ILOILO CITY, Iloilo (PNA) — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Regional Dir. Dennis Ausan said everything went smooth at the filing of Certificates of Candidacies (COCs) at the Comelec office here yesterday.  Ausan said "No major hitches happened except for some queries and clarification from candidates if  they could file their COCs while still waiting for their Certificates of Nominations, among others," he said, clarifying that submission of COCs must be simultaneous with the issuance of Certificates of Nominations.

CAPIZ SAF 

ROXAS CITY, Capiz (PNA) — Capiz will have its own Special Action Force (SAF) unit to curb criminality in the city, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sec. Mar Roxas, whose father, the late Senator Gerardo Roxas is from Capiz, said during the weekend. "Gen. Cipriano Querol will man the SAF unit and I already gave the mandate to PNP Regional Director Gen. Agrimero Cruz, Jr. and Capiz PNP Director Domingo Cabillan to maintain peace and order in the province,” Roxas said, adding that funds will be provided to build the SAF building in Dao and some P4 million will be set to finish the police station in the city.

BUGLASAN FEST

DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) — The Negros Oriental Provincial Tourism office said booth spaces at the Capitol Area and at the Sidlakang Negros Village (SNV) are open for rental for the upcoming Buglasan Festival. Provincial Tourism Officer Myla Abellana said the bases for booth rates include location, type of booth or stall, area, size, electricity and water consumption. Interested concessionaires may visit the Provincial Tourism Office or call Earl Warren Jumalon at 226 3105 for available slots and pay directly to the Provincial Treasurer’s Office at the capitol building although Abellana said small stalls and food stands fronting the capitol building stage and along Kagawasan Avenue are all booked and sold out already. The Buglasan will start Friday, October 12 with a grand city-wide civic parade to start at 2 p.m. at the Quezon Park grounds.

P2.3-B COLLECTION

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte (PIA) - The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) revenue region No. 14 in Eastern Visayas disclosed its performance for the first semester (January-June) of 2012 with a total tax collection of P2.3 billion. Arsenia Gente, chief of the Collection Division of BIR-8 in her presentation said in the first semester of 2012, RDO No. 88-Tacloban City posted the highest collection of P1.008 billion while RDO No. 90-Maasin City placed no. 6 with a collection of P183 million, way below its goal of P190 million for the period.

ILOILO ACHIEVER

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo (PIA6) — After winning the first Western Visayas Achievers in Statistics award last year, Dr. Cherry Nepomuceno of the West Visayas State University successfully hurdled another race marking National Statistics Month where she topped the Fun Run at the Iloilo Sports Complex yesterday. Nepomuceno clocked 5 minutes and 34 seconds and topped the 36-60 years old age bracket, female category of the run that covered two rounds around the track oval. Over 100 employees from various government agencies, state universities and colleges and local government units joined the Fun Run along with the Hataw exercises kicking off the 23rd National Statistics Month celebration in the region this month.