ORMOC CITY– A family whose house was crushed by a fallen tree due to the bad weather was provided with cash assistance by the municipal government of Lope de Vega, Northern Samar.
The house of the affected family in Barangay Gebonawan was hit by a fallen tree due to the strong winds and heavy rain experienced by the town on Jan.27 at about 6:30 pm, town information officer Francine Acasio said.
The cash assistance was personally given to them by Mayor Bobby Saludario and councilor Ester Carduce, Acasio said.
No one was hurt in the incident as the occupants of the house happened to be outside at that time. (ROBERT DEJON)
TACLOBAN CITY– President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. loves the country’s farmers.
Thus said Agrarian Reform secretary Conrado Estrella III in a speech during the distribution of certificate of land titles awards(CLOAs) held in Tolosa, Leyte last Thursday (Jan. 26).
Estrella, joined by Senator Imee Marcos and Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho ‘Icot’ Petilla, distributed 1,047 CLOAs, benefitting 1,006 agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The total number of hectares covered reached to 1,571,9055.
Sec. Estrella said that Pres. Marcos loves them that he is always ready to provide them with the needed assistance to ensure that they will become more productive, aside from granting them land titles.
He said that the farmers could expect more assistance from the administration of Pres. Marcos like construction of more farm-to-market roads, irrigations, fertilizers, tractors, among others.
Estrella said that the distribution of the titles is an achievement for the beneficiaries in particular in strengthening their security of the ownership of their lands.
“We will add to this achievement by providing different assistance to improve their farmlands” he added.
All farmer-beneficiaries will also be exempted of paying amortizations of their farm lands for at least a year.
Meanwhile, the Barangay Agutayan Farmers Association of Hilongos, Leyte received 4 units of hand tractors and 10 units of grass cutters and the Carmarating-Odingon Pagsarang Sulpa Irrigators Association (COPSIA) of Abuyog, also in Leyte, received 4 units of floating tiller, 4 units hand tractor and 5 units of grass cutters.
The amount of the machinery and equipment totaled to more than P3 million.
The Himay-Angans Farmers Association of Southern Leyte, which comprises 54 farmers, received a multicab, rice thresher, mud boat, multi-function tiller, and water pump amounting to P 632,000. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
NAT exams in Tacloban affected due to inclement weather
TACLOBAN CITY– Eastern Visayas continues to experience moderate to heavy rainfall spawned by the shear line on Monday (Jan. 30).
The bad weather resulted for several local government units to cancel classes in both public and private schools from Kindergarten up to Grade 12 levels.
Among these canceled classes were in the towns of Paranas, Motiong, Hinabangan, and Pinabacdao, all in Samar; Dolores, Llorente, Jipapad, and Taft, all in Eastern Samar; Catarman, in Northern Samar; and in the cities of Calbayog and Catbalogan, both in Samar; Ormoc, Baybay, and Tacloban, all in Leyte;
In Tacloban, its school division announced the cancellation of the holding of the national achievement test(NAT) for graduating Grade 12 students due to the bad weather and will be held instead on February 1 and 2.
In Southern Leyte, a rock fall was reported in Barangay Pinut-an, San Ricardo town at about 4 am due to the heavy rains.
Meantime, the information office of Northern Samar province denied that Governor Edwin Ongchuan has declared suspension of classes across the province.
It said that what was circulated online on the purported order of the governor was a previous cancellation order he issued on Jan. 9.
However, Mayor David Bido of Rosario town in the same province, issued suspension of classes to ensure the safety of the public.
The town has experienced heavy rainfall since weekend that resulted in flooding in several areas of the town, including those located on its center.
The regional office of the Office of Civil Defense has also issued an advisory for the public and the disaster risk reduction and management councils across the region to take appropriate actions, and monitor the weather condition.
Since last month, the region has been experiencing bad weather either due to low-pressure area and shear line that caused flooding and landslides.
The three provinces of Samar Island, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar, are under a state of calamity due to this inclement weather which resulted in the dislocation of families, damage to infrastructures, and loss of lives. (JOEY A. GABIETA/ROBERT DEJON)
LENDING HANDS. The country’s Coast Guard extended assistance to seven Chinese nationals whose boat drifted off the waters of Suluan Island, Guiuan in Eastern Samar. Aside from towing their boat to safety, the Chinese nationals were also provided with food and water while they wait for their return to their country.
Beijing expressed gratitude for PH assistance
LENDING HANDS. The country’s Coast Guard extended assistance to seven Chinese nationals whose boat drifted off the waters of Suluan Island, Guiuan in Eastern Samar. Aside from towing their boat to safety, the Chinese nationals were also provided with food and water while they wait for their return to their country.
TACLOBAN CITY-The Philippine Coast Guard based here conducted an inspection of a Chinese vessel that was earlier rescued off the waters of Suluan Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
The Coast Guard led by Lt. Commander Ramil Montemar, Coast Guard chief Eastern Leyte-Tacloban, inspected the MV Kai Da 899 now docked at the San Pedro Bay, four nautical miles away from the Tacloban Port for more than two hours on Saturday(Jan. 28).
He said that they have not found anything illegal or suspicious inside the 496-tonnage vessel though they were able to get a copy of a certificate of deletion of ship registration issued by the Chinese government.
“This means that the vessel is no longer safe for voyage and no longer meets the maritime safety standards,” Montemar said.
Among the information written in the said certificate includes its type of ship which was categorized as a ‘supply boat’ and not a fishing vessel earlier mentioned and with a built date of ‘2018-01-25.’
The same document, issued by the Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China, also disclosed that the ship’s registration was deleted on June 16, 2021.
The said vessel, manned by seven crew members, made a distress call while it was located on the Suluan Island on Thursday(Jan.26) night and was towed by Coast Guard to the city on Friday afternoon.
It was learned that it has developed some mechanical problem reason it drifted.
Montemar said that the vessel had developed a problem with its rudder or steering wheel.
He said that they will provide assistance to the crew members to fix the problem.
“The crew members will not be allowed to disembark as the Coast Guard will provide their safety, food and water and even fuel, if necessary,” Montemar said.
They will also ensure that during their anchorage, there will be no possible oil spill, the official added.
All were also checked by the Bureau of Quarantine to ensure that they are free from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as they showed their vaccination cards.
Meantime, due to the language barrier, the Coast Guard will seek for a Chinese translator to determine the names of the seven crew members as they wrote their names in Chinese characters as well their short narrative of the incident.
But it was learned that the vessel serves as a ‘boat supply’ owned by a private company and not a fishing boat as earlier mentioned.
The vessel is being used to provide fuels and other essentials to boats that need them.
Montemar said that he could not say as to how many days the vessel will be anchoring in the country’s waters.
Aside from Coast Guard, joining in the two-hour inspection were personnel from the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, Bureau of Customs.
The crew members of the Chinese-registered vessel await while the Coast Guard-led group inspected their boat.
Meantime, the Chinese Embassy expressed its thanks to the Coast Guard for providing foods to the distressed Chinese.
“These moves are in line with and concrete implementation of the important consensus reached by our two presidents on strengthening communication and improving dialogue mechanisms between our two Coast Guards, properly managing maritime differences through dialogue and consultation while expanding practical cooperation on the sea,” Ambassador Huang said in the statement.
ORMOC CITY-Two sachets containing white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu were recovered from a newly-identified drug peddler during a buy-bust operation conducted by anti-drug personnel of Palompon, Leyte.
Palompon police chief Capt. Realthur Tanernero identified the suspect as Arnold Arevalo,32, single, farmer, and a resident of Barangay Mazawalo, of said municipality.
The police officer described the suspect as under their drug watch list as a street-level individual.
Recovered from the possession of the suspect were three sachets of suspected shabu with a street value of P3,000.
Charges of violations of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs of 2002, were filed at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against the suspect who is still languishing at the locked-up cell of the Palompon police station. (ROBERT DEJON)
SISTERHOOD PACT. (L-R) Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan, Bacoor City Mayor Strike Revilla and Palapag, Nothern Samar Mayor Florence Batula sign a sisterhood agreement in this Jan. 26, 2023 photo in Bacoor City. The agreement fosters long-term friendship and promotes economic, trade, tourism, educational and cultural ties. (Photo courtesy of Northern Samar provincial information office)
TACLOBAN CITY – The city government of Bacoor in Cavite and the municipal government of Palapag, Northern Samar have signed a sisterhood agreement that would boost their economic, trade, tourism, educational and cultural ties.
SISTERHOOD PACT. (L-R) Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan, Bacoor City Mayor Strike Revilla and Palapag, Nothern Samar Mayor Florence Batula sign a sisterhood agreement in this Jan. 26, 2023 photo in Bacoor City. The agreement fosters long-term friendship and promotes economic, trade, tourism, educational and cultural ties. (Photo courtesy of Northern Samar provincial information office)
Palapag Mayor Florence Batula, in a press statement released Friday, said less developed towns need the help of local government units with vibrant economies like Bacoor City to become more productive and competitive.
“Palapag is one of the less developed areas and we need help from local government units with vibrant economies such as Bacoor,” Batula said during the signing ceremony held at the Bacoor Government Center on Thursday.
Batula also said it was not the first time that Palapag and Bacoor had a pact. She said the ties even began during the Spanish colonization when men from Palapag town were sent to Bacoor to build galleon ships.
For his part, Bacoor Mayor Strike Revilla vowed to assist Palapag with technical assistance and other resources to help the development of the municipality.
“Our vision is to sign more sisterhood pacts with other local government units. I am sure we will learn both ways. There are things in Northern Samar that we don’t have here in Bacoor,” Revilla said.
Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan who also attended the ceremony said he was hopeful that the agreement would foster a long-term relationship that would foster friendship and promotes economic, trade, tourism, educational and cultural ties between partnering local governments.
“I am hopeful that this sisterhood pact between Palapag and the city government of Bacoor will strengthen their partnership and open opportunities for the people of Palapag to showcase their agricultural, cultural and tourism potential,” Ongchuan said.
Palapag, a third-class municipality in Northern Samar with a population of over 34,000, is one of the oldest settlements on Samar Island.
According to history, locals in Palapag and the missionaries played an all-important role in sheltering and securing the richly laden Manila galleons returning from Acapulco, Mexico. (PNA)
