NEEDING REPAIR. This ceiling of a classroom in the Iloilo Central Elementary School — damaged by rainwater dripping from the building’s roof every time it rains — needs to be fixed, especially that, in a month, pupils are going back to school. JOSELITO VILLASIS/PN

CERTIFIED ELECTED. Arthur Defensor Sr. (2nd from right) and Raul “Boboy” Tupas (4th from right) win the gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial races, respectively, in Iloilo. With them during their proclamation yesterday are Provincial Election Supervisor Jessie Suarez (center), the Provincial Board of Canvassers (BOC) chair, and BOC members Viola Villanueva and Atty. Marjorie Manikan. GUIJO DUEÑAS/PN

AKLAN WINNERS. Proclaimed winners in Aklan are re-elected Vice Gov. Gabrielle “Billie” Calizo-Quimpo (2nd from left), Joeben Miraflores (3rd from left) for governor and Teodorico Haresco (4th from left) for congressman. Quimpo got 117,605 votes while her opponent, Victor Garcia, got only 90,408. Miraflores got 123,034 while his opponent, Jun Legaspi, got 98,974. Haresco garnered 105,971 while Antonio Maming got 96,502 votes. Also in the photo is Provincial Election Supervisor Robert Salazar (left).

Masadya nga nagapaligo ining kabataan sa suba sa bahin sang Muelle Loney sa Syudad sang Iloilo. Ginakalitan lamang nila sini ang mga amo sini nga tinion kay sa indi madugay magabukas naman ang klase. (Laragway ni Joselito Villasis)

WORRIED, TERRIFIED. Villagers who left their houses amid the skirmish between government troopers and rebels in the hinterlands of Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental, faced Captain Cresencio Gargar (right) of the Philippine Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade in a dialogue. Some sought refuge in the barangay hall in Brgy. Fatima (in photo) while some settled with relatives in Brgy. San Pedro. Two civilians and two soldiers were killed in the encounters that started on May 13, the mid-term election day, the Army said. Clearing operations continue, it added. 302IB PHOTO

SHOPPERS CHECK various kinds of footwear for sale along Iloilo City’s downtown sidewalk.  But they should be forewarned. A toxics watchdog reported detecting excessive levels of lead, , a potent neurotoxin, in some fake as well as branded slippers. It also found in them excessive levels of antimony, arsenic, cadmium and chromium. Lead, a brain-damaging chemical, has been linked to reproductive, developmental, behavioral and neurological problems, including birth defects, attention deficit disorder, language and speech difficulties and lower Intelligence Quotient. Lead exposure occurs through the ingestion, inhalation or skin contact with air, water, food, soil and consumer products containing lead. GUIJO DUEÑAS/PN