january5

Mayor sees bigger income

with new city revenue code
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
The amendment of the Revenue Code of Bacolod City is a significant factor that will help
increase the budget of the city, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday said.
The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod approved last month an ordinance
revising the Local Revenue Code of Bacolod City.
Leonardia said this is long overdue as this is the first time in 15 years that
Bacolod City has revised its local revenue code.
He said that if they had followed the normal process, they could have increased
the income of the city by three times.
“If you talk of 15 years, at the rate things have grown and the prices have risen,
the increase of 10 percent, divided by 15 years, is not even one percent per
year,” he added.
Leonardia said he believes that the revision of the Local Revenue Code was the
proper thing to do. Besides the city is growing and it needs more revenues to
better serve its people, he said.
Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairman of the Committee on Finance and
Appropriations, said the revision of the Local Revenue Code will mean an
increase of about P40 million a year for the city.
Meanwhile, Leonardia thanked Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and the SP
for approving the new budget.
The SP approved the 2009 annual budget of Bacolod City during their first
regular session at the Bacolod City Government Center last Dec. 22, 2008.
The budget was passed subject to certain conditions and shows an increase of
10 percent over last year’s.
Leonardia said this is very encouraging because there were local government
units before that, upon reaching P1 billion, were not able to sustain their budget
the following year.
He said “Our budget shows that our city is healthy, vibrant and progressive.”
Leonardia said he had read in the newspapers that the budget of Bacolod City is
exactly the same as the budget of the province of Iloilo, which shows that the
status of Bacolod is similar to that of a province.
Iloilo is also one of the premier provinces in the Philippines, Leonardia said. “So
that proves that Bacolod, indeed, is developing and progressing at a very fast
rate,” he said.
Leonardia also said that, before, the budget of the city lagged behind those of
other LGU’s. “But now Bacolod is among the leaders, not only in the region but, I
believe, in the whole Philippines,” he added.*CGS

CARP no longer legal: Kako

BY CARLA GOMEZ

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law expired on Dec. 31 so there can be no

legal movement of the CARP, Rep. Jose Carlos Lacson (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)
said yesterday.
That is because the president has not signed the joint resolution passed by the
Senate and House extending the program for six months, minus the compulsory
acquisition of land, he said.
Implementation of CARP from here on will only have a legal effect if the
president signs the joint resolution, or when it lapses into force of law on Jan. 22,
he said.
Malacañang has said that the President would let the joint resolution lapse into
law, which takes place 30 days after the Office of the President receives the
measure.
"Even if the President allows the joint resolution to lapse into law by January 22,
or 30 days after the enrolled copy of the joint resolution was officially received by
the Office of the President on Dec. 23, 2008, there is no more LAD (land
acquisition and distribution) to extend because it has already expired earlier.
Once the deadline sought to be extended has expired, no belated extension
could be effected," Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said in a statement.
Lagman urged the House of Representatives to convert his pending CARP
extension bill into one reviving the program's land acquisition and distribution
component, including compulsory acquisition. His bill had sought to extend
CARP for five years and provide it with a P100-billion budget.
Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano in a statement
he issued yesterday said that House Bill 4077 cannot be converted into a land
acquisition and distribution revival measure and resurrect the dead CARP.
“House Bill 4077 cannot resurrect the bogus CARP from the dead. It is long
overdue to send this bill to the legislative archives,” Mariano said.”
“The sham CARP already expired. They should file a new agrarian reform bill, let
it go through the legislative process, and not simply convert HB 4077 into a
substitute bill,” Mariano said.
Mariano appealed to Lagman and the House leadership to discuss House Bill
3059, a new and Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill pending before the House and
“make it a priority legislative measure to enact a new, genuine, thoroughgoing
and redistributive land reform program.”
The GARB aims to cover all agricultural lands, without exemption and exclusion,
and the free distribution of lands to farmers as its central goal. Within five years
from the effectivity of the measure, the Department of Agrarian Reform is
mandated to complete distributing land to beneficiaries, he said.*CPG
Truce ends, more troops sought
BY GILBERT BAYORAN
Brig. Gen. Josue Gaverza, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, yesterday pushed
for infusion of troops and Special Operations Team operators in some areas of
northern Negros, as the holiday truce being observed by government forces and
the New People’s Army ended Jan. 1.
Gaverza said he expects to confer soon with his field commanders, review their
anti-insurgency campaign plan for 2009, and make necessary adjustments, to
meet the deadline set for them by the Philippine Army headquarters.
Gaverza said there may be some re-alignment of forces in Negros, following the
redeployment of 15th Infantry Battalion to Mindanao. He, however, said this is not
a reaction to claims of priest-turned-rebel Frank Fernandez that the military is
now panicking because of the tactical offensives the New People’s Army
launched last year.
“Our troops in northern Negros, which is the bread basket of Negros Occidental,
should be there not just to contain the problem, but to go on other missions,” he
added.
Gaverza said the so-called tactical offensives launched by the NPA, including the
assassination of barangay officials and civilians, bombing of telecommunication
facilities, burning of sugarcane fields and destruction of farm equipment, among
others, were more of a “perception” to show they are still alive and to be
reckoned with.
The regional party of the Communist Party of the Philippines claimed they have
already organized several guerilla platoons in Negros island, now backed up by a
battalion of local militias, and have successfully managed to expand their bases
and zones of operations.
Fernandez further claimed the NPA was able to launch 13 attacks since October
last year, including the raid of La Libertad Police Station in Negros Oriental and
the ambush of 6th Regional Mobile Group troopers in Victorias City.
Military records also show that NPA rebels also harassed a detachment in
Calinog, Iloilo, on Dec. 26, which was the 40th founding anniversary of the CPP.
Gaverza said he likened the claims of tactical offensives of the NPA last year, to
“terroristic activities”, with ordinary civilians suffering their brunt.
“The fight is still in the mountains”, he added.
The yuletide season ceasefire, in two batches, which observed by the
government from Dec. 24 and 25, as well as the New People’s Army from Dec.
24 to 26, Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, ended without any insurgency-related incident, in
Negros alone, police records show.
Gaverza also stressed the importance of deploying the Army’s SOT operators in
northern Negros, whose mission is to destroy the political structures of the CPP-
NPA and liberate the people from their control.*GPB

JANUARY6

City readies plans

vs. int’l recession
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The Bacolod City government is reconvening its local economic council to map
out contingency plans to cushion the impact of the international economic
recession.
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday said “We will try to list down the
possible effects of the global economic recession on us.” He said this has
affected even first world countries like Japan, Germany and the U.S. “We need to
be prepared because the Philippines will not be spared,” he added.
Leonardia said he met with City Administrator Roger Balo to discuss possible
solutions to combat the effect of the global economic crisis
He said that if ever the global economic recession hits the Philippines, he is
optimistic that Bacolod will not be as greatly affected because the economy of
the city has improved in the last three years.
The Department of Interior and Local Government recently recognized the
economic development of the city which shows that Bacolod is better off,
compared to other cities, Leonardia said.
If the global economic problem brought negative effects to many quarters, it
might also do good for other sectors like the business outsourcing industries and
call centers, he said.
With the global economic recession, many call center companies in the US might
decide to transfer their operations to the Philippines where the cost of living is
cheaper, he added.
Meanwhile, Leonardia said the city is also prepared for the return of Overseas
Filipino Workers from Bacolod who may be laid off. Although the city cannot
promise to provide them jobs right away, he said they will try to help them as they
resettle.
They will also encourage the OFW’s to share their experiences to enhance the
skills and the quality of the labor force in Bacolod, he said.
Leonardia said they will also intensify the implementation of infrastructure
projects as this will generate many employment opportunities.*CGS
Capitol prioritizing targets
BY NANETTE GUADALQUIVER

Negros Occidental Gov. Isidro Zayco yesterday said he has asked the Capitol
department heads to submit their programs for 2009 so he can identify the
projects to be prioritized this year.
“We need to know where the P194 million fund for development programs will
go,” he said after meeting with the department heads yesterday.
Zayco said that after they submit their lists of programs, he will review them, and
determine which will be prioritized.
He will then call for an Executive Committee meeting for the approval of these
priority projects, he said.
Zayco said the focus of the provincial government this year is still food
production, aside from basic services such as health and education.
The governor said the P194-million which represents the 20 percent
Development Fund for 2009 will be augmented by the P71 million unused
Calamity Fund for 2008 that will be reverted to the General Fund.
But Zayco also said he prefers the reverted fund to be appropriated for the
priority programs of the cities, municipalities, and barangays.
“The most important of all is that we can implement cost-cutting measures
without prejudice to our programs,” he said.*NLG
Land acquisition halted
BY CARLA GOMEZ
The Provincial Agrarian Reform Office has halted moves for compulsory
acquisition of land in Negros Occidental.
“At the moment, we are awaiting clarification from our head office on the status of
properties whose owners had been issued notices of coverage before the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program law expired on December 31,” PARO
head Teresita Depeñoso said yesterday.
When the law expired, the PARO had yet to cover 150,000 hectares under
CARP, about 50 percent of which were offered under the Voluntary Offer to Sell
scheme and the rest was to be covered under compulsory acquisition, she said.
She also said the DAR is set to hold a national assessment meeting January 13
to 16 where its field personnel will be briefed on how to proceed, she said.
“We need clarification,” she said.
On Sunday, Rep. Jose Carlos Lacson (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said the law
expired on December 31 so there can be no legal movement of the CARP.
That is because the president has not signed the joint resolution passed by the
Senate and House extending the program for six months, minus the compulsory
acquisition of land, he said.
Implementation of CARP from here on will only have a legal effect if the president
signs the joint resolution, or when it lapses into law on Jan. 22, Lacson said.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, in a statement issued earlier, had said that even if the
President allows the joint resolution to lapse into law by January 22, or 30 days
after the enrolled copy of the joint resolution was officially received by the Office
of the President on Dec. 23, 2008, there is no more LAD (land acquisition and
distribution) to extend because it had already expired earlier. Once the deadline
sought to be extended has expired, no belated extension could be effected.*CPG

JANUARY7

Action sought vs.

drop in RP sugar production
BY CARLA GOMEZ
The Sugar Board will take up the call of the National Federation of Sugarcane
Producers to stop the allocation of 4.5 percent of the Philippines’ sugar classified
as “Dx” for export to the world market today, Sugar Regulatory Administrator
Rafael Coscolluela said yesterday.
Effective on the week ending Dec. 7, 2008, Sugar Order No. 1-B split the original
7 percent “D (world market)” allocation into 4.5 percent “Dx” for export and 2.5
percent for food exporters, Coscolluela said.
Enrique Rojas, president of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, in a
letter to Coscolluela yesterday, said that, based on SRA’s production figures,
there has been a steady decline in the country’s raw sugar production for three
consecutive weeks starting Dec. 7.
“While the production for the period is still higher compared to the same period
last crop year, the difference in production is slowly declining. It is highly
possible that the declining production will eventually result to a shortfall this
January compared to production for the same period in January ’08,” Rojas said.
It has also been reported in the media that the SRA expects a drop in national
sugar production by as much as or even higher than 20 percent compared to last
year, Rojas pointed out.
This alarming decline in production compels us to reiterate our previous request
to stop the allocation of 4.5 percent of the country’s sugar for the world market,
he said.
He noted that it is now the middle of the milling season and the sugar producers
are still being burdened by low sugar prices, both in the domestic and world
market.
“We have to move now for the scrapping of the “DX” allocation so that producers,
particularly the small planters, can also avail of a more reasonable price for their
sugar for the rest of what is projected to be a shorter crop year,” he said.
“If we continue with the present percentage allocation, we will be jeopardizing the
welfare of our sugar producers who continue to suffer from low sugar prices,” he
added.
The country could also be forced to import sugar for domestic consumption,
effectively compromising the national food security, Rojas also said.
This scenario will not have a positive impact on the SRA, he added.*CPG
Robbers kill
Australian businessman
BY NESTOR P. BURGOS JR.
ILOILO CITY – Robbers killed an Australian businessman after taking more than
P1.4 million in cash and jewelry from his home in Ajuy town, Iloilo after midnight
Tuesday.
Werner Holz, 62, died from at least 20 stab wounds after he fought with three
robbers in the master's bedroom of his house in Barangay Pili in Ajuy, Senior
Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, Iloilo provincial police director, said in a telephone
interview Tuesday.
Ajuy is around 87 kms northeast of Iloilo City.
Holz's Filipino wife, Vivian Posadas-Holz, 31, was left tied up inside their
bedroom by the robbers. She suffered bruises on the head after the robbers push
her against the wall to force her to open their vault, Dela Paz said.
The robbers took from the vault around P200,000 and US$5,000 (P233,750 @
US$1:P46.75) in cash, and jewelry amounting to P800,000.
The couple has been living in Ajuy for more than 10 years and engaged in
various businesses.
Dela Paz said most of the money came from the couple's lending business. They
also operate a piggery and engaged in buy-and-sell.
Police investigation showed that the robbers, armed with knives and handguns
and wearing bonnets, entered the back door of the house which could have been
left open by Holz after urinating outside their house around 12:30 a.m.
The robbers entered the couple's bedroom, tied the couple up and forced them to
open their vault. Dela Paz said Holz fought them before he was killed.
The robbers fled less than an hour after entering the house but Vivian was freed
only at around 4 a.m. yesterday when their two household helpers woke up and
went to the couple's bedroom.
Dela Paz said the couple had sought help but their shouts were muffled by the
sound of the air conditioning unit. He said the helpers heard the muffled shouts
but thought the couple was arguing.
Police yesterday launched a hunt for the robbers who are believed to be from the
town or neighboring communities and have knowledge of the couple's
businesses.*NPB

JANUARY8

Trike driver killed

by drinking buddy
A trisikad driver was stabbed dead by his drinking buddy over personal grudges in
Bacolod City, late Tuesday.
Jojo Ricafort was on his way home to Brgy. Handumanan when his fellow trisikad driver,
Eduardo Razon attacked him with a bladed weapon near the Libertad Public Market at
about 11:10 p.m. Tuesday, Chief Insp. Ulysses Ortiz, Police Station 6 commander, said.
Ricafort died minutes later at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional
Hospital.
Ortiz said personal grudges could have triggered the incident because witnesses told them
the two men had an argument while drinking.
Police investigation showed that Razon, a resident of Brgy. 33, Bacolod, had waylaid
Ricafort after they ended their drinking session.
Razon denied attacking Ricafort when he was arrested by Police Station 6 members.
Ortiz said they will file murder charges against Razon at the City Prosecutor’s Office.*PP

Notorious robber nabbed

An alleged notorious robber was arrested after he held up a student near a boarding house
in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City, Tuesday night.
Jojo Arnaiz, alias “Toto Daku”, was nabbed by Jonathan Gayodatu of the Reservists
Security Agency and mauled by residents after he robbed Harlene Tuardon at 2134
Kamatsili Street, Villamonte, at about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Tuardon told Police Station 4 investigators that she was standing outside her boarding
house when Arnaiz, who initially identified himself as Michael Estrella to precinct desk
officer SPO1 Willie Perez, poked a screwdriver at her side and took her P12,000 Nokia
cellphone.
Arnaiz fled but was chased by Gayodatu and some concerned citizens who heard Tuardon
calling for help, police investigation showed.
Arnaiz admitted robbing Tuardon but denied involvement in other hold-ups and vehicle
burglaries where witnesses have tagged him as the suspect.
Senior Insp. Danilo Francisco, Police Station 4 commander, said they will file robbery-
hold-up charges against Arnaiz at the City Prosecutor’s Office today.
Meanwhile, Chief Insp. Leonardo Angcon, Bacolod City Police Office Intelligence and
Investigation Branch chief, said that they are trying to get Arnaiz’s cooperation in
recovering the items he had stolen that include cellphones and laptop computers.*PP

PNP launches
‘Team Negros’
Senior Supt. Manuel Felix has formed “Team Negros” that he said aims to further
strengthen collaboration, among stakeholders, in the maintenance of peace and order.
In creating the team, Felix, who has been provincial police director of Negros Occidental
for more than a month now, said “If we want peace, all of us have to do our share”.
He also expressed elation over the support extended by local government officials and the
community to the PNP in Negros Occidental, which, he said, made their job easier to
accomplish.
To boost the morale of 1,500 policemen in the province, the Negros Occidental Police
Provincial Office will recognize performing personnel starting this month, he also said.
In the MODEL COPS 2009, Felix said NOPPO personnel will be rewarded for their
achievements.
Every month, he said the best Police Commissioned Officer, Non-Commissioned Officer
and Non-Uniformed Personnel will be named, and receive prizes in kind.
The reward system is one way of making policemen enthusiastic and interested in the
performance of their duties and responsibilities, Felix said.*GPB
January 9

City gov’t power cut,

CENECO padlocked
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The Central Negros Electric Cooperative disconnected the power connection of

the Bacolod City Hall, new government center, Libertad Market and other
government offices early yesterday morning citing the city’s failure to pay its
accounts with the power firm.
As a result, the Bacolod City government padlocked the administrative building of
CENECO after revoking its Mayor’s Permit for its failure also to pay its franchise
taxes and real estate property taxes to the city.
CENECO president Vicente Sabornay said the city failed to pay its account with
CENECO within 48 hours despite the letter they sent on Dec. 19, 2008 and
another reminder a few days ago. “But if their heart is hard and they have no
intention to pay, there is nothing we can do,” he said.
Cops raise security
at cooperative
BY PATRICK PANGILINAN

The Bacolod police said they will work to maintain peace and order in the
renewed escalation of conflict between the city government and the Central
Negros Electric Cooperative that led to the padlocking of the business firm after it
disconnected power supply to the City Hall yesterday.
Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, Bacolod City Police Office director, said he has
directed Senior Insp. Danilo Francisco, Police Station 4 commander, to assist the
Bacolod City Legal Office Enforcement Unit as it watches over the CENECO
Building at Ciocon Road, in the city.
Quebrar said they will work to ensure that there will be no physical violence
between City Hall employees and CENECO personnel
VEGA TOLD
Continue gains at CLMMRH
BY NIDA BUENAFE
Health Regional Director Ariel Valencia yesterday cited Dr. Epifania Simbul as a
“good soldier” for doing a good job at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial
Regional Hospital.
At the same time, he instructed Dr. Domingo Vega, who reassumed his post as
hospital chief yesterday, to continue the gains and programs initiated by Simbul
while she was serving as officer-in-charge.
Valencia met with Simbul and Vega yesterday to implement the DOH order
signed by Secretary Francisco Duque III on Dec. 10, 2008, directing Vega to
report back to CLMMRH and assume his regular duties, while giving Simbul a
new assignment at the National Children’s Hospital as Chief Medical
Professional Staff II.
---------------------------
January 10
VS. ROBBER
Multiple raps eyed
The alleged notorious robber suspected of victimizing pedestrians near schools and
breaking into vehicles parked in commercial centers in Bacolod City, was charged at the
Bacolod City Prosecutor’s Office yesterday, the police said.
Senior Insp. Danilo Francisco, Police Station 4 commander, said they filed robbery-hold-
up charges against Jojo Arnaiz alias “Toto Daku”, 20, of Purok Kagaykay, Brgy. 2,
Bacolod.
Bacolod City Police Office director, Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, is asking robbery and
burglary victims to visit Police Station 4 to see if Arnaiz was the one who had victimized
them so they could file more charges against him.
Arnaiz was arrested by a security guard minutes after he robbed a female college student
of her cellphone just outside her boarding house in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod, Tuesday
night.
He admitted taking the girls’ mobile phone while threatening her with a screw driver but
denied involvement in other hold-ups and vehicle break-ins in Bacolod.
The BCPO Intelligence and Investigation Branch said it is working to recover the items
stolen and sold to his contacts by Arnaiz.*PP

Snatcher apprehended
An alleged snatcher was arrested by his victim and concerned citizens after he injured
himself by jumping off a running jeepney in Bacolod City, late Wednesday.
John Aplasca, 25, of Hermelinda Homes, Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod, was endorsed to
Police Station 1 members by Ben de los Santos and several of his fellow passengers
minutes after he grabbed a P3,000 Sony music player while they were on a jeepney
plying the Bata-Libertad route, at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Aplasca, who was apparently heavily intoxicated with liquor, jumped off the running
vehicle but landed on his head near the Business Inn at Lacson Street, Bacolod, police
investigation showed.
The music player of De los Santos was recovered from Aplasca, who was brought to the
Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital.
Senior Insp. Luisito Acebuche, Police Station 1 commander, said they will file theft
charges against Aplasca who, he also said, could be involved in other snatching and
pickpocket incidents in jeepneys in Bacolod.*PP

San Carlos, EB Magalona

top NOPPO quarter rating
The San Carlos City Police Station bested 11 other city police stations in the fourth
quarter performance evaluation rating of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office,
a NOPPO press release said.
San Carlos topped the police community relations, intelligence and personnel ratings with
a 91.25 percent score.
Talisay City, headed by Supt. Thomas Joseph Martir, was at second place with 90.77
percent while perennial topnotcher Cadiz City slid to third with 90.57 percent.
Cadiz, under Chief Insp. Jefferson Descallar topped the Investigation rating and tied with
San Carlos City headed by Supt Harold Tuzon in the PCR, Intelligence and Personnel
scoring, the press release said.
In the municipal police station category, the EB Magalona police station headed by Chief
Insp. Samuel Mina was number one (86.40) over Hinigaran (85.94) and Manapla (85.30).
Senior Insp. Sonny Boy Bernus heads Hinigaran police station while Senior Insp. Jose
Laboyo is the police chief of Manapla.
EB Magalona, the 2007 best municipal police station expected to duplicate the feat in
2008 during the PNP Day anniversary in February, took first place honors in the PCR and
Personnel aspect while Murcia PNP, headed by Chief Insp. Simeon Gane, topped the
Operations and Investigation performance among 19 municipal police stations, the press
release added.*
____________________________
January 12

Compromise reached,
Bacolod power restored
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

Power was restored at City Hall and other areas in Bacolod after the city
government and the Central Negros Electric Cooperative arrived at a
compromise agreement during a closed-door meeting at the Bishop’s House last
night.
The agreement signed by the officials of the city led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia,
CENECO led by its president Vicente Sabornay, representatives of the business
sector and the Bishop, included several conditions.
“All is well that ends well,” Leonardia said.
Bishop happy impasse ends
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, who mediated the impasse between the
Bacolod City government and Central Negros Electric Cooperative that had
plunged about one-third of Bacolod into darkness last night, said he was happy
the problem had been resolved.
Many parts of Bacolod City had no electricity, while in some areas water supply
was affected, triggering numerous angry complaints from residents.
Before the dialog, Navarra said the city government and CENECO should
resolve their differences and not let the public suffer.

Cop killed, son

injured in Victorias
BY GILBERT BAYORAN
A former police intelligence operative was shot dead and his son slightly injured
by three unidentified gunmen Thursday night in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
The slain policeman was identified as SPO1 Dennis Gimay, a former intelligence
operative of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, while his son,
Benjiever, a second year high school student, was grazed by a bullet on his left
side.
Supt. Jomil John Trio, Victorias police chief, yesterday said they are not
discounting the possibility that the suspects were New People’s Army hitmen who
are also engaged in “agaw-armas” operations.
____________________

January 13

IN CATICLAN
Plane overshoots
runway, 26 injured
BY NESTOR P. BURGOS JR.

ILOILO CITY – Twenty-six persons were injured when a landing Zest Air plane
with passengers bound for Boracay Island undershot the runway of the Caticlan
airport in Aklan Sunday morning.
Except for a passenger who suffered a fractured collar bone, the passengers and
a few airport personnel suffered only minor injuries. But the incident forced the
closure of the airport for more than five hours.
Insp. Lory Tarazona, police chief of Malay town, said passenger Rowena
Versoza, 40, suffered broken bones and a cut on her head. She was taken to the
Aklan Baptist Hospital in Caticlan along with the other injured.
‘Rainbow sucked our energy away’
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Sucked by a rainbow?
About 24 persons who were planting trees in Barangay Kumaliskis, Don Salvador
Benedicto town, said they were sucked by a rainbow that drained them of their
energy and caused one of their companions, Jenessa Refuela, 15, to collapse,
DSB Mayor Laurence Marxlen de la Cruz said yesterday.
He said Refuela was given oxygen and dextrose at the Corazon Locsin
Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City and, as of yesterday,
was better but still under observation.
CENECO CLAIMS
Power trip-offs unintentional
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
“Not intentional”.
That was what the Central Negros Electric Cooperative said amid accusations
from the public, especially in areas that suffered blackouts for several hours in
Bacolod City Friday
CENECO vice president and acting manager Erlo Sajo said at a press
conference yesterday that power trip-offs happen almost everyday. On other
days, he said, they were able to react immediately to complaints, except last
Friday since their operation was not normal.
_________________

January 14

IN BACOLOD
Watch for Region 7
crime groups raised
BY CARLA GOMEZ
Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas, Western Visayas police director, yesterday said he
has ordered intensified police intelligence operations and boosting of personnel
amid reports of crime groups from Region 7 operating in Bacolod City.
Cuevas said there have been reports of crime groups from the Central Visayas
operating in Bacolod and one group had tied up with their Negros Occidental
counterparts in committing crimes last year.
He also said Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, Bacolod police director, is still up for
transfer.
3 Ceneco board members
not told of disconnection
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

Director Roberto Montelibano of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative board

yesterday said he and other officials were not aware that an actual and physical
disconnection to the Bacolod City government offices was effected by the power
firm Thursday.
Montelibano said he, together with CENECO directors Luis Cuenca and Edward
Gasambelo, were waiting for a board meeting to start that day, when they found
out that a disconnection was already in effect at City Hall.
He said the decision was made by other members of the CENECO Board of
Directors, but not by them.
Comelec resumes
voters registration
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
The Commission on Elections in Bacolod City resumed its voter’s registration
yesterday after electric power was restored to the Bacolod City Hall and other
government offices in the city during the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Bacolod City government is putting up a one-stop-shop at the
Bays Center starting today for new application and renewal of business permits,
and applications for clearances.
Power connection to the COMELEC was disconnected by the Central Negros
Electric Cooperative at about 9 a.m. Friday, a day after it also disconnected
power to City Hall and other government offices, citing the city’s failure to pay its
current accounts with the power firm.
--------------
January 15
Raps filed vs. PARO;
Harassment, she says
BY CARLA GOMEZ
Sixty-six farm laborers yesterday filed criminal complaints against Negros
Occidental Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer, Teresita Depeñoso, for alleged
violation of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and
RA 6657, or Acts Prejudicial to the Best Interest of Public Service, before the
Office of the Ombudsman Visayas.
Farm laborer Erlito Batallon said the complaints are due to her alleged defiance
against implementing the order of then Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani
Braganza dated Sept. 5, 2001, re-affirmed by DAR Secretary Nasser
Pangandaman on Dec. 6, 2006, that directs the PARO, Negros Occidental, to file
a petition for the cancellation of Certificates of Land Ownership Award issued to
agrarian reform beneficiaries in Hacienda San Benito in Moises Padilla, Negros
Occidental, before the Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board, and to generate and
issue new CLOAs, to include new beneficiaries.
‘Ready plans now for
long dead season’
SUGAR PRODUCTION DROPS,
BUT OVERHANG REMAINS - SRA
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Negros Occidental Gov. Isidro Zayco and Sugar Regulatory Administrator Rafael
Coscolluela yesterday said sugar industry leaders need to come up with plans to
assist their workers with a longer “dead season” expected this year.
Zayco said planters associations in the different mill districts should come up with
plans for helping their workers.
The province will also assist, but it has limited resources, he pointed out.
Prosecutors defend colleagues
BY NESTOR P. BURGOS JR.
ILOILO CITY – Prosecutors in Western Visayas yesterday voiced their support to
their beleaguered colleagues in Manila who have been dragged in the
controversy over the dismissal of charges against suspected drug pushers
belonging to prominent families.
In a two-page manifesto, the regional chapter of the National Prosecutor's
League of the Philippines Inc. also condemned what is said was the “trial of
publicity” against members of the Department of Justice's Task Force on Anti-
Illegal Drugs, Chief Prosecutor Jovencity and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez.
DOJ Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, Zuño and two senior prosecutors are on
indefinite leave upon orders of President Macapagal-Arroyo over the bribery
scandal involving the so-called “Alabang Boys.”
--------------
January 16

Gov’t moves to avert

‘dead season’ crisis
BY CARLA GOMEZ
Board Member Enrique Miguel Lacson, Sanggunian Committee on Food Security
chairman, is convening a consultative meeting with sugar industry leaders
Monday morning to avert a possible crisis in Negros Occidental.
Lacson said he is calling the meeting because indications from experts are that
the “Tiempos Muertos (dead season)” or the off-milling period in the sugar
industry will start unusually early and last longer this year.
The dead season refers to the time when there is no work on sugar farms. It
usually starts in June and lasts for three months, but Sugar Regulatory
Administrator Rafael Coscolluela said Tuesday that this year, it could last five
months
103 killed in road accidents
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

The police reported yesterday that 103 persons have been killed in various
vehicular and road accidents in Negros Occidental last year, which is less than
the more than 150 deaths recorded in 2007.
Police investigations show that the failure of some drivers to follow traffic rules
and regulations, mechanical trouble of vehicles, sugarcane spillage along the
highway, and road conditions contributed a lot to the occurrence of vehicular
accidents,
Records of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office also indicated that
2,255 persons were injured in 2,251 vehicular accidents last year.
City worker acquitted
of malversation
BY CARLA GOMEZ
A Regional Trial Court judge has acquitted a Bacolod City employee accused of
malversation of public funds by the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Visayas
for failure of the prosecution to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
RTC Bacolod Judge Anita Chua acquitted Merle M. Eyoy in a decision penned
Dec. 22 and furnished the DAILY STAR yesterday.
“I am very thankful that justice has finally been served,” Eyoy said yesterday.

-------------
January 17

Prosecutors in Negros
not set for mass leave
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Bacolod and Negros Occidental prosecutors have not decided yet whether to join
their counterparts in Central Luzon planning to go on a mass leave, but said it
could be a possibility.
Bacolod City Prosecutor Armando Abanado said the prosecutors of Western
Visayas have issued a manifesto, condemning the “trial of publicity” against
members of the Department of Justice Task Force on Anti-Illegal Drugs, Chief
Prosecutor Jovencito and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez
DOJ Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, Zuño and two senior prosecutors are on
indefinite leave upon orders of President Macapagal-Arroyo over the bribery
scandal involving the so-called “Alabang Boys,” but the WV prosecutors said an
investigation should have been conducted first and they should have been given
due process.
Sugar leaders welcome
dead season gab
LABOR GROUPS WANT TO BE INCLUDED
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Sugar leaders yesterday welcomed the call of Board Member Enrique Miguel
Lacson for a consultative meeting to map out a unified response to an expected
long dead season in the sugar industry.
“It is a good idea and we fully support it,” Enrique Rojas, president of the National
Federation of Sugarcane Workers, said yesterday.
Sugar planters usually take care of their workers on their own during the off
milling season but the move of Lacson to discuss a plan now is welcome, he
said.
Who started flyover
project for Bacolod?
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
Whose project is the proposed flyover in Bacolod City?
Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella announced that a “mega bridge” flyover will
soon rise in Bacolod City and shall answer the perennial traffic problem of the
city, a press release from his office said.
The flyover shall be constructed at the junction of Lacson Street and B.S. Aquino
Drive, the press release said.
-----------
January 19

Dads ratify contract for

gov’t center power
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod ratified in a special session yesterday the
electric service contract entered into by the Bacolod City government and Central
Negros Electric Cooperative for the installation of electrical connection at the new
government center.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia expressed his gratitude to Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus
Sayson and the city councilors for their immediate and speedy action on the
ratification of the contract, a press release from City Hall said.
He expressed hopes that electrical connection to the new government center will
be completed at the soonest possible time
PARO to validate land up for VOS
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The Provincial Agrarian Reform Office will clarify with landowners in Negros
Occidental who offered their property under the Voluntary Offer to Sell scheme
whether they still wish to proceed, PARO Teresita Depeñoso said yesterday.
That is because, with the expiration of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law
at the end of 2008, a joint resolution passed by the House and the Senate only
allows the Department of Agrarian Reform to proceed with the distribution of land
offered under VOS, she said.
“When the law was in effect, if land was offered under VOS and the landowner
changed his mind about subjecting his property to land reform, we could always
acquire it under compulsory acquisition,” she said
Cops arrest
alleged faith healer
BY PATRICK PANGILINAN
An alleged faith healer and her companion were nabbed by the police for
swindling in an entrapment operation at her house in Bacolod City, yesterday.
Maribeth Villasor and Ramona Escayo, both 50, were arrested by members of
the Negros Occidental and Bacolod City police offices Intelligence and
Investigation branches in Villasor’s house in Brgy. 18, Bacolod, at about 1 p.m.
yesterday.
Chief Insp. Leonardo Angcon and PO3 Junjie Liba of the BCPO-IIB and NOPPO-
IIB, respectively, led the operation that was also witnessed by a television crew.
--------
January 20

Capitol rules on bids

for 3 major projects
FAILURE OF BIDDING ON
 HOSPITAL DECLARED
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Gov. Isidro Zayco yesterday said he is approving the recommendation of the

Provincial Bids and Awards Committee for the rebidding of the renovation of the
Valladolid District Hospital in Valladolid, Negros Occidental.
He is also approving the awarding of contracts for the construction of the new
Negros Occidental provincial jail in Bago City and the renovation of the Valeriano
Gatuslao Memorial District Hospital in Himamaylan City to the second lowest
bidders.
The unanimous recommendations of the PBAC were made with the concurrence
of Max Cordero, observer of the Diocese of Bacolod on the committee, Zayco
said
Close watch up
versus corruption
BY NIDA BUENAFE

At least seven government agencies in Negros Occidental are being closely

watched by the Citizens Network for Good Government, with an observer from
the group attending the opening of bids of projects listed in the agencies’ Annual
Procurement Plan.
Included in the list are the Bacolod, Talisay and Bago offices of the Department of
Public Works and Highways, the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental,
the City Government of Bacolod, Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial
Regional Hospital, Bacolod City Water District, Philippine Ports Authority, and
Transmission Commission, and the Social Security System
fight dead season
BY CARLA GOMEZ
Sugar leaders and Negros Occidental officials yesterday agreed to create a task
force to help mitigate the effects of an expected long “dead season” on the
workers of the industry.
A consultation called by Board Member Enrique Miguel Lacson was attended by
leaders of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations, National
Federation of Sugarcane Planters and the United Sugar Producers Federation
of the Philippines, and Board Members Adolfo Mangao, Nehemias de la Cruz
and Patrick Lacson at L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City.
“We agreed to create a task force and invite other sectors, including labor,”
Enrique Lacson said
January 21

COMELEC deactivates
 53,325 Bacolod voters
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The Commission on Elections has deactivated about 53,325 registered voters

from the voter’s list in Bacolod City by provision of law, for failure to vote twice
during regular elections, Bacolod Election Officer Mavil Majarucon said
yesterday.
Majarucon said they deactivated the names of those who failed to vote in the
May 2007 and barangay elections during the Election Registration Board meeting
held in the city Monday and yesterday.
She said the ERB hearing was attended by the representatives of Bacolod Rep.
Monico Puentevella and Mayor Evelio Leonardia, the National Movement for
Free Elections and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.
Brothers, pal draw
40 years each
FOR MURDER
BY PATRICK PANGILINAN

Two brothers and their friend were sentenced to 40 years in prison each by a
Regional Trial Court judge yesterday for the murder on his birthday of a barangay
official and his companion in Bago City, Negros Occidental, more than 11 years
ago.
Reynaldo and Rene, both surnamed Magdato, and Reynaldo Mata, were
convicted beyond reasonable doubt of double murder and were sentenced to two
counts of reclusion perpetua by RTC Branch 62 Judge Frances Guanzon, for the
fatal shooting of Cicero Centina and John Perez in Hacienda Margarita Jison,
Brgy. Taloc, Bago, on May 30, 1997.
The three men were ordered to pay a total of P100,000 as indemnity for the
victims’ death and P2,868,089.46 for Centina’s loss of earning capacity.
City prepares contract
for NGC electrification
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
Bacolod City administrator Roger Balo yesterday said they are preparing to
submit to the Central Negros Electric Cooperative the service electric contract
entered into by the city and the power firm for the installation of electrical
connection to the Bacolod City Government Center.
The contract, which was ratified by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod in a
special session Friday, was among the conditions agreed on by both parties
under the compromise agreement signed in the presence of Bacolod Bishop
Vicente Navarra on January 9.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he has instructed Balo to give priority to the
processing of the contract between the city and CENECO for the electrification of
the new government center.
--------------
January 22

RPA dev’t projects to get P100 million

FOR 36 BRGYS IN WV
BY NESTOR P. BURGOS JR.

ILOILO CITY – The government will release around P100 million to villages in
Western Visayas identified by the breakaway rebel group Revolutionary
Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade for development projects.
The funds coming from the Department of Defense will fund projects in 36
villages on Panay Island and Negros Occidental, Presidential Adviser for
Western Visayas Raul Banias said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
Banias said the funds under the 2008 budget is part of the government's
commitment to the RPA-ABB in its peace pact with the breakaway rebel group
Study on flyover
proposal sought
AT BURGOS-LACSON
BY PATRICK PANGILINAN

A resolution requesting Mayor Evelio Leonardia to commission the Department of

Architecture and Fine Arts of La Consolacion College, to make further studies on
the construction of the flyover at the Burgos-Lacson street junction, in Bacolod
City was proposed Bacolod Councilor Catalino Alisbo yesterday.
The resolution also requested the group to submit its recommendation to the city
for evaluation.
It said the Department of Public Works and Highways, through the program of
the national government, will construct the proposed flyover project.
Festival security up
BY PATRICK PANGILINAN
The Bacolod police yesterday said that security measures are already in place
for the celebration of the 4th BacaLaodiat Festival in the city that will start
tomorrow.
Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, Bacolod City Police Office director, said police
stations 1, 2, and 4 will be the main precincts tasked with securing the festival
sites that include the Capitol Lagoon at Lacson Street and the Capitol Shopping
Center.
Members of the Regional Mobile Group will beef up the city’s police to guard the
festivities, Quebrar said. Rerouting schemes have also been set to guide
motorists who will drive along the BacaLaodiat sites, he added.
----------
January 23

Court issues TRO

on bank fund use
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The Regional Trial Court has issued a temporary restraining order for 20 days
against the barangay captain and barangay treasurer of Brgy. Singcang-Airport,
Bacolod City, their agents or representatives, directing them from further drawing
and encashing barangay checks.
In his order dated Jan. 21, 2009, RTC Judge Pepito Gellada, also directed Land
Bank of the Philippines-Libertad to cease and desist from allowing encashment,
withdrawal and other modes of transaction against the account of the Barangay
Singcang-Airport, without any resolution duly approved by the majority of the
members of the Barangay Council in a regular or special session held for that
purpose.
Kagawads Rudy Yap, Abner Gonzales Jr., Simplicia Distrito, Vicente Sabornay,
Rosinie Distrito and Jorge Abastillas had sought the issuance of a TRO against
Barangay Captain Fernando Odango, Barangay Treasurer Roger Jaype and the
Land Bank of the Philippines-Libertad last week.
IN ILOILO
‘Batchoy’ feast eyed
for world record
BY NESTOR P. BURGOS JR.

ILOILO CITY – Ilonggos yesterday feasted on the largest ever cooked bowl of
Iloilo City's famed La Paz batchoy in a bid for a world record.
About 1,000 residents and guests flocked to the La Paz District plaza where a
giant stainless steel bowl was set up to cook the savory noodle dish.
The bowl measuring two meters wide and one meter high and custom-made in
Cebu City for P180,000 had a capacity of 3,500 liters. The broth alone was 1,700
liters.
‘Re-application for
electrification illogical’
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
It will be illogical for the city to submit again its application to the Central Negros
Electric Cooperative for electrical connection to the new government center,
Bacolod City Administrator Roger Balo said yesterday.
On Tuesday, CENECO refused to accept the application of the city, claiming that
the 5-hectare lot donated to the city government lacks a technical description.
However, city legal officer Allan Zamora said that this had been included in the
copy of the deed of donation submitted by the city to CENECO.
------
January24

Public hearing set

on flyover projects
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

A public hearing on the proposed flyover projects in Bacolod City will be

conducted by the Committee on Public Works chaired by Bacolod Councilor
Roberto Rojas Tuesday, Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson said yesterday.
Rojas said the public hearing will be conducted on the resolutions proposed by
Councilors Catalino Alisbo, Celia Flor and Jocelle Batapa-Sigue and the
Sangguniang Panlungsod resolution passed in 2007 endorsing the flyover
projects at the junction of Lacson-Burgos streets and Lacson-B.S. Aquino Drive.
Sayson said Alisbo has proposed a resolution requesting Mayor Evelio Leonardia
to commission the Department of Architecture and Fine Arts of La Consolacion
College to make further studies on the construction of the flyover at Lacson-
Burgos streets.
BACOLAODIAT
Nightly treats at
Chopsticks Alley
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The 4th BacoLaodiat Festival in Bacolod City opened yesterday with the blessing
of the Chopsticks Alley along Narra and Tindalo Avenues at the Capitol Shopping
Center by Fr. Noli Que and Fr. June Earl Salugsugan, of the Queen of Peace
Parish.
Marivic Rio, event coordinator, said diners at the Chopsticks Alley will be
entertained nightly by street performers like flame throwers, jugglers, and
acrobats who will be dancing to the tune of the BacoLaodiat.
BacoLaodiat is derived from “Bacolod” and “laodiat,” a Fookien word meaning
celebration.
Get involved in
disaster mgm’t
GOLEZ URGES
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Golez said the resources and manpower in
the region in terms of disaster management is not sufficient, so he is encouraging
the people and non-government organizations to get involved with disaster
response or any aspect of its management.
Golez, together with Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Raul Banias, was
among the resource speakers at the Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue
pilot test refresher course conducted at the Bacolod City Government Center
recently.
The training sponsored by the Office of the National Civil Defense and the City of
Bacolod, aims at sharing the best practices of other countries to local rescue
groups in terms of disaster management. It was attended by experts from Nepal,
Bangladesh and Indonesia.

january 26

Visayas’ power
gets P40B boost
BY CARLA GOMEZ

TAIWAN – The Visayas power grid will get an additional 294-megawatt boost
next year when coal power plants in Iloilo and Cebu worth P40 billion begin
operations, Ed Satina, Global Business Power Corp. assistant vice president
from commercial operations, said Saturday.
Last year Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes raised fears that if no new plants were
built, amid opposition from environment groups, the Visayas could suffer a power
shortage.
Cebu Energy Development Corp., whose consortium partners are Global
Formosa Power Holdings Inc. and Abovant Holding Inc., is building a 246 MW
circulating fluidized bed clean coal-fired power plant with three 82 megawatt units
worth P22 billion in Barangay Sangi, Toledo City, in Cebu, expected to be
operational in 2010, said Satina, concurrent CEDC commercial manager.

Airport terminal
fees up Feb. 4
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is raising fees and charges at the
new Iloilo and Bacolod-Silay airports.
Passengers will have to pay a terminal fee of P200 from the current P30 effective
February 4, Bacolod-Silay Airport manager Antonio Alfonso said yesterday.
Alfonso said the increase was being implemented following public hearings held
in Silay and Iloilo last year.
AT BACOLAODIAT
Dancers, lanterns
entertain crowds
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO & PATRICK PANGILINAN

Dancers clad in black lit up the main highway of Bacolod City during the street
dancing lantern competition Saturday of the 4th BacoLaodiat Festival.
Ten groups traced Lacson Street going towards the Capitol Shopping Center
from the Bacolod public plaza with lighted ball-shaped and lotus-like lanterns as
upbeat Chinese songs played.
Meanwhile, the cultural program showing the coming together of Filipino and
Chinese cultures was held yesterday at the Capitol Shopping Center with Fr. Noli
Que leading the opening prayer. It started with a dragon dance performed by the
Amity dancers following the grand parade from SM south terminal.

january 27

Negrenses ready suits

versus Legacy officials
BY CARLA GOMEZ

About 80 Negrenses who have invested in pre-need plans under the

controversial Legacy group are filling claims before the Securities and Exchange
Commission and criminal cases against its officials, their lawyer Caesar Distrito
said yesterday.
Legacy’s Nation Bank at Libertad Street in Bacolod City remained closed as of
yesterday.
“Based on our collated records, we have listed at least 110 investors in Legacy
from Bacolod with aggregate investments of around P200 million,” Distrito said.

P30 million sought

for rice subsidy
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The Negros Occidental provincial government is seeking a P30 million allocation

from the Department of Labor for the purchase of National Food Authority rice to
assist sugar workers during the “dead season,” Gov. Isidro Zayco said yesterday.
Zayco said they are asking that the amount be taken from the Social Amelioration
Fund of the sugar industry collected by the DOLE.
Although the provincial government has limited resources, Zayco said it will also
allocate funds for a food-for-work program for displaced workers during the “dead
season” when there is no work on sugar farms. He, however, did not give a
specific amount.

City gets
dumpsite final notice
BY CHRYSEEE SAMILLANO

The National Solid Waste Management Commission sent a final notice to the
Bacolod City government reminding it of its commitment to comply with the
conditions on the Authority to Close pertaining to the dumpsite in Brgy. Felisa,
Bacolod City.
NSWMC executive director Gerardo Calderon in his letter dated Jan. 19, 2009 to
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, said that, reports dated Dec. 8, 2008 of the
Environmental Management Bureau VI, showed that the city is still in the process
of rehabilitating the Felisa dumpsite.
However, he said, that the city government is very slow in providing measures to
address the problem in the disposal facility, particularly the odor, and leachate
flowing in the water body, among others

january 28

Minor held up
A teenager lost his cellphone and cash to robbers, who also mauled him, near the Hall of
Justice in Bacolod City, during the weekend.
Eduardo Espinosa Jr., 15, of Rosario-San Juan streets, Bacolod, reported to PO2 Jerome
Jambaro of Police Station 2 that three unidentified persons took his P1,000 Nokia 3310
cellphone and wallet with P500 in cash, while he was walking near the HOJ at Gatuslao
Street, in the city, at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Espinosa, who later sought help from HOJ security guard Bienvenido Masota, said that
the thieves waylaid, punched and slapped him when he refused to give them his
belongings.
The suspects fled on a waiting green tricycle manned by two other persons, he added.
Several robberies happened at the part of Gatuslao Street where Espinosa was held up
recently. Insp. Jeffrey Attunaga, Police Station 2 commander, said they are working to
identify and arrest the suspects involved in the robberies in the area.
A suspected robber, who victimized at least four pedestrians, was nabbed by security
guards and Police Station 2 members in the area last week.

Drugs seized in
PDEA buy-bust
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operatives seized marijuana, shabu, and illegal
drugs paraphernalia from two suspected drug peddlers, who, however, managed to flee, in
a buy-bust sting at a squatters’ area in Bacolod City, yesterday.
A pack of suspected marijuana, seven sachets of alleged shabu, a lighter, and pieces of
aluminum foil were confiscated from Joy Artus alias “Toto” and Ramon Sayson alias
“Buktot”, by PDEA members in Purok Mabinuligon, Brgy. 19, Bacolod, at about 3:30
p.m. yesterday, PO2 Cirilo Baluma Jr., the agency’s officer-in-charge in Negros
Occidental, said.
Baluma said Artus managed to run out of his house into the rain after accepting the P500
in marked money from an operative, while Sayson fled while he was being frisked.
A chase through the narrow footpaths in the area that followed was unsuccessful, he
added.
With the items they have confiscated however, Baluma said they can still file illegal
drugs charges against the two, who are both in their watch list, under Republic Act 9165,
or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 this week.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who has appointed herself as illegal drugs czar, has
directed the Philippine National Police and the PDEA to work together in stepping up the
campaign against prohibited substances.
Earlier this month, the PDEA and the Drug Enforcement Unit of the Bacolod police
conducted several raids and buy-bust operations in the city.*

Felix turns over vehicle

Negros Occidental Police Provincial director, Senior Supt. Manuel Felix, turned over a
new patrol vehicle to Sagay City at Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr., in Bacolod City,
Monday, a NOPPO press release said.
Councilor Christopher Ian Escario, Sagay peace and order council chairman, received the
vehicle from Felix, on behalf of Mayor Alfredo Marañon.
Sagay police chief, Senior Insp. Gabriel Gutierrez, said the new Toyota Innova service
vehicle provided by Camp Crame will be used to maximize visibility and conduct of
dialogs and visitations in upland barangays of the city, the press release said.
This is also to intensify the action plan for 2009 of NOPPO called “Team Negros” in
partnership with the provincial government headed by Gov. Isidro Zayco, the press
release added
january 29

Bacolod cops arrest

‘notorious’ pickpocket
A suspected thief, notorious for stealing cash and valuables from jeepney passengers and
pedestrians, was arrested when his latest victim sought the help of traffic aides and a
police officer in Bacolod City, around noon Tuesday.
Rolly Aguiling alias “Hapon” of Raymund Street, Brgy. Singcang-Airport, Bacolod, was
collared by traffic enforcers Rey Ramirez and Rocket Alagado near a fastfood outlet, a
few minutes after he stole the P5,000 in cash from the pants’ pocket of Emalinda Vargas,
while they were on a jeepney.
PO3 Celito Dullan, Police Station 1 investigator, who was nearby when the apprehension
happened, said that he filed theft charges against Aguiling at the City Prosecutor’s Office
yesterday – his 15th such case since 2003.
Aguiling, who is jobless, told Dullan that he needed money for his sick daughter, but the
police said he is among the noted pickpockets and snatchers in Bacolod, who prey on
jeepney passengers and pedestrians in crowded areas like public markets.
He added that Aguiling just manages to post bail whenever he is charged.
Vargas, a resident of Pontevedra town, Negros Occidental, and who was then on her way
to pay the hospital bills of her sister, recovered the cash from Aguiling, Dullan said

2 apprehended
for loose gun
Two construction workers are facing multiple charges for illegal deadly weapons
possession after they were caught carrying a gun, a knife, and an improvised sling arrow
in Bacolod City, Tuesday night.
Vergel Javelosa, 23, and Rodel Gasapo, 19, both of Purok Cubay, Brgy. Villamonte,
Bacolod, were arrested by Police Station 4 members led by PO2 Clint Ferrer and tanods
after a homemade shotgun or “sulpak” with three bullets, an ice pick, and an improvised
sling arrow or “Indian target” were allegedly found on them, at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Charges for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition for the sulpak and the bullets,
and cases for illegal possession of deadly weapons for the ice pick and the sling arrow,
were filed against Javelosa and Gasapo at the City Prosecutor’s Office yesterday, Senior
Insp. Danilo Francisco, Police Station 4 commander, said.
Investigation showed that the officers and the tanods were on a saturation drive against
robbers when they saw and frisked the two men.
Javelosa and Gasapo, who said they work at a construction site at the Bacolod Realty
Development Corp. at the reclamation area in the city, said that they carried the weapons
to defend themselves from bystanders who threaten them when they go home at night.*
IN KABANKALAN
20 drivers collared
for traffic infractions
A checkpoint conducted by the Kabankalan City police office led by Supt. Calixto
Mabugat and Insp. Nerito Lobrido along the highways of barangays Talubangi and
Binicuil, resulted in the apprehension of 20 drivers and the impoundment of two
motorcycles for various traffic violations, recently.
Infractions included the non-wearing of helmets, overloading, no plate numbers and
defective signaling devices, a Kabankalan PNP press release said.
The police unit also spearheaded a traffic rules seminar for some 65 tricycle drivers and
operators in the city.
PO2 Jesus Tuason of the traffic division discussed the new guidelines for securing
Motorized Tricycle Operator’s Permit, and Mabugat tackled violations in relation to
Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, especially the “No Plate
No Travel Policy” and Defensive Driving, the press release added.*
january 30
IN BAGO
Lesbian molested
Police arrested yesterday Arnel Quilitar, 28, at the Energy Development Corp. compound
in Bago City, Negros Occidental, for allegedly molesting a lesbian on Jan. 25.
Supt. Melchor Coronel, Bago police chief, yesterday said Quilitar who works at the EDC,
had a drinking spree with the victim, before the incident.
The victim, whose identity is being withheld, reported to the Bago City Police Station
that she was molested by Quilitar at about 10 p.m. of Jan 25 in Sitio Pata-an, Brgy.
Mailum, Bago City.
Coronel said the victim may have already been intoxicated by liquor, when she was
molested by the suspect.
Quilitar is now detained at the lock-up cell of Bago City police station, and rape charges
are being readied against him before the City Prosecutor’s Office.*

Cops probe
motorcycle thefts
The police yesterday said they now know where stolen motorcycles are being taken after
recent reports of incidents about such vehicles taken from public parking lots in Bacolod
City.
Bacolod City Police Office director, Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, said they are
“verifying” reports on the people engaged in peddling the motorcycles after they are
stolen but refused to elaborate.
Recent reports of parked motorcycles stolen by unidentified persons were recorded in
Police stations 1 and 2.
Quebrar said they are coordinating with the management of malls in the city on measures
to secure motorcycles in their parking areas.
He said motorcycle owners can prevent thieves from taking their vehicles by chaining
them with a padlock instead of just relying on their built-in automatic lock.*

File raps, rob victims urged

Let the victims file charges.
That is the advice Bacolod police director, Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, is giving to those
who lost their belongings in robbery and snatching incidents.
That was Quebrar’s reaction to complaints about the spate of hold-ups, vehicle break-ins,
and snatchings in Bacolod. If victims will just file and pursue charges against the
suspected thieves arrested, there will be fewer robbers, snatchers, and burglars in the city,
he said.
He said that, in many cases, complainants did not file charges after recovering their
belongings or stop cooperating with them after they have lodged cases in court.
He said this becomes a cycle when apprehended suspects are released after their
detention period lapses – and they go back to the streets and prey on pedestrians or
parked vehicles again.
Quebrar said he also noted that many notorious thieves they have repeatedly arrested
were able to avoid detention by posting bail.
Recent cases of hold-ups in the city involved parkgoers at the Capitol Lagoon while most
victims of pickpockets are jeepney passengers, police records showed.
Despite Quebrar’s claim that they are trying to maximize their visibility efforts and anti-
weapons checkpoints to further preventing thieves from striking, however, the same
crimes continue to be committed in practically the same areas.
He said the public should do its part in preventing robberies by avoiding dark streets,
especially at night and by reporting promptly to them if they have been victimized.*
january 31

Rookie policeman
collared for robbery
A rookie police officer is facing charges for allegedly robbing a beauty parlor proprietor
in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City, Sunday night.
PO1 Jonathan Cubia was charged with robbery-hold-up at the City Prosecutor’s Office
yesterday, five days after he allegedly divested Gregorio Jordan of his laptop computer,
cellphone, P8,000 in cash, and other valuables at his shop in Villamonte, Senior Insp.
Danilo Francisco, Police Station 4 commander, said.
He said the court has recommended a P120,000 bail for Cubia’s temporary liberty.
Francisco said Cubia, who was positively identified by Jordan and his companions,
surrendered when he led a group to visit his family in Brgy. Villamonte yesterday.
Cubia, a trainee police officer detailed at the City Mobile Group of the Bacolod City
Police Office, denied stealing from Jordan, although he admitted that the complainant is
an acquaintance.
He also said he only met Jordan last week that he and his companions had been drinking
at the beauty parlor before the alleged hold-up.
Cubia, who admitted that he slept at the shop Saturday night, also said that he gave
himself up to clear his name.
Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, Bacolod City Police Office director, said that Cubia will
also face administrative proceedings because of Jordan’s complaint.*

3 holduppers
nabbed for drugs
Three suspected robbers were nabbed by the police when illegal drugs were allegedly
found on them after they ignored a checkpoint in Bacolod City, late Thursday.
Sherwin Ruiz, Boni Medel, and Jenrex Teopan, all of Calong-Calong, Brgy. Singcang-
Airport, Bacolod, were, however, finally arrested by Police Station 1 members near a
drugstore at Lacson Street, after a chase through the downtown area of the city, at about
10:45 p.m. Thursday, Senior Insp. Luisito Acebuche, precinct commander, said.
He said that the three, who were on a jeepney plying the Airport-Central Market route
driven by Ruiz, are among the suspects in several hold-ups and snatchings in Bacolod.
Ruiz has a pending robbery charge after he was also arrested when he allegedly stole
from a pedestrian at Lizares Street, in the city in 2006, Acebuche added.
Allegedly found on the three were a sachet of suspected shabu, two sticks of suspected
marijuana, a piece of aluminum foil, two lighters, and P575 in cash, Acebuche said.
Ruiz, Medel, and Teopan denied owning the prohibited drugs, claiming these were just
inserted by the pursuing officers in their pockets.
Acebuche said the mother of Ruiz also questioned the alleged confiscation of shabu and
marijuana from her son and his companions but the police pointed out that they could not
have planted the evidence, because reporters were covering the operation live.
He added that they also would not have chased the three if they had not ignored the
checkpoint.
Acebuche called on robbery victims to come to their station to see if these men were the
ones who took their belongings.*

Fire damages car

near university
A car parked near a school compound in Bacolod City, caught fire yesterday, the Bureau
of Fire Protection said.
The metallic gold Nissan Sedan of Winston Tumbagahan went up in flames just outside
the Integrated School of West Negros University in Brgy. Mandalagan, at about 11 a.m.
yesterday.
SFO1 Harry Fernandez, BFP Bacolod investigator, said their initial investigation showed
that the fire could have been electrical in nature.
Fernandez said they estimated the damage on Tumbagahan’s car at around P50,000.*