NGCP sets maintenance works in Zambo Sur; schedules 10-hour blackout

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PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, April 6 (PNA) -– The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is set to implement a 10-hour blackout on Tuesday in three provinces in Mindanao to pave the way for maintenance works.

Elizabeth Ladaga, NGCP information officer, said Monday the blackout, which is from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., will affect the power consumers of this province, Zamboanga del Norte and Lanao del Norte.

Ladaga said the scheduled blackout is to facilitate the repair of defective structures along the 69-kilovolt (KV) transmission line that traverses Molave and Mahayag towns in this province to Dapitan City and Roxas town in Zamboanga del Norte.

Ladaga said the specific areas that will experience blackout will be determined by the electric cooperatives servicing the affected areas.

Meanwhile, Liberal Cabatcha, Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperatiive-1, said the 10-hour blackout will only affect five of the 10 municipalities that are covered by the Aurora sub-station in this province.

Cabatcha said these are the municipalities of Molave, Mahayag, Dumingag, and Josefina of this province and Don Victoriano, Misamis Occidental. (PNA)
LAP/TPGJR/Hirohito D. Cadion

NFA: rice farmers prefers to sell farm produce to traders

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PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, April 6 (PNA) – The National Food Authority (NFA) has assured the public there is sufficient stocks of rice for this province.

Nieves Toca, Pagadian City-Zamboanga del Sur NFA manager, made this assurance Monday although the agency managed to attain 4.44 percent accomplishment in the agency’s palay purchase program for the first quarter of this year.

Toca said they only managed to purchase 666 bags of palay which is way below the target of 15,000 bags from January to March this year.

Toca said they have rice stocks consisting of 119,654 bags of imported rice, 8,341 bags of locally-produced rice and 10,876 bags of palay.

“Our stocks are estimated to last for 26 days in case of emergency based on the daily consumption of 5,180 bags of this province,” she said.

She said one of the reasons why they failed to meet the target of the palay purchase program was due to the reduced harvest of the local farmers who were affected by the dry spell.

She said the other reason is that the local farmers chose to sell their rice produce to traders who pay higher price than the NFA.

She said the purchasing price of palay of the NFA is Php17 per kilo while rice traders pay up to Php19 a kilo. (PNA)
FPV/RCK/TPGJR/HIROHITO D. CADION

(Update) Police, military track down abducted Zambo Sibugay town mayor

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PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, April 7 (PNA) – Police and military authorities are tracking down the whereabouts of a lady town mayor seized by gunmen, believed to be kidnappers, in the nearby province of Zamboanga Sibugay.

Senior Supt. Jose Bayani Gucela, Zamboanga Sibugay police director, said troops were immediately deployed to pursue the gunmen after they seized Mayor Gemma Andana of Naga municipality.

Gucela said Andana was seized around 9:15 p.m. Monday in Barangay Taytay Manubo, Naga Zamboanga Sibugay.

Gucela said Adana was eating together with her family members when three gunmen wearing bonnet masks barged in and forcibly took the mayor.

He said the gunmen dragged Andana to the shore and forced her to board on a motorized banca that sped to the high seas.

He said they have already coordinated with other law enforcement units to help them track down the mayor’s whereabouts. (PNA)
FPV/TPGJR/Hirohito D. Cadion

7 persons fall in Zambo Sur anti-drug raid

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By Hirohito D. Cadion

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, April 5 (PNA) – Government authorities have arrested seven people, including a barangay official, and confiscated more than 50 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride locally known as shabu in a raid in nearby Kumalarang town, an official said Sunday.

Joseph Ladip, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) regional director, said the raid was carried out around 2:30 a.m. Sunday in Barangay Boyugan West, Kumalarang town.

Ladip said two of the seven arrested suspects namely, Ayang Edris, 41 and Jabide Ladjas Abdulah, 51, were known drug pushers. Abdulah is a barangay councilman of Barangay Boyugan West.

Ladip said a local court has issued a warrant of arrest against Edris and Abdulah as well as five of their cohorts, who are into the trade of prohibited drugs in Barangay Boyugan West, Kumalarang.

He said the other five known drug pushers were not around when they carried out the raid.

He said the other five arrested suspects were users and they are identified as follows: Abdul Modakil, 32; Melvin Solliano, 23; Claudio Buctuan, 38; Yosup Dacula, 35; and, Husain Edris, 41

He said the raid was carried out following two months surveillance on the activities of the suspects.

He said the 50 grams of shabu the arresting team confiscated has an estimated market value of P80,000.

Kumalarang town Mayor Eugenio Salva Jr. hopes the raid will put a stop to the trade on prohibited drugs in Barangay Boyugan West, which had long been known as drug haven.

The raid was carried out with the support of the Zamboanga del Sur police force. (PNA)
CTB/TPGJR/HDC