TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Tourism (DOT) and private tour operators here in the region are preparing for the arrival of Russian tourists to Eastern Samar to mark this year’s 70th commemoration of the journey of ‘white’ Russians to Tubabao Island in Guiuan.
“We are developing a tour program and hope to pitch it to the Russian market with the help of the Russian embassy,” said Karen Tiopes, the DOT regional director.
The tour program is also in coordination with the Eastern Samar provincial government and concerned local government units.
“We are still finalizing the needs to develop this tour program,” Tiopes added, citing the collaboration of both public and private sectors for the tour program.
Butz Eguia, secretary of the Eastern Visayas Tourism Association (EVTA), said the “Dobrota Tur – The White Russians Transit Commemoration Tour” is the affinity that Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev wants to be more reminded to the world.
Dobrota is a Russian word for “kindness.”
“Some EVTA members were on board with the tourism group in conceptualizing, assessing and beta testing the Eastern Samar tourism circuit,” said Eguia.
The Eastern Samar tourism circuit starts from Tacloban City en route Samar towns of Basey and Marabut then Balangiga and Guiuan, both in Eastern Samar.
“Practically, it will involve more up to Borongan City, but it goes from step to step. We go for ripe destinations,” Eguia said.
According to him, the Debrota Tur is now a whole year event, adding that some Russian guests arrived in the region as early as February 24.
“There will be a festival sometime in October to November,” Eguia disclosed.
Meanwhile, the EVTA official lauded DOT officials for its “current practice of involving the private stakeholders of tourism product development in Region 8.”
Eguia said the concerted efforts involving the practitioners of the tourism industry including experts from the academe and religious and parish groups, such as in Balangiga, become an inclusive approach.
With their collaboration, the gaps and lack of access to tourism links are easily patch up to create a wholistic product for the visitors.
Equia gave a conservative estimate of 500 to 1,000 Russians to visit this year.
Franklin Robedizo, Eastern Samar Provincial Tourism Officer, said that aside from the availability of hotels, they also have a homestay program to accommodate the incoming visitors in the province.
“Some homestay trainings are conducted by the ‘Proyekto 25’ program on tourism under Governor Marcelo Ferdinand Picardal administration. The other trainings were funded and facilitated by the DOT through the municipal tourism offices in some identified areas,” Robedizo said.
In the spirit of Filipino hospitality, the late president Elpidio Quirino granted about 6,000 Russians, also known as white Russians for shunning communism in their country, to live at the Tubabao Island from 1949 to 1951 while they waited for other nations to grant them asylum.
The Philippines was the only nation that embraced the white Russians over their appeal for help to the international community after they fled from the communism campaign in their country to China.
The Filipinos gave a place for the white Russian refugees to stay for the next 27 months at the Island-turned US Naval Base Construction Depot despite the difficult situation in the country due to World War II devastation.
During their stay, the white Russians found “a paradise, a beach, and hope” at the Tubabao Island, courtesy of the “warmth of the Filipinos, and strength demonstrated by their people.”
(RONALD O. REYES)

PALO, Leyte – The Philippine Association of Civil Registrar (PACR) staged their annual gathering held at the Leyte Academic Center, this town on Friday, March 8.
The gathering, started on Monday (March 4) has a theme “National Personnel and Implementing Partners in Civil Registration.”
The said event was attended by 1,500 delegates and graced by PACR national president, Umich Flores.
The event organizer, Perry Diño, stated that among the issues tackled during the event was the implementation of the national ID system. (CLAUDINE JOY VILLAMOR, MYLA LOYOLA, JULIANE NAVARROSA, AND LOISITA LUMANTA, EVSU STUDENT INTERNS)

TACLOBAN CITY- A commissioner of the National Youth Commission (NYC) has expressed his support to release the list of candidate-politicians who are running in this midterm elections engaging in the illegal drug trade.
By releasing the so-called narco list, the young voters, in particular, would know that they should not vote these candidates as they are involved in the illicit activity, Victor del Rosario, NYC commissioner for the Visayas, said in an interview.
According to him, Malacañang, through the Department of Interior and Local Government, will do a great service to the 19 million young voters who will cast their votes in the May 13 elections if they will release its narco list.
“(This) will guide our voters, especially the youth. We cannot allow destroyers of the society to be in the government,” del Rosario, who is from Naval, Biliran, said.
“We cannot allow narco politicians to be in power. We know very well that the youth is the number one victims of this drug menace,” he added.
del Rosario said that with these candidate-politicians losing on their bids, this will result to the decline or stop of their illegal drug operation as they loses their clout or influence.
“In the name of the 30 million Filipino youth, as NYC commissioner, ako’y nagpapasalamat sa ating mahal na Pangulong Duterte in his commitment to release the narco list,” he said, expressing his support on this move.
On Tuesday(March 5), during his visit to this city, opposition senatorial candidate Jose Manuel ‘Chel’ Diokno of the Otso Diretso expressed his alarm on this move of Malacañang.
Diokno, a human rights lawyer and advocate, said that the list could be used as a witch hunt to pin down the ‘perceived enemies’ of the administration.
“Pagnagamit yung list na yan ngayon elections, very likely, lahat ng perceived na kalaban nila isasama sa list,” he added.
Diokno said that instead of coming out of its narco list, the administration should instead strengthen the justice system by filing appropriate charges against those suspected to be involved in the illegal drug trade if they have solid evidence against them.
“Kung talagang may basis sila, sampahan nila ng kaso, prosecute them at ikulong and that should happen whether there is an election or not,”Diokno said. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

HILONGOS, Leyte- A congressional candidate for Leyte’s fifth district is pinning her polls victory to presidential daughter, Mayor Sara Duterte.
Marilou Galenzoga said that she is optimistic that this time, she will prevail victorious now that she enjoys the support of the presidential daughter and by extension, President Rodrigo Duterte.
She is running for Congress under Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) which has a coalition with Duterte-funded Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP).
Galenzoga, a businesswoman, has attempted several times to topple the family of outgoing Baybay City Mayor Carmen Cari but lost them all.
For the forthcoming May 13 elections, Galenzoga is seeking the congressional seat to be vacated by Cari’s son, Jose Cari.
Rep. Cari is running for mayor of Baybay with his son, Carl Nicholas, running for the congressional post.
Galenzoga said that she would not stop in running for elective post so long as she could not end what she claimed the Cari dynasty.
The Caris have ruled Leyte’s fifth district for more than four decades now and are relatives to Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla.
A drug-cleared fifth district, livelihood program for the people; a much improved hospital with free medicines and free ambulance use are the programs that she would initiate if elected as a Congress member, Galenzoga said.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)