NEWS BRIEFS

Gwen, execs attend Japanese festival

CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia along with top businessmen and diplomats are in Japan to attend the annual “Miroku-no-Sato Festival” of Tsuneishi town.

Among those invited in the festival were Jon Ramon Aboitiz, Erramon Aboitiz, Bobby Aboitiz and Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez and his wife.

Garcia said the town is one of the biggest employers in Cebu, with Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. helping to establish the province as the third biggest in the world.

Accommodation and travel expenses were shouldered by Tsuneishi.

Miroku-no-sato is a place located in Numakuma town, where the Japanese shipping firm holds office.

Miroku-no-Sato is a theme park with a large leisure complex boasting of amenities like an amusement park, swimming pool, open-air baths, hot spring baths and a Chinese art museum. Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus

Alternative routes

BARANGAY officials of eight hinterland barangays asked City Hall officials to open passenger jeepney routes in their areas to provide alternative transportation other than the habal-habal.

The officials who dubbed themselves the DB8 of 8 group asked the Cebu City Integrated Traffic Operations (Citom) board to provide jeepneys routes to cover barangays Talamban, San Jose, Pulangbato and Pit-os Bacayan.

DB8 of 8 consists of the northern barangays of Agsungot, Bacayan, Binaliw, Budlaan, Pulangbato, Pit-os, San Jose and Talamban.

“The concern mainly of barangay Pulangbato is the means of transportation of residents from sitio Kasambagan, sitio Kamanggahan and its neighboring barangays,” their resolution stated.

Habal-habal drivers also collect higher fares to transport passengers from barangay Talamban uphill, they said.

A copy of their resolution was furnished and approved by the Citom board during its Thursday meeting.

Their resolution said access to their barangays has become a problem especially after the Metropolis Subdivision homeowners association denied them access to a subdivision road, which serves as a shortcut to their barangays last May 1. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac