News briefs

CITYHOOD FIGHT

REP. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu 1st district) said he hopes the Supreme Court will finally seal the victory of  16 cities, which include Bogo, Carcar and Naga in Cebu, in their fight for cityhood status.

On Tuesday, the High Court en banc will convene to decide whether to sustain the constitutionality of the cityhood laws.

The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) filed its second motion for reconsideration after the SC ruled in favor of the 16 municipalities.

“My fearless forecast: The cityhood case is going to end after Tuesday. I don’t think the pendulum will swing again. They (SC justices) want to put  closure to it,” Gullas said in a press conference held  in Cebu City.

The High Court came up with a series of back-and-forth rulings regarding the cityhood status of 16 municipalities.

The latest decision of the SC went in favor of the municipalities. /Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol

WAIT FOR DECISION

LAWYER Lionel Marco Castillano, Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial supervisor, said he would wait for the Comelec resolution of the election protest filed by former Compostela mayor Richie Wagas against Mayor-elect Joel  Quiño than be misconstrued as taking sides on the issue.

Castillano said that he would rather wait for the decision of Comelec since its new commissioner, Augusto Lagman, assured that all election protests would be resolved a year before the next election.

On May 21, 2010, Wagas filed a petition for the annulment of the proclamation of Mayor Quiño who won over Wagas in the mayoralty race in May 10 election and of the council members of Quino’s slate.

Wagas asked for a manual recount of the votes cast because he claimed to have discovered discrepancies and deficiencies in the conduct of the May 10 elections only after the winners were proclaimed./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus

COMPOSTELA COPS

THE 100 or so  policemen assigned to support the Compostela police station will continue its peacekeeping role in the town.

Acting Compostela police chief Alan Madrid Rosario said he was not keen on pulling out the support group since there were still supporters of Compostela town mayor-elect Joel Quiño and his rival former mayor Richie Wagas, who  gather at the municipal hall every day.

Chief Insp. Rosario said that he still needed the policemen to help stabilize the situation.

The group was assigned to the town after Quiño and his supporters took over the municipal hall last month.

Compostela officer in charge Pedro Noval said that he wanted to pull out the policemen to reduce the town’s cost of spending  at least P5,000 every day for their food.

Noval, who is also the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 7 director, said that the P5,000 would be taken from the peace-and-order funds of the town.

Rosario took over the post left by  Sen. Insp. Rodrigo Giangan, who resigned last month citing Noval’s loss of confidence as the reason for his decision. /Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus