Boracay gets added boost from GMA visit

President Arroyo on Tuesday boosted Boracay’s lure as the country’s primary tourism destination when she visited the paradise island after a brief visit to Iloilo City.

Mrs. Arroyo was also correct. Tourism, she pointed out, “is one of the sectors we have to strengthen as our response to the global meltdown.”

She said foreign tourist arrivals had grown by an average of 10.6 percent every year from 2004 to 2008.

But that failed to attract the attention of Western Visayas mediamen who remained primarily focused on the controversial right of reply bill.

Well, perhaps part of that was due to the fact that her Boracay visit with some of her Cabinet members could not immediately be projected by television networks to the region. Another is that local mediamen were mostly not present in that affair.

But still, the more important thing insofar as media interest is concerned remains the right of reply bill. Even the Kalibo Press Club came out openly against the passage by Congress of the ROR measure.

But the most vocal opposition to ROR bill came from the Negros Press Club with president Edgar Cadagat openly calling for the total scrapping of the measure, which has been approved by the Senate and pending on the House floor.

The measure, according to Cadagat, constitutes repression by the state and prior restraint, both violative of the Constitution which promotes press freedom and freedom of expression and speech.

Ironically, the author of the bill in the House of Representatives is Rep. Monico Puentevella, himself a former president of the Negros Press Club.

The Negros Media Council for Press Freedom, headed by Negros Daily Bulletin publisher Peter Toga, also past NPC president, came out against the right of reply bill.

Inday Espina-Varona of Philippines Graphic pointed out that while there is room for the improvement of media ethics, Puentevella’s ROR bill and the version authored by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. pose greater danger than solutions.

At any rate, members of the electronic and print media are expected to block the passage of the bill in the House and possibly in the bicameral conference committee.

Some mediamen, however, point out that President Arroyo has already signaled that she would veto the bill if approved by both chambers of Congress.

For short, the battle is on.

Bredco wins TRO vs Bacolod

The big news insofar as Bacolod is concerned, though, was the grant by Regional Trial Court Branch 42 Judge Fernando Elumba of the writ of preliminary injunction sought by the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (Bredco) against the takeover by the city government of its port operations and reclamation area.

Although it was handed down last Feb. 18, it was only made public last Monday.

Bacolod City was represented by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Vice Mayor Judge Thaddeus Sayson, and Councilors Al Viktor Espino, Dindo Ramos, Kevin Ramos, Homer Bais, Greg Gasataya, Celia Flor, and Roberto Rojas.

The judge also ordered the plaintiff to file a P5-million bond for whatever damage the defendants may sustain by reason of the injunction order and should the court finally decide that the petitioner is not entitled to the relief granted.

Lawyer Renecito Novero, Bredco’s legal counsel, said the order would stop the city from implementing the takeover bill.

The city government, however, has indicated that it would file a motion for reconsideration on the TRO.

Bredco, argued Novero, is a party-in-interest because it has already spent more than P1 billion for the project with the corporation still owing loans from banks for it.

Well, Bacolodnons are waiting for the outcome of the motion for reconsideration.