Officials of the Philippine National Police conducted a press conference on Sunday (Sept.3) on the seizure of several firearms in Calbayog City whose owner was identified to be a member of a notorious armed group operating in the said city and nearby towns. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Officials of the Philippine National Police conducted a press conference on Sunday (Sept.3) on the seizure of several firearms in Calbayog City whose owner was identified to be a member of a notorious armed group operating in the said city and nearby towns. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY – The police force here in the region confiscated several firearms owned by a man said to be a member of a notorious armed group operating in Calbayog City.
The subject of the operation, only identified as alias Valentino Wahingon, however, managed to elude arrest while a warrant for murder was being served to him on August 31 at his residence in Barangay Salvacion in the said city.
The cache of firearms recovered by the law enforcers include one unit of MA16A1 rifle; one unit 12 Gauge Shotgun; one piece of a short magazine for M16 and 56 rounds of live ammunition for Caliber 5.56.
It was learned that while the law enforcers, consisting of police provincial and regional and provincial intelligence units, were to serve the warrant, the suspect was able to escape and ran towards a forested area in the village.
And in the course of the chase, the law enforces were able to discover and recover the firearms.
It was learned that the suspect is a newly-identified member of the Wahingon Group, a sub-group of the Managaysay Group operating in Calbayog City and its adjacent municipalities.
The group is said to be engaged in the gun-for-hire activities.
Wahingon has a standing warrant of arrest for the crime of attempted murder issued by Judge Maricar Lucero of the Regional Trial Court, 8th Judicial Region, Branch 41 dated July 21, 2021. (ROBERT DEJON/ROEL AMAZONA/LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Leyte Second District Engineering Office (L2DEO) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has reported the completion of the road widening and drainage project along a portion of the Jaro-Dagami-Burauen-La Paz road in Dagami town.
The project, which has a P29.36 million budget, comes from the DPWH CY 2023 General Appropriations Act.
It involves the widening of the existing 2-lane road to a 4-lane road, measuring 538 linear meters in a 3.65-meter width on both sides of the carriageway in Barangay Plaridel.
Provisions of concrete drainage structures were constructed to serve as waterways and to run-off surface water from the pavement.
District Engineer Leo Edward Oppura said that the road network serves as an alternate route instead of the major highways so it is necessary to expand the road to enhance accessibility for the traveling public.
The project was constructed on March 6, 2023 and was completed on August 23 of this year. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
MANILA-On August 24, the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced a Php283-million ($5 million) project to help the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) address education challenges, including boosting its capacity to assess the quality of education among Filipino learners.
With the support of various implementing partners, USAID’s five-year project “Improving Learning Outcomes for the Philippines” or ILO-Ph will aid DepEd in designing, implementing, and evaluating its full range of education programs, from early childhood education to workforce development.
Through ILO-Ph, USAID will provide DepEd with on-demand technical assistance, regular consultations, and trainings to improve its strategic communications and data analysis systems. This will enable DepEd to better track the progress of Filipino learners in standardized examinations and measure learning recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. ILO-Ph will also support DepEd in conducting policy-relevant research to help Filipino educators enhance their teaching methods and positively impact learning outcomes.
“As an enduring friend, partner, and ally, the U.S. government, through USAID, will continue to work with local partners to make quality education accessible to all educators and learners wherever they are in the Philippines so we can build stronger and more prosperous communities,” USAID Philippines Deputy Education Director Yvette Malcioln said.
Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte called the new partnership a “significant milestone” that would strengthen DepEd’s goal of addressing basic education challenges under its new “MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa” agenda.
“The impact of policy-relevant research and technical assistance on educators and young learners can be profound. These can alter the fate of their future and consequently, the course of our nation,” Vice President Duterte said, in remarks delivered by DepEd Assistant Secretary G.H. Ambat during the launch.
“In the face of challenges and changes, initiatives like ILO-Ph offers hope and inspiration. I wholeheartedly support this noble project and encourage all stakeholders to tap into its transformative potential.”(PR)
EV SHINES. The booth of Eastern Visayas at the travel mart was among declared as the best. The said booth used the iconic San Juanico Bridge as its main backdrop.(DOT-Eastern Visayas)
TACLOBAN CITY –The booth of Eastern Visayas was adjudged as the first runner-up for the Best Booth Regional Category at the recently concluded 34th Philippine Travel Mart held at the SMX Convention Center.
EV SHINES. The booth of Eastern Visayas at the travel mart was among declared as the best. The said booth used the iconic San Juanico Bridge as its main backdrop.(DOT-Eastern Visayas)
The region’s booth was designed with the iconic San Juanico Bridge, which connects the Leyte and Samar islands, as the main backdrop.
“We’re thankful for this recognition and are committed to continuing to showcase the captivating treasures of Eastern Visayas to the world,” Department of Tourism 8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said.
More than 200 exhibitors from all over the country joined the event. The Eastern Visayas Pavilion showcases hidden gems from the provinces of Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Southern Leyte, Maasin City, Tacloban City, and the towns of Burauen and Palompon, both in Leyte.
Several notable tour operators from the region also joined the event.
Held from September 1 to 3, the Philippine Travel Mart, the country’s most prominent and longest-running travel expo, is an annual event sponsored by the Philippine Tour Operators Association or PHILTOA.
This annual expo is participated by tour operators, hotels, resorts, and airlines including local government units.
DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, in her message during the opening ceremony, noted that the country has big potential to become a tourism powerhouse.
“The Philippine Travel Mart reflects all the reasons to love the Philippines. All of our regions in the country are represented and they have brought the best of the best of their destinations—their products, their festivals, the work of indigenous peoples, especially from Mindanao. It also shows how much our tourism stakeholders have worked so hard to ensure that Philippine tourism rises back stronger than ever,” she said. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY – At least 2,768 villages in Eastern Visayas have been declared as drug-cleared after local authorities managed to get rid of the drug trade and use in their communities, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported.
In a press briefing, PDEA 8 (Eastern Visayas) information officer Rogelette Urgel said these villages, previously tagged as drug-affected, passed the parameters set by the national government to gain the status.
Of the 2,768 villages, 108 are in Biliran province, 984 in Leyte, 127 in Tacloban City, 81 in Ormoc City, 463 in Southern Leyte, 385 in Eastern Samar, 265 in Northern Samar, and 355 in Samar province.
A drug-cleared barangay (village) refers to a village previously classified as drug-affected but underwent the drug-clearing program and declared as drug-cleared by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing.
“A drug-cleared village doesn’t mean illegal drugs can no longer be found in the community. What it means is that the previous drug situation has changed for the better with the proactive measures of local officials,” Urgel told reporters.
A village earns the drug-cleared status if there is no presence of active drug users, pushers, drug den maintained, coddler protector, financier, cultivator, manufacturer, and others.
Other criteria are the regular conduct of house visitation and monitoring to identify drug personalities and the provision of appropriate intervention to drug users and pushers.
The region has 4,360 villages with 2,768 tagged as drug-cleared, 157 affected, 70 unaffected, and 1,365 as drug-free. (PNA)
LAST DAY OF COC FILING. The Commission on Election is expecting a big turnout of prospective candidates for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections as the filing of certificates of candidacy ends today, Saturday (Sept.2). Photo shows candidates of different barangays in Tacloban City submitting their CoCs before the city polls office. (COMELEC-REGION VIII)
The incident happened in 2019
LAST DAY OF COC FILING. The Commission on Election is expecting a big turnout of prospective candidates for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections as the filing of certificates of candidacy ends today, Saturday (Sept.2). Photo shows candidates of different barangays in Tacloban City submitting their CoCs before the city polls office. (COMELEC-REGION VIII)
TACLOBAN CITY-The Office of Provincial Prosecutor in Leyte has recommended that a murder charge be filed against Mayor Remedio Veloso of San Isidro, Leyte, and his co-respondents in relation to a killing incident that took place in 2019.
In a four-page resolution signed by Provincial Prosecutor Ma. Arlene Huñamayor-Cordovez promulgated on August 18, it said that there is sufficient evidence to file a murder complaint against Mayor Veloso.
Also included in the charge sheet were his brother, Emmanuel, Cayetano Dagandan, Manuelito Sidaya, and John and Peter Does.
The decision effectively invalidated its earlier decision issued on June 15 dismissing the complaint for insufficiency of evidence.
This decision was questioned by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) which filed the complaint as represented by Capt. Liberato Yorpo and Cpl. Mike Yahwehll Palma as it filed a motion for reconsideration.
Cordovez said that when she earlier dismissed the case, she only relied on the records, evidences, even footages, and previous resolutions of their office of similar complaints.
“(But) by giving focus on respondent’s evidences, this Office inadvertently passed over and overlooked the strength of the testimonies and the evidence presented by complainant and their witnesses giving rise to the dismissal of the complaint for insufficiency of evidence,” she said.
Cordovez said that with the filing of the motion for reconsideration, she was able to ‘thoroughly go over’ the entire records submitted by the complainants and their witnesses.
“Indeed, it is clear that the allegations in the present complaint supported by the testimonies of witnesses, together with all the pieces of evidence attached to the complaint, sufficiently established the elements of murder,” the provincial prosecutor concluded.
She added that Mayor Veloso and his co-accused, in their counter-affidavit, simply denied their participation in the commission of the crime and just focused instead on trying to discredit the reliability of the testimonies and the evidence submitted by complainants and their witnesses.
“Instead of offering solid evidence of their non-involvement in the commission of the crime, they centered on the alleged credulity of the testimonies of the witnesses and denied any close relationships with them which would have made them privy to confidential matters,” Cordovez said.
“Wherefore, foregoing premises considered, the instant motion for reconsideration is hereby granted. Accordingly, the resolution dated June 15,2023, is hereto set aside and an information for murder against the respondents be filed before the Regional Trial Court of Calubian, Leyte,” she said.
The provincial prosecutor also denied the respondents for bail.
The case stemmed from the killing of Levi Mabini on May 19, 2019 in Barangay Capinhanan, San Isidro town.
Mabini was the municipal officer of San Isidro at that time during the administration of then mayor Susan Ang whom Mayor Veloso defeated by a single vote during the 2019 polls.
Veloso could not be reached for his comment but has earlier denied any involvement in the case, saying it is politically motivated.
