1,000 soldiers, cops to be deployed
in Ecija

The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police is set to deploy 1,000 troops to various parts of Nueva Ecija to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful elections in May.

Sr. Supt. Ricardo Marquez, provincial police director, and Army Col. Felicito Trinidad, commander of the 702nd Infantry Brigade based in Bongabon, said that a battalion each from the police and the Army will help the Commission on Elections (COMELEC)  in safeguarding the polls.

Chief Supt. Leon Nilo dela Cruz, police regional director, said that a full complement of policemen will guard the voting precincts on election day.

“If we can do away with election related violence, we can change the perception of Nueva Ecija as a violence prone province," dela Cruz said.

Provincial Election Supervisor Fernando Cot-om said that many possible investors are waiting until the newly elected leaders are sworn in on June 30.

Recently, a joint meeting of the COMELEC, the Army's 702nd Infantry Brigade and 7th Infantry Battalion and the PNP identified 90 percent of Nueva Ecija's 28 towns and five cities as election hot spots.

Trinidad, a classmate of Marquez in the Philippine Military Academy, said that his men will be at the full disposal of the COMELEC, with more troops to be sent in should the need arise.

In the 2007 elections when more than 2,400 troops were deployed in Nueva Ecija, seven people were killed including two policemen, and more than 30 seriously injured. ###
 
 

San Jose barangay chair shot dead

The barangay chair of Tandod, San Jose City was shot and killed by motorcycle riding gunmen last February 21.

Sr. Supt. Ricardo Marquez, provincial police director, identified the fatality as Rogelio Martin.  He sustained two gunshot wounds and died while undergoing operation at the Heart of Jesus Hospital.

Supt. Sydney Villaflor, San Jose police chief, said that Martin was shot at around 11:50 AM at the boundary of Barangays Sinipit, Bubon and Camanacsacan, ten kilometers from the city proper.

Villaflor said that a certain Julie Pedro, president of the tricycle operators and drivers association in Tondod, has been picked up for questioning.  Pedro allegedly had an altercation with Martin for allegedly attempting to burn the office of the barangay secretary. When the police tried to arrange a dialogue between the two, Martin reportedly struck Pedro on the head with a monobloc chair so hard that the chair broke. Martin later filed a case of arson against Pedro at the city prosecutor's office.

Pedro has been subjected to a paraffin test whose result is still being awaited. ###
 
 

Palayan mayoralty bet disqualified

The Commission on Elections disqualified last February 24 the Lakas-CMD-KAMPI candidate for mayor in Palayan City for lack of residency.

The commission's First Division canceled the certificate of candidacy of Reynaldo Garcia based on a petition filed last December 11, 2009 by Bienvenido Ramos, a Palayan resident.

Ramos had sought the cancellation of the certificate of candidacy of Garcia, a reserved colonel in the Philippine Air Force, stating that he is a resident of Barangay Santolan, a registered voter in Precinct 93-A and a resident of the barangay for six months prior to the registration.

Ramos said that Garcia failed to meet the one year residency requirement prescribed by Section 39 of the Local Government Code. He said that Garcia declared a falsehood constituting a ground for the cancellation of his certificate of candidacy.

Ramos attached in his petition the voter's certification in the name of Garcia, and certifications by Barangay Santolan Chair Teresita Sacbayen, City Social Welfare and Development Officer  Pepito de Fiesta, City Assessor Norma Saclolo and City Engineer Cesar Estacio. ###
 
 

Josons leaning toward Villar for presidency; Erap not bothered

First Dist. Rep. Eduardo Nonato Joson said that the Bagong Lakas ng Nueva  Ecija (BALANE) has not officially endorsed a presidential candidate but the sentiment is towards supporting Sen. Manny Villar.

Though the Josons had supported former Pres. Joseph Estrada in the past, Edno said that familiarity breeds contempt, and so "...bagong dugo na tayo at baka sakaling may pag-asa ang mahihirap".

Estrada went around Nueva Ecija last February 18, getting a warm welcome but specifically avoiding meeting with the Josons.

Estrada said that there was no reason for him to link up with the Josons after former Gov. Tomas Joson III who had campaigned for him in 1998, supported President Arroyo in 2004 instead of Estrada's best friend, Fernando Poe, Jr.

He said that despite the support of the Josons for Arroyo, Poe still won by a wide margin -- 160,438 votes for Arroyo against 476,220 votes for Poe.

Erwin Maceda of the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) said that they have other Novo Ecijanos who can help court votes for Estrada. JV Bautista, one of the guest senatorial candidates, is from Cabanatuan City, while Sen. Jinggoy Estrada's chief of staff, Simeon Garcia, used to be a congressman of the 2nd Congressional  District. In the 4th Congressional District, PMP is fielding former Jaen Mayor Prospero Antonio Esquivel against re-electionist Rep. Rodolfo Antonino of BALANE. ###
 
 

Ecija police bags awards in PNP Region 3 anniversary

The Nueva Ecija Provincial Police Office bagged the most awards in the Model Transformation Program Category during the 19th anniversary celebration of the Philippine National Police Region 3.

During the affair, police units and personnel were given awards for being exemplary in the line of duty, and individual and civil society groups for being reliable partners of the police force.

The Nueva Ecija police was named Model Provincial Police Office and Model Provincial Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD) while the Santa Rosa PNP was cited as Model Rural Police Station and the San Jose City PNP as Model Urban WCPD.

Among those who received individual citations was Supt. Sidney Villaflor of San Jose City as Senior PCO in the field of administration.

Special awards were handed out to Gapan City Mayor Ernesto Natividad and the Kabalikat Civicom-San Antonio Chapter.

The awards were conferred by Directorate for Integrated Police Operations Northern Luzon Director Eric Q. Javier, assisted by PNP Region 3 Director Chief Supt. Leon Nilo A. dela Cruz.
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After being totally razed by fire in 2007
Gapan City market rises from the ashes

The new Gapan City public market opened last February 14 on the same site where, almost three years ago, a huge fire totally destroyed the former market.

Onion farmers pray for no rain

While most farmers are praying for rains to protect their crops from draught brought about by the El Niño phenomenon, onion growers are praying for the opposite.

They said that heavy rains at this time will be bad for onions and could turn to waste their production expenses.

Rodolfo Niones, president of the Kalipunan ng Samahan ng Magsisibuyas sa Nueva Ecija (KASAMNE) said that they fear the rains brought by cloud seeding operations in adjacent provinces.

He said that in Bongabon, dubbed the "onion basket" of Central Luzon, some 8.000 hectares of Red Creole onions would be damaged by rains.

The present farm gate price of white onion is P12 a kilo. In the past, rains in January and February destroyed or damaged onion bulbs, making the selling price plummet to P2 a kilo.

Onion farmers harvest their crops from the second week of March until April. ###
 
 

Manila Hotel to spotlight Ecija delicacies

The grand Manila Hotel has launched an afternoon tea at its lobby featuring provincial delicacies.

Set to be featured this March are Nueva Ecija's bukayo, turon and espasol, to be followed by native sweets from Bicol, Pampanga, Ilocos and Bulacan.

Manila Hotel's General Manager Leon Keekstra said that the project is part of the hotel's efforts to promote the different delicacies of the 12 regions of the country by highlighting a region or province every month. This is to make Filipinos from different regions aware of the various native delicacies from around the country. ###
 
 

14,000 Cabanatuan tricycle drivers welcome mayor's freebies

Some 14,000 tricycle drivers plying Cabanatuan City streets warmly welcomed Mayor Alvin Vergara's announcement that they need not pay for the new legalization plates that will soon be issued and the painting of new sidecar body numbers.

In a radio interview, Vergara denied the "disinformation" being spread by his political rivals that  tricycle drivers and operators would be charged for clearances for the new license plates and the painting of new sidecar body numbers.

Vergara said that he will even give free insurance coverage to the city's tricycle drivers, said to be the biggest such transportation group in the country.

The old license plates to be replaced feature the image of former Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara, the incumbent mayor's first cousin and his chief rival in the May elections. ###
 
 

Young Entrepreneurs Summit held

The Movement for Better Values (MBV) launched the Young Entrepreneurs Summit last February 15 at the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST) to promote and encourage the youth and young professionals to adopt the ideals of economic success.

The summit advocated values-based entrepreneurship as core for the country's real development through ensured access to skills, tools and institutions.

As part of its advocacy, MVB donated P100,000 to the students which they and the school authorities can use as seed capital to put up income generating projects especially for students whose families are affected by El Niño. ###
 
 

Carranglan residents organize to care for environment

Some 109 residents of Barangay Puncan, Carranglan have formed an organization to take care of and improve their environment.

Called Kalinga sa Kalikasan ng Puncan (KAPUNCAN), the group was established in 2007 and has adopted 387 hectares of mountain area near the barangay.  The members, mostly farmers, have been participating in tree planting activities and maintaining a seedling nursery. They also help in patrolling the area against fire, treasure hunters and charcoal makers who cut trees.

Roy Manuzon, KAPUNCAN president, said that several agencies and institutions have extended help to the group. These include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Central Luzon State University, Ateneo de Manila University and the Department of Agrarian Reform.

He said that students and other volunteers have been joining the group's tree planting activities and doing research and development work in the area.

Manuzon said that some two hectares at the top of their adopted mountain has been developed into the "Batong Amat Peace Park"  featuring three tunnels and a waterfall.

The area was used as quarters by Japanese soldiers in World War II and many of them died there. Once a year, Manuzon said that many Japanese visit the place to offer prayers for their relatives who were killed during the war. ###
 
 

Gun ban, checkpoints fail to foil robbers

Despite the imposition of a gun ban and the setting up of mobile checkpoints,  the provincial police office continues to receive reports of robbery/hold up cases.

Among those victimized were a gasoline station, a collector of a money lending office, a tricycle driver and a businessman.

Last February 24 at about 3:00 PM, two unidentified motorcycle riding men held up Wency May Dueñas Mallari of the Total gas station along Circumferential Road, Cabanatuan City and drove away with P10, 000 in cash.

In the Science City of Muñoz, Giovanni Mariano Davis, 26, a collector of Philippine City Net Lending was robbed of P42,000.

In Barangay Santo Cristo, San Isidro town, tricycle driver Luis Eligino Maglanoc, 54, was held up by a passenger who had hired him for a trip to Barangay Mangga. ###