News Briefs

Refloating vessel tough on salvor firm

REFLOATING the passenger vessel M/V Maria Angelica Grace that capsized off Cabahug wharf nearly two months ago has posed several problems for the salvor company contracted for the job.

Uni Orient Pearl Venture Inc. tried to refloat the vessel last week but broke several metal chains in doing so, said Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu chief Winiel Azcuna.

The company then dredged the site in order to turn the capsized vessel upright instead of dragging it 80 meters away heading to the to PKS shipyard where it was originally planned to be refloated.

“They would dredge the site because it’s deeper and they can turn it upright because it’s harder than dragging the vessel,” Azcuna said.

He said two weeks ago about 8,000 liters of diesel were drained by Uni Orient Pearl Venture Inc., eliminating any threat to marine life and the environment.

Out of 8,000 liters of diesel, only 4,000 were drained from the capsized vessel.

Azcuna said the rest of the fuel may had been consumed prior to the incident.

Uni Oriental Pearl removed the spill boom after the fuel was siphoned off the vessel. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos

PB endorses renaming of Mactan-Mandaue bridge

THE Provincial Board (PB) endorsed the renaming of the first Mactan-Mandaue Bridge into the Sergio Osmeña Jr bridge in its session yesterday.

The resolution authored by PB member Rimobapil Holganza, who cited the Local Government Code of 1991 which provides laws governing the renaming of structures.

A provision in the Code stated that a local legislative council may change the name of infrastructures in consultation with the Philippine Historical Commission (PHC) within its jurisdiction.

Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy, who was invited by the board, said the new resolution will supersede the resolution in the 1970s that was passed by the PB naming the bridge as the first Mandaue-Opon bridge.

Last week, the Metro Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB) passed a resolution for the renaming of the first Mactan-Mandaue bridge.  Mayor Sitoy also endorsed this at the MCBMB meeting.

Sitoy said the bridge was renamed after former governor Sergio Osmena Jr. who pushed for the creation of the bridge connecting Mandaue and Mactan Island.

A copy of the resolution will be furnished to seven congressmen including Lapu-Lapu City Rep. Arturo Radaza.

PB will also furnish a copy of it to the Speaker of the House of Representatives to sponsor a bill for the renaming.

The PB will also pass a resolution requesting the Lapu-Lapu City Council to make a similar resolution.  The resolution was passed on mass motion. Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus

Job fairs in Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete

JOB openings in tourism, construction and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)  industries, including those not requiring a college education, are up for grabs in job fairs to be held in Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental provinces.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA) will hold the job fairs before Labor Day, May 1.

In Cebu City, Fidel Magno of Cebu City Hall’s Department of Manpower Development and Placement (DMDP) said they are 1,500 local and 15,000 overseas job vacancies to be offered in the job fair.

“This is our way of helping our graduates and unemployed bridge the gap. This is a pre-labor day activity of Tesda,” said Tesda Regional Director Rosanna Urdaneta.

Tesda Secretary Joel Villanueva will be attending today’s job’s fair in Bohol at the Bohol Cultural Center, then in Robinson’s Mall in Dumaguete City tomorrow and at the University of Cebu-main on Apr. 25 in Cebu City.

Urdaneta said 70 to 80 percent of the applicants will be hired either on the spot or will be included in their shortlist of prospective employees. Senior Reporter Marian Z. Codilla