BABATNGON, Leyte-Survivors of Typhoon Yolanda in Eastern Visayas received paddled bancas as livelihood assistance from the Marriage Encounter of the Philippines, Inc. (MEFP). In a simple ceremony held last May 13, 2014 at 9:30 in the morning, former presidential economic adviser Robert Aventajado, together with lawyers Jun Berto Dazo and Elmer Sy, both officers of MEFP, turned over to the Archdiocese of Palo 150 paddled bancas. Rev. Fr. Isagani Petilos represented archbishop John Du during the turn over ceremony held in Barangay Rizal, this town. Also present during the turnover of the bancas were town councilor Lenny Lugnasin, Joey Chan, representing Mayor Charita Chan and officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources led by its executive regional director, Leonardo Sibbaluca. The MEFP is the umbrella organization of ME (marriage encounter) community numbering around 100 communities whose apostolate is to strengthen marriage bonds among couples and to evangelize the same particularly on the knowledge of married life. Aventajado stressed that the project is the initiative of the MEFP as part of their social outreached projects to help especially those who were adversely affected by the super typhoon. The identification of the intended beneficiaries was made by the archdiocese of Palo through the parish priests of their respective parishes. The assistance given to the beneficiaries were bancas made of solid wood and marine plywood. (TOMAS CICERO C. MAYE)

PALO, Leyte- The regional office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set to conduct a massive campaign and lecture on climate change. The program, dubbed as Iba na ang Panahon, Science for a safer communities, is to be held on May 22-23 in Ormoc City, said Engr.Ramil Uy, senior science research specialist of DOST-8. Officials from Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical Astronomical Administration, Philippine Institute of Volcanology, Seismology and project Noah are among the invited lecturers of the two-day gathering. Speakers are from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The presence of OCD and DILG is very important especially that the Local Government Units or LGU are the front liners of climate change and disaster mitigation, Uy said. He said that they invited mayors, governors and congressmen for the gathering. “This is very important because through this lecture, they can come up with laws or local ordinances so that what happened in Yolanda will never happen again,” Uy said. (LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY – A new church is set to be constructed while the historic Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, a 17th century church in Guiuan, Eastern Samar that suffered extensive damage due to supertyphoon Yolanda, would be rehabilitated. This was revealed by Monsignor Lope Robredillo of the Holy Rosary Parish who added that the new church is design to withstand natural calamities like typhoons. About P25 million will be needed for this church construction sourced from donations, Robredillo said. The church that will be constructed is located across the historic church which is located at Sta.Cruz St., which is within town’s center. But while they have decided to construct a new church, the repair of the historic Our Lady of Immaculate Conception will continue, the monsignor said. When Yolanda unleashed her fury last November 8, 2013, Guiuan was among the towns in Eastern Samar that was severely hit, destroying or damaging several structures to include the Spanish-era church. Robredillo said that the rehabilitation of the said church will be funded by the National Museum though he could not disclose yet the amount set aside for it by the agency. The Guiuan Church suffered heavy damage after its roofs collapsed due to the onslaught of Yolanda last year. Antique images and paintings inside the church where either destroyed or blown off but they were able to recover some of the items, Msgr. Robredillo said. The Guiuan Church has been declared by the National Center for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as a heritage site due to its age and historical significance. The church is also included in the list of pilgrim sites identified by the archdiocese of Palo that oversees all churches in the region. This is the second time that the church suffered heavy damage from a storm. The first time it happened was in 1800’s when a strong typhoon blown away its roofs including a part of the church’s bell tower. But even he already know that National Museum will handle all rehabilitation and restoration works for the century old church Msgr. Robredillo said that he is not aware how much budget will National Museum allocate for the repair.(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

CATARMAN, Northern Samar- A lone gunman shot and killed a provincial engineer of the Northern Samar District Engineer Office in the morning of May 12 with police authority still facing a blank wall as to what could be the motive of the killing. Killed was Virgilio Aleria, 54, who was shot in the head and chest by the lone gunman inside the basketball court of the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) this town. The UEP basketball court, which is located at Zone III, is just a walking distance from the residence of the victim which is at Zone II, UEP. His unidentified companion at that time also fled after the incident, witnesses said. Based on the police investigation, the gunman who was wearing short pants, of medium built and long hair, approached the victim from the back and shot him using a 45 caliber at around 6:15 in the morning, hitting him at the chest and head. His body was brought to Saint Peter Funeral Homes. Catarman police chief, Superintendent Jesus Miranda, said that they immediately conducted a manhunt operation against the suspect who fled towards the direction of the national highway using a motorcycle. He also said that they could not say yet as to what could be the motive of the killing of Aleria. “Actually, we are focusing on several angles one of which could be work related,” Miranda said in a phone interview. He declined to elaborate. Aleria was said to be the chairman of the bid and awards committee of the Northern Samar District Engineering Office and maintenance chief of said engineering office. District engineer Angie Opina asked the police authorities to speed up their investigation of Aleria’s killing whom she described to be a “professional colleague.” “We were shocked over his (brutal) death. He was a good worker and a professional colleague as far as I know. We call on the police to conduct an in-depth investigation,” Opina said in a phone interview. Meantime, former congressman Raul Daza also expressed his shock on the killing of Aleria whom he had known for 25 years. “I have personally known Engr. Aleria for about 25 years. An honest, dedicated and principled government engineer, he has suffered two tragic work-related injustices in his brief life- once when he was detained for 7 years without bail for a crime of which he was acquitted and now for losing his life because he refuses to kowtow to corrupt politicians. My heart bleeds for him and his orphans,” Daza said. (TITO TEPACE with report JOEY A. GABIETA)