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Friday, August 26, 2005
Micame: Drilling for natural gas
By Rel P. Micame
REACTION. This corner got a text message from Ronda, Cebu Councilor Rolly dela Cruz the other day.
In his text message, dela Cruz said he agrees with the claims of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia that small items already included in the appropriation ordinance need not be submitted to the City Council or Provincial Board for another approval.
But big contracts involving janitorial and security services and purchases of heavy equipment should be submitted to the legislative bodies for their deliberation and appropriate action, to avoid accusations of rigged transactions, as mandated by Commission on Audit rules and regulations.
WORTH WATCHING. The conflict between Cebu City and Talisay City Governments has shifted from the South Reclamation Project (SRP) to the status of the former town as a component city.
Osmeña filed with the Court of Appeals the other day a petition for the nullification of Republic Act 8979, which made Talisay into a city on Nov. 22, 2000.
Named respondents in the petition are Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes and Budget Secretary Romulo Neri.
In his petition, Osmeña alleged that Talisay did not meet the population requirement of 150,000 when it acquired cityhood status. According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), Talisay had a population of only 148,110 in 2000. Osmeña also asked the Department of Budget and Management to reduce Talisay’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share to an amount it is entitled to get as a municipality.
Talisay City Administrator and City Attorney Aurora Econg said they will answer the petition as soon as they receive it, adding that the signing of RA 8979 was aboveboard.
On the other hand, in convincing Congress that Talisay fulfilled the population requirement, Rep. Eduardo Gullas (1st district), who wrote the bill, presented the result of a 10-day special census of the Municipality of Talisay. The census was undertaken with the technical assistance of an NSO representative on April 18 to 19, 1999.
But the House committee on local government asked for an NSO certification that Talisay complied with the population requirement. At that time, Gullas was the House majority leader.
NSO Administrator Tomas Africa, in a January 2000 letter to Gullas, wrote that using data on “housing and some projections of the population,” his office estimated Talisay’s population to be 150,238 by Feb. 1, 2000.
This legal skirmish between the two neighboring cities is worth watching.
SELF-SUFFICIENT? Will Cebu attain self-sufficiency in power? I think so, if Bogo can find another source of natural gas to add to its present discovery. The present find in Barangay Libertad of one billion cubic feet daily can generate 1.75 megawatts of power daily.
If the drilling in Barangay Maya in Daanbantayan will be successful, the town can also put up a power plant.
A consortium of three companies, Trans-Asia Oil Co., Alcorn Gold Resources Corp. and Petro-energy Corp., will start drilling for natural gas in Bohol Strait, located between Cebu and Bohol.
The natural gas project will cover the offshores of Loon, Maribojoc, Cortes, Dauis, Panglao and Tagbilaran, all in Bohol, as well as Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy and Boljoon in Cebu. If the operation will be successful, Cebu and Bohol will likely enjoy sufficient power supply. With the geothermal power plants in Leyte and Negros, the entire Visayas will be self-sufficient in power.
SCRIPTURE READING. Suggested reading of the Holy Bible for today is found in the Gospel according to St. Matthew 25:1-13 “The parable of ten virgins,” and for Aug. 27- St. Matthew 25:14-30 “The parable of talents.”
e-mail: relmicame@yahoo.com; tel. (6332) 423-9956.
(August 26, 2005 issue)
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