Degamo, Macias proclaimed

INCUMBENT governor Roel Degamo and vice governor Mark Macias were proclaimed as Negros Oriental governor and vice governor, respectively, at the Session Hall of the Provincial Board Friday afternoon.

Governor Degamo obtained the highest votes against his opponents Negros Oriental Representative Jocelyn Limkaichong (1st district) and former finance secretary Margarito Teves.

Bomb blast damages school

A BOMB explosion damaged a school classroom in Salug town, Zamboanga del Norte on Thursday, the police reported.

Zamboanga Peninsula Police spokesman Ariel Huesca said the explosion happened around 1:20 a.m. Thursday at the Salug National High School in Poblacion village, Salug.

9 nabbed for violating wildlife protection act

THE police have arrested nine people for violation of Republic Act 9147, otherwise known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, the police reported Friday.

Arrested were Ernesto Abil, 31; Eleno Hilegan, 32; Raul Dela Torre, 32; Cerilo Jasma, 27; Jonathan Cabodillo, 33; Felix Apatan, 48; Epicasio Fabillaran, 50; Felipe Baylon, 52; and, Mario Sandal, 38, the police said.

Zamboanga City buys new fire trucks

THE City Government of Zamboanga has purchased four new fire trucks amounting to P23.6 million as a fulfillment of its commitment to help the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) enhance its emergency response capability.

One of the four fire trucks were delivered and is set to be turned over on Monday, May 20, to Zamboanga City Fire District (ZCFD), Mayor Celso Lobregat said.

Rotational brownouts ‘man-made’

THE rotational brownouts that have been widely experienced in Mindanao because of the looming power crisis are simply man-made, a renewable energy advocate said.

Engr. David Tauli, speaker of the upcoming 2nd Mindanao Congress for Renewable Energy and Rural Electrification & Development (MinCared), said the problem is only artificial as he blamed the errors to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (Psalm).

Liberal Party-CDO sponsors thanksgiving mass

WIN or lose, all the Liberal Party (LP) candidates in Cagayan de Oro city attended the thanksgiving mass celebrated at St. Augustine Cathedral early evening Friday.

Leading the slate is LP mayor-elect Oscar Moreno who won against incumbent mayor Vicente Emano.

‘Riding-in-tandem’ strikes in CdeO anew

BARELY a week after the May 13 midterm elections, one died while two others were wounded as riding-in-tandem assailants in Cagayan de Oro struck anew in Purok 3A, Barangay Gusa, Thursday evening.

Agora police station commander Senior Inspector Evan Viñas said Julius Galon, 30, a native of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental and resident of Gusa, is the latest victim of such crime.

2 NPAs killed in Surigao Norte

TWO members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in an encounter with the soldiers Friday afternoon in the mountainous area in Barangay Cabugo village in Claver, Surigao del Norte, the military said.

In his report to the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID), Col. Ferdinand Quidilla, commanding officer of the 402nd Infantry Brigade, said the 30-minute firefight claimed the lives of two NPA rebels.

Man stabbed to death

A 51-year-old man was stabbed to death by his alleged live-in partner’s brother while on a drinking spree on a roadside in Barra, Macabalan, Cagayan de Oro Thursday afternoon.

Senior Police Officer 1 Camaloding Macmac, police investigator of Macabalan police station, identified the victim as Celso Loque, a native of Carmen, Butuan City, who sustained three stab wounds on the neck, chest and shoulder.

DA adopts intervention to hike rice production

WITH the advent of the rainy season, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas has adopted several intervention schemes aimed to increase rice production and establish once again the region's supremacy as the top rice producing area in the country.

DA Regional Director Larry Nacionales said the scheme involves the cooperation of other government agencies and institutions to increase production as the country is celebrating the Year of the Rice.

Iloilo sets Santacruzan 2013

THE Iloilo City Government and the City Tourism Council will jointly implement a yearly Santacruzan sa Flores de Mayo with a procession of the sagalas on May 24.

The procession will start at 4 p.m. from Museo Iloilo passing through JM Basa St., until the San Jose parish church at Plaza Libertad in a one-kilometer stretch depicting the many facets of the Santacruzan and the sagalas.

Councilor posts highest votes in 3 elections

REELECTED for the third and final term, Councilor Nielex Tupas is creating a history by being a candidate that have the highest number of votes and remaining number one in the elections for the past three years for a seat in the City Council.

In the May 13 elections, Tupas was able to garner more than 122,000 votes with a wide margin of over 17,000 votes compared to the second place teammate Love-love Baronda of Team PNoy.

Eastern Visayas political families continue to rule

MAJOR ruling political families in Eastern Visayas are still assured to continue with their dominance on their respective turfs with the only exception of the Dazas in Northern Samar, ironically supposed to be the bailiwick of President Benigno Aquino III's Liberal Party (LP).

In Leyte, the dominance of the Romualdez and Petilla families remain, as both Leopoldo Dominico Petilla and Ferdinand Martin Romualdez were unopposed on their respective bids for governor and congressman.

Tension arise in Northern Samar

SAN, ISIDRO, Northern Samar -- Tension arose as supporters of congressional candidates for the first district of Northern Samar Harlin Abayon and incumbent Representative Raul Daza occupy the municipal hall to protect the votes of their candidates.

Men of 803rd Infantry Brigade and the police are securing the premises of the building to ensure that the tension would not escalate.

Analyst: Aquino endorsement not good enough to win votes

PRESIDENTIAL and celebrity endorsements, truckloads of campaign posters, overwhelming public support and countless media ads are paths to poll victory, but why An Waray party-list Representative Florencio "Bem" Noel failed on his bid to become the mayor of Tacloban City?

A political analyst tagged several factors why Noel lost on his bid despite endorsement from the President Benigno Aquino III and his sister, Kris, so-called queen of all media.

Police return after rendering poll duties

PALO, Leyte -- About 913 uniformed police personnel have safely returned to the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Eastern Visayas office after rendering election duties for two weeks in various parts of the region.

Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria, PNP-Eastern Visayas director, has tendered a cordial and joyous welcome to the returning policemen who were augmented to secure a fair, honest and peaceful elections.

Policeman lauded for foiling possible poll violence

BORONGAN CITY -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Eastern Visayas will give proper recognition to a 47-year-old policeman who singlehandedly prevented an attempt by several armed men to sow violence in a remote village in Eastern Samar simultaneous to the elections.

Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria, PNP-Eastern Visayas director, identified the police officer as Senior Police Officer 3 Jorge Tiunayan who was manning the security assistance desk in a polling center in Mantang Elementary School, some five kilometers away from the town proper of Taft in Eastern Samar.

Gov’t looking into alternative markets for OFWs in Taiwan

THE Philippine government is eyeing alternative markets for Filipinos who could be displaced due to the sanction being imposed by Taiwan.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, in a news briefing, said that the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) has identified South Korea, Middle East and Malaysia as possible destinations for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), particularly those in the manufacturing sector.

P25-M worth of smuggled goods from China seized

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) raided Friday two storage areas in Tondo, which yielded P25-million worth of goods and merchandise believed to be illegally imported from China.

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said the raid was carried out by BOC Intelligence Group operatives virtue of a Letter of Authority he earlier issued upon the recommendation of Deputy Commissioner Danilo Lim pursuant to Section 2536 of the Tariffs and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP).

Poe won't take up crash course in legislation

SENATOR-ELECT Grace Poe-Llamanzares won't be taking up a crash course for neophyte legislators, saying her team of advisers would be enough to help her get through her upcoming job in the Senate.

She called herself "fortunate" for having members of the academe in her team during the campaign as well as the practical advices of veteran senators Francis Escudero and Sergio Osmeña III.

New vice guv assures SP won't be 'obstructionist'

NEWLY elected Vice Governor Eugenio "Bong" Lcason on Thursday assured that, although the composition of the incoming Provincial Board is dominated by the opposition party to which he belongs, it will not be obstructionist to the programs of re-elected Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr.

Rep. Alvarez eyes Kabankalan as highly urbanized city

RE-ELECTED Sixth District Congresswoman Mercedes Alvarez will push for the conversion of Kabankalan City into a Highly Urbanized City during her second term.

Alvarez was proclaimed Thursday after winning over her opponent Philip Arles for the second time. She garnered 101,824 votes while Arles got 53,366 votes.

Vladi rises above defeat

PAMILYA MKK vice mayoralty candidate Vladimir Gonzales has stood firm to rise above his defeat in the recent May 13, 2013 elections.

Gonzales said acceptance is better for him so that he could move on and pick up the pieces.

Cops on poll duty to get P1,800 each

EACH of the 474 Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) personnel who were deployed for poll duty last Monday will receive P1,800 subsistence allowance from the City Government through the Bacolod City Commission on Elections (Comelec), a police official said.

BCPO Spokesperson Supt. Armando Tubongbanua, in a press briefing at the BCPO Headquarters, said that the police deserve the subsistence allowance, as they performed well in keeping the whole electoral process peaceful and successful.

Stolen car recovered

A 1980 model Toyota Sedan that was stolen at the parking area of SM City Bacolod on Wednesday evening was recovered by personnel from the Police Station 1 Thursday morning along Gonzaga Street in Bacolod City.

The car, with plate number JAF 283, was driven by Mary Joy Araneta who parked it at the SM City Bacolod South Wing Car Park around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

DevCo exec barred to fly to US

A TOP official of Camp John Hay Development Corporation (CJHDevCo) was prevented to leave the country Saturday amid malversation charges filed by the Department of Justice.

CJHDevCo chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert John Sobrepeña was asked to disembark a Philippine Airlines flight bound for the United States prior to take off last May 11.

PNP dubs CAR polls 'peaceful'

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Regional cops have certified elections to be peaceful here.

Cordillera chief Benjamin Magalong said, "The success of the elections can be attributed to the peacekeeping strategy of PRO COR that started since last year."

Sabsabong ti Mayo launches wedding expo

BAGUIO celebrates the flower month of May with a wedding expo at the SM City Baguio on May 29.

The event will highlight the best and latest in the wedding industry in North Luzon. It also aims to promote Baguio City and other parts of the region as the perfect wedding destination.

DOE full blast on electrification program

THE Departmnet of Energy (DOH) aims to energize 90 percent of the households in the country by 2017 under the electrification program implemented by the National Electrification Administration (NEA).

Energy Research and Testing Laboratory Services Director Racquel Huliganga revealed the department is continuously looking for sitios without electricity and the search will be until 2017.

Fariñas couple wins mayor, vice mayor posts in Laoag

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte - Incumbent Mayor Michael Fariñas and Association of Barangay Councils president Chevylle Fariñas on Thursday proved they are the couple to beat as they were proclaimed mayor and vice mayor respectively.

Chevylle won the position over former mayor Roger Fariñas, her husband's uncle. Chevylle obtained 37,530 votes while Roger got 15,381 votes.