Thursday, November 29, 2007

SPORTS

Guv Tells Cattle-Rustlers: Reform And Engage in Sports

By ALEX P. VIDAL


‘CONTINUE TO BE A ROLE MODEL’. Iloilo Governor Niel D. Tupas, Sr. (right) congratulates RP minimumweight champion Denver Cuello of Brgy. Tuy-an, Cabatuan town “for being a role model of the youth.” (Photo By Alex P. Vidal)

Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr. has urged members of cattle-rustling syndicate in Iloilo, especially in Brgy. Helicon, Cabatuan town to stop their nefarious activities, “reform and engage in sports.”
“They should engage in sports activities so that they can give glory to the province instead of shame and scandal,” Tupas declared on Thursday (Nov. 22).
Tupas’ challenge came after he learned that the reigning Philippine champion in the minimumweight boxing division, Denver Cuello, is from Brgy. Tuy-an, Cabatuan.
In a courtesy call in his office at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol, Tupas praised the diminutive 20-year-old Ilonggo boxer “for bringing glory to the province of Iloilo.”
The 73-year-old governor urged Cuello to “remain as role model and inspiration to the youths in order to send a signal to cattle-rustlers in Cabatuan to reform and engage in sports activities.”
Cuello, fighting for Aljoe Jaro Boxing Stable in Binangonan, Rizal, went home in Cabatuan for the Nov. 18 burial of his mother who died before his scheduled defense of the national crown versus Cebu’s Rollen Del Castillo in Binangonan on October 28, 2007.
Tupas admitted, “cattle-rustling is one of the major problems in Iloilo. He has upped the ante for members of the syndicate who continue to disturb peace and order in the province despite his warning for them to stop their illegal activities.
Cabatuan gained notoriety as “cattle-rustling capital of Iloilo” even before Tupas assumed office as Iloilo governor in 2001. The PNP was able to neutralize the syndicate led by the Prion brothers after they were killed in a shootout with lawmen,
However, remnants of the notorious group continue to operate in Cabatuan and in nearby municipalities.
“I have asked the PNP to double its efforts and arrest the remaining members of cattle-rustling syndicate in Cabatuan,” said Tupas whose number one priority, he said, is peace and order. /MP

No comments: