Thursday, August 19, 2004 Mongaya: President’s Cebu office By Anol Mongaya
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s visit has resulted in the speeding up of work on the Cebu south road. This should convince those who think putting up an Office of the President-Cebu is not a good idea.
Nevertheless, I still believe the putting up of the Malacañang in the South is an expensive public relations move designed to create the perception that President Arroyo is reaching out to the people in the south.
The idea is not new. Former president Fidel Ramos started it by appointing presidential assistants. Former president Joseph Estrada used the presidential yacht to visit Cebu as often as he could.
Yet, if her visit pushes local officials and project im-plementers to move faster, the PR move may be worth it. President Arroyo was reportedly happy when she saw the marked improvements in the Cebu south road project. Days ago, local officials were worried the president would go ballistic when she inspects it. Meanwhile, let’s see if she can sustain the frequency of her visits to Cebu.
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Operation of the Cebu customs was disrupted this week when the President’s men completely took over the former Customs building now housing the Office of the President-Cebu. Customs divisions had to squeeze inside a small building nearby.
I think local customs personnel need a few more days to sort things out in their new quarters and reinstall their computer links to the main office and the banks. Meantime, expect the collections to dip a little.
Customs District Collector Billy Bibit reportedly met his assessment people and instructed them to sustain the rate of collection despite the dislocation. But based on the feedback I got, this is difficult to do. But let’s see.
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The probe conducted by Supt. Paul Labra of the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (CIIB) on the arrest of alleged pusher Jessie Apolinario is interesting. Aside from the questions raised by Mayor Tomas Osmeña and a host of others on why the police kept mum on the arrest, I also am intrigued why the raiding unit confiscated Apolinario’s jewelry. The suspect said he lost some P50,000, jewelry and nine cell phones to the DEU police.
Were these part of the evidence against Apolinario? Or were the policemen just looking for things to take home thinking that the drug suspects would be mum on their arrest?
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It seems the unity of tricycle drivers in Lapu-Lapu City did not hold against the insistence of Mayor Boy Radaza to implement his rerouting scheme. Leaders of some 26 tricycle associations turned around and issued a statement supporting the mayor’s traffic policies.
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The present crop of Communist-led rebels has gone high-tech in promoting their cause. A propaganda unit of the New People’s Army (NPA) sent members of the Cebu media and colleagues in Metro Manila a compact disk containing video footages of the encounter and subsequent capture of two soldiers in Bicol.
The footages showed how the rebels treated the two soldiers, which contrasted with how Muslim fundamentalist groups here and abroad treat their captives. In fact, several hostages of these fundamentalist groups have been beheaded. The footage also contrasted with how the United States treated its prisoners of war in Iraq. Media exposes on the US conduct sparked widespread condemnations in the Muslim world.
The continued presence and activities of the US armed force in Iraq has sparked widespread guerilla action by many Iraqis. (I’m glad President Arroyo brought home our ‘peacekeeping force’ ahead of schedule.)
Ironically, the US has decided not to remove the terrorist tag it placed on the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its allied groups. Leftist rebels are protesting the label. The tag is a major stumbling block to President Arroyo’s peace overture with the rebels.
(e-mail: superbalita@sunstar.com.ph or anol_cebu@hotmail.com; text: 0917-9761193)
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