Gov. Daza distributes relief goods to Northern Samar flood victims

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
January 7, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  For Northern Samar Governor Raul Daza, there is no weekdays or weekends when it comes to reaching out to his needy constituents.

This weekend, Governor Daza when reached by the Philippine Information Agency, was busy going around the 35 barangays of Catarman, Northern Samar, giving relief goods to the 16,000 families who were affected by the flooding which occurred just before the year 2006 bid goodbye.

Governor Daza said that together with the officials of the province, he is distributing six kilos of rice, sardines and noodles plus P500 in cash to each of the 16,000 affected families in the province of Northern Samar.

He said that this is the best the province could do while waiting for more help from the National government and other donors. He said that the national government, through the National Disaster Coordinating Council, has sent 500 sacks of rice to the province and the province requested NDCC through the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council for another 500 sacks of rice.

Governor Daza added that 82 barangays in the eight municipalities of Northern Samar namely, Catarman, Pambujan, Silvino Lobos, Mondragon, San Roque, Catubig, Lope de Vega and Las Navas, were affected by the flooding. He said that in Catarman alone, 36 barangays were affected.

The active Governor sighed that a total of 609 houses were damaged (164 - totally and 445 partially damaged) in Catarman, Northern Samar.

To make the situation worse, a landslide occurred in Brgy. Diit de Suba, Silvino Lobos, Northern Samar which buried a house. Six were confirmed dead and 3 were injured.

In the municipality of Mondragon, three people were confirmed dead while in Pambujan town, one was confirmed dead. This brings the number of people who died in the Northern Samar flooding to ten, Governor Daza said.

Eastern Samar’s most wanted person arrested in Talalora

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE (PIA 8)
January 6, 2007

CATBALOGAN, Samar  –  Eastern Samar’s most wanted criminal Edilberto Aquino y Brozas, 32, married and presently residing at Barangay Cabacungan, Talalora, Samar was arrested by a combined forces of Talalora and Samar Provincial police elements led by Provincial Criminal Investigator Joseph Pensotes on Janaury 4, 2006.

The police reported that Aquino was wanted in Eastern Samar and that a warrant of arrest CC Nr. 54-05-01 was pending for Robbery with Violence by Band with the Use of Firearms.

The Warrant of Arrest penned by Judge Elvie Lim of Regional trial Court Branch 4, Dolores, Eastern Samar said that Aquino has a recommended bail of P200,000.00.

In a media presentation, the suspect told the local media in Catbalogan that he had been detained in Dolores, Eastern Samar but was able to escape along with other inmates. He then married someone from Cabacungan, Talalora, Samar and had stayed in that barangay where he was arrested.

SPO3 Samuel Rosales of the Samar Provincial Police Office told PIA that his men were alerted by a civilian in Talalora tipping the presence of Aquino; Samar PPO then coordinated with other Municipal Police Stations in Eastern Samar for a possible criminal record of the suspect. The efforts yielded a faxed warrant of arrest.

Said suspect will soon be turned over to the Eastern Samar Police jurisdiction, Rosales said.

“We do not want to be accused of sweeping somebody’s backyard,” Rosales informed.

His arrest has given Samar Police Director Asdali Idjah Abah another accomplishment following his lucky streak of disbanding a pirate-team that has been operating in the Samar-Masbate-Bicol area. Abah and his men though have yet to unravel a sticky situation when the pirates arrested implicated some barangay officials in Tarangnan town who were said to be the buyers of the stolen motor engines.

Police recovers motorboat engines in Tarangan coastal village

By ELI C. DALUMPINES (PIA Samar)
January 5, 2007

CATBALOGAN, Samar  –  Elements of the Samar Police Provincial Office (SPPO) based here at Samar ’s capital recovered 16 motorboat engines in an operation conducted in Brgy. Bonga, a coastal barangay in Tarangnan town, Thursday.

SPO3 Samuel C. Rosales, who led the PNP operatives to Brgy. Bonga, said the engines were voluntarily surrendered by the fisher folks of the said barangay who allegedly purchased the equipment in a cheap price from the group whom the police have collared recently.

According to Rosales, this came after they aired to the barangay residents that they are contemplating to implicate those who have purchased engines from the said group who were engaged in piracy.

The police officer informed though that they are expecting to recover more stolen motorboat engines in the next few days as they are planning to intensify their anti-piracy campaign.

Samar PNP Director PSupt. Asdali Idja Abah, in an interview, informed that this is in line with his command’s drive against piracy which has started in mid December last year when police authorities intercepted suspected pirates in the waters of Tagapul-an.

To recall, police authorities arrested two suspected pirates in the vicinity of Brgy. Labangbaybay, Tagapul-an last December 18 following reports that a group of pirates victimizing motorboat operators were operating is said island town.

The police arrested Joel R. Sanico, 24 and Jerry R. Mondera, 22, both residents of Brgy. Bonga in Tarangnan and confiscated four motorboat engines which the suspects are about to dispose to any interested buyer.

The suspects are now detained at the Samar Provincial Jail after the police filed Piracy charges against them.

9 dead in landslides, drowning in Northern Samar

By NENE A. MANZANARES (PIA Northern Samar)
January 4, 2007

CATARMAN, Northern Samar  –  Reports coming in from the different towns are not so good for the New Year.  Due to the heavy rains last week that caused flash floods and landslides in the different towns of the province, data reaching the Provincial Disaster Management Unit (PDMU) disclose that five were confirmed dead in the landslides at Brgy. Diit de Suba in Silvino Lobos town, two died from drowning in the flash floods in Mondragon, while an infant died from a snake bite in the same town.  Another died from drowning and his dead body was found in Pambujan.

Those who died in the landslides were Pablo Gallamora, 56 years old; Junjun Acero, 2 years old; Julius Taco, 5 years old; Langga Taco, 12 years old; and Violeta Gallamora, 50 years old.  All were residents of Brgy. Diit de Suba in Silvino Lobos. Emmanuel Soriano, 14 years old who is a resident of the same barangay is still missing.

In Mondragon, another town of Northern Samar, Jeryme Ymata, 5 years old and Jacky Ymata 4 years old died from drowning in the flash floods that occurred last week.  An infant Jenelyn Roplo, 8 months old died from a snake bite.

The body of Bernardo Cerbito who was reported missing last week was found in Pambujan.  Reports have it that Cerbito was trying to save his carabao from drowning during the height of the flashfloods.

The continuous heavy rains caused by the cold front and the easterly wave, two weather systems that occurred at the same time have wrought havoc in the province claiming lives and destruction to hundreds of hectares of rice fields.

Tales of horror from survivors continue to haunt the Nortehanon who is trying to forget this tragic episode of their lives.  Almost everyone agree that this was the first time that floods reaching more than five feet  have occurred in the different areas of the province.

In Catarman, the capital town, houses near the Catarman river bank were washed away.  During the height of the floods people evacuated from their windows using fishermen’s boats.

Radio station DYSM manager Fermin Honey who reported to the station as early as 5 AM last Friday almost met an accident when his motorcycle collided with a bamboo being washed away in the street floods of Brgy. Bangkerohan.  He was stranded at the station for one day as the floods reached the fourth stairway and came only inches away from the floor of Station DYSM.

A seminarian who went on foot from Catarman town to the higher areas of Brgy Cawayan said that he saw two snakes swimming in the street floods of Brgy. Bangkerohan.

Light and ordinary vehicles could not “fight” the current from the street floods which were being reinforced by rain waters coming in from the mountains of Brgy. Macagtas.  Only the army trucks from the 803rd Brigade and some sturdier vehicles roamed the streets of Catarman and the nearby towns as rescue operations were going on.  The said barangay is located along the Catarman river bank.

The Catarman Cathedral was practically “filled to the brim” with more than two thousand evacuees seeking shelter from the cold and continuous heavy rains that pummeled the town.  Other evacuees went to school buildings and barangay halls.

Meanwhile, weather reports say that the easterly wave continues to hover in the Visayas area mentioning specifically Leyte and Samar.  People in this part of the country can only pray that what occurred in the last days of 2006 will not make a repeat performance in the early or any day of 2007.

Installation of new LNHS principal puts to an end decade-long squabble

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
January 4, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  The ten year squabble between the erstwhile principal and the faculty of the Leyte National High School was formally brought to an end with the installation of a new principal Wednesday.

Mr. Miguel Daguinod was formally installed Wednesday morning (January 3) as the new principal of the Leyte National High School, by no less than Dr. Teotimo Orbeso, the Tacloban City Schools Division Superintendent.

Prior to his assignment at the Leyte National High School, Mr. Daguinod was the principal of the Tacloban City High School.

In an interview with Dr. Orbeso, he told PIA that the installation of Mr. Daguinod came after he issued an order reassigning Mr. Dumdum to the Tacloban City Schools Division.

As agreed during the dialogue at the Philippine Information Agency, Dr. Orbeso also ordered the temporary reassignment of four other faculty members to other schools within the City Division.

However, the reassignment of three of the seven faculty members, were deferred until June of 2007 because they are master teachers and the Division deemed it necessary to retain them at Leyte National High School as it is difficult to look for their replacements.

Dr. Orbeso expressed hope that peace will now prevail at Leyte National High School and that the students and faculty will focus on quality education especially because there are but a few months before the end of classes.

He also lauded Mr. Dumdum and the seven faculty members especially the four male faculty members who fulfilled their agreements and showing that they have word of honor.

Two hours before New Year: power resumes in Northern Samar

By NENE A. MANZANARES (PIA Northern Samar)
January 2, 2007

CATARMAN, Northern Samar  –  It could have been a dark welcome for Year 2007 in Northern Samar had it not been for the efforts of the local Northern Samar Electric Cooperative (NORSAMELCO) to do everything just to bring back power into the province which was recently hit by heavy rains causing floods in some towns.

Nearly two hours before the strike of 12 midnight, people in Catarman were heard shouting with joy as Christmas blinkers and hundreds of homes were seen all lighted up to welcome Year 2007.  The province was without power for more than three days after it was hit by floods last Friday just two days before the end of the year.

Continuous heavy rains caused by the tail end of the cold front and the easterly wave severely affected thirteen barangays of Catarman Poblacion forcing residents to flee to higher grounds.  About four thousand evacuees sought refuge at the Catarman Cathedral while scores of others went to the nearest school houses and barangay halls.

According to PIA Northern Samar staff Ailene N. Diaz who volunteered in attending to the needs of the evacuees at the Cathedral, the Catarman Parish led by Bishop Emmanuel Trance and members of the religious sector joined hands in providing food to the evacuees.  Since kitchen facilities at the Cathedral could not meet the immediate cooking demand at the height of the evacuation, members of the religious sector particularly the Couples for Christ distributed rice to the nearby homes to be cooked and later picked up by the volunteers.

Other towns were severely hit by floods.  These are the towns of Mondragon, San Roque, Pambujan, Catubig, Las Navas, Bobon, and Lope de Vega, Silvino Lobos suffered landslides including some barangays of Mondragon.