PALO, Leyte – The top official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) urged the voters on the forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections not to vote candidates who are into illegal drugs.
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino, who graced the inauguration of their regional office at Government Center, this town, Wednesday (April 18), also said that if he has his way, he would publicize the names of barangay officials who are into illegal drug trade but would wait instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte on this issue.
Aquino said that he is appealing to the barangay and even SK voters to reject candidates for the May 14 balloting who are into illegal drugs.
This way, the barangays would be freed from illegal drugs and attain the goal of Mr. Duterte to have a drug-free Philippines.
Of the 4,930 villages in the region, 2,952 of them are affected by illegal drug trade.
About 1,618 were already cleared with the remaining 934 villages still to be cleared from the proliferation of illegal substance.
Of the six provinces in the region, Southern Leyte was the first to be declared as drug-cleared while four of the seven cities (Tacloban, Ormoc, Baybay and Maasin) were already declared as drug-cleared.
Aquino, meantime, disclosed that based on their watch list, 274 barangay officials are considered to be on the illegal drug trade.
The figure, however, is lower compared to the 289 barangay officials under the list of Malacañang.
He said that while he would like to publicize the names of these barangay officials who are into illegal drug trade, he would still wait for the President to do it.
“Hinihintay ko ang, ang order sa amin ng Department of Interior and Local Government or maybe the President,” Aquino added.
“(But)if I will have my own way and the President orders it, I will publish the names of the village officials involved in illegal drugs so that their constituents will know and they will not vote them,” he added.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The police are intensifying their monitoring on the entry of illegal drugs in Leyte, following reports that the Espinosa group have resumed its illegal drug operations.
Senior Superintendent Norberto Tuazon, Leyte police provincial director, told Leyte Samar Daily Express that they could not confirm about the report though they are closely monitoring movements in Albuera relative to illegal drugs proliferation.
Albuera is the hometown of self-confessed illegal drug lord Kerwin Espinosa whose late father, Rolando Espinosa, was once its mayor.
The young Espinosa is now detained at Camp Crame.
S/Supt. Tuazon said that they are keeping a tighter watch on the entry of illegal drugs in Leyte, especially in the town of Albuera.
The police official added that they are closely monitoring the Espinosa group and also all terminals, ports, airports and even clubs and establishments to ensure that illegal drugs will not reach the town of Albuera and other areas in the region.
Leyte, according to Tuazon, is merely a transshipment point for illegal drugs as they have not monitored any presence of illegal drug laboratories in the area.
He also claimed that the strict enforcement and successful implementation of Oplan Double Barrel campaign resulted in the drop in the supply of illegal drugs in the province.
“We are winning the war against illegal drugs,” Tuazon said.
He, however, did not provided any data to support on his claim.
(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)

TACLOBAN CITY- Slowly, they are seeing a ray of hope on the electoral protest filed by her brother against Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo.
Thus expressed Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, referring to the ongoing recount of votes for the 2016 vice presidential race where her brother, Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ narrowly lost to Robredo by over 200,000 votes.
“It’s been an uphill struggle for us but with the start of the counting, may liwanag na sa dilim kahit papaano. We’re pushing very hard, we’re hopeful that this will proceed and it looks like slowly we are inching towards our goal,” the governor said during a media interaction Tuesday(April 17) at the VIP Lounge of the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport.
“Our family is just pushing for the protest. It’s been a while. This is what we’ve wanted for the last two years and it’s only right because we prayed for this; that the recount of ballots pushes through” added Marcos.
Marcos was in Tacloban for a series of speaking engagement but failed to attend some of them due to delayed flight from Manila.
The Ilocos Norte said that they are positive that his brother will win on the election protest that he filed against Robredo.
Bongbong lost to Robredo, candidate of the Liberal Party, by about 263,473 votes.
Marcos claimed that they were cheated reason he initiated the protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).
Meantime, Imee said that she is seriously considering of running for a Senate seat in next year’s elections.
“Napapagusapan sa pamilya naming dahil sa protesta ni Bongbong, its taking forever. Its two years na, nothing happens. My mother, my brother and I are concerned that somebody should run for a national office in next year’s national election,” she said.
She said that she’s been visiting the country to get the feel of the people and to see what’s happening outside her province.
Marcos is now on her third and last term as governor of Ilocos Norte. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The last day of the filing of the certificates of candidacy for the May 14 elections appeared to be uneventful, at least at the office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), this city.
This was because only, as of noon, about 200 candidates, both for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) posts, filed their documents.
In contrast, there was a ‘massive’ turn out of filers on Wednesday (April 18) which was due to the belief of the filers that it would bring them luck as they aspire for village posts.
The deadline for the filing of the CoC for those who want to run for this year’s village elections is at 5 pm with no deadline set by the Comelec.
According to lawyer Ma. Goretti Cañas, city elections officer, the perceived lucky day or April 18, there were 902 candidates who trooped to their office to file their respective CoC.
“That day was really our peak day. They believed that April 18, having an eight number which is considered to be a lucky number to some, thus, there was a massive turn out of candidates who filed their certificates of candidacy,” Cañas said.
“So this last day of filing, we anticipate that we will not have a big turnout of candidates who will file their CoCs,” she added.
Since the start of the filing of the CoC last April 14 until noon of Friday, there were already 2,957 individuals who filed their CoCs for the barangay posts while 2,105 candidates filed their CoCs seeking for SK posts.
For Tacloban City, Eastern Visayas’ regional capital, up for grabs for both barangay and youth elections are 138 posts for chairpersons and 966 for councilors.
Among the candidates in this year’s elections are some media workers.
Among them is Mark Escol, who is on his last and third term as a councilor of Brgy.59, who is running for village chair.
Escol, who is a radio broadcaster of Magic FM, said that he want to serve more his people, adding that there was a ‘clamor from his constituents’ to run for their village top posts.
For Antonia Mendasa,55, she was egged on to run as a councilor in their village by her cousin, Pedro Ampatin who, incidentally, is in jail since last year due to illegal drugs possession.
“He asked me to run because he believed in me; that I have what it takes to become a leader in our village. He also asked me to help rid out illegal drugs in our village,” Mendasa, mother to four and presently the health service point officer of their village, Brgy. 77.
Meantime, Lourdes Bernadas, incumbent village councilor of Brgy.29, her family asked her mother, Sofia, who is serving on her second term as a councilor not to run in this year’s elections.
“She is already 83 years old. That’s why, we have asked her not to seek for reelection and just allowed me to seek for my second term,” Bernadas said.
Cañas said that so far, 10 candidates have withdrawn their CoCs due to their being not registered voters with their respective villages, or in one case involving an SK candidate who decided to run for the chairmanship from his original plan to just seek for a council seat.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

CAMP RUPERTO KANGLEON, PALO, Leyte- Three unidentified suspects carted away P90,000 from victims who were on board a six-wheeler truck in Lapinig, Northern Samar on April 18.
Reports reaching at the regional Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters, disclosed that the hold-up incident took place along a national of said town at about 9:30 am.
The victims, John Kevin Morallos, 23 and a resident of Barangay Bato, Gamay town, was driving the six-wheeler truck owned by the JB Mini-Mart with Ana Norombaba and Jessebel Duac, were flagged down by the suspects while cruising along Brgy. Alang-Alang of said town.
One of the suspects shot the leg of Morallos and immediately took a sling bag containing the P90,000, two mobile phones and three keys of the store.
The driver was brought to the Gamay District Hospital for medical treatment while the suspects fled towards the mountainous area of said place after the incident.
Recovered from the crime scene was one slug of Cal. 45 pistol.
Elements of the Lapinig Municipal Police Station are now conducting follow-up investigation for the arrest of the suspect. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY— This city’s promotional campaign dubbed as “Home of the Happiest People in the world” has gone viral, currently racking up over 709,000 views after its campaign video was launched online on April 5.
“The branding, though received flak for its lack of consultation to stakeholders, was strategic in a public relations point of view, racking up hundreds of thousands of views from curious netizens that got wind of the video through negative comments,” said Aaron Almadro, a leading PR and advertising executive in the city.
In his experience in media and discussions within the creative industry colleagues in Manila, Almadro pointed out the lack of inclusive consultation of Tacloban’s new branding campaign.
“Though the process can’t be criticized since we are not aware of their procedures, the end product seems half-baked. It was proven recently when the original tagline ‘Happiest people in the world’ was slightly tweaked into ‘Home of the Happiest People in the world,’” he said.
“This change happened without any announcement nor clarification, just like how the original tagline was launched. But like what they say, negative PR is still PR. Intentional or not, it did gain traction, and the agency that produced this still got the results it must have targeted. If these hits will indeed turn into tourist arrivals, remain to be seen,” Almadro added.
Vic Abrugar, a known web developer and digital marketing strategist in Eastern Visayas, acknowledged that the city’s new branding video has reached its viral level.
“However, to really determine its digital marketing or viral value, we need to check its Facebook’s Insights and other analytics to determine the cost of the campaign and the demographic or relevance of the audience reached,” Abrugar said.
“For example, of these 709, 000 views, what portion is organic and what portion is acquired thru paid advertising? Did the video really reach its target audience—the locals or the potential foreign tourists?” he asked.
Overall, the campaign has done a good job since it created a buzz, especially with the branding ‘the happiest people in the world’, though some people may not agree with it, he said.
The city government, however, maintained that the campaign has “attained its purpose” based on the feedback they received.
“Actually, it’s a given. When you launched something it’s a given that there are good reviews and bad reviews about the campaign. But bottom line is, this campaign is intended for people outside Tacloban city. And so far, the city government has been receiving good reviews about this new branding,” Henry James Roca of the City Information Office, said.
Roca also belied the reports that the campaign was haphazardly produced, saying that city has been working on the project since last year.
“It was only sidetracked because of some other pressing concerns, like for example, the delivery of services in the northern barangays. The program came to fruition this year only. Actually, the city government asked the assistance of the technical team of an advertising firm plus it also formed a technical working group,” he said.
He assured the public that funds were “minimal” and were spent “wisely” in producing the new branding campaign of the city after its recovery from the onslaught of super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ on Nov. 8, 2013.
Meanwhile, Roca disclosed that their next plan is to invite bloggers around the country “so they could tour the sites around the city and in a way advertise it on their own blogs.”
“We are also encouraging local establishments to carry the tagline for sustainability. The mayor wants the local residents to own the campaign because it’s for them and for the local economy as well,” he added.
If there’s an influx of tourists to the city, it will redound to more jobs for our locals, he said.
According to Roca, the city had around 537,000 tourist arrivals last year where about 27,000 of them were foreigners.
“Hopefully, the number will double this year with our new branding.”
(RONALD O. REYES)