Dolomite in bulk, dust form
FRANCISCO "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, Manila's chief executive, said in a statement released Tuesday, September 15, that he was assured that dolomite in bulk is not a health hazard.
In dust form, however, like any other dust particle, it can cause symptoms such as chest discomfort, shortness of breathing and coughing.
But Mayor Isko was told by Department of Environment and Natural Resources that crushed dolomite rocks from Cebu that are used at the Manila Bay rehabilitation are "2-5 mm or 100 times bigger than dust" and "therefore do not get suspended in air."
That bit of information may guide local government leaders and residents of Barangay Pugalo and the town of Alcoy on how to deal with the presence of dolomite there.
He is back (x2)
When James Anthony Cuenco took his oath Tuesday, September 15, as Cebu City councilor to fill the post vacated by his father Councilor Antonio Cuenco, it was his second return to the City Council.
[1] Last January 3, 2019, he returned to the city Sanggunian that he had left after the ombudsman ordered his dismissal, an order approved August 23, 2017 and implemented October 4 of the same year.
Erik Miguel Espina, former governor Rene Espina's son, replaced James Anthony but yielded his seat after the Court of Appeals on October 18, 2018 reversed Cuenco's conviction "for lack of evidence."
James Anthony in 2013 was charged before the ombudsman of irregularities in the spending of P3.4 million pork barrel money released to his father, then congressman Tony. He was found administratively guilty and sacked in 2017.
[2] Tuesday this week, he returned to the City Council again, this time to replace his father who last June 27 was reported to have died of Covid-19 at the age of 84. Cuenco's party PDP-Laban nominated the younger Cuenco to the president who signed his appointment.
Elected in 2013, James Anthony served two three-year terms until 2019, minus the period of dismissal. He did not run for reelection last year.
Basis for choice
Barug, through PDP-Laban, its adopted national party in the 2019 election, had the right to nominate the late councilor Tony Cuenco's replacement.
Under the law, the party under which the deceased councilor ran and won shall have the right to nominate the successor to the unexpired term. For the appointment of James Anthony by the president, these were submitted: PDP-Laban's certificate of party nomination and James Anthony's certificate of party membership.
Not true, a City Hall watcher quipped, that the young Cuenco "inherited" his dad's elective seat. James Anthony was the choice of Partido Barug, the local party of his dad.
Also, the next-highest-vote-getter rule would not apply. More accurately, the local party did not use it as basis of their choice. Otherwise, it would've been Jeko Carillo, the Barug councilor who ranked #11 but would be in the top eight if Tony Cuenco were taken out.
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