ORMOC CITY-A newly identified drug peddler was apprehended by the local police during a buy-bust operation conducted by the Station Drug Enforcement Team (SDET) of the local police of Inopacan, Leyte.
Inopacan chief of police, Major Ian Po identified the suspect as Ondo Decatoria, 51, and a resident of Barangay Guadalupe.
Recovered from the possession of the suspect during the sting operation on May 24 at around 6:30 pm was one sachet containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu procured by an operative in the amount of P500.
During the conduct of a body search done in the presence of an elected official and a representative from the local media, the searching cop recovered one more sachet containing the same white crystalline substance still suspected to be shabu with an estimated weight of .05 gram with an estimated street value of P2,000.
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 by the arresting police against the suspect who is temporarily detained at the locked-up cell of Inopacan municipal police station. (ROBERT DEJON)
In its bid to encourage students from remote areas in the country, University of the Philippines President Angelo Jimenez announced an invitation for students from these areas to enroll and study at the nation’s premier state university. Out of the 330 slots available for this campaign, 11 slots have been allocated for Eastern Visayas.
With an allowance of P160K
In its bid to encourage students from remote areas in the country, University of the Philippines President Angelo Jimenez announced an invitation for students from these areas to enroll and study at the nation’s premier state university. Out of the 330 slots available for this campaign, 11 slots have been allocated for Eastern Visayas.
TACLOBAN CITY-The University of the Philippines (UP), considered one of the premier universities in the country, is aiming to attract more students from geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA).
This was disclosed by its president, Angelo Jimenez, who was in the city to grace the 51st founding anniversary of the Tacloban UP which is also celebrating its first year anniversary as an autonomous unit of the UP system on Thursday (May 23).
Jimenez said that as part of their effort, they are offering about 300 slots for students who are from these areas across, including in Eastern Visayas.
“We are focusing of trying to bring in more students from GIDA areas. We are bringing in 300 for the year from these GIDA areas of which 11 are from Region 8,” he said in a press conference.
Students who will avail of this program are to receive P160,000 in annual financial support from the university consisting of food, dormitory, transportation, and book allowances.
He said that helping a student coming from a GIDA area finish his college education would mean one family being assisted and could lead to a better life for them.
According to Jimenez, this campaign is part of UP’s goal to be a partner in the economic development of Eastern Visayas, home to more than 4 million people but is one of the country’s less developed regions.
“We are here to reiterate the national leadership of the UP system for the further expansion and development of Region 8. We intend to be an empowering presence in the region, particularly in the GIDA areas,” he added.
But while they will be aggressive in inviting students from these poor and isolated areas, Jimenez stressed that they will not compromise their quality of education.
“(While) we want to make UP (education) accessible from the marginalized sector, we cannot lower our standards just to accommodate those coming from disadvantaged areas,” the UP president said.
For her part, Patricia Arinto, dean of UP Tacloban, said that they are also going around the region, including those in remote areas, for them to study at UP.
“For our part, we are going around the region that are not yet represented among our students and majority of our students are from Tacloban City and its environs and very few from Samar provinces and even from Biliran and Southern Leyte provinces,” she said.
She said that while one of the reasons could be due to distance, it could also be due to financial factor which is being addressed by offering bigger stipend or allowance.
At present, UP Tacloban has more than 1,400 students enrolled in the 10 programs.
Meanwhile, Arinto said that in three years’ time, they will be transferring to their new school site in Barangay Sta. Elena, 17 kms north from the city proper.
The university has allocated over P600 million for its new campus.
At present, the UP Tacloban is located within the city proper since it first opened on May 23, 1973, with only 145 students.
NEW DOT ARD. Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco swear into office Boris Pascubillo, as the new assistant regional director for DOT-Eastern Visayas on Thursday (May 23). (DOT-Eastern Visayas)
Pascubillo heads post at DOT-8
NEW DOT ARD. Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco swear into office Boris Pascubillo, as the new assistant regional director for DOT-Eastern Visayas on Thursday (May 23). (DOT-Eastern Visayas)
TACLOBAN CITY – The regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) has appointed its first assistant regional director (ARD) since the agency’s inception.
Secretary Cristina Garcia Frasco swore in six new officials for various regional offices of the DOT, including Boris Pascubillo, who will serve as the first ARD of the tourism agency in Eastern Visayas on Thursday(May 23).
Before his appointment, Pascubillo, who is from Culaba, Biliran, had a decade-long career in government service, working with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the Eastern Visayas regional office and the Leyte provincial office.
DOT-8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes highlighted Pascubillo’s expertise in collaborating with local government units (LGUs) and his experience with the DILG. She believes his background will enhance the DOT’s ability to provide services to stakeholders effectively.
“All DOT regional offices had long been waiting for the appointment of an assistant regional director,” said Tiopes.
“Given the nature of DOT’s mandate, the scope of our work, and the fact that we don’t have provincial, city, or municipal offices, having an ARD will definitely add to the efficiency of the DOT ROs in responding to the needs of our stakeholders,” Tiopes added.
Alongside Pascubillo, new ARDs were appointed for the DOT regional offices in Regions I, II, IV-A, X, and XIII (Caraga region).
In her message during the oath-taking ceremony, Sec. Frasco emphasized the invaluable support the new officials will provide to the innovative and transformative programs of the DOT.
She praised the regional directors for their service to the tourism industry and reiterated the department’s commitment to promoting and developing tourism equally across all regions. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY-At two high-value individuals (HVIs) and seven other suspected drug personalities were arrested in separate anti-narcotics operations across the region from May 20-22, 2024.
“Our dedicated police force is committed to fulfilling its duty by thoroughly investigating the source of these illicit drugs,” said Police Regional Office-Eastern Visayas (PRO-8) director Brigadier General Reynaldo Pawid.
In a statement to the local media, Pawid lauded the different Philippine National Police (PNP) units in the region and the collaboration with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Eastern Visayas for the arrest of the suspects.
“Our relentless pursuit of justice for our community will persist until those responsible are apprehended and brought to face the full extent of the law, ensuring that these criminals are held accountable for their actions,” he added.
The HVIs were identified as alias Dod, a 44-year-old jail guard residing in Hilongos, Leyte; and alias Cris, 40, a resident of Allen, Northern Samar.
Dod was arrested by the combined elements of PDEA-Southern Leyte and the Matalom Municipal Police Station.
Recovered from the suspect were five small heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets of suspected shabu and one caliber .45 pistol during the buy-bust operation in Barangay Punong, Matalom, Leyte on May 21.
Cris yielded four sachets of suspected shabu in a buy-bust operation led by the Allen Municipal Police Station operatives at Barangay Sabang, Zone II, in Allen town on May 20.
The police regional command identified the seven other drug suspects as street-level individuals.
The onsite marking and inventory of the recovered evidence were conducted in the presence of invited witnesses and the suspects, according to the police regional command.
The actual weight and value of the confiscated drug items are yet to be determined by the Regional Forensics Unit-8, it added.
The arrested suspects will face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (RONALD O. REYES)
GRATEFUL.The mayor of Palapag in Nothern Samar, Fatwa Batula, expressed her gratitude to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of the P10 million solar-powered water system saying this will address the need of potable water of her people. (PHOTO COURTESY)
In Northern Samar
GRATEFUL.The mayor of Palapag in Nothern Samar, Fatwa Batula, expressed her gratitude to the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of the P10 million solar-powered water system saying this will address the need of potable water of her people. (PHOTO COURTESY)
TACLOBAN CITY – The mayor of Palapag, a town in Northern Samar province, has expressed gratitude for the completion of the water system project implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways Northern Samar Second Engineering District Office.
Mayor Fawa Batula stated that this project will significantly address the water needs of key institutional facilities in the local government, including the public market, public terminal, municipal police station, Coast Guard station, Bureau of Fire Protection office, and the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office.
The solar-powered water system, funded under the General Appropriation Act with a budget of P10 million, has a storage capacity of 10,000 cubic meters of water. It is constructed in Barangay Tinampo, where most of the municipality’s institutional facilities are located.
“The water supply is very helpful, especially since the market needs to be kept clean and maintain sanitation,” Mayor Batula said.
“And whenever the evacuation center is full of evacuees, having a continuous water supply ensures we can consistently meet the basic needs of our citizens, particularly during times of crisis or calamity,” she added.
The mayor also expressed her gratitude to the public works office in the second district of Northern Samar for implementing the project, which benefits not only the government agencies but all sectors of the community. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
ORMOC CITY-The Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) seized an estimated 60 grams of suspected shabu with a commercial value of P408,000 during a buy-bust operation together with PDEA and the City Drug Enforcement Unit of Tacloban City Police Office at about 8 pm on Monday(May 20)in Barangay 106 Sto. Niño of said city.
PDEG SIU 8 Chief PLT/Col. Arturo Fullero identified the suspects as Arnel Sy alias “Dudoy” 32, single, jobless, a resident of Zone 8 Barangay 105 San Isidro here.
The suspect is listed as a high-value individual drug watch list at the Regional Level and undergoing rehabilitation at Salag, Dulag Leyte after he was arrested for a drug offense in February 2022.
Also arrested was Samuel Quintina alias “Sammy” 65, a barangay tanod of the same village.
Subject of the operation was Sy and PDEG operatives recovered from his possession one medium-sized sachet containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu procured by an operative in the amount of P68,000.
During the conduct of a body search done in the presence of an elected barangay official and a representative from the local media, the searching cops recovered four more sachets containing suspected shabu and 68 pieces of P1,000 bills.
No illegal item was recovered from Quintana.
Charges of violations of sections 5 (selling illegal drugs) & 11 (possession of illegal drugs) of Art II of RA 9165 the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs of 2002 were filed by the arresting police against the suspect who was brought to Tacloban City Police Office Detention Facility for documentation and proper disposition and temporary detention.(ROBERT DEJON)
