TACLOBAN CITY-The Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) has warned the public against the use of banned firecrackers before the New Year celebration.

In a list uploaded to the official Facebook page of the TCPO on Wednesday (December 27), the following firecrackers are prohibited for use and selling: piccolo, watusi, giant whistle bomb, giant bawang, large Judas belt, super lolo, thunder lolo, atomic bomb, atomic big triangulo, pillbox, boga, kwiton, goodbye Earth, goodbye Basing, hello Columbia, Coke-in-can, kabasi, Og, and other unlabeled imported firecrackers.

Meanwhile, the alternatives suggested by the police office include sparklers, ‘torotot’ or trumpets, glow sticks, and pots and pans.

Earlier this week, Police Regional Office 8 Director PB/Gen. Reynaldo Pawid, TCPO Director PCOL Michael Palermo, and officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Philippine Army conducted an inspection of stalls selling firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices at the firecracker display zones of the city.

The officials reminded the stall owners to strictly follow laws and regulations to ensure the safety and security of the public throughout the New Year celebration.

To remember, last December 15, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos made a call to the local governments to implement a total ban on firecrackers and cited that Quezon City and Davao had already implemented the measure. (H.J.ROCA/CIO)

ORMOC CITY– A staff of a veterinary clinic in Maasin City was charged with qualified theft after taking P69,000 from his employer on December 26.

Charged before the City Prosecutor’s Office was John Mesiah Jumao-as, 30, married, who reportedly took the purse of Dr. Stacey Dannieve Navarro, 41 containing the money.
The victim learned about the incident through a CCTV footage inside the clinic.

She immediately informed the city police who, in turn, conducted an operation against Jumao-as who was arrested while on board a motorcycle along Barangay Tawid.

Based on the body search against the suspect, cash worth P58,766 was found on his pocket.

The suspect together with the confiscated pieces of evidence were brought to the Maasin city police station for documentation and proper disposition.

A case of qualified theft was filed at the City Prosecutor’s office against the suspect. (ROBERT DEJON)

CATARMAN, Northern Samar– A total of 52 former rebels who returned to the fold of the law in this province have recently received 403 chickens as well as 53 sacks of feed as part of an egg-layering project under the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program in barangay Cablangan in Mondragon town.

The former rebels, who are now called peacebuilders, expressed gratitude to the local and national government for the opportunities and the chances given them and their families to live a new life free from hunger and fear.

At a forum initiated by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) and the Provincial Task Force Balik-Loob, one of the peacebuilders shared the experience he had at the hands of the communists, saying everything was hard work and they were always in fear of their lives.

“I thank the government for giving us a new life free from hunger and fear,” the peacebuilder, also known as Manoy, declared.

Aside from the egg-laying livelihood project, the provincial government, through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), built the first halfway house called Darangpan Center, where former rebels temporarily stay while their financial assistance is are being processed.

Another big-time project being implemented is the housing project in a more or less 17-hectare ‘Kauswagan Village” exclusive for peacebuilders situated at barangay Cablangan, Mondragon town.

During the forum of the peacebuilders and the concerned government agencies, some issues were exhaustively discussed, such as the sustainability of the livelihood program, and how the peacebuilders handled the financial assistance extended by the government.
The forum served as a platform to settle these issues and to inject inputs on the reintegration of the peacebuilders into the community.

For its part, the DILG conducted an orientation on the local government operation, the various public institutions, their roles and responsibilities, and while BGen. Efren Morados of the Philippine Army discussed their responsibilities towards sustaining peace and development in the province.

Most important, the activity was a venue for integral healing and transformation of God’s love, mercy, and compassion. (MMP/AND/PIA Northern Samar)

MAASIN CITY– Some 1,361 rice farmers in this city who are enrolled with the Department of Agriculture (DA) registry system received certified seeds in two tranches for the semester-cycled planting sessions.

The city’s Office of Agricultural Services got 600 bags of certified rice seeds from the DA regional office this year, at 300 bags per release, as well as the appropriate fertilizers, through the Rice Competency Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

According to City Agriculturist Virgilia Barrientos during a recent ‘Kapihan sa PIA’ interview, each bag contained 20 kilos at one hectare every two bags, and these were given in pro-rated shares because the farmlands most of the farmers tilled did not surpass a hectare.
Barrientos also reported having received 72 packs of hybrid rice seeds at 3 kilos per pack from the provincial government, with matching fertilizers, which were distributed to rice farmers with irrigated rice lands.

It can be recalled that Governor Damian Mercado, in his State of the Province Address (SOPA) last December 4, reported the distribution of quality rice seeds to farmers in all the 19 local government units of the province through the city/municipal agricultural offices as a food security strategy.

Barrientos explained that both certified and hybrid seed varieties have high-yielding properties, but the certified seeds can fit in rain-fed areas and can be set aside for new crops in the next cropping, while hybrid seeds require irrigated rice fields and another set of planting materials.

During this year’s mid-year harvest, some farmers in barangays Libhu and Bactul had excess supplies that were sold in the DA’s Bagsakan Center for a reduced price than the prevailing market selling price, Barrientos reported. (LDL/MMP/PIA Southern Leyte)