The E.Samar guv maintain stand as anti-mining advocate

TACLOBAN CITY– Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone denied that he has issued a mining permit in Homonhon, Guiuan town.

Evardone, in a statement he issued on Tuesday (June 27), made the denial after posts circulated in the social media that he has approved a mining permit to an unnamed company to conduct mining operations in Homonhon, a mine-rich and historic island where Ferdinand Magellan landed in 1521.

“I have no authority to issue a mining permit. It is only the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which is authorized to issue permit to large-scale mining operations like in Homonhon,” the governor said in a statement.

In the same statement, Evardone stressed that while he is against mining, he still prefers ‘responsible mining’ by ‘strictly observe all mining, environmental and social protection laws.’

“If these companies cannot comply with all of these, DENR should stop their operations,” Evardone said.

He also noted that the mining companies that are operating in Homonhon are not paying their taxes to the provincial government, not transparent, and are not providing any form of social protection to the people and the environment.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY– Former Miss Universe and national director of the Miss Universe Philippines Shamcey Supsup Lee graced the launching of the MU-PH Leyte on Sunday (June 25) which will be responsible for conducting a province wide search whose winner will be Leyte’s official candidate for the said beauty pageant.

Lee, who placed third runner-up during the 2011 Miss Universe, said that she is happy that there is now an organization in Leyte that will be responsible for sending a candidate at the national level.

The B creative productions was given the right to stage the Miss Universe Philippines Leyte which the organizer hopes to conduct in September of this year.

According to the beauty queen, with the holding of a provincewide search, local girls who aspire to join the Miss Universe Philippines need not go to Manila.

She noted that joining a national beauty pageant like the Miss Universe Philippines need not only courage but also resources considering the huge cost it entails.

“It takes a lot of courage and resources to come to Manila just to join the Miss Universe Philippines and it’s very intimidating,” she said in a press conference held in one of the hotels here.

“(With the holding of the Miss Universe Philippines Leyte), this will help them realize their dreams to become a candidate for the Miss Universe Philippines,” she added.

And this is the very purpose why they have decided to come up with a provincewide search, Clarito Logronio, whose group was awarded as the franchise holder of the prestigious beauty competition, said in the same press conference.

“We will help our candidates all the way,” he said.

Logronio added that the search could also help promote Leyte’s tourism industry at the national level with the candidate carrying the name of Leyte.

According to him, aside from the cash prize, the winner will have the distinction of representing Leyte at the said national beauty pageant.

A candidate who did not win the Leyte-based pageant would not be allowed to join the Miss Philippines-Universe at the national.

However, a candidate who is not from Leyte but traces her roots to the province would be allowed to join the contest.

Those who are eligible to join the beauty pageant are those aged 18 up to 26, mothers and transgenders.

The launching of the Miss Universe Philippines Leyte came on the heels of the holding of several local beauty pageants in Leyte.

On Saturday night, the Miss Tacloban beauty search was held with the 23-year old Angela Bucu besting 14 other candidates during the coronation held at the Tacloban City Astrodome.

In Ormoc City, Shaana Morata, 19, was crowned as this year’s Miss Ormoc, defeating 19 other candidates during the pageant night held on Friday (June 23).

The holding of the beauty pageants was among the highlights as the Tacloban and Ormoc are to mark their annual city fiesta on June 30 and 29, respectively.
(JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T. AMAZONA)

ORMOC CITY-A village official yielded two sachets containing white crystalline substances suspected to be shabu during a buy-bust operation led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the anti-drug enforcement unit of police in Paranas, Samar on June 23 in Barangay Buray at about 9:20 pm.

PDEA Regional Director Gil Pabilona identified the suspect as Ruel Nadela, and an incumbent barangay councilor of Buray.

The suspect is listed as a high-value individual on the drug watch list of both the PDEA and the local police.

Recovered from the possession of the suspect were two sachets containing suspected shabu weighing 2 grams with a commercial value of P15,000.

The suspect strongly denied that he was into illegal drug trade as he disowned the illegal items seized from him.

Charges of violations of sections 5 & 11 of Article II of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs of 2002 were filed against the suspect who is temporarily detained at the locked-up cell of Paranas municipal police station.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY-A housing project where members of the New People’s Army (NPA) based in Samar province who have surrendered to the government is soon to be constructed.

Tagged as a ‘peace village,’ the facility is located in Barangay Catigawan in Pinabacdao town where 144 housing units are targeted to be constructed to provide permanent houses to former rebels who have returned to the folds of the law.

Alma Gabin, a former rebel who was once the education deputy secretary of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee of the communist group, said that she hopes that the peace village will soon be realized so the intended beneficiaries could now have a sense of security for themselves.

The peace village in Pinabacdao, which sits on a three-hectare lot donated by the regional office of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), was turned over to the provincial government of Samar in November 2021 with the construction supposed to start right away.

The National Housing Authority, in turn, was tasked to build the houses for the rebel surrenderees. It is not clear as to how much the said agency allocated for the project but it was learned each unit could cost around P180,000 up to P400,000, depending on the design.

“They are already tired of waiting. They said that if not for their security, they could have left to other places to find work,” Gabin said.

She added:” We hope that they will be provided with their own housing units and livelihood as well for them to live a normal life so they could also help transform communities still considered as conflict areas.”

According to Gabin, at least 600 former rebels who could be entitled to a housing unit in the said peace village are temporarily housed in various military camps in Samar province.
Gabin said that they have been making some follow-ups on this but only to be given ‘excuses’ like the facility has no water and power connections yet, lack of access road, and an Army detachment need to be established in the area.

Emy Bonifacio, area coordinator of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP), said that she hopes that the peace village would be completed for the rebel returnees to live.

“The peace and prosperity villages are part of the transformation program of former rebels and their families,” she said, noting the purpose of the program.

Aside from Pinabacdao, similar facilities are also been constructed in San Jose de Buan and Hinabangan, both in Samar province.

The OPAPP provides technical assistance to this kind of project like in the identification of potential beneficiaries and prioritization of projects that are ‘conflict sensitive’ and its implementation is ‘peace promotion.’
(JOEY A. GABIETA)