Leyte administrator dispels rumors governor is not in good health

By Provincial Media Relations Center (PMRC Leyte)
August 11, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  Leyte Provincial Administrator Vincent Emnas dispelled circulating rumors that Governor Carlos Jericho “Icot” Petilla is on a some medical furlough abroad following his absence noted early in July.

Emnas otherwise disclosed the governor is on a well-deserved, long overdue vacation in the United States, but more so because one of his siblings is currently suffering from an ailment. The family has to be at his sister’s bedside for support.

This, and no other health reasons, according to Emnas, has forced the governor’s family including his mother former First Leyte Representative Remedios “Matin” Petilla to fly to the United States.

Recent speculations on the governor’s absence include that the latter underwent a heart bypass and may have to be on leave for an indefinite time.

However, Emnas disclosed the governor is well into all kinds of sports and healthy as he is that a “heart by-pass” is unlikely.

Gov. Petilla went on leave in July while Vice-Governor Mimietta Bagulaya assumed as the province’s officer-in-charge in behalf of the absent governor. Meanwhile Senior Board Member Carlo Loreto from the fifth district of Leyte presides over regular session at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

The provincial administrator also clarified that despite the leave of absence of the governor, daily operations and activities at the provincial government remains normal.

According to him, the services of the capitol are all in place and ready to serve the Leyteños at all times even with the absence of the governor.

He otherwise confirmed that the governor might be back here in the province within the next few weeks.

Elective barangay officials are covered by 3-term limit

By MYLES JOSEPH E. COLASITO
August 11, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  Elective barangay officials are covered by the three-term limit like elective provincial, city and municipal officials. This was the clarification issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) after receiving a number of queries regarding the synchronized barangay and SK elections in October.

DILG 8 Regional Director William C. Paler revealed that an advisory was issued recently by Undersecretary for Local Government Austere A. Panadero citing Section 2 of RA 9164 passed in 2002, amending the Local Government Code.

The above section states, “the term of office of all barangay and sangguniang kabataan officials after the effectivity of this Act shall be three (3) years. No barangay elective official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms in the same position. Provided, however that the term of office shall be reckoned from the 1994 barangay elections.” The section adds that “voluntary renunciation” shall not be considered as an interruption of the elective barangay official’s full term.

Dir. Paler said Section 2 of RA 9164 is not among the provisions expressly or impliedly repealed by RA 9340, which reset the barangay and SK elections from its original 2005 schedule to October 2007.

The DILG-8 Regional Director advised affected Punong Barangays and Kagawads not to persist in filing certificates of candidacy for the same position as they are clearly disqualified.

CSC undercover agents monitor performance of government workers in the regions

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

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  There are now in the different regions of the country, Civil Service Commission “undercover agents” who are tasked to monitor the performance of government frontline services.

In line with the Civil Service Commission’s Public Service Delivery Audit (PASADA), undercover agents act as clients at over-the-counter transactions in government. The target offices are those that frequently have high volume of clients as well as those most complained about based on reports lodged in the CSC’s Mamamayan Muna Program.

The PASADA program aims to ensure utmost client satisfaction in government transactions. The frontline service units are the government’s first line contact with the citizenry. How the public perceives the government depends on a person’s positive or negative encounter with an agency’s frontline service personnel.

In order to ensure objectivity, each frontline service is audited three times by three volunteers and at different times of the day. The agents transact business as regular customers and discreetly observe how other clients are being attended to or react on the quality of service. The agents rate the behavior of the persons manning the counter, the efficiency and helpfulness of systems and procedures and the convenience and condition of the waiting area.

When PASADA was piloted last year, the Business Permit and Licensing Office of Marikina City was the sole agency to be rated by the undercover agents as excellent, as the requirements and steps for application were clearly outlined to guide the public and the clients do not feel unattended to upon entering the office.

The conduct of PASADA is expected to provide the Civil Service Commission a much better view of the situation of public service delivery in all Regions of the country and enable it to identify which government agencies need assistance in improving client service.

This is in line with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s thrust on good governance.

Mayor Sarmiento is guest speaker on Maasin’s 7th charter day

By BONG PEDALINO (PIA Southern Leyte)
August 9, 2007

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte  –  This city marks the 7th Charter Day celebration of its creation on August 10 with the theme  “Maasin City…the Action continues.”

And to grace the occasion, Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento of Calbayog City, Samar, was the one invited as the keynote speaker for the anniversary program at the city gym.

Mayor Maloney Samaco told PIA that Mayor Sarmiento had confirmed his presence, adding that the Calbayog city dad is currently the Secretary-General of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

This will be Mayor Samaco’s first charter day celebration as top leader of the city following Gov. Damian Mercado who served as Chief Executive for the past nine years, in which during this period Samaco was the Vice-Mayor.

The capital town Maasin became a component city of Southern Leyte province on August 10, 2000 when the people overwhelmingly ratified in a plebiscite a law now serving as the city’s charter.

Meanwhile, Samaco said an ABS-CBN show “Trip na Trip”, its hosts and camera crew, is coming on Thursday, August 9, to feature the activities of the day, such as the Boy Scout Kabs Olympics, the “Pabulhon Festival” Agri-Fair opening, and the selection of Miss Maasin 2007 in the evening.

The “Trip na Trip” coverage continues on Charter Day proper, to shoot footages of cheer-dancing competition and the traditional, much-awaited “pabulhon games”, the highlights of the day, after the anniversary program.

The date for the airing of the segment on the show will be announced later, Mayor Samaco said.

Also on August 10 and 11, there will be a two-day, one-stop shop processing of clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), Security Paper (Secpa) authentication of the National Statistics Office (NSO), and passport processing of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at Abgao gym.

According to Mayor Samaco, the processing transaction is a public service activity sponsored by the provincial government through Gov. Mercado as their contribution for this year’s charter day observance.

Sports activities in relation to the charter day celebration began on Friday, August 3 with a Mayor’s Cup open volleyball tournament, invitational tennis tourney, triathlon, and billiards.

Inasmuch as Maasin will also celebrate its annual fiesta on August 15, the sportsfest goes on beyond August 10, among them the MASAM Crown-Badminton, taekwondo open invitational tournament, inter-school volleyball, basketball, and table tennis games, potpot race, airsoft war games, and amateur professional boxing showdown.

NFA-Biliran completes rice distribution for Food-for-School Program

By RODRIGO S. VICTORIA (PIA Biliran)
August 9, 2007

NAVAL, Biliran  –  After more than a month of sacrifice in hauling bags of rice even to the most far-flung elementary schools found in remote barangays in the province of Biliran, yet the agency responsible in distributing a kilogram of rice to every pre-elementary and grade 1 pupils who are beneficiaries of the Food-for School Program (FSP) has finally completed its arduous yet rewarding undertaking.

The Food for School Program is one of the components of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program where the province of Biliran was classified as FSP Priority 2 area.

The national technical working group composed of the Department of Education (DepEd), National Food Authority (NFA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Nutrition Council (NNC) has previously identified 98 elementary schools from fifth to sixth class municipalities in the province of Biliran as beneficiaries of the program.

In a report by Ruben M. Manatad, Officer-In-Charge of the National Food Authority (NFA) here in the province of Biliran dated August 1, 2007, the agency has distributed 190,320 kilo packs of rice under the FSP to 4,758 pre-elementary and grade 1 pupils in the province of Biliran within a period of 40 days.

Based on the report of NFA-Biliran, the municipality of Caibiran has the biggest number of beneficiaries with 1,156 pupils and a total of 46,240 kilos of NFA rice delivered. This was followed by Cabucgayan with 829 pupils with 33,160 kilos; Kawayan with 740 pupils with 29,600 kilos, Biliran with 669 pupils with 26,760 kilos, Culaba with 592 pupils with 23,680 kilos, Almeria with 545 pupils with 21,800 kilos and Maripipi with 227 pupils with 9,080 kilos of NFA rice. The municipality of Naval was not included hence it is already classified as a fourth class municipality.

According to Manatad in an interview, NFA hired private trucks aside from their regular delivery trucks to deliver this food commodity and besides they also assigned personnel who will be responsible in delivering and rationing the NFA rice to the recipient schools throughout the province.

Manatad added that they would even have to hire private individuals or through a single motorcycle for hire or commonly known as habal-habal in ferrying the food commodity to elementary schools where roads are not passable by their vehicles.

In fact NFA-Biliran went beyond target of 432 bags including the 1,900 bags for the FSP out of the 14,000 bags target in the month of July, Manatad said.

“Even with the strict instruction from the higher authorities to limit issuance based only on target because of supply constraints, we cannot help but has to over-issue,” Manatad informed.

However, Manatad said in a telephone interview that he is truly gratified with the service the agency has extended to the community despite some hindrances in its program implementation especially that the program is intended to arrest malnutrition and to attract the pupils to come to school everyday because of the one kilo rice provision they get per day in depressed communities in the province.

Human rights groups, victims' organizations seek SC intervention versus Arroyo's terror law

Press Release
By KARAPATAN
August 7, 2007

QUEZON CITY, Philippines  –  The Supreme Court is being sought by human rights groups and victims' organizations to "strike down the Anti-Terror Law that is hiding behind the cloak of countering terrorism and ensuring human security."

The human rights umbrella organization Karapatan along with the Ecumenical Movemenet for Justice and Peace, Promotion of Church Peoples' Response and victims' organizations SELDA, Desaparecidos and Hustisya filed their petition for certiorari and prohibition Monday at the Supreme Court in Manila.

The rights groups argue that the terror law is not only vague and overbroad, but contravenes the bill of rights and many provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, such as the presumption of innocence and prohibition against incommunicado. 

"The law allows for punishing without first prosecuting, thus violating the very basic right of every person to due process," says Karapatan.

Karapatan said that  the high court must act immediately and prevent injury because even prior to the enactment of Arroyo's terror law, countless have already been victims of state terrorism.

The rights groups, in its petition said the foregoing: "Perhaps this Honorable Court can take judicial notice of the long-running and consistent public insinuation, labeling and vilification by Respondents Executive Secretary, DOJ Secretary, DND Acting Secretary and National Security Adviser and by AFP Chief of Staff, among others, of Petitioner Karapatan.

"Such vicious labeling continues to this very day and are incitements to hatred and violence against Petitioners and is tantamount already to the effects of proscription under R.A. 9372 without even the modicum of following first the requirements and process, questionable as they are, in the subject law."

Indeed, it is quite unnecessary for Petitioners to expose themselves to actual arrest or prosecution or injury to make a constitutional challenge as these threats are not "imaginary or speculative" (Though not on al fours, vide for instance, Steffel v. Thompson, [415 US 452; 1975])."

DOH-EV emerges as champion in nationwide festivals competition

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

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  The Department of Health Eastern Visayas Region was adjudged as champion in the recently concluded Best of Festival Competition held in Manila.

DOH Regional Office 8 Information Officer Marissa A. Nicolasora informed the Philippine Information Agency that DOH 8 Director Teogenes F. Baluma is happy about the Region’s winning in the competition.

The DOH Eastern Visayas staff presented the Pintados Festival, Ms. Nicolasora said, and it was choreographed by the Leyte Dance Theater choreographers. The judges, Miss Nicolasora added, were from the Cultural Center of the Philippines which means that they knew what they were doing.

The DOH-EV Pintados Festival bested the other festivals from the other DOH Regions all over the country which were equally fantastic and well-performed. The Festival in Region 2 got the second place, Ms. Nicolasora informed.

As champion, the DOH-EV group received a trophy and a cash prize. However, the prize is not what matters. It is the fact that the Pintados Festival in Eastern Visayas is adjudged as the best festival in the country that counts, Ms. Nicolasora intimated.

The Best of Festivals Competition was held in connection with the recently held 75th Philippine Public Health Association Convention held at Century Park Hotel on July 26, 2007.