Ecija drug pusher killed in shootout with cops

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – A suspected drug pusher in the watch list of the police was killed in a shootout with combined operatives from the provincial public safety company (PPSC) and local policemen in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija Friday night.

          Senior Superintendent Crizaldo Nieves, provincial police director, identified the slain suspect as Ronaldo Balagtas alias Manok of barangay Purok Riverside, Barangay San Vicente, Gapan City.

          Balagtas  died on-the-spot.

         Superintendent Ricardo Villanueva, PSSC commander, has gained notoriety as a drug pusher in Peñaranda and neighboring municipalities in the fourth congressional district.

          Villanueva said Balagtas was selling shabu in Barangay Poblacion 1 when a police team led by PO2 Nestor Ison of the PPSC and Senior Inspector Rod Clemente of the Peñaranda police rushed to the area after being tipped off by a civilian informant.

          When Balagtas spotted the lawmen, he immediately rode his motorcycle and sped away while firing shots at them, triggering a running gunbattle.

          The lawmen caught up with Balagtas in an irrigation canal where he abandoned his vehicle and continue to exchange gunfire with them. He was eventually overpowered and shot dead.

          Lawmen recovered from the encounter scene a caliber 38 revolver, undetermined volume of drugs and the get-away vehicle. 

Tap P3.6 B travel tax collection to build restrooms so tourists won't 'self pee' anywhere - Recto

MANILA-Government was told to earmark part of its P3.6 billion annual travel tax collection for the building of roadside rest rooms so that local and foreign tourists bound for the “sun, sea, sand, shopping” destinations will not “self pee” anywhere.

Sen. Ralph Recto made the recommendation to Tourism officials Thursday during the Senate hearing on the proposed 2015 budget of the Department of Tourism (DoT).

Recto said that in many feedback surveys, the absence of clean toilets has been listed as a major complaint by travelers.

“When a tourist comes out of the plane, the first destination he goes to is the restroom.  So if we believe in the power of first impression, then we should make restrooms presentable,” Recto told Tourism officials led by DoT secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.  

Recto said government should tap travel tax payments made by departing passengers, in building more restrooms “possibly under a joint venture scheme with local governments, state colleges, civic groups, tourism associations.”

As to source of funds, Recto said “government collects about P10 million in travel tax a day. Just a day’s collection can already build several comfort rooms.” 

One “priority area” where these should be built, Recto said, is along national highways.

“If you travel the whole length of the Pan Philippine Highway from Aparri to General Santos or to Zamboanga, eh mabibilang mo lang sa daliri mo ang restrooms owned and maintained by the government,” Recto said.

“The public toilet per kilometer ratio is one of the lowest in the world,” he said. “The last report I read is that there’s about 1 for every 1,000 kilometers.”

With the Philippines targeting 8.2 million foreign visitors and 51.7 million domestic tourists next year – which has been declared as Visit Philippines Year –  “then all the more that we should build more restrooms which can cater to more tourists,” Recto said.

While commercial facilities like restaurants and gas stations have toilets, Recto said the ideal situation is that one can have access to a toilet “without having to buy a burger.” 

“Maraming mga lugar na walang gas station o fastfood. So ano gagawin ng isang turista? Eh di malamang  ‘self pee’ na lang  kahit saan,” Recto said.

To address the lack of “roadside comfort facilities,” Recto urged the DoT of studying the possibility of offering equity to local governments, state schools, civic groups in building and maintaining “comfort stations that can have other functions as well.”

“Pwedeng maging pasalubong center o kaya isang lugar na pwedeng kunan ng tourist brochures. Pwedeng tayuan ng convenience store. State colleges, which have the land, can use one as a practicum area for their HRM or hotel restaurant management students,” he said.

He said these facilities can be self-sustaining and income generating. “You know some malls make money out of pay-per-use toilets.”

Recto, who is the Senate President Pro-Tempore, chairs the Finance subcommittee which hears the budget of the DoT and its allied agencies.

For next year, the DoT and its three attached agencies have a proposed budget of P3.8 billion.

Operating budgets of five DoT corporations will total P5.7 billion, but these are off-budget items not included in the General Appropriations Act.

One of the DoT affiliated corporations is the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) which is responsible for collecting the travel tax.

Under a Marcos-era law, the latter is imposed on departing airline passengers at the following rates:  P1,620 for an economy class passenger, P800 for certain types of travelers,  and P300 for dependents of  Overseas Filipino Workers.

Not all travel collections are retained by TIEZA as 40 percent is remitted to the Commission on Higher Education.  After mandated shares of other agencies are deducted, it is left with half of the collections, which it uses for its operations and to finance tourism projects.

The government will also be spending P16.3 billion to build or repair roads to tourist destinations and P10.2 billion to improve seaports and airports. The budgets for the two are, however, lodged in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) respectively.

Recto said DPWH should study the feasibility of including the construction of restrooms on public lots along the major roads they will build. 

Legarda Discusses Women Empowerment Issues with Japan PM Abe

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda stressed the role of women in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and raised the issue of economic empowerment of the female population during a group meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo, Japan.

Legarda, the only Philippine participant in the high level symposium, along with six other participants from Asia, had a meeting with Prime Minister Abe following the opening program of the assembly on September 12, 2014.

During his opening speech at the assembly, Prime Minister Abe said: “We must bring about a world in which all people, both women and men, shine. Japan will continue its support towards the resolution of issues involving women.”

Noting the Prime Minister’s statement, Legarda stressed the need to address the vulnerability of women to disasters during the group meeting, “We must address the vulnerability of women by empowering them and engaging them in disaster risk reduction and management, an area where Japan can help the Philippines.”

Legarda said that Japan has been a venue for important global DRR initiatives. In 2005, the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), a 10-year plan aimed at making the world safer from natural hazards through five priority actions, was adopted during the World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe, Japan.

In 2015, the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction will be held in Sendai, Japan, where there will be an assessment and review of the implementation of the HFA and nations will adopt a post-2015 framework for DRR.

“These conventions provide a venue where Japan can share its best practices and know-how in the area of disaster resilience and work in collaboration with other nations, including the Philippines, while recognizing the important role of women in the process,” said Legarda.

The Senator also called for greater support for women, especially housewives, who want to explore opportunities for additional income for their families.

“Women should have access to capital for micro enterprises for economic empowerment. We need to provide viable income alternatives to women and allow them to participate in livelihood and other economic activities,” said Legarda as she thanked the Prime Minister for Japan’s continuous development aid to the Philippines.

Japan is the Philippines largest source of official development assistance (ODA). Promoting women’s welfare is a top priority of Japan in extending development aid to developing nations.

Tap P3.6 B travel tax collection to build restrooms so tourists won't 'self pee' anywhere - Recto

MANILA-Government was told to earmark part of its P3.6 billion annual travel tax collection for the building of roadside rest rooms so that local and foreign tourists bound for the “sun, sea, sand, shopping” destinations will not “self pee” anywhere.

Sen. Ralph Recto made the recommendation to Tourism officials Thursday during the Senate hearing on the proposed 2015 budget of the Department of Tourism (DoT).

Recto said that in many feedback surveys, the absence of clean toilets has been listed as a major complaint by travelers.

“When a tourist comes out of the plane, the first destination he goes to is the restroom.  So if we believe in the power of first impression, then we should make restrooms presentable,” Recto told Tourism officials led by DoT secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.  

Recto said government should tap travel tax payments made by departing passengers, in building more restrooms “possibly under a joint venture scheme with local governments, state colleges, civic groups, tourism associations.”

As to source of funds, Recto said “government collects about P5 million in travel tax a day. Just a day’s collection can already build several comfort rooms.” 

One “priority area” where these should be built, Recto said, is along national highways.

“If you travel the whole length of the Pan Philippine Highway from Aparri to General Santos or to Zamboanga, eh mabibilang mo lang sa daliri mo ang restrooms owned and maintained by the government,” Recto said.

“The public toilet per kilometer ratio is one of the lowest in the world,” he said. “The last report I read is that there’s about 1 for every 1,000 kilometers.”

With the Philippines targeting 8.2 million foreign visitors and 51.7 million domestic tourists next year – which has been declared as Visit Philippines Year –  “then all the more that we should build more restrooms which can cater to more tourists,” Recto said.

While commercial facilities like restaurants and gas stations have toilets, Recto said the ideal situation is that one can have access to a toilet “without having to buy a burger.” 

“Maraming mga lugar na walang gas station o fastfood. So ano gagawin ng isang turista? Eh di malamang  ‘self pee’ na lang  kahit saan,” Recto said.

To address the lack of “roadside comfort facilities,” Recto urged the DoT of studying the possibility of offering equity to local governments, state schools, civic groups in building and maintaining “comfort stations that can have other functions as well.”

“Pwedeng maging pasalubong center o kaya isang lugar na pwedeng kunan ng tourist brochures. Pwedeng tayuan ng convenience store. State colleges, which have the land, can use one as a practicum area for their HRM or hotel restaurant management students,” he said.

He said these facilities can be self-sustaining and income generating. “You know some malls make money out of pay-per-use toilets.”

Recto, who is the Senate President Pro-Tempore, chairs the Finance subcommittee which hears the budget of the DoT and its allied agencies.

For next year, the DoT and its three attached agencies have a proposed budget of P3.8 billion.

Operating budgets of five DoT corporations will total P5.7 billion, but these are off-budget items not included in the General Appropriations Act.

One of the DoT affiliated corporations is the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) which is responsible for collecting the travel tax.

Under a Marcos-era law, the latter is imposed on departing airline passengers at the following rates:  P1,620 for an economy class passenger, P800 for certain types of travelers,  and P300 for dependents of  Overseas Filipino Workers.

Not all travel collections are retained by TIEZA as 40 percent is remitted to the Commission on Higher Education.  After mandated shares of other agencies are deducted, it is left with half of the collections, which it uses for its operations and to finance tourism projects.

The government will also be spending P16.3 billion to build or repair roads to tourist destinations and P10.2 billion to improve seaports and airports. The budgets for the two are, however, lodged in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) respectively.

Recto said DPWH should study the feasibility of including the construction of restrooms on public lots along the major roads they will build.

PNP, PDEA RAID SHABU WAREHOUSE, ARREST 4 CHINESE NATIONALS

CAMP OLIVAS, CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA- On September 12, 2014 at around 11:30 in the morning, joint elements of RAIDSOTF3, PDEA National Office, PDEA Region 3 and Intelligence Operations Section, RID3  conducted simultaneous search warrant operations in a warehouse at Greenville Subdivision, Brgy San Jose and Brgy Sindalan, all in City of San Fernando, Pampanga  which resulted in the apprehension of Jason LEE, 28 years old, Willy YAP, 26 years old,  Near Tan, 26  years old  and Ying Ying Huang @ Sophia, all native of Xiamen, China.

 

Recovered inside the warehouse were the following: more or less 725kgs shabu; 250kgs ephedrine still undetermined value and 29 sacks of undetermined substance to be examined at the PDEA laboratory. Also recovered were one (I) Montero; one (1) close van truck; one (1)  Toyota Fortuner; and, one  (1) old look Toyota Corolla.

 

Arrested persons and seized items are presently under the custody of PDEA National Office for proper disposition.

 

 

            PCSUPT PETRASANTA lauded the operating troops for a job well done and further stated that PNP PRO3 is continuously conducting pro-active operations and invigorates its efforts to wipe out all forms of illegal drugs in order to achieve its quest for a drug free Central Luzon.

San Jose City is Ecija’s crime capital --PNP report

SAN JOSE CITY – This northern Nueva Ecija city has emerged as Nueva Ecija’s crime capital, posting 561 crime incidents in the first eight months of the year, accounting for roughly 10 percent of the total crime volume in the province.

          Crime incidents in the city were more than the combined crime volume in Talavera and Guimba of 460.

The city emerged no. 1 with the most number of robberies (44), thefts (176), carnapping (38), homicide (14) and physical injuries (267). It was second to Cabanatuan in terms of rape incidents with 15.

          Cabanatuan recorded the most number of murders with 17 followed by Aliaga with 17 and Gapan City and Talavera with eight each.

The city was second only to San Jose in homicide cases with 11 followed by Talavera with nine.               

            Records from the Nueva Ecija Provincial Police Office showed that the province – involving five cities and 27 municipalities – recorded 5,652 crime incidents over the period of which 2,429 or 43 percent were solved and 4,250 (75%) were cleared.

          Senior Superintendent Crizaldo Nieves, provincial police director,  said a case is considered cleared when the suspect has been identified while it is deemed solved when a case has been filed in court.

          Of the 5,652 crime incidents, 2,916 were index and 2,736 non-index crimes. Index  crimes refer to crimes against persons such as murder, homicide, physical injuries, rape among others. Non-index crimes include those against  property such as robbery, theft, cattle rustling and carnapping.

          Of the index crimes, 2,013 (69%) were cleared while 1,158 (39%) were solved. For non-index crimes, 2,237 (81%) were cleared while 1,271 (46%) were solved.

          The province posted an average monthly crime rate of 30.35 per population of 2,068,962.

          Of the crimes, 130 were murder cases, 113 homicide, 1,520 were physical injuries, 120 rape, 279 robberies, 584 thefts, 165 carnapping and five cattle-rustling incidents. – Manny Galvez