As Baybay City turns 6 on june 16 Cari slams "poll fraud" raps

CEBU, Philippines - A series of activities have been lined up by the Baybay City government for the celebration of its 6th Foundation Year as a city on June 16 (Sunday), led by newly re-elected Mayor Carmen Cari.

These activities, which will be staged starting June 14, are Boxing at the Gym, Motocross, Airgun Shooting competition, chess, lawn tennis, badminton and dart tournaments, dancesport showdown and concert of the 6-Cycle Mind and Callalily bands.

Mayor Cari, who got a fresh mandate in the recent May 13 polls, was busy attending to the preparations of the annual event, but she took the time to talk to The Freeman about the prevailing reports on allegations from the opposition (led by losing bet Malot Galenzoga) about election fraud that pushed her to victory.

"The opposition has every right to file charges or complaints against election fraud. We are ready to answer and we will do so once we receive copies of the complaints, because as far as the Comelec is concerned, everything was above board and there was no cheating in the elections," said the mayor.

She added that "filing of protests or complaints is a normal reaction of a loser who could not accept defeat. The results would show that the Baybayanons still accept me as their leader and trust my administration."

Mayor Cari said that, on June 14, she will lead the distribution of enrolment assistance to some 800 high school scholars at P1,000 each, which is intended to help them buy school things and new uniforms.

This scholarship for high school students started last year when statistics showed that there were many young people in the city's 92 barangays who have not finished high school, she said. On the priority list are students who dropped out of high school, mostly because of poverty. To sustain them, the scholars get a monthly stipend of P300, she said.

"Armed with high school diplomas, the chances of these youths to improve their status in life increases," said Mayor Cari. "They can then apply for college or TESDA scholarships, or they can seek employment. They cannot do that unless we help them graduate from high school," she said.

A three-termer, each as mayor and congresswoman before she "returned" to become mayor once more, Cari said she had sent many scholars to college already, and this could be one of the reasons why the Baybayanons still wanted her to be their mayor.

Her son, Rep. Jose Carlos Cari (5th district, Leyte), who also won another term in the last elections, is now continuing the college scholarships. Last year, the congressman sponsored 324 scholars at the Visayas State University, one of the region's premier institutions of higher learning.  (FREEMAN)