TACLOBAN CITY-A 27-year old student in one of the government-run universities in the city was arrested in possession of suspected ‘shabu’ valued at P17,000 on Friday (July 13)noon.
Arrested by the members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was Francis Jay Ritchie Quitorio who resides in Barangay 62, BLISS, Sagkahan district, this city.
Also arrested was Quitorio’s companion, Joven Dale Jumao-as and a resident of V&G subdivision also in the city.
The two were arrested in a sting operation in Barangay 31, Real Street at about 12:30 noon.
Seized from the two suspects were five sachets of suspected shabu weighing 10.5 grams with a street value of P17,000.
“We have been consistent in our appeal to them to stop engaging in the illegal drugs. While it is easy money, they should also realize that we continue in our campaign against illegal drugs,” Rogelette Urgel, PDEA-8 information officer, said.
She said that she feel bad that even students like Quitorio are being arrested due to illegal drugs activity.
The school where Quitorio is enrolled was not divulged by Urgel.
And in a separate sting operation, one Renato Laviña,43 and a public utility vehicle driver, was arrested by PDEA operatives on Friday at about 4:30 pm at their village in Brgy. 86, San Jose district.
Seized from the suspect were 25 sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated street value of P170,000.
All three are now detained at the Tacloban city lock-up facilities and charged for illegal possession and selling of prohibited drugs.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY –The region has the most number of learning sites and school for practical agriculture (SPA) which serves as venues for demonstration and promotion of sustainable ecotourism through organic farming.
These schools are located in the provinces of Southern Leyte, Leyte, Biliran, and Samar, and in the cities of Ormoc and Tacloban, Director Vilma Patindol of the Agricultural Training Institute Regional Training Center 8 (ATI-RTC 8), said.
They serves as school for hands-on training and the farmer-owner acts as the teacher and community extension worker serves as farmers to further enhance their farming knowledge and skills as well as for those who would want to venture in farming.
Among these farm schools are Canaan Hills Farm in Caibiran, Biliran;Bendicar Farm Agri-Eco Tourism in Sogod, Southern Leyte; Villa Conzoilo Community Association in Jaro,Leyte; Uncle Job’s Farm in Mahaplag, Leyte; Juanito Eco Farm School for Practical Agriculture (JEFSPA) in Kananga, also in Leyte; Bendicar’s Farm & Food Products, La Caridad Farm both in Sogod; RGV Farm in Macrohon and the Mercedes Upland Farmers Development Association (MUFDA) in Silago, both in Southern Leyte; McKinley Integrated Diversified Organic Farming System Farmer’s Association (MIDOFSFA) in Catarman, Northern Samar; Mila and Maning’s Farm in Borongan City, Aragon’s Nature Farm in Ormoc City and La Granja here in Tacloban City.
Senator Cynthia Villar, who chairs the committee on agriculture and food, has been urging farmers’ organizations and farm owners to convert their farm lands into SPAs to help in the food security and in teaching other farmers on the new technology of farming to increase their production and income.
“Farmers are important part of our country that is why I want to help in improving and uplifting the condition by improving their income. Farmers might stop cultivating their farms if their income will not increase which may result to food security problem,” Villar said in a statement.
The senator is the main authored of Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) here in the region presented the awards to winners of its sponsored poster-making contest Saturday (July 14).
Lyka Mae Piangco of Wright National High School of Samar Division in Paranas town was adjudged as first place winner, winning P10,000 cash prize.
Pianco’s poster focused on the role of PhilHealth among Filipinos coming from all walks of life, and how the agency help a number of patients through the years.
The two other winners, Christian Holares of the Leyte National High School of the Tacloban City Division as the second placer, who received P3,000, and Desiree Dioneza of Wright National High School also of Samar Division who she received P2,000.
All winners also received certifications together with their coaches.
As the regional winner, Piangco’s work will be included for the 2019 PhilHealth calendar.
The PhilHealth poster-making contest has a theme, “Ang PhilHealth sa aking mga Mata”.
The said contest was open to all grade 10 junior high schools students in all public secondary school. Participating schools were allowed to submit one poster entry made by their Grade 10 student/group of students to the Youth Formation Unit of the School Governance and Operations Division (SGOD).
Asisclo Militante Jr., regional vice president of PhilHealth-8, said that the poster-making contest became an avenue for the students to showcase their talents in arts and express through their own eyes their gained knowledge, awareness, and understanding about PhilHealth.
Renato Limsiaco Jr., the newly-promoted senior vice president for fund management sector of PhilHealth, and Militante handed the award to the winners. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

BURAUEN, Leyte – For decades, Gredy Manidlangan, has been tilling fields, but this time, his daily grind is more worthwhile as he prepares an area for planting of vegetables meant for malnourished children in their village.
The 43-year-old beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), said the job is tiring, but knowing that he’s contributing to the effort to arrest malnutrition, motivated him to work more.
“Our work here is a proof that 4Ps beneficiaries are not lazy. We want to be known as profitable citizens and not just recipients of the government’s cash grants,” the farmer said.
Since 2010, he has been receiving P1,200 monthly from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to support his children’s education.
Manidlangan, who earns an average income of P100 daily from cultivating coconut and other crops, is just one of the 56 4Ps recipients in Barangay Anonang tapped to work in a communal garden. The upland village is about 18 kilometers from the town center passing through a hilly road.
The garden will cultivate vegetables as main ingredients of pinakbet, a Filipino vegetable stew made of different vegetables, pork and shrimp paste.
The dish usually includes bitter melon, eggplant, tomato, okra, string beans, chili peppers, squash, winged beans, and others.
Anonang Elementary School agriculture teacher Dexter Villote said 43 malnourished children out of the 158 students enrolled in their school will benefit from the school-based feeding program.
The initiative primarily aims to improve the nutritional status of the beneficiaries by at least 70 percent at the end of 120 feeding days.
Secondarily, it aims to increase classroom attendance by 85 percent to 100 percent and improve the children’s health and nutrition values and behavior.
“Through gardening, we hope to capacitate more beneficiaries into empowered community members who are able to help in the development,” Manidlangan said.
Village council member Flora Alere, 52, said her participation in the project is a way of paying debt of gratitude for the government’s grants.
“I am always happy to help because the government has supported the education of some of my six children since 2010,” Alere shared.
“Gardening is a good opportunity for us to foster camaraderie as we share seedlings from backyard farms and agree to work together to maintain this organic farm,” she added.
DSWD Regional Director Restituto Macuto said that 4Ps families have been taught to maintain gardens to address malnutrition, save budget for food, and earn additional income.
“Based on the monitoring of our municipal links, our 4Ps beneficiaries are not lazy since they were taught to be diligent during family development sessions,” Macuto said.
Eastern Visayas region has 280,000 4Ps beneficiaries in six provinces.
The conditional cash transfer program locally known as 4Ps, is a government program that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor in the country.
The program aims to break the cycle of poverty by keeping children aged 0-18 healthy and in school, so they can have a better future.
Households receive cash grants if children stay in school and get regular health check-ups, have their growth monitored, and receive vaccines. Pregnant women must get pre-natal care, with their births attended to by professional health workers.
Parents or guardians are required to participate in monthly community-based family development sessions to learn about positive child discipline, disaster preparedness, and women’s rights. (The author is the school head of the Anonang Elementary School in Barangay Anonang, Burauen, Leyte)

MAASIN CITY- The voice of the people that will be expressed through a plebiscite is the final decision on whether they like, or do not like, the Philippines to shift to the federal system of government.
And the referendum-plebiscite can be done simultaneously with the mid-term elections scheduled in May next year to save on costs.
This was stated categorically by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel in a huddle with local media last week at the DILG provincial office, on the sidelines of his visit as administering officer for the swearing-in of newly elected barangay officials.
Asked if the majority of the senators were enthusiastic on the federalism idea, the senator was candid enough to admit that only three others shared his passion, namely, Senate President Tito Sotto and Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri and Manny Pacquiao.
“But this may change, given that the constitutional committee tasked to draft the federal constitution has finished its task,” Pimentel quickly added.
Pimentel also said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is not keen on holding the plebiscite together with next year’s polls, without giving details.
In any case, the proposed change will have to be submitted to the people in a plebiscite, whether it is joined with the elections or held at a separate date, Pimentel emphasized.
(MARCELO M.PEDALINO/PIA8-Southern Leyte)

TACLOBAN CITY-“Even in your retirement years, you should not forget that you were once part of DENR and that your contribution has already made a mark. But I believe that you still have what it takes to passionately contribute for the protection of the environment,” said RD Atty. Crizaldy M. Barcelo, during his message to the retirees of the Department. He challenged them to continue their environmental advocacies in support of the Department’s mandate.
Responding to the challenge, the retirees organized themselves into an association that will closely coordinate with the Department. In particular, it will serve as support group from among the retirees and will be the official link to the Department. They will also be coming up with a Memorandum of Agreement with the DENR for them to avail and implement some of its programs in the region such as the National Greening Program (NGP).
Among the retirees who answered the call and were voted as officers of the association were Forester Manolito Ragub, former Regional Executive Director (RED) as President; Forester Leo Poculan, former Supervising Forest Management Specialist of the Watershed Philippine Model Forest, as Vice-president for External and Mr. Romeo Golong, former Legal Officer, as Vice-president for Internal.
“We are fortunate that our present leadership in the Department recognizes the contribution of our former officers and employees because we cannot be what we are today without you, our retirees. We have evolved from your humble beginnings and we draw inspiration from your previous services,” shared RD Atty. Barcelo as he thanked the retirees for their support.
The “DENR Retirees Homecoming 2018” was a venue for them to reminisce their years of service for the environment and as a way of paying tribute to their contributions to the Department. This was held on July 25, 2018 at the Graduate School Function Hall of the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) in Tacloban City. (PR)