ARMM elections crucial in peace and dev’t programs in Muslim Mindanao By: Minerva BC Newman CEBU, May 13 (PIA) --- The ARMM elections is crucial in the continuity of the peace and development programs of the Muslim Mindanao and any legislative amendment should be examined, studied and discussed thoroughly. This is the statement of Senator Chiz Escudero over the errors he noted in both versions of House Bill 4146 and Senate Bill 2756 that proposed to postpone the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The errors pertain to the term of office of elected regional officials, Escudero noted.  The flaw is found in section 2 of both bills. Under the two proposals, the “term of office of the Regional Governor, Regional Vice Governor and Members of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the ARMM shall be for a period of three (3) years, which shall begin at noon on the thirtieth (30th) day of September next following the day of the election and shall end at noon of the same date three (3) years thereafter.” If both bills seek to synchronize the ARMM poll with the national elections in 2013, then Section 2 is incoherent. The election in 2013 is done in May and all winners will assume office on June 30 of the same year. Their term will expire on June 29, 2016,  Escudero explained.  “If we follow the Section 2 provision of HB 4146 and SB 2756 that ARMM elected officials’ term will begin on September 30, 2013 and ends three years after, that’s September 29, 2016,” the senator said. Escudero posed the question, how can they participate in the next political exercise, which is May 2016, if the expiration of their terms is not synchronized with the rest of the country? “It totally defeats the purpose of postponing it to synchronize,” he pointed out. (PIA-7/MBCN with reports from the Office of Senator Escudero) ========== PHL Senate commends Pacquiao for his outstanding victory against Mosley CEBU, May 13 (PIA) --- The PHL Senate through resolution # 457 commended congressman Manny Pacquiao for his outstanding victory against Sugar Shane Mosley and for retaining his world boxing organization (WBO) welterweight title.  The resolution extolled Pacquiao as the Philippines ’ Pambansang Kamao who once again brought pride to the Filipino people as he defeated Mosley via unanimous decision retaining his WBO welterweight title.  Pacquiao also secured his place in history of world boxing as the first boxer to win world titles in eight different weight divisions, including flyweight, super bantamweight, featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight, junior welterweight, and welterweight, the resolution stated.  The senators said, his feat brought much pride and honor to the nation and is a testament of what Filipinos can attain when they put their heart and soul into their goals.  The resolution finally hailed Pacquiao for his remarkable humility despite his great achievement and for his hard work in bringing exceptional recognition to the country. (PIA-7/Minerva BC Newman with reports from the Office of Senator Legarda) ============ Absence of fair competition blamed for high price of LPG in Visayas, Mindanao By Eli C. Dalumpines CEBU CITY, May 12 (PIA) – The absence of fair competition in the Visayas and Mindanao is cited as the main reason why the price of liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) in these areas is higher compared to Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon. LPGMA Partylist Representative Arnel Ty, in a radio interview today, said the oil business in these areas is dominated by the three big oil companies which exercised virtual monopoly. Ty said that one independent player, PryceGas, has now ventured to compete with these three big companies, namely Petron, Shell and Caltex Philippines, but added that the company is presently experiencing difficulties as its market is so limited.  According to Ty, there is really a big disparity on the price of LPG in Luzon and the Visayas based on the research they conducted. “Our studies have shown that the price of LPG per cylinder in the Visayas is more or less P100.00 higher compared to that of Luzon,” he noted. One of the evidences of the monopoly of the big three oil firms is that the consumers don’t really own the gas tanks that they bought from these companies, Ty claimed. He however, informed that LPGMA is now in the process of finalizing a bill, which will hopefully become the LPG Act of 2012, to address the high oil prices in the Visayas and Mindanao. Ty, likewise, urged the public to always keep track on the prices of oil so that they will be aware of the latest movement in the market. (FCR/ECD/PIA 7-Cebu) ===========

LTO-7 calls on local chief executives to come up with measures to uphold road safety

By Fayette C. Rinen

CEBU CITY, May 12 (PIA) – Local chief executives are urged to institute their own measures to uphold road safety as the country just launched the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.’

Land Transportation Office (LTO) – 7 Regional Director Raul Aguilos underlined the important role local government units (LGUs) play in preventing road accidents in their areas by putting in place the necessary measures.

Aguilos cited one example which is the political will of LGUs to enforce traffic rules and regulations and the passage of related ordinances that guarantee the safety of passengers.

“Every day, there are victims of road accidents and it seems we are treating this kind of news as just ordinary,” Aguilos declared as he continued that it is time to take firm actions to uphold road safety as all of us are road users.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-7Regional Director Ahmed Cuizon agreed that it is time for every Filipino to exercise responsibility as road users may they be drivers or pedestrians.

“Drivers and pedestrians alike have a responsibility to adhere to traffic rules and regulations. Discipline is needed to ensure that lives are not compromised and damage to properties is prevented,” Cuizon said.

LGUs can help prevent road accidents by strengthening law enforcement against erring drivers and pedestrians for not following traffic regulations, the LTFRB-7 official added.    

At this point, with road accidents as one of the top 10 leading cause of mortality worldwide, Aguilos said the challenge is to create more public awareness on the importance of road safety to virtually reduce the number of road crashes.

Aguilos however, could not give a figure on the incidence of road crashes in the country but claimed that deaths related to road accidents in the Philippines is between top seven to eight mortality cause.

Apart from LGUs, Aguilos also called on the private sector to educate their drivers on defensive driving skills rather than offensive driving which could lead to traffic accidents.

“All of us should develop a habit of responsible driving or be responsible citizens and follow traffic regulations in order to promote a culture of road safetiness,” Aguilos said.

Meanwhile, as the opening of school year is set next month, the LTO-7 embarks on an information and education drive on road safety measures anticipating traffic woes as a major headache among transport agencies, this is learned. (PIA 7-Cebu)

=========== Traffic accidents in Cebu City decline from Jan-April 2011 By Fayette C. Rinen CEBU CITY, May 12 (PIA) – Traffic accidents in Cebu City has declined for the past four months this year compared to the same period of 2010. “A total of 2,988 traffic accidents have been recorded from January to April, 2011 while last year, 3,367 traffic accidents occurred  for the same period based on official record of the Traffic Management Group,” according to Atty. Rafael Christopher Yap, executive director of the City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) Office under the Cebu City Government. Yap credited the decrease in vehicular accidents of 379 incidents less or 11 percent decline to the strengthened enforcement of CITOM against erring drivers violating traffic rules and regulations. The CITOM official said there is a need to educate drivers especially public transport drivers on their huge responsibility in adhering to road safety measures such as observing traffic rules because the lives of the passengers are in their hands. In the launching of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 in the recent Kapihan sa PIA where Yap was one the guests, he lauded the move to have concrete measures underlined under the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2011-2020 in order to reduce the number of vehicular accidents. Road accidents have been identified as the number seventh to eighth leading cause of mortality rate worldwide including in the Philippines. Globally, 1.3M people die annually due to road crashes, according to a United Nations Report as printed in the Daily Inquirer.  For their part, Yap said their contributions in upholding road safety include the ongoing replacement of traffic lights, pavement marking for pedestrians and strengthening enforcement of traffic rules. The CITOM official on the other hand, said that they will soon purchase speed guns to check on overspeeding violations particularly of public buses. (PIA 7-Cebu)