TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – Since February this year, inflation rate in Leyte has continued to slide down.

Wilma A. Perante, National Statistics Office (NSO) Leyte Provincial Statistics Officer, said for September 2010, year-on-year rate of price change of the province declined to 2.1 percent, representing a minimal plunge of 0.2 percentage point compared to the August inflation rate 2.3 percent.

Perante said the major commodity groups that registered a decline on their inflation rate were fuel, light and water (0.9 percentage point) and services (0.5 percentage point).

Moreover, the 0.1 percent month-on-month price change in Leyte in the previous month remained in September, 2010. However, increments were noted on the month-on-month price change of fuel, light and water (1.5 percentage points), clothing (0.1 percentage point), and miscellaneous items (0.1 percentage point), Perante said.

Meanwhile, the 60 centavos purchasing power of the peso in Leyte since December 2009 remained unchanged up to September, 2010, she added. (Nestor L. Abrematea)

'CRACKERS BAN PUSHED IN CEBU

CEBU, Philippines – The Director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) urged the Provincial Board Friday to pass an ordinance totally banning the manufacture, sale, and use of firecrackers in the province.

Digal made the call to action after stressing that regulating firecrackers is not enough to minimize the dangers they pose, especially during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The police director, however, said safer pyrotechnics may be used as his call for ban refers only to the unsafe firecrackers openly sold on the streets. He said it is better to pray and ask God for blessings during Christmas than throw firecrackers.

But a firecracker manufacturer in Lapu-Lapu City is confident Digal's move could not be implemented as long as the 1992 law legalizing it is in effect.

Julian and Grace Pongas, owners of JP Fireworks in Barangay Babag 2 which pioneered the firecracker industry in Lapu-Lapu City, said they have been hearing this for more than a decade now.

Since 1992 when the law legalizing the manufacture of firecrackers was revived, talks on a possible firecracker ban started, they said. (Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.)

GUARD HURT IN FOILED ROBBERY

NAGA, Cebu, Philippines – A security guard was injured in a shootout with alleged robbers at a gas station in Barangay Langtad, this town, the other night, foiling what could have been another robbery in the province.

The security guard, Armando Caliao, sustained a gunshot wound on his left chest after one of the alleged robbers fired at him as he tried to approach them.

Caliao said he noticed the suspected robbers parking their motorcycle a few meters away from the gas station. Sensing the suspicious behavior of the men onboard the motorcycle, Caliao said he approached them but got shot instead.

Wounded and bleeding, Caliao fired back using his 9mm service pistol, hitting one of the armed men. The suspected robbers, however, managed to flee onboard the motorcycle together with the wounded companion.

The police recovered from the crime scene two live ammunition rounds and one deformed slug of a caliber .45, four empty shells of caliber .45 and nine live ammunition rounds of 9mm pistol used by Caliao. (Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.)