Ombudsman dismisses
raps vs. mayor, ex-CLO
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas has dismissed for lack of merit the criminal and administrative complaints for grave misconduct and falsification of public document filed against Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and the late City Legal Officer Allan Zamora by a media practitioner.

Also cleared was notary public Quirino Bat-og, a retired Assistant Provincial Prosecutor of Negros Occidental, because there was no finding of prima facie evidence against them, the Ombudsman resolution stated.

The complaint was in relation to the Petition to Recall Leonardia as mayor of Bacolod in 2005 filed by a group led by Ely De los Santos and Luzviminda Valdez whom Leonardia had defeated in the 2004 election.

Dengue fever hit 1,850 persons and killed 28 in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City from January to the first week of October this year, health officials reported yesterday.

Nineteen persons died from dengue in seven cities and three towns in Negros Occidental from January to Oct. 3, or an increase of 57 percent from 11 deaths during the same period last year, Provincial Health Officer Luisa Efren said yesterday.

In Bacolod City, 970 dengue cases were reported with nine deaths as of the first week of October, City Health Officer Salome Biñas said yesterday.

The 30th MassKara Festival goes on high gear starting tonight as Bacolod’s top artists unveil “Celebrating 30 Years of Smiles”, a collaborative work combining different art disciplines at the Bacolod Public Plaza.

The premiere showing of the major artwork is set at 8 p.m. at San Juan-Gonzaga streets. 

This is the art community’s contribution to the 30th MassKara, festival director Eli Tajanlangit said. “Through this work, the artists capture the theme of the festival this year, even as they are offering a vision how the MassKara street dance can evolve into,” he said.