Dec. 19- 24, 2016
Drug suspect shot in son’ s Xmas party
By Najib Montera Cubio
Hilongos, Leyte – Children, parents and teachers scrambled around the grounds of Hilongos South Central School in Hilongos town after a loud bang from an unknown caliber rang out inside the school campus during a Christmas party last week.
The victim was identified as Neil Roy Faustino 34 yrs. old a native of Brgy. Pontod, Hilongos, Leyte. Faustino suffered a lone gunshot wound in his back hitting his spinal column which immediately brought him down. Faustino had just married the day before.
According to the police, Faustino was with his wife attending the Christmas party of his son in Hilongos South Central School. While watching the program, an unidentified lone gunman approached Faustino from behind and shot him at point blank range, hitting his back.
Witnesses said the lone gunman tried to finish him off with another shot. However his wife blocked the way of the assailant, thus forcing him to withdraw and rode away in his getaway motorcycle parked just outside of the school.
ORMOC CITY- Commander of Ormoc Police Station 1, Police Chief Insp. Omar Ruel B. Cartalla, told last Tuesday The Weekly Vanguard that his cops will be confiscating illegal firecrackers displayed on sidewalks and in stores here.
So far, only two stores owned by Muslim traders here have the license to sell, the rest being illegal. He said it is not only police station 1 that is doing this but all the three stations under the command of City Dir. SSupt. Ramil Ramirez.
He said like other places in the country, they are only implemented the RA 7183, known as an“ act regulating the sale, manufacture, distribution and use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.
“ Definitely, atomic big triangulo and super lolo and their equivalent are prohibited and are considered illegal under the law,” he said.
The explosive content of these firecrackers“ endanger life and limb” of Ormocanons. He said they are one with the public call of the Department of Health to make zero injury in celebrating the Christmas and New Year.
PO3 Catindoy of the Hilongos police said that they are now reviewing the shots of the two CCTV cameras mounted nearby the school, hoping to identify the suspect. Catindoy also said they are looking into the angle of drug trade because Faustino is a newly identified drug pusher in Hilongos town.
However, the police are not closing out other possible reasons for Faustino’ s murder attempt. But the victim’ s relatives and friends are ruling out the possibility of drugs. Although they admit that Faustino was into drugs, he was not involved in peddling the same. They said that Faustino can never be a drug peddler as he is always out of money and is even asking from his friends to buy a stick of cigarette. His relatives and friends strongly believe that love triangle is the motive in the murder attempt of Faustino for he is known in the town as a womanizer.
Faustino is recuperating from his gunshot wound in a private hospital in Ormoc City, but is reported to be paralyzed from his waist down because of the bullet lodged in his spinal column.
Police to confiscate illegal firecrackers
Ormoc Police Station 1, Police Chief Insp. Omar Ruel B. Cartalla:“ No to sale of illegal pyrotechnics”
Persons who violate the law will be punished by a fine of not less than P20,000 or more than P30,000, or imprisonment of not less than 6 months nor more than 1 year, or both such fines and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.( By Jun Tarroza)
Vanguard
3
A letter from the Philippines
Bormgon, Samar, P. 1., Christmas Eve, 1900.
Dear Friend Hendricks: Received your letter and the Bulletin for October. I was delighted to hear that Prof. Murphy has affiliated himself with Northwestern. We arrived at this place on the 24th of November and found the town one mass of flames. The insurgents had set fire to all the best houses and a church that was erected 200 years ago.
Our gun-boat, the“ Bemington,” shelled the entire beach and town. We landed 500 men and then tried to extinguish the flames, but the heat was too intense to accomplish this end. We encountered obstacles in our entry into the town, but the worst were the“ pit-falls” and“ spring guns.” I will describe briefly these implements of war.
There were seven pit-falls in the main roads. Each pitfall is arranged as a checker-board. Each pit measured about four feet square and five feet deep. Standing erect in each pit were fifteen to twenty sharp-pointed bamboo sticks. Covering the pit was first and lowermost an interlacement of light bamboo sticks, then dried palm leaves, then dirt and finally vegetation and trailing vine.
The recent rains had made depressions corresponding to each pit, and this was observed by us in due time, so that no one was hurt. A spring gun, like Gaul, is divided into three parts. First, a board, about six feet square, is placed about three feet { rom the ground, and in a secluded spot along the road. Secondly on this board is placed six or seven poisoned arrows. A trigger is also in connection with the board and leading from the trigger is a vine which is placed across the road and when the victim’ s foot comes in contact • with said vine the arrows dart forth.
We had a narrow escape from these guns, but fortunately no one was injured. The insurgents have fled, the pits are all filled, and the guns have gone up in fire. The white-winged dove of peace hovers over us once more. The native can’ t understand that we are only“ taking up the white man’ s burden” and offering benevolent. assimilation. The report that“ the war is all over in the Philippines” is correct, i. e., there are uprisings almost every day in some part of the islands.
We are very thankful that the Filipino is not a Boer. The insurgent is not brave and has to resort to unfair methods of warfare. He will come in the dead of night and cast his spears through some window or with his bolo, • a long knife, he will attack some sentry on out-post duty. He will attack a party in broad day-light if his forces greatly exceed ours, but he has yet to face a charge. He will remain in the trench and fire all day, but when we make a charge then Mr. Filipino takes to the tall timbers.
The health of the 1st has been very good, indeed. We have lost but one man and that was a case of pernicious anemia. At present we are having an epidemic of dengue fever, but nothing of a serious nature. The“ Dhobie( spelling?) Itch” is wide-spread and very obstinate. It resembles ringworm in appearance. Gastro-intestinal diseases and of these especially“ diarrhea” is a common affair. Dysentery exists but fortunately all our cases turned out well. Malaria is not as prevalent as you would expect.
I am very well and the tropics seem to agree with me, but I am very anxious to see a snow-drift. I hope your health is the best, but if it is not I would prescribe a winter’ s sojourn in Samar. We have the Pacific within a stone’ s throw and hardly a day passes without a dip in the briny deep. The beach is the finest in the world. Please extend my kindest regards to all my classmates and friends. Wishing you a most happy and prosperous new year, I am,
Sincerely yours, GUSTAVUS I. HOGUE, 1st Infantry, U. S. Army.