ORMOC CITY- Good acts reap rewards.
This adage proves to be true in the case of two brothers who were amply rewarded of housing units of their own after they returned P35,000 they discovered a year ago.
Roel Plinos, 40, a tricycle driver, discovered a brown envelope tucked inside the motorcycle he was driving.
Curious, he opened the envelope and found some documents and the P35,000 cash inside.
He later saw his younger brother, Rodel, and asked on how they could return the envelope containing the huge cash to its owner.
According to Roel, while he was in dire need of money at that time, not once did he thinks of keeping it for himself.
Rodel, 37, suggested that they give the money and the documents to their employer, Benedicto Lambunao instead.
Lambunao, in turn, decided to give them to Mayor Edward Codilla.
Codilla, with the help of his staff, was able to trace the owner.
The city mayor then promised the siblings that they would be given priority once the distribution of housing units at the relocation site in Barangay Linao starts.
And on June 23, their rewards came as they were given their own units.
The 2,000 housing units at Linao were constructed by the Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwan-based organization that assisted victims of supertyphoon “Yolanda” that also hit Ormoc.
The siblings lost their houses during the massive typhoon.
Roel, a father of two children lives in Barangay Libertad, while his younger brother, who has three children, is a resident of Brgy. Cogon.
(ELVIE ROMAN ROA)
Brothers received housing units from city government after returning P35,000
LEYECO II: Lights – Up Our Lives
Of course, other electric cooperatives may have also done similar feat -commendable service to their power consumers, but this article gives focus ONLY to Leyte Electric Cooperative II, all because the author of this piece had several interactions already with its lady general manager, Ma. Rosario Cumpio Avestruz, the loving inspiration of Municipal Mayor Atty. Alden Montano Avestruz, municipal Mayor of Barugo, Leyte now on his 3rd and last term. Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and its tremendous destruction, in a province-wide damage to properties together with scores of deaths will never escape the consciousness of Taclobanons, to include Palo and Babatngon, the Leyeco II coverage service area.
The Philippines is hit by at least 20 typhoons yearly, but the November 8, 2013 supertyphoon “Yolanda” was the strongest ever to make recorded landfall anywhere in Planet Earth, with Tacloban, the region-8 government regional and business center, the worst hit. Yolanda’s fury hit through the Visayas and wrecked a devastating path along its way that practically- all rural electric cooperative power services got severely damaged. Of the 119 cooperatives nationwide, 33 sustained significant wreckage and 11 including Leyeco II was literally “wiped out”.
To the young Leyeco II executive Macel (her nickname) Avestruz, the general manager, the great damage of Leyeco II power establishment was a challenging feat she has to lead, assume and fulfil the objective: to restore as early as possible electricity to all its consumers within its coverage area in Tacloban, Palo and Babatngon. Equipped with a sense of duty, an intelligent mind, and possessing a very clear vision and a gallant desire to make a difference, she faced the challenge squarely by employing all strategies within his command and together with a Gibraltar-like determination to mobilize and effectively lead the Leyeco board of directors and her line and staff of the office.
(Flashback: On November 7, 2013, a day before Yolanda struck; GM Macel attended and participated in discussion during in the emergency meeting called by the Regional Disaster Risk Rehabilitation and Management Council (RDRRMC). The agenda was to prepare for the typhoon to hit the area the following day. It did struck starting early morning of November 8, 2013.
After that meeting GM Macel went back to the Leyeco II office with a handful of her employees and they stayed overnight. And in that early morning of November 8 Typhoon Yolanda roared its unbelievable fury. The Leyeco II main building was getting shattered and in time roofs got blown away. GM Macel and her staff who stayed with her overnight took shelter under the stairs leading to the second floor. It was an unparalleled display of dedication to public service. What a woman!! What a feat!!
Battered but never beaten they say! The disheartening destruction of Leyeco II electric cooperative revealed that 90% of its electric posts and hundred-meters electric wires were rendered unserviceable.
Experts opined that it would have taken over 3 years for the restoration of Leyeco II to be back to normal operations. Leyeco II started to energize the area of coverage on less than 2 months.
A weak leader would have thrown her towel in defeat and may have resigned- go out and seek greener pastures but Macel faced the problems head-on.
Yes, she agrees that LEYECO II alone would not have been able to restore back to its operation in that short time. So……!
With the Board of Directors’ all-out support they sought assistance from Task Force Kapatid of the National Electrification Administration, to include hosts of private distribution utilities and government of course, they all came to Eastern Visayas to strongly provide support and actively participated in the restoration process in the region.
There were times when the task force would leave already after the time line they were supposed to be in Tacloban expired though so many things yet remained unfinished. But Macel held them to stay further. And they did. How she did it is something to be discovered.
Above all GM Macel Avestruz was so enthused and happy that Department of Energy Secretary Jericho “Icot” Petilla facilitated the release of grants, instead of loans to all cooperatives in the region affected by the super-typhoon. Leyeco II was given a grant of P50 million that was used for its rehabilitation activities. It was initially a loan but Secretary Petilla had it converted to grant, with no condition, attached, so Leyeco II has no payment to make and no other obligations demanded. That’s Jericho “Icot” Loreto Petilla.
It pays to have a manager of an electric cooperative who has a sincere and dedicated official with a strong sense of duty, and one possessing a clear vision to lead the cooperative to a more stable future.
General Manager Ma.Rosario Cumpio Avstruz, Macel to those close to her appears to have them and more!
The LEYECO II Board of Directors
Rolando G. Hidalgo
District III
Gregorio C. Dolina
District I
Ma. Rosario C. Avestruz
Gen. Manager
Pacifico M. Borja
NEA Representative
Dalmacio C. Grafil
District IV
By Alvin Gz. Arpon
Viva Senior Sto. Niño!!
TACLOBAN CITY- Devotees and even ordinary believers are to pay their homage to Senior Santo Nino, patron of Tacloban as the city celebrates its 126th fiesta this year.
Palo Archbishop John Du will lead the pontifical concelebrated Mass scheduled at 9 a.m. while Naval Bishop Bactol will be presiding in the afternoon pontifical Mass at 6 p.m.
Borongan Diocese Bishop Crispin Varquez was the main celebrant during the pontifical concelebrated vigil Mass during the vesper day.
The city is to celebrate its 126th fiesta, 20 months after it was pummeled by supertyphoon “Yolanda” that resulted to massive destructions of properties and loss of lives of more than 2,200 people.
Fr. Ronel Taboso, pastor of the Sto. Niño Parish (SNP) in this city, said in his homily at the commemorative mass that the face of the Sto. Niño that smiles convey a message that we shall not worry for tomorrow.
The number of parishioners increased dramatically from 11,970 before the typhoon to 12,947 in 2014.
Church officials, mindful that full recovery is still far and that the poor people still need much help, appealed those who are fortunate to do justice and kindness, taking off this year’s theme of ““Look at Jesus…’Do justice and kindness.” (Mic. 6:8)
Father Wilson Chu, co-pastor of SNP, said that the theme “tells us to do justice to all the people even if they are poor or rich and we can do that if we look at Jesus who is the model who really gives importance to the poor.”
“Since we are victims of Yolanda and for the people who are in need, not just materially but in need of the presence of God, (the theme) is an invitation to all devotees to at least share the blessings that we receive that these people will feel the importance of Señor Sto. Niño in their lives,” Chu expounded.
This year’s celebration is not simply one with the usual devotion, but with gesture for more noble intent – creation of a foundation that will cater to the charity works of the parish.
This year also coincides with the universal Roman Catholic Church observance of the “Year of the Poor”, thus, the parish leadership feels that it is more momentous to be of service to others after almost the entire populace of the city, more severely those within the parish, are slumped to economic, psychological, emotional and even spiritual difficulty.
In this year’s concelebrated novena (nine-day) masses daily themes were set that swayed the drift of the sermon of the homilists.
Each day was presided by a priest who was not among the parish pastor or assistant parish priests of SNP.
The mass presiders were immediate past pastor of SNP Msgr. Alex Opiniano, Sacred Parish pastor Fr. Gil Manaog, Miraculous Medal Parish pastor and Palo Archdiocese Episcopal Vicar for Pastor Action Fr. Gilbert Urbina, Holy Rosary Parish pastor Fr. Danny Pongos, Palo Cathedral parish priest and Archdiocesan Vicar-General Msgr. Rex Ramirez, Archdiocesan Chancellor Ric Marpa, Sacred Heart Seminary Rector Fr. Erlito Maraya, Virgen de la Candelaria priest-in-charge Fr. Felomeno Borgueta and SVD priest Fr. Andy Guban.
Pineda, Tagalog named this year’s festival queens
TACLOBAN CITY- Two beautiful young ladies were separately crowned as this year’s fairest in two different beauty contests in Tacloban.
Reena Vivienne Pineda, 18 and a student of Asian Development Foundation College was named this year’s Miss Tacloban on June 28 in a glittering ceremony held at the Tacloban Convention Center. Meantime, Niña Sherra Tagalog, 22 who is a student of the St. Paul Business School and from Palo town, Leyte, bested 11 others equally beautiful ladies for the Miss Pintados crown.
The search for this Miss Pintados, now on its 25th year, was held at the Leyte National High School gymnasium last June 25.
Tagalog, among other prizes, won P50,000 cash prize. Actor-singer turned politician, Dingdong Avanzado, was among the judges in this year’s Miss Pintados.
Pineda, daughter of Tacloban Councilor Eden Chua-Pineda, also won People’s Choice Award, Best in Swimwear, Miss Talent, Best in Production number and Best in Philippine Terno, among other special awards.
Along with her crown, Pineda received P50, 000, additional cash prizes and gifts from various corporate sponsors, and a round-trip to Tacloban-Cebu-Japan.
She will also act as goodwill ambassadress of the city government of Tacloban.
The new Miss Tacloban defeated 11 other candidates as she joined her elder sister, Rachelle Erica, to bag the crown. Rachelle Erica won the title in 2009.
The Miss Tacloban was hosted by upcoming actor Victor Basa while the Miss Pintados was hosted by noted television host Boy Abunda.
Both beauty searches were held in connection to the annual fiesta of Tacloban. The Miss Tacloban is backed by the city government and Sangyaw Foundation while the Miss Pintados is supported by the Pintados Foundation and the provincial government. (RONALD O.REYES/ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Aquino: Calbayog is still a peaceful city
CALBAYOG CITY- Despite of the spate of killings that rocked this city, it remains to be peaceful. This was the assertions of Mayor Ronald Aquino who backed his claim based on a survey indicating that majority of the city residents still prefer to live rather relocate to other areas.
Aquino, who chairs the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) for Eastern Visayas, lamented on the perceptions that the killings were related to politics. He said that these killings have yet to fully establish by police authorities to political intramurals. Majority of the victims were barangay officials, the recent of which involved the barangay chairmen of Dagum and Carayman. Police authorities in the city reported of 15 killings since the start of the year. Last year, there were 47 shooting incidents in Calbayog. Calbayog is always considered a hot spot area during elections for years now.
But Mayor Aquino insisted that Calbayog remains to be orderly and peaceful despite these series of killings with the result of a survey conducted by a private survey group funded by the Department of Interior and Local Government thru the Citizen Satisfaction Index System Report telling otherwise. Based on said survey, it indicated that 96% of the city residents said that they would still stay in Calbayog City with the remaining 4% opting to relocate elsewhere. Although the survey was conducted last year, Aquino said that the result was still a good indication that majority of the residents of the city have confidence on his administration in solving the killings and other illegal activities occurring in the city.
Aquino also said that services for the betterment of the public are not affected despite of the killing incidents which saw the local Church officials condemning them. Meantime, Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan, speaking at the Samar Island Partnership for Peace and Development (SIPPAD) meeting which is a Church led-convergence of government agencies and civil society groups, declared her total support to the pastoral message of Bishop Isabelo Abarquez. (ROEL T.AMAZONA)
Church condemns killing spree
CALBAYOG CITY – The Diocese of Calbayog through the Justice and Peace Desk of the Social Action Center issued a statement condemning the series of killings that rocked this city. The statement signed by Bishop of Calbayog, Isabelo Abarquez, stressed that taking of human life, and inflicting injury and suffering on anyone, whether as an act of aggression or revenge, can never be justified.
Abarquez also said that the diocese does not tolerate any form of repression especially through extra-judicial killings. “The right to life is a gift for everybody and no one has the right to take it,” the bishop said. It further explains that the “wheel of justice” is the proper venue for resolution of any case. Obviously alarmed over the series of killing incidents in Calbayog, Abarquez called on the “proper authorities to conduct a thorough and speedy investigation…and bring into the bar of justice the ones responsible.”
Based on records of the city police, since the start of the year, there were 15 shooting incidents that hit the city, a perennial “hot spot area” during election period issued by the Commission on Elections. The latest victims were village chiefs Edgar Belleza of Carayman and Rio Lebario of Dagum and his councilor Dionesio Lungsod. Meanwhile Calbayog Mayor Ronaldo Aquino condemned the killing incidents who involved mostly barangay officials. “These are acts of savagery, not expressions of normal persons, and do not in any way characterize Christian formation and being peace loving people,” the mayor said who is also the chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council.
Aquino assured the public that he will pursue every effort, and take every opportunity to bring justice to the victims and place criminal elements to the clutches of law for them to pay the price of their actions and to vindicate the lives of those slain. He also offered a P75, 000 cash reward to anyone who could help police authorities identify the perpetrators.
(JENNIFER SUMAGANG-ALLEGADO)