Four unidentified hold-uppers stabbed dead a fare collector of a Ceres Liner bus after divesting him of his cash collections, and passengers of their personal belongings and money along the national highway in Hacienda Lourdes in Brgy. Punta Mesa, Manapla, Negros Occidental, at about 7:30 last night.

Inspector Julius Caesar Colado, Manapla police chief, identified the fatality as Ricardo Despi, who was stabbed twice in the chest by one of the four suspects, after he was divested of about P9,000.

Despi, a resident of Sagay City, was declared dead on arrival at the Ika-ayong Lawas Hospital in Victorias City, Colado said.

A jobless man was apprehended by the police yesterday for allegedly taking P500,000 in cash from an employee of an Internet café, who was later found to be his alleged cohort.

The suspect was identified by City Police Director Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz as Danny Ybañez, 24, of Purok St. Peter, Brgy. Tangub, and his alleged cohort as Hanz Michael Zolaivar, 25, employed by the Smackdown Internet café at Gatuslao Street.

Zolaivar had earlier told the police that he was walking along Cuadra Street past 10 a.m. yesterday when Ybañez grabbed him by the neck and threatened him with a gun.

AyalaLand Inc. made a much more advantageous offer to the Negros Occidental provincial government for the purchase and lease of its 7.7-hectare prime property in Bacolod City in its negotiated bid, Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said yesterday.

The problem with the SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) people is they want to force us to declare them the winning bidder of the July 7 bidding, which we cannot do, since they entered a bid below the floor price approved by the Commission on Audit.

In fact, no one won the July 7 bidding as both AyalaLand and SMPHI bidded below the floor price, so both firms were invited to submit proposals for a negotiated sale and lease Friday, he pointed out.