News Briefs

Vietnam rice to be sold after polls

THE 600,000 sacks of confiscated Vietnam rice  smuggled into the country recently will be sold  after the May 13 elections, the Bureau of Customs-Cebu said yesterday.

Cebu City Customs collector Edward dela Cuesta said the first batch of rice has  undergone inventory. “We already arranged and processed the schedule which would be after the elections since people are busy this week,” he said.

Dela Cuesta said he wanted to invite the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce to witness the public auction.

“We want the sale of the rice to be transparent,” he said.

These container vans containing the rice reportedly valued at more than P1 billion are still awaiting inspection by Deputy Customs Commissioner Danilo Lim in Cebu City. Correspondent Michelle Joy L. Padayhag

Traders gripe about Mandaue  city jeepney re-route scheme

Several busines establishments  along the national highway in MC Briones Street complained of low profits with the jeepney re-routing scheme enforced by the Mandaue City government since last December.

Justin Ouano, operations manager of Vel-Ouano Realty Inc., said their business and others in the area have been losing customers, a problem raised  in a letter to Mayor Jonas Cortes.

Vel-Ouano Realty Inc. owns  the commercial building in the North Atrium.

“When the rerouting was implemented we were not informed about it,” he said.  The re-route scheme will run until June 27 this year.

Under the scheme, passenger jeepneys from Cebu City traveling to M.C. Briones should  turn left to A.S. Fortuna St toward the J. Centre Mall Terminal.

Jeepneys from A.S. Fortuna will take a back road leading to M.L. Quezon St. then back to M.C. Briones.

Ouano said the new traffic scheme makes it inaccessible for the public to visit  commercial establishments from the intersection of M.C. Briones and A.S. Fortuna to the intersection of M.L. Quezon and M.C. Briones.

Edwin Ermac, Traffic Enforcement Agency in Mandaue (TEAM) chief, said the re-routing scheme aims to decongest traffic along M.C. Briones Street and help attract more customers to J. Centre Mall.

He said they are also helping other commercial establishments in the city like Parkmall with the re-route scheme. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos