Election day blaze
Fire destroys 6 classrooms of Pantabangan school

A fire initially attributed to faulty electrical wiring destroyed six classrooms at Tanauan Elementary School in Pantabangan at about 4:00 AM last October 29, hours before the precincts opened for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

Mayor Romeo Borja said the fire might been deliberately set off to delay the elections in  Barangay Malbang.

However, Sr. Supt. Agripino Javier, Nueva Ecija provincial police director, said there was no evidence gathered so far of materials like gasoline used in starting a fire .

He said the Bureau of Fire Protection was investigating the incident and the initial angle being looked into was overloading of electricity.

"It is very quiet here in the province. At least, the reputation of Nueva Ecija [for election related violence] has changed because we have only one incident [of violence] compared to previous elections," Javier stressed.

Dr. Dioscorides Lusung, Nueva Ecija schools division superintendent, in consultation with the DepEd Task Force Operation Center under Undersecretary Franklin Sunga and the Commission on Elections, transferred the election precincts originally assigned to the burned classrooms to other buildings in the school compound.

Since no election paraphernalia were damaged, voting went on as scheduled though a bit delayed at 7:30 AM.

Meanwhile, Kenneth Tirado, DepEd Communication Unit officer-in-charge, said classes at the affected elementary school are being temporarily held in double shifts until the damaged classrooms are rehabilitated.

He said Undersecretary Ramon Bacani had been tasked to lead the emergency rehabilitation of the school and would assess the damage from the fire. ###
 
 

Single case of election violence
Candidate shot dead

A candidate for barangay councilor in Tabuating, San Leonardo was shot dead in an early morning ambush last November 19, the first day of the week-long campaign period.

Police investigators said two unidentified motorcycle riding men shot Numeriano Sapiandante, 55, with high caliber pistols along the national highway at about 7:10 AM.

Sapiandante, former barangay chair of Tabuating, was running for councilor.

The victim was hitching a ride on a motorcycle driven by another candidate, Donato Ortiz, when shot at.

The family of the slain candidate appealed to law enforcers for a speedy resolution of the case.

The police were reported to be looking into different angles, including a problem that the victim had with a local politician.

Emil Sapiandante, a relative of the victim and a publisher of a local newspaper, said politics was clearly behind the shooting as the slain candidate had been asked not to run anymore.

Gov. Aurelio Umali directed Sr. Supt. Agripino Javier, provincial police director, to solve the killing. ###
 
 

MyVoice calls for honest elections

The advocacy group Movement Yearning for Valor and Oneness through Intellectual, Cultural and Economic Development (MyVoice) called on candidates for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to adhere to the principle of good governance.

Virgino Orogo, MyVoice executive director, said good governance should start from the barangay as the basic unit of the political system.

The official stressed that barangay officials should start a reform in the electoral process by observing election laws and letting the conscience of voters prevail in choosing their barangay leaders by not bribing them with gifts or cash.

Orogo noted that reports had been received that some candidates were distributing sacks of rice or P1,500 cash for every household. ###
 
 

Umali on alleged Malacañang payoff: Not me!

Gov. Aurelio M. Umali denied receiving a bag of money when he and other governors attended a meeting called by President Arroyo at Malacañang last October 11 .

The alleged payoffs to congressmen and governors was first exposed by Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio and later confirmed by Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza.

"Yung ang narinig ko kaya lang wala nga akong natanggap," Umali said

Gusto ko ngang bumalik doon at tatanungin ko kung mayroong para sa akin," he said, tongue in cheek. ###
 
 

Ecija quarry revenue increases

The Nueva Ecija provincial government recorded a 60 percent increase in quarrying fee collections because of the strict monitoring of quarrying activities ordered by Gov. Aurelio M. Umali.

Maximo Borja, OIC environment officer, reported that quarrying fee collections from July to September increased to P2,151,898.50 compared to P1,299,375.00 during the same period last year.

Borja said he expects the collections from sand, gravel, stone and other quarrying activities to even increase in the fourth quarter due to the ongoing infrastructure construction boom in the province and the good weather.

Before Umali became governor, he had sought a thorough and strict review and monitoring of quarry permits. ###
 
 
 

Earning a living by making a killing from the dead Flower markets sprout all over before All Saints Day to make a killing from things people buy for their dead -- from high end orchids, chrysanthemums and ready-to-go bouquets to low-end palong-palungans and amarillos;  from baskets of all shapes to candles of all colors.

Slain Ecijano soldier honored

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed a resolution citing the heroism of Seaman 2nd Radarman Joe Vincent Sistoza who was killed last October 2 in Basilan during an encounter with the Abu Sayaff terrorist group.

Vice Gov. Edward Thomas Joson and three members of the provincial board handed a copy of the resolution and P50,000 in aid to the family of Sistoza.

Earlier, Sistoza was decorated posthumously with a Gold Cross Medal by President Arroyo. She also gave P100,000 to the soldier's family.

Sistoza was looking forward to the birth of his first child by his wife Jacquiline, also a member of the Philippine Navy, whom he married only last July 28.

He had just finished a 13 month training at Sangley Point, Cavite last September 14, eight days before he was killed in combat in Basilan. ###
 
 

Erap to visit Carabao Center

Released former President Joseph Estrada disclosed that his first out of town trip would be to the Science City of Muñoz to visit his pet project -- the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), a government funded institution built using his countryside development fund when he was still a senator.

The agency is mandated by the Development of Philippine Carabao Act -- Estrada's first and only bill passed and enacted when he served as senator -- to undertake studies to improve and develop breeds of water buffalo with high milk yield.

"We import so much milk and this costs a lot.  We have many undernourished children who need milk. By producing these hybrid carabaos that can give six to eight liters of milk a day, it would lessen the expensive importation of milk and give our farmers more income," Estrada explained.

He said he would continue the "white revolution" to help feed undernourished children and lift poor farmers out of poverty.

Estrada said he would promote the carabao center concept in Mindanao.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated a PCC branch in Bukidnon this month. ###
 
 

Ecija set to deliver 14M  bags of rice

Nueva Ecija is set to deliver to the market in November about 14 million bags of rice harvested from about 148,000 hectares of rice fields in the province.

Edelino Alejandro, National Food Authority (NFA) provincial manager, reported that some farmers had harvested their produce as early as September, equivalent to ten percent of the total rice production area.

He said the harvested rice from Nueva Ecija would be added to the remaining stock of 280,000 bags of imported rice, ending fears of rice price increases.

He said that of the 280,000 bags of imported rice, 80,000 bags are in NFA warehouses while 200,000 bags from Vietnam are due to be unloaded.

Alejandro admitted that the price of commercial rice in the local market rose to P28 per kilo during the lean months but this was offset by the sufficient supply of NFA rice. ###
 
 

Rehabilitation of 2 old dams nearing completion

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) assured that the rehabilitation of two old dams originally built some 50 years ago would be completed this December.

Eng. Alexander Coloma, NIA-Casecnan project manager, said the P1.1 billion rehabilitation of Peñaranda and Atate dams to make them the most modern irrigation facilities in the country is in full blast.

Coloma said the dams which were manually operated would be electro-mechanically operated when fully rehabilitated, with the opening and closing of the dam gates triggered by the mere push of a button. ###
 
 
 

Pantabangan ex-mayor charged with graft

The Office of the Ombudsman has filed graft charges against former Pantabangan Mayor Lucio B. Uera in connection with the operation of the Pantabangan Municipal Electric System.

In the information filed with the Sandiganbayan, the Ombudsman said that on March 18, 2002, Uera as mayor entered into a memorandum of agreement with a private company without authority from the Sangguniang Bayan. He also paid the salaries of private persons without any corresponding appropriation.

The Ombudsman said Uera also signed a memorandum of Agreement with a private company where has direct or indirect financial or pecuniary interest, considering that his wife was one of the company's incorporators and stockholders.

The charges against Uera were filed by Assistant Special Prosecutor I Albert B. Arles upon the approval of Ombudsman Merceditas N. Gutierrez. ###
 
 

San Jose firm raided for pirated software

Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation-Intellectual Property Rights Division (NBI-IPRD) simultaneously raided the offices of China Geo Engineering Corporation in Parañaque City and San Jose City.

The engineering firm is involved in building roads, streets, dams and irrigation systems in the country.

The raids stemmed from a complaint filed against the company by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) on behalf of its members Autodesk and Microsoft Corporation.

A total of 13 computers loaded with unlicensed Microsoft and Autodesk software were seized by the NBI in the company's office in 15 Mindanao St., Marina Baytown, East Aguinaldo Blvd., Asiaworld City in Parañaque City, while 18 computers containing similar unlicensed software were confiscated from the company's office in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija. Pirated installer CDs of Microsoft and Autodesk software were also seized during both raids.

“It is unfortunate that many companies in the country use unlicensed software in the course of doing their businesses. They should realize the costly setbacks that such unlawful act will have on their operations once they are caught by the authorities,” said Atty. Elfren Meneses, head of the NBI-IPRD.

Meneses said that since the start of this month, the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team of which the NBI is a member together with the Optical Media Board and the Philippine National Police, has raided 13 business establishments that use or sell pirated business software. ###
 
 

Tricycle driver robbed, stabbed dead

The body of a 21 year old tricycle driver was found in an alley in Sitio Pagas, Cabanatuan City last October 22.

In a report submitted by Supt. Eliseo Cruz, city police chief, to the office of Mayor Alvin Vergara, the victim was identified as Rustan Esguerra Jimenez of Purok Gulod, Barangay Lagare.

The victim's body with numerous stab wounds was found by a certain Henry Valino.

It was learned that Jimenez failed to arrive home on October 20 after plying his tricycle route.

The victim and his tricycle were last seen by a security guard parked along the Maharlika Highway at about 7:00 PM. ###
 
 

One dies, one hurt in motorbike accident

A 22 year old man died of skull fracture while his companion sustained face injuries when the motorcycle they were riding was bumped by a truck in Barangay Valenzuela, Santa Rosa.

Sr. Insp. Roger Sebastian, Santa Rosa police chief, identified the fatality as John Michael Roxas delos Santos of 269 Plaridel St., Baliuag, Bulacan. His injured companion was Ferry Plucena Mason, 27. Both were employees of Northwest Cycle Blast Center in Bulacan.

Investigation showed that the victims' motorcycle tried to overtake a Fuso Forward driven by Albert Payupay Juan, 59, of Barangay Santo Rosario, Santo Domingo but hit the truck in the process.

Delos Santos was declared dead on arrival in the hospital, while Mason was in serious condition. ###