Doubtful intentions

2016 will be a very interesting, if not an “entertaining year”, for Quezon City politics.

Comedian and TV host Vic Sotto is reportedly     running for mayor of the City of the Stars, challenging incumbent mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista, original Liberal party card bearing member.

It will be recalled that last election, Sotto intended to run for mayor. But the comedian gave way allowing Bautista to run for a second term after a compromise was struck: Sotto would give way Bautista but Sotto’s niece Lala, daughter of Senator Tito Sotto, would be accommodated in their LP lineup and be ensured a seat in the city council.

Lala won as councilor of QC District 6 while Bistek ran unopposed.

But the alliance appears to be short-lived.

This time, Vic appears to be not only eyeing the top QC post, but also bringing with him the rest of the Sotto-Castelo clan, a force to reckon with in QC politics.

The Sottos are Castelo on the mother side.

There are at least five Castelos and two Sottos in the QC council. They are Precious Castelo and husband Winston Castelo, incumbent District 2 councilor;  Karl Edgar Castelo (District 5); Anthony Castelo (District 3); Jessica Castelo Daza (District 4); Bobby Castelo (District 6);  Gian Sotto (District 3); and Lala Sotto (District 6). Karl, Precious, Jessica, Bobby, Gian and Lala belong to the Liberal Party.

There are reports that Precious will be Vic’s running-mate to challenge incumbent Vice-mayor Joy Belmonte, also LP. Precious, therefore, will have to move to UNA.

District 6 councilor Candy Medina, who was recruited by the Castelo-Sotto clan, will reportedly challenge incumbent Rep. Kit Belmonte, a nephew of House Speaker Sonny Belmonte.

Eat Bulaga mainstay and District 5 councilor Anjo Yllana will run against actor-turned politician Alfred Vargas, an LP member and incumbent representative of the district. Yllana, a two-time losing vice-mayoralty candidate in Paranaque City, is a Sotto protégée.

Has Vic Sotto grown tired of his Eat Bulaga old jokes and antics that he has decided to bring his brand of comedy to Quezon City? Whatever made him believe that he is what Quezon City needs?

He said, he said

Last March 22, four were murdered in Barangay Gata, Caramoan, Camarines Sur.

According to an official report by CamSur Miguel Luis Villafuerte, parties identified with former House Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella are behind the illegal mining operations at Caramoan Peninsula, which led to the murder of the four small-scale miners.

But another version of the story points to the Villafuertes as the ones indirectly behind the killings.

Witnesses are accusing members of the Sagip Kalikasan Task Force, a group organized by the local government of CamSur , as the ones behind the murders.

It is said that the task force was organized to protect the environment, but has along the way committed abuses by putting up permanent checkpoints, engaging in extortion activities, and operating its own mining activities, engaging in illegal logging and fishing, among others, in Brgy Gata.

This writer was also provided with a number of documents to show the Villafuertes’ alleged involvement in questionable activities. One involves the alleged forcible entry and takeover by the Task Force of certain real property in Gata which Gov. Villafuerte has dismissed as a mere malicious accusation, claiming that it was the caretaker of the property who was involved in illegal mining; a report prepared by the Commission on Human Rights Regional Office on the killings which point to the violation of human rights by members of the task force; a resolution of the National Police Commission withdrawing the appointment of Gov. Villafuerte as Napolcom deputy for “deliberate and blatant commission of acts inimical to national security or which negate the effectiveness of the peace and order campaign of the government;” among others.

It is also being emphasized that the provincial government is not authorized to issue miing permits and does not have the power to enforce environmental laws. The Supreme Court, in the case of the League of Provinces vs. DENR, noted that the Local Government Code did not fully devolve the enforcement of the small-scale mining law to the provincial government.

In another case (Calazan vs PICOP), the High Tribunal stressed that pursuant to RA 7076, approval of applications for small-scale mining permits and contracts are vested in the Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB), composed of representatives from the DENRthe small-scale mining sector, the big-scale mining industry, and an environmental group.

Small-scale mining in Gata has been the source of livelihood of the residents since the Japanese era. But task force Sagip Kalikasan has reportedly taken over the mining area. An altercation between  barangay officials and supporters on one hand and members of the task force on the other, allegedly triggered the shootings.

This has got to stop. The exchange of tirades between politicians in the province is not helping the image of Caramoan, a potential tourism gold mine.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other agencies of the government should look into this matter with urgency. After all, this is not just a local issue, but one that can affect the image of the entire nation.

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