Guv asking Gloria for probe
on DAR funds used for TFM
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon yesterday said he is asking the Office of the President and the Department of Justice to immediately initiate an investigation into the serious complaints of Department of Agrarian Reform employees in Bacolod City on the alleged use of DAR funds for Task Force Mapalad.

This gives me more reason to believe that Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman does not consult local officials on agrarian reform concerns in Negros Occidental because he is already biased towards the TFM, Marañon said.

In the past Marañon had been irked by Pangandaman's failure to consult him during his visits to Negros Occidental for the implementation of land reform in Hacienda Velez Malaga, La Castellana, involving TFM beneficiaries.

Teresita Depeñosa, the new Negros Occidental PARO*

Families and relatives of 48 inmates in Pulupandan pleaded for help yesterday from Mayor Magdaleno Peña saying that only the mayor can put an end to their ordeal.

In a press conference held at the Social Action Center of the Bacolod Diocese, the group expressed hopes that the mayor will hear their pleas and facilitate the immediate withdrawal of the charges against all accused.

They said their children have been traumatized and have stopped going to school. Some fell ill and they are at their wits' end on what to do.