Oro cops arrest 22 robbery members; recovered stolen bikes, clothes

ACTING Cagayan de Oro City director police Superintendent Antonio Montalba (right) as he exchanging words to the suppose owner of one stolen bike, while City's Anti-Theft and Robbery Section chief SPO1 Mario Pelaez looks on. Other photos below are shoes, clothes, and other personal belongings inluding 28 mountain bikes that allegedly were all stolen by the suspected theives arrested on Friday during police joint hot pursuit operation at barangay Consolacion, in this city. (Photo by Cagayan de Oro Journal) Link">"email me at celaben96@yahoo.com>Link

Bridge will be safe for public use June 5

THE regional office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Adhi Karya-VT Lao Construction on Wednesday assured that the Ysalina Bridge would be safe for motorists’ use on June 5, the day half of the bridge would be opened to traffic.

The firm would continue repairing the bridge on that day but officials said the public need not worry.

Northern Mindanao Public Works and Highways assistant regional director Norma Geronilla said the bridge would be fully opened to traffic 10 days later or on June 15.

"We always monitor their work 24 hours a day. The bridge will be the same as it was," Geronilla said.

VT Lao deputy project engineer Rick Galera also made the same assurance after Councilor Reynaldo Advincula said many people were afraid that the bridge might give in if it is opened before the retrofitting work is finished.

But Galera said the firm would put in place equipment to support the bridge. He said even trucks can use one lane of the bridge starting on June 5.

"The support is sturdy and well made, and cannot be easily damaged," Galera said.
Over local radio, Mayor Vicente Emano he would leave matters in the hands of engineers

"The consequences will be on the contractor," Emano said.

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Advincula calls on Trampe to resign

COUNCILOR Reynaldo Advincula on Thursday called city police director Senior Supt. Aurelio Trampe "inutile" and ‘‘ineffective’’ even as he urged the city’s top cop to quit due to the alarming crime rate.

"Trampe should have delivered results... The city needs strong man to fight criminals," said Advincula, adding that city hall officials were already tired of advising Trampe since he took over as police chief last year.

He said Trampe should immediately resign, citing complaints against the rising crime rate supposedly from business people in the city.

"He is so kind but his kindness has been affecting his work,’’ said Advincula.
What the city needs, according to Advincula, is a police chief who would be tough against criminals.

Advincula cited the increasing cases of wire theft in the city which cost business establishments’ millions of pesos.

He said the wire thieves have also adversely affected telecommunication companies like the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) located in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental and Philippine Calling Office based in Cagayan de Oro City.

Advincula did not give specific figures.

On Tuesday, thieves destroyed and stole a fiber optic cable and a modem cable in barangays Bulua, and Lapasan. They cut a thick steel pipe covering the cable wires.
Chief Insp. Antonio Montalba, who served as acting police director before Trampe took over, said he suspected a crime syndicate was behind the cable thefts. Montalba said similar cases have been reported across the country.

The theft affected communication services in Gusa all the way to Villanueva and Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, for 24 hours.

"We are still thankful to the police officers who arrested the suspects,’’ said Advincula. ‘‘But what we are seeing is only the tip of the iceberg.’’

Advincula faulted Trampe, saying the police chief should have made police officers visible in areas considered to be crime-prone.

Advincula said the weekly meetings of city hall officials with Trampe have become useless because the police director has not been acting on the local officials’ suggestions.

Resolutions have been passed in the city council calling on the police to ensure police visibility but these have not been fully implemented, he said.

‘‘They’re just good at the start,’’ said Advincula.

Trampe was out of town, according to his staff.

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Emano, councilors a no-show on Ledesma installation

CAGAYAN de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano and local legislators were conspiciously absent during Tuesday’s installation of Archbishop Antonio Ledesma.

There was no immediate explanation but many perceive their absence as a breach of protocol given that Ledesma is an appointee of Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the State of the Vatican City.

There were reports that the only city hall official who attended the installation rites at the St. Augustine Cathedral was Vice Mayor Michelle Spiers but this could not be independently verified at presstime.

‘‘If he (Emano) did not give an explanation, that means it was a deliberate snub,’’ said lawyer James Judith, a known critic of the Emano adminisration.

Judith added, ‘‘It could mean a lot of things. He is either indifferent to church affairs, bears a grudge against the church officials or the clergy, hates church politics, uncomfortable with its (Church’s) tradition or (it could just be) plain arrogance. It could be any of these.’’said Sen. Aquilino Pimentel: ‘‘He’s (Emano’s) running true to form. He has no need for God and things spiritual.’’

‘‘It’s a pity,’’ reacted former vice mayor Antonio Soriano. He did not elaborate.

President Arroyo, who was reported by another paper earlier to be coming over for the affair, did not show up. Neither did anyone represent her during the formal assumption of the 63-year-old Jesuit priest as head of the Cagayan de Oro archdiocese.

Ledesma is the vice president of the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) which has voiced apprehensions over moves to quickly change the 1987 Constitution. The Charter change campaign is something that Arroyo and her allies, including Emano, have been preoccupied with.

The new archbishop is said to be personally against the Charter change campaign.

The only prominent political ally of Arroyo who attended the affair was Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno.

But Moreno declined to comment on the absence of city hall officials. Ledesma’s installation, he said, is a ‘‘purely Church affair.’’

But Tagoloan-based priest Raul Bagongon said he felt disappointed because ‘‘political alliances’’ became evident during the archbishop’s installation.

"There is a clear division between those in the administration and the opposition," said Fr. Bagongon.

The VIP guest list included prominent opposition figures: Senate President Franklin Drilon and Sen. Pimentel and their wives, Black and White Movement lead convenor Dinky Soliman, and Mila Roco whose late husband Raul was a senator and one of Arroyo’s challengers in the 2004 presidential elections, among others.

"We sent invitations to city officials," said Fr. Butch Zayas, overall chairperson for the installation rites preparation. The invitations were sent out three weeks ago.

Zayas said a committee even called local officials to follow through on the invitations. "We called them by phone."

Said Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya: "No comment. Better ask the vice mayor, the invitations were sent when she was the acting mayor."

Councilor Reynaldo Advincula said he was surprised because he received no invitation.

"I was really surprised why the city council was not invited," said Advincula.

Speaking at the jampacked St. Agustine Cathedral for the first time since he was appointed by the Pope, the archbishop stressed the need for the Church to promote a ‘‘culture of peace’’ through interreligious dialogues and intercultural understanding.

Ledesma also stressed the need for the collaboration of efforts of the Church and State to attain peace and development in Mindanao. He also cited the work of ‘‘civil society’’ groups which he also called the ‘‘NGO community’’ for helping address social concerns.

Gov. Moreno said Ledesma’s pronouncement’s only showed that the archbishop is an "activist and a reform-minded Church leader."

‘‘His message to Cagayanons was so deep," said Moreno.

"Very inspiring,’’ said former Social Welfare secretary Soliman. ‘‘He became an archbishop at the right time and in right place.’’

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Ledesma makes a 'triumphal entry' into C. de Oro

ARCHBISHOP Antonio Ledesma’s arrival from Zamboanga del Sur was greeted with a rousing fanfare in Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro on Sunday.

Thousands waited as a caravan organized for the new archbishop passed by parishes until it reached St. Augustine Cathedral.

People waved white and yellow flags and hung welcome streamers along the highway.

Priests and parishioners, including local politicians, greeted Ledesma as he dropped by the towns.

He spent about 10 minutes in every town he visited just to talk to people, said Monsignor Rey Monsanto.

From the Our Lady of Peace Parish in Lugait town, Ledesma visited at least nine other Misamis Oriental towns––Man-ticao, Naawan, Initao, Libertad, Gitagum, La-guindingan, Alubijid, El Salvador and Opol––before proceeding to Caga-yan de Oro.

Archbishop emeritus Jesus Tuquib greeted his successor at the Arch-bishop’s Palace past 5 pm. The two visited a chapel where they briefly prayed. They then sang ‘‘Te Deum,’’ an early Christian hymn of praise.

From the chapel, Monsanto said Ledesma and Tuquib had dinner with priests, nuns and lay leaders.

Last night, a pre-installation reception for Ledesma was hosted by relatives and friends of the new archbishop, said the Rev. Fr. Butch Zayas.

The fanfare continues today with the official installation of Ledesma as the fourth archbishop of Cagayan de Oro by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio
Cardinal Rosales at the St. Augustine Cathedral. Some 11 bishops are expected to grace the event, including Bishop Angel Lagdameo, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Senate President Franklin Drilon, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and former Social Welfare secretary Dinky Soliman as well as local politicians are expected to witness Ledesma’s installation.

Ledesma and the local archdiocese would also honor Tuquib who served here for 22 years.

Ledesma hails from Negros and served as the dean of the College of Agriculture of the Jesuit-run Xavier University from 1983 to 1993. He was also dean of the Xavier’s College of Arts and Sciences for three years before he was named the bishop of Ipil in l996.

"that can be read at Gold Star Daily>Link

Militant groups ask Church leaders to openly oppose ID system

MILITANT groups in the city on Saturday challenged Church leaders and ‘‘intellectuals ’’in northern Mindanao to join them in asking the Supreme Court to reverse its previous decision on the ‘‘unified multi-purpose identification system," saying the scheme would result in violation of citizens’ rights.

Ryan Guerrero of the local Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said the ID system would become another form of harassment.

During the rally near the capitol, activists sharply criticized President Arroyo’s Executive Order 420, calling it ‘‘anti-people’’ and the ‘‘handiwork’’ of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.

The ID system, according to Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran’s daughter Oda, would allow the state to spy on citizens suspected of being the government’s enemies.

The KMU and other militant groups said they would launch an information campaign aimed at telling people in the region about the dangers of the planned ID system.

They maintained that EO 420 is the same as Administrative Order 308, which was issued in 1996 by then president Fidel Ramos. The administrative order was an attempt to set up a national computerized identification reference system.

The High Court invalidated AO 308 on the grounds that "a national ID card system requires legislation because it creates a new national data collection and card issuance system where none existed before."

"People are really tired on the government’s position on the right of the people to live in a democratic country like the Philippines," said Guerrero.

Beltran’s daughter Oda said Arroyo’s executive order was tantamount to usurpation of legislative powers.

Guerrero called on Cchurch leaders in Cagayan de Oro and elsewhere in the region to openly criticize the proposed ID system for the sake of citizens whose right to privacy would likely be violated.

"that can be read at Gold Star Daily>Link