BOBON, Northern Samar— A memorandum of agreement was signed by Mayor Reny Celespara and a representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) that would help strengthen campaign on nutrition and education programs in this town.
The agreement between the Unicef and the local government unit of Bobon, represented by Mayor Celespara, aim to use communication resources to gain multi –sectoral support in attaining the several local developmental goals.
Kathleen Solis represented the Unicef in the signing of the agreement held on March 12, 2014 at the Executive Building.
The signing was also witnessed by different local officials and Dr. Ma. Theresa Velasco of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños’ College of Communication and Development.
The half-day event aimed at “strengthening local nutrition and education programs through communication for behavior and community empowerment initiatives” has also its purpose in achieving or influencing people for an effective communication for the various health and nutrition programs of Bobon town.
Velasco disclosed that aside from Bobon, two other towns in the province of Masbate are also beneficiaries of this Unicef’s technical assistance on developmental communication strategies that will run for months which made them avail series of trainings, lectures, seminars and workshops while their respective municipalities are investing various development programs that would benefit their local citizenry particularly, the needy as target beneficiaries.
Mayor Celespara, a registered nurse by profession, expressed his full support on this program of the Unicef as he expressed his gratitude for choosing his town as a beneficiary. (PETER D. PAREDES)

TACLOBAN CITY- After more than four months after Leyte was pummeled by supertyphoon Yolanda, its towns located in the fourth district appeared to be in the road of recovery.
This was the assessment made by Board Member Mesias Arevalo who represents Leyte ’s fourth district at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
According to him, the fast recovery of the towns in the district, particularly Palompon and Merida , was due to the assistance that they received not only from the provincial and national governments but from various international organizations.
The Leyte board member said that the people of the district are now back to their normal lives and routines as local businessmen have now return to business.
He added that fishermen and farmers have now returned to planting and fishing. Arevalo said that planting and fishing materials were provided by to them reason why they are working.
“The farmers and the fishermen, after the devastation of the supertyphoon, have been given priority when it comes to their needs in order for them to go back immediately to planting and fishing,” Arevalo said.
He also said that the tourism industry, particularly in Palompon, is also slowly recovering as tourists have return to visit the town’s most famous tourist spot, the Kalanggaman Island. (RYAN GABRIEL LLOSA ARCENAS)

TACLOBAN CITY- A member of the city council of this city urged for the enforcement of a new comprehensive land use plan (CLUP) amid the aftermath of the supertyphoon that devastated this city.
Councilor Emmanuel Domingo said that an updated CLUP could help in the rehabilitation effort of the city government as areas would be clearly delineated or identified for what particular purpose.
“The previous city council members have already updated the CLUP of the city which was prepared by the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) but because of the devastation of the supertyphoon Yolanda, there may be some changes in our CLUP,” Domingo said.
Domingo emphasized that the CLUP once it will be updated, should include in the recovery and rehabilitation plan of the city government especially in the light of a master rehabilitation plan.
“We will review the CLUP of the city on what particular provision that must be changed or amended,” Domingo said.
He admitted that updating the city’s CLUP might just take some times considering that it need scientific studies. (RYAN GABRIEL LLOSA ARCENAS)

ORMOC CITY- Two top officials of the Ormoc City police station and eight others were sacked from their posts after a buy-bust operations turned deadly in this city on April 8.
However, the relief of the police men should not be construed that they were guilty over the incident that killed three persons, Ormoc City Police Director Senior Supt. Jose Macanas said.
Killed were Dr. Jay Movilla, Wilfredo Alberto, an employee of the city government of Ormoc and Sim Serrano, the subject of the anti-drug operation.
The relieved of Inspector Edgar Encina, his deputy, Inspector Harris Rebato and eight other policemen from Police Station 3 was just part of the standard operating procedure to give way for an investigation, Macanas stressed.
The group of Encina conducted a buy-bust operation in Barangay Tambulilid, this city, on April 8 around 4 p.m. against Serrano, said to be one of the most-known drug dealers in the city.
A policeman, acting as a buyer-poseur, handed Serrano a P500 marked money. However, the suspect sensed that he was being laid in a sting operation, ran away towards the nearby cockpit which was then full of people as there was an ongoing cockfight.
“He was firing his gun indiscriminately while he was running towards the direction of the cockpit and the policemen, who were running after him, have no choice but to fire back. This resulted to a commotion inside the cockpit which unfortunately resulted to the death of the suspect and two other civilians,” the Ormoc city police director said.
Killed on the spot were Serrano and Alberto with Movilla declared dead on arrival while being treated at the OSPA Farmer’s Medical Center.
Six others were wounded and brought to different hospitals.
Injured were identified as Alex Oliveros, Melodia Mangubat, Joey Liporda, Rene Ejares, Gonzalo Menderos and Rodolfo Villar, 63 all of them are from the city’s villages.
Recovered from the scene was a caliber 45 gun said to be owned by the suspect and a 38 caliber.
The Scene of the Crime Operatives yielded one sachet of suspected shabu inside Serrano’s pocket, 500-peso bill at his left hand and gun holster tucked at his waist.
No one was hurt from the police.
Macanas declared it was a legitimate operation duly coordinated with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. For what happened, he expressed apology and deep grief over the death of innocent persons and those wounded.
A paraffin test was conducted to all police men involved as well as ballistic test on their firearms. (ELVIE ROMAN-ROA)

TACLOBAN CITY- Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be on hand on April 10 & 11 to personally turn over P 800 million worth of checks to local governments in Leyte severely affected by Typhoon Yolanda.
It was learned from DILG – 8 Regional Director Pedro A. Noval Jr. that the checks represent part of the national government’s Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) to local governments in Leyte which were hard-hit by the typhoon.
Separate turnovers will be scheduled for other LGUs in the region.
From the airport, Sec. Roxas will go to Palo, Leyte at 9AM on April 10 (Thursday) where local chief executives (LCEs) of nearby LGUs will receive their checks in a short program. The group will then proceed to Baybay City for a similar activity at 1PM. Sec. Roxas will likewise preside over the turnover of checks in Ormoc City at 9AM on April 11 (Friday).
According to Dir. Noval, LGUs in Eastern Visayas submitted project proposals worth P938 million in all for the repair of their provincial capitols/municipal or city halls, public markets, and civic centers. These proposals were keenly evaluated and then approved by DILG.
The repair projects coursed through DILG will be implemented by LGUs, after submission of the required Programs of Work and signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with DILG, with the corresponding sanggunian resolution authorizing the LCE to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the agency.
Additional amount will be released to the DPWH which will implement proposed projects for reconstruction of key LGU buildings.
Supertyphoon Yolanda in addition to claiming lives and properties, also devastated public buildings and facilities in Eastern Visayas. The release of checks is a fulfillment of the promise of national government to help hard-hit towns regain their capacity to deliver basic services and respond to the needs of their community. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY-For so long as the people are not consulted and are left in the dark, the government will continue to face problems on its rehabilitation program in areas hit by supertyphoon Yolanda.
Thus said Efleda Bautista, convenor of the People Surge, a coalition of different groups whose 12,000 strong members were victims of Yolanda.
Bautista said that the government “should really consult these victims, have a real assessment of the individual cases.”
“Like assess them where do they come from; maybe some of them are from other towns and they want to return there. If they are from Tacloban, assess what would be their livelihood, where they really want to stay, are they satisfied with their current place of residence. What is really the plan of the government on this?”she said.
“Bottom line, include the people on their plan,” Bautista stressed.
Ignoring the victims in drawing the rehabilitation plan could be tantamount that they “do not exist,” she said.
“They have a different picture of the new Tacloban or Eastern Visayas drawn from the comfort of their air-conditioned offices and with the advice of moneyed local and international capitalists devoid of the interests of the ordinary man, or the masses which compose the majority of the Filipino people,” Bautista added.
Bautista said that the President “junked” their petition stating their demands instead of at least studying it.
Bautista maintained that as the country observed the fifth month anniversary of the disaster which claimed over 2,000 lives in Tacloban alone, rehabilitation remains slow.
“The victims are still staying in bunk houses and in the tent city in San Jose,” she said.
According to Bautista, victims in the bunk houses also faced several problems on restriction in their areas.
“They are not allowed to hang their washed clothes, they are not allowed to cooked near their place because they have centralized cooking area where they have to line up to cook, they are not allow to sell or open a store, otherwise why will be not be included on the list for those who will be relocated plus they will not be recipient anymore of the government’s conditional cash transfer program,” Bautista said.
She also expressed her sadness that Rehabilitation Secretary Panfilo Lacson branded the victims as “communist pawns.”
“If you are a victim neglected by your government, are you going to be happy on this?” the 66-year old retired educator asked.
Bautista also denied that their continuing protests are aimed to destabilize the government. (RONALD O.REYES)