Cops, army assure no rights abuses in Samar

TACLOBAN CITY, Nov. 26  — Top officials of the police and the army in Eastern Visayas have assured their strict adherence to human rights, following President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to augment forces in Samar province to suppress “lawless violence” and acts of terror.

PNP Eastern Visayas officer-in-charge Senior Supt. Ariel Arcinas said in a press briefing on Monday that fighting human rights abuses is part of their job as they prevent the loss of innocent lives.

“The very reason why we have to augment forces in Samar is to protect human rights. We can assure the public that there is no violation of human rights. This is our guide in the implementation of law enforcement program,” Arcinas told reporters.

The official said they are still waiting for specific guidelines on Memorandum Order (MO) No. 32 signed on Nov. 22 by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Malacañang issued the directive amid the "sporadic acts of violence allegedly committed by lawless groups, particularly in the provinces of Samar, Negros Oriental and Occidental, and Bicol Region.”

Major General Raul Farnacio, commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division, reminded soldiers to “religiously” live the principles of human rights, international humanitarian law, and the rule of law.

“To the general public, rest assured that your Army will strictly adhere to the rules and procedures set forth by higher headquarters in the conduct of internal security operations in Eastern Visayas,” said Farnacio in a statement issued on Saturday.

“I urged the communities to be extra vigilant in reporting to the proper authorities the presence of suspected armed groups or individuals that will sow terror in their respective communities,” he added.

The memorandum, titled “Reinforcing the guidelines for the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police in the implementation of measures to suppress and prevent lawless violence,” has ordered the Department of National Defense and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to coordinate with each other in deploying the troops.

Arcinas expects that Samar will get augmentation force from the PNP national headquarters and the regional mobile force battalion.

“Everything is normal and manageable. The deployment of more personnel is part of the PNP’s regular program. The President wants to reinforce police and military presence to sustain peace in Samar,” he added.

The decision to supress lawless violence is justified, since it is based on intelligence reports received by the Office of the President from various intelligence and law enforcement agencies, Arcinas said.

Samar province has been a stronghold of the New People’s Army (NPA) due to the place's densely-forested mountainous areas, high poverty incidence, and issue of widespread landlessness based on a 2013 study of William Norman Holden of the University of Calgary in Canada.

The NPA launched its first tactical operation in the country in Calbiga, Samar in 1974, when its members ambushed an Army scout patrol and seized a number of weapons. In 1976, the NPA gained popular support among the inhabitants of Samar, following its actions against cattle rustling gangs.

The most recent encounter between the military and the NPA was on the night of Nov. 20 in Paranas, Samar. No one was hurt in the 10-minute gun battle. Soldiers recovered from the encounter site two improvised explosive devices, one rifle grenade, empty magazines, and empty shells.

Some areas in Samar province are threatened not only by the NPAs, but also by the presence of private armed groups allegedly supported by politicians. (SQM/PNA)

NHCP unveils marker for centuries-old church in Samar

CALBAYOG CITY, Samar, Nov. 26  – The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) unveiled on Sunday the marker for the 233-year-old Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral here.

Gracing the event were NHCP Chairman Rene Escalante, Calbayog Bishop Isabelo Abarquez, Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino, and Samar first district Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento.

The church will now be included in the list of the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property with the installation of the marker.

With the marker, the government has now the power and right to help or provide funds in the preservation and protection of the church, according to Escalante.

“We see this structure now not as the house of God but a national treasure, that becomes part of the history. The National Historical Commission is here to help if there are problems encounters in this structure,” Escalante said.

He cited as example the assistance given by the national government to the churches in Bohol and Cebu provinces damaged by a strong earthquake in 2013.

The government set aside more than PHP1 billion for the rehabilitation of 10 historical churches that were damaged by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Bohol and Cebu provinces on Oct. 15, 2013.

Escalante also said since the structure is now included at the Philippine Registry of Cultural Properties, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will now include it in the list of historical structures that they have to promote.

Bishop Abarquez, in his message, described the installation of the marker as a significant day for the Diocese of Calbayog.

“This is our contribution to the city’s 70th charter anniversary that could help in promoting tourism and to the development of the city. This is to remind the people that the city’s improvement is a blessing of God,” he said.

The church official noted that the Calbayog Cathedral is called as the mother of all dioceses in Eastern Visayas, being the first Cathedral to be established in the Samar and Leyte areas.

Prior to becoming a diocese, Calbayog was first a "visita" of Capul Island in the 1700s. In 1785, Calbayog was raised to parish status, almost two decades after the Jesuits left. In 1788, it had its first Franciscan pastor, Fray Benito del Carmen.

It was on April 10, 1910 by a decree of Saint Pope Pius X, when Calbayog was declared as Diocese after Samar and Leyte were separated from Cebu. (RTA/PNA)

Cyclists call anew for road safety in PH

TACLOBAN CITY, Nov. 26 - A group of clean air advocates is calling for stricter implementation of laws for the safety of bikers and pedestrians as they staged a biking event in this city Sunday night.

Firefly Brigade Philippines president Jack Yabut, who led the five-man riders from Baguio to Tacloban, said everyone needs to observe traffic rules for the safety of bikers and pedestrians alike.

“That’s the purpose of this ride. We are doing a trans-Philippine or trans-country ride connecting all the major island and all the major cities and towns and provinces and regions through biking. The Philippines is a beautiful country to travel to and every traveller has to be safe whether you are riding a car, motorcycle or bicycle,” Yabut added.

He urged authorities to strictly enforce road safety laws and provide infrastructure support to bicycle users like providing bicycle lanes.

“This is a concerted effort by all, not only from us, the advocates, but also from the motorists and the government to implement laws that will protect and safeguard the pedestrians and bikers,” Yabut said.

“These bicycle lanes do need to be a visible structure. It can also be an invisible bicycle lane like in Japan where giving bikers safe space in the road is already part of their culture,” Yabut added.

Providing bicycle lane is a big challenge, especially in urban areas, where spaces to expand roads are very limited, Firefly Connections Founder Lyndon Yeo said.

Yeo, along with fellow Singaporean Mervyn Chan, flew all the way from Singapore to Tacloban to join the first “Salubungan” (encounter) in Eastern Visayas.

“One of the biggest challenges is putting up a bike lane especially in big cities. There is always this sense of being safe when you are a cyclist. There is always this right of the motorists to think that the road belongs to them,” Yeo said.

Being healthy and physically fit is not the only benefit that biking gives but it also has economic, environmental, social, emotional and psychological benefits, Yeo noted.

More than 300 bikers joined the “Salubungan” event at the San Juanico Bridge as part of an intensified promotion of a safe zone for pedestrian and bicycle users.

Organized by the Firefly Brigade and Wetland International, the event attracted participants from Luzon. They started their biking journey from Baguio to Metro Manila last week before heading to Bicol region and crossed the sea to reach Eastern Visayas.

Joining their team at Allen port were biking enthusiasts from Northern Samar, who joined them in their journey to Tacloban City.

During the event, the lights of the bridge were turned off as the bikers crossed the iconic 2.2 kilometers bridge that connects the islands of Samar and Leyte.

Like firefly in the night, the blinkers of the bikes guided the bikers on their way to the Leyte side from the Samar side of the bridge.

After a day’s rest, the bikers will continue their journey south on Tuesday to Liloan port in Southern Leyte and cross the Surigao Strait to reach Mindanao - with Davao City as their final destination.

In Davao, the bikers will be meet by organizers, who will bike with them until they reach the Philippine Eagle Sanctuary.

Formed in 1999, Firefly Brigade citizen’s volunteer action group works for clean air and a habitable, people-friendly environment in cities in the country. (RTA/PNA)

Espenido back in Eastern Visayas

PALO, Leyte, Nov. 26 -- Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido, who led the government’s anti-drug war, is back in Eastern Visayas for a new assignment in Samar province, a regional official of the Philippine National Police (PNP) confirmed on Monday.

PNP Eastern Visayas officer-in-charge, Senior Supt. Ariel Arcinas said in a press briefing that Espenido has already reported to the regional office on Friday and attended the flag ceremony on Monday. The controversial official got his transfer order on November 20.

The police officer, one of President Rodrigo R. Duterte's key anti-drug enforcers, will be assigned to Samar police provincial office.

There have been reports that Espenido will head the Calbayog City police office. The city is known for election-related violence every poll season.

“Espenido’s return is a normal process in the PNP since he was previously assigned here. This is just normal for every police official. It just so happens that he’s popular,” Arcinas said told reporters Monday.

Espenido was the chief of police in Albuera, Leyte when the town's then Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was a drug suspect, was shot dead inside the sub-provincial jail in Baybay City in 2016.

He was transferred to Ozamiz the following year where then Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and 14 others linked to illegal drugs were killed in pre-dawn raids.

Last month, the PNP’s top leadership ordered his transfer as chief of police of Virac, Catanduanes.

The PNP also belied reports that policemen in the region signed a petition for Espenido’s return due to the alleged resurgence of illegal drugs in Eastern Visayas. (SQM/PNA)

DILG to launch barangay SGLG in 2019

TACLOBAN CITY, Nov. 24 -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will bring the much-coveted Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) down to the barangay (village) level next year.

The department has been developing the scheme for the village-level SGLG and it is ready for launch next year, said Assistant Secretary Marivel Sacendoncillo, who is also director of DILG 8 (Eastern Visayas).

“By conferring the seal on qualified barangays, we hope to see real decentralization practiced down to the grassroots,” Sacendoncillo said on Thursday.

Launched in 2014, the SGLG, which evolved from its predecessor the Seal of Good Housekeeping in 2011, is an award and incentive program for performing local government units.

It is based on the core areas of financial administration, disaster preparedness, social protection, and any of the essential areas -- business friendliness and competitiveness, peace and order, and environmental management, otherwise known as the "3+1" principle of the Seal.

Winners will get cash rewards, which will be used to develop projects in their communities.

The Commission on Audit (COA), according to the DILG official, will embark on a massive training of citizens to participate in the auditing process. Audit findings will help the central government identify if barangay officials are good in financial housekeeping.

“The hurdle is the audit since COA cannot conduct an audit in all villages of the country. The audit for villages is being done every three years and not all areas are covered. Remember that in the barangay level, many magic are happening,” Sacendoncillo said.

For 2018, the DILG conferred the SGLG award to only five local government units in Eastern Visayas – Salcedo and Sulat in Eastern Samar; Barugo, Leyte; Gamay, Northern Samar; and Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte. (SQM/PNA)