The controversial appointment of Maria Rodriguez as Belize’s next auditor general was a hot topic at today’s senate meeting. The debate, which started during Friday’s House of Representatives session, continued with Senator Glenfield Dennison bringing it up in the upper house.
Glenfield Dennison
Glenfield Dennison, Union Senator
“I have absolutely no point of reference for Maria Anelle Rodriguez. I was not furnished with her resume, I was not furnished with her qualifications. I was not furnished with anything other than my little Google searches on who she was. I was also unaware and still remain so unaware as to the qualifications of any other applicants. I note that the motion seeks to appoint Ms. Rodriguez until the age of sixty-five. What I am sure of, Madame President, is that any change to the constitution could not have affected her tenure if we would pass this motion. So if it is as a country we are looking at how these offices are to work with one another and the selection process is to go, then I want to respectfully suggest that we look at a sort of model where we could possibly look at appointing her in a longer tenured period than we had suggested four months at the last time, but something that would not tie the people of Belize to an auditor general who we don’t know, who I don’t know anything about for twenty-three years.”
Business Senator Kevin Herrera, a certified public accountant, joined the debate on Rodriguez’s appointment. He questioned whether Rodriguez had taken and passed the same exams he had to become qualified.
Kevin Herrera, Business Senator
“I studied accounting, I did the CPA and when you are practicing, there are certain criteria that you have to meet. There are certain exams that you have to pass, and I see, in terms of the ad for the auditor general, these things listed but I am not sure if the current Ms. Rodriguez, I believe, Ms. Rodriguez. I don’t know if we held, if we maintained that demand that the person who we’re selecting has those qualifications. Sometimes, perhaps the system is not designed to work because the accountant general is supposed to report to the financial secretary and the financial secretary reports to the Minister of Finance. But who’s holding the accountant general accountable and keeping her on track with respect to the submission of these reports? This is a direct function of the executive and they’ve failed and they’ve been failing since independence on it, and no one has corrected it. There seems to be very little interest in this aspect of it, Madame President, and again we keep on with all the flurries and election is coming and everybody will be beating their chest about how many roads they are building, but nobody is checking about whether we’re getting value for money and how these things are being audited. But everybody feels so proud.”
Prime Minister John Briceño announced during Friday’s House meeting that 2,500 first-time offenders convicted of COVID-19 and cannabis possession offenses will have their criminal records cleared. This change takes effect immediately.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I am pleased to report that over two thousand five hundred first time offenders, persons having a conviction for a COVID-19 offense or possession of cannabis, but have no other criminal offense, will have the fines they were ordered to be pay be remitted and their criminal record expunged for it to be a thing of the past. It is being gazette this morning by achievement of remissions that were signed by her excellency the governor general on the advice of my government. This was done in fulfillment of my government’s commitment to reforming the justice system and the criminal justice system we continue to deliver on Plan Belize.”
On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to regulate the use of Belize’s National Symbols. The legislation targets the commercial importation, sale, and manufacturing of materials featuring these symbols. The opposition supported the bill, and the Minister of Culture, Francis Fonseca, clarified that it doesn’t apply to creatives or public use.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“I am a creative and I know all about intellectual property and I have made a fortune, and my dreams come through because of my intellectual property rights. The national symbols of Belize are the intellectual property of the state on behalf of the people for Belize. So, this is long overdue.”
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture
“Most of the progressive countries have established a regulatory framework, a legal framework around their national symbols so that they are not abused or misused. These are our national symbol, so we have an obligation as a country and certainly as a government to ensure that we are protecting and safeguarding the use of the national symbols. There is no effect on citizens, you flying the flag in your yard, anybody else doing that. No effect at all on that. The creative people, no impact on that at all. It simply applies to importation, manufacturing and selling, if you are selling it. We want to make sure you are in compliance with he standards we have set for these national symbols.”
Today, little Gabriel Orellano was laid to rest after a funeral service at Saint Martin de Porres Church. The six-year-old Stella Maris student drowned a week ago after escaping through the school’s front gate. He ran two miles down Freetown Road, Wilson Street, and Marine Parade to the “Hangar,” where he slipped into the sea. Since then, the community has been vocal about the circumstances leading to the incident and critical of those who saw the child running in traffic but didn’t stop him. We were there and bring you these images.
At the end of Friday’s house meeting, Collet Area Representative and former Minister of Education, Patrick Faber, spoke about Gabriel Orellano’s tragic death. He emphasized that wearing blue for autism awareness means nothing if we don’t take collective responsibility for the child’s death and make the necessary changes as a society.
Patrick Faber
Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet
“This society fails, and I am sorry my friend from Belize Rural Central is not here, because she will agree with me, this society fails outrightly when we talk about how we treat, not only our children with special needs, but also our adults, even those physically challenged. We fail and we give a lot of lip service. Look at the amount of people on social media who proudly wore blue yesterday. Thank God valentine is coming up so they can wear red. Look at the amount though madam speaker and while that is encouraging, if you just wear blue yesterday to support the cause, even if you just gave a little bit of money, that is not enough. That is not enough if you don’t have some serious desire to change something that you are doing in order to make a difference, in order to make the environment in which our children live. I have a six-year-old child and wouldn’t want to see my baby running out there on the street, not an autistic child but that would complicate the matter even more. And as a parent it would kill me to know that my child left the school compound. Many of you watched the news and saw that your parents could have felt his pain. He should have had to go through that. So, Madam Speaker, I make the appeal, this is not about blaming anybody. In fact, if we want to blame, we take on the blame collectively.”
At the end of Friday’s house meeting, Minister of Education Francis Fonseca also highlighted the need for better security at Stella Maris School. He announced an eight hundred-thousand-dollar investment to rehabilitate and refurbish the school compound, emphasizing that the school has always been a priority for his government.
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“We are absolutely committed to ensuring that something like this does not happen again. So, there are immediate things we have to do. We have to address of course practical issues, look at security the gate, the fencing, the wardens, watchmen, all of those things. I want to make the point. I know it is a late hour, but I want to make the point that Stella Maris has a hundred and twenty-eight students. I think there is twenty-three teachers. We have fourteen support staff and then we have watch men and wardens. So it is not, we understand and have understood for a long time that these children need special attention. So we have a big group, big team. So what happened is a tragic accident. And what is unfortunate as well is that for the past two years we have been working on an entire project for Stella Maris, to upgrade and rehabilitate the compound. We have already gotten the funding. I think last figure I saw it is going to be an investment of eight hundred and fifty thousand in rehabilitation and refurbishing Stella Maris school, changing the entire fence. We are going to put up a much more secure fence, make it a lot more accessible for these kids.”
Belizeans across the country gathered to watch the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Superbowl Fifty-Nine. The Chiefs were aiming for a historic three-peat, while the Eagles were hoping for an upset. Although American football isn’t the most popular sport in Belize, Superbowl Sunday brings its own excitement. Diehard fans eagerly watched to see their team win, while casual viewers enjoyed the commercials and the halftime show. News Five’s Paul Lopez was out and about on Superbowl Sunday to capture crowd reactions at various hangout spots. Here’s his report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
As Superbowl Fifty-Nine kicked off between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, the Riverside Tavern was packed with excited spectators. This is the one time of year when Belizeans are fully immersed in American football, whether they’re cheering for the game, enjoying the memorable commercials, or eagerly awaiting the highly anticipated halftime show.
Superbowl Viewer, Eagles Fan
“Eagles have always been my team in the league, especially when it came to fletcher cox. He was one of my most idolized players. A few years ago, when they won the Superbowl with him in defense. So, I have always been stuck on them.”
Paul Lopez
“A touch down from Eagles, what are you thinking right now?”
Amanda Tillett, Chiefs Fan
“We are in it for the long haul, no worries. The Chief can come back. If you saw the last game, the one to qualify, you know what Chief are made of.”
The Eagles first quarter, seven-point lead certainly had Chiefs fans on the edge of their seats, and Eagles fans ecstatic.
Jessie Benson, Eagles Fan
“First off yes, the Eagles are up right now, which is great. Patrick Mahomes needs to come work for Aquity, the best call center in Belize.”
Superbowl Viewer, Chiefs Fan
“It is still early, it is still the first quarter, we still have three more to go. We have a lot of time to go, so there is still plenty of time for us to come back.”
Next, we headed over to Social Lounge, where Eagles fans were thrilled as their team extended its lead. Chiefs’ fans, however, were still clinging to hope, relying on quarterback Pat Mahomes to turn the game around. The atmosphere was electric, with emotions running high on both sides.
Candice Hamilton, Eagles Fan
“I am rooting for the underdogs this time, no Swifty. So far it is going well, for me I think they started a little slow, playing a lot, losing the ball a lot, but these finals minutes they are stepping it up. I am loving it.”
Paul Lopez
“What are you most excited about, the game or the half-time show. Are you a Kendrick Lamar fan?”
Candice Hamilton
“No, I am not, OVO, OVO.”
Malaki Everette, Chiefs Fan
“Patrick Mahomes, all the ways. He is one of the greatest right now.”
This was the moment we all sat back to enjoy the highly anticipated Kendrick Lamar halftime show. The excitement in the air was palpable as everyone eagerly awaited his performance. While Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show was exhilarating, the excitement wasn’t over yet—a Superbowl champion still had to be crowned. The anticipation was building as fans eagerly awaited the outcome. Going into the third, the Chiefs were down twenty-four points to zero and they desperately needed a Mahomes miracle. We then made our way to Di Bruwry to catch up with the crowd, including celebrity fan Jubril from Passport Heavy.
Jubril Agoro, Eagles Fan
“It isn’t looking good at all for the Chiefs. This shirt, you may need to take it off.
Paul Lopez
“It is surprising to you any at all, that here in Belize there is a fan base and people interested in the Superbowl?”
Jubril Agoro
“Yeah, this venue and the fanbase, I am definitely surprised. I was like, alright let me go see. I was like oh shit we got real fans. I didn’t know it was going to be like this. Looking at the score, if I had to put money on it, it is the birds baby, it’s the bird.”
Early in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Eagles were on their way to a sure victory. One spectator was so confident that he even offered me a T-shirt to soften the blow of the Chiefs’ impending defeat. The Eagles went on to become the Super Bowl Fifty-Nine Champions.
Eagles Fan
“Woooee. That is baby, Eagles all the way. Blessed, happy happy, deh with the family, blessed, can’t complain. We love the results, hundred percent. Especially with Hurts at the helm, couldn’t doubt him, from that first touchdown, fantastic.”
Chiefs Fan
“We the ride or die breda man, we the ride or die. No, we the dead.”
A Belizean dancer took the stage at the Superbowl yesterday! On Sunday night, tens of millions of people worldwide tuned in to watch one of the most highly anticipated sporting events in the United States. This year’s halftime show, featuring musical guest Kendrick Lamar, was a major highlight. Among his dancers was eighteen-year-old Adia Viltz, a Belizean American university student. News Five’s Britney Gordon spoke with her today about this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Adia Viltz
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Eighteen-year-old Adia Viltz couldn’t have imagined she’d be dancing on one of the world’s biggest stages. But everything changed when her school sent out an email, urging students to try out for a spot as one of Kendrick Lamar’s backup dancers at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Adia Viltz
Adia Viltz, Belizean Superbowl Dancer
“So we were there for about two weeks doing practice at an off-site location from the stadium. And it was really confidential. We found out about different stuff in bits and pieces, really. But I’d say the week before is when we found out all the information. And everyone was so nice. And we all just were very excited because we all were Kendrick fans. And we were really looking forward to this big opportunity.”
Adia, a filmmaking student at Loyola University in New Orleans, grew up in Belize, attending Belize Elementary School and Belize Christian Academy. She stepped onto the circle stage as one of the dancers, dressed head-to-toe in sleek black.
Adia Viltz
“Yeah, at first I thought I was going to be really nervous because the minute we went into the stadium, it was a bunch of people. Which I’ve never been in an environment like that before, but I honestly was, I was really hyped and super excited and just being there and having all the fans yell and scream and feel, bring up the energy and feel as excited as we were in that moment. It was really awesome and so surreal.”
Even though she didn’t get to meet them face-to-face, Adia says one of the best parts of the night was the brief moments she shared with Kendrick Lamar and SZA. They made sure to show their appreciation for all the dancers’ hard work.
Adia Viltz
“The most fun part was learning all the hidden meanings and secrets in the Super Bowl the day before. That was really cool. And just like hearing Kendrick Lamar encourage us and say thank you for being a part of the show. And just, he acknowledged how hard we were working. That was the highlight of my entire year. I was so excited. I did have a small moment with SZA though, because we had just finished. And I was standing waiting for the next move and she literally came right next to me and everyone that was around me, we all were waving hi and screaming and she saw us and she waved hi and she did like this.”
Adia shares that her mom, who has always been her biggest supporter, pushed her to go for it and apply, even though Adia had doubts.
Adia Viltz
“ I really hope everyone was inspired by this because before I didn’t think that I would get a really big opportunity like this. It felt so surreal in my mind and insane to imagine. But despite that, I still did my best and I tried my best and I still applied. And because of that, I feel I was able to do that really big event. So I would just say for everyone watching that they should go after their dreams, no matter what. And even if someone’s impossible or, Oh, you should do something else. Don’t listen to them, listen to your heart and do what you want to do.”
Good evening and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I’m Paul Lopez. For many young basketball players, making it to the NBA is the ultimate dream, and it all starts with early training. Dianell Brackett, a resident of Crooked Tree and a dedicated basketball coach, left his full-time teaching job to help kids learn the basics of basketball through the Conquering Lions Academy. His passion and commitment are inspiring the next generation of athletes.
Dianell Brackett
Dianell Brackett, Head Coach, Conquering Lions Academy
“I was a teacher at the Crooked Tree Government School, and I was always working with kids and I always had this passion to work with kids. But while I was a teacher, even though I was working with kids I still never felt like I was living out my purpose.”
Ravon Crawford
Ravon Crawford, Basketball Player
“Sometimes when I angry I just want to play basketball and for something to take it off my mind.”
Paul Lopez
“And it helps?”
Ravon Crawford
“Sometimes.”
At the Conquering Lions Academy, it is not just about learning defensive and offensive skills. There are important life skills to be learned, and Coach Brackett knows this well. He often starts his workout sessions by inspiring his players with a Bible verse and a word of prayer, setting a positive tone for the day.
Dianell Brackett
“This is a bible verse we have done in camp Ravon. God has not given us a”
Ravon Crawford
“Spirt of fear, but he has given us a spirit of sound mind, love, and bravery?”
Dianell Brackett
“God has not given us a spirt of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind. That is the mindset we suppose to go on this court with, that we nuh supposed to be fearful because we serve God and we know God nuh give we a spirt of fear. It is really challenging, because each child comes from a different background and some of them are challenged with certain, we do have some kids with ADHD, so they are very hyperactive. So, I try find ways in how to keep them engaged and focus.”
The Conquering Lions Academy and Coach Brackett are starting to see the rewards of their hard work. They’ve become one of the top basketball teams in the six-to-fourth age group, remaining undefeated in several tournaments. Interestingly, the team has only one female player, Kenya Gillett. With no female team or tournament available, Kenya competes with the boys, and she’s not intimidated at all. She doesn’t see herself at a disadvantage and holds her own on the court.
Kenya Gillett
Kenya Gillett, Basketball Player
“It feels good, because sometimes I beat them.”
Paul Lopez
“I understand from your coach that you are one of the most disciplined players on your team. Why is it important for you to be disciplined?”
Kenya Gillett
“Because when the coach says something you have to listen.”
Paul Lopez
“And where does that get you, what does that do for you?”
Kenya Gillett
“When you listen you get to play better and do better stuff.”
Teamwork is one of the most important lessons taught at the Conquering Lions Academy. They’ve built a culture that values the contributions of every team member, from the oldest players to the youngest, who are just six years old. Everyone’s efforts are recognized and appreciated, creating a supportive and inclusive environment.
Glenroy Reynold
Glenroy Reynold, Basketball Athlete
“How you could play at other places and when you grow up you could be a star of basketball and sign autographs.”
Raymond Gillett
Raymond Gillett, Basketball Athlete
“I like that you could have fun and enjoy your time and one day you can be a star and win a championship.”
Paul Lopez
“Do you have basketball player you could look up to?”
Glenroy Reynold
“Luka Doncic.”
Paul Lopez
“So, you like that he is a Laker now?”
Glenroy Reynold
“Not really.”
Today was an extremely hot day for basketball. Without cover over the basketball court, training must take place without any relief from the heat, except during breaks which must be taken frequently. Before the Conquering Lions Academy came along, structured basketball training in Crooked Tree Village was almost unheard of. The academy has filled that gap, but it’s not without its expenses. The dedication to providing quality training comes with significant costs, but the impact on the community has been invaluable.
“I will be honest, it is a bit challenging. I stopped my eight to three as a teacher. I stopped my job and came to do this. I haven’t gotten the support as I would want. But I must say there is a lot of people who support any way they can. With the water today, I had to take that money out of my pocket. With the basketballs, we need more basketball gears. There is a reason why a lot of countries are ahead of us. They have more equipment and everything needed in order for their parents to strive with the sports. What I do to try to receive an income, I charge monthly, seventy dollars a month for each kid. But not every kid could afford that, and I don’t turn them back.”
The Conquering Lions are scheduled to play in the Pee Wee Invitational Valentine Edition this coming weekend.
Switching gears from basketball to football, the Alvian Strikers faced off against the Goal Getters on Saturday in the Under-Fifteen Female Football Tournament at Berger Field. The standout player was Treniece Amaya of the Alvian Strikers, who scored four of her team’s five goals, with the fifth goal coming from Demika Jones. The Goal Getters managed to score one goal, thanks to Shuilan Hazel. On the regional front, Belizean athletes had a stellar weekend. Several track and field athletes traveled to Mexico for a World Athletics sanctioned event and are returning home with an impressive ten medals, seven of which are gold. It’s a fantastic start to 2025 for Belize athletics.
Meanwhile, Belize’s Male Under-Seventeen National Team is also in Mexico, competing in the CONCACAF Qualifier games. They had a strong showing on Friday, defeating Dominica with a score of seven to zero, but fell to Nicaragua on Sunday, one to zero. They’re gearing up to play against Mexico on Tuesday. Well folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.
