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Leyte LGUs get weather stations from WPF, DOT

DepEd, Save the Children work hand-in-hand to help pupils of low performing schools

Mayors and/or representatives from various recipient LGUs pose with DOT director Karina Rosa Tiopes and Amor Maclang. At the far left is Celso C. Caballero III of WPF. On the foreground are the parts of the automated weather stations.

THE WEATHER Philippines Foundation (WPF), in coopera-tion with the regional Depart-ment of Tourism, gave out au-tomated weather stations to the various cities and municipalities here on Thursday, May 8, at the Ormoc Villa Hotel.

In attendance were various mayors and/or their representa-tives, and key personnel who would be installing the automated weather stations. They were trained on how to install it, handle it, and understand it.

Also present were WPF gen-eral manager Celso C. Caballero III and Amor Maclang of Geiser-Maclang, a brand consultant.

In her welcome address, DOT regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes said that the audience might be wondering what tour-ism is doing with weather pre-diction. She said that for them in tourism, it was good to have access to weather information because planning tourism activi-ties revolves around it. Leyte and Eastern Visayas region is along the “tourism corridor” of the country.

Celso C. Caballero III, on the other hand, explained why they were giving out automated weather stations and how to fully utilize its potential. He said that the project was a pro-active and pre-emptive measure conceptual-ized by the Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. together with its partners

By LaLaine M. JiMenea

see WEATHER p. 6

The WASH team of Save the Children gets a volunteer to demonstrate how to properly wash his hands.

see DEPED p. 6

ORMOC CITY – “1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … 20”, a group of young pupils at Brgy. Mahayahay count, as a young schoolmate volunteers to demonstrate how to wash his hands properly.

The “hand washing” segment is one of the ‘HY5’ series of ac-tivities that Save the Children, an international non-government or-ganization, is espousing under its “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” (WASH) cluster. The HY5 is a simple activity that teaches proper hygiene through five simple steps.

In cooperation with the De-partment of Education, Save the Children has adopted four elementary schools and one high school in the city that posted low performance ratings and are cur-rently undergoing a “bridging program” called “Summer Fun in Schools.”

These are the elementary schools of Mahayahay, Quezon Jr., Biliboy, Gaas and the night school of the New Ormoc City National High School. Artemia Ll-overas, DepEd division focal per-son of the Summer Fun in Schools program, said that because of Yolanda, there was no National Achievement Test given but just a division achievement test. The five schools ranked low hence the bridging program to prepare the

students for the higher year. Under the program, school-

children in the five schools un-dergo additional classes, three hours a day for 15 days. To make learning fun for them, Save the Children workers pitch in on some days for some activity-filled lectures that are participatory.

Russ Pascual, information management project coordina-tor of Save the Children, said “Learning is much quicker when

it’s done through play”. He said this while observing the pupils in-teract with the WASH volunteers and mimic them as they went through the motions of washing their hands. They giggled and laughed while interacting with their “teachers.”

The children were also visibly awed with Save the Children’s portable hand-washing demo kit consisting of one lavatory with faucet, a jug of water and a pedal

pump which makes the water flow.

After the hand-washing les-son, the children proceeded to a fun game of life-sized “Snakes and Ladders”. Other educational activities are being done through fun mediums like arts and crafts, music and performances.

Tom Howells, Save the Chil-dren project manager, said they

“Junior Aki” says he might be the only one paying ACEF loan

see INAKI p. 6

ATTY. INAKI Larrazabal Jr. or “Junior Aki” to friends could only wryly laugh at being brand-ed as a “member of a political clan in Ormoc City” who availed of the now-controversial Agricul-tural Competitiveness Enhance-ment Fund or ACEF.

Reacting to a report published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer

2 NEWS May 5-11, 2014

Red Alert in Brgy. Tambulilid snags two suspectsVince Rama is police advisory council chairman

Witness claims 7 cops were drinking; OCPO director to file raps vs. gambling cop

ORMOC CITY – Barangay Tambulilid, one of the city’s most populous barangays which has also recently been unmasked as one of Ormoc’s “hotspots” in the illegal drug trade, is now being watched closely by the city policemen.

Sr. Supt. Jose Macanas, in a phone interview, said the de-ployment that they did on the afternoon of Thursday, May 8, has already had some success. That very evening, he said, one armed man was arrested on a motorcycle with no plate number.

Then, on May 10, Saturday in the evening at around 10:15, a man using shabu was ap-prehended by the police after a family member reported his illegal activity.

Reports reached the Ormoc City Police Office that the drug trade in the said barangay has remained unabated despite the incident about a month ago, when three people were killed in a buy bust that went sour, and a series of raids that happened against known drug personalities.

Despite this, the situation has reportedly gone from bad to worse, with shady characters harassing barangay officials and residents vocally opposing the presence of illegal activi-ties in their barangay.

The reports that reached Macanas state that trading was already being done in the open, even at a house just at the back of the barangay hall, and that armed men on motorcycles with no plates frequented the village almost everyday.

Councilor Vincent Rama, chairman of the peace and order council, said that baran-gay governance has practically collapsed in Tambulilid, with officials in fear against known “lords” in their midst.

The deployment of troops to the village, Macanas said, was sanctioned by the PNP regional director who said all efforts must be made to stop the illegal drug trade from proliferating in Tambulilid, and all the villages in Ormoc City at that. Arrested for illegal posses-

sion of firearms, drugs The first apprehension that

the police made after the de-ployment was that of Alvin Oscar Jaro Jr. alias “Abay”, married and a resident of sitio Riverside in Brgy. Alegria. He was driving on a motorcycle with no plate number.

When police flagged him down, he could not present his Certificate of Registration. The suspect reportedly searched for something inside his belt bag and police saw the handle of what seemed to be a gun.

The cops asked to inspect the belt bag and saw that in-side was a caliber 45 and two loaded magazines for the gun. One had 8 live bullets and the other 7.

The police has since filed a complaint of violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Law against

International NGOs and Humanitarian Actors operating in Ormoc City and nearby towns had a press conference on May 7 to report the status of their relief and recovery work. (L-R) Romina Sta. Clara of International Organization for Migration (IOM); Chito Katangkatang, team leader of the Community and Family Services Int’l. (CFSI), Ashley Jonathan Clements, head of the UN-OCHA sub-office; Hezekiah Abuya, field office head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); Reggie Aquino of Save the Children and city councilor Pedro Godiardo Ebcas representing Mayor Edward Codilla. The activity is part of the commemoration activities of six months after Yolanda which included a Streamer Campaign and poster making. The day was capped with a concert at the plaza in the evening featuring local bands and those from Manila.

“Abay”. Two nights later, a team

lead by SPO4 Charito Daaco arrested one Fidel Cuizon, a local of Brgy. Tambulilid, after family reported him for sniff-ing shabu. As of press time, he is detained at the Police Station 3 at Brgy. Linao for “proce-dural investigation”.

Red AlertMacanas noted that putting

the village under “Red Alert” status has somewhat restored the trust of locals to the police.

He said the fact that a fam-ily has reported a member for using shabu shows the locals now believe that the police is serious in curbing the drug trade in their village. “We are serious”, Macanas said, and urged for people’s cooperation. He said fear will bring people nowhere. “Takot kayo. Kami, tao rin lang. Takot rin kami. Pero kung lahat na lang tayo matatakot, eh, wala tayong patutunguhan diyan. Dapat, magsama-sama tayo at ipakita natin sa kanilang nagkakaisa tayo”, he said. (You’re afraid. We are not exactly fearless also but if we let fear reign in us, we will never defeat them. Let’s show them we are together in this fight and united against them.)

Meanwhile, the alleged drug lord residing in the baran-gay is said to have “relocated”, whether temporarily or per-manently, it is not known. By Lalaine M. Jimenea

ORMOC CITY- A witness who suffered a gunshot wound last April 8, 2014 from an alleged buy bust that went wrong at an illegal cockfight happening at Brgy. Tambulilid, this city, says seven of the police opera-tives of police station 3 were drinking at the vicinity of the illegal cockpit when the shootings happened.

10 policemen, including the police station chief and his deputy, are now in the freezer for the incident.

Based on the affidavit of the witness, whose name is being concealed to safeguard him, a policeman went up the illegal cockpit pointing his gun at another person, shouting at him not to run.

He said that after that, the cop started shooting inside the cockpit, causing a stampede. He was among those who were hit. He also mentions that the first gunshot fired was still on the ground, at the exit por-tion of the cockpit where the policeman went up, but he did not see what happened then as his back was turned to them.

The witness later identified the man that the cop was pur-suing as the dead person found at the foot of the stairs, one Sim Serrano, the subject of the alleged buy bust operations.

It was also learned that the “illegal cockpit” has since been dismantled, and that “re-enactment” might be tricky.

For his part, Sr. Supt. Jose Macanas said that the investi-gation on the incident was now in the hands of the Northern Leyte Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. While he is involved in the task force formed to probe the in-

cident, he would rather keep his distance to make way to an impartial probe.

The new city director is barely three months on the job and the Tambulilid incident is his baptism of fire.

Macanas, however, said that one thing for sure that he would do is to file admin-istrative charges against a policeman who was reportedly betting at the cockfight going on that day, even as he was logged as “on duty”. What is ironic is the same policeman is assigned at the Ormoc City Police Office.

“He was supposed to be on duty but he was there, betting”, Macanas said in Pilipino, “and sources said he did not do any-thing to help his co-policemen when the commotion started.” He withheld the name of the gambling cop until the ap-propriate complaint is filed against him.

Macanas said he would also be probing policemen liv-ing in the area why they were not volunteering information on the many illegal activities happening nearby. “You don’t stop being a policeman when you are off duty,” he said, add-ing that they should help in the intelligence gathering and not leave it to the locals.

Isabel police chief shot in AllenORMOC CITY – The chief of police of Isabel, Leyte was shot by another policeman early morning of May 10, Saturday, at the town of Allen in Northern Samar, some 600 kilometers away from here.

Said to be in critical condition at the Allen District Hospital is Ch. Insp. Randy Nicart Jongco who was report-edly shot by PO1 Greco Campanero Albetria. The victim suffered two gun shot wounds on his left chest from Al-betria’s caliber 45.

The police chief’s attacker is reportedly assigned at the San Isidro municipal police station, also here in Leyte. Initial accounts indicate that Albetria has a grudge against Jongco as he is reportedly facing summary dismissal of which Jongco was hearing officer. By Paul Libres

City councilor Vincent Rama was elected chairman of the Ormoc City Police Advisory Council which was organized this week. The advisory council is a multi-sectoral group that is expected to bridge the gap between the police and civilians and recommend policies. Members include Regional Trial Court Judge Clinton C. Nuevo, OIC DILG Officer Lucy Ong, Jean Justimbaste of Pagtinabangay, Engr. Juliana Flores of the ENRO and Lalaine M. Jimenea of the EV Mail.

Ormoc Garden Club to restore garden, fountains at old city hall

The Ormoc Garden Club which is led by their president, former Ormoc mayor and congresswoman Vicky Locsin, met this week to discuss the restoration of the garden and fountains at the old city hall. Mrs. Locsin reported to her members that the city adminsitration welcomed their proposal and wanted it finished before the fiesta on June 28-29. To raise funds for the project, the Ormoc Garden Club is holding a “fun run” dubbed “One Ormoc: Help Restore the City’s Landmarks”. Details of the run will be released later but Mrs. Locsin promises it will be inexpensive and inclusive to all. “Since this is for our city, we should include everybody, from the kids to the seniors”, she said.

SOUTHERN LEYTE - The local government of San Juan will soon be awarded a Hall of Fame award this year in its ef-forts to consistently campaign against smoking in their town.

Department of Health Provincial Officer Letecia Tan said that “for consistently and strongly campaigning against smoking, the LGU of San Juan will soon receive its 3rd round of Red Orchid award hence the hall of fame award by the end of this month.”

She further reported that the local governments of Hinunangan, Pintuyan and Libagon, all of Southern Leyte, are all recipients of the 2nd round of Red Orchid awards this year in their feats against smoking also

Tan said the awarding of the winning LGUs will be conducted in time as the na-tional government observes the World No Tobacco Day on May 31 in Manila.

She also said that the So-god Interlocal Health Zone wants to include all the local government units within the zone to strongly advance its anti-smoking campaign in its respective local government unit-members not only the municipality of Libagon. PIA

San Juan town to receive Hall of Fame award for anti-smoking

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4May 5-11, 2014 People, Places & Happenings

My Best Friend’s WeddingWhen Ida Mae Lar-

razabal, one my best friends in the world asked me to be part

of her wedding entourage as a bridesmaid, I was thrilled. I get front row seats to what was sure to be an amazing wedding.

I have met Garth a couple of times and liked him, but I actually got to know Garth over countless conversations with Ida over Skype, Viber and WhatsApp. I had even taken his side on numerous occa-sions, when Ida would tell me about their disagreements or tampuhan, much to Ida’s disdain.

The preparation for the wedding was a year in the making. Ida would constantly send the bridesmaids photos of wedding dresses, made us listen to different songs for the bridal march and reception entrance, decide on the wedding colors and finally with what hashtag to ap-pend to the photos for social media purposes. Some of these decisions she made on her own, or with input from family, some with Garth’s help and others she left solely up to us. The right dress was by Cecilio Abad, she walked down the aisle to “Love thy will be done” and she and Garth entered the reception to the tune of The Monkees “Whole Wide World.” The wedding colors were cool hues of mint green and blush pink and the official wedding hashtag which, unfortunately, had been left up to the bridesmaids was #idagarth4evah.

These were just among my bridesmaid duties, but I believed my big-gest role was to be there and to provide moral support. This is not that much different from being one of her best friends, a role that I really enjoy. Having known her since we were skinny (Yes, I was skinny once) 13-year olds, we have always been there for each other in all the significant young adult milestones.

In the middle of these preparations, the tragedy that was Typhoon Yolanda happened and I met Ida in Cebu who was home to coordinate relief efforts. We shared some quiet moments and she worried for her hometown, for her family and for the loss they had gone through. I hesitated to ask her about her wedding, would it still be in Ormoc? And she shook her head. I can’t even think about that right now, she told me.

But a few months later, after solid rebuilding efforts that spread through-out the city, spurred by the positive spirit that her own family exuded, it was an easy decision for Ida and Garth. The wedding was going to happen and it would happen in Ormoc City.

More planning ensued, more decisions were finalized until eventually, the day finally neared: May 2, 2014, Friday.

From the moment I arrived at the pier up to the days after the wedding, I realized that so many people, especially Ida’s family pitched in to give her the wedding of her dream. Food and accommodation, coordination and planning, floral arrangements, décor, make-up scheduling, car pick-ups and tons of other tiny details were thoughtfully and lovingly provided by the Larrazabals.

Garth’s family was also in complete attendance. His parents Don and Cheryl, brother Matthew and sister Erica, flew in to be part of the wedding.

By Jessica Agnes YapOne of the bridesmaids and Ida’s bestfriends

It was truly a touching sight to see two beautiful families becoming one through this wedding.

The morning of the wedding, we were all giddy and excited. We beamed as people fussed over our hair and make-up as we got ready. We laughed and joked to put Ida at ease and made sure she didn’t stress about anything and when she finally put on the dress… we exclaimed: the bride had finally arrived.

As Ida walked down the aisle (crying, as I knew she would), my heart swelled with joy. This is it! I thought. And like a silly girl, I mentally ran through our moments together: bonding over 90’s and 2000’s alternative music, Fri-day afternoon movies in Ayala Center Cebu, driving the streets of Manila, talking about our first kisses and crying over heart breaks, travelling together and millions of Skype chats and calls. And then I panicked. What was next for us now that she was married?

Everyone knows about the father or mother giving away the bride, but is it possible for a best friend to give away the bride?

I was worried, of course, and pro-tective. They would live so far away, and I began to wonder when I would get to see them both. I wished, as most of her family and friends do, that Ida would still live in Singapore, so that she was only a three-hour flight away. Dubai was farther and in a different time zone. I suddenly felt that I wasn’t ready for this wedding to happen. I felt the need to sit Ida down and talk logistics. But I glanced back and saw Garth’s excited smile and Ida’s unwav-ering walk down the aisle (although a teary one), I realized it doesn’t matter if I’m not ready, because they are.

After the ceremony at the St. Peter and Paul Church, we proceeded to a lovely garden reception at Ormoc Villa Hotel, and under colorful lanterns and twinkly lights, we reveled in the joy and happiness of the occasion with good food and drinks.

It was a short and sweet program. There were heart-warming toasts by the bride’s sister and maid of honor Madeline and the groom’s brother and best man, Matthew as well as words of advice and wisdom from their fathers Don Ferrier and Atty. Inaki Larrazabal Jr. We all recounted the happy day’s events through the eyes of photog-rapher Christopher Colinares and videographer Jeff Camay and finally, it was time to party.

There were many memorable mo-ments that evening, from the bride’s cousins wrestling for the microphone up on stage to Ida and Garth ending up in the pool along with a number of the guests. I recall thinking that this is exactly the wedding that Ida and Garth

wanted, where they would get to celebrate with all their friends and family the beginning of their married life, a day I know they will remember as the happiest day of their lives.

I realize now how lucky I am to not only have front row seats to this wedding, but to have had front row seats to Ida’s life. I got to see my best friend fall in love, get married, and find not only a husband who loves and respects her but a partner for life and I am not staying right here in these seats, because I know the fun chapter in their lives is just about to start.

Lord and master of the internet

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The other craft

Whitewash?

see FR. ROY p. 6see MERCADO p. 6

4 May 5-11, 2014

THIS IS what we ought to be. As much as possible we should avoid becoming slaves of the Internet, helplessly dependent on it, totally at its mercy, already losing effective dominion over our instincts, passions and our other weaknesses that this new technology can mindlessly if sweetly stimulate all the way to our destruction.

This is now a major concern, since even a cursory look around can yield abundant pieces of evidence of men and women, boys and girls, young and old, healthy and sick, completely blown away by the dizzying freefall of its de-ceptive beauty and usefulness.

One can see a sharp rise of couch potatoes, tied to laziness, idleness and complacency, swallowed up in a sinkhole of inanities and trivialities, willing victims of the urges of pride and vanity, self-seeking and self-assertion, lust and greed.

There is some kind of addiction afflicting many of the people. Many are practically de-fenceless and clueless to the tricks and traps of the Internet. In its wake are left the debris of disorder, anguish, frustrations, conflicts, etc.

To be sure, this new technology gives us a lot of advantages. For these, we have to be very thankful. But we should not forget that these good things always come with a price, and in fact, a high price, because if misused and abused, they can spoil us into a rotten pulp much more than what illicit drugs can cause. It can be a Trojan horse.

The harm inflicted by its misuse is of the spiritual type, not just of the body. And if we believe that the spirit is the one that in the end gives life to the body, so once it is impaired if not rendered practically dead, then the body actually suffers tremendously, irrespective of how good and healthy it may look based on the appearance alone.

We have to ring the alarm and warn every-one of this present and clear danger. More than this, we have to set about teaching and helping everyone on how to use the Internet properly.

I believe this is an issue that cannot be handled by giving out platitudes alone or oc-casional reminders, etc. It has to be taken like the bull by the horns. We should not take it for granted, or lightly. This is a very serious issue that affects all of us irrespective of our political colors or socio-cultural conditions.

The aim is to equip everyone adequately by clarifying the true nature of freedom and how it can be lived properly with respect to the use of the Internet. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful,” St. Paul warns. (1 Cor 6,12) “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything.”

Alas, not many realize the wisdom of this truth of faith. For many, freedom is, as they say, what comes naturally, that is, what their passions, feelings, curiosities, etc., urge them.

We need to disabuse ourselves of this false and dangerous understanding of freedom. More than that, we need to acquire the appropriate attitude and skills to live the true nature of freedom and its consequences.

COMMENT TO our column “No Round Two” cascaded in. This reported razing of trees in Cebu City and Bohol’s protected timberland by construction firms which, when exposed, washed their hands.

The issue is nationwide. In Los Baños, sci-entists flayed razing of kapok and other trees due to a road widening that traverses Mount Makiling. Pangasinan officials balked at cutting of 1,829 trees along MacArthur highway. Cut-ting of 30-year-old narra, mahogany, ilang-ilang at Mindanao State University at Naawan lit a controversy that sizzles to this day.

Unlike previous hand wringing, the Depart-ment of Environment and Natural Resources this time, sued. It lodged charges of fracturing PD No. 953, which penalizes unauthorized damaging of trees. Sued were WT Construction officers in Cebu, along with Dagohoy Mayor Sofronio Apat and Shine Ford Construction in Bohol.

Religious and civic leaders urged President Benigno Aquino to step in with a comprehensive probe. Petitioners included Bishop Broderick Pabillo of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines; Fr. Joel Tabora, Ateneo de Davao University president to Antonio Clapa-rols, president of the Ecological Society of the Philippines.

“There is Round Two for environmental destruction,” Mang Teban emailed. “Nature hits back. Expect natural calamities to strike soon at those places where trees have been sawed off.... due to graft in agencies...There’ve been people who resisted but often at danger to their lives.

Remember environmentalist lawyer Gerry Ortega? He was slain by assassins advocat-ing a stop to illegal logging in Palawan. The mastermind(s) still haven’t been tracked down. Prompt justice is essential for society to survive, including environmental crises.

This saga of unending corruption seemed tedious, until I discovered, in the Australian press, that there’s heaps of corruption there too, emailed Walter Paul Komarnicki . In New South Wales, premier Barry O’Farrell had to resign when he couldn’t remember getting a $3,000 bottle of wine. He was followed by the police minister, and three others. There is no end in sight. Who knows how many other will be forced out of office by the biggest case of conflict-of-interest corruption in all of Austra-lian history?

There is a vast difference between Australia and the Philippines in pervasiveness of cor-ruption, and the cultural attitudes to it, Edgar Lores emailed. The NSW premier immediately stepped down when he was accused of not be-ing able to recall being gifted with a $3,000 bottle of wine.

What about our senators? They are accused, not of being gifted with bottles of wine, mind you, but stealing hundreds of millions. The equivalent is 1,591.666 bottles of wine for Senator Jinggoy Estrada, 2,766.666 bottles for Juan Ponce Enrile, and 3,441.666 bottles for “Bong” Revilla. Have they stepped down? No. Have they even offered to step aside while being investigated? No.

Kapayapaan agreed that “fear is being in-stilled in crooks today by women — Ombuds-man Morales, COA’s Pulido-Tan, Justice Secre-tary De Lima, to Bureau of Internal Revenue’s Kim Henares—and before them, by Presidential Commission on Good Government’s Haydee Yorac and Corazon Aquino. Tienen cojones is the irreverent josh. “They have balls.”

What a better way of saying our elected leaders have no more balls at all to condemn those who are unashamedly stealing the public funds! They have become eunuchs of morality in the public service. What are left are their “boladas” and “borlas” so demeaning to be called “honorable”.

Ah, the power of women, Tadsalo emailed. . We have been waiting for them for so long to finally slay the corrupt men in our midst. By the way, it is also women who are made to commit the sins of men by using them as tools. It is also the same women who bring the downfall of these crooks.

“If you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em” is the principle observed by our solons since time immemorial, wrote Buninay. Senator Sonny Trillanes is vociferous against corruption but soft-hearted when his colleagues in the senate are the ones involved. He proposed hospital arrest for Enrile.

The old boys club mentality is deeply rooted everywhere...and overshadows all codes to curb sleaze. We ought to be thankful to the ladies

IT WAS a very hectic week. I had to hop from one function to another, most of which were related to post-Yolanda recovery efforts. Time stealthily and silently crept, and by the time we knew it, it was the sixth “month-sary” after Yolanda.

Six months have passed from that fateful day when Yolanda slammed back Eastern Visayas civilization to the 1980’s scenario. Just like in the ‘80’s, electricity is still a much sought after commodity now.

For two weeks now, I had been bombarded with texts from a source in Cabingtan com-plaining that their sitio has been skipped by the maintenance crew. The crew assigned to Cabingtan led by a certain “Francing” claims to have run out of meters. While the office has confirmed the information, the texter asks when is the next schedule? Or, he adds, is it because they did not cough up P 200.00 per household that their sitio was discriminated?

He said that it is not that they cannot afford P 200.00 as “grease money” but P 200.00 is a big amount in their barangay. In the city, this could just be snack money for many, but to the homes there, it could mean a week’s sustenance.

I have forwarded his texts to Engr. Jorda, Leyeco V manager, who’ve been gracious enough to answer it, saying he would look into it. I hope Leyeco V will look into the matter. Electricity is as important to people in the barrios as it is in the city proper. As for the al-legations of grease money, these claims persist even if people have been warned not to dole out. It is a give and take situation really: There will always be takers when there will be givers.

rrr

In one of this week’s sorties, I came across the information that a mountain barangay is again “controlled” by dissidents. “Di na lang magsaba ang mga tawo, Ma’am”, said my source, “pero kusog didto.” Their presence is also felt in other mountain barangays, I learned.

I would not be surprised. Some people in the higher ups hereabouts are known to be “friendly” to these elements. Maybe they find refuge in these barrios. To these “higher ups”, it also helps to have friends in the ranks of the rebels. They can help during the elections. Sometimes I wonder if these people are really rebels with a cause or just plain goons.

rrr

“Build Back Better” are also three words that have been “abused” after Yolanda. I read an interesting article from the government’s official gazette about Ping Lacson mentioning that even despite being hit by the typhoon, he has learned of LGUs who are still trying to get a “cut” from the Rehabilitation After Yolanda (RAY) funds.

An engineer also informed me that this “Build Back Better” would remain a “myth” until national government makes sure that the specifications on the rehabilitation of govern-ment buildings are followed strictly.

He said that sometimes, the specs on the paper and on the “as built” are so vastly differ-ent. On the plans, he said, the building specs

see VIEW FROM ORMOC p. 6

5May 5-11, 2014

For beauty’s sakeThe much

ballyhooed ‘elastic’ list

The Gospel on Sunday

MAY 18, 20145th SUNDAY OF EASTER

IN MANY BEAUTY pageants, it does not constitute a disqualification if a contestant has undergone beauty enhancement through a medical procedure of some sort. Besides, who will the organizers call to testify about it? But it is not only aspiring beauty queens who are into it.

In Asia, millions go under the knife each year to become beautiful. Countries like South Korea, Taiwan and Japan put a social and workplace premium on appearance, causing citizens to seek medical help in order to achieve the slim jawline, double eyelids, and straight nose desired by them. These three Asian na-tions all made it into the latest study of the top 10 most plastic-surgery dependent countries in the world.

In Seoul (South Korea) alone, one in five women underwent cosmetic surgery in 2012. And two years earlier, it was estimated that more than 5.8 million procedures were performed across Asia. Research showing improved eco-nomic opportunities for those deemed attractive has triggered this rise. Even pre-teen children are undergoing these procedures.

The desire to have a specific look is not just an issue for South Korean and Japanese women. Many Asian-Americans cite pressure to conform to Western beauty standards as a reason to alter their natural appearance. Between 2005 and 2010, the number of Asian-Americans who had cosmetic procedures nearly doubled.

But these procedures are both costly and invasive. As an alternative to plastic surgery, some people, primarily teens, are now turning to a low-tech solution: torturous-looking products that claim to mold the users’ features into the “ideal” standard of beauty.

There have been reports that teenagers have

inflicted damage on themselves by using the face-shaping gadgets, and interviews with us-ers found they experienced bruising and pain.

These kinds of devices usually make claims that have no basis in studies or scientific fact. At the very best, you end up completely wasting your money. At the very worst, you can injure yourself resulting in infections, permanent scars, or other irreversible facial deformities.

A few of the more bizarre products, and the results they claim to achieve, include face slim-mer, scalp stretcher, nose slimmer, anti-aging mask, and smile trainer.

For those adverse to surgery, for example, the scalp stretcher is just a ribbon clip that pulls your face taut from above the ears in what it claims is an instant facelift. Hook it on every day, pull your hair over it, and the wrinkles around your cheeks and eyes are said to disappear.

In some parts of Asia, a rounded nose is considered less ideal than a straight, pointed one, and surgery-free products are flooding the market. One of these clips inside your nostrils to “push up the bones and contours of your nose,” slimming it. Some are meant to be worn as you sleep, like this seemingly suffocating clip and this metallic clamp.

And for a nose lift, a buzzing maroon gadget is inserted into your nostrils and plastic legs press into the bottom, sides, and bridge of your nose. Three-minute-per-day vibrations claim to shape the nose into a straighter, higher version of the nose you currently have.

Business on those gadgets is reportedly booming. You know what they say: There’s a sucker born every minute.

THE MUCH publicized “pork barrel” fund has been hogging the headlines of news-papers ever since Chief Justice Corona’s premature impeachment.

This corner dates back this pork barrel fund (labelled PDAF or Presidential Development Assistance Fund by then Pres. Erap) to the time when the President was then Elpidio Quirino. It became more pronounced because Pres. P-Noy was giving out to the Senators additional pork barrel worth P50 million to each of them (perhaps as an incentive?). Maybe, this was because the Senate compose the Impeachment Court. If we go over the whole trial, the only fault that Corona made was his non-disclosure of his dollar accounts in his SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities & Net Worth). This par-ticular oversight may have been the reason why the Senate became blinded and subsequently removed poor Corona from the SC bench. There is even a plan to have him disbarred.

Why was Pres. P-Noy so keen to have Corona removed? There was a comment that it may have been because Corona signed the SC decision to approve the report to have Hacienda Luisita distributed to the tenants. By removing him from office, there will be a vacancy in the Supreme Court which was eyed by Pres. P-Noy for his candidate. We all know that this led to the appointment of the first-ever woman Chief Jus-tice (Sereno). This position will be held by her for a long time because she is still quite young.

When the scam came out about the misuse of the pork barrel fund which led to the arrest of Ms Janet Lim-Napoles as the main author, there came a loud outcry which can be heard up to this writing. How come there was talk that she insisted to give up personally to the President? And how come the President accommodated her and agreed to pick her up? When the daily papers came out howling about Napoles having a 5-hour session with Sec. Leila de Lima and submitted her affidavit, this raised the quizzical eyebrows of a lot of people. How come Justice Secretary de Lima will first have the paper verified? An affidavit is a public document. What is there for it to be verified? Could it be because it includes some government people? And if so, can the Justice Secretary make some necessary changes?

If Napoles signed her affidavit, the said document can stand on its own. There was talk that some administration Senators are in the list and some Cabinet members also. Some of the

names can be more startling. It is this list that this corner would love to get hold of. It is also note-worthy that there is a loud silence of those “administration friends”involved. Can it be that the list is very volatile? If there is a tendency to make some “changes,” there is an element of complicity that will definitely make plenty of noise. What is then the stand of the admin-istration on the avowed policy of “matuwid na daan?” Is it then a matter of who is “in power”? This corner remebers the then famous words of then Sen. Jose Avelino on “what are we in power for; we are no angels?”

The list in the affidavit of Napoles should be revealed to all and sundry. Let the “buck stop where it must stop.” This is also the stand of Sen. Serge Osmeña. Moreover, Sen. Ping Lacson, the Rehab Czar, has also the same list furnished by the husband of Janet Napoles. This reality could be food for thought for Sec. De Lima

rrr

This corner is happy with the latest devel-opment of the cadet who was dismissed before graduating from the PMA. Cadet Cudia, who was class Salutaturian, must have been stunned when the Commission on Human Rights under Ms Etta Rosales, came out with the strong rec-ommendation to have the whole committee of 9 peers that tried him to be removed from office for human rights violation.

No doubt their sentence to dismiss Cudia was too harsh. Imagine: he was made to go back to fourth year high school and start all over again. This is ruthless! This is inhuman! We are going back to the 18th Century! There was even another view to have him reimburse the government for what was spent for his military schooling. Something is wrong somewhere. If the parents filed an appeal with the SC, their ap-peal may have been granted. It must have been quite a reprieve for him to be able to graduate after all. It does not matter that he was not in-cluded in the graduation proper; that is just like an icing in the cake. Kudos to you Lt. Cudia!

The voting by secret ballot came out with one dissenting vote. The rule calls for a unanimous decision. Therefore, the Commit-tee violated their own rule. The administration may have had a hand to change the verdict of 8 to 1 to 9 to 0. This was a clear violation of the secret balloting.

John 14: 1 - 12“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe

in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; hence-forth you know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, be-cause I go to the Father.

AGENCIA EXQUISITE OF ORMOC, INC. Main : RIZAL ST., ORMOC CITY Tel. # 5610775

Branch: NORKIS BLDG., BURGOS ST., ORMOC CITY Tel. #5611398

Baybay Branch: R. MAGSAYSAY AVE., BAYBAY CITY, LEYTE Tel. # 5639171

Will conduct a public auction on APRIL 18, 2014 at 8:00 am to 6:00 pm for all unredeemed articles pawned in this establishment for the month of NOVEMBER, 2013,. Patrons are requested to verify their receipts.

MANAGEMENT

PAHIBALO Kining maong ahensiya magahimo ug subasta sa

alas 8:00 am hangtud 6:00 pm sa ABRIL 18, 2014 sa mga pinerenda nga wala malukat sa buwan sa NOBYEMBRE, 2013. Gihangyo ang mga suki sa pagsusi sa ilang mga resibo.

TAGDUMALA EV Mail Mar. 31- Apr. 6, 2014

NORM BORLAUG had no illusions that the Green Revolution was anything other than a means to buy the world time.

Time to get our house in order to stabilize our populations, generate the knowledge that would allow us to support ourselves without destroying the environment, and enable most people to live in dignity.

The expectation, he told me in several conversations in the early 2000s, was that we as societies would take up the new knowledge and use it wisely.

As an intellectual direct descendant of the architects of the Green Revolution, it is heart-breaking to see their noble endeavors attacked by people claiming to defend the environment and the interests of the poor. I know that, if we continue to listen to the shrill cries of anti-technology zealots, we will be distracted from taking on and solving the most serious problems that face us and our grandchildren.

Like many of my colleagues, I came to ag-riculture via the environmental movement. My university readings included Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, Muir, Thoreau, the Whole Earth Catalog and, perhaps most importantly, Paul Ehrlich and the Paddock brothers, whose best-selling books predicted mass starvation in Asia.

Being part of the organization of the first Earth Day (April 22, 1970) at the university was key, as was a sense of social justice. My mother’s side of the family dug themselves to their deaths mining the coal seams of western Pennsylvania. That, together with the war in Vietnam and the global social upheaval of the 1960s, instilled a healthy distrust for author-ity and big business, and a knee-jerk response whenever possible to “stick it to the man.”

As a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaïre (now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo), I saw close-up the havoc unleashed by an epidemic in the cassava crop. I witnessed the ecological destruction as villagers desperately slashed and burned swaths of tropical forest to meet immediate food needs. I was prepar-

Bitter harvest from a noble causeBy ROBeRT s. ZeiGLeR

ing myself for a career in plant ecology, but the misery caused by crop diseases was clear. They could be triggered by human mistakes and ecological disruptions, but they could also be tackled through human ingenuity and science.

I made contact with the only person in the U.S. I could locate with an interest in cas-sava diseases, Professor H. David Thurston at Cornell University. He was a contemporary and close colleague of both Borlaug and Peter Jennings – who developed the first semi-dwarf rice varieties that launched the other half of the Green Revolution. Dave opened the door for me to international agricultural research. He also re-galed me with endless tales of the personalities who, trudging their way through small farmers’ fields in the 1950s and 1960s with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, strove to transform the lives of desperately poor farmers.

All these greats had something in common – a fire in the belly to try to make a mockery of the doomsday predictions of Ehrlich (The Population Bomb) and the Paddock brothers (Famine 1975). The flaw in these predictions was obvious to me, even as a student. They assumed that the future would be like the past.

The role of science was precisely to make the future different from the past.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the shortcomings of the early phase of the Green Revolution were becoming clear.

The most serious were the overuse of pesti-cides and fertilizer, and the inevitable transfor-mations of the rural sector, where many, many gained but some, especially those in marginal environments, lost out.

A backlash began among leftist academics who viewed the Green Revolution as a way for capitalist governments and multinational corporations to subjugate small farmers. This view was helped by the fact that some op-pressive West-leaning governments were avid champions of the Green Revolution.

see DR. ZEIGLER p. 7

If people destroy something replaceable made by mankind, they are called vandals; if they destroy something irreplace-able made by God, they are

called developers.

- Joseph Wood Krutch

6 NEWS May 5-11, 2014

MERCADO ... from P. 4

VIEW FROM ORMOC ... from P. 4 INAKI ... from P. 1

– Carpio Morales, De Lima, Kim Henares et al - who waged war against corrupt practices. Tadsalao chimes in: “Yeah, finally. Makes me wonder if Gloria really is a guy in drag”.

“He’s a 90-year-old man; in an ordinary jail, Enrile’s medical needs may not be met”, Jane Tan quotes Trillanes. Why does Trillanes not fret over innocent people who haven’t done any-thing (and are likely to be victims of pork thieves) whose medical needs are not being met.

If Trillianes is so worried about Enrile’s health, then why not offer to swap places with him while awaiting for the trial?, Joe Blogs counter-proposed. And when Enrile is found guilty,. if Trillianes is still worried... then maybe he could persuade Enrile’s son Jack to serve the sentence. “Sins of the fathers are visited on their sons”, the Bible says, if I remember right.

We accord moral failures mercy before justice is done, Anong said. No wonder the multiplier effect on the would-be plunderers is enormous that, we, as a nation, cannot extricate ourselves from the abyss of poverty and corruption. Trillianes -- so young...so clueless!

That is the reason why I strong believe that the system of government and justice has to be changed, Frank de Leon adds. The current system and political and social culture help perpetuate corruption. Something drastic has to be done. Risks have to be taken.

A basic requirement for this is faith in God that is nourished through prayer, sacrifice or self-discipline, study of the doctrine of our faith, especially with respect to morality, recourse to the sacraments which are the ordinary channels of God’s grace, lifelong development of virtues, and the art of spiritual or interior struggle and warfare.

There’s always a great and indispensable need for us to grow and mature spiritually. Now is the time to realize more deeply that this particular need has to be attended to first of all and al-ways, and never to be sacrificed in exchange of some immediate, practical but very perishable benefits that the Internet and other worldly things can give us.

We need to develop our spiritual or interior life, nourishing it always with the truths of our faith and the many and endless acts of hope and charity. Only in this way can we have dominion and mastery over our earthly affairs.

For some practical guidelines, it might be helpful to determine and limit our time of going to the Internet. Let’s avoid going to it at the instance of our whims. Definitely, it should be made to compete with our time for meals, family gatherings, work, and especially our prayers and other spiritual activities.

We need to practice temperance, restraint and moderation always. We have to keep close guarding of our senses, both the external and internal. Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

FR. ROY ... from P. 4

Deed of Sale NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that CARMELITA T. ARRADAZA, JOERGEN T. ARRADAZA,

JR., GAY ARRADAZA BALLAIS, DARYL T. ARRADAZA and JAVIER T. ARRADAZA are the lawful co-owners of that certain motor vehicle, more particularly described as follows, to wit: Make- Nissan Vanette; Type of Body- Van; Engine No. – Z20-900296X; Chassis No. – 59ZWRL22-865756; Plate No.- GGP475; CR No. – 2833912-4 was sold in favor of ROMEO J. CATINGUB, JR. per Doc. No. 341; Page No. 69; Book No. III; Series of 2014 of Notary Public Jorge L. Dagandan. EV Mail May 5-11, 12-18, & 19-25, 2014

LEGAL NOTICE Notice of Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate of Deceased SPOUSES ALBERTO CA-

DELIÑA, SR., and EDURNE AGUIRRE, Among Heirs With Deed of Absolute Sale, covering a parcel of land known as Lot No. 1- C containing an area of TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED (28,200) square meters, under TCT No. T-28517 located at Tugbong Kananga, Leyte, before Notary Public Melanio G. Fernandez per Doc. NO. 1066, Page No. 9, Book No. III, Series of 2014, Dated May 8, 2014. EV Mail May 5-11, 12- 18, & 19-25, 2014

Extrajudicial Settlement and Partition with Sale NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the properties of the late SPS. GALICANO OTOME and

EMETERIA CABACOY re parcels of land Lot 2734-A, Psd-69251, containing an area of 11,211 sq.m. covered by TCT No. 6673 situated in Barrios Patag and Boroc ; Lot 2734-E, Psd-69251, containing an area of 72,116 sq. m. covered by TCT No. 6673; Cad Lot 1482-L, situated in Concepcion St. Brgy. Can-adieng, Ormoc city, containing an area of 96 sq. m. covered by TD No. 00016-000263; and one(1) unit residential house erected on Cad Lot 1482-L were settled and partitioned among their heirs and 32 sq.m. of parcel III- Lot Cad Lot 1482-L sold in favor of JOSE EMMANUEL O. APARECE, EXEQUIEL O. APARECE and SOFIA SALOME O. APARECE per Doc. No. 477; Page NO. 96; Book No. XXX; Series of 2013 of Notary Public Aleah Rafel G. Bataan – Tolibao. EV Mail May 5-11, 12 – 18, & 19- 25, 2014

Extra Judicial Settlement with Sale NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the properties of the late SPS. MARCOS PILAPIL and

ANACORITA ARCELO re parcels of land Lot 95, situated Brgy. Benolho, Albuera, Leyte, contain-ing an area of 23,142 sq. m. covered by TCT No. T-2520; and Lot 97-E, Psd-08-002009, situated in barrio Sherwood, Albuera, Leyte , containing area of 35,812 sq.m. covered under TCT No. T-7788 were settled among their heirs and sold in favor of ADAM JOHN MITCHELL and JUSTIN BELL MITCHELL per Doc. No. 07; Page No. 02; Book No. XIV; Series of 2011 of Notary Public Ari G. Larrazabal. EV Mail April 28- May 4, 5-11& 12-18, 2014

are so written that one could be building a fortress. Since the specs need more steel, more cement, these are scrimped on the actual construction that is why the steel bars used are thin and not standard. This is where the dough is cut. He said the “cost cutting” is done on areas which cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Which reminds me of the Ormoc City Plaza. A bulk of the 9-million went to “works” that could not be seen by the eye. Engineers said the plaza had a concrete lining that was not in the original plan, etcetera.

Anyway, I believe the engineer. Right in front our house is a spanking, new government building. Its design is supposed to be “typhoon proof” with a parapet to protect the roof from getting blown off. Unfortunately, not only the roof was blown off but the parapet crumbled. Why? Because the steel bars I see sticking out are just thicker than my little finger. Weh?

rrr

Still related to “Build Back Better”, another friend who has stocked up on hardwood lumber fallen after the typhoon said some NGOs who have financed the reconstruction of schools should see to it that the wood used as trusses to these buildings are the good kind.

He said that contractors, to make more profit, are buying low-grade or “soft” lumber which will easily give way to the wind in another typhoon even less stronger than Yolanda. Maybe these NGOs should get a forester to verify what kind of wood their contractors are using, eh?

rrr

In still another function, I heard of one UN-OCHA meeting held at the Sabin Resort Hotel just a month or two after Yolanda. Accordingly, a tall, slim, dark man with a mustache rendered the report for Ormoc.

My informant, who comes from another town, and who said he had to come to Ormoc almost daily to get supplies, said Ormoc’s report was shot down by an NGO representative as being full of “butbot”.

The report, accordingly, was “glowing.” It bespoke of Or-moc’s immediate rising up from Yolanda, about its streets being cleared in just a few days and more. The NGO representative could not take it anymore and said his piece. Hmmmm….

I remember the day or two before P-Noy visited the city. I remembered trucks and heavy equipment helping clear the streets. They sported “Bangon Ormoc” on their windshields. That would have been around 8 days after the typhoon. Other LGU’s like Albuera and Palompon had already cleared up their streets in three days, but our streets were still debris filled then.

P-Noy, who saw these trucks with the “Bangon Ormoc” plastered on their windshields, gave glowing praises about how a united people could make a difference. The next day or two, those trucks and heavy equipment vanished. The President’s visit was over anyway. After that, there were still streets that badly needed clearing.

I grew up in Tacloban during the Marcos years. I remember the time when Imelda ordered all the old and decrepit houses along Real Street painted with white or green, courtesy of the Philippine government. This would have been in 1974, when Ms Universe contestants were paraded around. It was martial law and to say “no” had its price. Luckily for those who did not want their house painted, the white and green paints were “carburo” or paint powder mixed in water. It easily washed off. That was my first brush with “whitewash”, the real thing.

What P-Noy saw during his visit was another kind of “white-wash”, he-he.

rrr

Now, it still irritates me to see “spaghetti” hanging from elec-tric posts. I met Engr. Domardoni Cayanong on the stairs of the city hall this week, and I asked him about it. He said they are just cleaning up what they could but cannot enforce the “resolution” espoused by Atty. Mariano Corro during the “full council meet-ing” of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council held on February 15, yet. The reason? He still has not copy of it. Who is tasked to prepare it, he said he does not know. Uh-uh.

UnionBank and mminter-national (formerly Meteo-Media), Europe’s largest weather service provider.

He said the automated weather stations aims to deliver critical and accurate localized weather informa-tion which could readily be available from their website www.weather.com.ph.

He said they recognize how expensive typhoons are to the Philippine econ-omy and aims that with a pro-active and pre-emptive solution, the costs are cut. He said annually, typhoons cost the country P 9-bil-lion in damages and Super Typhoon Yolanda, said to be the world’s strongest, crippled the country with a staggering P 30.8-billion loss.

“We are not here to compete with PAG-ASA or Project Noah”, he said, but rather to complement their systems. The automated weather stations, he said, are capable of determin-ing temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed and direction, solar radiation and rain locally. Localized weather data is then pro-cessed to provide the local-ized weather forecasts.

In Tacloban, he said, their automated weather station weathered Yolanda until the time the post it was attached to was toppled. Its last reading for wind speed

was 340 kph. The weather stations

are easy to maintain and solar powered, it was fur-ther learned. It transmits its readings every ten minutes to a central server via SMS or GPRS. Globe Telecom, it was learned, donated 400 SIM cards for the weather stations with unlimited SMS.

By the end of 2014, Ca-ballero added, they aim to rollout 1,000 of the weather stations in various loca-tions.

Ms Amor Maclang, on the other hand, said she was in the rollout to help the mayors of the various LGU’s in Leyte recover from Yolanda’s devastation.

A crisis management expert, Maclang said there were vast investment op-portunities with WPF’s partners that were ready to be tapped, albeit the LGU’s have to package themselves as ready for it. She said the bad news have to stop, and the good news highlighted.

Maclang heaped prais-es on Mayor Ramon Oñate of Palompon for portraying his town’s fast recovery and regaining the world’s attention to Kalanggaman Island.

She also urged the may-ors to tap their youth to engage in the global reach of social media.

WEATHER ... from P. 1

are supporting programs for educating the children in Yolanda-affected areas where they are operating because a survey that they did showed it was the big-gest concern for the young people.

“The children we con-sulted are telling us that education is their highest priority. They are concerned that, due to effects of the typhoon, education is being de-prioritized and they may not be able to continue to go to school. We are work-ing closely with DepEd to support the rebuilding of schools, replace damaged equipment, and train teach-ers to ensure children are

able to access the education they deserve,” Howells added.

Save the Children has been working in the Philip-pines since 1982 and was one of the first international humanitarian agencies on the ground when Typhoon Yolanda hit. It is now the largest aid agency in some of the worst hit areas. Save the Children’s response reached over 350,000 people with essential aid including food, shelter, medicines, and hygiene items. They are also working to keep children safe and to make sure they can continue their education.

DEPED ... from P. 1

that he was one of those who availed of a loan from the corruption-tainted fund, he said records will bear him out that “maybe I am the only one who has been paying off my loan.”

In a letter to the editor to the PDI which has yet to be published as of press-time, “Junior Aki” said, “At the onset, I admit that I availed of an ACEF loan for one of my poultry projects in Ormoc City. However, I wish to emphasize that I do not appreciate how I was portrayed in the ar-ticle. My concern is that I

was lumped together with politicians who got ACEF loans. It is noteworthy that my name was the only one there without any govern-ment title/position prefixed to it. The flimsy description that I belonged to a political clan was enough for me to be included in this dubious company.”

Furthermore, he said, he had been religiously paying his loan per amorti-zation schedule. Larrazabal got a P 14.68-million, more than 50 percent which he has already repaid. The loan was collateral and in-

terest-free, albeit there was a required corresponding equity from them, he said.

Yes, he said, he has problems how to repay the loan after Yolanda struck, but the records would show that his last payment was made on September, 2013.

In fact, he added, he even recently got a letter from former Department of Agriculture regional di-rector Leo Cañeda, who is now head of the ACEF Na-tional Technical Secretariat, commending him for his “repayment record.”

The letter was dated just last February 18, 2014, in response to a query from

him on what relief the DA could give him since Yolan-da struck. “Junior Aki” said he used the loan to construct and operate his poultry and Yolanda has totally destroyed it.

In his letter, former DA regional director Cañeda noted that his project is “one of the most success-fully implemented (from ACEF), as indicated by your excellent and truly commendable repayment record among others. This, all the more, reinforces the urgency of providing relief measures to situations such as what you are currently facing”.

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7NEWSMay 5-11, 2014

SAMBAWAN ... from P. 10

As the worst examples of the Green Revolution’s side effects became manifest, environmental concerns became part of the mainstream consciousness, culminating ultimately in the United Nations Rio conference of 1992. But that conference framed a false dichotomy that continues to this day, between a healthy environment and idyllic, contented farmers on one side and a high-yielding agriculture on the other.

I began to experience cognitive dissonance. My firsthand experience with impoverished small farmers in the developing world was placing me at odds with my ideological brethren.

Our understanding of genetics and the ability to proactively manipulate how plants behaved and responded to the environ-ment was becoming a reality. Many of us saw this as a way to reverse the negatives of the Green Revolution and open the way for, in the words of Sir Gordon Conway, a “doubly green revolution.”

It was easy to see that we could engineer into crops resistance to insect pests and pathogens that would eliminate the need for spraying toxic chemicals that sickened every organism they touched. Even better, we could now help the people left behind because they lived on lands plagued by droughts or floods that wouldn’t support modern crop varieties.

I have seen this dream validated. India’s untouchable com-munities (the lowest class) often farm on marginal flood-prone land. The International Rice Research Institute’s flood-tolerant rice is most useful to these farmers and promises to transform the lives of millions.

In short, we saw modern biology as a driver for transforming agriculture into a tool for protecting the environment, meeting food needs, and reversing millennia of injustices that condemned certain segments of the population to the worst land.

Sadly, while we were working to make our dreams reality, the strange brew of anti-corporate sentiment, extreme environ-mentalism, romanticized traditional organic but land-hungry agriculture, and fear of new technologies boiled over to create a powerful anti-technology backlash. The extreme regulations for genetically modified crops demanded by self-proclaimed protectors of the environment had the perverse result that only the largest multinationals could afford to develop such crops.

Predictably, this resulted in the same camp denouncing the growing domination of agriculture by multinationals. As costs for developing crop varieties escalated, the few seed companies that could afford the work focused only on areas with large markets. Marginal farmers were once again excluded.

This time, though, who is to blame? SciPhil(Dr. Robert S. Zeigler is the Director General of the In-

ternational Rice Research Institute. The article first appeared in the February 2014 issue of Cosmos magazine.)

DR. ZEIGLER ... from P. 4

Since it is an isolated island, fresh water for bath is limited; nipa hut accommodations have water usage fees, and a gallon for sale for Php 25.00. Electricity in the island starts 6:00pm to 6:00am, so I suggest have all your gadgets juiced up before sailing.

Entrance Fee : Php 50.00/ person Open Cottage: Php 1,000.00 for 24 hours Nipa Hut : Php 2,500.00 Water : Php 25.00/ gallonWhat to bring:1. ENOUGH FOOD and WATER – there are zero stores

in the island where you can just buy, so be sure to pack.2. Camera – everything in the island is a picturesque

experience, be sure you are ready to capture it.3. Camping equipment4. Booze! You will surely love to party… Contact Persons:Motorized Bangca Reservation [From Kawayan] –

Contact Person: Lee – Mobile No. 0916-8761898Cottage Reservation in Sambawan Island – Contact

Person: JC or Manuel – Mobile No. 0928-904-3673

launched cash-for-work and emergency employment since November. More than 115,000 persons have benefitted short-term jobs and livelihood proj-ects

Currently, the major liveli-hood recovery project is the alternative income-generating activities for coconut farmers and replacement of destroyed fishing gears and boats.

Aside from shelter and livelihood, UN and affiliated organizations have been carry-ing out post-Yolanda projects to support camp coordination and camp management, coor-dination, education, food and agriculture, health, logistics, nutrition, protection, telecom-munication, and water and sanitation. LAM/PGL/SQM/egr

UN ... from P. 10position and it was possible to identify them from the clothes and jewelries they wore. Those who were found later, howev-er, were already decomposed.

The team’s chemist, Mary Ann Aranas, on the other hand, said that only close kin of the

NBI ... from P. 10dead can be collected DNA samples. They also have to be blood relations. Ideally, she said, it should be the mother and father or siblings. The DNA samples will come from mucosal swabs from the mouth and a few drops of blood.

Aranas said that DNA tests are 99.9 percent accurate. However, she cannot say that all 2,255 bodies will be iden-tified during the ante-mortem phase of the DVI, adding that there are some relations who might forego the activity and

just leave the dead in repose. “If they change their mind later, they can always come to the NBI. The tissues we col-lected will be preserved and the documentation will be in our database”, she said. By Lalaine M. Jimenea

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

8th Judicial Region BRANCH 15

Hall of Justice, Burauen, Leyte SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS CASE NO. 14-04-192

FOR: ADOPTION WITH PRAYER FOR CHANGE OF

NAME OF CHILD TO BE ADOPTED IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR ADOP-TION OF MINOR MA. PAOLA A. ANTOYA WITH

PRAYER FOR CHANGE OF NAME FROM MA. PAOLA MAE A ANTOYA TO MA. PAOLA MAE

ANTOYA NOETH, SPOUSES MYRLA A. ANTOYA-NOETH and

LEONARD NOETH Petitioner,

x--------------------xORDER

Before this court is a verified petition filed by herein petitioners prayer that after due notice, publi-cation and hearing, judgment be rendered declaring the minor MA. PAOLA MAE A. ANTOYA as adopted child of petitioners, that she be freed from all legal obligation of obedience and loyalty with respect to her natural parents; that she be allowed to carry the surname of petitioners, and that she be declared for all legal intents and purposes, the child of herein petitioners.

Finding the petition to be sufficient in form and substance let the initial hearing of this case be set on MAY 29, 2014 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 15, Burauen, Leyte at which date, time and place all interested persons may appear and show cause why this petition should not be granted.

The Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment through the Adoption Resource and Referral Unit, Field Office VIII, Tacloban City is hereby directed

to prepare and submit the Child Study Report on the Adoptee as well as her biological parents and the Home Study Report on the prospective adopting par-ents to be submitted within thirty (30) days counted from receipt of this Order.

Let this Order be published at the expense of the petitioner once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks before the hearing in a court- accredited newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Leyte.

Let a copy of this Order and the petition be fur-nished the petitioners, their counsel, the Local Civil Registrar of Burauen, Leyte, the Solicitor General of the Philippines, the Office of the Provincial Prosecu-tor, and the Chief, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Adoption Resources and Referral Unit, Field Office No. VIII, Tacloban City.

SO ORDERED. Hall of Justice, Burauen, Leyte, April 24, 2014.

(Sgd.) YOLANDA U. DAGANDAN Executive Judge

EV Mail April 28- May 4, 5- 11, & 12-18, 2014

Republic of the Philippines Local/Civil Registry Office

Province: Leyte City/Municipality: PalomponRepublic of the Philippines)

Province of Leyte )SS Petition NO. CCE-0025-2014

RA 10172 PETITION FOR CORRECTION

OF CLERICAL ERROR IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE

BIRTHI, RIZZA CONSUS PILA-

PIL, of legal age, Filipino and a resident of Brgy. Guiwan II, Palompon, Leyte. After having been duly sworn to in accordance with law, hereby declare that:

1) I am the petitioner seeking correction of the clerical error in:

The certificate of live birth of Edgardo V. Delgado Who is

my uncle 2) He was born on

January 5, 1958 at Palompon, Leyte, Philippines,

3) The birth was re-corded under registry number 799

4) The clerical error (s) to be corrected is (are):

Item No. Description From To

Date of Birth Date of Birth Janu-ary 5, 1958 September 25, 1958

5) The facts/ reasons for filling this petition are the following:

For error No. 1: To correct my uncle’s date of birth which was erroneously recorded in his birth certificate so as to con-form with all his other pertinent records.

6) I submit the follow-ing documents to support this petition.

a) LCR Form No. 1A (SECPA) LCR Form No. 1A (Of-fice File)

b) Special Power of Attorney / Certificate of Baptism

c) Elementary School permanent Record/ NBI Clear-ance / Police Clearance

d) Employer ’s Cer-tification/ Medical Certificate/ Passport/ ID Cards

e) PhilHealth Member Date Record/Marriage Contract/ Birth & Baptismal Certificate of my uncle’s & wife

7) I have/ He/ She has filled any similar petition and that, to the best of my knowledge, no other similar petition pending with any LCRO, Court or Philip-pine Consulate.

8) I am filing this peti-tion at the LCRO of Palompon, Leyte in accordance with R.A. 9048/R.A. 10172 and its Imple-menting rules and regulation.

(Sgd.) RIZZA C. PILAPILPetitioner

VERIFICATION I, RIZZA C. PILAPIL, the

petitioner, Hereby certify that the allegations herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

(Sgd.) RIZZA C. PILAPILPetitioner

S U B S C R I B E D A N D SWORN to before me this 2nd day of May, 2014 in the City/ municipality of Palompon, Leyte, petitioner exhibits in Community Tax Certificate No. 09814802 is-sued at Palompon, Leyte on April 25, 2014

(Sgd.) CARMELITA G. LODOVICA

Municipal Civil Registrar Administering Officer

EV Mail May 5-11, & 12 – 18, 2014

8 NOTICES May 5-11, 2014

Republic of the Philippines OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT & EX-OFFI-

CIO SHERIFF Regional Trial Court 8th Judicial Region

Hall of Justice, Ormoc City -o0o-

EJF NO. R-ORM-14-00005-FCFOR: EXTRA-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE OF

REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE UNDER ACT 3135 AS AMENDED

FIRST STANDARD FINANCE CORP., Petitioner-Mortgagee,

-versus- MARIVEL Q. BERNAL,Respondent- Mortgagor.

NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE Upon extra judicial petition for sale under Act

3135, as amended, filed by MARIVEL Q. BERNAL of No. 17 San Pablo St., Ormoc City, against FIRST STANDARD FINANCE CORP. of Ormoc City, to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of March 5, 2014 amounts to THREE HUNDRED NINETY THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED TWELVE & 10/100 (P390,712.10), charges, attorney’s fees, etc. but exclud-ing expenses of foreclosure, the undersigned Sheriff will sell at public auction on MAY 19, 2014, from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 35, Hall of Justice, Ormoc City, to the highest bidder, for CASH or Manager’s check and in the Philippine Currency, the following property/s with all its im-provements, to wit: TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. 53580

“A parcel of land certain Lot 6, Block 3 of the subdivision plan, Psd-08-014734-D, being a portion of Lot 5126, Ormoc Cadastre Cad. 256 LRC Rec. 1750, situated in the Brgy. of Linao, City of Ormoc, Island of Leyte. Bounded on the N along line 2-3 by Road Lot of the subdiv. Plan (Road 8.00 m. wide); on the E. along line 3-4 by Lot 7, Block 3 of the subdv. Plan xxx containing an area of THREE HUNDRED SIXTY TWO (362) square meters, more or less.”

All sealed bids must be submitted to the under-signed on the above-stated time and date. In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, it shall be held on MAY 20, 2014.

Hall of Justice, Ormoc City, MARCH 26, 2014. (Sgd.) VIRGILIO D. LENTEJAS, JR.

SHERIFF IV EV Mail April 21-27, 28- May 4 & 5-11, 2014

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

8th Judicial Region Branch 35, Ormoc City

-o0o-CASE NO. R-ORM-14-00018 –SP

IN THE MATTER FOR CHANGE/ CORRECTION OF NAME OF REBECCA VEYRA, ALSO KNOWN AS REBECCA ARIÑO-SAGABAEN, OR REBECCA

VEYRA-SAGABAEN, OR REBECCA ARIÑO OR BECCA OR BECCA ARIÑO SAGABAEN,

REBECCA VEYRA, Petitioner, -versus-

THE CIVIL REGISTRAR GENERAL NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE (NSO) and THE LOCAL CIVIL

REGISTRAR OF MERIDA, LEYTE, Respondent.x-----------------------x

ORDER A verified petition having been filed by herein

petitioner thru counsel Atty. Adelito Solibaga, Jr., to render judgment after due notice, publication and hearing in accordance with the Rules of Court that the family name of petitioner in her Certificate of Live Birth in the Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Merida, Leyte and in the National Statistics Office be changed from VEYRA to ARIÑO so that it would con-form to what is factual and true. Petitioner alleged that her family name was erroneously entered as VEYRA instead of ARIÑO when it should have been the lat-ter considering that petitioner’s father Hilario Ariño was duly married to petitioner’s mother, Iluminada Veyra, Being the legitimate child, the petitioner is rightfully and legally entitled to use the surname of her father which is ARIÑO but the clerk of the Local Civil Registrar of Merida, Leyte made a clerical error in the entry of the surname of the petitioner. In view of these circumstances, she asks that her family name as reflected in her Certificate of Live Birth be changed/corrected from VEYRA to ARIÑO.

WHEREAS, this petition is hereby set for hear-ing on JULY 03, 2014 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning, at which date, time and place all persons interested may appear and show cause if any, why the prayer in the petition should not be granted.

WHEREAS, a copy of this Order shall be pub-lished in three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation at the expense of the petitioner and shall be posted in three (3) conspicuous places in the bulletin boards of the Ormoc City Hall, the Public Market and of this Court .

SO ORDERED. In chambers, Hall of Justice, Ormoc City, Philip-

pines, 16 April 2014(Sgd.) GIRLIE M. BORREL-YU

Presiding Judge cc:Atty. Adelito Solibaga, Jr. Rebecca Veyra The Solicitor General Office of the Asst. Provincial Pros.Local Civil Registrar, Merida, Leyte National Statistics Office GMBY/esva Fn.: correction.entry.orderEV Mail April 21- 27, 28- May 4, & 5- 11, 2014

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

8th Judicial Region Ormoc City

-o0o- OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT EJF CASE NO. R-ORM-14-00004-FC

FOR: EXTRA-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE UNDER ACT 3135 AS

AMENDED FIRST STANDARD FINANCE CORP.,

Mortgagee, -versus-

GINA O. SIABOC,Mortgagor,

x----------------xNOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE

Upon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135 as amended filed by EDGAR M. TAMBIS, mort-gagee, against GINA O. SIABOC, mortgagor, of Sitio Mangga, Brgy. San Juan, Ormoc City, alleging viola-tion on the REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE registered on December 02, 2010 and REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE registered on February 01, 2012 both at the Registry of Deeds of Ormoc City. To satisfy the mortgage of indebtedness which as of March 05, 2014 amounts to SIX HUNDRED NINETY FOUR THOUSAND NINE PESOS AND SEVENTEEN CENTAVOS (P694,009.17) excluding attorney’s fees, taxes and expenses incurred in this proceedings. The undersigned Sheriff under the direct supervision of the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Sheriff of the Office of the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Ormoc City will sell at PUBLIC AUCTION on May 21, 2014 at 09:00 o’clock in the morning until 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon or soon thereafter at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 12, Hall of Justice, Ormoc City to the highest bidder, for CASH or MANAGER’S CHECK AND IN PHILIPPINE CURRENCY, the fol-lowing real estate property, to wit:

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE No. 37634 Registry of Deeds of Ormoc City “A parcel of land (Lot 6130-E-10-B of the sub-

division plan Psd-08-014763, being a portion of Lot 6130-E-10 (LRA) Psd-366352, LRC Cad. Rec. No. 1788), situated in the Brgy. San Juan, City of Ormoc, Island of Leyte. Bounded on the S., along line 1 to 2 by Lot 6130-E-10-E of the subdivision plan; on the W., along line 2 to 3 by Lot 6128, Ormoc Cad.; on the N., along line 3 to 4 by Lot 6130-E-10-C of the subdivision plan; and on the E., along line 4 to 1 by Lot 6130-E-11 (LRA) psd-266352, alley (5.00) m. wide). Beginning at a point

marked “1” on plan, being S.81 deg. 56’E., 713.02 m. from MBM No. 2, Ormoc Cad.; thence S. 66 deg. 32’W., 11.83 m. to point 2; thence N. 28 deg. 23’W., 23.40 m. to point 3; thence N. 65 deg. 46’E., 13.76 m. to point 4; thence S. 23 deg. 38’E., 23.50 m. to point beginning; containing an area of THREE HUNDRED (300) SQ. METERS more or less. Registered in the name of GINA ORSAL SIABOC.”

All sealed bids must be submitted to the under-signed on the above stated time and date.

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, it shall be held on MAY 28, 2014 without further notice.

Prospective bidders or buyers are hereby en-joined to investigate for themselves the title and other pertinent documents of the herein above described property and encumbrances thereon, if any there be, at the Registry of Deeds of Ormoc City.

Ormoc City, Philippines, APRIL 21, 2014. For the Ex-Officio Sheriff:

(Sgd.) JOSE G. SUFICIENCIA, JR. Sheriff IV

Copy furnished: FIRST STANDARD FINANCE CORP. 415 Carlos Tan cor. Rizal Sts. Ormoc City GINA O. SIABOC Sitio Mangga, Brgy. San Juan Ormoc City EDGAR M. TAMBIS 415 Carlos Tan cor. Rizal Sts. Ormoc City LUCKY NEWSPAPER TO PUBLISH: EV Mail DATE OF RAFFLE: 4/24/14

WARNINGIt is absolutely prohibited to remove, deface or destroy this Notice of Sale on or before the date of sale under

penalty of law. EV Mail April 21-27, 28- May 4, &5-11, 2014

Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT 8th Judicial Region

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT Branch 13

Carigara, Leyte CASE NO. RTC- 2014-042- SP

CEPRIANO LIANZA PILANDE Petitioner-versus-

MUNICIPAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF THE MU-NICIPALITY OF CAPOOCAN, LEYTE AND THE

NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE, Respondents. x--------------x

ORDER Filed with the Court on March 17, 2014 by Ce-

priano Lianza Pilande, of legal age, Filipino citizen, married and resident of Brgy Culasian, Capoocan, Leyte, thru Atty. Antonni C. Cera, is a Verified Petition to use Surname of Father and Correct Middle Name in his record of birth kept by the Local Civil Registrar of Capoocan, Leyte. Herein petitioner prays that he be allowed to use the surname of his father, which is PILANDE and his middle name be corrected from Llansa to LIANZA.

Finding the Petition to be sufficient inform and substance, it is hereby ordered that said Petition be set for hearing on May 21, 2014 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning at the session hall of Regional Trial Court, Branch 13, Carigara, Leyte where all interested parties may appear in Court and show cause why the Petition should not be granted. Let this Order be published at the expense of petitioner in a local newspaper of general circulation in the Provinces of Leyte, Samar and Biliran, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks. Moreover, let this Order, together with copies of the Petition, be posted at the Bulletin Boards of this Court, the Municipal Hall of Capoocan, Leyte and the Barangay hall of Brgy. Culasian, Capoocan, Leyte at least ten (10) days before the initial hearing.

Furnish copy of this Order to the Solicitor Gen-eral, the Local Civil Registrar of Capoocan, Leyte, the Civil Registrar General, National Statistics Office, Ma-nila, the Petitioner and his counsel and the Assistant Provincial Prosecutor, Carigara, Leyte.

SO ORDERED. DONE IN CHAMBERS this 28th day of March

2014 at the Bulwagan nga Katarungan, Carigara, Leyte.

(Sgd.) EMELINDA R. MAQUILAN Presiding Judge

EV Mail April 28- May 4, 5-11, & 12- 18, 2014

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE

Province: LEYTE City/Municipality: ALBUERA Republic of the Philippines)

Petition No. CFN-0003-2014PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME

I, ANTONIO, JR. VICENTE TUDIO, of legal age, married, Filipino and a resident Cambalading, Albuera, Leyte after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law, hereby declare that:

1) I am the petitioner seek-ing the change of the first name in:

a) My Certificate of Live Birth

2) I was born on July 27, 1969 at Albuera, Leyte

3) The birth was recorded under registry number 349

4) The first name to be change is from “AURELLO” to “ANTO-NIO, JR.”

5) The grounds for filing this petition are the following:

b) I have habitually and continuously used “ANTONIO, JR.” and I used publicly known in the community with that first name;

6) I submit the following documents to support this petition:

a) O.R. & comm.. tax cert. b) Police & NBI clearancesc) Voters reg. record d) Employers cert. e) Bir th cert . (NSO &

LCRO)

f) Marriage cert. (peti-tioner)

g) Baptismal certificate h) Birth certificates (chil-

dren)i) IDs (SSS , Philhealth &

LTO) 7) I have not filed any

similar petition and that, to the best of my knowledge, no other similar petition is pending with any LCRO, Court or Philippine Consulate.

8) Have no pending crimi-nal, civil or administrative case in any court or any quasi-judicial body.

9) I am filing this petition at the LCRO of Albuera, Leyte in Ac-cordance with R.A. No. 9048 and its implementing rules and regulations. (Sgd.) ANTONIO, JR. VICENTE TUDIO

Petitioner VERIFICATION

I, ANTONIO, JR. V. TUDIO, the petitioner, hereby certify that the allega-tions herein are true correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. (Sgd.) ANTONIO, JR. VICENTE TUDIO

PetitionerSUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to

before me this 23rd day of April 2014 in the City/Municipality of Albuera, Leyte, petitioner exhibiting his Community, Tax Certificate No. 25492055 issued at Ormoc city on 4-11-14.

(Sgd.) MARIA LUISA V. GRANADA Administering Officer

EV Mail April 28- May 4, & 5-11, 2014

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Transportation and

CommunicationsRegional Office No. VIII

Ormoc City CASE NO. VIII-2014-0591

REF. CASE NO. VIII- 2009-0576Application for Reconstitution of Records of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a UV EX-

PRESS service With prayer to adopt trade name.

ABUNDIO N. CANASTAApplicant/s

x----------------x2ND NOTICE OF HEARING

Applicant is a grantee of a Certifi-cate of Public Convenience to operate UV EXPRESS service for the transportation of passengers and freight on the route: TACLOBAN CITY - CARIGARA, with the use of ONE (1) unit/s which Certificate is still valid and subsisting up to JANUARY 28, 2015.

In the present application, appli-cant request authority for reconstitution of records of the said certificate on the same route, with the use of the same number of unit/s. NOTICE is hereby given that this application will be heard by this Board on MAY 21, 2014, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. at the above address.

At least Ten (10) days prior to the above date, applicant/s shall publish this Notice once in one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Visayas.

This application will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and documentary evidence sub-mitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable AR-THUR L. SAIPUDIN, Regional Director, this 23RD day of APRIL , 2014. (Sgd.) GUALBERTO N. GUALBERTO

Clerk of Board Copy furnished: Applicant/s : A.N. CANASTA, BRGY. TAGAK, CARIGARA LEYTE Counsel for applicant/S: ATTY.: E. JO-MADIAO, COR. ZAMORA & SALAZAR STS., TACLOBAN CITYEV Mail May 5-11, 2014

rrrRepublic of the Philippines

Department of Transportation and Communications

Regional Office No. VIIIOrmoc City

CASE NO. VIII-2014-0670Application for Reconstitution of Records of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a FILCAB service With prayer to adopt trade

name.MA. NIÑA CAHAYAG

Applicant/sx----------------x

2ND NOTICE OF HEARINGApplicant is a grantee of a Cer-

tificate of Public Convenience to operate FILCAB service for the transportation of passengers and freight on the route: TACLOBAN – ST. PAULS CAMPETIC & VICE VERSA, with the use of ONE (1) unit/s which Certificate is still valid and subsisting.

In the present application, appli-cant request authority for reconstitution of records of the said certificate on the same route, with the use of the same number of unit/s. NOTICE is hereby given that this application will be heard by this Board on MAY 19, 2014, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. at the above address.

At least Ten (10) days prior to the above date, applicant/s shall publish this Notice once in one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Visayas.

This application will be acted

upon by this Board on the basis of its records and documentary evidence sub-mitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable AR-THUR L. SAIPUDIN, Regional Director, this 7th day of May , 2014. (Sgd.) GUALBERTO N. GUALBERTO

Clerk of Board Copy furnished: Applicant/s : MA. NIÑA CAHAYAG; # 234 REAL ST. EL REPOSO BRGY. 55 & 55A TACLOBAN CITYCounsel for applicant/S: ATTY.: E. JO-MADIAO, COR. ZAMORA & SALAZAR STS., TACLOBAN CITYEV Mail May 5-11, 2014

rrrRepublic of the Philippines

Department of Transportation and Communications

Regional Office No. VIIIOrmoc City

CASE NO. VIII-2014-0696REF. NO. 2001-0110

Application for Reconstitution of Records of a Certificate of Public Con-venience to operate a FILCAB service

With prayer to adopt trade name.MARGARITA LABADO

Applicant/sx----------------x

2ND NOTICE OF HEARINGApplicant is a grantee of a Cer-

tificate of Public Convenience to operate FILCAB service for the transportation of passengers and freight on the route: MAASIN – PADRE BURGOS & VICE VERSA, with the use of ONE (1) unit/s which Certificate is still valid and subsist-ing UP TO JULY 27, 2016

In the present application, ap-plicant request authority for reconstitution of records of the said certificate on the same route, with the use of the same number of unit/s. NOTICE is hereby given that this application will be heard by this Board on MAY 19, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. at the above address.

At least Ten (10) days prior to the above date, applicant/s shall publish this Notice once in one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Visayas.

This application will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and documentary evidence sub-mitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable AR-THUR L. SAIPUDIN, Regional Director, this 7th day of May , 2014. (Sgd.) GUALBERTO N. GUALBERTO

Clerk of Board Copy furnished: Applicant/s : M. LABADO, BRGY. RIZAL MACROHON SO. LEYTECounsel for applicant/S: ATTY.: E. JO-MADIAO, COR. ZAMORA & SALAZAR STS., TACLOBAN CITYEV Mail May 5-11, 2014

rrrRepublic of the Philippines

Department of Transportation and Communications

Regional Office No. VIIIOrmoc City

CASE NO. VIII-2014-0700REF. NO. 2012-0550

Application for Reconstitution of Records of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a FILCAB service With prayer to adopt trade

name.MILLARD MAXINO

Applicant/sx----------------x

2ND NOTICE OF HEARINGApplicant is a grantee of a Cer-

tificate of Public Convenience to operate

a FILCAB service for the transportation of passengers and freight on the route: MAASIN – MACROHON – BRGY. SAN ROQUE & VICE VERSA, with the use of ONE (1) unit/s which Certificate is still valid and subsisting.

In the present application, ap-plicant request authority for reconstitution of records of the said certificate on the same route, with the use of the same number of unit/s. NOTICE is hereby given that this application will be heard by this Board on MAY 19, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. at the above address.

At least Ten (10) days prior to the above date, applicant/s shall publish this Notice once in one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Visayas.

This application will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and documentary evidence sub-mitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable AR-THUR L. SAIPUDIN, Regional Director, this 7th day of May , 2014. (Sgd.) GUALBERTO N. GUALBERTO

Clerk of Board Copy furnished: Applicant/s : N. MAXINO, BRGY, RIZAL, MACROHON, SO. LEYTE Counsel for applicant/S: ATTY.: E. JO-MADIAO, COR. ZAMORA & SALAZAR STS., TACLOBAN CITYEV Mail May 5-11, 2014

rrrRepublic of the Philippines

Department of Transportation and Communications

Regional Office No. VIIIOrmoc City

CASE NO. VIII-2014-1843Application for Issuance of a

Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUB service With prayer to

adopt trade name.JOSE T.SANICO JR.

Applicant/sx----------------x

NOTICE OF HEARINGApplicant request authority for

the issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUB for the transportation of passengers and freight on the line: GUIUAN – CATARMAN VIA BASEY – CATBALOGAN- ALLEN & VICE VERSA, with the use of ONE (1) unit.

NOTICE is hereby given that this application will be heard by this Board on MAY 20, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. at the above address.

At least Ten (10) days prior to the above date, applicant/s shall publish this Notice once in one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Visayas.

This application will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and documentary evidence sub-mitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional

documentary and/or oral evidence. WITNESS the Honorable AR-

THUR L. SAIPUDIN, Regional Director, this 29th day of April , 2014. (Sgd.) GUALBERTO N. GUALBERTO

Clerk of Board Copy furnished: Applicant/s : J. T. SANICO, PUROK 5, (POB.). CATBALOGAN SAMAR Counsel for applicant/S: ATTY.: E. JO-MADIAO, COR. ZAMORA & SALAZAR STS., TACLOBAN CITYEV Mail May 5-11, 2014

rrrRepublic of the Philippines

Department of Transportation and Communications

Regional Office No. VIIIOrmoc City

CASE NO. VIII-2014-1828REF. CASE NO. VIII-2011-0270

Application for Reconstitution of Records of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUJ W/

DUAL service With prayer to adopt trade name.

ROMULO R. METRANApplicant/s

x----------------x2ND NOTICE OF HEARING

Applicant is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUJ W/ DUAL service for the transportation of passengers and freight on the route: BORONGAN – GUIUAN & VICE VERSA & USED TO TRANSPORT CARGOES TO ANY POINT IN REGION VIII & VICE VERSA, with the use of ONE (1) unit/s which Certificate is still valid and subsisting up to JUNE 3, 2016.

In the present application, appli-cant request authority for reconstitution of records of the said certificate on the same route, with the use of the same number of unit/s. NOTICE is hereby given that this application will be heard by this Board on AUGUST 20, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. at the above address.

At least Ten (10) days prior to the above date, applicant/s shall publish this Notice once in one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Visayas.

This application will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and documentary evidence sub-mitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable AR-THUR L. SAIPUDIN, Regional Director, this 28th day of April , 2014. (Sgd.) GUALBERTO N. GUALBERTO

Clerk of Board Copy furnished: Applicant/s : R. R.METRAN, BRGY. BUENAVISTA, QUINAPONDAN E. SAMAR Counsel for applicant/S: ATTY.: E. JO-MADIAO, COR. ZAMORA & SALAZAR STS., TACLOBAN CITYEV Mail May 5-11, 2014

NOTICE OF AUCTION SALE ON REMATADOS OF

M. LHUILLIER PAWNSHOPSALL BRANCHES AT LEYTE REGION, ORMOC 1,2 & 3, NAVAL, PALOMPON, CARIGARA, ISA-BEL, KANANGA, VILLABA, SAN ISIDRO, TA-BANGO, ALBUERA, LEYTE, BILIRAN, MATAG-OB, CALUBIAN, TACLOBAN BRANCHES 1,2,3,4, & 5, PALO, CALANIPAWAN (V&G) TANAUAN, ALANG-ALANG, JARO, DAGAMI, DULAG, BURAUEN, MARASBARAS, ROBIN-SON, BAYBAY, 1, & 3, INOPACAN, HILONGOS, ABUYOG, MAASIN 1 & 2, BATO, SOGOD 1 & 2; MACARTHUR, SAN JUAN (CABALIAN), LILOAN, HINDANG, HINUNANGAN, PIN-TUYAN, MALITBOG, & ST. BERNARD.

Commencing MAY 15, 2014 at 9:00 am the above mentioned pawnshop will sell on Public Auction Sale all overdue pledges left in the same up to DECEMBER 31, 2012, Patrons are enjoined to verify their receipts. MANAGEMENTSa MAYO 15, 2014, sa alas 9:00 and takna sa buntag isubasta sa publiko ang tanang butang naremati diri sa tag-sa-tagsa ka buhatan sa gih-inganlan sa itaas. Tanang butang pinerenda nga wala makukat hangtud sa DISYEMBRE, 2012 maapil sa subasta. Gi-awhag ang tanang suki sa pagsusi sa ilang mga resibo. TAGDUMALA EV Mail May 5-11, 2014

Republic of the Philip-pines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

8th Judicial Region Branches

6,7,8,9,34,43,,44Bulwagan ng Katarun-

gan Magsaysay Blvd., Taclo-

ban City NC-2014-04-67-88

PETITION FOR AP-POINTMENT AS

NOTARY PUBLIC FOR AND WITHIN THE TERRITORIAL JU-

RISDICTION OF THE REGIONAL TRIAL

COURTS OF TACLO-BAN CITY

NOTICE OF HEARING NOTICE is hereby

given that a Summary Hearing on the Petition for Commission as NO-TARIES PUBLIC OF:

1. Atty. Michael Lopega – 2014-04-67

2. Atty. Rachel R. Abadiano – 2014-04-68

3. A t t y. K a r e n Siangco – 2014 -05-69

4. Atty. Neil Cor-

dero – 2014-05-705. Atty. FELMA

FREDA LEONIDA – LO-PEZ – 2014-05-71

Shall be heard on May 20, 2014 at the RTC Branch 6, Session Hall, at 2:30 O’clock in the after-noon. Any person who has any cause or reason to object to the grant of the petition may file a verified written opposi-tion thereto, received by the undersigned before the date of the Summary Hearing. Let this Notice of Hearing for Commis-sion as Notary Public be published in a newspa-per of general circula-tion within the territorial jurisdiction where the same shall be heard by the Executive Judge on the aforementioned date, time and place.

April 30, 2014, Bul-wagan ng Katarungan, Magsaysay Blvd., Taclo-ban City.

(Sgd.) HON. ALPHI-NOR C. SERRANO

Executive Judge EV Mail May 5-11, 2014

9May 5-11, 2014 CLASSIFIEDS

Large format printing & Computers

Fastest RORO from Ormoc to Cebu!!!

M/V LITE FERRY 8ORMOC-CEBU-ORMOC

Daily except FRIDAYSDeparts Ormoc

10:00 PMDeparts Cebu

11:00 AMFor inquiries and bookings, contact Tel Nos.

(053) 561-6036/ (053) 255-3821 or 0922-997-3088

EV MAIL TRAVEL

For cottage reservations, call:Tel # 255-3737; 561-1895

Bantigue, Ormoc City

S.A. LARRAZABAL Queen Pineapples

Sabin’sBEACH RESORT

Available at:CHITO’S CHOWOrmoc Plaza 255-4144; 561-8144

IN CEBU at:No. 2 Wilson StreetLahug, Cebu City 253-0654

IN TACLOBAN at:P. Burgos St.(near Dahil Sa Iyo)

S & R L A R R A Z A B A L CORP.Bonifacio St., Ormoc City 255-4783; 561-7953

Philippine Airlines Inc.TACLOBAN BRANCH

TACLOBAN CITY

The following schedule is effective as of 01 June 2011 until further notice:PHILIPPINE AIRLINES AIRBUS 319 & 320

PR 191 MNL 5:40 AM TAC 6:55 AM DAILY PR 192 TAC 7:25 AM MNL 8:35 AM DAILY

PR 391 MNL 9:20 AM TAC 10:40 AM DAILY PR 392 TAC 11:10 AM MNL 12:25 PM DAILY PR 393 MNL 4:00 PM TAC 5:20 PM DAILY PR 394 TAC 5:50 PM MNL 7:05 PM DAILY

AIR PHILS EXPRESS Q-300/Q-400 PR 234 CEB 4:10 P.M. TAC 4:50 P.M. DAILY PR 235 TAC 5:10 P.M. CEB 5:50 P.M. DAILY

FOR MORE INFORMATION YOU CAN VISIT OUR OFFICE AT DZR AIRPORT TACLOBAN OR CALL US AT 321-2212/3212213/325-7528 OR OUR AUTHORIZEDAGENTS: ALS TRAVELLER’S SHOPPE 053-500-7803 AS DOMS & INT’L TICKETING OFFICE 053-325-7000 EASTERN VISAYAS AIR TRAVEL 053-321-7771/321-8608 EMY TICKETING OFFICE, PALO, LEYTE 053-323-7404/523-8981 LEYTE GULF TRAVEL AND TOURS 053-321-7966/523-7966 LEYTE 1ST TRAVEL AGENCY PHILS., INC. 053-523-1313 NORTHSTAR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL 053-321-3974/523-1644 PASHADA TRAVEL , BORONGAN, SAMAR 055-560-9847 Y5A TICKET EXPRESS, MAASIN CITY 053-381-4433 ZJ CABLITAS TICKET EXPRESS, BAYBAY CITY 053-335-3464 ROPERL TRAVEL & TOURS, CATBALOGAN CITY 055-251-2076/251-6133 SUNSHINE TRAVEL AND TOUR 053-321-2246

Cel No. 0908-896-1037

Commercial rate * - P100.00 per col. cm. *Judicial Notices *- P 60.00 per col. cm *

For inquiries: Call (053) 561-0809/ 832-0704 (Ormoc);

(053) 530-3366 (Tacloban); 500-9389 (Biliran)* Exclusive of taxes/Black and White rate

Shelter, livelihood top priority in EV for next 6 months - UN

10 NEWS May 5-11, 2014

Sambawan Island, BiliransTORy anD phOTOs By

Denni DOMiniC LepOn

Summer Destinations 2014

The author on top of a rock overlooking the clear, blue waters and wide stretch of sand of Sambawan. Across is the island of Biliran.

PRISTINE WATERS, exquisite rock formations, pictur-esque sceneries . . . I guess I can’t get enough with the Elysian Fields of the Province of Biliran.

To reiterate, the province (Biliran), composed of captivat-ing islands, has multiple scenic wonders and offers myriads of tropical escapades which all eco-adventurers would surely be dazzled.

In my previous post, I shared to you the Island of Hi-gatangan’s pulchritude, and how it enthralled us despite the gloomy heavens. In this week’s issue, I’d like to introduce and share to you the Shangri-La of Biliran, the Island of Sambawan, the must-visit destination of all must-visit des-tinations in the Province of Biliran.

Known for its picture-perfect panorama, clear blue seas, and relaxing summer breeze, you have never actually gone to Biliran if you haven’t set foot on this tropical paradise.

How to get there:The islet is located in the northwest part of the Island of

Biliran. It is approximately 50 minutes to an hour ride from the wharf of the Town of Kawayan, or an hour and 45 to 2 hours ride from the smoke-free and capital municipality of the province, Naval, via motorized lantsa.

There are no pumpboats that sail in a daily route to the tropical paradise. So if you’re in a budget pack, up for a more adventure, and have much time to spare I suggest you take the Maripipi course from Naval. There are ferry boats sailing every Mondays to Saturdays at 10:00am from Naval port to Maripipi and sail back the next day at 5:00am. From the port of Maripipi, a 10 minutes habal-habal ride to Barangay Ol-og where you can hire a motorized bangca to the tropical paradise, approximately 15-20 minutes sail.

The much convenient and a not-so-expensive way to the island is via Kawayan – half the cost of the motorized lantsa

from Naval, and half the travel time.

Fares and schedules:Vans (Ormoc – Naval, Biliran v.v.) : Php 130.00Buses (Ormoc – Naval,Biliran v.v.) : Php 130.00[First trip: 5am; Last trip: 4:30pm]Roble Shipping Lines (Cebu – Na-val. Biliran v.v.) : Php 500.00 for Economy Class[Cebu to Biliran is Saturdays and Mon-days only; Biliran to Cebu is Sundays and Tuesday only. Please confirm with Roble Shipping Lines, Inc.]Multi-Cab (Naval – Kawayan v.v.) : Php 50.00 – 70.00 : P h p

800.00 (Pakyaw)Ferry Boats (Naval – Maripipi v.v.) : Php 75.00[Mondays to Saturdays; Naval to Maripipi Trip: 10:00am;Maripipi to Naval Trip: 5:00am]Habal-habal : Php 50.00 - 100.00[Maripipi Port to Brgy. Ol-0g]Motorized Bangca : Php 300.00 – 500.00[Brgy. Ol-og, Maripipi – Sam-bawan Island]Pakyaw of Motorized Lantsa/Boat (Round Trip)From Naval Port to Sambawan Island: Php 4,500 – 8,000.00From Kawayan Port to Sam-bawan Island: Php 2,800.00 (11-14 pax)

The experience:Clear blue skies, light cool

breeze... All bags are packed, and off we go… It was a per-fect day to escape the weary of the city, a great day to relax and have fun.

Despite the hectic sched-ule, we were glad that our boss was able to come and join us in our adventure to the Shangri-La of Biliran. We left Ormoc at 6:30am and it was almost half past ten AM when we had our touchdown.

Coup de foudre… It was a love at first glance to its picture-perfect landscape – as for me, a second timer, it was like falling all over again.

My colleagues were unable to hold the fascination: forget lunch, forget rest… immediately everyone changed and sud-denly got busy capturing the picturesque, indeed an idyllic piece of heaven.

(While I was trying to encapsulate the beauty in pho-tograph, I met a family on top. They joined me in my fascination, and then invited me in one of their upcoming adventures.)

Accommodation:The island has open cottages and nipa huts which you

can rent for 24 hours. The open cottages cost at a thousand, and the huts, which can accommodate 10 to 15 people, at Php 2,500.00 with three beds and mattresses, bath, and electric fans. To cut the expenses and feel the real outdoor adventure you can pitch a tent, a sleeping bag or a ham-mock. An island fee of Php 50.00 per person; however, kids below 10 are free.

see SAMBAWAN p. 7

Ormoc Vice Mayor Toto Locsin Jr. (2nd from left) often brings his SP staff on outdoor adventures. This is one of them.

NBI calls on Yolanda survivors with missing relatives to help identify 2,255 bodies through DNA matching

NBI director Atty. Romulo G. Manapsal and the forensics team (L-R) headed by Dr. Charina Labrador, Chemist Mary Ann Aranas and Fingerprint Examiner Eriberto Gomez, Jr.

TACLOBAN CITY – The National Bureau of Inves-tigation here is calling on families with relatives who went missing after Yolanda struck the city last November 8, to help them identify the 2,255 bodies which they have documented and processed over the last few months.

Atty. Romulo G. Manapsal, NBI regional director, said that the Disaster Victim Identifica-tion forensics team had already finished the “post-mortem” phase which entails docu-menting, photographing and collecting tissue samples of the bodies which are now buried in mass graves in this city.

What follows would be the DNA matching with surviving kin and a scheduled collection of DNA samples will be held from May 19 to June 12, 2014 at the Balyuan Center here. Manapsal said that “disaster victim identification is an extraordinary thing to give grieving families the chance to reunite with their loved ones even for just a short time.”

The NBI made this an-nouncement in a press confer-ence held Tuesday, May 6, at the mayor’s conference room. The NBI regional director ap-pealed to media to help them announce the activity so fami-lies with missing relatives will get a closure.

Atty. Jenny Lyn Polistico-Manibay, acting city adminis-trator of Tacloban, said that the victim identification team was requested by Mayor Alfred Romualdez. “This is the least we can do to the families of the victims, to give them the comfort of closure”, she said.

It was learned that no other LGU in Eastern Visayas, ex-cept for Tacloban City, has requested the NBI-DVI’s ex-pertise and that the 2,255 bod-ies were those recovered from the territorial jurisdiction of the city only.

Meanwhile, Dr. Charina Labrador, team leader of the NBI-DVI said that to put a sys-tem in their DNA sample col-lection, they are adopting al-phabetical order of surnames.

Survivors with surnames start-ing with letter A to E will be entertained on May 19-24; F-J on May 26 to 31; K-O on June 2- 7; P-T on June 9-14; U-Z on June 16 to 21. Those who can-not make it to these dates can come anytime from June 23 to July 12, on office hours during Mondays to Fridays.

She also clarified that rela-tives who are staying in other places need not come over to Tacloban City but just visit their NBI offices in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. In Mindanao, however, only their office in Cagayan de Oro can entertain them because they have a chemist.

It was also learned that before DNA samples are taken from surviving kin, they would

be interviewed thoroughly. She said this would make the process of matching easier. “If the survivors can still remem-ber what the victims wore that day, or the jewelries they wore, we can match it with the docu-mentation and photographs of the bodies that were retrieved.”

She said that of the 2,255, 8 were “temporarily released” to survivors who recognized their dead from the clothes or jewelries they wore. Another 12 bodies, which were only recovered on April, have yet to be buried.

Dr. Labrador said the bod-ies retrieved a few days after Yolanda struck were not yet in advanced stage of decom-

see NBI p. 7

TACLOBAN CITY (PNA) - Shelter and livelihood were tagged by the United Nations and humanitarian partners as top priority in the next six months implementation of strategic response plan for areas pounded by super typhoon Yolanda last year.

In a press briefing Wednes-day, UN Resident and Humani-tarian Coordinator Klaus Beck emphasized shelter and liveli-hood as the immediate needs of typhoon survivors.

“The vast majority of sur-vivors whose homes were destroyed or damaged have begun to rebuild. Most, how-ever, need support to complete construction,” Beck said.

In a recent monitoring report released by the shelter cluster, 10 percent of the more than one million families with damaged homes have not yet started the process of recon-struction.

“The greatest proportion of households – 54 percent - report that the construction or repair of their home is ongoing and that they feel they require additional support to complete it,” the report said.

Only a small fraction (15 percent) of house owners are self-reliant in rebuilding ef-

forts, according to the shelter cluster, a team composed of various United Nations-affil-iated international humanitar-ian organizations and govern-ment agencies chaired by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Of all reconstructed shel-ters, 55 percent are permanent, 40 percent are just temporary, and five percent are still using tents and tarpaulins as dwell-ing places .

Likewise, Beck identified rebuilding shattered livelihood as an “enormous challenge.”

Citing official data, he said of the almost six million displaced workers, 2.6 million were already living at or near poverty line even before the storm.

“Over 44 million coconut trees were damaged in the Philippines. This affected one million farmers in the Eastern Visayas region alone. Once planted, coconut seedlings take 6 to 8 years to become fully productive. Nearly two thirds of fishing communities lost their productive assets,” Beck said.

In response to livelihood needs, various organizations

see UN p. 7