JARO, Leyte-An upland barangay situated about seven kilometers away from the poblacion of this town, Barangay Villa Conzoilo prides itself as one of the beneficiaries of the MIC (More Income in the Countryside) program under the administration of Governor Leopoldo Dominico “Mic” Petilla.

The barangay, which has a population of 330 and seven kilometers from the national highway, mainly relies on farming as its main source of income. Its major crops include coconut, root crops, corn and vegetables. With the introduction of the provincial agriculturist’s new package of farming technology on high value vegetables and root crops under the MIC program, farming in Brgy. Villa Conzoilo has flourished.

They are now a major source of these vegetables being purchased by restaurant owners in Tacloban City, 47 kilometers away from Jaro. Under the leadership of barangay chairman Alex Aborita, Brgy. Villa Conzoilo has a long way to go. It has to implement proper waste management in order to preserve the cleanliness and rustic beauty of the countryside.

Proper maintenance of its farm to market road has to be sustained and its transportation facilities have to be increased. The barangay has also to acquire some post-harvest equipment to enhance its vegetable production and storage. But with the assistance from provincial government, it is believed that Villa Conzoilo will showcase the results of the MIC program.
(IMELDA NARTEA)

TACLOBAN CITY- Mastery on the country’s anti-drug law will ensure better convictions rate among drug traffickers apprehended by law enforcers. This was the message underscored by the former vice chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), lawyer Clarence Paul Oaminal. Oaminal conducted a six-day orientation on Republic Act 9156 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs of 2002 before the members of the regional anti-illegal drugs task force at the regional headquarters at the Philippine National Police which ended on May 11.  Oaminal said that lack of full knowledge on said law among apprehending officers of individuals who engage in prohibited drugs was often the reason why “80 to 90 percent of drug cases are dismissed by the courts.”

“(The seminar will) empower our law enforcers of the knowledge and mastery of the law,” Oaminal said, referring on the importance of the orientation. During the orientation, Oaminal in particular discussed section 21 of RA 2002 which he said was the common loophole why drug-related cases are dismissed even at the prosecutor’s level.

He said that good thing that original text of said section was amended on the introduction of Senator Tito Sotto, once the chairman of the DDB. Under the original provision, it provided that the apprehending team, which has the initial custody and control of the seized drugs should conduct physical inventory and photograph the drugs immediately after confiscation in the presence of the accused or his/her representative or counsel, among others. But under the amended version, the apprehending team who has the initial custody and control of the dangerous drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals, instruments/paraphernalia and/or laboratory equipment to immediately after seizure and confiscation, conduct a physical inventory of the seized items and photograph the same.

The inventory should be done in the presence of the accused with an elected public official and a representative of the National Prosecution Service or the media who shall be required to sign the copies of the inventory and be given a copy and that the physical inventory and photograph.(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY- Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico “Mic” Petilla assured members of the media that he is an advocate on press freedom. Petilla made this disclosure during his meeting with the members of the National Press Club (NPC)-Tacloban chapter on May 6. NPC members, headed by Eileen Nazareno-Ballesteros as president, paid their courtesy call to Petilla. The governor stressed he would not put the media in a situation that will compromise its integrity and neutrality. He has been upholding this principle as personal advocacy since his college days where he had the experience to be among the student activists although not hardcore, he said.

Gov. Petilla expressed full support to the cause of the journalists, including the NPC-Tacloban. However, he cautioned that such help should not be violative of any auditing policy, such as imposed in the constitutional mandate on separation of church and state. The journalists, in turn, took the opportunity as well to get the governor’s stand on various issues which among others his political plans on the 2016 elections as well as his desire to improve the living condition of the people of the province, now considered among the country’s poorest provinces after it was devastated by supertyphoon “Yolanda.”  The governor said that he would focus on enhanced productivity instead of generating employment.
(EILEEN NAZARENO BALLESTEROS)

TACLOBAN CITY – Local government units were given only up to June 30 of this year to finish the distribution of the emergency shelter assistance(ESA) for families whose houses were damaged or destroyed by supertyphoon “Yolanda.”  Otherwise, there is a possibility that its release could be affected due to election ban relative to the general elections next year, said Nestor Ramos, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Ramos said that P2 billion has been released by the national government to the regional DSWD intended for ESA in the 63 towns and cities hit by Yolanda. The amount represents less than half of the estimated P6 billion shelter aid requirements of the 63 towns in the region. “I am appealing to the local government units to complete all documents and if they already received ESA funds, they should release it immediately to recipients. If it won’t be released after June 30 or early July, it will be affected by election ban on October 30,” Ramos told reporters in an interview. Earlier, the national government had set the April 30 timeline to complete the ESA distribution but it failed due to delayed fund disbursement from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“There are issues that are beyond our control but if all the records are ready, we have to release it the soonest,” Ramos said. On the part of local government units (LGUs), duplication in the listing of beneficiaries has slackened the process of handing out the P10,000 grant for each family with partially damaged house and P30,000 for each family whose house were totally damaged. Of the 63 areas affected by Yolanda, only the towns of Tanauan, Tolosa, Palo, Tunga, Palompon, Mahaplag, Kananga, Jaro and Tacloban City, all in Leyte have completed the ESA distribution.

Tacloban and nearby Sta. Fe town have partial releases of shelter aid for typhoon victims. President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the DBM to immediately release the P11.18 billion ESA funds to Yolanda-hit areas in the Visayas. DSWD field offices were asked to start the preparation of documentary requirements needed for the ESA release. Among the documentary requirements are disaster terminal report, project proposal, rehabilitation plan, certificate of eligibility of the beneficiaries, omprehensive land use plan and certification from the local engineering office ensuring that the areas are safe from hazards. Qualified to receive the shelter aid are poor families living in safe zones and earning less than P15,000 monthly.

CATBALOGAN CITY- Prisoners at the Samar Provincial Jail are calling for the ouster of their jail warden accusing of string of violations against them. The 300 strong prisoners wrote a letter dated April 17 to Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan and Vice Gov. Stephen James Tan seeking for the ouster of jail warden Jail Guard 3 Victor Templonuevo.

The prisoners accuse Templonuevo of various allegations which include reducing the cost of their daily meals to P21 from P35; inhuman or degrading punishments; providing special treatment to certain prisoners and immorality involving some jail guards. “We are being treated worst than criminals and being judged as guilty of (the crimes imputed against us),” Renato Baleros, one of the prisoners who signed the petition and a member of Anti Repression and Corruption Committee of Samar Province, said.

As of press time, it was not yet known what were the actions taken by Gov. Tan on the call of the prisoners against Templonuevo. Meanwhile, Ipe Soco of Katungod Sinirangan Bisayas, said that there had been a pattern of complaints that they received concerning conditions of prisoners in the region, not just inhuman treatment but also overcrowding which is a clear violation of the constitutional rights of the inmates. `We call on authorities to uphold rule of law, to respect human rights and to ensure that every people to include the prisoners, are afforded all the human rights and fundamental freedoms to which all citizens are entitled, including the right to express their views freely,”Soco added.(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Social Welfare and Development has allocated P547 million for Leyte under its Accelerated and Sustainable Anti-Poverty Program (ASAPP).

This was disclosed by Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla who said that the implementation of the program is expected to help address the worsening poverty situation of Leyte still reeling from the impacts of supertyphoon “Yolanda” that pummeled the province on November 8, 2013. Leyte’s poverty incidence rose dramatically after Yolanda’s wrath with half of its 1.5 million people living below poverty line.  Petilla said that of the P547 million allocated for Leyte under the ASAPP, 90,078 poor families are to directly benefit the anti-poverty program of the government. The support for the livelihood activities of the families affected by the typhoon will greatly help and spur for the economic recovery of the province and help more than half of its 1.5 million population out from poverty, Petilla said.

Petilla said that alongside with this DSWD program, there are other several government agencies who are working together at present and are implementing their respective programs to combat against poverty and for employment generation. Petilla said that the identified lead economic livelihood and activities of this DSWD program, among others, are homegrown industries like the chicharon production in the town of Tunga and the peanut production in Dulag; hollow block production; port development, hot spring development and the eco-tourism in identified towns.
(RESTITUTO A.CAYUBIT)