Samar political detainee gets temporary freedom

7/29/2019 Samar political detainee gets temporary freedom

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VOL. XXV NO. 030 SUNDAY JANUARY 20, 2013 P10.00 IN TACLOBAN

DAILY EXPRESSPOSITIVE l FAIR l FREE

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INSIDENEWS

weather

Sun and clouds mixed with a slightchance o thunderstorms during theafernoon. High 87F. Winds light

and variable. Chance o rain 30%.

news page 2

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FEEDING PROGRAM . Mrs Yedda Marie Romualdez (2nd right) (wife of Leyte 1st dist. Rep.Ferdinand Martin FM

Romualdez) assisted by son Marty (right) distributes nutritious porridge with chicken and egg to more than 800 children

during a feeding program at Barangay Cogon Palo Leyte yesterday. PHOTO BY VER S. NOVENO

We have been implementing the irst comeirst serve basis. here will be no special treat-ment. Everybody should line up even City Hallemployees, Cordao told reporters.

Section 90 o Ordinance 99-58 or the 1999Revenue Code o the City o acloban, ordersbusinessmen to renew permits and licenses dur-ing the irst 20 days o January. here was no

extension provided by the ordinance, she said.

T A C L O B A NCITYWell-knownpolitical prisonerand cultural workerEricson Acosta hasbeen released or themeantime rom Sa-mar sub-provincialjail in Calbayog City

aer a Samar trialcourt granted histemporary release.

Presiding Judge Fe-liciano Aguilar o theRegional rial Court,Branch 41 o CalbayogCity, granted Chie Pub-lic Attorney Persida Rue-da Acostas motion orhumanitarian reasonsor Acosta to be allowedtreatment at the special-ist kidney hospital.

Te court cited in itsorder Tursday, Jan. 17,the medical certicationo Dr. Erwin Ere, onthe urgency o the checkup and treatment at thesaid hospital owing to itscomplete acilities or bi-opsy and treatment.

In her maniestationcum compliance, Acostasaid there is an urgentneed or the 40- year oldpolitical prisoner to betreated owing to his kid-ney ailment.

Samar political detainee

gets temporary freedomBY REYAN ARINTO,Staff Writer

ACLOBAN CIY he City reasurerOice(CO) said that there will be no exten-sion o January 20, 2013 deadline or renewal obusiness permits and licenses, saying there wasenough time given to taxpayers to do such trans-actions.

City treasurer Zosima Cordao said that theKanhuraw Business Center is open this weekend

to accommodate renewals rom 15,000 businessoperators.

CTO: No deadline extensionor business permit renewal

to page 7

Unity Walk and

Prayer Rally or

SAFE 2013 to be

held today

DENR, DepEd to

orge agreement

on use o trees

afected by road

project

Road concret-

ing project in

Kananga town

commences

Davao eyed

or abaca

expansion

Ormoc mayor

lauds GIZ

for support to

city projects


2/8

2 Leyte Samar Daily Express NEWS Sunday, 20 January 2013

CAMP KANGLEON,Palo, Leyte In yet an-other eort to ensure apeaceul conduct o the

midterm polls, the PoliceRegional O ce 8 (PRO8)will spearhead an earlymorning unity walk inacloban City today, Sun-day, January 20, to high-light the governmentscampaign or a secureand air election on May13.

op government o-cials to be led by PoliceChie SuperintendentElmer Ragadio Soria, Re-gional Director o PRO8,Commission on Elections

regional director JoseNick Mendros, Interiorand Local Governmentregional director PedroNoval, Jr. will be joinedby heads o other govern-ment agencies and theiremployees, religious lead-ers, political party lead-ers, military, students,academe, civic groups,election watchdogs andother election stakehold-ers in a massive UnityWalk and Prayer Rally orSAFE 2013 in a show o

ull support in attaining asecure and air elections.

While PRO8 is cur-rently implementing ag-gressive police operationstargeting partisan armedgroups and loose re-arms, there is a great need

to seek Divine intervention,guidance and grace to en-sure a secure and air elec-tions, Soria said.

Te activity will comein the heels o the success-ul peace covenant signingin Samar last January 13 inCalbayog City with DILGSecretary Mar Roxas pre-siding that garnered sup-port rom the church andother election stakeholdersand signed by local can-didates seeking or dier-ent congressional and localelective posts.

Te top police o cialadded that activity will beconducted to portray the

signicant role that willbe played by the dierentstakeholders in the orth-coming elections as heurged the electorate to joinand support the event.

Tree walk groupswill assemble in designatedareas and will stride alongdesignated routes on theirway to the prayer rally to beheld at the Balyuan Amphi-theater.

Te Unity Walk Group 1composed o PRO8 contin-gent, representatives rom

the Commission on Elec-tions, National Police Com-mission, Department oInterior and Local Govern-ment, Region 8 Administra-tors League, Department oEducation, Department oBudget and Management,Department o Justice,

Philippine Drug En-orcement Agency andArmed Forces o thePhilippines will walkrom the Leyte Nation-al High School area

along Lino Gonzaga Ave.Te second group com-

posed o leaders and per-sonnel o Leyte Police Pro-

vincial O ce, Regionalraining School 8, Come-lec-Leyte, religious groups,academe, students, civicgroups, non-governmentorganizations and otherelection stakeholders willwalk rom the new LandBank o the Philippinesbranch along Real St.

Te third group com-prising o cers and meno the acloban City PoliceO ce, Comelec-acloban,Barangay Peacekeeping Ac-tion eams, barangay o-

cials, election watchdogs,other civic groups, academe

and students will convergeat the Leyte Lumberyardarea along Rizal Ave.

Leaders o various reli-

gious groups will lead theinter-aith prayer and bene-diction. Other highlights othe event are the lighting othe unity candle, recitationo the Voters Pledge, sign-ing o the Pledge o Com-mitment, and releasing odoves and white balloons tosigniy the united eort oall the participants towardsSAFE 2013.

Similar activities willbe simultaneously held inprovincial capitals in the

region, Soria said. (PINSPROMUEL A NACAR)

Unity Walk and Prayer Rally orSAFE 2013 to be held today

or a local peasant groupwhen he was captured.

Te court allowed histemporary release to un-dergo a medical check-upand treatment aer Acosta

visited him with a medico-legal consultant who con-rmed he is suering romnephritis, a conditioncharacterized by bloodin the urine, lower backpains, evers and painulurination and that no hos-

pital in Samar is equippedto treat Acostas condition.

tions.Acosta, who authori-

ties claimed, is a leadero the communist rebelsmovement, was arrestedin San Jorge town in Sa-mar and was detained or23 months at the Calbayogsub-provincial jail whilebeing tried by the GandaraRegional rial Court oncharges o illegal posses-sion o explosives.

His amily and support-

ers insisted he was doingvolunteer research work

tulano o the Samar sub-provincial jail o Baran-gay Carayman, CalbayogCity.

Pablo ariman, ather-in-law o Acosta, earliersought the assistance oAcosta or assistance orthe treatment and legal as-sistance o his son- in- law,who is detained at the Cal-bayog City sub provincial

jail as he has been com-plaining o urinary di cul-ties since July last year.

Former UP Colle-gian editor Acosta wasteary eyed when he wasinterviewed by media-men praising the eortso Acosta or his tempo-rary release, hoping thatother political prisonerswho suer rom seriousailments could likewisebe allowed treatment orhumanitarian considera-

Samar...from page 1

Ere said that detaineeAcosta suered rom mul-tiple instances o hema-turia, meaning blood inthe urine, since 2009. Healso suers rom bouts oblood in the urine accom-panied by lower back pain,high grade ever and pain-

ul urination or dysuria.He also stressed the

patients health condi-tion is precarious andrequires urgent conne-ment through diagnosticexamination, possibly in-cluding renal biopsy andother specialized anciliaryprocedures in a specialistkidney hospital.

Te court also orderedthat political detaineeAcosta should be escortedby jail o cer Jesus Os-


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LEYTE IRON SAND MINING

CORPORATION

JOB VACANCIES LEYTEASSIGNMENT

Mine Manager (2)

*Qualied applicants must be Licensed Mining Engineers.

*Minimum of ten (10) years work experience in a similar capacity*Possesses strong leadership and management ability to lead a team

of technical professionals*Effective communication and interpersonal skills

Processing Plant Manager (2)

*Qualied applicants must be Licensed Metallurgical Engineers.

* Minimum of ten (10) years work experience in a similar capacity*Possess strong leadership and management ability to lead a team of

technical professionals*Effective communication and interpersonal skills

Chemist (2)

*Qualied applicants must be Licensed Chemical Engineers

*Minimum of ve (5) years work experience, preferably in Mining

Industry*Must be keen and articulate into details

Motor Pool Chief Mechanic (2)

*Qualied applicants must be Licensed Mechanical Engineers

*Must have exceptional written and communication skills

Safety Engineer (2)

*Qualied applicants must be Engineering Course Graduate

*Must have extensive trainings/seminars from Safety Accredited

Agencies

*Minimum of three (3) years work experience*Must have exceptional written & communication skills

Safety Inspector (3)

*Qualied applicants must be College Level

*Minimum of one-two years (1-2) work experience*College Level or High School Graduate

*Can work with less supervision

Accounting/Admin Ofcer (2)

*Qualied applicants must be Accountancy Graduate, preferably

Certied Public Accountant

*Minimum of three (3) years work experience

HR/Admin Ofcer (2)

*Qualied applicants must be Psychology Graduate, preferably has

experience in Mining Industry

*Minimum of three (3) years work experience in a similar capacity

*Has an extensive knowledge in all facets of HR*Has a good analytical ability, very keen on details & can handle

pressures

Human Resource Department

Leyte Iron Sand Mining Corporation

Brgy. San Pedro, MacArthur, Leyte

(053) 535-0043 / 09173155363

Email Address: [email protected] or geraldinemdevera.

[email protected]

*Minimum of ve (5) years work experience in a similar capacity

*Must be analytical and proactive

Diesel Mechanic / Heavy Equipment Mechanic (3)

*Qualied applicants must be College Level or any equivalent training

course in TESDA*Minimum of ve (5) years work experience in a similar capacity

*Can handle pressure and can work with less supervision

Heavy Equipment Operator (3)

*Qualied applicants must be High School Graduate or any equivalent

training course in TESDA

*Qualied applicants must have a Drivers License with 1238 Restrictions

*Minimum of 2 years work experience in a similar capacity*Can work with less supervision

Procurement Ofcer (2)

* Male or Female, not less than 45 years old

*Graduate of any Engineering course but preferably BS Mechanical

Engineer

* Minimum of 2 years work experience in a similar capacity* Qualied applicants must have a Drivers License

* Can work with less supervision

Shipping Foreman (2)

*Qualied applicants must be four year course Graduate preferably Cus -toms and Administration* Minimum of three (3) years work experience*Must be keen into details and can handle pressuresCommunity Relations Ofcer (2)

*Qualied applicants must be a graduate of Environmentalist

*Minimum of two (2) years work experience

3Leyte Samar Daily ExpressSunday, 20 January 2013 NEWS

Leyte Samar Daily Express

ofers Digital Printing

Accept Printing:Election Campaign materials,

such as leafets, posters,

sample ballots and

other printing jobs.

Contact ALMA or AILEEN09062701817/09193272677

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ACLOBAN CIY An agreement betweenthe Department o En-vironment and Natural

Resources and Depart-ment o Education will beorged on the use o treesthat will be aected bythe United States-undedSamar road upgradingproject.

DENR Regional Di-rector Manolito Ragubsaid they have to makesure that the 7,739 treesthat will be removed romroad construction will beproperly accounted.

We should make a

noble cause out o this.Tis will be converted

KANANGA, Leyte- Close to our kilom-eters o arm-to-marketroad concreting projectin this town ociallystarted last January 15during the groundbreak-ing ceremony o the con-

creting o sitio Km. 14to sitio orrel, BarangayMasarayao arm to mar-ket road.

Te project is und-ed by Asian Develop-ment Bank (ADB) thruthe Agrarian ReormCommunities Project II(ARCP II). Te stretch

to school urniture orthe benet o students opublic schools especial-ly in Samar provinces,

Ragub told Leyte SamarDaily Express.

Te project will keepthe road right-o-way atnot less than 20 metersas specied by ExecutiveOrder No. 621. Te up-graded road will have aroad shoulder o 1.5 me-ters on both sides.

Ragub said that ortwo contract packages(CP) alone, they needP6.15 million as replace-ment cost that will be a-

ected by the 222-kilom-eter road rehabilitation

project.We will enorce the

rule that in every tree cut,it should be replaced with

100 seedlings, which willbe planted in dierentparts o Samar Island,Ragub said.

With the 7,739 treesthat will be cut, theDENR requires a 773,900replacement. Te depart-ment will still determinethe cost required in twoother CPs that are stillunder bidding process.

Te P6.15 millionrom the Department oPublic Works and High-

ways (DPWH) und orroad- right- o -way, will

cover compensations orCP1 with 236 aectedtrees and a unding re-quirement o P641,481

and 2,029 trees or CP3with replacement cost oP5.51 million.

Te $214.44 mil-lion road project covers15 towns in Samar andEastern Samar traversing134 villages with 23 kilo-meters crossing the Sa-mar Island Natural Park(SINP), a 458,700 hec-tares area, which hostsa total o 974 species oplant diversity.

Only ew o trees

along roadsides are natu-rally grown. Most o the

DENR, DepEd to orge agreementon use o trees afected by road project

trees were grown throughtree planting activities.Te natural orest coverwill still be intact, Ragubsaid.

Other than trees, theMCA-P disclosed that a

total o 9,169 structureswill be removed by the

entire project.Te most common

obstructions are ences,houses, stores, publicwaiting sheds, water au-cets, ramps, benches, ga-rages, balconies, doors,

driveways and pathways.(SARWELL Q. MENIANO)

Road concreting project in Kananga town commenceso the road concret-ing is 3.828 kms romthe national highway inKm 14 up to the amousQueen Pineapple Planta-tion in sitio orrel, Brgy.Masarayao in Kananga.Te total cost o the pro-

ject is P20,775,669.22Mayor Elmer Codil-la, Vice Mayor MacarioLumangtad Jr. and mu-nicipal ocials led thegroundbreaking ceremo-ny o the road concret-ing project. Joining themare personnel rom theDepartment o Agrarian

Reorm regional, pro-vincial and municipal o-ces, provincial agrarianreorm ocer Marlu Me-rin o PARSSO Leyte;Engr. Francis Diloy oCARPO/ BDCD-Leyte; provincial rural inra

specialist Engr. DaniloArtugue, provincial ruralinra Engr. Jojo Dalump-ines; regional environ-ment and social sae-guard Bong Fernandez;provincial environmentand social saeguard JoelPajares; CDD Coordina-tor Godoredo Pastor;

AED coordinator Ma.Matilde Vergara, mu-nicipal agrarian reormocer Evelyn Laurente.

Also present were mu-nicipal engineer ClaudioJao Jr. and Engr. JosephFrederick Pepito o JFAP

Construction and baran-gay ocials led by chairMarcos Cuizon.

Merin urged the lo-cal ocials and the com-munity to help maintainthe project so that it willserved its purpose evenor a long span o time.He lauded the support o

the Sangguniang Bayano Kananga that is in-strumental to the reali-zation o the project.

Vice Mayor Lumang-tad Jr. said that the con-creting o the road was

just only a dream. But the

persistence and determi-nation o Mayor Codillayield ruitul results.

Mayor Codilla, inhis message, said thatthe project was real-ized because o the sup-port o the barangay o-cials and land ownerswho donated portions

o their property or thesaid project. Te mayorsaid that beore the LGUwas hesitant to avail theARCP II project becauseo the 70% counterparto the local government,its a good thing that the

Oce o the Presidentthru the National Gov-ernment Assistance toLocal Government Unit(NGALGU) shoulderedthe 25% o the projectcost in order to helpLGUs. Tus the equityo the LGU is now at 40-

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Leyte Samar Daily Express OPINION Sunday, 20 January 2013

Q

EDITORIAL

Pass the FOI bill now

4

Leyte Samar

Chiz welcomes Comelec ruling on politicalairtime but sees internet ruling vague

to page 5

to page 5

Quidnuncs

Neighbor

chito dela torre

UICK and correct action. This is the best

and justly deserved path for the House of

Representatives to take on the Freedom of

Information (FOI) bill.

Slow and wrong. This is the worst and justly rea-

sonable judgment that Filipino voters would have

of the House members, most especially of those

seeking reelection in May 2013, should the FOI fail

to pass.Time, the dribble drivel in the House, and an Ex-

ecutive seemingly less than lame in his support for

the bill the odds seem stacked against the passage

of the FOI bill in the 15th Congress. This is even as

the Senate had passed its version of the bill on third

and final reading before Christmas last.

Only nine session days remain from Jan. 21,

when lawmakers return to work after a month-

long holiday break, to Feb. 6, 2013, after which

lawmakers will have another extended break and

plunge into election campaign mode. They will

have just three more session days in June in-

tended mainly for closing ceremonies, before

adjourning sine die to give way to the incom-

ing 16th Congress on June 30, 2013.

Failure by the incumbent House to pass the

FOI up to third reading, so it could be submit-

ted to bicameral action thereafter, in the com-

ing nine session days is certain death for thebill in the 15th Congress. Legislative work on

the bill will revert to step one yet again in the

16th.

This is why only quick, focused action to

pass the FOI bill is the absolutely correct path

for the 280-odd members of the House to take,

in their last nine session days before the elec-

tion campaign kicks off.

It avoids wasteful spending of scarce tax-

Senator Chiz Escudero

welcomed the Commission

on Elections (Comelec) ruling

shortening the airtime that a

political candidate may buy for

campaign ads, saying the move

would level the playing eld for

all candidates.

Those who have deep

resources will no longer lord

over the airwaves and leave thosewho have meager resources way,

way behind, Escudero said at

the Senates weekly Kapihan sa

Senado media forum.

At least no single candidate

can put one over the other in

terms of airtime. Its a fair

game for everyone, its a

welcome thing, he added.

But the senator also

sa id t he Come le c s

regulations on internet

campaigning remains a

vague issue, given the

innovative concept of the

internet technology.

Comelec Resolution

9615, which covers

the airtime acquisition

ceiling, said online

advertisement, whether

procured by purchase, or

given free of charge, shall

not be published more

than three times a week

per website during the

campaign period.

Cha i r ma n S ix to

Brillantes said online

election propagandaincludes ads posted on

social networking sites

such as Twitter and

Facebook.

E s c u d e r o s a i d

inte rne t r egula t ions


5/8

Leyte Samar Daily ExpressOPINIONSunday, 20 January 2013

Prayer for the Nation and

for Those who Serve in

Public Office

God, our Father, you guide every thingin wisdom and love. Accept the prayers we

offer for our nation; by the wisdom of ourleaders and integrity of our citizens, mayharmony and justice be secured and may

there be lasting prosperity and peace.Almighty and eternal God, You know the

longings of our hearts and You protect ourrights. In your goodness, watch over those

in authority, so that people everywhere mayenjoy freedom, security and peace.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus

Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns withyou and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever

and ever. Amen. (Courtesy of Daughtersof St. Paul)

Pray the Holy Rosary daily forworld peace and conversion of sinners

(The family that prays together stays together)

THE REVEALER OF GOD

Mortal eyes can see only those things that are mortal. For instance,you cannot see your own spirit; therefore, how can you behold its Crea-tor? When the spiritual eyes are opened, then surely you can see theone who is Spirit, and all spiritual realities as well. Who can open ourspiritual eyes to see God? It is Jesus Christ. We know that the Sonof God has come and has given us understanding to know him who istrue (1 Jn 5:20). St John the Baptist conrmed that Jesus Christ wassent by God to reveal him as he is, when he said to his own discipleswho complained about the baptism by Jesus, No one can receive any-thing except what is given him from heaven(Jn 3:27). It is Jesus whogives us not only the spiritual eyes to see God, but also a heart to ex-perience Gods presence. Take a piece of charcoal: however much youmay wash it, its blackness will not disappear; but let the re enter intoit and its dark colour vanishes. So also, when we receive the re of theSpirit of Christ, all the blackness of evil is driven away from our heartand thus we are able to experience Gods presence. How fortunate are

we who have been baptized by the re of Christ to be able to recognizeand experience the true living God! This gift of awareness of God is nott be hoarded and kept to ourselves. We are to share this gift with others.If people refuse to listen to us, we can still pray for them to the Father.(His Word is Life by Vima Dasan, S.J. published by Paulines. Visit usat www.paulines.ph or at Paulines Media Center, Real St., TaclobanCity. Tel. #321-3195)

Sowers Seeds: Saint Paul lays down a clear principle: Do younot know that your body is a member of Jesus Christ? And that yourbody is a temple of the Holy Spirit? +Blessed James Alberione,Founder of the Pauline Family

5

The Sower

Jueteng again on limelight

to page 7

Pass...from page 4

Ormoc Upside

Down

FIDEL D. BANZON

Since the time I could

already understand what

was happening around

me, the words anak ng

jueteng was the expres-

sion I often heard. I was

born in Los Baos, La-

guna, known those days as

home of hot springs.

My father was a consta-

ble with the rank of corpo-

ral. He was active chasing

collectors of jueteng num-

ber game.

I have written in the

past about the story of my

mothers uncle whom my

father caught worthy to

note. Mothers uncle asked

my father, Do you know

me? My father replied,

Yes. You are the uncle of

my wife.

He retorted, Why ar-

rest me?

I dont want you to be

a bad example to my chil-

dren.

Jueteng is not only re-

cent concoction of gam-

blers. It was already ex-

isting many years before

I was born. It is one game

even member of the law

enforcement agencies are

fond of betting. It is also a

source of funds for many

politicians and law enforc-

ers.

In mid 1950s, when Iwas the criminal inves-

tigator of the Police De-

partment in Los Baos,

seven of the 10-member

force was ordered by then

Municipal Mayor Genaro

Villegas Catalan to appre-

hend the participants in the

jueteng lottery at Barrio

Batong Malake.

That was the rst time

the drawing of numbers

was done in our town. Rea-

son? Their holding of the

draw in other municipali-

ties of Laguna was knownto the constabulary, hence

the transfer of venue. They

thought mayor of then

peaceful town will not

bother them and consent

their presence.

They were wrong be-

cause they were hauled to

Two number pair makes millionaires.

Same number use as scythe by the Devil.

the municipal building and

lectured by the mayor. The

mayor was not anxious to

le charges or had them

penalized. The gamblers

were released. They only

transferred from one town

to another within Laguna

province.

Why jueteng games

continue to exist? It is one

game poor people can af-

ford. Those who have noth-

ing in life are enticed with

the prize, though, only for

small amount compared to

the PCSO number games.

They prefer to bet in jueteng

because there are collectors

going around. Unlike the

PCSO betting stations with-

out collectors soliciting for

bets. It is the combined con-

venience and low bet price

that lures the poor bettor.

However, it is not only

the poor people, but those

from the middle class cast

their bet, too, for sheer fun

or trying lady luck.

To erase from the face

of the earth the game of

jueteng is impossible, like,

giving of money to vot-

ers on election. It could be

likened to the increase in

prices of commodities and

services that is impossibleto return the exchange of

U.S. dollar to Two Pesos.

Some suggest that

jueteng has to be legalized

to stop ofcials and law

enforcers from committing

corruption. It will even be

a source of tax. Some law-

makers are even suspected

of intentionally not enact-

ing a law to legalize jueteng

because of losing the source

of funds for election ex-

penses.

The lotto game was cre-

ated by law, is it moral? It isalso gambling, only legal-

ized.

By legalizing jueteng,

the Atimonan 13 incident

may no longer be repeated.

As long as jueteng exist

there will be more deaths,

not only deaths but source

of corruption will persist,

so they say.

As for me, whether or

not jueteng is legalized,

it is still immoral because

the principle laid down by

Christ Jesus to love your

neighbor no longer exists.When a person wins, it will

be for the chagrin of the los-

er who in a sense is a neigh-

bor. Understanding the

teachings of Christ mani-

fest that all forms of gam-

bling are from evil. (Feed-

back welcome, g_duna@

yahoo.com)

payers money on

legislative work that

often start and end

as mere verbal jousts

among lawmakers.

It is, most assured-

ly, also the right thingfor the House to do.

The FOI bill imple-

ments the state policy

of transparency and

accountability that

the Constitution we

Filipinos ratified in

1987 explicitly and

fully guarantees.

Passing the FOI

bill is thus a constitu-

tional obligation that

lawmakers have hadto fulfill, to do right

by all citizens, from

25 years ago.

Passing the FOI

bill is a public good

that trumps any and

all supposed private

concerns that a few

lawmakers claim are

the reasons why they

do not favor FOI and

insist on loading it

up with right-of-re-

ply (ROR) provision.

They have had, they

say, fallen victim to

negative reporting by

the news media.

Lawmakers that

they are, they must be

well aware of the Con-

stitutional principle

of a public office is a

public trust, the very

reason why the news

media and all citizens

must pry and probe,critique and censure,

and report news good

and bad about issues

and events vested

with public interest.

Libel laws, codes of

ethics, and self-regu-

lation mechanisms are

fully observed in most

news media agencies.

There are no reasons

that are writ in law for

these few lawmakers

opposed to the FOI to

now dangle ROR as a

precondition to their

vote. In this instance,

it is clear that to them,

ROR is truly just a

monkey wrench to kill

the bill.

We, the newspa-

pers, television net-

works, radio stations,

online and independ-

ent media agencies,

and citizen journal-

ists of this nation

state here and clearly

now our expecta-

tions of the House of

Representatives: Get

back to work, assurea quorum, pass the

FOI bill in your last

nine session days.

You have all prom-

ised and sworn to

serve by matuwid na

daan, transparency,

and accountability in

government, and we

expect nothing less

than clear, concrete

results on your prom-

ises.

It is election season

once more and you

are all likely to offer

more promises to get

elected. But before

we vote, we ask you

to finish your unfin-

ished business. Start

with one you swore to

deliver two decades

and a half ago: Pass

the FOI bill now.

too easy to look for ones

departing vehicle. It has

been a mess, a snarl, and

a snafu. It has seemed for

over a week that nobody

was looking into the

situation. Add to that the

noticeable presence ofsingle motorcycles whose

drivers do not wear the

required helmets, which

no traffic enforcer or

policeman cares about. All

these stink like the stink

which drivers and paying

passengers alike get every

time they get through the

market section at the HUC

boulevard area the awful

bad smell has been there

since before Christmas

2012.

V a r i o u s s e c t o r shave called it a the rst

controversial state for

year 2013 that Tacloban

think-tanks might have

jus t missed in their

oversight duty. For how

said

***

The main thoroughfare

at the Abucay new bus

terminal at Taclobanhighly urbanized city

is a constant sight of

congestion, since a week

ago, during rush hours on

afternoons. This needs a

quick review by whoever

is in charge of the trafc

there. This unwelcome

development resulted

after the city government

radically changed its

already smooth traffic

and terminal program

when it allowed the start

of the demolition of someexpensive structures inside

the terminal station where

buse s, jeeps and vans

used to park and wait for

paying riders. Commuters

have been placed in a

confusion. It is now not

have many loopholes,

and the Comelec has not

yet developed the corecompetence to provide

and dene standards for

its usage.

I t l e a ve s mor e

questions than answers.

How can Comelec monitor

it? For example, how do

they count the minutes

used by a par t icular

c a nd ida t e ? Wha t i f

someone uploads an ad

without the candidates

knowledge or permission?

Will that be counted

against his airtime? Whatif ill-meaning protagonists

will use this free uploading

just to discredit a political

rival? These are realities

that I hope the Comelec

will tread with caution and

consideration, Escudero

Chiz...from page 4


6/8


7/8

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7Leyte Samar Daily ExpressSunday, 20 January 2013 NEWS

Gothong Southern

Shipping Lines Inc. re-

cently celebrated another

milestone when one of its

vessels, bagged the top ti-

tle in the Bureau of Quar-

antines (BOQ) annual

search and recognition of

the Cleanest Vessel - Car-

go Category. M/V Don

Albino Sr. was declared

Cleanest Cargo Vessel for

2012 during BOQs re-

cently concluded award-

ing ceremony held at Sa-rossa International Hotel

and Residential Suites.

The annual awarding

led by BOQ, is aimed to

acknowledge the efforts

of shipping industries in

maintaining the cleanli-

ness of their ships which

is an imperative require-

ment of the ofce, as well

DAS4 Cleanest Vessel 2012(Cargo Category)

as DOH and the Maritime

Industry Authority (MA-

RINA).

Cebu Quarantine

Medical Ofcer, Dr. Phil-

bert S. Muga and Ms.

Rose L. Alegarbes, BOQ

Health Educator, gave

the award to the Master

of MV Don Albino Sr.,

Capt. Ronnie S. Osorio,

accompanied by Marine

Department Head, Ernie

M. Alix and GS HR Core

Services Head, Leolu S.Tagalog.

For the last ve years,

Gothong Southern has

been consistently rec-

ognized by BOQ for its

efforts to operate and

maintain a eet of cargo

vessels with standards

that surpass the maritime

industrys requirements.

It is mandated busi-ness owners renew theirpermits and licenseson the last day thatswhy we tapped our vol-unteers to somehowshorten waiting time.

Business ownerswho ail to comply withthe deadline will be pe-nalized with a 25% sur-charge and a 2 % inter-est per month, she said.

he Real Propertyax Revision 9 whichimposes 25% adjust-ment on real property

values , already took e-ect this year. Hence,she encouraged realproperty owners to

avail o the 20% maxi-mum discount by set-tling their tax paymentswithin this month.

he city govern-ment here has collectedP495.75 million o localtaxes in 2012, surpass-ing the annual target by18% with the remark-able surge in businesstax earnings. For 2013,the city government isaiming to collect 448.5million local taxes. (SAR-WELL Q. MENIANO)

CTO...from page 1

Engr. Jao said that theproject will be completedaer 120 calendar days.

Te said place wherethe road concretingproject is on progress,is included in the Dept.o ourism (DO), Ca-nadian InternationalDevelopment Agency(CIDA) destination/itinerary or the promo-tion o Northwest Leyteourism Alliance. Teroad is indeed leading toa major tourism destina-tion, which is the QueenPineapple Plantation inKananga, Leyte. (GERARDREYES)

mineral water owned byLarrazabal also sourcedtheir water in the samebarangay.

He said that his ad-ministration is morethan willing to enter intoa joint undertaking withnational agencies con-sidering that the LGUcan put up counterpartunds or the project. Hementioned the ongoingirrigation projects andother inrastructure pro-

jects in Kananga that hisadministration is work-ing hard to improve thedelivery o the services tothe people o Kananga.

45% o the project cost itwas learned.

Te mayor explainedthe importance o thesaid road not only tothe land owners whose

pineapple and sugarcaneplantations are located inthe barangay, but its sig-nicant role also to thelives o the residents andordinary olks.

Te sweetest pineap-ple which is the prideo Ormoc is in orrel,the mayor said, and the

Road...from page 3

often, from the Petron

vicinity at the national

highway in Basey, Samar

where Tacloban-boundBasaynons wait for buses

and vans from Borongan

and Guiuan (Eastern

Samar), we could only

take either Van-Van or

Duptours vans. The entry

of this transport service

of Grand Tours came as

an exhilarating relief.

Thank you, Grand Tours

management. Thanks a

lot, too, for your elegant

new terminal station at

Tacloban. Yours certainly

boosts greatly the tourismdrive in the Eastern

Visayas region.

***

I like your Christ, I do

not like your Christians.

Your Christians are so

unlike your Christ.

Mahatma Gandhi

***

Ka Chito

services in Region VIII

deserves another feather

to its cap. After opening

routes to Ormoc City,Catarman in Northern

Samar and Calbayog

City, expanding operation

which used to be only

be tween Catba logan

(Grand Tours base

located in Samar) and

Tacloban, now it regularly

serves the riding public

want ing conveyance

to and from Borongan

City. I discovered this

for myself only one late

evening this week as I

waited for a ride backto Tacloban. The Grand

Tours van came at about a

few minutes after 7 p.m.,

and as I disemabarked

from it a t Tacloban

already, the driver told me

that the route was plied

rst early last November,

2012. I had not known

tha t be f o r e . M os t

long this will remain, no

one at the terminal stationcan offer a guess. Perhaps

mayor Alfred Romualdez

is not informed about this

perplexity there.

A joke said, though,

these problems would be

naught once the terminal

and the market are closed,

and thoroughly studied

for excellent, perpetual

remedies.

***

Hats off to Grand

Tours! : By the way,

Grand Tours transport

Chiz...from page 5


8/8

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8 Leyte Samar Daily Express NEWS Sunday, 20 January 2013

ORMOC CIY Te mayor o this citylauded the German In-

ternational Cooperation(GIZ) on providing as-sistance on the imple-mentation o variousprojects intended or thewelare o the Ormocan-ons.

Mayor Eric Codilla,in an interview withLeyte Samar Daily Ex-press, revealed that GIZprovided technical sup-port to some ve o theprojects initiated by the

city government.Codilla said theseprojects include thestreamlining o busi-ness permits, the con-struction o the sanitary

HE Departmento ourism (DO) has

ailed to meet the 4.6million target touristarrivals in 2012.

Tere were only4,272,811 oreign tour-ists who went to thePhilippines last year,9.07 percent higherrom the 3,917,454tourists who came herein 2011, the DO said.

Te agency did notcite the reason why itailed to achieve its tar-

get o 4.6 million tour-

landll, putting up ofood mitigating control,construction o solar

dryer and the conduct otrainings or rescue anddisaster assistance.

he oicial pointedout that GIZ extendedassistance to the citygovernment or they areaware that the adminis-tration is making its bestto implement projectsthat would help the liveso their constituents.

GIZ help us in tech-nical aspect by means o

conducting trainings toteach the community ina certain topic like dis-aster preparedness. Weare proud to say that theassistance that they pro-

vided s imply is the ruito the good governancewe have, he said.

he local govern-ment unit always makesure that every projectsassisted by the GIZ areproperly implementedand given value, orthem not to be tiredon helping us, Codillaadded.

Furthermore, thechie executive said thatwith the cooperation andsupport o GIZ, the citygovernment enables to

address and give back tothe people the necessarythings that they supposedto receive rom theirelected public o cials.(REY GERILLA GRADO)

Ormoc mayor lauds GIZ

for support to city projects

ists, but the data showedthat arrivals rom China

signicantly declined,rom a high o 42,868in January last year to17,360 in December.

But comparing to2011 volume o 243,137arrivals, total tourist ar-rivals rom China in2012 showed a moder-ate increase o 3.19 per-cent to 250,883 visitors,the DO said.

China was the ourthbiggest source o arrivals

last year, it added.

Relations between thePhilippines and China

have been aected bythe territorial row. Ma-nila has been claimingparts o the South ChinaSea, while Beijing says itowns practically the en-tire area.

Korea continues tobe the countrys larg-est visitor market with1,031,155 arrivals, ac-counting or 24.13 per-cent share o the total

visitor volume, the our-

ism department said.Te said market rose

by 11.45 percent romits arrivals o 925,204 in2011. Another recordwas achieved by the tour-ism industry as it is therst time that a sourcemarket o the Philippines

reached its 1 millionthvisitor, it added.

Record shows thatall major markets othe country registeredgrowth in arrivals, DOsaid.

Following the Ko-rean market, the UnitedStates market constitut-ed 15.27 percent o thetotal inbound tra c byproducing 652,626 visi-tors to the Philippines.

Tis gure is up by 4.50percent rom 624,527 in

2011.Japan which provided

412,474 visitors was thethird biggest source otourists in the country,ollowed by China.

Next to China was

aiwan registering216,511 arrivals, ol-lowed by Australia with191,150 tourists.

Other markets withsubstantial contributionto the overall visitor ar-rivals include Singaporewith 148,215 arrivals,Canada with 123,699 ar-rivals, Hong Kong with118,666 arrivals, UnitedKingdom with 113,282and Germany with

67,023 arrivals, DOsaid.(SUNNEX)

Tourism departmentmisses target in 2012

Documents

Samar political detainee gets temporary freedom