TACLOBAN CITY – The municipality of Giporlos in Eastern Samar province was declared as ‘stable peace and internal security’ by the Philippine Army.

The declaration was held on April 12, at the town’s municipal gymnasium.
Municipal Mayor Gilbert Go said that the declaration is a win for his town because this means that they have a better peace and order situation now that could entice businessmen and investors to put up businesses in his municipality.

He urges village officials to support all development program to ensure that their municipality remains peaceful and orderly after the declaration.

B/Gen Noel Vestuir, the commanding officer of the 802nd Infantry Brigade, for his part, said that the declaration of Giporlos of having a stable internal peace and security status is a big achievement against the more than five decades-long insurgency problem in the country.

The military official added that some LGUs under their jurisdiction are also on the pipeline of being declared with the same status.

Giporlos is the first LGU under the area of operation in Eastern Samar of the 802nd that was declared of such status.

The status means that practically, there is no active members of the communist group, the New People’s Army, operating in Giporlos.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

MANILA-The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provided P4 million ($72,000) in funding and technical support to the Department of Health (DOH) and Child Protection Network Foundation (CPN) to strengthen reporting and training systems for women and child protection in the Philippines.

On April 11, USAID Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and CPN Executive Director Dr. Bernadette Madrid for the enhancement of the Women and Children Protection Management Information System (WCPMIS), a system that tracks cases of women and child abuse in the Philippines.

Through the funding, USAID will support the DOH and CPN in enhancing the WCPMIS by streamlining its data collection, analysis, and reporting of abuse cases. This will enable more efficient monitoring of abuse survivors’ progress, ensuring timely support from responders. Accurate data will also be made available to other organizations and individuals providing services to abuse survivors.

DOH and CPN also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the online training of healthcare workers on recognizing, reporting, recording, and referring (4Rs) abuse cases. Under the MoU, DOH will now require Women and Child Protection Units in hospitals to report abuse cases to authorities.

“In all of our work, we are guided by the paramount principle of the child’s best interest,” USAID Philippines Mission Director Washburn said during the signing ceremony. “The agreements signed today will ensure that those charged with identifying and reporting abuse will understand their obligations and how to fulfill them. Consequently, those agencies and persons charged with preventing, protecting, and providing support to survivors will have the information they need to effectively carry out their own roles in combating child abuse.”

“This database is important, being one of the missing gaps in preventing and intervening on cases of violence against children. Data will tell us what the victims need, the appropriate policies and projects intended for them and where to exert more effort (for the victims),” CPN Executive Director Dr. Madrid said.

“The culture of violence must be stopped. Tight collaboration and solid data can change policies to protect women and children,” DOH Secretary Herbosa said. “We have an ocean of data all around us. We must harness the power of that ocean, organizing information into seas of knowledge with safe harbors that will allow boats of wisdom to dock.”

In addition to strengthening the reporting infrastructure, the partnership between the DOH and CPN will also improve training programs for healthcare workers in identifying and reporting abuse cases.

USAID supports the Philippine government in integrating gender-based violence prevention and response into its health programming. Since 2019, USAID has trained over 3,400 health providers in the 4Rs, along with training on gender sensitivity and gender-based violence prevention and response across its project areas. (PR)

ORMOC CITY– A wife of a person deprived of liberty(PDL) is facing a charge of violations of illegal drugs after she was caught trying to sneak in an illegal drug while visiting her husband at the Leyte sub-provincial jail in Barangay Guiwan I, Palompon, Leyte.

Palompon town police chief, Capt. Realthur Tabenero identified the suspect as Amy Ruiz, 50, married, housewife, a resident of Brgy. Poblacion.

Recovered from her possession were two sachets containing white crystalline substances suspected to be shabu inserted at a sanitary napkin worn by the suspect.

PCPT Tabernero, in an interview, said that the local police station received a call from the jail facility personnel on April 8 art about 2 pm informing them that they discovered illegal drugs from one of the visitors.

Initial investigation conducted by responding police disclosed that the suspect visited her husband identified as Orland, who is imprisoned after being arrested in a buy-bust.

The police said that provincial guard Marivic Lao conducted a body search of the suspect before entering the jail. However, the police added, that Lao was surprised when she noticed that the suspect was wearing a sanitary pad when she already looked old.

Lao’s suspicion led her to ask the suspect to remove her sanitary pad and once opened yielded two sachets containing white crystalline substances suspected to be shabu placed inside two small pieces of paper with masking tape.

The arrested person was subsequently brought to Palompon local police for documentation and was charged with possession of illegal drugs.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY – Authorities conducted a counterinsurgency operation through the service of a warrant of arrest against a member of the communist group who is also the Top 5 most wanted person of the Northern Samar Police Provincial Office in Barangay Inanahawan, Pambujan, Northern Samar on Wednesday(April 17).

The arrested person was identified as alias “Onyot”, a 59-year-old farmer who used the alias ‘Beloy’ while he was a member of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The joint operatives of the 2nd Northern Samar Provincial Mobile Force Company led by its commander, PLt.Col. Edwin Oloan. Jr., together with the Pambujan Municipal Police Station and the members of the 19th Infantry Battalion implemented the warrant of arrest against the suspect for the crime of murder.

The suspect is now detained at the Pambujan detention facility.

Police B/Gen. Reynaldo Pawid, the police regional director, said that they will continue to intensify their operations against offenders who continuously pose threats to the safety and security of the community.

“We will work together with other law enforcement agencies to safeguard the community and ensure that victims of unlawful acts are brought to justice,” Pawid said in a statement.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)