Top most wanted arestado

BAGUIO CITY (Dis. 21) — Inaresto ng pinagsanib na pwersa ng Police Regional Office-Cordillera at ng 45th Infantry Battalion ng Philippine Army na nakabase sa Mt. Province si Efren Ventura, ang tinaguriang top most wanted person na lider ng grupong do or die sa Cordillera, Region I, II, III.

Si Ventura, 29 taong gulang, tubong Sadanga, Mt. Province ay may P750, 000 patong sa ulo dahil sa kasong robbery, car napping at illegal possession of fire arms.

Si Ventura ay naaresto sa bisa ng warrant of arrest na ipinalabas ng Regional Trial Court Branch 6 dito sa lungsod. # Robert Tabay/DzEQ

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CSC may bagong kalatas vs. sideline

BAGUIO CITY (Dis. 21) — Nagpalabas ng bagong kalatas ang Civil Service Commission (CSC) upang bigyang babala ang lahat ng kawani ng pamahalaan na nagnenegosyo sa oras ng trabaho.

Batay sa nasabing kalatas, mahigpit na ipinagbabawal ang mga kawani na magsagawa ng mga business transaction sa oras ng trabaho tulad ng pag-aahente ng lupa, insurance at iba pang kahalintulad na negosyo.

Kaugnay nito, epektibo pa rin hanggang sa ngayon ang kautusan hinggil sa pagbabawal ng paghingi ng anumang regalo ng mga kawani sa panahon ng Pasko.

Ang sinumang mapatunayang tumanggap ng mga pabuya o regalo ay posibleng masampahan ng kasong administratibo at matatanggal sa serbisyo. # Jhong Munar/DzEQ

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Logo contest for BSU anniversary

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (Dec.23) — In line with the 90th Founding Anniversary of the Benguet State University (BSU) on June 15 next year, the University is sponsoring a special logo contest.

Open to all BSU students, alumni, faculty and staff, logo entries must carry the theme of the founding anniversary: “BSU: Enhancing Capability for Self-Reliance and Sustainable Development.”

Entries must adapt to electronic and print media for reproduction on small surfaces and to use in color, both positive and negative form; must have only three colors; must be easily reproduced in both color, and black and white; and must be described textually. Entries can come in any shape.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria: originality (50%), artistry (25%), and relevance to BSU and the event (25%). The judges will only declare one winner. In the event of a tie, the entry garnering the highest score in originality will be declared winner.

The winning entry gets a cash prize of P5,000.00 and automatically becomes a property of BSU. As such, the winner relinquishes all rights to compensation for use of the design. The winning logo will be used in all events related to the anniversary such as stationeries, leis, corsages, streamers, etc.

Deadline for submission of entries is on January 30, 2006. # HCB/UPAO

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Free medical check-up okayed for Kalinga employees

TABUK, Kalinga (Dec. 23) — Employees of the Provincial Government of Kalinga were granted free medical check-up at the Kalinga Provincial Hospital (KPH) as an early Christmas present.

Kalinga Vice Governor Rommel W. Diasen disclosed this during the Inter-agency Christmas party held at the capitol park last December 16.

According to Diasen, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) after thorough deliberation, agreed to the request of the Provincial Employees Association of Kalinga (PEAK) to amend Executive Order No. 031 issued last November 16 which states that the concerned employees should handle the fee for said medical procedure.

The test includes the various laboratory exams, Pap smear for female employees, electro cardiogram (ECG) for 35 year-old and above, and other medical test if required by the physician.

All diagnostic tests, according to the memorandum, must all be done at the Kalinga Provincial Hospital and can be availed from Mondays to Fridays from 1:00PM to 3:00 PM during the employee’s birth month.

During an SP meeting, Dr. Romulo Gaerlan, Provincial Health Officer said that the amount of P400,000 to P500,000 will be needed for said annual examination.

Said health plan is one of the priority thrusts of the local government unit to maintain employees’ well being in the work place and assuring a more productive government workforce. # Gigi Dumallig/PIA-Kalinga

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1, 500 children benefit from GMA Kapuso Foundation

TABUK, Kalinga (Dec. 23) — Through an invitation from the Rotary Club of Tabuk, around 1,500 indigent Kalinga children recently benefited from a gift giving activity sponsored by the Kapuso Foundation of the GMA network – a prominent TV network in the country.

Geronimo Donaal, last year’s Rotary Club of Tabuk President revealed this during an interview. With the theme “Alay sa Batang Pinoy”, he said that the beneficiaries were given 1000 bags of assorted goods and 500 bags of used clothing.

Among those identified as project beneficiaries by the Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWDO) of Tabuk were: Dupag with 250 recipients; Naneng (150); Bagumbayan (160); Bantay (70); Suyang (80); Amlao (150); Lucog/Pinagan (110); Laya East (80); Magabangon (100); Callagdao (150); Purok 5 (100); Purok 4 (50); and Magsaysay (50).

Donaal said the Rotary Club planned the activity having seen that many deserving poor children should also experience receiving gifts during this Christmas season to give hope and uplift their spirits.

He attributed the success of the event to the collective efforts of the GMA Kapuso Foundation, Tabuk Rotary Club, Tabuk LGU and the Chico River Quest, which sponsored a rafting venture after the gift giving activity. # Gigi Dumallig/PIA-Kalinga

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P250 M for 2,000 pre-school classes

BAGUIO CITY (Dec. 23) — The government will spend some P250 million next year to hold 2,000 kindergarten classes for five years old in poor municipalities nationwide in an initial step to make pre-school education universal.

Rep. Rolansdo Andaya Jr. (LP, Camarines Sur) , Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, described the program as a “break-in period” to test the readiness of the system.

Andaya explained that the program is aimed at honing the capabilities of five and six-year old children and improve their school performance. He noted that pre-school education in the country is considered as a luxury that could not be afforded by many Filipino families, especially in the rural areas.

While admitting that the program will be costly, Andaya said it is worth spending billions of pesos because millions of Filipino children, especially those from impoverished families, will be the beneficiaries. # PIA-CAR

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New mine investments seen to draw $6B

BAGUIO CITY (Dec. 23) — The country is back on the radar screens of foreign mining companies, according to Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA), the equity research arm of French Bank Calyon.

Alfred Dy, head of CLSA’s Philippine Research said mining firms have looked at the mining industry after a shift in government policy towards active promotion of the sector, and the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the legality of foreign ownership of mining projects.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau expects investments in the Philippine mining industry to reach $581 million in 2006 and $1.5 billion in 2007.

Citing Chamber of Mines data, Dy said the country could lure in new investments worth $6 billion over the next five years.

Some 23 projects have also been earmarked for potential development between 2005 and 2009 requiring capital investments of about $6.34 billion. # PIA-CAR

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Highway robbers strike again

LAGAWE, Ifugao (Dec. 23) — Barely a few days before Christmas, armed robbers struck again along the highway here going to the world- famous Banaue Rice Terraces .

According to the Lagawe police, about 3:30 A.M. on December 19, three unidentified hold-uppers took P14,000 cash collection and personal money of the driver and conductor of the KMS passenger bus coming from Baguio City and bound for Banaue with body number 1186 owned by Mr. Herbert Codamon. The driver and conductor were identified respectively as Benhur Buccahan, 37 year old and a resident of Banaue, Ifugao, and Cris Awingan, 24 years old from Sagada, Mountain Province.

The armed men also took two 3315 cell phones and their wallets containing documents and driver’s license.

Two of the suspects reportedly armed with caliber 45 pistols and the third using an M14 riffle suddenly appeared at the roadside and flagged down the bus. One of the suspects went near the side of the driver and pointed his gun at him.

After taking what they wanted, the suspects ordered the victims to ride the bus and go straight ahead while duty police were alerted of the incident. The police responded and conducted pursuit operation but yielded negative result.

This latest heist is the fifth of a series of robberies recorded by the police this year that remains unsolved.

Codamon revealed that this was the fourth time that his bus was robbed along the national road between Lamut and Banaue but the suspects were never identified and apprehended. The police should now really exert effort to solve these crimes and arrest the suspects, he said. # Dan Codamon/ PIA Ifugao

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