TACLOBAN CITY– Food products from the cities of Ormoc and Baybay were put on display during the recently-concluded food festival sponsored by the Department of Tourism (DOT) held in Davao City.
For Baybay City, dried langka (jackfruit), camote chips, sweet potato ice cream were presented during the two-day food festival that ended on Sunday (Dec.4).
For Ormoc City, its ‘alto peak’ chocolate, which uses cacao beans, was its main food product attraction for the festival dubbed as ‘Kaon Ta, Kain Pa!’
Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes led the delegation from the region at the said food festival which is now on its 21st year.
Also present during the said food festival were Presidential Assistant for Eastern Mindanao Secretary Leo Tereso Magno; DOT OIC, Undersecretary Verna Buensuceso; and Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) executive director Janet Lipoz, among others.
ORMOC CITY– The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Leyte 4th District Engineering Office (DEO) led by District Engineer Allan Eway conducted the yearly International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) on November 25.
Said event is observed from September 1 until December 31, 2022.
The office chose the Anilao River, this city, as rivers are the main source of ocean plastic pollution and are the arteries that carry waste from land to the ocean.
In addition, it is surrounded with neighborhoods and establishments, thus, it is important to keep the riverbank free of unsightly debris, tall grass and trash.
The activity is in line with public and private sector campaigns to administer activities and raise awareness on the extent of the marine debris problem.
Further, such activities will promote people around the world to clean up waterways in their communities, thus, keeping the environment and oceans healthy. (ROBERT T. DEJON)
CAMP SEC. RUPERTO K. KANGLEON, PALO,Leyte– B/Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, the regional director of the Police Regional Office(PRO) 8 presented his accomplishments during the first-ever ‘commander’s time’ held at the PRO 8 multi-purpose hall, here, on December 2.
B/Gen. Marbil
PB/Gen. Marbil took his time to present to the men and women his direction under his watch to include all of his achievements and accomplishments from day one of his leadership, August 15, 2022 until November 30, 2022.
All of which are aligned with the Chief PNP’s program thrust, the Peace and Security Framework: Malasakit, Kaayusan, Kapayapaan tungo sa Kaunlaran.
Of his more than three months of leadership, he was able to come up with a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with some government hospitals in the region enabling all police personnel access a free medical check-up and other health services.
He even outsourced for the maintenance of all PNP vehicles. Likewise, Marbil invited legal counsel from other agencies to assist PRO 8 personnel facing legal battles. Said accomplishments fall in “Malasakit” as health, vehicle maintenance and legal aspects of personnel were taken care of.
Under his leadership, lower units received 300 Galil and 350 Emtan Basic Assault Rifle to strengthen the marksmanship skills of the personnel. For a better communication, radios were issued, 197 Base, 705 handheld, 130 mobile radios, 7 repeaters, and 26 manpacks.
Moreover, the construction and repair of the municipal police station of Silvino Lobos, Northern Samar utilizing PRO 8 funds.
It was only in his time that the said station was given attention, making the personnel’s lives safer and be able to deliver best service to the public.
Another was the improvement of parking areas inside the camp, making it more organized and orderly.
Also, Marbil also directed the installation of directional signages inside the camp as he too directed the lower units to do the same, taking into consideration the public’s welfare, awareness and sense of security.
For his operational accomplishments, 218 illegal drug personalities were arrested from August 15, 2022 to November 30, 2022; 893 were arrested for illegal fishing; 1,565 illegal gamblers were arrested; 218 illegal loggers and 248 were arrested for illegal possession of firearms.
With all these improvements and accomplishments, Marbil looks forward for more.
He proposed for the construction of an 8-storey regional headquarters administrative building; 5-storey regional support unit’s building;, construction of a command center and the creation of Task Force Maharlika to guard the main highways from north to south of Eastern Visayas.
Further, he stressed that for a goal to be realized and sustained, a culture of ruthless accountability must be applied at all times by each and every PNP personnel in the region.
“We must adhere to our sworn duties of serving the public with dignity and protecting them at all cost. Let us all be a hero in our own little ways,” he said. (PR with reports LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
ORMOC CITY– A newly-identified drug peddler yielded three sachets containing suspected shabu in a buy-bust operation in Gandara, Samar on Nov.29.
The sting operation, led by the local police’ drug enforcement team and the provincial police intelligence unit, resulted in the arrest of Allon Cuaresma,36, an event organizer, in Barangay Buñagan.
The suspect, who is from Calbayog City, is listed as a newly-identified drug personality in Gandara.
During the conduct of a body search, police operatives recovered sachets of shabu placed inside a calling card container.
Charges of violations of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs of 2002, was filed thru inquest proceedings at the Provincial Prosecutors Office. (ROBERT T. DEJON)
TACLOBAN CITY – At least 104 former rebels in Lope de Vega, Northern Samar have received cash assistance from the government for participating in an emergency employment program.
A ceremony held Tuesday in Lope De Vega town awarded PHP924,000 cash to 264 beneficiaries, including the 104 New People’s Army (NPA) surrenderers to the Philippine Army and Philippine National Police units in the province.
Philippine Army 43rd Infantry Battalion spokesperson 1st Lt. Benigno Lopez, Jr. lauded the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the local government for enlisting former members of the NPA in the program.
“This is a way to make them productive as they start a new life after engaging in a senseless armed struggle. We want to forge partnership with more government agencies to help our former rebels,” Lopez said in a phone interview on Wednesday.
These former rebels residing in the town’s five villages with insurgency problems in the past are members of people’s organization formed by the Army’s 43rd Infantry Battalion in 2021.
Each beneficiary received cash worth PHP3,500 as compensation for their work in the community.
The assistance is part of the DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers or TUPAD, a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers, for a minimum period of 10 days, but not to exceed a maximum of 30 days, depending on the nature of work to be performed. (SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)
Other LGUs put up their own Christmas lights, decors
TACLOBAN CITY– For a change, there will be no Christmas tree put up by the city government here.
It’s because, every time the city government puts up a Christmas tree, it’s being torn by a typhoon.
So said City Mayor Alfred Romualdez who directed instead the City Tourism Office to just flood the entire City Hall building and its compound of glittering Christmas lights and display.
“Perhaps you are surprised that we don’t have a Christmas tree this year. You know, every time we put up a Christmas tree, we are being hit by a typhoon,” he said in jest during the switch-on of the Christmas display on Friday (Dec. 2).
“So we have decided to just put up Christmas lights and I commended the City Tourism Office for a good job,” he said, adding that he hope this will not result in an increase in the electricity bill for the city government.
Power consumers in this city and the rest of the region have complained of the high cost of power rates for months now, ranging from as low as P12 per kilowatt to as high as P19/kw.
Tacloban is often visited by typhoons during the last months of the year. In fact, for the past three years now, successive typhoons hit the city.
In 2013, it was devastated by Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ which did not only destroyed Christmas decors put up but even resulted in the deaths of more than 2,200 people and destroyed houses and buildings across the region.
Meantime, the Price Mansion, owned by the family of Leyte Rep. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, was transformed into a big Christmas village decorated with Christmas lights and display.
Since it opened on Dec.1, thousands of people have visited the place, as they are being reminded to observe social distancing as the threat of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remains.
Other local government units across the region have also put up their Christmas displays like the provincial government of Biliran which uses different themes every night at their Christmas village in Naval town.
A nativity scene is the main attraction of the ‘Paskuhan ha Katbalugan’ in Catbalogan City, Samar located at the city’s main plaza.
In Silvino Lobos town, its main municipal building up to its plaza were also lighted up with colored Christmas lights and display that gives a Christmas feel to Northern Samar’s farthest town. (LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
