3 gunmen in Lanao del Sur governor ambush nabbed; PNP says case solved

MARAWI CITY/CAMP CRAME, Quezon City

Three suspects in the ambush of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. have been arrested prompting the Philippine National Police (PNP) to declare that the case is now considered “solved.”

PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the three suspects apprehended are known members of the Gandawali group engaged in various illegal activities in the bordering towns between Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon.

The anao del ur police identified the suspects as Palawan Salen Macalbo, 34; Nagac Dimatangkil Baratomo, 38; and Amirodin Dimantingkal Mandoc, 29.

He said the group is involved in marijuana cultivation, robbery, and gunrunning.

According to Azurin, police investigation showed that the suspects sought refuge in a Lumad community in Kalilangan after staging the shooting in Maguing, Lanao del Sur on Feb. 17.

Adiong was wounded in the ambush in Kalilangan, Bukidnon but his aides were killed. A day after the shooting, one of the suspects identified as tin was fatally shot in an armed encounter with local police.

The Area Police Command-Western Mindanao (APC-WM) in Zamboanga City earlier said the three suspects were arrested by operatives of the APC-WM and APC-Eastern Mindanao around 4:30 a.m. last Friday at Barangay Ninoy Aquino in Kalilangan town, Bukidnon.

The Lanao del Sur police said Palawan Salen Macalbo, an alleged member of the Gandawali crime group, has standing warrants of arrest for murder and frustrated murder issued by a court in Marawi City on February 2019.

No bail was recommended by the court for the murder case and P200,000 bail has been set for the frustrated murder case.

Carcar City declares state of calamity amid ASF infection

CEBU CITY African swine fever has hit the pigs in Carcar City prompting authorities to order the culling the affected pigs.

Culling started in Barangays Can-asujan, Guadalupe and Poblacion 1 of Carcar City affecting close to hogs.

But Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia ordered a stop to the culling in the affected areas, stressing that the province will come up with its own procedures in determining ASF infection and how it is managed, veering away from the Department of Agriculture (DA) Bureau of Ani- mal Industry regulations.

In giving the order, the lady governor said there was no massive death of pigs in Cebu, adding that the infection in Carcar may have just been “common swine fever or common swine cholera” which are not as deadly to hogs. said. kay i ediately stop the culling,’” Garcia said after meeting with mayors and other concerned agencies such as the DA and the National Meat Inspection Agency.

“We will now do our own policy as what we did during C -1 where we

It was reported that both Baratomo and Mandoc are facing charges for illegal possession of explosive which is in violation of Republic Act 9516.

Confiscated fro the three suspected gun en were an 16 ri e, a grenade, a ri e grenade, and an 16 magazine with eight ammunition.

Four of Adiong’s aides were killed while the governor and another staff were in ured during the a bush. eanwhile, the confir ed that business rivalry is among the possible motives behind the ambush on Aparri vice mayor Rommel Alameda last Feb. 19.

Alameda was among the six people killed in a shooting incident that took place in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya.

The police said it will continue its operations against loose firear s, organi ed cri e groups, and disbandment of private armed groups.

Tanker sinks off Oriental Mindoro, PCG acts on oil spill

, riental indoro The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) started the mechanical recovery of spilled oil in waters off au an town in riental indoro province following the sinking of the MT Princess Empress on Tuesday.

The PCG said MTUG Titan, a tugboat carrying oil spill recovery equipment, reached the area at around 2 p.m.

It was carrying members of the PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Unit (MEPU), DENR-Environmental Manage- ment Bureau (EMB), and Malayan Towage and Salvage Corporation (MTSC).

In addition to a diesel oil spill spanning 6 kilometers (km) long and 4 km. wide, it confir ed the presence of a uch thicker and darker oil spill at about 7.4 nautical iles southwest off alingawan oint, Naujan.

“MTUG Titan has started spraying oil dispersants in the area,” it said.

The oil spill was confir ed after the PCG MEPU observed black and thick oil with a strong odor from the collected water samples in the area.