TACLOBAN CITY- About 65 vote counting machines (VCMs) used in various polling precincts in the region have malfunctioned.
This was disclosed by Police Director Brigadier General Dionardo Carlos.
During the conduct of the balloting on Monday, 5,503 VCMs were used across the region.
Based on their monitoring, Carlos said that of the 65 VCMs that developed technical problems, 21 were in Leyte; 17 in Biliran; 12 in Eastern Samar; five in Southern Leyte; four each in Samar and Northern Samar and two in Ormoc City.
The technical glitches encountered in the polling precincts ranged from paper jams to malfunctioned machines which resulted in the delay of the voting process.
Some of these defective machines failed to read the ballots as reported.
However, the regional office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) immediately replaced them or have them repaired.
“(But) despite of these technical problems of the VCMs, there is really nothing to worry about. It has been properly addressed by the Comelec,” Carlos said.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
PNP says 65 vote counting machines malfunctioned across the region during Monday’s balloting
Region’s dynasty families among major winners
TACLOBAN CITY-Major political families of the region are to continue their grips as they won during Monday’s midterm elections.
In Leyte, the Petilla and its subgroup Loreto-Cari families, continue to dominate its political landscape.
Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla won his third term as well as his sister-in-law, Ann, wife of former energy secretary Carlos Jericho, as mayor of Palo.
Also winning were Carlo Loreto as vice governor for his third term; Carl Nicholas Cari as congressman of Leyte’s fifth district; and Jose Carlos Cari as mayor of Baybay.
The Romualdezes will also continue to dominate the other parts of Leyte, particularly its first district which includes Tacloban City.
Former congressman Martin Romualdez won on his congressional bid, replacing his wife, Yedda, who is projected to return to Congress via the party-list group. She is the first nominee of Tingog.
Romualdez’ cousin, Alfred, is sure to reclaim his post as mayor of Tacloban City, currently occupied by his wife, Cristina.
In Samar, the Tans hold of power in the province will be extended by another three years with the family’s matriarch, Milagrosa, winning the gubernatorial post currently held by her daughter, Sharee Ann.
Sharee Ann, in turn, is to occupy the post currently held by her mother. Another brother, Michael, is set to become the province’ vice governor.
However, another member of the family, Stephen James, who is the current vice governor, lost on his bid to unseat Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento for Samar’s first congressional representative.
The Espinas dominance in Biliran will continue as outgoing congressman Rogelio Espina is to switch position with his younger brother, Governor Gerry Boy Espina.
Rep. Espina’s son, Gerard, was elected as mayor of the provincial capital of Naval with an uncle, Rudy, also reelected as mayor of Kawayan town.
In Southern Leyte, Rep. Roger Mercado was reelected for the lone congressional district of the province with his younger brother, Damian, also reelected as governor.
In Northern Samar, the Ongs continue to dominate with Rep. Edwin Ong won as governor of the province, replacing his uncle, Jose, who would take his congressional post for the province’ second congressional district.(JOEY A. GABIETA)
DOT pushes sports tourism in EV
TACLOBAN CITY – The regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) is ready to assist local government units and organizations who want to organize big sports events.
Thus said DOT Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes who said that sports tourism falls under their MICE or Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions/Events.
“We are very much supportive of entities or organizations that promotes sports tourism. The activities they do can generate more arrivals and when we say more arrivals, we means more income for those who are in the mainstream tourism industry,” Tiopes said.
“As of right now, we are already of hosting national conventions, sports competitions in some areas in the region that are relatively ready. It just need additional facilities,” the tourism regional director added.
In the region, among the biggest sports competition is the Philippine Open International Darts Championship, an event of the National Darts Federation of the Philippines of the Darts Organization of Tacloban is a member.
For two consecutive years now, the international event has been held in Palo, Leyte where close to a thousand of darts players are competing against the best competitors in said sport.
“We are giving local players a venue for them to compete with world class players, this is a big opportunity for them to face this big players in the international arena,” Florencio “Bem” Noel, national darts federation chairman of the board, said.
Bringing the competition to Leyte will also test the local darts players’ talents and nerve which will eventually hone them and make them one of the best talents in Asia and put the nation in the map as far as dart talent is concern, he added.
Noel said that the past two years that they have staged the international event in Leyte were successful which encouraged them to hold the Philippine Open tentatively set on April, 2020.
He added that from 28 foreign competitors last year, the number has now reached to about a 100 international darts players.
Noel said that some of them have already signified their interest to visit some of the region’s tourist destinations like the Kalanggaman Island in Palompon.
Another big event in the region is the annual Abre-Grande Lawig, a kayak competition held in Palompon town, Leyte.
In Tacloban City, the biggest sport competition is a dragon boat competition which is organized by the Saltwater Dragons of Tacloban City in support to the city government’s yearly commemoration of the onslaught of super typhoon ‘Yolanda.’
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Reelectionist Leyte mayor loses by a single vote
TACLOBAN CITY- An incumbent mayor in Leyte who is seeking for a reelection lost on her bid by just a heartbreaking single vote.
Proclaimed as mayor of San Isidro town was Remedio Veloso who garnered his winning votes of 8,829 against the incumbent mayor, Susan Ang’s 8,828 votes.
Ang, who ran under the administration’s PDP-Laban, is seeking for her second term as mayor of the fourth class town with an income of about P90 million.
Her husband, Alan, also appears to be losing on his reelection bid as a board member representing Leyte’s third district.
Veloso, who belongs to the United Nationalist Alliance, was proclaimed by the members of the board of election of canvassers Monday night. The town has about 22,367 registered voters.
The newly-elected mayor of the town of more than 19,000 people spread on its 19 barangays, is the nephew of Rep. Vicente Veloso who is also on his way or gaining his second term against former congressman, Andy Salvacion.
The Leyte Samar Daily Express could not get as of press time, reactions of both Veloso and his opponent Ang.
The town of San Isidro was eyed as among areas in Leyte where violence could possibly occurred after Ang’s administrator, Levi Mabini, was gunned down on May 8 with the group of Veloso blamed for his killing which they denied.
No untoward incident, however, was reported in San Isidro during the conduct of last Monday’s balloting. (JOEY A. GABIETA)
Comelec says EV elections successful and orderly
Despite of some technical glitches
By: JOEY A. GABIETA
TACLOBAN CITY- Despite of some technical glitches, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) described as successful the Monday’s balloting here in the region.
In fact, the poll body projects that around 85 percent of the region’s more than 3.05 million voters have cast their ballots to fill up the positions up for grabs.
Lawyer Rafael Olaño, Comelec regional director, admitted that while there were SD (secure digital) cards and vote counting machines (VCMs) that malfunctioned during the balloting, these were minor and did not hamper the conduct of the balloting.
“ The conduct of the elections here in region was generally peaceful and orderly (as there were no major) problems encountered except that there were around 30 SD cards and several VMCs that malfunctioned but these are just technical glitches which were replaced right away,” Olaño said in an interview.
He, however, admitted that proclamation of some of the winners have to be delayed due to the malfunctioned SD cards as these are to be reconfigured by the technicians hired by the poll body.
The SD cards contains data that are to be fed to the VCMs.
Among affected by the malfunctioned SD cards are poll winners in Tacloban City. They, however, are expected to be proclaimed Tuesday night or the following day.
In Calbayog City, more than 20 SD cards were also discovered to have malfunctioned reason these are not to be reconfigured.
But Olaño said that these SD cards did not suffer any problem during the final testing and sealing which was held on May 8.
He, also assured that the integrity of the results could not be affected despite these SD cards were corrupted.
The Comelec regional director said that there was also no reported failure of elections except in Las Navas where some members of the board of elections inspectors were harassed by some certain armed group.
Olaño said that he would like to give credit to both the Philippine National Police and the Army for their effort in ensuring that the balloting here in the region would be peaceful and orderly.
“I credit the PNP and the Army which came up strategies to ensure that the elections here in the region would be peaceful and orderly,” he said.
The PNP in the region deployed 1, 390 policemen as well as around 2,000 soldiers across the region, particularly on the 11 areas earlier identified as potential flash points due to presence of the rebel groups or private armed group coupled with intense political rivalries.
While the elections were marked with massive vote-buying the amount ranging from P20 to as high as P4,500, their office did not received any formal complaint regarding such incident, Olaño said.
He also said that the winners of the electoral exercise in the region were the ones who were actually voted by their respective voters. (With reports RONALD O. REYES)
Installed ARBs now live a better life
ORMOC CITY – Regional Director Sheila Enciso of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) was amazed how the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) have improved their quality of lives.
Last week, Enciso, accompanied by Assistant Regional Director for Administration and Land Tenure Security Program, Ma. Fe Malinao, together with the Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officers of Ormoc and Tacloban, and Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer Tomas Martinez, visited seven ARB organizations who were installed into their awarded lots under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) from 2016 to 2018 in different areas here and in adjacent Kananga town with the help of KAISAHAN, a non-government organization.
She was surprised to see the big difference in the ARBs faces and stories they tell before and at present.
These ARBs received their certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) many years ago, but struggled for 16 to 20 years before they were able to take possession of the awarded lots either due to strong resistance from the previous landowners or conflict between two contending groups of farmers.
Enciso was happy to see these farmers, who once stared fiercely due to frustrations, now smiling and full of inspiring stories to tell, because aside from the support services extended by DAR, they also get assistance from other government agencies.
In Barangay Sumangga, Pablo Silva, 56, president of the Sumangga United Farmers Association (SUFA), installed in 2016, showed to Enciso their livelihood project, a mushroom production they started in December last year through the assistance extended by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Silva disclosed that mushroom production is one of their sources of livelihood now. Mushroom grows fast and are sold at P300 for every kilo, Silva shared.
He added that in a day they could harvest nine kilos.
In Barangay Dolores, Benedicto Taneo, president of the Dolores Farmers Association (DOLFA), brought Enciso to their demo farm and shared that they will soon be graduating from the Farmer Field School (FFS) facilitated by the City Agriculturist’s Office.
He disclosed that after FFS, they will be venturing in upland rice (locally known as calinayan) production and marketing.
In Barangay Salvacion, Bienvenido Matuguina shared that he invested part of his income, derived from the sugarland awarded to him, in calamansi production. At present, he has more than 100 calamansi-bearing trees planted in another lot.
He also disclosed that their organization, the Salvacion Farmers Association, has likewise 300 calamansi trees planted in preparation for the calamansi processing project they are planning to venture once the project proposal they submitted to DOST is approved.
In Barangay Sabang Bao, Enciso was caught by surprise when the ARBs, who were installed in April last year, were already harvesting rice in their awarded lots when she arrived; while in Barangay Montebello, the ARBs were peacefully preparing their once contested land to be planted with corn.
Meanwhile, Arnulfo Perez whom we had interviewed two years ago, proudly announced that he is now the president of their organization, the Valencia Small Farmers Association (VASFA).
In the afternoon of the same day, all concerned ARBs gathered in Barangay Montebello for a dialogue with Enciso.
During the said occasion, Enciso expressed her happiness upon seeing them living an improved quality of life as envisioned under CARP.
She likewise reminded the ARBs to continue keeping the land productive. Further, she encouraged those who have children entering college this coming school year to avail of the DAR Scholarship Program for the Dependents of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (DSP-DARBs), a new assistance program extended by the agency to its ARBs. (JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA)