Ranking Red leader, 4 others fall in Leyte

A ranking communist leader and four of his comrades including a 15-year-old boy was nabbed by government security forces Friday evening in the central Philippine province of Leyte, a military statement said.

The Army's 8th Infantry Division said about 10:10 p.m. Friday, operatives of the 19th Infantry Battalion swooped down on a suspected New People's Army (NPA) lair in Nulatula village in Tacloban City, resulting in the arrest of Paterno Opo alias Loloy/Laloy/Noble and four unidentified companions.

The statement described Opo as the commander of the Mt. Amandewin Command, the NPA unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines North Leyte Front operating in the region.

The statement said the raid was conducted by virtue of a warrant issued by Judge Apolinario Buaya of Ormoc City regional trial court although it failed to indicate what specific case the suspects were facing which prompted the court to issue the arrest warrant.

Seized were an M16 rifle with magazines and ammunitions, three caliber .45 pistols, a caliber .38 revolver, three fragmentation grenades, two rounds of M203 ammunitions, and several rounds of assorted ammunitions and gun parts.

Also recovered were volumes of subversive documents consisting of Marxist-Leninist-Mao Zedong books, minutes of conferences of CPP’s North Leyte Front, CPP/NPA memos and directives, CPP plans during the 2004 elections, financial records of extorted money, and most significantly a copy of the 4th National Convention Report of Bayan Muna entitled “Plano sa Halalang 2007".

Police are readying charges of violation of the election gun ban against the suspects.

Chief Superintendent Eliseo Dela Paz, Region 8 police director said: "We are investigating the involvement of the occupants of the house with the New People’s Army and why a copy of Bayan Muna’s election plan was found on the site."

For his part, Major General Armando Cunanan, commanding general of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said: "The CPP’s North Leyte Front is on the verge of collapse following the arrests of its key leaders, including the two successive Front Secretaries, within the period of six months. Alias Laloy is the 2nd high ranking NPA leader neutralized in Leyte since the start of AFP’s Campaign Plan Bantay Laya II. We are well within the timeline set by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to end the insurgency problem in three years." - GMANews.TV

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Splashes and spatters expected as 3rd Nat'l Skimboarding reels off in Tanauan shores

Tacloban City (April 7) -- All is set for the exciting splashes and spatters as the best skimboarders compete at the 3rd National Skimboarding Competition on Easter Sunday, April 8.

As people usually go to the beaches on Easter Sunday, the National Skimboarding Competition will surely have thousands of spectators cheering the competitors coming from the different parts of the country.

As early as Holy Wednesday, skimboarders or riders as they are called in the sports world, started trekking down the Bantay Dagat Compound at the Tanauan, Leyte shores which has been enhanced with colorful flaglets to give a festive mood to the venue.

Tanauan Mayor Roque A. Tiu said that the first to arrive was the delegate from Skim Asia in Singapore. On Good Friday, the participants from as far as Davao to as near as Ormoc City arrived taking along their tents with them.

This year, the contestants are limited to one hundred only which means that the bests have been screened. What makes this year's competition different from that of the other years is that another category, the Women Category has been added so the public will not be seeing the male riders but also the women riders.

The competition has the sanction of the Skim Asia Federation and the Philippine Skimboarding Association. This means that the international criteria would be used during the competition.

Tanauan, Leyte which is a coastal municipality fifteen minutes away from the City of Tacloban, is known as the skimboarding capital of the country. It is in this town where skimboarding in the country was first introduced by an American citizen who was in town to woo a local beauty.

While waiting for the answer of the lady, this American taught the local youngsters how to ride a skimboard and even taught them how to make one.

The American did not win the hand of the local lass but he left a legacy. Today, even small boys ride the skimboard and several young people have started the manufacturing of skimboard, a good source of their their livelihood. (PIA 8)

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Food for School Program benefits 5,905 Leyte grade I pupils this summer

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
April 5, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Food For School Program continues to benefit 5,905 Grade I pupils in Leyte, even during this summer vacation.

This was learned from Leyte National Food Authority Manager Francisca T. Mercado who said that the Leyte Provincial Office of the National Food Authority has started delivering on March 27, summer stock allocations to the schools involved in the Food For School Program.

The additional allocation is for Grade I beneficiaries 175 schools in nine municipalities of Leyte namely: Tolosa, Tabon-Tabon, LaPaz, Mahaplag, MacArthur, Sta. Fe, Pastrana, Tunga and San Miguel.

The Summer Food for School Program in the province of Leyte alone, will entail 1,771.5 bags of rice fortified with iron and a total amount of P1,771,500.00.

Manager Mercado said that in line with the government's thrust to achieve quality education and in consonance with the Millennium Development Goals, among which is to achieve universal primary education, ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Food Authority (NFA) are jointly implementing the Food for School program.

As envisioned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Food for School addresses the malnutrition and hunger problems. It also improves the children's participation in school, like academic performance, enhance study habits and attendance in classes.

The Food for School Program of the government continues even during the summer vacation in response to the increasing percentage of families experiencing hunger, as indicated by the Social Weather Survey on hunger and poverty.

Anti-Hunger Task Force head and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, said President Arroyo has ordered the resumption of the program which involves the distribution of a kilo of rice to school children to bring home to their families.

In his statement sometime ago, Duque said the distribution of the rice will be made through school principals and Church leaders during the months of March to May when children are on vacation from school.

Duque further said the Department of Education will require principals to be on duty during these months, adding that politicians will not be involved in the distribution.

Duque also said the Food-for-school program can be expanded to involve the distribution of cooked noodle soups and milk supplements to school children, if more funds are allocated for it.

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OUR FORUM IS BEING READ BY LEYTENYOS AND SAMARNONS ALL OVER THE WORLD

by Waray waray gud

The fact that we have many kababayans in many parts of the world, our forum is one way to dessiminate informations. I had the chance to call my cousins in Australia and Canada and both are also retiring. They informed me that they are planning to retire in their country of origin. During our conversation I told them to read our forum. As far as I know, many Leytenyos and Samarnons are reading but they don't want to participate in our discussion. It will be more fitting and timely if someone can get more pictures of the beaches in Samar and Leyte. Thank you Keliguy for posting those pictures in Marabut,Samar and Tolosa, Leyte. But regarding our political discussion especially the NPA,Insurgents, Killing and the coming election, I think some kababayans who are working abroad are not very much interested in reading the same. We should discuss more on the brighter side like a good place for business projects so that these kababayan retirees will think about a business to invest in our region. Since there are towns that are already converted into cities, these will be good prospects for investment. We need to cater more money for investment if we want a good economic future in our region. I don't mean that politics is irrelevant. It's very important also as part of enhancing our economic future. But right now we should paint as good picture of our region for all our kababayans abroad to come here and be ready to invest.

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Millions allotted for West Leyte Hospital upgrade

Press Release
By Provincial Media Relations Center (PMRC-Leyte)
March 30, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – Through a newly signed Memorandum of Agreement with the provincial government of Leyte, the Department of Health in the region has committed an amount of P12 million to upgrade the facilities of the West Leyte Hospital of Baybay, Leyte.

This as part of Gov. Carlos Jericho “Icot” Petilla’s effort to look for means of improving the medical facilities and services of the different hospitals under the provincial government that includes the West Leyte Hospital in Baybay town.

According to the governor, the province, under his administration is putting much effort in reducing the number of patients being catered to by hospitals based in the City of Tacloban.

Not only are the hospitals in this city get crowded by patients coming from the different towns in Leyte, the medical facilities are likewise wanting, which Gov. Petilla stressed are the problems that really need to be addressed.

Under the newly signed MOA, new infrastructures and equipments will be installed as well as additional needed supply of medicines will be purchased for the West Leyte Hospital.

With these new improvements, the hospital will subsequently be upgraded from a secondary hospital to a tertiary medical facility.

The MOA was recently forged at the Leyte Provincial Capitol with Dr. Minerva Molon, chief of the DOH Technical Division as representative of the health department and Gov. Petilla for the province of Leyte.

It can be recalled that Gov. Petilla has continuously poured in projects to the different hospitals and improvements of rural health units of the different municipalities of the province to decongest hospitals in the city.

Values formation among hospital members and staff were likewise successively conducted by the provincial government to renew and assess the commitment within the ranks of the province-run hospitals.

So far, the Provincial Health Office reports, these projects and undertakings under the leadership of Gov. Petilla has proven effective as positive performance was seen resulting to better services and better revenue among these hospitals under the province.

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Poor students of Eastern Samar to avail government assistance

By SAMMY CANDIDO (PIA Eastern Samar)
March 29, 2007

BORONGAN, Eastern Samar – A sizeable amount of educational assistance awaits some poor but deserving students in the province. Under the Special Program of Employment for Students (SPES), the provincial government of Eastern Samar, through the efforts of Governor Ben P. Evardone, allotted some P250,000.00 for some 130 students-beneficiaries.

According to provincial Public Employment Service Office Manager Crescentia Quitorio, these students will be taken in under the program starting April until May to render various office works at the provincial capitol which will entitle them to compensations. As of this writing, 45 students are already assured of extra income this summer vacation, having passed the screening conducted by respective school administration committees of the Eastern Samar State University Campus of Guiuan, Salcedo, and Can-avid as sanctioned by the provincial government.

Some 85 slots more up for grabs as more student-applicants continue to troop to the capitol to seek admission to the summer jobs project, PESO manager Quitorio stressed that the hiring of additional students, this time, will be opened to applicants coming directly from the 23 municipalities of the province and will be done on a first-come-first-serve basis. Quitorio also revealed that the funding for the program was forged through a sharing scheme wherein 40% will be borne by the Department of Labor and Employment, while the provincial government shoulders the remaining 60 percent.

Meanwhile, Gov. Evardone encourages students to personally apply sans their parents beside them. This, he said, is for them to develop self-reliance and a genuine appreciation of work.

The SPES is anchored on the Arroyo administration’s thrust of providing working opportunities to underprivileged students thereby easing up tuition fees burden.

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Police sees politics behind the Calbayog check point attack

By ELI C. DALUMPINES (PIA Samar)
March 27, 2007

CATBALOGAN, Samar – Police authorities here maintained that the recent attack on a check point manned by four personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to enforce the COMELEC gun ban was not the doing of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) as reported earlier.

Samar Police Chief P/SSupt. Asdali Idja Abah, in a report yesterday, blamed the partisan armed group of a certain politician in Samar’s 1st district for the attack saying the said politician was in desperation that the movement of his men was restricted because of the presence of the PNP check point.

A group composed of six armed men on board a van open fired at the PNP check point in Sitio Talahib, Brgy. Trinidad, Calbayog City at around 8 p.m. Friday (March 23) killing PO3 Valeriano Valenzuela and PO1 Ramil Biso, who was undergoing his Field Training Program.

The group carted away one M16 rifle and a 9mm cal. Pistol which was issued to PO3 Valenzuela and withdraw north immediately after the attack.

Witnesses disclosed that prior to the incident one of the suspects who was standing across the check point made a call through a cellphone and after a few minutes a van stopped at about 50 meters away from the check point where about 6 men armed with assorted firearms got out and opened fire at the police officers on duty.

A witness, however, said that PO1 Valenzuela might have known the suspects as he saw him talking to one of the suspects just a few meters away before the shooting took place.

It was learned that Valenzuela’s older brother and Sta. Margarita Police Chief PInsp. Nestor Valenzuela was tasked by the higher headquarters to make a research on the previous cases filed against the said politician.

Insp. Valenzuela’s effort appears to have been a taking progress as the police was able to file some four other cases against the political leader lately.

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