TACLOBAN CITY-The body of the alleged middleman related to the killing of radio commentator Percival ‘Percy Lapid’ Mabasa has arrived at their house in Javier, Leyte Saturday night, with his father seeking justice for his death.

The remains of Cristito Villamor Palaña, on board in a vehicle of a funeral parlor, arrived at the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport here at about 6:48 pm and were brought immediately to their house in Javier town, Leyte, about 66 kms away from this city.
The father of Palaña said that he could not believe that his 39-year old son was ‘killed’ inside the New Bilibid Prison(NBP).

“He was already in prison. Why they have to kill him?’ the sobbing father, whose name is to be withhold for security reason, said in a brief media interview.
Town police chief, Lt.Nikcy Bermudo said two weeks before the arrival of the remains of Palana, they have already secured the area.

“We have received instructions from the provincial mobile force two weeks ago to secure the family of Villamor. About eight policemen were detailed there 24/7,” he said in a phone interview.

The police chief said that at this time, he could not say yet as to when the detailed policemen would be pull out in the area.

‘The instruction is just to secure the family. Whenever his father goes out from the house, for example, he must have an escort,” Bermudo added.

Based on the information relayed by Bermudo, Palaña has been living in Manila for quite a long period of time now with only his father living in Javier.

“The father is a simple farmer with no known bad record, including the rest of his relatives here. All his six children, including him (Palana), been living in Manila,” the police chief said.

He said that Palaña was imprisoned sometimes in 2018 due to a drug-related complaint.
Palaña, who died under mysterious circumstances on October 18 inside the NBP, was described by the gunman, Joel Escorial, to have called him to kill Mabasa for a sum of P550,000.
(ROEL T.AMAZONA with JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) has started the construction of a P129 million farm-to-market road (FMR) that is expected to benefit at least 2,795 poor residents in three Samar towns.

The nine-kilometer Hinugacan-Villahermosa Road will traverse some remote farming communities in the towns of Gandara, Tarangnan and Pagsanghan.

These villages have a total agricultural area of 4,553 hectares suited for the production of rice, corn, vegetable, sweet potato, cassava, taro, banana, and coconut, the DA regional office said in a statement.

“We are really looking forward that through the help of this project, this could really change the lives of the farmers, not just the farmers but most especially the economic status of the communities. And we are really hoping for Samar to finally produce their own vegetables,” said DA Eastern Visayas regional executive director Angel Enriquez.

The road construction is part of the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Projects (PRDP) designed to modernize and improve the resilience of the fisheries and agriculture sectors. The road project will be completed next year.

Of the P129-million budget for the project, P103.23 million is from loan proceeds, P12.9 million from the Philippine government, and P12.9 million from local government equity.
During the groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 28, Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan said the start of the project is very memorable to the people of Samar since they have been pushing for the road construction as early as 2017.

“PRDP project is very tedious. We had to process a lot of documents. I know that there were glitches and some problems along the way while we were processing the documents especially that we experienced this pandemic which made it difficult for us to follow-up,” she said during the event.

The six-year nationwide rural development project is worth P27.5 billion funded through a World Bank loan worth P20.56 billion, and P7 billion in counterpart funds from the national and local government units. (PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Red tide bloom has recurred in San Pedro Bay in Samar province just a month after it was declared toxin-free, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reported on Friday.

BFAR-8 (Eastern Visayas) head Juan Albaladejo said the recurrence of red tide in the bay in Basey town happens because the bay has shallow parts that contribute to the interaction of warm and cold weather.

“This triggers the red tide-causing dinoflagellates cyst to migrate to (the) water surface and expose to accompanying sediments laden with organic matter. It fertilizes the microorganism, causing red tide,” Albaladejo said in a text message.

On October 11, the shellfish ban was lifted in San Pedro Bay as favorable weather dispersed red tide organisms.

San Pedro Bay in the coastal waters of Basey and Marabut towns in Samar is a rich source of shellfish in the southern part of Samar Island.

The latest advisory said the red tide toxins also remain in the coastal waters of Guiuan in Eastern Samar, Cancabato Bay in Tacloban City, and Irong Irong Bay in Catbalogan City in Samar.

“We have been issuing precautionary advice to the public to refrain from gathering, selling, and eating all types of shellfish and Acetes sp. locally known as ‘alamang or hipon’ from the said bay,” Albaladejo said.

Fish, squid, crab, and shrimp gathered from these areas are safe to eat provided that all entrails are removed and washed thoroughly with running water before cooking.

The BFAR asked local government units to heighten their watch against the gathering, trading, and consumption of shellfish to prevent the incidence of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).

PSP occurs from ingesting bivalve shellfish, such as mussels, oysters, and clams that contain red tide toxins. Its symptoms include the tingling of the lips and tongue, which may progress to the tingling of fingers and toes and loss of control of arms and legs, followed by breathing difficulties.

Red tide is a term used to describe a phenomenon where the water is discolored by high algal biomass or the concentration of algae. (PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY– A giant Christmas tree was lighted up inside the provincial capitol grounds in Catarman on Friday (Nov.4), signaling the official start of the Christmas season in the province.

Aside from the switch-on of the 18-meter foot Christmas tree, mostly made of metals led by Governor Edwin Ongchuan and his wife Bles, the event also marked as a gift-giving to about 1,000 children consisting of toys, candies, and school supplies.

This year’s yuletide theme is Christmas Carnival which showcases designs and decorations prepared by different national government offices and civic organizations, says Allen Berbon, the provincial information officer.

Those who were present during the occasion immediately took photos or selfies with the Christmas tree and various decors inside the Christmas park as their background.

Gov. Ongchuan said that the Christmas park at the provincial capitol grounds is primarily for children ‘for them to savor the joy of Christmas’ as well as for adults for them to have a feeling of childlike joy that the season brings.

“The provincial government endeavors to live out the distinct celebration of Filipinos during Christmas season where it is shared with an extended time for family, for sharing, for giving, and for renewed friendship”, the governor said, as he encouraged the public to visit the Christmas park which will end until January 6,2023.

The provincial government-initiated activity dubbed as the “Karibhungan sa Pasko” is now on its six years now.

The event, capped with a spectacular fireworks, also aims to promote the spirit of giving and sharing, and boost local tourism. (JOEY A. GABIETA)