News Briefs

P300-T BRGY AID

AT LEAST 17 barangays of Naga City received a P300,000 check from Capitol yesterday.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia handed over P3.4-million worth of checks to the barangay captains as financial assistance to these barangays.

The village chiefs, through their respective resolutions requested to the provincial government financial assistance for the rehabilitation and renovation of their barangay halls and day care centers.

Uling barangay captain Justino Dakay thanked the governor for the financial aid. He said  it would greatly help in funding the renovations of their infrastructure projects.

Other barangay captains will still receive their financial assistance after their resolutions would be approved.

Meanwhile, Governor Garcia said that the aim of every Kabayo Festival, organized by the  Cebu provincial government, was to bring back the townsfolk’s appreciation of horses as a means of transportation as it was in the early days.

Garcia during her speech in Naga City during the Governor’s Cup Horse show and competition South Qualifying Race said that horses were means of transportation even during the Spanish times.

She said the people must learn to appreciate horses and not just as a means of entertainment./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus

LP SPOKESPERSON

REP. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City north district has been named as one of the six spokespersons of the Liberal Party (LP) during an election of officers and Christmas party held on Monday night in Manila.

Del Mar said that her appointment is expected to help strengthen the ties of Cebu City officials with LP of President Benigno Aquino III.

But unlike Del Mar, Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district turned down an offer to make him LP vice chairman for the Visayas.

Osmeña said that he has made it a policy to keep his and the independence of his local group Bando Osmena-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) from any national party.

“BO-PK is not beholden to any national party.  Our loyalty is to the people of Cebu City,” he said.

The former mayor also dismissed talks on the attempt of Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas to patch up his political differences with Mayor Michael Rama who earlier declared his independence from BO-PK.

A Balitang Bisdak report said that Roxas has even threatened that LP may not endorse a Cebu City group if the two groups wouldn’t reconcile.

Del Mar said she was not aware of Roxas nor of any LP official’s plan to intervene in the conflict between Rama and Osmeña.

Del Mar said that should LP decide not to back BO-PK candidates in the 2013 election, she was confident that her local group would still be able to run a good campaign. /Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac