Passion killing eyed in deaths of Cebu village chief, widow

CEBU CITY -- The same type of bullet pierced the chest of Mabini Barangay Captain Rey Oybenes and Rohamma Luage and the shot killed both.

The bullet was fired from a .45 pistol.

NBI officer nabbed for extortion

THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 yesterday arrested a legal officer of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) 7 for allegedly extorting P25,000 from an American national in exchange for his visa extension.

NBI 7 Director Antonio Pagatpat said a joint team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Manila and the NBI Central Visaya caught Serafin A. Abellon, BI legal officer, in an entrapment.

Transportation department asks Cebu City to submit project brief

THE Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has asked the Cebu City Government to submit a project brief on the establishment of bike lanes in the city.

This will be used for possible funding for the project’s feasibility study.

Asean media agree to create press council

BANGKOK --Representatives from seven media groups in Southeast Asia yesterday agreed to move toward the establishment of an Asean Press Council (APC).

City: Use of pickups remain unrestricted

CEBU City Hall has no plans, for now, to restrict the use of government-owned vehicles issued to barangay captains.

The issue was raised as Mabini Barangay Captain Rey Oybenes used the City-issued pickup truck when he allegedly dumped the body of his lover in Barangay Cansumoroy, Balamban before shooting himself inside the same vehicle last Thursday.

Mabini folk voice disbelief at Oybenes’s ‘act’

TO many residents of Barangay Mabini, Cebu City, Rey Oybenes is a generous and helpful village chief.

Many of them were shocked when they heard that Oybenes was accused of killing Rohama Luage, his alleged lover, and dumping her body in a ravine in Balamban.

DWUP chief: Luage always happy at work

DESPITE the death of her husband in 2007, Rohama Luage was a jolly person.

Her co-workers at the Cebu City Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) could not believe Luage’s life would end the way it did.

Submarine operator apologizes

THE operator of the controversial underwater tour in Lapu-Lapu City said they will take full responsibility for the damaged corals in a diving site where their submarine operated.

“We would like to apologize for the trouble that the Yellow Submarine has caused,” Cebu Yellow Submarine Undersea Tour Corp. general manager Jun Kim said in a letter to Mayor Paz Radaza last May 9.

Joavan’s arraignment postponed

THE arraignment of Joavan Fernandez, considered by police as Cebu’s public enemy number one, on his latest cases was postponed yesterday after his lawyer, Paulino Labrado, failed to appear in court.

Judge Soliver Peras had scheduled Fernandez’s arraignment of his three criminal cases yesterday morning.

1,000 BEIs have yet to get honorarium

OVER 1,000 board of election inspectors (BEI) of seven local government units in Cebu Province have not received their cash cards where their honorariums will be deposited. These towns include Badian (114 BEIs), Asturias (138), Dumanjug (153), Catmon (78) and Sibonga (117) and the cities of Carcar (209) and Toledo (369).

Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Eddie Aba submitted the list to Finance Services Department Director 4 Eduardo Mejos of Comelec Manila last Tuesday.

Notebooks bearing images of officials to be distributed

THE Capitol will cover the notebooks that bear the images of provincial officials, including suspended Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale.

“Then, there’s another suggestion… coveran unya ihatag sa (cover the notebooks then distribute these to local government units) and we want to talk to the local chief executives nga (that) they will take care of providing covers,” Magpale said.

Lapu-Lapu to promote culture, heritage during Gabii sa Kabilin

FOR the first time, heritage sites in Lapu-Lapu City will be featured in the Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage), an annual tour of museums and historical sites.

City Tourism Officer Hembler Mendoza said participants of the event will be given a tour of the Mactan Shrine and the Nuestra Virgen de la Regla National Shrine on May 31.

Cebu village chief, widow of cop found dead

CEBU CITY -- The barangay captain of Mabini, this city, allegedly killed his rumored paramour before shooting himself to death inside his vehicle a few hours after he had thrown her body off a cliff.

The body of the woman was dumped in a cliff in Barangay Cansumoroy, Balamban, which is in the mountain borders of Cebu City.

Wanted: 5T teachers for public schools

CENTRAL Visayas needs more than 5,600 public school teachers this year, the Department of Education (DepEd 7) said.

The new teachers will augment the 44,234 currently employed by the National Government for Central Visayas.

Joavan eats CPDRC’s breakfast ration; pa visits

ACTING Governor Agnes Magpale said Joavan Fernandez will not be harmed inside the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), but he won’t get any special treatment.

Joavan was transferred to the CPDRC last Wednesday after he and two other companions were arrested in the southwestern town of Moalboal last Monday. They were preparing to board two pump boats for Negros Oriental.

‘Metro Cebu’ swindlers claim 2 more victims

TWO more complainants surfaced yesterday as police continue to search for the swindlers who issued bouncing checks to several stores in Metro Cebu last week.

Businessman Mark Loreto, 28, of Liloan, Cebu, said he lost five coffee vending machines worth P76,000 after the buyer who ordered the items over the phone issued a check that turned out to be of no value.

Cebu City Hall needs P70 million a month

IF THE City Council will have its way, the Cebu City Government will have to set aside at least P70 million every month for the allowances of barangay officials and workers, and the financial assistance for senior citizens.

City Treasurer Emma Villarete said the monthly release of the allowances and financial aid can be done if made through the distribution of cash cards.

City Hall needs P70M a month

IF THE City Council will have its way, the Cebu City Government will have to set aside at least P70 million every month for the allowances of barangay officials and workers, and the financial assistance for senior citizens.

Election bet’s female supporter shot, another killed in Tuburan

MORE than a week after the elections, supporters of opposing political parties in Tuburan, Cebu were shot in separate occasions this week.

The incidents — the first occurred last Tuesday and the second on Wednesday — prompted Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Patrocinio Comendador to order police station chiefs of areas where there was intense political rivalry during the elections to hold a dialogue between opposing politicians.

COA answer on tour buses lacks specifics

AS the management of Capitol’s funds is the responsibility of the head of the Provincial Government, the Commission on Audit (COA) said that it is up to the acting governor to decide whether to pay the supplier of the Suroy-suroy buses given to the towns.

In a May 21 letter to acting Gov. Agnes Magpale, COA state auditor 5 Eva Cabrera said fiscal responsibility “resides with management” as provided under COA Circular 2011-002.

Mayor sued for vote-buying

DUMANJUG Liberal party mayoralty candidate Cesar Baricuatro filed a disqualification case against newly-elected Dumanjug Mayor Nelson Garcia before the Cebu Provincial Comelec office on the day of the election on the grounds of vote-buying.

Baricuatro, in a phone interview, said Garcia gave the policemen of Dumanjug Police Station P10,000 each sometime before May 13.

Pelaez wants Radaza victory voided

DEFEATED mayoral candidate Ephraim Pelaez Jr. will file today a petition before the Comelec in Manila for the nullification of the proclamation Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza and her entire slate as winners in the May 13 election.

In a press conference at his mansion in Rahman St., Cebu City, Pelaez said Radaza and her camp engaged in terrorism, threats and intimidation against his supporters, and many of them failed to vote.

‘Drug addict’ uses kid as shield

A KNIFE-WIELDING man used a nine-year-old girl in Barangay Suba, Cebu City at 8 p.m. last Wednesday, to shield himself from pursuers.

Joy (real name withheld) was rescued unscathed, but hostage-taker Polinario Nanoy, who is allegedly a drug addict, suffered injuries after he was beaten up by the angry residents.

2 brods face drug charges

TWO brothers, who were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 for their alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade, will face trial after they were charged by the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

Associate Prosecution Attorney Van Russel Inopiquez found enough evidence to indict Michael Cavan with violations of Sections 11 (illegal possession of dangerous drugs) and 12 (possession of paraphernalia), Article 2 of Republic Act (RA) 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Young stops demolition of a stage in Apas; Ayuman says it’s mere politics

CEBU City Acting Mayor Joy Augustus Young issued a cease and desist order on the alleged demolition of a stage in Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Apas.

But if one had to ask Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman, there was no demolition, and Young and his supporters are just politicking.

3 Aspins to join in 1st dog agility tilt in Cebu City

AMIGA, a two-year-old asong pinoy or aspin, will be one of three aspins that will compete in the First Philippine Dog Agility Championships this weekend.

Aspins are not known to compete in agility contests but officials of the Philippine Dog Agility Association (PDAA) said this was only because of the lack of time that people spend on their pets for training and brain stimulation.

Philippine Army joins Brigada Eskwela in Cebu school

MEMBERS of the 53rd Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army participated in Brigada Eskwela 2013 at Cebu City Central School (CCCS).

Headed by Technical Sergeant Mateo Piadop, the group helped in repainting, repairing, and renovating classrooms and one school bakery in preparation of the school opening this June.

Joavan transferred to CPDRC

CEBU CITY -- Two days after his arrest in Moalboal, Cebu early this week, Joavan Fernandez was transferred to the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) Wednesday noon.

Inmates from the nearby Cebu City Jail applauded when they saw the Talisay City mayor’s adopted son’s arrival at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Target: 602 rooms

THE good news is that public school classrooms in Cebu City and Province need no major repairs. The bad news is that there still won’t be enough for all classes.

This year, government agencies set a target of 602 new classrooms for Central Visayas. So far, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has built 80.

OWWA hasn’t received any request for help from Taiwan

NONE of the almost 3,000 Cebuanos who are working in Taiwan have reported being harassed by the Taiwanese, according to the Office of the Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Some Filipinos were reportedly harassed in Taiwan after the Philippine Coast Guard shot a Taiwanese fisherman on board a vessel that encroached in Philippine territorial waters early this month.