TACLOBAN CITY – A newly completed farm-to-market road connecting Barangays Kalinawan and Licod in Jaro, Leyte is now helping ease travel and improve trade for local farmers, particularly those transporting copra and other produce.
The 1.54-kilometer road, built by the Leyte 2nd District Engineering Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways or DPWH, features a 200mm-thick, 5-meter-wide Portland Cement Concrete Pavement, reinforced box culverts, stone masonry for erosion control, and thermoplastic road markings for added safety.
Funded with P21.58 million under the 2025 General Appropriations Act, the project was completed on May 20, 2025.
“This road is a big help to us. Before, it was muddy and hard to pass, but now it’s smooth and travel is easier, especially for transporting our copra,” said Kalinawan farmer Rodolfo Santiso.
The improved access is expected to boost the livelihoods of farmers in the village, known for copra, bananas, and root crops.
TACLOBAN CITY – In a bid to make government services more accessible to residents in remote parts of Northern Samar, the Office of the Ombudsman has inaugurated its newest Ombudsman Assistance Center (OAC) at the provincial capitol in Catarman.
Formally opened on Tuesday, July 1, the facility is designed to simplify the filing of complaints, Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), and applications for Ombudsman clearances — services crucial for public officials and ordinary citizens alike.
The center will serve as a satellite office for walk-in clients, significantly reducing the need to travel to the main regional office in Tacloban City or to Metro Manila.
During the launch, Vice Governor Clarence Dato lauded the initiative and paid tribute to Ombudsman Samuel Martires, a native of Palapag, Northern Samar, who is set to retire on July 27 after completing his seven-year term.
Calling Martires “our own Cinderella Man,” Dato praised his rise from humble beginnings to becoming the country’s top anti-graft official, saying his life story is a source of pride and inspiration for the people of Ibabao, the northern part of Samar.
“His advocacy now finds fruition in this humble office — a testament of his love for public service that soars the lofty Ibabao skies,” Dato said.
Also present at the ceremony were Governor Harris Christopher Ongchuan and Representative Edwin Marino Ongchuan, who both expressed full support for the establishment of the center and its role in promoting transparency and good governance.
The Catarman center is the second of its kind in Samar Island, following the opening of a similar facility in Calbayog City last March 28.
The main regional Ombudsman Office remains located in Tacloban City.
TACLOBAN CITY — Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan underscored the importance of unity and values in sustaining peace as she graced the 39th founding anniversary of the 801st Brigade, 8th Infantry Division, on July 2 at Camp Daza in Hinabangan, Samar.
As guest speaker, Tan highlighted her administration’s efforts to promote peace and order, including the One Values Program (OVP)—a campaign focused on instilling core values such as family, inclusivity, youth development, women and children’s welfare, environmental care, and spirituality.
“Nurturing values will help our people become productive citizens with pride in their place and love for country,” she said.
During the celebration, three soldiers were conferred the Gawad sa Kaunlaran medal for their development contributions, while four others received the Military Merit Medal for combat achievements.
The event reaffirmed the strong partnership between the provincial government and the military in building a safer and more resilient Samar.
TACLOBAN CITY – The newly-installed commanding officer of the 93rd Infantry Battalion (IB) based in Kananga, Leyte, has vowed to sustain the gains of the government in its fight against insurgency and bring an end to the armed struggle in the province.
Lieutenant Colonel Celeste Frank Sayson, in his acceptance message, assured the leadership of the 8th Infantry Division (8th ID) that he will focus on neutralizing the remaining members of the New People’s Army (NPA) operating in Leyte.
“This assignment is not a challenge for me but an opportunity because I am blessed to be one among the few to finish our ISO (internal security operation) problem as we transition towards external defense,” LtCol Sayson said during the turnover held on Wednesday, July 2.
Prior to LtCol Sayson’s assumption, his predecessor LtCol Charlie Saclot led operations that resulted in the neutralization of a high-ranking NPA official in Carigara town.
On June 18, NPA executive committee member Juanito Sellesa Jr., alias Tibor, along with Eugene Paclita alias Dimple and Lito Laurente alias Dodong—leader and member respectively of Squad 2, Platoon 1, Island Committee LEVOX under the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee—were killed in an encounter in Barangay Cogon, Carigara.
Sellesa, alias Tibor, was facing a murder charge for the killing of Jesus Sarcilla on December 7, 2021, in the upland village of Binibihan, also in Carigara.
Following the encounter, only seven members reportedly remain under the said NPA squad.
“To the remaining seven members, we are giving you an ultimatum: all or nothing, now or never. Surrender now because your remaining safe space is spending it with your family,” LtCol Sayson warned.
“Surrender now because we are facing a bigger challenge—a problem where our enemies are foreigners,” he added, referring to the military’s broader shift in focus toward external defense.
Maj. Gen. Adonis Ariel Orio, commander of the 8th ID, who presided over the turnover of command ceremony, expressed confidence in LtCol Sayson’s capability to lead the battalion with courage and dedication.
“We entrust this battalion to another capable, committed, and proven leader,” MGen Orio said.
“Lead this battalion with the same courage, compassion, and clarity that defines this command,” he added.
MGen Orio also commended outgoing commander LtCol Saclot for his significant contributions to the ongoing campaign to end local communist armed conflict in Eastern Visayas.
TACLOBAN CITY – The Police Regional Office (PRO-8) has distributed 150 push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) radios to all police stations across Eastern Visayas to strengthen field communication and improve operational coordination.
PBGen Jay Cumigad, PRO-8 regional director, led the turnover ceremony of the new communication equipment aimed at enhancing the relay of critical information among police units in the region.
“This will really help. The lack of communication equipment is one of the barriers to the timely response of our policemen. This is going to be a continuing procurement based on the needs—until such time that all patrollers are fully equipped with radios,” he said during the event held on Wednesday, July 2.
This is the second batch of PoC radios distributed by the regional police this year. In April, the same number of units was issued to police stations to support personnel manning checkpoints and chokepoints during the election period.
“Communication equipment is a very effective tool to help the patrollers who are deployed on the ground,” Cumigad added.
The latest recipients of the communication equipment include Leyte Police Provincial Office, Samar Police Provincial Office, Northern Samar Police Provincial Office, Eastern Samar Police Provincial Office, Biliran Police Provincial Office, Southern Leyte Police Provincial Office, Ormoc City Police Office and Tacloban City Police Office.
Aside from the radios, PRO-8 also turned over 30 body-worn camera batteries to serve as backup power sources for units using body cameras during operations.
The Israel-Iran war reveals a fundamental contrast in the way each side conducts its attacks. Iran launches its missiles toward civilian populations, while Israel restricts its strikes to military targets. This contrast lays bare the difference between a regime driven by destruction and one anchored in defense.
Iran’s pattern of targeting civilians is not a matter of faulty intelligence or collateral damage—it is a strategy. It aims to sow terror in ordinary lives, to cripple societies through fear, and to draw blood from those who have nothing to do with armed operations. This approach betrays the moral bankruptcy of its leadership. When civilians become the deliberate victims of a nation’s weapons, what is left is not warfare but a form of state-sponsored terrorism.
Israel, on the other hand, despite overwhelming provocation and repeated threats to its existence, has upheld the principle of targeting only military facilities, arsenals, and combatants. Its actions may still lead to unintended casualties, but the distinction lies in intent. Israel does not seek to annihilate populations—it seeks to neutralize threats. Its military campaigns are rooted in a logic of survival, not conquest.
This difference cannot be casually dismissed. In every war, conduct reveals character. The deliberate murder of civilians cannot be equated with surgical military strikes. When a country arms itself not just with rockets but with hatred and fires both at civilians, it forfeits any claim to legitimacy. A war where one side obeys the rules of engagement and the other side burns them is not a symmetrical conflict—it is a confrontation between order and chaos.
This war needs more than condemnation. It demands that the international community make no moral equivalence between those who kill to protect and those who kill to terrorize. Global powers must act decisively—cut off weapons supplies to aggressors, impose real sanctions, and enforce international laws that define and punish war crimes. Neutrality in the face of evil is complicity.
