Rico Palconit has a cleft palate

TACLOBAN CITY – Rico Palconit did not allow his physical deformity to be a hindrance to his goal to have a good future.

The 25-year-old native of Cabucgayan, Biliran province has a cleft palate that was both a source of bullying and inspiration for him.

Despite of the bullying he endured, Palconit proved to himself that he could overcome the bullying as he graduated magna cum laude earning a degree of Bachelor of Science major in Information Technology at the AMA Computer Learning Center, this city, in a graduation rite on August 2 with over 500 graduates.

Palconit, eldest among his brood of six siblings, said that despite his physical deformity, he was determined to finish his studies and find a better job to help his family.

He also said that what inspired him to do well in his studies was to prove to those who bullied him that he can make it despite his condition.

“I want to help my family and what motivated me to do well in my studies is my (late) father and the people who thought I could not make it because of my physical condition,” Palconit said in an interview through a private message application.

It was learned from him that when he was about to enroll his college, he first went to the grave of his father, Roque, and vowed that he would finish his college with flying colors. He lost his father when he was just three years old.

He survived his college as a government scholar and with the help of a sister who is now based and working in Tacloban.

Palconit, who has been a consistent honor student since elementary, admitted that because of his condition, he has been subjected to bullying since he was a child and even up to this day.

Due to his physical condition, he has some difficulties in speaking.

“My college life was not good as I expected. There were still bullies, discouragements, judgments, and all but I faced all of them and take them as my source of strength,” he said.

“When there were times that I felt hopeless and empty, I just look back for what I have promised because I am so scared to break it,” Palconit added.

He said that he hopes that his story-full of struggles but at the same time, punctuated with small victories, will serve as an inspiration to those who are also suffering the same physical condition.

He said that now that he is done with his studies, he wants to help his widowed mother, Lani, and two younger siblings for them also to finish their studies.

And armed with determination, Palconit said that he will apply for work and help his family.
( JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Police B/Gen. Vincent Calanoga, the police regional director, expressed his gratitude to the mayors of Palapag and Mapanas, both in Northern Samar, for their continued support towards achieving lasting peace and development.

Calanoga visited the two municipalities last week where he met the mayors of the two local governments.

The police regional director disclosed that he is grateful that both Mapanas Mayor Ronn Michael Tejano and Palapag Mayor Florencio Batula, Jr. of their commitment to the police organization in the area of peace and development efforts.

“The PNP, being a permanent fixture in the community, vows to be always in support with the local government units,” Calanoga said.

“Our role is to work together with you, not only on peace and security but also in bringing services to the community so the people would not feel isolated, neglected, and abandoned by the government”, the police regional director said during his separate meeting with the two town mayors.

In his talk with Mayor Tejano, the town official underscored their gratitude for the intensive police visibility and community engagement of PNP-Mapanas which led to the increase in the number of New People’s Army surrendering to the government authorities.

Calanoga added that mayor also noted an improved perception of the community in the PNP forces, attributing it to the discipline in leadership and the consistent conduct of awareness campaigns on the services of the government.

Meanwhile, in his talk with Mayor Batula, the Palapag official emphasized the importance of their Local Government Support Fund – Support to the Barangay Development Program (LGSF-SBDP) a holistic project that will help them sustain the peace and order in the community.

Calanoga added that the Palapag mayor also emphasized that the construction of classrooms, barangay, and health centers, farm-to-market roads, provision of potable water supply, and addressing agricultural issues will gain more public support, making them less vulnerable to communist front deceptions and propaganda.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Part of the Samar Day celebration

CALBAYOG CITY – The ‘Hadang Festival’ of Calbayog City emerged as the big winner of the Tandaya Festival of Festivals 2013, a revived cultural festival of Samar province.
The Calbayog City-based festival was one of the crowd favorites, besting 10 other contingents, winning P500, 000 cash prize.

Hadang Festival portrayed a ritual dance that features the olden people of Calbayog on how they court good favor with the gods to bring abundance of harvest, cure the sick, and drive away evil by offering a live rooster.

Calbayog City Mayor Raymond Uy was excited that aside from topping the competition, the city served as the host of the revived province-wide cultural festival.

“We are glad that the festival of festivals was held here in Calbayog and our residents are able to watch the different performances of each locality in the province,” he said.
“This allows us to showcase not only our festival but also inform our fellow LGUs that we have the capacity to mount big events and conferences,” Mayor Uy added.

The win bolstered their desire to compete at the national level cultural competitions like the annual Aliwan Festival in Manila.

Winning second place was the ‘Makarato Festival,’ another crowd favorite, of Matuguinao.
Makarato is a festival that highlights the “makarato’ variety of red rice produced in the town. They won P400,000.

In third place was the ‘Bangahon-Karabaw Festival’ of Gandara which tells the story of the town people’s journey from escaping the American Forces that are hunting the town people after the Balangiga Encounter in 1901 and how they thrived from producing carabao milk that they uses to produce a “keseo”.

In fourth place was ‘Tinago Festival’ of Tarangnan which tells the story of the town becoming Samar province first settlement and “cabecera” when Jesuit missionaries set foot in there in the late 1500s.

The third and fourth placers won P300,000 and 200,000 respectively while non-winners received P100,000 consolation prize.

The holding of the Tandaya Festival of Festivals, which was stopped due to the coronavirus disease pandemic for the past two years, is among the highlights during the annual Samar Day celebration which is held every August 11 of the year.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)