Cebu local news (daily update)

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2 former LTO workers charged

CEBU, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas has recommended the filing of an information in court two former personnel of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and a private individual for falsification of public document.

Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer II Cynthia Maturan-Sibi accused Jamela Macadato and Emmanuel Mabitad of taking advantage of their positions and “conniving, confederating and mutually helping” private individual and Thomas Alvarez Jr. in falsifying public documents for the registration of a Hi-Lux pick-up.

They made it appear that the vehicle was newly assembled when in fact, it already had an existing certificate of registration under the name of Visayas Geothermal Power Company.

A bail of P24,000 each is recommend for all of the accused.

The anti-graft office early this year ordered the dismissal from service of Mabitad and Macadato.

Macadato was then the assistant statistician /OIC of LTO-Aurora Mobile Unit, Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur, Mabitad was then the Clerk III, LTO-Region VII, Cebu City while Alvarez is a private individual residing in Duljo-Fatima, Cebu City. –
(FREEMAN)

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21 passenger boats in the north not registered with MARINA

CEBU, Philippines - At least 21 passenger motorboats that travel to Malapascua Island from Daanbantayan town are not registered with the Philippine Coast Guard or have expired registration documents.

This was discovered following a spot inspection of all motorized boats moored at the unfinished Maya wharf in Daanbantayan last February 25 to 28. The inspection was conducted in line with the provincial government’s campaign against illegal fishing.

Coast Guard District Commander Commodore Cecil Chen said the strategic concept behind the crackdown is anchored on the premise that illegal fishing activities or the transport of illegal fishing equipment and substance may be perpetuated by unregistered sea crafts, which identity may not be easily determined.

Jose Ma. Gastardo, coordinator of the anti-illegal fishing task force, said unregistered boats are unmarked, which make them difficult to apprehend or at least be identified during illegal fishing operations.

No penalty will be imposed upon the owners of the unregistered boats for now, but the Coast Guard recommended that the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) sit down with the boat owners to help them facilitate the registration. The boat operators have reportedly expressed sentiments on supposed difficulties in registering with MARINA.

The Coast Guard also recommended that MARINA itself inspect the area.

Gastardo said they already have requested MARINA to act on the concerns of the boat operators.

Gastardo said MARINA is now coordinating with local government units in conducting mobile registration of fishing and passenger boats across the province next month.

Fishing vessels below three gross tons shall be registered with the local government unit while those above three gross tons and all sizes of passenger vessels shall be registered with MARINA. – (FREEMAN)

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10 Cebu towns have no fire trucks

CEBU, Philippines - Ten towns in Cebu are among 52 municipalities in Central Visayas that do not have fire trucks.

When fire occurs in these areas, firefighters from adjacent municipalities are the ones that respond to the fire, said Bureau of Fire Protection 7 Deputy for Operations Esmael Codilla.

Among those that do not have fire trucks are Tudela, Poro and Pilar in the Camotes group of islands as well as Sta. Fe and Madridejos in Bantayan island.

He still needs to confirm with the other towns, which are in southern Cebu.

Codilla said the BFP could not afford to provide fire trucks to all towns. The government would have to spend P1.040 billion if it decides to buy a fire truck for all 52 Central Visayas towns.

A brand new fire truck would cost between P20 million to P25 million.

There are only 136 serviceable fire trucks in Region 7. Of the 136 fire trucks under BFP 7, 18 were purchased by local government units, including Cebu City.

The Freeman also learned that only 18 of the 47 towns in Bohol, 10 of the 19 towns in Negros Oriental and three of six towns in Siquijor have fire trucks.

In a forum organized by the Philippine Information Agency, Talisay City Fire Marshall Felipe Canillas said 128 fires occurred in Region 7 this month. Last year, there were 126 fires. – (FREEMAN)

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Joavan plays cop, seizes lumber

CEBU, Philippines - Joavan Fernandez, adopted son of Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez who has already earned notoriety in Cebu because of several infractions, is accused of another controversy.

This time, Joavan played himself as a law enforcer apprehending a PUJ driver for allegedly traveling out of line and carrying illegal lumbers.

Joavan apprehended Jerrick Balodo, 31, resident of barangay Lawaan I, at the South Road Property yesterday dawn.

Joavan together with unidentified companion on board a Honda Sports Utility Vehicle allegedly chased Balodo at the SRP.

He was caught up by Joavan in Barangay Cansojong and placed him under arrest. Balodo alleged that Joavan was carrying a handgun when the latter confiscated his driver’s license for traveling out of route.

Balodo said Joavan brought him to Vista Grande Subdivision where the latter alleged demanded P5,000 for his release. Joavan however was forced to turnover Balodo to the Talisay City Police Station when his father arrived.

Balodo narrated to the police how Joavan and his companion tried to mulct money from him in exchange for the release of his driver’s license.

Balodo however recanted his accusation later. The alleged illegal lumbers were confiscated and turned over by the Talisay City police to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

It was not also clear whether the police will file charges for usurpation of authority against Joavan.

Joavan was not deputized by the Land Transportation Office to arrest traffic violators. He was not likewise authorized to confiscate illegal lumbers. – (FREEMAN)

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Salaries of nine CH executives withheld pending liquidation

CEBU, Philippines - Nine Cebu City Hall department heads may not be able to collect their salaries at the end of the month and in the succeeding paydays until they are able to liquidate the money given to them for the purchase of the streetlights and decorations during the last Christmas.

City treasurer Ofelia Oliva already issued the liquidation demand to the different department heads. It was however interesting to note that her own department was among the nine departments that have not submitted their liquidation as of yesterday.

The Freeman also learned that Oliva may not be affected by her order even if her department fails to liquidate because she is reportedly collecting her salary in Dumaguete City where she occupies a concurrent position.

“Mora’g sa Dumaguete City man na ang iyang sweldo kay acting treasurer ra man gihapon na ang iyang item dinhi sa Cebu City. Gikan man g’yud na siya sa Dumaguete ug temporaryo lang nga gi-assign dinhi,” a staff at the City Treasurer’s Office said.

Oliva was not available for comment when The FREEMAN called her up yesterday. A staff of her said that the city treasurer was busy attending to several appointments.

The other City Hall departments which failed to liquidate until now are the Department of Engineering and Public Works, Department of Public Services, Management Computer Information Services, Cebu City Medical Center, Market Operations Division, City Agriculture Department, Human Resource Development Office, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries.

The Cebu City Police Office which was also assigned a street to decorate during the last Christmas also failed to submit liquidation.

Each of the City Hall departments has been assigned a particular thoroughfare to decorate ensure that Cebu City is colorful during the Christmas season.

Meanwhile, the Cebu City Council wants Oliva to explain the alleged irregularities in the release of the P5 million cash advance for the Christmas decors. Oliva earlier admitted that the amount was released without going through the required pre-audit.

Despite of it Oliva insisted that the transaction was above board because it has the approval from the city administrator and the budget officer.

City Councilor Edgardo Labella, chairman of the committee on laws, said there were procedural lapses committed by the city treasurer’s office when it encashed the huge amount without the accountant’s advice.

Labella, who was a former director of the Ombudsman, said the transaction cannot be legal considering that the supporting documents were not complete. – (FREEMAN)

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Giluba sa amahan ug anak, namatay

CEBU, Philippines - Namatay ang usa ka lalaki human kini tabangi og luba sa managsuon ug sa ilang amahan didto sa sitio Lindog sa barangay Tagbubunga sa lungsod sa Asturias sa miaging gabii.

Ang biktima mao si Samuel Ondoy, nga taga Asturias samtang ang mga suspetsado mao usab ang managsuong Reynaldo ug Betallano “Jojo” Pluma Jr. ug ang ilang amahan nga si Bellano Sr. nga mga silingan sa biktima.

Subay sa imbestigasyon sa kapolisan sa Asturias nga ang biktima ug ang mga suspetsado nag-inom niadtong higayona hangtud nga sila nangahubog.

Tungod kay lasbag na , dali kaayong nasuko ang biktima dihang giagbayan siya ni Jojo nga misangpot sa ilang panaglalis.

Si Reynaldo nga nakadungog nga miinit na ang panaglalis ni Jojo ug sa biktima, mitawag kini sa iyang amahan.

Ang amahan usab nga lasbag na, imbis motambag sa iyang mga anak, mitunol, na hinuon og kutsilyo ngadto kang Reynaldo.

Didto gisugdan dayon og panunggab ni Reynaldo ang kalawasan sa biktima , mitabang usab ang iyang igsuon ug ang iyang amahan nga maoy hinungdan sa kamatayon sa biktima.

Padayon pang gipangita sa kapolisan ang mga suspetsado human kini manibat.(WC) (BANAT NEWS)

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Suspek nga tulisan ug pusher, tiklo

CEBU, Philippines - Usa ka suspetsadong tulisan ug usa ka suspetsadong drug pusher, nasikop sa kapolisan sa managlahing dapit ug oras sa Metro Cebu sa miaging gabii.

Ang suspetsadong tulisan nailhan nga Reckler Pasion, alyas Coco, 19, ulitawo nga taga sitio Pulang Bukid, barangay Alang-Alang dakbayan sa Mandaue, samtang ang suspetsadong pusher mao usab si Elourde Sanchez, 52, nga taga sitio Pandayan, barangay Poblacion Occidental, lungsod sa Consolacion.

Si Pasion didto dakpa sa kapolisan nga nagdala og warrant of arrest sa ilang balay, samtang si Sanchez didto usab hidakpi sa ilang balay dihang gironda kini sa kapolisan ug nasakmit ang 12 ka paketeng gituohang shabu nga gibana-banang nagkantidad og P12 mil.

Sa pagkakaron nagpahayahay na sa prisohan ang maong mga dinakpan. (BANAT NEWS)

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Tseke ug cash nasakiyo sa tulisan

CEBU, Philippines - Nasakiyo sa usa ka tulisang de motor ang P2 mil cash ug P47 mil nga tseke ug cellphone ug alahas sa usa ka babaye nga gitulis niini didto sa sitio Looc, barangay Maribago, dakbayan sa Lapulapu sa miaging gabii.

Ang biktima mao si Mayflor Malache, 25 anyos, dalaga nga taga Maribago.

Matud pa ni PO3 Manolito Abellanosa sa Theft and Robbery Section sa kapolisan sa maong dakbayan nga ang biktima gikan pa sa ilang balay ug nag-atang kini og jeep pasaheroan dihang kalit lang mihunong sa iyang atubangan ang usa ka motorsiklo nga giluwanan sa nag-inusarang lalaki.

Unya walay tingog-tingog nga milanit kini sa iyang gitangkil nga armas de fuego dayong tion ngadto sa biktima uban sa pagdeklarar nga tulis.

Ang biktima nga mikaging sa kahadlok wala makalihok ug sayon ra kaayong gilabni sa tulisan ang iyang shoulder bag nga gisudlan sa P2 mil cash, tseke nga P47 mil ug usa ka cellphone, dayong pasirit padagan sa ilang sakyanan ug mipahilayo sa maong dapit.

Padayon pang gipangita sa kapolisan ang maong tulisan. (BANAT NEWS)

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Mitulis sa kolektor sa bakero sikop

CEBU, Philippines - Duha ka mga giingong tulisan kinsa suspetsado sa pagpanulis sa kolektor sa Arbees bakeshop sa barangay Lagtang, dakbayan sa Talisay sa milabay’ng semana nasikop sa grupo sa Criminal Intelligence Branch (CIB) didto sa barangay Buot-taop, ug sa may Citi-link terminal sa barangay Pahina Central pulos sa dakbayan sa Sugbo.

Ang mga nasikop mao si Junry Carbajal ug Jason Bacalso, pulos hingkod ug managsilingan sa barangay Camp 3, dakbayan sa Talisay.

Ang mga giingong biktima sa duha mao si May Charito Pardo ug ang drayber sa nahisgutang bakery nga si Marcial Dungog.

Si Inspector Hugo Rio Ipong sa kapolisan sa Talisay nga nahinabi sa mga tigbalita kagahapon mibutyag nga gitawagan sila ni Chief Inspector Romeo Santander, hepe sa CIB nga ang ilang grupo adunay nasikop nga tulisan kinsa giingong suspetsado sa tulis sa Arbees.

Si Carbajal nasikop sa mga operatiba didto sa barangay Buot-taop, samtang si Bacalso didto usab hidakpi sa Citi-link.

Matud ni Ipong nga ang grupo ni Santander adunay cellphone nga na-recover gikan kang Carbajal hinungdan nga nakontak nila si Bacalso.

Ang mga polis nga migamit sa nahisgutang cellphone nagpakaaron-ingnon nga si Carbahal ug nagsabot sila nga magkita sa Citi-link hinungdan nga sayon kaayong nasikop si Bacalso.

Ang duha ka mga biktima gidala ni Ipong kagahapon sa buntag ngadto sa buhatan sa CIB ug positibo nilang gitudlo si Carbajal ug Bacalso nga mitulis kanila.

Kahinumdoman nga ang motorsiklo nga giingong gisakyan sa duha sa ilang pagpanulis napalgan sa kapolisan sa Talisay didto sa likod sa balay ni Bacalso.

Ang maong motorsiklo gihimulbolan na sa mga dapat ug walay plaka nga gitabonan lang og mga lukay aron dili makit-an. (BANAT NEWS)

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Ex-SK official ‘behind attack’

CATERER Maria Lina Mier implicated her daughter-in-law, Manilyn Mar-Mier, as the brains behind a foiled robbery last March 20.

She learned from the police that the suspects, Sim Abordo and Roldan Ranollo, were “hired by Manilyn, through Vicente Maestrado, to kill us,” Mier said in her affidavit submitted to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

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Manilyn is a former chairperson of the Sangguniang Kabataan in Barangay Punta Princesa, as well as a former barangay councilor. She and Maestrado have not been arrested yet.

But Manilyn and Maestrado are now respondents in the robbery with frustrated homicide case the police filed against Abordo and Ranollo. The two men were arrested for
attacking Mier outside her office in Doña Maria Village, Barangay Punta Princesa, Cebu City last Sunday.

“A photograph of me and my husband was recovered from Abordo’s possession by the policemen,” Mier said in her affidavit.

The suspects, who first introduced themselves as Karl Labajo Dumat-ot and Arman Pabatan, signed a waiver for their continued detention at the police station.

In an interview after the inquest proceedings last Tuesday, Abordo told Sun.Star Cebu that Manilyn paid them P33,000 as a down payment. He said they didn’t push through with the plan because they were bothered by their conscience.

In her affidavit, Mier said she and her family members arrived in the office on Llamas St. at 11:40 a.m. An armed man suddenly grabbed her bag.

When Mier shouted for help, the suspect struck her in the head with his firearm several times. Mier saw another man pointing his gun at their security guard.

The suspect grabbed Mier’s bag, which contained two Nokia mobile phones worth P17,000, two wallets containing P340,000 cash and several cards and personal belongings.

But as the suspects were about to flee, Mier’s son, Kurt Yves, quickly drove his car against the suspects’ motorcycle, which threw both men off.

They fled

The bag got tangled in the motorcycle, so the suspects left it, boarded a taxi and escaped.

Mier’s driver and her secretary drove her to the hospital. Few hours later, Mier was told that the police arrested the suspects, shortly identified as Abordo and Ranollo.

Kurt, the 25-year-old son of Mier, executed a separate affidavit and corroborated his mother’s statement.

“Based on the evidence gathered by the policemen, I further know that the mastermind who is interested in the death of my parents is my wife Manilyn, through her middleman Maestrado,” Kurt said in his affidavit.

Kurt said he was preparing their vehicle to go to a mall for lunch last March 20, when he heard someone screaming for help.

He saw a man striking his mother in the head with a pistol, while grappling for her
bag. Kurt said he bumped the motorcycle when the riders seemed about to escape.

Jimmy Saylanon, a security guard of Maria Lina Catering, said in his affidavit that two young men visited the office and asked about catering services sometime in the first week of March.

Envelope

Three days later, Saylanon said, Manilyn gave him a brown envelop and instructed him to give it to someone who would come to the office.

Hours later, Saylanon said a woman arrived with a man, whom he later identifed as Abordo. The guard said he learned the woman who received the brown envelope is Abordo’s girlfriend.

Last Sunday, March 20, Saylanon said a man entered the catering office and pointed a gun at him, saying, “Sige, bunot!”

Afraid of being shot, the guard stood still. Saylonan said he was surprised when Abordo came in and took Mier’s bag. Like Mier’s son, the guard saw Abordo hit the businesswoman several times, using the gun.

The guard called the police for help.

At the police station, hours later, Saylonan identified Abordo and Ranollo as the culprits.

“Later, I learned that the brown envelope which Manilyn (Mier) handed to me contained the photograph of my employers Ernesto and Maria Lina Mier, after the policemen recovered it at the house of one of the suspects,” said Saylonan in his affidavit.

Police officers Jeffrey Simmons Diola, Rogelio Canete, Fortunato Macaranas, Reglyn Pepito and Renato Berido also executed their affidavits on the arrest of Abordo and Ranollo.

Text trail

At City Hall, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he hopes there is no truth to the report that the former barangay official was the mastermind in last Sunday’s robbery.

“I wish it’s not true, because I know both of them,” said Rama.

The mayor said he has no idea where Manilyn is now.

Sun.Star Cebu repeatedly tried to contact her but received no response.

Part of the investigators’ proof is a set of text messages on the plans for the robbery.

SPO3 Rogelio Canete and his team went to the National Telecommunications Commission to trace the text messages the alleged middleman sent to Sim Labajo, one of the suspects.

The text messages were found in Labajo’s cell phone.

“We need thorough validation because we don’t also discount the possibility that these two suspects had just pinpointed Manilyn Mier,” said Intelligence Branch Chief Romeo Santander.

Santander added the police need to catch the middleman first.

Pictures and the address of the alleged middleman were submitted to their counterpart intelligence unit for a complete background check.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on March 24, 2011.