TACLOBAN CITY- The recent arrest of an alleged top leader of the communist’ armed group operating in Northern Samar was considered as a big blow by the government forces to the rebel movement in the province.
On July 13, Marieta Bartolo,46, identified to be the front secretary of Metro 1, SRC Emporium, said to be a unit of the New People’s Army operating in the towns of Pambujan, San Roque, Silvino Lubos, Las Navas, Mondragon, and Catarman, the provincial capital of Northern Samar by combined elements of the 803rd Infantry Brigade and the provincial police personnel.
The arrest of Bartolo came at a time that the peace negotiations between the national government and the Communist Party of the Philippines- National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) have bogged down.
Northern Samar remains to have strong presence of NPA members.
Captain Ryann Velez, civil-military operations officer of the 803rd IB based in Catarman, said that the arrest of Bartolo was a big blow to the armed movement considering that she is considered to be a high-ranking official.
“Her arrest is a victory to us. But at the same time, we are not taking the sole credit of her eventual arrest as we received help from the police and the people in the community that led to her and her companions’ arrests,” Velez, in a phone interview, said.
Velez said that Bartolo was arrested on board a vehicle owned by Ruth Figueroa, former ABC (association of barangay chairmen) president of Catarman in Barangay Bankerojan of said town at about 4:30 pm.
Figueroa, who is the incumbent chairwoman of UEP Zone 3, was also identified by government forces as the provincial leader of Bayan-Muna, tagged by Armed Forces as a front of the communist group.
Also arrested were Danny Basiloy,36, and a resident of UEP Zone 3; Emboy Loberiano, 21, a a resident of Brgy. Cal-igang, Catarman; and Gil Mijares, 45 of Brgy. Ipil-Ipil, Catarman and said to be the driver of the vehicle.
“They were from the house of Figueroa and were on their way to the Catarman proper when they were arrested,” Velez said.
“We cannot say yet what their relationship to each other as they refused to answer questions during their interrogation by the police. But considering that Bartolo is a high-ranking leader of the movement, we can just guess that they knew each other and probably belong to the same movement,” he added.
Seized from the suspects were six units of different firearms and cash worth P330,000, among others.
A complaint of illegal possession of firearms were filed against all four suspects before the Provincial Prosecutors’ Office hours after they were arrested.
A complaint of obstruction of justice was also filed against Figueroa and their three male companions.
At the time of the incident, the government forces were tailing the vehicle where the suspects were on board to serve warrants for murder, double murder, and frustrated murder, among others, against the alleged NPA leader. An informant provided a tip that Bartolo was on board of the said vehicle.
However, instead of stopping the vehicle, the suspects continued to sped off which resulted for the authorities to hit the tires of the vehicle which led to the arrest of the suspects.
Except for Figueroa who is now confined at the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital after suffering a mild stroke while undergoing mug shots, Bartolo and the three male companions are detained at the lock-up facility of the Northern Samar Provincial headquarters. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Some 1,616 participants took part in the Nationwide Hands-only CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) Awareness Campaign at the Tacloban City Convention on July 16, organized by the city government of Tacloban through Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez and the Philippine Heart Association, Inc. (PHA) composed of cardiologists in the region.
City government workers and barangay residents attended the half-day event which imparted life-saving techniques.
Present during the activity to impart their expertise were the staff of the Office of Civil Defense, Tacloban City Rescue Unit (TACRU) and other volunteer medical groups.
PHA Eastern Visayas chapter president Dr. Ma. Belen Balagapo said the event is part of the advocacy to teach basic life support skills to lay people.
“CPR is no longer limited to medical practitioners…because 70% of cardiac arrests happen at home and usually, the first responders are relatives or bystander,” said Balagapo.
A quick lecture and demo on “hands-only” CPR and the use of Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) for heart attack victims highlighted the awareness campaign.
Hands-only or modified CPR do not involve mouth to mouth breathing but requires doing proper and effective cardiac compression–basic skills needed to save a life.
PHA is also advocating the use in public places and business establishments of AEDs – an electronic device which can diagnose irregular heartbeat.
AED is an essential part of the CPR Chain and can increase survival of heart attack victims
The local government of Tacloban has also already made AEDs available at the Tacloban City Rescue Unit and the Tacloban City Hall. It is currently in the process of securing additional units for other areas in the city.
Meantime, the mass CPR campaign is rooted in Republic Act 10781 or “The Basic Life Support Training in Schools Act” which mandates the teaching of CPR in schools and the grassroots level.
Special projects for health head, Dr. Gloria Fabrigas said that free mass CPR training is done yearly in Tacloban in partnership with PHA to reach as many Taclobanons as possible and help save lives.
In a similar activity last year the PHA in partnership with the City Government trained 1,270 in Tacloban.
(HENRY JAMES ROCA/CIO)

TACLOBAN CITY-To advance the city government’s waste management initiatives, Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez has instructed the different city government offices to practice waste segregation and recycling.
In a memorandum dated July 4, 2018, the chief executive mandated the effective use of garbage bins assigned to each office and those placed in strategic locations inside the City Hall building and its premises.
The mayor likewise, enjoined the offices to support the Clean Green and Resilient City Program and the “Basura Mo, Pakabuhi Ko” livelihood initiative which benefits the inmates at the Tacloban City Jail by collecting residual waste (e.g. junkfood/coffee wrappers, newspapers, magazines, etc.) and recyclable materials (e.g. plastic bottles, plastic utensils, used bond paper, etc.).
On June 11,administrative officers from the different city government offices attended an orientation on waste management and recycling organized by the City Environment and Natural Resources Offices (CENRO).
Specialized carton boxes that will be utilized to collect useful segregated materials were also distributed during the orientation. The collected materials are made into saleable handicrafts by the jail inmates.
Ordinance No. 2017-13-37 or “An Ordinance providing for an Integrated Ecological Solid Waste Management for Tacloban City” provides for the segregation of garbage at source as one of the effective solid waste management initiatives. (CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)

TACLOBAN CITY-The Department of Education (DepEd) Leyte division has extended its “deep sympathies” to the bereaved family of a 21-year-old grade school teacher who killed herself on July 12.
“The schools division of Leyte personally extended condolences and deep sympathies to the bereaved family of teacher Emylou Malate. We are saddened and in pain over this incident,” it said in a statement.
Malate, single, started her teaching job in a multi-grade class at Bagacay West Primary School, an upland school in La Paz town, just last June 21 of this year.
Senior Inspector Ernie Rocha, officer-in-charge of La Paz Police Station, said that Malate committed suicide by hanging herself as relayed by Malate’s father, Rodulfo.
Based on the police interview conducted with the victim’s father, it was revealed that Malate committed suicide due to depression.
Three suicide notes addressed to her mother and alleged boyfriend were recovered at the scene.
In her suicide letters, Malate mentioned the word “weak” three times.
Malate’s parents also confirmed that the signature in the suicide notes was that of their daughter.
“May the death of teacher Emylou be not in vain, but be an opportunity for everyone to realize that in our everyday engagement with teachers we will consider the fact that each one has different emotional stability,” Edgar Tenasas, the assistant schools division superintendent, said.
Tenasas and other division officials personally visited the family of Malate to convey their condolences and inquire about the incident.
Amid the death of Malate, Tenasas also urged school administrators to consider in their yearly crafting of annual improvement plan (AIP) the regular conduct of team building and other activities that will lead to the personal development of teachers.
Meanwhile, DepEd Regional Director Ramir Uytico said that it’s “still too early to judge” that Malate’s work as a teacher was the reason why she committed suicide.
“Ang teacher talaga has to do his or her part. Pag mag-apply ka sa DepEd, alam mo na ang mga challenges ng DepEd,” Uytico said over a radio interview.
(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY- The annual Inflation Rate (IR) of Eastern Visayas rose to a record high of 6.3 percent in June, posting the highest since January 2018. This IR was 0.5 percentage point higher compared with the 5.8 percent IR a month ago, and 3.0 percentage points higher than the recorded 3.3 percent IR in the same period last year. The regional inflation rate was 1.1 percentage points higher than the 5.2 percent national average in June.
All provinces in the region registered higher inflation rates in June compared with their figures in the previous month, except for Biliran, the only province that has registered a decrease of 1.1 percentage points, from 6.0 percent in May to 4.9 percent in June.
Northern Samar posted the highest increase of 2.3 percentage points, from 5.5 percent in May to 7.8 percent in June. The rest of the provinces recorded increases ranging from 0.2 percentage point to 0.9 percentage point.
Northern Samar had the highest IR at 7.8 percent, while Southern Leyte posted the lowest at 1.4 percent.
By major commodity groups, Transport recorded the highest increase of a hefty 6.0 percentage points, from 2.0 percent in May to 8.0 percent in June. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages followed at 0.6 percentage point.
Annual price changes in Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco decreased by 2.1 percentage points, but still recorded a double digit inflation rate of 22.0 percent, the highest among all commodities. Clothing and Footwear and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels likewise shed off by 0.4 percentage point and 0.2 percentage point, settling at 0.9 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively.
Communication recorded zero inflation rate during the month in review, while Recreation and Culture, Education, and Restaurants and Miscellaneous Goods and Services retained their previous month’s rates of 0.9 percent, 3.5 percent, and 1.6 percent, respectively.
The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) of the region remained at P 0.81 in June 2018. This PPP implies that goods and services worth 100 pesos in June 2018 only costs 81 pesos in 2012.
Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Southern Leyte registered a 0.01 centavo decrease in the PPP compared with their figures in May. Whereas, Biliran recorded a 0.01 centavo increase in PPP, while the rest of the provinces had sustained their PPP from last month.
Leyte recorded the strongest PPP at P0.84. Southern Leyte ranked second at P0.83, followed by Biliran at P0.82 and Eastern Samar at P0.79. Northern Samar and Samar, meanwhile, posted the weakest PPP at P0.76. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY-Anti-drug elements of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA 8)-Tacloban City Office, TCPO PS2 and CIB arrested another newly-identified drug personality during the conduct of a buy-bust operation in Barangay 86, San Jose, this city, on July 13, 2018 at around 4:30 pm.
In a report submitted to PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino, elements of PDEA RO8-Tacloban City Office under Director Edgar T. Jubay, TCPO PS2 and CIB identified the suspect as Renato Lavinia, alias “Jun”, 43, married, driver, and a resident of Brgy. 86 San Jose, this city.
Purchased and confiscated during the said operation were seven pieces of heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu weighing more or less 25.0 grams with an estimated market value of P170,000 and various drug paraphernalia.
Lavinia will be facing charges for violations of Section 5 (Sale of Dangerous Drugs), Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs) and Section 12 (Possession of Drug Paraphernalia), Article II of RA 9165.
The suspect is now temporarily detained at Tacloban Police station 2 lock-up facility. (PR)