by admin | Mar 22, 2016 | Features
CEBU CITY – It was a welcome fit for a king in the queen city of the south.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte walked into a packed Cebu Coliseum 10 pm Sunday evening and was greeted by a wildly cheering a crowd that did not mind the long wait.
The 7,000-seat venue was smoking hot as confetti rained when Duterte was introduced. Nearly everybody was on their feet, waving small Philippine flags and the country’s colors and roaring as one the now familiar three-syllable chant of “Duterte! Duterte! Duterte!”
Mobile phones flickered like thousands of fireflies, either snapping groupies or taking videos of the momentous event.
Buoyed by the highly emotional welcome, the mayor showed no signs of exhaustion despite the stressful debate earlier at the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu campus in Lahug where he gave a good account of himself – dominating Facebook and twitter as though they were his own private domain.
Appropriately dubbed “Konsyerto Para sa Kausaban”, the event opened with live performances from popular artists spiced up by the folksy humor of novelty singer and Duterte pal Max Surban and a stirring nationalist medley from Chad Borja.
Duterte’s youngest son, Sebastian, broke out of his shell, belting out two songs from his heavy metal repertoire in a rare performance that pleasantly surprised the predominantly youthful audience.
The mayor also acknowledged the presence of his eldest son, Davao Vice Mayor Paulo Duterte, who came with nearly all his city councilors.
There was unmistakable electricity in the air as Duterte took center stage even though it was already close to midnight to a crowd that started streaming in as early as 4 pm.
Duterte did not waste time explaining the reasons why he eventually decided to run after vacillating for a long time, among them the health concerns of his first wife, his lack of funds and his age.
As he had declared on several occasions, he said he eventually gave in to the popular clamor after looking at the field and the baggage going against each candidate: Jojo Binay’s corruption charges, Grace Poe’s citizenship and Mar Roxas’ incompetence and ineptitude.
It was obvious Duterte no longer needed to convince a crowd that had virtually declared support for him.
Even before noon, supporters were already streaming into the “Bisaya Napud” headquarters in Lahug to drum up support not only for the debate but for Duterte himself.
Volunteers waved free Duterte tarpaulins and stickers to passing motorists, many of which pulled over to respond to the invitation.
Near the venue site at UP Lahug, Duterte supporters came in nearly all colors: blue, green, red and white – proof that they came out of their own volition in contrast to the uniformed partisans of rival candidates.
Beside the road, improvised t-shirt printing shops sprouted to accommodate fellow supporters who wanted their shirts to express their choice.
The more affluent supporters went around the city in spontaneous motorcades, their glamorous cars and SUVs screaming the name and face of the undisputed political rock star.
It is not only because Duterte is every bit a Cebuano as he prefers to think (“I can no longer come home because I have long since migrated there”) although that is a big part of it.
It is not only because Duterte is one tough hombre who has the brains to go with his guts – although that too is part of it.
Like many other parts of the country, it is largely because the scourge of drugs, crime and corruption have grown so big none of the other candidates have shown that they have what it takes to lick them.
The mayor’s rivals love to tick off statistics and platform as though they automatically translate to reality. In contrast, the eagle of the south hammers home on issues close to home: parents who won’t be at peace unless their daughter is home, traders milked by highwaymen and cops on the road, the breakdown of law and order in different areas in society – and the dangerously expanding inroads of narco-politicians.
Duterte hit the hammer in the nail in his closing statement when he said it is not a matter of statistics or platforms – because that is the easier part.
It all boils down to leadership.
This is where Duterte has separated himself from the rest.
No wonder the queen city of the south gave him a welcome fit for a king.
by admin | Mar 22, 2016 | Headlines, National News
MANILA, Mar. 21 (PIA)–Madayon na ang pagpahigayon og botohan sa mga shopping mall human gi-aprubahan sa Commission on Elections (Comelec) ang pagbutang og mga presinto sa mga mall sa Mayo 9, 2016.
Gipasabot ni Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista nga mi-desisyon ang poll body nga ipatuman na ang mall voting human ang serye sa public consultation sa pipila ka clustered precincts.
Matud pa ni Bautista nga 86 ka mall sa tibuok nasod ang moapil sa mall voting.
Adunay 200,000 ka botante gikan sa 120 clustered precinct ang gipaabot nga makapahimos sa pagbotar sa mga mall.
Giingong magpabiling prayoridad sa pagboto sa mga mall ang mga senior citizen, may kakulian sa panglawas ug kadtong adunay sakit nga mga botante.
Tumong sa mall voting nga ma-decongest usab ang mga pampublikong tunghaan nga magsilbing polling areas.
Nagtuo ang Comelec nga daghang benepisyo ang mahatag sa mall voting sama sa pagbaton og limpyong lugar nga botaran, mas luwas ug mas kumbinyente kun itandi sa mga pampublikong tunghaan.
Giingong mas segurado usab ang suplay sa kuryente sa mga mall, gawas pa sa mas hugot nga seguridad. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)
by admin | Mar 22, 2016 | Editorial
In this searing El Nino heat and the smoldering political stew that is obtaining in pre-poll Bohol, we see an oasis of good news.
For a remarkable drop in crime volume as against the skyrocketing crimes in other provinces in region 7, Bohol has been tagged by the regional police as the region’s safest.
We wish to tap the shoulders of our police officers for doing a splendid job.
Bringing Bohol’s crime volume by 8% in January and February is a testament of Col. Dennis Agustin’s leadership and motivational skills.
In times like this, we wish to recall the pre-Agustin time, when Bohol police stations reaped Region-wide accolades for lowered criminality. That was when every PPOC meeting had everyone grinning from ear to ear.
And while everyone was lazily lounging in easy swivels, oiling their guns and tending to their pot bellies, drugs silently crept to the threshold of Boholano homes.
Whether the reports coming out then were intended to deceive everyone or just plainly putting the police as intelligence as inept, we all know now the real score.
Of course, making a perfect impression of Bohol as a peaceful and safe place for business and leisure is a given, considering that the chief of police then was to bow out of service.
So while we heaped praises for the seemingly peaceful image that authorities painted over Bohol, and we handed all kinds of commendation to the officials, a different kind of rot was gnawing the very core of the society.
It was when Col Agustin took the helm when he, an anti-organized crime expert saw the tell-tale signs of a gangrene that was eating the flesh of the society, that he stirred a hornet’s nest.
Col Agustin exposed the well-entrenched network of drug industry in Bohol a few days after he came in.
The industry was so well hidden in plain sight that the police officer could not mention the root, certainly knowing he would be the first to be uprooted when he does.
Two years later and clearly after nearing his tour of duty deadline, we have this news.
All we pray is that this isn’t a repeat of the past.
For how indeed can we account for the crime decrease and the sudden formation of Capitol initiated Task Force Dagon when crime has indeed ebbed? Or when assassins bullets just weirdly find their way to drug personalities in dark streets or in their known dens?
Gov Edgar Chatto recently issued an executive order creating the Joint Task Force Dagon, to curb criminalities, drug abuse, and other threats and disturbances to peace and order, public safety and security. The news of Bohol being safest, is now rendered bland.
When we had this report of Bohol being safest, we were thinking otherwise.
When you have public officials going around the province in well-armed convoy of vehicles, when you have teeners caught making pension houses as base of shabu distribution and when you have mayors claiming their supporters are getting killed, is this that brand of peace that makes Bohol safest?
At this time when you have a police officer wielding his firearms and randomly chasing his fellow cops in a police station, the news came in at a moment so awkward.
by admin | Mar 22, 2016 | Headlines, National News
MANILA, Mar. 21 (PIA)–Nipasidaan ang pamunoan sa Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) sa mga pasahero sa mga sakyanang pangdagat batok sa pagsakay sa mga colorum nga barko karong Semana Santa.
Matud pa ni PCG Commandant, Rear Admiral William Melad, peligroso alang sa mga pasahero ang mga colorum nga barko ilabi na nga dili kini rehistrado, kulang pa sa mga gikinahanglang dokumento ug wala mosunod sa safety standards sa Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA).
Giingong pahimoslan sa pipila ka tag-iya ug operator sa mga barko ug uban pang sakyanang pangdagat ang gidaghanon sa mga pasahero sa nagkalain-laing pantalan sa mga lalawigan ilabi na sa mga tourist destination.
Matud pa nga kasagarang magpa-arkila ang mga tag-iyahan og gagmay nga bangka padung sa nagkalain-laing isla.
Ang uban pa niini, mo-pwesto sa mga pantalan aron makakuha og mga istranded nga pasahero.
Gitataw ni Melad nga walay mga insurance alang sa mga pasahero ang mga colorum nga barko ug walay bisan life vest man lang ug uban pang life saving devices.
Tungod niini, gibuksan sa PCG ang ilang 24 oras nga hotline numbers 0917-724-3682 ug 0918-803-8353 nga mahimong tawagan aron isumbong ang bisan unsang kalabotan, pangutana o i-report ang mga ilegal nga operasyon sa mga passenger ferry. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)
by admin | Mar 22, 2016 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
TAGBILARAN CITY, Mar. 21 (PIA)–Gitay-og og magnitude 3.4 nga linog ang lalawigan sa Bohol ganinang alas 7:01 sa buntag, Marso 21.
Matud pa sa Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), natala ang epicenter sa linog sa gilay-ong 8 kilometro, amihanang sidlakan sa lungsod sa Danao.
Nabati ang Intensity 4 sa syudad sa Tagbilaran, Bohol; Intensity 2 sa syudad sa Lapu-lapu, Cebu; samtang Intensity 1 sa syudad sa Sugbo.
Tectonic ang origin sa linog ug walay gipaabot nga aftershocks. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)
