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                                               Iligan  Mayor Regencio Repeats Campaign Promises

                                                           By Frank E. Dosdos, Jr.

Catapulted to the Chief Executive position in Iligan City, the former cop of very humble beginnings, repeated his campaign promises as he took his of Oath Office last Sunday at Anahaw Amphitheater, Buhanginan Hill.

Mayor Celso G. Regencia told a cheering crowd of thousands that the promises he made during the rigorous campaign was still very fresh in his mind..

       First, he emphasized that he will tackle the assurance of peace and order and everything else will follow.  People can sleep soundly and engage in gainful activities that someday no one in Iligan will miss a meal each day.

He said that he will achieve this through the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines as on that day he has ended his 30 years of service in the military and the police services and began his first day as a civilian in government.

Second, he will break the horns of those people who bring drugs that will,"destroy the youth who will replace us when we grow old and when we are gone from this earth."

He said that he was telling those people that their days are counted if they will not stop and change their ways.

Third, he wants to increase the quantity of medicines available in the City Hospital (Gregorio T. Lluch Memorial Hospital) because this is the clamor of the poor patients of the said institution.

He told the audience that he hopes the members of the Sangguniang Panglunsod will support his intentions as he also hope that medicines can be administered free at the City Hospital so that there will be no more people going around begging for help since they have no money to buy medicines for their patients.

Fourth, he will give enough attention to the Senior Citizens.  They should be given enough attention for, "we would not be here standing if not because of them," he said.

He added that the Senior Citizens should see that there are leaders in the City Government who care for them especially in giving regular medical check-ups.

Fifth, he will give good service to the farmers by improving particularly the difficult sections of the roads to the hinterlands so that they would have no fear and hardships in bringing their products to the markets.

Sixth he will improve the Palao Market which has been neglected for a long time that even a municipality in Lanao del Norte has a better public market.  Toward this end he expects the members of the Sangguniang Panlunsod to support him.

Seventh, he will look into what is delaying the water system improvement project and find solutions to hastened its completion so that the project can at last be useful to the people.

Eighth, he will look into what is delaying the completion  of the Central Material Recovery Facility because he has heard that people in Barangay Santiago are planning to barricade the dump-site as they want it closed.

He closed his Inaugural Speech with a promise that the Celso Regencia that the people elected to father the City will not change.  He welcomes everybody, Muslims, Lumads and Christians who wants to live peacefully in Iligan.and he will defend them against any molestation for he is willing to die for them if necessary.

He will remain easy to approach and easy to find.  He will continue to live a simple life for he has no expenses to recover

and he is contented with everything that he had earned through sweat and blood sometimes.

His speech was punctuated several times with very loud applause.  That portion where he said that he will defend the people and he is willing to die for them if necessary aroused a thunderous ovation of the people including those standing under the heat of the morning sun.

Regencia took his oath before Judge Albert Abragan together with Councilors Sammy Huertas and Emmanuel C. Salibay who ran under his ticket last May 13 and Simplicio N. Larrazabal, Jr., an Independent.

Vice Mayor Ruderick Marzo and Councilors Marlene Young, Ariel Anghay, Bayani Arreola, Roy Openiano, Frederick Siao, Michelle Sweet, Usafeno Obial took their oaths before Congressman Vicente F. Belmonte, Jr. at the City Plaza during the celebration of Araw Ng Iligan last June 16.

As of press time, nothing was heard of the oath taking of Councilors Providencio Abragan, Jr. and Alfredo A. Busico.

The audience noted  that the Councilors belonging to the Liberal Party who had and have not taken their Oaths of Office were all conspicuously absent.

Regencia was handpicked by Congressman Belmonte and Mayor Cruz to be designated as the Iligan City Director of the Philippine National Police years ago.

After the middle of 2012, he confided to this writer that he was going to retire optionally and run for a political position

because he had served in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police long enough and he wants to live with his family especially that all his children are female.

Many were caught by surprise and thought he could easily become a Police General if he will not leave the PNP.

And people were even more surprised when he announced that he was running for Mayor.

He easily became an underdog against the well funded political machine of the Liberal Party which fielded Vice Mayor Henry C. Dy for Mayor.

Finally, he won by, in his own language, the will of God.

kauswagan,chaos: A matter of mental conditioning

by Pol V. Dingal, TPP Investigative Group

   

  June 10, 2013,Monday , the day when the people of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte were on rally and even to the brim of picketing. According to ousted mayor Rommel Arnado, people of kauswagan, Lanao del Norte do not want him to vacate his post in the Municipal Hall.

      "We are against  the take- over of the mayoralty seat by Mayor Casan Maquiling, even there is that order of the Supreme Court (SC) which executes the decision of the Commission on Election (Comelec)," the woman in the podium loudly said as translated from her vernacular statements,

      From the observers like us, the problem was a choice between the elector’s choice Rommel Arnado and the SC installed Mayor Casan Maquiling. "No one is above the law," said the lawyer of Mayor Maquiling Atty. Badelles Macaan.

      Since the SC is the highest Court of Justice, the decision therefore, is a law. As such, Mayor Casan Maquiling must be allowed to take over the Mayor's Office without objection and friction, But greater than what the law can afford, the misled people and the misleading political leaders pretended not to understand the execution of the SC on the seat though this was illegally obtained.

      Seemingly it was illegally obtained because of the Local Government Code prohibits any dual citizen and non -Filipino to seek elective position in any Local Government Unit (LGU). And the highest judiciary court has ruled. "Let the law prevail," a short statement from Atty. Macaan.

      Following this theorem, the ousted Mayor Arnado is trying to ignore the law. As the choice of the people, he can solve therefore, the problem by correctly teaching his people on the strength of the law. "People power can only work when there is criminal offense of the incoming Mayor,” Professor Joseph M. Sanguila told the media. “President Marcos versus the late president Aquino was another case. The latter was defeated through election fraud." Prof Sanguila explained. "The people power then was the instrument to correct the frauds." Prof Sanguila disclosed.

      "The Arnado-Maquiling case has been corrected by the Comelec and the SC, therefore ,it is lawful and cleansed of criminal  and administrative charges," Sanguila explained.

       " As a good leader, Arnado should not mislead his supporters,"Sanguila close.

       "The case at issue at the moment is disqualification. It only means, there was violation of the  law committed by Arnado even at the start," an elderly man in the street said, but requested anonymity.

       Therefore, TPPIG generalized that the Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte chaos is but a matter of mental conditioning .Ousted Mayor Arnado, having been duly informed of the decision of the SC should ask his people go home and live at peace with the law. The solution of the problem actually resides in the heart and mind of ousted Mayor Arnado.

The Cardino of Dapitan

By Pol V. Dingal,TPP InvestigTive Group

Army General dies after diving off Zamboanga Sur

Zamboanga City - A decorated Army commander,who was a combat veteran in Mindanao,died on Sunday following a heart attack while diving off the coast of Zamboanga del Sur province,his spokesperson said. Captain Jefferson Somera, a spokeperson for the First Infantry Division,said that Brig.General Daniel Lucero was diving with his staff and wife at beach in Tukuran town when he had a heart attack. "It was a sad day us all.We lost a good man, good officer,a good friend,"Somera said. But Lucero's wife said his husband drowned after a malfunction in diving suit. "He is gone.There was a malfunction in his diving suit,"she said in in a separate interview. Somera said that Lucero,who belonged to the Philippine Military Acdemy

Int'l girls surf titl in Siargao postponed

By Roel Catoto on June 5 2013 5:22 pm GENERAL LUNA, Surigao del Norte (MindaNews/05 June) — Lack of preparations has forced the organizers of the annual Siargao Girls International Surfing Competition to move the event to September. The tilt was scheduled to be held in Cloud Nine in this town on June 11-15, but was reset to September this year. Zeny Pallugna, secretary general of Philippine Surfing Federation, one of the organizers said that the schedule is too close and they haven’t ironed out some crucial matters for the event. General Luna, one of the towns in Siargao Islands, is considered the country’s surfing capital, and has hosted several surfing competitions. MindaNews tried to contact Pallugna through text messages for comment but she has not replied. General Luna Mayor Jaime P. Rusillon said postponing the event is better than pushing it through without enough preparations. “It’s really too close and we have to postpone it,” he said, adding they have prepared big prizes for the competition. The postponement dismayed several surfers who said they have prepared hard for the event. One of them was Daisy Valdez from La Union Province who had had booked a plane ticket for the competition. Valdez, considered one of the best Filipino contenders, said she was supposed to come here by Saturday. Valdez, who had received the notice through her Facebook account on May 29, said the organizers should have notified them earlier. She said she was also thinking of the other competitors who had booked tickets for the event. Meanwhile, several surfing fans pointed out that swells this month are not as good compared to those in September. “June is never going to be the best time as waves are usually small,” said Gerry Deagan, an Australian surfer, who would usually volunteer himself as the tournament announcer for every surfing event in Cloud Nine. The postponement made two competitors from Japan and Taiwan extend their stay in the island until September. (Roel N. Catoto/MindaNews

Army general dies after diving off Zamboanga Sur

Zamboanga City- A decorated Army commander,who was a combat veteran in Mindanao,died on Sunday following a hearth attack while diving off the coast of Zamboanga del Sur province,his spokesperson said. Captain Jefferson Somera,a spokesperson for the First Infantry Division,said that Brig.Gen. Daniel Lucero was diving with his staff and wife at a beach in Tukuran town when he had a heart attack. "It was a sad day us all.We lost a good man,a good officer, a good friend," Somera said. But Lucero's wife said his husband drowned after a malfunction in the diving suit. "He is gone.There was a malfunction in his diving suit," she said in a separate interview. Somera said that Lucero,who belonged to the Philippine Military Academy Class 1983,was rushed to Mendero Hospital in Pagadian City,but died along the way. Lucero was the first in his class to assume the post of Army division commander. He was first assigned as platoon leader in Basilan and Sulu and fought insurgents,until his assignments brought him to Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.He was subsequently assigned to Aurora province in Luzon as infantry brigade officer. He served as the commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade in Lanao del Sur and replaced Major General Ricardo Rainier Cruz in April this year. A holder of a masters degree in international studies from the University of the Philippines and a master degree in international relations in Australia, Lucero also served as the first commander of the Philippine contingent to the United Nations mission in the Caribbean island from 2004 to 2005. Lucero,who started his career in Mindanao,was awarded three distinguished Service star Medals, a Gold Cross Medal, an outstanding Achievement Medal and the Honor Graduate Medal and a number of Military Merit Medals.He was also one of the Metrobank Foundation's awardees as outstanding soldier of the Philippines. He is survived by his wife,Maria Consuelo,and daughter Paula Divina. AL JACINTO,Manila Times