Confused by the real role Task Force LUPAD play in Dapitan City, City Councilor Pete Zamora asked for immediate investigation of the said group in his privilege speech this week before the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

The city councilor pointed out that the task force was initially organized to combat illegal drugs, gambling and other crimes. However, he said, the crime-busting group at present is no longer projecting the image the city wanted it to be.

Although at the start Task Force LUPAD was effective in quashing out illegal drugs operation in the city, he stressed, but he was saddened to know that at present it played a disreputable role. It has been observed, he said, that said group already became a “crime protector” instead of a “crime buster”.

He also pictured that illegal drugs were seen proliferating in the city.  What is worse, he added, they seemed to be just an ordinary public commodity because the pushers seemed to be confident and unafraid when doing business. “Do we have to believe stories that the Task Force was responsible for the active illegal drugs activity?” Zamora asked.

The City Councilor asked further why LUPAD did not make any move to stop the rising crimes in the city at present. Moreover, he criticized the presence of the LUPAD members in a lumber yard in Dapitan from morning until night.

He wondered if they had become a security force of the lumber yard’s owner. Finally, Zamora questioned the continued presence of illegal swertres game in the city and asked why Dodong Opulentisima, tagged as swertres financier was left untouched by TFL’s operatives.

Some 70 farmer-irrigators in an agrarian reform community (ARC) in Katipunan town are going to benefit from irrigation facilities implemented under the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project (ARISP) II by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA). 

The provincial office of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) recently turned over a newly rehabilitated irrigation system in barangay Sinuyak and another newly completed irrigation project in barangay Seres, all of Katipunan amounting to P 8.4 million. The Sinuyak irrigation system serves 43 hectares of rice lands cultivated by some 32 farmers while the Seres communal irrigation project will serve another 34 hectares of farmlands with 38 farmers.

Provincial Irrigation Engineer Bonifacio C. Judilla and Agrarian Reform Officer Raul Sy led the turnover rites with CARP-IC Assistant Project Manager Engr. Pedro de Guzman representing NIA Administrator Baltazar H. Usis, CARP-IC Manager Reynaldo Adao of NIA Central Office, Regional Manager Paterno M. Laranjo of NIA 9, Senior Irrigators Development Officer Lorna B. Dequito representing Institutional Development Division (IDD) of NIA 9, Katipunan Vice Mayor Jose Micahel A. Wong, PARCOM Chairman Fr. Enrico Montano, irrigators association officials and others.

In his message to the farmers, Engineer Pedro de Guzman underscored the importance of an irrigation facility in improving the lives of farmer-beneficiaries in the rural areas. “Unity, cooperation and commitment are the keys for a viable irrigators association,” he said.

As he handed the key of responsibility and pertinent documents to the irrigators association presidents, NIA 9 Regional Manager Paterno M. Laranjo advised all concerned to be on guard and take good care of the irrigation facilities with due diligence “as a good father in a family” particularly in operation and maintenance of the system because no one would do it better but themselves.

Engineer Bonifacio Judilla, on the other hand, expressed his gratitude to the Department of Agrarian Reform for the financial support that made the project possible. He, however, reminded the farmers that the funds used in the project were borrowed from financial institutions and thus requiring repayment. He urged every member to be vigilant and contribute to proper operations and maintenance of the irrigation system.

Dipolog motorcab commuters could utter a sigh of relief when only P1 was approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod as increase of motorcab fare.

Councilor Alton Ratificar who is the chair on Committee on Transportation disclosed that the SP turned down the P3 increase recommended by the Association of Motorcab Operators and Drivers which would make the city limit fare P8.00.

During the public hearing, the operators and drivers strongly pointed out that they could only take home a net amount of P46.00 every day due to the rising cost of fuel. However, the P3 increase was seen as a burden upon commuters because it was disclosed that P1 from such amount shall be spent for the driver’s uniform.

About 53T tilapia fingerlings were released into the different rivers and streams in the province in August this year.

Special Deputy Provincial Agriculturist Vicente Sanchez, Jr. disclosed that the Fishery Division has seeded the rivers of Sindangan, Baliguian, Liloy and Katipunan.

Sanchez explained that they have used tilapia fingerlings because African hito are carnivorous kind and they would endanger all the local specie in our rivers and streams.

Military Chief General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. “will file charges” against three top communist lead-ers, including a party-list lawmaker, with multiple murder for allegedly order-ing the “purge”  of hundreds of their comrades who were accused of being govern-ment spies some 20 years ago.

The charges will be filed against Bayan Muna party-list Representative Satur Ocampo, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison, and National Democratic Front (NDF) chief peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni, Esperon said.

As members of the CPP Central Committee in the 1980s, the three allegedly signed an order for the summary execution of some 300 leftist rebels accused of spying for the government and whose skeletal remains were discovered in a mass grave in Inopacan town, Leyte province last August 26.

“Of course, we will file cases against them. We have witnesses,” Esperon told reporters. “These kinds of atrocities make us more determined to finish off the NPA and their front organizations,” Armed Forces chief said. The digging at the mass grave, known as “The Garden” is ongoing, and as of late Thursday, soldiers and policemen have dug up close to 100 of the 300 bodies buried there.

An Associated Press report said at least 67 bodies have been found. Esperon said the remains would be flown to Manila for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing,. Those who will be identified will be returned to their relatives. The alleged purging was part of “Operation Anti VD” wherein the NPA summarily executed comrades who were believed to be spying for the government during l980s and the 1990s, officials said.

An LGU initiated economic enterprise to establish a RORO integrated port linkage between the municipalities of Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte and Siaton, Negros Oriental was officially sealed by the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by and between Mayor Patchito T. Eguia of Katipunan and Mayor Vicente Emil E. Arbolado of Siaton at the Negros Oriental Provincial Capitol Building in Dumaguete City on August 25, 2006.

The event was witnessed by Gov. Rolando E. Yebes of Zamboanga del Norte and Governor George P. Arnaiz of oriental Negros who have expressed their unqualified support for the project.

Also present were the SB members and the Department heads of both LGUs with BFAR Region 7 Director Dionisio Dela Peña who strongly recommended incorporating in it a Fish Port component.

As more stores and establishments were seen catering alcoholic drinks to high school students, the officials of Dipolog City PTCA Federation recently asked for strict implementation of the city ordinance which prohibits the sale of alcoholic drinks to minors especially high school  students.

Executive Vice President of the federation Lorendo Legados disclosed that they have discussed the plight of high school students and they have agreed to send an official letter requesting Mayor Roberto Uy to implement the ordinance strictly.  Included in the request was the prohibition of stores situated a few meters from the school to sell alcoholic drinks.

PTCA federation president Bong Ortega disclosed that Barangay Estaka has already started apprehending high school students within his barangay who were caught drinking during class hours, especially students from Zamboanga del Norte National High School. The students were then brought to the guidance counselors of their schools for appropriate action.

The federation also challenged the city government to exact a penalty to all stores, which catered these prohibited drinks. Moreover, they asked it to inspect the licenses of these establishments because they doubted most of them did not hold any permit to sell drinks in the area. In fact, they said, some sidewalks were already converted into a drinking area, especially among minors.

Officers of the 3 medical societies of the province of Zamboanga del Norte, namely the Dipolog Medical Society, Dapitan Medical Society, and the Zamboanga del Norte Medical Society, recently convened to sign its unification Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to establish the Zamboanga del Norte Unified Physicians (ZNUP) organization.  The significant event was held at the Bamboo Garden Function Room, Dipolog City last August 11, 2006.

 Officers present during the MOA signing were as follows:  Dr. Artemio Nielo, Phiilippine Medical Association Governor for Northwestern Mindanao; Dr. April del Rosario-Lopez (President), and Dr. Henry Parohinog (Secretary)  representing the Dipolog Medical Society ; Dr. Filipinas Nielo  (President) and Dr. Gracia Hamoy (Secretary) of the Dapitan Medical Society; and Dr. Romelo Vergara (President) and Dr. Mario Mopon (proxy of Secretary Dr. Agnes Santilices) of the Zamboanga del Norte Medical Society.

ZNUP was created to establish a dynamic and responsive unified group of physicians for the province committed to serve its members thru increased benefits, enhanced professional development, and the promotion and defense of the rights and privileges of the medical profession.  These efforts, in partnership with other organizations and the government, shall contribute to excellent health care delivery to its patients and the community at large.

ZNUP newly elected officers for 2006 - 2007 are as follows:  Dr. April del Rosario-Lopez: President; Dr. Romelo Vergara : Vice - President; Dr. Henry Parohinog; Secretary; Dr. Gracia Hamoy : Treasurer; Dr. Filipinas Nielo: Auditor; and Dr. Jane Santilices:PRO.

Vice Mayor Senen Angeles is open to the possibility to be Mrs. Evelyn Uy’s running mate during the 2007 elections. This city mayor’s wife will be fielded as Dipolog City’s official candidate for mayor.

However, Vice Mayor Angeles clarified that up to now he has not received an invitation from the mayor’s camp to join his wife’s party. When asked about this issue which appeared in this paper’s Believe it or not section, the vice-mayor could not sill say anything since he has never received any invitation from Mrs. Uy’s camp.

If an offer is extended to him, he said, he would still think about it but he is not closing his doors.

It could be remembered that he was the running mate of Vice Mayor Edelburgo “Bebs” Cheng during the 2004 elections.

The churches throughout the province of Zamboanga del Norte recently reechoed their call upon the people to stay away from all forms of gambling, legal or illegal. The Statement of Concern recently issued by the Diocese of Dipolog disclosed the extent of harm done by swertres upon every family and upon the youth.

The church made it clear that even the so-called lotto is something to stay away from for it renders the same harm as the illegal swertres. It could be remembered that the ZN Police Provincial Office issued a report supported by certifications signed by mayors, police chiefs and NGOs that their municipality was gambling-free.

However, during the Peace and Order Council Meeting recently, most mayors and PNP chiefs retracted their statement and gave contrary statements to what they had earlier certified. Meanwhile, BM Anecito Darunday, Chair, Committee on Good Government and Human Rights admitted that the task to investigate swertres is not easy.

Initially he foresaw that illegal swertres could never be stopped as long as lotto is still operating.

Daghang mga kalalakin-an dinhi sa dakbayan sa Dipolog nga mahilig makighilawas sa mga babayeng mugbo ug lupad diha sa mga night clubs ang nanga sira kon natakboyan sa sakit

The settlers of the three relocation sites of Dipolog City still remain squatters until this day.  These sites include Sto. Niño Village at Minaog, Upper Dicayas and Laoy, Olingan.

During the regular session of the SP this week, City Councilor Peter Co expressed his worry over the plight of these settlers who up to now do not hold any document of ownership of the land they are occupying. But, he said, the city government does not have any plan to eject them from their present location.

In fact, Councilor Horacio Velasco explained, there was already a resolution before about how these relocation lots be paid by settlers-either through stewardship or installment in order to completely own the said lots

Some Dipolog City Councilors recently called their fellow lawmakers during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod for a strict implementation of the Local School Board. They have observed solicitations for the different projects and programs.

Furthermore, the lawmakers asked councilor Julius Napigquit, chair, Committee on Education to limit the improvements these schools have inside their classrooms which would affect a rise in the amount of electricity used and would impose bigger contributions upon the parents.

The issue came about when Councilor Ricky Mejorada asked the city government to shoulder the payment for electricity of the schools used by evacuees of Miputak and Sicayab. Mejorada disclosed that some principals requested him to help them since their electric consumption rose when their schools were made evacuation centers during the last storm which hit Dipolog City.

Other issued then sprang from councilor Mejorada’s disclosure such as the various contributions asked from parents to put up different projects inside the classrooms which would lead to the rise in electric consumption, maintenance and operation cost.

Credits: Press Freedom is published every Saturday and entered as 3^rd class mail matter in Dipolog City. Printed by Young Printing Press with Editorial Office located at Upper Turno, Dipolog City. Tel. No. (065) 212-4343 or 212-6665

Despite the cultural changes, drunkenness among high school students has been frowned upon up to this day as misbehavior by all sectors-be it the parents, the school community, DepEd officials and the community in general.

But up to this day, this is still a nagging problem in our midst and the more we see young boys and girls these days go to their classes intoxicated, red-faced and riotous. Others who are made of lesser stuff just stay behind and wait for drunkenness to cool down before they enter classes.  Or simply, they doze off before they head for home.

This is a sad picture indeed. If allowed to go unchecked, soon we will nurture a school community whose expertise may not be our own History, English, Science or Math but on the different brands of liquor or beer.

Or they may have no expertise at all. The move of the federation of PTCA officials to ask the city mayor to review the permits and licenses of the stores in the area is laudable. To help these young students, they have also requested to look into the distance of these beerhouses and stores from the school.

Life is really full of ironies. When our leaders continue to do good things for their people, others keep on criticizing their acts and call them bad. The latter force themselves to become blind of the facts that the former have done something good not for themselves personally but for their people. Pride and jealousy make the latter ignore the good things done by the former as “nothing”.

This happens in the case of Governor Lando and his group and the group of a political has-been named, ex-governor Gani Amatong. While Gov. Lando recognizes the number of projects established by the ex-governor during his fifteen long years of stay in the Capitol, Gani and his group cannot just accept the fact that Gov. Lando, within his 22 short months of stay in the same Capitol, has surpassed the number of projects built by them.

Out of pride and jealousy, Gani and his peeved group charge Gov. Lando without let go of “wasting the money of the people”. But for what and to where?  Gani is certainly dead wrong if what he meant, by the truest sense of the word “waste”, that Lando is using people’s money for worthless, rubbish projects, or if not, for his own personal interests. Gov. Lando doesn’t intend to “waste” people’s money to buy second-hand, inutile, full of defects heavy equipment and vehicles the way Gani perfectly did during his time. Gov. Lando has no inclination to “waste” people’s money to build projects not truly needed by his people, not like the way Gani was doing during his reign—- constructing non-essential, costly projects. Remember Gani’s boldness (or stupidity, some call it, for his disrespect of due process) of destroying our tax-built ZN Cultural and Sports Center? Did he not plan to erect in its place his dreamed ZN Performing Arts where only the elites would enjoy? What was its cost? Was his intention to spend P80 million for its construction not a bad waste of taxpayers’ money? Indeed, it would have been a “waste” in the truest meaning of the word, had he not been outcasted by his constituents through the electoral process. (Gani did plan it purposely! Should he win in his re-election bid, he would have money out of it! Should he lose, as he really lost, he still would gain because people have no other choice except to rent their Gym. Very tricky, indeed! Agree? He…he…he…)

That Gov. Lando uses people’s money is a fact. Not for his own personal interest, but for the greater interest of his people. He uses people’s money to built essential projects, and more of them, that are truly needed and wanted by his constituents. He uses people’s money to support his governmental projects and programs to fasttract the attainment of his government goals and objectives, namely: the eradication of dire poverty especially in the far-flung barangays of his province; the improvement of the health status of his people; the generation of self-employment through livelihood; the increase in farm income; the giving of better educational opportunities of his people’s children; and many, many countless more. If this is what Gani and his group called “waste”, then this is a “sweet kind of waste” because Gov. Lando is only giving back to his people the projects they truly want out of the money they entrust to him. He calls these projects not his own, but PEOPLE’S PROJECTS!

Now, what? Because Gani and his desperate group run out of lies to canopy the public eyes about Atty. Rolando E. Yebes and his superb performance and wonderful actuation as our governor, they now all point their fingers to Lando as the causal agent for bringing the sorry economic state of our people to the more sorry level. Lando is not afraid to face the fact that our province is now the poorest. But it would not be fair to blame the man who only steps in as governor for 22 months now over this shameful fact. Gani and his group are now passing the buck to Lando. They forget to remember that long before Lando held the reign of the provincial government, our people’s socio-economic state is gradually decaying under Gani’s administration. Our province status as the number one poorest province is, by sound logic, the ultimate resultant product of Gani’s too much governmental neglect in his fifteen long years of stay as our useless governor.

Now, are we going to blame Lando for spending sweetly our people’s money for their own sake and interests? Or, thank him instead?  Lando, since the first day his sat in the gubernatorial chair at the Capitol, has been now trying to uplift the socio-economic status of his people poored by Gani by giving them livelihood projects. Albeit the gentlemen doesn’t intend to claim that he is an economist (unlike brag Gani ), the way he is doing good things for his people, Lando is for them a real logician and a true economist combined…

This week, we will discuss about the Monday morning fever. Every Monday morn, as long as it’s a working day, you will notice the water from your faucet dripping only as you open it. Traffic is heavier.

There are more people in uniforms – why? Because it’s flag ceremony day. It’s the first working day of the week. Don’t people know that many gov’t employees go to work on time on this day only? And usua