THE Department of Foreign Affairs said passport applicants
who want to skip the long lines at the Pasay City main office may take advantage
of mobile passport services scheduled at the Noveleta, Cavite town hall on Feb.
2; the Quezon provincial capitol in Baler on Feb. 8-10; Virgen delos Remedios
Parish Church in Minalin, Pampanga on Feb. 16; Festival Mall in Alabang,
Muntinlupa and Pasig City Hall on Feb. 23.
All passport applicants are required to make a personal
appearance except those eight years old and below and those who are 65 and
above. Passport fee is P750.
The mobile service will not entertain those applying for
replacement of lost valid passports but only those applying for lost expired
passports.
Application forms may be secured in advance from local
coordinators, namely Raymond Salazar (046-4381107) in Noveleta; Virginia Gomez
(042-2094211) in Baler; Vice Mayor Edgardo Yambao (0927-9366259); Myrna
(02-5430815) in Alabang; and Ma. Lourdes Austria (02-6283061) in Pasig.
Inquiries may be made through the DFA Consular Information Center at 020-5560000
from 8 am to 4 pm on weekdays. – Anthony Ian Cruz
DILG urges lawmakers to pass
law for integrated jail facility in Metro
INTERIOR Secretary Ronaldo V. Puno on Wednesday urged
lawmakers to consider legislation that would establish an integrated jail
facility in Metro Manila and in highly urbanized cities as a long-term solution
to overcrowding in jails under the supervision of the Department of Interior and
Local Government.
Puno said a law on the establishment of integrated jail
facilities is in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Code on
devolving powers and functions to local government units.
He said the speedy passage of such a law in Congress will
remedy the worsening problem of jail overcrowding, given the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology’s projections that the current jail population of 69,500
nationwide will swell to almost 115,000 by 2010.
BJMP studies showed that total jail population could reach
89,000 in 2008; 101,350 in 2009 and 114,930 in 2010.
Puno said a third or over 22,000 of the total inmate
population of 69,500 in municipal, city and district jails nationwide come from
Metro Manila. This means that in Metro Manila alone, BJMP-supervised jails are
now holding 405 percent more inmates beyond their combined capacity.
While awaiting the law that would make an integrated jail
facility possible, Puno ordered the BJMP to coordinate with the Public
Attorney’s Office in offering free legal counseling to indigent inmates to speed
up the resolution of their cases. He said many inmates remain in jail not
because of the gravity of their crimes but because they cannot afford to pay for
lawyers, which is one reason the jails are congested. – Raymond Africa
Nueva Ecija tramline system
eases transport of farm produce
CARRANGLAN, Nueva Ecija – More than 50 families in the
mountain slopes of a remote village in this town are the main beneficiaries of a
tramline system put up through the efforts of the Bureau of Post-Harvest and
Research Extension, Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit 3, the Nueva
Ecija provincial government and Carranglan.
Mayor Luzvimindo Otic said the tramline system which has made
easier the transport of farm produce, mainly vegetables, from this town to the
markets was a dream come true for them. "Kailangang-kailangan talaga ang
teknolohiyang ito sa aming lugar," he said.
The Carranglan Agricultural Tramline was officially turned
over to the farmers late last year, Otic said.
Felimon Lucas, village chief of Capintalan, Carranglan which
hosts the tramline, said his constituents are blessed with the project. "Mababawasan
din ang hauling at labor cost at mapananatili ang kalidad ng produkto dahil mas
mabilis na ang pagdadala ng mga gulay at prutas," he said. – Jojo de
Guzman
Pasay exec files for lifting
of her arrest warrant
PASAY City administrator Atty. Ernestina Bernabe Carvajal has
filed a motion for reconsideration seeking to lift the arrest warrant issued
against her by a Marawi City court for her alleged involvement in illegal
recruitment in Mindanao.
Reynante Reyles, a staff of Carvajal, said her lawyer Vicente
Bayani has already filed the motion before the sala of Judge Amer Ibrahim of the
Marawi regional trial court in Lanao del Sur Wednesday.
Carvajal herself remained confined at the Pasay City General
Hospital where she was brought due to high blood pressure after a team from the
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group tried to serve the arrest warrant on
her Tuesday afternoon.
City Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad said there are around 10 respondents in the
case, including his wife Nelfa and brother Sonny, but added that his wife cannot
be arrested because the warrant misspelled her name. He claimed the filing of
the case was politically motivated and the handiwork of his political enemies
who want to oust him from his post by accusing him of protecting illegal
recruiters. He identified one Joseph Montesclaro, a losing candidate in the last
elections and an ally of his erstwhile supporter Tonya Cuneta, as responsible
for filing the case. – Ashzel Hachero
