Pet Melliza

The Beekeeper By Pet Melliza Are lump sums allowed in annual budgets of local government units (LGU)? This question is now subject of contention between the legislative and executive branches of government of Iloilo Province. Governor Arthur D. Defensor, Sr. insists that is legal as he integrated lump sums in his proposed 2019 annual budget which now hangs because majority at the sangguniang panlalawigan (SP) want them itemized first. I don’t want to dip my hands in the fray. But being one of the 2,000 or so provincial employees whose fourth and last tranche of salary increase under the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) effective January 2019 is in limbo, this is no longer funny especially the insistence of the majority to “itemize” all those pesky lump sums as sine qua non . Back to the question: are lump sum allowed in LGU annual budgeting. I dare answer: “YES”. The law not only makes that automatic but also mandatory of LGUs to appropriate out of th...

The Beekeeper By Pet Melliza The cold-blooded murder of Atty. Edeljulio Romero is the latest -- but not the last -- blood of lawyers tainting the hands of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte who must be held responsible for the bloodbath jolting this wretched land since the day he became tenant of Malacanang, July 1, 2016. “Judel” as we fondly call the victim, was shot at the back of his head inside an eatery in Culasi Port, Roxas City, while his common-law wife Iris was buying tickets for a boat ride back to Manila, noontime of September 28. He was in Roxas City to represent his client in a court hearing. Three assailants disembarked from a grey SUV, although only one drew a handgun to execute the plan. The PNP is still investigating and admits it is facing a blank wall although it is consistent with its knack to insinuate blame on the victim that thus de facto  justifies the attack. This in effect, lays ground for future excuse for its failure to solve the crime -- the murder...

ILOILO CITY -- Hundreds even thousands tons of mud and rocks crashed downhill burying twenty houses scattered in about 27 hectares in Igbaras, a mountain town 40 km. south of this city. It caused zero casualty because residents used "indigenous knowledge" to save themselves, declared Dr. Jerry Bionat, head of the PDRRMO of Iloilo Province. "The barangay officials who also constitute the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, used their traditional knowledge" said Bionat. "Detecting signs of an impending landslide, they mobilized for compulsory evacuation the day before. Bionat was referring to Igpigus, a mountain barangay 15 km. from the poblacion of Igbaras town,. PDRRMO stands for Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office. Bionat added Gov. Arthur Defensor ordered sending heavy equipment to clear the roads and deliver relief but prolonged rains, swollen rivers and creeks, and mud prevented that. Affected residents sought sh...

Prices of commodities are racing up to an unknown finish line since the government of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte rushed the birth of the animal called Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. Premium gasoline which was P42 per liter this January is now P62 and there is no sign fuel price increases are going to stop. The photo-copier nook I am frequenting raised its charges from P1 a copy to P1.50, a 50% increase to adjust to costlier ink, paper and rent. There is one sector that maintains its pricing though -- Malacanang -- factory of loose talks, invectives and promises. This accursed place continues to regale Filipinos that things are getting better, progress is coming, the country is winning the war on drugs, poverty, terror, insurgency, etc. Talk is cheap there: it has no capital other then sheer guts and saliva.

The Beekeeper How far and fast has the Philippine Government been in complying with Republic Act 6716? Had the present and past administrations been as diligent as the present Malacanang tenant’s profligacy in letting loose expletives, the Philippine Archipelago must by this time be teeming with fresh water sources. So far, there is no compliance to RA 6716, an “act providing for the construction of water wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and rehabilitation of existing water walls in all barangays in the Philippines.” The law commands the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to undertake the construction of the above water collecting facilities “30 days” from approval as well as rehabilitate existing wells. Still, DPWH must report to the respective committees on public works and highways of the Lower and Upper houses on its accomplishments “90 days” from the passage of the law, and thereafter, every 180 days. RA 6716, intends to cushion th...

Duterte’s call for an all out war against the Left once again shed s  the blood of the innocent. At about 2:30 pm,  November 28, 2017 , . Emelisa Badayos of Karapatan Central Visayas, Elioterio Moises of the Mantapi Ebwan Farmers Association and a 23 year old Kabataan Partylist Member were gunned down in San Ramon, Bayawan, Negros Oriental. Badayos and Moises were killed while the other individual was rushed to the hospital. The victims were members of cause oriented and human rights organizations embarking on a fact - finding mission to verify reports of  rampant human rights abuses in Negros due to intensified military operations in the island, including the assassination of almost a dozen individuals in Negros Oriental, particularly in Guihulngan City since July 2017.  The human rights abuses that they sought to investigate were believed to be carried out by military and police personnel ostensibly in retaliation to  an ambush allegedly perpe...

If the opiate user from the south pushed through with his marketing mission for giant foreign and local conglomerates producing, importing and monopolizing public transport, small Ilonggo machinists fabricating the jeepney, will also be jobless, not just the 250,000 drivers nationwide. You cannot see, or rarely see, jeepneys of the design in photos here, but only in Ilonggo country. The design came after Ford Fiera and Toyota Tamaraw hit the market in early '70s. The roadside shops of Molo, Iloilo City were the first to fabricate them, thus, the term "Molo Conversion." These small body-making shops thrive and contribute to the vibrant economy because the jeepneys they produce transport goods and people. Machinists don't enjoy govt incentives yet they survive. The marketing gimmick of big business called "PUJ modernization" with no less than the Duterte Criminal Gang as its marketers-in-chief, is an assault against the people's right to l...