Jailbreak in Bago,
manhunt for 3 on
BY ADRIAN NEMES III

Three suspects involved in several robbery cases, and one of them in the fatal shooting of a victim, in Bacolod City escaped from the detention cell of the police station of Bago City, Negros Occidental, between 3 to 4 a.m. yesterday by sawing off the iron grills at its window.

A province-wide search was launched against Aries Chicuva, 27, of Brgy. 39, Ryan Dela Torre, 21, of Brgy. 13 and Michael Victor Vergara, 18, of Brgy. 13, all residents of Bacolod, City Police Director Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz said.

The three were apprehended by members of the Public Safety Company led by Supt. Armando Tobongbanua at a check-point operation in Bangga Sampinit at about 12:30 a.m. Friday while they were on board a tricycle, police records showed.

SAGAY CITY --  Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon  Jr. yesterday said two government funded hydro power plants will soon rise in Negros Occidental to help mitigate the lack of locally produced power.

The governor said the lack of locally produced power that has put Negros Occidental at the mercy of high-priced supply from other provinces,  has been caused by protestors who opposed the entry of coal power plants in Negros.

Where are those people who protested against the coal plants, what  can they  do for Negros Occidental  now? he asked.

Central Negros Electric Cooperative expects its power rates that rose by P1.4615 per kilowatt hour in its March billing  due to a breakdown in a National Grid Corp. of the Philippines transmission line, to return to normal in April, CENECO president Arnel Lapore said yesterday.

Lapore said power bills of  consumers rose from P9.0630 per kilowatt hour in its February billing to P10.52.45 in March, inclusive of Expanded Value Added Tax, but he expects rates  to return to P9.06 in its April billing  with the problematic transmission line having already been repaired.

The breakdown in the transmission line for the transfer of power from Cebu to Negros Occidental caused the Wholesale  Electricity Spot Market  to automatically transmit power to CENECO from another source  with higher rates than Kepco Salcon Power Corp.  and Green Core where it sources its power, he said.