School exec denies presence of ghost teachers

AN OFFICIAL of Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School (MOGCHS) denied on Sunday the existence of “ghost teachers” at the said school and challenged the complainants to produce evidence to back up their claim.

Calls for cooperation on tax collection get support

CAGAYAN de Oro Vice Mayor Caesar Ian Acenas expressed on Sunday his support on calls urging the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to report an accomplishment of filed charges against tax evaders and suspected smugglers on weekly basis.

Chop-slay victim's identity known

POLICE have finally identified the woman whose body was chopped into pieces by a man believed to be a cult member.

Senior Police Officer (SPO) 1, investigator of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (Cidu), said the victim was identified and claimed by her 16-year-old daughter, together with her brother and relatives.

Army, cops join force vs crime

MILITARY and police officers signed Friday a pact to jointly run against various law offenders through the creation of Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center (JPSCC) in Northern Mindanao.

Northern Mindanao police director Conrado Laza said JPSCC is a special unit that specializes on the general concern of the public.

Oro lacks parking spaces

AS DEVELOPMENT keeps on pouring in Cagayan de Oro, a councilor expressed his concern on the lack of parking spaces within the city.

Councilor President Elipe said this is due to the non-compliance of some business establishments on the "parking space and setback" requirements.

Labor office sets May 1 celebration

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) in Northern Mindanao has assured job seekers, especially fresh graduates, that jobs are on the way as the agency spearheads a Labor Day activity on May 1.

Cops nab robbery suspect

POLICE are now investigating a robbery suspect who was earlier arrested in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental.

Ruben Ronquillo, 24, a resident of Barangay Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City, was arrested by Jasaan Police and was turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (Cidu) of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) Friday morning.

Pasundayag 2011 opens with a bang

THE annual Pasundayag 2011 dubbed as Northern Mindanao Power 10 formally opened on Thursday at the Music Hall of the Mall of Asia in Manila with Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Victoria Jasmin as special guest.

Jasmin, along with around a thousand people, were awed by the magnificent street dancing around the mall from delegates of the three provinces and five cities showing the rich culture and trademark of the region.

Watermarks on peso bills can't be erased: bank

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in Cagayan de Oro clarified Friday the distinction between genuine and counterfeited, or fake bank notes.

Cecilia C. Cellona-Hortal, BSP's senior currency specialist for cash department, said both genuine old and new bills have watermarks that can never be erased even when they get wet in certain circumstances.

Armed men hold up grocery store

SIX unidentified armed men staged Thursday a daring daylight robbery inside a grocery store along J.R. Borja St. in Cagayan de Oro, carting away at least P15,000 cash and valuables.

Police Officer 3 Marvin Bolaño of Cogon Police Station said the armed men barged into Aya Commercial and asked the store's cashier to hand over the day's sales at gunpoint.

P269 daily wage not enough: militant group

MILITANT group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) held Thursday a rally at Cogon Public Market in Cagayan de Oro City as they protested the current P269 minimum daily wage in the city.

The group said the P269 daily wage is not enough to sustain a family of six.

Kidnapped American learns not to trust anybody

THE American national who was freed by his abductors on Wednesday afternoon in Lanao del Sur province said he has learned one lesson: not to trust anybody.

Milton Strowel Taylor said this is the great lesson he learned after sharing his "scary experience" in the hands of his abductors.

Councilor shows sad state of city hospital

WHILE explaining to his colleagues at City Council of the possible development the J.R. Borja Memorial City Hospital will get, Councilor Simeon Licayan admitted how miserable the patients are with the current situation of the city-run hospital.

"Pagsakit kuno mo karon and I'm sure dili gyud mo magpa-admit sa City Hospital kay mahadlok man basin mamatay na hinuon," Licayan told his fellow city councilors during their recent session.

Help up for jailed Kagay-anon

CAGAYAN de Oro City Representative Jose Benjamin Benaldo (1st district) is set to arrive in Brazil on Friday to help a Kagay-anon who was jailed for allegedly bringing in illegal drugs.

Benaldo said the City Government will exhaust all legal remedies to help Annalyn del Puerto-Abalde, a resident of Barangay Pagatpat in city, to protect her rights.

Misamis board probes 'ghost teachers'

THE Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental on Wednesday conducted an investigation on the alleged "ghost employees" in the fire-hit Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School (MOGCHS).

Provincial Board (PB) member Benedicto Lagbas, chair of the committee on education, called for an investigation on the issue and invited teacher-complainants to attend the hearing.

Local government to rebuild burned classrooms

THE Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental is reportedly looking for ways to rebuild the 22 classrooms inside Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School (MOGCHS) that were burned down on Tuesday evening.

Governor Oscar Moreno said he was saddened over the tragedy that befell the century-old school.

Lawmaker supports Juvenile law amendment

SENATOR Francis Escudero is supporting the call to amend the juvenile justice law and proposes a suspension of its implementation pending the amendment.

His statement came in reaction to the dropping of charges against minors involved in the Agusan del Sur hostage-taking.

Militant groups to hold Lenten protest

MILITANT groups have a different way of celebrating the Lenten season -- through a protest.

Abducted American freed after 'paying board and lodging'

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- An American national who was kidnapped in Cagayan de Oro last January was freed by his abductors Wednesday after paying board and lodging.

Lanao del Sur police director Rodolfo Llorca said Milton Strowel Taylor, 64, an American national, was released by his abductors at the boundary of Marawi City and Piagapu town.

Fire razes school, sports center

A FIRE broke out at the north wing of Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School (MOGCHS), which destroyed the left wing of the Pelaez Sports Center’s grandstand late Tuesday afternoon.

The fire had eaten up at least 22 classrooms of MOGCHS, including an automotive shop.

2 Kagay-anons nabbed for drugs

AT least two Cagayan de Oro residents were allegedly arrested in other countries for possession of illegal drugs, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) office in Northern Mindanao.

Although Owwa Regional Director Leonor Mabagal declined to provide their identities, Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro through ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol was able to get the name of one of them, identified as Annalyn del Puerto-Abalde, 33, a resident of Barangay Pagatpat.

Dad favors income tax returns publication

CITY Councilor Edgar Cabanlas supports a measure that aims to publish the income tax returns (ITR) of all elective and appointive government officials.

Cabanlas said with the current situation where corruption is rampant, it is but accurate to resort to all means if only to stop corruption.

High-profile agent: Kidnappers behind ‘missing American'

MYSTERY has shrouded the disappearance of an American national who was found missing in Cagayan de Oro since January 11, even as a high-profile government agent insisted that Milton Strowel Taylor had been kidnapped.

The source, who requested anonymity, told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro that there is now an ongoing negotiation between the kidnappers and the US Embassy for the immediate release of the victim.

Provincial Board nixes guv's proposed P55-M loan for hospital

“TOO big to swallow,” the majority of the Provincial Board (PB) regarded Governor Oscar Moreno’s projected P55-million loan for the construction of Alubijid hospital in Misamis Oriental.

Board Member Jesus Jardin strongly denied Moreno's request to source out the loan from Landbank in their last regular session at the Capitol's PB Council.

Drug mule from Oro arrested in Indonesia

FRUSTRATINGLY a glooming "harsh reply" to the aggressive appeal of Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez.

The lawmaker's recent call to impose death penalty against foreign drugs smugglers in the country was apparently greeted by shocking news that rocked every Kagay-anon who watched the ABS-CBN's TV Patrol news late afternoon Friday.

Life term for drug traders: PDEA

THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Northern Mindanao vowed to enforce the full force of the law to ensure that violators have to spend a lifetime in prison.

Cop chief suggests lights in overpasses

SEEING it as risky to public safety and prone to crimes, the city's new police director suggested that overpass approach in Cagayan de Oro must be illuminated.

"Madilim kasi at hindi safe daanan ang ating mga overpass dahil sa mga malalaking billboards," said city police chief Gerardo Rosales. "In fact, posible itong pagtaguan ng mga suspected criminals."

Transport groups to stage more protests

TRANSPORT groups in Northern Mindanao are renewing their call for a price roll back of petroleum products, saying the P3 per liter subsidy for the transport sector is not enough.

2 gas station robbers nabbed

POLICE arrested Monday two of the four men who robbed a gasoline station in Barangay Camaman-an, Cagayan de Oro City.

Nabbed were Raul Ocon, 25, a resident of Upper Bontong, Camaman-an; and Edmar G. Mole, a fireman assigned at Medina Fire Station in Misamis Oriental.

Aquino approves P3 per liter fuel subsidy

THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Northern Mindanao announced recently President Benigno Aquino III's approval of the P3 per liter subsidy to the transport sector.

LTFRB-Northern Mindanao Director Mandangan Darimbang said last week that public utility jeepney, taxi and motorela units will be given P3 per liter discount on fuel products as one month subsidy to survive the impact on rising fuel prices.