By Kit Bagaipo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
TAGBILARAN CITY—AN ALLIANCE OF fishermen expressed bewilderment over the delay in the Commission on Elections’ action on the disqualification case it filed against former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, who is running unopposed for congressman in Bohol’s third district.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), in the case it filed at the Comelec, said Yap was not qualified to represent Bohol’s third district because he does not reside there.
Pamalakaya said Yap continues to reside in Ortigas, Pasig City, and has never abandoned it as his domicile.
Election requirement
Election laws require candidates for congressmen to be residents of the district they want to represent for at least a year before the elections.
The group said Yap’s case was similar to that of actor Richard Gomez, who was declared by the Comelec’s Second Division not qualified to run for representative in Leyte for not being a resident there.
Pamalakaya said the Comelec has yet to tackle the case against Yap.
“We are puzzled by this development. The disqualification case we filed last March 9 should have been resolved in the soonest possible time or at least one week after we filed the disqualification case against Secretary Yap,” Pamalakaya chair Fernando Hicap said in a statement sent to the Inquirer.
Untouchable?
“Is Mr. Yap really untouchable according to political circles in and out of Comelec?” Hicap said.
At least 40 members of Pamalakaya and party-list group Anakpawis trooped to the Comelec national office on Thursday to ask Melo and the Comelec commissioners to tackle immediately the disqualification case against Yap.
The group filed a manifestation and motion urging the poll body to set the formal hearing for the disqualification case.
On March 9, the group also filed additional pieces of information before the Comelec to strengthen the disqualification case that the farmers filed against Yap.
The additional pieces of evidence include sworn statements signed by three officials of Barangay Buenavista in Loboc town disputing Yap’s claim that he was a resident of the far-flung barangay as he declared in his certificate of candidacy.
House on rough road
The supplemental information, which carried the signatures of former Barangay Buenavista secretary Corbino Cuhit, incumbent barangay councilor Basilio Balog and resident Mateo Ratonel, brother of incumbent barangay councilor Boy Ratonel, maintained that Yap has never been a resident of the barangay and that he just arrived in Buenavista at the start of the election season.
The three said the house and the address referred to by Yap as his official domicile in Buenavista, Loboc, was located in an area that was not passable by any motorized vehicle, except motorcycles, due to its rough roads and mountainous curves.
Pamalakaya maintained that Yap could not even speak the language of Boholanos. The group also said the former agriculture secretary and his family continue to stay in Metro Manila and that, in the concept of domicile under election laws, is at Alexandra Residence in Pasig City.
“His visits in Bohol are infrequent, short and transient,” Pamalakaya said.
Pamalakaya also cited the cases they filed against Yap in connection with the P455 million overpriced ice-making machines and the P7.14 billion in agriculture funds cited by the Commission on Audit in its 2008 report as missing, diverted or misspent.
“We filed this case not to spoil the political ambition of Secretary Yap. We filed this case because we want truth and justice to prevail over the narrow interest of the new breed of traditional and corrupt politicians,” the fisherman’s group added.
Showing posts with label Agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agriculture. Show all posts
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Groups ask Yap to quit Cabinet, House run, face plunder rap
TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines—Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap was told by militant groups on Saturday to resign from his Cabinet post and abandon his bid for a Congress seat in Bohol following the plunder case filed against him.
The group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and Anakpawis party said Yap should resign from the Department of Agriculture and quit from running as candidate in the third district of Bohol because of the plunder case filed against him and 14 others over the purchase of P455 million in ice-making machines that were allegedly overpriced.
Yap should “exercise political delicadeza and instead focus on his defense against the plunder complaint and other criminal and administrative charges filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap and Anakpawis secretary general Cherry Clemente said in a joint statement.
“If we are in his shoes we will leave the agriculture portfolio and drop the dream of becoming a lawmaker,” their joint statement said.
Last week, leaders of Pamalakaya and Anakpawis Representatives Rafael Mariano and Joel Maglunsod led the filing of a plunder complaint against President Macapagal-Arroyo, Yap and 13 others for the purchase of 98 ice-making machines which they claimed were overpriced by P2.3 million per unit.
Hicap and Clemente asked Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to immediately place Yap and officials of the National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor) under preventive suspension while the Office of the Ombudsman is evaluating the complaint.
Nabcor said all transactions in the purchase of ice-making machines were transparent and above board.
Nabcor spokesperson Kathyrin Pioquinto said the accusations were “without basis, far from the truth and perjurious.”
Pioquinto also said Yap had nothing to do with the process although Nabcor is a government-owned and -controlled corporation attached to the DA.
“Yap is neither an officer nor a director of Nabcor,” Pioquinto said.
However, the militant groups said “the COA findings reveal the exact opposite.”
The militant groups said DA, through Nabcor, awarded a government contract to a lone bidder—the Integrated Refrigeration System and Services (IRSS)—in September 2009 for ice-making units at P4,650,000 per unit, or about P2.3 million higher compared to prevailing industry prices for the ice-making machines.
The government, the complainants said, can obtain 98 units of ice-making machines for P225 million to P230 million, or half of the what the DA spent for them.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Bohol town targets ‘longest’ handwoven raffia
By Kit Bagaipo, Chito A. Fuentes
Inquirer Visayas
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol—To gain recognition for its century-old raffia weaving tradition, the town of Inabanga, once the cradle of the Philippines’ longest revolt against the Spaniards, will soon roll out the longest handwoven raffia and secure its claim as the home of highly skilled and artistic raffia weavers.
Locally known as “buli,” raffia weaving was introduced to Inabanga in the early 1800s during the time of the revolutionary Francisco Dagohoy. The woven fabrics were then used as sleeping mats and guerrilla uniforms.
On May 19, Inabanga launched its bid for the world’s longest continuous woven raffia fabric—a project that costs P300,000. The completion of the 1.6-kilometer product is expected by June 29, a day before its annual feast, Mayor Jose Jono Jumamoy said.
Anatolio Hugo, 35, said the project unofficially began on February 9 when he started weaving the first three meters. The raffia spool now laid out at the gym is nearly 200 meters long.
Jumamoy said he felt confident that the weavers would beat the deadline although he acknowledged that the weaving had slowed down a bit because tourists and visitors had been allowed to try their hand at weaving.
Inabanga launched the project because the industry could help provide livelihood to its residents. With a population of 40,000, it is primarily agricultural, with its coastal and island villages dependent on fishing.
The launching also highlighted impressive designs, showing the creativity and unique craftsmanship of the weavers. Home and lifestyle products, such as personal accessories, place mats, table runners, pillow cases, decorative rolls, handbags, and fashion accessories were made from raffia.
Governor Erico Aumentado, Vice Governor Julius Caesar Herrera, Board Members Ma. Fe Lejos, Ester Corazon Galbreath, and Jumamoy attended the opening ceremony.
“Inabanga intends to inform the consumer sector—institutional buyers, exporters, and subcontractors—that we have the production capacity and variety of product lines of excellent quality,” Jumamoy said.
Last year, the town presented a fashion show with models sporting raffia fabrics.
Inabanga has been known as the loom weaving capital of Bohol as its inhabitants became proficient in raffia weaving with buli palms, which are abundant.
Inquirer Visayas
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol—To gain recognition for its century-old raffia weaving tradition, the town of Inabanga, once the cradle of the Philippines’ longest revolt against the Spaniards, will soon roll out the longest handwoven raffia and secure its claim as the home of highly skilled and artistic raffia weavers.
Locally known as “buli,” raffia weaving was introduced to Inabanga in the early 1800s during the time of the revolutionary Francisco Dagohoy. The woven fabrics were then used as sleeping mats and guerrilla uniforms.
On May 19, Inabanga launched its bid for the world’s longest continuous woven raffia fabric—a project that costs P300,000. The completion of the 1.6-kilometer product is expected by June 29, a day before its annual feast, Mayor Jose Jono Jumamoy said.
Anatolio Hugo, 35, said the project unofficially began on February 9 when he started weaving the first three meters. The raffia spool now laid out at the gym is nearly 200 meters long.
Jumamoy said he felt confident that the weavers would beat the deadline although he acknowledged that the weaving had slowed down a bit because tourists and visitors had been allowed to try their hand at weaving.
Inabanga launched the project because the industry could help provide livelihood to its residents. With a population of 40,000, it is primarily agricultural, with its coastal and island villages dependent on fishing.
The launching also highlighted impressive designs, showing the creativity and unique craftsmanship of the weavers. Home and lifestyle products, such as personal accessories, place mats, table runners, pillow cases, decorative rolls, handbags, and fashion accessories were made from raffia.
Governor Erico Aumentado, Vice Governor Julius Caesar Herrera, Board Members Ma. Fe Lejos, Ester Corazon Galbreath, and Jumamoy attended the opening ceremony.
“Inabanga intends to inform the consumer sector—institutional buyers, exporters, and subcontractors—that we have the production capacity and variety of product lines of excellent quality,” Jumamoy said.
Last year, the town presented a fashion show with models sporting raffia fabrics.
Inabanga has been known as the loom weaving capital of Bohol as its inhabitants became proficient in raffia weaving with buli palms, which are abundant.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
