Party-list group thanks supporters, pledges help for Eastern Visayas despite losing the polls

TACLOBAN CITY, May 20 (PNA) - First time party-list group, Tingog Sinirangan failed to secure a seat in the House of Representatives on the May 9 elections but it vowed to continue in helping Eastern Visayas and carry the voice of its people in whatever opportunity it can.

“We will never give up and we will continue to fight for you and with you,” Jude Acidre, first nominee of Tingog Sinirangan, said.

Tingog has envisioned to uplift Eastern Visayas, identified as the poorest region in the country.

Acidre said the group "hoped for the opportunity to serve our region through the party-list system and lead our people towards a stronger vision of regional development."

"But while we may have lost this election - we gained much more than we expected - a better understanding of our region and its people, a closer appreciation of the challenges that beset us and a more determined will to do whatever we can to bring change, hope and progress to this region we call home,” he said.

Acidre said the group is "even more so thankful to everyone who voted for us - especially in the city of Tacloban; to all our leaders and supporters and everyone who believed in us. We are thankful to our party leadership and campaign donors."

“Thank you for your support, prayers and inspiration. Thank you for welcoming us to your homes and communities. Thank you for allowing us to share our ideas and aspirations. In everything, we thank the good Lord for the blessings of the past months,” he said.

Acidre also expressed his personal thanks to outgoing Leyte 1st district Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who also ran in the senatorial race.

Tingog’s other nominees are young entrepreneur and sports advocate Daciano David Palami, lawyer and humanitarian worker Sharilee Angela Gaspay-Mauro.

“We are very proud of our very hardworking campaign staff, who generously gave their all to see a vision come close to reality; to our families and friends who stood by us in all the ups and downs; to our political allies and partners who readily embraced us; to the civil society groups and faith communities who made us even more confident about the relevance of our mission; to our friends in the media - we can never be thankful enough,” Acidre said.

He also apologized for any offenses he had caused to others, whether said or done amidst a very heated campaign.

“Tingog will continue to do its best to serve Eastern Visayas in whatever capacity and opportunity that we will have,” he said. (PNA)
JSV/SQM/ROR/EGR

PNP-Eastern Visayas to set up action centers near school

TACLOBAN CITY, May 20 (PNA) - The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Eastern Visayas will activate police action centers near schools and other public places in preparation for the opening of new academic year on June 13.

Sr. Supt. Eleazar Egloso, chief of Regional Police Community Relations, said city and town chiefs of police and station commanders were asked to set up police action centers where the public could seek help in case of emergency.

Egloso said that police officials are also asked to enhance visibility in schools, bus terminals, commercial establishments and crowded places in the city to ensure the safety of students and the public.

A police help desk will be put up in every school to provide immediate assistance to students, parents and teachers and prevent crimes inside the campus.

Egloso asked students, parents and teachers to be vigilant and to immediately report any security threats to the police.

Meanwhile, the Traffic Operations, Management, Enforcement and Control Office in this city will deploy more traffic enforcers on major streets to help ease possible traffic congestion during opening of classes. (PNA)
ZST/SQM/JAZMIN BONIFACIO/EGR

Richard Gomez vows to be a ‘good mayor’ of Ormoc

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, May 20 (PNA)-- Actor Richard Gomez, the mayor-elect of this city vowed to make a difference to improve the city’s peace and order situation, attract investments and develop local tourism.

Gomez, who won in the May 9 elections in his second attempt to lead the city, believed that these programs will create more livelihood opportunities to locals.

For his part Carmelo Locsin Jr. the re-elected vice mayor, is happy that Gomez won because their visions are similar.

Gomez thanked the people of Ormoc for uniting behind him and Locsin. The actor’s wife got a fresh term as representative of Leyte’s 4th district.

He called on public’s cooperation, saying that “there are a lot of things to do and that he would need the help of everybody.”

Gomez also vowed to sustain whatever good programs and projects started by his rival, incumbent Mayor Edward Codilla.

Gomez is set to meet with Codilla’s team for a smooth transition of leadership.

Ormoc, an independent component city, is a home to 191,200 Bisaya-speaking people. It is the economic, cultural, commercial and transportation hub of western Leyte. (PNA)
PGL/SQM/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA/EGR

An Waray party-list to elevate seats allocation case to Supreme Court

TACLOBAN CITY, May 20 (PNA) – The An Waray party-list will file a petition before the Supreme Court seeking the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to adopt a “supplemental formula” to ensure a proportional allocation of seats for party list winners.

Lawyer Raoul C. Creencia, the party list second nominee said that through modified formula, one seat is equivalent to 1.69 percent of the total votes cast for partylist, which will entitle An Waray two seats in the House of Representatives.

“Despite our efforts, we failed to convince the Comelec to judiciously assert its mandate and adopt a supplemental or modified formula to ensure a proportional allocation of seats. We believe that a formula consistent with the four inviolable parameters set by the Supreme Court should have been adopted to prevent the disproportionate distribution of seats,” Creencia said.

Creencia argued that Gabriela party-list with 1,376,795 votes only got 2 seats, while Agbiag party-list with 240,723 votes got one seat. “Doing so would have been more in keeping with the spirit and intent of the (party-list) law.”

In the case of An Waray, the group garnered 590,895 votes or 1.825 percent of the votes cast for party-list. The group was allocated with one seat in Congress as proclaimed by the poll body on Thursday. The first nominee is incumbent Rep. Victoria Noel.

In the allocation of the 59 seats for party-list representatives, the poll body used the formula provided by the Supreme Court based in its ruling on the Banat versus Comelec case in 2009.

Under the “Banat formula”, the participating party-lists shall be ranked from the highest to the lowest based on the number of votes they garnered during the May 9 polls before undergoing two rounds of allocation of seats.

The modified formula proposed by An Waray was to divide the total number of votes cast in the party-list system by the votes obtained by the party-list group.

The group cited a 2009 decision by Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, which laid down a three-stage formula for allocation of seats for winner party-list groups.

In the first stage, the first seat is given to parties that obtained a minimum of two percent of the total votes for party-list.

In the next stage, the parties get one additional seat or two seats based on the allocation of the remaining seats. The process goes on to a third stage if there are still seats left to fill the 20 percent allocation.

“We will not stop here. We will bring the case to the Supreme Court because we really want Eastern Visayas to have more representations in the 17th Congress,” he added.

The party list is a system provides better representation of marginalized sectors, as well as groups without "well-defined constituencies," in the House of Representatives.

The Constitution allots to the party list 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives.

In 2013, the Region 8-based party-list won two seats in Congress after earning 540,000 votes. (PNA)
RMA/SARWELL Q. MENIANO

Week-long celebration to honor Region 8 farmers, fishers

TACLOBAN CITY, May 20 (PNA) -- The Department of Agriculture regional office here is all set to honor the region’s farmers and fisherfolks through a week-long celebration on May 23-27 anchored on the theme: “Panibagong Yugto, Tuloy na Pagbabago.”

The opening ceremony on Monday will feature a motorcade along the city’s major streets, followed by a mass, opening program, ceremonial opening of the Agri-Aqua Fair and Machineries Exhibit and the kick-off seminar series (Episode 1) highlighting the agency’s milestones and accomplishments under the Aquino administration.

The seminar is a presentation of the results of the agri-stakeholders’ technical forum, and gender and development (GAD) consultation meeting.

The exhibit, including the seminar series, will continue on the second day until May 27. This will be held at the DA regional office compound.

The public is invited to join in the seminar series and patronize the various products on sale during the week-long exhibit.

On Tuesday, the seminar series (Episode 2) will feature topics on urban agriculture, corn and cassava cluster development, cacao and coffee industry prospects, launching of the broadcast course on rice farming in adverse conditions, and GAD orientation.

Meanwhile, Wednesday, the third day seminar series will feature meat processing, demonstration on the straw and oyster mushroom culture and cultivation, lecture and demonstration on rice crop 

manager (RCM), and lectures on Philippine rice information system, rice data and information, site specific nutrient management and strengthening of the local farmer technicians in Region 8.

The seminar series (episode 4) will continue on Thursday with discussions on the ASEAN Economic Community, Philippine National Standards (PNS) on food safety and the proper handling of agricultural products and the certification process on good agricultural practices (GAP)/ organic farming practices.

The fifth and final day will be capped with a joint closing ceremony of the exhibit and the Gawad Saka awarding ceremonies where Agri-Aqua Fair winners and this year’s 27 Regional Gawad Saka Achievers in agriculture for 12 categories will be given certificates of recognition and cash awards.

This will be held at the Leyte Academic Center Gymnasium, Palo, Leyte. A fellowship night will wrap up the week-long affair. (PNA)

FFC/SQM/PR/EGR