Will there be elections next year?

Negrenses, like people everywhere else in the country, are watching with eager anticipation the latest news on whether the 2007 polls will still push through, with a pending bill calling for Congress to convene into a constituent assembly (con-ass) to amend the 1987 Constitution.

All Negros Occidental congressmen appear to have rallied behind con-ass.

Speaker Jose de Venecia said Tuesday that senior leaders of the majority coalition at the House had agreed to support the proposed con-ass.

But a lot depends on the Senate. Although five senators have endorsed the move, principally Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, the debate is whether con-ass could prosper with only the House voting.

Amendments to the Constitution should be passed by both chambers voting separately and with two-thirds majority voting in favor of con-ass.

Political adviser Gabriel Claudio earlier said that the administration is already prepared for the elections. It would be suicidal for the majority coalition to relax on this score if the final outcome of con-ass remains in doubt.

The only one who has yet to make up his mind on the issue is Rep. Monico Puentevella, who reportedly said that he is still consulting barangay leaders before deciding on the issue.

"It is a new ballgame," Puentevella was quoted as saying.

Rep. Tranquilino Carmona said he is supporting the move to change the Charter through con-ass because the Supreme Court had thumbed down the people’s initiative.

Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, however, said that con-ass will follow a timeframe that will be cheaper than the foot-dragging constitutional convention (con-con).

But Rep. Carlos Cojuangco said he is in favor of the move although it will be very expensive to tackle the amendment through con-con.

Cojuangco, incidentally, is not running for re-election.

For Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, the members of Congress are already the voice of the people, thus he favors con-ass rather than electing con-con delegates.

The others are also reportedly supporting con-ass.

But the most vocal supporter of people’s initiative has already come up with a stand opposing con-ass.

Bishop Vicente Navarra has asked the faithful to pray for divine guidance that members of Congress would be enlightened on their decisions in the face of the determined drive of De Venecia to push through with Charter change through con-ass.

Tigkalalag and others

While church leaders of Roxas City and Capiz are still embroiled in a controversy over the Aswang Festival, the Tigkalalag festival pushed through in Isabela town of Negros Occidental, with thousands of visitors from all over the province and abroad.

A similar festival was also observed in Pavia, Iloilo, which was also attended by hundred of outsiders.

These festivals portrayed mythical figures of All Souls’ Day such as ghosts and witches.

But the most spectacular was the festival in Isabela town where the parade of street dancers started at the municipal cemetery. The participants used Halloween costumes and one troupe was clad in costumes depicting skeletons so they looked like dancing skeletons.

Barangay Tinongan was adjudged the champion, while Barangays 2, 4 and 6 were named first runners-up. Barangays Mansably and Jojo Ursua bagged the second place, with Terence Jude Trovillas clinching third place.

Isabela Mayor Rento Malabor was particularly delighted with the turnout of the crowd, which included many visitors from abroad and balikbayans.

In short, the affair did not promote anti-Christian beliefs nor hailed witchcraft as harmless. All the people applauded were symbols of legends and myths. That is the main difference because the festival organizers in Isabela are not conscious about reputations.

Legal storm over Salabas kidnap-murder

The kidnap-murder case filed against six Bacolod policemen and 13 civilians was twisted again the other day. This time, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez stressed that not even President Arroyo can intervene in the case and only the court can decide if the accused will be allowed to post bail.

Gonzalez made that statement following a query from Sun Star if the appeal made by the accused to the President to intervene in their behalf would be considered.

"I told their counsels that only Judge Mario Trinidad of the Guihulngan Regional Trial Court (Negros Oriental) can decide whether the suspects may be allowed to post bail or not," Gonzalez told the Sun Star.

Lawyer Ernesto Treyes Jr., the counsel of the policemen, said he is asking the RTC to recall the warrants for the arrest issued against his clients — Jimmy Fortaleza, Senior Inspectors Jonathan Lorilla and Alarence Dongail, PO2 Freddie Natividad, and PO2 Allen Winston Hulleza.

The six cops and the 13 civilians were charged for the August 2003 kidnap-murder of former Pahanocoy barangay captain Eleuterio Salabas, his nephew Romulo Lomoljo and instructor Ricardo Suganob.

But there is another twist to the case. The prime witness in the case has announced in a radio program Thursday that he had signed an affidavit of retraction before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office.

Raymund Sombrero, 28, son of broadcaster George Sombrero of RGMA’s Super Radyo-Bacolod, recounted how the Orola family and Rodolfo Gerosa, security chief of the Orola family’s Orophil Shipping Corp., reportedly tried to convince him to file an affidavit against the six policemen last Feb. 16.

The five-page affidavit, he said, tagged Dongail and the other cops as among those responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Salab Lomoljo and Suganob.

Sombrero detailed his alleged ordeal at the hands of lawyers Lorenzo Alminaza, former Rep. John Orola, Tom Orola, Gerosa and lawyer Renecito Espiritu.

Anyway, although the story was the talk of the town, the Orola family appeared unfazed by Sombero’s revelation.

The former lawmaker said Sombero is not a "material witness" to the case and that his statements over the radio are immaterial.

Sombero claimed that he was brought to the National Bureau of Investigation where he reportedly met NBI chief Nestor Mantaring and Dante Jimenez of the Violence Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), who both allegedly tried to convince him to implicate retired Col. Vicente Ponteras, Col. Amado Marquez and former Bacolod police chief George Bajelot.

Later, the Orolas reportedly starved him and his family while he was under their control. They reportedly managed to escape and sought the help of his father George, who reportedly met them inside the Baclaran Church last Sunday and brought them back to Bacolod.

As I had previously said, this is an issue that has gripped the interest of Bacolodnons. It seems the only thing to do now is wait for the outcome of the legal skirmishes.

Bacolodnons will be all ears though on the outcome of the case. So will Iloilo residents, especially those from Ajuy town where Salabas’ decomposing body was unearthed from a shallow grave in September 2003.