TACLOBAN CITY- A convoy of Army personnel from the 20th Infantry Battalion were attacked by members of New People’s Army (NPA) in Catubig town, Northern Samar while they were on their way to help residents of a village of the said town hit by a flooding caused by typhoon ‘Urduja’.
Two soldiers, Corp. Yzael Laure and Private First Class Roland Gomez were wounded in the attacked by about 50 NPA members in Barangay Hinagoyonon on December 16.
Lt. Michelle Estares, information officer of the 20th IB, said that the soldiers were on their way to Hinagoyonon when they were waylaid and attacked by the rebels in Brgy. San Miguel.
“This resulted in a firefight that lasted for more than an hour,” Estares said.
Col. George Domingo, commanding officer of 20th IB strongly condemns the attack by NPA members to the military who were on their way to the area to rescue civilians affected by massive flooding in the town.
“This activity is a clear violation of the International Humanitarian Law and we call upon the people to act against these atrocities,” Col Domingo said.
A total of 7,500 families or 28, 900 individuals from 47 villages of the town were affected by widespread flooding due to heavy rain caused by Urduja.
The municipal council of Catubig has declared the town under state of calamity. (ROEL T.AMAZONA)
NPA members attacked soldiers who were on their way to rescue flood victims in Northern Samar
Classes suspended in Catbalogan City to give way evacuees due to ‘Urduja’
TACLOBAN CITY- The city government of Catbalogan suspended classes in public and private schools from elementary, high school and tertiary level.
The suspension of classes was ordered by Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan as most classrooms in the city are still being used by evacuees displaced by typhoon ‘Urduja’.
The City’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) said that about 829 families or 3,157 individuals were evacuated to 18 evacuation centers, many were public schools.
The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) distributed relief goods to affected families of the city who sought refuge in the evacuation centers.
The CSWDO added that some residents went back to their homes after the flooding that their respective villages subsided.
Five barangays in the city were hit by landslides as the city’s commercial area experienced heavy flooding spawned by Urduja.
No casualty was recorded in Catbalogan due to the onslaught of the typhoon.
Mayor Uy-Tan was thankful for the cooperation of the residents by heeding their call to evacuate to safer grounds, especially those living in the danger zones.
The city council, upon the recommendation of Mayor Uy-Tan, placed Catbalogan under a state of calamity on December 15.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
5 inmates of the Abuyog subprovincial jail caught sniffing shabu
2 of them women
TACLOBAN CITY- Five inmates, two of them women, were caught using shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride inside the subprovincial jail in Abuyog, Leyte.
The inmates were caught in a ‘pot session’ inside the jail’s infirmary section of the jail facility on December 17 at around 9:40 pm.
In a report submitted to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency(PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino, elements of PDEA RO8 and under Director Edgar T. Jubay identified the suspects as Mario Marmita,38, separated, and resident of Barangay Plaridel, Dagami Leyte; Noli Rinos,52, married, and a resident of Brgy. Inayupan, Javier, Leyte; Allan Sia,33, single, and a resident of Poblacion Zone 2, Mayorga, Leyte; Elvira Cuevas,38, with a live-in partner, and a resident of Poblacion Zone 2, Javier, Leyte; and Jonalyn Culaba,38, married, and a resident of Brgy. Barayong, Abuyog, Leyte.
Confiscated during the said incident was one piece partly opened transparent plastic sachet of suspected shabu with a total weight of 0.5 gram with an estimated market value of P2,500; two strips aluminum foil containing suspected shabu; two pieces rolled tin foil used as improvised tooter, and two pieces disposable lighters.
Cases for violations of Section 11 (possession of dangerous drugs), Section 12 (possession of drug paraphernalia), and Section 15 (use of dangerous drugs), Article II of RA 9165 will be charged against the suspects.(PR)
Fraternal Order of Eagles charter Eastern Visayas Region
Palo, Leyte. The Fraternal Order of Eagles – Philippine Eagles (TFOE-PE), the First Philippine-Born Socio-civic organization, adds another regional charter to its ranks with the chartering of the Eastern Visayas Region (EVR) last December 9, 2017 at the Department of Education Leyte Division Gym at Government Center, Candahug, Palo, Leyte.
One of the main components for the creation of a regional charter, is to have a minimum of six (6) chartered clubs. TFOE-PE in Eastern Visayas started with the Tacloban City Eagles Club (TCEC) chartered last November 19, 2016 followed by the Sirakwaraynon Eagles Club (SWEC) chartered last March 17, 2017, Kusog Sinirangan Eagles Club (KSEC) chartered last May 20, 2017, San Juanico Eagles Club (SJEC) chartered last August 26, 2017, Catbalogan Eagles Club chartered last September 20, 2017 and the Catarman Eagles Club chartered last September 27, 2017, completing the six-club pre-requisite.
Chartering of the Eastern Visayas Region Eagles was presided by the Philippine Eagles National President Lucio “Louie” F. Ceniza, already his fifth visit to the region, and the incoming 2018 Eagle Club Presidents: Mark Roa Gimenez (TCEC), Atty. Leo S. Giron (SWEC), Adel D.P. Bautista (KSEC), Atty. Jose Nick A. Mendros (SJEC), and Wilfredo Cuevas (CEC). Unfortunately, no one from Catbalogan Eagles Club attended. During the chartering, The Sirak Waraynon Eagles Club and the San Juanico Eagles Club also presented their Eagles Onsite, pre-selected honorary members of each club, Mr. Wezhaun Benson Shi, President of 578 Resources, Incorporated and Mr. Joseph V. Rejuso, President/CEO of VisPet Development Corporation.
The Induction of the Regional Officers for EVR commenced with the swearing in of the Charter Regional Governor Atty. Louis C. Sudario and Charter Regional Vice-Governor Atty. Jose Nick A. Mendros and all of the Charter Regional officials (see Annex 1: TFOE EVR Regional Charter Officers). Prior to his election as Regional Governor for EVR, Sudario was the Charter President of KSEC, one of the most active clubs in the region.
“My challenge to you, Governor Louis, is to unite all the clubs of your region. That will be your first marching order,” said Eagle National President Ceniza during his Opening Message. The EVR encompasses the Provinces of Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and the Highly Urbanized City of Tacloban.
The Fraternal Order of Eagles – Philippines Eagles was founded in 1979 in Quezon City, and one of the fastest growing socio-civic organizations in the country with 592 Clubs and 28 Regions and counting. Noted prominent Eagles who are currently holding government positions are Philippine President Rodrigo “Digong” R. Duterte, PNP Chief Gen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Senators Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson, Richard “Dick” J. Gordon, Aquilino “Koko” L. Pimentel III, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, and Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao, Justice Chief Atty. Vitaliano N. Aguirre II, DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, MMDA Chair Danilo “Danny” D. Lim, and the late DILG Secretary Jesse M. Robredo. (PR)
LCDe exec named as one of the world’s climate heroines in Germany
PALO, Leyte- The executive director of the Leyte Center for Development, Inc.(LCDe),Jazmin Jerusalem, was chosen as one of 12 climate heroines in a photo exhibit/press conference which featured women leaders from all over the world.
Each of the climate heroines spoke how she led her organization in facing the challenges brought about by climate change and its effects.
Jerusalem represented the Philippines in this momentous event held last November 20 in Bonn, Germany.
“It’s such an honor to have been chosen as Philippine climate heroine in the prestigious photo exhibit by CARE-Germany. The event gave me a chance to speak about the conditions of our people especially after (super) typhoon Yolanda that hit us four years ago. It also opened opportunities of partnership with various organizations in Germany and Belgium. Most importantly, I was able to share how LCDe made a difference in its emergency response and rehabilitation after the strongest storm ever recorded in the world affected thousands in Eastern Visayas,” Jerusalem said.
The activity was spearheaded by CARE-Germany, which is an international non-government organization granting projects worldwide to fight poverty and restore human dignity.
The climate heroine photo exhibit was attended by German government officials like the Minister of Environment, parliamentarians, Mayor of Bonn as well as top officers of CARE International.
Furthermore, Jerusalem was asked to speak during a forum of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change or COP23 also in Bonn, Germany.
She spoke on women’s role and the challenges of climate change. In attendance were government and NGO representatives from different countries united in a common cause; that of combatting climate change through pressuring governments to reduce their carbon emissions. (PR)
‘Pisay’ student in Palo conquers science global competition
TACLOBAN CITY– For explaining a complex science principle into a relatively simple way which could be understood by ordinary people, Hillary Diane Andales won a worldwide competition.
The Grade 12 student of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) in Palo, Leyte, the 18-year old native of Abuyog town was declared as this year’s winner of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge Prize.
By besting 11,000 entries from 178 countries, Andales received $250,000(P12.5 million) as her prize, of which $100,000 worth of a state-of-the-art science laboratory will go to her school and $50,000 for her teacher, Xavier Francis de los Reyes, who inspired her in making the video.
Andales personally received her award last December 3 as she was flown to the United States for the awarding at National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ames Research Center, California.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge, now on its third year, is an annual global competition meant to inspire creative thinking about science among the young aged 13 to 18.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge was founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan; Yuri and Julia Milner, and Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki.
Contestants were required to submit original videos about three minutes long that would “bring to life a concept or theory in the life sciences, physics or mathematics.”
The entries were judged on the students’ ability to explain complex scientific ideas “in engaging, illuminating, and imaginative ways.”
In Andales’ case, the teenager used animation in explaining the theory of Relativity and Equivalence of Reference Frames.
“Basically, I explained in my video that what we observe is always relative to us, relative to our perspective, or relative to our reference frame. So what we see as red might look blue to another observer. And even if you disagree on the color, technically, you are both right because your observations are relative. Neither of you is wrong,” she explained.
The competition kicked off last September 1. She didn’t make it as the top scorer in the online competition, but made it to the finals as Asia’s regional representative and later, was declared the winner.
This was Andales’ second time in the competition.
Last year, her video won top popular vote after getting with more than 300,000 views.
While she automatically qualified as a finalist, her video failed to snag the grand prize.
But as the winner of the top popular vote, her school received DNA molecular-biology laboratory worth $100,000 which was turned over last month by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Andales said she always looked up to two kinds of stars –one that illuminated the skies and the other, inspiring her with their genius.
She said she hoped that her award would also inspire young people like her “to look up and be scientists themselves, the stars, we should look up to.”
In an online message, Rey Garnace, director of PSHS EV, said that while he was euphoric of Andales’ victory, he was not surprised.
“Andales has been our school pride. She has imbibed the vision of the school to have a passion for excellence, pursuit for truth, and service to the nation,” he said.
With her prize, Andales said that she is now contemplating of studying in a prestigious school abroad that could help her improve and enhance her knowledge in Physics.
Before winning the scholarship prize, Andales said that she was eyeing big universities in Manila.
“For me to maximize that huge amount of money, I think it would be better if I would study abroad so I could really maximize what I’ve learned and for me to give back to the Filipino people. I am eyeing universities in the US so I could study in a good Physics program,” Andales said.
Among the universities abroad she’s aiming are Harvard University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in Massachusetts, USA and Princeton University in New Jersey, USA. (VICKY C. ARNAIZ with report ROEL T. AMAZONA)