Senior Supt. Allan Guisihan, provincial police director of Negros Occidental, yesterday refuted insinuations that politics may be behind  the recommendation of Task Group Escalante to file administrative charges against Chief Inspector Santiago Rapiz and 14 policemen under his command.

“What politics they are talking about?” Guisihan asked, adding, “I don’t even (personally) know them”.

He said it was only Governor Alfredo Maranon Jr. whom he had informed about recommendations of Task Group Escalante, before the release of information to the media.

About 200 metric tons, or 3,367 sacks of illegally extracted manganese ore, estimated to cost P660,000 and found abandoned at Sitio Maabon, Barangay Cabadiangan, Sipalay City, were confiscated recently, Ma. Aleta Nunez, Provincial Environment Management Office OIC, said yesterday.

On November 11, she said, 528 sacks or 26.4 metric tons of manganese ore were also found abandoned in Sitio Can-arao, Barangay Cabadiangan, Sipalay City, and were seized by the City Environment and Natural Resource Office in Sipalay City.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia is pushing for the establishment of a strong balikbayan program for the city and to position Bacolod as the convention city of the Visayas to boost its tourism industry.

Leonardia said he brought up the plan, which he hopes the Tourism Council of Bacolod would focus on, during his meeting with its members yesterday.

He asked the Tourism Council how they can intensify the tourism industry in Bacolod, with the two major factors it has, he said.