Insecticide use worsens rice pests attack--PhilRice

SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ, Nueva Ecija – Farmers should reduce their use of insecticide to repel rice black bugs, as it could in fact instigate more attack by the rice pests.

          This was the warning issued by experts from the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) which stated that use of insecticides has done little to ward of rice black bugs, which had reportedly attacked some rice fields in Central Luzon. The pest attack, when not properly controlled, can reportedly cause losses of up to 35 percent involving 10 adult rice black bugs per hill.

The first reported incidence of rice black bug attack was in Bonobono, Bataraza, in Southern Palawan in 1979. A major outbreak occurred in 1982, spreading towards Central up to Northern Palawan. However, massive and intensive insecticide applications failed to control the damages that covered 4,500 ha of rice fields.

          Entomologists Gertrudo Arida and Dr. Hoai Xuan Truong of the PhilRice’s crop protection division based at its central experiment station here, observed that up to now, insecticides are ineffective against rice black bugs because they kill known enemies of the rice black bugs.

“Insecticides should be used to a minimum so as not to kill the natural enemies of rice black bugs,” they said, citing these include wasps, ground and coccinellid beetle, wolf, lynx, and long-jawed spider, red ant and damsel bug.

Arida and Truong said damage brought by rice black bug can be prevented at the start of the planting season if farmers plant rice varieties with same maturity within a month of the barangay’s regular planting season. This scheme is effective since it breaks the pests’ life cycle.

          Instead of more insecticide, the PhilRice experts recommended the use of light as traps since the bugs are strongly attracted to high intensity light.

          Light trapping, according to them, should start five days before and after the full moon. The light used should have 2,000 to 3,000 watts during outbreaks which is set up every night to obtain the most number of bugs.

Effective light trapping is from 8 to 12 pm, the experts said.

          Other schemes to prevent pest infestation is through flooding, herding of ducks in the field, and sanitation also prevent pest infestation.

          Farmers should flood the field to submerge egg masses. Eggs that are submerged for more than 24 hours will no longer hatch. Ducks also feed on the bugs. However, herd the duck in the field a month after transplanting or when the plants are established. Farmers must also clean their field by removing the weeds as these serve as alternate hosts of the rice black bugs,” the PhilRice explained. (Manny Galvez)

Drilon: Congress will play a vital role in sustaining economic momentum, making growth felt by the poor

MANILA-Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today said the Congress is committed to act promptly on measures that will strengthen the country’s capacity to sustain a robust economic performance.   

The Senate leader’s statement came following the release of the country’s 2013 growth domestic product (GDP) recorded at 7.2 percent, surpassing government’s target of 6-7 percent and making the Philippine one of the fastest growing economies in Asia second only to China.

Drilon welcomed the report as a “continuing sign of the country’s improved economic policies under the Aquino administration,” but said that the highly impressive figure “needs to be sustained and be utilized to bring forth positive changes to the life of the common Filipino.”

“While we recognize the efficient management of the current administration and its fiscal managers has produced rewards for our economy in fiscal and monetary terms, the report overall would be better seen as another opportunity for the government to craft long-term solutions that will finally capacitate the socio-economic growth and overall improvement of our countrymen’s welfare,” he emphasized.  

“There is much work to do, especially in making our country much more competitive in terms of foreign investments, while at the same time making local industries stronger and better suited to participate in competition even against international rivals,” the senator added. 

   

“But more than that, we need to make sure that our rise in economic standing also delivers our nation’s poorest constituents to a better status in living, as the country’s wellbeing is the ultimate goal of public service,” Drilon pointed out.

The Senate chief acknowledged that the Congress will play a key role in ensuring that the improved economic growth will be sustained throughout the succeeding years, and vowed to work on legislation and policies that will encourage investments in agriculture, tourism, services and manufacturing constructions, thereby promoting further growth.

“The challenge is upon the Senate, along with other leading institutions, to pass legislation which will further fuel the economy, and more importantly, ensure that development is felt in all corners – and that means more jobs, better basic services, improved public infrastructures, among others,” Drilon said.”

Among the measures the Senate is highly considering are the rationalization of fiscal incentives to certain industries, the rationalization of the mining industry's fiscal regime, the amendment of the cabotage law, and amendments to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) charter, and measures to attract more foreign direct investments.

“We have to help the government sustain this economic momentum that was elusive for so many years, for this is the kind of growth that will eventually present us an array of opportunities in the years to come,” Drilon concluded. 

GDP number must be transformed into calories - Recto

MANILA-The 7.2 percent economic growth last year is all the more impressive as it was achieved despite a domino of calamities dragging it down.

This is not to say that the economy is fully typhoon-proof or completely earthquake-resistant because misfortunes did dent the final outcome.

Thankfully, other growth drivers made up for the sluggishness of other sectors.

The 2013 economic numbers showed the wisdom of robust government spending and the frailty of hoarding public funds.  

Hopefully, this same mentality will characterize public expenditure management this year. Spending, like leadership, is by example. Government cannot  prod the private sector to spend fast and more if it is spending slow and less.

Good news is that manufacturing is up.  Are these the green shoots of a manufacturing renaissance? Hopefully it is and government should direct both smart money and right policies to industry.

As to agriculture’s feeble 1.1 percent growth, government should make sure that the P92 billion earmarked for agriculture this year would indeed fertilize a sector manifesting early signs of stunting. Smuggled rice should not be our bumper crop.

The newly-issued GDP numbers measure growth but do not gauge how the increment was spread out.  GDP accounting captures the addition of wealth, but not its distribution.

A rising tide must rise all ships.  Sadly, big vessels are not as buoyant as small ones.  And millions of our people with their heads barely out of water cling to thrown lifelines.

By all means, let us congratulate ourselves for a job well done but conscious of the job still to be done and aware of the clouds behind the silver lining, like our people’s hunger for food and jobs.

The last labor survey pegged the unemployment rate at 6.5 percent and underemployment at 17.9 percent.  Self-rated hunger as measured last December was at a disturbing 18.1 percent.

After enlarging the economic pie, the challenge now is how to make sure that everybody will be able to taste it.  Economic growth must be transformed into calories which those who need them more can actually consume.

On this matter, the budget, if properly used, can be a tool for inclusive growth. 

Drilon: Senate funding meant for public service, not personal profit

MANILA-Senate President Franklin M. Drilon assured today that the Senate is not letting a day pass in making the budget of the Senate as transparent as it can be, saying that measures have already been put in place to ensure that the funds allotted to each member of the Senate are used “judiciously” and executed solely for “their legitimate and fully intended purposes.”

“It is our responsibility to ensure that every peso spent by the Senate during this Congress will be done so in the service of the Filipino people, which the public must be empowered to see for themselves,” emphasized Drilon.

Drilon explained that each office of the senator is allotted a monthly budget of P1.45 million to cover for the salary, allowances and office operating expenses such as payment for supplies, communication expense, and local travels, among others.

“But these funds are not meant to end up in personal purses of the senators because they are used to keep their offices running to say the least. The amount is there to finance the full operations of their offices in pursuit of their legislative commitments,” pointed out Drilon.

He stressed that the Senate ensures that everybody strictly follows budgeting and accounting procedures, and that all senate expenditures pass through COA audit.   

Drilon said that they acknowledge the people’s demand for transparency regarding the use of public funds, especially as the Senate’s reputation “had been adversely affected by various controversies in the past.”    

“The only way we can rebuild the public’s trust is through our decisive and clearcut action – that this time, the taxpayer’s money is rightfully spent in a judicious, pragmatic and an accountable manner.” 

Drilon stressed that the fund undergoes liquidation processes and the expenses are supported by receipts and other documents evidencing the disbursements.

However, there are certain instances that the expenditure is, by its nature, confidential, and only during these circumstance that a certification by the concerned senator is allowed, in lieu of receipts.

These expenditures fall under items extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses (EME) and other maintenance and operating expenses (OMOE) which have a total monthly allocation of P280,000.

The said amount is used “to cover for expenses necessary and incidental to the performance of the official functions of the senator or in aid of legislation which includes, but not limited to, gathering data relative to a legislative inquiry or to a concern or advocacy being advanced by the senator.”

These also cover expenses incurred to ensure the safety and security of the conduct of legislative inquiries and investigators and of those persons invited to become witnesses are also chargeable to this account.

In addition, Drilon said “reforms are already in order to improve budget utilization and accountability in the way the Senate spends its budget.”

He said the Senate has decided to make the funding for regular and oversight committees uniform to save on budget and to avoid unnecessary increases in the annual budget of the Senate. The Senate has a budget of P3.294 billion in 2013 and P3.3444 billion in 2014.

“The public needs to see how their money is being spent. They have the right to probe and pose questions, and we would try to welcome them accordingly,” he said. 

7ID and ABS-CBN Conduct MEDCAP in Calumpit, Bulacan

FORT RAMON MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija - The 7^th Infantry (Kaugnay) Division under the leadership of Maj Gen Hernando DCA Iriberri AFP in partnership with ABS-CBN “Sagip Kapamilya” Foundation Inc., conducted a joint Medical and Dental Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) at Brgy Frances, Calumpit, Bulacan last January 25, 2014.

            A total of 723 beneficiaries, mostly residents of Barangay Frances and its neighboring barangays, availed of the free medical and dental check-up and treatment; while several others also ventured on and sport a new hairstyle from our soldier-barbers during the activity. The MEDCAP was made possible through the effort of the 48th Infantry Battalion, under Lt Col Alexei Musñgi, in collaboration and coordination with the stakeholders in the Municipality of Calumpit.

            Brig Gen R Demosthenes C Santillan, 7ID Assistant Division Commander, graced the said activity. 7ID and ABS-CBN “Sagip Kapamilya” Foundation Inc. organized and conducted the medical and dental mission to bring the basic medical and dental services to the less fortunate people in the said area.

Barangay Captain Epitacio G Cruz, in behalf of the Barangay Council, expressed his gratitude to 7ID, especially the Fort Magsaysay Army Station Hospital (FMASH) medical and dental team, and the ABS-CBN for the free medical and dental treatment provided to his constituents, and the organizers and the soldiers, who made the activity a success.

            Meanwhile, a film showing of the peace and development effort by the AFP was also conducted by the 48^th Infantry Battalion to entertain patients, while waiting for the free medical and dental treatment,

Jinggoy: Rid POLOs, embassies of negligent, delinquent officers

MANILA-Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada said today that our embassies and labor offices abroad must be rid of negligent and delinquent officers and personnel who are unconcerned to the welfare of our overseas Filipino workers.

  

This developed as Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz recently upheld the four-month suspension without pay of acting labor attaché Mario Antonio for simple misconduct, specifically for using vulgar and indecent language while talking to an OFW. Meanwhile, the decisions on the separate administrative cases filed against former labor attaché to Riyadh Adam Musa and assistant labor attaché Antonio Villafuerte, have yet to be issued.

 

Several labor officials were also the subject of an ongoing probe of the National Bureau of Investigation in connection to the sex-for-flight scheme which victimized distressed female wards under their watch into prostitution in exchange for a ticket back to the Philippines.

 

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development added that meting out severe punishment against erring officials of our embassy or Philippine Overseas Labor Office should deter unscrupulous individuals from continuing their unlawful practices and accordingly should signal improved delivery of frontline services for our OFWs and more effective, immediate responses from our labor posts.

 

Sen. Estrada, who previously headed the Congressional Oversight Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, said that while he recognizes the larger pool of honest and hardworking labor and welfare officers some of whom he personally met during his official visits to Philippine posts in the Middle East, one cannot deny the fact that there are still a few “rotten tomatoes” in their ranks who victimize hapless OFWs and who allow the so-called sex-for-flight modus to thrive.

 

“Our Bahay Kalinga and welfare centers should be true to its name of providing relief, assistance and genuine care to our distressed migrant workers. Consequently, people who show no concern and are just sitting on the problems of our OFWs should have no business there and must be immediately sent home,” Jinggoy underscored.

Drilon: Signing of normalization annex a major milestone in the nation’s quest for peace in Mindanao

MANILA-Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today hailed the peace panels from both the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in their recent signing of the Annex on Normalization, and said that the Senate is “more than prepared to work on legislation capacitating the peace accords,” which would end four decades of armed conflict in central Mindanao.

“The completion of all the annexes has proven that we Filipinos are not ruled by our differences, but by our shared desire for peace, equality and prosperity as a nation,” he said.

"The admirable commitment and hard work of both parties- the government, the MILF panel, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process- have led to a historic stride in this decades-old quest for peace in Mindanao," he added.

The normalization annex- the last of the four documents that make up the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro – dictates the deactivation of the 11,000-strong MILF fighting force, and the eventual turnover of their arms.

Drilon stressed that the cessation of using arms and violence is “arguably, the most vital step in the comprehensive peace agreement process.”

“Without the threat of reckless violence, the various infrastructure projects and socio-economic activities can then be implemented properly in parts of Mindanao that have long needed genuine political, social and economic development,” he explained.

“Peace in Mindanao will bring about political stability and socio-economic development in the entire country,” he pointed out.

The Senate President said that the Senate “looks forward to seeing and finally scrutinizing the proposed Bangsamoro law that will institute the necessary reforms called for in the Agreement,” and that the law will be given utmost priority in the Senate.

“The Senate is more than ready to work on the new Bangsamoro basic law – one that would be universally fair, practical and Constitutionally-consistent," Drilon emphasized.

“We would absolutely welcome the chance to be a part of this historic undertaking, and we look forward to cooperating with the various stakeholders in building the legislative tenets of what would finally represent our collective capacity for harmony and cooperation," he concluded.

Legarda: Time to Climate-Proof Energy Sector, Prioritize RE Development

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today renewed her call for more investments in renewable energy as part of a long-term solution to the growing power needs of the country and to mitigate the effects of environmental degradation and climate change.

Legarda, the United Nations Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, made the call at the Clean Technology Congress 2014 organized by ThomasLloyd in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

“The aftermath of Haiyan was an eye-opener for us Filipinos. The devastation it caused made us realize that we need to climate- and disaster-proof our energy sector,” Legarda said.

Typhoon Haiyan left more than 6,000 dead and nearly 2,000 missing. Damages and losses are estimated at P571.1 billion (equivalent to USD 12.9 billion).[1]

Legarda, co-author and co-sponsor of the Philippine Renewable Energy Law, noted that the Philippines has already established a legal framework that provides for necessary policy mechanisms for the development of the country’s renewable energy resources.

“We have the laws in place, namely, the Philippine Biofuels Act and the Renewable Energy Act. These laws are there and it is only a matter of operationalizing and implementing them,” she said.

The Biofuels Act mandates the blending of biodiesel and ethanol in locally-distributed diesel and gasoline, while the Renewable Energy Law institutionalizes the use and development of renewable energy.

“We should take advantage of the current increased interest in renewable energy. We must encourage more investments on RE because the Philippines is abundant in such. It is second in geothermal energy use and studies show that we have more than 200,000 potential renewable energy resources that remain untapped,” Legarda noted.

“Even the Asian Development Bank acknowledges that there is an increase in clean energy investment in the Asia-Pacific region, attracting USD 101 billion of investments in clean energy for the year 2012 alone,” she added.

“It is about time that we take a consistent and deliberate effort to develop our own energy resources in ways that we can guarantee the future generations of Filipinos a legacy of clean, reliable and affordable energy,” Legarda added.

Aside from Legarda, the event brought together world-renowned speakers Dr. Justin Yifu Lin, former Chief Economist and Vice President of the World Bank; Professor Peter Guthrie, Professor of Engineering for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge; and former US President Bill Clinton.

Dr. Lin discussed about the “golden age of Asia” and its growth potential, while Professor Guthrie touched on the need to re-evaluate the concept of the “grid-based” energy model, encouraging the use of renewable energy in off-grid areas.

President Clinton, on the other hand, stressed the need to enhance one’s “relationship with the planet” by means of reducing emissions and promoting investments in the development of renewable energy sources, most especially in solar energy and biomass.

Fund lack dims Ecija town’s bid to revert to old name

GEN. TINIO, Nueva Ecija – The municipal government’s once-determined  bid to revert to its old name Papaya has dimmed due to lack of funds.

          Vice Mayor Ferdinand Bote said they need P2.5 million to push through with a referendum on the proposal to rename the town. “We have no money to conduct the referendum so this proposal is almost gone,” Bote said.

          Bote was referring to a six-year-old proposal seeking to have the town renamed into Papaya. The proposal was contained in a resolution passed in 2008 by the previous municipal council chaired by Bote and approved by Mayor Virgilio Bote.

          The resolution was forwarded to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan by the Bote administration.

          Mayor Bote said that for over 166 years of the town’s recorded existence as a community, its people and those from other parts of the country and even abroad affectionately refer to the town as Papaya and its citizens as Papayanos. He said it is sovereign upon the citizens of Gen. Tinio to adopt a name fitting and appropriate which relates to “our hearts, customs and traditions, and which embodies our aspirations, hopes and dreams.”

          This town, named after the great Novo Ecijano General Manuel Bundoc-Tinio, was originally known as Barrio de Papaya of the nearby town of Peñaranda. In the bell of the old Catholic Church, the words “Barrio de Papaya 1875” were inscribed as well as in the oldest written biography of Mamerto Ramos Padolina who was born in the town in 1845.

          The barrio was officially declared as the municipality of Papaya on January 7,1921.

          In 1957, then-Nueva Ecija second district Rep. Celestino Juan sponsored in the Third Congress House Bill 4692 changing the name of the municipality into Gen. Tinio in honor of the general, who took part in the 1896 Revolution against Spain. On June 20 of that same year, Papaya was officially renamed General Tinio by virtue of Republic Act 1665.    

          The proposal to rename this town into Papaya first came out during a joint executive-legislative meeting on  January 14,2008 by the municipal government. During the meeting, presided by Mayor Bote, development plans were laid out, including the possible conversion of the town into a city in 10 years.

          On October 13,2008, the Sangguniang Bayan passed Resolution 117 recommending to the SP to revert the town’s name into Papaya.

          The issue stirred a controversy in 2010 after the resolution got stalled in the SP, prompting Mayor Bote to assail his ally Vice Gov. Jose Gay Padiernos and other SP members, accusing them of sleeping on the job. He subsequently resigned as president of the provincial chapter of the League of Municipalities and as a member of the Unang Sigaw Partido ng Pagbabago of Gov. Aurelio Umali and Padiernos allegedly over the SP’s foot-dragging on the issue.

          Padiernos denied sitting on the proposal, saying there were processes to be followed in the approval of resolutions emanating from the respective municipal and city councils in the province.

          Vice Mayor Bote said m,uch as they would want to push through with the referendum, one of the requirements by the Commission on Elections before it could revert to its old name, there was not enough resources to do so. (Manny Galvez) 

Jinggoy: PHL must use UN resolution to advance Filipinas’ rights abroad

MANILA-The United Nations’ recent adoption of a resolution on women migrant workers fosters an enabling environment for better international labor diplomacy, which the Philippines must thus maximize to advance the rights of the more than one million Filipinas abroad.

 

This was underscored by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, chairman of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources Development, as he lauded the UN General Assembly’s adoption of Resolution 68/137 on violence against women migrant workers last December 18 during its 68th plenary session.

 

The resolution seeks to protect women living and working abroad, underscoring the promotion of their rights and privileges as well as the cooperation and shared responsibility of countries of origin, transit, and destination to create an environment conducive to their welfare.

 

It urges all countries to grant women migrant workers access to gender-sensitive and transparent mechanisms for airing their problems pertaining to status of contracts, working conditions or labor issues, and advises governments to encourage those concerned, especially the private sector and job agencies involved in recruitment, to focus on funding support for women migrant workers.

 

All governments are likewise urged to consider permitting women migrant workers who are victims of violence to apply for residency permits independently of abusive employers or spouses, and to eliminate abusive sponsorship systems.

 

It welcomes the entry into force on September 5, 2013 of International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers and encourages States to ratify it.

 

The resolution was initiated by the Philippines and Indonesia and was co-sponsored by 53 countries from all regions of the world.

 

Also approved during the UN session were the following resolutions that benefit women: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas; and Follow-up to the 4th World Conference on Women and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

 

Based on records, there are about 1.03 million female Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and more than 100,000 of these are domestic workers. Over the years, there have been numerous reports of Filipinas getting exploited and abused abroad.

 

“I understand that our government has been encountering some difficulties in negotiating with other governments for ample protection and better working conditions for migrant Filipina workers. The UN’s adoption of Resolution 68/137 as well as the other women-oriented resolutions will greatly help us in this effort,” Estrada said.

Legarda: Learn from Past Disasters to Build a Resilient Future

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today stressed on the need to lessen the necessity for disaster relief by making good use of lessons learned from past disasters to build a resilient future for Filipinos.

Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Climate Change, said that as a country exposed to storms, the Philippines should now be typhoon-resilient at the very least.

“We should now be experts in preparing for typhoons. After all, we have already experienced Ondoy, Pepeng, Pablo and Sendong. Unfortunately, Yolanda happened and we only realize that we have yet to do what we ought to do,” she said.

The Senator pointed out that when disaster strikes a part of the nation, it does not only affect that particular area, it also impacts the economy, which in turn affects everyone in the country.

She noted that losses due to Yolanda are estimated at Php571 billion, which represents close to five percent of the Philippines annual GDP. Meanwhile, for this century, global losses from disasters are in the range of $2.5 trillion.

Legarda cited five major factors that contribute to the country’s vulnerability to natural hazards. These are: ecosystems decline, exposure of economic assets, poverty, rapid growth of cities, and climate change.

She also shared five points to overcome these vulnerabilities through an environmental program audit, risk-sensitive planning and investment, strengthening social protection, advancing economic and business resilience, and promoting community resilience.

“As a fundamental development strategy, building resilience would help our government sustain the country’s socio-economic gains, make a difference in poverty reduction, and eventually ensure the achievement of sustainable development goals,” said Legarda.

“Tragedies such as Ondoy, Sendong and Yolanda create the context for learning and growing. It is these disasters that make us resilient. It is our shared memory of death, loss and survival that should drive us to build a resilient future,” she concluded.

Courtesy Call of New US Ambassador

Senator Loren Legarda received US Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg for a courtesy call at her Senate Office on 17 January 2014. Senator Legarda discussed with Ambassador Goldberg the status of US-Philippine cooperation in the field of disaster risk reduction, defense and inter-country abduction. 

“Dugo ng Buhay”: A Joint blood Letting Activity at 7ID

FORT RAMON MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija – The 7^th Infantry (Kaugnay) Division commanded by Maj Gen Hernando DCA Iriberri AFP and Japan Association of Novo Ecijanos (JANE) headed by Miss Mari “Mayang” Bernabe-Nihei, Association President, conducted a joint bloodletting activity with theme dubbed as “Dugo ng Buhay” held at Kaugnay Officers Clubhouse here, today (January 21, 2013).

The activity was made possible with the support and cooperation of the Central Luzon Media Association; Kaugnay Media Defense Corps; Order of the Amaranth, District V, Central Luzon; Japan Nueva Ecija Foundation; Pacific Guarantee Tax Refund of Naoji Kataoka, Japan; NPO and Pinoy Banzai TV Japan; Golden Beans and Grains Multi-Purpose Cooperative; Cabanatuan City Bankers Club; Rotary Club of Cabanatuan City; and Philippine Red Cross – Nueva Ecija Chapter. 

A total of 72 bags or 32,400 cc of fresh blood were successfully extracted from 90 donors coming from the media, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and 7ID organic personnel Candidate Soldier trainees.

In his remarks, Lt Col Michael G Samson, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the members of the media, NGOs, and the Association of Novo Ecijanos in Japan headed by Miss Bernabe-Nihei, who readily supported the successful conduct of the activity. He ended his message by urging everyone present to nurture the molded partnership by venturing into similar activities and endeavor.

PRO3 DRUG BUST NETS SEVEN

            SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga- Police Regional Office 3 under the stint of PCSUPT Raul D Petrasanta, Regional Director, Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) once again proved that PRO3 is stern in its campaign against illegal drugs. Various accomplishments on drug- supply reduction strategy were accomplished by PRO3 through series of drug operations conducted by Nueva Ecija Provincial Police Office which resulted in the arrest of seven (7) suspected drug pushers and confiscation from their possession of numerous illegal drugs and illegal firearms.

         

          On January 18, 2014, elements of Gen. Tinio Police Station conducted Anti-Illegal Drug operation in Brgy Padolina, Gen Tinio, Nueva Ecija that resulted in the arrest of Norman Evangelista y Bulacan, a resident of Brgy Concepcion, General Tinio, Nueva Ecija  and Alexander Bote y Reyes, a resident of Brgy Padolina, General Tinio, Nueva Ecija and the confiscation/seizure from their possession of one (1) small heat sealed transparent plastic sachet containing “Shabu”  weighing more or less  0.31 grams with an estimated market value of five thousand pesos (Php 5,000.00.); two(2) small heat sealed transparent plastic sachet Methamphetamine hydrochloride commonly known as “shabu” weighing more or less 0.03 grams and 0.02 grams with an estimated market value of five hundred pesos (Php 500.00) each; one (1) caliber .38 revolver snub-nosed (paltik) without serial number with three (3) live ammos for caliber 38.

 

            Likewise, on same date, elements of San Jose CPS conducted Anti-Illegal Drugs Operation at Daang Maharlika, Brgy. Malasin, San Jose City that resulted to the arrest of Arnold Serrano y Tabunan,  a resident of Brgy. Baloc, Sto Domingo, Nueva Ecija and confiscated from his possession is one (1) heat sealed transparent plastic sachet of suspected Methamphetamine Hydrochloride commonly known as “shabu” and five hundred pesos (Php 500.00) used as marked money. 

 

            Elements of San Leonardo MPS also conducted buy bust operation at Barangay Mallorca, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija on same date that resulted to the arrest of Roberto Elvambuena y Paras @ Obet, a resident of Barangay Burgos, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija and the confiscation/seizure of one (1) small heat sealed plastic transparent sachet of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride commonly known as “shabu” weighing more or less 0.21grams with an estimated market value of one thousand pesos(Php 1,000.00)

 

          Moreover, on January 17, 2014, a buy bust operation was conducted by elements of PIB-PAIDSOTF at Purok 3 Brgy. Imelda, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija that resulted in the arrest of Cristal Estares y Mallari @ Istal and Christian Estares y Mallari @ Itan, both residents of Purok 2 Brgy Imelda, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija and confiscation from their possession of ten (10) pcs of small heat sealed transparent plastic sachets of suspected shabu; one (1) pc one hundred peso bill; and one (1) pc two hundred peso bill.         

 

            Consequently on same date, elements of INTEL/DEU of Cabanatuan City Police Station conducted Anti-Illegal Drugs Operation (Buy-Bust) at De Guzman St., Kap. Pepe, Cabanatuan City that resulted in the arrest of Loreta Mactal y Francisco @ Lorie, a resident of Brgy. MS Garcia, Cabanatuan City and confiscation/seizure of fifteen (15) pieces of small heat sealed transparent plastic sachets of suspected Methamphetamine Hydrochloride commonly known as “shabu” with an estimated market value of thirty two - thousand pesos (Php32,000.00) and  five hundred peso bill (Php 500.00) marked money.

 

            Appropriate charges are being readied against arrested suspects and seized evidence are under the custody of Nueva Ecija Police Crime Laboratory Office for laboratory examination.

 

            Operating troops were once again lauded for their successful anti- illegal drug operations.

 

            Further, PCSupt Petrasanta said that series of operations on drug- supply reduction strategy will be carried out in the coming days to maximize efforts to eradicate the proliferation of illegal drugs in the region.