CEBU CITY, Philippines (PNA) — Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal has appealed to the public to respect the Supreme Court (SC) ruling acquitting Hubert Webb and six others who were accused of killing three members of the Vizconde family in June 1991.

”If the Supreme Court thinks that, we have to respect their decision,” the Cebu prelate said.

”The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land. I don’t think it was an instant decision, they have the best minds and they must have studied the matter,” Vidal said.

The Supreme Court justices gave weight to the inconsistencies in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses.

They also considered the evidence that Webb was in the United States at the time of the massacre. Cardinal Vidal also said that the decision should be considered as an example for the young people.

LEYTE TOWN CITED FOR REVENUE TAKE

KANANGA, Leyte, Philippines (PNA) — The Bureau of Local Government Finance cited the Municipal Treasurer’s and Assessor’s Offices of Kananga town for its revenue generation performance.

Finance Department Officer-in-Charge Regional Director George T. Roma conferred a plaque of recognition on OIC Municipal Treasurer Susan S. del Monte and Municipal Assessor Engineer Virgilio Tiu.

The Treasurer’s Office was cited for exceeding the collection quota while the Assessor’s Office was hailed for its remarkable increase in total taxable assessed value for 2009.

The two offices garnered the highest average total collection efficiency of 830.44 percent of realty and business taxes, fees and charges, and collection from economic enterprises that made Kananga number one in rank among the 136 municipalities in the region.

C.P.P.O.’S GUNS MUZZLED

CEBU CITY, Philippines (PNA) — The Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) last Friday taped the muzzles of the firearms of its policemen to make sure they will not use it in indiscriminately firing during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Senior Supt. Erson Digal, CCPO director, said this will at least warn the policemen that they should not use their firearms for indiscriminate firing during the holidays.

Digal said cops should act as law enforcers, not law breakers. The taping of the muzzles of the service firearms of policemen was held simultaneously in the CPPO grounds in Lahug, Cebu City and in the police stations in all towns and cities in the province.

The police officers can only use their firearms when the need arises or in self defense, Digal said. “They can only use their firearm if they are responding to an alarm,” he said.

P14-M OK’D FOR ANTIQUE SCHOLARS

SIBALOM, Antique, Philippines (PNA) – Antique Vice Governor Rose Dimamay said that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan here has approved a supplemental budget amounting to P14 million intended for some 3,325 scholars of the provincial government.

Dimamay, who is the Chair of the SP Committee on Education, also said the scholars, mostly in college, are taking up different courses and majority are now enrolled at the University of Antique’s main campus and its extensions.

There are also scholars enrolled in the Catholic school, Saint Anthony’s College.

Dimamay said that originally, the allocation for the scholars this year was only P3 million. Each scholar is given a budget of P2,500 per semester for tuition and book allowance.