'Infocast' program launched in Cebu City

CEBU CITY – A wealthy Filipino-chinese man David Lim Jr, who shot and wounded a nurse during a traffic altercation here, defended himself from his accuser, saying the victim and his companions allegedly tried to attack him.

The incident occurred on March 19 where Lim shot Ephraim Nunal during the heated exchange of words which were all caught on a car camera tailing the victim’s vehicle. The clip was also used by the police in filing criminal charges against Lim, the nephew of Cebu businessman Peter Lim tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte as an alleged drug lord.

Lim’s family has offered P300,000 to anyone who can provide them the full video clip of the shooting incident which will show that the accused acted in self defense when he shot Nunal with a .22-caliber hand gun.

The legal counsel of Lim, Lawyer Orlando Salatandre Jr., also said his client only acted in self defense. Lim surrendered March 21 to Chief Superintendent Noli Talino, the regional police director. CEBU CITY – The local government has revived the Infocast program with Smart Communications to beef up its communication efforts.

The program is the initiative of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.

Greg Senados, a spokesman for the local government, said Smart Infocast is a web-based communications solutions that allows the city to send warnings, advisories, preparedness tips, and important announcements to over 25,000 subscribers daily.

He said the program, which started March 19, has members of the barangay disasters, health, department heads and members of the Cebu Association of City and Municipal Public Information Officers.

Atty. Mary Jane Paredes, corporate communications head of Smart, said others that also availed the program are Cebu Provincial Government, Carcar City, and Danao City.

Smart Infocast is the mobile network’s support to disaster risk reduction efforts of the Philippines particularly with the Office of Civil Defense and was initially laid out in 2012.

Currently, the Infocast has more than 800 users and 2 million subscribers.

Other provinces and cities that use Smart Infocast include Aurora, Batangas, Quezon, Albay, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Iloilo, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro and General Santos.

The government agencies that are currently using the program include the Philippine Information Agency, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Education, Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, Department of Health and Philippine National Police - Maritime Group.