NEWS BRIEFS

OBO chief relieved

Engr. Josefa Ylanan of the Office of the Building Official in Cebu City is being replaced.

City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete said Mayor Michael Rama will soon issue a memo for Ylanan’s return to her mother unit, the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), where she is assistant department head for administrative concerns.

Engineer Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez will serve as acting building official until the mayor appoints a replacement.

” It is up to the mayor to decide who to designate for OBO,” said Poblete.

OBO is now a full-fledged City Hall department based on a city ordinance approved last month.

Poblete couldn’t say if other changes will follow. He said management is dynamic and there will always be the possibility of movement of City Hall managers.Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac

Kawasan falls: more clearing ahead

After clearing the first level of the Kawasan Falls in Badian town,  the Capitol wants resort owners to demolish illegal structures in the second and third levels.

After two weeks, the Capitol may send demolition teams to tear down these obstructions, said OIC Provincial Engineer Adolfo Quiroga.

He said the Capitol is waiting for results of the ground survey conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The survey was started last Monday to check whether there is a violation of the easement zone under the Water Code of the Philippines or Presidential Decree No. 1067.

Easement refers to the portion near a waterway that is supposed to be reserved for public use – 20 meters in agricultural areas, three meters for urban areas and 40 meters for forest areas.

The survey will also verify the ownership claim over a 2.1-hectare lot by resort owner Wilhelmino Saldua.

Quiroga said this report will be presented in their meeting on June 13 of the technical working group together with some owners.

Last April , Garcia declared the Kawasan Falls temporarily closed to tourists to allow the demolition of structures like concrete foundations and cottages that she described as examples of “crass commercialism.” Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus

Comelec asks voters to register early

Voters should register now to avoid long lines at the local Comelec offices when the deadline falls on Oct. 21, 2012.

The reminder was made by Cebu City Commission on Elections (Comelec) officer Ferdinand Gujilde.

Asked about officials transferring to other voting districts, Gujilde said it is not up to the the election superivors to say yes or no to these moves.

“Our function is ministerial. For as long as you possess the requirements as voter, then we will accept you,” he said.

On late processing of voters’ identification cards, Gujilde said the delay was caused by the corruption of some digital files and the lack of budget for printing. He said voters can still cast their votes by present any valid photo ID.

On alleged premature campaigning by officials, Gujilde admitted they are aware of these activities but said , ”We cannot do anything against it as Comelec technically only has jurisdiction over these people when the campaign period starts.”

He said the campaign period starts on March 29, 2013./Correspondent Sean Timothy Salvador

Alcover seeks abolition of pork barrel

Party-list Rep. Pastor Alcover Jr. of the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy called for the abolition of the pork barrel of congressmen. .

He said the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) should be scrapped because it is used by to bribe legislators to support the administration’s programs.

Speaking at the weekly 888 News Forum, Alcover said he knows some members of the House of Representatives were “forced” to sign administration-sponsored legislations for fear their pork barrel would not be released.

“Pork barrel is the mother of all corruption. Why give this to members of Congress? We are in Congress to legislate and not to make bridges,” Alcover said. Correspondent Sean Timothy Salvador