The Weekly

Vanguard

For what is true, for what is just, for what is right!.

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

Photo courtesy of CIDG Reg. 8

Vol. 1, No. 4

P15

Suspected drug lord Mayor Rolando Espinosas lifeless body lies inside the prison cell
at the Baybay sub-provincial jail, blood oozing from his chest where he was shot at point
blank range The manner of his death has
triggered a multi-agency investigation.

Killed for a reason

By Jun Tarroza

Baybay City Mysterious circumstances surrounding the

death of Mayor Rolando Espinosa and
Raul Yap last Saturday, November 5,
2016, have raised a
lot of questions about
the veracity of the official reports of the
Civilian Intelligence
and Detection Group
(CIDG).

No one seems to believe

in the story peddled by the
CIDG, including top police
and government officials who
suspect a rubout no less.
The CIDG team comprising 15 men arrived at the
provincial jail at around 4:00
in the morning, But the jail
guards refused to honor the
request of the CIDG. So five
of them and four other augmentation policemen were

disarmed and made to kneel

down, after which the team
barged inside the jail.
Minutes later, gunfire was
heard. Silang dalawa ang
nagpaputok sa operatiba natin
at napilitan po yung mga operatiba natin na gumanti at ito
po yung nagresulta na ikinamatay ng mga suspek (The two
of them fired at our operatives
and they were forced to shoot
back, resulting in the death of
the suspects), said CIDG Region 8s Supt. Melvin Marcos
in a statement afterwards.
The team accordingly
found in the cell of Espinosa
a sachet of shabu, a tooter, a
plastic straw used as a scoop,
a piece of tinfoil, a pencil case
containing cellophane plastics, and 4 lighters. He was
said to be armed.
In the cell of the other
victim, the CIDG said they
found a cannister tinfoil, 15
sachets of shabu, 27 sachets
of marijuana, and other paraphernalia. Like Espinosa,
he was also said to be armed.

Dissenting
But Leyte provincial jail
warden Homobono Bardillon
last Saturday related what
he described as the final moments of Espinosa and Yap.
Bardillon said the jail guards
tried to prevent the CIDG
team from entering the jail
premises because no search
warrant could be produced.
They heard gunshots
fired inside the cell of Espinosa where the slain mayor
was begging (for his life)
from the CIDG operatives,
Bardillon said.
Ayaw gyud ko ninyo
plantere, sir, wa ko armas nga
gitago (Please do not plant
evidence sir, Im not hiding
any firearms), Espinosa was
heard saying before gunshots
rang out. Moments later, he
lay dead, along with an inmate
in an adjacent cell, Raul Yap.
Likewise, the administrator of Leyte Provincial
Jail Atty. Edgar Cordeo

(Go io p. 2)

Chief Superintendent Elmer

Beltejar, Region 8 police director: No coordination.

CIDG Region head Supt.

Marvin Marcos: An independent operation

Vanguard
In Leyte

They are also in the list

Cong. Vicente Veloso

Gov. Dominic Petilla

Vice-Gov. Carlo Loreto

Board Member Matt Torres

Vice-Mayor Michael Cari

Former Albuera Mayor Sixto

de la Victoria

If some of the names listed as drug protectors by slain

drug lord Mayor Rolando Espinosa sound familiar, its
because they are some of our
elected public officials in Leyte.
Leading the list here is
3rd District Congressman
Vicente Ching Veloso, a
former associate justice and
labor commissioner; Leyte
Governor Dominic Petilla,
his cousin Vice-Governor
Carlo Loreto; another cousin, Baybay City Vice-Mayor
Michael Cari; Board Mem-

ber Matt Torres, a brother

of Congresswoman Lucy
Torres-Gomez; and Albuera
Kagawad Sixto de la Victoria, a former mayor.
Veloso, Petilla, Loreto
and dela Victoria have denied
the allegations of Espinosa,
while Cari and Torres have
yet to issue their statements..
Among those mentioned
are Senator Leila Delima,
Police Generals Loot, Dolina,
Espina and 22 other police
officers, media personalities
from Ormoc, a PDEA official,

and some civilians. The list

was culled from a small notebook where the records of cash
give-outs were noted down every time payments were made
to the said protectors.
The late Espinosa had
signed a sworn statement
where the said personalities
were implicated prior to his arrest and incarceration at the
Baybay City jail. His sudden
death could possibly weaken
the cases against the mentioned personalities, said Atty.
Levi Baligod.#

A part of the affidavit of the late Mayor Espinosa

Nov 6 - 12, 2016

(From page 1)
cannot accept that the inmates concerned were in
possession of drugs or arms.
He said on October 30, the
guards conducted an operation galugad inside the jail
but they found none of the
items reported by the CIDG.
He also disclosed that
the hard drive with data
from the CCTV is gone, apparently taken by the raiding team. What was even
more disconcerting was that
the search warrant was only
given to the warden hours
after the actual search of
the CIDG. The warrant was
earlier obtained from Judge
Tarcelo Sabarre Jr. of the
Regional Trial Court branch
30 in Basey, Samar, about
three hours away from Baybay in the early afternoon of
Friday.
While his agency will not
file a case against the CIDG,
Cordeo said he wants to
make it clear that his office does not tolerate the
presence of firearms, illegal
drugs, cellphone, camera, all
kinds of liqour and all kinds
of bladed weapons inside the
jail. The Baybay jail is under
the provincial government,
not the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
No coordination
When confronted by the
media, Chief Superintendent
Elmer Beltejar, the Eastern
Visayas police director, said
the CIDG did not coordinate
with his office when they carried out the operation. Beltejars statement echoed that
made earlier by Chief Inspector Bella Rentuaya, regional
police spokesperson, who said
they knew nothing of the operation because it was purely a CIDG operation.
Senator Ping Lacson, a
former police chief, could not
believe what he described a
very bad script, that is the
official version of how Espinosa had died.
I cant understand for
the life of me how a prisoner inside a prison cell could
even think of fighting back

at police officers serving a

warrant for his arrest, said
Lacson. It was a clear case
of extra-judicial killing, he
said.
Reasons for the kill
Meanwhile,
questions
have been raised as to who
will benefit most from the
death of Espinosa. To recall,
the late mayor in his affidavit
has implicated top government officials as protector.
(See separate story in page
2) Seven of these are CIDG
officials, aside from Senator
Leila and three other generals. One of the CIDG official
is PSupt Joey Masauding,
the former CIDG-8 director.
According to lawyer Levi
Balgod, the case against
these officials could weaken
because of the absence of a
live witness, although the
paper trail left by the payoffs, like the notebooks and
encashed checks, could still
be used as evidence.
Investigations
In other police statements, PNP spokesperson Sr.
Supt. Dionardo Carlos said,
this incident will undergo
investigation to establish the
facts and circumstances surrrounding the incident. The
Regional Internal Affairs Service 8 (RIAS8) will conduct its
own investigation.
Yun yung aming SOP,
hiwalay sa investigation ng
PNP-CIDG. IAS yung pinacoconduct para huwag
mapaghinalaang bias tayo
kasi yun naman yung mandato ng IAS na magconduct
ng motu propio investigation
whenever yung mga police
operations na ganyan ay
may namamatay, he added.
CIDG regional head
Marcos said they will be investigating the alleged noncooperation of jail personnel
and how the two inmates
were able to sneak in drugs
and weapons.
The CIDG team has
been grounded and placed
under investigation. #(With
reports from Miriam Desacada and the Vanguard
Research team)

RIAS officer in charge Supt. Victor Ongkiko during media

chance interview at the CIDG office in connection with their
investigation on the death of Espinosa and suspected drug
lord Raul Yap

Vanguard

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

in Calbayog City

Task force formed

to solve pol killings

JTF CAGASMAS (Calbayog-Gandara-Sta. Margarita-Matuguinao-San Jorge) weekly assessment with task group commander Col Rosalito G Martires INF, (GSC) PA of 803rd Bde,
Acting Provl Dir of SPPO PSSupt Elmer R Pelobello, COPs of CAGASMAS stations and other
members of operating units and quad staff .

By Gina Dean
Calbayog City The
city is getting the moniker
Killbayog for a reason.
Some 100 shooting incidents
have occurred during the
past eight months said to be
perpetrated by members of
private armed groups, and
yet only 28 cases have been
filed so far. And while 10 of
the suspects have their faces
posted in public places, not
one has been arrested.
Calbayog Chief of Police
Marlon Quimno told The
Weekly Vanguard in an interview last week that aside
from Calbayog, the neighboring towns of Gandara, Sta.
Margarita and Matuginao
are included as places with
killing incidents. But it is
Calbayog that has the highest number of such incidents,
numbering 38, followed by

Gandara, 11, Sta. Margarita,

9 and Matuginao, 3. The period covered is from January
1 to September 22, this year.
He said a Task Force Cagasmas to represent the said
towns and San Jorge have
been formed to capture the
suspects.
The task force was created last October 11 in response to appeals by local
politicians concerned with
the situation. There seems
to be a public perception that
said killings were politically
motivated. But Quimno was
quick to deny this, saying of
the 38 shooting incidents,
only three involving barangay officials can be classified
as political because of their
respective political leanings.
Based on our investigation, the victims and the
suspects have personal differences because they are
political opponents. There

was no information linking

the suspects to politicians in
higher office, Quimno said.
He also admitted the difficulties the task force is facing. One of these is getting
the cooperation of the community. He said they cannot
file cases in court because nobody wants to testify. Thus,
linking the killings to political masterminds is almost
impossible due to the difficulty of getting concrete evidence.
Headed by the 803rd
Peacemaker Brigade of the 8th
Infantry Division, Philippine
Army, the task force is expected to adhere to the PNP operational procedures and rules of
engagement and respect for
human rights and international humanitarian laws. All
chiefs of police are expected to
provide personnel in the conduct of operations in their jurisdiction. #

Merida is drug-free
After over four months
of operation Tokhang, a police officer claims Merida is
now a drug-free municipality in 4th District of Leyte
(Town population: 27, 224),
although Mayor Marcos Antonio D. Solana has his reservations, saying possibly.
Solaa said he has not
heard about his constituents using or selling illegal
drugs here. According to
the police, they were able to
stop the trans-shipment of
drugs from Ormoc, Cebu and
Palompon coming into town.
Solaa added drugs can-

not penetrate neighboring

town Isabel town because of
the strong stand of Mayor
Saturnino Medina Jr. against
its presence in his town.
The mayor said the
Operation Tokhang has
caused the surrender of
more than 100 drug users
and pushers. To date, only
three pushers were arrested after they signed an affidavit of their wrong doings.
After this, he has not heard
of people peddling drugs in
Merida.
The police said they are
monitoring drugs from other

Merida Mayor Marton Solaa

places so that pushers cannot sell it here. Meanwhile,
Solana also said he made

2016 goal: Php32 M

Isabel, Leyte - The Customs office in Isabel expects
to meet its Php32 million targeted collection for this year
from the three companies
operating inside the Leyte
Industrial Development Estate. In an interview with
The Weekly Vanguard, Acting Port Collector Lourdita
M. Tupa said from January
to October this year, her office has already collected
P29,317,137, just 8.38 percent short of the target.
The estate is home to three
large industrial concerns: the
HK Mining & Awards Inc., the
Phil. Associated Smelting and
Refinery (PASAR) Corp. and
the Phil. Phospate (Philphos)
Fertilizer Corp.
Tupa said the Customs
office in Isabel cannot collect
taxes, tariff, and fees from
the imported and exported
products of the two heavy
industrial firms. What they
have collected are the charg-

es and fees from the by-products of the two companies

that are sold domestically,
such as slugs, gypsum, sulfuric acid, among others.
She is optimistic that the
P32 million target can be met,
given their average collection
of P2.9 million a month. But
Tupa admitted that sometimes her office does not
meet their monthly targets,
as in the months of May and
July when they were able to
get only P1.7 and P2.3 million, respectively. However,
the collections improved after the two plants, Philphos
and Pasar, got rehabilitated
from the damage sustained
during the typhoon Yolanda
in 2013. This year, Philphos
came back on its feet to produce fertilizers, she said.
As for smuggling in the
port, her office is closely monitoring the facility so that no
smuggling happens, she said.
(By Jun Tarroza)

P1.5 B port complex

soon to rise in Isabel
Isabel, Leyte - A breakthrough in public-private
partnership project of the administration of Isabel town
Mayor Saturnino M. Medina
Jr. is the planned P1.5 billion
port complex of the National
Devt Corp. (NDC.
In an interview, Engr.
Fabian S. Padayao of the
Assessors Office here said
the future port will be built
through PPP by the NDC,
a government-owned and
controlled corp., which owns
some 425 hectares of the
Leyte Industrial Development Estate (LIDE). He said
the port is a domestic one
which will cater to roll onroll off vessels and container
cargo ships, with a shipyard
and fishport.
He said the port will
have two booms to load and
unload containers from and
to the ships. It will occupy
16 hectares along the coastal
area at Sitio Pingang, Brgy.
Matlang in this town. Although the project will affect a private port operations
there, it will eventually benorganizational changes of
his administration, such
as filling up vacant department head positions in the
Municipal Social Welfare
and Development Office,
General Services Office and
Agricultural Service Office.
The vacancies should
be filled up as this is one
of the score cards if Merida
is to obtain a seal of good
housekeeping, an award for
good governance given by
the Department of Interior
and Local Governmentt.
(DILG).
(By Jun Tarroza)

Engr. Fabian S. Padayao

efit the private port as it is
presently renting a lot in the
NDC area. According to Padayao, the project is expected
to boost the local economy,
but he did not explain how.
He said Mayor Medina
has agreed in principle to
go on with the construction of the project starting
next year, but there would
be more meetings to discuss
and approve site development plan, and that will include the plans of investors.
(By Jun Tarroza)

Housing...from p. 9
Biong said he wants to be
personally on top of the listing of beneficiaries and take
responsibility for any criticism that might happen. He
said, being on his last term in
office would free him of suspicion of politicking.
Rina Reyes of Katarungan
said there should be a national
agency that will be on top of
the situation, a body similar to
OPARR but with teeth, a central body that can call meetings and censure agencies that
are not doing their job.#

Vanguard

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

Sueno orders probe

on Espinosa slay

Disaster preparedness

Samareos turn to caves

By Elmer V. Recuerdo
MARABUT, Samar Preparing
for the next disaster, in many communities, is looking for the sturdiest
building nearby where people can
evacuate to when the need arises.
But in a fishing community in
this southernmost town of Western
Samar, the safest refuge is its cave
that has protected community members for centuries from wars, typhoons and other calamities.
Ahead of its third anniversary,
survivors of Typhoon Yolanda commemorated the disaster by conducting an evacuation drill in Tinabanan
Cave, the designated shelter of the
barangay of the same name. This particular cave has saved villagers lives
during the Yolanda, and the more recent typhoons Ruby and Senyang.
On early October 28, a typical
weekend, the sun was up and many
men in the coastal village of Tinabanan were just mooring their boats
from a nightlong of fishing when barangay leaders armed with a blaring
megaphone asked the people to prepare their belongings and prepare for
evacuation.
Barangay Kagawad Erma Dejilla, head of the barangays disaster
warning team, goes house to house
to ensure that everybody is aware of
the impending typhoon and give the
command to evacuate to Tinabanan
Cave, like what they did in previous
disasters and threats to their community. It was a drill to simulate how
the community should prepare for an
evacuation in times of calamities.
Tinabanan Cave, like many other
caves in Samar, has served as a safe
refuge for thousands of residents and
its forefathers for hundreds of years.
It is said that during the Spanish
era, the caves were haven of the resistance movement.
During the World War II, the elders said they would run to the caves
to seek protection whenever Japanese
warplanes were heard approaching.
Two days before typhoon Yolanda hit on November 8, 2013 Tibanan Cave was already teeming with
residents of the barangay seeking
shelter on what is considered as the
strongest typhoon to make a landfall
in modern history. At least 15 caves
in Samar are known to have provided
shelter during typhoon Yolanda.
Previous evacuation centers

were school buildings, day-care centers and caves around the area, says
Marabut Mayor Ely Ortillo.
Bringing with them solar panels and lighting equipment, villagers
trooped to Tinabanan Cave where a
simulation of what to do in case of
medical emergency also happens.
Part of the drill involves lighting
the main portion of the cave, the toilets and makeshift kitchen using the
TekPak, a portable solar device capable of powering lights, mobile phones,
and medical devices.
Portable solar-powered electricity,
like the TekPak, is currently being proposed to become an integral component
in disaster preparedness programs
and humanitarian work. In the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda, many communities further suffered when they
lacked immediate access to electricity
or ran out of fuel to power their generators and light their kerosene lamps.
Our Yolanda experience three
years ago taught us that access to
better energy source is an urgent
need in vulnerable communities. Renewable energy should become a vital component in disaster risk reduction and humanitarian work because
it is easy to deploy and is not reliant
on complicated logistics during disasters, said Arturo Tahup, Project Coordinator of the Institute for Climate
and Sustainable Cities (ICSC).
ICSC is a policy group in the
Philippines promoting low-carbon
development initiatives, sustainable
energy solutions and fair climate policy in vulnerable countries.
The Institute has provided training on solar installations and trouble-shooting to hundreds of typhoon
Yolanda survivors, including those
from Tinabanan, under its Solar
Scholars program which aims to turn
Yolanda survivors into first responders in times of disaster.
ICSC is also involved in providing renewable energy in off-grid island communities of Samar.
The evacuation drill was organized by ICSC, in partnership with
the local government of Marabut,
Food for the Hungry, and other civil
society organizations.
In Barangay Suluan, an island
barangay in Guiuan, Eastern Samar,
where typhoon Yolanda first made
a landfall, ICSC has provided solarpowered street lights that benefit the
whole island.#

DILG Sec. Mike Sueno

Interior and Local Government
Secretary Ismael Mike D. Sueno
today directed the National Police
Commission (NAPOLCOM) to conduct a parallel investigation on the
alleged shootout incident at the Baybay City Sub-Provincial Jail which
led to the death of Albuera Mayor
Rolando Espinosa and Raul Yap last
Saturday morning.
Sueno said the NAPOLCOM has
the legal and moral ascendancy to
initiate its own probe on the Baybay
City jail incident to determine the
culpability of the concerned police officers, considering that it is the agency mandated to exercise administrative and operational supervision over
the Philippine National Police (PNP).
While the PNPs Internal Affairs
Service (PNP-IAS) has automatically
started its own investigation, it is
still necessary for NAPOLCOM to
get into the picture to lend integrity
and credibility to the probe, he said.
The DILG Secretary said that

while he has no doubts with the PNPIAS led probe, the public might not
trust the results of an investigation
which is conducted as well by policemen. Under the law, NAPOLCOM is
mandated to conduct pre-charge investigation of police anomalies and
irregularities and summary dismissal of erring police officers.
NAPOLCOM should make this
(probe) as their top priority. We have
to know what really transpired on
that day. We owe the family of the
slain inmates and the public a factual and detailed account of the incident, said Sueno.
He said there are many questions that are left unanswered. Was
there really a shootout? Was there
coordination with the regional and
provincial police offices? Why was
the search warrant hastily served too
early on a Saturday morning?
Meanwhile, the PNP-IAS Headquarters (IAS HQ) and Regional IAS
8 have been working for the initial
motu-proprio investigation of the incident in Baybay City Sub-Provincial
Jail. IAS HQ has requested both the
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Headquarters
and CIDG Region 8 office for the
names of at least 15 operatives who
were involved in the operation. RIAS
8 has also conducted an ocular investigation in said jail.
The process of obtaining affidavits is ongoing, as well as the review
of relevant documents to determine
possible violations of Police Operational Procedures (POP). Last Saturday, Espinosa and Yap met their
death during an alleged firefight with
the police who were serving a search
warrant at the Baybay City Sub-Provincial Jail. #

Forester Alejandro K. Bautista

Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer

CENRO, Baybay City

Supports the Campaign for Climate Justice

Make your day with

The Weekly Vanguard.

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nearest news stand.

Vanguard

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

3 years after Yolanda

Tacloban: Biz in full swing

The presence of s shopping mass enjoying patronage from the locals, a sure indicator of the business outlook.

By Elmer V. Recuerdo
TACLOBAN CITY
Business in the city is already in full swing almost
three years after the devastation of super typhoon
Yolanda, but many businessmen are treading on a tight
rope of survival because of
maturing debts.
Establishments
are
sprouting in different parts of
the city, taking advantage of
the potentials to do business
in the city, the regional hub
for trade, commerce and education in Eastern Visayas.
When
two
branches

vestors, she said in a press

conference marking her first
100 days in office.
It is not enough that
they see a good feasibility
study, they should also see
a business friendly city otherwise they might get turned
off, she said. The city government has created the Tacloban Business Council that
is tasked to create a roadmap
for business expansion in the
city. Recently, the city hosted
Tacloban Business Investment Summit inviting representatives of national and
international business companies to explore potential

Tacloban through San Juanico Bridge, said.

Valenzuela said Taclobans 250,000 populations
reaches as much as 900,000
during day time because of
students, workers and people
who have transactions to do
in the city. This is a big potential market, she said.
On the edge of peril
But while new businesses are making a boom in the
city, many homegrown businessmen who were caught
by typhoon Yolanda are in a
tight fix. Their problem: ma-

It is not enough that they see a good feasibility

study, they should also see a business friendly city
otherwise they might get turned off.
of grocery chain Puregold
opened in September, hundreds of people waited outside for the stores to admit
customers. The same enthusiasm is expected when Robinsons chain of mall opens
its second branch in the city
soon.
The hotel industry is also
seeing the business potential as the number increased
from 41 before Yolanda to 73
as of the last count.
Tacloban City Mayor
Cristina Romualdez credits
the boom to the businessfriendly attitude of the city
government. We are doing our best to eradicate red
tape, expedite the approval
of business permits, and appear business friendly to in-

areas for investment.

One huge potential to do
business, she said, is on the
cluster of underdeveloped
northern villages of the city
where 15,000 families currently living along high-risk
areas will be relocated. We
have a long way to go, she
said.
For 87-year-old Bernardita Valenzuela, a childhood
friend of former first lady
Imelda Marcos and the citys
information officer, the advantage of Tacloban lies in
its strategic location.
Business is all about
location. Tacloban is at the
center of the center of Philippine archipelago. There is
no land trip from Manila to
Davao that will not pass by

turing debts.
When typhoon Yolanda
struck on November 8, 2013,
neighborhood mini-grocery
store owner Lito Esperas
had just stocked his store
with grocery items meant for
Christmas out of a loan from
a credit cooperative.
So when the storm blew
his store and washed out all
its content, Esperas thought
it was the end of all that he
worked for. It was as if my
world crumbled. I was deep
in debt and I have no other
source of income aside from
relief that we were receiving
from different international
organizations, he said.
Through some cash assistance from different international
organizations

like Tzu Chi Foundation,

the United States Agency for
International Development
and other United Nations
bodies that did relief and rehabilitation work in Eastern
Visayas, Esperas was able to
slowly put back his business,
now even bigger that it was
before.
I was able to restructure
my loan and get additional
loans from different government programs. Business is
good but there is debt that
swings like a sword over my
neck, he said.
Businessman and local
politician Wilson Uy, on the
other hand, said that while
business is back it is not yet
in full swing. My estimate is
we are only 60 percent of full
recovery, she said.
Uy, who is also the president of Philippine Chamber
of Commerce and Industry in
Tacloban-Leyte chapter, said
most businessmen are still in
debt.
Economy is moving and
there is money flowing in
Eastern Visayas because of
aid coming from different
nongovernment
organizations, he said.
Like most other businessmen, Uy said he was able to
put back his gasoline business through loans. He said
his mother company, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, was able to provide a
loan facility for his gasoline
business. The Department
of Trade and Industry also
provided a loan program for
small business corporation to
fund his other businesses.
He laments, though, the
slow release of funds form
the government to help small
and medium enterprises.
We are still awaiting those
intended funds like the P2Billion grant from German
government for micro financing, he said referring

to Kreditanstalt fr Wiederaufbau
(Reconstruction
Credit Institute) Interest
Differential Fund for Reconstruction Assistance on
Yolanda.
He said through the request of the Department of
Finance, the German government has allowed a portion of
KfW as a credit support fund
for Yolanda-affected businesses to recover.
The Commission on Audit, though, has recommended the termination of this
program and the reversion of
the remaining amount to the
general fund due to mismanagement of the Land Bank of
the Philippines.
The Leyte Chamber of
Commerce and Industry has
asked the assistance of the
Regional Development Council to object the COA decision
and make representation
with the German government and the Department
of Finance to allow the use
of the funds as originally intendedas a credit support
fund.
In a letter to RDC, Uy
said the COA decision is a
big blow to the local entrepreneurs of Region VIII and
the business community as a
whole.
The government has allowed the mismanagement
of the fund to the detriment
of its intended beneficiaries
who were in dire need of
much needed to rebuild their
businesses from the devastation of Yolanda, he said in
his letter.
Uy said, in an interview, that KfW funds could
help local businessmen exit
from the high interest they
are paying on existing loans
through lesser interest rates
or no interest at all offered
by KfW. It will also help
extend the maturity of our
loans, he said.

Vanguard

Effects of climate
change on RP

OPINION

Editorial

Who planned his murder?

he past week was a

fast one as we were
treated to a one-act
play that was so unbelievable that no one in his
right mind would swallow it.
We have seen lots of movies of how assassinations are
done, but the killing of Mayor Rolando Espinosa at the
sub-provincial jail in Baybay
City was a bad script. Not
that we agree to his dying this
way, but to make us believe
that he was killed because he
fought back with his own gun
is an insult to common sense.
Nobody believes it, that even
top police and government
officials want an investigation done.
Even provincial jail officials are saying it cant be
true that guns were inside the
jail. They had just finished
operation galugad, and all
they found was a cellphone
borrowed by Espinosa from
another inmate. But the
CIDG insisted the cells occupied by Espinosa and Yap
were teeming with drugs,
paraphernalia, and each was

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

armed with a gun. So they secured a search warrant from

Basey Samar, of all places,
and served it at 4:00 in the
morning to surprise the two
inmates.
Like men possessed with
new-found authority, the
CIDG team disarmed the jail
guards and four other cops
on duty, telling them to get
down on their knees facing
the wall, as the team barged
inside the jail, brandishing
their guns. Moments later,
they heard the mayor begging
for his life, and the gun shots
that followed. Unnamed witnesses have come forward to
say there was no firefight. The
raiding team would later present the items they found or
planted and declared that
the two fought back. The oftrepeated nanlaban to justify
the killing.
It is pointless to argue
against the CIDGs claim
that it was a legit operation,
even with all the questionable circumstances at hand.
Everybody, save of course
the CIDG, believes it was

a rubout. Now the question

is, why the desperate move
to silence the mayor permanently? Murder always has
a motive. In a high-profile
killing like this, it is the fulfillment of a purpose more
important than the life of Espinosa or Yap.
A few days earlier, Espinosa signed an affidavit listing the names of top police
and government officials,
civilians and three local
media personalities as protectors. The list was based
largely on a small notebook
where the names were hastily written each time the drug
lord handed some amounts
to their patron, like vendors
keeping track of their debtors. Any of those on the list
could have planned with or
used the CIDG to kill Espinosa and Yap.
Note that seven of those
in the list are CIDG men, and
one a former regional director
of the agency. We are not saying they are part of this. We
are just opening avenues for
exploring the probables. #

The Weekly Vanguard

is the Eastern Visayas weekly newspaper published by The Vanguard

Communications and Publishing Corporation, with its main office
at Brgy. 95, Diversion Road, Caibaan, Tacloban City.

Publisher:
Bong Contapay

Business Manager:
Rey Enales
Editor: Emil B. Justimbaste

Associate Editor:
Elmer V. Recuerdo

Columnists:
Prof. Rolando Borrinaga, Phillip Ting,
Fr. Virgilio Caete, Eric Aseo, Jun Portillo

Writers/Correspondents:
Miriam Desacada (Tacloban), Gina Dean (Samar),
Jun Tarroza (Ormoc),

Production staff:
Emilio Bacoto, Sergio S. Canoy Jr., Christian RayTorres
Asprenio G. Ladim
Email Address: theweeklyvanguard@yahoo.com
Telephones: (053) 888-0947

aiyan,
Thelma,
Ike,
Fengshen,
Washi,
Durian,
Bopha, Trix, Amy,
Nina. These are the 10 deadliest typhoons of the Philippines between 1947 and
2014.
Whats alarming is that
five of the 10 have occurred
since 2006, affecting and displacing thousands of citizens
every time. Seven of these 10
deadly storms each resulted
in more than 1,000 casualties. But the deadliest storm
on record in the Philippines
is Typhoon Haiyan, known
locally as Typhoon Yolanda,
which was responsible for
more than 6,300 lost lives,
more than four million displaced citizens and $2 billion in damages in 2013. So
whats going onis the Philippines simply unlucky? Not
exactly.
The Philippines has long
been particularly vulnerable
to extreme weather. But in
recent years the nation has
suffered from even more
violent storms like Typhoon
Haiyan. On average, about
20 tropical cyclones enter
Philippine waters each year,
with eight or nine making
landfall. And over the past
decade, these tropical storms
have struck the nation more
often and more severely,
scientists believe, because
of climate change. In addition, two factors unique to
the Philippinesits geography and developmenthave
combined to exacerbate both
this threat and its devastating consequences.
As
Climate
Reality
heads to Manila, Philippines on March 14-16 for
our next Climate Reality
Leadership Corps training,
we wanted to take a deeper
look at how climate change
affects the Philippines and
the role geography and development play in making a
tremendous challenge even
greater.
Geography

The Global Climate Risk

Index 2015 listed the Philippines as the number one most
affected country by climate
change, using 2013s data.
This is thanks, in part, to its
geography. The Philippines
is located in the western Pacific Ocean, surrounded by
naturally warm waters that
will likely get even warmer
as average sea-surface temperatures continue to rise.
To some extent, this is
a normal pattern: the ocean
surface warms as it absorbs
sunlight. The ocean then releases some of its heat into
the atmosphere, creating
wind and rain clouds. However, as the oceans surface
temperature increases over
time from the effects of cli-

mate change, more and more

heat is released into the atmosphere. This additional
heat in the ocean and air can
lead to stronger and more
frequent stormswhich is
exactly what weve seen in
the Philippines over the last
decade.
The Philippines also
lacks natural barriers; as
a collection of more than
7,000 islands there is almost nothing standing between them and the sea.
In addition to their coral
reefs, one of the best buffers
against typhoons are the
Philippine mangrove ecosystems. These mangroves
help mitigate the impact of
storm surge and stabilize
soil but have disappeared by
almost half since 1918 due
to deforestation (an issue
for another day).Other natural factors, like regional
wind patterns or currents,
can also increase the risk of
tropical storms. Geography
again plays a role here, as
these factors affect different
areas of the country differently, due to their unique
circumstances. The graphic
below from a report by the
Philippine Department of
Environment and Natural
Resources shows how the
various regions in the Philippines can face a range of
climate threats, based on
where they sit on the map.
The map also shows the
regions most vulnerable to
sea-level rise, another detrimental effect of climate
change that can be exacerbated by the storm surge
from tropical storms. Sea
levels in the Philippines are
rising at about twice the
global average. And when
especially strong storms
like Typhoon Haiyan make
landfall, this higher sea
level contributes to storm
surge that can rise upwards
of 15-20 feet, displacing
thousands or even millions
of citizens in coastal communities. Which brings us
to our next topic: development in the Philippines.
Developmental
factors
have made it difficult for the
Philippines to prepare and
respond to disasters. Evacuation plans, early-warning
systems and shelters are
critical to dealing with extreme weather events. Warning and relocating thousands
or millions of citizens when a
storm is approaching would
be a massive hurdle for any
countryand in the case of
a developing nation like the
Philippines with nearly 100
million citizens spread out
across thousands of islands,
the hurdle becomes bigger
still.
(http://www.ecowatch.com/how-is-climatechange-affecting-the-philippines-1882156625.html)

OPINION
Vanguard

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

Vintage
View

By Prof. Rolly Borrinaga

The turtles fault

f course, most of us
are familiar with
the fable The Monkey and the Turtle.
Even Dr. Jose Rizal, our national hero, was known to
have made comics illustrations of this fable for a young
relative.
The fable as we know it
now has the Monkey always
trying to trick the Turtle. But
somehow the Turtle always
ended up outwitting his supposedly wiser adversary.
The Turtles victory over
every imaginable adversary
is a common theme of folklore all over the world. This is
linked to the universal belief
that mankind sympathizes
with the oppressed and the
disadvantaged.
However, it is not well
known that the earliest version of The Monkey and the
Turtle fable in the Philippines
was recorded in 1668 by Father Francisco Ignacio Alcina,
a Jesuit missionary priest who
spend much of his life serving
the Leyte-Samar region. Fr.
Alcina immortalized our re-

gion, the original Islas de Bisayas, through his manuscript.

The main difference between the fable that Fr. Alcina
recorded and the current version is in the perspective. The
early Bisayans had it that it
was the Turtle who always
tried to trick the Monkey, until the Monkey inflicted his
righteous revenge. The perspective of the current version
is exactly opposite the old one.
Bisayan version
The old Bisayan fable
went this way:
The Turtle and the Monkey found by chance a sprout
of banana plant they called
sahaan. They fought over who
would take the best part. In
order to deceive the Monkey,
the Turtle asked for the part
that had the leaves. This part
seemed best for the Monkey,
who was allowed to keep it.
The Monkey in turn gave
the Turtle the part with the
root, which was what the
Turtle actually wanted because it is what sprouts,

grows and bears fruit. But

the Turtle gave signs of
wanting the opposite so that
the Monkey would let him
(Turtle) get what he wanted,
which was more profitable.
Eventually, the piece of
stalk that the Monkey gave to
the Turtle sprouted, grew and
bore fruits. The Turtle, since he
could not climb up and get the
fruit, went to find the Monkey
and asked him to climb and get
the fruit. The Monkey did this
gladly and, once seated above,
he began to gather the bananas and ate them. The Monkey
threw all the peelings to the
Turtle down below, a revenge
for the first trick he received
from the Turtle.
The original lesson intended by the fable was this:
A man of intrigues and plots
was likened to the Turtle,
whose intestines have many
twists and turns. Though
small, the Turtle supposedly
knew a lot, since he was able
to trick the Monkey, who was
supposedly larger and wiser.
Anyway, the Monkey eventually got his revenge. And
when somebody gave another
fellow the worst part, the early
Bisayans would say the treated
him like a Turtle (and justly so).
Sadly, the world has
turned upside down on us
since 1668. In a world of
Monkeys and Turtles, the old
Monkeys have become the
modern Turtles. And they
seem to be proud and righteous to have become so.
No wonder we have become a society of born-losers.#

Samar breeze
By Eric Aseo

Earning from carabaos milk

Eastern Samar farmers
we brought to the Philippine
Carabao Center (PCC) at the
Visayas State University
were surprised when they
first had a taste of carabao
milk. They never thought
carabao milk, pure or flavored, would taste that good
or would sell that fast. They
couldnt also believe it has
more protein content than
cows milk or even mothers
milk.
The carabao is often taken for granted in the Samar
provinces. Only when a draft
animal is needed to till the
soil, or when meat is needed
for festivities, or when a child
in Manila calls up because
school fees are due, do many
families in Samar remember
the lowly carabao. It never
occured to us that the animal
can help fight malnutrition
or provide long-term income
to farmers.
But the young mayor of
Llorente, Daniel Boco, saw
opportunity for his people in
the carabao, which teems in

his municipality. When he

learned the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and People
in Need (PIN), a Czech NGO,
were artificially inseminating carabaos in his barangays, he immediately forged
a partnership with them.
The municipal government
of Llorente, PIN and PCC are
now poised to go into milk
production.
To date they have already artificially inseminated 68 carabaos in five
barangays. Around three
hectares of forage grasses
have been planted. Organizing of carabao owners
and construction of communal shed and milking parlor
are also ongoing. Within the
month, PIN and the municipal government will provide
10 cross-bred female carabaos, while PCC will provide a bull.
Some 111 farmers in
Llorente have already been
trained in carabao health
management, pasture development, milk collection

and silage-making. Next

week the partners will send
delegates to the National
Carabao Congress at the
PCC National Heaquarters
in the Science City of Munoz, where they will learn
more about raising carabaos, milk production and
processing of milk products.
The initiative looks relevant if viewed in the context of Eastern Samar. The
province is the second poorest in the country, next only
to Lanao Sur. Not surprisingly, the percentage of underweight children is high at
10.79 percent. Against this
context, Llorente can position itself as future source
of carabao milk for Eastern
Samar and even for Samar
province, which has an even
higher malnutrition rate at
18.89 percent. The municipality can help reduce child
malnutrition in the two provinces.
Llorente
farmers
of
course will earn from cara-

Voices
ByJun Portillo

Life is precious

wish I never married

you! our neighbor Rosa
(not her real name)
shouted to her drunk
and violent husband. She
shouted again. This time, she
shouted for help. She married
a really bad man. He didnt
care if there was food on the
table. He didnt care for his
family at all. Neighbors were
always wary whenever he
was around. He easily quarreled and always had a pisaw
(small sharp knife) tucked on
his body.
One day, the inevitable
happened. Rosas husband
killed a man. It was gruesome. He hacked the man
with a double-blade sansibar.
A court sent him to prison
for life. In prison, he quickly
joined gangs and illegal activities. They attempted to
escape where he was shot
and caught.
He recovered and mellowed down. Then he got
sick. The liver disease made
him so thin and helpless.
That was the time he began
to change.
He became a completely
different man, the opposite
of who he once was. For his
sickness and good behavior,
he was included in the list
of those granted pardon. He
arrived home but was no
longer a threat to his family and neighbors not only
for his physical condition
but also because of his kind
and peaceful character, so
far from the person we knew
before. Rosa told my mother
that her husband regretted
all the bad things he had
done. She and the children
forgave him. He had many
good plans for his family once
healed.
His wife took care of
him but he did not heal. He
died in bed with family and
friends weeping around him.
He died in peace. He died
knowing he was forgiven.

That will never be the

case for Mayor Rolando Espinosa and his family in the
neighboring town of Albuera.
Espinosa was charged with
drug offenses. He was arrested in October and killed
early morning on November
5. Espinosa was added to the
list of 2,448 people killed in
police operation or illegally
executed as of September
1, 2016 according to count
from Al Jazeera. That he was
murdered inside prison under government custody by
government forces is worth
another article.
Rosas husband, Mayor
Espinosa and all bad people
we know were not born that
way. They changed. Theres
always a possibility that they
can change again to become
better persons. It may take
imprisonment for life. It may
take total isolation from society. But as long as theyre
alive, theres hope. Thats
why all life is precious. No
one is too far gone until they
are dead. Everyone can always turn around. Where
theres life, theres possibility. No matter how bad it
seems, they can still recover
their humanity.
Killing a drug offender
will never result in peace for
the family and for the community. It will never result
in peace even for the murderer who believes hes serving
humanity. The most striking
fact in the Senate testimony
of self-confessed vigilante
and Death Squad member
Edgar Matobato was not that
hes admitted killing many
people. It is the fact that hes
haunted for life for killing
those people.
We were not created to
kill. We dont have claws or
fangs. Except for rare situations where we have to defend ourselves, we dont need
to kill in order to live. I wish
we never learned murder.

bao milk. The farm gate price

of milk is 80 pesos per liter
and a native carabao can
produce as much 2 liters per
day, while a cross-bred one
can produce as much as 6 liters per day. How much will
a farmer earn very month if
he has three milk-producing
cross-bred carabaos? Do the
math. Its more than enough
to send a child to college.
With a national feeding program being launched
by the Duterte administration, which will use locallysourced milk, the national
government can become the
biggest market of carabao
milk for the farmers. House-

holds and local processors

are also potential market. At
the VSU dairy farmers coop,
walk-in customers constitute
a big chunk of the market for
milk.
If Llorente farmers go
beyond production and add
value to the milk by producing artisinal cheeses,
ice cream and other milk
products, they stand to earn
more. The sales and taste of
carabao milk already surprised them. They were even
more surprised when they
learned these possibilities.
The farmers could only rue
that information came to
them this late. #

Vanguard

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

DPWH starts work

on 2017 projects
By Felix N. Codilla III

5 nabbed in buy-bust
By Najib M. Cubio
Hilongos, Leyte Five
suspected drug uses were
nabbed by members of Hilongos PNP during an anti
drug bust at Capt. Flordelis
St, Brgy. Eastern in Hilongos
Monday evening, last week.
The suspects were: Jame
Ryan Fuentes, 28 years old,
single, and identified as a
pusher; Ranulfo Torres Jr.,
34, single and a member of
the LGBT community; Harvey Nalangan, 32, single; his

live-in partner Marie Cris

Cayunda, 28, residents of the
said place; and Regie Abelis,
38, single and a native of Sogod, Southern Leyte.
Hilongos Police Station
Chief Alberto Renomeron
said that one of his police officers, PO3 Roland Pakiding,
acted as poseur buyer who
bought one piece of shabu
from Jame Ryan Fuentes.
But Fuentes sensed that he
was transacting with a police
officer. So he hastily went
inside the house of Maricris

Cayunda, who was having a

pot session with his live-in
partner Harvey Nalangan in
the sala.
The
police
officers
seized several drug paraphernalia, four sachets of
shabu, 2 sachets marijuana, 500 peso bills marked
money and 390 pesos from
Regie Abelis.
The five are currently detained at the detention cell
of Hilongos Police Station.
They all denied involvement
in the illicit drug trade.#

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THE Leyte 4th District

Engineering Office (DEO) has
begun the preliminary engineering activities and perfection of program of works for
projects lined up for 2017.
Projects costing P10 million
and below were scheduled for
bidding last month while P10
million above are scheduled
to be bid-out in December.
The goal is to implement
all 2017 projects on January
as soon as the General Appropriations Act will be approved and to complete the
same before end of next year.
This is a challenge for all of
us especially to our technical
personnel to meet the target
and output expected from
them considering the number of projects that has to be
undertaken by this office,
said District Engineer Lino
Francisco Gonzalez.
As of September 30,
2016, the office has attained
96% completion rate for 2016
projects. However, two proj-

ects worth above P50 million that are supposed to be

implemented by the Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) regional
office were downloaded to
4th DEO. These are the
P128.215
million
GaasQuezon Jr. road concreting
which started on July and
the P59 million widening of
Anilao bridge due to begin
this month. Both projects, located in Ormoc, dragged the
office accomplishment down
to 77.93% but still ahead of
target by 1.18% nonetheless.
The two projects had a
slow start being within the
election period and also due
to the delayed approval of
plans. To prevent recurrence
of such delays, Gonzalez has
written DPWH Regional
Director Edgar B. Tabacon
requesting that projects intended for Leyte 4th DEO
implementation should be
identified and downloaded as
early as December 2016 so
that its implementation will
not be hampered.#

Athletes uniforms
hit for no-show
By Najib M. Cubio
Hilongos, Leyte As
the Leyte Provincial Meet
came to a close last Saturday, athletes, coaches, and
officials from Hindang, Hilongos, Bato and Matalom
are crying foul because the
athletic uniforms intended
for the meet were not distributed.
The said officials who
requested not to be named
are saying that until the day
before the end of the meet,
they have not received their
uniforms. They said the area
manager Dr. Daria Malanguis promised them that
prior to the start of the meet,
their uniforms would be given. However, the promise remained a promise.
Until today the Provincial Meet is already over
we have yet to receive our
uniforms. Those used by the
athletes during the games
were their old uniforms of
previous provincial meets.
The jogging pants intended

for us, officiating officials,

they said.
But when Malanguis was
interviewed, she explained
that the uniforms intended
for the meet were not finished
by the designated supplier.
The number of lacking
jogging pants numbered 192,
some 44 arrived. So the uniforms that were not given
were converted into cash incentives for the gold medalist
for 200 pesos each. There is
only one supplier for all the
seven delegations and our
uniform (for Area V-B) is not
that easy to do. Some jackets arrived, which exceeded
our orders. The supplier admitted their fault. Until the
financial statement is done,
everyone is free to ask about
it here in the office, she said.
Malanguis assured the
public that nothing went to
anyones pockets. She added
that as soon as they finished
their financial statement,
anyone is free to ask about
where the funding for the
athletic event went to.#

The Weekly Vanguard also provides trainings

to student publications in all the aspects of journalism, including newswriting, feature writing, editorial
writing, layouting and photojournalism. Any group
interested in availing of our services may contact our
Phone No. 053-888-0947.
Our email add: theweeklyvanguard@yahoo.com

Vanguard

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

Post-Yolanda blues

Housing issues still hound survivors

By Elmer V. Recuerdo
TACLOBAN CITY
The government housing
project for families displaced
by typhoon Yolanda three
years ago is finally making a
headway if the basis is solely
on the number of houses that
have been constructed.
But conditions on the
ground see a myriad of problems that if not addressed
in the earliest possible time,
the billions of pesos spent for
them will mostly go to drain.
One would just wonder what
the local governments have
done to address the plight of
their constituents or the last
three years.
Data from the National
Housing Authority (NHA)
shows 205,128 families from
116 cities and municipalities
that were affected by typhoon
Yolanda have been identified
for relocation because either
there houses were destroyed
or they are living on so-called
unsafe zones.
Some 117,203 families
from Western Visayas have
been identified by NHA as
qualified for relocation in
contrast to only 56,140 families that were identified for
relocation in Eastern Visayas, which is the most-battered region by the super typhoon. The government has
earmarked P59.77 billion to
build houses for the typhoon
displaced families.
Among the criteria used
in the selection of target beneficiaries include that the informal settler families (ISF)
should be situated within
the 40-meter unsafe zones
of the local government unit,
that the ISF has been validated by the local Social Welfare and Development Office,
and the families should be
located in coastal cities or
municipalities and included
in the Provincial Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Plan
(PRRP) as submitted to the
Office of the Presidential As-

sistant for Rehabilitation and

Recovery formerly headed by
Senator Panfilo Lacson.
Each family has a budget
allocation of P290,000 for the
house and lot package with a
22 square meter house that
can withstand up to 250 kilometers per hour of wind load
capacity. The land development includes concrete roads
and drainage system, water
pipeline distribution system,
electrical distribution system
and individual septic tank.
Audit government housing project
As of September 5 this
year, barely three years after super typhoon Yolanda
struck, only 11,618 houses or
10 percent of its target have
been completed and 29,384
are considered as partially or
substantially completed, as
per record of NHA.
Adding problem to this
slow paced implementation
is the complaint of some
residents ranging from allegations that the houses are

thousands of his neighbors

died during typhoon Yolanda.
I am a fisherman. The place
given to me is far from sea
and I have no other source of
income. My family will die of
hunger if we continue to live
there, he said.
Local housing rights advocates, led by the Community of Yolanda Survivors and
Partners (CYSP), an alliance
of 163 community organizations supported by 9 NGOs
working in the forefront of
Typhoon Yolanda response,
are asking the government
to provide basic services like
water, electricity, schools and
livelihood in resettlement
sites. They are also asking
the government conduct an
audit on the housing projects
to address the complaints.
The construction is very
slow, and in some municipalities, construction of housing
projects have yet to start.
The need is for the government to immediately review
ongoing projects in view of

Conditions on the ground see a myriad of

problems that if not addressed in the earliest possible time, the billions of pesos spent
for them will mostly go to drain.
made of substandard materials to absence of amenities
and livelihood opportunities
at the relocation site.
Fisherman Narito Cuesta, 42 years old, a resident of
worst-hit San Jose District, is
among the first few who transferred to a permanent shelter
in northern villages of Tacloban. The house looks beautiful on the outside but when
it rains water leaks from the
roof. You will also know that
it is not sturdy because when
you knock on the concrete wall
it sounds hollow. There are already cracks on the wall, he
said.
Barely two months at the
permanent shelter, Cuesta is
now back in San Jose where

survivors complaints of substandard construction, initiate an audit with survivors

participation, and immediately provide a venue for
consultation with survivors.
Otherwise, precious government funds are going to be
wasted, Danny Carranza,
policy and advocacy lead person of CYSP said.
Takot ang mga lilipat na
mawawalan ng hanapbuhay,
at ang lilipatan ay walang
tubig, ilaw kuryente, at malayo sa paaralan, dahil malalayo ang ipinatayong housing
projects, said Fara Gumalo a
survivor from Tacloban City
who represents Freedom from
Debt Coalition (FDC), a member of CYSP. Kaya nga ang

nauuso ngayon ay from danger to death zone.

But if the problem in Tacloban is the lack of social
services at the resettlement
sites, Yolanda affected communities in Eastern Samar
are asking if there will ever
be a relocation that will be
provided to them. Many municipalities have not yet identified sites to relocate families
in high risk areas and the listing of beneficiaries have to be
redone due to discrepancies
between the NHA figures and
the number of families that
need to be transferred.
Many residents are getting restless as they are not
aware if there is any plan to
relocate them, all they know
is that the community where
they lived from the start is
now marked a no build zone
and that sooner or later they
will be asked to leave the
place.
The people are kept in
the dark. They dont know
what the plans are for them,
says Rina Reyes, project manager of nongovernment Katarungan-Eastern Visayas.
Where will we be relocated? What are our options?
What exactly is the plan of
the local government? These
are legitimate questions that
are not being answered, says
Lita Bagunas, president of

the land in Eastern Samar

have no land titles while the
titled lands are sold at exorbitant rates knowing of demand for resettlement sites.
It is difficult to find a titled land that is 4.5 hectares
big where the 700 houses can
be constructed, he told the
audience.
He said some residents
volunteered their land but
more paper works have to be
done like lack of records or
the land size that not match
what is in the land title.
Biong also criticized some
landowners who are taking
advantage by jacking up the
prices of their property. We
know that the land here costs
only between P18-20 but now
they are selling them at P150
200 per square meter. In
some areas in the town of
Hernani, farm lands that
qualify as resettlement area
are sold to as much as P1,500
per square meter.
He said many landowners are now dead and the
heirs could not agree among
themselves the price of the
property and how they will
divide money.
Biong also admitted that
no final list of beneficiaries
has been done yet because he
does not trust the list given
to him by many barangay
captains. I dont trust the

Giporlos Shelter Rights for

No-Build Zone Federation, a
groups from four coastal villages.
She said the local government has to respond because
decisions that will be done
will have big impact to their
families especially on their
livelihood and education of
the children.
Giporlos Mayor Mark Biong admitted that until now
no resettlement has been
identified yet because of difficulty in looking for a site big
enough to build the houses
that will pass the requirement of NHA.
Like many Yolandaaffected municipalities in
Eastern Samar, many of
the barangays are along the
shoreline that are marked as
high-risk areas. Also, most of

list. There are times when

some who are deserving that
are not listed, and some who
are on the list that are not
deserving, he said.
He said initial list submitted to him only covered 360
beneficiaries but he was able
to convince National Housing Authority to increase it to
700. We found some houses
had two or three households
under one roof. We will revalidate the list to be fair with
everybody, he said.
What we want to do is
ensure first the housing project, all the departments to
comply what need to be submitted, then we will start the
assessment, he said. He said
the complete listing of beneficiaries can be accomplished
in three months.

(Go to p. 3)

10

Vanguard

Nov. 6 - 12, 2016

As we commemorate this 3rd Anniversary of Typhoon

Yolanda, let us especially remember the children
who have suffered the most from its onslaughts. For
those who did not survive, let us offer our prayers!
from

Gen. Danny D. Lim, AFP (ret)

&

Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM)

& RAM Guardians Incorporated - Alakdan

Cucina de Amelia

Dealer & merchandiser of imported kitchenwares

Maharlika Highway, Brgy. Tagak, Carigara,Leyte.