Tourism programs and facilities in Silay City have been strengthened in preparation for Tourism Month Celebration in September, a press release from the Silay Mayor’s Office said yesterday.

It said Mayor Jose Montelibano has given priority for the building of a plaza stage, repair of the Patag Rest and Recreation Center, and the construction of the swimming pool at the Silay Outdoor Recreation and Ecotourism Area.

Montelibano appealed to owners of business establishments to maintain the cleanliness of their surroundings because the Silay Tourism Division is focusing on heritage tours and public market shopping, the press release said.

Engineer Sonia Cordero has ordered the fixing of street lights to accommodate night tour participants and Supt. Jerry Bartolome has assured Silaynons of 24-hour police service, the press release said.

Dr. Enrique Barcelona, city veterinarian, has also began an intensified campaign against stray dogs in urban barangays with the assistance of barangay captains.

Silay City has booked tourism students from Bacolod and Iloilo who will participate in the celebration, it added.*

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67 OSYs graduate

Sixty-seven Out-of-School-Youths graduated last week from a food preparation course sponsored by the Alay Lakad Foundation and the St. Ezekiel Moreno Learning Center at Brgy. Handumanan, Bacolod City.

The three batches of OSYs spent 200 hours each in training at the center honing their entrepreneurial skills in commercial cooking. Part of their hands-on training is selling their prepared food for market test in the community, a press release from Philippine Information Agency said.

Presidential Deputy Spokesman Anthony Golez, who was guest during the graduation, hailed the youths for finishing the course.

He said they may further enhance their training with help from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or explore financing assistance from the livelihood program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the press release said.

A program of DSWD, he said, allows one to avail of a P5, 000 start-up capital and if they form an organization of 30 members, they can get as much as P150, 000.

Alay Lakad Foundation president, Wilson Gamboa Jr., said the training will make the participants self-reliant as the foundation strives to empower the youth in facing many life’s challenges especially in the economic aspect, the press release said.*

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PMoises Padilla SB urges
SP to reconsider ok of ordinance

The Sangguniang Bayan of Moises Padilla yesterday called on the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental to reconsider its decision in approving a municipal ordinance on the disposal of Guinpana-an property in the town.

Moises Padilla Councilor Dolly Yasa, Health committee chairperson of the Moises Padilla Sangguniang Bayan, said she and her colleagues in the municipal council discovered alleged irregularities in the submission of Ordinance Number 08-051 to the SP.

She said in the ordinance that was approved by the Moises Padilla municipal council on Dec. 24 last year, they gave their concurrence to a 20-year payment scheme for the occupants of the Guinpanaan property.

Mayor Francisco Nazareno, however, vetoed the ordinance, saying the payment scheme is too long, and, instead, pushed for a 10-year payment scheme, Yasa said.

She added that the municipal council tried to override the veto of Nazareno, but ran short by one vote.

Yasa said the ordinance is now deemed disapproved, citing a provision of Section 54 of the Local Government Code which states that “the Sangguniang concern may override the veto of the Local Chief Executive by two thirds of all its members, thereby making the ordinance or resolution effective for all legal intent and purposes.”

Despite its disapproval, Yasa said Moises Padilla SB secretary Ma. Theresa Grajales-Gegato submitted the ordinance to the SP for review and approval, contrary to Section 56 of the LGC which states that only “approved ordinances” shall be forwarded to the provincial board.

She added that Gegato also posted for publication  the ordinance, and submitted it to the SP, changing the term of payment of Guipana-an property owned by the municipal government of Moises Padilla, from 20 years to 10 years, without passing legislative procedures.

Yasa, however, said they cannot blame the SP for approving the ordinance, since their decision was based on the documents submitted to them, and mere not aware of the “irregularities”.*

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SJI alumni give wheelchair

The St. John’s Institute Alumni Association, through its alumni Dr. Ramon Cu and Althea Beatriz Dingcong, recently turned over another wheelchair in Victorias City from the One World Institute.

Antonette Belleza, 16, who has been suffering from a mental disorder since birth, received the wheelchair together with her parents Antonio and Erma Belleza at the Philsurin Office in the VMC Compound.

The donation was facilitated by Charo Yu, executive director of One World Institute, in Makati City.*

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