Region 8 got ten of top 20 in National Achievement Test

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
September 16, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  Young Grade Six public school students from Region 8 got ten of the top twenty slots in the March 2007 National Achievement Test taken by some 1.6 million grade six students from 29,962 public schools nationwide, and which covered English, Science, Math, Filipino and HEKASI.

What makes the Region 8 students doubly joyful is that they were feted by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself in Malacañang aside from the fact that for most of them, it was the first time for them to have the chance to go to Manila.

On September 13, the President led the awarding of citations to the top 20 Grade 6 public school students who topped the National Achievement Test (NAT) given by the Department of Education (DepEd) to over 1.6 million elementary students last March.

Leading the NAT topnotchers from Region 8 and all over the country, is Jenevieve S. Palma of Lawaan Central School of Eastern Samar who posted a mean percentage score of 96.5 percent or a raw score of 193 out of the 200-item test.

The other top twenty NAT achievers from Region 8 is fifth placer Faye Jessa D. Egargo of Lawaan Central School in Eastern Samar; sixth placers Margaux Mae P. Anadia, Jeric R. Lumpas. Dominic L. Rolloda, Paul Jordan D. Villanueva and Eloisa O. Blazo all of Dulag SPED Center in Leyte; and ninth placers Sharmaine V. Nauila, Jannah Erika B. Juarez and Jennika M Montes both of Naval SPED Center in Biliran.

Completing the top twenty are Mary Rose S. Colares of Taguig Elementary School of Taguig & Pateros; Ameiyn M. Legion of Mabolo Elementary School, Cavite; Joan Michelle T. Tonic and Ma. Anjanatte F. Mortalla both of Makato Elementary School in Aklan; and Margaux Marivic B. Esteban, Karoline Marie E. Mirasol, Rexbelle Mae A. Caliguid, Janice C. Pelaez, Roxanne A. Maghuyop, Riza Marie A. Erezo all of Obrero CES of Butuan City.

The success of these ten students from Region 8 shows that excellence in education is achieved not only in the urban areas but in the rural areas as well.

UP Tacloban creative writing workshop revives ‘Waray literature’

By NEIL D. LOPIDO
September 15, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  The University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College has concluded its three-day successful creative writing workshop, a creative writing program headed by Professor Merlie M. Alunan, program director.

According to Voltaire Q. Oyzon, project coordinator, the activity, which was funded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), was participated in by fellows, auditors and guests from the region and from other parts of the country plus an invited guest and writer from Singapore in the person of Su-Chen Christine Lim.  Said writing workshop was aimed to revive the interest in writing in the Visayan languages, particularly in Waray.

The three-day workshop tackled the basics in poetry writing in the vernacular through critiquing of a participant’s output with the Waray literature experts headed by Professor Merlie M. Alunan, Dr. Victor Sugbo, Dr. David A. Genotiva, Daryll Jane S. Delgado, Lawrence L. Ypil, Dante A. Rosales, and Jethol C. Paanod.

One of the fellows, Nimrod L. Delante, said that “the workshop provided a rich avenue for the young writers in the region to hone and improve their skills and talents in poetry writing and even short stories taking into account the oral traditions distinct in the Waray-Waray language but also considering valuable Western thoughts.” Mr. Delante further said that “with the brilliant critique the panelists gave to each literary piece, it is hoped that the Waray writers will develop a more vivid picture on how to attack writing and more importantly, arrive at an elevated poetic and artistic sense of sensibility in their writing.”

As a fellow to a number of workshops in the country, Oyzon revealed that the workshop did not differ in terms of outputs compared to same activities he attended. In fact, in the recently concluded Gawad Komisyon 2007 of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino National Contest, Oyzon was proclaimed champion in the poetry writing category in Waray, second place went to Mr. Orlanes of Calbiga Samar, while Doms Pagliawan, instructor at the Leyte Normal University, got the third place.

Likewise, Professor Alunan got the first place place for her short story in Cebuano for the Palanca Awards for Literature and second place for Cebuano Poetry of the the Gawad Komisyon. Professor Alunan, who discussed the forms of traditional Waray poetry, stressed to the participants the need to be active in promoting Waray literature.

Mylene Narciso-Urriza, NCCA officer, also challenged the participants to put into writing what they have learned during the workshops and lead to open opportunities to other people to be influenced.

In conclusion, Mr. Oyzon revealed that a group of Waray-Waray writers will soon emerged in the region saying, “Kay ano kinahanglan ta magsurat? Kay ‘diri ta akos an mahingalimot.” (Why do we need to write? Coz we cannot afford to forget.)

“It’s Samartime” for An Waray representative

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE (PIA Samar)
September 13, 2007

CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar  –  Partylist An Waray representative along with two other nominees faced the Samar media in an interaction ala ‘samartime’.

The presscon at Tony’s Kitchen gathered some twenty media members who asked the three nominees questions from the number of votes to their projects physical, structural and even legislative.

Representative Florencio “Bembem” Noel with Atty. Michelle Mendiola and Benedict Montejo answered the no-holds barred interview from Samar media.

Noel recounted their ordeal until the party was awarded one seat in congress and his oath-taking on September 4, 2007, some three months after others have taken oath.

He added that they were banking on the Waray-waray populace scattered all over the country, it turned out that the party only got 321,600 votes. The number of votes qualified them for only one seat.

Noel said that he was the 238th congressman who took oath. The chamber needs some 250 representatives.

Noel attributed the low votes to the low awareness of the voting populace about the party-list system. He said that although there is an increase in the awareness level, still a higher level of awareness has to be achieved. Many voters still neglect to fill the partylist blank in the ballots.

The representative vowed to help Comelec in the information dissemination on the PartyList system if needed.

With the P70M pork barrel entitled to every congressman, the two other P70M which should have gone to ‘An Waray’ had it won two more seats would have benefited more Waray-waray said the trio.

Noel said that his party will focus more on the coconut and fishery sector to help Samareños focus on their livelihood.

His office is also keen on studying the Fisheries Act which he thinks needs assessment and amendments.

Montejo on the other hand said they will hire a consultant who can best study the situation in Eastern Visayas and recommend programs for implementation.

Noel also took pride in being recognized as Best Performing PartyList in the last congress.

Comelec clarifies issue on Barangay, SK candidates holding appointive or elective positions

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA Samar)
September 13, 2007

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  The Commission on Elections shed light on the issue of Barangay or Sangguniang Kabataan candidates who are holding appointive or elective positions.

Appointive barangay officials like the barangay treasurer and the barangay secretary, shall be considered automatically resigned upon the filing of a certificate of candidacy for a Barangay or Sangguniang Kabataan office.

The same ruling applies to city or municipal, provincial, regional, or national officials or employees, or those in the civil or military service, including those in government owned and controlled corporations, who decide to file their certificates of candidacy for a Barangay or Sangguniang  Kabataan  position.

This ruling is provided in Section 4 of Comelec Resolution 8297 promulgated to set up the guidelines on the filing of certificates of candidacy in connection with the October 29, 2007 synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

In the case of elective officials running for any barangay elective position, they shall not be considered resigned upon the filing of their certificates of candidacy.

A barangay kagawad, as an example, who decides to file his certificate of candidacy for the position of Punong Barangay shall not be considered resigned upon filing his certificate of candidacy.

Furthermore, the candidate shall file the certificate of candidacy personally or by his duly authorized representative. No certificate of candidacy shall be filed or accepted by mail, telegram or facsimile.

Any person who intends to run for any barangay or SK position shall file a sworn certificate of candidacy in triplicate in the form which may be obtained from the municipal or city Election Officer, free of charge.

The certificate of candidacy shall be filed on any day from September 14, 2007 to September 19, 2007, inclusive, with the Office of the Election Officer of the city or municipality concerned.

COMELEC orders revision of ballots in Calbayog City

By ROMEO S. DURMIENDO
September 12, 2007

MANILA, Philippines  –  The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Second Division ordered the revision of contested ballot boxes from all 490 precincts in Calbayog City, Samar, consisting of 157 barangays.

Diego Rivera, protestants NP-LP-PDSP party/Kampi representative, reported patent discoveries of revisors that six precincts in Calbayog City, particularly in barangays Payahan, Obrero, Nijaga, San Policarpo, and Pilar, had contained empty ballots, and almost 80 percent multiple ballots written by one hand while the other ballots were found to have been prepared by only two persons.

The results of the May 14 polls wherein all the electoral posts in the municipalities, city and congressional district in the First District of Samar were won by the Liberal party/Lakas-CMD candidates, prompted the filing of an electoral protest by the candidates belonging to the Nacionalista-Liberal-PDSP party/Kampi whose mayoralty candidate was Rodolfo T. Tuazon.

“The incredible election results are manufactured, padded, fraudulent, altered, distorted and illegal, which are not reflective of the true results of voting and counting,” protestant Tuazon and his counsels said.

Tuazon aptly described the massive fraud and irregularities that beset the recent political exercise in Calbayog City as an insidious rape of democracy. “A free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible election is indispensable in a democratic society. Without it, democracy would not flourish and would be a sham. Election offenses are evils which prostitute the election process. They destroy the sanctity of the votes and abet the entry of dishonest candidates into the corridors of power where they may do more harm.  As the Bible says, one who is dishonest in very small matters is dishonest in great ones. One who commits dishonesty in his entry into elective office through the prostitution of the electoral process cannot be reasonably expected to respect and adhere to the constitutional precept that a public office is a public trust, and that all government officials and employees must at all times be accountable to the people and exercise their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency,” he quoted an excerpt from Comelec vs. Tagle case.

Under the Omnibus Election Code, any person found guilty of any election offense shall be punished with imprisonment from one to six years without probation and suffer disqualification to hold public office and deprivation of the right to vote.

In an election contest, it is the primary duty of the court to ascertain the will of the electorate or who is the real candidate elected by the people since this involved public interest and should be resolved with utmost dispatch, and regard to due process.

The law and jurisprudence have consistently ruled that when there is an allegation in an election protest that would require the perusal, examination or counting of ballots, the most expeditious and the best means to determine the truth or falsity is to open the ballot box and examine its contents.

Samar mayors, media meet for WCPU Orientation

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE (PIA Samar)
September 12, 2007

CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar  –  Samar Local Chief Executives and the local media will attend an orientation on the presence of the Women and Child Protection Unit to be established in the province of Samar.

The Samar Provincial Sub-Committee on the Welfare of Children met Monday to smoothen the creases and fine-tune the activities scheduled on October 11 for the launching of the Women and Child Protection Unit (WCPU) in Samar.

The facility is now experiencing a ‘passionate push’ from the stakeholders who have worked out some two years ago for its opening. It has though suffered hitches that the committee chose to forget. This has now been the ‘flavor of the month’ for both government and NGO Plan Philippines due to the rising cases of children and women abuse in the province.

With hub of activities centered on this facility, the promotions committee proposed that the mayors be oriented on the presence of the WCPU so that the LCEs could patronize this facility and could also commit to support the program in any way.

Meanwhile, as information multipliers, the media would also be invited to attend another bout of info activities relative to the WCPU.

The mayors’ orientation will be held on September 21, 2007 at the Waling-Waling Inn while the media will have their turn on September 28, 2007 in the same venue.

The series of orientation is hoped to widen and deepen the awareness level of the Samarnons as regards the presence of the WCPU in the capital city of Catbalogan.

The WCPU aims to provide a comprehensive medical and psychosocial care of the highest caliber to all its clients.

The WCPU staff is committed to ensure the safety and well-being of children – at risk. The multi-disciplinary team (MDT) composed of a trained physician, social worker and a law enforcer are available 24-hours, seven days a week for the women and children that would need protection.

Plan Philippines, a noted NGO with “children at the heart of everything they do” is s strong partner of the Samar provincial government in extending this facility that offers child-friendly services on investigation, medical examination and psycho-social care for women and children who may have suffered abuse or neglect.

Plan Philippines expects the presence of the Country Program Director Michael Diamond on its opening day on October 11. The WCPU is located at the Samar Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office within the Samar Capitol Grounds in Catbalogan City.

Filing of candidacy in the synchronized Barangay and SK elections set on Sept 14-19

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

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  Those who are interested to run for Barangay or SK positions in the October 29 Barangay and SK elections, may file their certificate of candidacy only on September 14 to September 19.

This is contained in the Comelec Resolution Number 8297 promulgated on September 6, 2007 entitled Guidelines on the Filing of Certificates of Candidacy in Connection with the October 29, 2007 Synchronized Barangay and SK Elections.

The certificate of candidacy shall be filed on any day from September 14 to September 19, with the Office of the Election Officer of the city or municipality concerned.

The officials to be elected in each barangay are the Punong Barangay and seven (7) Sangguniang Barangay Kagawad.

For the Sangguniang Kabataan elections, the officials to be elected are one SK Chairman and seven (7) Sangguniang Kabataan Kagawad.

No person shall be eligible to run for more than one office, that is Punong Barangay and Barangay Kagawad. If he files for more than one office, he shall not be eligible for any one of them.

However, before the deadline for the filing of certificate of candidacy, the person who has filed a certificate of candidacy for more than one office may declare under oath the office for which he desires to be elected and cancel the certificate of candidacy for the other office.

The candidates for Punong Barangay and Sangguniang Barangay Kagawad must be a Filipino citizens, at least 18 years old on election day, able to read and write Pilipino or any local language or dialect and registered voter of the barangay where they intend to run for office and resident thereof for at least one year immediately preceding the day of election.

On the other hand, the candidates for Sangguniang Kabataan chairman and Sangguniang Kabataan Kagawad must be Filipino citizens, at least 15 years old but less than 18 years old on election day, able to read and write Pilipino, English or the local dialect and qualified voters of the Katipunan ng Kabataan of the Barangay where they intend to run for office and residents thereof at least one year immediately preceding the elections.

Disqualified from running for any elective Barangay or Sangguniang Kabataan positions are those sentenced by final judgment for an offense involving moral turpitude or for an offense punishable by one year or more imprisonment and within two years after service of sentence.

Also disqualified are those removed from office as a result of an administrative case; those convicted by final judgment for violating their allegiance to the Republic; those with dual citizenship; fugitives from justice; permanent residents in a foreign country; the insane or feeble-minded.

Also disqualified is any candidate who in an action or protest in which he is the party, is declared by final decision of a competent court to be guilty of having, or is found to have committed acts such as given money or other material consideration to influence or induce voters to vote for or against a candidate or to abstain from voting or to corrupt government officials and employees performing election functions; committed acts of terrorism to enhance his candidacy; spent in his election campaign an amount in excess of that allowed by law; solicited, received or made any contribution prohibited under specified sections of the Omnibus Election Code or violated any section of the same code.

ANCOP-Australia commits 1,000 houses for So. Leyte GK

By BONG PEDALINO (PIA Southern Leyte)
September 11, 2007

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte  –  An organization based in Australia, known as the Answering the Cry of the Poor (ANCOP), has committed to finance the building of 1,000 houses anywhere in Southern Leyte province that would be coursed through the Gawad Kalinga (GK) of the Couples for Christ (CFC).

This was revealed by Dr. Jerome Paler, provincial head of CFC-GK, who narrated that on Friday, September 7, he received an impromptu call from the national CFC Headquarters in Manila informing him on the intention of ANCOP-Australia.

Paler said he hoped the Mayors of the 18 towns and one city, including the province, would take this opportunity to help their homeless constituents by providing the required LGU-counterpart to put up a GK village, which is land and site development.

As such, this will be taken on a first-come-first-serve basis, Paler added.

Some 760 houses were already built under the GK project in 21 villages around the province, contributing P62 Million to the local economy, the funds mostly coming from generous corporate donors, domestic and foreign.

In a related development, Mayor Rico Rentuza of Saint Bernard town said he had identified eight possible GK sites in his municipality, and he had endorsed these proposed sites during the conduct of the First National Township Development at Ateneo University last August 25.

During that workshop, a wealthy Filipino-American named Robert Sanchez had committed to provide the counterpart for the LGUs who can submit the requirements of land and site development, it was learned.