Newsbriefs

BIÑAN CITY

Biñan drug raids net 18 suspects

POLICE arrested 18 people in another raid against illegal drugs being sold in a flea market in Biñan City, Laguna.

The first 14 people were arrested around 3 a.m. on Wednesday in Barangay Canlalay, according to Laguna police director Senior Supt. Pascual Muñoz. In a phone interview, Muñoz said four more were arrested on Thursday.

The 18 were arrested in Sitio Tramo of Canlalay, the same area where the police rounded up 65 people, five of whom are minors, just last Feb. 15.

“Police arrived right on time when the suspects were having a drug session,” said Muñoz.

The Feb. 15 raid was not the first. “The problem is they (drug dealers and users) keep coming back,” said Muñoz. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon

MASBATE

Living, dying by the gun

HE WHO lives by the gun dies by the gun.

Elias Madrilejos, the most wanted gunman in Masbate, was killed by still unidentified men in remote Sitio Ongkoy in Barangay Bugtong in Mandaon town on Monday, police in the province said Thursday.

Senior Supt. Heriberto Olitoquit, Masbate police chief, said Madrilejos was the most wanted person in Masbate and was believed to have been killed by the New People’s Army.

Olitoquit said Madrilejos, alias “Okong,” had been in hiding in the mountains for four years. He is facing double murder and frustrated murder cases. Jonas Cabiles Soltes, Inquirer Southern Luzon

CAMARINES SUR

‘Billboard politics’ slammed

CAMARINES Sur. Gov. Luis “LRay” Villafuerte Jr. decried the continuing practice of “billboard politics,” or candidates splashing their faces and names on billboards claiming credit for government projects.

In a statement, Villafuerte pointed to a photo that appeared in the Inquirer of Rep. Dato Arroyo’s billboards appearing beside projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

One such billboard appeared along a portion of the Maharlika Highway in Pamplona, Camarines Sur, making it appear that a road project there was completed courtesy of Arroyo, younger son of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

“The billboards are perhaps an indication of the sense of entitlement of the congressman, as it openly defies the standing policy of President Aquino (against officials claiming credit for government projects),” said Villafuerte in the statement.

The governor said the content of Arroyo’s billboards also run counter to Department Order No. 37 of the DPWH “explicitly prohibiting the placing of names and faces of politicians on the agency’s project billboards.”

ISABELA

Priority for farmers sought

CAGAYAN Rep. Jack Enrile on Thursday warned of a scenario when the Philippines can’t feed its people as a result of the government’s failure to improve the lives of the country’s farmers and other workers in the agriculture sector.

“If we won’t put priority to the needs of our farmers and fishermen, time will come when we can’t even feed our people,” said a statement quoting Enrile, a senatorial candidate of United Nationalist Alliance, during a sortie in Santiago, Isabela.

He said it is ironic that the people who do backbreaking work to produce food are the ones most impoverished in the country.

Enrile is pushing for an agriculture and food program that involves local production, local distribution and local consumption. He said he believes Filipinos should be primarily producing for their own consumption as opposed to the current import-dependent and export-oriented policy of the government.

SULTAN KUDARAT

Gunmen kill pastor, family in ambush

UNIDENTIFIED gunmen on Wednesday ambushed and killed at least four members of a family in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat province, authorities said on Thursday.

Senior Supt. Alex dela Rosa, Sultan Kudarat provincial police chief, identified the victims as Protestant pastor and businessman Rey Debarbo, 45; his wife Reynalie; and children Catherine Faith, 14; and Karen, 8.

Dela Rosa said the victims were heading home on board the family car, after attending a birthday party, when they were fired upon near Leonora Subdivision in Barangay Kalawit around 9 p.m.

He said the victims died without reaching the hospital due to multiple bullet wounds. Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao