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VOL. 17 NO. 45 ORMOC CITY P 15.00 at the newsstands DECEMBER 5-11, 2016

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BY LALAINe M. JIMeNeA

Albuera ex-mayor answers KerwinFORMER ALBUERA Mayor Ra-mon “Junie” dela Cerna, Jr., in a phone interview, has answered the allegations hurled against him by self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa that he, too, was among the politicians on the take from him.

The former mayor said he was abroad as of the moment, but called to air his side, after seeking advise from his wife and friends.

Dela Cerna denies being on the take from the drug lord, said to be the biggest

in Eastern Visayas, adding that he only saw Kerwin only once, and this was when he went to his office to pay his water bill which had already reached more than P

200, 000.00. The former mayor, who lost to

Kerwin’s father in the May 2016 polls, said that he even just saw the now dead mayor twice – once

during the campaign route and the other time, during the “peace covenant”.

2 December 5-11, 2016NEWS

City ENRO recommends filing charges vs. Naungan

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ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

Gomezes, ODT turn over Naungan footbridge, are snubbed by village officials

Mayor Richard Gomez listens as the engineer of SM explained the property line problem that has pushed off the start of their construction. SM is putting up a mall at what is known as the “Autobus” compound at Real Street in Ormoc City. Construction was stalled after the mall owners found out that a city-owned canal tresspassed on their property, and made sure the kink is settled. However, despite the slight delay, the mall operators said they are still within their schedule and target opening is November 2017. Left to right are Supermalls SVP Michelle Leslie Kwong Llanos, the engineer, Engr. Herme Serafica, councilor Bennet Pongos (seated), SM Regional Operations Manager-Visayas 1 Sherry A. Tuvilla and the mayor.

The mayor’s post on his Instagram account regarding the turnover of the footbridge.

ORMOC CITY – A legacy project of Rep. Lucy Tor-res-Gomez, an 80.6-meter footbridge that now con-nects a poor sitio to the mainland, was recently turned over to the resi-dents. Unfortunately, ba-rangay officials snubbed the turnover.

The “legacy project” is the Naungan to Sitio Quinto Limbo footbridge. Mayor Ricahrd and Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez led the turnover rite last Saturday, together with allied council-ors Vincent Rama, Tommy Serafica, Mario Rodriguez, and Bennet Pongos, and district engineer Lino Gon-zales.

The congresswoman, when she was elected into office, set her goals in com-pleting what she called her legacy projects. There are seven, and she is seeing its fruition one project at a time.

The congresswoman said the legacy projects are what she would want to see done and completed while she is the district’s repre-sentative. She pragmatically says, “We cannot be here forever, but our work, what we do, will outlive us.”

One of this is the Naungan-Sit io Quinto Limbo footbridge, which she hopes will help ease the plight of Sitio Quinto resi-dents. Without the bridge, children going to school who don’t have two pesos to pay the motorized ban-cas plying the route, have to swim. She also heard of stories of pregnant wom-en who also had to swim across, because they didn’t have fare.

Rep. Lucy Torres-Go-mez said that the Naungan footbridge is one that is

close to her heart because she recalls hopping from one agency to another, to help her fulfill it. She told the crowd gathered that first, they went to the De-partment of Tourism (DOT) hoping they could fund it, considering it was being considered as a tourist spot in the city. There were no funds for it, so they turned to the social welfare depart-ment, arguing for its need for the residents there.

They would find them-selves before former Secre-tary Rogelio Singson, who willingly listened to the congresswoman’s appeal. Singson then sent a team to study the possibility of put-ting up the footbridge. The footbridge costs P 10.9-mil-lion.

It was also learned during the turnover that a 30-meter boardwalk would be constructed at the Sitio Quinto Limbo end, to en-sure that the residents don’t have to waddle in water during high tide. That end of the bridge would get submerged during high tide, but cannot be extended because cutting mangroves is prohibited. Instead, a boardwalk is recommend-ed, and Engr. Lino Gonzales said work on it would start soon. “There is already funding for the boardwalk,” he said.

Unfortunately, even if the project is well-inten-tioned, barangay officials led by village chairman Rafael Taneo snubbed the activity.

In his Facebook page, Taneo claimed they were not invited. Then, he again claimed he was being made to sign a blank acceptance certificate.

The village chair and

the whole council are not political allies of the Go-mezes, but despite that, Lucy and Richard’s Ormoc Development Team (ODT) made a clean sweep of the polls in the said barangay.Naungan residents deliv-ered a 13-0 win to the ODT.

In a personal meeting with the mayor over the issue this week, Taneo ad-mitted receiving invitation.

As for his complaint of being made to sign a blank certificate of acceptance, the proforma was meant for him to be filled up by hand. It only had four blanks: one for the date he received it, second for his name, third that he was signing it for the village, and fourth, a line for his signature. By Lalaine M. Jimenea with Tonette Marticio

ORMOC CITY – The City Environment and Natu-ral Resources here has recommended the filing of charges against Chair-man Rafael Taneo of Brgy. Naungan for violations of Republic Act 9003 (Solid Waste Management Act), RA 9275 (Clean Water Act) and city ordinance number 39, which prohibits the disposal of solid wastes on the shoreline and other water bodies.

Fe Comorposa of the ENR Division said that based on their assessment, Naungan is one of the top contributors of E. coli bacte-ria in the city waters, which causes diarrhea and other waterborne infections.

Moreover, despite the regular garbage collection and the presence of mate-rial recovery facility (MRF), they noticed that garbage are not segregated and are just thrown about every-where causing dogs and other stray animals to feast on them.

Taneo said that al-though they are conduct-ing regular clean up drives, some residents still do not follow proper waste dis-

The sorry state of the material recovery facility in Brgy. Naungan.

posal. Cormoposa advised

him to adopt the city ordi-nance on prevention and control of water-borne dis-eases, impose sanctions on violators and engage his people to cooperate in cleaning their surroundings starting from their homes.

Mayor Richard Go-mez reiterating his strong campaign for a clean and healthy environment has expressed disappointment in this issue, which hampers some of their plans projects for said village.

“I always remind you to keep your barangays clean, yours is one of the dirtiest barangays. We have a plan to make it as a tourist destination, but how can we do it if the place is dirty,” he lamented.

“If you will implement the law, you can do it, pero kung pababayaan niyo lang, murag basurahan ang atong barangay,” he added.

Naungan was awarded with the best sanitation practice last year, and Taneo was advised to observe the same practices in maintain-ing a clean environment again. By Tonette Marticio

TACLOBAN CITY - Pov-erty incidence among fami-lies in Eastern Visayas showed a significant re-duction of 6.7 percentage points between the year 2012 and 2015, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Regional Office 8.

PSA disclosed that in 2015, the poverty situation in the region was estimated at 30.7 percent, way below the 37.4 percent poverty incidence recorded in the same period in 2012.

This implies that 3 in every 10 families in the region are living in a poor situation.

Of the six provinces in Region VIII, improvements in poverty incidence were noted among families in the region between 2012 and 2015, except for the province of Northern Sa-mar which registered an increase of 4.4 percent.

Data showed that from 43.5 percent in 2012, it went

EV poverty incidence dropsup to 47.9 percent in 2015 making the province of Northern Samar having the highest poverty incidence last year.

Biliran, the smallest province in the region, re-corded the lowest poverty incidence at 17.4 percent while the province of Leyte, the biggest province ranked second lowest at 23.6 per-cent, followed by Southern Leyte with 30.2 percent, and Eastern Samar and Samar with 37.4 and 39.5 percent, respectively.

The biggest reduction of poverty incidence was noted in the province of Eastern Samar with 18.0 percent, from 55.4 percent in 2012 to 37.4 percent in 2015.

The latest poverty es-timates was based on the income data from the first and second visit of the Fam-ily Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) conducted in July 2015 and January 2016, respectively. PIA

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3December 5-11, 2016 BALITANG SAKSAK-SINAGOL

Deped nga kawani, nailad tungod sa FB4, nasikop sa operasyon kontra druga ORMOC CITY – Mga pu-

lis nipasidaan sa publiko, labi na kadtong may mga Facebook account, nga kun mahimo dili tanan mahinungdanon nga det-alye itug-an sa ong sa mga pulis, kini ang hinung-dan nga nailad ang osa ka kawani sa DepEd kay nakuha sa kawatan ang ac-count sa iyang bayaw nga atoa sa Canada, kini ang gigamit aron siya mailad.

Si Regina Leona delos Santos, 38, Project Develop-ment Officer sa DepEd Or-moc, nitug-an nga niadtong Desiyembre 5, nakadawat siyag mensahe sa facebook gikan sa iyang bayaw nga si Yuko Delos Santos nga atoa sa Canada, kay ang iyang bana nga si Jonathan nauli ug anaa na sa Manila ug nagkinahanglan ug kuarta. Matud ni Ms. Delos San-tos, nahibulong siya ngano nauli ang iyang bana.

Si PO2 Jemilito Igna-cio, ang inbistigador, ug PO3 Reagan Degillo, ang Desk Officer sa Station I, misugilon nga si Ms. Delos

Midonar si Mayor Richard Gomez, Bise Mayor Toto Locsin Jr. ug mga kaubanan niini sa Ormoc Development Team (ODT) og usa ka sound system para sa Ormoc City Jail. Gamiton kini sa mga kawani ug mga binilanggo alang sa ilang mga kalihokan sama sa programs, Bible reading ug uban pa nga. Gidawat sa Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) city warden Ch. Insp. Jennifer Joyce Abar, inubanan sa ubang opisyales, ang donasyon.

Santos gimandaran sa iyang bayaw, nga padalhan ug kuarta ang bana niining si Jonathan didto sa Manila. Kuno ang mga gamit ni Jonathan ang nahabilin sa gisakyan niining taxi ug ang kuarta ipalihug lang padala sa ginganlan ug Christo-pher Grepaldo sa Caloocan.

Natarantar na sa Ms. Delos Santos tungod sa

kahingawa sa iyang bana nga natanggong didto sa Manila. Nagpadala kini’g P15 mil pesos aron naay magamit ang bana nga si Jonathan. Didto na siya nahinumdum pagtawag sa bana ug sa gitawagan na kini, nasabtan niyang atoa diay gihapon sa gawas. Ang account sa Facebook sa iyang bayaw nga si Yuko

maoy nakawat sa mga kiri-wan.

Tungod niini, ang mga pulis nipahinumdum sa publiko kun makadawat silag dinalian nga men-sahe sama niini, dili lamang matarantar, hinuon kalma lang ug tawgan ang hing-tungdan aron masayran kon tinuod ba o dili. Ni Paul Libres

Inahan ug anak, patay sa aksidenteORMOC CITY – Nagdali ang mga pulis ug respon-de, hasta na ang Rescue Team sa BFP ug ang Ormoc Rescue tungod sa alarma nga may aksidente didto sa barangay Valencia ug patay ang inahan ug ang anak niini.

Si SPO1 Roger Baronda, pag abot sa lugar, igo lang nangawut sa ulo kay ang mga biktima dili man tawo, kundi baka nga gatasan ug ang nate niini.

Hasta ang duha ka res-cue unit, naka ingon “abi namo tawo”. Apan ang mahinungdanon nga nire-sponde sila aron pagluwas sa kinabuhi. Sa Traffic Divi-sion, nasayran ang insed-ente nahitabo hapit na alas kuatro sa kaadlawon, Dec. 7. Naabtan sa mga pulis ang Noreen Hauler Truck nga kargado og mga manok ihawnon gikan sa Palo ug dalhun na ngadto sa Dress-ing Plant sa barangay San Jose.

Sa inbistigasyun ni SPO1 Baronda, ang dray-ber sa trak si Isaias Lagahit Jr., 43, taga barangay Lab-

rador niingon nikagar ang preno sa iyang gimaneho nga sakyanan, hinungdan iyang gikabig patuo kay may gikasugat siyang mo-tor ug maoy maigo kun dili. Pero sa pagkabig niya patuo sa manubela, didto rombo sa gatasan nga baka ug ang nati, maoy nama-tay. Nabalintong ang trak hinungdan sad sa pagkaan-gul sa drayber ug tulo ka pahinante niini. Maayo lang kay wala magrabehi ang mga sakay, polong ni SPO1 Baronda.

Gawas sa inahan ug anak nga baka, daghan sad mga manok nangama-tay tungod sa aksidente. Ang hepe sa PS2 Insp. Rito Pallomina gipangutana sa EV Mail kun pila kaha kabuok manok namatay, polong niya nga dili man kayo daghan ug na areglo lang sad ang hitabo, kay ang tag-iya sa baka niuyon nga bayran na lamang sa hauler ang danyus. Wala lang nuon makuha sa EV Mail ang balor o kantidad sa danyus. Ni Paul Libres

Gikeha’g rape, gidakopORMOC CITY – Gidakop sa mga pulis gikan sa Bontoc, Southern Leyte, sa abag sa kapulisan sa Station I, ang osa ka katawo tungod kay may warrant of arrest kini gikan sa korte.

Giaresto si Pacifico Urgel, 43. Si Urgel gikataho nga nagpuyo sa San Roque, Ipil, pero pag-abot sa mga pulis sa dapit, wala kini kay kuno nikubra sa suweldo sa Cash for Work sa City Hall. Ang hepe sa Station 1, Ch. Omar Cartalla, nimando nila SPO2 Reynaldo Elcarte ug PO2 Ruffy Pepito nga abagan ang mga pulis sa Bontoc aron dakpon ang ilang target.

Matud ni SPO2 Elcarte, wala sila maglisud pag-ila sa akusado kay kuyog man ang igsuon niini. Ang kaso giatubang ni Urgel, Rape ug way piyansa gitugot sa korte. Ang niisyu sa warrant of arrest mao si Hon. Jacinto Elle sa branch 39 sa Sogod, Southern Leyte.

Sa kasayuran nakuha sa EV Mail, human sa gihimo nga kremin niining akusado, niikyas kini sa ilang dapit dinhi paingon sa Ormoc aron magtago. Pero nasayud ang igsuon sa akusado nga ania nitago sa Ormoc si Urgel, didto na siya makuhai ug impormasyun sa mga pulis sa Bontoc Municipal Police Station nga nagresulta sa pagkadakop sa akusado. Ni Paul Libres

ORMOC CITY – Upat ka tawo ang nasikop sa mga kawani sa OCPO City Anti Illegal Drug Special Operation Group karong semanaha. Una gihimo ang buy bust operation Desiyembre 5 nga nagresulta sa pagkadakop kang Raymond Flores y Omboy, 23, taga DSWD Tambulilid ug ginganlan ug Sherwin Alinsub, 41. Ang target sa buy bust operation mao si Flores, sumala sa kasayuran nakuha sa EV Mail gikan sa station I.

Ang operasyun gihimo alas kuatro pasado sa hapon diha sa dalan Rizal, ang taga CAIDSOTG gipangulohan ni Sr. Insp Joseph Joevil Young ang kasamtangang hepe sa station 3. Si Sanchez ang napalitan ug osa ka gamay nga pakite sa gidudahang shabu sa osa ka pulis nga nagsilbing paon. Nakuha pa gikan sa posisyun ni Flores ang duha ka pakite sa gidudahang shabu, ug ang marked money. Matud sa mga pulis dugay na nilang gipanid-an ang kalihukan sa duha, sa nag-positibo na silang nagpayuhot ug drugas, didto na gikasa ang buy bust operation.

Samtang sa laing bahin, nianang Dec. 6 sa hapon, ang team sa Public Safety Company pinangulohan ni Supt. Joel Camacho nisilbi ug Search Warrant batok kang Ella Dara Dy nga taga Can-adieng nga nagresulta pagkasikop kang Dy ug sa ka live-in niini nga si Melot Martinez. Nakuhaan ug duha ka medium heat sealed sa gidudahang shabu si Dy, mga gamit pagtunaw ug drugas.

Matud sa mga pulis nagsilbi sad nga drug den ang pinoy-anan ni Dy, gani ang kaso nga iyang giatubang mao ang section 6 , Article II of P.A. 9165. Ang pagronda kaniya base sa giisyu nga search warrant gikan kang RTC Judge Hon. James Clinton Nuevo pinitsahan Dec. 5. Kauban sa mga pulis ang PDEA agent nga si Fredirick Ocaña. Ni Paul Libres

ORMOC CITY - Duha ka balay sa Barangay Linao ning da-kbayan ang nasunog niadtong Biernes sa gabie, Disyembre 9.

Ang duha ka balay iya ni Flora Casipe ug Georgelly Tolibao.Naugdaw ang balay ni Casipe samtang partially burned lang

kang Tolibao. Tulo ka pamilya ang nagpuyo ning mga balaya, ug mga 12 sila kabook nga kaanak, ug gibakwit sila ngadto sa multi-purpose hall sa barangay aron didto kasamtangan magpuyo.

Mokabat sa P200,000 ang danyos sa kabtangan ni Casipe nga nasunog samtang P75,000 kang Tolibao.

Mi responde usab sila si Mayor Richard Gomez, konsehales Vincent Rama ug Bennet Pongos, sa dihang gisultihan sila sa sunog. Nangaon ang mga opisyales sa dakbayan sa Quadro, apan gibiyaan dayon ni Mayor ang iyang lamesa pakabati kabahin sa sunog.

Gidayeg usab sa mga opisyales ang paspas nga pagresponde sa sunog, sanglit wa kini makakaylap sa ubang mga balay. Matud pa sa mga biktima, way 5 ka minutos, diha na ang primerong firetruck.

Matod ni FO1 Samuel Matugas, nagsugod ang kayo sa balay ni Casipe diin usa ka kandila nga gibutang sa lamesa ang hinungdan sa pagsilaob sa kayo.

“Naputlan man sila og kuryente unya kandila ila gamit nga gibutang sa plastic nga lamesa. Wala man sab ibutang og saylanan or baso mao pagkatumba didto nagsugod” matod ni Matugas.

Gitabang usab ang 53 anyos nga ginang sa balay ni Tolibao human misaka ang blood pressure apan naulian ra kini.

Matod naman ni Danny Tolibao, nahurot iyang bonus sa pagpalit og mga kinahanglanon sa ilang balay apan kausa ra kini nahanaw.

Subay niini, karong panahon sa pasko, ang kabomberohan sa Ormoc mipahimangno sa publiko nga pilion ang Christmas lights nga dunay ICC sticker. Padayon sad mag-ikmat sa paggamit sa kandila ug mga lamparilya, hilabi na kay nagsige og brownout.

Duna usab ipahigayon nga joint inspection ang Department of Trade and Industry ug kabomberohan alang niadtong namaligya og Christmas lights aron masiguro nga luwas ang publiko sa mga substandard nga Christmas lights.

3 ka pamilya sa Linao, nasunog ang balay

Si Mayor Richard Gomez usa sa mga niresponde sa fire call niadtong Biernes sa gabie sa Brgy. Linao. Iyang gidayeg ang paspas nga pag responde sa BFP.

54 People, Places & Happenings

Athens: A Cradle of Civilization IITALKING ABOUT bucket lists, I ticked off another item in Athens after I was able to get inside a Greek Orthodox Church and take pictures, too. The Greek Orthodox Church is conservative. They dis-like tourists taking pictures of the inside of their churches, but I was lucky when I got in, because it was lunchtime.

Greek Orthodox churches look pretty like our old ones. Churchgoers still have to go to the Communion rail and kneel, to receive the host. I wonder when this practice was taken off the Catholic Church and why? Most Orthodox Churches don’t have seats, and they hear mass standing up.

Lunch in Greece, and anywhere in the places of Europe we went to, is at 2:00 PM. And it should always leisurely. Every meal is prepared individually, so the wait could take as long as 30 minutes.

Day 5 (October 18). After my two museum trips the day before, we woke up fresh to start another day in Athens. A visit there would never be complete without a visit to the Acropolis, the center of Greek ancient civilization. Atop the highest hill is the Parthenon, a temple to goddess Athena, to which the city is dedicated.

In the passage of time, including wars and the tides of changing religions, the temple has given way to the elements but restoration work, started in 1935, contin-ues. We learned from our guide that the Parthenon once became a church, and even a Muslim garrison.

Other important structures are the Propylaea, the gateway to Parthenon and the Erectheum where the iconic Porch of the Maidens or Caryatids is found. This was also turned into a harem by the Turkish army during the time they occupied the city.

Below, one can see a open air theater, mighty col-umns of what was left of the Temple of Zeus; and the Agora, or marketplace of ancient Greece. On top of the hill is another temple, this time dedicated to Hepha-estus, the ugly husband of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and sexuality.

Unforturnately, we enjoyed our visit to the Acropolis so much that we would get lost from the group.

Lost in AthensTogether with Ruby, Metrobank-Baybay manager, we

hailed a taxi to bring us to where our companions were, after waiting for a while at where the bus dropped us, hoping we would be fetched. But our guide was not pa-tient. He didn’t relish the idea of going back to get us, so we tried to find them, in a myriad of narrow, cobblestoned roads where unclear directions don’t help.

Texting Andone L. where they were, she answered they were in a church. The taxi driver, who could barely speak English, snorted “there are a hundred churches here.”

So, began our search for “that church.” We ended up exhausted in one beautiful Greek Orthodox church,the Metropolis Cathedral of Athens dedicated to the An-nunciation of the Virgin. That was where they were, only they have left already, for lunch. Anyway, not want-ing to miss the opportunity, I entered the church and my jaw dropped at its beautiful, ornate inside.

To make the story short, we reunited with the group after a few twists and turns, and able to join them for lunch. The waiters were nice and accommodating. Un-able to consume our food, most of us requested to bring home the leftovers, including the wine.

As we waited for the time our bus would pick us up, we scoured the neighborhood which had a cornucopia of shops. Athens has good quality leather products, and I am pretty sure some, if not most of my companions, had a nice shopping spree. Then, it was time to go back to the hotel. By Lalaine M. Jimenea

The modern city of Athens, pictured from atop the Acropolis, the highest point in the city.

A small group shot with the guide, and right, Elena Chu posing with the Porch of the Maidens on the background.

Information boards give the information about the ongoing restoration, and right, the Ampitheater at the bottom of Acropolis.

The Metropolis Cathedral of Athens, and right, the intricate insides. Athens is 90 percent Greek Orthodox.

Lunch at the Acropolis restaurant. The food served was authentic Greek food with lots of salads, tomatoes, and cheese.

5People, Places & Happenings

The modern city of Athens, pictured from atop the Acropolis, the highest point in the city.

A small group shot with the guide, and right, Elena Chu posing with the Porch of the Maidens on the background.

Information boards give the information about the ongoing restoration, and right, the Ampitheater at the bottom of Acropolis.

The Metropolis Cathedral of Athens, and right, the intricate insides. Athens is 90 percent Greek Orthodox.

Lunch at the Acropolis restaurant. The food served was authentic Greek food with lots of salads, tomatoes, and cheese.

ASC Ref .No. E047N071516E

6 December 5-11, 2016

MaranathaGood riddance

LALAINE MARCOS-JIMENEAPublisher/Editor-in-Chief

JOSE SANRO C. JIMENEABusiness Manager

Correspondents/ Columnists: MA. TONETTE MARTICIO, LOTTIE SALARDA, HENRY GADAINGAN, PAUL LIBRES, TED MARCOS, JENIBETH LORO, DR. MANUEL K. PALOMAR, Ph.D., VICKY C. ARNAIZ, DR. NINO DOYDORA, JT DELOS ANGELES, ATTY. BEULAH COELI FIEL, RICARDO MARTINEZ, JR., FR. ROY CIMAGALA,, ATTY. EMMANUEL GOLO, IÑIGO LARRAZABAL, YONG ROM, PROF. EDITHA CAGASAN

KEN ENECIOSection Editor

with MAI-MAI T. VELASQUEZ, GILBERT ABAÑO, EMIE CHU, DR. GERRY

PENSERGA, NIKKI TABUCANON SIA

Cartoonist: HARRY TEROWebsite address:

http://www.evmailnews.comemail: ormocnews@yahoo.com cc lalainej@gmail.com

The EASTERN VISAYAS MAIL is published weekly with Editorial and Business Offices at Hermosilla Drive (Malbasag), District 28, Ormoc City, LeyteTelefax Nos: 561-0809; e-mail: lalainej@gmail.com

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Other contact numbers: (053) 500-9389 (Biliran); (055) 560-9670 (Borongan)

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& ROSENDA CELIZ (Ormoc Office)

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Heart Disease and Exercise

see FR. ROY p. 8see DOCTOR p. 8

IT MEANS “Come, Lord Jesus” or “the Lord is coming.” This Aramaic word ap-pears in the Book of Revelation (22,20) to express the desire for the speedy coming for the second time of Christ, our Savior and King.

It also appears in the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians (16,22) to reinforce an injunction made earlier. It also appears in the Letter of St. James (5,8-9) to signify the need for vigilance for the coming of Christ.

In all these cases, the word strikes as something important and serious that deserves to be known and used by us to express its many nuances. It evokes a kind of expectation as well as a holy fear to of-fend God. It would be nice if we could use it as a password that would immediately put us in a certain frame of mind.

Especially now in this season of Ad-vent when we are preparing for the birth of Christ, we should remind ourselves that we are not only interested in that nostalgic feeling of Christ’s birth but also in the more serious business of preparing ourselves for his second coming.

In a sense, this is the distinctive flavor of the season of Advent and Christmas. It’s about looking forward to Christ com-ing again in glory as our King to reclaim us as his people. That is why we should remind ourselves again that our attitude toward Advent and Christmas should not just be mainly sentimental and emotional. It has to be strictly theological so that we can identify the proper direction we should take in this season.

We need to strongly remind ourselves that we are just passing by in this world. We are meant for another world, the so-called “a new heaven and a new earth.” (Rev 21,1) We ought to develop this kind of outlook in life.

That’s why we have to know what re-ally is essential in this earthly life of ours so that we do not get unnecessarily entangled, confused and lost. We even need to train our very instincts to discern the things proper to us as children of God.

Let’s hope that the word, “Maranatha,” can help us to see what really is necessary in life—our personal sanctity and our role in the continuing work of salvation through our personal apostolate.

“Maranatha” should not lead us to think that we think little of our present life with all its projects, concerns, challenges, etc. It should not evoke an idealistic other-worldly attitude. Rather it should help us see the link of our earthly life and our eternal life with God in heaven.

Precisely in this season of Advent, one of the liturgical prayers we say is the fol-lowing: “Father,...teach us to judge wisely the things of earth and to love the things of heaven.” “Maranatha” should make us see the connection between heaven and earth.

The word should heighten our aware-ness of our duty to sanctify ourselves and do apostolate, taking advantage of what-ever circumstances we may be in to pursue these goals.

DURING ONE of my daily rounds with a patient, a relative asked “Doctor, should patients with heart disease should avoid exercise?”

My answer is “it depends.” Heart disease could be mild or severe. And the term “heart disease” is so broad that heart disease can be inborn or acquired. But the most common heart disease is hypertensive heart disease, followed by ischemic heart disease. Such types of heart conditions are effects of unhealthy diet and lifestyle. In general, we doctors never discourage patients to do exercise. In fact, the lack of physical activity nowadays is a factor why obesity, diabetes and hypertension are be-coming so common.

If you raise your hand and make a fist, that is the size of your heart. It is a four-chambered organ, responsible for receiving oxygen-depleted blood, which it pumps to the lungs to be oxygenated. Once blood is oxygenated (in the lungs), it goes back to the heart; and the heart pumps the oxygen-ated blood to the rest of the body. Its func-tion is automatic, but affected by several factors such as pressure, volume and the capacity of the heart muscle to pump blood.

Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are those that occur in-born. Imagine the heart having 4 chambers and 4 main doors (valves). In CHD’s, abnormalities may involve wall (septal) defects and / or door (valve) defects. This will lead to abnormal pressures in the chambers leading to a dysfuctional heart and if not corrected, will eventually to death. This is what hap-pens to blue babies, who die hours after delivery. CHD’s are usually associated with other genetic diseases; such as Down Syndrome which is associated with Atrial Septal Defect.

The normal blood pressure range is 90/60 mmHg to 120/80 mmHg. Higher than that, it is considered prehyperten-sion or hypertension. A person with a BP of 150/100mmHg may say that he does not need medications since he does not feel anything (like dizziness, headaches, blurring of vision). But if one continues to ignore his high blood pressure, it may lead to hypertensive cardiovascular (heart) disease characterized by heart enlargement which may lead to heart failure. Heart en-

largement is usually seen on Chest X-rays and ECG tracings.

Most gym-goers lift dumb bells to develop and enlarge the muscles. When hypertension is ignored, it is like putting weights on your heart, prompting it to pump harder and because the heart is a muscle, it will also enlarge. An overtly en-larged heart can affect its ability to pump blood in the later stage which could lead to heart failure.

Again look at your first, imagine that the heart also has its blood vessels (ugat) running over and inside it. Ischemia (ischemic disease) indicates loss of blood supply to a portion of the heart because of a blocked blood vessel of the heart. The blockage is usually due to cholesterol plaques. This is why one should not ignore the high cholesterol level we often see in our routine blood tests. If the heart vessel is totally blocked, the ischemia is converted into an infarction - which is total blockage of the heart vessel. This is called a heart attack. It is manifested by severe pain, wherein the pumping ability of the heart gets compromised. Initially, BP would shoot up, but eventually will go down; then patient becomes hypotensive (BP is below 90/60 mmHg). It means the heart has failed as a pump. Heart attack is the number 1 cause of death in the world.

Although Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD’s) are mostly hereditary, to further avoid the occurrence of congenital heart disease, pregnant women must avoid smoking, avoid the intake of alcohol and other teratogenic substance. High blood pressure can be avoided by maintaining a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and lowering ones intake of salty and fatty food. If hypertension and hypercholesterol-emia cannot be corrected by diet and exer-cise, then one has to consult a doctor so that maintenance medications could be given.

Going back to the question, the se-verity of heart abnormality is usually evaluated by 2D echocardiography (like an ultrasound of the heart). It evaluates the pumping ability of heart; giving the doc-

see THE VIEW p. 8

ALBUERA POLICE chief Juvie Espinido has been re-assigned to Ozamis City, together with his 16 handpicked PNCOs who were in cahoots in his machinations in making the late mayor Rolando Espi-nosa sign affidavits implicating innocent people he didn’t, or his puppet masters, didn’t like.

After the last Senate hearing, where he admitted being a text mate of Kerwin Espinosa during the questioning of Senator Bam Aquino, he fell silent. According to Kerwin Espinosa, they were friends already since he became friends with the Codillas. Meaning, they were on the same side of the political fence, so why hate each other, eh?

I was looking keenly at Espinido, as his lies were unmasked one by one at the Sen-ate hearing. The myth that he has spun to make himself appear as a straight-shooting anti-drug cop crusader just crumbled. Gone was his air of bravado. Bistado ka na!

Anyway, as far as I am concerned, his transfer does not matter. I am pursuing the case I filed against him. I am also poised to answer the complaint he leveled against me. The complaint is ridiculous. He used as a witness a known Espinosa henchman, whom he bandied to media as having been caught with 3 kilos of shabu. After which, he did not file a case against. Was it in exchange for bearing false witness against several others and me in the late Espinosa’s tainted affidavit?

If there is one policeman that has de-stroyed President Duterte’s “war against drugs” in our parts here, it is Ch. Insp. Juvie Espinido.

In his machinations to camouflage and hide the real protectors of the Espinosa drug group, he muddled the issues and facts so much, it is like untangling a Gord-ian knot. What he didn’t count on, however, is that Kerwin Espinosa would be caught in Abu Dhabi, out of his claws, and that he would sing a different tune.

Espinido’s name already surfaced dur-ing the tactical interrogation of Espinosa in Abu Dhabi. I was told about this just a few days after Kerwin was arrested, and was wondering why Gen. Bato has not acted on it yet. He was said to have been confused on what to do with him, because “napabilib siya ni Espinido.” No wonder he cried out in frustration at the Senate hearing.

Well, a Gordian knot problem needs a Gordian knot solution. Which is to cut it off immediately, not wasting time on carefully untangling it.

Anyway, good luck Mr. Espinido with the Parojinogs. I know your patron is a friend of the Parojinogs, even harboring one of their fugitive henchmen here in Ormoc a few years ago, but I don’t think they can be bullied like the late mayor Espinosa. They are an entirely different ball game. Ozamis is the birthplace of the dreaded Kuratong Baleleng.

rrr

You might wonder what Gordian knot means. This is an idiom that originates from a

7December 5-11, 2016

NI ATTY. MANING GOLO

NDF-NPA groups must not demand so

much from gov’t

The Gospel on Sunday

Dec. 18, 2016Fourth Sunday of Advent

Good news for Leyte Province!

Laila vs. Vitaliana

Hiccups and blushing

THIS CORNER is in receipt of informa-tion that could spell a bonanza for the Province of Leyte. From information gathered from an article that appeared in Philstar dated 1st Dec 2016 and written by Richmond Mercurio, it seems that a conglomerate will undertake a big busi-ness venture that is worth something like US $250 million (this comes to about P12.5 billion at the current rate of P50 to the US Dollar). It has something to do with a steel mill plant which will require quite a big tract of land.

Philippine Economic Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director-General Ms Charito Plaza had a heart-to-heart with officials of Nicua Corporation recently to discuss the planned project. She was of the opinion that the project is in line with the plan of Pres. Rody to go into a massive infrastructure development of the Philippines. The budget earmarked for this particular massive infrastructure is P1 trillion on airports, seaports, farm-to-market roads and bridges. The country will be importing steel worth US $3 billion in the next few years. The demand for steel will no doubt grow to meet this demand. For sure we will be saving plenty of Dol-lars if the supply is found here rather than abroad. The President will surely give his approval on this project. According to the PEZA, the proposed project would have a target production of 6.4 million metric tons of magnetite concentrate to produce three million tons of steel and 27,000 tons of vanadium. She also said that the country will benefit from the availability of nearby cheap and abundant geothermal power and low-cost nearby production of iron ore.

The company was at one time engaged in mining here in Leyte. When it decided to go into the steel mill plant, they already had sufficient knowledge of the requirement of man power and the land, as well as the raw materials needed in manufacturing steel is iron. Chrome and Nickel they will get from

the Caraga region in Surigao. The project will require 40,000 hectares

of land and is expected to employ 4,000 people. She also said that the proponents have already identified the 40,000 hectares of land in Leyte which they intent to buy from the current land owners.

The article did not mention where the place is. Maybe, it was done on purpose to thwart anyone from making premature speculations for a windfall.. For sure it will be a bonanza of sorts if the area is known beforehand. Let us leave it at that or else the budget might go up.

PEZA Chief Charito Plaza is of the opinion that depressed Eastern Leyte will benefit from the economic boost. Moreover, we have to admit that Leyte is far behind in the country’s economy, even if we have the second largest in world geothermal energy.

It was also learned that majority of the Nicua Corporation is owned by Fili-pino investors. It also gave credence to the Corporation because it has a British equity investor.

The way this corner sees it, all systems should be GO. There is now a surge in the economy because of the effort given by Pres. Rody to go into massive infrastructure in order to generate more opportunities for the locals here to have a good future rather than be OFW’s in far-flung countries who eventually fold up and leave our compa-triots in the cold with unpaid wages. We can only cross our fingers on how they were able to manage with their daily lives. Not having money to pay for a return trip to his homeland is certainly absurd. The government had to fork out passage for their return trip.

Leyte has a strong capacity to be just as good as our fellowmen in the NCR but the opportunity is not there. The idea

THE DEMAND OF President Rodrigo Duterte from the National Democratic Front (NDF), the left wing political arm of the CPP-NPA, in the course of the peace talks being conducted by the government with them at Oslo, Norway is for the NDF-NPA group to enter first a signed bilateral agreement for a ceasefire before he agrees to the release of 130 political prisoners, as termed by the NPA. It is a reasonable demand that the leadership of the NDF-NPA should take into deep consideration.

The ceasefire called by both sides now are just unilateral ceasefires that can be called off by any of the parties which have no binding effect that can produce a real truce pact between the government and the NDF-NPA group. The goodwill gener-ated by the new administration in releasing first the 19 NPA political prisoners who were going to represent the NDF panel in the Norway peace talks must be seen as a goodwill gesture by President Duterte to the left wing group which should be appreciated by the NDF leadership in the on-going peace talks.

The 130 political prisoners in the NDF-NPA group are already processed for release but the President is waiting for a signed bilateral agreement to be submit-ted before he can order their release within 48 hours. He, however, said that he would release first the sickly and aging political

prisoners.There is some discrepancy in the num-

ber of communist rebels in prison being claimed by the NDF which totals 434 pris-oners that must be released immediately as a matter of justice and not due to charity. The government side however states only 200 prisoners are eligible for release under new guidelines by the Presidential Com-mittee on Bail Recognizance and Parole. The President also said that he could not release communist rebels in prison for criminal offenses.

Due to this impasse on the issue of release of political prisoners claimed by the communist rebel groups, some political prisoners have vowed to continue to fast, including their relatives and sympathiz-ers. They were joined in their fast by the Karapatan human rights group and two ACT Party list representatives. But the president told the protesters that “I can-not give you that. I’m sorry, but I have already conceded so much on the side of government.” We hope that the side of the communist rebels will not try to ask so much concession so that their more than 40 years old communist rebellion will end soon and we can have peace on this sector so that government can face other armed groups threatening peace in other parts of the country.

see POTPOURRI p. 10

WHENEVER ANY of our kids had a hic-cup, my wife Luth would cure it by plac-ing a small piece of moistened paper on their forehead. And just like magic, the hiccup would disappear. As they grew older, the trick changed. Instead of the small paper, her remedy was just to make them drink lots of water. Her techniques for us beat all the other remedies such as scaring the hiccups away or putting your head inside a paper sack.

For many people, there’s nothing more annoying than being stuck with a continu-ing bout of the hiccups. Why do we get hiccups?

Hiccups happen when our diaphragm (the sheet of muscle surrounding our lungs that’s responsible for respiration) contracts involuntarily. At the same time, our voice box contracts also causing that jump in our chest and producing that unrelenting hiccup sound.

Hiccup bouts are usually caused by our stomach getting too inflated too quickly from overeating or even carbonated bev-erages, say experts. Other causes, such as excessive alcohol ingestion or emotional stress, can also induce hiccups.

For the most part, hiccups are totally normal and not cause for concern. How-ever, persistent hiccups lasting more than 48 hours may require a thorough medical evaluation. Similarly, if you find yourself wrestling with regular bouts of hiccups for a month or more, it might be time to see the doctor. Although rare, hiccups like this could be caused by a serious cardiovascu-lar, neurologic, or gastrointestinal disorder.

As for scaring the hiccups away, there’s

no medical evidence to support that actu-ally works—so you can tell that pushy friend always trying to give you a fright to get lost. Instead, doctors suggest sipping cold water, gargling with water, or holding your breath for a minute to help you shake them. For a normal once in a while case, time will simply help them disappear. Try not to stress and your hiccups will be on their way to a happy sayonara.

Another human trait that some people are more inclined to display is blushing. It could go like this: As soon as she walks into the room, flashing you a smile, your cheeks take on a light shade of red. You feel the crimson all over your face, but there’s nothing you can do — you are blushing.

Turns out, this cheek-coloring reaction is a universal human response to social at-tention. Everyone does it, some more than others. Common blushing triggers include meeting someone important, receiving a compliment, and when experiencing a strong emotion in a social situation. They say that guys don’t color their cheeks red as often as women but that’s definitely debatable.

Blush biology works like this: Veins in the face dilate, causing more blood to flow into your cheeks, thus the rosy color. But scientists are baffled as to why it happens or what function it serves. That is, besides deflating your ego.

In any case, hiccups and blushing are human attributes that probably would help distinguish us from beasts or the most advanced robots.

Dear Atty. Golo,

Merry Christmas. Unsay akong pinaskohan? Ang akong asawa nga si Lai-la labihang kontraha ni Mama Vitaliana. Nangipon lagi pa me ni Laila og puyo sa ka Mama aron maka “save” sa konsumo. May “pension” man si Mama Vitaliana kay veterano man si anhing Papa. Peru, tihik kaayo si Mama. Masuko siya kon magpapalit og lechon si Inday Laila kay pakan-on lang og inun-onan. Nagbugno jud sila kay wa na kaagwanta ang akong asawa. Me sumbong ko sa Kapitan aron maghusay sila sa barangay peru pabay-ron man ko’g P 10.00 nga “filing fee.” Dili diay libre ang husay sa barangay?

Matinahuron, Ronelo

Dear Ronie,

Ang barangay pwede mo singil og “filing fee” sa sumbong nga isang-at (Art. 410, RA 7160). Ang gamay nga “filing fee” magamit pagpalit og papel o ballpen aron suwatan sa sabot-sabot nga makab-ot. Anha pod kuhaon ang ibayad sa pagpa-hibalo sa husay. Mao nga ayaw na lang og reklamo. Minyo na kamo si Laila. Dili na ka angay magsalig sa imong Mama. Palete og lechon si Inday Laila gikan sa imong bulsa. Merry Christmas pod ninyo ni Laila. Manghinaut ko nga mag-malipayon ang inyong pagpoyo. Ayaw na lang ipanabi ang katihik sa imong Mama kay mas kuripot ka pa niya.

Imong amigo, Manny G. Golo Probinsyano

Matthew 1:18-24This is how the birth of Jesus Christ

came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David,

do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

8 December 5-11, 2016NOTICES

therefore of Federalism cannot be over-emphasized. Pres. Rody seems to be serious on this score. He is willing to step down for the next leader after we shall have been under a Federal system. That is the mark of a good man; the kind that great leaders are made of. We can only count with our fingers how many of world leaders are impelled with civic spirit. Marcos could have been that man but he bungled it when he became subservient to Madam Imelda and her drive to spare her brothers from going back to the hole they came from. This latter reason why martial law was declared is to do away with the 1935 Constitution so that he can run again for another term. Ambition kills a man due to vanity! May he find eternal rest in the bosom of Abraham!

POTPOURRI ... from P. 7

In other words, let’s hope that the word can elicit the passion and zeal for holiness and apostolate. This pair can never be separated, since holiness by definition involves not only loving God but also loving others with God’s love. Holiness will always be apostolic. It necessarily involves entering into the lives of others for God.

And before we get some strange ideas about this truth of our faith, like, it is too fantastic, undoable, if not inhu-man, etc., we need to reassure ourselves that this is the passion that would actually make us fully human, fully Christian, children of God, perfect image and likeness of God.

As to its practicability, we cannot have any doubt about it, since God, for his part, is giving us everything for it to take place. He has sent his Son who became man to us. And this God-man, Jesus, died on the cross in his supreme act of self-giving to us.

Nothing is spared to make us be what we ought to be.On our part, we have been wired and equipped for this

passion for holiness and apostolate. With our intelligence and will, and always activated by God’s grace, we can enter into the life of God himself, and the lives of others.

This is the tremendous wonder of our life—that in spite of our weakness, mistakes and sins, we are still, as St. Augustine would put it, “capax Dei,” capable of God. And if we are capable of loving God, then we too must be capable of loving others. Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

FR. ROY ... from P. 6

tor an idea how healthy it is. And with it, the doctor can prescribe a specific exercises tailored for a specific patient. This is what they do in cardiac rehabilitation, wherein the heart function is evaluated, then, an exercise regimen is formulated to enable a patient to continue exercising with the guidance of the physiatrist (rehab doctor). So, I always tell patients that before exercising, they should be seen first by their doctors and that their blood pressure must be controlled before doing the exercise. This is because some people might engage in strenuous activities leading to uncontrollably high blood pressure levels which could be fatal, leading to death.

DR. DOYDORA is an internist-pulmonologist of OSPA, Gatchalian and Ormoc Doctors’ Hospitals.

DOCTOR ... from P. 6

The mayor said that with regards to receiving a handsome campaign con-tribution when he first ran for mayor in 2010, he added Espinosa seems to have forgotten that he was then in prison at that time.

Ex-mayor dela Cerna also debunked the claim that they are kumpares, and he was even one of the godfathers of Kerwin’s children. The ex-mayor said he recalls being invited to a baptism, but he did not attend it.

Dela Cerna said he did all to avoid association with the drug lord, adding this was public knowledge in his town. He was even in-vited to cut the inaugural ribbon of Zellan Hotel when it opened, but again, he did not attend. The mayor said Albueranons know who went there and hobnobbed with Kerwin.

The former mayor said that the Espinosas harbor a grudge against him for refusing their overtures

to make friends. The ex-mayor ’s name is also in the disputed affidavit of the late Mayor Rolando “Onik” Espinosa, but what he mentions was giving only P 300,000.00, and not P 1-million as the younger Espinosa claimed.

The ex-mayor said that Kerwin’s testimony was full of lies.

Meanwhile , i t was learned that Ch. Insp. Juvie Espinido and 16 PNCOs from the Albuera police station have been ordered relieved from their duties, and transferred to Ozamis City. Espinido hogged the headlines of newspapers and national television net-works with his “feat” of arresting the lieutenants of the Espinosas in their drug trade.

However, he was un-masked as one of Espinosa’s protectors during the recent Senate inquiry, when he ad-mitted that he and Kerwin were textmates. Kerwin told the Senate that after hunting

EX-MAYOR ... from P. 1

him, he became friends with Espinido when he became friends with the Codillas. The Codillas are known to be close to Espinido.

The police chief, cor-nered, admitted to this add-ing the Espinosa would often call him, saying he wanted to change. Senator Bam Aquino commented, “That’s admission, bakit hindi mo hinuhuli?”

Season’s Greetings:Merry Christmas

to all!!!

legendary chapter in the life of Alexander the Great, a Greek emperor who conquered most of Europe and Asia. According to the History website: “The origins of the “Gordian knot,” a term commonly used to de-scribe a complex or unsolvable problem, can be traced back to a legendary chapter in the life of Alexander the Great. As the story goes, in 333 B.C. the Macedonian conqueror marched his army into the Phrygian capital of Gordium in modern day Turkey. Upon arriving in the city, he encoun-tered an ancient wagon, its yoke tied with what one Ro-man historian later described as “several knots all so tightly entangled that it was impos-sible to see how they were fastened.”

Phrygian tradition held that the wagon had once belonged to Gordius, the father of the celebrated King Midas. An oracle had declared that any man who could unravel its elaborate knots was destined to become ruler of all of Asia.

According to the ancient chronicler Arrian, the impetu-ous Alexander was instantly “seized with an ardent desire” to untie the Gordian knot. After wrestling with it for a time and finding no success, he stepped back from the mass of gnarled ropes and proclaimed, “It makes no difference how they are loosed.” He then drew his sword and sliced the knot in half with a single stroke.

In another version, he sim-ply pulled out a lynchpin running through the yoke, loosening the knot enough that he was able to unfasten it. Whatever method he used, the young king was immediately hailed as having outsmarted the ancient puzzle. That same night, Gordium was rocked by a thunder and lightning storm, which Alexander and his men took as a sign that he had pleased the gods. True to the prophecy, he went on to con-quer Egypt and large swaths of Asia before his death at age 32.

Thanks to the enduring popularity of the Alexander fable, the phrase “Gordian knot” has entered the lexicon as shorthand for an intricate or intractable obstacle. One of its earliest appearances came in the Shakespeare play Henry V, where the titular character is praised for his ability to “unloose” the Gordian knots of politics. Likewise, the say-ing “cutting the Gordian knot” is now commonly used to describe a creative or decisive solution to a seemingly insur-mountable problem. Source: http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-the-gordian-knot

THE VIEW ... from P. 8

December 5-11, 2016 CLASSIFIEDS 9

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10 December 5-11, 2016NEWS

BFAR gives Samar patrol boats, exchange illegal fishing gears

Robinsons Place Tacloban now bigger, better

L-R: Celina Chua, GM of Toys R Us, Tacloban vice mayor Sambo Yaokasin, Leyte Rep. Yedda Romualdez, Tacloban City Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez, Arlene G. Magtibay, SVP and GM Robinsons Land Corp. and Robinsons endorser Maja Salvador.

TACLOBAN CITY – The biggest mall in the city has not just built back better after the wrath of Superty-phoon Yolanda three years ago, but opened another expansion with additional cinemas and facilities, and bringing in top establish-ments from Metro Manila and some local brands.

Robinsons Mall Taclo-ban welcomes mall go-ers with their three level expansion mall with its interiors inspired from the famous Pintados Festival, said Arlene Magtibay, Vice President and General Man-ager of Robinsons Land Corp.-Commercial Center Division.

While it has only been two and a half years when they opened their first ex-tension and Go Hotels, they were surprised by the rapid growth of the economy prompting them to cater to other top establishments and budding ones.

“We’re very grateful to the one up above, for truly helping Tacloban get back on its feet, also we are very amazed of the resilience of the people of Leyte, having one of the most improved economies, and we are truly heartened that the mall today is doing even better that it was before Yolanda,” she said.

It is the first time that they brought in popular res-taurants and food chains in Metro Manila such BonChon

Chicken, Hap Chan, Pan-cake House, Kuya J’s Res-taurant, Ice Bergs, a number of apparel stores and service establishments such as Bayo, Regatta, Toby’s, Giordano, Toys R us, David Salon and Flawless Salon.

They have, likewise, put in some of the best local restaurants such as High-side, Cocina Don Vicente, Canto Fresco, and Bagnet and Beyond.

Magtibay added that their 138-room Summit Hotel has already started its construction and will open on the first quarter of 2017.

It will have the biggest con-vention and function room in the region, which would make it ideal for seminars and big conferences. It also has a swimming pool an serves food and beverage (F&B).

Lingkod Pinoy Center, the flagship public service program of Robinsons Mall is now open, wherein vari-ous government agencies such as PhilHealth, TESDA, PhilPost and SSS transac-tions can be processed such as securing loans, permits and licenses.

She shared that the mall

is environment-friendly because they have installed solar panels equivalent to 1.44 million kilowatt hours. It is designed to lessen their carbon dioxide emission, similar to planting some 26,000 trees, as part of their commitment not only for business, but for the envi-ronment.

Lastly, she disclosed that they have already started the construction of Robinsons Place North Tacloban located in Abucay and will be open late next year. By Tonette Marticio and LMJ

PALO, LEYTE – Newly appointed Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Executive Director U-Nich-ols Manalo has laid out his plans for the coming year, aside from the existing projects and programs they have in Eastern Visayas.

Manalo took over the post of Reg’l Director Wil-son Cerbito, who has been on medical leave since No-vember.

In a press briefing on Friday, he said that he was mandated to fulfill Pres-ident Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to the farmers and fisher folks, and find long-term equipment and tools that can be utilized for farm mechanization by farm as-sociations, as part of the Ad-aptation Mitigation Initia-tive in Agriculture (AMIA).

As of this year, 28 hand tractors, 8 transplanters, 25 rippers, 8 compact mobile rice mills and 3 threshers have already been distrib-

New DA regional director maps out plans for 2017

BFAR regional director Juan Albaladejo turns over to Gov. Sharee Ann Tan a miniature boat as a symbolic gesture.

CATBALOGAN CITY – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has intensified its campaign against illegal fishing in Samar province, through its Palit-Lambat Program, and the distri-bution of two fiberglass patrol boats with 16-horse power marine engine.

182 fishermen from Catbalogan City, Pinabacd-ao, Talalora and Daram were able to receive P7,000 worth of gill nets each from BFAR, in exchange for their illegal fishing gears. This is to encourage them to prac-tice lawful fishing.

Admittedly, the use of passive gears will reduce their target catch as com-pared to the active gears prohibited by law, however, BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo maintained that it will create a posi-tive impact in the long run because it is environment-friendly.

“The ‘liba-liba’ and ‘hulbot-hulbot’ are really not good for our marine ecosystem because they destroy our corals and catch even small fishes. We need

to focus on its long term effects, which are harmful to the seas,” he said.

It was also learned that there are about 500 illegal fishers in Samar. Governor Sharee Ann Tan directed the Phil. National Police (PNP) to help curb illegal fishing.

She shared that this campaign is only part of much bigger plans that they have prepared for the province in order to achieve socio-economic develop-ment and address problems such as insurgency and poverty.

“This is part of our social preparation of our people because we are not only toppling down illegal fishing, but we are also incorporating this to our development agenda and Spark Samar campaign. But in order to sustain tourism, we also need to preserve our natural resources,” she said.

“These steps may not create abrupt changes, but at least we are heading on the right direction. I would like to see the prov-ince grow,” she added. By Tonette Marticio

uted to farm associations all over the region.

According to him, start-ing next year, he will go around the provinces to appreciate the place and identify the needs of the farmers in order to encour-age collective management.

Moreover they plan to encourage partnerships with schools by reintro-ducing agriculture to pri-mary education, as well as farmers’ children and implementing partners to understand that there are available technology to maximize their yield.

Manalo also pointed out that the region has a great potential, but what hinders development is how farmers adapt to cli-mate change.

“We need to harness ad-aptation to climate change to minimize damage to ag-riculture especially during calamities and help farmers to adjust to the changing

environment. The service of the government does not end with giving out of projects, it ends when you have changed the lives of farmers and fisher folks,” he said. By Tonette Marticio