TACLOBAN CITY – Businessmen from the region are to meet with Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade to persuade him not to pursue plans to divert all Tacloban-Manila flights to Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
This was disclosed by Oliver Cam, a member of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Eastern Visayas chapter which registered its opposition to the rerouting plan.
Cam, a hotel owner, said that he had a meeting with Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino last Thursday (August 11) to air their opposition to rerouting plans.
“Dino spoke with DOTr Arthur Tugade and relayed the good news in our meeting at Cebu Country Club. We are looking forward to the consultation meeting with Tugade once Dino is able to confirm the schedule and venue,” Cam said.
Sec.Tugade had assured them that “any rerouting to decongest must have a win-win solution and if implemented should only affect up to 50 percent of flights with passengers to be offered a choice to fly via Manila or Clark,” Cam added.
“Tacloban should not be singled out but all other Visayas routes should also be part of the decongestion solution,” Cam, who sits as the private sector representative to the Regional Development Council (RDC) representing PCCI, stressed.
Various groups here in the region aired their concerns after Tugade announced in a Senate hearing Wednesday that the three airlines – Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Air Asia – agreed to transfer all Tacloban-Manila flights to Clark.
The DOTr initially planned to make Tacloban-Manila flights as pilot for rerouting to curb congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
After the DOTr’s pronouncement, netizens have expressed their protest against the plan by using the hashtag #NoToClarkForTaclobanFlights on social media.
The opposition claimed that the transfer would be an additional burden to passengers, both in time and cost.
The Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, one of the country’s busiest, is a gateway to the different parts of the region.
In the first quarter of 2016, the airport had 311,944 inbound and outbound passengers or a 12 percent growth than last year.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO)
Business group in the region to meet Sec. Tugade
Pokemon addicts invade Santo Niño Church
TACLOBAN CITY- The Sto. Niño Church is an iconic landmark and accessible structure in Tacloban and for the religious ones, a sacred place for worship.
However, these days the Church vicinity has become a more favored nook for those trying to catch Pokémons and establish lures in the Pokémon Go craze.
Fr. Ronel Taboso, parish priest of Sto. Niño Church, admitted that the Pokémon Go “wannabe trainers” lining up the side fence of the Church are not precluded from hanging out in the vicinity since they are already outside the church.
He nevertheless felt it incumbent upon the leaders of the society to caution those who get so hooked into this new online game.
“They should use their time and energy productively like study or read books and not waste their precious time and should go to Church for right reason,” Taboso advised.
A Pokemon Go is a reality game app that uses real locations and allows players the chance to search for Pokemons in the real world.
The online game has taken the world by storm to include the Philippines. The online game was launched in the country last August 6.
Players roam around to find Pokemons, Poke eggs and Pokemon stops where they can find beneficial stuff and Pokemon gyms.
Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin, who also observed lately the noticeable number of people standing by daily at the roadside outside the Sto. Niño Church, cautioned the public on the danger this may pose to them and the time wasted in locating Pokémons and lures like the one staged last August 10.
The significant number of players staying over to play Pokemon has become an eye catcher.
One female Pokemon player informed that there are two Pokemon stops at the vicinity of the church.
She said that Pokemon has established Pokemon stops in churches in other places not just in Tacloban City.
This, she said, is the reason why many young and not-so-old alike hang around church vicinities to put up their lures and catch Pokemons.
Greeneth May Torres, a junior lector in Sto. Niño Church and member of the parish youth ministry, could not help but post in her Facebook account on August 11 her observation that many people were lining up outside Sto. Niño Church playing Pokemon.
“This should be stopped. Someone has to. You rather go to church and pray,” she said in her post.
While other youthful individuals are in a frenzy over Pokemons, the youth ministry of Sto. Niño Parish are actively participating in the multifarious programs of the parish.
Last month, the youth conquered the attention of people at the Robinsons Place with its 20-minute flash mob where members of the Parish Pastoral Council gave short talk on the family and distributed family cards.
Youth, lectors and members of Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) dance through medley of groove songs of the 90’s and the recent years.
This was part of the Month of the Family conceptualized by the parish leaders led by Taboso and Fr. Wilson Chu.
This month, the youth in the parish joins in observing SNP’s Month of the Sick under the charge of Fr. Fritz Francis Del Pilar.
The youth parish will also join in the parish ministry pilgrimage in all the Holy Doors (Porta Sancta) in the Archdiocese of Palo tentatively set this month.
In the Archdiocese, the youth are currently participating in the church events in the visit of the International Youth Catechesis Pilgrim Cross of Mercy. (EILEEN NAZARENO BALLESTEROS)
Services of Enhanced Justice on Wheels expanded in Tacloban, Leyte for mediation efforts
(by PACE-Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY- Supreme Court’s Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) does not only serve as mobile court to hear cases especially of detention prisoners but is now expanded to include the court-annexed mediation program.
On August 25, all seven branches or salas of Tacloban’s Regional Trial Courts will be doing whole-day EJOW to be witnessed by officials from SC particularly the Philippine Judicial Academy and Philippine Mediation Center Office EJOW Committee.
Executive Judge Alphinor Serrano disclosed that the RTC Tacloban is in thick of preparations for this day which is not just like the EJOW launching had years back but with add-on activities.
Based on the the program of activities finalized by Serrano with concurrence of other judges, besides promulgation of judgment by all RTC Tacloban branches to be held at the EJOW bus, there will be other events based on suggestions given to the RTC.
There will be jail visitation with medical and dental services at the Tacloban City Jail and at the Leyte Provincial Jail, dialogue among SC officials, RTC and city judges and invited government officials, and orientation-lecture on strategic planning management system to be attended by clerks of court and branch clerks of court and court personnel.
Serrano, however, disclosed that the EJOW bus will only be in Tacloban until August 25 this year after it served as temporary sala for newly created branches in RTC Tacloban that is Branch 43 presided by RTC Tacloban Vice Executive Judge Evelyn Riños-Lesigues and Branch 44 presided by Judge Eligio Petilla.
The EJOW bus, parked for long time now at the compound of RTC Tacloban, was brought to this city after the onslaught of supertyphoon “Yolanda” in November 2013 to serve as sala for courts in Tacloban that were destroyed in the storm surge.
The EJOW bus was later designated by the SC and Office of Court Administrator as regular court sala of RTC Tacloban Branches 43 and 44 at sharing system.
“This could be in response to the communication that the Supreme Court received from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Leyte Chapter,” Serrano said.
In a letter to Serrano dated July 12 of this year, SC Deputy Court Administrator Thelma Bahia informed that IBP Leyte contended in its Resolution No. 13 series of 2016 that the conduct of hearings at the EJOW buses is not conducive to the health of judges, court personnel and the court users.
“The exhaust fume of the bus, the engine of which is running to enable the air conditioning unit to operate, pervade the surroundings, forcing litigants to inhale them,” the report said.
Bahia requested Serrano “to coordinate with the presiding judges and acting presiding judges of the other branches (in RTC Tacloban) if they could share the use of their courtrooms for Branches 43 and 44.
Branch 44 will share with Branch 6, while 43 with Branch 8, Serrano informed.
Bahia also informed Serrano that the rehabilitation of the existing City Hall of Justice with the construction of new building is one of the priority infrastructure projects of the Court.
“The procurement of a Detailed Architectural and Engineering Design (DAED) Consultant that shall come up with the resilient and green building design will be initiated within the year by the Bids and Awards Committee for the Hall of Justice (BAC-HOJ),” Bahia stated in the letter.
Besides the EJOW, the High Court has multifarious initiatives towards speedy disposition of cases, one of which is the Judicial Dispute Resolution where judges themselves conduct the mediation hearing.
“The court also participates in the mediation not only the Philippine Mediation Center through the JDR,” Serrano said.
This mediation procedure can already be had in E-JOW bus in areas where there are no courts or mediation offices available. The EJOW bus will be travelling to Samar then back to the Supreme Court compound in Padre Faura, Manila.
Meanwhile, the new set of officers and directors of the Philippine Association of Court Employees Region 8 chapter took their oath of office before Judge Evelyn Lesigues.
The new officers are Eileen Ballesteros (president and regional director); Antonio Norombaba Jr (vice president); Joevic Corales (secretary); Leila Legaspi-Cinco (treasurer and PACE national treasurer); Atty. Claire Sablan-Agbon (auditor); Ma. Christina Astilla-Sonon (PIO); and members of the Board of Directors Emilio Tampon Jr (No. Samar), Mirasol Catamco (Eastern Samar), Ofelia Belizar (Samar), Bernardo Belciña (Biliran), Atty. Melinda Lim-Docena (So. Leyte), Lilia Gal (Calbayog City), Elizabeth Corrales (Catbalogan City), Atty. Paul Plaza (Tacloban); Atty. Maria Pamela Oliver (Ormoc City).
The PACE is the officially bargaining unit of court employees recognized by the Supreme Court.
(EILEEN NAZARENO BALLESTEROS)
Tacloban police arrested among city’s high value targets in separate buy-bust operations
TACLOBAN CITY- A police officer was among those arrested during a separate buy-bust operations conducted by the Tacloban City police on Sunday (August 14).
Arrested was PO1 Bernardo Baltar, who was said to have gone AWOL (absent without leave) from the police service, during a buy-bust operation in Barangay 35, this city, around 7:30 pm.
Recovered from the suspect were five pieces of plastic sachets believed to contain methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu and a P500 marked money.
In a separate buy-bust operation, police operatives arrested Edson Tingzon,35 and a resident of Brgy.36-A, Imelda Village.About seven pieces of plastic sachets containing shabu and P300 marked money were seized from him.
Bade said that both Baltar and Tingzon are among the city’s high value targets arrested by the Tacloban police since they started their operations against drug users and pushers.
Last August 12, the city police arrested Rodel Ibanez and his brother Jerry, both of Brgy.36, Sabang district, during a buy-bust operation.
All the four suspects are now detained at the Tacloban Police Custodial Facility as cases for possession and selling to be filed against them.
(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)
DSWD chief says senior citizens in EV receives their pensions regularly
TACLOBAN CITY- All senior citizens in the region are regularly receiving their monthly pensions from the government.
This was declared by Restituto Macuto, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The DSWD, which provides the pensions to the senior citizens, said that there are 87,920 beneficiaries of this financial aid across the region.
The beneficiaries or those who are 60 years old and above; suffering from physical infirmities; does not have regular income and come from poor sector, receives P500 a month as their pension.
Macuto said that efforts are being maximize to ensure that the social pension intended to the beneficiaries are not sacrificed.
He said that the financial assistance is meant to help them buy medicines and food.
Macuto said that the agency had linked with the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) as the service provider for the social pension through a door-to-door delivery scheme to hasten the delivery of the assistance to the beneficiaries, especially in areas where there are big number of pensioners.
The scheme was piloted in Tacloban City and in towns of Dulag, Tanauan, La Paz and Julita in Leyte; Guiuan, Giporlos, Maslog, Jipapad, San Julian and Hernani, all in Eastern Samar; Macrohon in Southern Leyte; and Jiabong, Motiong, and Hinabangan, all in Samar.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Planned Tacloban-Clark route could affect EV’s tourism industry, says business group
TACLOBAN CITY—Businessmen and the riding public here in the region are hopeful that the government will take heed of their appeal to “reconsider and desist” the reported implementation of rerouting of all Tacloban –Manila flights to Clark International Airport.
“We had a very productive meeting with Sec. Mike Dino of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas. Sec Dino spoke with (DOTr Secretary Arthur) Tugade and also relayed some good news in our meeting,” RTR Foundation/Mission Tacloban – Mission Director and member Leyte Chamber of Commerce Ginggay Hontiveros said on Thursday (August 11).
Based from their meeting, Hontiveros along with Oliver Cam of the Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that “any rerouting to decongest must have a win-win solution and if implemented should only affect up to 50% of flights with passengers to be offered a choice to fly via Manila or Clark.”
“Second, Tacloban is not to be singled out but that all other Visayas routes should also be part of the decongestion solution. He emphasized that no implementation would be done without proper consultation with Eastern Visayas stakeholders,” Hontiveros said.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) – Eastern Visayas earlier passed a resolution urging DOTr to reconsider its plan, saying “the region’s economy is still at a critical turnaround and recovery phase after supertyphoon Yolanda aggravated the region’s economic situation….”
The chamber reasoned out that the planned rerouting will disrupt the region’s economic growth and “effectively kill (its) tourism industry due to the following major reasons: higher costs; extended/longer travel time; and greater hassle/inconvenience.”
The three airlines serving Tacloban are Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Air Asia.
Jude Acidre, leader of a political group Tingog Sinirangan (Voice of Eastern Visayas) is also looking forward that the government will listen to their plight.
“I hope that the administration will reconsider the plan to transfer Tacloban-Manila flights from NAIA to Clark until the needed train/freeway infrastructure is in place, an integration plan based on a dual airport system is implemented, international flights are
rationalized to other international airports and not while Eastern Visayas is still trying to rebuild its local economy,” he said online.
Over social media, concerned netizens pushed for the hashtag #NoToClarkForTaclobanFlights as a sign of protest over the rerouting issue.
(RONALD O.REYES)