A mass wedding of 80 couples will be officiated by Mayor Jose Montelibano at 9 a.m. today at Sen. Jose C. Locsin Cultural and Civic Center , Silay City , Negros Ocicdental, a press release form the city said.

The program called “Paghigugmaanay Nga Dalisay" is in coordination with the Local Civil Registrar of Silay.

Couples are from Brgy. Lantad, who have lived as husband and wife without marriage for the last five years or more, the press release said.

Educational inputs on pre-marital parenting were provided by the City Health Department, City Welfare Development and the Department of Agriculture.

The wedding in a flower garden setting is facilitated by the Silay City Tourism Division, and conceptualized by Achilles Corteza III, and Councilor Linda Caja

City civil registrar Lino Quevenco said couples from the 16 other barangays of Silay will be scheduled for mass wedding, the press release added.*

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Media groups ask SC to transfer
trials on killing of 2 broadcasters

ILOILO CITY – Media organizations have asked the Supreme Court to transfer the venue of the trial of the cases of two murdered Aklan broadcasters to Manila for security reasons.

In their letter dated February 5 to Chief Justice Reynato Puno, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Center for Community Journalism and Development, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Philippine News and Philippine Press Institute asked the High Court to transfer the hearings of the murder cases of Herson Hinolan and Rolando Ureta from Kalibo in Aklan to the Makati Regional Trial Court.

The groups said that the transfer is necessary to avoid a miscarriage of justice and to dispel the impression that a culture of impunity encouraged by government inaction makes the Philippines the most dangerous place for journalists.

They said prosecution witnesses have been reluctant to come out and testify for fear of retaliation because the accused have “clout and influence” in the area.

“To date the masterminds of the crime remain free as none of the law enforcement agencies dare to enforce the warrant of arrest against them and/or conduct further investigation to shore up the prosecution's evidence,” they said.

Ureta was gunned down on January 3, 2001 by while riding a motorcycle by two suspects on a motorcycle while on his way to his parents' house along the national highway in Barangay Bagtu, Lezo town, Aklan, around 7 km west of Kalibo.

He was program director of radio station dyKR of Radio Mindanao Network and hosted the nightly program “Agong Nightwatch.” He was investigating the proliferation of illegal gambling and illegal drugs in the province when he was killed.

Gerson Sonio, a balut vendor, has tagged Jessie Ticar and Amador Raz as Ureta's gunmen. The suspects have repeatedly denied involvement in the killing.

The case against the two suspects was dismissed by the Aklan Provincial Prosecutors Office but was reversed by the Department of Justice last year.

The media groups said recent evidence show that influential government officials may be behind the killing of Ureta.

Hinolan, station manager of radio station dyIN Bombo Radyo in Kalibo and host of the station's morning program “Bombohanay Bigtime,” died on Nov. 15, 2004 of multiple gunshot wounds, two days after was a one gunman repeatedly shot him while was urinating near a carnival in Kalibo.

Witnesses have identified Alfredo “Fred” Arcenio, former mayor of Lezo town, as the gunman. He has repeatedly denied involvement in Hinolan's murder and had claimed that he was in Lezo 8 km west of Kalibo during the shooting.

The DOJ also reversed a resolution of the Aklan Provincial Prosecutors Office charging Arcenio for homicide and upgraded the charge to murder.

Arcenio, a former Army intelligence officer formerly assigned to the 47 th Infantry Battalion, has gone into hiding after the Kalibo Regional Trial Court issued a warrant for his arrest on September 7, 2006. The DOJ has issued a hold departure order against him.

The Philippine National Police has offered a P100,000 cash reward for his arrest but he remains at large despite repeated reports that he is in the province and even in cockpits with friends..

The media groups said the situation in Aklan do not instill confidence in the mind of potential witnesses, court personnel and complainants that their security will not be compromised if trial is held in the area.*NPB

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