Obey chain of command,
Visayas soldiers reminded

Maj. Gen. Juanito Cabayao, Army vice-commander, yesterday reminded soldiers assigned in Western and Central Visayas of their duty to uphold and obey the chain of command at the installation of Maj. Gen. Jovenal Narcise as commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division on Thursday at Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz.

"By doing so, you can preserve the gains you have worked hard for over the years in the two Visayas regions," Cabayao also said.

Narcise, Army chief of staff, replaces Brig.Gen. Nestor Ochoa who had been designated as the general-officer-in-charge of the 3ID almost two weeks after Maj. Gen. Victor Ibrado was re-assigned to Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, to assume leadership of the Army's Special Operations Command.

In his speech, Cabayao said the Philippine Army will continue to provide the 3ID with material and manpower requirements needed in the fight against insurgents and other lawless groups in the Visayas. Soldiers assigned in the Visayas have been provided with transient facilities in Iloilo and housing lots at Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz.

With the morale, capability and other enhancement programs in-place, we are confident that the troops in the region will benefit from them and become more inspired to perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively, Cabayao said.

Military records show that Narcise, aside from being the Army chief of staff, had serve as commanding general of the AFP General Headquarters and Headquarters Support Command, deputy SOCOM chief, commander of the 702nd Infantry Brigade and became the controversial commander of Task Force Zamboanga in early 2000.

Cabayao acknowledged the vital role of local government units and communities in the fight against insurgents in the Visayas

"It is our hope that our partners will remain supportive of the AFP's objectives and peace initiatives in this region," he added.*GPB

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3 women nabbed for
swindling in Cadiz

Three women who reportedly attempted to swindle an establishment were arrested by the police in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, at about 3 p.m. Thursday.

Arrested were Maria Jesusa Sayson Dosong of Municipal Subdivision, Sagay City; Alma Chavez Cabahug of Lopez-Vito, Brgy. Zone-6; and Rowena Diploma, 51, married, of Pilar Street, both in Cadiz.

They were nabbed for attempting to swindle the CYM Financing Inc. at Abelarde Street, Zone 3, in Cadiz.

Cadiz PNP head Chief Insp. Jefferson Descallar yesterday said Dosong who reportedly used another name, applied for a pension loan of P60,000 in the establishment.

Fortunately, Christine Asuelo Pabalan, 34, loan officer of the company, discovered that the suspect was using falsified documents, and this prompted her to call the police.

Descallar said the suspects had victimized the same establishment twice sometime in February. He added that the suspects pretended to be SSS pensioners applying for a loan, but used fictitious names and documents.

Recovered from Dosong were several identification cards, and a Nokia 3315 cellphone, SSS check, vouchers and several documents from Diploma, police reports said.

Dosong is now detained in the lock-up cell of the Cadiz PNP, while Diploma and Cabahug were released as advised by the Cadiz City Prosecutor's office, Descallar said.*DMG

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'Shootout' victim found
positive in paraffin test

Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, provincial police director of Negros Occidental, yesterday disclosed that one of the victims in the alleged shootout with government troopers in Brgy. Minapasok, Calatrava, Norberto Gallego, alias Boboy, a former CAFGU member, was found positive for gunpowder nitrates.

Franco said this bolstered claims of soldiers that there was a shootout between them and Gallego and his nephew, Crisanto Gallego Tayoba.

A Squire Bingham .38 caliber revolver with three live ammunition and three spent shells allegedly recovered from Gallego, were turned over by the soldiers to the police.

Franco, however, said they are still conducting an in-depth investigation on the conflicting versions of the incident.

The two detachment commanders, Sgts. Rene Maribao and Artecy Badaran - who led the combined teams of soldiers and CAFGUs who figured in the alleged shootout, were placed under technical arrest and disarmed of their firearms by their superiors, on orders of Brig. Gen. Gregorio Fajardo, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander. Franco said Tayobo has a pending arrest warrant for robbery with homicide in Quezon City.

On the other hand, Gallego, alias Boboy, also had a pending arrest for homicide issued by the San Carlos RTC in 1993. However, the case was temporarily dismissed for failure of the complainant to attend court hearings, Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, San Carlos police chief, said.

A certain Elynnel Gallego, alias Amay, a relative of the victims, has a pending case of murder in La Carlota City, and a cash reward of P300,000 has been offered for his arrest, the police said.

The police Crime Laboratory, on the other hand, has not yet issued the results of the paraffin test of Tayoba, as well as the ballistics examination on firearms issued to the government troopers who figured in the incident.

The police is set to file murder charges on two counts and frustrated murder against Maribao, Badaran, and several CAFGU members assigned at the Bug-ang and Marcelo detachments, next week.*GPB

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