Welcome to Cebu City

JUST two hours before Christmas Day, a sudden fireworks display near the Mandaue City Sports Complex drew the attention of people living near the North Reclamation side of Barangay Centro.
But what first appeared to be a show turned into an inferno that destroyed 54 stands that sold firecrackers and damaged two others.

Worse, the blaze killed three persons—a pregnant woman and two minors who did not live to see Christmas Day. Six others suffered first- and second-degree burns.
Fire investigators theorized that a rogue firecracker may have dropped into one of the stalls, which then caused the chain reaction.
Over P100,000 worth of property were destroyed by the fire, said Mandaue City fire investigator FO3 Cipriano Codilla. He quoted a witness as saying that a lone firecracker triggered the flames.
Because of the accident, the Mandaue City Government ordered that all permits for the sale of firecrackers, except those issued to reputable and duly licensed firecracker merchants, be revoked.
In a text to Sun.Star Cebu yesterday, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said he was deeply saddened by the accident and promised a continuous campaign against the indiscriminate selling of firecrackers.
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) also increased its measures to regulate those who sell or use firecrackers and pyrotechnic products.
In Cebu City, an area at the South Road Property (SRP) has been designated as a firecracker zone since 2007.
CCPO Director Patrocinio Comendador Jr. told Sun.Star Cebu the police will strictly enforce the ban on the sale and distribution of all firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices outside the designated area.
Distributors inside the malls are not exempted from the enforcement, he said.
In Mandaue City, children were cautioned against playing near the fire scene, where live firecrackers remain buried under ashes and debris.
At 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, a small firecracker allegedly landed on the stall of a certain Gaimah Sajo, and started the blaze.
Those killed were identified as Minombao Bulao, 30; Akmad Barode, 7; and Osama Renabatan, 8. Bulao was pregnant.
Those injured were identified as Hanifa Mustafa, 11; Michelle Almeda, 24; Mosmira Ibrahim, 25; Lemuel Roy Flores, 14; Thelma Lacsamana, 45; and Mary Ruth Cadavos, 10.
The properties destroyed during the fire included a multicab and several motorcycles belonging to the stall owners.
Codilla said the fire department will return to the site to douse it with more water, as a precaution.
Firefighters are also keeping an eye on a fire that began in the Umapad dumpsite last Christmas Day.
Residents feared the smoke will cause health problems, referring to a similar problem in Cebu City’s Inayawan dumpsite.
Codilla told Sun.Star Cebu the Umapad fire started around noon last Dec. 25 and was put out at 9 p.m. that same day.
But firefighters again alerted yesterday that the flames were still burning.
“There is an ongoing combustion in our Umapad dumpsite. Methane underneath the surface of the garbage is fueling the fire. We are doing all that we can and all that our available resources can allow, to extinguish the fire,” said Mayor Cortes, in a text message.
The mayor added that the dangers that affect the dumpsite, like the fire, are part of the problems the City has encountered in closing the facility.
Meanwhile, Cebu City Police Chief Comendador said the pyrotechnics vendors in the malls were informed yesterday that they have until Monday to pull out the products.
He directed all the station commanders to spread the information, particularly in the malls, in their respective areas.
“We will let them know to give them time to pull out their products. This is for everyone’s safety,” Comendador said.
He will also coordinate with the Cebu City Fire Department to put a fire truck at the SRP so respond to any crisis.
Since the second week of December, the police have been confiscating firecrackers sold outside the designated area, particularly in downtown Cebu City, the police chief said.
The Mandaue City accident should remind revelers to use safe means of ushering in the New Year, said Cebu City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. Pe heads the City Council committee on public order and safety.
“I’ve always been consistent in our stand to only use firecrackers in the firecracker zone, which is the SRP (South Road Properties). Lipay ko kay last (Dec.) 25, akongnabantayan mingaw ang pabuto (I’m glad only a few used firecrackers on Christmas Day),” Pe said.
Compared to seven last year, he added, at least 30 are now selling firecrackers at the SRP. Those selling firecrackers outside the SRP are doing so without permits.
In a resolution approved last Dec. 4, 2008, the Cebu City Council designated the SRP as the only place where traders can sell firecrackers and where revelers can use them.
Those “firecrackers/pyrotechnic devices (displayed) outside the designated area will be confiscated, redeemed and destroyed outright.”
Pe made the proposal to prevent injuries and fires during the Christmas season and the Sinulog celebration.
He warned traders that the sidewalk is no place to sell firecrackers, and that operations by the task force created to implement the resolution to seize their displays will continue.
“As chairman of the committee on public order and safety, I call on everyone to avoid using firecrackers. Firecrackers and fireworks should be handled by professionals,”the councilor said.
“Naa’y lata, naay kaldero, naay torotot. Nganong kinahanglan gyud ang pabuto? (We can use tin cans, pots and horns. Why should there be a need for firecrackers?),” he added.

(Sunstar)

LEGAZPI CITY — The country’s most active volcano shot ash into the sky Wednesday as officials tried to bring Christmas cheer to tens of thousands of people fleeing a possible major eruption.
Mount Mayon’s kilometer-high column alarmed residents and officials, who have been bracing for a major explosion since last week, when the volcano started oozing lava and belching steam and ash.
“This is going to be a very sad Christmas,” said 36-year-old Violeta Abejoro, one of over 47,000 people who have fled Mayon’s foothills after the volcano began angrily spewing ash, smoke and lava last week.
“I can’t get them to stop crying,” the frustrated mother said of her five children, the youngest of whom is barely a year old and has colic.
At the evacuation camps, military and police personnel with Santa hats tried to coax carols from the children, who were transfixed by the eerie scene of a thick ash cloud trailing from Mayon’s peak.
Other children scrambled to fall in line after being promised ice cream cones and other Christmas treats.
Head volcanologist Renato Solidum said Mayon’s increasing seismic activity could be a sign of a major eruption but was not enough to warrant raising the alert level to the highest level on a five-point scale.
“It has intensified since we hoisted level four, and there have been new explosions,” Solidum said.
The tendency of the volcano is that the pressure is getting stronger and stronger and this could lead to a major explosion.
“Mayon remains at a very critical level,” he said, adding that the alert level of four means that an eruption could occur within hours or days.
The explosion also underscored the urgency of convincing an estimated 500 hold-outs to abandon their homes and farms inside an eight-kilometer radius danger zone, officials said.
The ash and debris blanketed surrounding villages and towns with a thin layer of fine particles that health officials warn could cause respiratory and skin problems.
Tens of thousands of families now in the evacuation camps complained of a lack of food, blankets and sanitary packs.
For 42-year-old taxi operator Narciso Marama, who family lives just outside the danger zone, Mayon has been both a blessing and a curse.
For years the volcano has attracted tourists to the province, but it has also caused misery for his family, he said.
“They may have snowfalls in other parts of the world, but here, we have ashfall,” the father of four told AFP.
“It’s a white Christmas for us too, but this is ash, and we have to wear face masks.”
He said he had relatives inside the danger zone who were among those who had been relocated, but his own family had not been moved.
“But if there is a huge eruption, we may also be forced to leave,” he said. “I can still remember the devastation three years ago.”
When Mayon last erupted in 2006 it oozed lava and vented steam and ash for two months. No one died directly from the eruption, but a powerful typhoon three months later dislodged tonnes of debris that had collected on its slopes, burying entire towns and killing over 1,000 people.
Marama’s house was among those crushed in the mudslide, but no family members were killed.
“We lost everything we owned and had to rebuild from scratch,” Marama said.
“I still have nightmares from that incident. I am praying that no one is killed this time.”
The government has evacuated more than 47,000 people from the danger zone around Mayon to 26 evacuation centres in anticipation of a hazardous eruption. But authorities say about 500 villagers have refused to abandon their homes.
Governor Joey Salceda said resources were fast being strained and declared the area “open season for aid.”
“They (aid agencies) don’t need to come to my office to deliver aid anymore, they can go direct to the centers,” he said

(The Freeman)

Three people were reported killed after a fire razed 46 firecracker stores in Mandaue City in Cebu province Thursday night.Radio dzBB's Cebu affiliate reported the fire started at 10:36 p.m. at the middle part of the row of fireworks stores at Sentro village in Mandaue City.The fatalities were initially identified as Minumba Bulao, a pregnant woman; Acmad Villacorta Barode, 7; and Osama bin Ibrahim Renabaca, 8.Initial investigation showed the fire started when a buyer was testing a firecracker at one of the shops, and a lighted "kwitis" being tested flew toward the other stalls.The fire reached the second alarm and was placed under control after one hour, but not before wiping out 46 stalls and razing a multi-cab and some motorcycles and bicycles parked near the area.The incident prompted Bureau of Fire Protection acting head Chief Superintendent Rolando Badilla to remind the public to take precautions against fires.In a radio interview, Badilla particularly urged people near firecracker stores to observe the no-smoking rule."Yung no-smoking sa area kung maari (sundan), maraming nadidisgrasya (Please follow the no-smoking rule in firecracker zones, especially near fireworks stores. Many tragedies have taken place because of some people’s inability to follow this rule)," Badilla said in an interviewon dzXL radio.Badilla also reminded the public to keep watch over their cooking, which he noted had caused a big fire that left more than 2,000 families homeless in Pasay City.He also appealed to residents to unplug their Christmas lights before retiring for the night, lest the appliances overheat and start fires."Ang Christmas lights di pwedeng buksan magdamagan (Christmas lights should not be left on overnight)," he said

(GMANews.Tv)

CEBU CITY - A workers group in Cebu took advantage of the season of giving to have their wages raised as they field anew a petition for a P128.60 across-the-board increase in daily wages.
Cebu Labor Coalition (CELAC) said they is hoping that members of the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board will decide in favor of the workers and approve their petition. But RTWPB members will be able take up the petition only next year.
The group first filed their petition last October but their petition was returned to them because of some technical problems like lack of signatures from the petitioners and computation attachments.
They filed their petition again Tuesday, a few days before Christmas.
Boboy Belarmino, CELAC spokesperson, said that they are hoping the RTWPB can take up their petition before the Christmas vacation. He said that the season for giving may have a good effect on the board’s decision.
But Elias Cayanong, Department of Labor and Employment regional director and RTWPB chairman, said he has not yet seen the petition that was reportedly re-filed.
Cayanong said that they will take it up as soon as they resume their session first week next year. He said that the board has already gone on recess. He assured, however, that it will be one of the things they will take up on their first meeting for 2010.
Belarmino said he is counting on the assurance of Cayanong that they will be given priority next year. He said that listening to the needs of the workers is a good way to start a new year.
Cayanong said that they will first check if CELAC was now able to comply with the deficiencies stated previously. He also said that they will have to evaluate the petition. The petition must reportedly go to the process of studying the trends in cost of living, cost of money, market and employment conditions.
CELAC with nine member labor groups justified their P128.60 across-the-board daily wage adjustment on 11 grounds: insufficient increases from the past, the reduction of the purchasing power of the peso, unstable oil price, basic commodities hike, Consumer Price Index, inflation rate, R-VAT and hike in taxes, globalization effects, transportation fare increase, and water and electric rate increases.
The coalition of labor groups said that the present P267 minimum daily wage is way below the P867 per day living wage as determined by the National Economic Development Authority.
as of 12/24/2009 1:01 AM

(ABS-CBN News Central Visayas)

THIRTEEN people, including a 15-year-old boy, fell ill due to possible food poisoning at a company Christmas party last Monday.
Jesus Rey Cavalida, 45, an employee of H. Lhuillier, said the people started showing signs of food poisoning while they were having dinner at the City Sports Club.

One of those who fell ill was Cavalida’s son, Ervin Michael, 15.
“At first he didn’t say anything, then he got uncomfortable. I brought him to the bathroom and there he started to throw up. He threw up five times,” he said.
Cavalida said that while dinner was ongoing, people slowly started to feel nauseated.
“Naglain ang tiyan sa mga tawo while dinner was going on (People felt ill),” confirmed Alice Loresto, personnel manager of H. Lhuillier.
However, the Department of Health 7 reported yesterday that all those who fell ill are now recovering.

“In fact, they are about to be discharged,” said Dr. Expedito Medalla of the Health Emergency Management Staff (HEMS) of the DOH 7.
Medalla said that the Cebu City Health Department (CHD) is looking into the matter and conducting its own investigation.
Noemi Solon, general manager of the City Sports Club, assured that they were on top of the situation and they are also conducting their own investigation in order to find out what happened.
“We had only 14 out of 450 people who got sick. They felt queasy so they were brought to the hospital. When we found out what happened, we did all we could do,” shesaid.
She assured that they were “looking out for the welfare” of their customers and did all that was possible.
“What happened was just an isolated incident,” she added.
Because of what happened, Medalla is urging for a stricter monitoring of restaurants and food handlers, especially during the holiday season.
“The City health department must monitor the restaurants and food handlers, knowing that there are a lot of festivities,” said Medalla.
DOH 7 Assistant Director Lakshmi Legaspi likewise advised the public to be wary of their food consumption during the holiday season.
“To avoid food poisoning, we should be careful with the handling of food...Spoiled food can also cause food poisoning,” said Legaspi.
Spaghetti, raw fish and shellfish are common causes of food poisoning, noted Legaspi.
She added that signs and symptoms of food poisoning include abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.
In last Monday’s incident, Loresto said they brought 14 people, including Cavalida’s son, to Perpetual Succour Hospital.
“It’s hard to say what food caused them to get sick; we are still waiting for the laboratory results,” said Loresto.
CHD Chief Fe Cabugao sent a sanitary inspector and the assistant city epidemiologist to check what happened.
She said that the most likely cause of the food poisoning was the talaba they ate.
However, Cabugao clarified that she would still get results of the investigation today before coming up with a conclusion.
Cavalida and Loresto both noted that the management of City Sports Club was quick to respond to the needs of the victims.
“They came here (to the hospital) and they checked on us and tried to verify what happened,” said Cavalida.

(Sunstar)

CEBU, Philippines - After the global financial crisis reportedly affected industries, with some countries stopping their hiring of workers including nurses and caregivers
, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration announced that the second batch of recruitment for nurses and caregivers to Japan would start soon.
POEA-7 officer-in-charge Evelia Durato said that a number of Filipinos, including those from the Central Visayas region are working in Japan as nurses and more are still interested to apply for work there.
Under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, applicants who meet the education and work experience required should establish their determination and personal circumstances to complete the six-month Japanese language training prior to working and taking the licensure or national examinations.
Two hundred eighty-three Filipino nurses and caregivers for Japan who belonged to the first batch were deployed this year and are now undergoing the on the job training in hospitals where they are assigned and in different caregiving institutions in the foreign country. They have already completed the six-month language training.
The pre-employment orientation will commence soon for qualified applicants who have registered online in the site, www.poea.gov.ph and has continued their active status through the POEA e-registration site.
Durato said that this is a good opportunity for the interested and qualified applicants and that they are inviting the licensed nurses who have at least three years of work experience to apply for the vacancies. Caregivers who have completed a four-year college course with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority NC certified caregiver, and graduates of a nursing course is also encouraged to apply.
Aside from these qualifications, medical and psychological tests should also be taken for the assurance that the applicant is safe to work as well to ensure that they have no impediment to travel to Japan and they have a valid passport. Applicants who also have a level of Japanese language proficiency may also be exempted from the onsite six-month language training and proceed directly to the on-the-job training.
Recruitment of nurses and caregivers under JPEPA is made through POEA with the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services

(Freeman)

ONLY new registrants will be accepted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the five-day extension of registration it approved.
Resolution 8719, promulgated last Thursday, Dec. 17, set seven guidelines for the reopening of registration of voters.
The new rules were passed following the Dec. 15 Supreme Court (SC) decision that declared as null and void Comelec Resolution 8585 that set the registration deadline on Oct. 31, 2009.

The SC ordered that the registration be made until Jan. 9, 2010.
But Comelec chairman Jose Melo and six commissioners set the registration on Dec. 21, 22, 23, 28 and 29 only since the registration period includes the Election Registration Board (ERB) hearing and other related activities.

It is the ERB that evaluates and approves registration applications.
According to Resolution 8719, the last day to post the notice of hearing is on Jan. 4; last day to file opposition to the applications of registration, Jan. 6; and the ERB hearing, Jan. 9.
Tessie Mercado of the Cebu City south district Comelec office said that because of the SC decision and Resolution 8719, they postponed their Christmas party scheduled on Dec. 21.
Though the registration is only during office hours or from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., they have to prepare and no longer have time for the Christmas party.

She advised new or first-time registrants that though registration ends at 5 p.m., they impose a 4 p.m. cut-off so that those who register after would be told to return the next day.
“People might register on the last day again. They have to know that there are no satellite or offsite registrations,” she said.

Under the set of guidelines, only new registrants will be entertained, and only at the Comelec offices.

“No satellite registration shall be conducted and no application for transfer of registration records, reactivation and changes/correction of entries in the registration records/inclusion of registration records/reinstatement of names in the list of votes, shall be filed,” read the three-page Resolution 8719.

It also ordered that add-on utilities are allowed in areas where the data capturing machines (DCMs) or their related gadgets are defective or malfunctioning.
It likewise directed the Comelec’s Information Technology Department to develop a program segregating the records of registered voters as of Nov. 16 and that those whose applications are approved on the Jan. 9 ERB hearing should be provided in a supplemental list of voters.
All Comelec regional directors were also told to ensure that the programs to segregate the records are installed in the DCMs prior to the reopening of registration.

(Sunstar)

BOXING champion Manny Pacquiao wants to buy a parcel of land at the South Road Properties (SRP), but Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is lukewarm about the offer.
Osmeña confirmed yesterday that Pacquiao expressed interest in buying a property at the SRP, but the mayor advised him to enter into a joint venture agreement with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) instead.

He said the City deals with “wholesale” developers and not retail buyers of SRP land.
The mayor declined from discussing the details of Pacquiao’s offer, saying he always keeps the specifics of proposals involving SRP lots under wraps until these are finalized.
Policy

“He (Pacquiao) has expressed an interest to buy but I’m just encouraging him to do a joint venture with Filinvest because they already have properties there…It’s not that the City won’t sell him lots, it’s just a general policy that we let developers handle these people,” Osmeña said.
In his news conference yesterday, he said a lot of “retailers” want to buy small parcels of land, but the City will only sell to developers to make sure that all developments are integrated and connected to each other.

He also wants to make sure there will be no competition among investors.
“We are selling wholesale. A lot of people want to buy properties at the SRP but we are not in the retail business…We’re in the stage where we’re not even interested in profit,” said Osmeña.
Birthday party

Former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson’s airplane will drop by Cebu today to pick up the mayor, who will attend Pacquiao’s birthday celebration in General Santos City. But Osmeña said he will not discuss the SRP or the museum he wants to build for Pacquiao at the SRP during the celebration.

The mayor’s plan to put up a Manny Pacquiao museum at the SRP is gaining ground, after the boxing champion welcomed the idea.
Osmeña met with Pacquiao earlier this week, discussed the matter with him and decided to consult experts from the National Museum.

“Okay lang,” he said, when asked how the congressional candidate took his proposal. “It’s very preliminary so I’m getting a consultant who works at the National Museum to work on it. It will take a while to put it together,” the mayor continued.
Following Pacquiao’s victory against Miguel Cotto last month, Osmeña announced plans to incorporate the Manny Pacquiao museum into the water tank and lounge area to be constructed on the SRP welcome hill, which will cost the City some P100 million to build.
The museum will be built as a tribute to the boxer.

(Sunstar)