TACLOBAN CITY- The Mount Nacolod is emerging as the next major ecotourism destination here in the region, a report from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regional office 8 (DENR-8)said. DENR-8 Regional Director Leonardo Sibbaluca said that Mount Nacolod, located in Southern Leyte, is rich in biodiversity and one of the 228 key biodiversity areas in the Philippines.

The area has very high potentials for ecotourism, he added. Sibbaluca said that Mount Nacolod with an area approximately 14,000 hectares was declared as a forest reserve on November 25, 1996 by Proclamation No. 121 covers the municipalities of Silago, Saint Bernard, Hinunangan, Libagon, and Sogod in Southern Leyte and Mahaplag and Abuyog in Leyte. The DENR-8 head said that Mount Nacolod hosts Buac Watershed Forest Reserve and Hinabian-Lawigan Watershed Reservation which are the two significant watersheds of Southern Leyte, he added.

Sibbaluca said that the biodiversity assessment revealed that various endemic species are present in the area.  The study which was conducted in 2011 covered both the flora (plants) and fauna (animals) in the area, he added. Sibbaluca claims that research disclosed that Mt. Nacolod is rich in flora wherein there were 65 families and 229 species of flora identified in the area. Also, there were 112 species of birds belonging to 42 families were recorded during the study period.

Sibbaluca said that the most interesting is the discovery of the two new species of frogs known to inhabit the montane and mossy forests of Mount Nacolod. The two new species of frogs which belong to the genus Platymantis, only found in Mount Nacolod, were nationally unveiled at the Marble Hall of the Museum of the Filipino People last April 17, 2012. (RESTITUTO A.CAYUBIT)

CARIGARA, Leyte- If you have done nothing wrong, there is nothing to fear.
This was the reaction of Mayor Eduardo “Boy” Ong of this town as President Rodrigo Duterte has named several elective officials, among others, as either directly involved or serves as protectors to those in the illegal drug trade.
Ong, who has just won his second term as mayor of this town, said that he fully support the campaign of Pres. Duterte to end the proliferation of the illegal drug activity in the country.
“If you have done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to fear but if you have made a mistake, admit it,” he said.
The name and shame campaign of the President, however, is being criticized by some groups.
In the region, among those mentioned by the President who are allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade were Laoang Mayor Hector Ong and his wife, Madeleine, herself a former mayor and governor of Northern Samar and the late judge Roberto Navidad of Calbayog City.
Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his son, Kerwin, were tagged by the President as the top drug lords in the region.
The President has ordered the immediate revocation of police supervision from the mayors and licenses of policemen were cancelled tagged as such.
According to Mayor Ong, the surveillance made by the government itself does not threaten privacy unless they uncover illegal activities.
Mayor Ong said that they are intensifying their campaign against illegal drugs and those behind it.
“We will pay extra attention to drug suspects who have arrest warrants issued against them,” he said.
Since the local police in coordination conducted “Oplan Tokhang” in Carigara, about 350 drug users voluntarily surrendered.
“The situation is very good now though we must maintain a high level of awareness in our crackdown on (illegal) drugs,” Ong said.
(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)

ORMOC CITY- At least eight luxury vehicles, a jet ski and a speed boat belonging to Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and son Rolan or Kerwin were surrendered voluntarily to the police by the family’s trusted aides.
Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido, town police chief, said that Mayor Espinosa instructed one Chona Milan to hand over to the police seven luxury cars, two jet boats and a single motorcycle that were parked at one of their three houses in sitio Tinago, Barangay Binulho.
Milan, accompanied by barangay councilor Jun Pepito, turned over a Toyota Hilux 3.0 D4D with plate number HBC 184; black Frontier Navarra YKA 275; white Toyota HiAce AAH 7451; Fortuner ABA 6123; black Ford Ranger AXA 6430; Red Toyota YEN 445; and green Suzuki multi cab ANA 2447.
Also turned over were 230 Challenger speed boat, RXP 260RS Jet Ski (Rotax) and a single motorcycle.
Also on Monday(August 8), Cipriano Diano, 43, and Ryan Labandria, 21, both neighbors of Kerwin appeared at the station and surrendered a silver metallic Toyota HiAce Commuter with plate number AAX 9208.
They also surrendered a weighing scale for illegal drugs allegedly owned by Kerwin, said to be the region’s number one drug lord.
Espenido claimed that the vehicles were “fruits of illegal drugs” activity of the Espinosas.
Milan is a resident of Brgy Linao, this city, and said to be the contractor of an unfinished poultry project of the Espinosas located in their village.
Diano was said to be the driver of the Espinosa family.
Espenido disclosed that the Highway Patrol Group is currently verifying the records if these are hot cars. (ELVIE ROMAN ROA)

TACLOBAN CITY – A prisoner was killed when police operatives raided the Leyte Regional Penitentiary in Abuyog, Leyte early Thursday (August 11), the Philippine National Police (PNP) regional office reported.
Police identified the fatality as Edgar Allen Alvarez. He was shot to death while attempting to fight the raiding team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Regional Anti-Illegal Drug Special Operations Group, Regional Public Safety Battalion, and the Regional Maritime Unit.
“During the implementation of the search warrant, subject lobbed a grenade at the raiding team. However, it did not explode. Subsequently, Alvarez drew a caliber 45 pistol and fired upon the raiding team,” Chief Insp. Maria Bella Rentuaya, spokesperson of the PNP-8 said.
This prompted the police to return fire, killing the suspect, according to Rentuaya.
Rentuaya said that recovered during the initial search were one unit caliber 45 pistol, one unit caliber 38 revolver, one big pack dried marijuana leaves and undetermined volume of suspected shabu.
The police raided the prison facility around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday after it was tagged as one of the sources of illegal drugs of notorious drug lord Kerwin, son of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr.
When the elder Espinosa surrendered to PNP Chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa last week, he disclosed that his son gets supply of illegal drugs from the penitentiary in Abuyog town.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO)