TACLOBAN CITY- It was a very tragic Friday (May 17) as separate vehicular accidents resulted to the death of nine passengers and the injury of 20 others.
The first accident took place at about 6:15 in the morning along sitio Tab-ang of Barangay District III in Babatngon Leyte when a passenger van loaded with 21 passengers collided with a six-wheeler truck loaded with hogs.
The said incident resulted to the immediate death of the eight passengers identified as Evelyn Hodder,49; Emily Elorde,46; Marilyn Saringan,46; Alden Camuen23, and his sister Remelyn,21; Jackson Casarigo,24; Rogelio Piscos,57; and Laila Cobilla,54.
Bryan Bechachino,18, later died while being treated at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center(EVRMC).
Injured during this incident were Fritz Asis,28; Roel Iglesias,36; Ethel Erine,28; Helen Cañas,40; Renz Ezekiel Cajepe,4; Abundio Cajepe,27; Thelma Aguilar,42; Regine Abucay; Remegio Dalut; Robert Milado; Armando Solayao; and Rodel Ecat, the driver of the passenger vehicle.
Majority of the passengers were from Brgy. Tatabunan, Talalora, Samar, and Babatngon town.
Reports reaching the regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police said that the passenger van, with plate number 084403 and bound for Tacloban City, appeared to be running fast and while maneuvering at the site incident directly hit the six-wheeler truck which has four passengers and 10 hogs and driven by Erwin de Leon, a resident of Brgy. Carmen, North Cotabato.
The six-wheeler was to deliver the swine to the public market in Babatngon.
And on the same day, at about 10 pm similar accident happened along Brgy.San Isidro, Biliran town in Biliran province.
It was learned that a passenger van, with plate number HVT 959 fell on the side of the road after its driver, Windelle Bacho,36 and a resident of Brgy. Lib-og, Maasin City, fell asleep.
Injured were Jose Sidanga,50 and his common-law wife Josephine,42 and their two children Jared,5, and Jade Danille,13; Conchita Vilato,51; Edward Vilato,54; and Regan Mercader,31 and a village councilor of Iyusan, Almeria, also in Biliran.(JOEY A. GABIETA/
RONALD O. REYES))

CAMP RUPERTO KANGLEON, PALO, Leyte – The Regional Police Office 8 (PRO8) gave a heroes’ welcome to police personnel who were deployed to ensure a peaceful conduct of the May 13 elections in the region
Police General Dionardo Carlos, police regional director, led the welcoming ceremony held at the grounds of the regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP), here, Monday (May 20).
About 8,625 policemen were tasked during the May 13 elections described by the police and the regional Commission on Elections (Comelec) as generally peaceful and orderly.
“You are our unsung heroes. We turned the impossible into possible thru our combined efforts. Without your cooperation and dedication, we could not have done it flawlessly. So to everyone who imparted their lives and limbs in this endeavor, my sincerest thank you to all of you,” Carlos said.
The deployment of Special Operation Task Group in Calbayog City that covers the entire Samar Island under Police Colonel Rolando Miranda, deputy regional director for operation, also helped in ensuring that the recent poll become successful and peaceful.
Records from the PNP-8, there were only 79 shooting incidents that occurred during the entire election period compare to the 149 incidents recorded during the 2016 elections.
“There was a big improvement this year. We also engaged those involved in the elections like the candidates especially those with historical background,” Carlos said.
PRO8 added that the shooting incident in San Isidro, Leyte that killed its municipal administration Levi Mabini cannot still be consider an election related incident because the investigation is still on-going.
Most of the shooting incidents were due to personal grudge, land dispute, and heated argument, police said. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY– Leyte’s provincial board will be packed with more women, a development welcome by Vice Governor Carlo Loreto, the presiding officer of the body.
Aside from the reelected board members Gina Merilo (1st district), Trinidad Apostol (2nd district) and Maria Corazon Remandaban (3rd district), three more women were elected to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
They are Raissa Villasin (2nd district); Anna Tuazon (3rd district); and Caren Rama of the fourth district.
Tuazon is the daughter of reelected Rep. Vicente Veloso (3rd district) while Rama is the elder sister of Rep. Lucy Torres Gomez (4th district).
Villasin is an outgoing councilor of Tacloban City and sister of incumbent board member Niccolo Villasin.
Incidentally, the current provincial Sangguniang Kabataan president, Jo Vanille Chua, is also a woman, adding girl power at the provincial board.
Aside from Vice Gov. Loreto, the incoming provincial board will have six men as members.
“I think that will be something. Stereotypes are often distorted but in my own observation, women are more attentive to details and I think having more female board members is an advantage,” he said.
“Their presence will be felt significantly in the legislations that we are about to make, the standards, concerns and how to address the demands of the new normal,” the vice governor added.
The provincial board has already produced vice governors.
They were Mimietta Bagulaya, who later became acting governor, and Apostol, also a former congresswoman representing Leyte’s second district.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez expressed his gratitude to the voters of his city for giving him another fresh mandate.
And what made his poll victory more memorable was his vice mayor and all his slate for councilor also won during Monday’s elections.
Based on a partial and unofficial result, Gomez, who ran under the administration party PDP-Laban, obtained total votes of 77, 573 votes compared to 29,795 votes of Eric Codilla, a former three termer mayor of the city.
“We are very fortunate to be given a fresh mandate,” Gomez said.
Gomez credited his successful re-election bid to the support of the City Hall employees which enabled him to implement projects and programs that benefited the people of Ormoc City.
“Our campaign wouldn’t be successful without the support of all department who had helped us to make Ormoc City a beautiful place since 2016. So will again ask you to work harder, work together to make Ormoc more progressive,” Gomez said.
The mayor added that under his administration, he focused on addressing the drug menace, a priority program of the Duterte administration.
“At the end of the day we are all Ormocanons. We worked on to make Ormoc more beautiful and more progressive. While we have this mandate, we want to make Ormoc a better place to live in for all of us,” Gomez said.
His wife, Rep. Lucy Torres Gomez also won on her third reelection bid for Leyte’s fourth district.
Torres-Gomez, based on an unofficial and partial results, received 177,938 votes against her opponent, Eufrocino Codilla who only obtained 50,969 votes.
Her younger brother Matt Torres also won as mayor of Kananga, defeating incumbent Mayor Rowena Codilla.
Matt Torres garnered 15,350 votes against Codilla’s 13,310 votes.
His sister-in-law Caren Rama was also elected as board member representing Leyte’s fourth district.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)