ORMOC CITY– A laborer was arrested by the police after a court issued a warrant for his arrest for violating anti-gambling law at around 10:10 am on Saturday (June 8) in Sitio Ilawod, Barangay Caraycaray in Naval, Biliran.
The accused was identified as alias “Chie”, 29, and a resident of said village.
The accused was brought to the Naval police station before he was brought to the court which issued the warrant. (ROBERT DEJON)
With runway repair completed
TACLOBAN CITY – The operations at Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport located in San Jose district, this city, are set to resume regular flight schedules within the week.
Danilo Abareta, the regional head of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), made this announcement in a media interview on Tuesday (June 4).
Flight operations at DZR Airport, the premier airport of Eastern Visayas, were disrupted after a section of its 2.1 km runway, covering 12 square meters, peeled off due to frequent landings and takeoffs on April 3.
The CAAP undertook repair works that were initially expected to last until August, impacting the airport’s flight operations.
During the repair period, DZR Airport operated from 6 am to 6 pm.
Abareta announced that with the repairs completed on Monday (June 3), the airport’s schedule will return to its original hours of 4:40 am to 8:30 pm.
Currently, DZR Airport, which services flights to Cebu and Manila, has 19 daily flights.
“We finished the repair work on Monday. Once we file our notice to airmen (Notam), we will resume the original operations from 4:30 am to 8:30 pm,” Abareta said during the media forum organized by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
He attributed the swift completion of the runway repairs to favorable weather conditions.
“We had initially targeted the repairs to be completed by August, anticipating bad weather, but fortunately, we had good weather,” Abareta explained.
Abareta also mentioned that they expect an increase in passenger volume due to the upcoming fiesta of Tacloban on June 30.
Meanwhile, he said they have received requests from airline companies to increase their flights to Tacloban.
“But due to the limited capacity of our terminal building, which can only accommodate 600 passengers, we cannot act on these requests at the moment,” he said.
Cebu Pacific has already announced plans to increase their flights from the current 41 weekly flights between Tacloban and Manila to 48 next month.
The DZR Airport is undergoing major rehabilitation for it to accommodate more and bigger aircrafts.
JOEY A. GABIETA
TACLOBAN CITY — An ordinance providing benefits to single parents in Tacloban was unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod during their regular session on Thursday (June 6).
The measure, officially known as the “Solo Parents Welfare Ordinance of the City of Tacloban,” was principally authored by Councilor Aimee Delgado-Grafil. It offers several benefits aimed at supporting solo parents and their children.
Under the ordinance, solo parents who earn a minimum wage or below are entitled to a monthly subsidy of P1,000.
Additionally, they can receive a 10 percent discount and exemption from the value-added tax on baby milk, food, and micronutrient supplements, sanitary diapers, prescribed medicines, vaccines, and other medical supplements.
The measure is projected to benefit more than 1,400 registered solo parents in the city.
The ordinance defines solo parents as unmarried, separated, annulled, widower, or widowed persons, as outlined in RA 8972, also known as the Solo Parent Act of 2000.
The ordinance will take effect upon the approval and signature of Mayor Alfred Romualdez and its publication in a local paper.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
ORMOC CITY-Personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) made a successful animal rescue after a reticulated python was spotted at about 9:49 am on Wednesday (June 5) in Barangay Mercedes, Catbalogan City.
City fire marshal, Chief Inspector Jimmy Pasague, led his team in responding to the call to rescue the animal.
The reticulated python, measuring 9 feet long, was spotted in a house whose occupants immediately called the BFP personnel to secure the animal.
The local firemen dug at a concrete pavement where the python was hiding. After several minutes of digging, the responding BFP personnel were finally able to hold the tail of the snake and pull it out from its hiding spot.
The python was immediately placed inside a sack and properly turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for appropriate disposition.
Last year, the local fire bureau also rescued a python from the ceiling of a school canteen in the area. (ROBERT DEJON)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has established a station on Homonhon Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar, to monitor the movements of Chinese vessels docking on the historic island.
Commander Elgene Gregorio, the acting deputy commander of PCG-Eastern Visayas, clarified that the Chinese vessels seen in the waters of Homonhon are there to collect minerals extracted from the island.
At least four mining companies operate on the island, either owned or affiliated with Chinese companies, with the minerals being transported to China, the primary market.
These companies include Emir Mineral Resources, Techiron Resources Inc., Global Min-Met Resources, and Verum Terra Geoscience Inc., which extract chromite and nickel.
Gregorio stated that the decision to establish a unit on the island, where Ferdinand Magellan landed in 1521, is part of their mandate to monitor foreign vessels entering Philippine waters.
“We are doing our best to safeguard our territorial waters and ensure that no foreign vessel will enter our area to conduct any illegal activities,” Gregorio said on Tuesday (June 4) on the sidelines of the media conference initiated by the regional office of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
A unit was established on the island on May 20 of this year as part of this mandate, he added.
“We will ensure that they will not engage in any illegal activities. Our course of action is to put up a unit on Homonhon to help us monitor their activities and ensure compliance with the law,” Gregorio emphasized.
Gregorio acknowledged that the presence of Chinese vessels, mostly manned by Chinese nationals, has raised concerns among villagers. These foreign nationals are now allowed to disembark from their vessels.
However, he could not specify the current number of Chinese vessels docked in the waters of Homonhon.
The four mining companies hold mineral production sharing agreements (MPSA) covering more than 1,800 hectares of the 10,929 hectares total land area of the island.
A Task Force Homonhon was created following a suggestion by Rep. Jude Acidre of the Tingog party-list group during a hearing called by 4Ps party-list Rep. and Minority Floor Leader Marcelino Libanan in the Lower House.
The hearing was attended by Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, some undersecretaries and regional officials of the agency and its attached bureaus, Guiuan Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan, a representative from the Diocese of Borongan, and representatives of mining companies.
Acidre suggested the creation of the task force to sustain the monitoring of mining companies’ commitments.
Sec.Loyzaga and Rep. Libanan agreed to the suggestion, with the environment official designating Regional Executive Director Lormelyn Claudio as the point person for the task force.
(JOEY A. GABIETA, ROEL T. AMAZONA)
ORMOC CITY-A senior citizen farmer is presently recuperating from stabbed wounds at the Biliran Provincial Hospital in Naval, Biliran after he was stabbed by a fellow farmer at about 5 pm on Wednesday (June 5) in Barangay Baso, Cabucgayan, also in the same province.
The victim was identified as alias “Jun” 65, a widower, and farmer, while the suspect was identified as alias “Jim” 40, also a farmer, both residents in Brgy. Baso.
Initial investigation conducted by responding police disclosed that based on the statement of witnesses who alleged that the suspect went inside the house of the victim and stabbed him several times hitting his stomach and back portion of his body with the use of a pointed weapon locally known as “ice pick”.
The victim was immediately brought to the Biliran Provincial Hospital for immediate medical attention while the suspect fled in an unknown direction.
Elements of Cabucgayan municipal police station immediately conducted a hot pursuit operation for the possible arrest of the suspect to discern the motive of the stabbing.
Meanwhile, the local police ar now preparing the necessary documents for filing criminal charges against the suspect.
(ROBERT DEJON)
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