TACLOBAN CITY-The Regional Development Council of Eastern Visayas has bared its regional development plan for 2023-2028.

Meylene Rosales, the regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority(NEDA which sits as the secretariat of the council, the plan reflects the government’s policies, strategies, programs, and legislative priorities in support on the eight-point economic agenda of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
She said that in the next six years, the development agenda of Eastern Visayas will be guided by headline socioeconomic targets that include elevating economic growth from 6.0 to 7.0 percent in 2023 to 6.5 to 8.5 percent from 2024 to 2028.

They also intend to create more, better, and resilient jobs and hope that by 2028, unemployment in the region will just be between 5.0 and 5.2 percent.

Also, keep food and overall prices low and stable with food and overall inflation will be kept within 2.5 to 4.5 percent in 2023 and within 2.0 to 4.0 percent by 2024 to 2028.

The targets of the plan are intended to significantly improve the welfare of Filipinos. The strategies are expected to reduce the proportion of poor people from 28.9 percent in 2021 to between 15.7 and 17.6 percent by 2028, Rosales said.

The council also formulated key strategies and approaches for the plan.

Under the economic and production sector, the strategies include modernization of agriculture, fisheries, and agribusiness to raise overall productivity, move the region’s products up the value chain, promote diversification, and ensure food security.

To revitalize the industry, the government will pursue business matching and encourage innovation, technology adoption, and servicification or embedding services into manufacturing, to add greater value to local products.

The government will also enable opportunities for collaboration through the co-location of data-based enterprises and academic institutions.

And to reinvigorate services, the region’s services sector will shift from its low level of productivity to become a modern, productive, and resilient provider of higher-value and differentiated services, Rosales said.

The government shall boost the tourism sector as a driver of inclusive growth through strong partnerships with enterprises and local government units, the NEDA regional director added.

Overall the regional economic development plan aims to improve the quality of life and well-being of all and steer the regional economy onto a robust, inclusive, and sustained growth trajectory to effect economic and social transformation for a prosperous inclusive, and resilient society, said Rosales.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

ORMOC CITY– A cop who is on absent without leave (AWOL) and three of his cohorts were arrested by operatives of the Station Drug Enforcement Team (SDET) of Police Station 3 of the Tacloban City Police Office in a buy-bust operation at about 4:32 pm on Saturday (Feb. 18) in Barangay 106, Sto. Niño, of said city.

The suspects were identified as Felix Pillie Jr,36, and a resident of Barangay Casuntingan, MacArthur, Leyte.

He is listed as a high-value individual target and Top 2 drug personality in the city.
Also nabbed by the operatives were Nelson Polon, 29; Jhea Angela Jamosmos,29; Maria Lourdes Riños, 40.

Recovered from the possession of Pillie were six sachets containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu.

Also recovered from his possession was a unit of hand grenade color green, a .45 caliber firearm and one inserted magazine with six live ammunitions for Caliber .45.

The police also recovered sachets of shabu from Jamosmos and Riños.

The police estimated all the recovered suspected shabu to weigh around 60 grams with a market value P 408,000.00).

Charges of violation of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law against illegal drugs were filed against the four suspects who are temporarily detained at the Police Station 3 of the Tacloban City Police Station. (ROBERT DEJON)

ORMOC CITY– Matag-ob Mayor Bernadino “Bernie” Tacoy of Matag-ob, Leyte expressed his gratitude to Sec. Benhur Abalos of the Interior and Local Government for extending one new fire truck to his town.

Mayor Tacoy said that the new fire truck will be a big help to them as their current fire truck is already old and always in the repair shop.

He said that the new fire truck will ensure the safety of properties of his people in case of a fire incident erupt.

The fire truck is expected to arrive in Matag-ob next month.
(ROBER DEJON)

ORMOC CITY-A mentally depressed woman was found dead along a shore at about 7 am Tuesday (Feb. 14) in Taft, Eastern Samar.

Taft chief of police Capt. Angelyn Glou Cortado identified the victim as Emalyn Loriaga, 37, married, and a resident of Barangay Binaloan.

Initial investigation conducted by responding police disclosed that the victim was suffering from mental depression and went missing last February 12.

The cadaver of the victim was brought to a local funeral parlor for a post-mortem examination. (ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY– The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) – Revenue Region No.14 (Eastern Visayas) has appealed to various law enforcement agencies in the region to help them in the crackdown against the proliferation of illicit cigarettes.

During the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee 8 (RLECC) Meeting recently, Lawyer Neil U. Cordero, chief of the Regional Investigation Division of BIR-8, said their office needs assistance from other government agencies such as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Philippine Coastguard (PCG), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and other agencies in terms of intelligence sharing, monitoring of the proliferation of the illicit cigarettes in the market and the actual enforcement activities against dealers, manufacturers, and sellers in Eastern Visayas.

Studies showed that the government is losing billions of revenues in terms of uncollected excise and other taxes on the manufacture and sale of illicit cigarette products.
The BIR runs after those involved in illicit cigarettes because they sell, deal and manufacture without paying the excise tax and other necessary taxes.

“Aside from the excise tax, hindi rin tayo makakolekta ng other taxes in the name of value-added tax, and other income tax kasi ‘pag mga illicit cigarette products, usually hindi rin yan nagbabayad ng VAT at iba pang taxes so yun ang nawawala sa atin,” Cordero said.

Cordero emphasized that cigarettes that did not pass the required tax dues can be classified as contraband, counterfeit, and illicit whites.

Contraband are genuine products that are smuggled and sold illegally while counterfeit are copies of genuine products that are produced and sold illegally.

In addition, illicit whites are tobacco products that are legally produced in one country with the sole intention of selling them in another country.

Illicit cigarettes can easily be determined because they have fake BIR excise stamps, with erroneous graphic health warning, no DOH warning and notice and without name and address of the manufacturer.

Out of the 30 taxpayers in the region that were subjected to enforcement activities of the BIR-RR14 relative to dealing with illicit cigarettes, nine cases were filed with the Department of Justice, one was convicted, and the accused is now serving sentence at the Abuyog Penal Colony.
(MMP/CBA/PIA-8)