TACLOBAN CITY– Crime incidents in the region saw a drop covering the period of January to February compared to the same period of last year.

For the past two months of this year, the police in the region recorded 1,307 total cases, lowered by 209 cases for the same period.

B/ Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, the police regional director, said that the decline of crime incidents in Eastern Visayas is a result of a ‘strengthened police operations and intensified police presence’ along the Maharlika Highway.

“It is also due to the full support and cooperation of the community in crime prevention and in reporting any illegal activities and lawless elements in their areas,” he added.

Marbil earlier put up Task Force Maharlika which aims to prevent crime incidents using the route starting from Allen, Northern Samar to San Ricardo, Southern Leyte.

Meantime, the Tacloban City Police Office ranked number 1 with the highest overall crime clearance efficiency(CSE) obtaining 88 percent for the same period with the Eastern Samar Police Provincial Office getting the top rank among provincial police offices with a 97.78 percent in terms of crime clearance efficiency(CCE).

CSE refers to the percentage of solved cases out of the total number of crime incidents while Crime Clearance Efficiency is the percentage of cleared cases out of the total number of crime incidents for a given period of time.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

ORMOC CITY-Excessive heat while cooking copra resulted in the conflagration of the copra dryer at about 3:30 PM on Sunday (March 5) in Sitio Mahayahay of Barangay San Miguel, San Isidro, Leyte.

The burned copra dryer was owned by Mary Ann Arabis,30.

Major Reymund Quinagutan, town police chief, said that at about 1 pm on that day, laborers lit up the copra kiln to cook the copra but due to the heat and oil excreted from the copra, the fire became uncontrollable and spread above the kiln which was made of concrete and light materials that subsequently spread out at the adjacent shanty.
The workers immediately called the local fire office for assistance which got help from the nearby fire station of Tabango.

The fire was declared under control at about 4: 55 pm and fire out at about 5:43 pm.
No injury was reported because of the fire with estimated total damage of P100, 000. (ROBERT DEJON)

Leading digital solutions platform Globe has made history by becoming the first company in the country to test Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity for Short Messaging Service (SMS) and emergency alerts in partnership with global firm Lynk Global.

During the field trial, which took place in Bataan from February 16 to 20, 2023, standard mobile phones connected directly to Lynk’s LEO satellites and successfully sent and received text messages. The satellite was also able to broadcast an emergency message to the phones registered to the Lynk network.

This breakthrough technology is expected to augment Globe’s existing terrestrial networks and provide cellular connectivity to more Filipinos in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

In April of this year, Lynk will launch its global commercial service providing periodic SMS services and cellular broadcast emergency alerts that are roaming-like from a network and user perspective. Over time, Lynk’s service will become seamless and add more services, such as app-based messaging, voice, and data.

“Globe is exploring new satellite technology solutions to reach more people, especially in far-flung areas that do not have any terrestrial network coverage. There are still places within the archipelago where people can benefit from additional mobile coverage,” said Gerhard Tan, Director and Head of Network Strategy and Technology Enablement at Globe.
“At Lynk, we believe that people should be able to use their mobile phones to communicate no matter their location and no matter how remote. Our network of satellites that work as cell towers in space paves the way for Globe to enhance their mobile coverage of the Philippines,” added James Alderdice, VP, Asia-Pacific at Lynk.

The two companies signed an agreement last year for Globe to experience the innovative aspect of the service, specifically the ability for standard unmodified phones to communicate with an LEO satellite in orbit acting as a mobile base station.

“Low Earth Orbit Satellites will dominate the space industry. It will create a strong wave of opportunity to connect the unconnected. This satellite technology will revolutionize basic cellular service and the internet in the country, enabling a digitally-connected Philippines,” Tan said.

Lynk has been working on the technology and satellite service for over five years and has launched several LEO satellites with direct-to-mobile phone service to offer mobile operators and their subscribers’ additional coverage for cellular connectivity. (PR)