ORMOC CITY– A pedestrian woman was killed while she was crossing a street in Barangay Concepcion, this city on December 11 at about 9:40 pm.
Local police said that the woman, identified as Josephine Gablino,40, died after she was hit by a vehicle driven by a priest assigned at the chancery of the Palo archdiocese.
Abe, in an interview, said that the priest was driving a Hyundai Starex, bearing plate no. HEC 3339, and on his way back to Palo, Leyte when the accident happened.
He said that the SUV was running at a normal speed while the victim was crossing the highway.
The police investigator added that the priest failed to notice the victim because the headlight of the opposing vehicle was not turned low, failing the priest to notice the victim which resulted in a collision.
The impact of the collision resulted in the instantaneous death of the victim.
Top Leyte educators and personnel received awards during the 2023 Prestigio at the Leyte Division Gymnasium in Palo, Leyte on December 15.
(RONALD REYES)
PALO, Leyte–A select number of teachers and personnel from the Department of Education (DepEd)-Leyte Division were recognized for their “excellence and passion” in this year’s “Prestigio” Awards at the division gymnasium, this town, on Friday (Dec.15).
Top Leyte educators and personnel received awards during the 2023 Prestigio at the Leyte Division Gymnasium in Palo, Leyte on December 15. (RONALD REYES)
Mariza Magan, Leyte Division superintendent, lauded the awardees, saying that “excellence knows no bounds.”
She also acknowledged the support of DepEd Regional Director Evelyn Fetalvero and Assistant Regional Director Ronelo Al Firmo for gracing the event.
“In the field of education, we are not just teachers and staff; we are architects of dreams, sculptors of minds, and custodians of the future. The honor we receive today is a testament to our commitment to excellence, a commitment that extends far beyond the applause of this moment,” said Fetalvero.
“It is a commitment to sustain service excellence, especially to the learners who depend on us to guide their paths,” she added.
The education director challenged the awardees and the teaching force in Leyte “to go beyond the status quo, to seek new ways of inspiring, and to cultivate an environment where excellence is not an exception but a way of life.”
Meanwhile, Firmo commended the “excellence, passion, and the luminous legacies of our exceptional teaching and non-teaching personnel in the Schools Division of Leyte.”
“Our theme for this recognition rites, ‘Luminous Legacies: Transcending Excellence with Passion,’ encapsulates the spirit that drives our educators and staff to go above and beyond their duties, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of our students and the community,” he said.
“Being a role model employee means demonstrating a commitment to excellence in every facet of your work. It means showing up with enthusiasm and determination, inspiring those around you to reach for greatness. Your actions, both inside and outside the classroom, set the standard for professionalism, integrity, and passion,” Firmo added.
The awardees include most outstanding teachers in different year levels, most outstanding school heads, most outstanding non-teaching personnel, best office- school-learning center awardees, most outstanding coordinators, division coordinatorship awardees, and schools division superintendent awardees, among others.
The event was also attended by Leyte assistant schools division superintendent Henrietta Managbanag and Roberto Mangaliman, other division chiefs, and education officials. (RONALD O. REYES)
TACLOBAN CITY – A regional training center of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) located in Dolores, Eastern Samar officially opened on December 12.
The Philippine Coast Guard opened on December 12,2023 its regional training center in Dolores, Eastern Samar. At present, there are over 200 trainees coming from different parts of the country undergoing training at the said facility. (PHOTO COURTESY)
The occasion was attended by top PCG officials led by Deputy Commander of Coast Guard Education, Training, and Doctrine Command, Coast Guard Commodore Ramon Lopez and District Commander of Coast Guard District Eastern Visayas, Coast Guard Commodore Romeo Pulido Jr, along with Dolores Mayor Rodrigo Rivera and Elda Libanan, representing 4Ps party-list Representative and Minority leader Marcelino Libanan.
Mayor Rivera, in his message, expressed his gratitude to the PCG top officials for granting the establishment of a training facility in his town.
“Ang pagbubukas ng PCG training center sa aking bayan ay isang patunay na sa sama-samang pagtutulungan at pagkakaisa ay may kakayahan tayong baguhin at pagbutihin ang ating kumunidad sa pamamagitan ng pasilidad na ito,” he said, adding that the facility will not only provide knowledge in how to protect the marine environment but will also open opportunity to people.
The 302 trainees would undergo six months of strict and demanding activities, during which they will learn safety procedures and transitioning them from civilian to a military personalities bearing in mind the Coast Guard practices, procedures, cultures, and regulations.
The establishment of a Coast Guard training facility in Dolores started in 2021 when then PCG Eastern Samar Coast Guard Commander Johansan Fabilane visited Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone and informed him about the plan.(ROEL T. AMAZONA
The ‘Pasko ha Palo’ program was formally opened on December 14,2023 by its local officials led by Mayor Remedios ‘Matin’ Petilla. Christmas village, well-decorated and colored-lighted tunnels are among the attractions visitors are to enjoy and take some photos. (RONALD O. REYES)
The ‘Pasko ha Palo’ program was formally opened on December 14,2023 by its local officials led by Mayor Remedios ‘Matin’ Petilla. Christmas village, well-decorated and colored-lighted tunnels are among the attractions visitors are to enjoy and take some photos. (RONALD O. REYES)
Jessica Logronio, 37, caps her day by bringing her two children for a walk around the public plaza, basking in the vibrant Christmas lights and decorations that adorned and illuminated the streets of Palo town in Leyte.
After savoring the joyful atmosphere that captures the merriment of the Holiday season during their stroll, Logronio would order a barbeque being sold at the colorful food stalls in the town’s square for an evening dinner with her family as Christmas carols are played in in the background.
A stone-throw away from the public plaza, the palling of bells can be heard for the daily evening mass at the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral under the Archdiocese of Palo, where Pope Francis visited and offered a prayer on Jan. 17, 2015, for the victims of the Super Typhoon Yolanda that leveled the town on November 8, 2013.
As the local government of Palo officially reopened its traditional “Christmas Village” at the town’s plaza to serve as a communal place to celebrate the Christmas season, Logronio was also inspired to put up some colorful lights and decorations at her home, albeit “minimal,” as a way of celebrating the joyous occasion.
“Personally, the ‘Christmas Village’ has become a very significant Christmas tradition for most Paloanons, the lights and decorations have undeniably lifted up spirits,” says Logronio.
On Dec. 14, 2023, Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla invited the residents and visitors to join the “momentous occasion” as she led the ceremonial lighting of the Christmas Village to signal the reopening of this year’s “Pasko ha Palo (Christmas in Palo)” festivities, which was regaled by a grand fireworks display to the delight of the locals and visitors coming from nearby towns.
“The Christmas in Palo stands as an enduring annual tradition, meticulously curated and passionately upheld by Mayor Remedios Petilla,” the local government says in a statement during the launching program.
“The Christmas in Palo is rooted in a vision of community unity and festive joy. This cherished celebration has become a symbol of Palo’s dynamic character,” it adds.
Some of the Christmas scenes and attractions that were opened to the public to enjoy include the Palo Pag Ibig Plaza, Christmas Tunnel, Purisima Bridge, Luntad Christmas Village, Saboren Christmas Fantasy House, Palo Public Market, Belen, Bangon River Bridge, Barbeque Plaza, Christmas Tellis, Enchanting Palo Livelihood, and Tourism Information Center, among others.
Roben Mathew Monteza, a 24-year-old resident of Palo, says that seeing the lights and decorations of the Christmas Village also brightens up the day of those coming home from work.
“The [Christmas] attractions help people to feel relaxed coming from their work,” he says.
“I just don’t know, but every time I see the Christmas lights, the attractions [of the Christmas Village], you would feel a certain kind of emotion. And you feel satisfied with it. Through the Christmas decorations, I am brought back again to my childhood memories,” adds Monteza, who works at a local radio station in the nearby Tacloban City.
Magic at the Saboren Christmas Fantasy House
At the Barangay Luntad Christmas Village, locals and visitors are also drawn to the myriad of Christmas toys, lights, collections, and holiday memorabilia displayed inside the private residence of the Saboren family.
In 1991, the Saboren family opened their private Christmas collections and called it Saboren Christmas Fantasy House.
The family generously offered their collections to all people coming from all walks of life to see, saying they wanted to share the spirit of Christmas that they also experienced.
The collections were coming from a family member based in the United States, who would send various Christmas items to their home in Palo since the 1980s.
It was temporarily closed after it was devastated by Yolanda but reopened in 2016. Three years after the pandemic, the Saboren Christmas Fantasy House opened its doors again to the public.
Hanzel Saboren wrote on her social media account, inviting everyone “for a joyful experience” at their place as they reopened on Dec. 14.
“Consider adding a visit to our Christmas house to your holiday traditions,” she says on Facebook.
As visitors crowded Saboren’s Christmas house, Logronio even found a hard time bringing her two children inside the place.
“There is always a queue. And my kids don’t have enough patience to queue,” says Logronio, smilingly.
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the region has turnover financial assistance to a farmers’ association in Borongan City.
Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda and DSWD-8 SLP Deputy Regional Program Coordinator Erwin Sonio led the turnover of the financial assistance to the Baras Farmers Association, the first farmers association to receive the aid under the government’s sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
SLP is under Executive Order Number 70 which is a community-based capacity building that seeks to improve the beneficiaries standard of living by enabling participants to manage micro-enterprises. There are two versions of this program: the Executive Order No. 70 and the Zero Hunger.
The organization, which has 25 members, received a cheque amounting to P300,000 as a seed fund for a livelihood project that they will be implementing, according to EO 70 Project Development Officer II Jazmin Lutao.
She said that other organizations are set to receive similar financial assistance, she added.
Meanwhile, Mayor Agda expressed his gratitude to about 100 former rebels who had abandoned their cause and surrendered to the government to live a normal life.
As of this week, about 95 former rebels have returned to the fold of the law who were provided with assistance by the city government and other government agencies.
Mayor Agda assured the newly surrendered former rebels of the city government’s support as they move forward to a renewed and more peaceful way of living. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
ORMOC CITY-A seven-year-old boy from Calubian, Leyte who was reported missing but was later learned to be kidnapped by a family errand was found dead in the neighboring town of Leyte, Leyte on Friday (Dec.15).
The dead body of the victim, only identified by the local police as Aaron, was discovered at about 5:16 pm in a grassy area of Barangay Palid, Leyte town.
The suspect, Kevin Lapu-Lapu, 27, led the police to the area where he dragged the victim and killed him by kneeling down on his stomach, police case investigator, Corporal Randolph Caratao, said in a phone interview.
It was learned that Lapu-Lapu, who is from Sitio Kamalig, Barangay Palid 1 of Leyte town, was an errand boy of the family of the seven-year-old boy.
Based on the information from the police, the suspect killed the boy out of vengeance for his younger brother, who also worked as an errant boy in the family of the victim.
The suspect claimed that his younger brother was slapped by the mother of the victim.
The boy was first reported missing on December 14 with the suspect reported for work the following day.
However, based on a CCTV footage, the suspect took the boy with him on board a tricycle on the day he was first reported missing.
At first, Lapu-Lapu denied any involvement in the incident but later admitted that he killed the boy.
Lapu-Lapu, who was earlier convicted for illegal drug use in Manila, is now detained at the Calubian municipal police station as he was charged for murder. (ROBERT DEJON)
