Region 6 officials back GMA

The administration is jittery. Even Speaker Jose de Venecia claims that her next 72 hours are uncertain. And, of course, the Armed Forces has been placed on red alert insofar as Metro Manila is concerned.

But over here in Western Visayas and the rest of the Visayan region, there are only assurances of support for the administration. Even those behind the Day of Mourning have gone out of their way to distance themselves from calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as Sen. Aquilino Pimentel challenged her last Thursday.

Local businessmen and the majority of the middle class think the country cannot afford another people power to oust a sitting president. Most local leaders and many members of the elite have their eyes trained on the Manila stock exchange and the plummeting stock prices because of the climate of uncertainty.

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon, who supported Fernando Poe Jr. in the last elections, said he believes that 100 percent of Region 6 officials favor her continued stay in office despite Pimentel’s call for her and Vice President Noli de Castro’s resignation.

The same view was aired by Oriental Negros Gov. George Arnaiz, a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

"We have only one country, the Philippines, and our economy will suffer more if any destabilization move is mounted," stressed Arnaiz.

Antique Gov. Sally Zaldivar Perez, chairman of the Regional Development Council, said the summit today of the League of Provincial Governors will once and for all emphasize that local government officials are against any attempt to erode the presidency.

Most of the local government units of Region 6, she added, oppose any move to launch any further adventurous enterprise. This, amid claims by some quarters, including the administration, that there are elements out to grab power.

In Iloilo City, PanayFed chairman Francia Trenas stressed that the private sector of Panay is against any attempt by any organized group to take over the reins of government.

"We cannot afford another such enterprise. We’ve had enough of these uprisings," he said.

Right now, Trenas added, the situation has been improving and the economy has been picking up. But there are forces out to torpedo the gains achieved by stirring unrest. "We can no longer allow such things to happen again. We need to rally behind the government against any other adventurist groups," he emphasized.

In Bacolod, Fr. Mao Buenafe, head of the Social Action Center of the diocese, stressed that the Day of Mourning aims only to make the top government officials aware of the plight of the common tao and the need to address the problems they face — the rising prices of oil and prime commodities and widespread corruption. But he added it is not aimed at forcing the President out of Malacañang.

Arnaiz, on the eve of the Manila Hotel summit, said he believes that there are various groups, including retired military officers and the New People’s Army, who seem to have united for a single purpose — to overthrow the government and then fight among themselves later if they become successful.

Besides, he added, while the First Family has been subjected to trial by publicity, they are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. In short, they are pictured as guilty when, in fact, the allegations still have to be proven.

In Bacolod, there are actually two Independence Day events. The first one, slated tomorrow morning, is sponsored by the Bacolod City government with councilor Al Viktor Espino as chairman of the celebration. The second, which is expected to draw more people, is the Day of Mourning. It is sponsored not only by the Bacolod Diocese but also by the cities of Kabankalan and San Carlos.

The climate in the Negros capital is uneasy, but there is no tension. All eyes seem to be focused on the National Capital Region. Otherwise, it is normal.

The Battle Between Negrenses

Most Negrenses, however, have their interest focused on the impending legal battle between two Negrenses — Rep. Ignacio Arroyo (fifth district) and Frank Chavez, a former senatorial bet. The latter was named counsel of self-confessed bagwoman Sandra Cam. Chavez was reportedly asked by Operation Clean Hands to serve as counsel of Cam.

"It is Iggy Arroyo who is lying," countered Chavez when the Negros lawmaker denied having received P400,000 in payola purportedly delivered by Cam to him in his office at the House of Representatives.

When Iggy announced that he and Rep. Mikey Arroyo (Pampanga) are filing a libel case against Cam, Chavez dared the lawmaker to do so.

A libel suit, he added, is often the refuge of the guilty because they deter people from speaking the truth. "If they think they can suppress the truth by filing the libel suit, then they are grossly mistaken," said Chavez.

Cam said retiring PNP General Restituto Mosqueda, then Bicol PNP chief, had directed her to turn over P400,000 to Iggy and P500,000 in cash to Mikey.

By coincidence, Mosqueda is from Iloilo and had served at one time as commander of the 334th PC Company in Sagay City.

But there is something that presages more brickbats later. This was the resolution of Sen. Panfilo Lacson to reopen the "Jose Pidal" case. This, following the claim of Cam that Mosqueda, former head of the PNP laboratory, had intimated that Rep. Arroyo had to practice for several weeks signing the signature of "Jose Pidal" which he later attested to as his.

Then lawyer Mario Ongkiko tossed a bombshell during his interview with Pinky Webb on ANC Thursday night, stressing the need to have the investigation into the Jose Pidal case reopened. Ongkiko raised the issue of how Iggy’s fortunes suddenly ballooned from only a few million pesos to more than a hundred million in just barely over a year to place him as the second richest member of the House of Representatives.

But then, as pointed out by Ongkiko, it’s about time to wrap up the jueteng payola hearings. He pointed out that the Senate and the House had much earlier conducted similar probes into the jueteng issue and by now they must have enough findings to enable both of them to come up with solid proposals to settle the issue.

Amen to that. So much time is being wasted in ferreting out who are the recipients of the payola. But that is not the problem. The question boils down to what do we do with jueteng: legalize it or order an honest-to-goodness crackdown.

Based on Ongkiko’s observation, just an intensive crackdown on the "corridores" who could be held for six days or more (assuming that such a law could be passed) would eventually cripple jueteng because there would no longer be patrons.

But then, such outlandish, albeit commonsensical proposal needs political will. It does not demand that the President resign to give way to an unknown entity taking over the mantle of leadership.

Iloilo Town Secretary Shot

Two gunmen shot Estancia (Iloilo) town secretary Archie Pullan Tuesday night while he was going to the Villa Lilly Beach Resort.

Estancia police chief Remias Alavaren said Pullan was rushed by bystanders to the Emmanuel Hospital in Roxas City but was declared dead on arrival.

The gunmen fled immediately after the shooting. None of the witnesses had a good look at Pullan’s attackers because the place where he was killed was reportedly dark. Police recovered several empty shells of a 12-gauge shotgun. The motive may be tied up with the distribution of kiosks at the Estancia public market.

Forgery Raps vs Iloilo Board Member

First, provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada filed last Tuesday frustrated malversation through falsification, dishonesty and gross misconduct in public office against provincial board member Manuel Gallar of Iloilo.

Then, a broadcaster, Roberto Pacardo, dyRI’s Capitol reporter, also charged Gallar with forgery.

Pacardo claimed that his name and signature were included in the attendance sheet of a consultative meeting that Gallar had supposedly organized in Cabatuan town.

The broadcaster recalled having signed an attendance sheet at Gallar’s office when he interviewed him. But he pointed out that he never attended a consultative meeting originally scheduled in Cabatuan town last December.

It was the request for reimbursement of meals of the 250 barangay officials who reportedly attended the consultative meeting in the third district which Gallar had asked for that led to Mejorada filing the complaint against him with the Ombudsman.

Gallar reportedly asked to be reimbursed P51,000 for the catered meals on Nov. 12. Gallar, however, countered that while the consultative meeting was not held on Nov. 12, it was actually held later in December in Santa Barbara town.

Pacardo’s complaint placed Gallar in the hot seat.

Well, as they say, such things happen everywhere.