Newsbriefs

NUEVA ECIJA

New PhilRice head

PRESIDENT Aquino appointed a professor at the University of the Philippines Mindanao as head of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in the Science City of Muñoz.

Eufemio Rasco Jr., who holds a doctorate in plant breeding from Cornell University, will assume the post of PhilRice executive director, replacing Ronilo Beronio.

Rasco is the former director of the UP Institute of Plant Breeding and a founding director of the East-West Seed Co. He authored a general education book on plant pathology. Anselmo Roque, Inquirer Central Luzon

BATANGAS

Woman, 89, dead in fire

AN 89-YEAR-OLD wheelchair-bound woman died in a fire that destroyed hers and six other houses in Malvar, Batangas before dawn yesterday.

A lighted candle left unattended started the fire in the house of the victim, Natividad Reano, in Barangay Poblacion past 2:00 a.m., according to Senior Insp. Gaudencio Aguillera, police chief of Malvar.

The fire spread and also destroyed houses owned by the Reanos’ relatives. The fire was put out after two hours. Aguillera, in a phone interview, said the woman lived alone. He said the town experienced a power outage the night before the fire. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon

PANGASINAN

5,000 protest RH Bill

AT LEAST 5,000 Catholic faithful joined a fun run in Dagupan City recently to express their sentiments against the Reproductive Health Bill and honor the resilience of Pangasinan residents who recovered from the killer earthquake that devastated Dagupan 21 years ago.

“Divorce, euthanasia, homosexual marriage, contraception. No such words were known to my generation when we were young. Instead of saying those bad words and corrupting the youth, why don’t we speak of family, love, children?” said Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas in his homily during Mass before the “Run for Life” started. Marla Viray, Inquirer Northern Luzon

ORMOC CITY

Lower taxes protested

A GROUP of local government units are protesting a reduction in taxes that they are collecting for hosting geothermal power facilities.

The Alliance of Geothermal Energy Producing LGUs (AGEPL) said the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act of 2009 was costing them hundreds of millions in taxes.

The law reduces local taxes to be paid by firms in renewable energy from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent.

Eric Codilla, Ormoc mayor, said the many services given by LGUs to constituents would be disrupted, among them education. Elvie Roman Roa, Inquirer Visayas