01152918 POSTING

Peace-Order Council tackles intensified security efforts

The City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) chaired by Mayor Beng Climaco  discussed Wednesday the need to further intensify security efforts to thwart any and all threats from lawless elements, even as it commended current endeavors of security forces.

Mayor Climaco said security forces to include the police, military and other law enforcement agencies have done a great job of ensuring the safety and security of the city and the residents with zero kidnapping and zero bombing and reduced crime rate in 2017. The other day, joint operatives from the police and military captured a suspected bomb maker and thwarted what could have been another violent incident in the city.

Based on the reports City Police Director PSSupt. Neri Ignacio and Task Force Zamboanga Chief Col. Leonel Nicolas, the authorities have not monitored any particular group that have direct impact in the city’s security.

Through a resolution, authored by Col. Nicolas, the police and the TFZ will augment security forces at the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) considering that the port is a very crucial entry point to Zamboanga City.

The CPOC members believe that stronger collaboration between and among all law enforcement agencies is very vital in deterring lawlessness.

The CPOC also tackled the 2017 accomplishments and 2018 plans of the Zamboanga City Police Office, TFZ, Bureau of Jail Management, Bureau of Fire Protection, PPA, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines-Zamboanga, Philippine Coast Guard and other agencies.

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) under Dr. Elmeir Apolinario is also set to conduct a road safety summit in March to address issues related to the increase in road accidents in the city and the region.

On the other hand, City Prosecutor Ricardo Cabaron said the campaign against illegal drugs should continue unabated given that the crime incidents in the city are mostly drug-related. (Sheila Covarrubias)

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BoC names new district collector in Zamboanga

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) has assigned a new district collector of the agency in this city.

Named as the new district collector is Lawyer Jesus Balmores, who is set to arrive here on Monday, January 15, according to OIC-District Collector Darwisa Schuck.

Schuck will serve as the acting deputy district collector for operations with the appointment of Balmores as the new district collector.

Schuck said the appointment of Balmores was penned by BoC Commission Isidro Lapeña, who visited this city on Wednesday.

Balmores was previously assigned with the office of the deputy commissioner for intelligence.

Meanwhile, Schuck said Lapeña has warned to remove BoC employees in cahoots with smugglers.
She said Lapeña has ordered them to curb smuggling in this city. (PNA)

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2 ASGs arrested

at shopping mall

The Philippine National Police (PNP) arrested two suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) at a shopping mall in this city, a top police official said Saturday.

Chief Supt. Billy Beltran, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) director, identified the arrested suspects as Emran Ismael, who carries the aliases of Bantong Basintin and Bantong Basiri; and, Bryan Mohammad alias Pojong Attiun.

Beltran said they were arrested at around 9:15 p.m. Friday at a shopping mall on La Purisima Street, Barangay Zone III.

He said the suspects have standing warrants of arrest for the crime of seven-count kidnapping and serious illegal detention penalized under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.

He said the court of Isabela City, Basilan did not recommend bail for the temporarily release of the suspects.

He said the suspects were involved in the kidnapping of seven workers of the Golden Harvest Plantation in Barangay Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan, on June 11, 2001.

The Abu Sayyaf bandits executed by beheading some of the hostages while the others have either escaped or rescued by pursuing military troops.

Beltran said the suspects were positively identified by two witnesses who are under the witness protection and security benefit program of the Department of Justice (DOJ). (PNA)

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‘Vinta’ destroys P32.35-M agri-fishery products in Zamboanga

The Office of the City Agriculture has reported that 951.2 hectares of agricultural and fishery areas with an estimated PHP32.35 million worth of products were destroyed by Tropical Storm Vinta in this city.

Several areas in the Zamboanga region were affected by storm that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Dec. 22, 2017.

City Agriculturist Diosdado Palacat stated in a report to Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar that 710 local farmers were affected by the storm.

Palacat said 224 of the 710 were rice and crop farmers covering 193.2 hectares of farmlands in the barangays of Vitali, Mangusu, Licomo, and Tictapul.

He said the remaining 486 were fishpond and seaweed farmers from the barangays of Licomo, Tictapul, Vitali, Limaong, and Taguite with reported fishery damages in more than 758 hectares.

He said assistance will be provided to the affected farmers to help them recoup their losses.

Socorro Rojas, head of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) reported that six barangays in the second congressional district were affected, with 763 families consisting of 3,850 individuals displaced.

The second congressional district is locally known as the east coast of this city.

CSWDO records showed that at least 12 houses were washed out by the flash floods while 24 were partially damaged. (PNA)

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NFA suspends rice

distribution in City

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The National Food Authority (NFA) has temporarily suspended the release of rice allocation to local NFA retailers for the past three weeks now due to limited supply.
NFA Provincial Manager Nieves Toca on Friday disclosed they have limited stocks due to the delay of rice importation by the government.
Toca said they only have 5,000 bags of 50 kilos each at the NFA warehouse and these are reserved to be used in case of calamity by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and local government.
Toca, however, said they don’t foresee any rice shortage since the NFA only supplies 10 percent of the market demand while the 90 percent by the traders.
She said there are 300 accredited NFA outlets covering the 98 barangays of this city.
She said they will resume the distribution of rice to the accredited retailers once they will have sufficient stocks.
She said they have received at least 18,330 bags of Vietnam rice coming from Cagayan de Oro City. The unloading of rice from the boat completed Friday.
She said they are also scheduled to received next month a total of 220,000 bags of rice from the NFA central office purposely for this city. (PNA)

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2 nabbed in Zambo anti-drug operation; P265k shabu seized

Operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) have arrested two suspected drug pushers and seized PhP265,000 worth of illegal drugs in a buy-bust operation in this city, a PDEA official announced Friday.

PDEA Regional Director Lyndon Aspacio identified the arrested suspects as Dilbert Yabo, 39, a tricycle driver; and, Federico Deles, 55, a janitor.

Aspacio said they were arrested after they sold one heat-sealed plastic sachet of suspected shabu to an undercover PDEA agent at around 5:40 p.m. Thursday on Calle Junk, Barangay Camino Nuevo, this city.

He said the buy-bust operation was carried out following days of surveillance on the illegal drug trade activity of the suspects.

He said confiscated from the suspects were 53 grams of shabu packed in a heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet worth PhP265,000; one bundle of boodle money made to appear as PhP100,000 topped with one genuine PhP1,000 bill utilized as buy-bust money; and, a plastic bag.

He said a case for violation of Section 5 (Selling of Illegal Drugs), Article II of Republic Act 9165 otherwise known as Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 will be filed against the suspects.

They were detained at the PDEA headquarters in this city. (PNA)

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‘Vinta’ affects sardine

production: BFAR

The Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) sees a decline in sardine production as an aftermath of Tropical Storm “Vinta” that recently hit the region.

This apprehension was shared by BFAR Assistant Regional Director Al-Zath Kunting during the 2020 Roadmap Shark Utilization Round Table discussion on Thursday in Zamboanga City citing the main source of of food of the fish has been destroyed by flood and landslide brought about by the onslaught of the storm.

Kunting said the massive flood that hit the coastal towns of Sibuco, Sirawai, Siocon and Gutalac in Zamboanga del Norte has destroyed the breeding area of fish and habitat.

Data gathered by BFAR showed that the coast of the four towns including Baliguian municipality, an adjacent town of Siocon, are the main source of fish locally known as “tamban.”

Tamban (Herring) is the main raw fish for sardine-making here in Region 9.

There are 12 canning factories based in Zamboanga City and seven bottled-sardine producers in Dipolog City.

Region 9, aside from being the main source of sardine, is also the main producer of Spanish sardines in the country. (PNA)

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2 perish in Siocon fire

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A retired public school teacher and her teenage granddaughter perished in an hour-long fire in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, police reported Thursday.

Senior Supt. Raul Tacaca, Zamboanga del Norte police director, identified the fatalities as Martina Toledo, 71, and Marcelle Abby Toledo, 15, a grade nine student.

Tacaca said the fire broke out at around 11:20 p.m. Wednesday in Barangay Poblacion, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.

He said the elder Toledo and her granddaughter were trapped in the house that caught fire.

The case investigator said the possible cause of the fire was an unattended candle since there was total blackout at the time of the incident.

Aside from two dead, the fire has damaged PhP200,000 worth of properties. (PNA)

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BFAR also closes sardine

Fishing season in ARMM

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 The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BFAR-ARMM), for the seventh consecutive year, is imposing a three-month closed season for sardine fishing in the area.

Jerusalem Abdulahim, BFAR-ARMM Fisheries Regulatory and Law Enforcement Division chief, on Wednesday said in a statement that the fishing ban covered the Basilan Strait and the Sulu Sea.

Abdulahim said the annual fishing ban, which ran from December 1 to March 1, is implemented to give time for sardine or “tamban” to spawn.

Abdulahim said the ban also included the selling, buying and possessing of sardines caught within the conservation area.

He said the vessels of BFAR-ARMM would patrol the seas in the island provinces, specifically Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, to ensure compliance of the closed season for sardine fishing.

He said violators of the fishing ban would be penalized with confiscation of catch and gear, and an administrative fine equivalent to five times the value of the catch, or a penalty ranging from PhP50,000 for small-scale commercial fishing, to PhP5 million for large-scale commercial fishing as specified under Section 86 of the Republic Act 10654.

R. A 10654 prevents, deters and eliminates illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending R.A. 8550, otherwise known as “the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998,” and for other purposes.

Abdulahim said some of the fishing firms affected by the fishing ban had scheduled renovation of their ships during the period with fishing ship workers still being compensated.

ARMM has produced 1,311.9 metric tons of “tamban” in the third quarter of 2017 based on the data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). (PNA)

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COMELEC to conduct public

hearings on No-EL in Mindanao

The Commission on Elections is set to conduct public hearings on the matter of postponing the May 14, 2018 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in Mindanao for the purpose of giving all interested parties equal opportunity to be heard, in light of Resolution No. 13 of both Houses of Congress to extend Martial Law in said region for a period of one year.

The COMELEC en Banc, through Minute Resolution No. 17-0743, has set two dates in separate cities for the public hearings: on January 22, 2018 in 700 Gov. Carmins Avenue, Zamboanga City, and on January 29, 2018 at the Alnor Hotel and Convention Center, Alnor Commercial Center, Cotabato City.

The Resolution further resolves to give due notification to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the National Youth Commission (NYC) , Liga ng mga Barangay, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and accredited Citizens’ Arms.

The Commission is also looking to conduct a third public hearing in Cagayan de Oro City.

Pursuant to Section 5, Article 1 of the Omnibus Election Code, the COMELEC may motu propio postpone elections in a particular location, after due notice and hearing therein, when the holding of free, orderly and honest elections should become impossible due to any serious cause such as violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure, and other analogous causes of such nature. (COMELEC)