A Silay barangay captain was shot dead at the fish port in Purok Sibucao, Brgy. Banago, Bacolod City, at about 4:30 a.m. yesterday.

Dead on arrival at the Riverside Medical Center was Brgy. Balaring Captain Victor Diamante, 53, married, who succumbed to a lone gunshot wound on his nape allegedly inflicted by Emiliano Saballa Paes Jr., alias "Boy Paes", married, of Brgy. Tanza, E.B. Magalona, police reports said.

Senior Insp. Leonardo Borromeo, newly-installed Police Station 3 commander, yesterday told the DAILY STAR, they are eyeing a personal grudge as the motive of the shooting, but are not discounting other possible reasons.

IN ESCALANTE
Ground cracks, rumbles
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Big cracks in the ground and rumbling sounds from beneath have raised fears that landslides could hit Sitio Baluc in Barangay Malasibog, Escalante, Negros Occidental.

Escalante Mayor Santiago Barcelona, Provincial Disaster Management Team chief Vicfran Defante and Provincial Social Welfare Officer Liane Garcia met yesterday to discuss measures to ensure the safety of the 13 families in the area. Defante said that while fissures had been seen in the ground in Mt. Lunay in Sitio Baluc, about 8 kilometers from the city proper, in the past, lately more and larger ones have been noted.

"And residents have complained that they can hear rumbling sounds from beneath the ground," Barcelona said.

Airport security heightened
after Mindanao bombings
BY DONALYN GUERRERO

The Bacolod Aviation and Security Group is on full alert status in response to the recent spate of bombings in Mindanao Wednesday.

The ASG led by its officer-in-charge SPO2 Abelardo Collado, has been implementing tight security measures particularly in the conduct of inspection of passengers and baggage. He said they are also taking the recent bombings seriously, including false bomb threats.

Any person or persons caught making false bomb threats will be dealt with accordingly, pursuant to Presidential Decree 1727, Law on False Bomb Threats, the ASG said in a document furnished the DAILY STAR yesterday. The ASG is also conducting security patrols, particularly in the vulnerable areas of the airport such as the terminal building (arrival and departure area), cargo area, and fuel depot.