CATBALOGAN CITY- Mayor Stephany Uy- Tan issued an appeal to her people to avoid using of plastic and proper throwing of wastes as their contributions in protecting the environment.
“We are calling all Catbaloganons to contribute in your own simple way. By simply not throwing your garbage anywhere and by minimizing the use of plastic, you will make a difference,” the city mayor, who recently received a recognition from the Climate Reality Project Philippines, said.
“If plastic is improperly dispose, this will pollute our environment especially the sea which is our source of food. The pollution it creates does not only lessen the number of marine life but also affects the livelihood of people who are depending on sea to get their source of income,” Mayor-Uy-Tan added.
The city mayor said that waste like plastic also results in flooding once they clogs the waterways.
“For us to have a clean environment, the effort should not start with one person alone but for the entire city to work in making and keeping the environment clean and livable,” she added.
As part of the environmental protection program of the city government, Mayor Uy-Tan led in the launching of the Cabugawan Eco Park in Barangay Cabugawan on Buri Island.
The project is part of the ecotourism program of the city through its Sustainable Tourism and Ecological Protection (STEP) Program under the Office of the City Tourism, Culture, Arts and Information.
The eco-park which is managed by the barangay covers a three-hectare mangrove area which can be access through the 350-meters boardwalk constructed along the protected area.
Three gazebos were constructed that will be used for-eco-educational tour coordinated with the City Environment and Natural Resources where visitors at the eco-park will be taught on the importance of mangrove to human and to the ecosystem which includes as nesting ground of marine life such as fish, shrimps, crabs.
Mangroves also protect shorelines from damaging storm and strong winds, waves, and floods. It also help in preventing soil erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems.
They also help maintain water quality and clarity, filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating from land.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

BORONGAN CITY-The completion of elementary and junior high school through the Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a step towards obtaining education.
This is one of the impressions articulated by the ALS 2018 completers numbering to 139 at the Eugenio S. Daza Elementary School Covered Court as they received their certificates.
In his message, Borongan City Division Assistant Superintendent Gaudencio Aljibe said that the graduates may choose the different academic tracks in senior high school like humanities or technical/vocational and livelihood track.
“We admire your skills, good attitude and determination despite your situation,” Aljibe said in his message.
He shared that there are many examples of successful people who have achieved their dreams through the ALS.
He stressed that this batch surpassed the officials’ expectation when it scored a 90 percent passing rate in the ALS examination. The earlier batch, he said, posted 82 percent as passing rate.
Different situations
Lowel M. Amosco, Jr., 20, from Barangay San Mateo stopped schooling when he got sick, he was in his second year high school then.
His father, a tricycle driver, urged him to try ALS. Lowel plans to enroll in Don Bosco Vocational School but is still undecided which vocational course to take.
Manuel Ribay, 19, is from Barangay Maybacong. His mother admitted she asked him to stop schooling because she observed that she did not like the friends he has. Her son dutifully obliged and just opted to work in the construction company of a distant relative.
ALS completer at 57
Inspired by her son, Allan Arma who teaches ALS, Nenita Arma asked her son if she could also join her neighbors in Lalawigan village enrolled in ALS.
She married early and now takes care of her grandchildren. In between being a nanny, she pored over her son’s learning modules and completed the course. At her age, she still wants to pursue education, but is worried that when she graduates, she will then be a senior citizen and could not get a teaching job anymore.
Her son Allan was quick to reply that it does not matter whether she would not work as a teacher, at least her mom could brag that she finished schooling.
Class Topnotcher
Jenilyn Bajado, the class topnotcher, delivered her farewell speech in Filipino. She hopes to pursue an academic track.
For her, success would be finishing a degree, having a small business, working abroad or working in the government.
She plans to pursue a college degree but cannot decide yet. Her graduation from junior high school is a fulfillment of a dream.
Their graduation song, Isang Pangarap, reverberated in the hall, while some shyly mouthed the lyrics, others became emotional.
For the ALS graduates, completing this level of education is one of their Isang Pangarap-One Dream! (PIA-8, E. Samar)

To ensure peaceful conduct of brgy, SK polls

CALBAYOG CITY- About 300 policemen were deployed in Samar province to ensure that the conduct of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan(SK) elections will be orderly and free from any possible violence.
This was disclosed by Chief Supt. Gilberto Cruz, police regional director, who said that the augmented force were deployed since last week to secure the conduct of the balloting in the first district of Samar, particularly this city.
Cruz added that they had already coordinated with their counterparts at the Philippine Army through Major General Raul Farnacio, commanding officer of the 8th Infantry Division, for them to beef up their own personnel in Samar relative to the May 14 elections.
But City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino appealed to Cruz that the deployed police force be placed under his directive and not with the provincial headquarters.
Aquino said that it would be better if the regional police headquarters will supervise the deployed policemen to make sure that there will be no question of bias during their operations.
“I would like to appeal that the said police force will still be under the supervision of the region. It is better that way so that there will be no question of bias,” the city mayor, who was once the chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council, said.
The current chair of the said council is Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan, who is not politically aligned with Mayor Aquino.
Cruz assured that the battalion will still be under the regional police.
“We will knock on the doors of erring barangay officials or those who frightens the barangay officials and the candidates,” Cruz added.
Calbayog has always been identified as a hot spot during elections due to series of incidents related to the balloting.
Since the start of the barangay and SK election period, two election-related violence have been reported in the city.
The first election-related violence involved a candidate for chairman in Barangay Catabunan, Christopher Branzuela, on April 26 and the second incident happened on May 2 involving a husband of a candidate for councilor in Brgy. San Jose.
The fatality was identified as Teodorico Francisco, whose wife, Jaquilia, is running for village councilor.
Police records have indicated that for the last three years, about 173 shooting incidents happened in the towns of Gandara, Sta. Margarita, Matuguinao and San Jose and this city, where most of these incidents happened.
The incidents were allegedly perpetrated by private armed groups (PAGs).
However, Cruz said that there is no legal basis linking these groups to a certain politician and due to lack of other indicators that will classify these groups as PAGs.
“There is no legal basis linking these groups to a politician that is why we cannot consider them as PAGs, instead these groups were classified as criminal gangs,” Cruz said.
Cruz added that they had already coordinated with the AFP and that Major General Raul Farnacio, commanding officer of the 8th Infantry Division, had committed to augment his men.

By: JENNIFER SUMAGANG-ALLEGADO

TACLOBAN CITY- Roderick Yape first tried taekwondo back in his high school years in 1995 and eventually got hooked on it.Then, he married his co-taekwondo player in college and have two children who are now national taekwondo winners.
“I feel happy because we have the same interest so we always go together in every taekwondo activities,” says Yape who is currently teaching at the Kananga National High School in Kananga, Leyte.
“I’m passionate about martial art since I was a kid. Before I tried taekwondo, I was also trained in alamid, sikaran, and suntok sikad,” says Yape while thanking his taekwondo trainer Jed Lerios of the Leyte Normal University (LNU), this city.
Alamid (bob cat), sikaran (kick), and suntok (punch) are elements of Philippine martial arts.
After he got trained in taekwondo, Yape also started teaching the sport to others in 2002.
“I’ve been teaching taekwondo for 16 years. I’m Third Dan Black Belt in taekwondo,” adds Yape who is set to be promoted to Fourth Dan Black Belt (master) this year.
In Korean martial arts, the Ninth Dan (Black Belt Degree) or grand master is considered the highest degree of certification normally given or achieved by a living person in a taekwondo system, while the 10th Dan Black Belt is an honorary or is given posthumously to a 9th Dan Black Belt holder who spends a life-long dedication to the art of taekwondo.
At 38, this talented yet unassuming martial artist is also a licensed national referee, national instructor, and member of the board of the Eastern Visayas regional management committee on taekwondo.
His wife, Joyce Ann, 39, is also a teacher and a Second Dan Black Belt licensed national referee and national instructor.
The two first met at LNU and were always together in training and sports competitions.
Their 15-year-old daughter, Stella Nicole, is now a Second Dan Black Belt and member of the national taekwondo team training pool, while their 13-year-old son, Jeus Gabriel Derick, is First Dan Black Belt in taekwondo.
“But I see to it that my children do not skip classes so they excel also in academics,” Yape says.
“Parents should encourage their children to join sports and support them all the way. Being into sports is not enough, the support of the parents is crucial for them to develop in their own fields. Children also learn values and virtues in sports like humility, respect, courage, sportsmanship, diligence, and perseverance,” he adds.
Unlike others, the Yape family normally spends their weekend together for taekwondo training schedules.
“We almost have no rest time because even Saturdays are used for training. And we can’t go home after work immediately because we have training schedules,” says the taekwondo parent.
Yet this also paid off as Yape’s children continue to harvest medals during sports competitions from school, division, regional and national levels–like in the prestigious 2018 Carlos Palanca Jr. National Taekwondo Championships and in the Palarong Pambansa, the country’s top annual multi-sport event participated by student-athletes across 17 regions.
In this year’s Palarong Pambansa held in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Yape’s children won the silver medal in mix pair as rank two out of 17 performers and got a rank three for bronze in individual poomsae (taekwondo’s defined pattern of attack-defense motions) category out of 17 performers.
Yape says they are “lucky enough” to win during the event, noting that most of the competing players are members of the Philippine taekwondo team.
“We’re very happy because this is the first time that we won as a pair, as siblings. We’re also proud of our medals because the officials in our town in Kananga are very supportive to us,” says Stella Nicole, who likes to be a doctor or accountant someday.
“We’re happy because our training has paid off. Above all, we’ve made papa and mama very happy,” adds Jeus Gabriel Derick, whose dream is to become an engineer.
Yape hopes to compete in Korea this July and in other national competitions in preparation for the next Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) meet in Ormoc City and Palaro Pambansa in Davao City.
He also expressed his gratitude to the local government of Kananga thru Mayor Rowena Codilla and her husband-Vice Mayor Elmer Codilla, along with their school officer-in-charge Dalisay Pellero, retired school principal Catalino Sabanal Jr., and education officials in Leyte division, for their “untiring” support during their competition.
As summer vacation still lingers on, the Yape family, just like others, is also having fun, kicking together to promote taekwondo sport through summer clinic at their school in Kananga.
(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY – A Commission on Election (Comelec) official of this highly urbanized city urged aspirants for barangay positions on Wednesday (May 2) to ensure peaceful, clean and honest elections.
City Election Officer Ma. Goretti Cañas issued the call during the peace covenant signing held at the Tacloban City Convention Center which gathered the city’s 304 aspirants for barangay chairmen, 2,195 hopefuls for “kagawads” and 1,137 contenders for positions in the Sanggunian Kabataan.
The half-day event also highlighted a talk on the use of proper election propaganda and the requirements that the candidates should comply with, such as the selection of poll watchers, among others.
Cañas encouraged the candidates the prompt and accurate reporting and disclosure of campaign-related expenses and urged them to honor the covenant by not offering bribes or gifts that will compromise the integrity of the electoral process.
Executive Assistant to Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez Pinky Brosas delivered the message of the chief executive during the event.
Mayor Romualdez enjoined election hopefuls to abide by the tenets of the Constitution, election laws, rules, and regulations by respecting the sanctity of the electoral exercise.
Meanwhile, Department of Interior and Local Government City Director Atty. Darwin Bibar said that the activity is one way of ensuring a secure and peaceful election this May 14.
According to him they fully support the activity of the Comelec and the Philippine National Police as this is in lined with the DILG’s election advocacy campaign dubbed “Matino, Mahusay, at Maasahang” Barangay and SK Officials that encourages the public to vote for good leaders.
Meantime, the Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) said no election-related violence or incidents have been reported so far to their office.
According to TCPO Director Police Senior Superintendent Rolando Bade, elections in Tacloban have been generally peaceful and orderly, and there is no cause for concern.
However, Bade assured the public that the joint Comelec and PNP checkpoints with the Philippine Army 78th Infantry Battalion will be continuously manned throughout the election period.
The police director also disclosed that a canine team from the city government will be deployed in public places and that the security plan for the upcoming Election Day has already been prepared.
The TCPO said that 197 police personnel will be deployed on May 14 to the 37 polling centers throughout the city which are composed of 419 clustered precincts.
The election campaign period will start this Friday, May 4 and will end on May 12, a day before the Barangay and SK elections. – H.J. Roca/CIO. (Photos by D. Abarquez/CIO)

PALO, Leyte- For Senior Supt. Leonardo Suan, the deputy regional director for operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP), private armed groups(PAGs) are non-existence in the region.
Any armed groups suspected to be operating in the region are just ordinary armed criminals, he said.
Suan said that for a group of armed men to be considered as members of a private armed group, there should be a clear evidence who are behind them.
“There is no such thing as private armed groups in the region. What we have are just ordinary criminals,” the police official stressed.
“We have been mentioning PAGs. (But) we should refrain from mentioning them especially so that we haven’t identified who are maintaining these groups or who are financing them. We just treat these persons as ordinary criminals,”Suan added.
The presence of these so-called PAGs have been tagged as reason for the series of killing incidents, particularly in Samar province.
Reports have indicated that these PAGs are being maintained and financed by certain politicians.
Former PNP Director General Ronaldo ‘Bato’ de la Rosa and several former regional police directors have acknowledged the presence of PAGs in the region, notably in the several areas in Samar.
They have vowed to dismantle these PAGs which were also identified as one of the factors why certain localities have been tagged as concerned areas during elections.
Suan said that while PAGs have been mentioned before, there is still no ‘link’ that they have been existing because they are being supported by certain politicians.
“To date, we cannot say that there is an existing PAGs because we don’t know who are maintaining them. We don’t have witnesses. We don’t have solid evidences that would link that these groups are maintained by somebody. So the treatment of the PNP with them is that they are crime groups,” he stressed.
“But whatever groups they are, we will still hunt and crush them,” Suan added.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)