ORMOC CITY– Three sachets containing white crystalline substances suspected to be shabu were recovered by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Station Drug Enforcement Team (SDET) of the local police during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Caragas, Lavezares town, Northern Samar on Tuesday (May 7) at about 8:45 am.

The suspect was identified as alias “Reme”, 40, and was described as a street-level individual (SLI) in the drug watchlist of PDEA Northern Samar and the local police.

Recovered from the possession of the suspect was one sachet containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu procured by an agent in the amount of P500.

During the conduct of a body search, the searching agent recovered from the possession of the suspect two more sachets containing a white crystalline substance also suspected to be shabu.

Charges of violations of sections 5(selling illegal drugs) & 11 (possession of illegal drugs) of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs of 2002, were filed against the suspect who is now detained at the local police station.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY–The Bureau of Fire Protection ended on Friday (May 10) its three-day regional sports fest participated by all of its offices in the region.

Deputy City Fire Marshal SPO4 Noel V. Permejo mentioned that the sports event allowed them to enjoy, as well as to improve their physique and develop their camaraderie and sportsmanship resulting in good teamwork inside and outside of their office.

Their activities for their sportsfest and future events focus on educational games and seminars to prevent loss of life and damage of properties in the event of a fire accident.
Despite their busy months ahead, SPO4 Permejo maintains that they will continue the current initiative on hose mapping areas that the fire truck cannot reach, including those areas that have small roads.

“Let us all be responsible with what we do inside our homes because fires usually start there. Let’s be careful and be knowledgeable about fire safety,” Permejo said.

“The community and BFP need to work together so we can prevent fires within the neighborhood,” he added.

(KATRYNA MAE N. MALLARI, LEYTE NORMAL UNIVERSITY STUDENT INTERN)

TACLOBAN CITY– A top drug personality was apprehended by joint police operatives in a buy-bust operation which also led to the discovery of a marijuana plantation in Purok Banog, Barangay Baras, Palo, Leyte, on Tuesday (May 7).

Operatives from the Regional Drug Enforcement of Police Regional Office 8 led the buy-bust operation which resulted in the arrest of the suspect, identified as ‘Jojo’, 58, who was also said to be the maintainer of a marijuana plantation.

Seized from the suspect were two sachets of suspected marijuana, three branches of marijuana plants, nine pieces of suspected marijuana covered by banana leaf, 33 branches of suspected marijuana plants, and one zip lock pouch containing cannabis leaves on it.
In all, the confiscated prohibited items weigh 12, 330 grams with a total value of P1.47 million.

The suspect is now detained and was charged for violation of RA 9165 also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

(NICOLE A. FONOGA, EASTERN SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY, STUDENT INTERN)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) launched the PLAN & DO (PLANADO) Program at the People’s Center, here in the city, on Tuesday (May 7).

As part of the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ initiative, this program aims to achieve six key outcomes, including the elimination of backlog in comprehensive land use plans (CLUPs) and provincial development and physical framework plans (PDPFPs) by 2028, with a particular focus on UrbaNext 2024.

Tacloban City was selected as one of the pioneering locations for the program due to its readiness, presence of a master plan for the site, and the area’s economic development prospects.

UrbaNext 2040, aligned with Ambisyon Natin 2040, aims to revolutionize urban development for future generations.

It emphasizes the creation of open spaces and networks, transit-oriented development, support for local government units (LGUs) in implementing urban development projects, and optimal utilization of idle government funds.

“Though ambitious, if we delay, when will we begin?” remarked DHSUD Regional Director Michael Victor Tezon regarding UrbaNext 2040.

DHSUD’s main goal is to streamline and digitize land use and urban planning processes, fostering the creation of smart, green, resilient, and inclusive human settlements.
These efforts are essential in addressing pressing issues such as traffic congestion and informal settler displacement.
(By KATRYNA MAE N. MALLARI, LEYTE NORMAL UNIVERSITY STUDENT INTERN)

Globe welcomes significant progress in the Senate on bills to strengthen the country’s 26-year-old Intellectual Property Code (IPC) and combat online content piracy through site-blocking measures.

A Senate committee level hearing wrapped up on April 29, paving the way for a Technical Working Group to convene and start working on the details of the proposal.

This development marks a major step forward in Globe’s long-standing #PlayItRight advocacy to help promote and protect the country’s P1.6-trillion creative industry from the damaging effects of piracy.

“We laud the Senate for recognizing the urgency of updating the Intellectual Property Code to address the rampant cases of online piracy,” said Yoly Crisanto, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer at Globe. “Site blocking is an essential tool in the fight against piracy, safeguarding not only the livelihood of content creators but also protecting consumers from risks associated with accessing pirated content online.”

Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., both seasoned actors well-acquainted with the challenges posed by film piracy, earlier filed legislative proposals to tackle online piracy

Estrada’s Senate Bill 2150, filed on May 9, 2023, seeks to restrict access to websites promoting copyright violations, proposing fines of up to PHP1 million for such infractions.
On the other hand, Revilla’s Senate Bill No. 2385, filed on August 1, 2023, focuses on expanding the authority and responsibilities of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), particularly in initiating site-blocking measures.

Both efforts are a parallel measure to House Bill No. 7600 by Rep. Joey Salceda of Albay’s 2nd District, which was passed on third reading in the House of Representatives a year ago.
Institutionalizing site-blocking is urgent as content piracy remains prevalent, endangering the livelihood of workers in the creative industry and putting users at risk of fraud and other forms of cybercrime.

At last week’s hearing, the committee was presented with top-line summaries from surveys conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Asia Video Industry Association’s (AVIA) Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) showing the pervasiveness of piracy in the Philippines and its negative impact.

A separate study had earlier shown that piracy undermines the creative industry and its potential contribution to the country’s economy. In 2022, it accounted for 7.3% to of the Philippines’ GDP. (PR)

CATARMAN, Northern Samar- Northern Samar province is now a “guerilla front free” and has “no barangay under the influence of rebels” according to the top officials of the military in the region during the Joint Regional Task Group 8 – End Local Armed Conflict meeting and Peace and Development dialogue held here on Monday (May 6).

Speaking to the media in the presence of Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos after the demilitarization of firearms apprehended by the police and military forces, 8th Infantry Division Commander MGen Camilo Ligayo said that this was achieved due to the support of the local government and barangay local government units.

“This was due to our barangay captains, mayors, and to the implementation of ELCAC (End Local Armed Conflict) and of course good governance,” he said.

“It seems that irreversible na yung trend and we can achieve our victory in a soonest possible time,” MGen Ligayo added.

B/Gen Efren Morados, the commanding officer of the 803rd Infantry Brigade whose operations cover the entire Northern Samar, said that all communist fronts in Samar Island particularly in Northern Samar had been “neutralized” but there are five “vertical front formations” of the New People’s Army that are operating in their area of jurisdiction.
“These are the focus of our operation,” Morados said.

The Army official said that these are the focus of their military operations and campaign which they target to achieve before the end of this year.

Once there are no remaining communist group members in the province, they could work for its declaration as Stable Internal Peace and Security or SIPS.

SIPS status is given if there is no presence of NPA or incident or activity of the communist members in an area for a year.

The latest incident between the communist group and government troops in Northern Samar happened in April in Las Navas town where one member of the communist armed group was killed and another one was wounded.

At present, out of the 24 towns in the province, the towns of Capul, Allen, San Jose, and Rosario, were declared under the SIPS status.

Abalos, during his speech, lauded the efforts of the military, police force, and local government unit and barangay in addressing the insurgency problem in the province leading for some NPA members to surrender and start living as normal members of the community.

“We cannot achieve this without the ELCAC program, providing them with firearms remuneration, livelihood support, immediate assistance, and I am glad that the LGU through Governor (Edwin) Ongchuan also provided assistance and interventions,” Abalos said.

Interventions provided by the provincial government of Northern Samar include providing them housing assistance and livelihood income-earning wages as farm workers at the Kausawagan village – a community developed by the province for former rebels.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)