Water shortage, int’l flights banner 2012

The year 2012 was marked with memorable positive and negative developments that did not just affect the individuals concerned but had a significant impact on the society if one tries to see the bigger picture.

First, the bad news – the water shortage crisis.

Even if spared by Typhoon Pablo, Iloilo City last Dec. 5, 2012 was placed under a state of calamity due to water shortage or crisis.

With the declaration, the city government was able to use five percent of its P70-million calamity fund set for 2012 used for the distribution of water to the waterless barangays of the city. 

The resolution approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod stated that 56 out of 180 villages in the city were affected and have no access to water.

Though some progressive groups, particularly the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Panay (Bayan-Panay) questioned the declaration, the city government admitted the water delivery assistance is only a palliative strategy.

However, the city opted to do so while waiting for the supposed bulk water supply distribution by FloWaters. Recently, the Metro Iloilo Distrcit gave an ultimatum to the management of said contractor to deliver the water service or else rebuke the contract.

And the good news – there are now two international flights leaving and arriving Iloilo City. 

Iloilo officially launched its first international flight bound to Hong Kong and Singapore from the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan town on November 8 and 9, respectively.

The direct flights to the two Asian countries were made possible by Cebu Pacific, which also considers Iloilo as its fifth hub.

After five years of operation, Iloilo airport now has twice weekly flights from Iloilo to Hong Kong and thrice a week; Monday, Wednesday and Friday flights to Singapore.

HERE’S THE REST OF THE NEWSMAKERS

DINAGYANG FIRE IN JANUARY. The Dinagyang Festival revelry was halted when a fire razed more than 300 houses in three city villages – Tanza Timaza, Tanza Esperanza and Malipayon, which displaced about 514 families.

Though the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) had enough fire trucks, it had a hard time extinguishing the fire due to the narrow alleyways which made it hard to penetrate the area.

The fire which started around 5:20 p.m. of January 23 was put off by 10:45 p.m.

The fire allegedly caused by an unattended flat iron at the house of Reynaldo Rosales of Zone II, Brgy. Rizal-Timawa also pushed the Sangguniang Panlungsod to put the three villages affected under a state of calamity.

With the declaration, each affected family received P5,000 financial assistance from the P24 million quick response fund utilized from the remaining P80 million calamity fund of the city.

Some displaced families stayed for weeks in nearby elementary schools and day care centers prior to their relocation.

Despite the tragedy, help for the victims poured in from various sectors all over the country. Amid their pain, victims were able to cope easily with the showers of help; drinking water, food, clothing, kitchen utensils, bed mat and mosquito net among others.

QUAKE JOLTS ILOILO IN FEBRUARY. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake of tectonic origin rocked the region, including Iloilo City at intensity 5 around 11:49 a.m. of February 6.

The tremor left 42 fatalities mostly from Guihulngan, La Libertad, and Jimalalud in Negros Oriental just near Tayasan town, the quake’s epicenter.

In Iloilo  City, the Iloilo Hall of Justice or the Chief Justice Ramon Q. Avanceña Hall of Justice along Bonifacio Drive, was also damaged.

The Department of Public Works and Highways through the Iloilo City Engineer’s Office ordered judges and employees of the HOJ to vacate the place after cracks on the walls and deflection of several floor slabs were discovered. 

With the order, HOJ employees were temporarily relocated to a vacant building of De Paul College and some at the Iloilo Terminal Market.

Until now, HOJ personnel are still campaigning for a building replacement instead of just retrofitting plan approved by the DPWH.

 FAILED ASSASINATION IN MARCH. Radio blocktimer Fernando “Kapid” Gabio, 62, was cleaning his car in front of his house in Brgy. Democracia, Jaro, Iloilo City, when motorcycle-riding gunmen shot him at around 8 a.m. of March 2.

He sustained an injury in his right leg after he was able to take cover when he saw the gunman pulling a firearm.

Gabio and the police both believed the incident is work-related, saying some personalities might have been affected by Gabio’s commentaries.

The Iloilo City Police Office pointed to notorious hired killer Eliseo Mabayag, leader of the Magkal Group, as the prime suspect in the incident and in three other occasions of alleged attempted killing of Gabio.

Mabayag, Iloilo’s most wanted person, was in the news last January 2011 after the broad daylight killing of a high school basketball team coach at downtown Iloilo.

Gabio filed frustrated murder charges against known members of Magkal Group.

He accused Jenel Chiva as the gunman while Rodel Almoete and Oliver Panes allegedly acted as accomplices - Almoete allegedly served as driver while Panes was the “spotter” and who confirmed that he is the target.

The incident raised supports and created another controversy. 

Iloilo Press Club president Rommel S. Ynion offered P2 million reward money for any information that would lead to the identification and capture of Gabio’s gunmen.

The Iloilo Chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also pushed for the fast resolution of the case.

However, Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog was tagged as the alleged “mastermind” which, the mayor denied.

Mabilog also pledged to extend financial help to Gabio but was rejected by the latter.*

NO LOVE ON FEBRUARY AS THE NAVAS CLASH. Businesswoman Mercedes Nava alleged that his cousin, incumbent City councilor Plaridel Nava, has masterminded several crimes in the city.

Some of these, she said, are the murder of a policeman and a real estate agent in the last several years, and the grenade attack on Bali Hotel in 2011.

She said she knew about Plaridel's alleged crimes because she was present in the planning stage, and afterwards, she said she heard her cousin and his alleged confederates boast what they allegedly did.

Plaridel denied any involvement and said the controversy was “politically-motivated.”

He, however, tagged Mercedes as the “white lady” – an alleged member of a criminal syndicate involved in the crimes she tagged him by, based on an intelligence report revealed by the councilor.

Meanwhile, businessman Rene Hierro filed a complaint against Plaridel, pushing for his removal in IBP list for allegedly keeping an adulterous relationship with his estranged wife, Annalyn, and even sired a daughter with her as a result.

Hierro said he engaged the services of Nava sometime in 2009 as his lawyer. 

While these cases in which Nava was his counsel were pending, the city councilor “accepted to act as lawyer of my wife, Annalyn Hierro and on October 21, 2011 filed a petition for violation of R.A. 9262, or for Protection Order” against him, Hierro said.

This was again denied by Plaridel saying that he is a professional.

COLD BLOOD IN MAY. Sonia Amular, wife of Regional Trial Court Judge Daniel Antonio Amular of the RTC Branch 21 in Mambusao, Capiz, and 17-year-old Rubylin Deloso, who just graduated from high school were found dead with stab wounds on the different parts of their body at the family’s pension house in Brgy. Ilaya, Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo on May 15.

Deloso’s naked cadaver was found in the bathroom and Sonia’s was at the garden with her rain boots still on.

Sonia sustained at least eight stab injuries, and apparently, a hard object was used to strike her in the head.

Deloso, on the other hand, suffered 20 wounds on the different parts of her body.

Initially, it was surmised that the robbery could have been the motive of the incident.

But police ruled it out after it was found that no important belongings were lost at the Amular’s abode.

ALLEGATION OF POLICE PROTECTION IN MINING OPERATIONS IN JUNE. On June 24, two personnel of a firm situated in an island tagged as the site of alleged illegal mining activities in Carles town, were killed by two armed men who are allegedly connected to a high-ranking police official.

Security guards George Torres and Dante Villanueva, both employed at Calagnaan Island Agro Industrial Corporation in Sitio Bagacay, Brgy. Barangcalan were shot dead by Cocoy Jucson and Jojie Belmonte.

The two suspects were allegedly known as the private bodyguard of Eric Lacson, the owner of the said firm.

No less than Mayor Arnold Betita alleged that the private guards were allegedly connected to Senior Superintendent Allan Guisihan, Negros Occidental police director who was a friend of Lacson and also of Police Supt. Giovanni Musico, deputy chief for administration of the Iloilo City Police Office.

The two police officials immediately denied any involvement in illegal mining activities.

TORNADO HITS ILOILO IN JULY. A tornado caused by Tropical Storm “Gener” wrecked 20 houses made of light materials along the shoreline of Sto. Niño Sur, Arevalo district, Iloilo City July 30.

Seven housed were destroyed while 13 were damaged.

The affected families sought temporary shelter at the village’s multi-purpose hall.

ILOILO ESPLANADE INAUGURATION IN AUGUST. The Iloilo Esplanade was formally opened to the public after its inauguration August 18. 

The 1.2-km. stretch of the Efrain Treñas-Boulevard from Benigno Aquino to Carpenters Bridges, was funded through the Priority Development Assistance Fund or “pork barrel” of Ilonggo Senator Franklin Drilon. 

The Esplanade was designed by renowned architect, Paulo Alcazaren, the brain behind Singapore’s Clarke Quay. 

At present, the Esplanade offers a cobbled walkway with viewing decks facing the river and landscaped with ornamental plants. 

Drilon said the Esplanade will open business opportunities to both small and medium enterprises but added that cleanliness and orderliness in the Esplanade must be maintained and observed.

CORRUPTION NOTED SEPTEMBER: OVERPRICED MEGABRIDGES. Two mega-bridges built along Gen. Luna St. in Iloilo City became subjects of a Senate inquiry headed by Senator Serge Osmena after Citizens Infrastructure Integrity Watchdog (InfraWatch) tagged it as “overpriced.”

Rick Ramos, executive director of InfraWatch said the five year-old fly-over in Gen. Luna/Infante Avenues is “worst” with its estimated P450 million price. The flyover near San Agustin was also priced exorbitantly.

The Senate inquiry will look into the P11-billion anomaly in the construction of pre-fabricated mega-bridges in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod and Iloilo.

The two bridges were implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways during the incumbency of Rep. Jerry P. Trenas as the city mayor and Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as the vice mayor.

ALLIANCE SEALED IN OCTOBER. Incumbent Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor bagged the Liberal Party’s endorsement as its standard bearer in the 2013 midterm elections after several months of contesting versus former governor Niel Tupas Sr.

With Tupas Sr. giving to LP’s, his son, former Barotac Viejo mayor Raul will be Defensor’s running mate.

Tupas Sr. is running for 4th district congressman against Board Member Hernan Biron Jr., brother of incumbent Rep. Ferjenel Biron who is running for governor.

PERCEIVED CORRUPTION IN NOVEMBER. For the first time, Social Weather Stations (SWS) has included Iloilo City as one of its areas for survey on Enterprises on Corruption.

The result became controversial after SWS noted a misreporting made by a local paper on the results of the survey, which showed that 85 percent of Ilonggo businessmen perceived that corruption exists in the city government, one percent higher than the national government.

It also showed that 70 percent of the respondents also believed that corruption happen in the provincial level and 69 percent in the barangay level.

The Iloilo survey was conducted from July 16 to Oct. 16, 2012 with 100 respondents, 67 of which from small and medium enterprises and 33 from large enterprises.

In other survey areas, the result showed that there is a decrease in corruption compared to last year. For Davao, it decreased to 46 percent from 66; Cebu, 33 from 57; Cagayan de Oro, 40 from 55, Calamba 39 from 63 and 27 in Angeles City, Pampanga.