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A top official of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said it was TESDA secretary Augusto Boboy Syjuco who hand-carried the documents for the procurement of 1,582 units of Nokia 1100 cellular phones at a cost of P6.2 million in February 2005 and presented the signature of “Mayor Isabelo Maquino” so that the supplier could be paid.
“Who am I to question the veracity of the documents and the signature of Mayor Maquino as it was (former congressman) Syjuco who brought them to my desk for the release of the payment,” said Venancio Santidad III, Director, Procurement, Supplies and Property Management Service (PSPMS) of the DOTC, told two Iloilo radio stations.
Santidad said if there is anybody who should explain where the cellular phones went, it should be the project proponent, Rep. Judy Jalbuena Syjuco or her husband, TESDA chief Boboy Syjuco.
Despite the storm the controversy has generated, the Syjuco couple have been very silent about the issue, preferring to have their spokesperson, Alex Espino, to do the talking. However, local media shunned talking with Espino as he admitted he had no personal knowledge about the transaction.
The supplier of the cellular phones, Jonathan Ng, has also been avoiding the local media.

Rep. Judy Jalbuena Syjuco is being accused of “ghost delivery” and “forgery” in the supposed purchase of 1,582 Nokia 1100 cellular phones by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in December 2004.
Documents released by the Commission on Audit (COA) show that the DOTC paid a total of P6,248,900 to a softdrinks distributor to supply these cellular phones “for use of Rep. Judy J. Syjuco”.
The transaction was exposed as “anomalous” after Sta. Barbara, Iloilo municipal mayor Isabelo Maquino complained that his signature was forged in the receipt for property and that he never received these articles.
The document purported to show that the cellular phone units were delivered to Sta. Barbara, Iloilo and received by Mayor Maquino.
Where are the cellular phones? That’s the question now being asked by the local media.
A little known distributor of Jaz Cola products, West Island Beverage Distributors, was the handpicked supplier of Rep. Syjuco.

One of the rebel military officers arrested during a pre-dawn raid by the military on Friday is an Ilonggo, Lt.j.g. Kiram Sadava. Based on radio reports, this young officer comes from Cabatuan, Iloilo. A champion boxer before he joined the military, Sadava twice won a silver medal in the Palarong Pambansa and would have tred the same path as Manny Pacquiao had he chosen to pursue a career in boxing. The blood of a revolutionary Ilonggo runs in his veins. He is the quiet type,  but he is not one who will just watch from the sidelines as major political events transpire. After all, he is an Ilonggo.

About this time last year, 5th District Congressman Rolex T. Suplico was very vocal about his plans to challenge his own uncle, incumbent Iloilo Gov. Niel D. Tupas Sr., in the May 14, 2007 local elections.

With just 10 months to go before the elections, Rolex has suddenly become quiet about this plan, and his body language suggests that was only saber rattling so he could bargain with his uncle to allow his brother to succeed him as congressman.

Almost anybody who knows politics in Iloilo agrees that Rolex doesn’t stand a chance against his uncle. If former 1st District Congressman Oscar Garin lost to Tupas by 160,000 in 2004, it is likely Rolex will suffer a worse fate.

Atty. JunJun Tupas, meanwhile, has announced he is running for congressman. There is no holding him back. With no more leverage against his uncle, will Rolex proceed with his suicidal plan to field his brother, Col. Enrique “Boy” Suplico, Jr., to square off with JunJun?

After a slight delay, the plan to put up a coal-fired power plant in the Province of Iloilo appears to be back on track after a group of investors met with Governor Niel Tupas today, July 7.
Details of the discussion will be made public in a communique next week, but the discussions could be described as “encouraging” and the investors seem serious about the project.
Governor Tupas believes that the economy of Iloilo can never take off unless cheap and stable power supply is made available to business and industry.
The governor assured the investors that majority of Ilonggos will support the project. “A coal-fired power plant will become our province’s engine of growth,” he said.

STA. BARBARA, Iloilo – An array of Italian-made trophies and Rudy Project products are just among the exciting prizes that will be put at stake when the 1st Governor Niel Tupas Sr. Cup reels off at the Iloilo Golf and Country Club on July 22.
Tournament chairman Oscar C. Nava, a Past District Governor of Rotary International 3850, said the gleaming trophies will be put on display at the lobby of the IGCC in Sta. Barbara this weekend to whet the interest of golfers from Iloilo, Bacolod and Cebu.
Nava said this tournament, which is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Iloilo City to raise funds for its community projects, will also gain an international flavor with the expected participation of about 15 Rotarians from South Korea.
“We have confirmation from the Rotary Club of Sae Goyang that about 15 of its members will be flying over to take part in the tournament,” Nava said.
This is a gesture of the Korean Rotary Club’s continued support for its sister club, Rotary Club of Iloilo City, he added.
Tournament co-chairman Johnny Young said the ElectroBus company will also offer a golf cart as prize for a hole-in-one during the tournament.
This is in addition to an LG Collins split-type airconditioner as prize for the hole-in-one, Young said.
The tournament is open to Classes A, B, C and D for the men’s division and a lady’s division.
To cap the tournament, an evening of entertainment and food will also be given as treat to the players in what Nava described as one of the biggest and most exciting tournaments in Iloilo.