VILLASIS, Philippines — Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor appealed to the Ombudsman on Friday to temporarily stop the suspension of local officials, who are facing various charges.
Defensor, who inaugurated the town hall here, said the implementation of suspension orders ahead of the May elections had been used by members of the opposition in criticizing the Arroyo administration.
“We do not intend to preempt the Ombudsman because it’s an independent body, but we hope they will see that we do not need these situations in the middle of an election period,” he said.
He said the suspension or dismissal of local officials had repercussions on the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
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DAGUPAN CITY — A German arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Alaminos City on Wednesday for alleged acts of lasciviousness was found dead early Thursday at the NBI detention cell here.
Jose Doloiras, agent-in-charge of the NBI here, said Uwe Krause, 54, committed suicide by hanging himself with nylon bag straps tied to the iron ceiling grill of his cell.
Doloiras said Krause’s death was discovered at about 4 a.m. when his 25-year-old girlfriend noticed the German was not in his bed.
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DAGUPAN CITY — Mayor Ricardo Evangelista of Aguilar, Pangasinan said here today he was surprised to have learned that he was being suspended from office by the Ombudsman for a complaint against him that he did not know about.
“I was surprised. I did not know that there was a complaint against me,” Evangelista said in an interview over Aksyon Radyo here.
He said he never received any subpoena to allow him to answer the charges and he just learned about the complaint when the Department of the Interior and Local Government provincial office in Lingayen town served his supension order last Saturday.
The Ombudsman ordered the preventive suspension of Evangelista four months for alleged dishonesty and misconduct arising from his alleged irregular disbursement of the town’s special education fund.
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SAN CARLOS CITY – The Commission on Audit has cleared Mayor Julian Resuello of any wrongdoing in various city government transactions, which were enumerated in a complaint against him here.
In a report released today, the COA Legal Adjudication Office, which formed a special audit team, said the complaint of one Carlito Naval of this city was baseless because the audit team did not find any anomaly in any of the transactions.
The report was signed by Carlos Francis Santiago, team leader of the special audit team.
In his complaint, Naval said that the city government renovated the old city mayor’s office for P500,000 without the benefit of a contract; bought heavy equipment vehicles for P60 million; and built a P7-million shed inside its new public market.
He also said that the Resuello bought 24 overpriced motor vehicles, which were used by the mayor’s relatives; and received an unrecorded donation of P500,000 for the construction of a waiting shed in front of the plaza.
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LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN – Gov. Victor Agbayani has finally broken his silence on the inclusion of his name in the administration’s senatorial slate in the May elections.
In a news release, Agbayani said he is honored to be included in the slate “as this may represent acknowledgment of all the work we have done in Pangasinan.”
“[But] this needs careful study. For one, I will need to consult our leaders in the province to determine how or in what capacity they would wish me to continue to serve,” Agbayani, who is on his last term, said.
Last Sunday, Speaker Jose De Venecia, told local media practitioners in Manaoag, Pangasinan that Agbayani was among those who have been recommended by administration coalition leaders in the senatorial line up, which included Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, also a Panagsinense.
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DAGUPAN CITY – Two congressmen, a vice governor, a former police general; and the doctor-wife of the governor may slug it out in a free-for-all gubernatorial race in Pangasinan this May.
Pangasinan’s second district Rep. Amado Espino Jr. had told newsmen here he has been aiming for the gubernatorial seat, which will be vacated by Gov. Victor Agbayani, who is now on his last term.
“It’s still an option and I’ve been preparing for it,” Espino, who is now on his second term, said.
Sixth district Rep. Conrado Estrella III, despite reports he had decided to seek reelection for his last term in his district, has not “completely dropped out of the race yet.”
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DAGUPAN CITY — The first of five overpasses in the city is now rising and will soon be operational by mid February.
District Engineer Rodolfo Dion of the Pangasinan II Engineering District which covers the second and fourth congressional districts of the province said the overpass being constructed in front of the Dagupan City National High School along Tapuac road is about to be finished.
Next in line is another overpass to be constructed in front of the Philippine National Bank and the City Hall in A.B. Fernandez Avenue, the downtown area Three more are to be constructed in the areas of Nepo Mall in Arellano street, the old Pantranco terminal along MH Del Pilar and in front of the West Central School - St. John Cathedral along Burgos street, all particularly busy pedestrian areas.
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DAGUPAN CITY – Former Tour champion Romeo Bonzo died today after a speeding van sideswiped his motorcycle in Sual, Pangasinan.
PO1 Joel Ramirez, intelligence and warrant officer of the Sual police station, said Bonzo, 48, was riding on his motorcycle when he stopped to talk to somebody in a van parked by the roadside.
It was then, police said, that a speeding van attempted to overtake the two vehicles. But because a truck was on the opposite lane, the van driver, identified as Moises Moyano of Barangay Bolosan, this city, swerved to the right, hitting Bonzo.
Bonzo sustained head injuries. He died on arrival at the Trauma Center here.
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BAYAMBANG, PANGASINAN—The proponent of the P250-million sanitary landfill project here has started site preparation work for the facility after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources granted the project its environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
Abelardo Palad Jr., president of the Waste Integrated Network Systems (Wins) Inc., said his company is now clearing the 33-hectare site in Barangay Dusoc here of “all possible disturbances” that may hamper its construction.
The project consists initially of three cells (an excavated area where garbage will be compacted), a leachate (liquid produced from decomposing wastes) treatment plant, a material recovery facility, a composting plant, an administration building, a motor pool, a weigh bridge, a wash bay, a generator house and guard houses.
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