The top 95 stories from July 2013 to July 2014

(last of two parts)

6 - P200T taken in La Nueva robbery

Two men enter the La Nueva store in Barangay Inayawan, rob the cashier and get away with P200,000. Lax security was blamed behind the incident because the robbers entered the store even though wearing caps and sunglasses. They have yet to be found.

8 - Property giant hikes investment to P30B

Listed property giant Megaworld Corp. increased its investment for the Mactan Newtown project from P20 billion to P30 billion to develop the 28.8-hectare township for the next five to seven years. This after Megaworld acquired a property facing the historic Mactan Shrine and has partnered with Landmark, Inc. to develop the 11-hectare beachfront property (formerly Portofino Beach), said Noli D. Hernandez, Megaworld Cebu Properties, Inc. president.

8 - Trees go missing from S. Osmeña Boulevard

The Cebu City Council calls for an investigation after 88 indigenous trees disappear from the center island of Sergio Osmeña Boulevard during road repairs. WT Construction Inc. has been charged for illegally removing the trees.

8 - The iPads for city executives

Public outcry follows after Mayor Michael Rama announced he bought iPads for city officials at the cost of P1.4 million. Rama would later apologize for his controversy, but the official still got their gadgets. Rama said he wanted the officials to stay connected all the time.

9 - Tornado hits Mambaling

A freak tornado damages 30 houses in Barangay Alaska Mambaling after forming offshore around 2 p.m. the day before. No serious injuries were reported. The tornado later went to barangays Punta Princesa before dissipating over Barangay Tisa.

11- 7 dead, 24 hurt in Carcar truck crash

Seven people were killed while 24 others were injured after the Fuso truck they were riding hit a concrete perimeter fence then crashed into a house along the national road in Sitio Mabugnaw, Barangay Guadalupe, Carcar City.

14 - Minglanilla parish wants traditional ‘Sugat’

Reverend Fr. Arnie Visitacion asks Minglanilla parishioners to support holding the annual “Sugat” at the church grounds, reasoning that the celebration has become irrelevant and adulterated since being held in the sports complex.

In the end, the Sugat was still held in the sports complex, but next year it may be returned to the church grounds.

20 - Hospital’s ATM tampered

Employees of a hospital try to withdraw their salaries only to find out the ATM machines inside their workplace has been tampered with.

Police suspect the perpetrators installed a scanner in the machine and got the ATM card information. Arrests have yet to be made.

21 - Briton shot dead by his own guard

Dive shop owner Anthony Gilchrist is shot dead by his own security guard Melchor Alciso Jr. Alciso would later admit he shot the victim after an argument. He also said he was fed up with the victims always scolding him for showing up for work drunk. The suspect has been charged for the killing.

24 - JVR kin tagged in CSU member mauling

A brother of Talisay City Mayor Johnny De los Reyes, James was accused of mauling a member of the Civil Security Unit who questioned the brother’s intervention in their operations.

James allegedly engaged in an argument with a certain Jun-Jun dela Rosa, a contractual worker assigned at the CSU, before beating him.

25 - Dumajug Mayor Nelson Garcia suspended

The Cebu Provincial Board preventively suspends Dumanjug Mayor Nelson Garcia for 60 days over the appointment of the municipal council secretary.

The case stemmed from the administrative complaint filed by Dumanjug Vice Mayor Efren Gica against Garcia for abuse of alleged authority and misconduct in office for allegedly encroaching on the powers of the former. Garcia has appealed the suspension

27 - Azkals meet Tigers

The Queen City of the South, through the Cebu Football Association, hosted another international football friendly match featuring the Philippines Azkals against the Malaysia Tigers. The two sides fought to a scoreless draw for the fourth time in a row.

May 2014

3 - City warned to brace vs heat

After the intense cold last January, Cebu City warns residents to prepare for worsening warm weather. They were, however, also assured the water supply is still stable.

4 - Baby’s mouth sealed with tape

The photo of a baby whose mouth was sealed with plaster by a nurse at the Cebu Puericulture and Maternity House Inc. causes uproar after it is posted in social media. The parents and guardians of four more babies whose mouths were also sealed with tape would later come forward. The case took a bizarre turn a month later when the hospital claimed the parents had signed an agreement, something that the latter denied. The couple has since stopped attacking the hospital and commenting on the issue.

13 - City vehicle used illegally

Mayor Michael Rama says he show no mercy on city worker who were caught using a government vehicle to go to a bar downtown. Those held responsible have been charged but one of them has not showed up for work since the incident.

14 - German shot dead in Alcoy

Hans Jurgen Hesse is shot dead by the security guard of the subdivision he lives in after being mistaken for a thief. Security guard Jerome Niere would later say he thought he saw someone trying to burn down the office of the subdivision and rushed to the area. He shot Hesse after suddenly running into him around a corner. He has been charged for the killing.

23 - 3 Koreans found dead in restaurant

Three Koreans, two of them women, are found dead inside a restaurant in Lapu-Lapu City. The bodies of Ho An, his wife Kim Soonok and daughter Young Mi An were found with stab wounds. Another Korean with self-inflicted wounds was found barely alive at the scene, Young Mi An’s husband Kim Se Wong. He is now considered the primary suspect of the crime.

June 2014

10 - Shabu shipped in sandals

Two women were arrested after they received a parcel containing sandals with shabu worth P8 million inside them. The PDEA had been aware from the beginning there would be drugs in the package and asked the private shipper to let the consignee receive the item so they could be arrested. The shipment allegedly came from Muntinlupa City.

13 - Shark meat seized

Almost 500 kilos of thresher shark meat was intercepted Capitol’s Anti-illegal Fishing Task Force in Naga City on board an Isuzu truck reportedly owned by a company that makes tempura and fish balls. Most of the meat was contained in 170 packs but there was also part of the shark torso in plain view. Charges have been filed against the driver of the truck.

13 - The King is dead

Hotelier Richard King is shot dead in his office in Davao City. The reward for information leading to the conviction of the killers climbed up to P1.3 million in a matter of days as police shifted between business, grudge and third-party angles to the crime. Four men have been charged in connection with the killing, one of them is a police official. The alleged assailant said he was told he was going to kill a “drug lord” and did not know until the day after that he had killed King.

20 - PUJ strike heaves thousands stranded

A drivers group protesting against a joint DOTC-LTO-LTFRB resolution raising fines for various offenses stage a strike, leaving thousands of commuters without a ride to work or home. The strike was later lifted the same day after Mayor Michael Rama promised to plead with the concerned government agencies on their behalf.

23 - 39 hurt in bus accident

Thirty-nine people are hurt after a Ceres bus fell on its side in after one if its wheels exploded in Dawis Norte, Carmen town. The wrecked bus caused traffic along the road for hours before it was pushed aside and later towed away by the bus company.

27 - Measles outbreak in jail

A measles outbreak hits the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. Infected inmates are not extended visitation rights to control the outbreak. The number would rise in the next few days but would later taper down and lessen. Experts said the disease had been contained and controlled.

28 - American shot dead in Dalaguete town

Stephen Ray Gornto, a former member of a branch of the US special forces, is shot dead outside his house in Barangay Balud, Dalaguete. Police are eyeing a grudge angle into his killing. Police now have a cartographic sketch of the alleged assailant but no arrests have been made.

July 2014

7 - Priest insults teenage single mom during baptism

What was supposed to be the joyous event took a turn for the bizarre after Fr. Romeo Obach chose the occasion to lecture the single teenage mother of the baby calling her wayward, lustful, sinful and misguided, among other insults. Social media lit up with comments after a video of his misplaced sermon was posted online. Obach and his congregation later apologized for his behavior but the teenage mom said she cannot forgive him and is mulling charges. She later changed her mind when Obach personally visited her in her house to ask forgiveness.

12 - Australian jihadist arrested

Robert Edward Cerantonio is arrested in Lapu-Lapu City at the behest of the Australian government. Cerantonio, a Muslim convert, espouses jihad online and calls on fellow Muslims to join ISIS in establishing a caliphate in Syria and Iraq. While police said they did not find any evidence linking him to terror attacks at the time of his arrest he is still being held for being a “person of interest”.