PANGASINAN–The Pangasinan provincial board suspended for six months a member of the town council of Sta. Maria who missed the council’s sessions from July 2013 to April 2014.
In a resolution approved on Monday, the board said Sta. Maria Councilor Jun Jun Macaraeg was guilty of dishonesty for receiving his salaries and other benefits despite his continuous absences from the council’s sessions.
A complaint filed and signed by Sta. Maria Vice Mayor Conrado Ignacio and the town’s councilors in May showed that Macaraeg had been absent in all but three regular sessions of the council since he assumed office in July 2013. The provincial board said Macaraeg would not receive his salary and other benefits during his suspension.
The board also required him to return the total amount he received during his absences, which Board Member Alfonso Bince said may reach about P500,000. Macaraeg said he failed to attend the council’s sessions because of threats to his life. Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon
Inmate electrocuted
LAGUNA–A man detained in a police lockup cell died after being electrocuted while two other inmates were injured on Thursday in Cabuyao City.
Cabuyao police chief Supt. Leo Luna on Friday morning, identified the fatality as Nelson de Luria, 32. He was arrested and detained for theft on Aug. 12.
Luna, in a phone interview, said the inmates were taking a rest while others were watching television when the incident took place at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. De Luria accidentally leaned on an electric outlet and got electrocuted. Two other detainees, Eldon Enguerra and Dennis Villar, seated next to him, also felt electric shocks.
They were rushed to the Ospital ng Cabuyao but De Luria died of cardiac arrest due to the shock. Luna asked an electrician to check the power connections in the cell where around 90 people are detained. “They’re a bit overcrowded,” he said. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Rural projects approved
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL–Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said he discussed on Monday with provincial capitol officials the implementation of projects for the province, covered by the $508 million (P22.4 billion) financial package inked by the Philippine government with the World Bank (WB) on Friday.
Under the WB-Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project for 2014, Negros Occidental has approved proposals totaling P249,146,500, according to Marlin Sanogal, provincial project management and implementation unit head.
Of the amount, P63,767,500 will be for muscovado rural enterprises for various producers, and P185,379,000 for farm-to-market roads, she added.
To be funded are the 4.2-kilometer Sitio Magtuod-Sitio Vergara road in Barangay (village) Bug-ang, Toboso, worth P49,037,000, and 12-km Barangay Caduhaan—Sitio Aluyan road in Cadiz City, worth P136,342,000, Sanogal said. Carla Gomez, Inquirer Visayas
Nalupta; 69
ILOCOS NORTE–Former Ilocos Norte Vice Gov. Mariano Nalupta Jr. died after a heart attack at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City on Tuesday. He was 69.
Nalupta, a former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in Ilocos Norte, served as representative of the province’s second district from 1988 to 1992. He also served as vice governor from 1992 to 2001.
Nalupta is survived by his wife Elena Marders-Nalupta, a former board member and former mayor of Batac, and their four children—Batac Vice Mayor Ronald Allan Nalupta; Myra Nalupta-Barba, presiding judge of Municipal Trial Court and Cities-Branch 1 in Laoag City; lawyer Richard Alvin Nalupta, former National Youth Commissioner; and Mariano Francisco Nalupta III, chair of Barangay 2 Ablan in Batac. Leilanie Adriano, Inquirer Northern Luzon