Cops nab brother
of mayoralty bet
FILE ROBBERY, FIREARM RAPS
BY ADRIAN NEMES III

The brother of a mayoralty bet in Bacolod City was arrested yesterday after he allegedly held up at gun point a former eatery service crew member at the corner of Luzuriaga and Gatuslao streets, in the city, at about 2:30 a.m., police reports said.

Police Officer 2 Christopher Sarinopia identified the apprehended suspect as Ariff Gonzales, 36, married, of Helvetia Heights Subdivision, Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod , and younger brother of businessman and mayoralty aspirant Vladimir Gonzales.

The suspect, who is now in the custody of Police Station 1, refused to give any statements to the media yesterday and said he was referring the case to his lawyer.

Residents of remote villages of Negros Occidental now have electricity to run rice, corn and coffee mills to process their crops, to provide lights for their children to study at night, and to watch television to keep abreast with the rest of the world.

This is because 14 renewable energy and livelihood projects worth $1.5 million or P70,470,000 funded by a grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction that was managed by the Asian Development Bank, have finally been completed and yesterday were formally turned over to participating communities at rites held at the provincial Capitol in Bacolod City.

Bacolod City Agriculturist Goldwyn Nifras and Secretary to the Mayor Vicente Petierre III yesterday called claims of their constant accuser that the city government spent P101 million for reforestation projects despite the absence of forested areas, malicious and not supported by records.

Nifras said he was surprised to learn of the issue, but when he looked over city documents from the city accounting office, they learned that, while there is an account for public infrastructure and reforestation projects, it is only an “account title” and it does not mean that Bacolod had a reforestation project.

A former city employee wrote to the mayor, through the vice mayor and the city council about the alleged expenses that she claimed is based on a Commission on Audit's annual audit report.