TACLOBAN CITY – Government troops in Northern Samar thanked rebel returnees for providing vital information that led to the recent discovery of a burial ground of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the province.
Maj. Edwin Oloan, Philippine National Police 1st Northern Samar Provincial Mobile Force Company commander, said police and soldiers have been coordinating with rebel returnees to locate the grave of other NPA members who died in clashes with government troops.
“Terrorism is a threat to peace, security, prosperity, and people. Let us all be united in exterminating violence, I encouraged other civilians to help in giving more information to eradicate terrorism in the province,” Oloan said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
On July 10, a composite team of the police and the military discovered the NPA’s burial ground upland E. Duran village in Bobon, Northern Samar.
Authorities identified one of the remains as Emma Termo, an active member of the Communist NPA Terrorists (CNT) from Calbayog City.
“A reliable information given by a rebel returnee revealed that sometime in the year 2009, CNT members buried the dead body of Termo who died during an encounter incident in E. Duran,” Oloan said.
Locals identified the three other bodies as NPA members Cesar Bantasan who died of natural death, and a certain Menang Nordan and her child, who both died while the former was giving birth.
The skeletal remains and clothing were brought to the Northern Samar Provincial Crime Laboratory for proper documentation and processing and were given a decent burial afterward.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
(GERICO SABALZA/PNA)

Part of the mass purging in the 1980s

TACLOBAN CITY- An alleged ranking member of the communist group was arrested by government forces in Inopacan town, Leyte province on Tuesday (July 14) afternoon.
Arrested was Felomino Salazar, Jr., 69, at his house in Barangay Tinago of the said town at about 3 pm.
Salazar, who also carried aliases of ‘Jun and Leo,’ was said to be a member of the executive committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) Southern Leyte Front, was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Regional Trial Court-Branch 32 of the National Capital Judicial region based in Manila.
The alleged rebel leader has 15 outstanding warrants for murder in connection to the mass killings in Inopacan and nearby areas in Leyte carried out by the leadership of the CPP-NPA back in the early 1980s, Major Ryann Velez, civil-military officer of the 802nd Infantry Brigade based in Ormoc City, Leyte, said during a mobile phone interview.
He said that information received by them from the residents of the village led to the arrest of Salazar.
“When we received the information, we verified it and upon confirming, we right away conducted our operation which resulted to his arrest,” he said.
The military official said that Salazar has been living in Tinago since 2015 where his nephew is said to be a village councilor.
“He is in the village as if he was a free man,” Velez said.
Velez said that Salazar was part of the group of the CPP-NPA responsible in the implementation of the so-called ‘Operation Anti-Venereal Disease’ of the communist group back in the early 1980s.
This group was said to be behind on the murder of hundreds of civilians and their members suspected by the communist group to have provided information to the government.
A mass grave was discovered last August 31,2006 in Mt. Sapang Daku in Brgy. Caulisihan, also in Inopacan town, where the victims of the mass purging were said to have been buried.
About 67 human skulls and over hundreds of bones were discovered at the mass grave.
Velez said that the rebel is now under the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Ormoc City for documentation and booking procedure before he would be presented to the Regional Trial Court-Branch 32 of the National Capital Judicial region based in Manila.
“This is not our victory but victory of the people who were victimized by their group,” he said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA/JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Maasin City Mayor Nacional Mercado disclosed that their new quarantine facility is almost complete and ready to accommodate arriving locally stranded individuals (LSIs).
The facility can accommodate around 50 individuals, the mayor said.
“This may not be as comfortable compared to your own rooms but we are doing our best in giving quality service to our constituents most especially on times of crisis,” Mercado said.
The facility is in addition to the existing quarantine areas identified by the city government and to the quarantine facility provided by Philippine Red Cross-Southern Leyte chapter.
Meanwhile, the city government will make it mandatory that all returning residents of the city should undergo swab testing within seven days counting on their arrival.
However, returning residents of Maasin City who remain asymptomatic after 21-days of isolation in quarantine facilities will be discharged despite pending test results.
Those who will be tested positive and have finished their isolation would no longer be asked for another swab testing.
Those with negative results before the end of the mandatory 14-day quarantine must stay in the designated facilities to complete the prescribed isolation period.
The city government have separate quarantine facility for health workers that can accommodate up to seven individuals in separate isolation areas with two separate disinfection tents.
As of July 15, Maasin City had recorded eight confirmed COVID-19 patients, where six had already recovered while two are still active cases.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The barter community in Tacloban welcomes the clarification made by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on an earlier report that online barter is illegal and must be taxed.
Some residents of Tacloban and from neighboring towns in Leyte province have created an online group accounts called as Tacloban Barter Community and Leyte Barter Community where they regularly share items they want to exchange with others.
The barter trading boomed during the quarantine period as the movements of the people were restrained due to the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID- 19) pandemic.
“If makikita niyo ang Tacloban barter page, mostly sa makikita ninyo na bina-barter ay mga groceries and daily needs like rice and other commodities,” Rhoel Ladera, Tacloban Barter Community member, said.
“Barter became lifeline of many, dahil sa hirap na nararanasan nila, may mga nawalan ng trabaho, at mga businesses na humina ang kita dahil sa COVID-19,” he added.
Ladera added that because of barter, what other people think are trash or useless in their homes became useful during the health crisis.
Tacloban City Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin, who is also active in joining the barter community, said that the announcement of DTI is good news to many individuals who are engaging in barter trade.
“This will now encourage many to survive, turning their throwaways & unused/used/extra items into something that they can actually use,” Yaokasin said.
“In this time of pandemic and prolonged quarantine, many people lost their regular sources of income. With no more cash on hand to buy daily necessities, the barter community provides a platform for members to trade their unused/used items for essential supplies. This is welcome relief for many cash-strapped individuals and families,” he added.
Through barter, Yaokasin exchanges grocery goods with old things or vintage items which he collects for his plan of putting up a mini-museum.
“Rather than complain and wait for government dole-outs during this pandemic, online barter gave many residents at home the opportunity to become productive and entrepreneurial. They are not trying to earn, but survive,” he added.
Among those who benefited the online barter trade is a senior citizen named Lito, who exchanged his own produced vinegar with grocery.
Through the help of Angelyn Ladrera Sabusap, the vinegar that he produced was posted over Tacloban Barter Community in exchange of a coffee.
The post became viral in the barter community and received many deals. From his request of coffee in exchange to his vinegar, the barter community members made a deal of bartering his goods with grocery items, fruits, vegetables, rice, that help him for his daily need.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)