ORMOC CITY– Two elderly siblings were killed when an armored van bumped into the two crossing women killing one victim instantly while the other was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital in Baybay City.

The incident happened on Saturday (Jan.6) at about 8:30 pm along a national highway in Barangay Hilapnitan.

The fatalities were identified as Anacorita Israel, 88, widow, and her sister Felisa, 86, widow, both residents of Brgy. Hilapnitan.

The driver of the armored van was identified as Boy Garbo,36 who is from Brgy. Masarayao, Kananga, Leyte.

The police said that the vehicle was travelling from Baybay City to Ormoc City and upon reaching the place of occurrence, accidentally hit the sibling who were crossing the road.
The impact resulted in the instantaneous death of Anacorita.

Local rescue group that responded to the area took the other victim Felisa to Immaculate Conception Hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending.

The body of Anacorita was brought to a funeral parlor in Albuera, Leyte while her sister was brought to a local funeral parlor in Baybay City.

The driver along with his vehicle was brought to Baybay CPS for proper disposition.
(ROBERT DEJON)

As the transmission service provider, NGCP can only give an overview of the current supply and demand situation and endeavor to dispatch any and all available power. It cannot intervene on matters concerning power generation.

We reiterate our earlier pronouncements that there was no transmission disturbance before the tripping of the PEDC Unit 1 (83MW) at 12:06PM. After this event, NGCP was able to recover the transmission system and normalize voltage. This normal voltage situation persisted until several power plants inexplicably tripped at 2:19PM. Data from our system shows no abnormality in voltage and system stability.

Despite this, critics persist on blaming NGCP for what are clearly problems arising from the unplanned shutdowns of power generators.

It is alarming to hear policymakers immediately make conclusions based on assumptions contrary to fact. We are firm in our position that the system prior to the 2:19PM multiple tripping was normal, and our actions were undertaken within protocols. Any contrary statement is speculative.

We firmly refute allegations suggesting that NGCP failed in its obligation to stabilize the transmission system. We also take exception to the allegations that we were less than transparent in providing information to the public. We provide regular updates to all stakeholders, including the media and government units (LGUs), through print, radio, broadcast, social media, and text blasts.

Rather than using NGCP as a scapegoat, we urge policymakers to be objective in their search for facts and not coddle certain sectors. This is not a time to push personal or political agendas, but a time for honest-to-goodness solution finding. We again reiterate our push for a comprehensive industry-wide approach to resolve the persistent power supply issues on Panay Island and elsewhere in the country.

With this, NGCP assures our stakeholders that we will continue to work closely with concerned government agencies and LGUs to expedite the resolution of this issue. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY-Jon Ivan Torreros, 19, a communications student, can’t help but feel the excitement as he and his friend trooped to a local cinema to watch “GomBurZa” here in the city.

The multi-awarded biopic featured the three martyred priests,Fathers Mariano Gomez, 72; Jose Apolonio Burgos, 35; and Jacinto Zamora, 36, who were publicly executed by garrote in Bagumbayan (now named Luneta) in Manila on February 17, 1872 on charges of subversion and treason against Spanish colonial authorities and friars.

Spanish authorities alleged that the three priests instigated the mutiny of some Filipino workers and troops at the Cavite arsenal on January 20, 1872.

“I have known GomBurZa (a better-known acronym of the three priests’ family names) since I was in elementary school, but it was only about their death. Now that I am in college, I learned that they are one of the biggest reasons why the Filipinos made sure of their independence, so they were the driving force especially since they were also the reason for the awakening of the nationalism of Dr. Jose Rizal,” said Torreros, a young filmmaker from the nearby Palo town.

Rizal, the country’s national hero, was also martyred on December 30, 1896 at the same place where the three priests were executed, and whose death helped ignite the spark of the revolution against the Spanish government, which ruled the country from 1565 to 1898.

“I also saw the reviews from historians who approved this film,” added Torreros on why he was eager to watch the film.

Pablo Virgilio David, the bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, also urged the Filipinos to watch the film.

“It is a well-researched historical film that will bring you back to the first spark of patriotism that forged the ‘Filipino’ identity that eventually united us Tagalogs, Kapampangans, Ilocanos, Cebuanos, natives, mestizos, criollos and all other inhabitants of these 7,000 plus islands into one nation in the last quarter of the 19th century,” the bishop said.

“It is a gripping retelling of the story of the martyrdom of these three secular priests from the perspective of a young witness—Jose Rizal y Mercado, who was mentored by his brother Paciano, who in turn, was mentored by Padre Jose Burgos, and who, in turn, was also mentored by Padre Pedro Pelaez. The adult Rizal would later dedicate his novel El Filibusterismo to the memory of these priests,” he added.

In his statement, David maintained that watching the film “will make you appreciate what it truly means to be a ‘Filipino.”’

Filipino journalist Howie Severino wrote that the film “is an epic reminder of our cinematic history.”

“Gomburza is among the most hallowed words in Philippine history, a portmanteau of the names of martyred priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora, with Burgos the most famous. There is some general awareness of their relationship to what came after them — an inspired Jose Rizal and the rise of a Filipino consciousness that led to the revolution of 1896,” Severino wrote on his social media page on January 2, 2024.

Produced by the Jesuit Communications Foundation, the media arm of the Society of Jesus in the country, which was also behind the 2016 historical biopic Ignacio de Loyola, founder saint of the Jesuit order, GomBurZa harvested multiple awards in the 49th Metro Manila Film Festival on December 28, 2023.

The major awards include Best Actor, Best Director, Second Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design, and the special Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award.

The film is starred by Dante Rivero as Padre Mariano Gomez, Cedrick Juan as Padre José Burgos, Enchong Dee as Padre Jacinto Zamora, and Piolo Pascual as Padre Pedro Pelaez, the mentor of Father Burgos.

International filmmaker awardee Jose Lorenzo Diokno directed the movie from a screenplay by Rody Vera.
(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY– A high-ranking rebel leader died in an encounter in a remote village of Borongan City on Saturday (Jan.6) which also resulted in the wounding of a soldier.
Killed was Martin Colima, who was known as alias “Moki”, the secretary of the sub-regional committee Sesame, Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee which operates in Eastern Samar province.

Colima died as a result of an encounter in Barangay San Gabriel at about 11:30 am while the members of the 78th Infantry Battalion were conducting their operation in the area.
The soldiers were in San Gabriel after receiving report from the villagers that a group of armed men, which turned out to be the group of Colima, were conducting their extortion activities, a report from the 802nd Infantry Brigade, the mother unit of the 78th IB, said.
A soldier, Cpl. John Deo Adao, was hit on his left thigh and is now recovering in an undisclosed hospital.

Recovered by the soldiers during the 30-minute firefight was a Caliber 45 pistol from the rebels who fled in different directions.

Lt. Col.Allan Tria, the commanding officer of the 78th IB, said that Colima was the mastermind of an ambush incident along a national highway in Brgy. Libuton, also in Borongan City, on Dec. 13, 2019 that resulted in the death of a policeman and three civilians.

At least 12 civilians, including three minors, were wounded in the said incident.
B/Gen. Noel Vestuir, the commanding officer of the 802nd IB, said that he was saddened with the death of Colima as he condoled with his family.

“In as much as we in the 802nd IB had addressed the concerns of the people of Borongan City by preventing the atrocities being planned by the communist terrorist group and in insulating their communities from the group of @Moki, I am saddened of the death of another fellow Filipino,” he said in a statement.

“In behalf of the Philippine Army, I express my condolences to the bereaved family and relatives of Martin Colima, along with my appeal for his family and relatives in Brgy San Mateo, Borongan City to claim his remains once the process for his identification is finished, and give him a decent burial,” Vestuir added.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)