By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW

Blaming the anti-Jadewell “trouble makers”

I saw acting Mayor Peter Rey Bautista on the local TV when he was claiming that his name was just dragged into the case filed by Jadewell against local officials. By the tone of his statement, he was blaming the small group of “trouble makers” about the inclusion of his name in the case. He claimed though that he would take all means to block the return of Jadewell’s controlling our streets.

I support his move to take all legal means to prevent the return of Jadewell, but I like to point out to the acting mayor – soon be full pledge mayor – that anti-Jadewell “trouble makers” were just exercising their constitutionally protected rights when they launched protests against Jadewell. Their freedoms of speech, and expression, and assembly are provided for by the constitution. Much more so that the ordinance which grants Jadewell the right to collect parking fees on our streets has been repealed by the City Council, they had all the right to exercise their rights against Jadewell. Read the rest of this entry →

By MARY ANN “MANJA” BAYANG

GMA just signed into law the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, otherwise known as “An Act To Prevent Graft And Corruption And Improve Government Services To The People By Cutting Government Bureaucratic Red Tape.”

Red tape in the government has been so ingrained in the system that it is like a plague that has been there for a very long time and it seems like we cannot get rid of it. The public generally has lost confidence and trust on the government’s capacity to deliver basic public services due to widespread red tape. Read the rest of this entry →

By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO

Two days ago, Friday, 25 students of the Benguet State University finished a business course tagged as WIWAG (Wirtschafts – Wochen-Ag) a German name meaning “Business Week”. It was a five-day, input-heavy course that the resource persons worked at to simplify so the young trainees may identify with and retain its lessons. Most of them were from north Benguet, La Trinidad, one from Apayao and from Pangasinan.

The resource persons came from companies who sponsored the WIWAG program. They were the President of Union GalvaSteel Inc. a Baguio boy and alumnus of Baguio City high School, Mr. Arthur M. Florendo; and Globe Telecom heads and once Baguio boys: Jones T. Campos, head of the PR division ; and Jeffrey Tarayao, Community Relations Head and lead in their Corporate Social Responsibility Program; and Elaine Mapa, head of the Education for Youth Enterprise Foundation. Read the rest of this entry →