ORMOC CITY– A lifeless body of a fisherman reported missing was found dead after it was washed ashore about 5:25 pm Saturday (March 11) at a shoreline in Barangay Cambatutay Nuevo, Tarangan, Samar.

Town police chief Capt. Nieto Rarugal identified the victim as Alberto Asis, 63, married, and a resident of Brgy. Balugo, Tarangan.

Capt. Rarugal, in an interview, disclosed that the victim was last seen at around 5 am on the same day at the shoreline of Brgy. Bahay by his nephew, Jose Pilapil, who was then swimming going to Brgy. Cambatutay Nuevo where he used to catch fish.

However, the victim was seen dead in the said place by Lolito Galla, a resident of the village.

Capt. Rarugal disclosed that he immediately requested personnel from the Samar Provincial Forensic Unit to conduct their findings at the victim’s cadaver who reported that the man was drowned and there was no foul play involved.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY– Cases of rape across the region saw a ‘significant decrease’ last year compared to 2021.

Citing a report from the Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD), the police regional headquarter said that 341 rape cases were logged in 2022, which is lower than in 2021 or a drop of 19.76% or 425 in actual incidents.

“The decrease of 84 incidents was made possible through the combined efforts of Police Regional Office 8 and other counterparts advocating for women’s protection against various forms of violence,” said Brigadier General Rommel Francisco Marbil, police regional director, in a statement.

“We cannot do this alone. We need the support and full cooperation of the public, especially in reporting such violence. I encourage women and children to be well informed and to assert their rights, as we are one with them in our fight for a VAWC-free community,” he stressed.

Despite the decline in rape incidents, the region’s WCPD, headed by Major Analiza Armeza, continuously provides “constant information drive through conferences, lectures, seminars, and training on special laws that protect women and children, including the conduct of house-to-house visits.”

Meanwhile, Marbil has ordered all the line units to “double their efforts” in preventing all types of abuses and cases of violence against women and their children (VAWC) in their areas. (RONALD O. REYES)

To be known as ‘Janbatas Bridge”

TACLOBAN CITY– It appears that it’s all systems go for the construction of a new bridge that will serve as an alternative to the San Juanico Bridge.

And the cost of constructing the proposed bridge is a staggering P9.2 billion.
Engr. Edgar Tabacon, the regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), said that the feasibility study of the project has already been approved.
In fact, he said, representatives from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the main funder of the proposed project, are scheduled to conduct their ocular inspection of the site.

It was learned from Tabacon that the proposed bridge will start at Barangay Guintigui-an, Babatngon in Leyte, and will end at Brgy. San Pascual, Sta. Rita, Samar.
The DPWH official added that the proposed P9.2 billion bridge will be known as the ‘Janbatas Bridge’ as it will straddle the Janbatas channel.

The proposed length of the bridge is 1.2 kilometers, this includes 600 meters for the main bridge and 600 meters for the causeway.

The proposed Janbatas Bridge will serve as an alternative to the San Juanico Bridge which serves as the main highway connecting the Leyte and Samar islands and in the process help ease traffic congestion.

“The Janbatas Bridge will be an alternative road for the increasing number of motorists passing through the San Juanico Bridge,” Tabacon said during the weekly ‘Kapihan ha PIA” last Friday.

Tabacon, however, did not say when the timetable for the construction of the bridge.
San Juanico Bridge is almost 50 years old and was fully operational in 1973 during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. as his ‘gift’ to his wife, Imelda, who is from Leyte.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

Manila-On International Women’s Day March 8, Filipino entrepreneur Senith Araez received the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Outstanding Achievement Award from the United States government for her exemplary leadership in business and contributions to the empowerment of women in her community.

The award was presented during the first regional AWE Summit organized by the U.S. government from March 6 to 9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. More than 200 businesswomen and AWE graduates from Brunei, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam attended the event.

Araez founded Whistler Travel and Tours in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan in 2019. Through the business mentorship and training provided by AWE, she was able to expand her business and cater to clients based in the United States. In Araez’s company, 75 percent of employees are single mothers or women who are family breadwinners.

“I am humbled to receive this Outstanding Achievement Award. AWE made it possible for me to develop a sound business plan that resulted in engagements with local, national, and now, international corporate accounts,” Araez said.

Launched by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in 2019, AWE is a hybrid program that combines the use of DreamBuilder—an online business training curriculum developed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management—with in-class mentoring and facilitation. Globally, the program has trained more than 25,000 women entrepreneurs in 100 countries.

In the Philippines, AWE has trained more than 180 women beneficiaries since its launch in October 2020. Araez is actively involved in establishing a new AWE cohort in Puerto Princesa City that is expected to provide professional training for 30 women working in the local fishing industry.

“When we opened AWE Philippines in 2020, our vision was to provide Filipinas with the confidence and technical skills needed to start sustainable businesses. Now three years later, we are excited to see these entrepreneurs expand their business ideas and their networks of entrepreneur partners,” said U.S. Embassy Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer Pauline Anderson.

AWE Philippines is implemented by non-profit organization Samahan ng mga Pilipina para sa Reporma at Kaunlaran (SPARK!) and the U.S. Embassy’s American Spaces network in Bacolod City, Cebu City, Manila, Marawi City, and Puerto Princesa City. In December 2022, two new AWE cohorts led by SPARK! were established in Bohol and Zambaonga del Sur. (PR)