Pet Melliza

BY PET MELLIZA/THE BEEKEEPER By 2015, Rep. Jerry Trenas and Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog tout, Iloilo City will be “premier” urban center, even “Queen City of the South”, its moniker that Cebu City took away decades back. Trenas initially predicted it to 2010 that Iloilo will become “premier” but in his last month in office, he revised it to 2015 for the obvious reason that his only achievement in his 9-year stint, from 2001 through 2010, was demolish a functional city hall and bequeath to his successor an overpriced skeletal structure in its stead. If we were to believe Trenas and Mabilog, Iloilo’s skyline by 2015 will be dotted by high rise buildings, commercial complexes, government centers, recreation parks, shopping malls, and all other grandeurs of a premier city. Before jumping ecstatically, may I bring readers to a few moments of silence and ponder on the queries of a fellow Ilonggo who’s in vacation to the Philippines. Why make so much fuzz on the premier ci...

By Pet Melliza/ The Beekeeper Where have the seaweed farms and salt beds in northern Antique gone? Vicente Edjan says they are disappearing. Semirara Mining Corporation (SMC) killed them. Semirara was a forested island with abundant marine life. Residents say its white beaches are comparable, even more beautiful, than Boracay’s. Its bounties – fisheries in particular -- benefit both local fishers and distant ones. One need even use a banca or net to harvest its bounties; he or she only  steps into its shoal to gather shells by hand. That was Semirara of yonder years. Edjan, in his early 70s, taught at a barangay elementary school in Igbaras, Iloilo. He transferred to Iloilo City in the late ‘60s but spent much of his prime life supervising a salt farm in Caluya, Antique. Martial law ushered in the Austrian firm Alpine-Voechst that ventured with the government-owned National Development Corporation (NDC), in coal mining that changed its geographic...

BY PET MELLIZA/ THE BEEKEEPER ILOILO CITY - The Terminal Market, also known as “Super Market” or “Super” is cursed with congested streets five years since the measure intended to declog them, took effect. We are referring to the Perimeter Boundary Ordinance (PBO) which solves everything except traffic gridlocks. Before, roads surrounding the Super teemed with vehicles unloading people and products from the towns, and conversely, loading passengers and goods back to their origins. The PBO requires provincial public utility vehicles (PUJs) to disgorge passengers in private terminals in the outskirts, and wait until they get passes to proceed to Super. Brisk economic life radiated from the Super until a wolf pack at city hall schemed to halt it through the PBO. The PBO doubles the terminating costs of PUJs. Before, drivers only paid a single terminal fee per trip to the city. Today, it’s P30 minimum per arrival at the private terminals, followed by another P20 at the...

ILOILO CITY (21 February 2013) -- I have to find a place to write after we were told in our office this morning that all of us had to go down and sit on the chairs at the Iloilo Capitol ground to watch the large screen of a certain Pres. P-Noy Aquino delivering his speech at the ground lobby inside the Capitol. For security reason (and to protect his bald pate which is slightly smaller than a communion plate, from being photographed), nobody was allowed to standby the grills of the atrium (open space from the second through sixth floors under the dome) and take photos of Pnoy at the ground floor. Presidential Guards, early morning of February 21, disabled smoke detectors at the Bayad Center, Office of the Iloilo Provincial Treasurer, to ensure that their alarms won't set off even if PNoy, a heavy smoker, puffs 10 lighted cigarettes simultaneously. The sub-office serves as holding area for PNoy.                       ...

By Pet Melliza The Beekeeper Cayman, what is that? It’s a group of islands in W. Caribbean of only 55,000 inhabitants, less than that of Miag-ao town, Iloilo. This British protectorate is blessed with a legislature whose majority consider transparency indispensable to good governance. In 2007, Cayman enacted its Freedom of Information Law that took effect in 2009. That means, any citizen of that nation has the right to access records in the files of government. Conversely, the Cayman government considers it an obligation to any citizen to make available public records on request. The Philippines, an archipelago of  7,100 islands (population 96 million) has consigned to the dustbin its Freedom of Information Bill that was filed in 2010, because Mr. Tuwid na Landas and his caboodle in the Liberal Party (LP) and allies in Congress, see good governance as service to foreign giants and their local partners – if you noticed their smugness against repealing the Oil Dereg...

BY PET MELLIZA/ The Beekeeper   For judges and lawyers, Sen. Franklin Drilon is covering up the obvious about the ill-fated Iloilo Hall of Justice.   RTC Judge Adriano Sabillo tells reporters that six judges are opting for early retirement than return to the hall of justice at Bonifacio Drive, Iloilo City. He is not among the “furious six” though but admits he has applied to hold “pairing court” three days a week in the towns so as to spend only two days at the 20-year old edifice.   Pres. Cory Aquino allotted P200 million to construct the Hall of Justice in Iloilo in 1992. Drilon, then secretary of justice took charge of government’s multi-million peso binge to construct halls of justice across the archipelago.   In less than 10 years, though, cracks started showing on the hall of justice but the ones that scared the judges more were vertical ones and those on the pre-stressed beams and girders.   More signs of structural weakness showed after the 8.9...

By Pet Melliza/ The Beekeeper Last Saturday, February 10, when we assembled at the new Iloilo Press Club (IPC) Building, my eyes got caught by posters on plants. We were launching the first module of the Iloilo Media Institute, a series of seminars to enhance the skills and perspectives of journalists whose rank of experienced members has dwindled from continuing migration to lucrative jobs like call centers and PR outfits. I asked Manuel “Boy” Mejorada why the posters of IPC president Rommel Ynion were not visible. His posters are summarily torn down, he answered. (Anyway, thanks to Ma. Diosa Labiste, and anchors Novie Mallon Guazo (RMN) and Don Israel Vincent Dolido (Bombo), the first resource persons, for their insights.) _______ Comelec is yet to react to the camp of Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog which arrogated upon the local chief executive the power to determine what is legal or illegal campaigning. Yours truly has no illusion. Mabilog already...

BY PET MELLIZA/ THE BEEKEEPER     Jaime Esmeralda, vice-mayor of Igbaras did not intend to shock first district LP head Oscar Garin Sr when he refused to file his certificate of candidacy (COC).   When the deadline for the filing came, October 30, 2012,  Garin and Mayor Vicente Escorpion panicked seeing the LP slate in Igbaras empty. Garin used his mobile phone and all his power of persuasion to contact prospects to fill the line-up – with mediocre candidates including Eddie Esmero, an incumbent councilor.    Garin bawled at Esmeralda on phone for skirting his COC and for herding his line-up of six councilors to the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) instead of to Escorpion. Esmeralda politely reminded the patriarch to calm down.   UNA-Igbaras line-up is led by Atty. Sherwin Quidato for mayor and Nilo Grasa vice mayor, respectively, the first and second councilors. They have six incumbent councilors for reelection.   Esmeral...

By Pet Melliza/ The Beekeeper Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog never runs out of strategy and tactics. He just appointed himself Comelec top gun in Iloilo City. Recent press release says he has formed a task force led by city administrator Norlito Bautista to tear down “illegal” campaign materials and structures. We thought that the agency specializing in determining clean, honest and orderly elections – the office mandated as most competent to define what are legal and illegal electoral acts, is the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Comelec so far has refrained from tearing down any poster or material, and rightly. The posters that Mabilog wants torn down are technically not campaign material yet. The poll body sets the campaign period to begin on March 29. Candidates have wisely posted only their pictures and political agenda and avoid asking for votes for specific positions. So far, only Mabilog and his task force have ruled that any poster with only the candidate’s face on it is ...