July 16 - 22, 2012 Issue

Four more

Capiz casualties reach 186

By Felipe Celino and Edalyn Acta

ROXAS City—Four have died of dengue in Capiz in 2012, the Capiz Epidemiology Surveillance and Response Unit (CESRU) said.

Also, 186 people have been infected from January 1 to July 7 2012, which is a 343-percent increase from the number of cases during the same period last year (42), said Jeoffrey Espiritu, information officer of the Provincial Health Office (PHO).

Of the four fatalities, two were from Panay and Tapaz towns. The other two were residents of Aklan who sought treatment here.

According to CESRU, Roxas City posted the most number of dengue cases among local governments in Capiz, with 58; followed by Dumarao with 16; Panay with 15; Mambusao, 12; and Jamindan, 11.

The PHO is continuously monitoring the disease through the municipal health centers, Espiritu said. He hopes that there will be no upsurge of dengue cases in the province this year.

In 2010, a dengue outbreak was declared in the province and city.

‘Service above self’---Villar to Rotarians

By Edalyn Acta

Former Cong. Cynthia Villar of Las Piñas urged the Rotarians to continue giving service to the community as she shared her various programs aimed at making Las Piñas a more livable city in the country.

Speaking at the induction of the Rotary Club of Metro Iloilo July 19, Villar particularly focused her speech on her trailblazing initiative known as The Water Hyacinth Weaving Enterprise, which provides livelihood to residents of Las Piñas, particularly the riverbanks residents.

The program, which focused on reviving a dying river and providing livelihood opportunities to riverbanks residents, has won the United Nation’s “Water for Life” Best Practices Award, besting 38 other countries, according to Villar.

Villar said that the program mobilized residents to clean the river, changed their mindsets toward enterprise and taught them how to earn by composting to make fertilizer and crafting wares out of coconut coir and water hyacinth.

She said that the program bagged the UN award because it did not only rehabilitate the river, but it also alleviated the living conditions of the poor residents along the riverbanks. She added that this is now being replicated in Central Luzon and some parts of the Visayas.

The Water Lily Festival saw a new variety or hybrid of gumamela or hibiscus named after Cynthia Villar called “Hibiscus Cynthia Villar” presented by University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) on the occasion of her birthday and in recognition of her contribution to public service and environment protection.

Hibiscus Cynthia Villar hybrid has bright orange ruffled petals and has dark red eye. Subsequent commercialization of this hybrid hopes to contribute towards further invigoration of the country’s ornaments industry.

Three members of the Rotary Club of Metro Roxas-Central --its president Mila dela Peña and members Edalyn Acta and Margie Ocido attended the induction.

DOLE reinstates sacked Filamer prexy

By Felipe Celino

ROXAS City—The Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) Sub-Regional Arbitration Branch No. 6 in Iloilo City has found the dismissal of Dr. Salvio Llanera, “full-time acting president” of Filamer Christian University, Inc. (FCU), illegal and ordered his immediate reinstatement.

In a decision issued June 27, Labor Arbiter Roderick Joseph Calanza also ordered respondents FCU and Rev. Eliseo F. Fantilaga, chairman of the Board of Trustees, to jointly pay Llanera nearly P1 million in moral and exemplary damages.

When reached for comment this week, Llanera said he was thankful for the “fair decision.”

“I would have not raised the complaint; but the manner I was dismissed was so inhuman, humiliating and full of malice,” Llanera said

“It was so un-Christian, lacking in charity from an institution that claims to be a Christian school,” he added. “I hope this will be a lesson to the leaders of the school not to be whimsical and oppressive so as to preserve its Christian values and integrity.”

Llanera took over the post on July 14, 2011. Four months later, He was unceremoniously dismissed on November 19, 2011.

Llanera had been employed at Filamer since 1972 first as a faculty member. He went on to become assistant dean, dean and vice-president for academic affairs, until he retired in 2005 as dean of the graduate school.

On May 30, 2011, Llanera entered into a one-year employment contract with FCU as a “full-time acting president.”

On October 1 of the same year, he was suddenly placed under a 30-day preventive suspension by Fantilaga due to alleged serious violations such as disallowing entry of the FCU chair and other Board members, disregarding explicit instructions by the Board, and maliciously participating in the election of the university’s alumni association, among others.

Llanera said that the preventive suspension was null and void because Fantilaga was not authorized by the Board to issue such order. He was not even informed of the nature of the accusations or the charges against him.

The crux of the controversy was when Fantilaga was not allowed to enter the school by the security officer when he was recognized as one of the rallyists.

“While it may have been a naïve decision on the part of the security officer that the person with the highest position in the school was not allowed entrance despite his plea, such was done as a call of duty,” Calanza said. “The security officer was just following orders.”

Irked by the security officer’s act, Fantilaga charged against Llanera for command responsibility.

However, Calanza said nothing and the records showed that Llanera personally ordered that Fantilaga and other members of the Board be barred from entering the school.

The arbitration officer said he also found nothing in particular that would show Llanera abusing his authority and breaching the trust and confidence given him by the respondent school.

In addition, Llanera was denied a hearing of his case when he was first invited to air his side at a meeting that was suddenly aborted.

“On the basis of this termination, the dismissal of Llanera not only lacked compliance with the mandate requirements of notice and hearing, but was obviously unwarranted and unjustified,” Calanza said.

Calanza also pointed out that dismissal should not be meted to Llanera as it was too severe a penalty considering his 38 years of service in the school without previous derogatory record, in addition to the fact that FCU had awarded him various commendations for his sterling performance over the years.

According to Calanza, “(Llanera) does not deserve the manner in which his service was terminated.” The ruling said that “the dismissal was illegal and caused so much damage to Llanera’s serious embarrassment, Filamer and Fantilaga must be pay moral and exemplary damages.”

According to Labor Arbitration Associate Juver Anthony Palomar, the decision reinstating a dismissed or separated employee shall immediately be executory even pending appeal, or at the option of the employer, merely reinstated in the payroll.

Alba questions man’s arrest

By Felipe Celino

Roxas City—Mayor Jose Alba, Jr. of Mambusao, Capiz said the arrest of a one resident of Brgy. Bating in his town was a “clear violation of [the man’s] constitutional rights.”

Insp. Nilo Morellos, a police officer from Manila, arrested for alleged murder one Charlie Jumbas outside the Mambusao Municipal Hall July 17th.

But reports said that Morellos did not have any arrest warrant.

It was later found that it was a case of a mistaken identity—the real suspect and Jumbas look alike.

Reports also had it that Jumbas is one of the personnel of Leodegario Labao, Jr., a contractor from Mambusao.

Chief Supt. Cipriano Querol, Jr., regional police director, vowed to investigate the incident and promised not to allow it to happen again.

Meanwhile, authorities arrested one Noel Canto, a farmer in Tapaz, inside the town’s public market. Canto is being charged of rape.

Judge Antonio Amular of the Regional Trial Court Branch 22 issued the warrant of arrest against Canto, with no bail. Canto, charged with five counts of rape, is detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility in Mambusao.