DCWD Get's Ire Of Councilors For Delay In Bago Oshiro Water Project

Councilor Rachel Zozobrado expressed her disappointment and irritation over Davao City Water District’s failure to inform the concerned government offices about the P11,839.70 disinfection fee which caused a one year delay in the implementation of a water project in Sitio Cebuda, Bago Oshiro this city.

Both Zozobrado and councilor Bonifacio Militar of the Committee on Rules (who presided over the committee hearing) criticized DCWD for prejudicing the right of the people to have potable water.

It can be recalled that Zozobrado lashed against the Bureau of Plant and Industry during her privilege speech at the city council last week for causing the delay in the last and final stages of the project just because of its contention that installing a main water line in the barangay will only encourage more squatters in the area.

The project, which would have provided water to at least 120 residents in the area, was funded through the Annual Development Fund of former councilor Jesus Zozobrado. However, it suffered a setback in 2007 when DCWF refused to conduct hydrotesting for the project (which was already 90% completed at that time) until the problem with BPI has been resolved.

The hydrotesting kink has been resolved but a year after that, not even one drop of water has come out from that main water line. And this time, it is because of the disinfection fee being demanded by DCWD.

Engineer Rosendo Almonte, chief of DCWD’s Planning and Design Division, said they cannot process the work order until the P11,839.70 disinfection fee is paid. He said the contractor has been informed about it during the hydrotesting but admitted that such requirement was not included in the project design which DCWD prepared and was therefore not included in the contract price.

“Ngano wala man naapil ang disinfection fee sa project design na gigamit pag compute sa project cost, na naapil man gain ang hydrotesting fee,” Zozobrado said.

Almonte admitted that DCWD did not ask payment for the disinfection before but due to the high cost of materials, it has started asking the fee after the project was designed. He added “siguro naa mi mali kay wala man ni naapil sa estimate sa project cost.”

Zozobrado said she is willing to pay the cost of the disinfection fee provided DCWD commits to completing the project as soon as possible so the people would not suffer from lack of water connection in the area.

Why Nograles Is A Force To Reckon With In Davao Politics?

Speaker Prospero Nograles has often been criticized for placing his name and his face in every project in Davao City. Lately, particularly before the last elections, I noticed how his son Karlo's face has been posted beside the poster of his father or even alone. A barangay hall in Catalunan Pequeño even had a big poster of Karlo proclaiming that it was a Nograles project or something.

Nograles' penchant for displaying his name and face in every project has become a laughing matter in Davao and it has become an irritant. However, if you look at it another way, suffering from nightmares out of seeing his face and name everywhere is better than suffering from the nightmare of voting for a politician who do not have projects at all. So where did their pork barrels go?

Local politicians and even his constituents even smirk about the eeny-weeny firetrucks of Nograles but after reading Cito Beltran's column saying "if the narrow roads in the country prevent the fire department from responding to fire emergencies then why not get small firetrucks that can go inside these roads?", you will immediately think of Nograles' funny firetrucks.

A lot of basketball courts in the barangays have Nograles' yellow and blue plywood banners. Some barangays boast of gyms courtesy of Nograles. Others complain about his unfinished roads but are nevertheless enjoying its use.

So he uses his projects to advertise himself or maybe to boost his image or satisfy an insecurity. Whatever. If there's one thing that can lead to the downfall of Nograles, it is not his politicking or his posters. It is the people behind him who have started acting like jerks even before he became a Speaker.

It's a given. All politicians are corrupt, they differ only in intensity. Given a choice, would you prefer a politician who provides projects for his district but advertises such a fact or a politician who do not have projects at all?

Be the judge.

IZEA Is Giving Away $1,000 For Blog With Top 1 RealRank

I just checked with Blog Ranks and davaodateline has a real rank of 2,204. Not bad if you think I've been blogging seriously (and not even full time since my priority is to provide content for several client blogs). Maybe if I spend more time tweaking this blog I can get to the Top 1,000 soon.

The page rank is courtesy of IZEARanks, by the way. The site is fairly new and with Google's tantrums, it has a lot of potential to lead the ranking rat pack. To show it is serious in what it does, IZEA is giving away $1000 for every week in January to blogs that get the Top 1 RealRank.

It's fairly easy to sign up. After that, you need to copy and paste a javascript code so that they can monitor your RealRank or your site's visitors. No need to fear about getting a Google hit if you put this code on your site though.

I never cared for ranks before for as long as I provided good content for my readers. However, achieving a higher page rank is important if you want to be abel to monetize your site. And that's my goal for this year.

With IZEA, It's going to be easy monitoring my page views and visitors after all.

A Pitiful Sight?

It's time to collect my dues. Speaker of the House Jose de Venecia is unkonwingly saying this when he ranted during yesterday's Congress about the many things he did for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo even before she became secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

De Venecia said he was behind Arroyo when she begged him to take her in as his vice presidential candidate during the 2008 elections. He begged former President Fidel V. Ramos to also endorse Arroyo during that time. He was also responsible for asking former President Joseph Estrada to make her DSWD secretary.

And now, de Venecia's days as Speaker of the House are numbered and Arroyo is not doing anything about it. De venecia is a master politician. He should know that in politics, there is no such thing as "utang na loob", only personal interests.

The Blue Jeans And The Rebel In Each One Of Us

Blue jeans might be your favorite clothing wear for its comfort and durability. However, do you know that it used to be a symbol of protest among American teenagers sometime in the 1950s?

We are living in a modern world but there are still some restriction due to society's norms and our very own culture. The next time you feel like being a non conformist, wear your blue jeans! Who knows, they might just get the message.

Will Nograles be The First Mindanaoan Speaker Of The House?

It's barely three hours before Monday, February 4, 2008---a day when Mindanao might finally be given the chance to boast of having its very first Speaker in the House of Congress.

Davao City 1st District Representative Prospero Nograles could be having sleepless nights trying to muster 120 votes to outseat Speaker Jose de Venecia.

While not all politicans like Nograles personally and professionally, he might be the only chance Mindanao has of getting that very important seat which can spell boom not only to Davao but to the whole island of Mindanao in terms of project and budget allocation. However, there is doubt as to the cohesiveness of the Mindanao bloc.

Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab said they have agreed to vote for a Mindanaon if the speakership post is declared vacant. The Lower House has 239 members so 120 votes would mean the Speakership. Rumors has it that Nograles has already gathered the support of a hundred people.

Nograles said he is not a traitor because he has supported de Venecia all the way. However, a lot of people have offered him the position if it is declared vacant and it would be stupid and impratical not to accept it. "It is something that needs to be done," he said.

Duterte To Adarna: Secure Place Or Close Shop

"Secure your area or close shop", was the message of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to Queensland owner and President Teodorico Adarna. Duterte was however referring to the construction of Queensland Davao Baywalk and not the motel itself.

The Baywalk got the ire of local councilors and even the Philippine Reclamation Authority for the latter's reclamation project along Matina Aplaya without the necessary permits. The area has been declared a reclamation area as early as 1950s. The councilors are also blaming Adarna for incidents of drowning and stabbing within the area.

However, Duterte said the city government is willing to help Adarna get the necessary permits since a lot of Dabawenyos are benefitting from the project. He said Baywalk has provided Dabawenyos a place to relax for free. Families have made Baywalk a favorite destination since it presents a great view of the coastline. The Baywalk's windy atmosphere aside, Dabawenyos frequent the area more often now after Adarna introduced other features like a small zoo and a mini pool with sharks.

Duterte said he will not present any objection if the national government asks him about the city's stand on giving a permit to Queensland's Baywalk. However, Adarna has to get the necessary permits as well as provide security to the area. Or else, it will be closed down, Duterte said.