Biliran's capital festival, street party to draw visitors

NAVAL, Biliran, Sept. 28  – Merrier fiesta celebrations are expected to draw more tourists to this capital town of Biliran, one of the country’s smallest provinces.

Mayor Gerard Espina, in a press briefing Wednesday, said they have lined up several activities from Sept. 26 to Oct. 6 to celebrate the fiesta, the Spanish term for festival.

One of the highlights is the celebration of Bagasumbol Festival, with six contingents from six of the eight towns in the province taking part.

Bagasumbol is the term that describes the town’s settlement in the old days.

The festival, which depicts Biliran’s legends, cultures, and histories will dominate the town’s main thoroughfares on Oct. 6

Town Mayor Gerard Espina said they are eyeing up to 10,000 locals and visitors to join the annual festivities.

“Our local celebrations are becoming more popular through social media promotions. We expect that more people will come and join the fun. We want people here to experience what is like to celebrate festivals in cities,” Espina said.

Naval State University President Victor Cañezo, Jr., chairman of the 2018 Naval Fiesta executive committee 2018, said the local government provided financial support to other towns for them to be able to join the festival.

“Six of the eight towns in Biliran have already confirmed their participation to Bagasumbol Festival. This is the first time that almost all towns are represented,” Cañezo said.

Another event is the “Tsinelas (flip-flops) Party “to be staged on the night of Oct. 6 in Naval’s major streets.

“Tsinelas Party is the people’s party. Everyone from all walks of life can join and celebrate,” Espina added.

The party that started in 2007 is open to everyone wearing flip flops. It is one of the biggest street parties in the country.

University of the Philippines Professor Rolando Borrinaga, a native of Biliran and a known historian in the region, said the party “carries with it a loud and defiant democratic protest statement from native of Naval town, who were displaced from the elitist fiesta-related parties of previous non-native officials.”

“The turning point came when the ordinary locals were fenced out with barbed wires during elitist Coronation Night on the eve of a fiesta in 2004, which was attended by invited heirs of some political dynasties around in the country,” Borrinaga said in an article published in Biliran Island blog.

Naval is a 2nd class town and capital of the province of Biliran, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 54,692 people dwelling on its 108.24-square kilometer area.

Local officials envision the town to become a city in the near future. Naval and Catarman, Northern Samar, are the only capitals in the six provinces in Eastern Visayas region that are not cities.

As per Republic Act No. 9009, for a town to become a city, it should have a locally generated income of at least PHP100 million for the last two consecutive years; a population of 150,000 or more; and a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers.

“Since I became the mayor in 1998, I have witnessed the town’s humble beginnings, and its improvement in economy, which we hope would pave the way to the town’s cityhood,” said Biliran Governor Gerry Espina.

The town has 900 registered businesses, earning an average of PHP90 million in local income. (SQM/LAAA/PNA)

Eastern Visayas stakeholders renew vow to improve local governance

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 28  -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has solicited the commitment of 42 national government agencies, local governments, academic institutions, media, and faith-based organizations to unify capacity development initiatives for local governments.

Representatives of government agencies and non-governmental organizations signed on Friday a memorandum of agreement expressing their renewed commitment as members of the multi-stakeholder advisory council (MSAC).

The re-organization and commitment building ceremony held at the Leyte Park Hotel here, aims to rekindle the commitments of partners to help raise the capacity of local governments.

“The council is the primary source of direction for capacity development in this region. We are a special region because we are confronted with the many challenges to lives and communities, such as natural hazards. Therefore, this would call for strong local governments that would make their communities resilient to hazards,” said Marivel Sacendoncillo, DILG assistant secretary and concurrent regional director for Eastern Visayas.

Among the council’s tasks is to provide general direction and guidance to the local government regional resource center (LGRRC) programs, formulate policies and guidelines in the operationalization of the LGRRC, contribute local governance relevant knowledge products to the center, mobilize resources to support programs and plans, and contribute to the development of best practices in local governance and its replication.

Members are invited to attend quarterly meetings to assess the operations and ensure the dynamism of the LGRRC’s five facilities – multimedia knowledge and information, capacity development, public education on good governance, linkage, and institutional support.

“Everyone acknowledges that local governance is everybody’s business. Each one of us belongs to a barangay (village), municipality, city, and province. Whatever happens in the local government, we are all affected,” Sacendoncillo told MSAC members.

“Whatever we contribute to enhance the quality of governance in this region is something that will redound also to our own benefits,” she added.

Among the MSAC members are the Commission on Population, Civil Service Commission, Office of Civil Defense, departments of budget, social welfare, tourism, agriculture, trade, health, labor, environment, and agriculture.

Other members are the Philippine Information Agency, National Economic and Development Authority, Eastern Visayas State University, Visayas State University, Southern Leyte State University, League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine News Agency, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, Radio Mindanao Network, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo, and the departments of information and communication technology, and education.

The DILG regional office organized MSAC in 2012, but the council has been inactive as stakeholders shifted their focus to rehabilitation after Super Typhoon Yolanda struck in 2013. (SQM/PNA)

Eastern Visayas trade fair in Manila eyes P23-M sales

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 28  -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expects to generate at least PHP23 million from the upcoming Bahandi Regional Trade Fair that will showcase the best of Eastern Visayas.

A total of 234 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from the region’s six provinces will take part in the trade fair that will be held at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City on October 4-8.

“Our exhibitors are well-prepared since we have been conducting trainings, provide facilities to upgrade product quality, improve packaging, and develop products brands. This year’s trade fair serves as a launch of several brands of our products,” DTI 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Cynthia Nierras said in an interview Friday.

The DTI also trained participants on visual marketing so they could set up their own booths.

This year’s goal is higher than the PHP16.5 million cash sales target set last year as more products have already been improved through a series of training courses.

Among the products up for display are lechon (roasted pig), tuba (coconut wine), tahong (mussels) crackers, turmeric tea, chocolate moron (sticky rice with chocolate), calamansi concentrate, sweet potato chips, dried fish, chocolate tablets, dried squid, dried jackfruit, woven mats, coco shells, and fashion accessories.

Of the 134 producers, 46 are from Leyte, 27 from Samar, 22 from Eastern Samar, 18 from Northern Samar, 13 from Biliran, and eight from Southern Leyte.

“We have to bring them out because their chance to grow in the local market is very slim,” Nierras added.

Bahandi 2018, according to DTI, is an avenue to forge long-term partnerships with buyers in the local and global market. It aims to increase the visibility of MSMEs in the domestic, as well as global market, and build-up buyers’ confidence on their reliability, dependability and consistency as suppliers of quality goods.

DTI launched the marketing program in 1998 with its first exhibit in this city.

Bahandi, the local term for wealth, is being organized this year by the DTI, in partnership with the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation, DTI’s One Town, One Product, Regional Development Council, Department of Tourism, Canadian government, Bahandi producers, Concern, Inc., MSD Godspeed Exhibits Corp., and SM Megamall. (SQM/PNA)

Region 8 cities tagged as disaster preparedness pilot areas

CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar, Sept. 27  -- The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has listed two cities in Eastern Visayas as pilot areas in raising decision-making capabilities of local government units in post-disaster preparedness.

The MGB has been conducting training workshops on understanding risk exposure maps in Catbalogan City in Samar and Ormoc City in Leyte.

The training is part of the information, education and communication campaign for the vulnerability and risk assessment, an ongoing activity of MGB’s national geohazard mapping and assessment program through the conduct of 1:50,000 scale and 1:10,000 scale flood and landslide susceptibility mapping for cities and towns.

The project now seeks the use of the 1:10,000 scale detailed flood and landslide maps for local governments in their respective land use and disaster contingency planning by evaluating the existing vulnerability conditions.

Typically, scale is expressed as a ratio such as 1:50,000 or 1:10,000. If one takes 1:50,000, this means that 1 centimeter on the map equals 50,000 centimeters (or 500 meters) on the ground. This means that the information contained in 500 meters is compacted into just one centimeter.

On Thursday, the MGB held training workshops in Catbalogan attended by personnel from the Philippine National Police, Philippine Army, and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

“Results of this activity will be of critical importance in the planning, pre, and post disaster interventions,” MGB Geologist Rodrigo Jay Miralles said.

The MGB turned over to the city government various maps that show specific hazards in vulnerable communities.

Catbalogan Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan welcomed the project as it provides locals safer and more secured communities.

She said the maps produced by MGB is helpful to them, especially in disaster mitigation program, considering that the city’s downtown is not only flood-prone area, but susceptible to landslides as well.

“The information given in this training will help us strengthen our mitigation and prevention effort against all types of disasters and calamities,” Uy-Tan said.

The workshop and hazard map is also beneficial in implementing infrastructure projects and various programs since the plan is based on disaster risk.

In November 2011, a landslide occurred in the city’s mountain village, Bunuanon, killing a child. In December 2014, a mudslide buried houses and cars killing 23 people in Mercedes village. (RTA/PNA)

DPWH to rehabilitate landslide-hit road network in Leyte

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 26  -- The road network in Southern Leyte damaged by recurring landslides will undergo soil stability works prior to full-blown rehabilitation next year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Wednesday.

The DPWH confirmed that soil stabilization within the 200-meter stretch in Pancho Villa village, Sogod town is necessary to prevent mudslides from occurring in the future. Massive mud slides affected the road section last March, followed by minor landslides in the past few months.

DPWH Southern Leyte chief, Ma. Margarita Junia, said the project, which will be completed within the year, will utilize displacement piling installation method to stabilize the foundation of the landslide-hit road section.

Displacement piling installation is a method used in providing foundation support for buildings and other structures through driving piles into the ground without removing any soil or other material until it reaches the stable layer of the ground.

“Based on the results of the soil exploration conducted in March, this is the most reasonable option to take. We will drive piles 30 meters below underground to reach the solid ground foundation and create sheet pile afterwards. Through this, we will be able to stabilize the ground there, thus, addressing the threat of the continuing ground movement,” Junia said in a phone interview.

The rehabilitation of the highway, which forms part the vital link from Visayas to Mindanao, will follow immediately once stabilization works are done, the official said.

After stabilizing the ground, the DPWH will introduce a slope protection technology to mitigate landslides. The damaged road stretch will undergo major repair after prevention measures are fully completed.

Junia said rehabilitation plans and designs have already been submitted to the central office of the department and awaiting approval.

“As much as we want to address this problem with much urgency, we cannot do that because we are still waiting for the fund for 2019 infrastructure program where our fund for the restoration master plan is included,” Junia noted.

Currently, only one lane is passable in the 200-meter portion of the national highway.

The Southern Leyte highways chief advised the public bound for Benit Port to take safer alternate routes while threats along the highway in Sogod town is not yet fully addressed.

Meantime, travelers bound for Benit Port may take Tacloban – Mahaplag – Baybay – Bato – Bontoc – Sogod - Daang Maharlika – Liloan - San Ricardo road. (SQM/PNA)

Task force tags ‘hot spot’ bays in anti-illegal fishing drive

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 26 -- Authorities have identified “hot spot” areas in Eastern Visayas as a result of the joint anti-illegal fishing operations of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo on Tuesday said the joint task force Bantay Kadagatan will focus on areas with rampant illegal fishing activities to prevent depletion of marine resources.

These areas are Danajon Double Barrier Reefs in Leyte, Maqueda Bay in Samar, Carigara Bay in Leyte, Biliran Strait in Biliran, Pacific towns of Eastern Samar and Northern Samar and part of Surigao Strait in Southern Leyte.

Average fish catch in these bays dropped to 2.5 metric tons (MT) in every square kilometer, which is below the ideal five MT harvest.

“Illegal fishing activities is the major culprit. If we will not act now, we won’t have fishes to catch in the future,” he said.

Senior Supt. Ma. Bella Rentuaya, Police Regional Office 8 (Eastern Visayas) spokesperson, said the police dedicated an eight-man team lead by an officer from the regional mobile force company to help fight illegal fishing.

They will be joined by well-trained BFAR personnel during seaborne patrol.

The police committed its patrol boat M/V Lakan for the operations of the newly-formed task force.

“The operations of this patrol boat will cover the territorial sea waters of Eastern Visayas, but we will focus in areas where sightings or reports of illegal fishing have been persistent or alarming based on intelligence gathering,” Rentuaya said in a mobile phone interview.

On September 21, BFAR and PNP signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint task force to strengthen the government’s fight against illegal fishing in the region.

The primary functions of the task force are prevention, deterrence, detection and apprehension of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and other forms of illegal fishing including the prosecution of individuals apprehended during its operations, said Albaladejo.

Meanwhile, BFAR urged local government units to step up their fight against unlawful fishing activities by adopting Republic Act 10654, which amends the Philippine Fisheries Code.

The amended law, passed in 2015, raises the penalties imposed for violation of the fisheries law to a range of PHP500,000 to PHP10 million from the range of PHP10,000 to PHP500,000 imposed under the old law enacted in 1998.

Albaladejo said most local governments are still imposing lower penalties based on the old Fishery Code. The stiffer fines for violators is seen as a significant deterrent against illegal fishing practices. (SQM/PNA)

DOLE-8 on track on ending ‘endo’

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 25  – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is on track on its drive to regularize more workers in Eastern Visayas this year, a regional official said Tuesday.

Of the 9,000 contractual employees targeted for regularization, at least 6,492 has been regularized as of mid-September, representing 72 percent of their target, according to DOLE Regional Director Yahya Centi.

“We are gaining momentum and we’re gaining significant achievement in so far as regularization is concerned,” Centi said in an interview.

Majority of regularized workers are employed by micro, small, and medium enterprises.

The labor department said it is also conducting an ongoing assessment to big business establishments operating in the region to encourage business owners to regularize their contractual employees.

About 62 percent of the 1,458 establishments had been inspected by the regional office.

“We are aiming to achieve our target by December because it is our mandate,” Centi said. Ending “endo” or end of contract is one of the election promises of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Contributing to the remarkable performance in the region is the regularization of more than a thousand of these workers, who were given permanent employment status by the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp., the country’s largest copper smelter based in Isabel, Leyte.

Among those prioritized in the campaign include shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, food chains, gas stations, manufacturing, construction, transport, and the fishing industry, since these are the establishments vulnerable to labor-only contracting.

The regional office is largely counting on voluntary compliance since it only has 20 labor inspectors tasked to check the compliance of thousands of business establishments in the region’s six provinces.

During the May 1 Labor Day celebration this year, the President signed Executive Order 51 to end contractualization.

The directive prohibits contracting or subcontracting when undertaken to circumvent workers’ right to security of tenure, self-organization and collective bargaining, and peaceful concerted activities pursuant to the 1987 Constitution. (RTA/PNA)

Calbayog lines up events for tourism week celebration

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 25  -- The local government unit of Calbayog City has lined up several activities to celebrate the National Tourism Week, an official said Tuesday.

In an interview, City Tourism Officer Ronald Ricarfort Jr. said the highlight of the celebration is on September 27 and 28. Both the 2018 Quiz Challenge and the 1st Calbayog Tour Guiding Competition will be held on Thursday.

The contest will be participated in by students in both private and public schools in Calbayog City. The tour guiding competition will enlist Grade 10 students taking education strands related to tourism.

“We have tour guides in the city, but we are looking for people who have natural talents on tour guiding, so that when there is training, we could easily identify and tap them,” Ricafort said.

Each of the seven schools in Calbayog will send two participants. During the competition, the city tourism office will conduct a mock tour in the city’s top tourism destinations.

“After the mock tour, participants will pick an envelope containing the list of tourist destinations and they need to come up with a tour package or itinerary for the selected site,” Ricafort said.

Participants will have to explain or defend the tour package or itinerary they created. Best tour guide and best itinerary will be chosen and awarded after the event.

On September 28, tinapa (smoked fish), one of the products that is pride of Calbayog, will take center stage on the 5th Calbayog Tinapa 101, a cookfest participated by students, showcasing their cooking skills with tinapa as the main ingredients.

Originally observed every first week of May, the National Tourism Week was moved to the last week of September by virtue of Proclamation 894 signed on Oct. 3, 1996 by then president Fidel Ramos.

The change was made to coincide with World Tourism Day on September 27 as declared by the World Tourism Organization and Proclamation 1942 dated Feb. 1, 1980. (SQM/PNA)

22 Eastern Visayas cops face admin raps

PALO, Leyte, Sept. 25  -- The Police Regional Office 8 (Eastern Visayas) is stepping up its internal cleansing drive with the filing of administrative cases against 22 police officers this year.

Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, PRO-8 director, said Tuesday these police officers are charged with misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.

“My directive is to fast-track the resolution of these cases and to impose administrative sanctions against those involved, if found liable, as part of carrying the PNP (Philippine National Police) chief’s order to cleanse the ranks of erring officers,” Carlos told reporters.

He reiterated his appeal to policemen to adopt and change their old ways, especially those involved in illegal drugs, gambling or other illicit activities, and live their lives anchored on ethical values.

“We need to be serious in this campaign. We cannot just allow our efforts to go to waste. In fact, I am constantly moving around, conducting spot inspections on our personnel in police stations to check on them,” Carlos added.

Supt. Joker Cuanso, chief of the regional police’s internal affairs service, said of the 22 erring policemen, only one is a chief inspector and the rest are senior police officers or police officers.

This year, no police officer has been charged with illegal drugs use or trade, Cuanso said.

“For each case filed, we have 30 days to do a preliminary investigation, 30 days to conduct determination of probable cause, and 60 days to conduct a summary hearing before coming up with a decision,” he added.

Cuanso urged the public to report police officers involved in anomalous activities. (SQM/PNA)

'Social media addiction' threatens family ties: Church

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 24 -- As the country celebrates the National Family Week, church officials have raised concerns over interference of excessive social media use to family relationships.

Pedro Bimbo Tan, a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Tacloban stake (diocese), said it is alarming that social media activities have been replacing the family’s worthwhile activities in their homes.

“Social media addiction is very dangerous to families. Parents should know how to stop using mobile phones and other gadgets. How can we have strong family if family life is dominated by social media and other online activities?” Tan asked during a press briefing Monday.

Tan, one of the LDS church leaders with jurisdiction over nearly 5,000 members in the regional capital and nearby towns, said one of the church’s advocacies is to help families learn to control the use of social media.

“It’s alarming that even in dining tables, each members of the family are busy with web-based activities instead of talking about plans, achievements, and concerns,” Tan said.

The use of social media is not bad per se, Tan said, since it helps connect friends, learn valuable information, and share inspirational messages, but it should be controlled.

In its Digital 2018 report, We Are Social revealed that 67 million Filipinos with social media accounts spent an average of three hours and 57 minutes a day on social media sites, mainly on Facebook, topping the world in terms of social media usage.

Another local church leader Jordan Villarmino urged families to create happy memories that would be remembered by their children.

“Families that play together stay together, especially when their play is uplifting and wholesome. Family activities build strong bonds and feelings of self-worth,” Villarmino said.

Joy Alban of LDS Church Educational System said in the advent of technology and societal problems confronting families, there is a need to bring to people’s mind to the basic doctrines behind the establishment of families.

“We want families to improve their spirituality. All social ills such as drug abuse will be solved if parents are working together. The success of family not depends on the government, but lies within the four corners of our homes,” Alban pointed out.

Mark Espedilla, one of the church’s bishops in Tacloban stake, said they have lined up several activities to raise public awareness on the importance of family, including the tie-up of Church officials with community leaders to discuss ways on how to strengthen families.

“The emphasis is matatag na pamilya (strong family) because we believe in the saying that no success can compensate for failure in the home,” Espedilla said.

The celebration of National Family Week from September 23 to 29 is based on Presidential Proclamation No. 60 issued on Sept. 28, 1992, which aims to increase awareness on various family issues; enhance effectiveness of efforts to carry out specific programs concerning families; and promote collaboration among organizations in support of multi-sectoral activities. (SQM/LAAA/PNA)

2 kids drown after heavy rains in Ormoc

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Sept. 24  -- The bodies of two young siblings were found at different sites Sunday morning, a day after they were swept by flood waters from Anilao River in San Pablo village here after a heavy downpour.

The police identified the drowned kids as Nerry Gonaro, Jr., 8, and Jhonar Joseph Gonato 9.  They went swimming at the river while their mother, Jocelyn Gonato, 55, was on an errand in a nearby town that day. 

Nerry was found by a villager submerged at the side of the Anilao river, face down and entangled in weeds while the body of his elder brother, Jhonar Joseph was found by a fisherman floating in a deep sea in the nearby village of Bantigue. Police said the two were found some five kilometers away from where they were last seen swimming.

Jocelyn said she left her four young children to their neighbor when she left for an errand at a nearby town.

According to residents, heavy rains last Saturday afternoon triggered flood water surge, but the young victims seem to have continued soaking themselves despite the bad weather.  

Jocelyn said her kids used to swim along with playmates at the river in the village located at the back of their school near their house.

The mother said her kids’ playmates seem unaware of their whereabouts until she learned the next morning that the bodies had been recovered.

In the 1991 disaster, the strong, gushing floodwater that overflowed to the city's commercial area during the flashflood came from Anilao River and claimed 4,992 lives and more than 3,000 missing. (Elvie R. Roa/PNA)

SAP Go leads opening of Malasakit Center in Southern Leyte

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Sept. 23 -- Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go on Saturday led the opening of Malasakit Center at the Southern Provincial Hospital that extends medical assistance to the underprivileged.

Go urged local officials to raise public awareness on the benefits of Malasakit Center, the second facility of its kind in the region next to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center.

It is the 7th Malasakit Center opened in the Philippines.

“Asking for financial assistance from different agencies is now just under one roof and you don’t have to queue since this is digital. This is to amplify President Duterte’s advocacy of streamlining government processes, especially the health services needed for the poor,” Go added.

He also turned over a PHP5-million check to support the local government’s hospital operation.

The center, which is housed at the provincial hospital in Dongon village, will prioritize senior citizens and persons with disabilities, but it is meant to assist all Filipinos, Go added.

The center is manned by staff of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. It makes a unified requirement system possible, aside from the unified, single-window application form.

The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas is the lead agency behind the project that is funded by the socio-civic funds of the Office of the President.

Southern Leyte Governor Christopherson Yap said he personally asked President Rodrigo Duterte during the Chief Executive’s visit here last July 2 to set up the facility for poor families that need health services.

Yap said the President told him he would discuss his request to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino.

“For people who have nothing, the center can really help them a lot if they seek for medical assistance,” Yap said. “Before we can position our self as economically viable to any market, we have to also take care of our human resources.”

To date, the program is available at the Philippine General Hospital, Davao, Cebu, Tacloban, Iloilo, Bacolod City, and Southern Leyte. (LAAA/PNA)

Duterte gov’t fights corruption in ‘Yolanda’ housing

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 22 -- The Duterte administration is firm in running after officials involved in multi-million-peso anomalies over the implementation of the community mortgage program meant for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda in this city.

On Friday, the Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) filed a case before the City Prosecutor's Office against officials of Brigham Estate Home Owners Association for failing to remit payments of thousands of housing beneficiaries, representing their monthly amortization.

The beneficiaries had a dialogue with Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy, who led SHFC activities here.

“The President is very concerned with housing projects since it has been five years after the disaster. While we file cases against corrupt officials, we have to work on completing housing projects,” Badoy said during the housing site visit.

Next week, the SHFC will file a case against Community Mortgage Program (CMP) community organizer Siony Sia and her cohorts in the SHFC for overpricing of land acquisition, non-remittance of payments, and illegal collection of fees from housing recipients.

“I am shocked because multi-million-peso funds are unaccounted (for). President Rodrigo Duterte wants to punish those behind this corruption activity. We hope to file cases within the year so we can take over these projects and complete these projects within the term of the President,” said SHFC Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling in a press briefing Friday night.

Cabling, a former councilor of Davao City, who handled the city council’s housing committee, said five SHFC lawyers have been coming to the city to gather evidences and talk to victims.

“We want to make sure the case is very tight because we really want to serve justice to ‘Yolanda’ victims. Let us fight corruption together as we work to strengthen the project to make houses truly livable, adequate, and inclusive for poor Filipinos,” Cabling said.

Aside from Brigham Estate in Bagacay village, the SHFC is also investigating six other housing sites, also handled by Mineland Shelter Foundation owned by Sia.

There are about 2,500 beneficiaries in these anomalous housing projects in the city, according to SHFC.

Sia, whose accreditation as mobilizer has been revoked by SHFC, cannot be reached for comment, but in earlier media interviews, she denied all accusations.

Under CMP, the SHFC buys the lot for accredited housing association members. The beneficiaries will pay to SHFC in more than two decades.

Under its loan entitlement, the SHFC raised the loan package from PHP165,000 to PHP250,000. Of the amount, PHP100,000 is for lot acquisition, PHP30,000 for site development, and PHP120 for housing materials.

The loan is payable in 25 years with a monthly amortization of PHP474 and at an annual interest rate of 6 percent based on the outstanding balance.

The community-based housing project is managed by the homeowners’ association, with a CMP mobilizer assisting the community associations in availing of the program for their lot acquisition, site development and housing fund assistance with the SHFC.

Cabling said SHFC has established measures to strengthen communication between the agency and the communities, through decentralization and streamlining of its processes to expedite shelter assistance to the underprivileged. (SQM/PNA)

PNP Region 8 renews call to rebels to surrender

PALO, Leyte, Sept. 21 – The Philippine National Police (PNP) regional office here renewed its call to communist rebels in Eastern Visayas (Region 8)  to surrender and avail of the government’s comprehensive reintegration program.

The PNP made the call after several members of New People’s Army (NPA) turned themselves in to local police stations.

“This is a manifestation that our policemen have been working and coordinating with the community for their safety and comfortable living,” said PNP Eastern Visayas Regional Director Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos in an interview Thursday.

Carlos assured rebel returnees that the government is ready to extend the enhanced comprehensive local integration program (E-CLIP) that comes with complete package assistance.

“Those who desire to abandon the armed struggle and aim to become productive members of society will certainly be provided with the benefits of E-CLIP that will pave the way for their new beginning,” Carlos said.

The assistance includes physical safety and security for them and for their family for three years while enrolled under E-CLIP.

The program is being carried out by local government units in coordination with the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

In the past two months, NPA rebels in Eastern Samar surrendered to the 2nd Eastern Samar Provincial Mobile Force Company (ESPMFC) headed by Chief Insp. Frederick Señal based in Quinapundan, Eastern Samar.

On July 31, Antonio Amadar, 80, finance officer of the NPA’s Artemio Command, yielded to authorities with caliber .45 pistol and ammunition.

After a month, the rebel group’s Efren Martires Command political instructor Jojo Gerillana surrendered to the same unit, yielding firearms and ammunitions.

Early this month, George Bolito Command political instructor Abe Labide showed up at the 2nd ESPMFC with a .357 magnum revolver and ammunition.

Last week, NPA team leader and intelligence officer Jovany Gerillana surrendered to the same unit.

Aside from safety, livelihood and housing assistance, former rebel members who avail of the E-CLIP may be reintegrated to the military service or by joining the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit. (RTA/PNA)