TACLOBAN CITY – A coastal village in Borongan City will soon have a sturdy and better bridge, enough to stand with the occurrence of a flood.

Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda promised to provide the residents of Barangay Siha of a bridge as the said area was rendered isolated after the city was hit by a continuous rain last week due to the low pressure area.

Agda visited the village last week and said that the city government will look for the needed funding to construct the bridge.

The city mayor said that they need at least P27 million for the construction of said Siha bridge.

Siha resident Randel Algo said that they are counting on the promise of Agda.

“At long last, this gives us hope. We’ve been dreaming and waiting to have a better and elevated bridge. Hopefully, like what is posted over the social media account of the city government, soon residents will no longer have to worry crossing the river whenever it rains,” he said.

He said that the promised bridge will be a big help to them residents, especially during inclement weather.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

CAMP LUKBAN, Catbalogan City – The 8th Infantry “Stormtroopers” Division is saddened to report the death of a soldier during Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) operations at Vicinity KM 6, Barangay Happy Valley, San Isidro, Northern Samar last January 11, 2023.

Corporal Jerry Palacio of the 43rd Infantry Battalion (43IB) assigned at Happy Valley Patrol Base situated in Sitio KM7, Brgy. Happy Valley, San Isidro, Northern Samar was on his way to Barangay Poblacion but was swept away by overflowing water current while crossing the concrete bridge in Sitio KM6. Corporal Palacio was dragged downstream and went missing since January 09, 2023.

A joint search, rescue, and retrieval operation were immediately conducted together with 43IB, Philippine National Police, and Philippine Coast Guard.

On January 11, 2023, at 8:30 in the morning the Search Rescue and Retrieval (SRR) operations team together with civilian volunteers located the cadaver of Corporal Palacio at Mauo River, Sitio Marasbaras, Happy Valley, San Isidro, Northern Samar, 3-kilometers away from the incident area.

He was en route to the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in San Isidro to coordinate with the other agencies for the conduct of HADR and to monitor the effects of the continuous rainfall when the unfortunate incident happened.
In his statement, Major General Camilo Z Ligayo, Commander, 8ID said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Corporal Palacio’s family and loved ones during this difficult time, he died trying to save the people of Northern Samar. The Philippine Army will provide appropriate support and assistance to the bereaved family.”

“Despite the unfortunate incident, the Army will continue to deliver its mandate of performing HADR operations in affected areas to save lives”, Maj Gen Ligayo added.
The cadaver was brought to the Municipal Health Office of San Isidro, Northern Samar for postmortem examination prior to its transport and turnover to his family in Brgy Chitongco, Mondragon, Northern Samar. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY– A 38-year-old man in Naval, Biliran was found dead due to apparent suicide on January 8, making him the fifth resident in Eastern Visayas to have killed themselves within a week.

The victim was identified as an employee of an electric cooperative and a resident of Barangay Caraycaray of the said town.

Authorities said that he was found hanging with the use of rope tied around his neck.
On January 7, a 63-year-old jobless man was also found hanging using a nylon rope around his neck at Brgy. Jubasan, Allen, Northern Samar.

Three more incidents of apparent suicide were reported by police authorities from January 1 to 4 at Brgy. Viena Maria, Catubig, Northern Samar; Brgy.Taguite, Babatngon, Leyte; and Brgy. Poblacion 2, Daram, Samar.

The victims were identified as a 27-year-old farmer, a 31-year- old jobless resident, and another 20-year-old man, respectively.

Authorities said most of the victims showed depressive behavior before the incidents, citing the statements from victims’ families and relatives.

Police are conducting follow-up investigations.

Individuals suffering from depression and needing such assistance may call HopeLine Hotlines at (02) 804-HOPE (4673); 0917 558 HOPE (4673); and 2919 (toll-free number for all GLOBE and TM subscribers).
(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY-A total of 2,552 police personnel here in the region were promoted to the second-level uniformed personnel regular promotion program for this year.

“Your promotion lies the weight of bigger responsibilities you will carry along the way. You are now senior officers, and with that, you are expected to be good examples to your Junior officers,” said Brigadier General Rommel Francisco Marbil, police regional director, during Jan.10 ceremony held at the PRO 8 Caboboy gymnasium, Camp Ruperto Kangleon in Palo, Leyte.

“Amid the issue nowadays, as your regional director, I can assure you that the men and women of Police Regional Office 8 are clean and true to public service,” he added.

Out of the 2,552 promoted officials, 1,449 are organic personnel of the police regional command composed of 161 police commissioned officers (PCOs) and 2,288 police non-commissioned officers (PNCOs), according to the information released by the police regional command.

From the National Support Units (NSUs) inside the PRO 8 headquarters, 68 were promoted, composed of nine PCOs and 59 PNCOs while 35 got promoted from NSUS outside regional headquarters, composed of five PCOs and 30 PNCOs.

The ranks and numbers of promoted personnel include Police Major (16), Police Captain (145), Police Executive Master Sergeant (26), Police Chief Master Sergeant (25), Police Staff Master Sergeant (49), Police Master Sergeant (68), Police Staff Sergeant (979), and Police Corporal (1,141).
(RONALD O. REYES)

The Philippine Statistics Authority – Regional Statistical Services Office VIII
(PSA – RSSO 8) is conducting the January 2023 Labor Force Survey (LFS) from
09 to 31 January 2023. The LFS is a nationwide monthly household survey that measures the country’s current labor market and is used, among others, to calculate national and regional employment and unemployment rates.

The January 2023 LFS round will be used to quantify the continuing effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on labor and employment in the country. The January 2023 LFS Individual Questionnaire also includes questions about the household member’s demographic and socio-economic characteristics on the following: 1) engagement in online platform, 2) functional difficulty, and 3) migration experience. The latter can be used as inputs to the migration rates computation for the generation/updating of population projection.

A total of 2,688 sample households in Eastern Visayas will be interviewed to provide provincial and highly urbanized city (HUC) level estimates for this survey. During data collection, PSA-hired statistical researchers will utilize tablets installed with Computer-Aided Data Collection System (CADaCS) for the mixed mode of computer-aided personal interviewing (CAPI); face-to-face interview, or telephone interview.

The PSA – RSSO 8 enjoins the public to support the January 2023 LFS by providing the required information to authorized PSA statistical researchers. The office adheres to the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose, and proportionality pursuant to
R.A. No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and R.A. No. 10625 or the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013. All information gathered from the survey are confidential and not for disclosure unless authorized by law. Moreover, all data will be released in the form of summaries or statistical tables.

The office assures the public that required public health and safety measures to mitigate COVID-19 will be strictly observed in all phases of field operations. All PSA personnel and hired statistical researchers who will be deployed are vaccinated, healthy and will wear PSA ID. (PR)