Proposed Joint Session of Malay Town Council and Aklan Provincial Council, yet to be dated

It is important for Municipal Planning Officer and Zoning Officer Alma Beliherdo that the Town Council of Malay will discuss with the Aklan Provincial Council regarding the state and lacking documents in order to pursue the planned Comprehensive Land Use Plan / CLUP in Boracay.

According to Beliherdo it seems that the Provincial Council has yet to relay to the Town Council what has been agreed upon at the Provincial Land Use Committee, causing the Council of Malay to appear somewhat blinded on what is the real status of the CLUP which has been hanging for four years and cannot be completed because of some unanswered issues.

Nonetheless Beliherdo had already presented to the town council the latest discussion they had in the PLUC.

The Aklan Provincial Council had previously asked the Town Council of Malay for a joint session in Boracay in order to clarify the issues on the CLUP as the Department of Tourism wants it hasten.

However according to SB Member Rowen Aguirre, they haven’t scheduled a certain date for the session yet, and he is hoping that this will be pursued on the following month.

Investigation on Incidents on Sea Sporting Activities Called for

Incidents related to different sea sport activities in Boracay are deemed necessary to be investigated by the Chief Executive of Malay.

This is because such incidents are already disturbing according to Council Member Rowen Aguirre.

Aguirre emphasized the necessity in an interview after the reported successive cases of accidents registered from the month of July to August in Boracay.

Included were drowning and incidents resulted to the death of some foreign tourists while activities were held at sea.

According to Aguirre, an ordinance is being implemented in the island on the operations of helmet diving, parasailing, and others. He said, according to the ordinance, if it is proven that an establishment was negligent, aside from Civil Damages the establishment is accountable to the victim, the Local Government of Malay has the right to suspend the operation of the establishment.

He added that it would be beneficial at present to investigate the incidents and inspect all the equipments to find out whether the equipments still comply with safety standards since the life of an individual rests on them.

Aguirre asserted that it was necessary for the Chief Executive to already do what was necessary regarding the issue.

Number of Dengue cases in Aklan, still on the rise

The statistics of the Provincial Health Office of Aklan shows a continuous increasing trend in the number of recorded dengue cases.

This is according to Aklan Provincial Health Officer II, Dr. Victor Santa Maria.

He however said that they are expecting that this statistic will go down on the last week of September as compared to their observation in 2011.

Dr. Santa Maria said that the months of August and September are the most critical period of this disease, and as it is the rainy season, there had been an increase of dengue cases.

In line with this, Santa Maria reminds the public especially the barangays to maintain not only the cleanliness of the surroundings but to get rid of the potential breeding places of mosquitoes.

Meanwhile he also revealed that based on the weekly monitoring they have conducted from January until this August there have been more than 200% increase in the number of dengue victims in the province as compared to the same time in 2011.

Nonetheless he said that in spite the surge of dengue cases this year, he clarified that the Provincial Hospital of Aklan did not encounter a problem such as the overcrowding of patients.

BASS Helped in the Search for DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo at Masbate; Provincial Council of Aklan in Mourning for the Death of the DILG Secretary

The Provincial Council of Aklan joined in mourning for the death of Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo.

In the regular session of the Provincial Council on Wednesday morning, it was proposed that a resolution be passed showing their sympathy to the family of Secretary Robredo.

Aside from this, Provincial Council Member Raymar Rebaldo asked that a similar resolution be passed for the family of Captain Jessup Bahinting, the main pilot of the Piper Seneca plane that Robredo rode from Cebu going to Naga City.

According to Rebaldo, Bahinting helped the province of Aklan when typhoon Frank hit the province. He added that Bahinting was also a pilot of the government in bringing assistance to the province during that time.

Meanwhile, it was learned from Boracay Association of Diving Schools (BASS) President Cerilo Tirol that with the request of Mayor John Yap, 10 members of the Association from different diving schools volunteered and went to Masbate to represent the town of Malay and Boracay Island to help in the search for the DILG Secretary on Monday at 1 in the afternoon.

Ordinance on CCTVs in Boracay, time to be modified

It is time to modify the ordinance regarding Close Circuit Television/CCTV Camera on selected establishments in Boracay.

This is what SB Member Rowen Aguirre said during an interview.

He said that the island have an ordinance for this, but only selected establishments like banks and pawnshops are required to have CCTVs.

This is the reason why they wanted this to be changed in order for other establishments to have their own CCTV cameras to protect their business.

Although he acknowledged the fact that this will be costly for the owners, he said this will be of a great help in apprehending bad entities and resolving crimes.

He also admitted that even the local government of Malay plans to set up CCTV cameras in strategic areas in the island especially at the front beach.

Nonetheless the LGU has no fund for this at the moment, but they already had communicated with technical people for installation and supplies.

Recently there have been a number of theft and snatching and even chasing incidents with the suspects who unfortunately had gotten away.

However, when the CCTV of some establishments was checked it was not clear and the incident hasn’t really been caught by the camera. 

E-Trike Design for BLTMPC to be Made in Boracay

The design of the e-trike of Boracay Land Transportation Multi Purpose Cooperative (BLTMPC) to be submitted for a supplier to copy would be made in Boracay.

This was learned from Ryan Tubi, the General Manager of the BLTMPC.

The design would be in accordance to international standard and appropriate to the needs of tourists in the island.

According to Tubi, 1 of the 3 units BLTMPC e-trikes in the island will be remodeled to have a case or body designed for public transportation in Boracay. The design would then be presented to a supplier as a model. He added that BLTMPC has found someone to make the design.

In addition, he said it would be expected that within the current year, the 210 units of e-trikes (100 of which are units ordered by the Local Government of Malay from a different supplier, the other 100 and 7 are from the BLTMPC) would be completed.

Meanwhile, Tubi clarified that the units from the cooperative would be paid first by their financer since the cooperative could not afford to purchase such number of units.

House Bill 4796: the hope of lot owners and LGU in Boracay against DENR

The immediate approval of House Bill No. 4796 of Aklan Representative Florencio ‘Joeben’ Miraflores, which grants land titling in Boracay is the hope of the local government of Malay and the claimants or lot owners in the island.

This is if the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will pursue the 30 meter width of roads in the island which the agency plans to include in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan/CLUP of Boracay.

According to SB Member Rowen Aguirre, if this shall happen, possibility is, lots near the roads will no longer be a property of a certain individual but will become a part of the streets.

However if the DENR’s plan will push through, Aguirre doubts if there will be any demolition, as the local government itself had granted the establishments a permit to build and operate. They can’t just let it be torn down.

This issue has previously been debated by the LGU Malay and the DENR, as the local government is fighting for the 12 meter road width in the island as this is what is stated in the town’s ordinance.

MRF Appealed to Complainants to Personally Go or Inform Their Office About Garbage Complaints

Even if collecting the garbage at the Village of Balabag is started at 2am, the material Recovery Facilities (MRF) is facing difficulty with the task due to the garbage volume.

This was revealed by Dana Maming, Supervisor of MRF Balabag in an interview Saturday afternoon.

This was after the comments of some drivers that early in the morning, the smell of garbage is emanating from the Main Road if garbage is uncollected not to mention the smell from the liquid dripping from garbage onto the street from garbage truck.

It was also learned from Maming that just at Balabag, it takes 18trucks to collect the garbage daily in the morning and this does not include the garbage collected at the beach line which originates from some other places.

Maming admitted that they lack manpower but that despite this, they manage to collect the garbage.

In relation to this, Maming appealed to the public whoever has complaints about the smell of garbage which has not been thrown properly or garbage which has not been properly left on the street to personally go to their office or inform them. She added that their office is ready to accept such complaints in order to immediately act on it.

Helmet Diving operations in Boracay, to be inspected by Dr. Salaver

There have been subsequent incidents of drowning due to different sea sports activities in Boracay.

This recorded cases raised concerns for the tourists, especially those occurrences where in, aside from drowning, they just suddenly experienced a heart attack in the middle of the activity.

Particularly in helmet diving and snorkeling which are often related to the reported incident of drowning and suffocation and where most of the victims are foreigners. 

In line with this Malay Municipal Health Officer Dr. Adrian Salaver said that he will have it checked as to what is in the operation of helmet diving that triggers such cases.

He stated that in his opinion helmet diving is dangerous as it uses a hose for the client’s breathing.

He also revealed that he was not invited when the Town Council of Malay had a committee hearing on the proposal of an ordinance regarding the regulation of helmet diving in order to take into consideration the health of those who wish to experience the said activity.

It Was Almost 2am Friday - Snatchers Victimized a 40 Year Old Female Italian

Snatchers victimized a 40 year old female Italian early Friday morning.

It was almost 2am when the victim was walking with her three companions at the beach front when they were allegedly followed by two unknown suspects.

Based on the investigation of the Boracay PNP, one of the two suspects snatched the victim’s bag and ran away. One of the victim’s companions gave chase but stumbled.

Another companion of the victim flagged down a passing motorcycle and gave chase to the suspected snatcher who turned towards Balabag Plaza and were then nowhere to be found.

It was learned that the suspected snatcher rode a getaway motorcycle together with the other suspect.

Taken from the victim was a pair of shoes, cell phone, iphone and P4,000.

The crime is still under investigation

New director for Aklan Police Provincial Office/PPO

Effective August 15, 2012 the service of Police Senior Superintendent Cornello Defensor as Provincial Director of Aklan Police Provincial Office has formally ended.

After one year and six months in the office he received a directive to end his service to the province as a director of Aklan Police.

According to APPO Deputy Director Supt. Pablito Asmod, it is but normal for police officials to be relieved and transferred to a new assignment in order to give an opportunity to other members to be head of a certain police office.

He said that Defensor had already achieved the maximum length of time being seated as PD of Aklan, and it’s just right for him to have a new assignment.

In line with this, while they are waiting for the turn over ceremony which will be held on August 22 for Defensor’s replacement to formally take over, Asmod will be OIC Provincial Director of APPO for the meantime.

He also revealed that what will occur is actually a ‘Swap’.

This is because S/Supt. Pedrito Escarilla of Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division of Camp Delgado, Iloilo City will be replacing the relieved Aklan Police PD, while Defensor will take over the position that Escarilla has vacated.