Reminded soldiers to follow Pres.Duterte orders, anti-drug war

CATBALOGAN CITY- The 8th Infantry Division, the mother unit of the Philippine Army in the region, has a new commanding officer in Brig. Gen. Raul Farnacio who was once a brigade commander in the region.
Farnacio replaces Maj. Gen. Jet Velarmino, who retired from the military service after serving the military for 34 years and served as the commanding officer of the 8th ID for three years.
He served the 8th ID from September 2013 until his retirement on his birthday October 6.
Farnacio, prior to his new assignment, was the former chief of the Army Internal Auditor.
Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año, commanding general of the Philippine Army, presided the change of command held at the grounds of the 8th ID headquarters on Thursday (Oct.6).
Prior to this assignment, Farnacio also commanded the 901st Brigade of the 9th ID based in Bicol Region and he also served the 8ID as executive officer of the 43rd Infantry Battalion and the 801st Brigade, and later as commanding officer of the 20th Infantry Battalion and 43rd Infantry Battalion.
He was also the assistant chief of Staff for Intelligence, G2, 7th Infantry Division; and Chief of the Unified Command Staff of the central command.
Just like predecessor, Farnacio is also not new to disasters.
When he was the commanding officer of the 43rd Infantry Brigade based then in Sogod, Southern Leyte when the massive landslide hit Barangay Guinsaugon in Saint Bernard.
During his message Farnacio emphasized the need for the members of the military in the region to have more ascendancy and support the programs of their commander-in-chief.
“If we expect to achieve in our mission to bring peace and progress we need to make ourselves worthy implementers, therefore I enjoined the brigade, battalion and even company commanders to be on the forefront of moral ascendancy in your respective units,” Farnacio said.
The new 8th ID commander also calls for government troops in the region to support the programs of President Rodrigo Duterte in extending peace to the communist group as well as the problem brought about by criminality, illegal drugs and terrorism.
“Let us support law enforcement agency in their efforts to combat criminality and illegal drug trade since this problem is deeply rooted in the region,” he added.
He then reminded the soldiers not to use illegal drugs or even engage in drug related activities.
Among the guests during the turnover ceremony were Northern Samar Governor Jun Ong, former DILG Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento who heads the Philippine Army Multi-Sectoral Advisory Board, Guiuan Mayor Christopher Sheen Gonzalez and Police Regional Director Elmer Beltejar, among others.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

40 out of 100 considered poor

PSA exec urged officials to help fight EV’s poverty incidence

TACLOBAN CITY-With poverty incidence of the region remaining among the country’s highest, an official of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) urged local officials to find ways to improve their respective economic conditions.
Based on the report of the PSA-8, as of the first semester of 2015, the poverty incidence of the region reached 39.3 percent or almost 40 families are considered poor out of 100 families.
The poverty incidence of Eastern Visayas is slightly better than ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) which has poverty incidence of 59 percent.
“The use of the statistics is a signal for our policy makers like our governors, mayors and congressmen… to plan properly (to address) poverty,” Wilma Perante, PSA regional head said during a press conference at the Philippine Information Agency on Thursday.
“We need to sustain (the growth of our) economy. If we cannot sustain the economy, we cannot solve poverty,” she added.
Of the six provinces of the region, Northern Samar posted the highest poverty incidence at 52.4 percent followed by Samar at 41.8 percent and Eastern Samar at 40.1 percent.
Leyte, meantime, registered its poverty incidence at 39.1 percent which was higher compared to the 31.9 percent in the 2012 survey. Leyte is considered the hardest-hit province due to Yolanda.
Meantime, Southern Leyte posted a 30.4 percent poverty incidence while Biliran, the smallest province of the region, had the lowest poverty incidence at 15.2 percent.
The PSA put the poverty threshold of the region at P11, 102 per capita.
Poverty threshold or poverty line is the minimum level of income required for a family to meet the basic and non-basic needs.
Perante said that the current P260 daily minimum wage of the region is only enough to feed three people in a family.
“If you are receiving the minimum wage and you have more than three in a family, that means you belong to the poor,” she said.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)