TACLOBAN CITY — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Eastern Visayas has warned of potential red tide bloom as the El Niño phenomenon hits the region this year.
The extended dry season prompted the fisheries bureau to conduct active surveillance of bays and municipal waters previously hit by red tide phenomenon.
“From one sampling and testing of seawater and shellfish meat every two weeks, we have been doing it three times a week since February to ensure public safety,” said BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo in an interview Thursday.
Conditions related to dry season such as low salinity, warm temperature, and sudden rains after sunny days can cause algal blooms. Red tide algae make potent natural toxins.
The active surveillance covers Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar, Irong-Irong Bay in Samar, Maqueda Bay in Samar, Villareal Bay in Samar; Carigara Bay in Leyte; Biliran waters in Biliran province, coastal waters of Daram, Samar, San Pedro Bay in Samar, and Cancabato Bay in Tacloban City.
Red tide alert is still up in San Pedro Bay and Cancabato Bay as of this week.
The bureau reiterates its public advisory to refrain from eating, harvesting, marketing, and buying bivalve marine products and Acetes sp. (small crustaceans) from these two bays until such time that the toxicity level has gone down below the regulatory level.
Fish, squid, shrimp, and crab are safe to eat “provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking,” according to BFAR.
Red tide is a term used to describe a phenomenon, where the water is discolored by high algal biomass or the concentration of algae. The discoloration may not necessarily be red in color, but it may also appear yellow, brown, green, blue or milky, depending on the organisms involved.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Eastern Visayas Basketball League (EVBL) do not only promote basketball but also tourism.
Thus said the group’s president and chief executive officer, Rey Evangelista, a former professional basketball player.
EVBL, the first amateur basketball association in Eastern Visayas which recently opened its second season dubbed as ‘Bells of Balangiga Cup’, a tribute and homage on the return of the historic bells to Balangiga, Eastern Samar province, by the American government after 117 years under their possession.
“We have this home-and-away format wherein each team will go to a particular place and of course if you go to that place, the players will have to stay there and eat in their establishments,” Evangelista said.
For this weekend, EVBL will brought the basketball teams to Abuyog, Leyte with teams Isabel Gold, Jaro Blades and Tacloban’s Birch Tree Fortified playing.
“Teams going to a particular place brings economic activities because they have to spend which provides income to the businesses in that place, and can also attract tourists,” Evangelista added.
Aside from promoting tourism, the EVBL is also a venue in promoting healthy living, he said.
Evangelista also felt grateful to An Waray party-list for their continued support to EVBL.The first season of EVBL last year was called An Waray Cup. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY-A total of 798 police officers from the region are facing administrative cases since 2016 up until the first semester of this year following the internal cleansing program of the Police Regional Office 8 (PRO-8).
This was disclosed by Brigadier General Dionardo Carlos, police regional director, who said that the police organization is serious on its campaign to make it more professional and free from scalawags.
“In our quest for genuine cleansing and transformation, we will go through challenges. Thus, we will more strict in implementing internal cleansing among our ranks,” Carlos said.
Carlos said that 494 administrative cases were filed against its personnel, 353 of these were filed before the Office of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division while the other 141 cases were filed before the Regional Internal Affairs Service 8.
The police regional director said the “strict implementation” of the program has led to the dismissal from the service of 99 police personnel; 172 suspended; 373 exonerated; 12 demoted; and 4 reprimanded for various offenses.
However, the other cases remain pending for resolution.
The top recorded cases filed against these errant police officers are Absence Without Official Leave (Awol), violations against revised penal code, conduct unbecoming of a police officer, loss of issued firearm, solicitation of political patronage, violations of police operational procedure, failure to prepare and submit report, and willful violation of office regulations, PRO-8 said in a statement.
The internal reforms of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is one of the thrusts under the leadership of Police General Oscar David Albayalde. (RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Tourism (DOT) and private tour operators here in the region are preparing for the arrival of Russian tourists to Eastern Samar to mark this year’s 70th commemoration of the journey of ‘white’ Russians to Tubabao Island in Guiuan.
“We are developing a tour program and hope to pitch it to the Russian market with the help of the Russian embassy,” said Karen Tiopes, the DOT regional director.
The tour program is also in coordination with the Eastern Samar provincial government and concerned local government units.
“We are still finalizing the needs to develop this tour program,” Tiopes added, citing the collaboration of both public and private sectors for the tour program.
Butz Eguia, secretary of the Eastern Visayas Tourism Association (EVTA), said the “Dobrota Tur – The White Russians Transit Commemoration Tour” is the affinity that Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev wants to be more reminded to the world.
Dobrota is a Russian word for “kindness.”
“Some EVTA members were on board with the tourism group in conceptualizing, assessing and beta testing the Eastern Samar tourism circuit,” said Eguia.
The Eastern Samar tourism circuit starts from Tacloban City en route Samar towns of Basey and Marabut then Balangiga and Guiuan, both in Eastern Samar.
“Practically, it will involve more up to Borongan City, but it goes from step to step. We go for ripe destinations,” Eguia said.
According to him, the Debrota Tur is now a whole year event, adding that some Russian guests arrived in the region as early as February 24.
“There will be a festival sometime in October to November,” Eguia disclosed.
Meanwhile, the EVTA official lauded DOT officials for its “current practice of involving the private stakeholders of tourism product development in Region 8.”
Eguia said the concerted efforts involving the practitioners of the tourism industry including experts from the academe and religious and parish groups, such as in Balangiga, become an inclusive approach.
With their collaboration, the gaps and lack of access to tourism links are easily patch up to create a wholistic product for the visitors.
Equia gave a conservative estimate of 500 to 1,000 Russians to visit this year.
Franklin Robedizo, Eastern Samar Provincial Tourism Officer, said that aside from the availability of hotels, they also have a homestay program to accommodate the incoming visitors in the province.
“Some homestay trainings are conducted by the ‘Proyekto 25’ program on tourism under Governor Marcelo Ferdinand Picardal administration. The other trainings were funded and facilitated by the DOT through the municipal tourism offices in some identified areas,” Robedizo said.
In the spirit of Filipino hospitality, the late president Elpidio Quirino granted about 6,000 Russians, also known as white Russians for shunning communism in their country, to live at the Tubabao Island from 1949 to 1951 while they waited for other nations to grant them asylum.
The Philippines was the only nation that embraced the white Russians over their appeal for help to the international community after they fled from the communism campaign in their country to China.
The Filipinos gave a place for the white Russian refugees to stay for the next 27 months at the Island-turned US Naval Base Construction Depot despite the difficult situation in the country due to World War II devastation.
During their stay, the white Russians found “a paradise, a beach, and hope” at the Tubabao Island, courtesy of the “warmth of the Filipinos, and strength demonstrated by their people.”
(RONALD O. REYES)