All is set for the 4th National Skimboarding Open Competition

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
December 15, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  All is set for the 4th National Skimboarding Open Competition at the Skimboarding Capital, Tanauan, Leyte, which is being sponsored by the local government of Tanauan, the Provincial Government of Leyte thru Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla and Victoria’s Skimboard, Mayor Roque A. Tiu informed.

Mayor Tiu said that the Open Competition is scheduled to be held on December 27-30 at the Bantay Dagat Area, in Barangay Sto. Niño in Tanauan. He clarified that the holding of the Competition in December is an experimental undertaking because it is believed that there are better waves in December and so the skimriders will enjoy the competition better.

It would be recalled that the previous Skimboarding Competition were conducted on Easter Sunday, Mayor Tiu said when there are many beachcombers visiting the shores of Tanauan.

Mayor Tiu said that the participants for this season’s competition are being limited to 150 to make the competition easier to manage.

Mayor Tiu added that skimriders from Luzon have signified their intention to join the competition. In fact, several of them e-mailed PIA 8 after reading the news in the PIA website and they were referred to the LGU by PIA.

This is a welcome development, Mayor Tiu said, because in the past, the local participants were all from the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

Foreign participants in this year’s competition, include a young boy from Sweden who will be coming to the Philippines together with his entire family. Other foreign participants are the skimriders from Hongkong.

Mayor Tiu said that several foreign participants are having problems with their bookings because of the peak season but he is still hoping that they will still make it to the Competition.

Mayor Tiu added that the 4th National Skimboarding Competition will formally start on December 27 but the nightly activities at the Site will start on December 20 as the local government decided to hold the annual Kaadlawan Festival there.

Mayor Tiu said that the National Skimboarding Competition is the town’s contribution to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s thrust of making the Central Philippines Super Region as the Tourism Capital of the Philippines.

The public is invited to participate or witness the event which is becoming a tourist-attracting activity in the Region.

The 4th National Skimboarding Open Competition will be supervised by the Philippine Skim Association, the Tanauan SPAWN and the Tanauan PASAKA Jaycees.

Dreaded brontispa reached Tacloban City

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
December 15, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  It appears that the dreaded brontispa coconut infestation has already reached Tacloban City and so instead of the usual aim of preventing it from reaching Tacloban, the objective now is how to contain it in the area so that it will not spread in the nearby areas and municipalities.

Ms. Virgilia R. Deloria, the OIC of the Plant Quarantine Service division of the Deparment of Agriculture, called up the Philippine Information Agency about the confirmation of brontispa infestation in Barangay Apitong, mid afternoon Friday. The nocturnal brontispa or coconut beetle has already infested ornamental palms and coconut trees in some areas of Barangay Apitong, Deloria informed.

Ms. Deloria invited PIA to be present during the meeting with the Barangay officials at Barangay Apitong, today, December 15. She said that the Department of Agriculture will really recommend that the infested ornamental palms be cut and burned to prevent further infestation. The others which could still be saved will be treated immediately but in the meantime, she requested PIA to help convince the barangay constituents to support and cooperation in whatever recommendations the BPI Quarantine Service and the Philippine Coconut Authority will give, in order to prevent further harm to the coconut industry in the Region.

The Philippine Information Agency immediately went to take a look and took pictures at the mentioned infested area and it appears that several ornamental palms and coconut trees are indeed infested.

The Philippine Information Agency has informed the City Government thru Administrator Jimjim Yaokasin, and the provincial government of Leyte, about the infestation so that the necessary actions and coordination regarding the matter will be done.

When contacted, Philippine Coconut Authority Regional Manager Ed Nierva was in Catarman, Northern Samar. However, he said that the PCA Provincial Manager Juliet Uy has just informed him about the findings.

Manager Nierva said that he is coming back to Tacloban Saturday morning and he will bring along with him tools and chemicals to be used for treatment.

Manager Nierva called on all sectors of the government and on the public to help because the Philippine Coconut Authority could not solve the problem alone.

The public is enjoined to report immediately to the nearest PCA or DA office, or to their barangay officials, if they see any palm trees and coconut trees suspected of being infested by brontispa.

The problem is here already. Complacency or pointing fingers at any one or any agency will not solve the problem. Instead, the public, the local governments and the national line agencies concerned must coordinate well with one another so that the infestation will be contained.

How do we detect if our ornamental palms or coconut trees are already infested by brontispa? A coconut tree infested with brontispa has young leaves which appear burned or scorched resulting from the feeding damage of the coconut leaf beetle.

Brontispa is an invasive pest introduced to the country, presumably in early 2004 via importation of ornamental palms. It causes great damage to seedlings and mature coconut trees and ornamental palms thereby killing the young spears and the whole tree.

About 30,000 families in Region 8 benefit from PGMA’s Pamaskong Handog ng Pangulo project

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
December 13, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  About 30,000 food poor families from the priority provinces in Region 8 will be among the millions of recipients all over the country, of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Pamaskong Handog ng Pangulo project, a Christmas treat to food poor families.

The concerned National Government Agencies are now busy preparing for the Pamaskong Handog ng Pangulo to the food poor families in Region 8, the Philippine Information Agency learned.

To date, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Region thru its project coordinator Mr. Orville Berino, has already the list of municipalities and the number of family recipients in the two priority provinces in Region 8.

He said that the two priority provinces and the municipalities were identified by the National Nutrition Center in the Region. The priority provinces are Biliran and Samar with 7,011 and 23,895 family recipients, respectively.

In Biliran, the municipalities which will receive the Christmas treat from the President are: Cabugcayan, 1833 families; Caibiran, 1910; Maripipi, 702; Culaba, 976; Biliran, 579 and Cawayan, 1020 families.

In Samar, ten municipalities are recipient of the Pamaskong Handog ng Pangulo. These are the municipalities of Matuguinao, 4343; Daram, 4387; Zumarraga, 1538; San Jose de Buan, 665; Gandara, 3846; Tarangnan, 2234; Santa Rita, 2887; Tagapul-an, 860; Motiong, 1726; and San Jorge, 1409.

The latest communication received by DSWD 8, however, stated that the inclusion of the priority 3 provinces is still being studied in Manila. This will include the provinces of Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte and Leyte.

Meanwhile, Director Ben Marta of the National Food Authority of the Region, informed PIA, that while the agency is still waiting for the final number of recipients in the region, it has already made canvass of the rice, canned corned beef and packed noodles which will form part of the gift packs from the President.

Other participating agencies are Pagcor which will sponsor the free medical and dental missions in the recipient municipalities, the Department of Health and TESDA which will distribute to the qualified constituents, PGMA scholarship vouchers; the Department of Agriculture and the PIA which will be in charged of the information and media coverage.

Senate calls for hearing on media arrests

Press Release
By Office of Senator Chiz Escudero
December 12, 2007

MANILA, Philippines  –  After the dialogue failed between the Philippine National Police and the media at Manila Pen, the Senate will now seek to address the unresolved concerns of the Philippine press and the police authorities over the unwarranted arrests of journalists during the Manila Pen siege.

The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights which is the lead committee, together with the Committee on Public Order and Safety has called back the media, the police and other government authorities together in one table tomorrow to seek to address the concerns of both sides and set parameters for the two parties to work on in relation to performing their respective duties.

Senator Chiz Esudero, chairman of the justice committee said tomorrow's hearing will try to accomplish a working framework acceptable to both parties in covering coup' d'etats and similar incidents.

"We have called for this hearing to enable the media and the police to set acceptable parameters to avoid the same thing from happening again and to avoid what the journalists feared would happen again".

Escudero said the warrantless arrests of media men during the failed rebellion last November 29 in Makati is indicative of press repression albeit police authorities claim that those were standard procedures in conflict zones.

"There was a chilling effect to the Philippine press and due to unclear guiding principles, there is really a need to work on a framework that augurs well for both the media covering events and the police securing the place of coverage".

Escudero shares the media's sentiment that until an engagement framework is established between authorities and the press, the Manila pen arrest can set precedence to a vicious cycle of impunity among authorities.

"From the start, the contention of the authorities on certain offenses made by the media during the Manila Pen incident is unfounded; they were there to give the basic constitutional guarantee on every Filipino's right to information. Maybe the police needs to be refreshed about the edict of press freedom. It must be remembered that journalism is the only profession guaranteed by the Constitution as provided by Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution which states that "no law can be passed that abridges the freedom of speech or of the press".

Senate has invited media entities and organizations as well as officials of the Philippine National Police and the Department of the Interior and the Local Government and the Commission on Human Rights.

As of press time, Maria Ressa of ABS-CBN, Grace dela Peňa-Reyes of GMA-7, Butch Canoy of KBP, Sonny Fernadez of NUJP, Tony Lopez of MOPC, Ellen Tordesillas of Malaya, Dana Batnag of FOCAP and Roy Mabasa of NPC had sent confirmation from the media side.

Sec. Raul Gonzalez and State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco from DOJ, CHR Chairman Purificacion Quisumbing and Usec. Marius Corpus of DILG had also sent confirmation to attend tomorrow's hearing.

Eastern Samar PNP scores anew in buy bust operation

By ALICE NICART (PIA Eastern Samar)
December 12, 2007

BORONGAN CITY, Eastern Samar  –  With barely a few months in his new assignment as Police Superintendent and Provincial Director, CSupt. Prudencio de la Cruz led at early morning today a successful buy bust operation in what was believed to be a drug den in Barangay Pangudtan, Oras this province.

In a telephone interview, de la Cruz revealed that he and his team recovered some 62 sachet of suspected Shabu that is estimated to cost more than P60,000 in the house of one Rose Jimenez, 42, a single parent who was found to possess also a 357 Paltic revolver. Together with Jimenez, captured were couple Artemio and Nena Letaba who had some sachet of the so called prohibited drug, some peso bills, three expensive cellphones, four separate sim packs and several drug paraphernalia.

De la Cruz further claimed that such a fruitful operation was attributed to their series of surveillance operations.

“Amin ito”, he answered when asked if there was any civilian or officer who tipped them of the illegal activity in that remote barangay.

“We were armed with a search warrant”, he said, adding that the crime is unbailable.

The Director likewise reported that the suspects, as standard operating procedure will be presented to the PNP Regional Office in Campetic, Palo, Leyte, then shall be transported back to Borongan City for necessary filing of the case.

Eastern Samar PNP had had some remarkable achievements in President Gloria Arroyo’s campaign against drug lords and pushers.  About two years back, several suspected pushers have been put behind bars, others simply fled and disappeared.

Fil-Chi businessman ventures in tourism in region 8

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
December 11, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  Mr. Carlos Chan, a Filipino-Chinese business tycoon from Manila has expressed his desire to invest in the tourism industry in the Region, in support to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Super Region concept of development.

Mr. Chan who is the power behind Liwayway Marketing Corporation, the manufacturer of the Oishi brand of snack products, is interested to buy at least five hectares of land for tourism investment at Calicoan Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, which is being developed as the major tourist destination of Region 8.

Mr. Henry Yaokasin, president of the Tacloban Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry informed PIA that Mr. Chan will visit the Region when he comes back from Shanghai where he has a vast Oishi company.

Mr. Yaokasin said that Mr. Chan’s interest brings sunshine to the development of the tourism industry in the Region considering his connections in the countries where he has Oishi manufacturing companies.

Mr. Yaokasin who was instrumental in convincing Mr. Chan to invest in the Region said that he is keeping his fingers crossed that this plan of Mr. Chan will materialize in the near future. He added that he will continue to convince other investors to come to the Region and put up their business here.

Mr. Chan has already been in Region 8 as he has donated several school buildings under the school building project of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. and the Tacloban City Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His latest school donation was built at Barangay Scandinavian Elementary School in Tacloban City.

The history of Liwayway Marketing Corporation dates back to 1946, when a small family business engaged in the repacking of flour and coffee products was established through the efforts of Mr. Chan Lib and his wife, Mrs. See Ying. In 1966, the business was converted into a corporation, as it expanded into the distribution of pomade, candles, candies and sauces.

By 1974, under the second generation management headed by Manuel Chan, LMC diversified into the manufacturing of snack foods such as “Oishi Prawn Crackers” and “Kirei Yummy Flakes.” The snack food business proved to be encouraging that the company eventually concentrated in this enterprise. Over the years, the company invested in more sophisticated equipment to upgrade the quality of their existing products and to develop new ones to introduce to the market. “Oishi” became the patent brand for all our product lines, and has since established itself as a major player in the Philippine snack food market.

In 1993, under the management of Carlos Chan, the company embarked on its first venture in China, beginning with two companies in Shanghai: Shanghai Liwayway Food Industries Limited and Shanghai Prawn Cracker Foodstuff Company Limited. Since then, the China operations have grown to more than 12 companies located all over the mainland under the head company, Liwayway (China) Company, Limited. Their products in China are marketed under the brand “Oishi Shanghaojia,” which in 2001, received the Shanghai Famous Brands award, firmly establishing itself as a major brand in Shanghai, and the rest of China as well.

A few years later, manufacturing facilities were also set up in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (1997) and in Yangon, Myanmar (1999), where Oishi is now the leading snack food brand.

Water system for Motiong fulfills Pacanan’s campaign promise

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE (PIA Samar)
December 10, 2007

CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar  –  One of Motiong Mayor Constancio “Jun” Pacanan’s campaign promise: the provision of potable water system for Motiong town is fulfilled!

Residents of Motiong (Samar) poblacion now enjoy a 24-hour water service from the new water system being operated by Motiong LGU.

According to Motiong Vice-Mayor Estela Dasmarinas, this uninterrupted water flow has been on for a week now. In fact on December 8, on the feast day of Immaculate Concepcion in Motiong, revelers witnessed the steady flow of water in the homes of Motiong residents.

She added that the water supply is able to reach the shower of the third floor of the only three-storey building in town owned by SB member Deocoroso Dacanay.

Dasmarinas said that it took them a lot of pain and resources just to realize the need to have a reliable water system.

Now, she said with the leadership of Mayor Jun Pacanan, the most basic need of man for water has been addressed.

Presently, while the LGU is learning the ropes of running a water system, the Motiong LGU will cater to the needs of some 200 local concessionaires until such time that the LGU could create an independent set of workers to ably manage the water system.

The lady vice mayor also added that they are now accepting applications for connections. An applicant is supposed to pay P2,500 for connection but may pay half of it on application and could complete the payment once the water pipes/lines are connected.

Dasmarinas however pleaded that processing for now is a little slower as they could only purchase limited water meter.

It can be recalled that the provision of a reliable water system was one of the campaign promises of elected mayor Constancio “Jun” Pacanan.