MANHUNT BEGINS: 82 WV freed convicts fail to beat 15-day ultimatum
Police Brigadier General RenePamuspusan, PRO-6 director, said BJMP had transport vans and other logisticsthat ensured the safe transport of the surrendered convicts. “We are warning these 82 convicts.Surrender peacefully to our tracker teams. Do not put up a fight,” said PoliceLieutenant Joem Malong, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6). Those in Panay Island were now in thecustody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s (BJMP) IloiloDistrict Jail in Barangay Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo while those in NegrosOccidental and Bacolod City were now in the BJMP’s Bago City prison facility. Their time served in prison would bereviewed if indeed they were qualified for early release under the GCTA. The GCTA Law has come under scrutinyafter the Department of Justice announced that convicted rapist-killer AntonioSanchez, former mayor of Calauan, Laguna, might be released from prison becauseof supposed good behavior. Nationwide, 1,914 convicts werereleased by BuCor applying the GCTA Law./PN In Camp Crame, Quezon City, PhilippineNational Police (PNP) spokesperson, Brigadier General Bernard Banac said themanhunt will be done with or without a reward, “though a reward may be helpfulto entice possible informants. Law enforcers may employ “reasonableforce if the subject of the arrest violently resists and endangers the securityof the arresting officers,” Justice secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said. ILOILO City – Of the 144 convictsfrom Western Visayas that the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) freed in line withthe Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law, 62 managed to beat the 15-dayultimatum set by President Rodrigo Duterte. The 82 who failed to surfaceyesterday – the deadline – are now subjects of a manhunt. The list will include pertinent datato ensure that only those who ought to be returned to prison would berearrested. These convicts have a P1-millionbounty each for their arrest. The respective BJMPs will take chargeof the transfer of these surrenderers to the nearest BuCor penal colony inSablayan, Mindoro, said Pamuspusan. According to Department of Justice(DOJ) spokesperson Undersecretary Markk Perete yesterday, they would betransmitting to the Department of Interior and Local Government a cleaned-uplist of convicts “prematurely released because of the erroneous application ofthe GCTA Law.” “This should minimize incidents ofmistaken identity and save government resources related to its manhuntoperations,” said Perete. The 62 convicts who surrendered, onthe other hand, were from Aklan (12), Antique (three), Capiz (nine), IloiloCity (five), Iloilo province (16), Negros Occidental (13), Guimaras (one), andBacolod City (three).
According to police investigation, thevictims – who were both residents of Barangay Tacas, Jaro district – werecrossing the road when a van driven by 27-year-old Khent Tubilid of NuevaValencia, Guimaras hit them around 5:30 a.m. yesterday. Killed was 69-year-old Nimfa Hisug. Shesustained head and body injuries, police said. Hisug’s 27-year-old niece Geem Gamarchawas now recuperating at the Western Visayas Medical Center in Mandurriaodistrict. ILOILO City – A senior citizen diedwhile her niece was injured after getting hit by a van in Barangay Balantang,Jaro district. 
Heavy damage can be seen on the front portion of this vehicle that hit two persons in Barangay Balantang, Jaro, Iloilo City on Sept. 24. PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANCIS BASCO Tubilid was detained in the lockup cellof the Jaro police station, facing charges./PN
The remaining 1,400 bags account for theprocurement late last year. (With a report from PNA/PN) He also said : “Right now, thewarehouses in Ilog and San Carlos City are almost full.” BACOLOD City – Storage is expected to bea bottleneck for the National Food Authority in Negros Occidental as its palay (unhusked rice) procurementincreases further amid the ongoing harvests. Of which, about 80 percent were procuredunder the new buying price of PHP19 per kilogram. From January to October this year, NFA-NegrosOccidental has procured over 45,992 bags of rice or about P43.6 million intotal procurement. One of the warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental which serves as a buying station for palay sold by farmers in the province. The NFA provincial office needs additional warehouses as its palay procurement is expected to increase amid the ongoing harvests. NFA-NEGROS OCCIDENTAL “The NFA buying price of P19 perkilogram is still competitive. Thus, local farmers still sell their palay to the NFA,” Canoy said. “This is the first time we havepurchased such huge volume. The harvest peaked in October,” Canoy said. Last year, the NFA procured about P45million worth of palay from farmersin Negros Occidental. The amount translates to 47,392 bags of palay purchased through the three buyingstations, including the 45,992 bags procured from January to October. Current average buying price offered bytraders is P16 per kilogram for dry palayand P14 to P15 for wet stocks. He added that bigger procurement isexpected to continue this month in the province’s three buying stations in thiscity, Ilog town and San Carlos City. On Sept. 13, the NFA started buying atP19, from the previous P17 after the NFA Council recommended the additional P2per kilogram. However, the NFA no longer provided the P3.70 incentives earliergiven to farmers. NFA provincial manager Frisco Canoy saidMonday the bulk of the procurement this year includes palay purchased during the current cropping season, which startedin September.
Bacolod City – Councilor CindyRojas, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s Committee on Health, ispushing for a P500 increase in the monthly allowance of barangay health workers(BHWs). From P4,000, city-paid health workers should receive P4,500 monthly,Rojas said. The current allowance is not sufficient to cover the daily expenses ofthe health workers, she explained. 
BHWs are frontliners that ensure the implementation of the citygovernment’s healthcare services and programs./PN
Among the conditions met by theKuwaiti government was the filing of charges against Jeanelyn Villavende’semployers and the harmonized standard employment contract for overseas Filipinoworkers. Also, working hours and the hours forsleep should be indicated in the contracts and the workers are prohibited totransfer to another employer without the written consent of the PhilippineLabor Attaché in Kuwait. MANILA – The government lifted itslabor deployment ban to Kuwait after the two governments reached an agreementfor better working conditions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The government imposed a total workerdeployment ban to Kuwait in January after the release of autopsy results onhousehold helper Jeanelyn Villavenda, who was allegedly killed by her Kuwaitiemployers in December. The government partially lifted theban a month later for skilled, semi-skilled workers and professionals after thesigning of a bilateral deal on the standard employment contract for Filipinoworkers. Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE) secretary Silvestre Bello III said the lifting means newly-hired andreturning household workers may now return to Kuwait. “So now pwede na for deployment lahatng household service workers, mgasemi-skilled workers, mga skilledworkers and professionals,” Bello said. With the new contract, employers arebarred from keeping the passports of their workers; the workers will also beallowed to use their mobile phones after work and they are also entitled to aday off with pay. The country last imposed a totaldeployment ban on the Gulf state in 2018 after Ilongga migrant worker JoannaDemafelis was slain and discovered inside a freezer at an abandoned apartmentthere. Her employer was found guilty for her slay./PN
ILOILO City – The city government here is tapping the local police forceto ensure that persons under monitoring (PUMs) are observing self-quarantine asthe local government is still working on an ordinance to give teeth to theinitiative. The mayor, upon his arrival on Tuesdayfrom his official trip to Manila, said he will be meeting with various groupsto look into their protocol in responding to COVID-19. In his message addressed to theDepartment of Health, he said that it is their responsibility to “provide testkits to all the different regions” as local governments will also do theirpart. The mayor also would like to know theprocurement status of the personal protective equipment (PPE) and additionalmasks. “We are not saying that they arepositive but we are asking them to go on voluntary quarantine. So that in casethey will manifest symptoms, then they will be referred to the properhospital,” Treñas said. Treñas already talked with theSangguniang Panlungsod for an ordinance on quarantine as there are already PUMsfrom Hong Kong, Macao and other areas where there are positive cases ofcoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Meantime, he also pushed for theaccreditation of the Western Visayas Medical Center in this city’s Mandurriaodistrict as testing center. He said Iloilo City has 82 PUMs. Theycame from Hong Kong, Macao, and South Korea, among other areas with reportedCovid-19 cases. “We are going to ask the support of thePNP (Philippine National Police) to enforce the voluntary quarantine evenwithout the ordinance,” Mayor Jerry Treñas. Treñas sees a need for the city to beprepared. “I foresee that this situation will still escalate before probably itwill go down. It will get worse before it can get better. But at the same time,importante na diri (it is important that here in the) sa city there is no needto panic,” he added. “To a certain extent, I will speak forthe rest of Western Visayas. We have no test kits here, we have no accreditedhospital to test the virus,” he said. These include protocol that will befollowed by health centers if there are suspected cases that will seek medicationand the protocol that will be followed by the Department of Education regardingthe various events related to closing or graduation ceremonies. “It is your responsibility and you haveto provide that for us,” he said. (With PNA/PN)
Eight sachets of suspected valued at around P135,000 were seized from resident Mateo Jamili, 48, police said. The suspect was detained in the lockup facility of the Silay City police station, facing charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002./PN BACOLOD City – Police nabbed a man in a drug buy-bust operation in Barangay Mambulac, Silay City, Negros Occidental.
Jamili was nabbed after he sold suspected illegal drugs to an undercover cop for P3,500 around 1:45 p.m. on June 4, the police added.
Resident Romel Ibanez, 44, was taken to the Bacolod Adventist Medical Center. He sustained a gunshot wound on the left thigh, police said. Police investigators said Ibanez was sitting on his tricycle waiting while waiting for passengers when the suspect fired at him three times using an unknown firearm. A certain Joefrey was tagged suspect in the shooting that happened around 4:30 p.m. on June 29. BACOLOD City – A tricycle driver was wounded in a shooting incident in Barangay Taculing. Officers of Police Station 6 have yet to arrest the suspect, who fled after the incident./PN
The community is invited to attend a meeting Wednesday night regarding the challenges facing the Gibson Theatre.The purpose is to provide an update on the efforts to obtain a digital projector at the historic downtown theater.The meeting will be held at the Sherman House following the Main Street Meeting which begins at 5:30 p.m. The theatre meeting is expected to begin approximately 6:30 p.m.An online fundraising campaign is underway to help raise money for the projector. The website is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.Donations have topped $8,646 in the first 18 days of the online campaign. With only a dozen days remaining, the goal is to reach $15,000.
Area Baseball Sectional Scores.Monday (6-1)Class 1A @ Shawe Memorial.Postponed and rescheduled for Tuesday (6-2).Jac-Cen-Del vs. Oldenburg Academy at 5 PM.Hauser vs. Rising Sun at 7 PM.Class 2A @ South Ripley.Postponed and rescheduled for Tuesday (6-2).Championship-Milan vs. Austin at 6 PM.Class 3A @ Franklin County.South Dearborn 3 Lawrenceburg 2Class 4A @ Bloomington North.Bloomington South 3 Bloomington North 1