Pacquiao, Locsin at Monico Cup opening

Bacolodnons have gone agog over the report that Philippine boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao and former Negrense professional cager Noli Locsin will grace the opening of the Monico Cup inter-barangay summer basketball tournament that unreels tomorrow at the Negros Occidental multi-purpose activity center.

Pacquiao has been declared officially an adopted son of Bacolod. Noli, on the other hand, is the son of the late Country Post publisher Gerardo Locsin and one of the basketball stalwarts of the province in the Philippine Basketball Association.

The inter-barangay basketball tourney could have been just another hometown joust were it not for Pacquiao’s presence as announced by the tournament organizers. But Bacolodnons went gaga over the report that Manny Pacquiao will attend the affair as guest speaker.

He and Locsin will talk about how they achieved their goals in their chosen sports to inspire the aspiring athletes.

Forty-seven teams are joining the tournament, including guest teams in the 19-under. Of the 47, 26 are in the 26-under, and 21 others in the 19-under.

The event will be ushered in by a foot parade from the Paglaum Sports Complex at 6 a.m. to the MCMPAC. The program will start at 7:30 a.m.

Rep. Monico Puentevella said majority of the players are former and present members of the seven-time NOPSSCFA, UNIGAMES and National Students champion, West Negros College’s Mustangs.

So far, that seems to be the most awaited event in Bacolod, an exciting start of the Holy Week observance.

Confusion over Comelec verification

One can’t be sure exactly what is the next activity of the Commission on Elections regarding the verification of the voters’ signatures for the people’s initiative.

As of the other day, the provincial Comelec had not yet started with the verification of the signatures for the people’s initiative for Charter change (Cha-cha).

A check showed that Sagay City assistant Comelec officer Amelita Oliveros has not yet received any memorandum on what to do, except for the instruction to wait for the go-signal when to conduct the signature verification.

Lawyer Cesar Distrito, La Carlota City Comelec chief, said he has not yet received any petition on Cha-cha or any guidelines about the exercise. But he said the verification of signatures will be done by the Comelec provincial office.

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon, however, said the province has garnered more than the required three percent of signatures per district endorsing the change of government from presidential to parliamentary.

In Bacolod, the Comelec began the verification of signatures the other day as did other areas in Western Visayas, according to Comelec regional director Dennis Ausan.

Ausan said all Comelec officers must proceed immediately with the validation of the signatures submitted to their offices for the people’s initiative as soon as they receive them. But he added that this must be accompanied by an official request for verification with the name of the person spearheading the move.

Earlier, Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said no guidelines from the Comelec are needed to proceed since the procedure is similar to what is done in verifying signatures in recall proceedings.

On the other hand, the Bayan Alyansang Makabayan started its own grassroots signature campaign to counter the "bogus and illegal" Malacañang signature campaign for Charter change, according to Bayan Negros secretary general Felipe Gelle Jr.

Gelle said Bayan has received reports that P50 to P200 was given to each barangay worker for every 10 signatures gathered for the people’s initiative.

The Bayan move has been dubbed as "Operation Bawi."

But Comelec provincial supervisor Daisy Real added to the confusion among mediamen when she said that some election officers in the field were still waiting for guidelines from their head office on how to proceed.

But she added that signatures have been submitted for verification to the Comelec offices in Escalante City, Calatrava, La Castellana, Isabela and Pulupandan.

DILG Bacolod head Irineo Asuga denied that his office was behind the signature campaign in the city. He said he did not know who was behind it.

So the question now is, will the Comelec issue guidelines to its field officers on how to proceed with the verification?

Well, it seems that there are conflicting interpretations of what the Comelec actually means when it tells its field officers to wait when to proceed with the certification as well as for the guidelines. Others, however, simply went ahead in the face of pronouncements that they are not violating any law.

Kalinga sa Kawal in Capiz

AFP chief of staff Generoso Senga led the groundbreaking of the Kalinga sa Kawal housing project at Camp Macario Peralta in Jaminaan, Capiz yesterday.

The housing project for Army soldiers is the result of an MOA between the Philippine Army and the Gawad Kalinga Development Foundation.

Meanwhile, an MOA was signed at the Sarabia Manor Hotel in Iloilo the other day by Maj. Gen. Charlie Datu, AFP deputy chief of staff, and seven colleges and universities on Panay Island.

The schools are the Jose B. Lacson Colleges, University of St. Agustin, Central Philippines University, Cabalum College, Colegio de San Jose, St. Paul College, and Dominican College.

Aside from Datu, Brig. Gen. Juanito Gomez, deputy commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, also signed the MOA.

The schools will offer scholarships, tuition discounts or incentives to soldiers’ dependents, according to Maj. Lyndon Solesta, the Army’s regional spokesman.

PNP acts on holdups vs Indians

Indian nationals engaged in the lending business in Bacolod City and nearby areas of Negros Occidental will hold a conference this month to address the spate of holdups and robberies victimizing them, according to Senior Superintendent Pedro Merced.

Merced is appealing to Indians involved in the 5-6 lending trade in the city, to cooperate with the police in filing charges against the suspects.

Last Sunday, Indian national Harry Singh and his companion, Nick Villanueva, were waylaid by two persons who forcibly divested them of P5,000 in cash and their cellphones.

The robbers also ran off with their motorcycle which they used to escape.

Lately, local broadcast stations and dailies have been carrying reports of various Indian nationals held up by unidentified armed men who stripped them of their cash and valuables. The victims usually reported the crimes but did not follow them up.

Meanwhile, Negros Occidental police director Charles Calima announced that he intends to put up a police detachment in Barangay Kumaliskis, Don Salvador Benedicto town to defuse the tension there following reports that an independent armed group is reportedly linked to a local councilor.

Police are verifying the claim of Dodo Canete, a casual employee of the municipal government of Don Salvador, that a politician is supplying firearms to barangay officials.

Don Salvador Benedicto Mayor Cynthia de la Cruz disputed the efforts of some quarters to link her family to a land dispute.

The land dispute is reportedly between the families of Conrado Abay, whose daughter-in-law is the niece of controversial councilor Vicente "Oti" Bacordo, and that of Nicole Benedicto and Samuel Española.

The Diocese of San Carlos has expressed support for the probe by the military and the police on the armed group reportedly operating in the area.

Iloilo standoff

San Agustin University of Iloilo City recently terminated teachers and staffers following a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Court of Appeals’ decision that their strike three years ago was illegal.

Theodore Neil Lasolea, president of the San Agustin Employees Union-FFW, said the terminated employees would appeal the High Court ruling. He said the union still has not received a copy of the decision.

The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals’ decision ruling that the strike on Sept. 19, 2003 was illegal. The university subsequently terminated 17 officers of the union on April 7, 2005.

The High Court said the Court of Appeals did not commit reversible effort in declaring the strike illegal and directing the parties to submit to voluntary arbitration as provided for in their collective bargaining agreement.

None of the three arbitrators — Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas, and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo — succeeded in convincing the university to reconsider its decision terminating the union officers.

The university came out with a full-page ad in the Panay News the other day, declaring that the administrators of the University of San Agustin deemed the reinstatement of the USAEU-FFW officers, unless ordered by the court, to be a non-negotiable issue.

That was it. Closed and final.