Lack of cops noted in Tarlac
TARLAC CITY – Provincial Board member Nicholo P. Nisce has asked Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao to intervene and help Tarlaqueños find a peaceful solution to the four-month-old strike at Hacienda Luisita, as he observed that the still unresolved labor problem at the Cojuangco estate is already affecting the peace and order situation in the entire province. "We must reassess our priorities. We only have 1,000 police for the one million population of Tarlac province," said Nisce, chairman of the committee on Peace and Order, Public Safety and Security. Nisce also asked Chief Supt. Rowland Albano, Central Luzon PNP regional director, to pull out the Tarlac City police contingent from hacienda Luisita in order not to further compromise police visibility at the capital city where an increase in criminal activities was reported recently. It was learned that at least 83 police troops are securing the non-operational sugar milling complex at hacienda Luisita while some 100 strikers remain posted at Gate 1 to prevent employees from entering the sugar central’s premises. Of the 83 policemen, seven are from the Tarlac City Police Station, 44 are from the 312th and 313th police mobile groups (PMGs), and 32 are from the regional PMGs. (Fred Roxas)
Visayas
Free science, math workbooks
CEBU CITY (PNA) — Starting this coming school year, the city government will distribute free science and mathematics workbooks to Grade I and Grade III students instead of notebooks and pad papers. City education consultant Joy Augustus Young said the move will cost the city government a bit more but officials believe the move can help improve the students’ reading and comprehension skills. He said city Mayor Tomas Osmeña already agreed "in principle" of the plan following a series of consultations he made with teachers and principals. Last year, the city government spent R3.54 million for 400,000 notebooks worth R8.84 each and R72,000 for 120,000 pad papers worth R6 each. The city government is pushing to improve the performance of students here who faired poorly in comprehension skills examination. In last year’s elementary school readiness test here, 78 percent of public elementary school students were rated as poor English readers while some 20,000 public high school students failed the exam that gauged their competence in English, Math and Science.
Mindanao
Irresponsible pet owners warned
KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato (PNA) – Pet owners in this province will soon be slapped with hefty fines and face other sanctions if they let their animals stray, a provincial board (PB) member said. Dr. Elmo Tolosa, chair of the PB’s committee on health, said they had set such measures under the proposed amendments to the province’s five-year-old anti-rabies ordinance to effectively curb the rising cases of rabies infection and deaths in the province that increased by threefolds last year. Also last year, Koronadal City government declared an outbreak of the disease following the death of at least five persons and the infection of 26 others in at least four villages. According to Tolosa, a public hearing would be conducted early next month by his committee to set the fines and sanctions for violations of the anti-rabies ordinance and seek the approval of concerned sectors on the other proposed provisions of the amendatory ordinance. Aside from imposing the fines and penalties, he said the proposed new ordinance also directs local government units (LGUs) to set up their own animal pounds and lead in the monitoring and apprehension of stray animals. Tolosa said it also mandates the local government units (LGUs) to implement their own anti-rabies eradication program and set appropriate funds for it.
