TACLOBAN CITY–At least 136 out of 138 barangay chairmen and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) leaders here in the city attended a special gathering Sunday (July 29) in a show of support and alliance to Tingog Sinirangan, a party-list group based in the region.
While Tingog Sinirangan regional chairman and first nominee Jude Acidre thanked the recently elected barangay and SK chairmen during the gathering, they assured them of their continued support through their priority projects and programs.
“We believe that in party-list, the party should be remembered and not the individual personalities. Tingog Sinirangan is more than its nominees,” said Acidre as he disclosed the various medical programs and initiatives they conducted around the region despite not winning the position during their first attempt in the 2016 national elections.
In a speech, Acidre thanked Tacloban for giving them over 40,000 votes, which pushed the Tingog Sinirangan into an “advantageous position” among hundreds of party-list groups.
“Tacloban did not also disappoint us for giving us the biggest margin of votes. If Tacloban wasn’t there, we’ll not make it there, too. Maybe it’s not yet our time, but we’re not tired,” said Acidre, adding that they continue to serve the city and Eastern Visayas to “return the favor” that they received from their supporters during the 2016 national elections.
“Whether we have a position or not, we remember Tacloban. We’re here to give you service,” said Acidre as he called the barangay and youth leaders as their “partners.”
According to Acidre, Tingog Sinirangan will be the second “voice” to the congressional districts in the region.
For the past three years, Tingog Sinirangan already conducted over 40 medical program services around Eastern Visayas. Its latest is the free check-up and cataract operation they started in July until August.
Although a newcomer in the national party-list elections, Tingog Sinirangan has been in existent since 2012.
Lawyer Butch Corpin, its second nominee and the current executive director of Lakas-CMD party, said that Tingog Sinirangan was formerly called as Tingog Leytenhons, a provincial political party in Leyte.
Former congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, its chairman emeritus, pushed for its entry in the regional level to give “voice” to the region’s people along with bringing in the development of the regional countryside, and representation in the House of Congress through the party-list system.
The Commission of Elections accredited Tingog Sinirangan through a resolution promulgated on Aug. 19, 2015, which qualified the party to run in the party-list elections in May 2016 national and local elections.
Acidre has been in a region-based party-list organization for over 10 years.
Meanwhile, Leyte First District Rep. Yedda Romualdez, who accompanied Acidre during the event, said they are “pushing for more projects and we’re doing many things.”
She highlighted the ongoing tide embankment, by-pass road and bridge projects in Tacloban City and Leyte province.
Romualdez assured many more projects will happen in the City and in her district, saying that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and the new House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are “very kind and close to us.”
Newly-elected Association of Barangay Chairmen (ABC) president Eden Chua-Pineda and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president Thomas Diaz lauded Romualdez and Tingog Sinirangan for responding to the needs in the barangays in the city.
Now on her second year in Congress, Romualdez was instrumental in the passage of 13 laws and 23 other legislative measures now on its third reading, making her as one of the hardworking representatives in the 17th Congress. (RONALD O. REYES)

Four of them minors

BY: JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T. AMAZONA

TACLOBAN CITY- At least 32 men, four of them minors, from this city said to be victims of trafficking were rescued by authorities in Sual, Pangasinan province.
The trafficked victims were recruited to work in a big fish cage farm reportedly owned by Chinese nationals and were promised of a monthly compensation of P5,000.
But based on the accounts of the victims, they were told that they would only be paid P3,500, worked overtime under harsh condition and always being threatened.
“Yohan,’ 15, and from Barangay 96, said that he together with his companions were recruited by a neighbor identified as Eduard Moreno on July 11 of this year.
“I don’t really know him though we belong to the same village. He promised us that we will be paid P5,000 and with food allowance and with a decent living quarters,” the victim said.
But when they arrived in the area on July 13 after almost two days of land travel, they were shocked that their living quarters were just like pig pens; worked from 4 am until 10 pm every day of the week and with no rest allowed.
They were also provided with their daily food, placed in a plastic wrapper.
“We always ate fish and vegetables with foul-odor smell,” Yohan said.
About seven armed men were said to be monitoring them.
Yohan, who only finished Grade 4 whose parents have no stable employment, said that he was glad that his and his companions’ nightmarish ordeals are over.
“At least I am with my parents and younger sibling now. I will just continue my studies here with the help of our government,” he said.
The other victims were recruited by Moreno’s brother, Dick, who is based in Sual.
The plight of the victims were discovered when one of the mothers of the trafficked victims went to the office of the City Social Welfare and Development Office(CSWDO) complaining that her 15-year old boy has not contacted her since he left for Sual on July 11.
Carmela Bastes, social worker of the CSWDO, immediately informed their regional office in Tacloban City which, in turn, contacted their counterparts in Pangasinan on July 13.
And on July 19, with the help of the National Bureau of Investigation in Pangasinan, personnel from the DSWD-Pangasinan, went to the area and conducted their rescue operation.
The Chinese owners did not resist during the operation.
Claire Banzuela, social worker officer based in San Fernando, Pangasinan, said that their office provided food and clothing to the victims and were given P5,000 as assistance.
Banzuela, together with other staff of their office, escorted the trafficked victims to the city on July 24.
The NBI, she said, are to file cases of human trafficking against the Chinese nationals and the recruiters of the victims.
The city government of Tacloban initiated press conference on Thursday (July 26) with the victims as well as social welfare officers from Tacloban and Pangasinan in attendance.

TACLOBAN CITY- Billboards showing some of the region’s top tourist destinations were put in display at the Tacloban new bus terminal and in a private van terminal with the aim of attracting tourists to visit these tourism gems.
The unveiling of these promotional billboards showing the tourist destinations of the region like the Biri Rock Formations in Biri, Northern Samar, Sambawan Island in Maripipi, Biliran and Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte, was held on Friday (July 27).
The project was initiated by the An Waray party-list group in coordination with the city government of Tacloban under Mayor Cristina Romualdez and the regional Department of Tourism (DOT).
Florencio ‘Bem’ Noel, former congressman of the An Waray party-list group, said that the project aims to encourage the locals to visit these regional tourism attractions.
According to Noel, it is quite disheartening to note that several of the people in the region have not visited these God- given attractions.
“I myself is guilty of it,” the former solon admitted.
Noel said that it was for this reason why this undertaking was initiated and with the tarpaulins purposely displayed in public places like the city’s bus terminal as these are frequented by the public.
Noel said that they are hoping that through this undertaking, the local people will start to patronize these destinations and help promote them in the process.
“Our intention is to attract our local tourists,” he said.
Malou Tabao, acting city tourism officer, seconded the statement of Noel saying that the city government is throwing its full support on this project.
“This will not only benefit Tacloban City but the entire region eight,” Tabao said.
Norberto Lumbre of the DOT-8 said that their office is thankful for this initiative of the An Waray party-list as well as by the Tacloban City, as this could help them in promoting Eastern Visayas as a tourism destination.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY-Three major streets in downtown here in the city will be open for a two-way traffic starting August 1.
The streets in Sto. Niῆo, Del Pilar and Paterno, classified as one-way when the city government implemented an experimental traffic scheme on November 24 of last year, will now be two-way streets.
The city government, under the administration of Mayor Cristina Romualdez, has implemented a one-way traffic scheme in major streets based on Executive Order 2017-11-80 which ended January of this year.
On February 20 of this year, the city government introduced a similar traffic scheme.
The city government in partnership with the University of the Philippines National Center for Traffic Studies (UP-NCTS) conducted a traffic study to implement a new traffic scheme.
The study came up with a modified version of the one- way scheme enforced on 2016.
It also recommended on street parking, identification of bike lanes, the strict enforcement of ordinance on illegal sidewalk vending and crackdown on the existence of illegal terminals.
Under the proposed scheme, the following will be designated as one-way streets: Rizal Avenue, Avenida Veteranos St., Real St., Justice Romualdez St, P. Burgos St., Zamora St., Salazar St., Juan Luna Street. Two-way streets are Gomez St., M.H. del Pilar St., and Sto. Nino St. and Paterno St.
Juan Luna Street, fronting Rizal Central School, will be closed to traffic.
Advisory signages will be installed in strategic areas to ensure that motorists will follow the new traffic scheme.
City Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin said that the council need to have a copy of the traffic scheme to be introduced starting on August 1.
“We are eagerly awaiting the final proposed Traffic Management Program from UPNCTS so that we can enact (an) ordinance that will legalize (the) traffic scheme,” he said. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

BABATNGON, Leyte- A farm-to-market road was inaugurated in this town recently, a report from the Leyte provincial government said.
Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, who led in the cutting of ribbon ceremony during the cereony,told Leyte Samar Daily Express that the farm-to- market road worth P 2 million was funded by the provincial government.
Gov. Petilla said that the road situated in sitio Sogod, Barangay District 4 of this town will be a great help to the farmers in bringing their farm products to the market at the town center.
He added that his office gave priority in the construction of this road considering the need and the clamor of the farmers for its construction.
Also present during the inauguration ceremony were Lt. Col. Danilo Dupiag, battalion commander of the 78th Infantry Battalion, and the barangay officials of Brgy. District 4.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)

TACLOBAN CITY-About 54 human rights victims during the Martial Law received their compensation from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) regional office based this city.
The 54 claimants were the last victims of human rights abuses from the region during the Marcos dictatorship to receive their compensation from the government through the Human Rights Victims Claims Board(HRVCB)
In all, there were 1,024 victims of human rights abuses from the region who recieved compensation from the government.
Lawyer Byron Bocar of the HRVCB, said that while the sufferings experienced by the victims could not really be compensated monetarily, at least, it could help them somehow.
“As they say in Filipino, walang kapalit ang kanilang naranasan noon. But at least, the compensation that they received will somehow help them,” Bocar said.
Bocar was in the city to personally distribute the checks to the human rights victims on Wednesday and Thursday at the CHR regional office.
The amount received by the victims depended on the gravity of what they experienced. If, for example, one has suffered physical injuries in the hands of state agents, they were entitled to receive more than P170,000.
The families of those who were killed or declared as missing, could receive as much as P1 million.
The money used in giving compensation to human rights victims were from an ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses recovered by the Philippine government.
About P10 billion was set aside by the government to provide compensation to more than 11,000 victims of human rights abuses in the country.
One of those who received the compensation was Timoteo Alabad,72, from Barangay Binolho, Javier town in Leyte.
Alabad was 40 years old when he was detained first at the Javier municipal station and later to the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa as he was charged for multiple murder by the military.
“Of course, it was not true. They claimed that I was a member of the New People’s Army and participated in a fake ambush incident,” Alabad, who was released from the national penitentiary in 1987, or a year after the Marcos dictatorship was ousted during the People Power I.
Alabad said that while he welcome the compensation he received from the government, he could not help but be reminded of what happened to him in the past.
“No amount of money could compensate of what I went through. I was tortured and imprisoned due to trumped up charges,” he said.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)