Preps for Pintados-Kasadyaan fest underway

AFTER focusing their time in the recently held local elections, Kasadyaan Festival executive chairman and Palo Mayor Remedios “Matin” Petilla said they would now give time for the preparation of the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival this June.

The challenge now after their preparation is again with the Tacloban City Government, said Petilla following the re-election of Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

P9.8-M livelihood projects for tourism proposed

LOCAL government units have proposed a P9.8-million livelihood project for tourism development in Eastern Visayas next year, under the National Government’s bottom-up budgeting approach.

Department of Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said that priority projects depart from the traditional construction of tourism infrastructure funded by the central government.

15 OFWs from Saudi repatriated

AT LEAST 15 stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Saudi Arabia have arrived home on May 18, said migrant rights group Migrante.

The 15, all male, were among the around 200 trapped OFWs who have encamped inside the Philippine embassy compound in Riyadh since May 4.

Country’s youngest mayor re-elected

GIPORLOS, Eastern Samar -- The incumbent mayor of this town was re-elected last May 13 elections along with his running mate and seven other councilors in his lineup, the municipal Commission on Elections (Comelec) records show.

Mayor Mark Biong, 24, who was elected mayor of this town at 21 in 2010 and became the youngest mayor in the country, was given another fresh mandate during the May 13 midterm elections.

Two cave systems in EV declared protection areas

TWO natural cave systems in the region have been placed under protection from treasure hunters, polluters and vandals, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

DENR-Eastern Visayas Executive Director Manolito Ragub said the Langun-Gobingob Caves in Calbiga and Sohoton Caves in Basey are classified for immediate conservation whose natural wealth and resources are placed under the protection and management of the government.

An Waray emerge as first in Eastern Visayas

TACLOBAN CITY – The An Waray party-list is number one in Eastern Visayas and 11 other party-list groups turned out to be the top picks in 33 of the 143 cities and municipalities, counting results showed.

An Waray party-list Representative Neil Benedict Montejo said this is inevitable considering that nominees and officials of some existing party-lists hail from the region, too.

Dominic proclaim as new Leyte governor

TACLOBAN CITY– Leopoldo Dominico “Dominic” Petilla was proclaimed by the Provincial Board of Canvassers as the new governor of Leyte. He ran unopposed.

The 48-year-old new governor was proclaimed at 10 p.m. Thursday by the board of canvassers, chaired by Leyte elections supervisor Richard Alvin Japzon, after the town of Calubian was able to transmit their result at 8:10 p.m.

Yaokasin as vice mayor, ‘good’ for Romualdez

TACLOBAN CITY - After proclaiming outgoing Councilor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin as the new vice mayor of this city, the information officer of the City Government said she expects a good flow of legislative action at the Sangguniang Panlungsod for the next three years.

City information officer Bernardita “Bering” Valenzuela said that they are happy that Mayor Alfred Romualdez won in the mayoralty race over out-going An Waray Representative Florencio “Bem” Noel, who was endorsed by President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino.

DILG chief to meet members of problematic councils

TACLOBAN CITY – Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director Pedro Noval Jr. said he would personally talk with newly elected members of the council of this city and that of Samar province.

These two councils were the most “controversial” as most of the members failed to attend their respective regular sessions, Noval said adding that this resulted to the non-passage of important measures like the annual budget of Samar.

Eastern Visayas political families continue to rule

MAJOR ruling political families in Eastern Visayas are still assured to continue with their dominance on their respective turfs with the only exception of the Dazas in Northern Samar, ironically supposed to be the bailiwick of President Benigno Aquino III's Liberal Party (LP).

In Leyte, the dominance of the Romualdez and Petilla families remain, as both Leopoldo Dominico Petilla and Ferdinand Martin Romualdez were unopposed on their respective bids for governor and congressman.

Tension arise in Northern Samar

SAN, ISIDRO, Northern Samar -- Tension arose as supporters of congressional candidates for the first district of Northern Samar Harlin Abayon and incumbent Representative Raul Daza occupy the municipal hall to protect the votes of their candidates.

Men of 803rd Infantry Brigade and the police are securing the premises of the building to ensure that the tension would not escalate.

Analyst: Aquino endorsement not good enough to win votes

PRESIDENTIAL and celebrity endorsements, truckloads of campaign posters, overwhelming public support and countless media ads are paths to poll victory, but why An Waray party-list Representative Florencio "Bem" Noel failed on his bid to become the mayor of Tacloban City?

A political analyst tagged several factors why Noel lost on his bid despite endorsement from the President Benigno Aquino III and his sister, Kris, so-called queen of all media.

Police return after rendering poll duties

PALO, Leyte -- About 913 uniformed police personnel have safely returned to the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Eastern Visayas office after rendering election duties for two weeks in various parts of the region.

Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria, PNP-Eastern Visayas director, has tendered a cordial and joyous welcome to the returning policemen who were augmented to secure a fair, honest and peaceful elections.

Policeman lauded for foiling possible poll violence

BORONGAN CITY -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Eastern Visayas will give proper recognition to a 47-year-old policeman who singlehandedly prevented an attempt by several armed men to sow violence in a remote village in Eastern Samar simultaneous to the elections.

Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria, PNP-Eastern Visayas director, identified the police officer as Senior Police Officer 3 Jorge Tiunayan who was manning the security assistance desk in a polling center in Mantang Elementary School, some five kilometers away from the town proper of Taft in Eastern Samar.

Proclamations for Calbayog City anytime today

CALBAYOG CITY – The city board of canvassers (CBOC) was not able to proclaim the winners Tuesday evening as it is still waiting for the election returns (ERs) from remaining barangays, said Calbayog City assistant election officer Carina Amante.

Amante said the ERs from Pinamorotan, Cag-anahaw, San Policarpo, Cabicahan, Balud, and Higasaan are all expected to be delivered today, Wednesday.

Taclobanon felt insulted by Aquino’s endorsement of Noel

RESIDENTS of Tacloban City decried the statement of President Benigno Aquino III that Tacloban is languishing in poverty since the Romualdezes took hold of its leadership.

Angry callers flooded the airwaves of dyBR and a TV station PRTV 12 and rebuked the President for allowing him to be manipulated by An Waray Representative Florencio “Bem” Noel, who is challenging Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

Dole to prioritize child labor elimination in 3 EV areas

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) has identified three areas in Eastern Visayas as priority in the elimination of child labor this year.

Dole-Tacloban Director Exequiel Sarcauga said that in addition to Northern Samar, Leyte and Tacloban City were also identified as priority where child labor is more prevalent.

Comelec reports no major hitches during May 13 polls

WITH no major hitches encountered as of morning of the balloting, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Eastern Visayas declared the elections as “generally peaceful.”

This early, lawyer Vironico Petalcorin, acting Comelec-Tacloban director, said the conduct of elections across the region was successful as no major problem was encountered, especially on the functionality of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.

Political supporters gunned down in Northern Samar

CATARMAN, Northern Samar -- Violence continues to rise as the election gets hotter in this province with the recent incidents that killed two identified supporters of politicians here.

Police identified the first victim as Ernesto Caparal, 40, resident of Barangay Balnasan and known supporter of Jocelyn Curso, mayoralty candidate of the Liberal Party in San Roque town.

Police: No recorded violence in Calbayog

CALBAYOG CITY -- The local election conducted here Monday ended without any recorded violence, despite few reported incidents before the start of the polls, police said.

Police Senior Inspector Sotero Abrito of Calbayog City Police Station (CCPO) said in a phone interview late Monday evening that they did not receive or monitor any violence during and after the voting in the three districts of Calbayog.

Army deploys units for safe election

CATBALOGAN CITY – Brigade General Gerardo Layug, of 8th Infantry Division, said they will deploy five hundred military units to voting centers in the region, in addition to 900 units from the Philippine National Police (PNP) to have a peaceful election despite Samar’s inclusion on election “hotspots” of the PNP and Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Tacloban top cop relieved from post

THE head of the Tacloban City Police was relieved from his post barely two days before election day – a move that surprised residents here.

Senior Superintendent Romulo Cleve Taboso was removed from his post and was transferred to the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (RPHAU) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters.

Independent bishops support Villar’s senatorial bid

THE senatorial bid of former Las Pinas representative Cynthia Villar has earned endorsement of the country’s Catholic and non-Catholic independent bishops, citing candidate’s poverty alleviation advocacy.

In a simple rites at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan on Wednesday, Reverend Efraim Perez, president of the Independent Bishops Conference of the Philippines (IBCP), said they picked Villar due to her track record, competence, and leadership as shown in her nine years’ stint in Congress.

Courts, PAO offices open on Election Day

WHILE employees in public and private offices are largely on vacation today to utilize the time to cast their votes, judges and clerks of courts in lower courts and all public attorneys and staff of Public Attorney’s Office across the archipelago are duty-bound to serve not in the polling precincts but in their respective courts and offices.

In separate circulars issued by Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez and Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta on April 25 and April 29 respectively, both stated the need to ensure that free legal assistance will be provided to public school teachers who may be harassed while in the performance of their election duties.

Northern Samar declared as area of immediate concern

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Eastern Visayas has declared the entire province of Northern Samar as area of immediate concern less than a week before the May 13, 2013 midterm elections.

With this declaration, security in the province was beefed up to prevent any possible untoward incidents during the elections, Comelec Acting Regional Director Veronico Petalcorin said.

Police office to deploy 5,000 cops for polls

CAMP KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte -- Police Regional Office-Eastern Visayas (PRO 8) Director Elmer Ragado Soria said Wednesday that they will deploy close to 5,000 policemen to render election duties for the May 13 polls.

This came as the Philippine National Police (PNP) high command raised to full alert status all police units nationwide effective 6 a.m. Monday.

Complaint vs Noel now with KBP

THE Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) national office has taken cognizance of the alleged harassment and intimidation of a radioman by outgoing An Waray Representative Florencio "Bem" Noel, a mayoralty candidate in Tacloban City.

Virginia Velasco, standard authority performance officer of KBP national office, in her letter-response to lawyer Ma. Corazon Sudario, general manager of Philippine Collective Media Corp. who operates dyBR, acknowledged receipt of the complaint filed against Noel last May 3, 2013 regarding the incident last April 26.

Charges filed vs Victoria mayor’s attackers

CAMP KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte -- Police have filed criminal charges against two persons tagged as responsible for a gun attack that injured a town mayor and his son in Northern Samar.

The shooting incident, which happened last May 2, injured reelectionist Victoria town Mayor Jose Ardales and his son Jorge. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) considered the incident as an election-related violence considering the personalities involved, but did not yet put the area under its control.

Labor office: No work plan yet from EDC

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) is still waiting for the Energy Development Corporation’s (EDC) work plan, more than a month after the landslide that killed 14 workers inside the geothermal complex in Kananga, Leyte.

Citing revised timetable, Dole Eastern Visayas Director Exequiel Sarcauga said the EDC is expected to submit its complete geotechnical plan on or before May 30.

Kris Aquino: ‘Game over’ for opponents of Team Noel

“IT’S game over!” said the presidential sister and popular TV-host Kris Aquino, as she addressed a huge crowd of about 30,000 at the Leyte Sports Development Center in Tacloban City on Friday.

Aquino endorsed the mayoralty bid of An Waray party-list Representative Florencio “Bem” Noel together with his coalition team.