ORMOC CITY– An encounter between government forces and members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in San Isidro, Northern Samar, resulted in the arrest of a rebel.

Based on the report from the 8th Infantry Division, based in Catbalogan City, the rebel was captured after an armed clash took place in Barangay Palanit last Jan.27 at about 8 am.
The rebel was identified as alias ‘Doming’ or ‘Nitoy’ was said to be a member of the sub-regional guerilla unit (SRGU) of the sub-regional committee (SRC) emporium of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC).

He was said to have a standing warrant of arrest for the crime of murder issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 20 on October 10, 2015.

The soldiers, belonging to the 43rd Infantry Battalion, were in the area after receiving information on the presence of a group of armed men.

A firefight between the two warring groups resulted in the arrest of Doming who was left behind by his companions.

Doming later revealed to the soldiers that their group bury their firearms in sitio Kahidwangan, part of Brgy. Happy Valley of the said town.

Recovered by the soldiers were an M-16 rifle and a short magazine.

Lieutenant Colonel Nasser Arojo, the commanding officer of the 43rd IB, attributed the success of their operation to the timely and relevant information provided by the residents.
He acknowledged that the cooperation of the residents led to the capture of alias Doming and the recovery of the arms cache containing high-powered firearms.

“This is a clear indication that the community appreciates the efforts of the government and has decided to support the fight of ending the local communist armed conflict,” Lt. Col. Arojo said.

Meanwhile, Major General Camilo Ligayo, the commanding general of the 8th ID, reiterated his call for the remaining rebels and the community to unite and work together towards socio-economic development.

“Let’s give peace a chance. Let us join hands and find solutions to our problems. There is no need for armed struggle. The government has programs anchored in the NTF-ELCAC where all government agencies and other stakeholders provide solutions to the problems especially in the vulnerable areas and sectors in society, “Ligayo said.

The arrested rebel is now at the San Isidro municipal police station. (ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY – United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan expressed her ‘satisfaction’ with her visit here in the city where she met detained personalities tagged by the by the military to be connected with the communist armed movement.

Khan met Frenchie Mae Castro Cumpio, Mariel Alvez Domequil and Alexander Philip Dizon Abinguna whose been detained at the Tacloban City Jail since 2020.

They are facing charges with illegal possession of firearms and explosives by the military as a result of a raid they conducted in what the government forces claimed to be the ‘safe house’ of the accused.

The group of Cumpio, said to be the secretary-general of the regional white area committee of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee, has denied the allegation.

“Khan and her party arrived at the Tacloban airport past 12 noon on Saturday to personally check on the condition of Frenchie Mae Castro Cumpio, Mariel Alvez Domequil and Alexander Philip Dizon Abinguna. The three are members of the so-called ‘Tacloban-5’ who were arrested last February 7, 2020, by law enforcement agents armed with search warrants issued by the Tacloban Regional Trial Court,” the Presidential Task Force on Media Security(PTFoMS) said in a statement.

Khan was joined by Usec. Paul Gutierrez, PTFoMS executive director.

The group was welcomed by Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Regional Director JCSupt. Delvic Oreiro and female dormitory warden Jail Inspector Fe Reynalda Chan.

In her visit to the jail facility, the BJMP official also showed to the UN official the quarters of Cumpio and Domequil who are detained at the female dorm.

The PTFoMS statement added that the UN official was impressed with the Tacloban City Jail facility as it was “well ventilated and is not smelling of human sweat” despite of the power outage during her visit.

She was also briefed on BJMP’s program for inmates which includes Bible studies and a livelihood program.

Khan was also informed that all detainees have access to regular visits from their families and that they can also avail of the “E-dalaw Program” wherein they utilize video calls to talk with their loved ones.

Usec. Gutierrez, in a press conference called after the visit of Khan at the BJMP, said that meeting with Cumpio and her companions 5 was her main agenda in visiting the region.
Gutierrez stressed that the government is firm on its stand that they are not red-tagging the detained personalities as it was their former colleague who identified them as members of the communist group.

He added that the prosecution had finished in presenting its evidence in November last year and it is now time for the defense of Cumpio to present their side but her counsel had asked the court to defer the schedule of her hearing to March 2024.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Two cargo shipping lines have opened a new route connecting Eastern Visayas to the Luzon and Mindanao regions.

Last Sunday(Jan.28), Ormoc-based cargo shipping line ALD Sea Transport launched its Calbayog-Matnog route providing daily trip servicing carriage freight and rolling cargo crossing Eastern Visayas to Luzon and vice versa.

The launching was attended by Calbayog City officials led by Mayor Raymund Uy, officials from the Philippine Ports Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, together with ALD Sea Transport General Manager Antero L. Doyon.

Mayor Uy said that the opening of the Calbayog-Matnog route through Maguino-o Port is beneficial to all cargo trucks as they will no longer need to wait for longer time, sometimes days especially those at the Matnog Port as they have other options in crossing the sea to Eastern Visayas.

Cargo vessels carrying trucks and other cargo crossing to Eastern Visayas either dock at the ports in Allen or San Isidro town, both in Northern Samar, which is more than two hours travel from Calbayog City.

Travel time from Matnog to Maguino-o Port is more than three hours depending on the sea conditions.

“Trucking business from the city will benefit from this because they no longer need to travel to Allen or San Isidro. We will try to request if possible the port authority can provide a priority lane for Calbayog trucking business operators to have priority lane,” Mayor Uy said.

Doyon, for his part, said that their vessel MV Poseidon 49 can accommodate up to 35 trucks per trip.

On February 1, RLS Shipping Lines also started its cargo shipping operation from Maasin City to Lipata port in Surigao del Norte in Mindanao.

Mayor Nacional Mercado said that this operation is a piece of good news particularly for cargo truck operators as they already have more options to reach their destination in Luzon and Mindanao even with the ongoing rehabilitation of several ports in Southern Leyte province.

“For the longest time, Lipata to Southern Leyte has been existing through San Ricardo and Liloan, and there is also a new route to Padre Burgos. So this is another option and opportunity of opening Maasin-Lipata port for our travelers, especially cargo truck operators,” Mayor Mercado said.

Travel time from Maasin City to Lipata will last for more than five hours during fair weather.
The cargo vessel of LCT Josie Fe 01 can carry 20 wing vans, six SUVs, and 10 to 15 motorcycles.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)