BACOLOD BISHOP STIRS POLITICAL DEBATE
BACOLOD CITY, March 9, 2006, (STAR) THE SOUTHERN BEAT By Rolly Espina - Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra sparked yesterday a political debate on the eve of the Church-sponsored prayer rally asking for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.What stirred the political pot was the claim made by the Bacolod prelate that if he had the opportunity to speak to GMA, he would tell her that the people of Negros are "insistent that she steps down."
Navarra also told local mediamen that he will present this position to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines during their two-day meeting which starts today in Manila.
Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon called the bishop’s statement as not reflective of the reality on the ground. He then pointed out that the President won overwhelmingly in the province despite the fact that he and other local government officials supported the late presidential bet Fernando Poe Jr.
"That time I was not even supporting her," he said.
Marañon, however, said that he respects the statement of the bishop who may have data to support his position.
"I base my observation on the records of the Commission on Elections," he added.
Admittedly, supporters of GMA would object to the bishop’s perception. But Rodolfo Parreño, of the FPJ movement, said that the President definitely does not have the support of the masses of Negros Occidental. What Marañon was referring to yesterday may just be the opinion of the local elected officials.
Fr. Anecito Buenafe, head of the diocesan social action center, said he expects Mrs. Arroyo’s allies to insist that she still has the support of the majority of Negrenses.
But, he added, "it all depends on what kind of eyeglasses one is wearing. If you look at withered grass with green eyeglasses it will look green," he said.
Rep. Monico Puentevella said he has always respected the opinion of our "beloved bishop and that he is entitled to that, but let us stop speaking in behalf of everybody else that will only cause more restiveness. It does not help."
Others also took up the cudgels for GMA, including Manapla Mayor Manuel Escalante, head of the Negros Association of Chief Executives, who said that while the bishop is entitled to his opinion, he thinks it is not reflective of how the majority of Negrenses feel about the President.
Yesterday, about 20,000 Negrenses converged at the Bacolod Plaza to manifest their call for GMA to resign. It was supposed to be a prayer rally, but the placards and other symbols of protest included a coffin of democracy.
Anyway, I’ll write about it later. The verbal jousts, however, continue.
Panay showdown looms
Well, in Panay Island there is another political war that seems ready to erupt. This is the impending battle between the forces of Senate President Franklin Drilon and GMA’s supporters.
This developed recently when Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas warned Liberal Party members that they face expulsion should they fail to abide with the party’s constitution. He also said he is sticking it out with Drilon, former LP president.
The LP is still solid, Tupas emphasized, accusing Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who was elected LP president, of not following the LP constitution and by-laws.
LP chairman emeritus Jovito Salonga had offered to mediate the raging controversy between Drilon and Atienza.
Three former LP presidents — Sen. Wigberto Tañada, Northern Samar Gov. Raul Daza, and former Education Secretary Florencio Abad — have also thrown their support behind Drilon.
Antique Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez, who was elected vice president for Western Visayas in the March 2 convention at the Manila Hotel, texted me her position. She said she "very proud to be identified with leaders like Mayor Atienza, Chief of Staff Mike Defensor, and Presidential Legal Counsel Ed Nachura, who want "a party whose leaders think of the country first, and a party that looks for solutions to our problems."
She took a swipe at LP leaders who would use would make a dash for a ruthless grab for power through unholy alliances with the "enemies of democracy."
The contest for the LP leadership in Panay at the moment though is just confined to the joust between Gov. Tupas and Gov. Perez.
There are speculations about some movements among the political leaders of Capiz where Sen. Mar Roxas and his family hold sway.
Definitely, that breakaway will soon register its impact on the political equation in that province.
This is just a political storm gathering in Panay between the Drilon forces and those of GMA. The shape of the split is still to be spotted, although predictably, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas is sure to remain with GMA. So with TESDA Secretary Augusto Syjuco and his spouse, Rep. J. Syjuco, Agriculture Undersecretary Oscar Garin and his forces who are expected to remain with the President. But Rep. Arthur Defensor of the third district is still making up his mind.
The situation remains fluid. But the headcount may come soon. And Panay will split up again. ‘Vagina Monologues’ A group of professionals and students are performing for the second year in a row, Eve Ensler’s famous "Vagina Monologues" on March 11 at the Garden Royale, Goldenfields Commercial Complex
This year’s performers also include media practitioners and employees from our local courts. Leading the "vagina warriors," as they call themselves, is city councilor Joselle Batapa-Sigue, also a former media practitioner, in collaboration with the Performance Laboratory and the Media Advocates for Reproductive Health and Empowerment.
Iloilo judges honored by Rotarians
The Rotary Club of Manila recently cited two Iloilo City judges for their outstanding performances in the judiciary.
They are Judge Marciana Deguma, presiding judge of the Municipal Trial Court Branch 3 of Iloilo, and Amalik Espinosa Jr., a MTCC judge appointed judge on June 11, 2001.
Espinosa was a former legal researcher at Branch 2, Court of First Instance in 1976. The following year, he became legal officer of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). He went back as clerk of court of Branch 28 of the Regional Trial Court of Iloilo.
Judge Deguma, on the other hand, was an elementary school teacher for 13 years and a probation officer for 10 years before her admission to the Bar on May 30, 1986. He served as a member of the Public Attorney’s Office for 15 years and later, became a district public attorney before her elevation to the judiciary.
A hot summer builds up
The "liquidation" of a suspected military informant in Guihulngan town last March 4 could presage a long hot summer in Negros Oriental.
The fatality, kagawad Jury Bayawa, 54, was reportedly the fifth victim in a series of liquidations in Negros Oriental by members of the New People’s Army (NPA), according to military authorities.
Bayawa was gunned down by two unidentified men believed to be members of the NPA death squad.
Four days earlier, according to Rene Genove of the Visayan Daily STAR’s Dumaguete Bureau, three hit men were also gunned down. Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit member Sonny Villamor was killed in Barangay Mandapaton, La Libertad.
Suspected Rebolusyunaryong Hukbo ng Bayan (RHB) rebels also shot dead Generoso Caballero of Barangay Orong, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on March 6.
On Jan. 26, a member of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade leader Rogelio Magbato and two civilian volunteers were also gunned down in Mabinay, Negros Oriental, the adjacent town of Negros Occidental’s Kabankalan City.
The mountainous portion of the Negros Occidental-Negros Oriental boundary is where the communist rebels operate.
At the rate shootings have occurred in the area, the possibility of a long, hot summer offensive by rebels looms.
ADDENDA. Rep. Monico Puentevella is asking that the approval by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the proposed share of a beverage company of 50,000 metric tons of sugar be investigated.
Rep. Clavel Martinez of Cebu endorsed the proposal by Puentevella who voiced the objections of the Confederation of the Sugar Producers Association Inc. and the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters to DTI Secretary Peter Favila, who approved the proposed sugar importation by Zesto Corp. The lawmaker pointed out that the planned import poses a threat to the sugar industry and could affect the lives of millions whose livelihood depends on the sugar industry….Watch out carefully for your caregiver. It seems that, according to world-famed Negrense pianist Leonor Kilayko, her father’s caregiver may have taken some P1 million worth of jewelry from their home while she was in Manila in December. The caregiver, Joseph Matarong, 23, vigorously denied Kilayko’s charge, saying that she was the only one with access to her room and her missing items, which include a P500,000 diamond necklace, a dangling diamond with pear worth P350,000 and several other precious items. Matarong earlier vigorously denied Kilayko’s allegation that he was the only one with access to the items in the Kilayko household. Well, as they put it — just be careful in selecting your caregiver.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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