A 65-feet Christmas tree as its main attraction

TACLOBAN CITY- Thousands of people are expected to visit the city’s main plaza as it was transformed into a Christmas Village.
At the center of the Christmas Village is a 65-feet cone-shaped Christmas tree adorned with colorful lights and stars of various sizes.
Inside the park, the traditional bamboo stars perched in the lamp posts and the classic Nativity scene showing the birth of Jesus Christ could be seen and enjoyed by the public.
Of course, for those who are fond of taking photos, especially now in this age of ‘selfies,’ visitors could have their photo taken at a pictorial board of Sta. Claus.
Christmas carols could also be heard inside the Christmas Village which formally opened on Friday (Dec.7) to add the Christmas spirit.
The city government spent about P500,000 for this annual undertaking which has drawn big crowds since it was started.
Marilou Tabao, city tourism officer, said that the Christmas Village is open to the public all throughout the Christmas season which is to end on January 6, coinciding the celebration of the Three Kings or Epiphany.
Expected to grace the opening of the Christmas Village were Mayor Cristina Romualdez, councilors, department heads and employees of the city government.
For this year, the underlying theme of the Christmas Village is ‘Let Thousand Stars Shine’ symbolizing the city’s hope for a bright future.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

In accordance with MO 32

TACLOBAN CITY- About 60 members of the elite Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have already arrived in the region ready for their assignment in Samar.
This was revealed by Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, police regional director for Eastern Visayas, who added that the SAF members are now housed at the police provincial headquarters in Catbalogan City.
The police officer, however, declined to say when these SAF members arrived in the region except to say that they were deployed ‘immediately’ after the issuance of Memorandum Order 32 issued by Malacañang purportedly to address the ‘lawless violence’ existing in the province.
The MO 32 was issued on November 22.
Aside from Samar, additional police and soldiers are to be deployed in Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Bicol region.
Carlos, in an interview, said that the SAF members would be deployed to ‘specific areas’ in Samar, once a guideline would be drafted with their counterparts at the 8th Infantry Division which is also based in Catbalogan City.
“We are waiting for the guidelines in coordination with our counterparts which will serve as our guide where they will be deployed,” the police regional director said.
By Samar, Carlos said, this could include the three provinces of the island, namely, western Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar.
The three Samar provinces continue to struggle with the presence of New People’s Army and even private armed groups.
Carlos also said that on top of the SAF members coming from their national headquarters, he would also like to ask all the police provincial headquarters in Samar provinces to organize their own forces with the task of helping the visiting forces.
Meantime, Carlos allayed the fears that the augmentation of forces may result to abuses or human rights violations.
“We are addressing crimes. If you commit crime, murder people and harass people to pursue for something that is not for the betterment of the country, eh tatayo kami bilang security forces, together with the Armed Forces,” he said

By: Joey A. Gabieta

CATBALOGAN CITY – The capitol grounds of this city has been transformed into a Christmas village with lights of various colors and shapes makes the place aglow.
The Christmas village, sponsored by the provincial government and located inside the city’s Imelda Park, was opened to public on Tuesday (December 4) with replicas of some of the world’s most iconic tourist attractions could also be found, to include our very own San Juanico Bridge.
A 30-feet tall Christmas tree, near the obelisk, decorated with flag of different nations serves as the centerpiece of the Christmas village.
The provincial building was also adorned with bright and colored lights using a 3D projection mapping.
“To show the world that Samar is indeed the place to be this Christmas, we lit up the capitol building with a 3D Projection Mapping courtesy of EPSON and BBCS Data Systems,” she said.
The 3D Projection Mapping shows videos of tourist destinations in Samar and Christmas-related shows.
The activity, now on its third year, has a theme ‘Light A Tree: Christmas Around the World.’
It showcases 20 miniatures of some of the world’s iconic attraction such as the Taj Mahal in India; Eiffel Tower in France; the Habitton in New Zealand; Petronas Tower in Malaysia; Burj Khalifa in Dubai; Japanese Pagoda; Coliseum in Rome; and the San Juanico Bridge in Eastern Visayas.
The replicas are displayed right next to a full grown tree at the Imelda Park in front the provincial capitol compound.
Also part of the Christmas activity is the Samar Kids Can! Bazaar in partnership with the Department of Education which showcases products created by senior high school students from the two cities and 24 municipalities of the province.
The bazaar is an avenue for students to showcase their talents and skills including teaching them to value entrepreneurship.
“I am amaze that we are able to showcase the talent of our students. This is a good venue for our learners to showcase what they had learned in school,” Mariza Magan, Samar provincial schools superintendent, said.
Products that are displayed at the bazaar includes food items, souvenir items made from indigenous materials, decors made from bamboo, toys replica made from rubber, bags made from straw and many more.
The bazaar will end on December 11 while the Light a Tree will end on the first week of January with the declaration of winning entry on Christmas around the World contest.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)