TACLOBAN CITY– A top drug personality was apprehended by joint police operatives in a buy-bust operation which also led to the discovery of a marijuana plantation in Purok Banog, Barangay Baras, Palo, Leyte, on Tuesday (May 7).

Operatives from the Regional Drug Enforcement of Police Regional Office 8 led the buy-bust operation which resulted in the arrest of the suspect, identified as ‘Jojo’, 58, who was also said to be the maintainer of a marijuana plantation.

Seized from the suspect were two sachets of suspected marijuana, three branches of marijuana plants, nine pieces of suspected marijuana covered by banana leaf, 33 branches of suspected marijuana plants, and one zip lock pouch containing cannabis leaves on it.
In all, the confiscated prohibited items weigh 12, 330 grams with a total value of P1.47 million.

The suspect is now detained and was charged for violation of RA 9165 also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

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

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) launched the PLAN & DO (PLANADO) Program at the People’s Center, here in the city, on Tuesday (May 7).

As part of the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ initiative, this program aims to achieve six key outcomes, including the elimination of backlog in comprehensive land use plans (CLUPs) and provincial development and physical framework plans (PDPFPs) by 2028, with a particular focus on UrbaNext 2024.

Tacloban City was selected as one of the pioneering locations for the program due to its readiness, presence of a master plan for the site, and the area’s economic development prospects.

UrbaNext 2040, aligned with Ambisyon Natin 2040, aims to revolutionize urban development for future generations.

It emphasizes the creation of open spaces and networks, transit-oriented development, support for local government units (LGUs) in implementing urban development projects, and optimal utilization of idle government funds.

“Though ambitious, if we delay, when will we begin?” remarked DHSUD Regional Director Michael Victor Tezon regarding UrbaNext 2040.

DHSUD’s main goal is to streamline and digitize land use and urban planning processes, fostering the creation of smart, green, resilient, and inclusive human settlements.
These efforts are essential in addressing pressing issues such as traffic congestion and informal settler displacement.
(By KATRYNA MAE N. MALLARI, LEYTE NORMAL UNIVERSITY STUDENT INTERN)

Globe welcomes significant progress in the Senate on bills to strengthen the country’s 26-year-old Intellectual Property Code (IPC) and combat online content piracy through site-blocking measures.

A Senate committee level hearing wrapped up on April 29, paving the way for a Technical Working Group to convene and start working on the details of the proposal.

This development marks a major step forward in Globe’s long-standing #PlayItRight advocacy to help promote and protect the country’s P1.6-trillion creative industry from the damaging effects of piracy.

“We laud the Senate for recognizing the urgency of updating the Intellectual Property Code to address the rampant cases of online piracy,” said Yoly Crisanto, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer at Globe. “Site blocking is an essential tool in the fight against piracy, safeguarding not only the livelihood of content creators but also protecting consumers from risks associated with accessing pirated content online.”

Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., both seasoned actors well-acquainted with the challenges posed by film piracy, earlier filed legislative proposals to tackle online piracy

Estrada’s Senate Bill 2150, filed on May 9, 2023, seeks to restrict access to websites promoting copyright violations, proposing fines of up to PHP1 million for such infractions.
On the other hand, Revilla’s Senate Bill No. 2385, filed on August 1, 2023, focuses on expanding the authority and responsibilities of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), particularly in initiating site-blocking measures.

Both efforts are a parallel measure to House Bill No. 7600 by Rep. Joey Salceda of Albay’s 2nd District, which was passed on third reading in the House of Representatives a year ago.
Institutionalizing site-blocking is urgent as content piracy remains prevalent, endangering the livelihood of workers in the creative industry and putting users at risk of fraud and other forms of cybercrime.

At last week’s hearing, the committee was presented with top-line summaries from surveys conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Asia Video Industry Association’s (AVIA) Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) showing the pervasiveness of piracy in the Philippines and its negative impact.

A separate study had earlier shown that piracy undermines the creative industry and its potential contribution to the country’s economy. In 2022, it accounted for 7.3% to of the Philippines’ GDP. (PR)

CATARMAN, Northern Samar- Northern Samar province is now a “guerilla front free” and has “no barangay under the influence of rebels” according to the top officials of the military in the region during the Joint Regional Task Group 8 – End Local Armed Conflict meeting and Peace and Development dialogue held here on Monday (May 6).

Speaking to the media in the presence of Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos after the demilitarization of firearms apprehended by the police and military forces, 8th Infantry Division Commander MGen Camilo Ligayo said that this was achieved due to the support of the local government and barangay local government units.

“This was due to our barangay captains, mayors, and to the implementation of ELCAC (End Local Armed Conflict) and of course good governance,” he said.

“It seems that irreversible na yung trend and we can achieve our victory in a soonest possible time,” MGen Ligayo added.

B/Gen Efren Morados, the commanding officer of the 803rd Infantry Brigade whose operations cover the entire Northern Samar, said that all communist fronts in Samar Island particularly in Northern Samar had been “neutralized” but there are five “vertical front formations” of the New People’s Army that are operating in their area of jurisdiction.
“These are the focus of our operation,” Morados said.

The Army official said that these are the focus of their military operations and campaign which they target to achieve before the end of this year.

Once there are no remaining communist group members in the province, they could work for its declaration as Stable Internal Peace and Security or SIPS.

SIPS status is given if there is no presence of NPA or incident or activity of the communist members in an area for a year.

The latest incident between the communist group and government troops in Northern Samar happened in April in Las Navas town where one member of the communist armed group was killed and another one was wounded.

At present, out of the 24 towns in the province, the towns of Capul, Allen, San Jose, and Rosario, were declared under the SIPS status.

Abalos, during his speech, lauded the efforts of the military, police force, and local government unit and barangay in addressing the insurgency problem in the province leading for some NPA members to surrender and start living as normal members of the community.

“We cannot achieve this without the ELCAC program, providing them with firearms remuneration, livelihood support, immediate assistance, and I am glad that the LGU through Governor (Edwin) Ongchuan also provided assistance and interventions,” Abalos said.

Interventions provided by the provincial government of Northern Samar include providing them housing assistance and livelihood income-earning wages as farm workers at the Kausawagan village – a community developed by the province for former rebels.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY– A total of 2,044 farmers from the municipality of San Miguel, Leyte were given cash aid worth over P10 million last April 26 as part of a revolutionary program seeking to aid struggling farmers under the Marcos administration.

Officials of the offices from Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Tingog Partylist of Reps. Yedda K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre, and the Department of Social Worker and Development (DSWD) led the distribution of financial aid worth P5,000 for each of the farmer-beneficiaries in San Miguel under the Farmers’ Assistance for Recovery and Modernization (FARM) Program.

“Ang programa pong ito ay bahagi ng direktiba ng ating mahal na Pangulong Bongbong Marcos Jr. na abutin ng pamahalaan ang mga sektor na nangangailangan ng suporta lalo na kung marami sa kanila ay mahirap,” said Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives.

“Alam ng inyong pamahalaan ang hirap na inyong hinaharap, lalo na ngayong panahon ng El Niño kung saan apektado ang lahat ng pananim. Kaya nawa’y maibsan ng ayudang ito ang inyong paghihirap at makabangon sa mga sususunod na panahon,” he added.

The distribution was undertaken at the San Miguel Municipal Gymnasium, with Mayor Norman Sabdao and SB Leticia Asis Espos present during the ceremony.

The FARM program is an initiative of Speaker Romualdez designed to lower the price of rice by utilizing and maximizing existing government interventions available to farmers.

The financial aid to San Miguel farmers, which totaled P10.22 million, was sourced from the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) of the DSWD.

Speaker Romualdez said that based on studies, prices of basic commodities increase if the price of rice increases.

The FARM Program not only provides assistance to farmers, but also to address the National Food Authority’s (NFA) predicament in accomplishing its mandate to increase its buffer stock, which can be used in case of emergencies as the farmer-beneficiaries are encouraged to sell at least 100 kilos of their rice harvest to the NFA.

“We established this program so the government can reciprocate your heroism in helping millions of Filipino families put food on the table. Para kay Pangulong Marcos Jr., mahalaga po ang bawat Pilipino at kasama kayong lahat doon,” Speaker Romualdez said.(PR)

ORMOC CITY-A job order worker of the city government here was shot dead by unidentified culprits/s past 2 pm on Friday (May 3) in Purok Kalipayan, Barangay Mas-in of this city.

The victim was identified as Ian Aguinod, 34, and a job order worker of the city government here.

Sources from the barangay disclosed that the victim came from the Mas-in and was on his way home when he was shot by unidentified suspects.

The victim sustained gunshot wounds in his head and died on the spot near his single motorcycle.

Sources told Leyte Samar Daily Express that the suspect is allegedly involved in illegal drugs in their community.
(ROBERT DEJON)