CEBU CITY (PNA) – Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador Jr. said he did not see the need to initiate a peace covenant among the local candidates in the city for honest and peaceful May polls. Comendador said there had been no violence that occurred in the city in the last two elections.

He also said those who will sign the supposed covenant should be sincere in doing so and “not just for show.” The signing of the peace covenant, he said, should be initiated by the Commission on Elections. Comendador said he received an order from the higher police headquarters directing all police offices to hold a peace covenant for all those who are seeking electoral posts this May. But he observed that political rivals here have engaged only in “word war” and not in bloody attacks.

Agad is most outstanding revenue district chief

DUMAGUETE CITY (PNA) – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) District-79 chief collector Cresencio Agad was recently awarded one of the Most Outstanding BIR Revenue District Officers nationwide.

The award was given by the BIR national office in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Makati-Bonifacio in Manila. According to Agad, it was a humbling recognition of his efforts to hit the target tax collection for the last three years during his assignments in Mindanao.

He said the basis of the award was his performance in office from 2006 to 2008. During the three consecutive years under his leadership, he was able to consistently achieve the target collection set by the BIR National office. Agad took over as BIR District-79 Chief in Dumaguete last August 2009. The district covers Negros Oriental and Siquijor provinces.

He said he shares his success with his co-employees in Mindanao for their help and cooperation in his effort to achieve target tax collections.

Comelec checkpoints reduce violence

Iloilo City – The implementation of an intensified campaign of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) gun ban through the joint Philippine National Police (PNP)- Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)- Commission on Elections (COMELEC) checkpoints/chokepoints, has significantly reduced the incidence of violence in Western Visayas. This was the assessment of Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) Director Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas during the recent second PNP-AFP-COMELEC Coordinating Conference held in Iloilo City. Tthe joint Comelec-AFP-PNP Regional Coordinating Conference has discussed the situational updates and assessment of peace and order situation in Western Visayas. Aside from Cuevas, other attendees were bigwigs of the PNP, AFP and COMELEC in the region, including the Directorate for Integrated National Police Operations-Visayas Director, PC Supt. George Piano; Brigadier Gen. Pedro Ramon Sinajon Jr., Assistant District Commander, 31D, Philippine Army; Army brigade commanders in the region, police directors, and COMELEC officers. Cuevas also cited that the checkpoints have helped strengthen the operational capability of the different provincial and municipal joint security coordinating centers. (Edith B. Colmo)