News briefs
Reward money for Ecleo arrest
AFTER being denied by the Capitol, the lawyers of the Bacolod family sought the help of Cebu City Hall to raise reward money for informants who can help the police arrest Dinagat Island Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr.
Prosecution lawyer Fritz Quiñanola said he and his colleagues are also asking the PNP to allocate some of their budget for the reward money.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia earlier denied their request, saying the murder of Alona Bacolod happened in Cebu City.
He said after the murder of their fellow prosecution lawyer Arbet Sta. Ana-Yongco in 2004, there are just six of them remaining in the panel now.
Ecleo, Supreme Master of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), has two pending arrest warrants for parricide from the court and the Sandiganbayan.
In 2002, he was accused of masterminding Bacolod’s murder. Her remains were found in a ravine in Dalaguete town.
More than 20 people died in a shootout between PBMA members and the police that resulted in Ecleo’s arrest in his mansion in Dinagat Island that year. Correspondent Patricia Andrea Pateña
Anti-indecency board gets support
A PRO-LIFE advocate voiced support for the creation of an anti-obscenity board in Cebu province, saying the fight against “all forms of indecency” is everybody’s concern.
In a letter Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, national director for AIDS-Free Philippines, said the board is important in dealing with and instituting deterrents to the rise of pornographic material in online media.
“It is a concern for everybody especially if the church fails to do its part, the government is expected to do its share,” he said.
Bullecer also told Magpale that he is willing to help and assist them on a “full voluntary capacity.”
After the Cebu media cried foul over the proposed Anti-Tabloid Ordinance, the Provincial Board (PB) revised the measure into the Anti-Obscenity Ordinance.
The creation of a Provincial Anti-Obscenity Board is also provided in the ordinance.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, being the chairperson of the Provincial Women’s Commission (PWC) will appoint the board chairperson.
Magpale said they have nobody in mind yet but they prefer to pick someone who isn’t in government service.
PB Member Peter John Calderon, who chairs the committee on laws, has submitted his report after reviewing Magpale’s proposed ordinance.
It will be included in today’s PB session. A public hearing will soon be conducted before presenting it to the board for final reading. Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus
Science and tech policies
Government policies should integrate science-based curricula in schools to enable students to compete with their counterparts in Asia, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said in a Cebu forum last week.
“Most developed countries have science and technology as their platform of development. Science-based policies will strengthen our students,” said DOST undersecretary Graciano Yumul.
Yumul made the pitch during the Webseminar on “ASEAN Community 2015” which discussed the best practices and lessons on education and health programs with member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Yumul, who also chairs the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology in the Philippines said that they want to strengthen development of clean energy source research on nano technology, biotechnology and disaster risk. `
He said the government’s K+12 program which adds more school years in grade school is in conformity with other Asian countries who have 12 years of primary and secondary education.
“If our students would only have 10 years of education, they would not be qualified to work on the careers they studied for,” he said. Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya
