ORMOC CITY– The No. 3 most wanted person in Biliran province was arrested by the local police of Caibiran town at about 10:45 am on Sunday (June 16).

The accused was identified by the police as alias “Cardo”, 41, single, unemployed, and a resident of Brgy. Kaulangohan of the said town.

The accused was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by a regional trial court based in the said town on June 11, 2024 for the crime of sexual assault with a recommended bail bond of P180,000 for his temporary liberty.

The accused was brought to the Caibiran municipal police station for documentation and proper disposition before turning him over the court that issued the warrant.

(ROBERT DEJON)

ORMOC CITY– A farmer was found floating in a river in Las Navas, Northern Samar, suspected to have been drowned.

Based on the initial report from the local police, the victim, identified as alias ‘Nito,’.30 and a resident of Barangay Dapdap of said town was taking a bath in a river in Brgy. Del Pilar with his cousin at about 6 am on Saturday (June 15).

The parents, the report added, said that after an hour of soaking in the river, his cousin went home leaving the victim in the river.

The police added that according to the victim’s parents, they did not bother themselves to search their son because they thought that he just went to their relatives to attend a fiesta celebration.

Still, they were stunned to find their son lifeless in the river.

The victim’s family refused to bring the cadaver to the rural health unit for a post-mortem examination and decided to bury the victim right away in their village.
(ROBERT DEJON)

ORMOC CITY– A high-value individual on the drug watchlist of the city police here was arrested in a buy-bust operation which resulted in the recovery of suspected shabu with a street market value of more than P22,000.

The suspect, Anthony Morales, 50 and ranked number six on the watch list of the Ormoc city police, was arrested in a sting operation on Wednesday (June 12) in Barangay Cagbuhangin, this city, at about 12:06 am.

Police Captain Sheriza Jane Salazar, SDET chief of Police Station 2, said that the suspect, who is a resident of Brgy. Macabug, was in possession of six sachets of suspected shabu weighing 2.73 grams when arrested.

Morales was charged for violation of selling and in possession of illegal drugs at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office and is now detained at the City Police Station 2.
(ROBERT DEJON)

ORMOC CITY– One of the region’s most wanted in the drug watchlist of the Philippine National Police (PNP) was arrested in a sting operation in Bontoc, Southern Leyte on Thursday (June 13).

The suspect, identified as Mike Elona, 42 and a government worker, was arrested in Barangay San Ramon of the said town during a buy-bust operation conducted by the drug enforcement unit of the PNP-Southern Leyte at about 8:50 pm.

He was said to be ranked number five in the regional priority target list of the PNP.

Recovered from the suspect were five sachets containing white crystalline substances suspected to be shabu procured by an operative in the amount of P5,000.

Charges of violation of sections 5 (selling illegal drugs) and 11 (possession of illegal drugs) of Article II of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs of 2002 was filed at the Provincial prosecutor’s office by the arresting police against the suspect who is temporarily detained at the locked-up cell of the Bontoc municipal police station.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY-A three-year-old boy, identified only “MJ,” was drowned after being swept away by a strong current while swimming with his father in the San Juanico Strait, this city.

The incident occurred around 11 am on Sunday (June 16) in Barangay 105, San Isidro, which faces the San Juanico Strait.

MJ, a resident of GMA Kapuso Village in Brgy 106, Sto. Niño, was reported missing, prompting a search effort by local authorities.

The Tacloban City Police Office’s Police Station 3 received a call about the incident and immediately responded to the scene to verify and investigate the situation.

Based on the investigation, MJ and his friend, also three years old, were swimming when the boy was caught by a strong current.

After several hours of searching, MJ’s lifeless body was discovered floating in the coastal area of the San Juanico Strait around 8 pm on the same day.

He was rushed to the Tacloban City Hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician at about 11:50 pm.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY – The local government unit of Arteche in Eastern Samar is aiming to make the municipality the seaweed production and trading capital of Samar Island.
Arteche is located in the northernmost part of Eastern Samar province, near the border with Northern Samar.

On Friday (June 14), the Department of Agriculture-8, together with the provincial government headed by Governor Ben Evardone and other provincial officials, turned over a P16-million project to the Eastern Samar Seaweeds Production and Trading Enterprise (ESSPATE).

The event was also graced by DA-8 Regional Executive Director Andrew Rodolfo Orais.
The project was funded by the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP), with a 20 percent counterpart from the provincial government of Eastern Samar and an additional P3-million contribution from the Catumsan Crab Growers Association.

“Through this initiative, we hope to increase our seaweed production and provide an alternative livelihood for our fisherfolk,” Mayor Evardone shared.

He added that the municipality will serve as the consolidator of all seaweed produced by sub-proponent groups.

Currently, fisherfolk from Barangay Beri are engaged in producing kappaphycus alvarezi, the largest tropical red algae species with a high growth rate.

Some of these seaweeds, locally known as ‘guso,’ are processed by residents into atchara and seaweed chips. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)