TACLOBAN CITY-Police in Arteche, Eastern Samar arrested an alleged carnapper on June 23.
Authorities identified the suspect as Mark Lito Cerera, 32, single, and jobless.
The victim, a certain Omaimah Matanog, earlier told the police that his vehicle was carnapped in Leyte, Leyte and it could be located in Arteche.
Acting upon the tip from Leyte Municipal Police Station, operatives in Arteche through Police Lieutenant Lysander Camacho conducted an intel-driven operation at Barangay Central in Arteche town which led to the arrest of Cerera, who is a resident of Biliran,Biliran.
Confiscated from Cerera’s possession and control were one white color Toyota Hi-Ace van with plate number VN 8985, one unit Samsung mobile phone GT-E2202, one back pack containing assorted clothes, and personal documents, police said.
The suspect was brought to Arteche Municipal Police station for documentation.
(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY-At least one person was dead and three others were wounded in two separate attacks by still unidentified gunmen in the region from June 21 to 22.
Police identified the fatality as Alan Barcelon, 43, who was shot in the head while onboard his motorcycle along with his wife Salve, 40, in Barangay McKinley, Catarman, Northern Samar on June 21.
A gunman, who waited along the area, fired at the couple, resulting to Barcelon’s death.
His wife, who sustained gunshot wound on her body, was brought to the nearest hospital.
Motive of the shooting is yet to be determined, Catarman police said.
On June 22, two unidentified gunmen who were standing along the side of the road also fired at another couple onboard their motorcycle in Barangay Puting Bato, Isabel, Leyte.
Police said the victims Jerson, 39, and Jennifer, 27, sustained gunshot wounds in their arm and leg.

They were brought to a hospital for immediate medical attention.
Police recovered three empty shell of cal. 45 pistol from the crime scene.
Police are investigating the incident.
(RONALD O. REYES)

BY: MELISSA R. REATAZA

June 12 Thought: Respect Flag rites:
“We can’t make our mistake twice. The second time we make it’s so no longer a mistake. It’s a choice.
A flag ceremony, whether it be a flag raising or a flag retreat is sacred. Therefore, it should be observed with all the solemnity and sacredness of a Filipino citizen that can be mustered. But, as we go far away from the past years or declaration of our being independent, we are much getting too far from respecting our own flag and our own National Anthem.
The National Anthem (Pambansang Await) like the national flag should be treated with ceremonial respect. On this, the anniversary of the declaration of Independence in Kawit in 1898m it is perhaps timely to remind all to behave during flag ceremonies.
But, sad to say, many students, during the everyday flag raising ceremonies, instead of standing at attention while singing the national anthem, and while reciting the Patriotic Pledge(Panatang Makabayan), students prefer to move around, have some gossips and make fun which completely disregarding what is going on.
Those acts simply make the reason that students are calling the attention of all. We have to be more forced to give more emphasis to our country, love our nationality, respect the flag, the veneration f heroes and most important for students, the proper behavior during the flag ceremonies.
If flag ceremony cannot be held properly, why do we hold them at all?
(Note: The author is a Teacher III of the Lusad Elementary School of Burauen South District)

PALO, Leyte-In its continuing advocacy and campaign to address various adolescent health and related sexuality issues and needs the young people of today are facing, the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) will be establishing a teen center at the Carigara National Vocational School (CNVS) and the Information and Service Delivery Network (ISDN) for Adolescents in Carigara town.
Popcom through its Adolescent Health and Development (AHD) Program sees the need to provide a mechanism where it can further promote better quality health services for the adolescents which are responsive to the needs and protection of their rights. The teen center and the establishment of an ISDN for adolescents are among this mechanism.
The teen center will become the physical facility where adolescents can go for adolescent health information, entertainment, while the ISDN is the organizational linkage which will provide the needed adolescent health services.
The new teen center, to be launched at the CNVS on July 5, will serve as a resource of information, aid, skills building or simply a place of recreation or amusement for their in-school adolescents, as well as from other schools in the municipality of Carigara.
The proposed teen center will have available counselling, skills training, values formative skills, employment services, medical and dental health and even reproductive health services.
All these will be provided by the ISDN for Adolescents linkage such as the Rural Health Unit, Carigara District Hospital, the barangay health stations, Municipal Social Welfare Office, Municipal Population Office, Municipal PNP through its Women and Child Protection Desk, Youth Development Office, PESO, PhilHealth, SK Federation and the private and public secondary schools who have been linked to form part of the ISDN.
The ISDN, meantime, will become a network of facilities within municipality of Carigara that offers information, training, and core packages of health and social care services in an integrated and coordinated manner.
To firm up the partnership for the teen center and ISDN, a memorandum of agreement will be signed between Popcom VIII, CNVS, ISDN partners and the local government unit of Carigara through Mayor Eduardo Ong.
It was learned during the orientation and organizational meeting for the members of the ISDN that the municipality have a number of cases on teenage pregnancy, children in conflict with the low and a rising number of adolescents with sexually transmitted infections.
“With the establishment of a teen center, the young people can have facility they can go to while the ISDN links can ensure that the comprehensive needs of adolescents are addressed accordingly,” Reyan Arinto, Popcom information officer, stated during the meeting.
More school-based teen centers are set to be opened in other areas in the region this year and expected to be fully functional to provide greater, effective and sustained impact among target young audience.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)