TACLOBAN CITY- The provincial board of Leyte approved for the second time the annual budget for 2014 in the amount of P1.70 billion. Earlier, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) return the proposed budget due to failure to comply some required forms, Leyte Vice Governor Carlo Loreto, presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, said. And on June 9, the provincial board approved anew the P1,701,210,844 budget after they complied the needed forms asked by the DBM. Vice Gov. Loreto said that they approved the budget October of last year but it was returned to them by the DBM for some corrections. The DBM reviews and approves annual budgets of provincial governments. Among the required forms that were not complied according to the manual of DBM included form of the local finance committee and form to be signed by Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla. The budget was sent immediately by the provincial board after complying the corrections, Loreto said. Loreto said that the 2014 budget is 10% higher than the 2013 budget. The provincial government of Leyte programs, thrusts and priorities are information and communication technology, tourism development, livelihood for the youth with values formation, improved health care and nutrition, upgraded facilities and personnel services, infrastructure program. (LIZBETH ANN ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Opposition members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, this city, expressed their irritation over the non-appearance of an executive of Mayor Alfred Romualdez. Maria Lagman, head of the City Housing Board, was requested to appear before the members of the city council to give them update on the housing rehabilitation plan. But instead of Lagman heeding on their request to appear before them during their regular session on June 4, what they received was a letter from the chief of staff of Mayor Romualdez, lawyer Czarina Aquitania. Aquitania, in her letter to the city council, was said to have said that they could raise their queries by writing a communication to Lagman instead of asking her to appear before them. This, obviously, did not sit well among opposition members of the city council.
Councilor Neil Glova, leading member of the opposition bloc at the council, said that Aquitania’s action was a “mockery.” Glova said that whenever the Executive Branch makes a request to them for a certain matter, they immediately accede and accommodate such request. But if they were the ones asking a request from the Executive Branch, they were being rebuffed or turned down just like their request for Lagman to appear before them. Councilor Raizza Villasin, another member of the opposition bloc, said that time is of the essence and writing letters to the officials of the City Hall and writing their query will only consume time. Councilor Dalisay Herpe said that Lagman should appear before the city council as problems have been noted in the temporary shelters and in tent city, particularly on fire incident in Barangay Costa Brava that killed a mother and her five children. Councilor Willie Domingo, considered to be an administration ally, said that the Executive Branch should learn to respect their rights as members of the Legislative Branch. Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin, presiding officer of the council, said that the presence of Lagman could provide them correct information about the city master plan on shelter which is the centerpiece of Tacloban City rehabilitation plan. He added that when the city mayor had requested for them to conduct a special session last week for the passage of the resolution to allow him to expropriate lands in northern barangays intended for temporary shelters and for allowing the municipality of Basey, Samar to dump their Yolanda debris at the dumpsite of the city, they granted the request of the city mayor even they were on recess. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Waray Wikipedia has already surpassed one million articles, nearly nine years after its launching, according to automatically updated Wikimedia data released on June 9. Waray, a language spoken by about 2.6 million Filipinos in Leyte and Samar Islands, is making headway in open-source online encyclopedia with over 1,009,000 articles. “As of 10 June 2014, the Waray-Waray Wikipedia has 2,113,585 pages, 77 active users, and 5,002,407 total edits,” the online encyclopedia reported. Launched in September 25, 2005, the Waray-Waray Wikipedia has included more than twice as many articles as the Tagalog Wikipedia, the main language in the country, according to the report. Wikipedia reported that on 26 August 2010 the Visayan language Wikipedia “passed the 100,000-article milestone, making it the 35th largest language edition.”  The Waray-Waray Wikipedia is run by the Wikimedia Foundation, an American non-profit and charitable organization based in San Francisco, California, known for hosting Wikipedia, one of the top-ten most-visited websites worldwide. (SARWELL Q. MENIANO)

TACLOBAN CITY- A barangay chairman in Guiuan town, Eastern Samar was recently arrested by government operatives in a buy-bust operation. Nabbed was Nestor Cunanan, 49 and married, at his house in Barangay 3 of the said town, Liza Baoy, information officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said. “Being an elected official, he is considered to be a high value target. Of course, he denied the allegations against him as he claimed that the shabu seized from his possession was just planted,” Baoy said. Seized from the suspect was a sachet of shabu (hydrochloride methamphetamine) weighing 0.1453 gram. Cunanan is now detained at the Guiuan municipal police station as charges for violation of anti-drug law or Republic Act 9165 were filed against him. (JAG)

TACLOBAN CITY- Mayor Susan Ang of San Isidro, Leyte reported of series of incidents of houses being burglarized seven months after supertyphoon Yolanda hit their town. Ang said that after she received reports of these separate incidents, she right away called the town police chief to conduct a thorough investigation by identifying the perpetrators and file appropriate charges against them. “These incidents are not alarming but I will not allow the people of San Isidro being victimized to burglary and their houses being ransacked while they are sleeping, “the town mayor said. She said that she ordered the S/Inspector Jimmy Balasanos, town police chief, to conduct check point to protect the people against the perpetrators. Mayor Ang said that based on information relayed to her, three houses were already victimized by the perpetrators carting with them personal belongings, cash and gadgets like laptops and motorcycles of the victims. Board Member Alan Ang, former mayor of the town and husband of the incumbent chief executive, said that he was shock when he learned on the string of incidents at their town. He said that police authorities have yet to identify who could be behind to these incidents. But he board member said that based on the raw information he obtained, the perpetrators were not from the place but from Ormoc City. Board Member Ang said that based on his information that he received that the suspects in from Ormoc city and they are contacted in this municipality but the local police are in blank of the investigation. “We will make sure that the perpetrators will be identified and face appropriate charges. The people are still reeling from the effects and Yolanda and now they are again being victimized by these individuals,” Ang said. (LITO A. BAGUNAS)