ORMOC CITY – Tragedy struck at a private beach resort in Paranas, Samar, as an 8-year-old girl was drowned on Sunday (May 5) at around 4:30 pm.

The victim, identified by authorities as M.S.M, hailed from the town of Zumarraga, also in Samar.

According to police reports, the victim and her family were visiting the area for relaxation and decided to swim at Burabud Spring Resort in Barangay Pabanog, Paranas.

Unfortunately, the girl was left unattended by her relatives while she was swimming.

A 14-year-old eyewitness recounted seeing the victim submerged in the water, lifeless.

Efforts to revive the victim proved futile, and she was rushed to Samar Provincial Hospital located in Catbalogan City where she was pronounced dead upon arrival by attending medical personnel.

The victim’s remains were then transported to a funeral home also in Catbalogan for a postmortem examination before being returned to their hometown for burial.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY– About 35 senior citizens in this city are to undergo a through training program as they will become ‘heritage’ tour guides.

The program is in coordination with the regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Tacloban City Tourism Operations Office together with the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA).

The elders will undergo a seven–day training program from May 22 to 28 that will equip them with the skills and capabilities for them to become effective tour guides.

Eligible senior citizens of this city are encouraged to be part of the heritage guardians training through OSCA.

(NICOLE A. FANOGA, EASTERN SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT INTERN)

ORMOC CITY– Three sachets containing white crystalline substances suspected to be shabu were recovered by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Station Drug Enforcement Team (SDET) of the local police during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Caragas, Lavezares town, Northern Samar on Tuesday (May 7) at about 8:45 am.

The suspect was identified as alias “Reme”, 40, and was described as a street-level individual (SLI) in the drug watchlist of PDEA Northern Samar and the local police.

Recovered from the possession of the suspect was one sachet containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu procured by an agent in the amount of P500.

During the conduct of a body search, the searching agent recovered from the possession of the suspect two more sachets containing a white crystalline substance also suspected to be shabu.

Charges of violations of sections 5(selling illegal drugs) & 11 (possession of illegal drugs) of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs of 2002, were filed against the suspect who is now detained at the local police station.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY–The Bureau of Fire Protection ended on Friday (May 10) its three-day regional sports fest participated by all of its offices in the region.

Deputy City Fire Marshal SPO4 Noel V. Permejo mentioned that the sports event allowed them to enjoy, as well as to improve their physique and develop their camaraderie and sportsmanship resulting in good teamwork inside and outside of their office.

Their activities for their sportsfest and future events focus on educational games and seminars to prevent loss of life and damage of properties in the event of a fire accident.
Despite their busy months ahead, SPO4 Permejo maintains that they will continue the current initiative on hose mapping areas that the fire truck cannot reach, including those areas that have small roads.

“Let us all be responsible with what we do inside our homes because fires usually start there. Let’s be careful and be knowledgeable about fire safety,” Permejo said.

“The community and BFP need to work together so we can prevent fires within the neighborhood,” he added.

(KATRYNA MAE N. MALLARI, LEYTE NORMAL UNIVERSITY STUDENT INTERN)