City mayors' league endorses cityhood bid of 21 towns

MANILA, Philippines – While it is contesting the recent ruling of the Supreme Court validating the cityhood conversion of 16 towns, the League of Cities of the Philippines backed the cityhood bid of 21 municipalities that met the requirements of the Local Government Code.

The 21 municipalities that get the support of the LCP for their cityhood conversion are as follows:

• Cabuyao and San Pedro (Laguna)
• Cainta, Taytay, and Binangonan (Rizal)
• Bacoor, Gen. Trias, Imus, Carmona, and Silang (Cavite)
• San Pedro (Laguna)
• Pantabangan (Nueva Ecija)
• Calaca, Sto. Tomas, Bauan and Nasugbu ( Batangas)
• Mauban in (Quezon)
• Marilao, Sta. Maria and Norzagaray (Bulacan)
• Limay (Bataan)

LCP national president Oscar Rodriguez (San Fernando, Pampanga) said the 21 towns have already reached the mandatory requirements for cityhood coversion.

Out of our comfort zone

While on their way to distribute relief goods from the Kapuso Foundation, Cabuyao Mayor Jun Hemedes talks to GMA 7 reporter Jiggy Manicad about the extent of damage brought about by Ondoy to the town.

 

MANILA, Philippines - In Butong, a small barangay in Cabuyao, Laguna, the road that used to be for tricycles and pedicabs now belongs to bancas and banana rafts. At Ondoy’s wake, the whole barrio is submerged in water — murky and muddy, rancid and stale. In a few days, especially when the habagat wind starts to blow, people are bracing themselves for the stench. Since the place is very near Laguna Lake, the residents expect the water to recede even after Christmastime — if it will recede at all, what with the imminent threat of two more typhoons in the region.

Intel likely to move fab to Cabuyao, Laguna

When the rumor that Intel Philippines was facing an impending closure in April this year, the company corrected this — saying that it’s weighing its options and could transfer its plant somewhere else. June has past and Intel officials have not released anything. I’ve sent out interview questions in the hopes of getting some updates

For the meantime, here’s what a contact of a friend told me about Intel’s colorful past and possible future in the Philippines.

Bank robbers massacre 10

CABUYAO, Laguna – Nine bank employees and a security guard were lined up and shot dead yesterday in what police described as one of the bloodiest bank robberies in history.

Nine of the victims were found sprawled on the floor of a branch of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) in Barangay Pulo here, after the bank failed to open as scheduled at 9 a.m., triggering the suspicion of customers who alerted the police, according to Calabarzon regional police director Chief Superintendent Ricardo Padilla.

The 10th victim, also a ranking employee of the bank, succumbed to gunshot wounds in the head while being treated at the St. James Hospital.