Samar Gov. Tan among the first to volunteer

TACLOBAN CITY-Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) officer-in-charge Eduardo Año said that he would still like to see candidates running in next year’s midterm elections undergo drug testing.
However, instead of making it as mandatory, he just ‘challenged’ the candidates to just volunteer themselves for a drug test.
Año made this disclosure during an interview as he led in the inauguration of a Peace and Resilience Center located inside the compound of the regional office of the DILG, this city, on Wednesday(Oct. 24).
“We are challenging the candidates to voluntarily submit themselves for a drug test. If you are clear, if you are not using drugs, ano ikinatatakot mo?” the DILG chief said.
“Ipakita mo sa iyung constituents na ikaw ay isang matino, mahusay, at maaasahan na kandidato,” Año added.
He said that it would be to the advantage of the candidates themselves if they will undergo a drug testing.
“Pag-nakita ng mga voters na hindi ka positive sa drugs, iboboto ka ng mga tao,” Año said.
For her part, Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan said that she would just be willing to undergo a drug test.
”Of course, any time,” Tan, who is running for a congressional seat for Samar’s second district in next year’s elections, said.
Earlier, Año advanced the proposal for all candidates seeking for elective posts in next year’s elections to undergo drug testing.
This proposal, however, was strongly opposed by several candidates. Malacañang had also said that it is still reviewing the proposal which was also suggested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
With the opposition and if it will contravene with the ruling of the Commission on Elections, Año said that these candidates should just volunteer themselves for a drug test.
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte, who is leading a controversial crackdown on illegal drugs in the country, named several local officials as among protectors of those who are engaging in the illegal drug trade.
In Leyte, one of its mayors, Rolando Espina of Albuera town, was among those named by Mr. Duterte. He was slain while he was inside his cell at the Leyte sub-provincial jail in Baybay City on November 5, 2016 in a shootout with members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). (JOEY A. GABIETA)

CAMP RUPERTO KANGLEON, PALO, Leyte — The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army here in the region have started crafting security plans in relation to next year’s midterm elections.
Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, police regional director, and Major Gen. Raul Farnacio, commanding officer of the 8th Infantry Division, agreed to immediately recall detailed unformed personnel assigned to politicians running in the May 13, 2019 election once the election period starts as one of the measures to ensure the conduct of the elections in the region will be peaceful and orderly.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had set January 13, 2019 to June 12, 2019 as election period and gun ban.
Those who are facing security threats will be validated before they can be granted with police or military escorts, the two officials said.
“Depending on the result of validation, that is the only time we will assign security escorts to them. They are only entitled to have two police security escorts,” Carlos said.
Carlos added that those who have threats are strongly advised to hire guards from private security agencies.
Policemen who have relatives as candidates will be re-assigned to other units for six months. They will return to their previous units after the election period.
Key police and Army officials still need to finalize the list of areas in the region that will be put under election hot spots for the 2019 polls.
Towns in Samar province had been consistently listed as election hotspot and included on the election watchlist due to intense political rivalries and use of private armed groups (PAGs) while other areas are affected by insurgency issues.
“I know some of them are identified with political dynasties,” Farnacio said referring to PAGs and rebel groups supporting candidates.
“I hope that we can formulate here what to do, so we can address this issue and make the coming elections safe and peaceful,” Farnacio added.
The army official added that some politicians supporting communist rebels have filed their certificates of candidacy last week.
In the 2016 national and local elections, a total of 44 towns in the region were included on the election watchlist due to intense political rivalries, threats of armed rebels, and violence committed by criminal groups.
On the list were several towns in Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and in Biliran.
In the recent 2018 village polls, 284 villages in the region were identified as election hot spots.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- Interior officer-in-charge Eduardo Año said that he would issue an order for all the regions in the country to have their own ‘peace and resilience center’ that will serve as a hub in times of man-made and natural disasters.
Año issued this remarks as he led in the inauguration of the first-ever Peace and Resilience Center in the country located inside the regional office of the Department of Interior and Local Government(DILG), this city, on Wednesday(Oct.24).
Año noted that the inauguration of the Peace and Resilience Center happened just few weeks before the fifth anniversary of the onslaught of super typhoon ‘ Yolanda’ that killed more than 6,000 people in the region on November 8,2013.
“This center must serve its purpose as a learning hub for promoting coherence, collaboration, and inter-dependence among various stakeholders…it should be a rallying point to be prepared to combat various disaster scenarios,” Año said in his speech.
In an interview, Año described the facility as a good example and model for all other regions to put up.
“We will not only encourage but I will impose that all the regions must have a peace and resilience center like this,” he said.
According to the DILG chief, the said facility will serve as a venue for meetings and conferences relative to disaster management and response thus ‘ensure the continuity of services and preparedness’ among local government units.
The facility was constructed early this year and was finished this month at cost of P5 million sourced by the DILG regional office from its own savings and donations.
The area where the facility was built was donated by the provincial government of Leyte through a usufruct.
Also present during the inauguration were Governors Leopoldo Dominico Petilla (Leyte); Sharee Ann Tan (Samar) and Marcelo Ferdinand Picardal (Eastern Samar), Major Gen. Raul Farnacio, commanding officer of the 8th Infantry Division, and officials of the various agencies under the DILG, to include the Philippine National Police headed by Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos.
(JOEY A. GABIETA, ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Now on its 10th year

TACLOBAN CITY- The Oktubafest is not just merely promoting the region’s premier locally-made wine, tuba, but it also helps transform the lives of those in the industry.
Thus said former congressman Florencio ‘Bem’ Noel of the An Waray party-list group which is behind the annual event, now on its 10th year.
Noel said that while the main goal of the Oktubafest, which was patterned after the beer-drinking Oktoberfest of Germany, is to serve as an avenue in promoting tuba or coconut toddy and its other uses like using as a food concoction, doing so also pave the way in helping those in the industry with their group providing the needed assistance.
“We have come a long way since we started the Oktubafest 10 years ago. We have sent some of the children of those in the industry to school (through our scholarship program),” Noel, who is the party’s number one nominee, said Friday.
This year’s Oktubafest was held at the Tacloban Convention Center which was attended by Senators Grace Poe and Sonny Angara, Rep. Zajid Mangundadatu of Maguindanao, mayors from different provinces and directors of various regional offices and officials and students of state universities and colleges.
For her part, Rep. Victoria Isabel Noel said that the An Waray is proud of this particular activity considering that tuba is the region’s most noted locally-made wine.
She said that the main idea of the Oktubafest is to ‘promote the product(s) of Region Eight which includes tuba.’
She also said that tuba gathering is not just something as a source of livelihood among the tens of thousands of people but it also ‘showcase the way of life of the Waray people.’
The one-day event serves as a competition in various categories like best ‘bahal and bahalina’ and dishes infused or with concoction with tuba.
And during the event, the An Waray party-list group launched its ‘One Eastern Visayas” program which aims to help promote the region’s other products and tourist attractions. (JOEY A. GABIETA with LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA and ROEL T. AMAZONA)

NAVAL, Biliran-The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Biliran District Engineering Office (DEO) has recently completed nine school building projects that would benefit the students in four towns of the province.
The province of Biliran is composed of eight towns, namely, Almeria, Kawayan, Culaba, Caibiran, Cabucgayan, Biliran, Maripipi and Naval, the capital town.
In Culaba town, Biliran-DEO has completed the construction of a P3.1 million school building, a 1-storey 2-classroom structure, and construction of P4.5 million school building, 1-storey, 3-classroom both in Acaban Elementary School that would accommodate around 200 students of the said school.
The construction of P13.6 million,3-units 1 Storey 3 – classroom at the Bool Elementary School, also in Culaba, was also recently completed that will benefit about 360 students.
In the town of Caibiran, the district office has also completed the construction of a 1-storey 4-classroom in Caibiran Elementary School that will benefit at least 160 pupils.
About 120 pupils will also benefit the newly-completed construction of the 1-storey 3-classroom in Katipunan Elementary School of the same town.
The construction of the P4.4 million, 1-storey 3-classroom school building at Salangi Elementary School in Almeria town is also one of the schools that will benefit the newly completed building that can accommodate more or less 120 students.
About 80 students will also benefit on the newly-completed P3 million, 1-storey 2-classroom in Bato Elementary School in the town of Biliran.
Biliran DEO under the helm of District Engineer David P. Adongay Jr. has already conducted final inspections on these school building projects that are funded under Basic Educational Facilities Fund (BEFF) of FY 2017.
As per inspection, minor defects and deficiencies were noted by the inspectorate team.
Adongay orders contractors to immediately rectify the said defects and deficiencies of the building in order to turn over the projects in time so that it can be utilized by the end users.
Biliran DEO has a total of 71 school buildings implemented under 2017 BEFF. Out of this number, the district office has completed 53 with 17 on-going projects and one not-yet-started (NYS) with an overall accomplishment of 89.18% as of September 30, 2018. (PR)