Majestic ‘tuki’

Some sectors have suggested that the municipality of Oslob stop the tourism practice of feeding  whale sharks or butanding,  especially the muncipal  government  of Donsol whose own whale shark watching activities are affected by what’s happening in Cebu. I  visited Oslob town recently with my siblings and found the experience  very satisfying.

The barangay of Tan-awan in Oslob was very organized and the whale shark watching activity was regulated.  My brothers and sisters rode a banca for P500 each.  Their children swam in the sea to get a  better view of the marine creatures. They were only allowed to swim for 30 minutes.

Before  they plunged into the water, we  all had to attend a short briefing on  rules of engagement. Those of us who stayed in the boat were  allowed  only 30 minutes.

From the shore, one could already see the movements of the whale sharks. For a closer look,  one can swim alongside it or take a paddle boat to sea to view the large butanding (which Cebuano locals call tuki) slowly following the boats of fishermen who hand feed them uyap or krill. It was a  majestic sight indeed.  I was told there are now 16 whale sharks visiting  Oslob in the mornings.

But I agree that experts should come in and guide work for the conservation of the whale sharks and the welfare of the community. The Regional Development Council (RDC) of Central  Visayas has spoken in favor of letting the tourism activitiy continue  but I suggest that they bring in experts.

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I had a pleasant interview with Talisay City Mayor-elect Johnny V. Delos Reyes who is fondly  called JVR. I find him a  very simple and humble person whose only intention in running for mayor was to serve the people, especially the poor.

In my TV program My Politics in My TV channel 30, Delos Reyes outlined his program of government to  attend to basic services of Talisay residents.  When I asked about his infrastructure program, he said what’s  the use of  infrastructure projects when the people were hungry, hence his focus in  providing for  basic needs first like jobs and health services.

I’ve known JVR mostly from his calls to radio stations where he would advice  those asking for help to  go to his house so he could give a donation , usually for  medical needs.

I also asked JVR about the bad traffic in Tabunok especially since he plans to restore operations in the public market there.

JVR said that it  would become a problem if we only focused attention on  Tabunok market so he plans to still keep open the Lagtang market as  a satellite  and use a diversion road for  tricycles  to improve vehicle flow in the Tabunok area.

After hearing JVR, I sincerely believe  that Talisay City will change for the better after  being under the leadershp of Eduardo  Gullas  for  for nearly half a century.

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The PNP leadership should  follow the local government autonomy law that allows the mayor to choose the police chief in his locality from qualified nominees.

Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama has been deprived of this choice after Camp Crame appointed a PNP officer without consulting the mayor.

The Local Government Code states that the PNP should submit three nominees to the chief executive for the mayor to choose one among them as police chief.

In the case of Cebu City, the mayor was not  consulted.  In fairness to Senior Supt.  Mariano Natu-el Jr. was just ordered by his superiors  to assume the office as city police chief.

The PNP hierarchy also violated the law on appointments because Natu-el was appointed on May 10 when the Comelec prohibition on appointments was still in effect.

I think Mayor  Rama is a victim of an  ugly war of partisan politics.