BACOLOD’S MOST WANTED ARRESTED
FOR being in a wrong place at a wrong time, Bacolod City ’s most wanted was arrested by the police on Sunday, following a shooting incident in the city proper, police reports said on Monday.

Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., Western Visayas police director, identified the most wanted person accidentally arrested by the police as Ariel de la Cruz, 32, alias Ruel Rotas. The police official said that the suspect was nabbed by elements of Bacolod City police on Sunday at the northbound terminal in Barangay Banago. Before his arrest, Cruz said that the elements of Bacolod City responded to an incident at the terminal where one Pablo Portillo, 39, of Victorias City, was shot and killed by a certain Renanter Francisco from Talisay City. De la Cruz, who was armed with a homemade shotgun, was also at the scene, when he tried to shoot the responding policemen prompting one of the police officers to shot him, Cruz said. ANTHONY VARGAS
 
ILOILO READY FOR YOUTH GAMES
ILOILO CITY: This highly urbanized southern city in Visayas region, together with the Iloilo provincial government and the Department of Education, are all set to host the 2012 Philippine Youth Games, popularly known as Batang Pinoyon December 5 to 8, 2012 to be participated by 1,778 athletes and sports official from 130 local governments in the country. Spearheaded and organized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the games for local government unit-based ages 15 and below, mostly from the elementary grades, will present sports action in 14 sports disciplines. The competition will be on arnis, archery, athletics, swimming, basketball, badminton, chess, table tennis, lawn tennis, boxing, karatedo, tae kwon do, wushu and triathlon. PSC Commissioner Jollie Gomez said that the revival of games will focus on talent identification in the grassroots qualified to be enrolled in the proposed regional sports academy. Batang Pinoy plans to adopt athletes for further training earmark to compete in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. LYDIA C. PENDON

‘MISREPORTED SURVEY IS AN ATTACK’
ILOILO CITY: Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said that the misreported survey result of the Social Weather Station is an attack against Iloilo City and its people. “I am just protecting the good name and integrity of Iloilo City but I do not begrudge the survey of SWS. The column of SWS chairman Mahar Mangahas that appeared at the Philippine Daily Inquirer last November 24, 2012, distinctly shows a misreporting of survey results,“ Mabilog said. The controversial SWS survey was conducted for the first time in Metro Iloilo on May 24 to 27, 2012, with a total of 100 interviews of 33 large businesses and 67 small and medium businesses. The businessmen gave a rating of 47 percent for Iloilo public sector and 85 percent in the level of government where corruption happens. However, Mabilog vowed to work harder to achieve a corruption-free city hall after SWS survey results showed a high-level public sector corruption in Metro Iloilo from the perception of the business community. LYDIA C. PENDON

ALBAY CELEBRATES YULETIDE WITH PILI
LEGAZPI CITY: A 50-foot tall Christmas tree, wrapped with abaca fiber, adorned or planted with 5,000 pili plantlets, was lighted on Monday evening as the Albayanos celebrate the Karanganhan Festival, which marked the green yuletide season. This Christmas tree with hanging garden promote zero fireworks, no plastic and smoke free province, the first of its kind in the country that could be included in the Guinness Book of Record, according to former senator and now an eco-warrior chairman, Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, whose mother is a native of Libon, Albay province. The lighting of green Christmas tree was graced by Zubiri and Rep. Cynthia Villar. This Christmas tree is alive with the soft swaying leaves of thousands of pili saplings spread out all over its body in several tiers with dazzling stars adorning its body. Piliand the abaca, are two of the province’s top agricultural products, where these products have given name and recall to Albay. RHAYDZ BARCIA