TACLOBAN CITY –Members of the Metro Tacloban Peace and Development Workers Federation conducted a rally in the city on Monday (Dec.26) to condemn the atrocities being committed by the communist group that affects the livelihood and daily lives of ordinary people like farmers and families.

The action coincided with the 45th founding anniversary of the founding of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The group, whose members are former rebels and supporters, added that they are glad to hear the report that the founding chair of the CPP, Jose Maria ‘Joma’ Sison, has died.

They said that the death of Sison will weaken the strength of the communist group.

They also urged members of the communist party, particularly those belonging to NPA, to now surrender and avail the programs of the government for them to start a new life.
In Robinsons North, members of local artists in Eastern Visayas held a three-day art exhibit they called Peace and Quiet Art Show that ended on Wednesday (Dec.28).
The art exhibit showcased paintings and arts installation.

Among the display the art was that of Mark Balais he called ‘Mother and Lost Son’, a twist of the Madonna and Child or Mother and Child.

Balais said that his artwork depicts the parent’s emotions particularly mothers who lost their children from the hands of communist members who recruited their children.
His artwork used a blouse that represent a mother, and baby clothes with one had a writing “My son is missing.”

Another art installation displayed at the art exhibit is called ‘Danas’ by Idol Apurillo where he used some of the things that farmer’s uses in farm and a toy gun made from banana leaves.

His artwork includes hat made from buri, kangga or carabao sled, coconut rope that represents the farmers. The toy gun made from banana leaves represent children in rural areas who uses them during playtime when gadgets was still not popular.

“Thank you for participating. Nakakatuwa itong ginawa ninyo dahil itong araw na ito, ngayon ay anibersaryo ng CPP. At bilang nasa gobyerno kino-condemn po natin ang CPP at New People’s Army, at through your art work pinapakita po ninyo na kinakailangan na talaga nating tapusin ang insurgency,” Tacloban City Police Director PCol Michael Palermo said.

The art exhibit was organized by the Pitad Kultura Waraynon.

At the People Center in Tacloban, a peace concert was also organized with performers coming from the winners of the battle of band competition organized by Istolo Poetry, Hands of our Children, and Tacloban City Police Office.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

CATARMAN, Northern Samar– Personnel from the Department of Social Welfare Development (DSWD) Regional Office 8 assisted its local office during the five-day payout of social pension for the beneficiary senior citizens in this town on December 21.

The senior beneficiaries received a P500 monthly social pension covering the third and fourth quarters of the year or in the total amount of P3,000.

Municipal social welfare officer Irmina Delorino said the number of beneficiaries of the social pension from the 55 barangays of Catarman is now at 4,399 from the previous 3,999.

“We still have a lot of qualified senior citizens who are waiting to be included in the social pension. We ask them to be patient because we depend on the allocation from the national government. We already submitted their documents to the DSWD regional office,” she said.
Hilda Bivar, 66, a widow from Barangay McKinley, said that she is grateful that she has been receiving the pension for the past three years now.

She said that the money that she has received is used by her to buy her daily needs like medicines and food.

Ginpapalit ko man iton bugas, ngan bulong kay anaemic ak…nakakasuporta man gihapon labi kay nagsasayuan manla ak may kanya-kanya na pamilya an ak kabataan. (I use my pension to buy rice and medicine for my anemia… it supports me especially that I’m living alone now as my children have their own families), she said.
(EUGENE M. ENANO)

Mobile leader Globe announces the readiness of its online SIM registration platform following the recent release of the SIM Registration Act’s Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) by the National Telecommunications Commission.

There are an estimated 87.9 million SIM users in the Globe network.

All Globe Prepaid, TM, Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi, Globe Mobile WiFi and Globe Business prepaid subscribers may register their SIMs at https://new.globe.com.ph/simreg beginning December 27, 2022. By January, customers will also be able to register through the New GlobeOne app. Globe and TM customers will continue to enjoy Globe services and may register until April 26, 2023 to avoid deactivation.

On the other hand, new SIM holders shall purchase deactivated SIMs starting December 27, 2022. Customers purchasing new Globe and TM SIMs must register them immediately to enjoy Globe services.

Globe understands that there are customers including senior citizens, persons with disability and pregnant individuals who may need help in registering their SIMs. To address this, the company, with the help of the government, will put in place assisted registration sites by February 2023 for those in need of help, without access to the internet or are using basic or feature phones.

All existing Globe Postpaid, Globe Platinum, and Globe Business postpaid customers will be pre-registered by Globe using the details provided in their initial application. Globe will get in touch with its customers should there be missing information needed in order to comply with the requirements of the law.

“We are committed to provide our customers with an easy-to-use, secure, and inclusive registration process. We encourage all our customers to plan their registration dates, prepare their valid government IDs with photos to enjoy the full benefits of our services and to protect their personal information,” said Ernest Cu, President and CEO of the Globe Group.

For information about the SIM registration process, customers may visit www.globe.com.ph/help/sim-registration-act.html.

The law is a significant step forward in fighting fraudsters taking advantage of SIM use anonymity in their illicit activities.

It provides customers with an added layer of security and protection and complements Globe’s long-standing fraud protection efforts, including investments in filtering systems, proactive blocking of scam and spam SMS, and data-sharing partnerships with banks and other financial institutions.

Globe will release more information about its SIM registration platform and procedure on its official channels in the coming days. (PR)

CALUBIAN, Leyte – Thirty-one agricultural tenants in an hacienda here received an early Christmas gift from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) when their individual land titles were handed to them making them now owners of the land they are tilling.
Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer (MARPO) Maximo Castañeda Jr. distributed the 31 individual Certificates of Land ownership Award (CLOAs) to the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in a simple ceremony in Barangay Enage where the subject landholding is situated on Dec.9. Castañeda disclosed that the CLOAs covered a combined area of 39.9546 hectares.

He further disclosed that the awarded lots are part of the 58-hectare hacienda owned by Caridad Enage covered under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program’s (CARP’s) Land Acquisition and Distribution component.

Widower Romeo Cuizon, 67, received the maximum three hectares an ARB could avail.
Cuizon shared that he started working in the said hacienda when he was only 15 years old helping his tenant-father until he himself became one of the tenants too.
According to him, “As gratitude for this blessing, I will donate 2,000 square-meter for our association’s office/hall.”

Presently the Enage Agrarian Reform Farmer Beneficiaries Association’s (EARFBA’s) center stands temporarily in a private lot which can be evicted anytime.

Edgardo Juntilla, 56, recipient of a 1.1812-hectare lot, shared that “I am happy, and I am aware of my obligation to pay tax.”

Widow, Maria Maloloy-on, 50, a mother of three and one of the six female- beneficiaries said that she became tenant of Enage in 1989, when she and her husband started working in the hacienda.

According to her, they did not believe when someone from DAR told them that they would soon own the lot they were tilling. “I was surprised when I was awarded with 1.0912 hectares,” Maloloy-on added.

It was learned from Castañeda that 10 of the 31 ARBs are former rebels. Providing land to the landless gives these former rebels the opportunity to livelihood, which is DAR’s contribution to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), a whole-of-nation approach to address insurgency in our country, said Castañeda.

The beneficiaries applauded when Castañeda announced that per Executive Order No. 4 of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., payment of their land amortizations is suspended for one year.

They also cheered lauder when Castañeda disclosed that there is a priority bill of the Marcos Administration which, when approved, ARBs will no longer pay amortizations.
(JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA/PR)