2 towns in Eastern Samar complete Water Development Project

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
August 8, 2006

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  – Two water supply projects in Region 8 are among the 31 countryside water supply projects which have been completed by the Local Water Utilities Administration as of June this year.

This means that more households will now have the access to safe and potable water in the municipalities of Guiuan and Taft, both in the province of Eastern Samar. The Guiuan project costs P18.9 million while the Taft water project costs P9.9 million.

Guiuan Mayor Analiza Kwan when interviewed by PIA confirmed the report saying that the LWUA took over the management of the Guiuan Water District on February 1, 2006 and the water service was started on March 10 with no less than LWUA Manager Lorenzo Jamora and Congressman Libanan inaugurating the project.

Mayor Kwan is all praises for the good management of the project by LWUA, saying that so far more than 500 households have already availed of the safe and potable water. Right now, the expansion project being done will benefit 200 more households, Mayor Kwan quipped.

Mayor Kwan added that she is hoping that the water system which is badly needed at Calicoan Island will also be implemented as it is a priority need if the tourism industry in that place will really be pushed.

LWUA has been intensifying its water supply program to cover small, developing hinterland communities in support of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s socio-economic development and peace initiatives. Support for rebel or insurgency movements waned in communities that have been given access to potable water and better education, the recent Human Development Indicator study showed.

The completed water projects were undertaken with financial assistance from Asian Development Bank, the Kreditanstalt fur Weiderrafbau and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

Twenty-one more water supply projects are being completed by the LWUA at a combined cost of P1 billion. Included among these projects is the construction of new water facilities for the town of Laoang in Northern Samar.

DENR to hold synchronized tree planting along 3,489-km highway

By PURIFICACION S. DALOOS, (DENR 8)
August 8, 2006

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will launch “Green  Philippine Highways,” a massive tree planting on August 25 which will simultaneously take place along the country’s three major highways, covering a total length of 3, 439 kilometers.

DENR Secretary Angelo T. Reyes said that the “Green Philippine Highways” project is meant to promote the image of every Filipino as planter of trees.

“At the national level, this activity is to promote an advocacy on living a way of life where a citizen not only plants but also nurtures,” Reyes explained, that the goal is to make communities that link these highways become custodians of their environment.

“When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope. We also secure the future of our children and our children’s children.” he said.

Included in the synchronized planting are the entire lengths of the Pan-Philippine Highway (Laoag City to Davao City; 2,176.40 kms.), Manila North Road (Laoag to Manila; 439.20 kms.), and the West Nautical Highway (Batangas City to Zamboanga Sibugay; 823.90 kms.).

Around 500,000 seedlings will be needed for the activity to be able to plant both sides of the highways at an interval of 10 meters per seedling.

In the Eastern Visayas Region (Region 8), a total of 294.34 kilometers length of highway covering 32 municipalities from Allen, Northern Samar to Liloan Southern Leyte will be subject of the tree planting program. Regional Executive Director Leonardo R. Sibbaluca disclosed that more than 26,000 seedlings of indigenous forest trees and ornamental species will be planted for the said activity.

Reyes has issued instructions to senior DENR Field Officials to assure the availability of the seedlings and coordinate with provincial, city, and municipal government units to take part in the activity.

He said that the DENR is also set to coordinate with other key national government agencies namely, the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Department of National Defense, the Philippine National Police, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Reyes has likewise ordered DENR Field offices to hold consultation meetings with the local government officials to formulate memoranda of agreements on the proper maintenance and protection of the planted trees to ensure their survival and growth.

“At the cores of this undertaking are the LGUs which, as I have repeatedly emphasized, are the final arbitrator whether or not government’s plans and programs are to be sustained.’ Reyes said.

Australian government funds Northern Samar community projects

By NENE A. MANZANARES, (PIA Northern Samar)
August 6, 2006

CATARMAN, Northern Samar  – Australia will grant some two million pesos directly to selected communities in Northern Samar to fund community development projects within a period of five years. This was learned from David Swete Kelly, program director of the Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP) during the launching recently of community projects in the towns of Catarman and San Isidro, this province.

Kelly cited the special relationship between Australia and the province of Northern Samar which has existed for thirty five years. In fact the road stretching between San Isidro to Rawis, Laoang is a legacy from the Northern Samar Integrated Rural Development Project (NSIRDP) which was funded by Australia in the late 70s.

The PACAP program director who was guest of honor in the project launching lauded the people behind the Coconut Production, Development and Marketing and the Family Farm School which were launched at the University of Eastern Philippines. These projects are being handled by the Eastern Visayas Partnership for Rural Development (EVPRD). The Family Farm School is implemented with the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) as partners. It was learned that the local university will help develop a farm school curriculum which will fit the needs of project.

The Community-Based Potable Water System Management Project on the other hand was launched in San Juan, San Isidro. The project which responds to the needs of the people in Brgy. San Juan for sustainable source of safe and clean drinking water also intends to ensure participation of women and men in the project and consequently increase responsiveness and accountability of the barangay leader in their effective delivery of basic services to their constituents. The potable water system is expected to directly serve some 455 households.

The success of these projects according to Kelly will not depend on how much money is infused into the community but the people who are involved in making these community efforts fruitful. Such success will depend on the passion and commitment of the people in the community, he added.

PACAP is a bilateral development program which supports community development efforts that are community-initiated, economically sustainable, ecologically sound and gender responsive. The program’s main goal is to improve the quality of life of poor communities through financial assistance and multi-level capability building in partnership with local government units (LGUs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and people’s organizations (POs).

This program is a joint effort between the Philippine and Australian governments with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as counterpart agency of the Philippines. This partnership of the two countries has been existing since 1986.

There are only five provinces in the country which have offices of the Philippines-Australian Community Assistance Program – Focal community Assistance Scheme (PACAP-FOCAS). These are the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Surigao del Norte, Bohol and Northern Samar.

KARAPATAN says independent investigation on killings and disappearances urgent, called PNP 'consultations' and probe a farce

Press Release
By KARAPATAN
August 5, 2006

QUEZON CITY, Philippines  – The human rights watchdog KARAPATAN reiterated its call for an independent body to investigate these killings and disappearances. "We urge Senate and Congress to form, as soon as possible, an independent body composed of people with integrity and probity to investigate the political killings," said Ruth Cervantes, KARAPATAN Public Information Officer.

Cervantes said "human rights advocates in KARAPATAN and the families of victims of killings have no trust in and will not work with Task Force Usig for they have already prejudged the cases and absolved the state from its accountability before investigations actually began."

KARAPATAN also called the PNP's initiative for a multi-sectoral consultation a farce. 

"What do we stand to gain in this so-called consultations if the police and the Task Force Usig have already pronounced Mrs. Arroyo and her security forces blameless in these killings?" Cervantes asked.   She said, "The so-called consultations will merely serve as a venue for grandstanding, to show the public that they are doing something while glossing over the fact that victims' relatives and rights workers came to them for help and we were refused."

KARAPATAN says the PNP had their chance at solving cases of killings and enforced disappearances immediately after the crime has been committed.   Blotter reports have been filed in most cases but they failed to conduct serious investigation on these. Furthermore, there are cases where police elements are involved, like in the case of union leader Gerry Cristobal who identified his assailant as SPO1 Romeo Lara.

As for the escalating number of disappearances, the human rights group also said that the Joint human rights Monitoring Committee of the Philippine Government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines would be in the best position to jointly conduct a probe to determine the facts surrounding the disappearances and find the victims, "whether dead or alive."

KARAPATAN said they are hopeful that an independent investigative body will help solve the killings but doubted that the killings will stop with the implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya, a form of terrorism that is sponsored by the state.

Leyte OFW, happy to be home though unable to bring anything

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
August 2, 2006

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  She was unable to bring home anything but Marilyn Magsino Modesto of Barangay Sta. Elena, Tanauan, Leyte, said, she is happy to be back home alive.

Marilyn, a twenty-five year old education graduate became a domestic helper in Lebanon in August of 2005, because she wants to help her parents in raising their big family of ten children where she is the eldest.

The petite 4 feet something lass presented herself yesterday to Tanauan Mayor Roque Tiu, relating her story. She said that when the war started, she and her two co-workers intimated to their employer that they wanted to go home. The employer agreed but could not bring them to the Embassy because of the bombings.

What the employer did was to study the time of bombings and in between, Marlyn and the two other Filipinas were taken to the agency from where they were taken.  At the agency, they were not allowed to go home and so they contacted the Philippine Embassy.

When the agent learned this, they were hidden in a hotel and Marlyn was not allowed to bring anything, not even her personal belongings nor her money nor her passport, only a pair of pajama and the clothes she was wearing.

She said she, together with the two Filipino domestic helpers, were rescued by an officer of the Philippine Embassy from a hotel where they were hidden by their agency. At the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, she was given her travel papers.

Marilyn was among the first batch of Overseas Filipino Workers who were repatriated to the Philippines because of the crisis in Lebanon. She said she was so excited to see the President when they arrived.

She was given by the OWWA enough money to be able to come home to Tanauan taking the bus transport. She arrived home on July 31. She said she cried when she arrived home seeing the condition of their house and her family. She is sorry she is unable to bring home anything but she is so relieved that God has allowed her to come home safely to her family.

Marilyn could still vividly remember the bombings at Beirut and until now she shivers at the thought. But right now, she is thinking what she can do to help her siblings be able to go to school and to help lighten the load of her parents.

17 Region 8 OFWs back from Lebanon, OWWA 8 reports

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
August 2, 2006

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  Seventeen Region 8 Overseas Filipino Workers are among those who have been brought home to Manila.

This was reported by Director Evangeline Filamor of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Region 8, during the Panindugan TV program of the Philippine Information Agency on Tuesday.

Director Filamor said that as of July 31, more than 1000 Overseas Filipino Workers have already been brought to safety in the Philippines. Among those are the seventeen workers from Region 8.

Director Filamor however, is not sure whether these Region 8 OFWs are already back in their respective hometowns. She said that the OFWs who were brought home were taken cared of by the government. Some of them go home to their relative’s houses in Manila while those who are from the provinces and do not have relatives in Manila stay in the OWWA Safehouse in Pasay City.

For the relatives of the Region 8 OFWs who are in Lebanon, OWWA with the sponsorship of Bayantel gives Free Calls so that they can talk to their relatives who are in Lebanon. So far more than 52 free phone calls have been availed of by the relatives.

Relatives who wish to talk to their love ones who are working in Lebanon, can still avail of the Free Calls, Director Filamor said. All they have to do is visit the OWWA office at Trece Martirez St., Tacloban City.

The OFWs who already arrived from Lebanon include Evelyn Cesar of Almeria, Biliran;  Rubelita Cuerda of Maasin, Southern Leyte;  Norifel Yntong of Maasin City; Carmelita Reyes of Maasin City; Rosila Escabillas of Libagon, Southern Leyte; Michelle Agravante of Hindang, Leyte; Victoria Sayson of Villaba, Leyte; Matilde Amatorio of Baybay, Leyte; Jocelyn Arroyo of Jaro, Leyte; Loreta Escobarte of Baybay, Leyte; and  Marilyn Modesto of Tanauan, Leyte.

Also included are Eva Rebato of Maslog, Eastern Samar; Marivic Enage of Llorente, Eastern Samar; Magdalena Aspa of Gen. MacArthur, Eastern Samar; Lea Cabia of Quinapondan, Eastern Samar; Gina Salazar of Capul, Northern Samar and Annie Baris of Balangkayan, Samar.

Despite GMA’s condemnation

Political killings continue to intensify!

Press Release
By KARAPATAN
July 31, 2006

QUEZON CITY, Philippines  –  At 6:00 am today, Rei Mon Guran, 21, spokesperson of League of Filipino Students in Aquinas University in Legazpi City was shot to death in Bulan, Sorsogon by an unidentified gunman. Guran was shot four times and sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

An hour later, Dr. Chandu Clavier, Bayan Muna Chairman in Kalinga and his wife, Alice, also a Bayan Muna supporter were shot in front of St. Toni’s College by two unidentified gunmen on board a black van. They were rushed to the Kalinga Provincial Hospital, but, at 1:00 pm today, Alice was pronounced dead.

One week after Mrs. Arroyo condemned the extrajudicial killings, attacks against the Filipinos’ right to life continues on an almost daily basis. On July 26, Ernesto Ladica, a Bayan Muna member from Salay, Misamis Oriental was killed. On July 28, Alberto Gonzales of Lopez, Quezon was also shot to death. And on July 30, Mario Florendo, a Bayan Muna member was shot inside his house at Brgy. Paritas, Lupao Nueva Ecija.

“Indeed, this regime has no respect for human rights; Arroyo’s pronouncements in her State of the Nation Address were just for show to quell the criticisms the regime is getting for the killings and its gruesome record of human rights violations,” said Jigs Clamor, Deputy Secretary of KARAPATAN.

From 2001 to date, victims of extrajudical killings have swelled to 717. For this year alone, only on its 7th month, the victims have risen to 121 already.

“Not a single case was ever resolved. As expected, Task Force Usig was a cosmetic effort of the Arroyo administration and has been proven inutile,” Clamor added.

“We can no longer hold our ire to these crimes being committed against our fellow Filipinos. Political persecution continues to persist under the US-Gloria Macapagal Arroyo regime. We are calling on all life-loving Filipinos to demand an independent investigative body to hold the perpetrators accountable for these killings and obtain justice for the victims. Like Marcos, the people must be able to remove the fake president and prevent her from bringing further harm to our country,” Clamor concluded.