Newsbriefs

Palm tree chopped down

A 20-feet tall palm tree in front of Cebu City Hall’s legislative building was chopped down yesterday afternoon after city officials declared it as a safety hazard to passersby.

“We don’t want to wait until it falls down (due to strong winds),” said Simeon Romarate, Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC) executive director.

“The Manila palm tree has smaller roots and is also planted in a man-made enclosure so its roots were not able to hold on deeper in the soil,” Romarate said.

Steel braces were placed on this particular tree after the Oct. 15-earthquake. Someone who saw it being cut told Romarate that it should have been uprooted and replanted elsewhere.

“That was a good suggestion but we don’t have the equipment to uproot trees,” Romarate said.

He earlier requested the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to inspect the tree and ask for permission to cut it down.

DENR Officer Anastacio Cabalejo said in a letter to Romarate that they won’t object to the plan of cutting the tree.

Romarate said they couldn’t cut the entire tree at once as this may cause cracks on the Plaza Sugbo ground./Correspondent Jose Santino S. Bunachita

Envoy lauds hotel staffers

AUSTRALIA’S Ambassador to the Philippines said he admired the professionalism of staffers at the Raddison Blu Hotel who continued to serve guests even as the 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck last Oct 15.

Ambassador Bill Tweddell said an Australian manager of a five-star hotel in Cebu City told him their staff never left the building during the quake but instead went straight to check on their guests.

When everyone was accounted for, the hotel staffers escorted their guests to safety, he said.

“That just shows the courage of people here. The general spirit of the Filipinos is something to be proud of,” he said.

Tweddell visited Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III at his Capitol office to inform him about the P124-million worth of financial assistance extended by the Australian government to help earthquake victims. /Correspondent Peter Romanillos

Radaza slate sweeps Lapu-LAPU

LAPU-LAPU City Mayor Paz Radaza said her administration secured a 30-0 landslide win in Monday’s barangay elections.

She said opposition barangays Canjulao and Suba-basbas joined her administration late last year while her candidates in barangay Pajo won.

“Opposition candidate Junard Chan may not be a problem like the one we have in barangay Agus before. There was just a little miscommunication between us when he decided to run (against my administration),” Radaza said. /Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza