Reyes acquitted from graft case

The Sandiganbayan had already junked the graft case filed against Palawan governor Joel Reyes.

Reyes was said to have illegally issued  a mining permit to Olympic Mines and Development Corporation despite its alleged violations of Republic Act 7076 or the Small-Scale Mining Law.

Here is a link:
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20100530/tph-sandigan-junks-graft-case-vs-palawan-d6cd5cf.html 

Road construction is not affected by new admin - DPWH

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assured the Provincial Government that the concreting of the Southern Palawan road would not be affected even if a new administration would take over on June 30.

The concreting of the south road was under Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s El Nido to Bataraza road project which she mentioned during her state of the nation address in 2008.

“There will be no problem even if a new administration would take over because the project has a contract,” Engr. Ricardo Mañalac of DPWH said during the Provincial Board’s question and answer hour on May 25.

He also pointed that the funds would not be a problem because the budget for the project was already allocated. However, Mañalac admitted that the project was short of budget because of the P400 million still unreleased by the Department of Budget and Management.

For the south road project, the national government allotted a P1.8-billion fund but according to the DPWH, only P1.4 billion had been so far released.

The DPWH said they have no idea why the remaining P400 million was still not released.

“Although we’re ahead of schedule, June 30 is not a realistic date (for finishing the project) because of some problems we encountered. We’re just deferring the construction until the budget is enough,” Mañalac pointed.

He added that the “contractor is hesitant to deliver the cement requirements because of lack of funds.”

Under the contract, the project should be completed on Nov. 30 this year. Mañalac said that they were confident to finish the road concreting on schedule as long as the funds would be available at the soonest possible time.

DPWH’s project status report showed that as of May 20, 2010, 82 percent of the project had been finished. However, the contractor is still doing miscellaneous works which require going back to some already concreted areas.

Mitra is a full-blooded Palaweño - Salonga

Governor-elect Abraham Kahlil Mitra appealed to the Supreme Court (SC) to negate the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualifying him as candidate for the gubernatorial race on the May 2010 polls.

Former senate president Jovito Salonga, Mitra’s collaborating counsel, said in a five-page petition that the candidate’s transfer of residency should not be based on the physical appearance of his abode.

The Comelec said in its ruling that Mitra’s declared residence in Aborlan, being a barely-furnished farmhouse, was not fit for a congressman. Salonga argued that it was not a sufficient legal basis for the congressman’s disqualification.

”The determination of whether a person has changed his residence is primarily a question of his intention and not of the suitability of the living conditions,” Salonga said.

He pointed that “what is required is a candidate’s intimacy with the place where he is seeking election or his possession of a detailed knowledge or deep understanding of the locality and its people.”

“There is no doubt that he is aware and acquainted with its needs as a community and there is no reason to consider him a “stranger” or  a “newcomer” in Aborlan or, for that matter, the whole Province of Palawan,” Salonga furthered.

Mitra had served as congressman of Palawan’s second district, which includes the municipality of Aborlan and Puerto Princesa City where he was formerly registered, for nine years before running for governor.

Salonga argued that the residency requirement was still complied since Aborlan is a part of the province and the district where Mitra served. He also stressed that “Mitra has been a full-blooded Palaweño for all his life.”  

Mitra was proclaimed governor of Palawan on May 14.

Despite the Comelec ruling, he was allowed to have his votes counted in the automated elections due to a status quo ante order issued by the Supreme Court on May 7.

PPC swimmers head for the nationals

The Puerto Princesa Hammerhead swimming team, the city’s official entry to the Hagedorn Swimming Cup G-League on May 22, emerged as the champion for the event.

The competition, held at the Ramon V. Mitra Sports Complex, was a qualifying event for the championship on July in Los Baños, Laguna. Over 200 swimmers from Southern Tagalog competed to qualify for the national race.

Hammerhead vice-president Dr. Josephine Go-Cruz said that their swimmers often spend practice time until nine in the evening.

“Our swimmers spend their whole days on a hard training. But it paid off,” Cruz said.

During the national championship last year, the Hammerhead team ranked eighth among the 75 swimming teams. For this year, the team aims to achieve a higher position.

Other winners for the swimming cup were: San Pablo Mantas (1^st runner up), Cetaceans Swim Club (2^nd runner up), Cavite Golden Flippers (3^rd runner up) and Lipa City Aqua Phantoms (4^th runner up).   

Where will we go? - market vendors

Some 40 market vendors in the municipality of Coron were complaining after they were forced to vacate their stalls May 24 to give way for the construction of a hotel.

Vendors said they were notified only three days before the demolition, giving them an unreasonable time to think of what should be done. They said they did not even know where they would be relocated.

“We just want to be clarified on this matter. We were not notified earlier and when we arrived (at the market) this morning, they were already tearing down our stalls,” one market vendor said over radio station DYPR.

She added that Coron Mayor Marjo Reyes also did not tell them about the plans that half of the market would be demolished to allow for the construction of a hotel.

As of this writing, Reyes had still not spoken regarding the issue.

Reyes files election protest

Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes filed an election protest before the House Electoral Tribunal on May 24 following his loss on the congressional race during the May 2010 polls.

Reyes ran as a representative of Palawan’s second district but lost to former Puerto Princesa City mayor Dennis Socrates by 2,811 votes.

Reyes said the election results did not match the survey results prior to the elections wherein he was consistently on top.

“It was my supporters urging me to know the truth. They were wondering why I lost in some barangays where they know I should be the one to win,” Reyes said over radio station DYPR.

He also pointed that it might be a good time for his protest since the House Electoral Tribunal was also investigating the alleged irregularities during the country’s first automated polls.

Reyes enjoyed a lead in the results from some municipalities. However, Socrates led in Puerto Princesa by 15,627 votes.