Part of a plan to make Biliran center of trade and commerce

NAVAL, Biliran- Rep. Rogelio Espina is planning to open an access connecting his province to Samar province by putting up a Roro (roll on-roll off) port.
Espina, who is running for governor in this summer midterm elections, said that connecting the two provinces will both benefit the two areas.
For one, he said, agriculture produce of his province can be transported and sold in Samar which is suffering some insufficient supplies of such staple.
Espina also added that connecting the two provinces, which could also lead to opening an access to the nearby province of Northern Samar, will make it easy for the people of Biliran to travel to Luzon.
He added that part of his plan is to have a Roro port either in the towns of Kawayan or Culaba as both areas are nearer to Calbayog City, a fast emerging area in Samar province.
“I am mulling of having a Roro port put up either in Kawayan or in Culaba. If this plan will be realized, this will be advantageous to both our provinces,” Espina said.
“Whatever abundant supplies we have in Biliran can be sold in Samar and even its nearby province of Northern Samar which are among the most depressed provinces in the country,” the outgoing solon said.
Biliran, a small island-province, has long been lifted from the list of among the top 20 poor provinces in the country and is experiencing rice sufficiency for the past years now.
If this access will be realized, it will only take about four hours of travel, cutting by half the current time travel of eight hours if one will travel by land from this provincial capital to Tacloban City to reach Calbayog City.
Rep. Espina said that he will first meet with officials of the Department of Transportations and the Maritime Industry Authority regarding his proposal.
For one, he would like to know if his proposal is feasible, adding that he hope that his idea will get the green light from both agencies.
He said that aside from fast and comfortable transportation, the Biliran-Calbayog route could open to more investors and tourists coming to his province.
“I envision of making Biliran a hub (of trade and commerce). So for this to be realized, I need to open an access via Calbayog,” Espina said.
He said that Biliran is not often considered by either investors or tourists because of its location which is not within the Pan-Pacific Highway, also known as Maharlika Highway.
“Our province is isolated from the Pan-Pacific Highway. If you want to come to Biliran, you really need to take some effort to reach our province,” Espina said.
At present, one can reach Samar from this province by using small motorized banca which is not sufficient as a mode of transportation in terms of volume of passengers and load capacity. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

CARIGARA, Leyte – The Department of Public of Works and Highways (DPWH) reminded its employees to not engage in any political activity, as election period heats up.
DPWH Secretary Mark Villar issued a memorandum dated February 15, 2019 prohibiting employees of the department from engaging in partisan political activity.
As provided in Article XI-B of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, “No officer or employee in the civil service, as well as any member of the military, shall engage, directly or indirectly, in any electioneering or partisan political activity, except to vote.”
Sec. Villar’s mother, Senator Cynthia Villar, is seeking for another term at the Senate in this year’s elections.
According to Engr. Gerald Pacanan, DPWH Leyte second district engineering office head, said that he is constantly reminding all employees regarding this memorandum and urges them to be mindful in expressing their political views and opinions.
“Whether you are a regular or job order employee, as long as you are working in the government, we must adhere to this call, so I constantly remind them about this during meetings and flag-raising ceremonies,” he said.
He added that employees who will violate this rule will be properly sanctioned. Possible penalties include imprisonment of less than one year but not more than six years, as well as dismissal from public service.
“We are civil service workers, so we should practice political neutrality,” he ended.
On March 29, 2019, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and DPWH joined forces in taking down illegal campaign materials along major thoroughfares in Leyte.
(LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)

NPA denies responsibility on the killing

TACLOBAN CITY-A nine-year old boy died after he was hit by an improvised explosive device(IED) perpetrated by alleged members of the rebel group, the New People’s Army(NPA) in a remote village in Las Navas, Northern Samar on Wednesday(April 17) morning.
The boy was identified as Armando Remolde who happened to be in the area where the soldiers belonging to the 20th Infantry Battalion were positioned.
Lt. Col. Juan Gullem, the commanding officer of the said battalion, said that the incident happened at about 9:45 am in Barangay San Miguel.
In a phone interview, Gullem said that the rebels lobbed the IEDs towards the direction of the soldiers led by Lt.Ramil Sumawang.
“Unfortunately, it was the boy who was fatally hit by the IED.One of our men trained on survival skills tried to revive him but he was already dead,”Gullem said.
None of the soldiers sustained injury due to the blast.
According to Gullem, his men could not just fire back as they were concerned that civilians in the village, 13 kms away from the town proper of Las Navas, might be hit.
“We strongly condemned this atrocity committed by the communist terrorist group. They are so desperate that they did not even considered that we are observing the Holy Week,” Gullem said.
The soldiers were in the village as part of their community support program wherein they talk with the villagers on their concerns.
But in a press statement, the NPA through its Efren Martires Command denied that they were responsible on this incident, saying they do not target civilians.
“Whenever the NPA does commit mistakes, it takes responsibility and ensures justice and indemnification for any victims and the accountability of the erring NPA members. Let us thus wait for the official report of the responsible NPA command in the province and be critical of the anti-NPA and fascist propaganda of the Duterte regime and its Armed Forces of the Philippines,” said EMC spokesperson Ka Karlos Manuel.
Despite of the attack, Gullem urged the rebels to stop their terror acts and avail the program being offered by the government for rebel returnees.
“I call on them to return to the folds of the law and enjoy the privilege that the government offers to them under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program where they can receive some financial assistance which they can use for them to live a normal life, “Gullem said.(RONALD O.REYES/(JOEY A. GABIETA)