First a nice photo for you from his window:

You can see a Mc Donalds there and some pretty heavy traffic. Also the lower levels of Club Ultima can be seen, nice shot by the way. You can also see a Shell gas station with a wall surrounding it on the left side of the photo. And there it is!!! A Squatter home.

He tells us that for a long time the area behind the gas station was filled with grass only. Recently some Squatters started to cut the grass and then put some wooden boards there. Squatters started to build a house. Right on the other side of the gas station wall. A new Squatter home?

Now we are not sure about the laws in the Philippines, if you are a lawyer or you know it somehow, please help us out here. But our reader guesses that it is not allowed to just find a nice spot and start building your house? Is it???

Of course we know that there are thousands of those squatter-shanty’s in Cebu and we also know that the people building those squatter homes are probably too poor to live anywhere else. In case it is not legal to build your house just everywhere you like it – being poor or not -  then it is not so hard to find those Squatters and have their houses removed. Why is nobody stopping this, not not even our new Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama?

A few questions we would like your help to answer:

1. In case you have children, would you like them to be close to Squatters or even make friends with their kids? Since they usually don’t go to school they have always time to play with your little loved ones. At least your children can be close to home that way.
2. Squatter areas are often also places of frequent drug trade where Shabu changes hands rather regularly. Do you like to have those places close to your home? No need to walk so far anymore for your daily fix
3. Having no plans for any drainage or garbage disposal, will this just be another place that stinks in Cebu?
4. Squatter homes often burn down since the electricity is just stolen and not properly connected. A fire right next to the gas station – could you still sleep sound knowing this is happening next to your bedroom?
5. Drugs are expensive, so the crime rate is soaring in areas where drugs are traded. Crime in your residential area – a good thing or simply unavoidable in Cebu?
6. Cebu is booming since many BPO companies have their call centers here. Imagine you work in one of  those call centers and pay a rather huge part of your salary as rent to live in a safer area of Cebu. Then you come home at 4 am and you have to pass by a place close to your house where you are not sure if you reach home without being harassed or robbed? Wouldn’t your spouse be worried every day?
7. Should it be allowed for the poor Squatters to build their house anywhere they like since they cant afford to rent a home? What is considered poor, are there any numbers or benchmarks so people know if they can start looking for a nice spot? Inside the Fuente Osmena Circle – that would be a nice place for a home?
8. Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama – do you like Cebu city to be the place where such things happen or do you have any strategies in place to avoid this? How are you planning on tackling the problem with these Squatters?
9. Do you also think that the people who can afford somehow will leave a city where nobody seems to care about that? So if the richer and more educated residents are leaving Cebu, who stays here? Mayor Mike Rama, is this the legacy you would like to have after you finished your term on day?

Maybe our regular reader is just paranoid and Squatters are friendly people. Let’s keep on pretending that Cebu is safe and free of poverty, as the archbishop of Cebu, Mr. Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, is doing?

We would like you to leave your opinion below and share this article with as many of your friends in Cebu as possible. Maybe we can even get a statement from our Mayor Mike Rama here?

Former governors and those who serving their provinces for two or three terms were invited as resource speakers in said seminar held at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel. The event is sponsored by the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP).

The ‘old-timers’ were invited as resource speakers to share their experiences with the neophyte local chief executives and discuss the issues that are usually hounding governors.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, who welcomed the participants Wednesday, spoke about the challenges that she herself encountered during her first term as Cebu governor. Among the things she initially hurdled was the resistance by over 1,600 prisoners held at the old provincial jail in Barangay Tejero to transfer to the new jail-facility built in Barangay Kalunasan.

Garcia also told the new governors about the attempt to break up Cebu into several provinces during her first term. She said she was glad that with the help of the LPP and former Congressman Antonio Cerilles, the proposal did not push through. The Cebu governor also said she strongly supports the move to move the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to 2013 as proposed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

“That suggestion is a valid one,” Garcia remarked, pointing out that such move will spare the government from incurring further expenses as the country had just spent much in the recently held national elections.

She said that holding another election this coming October will mean more expenses for both the national and local governments. “This will not only affect the country financially, but also emotionally,” she said during said Governors’ League activity, adding that given more time, “reforms that people have been clamoring for both in the barangays and the SK can be studied and better be addressed.”

Garcia said Enrile’s proposal will answer both the need to postpone and to synchronize the elections. She finds no harm in extending the term of the current barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan leaders.

Earlier, she had expressed support for the proposal of Vice President Jejomar Binay to abolish the barangay and SK elections and give instead authority to the mayors to appoint the barangay captains.

Among those who took oath Wednesday were the new House of Representatives members headed by Tomas Osmena representing the south district and Margaret Rachel del Mar for the north district and new Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Vice Mayor Joy Young and 16 councilors who ran and won in both south and north districts. Osmena and the councilors were sworn into office by Hormachuelos while Del Mar was sworn into office by her father, former Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar.

The new councilors sworn into office were Rodrigo Abellanosa, Margarita “Margot” Osmena, Edu Rama, Joey Daluz III, Raul Alcoseba, Ronald Cuenco, Richard “Ritchie” Osmena and Roberto Cabarrubias for the south district.

North district councilors who took their oath of office were Edgardo Labella, Augustus Pe Jr., Alvin Arcilla, Sisinio Andales, Lea Japson, Alvin Dizon, Noel Wenceslao and Nida Cabrera.

The male city officials all wore the traditional barong tagalong. The oath-taking ceremony took place in front of the Cebu City Hall with foreign dignitaries, representative from Cebu’s sister cities, family members and supporters witnessing the ceremony.

In his inaugural speech, Rama cited his predecessor’s “outstanding performance over the past  years,” and thanked members of his own family for their full support of his candidacy.

The new city mayor also emphasized the “importance of public office as a public trust.”

It did not start so well yesterday…

The filing of charges against Joavan Fernandez was stalled yesterday afternoon, not by any legal impediment, but by the power outage.

Vincent Joe Castrodes, the latest victim of the adopted son of Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez, filed a complaint before the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office.

Castrodes, 28 years old and a resident of F. Llamas, Cebu City, accused Joavan of pointing a gun at him during a traffic altercation last Friday outside Vista Grande Subdivision in barangay Bulacao, Talisay City.

“I was scared and shocked during that time since he pointed his gun towards me and I saw that he was very angry at me,” said Castrodes, in his affidavit sworn in before prosecutor Benjo Luther Macion.

In an interview shortly after the inquest proceeding conducted by Macion, Castrodes said not like the other victims of Joavan, he is bent on proceeding with the case “in the name of justice.”

Castrodes is a registered nurse, who comes from a family that owns a chain of pizza stores.

His father Rene, in a separate interview, also vowed to support his son’s cause, despite the fact that he is fighting against the son of a city mayor.

Macion, the inquest prosecutor, said they are set to charge Joavan with grave threats, illegal possession of firearms and violation of BP 881 (Commission on Elections gun ban).

The violation on Comelec gun ban case was supported by joint affidavits of PO3 Arnold Damasco, PO2 Roy Lofranco and PO1 Rusty Pelayo, who were members of the search team that checked the suspect’s sports utility vehicle late Saturday night.

The grave threats charge as alleged by Castrodes was corroborated by SPO1 Ricardo Balbutin, SPO1 Ciraco Luab and PO1 Pelayo. It will be filed before the Municipal Trial Court in Cities, while the two cases will be elevated to the regional trial court in Cebu City.

A government model Colt .45 caliber pistol, which Joavan allegedly used to point to Castrodes, was found during the search of his vehicle on the strength of a warrant issued by RTC branch 10 judge Soliver Peras.

Also found inside the red Isuzu Trooper Big Horn with plate number YEZ 460 were 13 pieces of live ammunition.

The said SUV was held by the police when no gun was found in Joavan’s possession when he was brought to the police station.

The vehicle was left inside a repair shop in barangay Lawaan III where the suspect went to after he allegedly pointed a gun at castrodes.

Joavan has already been implicated in a number of gun toting incidents, but has not been charged. He is not also a licensed gun owner.

Two of the three cases, however, allow Joavan to post bail.

Macion said the defendant will need P160,000 for his bail — P80,000 for the illegal possession of firearms case and another P80,000 for the violation of the Comelec gun ban case, which he reportedly committed because it was still in effect last Friday.

Joavan, in yesterday’s inquest proceedings, waived his right to file his counter affidavit to Castrodes’ allegations, which would mean the cases would then be elevated to the courts thereafter, and he would then be transferred to Maghaway Detention and Rehabilitation Center.

But since the cases are bailable, Mancion said, the mayor’s son might not have to go to the city jail as he could easily post bail already shortly after the cases would be filed.

But the power outage, which started at past 2 p.m. stalled the drafting of the cases’ information, thereby forcing Joavan to spend another night at the stockade of the city police.

Dare to comment???

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena yesterday announced this after showing copies of a notice of suspension issued by the Commission on Audit (COA) for Cebu City’s separate P500,000 financial aid given to Cordova town in 2006. The money was for the purchase of uniforms for liaison officers assigned in Cordova town for the 2007 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cebu.

The COA team said the amount given by the Cebu City government to Cordova was suspended in audit due to several deficiencies.

These include the absence of an agreement between the two LGUs and the absence of official receipts.

The COA called on former Mayor Arleigh Sitoy, who was elected to the Provincial Board last May 10, municipal accountant Jaime Sumagang and payee recipient Danilo Booc to complete the audit requirements.

This comes without provocation or any information that Aquino is planning to even appoint any of his sisters to government. The call appears to mean nothing but a taking of credits when it later shows that Aquino will not be appointing any sister to government, after all.

And such a call simply brings aspersion to themselves and their motives at grandstanding and taking credit on something that there is nothing to give about. It is like saying ahead of time what will be said later on: “See! It was because of our call that Aquino did not appoint any of his sisters to government.” Tragic, indeed.

Meanwhile, Liberal Party vice-presidential candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas III chipped down the strong 800,000 lead of outgoing Makati mayor Jejomar “Jojo” Binay of PDP-Laban to 786,511 votes. Roxas broke the sturdy 800,000 lead 24-hours and a few minutes ago, cutting it off by 13,489 votes after 1.39% new election returns (ERs) came in and tallied.

With still more than 10% ERs to count, the contest for the second-highest public office in the Philippines remains undecided.

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Aquino leads in 13 regions in the Philippines while Estrada dominates in regions 2, 10, 11, and 12. This regional dominance of Aquino makes it almost unlikely that Estrada will be able to bridge the wide gap with almost 90% of election returns already in.

Meanwhile in the vice-presidential race, Liberal Party candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas III slowly cuts down the lead of PDP-Laban and outgoing Makati mayor Jejomar “Jojo” Binay. Binay is a guest candidate of Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.

Roxas broke midnight the sturdy 800,000 lead that Binay maintained yesterday into around 791 thousand this morning.

Roxas may have a chance of winning the race if the three regions (regions 6, 7 and 13) where he dominates can provide him at least 900,000 votes to offset Binay’s lead. Binay dominates Roxas by thousands of votes in 13 regions in the country. The race keeps the adrenalin up for supporters maybe until all election returns have been counted in.

For the count of every single precinct in Cebu you can check the COMELEC page to see who won the election in Cebu.

Aside from two large bundles of P20 bills, there were also several envelopes containing P150 (3 pieces of P50 bills) and sample ballots bearing the names of Lakas-Kampi presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro, Nacionalista Party vice-presidential bet Loren Legarda, and senatorial candidates down to the local candidates of One Cebu headed by reelectionist Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Senior Insp. Rodrigo Giangan, chief of the Dumanjug Police, said the team of the Philippine Army headed by Lt. Lavrenet Meriales of the 78th Infantry Battalion was on foot patrol in Barangay Canghumawod at 2:20 p.m. on Saturday when they noticed two persons sitting on a bamboo bench.

Giangan said Meriales noticed the P20 bills in two bundles placed inside a plastic bag. The two identified themselves as Canghumawod barangay chairman Herminigildo Edimne and his councilman Felix Calago. They later found out that the two were carrying more money inside a bag that also contained the One Cebu sample ballots, said Giangan.

Edimne was later brought by Mariales to the police station of Dumanjug for more questioning and inventory of the items in his possession.

Based on the inventory report read by Giangan, the two had 110 white envelopes, each containing three pieces of P50 bills or P150 and sample ballots bearing the names of One Cebu candidates from national and local positions.

The sample ballots contained the names of Gilbert Teodoro for president, Loren Legarda for vice-president, senatorial candidates – Estrada, Remulla, Guico, Sotto, Tamano, Revilla, Cayetano, Tatad, Lapid, Drilon, Enrile and Marcos; Pablo Garcia for congressman in the second district; Gwendolyn Garcia for governor; Glenn Soco for vice-governor; Calderon and Caminero for board members; Nelson Garcia for mayor; Rodrigo Pan for vice-mayor; and eight candidates for councilors in Dumanjug. There were two bundles of P20 bills and each bundle contained 50 pieces of P20 bills.

A sticker with the name “Belinda Quirante for councilor” was placed alongside the 20-peso bill in one bundle, while the sticker of Cardo Condes for councilor was also placed in each of the 20-peso bill in another bundle. Another 50 sample ballots containing the name of Iluminado Perales for councilor, stapled with P20 bill, were also found, Giangan said.

Giangan said they also found two yellow pads containing the names of 125 individuals. Giangan refused to comment if the names were those of voters supposed to get the money. Giangan said Edimne said a local candidate gave him the items, but Giangan said they no longer asked who the local candidate was.

Giangan said he and the soldiers decided to release the barangay chairman but the seized items were placed in the custody of the Dumanjug police. With just barely a day before the elections, hundreds of passengers scrambled for boat rides back to their provinces at the Cebu port. There were many, however, who admitted voting for the money.

A group of passengers bound for Jetafe, Bohol, were overheard talking that in their town, a group of candidates has been giving P1,500 per voter. A female factory worker in Mactan Export Zone said she was asked to go home to vote for her relatives who were candidates for mayor and vice-mayor in Buenavista, Bohol.  “But I would really ask for a refund (for my boat fare),” she said in Cebuano.

As early as 5 a.m. Sunday, passengers were already waiting at the ticket offices of inter-island vessels and motorboats in Pier 1 and 3 in Cebu City. At Pier 1, around 1,000 passengers were waiting outside the ticketing office of the Clemer motor banca, plying the Cebu City to Jetafe, Bohol route.

As of noon, around 200 passengers were still waiting to get tickets. Commander Anelito Gabisan, chief of staff of the Coast Guard District Central Eastern Visayas, said the Philippine Coast Guard has been on heightened alert because of the influx of passengers since Friday. Gabisan said most of the passengers were bound for Bohol, Southern Leyte and Leyte.

The port in Danao City in northern Cebu was also flooded with passengers going to Camotes Island. “They really wanted to vote,” Gabisan said. Gabisan said the shipping companies were allowed not to follow their usual schedules because of the influx of huge number of passengers. If a certain vessel was already filled to the allowed capacity, the vessel could sail ahead of its schedule.

Gabisan said this practice has been allowed through the flag-state advisory 38 of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA). The advisory is issued for the peak-season of the shipping industry. Gabisan said Coast Guard detachments, however, were ordered to strictly check the exact capacity of the vessels and to avoid allowing vessels to sail with excess passengers.

Do you think Gilbert Teodoro knows about this vote buying or did he even arrange it? If yes then why? You comments below please…

Included in these towns are Masiu, Lumba-Bayabao, Lumba-Unayan and Tubaran in Lanao del Sur where members of the board of election inspectors (BEI) failed to show up, said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez at a press briefing.

Jimenez said they have yet to determine the reason behind the non-appearance of BEI members in these areas.
Three more towns in Lanao del Sur—Marogong, Bayang and Sultan Dumalondong — have also been recommended for the declaration of poll failure due to still unknown reasons.

Total failure of elections has also been recommended in the municipalities of Albarca and Sumisip in Basilan due to “open hostilities” in these areas, Jimenez said without elaborating.

Poll failure could also be declared in the towns of Guimbal in Iloilo and Pagsanjan in Samar after ballots were “inadvertently switched” there, Jimenez said.

The Comelec en banc will come up with a decision later in the day whether or not to declare failure of elections in these areas, he added.

Jimenez said the Comelec has 30 days to reschedule polls once the reasons for failure of elections in these areas disappear.

The Omnibus Election Code defines failure of elections as a situation in which “the election in any polling place has not been held on the date fixed, or had been suspended before the hour fixed by law.”

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It also said that the suspension may also occur “after the voting and during the preparation and the transmission of the election returns.”
Roan Libarios of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections said the election inspectors in Lanao del Sur could have failed to show up due to threats from local candidates.

Lanao del Sur is among the five provinces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which has been placed under Comelec control due to serious armed threats and presence of paramilitary forces threatening to mount violence or commit election fraud.

A team of the Regional Intelligence Office and Regional Special Operation Group arrested the suspects—Brendon Muñoz Maglasang and Joramel and Adonis Almonacin of Tabuelan town; Dennis Alburo Sollano of San Remegio town; Soriano Mellano Solon, Baltazar Babo Yestobio, Ferdinand Jumao-as, Roger Ragubo Munez and Walter Pastor Miano of Cebu City—during a raid Friday morning in Barangay Kantubaon, Tabuelan, 86 km from Cebu City.

Chief Inspector Romeo Santander, RSOG chief who led the operation said the raid was conducted based on a search warrant issued by Cebu Regional Trial Court Branch 10 Judge Soliver Peras.

The confiscated firearms were a 9mm Ingram, three .357 revolvers, two .45 cal. pistols and several ammunition. The nine suspects were arrested inside the house of Cantubajon barangay captain Deolito Almonacin. Santander declined to conclude that the nine were hired goons of the local candidates in 4th district but noted their presence in the area was suspect. “In the layman’s view, what’s their (suspects) purpose there?” he pointed out.

He said the search warrant was based on an April 5 incident where Almonacin, who is also the president of the Association of Barangay Captains in Tabuelan town, was accused of strafing the house of Orlando Almodiel, a political leader of Tabuelan mayoral candidate Raul Gerona (Nacionalista Party).

Almonacin is supporting incumbent Mayor Rex Gerona, who is seeking reelection under Lakas-Kampi. The two Geronas are brothers.

Shortly after an argument in April between Almonacin and Almodiel, police said there were witnesses who allegedly saw the former shoot the latter’s house with a long firearm.

In Cuartero town in Capiz, a village watchman seized a handgun from a supporter of a vice mayoral candidate Friday morning. Malagabi Barangay tanod Wilfredo Cabison identified the suspect as Arnold Hollete, a supporter of vice mayoral candidate Jedy Cedullo (Ugyong Kita Capiz party) of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante, who is running for governor of Capiz.

Hollete, who was riding a motorcycle, tried to enter the premises of the Malagabi Elementary School, where the precinct count optical scan machines had been delivered, Cabison said. Cabison said he approached Hollete but the latter drew a gun tucked in his waist. He added that he was able to seize the gun from Hollete but the latter fled, leaving behind his motorcycle.

Malagabi barangay captain Totoy Candelario turned over the handgun to the town police. Insp. Rene Obregon, Cuartero police chief, said they would charge Hollete, who remained at large, with illegal possession of firearm and violation of Commission on Elections gun ban.

Cebu provincial election supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano said around 20 percent of the PCOS machines were so far distributed since Monday before the suspension order was issued. The Comelec said most of the PCOS machines were delivered in Cebu City and Mandaue City schools.

Castillano said the suspension order was issued after the testing and sealing of the PCOS machines in Metro Manila showed that the electronic results of the votes cast for local candidates did not match with the manual count results. Reports from Manila also said that some PCOS machines only read the votes cast for national level. The errors were eventually traced to faulty flash cards which will now be recalled and replaced.

Comelec executive director Jose Tolentino said the suspension would not be lifted until the configuration for the local positions was corrected. “In order to facilitate said correction, the PCOS should stay in the hubs instead of being deployed to the different polling centers,” Tolentino added.

PCOS machines already deployed should remain in the precincts. The Comelec also suspended the final testing and sealing of the PCOS machines.

“Since the conduct of yesterday’s final testing and sealing in some areas revealed glitches in the configuration for local positions, there is a need to suspend the conduct of final testing and sealing in all areas until such time as the configuration for local positions shall have been corrected,” the Comelec order said.

On May 7, the Comelec will simultaneously test and seal the machines to prepare the PCOS for the May 10 elections. Around 3,065 PCOS machines arrived in Cebu City last month and were kept in a warehouse. Former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. yesterday said a manual count should be conducted parallel with the automated election which would be implemented in the country for the first time.

“We should have parallel manual count because election cannot be stopped,” he said. Davide said it was unacceptable for Comelec to reason out that defects on the machines were not detected earlier because these had not been tested. “Comelec may be using this as an excuse. Comelec should take full control of the situation,” he said.

He said plans to have the defected machines replaced were a waste of time. He said it was possible for cheating to be done by deliberately making the PCOS machines malfunction.

“They could resort to the destruction of the machines so that the result would not be forwarded to Comelec Manila and the end result is to cause delay in the national proclamation,” said Davide.

Another way to cheat, he said, is to make people wait too long to discourage them from casting their votes. Davide said it was unwise for Comelec to cluster precincts to accommodate at least 1, 000 voters each. He said that delays in voting could discourage people from voting and go home home instead without casting their votes. Voters should only be limited to 500 voters per precinct, he said.

Reacting to the recall of the flash cards of the PCOS, the Liberal Party in Cebu called anew for a parallel manual count considering the uncertainty brought about by the flaws of the automation system.

LP Cebu spokesperson Joselito Ramon Castillo, however, did not mention any specific steps the party would take as they are still awaiting advise from their Information Technology experts. While the law is for a poll automation, it does not prohibit a parallel manual count, said Castillo during a press conference.

But One Cebu Party believes there is no need for a parallel manual count—a stand which Governor Gwen Garcia also announced last week. Her spokesperson Rory Jon Sepulveda yesterday reiterated the governor’s stand despite the problems with the memory cards of the PCOS machines. “But if you ask me as of now, we still maintain that there is no need for a parallel manual count,” said Sepulveda. “We are concerned about it but we still have trust and confidence that the Comelec can perform their task mandated by the Constitution.”

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena is also worried there would be a failure of election because of the glitches noted during the testing of the PCOS machines in Manila. Osmena said it would be better to postpone the elections and go back to the manual system or look for ways to address the problem with elections just five days away. He said there is a high probability there will be a failure of elections because it’s a new system that has not been tested before.

“I prefered to go back to manual. You know they can’t pursue this kind of election. This exercise using the standards that I’m accustomed to in evaluating the risk, the risk is very high, because it’s a new system that is untested,” he added. He said the new system like automated election should be tested very well even in small towns or two towns with already a back up system, so that in case something goes wrong the commissioners are there who can instruct immediately to cancel it or to do something to address it.

“Now we’re going to have a serious problem. I’m really not familiar with the details, but if it doesn’t work, if it has not worked in the testing, the whole issue is already damaging. Even if it works on the election, no one will believe it. Because losers always think they are cheated,” Osmena said.

“The answer’s obvious. Look at what happened here,” Teodoro told reporters when asked what made decide to pursue the race despite consistently placing fourth in the surveys. As a gift, Cebu third district Representative Pablo John Garcia gave Teodoro a white t-shirt with the words “Hindi Kami Natanong sa Survey” (We were not asked during the survey) printed on the front.

Asked what this meant, Teodoro answered, “Of the 2,400 that were asked, several millions more were not. So you cannot base the (election) results there.” In his speech before residents and local officials, Teodoro steered clear from commenting on issues surrounding other presidential bets.

“Habang ang iba nangangako, habang ang iba nagki-kritisismo, tayo nandito nag-uusap tayo ng progreso, nag-inaugurate tayo ng City Hall. Ganyan ang klase ng serbisyo na gusto nating ibigay sa ating mga kababayan (While others are making promises, while others are criticizing, we are here talking about progress, inaugurating a City Hall. That’s the kind of service we would live to give our countrymen),” he said to the applause of the audience.

Teodoro was once again promised support from the province of Cebu, under the One Cebu group led by Governor Gwen Garcia.

Garcia’s brother, Pablo John or PJ, thanked Teodoro and said, “We have decided to work hardest for your victory on the third district on May 10. Your presence here today, Mr. President, is acknowledged and we will always be grateful for this.

And your presence here today, a few days before the elections has only recharged your troops…210 out of the 235 barangays in the 3rd district…and we have ascertained that you will achieve victory come May 10, 2010.”

“Thank you, Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro, for your leadership and for standing for what is right and what is good for this country and we will always be standing behind you, beside you and together with you come May 10, 2010 and into your presidency in the next six years.” In his speech, Teodoro vowed to improve education, provide health-care, improve seaports and airports and provide adequate power supply in the entire Visayas region. Will Gibo be the next President of the Philippines?

Thousands of Noynoy fans came at the end in their yellow T-Shirts, brought yellow ribbons and even posters of the “star”. He shook hand with most of them it seemed as it still took a while before he came on stage, bringing the crowd to dance and cheer his name.

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. joined Benigno Aquino on stage since he openly declared his support for him already. His son, Hilario Davide III, is running for governor in Cebu under Aquino’s Liberal Party. Also some of Noynoy’s senatorial candidates joined in, like incumbent congressman Nereus Acosta, Yasmin Busran-Lao and Martin Bautista.

The running mate of senator Aquino, Senator Mar Roxas, was missing though. Noynoy explained this saying that Roxas was “presiding over a meeting on preparations to guard the ballot and all attendant activities towards that.”

Seems we voters in Cebu are quite important to the big guys ha

]]> http://cebuinformer.com/politics/12787/senator-benigno-noynoy-aquino-3rd-in-cebu/feed/ 16 http://cebuinformer.com/featured/12686/guess-where-villars-cebu-headquarters-is/ http://cebuinformer.com/featured/12686/guess-where-villars-cebu-headquarters-is/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:57:37 +0000 Leslie http://cebuinformer.com/?p=12686

Just imagine, how much this cost them - water, bottle, cap and label?

This is going to be a short and sweet news for all of those monitoring the developments of the campaign trail of all the Presidentiables.

Whether you like Villar or not; whether you are going to vote for him or not, I think you’d love to chew on this information:

While Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro’s headquarters is at the Shamrock Building, near Fuente Osmeña and the Provincial Capitol, Manny Villar’s is at… drum-rolls please!

The Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, near Cebu Business Park. The one where all those concerts are held? Sound familiar?

*wink wink*

On tour with President Arroyo was Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia, Cebu North District Rep. Raul del Mar, Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas Felix Guanzon, MCIA General Manager Gen. (Ret) Danilo Francia, COMCENTCOM Major General Ralph Villanueva, PNP-7 Regional Director C/Supt. Lani-o Neres and 2nd Air Division Commander M/Gen. Edgardo Mendoza. President Arroyo was then met at the entrance of Asiatown IT Park by Cebu Properties Ventures and Development Corp. (CPVDC) President Francis Monera, Cebu Educational Development Foundation IT President Bonifacio Belen, Asiatown IT Park Corporation Communications Head Janet Japson and other leading IT key industry players, IT locators and BPO investors in the province.

President Gloria Arroyo was also interacting with some IT applicants at the Human Resource and Recruitment Section of Qualfon Quality Contact Services, the latest IT locator to set up house at the Sky Rise 3 Building inside the IT Park with some 1,200 employees. The President’s cyber corridor highlights the Arroyo’s ICT milestone legacy in the government’s advocacy and legacy agenda to provide jobs for Filipinos as she has outlined in her past State of the Nation Addresses on the Cyber Corridor Super Region for the country.

“BPO and E-services are key drivers for our economy as they generate investment, jobs, they alleviate poverty and improve the lives of our people. And we are proud to be among the world’s leaders in this field,” stressed the President in her earlier speeches. She said that this goes to show that the country’s Cyber Corridor project which encompasses centers of technology and learning running the length of the super regions from Baguio to Clark to Metro Manila to Cebu and down to Davao and neighboring areas, is in full swing.

The President also declared that “we are now creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth” with the BPO remaining resilient through the rise and fall of the economy. With earnings of six billion dollars and 600.000 employees, the BPO industry in the country has manifested the Filipino’s competitiveness, she also stated.

The Cyber Corridor Project was set up in 2006 according to a plan prepared by 31 ICT councils composed of representatives from the private sector, the academe, and local government units in partnership with CICT, DTI, and BPAP when the President introduced the super regions concept dividing the country into five areas of development, namely: North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, Luzon Urban Beltway, Central Philippines for Tourism, Agribusiness Mindanao, and Cyber Corridor. Arroyo’s next stop on her Cyber Corridor Tour is in Concentrix-Damosait Park in Davao City.

The forum “Choices and Voices for 2010: An Encounter with the Presidentiables” got organized by Cebu’s three major business chambers, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and the Cebu Business Club (CBC). Aboitiz Equity Ventures, the Visayan Electric Co.(Veco), the Dilaab Foundation, Cebu Bankers Club, Philexport-Cebu, Philippine Retailers Association and the Ateneo Graduate School of Business-Cebu Core Group are some of the other supporters of the forum.

The event at the Cebu International Convention Center will start at 4 pm and finish at 6 pm this Friday. You will be able to hear the positions and programs of Sen. Benigno Aquino III, ex-president Joseph Estrada, Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., and Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon.

At 3 pm on the same day you can see a demonstration of the of the automated vote counting machines which will be used in the presidential elections this coming May. The presentation is done from Smartmatic-TIM.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde was pronounced dead in Makati Medical Hospital at 11:51AM today. His wife is now rushing to Mactan International Airport to catch an immediate flight going to Manila.

He was earlier reportedly found unconscious in his Malacañang office earlier today, but was later corrected to say that he was found unconscious in the bathroom of his Bel-air residence. Reports say he had a “major heart incident” in his home in Makati and so he was rushed to Makati Med at 11:27AM, unconscious and unresponsive to medication.

He was pronounce dead at 11:51AM.

He was last reported to have been here in Cebu last week to participate in the Sinulog festivities.

Cerge Remonde in Mendiola Rally