TACLOBAN CITY – A farm-to-market road constructed in the town of Babatngon, Leyte is expected to help improve farm productivity in the area.
Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla told reporters that the P 2 million-worth project situated in Sitio Sogod, Barangay District 4 of said town will be of great help to the farmers in bringing their farm products to the market.
Gov. Petilla also said that it will encourage farmers to invest and produce more considering the ease in the transportation of farm products.
He added that more vehicles will travel the area and eventually lower the transportation costs.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)

CATBALOGAN CITY – An official of Samar, one of the poorest provinces in the country, issued an appeal to its people to pay their taxes, patronize their own products and plant more for food sufficiency.
By doing so, the province could withstand all the challenges that would come its way, Board Alvin Abejuela (2nd district) said.
Abejuela made this appeal during a speech on Monday (August 6) in a program in a run-up for the Samar Day celebration on August 11.
“Our province can withstand challenges if we all cooperate by paying our taxes, plant our idle land in order to achieve food security, buy our own products to encourage farmers and producers to plant and produce more,” he said.
“We must also promote Spark Samar to domestic and international tourists to collate economic activity in our community,” he added.
“Let us make impact for our Samar province and this is the essence of Samar Day,” Abejuela said.
Spark Samar is a provincial government initiated program under Governor Sharee Ann Tan focusing on tourism to help economic development in the province.
Among the highlights of the one-week Samar Day celebration activities are the search for Mutya ng Samar this August 9, with 14 candidates representing their respective locality vying for the most coveted crown and the Tandaya Festival of Festivals showdown and festival street dance competition on August 11.
The Samar Provincial Hospital also lined up activities for the week-long celebration that includes health and wealth day; a medical and dental mission from August 3 and 7; medical mission in Barangay Guinsorongan in August 6; health on wheels in Motiong town on August 8 and Paranas on August 10 focusing on proper tooth brushing an oral examination and a midwife forum on childhood immunization on August 9.
Samar province previously celebrated Samar Day every November 10 to commemorate and was transferred to August 23 in the 1970s.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – A group of indigenous peoples (IPs) living in the hinterland of this province are now into modern vegetable production.
Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla told reporters that his office has extended assistance to the 35 members of the Mamanwa tribe living in Barangay Kagbana, Burauen town.
He added that the tribe members were among the 50 graduates on a skills training for organic agriculture production with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other agencies.
Gov.Petilla said that his office has extended agricultural inputs such as vegetable seeds and fertilizers, tools and implements to be used in their farming activities.
He added that his office also gave P5, 000 as seed capital for their vegetable farming activities and for their organization to register at the Department of Labor and Employment.
Petilla said that after the training on vegetable production in the early part of this year, the tribe members adopted and practiced the modern vegetable farming they have learned.
He added that the IPs are now productive alongside with the other farmers in the hinterlands of the town of Burauen.
Presently, the governor said, the IPs are producing high- value organic vegetable crops and they are supplying the local markets with their vegetables and other farm products harvested from their farms.
The governor said that his office is also extending assistance to other IPs living in the province.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)

BY: Roel T. Amazona

CATBALOGAN CITY – Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said that the government of President Rodrigo Duterte is serious on its campaign to protect the environment.
Cimatu issued this assurance in an interview during the 30th founding anniversary of the 8th Infantry Division, this city, on Wednesday (July 1).
Cimatu said that they will comply with the directive of Pres. Duterte during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) for mining companies to repair their mined areas to help the government’s effort for sustainable development.
The environment secretary said that to ensure that the country will benefit more on mined minerals, the government has invited investors to build up processing plants.
The DENR chief said that once the two companies start their operations on processing mined minerals, his office will deploy personnel there to regularly check their compliance on environmental laws.
“I will be putting in a DENR personnel sa loob mismo ng company. Ang kanilang trabaho to check and the protection of the environment,” Cimatu said.
The two China-based companies will put up their processing plants in Zambales.
A Russia-based company, meanwhile, will construct a similar company in Surigao.
Cimatu said that, as of this time, their agency has not received any application for mineral extraction but only for mineral exploration.
He added that in the meeting with the stakeholders of mining industry last July 30, one of the topics they discussed was the immediate rehabilitation of the mined land by planting trees.
The DENR is encouraging mining companies to plant bamboo in mined areas instead of trees because of its big demand in the world market, particularly China.
Bamboos could be used in the construction, production of paper, textile, and in the medical and agriculture.
The grass has also potential to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, making it useful to the environment.
“When they extract mineral they have to plant trees immediately para hindi madisturb yung ano. Ang tinitingnan namin ngayon is yung bamboo, instead of other trees,” Cimatu said.
“Sayang kasi yung mined areas na hindi naman nagagamit. Kasi in an area, let say of 5,000 hectares, only 30 percent are mineralized the remaining 70 percent ay walang mineral, so we might as well plant bamboo sa lugar niyan kasi napakalaki ng demand. Pag pinutol mo ang kahoy wala na pero itong bamboo pag pinutol mo at ibenta mo meron pang tutubo ulit that is why we are very interested in this was of reinventing mining,” he added.
The mining industry is slowly transitioning to a more environmental friendly mining activity that is not destructive to the environment unlike the open-pit mining, Cimatu disclosed.

TACLOBAN CITY- A member of the Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) robbed two establishments in separate occasion and carted away with P3,800, a measly amount compared to his monthly income of P32,000.
Arrested was Marianito Tondo, Jr., 40 and a resident of Barangay 83, who robbed LPG stores both owned by the Tacloban Rufrance Gas Corp.
Tondo, who is assigned at the mobile force of the TCPO but is now on a mandatory schooling at the regional training center located in San Jose district, this city, first robbed an LPG store on July 22 located in Barangay Paraiso, San Jose, and took P900.
Then on July 29, he again robbed its branch located in Barangay 96, also in the city, and took P2,900.
But on July 31 at about 3:30 pm, he was arrested at the training center, said Senior Inspector Alex Echon, head of the TCPO Station 1.
“He did not resist when we arrested him,” Echon said.
Echon said that the suspect, who was armed with a short arm when he robbed the two stores, was identified by the personnel of the establishment.
It was learned that the personnel of the store located in Brgy. 96 knew the suspect as he was assigned in the area.
An inquest proceeding for robbery with intimidation was filed against the suspect on Tuesday (July 31) at about 4:40 pm before the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Chief Inspector Rex Cantillep, TCPO information officer, said that the accused, who is now detained at their lock-up cell, has been in the police force since 2006.
“He just actually went into schooling for a month now and he has no (derogatory) record until these robbery incidents,” Cantillep said.
He said that the suspect could have committed the crimes as he was said to be involved in cockfighting.
Tondo declined to issue any comment.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY- ‘Eli (not his real name), 20 could only expressed his shock, and later anger, when he learned that the trafficking and child labor complaints filed against their Chinese and Taiwanese bosses were dismissed by a provincial prosecutor’s office in Pangasinan.
Eli was among the 32, four of them minors, residents of Barangay 96 of this city who were tricked to work in a fish farm in Sual, Pangasinan.
“Really? It was dismissed? Why? How? What will happen to us now? All we want is for us to be given justice,” Eli, who was visibly shocked, said.
He learned of the dismissal of the complaint when he was informed by Leyte Samar Daily Express.
‘Jerome’, 20, also expressed his dismay when he also learned about the dismissal by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office on July 25 on ground of technicality.
“All we want is justice. What will happen now to a case being readied by our officials here? But we hope that the dismissal will not affect our complaint here,” he said.
Eli said that he was encouraged to work at the said fish farm due to a good promise by their recruiter.
They were promised of P5,000 but only received P3,500 which is subject to deduction of P200 if they would not report for work; slept in barracks that look more like pig pens and given spoiled food.
They also worked as early as 5 in the morning until 10 pm hoarding fish foods to be used in feeding the fish, exposed to cruel heat of the sun and harsh rain.
“We were told that we will work in a Boracay-like beach. Of course, aside from the promised good pay, the mere mentioned of Boracay made us excited,” Eli said, referring to the world-famous island resort in Aklan province which is closed and undergoing rehabilitation as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Both Eli and Jerome said that just like the other trafficked victims from their village, they were determined to see their complaints going into full process and win it.
“By winning our case, these recruiters and these Chinese nationals will be stopped in continuing their unlawful practice against people like us who dream nothing but good and decent jobs,” Eli said.
Both said that they have already told their harrowing accounts by executing their affidavits before the city police which will be used in filing the complaint.
Carmela Bastes of the City Social and Development Office had earlier said that the affidavits executed by the trafficked victims are ‘solid evidence’ against the complaints of human trafficking, child abuse and child labor.
The group of men and minors left their village, one of the most depressed areas in the city, on July 11 and arrived in Sual the following day.
They left Tacloban City on board of two vans with markings of one of the country’s leading television networks and “Red Cross,” purportedly to evade any authorities while they were on their destination.
On July 19, the victims were rescued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the National Bureau of Investigation, both based in Pangasinan.
They returned back to their families on July 24 with the Pangasinan provincial prosecutor’s office dismissing the case of human trafficking and child labor on July 25.
It said that the rescue operation was said to be ‘tantamount to unreasonable search and seizure.’
Eli said that when the government personnel swooped at their premises, the Chinese and Taiwanese owners were not around and ‘hide.’
They don’t know the real names of their bosses as they only addressed them as ‘Boss Ayong’ and ‘Boss Aris.’
Eli said that it was ‘Boss Ayong’ who was harsh to them, cussing them with no reason at all.
Jocelyn Rosales, village chairwoman of Brgy. 96, said that because of the incident, she initiated information campaign in their area on trafficking with the help of Plan Philippines, a non-government organization.
“Most of our villagers here are really poor and could easily be encouraged to work outside Tacloban City with a promise good pay. That is why, we have now a massive information campaign here in the village against trafficking and they should inform us officials if there are somebody who are encouraging them to work outside the city,” Rosales said.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)