NEWS BRIEFS

P500,000 bounty up for killers of village chief

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) offered a P500,000 reward for any information that would lead to the capture of the killers of a village chief in Pangasinan province. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos went to the wake of Melinda “Tonet” Morillo, 60, chair of Barangay Poblacion in Mangaldan town who was reelected for another term following the Oct. 30 elections. Investigators said she was attacked by gunmen on motorcycle at 6 p.m. on Thursday, as she was driving her sports utility vehicle while heading to her second house in Barangay Tebag. Morillo suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead on arrival at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City. Probers have yet to determine the motive for the killing.—DEXTER CABALZA Lawmakers seek longer terms for barangay officials

Just a month after the Oct. 30 barangay and youth polls, two Mindanao lawmakers filed measures that sought longer terms for elected barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials. Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Bukidnon Rep. Jose Manuel Alba agreed that the current three-year terms are short and a five-year term is just right for barangay and youth officials to implement programs for their communities. Last Nov. 28, Rodriguez filed House Bill No. 9629 while Alba filed HB No. 9630 on the same day. Both bills sought to amend Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code. The Oct. 30 polls elected a total of 42,001 barangay chairpersons, 42,001 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairpersons, 297,007 councilors and 297,007 members of the SK in 42,001 barangays across the country. However, they will only serve until 2025, unless RA No. 7160 is amended as proposed by the two lawmakers. —JULIE M. AURELIO