News Briefs

FIRE SAFETY AT PALACE  OF JUSTICE

A FIRE drill yesterday  at the four-story Palace of Justice  in Cebu  showed some structural problems  that could hamper an  emergency evacuation.

Cebu City Fire Marshal Anderson Comar said the ladders were not supported with beams, making it risky to use.

Several  rooms are filled with brittle court documents that can catch fire. At least six fire exits and ladders are situated in the building.

The Palace of Justice houses 22 RTC branches, eight Municipal Trial Court in Cities and the Regional State Prosecutors’ Office.

It is also home to the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office, Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office, Philippine Mediation Center, Public Attorney’s Office and probation rooms.

Executive Judge Meinrado Paredes, who rappelled down the building as part of a mock evacuation, said the Supreme Court had turned down his request to keep the documents in  container vans for fear they may be destroyed by the heat. He said he ordered staff to make do by arranging the documents on shelves. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol

CAPITOL BEAUTIFICATION DRIVE

The Capitol is willing to cover the expenses for Cebu City’s beautification of  a one-kilometer stretch of Osmeña Boulevard  from Fuente Osmeña to the provincial government grounds.

“The Province of Cebu  will do the beautification of this entire stretch,” Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said.

She said Architect Tess Javier showed her the overall plans of the project.

Sidewalk cracks will be fixed.  The path will be transformed into a brick walkway.

Decorative lampposts will line both sides of the road.  Lamps in the center island will be embellished.

The governor said she will raise funds for this purpose and hopes the project will be finished before August.

The Cebu Beautification Movement Inc. chaired by Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung will target “zero vendors” around the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda and along Osmeña Boulevard.

Last May 5, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Yeung and Garcia led a unity walk to kick off the P50-million beautification project.

Rama said several business establishments along the boulevard and around the park committed to redesign their facades for a Spanish colonial era look.  Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus

NOT A CATHOLIC GROUP

Philippine bishops have distanced themselves from a group calling itself  a Catholic lobby group  that supports  the Reproductive Health bill.

The  Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the C4RH is not a “genuine Catholic association or organization.”

“Any Catholic who freely identifies himself or herself with this group gravely errs,” said Bishop Nereo Odchimar, CBCP president.

The  announcement appeared in  the Bag-ong Lungsoranon, the official newsletter of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

The Catholics for Reproductive Health (C4RH), which has several Cebu members,  are seeking a dialogue with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma on the bill.

The bill’s provisions include public access to government-funded supplies of condoms and contraceptives.

But the Church said it will guide its flock against the RH bill, which violates human life, promotes promiscuity and downgrades morals.

Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, Human Life International country director, said he will personally suggest to Palma to decline the calls for dialogue by other faithfuls supporting the RH bill.  Reporters Ador Vincent Mayol and Candeze R. Mongaya