Iloilo City). The ones that are brought back here are sold to us in a higher price,” Napulan stressed.

“We are developing the Baybay Norte and Baybay South and we will give priority to those who catch the fishes here in the shores of Miaga-ao and sell them direct to the local residents.”

Jambre suggested that ambulant vendors should indicate if the fishes they are selling are from Miag-ao beach so they can be given priority.

Eiman said there is a need to regulate the ambulant fish vendors “because we are looking for the revenues.”

Out of 60 registered vendors inside the public market, only 10 were able to renew their business permits this year, Eiman said.

‘Dreams were made possible in Kilometraje 40’

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” Harriet Tubman

By Alex P. Vidal

IT started as a ragtag group of young men who didn’t care about their lives.

When Justice Ramon B. Britanico (mayor of Miag-ao, Iloilo from 1968-1971) spotted them in the public plaza sometime in 1971, the mayor exhorted them to do something about their lives.

“That’s when (Vicente) Bugoy (Molejona) gathered them and named the group as Kilometraje 40,” disclosed Rene Monteclaro, station manager of Radyo Ng Bayan Iloilo.

Moncteclaro, who also hails from Miag-ao, Iloilo, some 40 kilometers southwest of Iloilo City, said the name “Kilometraje 40” was taken from the landmark of “KM 40 SJ 14” near the historic Miag-ao Church where the group gathered regularly.

KM 40 means the distance from the municipality to Iloilo City while SJ 14 is the distance from the municipality to San Joaquin, the last Iloilo municipality going to Antique province.

There are many many disputed etymologies for Miag-ao. One of the most popular, and probably the most widely accepted version is that the name of the town was derived from a plant named Miagos or Osmoxylon lineare, a flowering plant from the family Araliaceae that used to grow abundantly in the area when the Spaniards came.

REST

Molejona, who was laid to rest at the Miag-ao Catholic Cemetery on March 9, was Kilometraje 40’s founding president.

“Among the group’s original members was Jomar, my older brother. From a small group, Kilometraje 40 rose to become a serious organization,” narrated Monteclaro, 57, who became the group’s president in 1978.

Monteclaro, an ex-seminarian like Molejona, said the group later on welcomed women as members. The males are called the “pinasahi” (rare) while the females are the “pinasulabi” (priority)

They launched the “Kauswagan”, a cultural show and became actively involved in organizing socio-civic cultural activities.

Kilometraje 40 produced “The Legend of Maya and Gao”, a cultural presentation and dance drama.

They also launched the “Mutya kang Miag-ao” beauty contest that became an institution in 1978.

“Our group was non-sectarian, non-political and non-profit,” explained Monteclaro. “We were independent. We raised our own funds. We didn’t realy on others, and we have our own constitution and by-laws.”

Monteclaro said the members considered Molejona, a retired director of the Population Commission (Popcom) before his death on February 22, as “a mentor and a source of our inspiration.”

“Bugoy was a role model. In Kilometraje 40, so many dreams and projects were made possible. We engaged in interaction. In fact, I learned my master’s degree in management from Kilometraje 40,” Monctelaro said.

VALUES

Monctelaro added: “We learned so many values from Bugoy. He taught us how to become responsible; how to lead an organization; not to give up.”

During difficulties, Monteclaro said “Bugoy never said harsh words to his people. When his friends approached him and apologized for a wrongdoing, Bugoy would tell them they committed no wrong to him but to the organization. And he was always smiling.”

Monteclaro continued: “Because of Bugoy, we didn’t afraid to accept responsibilities. He simply had a knack of simplifying things. He would always tell us, ‘kaya natin yan’ (we can do it).”

Former president Bernard Montealto said the group became inactive for awhile and regrouped when Molejona died.

Around 70 members joined Molejona’s funeral on Monday.

Is ‘Boy J’ Javellana involved in illegal STL?

“There are many harsh lessons to be learned from the gambling experience, but the harshest one of all is the difference between having Fun and being Smart.” Hunter S. Thompson

By Alex P. Vidal

FORMER Iloilo board member Boy J Javellana has been reported to be “involved” in the operation of Small Town Lottery (STL) in Iloilo province.

His involvement wasn’t clear.

But the late board member Vicente “Bugoy” Molejona, Javellana’s colleague during the time of Governor Simplicio “Sim” Grino, confirmed Boy J, who hails from Calinog, Iloilo “was either a financier or just a supporter.”

Boy J quit politics after his term expired in 1992.

“Since STL has no legal status in the province of Iloilo, its operation is illegal,” sources told us.

Boy J could not be reached for comment.

The provincial board recently passed a resolution pushing for legalization of STL.

Its proponent, board member, Manny Gallar, a resident of Cabatuan, Iloilo, also hails from the third district of Iloilo like Boy J.

Gov. Arthur “Art” Defensor of Mina, Iloilo, also of the third district of Iloilo, has already given his green signal for the STL.

Under the STL charity fund sharing scheme, the host city or municipality gets the biggest slice of the STL revenue share at 10 percent.

PERCENT

Capitol and the PNP will get five percent apiece.

Each of the five districts of Iloilo will earn 2.5 percent.

The move to legalize STL was first broached in 2010 when then vice governor now Iloilo first district Rep. Oscar “Richard” Garin Jr., acting as chair of the committee as a whole, introduced a board resolution.

Garin Jr’s committee in 2010 held public consultations and concluded that “the operation of STL in the province will not contribute in cultivating a culture of immoral gambling among the Ilonggos; the societal value of STL as a tool to eradicate jueteng, an illegal numbers game, may be enhanced by allowing its operations, and from the standpoint of government as the primary agency charged with addressing the needs of its people, it can be prudently argued that the funds generated from STL appear to promise available resources for a more responsive and effective delivery of basis services to its constituents.”

Weeks after former Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) administrator Oscar “Oca” Garin Sr. stirred the hornet’s nest on illegal gambling activities in the first district of Iloilo, Gallar came out swinging with his resolution pushing for STL’s legalization in the province.

STL is already legal in Iloilo City.

-o0o-

THE guts and glory of Senior Superintendent Khasmir Disomangcop, the newly-installed Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) director, will be tested in the campaign not only against criminalities but most particularly against illegal drugs.

When he was still commander of Precinct 3 (Jaro Police Station) in 2006, Disomangcop was among the four ICPO precinct chiefs who submitted a zero accomplishment relative to the campaign against illegal drugs.

The other zero performing precincts in the war versus illegal drugs were Police Precinct 1 (City Proper) under Insp. Dande Deocampo, Police Precinct 5 (Mandurriao) under Senior Insp. Kim Legada, and Police Precinct 6 (Arevalo) under Insp. Hari Decena.

Their zero performance was reported by no less than by their superior officer, then ICPO director, Senior Supt. Norlito Bautista to then mayor and now Rep. Jerry Treñas

Since Bautista is now the city administrator and one of those who have direct access to Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, he can perhaps give additional pointers to the city mayor regarding the record and performance of the new ICPO chief.

Don’t worry about Ariza as Floyd’s conditioning coach

“When people show loyalty to you, you take care of those who are with you. It's how it goes with everything. If you have a small circle of friends, and one of those friends doesn't stay loyal to you, they don't stay your friend for very long.” John Cena

By Alex P. Vidal

A LOT of Manny Pacquiao fans have expressed apprehensions that his former conditioning coach who now works for the enemy “might reveal Pacquiao’s strong points and expose his weak points” to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s camp.

Alex Ariza left the Team Pacquiao on a sour note three years ago after a falling out with Freddie Roach, his former boss in the Wild Card Gym, for breach of schedule policy.

Because the rift was kept under wraps from the media, there was a guessing game as to whether the separation was true or not.

The bad blood between Pacquiao’s two top caliber trainers was confirmed when a melee broke out inside the gym in Macao before the fight between Pacquiao and Brandon Rios on Nov. 24, 2013.

Ariza, 43, a Colombian, tried to kick Roach, 55, during a heated word war when the American coach and Team Rios disputed the schedule of the training gym.

Ariza’s departure from the Team Pacquiao became crystal clear to all unsuspecting fans: he was now working for Team Rios.

The training camp imbroglio was not a gimmick to drumbeat the Pacquiao-Rio fight.

Ariza really was determined to eat alive his former superior in the Team Pacquiao.

CAPTURED

The episode was even captured by a Chinese TV.

I first had an inkling that something bad was brewing up in the Team Pacquiao coaching staff in 2009, days before Pacquiao TKO’d Cotto in 12.

Dr. Allan Recto, a Texas-based pediatrician, Ariza and I had a lunch at the Jollibee in Las Vegas (We all ordered Chicken Joy).

Ariza was saying something unsavory about some people in the Team Pacquiao. I never bothered to press him for details but I could sense he wasn’t happy.

Several months later Ariza was involved in a scuffle with Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s most trusted legal adviser, when they were in Baguio City where Pacquiao trained for his fight against Antonio Margarito in Arlington, Texas on Nov. 13, 2010.

Ariza allegedly punched Koncz during an argument. 

The Canadian lawyer did not retaliate.

He denied Ariza attacked him. Koncz decided "not to make a mountain out of a molehill" and did not press charges. Case closed.

It was when Ariza went back to the United States for unclear reasons and abandoned Pacquiao’s training camp in the country’ summer capital that reportedly infuriated Roach.

He fired Ariza.

But there was no official confirmation of Ariza’s sacking. 

We heard it only in the whispers.

JOIN

Ariza officialy joined Team Pacquiao when the world’s best boxer pound-for-pound pounded out a controversial 12-round split decision win in a rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on March 15, 2008.

Ariza was no longer with the Team Pacquiao when Juan Manuel Marquez kayoed in 5 Pacquiao on December 8, 2012.

When Mayweather Jr. started to rev up for his May 2 “Fight of the Century” duel against Pacquiao, he confirmed Ariza would be his conditioning coach.

The revelation sent shivers down the spine of Pacquiao fans who feared Ariza would leak to the enemy camp the Filipino congressman’s training secrets.

There is nothing to be leaked, in the first place.

Ariza is in charge only of the fighter’s conditioning, his diet, exercises and stamina, not how the fighter should deliver his killer uppercuts and hooks.

He will merely apply to Mayweather Jr. the formula of conditioning he had applied to Pacquiao.

In fact, hiring Ariza is not necessary for Team Mayweather. 

The undefeated American champion had the best conditioning coaches in the past.

Mayweather Jr. only probably hired Ariza in order to out-psyche Roach, et al.

The brash-talking black fighter only probably wanted to send a curt message to Team Pacquiao: I know where the dead bodies are buried.

THREAT

Ariza is not a security threat to Pacquiao.

He won’t guide Mayweather’s jabs to the Filipino ringster’s jaw and breadbasket that would result in Pacquiao’s imminent defeat on May 2.

Because of his good relationship and memories with Pacquiao, Ariza can’t afford to wish for Pacquiao’s destruction.

His role in Mayweather’s training camp is purely job-related.

He was hired for his professional services. 

Even Pacquiao won’t take it against Ariza, who won $10,000 when Pacquiao sponsored a weight contest for all members of the boxer’s La Bria household in Los Angeles in 2009.  

Fans will start to worry only if it was Buboy Fernandez or the maestro Roach himself who abandoned Pacquiao and shifted to the enemy camp.

But this scenario is now next to impossible. It won’t happen.

Fernandez is Pacquiao’s childhood friend. They treat each other like brothers.

Roach is like Pacquiao’s father.

The many-time trainer of the year became a byword in world boxing because of Pacquiao.

Ariza’s interest may be with Mayweather Jr., his new boss, but his heart probably is still with Pacquiao, who treated him more than a human being during a four-year ring partnership.

Graft conviction a hell for retiring public servants

“Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It's self-defense. It's patriotism.” Joe Biden

By Alex P. Vidal

THE worst thing that could happen to any public servant is to be slapped and convicted with a graft and corruption case during retirement age.

If there is a jail term aside from forfeiture of benefits, among other penalties, it’s really hell.

The sorrows, anxieties and stress felt by those convicted and their relatives and friends are doubled.

They also have domino effects.

Their health will be affected. When the mind is in deep sadness, the heart is in pain; the body deteriorates.

The children are traumatized.  

Instead of spending the retirement years enjoying the fruits of their labor, they will agonize worrying how to wiggle out from the mess.

Those who are remorseful and bothered by their conscience console themselves by the thoughts that if they could only turn back the time, they would never ever dip their fingers in the cookie jar.

Those who think they are innocent and only unfairly dragged in the fiasco and have not benefited even a single centavo, will fight to clear their names and defend their dignity to death.

But it’s stamina-sapping. Nerve-tingling. Time-consuming.

Not during retirement age.

-o0o-

JANIUAY Mayor Frankie Locsin, et al can still appeal their conviction for violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or Republic Act 3019 in relation to the anomalous purchase of medicine using Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s P15-million  Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) way back in 2001.

In a graft conviction, however, the chances of those who are making an appeal are nil.

The right to file a motion for reconsideration is accorded to anyone convicted of any offense under the principle of due process of law.

The Sandiganbayan is mandated “to give life and meaning to the constitutional precept that a public office is a public trust and to impress upon public officers and employees that they are at all times accountable to the people with their duty to serve with the highest degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency.”

-o0o-

According to its mission, the Sandiganbayan “carries out this objective by conducting expeditious trials of criminal and civil cases involving offenses committed by public officers and employees, including those employed in government-owned or controlled corporations.”

The conviction by the Sandiganbayan First Division of Locsin, accountant Carlos Moreno Jr., budget officer Ramon Tirador, treasurer Luzviminda Figueroa, Ricardo Minurtio, and businessman Rodrigo Villanueva also carried a penalty of imprisonment from six to 10 years aside from forfeiture of benefits and perpetual disqualification from public office.

If they can reverse their fortune and get away from the hullabaloo with their full faculties intact, the damage on their names has been done.

Until all the legal options and solutions have been exhausted, we can’t say with absolute certainty that they are guilty.  

The preponderance of evidence, however, clearly illustrated the presence of a conspiracy as stated by the court decision, to wit: “The Court finds…conspiracy between accused public officials (and) members of the municipal Committee on Awards of Janiuay…as shown by their respective signatures in the Minutes of Meetings which awarded the subject procurement of medicines in favor of AM Europharma and Mallix Drug Center…(this) gave undue advantage to accused Rodrigo Villanueva, owner and proprietor of said companies.”

Penned by Associate Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada and concurred by First Division Chairman Efren dela Cruz and Associate Justice Rafael Lagos, the 34-page decision was dated February 23, 2015.

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.

-o0o-

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.

-o0o-

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.

-o0o-

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.

-o0o-

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.”