ORMOC CITY-Operatives of Police Station 1 of the Tacloban City Police Office are now conducting a thorough investigation surrounding the death of a foreign national found dead inside his apartment at about 8:41 pm on Thursday (May 30) t Room 10, Barreda Apartment in Barangay 79, Marasbaras in the said city.

Police identified the deceased as alias “Mike Krohn” (66), a US national, retired aeronautics engineer, and tenant of Room 10 in the said apartment.

The police said that at around 9:55 on Thursday evening, they received information from a certain Socorro Barreda, 72 owner of the said regarding an alleged found dead body in one of the rooms of the apartment.

The police said that Barreda told them that the said foreign national was discovered lifeless and lying naked on his couch by his helper identified as Margie Longcanaya, 31.

The police added that Barreda immediately called ACE Medical Center Hospital for assistance who later arrived onboard an ambulance to check the said foreign national but declared that the foreign national had no signs of life.

Elements of PS1, TCPO are now conducting a follow-up investigation and coordinated with the Tacloban City Forensic Unit to process the scene.
(ROBERT DEJON)

Accused of financing terrorism

TACLOBAN CITY– The German Embassy in the country has called on the Philippine government to conduct a ‘quick review’ relative to the freezing of the accounts of a local nongovernment organization.

In a statement dated May 27, the German Embassy in Manila said that the freezing of the accounts of the Leyte Center for Development (LCDe) has affected their efforts to helping poor in communities in Eastern Visayas.

“The recent freezing of the accounts of the LCDe by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) including the private accounts of the founder of the NGO, Ms. Jazmin Jerusalem and her family, are detriment to our efforts to improve the living conditions of the beneficiaries in poor and marginalized regions of Samar and Leyte,” it said.

“We expect the quick review of the freezing in order to allow the NGO to continue their work,” the statement added.

Jerusalem extended her gratitude to the German embassy for their statement seeking for a possible unfreezing of their accounts.

“I am very thankful to the German Ambassador to the Philippines and his staff for trusting and supporting us, and acknowledging LCDe as partners in the effort to aid poor communities with livelihood in these difficult times,” she told the Inquirer Friday (May 31).
She hope that this statement of support by the German embassy would convince the AMLC to unfreeze their accounts for them to continue their works in remote and depressed communities in the region.

It was learned that the German Embassy is one of the funders of the LCDe, a NGO based in Palo, Leyte extending assistance to poor far-flung communities in Leyte and Samar provinces, especially during the onslaught of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in 2013.

Last January 18 of this year, Ambassador Andreas Pfaffernoschke visited the town of Marabut, Samar to personally turn over a rice mill to a group of farmers in the said town.

The embassy said that Ambassador Pfaffernoschke, during his visit to Marabut, was happy to personally learn on the ‘positive impact’ the rice mill they donated to the local farmers as it help them process their harvest more cost efficiently and thus, increase their income.

It described LCDe as a ‘reliable partner’ in the implementation of said project.

“Through its small-scale development projects with local partner organization, the German Embassy aims to directly improve the quality of life of indigent and marginalized people on issues related to education, livelihood, women and children, agriculture, education, health, and the environment,” the embassy said.

To recall, the AMLC froze the accounts of the LCDe citing ‘financing terrorism’ as the reason with Jerusalem discovering it on May 2 as she was to withdraw from a bank here in Tacloban.

Jerusalem, in a press conference on May 16, said that their LCDe accounts contained around P2 million received from their funders.

The freezing of their accounts have paralyzed their operations.

The LCDe is been in operations for 36 years but during the Duterte administration was ‘red tagged’ as a front of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army(CPP-NPA), a claim it strongly denies.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY – This year’s fiesta of the city will showcase the highly anticipated ‘Parade of Lights’ and a dance drama presentation on June 29.

This was disclosed by Ma. Lumen Tabao, the officer-in-charge of the City Tourism Office during a media conference held on Tuesday (May 28).

Tabao said that the Sangyaw Festival will kick off on June 1, with one of its major highlights being the Parade of Lights, set to illuminate Tacloban’s downtown area.

The parade will include both a float category and a dance drama presentation, adhering to recommendations from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

With 12 confirmed participants and the possibility of three more, the Parade of Lights promises a dazzling display of creativity and cultural pride, Tabao said.

Participants will be screened by the Leyte-Samar Heritage Society, Incorporated with the farthest contingent will come from San Jose, Northern Samar.

Each participating group will receive a subsidy of P100,000.

Prizes for the float competition include P500,000 for the champion, P300,000 for second place, and P200,000 for third place.

Consolation prizes of P20,000 will be awarded to other participants.

The dance drama presentation, to be held at Tacloban’s Balyuan Amphitheater, offers prizes of P200,000, P150,000, and P100,000 for the top three, with a P20,000 consolation prize for others.

Logistical preparations are being finalized with the Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) and the Traffic Operation Management Enforcement and Control Office (TOMECO). A security plan will be presented by the PNP to ensure the safety of participants and spectators.

The city is optimistic about surpassing last year’s tourist arrival count of 300,000.

The city observes its annual fiesta on June 30 in honor of its patron, Senior Santo Niño.
(GOLDA MEIR C. CABIDOG, LEYTE NORMAL UNIVERSITY STUDENT INTERN)