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Crime prevention
It's good that our policemen are conducting checkpoints in several corners of the city during night time. This may prevent criminal elements from pursuing their plans of victimizing unsuspecting individuals. Nowadays, petty crimes like snatching and pickpocketing are very rampant. A lot of victims have reported of snatchers riding on motorcycles swiftly taking their bags. Also, incidents of stealing of motorcycles in the city have increased. In fact, The News Today is a victim of that. Last Thursday, January 19, its motorcycle (a maroon Honda Dream with plate number FH 7419) used for delivering newspapers was stolen while parked across Iloilo City Development Bank in Rizal Street, city proper. We immediately reported the incident, which happened quite early in the morning (around 8:30), to the police. Unfortunately, the motorcycle was never recovered as of this writing.
Definitely, the culprits will make sure to modify the motorcycle before bringing it on the road again otherwise they will be caught. So we don't expect to recover it anymore. On a lighter note, the culprits took with them bundles of The News Today's Thursday edition which was supposed to be delivered to the newsstands and the subscribers. They must be disposing the newspapers now.
I hope our policemen will continue intensifying its checkpoints and police visibility especially now that the two-day highlight of the Dinagyang Festival is just a few days away. Preemptive measures should be put in place to ensure the safety of visitors as well as local spectators of the city's biggest event.
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This year's Dinagyang has an extended route with the placing of the Judging Area No. 4 in Corner Mabini-De leon streets, just beside the Iloilo Terminal Market. While, the IDFI, especially Mr. Ben Jimena its executive director, has a noble intention in transferring the fourth judging area from its original place in Quezon-Ledesma Streets it might have overlooked the effect of an extended parade route on the tribe participants. You can just imagine the agony they will bear until they reach the last judging area (judging area No. 5) in front of Gaisano Guanco. In other words don't expect a satisfactory performance of tribes in the last judging area.
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For the first time the welcome activity for the arrival of Sto. Niño de Cebu last Friday was so magnificent. Compared with the previous years this year's welcome activity for the oldest Sto. Niño in the country, that still came from Cebu, was felt by almost everybody. A lot of groups have joined the motorcade from the Iloilo Airport to the city proper. Also students of Catholic schools along the motorcade route have shown their support by lining up beside the street and throw confetti and flowers and waving flaglets to the Sto. Niño image. To the organizers of this year's welcome activity for the Sto. Niño congratulations! You've made a good job. Hope the same will happen in the succeeding years.