BAYBAY CITY– The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation(Pagcor) thru the effort of Pamayanang Handa (PH) Cares distributed cash assistance to 184 families who lost their loved ones when the city was pummeled by Typhoon Agaton during a simple ceremony held Tuesday (Oct.11), this city.

PH Cares president, Peaches Pasion, in an interview disclosed that each beneficiary received P30, 000 on top of the relief goods their group distributed last April when Agaton hit the city.

Ronnel Pasana, who lost his wife, mother, and two children, said that the cash assistance he received from Pagcor will be used for the school needs of his two other children.
Only the body of his wife was recovered when their house in Barangay Cantagnos was hit by the mudslide.

Crisalyn Kate Sepe, a Grade 12 student at Baybay Senior High said that they will use the money for their studies as they lost their father from Agaton.

She said that their house is Cantagnos was also buried in mud after the mountain part of their barangay softened after continued rains. She added that they survived by slowly climbing out from the thick mud together with his mother and brother but their father did not survive.

For Edgardo Natividad, he was so thankful that kind- hearted people continued to pour them blessings as he disclosed that the P30,000 he received from Pagcor will be used to build a house.

He lost his son during the typhoon.
Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Ernesto Butawan, in an interview, expressed his gratitude to Pagcor for granting the request of PH Cares in extending assistance to his constituents.

He said that the P30, 000 cash assistance is a big help to the families and he is hoping that other government agencies will likewise look for some scheme to help the needs of the typhoon victims, though he pointed out that the response of the government to the needs of the victims was very impressive.
(ROBERT DEJON)

While attending a wake

ORMOC CITY-An argument between two siblings while attending a wake of a relative turned tragic after the elder brother was hacked to death by his younger sibling Monday, (Oct. 10) in Basey, Samar.

Basey chief of police, Lt. Geoffrey Bantule, identified the victim as Erwin Padoc, 26 while the suspect was identified as Merwin, 22, both farmers and residents of Barangay Bulao of said town.

Initial investigation conducted by the local police disclosed that the siblings were having a drinking spree at a wake of a relative when a heated argument ensued between the two.
This resulted for the suspect to hack his older brother using a long-bladed weapon described as samurai hitting his left shoulder and buttocks.

The victim was brought first to the Basey District Hospital for treatment. However, because of the severity of the hacked wounds he incurred from the hacking, he was subsequently referred to Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban City but was died.
The suspect remains at-large. (ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY-The Person with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) here in the city has heightened its monitoring activities of establishments to encourage them the granting of discounts and incentives for persons with disabilities (PWDs).

As mandated by Republic Act 9442, the act amending the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons or RA 7277, PWDs are entitled to discounts on their medicine or school supply purchases.
“Dire kuno hira maaram nga may PWD discount…Amo nga kun nabisita kami hin establishment gintatagan namon hira hin kopya han R.A. 9442 (They are not aware of the PWD discount…that’s why we give them a copy of R.A. 9442 whenever we visit an establishment),” said Claire Eden Tacazon, PDAO officer in charge.

In a report from the City Information Office, the official disclosed that most complaints they received “are about the refusal of some business establishments to grant discounts to PWDs when they purchase medicines and school supplies.”

PWDs are entitled to a 20% discount on medicine and medical supplies and a 5% discount on school supplies when they present their PWD identification cards (IDs), the city government said.

PDAO is in-charge in the distribution of PWD ID for free.
PWDs need to register and submit documents, such as a photocopy of a valid ID or certificate of live birth; a certificate of barangay residency/indigency; a photocopy of a medical certificate indicating the cause and type of disability; and two pieces of 1×1 ID picture.

Meanwhile, the city government warned that establishments that will not comply with the law risk getting their permits revoked and paying a maximum penalty ofP100,000 and imprisonment.

As this developed, PDAO also started its validation of the 3,300 registered PWDs in the different barangays of Tacloban. (RONALD O. REYES)