To ease brewing political tension
Gapan city hall declared
a 'no-gun zone'

The Nueva Ecija police chief, Sr. Supt. Ricardo Marquez, declared the Gapan city hall as a "no firearm zone" to ease the tension between the camps of outgoing Mayor Ernesto L. Natividad and Vice Mayor Christian Tinio.

“The gun ban will not only apply to the contending parties but also to members of the Police Security Protection Group (PSPG). If they don't want to surrender their guns, they have no business being in the city hall,” Marquez said. 

Political tension erupted last October 21 when an elder brother of Natividad, Romeo, reportedly barged into the local office of the Commission on Elections and choked election officer Herbert Santiago for allegedly blocking the registration of the mayor's supporters.

The incident led to the suspension of the voters' registration. Marquez sent a team from the PNP Provincial Mobile Group to secure the COMELEC office until after the voters' registration ended last October 31.

Belen Rivera, city election officer, condemned the acts of the mayor's brother, saying that the COMELEC was just doing its job of thoroughly screening registrants.

Emmanuel Ignacio, COMELEC regional director for Central Luzon, said that the incident constituted a criminal offense.  He said that the case had been referred to the COMELEC law department for possible legal action against Natividad's brother.

For his part, Mayor Natividad said that he regrets his brother's outburst. He said he had expected such an incident to happen since the COMELEC had not been acting on his request to relieve officials whom he perceived as favoring the Tinio camp.

To prove his claim of COMELEC bias in favor of Tinio, Natividad said that the vice mayor's relative, Lean Tinio, acted as election assistant together with her husband, George Sta. Ines.  He said that since June, he had been asking the COMELEC regional director to have the couple relieved to ensure the poll body's impartiality.  He said that while Lean was relieved, Sta. Ines was retained.

He also cited the assignment of three other Sangguniang Panglungsod employees identified with Tinio to the COMELEC office. He named these as Angelica Flores, Cherry Vistan and Arsenia Pastolero.

“It's as if the COMELEC has become the extension office of the SP,” Natividad said. ###
 
 

Gapan councilor charged for threatening, mauling mayor's aide

An employee of the Gapan City mayor's office complained to the police that City Councilor Marcelino "Derek" Alvarez allegedly threatened and mauled him last October 21.

The alleged mauling incident happened only half an hour after Herbert Santiago, an election assistant, was reportedly harassed by an elder brother of City Mayor Ernesto L. Natividad at the local COMELEC office.

The city police chief, Supt. Diosdado V. Ramos, identified the complainant as Rodrigo Garcia.

Alvarez, of Barangay Bayanihan, allegedly strangled Garcia with his left hand and punched his chest with his right hand while cursing him.

Garcia, of Riverside, Barangay San Vicente, made a sworn statement to the police last October 23, saying that his legal counsel would take charge of his case. ###
 
 

Edno urges early gun ban

First Dist. Rep. Eduardo Nonato Joson urged the Commission on Elections to implement  a total gun ban way ahead of the start of the campaign period for national candidates on February 9, 2010.

He said that candidates become targets of possible election related violence once they file their certificates of candidacy.

He said that the total gun ban should start on November 20, given the huge number of loose firearms.

Earlier, COMELEC Chair Jose A.R. Melo said that the total gun ban would make it illegal for anyone who is not a candidate for public office to carry guns during the campaign period which starts 90 days before the election of national candidates and 45 days before that of local candidates. ###
 
 

Popoy Taruc ready to run for Ecija governor

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Director Jose "Popoy" Taruc V says he is fit and ready to run for Nueva Ecija governor in 2010.

He bared this during the launch of the gift giving project for victims of storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng in three cities and nine towns in Nueva Ecija last October 28.

Taruc had vowed to publicly announce his decision to run on his birthday on November 4.  He also hinted that he could make his decision at the last hour before the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy.

Taruc was the running mate of Gov. Aurelio M. Umali in 2007 and the two have been estranged since.

There are reports that Taruc might tap former San Jose City Mayor Alex Belena as his running mate. Belena had said that he is not running for mayor of the city.

Taruc said that he considers Belena as a "barkada", together with Board Member Romeo Borja, Jr.

It has been reported that Borja, son of Pantabangan Mayor Romeo Borja, Sr. and the governor's party mate, is thinking of transferring to Taruc's camp if the latter runs for governor. ###
 
 

Pantabangan releases water anew

In anticipation of the coming of typhoon Santi -- the third weather disturbance to affect the country in one month -- Pantabangan Dam started releasing water last October 30.

Eng. Antonio S. Nangel, operations manager of Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (UPRIIS), said that the water release was increased from 180 cubic meters per second to 230 cubic meters per second starting at 10:00 AM.

He said that officials and residents of Rizal,  the first town downstream from the dam, had been alerted.

The water level of the dam was recorded at 281.7 meters or 2.3 meters from spilling level.

Gov. Aurelio Umali met with members of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council last October 29 to ensure that the preparations for the coming typhoon were in place.

Farmers simultaneously rushed to harvest and thresh their crops, blanketing much of Nueva Ecija with smoke from burning hay.

Though Santi had been forecast to cross Central Luzon, it veered southward toward Southern Luzon instead, sparing Nueva Ecija. ###
 
 

DepEd shortens X'mas vacation in disaster areas

The regional office of the Department of Education (DepEd) said that the two-week Christmas vacation for public elementary and high schools in declared calamity areas like Nueva Ecija will be shortened by a week.

This is to enable schools to meet the required 204 days of classes this school year.

DepEd's Magdalena Roque said that some schools in Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Bulacan and 
Pampanga were used as evacuation centers resulting in the cancellation of classes. ###
 
 

Muñoz dance group to perform in Baguio int'l music fest

The Bungkos Palay Group of the Science City of Muñoz is slated to perform in the second Baguio Cathedral International Music Festival to be held from November 24 to 28.

Benguet Bishop Carlito Cenzon said that the festival started in 2008 to promote sacred and secular music in the Baguio Cathedral as part of endeavors to repair and maintain the 40 year old Fr. Desdedt pipe organ which is the festival's unique feature.

He said that 50 percent of the festival proceeds will be added to the Diocese Calamity Fund for typhoon victims.

There will be five nights of performances by a pool of internationally renowned sopranos and tenors, with the Manila Symphony Orchestra in the gala performance on November 28.

The Bungkos Palay Group will be the outreach performance of the festival to be held at the University of Baguio gymnasium. ###
 
 

BOI approves Llanera project, 6 others

A rice milling and handling facility in Llanera, Nueva Ecija is among the seven projects ranging from agri-business to infrastructure with combined investments of P1.5 billion that have been granted tax and fiscal incentives by the Board of Investments.

For the agri-business sector, the BOI approved the P68.76 million project of Llanera Grains Complex in Barangay General Luna, Llanera, a sole proprietorship of Jovencio J. Hisarza.

The firm will construct a state of the art milling and rice handling facility for polishing, pre-washing and optical sorting with a capacity of 158,000 bags of well milled rice and 23,700 bags of rice bran.

The business is expected to start commercial operation this year with 67 workers. ###
 
 

Santo Domingo teacher faces child abuse raps

A high school teacher in Santo Domingo town was accused of maltreating and insulting a 15 year old male student.

The Nueva Ecija police director, Sr. Supt. Ricardo C. Marquez, identified the accused as Dolores Batungbakal-Flores of Barangay Sagaba, Santo Domingo, a third year MAPE teacher at Julia Ortiz Luis National High School.

The student, of Barangay Pulong Buli, Santo Domingo, accompanied by his mother filed verbal and psychological abuse charges or violation of the Anti-Child Abuse Law against Flores at the provincial prosecutor's office after school authorities reportedly refused to attend to the complaint.

Marquez said that the student's mother first approached the principal about her son's case last October 15  but the complaints were allegedly ignored.

Investigators said that the student complained of humiliating incidents that happened last June, with the latest last October 14 at 10:00 AM inside the III-Talisay classroom.

It was learned that the teacher called the complaining student "abnormal" for sucking his fingers during classes.  Last October 14, during a quiz, the teacher asked him: "Pangit, yari ka na ba?"

The student said that he ignored the teacher, who then got irritated and asked him "Bakit hindi ka sumagot? Sino pa ba ang pangit dito?"

The student later told his grandfather about the ordeal.

The mother said that his son developed inferiority complex arising from those incidents. ###
 
 

Fire guts ex-congressman's house

The two-story house of former Nueva Ecija Rep. Felicisimo Ocampo at Barangay Mabini Extension, Cabanatuan City was destroyed by an hour-long fire last October 27.

Fire Chief Insp. Gregorio Antonio said that the house now  belongs to a son of the former congressman, Jose Radanes Ocampo, 56, a businessman.

Investigation showed that at about 6:35 AM, house caretaker Arturo Espina, 55, who was then cooking rice, left the kitchen for a while and when he returned, the place was already on fire.

The fire destroyed P2.5 million worth of property.  No once was injured in the incident. ###
 
 

Family of 3 dies in Cabiao fire

Three family members died when they were trapped inside their burning house in Barangay San Fernando Sur, Cabiao early in the morning of October 20.

Chief Insp. Peter Madria, Cabiao police chief, identified the victims as espouses Marcelino T. Balingit, 48, and Amalia, 46, and their son, Marcelino Jr., 14.

Investigators said that the fire started at about 2:30 AM in the Balingit's two story house whose ground floor was occupied by a bakery.  The fire spread to an adjoining house also owned by the family.

Firefighters from Jaen, San Isidro, San Antonio and Gapan City joined forces and managed to put out the fire at about 6:00 AM.

The fire destroyed P2.5 million worth of properties. ###
 
 

Llanera woman raped, killed

The Llanera police arrested a man for allegedly raping and stabbing to death an 18 year old woman last October 20.

The victim was identified as Melanie Blanco, a school dropout, of Barangay Andres Bonifacio Norte.

Her body was discovered in a hut inside the Reginaldo Farm, a mango plantation owned by Don Felix Reginaldo in Barangay Andres Bonifacio Sur.

The Llanera police chief, Sr. Insp. Febe S. Breis, said that the victim's throat was slashed and her chest bore stab wounds.

The suspect was identified as Elmer Estone, 19, of Barangay Andres Bonifacio Sur.  He was arrested inside his house. Recovered from him was a 15 inch jungle bolo.

The suspect reportedly confessed that he stabbed the victim in the chest with the bolo when she threatened to report the rape to the police.

It was learned that the victim together with the suspect and their six other friends had a drinking session inside the house of a certain Jay Carillo.

When the victim went out, the suspect followed and asked her to go with him to a nearby hut to talk.

Drinking buddies Romeo Bumanlag and Jonathan Rabang told investigators that the victim and the suspect disappeared for a few hours and only the suspect returned later, telling them that the woman had gone home.

Jeffrey Santos, farm caretaker, reported the discovery of the victim's body. ###
 
 

Suspected witch stabbed dead

A 53 year old grandmother suspected of being a witch and responsible for the death of a  resident was stabbed dead in Barangay Villamarina, San Jose City last October 31.

The victim was identified as Eugenia Galacio Delfin.  She sustained multiple stab wounds in different parts of her body.

Investigation showed that the victim was asleep beside her grandchild at about 10:00 PM when the unknown male assailant entered the room and repeatedly stabbed her until she died. The grandchild was unharmed.

Before escaping, the suspect reportedly told the grandchild that the victim deserved to die for causing the death of his relative through witchcraft. ###