NEWSBRIEFS

DIGOS CITY

2 held for fake bills

Police announced the arrest of two suspected members of a syndicate involved in the printing of counterfeit money and seized about P100,000 in fake bills during an operation.

Superintendent Allan Manibog of the regional police intelligence office said the suspects could have been waiting for some contacts inside a restaurant when they were nabbed on Friday. They were identified as Ramon Magayon, 48, of New Manila, Quezon City; and Delia Malolos, 63, of Bagong Nayon in Antipolo City.

Manibog said the two yielded plastic containers with inks of various hues and bottles of chemicals which, he said, were to be used in printing more counterfeit bills. Orlando Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao

CAVITE

Fuel subsidy for fishers

A group of fishermen in Cavite gathered support from the Catholic church in urging the national government to provide subsidies to the fishing sector, whose consumption of oil has been affected by the unpredictable increases in the price of petroleum products.

In a forum on Tuesday at the Holy Rosary Parish in Rosario town, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) pushed anew its proposal for a monthly subsidy of P4,500 to fishermen operating small, motorized fishing boats, and P2,500 to those whose boats are propelled by paddles but use kerosene in night lamps.

“The cost of fuel (is) now eating up 80 percent of the cost of production per fishing trip,” said Pamalakaya spokesperson Gerry Corpuz. A small fishing vessel consumes an average of 10 liters of oil daily that costs P600—thrice the price spent for the same amount of oil consumed when fuel products cost less in 2001.

As a result, fishermen spend less time at sea, from six days a week to just three or four days, to fish, Corpuz said. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon

CEBU

Slay suspect shot

The suspect in the killing of a photojournalist in 2004 was shot by one of two men on board a motorcycle in Dalaguete town in southern Cebu on Saturday.

Edgar “Dodong” Belandres 47, was sitting on a bench about 8 a.m. when he was attacked in Sitio Panocdocan, Barangay Cawayan. He suffered four bullet wounds and was brought to Cardinal Rosales Memorial Hospital before he was moved to a hospital in Cebu City, according to Senior Police Officer 2 Cleto Pia, Dalaguete police investigator.

Pia said the shooting could be drug-related since Belandres was on the police list of alleged illegal drug lords in Cebu. Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas

QUEZON

2 NPA rebels held

Government troops arrested a suspected New People’s Army leader in Quezon and his security escort while collecting so-called “revolutionary tax” in Catanauan town on Friday, according to Colonel Generoso Bolina, spokesperson of the Armed Forces’ Southern Luzon Command.

Philip Enteria, alias as “Ka Jerome,” “Ka Bruce” and “Ka Sherwin,” alleged platoon leader of an NPA unit in Quezon, and his escort, Jerson Sambola, alias “Ka Dondo” and “Ka CJ,” were captured in Barangay Sabang Silangan on Dec. 9, Bolina said.

Enteria has a warrant of arrest for murder and frustrated murder issued by a court in Gumaca town. The two are now detained at the Catanauan police jail. Delfin Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon

Ex-NPA hit men in kidnap

Two of the arrested suspects in the foiled kidnapping of an Indian money lender in Tiaong town  two weeks ago are former communist hit men-turned-robbery gang leaders, said Chief Insp. Allen Rae Co, commander of the Quezon Provincial Public Safety Company.

On November 27, a group tried to abduct money lender Gurnek Singh in Tiaong but Singh foiled the abduction. Four of the suspects, including brothers “Kelly” and “Chivas” Gerona, were arrested in San Juan, Batangas after a hot pursuit operation. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon