Valencia Asks Court to Reinvestigate Graft Case
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Raps filed against Mayor Dolor A resort owner here has Inn resort in Puerto Galera has ing into the agreement without filed a complaint against the filed a complaint against Puerto any consultation with the right- Puerto Galera mayor for the re- Galera Mayor Hubbert Christo- ful owner of the property in covery of his land propery and pher Dolor to prevent him in Barangay Baclayan, the promi- a petition for the issuance of a entering into an agreement with nent Kalaw family of Batangas. temporary restraining order and Puerto Galera Water Consortium “In this project, the Puerto an injuction to the Regional Trial composed of JL Business & Galera government will give the Court to desist the chief execu- Technology Consultancy, Inc., three-hectare property to the tive into entering an agreement Oppax Group, Holdings, Inc., private proponent for free,” with a private company for the Pro-Environment Consortium Malcontento told The Star add- development, construction and and Sanlahi Builders Corp. ing that the Kalaws originally operation of water system in the In his 15-page complaint, lent the property to the munici- area. Malcontento alleged that the pal government 19 years ago for Lawyer Ben Malcontento municipality of Puerto Galera the layering of the 2000 meter Volume 4 No. 15 October 16-30, 2008 A PGOnline Publication representing Mulawin Invest- through Dolor has eminently pipeline leading to the water ment Inc., the owner of Kalaw showed its intention in enter- >>> on page 2 High power rates and brownouts Valencia asks court to plague Puerto Galera business For many weeks now, from MIRANT worth 4 million irritates most residents and busi- reinvestigate graft case Puerto Galera residents have pesos a day. More electricity nessmen are the frequent been suffering from high power from them means higher power brownouts that have been Oriental Mindoro may consider to grant his re- rates and frequent brownouts. rate for the consumers. plaguing Puerto Galera for Rep.Rodolfo G.Valencia has quest in the interest of justice What is most depressing is that ORMECO consumers weeks now. While writing this asked the Sandiganbayan to re- and fairness. no one seems to be doing any- should find out more about the article, there were three brown- view and reinvestigate a graft “I have explained this to the thing to address the problem. contract with the power produc- outs that occur at short interval case involving a P2.5 million Honorable Justices and I am The people have not seen lead- ers. Business leaders and gov- and then the fourth which lasted calamity loan fund which the happy that it may now be pos- ership from any government of- ernment officials should find for almost 10 hours. provincial government of sible for me and my colleagues ficial to get answers from the ways to decrease the price of The brownouts can happen Mindoro extended to a private to make the proper presentation power supplier of Mindoro, electricity now that the price of anytime but mostly during the boat owner 14 years ago. of evidence in the course of a ORMECO. fuel is going down. night. A power outage can hap- After the adverse decision reinvestigation and review of Mr. Roman Araño of Mayor Hubbert Dolor re- pen even during fine weather of the Sandiganbayan against the case,” Valencia said. ORMECO said that the rate cently said that a hydro-electric which makes more people won- him, Valencia delivered an im- One of the Ten Outstanding since September is 10.6638 per power plant may be possible for der as to the cause. passioned speech at the ple- Young Men awardees of the kwh. The reason for the in- Puerto Galera. Aside from this, Last September, Araño said nary session of Congress, say- result of natural calamities that Philippine Jaycees in the 1980s, crease is because of ORMECO’s PHESI has been meeting with that the brownouts happened ing that utmost care must be hit the province. the lawmaker branded the case contract with MIRANT, a power officials regarding the multi-bil- when ORMECO was replacing exercised by the courts to spare Lawyers’ procedural legal against him as politically moti- producer that sells electricity to lion wind farm to be constructed the 5mVA transformer in the the innocent ones in deciding oversight should not be con- vated and vendetta driven, and ORMECO at approximately 12 at the mountain of Tabinay. Minolo sub-station with a big- cases. sidered as the ultimate basis in blamed it on his detractors and pesos per kwh. Even if Both these power plants will ger 10 mVA transformer. Valencia, adjudged as an deciding cases, said Valencia, political rivals. NAPOCOR and the other power produce electricity at a much ORMECO had to do this to cope outstanding congressman and who was governor of Mindoro “You can, therefore, imagine producers sell electricity at half lower cost. If more power pro- with the increasing power de- governor for many years, when the calamity loan was ex- our shock and surprise when we the price of MIRANT, the final ducers will sell electricity at 6 mand of Puerto Galera. showed his colleagues Presi- tended. learned about the adverse deci- rate would be the average of all pesos or even less per kwh then Araño explained that the old dential Proclamation 306 issued He said he has already ex- sion of the Sandiganbayan the power producers. the rates will also go down. transformer was no longer by then President Fidel V. Ramos plained his appeal for review against us,” he said. The Om- Araño said ORMECO is un- Frequent brownouts enough for Puerto Galera and in 1993 declaring a State of Ca- and reinvestigation of the case budsman has previously dis- der contract to buy electricity More than the rates, what >>> on page 6 lamity in Mindoro Oriental as a to the anti-graft justices who >>> on page 2 222 PUERTO GALERA FORTNIGHTLY OCTOBER 16-30, 2008 Ordinance on “towers” back to Council Police score twice versus illegal logging The Provincial Board after The rejection of the amend- what acts will be penalized. reviewing an ordinance regulat- ing ordinance made its oppo- Before an ordinance can be Following orders from ing the construction of cellular nents happy including a former implemented, the Provincial Mayor Hubbert Dolor to go af- sites, towers and repeaters councilor who said that open- Board must first review and ter illegal loggers, the police cap- (CSTR) decided to send it back ing all the barangays to cellular then approve the municipal or- tured more than 600 hundred to the Municipal Council for towers will contribute to more dinance. board feet of abadoned logs in corrections. unsightly structures in Puerto In determining the validity Balatero last October 2. The Municipal Council ap- Galera. of the ordinance, the Provincial This was the second accom- proved Municipal Ordinance The Committee on Trans- Board considers both its form plishment for the police who in- No. 07-07 which allowed cellu- portation and Communications and substance. The Board said tercepted a truck laden with more lar communication companies to and the Committee on Laws, that in substance the ordinance or less 500 board feet of illegal construct cellular towers in all Ordinances and Legal Matters is alright but when it comes to lumber last September 23. the barangays of Puerto Galera. of the Provincial Board said that form, the ordinance is lacking. Mayor Hubbert Dolor and The new ordinance amended the title “regulating the con- Councilor Jayjay Evan- Police Chief Art Catalbas are Ordinance No. 04-20 which lim- struction” of CSTR is wrong. gelista, one of the sponsors of stepping up drive against illegal ited the establishment of cellu- The joint committees asked the amending ordinance said logging after various sectors lar towers in 3 barangays, the Council what will be regu- that the Council will consider had voiced alarm over the unre- the illegal loggers. Wolf said that almost all the namely Villaflor, Tabinay and lated now that construction will the advice of the Provincial lenting destruction of the The remaining rainforest is BIG trees are gone, lost to ille- Dulangan. be allowed in all barangays and Board. rainforest. only 20 percent according to gal logging. Although no one was appre- Michael Wolf, a German resi- ED: To the POLICE, Thank hended, the total amount of the dent who has been actively cam- you for a job well done. WE Valencia asks court to ... from p.1 recovered logs will reach more paigning to save the rainforest hope that your efforts will put than 40,000 pesos, a big blow to an end to illegal logging.... missed the same administrative stituency.” Code of 1991 that every local for many years. case for lack of merit and sub- Valencia said the loan was a government unit shall exercise stantive evidence. credit agreement between the the powers necessary, appropri- Raps filed against Mayor... from p.1 The case stemmed from a provincial government and the ate or incidental for its efficient P2.5 million loan the provincial boat’s owner, Engr. Alfredo and effective governance, and reservoir. partnership with private propo- not even owned by the munici- government entered into on Atienza, payable monthly within those which are essential to the “Pinahihiram lang ng mga nents in rehabilitating the water pality,” Malcontento said. January 12, 1994 with the owner a period of one and a half years. promotion of the general welfare. Kalaw ang property apparently system of Puerto Galera. In the proposed memoran- of a private boat for its repair to He said at the height of the It also stipulates that the for public consumption, pero “Actually the project is laud- dum of agreement, which is con- be used to save lives and de- natural disasters, Atienza was chief executive of a province is kung private entity na ang gagamit able because it will benefit the sidered in a final planning stage, liver relief goods following three willing to make available his roll- empowered to carry out such at pagkakakitaan, ibang usapan na people, but along the way, pro- the financier of the said project natural calamities that devas- on, roll-off boat for disaster re- emergency measures as may be yan,” Malcontento said.