TACLOBAN CITY- Biliran Rep. Gerardo Espina Jr. said that a new evacuation center is soon to rise in the province.
The solon said that the 3,000 square meters evacuation center will be located in Barangay Larrazabal in Naval town.
According to Espina, the P40 million fund needed for the construction of the building is now available for the Department of Public Works and Highways to use.
It was learned that the lot was donated by the provincial government under Governor Roger Espina.
Meantime, the solon continue to provide his other activities in helping his people who are grappling the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-190.
Rep. Espina has been going around different barangays and municipalities of the province to distribute food packs and other relief items.
The lawmakers likewise provided financial assistance to some of his residents who were affected by the pandemic.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
Biliran solon initiates construction of an evacuation center
Leaders welcome suspension of LSIs return to the region
TACLOBAN CITY- The 14-day suspension of travel authority for locally stranded individuals (LSIs) to Eastern Visayas starting June 25, 2020 is a “welcome move” from the national government in the midst of rising cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the region.
“I believe all local government units in Eastern Visayas are relieved with the news. It will allow them at least two weeks to review and recalibrate their Covid-19 response programs,” said Tacloban Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año formally announced the suspension after meeting with the officials from regional Inter-Agency Task Force in Palo, Leyte on June 24.
“DILG Secretary Año heeded the request of the mayors to temporarily suspend the return to Leyte of the LSIs until such time that the municipal quarantine and isolation centers can accommodate them already,” said Leyte Vice Governor Carlo Loreto.
According to Loreto, Año also requested for a list of Leyteños stranded in Cebu and Manila so that they may be provided with relief assistance.
“We are at a very uncertain time but we will continue our fight against COVID-19. Let us help each other in stopping this pandemic by following health protocols,” the vice governor said in a statement.
The Department of Health (DOH) has identified Leyte, Samar, Southern Leyte and Ormoc City as “emerging hotspots” for coronavirus due to the sudden increase in COVID-19 cases.
As of Saturday evening, June 26, Eastern Visayas has a total of 496 COVID-19 cases, with three deaths.
Several lawmakers in Eastern Visayas suspected the national government’s “Hatid Probinsya/Hatid Tulong” program as the reason in the rapid spread of coronavirus in the region.
“…We firmly believe that it is the duty of the government to ensure that these constituents of ours are free from coronavirus infection and other diseases before they are allowed to rejoin their family members. Their freedom from Covid-19 infection means that their loved ones are free from harm, too,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
(RONALD O. REYES)
Cops nab 5 over ‘sabong’ in Eastern Visayas towns
TACLOBAN CITY- At least five people were arrested for illegal cockfighting or “sabong” in separate police operations in Eastern Visayas towns Saturday (June 27).
In Can-avid, Eastern Samar, police arrested two individuals while one other person was at-large in Barangay Can-ilay at around 4:25 pm Saturday.
Confiscated from their possession and control were five fighting cocks with an estimated market value of P 4, 500 and bet money amounting to P250.
Can-avid Municipal Police Station led by Major Clark Chavarria and Eastern Samar Provincial Police Office-Provincial Intelligence Unity (ESPPO-PUI) under supervision of Major Herbert Joey Grata, chief of PUI, conducted the operation.
In Bobon, Northern Samar, two persons were also arrested at around 1:45 pm Saturday at Sitio Kagpangi, Barangay Acereda.
Operatives from Bobon Municipal Police Station led by Captain Ricardo Banjawan, chief of police, confiscated from the suspects bet money amounting to P2,548 and cockfighting paraphernalia with an estimated worth of P1, 260.
Meanwhile, police in Matalom, Leyte arrested one suspect while his companions eluded arrest at around 3:10 pm Saturday at Sitio Casilihan, Barangay San Juan.
Personnel from Matalom Municipal Police led by Lieutenant Arvin Presbitero confiscated from the suspect’s possession and control one fighting cock with estimated market value of P1,000.
Also recovered from the area were two fighting cocks and gaff with an estimated total market value of P2, 300.
The suspects will be facing charges for violation of Presidential Decree 449, or Illegal Cockfighting Law, as amended by Presidential Decree 1602, which prescribes stiffer penalties for illegal gambling.
(RONALD O. REYES)
Mayor Alfred throw support Church activities for Tacloban fiesta
TACLOBAN CITY-Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the local government of Tacloban under Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez has decided to support only the Church activities as the city celebrate this year’s 131st fiesta celebration.
According to l City Tourism Operations (CTOO) Officer-in-Charge, Annabelle Bardot Atillo, Mayor Romualdez has ordered the cancellation of activities related to the city’s fiesta such as the Sangyaw Parade of Lights, concerts and other social gatherings due to COVID-19 situation here in the city. However, the mayor expressed his support for religious activities, she said.
On Monday,( June 29), a vigil mass will be celebrated by Bishop Filomeno Bactol, at the Sto. Niño Parish this 5:00 pm. After this, a motorcade followed at 6:30 p.m wherein Taclobanons were urged to put up an altar with Sto. Niño images and other religious articles in front of their houses for the blessing.
Today, June 30 (Feast Day), Palo Archbishop John Du and Naval Bishop Rex Ramirez will respectively officiate the Pontifical Mass at 9:30 A.M and 6:00 pm.
Apart from that, a fluvial procession will be done at 2:00 pm in Tacloban City Port and at 4:00 pm on the same day, a motorcade of the three Sr. Sto. Niño images such as the El Teniente, El Capitan, and El Sargento will be conducted around the city, as the CTOO prepared the pick-up floats to be used on the said activity.
To ensure that the precautionary measures will be observed, Rizal Rizal will serve as an extension venue for all the Holy Masses. “Tents, chairs as well as audiovisual system are in place so that churchgoers can participate in the religious celebration, “ Atillo said.
This year’s fiesta celebration carries the theme: “ Steadfast Faith in Sr. Sto Niño: Our Source of Hope and Protection Amid Pandemic.” (K.E. Napala/CIO)
Under quarantine after being exposed to an inmate found positive of COVID-19
Zumarraga police force
TACLOBAN CITY- The entire police force of a town in Samar province are under quarantine after they were exposed to an inmate who was confirmed to have the coronavirus.
Police Lt. Reynato Gerona, police chief of Zumarraga town, said that he and his 16 subordinates and four non-uniformed personnel, are now at their station for a quarantine.
Last June 14, he and his four men went to Caloocan City to pick up a 50-year old man, suspected for a rape charge last year, arrested by the elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the said city.
The suspect obtained a medical certificate from the Caloocan Medical Center that he was physically fit, Gerona said, adding that it did not state whether he was positive of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).
On June 17, as part of the procedure, the suspect was swabbed and on June 24, the result was released which turned out to be positive.
“We had our rapid test last June 16 which turned out to be negative and we are scheduled for our swab test this week. But we are all okay. We are not showing any of the symptoms. Hopefully, the result would turn out to be negative,” Gerona, in a phone interview, said.
The inmate who is positive of COVID-19, is also not showing any symptoms, the town police chief, adding that every now and then, his cell is being disinfected.
Gerona said that despite that they are all in quarantine, the peace and order of the town is not affected.
“We have asked help from our barangay tanods to help us maintain our peace and order. So far, everything’s okay here in Zumarraga. We are peaceful here,” he said.
the town police chief added that they are thankful for the total support being extended to them by Mayor Myrna Tan.
Mayor Tan earlier placed the town poblacion under enhanced community quarantine as part of the contact tracing and ensure that the virus would not spread in the town of close to 17,000 people.
The town has a total of four COVID-19 confirmed cases.
Mayor Tan also issued an appeal to the residents who want to return to the town to defer it for the meantime.
“Please don’t take it as we are denying your right to return here in Zumarraga. This is for the good of the majority of our people here,” the town mayor said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Over 250,000 workers in EV lost their jobs
TACLOBAN CITY- Sheila Camposano,34 and a mother of two children, worked as a waitress in one of the restaurants here in the city.
But after only working for less than five months, she lost her job last March, the time the quarantine period started due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“The restaurant stopped its operation which resulted for us workers to lose our jobs. I am just an ordinary food server earning less than P200 a day. But now, I have no job and I have been looking around with no positive result at all,” she said.
She said that she even went to house-to-house just to find work as a house help.
Camposano is just one of the more than 250,000 people in the region who have lost their employment related to the COVID-19 pandemic, report the regional office of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
According to the PSA, as of April of this year, about 251,000 people in Eastern Visayas were rendered unemployment amid the COVID-19 pandemic which saw several business establishments either totally closing or limiting their operations which resulted to job losses.
The PSA said that the number of people who lost their work represents a whopping 14.3 unemployment rate of the region which higher by 10.3 percent compare to the same period of April,2019 or 4.0 percent.
This makes Eastern Visayas as the fifth region in the country to have posted a high unemployment rate during this time of pandemic.
Meantime, the underemployed or those employed persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job was estimated at 328,000 April 2020.
This figure translates to an underemployment rate of 21.8 percent, higher than the 18.6 percent recorded in the same period last year.
The region has about 1.7 million in the employment force in April of this year, PSA said.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)