D1
SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017
Jimbo Gulle, Editor
Roger Garcia, Issue Editor
LGUs
mslocalgov@gmail.com
ELECTRIC VEHICLE GROUP PUSH FOR TOURISM
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MASBATE RODEO. A young cowboy tries to tame a bucking bull during one of Masbate’s patented rodeo shows in this file photo. The Philippines’‘Rodeo Capital’ can expect more visitors starting Feb. 15 when CebGo, a subsidiary of Cebu Pacific, operates a once-a-day flight from Manila to Masbate. See story on D2.
SINULOG FESTIVAL KICKS OFF; CEBU MUSLIMS ASSURE SAFETY C
EBU CITY—Organizers kicked off the 2017 Sinulog Festival, one of the country’s biggest tourist drawers, with a Mass and a parade here Friday afternoon.
Held at the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, the Mass preceded a parade with dancing contingents from 14 schools in the city. Meanwhile, the Muslim community in Cebu vowed to work closely with the Police Regional Office 7 to ensure a safe celebration of Sinulog on Sunday, Jan. 15. Najeeb Rasul, Mufti of Cebu and Voice of Islam president, made the assurance in a meeting with police officials at the PRO 7 offices. He encouraged his fellow Muslims to set aside their differences with Cebuano Catholics and help everyone celebrate Sinulog peacefully. “For a society to become peaceful, to become united, we need to have tolerance. We call on our brothers in Mindanao not to let violence come here. Cebu City is my city and I don’t allow them to come here,” Rasul said. Senior Superintendent Rey Lyndon Lawas, PRO 7 deputy director for operations, said the cooperation of the Muslim community will assure a calm and harmonious Sinulog celebration. But Lawas still advised residents and tourists to be extra vigilant and report anything suspicious to the nearest government office or police designated in their area. Senior Superintendent Joel Doria, Cebu City Police Office director, said they have increased the security personnel to be
deployed during the Sinulog from 5,000 to 8,000. Doria said they will include personnel from the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and force multipliers. They have also tapped the “habal-habal” or motorcycle-for-hire drivers in their security preparations. Some 150 habal-habal drivers have been trained to detect bombs and other explosives, Doria said. The initial Sinulog parade started from the basilica, passing through Osmeña Boulevard to the Fuente Osmeña rotunda and to the Cebu City Sports Center. Some roads leading to Osmeña Boulevard were closed to vehicular traffic since 1 p.m., but were reopened as soon as the parade passed by. Ricky Ballesteros, Sinulog Foundation Inc. executive director, said the opening of the Sinulog Festival went on smoothly. The Sinulog Festival will be capped with the Sinulog Grand Parade on Jan. 15, which is expected to be watched by millions of both foreign and local spectators. A portion of Osmeña Boulevard was also closed to vehicular traffic from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday to give way to contingents of the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan sa Sugbo (Sinulog for the Youth in Cebu Province) 2017. The same area will be closed to vehicular traffic on Sunday for the Sinulog sa Barangay sa Dakbayan sa Sugbo (Sinulog for Cebu City Villages). All the winners in the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan sa Sugbo and the Sinulog sa Barangay sa Dakbayan sa Sugbo will qualify to join the Sinulog Grand Parade on Jan. 15. PNA
BAGUIO CITY BRACES FOR MISS UNIVERSE OUTING ON JAN.18 By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITY—Final preparations get under way for the One-day Miss Universe spectacle in this city as local organizers here aim to assert Baguio as the country’s undisputed Summer Capital and put the Pines City back into the world tourism map. Andrew Pinero, media officer of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio, said that on Jan. 18, Miss Universe pageant contestants together with reigning Miss Universe beauty titlist Pia Wurtzbach will be arriving in the city and will immediately participate in a 3-kilometer parade from the rotunda of the Department of the Interior and Local Government along Upper Session road up to the Baguio Country Club premises. Wurtzbach and the 32 Miss Universe beauty contestants will board four beautifully decorated floats with street-dancing contingents from Tabuk City, Kalinga, La Union and some schools in the city will during the festivity-filled day.
Local Gov’t Units
The city’s business and other sectoral groups led by HRAB have pooled their resources to ensure the successful holding of the event. HRAB sponsored the multi-million peso (hosting fee) for the one-day visit of the select beauty contestants to the city, including the cost of the floats for the parade proper. Local organizers will be taking the tab for the accommodation costs, chartered flights for the contestants, taxes, etc. and the performer’s fees during the parade, among others. “Baguio City will definitely gain from this as the pre-pageant events and the main pageant itself will be aired in 160 countries in the different parts of the globe,” Pinero added. While in the city, the beauty contestants will join a mini-golf tournament at the Baguio Country Club golf course. The pageant contestants will be entertained with performances of the Tam-awan artists that will showcase Cordillera region’s rich culture and traditions, particularly the Igorots attire and lifestyles.
Pinero said security preparations for the visit of the Miss Universe contestants to the city have been finalized to make sure that their stint
in the city will be safe and worth remembering not only for the residents but for the visiting contestants as well.
GIFTS FOR SENIORS. Senior citizens in Barangay Banca Banca, Victoria, Laguna received wheelchairs, free medicine and reading glasses from the office of Laguna third district Rep. Sol Aragones (left, standing) on Saturday. A former television news reporter, Aragones is now on her second term. Roy Tomandao
BUILDERS and makers of electric-powered vehicles in the country are pushing for the use of “green-transport” program aimed at providing environment-friendly vehicles to boost the ongoing greentourism program of the travel sector. Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines Executive Director Bong Cruz, in a statement said that their group is now encouraging tourism industry players to help develop green tourism in the Philippines. “I believe this is one lesson we can learn from the Vietnamese: Provide tourists with shuttle vehicles that are quiet, comfortable and smoke-free. This will be good for everyone in the tourism industry.” In anticipation of the firstever Asean Electric Vehicle Summit slated to be held in Manila this year, EVAP recently sent a representative to Vietnam to study EV applications in a country with driving terrains and conditions similar to those in the Philippines. Cruz noted the proliferation of electric vehicle shuttles within the tourist areas in Hanoi such as around the Old quarter, the French quarter and the famous Hoan Kiem Lake, he adds. The electric vehicles are actually the big six-seater golf cart varieties which are smaller yet very similar to the 14-seater electric jeepneys now plying in Makati, Filinvest City Alabang, Muntinlupa and Ateneo. He says that in the Philippines, EJeepneys are used for public transport. “This is understandable since the jeepneys are the backbone of the Philippine mass transport system. But in Vietnam, the EVs are used more in the tourism industry to promote green and convenient tourist transport that is quiet and smoke-free!”
HOUSING LOAN MORATORIUM FOR ‘NINA’ VICTIMS AS PART of government’s efforts to help victims recover from the aftermath of Super Typhoon “Nina,” borrowers of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. who were affected can avail of the six-month moratorium on their housing loans. All NHMFC borrowers/buyers whose accounts are updated or in current status as of Dec. 24, 2016 are qualified and may apply not later than Jan. 31. The moratorium will be implemented for a period of six months effective on the first due date after January 2017. In the event of payment by the claimant during the six-month period, such will be posted after the moratorium. The application should be supported by a certification from the barangay chairman to attest that the borrower’s/buyer’s property was damaged by Typhoon "Nina." The borrower’s loan term shall be automatically extended equivalent to the same number of months that the account is under moratorium. Reports from NHMFC’s satellite offices say roughly 1,050 accounts were affected by Typhoon "Nina," with 800 in Bicol, 200 in Mimaropa, and 50 in Quezon province.