Voters in war-torn Marawi City will finally get to elect their village and youth leaders tomorrow, September 22.
The Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls will be held in Marawi
City nearly five months after the holding of the nationwide village and
youth polls in May.
The
Commission on Elections earlier deferred the village and youth polls in
Marawi City owing to prevailing conditions there following the conduct
of three public consultations in Mindanao whether or not to postpone
said polls in the entirety of the region.
Despite the poll postponement and the destruction caused by the
hostilities last year, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez believes this
will not discourage voters from voting.
“I don’t think it will dampen their enthusiasm… our belief is that we will have a healthy voter turnout,” he said.
“In the south, it has always been a high voter turnout. They are politically active and very motivated to vote,” added Jimenez.
The Comelec said casting of votes in the different voting centers is from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
But if at 3 pm, there are still voters within 30 meters in front of
the polling place, who have not yet cast their votes, voting shall
continue but only to allow said voters to cast their votes as long their
names have been listed by the Poll Clerk.
Voters will vote for one barangay chairman, seven barangay kagawad, one SK chairman, and seven SK kagawad.
According to Comelec, there were a total of 234, who filed their
certificates of candidacy (COC) for barangay chairman; while another 862
filed COC for barangay kagawad.
There were also 162 COC filed for SK chairman, and 193 COC filed for SK Kagawad.
Counting and canvassing of votes, as well as the proclamation of
winning candidates, shall immediately be done after the closing of
polls.
Prohibited acts on Election Day include campaigning, selling, buying,
offering, or taking intoxicating liquor; and opening of booths or
stalls for the sale of merchandise or refreshments within 30 meters of
the polling places.
Also prohibited are giving or accepting free transportation, food, or
anything of value; and holding of fairs, cockfights, boxing, or horse
races.
Violators of the prohibited acts could be held liable for committing
an election offense, which is punishable by one to six years
imprisonment, removal of right to vote, and disqualification from public
office.
There are a total of 50,893 registered voters for the barangay elections.
On the other hand, a total of 25,491 SK voters are eligible to cast their votes.
Source of news: Manila Bulletin. Photo credit: Philippine Star
The Inayawan barangay captain is warning the Cebu City Police Office
of possible legal actions if the police would insist on erecting a
police station on a disputed lot in the barangay.
Barangay Captain Kirk Bryan Repollo, who is affiliated with the Bando
Osmena Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK), said on Wednesday that they were
exploring possible legal actions if the CCPO would build a police
station on the disputed lot.
In a Facebook message sent to Cebu Daily News, Repollo said they did
not block CCPO’s plans to have a new police station there, but they
merely offered them to look for another area.
Aside from the legal consequences that the police might face in
constructing the police station there, Repollo claimed that the previous
administration allegedly failed to ask authorization from the barangay
council in the donation of the lot.
“There is no barangay resolution authorizing the barangay captain to
sign a deed of donation. They only have a barangay resolution donating a
property. They don’t even state where specifically is the lot to be
donated is located,” Repollo said.
Senior Supt. Royina Garma, CCPO director, criticized the barangay
officials' refusal to let the CCPO construct a police station in the
area.
“This is my first time to see a barangay captain who refused to have
the police station beside or near the barangay hall while other
barangays here would even want police presence at the barangay hall,”
Garma said in Filipino.
She said that they would have started constructing the new Police
Station 7 in Inayawan but the officials allegedly blocked the project
citing irregularities in the deed of donation.
A 10,000 square meter lot was donated by the barangay during the
administration of then Inayawan Barangay Captain Lotlot Ignacio-Soon,
who was also a Barug Rama ally, to the CCPO where the new Police Station
7 will be constructed.
Garma claimed that the barangay officials would not allow the
construction of the police station there because they were allegedly
involved in illegal activities.
Repollo, however, denied these allegations and cited traffic and
irregularities of the deed of donation as the reasons for their refusal
to have the police station constructed in the donated lot.
He said in an earlier interview that he had met with Barangay
Poblacion Pardo officials and they agreed to have the police station in a
lot near the tennis court near the barangay hall in Pardo instead. ( Nestle L. Semilla and Morexette Marie B. Erram)
Source of news: Cebu Daily News. Photo credit: Cebu City Police Office Facebook Page.
Watersheds must be
protected “for the present and future generations,” according to
Environment regional director Jim O Sampulna.
“Watersheds
should be protected against human or natural exploitation. Protecting
our watersheds means protecting the health and well-being of everyone,”
he stressed.
More than 60 percent of the country’s
land area is classified as watersheds. This means that there are about
21-million hectares of catchment areas in the Philippines.
These include 142 critical watersheds – 11 of which are found in Western Visayas.
In
connection to this, the DENR Region 6 through the Provincial
Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) recently held a
symposium on watershed conservation in Barangay Buluagan, Jordan town.
The symposium targeted the youth sector.
A
watershed is a land area drained by a stream or fixed body of water
whose tributaries have a common outlet for surface run-off.
It
serves to capture, store and recharge groundwater, filter out water
pollutants, and safely release precipitation or rainwater as to prevent
floods during episodes of heavy downpour.
If watersheds are not protected
against free grazing, forest fire, timber poaching, unregulated
extraction of raw materials and minor forest products, inappropriate
upland farming practices, severe erosion that resulted to sedimentation
and siltation of rivers, and wildlife poaching, they become “critical.”
A
critical watershed is a drainage area of a river system supporting
existing and proposed hydroelectric power, irrigation works or existing
water facilities that needs immediate protection and rehabilitation to
minimize erosion and improve water yield.
Forester Leonora Magno, chief of PENRO’s Conservation and Development Section, was the resource speaker during the symposium.
Magno
discussed the programs and thrusts of the DENR, the state of watersheds
in the country, and the characteristics of watersheds and their
importance.
Barangay
Buluangan was a fitting venue because it is the main source of domestic
water supplied to consumers in Barangay San Miguel, Jordan. (With DENR Region 6/PN)
Source of news and photo credit: DENR 6/Panay News
40 Barangay Health Workers, Nutrition Scholars
and representatives from the Sipalay City Nutrition Office gathered at
the Brgy. Mambaroto Gym in Sipalay City for their first team building
and final orientation under TraNSCEnd Hunger, a program focused on the
training of barangay nutrition scholars and health workers to end
hunger.
Communities First Executive Director Kath Maguad discussed the goals
of the program, as well as the calendar of upcoming activities to the
participants. She also announced that though the pilot program had
originally been planned for only 20 participants, that number was
doubled because the organizers saw the need to train more health workers
to support more barangays. Ms. Maguad then did a Q&A session with
the participants so they could clarify any questions they had with the
organizers.
Afterwards, Yols Hortillosa, Co-Founder of BMBC – Bacolod Mom &
Baby Club, gave a primer on the breastfeeding peer counselor training
that the participants would be undergoing on October 1-2, 2018. She also
discussed what the roles of a breastfeeding peer counselor were and how
their skills would be needed especially in times of disaster to support
the most vulnerable members of their community – the babies and the
children.
To cap off the event, Community Facilitator Valirie Haguisan
conducted an activity for the health workers to get to know each other
better. Through the activity, the participants were reminded that no
matter what their backgrounds were, each of them could make a positive
impact on the lives that they touched on a daily basis.
Snacks for the event were prepared by the Sipalay BLT Central Kitchen.
TraNSCEnd Hunger is supported by the LGU of Sipalay City, Communities
First – Creative Initiatives for Development, BMBC – Bacolod Mom &
Baby Club and VGIF – Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund.
Source of news and photo credit: The Daily Guardian.
The Sandiganbayan has ordered a Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) to
hear the suspension of an incumbent barangay (village) chairman,
pending the trial of his falsification of public document case.
In
a decision dated Sept. 7, the Sandiganbayan 4th Division ordered Manila
RTC Branch 1 Presiding Judge Tita Bughao Alisuag to conduct the
necessary proceeding to determine the propriety of placing Ernesto
Evasco Jr., chief of Barangay 500, Zone 49 in Sampaloc, Manila, under
suspension pendente lite (during litigation).
“The order dated
March 16, 2010 and the order dated July 19, 2010, both issued by Hon.
Tita Bughao Alisuag in Criminal Case No. 09-270-244 of the Regional
Trial Court, Branch 1, Manila, are hereby nullified and set aside,” the
anti-graft court said.
Earlier, the Office of the Ombudsman filed a
petition for certiorari, questioning the orders of the Manila RTC
Branch 1 dated March 16, 2010 and July 19, 2010, which denied the
prosecution’s motion to suspend Evasco pendente lite and motion for
reconsideration, respectively.
Evasco was arraigned and entered a not guilty plea on the case of falsification of public document on Oct. 21, 2009.
In their motion, the state prosecutors claimed that Alisuag acted with abuse of discretion in denying their motion.
Alisuag
said she has no power to suspend Evasco in view of Section 63 of
Republic Act (RA) No. 7160, or the “Local Government Code of 1991”,
arguing that Evasco's suspension is an executive act.
The
Sandiganbayan, however, ruled that there are three provisions concerning
the preventive suspension of a public officer – Section 24 of RA 6770,
or the “Ombudsman Act”; Section 63 of RA 7160; and Section 13 of RA
3019, or the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act”.
“Wherefore,
premises considered, herein petition for certiorari filed by petitioner
People of the Philippines, represented by the Office of the Ombudsman,
through the Office of the Special Prosecutor, is hereby granted,” the
Sandiganbayan said. (Perfecto Raymundo, Jr.)
Source: Philippine News Agency. Photo credit:politics.com.ph
