TACLOBAN CITY- Elements from this city police arrested a 33-year old man for selling the prohibited drug Sept.2.
Arrested by the city police team, led by S/Inspector Elmer Jabiñar, was Alberto Guibao during a buy-bust operation in Barangay 84, San Jose district, this city, where the suspect resides.
Seized from Guibao’s actual possession were one piece sachet of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and the mark money of P500.
The confiscated shabu was turned over to the Regional Crime Laboratory Office (RCLO8).
Suspect, who is married but jobless, was placed under the custody of Tacloban City Police Office for custodial facility while cases for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of RA 9165 are being prepared for filing before the City Prosecutor’s Office
The operation was conducted in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency- 8 under the supervision of city police director, S/Supt.Rolando Bade, police director. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has listed 839 drug affected barangays in the region, representing 19 percent of the region’s total number of villages.
About 361 villages with drug menace are in Leyte, 219 in Southern Leyte, 75 in Samar, 74 in Eastern Samar, 59 in Northern Samar, and 51 in Biliran.
The region has 4,390 villages from its six provinces.
In a report to the Regional Development Council, PDEA Eastern Visayas Regional Director Edgar Jubay said 830 villages are slightly affected, nine are moderately affected, and no single area is seriously affected.
Citing their official list, Jubay said illegal drugs distribution is being carried out by 3,101 pushers, 65 financiers, and 25 traffickers in the region.
Based on their list, there are 2,069 drug users, way below than the nearly 17,000 self-confessed drug dependents who surrendered to the Philippine National Police.
While drug trade has been minimized due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug war, PDEA said that illicit activities continue in some areas with the involvement of some government officials, modus operandi, and use of new technology.
“One challenge is the capability of high-profile drug personalities to continue their illegal drug trade using new technology such as digital wire transfers of through banks without having to expose themselves physically, thus hampering operatives from arresting them,” Jubay explained.
Modus operandi of drug traders include use of minors to peddle drugs, use of commercial courier services, use of some jail facilities as temporary stock and releasing areas, transacting inside hotels, wrapping drugs with improvised packages, placing drugs inside drinking straws, placing under soft drink bottle, and use of cockfighting chickens as concealment strategy in transporting drugs.
Identified by PDEA in the region’s drug trafficking route are Matnog port in Sorsogon, Allen and San Isidro port in Northern Samar, San Ricardo and Liloan port in Southern Leyte, Ormoc City port in western Leyte, and other small public and private ports throughout Region 8.
Jubay is optimistic that impact of anti-drug war will be felt in affected communities in the next few months.
Law enforcement agencies arrested 695 drug personalities as of Aug. 21 or 54 percent up than the 451 arrested persons in the same period last year.
A total of 13,912.435 grams of shabu have been seized in various operations from January to Aug. 21 this year, way high compared to the 1,523.593 grams recovered in the entire 2015.

TACLOBAN CITY- The elevation of blessed Mother Teresa into sainthood elated her devotees here in the region.
On Sunday (Sept.4), Pope Francis led in the canonization of Mother Teresa at the Vatican to sainthood.
Saint Teresa, born as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Albania, died on September 5, 1997 and was beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II on October 19, 2003.
“She is an embodiment of true Christianity, sacrificing one’s comforts for the good of another who is in dire need. Her humility and simplicity are virtues worth emulating in this world of materialism and self-preservation,” said Eileen Ballesteros, a mother and government worker in Tacloban City, on how life and works of Mother Teresa inspire her to become a good public servant.
Land rights worker Rina Reyes also said: “Although I am not well-versed about Mother Teresa’s life and journey, all I know is that her works and devotion to the poor deserve the sainthood.”
Teresa, now known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, visited Calbayog City for four days started on December 31, 1986 on the invitation of Julio Cardinal Rosales.
For his part, Father Virgilio Cañete of the Palo archdiocese said that while she did not personally saw the newly-named saint from Calcutta, India, he felt her presence when she visited Manila at the time that he was also there as a young seminarian.
“Unfortunately no. She was in Manila once, but I wasn’t able to attend her talk to the priests, and seminarians,” he said.
“I already knew a little what she was doing even as a seminarian since she was already at that time much talked about and publicized,” Cañete said.
For his part, Cebu-based priest Roy Cimagala said that even then, Mother Teresa exuded with an “aura of holiness.”
“I did not have direct dealing with her. But what I can say is that even from afar, she exuded an aura of holiness and goodness,” Cimagala recalled.
In Tacloban, followers of Mother Teresa operated its Missionaries of Charity for the needy people in the city and region.
(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY- In spite of insufficient facilities and court rooms, and lack of hazard pay, lower courts across the Philippines endeavors to keep up with the new performance standards being introduced by the Civil Service Commission(CSC). Called the Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS), this mechanism of rating each employee’s performance vis-à-vis an individual target in the organization and the organization’s in its own target will be the basis of one’s availment of performance-based incentives of or his retention in the workplace.

The Supreme Court has lately implemented SPMS, the delay being blamed as reason for late approval of promotions or of lateral transfer of lower court employees. In Tacloban City, through the Office of Deputy Court Administrator (for the Visayas) Thelma Bahia, presiding judges and court staff were briefed as to how this performance review and evaluation scheme will be done and how the SPMS forms will be accomplished within particular period of time. Simultaneous with the very recent launching of the Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) Mediation Conference in Tacloban City graced by Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, SPMS information fora were spearheaded by Bahia and his staff led lawyer Aristeo Franklin Garcia. “This new performance review system is practically based on the team’s cooperation and each employee’s commitment to achieve the team’s target,” Garcia added. The rating will be based on the accomplishment of target with efficiency over certain period of time.
“A 100 percent accomplishment can only entitle you to a performance bonus of only about 80 percent of your monthly basic pay,” Garcia disclosed in one of the lectures he gave out.

Garcia warned that a single “poor” rating will automatically drop an employee from the roll. The courts in Eastern Visayas were expected to have submitted to the OCA their respective employees’ individual performance commitment and review (IPCR) forms and this coming Friday the respective branch’s or office’s organization performance and review (OPCR) forms. Although a welcome development for the lower courts in order to ensure better delivery of service to the public, some court employees are batting for more rational compensation based on skills and task involved. Among these are the process servers, interpreters and stenographers associations.
The lack of sufficient courtrooms and facilities in lower courts are among the concerns in the judiciary which are gradually being addressed by the Supreme Court. The president of the Philippine Association of Court Employees, lawyer Maria Fe Maloloy-on, does not see these as set back in meeting improved targets. Admitting the need for more courtrooms is imperative, she remarked, “Lacing of it does not mean that we cannot be efficient with what we have at present.” She said that lack of budget is the problem in addressing the need for more courtrooms. The Supreme Court is opening additional court salas across the country, including two in Tacloban Regional Trial Court.  (EILEEN NAZARENO-BALLESTEROS)