METROPOST


NOV. 4 - NOV. 10, 2018


NEWS and UPDATES 3 DOH CAMPUS NEWS


reports measles outbreak


Representatives of PlDT and the city government have agreed to permanently set up the command center for CCTV inside the city hall compound for easier access and safety of the equipment. The two sides have reconciled the details for the signing of the contract next month. PlDT was represented by (right of photo) Dhan Andrew De Castro, lucbar Quiblat Jr., Grace Ann Brignas, Sarah Jane Martin, Kathleen Mabborang and francisco Barrito while Engr. Cesar Cavales, Michael Hatulan, Erasto Crispo and Aldwin Parilla represented the City Government (left of photo). (Photo by PIO)


Plan to re-file charges vs Sestoso suspects hit


The president of the Dumaguete Press Radio & TV Club has questioned the motive of the police for its plan to re-file the charges against the same set of suspects in the fatal shooting of broadcaster Edmond Sestoso last April 30.


Sestoso, citing insufficiency of evidence.


In a social media post, DPRC President Juancho Gallarde, announced that he was informed that the police will file the same charges against the suspects minus the main suspect. “What for”? Gallarde


asked.


In a Resolution dated Aug. 20, the City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the murder charges against the three suspects in the killing of radio broadcaster Edmund


was handed down by Asst. Prosecutors Alvin Aseniero and May Flor Duka, and Associate City Prosecutor Julito Lumusad, and approved by City Prosecutor Joseph Arnel Zerna.


were Richard Bustamante alias Mokong, who was reportedly killed in La Libertad town; Jerryl Delantes alias Sherwin, and Jose Rene Bustamante, the alleged mastermind. Sherwin and Mokong were tagged by the police as members of the New People’s Army, which the authorities claimed as behind the Sestoso killing. While Sherwin and


Barangay officials in Dumaguete have been cautioned against refusing to witness the conduct of issuing of search warrants, drug raids, and inventories of confiscated illegal drugs during buy-bust operations.


Kagawads warned: Testify in drug raids or else...


City Prosecutor Arnel Zerna made this clear during the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council technical and skills enhancement training held here from Oct. 30-31. He said that barangay officials, the media, and


representatives from the Department of Justice are called to witness in the inventory of confiscated illegal drugs and testify on the items being inventoried with markings on it, as provided for under Section 21 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of of 2002. Inventory can be conducted at the crime scene, the nearest police station, or at the office of the operating unit. Refusal on the part of the barangay officials invited to witness the inventory would result in administrative liability and even imprisonment of 12 years and one day up to a maximum of 20 years plus a fine of P500,000. Zerna cited a case in Cebu where all the barangay officials were suspended for refusal to witness an inventory of confiscated illegal drugs and paraphernalia. The clarification was made in response to the concerns raised by Poblacion 1 Village Chief Harrison Gonzales who admitted that he instructed his Council members not to testify in the inventory of confiscated illegal drugs paraphernalia allegedly confiscated from a certain Abemelech Lacsican, following a buy-bust operation in Tinago.


witness an inventory of which he had no personal knowledge as to how the raid was conducted, or whether the “recovered” items actually belonged to the suspect, especially when the suspect is not a resident of Tinago. However, the Prosecutor stressed that concerns such as the legitimacy of the anti-illegal drugs operations, or allegations of planting of evidence should be addressed in court. Due to such apprehensions, barangay officials, the media,


and the representative from the DOJ were advised to indicate in the inventory report the actual date and time they affixed their signatures, and to make sure that the items listed have been properly marked, and would be identifiable in court. Besides, Zerna pointed out, law enforcement units enjoy the presumption of regularity while performing their respective duties and responsibilities. He said if the defense can show proof that the buy-bust or search was illegal, the matter can be brought before the court. He said it should not be made as reason for the barangay official to refuse being witness in a government inventory. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)


Gonzales explained he believed he should not be called to The three suspects The resolution


Rene remain at-large, the prosecutors found inconsistencies on the testimonies of witnesses Rene Panday Estorco, pedicab driver Edgar Baldomar, and Romie Torres, a worker of a battery shop along Aldecoa Drive in barangay Daro where Sestoso was gunned down on April 30.


Estorco said he knew Sestoso as his “kumpare,” and he claimed to know the gunman and the driver having been introduced to him by his friends on Sept. 17 during the birthday of a friend at barangay Isugan in Bacong town. Estorco said the gunman


and the driver were introduced to him by their nicknames as Ka Mokong,


TO PAGE 6


Church security group questioned


Some local officials here have questioned the legality of the formation of the Parish Volunteer Security Force by five villages during their joint session on Tuesday. Village chiefs Lilia Batalan


which would benefit the church and the parishioners. Furthermore, Eltanal


of Talay, Jimmy Tabada of Cadawinonan, Maximino Umbac Jr. of Junob, Pilardo Sarte of Cantil-e, and Crispin Patrimonio of Bajumpandan, along with their respective councilors and Sangguniang Kabataan chairmen attended the session. Prior to the session, five barangays headed by these local officials organized the PVSF, mainly to help secure the premises of the San Isidro Labrador Parish Church from burglars and other criminal elements. The security force was


formed after parish priest Fr. Bernie Lingcong intimated to the village chiefs the security concerns of the church, asking what their respective barangay tanods could do about it.


City Local Government Operations Officer Aquilina Eltanal explained the concerns of the parish are legitimate and that the barangays concerned were merely invoking provisions of a memorandum circular. The circular was issued by the Department of the Interior & Local Government to intensify coordination between the church and the villages to maintain peace and order under the Ugnayan ng Barangay at Simbahan (UBAS) program,


told the joint session that in case of doubts about the issue of jurisdiction, duties and functions of the barangay tanods, and their insurance coverage in case of accidents while on duty, the joint resolution can be submitted for review by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Dumaguete.


Silliman’s Dr. Jenny Elmaco and President Betty McCann with ACUCA officials in Thailand.


Dgte-based environment org is TAYO finalist


Advancing the conversation of climate change and environmental sustainability through youth engagement, a local youth organization was chosen one of the 20 national finalists in this year’s search for the prestigious Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) in the Philippines.


She, however, said that what the five barangays are doing is still within their mandate to ensure the safety of their respective constituencies. Fr. Lingcong noted


(AYEJ), a youth-led news network that aims to engage civic society on environmental stewardship through environmental journalism, emerged as a finalist after two rounds of screening from over 250 applications nationwide. “Being a finalist really gives us the needed leverage to amplify what we do here at AYEJ, hoping to scale up, and expand our modules on youth engagement and environmental journalism to communities and key cities that would most need it,” AYEJ co-founder Val Amiel Vestil said. The organization will be going to Manila for TAYO Week,


that when he became parish priest, he observed a desecration of church property, and youngsters dating inside the compound. Worse, he said, illegal drug paraphernalia were recovered in the vicinity. Among the first to


The Association of Young Environmental Journalists


The Department of Health has expressed concern over the rise in the number of measles cases in Negros Orienta. Dr Jeanette Pauline Arellano-Cortez of the DOH-7 said that last year, a total of 45 measles cases were reported from the months of January to October but this year, the number has risen to 307 cases from January to Oct. 27.


This represents a 582 percent increase.


Measles is a highly contagious illness caused by a virus that replicates in the nose and throat of an infected child or adult. Then, when someone with measles coughs, sneezes or talks, infected droplets spray into the air, where other people can inhale them.


SU President to head ACUCA


Silliman University President Betty Cernol-McCann was recently elected president of the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia (ACUCA) to serve until 2022. The new ACUCA leaders were installed during its Biennial Conference and 22nd General Assembly held at the Christian University of Thailand in Nakhon Pathom. Dr Jenny Elmaco, director of the SU Office of Strategic Partnerships, was also installed as ACUCA’s secretary- general during the assembly. Dr. McCann’s presidency of ACUCA follows a rotation arrangement among ACUCA’s member universities. She takes over from Dr. Rux Prompalit of Payap University of Thailand.


Dr. McCann and Silliman University will play a leadership role toward advancing ACUCA’s goals in the next five years.


higher learning in Asia that work closely together to benefit each other as well as the societies in which they exist. The association aims to help Christian universities and colleges in Asia to develop and maintain their Christian character, enrich the quality of their educational programs and those of other institutions of learning, and re-examine the relevance of their objectives and programs in relation to the needs of a changing society. Currently, ACUCA has 62 member institutions in eight countries of Asia, namely, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand. Silliman University is among the founding members


of ACUCA when it was formally established in 1976. (Madeline Quiamco/SU OIP)


It can be recalled that last year, a similar measles outbreak was reported in Zamboanga City which was followed by a similar outbreak in Manila.


In Bacong, Negros Oriental, there have been 28 reported measles incidents while 18 were reported for Sibulan. Bayawan City and Siaton have 10 measles cases each. (PIA 7)


ACUCA is a community of Christian institutions of


a formation program gathering all finalists which will precede the awarding ceremony where 10 out of the 20 organizations will have a chance to win P50,000 cash prize and the iconic TAYO Trophy by sculptor Toym de Leon Imao. Hugot for the earth


respond to the security concern was Bajumpandan village, where a resolution to this effect was authored by Councilor Reu Ismil, chair of the peace and order committee of the Barangay, seconded by Kag. Juancho Gallarde, Noelito Ramirez, and Felomino Solamillo. However, before the joint resolution, cooperation and coordination among the five barangays were established, and tanods (watchmen) from each barangay agreed to conduct roving patrols every 20 to 30 minutes. (JG/PNA)


AYEJ pitched their project “Camp SEWI: Student’s Environmental Writing Initiative,” a three-day capacity- building workshop on environmental journalism and stewardship participated by young journalists from the four big universities in Dumaguete last year.


heartbreak alluded to in Irene Villamor’s Filipino blockbuster Camp Sawi. Vestil said they wanted this hugot to transcend even the heartbreak that is experienced because of the current climate crisis.


The project’s name drew inspiration from the romantic


The Camp was designed to develop skill sets in effective environmental story-telling through a specialized workshop module that attempts to weave together the science and the communication aspects of environmental journalism while putting on a premium the power of youth engagement. “Our goal is to see more stories on the environment published on campus publications and in local community


TO PAGE 8


ERRATUM. In last week’s issue of MetroPost, the position of Dr. Jenny Lind Elmaco should have read SU director for Strategic Partnerships, NOT “from the Office of the VP Development”. We regret the error.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12