Mandaue to heed Comelec order on cash aid

THE Mandaue City government is planning to extend financial assistance to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) but officials will have to verify with the Commission on Audit (COA) if the move is above board.

Ernie Manatad, Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) president, said only 21 barangays remitted their P10,000 share before the deadline last Sept. 20.

The six remaining barangays whose contributions were still being processed were barangays Centro, Jagobiao, Maguikay, Opao, Tabok and Umapad. Mandaue City’s barangays contributed P270,000 to the Comelec.

Under the Local Government Code, each barangay has to contribute P10,000 to Comelec for the barangay election expenses.

Transportation allowance

The amount will pay for the transportation allowance of 1,551 teachers who will be serving in the elections in Mandaue.

Each teacher is entitled to a P500 transportation allowance but they can only receive P174 from the existing amount, Manatad said.

Elsewhere, barangay candidates and incumbent officials in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu and Consolacion town came out with their own gimmicks in winning the votes of neighbors and constituents.

Local politicians eyeing seats in the barangay councils in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu have likewise started making their presence felt in the villages.

Cambaro barangay councilman Vicente Domacian gave away school supplies and sponsored a feeding program in cooperation with the Mandaue Lions Club and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) .

In Barangay Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City, visitors and residents were greeted with large tarpaulins featuring barangay candidates.

Punta Engaño barangay chairperson Lourdes Ibag said there are three of them running for the post but she claims support from Mayor Paz Radaza.

Her rival, incumbent barangay councilman Josie Hayashi, posted two tarpaulins in two key locations in Punta Engaño. Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza and Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos