SP urges installation of
 CCTV cameras

A resolution urging all business establishments in Bacolod City to install Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras within their premises, was unanimously approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod yesterday.

Authored by Councilor Caesar Distirto, the resolution said the Cash Division of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative was robbed by armed men of P3.6 million recently.

Police investigators merely based their findings on the statements made by witnesses and the identifications of the suspects were made through cartographic sketches only which could have been done more easily if CCTV cameras have been installed in the premises of CENECO to record the incident and provide the exact images of the criminals, it said.

The resolution said the absence of CCTV cameras within the premises of CENECO gave an advantage to the robbers to perform such illegal act without any worries of leaving their traces and identifications.

CCTV cameras are very helpful in terms of taking the actual footage of an incident and also deter those who are intending to do unlawful acts to a certain establishment or entity, it said.

The resolution also said business establishments should install CCTV cameras as a way of improving the security of their premises. Some business establishments in the city have already installed CCTV cameras for the safety of their customers and security of their properties, it said.

Distrito said they also tasked the City Permits and Licensing Division to disseminate copies of the resolution to all business establishments in Bacolod.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday said they will install CCTV cameras at the government center the soonest possible time and had already given one of the proposals to Secretary to the Mayor Moises de la Cruz.

He said they had already considered this before and these events that happened lately are just incidental.

Leonardia said “Given what the CCTV had shown us in terms of crime solution, not only in Manila but elsewhere, we can say this is a standard safety system developed through the years.”

He said they would like to suggest and appeal to the private sector, especially banks, stores, and even residents who can afford it to secure a CCTV camera and have it installed in their homes or establishments. Meanwhile, Leonardia lauded the action of the Bacolod police led by Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz in making a breakthrough by identifying the suspects in the CENECO robbery and spreading copies of their pictures all over the city and province, that had been taken from the CCTV camera.

“I know that De la Paz is very eager to catch the suspects now that they have a lead,” he said,*CGS

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NOHSians shine in
BIOTA Research Fair

Two students from Negros Occidental High School were first place winners in the 7th Biology Teachers Association regional student research competition at the Central Philippine University in Iloilo City recently, a press release from the school said.

Arn Ginette Gutierrez won in the oral presentation individual category with her study, “Phytochemical Analysis and Anti-Angiogenic Screening of Santol Fruit Pericarp Extract”, while Carlo Ramos topped in the poster presentation individual category with his study on “Blood Glucose Lowering Effect of Asparagus Leaf and Root Decoction”.

Gutierrez found out that santol fruit pericarp could be a cheaper substitute to costly anti-angiogenic medication, by reducing the development of blood vessels supplying the growth of the tumor cells, while Ramos discovered a natural remedy for insulin-independent diabetes using asparagus leaf and root decoction, the press release said.

NOHS students Glenn Paul Pacete, Troy Angelo Enriquez and Rixiel Kirby Marcellana, also won second honors in the poster presentation team category; Lea Gerelyn Ducay in the individual oral presentation; and Shaira Mae Jamolor, Karl Elvis Espinosa and Geresty Luyahan in the team oral presentation, the press release added.*

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Exhibit at Italia

A visual arts exhibit by multi-awarded Lydia Velasco, called “Fécondé”, will be held for a month, starting tomorrow, at the Italia Restaurant, in Bacolod City, a press release from organizers said.

Velasco’s works have been auctioned by international auction houses like Sotheby's, Borobudur, Larasati and Masterpiece, the press release added.

Aside from Singapore and Hong Kong, her works have found themselves with collectors in Japan, Germany, the U.K. and U.S., it also said.

Velasco was born in Navotas, pursued Fine Arts major in advertising at the University of Santo Tomas and then worked for many years as an artist for an advertising agency. She is a member of the Saturday group of artists and the president of the Kulay Marikina Group of Artist, the press release added.*

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