Mark Anthony Viray, PDEA Camarines Sur chief, said that his office is expecting that big deals on prohibited drugs are likely to happen in the city during the celebration of the fiesta in September, this year, the 312th year of devotion to the Our lady of Peñafrancia.

In a meeting with Vice Mayor Cecilia V. de Asis and the city councilors, Viray said that the PDEA in the province has begun conducting a series of intensified anti-illegal drugs operations that will lead to the arrest of drug personalities who may have planned to pursue their nefarious trade during the Peñafrancia fiesta.

He told the city officials that one of the factors why Naga appears to be the preferred place for illicit drug deals is that Naga is a center of commerce where drug personalities can discreetly meet aside from being an ideal transshipment point to Visayas and Mindanao provinces.

It would be observed that anti-illegal drug operations in the city by combined teams of the Philippine National Police and PDEA personnel led to the confiscation of packages of crystal meth in previous months.

Reports also said that the operatives were able to seize a kilo of the prohibited drugs in their operations conducted in Barangay Peñafrancia and more than P4-M worth of the substance in Barangay Bagumbayan Norte.

In an interview, City Councilor Omar Buenafe, a retired police general and former PNP regional director in Bicol, said that he is confident that the PNP and PDEA along with other enforcement agencies can handle the significant problem on the proliferation of illegal drugs in the city.

He even called on the barangay officials to appropriately take part in the fight against illegal drugs as the criminals continue their nefarious activities.

By Jason B. Neola

The program, which is being established nationwide by way of partnership between the Philippine National Police and the Department of Tourism, is intended to ensure the safety and security of tourists while enjoying the city’s must-see destinations.

DOT-5 Regional Director Herbie Aguas said the formation of tourism police assures foreign and domestic tourists that it’s safe and more fun visiting the different tourist attractions in this part of the country and other top destinations in Bicol.

“If the tourists feel safe, they will keep on coming back, uulit at babalik and babalik pa sila,” Aguas said as he mentioned the increasing tourist arrivals in the city and the Bicol Region when the country started again to open up the tourism industry in February 2022.

According to surveys conducted by the LGU’s Arts, Culture, and Tourism Office headed by Alec Francis Santos, the top concern of tourists when choosing a destination is safety and security.

The creation of the tourist police unit is a direct response to that concern. By having a dedicated police unit for Naga’s tourism industry, the city can expect a safer environment for both foreign and local visitors. This is crucial since tourism is one of Naga’s economic pillar and is responsible for generating much needed jobs and livelihood.

Initially, there are 21 police personnel who were tapped by the LGU’s Arts, Culture, and Tourism Office for the TOPCOP in collaboration with the NCPO led by Col. Nelson Pacalso.

He said that the city government of Naga is on the right track when it decided to adopt the TOPCOP like in Calaguas Island in the municipality of Vinzons in Camarines Norte and in Donsol, Sorsogon that takes pride with its Butanding interaction and festival.

The tourism official was elated upon learning that LGU Naga in partnership with the Philippine National Police is planning to conduct more trainings for PNP personnel who wish to join the TOPCOP.

“The idea [of conducting training for tourist police] will provide us a prepared venue where we can arrange an ideal benchmarking with regards to the adoption of the [TOPCOP] program by other LGUs,” he said. (Jason B. Neola)

62 na anti-illegal drugs operations asin pagkumpiskar nin sobra sa 1,542 na gramo nin shabu an nahaman kan Naga City Police Office poon kan Enero sagkod Hunyo 2022 sa pagbosol kan kampanya kontra sa illegal drugs.

Sa piggibong command conference, sinabi ni Mayor Nelson Legacion na dedikado asin seryoso an mga awtoridad na labanan an pagwarak kan illegal drugs kaya magkakanigo sana na itao sainda kan gobyerno lokal an bilog na suporta.

Pigpresentar ni Police Col. Nelson Pacalso, hepe kan NCPO, ki Legacion an nasambit na datos durante kan command conference kan nakaihis na Lunes, Julio 4, kaibahan na an makusog na tarabangan sa tahaw kan PNP, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) asin iba pang mga law enforcement agencies.

Segun ki Konsehal Jesse Albeus, an bagong tukaw na chairman kan komiteba, dakulang angat an 6,000 sagkod 7,000 na aplikantes na kabale sa backlog kan nasambit na programa kaya piglalaoman na matalaan na sa masunod na semana an updating.

Mientrastanto, hagad kan mga opisyales kan Naga City Urban Poor Federation na magkonduser nin urban poor summit kun saen imbitado an mga ahensya kan gobyerno na may kinaaraman sa programang paharong para sa marikas na proseso kan pag-transfer nin titulo sa mga beneficiaries.

Sa presente mayo pa nin natatalaan na petsa para sa summit huli ta kaipuhan nguna kan konsehal na ikonsulta ini ki Alkalde Nelson Legacion.

Segun ki Gregorio Balahibo, presidente kan asosasyon, sarong sadit na factory nin ice cream sa kalye Santiago III sa Barangay Peñafrancia an mabukas tanganing mag-employ nin mga little people sa syudad.

Aminado si Balahibo na sadit na insentibo asin minimum sana an sweldo kan mga beneficiaries, natural sa mapoon pa sanang establisamento nin negosyo na madepende sa sadit na gross sales.

Naglalaom si Balahibo na tangkilikon kan publiko an saindang ice cream na mapoon sa p12 an presyo depende sa size kan container.

Sa presente, limang flavours nin ice cream an andam nang gibuhon kan asosasyon para sa produksyon na kinababalehan kan ube, cookies and cream, mango, double dutch asin avocado.

St. Isidore Village is one of the three housing sites established in 2021 during Mayor Nelson Legacion’s first term in office. The city government of Naga is allocating more than P200-M for the development of the three housing sites.
The other two villages are the 8,000-sq. meter Liberty Village, also called La Presa, in Barangay Cararayan, and the 10-hectare housing lot inside the Carolina New Development Area in Barangay Carolina.

Sprawling on 1.5-hectare lot, St. Isidore Village can accommodate a total number of 180 houses for qualified beneficiaries of socialized housing under the LGU’s Kaantabay sa Kauswagan (Partners in Development) program.

Legacion thanked Fr. Francis Tordilla, parish priest of St. Jude Thaddeus Parish, for partnering with the city government in the identification of qualified beneficiaries to own home-lots in the city’s socialized housing project aside from the building materials it has provided in the urban poor housing project.

Legacion said 14 new housing units will also be constructed after several months in collaboration with the parish.

Engr. Rolando Campillos, head of Housing, Settlement and Development Office (HSDO), said the distribution of certificates was happily welcomed by the 92 families who were given priority in the acquisition of home-lots.

The penalty forms part the provisions contained in the approved Ordinance 2022-042 of the City Government of Naga that aims to prevent dead animals to be thrown in trash or disposed as garbage, a situation that can compromise the health conditions of the public.

Based on the ordinance, the following acts constitute illegal/improper disposal of a dead animal: Throwing it along the roadside, in the river, setting it on fire or burning it, dumping it in the trash or garbage area, burying it without clearance from the barangay hall that has jurisdiction over the place where burial will be made. For this purpose, the Punong Barangay shall coordinate with the City Veterinary Office.

Authored by City Councilor Joselito S.A. Del Rosario and counterpart City Youth Councilor Francine Majella R. Papa, the measure mandates the establishment of a pet park and cemetery in the city, provides guidelines for its implementation, and prohibits improper disposal of the remains of dead animals.

The pet park, the place where pet animals may freely roam, is located at the Naga City Civic Center which is subjected to further improvement while the pet cemetery, the place where remains of dead animals in the city shall be buried, has yet to be determined from among the sites presented.

Del Rosario, head of the Committee on Public Utilities at the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), observed the increasing number of dogs and cats in the city – domestic or house-trained – including the astray ones.

“In more practical terms, a pet cemetery provides a venue for disposing of small creatures like cats and dogs that can also be victims of accidents, or for small animals that, stray or not and for one reason or another, need to be humanely terminated and buried,” he said.

Del Rosario also said that: “What is clear is that we do need a place where, in the event of their pet’s demise, owners bury them in a manner that is sanitary and allows them to properly grieve for their beloved wards.”

The Committee on Pet and Cemetery, which is headed by the city veterinarian, will present to the SP the site where the proposed cemetery will be constructed in not less than two months’ time from the date of the enactment of the ordinance.

The ordinance’s penalty clause include:

First offense – Community service for ten days to be supervised by the barangay where the offender resides. A certification attesting to the completion of such service shall be issued thereafter.
Second offense – A fine of P300.00 and/or imprisonment of not more than 15 days or both, at the discretion of the court;
Third offense – A fine of P5, 000 and/or imprisonment of not more than 1 month, at the court’s discretion.

Mayor Nelson Legacion, now in his second term as the LGU’s chief executive, said this in his speech shortly after taking his oath of office on June 18, this year, along with Vice Mayor Cecilia V. de Asis and the 10 newly elected city councilors who will compose the 14th Sangguniang Panlungsod.

The swearing-in ceremony, which was held at the Plaza Quezon in Central Business District I, was administered by Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Gerona Robredo.

In his message, Legacion also said that he will commit his leadership to work on establishing additional schools and school buildings in the city. With more schools and stronger support for the educational sector, he said he is confident Naga City will be known also as “Pandayan nin Futuro kan mga Kaakian” aside from being a Maogmang Lugar.

In the health sector, the mayor said that the city will find ways to augment ts modern medical equipment and apparatuses to ensure speedy delivery of medical services to Nagueño patients.

At present, the city has Naga City Hospital, City Health Office 1, City Health Office 2 at Sta. Cruz New Development Area, Our Lady of Lourdes Infirmary in Barangay Carolina, the New Naga City Medical Hospital 2, which is undergoing construction at Balatas New Development Area, and the Super Health Center which is going to be constructed in Barangay Concepcion Pequeña.

He also vowed to implement programs that will make the operations of local tourism and businesses vibrant in collaboration with private institutions. “We are going to attract more entrepreneurs work doubly to attract more entrepreneurs who can invest in our city,” he said.

In agriculture, the mayor plans to help the local farmers by way of buying their products. “The LGU shall directly buy their rice that we are going to distribute to several thousands of Sanggawadan and QUEEN beneficiaries as rice subsidy,” he said.

The city mayor also includes in his plan for the next three years the building and repair of more roads as important facilities to improve the services on education and health.

TWO pedestrian lanes in the city were painted with bright colors like the rainbow.

The work of art was undertaken in support to the members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual, and asexual plus (LGBTQIA+) who will be celebrating the Pride Month, this year.

Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for LGBTQ Americans.

In the Philippines, the Pride Month is being celebrated to allow advocates from different backgrounds and constituencies to work together to promote the human rights of gender and sexual minorities.

Ex-officio City Councilor Kylie Tripulca, who represent the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation in the city council, said she endorsed the adoption of Resolution No. 2022-474 that authorizes the painting of the pedestrian lanes across the Kinastillohan Street between Plaza Rizal and Plaza Quezon.

Tripulca said the color which was painted on the pedestrian lanes will be temporary only or shall be removed immediately after the celebration of Pride Month.

She said that the painting of the lanes symbolizes the youth’s support to the LGBTQIA+ in connection with the celebration of Pride Month.  The resolution was authored by Tripulca’s counterpart, City Youth Councilor Shane Bea Brazil.

The resolution said that it is provided in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities and remove cultural inequities shall be given highest priority.   

Another provision in the resolution said that LGBTQIA persons are entitled to the full protection of their rights under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and there’s an urgent need for the government to address human rights violations on the basis of Social Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE) such as homophobic and transphobic hate crimes in the country.

Based on the calendar of activities prepared by the City Government of Naga (CGN), this year’s Charter Day will be celebrated from June 12 to 19, a mass vaccination against Covid-19 will be conducted at Plaza Rizal as kick-off event and as part of the city’s 124th Araw ng Kasarinlan celebration.  The activity is expected to immunize at least 500 individuals from 5-year-old children to senior citizens.

Individuals who opted to have their first or second booster shots of anti-Covid-19 vaccines may queue at the plaza like the ones who have not yet taken either their first or second jab.     

A health caravan which offers different health services free of charge will also be established in the area in collaboration with the Bicol Medical Center.  Patients can avail the caravan’s free consultation and medicines including other services like progestin subdermal implant insertion, adolescent nutrition counselling, cervical cancer screening, new born screening, and hearing screening for children and adults.

Allen Reondanga, head of the City Events, Protocol, and Public Information Office (CEPPIO), said that this year the city will mark the occasion by way of extending services to the Nagueños and commending those who partnered with the LGU in the conduct of public service.   

A formal awarding of recognition to nearly 400 barangay healthcare workers, barangay tanods, vaccinators and other volunteers who took the frontline as collaborators of the local government in pursuing its various Covid-19 responses also highlights this year’s anniversary celebration.  The barangay personnel and volunteers compose the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) who are tasked, among others, to monitor and assist Covid-19 patients in their respective areas.  There will be no mayoral awardees this year.

He said: “This is the time that we have to recognize and give honor to the people who bravely went out of their comfort zones to work with their fellow frontliners if only to serve others when Covid-19 was at its height.”     

Scores of bulastogan stalls will be established at Evangelista Street near Plaza Rizal as permanent site of the street-food area presently operating inside the plaza.  The plan to construct and set up the stalls at Evangelista Street and relocate the stores from plaza has been deferred in previous years due to threats of Covid-19 transmission.  

Reondanga said that on June 13, an updated citizen’s charter of the LGU will be presented to Mayor Nelson Legacion by City Hall department heads and chief of offices.  The charter provides basic information about the LGU and its services that constituents need to know like how frontline services transactions are facilitated and expeditiously delivered.

An agricultural fair will be opened at Kinastillohan Street on June 13 to 16.  On the 17th, a charter anniversary trade fair will be showcased at the Robinsons Place Naga.

On June 15, Legacion will officially re-launch the weekly People’s Day wherein the mayor along with the heads of frontline offices personally meets with the constituents in an open venue at the Naga City People’s Hall to address their respective concerns.

On June 16, a mass wedding organized by the city civil registry office that will be officiated by the mayor will be conducted.  The solemnization of marriages, which will take place at the Plaza Rizal, targets at least 74 couples.  No solemnization fees will be charged.  Interested parties may coordinate with the office of the local civil registrar.

On the 17th, there will be a mass tree planting that will be held at the 74th site of the Forest in Our Midst (FOM) program in the city’s urban area that has to be determined yet by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO).  On the following day (June 18), a job fair which will offer 800 local and overseas employment will reel off at the Robinsons Place Naga.

A concert of local bands will perform in the evening of June 17 and 18 at the Plaza Quezon and on certain dates within the anniversary celebration.

In the afternoon of June 18, members of the Team Naga will take their oath as newly elected officials of the city with Vice President Leni Robredo as administering officer.  The swearing-in ceremony shall be conducted at the Plaza Quezon where incoming city officials traditionally took their oath since 1948.

This year’s charter anniversary will be capped with simple celebration of the birth anniversary of Gat Jose P. Rizal at the Plaza Rizal on June 19, this year.

A glance at the city government’s preparation for the Peñafrancia fiesta celebration:

An executive order naming the heads of different event and support committees was already signed by Legacion.

For the conduct of the Miss Bicolandia Beauty Pageant, the executive order designates City Councilor Sonny Rañola as the competition’s focal person being the chairman of pageant’s executive committee while City Councilor Elmer Baldemoro who will be given a portfolio position in the city government as he bows out of office this month was named chairman of civic and float parade committee.

City Councilor Joselito S.A. del Rosario will head the committee that will run the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts parade including the DBC-DXMC competition while incoming city councilor and retired Police General Omar Buenafe will spearhead the committee that supervises the regional military parade competition.

CEPPIO chief Allen Reondanga will handle the Voyadores festival while City Budget Officer Frank Mendoza will head the accreditation committee for the activities and events organized by the private groups.

Legacion said that the city’s decision to pursue the conduct of civic and religious events during this year’s Peñafrancia fiesta has already been coordinated officially with the Archdioceses of Caceres.

He clarified, however, that the events will be conducted if the city will remain on Alert Level 1 or Alert Level 2 status.  Under Alert Level 1, the public, vaccinated or unvaccinated, can participate in any of the civic and religious events while under Alert Level 2, it is only the vaccinated persons who can participate in the Peñafrancia fiesta activities. 

Not a single outdoor event or activity is permitted in a place declared with a higher alert level status.  (By Jason B. Neola)