People & Places - Channel 5 Belize

Sitting Mayor and P.U.P. Slate Sweep Corozal

In Corozal, the People’s United Party retained its hold with incumbent mayor Rigoberto Vellos securing a win for his entire slate. This win marks the launch of the third term in office for Vellos. Out of the seven thousand eight hundred and twenty-six registered electors, four thousand seven hundred and twenty cast their votes, representing a sixty-point three-one percent voter turnout. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the full report.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

The polling stations opened at seven a.m. to an average voter turnout in comparison to the other municipalities, with an unremarkable four hundred sixty-three voters between seven and eight a.m. former UDP mayor Hilberto Campos commented on the voter turnout.

Hilberto Campos, Former Mayor, Corozal

“Earlier I was talking to someone and we were discussing as to the abnormalities of this election is that the low of turnout, who does it favor? And traditionally it is said that it favors the incumbent, not this time. This time it’s totally different. I am of the opinion based on the campaigning that the slate did, that the Standard Bureau did, that the PUP supporters are reluctant to come out this time.”

The low voter turnout trend persisted throughout the day, dipping as low as three hundred and seven voters around one p.m. Activity finally began to increase around three p.m. when the numbers surpassed four hundred and remained above it until the closing of the stations, even peaking at six hundred and twenty-four between four and five p.m.

Corozal Voter

“There’s a lot of things that need to be done. And I was just talking to some of my friends and I was looking at the news and Corozal is forgotten. Nobody’s talking about Corozal about how the election is going now. And again, you’ll see. So I think that we should get back on the map and be a vibrant Carrizal town that we used to be. So we need a change.”

As the activity picked up, the PUP candidates gained confidence, stating that through their work, historically red polling stations would be able to flip in their favour.

David Castillo, P.U.P. Standard Bearer, Corozal

“To be honest to you, this election is different than previous elections. This polling area traditionally has been more red than blue. The machinery today, we have a stronger machinery than the UDP. We have more wonders than the UDP’s and our Machinery is very, very, very active, we’re taking all the people. So we’re, we’re expecting to win this polling area.”

Up against Rigoberto Vellos was U.D.P. candidate, Ricardo Acke, and independent candidate Hernan Riverol who stated that only time will tell what the people of Corozal will decide.

Hernan Riverol, Independent Candidate, Corozal

“Well, actually, I already did my groundwork. So just to just be, just greeting people today and let them know I’m present here and they can, the people say they’ll give me their support today, right? So, that just depends on the people, you know, that’s their decision.”

Finally, the polling stations were closed and the ballots were gathered to be counted. After several hours, an unofficial count indicated an upcoming win for the PUP.

Duane Moody, Reporter

“We’ve been able to get unofficially that it is at one thousand two hundred eighty-three solid for the PUP and four hundred sixty-six solid for the U.D.P. And there are several other boxes that are still being counted. So, but at this time it is about three to three to one in favor of the P.U.P. That’s the unofficial figures that are coming out from the persons who are inside.”

After hours of waiting, the results were in. Candidates and supporters gathered to hear the announcement from returning officer Carlos Pol.

Carlos Pol, Returning Officer

“The results of the persons elected to be member of the Corozal Town Council are Rigo Vellos mayor, with two thousand seven hundred, ninety-one votes, Miguel MontaLvo, councilor, with two thousand eight hundred eighty-four votes, mister Rodolfo Nirvales, councilor with two thousand eight hundred seventy-seven votes, mister Baldemar Pech, councilo, with two thousand eight hundred eighty-two votes Mister Ononielle Riverol, councilor, with two thousand nine hundred forty-four votes, miss Leslie Rodriguez, counselor with two thousand eight hundred sixty-six votes, and miss Merleni Tapia, counselor with two thousand nine hundred twenty- two votes.”

Vellos had been confident in his slate’s ability to pull off the landslide win and reflected on the momentous achievement with satisfaction.

Rigoberto Vellos, Mayoral Elect, Corozal

“It is good news. We are very happy. We are very satisfied with the results. You know, we work very hard. You know, and I know that because of that, we are here once more representing the Corozalainians. We made history today. it’s been many moons that Corozal, P.U.P. Corozal Town Council, end up winning Box forty-one. And we did it this time. That’s, that’s history.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

How will a P.U.P. Central Government the Treat Twin Towns?

Earlier in our newscast, we showed you the U.D.P.’s singular elections victory in San Ignacio/Santa Elena with a team of councilors led by returning mayor Earl Trapp. With a majority of the municipalities now controlled by the People’s United Party, will the Briceño administration be vindictive in how it treats with the San Ignacio Town Council under U.D.P. leadership?

Barrow Plans to Step Down If UDP Fails in 2025 General Elections

Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow says he will step aside from his leadership role should the U.D.P. fail in the 2025 general elections. Barrow also says that other party members will have to face the fact that some of them stand a better chance of succeeding at the polls while others will have to sit out the general elections.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“And I have already indicated that my vision is that we cut the fat and we narrow down to the eighteen that we believe can win and have honest conversations with our colleagues, not contentious, not anything disrespectful, not anything dismissive, but truthful in saying that you know what these colleagues have a better chance of winning, and your chances of winning are not as good and please understand that we have to focus on these colleagues because in the general elections it is win or die. Unless we make significant gains, I will allow someone else to come in. I believe my father did that in 2005. I believe he only gained a few seats in the House of Representatives and he said he would make way. The party asked him to stay on. I definitely will give my all for the general elections and I will do everything to make every adjustment, do every retooling, every adjustment so that we can have success, because we need to take it extremely seriously. We see all of the distractions, the interferences, all the monies will go.”

OJ Elrington Says He Resigned because He Got Busy

Ever since the U.D.P.’s legal advisor Orson “OJ” Elrington resigned from that position in January, speculation has been rife as to the reason for his sudden departure. Elrington has not publicly given his reason for the decision, so when Marion Ali caught up with him on Election Day in San Pedro, she asked him what triggered his resignation. He said, basically, he got busy with other matters.

Orson “OJ” Elrington, Former U.D.P. Legal Counsel

“Everything has its time and it’s season and everything has change, and so that’s fine with me. I still act as – I still offer advice to the party, to individuals, to anybody. really and truly, but specifically to party members. So it’s just my official capacity – there are other things which require a lot more time, so…”

Marion Ali

“Did you have a fall-out with the hierarchy of the party?”

Orson “OJ” Elrington

“No, absolutely not, absolutely not. I think, as far as I know, I’m in very good standing with everybody in the party, as far as I know.”

Marion Ali

“Is it a position that you would like to be reinstated in?”

Orson “OJ” Elrington

“No, I am the person who – I can’t ask to – if I wanted to, I’m pretty sure I could, but I don’t want to act as that.”

Police Killed Notorious Cruz Castillo Killed on Cotton Tree Ranch

Last night, we reported on the gruesome killing of forty-year-old Shane Baizar a businessman of Bermudian Landing. We also told you that only two hours after Baizar’s body was discovered, police shot and killed the man they believe committed the heinous crime. The suspect was Cruz Castillo, a resident of Cotton Tree Village. Police went on a manhunt for Castillo and found him on a ranch in the village. According to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, Castillo pulled out a firearm when he saw police officers. As a result, those officers opened fire and fatally injured Castillo. But, what was not mentioned was the fact that Castillo was not alone on that ranch. His nephew was with him. Today, a News Five team travelled to Cotton Tree to locate the area where those officers encountered Castillo. The ranch he was killed on is owned by a villager who had no idea he was even there. We spoke off camera with Castillo’s nephew who told us that he and Castillo were sitting down when police opened fire on them. He described it as an ambush and argued that he did not see Castillo pull out any weapon.

Voice of: Nephew of Cruz Castillo

“I was in the back area in Cotton Tree Village, right close behind my house. We were in the pasture and in that area is when the police arrived and mih the do deh investigation.”

Paul Lopez

“They fired upon you when they saw you? Did you all see them before they began to fire?”

Voice of: Nephew

“No sir, when they fired, it was a surprise. I got surprise and I tried to fled and they told me not to move. Deh she nuh move or else yo ah dead. That’s when I just keep my head on the ground and never looked up.”

Paul Lopez

“The allegation is that Mr. Castillo had a firearm and he fired at the police officers.”

Voice of: Nephew of Cruz Castillo

“No sir, I didn’t know if Mr. Castillo had a firearm but it was just a surprise when the police arrived.”

Paul Lopez

“Did you see if he fired a firearm?”

Voice of: Nephew of Cruz Castillo

“No sir, after I fired all the shots that was it. I was on the ground and the police was all over.”

Paul Lopez

“And were you aware that he was being sought for anything?”

Voice of: Nephew of Cruz Castillo

“To be honest, not really. I heard a saying that he was wanted. And when I end up seeing him, dah never too long. The way it sound like he wanted some kind help but I couldn’t.”

Paul Lopez

“He call you and told you to link him.”

Voice of: Nephew of Cruz Castillo

“That’s when he saw me over there and called me and ask me why I nuh stay yah or something like that. The feeling I got was like, I wanted to tell him I won’t stay, I don’t know weh you deh pan. But it just slip my mind and I gone in the pasture and stayed there.”

Did Police Receive Directive to Shoot Cruz Castillo on Sight?

We also heard from Cruz Castillo’s brother, who spoke with us off camera. He told us that Castillo paid him a visit at home in the early part of Monday morning. He says that at the time they were unaware that he was wanted by police for questioning in connection with Shane Baizar’s murder. So, did police receive a directive to terminate Castillo on sight?

Voice of: Brother of Cruz Castillo

“I get fih understand when I watch the post deh she my family member shoot after the police dah back deh weh part deh end up the shoot ah. Alright, deh dah police weh got training and thing. Unu come shoot somebody fih get deh. Unu could shoot deh eena deh foot and mek justice tek ih course fih she mek the man guh dah jail or mek ih live ih life. I can’t say my breda dah somebody weh deh wah angel. Buh when yo really watch pan it, come on mein deh shot weh deh shot up the man, ih even look like ih brains mih the down deh. Dah come you come fih done this man life.”

Paul Lopez

“Do you believe that it was a case where an order was given to shoot on sight because of the reputation that your relative had?”

Voice of: Brother of Cruz Castillo

“Yo done know, I wah be honest with yo, Chester dah nuh nobody nice to play with when it comes to this and that. Everybody hear a lot of thing, when you hear this case and that. But to be real honest with yo, dah execute deh execute the man right deh. That dah execution right deh.”

Reporter

“Is it sort of an implicit directive to shoot on sight, highly dangerous person, and don’t shoot to injure, shoot to kill.”

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Again like you rightly said, the individual has a violent history and one that don’t have any regard to law and order. The police officers knowing him are not going to wait for him to shoot at them. The fact that he took out a weapon and was about to shoot was sufficient for the officers who acted in self-defense. So we will still put the file together and send it to the DPP and she will make the determination as to whether the police officer’s action is justified.”

Still No Agreement between CWU and Port of Belize Ltd.

Contrary to a report that has been circulating that stevedores at the Port of Belize Limited are on a strike, this evening, the President of the Christian Workers Union informed our newsroom that there is no immediate plan to strike. Flowers shared that there was police presence at the P.B.L. compound and that they had removed a gang that was there. The police presence follows a press conference that the Christian Workers Union today at which it reported that a series of negotiations have brought about no change. Those negotiations were between the C.W.U. and the interim board of Port of Belize Limited towards a settlement over compensation for over thirty stevedores who say they were wrongly terminated. Initially, the C.W.U. was entertaining a compensation package of one point five million dollars for the employees, but the union had second thoughts and eventually rejected the offer. Today, the C.W.U. called a press conference to vent its discontent after the meetings that broke down. At the heart of the discussions is the Ministry of Labour, whose intervention has been to assist the two sides to reach some middle ground in their dispute. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.

Marion Ali, Reporting

A proposal put forward by the interim board of the Port of Belize on February fifteenth was roundly rejected by the Christian Workers Union. This was on the grounds that the proposals to bring both sides to an agreement over compensation for thirty-five stevedores were terminated union did not meet the standards that the union had hoped for. Today, the President of the CWU, Leonora Flowers said they tried to compromise with some of the proposals, but in the end, it did not pay off.

Leonora Flowers, President, Christian Workers Union

“They made an offer to us that day, and that offer was for a change in gang size, and several other things coming directly from the proposal. Although it touched on gang size, we said we will take it to our members. We will take it to the attorney. We went to the attorney and we asked her guidance and we instructed her to go ahead and make this, and this for us in a settlement deed or a settlement agreement. When we went to the stevedores, although there was a little bit of a reluctance to give up a member from the gang, in the end, the stevedores membership said, okay, we’ll go with that. It was a reluctant decision, but we wanted to move the negotiations forward to get the sugar money discussion out of the way. Unfortunately, after three days, we went back to the team for the government, and after three days, we could not come to an understanding or any mutual grounds, none of that was able to strike.”

Flowers said that the CWU informed PBL on Saturday of its position and also that it will not continue with dialogue because the union thought that PBL attempted to strip away terms and conditions that are in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Leonora Flowers

“We will not discuss the CBA and its terms. The CBA for us is a sacred document. We signed it and we will abide by that until we go to the CBA negotiations. Needless to say they don’t agree with us. They say we were already agreed, which we were not. I say we’re not agreed until we’re agreed, until we sign a document. We never agreed, we were disagreed to see if it was palatable. We were being asked to reduce the gang from 14 to 13 members. When we sat in the same room, the stevedores said, but we have gangs, we have 17 members, so what happens then? The Port of Belize tried to do that. So if we can’t sit at the table and dialogue with you and negotiate with you in good faith, if we feel that we’re being taken advantage of, it is time to call a halt and that is what we have done.”

Chief Union Representative for the stevedores, Marlon Middleton says the stevedores feel as if though their worth has been trivialized.

Marlon Middleton, Chief Union Representative, Stevedores

“Our members originally had asked us to negotiate a payment of $4.9 million. The other guy, I won’t call any name, the other guy got his fair share and more – $196 million, $45 million of which was payable up front. Now you are telling us that you cannot give us $4.9 million. You broke us down to $1.6. We were willing to accept it. And then now you are telling us that we have to abide and go with what PBL is saying. You are the boss now of PBL, so then be, the boss.”

Meanwhile, Flowers said the position that the board took on behalf of the government was offensive, but the CWU is willing to resume negotiations at anytime.

Leonora Flowers

“The Government of Belize is the largest stakeholder in the Port of Belize, so this offer came from the Government of Belize. They can say otherwise. It came from the Government of Belize to say they will override whatever exists in our CBA. I have never seen overriding a document that offended me so much, and it offended our team. And that was one of the issues that brought us to full stop. We are prepared to commence the negotiation of the new CBA tomorrow. If you are ready, we are ready tomorrow. Let’s not piece meal this. Let’s not cause destruction on our CBA. We can discuss the CBA immediately.”

News Five attempted to get a comment from the Ministry of Labour on this matter, but our efforts were futile. Marion Ali for News Five.

Meanwhile, the C.W.U. and the Citrus Products of Belize Limited (CPBL) have signed a Collective Bargaining Agreement that covers workers employed by CPBL factory and machine shop. The C.B.A. is valid for a period of four years, from 2021 to 2025, provided that no other union obtains representational rights during this time. The main goal of this agreement is to maintain and enhance the positive working relationship between CPBL and C.W.U. It places significant emphasis on safeguarding the welfare and interests of CPBL’s staff.

N.T.U.C.B. Supports Stevedores; P.B.L. Issues Statement

This evening, the Port of Belize Limited issued a three-page press release in which it accuses the C.W.U. of making omissions and misleading statements during its press conference earlier today. P.B.L. says that it is of the view that the C.W.U.’s statements were made to sway public opinion in its favour and impact the course of the negotiations. P.B.L. highlights that there has been no compensation award to stevedores by the Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal (ESAT). P.B.L. points out that the tribunal directed both parties to engage in negotiations on the terms of payment. P.B.L. says that in good faith, it made a proposal for a redundancy package in order to amicably resolve the legacy matter. The P.B.L. says that the port is in urgent need of restructuring in order to be a viable entity. The company states that it considers the redundancy package proposal, which the C.W.U. did not accept, was more than fair and reasonable. P.B.L. says that it asked for several changes in the current work practices that it feels are needed for more efficient operations at the facility. It also notes that no additions can be made to the official list of stevedores unless both parties agree and that the number of gangs cannot be increased unless supported by increased cargo and agreed upon by both parties. Meanwhile, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (N.T.U.C.B.) has lent support for the C.W.U. in its current stance against the Government. In a press release of its own, the N.T.U.C.B. says that the C.B.A. negotiation process must remain separate and should be respected as afforded under the Labour laws. The umbrella union says it stands in solidarity with the C.W.U. and the stevedores.

Teachers Demand Statement Retraction from PM and Minister Coye

The Belize National Teachers Union says it is being constantly attacked by the Government of Belize. The union is now calling on Prime Minister John Briceño and Christopher Coye, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance; to retract recent public statements they made pointing fingers at teachers for poor performance in the education sector. The union says it condemns the statements because they irresponsibly generalize the flaws in the education system as being a direct result of the quality of teachers. One of the most recent comments came from Minister Coye during a World Bank report launch event in San Ignacio. The report noted that investments being made in the sector far outweigh the returns. Today, the union held a press conference in Belmopan where Jorge Mejia, the acting president of the B.N.T.U., outlined the issues raised in the report and why they believe fingers should be pointed at the Ministry of Education.

Jorge Mejia, Acting President, B.N.T.U.

“The issues outlined by the report related to the education sector highlighted several areas, one the lack of reliable measures of learning at the secondary level. High repetition rate in primary and secondary, inefficient use of grade repetition as a support policy, potential issues with salary structures for teachers, affecting the evaluation of the education sector, challenges implementing strategies to reduce learning gap between subgroups, high expenditure on secondary education, inadequate measures in student progress and ways to support students that has special needs. The report also looks at poor student performance in Belize, declining in PSE scores, factors including student performance, tougher assessments, and shift in test taking pools towards learning outcomes of students. We also want to share with the public that in no way the report directly linked poor teaching as a major factor contributing to low performance in the education system. Despite the finger pointing that the minister has stated in public, this is not the real scenario. The key stakeholders that should be responsible to ensure that all policies are in place should be the ministry of education and in extension the chief education officer.”

B.N.T.U. Says MOE Budget Not Trickling Down to Classrooms

And, it has become common to hear teachers complain about a lack of resources at these press conferences. But, in light of the World Bank report, Keisha Williams the union’s National Treasurer took a different approach. She questioned how much of the government’s investments in education, as highlighted in the report, are trickling down to the classroom. She also chided the Ministry of Education for endlessly piloting projects with no real analysis, only to further burden teachers.

Keisha Williams, National Treasurer, B.N.T.U.

“Let us take a look at resources for example, if you are to ask any teacher across the length and breadth of this country, how are they doing as far as resources are concerned. Who is providing the resources to them? They will tell you that they have to dive in pocket for a lot of the resources. In fact, most of the resources that are used in the classrooms teachers have to provide out of their pocket for. There is no denying that the budget allocation in this country has a huge lump sum that goes to education. Where the money goes is the question that the general public needs to ask. Is it trickling down in the classrooms? As far as the oversight of the system, the Ministry of Education is responsible to make sure that the system is properly running, has policies to address the day to day running of the institutions the provide management for, they are responsible top provide insight and strategies to bridge the learning gap that they recognize. Instead of that we have a lot of pilot projects coming to us as teachers, they are piloted but there is no analyzing of these projects at the end. The teachers is burdened with more work because these pilot projects come with extra finances that does not trickle down to the teachers. The general maintenance of the system, it is the general responsibility of the Ministry of Education and not the teacher.”