Newsbriefs

BAGUIO CITY

Motorcycle thefts rise

Police have noted the increasing incidents of motorcycle theft in the Cordillera.

Senior Superintendent Joseph Adnol, Cordillera police spokesperson, said vehicle thieves have shifted to motorcycles because these are light and their parts can be easily disassembled and sold. A brand-new motorcycle costs at least P40,000.

Adnol said records of the Cordillera police showed that vehicle theft increased, from 19 cases in the period covering October 2010 to January 2011 to 32 cases from October 2011 to January 2012. Of the 32 recent cases, 27 account for stolen motorcycles, he said. Most of these were stolen in Baguio City, Apayao and Abra. Desiree Caluza, Inquirer Northern Luzon

CABANATUAN CITY

2 hit men, thief slain

Two suspected hit men and a suspected motorcycle thief were killed in separate encounters with the Nueva Ecija police here and in Talavera town on Thursday.

Chief Inspector Leoncio Senense, provincial director of the Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Team, said they have yet to establish the identities of the slain hit men, who were placed under surveillance due to information that they had been hired to assassinate a local businessman. The gunmen, who rode on a motorcycle, shot at the policemen who were tailing them in an unmarked vehicle, forcing the lawmen to retaliate, Senense said.

In Barangay Mamandil in Talavera, Eligio de Guzman, 34, was killed when he exchanged fires with policemen who had pursued him after he allegedly snatched the motorcycle of a 15-year-old student.  Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon

LAGUNA

10th Maquiling Quest

The Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) is inviting mountaineers, trail runners and all outdoor sports enthusiasts to join the 10th Maquiling Quest on Feb. 26 to help promote adventure sports and ecotourism while enhancing awareness and conservation of Mt. Makiling.

This year, two-person teams will converge at the municipal hall of Sto. Tomas, Batangas, and race through the 20-kilometer route traversing the mountain’s summit.  The finish line is at the Makiling Botanic Gardens, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, UPLB in Laguna.

For details, call Robby Cereno by telefax: (049) 5362637 or e-mail: maquilingquest@yahoo. com.