DAILY STAR: Negros Oriental

The Dumaguete City government may lose the offer of the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation to build 100 houses for flood victims of tropical storm Sendong if it cannot provide the required counterpart housing site.

GK area coordinator for Western Visayas Vince Rivera, who covers the islands of Negros and Panay, said yesterday that San Miguel Corporation has given them the funds to build 500 houses for families who lost their homes to “Sendong”.

City Administrator William Ablong said time is running out for the Dumaguete government to avail of the GK offer, and the 100 houses intended for Dumaguete could be transferred to Mindanao for its flood victims.

29 illegal drug
traffickers convicted
IN FIRST SEMESTER
BY RENE GENOVE

The Regional Trial Court Branch 30, the drugs court of Negros Oriental, has convicted 29 illegal drug traffickers, 15 of them sentenced to life imprisonment, in the first six months of 2013.

Court records show that, as of June 30, it has a pending case load of 109, or down by 94 cases, compared to the same period in 2012. It has an average disposal rate of 10 cases each month, all for violation Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

All those convicted were ordered imprisoned at the Bureau of Corrections in Muntinlupa City, or at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City. Nineteen of the 29 convicted have filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals.

Mining firm ends exploration

Mining company PDEP Inc. has stopped its exploration of copper at Mt. Bantug in Brgy. Lag-it, Tayasan, Negros Oriental, that had, for five years, sparked development of the hinterland barangay and neighboring areas.

1Lt. Von Ryan Gomez, 11th Infantry Battalion Civil Military Operations officer, yesterday said the Mt. Bantug mining exploration, that started in 2006, not only brought additional income to the populace, but also livelihood programs and construction of farm to market roads.

However, the company failed to reach its expectations after five years of drilling s, and this made them decide to withdraw the exploration project, Gomez said.

Email: visayandailystar@yahoo.com