TACLOBAN CITY-A fishing vessel was caught illegally transporting 1,200 kilograms of green mussels or ‘tahong’ on Wednesday (June 9) around 7 am by the personnel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and Coast Guard at the Carigara Bay.
The incident happened as BFAR has reported of the presence of red tide toxin in various bays in the region to include the Carigara Bay.
Report from the BFAR office said that the fishing vessel, whose owner was not identified except to say he was from Villareal, Samar, failed to present a local transport permit from BFR and an auxiliary invoice from the origin of the mussel transported reason why it was stopped seized.
The BFAR said that they have been receiving reports that despite of the ban to collect green mussels and other fishery products in the area due to the presence of the red tide, such activity had been spotted by local residents.
The seized green mussels, valued at around P60,000, were disposed.
The owner of the vessel will be charged for violating Fisheries Administrative Orders (FAOs) 233 and 235 which provides penalty of more than P10,000 and imprisonment of up to one year if proven guilty.
BFAR earlier released its shellfish bulletin No. 16 on May 27, 2021 putting 11 bays and coastal waters in Eastern Visayas under shellfish ban or the prohibition of gathering, transporting and selling of all types of shellfish and Acetes sp. or Alamang.
These areas include the Irong-Irong bay (Catbalogan, Samar); San Pedro bay (Basey, Samar); Maqueda bay (Jiabong, Motiong, Paranas, San Sebastian, Calbiga, Pinabacdao, Hinabangan, Samar); Carigara Bay (Babatngon, San Miguel, Barugo, Carigara and Capoocan, Leyte); Coastal waters of Calubian, Leyte; Ormoc Bay (Ormoc City, Merida and Albuera, Leyte); Cambatutay Bay (Tarangnan, Samar); Coastal waters of Zumarraga, Samar; Coastal waters of Daram, Samar; Villareal Bay (Villareal, Samar), and; Cancabato Bay (Tacloban City).
Vessel containing ‘tahong’ caught at the red tide identified Carigara Bay
RIATF recommends to place EV under GCQ
As the region logs 572 new cases on Thursday
TACLOBAN CITY- In another record-breaking day for the region in so far as new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Department of Health (DOH) announced on Thursday (June 10) of 572 fresh cases.
The 572 new cases of the region was part of the 1,855 samples tested by four COVID-19 testing laboratories or a positivity rate of 30.84 percent.
For the past three days alone this week, the region’s COVID-19 daily new cases reached to 635 with Wednesday’s fresh cases at 361 as one of the highest ever for the region.
The increasing trend for COVID-19 cases of the region has prompted the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases to place the entire region to a stricter General Community Quarantine (GCQ) from its current quarantine status of Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) to the National Inter-Agency Task Force.
“Our surveillance unit is recommending that the entire Eastern Visayas be placed under GCQ from the previous MGCQ with granular lockdowns in selected municipalities in the region,” the DOH said.
“Our situation right now is very alarming so le us not go out of our homes if unnecessary. The health and well-being of our families is of outmost importance,” Dr. Exuperia Sabalberino, DOH acting regional director, said in a statement.
We also urge the local government units to help raise awareness to the public and to better reach people who are in dire need of our help. Let us continue to expedite our contact tracing for the new confirmed cases,” she said.
Violation of the minimum health protocols and the presence of the United Kingdom (UK) variant were the reasons cited by the DOH for the spike of COVID-19 cases in Eastern Visayas.
Several local government units in the region have intensified their measures to help curb the spike like closing of borders, strict implementation of the use of face mask and face shield, social distancing, curfew and prohibition of mass gatherings.
Of the 572 new cases, Leyte province posted the highest with 303 fueled mainly with the 112 cases of its capital city of Tacloban.
Northern Samar has 123 new COVID-19 cases, its highest since the start of the pandemic; followed by Southern Leyte with 82; Samar, with 44; Eastern Samar with 15 and Biliran with five new cases.
The region’s total COVID-19 cases now stand at 23,338 with 20,948 recoveries and 2,058 active cases.
PNP Chief Eleazar: Zero tolerance against bad cops
Asked the public to file complaints against scalawags
TACLOBAN CITY- Police Director General Guillermo Eleazar said that the police organization under his leadership is serious on zero tolerance policy against so-called scalawag cops.
Eleazar, who is on a two-day visit in the region as part of his command visit, lamented that while there are good cops of the organization, commission of crimes by a few ‘rotten eggs’ tarnishes the image of the PNP.
“We have zero tolerance against (scalawag police) but these just few rotten eggs affects us,” he said on Monday (June 7) during a brief press conference held at the VIP Lounge of the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport, this city.
The PNP chief, in particular, made mentioned of Police Master Sgt. Hensie Zinampan and Senior Master Sgt. Jonel Nuezca.
Zinampan killed a 52-year old woman at close range in Quezon City last May 31 while Nuezca also shot to death another 52-year old woman and her 25-year old son in Tarlac.
Eleazar has ordered for the filing of both criminal and administrative charges against Zinampan while Nuezca is also facing charges for murder who committed the crime while Debold Sinas as the PNP chief.
Eleazar asked the help of the people saying that it is only through their ‘trust and confidence’ that they could carry their sworn duty and functions as peace officers.
“Help us, our countrymen. Trust us. Only through your trust and confidence that we can deliver our mandate in an orderly and peaceful manner,” he said.
He said that their complaint system is being strengthened for the public to file their grievance and without fear.
The “e-Sumbong: Sumbong Mo, Aksyon Ko” system is an online complaint and monitoring system, which allows citizens to submit reports, complaints, or concerns to the PNP via SMS hotlines, social media, email, or QR scanning method.
“With the advancement of technology, the public can now easily report crime incidents and abusive police personnel through the newly-launched e-Sumbong,” Eleazar said.
“We developed e-Sumbong because we want citizens to play an active role in crime prevention and solution and in ridding the police organization of misfits and scalawags,” the police director general added.
Immediately, the complainant will be acknowledged and will be given a reference number if the complaint warrants an investigation.
Eleazar said that the program should be trusted because only through the public trust and confidence that the police officers can be effective in their jobs.
During his visit, Eleazar made a surprise visit at the Tacloban City Police Station I located at the San Jose District and praised the assigned policemen for having a clean and orderly station.
The police director held a command conference at the PNP regional headquarters based in Palo, Leyte and also witnessed a program attended by former rebels who surrendered to the government.
On Tuesday, he is also set to visit Ormoc City.