Firm to build 2 power plants in Bukidnon

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Local officials in Impasug-ong town in Bukidnon province and representatives of the Hedcor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the AboitizPower Corporation, have signed on Monday a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to build two run-of-river hydroelectric power plants in Northern Mindanao.

Among the signatories to the MOA were Impasug-ong Mayor Mario Okinlay; Ricardo Anlicao, village chief of Barangay Guihean, Impasug-ong; and Boy Jabonillo, Hedcor's vice president for business development.

NPAs abduct soldier in Comval

SUSPECTED members of the New People's Army (NPA) abducted a soldier after attacking a public market in Barangay Elizalde, Maco, Compostela Valley Wednesday morning.

First Lieutenant Vilma Mojado, spokesperson for the Army's 1001st Infantry Brigade, identified the soldier as Private First Class (Pfc.) Jesus Tomas of the 71st Infantry Battalion under the 10th Infantry Division.

Bian to Hugpong: Spare my husband from black propaganda

SECOND district congressional candidate Joji Ilagan-Bian on Tuesday decried the smear campaign hurled against her husband by what she believes is the Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod.

In an emotional press conference attended by her two children Tuesday, Bian defended her husband George, who was the subject of a news report on Monday (not Sun.Star Davao) regarding issues on "estafa cases" and "minicab operations."

Escudero, Nograles lead in AdDU’s poll survey

REELECTIONIST Karlo Alexi Nograles for Davao City's first district congressional seat and senatorial candidate Francis "Chiz" Escudero are leading the way in the poll survey conducted by the University research Council (URC) of the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU).

In a research administered early March using the moodle online technology with 2, 307 respondents and face-to-face interviews with 503 respondents, Nograles posted 58.7 percent (face-to-face) and 38.7 percent (moodle) while Former Vice Mayor Luis Bonguyan got 22.3 percent and 26.2 percent, respectively.

Robbery raps filed vs 3 men

THREE young men are now facing charges before the City Prosecutor’s Office (CPO) for stealing the collection of a public utility jeepney (PUJ) driver.

Superintendent Caezar Cabuhat, chief of the Sta. Ana Police Station, charged with robbery were one Hiyong (name withheld for being a minor), 17; Henry Ignacio Ombao, 19; and Oyong Cuso, all residents in Agdao in Davao City.

New EastMincom chief vows to pursue peace efforts

NEWLY-INSTALLED commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) Major General Ricardo Rainier G. Cruz III vowed to expand their partnership with the different stakeholders of the Peace and Development Outreach Program (PDOP) in his area-of-responsibility.

Cruz made the assurance in his speech entitled "Leveling Up the Partnerships" during the turnover of command ceremony and retiring rite of his predecessor Lieutenant General Jorge Segovia Monday afternoon at Camp Felix Apolinario in Panacan.

Army denies harassment, hostage of humanitarian groups

OFFICIALS of the 701st Brigade and the 67th Infantry Battalion (67th IB) of the Philippine Army (PA) vehemently denied allegations they took members of humanitarian groups as hostage and harassing them last weekend in Sitio Spur 2, Barangay Aliwagwag, Cateel, Davao Oriental.

Contrary to the claims of the humanitarian groups that their vehicle was sabotaged and their driver was harassed, 701st Brigade commander Colonel Leonardo Rey Guerrero, in an e-mailed statement to Sun.Star Davao, said the groups were stranded in Cabuyao after being abandoned by their driver.

1 of 3 robbery suspects nabbed

POLICE arrested one of three suspects involved in a robbery incident that victimized a 58-year-old farmer in Davao City.

The suspect was identified as Glicerio Ugapang Barguio, 27, single and a resident of No. 232 Bonifacio Extension, Barangay 31-D Poblacion.

Car firm employee faces theft charges

AN EMPLOYEE of the Toyota Davao City Incorporated is facing charges before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) for stealing the earnings of the company.

Charged with qualified theft under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) was Renyl S. Singson of Davao City.

Hold departure order sought on drug suspect

THE Davao City Prosecutor's Office has filed a motion seeking for the issuance of a hold departure order against the brother of an alleged drug pusher who was killed in a shootout with the police authorities in Toril in Davao City two weeks ago.

Charged with violation of the Republic Act 9165, or The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and Republic Act 8294, or The Illegal Possession of Firearms, was Dioscoro Cabrera Borja, of Toril in Davao City.

Government, MILF agree on elections ceasefire

DAVAO CITY -- The Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of both the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed on Monday the Guidelines for Mutual Understanding (MOU) for Ceasefire-Related Functions during the May 2013 polls.

Comelec-Davao intensifies ‘Operation Baklas’

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec)-Davao City intensified its "Operation Baklas" on Monday, tearing down volumes of illegal campaign materials in different areas in the city.

Lawyer Aimee Ampoloquio, Comelec-Davao City district 1 election officer, said they assembled five teams for the operation and had coordinated with the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) to assist them in removing oversized campaign materials and those posted outside of the designated common poster areas.

2 firms eye waste-to-energy projects in Davao

TWO foreign firms are eyeing to put up waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities in Davao City that may slowly free up the sanitary landfill with wastes by hundreds of tons a day.

In Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao, Lawyer Joseph Felizarta, chief of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro), said the two-year-old sanitary landfill can save up more space when Sinova Holdings Ltd., and Global Green Inc. (GGI) will push through their proposals of establishing WTE facilities in the city.

Council tackles sustainable investment, infra dev’t

THE City Council of Davao is set to tackle the technical assistance agreement to be entered into between the City Government and the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) for the pre-feasibility study on sustainable investment and infrastructure development for urban climate resilience in the city.

A copy of the agenda for the regular session showed that the proposed ordinance is set for approval under third and final reading.

‘Buffer zones along agri farms must be enforced’

AN ENVIRONMENTALIST group said the proper and functional buffer zones along large scale agricultural farms must be strictly enforced by government agencies mandated to protect the environment.

In a statement, Rey Sapid, Kinaiyahan Amomahon Panalipdan Panggaon ug Irespeto Inc. (Kappi) advocacy and campaigns officer, said they documented various plantations that established one-meter buffer zones planted to flamengia, a tropical shrub used to prevent soil erosion.

Landmine found in N. Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Authorities recovered an improvised landmine, about three kilometers away from the national highway in Arakan, North Cotabato province around 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Senior Inspector Rolly Oranza, chief of the Arakan Municipal Police Station, said the bomb, weighing 5.8 kilos, was recovered at sitio Sinayong, Barangay Bato-Bato in Arakan, near the place where Police Officer 2 Mike Ali was abducted on Friday by suspected members of the New Peoples' Army (NPA).

Kins of ambush victims cry justice

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Relatives of the victims of the recent ambush in Matalam, North Cotabato are crying justice for the death of their loved ones.

Felixberto Badayos, retired member of the Police Constabulary, and his driver, Danny Simon, were killed when waylaid by still unidentified gunmen along the highway in Matalam town on April 14. They are set to be buried at the Catholic Cemetery here on Saturday.

DCPO: Nabbed gun ban violators reach 104

THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) has arrested a total of 104 violators of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)-imposed gun ban since its implementation last January 13.

Based on the data presented by DCPO chief of operations Chief Inspector Ariel Acala as of April 19, 36 of the 104 arrested violators are now facing charges while 54 are still under investigation. Police have also confiscated a total of 42 firearms and 71 other deadly weapons.

Bigger ‘House of Hope’ for kids with cancer

CHILDREN with cancer who are patients of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) and are using the House of Hope as living facility will have bigger space with the construction of a new building with 10 individual rooms.

Funded through Senator Pia Cayetano's Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the new building seeks to provide more living space for House of Hope, as it has already been rendered inadequate for the growing number of patients and their parents needing living facilities since the center was built in 2007.

NPA: 2 policemen are now ‘fugitives’

THE New People's Army (NPA) said the two police officers from Loreto, Agusan del Sur who were captured by the rebels but managed to escape are now considered "fugitives in NPA law and are targets of re-arrest."

In a statement sent to Sun.Star Davao, Ka Aris Francisco, spokesperson for NPA-Comval-North Davao South Agusan Sub-regional Command, said they kept under custody PO1 Nemuel Espana and PO2 Ronald Allan Munez as prisoners of war for four days before the two escaped around 2 p.m. of April 18.

Digitel employees stage hunger strike

SEVERAL employees of telecommunication company Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) have been on hunger strike at the main office of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) for almost a week now.

They have been protesting against “continued defiance” of the telecom giant PLDT to the Supreme Court (SC) order for the reinstatement of dismissed Digitel workers and start with the collective bargaining agreement.

1 dies, 18 hurt in road mishap

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- A 20-year-old parish worker died while 18 others were injured when the vehicle carrying them collided with another car while negotiating on a curve along the national highway in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, around 6:45 a.m. Saturday.

Superintendent Junny Buenacosa, chief of Tacurong City police, identified the fatality as Angelita Ceballos Kim, worker of Sta. Teresita Parish in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

DepEd, power coop: Polling places in good condition

THE Department of Education (DepEd)-Davao City and the Davao Light Power Corporation (DLPC) assured the good condition of the polling places and clustered precincts for the automated elections on May 13.

DepEd-Davao City administrative officer Gerard Pil and DLPC community relations manager Vic Sumalinog made the assurance Saturday, during the launching of the Operation E=Champ (elections that is honest accurate, meaningful and peaceful) at the Davao Association of Catholic Schools Inc. (DACS) Training Center in Juna Subdivision.

900 cops, soldiers to be deployed in polling places

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Joint Security Coordinating Council (JSCC) are set to deploy their respective forces near the polling places in Davao City for the automated election on May 13.

In a data presented by Davao City Police Office (DCPO) chief of operations Chief Inspector Ariel Acala, a total of 596 cops from the DCPO will be deployed while 314 troopers from the 10th Infantry Division (10ID) of the AFP will be dispatched for the electoral exercise.

Raps readied vs man who went berserk

POLICE will file charges today (Monday) before the Davao City Prosecutor’s Office (CPO) against a man who ran amuck, and for keeping a bladed weapon.

SPO2 Jill Trinidad, of Talomo police station, identified the suspect as one Julieto Masaguid, resident of Matina Pangi in Davao City.

Bike-riding men shoot dispatcher

A DISPATCHER is in critical condition after he was shot by one of two unidentified men at the corner of Bolton and Rizal streets in Davao City on Saturday evening.

Chief Inspector Hamlet Lerios, deputy chief of the San Pedro police, identified the victim as Mike Abersoza, 30, of Quezon Boulevard.

Missing disbursing officer faces raps

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- A former City Government employee is facing at least 30 warrants of arrests for allegedly carting in July 2012 a cash intended to pay salaries and honoraria of several casuals and job order employees of the City Hall.

Kidapawan City treasurer Elsa Palmones said each warrant issued against Darwin Loyola, former disbursing officer at the City Hall, represented each payroll that was included in the missing money.

Man sued for carrying knife

A MAN is facing charges before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) for carrying a bladed weapon in public.

Charged with violation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)-imposed gun ban was identified as Roy M. Antigua, 20, of Malagamot, Panacan in Davao City.

5 face raps for drug possession

CHARGES have been filed before the City Prosecution Office (CPO) against five men for illegal drugs possession.

The suspects were identified as Nasrudin Laguiali, 40; Basare Bra Abbas, 29; Datu Men Karon, 30 -- both residents of the Crossing Simway in Cotabato City; Daud Ali Malang, 30; and Mama Samilon, 40 -- residents of Datu Piang in Maguindanao.

Youth involvement program for polls launched

A NEW program, which aims for the involvement of the youth sector for a fair and clean May 2013 elections, was launched Friday.

The Operation e-Champ or the "Election that is Clean, Honest, Accurate, Meaningful and Peaceful" was spearheaded by the Davao Association of Catholic Schools Inc. (Dacs), in partnership with the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).