TACLOBAN CITY-Government troopers recovered firearms after they engaged alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in a firefight in Calbayog City, Samar on Wednesday (Feb.1) in the afternoon.

The soldiers, belonging to the 43rd Infantry Battalion, encountered about 20 rebel members in the boundary of the villages of Cagminipis Norte and Cangomaod while they were having their combat operations at about 1:10 pm.

This encounter resulted in a 15-minute firefight between the two groups with the rebels withdrawing, leaving behind two M-16 rifles.

No one was hurt on the government side.

Meantime, in Northern Samar, five former rebels from Gamay town surrendered to police on Wednesday.

The five, identified as alias ‘Golong’, 70; ‘Abo’, 59; ‘Odong’,62; ‘Dondon’, 30; and ‘VC’,48, are currently in the custody of the police.

The former rebels decided to surrender and return to the folds of the law due to hardships living in the mountains and fighting with the government, a report from the regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) based in Palo, Leyte, said.

They also want to be reunited with their respective families, the report added.

All surrenderees are expected to receive assistance from the government under its ECLIP program, or Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.(JOEY A. GABIETA)

PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and value brand TNT assisted over a thousand customers in Visayas during the three-day nationwide rollout of facilitated SIM Registration booths in remote areas spearheaded by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

NTC Region 7 Director Sophia Lynn Lumantod expressed her gratitude for Smart’s support for this activity. “We saw and felt Smart’s cooperation in our three-day nationwide cascade of SIM Registration in areas far away from cities. The Municipality of Moalboal is the first far-away town in Region 7 where telcos’ registration booths were set up to assist subscribers. We thank Smart for their all-out support in making this cascade possible,” she said.

Under this initiative, Smart deployed SIM registration sites in the towns of Moalboal, Cebu; Palo, Leyte; and Carles, Iloilo. The booths catered to residents from various barangays of each municipality, as well as those in the neighboring towns.

“We at Smart give our all-out support to the NTC, DICT, and DILG’s efforts in ensuring that no subscriber gets left behind in the SIM Registration drive. We commit to fortifying this initiative to comply with the SIM Registration Law and to help protect more Filipinos from SIM-aided fraud, including those living in far-flung areas. We also encourage our subscribers to help their families and friends register to ensure continuous mobile services for them,” said Grace Ruperto, Assistant Vice President for Customer Development Strategies and Support for Visayas at Smart.

“Thanks to Smart for the very smooth registration of my SIM. We hope that this effort will reach more areas to assist those who are still unsure on how to register,” said Geneve Aumentado, a resident from Brgy. San Jose in Palo, Leyte.

The second wave of NTC’s simultaneous SIM Registration in Visayas will be on February 2 to 3, 2023, in Oslob and Malabuyoc, Cebu; in Tolosa and Tanauan, Leyte; in Madalag, Aklan; and in Lemery, Iloilo.

The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, also known as Republic Act (RA) No. 11934, regulates the use of SIM cards by requiring all end-users to register their SIMs under their name.

PLDT and Smart’s compliance with the SIM Registration Act underscores the PLDT group’s longstanding consumer protection initiatives, which includes blocking SIMs that send ‘smishing’ messages and Uniform Resource Locators (URL) or links that lead to illegal activities, to help safeguard the public against emerging cyberthreats, vulnerabilities, and other online criminal activities. (PR)

Due to incessant rain

TACLOBAN CITY– The Department of Health (DOH) reported a surge of dengue fever in the region due to the continuous rains.

Based on their record, the region posted 201 dengue fever cases for the first three weeks last month, higher by 19 percent or 176 cases compared to last year of the same period.
Jelyn Malibago, DOH regional information officer, said that the increase of dengue fever in Eastern Visayas could be attributed to the incessant rains experienced across the region since December of last year.

To avoid further increase of the mosquito-bite-causing disease, Malibago urged the public to strictly observe the 4S strategy against dengue.

The strategy refers to search and destroy of mosquito breeding hotspots where the dengue virus starts; seek early consultation from health professionals to avoid serious complications due to the dengue virus and provide early treatment to those individuals who have symptoms; secure self-protective measures, like the use of mosquito repellents and mosquito nets; and support fogging/spraying activities, especially to areas with high cases.
“We should ensure the cleanliness of our surroundings. Dengue is a preventable disease which means we can avoid getting the virus,” Malibago said.

Of the 210 dengue fever cases, 84 were from Leyte; 45, Northern Samar; 31, Southern Leyte; 27, Samar; 16, Eastern Samar, and 7 from Biliran.

The DOH said that no fatality was recorded during this period.

Last year, the region has recorded 6,794 dengue fever with 20 deaths, the DOH added.
(HAZEL LLANETA, LNU Student Intern)

TACLOBAN CITY– The provincial government of Northern Samar has lined up several tourism-related activities in a bid to revive its tourism industry that was affected by the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The efforts started with the holding of Sinulog-like festivals in the 24 towns of the province last month honoring Santo Niño.

Allen Berbon, provincial information officer, said that reviving the province’s tourism industry is one of the top priorities of the provincial government under Governor Edwin Ongchuan.

The governor, he said, has approved the holding of several tourism-related activities as a way to attract tourists and in the process, help the economy of the province.

“It is a top priority along with economic development,” Berbon said on why the governor is pushing for the revival of the tourism industry affected by the pandemic.

Among these activities include the skimboarding and triathlon competitions; the return of the province-wide Ibabao Festival; and the summer festival slated in April of this year which includes, among others, the holding of kite competition; and local food festival.

Berbon said that all local government units in the province are also gearing towards reviving their own tourism industries, adding that they are also ‘tourism-friendly mayors.’
He added that with the revival of tourism-related activities and festivals, will help ‘rekindle the tourism industry of the province.’

Berbon also said that the people of the province themselves are happy that the festivals in their respective areas have resumed after two years in hiatus.

“They were happy that after two years of hiatus, we were able to celebrate our culture and faith through these festivals,” Berbon said.

Based on the data of the Department of Tourism in the region, Northern Samar has attracted 110,987 both local and foreign tourists in 2019, the year before the pandemic started.

However, when the pandemic started in 2020, the province which is also known for its white beaches and rock formations, was visited by just 14,389 tourists.
But the number of tourists saw an increase in 2021 with more than 208,000 tourists going to the province.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)