THREE SUSPECTS IN PNB ROBBERY IN SORSOGON ARRESTED
By Ed de Leon

LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 18 (PIA) — Three of the four suspects in the robbery of the Philippine National Bank branch in Sorsogon City were apprehended today by joint team from the Sorsogon city police station and the Provincial Police Intelligence Section at barangay San Ramon, Bulan, Sorsogon according to the Bicol police regional office.

Arrested were Jeorge Gentolia of barangay San Ramon a former security guard of the bank, Zaldy Espina and DAnilo Lara both resident of Pasay City.

Recovered from the three were: One grinder, one Cal. 38 revolver, one ammunition of 45 Cal., four Cal. 22 ammunition , two mobile phones, cutting tools, gloves, one balck bonnet, one motorcycle, flashlights, IDs and undetermined amount of coins.

Pelagio Samson,Jr.,Bicol regional police spokesman said, the recovered items like the grinder was reportedly used by the suspects in trying to cut open the ATM machine while the 38 Cal. Revolver was taken from the security guard and the undetermined amount of coins were taken from the ransack drawers.

Samson said the suspects pretended to withdraw from the ATM machine of the PNB bank branch located along Rizal Street at about 12 midnight Sunday and was approach by the lone security guard who was immediately disarmed and hogtied.

The suspect entered the bank and tried but failed to open the ATM machine using a grinder and assorted cutting tools, failing to do so they instead ransacked the table drawers of the manager and the sales service head.

He said that the suspects fled taking along with them the Cal. 38 service firearm the cellphone of the guard on duty and undetermined amount of coins of different denominations.

The security guard was able to untie himself and reported the incident to the Sorsogon City police station. (PIA V/Albay/mal)

PDRRMC KEEPS TIGHT WATCH OVER HIGHLY VULNERABLE AREAS IN SORSOGON
By Bennie A. Recebido

SORSOGON CITY, Jan. 18 (PIA) – The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) is still in Code Yellow Alpha alert and is closely monitoring areas in the province that are extremely susceptible to landslide and flooding everytime continuous rains occur.

Code Yellow Alpha alert means that the PDRRMC is in alert stand-by mode.

”For more than three weeks now, downpour of rains here continue causing high rise of water not only in low-lying and coastal areas but also in elevated places along riverbanks,” said PDRRMC action officer Manro Jayco.

He said that some evacuation centers are now also affected by flooding, however they have already advised the Municipal DRRMCs to identify other evacuation sites and that unsafe evacuation centers must not anymore be used since it will just pose more danger to evacuees.

Among the areas highly monitored by the PDRRMC for flooding are the towns of Juban, Bulan, Casiguran, Gubat, Pto. Diaz, Barcelona, Castilla, Pilar, Donsol and Sorsogon City.

PAGASA-DOST Legazpi weather forecaster Darwin Diquitin warned people of Sorsogon that rains will continue until next week due to prevailing Northest Monsoon and that tail-end of a cold front remains to affect the province.

On water courses in Sorsogon, likely to be affected as identified by PAGASA, are the Cadac-an, Banuan-duan, Fabrica and Matnog rivers.

”Sorsoganon should also expect colder weather in the next days due to Syberian wind,” Diquitin said.

Meanwhile, minor landslides were also noted in areas of Juban and Magallanes towns and in Sorsogon City during the past days. However, no major damage was recorded.

It can be recalled that Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment And Natural Resources (DENR) Bicol has identified the towns of Bulan, Irosin, Juban, Magallanes, Matnog, Sta. Magdalena and Sorsogon City as areas in Sorsogon that are high-risk to landslides.

These areas have past histories of landslides with Magallanes town to have recorded a enormous damage claiming 18 lives and 210 families displaced due to debris slump occurence at the height of typhoon Dante in 2009. (PIA Sorsogon/mal)

NAGA CITY LAUNCHES WASTE TO ENERGY PROJECT
By Lizel Macatangay

NAGA CITY, JAN. 18 (PIA) — One of the main pollutants that this city has to deal with is the increasing tons of solid waste being generated by its populace everyday. This is the challenge that the local government has to face given with the increasing number of investors manning various commercial industries here, not to mention the increasing local population and influx of guests and visitors in the city.

This concern seemed to have found a solution when CJ Global Co., Ltd. represented by its Chairman, Yeon Joo Choi and Engineer Scott Lee, CJ Global Manager, decided to offer a technology that would give an ultimate solution to the city’s quandary on garbage disposal, without harming the environment.

Spearheading the preparation is Naga City Mayor John Bongat who welcomed the new technology with the hope that the city’s perennial problem on waste will finally have its end.

DILG Secretary Jesse M.Robredo, also the former multi –awarded Chief Executive of Naga City personally graced the Groundbreaking and launching of the Waste to Energy Project last January 15, at the city’s dumpsite in Balatas, Naga City.

USEC George Yorobe from the Preidential Management Staff (PMS) also graced the occasion in behalf of Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras. Yorobe said that the facility, once materialized will help not only the city of Naga but also the adjoining municipalities to get rid of their trash in an environment-friendly way.

“We will use the gasification process here where all garbage or wastes after they were burned will go back to their basic elements. No smoke, just plain reduction of your garbage into energy, Yorobe said during the press conference held at the Avenue Square Convention Hall.

Gasification is the conversion of solid carbon fuels and other solid wastes into their basic elements by thermochemical process. The garbage will all be loaded in a close chamber with a temperature of 2,000 degrees centigrade or higher enough to reduce its content back to their natural state.

Oscar Orozco, Naga City ENRO explained that the facility is expected to produce not just electricity but also hot water, steam and hydrogen and methanol which can be used as LPG for households and transport vehicles.

The project, which is under the Build-Operate Transfer Scheme, is expected to be completed within two (2) years and will be operated for the duration of 20 years. (PIA CamSur/mal)

9 FISHERMEN RESCUED, 6 STILL MISSING IN CAMNORT

DAET, Camarines Norte, Jan. 18 (PIA) – Nine (9) fishermen were rescued while 6 others are still missing from the four towns of this province due frequent rains.

In a report from the Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (PSEMO), Arnel Ferrer, Public Safety Officer IV, Provincial Civil Defense Deputized said that of the 6 missing, 3 were from the barangay Pinagtigasan, Vinzons are: Erwin Barecas, 30 years old; Reynan Barecas, 21 years old and Jhony Malinaw, 31 years old.

The said fishermen went on fishing in the morning of January 14, 2011 and was reported missing by barangay treasurer Cynthia B. Villanueva to the office of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Vinzons.

The other 3 fishermen missing are: Nestor Banzuelo, 55 years old, a certain Bunoy-40 years old and a certain Tatang, 60 years old all from the town of Sta. Elena.

They were companions of the 4 rescued at barangay Pambuhan, Perez Quezon as reported by the Provincial Government PDRRMC Dr. Henry Busar yesterday to Mercedes Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), they were residence of barangay Mambungalon, Mercedes and Sta. Elena.

The report also said that of the 5 other rescued, 4 rescued at Siruma, Camarines Sur all residence of Mercedes, one was rescued at Capalonga.

Also four fishing vessels were missing and rescued yesterday at about 3:00 in the afternoon and other 5 are still missing all from the town of Mercedes. (RBManlangit, PIA CamNorte/mal)

12 FAMILIES IN MASBATE ACQUIRE SMALL BUSINESS WITH GOV’T AID
By Ernie A. Delgado

MASBATE CITY, Jan. 18 (PIA)— Looks like life will become more bearable for a number of families here who were provided by government with capital that apparently was good enough to eke out a living.

In simple rites at the City Hall grounds, officials handed Thursday vending equipment and supplies to 12 couples, who belonged to the city’s poorest of the poor.

Aptly dubbed “nego-cart,” the free equipment consisted of steel pushcarts which came with goods that the recipients would cook and hawk in crowded spots of the city.

To enhance their chance to make it, the couples were given training on handling small business, according to Carlos Onding of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Onding said DOLE has teamed up with Masbate Mayor Socrates Tuason in enforcing the nego-cart as a means to alleviate the plight of the city’s poor.

Small as they were, the nego-cart vendors operate outside the so-called underground economy because they obtained a permit from the local government.

For their part, the nego-cart recipients recognized the value of their business enterprise, saying they were driven by rags-to-riches life stories which were told during the training.

According to them, they knew that beside being hard-working, they needed to be resilient during difficult times.

They made up the second batch of nego-cart beneficiaries in Masbate, that’s why they said they would replicate the pioneering 13 couples who have been doing well since they were provided with nego-carts nearly a year ago. (PIA Masbate/mal)

P5M WORTH OF FOOD ASSISTANCE FOR ALBAY
By Marlon A. Loterte

LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 19 (PIA) — Some 55,000 kilos of biscuits worth P5million were donated by the United Nation World Food Program (UN-WFP) on Tuesday (Jan. 19) to Albay to augment the supply of relief assistance to thousands of families displaced by continuous heavy rains in Bicol for almost a month now.

Albay Gov. Salceda said in an interview the UN-WFP food assistance was in response to the call of President Beningo “Noynoy” Aquino III for the augmentation of relief operation in flood and landslide stricken areas like Albay.

In briefing the UN-WFP Country Director Stephen Anderson, the governor said 41,000 families were economically displaced by the prolonged moderate to heavy rains that pelted the province for almost three weeks and it affected the 3,099 farmers whose livelihood activities were hampered due to bad weather.

Salceda said Pres. Aquino has directed Social Welfare Dinky Soliman to assist thousands of farmers and the economically displaced households in Albay by giving them livelihood activities by way of the “cash for work” program of the agency.

Anderson meanwhile said his visit to Albay is to see the situation first hand and turnover the high energy biscuit to Albay through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Bicol.

Anderson added, “we are very much concerned about the impacts of the rains that are expected to continue until March and so the areas here are so much saturated with water log which is affecting the livelihood of thousands of farmers and fisher folks across the region.”

Anderson together with Mishael Argonza, WFP national program officer in meeting with Albay Governor Joey Salceda was impressed on the way the province carried out its disaster risk reduction (DRR) operation.

Anderson said “good thing the province considered the importance of disaster preparedness – Albay has done their very best in disaster preparedness and response.”

He said that Albay has proven to be the excellent model in disaster risk reduction among other local government units (LGUs) across the country, saying that the province has proven it’s excellence in DRR.

At the same briefing, Salceda said some 106,150 families in 10 town and two cities in Albay were affected by floods, lahar flow and landslide spawned by continuous rains. (PIA V/Albay)

BICOL POLICE CHIEF HOLDS VISIT TO PPOs IN BICOL

CAMP GEN. SIMEON A. OLA, Legazpi City, Jan. 19 (PIA) — Acknowledging the need to boost the morale of the entire Bicol police and drive it into another year-round of law enforcement activities, Bicol police chief PCSupt Cecilio Calleja, Jr., has slated command visit to Police Provincial Offices (PPOs) of Sorsogon, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Naga City, instead of the traditional New Year’s call.

Calleja said that the command visit intends to know directly the issues and concerns of the provincial, city and town police office chiefs and to disseminate, likewise, the issues and concerns of the directorial staff to ensure efficient and effective public service in the year 2011.

He also distributed sets of 9mm pistols and desktop computer sets to selected municipal/city police station (MPS/CPS) and lead the awarding of PNP medals to deserving police personnel who demonstrated extraordinary performance that contributed to the over-all countless achievements of the PNP.

The police director also discussed issues and concerns affecting the present morale of the police force, including measures to be undertaken in order to correct the negative perception of the public about the police were also discussed.

Calleja has meanwhile directed all police chiefs to exercise full command responsibility on all the behaviors and demeanors of their subordinates.

“The police chiefs should impose disciplinary sanctions immediately to erring policemen for any acts of misbehavior and wrongdoings, otherwise, they are the ones who will be subjected to administrative disciplinary actions under the doctrine of command responsibility,” he said.

Calleja added, citing the Broken-Window Theory, that in order to stop abuses in the ranks, the essence of leadership by example is important.

As leaders, he said, they should lead the corps in bringing back the old glory of the PNP by regaining the trust and confidence of the public through Accountability, Discipline and Performance towards the organization, country and people. (PUSamson,PROV/PIA Albay/mal)

DOLE SORSOGON TAKES ACTION THROUGH WAGE EMPLOYMENT
By Bennie A. Recebido

SORSOGON CITY, Jan. 19 (PIA) – Displaced workers in two towns here have still reason to celebrate amidst their loss of livelihood past heavy rains and flooding experienced for about a month already and the on-going restiveness of Mt. Bulusan.

Under the management of provincial field officer Imelda E. Romanillos, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) conducted series of consultations with the chief executives of Juban and Casiguran towns who requested anew for wage employment for the displaced workers in their respective municipalities.

Displaced workers here refer to informal workers like farmers, fisherfolk and laborers, among others.

It can be noted that DOLE has already provided wages to displaced workers in the municipalities of Juban, Casiguran and Irosin who were not able to work due to the adverse effect of Mt. Bulusan last year.

Romanillos said that local government units’ request for another wage employment may be granted in February or March this year. ”About P.5 million budget were appropriated for this,” she said.

Through this program, some 100 displaced workers particularly in Juban will receive P180.00 wage per day that will last for ten days. ”What is expected from them in return is to do community works like cleaning water channels and comfort rooms in the evacuation sites,” said Romanillos.

Meanwhile, Romanillos also made it clear that they are still conducting reassessment of Casiguran since said town was not greatly affected by past calamities. (PIA Sorsogon)