ORAS, Eastern Samar – Troops of Charlie Company, 14th Infantry (Avenger) Battalion, and Philippine Army encountered 10 Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army terrorists (CNTs) in the area of Barangay Concepcion, Paranas, Samar on November 20, 2018 at 7:50 pm.
While the troops were conducting their combat operations in the area to confirm presence of armed men in the said barangay, they were firedupon by the armed CNTs that prompted a firefight that lasted for 10 minutes that forced the CNTs to scamper to different directions.
During clearing operations in the area, soldiers recovered from the encounter site two improvised explosive device, one rifle grenade, empty magazines and empty shells of AK46, M16 and M14.
“We continue to validate and confirm information regarding the casualties of the fleeing CNTs.On the other hand, our engaged troops are safe with no casualty”, said Lt.Col. Jimmy V. Jimenez, commanding officer of the 14th IB, 8ID, PA.
Lt.Col. Jimenez further explained that the Stormtroopers through the Avenger Battalion will continue to intensify offensive against the CNTs in the area of Samar “to degrade their armed components to further eradicate the CNTs by 2019 in our area of operations”.
“Rest assured that our battalion will remain to be vigilant in performing our mandated task to serve the Waraynons and in securing the island of Samar”, Lt. Col. Jimenez added. (PR)
Phil. Army hits NPA in Samar anew
Explosion incident killed 2, wounded 2 others in Northern Samar
CATARMAN, Northern Samar – Two persons were killed and another two were wounded after an explosion hit their rented house in Barangay Bobolosan, Laoang town in Northern Samar on Thursday(Nov.22) afternoon.
The police identified the fatalities as alias “Ome” and alias “Gaga”, both residents of San Antonio town in this province.
While the injured were identified as Junjun Donato, 32, and Nilo Cuanico, both residents of Purok 9 Poblacion, Lope De Vega.
Ome died on the spot while Gaga died while being treated at the St. Scholastica Hospital in Pambujan town.
Laoang town police chief, Chief Inspector Manuel Castillo, told Leyte Samar Daily Express that the explosion happened around 3:40 pm Thursday inside a house owned by Natalia Capas but was being rented by one Dario Ayes, said to be a former policeman.
It was not yet established what is the relationship of Ayes to the victims.
The explosion was so huge that it was reportedly heard by residents in the neighboring barangays.
An employee of the Department of Public Works and Highways-second district Engineering Office situated in Brgy.Burabod, two kilometers away from the scene of the incident, said their office was shaken due to the impact of the explosion.
The investigating team from the PNP Explosive Ordnance Division (EOD) recovered hundreds of blasting caps, a sack of detonating cords and time fuse.
These are materials that are used in making improvised explosive device (IED) according to the military.
The police are still investigating the kind of explosive that blew up which killed and wounded the victims.
Donato, Cuanico, and Ayes were detained at the Laoang Police station as they are considered suspects in the incident.
PO2 Eleazar Diu, investigator- on-case, said they would be filing charges against the suspects for violation of sections 1 and 2 of Republic Act 9516 on illegal possession and manufacture of explosives.
(RACHEL V. ARNAIZ)
Chief Supt. Carlos says EV remains peaceful amid killing of a Muslim militant in Ormoc City
TACLOBAN CITY – Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, police regional director, assured the public that Eastern Visayas remain to be peaceful.
Carlos made this assurance in the wake of the killing of an alleged member of a terror group in Ormoc City and the explosion incident in Laoang, Northern Samar that killed two people and injured two others.
Carlos said that police operatives and other law enforcement agencies in the region are conducting intelligence gathering and monitoring to ensure that no terror group will even enter the region.
“We are doing our best to monitor everything especially in the southern part to ensure that all threat groups will not able to enter Eastern Visayas,” the police regional director said.
The ports in southern part of the region including Ormoc City has a link to Mindanao and Cebu that can be used by unscrupulous people, to include terror group.
“So we monitor these areas to ensure that all threat groups would not spread chaos in the region. If there is violation of law, then we take precautionary measures so that we will not be caught off guard of their presence,” Carlos said.
But Carlos said that they could only do much reason they still need the help and cooperation of the public.
“If they see suspicious people in their area, they should immediately report it to the police station so that we can monitor these people,” Carlos said.
On Thursday (November 22), a joint forces from the 802nd Brigade, the PNP and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group killed Joseph Anulga, alias Dawud, which military believed was linked to Dawlah Islamiya, in a buy-bust operation.
Report from the authorities said that Anulga was involved in gun running activities and tried to recruit local residents of Ormoc to convert into Islam.
The military also linked Anulga to Yusof Macuto, the main suspect in a foiled bombing try at the US Embassy in 2016 and the Hilongos, Leyte, bombing incident on December 28,2016 that injured more than 30 people, some of them were children.
Meanwhile, two men were killed and two others were injured when a bomb exploded in Barangay Bubulosan, Laoang, Northern Samar, also on Thursday.
The victims were identified as Ome Inocentes and Gaga Solana, both from San Antonio, Northern Samar while injured were Junjun Donato and Nilo Cuanico.
Initial report from PNP Laoang said that the explosion happened in a house rented by a certain Dario Ayes, said to be a former policeman.
The house was allegedly used by them in making improvised explosive devices.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
‘Yolanda’ memories and hopes
At 47, Elena Abayan, felt there was no more chance to get a share and enjoy a bit of life’s little comforts. She works all day responding to neighbors’ calls for errands, from cooking to house cleaning and doing the dirty clothes in their laundry.
She would get a measly P500by the end of the day, good enough to buy her family’s food and children’s school needs.
This was Abayan’s routine, so toxic and exhausting who is unfortunate to have a lazy husband.
But being the economist for her children, she neglected her weary flesh and thoughts bearing in mind the future of her children, whom she aspired to achieve a better life than hers.
She continued the daily reeling for the precious day’s income. She also bore the suffering of sharing a small house with her husband’s family until super typhoon “Yolanda” struck with its storm surge gulping their house instantly.
Fortunately, the rushing water inland and outland did not grab any of the kids from her sight until the flood subsided. They all survived.
It was five years ago. Now, Elena opts to send those sad memories with the gushing of Yolanda waters toward the higher seas, and choose instead to thank the blessings she and her children have received from generous people and organizations.
As she reflects, Yolanda was both good and bad.
While the disaster wrecked many a people’s lives, it is the same calamity that gave her a “blessing in disguise”.
Being a beneficiary of the government’s housing program she now owns a unit she calls home to her family. It is located in a resettlement area to the north of the citywhere other victims of the disaster have likewise found their permanent place to live.
The area is far from the noisy city streetsbut Abaya and the rest of her neighbors feel there is better security and opportunity to live a peaceful and more comfortable placethat is still surrounded with hills and abounding lush green forest, giving them a fresh morning breeze.
“Even if we are new in our place, and even if my source of income is far from our place, for me, I consider our small community a peaceful and safe place to live in,” she said.
“I know our place will ultimately become progressive because I am sure we will be taken cared of by the government under the leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte who is determined to help poor people like us,” Abaya added.
She still continues to work for her family as her source of income, but she can now concentrate better on her job even as she leaves behind her children for work knowing they are in a better and secured home.
The Yolanda survivorremains hopeful for a continued improvement of their lives with other victims, through government interventions. She believes and fully trusts in the integrity of government’s effort for the less privilege few.
November 8 for her is not only a day to recall the catastrophe and sufferingsbut also a day to celebrate for the resilience of the people and above all, a day to thank the Almighty for the extension of life, a life more resilient and full of hope.
‘Though it is painful for me to remember the date because I also have relatives and friends who perished during the typhoon, we also have to accept the reality and be hopeful in order to have a peaceful and bright future,” Abaya said.
”The sad experience on Yolanda will never be forgottenbut we also have to appreciate the positive aspect it has brought to us. Let us bear in mind that the government is always ready to help us, most especially our God, the Almighty,” she added, reminding other disaster survivors who keep on whining and complaining of their situation despite being provided with assistance from the government.
Abaya was among those who witnessed the activities of relative to the fifth Yolanda Commemorative Anniversary held last November 8 at the Tacloban City Astrodomewhere a series of activities were conducted such as wreath-laying in honor of the departed victims of the super typhoon, followed by a commemorative program and candle-lighting ceremony.
The commemorative activities were not only held in Tacloban City, but also in some parts of the region, especially in areas most hit by the disaster. (GTT/PIA-Leyte)
Barangay information officers in Maasin City undergo writeshop training
MAASIN CITY- Designated information officers in their respective barangays gathered on Thursday, Nov. 15, for a communicators writeshop/training under the E-Power Mo campaign of the Department of Energy (DOE).
The city has 70 barangays, and each barangay sent a kagawad or the punong barangay himself to be the barangay information officer (BIO)while some personnel for city offices were also present to represent their heads.
Invited speakers were from the Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative (Soleco), who were tapped in behalf of the DOE.
In the morning, several topics were thoroughly discussed by the Soleco personnel, including power-saving tips, know-your-cooperative, and patronage credit, among others, while some technical matters were also raised during the open forum.
BIOs then went on a writeshop in the afternoonso they can practice writing news stories about developments that happened in their barangays, or from the topics Soleco personnel earlier discussed.
This was the second gathering of information officers of the city. The first was held last monthin which they were taught on writing a one-sentence news lead.
This time they were taught basic tips other than lead sentence or paragraph, such as the support lead, details, and backgrounder, to complete a five or six-sentence news story, in a one sentence, one paragraph format.
(LDL/MMP/PIA8-Southern Leyte)
Generation Amazing Festival/Sama Sama Games 2018
On 6-9th December 2018, the province of Cebu will host the Generation Amazing National Festival/Sama-Sama Games, a sports and education festival bringing together over 600 children and youth from across the Philippines.
Through play, they will advocate for greater inclusivity and opportunity for all. The festival is powered by Generation Amazing, a football-focused corporate social development programme of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Qatar’s delivery and legacy authority for the 2022 FIFA World Cup™.
The festival, organized and hosted by FundLife, a locally-based organization founded after Typhoon Yolanda, and working with its local Cebu-based partner, Giuseppe Football Club, carries the theme “We are all ONE” – using sport as a level playing field to bring together youth from both the underserved and the more advantageous communities, uniting them through dignity and equality.
“Sport and football in particular, is incredibly powerful at bringing polarized youth together and empowering them to dream big. We’re excited about bring this festival to the province of Cebu, where educational access can lead to legitimate employment opportunities for so many young people,” Marko Kasic, FundLife Founder and managing director, says.
To promote gender equality and increase community participation, there will be 9 different categories from Under 7’s to Under 18’s for the festival with over 250 female players taking part. Unlike traditional football tournaments, the Generation Amazing Festival/Sama Sama Games promotes equal opportunity through harmony, dignity and equality by having 36 trophies up for grabs for the 72 teams joining – increasing participation and opportunity for all players, regardless of skill.
The festival will also celebrate the launch of the Community Football Girls League to promote greater access to sport and education for girls living in at-risk communities.
The action kicks-off on the 6th of December with 24 young leaders from underserved communities in Manila, Davao and Tacloban, flying to Cebu for a two-day educational and training seminar before they join the 72-team Futsal tournament on the 9th of December. The festival concludes with a special performance from local community dance groups. (PR)