TACLOBAN CITY – As the May 12 midterm elections approaches, Catholic and civil society groups are calling for clean, peaceful, and credible polls, raising concerns over possible power outages that may affect the electoral process.

“The 2025 midterm election presents an opportunity to elect leaders who will address the country’s pressing crises,” said Caritas Philippines, the socio-civic arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. “But the integrity of the process is threatened by recurring power interruptions, especially during summer.”

In response, groups like Caritas, Power for People Coalition, Lente, and the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition launched the watchdog campaign “Kontra Brownout, Iwas Daya!” to push for stable power supply during the elections.

In Eastern Visayas, police authorities have deployed over 870 personnel to ensure order and safety in key areas, with checkpoints and fixed control points established in Leyte towns. Police Regional Director Brig. Gen. Jay Cumigad urged public vigilance, saying “safeguarding democracy is a shared duty.”

Nationwide, the Philippine National Police has set up over 6,300 checkpoints and identified 34 election hotspots, mostly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Youth group SPARK also called for elections free from violence and discrimination. “The electoral space should focus on platforms, not hate or sexist remarks,” said SPARK deputy spokesperson Althea Mateo.

The Commission on Human Rights echoed these calls, citing a rise in red-tagging and offensive campaign rhetoric. The Comelec has since activated Task Force SAFE to crack down on harassment and uphold laws protecting women and marginalized groups.

(RONALD O. REYES)

In Catbalogan City, there used to be a place where silence stood tall.

Not the empty kind of silence—but the sacred kind. The kind that gently reminded you that some things should not be forgotten. That place was Pieta Park. And now it’s gone—ripped apart to make way for a pizza chain.

This is the cost of calling anything “progress.”

What once was a space of remembrance—home to a replica of La Pieta honoring the lives lost in the Doña Paz tragedy—was flattened, discarded, and repurposed into a parking lot. There wasn’t even a public announcement, no official farewell. Just rubble where reverence used to be.

People call it development. I call it erasure.

The park wasn’t grand. It wasn’t shiny. But it was solemn. It was where students rested after school, where families lit candles for loved ones lost, where survivors revisited their pain with dignity. Its statue stood for grief, yes—but also for hope. A memorial born from grief, standing for grace.

Today, it stands for nothing. Because it no longer stands at all.

How do you begin to grieve a second time for something already rooted in grief?

There are many ways to improve a city. Demolishing its soul is not one of them.

This isn’t just about one park. It’s about what kind of city we are building. In the past few years, Catbalogan has become home to more and more big-name chains. Restaurants, groceries, fast-food spots—the kind of urban glow-ups people celebrate on Facebook with a selfie and a milk tea in hand. I get it. We all want comfort. We want progress.

But what we rarely ask is: What are we losing while we gain?

Pieta Park wasn’t just another corner of the city. It was layered in memory. Beneath it rested pieces of our past—of our people, our pain, our prayers. The land itself bore witness to centuries of struggle and story. But none of that mattered when development came knocking. Or rather—when it came bulldozing.

And the way it happened? Careless. Quiet. Quick.

No permits. No consultation. No reverence. The sculpture wasn’t relocated—it was shattered. Its pieces scattered. Its message forgotten.

Here, we put a pizza place on top of pain.

If something sacred can be demolished this easily—without a voice raised in power to stop it—what does that say about who we are? About what we value?

I’m scared for Catbalogan. Not just because we’re losing landmarks, but because we’re losing memory. And when memory goes, everything else goes with it—our sense of identity, our strength, our soul.

And when the last sacred space is gone, when the last meaningful place is destroyed, we won’t even notice.

We’ll be too busy waiting for our order.
(JULIA MIKAELA UY)
(Note: Julia Mikaela Uy, a native of Catbalogan City is a Beyond Loyola staffer (2023–present) for The GUIDON, the official student newspaper of Ateneo de Manila University. She actively participates in The GUIDON’s coverage of social, political, and economic events outside the campus).

The Inflation Rate (IR) for the bottom 30% income households in Eastern Visayas continued to slow down to 0.2 percent in March 2025 from 0.5 percent in February 2025.
This brings the regional average IR from January to March 2025 to 0.5 percent. Moreover, the regional IR for this income group was lower than the 1.1 percent national IR recorded in March 2025. The region’s IR for the bottom 30% income households in March 2024 was higher at 4.5 percent.

The main driver to the deceleration of the regional inflation for the bottom 30% income households in March 2025 was the faster annual price decrease in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages commodity group recorded at 1.2 percent from 0.2 annual price decrease in February 2025.

This was followed by the 0.2 percent annual price decrease registered in transport commodity group in March 2025 from 0.7 percent IR in the previous month.
In addition, slower IRs were noted in the following commodity groups during the month: furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 1.2 percent from 1.3 percent; recreation, sport and culture, 1.8 percent from 2.0 percent; and information and communication, 0.2 percent from 0.3 percent.

On the other hand, compared with their IRs in February 2025, higher IRs were observed in the following commodity groups: alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent; clothing and footwear, 1.0 percent from 0.9 percent;housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 4.6 percent from 1.4 percent; health, 1.9 percent from 1.4 percent; and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services, 1.4 percent from 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, education services and restaurants and accommodation services commodity groups retained their previous month’s IR at 12.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. The IR for financial services remained at zero percent during the month.

The top three commodity groups that contributed to the March 2025 regional IR for the bottom 30% income households were the following: housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 252.1 percent share or 0.50 percentage point; alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 50.5 percent share or 0.10 percentage point; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, with 24.4 percent or 0.05 percentage point.

Food inflation for the bottom 30% income households in Eastern Visayas recorded a faster annual price decline of 1.5 percent in March 2025 from 0.3 percent IR in
February 2025. In March 2024, food inflation for this income group was posted at 8.3 percent.

The decrease of food IR for the bottom 30% income households was primarily brought about by the faster annual price decrease in rice at 9.4 percent in March 2025, from a 6.7 percent annual price decrease in February 2025.

The annual price decrease of fruits and nuts commodity group at 0.1 percent during the month, from 4.9 percent in February 2025 also contributed to the downtrend of the food IR. Fish and other seafood commodity group also recorded slower IR at 4.4 percent in March 2025, from 5.1 percent in the previous month.

In addition, the following food groups recorded slower IRs during the month in review: milk, other dairy products and eggs, 1.8 percent from 2.4 percent; ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified, 5.8 percent from 6.1 percent; and flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 1.7 percent from 1.9 percent.

In contrast, higher IRs were observed in the following food groups in March 2025 compared with their IRs in February 2025: corn, 2.5 percent from 1.4 percent; meat, and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 5.5 percent from 3.9 percent; and c vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, 6.2 percent from 5.4 percent.

Moreover, oils and fats registered an annual price increase of 0.1 IR in March 2025, from 0.1 percent annual price decrease in the previous month. Sugar, confectionery and desserts recorded slower annual price decrease at 0.3 percent in March 2025 from 2.4 percent annual price decrease in February 2025.

The annual price decrease in food pulled down the regional IR for the bottom 30% income household in March 2025 by 0.65 percentage point. The food groups with the highest contribution to the annual price decrease in food during the month were the following: cereals and cereal products, which includes rice, corn, flour, bread, and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, with 245.7 percent share or -3.69 percentage points; and sugar, confectionery and desserts, with 0.6 percent share or -0.01 percentage point.

Relative to their IRs for the bottom 30% income households in February 2025,

The lone Highly Urbanized City of Tacloban and four (4) provinces, namely, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, and Southern Leyte recorded lower IRs in March 2025. Eastern Samar registered higher IR, while Biliran retained its previous month’s IR.

For this income group, Eastern Samar registered the highest IR among the provinces at 3.1 percent. This was followed by Biliran at 0.7 percent, Leyte at 0.3 percent,
Southern Leyte at 0.2 percent, and Northern Samar with 0.6 percent annual price drop off.

The lowest IR for this income group was noted in Samar at an annual price decrease of 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, Tacloban City recorded 0.5 percent annual price decrease in March 2025. (PR)