Cebu local news (daily update)

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Town involves children in disaster preparedness

CEBU, Philippines - While other towns may be lax, the award-winning town of San Francisco culminated their celebration of the International Day for Disaster Reduction yesterday focusing their activities on children.

Mayor Aly Arquillano said the community should empower and support children and young people as agents of social inclusion and safety.

“They are our future leaders. They should be part of our decision-making, dili kay magsunod-sunod na lang sila nato. Dili na sad baya ma-underestimate ang mga batan-on karon,” Arquillano said.

Tricia Pleños, 14, and Andre Soon, 16, who sat among the stakeholders and officials of the United Nations during its Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland last May, led the activities in their small town.

Last Thursday, the town opened the celebration by conducting simultaneous film showing to daycare workers on earthquake, tsunami, and flood drill both in the Northern and Southern Poblacion.

The following day, daycare students as well as elementary and secondary students planted trees along Santiago Bay.

Arquillano said the trees planted were part of their two million trees project which they launched last year and targeted to complete within five years. To date, the mayor said they have already planted over 100,000 trees, including those planted last October 14.

Last Saturday, they held a search for Mister and Miss Disaster Risk Reduction 2011 drill contest. Yesterday, the celebration was concluded with a program, Arquillano said.

The mayor said children, who are among the most vulnerable sectors of the society, should be aware themselves on how to reduce disaster risk to keep themselves and their communities safe.

Last May 12 in Geneva, Soon and Pleños, along with a 17-year-old boy from Kenya, launched a five-point Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The charter highlighted five priorities identified through consultations with more than 600 children in 21 countries.

Education, child protection and access to basic information were the main issues the children believed necessary to reduce the impact of disasters and climate change on their families and communities.

“Before a house packed with government and community leaders from around the world, they put the interests of children and young people on the agenda of the largest Global Platform ever held,” Arquillano said.

San Francisco town won the 2011 United Nations (UN) Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction during last May’s United Nation Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland. – (FREEMAN)

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PAF, Navy assure disaster response readiness

CEBU, Philippines - As frontliners of every disaster response operation, the air force and navy men in the Visayas assured that they are prepared for more typhoons that are expected to come before the year ends.

During yesterday’s monthly Association of Government Information Officers-7 forum, representatives of the Philippine Air Force and the Naval Force Central said they have the capability for search and rescue operations in case of typhoons.

Joseph Ison, Public Affairs Officer of NAVFORCEN, said that apart from naval reservists, they have five disaster response teams all over Visayas.

“Your Navy in the Visayas is very much ready in terms of disaster response,” Ison said.

NAVFORCEN has one team in Tacloban, another team in Guimaras, then in Iloilo, in Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City, and the Marine Reserve Battalion at Pier 3 in Cebu City.

Aside from disaster response operations, Ison said they also help in anti-illegal fishing campaign and illegal logging.

In fact, he said, they just recently confiscated P3 million worth of sea gears used in illegal fishing locally known as “hulbot-hulbot.”

Ison said they have civilians who voluntarily work with them in their search and rescue operations even without being compensated.

The Philippine Air Force are not far behind in saving lives during disasters because they are in charge of search and rescue operation through air mobility, which is more efficient, particularly during floods.

First Lt. Sharon Reas of the PAF said they have aircrafts which were already used in evacuating residents in Talamban, Cebu City and in the evacuation of at least 400 residents in Southern Leyte during the mudslide in 2006.

Reas further said they are upgrading their operation and are training every quarter of the year considering the inconsistencies of the weather in the country.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) earlier announced that more typhoons are expected to hit the country next month. – (FREEMAN)

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Mother burns child's hands

CEBU, Philippines - A case for violation of RA 9165 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act is set to be filed today against a 37-year-old mother for allegedly burning both hands of her 11-year-old daughter with a flaming charcoal Monday afternoon in Sitio Sambag, Barangay San Vicente, Liloan.

The mother, who is detained at the Liloan police stockade, was allegedly unable to control her anger when she learned that her daughter was trying to break the lock of a computer set in order to get coins inside it.

The mother seemed not contented of what she did on the girl’s both hands for she even tied her with the use of a nylon rope on the wall of their house.

Police said the owner of the computer sets caught the girl trying to open the lock of the same which prompted her to scold the girl and reported what happened to the mother.

Upon learning the incident, the mother yelled at the girl and took a burning charcoal from their dirty kitchen which she used in burning the girl’s hands.

A few minutes later, the mother untied her daughter and medicated the burns.

At this point, Nicholas Gomez, uncle of the girl saw the wounded hands of the victim and asked what happened which the girl answered. Gomez then decided to report the incident to the police station.

Police said the father of the victim was not around at that time since he is working as a welder in Danao City.

The girl is now temporarily housed at the Local Social Welfare and Development Office of the municipality. – (FREEMAN)

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Robbery with homicide filed against man who drowned woman in Naga

CEBU, Philippines - The City Prosecutor’s Office recommended no bail against the man who admitted robbing and killing the alleged commercial *** worker who was found dead on a river bank in Barangay Pangdan, Naga City.

Naga City Prosecutor Napoleon Alburo indicted Alfredo Largo Jr. for robbery with homicide before the Regional Trial Court after finding probable cause.

Alburo said the accused opted not to undergo preliminary investigation.

In the joint-affidavit executed by the arresting officers assigned at Naga City Police Station, they said they were able to arrest Largo based on their follow-up investigation.

Police identified the driver of the motorcycle, Ritchie Canomon, which Largo and victim Amabel Calinga, 35, a resident of Barangay Busay, Cebu City used in taking a ride going to Sitio Grayrocks, Barangay Pangdan.

Canomon, a resident of Barangay Mai-

nit, Naga City confirmed that he sent the two to Sitio Grayrocks who gave him P30 for fare.

Upon verification, police officers then proceeded to the house of Largo at Barangay Jaguimit, Naga City after coordinating with the barangay chairman.

When police arrived at the place, Largo attempted to escape but he was immediately collared by the officers.

During police interrogation, Largo admitted to the crime and executed an extra-judicial confession signed by lawyer Joel Nathan Licardo of Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) of Talisay City.

Largo said the victim approached him while he was sitting at the concrete seawall of Baywalk of Naga City and introduced herself as Kim.

He said they were having some drinks at a store and during their conversation they agreed to have *** for P200.

Largo said they went to Sitio Grayrocks onboard a motorcycle.

He said when they arrived at the area, he paid the victim P200 before they had ***. But he later found that he lost the P500 he placed in his pocket. He asked the victim about this but she denied taking it.

“After our sexual contact, I took my pants and verified if the P500 was still there but surprisingly it was missing, I confronted Kim since we were only there in the place, but the latter vehemently denied prompting me to choke her… A commotion ensued until we fell into the river,” Largo confessed.

Largo said he took a stone and struck victim’s stomach twice. He also drowned her and made sure she was dead. He then took off the victim’s pants where he found his P500, and the P200 he had paid her. – (FREEMAN)

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For pirated DVDs, Software12 stalls raided

CEBU, Philippines - Twelve stalls selling pirated DVDs and computer software were raided by joint operatives of the Optical Media Board (OMB) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-7 yesterday afternoon.

Lawyer Cyrus Valenzuela, OMB team leader, told The Freeman that a complaint they received led to the raid in two malls in Cebu City - one in downtown Cebu and another at Cebu North Reclamation Area.

“The raid was through a complainant na di natin pwede i-disclose ang pangalan,” he said.

Stall owners and mall goers were shocked at around 2:30 p.m. when operatives from the OMB and CIDG-7 stormed three stalls at the mall located at the Cebu North Reclamation Area.

OMB officers immediately loaded the seized pirated DVDs into three vehicles. These will be used as evidence against the owners of the stalls. “We are now focusing on enforcement,” Valenzuela said.

One of the raided stalls was padlocked when the operatives arrived, but armed with a bolt cutter OMB operatives broke into the stall.

According to Valenzuela, the raid will serve as a “warning” to all peddlers of pirated DVDs and computer software.

Although they confiscated loads of pirated DVDs, Valenzuela clarified that their primary target in the raid were pirated computer software, which is rampant in the country.

Boxes of pirated computer software installers which normally sell for thousands were confiscated in the raid that lasted an hour.

The raid was conducted peacefully after both workers and owners cooperated with the OMB.

“Our next target will be the manufacturers themselves,” Valenzuela said.

He said they plan to conduct more raids in the region to combat the proliferation of pirated DVDs and computer software.

The seized items will be sent to their warehouse where these will be destroyed through a shredder machine. – (FREEMAN)

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Ex-military man shot in Balamban

CEBU, Philippines - A former soldier of the 78th Infantry Battalion is in critical condition after he was shot point blank by a gate crasher during a celebration in Sitio Tubod, Barangay Pondol, Balamban Monday morning.

Andres Nabio, 46, of Barangay Baliwagan and an active member of the Barangay Intelligence Network, is still being treated after a bullet hit the left side of his neck and exited on the other side.

His friends took him to the Balamban District Hospital but he was later referred to the Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

Now subject of a manhunt operation is Cristobal Abendan, 23, of Barangay Pondol. He was identified as the culprit by some visitors at the celebration that the victim had attended.

Senior Police Officer 1 Julius Obañana said that Emerita Combista reportedly invited Nabio as one of their guests for the christening of her child and at the same time blessing of their new house in Barangay Pondol on Sunday evening.

Nabio and some of his friends were drinking and singing within the vicinity of the house.

Obañana said that Nabio was singing when Abendan walked directly towards the victim and shot him.

Police recovered a slug of .38 revolver and the victim’s pair of blood-stained eyeglasses.

Obañana suspected that grudge could be the motive of the crime because police conducted consecutive raids near the house of the suspect. Abendan possibly thought that Nabio was an informant of the police.

However, they are still investigating if Abendan is either a drug user or a drug pusher.

“Basin lang nagtuo siya mao ni musumbong kay sige man ang dakop diha, dili pud ra ba ni sila kabarangay,” Obañana said. –(FREEMAN)

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Teen survivor decides to keep family together

IN DEATH, they will stay together.

The remains of the family killed in Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City will be transported to Sorsogon, Bicol this weekend, including the household head who allegedly shot them.Some relatives of her father Emmanuel, 55, initially opposed the idea, but eventually yielded to the decision made by 13-year-old Embrelaince Ponce, the lone survivor.

“Nganong buwagon man nato sila? (Why should we break them apart)?” Embrelaince reportedly asked her relatives.

Also this weekend, the running community in Cebu will hold a special run on Sunday to pay tribute to Melinda, an ultra-marathoner who inspired many other runners.

Proceeds of the run will be given to Embrelaince, the family of helper Anastacia Deriega, and a center for abused women and children in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City.

Last Sunday, retired seaman Emmanuel allegedly shot his wife Melinda 53, their children Elaine Grace, 26, Heather Joy, 24, and Emlin Bridge, 18, inside their home in Palm View Village. He also shot their helper of five years, Deriega, then turned the gun on himself.

The tragedy has provoked the police to review the process that led to Emmanuel’s obtaining a license for the .45 pistol he allegedly used last Sunday.

Senior Supt. Louie Oppus, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 deputy director for operations, said they will enforce strict compliance in issuing licenses for firearms.

In a report over GMA 7’s “Balitang Bisdak”, Oppus questioned how Emmanuel was given authorization for his .45 pistol, if he had suffered from nervous breakdowns since a fall 10 years ago. He added they will trace the records.

Both Melinda and Emmanuel’s families are advising Embrelaince in dealing with the burial arrangements and planning for what she’ll do afterwards.

“Though, at first, we were not on good terms, there’s no problem at all today,” said Paul Redula, a cousin of Embrelaince.

The teenager reportedly plans to come back to Cebu after the interment to finish high school.

Originally, she wanted to continue living in their house in Palm View Village, with adult supervision. Instead, she chose to live with her cousins, also in Barangay Tabunok.

She still has to undergo further evaluation and counseling, while her relatives have to sort out who will assume as her legal guardians.

Plans to transfer Deriega’s wake to Negros Occidental were called off.

Instead, she will be buried in San Isidro, Talisay City, where she will be close to her husband Ronald.

This weekend, while Melinda and four other members of her family will be buried in Sorsogon, her friends in Cebu’s running community will hit the streets in her honor.

The 5K event, dubbed “Run In Peace, Melinda Ponce”, will be held at the Ayala Terraces on Sunday, starting at 5 a.m.

Registration forms are already available, for P150, at the Runnr shop at Ayala Center Cebu. Runners are encouraged to wear white singlets or shirts to pay their last respects to Melinda.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 19, 2011.

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UC topnotchers surprised by own success

THEY were strolling inside the SM Mall of Asia when Neil Nardo, Jason Pegarido and Maria Regielou Celis learned about the results of the licensure examination for naval architects and marine engineers.

It was Friday night and the University of Cebu (UC) graduates, who took the grueling exam last Oct. 11, 12 and 13 in Quiapo, Manila, decided to unwind.“Nalipay ko (I was happy),” recalled Nardo, who topped the exam with a score of 91.40
percent.

“Nagbunga gyud ang among mga sakripisyo, pagtuon ug pag-ampo (Our sacrifices, the hours we spent on studying and the prayers paid off).”

Nardo, 27, a native of Asturias, Cebu, was followed by Pegarido, who scored 90.10 percent, and Celis, who scored 87.80 percent.

Only 24 out of the 52 examinees passed, according to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Celis, 22, burst into tears when she learned she ranked third. “Wala ko magtuo kay murag naa pa may mas kamao nako (I didn’t expect it because there were examinees who could be more knowledgeable than I am),” she told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.

Celis, a native of Tubigon, Bohol, said she was emotional when she received the news because she encountered several problems before she took the exam.

When she arrived in Manila, she had to call one of her teachers to ask for help after she found that her name was not on the PRC’s master list.

Pegarido, 23, said his parents’ sacrifices for him motivated him to study hard.

“Ang ilang gipangayo nga makapasar lang ko. Di sila katuo hapit nga na-second ko (All
they asked was for me to pass. They could hardly believe I ranked second),” he said.

Pegarido is a resident of San Fernando, Cebu. His father works as an electric inspector in a cement company, while her mother works as a vendor.

A difficult childhood motivated Nardo to strive for success. He was four years old when her mother and father separated.

As a child, he was passed from one relative to another, Nardo said. He grew up under
the care of his aunt in Asturias.

Nardo’s mother died last year. He recalled his mother telling him she might not live long enough to see him graduate. “Natinuod gyud (It came true),” he said.

Nardo said his goal was only to pass the exam. “I was confident that I will pass but I never expected to get the first place,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

Their batch, which graduated last March, reviewed at school for the exam. They divided the lessons among themselves and shared what they learned.

Nardo has another degree in industrial engineering, which he received from the Cebu Technological University in Tuburan, Cebu in 2004 with cum laude honors.

For his training, he worked for the JM Marine Services, a company owned by his cousin, a naval architect and marine engineer who also graduated from UC.

Nardo, who is now a regular employee of the company, said it was his cousin who encouraged him to study naval architect and marine engineering in UC.

After working for two years in the company, he enrolled in UC in 2006. But he studied part-time, since he wanted to continue working. He finished the four-year course in five years.

Celis said she studied naval architecture and naval engineering because she wanted to be good at Mathematics.

“Math challenged me because I wasn’t good at it when I was in high school,” she said, adding that she wanted to be able to teach her future children to solve Math problems.

Celis said she was destined to be a naval architect and marine engineer. Her mother is a fish vendor and her father used to work on a ship. They also live near the sea.

“Linya gyud nako ang dagat (I’m meant for sea-related jobs),” she said, and then laughed when someone pointed out that she came from a place called “Tubigon.”

Celis said her dream is to work in Europe. At present, she and Pegarido work in the same company with Nardo.

Celis, who is second in a brood of seven, said she will have to work hard to support the education of her siblings, four of whom will be studying in college next year.

Pegarido, who is fourth in a brood of five, said he studied naval architecture and marine engineering because he loves Math. He recalled receiving a Best in Math award in elementary.

His father and elder brother graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, and he wanted to be different, he added.

He said he has no idea about naval architecture and marine engineering when he enrolled in the course.

“It’s the name of the course that appealed to me,” he said.

But later on, he said he learned to love the course.

The three said the excellent training in UC helped them succeed in the licensure exam.

Celis said the strict manner their mentors taught them was a big factor in their success.

“We were really forced to study because of our strict mentors,” she said.

Nardo said he does not consider himself bright.

“Dili man ko ingon utukan, mutuon lang gyud ko (I can’t say I’m smart. I just study hard),” he said.

Nardo said he will continue working for his cousin’s company.

“Out of gratitude, I will serve the company for some more years,” he said.

But Nardo said he considers working abroad. He said he would go back to Cebu, though, once he saves enough money.

“I’m not in a hurry to go abroad. Anyway, the opportunities will always be there,” Nardo said.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 19, 2011.

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Pornography charge vs Bella Ruby Santos dismissed

NOT everything is going bad for Bella Ruby Santos. The Office of the Naga City Prosecutor dismissed yesterday the child pornography charge lodged against her for lack of evidence.

Naga City Prosecutor Napoleon Alburo confirmed this in an interview yesterday, saying the complaint the police filed wouldn’t survive trial.“And when that happens, it is us prosecutors who are embarrassed,” Alburo said in
Cebuano. The child pornography case was an offshoot of the raid the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) conducted on Santos’s home in Naga at the height of the agency’s investigation on the abduction and killing of six-year old Ellah Joy Pique.

Ellah Joy was last seen walking home from school in Calajoan, Minglanilla, in the
afternoon of Feb. 8, 2011.

Two persons aboard a vehicle supposedly stopped and coaxed her to come with them. Her dead body was found in Barili a day later.

Other than finding a vehicle that generally matched the one Ellah Joy’s abductors allegedly used, and bed sheets with traces of blood, police found pornographic illustrations on covers of compact discs during the raid, hence the complaint.

The illustrations depicted nudity and, therefore, is pornographic under Republic Act (RA) 9775, Alburo said.

But Alburo pointed out that the complaint cited Section 4 of the statute. This particular provision covers hiring of children in the production of porn, to actually producing and publishing porn.

And while there is a provision under Sec. 4 that covers possession, it should be with “intent to sell, distribute, publish, or broadcast” the material.

“They cited the wrong provision of law. What they cited did not conform to the facts of the case,” Alburo said.

Moreover, he said the pornographic CD covers were obtained in a search justified by a warrant issued for abduction and homicide, not to secure evidences for a pornography case.

“The warrant did not state that the pornographic CD covers were the items to be looked for and seized,” he said.

As such, he said, he could not elevate the complaint to a formal indictment.

“There was just no basis,” he said.

He said the dismissal of the complaint will not have any impact on the kidnapping with homicide case now awaiting arraignment before Judge Esther Veloso.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 19, 2011.

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Tomas: Ciudad title a fake

AFTER causing the postponement of a public hearing for the Ciudad project, Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district) is now asking the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to suspend the processing of the project’s application for an environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

Osmeña said the land titles submitted for the ECC application of the Ciudad project, a joint undertaking of the Provincial Government and Fifth Avenue Development Corp., are allegedly fake.Fifth Avenue Property Development Corp., the private developer of the project, needs an ECC to secure a building permit from the Cebu City Office of the Building Official.

But according to Osmeña’s letter to DENR, the title of the land occupied by the National Grains Authority, now National Food Authority (NFA), had the word “canceled” on it.

Copy

The land occupied by the NFA is part of the area to be developed by the Capitol and Fifth Avenue.

Osmeña said he has acquired a copy of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 125869.

However, he said, the document that Fifth Avenue submitted to DENR allegedly does not
have the word “canceled” on it and contains, instead, the certification that “is an existing title or not yet canceled as of this date.”

He said the new copy of the title also indicated that the TCT No. 125869 was already replaced with TCT No. 162173-15.

“Submission of fake titles is a serious crime. And this should be investigated before any further action be taken by your office,” Osmeña told the DENR.

Capitol’s answer

Provincial Attorney Marino Martinquilla said Capitol’s answers to Osmeña’s allegations are already in his letter to DENR.

Martinquilla said the title was canceled because the NFA wanted the property transferred to its name, but this did not push through.

This is the reason why the title was stamped “canceled.”

However, Martinquilla said, the Register of Deeds had made the necessary corrections.

He said he will show Sun.Star Cebu copies of the original land titles today.

“It is just an attempt to muddle the issue. There is no doubt we have valid titles of the property,” he said.

But aside from that, Osmeña said, he was advised by his lawyers that a public hearing for the application of ECC may be a violation of the sub judice rule because the Ciudad project is linked to a case that he and others filed against Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

The sub judice rule regulates publication of matters that are under consideration of the court. Publications that are considered sub judice constitute contempt of court.

The congressman said there is a pending motion filed in court for preliminary injunction to enjoin the construction of the Ciudad project.

“It is expected that the court will resolve this issue in the coming days. Further action to be taken by your office regarding the processing of the application for an ECC may be considered preemption of the action to be taken by the court,” read Osmeña’s letter to the DENR.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 19, 2011.