Talakag Mourns the Death of Mr Roland Buhler

Last Monday afternoon, 24th May, a robbery that went horribly wrong in Talakag resulted in the brutal death of Mr Roland Buhler. Mr Buhler, 58 years old and a German national, who considered Talakag his home for the last 15 years also owned a motorcycle spare parts shop and a sari-sari store. He is survived by his wife Venus Buhler (formerly Carangian), daughter Shirley Ann and son-in-law Mohammed Canlas.

Everyone here is so shocked and alarmed that a crime of this nature has happened in this small quiet town of Talakag. As of this posting Thursday, police and NBI authorities continue to investigate the incident and the identities of the suspects.

Election – The Results for Talakag

It’s the day after the election and the Board of Canvassers and COMELEC Officials continue to consolidate votes being transmitted from more precincts. Finally, the last transmittal came through at 1:15 this afternoon. Shortly after, the Summary of Total Results for Talakag was generated electronically. The elected officials for Talakag are yet to be proclaimed but here’s the unofficial glimpse of the winners:

Municipal Mayor
Macapayag, Nestor

Municipal Vice Mayor
Sulatan, Renato Sr

Municipal Councilors (in alphabetical order)
Bigcas, Alberto
Factura, Vergito
Gayonan, Susan
Monje, Angelo
Sabang, Yolanda
Sansanan, Rosenio
Taqueban, Carlos
Tianzon, Romeo

Please go to Bukidnon Online for the provincial results.

Election 2010 – A Historical One

Today I witnessed the Philippine’s first ever election votes being automatically tabulated by PCOS machines. I went back to the Talakag Voting Center at 7:00 tonight as the precincts officially closed to see how the new system works. You can also follow the process through the photos below.

Everything went almost smoothly, except that the modems were either very slow or not working during the electronic transmission of the results to SB Legislative Building where the Board of Canvassers and the COMELEC Officials are consolidating all results. This resulted delays of 2 to 5 hours in announcing the official results per precinct.

As of 11:00 tonight, only 50 percent of the whole Talakag precincts have successfully transmitted their results to the Center. However, compared to previous elections, this is still a record! Watch out for the complete official results here tomorrow.

Election Day is here at last!

I arrived the Talakag Poblacion Voting Center at 7:15 this morning and it's raining! I thought I was early but the place was already buzzing with people outside their respective precincts waiting for their turn to vote. The whole voting procedure took me about 45 minutes in total - these included waiting, signing in, collecting, filling, feeding the ballot paper into the PCOS machine, verification, and thumbprint. I was the 40th voter of the day. Just to give you an idea of te Election Day here in Talakag today, please see photos below.
Updates about the Talakag Election will be posted here in Talbuks Cafe so watch this space!

Election Campaigns Wrap Up

Finally, the three months of intense campaigning will officially end at midnight. Hurray! No campaigning is allowed tomorrow (Sunday) in order to allow a cooling-off period before the polls on Monday, May 10. What a relief - the politicians and their campaign jingles are beginning to annoy me.

I’m tapping my fingers on the table (or anything), anxiously waiting for it all to be over. I must admit I’ve got mixed feelings about this election. I can’t wait for the day after tomorrow and find out who wins. Candidates to watch out for in Talakag are:

Jess Paras (the new “kid” on the block) for Congressman against incumbent Congressman Pancrudo.

Ex-mayor Amado Noble, Sr (Mayor Nestor Macapayag’s brother-in-law) for Vice-Mayor under the Nationalista Party against incumbent Vice-Mayor Sulatan who is also Mayor Macapayag’s running mate under the Lakas Kampi CMD Party.

There are also fresh and new candidates running for Sanguniang Bayan posts. It’s a case of who’ll get in and who’ll get dropped from the old incumbents.

All eyes will also be on the new Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) voting and counting machines (being used for the first time) to see if they will work without a glitch. As the race to deliver these machines with the correct memory cards to precincts all over the country, I can confirm that Talakag Poblacion (comprising 5 barangays) already received and tested theirs yesterday (see photo below).

I’ve been informed that there will be three Board of Election Inspectors in each precinct to oversee the voting procedures. Priority numbers will also be issued to help control the flow of voters in Talakag Central School.

So all we have to do now is get to the polling stations on Monday, vote and wait (fingers crossed!)

New Priest Ordained in Talakag

Today, St Joseph Church in Talakag was packed with local parishioners and visitors to witness a very special occasion where the new Reverend Fr. Felix Aparicio, Jr. was ordained by Bishop Honesto Pacana. Fr. Aparicio’s family used to live in Barangay 4 in one of the “Blu-K” units owned by the Nobles. The family later moved to join some relatives in San Isidro.

Talbuk’s Café Is Two Years Old Today!

When I was living abroad, I longed for news and updates about Talakag. So I thought when I retire back in Talakag why not create a definitive source of news and information about “Life in Talakag Today”. Hence the birth of Talbuk’s Café, a virtual hang-out where fellow “taga-Talakag”, friends and visitors can stop by anytime (from wherever they may be) and catch up with what’s going on in Talakag.

That was two years ago. How time flies! Now I’m pleased that Talbuk’s Café has gained a considerable number of followers here and abroad. I have met so many people (online) who made this endeavour worthwhile. I have even reunited some friends (online) who have lost touch for a long time. It’s amazing what the internet technology can do nowadays!

Thank you to all visitors and followers. Please drop by again soon!