ORMOC CITY- A provincial guard assigned at a sub-provincial jail in Hilongos, Leyte was found to be in possession of suspected shabu and gun and ammunition during a buy-bust operation conducted on Tuesday (May 21) at about 11:05 pm.

The operation, initiated by personnel from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the local police drug enforcement team, against Mario Sotto, 45, jail guard of the said facility, resulted in the discovery of five sachets of suspected shabu with a commercial value of P34,000.

The operation, held in Barangay Ponong, Matalom in Leyte, also resulted in the recovery of one unit of Caliber 45 pistol with two magazines and 15 pieces of live ammunition from the jail guard, PDEA Regional Director Jacqueline De Guzman, said.

The suspect was informed of the nature of his arrest and was apprised of his constitutional rights in a language that he understood.

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

On the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Manila, U.S. Senior Advisor to the President for Energy and Investment Amos Hochstein, along with Acting Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) Helaina Matza, joined fellow co-chairs Philippine Senior Advisor to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go and Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General for International Cooperation Bureau Ishizuki Hideo for the inaugural Luzon Corridor Steering Committee meeting, to drive infrastructure investment and development along the Corridor.

The Steering Committee aims to implement the Trilateral Leaders’ commitment in April to develop the Luzon Economic Corridor under the PGI Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Investment Accelerator. The partners discussed priority sectors for engagement and reviewed potential projects and areas of interest, committing to future meetings on a quarterly basis.

The Luzon Economic Corridor is the first PGI economic corridor in the Indo-Pacific region. The Corridor will support connectivity among Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas as well as facilitate strategic, anchor investments within each hub in high-impact infrastructure projects, including rail, port modernization, agribusiness, and clean energy and semiconductor supply chains and deployments. (PR)

NSSDEO, Brgy. Burabud, Laoang, N. Samar-Staff and employees of the Department of Public Works & Highways Northern Samar Second District Engineering Office (DPWH-NSSDEO) took their time off from their hectic and routine work schedules and elated each other’s company in the recently conducted high-spirited team building activities.

This year’s team building, held at Somoray Park & Resort, Bobon, Northern Samar, anchors on the theme, “United, We ROLE”, where R means Real, O means Obey, L means Love, and E stands for Example.

Spearheaded by District Engineer Charlito S. Carlobos, a 2-day team building activities on April 30-May 1, 2024, was conducted.

The program commenced with well-informative message of the guest speaker, Merly P. Allado, wherein she tackled the hindrances of unity which are jealousy, self-focus, bitterness, and unforgiving. She also imparted to all how to restore unity with respect, understand, love, and become a walking example to others.

Then, she also conducted a team workshop that created jovial memories and lessons which has something to do with their day-to-day job. Thereafter, she emphasized and helped the participants to internalize the holistic significance of unity in order to attain success and betterment.

The second part of the program consisted of various physical games such as ball relay, carry your leader, shoot the straw, pass the message with a twist and pass the ball, and each team battled for toughness, pace, tactics or game plan, and a lot of teamwork, where cooperation and unity were tested. At the end of the games, White Team was declared the overall winner.

By nightfall, there were team presentations that spurred entertainment and laughter among the participants. The event wrapped up with the awarding of winners, where Beige Team got the first place.

The next day, the event winded up with the employees happily paddling in the swimming pool.

Thereby, NSSDEO staff and employees went home with the lesson and unity gained in the 2-day team building activities.
(RONEL L. GALUPO, PIO ALTERNATE/PR)

ORMOC CITY– A house with a sari-sari store sustained an undetermined amount of damage after a van driver lost control of his vehicle at approximately 7:15 pm on Sunday (May 19) in Barangay Sabang Daguitan, Dulag, Leyte.

The police reported that a white L300 van, bearing plate number PZO852, registered to an individual known as “Claire” and driven by “MJ,” a self-employed individual of legal age, was involved in the incident.

MJ, who did not present a driver’s license, was accompanied by a passenger named “Mar.” Both are residents of Quezon province.

Local police responded to the scene following a call from a concerned citizen. Upon arrival, they observed significant damage caused by the van’s collision with the house. Fortunately, no one inside the house was injured during the incident.

The initial investigation revealed that the L300 van was traveling from Brgy. Fatima to Brgy. Sabang Daguitan.

Upon reaching the incident location, the driver lost control, swerved into the left lane, and collided with the sari-sari store and house owned by “Elvin.”

The collision resulted in damage to both the house and the store.

The driver and his passenger sustained injuries and were transported to Leyte Provincial Hospital in Palo, Leyte by the Dulag Rescue Unit ambulance for immediate medical attention. (ROBERT DEJON)

ORMOC CITY-An individual with an outstanding warrant of arrest for illegal gambling was apprehended by the police at about 11:05 am on Thursday (May 23) in Barangay P.I. Garcia, Naval, Biliran.

The arrest of the suspect, “Chris,” 46, and a resident of the said village, was carried out based on a warrant issued by Judge Phenalyn P. Brazil-Abellar, presiding judge of the 8th Judicial Region, Municipal Trial Court, Naval dated March 5, 2024.

The warrant pertains to a violation of Presidential Decree 1602, or the illegal gambling law, with a recommended bail of P30,000.

Chris was informed of the nature of his arrest and apprised of his constitutional rights in a language he understood.

The suspect was taken to the Naval Municipal Police Station for documentation and proper disposition. (ROBERT DEJON)