San Leonardo mayor defends casino

San Leonardo Mayor Froilan Nagaño defended the P60 million casino project in his town, saying that it would help stimulate economic development.

He said that the controversial project would generate jobs and boost the town's income just like what happened in Clark, Pampanga; Antipolo City, Rizal; and the provinces of Batangas and Laguna where casinos operate.

“This casino will be the primary growth driver for San Leonardo because we will not only generate income but also employ hundreds of people,” Nagaño said.

He said that in San Leonardo alone, 300 to 400 persons will be employed in the casino, plus his town will get a share of the casino amusement taxes totaling P500,000 to P1 million a month.

He pointed out that the casino project was transferred to his town because of its strategic location.

The casino, nearing completion in a five hectare lot in Barangay Diversion, covers a floor area of 2,300 square meters and is reported to be owned by Jose Madrigal. It is expected to open in August or September.

The project earned the condemnation of the Catholic Church.  Bishops Sofronio Bancud of Cabanatuan, Mylo Hubert Vergara of San Jose City, and five other bishops in La Union and Pangasinan issued a pastoral statement saying that casinos would open more doors to corruption.

Nagaño, for his part, countered that the casino would reduce crimes because jobs would be provided to the jobless. ###
 
 

Church is adamant -- casino must go

The Dioceses of Cabanatuan and San Jose maintained its position against the opening of a casino in San Leonardo.

The Catholic Church prodded the government to focus instead on strengthening values education and intensify the campaign against corruption and poverty.

“Ang pagbubukas ng karagdagang mga casino ay tiyak na magbibigay daan pa sa mas malubhang katiwalian at kahirapan sa pamilya ng mga nagsusugal,” according to parts of the pastoral letter jointly signed Archbishop Socrates Villegas of the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese, Bishops Sofronio Bancud of Cabanatuan, Mylo Hubert Vergara of San Jose City, Jacinto Mendoza of Urdaneta, Marlo Peralta of Alaminos and Artemio Rillera of San Fernando, La Union and Auxiliary Bishop Renato Mayugba of Lingayen, all of the Ecclesiastical Metropolitan Province of Lingayen, Dagupan.

The bishops said that they are willing to cooperate with the government in its fight against corruption and poverty.

During Masses and bible services, priests and lay presiders of the two dioceses emphasized the evil effects of gambling in the community.

Gov. Aurelio Umali had said that he opposed the establishment of casinos when he was still a congressman, but he had to respect the approved actions of his predecessor in the provincial government.

“It was approved by the previous administration and I have to respect it,” he said. ###
 
 

Laur farmer leader shot dead

A 78 year old farmer leader was killed in front of his family while his grandson, who tried to help him, was shot by an unidentified man in Barangay San Isidro, Laur last July 9.

Sr. Insp. Almario Evaristo, Laur police chief, identified the fatality as Pascual Guevarra, head of the local Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association (ARBA) and Alyansa ng mga Mabubukid na Nagkakaisa 3100 (ALMANA 3100). Wounded in the incident was Ronnel Viloria, Guevarra's 18 year old grandson.

Lilibeth Guevarra, 30, said that her father was repairing their kitchen which is a separate structure from their house, when the armed man arrived and immediately shot the victim in the chest.

She said that she and Viloria grabbed the gunman who then shot her nephew.

The suspect rushed to join his companion who was waiting on a motorcycle.

Guevarra died on the spot; Viloria was rushed to a local hospital.

Guevarra's wife, Lolita, could not think of any reason for the killing of her husband.

“Wala siyang ginawang kasalanan kahit kanino. Buong buhay niya ay tumutulong siya sa kapwa niya mahirap,” she said.

The group ALMANA 3100 was created a few years ago to prevent the Philippine Army from repossessing 3,100 hectares of the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in several adjacent barangays, including San Isidro where the Guevarras live. 

The land was originally intended for victims of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 based on a proclamation signed by then Pres. Corazon Aquino.  Since none of the volcanic eruption victims came to settle there, Guevarra's group claimed that the proclamation provided for the issuance of parcels of land to farmers already occupying and tilling them, as secondary beneficiaries.

The Laur police chief said that a land dispute with someone could be a motive for the killing of the farmer leader. ###
 
 

Anakpawis blames military for killing of farmer leader 

Anakpawis Party List Rep. Rafael Mariano called on President Benigno Aquino III to take decisive action against the military in connection with the killing of Laur farmer leader Pascual Guevarra.

Mariano alleged that the killing was "obviously related to their struggle to own the more than 3,100 hectares of lands inside the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Nueva Ecija.”

"Heads should roll in the military, particularly the 7th Infantry Division stationed in Fort Magsaysay who is now acting as the landlord in the area,” Mariano said.

“Mr. Aquino should immediately act on Ka Pascual’s killing and stop the military from evicting farmers inside the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation. It was during his mother’s term when the so-called transfer of the lands to farmers was initiated,” Mariano added.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Roger Mesias, spokesperson of the 7th Infantry Division, said the military had nothing to do with the incident.

“We are not involved in that. It's a mere rivalry between two factions which is the angle that is coming out… Based on the initial investigation, this is related to rivalry in land and we are looking into it in coordination with the Philippine National Police,” he said.
 
 

MGB identifies Ecija's hazard-prone barangays

The Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) has identified barangays in Nueva Ecija that could be threatened by liquefaction or solid ground turning into liquid during earthquakes, and severe damage from landslides and floods.

The Central Luzon office of MGB is preparing hazard maps based on rapid geological assessments that has been conducted since 2006 in various barangays in the region.

The MGB study said that in Laur, Barangays Panaulo and Betania and Sitio Pangarolong are prone to liquefaction.

It also identified high risk flood areas in the province, including 12 barangays in Zaragoza, eight in Guimba, four in Santa Rosa, three each in San Leonardo, General Tinio, Bongabon and Quezon, two in Carranglan and one each in Licab and Gapan City. These places are in danger of floods at least one meter deep.

Under high risk from landslides are six barangays in Carranglan, one in Rizal and three in Gabaldon. ###
 
 

Ecijanos not spared by siren/blinker ban

The Highway Patrol Unit 3 (HPU3) has confiscated a total of six sirens, nine blinkers, and three fog lights  from various vehicles in Nueva Ecija since the implementation of the campaign against such devices.

In Central Luzon,  some 55 sirens, blinkers and fog lights were confiscated in operations from July 1 to 4.

Sr. Supt. Edgardo Tinio, regional officer of HPU3, said that the operation was conducted after President Benigno Aquino III announced in his inaugural speech the strict implementation of the ban on sirens, blinkers and fog lights.

Under the law, only the President, Vice President, Senate President, House Speaker and Supreme Court Chief Justice, and marked vehicles of law enforcement agencies are the allowed to use such gadgets in their official functions and tasks. ###
 
 

Local BIR: Support P-Noy by paying taxes promptly

Lawyer Jaime Ferrer, head of Revenue District Office 23-B (RDO 23-B) which covers Cabanatuan City and the southern part of Nueva Ecija, called on erring taxpayers to promptly pay their taxes to translate into action their support for the development agenda of President Benigno Aquino III.

The local BIR office has reported a collection of P708,728,930.87 -- over P101 million higher than its target for  the first six months of 2010.

Ferrer said that the dramatic increase in collection could be the result of the strict compliance to the massive tax collection drive being waged by the Bureau of Internal Revenue nationwide.

“For those who do not pay the correct taxes, rectify them and let us help President Aquino,” Ferrer appealed.

Promptly paying correct taxes is a lot better than facing new ones, he stressed. ###
 
 

Onion farmers laud appointment of new agri sec

Onion and vegetable farmers in Central and Northern Luzon expressed optimism that the newly appointed secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Proceso J. Alcala, will protect the interests of local farmers and adopt an "iron fist" policy in dealing with smugglers.

Magtanggol Alvarez of Bongabon, founding president of the Union of Growers and Traders of Onions of the Philippines (UGAT), said that his group is hopeful that Alcala will be their ally in fighting well entrenched smugglers and corrupt government officials whom they call as "incurable pests" killing the onion industry.

Unabated smuggling of onions and vegetables is blamed for destroying the livelihood of more than half a million farmers and their families. ###
 
 

16 injured as bus crashes into Carranglan ravine

A total of 16 Victory Liner bus passengers bound for Isabela were injured when the vehicle fell into a ravine in Carranglan at 4:00 A.M. last July 15.

It was learned that the bus driver, Jay Valaan, lost control of the bus while going up a slope, causing the vehicle to slide backward and fall off a cliff.

Supt. Ricardo Marquez, Nueva Ecija police director, said that the injured passengers were brought to the nearest hospitals for treatment of minor bruises.

Investigators are looking at the possibility that the Valaan might have dozed off while driving.

Valaan was placed under the custody of the Nueva Ecija police for further investigation. ###
 
 

Walter Mart-Gapan victimized by robbers

Robbers who managed to bore a hole in a wall of Walter Mart Mall in Gapan City managed to enter the treasury office of Robinson's Department Store at the second floor, forcibly open the safety vault and cart away almost half a million pesos in cash.

In his report to City Mayor Christian Tinio, Supt. Ricardo Villanueva, city police chief, said that the robbery was discovered in the morning of July 13 after Mamel Pasis of Jose Security Agency and Edgardo Lagamia, engineering maintenance employee, found the hole that the robbers had made in the wall of the building.

Investigation showed that at about the middle of June, four men and two women talked to Ricardo Macapagal, caretaker of a house owned by Estrellita Padiernos adjacent to the mall, and rented the place. After giving the initial payment, they asked for permission to build a structure  beside the wall of  the mall allegedly to serve as storage for the Baguio tables that they were trading. Once the structure was walled off, the suspects began to bore a hole through Walter Mart's 10 inch wall.

The robbers' loot totaled P464,812 as reported by Robinson's cashier Veronica Mallare Sunga, 38, of Barangay Bayanihan. ###
 
 

Bus robbed in San Leonardo

Four unidentified men held up an air-conditioned Five Star Bus bound for Manila in Barangay Diversion, San Leonardo at about 1:45 A.M. last July 5.

Police identified the robbery victims as Alvaro de Leon, 32, driver of Five Star Bus  with plate number AVV-898, of Barangay Valenzuela; his conductor, Noel Valino, 25, of Rizal Street, both in Santa Rosa; and lone passenger Rodel Roldan, 22, of San Vicente, Gapan City

Chief Insp. Francisco Mateo, San Leonardo police chief, said that the suspects were armed with .38 revolvers and knives.

He said that the suspects -- in pairs -- boarded the bus separately at Barangay Diversion.  One suspect approached the driver, pointed a gun at him and declared a hold-up.

The robbers took P8,488 in cash from the conductor and Roldan's bag containing P750 and a Sony Ericsson cell phone.

The suspects then got off in front of the NEECO office, also in Barangay Diversion. ###
 
 

Robbery gang member killed in shoot-out

A member of a notorious "Akyat Bahay Gang" based in Cabanatuan City died in a shoot-out with Gapan City policemen last July 5.

Supt. Ricardo Villanueva, city police chief, identified the fatality as Jun Morales alias Jun Alas, 28, of Cantarilla Street, Barangay Valdefuente, Cabanatuan City.

Patrolling policemen chanced upon Morales near an irrigation canal at P. Cruz Subdivision. He pulled out his gun and fired at the lawmen but missed. The policemen returned fire, hitting the victim in the thigh which caused him to fall into the irrigation canal.

He was later retrieved and taken to the Gapan District Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival from drowning.

It was discovered that Morales worked in cahoots with Maria Cristina Estelliore alias Tala, who worked as washerwoman for Emerenciana Rodriguez in Barangay Valdefuente, Cabanatuan City, then made off with P150,000 in cash, a Sony digital camera and jewelry last July 4.

Morales has other pending robbery cases in the salas of Judges Evelyn D. Querijero and Raquelen A. Vasquez in Cabanatuan City. ###
 
 

San Jose engineer hit in the head with machete, dies

An engineer was mortally wounded when hit in the head with a machete by a drunken farm worker that he had chided last July 3 in St. Cecilia Village, Barangay Abar 1st, San Jose City

The victim was identified as Eng.. Quirino Braco Huliganga, Jr. of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) First Engineering District based in Barangay La Torre, Talavera.

Investigation showed that at about 2:00 P.M., Huliganga angrily confronted his farm worker, Jessie Agus Polanco, 29, originally from Barangay San Jose, Alfonso Lista, Ifugao, about a hand tractor that had broken down.

The suspect, who was drunk at the time, pulled out a machete and hit the engineer in the head.

The victim, in serious condition, was rushed to San Jose City District Hospital where he later died.

The suspect managed to escape. ###