Judge Ray Alan Drilon administers the oaths of office of the elected councilors of Bacolod City, namely, Sonya Verdeflor, Archie Baribar and El Cid Familiaran (l-r), yesterday.* (Capitol photo)

Bayan Muna Rep. Atty. Neri Colmenares at Purok Katilingban, Barangay Banago recently for the distribution of assistance to the fire victims.* (Owen S. Bayog/NDB photo)

Never have Negrenses been in a quandary as to which story to believe in - that the CIDG raiding team had found scores of the 90 firearms seized from the Mayor Magdaleno Peña compound in Pulupandan were not licensed. And that he also had several pounds of explosives recovered by the raiders inside the Peña compound.

Peña had come out with the statement that all the firearms have licenses under the name of corporations which he reportedly owns. It seems that until yesterday, he had failed to produce the said licenses.

Then, we have the statement by SPO1 Rosendo Bursal, Jr. in a sworn affidavit that he denied having seen the recovery of the explosives in the compound as with the CIDG raiders.

But later, he also issued another affidavit denying his first version of the claims that there was never that explosive. And he claims that he had been forced to sign the denial.

CIDG, however, just went ahead and filed the charges against Magsie before the DOJ in Manila. Actually, the CIDG had come all the way from Manila to stage the raid on the Peña residence in Ubay, Pulupandan.

AND THE CHINESE SUPER BULLY. The report which went around the international media is picturing the Philippines as a wimp, a helpless shadow of a defenseless nation is lamentable.

This came after the death of a Taiwanese fishermen whose boat tried to ram a BFAR ship and when the coast guard men on board fired in self-defense, provoked a seeming international outrage from a nation which is supposed to be only a speck in the sea of Taiwan.

But the Taiwanese government has humiliated the Philippine government and the nation of close to 100 million Filipinos.

Another very noticeable fact is that while Chinese ships violate Philippine waters with impunity, we have not done anything to prevent this. By Chinese, we refer to the People’s Republic of China.

If not for my daughter, I did not know that there’s such a place in Negros known as Balaring.

I wrote the other day about Campuestohan, where my daughter had discovered in the internet while she was in New York. If not for her to treat the whole family where most of the time we were in three full packed SUV, we would not know much about the place. I’m not fond to going to places if not necessary, being contented where God post me. Believe me, I haven’t been to some famous places like Boracay. I believe I have no business to be there and despite that I was asked not only once but many times by children and relatives who would foot the bill, Boracay doesn’t excite me.

That’s what makes me an ignoramus insofar as many places in Negros but this time I cannot say no to all members of the family that includes brothers, in-laws, sister, nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren, so I have to play pussy so as not to spoil the fun of everyone. So we ended up in Campuestohan and like a whole barangay have to get ourselves to add to the crowd of coffee places like Kuppa in Bacolod and at one evening at Balaring in Silay City. We found the place very suitable to serve our dinner at a reasonable cost. We cannot refuse our only daughter who comes to visit us on irregular basis due to our entire situation. This is May and since its vacation time, all students are around and as long as there is somebody who would shoulder the expenses of the fun, we have no reason to refuse. So like one barangay we landed at Balaring and I found the place very suitable for a big family like us. Since it’s already night time, we found the place with no customers. There were but a few on some vehicles but then they were not an enormous crowd unlike us.

Philippine elections, after World War II, have given the nation some historic messages which our older generations can still remember. Shortly after liberation from Japanese occupation, one Senator has left the disturbing question of: "What are we in power for?" After 63 years, it seems there has been no clear and positive responses in answer practice to this daring question. Nevertheless, the nation has received a more positive message with the historic victory of President Ramon Magsaysay who answered this question for several years of his term but unfortunately lost his life in a plane crash in Cebu. Magsaysay gave the Filipinos hope that Philippine politicians could indeed change for the better and would truly use power for the people. Thus, Magsaysay left the famous statement: "Those who have less in life should have more in law." It took another 27 years before Filipinos were given another historic hope to answer the question of the true purpose of political power. This came about in February 1986, when Corazon Aquino, inspired by the martyrdom of her husband Ninoy, led a historic people power dismantling of a dictatorship.

In May 2010, the Filipino people again went to the polls in the election which again raised much hope with the landslide victory of Benigno S. Aquino, III. One of the most notable challenges of PNoy was: "Matuwid na Daan." Since his assumption to office, President Aquino’s guiding principle has echoed widely throughout the nation and repeated by countless politicians, raised high hopes that the PNoy administration is indeed leading the country along the straight path to a better life for Filipinos with priority programs on good governance, fight against graft and corruption and poverty alleviation.

When I have the chance to go marketing, I was at our Burgos residence at Villamonte, I have come to know some old friends at the fish section and the meat section.

Anastacio (Tacio) and Geraldine Jara on their Golden Wedding Anniversary at the Circle on May 20, 2013 which "Musically Yours" was the entertainer with his keyboard.*

Since we have lived and was raised at Mamboloc where the old slaughter house once stood and later became the site of the Bacolod Fire Station and when the Central Fire Station was transferred to a new site, the place was to become the Old Pala-pala or Fish Center. So I came to know many fish vendors. I am at home in Burgos Market where my friends do business.

When Pilipinas Got Talent (PGT) semi-finals were aired over ABS-CBN TV series last February, where I was one of the participants, many at Burgos market saw me.

Fire Inspector Vencie Aldeguer has announced that representatives from the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center will be coming over to Silay City.

He said the ADPC will conduct a validation on the implementation of the Community Action for Disaster Response (CADRE) in Silay.

To recall, Silay City Local Disaster Risk Reduction Office (LDRRMO) together with the Philippine Red Cross and Office of the Civil Defense (OCD)-Region VI conducted CADRE Course at Silay Outdoor Recreation and Ecotourism in Barangay Patag, Silay City last year. In the training, non-disaster professionals learned how to be prepared whenever disasters will strike in their community.

(front, l-r) Silay City Mayor Jose L. Montelibano, LDRRMO Coordinator Jesus Oppus and Fire Inspector Vencie Aldeguer posed at Silay Public Plaza Covered Court. An emergency rescue kit was given to the City of Silay from ADPC.*(Aldwin Dalpatan photo)

For 2012 batch of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) in District 3, out of 175 enrollees, 86 have successfully passed the ALS Acceleration Equivalency Test (AAET), whose recognition day was held over the weekend at the gym of Brgy. Granada, Bacolod City. According to Mark Philip Claridad, coordinator, ALS District 3, the District covers Barangays 21, 22, 23, 25, Alangilan, Vista Alegre Elem. School, Fr. Gratian Murray Integrated School, and Bahay Pag-asa Youth Foundation of de La Salle.

Mark Philip Claridad, left, ALS Coordinator, District 3 of the DEPED Bacolod City, presents the 86 graduates of Alternative Learning System (ALS) during the recognition day held at the gym of Brgy. Granada, Bacolod City over the weekend.* (EBColmo)

There were 16 graduates in the elementary level, and 71 in the secondary level. Their classes were conducted from July to November, 2012, and in December, they took the AAET, wherein 86 have hurdled the national examination.

A political ally of comebacking municipal mayor Cicero Borromeo, sees positive development for the backwater town, after his win in the May 13, 2013 election.

Anti-Graft campaigner Penuel Tanio, a loyal political ally of Borromeo, who campaigned doggedly and determinedly for the comebacking mayor said, things are looking up for the town, after Borromeo wrested the local government once more away from Manzano. Borromeo, who had earlier returned to the province from the US, won an unprecedented one term over Candoni Mayor Jechonias Manzano but in the last election, he once more lost to Manzano.

Now, Borromeo, according to Tanio, intends to make up for lost time as mayor in a mountain town, which Tanio said could be at the top of underdeveloped municipalities in the province.