The newly elected Liga president of Bacolod City said she aims to unify the 61 barangays of the city and strengthen the ties among all barangay officials.
First-termer Barangay Captain Lady Gles Gonzales of Taculing and the rest of the Liga officials, who are allied with the administration of Mayor Evelio Leonardia, all ran unopposed during the election held yesterday at the Bacolod City Government Center. Barangay Captain Andre Franklin Familiaran of Brgy. 13 was elected vice president while Brgy. Captain Jose Maria Leandro Norberto de Leon of Vista Alegre was elected auditor. Elected Liga directors were barangay captains Rosinie Distrito of Singcang, Anthony Jose Loth Alfredo Ayco – Brgy. 15, John Mark Petierre – Brgy. 30, Rodney Carmona – Sum-ag, Ricky Mijares – Banago, Rodolfo Pico – Mansilingan, Degie Tanista – Alangilan, and Romel Flores – Brgy. Villamonte. Gonzales got 50 votes, Familiaran - 50, De Leon – 47, Distrito – 52, Carmona – 49, Petierre – 48, Tanista – 48, Ayco – 47, Mijares - 46, Pico – 46, and Flores – 45. Bacolod Interior and Local Government director Joy Maredith Madayag said there were 55 barangay captains out of the 61 barangays who voted yesterday. She said they will send the certificate of the canvass and proclamation to the Liga National Executive Board in Manila for confirmation. The Board will then send Gonzales authority and once she receives her confirmation, she can already assume as Liga president, Madayag said. They will conduct a 3-day basic orientation on barangay governance for barangay officials starting August 14, she added. Gonzales said the Liga is an autonomous group but for the good of the barangay, they will support the projects and programs of the administration of Leonardia because they have seen the unity among the mayor, Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya, and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran. She vowed to have a transparent leadership. Leonardia congratulated all elected Liga officials and said he hopes to get their cooperation. “We want to have peace and stability in our political system. So I am happy that a new barangay representative is supportive of the administration,” he said. “If we have good and strong barangays, we will also have a good and strong city and country,” he added. Meanwhile, outgoing Liga president Noli Villarosa said they will support Gonzales because they believe that she has the capacity to lead the Liga because of her experience. He has already formally turned over to her all the responsibilities of the Liga.*CGS
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City Councilor’s net worth: Nearly P50M Following the recent release of Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) belonging to members of the Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), City Councilor Em Ang was revealed to be the richest with P49,091,000 reported. She is followed by Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, who reported a net worth of P38,806,553.68; while City Councilor Claudio Jesus ‘Kalaw’ Puentevella came in third with a reported P26,092,577.90. Bacolod City Liga ng mga Barangay president, Barangay Tangub Captain Noli Villarosa, who serves on the local legislative body, reported P1,062,000 on his SALN, the lowest figure among SP members. Watchmen Daily Journal tried to reach Ang for comment, however, she is currently away./DGB, WDJ By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Must we fight over the foreign travel of Bacolod Vice-Mayor El Cid Familiaran and six councilors? The group went on a tourism and investment promotion and to reactivate the sisterhood of the city with Long Beach California. Last week, the group went to Long Beach where they met Bacolenos living in the area and joined a four-day festivity, capped with a glimpse of the MassKara festival and the first Trade Finance seminar where officials from the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the American Small Business Administration spoke on how to finance exports overseas. Here, Familiaran and the city officials discussed opportunities for American businesses. These are no small matters. The Bacolod delegation was on a selling mission and it should have gotten everybody’s support. As it happened, the delegation had to explain why they went and the importance of their trip. I can only imagine what a hassle it must have been for them to explain the trip back home, when they had a full schedule there, especially when they were moving from one place to another. The questions came after the Sangguniang Panlungsod had to adjourn its session because it could not muster a quorum, since seven of the councilorswere not here and two others were on vacation and sick leaves. I don’t mean to belittle the impact of the inability of the SP to hold its sessions as scheduled. But was it just the fault of the councilors and vice-mayor on travel? Couldn’t the two councilors on leave be recalled? Sure, the acting presiding officer, Councilor Ricardo Tan had reason to complain that he did not know of the trip of the seven. How could an acting presiding officer not know what’s going to happen when he holds the gavel? Whose responsibility was it anyway to inform him? Orwas he supposed to get this information by himself? It does look like checking these things out could serve us good. This is one hole in the SP process and if we could plug these holes we can prevent something like this from happening again. We can be spared needless controversies like this one. But I don’t think this issue should merit the kind of attention it has gotten. Yes, the SP failed to meet and tackle some matters, but should the Group of 7 be blamed? If there were really, really pressing matters on agenda, why weren’t these calendared before they travelled? I have no sympathy for those whose concerns do not get the action they need because they waited for the deadline to be so near before acting. If people act early and fast enough, there would have been no pressing matter. A quorum lack is something the SP and all of us have to anticipate. But what is more interesting to me is how some people tried to make a mountain out of a molehill; how people saw an opportunity to score political points by making it appear that foreign travel is a whimsy government officials and functionaries should not indulge in. It is no whimsy. In fact, it should be encouraged. For one thing, only travel can help our government officials align our city with the rest of the world. That may not have been obvious in the past, but in this age of globalization, it has become necessary for our government officials to go around the world and learn the best practices outside the country even as they find opportunities for the city. Of course it is an entirely different thing if they spent most of their time away; that is abuse. But otherwise, we must be open to the idea that they go on trips outside the country. The media, especially, needs some paradigm shift year. Travel isn’t the luxurious indulgence it was before. It is now a necessity. We should stop questioning and even denouncing the travels of our officials. That is so passé and parochial. Who was it who said we can only grow as far as our reach? That is true of travel. Should we get stuck on where we are now? And while we are at it, maybe when we have more well-travelled officials, we can improve even the quality of issues that they bicker about. When was the last time they discussed how they foresee Bacolod in 2030, which is, goodness, just 12 years away!Encouraged by media that are always looking for blood, our city officials have just been nitpicking loudly really, dealing with petty issues like the “extravagance” of travel and the need for government to scrimp and save and spend only on necessary things like food and shelter and education. These are important, sure, but it is also important to have broad-minded officials who could see the world and see where Bacolod fits in – or could fit in.* Dash To Deadline with Eli F.J Tajanlangit BACOLOD City Councilor Em Ang is the richest member of the City Council, based on her statement of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN). Records from the City Government showed that Ang has a total net worth of P49.091 million followed by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran with P38.187 million. Councilor Claudio Puentevella has a total net worth of P26.092 million followed by Councilors Ricardo Tan with P23.697 million, Renecito Novero with P18.685 million, Bartolome Orola with P16.078 million and Wilson Gamboa, P11.3 million. Councilors Dindo Ramos has P5.967 million net worth, Sonya Verdeflor with P5.045 million, Caesar Distrito with P4.530 million, Elmer Sy with P4.100 million, Ana Marie Palermo with P2.230 million and Noli Villarosa, P1.062 million. Under Republic Act 6770 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials, all government officials, and employees are required under oath to list down all their assets and liabilities in the SALN on or before April 30 of each year. By Merlinda Pedrosa
BACOLOD City – The trip of Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and five other city councilors to the United States were cleared by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). This was the contention of City Councilor Em Ang, committee on tourism chair. Peter Ramirez, president of Long Beach Bacolod Association, invited Familiaran and Councilors Ang, Caesar Distrito, Dindo Ramos, Cindy Rojas, and Bart Orola to attend their events to promote the cultural and educational ties between the two cities. The session with acting Vice Mayor Ricardo Tan as presiding officer did not push through Wednesday afternoon due to lack of quorum. Aside from Tan, other councilors present were Claudio Puentevella, Wilson Gamboa, Sonya Verdeflor, Ann Marie Palermo, and Ayesha Joy Villaflor. Councilor Elmer Sy was on sick leave while Noli Villarosa was on a vacation. Puentevella said he would seek clarification with the DILG regarding the matter. Ang said he (Puentevella) is free to do so. “We have a Travel Authority issued by the DILG signed by USec Austere Panadero. We also applied for our respective leave,” she said. “Strictly speaking, even without the DILG TA, we are on leave and more importantly, no government funds were used for this trip,” Ang added. “I don’t see why they are questioning our trip. Even if we are personally paying for this trip, we are actually promoting Bacolod City in several cities in California and meeting with Bacolodnons and Ilonggos trying to explore partnerships that will benefit our city. Also promoting investment opportunities especially in IT, BPO and BPMs.” Rojas said, “Our trip has a valid Travel Authority from the Mayor and the Vice Mayor, and was duly approved as an Official Travel by the DILG, through USec Panadero.” Rojas added that “only 6 councilors out of the 14 came here for a tourism and trade mission to promote Bacolod to the world especially to the Filipino communities here in America.” “We are also invited to the Long Beach Masskara Event. Long Beach City is a sister city of Bacolod City. In my opinion, they had a session Wednesday but because Councilor Elmer Sy and Councilor Villarosa filed leaves as well, that is the reason why they did not have a quorum.” She stressed that the trip “is on our personal expense and the city spent nothing for it.” Ramos said that he also welcome the move of Puentevella. “That is very much welcome. We are always for good governance and that query will guide us in our future endeavors. However, I personally believe that we did nothing legally wrong as we spent personal funds to promote the City of Bacolod for this travel. No public coffers were spent and no injury was done to the city.” By Dolly Yasa City officials from Bacolod City, led by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, visited San Francisco to promote the food tourism industry and rediscover Bacolod, the City of Smiles. They are also invited by the Associations of Bacolodians in Long Beach, California to attend the Mascara festival on July 26. Press conference held at the Social Hall of the Philippine Center last Friday, July 20, 2018. Topics discussed were Progress and positive changes in Bacolod, Local tourism, booming investment climate and the various products and services, and Opportunities for trade, tourism, cultural exchanges and cooperation. by Editorial Staff
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia is appealing to his political opponents not sabotage the city’s flagship projects so they can provide better services to the people. Leonardia yesterday said he was informed by Secretary of Finance Carlos Dominguez that someone from Bacolod went to the Department of Finance to prevent the city from obtaining a loan for these projects. The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod had granted the request of Leonardia for authority to obtain a loan of P1.7 billion from the DOF- Municipal Development Fund Office for several development projects for Bacolod City. Leonardia said he believes this will not prevent them from implementing major projects for the city. If the opportunity is there, and he does not avail of the loan, it is like letting an opportunity slip away. He believes nobody would take interest inblocking this except politicians who have ambitions for 2019. If they have no such ambition they will not take notice of this, or try to sabotage it, he said. They are doing that because they do not understand the workload of a mayor. The load is just so big, volume-wise. A mayor makes decisions and implements policies that have implications or impacts on the people and the city, Leonardia said. “We are trying to position Bacolod as one of the premier cities in Southeast Asia. And rightly so, as, for me, we are right on track,” he said. Leonardia said that during the last campaign, one of their promises was to restore business confidence. When he returned as mayor, the total business registration of the city increased to 21,340 as of June 30. So business is growing, business confidence has been restored, and that is a giant leap towards progress and development, and even prosperity for the city, he said “This can only be sustained and maximized if our city officials work together. That is why I give credit to Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran. Because of his support and cooperation, the executive and legislative branches, are in harmony,” Leonardia said. “For us to sustain and accelerate our growth, we need the help and support of everyone. Let us wait for the political season to come and then campaign. But right now, I am appealing to those who have political ambitions, to wait for their time because election will come,” he added. The flagship projects of the city include the development of the Progreso Village Relocation Site (PVRS) and the Bacolod City College; the construction of Bacolod MassKara Coliseum; construction of roads and bridges; establishment of the South and East Transportation Terminals and the Public Safety ICT Solution.*CGS BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO The Bacolod city government completed yesterday the distribution of 68,000 free school bags with school supplies to pupils of 46 public elementary schools, a press release from the mayor’s office said. The distribution yesterday benefited 4,017 pupils from five public schools, namely, Villa Esperanza Elementary School in Barangay Tangub - 639 school bags; Pahanocoy Baybay Elementary School in Barangay Pahanocoy - 567 bags; Jose J. Gonzaga Elementary School in Barangay Mansilingan - 1,548 bags; Luis B. Puentevella Elementary School in Barangay Taculing - 849 and Bacolod City SPED Center in Barangay 14 -414 bags. Leading the ceremonial distribution were Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, who represented Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Councilor Bartolome Orola, and Barangay Singcang-Airport Kagawad Simple Distrito. School principal Herminio Remada Jr. said,”In behalf of Pahanocoy Baybay Elementary School parents and staff we would like to say thank you to the city government for giving us school supplies for the benefit of our pupils. Thank you, Mayor Bing and the rest of the City Council.” Bacolod City SPED Center PTA vice president JonalynAbelaralso thanked the city officials for their held to the school children.* BACOLOD City – Some city officials are scheduled to go to Long Beach, California this month. Long Beach, located in southern California, is a sister city of Bacolod. The local officials were invited to go there to attend the city’s version of MassKara Festival. Acting Mayor El Cid Familiaran said he, City Administrator John Orola and councilors Em Ang, Renecito Novero, Bartolome Orola, Cindy Rojas, Dindo Ramos, and Caesar Distrito accepted the invitation. They will be leaving on July 19. Mayor Evelio Leonardia designated Familiaran to take over his post as he left the country for a 16-day official leave starting July 11. Familiaran and the other local officials will spend their own money for the Long Beach trip, which they said will promote Bacolod in California. Bacolodnons living in California will render a MassKara dance performance during the celebration. Familiaran said he will be giving a speech there in behalf of Leonardia. The local officials will also meet the first Filipina mayor of Daly City, California and her Filipino-American council members, according to Ang. They will also visit an encampment of homeless Pinoys in California and the headquarters of Facebook, Google and Netflix, Ang added./PN By Mae Singuay BACOLOD City Acting Mayor El Cid Familiaran ordered the City Legal Office (CLO)-Enforcement Team to temporarily stop the demolition of houses along the bank of Lupit River at Lacson Extension in Barangay Taculing starting Thursday. Familiaran said Friday, July 13, the affected families appeared on the regular session on Wednesday and asked the members of the City Council to give them one week to vacate the area. He said the City Council also approved a resolution, authored by Councilor Reneco Novero, asking the CLO to observe a one-week moratorium for the transfer of the informal settlers to the relocation site in Abada Escay. He added he also talked with Assistant City Engineer Ephraem Hechanova to consider the request of the affected families. On Wednesday, the CLO Enforcement Team started the demolition of 25 houses so the city can continue the implementation of bridge widening project in the area. Familiaran said last year, the City Government already informed the informal settlers to vacate the area and they will be given a relocation site at Abada Escay. He said the Bacolod Housing Authority (BHA) was tasked to facilitate the relocation site for the informal settlers. He added the informal settlers were also required to comply with the requirements to determine if they are qualified to avail the relocation site. Familiaran noted that there are informal settlers who were awardees of the comprehensive agrarian reform program so they are not qualified to avail the relocation site. The CLO had earlier issued a notice of ejectment to the said residents, informing them of the plans to widen the Lupit Bridge including its approach. Familiaran disclosed that after one week, the CLO Enforcement Team will continue the demolition. (MAP) |
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