Now on its 11th year

NAVAL, Biliran- All is ready as this town is expected to come alive in music and excitement with the holding of the Tsinelas Party today (Oct.6).
Tsinelas Party, which is now on its 11th year, as its name denotes will have all those who will join the merriment clad in tsinelas.
The party serves as a sort of an ‘equalizer’ among the people of Naval, Mayor Gerard Roger Espina said.
“Rich and poor wear tsinelas. (The party) symbolizes unity and equality among Navaleños,” the town mayor said.
Today’s celebration will be held along the town’s main streets covering four blocks and will start from 7 pm and is expected to last at 4 am Sunday.
During the party, music of different genre and era are to be played for the participants to enjoy.
Espina said that there are areas identified within the party space intended for the ‘oldies’ and for the millennials and those in between.
And since it’s a party, there will be food galore with participants bringing with their own foods to savor and partake among partygoers.
The holding of the Tsinelas Party serves as one of the socio-cultural activities lined up for the town fiesta.
The celebration is in honor of its patron saint ‘The Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.’
Mayor Espina said that the Tsinelas Party is already considered among the most sought -after event as part of its annual fiesta celebration.
According to him, people coming from other place, to include those coming from Tacloban City, come to Naval to enjoy the street party.
Last year, about 6,000 people were estimated to have joined the party and the participants for this year are expected to increase.
Thus, with an expected jampacked crowd, security will be strict, said its town police chief, Supt. Estanislao Corpin.
“Security will be tight to ensure the safety of the people who will join the party,” he said.
For one, only transparent bags are to be allowed for one to enter the party area.

CARIGARA, Leyte- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Leyte Second District Engineering Office advises the public to keep the 20-meter minimum width requirement on national roads.
Maintenance section chief Francisco Robin, Jr. said that there must be a proper information dissemination to the public to block the construction of residential, business, or other establishments within the 20-meter parameters to give way for the road right-of-way program.
“Let us inform our neighbours to preserve the 20-meters no building zone for the road widening and major flood control projects. Let us altogether help in the dissemination so when the time comes, investments would not go to waste,” Robin said.
He added that obstructions within the established right-of-way of existing national roads that will be displaced by the projects will not be compensated by the government.
The Right-of-Way Act contained under Republic Act 10752 states that “the government may acquire real property needed as right-of-way site or location for any national government for any national government infrastructure project through donation, negotiated sale, expropriation, or any mode of acquisition as provided by law.”
However, this act only applies to new construction or road opening projects wherein the road right-of-way has not been previously acquired.
The road widening project of DPWH aims to utilize the burgeoning number of vehicular population in the country which results to traffic congestion.
This also intends to cultivate safety among motorists who go to and from places within the region. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY – It was another bountiful harvest of medals for the Leyte Sports Academy (LSA) scholars in the recently concluded Batang Pinoy 2018 National Championship held in Baguio City.
This was announced by Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla who said that the athlete-scholars of LSA won seven gold, three silver and a bronze medals during the sports competition for athletes 13 to 15 years of age.
The LSA delegation was composed of 13 young athletes.
Petilla said that for wrestling, which was participated by six athletes, the LSA athletes won four gold medals and one silver medal.
On the other hand, for the athletics, which was participated by four athletes, it generated three gold medals, 2 silver and a bronze medal while in boxing participated in by 3 athletes, produced a bronze medal.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)

PALO, Leyte – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR-8), based here, in coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), raided a cigarette warehouse located in Tacloban City on Thursday (Oct.4).
Atty. Ma. Grace Javier, BIR-8 regional director, said that the cigarettes found in a warehouse located in Barangay 79, Nula-Tula, bore with fake BIR stamps.
Director Javier said that the raid started at about 6 pm and ended six hours later.
The BIR director, who led the raiding team, said that the raid yielded 1,215 master cases of various brands of cigarettes with fake stamps.
She added that each master case of cigarette contains 50 reams and each ream has ten packs.
Javier was not able to determine the value of the raided products in the warehouse but said that the excise tax is P35 per pack of cigarette and the overall tax due to the government is P17.5 million.
“If these are legitimate the excise tax due to the government is P17.5 million,” Javier said.
Javier explained that all the 1,215 master cases of cigarettes were all confiscated because those products bore fake BIR stamps.
Javier also said that the team also simultaneously raided seven stores in Tacloban who were selling cigarettes with fake stamps.
She added that her office is monitoring establishments or stores who are selling cigarettes bearing fake BIR stamps in the region.
She claims that cigarettes bearing fake BIR stamps are now proliferating in Tacloban City and other areas in Eastern Visayas.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)