DA adopts intervention to hike rice production
Friday, May 17, 2013 - 09:51 p.m.WITH the advent of the rainy season, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas has adopted several intervention schemes aimed to increase rice production and establish once again the region's supremacy as the top rice producing area in the country.
DA Regional Director Larry Nacionales said the scheme involves the cooperation of other government agencies and institutions to increase production as the country is celebrating the Year of the Rice.
Iloilo sets Santacruzan 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013 - 09:50 p.m.THE Iloilo City Government and the City Tourism Council will jointly implement a yearly Santacruzan sa Flores de Mayo with a procession of the sagalas on May 24.
The procession will start at 4 p.m. from Museo Iloilo passing through JM Basa St., until the San Jose parish church at Plaza Libertad in a one-kilometer stretch depicting the many facets of the Santacruzan and the sagalas.
Councilor posts highest votes in 3 elections
Friday, May 17, 2013 - 09:50 p.m.REELECTED for the third and final term, Councilor Nielex Tupas is creating a history by being a candidate that have the highest number of votes and remaining number one in the elections for the past three years for a seat in the City Council.
In the May 13 elections, Tupas was able to garner more than 122,000 votes with a wide margin of over 17,000 votes compared to the second place teammate Love-love Baronda of Team PNoy.
Mabilog breaks own record of voters preference
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - 09:25 p.m.REELECTED Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog has broken his personal record as the top voter's preference in this city since he entered politics in 2003.
With a record of 131,933 votes in the May 13 midterm elections, Mabilog said he was catapulted as a city councilor in 2003 with more than 103,000 votes, as vice mayor in 2007 with more than 120,000 votes, as city mayor in 2010 with with more than 100,000 and the last 2013 record of almost 132,000 votes.
Mabilog vows to partner with City council
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - 09:24 p.m.REELECTED Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog vows to partner with the City Council for cooperation and development of the city.
Although the City Council is composed of all newly elected candidates under Team PNoy, Mabilog said the City Council will not become a rubber stamp of the city chief executive, adding he does not control members of the legislative body as each is independent.
Team PNoy sweeps Iloilo polls
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 08:21 p.m.LOCAL administration candidates belonging to Team PNoy completely sweep the polls' 15-0 win on midterm elections.
The poll results is considered as the first time in the city going for all administration bets that cemented the foothold of President Benigno Aquino III's vision of Tuwid na Daan.
Iloilo goes 10-2 for senatorial bets
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 08:21 p.m.IT IS 10-2 in favor of the Team PNoy senatorial candidates in Iloilo City of more than 247,000 registered voters.
It is only Miguel Zubiri and Nancy Binay of the opposition UNA who made it in the winning 12 circle while Grace Poe zoomed as the number one to win the hearts of the people.
Comelec assures no fear of blackout
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 01:07 a.m.THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) assured voters that all their votes will be counted by the Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machines even if there is a power failure in their respective areas.
Similarly, Panay Electric Company, the power distributor of two power generating power plants based in this city also assured steady power supply especially on May 13 midterm elections.
Peaceful elections in Iloilo
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 01:06 a.m.THE May 13 midterm elections in Iloilo City is generally peaceful and orderly with no untoward incident to mar the election proper, said the city police office and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Senior Superintendent Ruperto Floro, city police chief, said the city electorates are intelligent people and there is no need for candidates to harass or pay for their votes.
15 local posts at stake in Iloilo
Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 09:29 p.m.A TOTAL of 15 elective positions are at stake in Iloilo City by Monday, May 13 midterm elections.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) supervisor Joemar Betita said that more than 247,000 registered voters will troop to 350 clustered voting precincts located in several public buildings and schools to participate and choose their local officials to lead them in three years or until 2016.
Comelec ups alert vs betting on poll outcome
Friday, May 10, 2013 - 11:21 p.m.THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has raised the warning against betting on who will win among political candidates in the May 13 midterm elections.
Betting is a form of gambling and a criminal offense against the law and violators could be imprisoned for six months, the Comelec here said.
Police: Grenade blast an isolated case
Thursday, May 9, 2013 - 06:50 p.m.THE Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) has tagged as an isolated case the recent grenade blast that happened outside the residence of congressional bet Raul Gonzales Jr. and former Justice secretary Raul Gonzales Sr.
The blast happened Thursday, May 9, around 1 a.m. outside Gonzales’ residence in Barangay Quintin Salas, Jaro district. The incident was reported to the Jaro police station around 8 a.m. No one was hurt in the explosion.
Mabilog sees 15-0 for admin-backed local bets
Thursday, May 9, 2013 - 06:49 p.m.ILOILO City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog issued a 15-0 win forecast for their group, which is under Team PNoy, against their opponents from the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).
Mabilog said the latest credible survey showed his margin of 60 percent or translated to more than 80,000 votes over his opponent which only has less than 40 percent.
Kris wants Mabilog as mentor in good governance
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 10:53 p.m.TELEVISION personality and presidential sister Kris Aquino wants Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to be her mentor in good governance if she decides to enter politics in 2016.
Kris and actor Dingdong Dantes visited the City Hall Wednesday to endorse senatorial candidate Bam Aquino to the Ilonggo voters.
Senate bet sees intelligent voters in Iloilo
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 10:53 p.m.CANDIDATES with questionable integrity have no place in the city and the province of Iloilo with intelligent voters not easily swayed by vote buying, said Team PNoy senatorial candidate Bam Aquino.
With May 8 as the last stretch of political campaign in Western Visayas, Aquino, endorsed by celebrities Dingdong Dantes and first cousin Kris Aquino, told voters to choose candidates well with unsullied track record of performance.
Mabilog completes social program in 3 years
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 - 08:22 p.m.MAYOR Jed Patrick Mabilog has successfully completed the city’s various health and social programs on top of millions of pesos worth of infrastructures for the populace for three years in an unprecedented "womb to tomb" social program.
Mabilog, elected for the first time as city mayor in 2010, was able to put in place various programs in the city including city health centers in all seven districts and barangay health centers in the barangays serving as catchment area for clustered villages.
Seniors push for additional benefits
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 - 08:22 p.m.A TOTAL of 77,480 senior citizens in Western Visayas pushed for livelihood assistance including free hospitalization and scholarship programs for their qualified dependents on top of the social pension program and discounts on goods and services.
The Federation of Senior Citizens Associations of the Philippines (FSCAP) in the region said that only 30 percent of the elderly are enjoying the privilege as majority of them are marginalized.
NGO eyes end of discrimination against women by 2020
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 - 08:21 p.m.AN INTERNATIONAL organization has called on the government to include sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) which is missed out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations (UN).
Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP) said it is time to put SRHR at the very heart of what the international community wants to achieve.
Suspect in Lemery, Iloilo ambush nabbed
Monday, May 6, 2013 - 11:16 p.m.ILOILO CITY -- Police authorities arrested on Monday one of the suspects in the ambush in Lemery, Iloilo that killed the husband of the town’s mayor and a bodyguard.
The suspect, Mario Cabarubias, was nabbed by elements of Lemery Police along with operatives from the Sara Police Station and Iloilo Public Safety Company in an almost hour-long hot pursuit operation.
Mabilog tells voters to choose candidates well
Monday, May 6, 2013 - 07:23 p.m.INCUMBENT Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog advised the electorate to vote for candidates with better qualifications willing to serve the people and not just to enrich themselves in office.
In his message to the voters, Mabilog said the electorate must come out and participate in the democratic process during election.
80 Iloilo City cops deployed in W. Visayas for polls
Monday, May 6, 2013 - 07:23 p.m.MAYOR Jed Patrick Mabilog is not alarmed over the reassignment of 80 members of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) to augment other police units in Western Visayas.
Mabilog said he is confident that the remaining city policemen are capable of handling peace and order situation especially during election in the city's 350 clustered voting precincts.
City eyes over half-million visits in 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013 - 07:22 p.m.This southern city gets the bulk of tourist arrivals this year with an expected 526,000 visitors out of the 3.1 million expected arrivals in Western Visayas this year.
Helen Catalbas, Department of Tourism (DOT) regional director, made the statement citing the city's vibrancy and urban attractions to lure visitors here.
Drilon staff dismisses Mejorada accusations
Friday, May 3, 2013 - 08:02 p.m.A STAFF of Senator Franklin Drilon waved off the accusations of Iloilo-based journalist Manuel Mejorada that the senator had a hand in the tax evasion charges against city mayoral candidate Rommel Ynion.
“We will never credence to words of Mejorada who has a habit of spreading lies, gossips, and baseless accusations. He has no credibility and no one believes a deceitful, self-proclaimed journalist who never upholds the value of truth and fairness,” Jeeno Arellano, media relations officer of Drilon said.
Senator assures more projects in Iloilo under PNoy
Friday, May 3, 2013 - 08:01 p.m.SENATOR Franklin Drilon assured more development projects for the city and province of Iloilo in the next three years under President Benigno Aquino III.
Speaking in front of supporters in Banate, Iloilo, Drilon is betting for the Liberal Party candidates in Iloilo to win in the election.
Treñas: Arrest of UNA bet no effect on Team PNoy
Thursday, May 2, 2013 - 09:52 p.m.TEAM PNoy re-electionist Congressman Jerry P. Treñas said the recent arrest of United Nationalist Alliance’s (UNA) mayoral candidate Rommel Ynion has no effect on Team PNoy.
Lawyers of Ynion claimed that the his arrest was made in the evening of May 1, Labor Day, with no court or judge to grant his bail bond.
13 senators to decide on Senate presidency
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - 05:22 p.m.IT TAKES the vote of only 13 out of 24 senators to elect the next Senate President of the 16th Congress, according to Senator Franklin Drilon.
The senator denied reports that he is eyeing the Senate presidency. He said it is a matter for the senators in the 16th Congress to decide in a vote of 50 percent of the Senate membership plus 1 whom to replace outgoing Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.
Water district told: Put public interest above personal pride
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - 05:22 p.m.SENATOR Franklin Drilon asked members of the old and new board of directors of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) to place public interest above personal pride and find a win-win solution in the distribution of water supply to water consumers.
Iloilo City is still reeling from water shortage from MIWD and the City Government is still delivering water to unserved areas such as the waterfront villages and Barangay Obrero.
Dead Batiano River now alive
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - 05:21 p.m.THE dead portion of the Batiano River in Barangay San Antonio, Oton is now alive and restored to its original route based on the 1913 cadastral survey.
Senator Franklin Drilon visited the site during Labor Day to see the complete river restoration project conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) after the agency was instructed to resuscitate the dead river portion that connects to the Iloilo River.
37,377 jobs available in Western Visayas
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - 10:44 p.m.A TOTAL of 37,377 job vacancies in Western Visayas will be opened for application to the Ilonggos on Wednesday, May 1, in time for the celebration of national Labor Day.
Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Regional Director Ponciano Ligutom said the job fair, covering 4,638 for local employment positions and 32,739 for overseas employment, will be conducted simultaneously in Iloilo and Bacolod, two highly urbanized cities in the region.
City legal office acts on power pilferage during rally
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - 10:44 p.m.THE Iloilo City Legal Office headed by Jose Junio Jacela will lead in the prosecution of persons who pilfered power lines of the city during a political rally last Saturday.
Jacela said his office is rendering legal assistance to Task Force Boltahe in charging suspected persons for violations of certain provisions of Republic Act (RA) 7832, also known as “Anti-electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994.”
