ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan, Philippines — The tourist arrivals at the popular Hundred Islands National Park (HINP) this year has reached 140,425. Reynaldo T. Livara, Jr., HINP technical consultant, revealed Monday that as of November 8, a total of 131,959 local visitors and 8,466 foreign tourists have visited the 1,800 hectare-park. By these figures, the HINP expects the tourist arrivals to top 160,000 by the end of the year, said Livara. He said this was a big jump in tourism not only for the Hundred Islands but for the country as well, noting that in 2005, there were only 63,656 tourists who visited the national park with only 3,733 of them foreigners. (Liezle Basa Iñigo)

GUN-TOTING LEADS TO ARREST OF DUO

LIMAY, Bataan, Philippines — With the election gun ban no longer in force, police arrested the other day men for alleged gun-toting and illegal possession of a firearm and illegal drugs in Barangay Kitang 1, this town. Senior Superintendent Arnold D. Gunnacao, Bataan police director, reported that the arrest of the suspects identified as Rodolfo Requiez and Walter Ambrosio, both of Kitang 1, came after concerned residents tipped them off to police. Chief Inspector Ric Santiago, chief of police here, dispatched his men led by Senior Inspector Allan Calaguas to respond and investigate an alleged harassment incident by two armed men. Upon arriving at the scene, police frisked the two suspects who yielded a .38-caliber revolver from Ambrocio, while a sachet of marijuana was confiscated from Requiez. (Mart T. Supnad)

CASH WITHDRAWAL TIMED BY ROBBERS

CAINTA, Rizal, Philippines — A man who had just withdrawn P20,000 from Western Union lost it all when robbers riding in tandem on a motorcycle snatched it from him on ROTC Hunters Avenue, Barangay San Juan, here, last Saturday morning. Angelito Canaveral, 31, married and a resident of Sitio Malaya Valley Golf, Barangay San Juan, was still trembling with fear when he reported the incident to police around 11 a.m., about 15 minutes after the incident. His assailants fled in the direction of A. Bonifacio Avenue. (Madelynne Dominguez)

COURT ALLOWS MARKET REPAIRS

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 4 here upheld the right of the city government to introduce improvements within the Block 3 Section of the Baguio City public market when it out rightly denied the issuance of a writ of preliminary prohibitory injunction being requested by several groups of vendors who were affected by the recent demolition of over 700 stalls in the said area. In a resolution, Judge Maria Clarita Tabin rejected the petition of the vendors for the issuance of a temporary restraining order stopping the city government from pursuing the P20 million rehabilitation of Block 3 as well as the demand for payment of damages considering that the same are already moot and academic. The court ruled that the demolition of the stalls have already been consummated and that no grave and irreparable injury will be caused to the petitioners. In denying the issuance of the preliminary prohibitory injunction, the court argued the vendors, composed of members of the Hilltop Open Market Vendors Credit Cooperative and the United Market Vendors and Tenants Association, failed the show a clear and legal right for the granting of their petition. (Dexter A. See)