Murcia priests denying
sacraments to officials
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The two Catholic priests assigned in Murcia, Negros Occidental, will not allow Mayor Andrew Montelibano and other town officials to receive the sacraments.

In his sermon at the Immaculate Concepcion Parish Church yesterday, Fr. Greg Patiño asked how he and Fr. Agustin Hinayan, parochial vicar, can give sacraments to people who have rejected them for campaigning against the proliferation of illegal drugs and gambling in Murcia.

On June 3, Montelibano, Vice Mayor Gerry Rojas and Association of Barangay Captains president, Luis Antonio Gonzaga, asked Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra to transfer Patiño and Hinayan out of their town. They said the two were  using  the pulpit, sacraments and religious activities inappropriately to create a false image of Murcia as a drug and illegal gambling haven.

Customer kills guard in store
BY SHIELA GELERA

An security guard on duty was shot dead by a customer at the Munsterific Convenience Store, La Salle Avenue in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City, at about 2:50 a.m. Saturday.

Guard Ruperto Esperon Jr., 35, of Brgy. Caliban in Murcia town, Negros Occidental, sustained two gunshot wounds on his chest and was declared dead on arrival at the Doctor’s Hospital, the police said.

A copy of the closed-circuit television camera showed that the suspect had been in the store loitering and texting for about 45 minutes. When Esperon took a nap, the suspect approached him.

Lightning kills two
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

Lightning killed two persons Thursday in Murcia and Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

Chief Inspector Joresty Coronica,Talisay police chief, said yesterday that Rex Vasquez was hit by lightning inside his residence in Brgy. San Fernando, Talisay City.

Vasquez was declared dead on arrival at the Talisay City Health Office, he added.

However, his family requested for an autopsy to determine the real cause of his death, as they noted the absence of burns in his body, Coronica said.