Aquino Honors Slain Mayor

Amidst heightened security, President Benigno S. (Noynoy) Aquino III visited Calbayog City today. The purpose of his visit was to pay his final respect to slain Calbayog Mayor Dr. Reynaldo S. Uy.

Mayor Uy was shot last saturday night, while attending the town fiesta in Hinabangan, Samar. He died several hours later at Divine Word Hospital in Tacloban City. Samar board member Eunice Babalcon was also shot, and is now recovering.

Dr. Uy was a former congressman and political ally of President Aquino. He was also the provincial chairman of the Liberal Party, and had initiated a recall election of the governor and vice governor of Samar province. Had that recall election taken place, Mayor Uy and board member Babalcon were expected to be gubernatorial and vice-gubernatorial candidates.

In his Labor Day speech, President Aquino said regarding the murder of Mayor Uy: “I pressed Raul Bacalzo to ensure a speedy investigation, the arrest of the people behind this dastardly act. They were shot, I understand, while their heads were bowed in an invocation.”

Many believe this shooting was politically motivated, including Mayor Uy’s oldest daughter Rosa Jessica Uy-Delgado, who said the killing of her father was a “political murder” perpetrated by a “highly corrupt politician.” She did not, however, identify who she thought was responsible for the murder of her father.

President Aquino has ordered the police to “clamp down” on Samar Province to prevent any further violence. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary, Jesse Robredo has also suspended gun permits for the province.

A total of P1.2 million has been offered in reward moneys for anyone who can help identify and arrest those responsible for the murder of Mayor Uy. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has even released sketches of the suspected killers. Pictures of the sketches, and more information is available on inquirer.net

The Governor of Samar Province, Sharee Ann Tan, has urged police authorities to hasten their investigation. She has also denied their family’s involvement in Mayor Uy’s killing.

Additional resources used to write this article:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=682552&publicationSubCategoryId=67
http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=30706
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20110504-334596/Aquino-to-visit-wake-of-slain-Calbayog-mayor
http://www.examiner.com/philippines-headlines-in-national/government-suspends-gun-permits-samar-after-uy-slaying
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/visayas/view/20110504-334508/Politics-eyed-in-Calbayog-mayors-slay

Catbalogan Cityhood Update

According to a “Press Statement of the City Government of Catbalogan on cityhood issue,” published on the Samar News.com website, the issue of Catbalogan’s cityhood is not yet settled. Here is a quote from that statement:

As things stand now, Catbalogan remains and still is a city. No more less than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Reynato S. Puno, clearly and categorically declared that the decision of the Supreme Court is not yet final and executory. Just recently, on December 10, we filed our Motion for Reconsideration (MR) before the SC.

Pending the resolution of the MR, the City of Catbalogan shall continue to receive the same IRA allocation and other privileges with other cities. All created offices/departments of the city shall remain to exist and function as such.

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Catbalogan – No Cityhood

The Supreme Court of the Philippines has ruled that the creation of 16 new cities was unconstitutional. Amongst those 16 is Samar Province’s Capitol of Catbalogan. This decision was in response to a petition by the League of Cities of the Philippines, who objected to the “mad rush” to create cities who did not meet the minimum P100 million locally generated income requirement. The leaders in the fight against cityhood were LCP President, Iloilo Mayor Jerry Trenas and Calbayog City Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento. You can read more on this issue at the GMA News report here: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/134304/SC-stops-cityhood-of-16-towns.