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Abra town mayor’s bro nabbed

BAGUIO CITY (June 23) — An Abra town mayor’s brother was arrested by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Cordillera (CIDG-CAR) this week and is now facing the law for an alleged massacre last year.

Florencio Crisologo, 41, brother of incumbent Tineg town mayor Edwin Crisologo was arrested on June 21 at the Crisologos’ residence in Brgy. Calaba, Bangued, Abra.

Crisologo, who is presently Tineg town’s General Service Officer was tagged in the shooting of three villagers on October 13, 2004. Villagers Arlino Dican and Ojane dela Cruz died on the spot while a third victim Ronald Dican survived bullet wounds.

Court records bared that on the night of October 13, Crisologo together with Joshue Zapata, Hermes Zapata, Inol Buyao, Samuel Batoon at Jessie Guidang armed with M16 rifles and a 12 gauge shotgun headed to Brgy. Silet, San Juan town, also in Abra and fired at the victims.

Authorities have not established the motive of the killing. The warrant of arrest was handed to the authorities by Judge Charito Gonzales, of Branch 1, Regional Trial Court, Bangued, Abra. # Artemio A. Dumlao for NORDIS

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CCF to network vs. child poverty

BAGUIO CITY (June 24) —The Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) Area Office in the Cordillera region plans to hold a July forum for various agencies in the government, non-government, private and even business sectors with the aim of strengthening a coalition for children to counter poverty.

CCF is a non-government organization engaged in community development focused on tackling child poverty and works with about 19,223 households with a population of 96,356 in six communities distributed in Mt. Province, Ifugao and depressed areas of Baguio City. It works closely with the Cordillera Parents Federation, Inc. and also with a youth and children’s federation. Its programs include water and sanitation, sustainable health and nutrition, livelihood and skills development and access to quality education.

CCF has been in the Philippines since 1937 as a child sponsoring agency but it has recently shifted its program and activity focus to community development. By networking with other agencies that have children’s programs directed at poverty alleviation, the resulting integration offers opportunities to expand and deepen the impact of concerted efforts.

CCF has conducted investigations on child poverty, including intensive consultation with children across a range of cultures and socio-economic contexts.

Poor children are deprived of essential material conditions and services such that they are excluded on the basis of their age, gender, class, among others, and are vulnerable to the increasing array of threats in their environment, CCF claims. # Nathan E. Alcantara

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Beekeepers get set for July “swarming”

BAGUIO CITY (June 24) — After the January “swarming together” of beekeepers, a second forum is set on the second half of July, this time to tackle the possibility of uniting beekeepers groups and individuals into one federation.

Edmund Benavidez, Director of the Saint Louis University Extension Institute for Small Scale Industries Foundation (SLU-EISSIF), served as focal person and presiding officer of a core of beekeepers, hobbyists and individual enthusiasts or supporters who attended the June 21, 2005 meeting held at the SLU Center for Culture and the Arts.

Benavidez announced that a positive prospect is the possible entry of the Development Academy of the Philipines (DAP) to conduct quality assurance, maintaining production standards and other food production and operation systems for Cordillera beekeepers as a grant project under a food processing program.

SLU-EISSIF maintains the Benguet Beekeeping Project as a special project where4 they have a training center with facilities for honey extraction and fabrication of bee equipment at Bakakeng.

There is also a bulk order of honey from South Korea which no group has yet responded to because of a lack of information on the actual honey production and the quality of honey produced by various beekeepers in the Baguio-Benguet area.

Christian Children’s Fund, a non-government organization engaged in community development focused on tackling child poverty, is also looking into the possibility of engaging and supporting beekeeping as a micro-enterprise and alternative livelihood activity in the communities it is serving.# Nathan E. Alcantara

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Byron owner explains resumption of bus trips

BAGUIO CITY (June 24) — We are still a legitimate transport company with valid franchises.

This was the statement of Super Byron Bus company President Lorena H. Cacdac when called on Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Cordillera Regional Director Atty. Alfredo Mondiguing to clarify why they have resumed operations. She asserted that their bus franchises have not been cancelled so they have a responsibility to abide by this franchise to ferry passengers.

The 30-day prescriptive period to suspend operations has lapsed as of June 14, 2005. Further, a representative sample of three buses were brought down to the Manila LTO-LTFRB Motor Vehicle Inspection Station (MVIS) for check-up and these passed inspection standards. Atty. Biares added that they have filed a motion for reconsideration asking that the MVIS inspection be done in a nearer venue because bringing down all the company’s 59 buses is costing them over P8,000 per bus.

Cacdac added that the overriding consideration is that drivers, conductors, mechanics and other employees suffered heavily because of the month-long suspension of operations. Some did not enroll their children this school year and many have gone into debt, she said.

Mondiguing accepted the discussions Cacdac, saying there was some compliance to agency orders. He interposed no objection to the resumption of bus operations but asked, nonetheless, that the manifestations be placed down in an official communication to him.

As to the accident, Biares said this was an isolated case because all buses are closely monitored. The company has given partial payments of P20,000 to some of the fatalities and some medical assistance to the injured victims of the May accident. With the resumption of operations, they expect to complete payments soon.# N.E. Alcantara

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