EV’s top Army official to pols: Don’t use PAGS

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February 8, 2022

M/Gen. de Leon assures of peaceful elections

TACLOBAN CITY- Eastern Visayas top military official has warned candidates not to resort to arm use just to win in the forthcoming elections.
Major General Edgardo de Leon, the commanding officer of the 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan City, made this declaration as he vowed for peaceful and orderly elections in the region with the help from the Philippine National Police(PNP) and the Commission on Elections(Comelec).
He said that it is only the members of the government forces who are allowed to carry firearms and while they are on duty.
“We will not allow any political candidate to organize an armed group. If they feel threatened, they can request for a security detail which is subject for evaluation…,” de Leon said on Monday (Feb.7)
“You can engage even in a shouting match so long as there will be no violence, no killing,” he added.
Previous elections in some parts of the region, particularly in Samar province, have been marked with killing and shooting incidents reportedly carried out by private or partisan armed groups and supported by local politicians.
The Army official also said that the arrival of troops last weekend was meant to secure the forthcoming elections across the region and fight against members of the New People’s Army.
Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry battalion of the 7th Infantry Division arrived in Samar last Saturday.
de Leon also assured the public that the 8th ID will remain to be a non-political organization whose loyalty is towards the people and to the nation.
He also dissuades any of his men not to ‘solicit’ any support from those running in this year’s elections to ensure that they will remain neutral.
“Don’t ask for any solicitation from anyone. You can ask from me to avoid any being branded for any political color. Perhaps, after the elections,” he said.
De Leon also said that he will not make any ‘unlawful order’ to any of his men whom he described to be committed, educated, and who follow the rule of engagement.
“I assure you that I will not give any unlawful order to the soldiers. I am guided by law,” he said.

LSDE FEBRUARY 8, 2022 — EV’s top Army official to pols: Don’t use PAGS

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February 8, 2022

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LSDE FEBRUARY 8, 2022

Soldiers help rebuild houses damaged by Typhoon ‘Odette’

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February 5, 2022

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TACLOBAN CITY– More than 60 damaged houses in Southern Leyte and in some parts of Leyte due to Typhoon ‘Odette’ were helped rebuilt by government forces.
Soldiers from the 8th Infantry Division, together with the 53rd Engineering Brigade, 8th Regional Community Defense Group, and reservists under the Joint Task Force Bulig Leyte, assisted the typhoon victims in rebuilding their damaged houses.
Captain Ryan Layug, chief of the division’s public affairs office, said that at least 63 families from five towns and one city in Southern Leyte province, and one town in Leyte benefited their assistance to families who have lost their houses due to the massive typhoon that hit Southern Leyte and some parts of Leyte on December 16,2021.
Of the 63 houses rebuilt by soldiers, 46 were in Limasawa; six in San Ricardo; three in Maasin City; two in Bontoc and one each in Malitbog, and Sogod, all in Southern Leyte, while Hilongos, Leyte has four families whose houses were repaired by the soldiers.
The houses restored by the soldiers are those owned by families who have no financial capacity to reconstruct their houses.
To help more typhoon victims, the 8th ID has appealed for more donations of nails, GI sheets, lumber, and other construction materials.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Gov. Petilla not inclined to impose province-wide the ‘no vax, no entry policy’

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February 5, 2022

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Screen Shot 2022-02-05 at 1.45.20 PM — Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla leaves to the mayor on the enforcement of ‘no vax, no entry’ pol- icy as he maintains that he will not endorse to make it a province-wide policy. Also in photo is board member Raissa Villasin(2nd district). (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla leaves to the mayor on the enforcement of ‘no vax, no entry’ pol- icy as he maintains that he will not endorse to make it a province-wide policy. Also in photo is board member Raissa Villasin(2nd district). (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Leaves the discretion to mayors

TACLOBAN CITY – Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said that he is not keen on imposing the ‘no vaccination card – no entry’ or a ‘no vaccination card – no ride policy’ in the province.
However, he said that this policy could be enforced by the mayors in their respective areas.
“It has no effect. If you are vaccinated you are protected, you are protected from getting hospitalized,” Petilla said.
“Even when there is still no vaccine available, we allow them to enter establishments, and statistics shows that infection happens not in these establishments but inside the home,” the governor added.
Petilla further said that there is no need for the province to amend the provincial ordinance on policies that control the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the province.
The Leyte governor stressed that if the goal is to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, enforcing of the minimum health protocols such as the proper wearing of face masks, physical distancing, hand washing, and sanitizing must be strictly implemented and observed even at home.
He also said that the vaccination campaign must also be strengthened at the local level to allow more people to have access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Earlier, the Regional Inter-agency Task Force and the Regional Task Force for Emerging Diseases released a joint resolution urging local government units to craft a local law that will encourage more people to be vaccinated and for private establishments to adopt and enforce it.
This policy includes the no vaccination no entry policy which most establishments and local government units in the region and the rest of the country are now implementing.
Several local government units in the region are now imposing the no vax, no entry policy when doing transactions are government offices and in entering private establishments.
The provincial government of Samar, on the other hand, became the first province to enact an ordinance for the enforcement of the no vaccine, no entry policy.
Last month, Leyte experienced a surge of COVID-19 cases with 3,033 cases. A total of 2,314 of which are unvaccinated while 320 are vaccinated based on the data from the Provincial Health Office (PHO).
The PHO added that 2,196 of the confirmed cases are asymptomatic, 676 are mild, 350 are moderate, eight are severe, three are critical, with no recorded deaths.
Moreover, on the ongoing vaccination campaign in the province, of the 1,682,729 target population, at least 873,245 residents of Leyte had received at least one dose of vaccines while 809,304 remains to be vaccinated. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

More troops to be deployed to Samar Island

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February 5, 2022

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Screen Shot 2022-02-05 at 1.42.02 PM — AUGMENTATION OF TROOPS. The Visayas Command announced of addition- al troops to be deployed on Samar Island to help end the decades-long insurgency problem on the island and also ensure a peaceful conduct of balloting in the area. (VISAYAS COMMAND)

AUGMENTATION OF TROOPS. The Visayas Command announced of addition- al troops to be deployed on Samar Island to help end the decades-long insurgency problem on the island and also ensure a peaceful conduct of balloting in the area.
(VISAYAS COMMAND)

To help quell NPA and ensure peaceful balloting

TACLOBAN CITY- Soldiers assigned on Samar Island will get another boost with the deployment of additional troops.
The soldiers to be deployed on the island, consisting of Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar, will come from the 3rd Infantry Battalion under the command of Col. Juvenal Mark Tayamen, the Visayas Command said in a statement.
The soldiers, who were assigned in the hinterlands of Davao City for the past six years, are expected to arrive this weekend in Samar, are not only to help in the fight against the members of the New People’s Army(NPA) but also to ensure peaceful conduct of elections this May 9.
Aside from the presence of rebels, several parts of Samar Island has been identified in past elections as among Eastern Visayas areas of concern.
The Commission on Elections(Comelec) in the region, however, has yet to release areas in the region it deems to be areas of concern or ‘hot spots’ relative to the forthcoming balloting.
Lieutenant General Robert Dauz, the commander of the Visayas Command based in Cebu City, said that the deployment of troops on the island will help quell its insurgency problem.
“The addition of this unit only manifests the sincerity of our government to eradicate the menace of the communist terrorists in this part of the country, and sustain the people’s democratic way of life,” he said in a statement.
In a media interview, Major Gen.Edgardo de Leon, the commanding general of the 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan City, said that the troops will arrive this Saturday and will temporarily be headquartered in Calbayog City.
He added that these soldiers will be deployed in other parts of Samar Island if there is a need.
It was learned that de Leon himself has requested for the augmentation of government troops to the region.