HILONGOS, Leyte-– Lower and cheaper power rates in the country. This would be the political agenda of former Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho “Icot” Petilla if ever he will eventually seek a Senate seat in next year’s elections. Petilla is among being considered as possible senatorial candidates of the ruling Liberal Party.
But if ever he will be drafted by the party, one of the things he will do is to lower down the country’s power rates which is among Asia’s highest. Petilla, in his speech before officials of various electric cooperatives of the region held last Sept.26 this town, said that he wishes to run not because of the prestige or power but rather “for a noble cause.”
And that noble cause is to lower the power rates, he said. Petilla, who was the Energy Secretary from 2012 up to early this year, said that he achieved some of his goals which included ending the power cartels from self-dealing. Before he stepped down, he signed DOE Circular No. DC2015-06-0008 or the Demand Aggregation and Supply Auctioning Policy or DASAP in the electric power industry, which mandates all distribution utilities to undertake a competitive selection process in securing power supply agreements.
This landmark measure is seen to ensure transparent and reasonable prices of electricity in a regime of free and fair competition and full public accountability. Petilla said he can carry on with more power-consumer friendly legislative measures if given the chance to become a senator. (AHLETTE C.REYES)
Mister Global Philippines 2015 Rick Kristoffer Palencia, who is from Tacloban City, says the title paved the way for opportunities for him. The 23-year old titlist poses with Leyte Samar Daily Express publisher Dalmacio “Massey” Grafil during his visit on October 1. (Facebook account of Rick Kri)
Mister Global Philippines 2015 Rick Kristoffer Palencia, who is from Tacloban City, says the title paved the way for opportunities for him. The 23-year old titlist poses with Leyte Samar Daily Express publisher Dalmacio “Massey” Grafil during his visit on October 1. (Facebook account of Rick Kri)
TACLOBAN CITY- All Rick Kristoffer Palencia wants is to board a ship to help his family. But instead of boarding ships, being a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation, the mestizo-looking 23-year old Palencia has television and fashion shows as stage. At this point, the Tacloban native has to set aside his childhood dream of becoming a seaman to fulfill his obligation as this year’s Mister Global Philippines. The male beauty pageant was held last September 13 with Palencia beating 29 other candidates, some of them professional ramp models. He is the first from the region to have won the title whose winners include Neil Perez, a policeman by profession.
The title carries with it his representation of the country to the Mister Global International slated next year in Thailand. And obviously, Palencia is relishing his new-found role as a “beauty titlist.” “I just want to help my family, reason why I took the course and be a seaman. But this opportunity is now with me, so I have to make the best out of it,” Palencia said in an interview during his visit to Leyte Samar Daily Express office on October 1.
The 5’10 Mister Global Philippines winner is the grandson of Lourdes “Ate” Lulu Palencia, an institution in the local media industry. This early, opportunities are coming his way like doing some fashion shows and television appearances that could be his ticket to a possible career in showbiz. Incidentally, his aunt, Lourlyn Palencia, was at one time a movie actress.
As part of his preparations for the forthcoming international pageant, Palencia said that he is doing some strenuous workouts to make him more fit. He also said that his winning somehow compensated whatever emotional strain he suffered when super typhoon “Yolanda” struck Tacloban close to two years now. He was in Naval when the world’s strongest typhoon hit Tacloban. He walked and hiked for more than a 100 kilometers just to reach Tacloban and see the conditions of his loved ones.
“But I’d rather not recall the bad memories brought by Yolanda. Instead tell the entire world that Tacloban has recovered from it. People are returning to their normal lives and our economy is slowly recovering,” Palencia said. (JOEY A.GABIETA/ROEL T.AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported that there are more than 130,000 registered voters in the region without biometrics data. Lawyer Jose Nick Mendros, Comelec regional director said that registered voters without biometrics cannot cast their votes during next year’s election as provided by law. The 134,510 registered voters of the region who have no biometrics represent 5.27 percent out of the original 456,000 voters who do not have their biometrics. “But our target is to lower it to just three percent considering many in the list could be dead already. However, we could not just delete their names as we need a certification from the Civil Registrar or an affidavit from the nearest kin,” Mendros said. Under Republic Act 10367, otherwise known as the Mandatory Biometrics Register Act, voters are mandated to register or validate their biometrics or be barred from voting in next year’s general elections.
Biometrics refers to the automated identification of an individual, which includes his picture, finger print and signature recorded by a computer during the registration.
Mendros said they want to ensure that all registered voters in the region to have their biometrics taken for them to vote. “We’re talking here of the right to vote. Everybody should be counted. We have exerted all efforts for them to know the campaign,” he said. The country is to hold a general election next year. The deadline for voters to have their biometrics taken is on October 31 with the exceptions on October 12 to 16, days of the filing of certificates of candidacy who will run in the 2016 elections.
The registration for biometrics data started last May 6, 2014. Mendros said that since they started their campaign, dubbed as “no bio, no boto,” they have made several measures to ensure that those who have no biometrics could be reached. For one, they posted list of voters in the barangays who have no biometrics and even wrote to all local chief executives, to include the governors, to help them on their campaign.
“We also conducted satellite registrations,” the Comelec regional director said. Based on their records, there are still 44,097 registered voters in Leyte who have no biometrics; 42,979 voters in Samar; 26,125 in Northern Samar; 11,667 registered voters in Eastern Samar; 7,883 in Southern Leyte and 1,749 in Biliran.
The region has total voting population of 2.51 million. BY: JOEY A. GABIETA
Bamboo is used as a housing material introduced by the Operation Blessing Inc, a non-government organization that will build more 324 permanent shelters to families in Tacloban whose houses were totally destroyed by supertyphoon “Yolanda.” (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Bamboo is used as a housing material introduced by the Operation Blessing Inc, a non-government organization that will build more 324 permanent shelters to families in Tacloban whose houses were totally destroyed by supertyphoon “Yolanda.” (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY- A new way of constructing houses using bamboo as the main material is being introduced by the Hilti Foundation (Base Balay Inc.) in partnership with the Operation Blessing intended for families in Tacloban who completely lost their houses due to supertyphoon “Yolanda.” The bamboo-made housing units are to be constructed in Barangay Palanog.
Jessimar Gallarde, project site engineer of Base Bahay, said that using bamboo in the construction of houses is environment-safe. He also said that the technology will also provide employment as they intend to put up a factory in Tacloban once they get the needed supplies of bamboo. He added that they are using “kawayang tinik” or thorny bamboo in the construction of houses in Palanog which is abundant in the province. “There are still laboratory tests being conducted for other bamboo species but as of this time, this specie is the only acceptable and the only approved specie for construction use,” he added.
Gallarde added that they are hoping that this new technology will be incorporated with the building code of the country. “This bamboo technology was laboratory-studied to ensure that structural design of the house is very resilient from disasters like typhoons and earthquakes,” added Gallarde.
Houses made of these materials are designed to withstand an 8 intensity earthquake and winds of up to 280 kilometers per hour. Base Balay and Operation Blessing are constructing 324 housing units in a 1.5 hectare land in Palanog area for families from Barangays 89 and 90 in this city who lost their houses during the onslaught of super typhoon “Yolanda.”
Each unit cost PP350,000 and measures 25 square meters and two meters away from the next unit. The company is hoping to reduce the construction cost of this type of houses once they are able to set up a plant in Tacloban. About 20 units were initially targeted to be finished by November 24 of this year while the rest are expected to be finished before the end of 2016. Aside from Palanog, Base Bahay is using the bamboo technology in projects sites of Operation Blessing in Jaro, Estancia both in Iloilo and in Bagong Silangan in Quezon City.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Peace agreement. Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan and Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino together with Army Major Gen. Jet Velarmino and Police Chief Supt.Asher Dolina agreed to sign a peace deal in the hope to end the series of killings in the province. (LITO A. BAGUNAS)
CATBALOGAN CITY- A peace agreement will be signed by security and elective officials of Samar as a way to combat the series of killing incidents that have rocked the province for the past months now. The signing of the peace agreement is scheduled on October 1 in Calbayog City where most of these incidents took place. During a peace dialogue held in this city last Sept.12, those present of the said occasion have agreed to come up with an agreement in hopes of solving the killing incidents. Present during the said peace dialogue with Governor Sharee Ann Tan were Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and the mayors of Gandara, Matuguinao, San Jorge, Santa Margarita and Almagro.
The scheduled peace agreement was agreed in the wake of a shooting incident on September 15 in Calbayog killing five people, two of them were children. The seven perpetrators were said to be members of a private armed group. Since the start of the year until this month, 34 shooting incidents have been reported with 22 deaths, most of them barangay officials. Gov. Tan and Mayor Aquino, who belong to different political camps, said that they want to see an end of violence rocking their province.
“I’m very positive that with the signing of a peace agreement, we could achieve peace, particularly in Calbayog where most of the incidents happened,” Tan said.
Aquino said that he want to see the end of killing incidents in his city. “Nothing will happen to us if these killing incidents will not stop. We want to have a peaceful and better Samar,” Aquino, who chairs the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC), said.
Samar, particularly in Calbayog, has always been identified as “concerned area” during election time due to the presence of armed men reportedly maintained by some local politicians. Both Aquino and Tan have denied that they have armed groups.
Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Asher Dolina and Major Gen. Jet Velarmino, commanding general of the 8th Infantry Division, have also vowed to break the private armed groups in the province. Both security officials said that for them to achieve their goal in ensuring peace will prevail in Samar, officials of the province, to include in the barangays, should extend their cooperation and support on their campaign. “We need your help to stop these killings. You are from Samar, you must show your concern to your province like how we in the law enforcement agency show our eagerness to solve the problem in this place,” Velarmino said. “We don’t like to see people die just because of misunderstanding and indifferences in our political view,” he added.
Officials of the municipality of Barugo in Leyte, led by Mayor Alden Avestruz pose for posterity with officials of the Department of Interior and Local Government headed by Director Pedro Noval, Jr. after the town was bestowed of the seal of good local governance on Sept. 8, 2015.
Officials of the municipality of Barugo in Leyte, led by Mayor Alden Avestruz pose for posterity with officials of the Department of Interior and Local Government headed by Director Pedro Noval, Jr. after the town was bestowed of the seal of good local governance on Sept. 8, 2015.
TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) conferred the seal of good local governance (SGLG) to the town of Barugo in Leyte.
The award was personally accepted by the town officials led by Mayor Alden Avestruz who said that he could not hide his “pounding joy” as he underscored the importance and benefits of having such recognition. “Today is a day of celebration. Today is the day when the municipality of Barugo is hallmarked in the pedestal of the best, worth emulating local government units. Indeed it is worth celebrating because for the whole of Region 8, only five municipalities have passed the good local governance criteria…and Barugo is one of them,” Avestruz said during the conferment held last September 8.
“My heart is pounding with joy as I stand before you today to deliver these words of gratitude for the much coveted Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG),” the town mayor said. The recognition to Barugo’s excellence in governance was personally handed by DILG Regional Director Pedro Noval, Jr. and Artemio Caneja, provincial operations officer for Leyte. The SGLG was introduced last year by former DILG Sec. Mar Roxas to provide greater challenge to local government units to continue good governance practices and at the same time, provide better services to their constituents. For a local government unit to receive the SGLG, it must meet the criteria of the core components of the seal which include good financial housekeeping, disaster preparedness, business friendliness and competitiveness, social protection, environment management and peace and order. Mayor Avestruz said that the award only validated on what his administration has been doing for the past years now that only redound to the benefits of the people of the town.
“The award validates that what we have done and what we are continually doing is for the welfare of our constituents and in accordance with the mandate of a transparent and accountable government. Consequently, the award validates that we are on the right track,” Avestruz said. Avestruz said that in the aspect on good financial housekeeping, his administration installed the full disclosure policy boards in all noticeable areas like public market and municipal hall.
The policy boards indicate financial reports, notices of procurements and vacancies at the municipal hall. For disaster preparedness, they have organized local disaster risk reduction and management council and emergency response team with adequate equipment. “(And) for social protection, the LGU is making sure that the needs of our constituents are well taken care of especially on health, education and the needs of our elderlies, pregnant women, and persons-with-disabilities. Our municipal health center is PhilHealth accredited,” Avestruz said.
In the aspect of peace and order, his administration has adopted the anti-criminality action plan to prevent the proliferation of crimes in the locality. “We have also organized a local peace and order council which helps laid out plans and programs to help maintain the peace and order in the municipality. And to effectively combat crimes, we have asked the support of the barangays to activate their barangay tanods or barangay peacekeeping action teams,” he added. Mayor Avestruz expressed his gratitude to other officials of the town to include the barangay officials and the people of the town themselves acknowledging g that without their support, he could not achieve this recognition. (JOEY A. GABIETA)
