TACLOBAN CITY- Two administration senators backed on the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
And both Senators Cynthia Villar and Koko Pimentel believes that there would be no fallout with the Philippines’ withdrawal from the said international tribunal.
According to Villar, investors are not really concern whether the country is still part of the ICC but more on its economic fundamentals.
“Alam mo yung mga investors, tinitingnan nila ang GDP growth; kung tayo ay may recession. Kasi kapag may recession tayo, matatakot sila. Pagbumaba ang GDP growth, matatakot sila hindi yung (withdrawal from) ICC,” Villar said on Tuesday (March 19).
Sen. Villar added that there is nothing to worry on this move of the President saying that all the courts in the country remain functional where complaints that may involve government instrumentalities or officials could be lodged.
For Sen. Pimentel, there should not be an issue on the decision of Pres. Duterte to withdraw from ICC considering that even the world’s super powers like the United States is not part of the ICC.
“Let it be. The President has decided to withdraw. Let’s honor his decision,” he said.
“Sa tingin ko wala naman epekto sa atin yan.Ang malalaki at progresibong mg bansa gaya ng United States, India, Russia and China hindi naman ICC members,” Pimentel said.
He also said that the move to withdraw from the ICC does not need any Senate concurrence.
“Ang Senate, approval sa pag-sali pero sa pagkalas, nandon na mismo yung proseso sa treaty,” Pimentel said.
For Governor Imee Marcos, another ally of the administration who is running for senator under the Hugpong ng Pagbabago, she feel it was just right for the President to withdraw from the ICC.
“Sabi ni Presidente, we are a sovereign nation. Dapat walang makikiaalam sa atin.I think, we are within our rights to do that,” Marcos said.
She also said that investors will continue to come to the country as the Philippines is now considered as among the world’s prime investment destinations.
“We are doing well economically. Ang taas-taas ng growth rate natin so there is no reason why the investors will not come here,” Marcos added.
The Hugpong ng Pagbabago conducted their grand political rally here at the city held at the Tacloban Convention Center attended by police estimate crowd of 15,000 people.(JOEY A. GABIETA/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
Senator Villar, Pimentel back President Duterte’s decision PH withdrawal from ICC
Sec. Dino launches ‘Malasakit Center’ at the Samar Provincial Hospital
Gov. Tan expresses gratitude to Pres. Duterte
TACLOBAN CITY- The provincial hospital of Samar became the 33rd health facility in the country to have its own ‘Malasakit Center.’
On Tuesday (March 19), Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino led in the opening of the Malasakit Center and joined by provincial officials led by Governor Sharee Ann Tan and personnel of the said hospital led by its chief of hospital, Dr.Kathrine Faith Tabuan.
Gov.Tan, for her part, expressed her gratitude to President Duterte and his close aide, former special assistant to the President (SAP), Christopher ‘Bong’ Go for putting up the Malasakit Center at the Samar Provincial Hospital.
“We are thankful to President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte through the efforts of former Secretary Christopher “Bong” Go for choosing to open this one-stop service center for all government agencies which cater to patients in government hospitals for financial assistance in our province,” she said.
Dino, representing Go, said that the opening of the Malasakit Center would be of great help to the people of Samar province, particularly the poor.
“Finally, through the efforts of our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, our brothers and sisters here in Samar Provincial Hospital will get to enjoy cheaper – if not – free medical services,” he said on his speech during the opening of the Malasakit Center.
The Malasakit Center at the Samar Provincial Hospital is the 10th in the Visayas and the 4th in the region.
Sec.Dino said that since its inauguration, the Malasakit Centers have extended assistance to more than 100,000 patients with the administration of Pres. Duterte providing P300 million assistance.
Dino said that with the opening of the Malasakit Center at the Samar Provincial Hospital, which is located in Catbalogan City, people would no longer have to worry of going to different government offices just to seek medical or financial assistance for their clients confined at the said hospital.
“All government agencies which offer financial help related to hospitalization such as Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), (and) Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) will now be under “one roof” so that our dear patients will no longer spend time, money, and effort going to different agencies to avail,” he said.
During the inauguration of the Malasakit Center, Sec. Dino turned over a check worth P5 million to Gov. Tan to be used as initial funding of the center.
Gov. Tan handed the financial assistance to Dr. Tabuan.(JOEY A. GABIETA with ROEL T.AMAZONA)
Gov. Imee Marcos declares support on Tingog party-list but welcomes An Waray backing
TACLOBAN CITY-As Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos courted the voters here in the region, she find herself in a bind.
And it has to do what party-list group she will endorse or support.
Both An Waray and Tingog party-list groups have thrown their support on the senatorial bid of Marcos.
Her name and face could be seen in the tarpaulins of both party-list groups.
An Waray is the first party-list group in the region which has former congressman Florencio Noel as its first nominee.
Meanwhile, An Tingog has Leyte Rep.Yedda Marie Romualdez as its first nominee.
Romualdez is the wife of former congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, nephew of former first lady Imelda Marcos, mother of the senatorial aspirant.
“Actually, kami lahat nahihirapan sa local politics. There are so many issues sa local politics. Ngayon, pumasok pa ang party-list,”Marcos said during an interview as she joined the Hugpong ng Pagbabago team on their campaign in the region on Tuesday (March 19).
Marcos said that both An Waray and Tingog are supporting her senatorial bid.
“Both party-lists are helping me naman. So it’s very hard to take sides. But we are also campaigning for Yedda,” Marcos said.
Marcos tries to downplay the issue by saying that both party-lists are running to help promote the welfare of the people of the region.
“So we really need to help each other,” Marcos said.
She said that she also meets with governors of the region who are not politically allies of the region and their family.
Marcos, for one, has met with Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, considered the bitter political rival of the Romualdezes in the province, and former governor of Northern Samar Paul Daza, son of outgoing Rep.Raul Daza, a known critic of her father, former strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
Comelec places N. Samar town as election hot spot
Lope de Vega is the lone area in EV in the list
TACLOBAN CITY- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has placed the entire town of Lope de Vega in Northern Samar under its watch list area relative to the conduct of the May 13 elections.
Lawyer Felicisimo Embalsado, Comelec assistant regional director, said that the town was placed under its category ‘red’ hot spot.
The Comelec places an area under its category red hot spot if an area has a history of political violence and with strong presence of armed and rebel groups.
The poll body uses color in identifying areas of concern relative to the May 13 elections with color red as the most ‘critical.’
“The red color is the highest one,” Embalsado said.
Lope de Vega is the only area in the region which was placed under the red category joining the entire Mindanao Island and Abra province.
Embalsado said that with the placing of Lope de Vega under the red category, the poll body together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP) and the Philippine National Police(PNP) will give their focus to the said area.
This way, conduct of the elections at Lope de Vega would not be hampered with the voters exercising fully their rights of suffrage or whom they want to become their leaders, he added.
Embalsado added that the possibility of providing additional presence of soldiers or police to Lope de Vega with its placing as a critical poll area, is high.
“It’s possible that its security force will be augmented,” he said.
The Comelec assistant regional director said that their office as well as the PNP and the AFP, through the 8th Infantry Division, will have their joint meeting as part of their security preparation to ensure that the conduct of elections in the region will be peaceful and orderly.
He said that they are also conducting coordination with the Church, adding that the PNP in particular has a campaign dubbed as ‘Usap’ or Ugnayan ng Simbahan at Pulis.
Meantime, in Calbayog City, about 152 firearms were presented by the Samar police provincial headquarters to Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, police regional director.
The firearms were voluntarily surrendered by some politicians and civilians to the police authority.
Samar police provincial director Senior Supt. Dante Novicio said that the measure will help in making sure that the conduct of elections in Samar will be peaceful and orderly.
“Now that these firearms are with us, we can be assured that these will never be used in illegal activities,” Novicio said.
“We will take away the possibility that these people will use these firearms in violence this coming election,” he added.
Police Regional Director Chief Supt.Carlos, in his message during the event, gave an assurance to the candidates and the public that they will make sure that the coming election will be peaceful.
“This measure that the police is undertaking is to ensure that come elections day we will have less risk factors,” Carlos said.
BY: JOEY A. GABIETA, ROEL T. AMAZONA
Leyte tops rice production in Eastern Visayas for the 2018 4th quarter
TACLOBAN CITY – The province of Leyte produced the high volume of palay in Eastern Visayas for the fourth quarter of 2018, a report from the regional office of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Wilma Perante, PSA regional director, told Leyte Samar Daily Express in an interview said that among the provinces, Leyte produced the highest volume of palay at 151,805 metric ton(MT) which comprised more than half (52.2 percent) of the total palay production in the region.
Eastern Samar, meanwhile, had the lowest volume of production (17,946 MT) accounting for only 6.2 percent.
Perante reported that the palay production of the region slightly decreased to 290,871 metric tons (MT) in the 4th quarter of 2018 from 293,419 MT in the 4th quarter of 2017, a decline by 0.9 percent.
“Decreases were observed among all provinces, except in Samar and Leyte, which posted increases at 17.0 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. Northern Samar recorded the highest decrease in production by 35.8 percent, from 31,141 MT in the 4th quarter of 2017 to 20,000 MT in the 4th quarter of 2018,” Perante said.
The total area harvested for palay in the region went down by 1.2 percent, from 78,949 hectares in the 4th quarter of 2017 to 78,017 hectares in the 4th quarter of 2018. Northern Samar contributed largely to this decrease posting a drop of 36.7 percent, Perante added.
Leyte recorded almost half or 47.8 percent (37,298 hectares) of the total area harvested for palay during the quarter in review, while Eastern Samar contributed the least (4,931 hectares) accounting for only 6.3 percent, the source said.
Perante also reported that the yield per hectare for palay in the region slightly increased by 0.3 percent, from 3.72 MT per hectare in the 4th quarter of 2017 to 3.73 MT per hectare in the same quarter of 2018.
Among the provinces, Biliran posted the highest yield per hectare during the quarter in review at 4.44 MT per hectare, while Samar registered the lowest at 2.79 MT per hectare, she said.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)