Danny Dangcalan
Local News: Bacolod Diocese Upbeat on Ruling Re RH Tarpaulin
The Diocese of Bacolod is confident that the Supreme Court (SC) will give a favorable ruling to their case against the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) tarpaulin it hang on the facade of the San Sebastian Cathedral.
"We were able to present our arguments properly and it’s up to the Supreme Court to decide (on) the case...I would say it went well for us," Ralph Sarmiento, chief of the Diocesan legal team, said in a text message yesterday.
The legal team of the Bacolod diocese and the Comelec, represented by lawyers of the Office of the Solicitor General, presented their sides in an oral argument before the High Court yesterday.
Local News: Capitol Now Operating on 2012 Budget, Says Escalante
Even before the 90-day period to tackle and approve the 2013 Budget lapses this March, the Provincial Capitol is already operating on a re-enacted 2012 Budget, Board Member Salvador Escalante Jr. yesterday said.
Escalante, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Finance, Budget, and Appropriation, added, ‘...so it won’t make a difference, actually, if we think about it," and did not elaborate.
Local News: Diocese vs Comelec, High Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Tarp for Team Buhay & Patay
The much-anticipated oral arguments on the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) tarpaulin between the Diocese of Bacolod and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) before the Supreme Court is set at 2 p.m. today.
The Diocese of Bacolod will be represented by its legal team composed of lawyers Ralph Sarmiento, Mitchelle Abello, and Raymund Pandan, while the Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. has ordered her to attend the oral arguments in the high court.
Last week, the SC issued the guidelines on the oral arguments between the Comelec and the Bacolod diocese regarding the controversial tarpaulin.
Local News: NPA Leader Nabbed
A ranking New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was arrested in Jaro, Iloilo City last Saturday, the military said yesterday.
Bernabe Tobongbanua, with aliases "Mamay" and "Bimboy," was arrested by combined elements of the military and the police, Capt. Major Ray Tiongson, chief of the Public Affairs Office of the 3rd Infantry Division, said in a press statement.
Tobongbanua, allegedly a staff for Regional Finance Bureau and Intelligence Officer of Komiteng Rehiyon-Panay, was arrested by virtue of warrant of arrest forcmurder case issued by Judge Amular of Branch 21, 6th Regional Trial Court, Tiongson said.
Local News: Governor: I’ll Win in 5 Congressional Districts
Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday said he foresees victory in the May 2013 elections as he is confident of a landslide win from First to Fifth Districts.
He admitted that he is weak in the Sixth District, the turf of his political rival, Vice Gov. Genaro Alvarez Jr., but the margin would not be big.
So by simple arithmetic, winning in the five districts and losing in only one district would spell victory, the governor said.
Local News: Monico Disproves Thaddy’s Claims on Plunder Case
Former Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella yesterday disproved the claims of Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson that no plunder case was ever filed against the latter. In a forum for Bacolod mayoralty candidates over ABS-CBN Bacolod yesterday, Sayson, running for mayor in the May 2013 elections, claimed that no plunder case was ever filed against him.
In the same forum, Puentevella, a three-termer congressman now running for mayor under Pamilya MKK, quickly corrected Sayson, mayoralty bet of Grupo Progreso.
Puentevella presented to Sayson himself a copy of the Ombudsman case, where the vice mayor and other city officials were charged of plunder on April 21, 2010 in connection with the alleged overpriced Arao property.
Local News: Cauayan Folks Complain Vs Illegal Commercial Fishing
The Cauayan Fisherfolk Federation (CFF) has complained against alleged illegal commercial fishing in their territoria0l waters by big purseiners, which had resulted to their poor income.
CFF vice chairman Ramon Gregas and some of their members yesterday went to the Provincial Capitol to ask for the help of Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. on their plight.
Gregas claimed that four purseiners encroached the municipal waters of Cauayan, or within a 4-kilometer radius for a long time already.
Local News: Bacolod Diocese Ready for Supreme Court Oral Arguments on RH Tarp
The legal team of the Diocese of Bacolod is ready for the oral arguments on its controversial tarpaulin before the Supreme Court on March 19, its lawyer said yesterday.
"Yes, we are all set for the oral arguments on Tuesday," Ralph Sarmiento, one of the three legal counsels of the Bacolod diocese, said in a text message, when asked if they are ready for the SC argument.
"The only problem is that the Comelec (Commission on Elections) is yet to file its answer to our petition today (yesterday), which is the deadline given to it by the Supreme Court. So if it sends our copy by mail, more likely we won’t receive it before the oral arguments," Sarmiento added.
"Nevertheless, we can already anticipate what Comelec’s arguments are and we are already prepared for them," he said.
Local News: Capitol Employees to Vice Gov: Where is the LOVE?
Provincial Capitol employees yesterday issued a statement saying they are in disbelief over the reaction of Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr. who called their "period of mourning" a "drama."
In an unsigned statement supposedly coming from the Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees (PACE), the employees said it seems that Alvarez is not properly advised on what he is saying in media interviews because his statements only show he has no heart for government workers.
"It is ironic. We are in disbelief hearing the statements coming from someone who want to be governor of this province. Where is your heart? Where is your LOVE for the labor sector?" the PACE statement said
Local News: Vice Gov Calls ‘Mourning’ a Drama
Vice Gov. Genaro Alvarez, Jr. yesterday called "drama" the "mourning period" of some Provincial Capitol employees, who are complaining about their unreleased fourth tranche salary increase and extra P20,000 bonus, due to the delayed approval of the 2013 budget.
"That’s already a drama. If they don’t like what I’m saying that’s okay but they should not have turned it into a drama," Alvarez said in local dialect, when asked about his reaction on the protest action of employees.
