Bloody Christmas: Paracelis Mayor Killed, Home of Abra Rep Bombed

Note: Updates on Mayor Cesar Rafael's murder here and the Abra explosion here.

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From Philippine Star: The mayor of Paracelis town in Mountain Province was killed in an ambush yesterday, while an explosion rocked the home of a congresswoman in Bangued, Abra.

According to Senior Superintendent Joseph Adnol, Mountain Province police director, Mayor Cesar Rafael was driving in remote Sitio Sinigpit, Talitud, Paracelis town when five unidentified men fired at his vehicle.

Rafael died on the spot.

Members of the police mobile group were dispatched to the town to conduct an investigation and track down the suspects.

Meanwhile, Abra Rep. Cecille Luna survived an explosion that rocked her house in Bangued town at 7 p.m.

The congresswoman’s three sons – Lagayan town Mayor Jendrix Luna, barangay chairman and Bangued ABC president Ryan Luna and Cromwel Luna – and four others were wounded.

They were rushed to nearby hospitals but were later declared out of danger by doctors. Ryan was taken to the Abra provincial hospital while Jendrix and Cromwel were brought to the Searex Emergency hospital.

Cordillera police director Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin said they are investigating whether the explosion was an accident or an attack against the Luna family.

Martin said he has taken the congresswoman to a safehouse secured by Abra policemen.

“Rep. Luna is now at an undisclosed place surrounded by police bodyguards,” he said. “We are still investigating the incident. But the blast was powerful because it destroyed the garage, which was converted into a receiving area.”

Reports reaching Martin showed that Luna’s sons were at the receiving area when the blast occurred.

The congresswoman was in the sala at the time of the blast.

Police have not identified the wounded workers.

The Cordillera police chief said the garage conatined firecrackers, which the family intended to use for the coming New Year revelry.

“Nobody saw someone throwing a lighted cigarette or a grenade in the area,” said Martin.

Responding elements of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) of the Cordillera police are now sifting through the explosion site to gather evidence.

Luna defeated former Abra Gov. Vicente Valera in the congressional race in elections last May.

Valera is protesting Luna’s victory before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Manila.

Read related story at the Inquirer.

INFO SOURCE: Philippine Star

Kaigorotan Updates

Here's the links to the latest posts on kaigorotan.com:

How much did your Congressman spend during the 2001 elections. Read it here. We don't have the figures yet for the 2007 elections but we hope to eventually get our hands on that.

If the creation of a new Bago province is going to be very challenging (because it will affect three provinces who might not be willing to give up their towns), a new Tingguian province carved out of Abra looks more promising. Read the very short story here.

Thank you.

Now, It's Their Turn

Ano bang meron sa Baguio at parati na lang may kontrobersiya? And now it's the young people who are starring in this silliness. It's kind of entertaining if you think about it.

What more can you ask? There's alleged bribery, alleged conspiracy, alleged parental (grandparental?) meddling, alleged involvement of police escorts. It's really like in the movies. Kulang na lang ng allegations of sex and violence.

The sad thing about this is that some of these kids have to be lying. Maybe it's de Vera's camp. Maybe it's her accusers. We don't know. But they can't both be telling the truth.

What has Baguio turn into? I'm sure you'll agree that it used to be a model for the Cordilleras in the area of politics and governance. Nowadays, it is such a messed up place.


Controversy mars poll for new SKF president
By Rimaliza Opiña

A SUPPOSEDLY non-political exercise of the youth in electing their leaders was marred by controversy following allegations of payoffs, conspiracy with government officials, intrigues and meddling of parents.

Ysabel de Vera, granddaughter of former Mayor Bernardo Vergara and daughter of former Councilor Gladys de Vera, took her oath as the new SKF president amidst allegations that her winning the post was due to vote buying.

De Vera's mother said the losing candidates should accept that her daughter won the elections.

De Vera garnered 48 votes against her closest rival Caren Salingbay with 27 votes. She replaces outgoing SKF president, Councilor Leonardo Bayan Jr.

In an interview aired over Bombo Radyo-Baguio, the older De Vera said she never interfered in the elections.

"She won fair and square," De Vera said while appealing to other parents not to meddle in the exercise.

"Respect the verdict."

"Wala akong ginagawang masama," Ysabel added in that interview.

Prior to the election, SK officials were reportedly bribed P200 as their "pasahe," P115 worth of cellphone load and were promised one unit of cellular phone with camera.

These were allegedly distributed at 18 BC, the bar owned by the Vergaras and which became the temporary headquarters of De Vera's camp, and during an exclusive picnic at the Camp John Hay picnic grounds.

De Vera took her oath before Baguio Representative Mauricio Domogan, following the elections at the Venus Park View Hotel.

One of De Vera's rivals, third placer Kathleen Bilog would reportedly file an election protest, a petition for failure of elections and criminal and administrative charges against some employees of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) city field office and the Baguio City Police Office.

The SK officials were billeted for two days at the Venus Hotel for their training. The elections were also subsequently held there.

Lawyer Ed Bilog alleged the DILG was in cahoots with De Vera's camp by allowing the former mayor's granddaughter to campaign despite a ruling that the campaign was supposed to end.

"De Vera was reportedly escorted by two policemen," Bilog claimed.

Bilog said the DILG also prevented their children from communicating with their parents by confiscating their SIM cards.

On Thursday night, Bilog and some other parents forced themselves into the hotel and reportedly urged their children to walk out because of alleged cheating.

A commotion ensued as a result.

DILG Officer-in-Charge Evelyn Trinidad meantime challenged those accusing them to substantiate their allegations.

"Kahit kasi sabihin kong hindi totoo, hindi sila maniniwala," Trinidad said while explaining that the DILG had nothing to do with the elections.

She said the DILG's participation was to train the newly-elected SK officials on their duties and responsibilities.

Trinidad also clarified that SIM cards were not confiscated. She said she asked the SK officials to surrender their SIM cards for the meantime because despite an advisory that cellphones should be on silent mode, no one paid attention during the orientation and that most of the participants were busy sending and receiving short messaging services (texts).

She said there was no intent to bar communication because prior to this, the participants were told to inform their parents that they could not be reached through their cellphones for the duration of the seminar-training.

The elections were organized by the SK Federation and were witnessed by the National Youth Commission, the academe and the BCPO.

"This is an SK affair, parents should stay away. Let the children decide, they have their own minds," Trinidad stressed.

Other winning officers of the SKF include Ramzy Kairuz for vice president, Valerie Buaquen - secretary, John Rey Bandan - treasurer, Jennilyn Cuison - auditor, Alvin Jhey Bunnol - PRO, and Jose Lingwagon – sergeant-at-arms.

INFO SOURCE: Sunstar Baguio

Quote of the Day

“We have to ensure that deserving students from the province could be accorded a descent (emphasis supplied) education so that they could be able to uplift the economic standing of their respective families in the future. The full scholarship program must be spared from the political maneuvering of disgruntled sectors who could not admit that we were able to initiate the realization of the program.” -- Mt. Province Congressman Victor Dominguez.

***
Apparently, our second favorite Cordiyera Congressman is restoring "his" scholarship program. Read the full story at Northern Philippine Times.

Our take: Yeah we do need descent education. With his help, the students will descend to the level of beggars that Mt. Province people have become famous for. Apparently, that was the purpose of the Congressman when he originally asked students to write him letters to request that they be included in "his" scholarship program.

The cynical side of me thinks that the Congressman is now making "his" scholarship program applicable to all MPSPC students mainly because not a lot of students wrote him to beg. What do you think? But maybe he really saw the light?

Okay, let's give kudos to the Congressman for spending his pork barrel on the education of the youth. As we said somewhere in this blog, it is an inspired way of using public funds. Not a lot of legislators are doing that. And as the Congressman keeps on saying, MPSPC is indeed the first state university to "implement a full scholarship program". This is so mainly because of him.

But let us be clear that these are public funds. It is not as if the Congressman is using his personal money to give Christmas gifts to kids at MPSPC who are getting descent education.

For related posts on Congressman Dominguez, click here.

INFO SOURCE: Dexter See/Northern Philippine Times. IMAGE CREDIT: The Hindsight Factor.

How to Spend P20 Million, III

We're publishing your comments in the main page for the others who don't visit the comments section. Thanks everyone.

From Trublue:
While some suggestions are quite dandy, let's all narrow it down to:

• 8 million to BGH
• 8 million to improving the city library and buy quality books NOT photocopied materials
• 2 million to various legitimate fundraisers including Ramon Dacawi's
• The remaining 2 million or less, have mayor Pete buy his councilors one HORSE each, good for the environment of Baguio and clean air! I'd like to see Perlita and her cohorts visit their constituents on horseback.

We also have a very insightful comment from Imie Belanger in Toronto about how Baguio City officials lavished their hosts with gifts when they visited Vaughn, the City Above Toronto.

I spent some time with the Baguio Councilors when they came here last month for the Baguio/Vaughan 10th year Twinning City celebration. Vaughan is another city above Toronto (Canada).

I attended a dinner hosted by the Vaughan city council. Before the dinner, as we were enjoying champagne and vintage wines both Baguio and Vaughan councilors exchanged gifts.

Vaughan councilors gave out their gifts. One to each delegates, excluding their wives. Simple gifts in a paper gift bags. When it was time for the Baguio city councilors to hand out their gifts, there were plenty, there were so many extra gifts that I was even given one.

I felt so ashamed witnessing this imbalance. These Canadians probably realized why the Philippines is one of the poorest countries.

And the Baguio Insider shares her take on Mayor Bautista's veto and the things that we should watch out for in Baguio:

Methinks Bautista is just washing his hands off the whole situation, insisting 'he could not have been party to it because he was abroad' while Weygan insists that he knew about it all along, hence the P4.6M allocation for Bautista's vehicles.

That his veto was forthcoming because of the furor on- and offline, merely for political survival was predicted.

Now, if we had only raised a similar hue and cry over Domogan's flyover! We wouldn't be stuck with that wretched sight.

Things to watch:

• Rodez's proposal for a market at Burnham Park.
• Farinas' 'development' of Botanical Garden.
• Farinas' satellite markets ('talipapas')
• Php400M landscaping and tree-planting for Burnham Park with a few offices for park personnel.
• Bautista's Php12M 'collapsible' parking building on Burnham Park (er, why do they not require the large schools to build parking building themselves since these are the main sources of human and vehicular traffic in the CBD for students, professors and staff?)
• Bautista's badly-implemented and intented 'No Segregation-No Collection' garbage policy that was timed suspiciously with his declaration of a shift of focus from tourism to 'education.'

Actually, these are larger concerns that actually affect EVERY Baguio resident and visitor compared to the greedy move of the councilors to issue themselves cars.

Thanks everyone :-)

Related posts:
How to Spend P20 Million
How to Spend P20 Million, II
Bautista Vetoes Car Plan, But...

Bautista Vetoes Car Plan, But....

Well friends, seems like all that criticism directed against the plan by the Baguio City Council to buy cars had some effect. Mayor Peter Rey Bautista vetoed the plan but only because "the phrase ‘car plan’ in the resolution is inappropriate". Read Vincent Cabreza's report here.

Dude, what kind of silliness is behind that "I'm vetoing it because the term used is technically not correct" thing? Iyan ang sabi nilang hiding behind technicalities.

You veto it because it is the right thing to do. You veto it because there are more important things to spend that money on. You veto it because you want to set an example that Baguio city officials are not the kind of officials who are taken in by materialism and you don't want them to imbibe that false belief that public officials will look presentable and respectable only if they have a car.

Also, the Mayor seems to be of the same mind as the councilors that they, Baguio City officials, need cars. We're really not convinced that there's a need for it.

You need something you can use to visit your constituents? Buy bicycles. If an official doesn't know how to ride a bike, buy one that has a sidecar and let another councilor do the cycling. As The Nashman pointed out in his comments here, the Prince of the Netherlands cycles to work. Why can't Baguio officials do that and set an example for the rest of the country to follow?

Oh, it's not safe to ride a bike in Baguio? Fix it, pare. That's what you are in power for. Pass regulations that would reserve some lanes for people who want to bike.

What? You're too embarrassed to go meet the President (who was not voted President) with your bicycle? Well, snap out of that traditional "I must have a car to be respectable" mold of thinking. It doesn't make you less of a human being if you are a public official without a car.

Oh you need a car to go to Manila or Subic or Clark? Take the bus, that's why they are there. If you want to travel in relative comfort, Victory Liner has special buses which travels faster; it has more spacious leg rooms and a comfort room too. But you can travel like the rest of us by taking the non-special ones.

Note: Despite our quibbles with the Mayor's reason for his veto. Let's still give him credit for vetoing the plan.

Update: Read Jack Cariño's take on this latest development.

Related posts:
How to spend P20 million
How to spend P20 million, II

INFO SOURCE: Inquirer/Vincent Cabreza.

How to Spend P20 Million, Part II

Here's your suggestions on how the Baguio City officials should spend the P20 million which they have budgeted to buy cars for their personal use. Our first post is here.

From KM of Session Road Blues:

• Use the money to fund recall elections for a new city council. :)
• Add more to the proposed budget so we can fit the cars with bombs.
• At least make sure all the cars' license plates have the same end number, maybe number 1, so we can have a whole day's rest from these clowns - and maybe be able to start the week right. (Oh, but wait, these clowns more than one car, so scrap this)
• Double the amount and just give it to them directly if they all resign from their posts.

From jagfdo of Ygolottes.com:

• Provide a pabahay program that is affordable to the constituents-- maybe they can benchmark with Puerto Prinsesa's Pabahay program for squatters along their baywalk.
• Fund and provide livelihood projects.
• Compensate and sponsor the hiring of additional teachers in public schools
• Repair and improve the children's playground (and probably remove the silt in the burnham lake)
• A SPA treatment for all constituents of the CITY--- since they are ageing fast because of how "the elected" run the city and since they will buy those luxury cars---

From the Jester in Exile:

• With that kind of reasoning from the good councilor, I have a suggestion on how to spend the P20M.
• renovate melvin jones to accomodate an execution scaffold in the middle.
• use part of the money to pursue, incarcerate the corrupt in our local government (or maybe the criminally idiotic) and prepare for their execution -- last meals and all that.
• have raffle tickets printed. what will be up for grabs will be the chance to operate the guillotine on their favorite government official.

P20M? adda baryam pay, kabsat. more to the point, mabalinpay nga fund raising dagitoy nga executions.

(of course, no panuonuotentayo nga naimbag, Cordi head axe laengen, tapno traditional ken isupay nga agaramidtayo pay ti guillotine hehe)

And a note from The Nashman:

Paris and London are way bigger but their mayors take public transport or cycle.

I once saw the crown prince of the netherlands cycling to work one morning. and he takes the train if he wants to inspect the far corners of his kingdom...

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Thanks, everyone. Hopefully our suggestions will not fall on deaf ears.

Quote of the Day

From Baguio City Councilor Richard Cariño:

This is a very large city… [which measures] 49 square kilometers. When we campaigned [during the May 14 elections], we were not able to visit all [villages of] the city.

Wow. I never thought someone would come up with this lame defense. What parallel universe are we living in these days such that, all of a sudden, 49 square kilometers is now "very large"?

INFO SOURCE: Vincent Cabreza/Inquirer.

Their Side of the Story

Thanks to Anonymous 2:52 for pointing out this news report which presents the Baguio City councilors' side of the story. I maintain that there are more important things to spend the money on but, as wisely pointed out by Anonymous, let us look at all sides of the matter.

I'm not sure though if this report puts the councilors in a better light. "Let us think out of the box," says one of them. Really? A government official using public funds to buy a car for him/her to use is so not thinking out of the box. Just about every public official who thinks s/he can get away with it, does it. Thinking out of the box would be advocating for the pedestrianization of Baguio.

Councilors okay car plan in good faith
By Rimaliza Opiña/Sunstar Baguio

The Baguio City Council was in good faith when it approved the allotment of close to P20 million to buy vehicles for themselves, the vice mayor’s and the mayor’s offices.

Councilor Galo Weygan added that the barangays were not shortchanged when they allotted P5.6 million from the P25 million surplus shares of the City Government from the 2006 Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) because aside from this appropriation, there are other sources of funds for other priority projects of the City Government.

The P71-million surplus from the 2006 budget as well as the planned P1 billion budget for 2008 are some of the sources where funds could be allotted for various projects, including the purchase of dump trucks for garbage collection.

Since last week, the City Council has been criticized by government employees as well as by ordinary citizens for allegedly being too capricious.


Weygan said the cars would be the property of the City Government. As a condition, they could no longer avail of their travel allowances and they are also obliged to shoulder gasoline and maintenance expenses.

And just like any government vehicle, its use would be limited to official functions, he said, adding that a car is a necessity for the council, especially when councilors have to travel to the barangays and in places outside Baguio.

“We really need it,” Weygan said, citing the problem usually encountered by his colleagues on the difficulty of reserving the use of the council’s service vehicle.

Just like the department heads and their counterparts in other local governments, Weygan said they too should be accorded the same privilege.

Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr., one of those who voted for the ordinance’s passage, said he is one of those who would reserve the use of the council’s vehicles at least two weeks ahead of schedule but oftentimes, his request gets turned down because the vehicle is “fully booked.”

As chairman of the committee on lands, housing and urban planning, Cosalan said he has to regularly conduct field inspections and do research as far as Manila, adding the work of the committee is impaired because their mobility is compromised.

In the draft proposal, more than P7 million was allotted for the barangays but the council decided to reduce this to P5.6 million because of a rule that only 20 percent could be allotted for the barangays.

“It is true that Baguio has other concerns which we (council) need to focus on but problems could not be solved all at once. Let us think out of the box. We need service vehicles,” Cosalan said while echoing the sentiment of his other colleagues that there are other sources of funds for various projects in the city.

“I hope the public will not judge us on this issue alone,” said Councilor Fred Bagbagen, another of those who voted in favor of the proposal.

“We need to be mobilized so we can serve the people better,” he added, hoping that the public would come to realize the advantages of being issued their individual service vehicles.

“It is our experience that when we want to go to the barangays, the service vehicle, which is supposedly for the use of the council, is not available,” Bagbagen said, adding that even less progressive cities than Baguio allot a budget for their local officials.

Councilor Nicasio Aliping Jr. reiterated that the council is not disregarding the needs of the public but their service vehicles is also a necessity for them to carry out their duties outside of their offices.

Baguio Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., meantime, said he does not approve the idea of purchasing cars in lieu of other projects that he proposed to the council.

Asked if he would veto the ordinance, Bautista did not give a categorical answer but assured that he would review it the moment the document reaches his office.

In the ordinance, P4.6 million was allotted for the purchase of the mayor’s car. But Bautista said he was not aware that the council allotted an amount for his own service vehicle, adding he does not need a car.

Weygan, however, countered the mayor’s statement, claiming that before Bautista departed for Canada and the US, he was aware of the council plan.

The councilor said the mayor is privy to this because in a meeting at the Baguio Country Club, Bautista even requested for P3 million for his car and that prior to his departure for China, he asked an additional P1.6 million allotment for the purchase of a patrol car for the Baguio City Police Office.

Weygan explained this is the reason why, from the original proposal of P3 million, allotment for the mayor reached P4.6 million.

Click the following links for our previous posts on this controversy:
How to Spend P20 Million
The Ball is in His Court
Dedicated to Major Basilio and Mayor Peter Rey.

INFO SOURCE: Sunstar Baguio

Dedicated to Major Basilio and Mayor Peter Rey

Do you remember those silly radio dedication programs where you can phone in and say, "Mister DJ, gusto ko pung ididikit ang song na ito kay ehem?"

Well, let's try this route and do a dedication post. Let's dedicate my favorite church hymn, "Once to Every Man and Nation", to two men who have been in the public eye lately. The first stanza of the song goes:

Once to every man and nation,
comes the moment to decide,
in the strife of truth with falsehood,
for the good or evil side;

Actually, this hymn has been on my mind ever since I blogged about Major Basilio Pooten who, when he was called upon to decide on an important issue of justice, decided to do the right thing. So this song is heartily dedicated to him.

This hymn is also dedicated to Baguio City Mayor Peter Rey Bautista who is now being called upon to decide on an important issue: Will he do the right thing by vetoing the City Council's "let's buy car for ourselves" legislation? Or is he going to scratch the back of his fellow officials so they will, in turn, scratch his back?

Well, honorable mayor, as we said the ball is now in your court. We are dedicating this song to you with the hope that you will follow the footsteps of Major Basilio Pooten.

For those of you who want to sing along with the kids in the video, here's the complete lyrics of the hymn:

Once to every man and nation,
comes the moment to decide,
in the strife of truth with falsehood,
for the good or evil side;
some great cause, some great decision,
offering each the bloom or blight,
and the choice goes by forever,
'twixt that darkness and that light.

Then to side with truth is noble,
when we share her wretched crust,
ere her cause bring fame and profit,
and 'tis prosperous to be just;
then it is the brave man chooses
while the coward stands aside,
till the multitude make virtue
of the faith they had denied.

By the light of burning martyrs,
Christ, thy bleeding feet we track,
toiling up new Calvaries ever
with the cross that turns not back;
new occasions teach new duties,
ancient values test our youth;
they must upward still and onward,
who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of evil prosper,
yet the truth alone is strong;
though her portion be the scaffold,
and upon the throne be wrong;
yet that scaffold sways the future,
and behind the dim unknown,
standeth God within the shadow,
keeping watch above his own.

Lyrics: James Russell Lowell, 1849
Music: Ton-y-Botel (Ebenezer), Yn y glyn

RELATED POST: Major Basilio Pooten: Doing the Right Thing; Previous Posts on Mayor Peter Rey Bautista. VIDEO CREDIT: The Hanson Family.

The Ball is in His Court

Lisa Araneta of i-Baguio.com has an update on how the Baguio City councilor's voted on the "let's buy cars for ourselves" scandal. Read it here. We are with Lisa in hoping that Mayor Peter Rey Bautista will veto this ill advised budget legislation.

So the ball is now in the mayor's court. Let's see whether he stays true to his electoral promise that he's going to be "Simple Lang". But we should also help him decide by revisiting his campaign materials in the past election.

Our message to the mayor: Oy ang galing mo sa archery ah. Sir, this kind of self-serving legislation is also known as traditional politics. Please kill it with your arrow. Dapat bull's eye.

For those of you who like videos, here's a campaign video courtesy of the mayor's multiply site:



Those who are "friends" with the mayor in Multiply might also want to remind him of his pangako. You can also comment on his blog here.

He also included his email in his Blogger profile so we are publishing it here (peterreybautista[AT]gmail[DOT]com) in case some of you would like to get in touch with him personally. I believe there's nothing wrong with emailing him since he himself made his email public.

For our previous posts on Mayor Peter Rey Bautista, click here.

VIDEO/PHOTO CREDIT: Mayor Peter Rey Bautista/here and here.

How to Spend P20 Million

Update 2: Thanks to all of your comments. Here's our favorite from Nats Dalanao: "Next naman na project nila is to build a first class hotel inside the city hall exclusively for them!!" Hehe, oo nga naman. Apologies for not responding to your comments individually, daming hinahabol na trabaho eh.

Thanks too to Anonymous 4:41 for pointing out that the quote "What are we in power for?" should be attributed to Senator Jose Avelino. We mistakenly thought that Senator Ernesto Maceda was the one who said it. Anyways, because of his sleaziness, Maceda was once described by then Manila Mayor as "so young, and so corrupt". Sana walang "so young and so corrupt" sa Baguio ano? At sa buong Cordillera na rin.

Update: As pointed out by Wil Reyes in the comments, not all Baguio City councilors favored this wasteful purchase of cars. Councilor Antonio Tabora Jr. voted against the ordinance while Vice mayor Daniel Fariñas is quoted to have said that the city “needs more garbage trucks and sanitary landfill as priority, rather than cars". Kudos to you sirs!

There's also a discussion on this issue at Jack Cariño's blog.

***
The honorable members of the Baguio City Council have just voted to spend P20 million to buy cars for themselves. Yup. You read that right. They are going to buy 16 cars -- one for each of the 14 councilors, one for the vice mayor, and another for the mayor. Read the story here and gnash your teeth.

Why they need those cars is beyond me. It's not like they need a car to visit their constituents; Baguio is such a small city with a more than sufficient public transport system so one doesn't need a car to get around.

Maybe they will use the cars to collect Baguio's world famous garbage? Nah, a garbage truck would be more fitting for that purpose. But don't they need cars to carry sick constituents to the hospital? If that is the reason then why not just buy ambulances for the Baguio General Hospital?

Anyways, methinks the only reason they are buying cars for themselves is really because they want to show off. You know, gusto nilang magpa-impress.

But, boy, if you are going to show off, use your own money. In a country where most of the people are poor, public funds should not be used for luxury purchases like this. But then again, maybe the honorable councilors have learned their lesson from a 70's Manila politician who famously said, "What are we in power for?"

Anyways, in the unlikely event that the honorable Baguio officials will reconsider their decision, let us suggest better ways of using that P20 million. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments but here's our initial list:

1. Create livelihood opportunities for Baguio's college kids so they don't have to prostitute themselves during exam periods to raise money for tuition fees.

2. Use the money to improve the city's water resource management as well as it sewage system.

3. Give the money to the Baguio General Hospital. Public health needs all the money that it can get.

4. Create livelihood opportunities for those old beggars as well as those who make a living by posing in their native garbs and charging fees to tourists who take their pictures.

5, Create better livelihood opportunities for the garbage scavengers of Irisan.

6. Use the money to stop the uglification of Baguio.

7. Use the money to build a decent public library in keeping with Baguio's image as an educational center.

8. Use the money to plant more pine trees or to support the Bantay Busol movement.

9. Use the money to support Ramon Dacawi's consistent fund raising efforts (like this one) to help people in need of good samaritans.

10. (Your suggestions here)

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Zapata via Flickr.

Find a Fugitive, Get P500K

From GMANews.tv:

Relatives and friends of slain Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin Jr are offering a P500,000 bounty for information that would lead to the arrest of an alleged gunman in the December 2006 assassination, authorities on Tuesday said.

Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin, Cordillera police director, said family and friends of the slain politician raised the bounty for the arrest of Gerry Turqueza who is tagged as one of the gunmen in the slay.

Martin said this development came in the heels of the arrest of former La Paz town vice mayor Freddie Duppo and Sonny Taculao – two primary suspects in the case – two weeks ago in Rizal province.

“Wanting that the dastardly act be solved, they are offering to give half a million reward to who ever will be able to provide information that will lead to the arrest of Gerry Turqueza, allegedly one of the gunmen in the assassination," Martin said.

Martin said Turqueza is allegedly being hidden by a politician in a remote mountain Abra town. Turqueza is also involved in several other murder cases, and was in fact identified as a prime suspect in the killing of La Paz Mayor Ysrael Marc Bernos in 2005.

The official added that Duppo and Taculao confessed that a former rebel leader and a brother of one of Abra’s congressional candidates as those who contacted them to carry out the assassination.

Related posts on Luis Bersamin.

SOURCE: GMANews.tv

Congress Watch: Apayao Rep. Elias Bulut Heads Committee on Agrarian Reform

Wow. Are Cordillera congressional representatives on a roll or what?

We don't usually agree with their politics but we must admit that we are impressed that four of them are heading four committees in Congress.

First, Baguio Rep. Mauricio Domogan gets to head the congressional component of the House of Representative Electoral Tribunal which we reported here.

Then, Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa assumed the chairmanship of the Committee on National Cultural Communities which we also mentioned here.

We also reported that Mt. Province Rep. Victor Dominguez now heads the Committee on Games and Amusement, a post he once held during the Ramos administration.

The latest one to head a committee is the youngest (he's on his 30s), Rep. Elias Bulut Jr. of Apayao Province. He is now the chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Reform.

Are we impressed? Of course, that's four out of seven Cordillera representatives heading congressional committees. We've never seen anything like this before. Usually, Cordillera reps only get to chair the Committee on National Cultural Communities which is kind of the token post for indigenous peoples. Aligning yourself with the "party" in power does have its benefits, no?

So should we bring out the tapuey and the gangsas to celebrate? Nah! We will only do that if our Representatives use their more weighty position to pass meaningful legislation. You know, a law that we can all be proud of. Something where we can say, "Hey, our Congressman/Congresswoman authored that law."

Of the three Cordi Reps who don't have a chairmanship post, two are neophytes: Abra Rep. Cecilia Luna and Kalinga Rep. Manuel Agyao. Neophytes really don't get to head committees so this is not surprising.

Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao, the Cordi Congressman we most admire, used to head the National Cultural Committee in the previous Congress so maybe he doesn't mind that he's not heading a committee this time around. Incidentally, he was the busiest Congressman (he filed the most bills) in the previous Congress.

RELATED POST: Hey Look, Your Congressman is Working. PHOTO CREDIT: Congress.gov.ph

His Side of the Story

We sort of bashed him and called him names (i.e., Damomo) but he is certainly entitled to share his side of the story. For those who missed Baguio Rep. Mauricio Domogan's explanation of his P200,000 allowance a.k.a bribery ak.a. gift a.k.a. suhol, here it is:

Inquirer:
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines -- Baguio City Representative Mauricio Domogan on Wednesday said all members of the House of Representatives received P200,000 in checks last week as part of their annual representation and transportation allowances.

Domogan, who called a press conference to explain the amount received by some congressmen last week, said all representatives were entitled to these allowances that are routinely issued during congressional breaks.

He said he signed for the amount at the House of Representatives shortly after the conclusion of a meeting in Malacañang.

Read the whole thing here. Note that according to him all Representatives were given an "allowance". So he is not the only Damomo.

RELATED POSTS: That mention Rep. Mauricio Domogan.

Si Morris et Damomo

Si Morris et damomo
Sotsoten da i-idyana
Sot sot ak ak sot.

If I am not mistaken (and I may very well be wrong), this used to be the jeer/chant that Sagada boys use to taunt their fellow boys who are old enough to go to sleep in the dap-ay but who continue to sleep at home with their parents.

We are dedicating the song to our favorite Cordillera Congressman because he apparently continues to receive allowance from his Mama.

Congressman, I used to admire you. A lot. I admire your achievements as a person. You are a self-made man. And I have a lot of respect for self-made men. Like most Igorots, I was proud when you were elected as the mayor of Baguio. I believe that you were a good mayor, that you carried yourself with class, with dignity, and with humor. I believe that you were a mayor who got things done. You helped Baguio get up from the rubble of the 1991 earthquake. You should be credited for that.

I started losing my respect for you when you became Congressman, when you hobnobbed with GMA and her ilk, when you were silent when our kailiyan was killed in Tabuk, when you became GMA's drill sergeant in the Cordilleras, when you introduced patronage politics in Baguio via the health cards you distributed to election inspectors.

And now this? This P200,000 allowance? You belittle yourself in the public eye by receiving this allowance and by justifying it.

Much as we don't like to taunt people, you do deserve to be taunted. So we'd like to dedicate the Damomo song to you again.

Si Morris et damomo
Sotsoten da i-idyana
Sot sot ak ak sot.

Our previous posts on Congressman Domogan.

The Nashman has a related post here.

Gina Dizon on Regional Autonomy: Once More With Feelings

What do Cordillera people think about autonomy? Attempts by officials to make the region autonomous was voted down in a plebiscite in Jan. 30, 1990 when the provinces of Kalinga-Apayao, Abra, Benguet, Mountain Province and the City of Baguio voted no with only Ifugao saying yes. The second attempt was also foiled with only Apayao voting yes on March 7, 1998.

What is autonomy? The people must have been right in their decision at the very first and second take. What chances do the third take give? Have the people become wiser, more informed, or they are already wise and informed in the very first place?

This politically hankered state of autonomy, I understand, refers to that state of being a free and independent region governing its economic, political and social life. If the Cordillera would become autonomous, would it be free from oppressive national policies?

Government laws give us a framework on how to exercise this seemingly lofty state of regional autonomy following the peace accord entered into between the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army led by Fr. Conrado Balweg in Sept. 13, 1987 and then Philippine President Corazon Aquino giving birth to Executive Order 220 which sets up a regional administrative body while preparing for a Cordillera regional autonomy.

This, following Section 15, Article 10 of the Constitution which provides an autonomous region in the Cordillera with “common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and other relevant characteristics within the framework of the Constitution and the national sovereignty".

With moves for an information drive on Cordillera regional autonomy purportedly being done, I am curious to see what attractive features an autonomous animal the Cordillera would be, otherwise, the P15 million info drive is just another futile attempt gone to kingdom never come.

I consider autonomously palatable the position of the late Fr.Balweg who pushed for a federal state of autonomy for the Cordillera. In a federal set up, the Cordillera people shall make their own laws, Constitution and policies yet still be a part of the national state.

What degree of autonomy will the Cordillera enjoy if it becomes autonomous according to what EO 220 will prepare? Will it be just the same setup where people will exercise their political, cultural and social affairs the way things are under the present laws and political structure? Or will there be a strikingly distinct set up where people can say they are autonomous?

Just what structure and laws will be created in order to make autonomy realized somehow? If there be a collective decision for example among Cordillera leaders, just how strong will this be as an autonomous policy? What measures are in place to make this so?

Where policies are concerned, can the envisioned autonomous region provide policies where it can go against a national law or policy? The Mining Act of 1995 for example was given judicial mandate by the Supreme Court when the application for Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement of a foreign mining firm in Mindanao legally upheld its constitutionality despite opposition from tribal B’laan communities.

Can the envisioned regional autonomy say no to a Supreme Court decision? Can it come up with its own judicial laws? What policies can the envisioned autonomy come up with and not being considered contrary but rather supplementary to national policies? On the other hand, national policies and practices are already in place for a semi-autonomous state. The Local Government Code already provides a system of devolution where LGUs could exercise some relatively autonomous control on generating taxes for one. Congressmen are in place to represent their respective provinces and people in Congress. Structures are already in place where LGU representatives can lobby for their share in income derived from the natural resources located in their own territories for one. Although it is another story when representatives and government officials cannot deliver.

Where the people in the region with more or less similar cultural and distinct culture could come up with their own policies about their own economic and political existence without the sword of Damocles hanging over their head, would be considered autonomous. Meanwhile, Baguio Rep. Mauricio Domogan and other political leaders are reportedly pressing the implementation of a permanent Cordillera administrative setup. This move may make some people push the Cordillera Regional Assembly and the Cordillera Executive Board as overseers of Cordillera affairs in the regional level. Just what happened to the former CRA and the CEB are things of the past which cannot be forgotten with a yearly P5 million budget cost of a lesson to draw from.

Creating a bloated policy-making structure “to articulate and harmonize the interests and aspirations of the people of the Cordilleras” was the supposed role of the Cordillera Regional Assembly composed of not more than 250 appointed from each municipality of the Cordillera, 10 from Baguio City, 18 representatives from NGOs and a tribal representative each is also a question.

Granting that these envisioned representatives have articulated and harmonized the aspirations of the Cordillera people, where shall these articulations be forwarded to? To the President? Congress? What sizable vote will these collective articulation bring to Congress or the Office of the President? How strong are these articulations in influencing national policy or when these challenge national policies? Is this the kind of self-rule that original proponents to Cordillera autonomy envisioned that EO 220 prepared for? How will Cordillera regional autonomous policy be in consonance to national policy-making? We maybe creating one bloated, overlapping body which is far out from original intentions of what self and autonomous rule means.

Another EO mandated body is the Cordillera Executive Board which is the implementing arm of the CAR is composed of 29 regular members of the board to name the Baguio city mayor, 5 governors, 6 from the Cordillera Bodong Administration, 12 from the different ethno-linguistic groups in the Cordillera, and 5 representatives from NGOs.

Under EO 220, the CEB is headed by an executive director appointed by the President. Aside from questions of criteria to membership, what difference will this implementing arm make from departments and offices currently doing envisioned functions. Where it is a matter of codifying laws for example, or “promotion of indigenous institutions and processes for conflict resolution and dispute settlement, preservation and enhancement of indigenous customs, traditions, languages and culture? Isn’t this the job of the National Commission on Indigenous People where it has its provincial branches? Where it is a matter of looking at agricultural development, there is also the Department of Agriculture who takes care of this, as well as health and tourism.

Seemingly, this bloated CAR body and its supposed functions are a repetition and overlapping of what the regular departmental offices are doing. Unless, this CAR body will do something distinctly independent to further policy for indigenous peoples rights will it become relevant. As talks go on about this third attempt for Cordillera autonomy, responsibility falls on the shoulders of the Regional Development Council to come up with real good, authentic, representative and people-based information of how and what true and genuine regional autonomy really means.

The people have become wise, I guess, and know if they are being taken for a ride or not and the third attempt may just become kaput. This P15 million budget might as well be de-programmed or re- aligned for livelihood support activities for the farming and struggling folks of the Cordillera .

Note: This was originally published at the Northern Philippine Times blog. Visit the blog for more news on the Cordilleras and the rest of Northern Philippines.

Funny Video: Pulitika

This video is dedicated to all Cordillera politicians :-)

VIDEO CREDIT: devilgol12.

Haaay, Congressman V.D.

We don't want to spend our time criticizing the Honorable Representative of Mt. Province, Congressman Victor Dominguez because 1) he is getting old in years and 2) to be honest, we also admit that we grudgingly respect his achievements as a politician.

To have maintained a long political career -- spanning from the 70s (?) to the 2ks -- speaks of his ability to harness whatever political tools there are that one needs to remain in power or to win in the game of politics.

His strategies have not been good for the province but, if you are a political geek, you have to give him credit for his political adroitness. We'd like to be clear though that just because we say that we respect the Congressman's political skills, does not mean that we are taking back what we said about him here and here.

Anyway, because we don't want to be seen as "wala ng ginawa kundi mag-criticize", we are glad to keep our mouths shut on the latest developments in Mt. Province particularly the Congressman's latest actions regarding "his" pork-barrel funded educational program.

However, we hope you read Pagano's blog because he wrote a very incisive post on the matter. Mountainprovince.net also has an article on this burning issue. You should also visit Freedom Lyric, one of our newest siblings in the blogosphere, because he/she uploaded the various letters written by the Congressman on this topic.

Finally, we are reprinting an article by Dexter See originally published at the Northern Philippine Times Blog. Thanks to Gina Dizon for giving us permission to reprint said article.

Mt. Province solon halts college fund to studes
By Dexter See
BONTOC, Mountain Province – Disgusted by criticisms, Rep. Victor S. Dominguez has ordered the suspension of the full scholarship grant enjoyed by over 5,000 students at the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College here due to issues being raised by disgruntled individuals.

The controversy led to the filing of charges against the congressman and school officials with the Commission on Higher Education and the Commission on Human Rights.

In a letter sent to Dr. Nieves A Dacyon, MPSPC president, Dominguez said the situation forced him to withdraw his sponsorship of the program of the students.

“Our voluntary desire to help everybody has been after all not appreciated by many with the conviction that even without this representation, those privileges will be forthcoming,” the lawmaker stated in a letter he sent to beneficiaries of the program.

But Dominguez called on parents and students “who believe in the true intention of the scholarship program” to submit to his office, though the office of the school president, their signed joint application for the program on or before Oct. 30.

This would allow the screening committee to determine who deserved the benefit of the full scholarship program, in the next semester.

The MPSPC’s full scholarship program, the first of its kind in the country, has been envisioned by Dominguez to provide quality education to the youth and enable them to be productive citizens of the country.

In the past two years, the lawmaker has been allocating P7 million from his priority development assistance fund for the scholarship program.

Another P3 million was provided by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples for the program.

Dominguez challenged the parents and students “who believe in the lies of the leaders of oppositors to the programs” to go to the critics and demand for funds for the educational assistance to them.

He said this semester, they can no longer avail themselves of the program because he has already withdrawn his sponsorship.

Dacyon appealed to critics of the congressman to spare the scholarship program from their campaign against the lawmaker because the intention of the educational assistance was to provide a decent education to the youth.

Note: We are not being mean for using the initials of the Honorable Congressman in our title. The fact of the matter is that we are only following his example. What do we mean? If you go up the road going to either Maligcong or Guinaang and look down towards the Bontoc Plaza, you will see two buildings funded by the Congressman's pork barrel below the plaza: one building is shaped like the letter V while the other one is shaped like the letter D. Because these buildings are beside each other, you can read them as VD.

Hey, fellow iFontoks, en-isend kayo man si photographic evidence of the V and D buildings so our friends who've not seen them will not say that we are making this up :-)

RELATED: Are Your Politicians Too Powerful For Your Own Good; A Tale of Two Politicians. INFO CREDIT: Northern Philippine Times. PHOTO CREDIT: Batch 2006.