Gov’t, rebels OKs holiday truce

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6 PAGES DECEMBER 20 - 26, 2011 CATBALOGAN CITYVOL. IX NO. 20

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8ID transport first batch of relief goods to Mindanao

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‘Smuggling’ of coconuts threatens industry

But in Las Navas, a soldier was

apparently killed by NPAs on

December 20

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CATBALOGAN CITY —The Army’s 8th Infantry Di-vision (8th ID) has dispatched an army truck loaded with relief goods intended for the flood victims in Cagayan de Oro City last Tuesday (Dec. 20).

8th ID Commanding General Mario Chan said that a G4 truck containing relief goods from 8th ID Philippine Army, Catbalogan City, Samar jumped off from the Storm troopers Headquarters 201200 Dec 11 to 8FSSU to Liloan, Southern Leyte to Lipata Surigao City and finally to the 4th ID Head-quarters, Cagayan de Oro City.

The good general said the army truck was loaded with relief goods containing 82 sacks of assorted used clothing, 9.5 boxes of sardines, 2 boxes of bluebay tuna, 14 boxes of noodles and two sacks of rice.

The general further stated that a certain Pfc Araniego was escorting the items, said army official with his relief goods will be met by a Captain Regis for the turn over to LtC Anayron G7/4 of 4th ID.

Earlier, Chan mobilized all the units under him to gather relief goods for the victims of the worst flooding in Mindanao particularly Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan where close to a thousand persons are believed to have died.

Some other units have reportedly continued to receive some more goods that will be transported later.

“It is in times of tragedy when people can best manifest the spirit of sharing and giving, which is the true meaning of the holiday season,” Chan said in an earlier message.

CATBALOGAN CITY – “The continuing smuggling of coconuts in the province of Samar may damage the whole coconut industry if the government fails to ad-dress the situation.”

This is the emerging issue that gripped the Phil-ippine Coconut Authority

CATBALOGAN CITY – The Philippine govern-ment and the Communist Party of the Philippines New People’s Army has both declared a ceasefire or refrain to attack each other to mark the Christmas and New Year holidays.

But few days before this self-imposed declaration of “no attack,” an encounter between the two parties was reported in Northern Samar that horrified the peaceful residents in the area.

Lt. Col. Niceforo Diaz, spokesman of the 8th In-fantry Division in Camp Lukban. Brgy. Maulong this city informed that a group of rebels attacked the troops while perform-ing community works in Barangay San Miguel, Las Navas, Northern Samar last December 20, four days before the CPP declared its holiday truce.

The attacked resulted to the death of one soldier, which the identity was temporarily withheld by his officials until the family of the victim be informed. A murder charges against the rebels is now being pre-pared in local court.

Last year, two days be-fore the start of the Christ-mas truce, 10 Army soldiers were killed along with a nine-year old bystander in a rebel ambush in Las Navas, Northern Samar.

NEW FIRETRUCK FOR THE ARMY.Major General Mario Chan and AFPSLAI Manager Carolyn de Villa watched as an Army chaplain blesses the AFPSLAI donated firetruck to 8th Infantry Division during a simple ceremonies held at the 8th ID compound in Catbalogan City recently. (Jun Arcenor)

(PCA) these past few days, according to a coconut de-velopment officer here.

While the coconut farmers are a bit offbeat due to the high price of copra, buyers of whole nuts are having a heyday buying and illegally transported to

THE Vatican announced Tuesday that Blessed Pedro Calungsod of Cebu will be canonized as a saint for the Roman Catholic Church.

Once canonized, he will be the second Filipino Cath-olic saint following Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, who was el-

Blessed Pedro Calungsod to be declared 2nd Filipino saintevated to sainthood in 1987.

According to Vatican’s news site, Pope Benedict XVI has officially approved the promulgation of decrees for canonization of Calungsod

and six others who have been said to have performed miracles. No definite date, however, has been set for the canonization rites.

Blessed Pedro Calungsod

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Areas in EV positive of

‘witches broom’ disease

GOVT from page 1...LGU, Army distributes 600 food packs to indigents

Gov’t should fill up 90, 000 job vacancies, says Rep. Evardone

Earlier, President Benigno Aquino III approved an 18-day holiday cease-fire with communist rebels from beginning Friday (December 16) to January 2, 2012.

Government troops and police were ordered to refrain from offensive operations and return fire only in self-de-fense from Friday to Jan. 2, officials said.

Military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos the cease-fire “shall not include military actions aimed to secure and protect the populace, vital installations, major investment infrastructures and communities against violent attacks,” he said.

On the other hand, the CPP-NPA last Monday declared its own ceasefire with the government to mark the Christ-mas and New Year holidays.

In a statement, the CPP said the ceasefire will take effect from: 12 a.m. of December 24 to 11:59 p.m. of December 26 12 a.m. of December 31 to 11:59 p.m. of January 2.

“During the indicated periods, all commands and units of the (New People’s Army) and the people’s militia shall cease and desist from carrying out offensive operations against the armed units and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police and paramilitary forces of the Government of the Philippines (GPH),” it said.

“This ceasefire order is being issued in solidarity with the Filipino people’s traditional celebrations of the Christmas and New Year holidays. This will also provide opportunity to the revolutionary masses to join various activities to mark the CPP’s 43rd foundation anniversary on December 26,” it added.

It added that while the unilateral ceasefire is in effect, all NPA commands and units shall be in defensive mode at both the strategic and tactical levels.

The rural-based New People’s Army rebels have been fighting for a Marxist state since 1969 in one of Asia’s lon-gest-running insurgencies. Washington has included the rebel group in a list of terrorist organizations.

China.“If this (trend) continues, after some ten years, Philippine

coconut industry will die a natural death,” said Samar Provin-cial Coconut Development Manager Emiberto Acasio.

“Our market is swarmed with cheap products from China, and Filipino businessmen failed to compete with the low price (they offer), and many had to close shop. Now we have to protect the industry so as not to be usurped by China, God forbid,” he added.

He observed that in Paranas town, a lady is reportedly buying whole nuts which the PCA suspects is smuggling them to China through other clandestine ports where there is no coast guard.

“We have expected the lady to register before us and establish her buying station, but until now, the lady coconut buyer is a no-show at PCA-Samar provincial office,” Acasio said.

The law requires that coconut buyers in nuts and lumber should register with the PCA, secure permit and secure transport clearance from the regional office to regulate this activity that could harm the industry in the future. (NBQ)

SMUGGLING from page 1...

BORONGAN CITY – The government should fill up the 93 thousand vacant positions other-wise the funds would be reverted to government coffers.

Thus said Congress-man Ben Evardone who was in town recently to greet his constituents for the Christmas season.

Evardone who sits with the House Appro-priation Committee said that the funds for these vacant positions are in-corporated in the recently approved P1.3 trillion na-tional budgets for 2012.

Of the 93 thousand positions, it was learned that 67 thousand had been left unfilled in years which has earned savings for some government agencies and depart-ments.

Today, however, the budget which President Benigno Aquino has re-cently signed into a law, already disallows such a saving- generation strat-egy of concerned offices which they used to allot

KANANGA, Leyte --The Army’s 19th Infantry (Commando) Battalion and 82nd CMO (Busilak) Company in coordination with the provincial govern-ment dispensed on Tues-day (Dec. 20) a total of 600 food packs to residents of Leyte villages.

The activity benefited some 600 indigent families in barangays Mahawan of Kananga, Tinaguban of Carigara and Tabangohay of Alang-alang through a si-multaneous gift giving and feeding dubbed as Pamas-kong Handog 2011.

According to First Lt. Philip James Hocson, Civil-Miltary Operation Officer of 19th IB, the Pamaskong Handog 2011 is a joint ini-tiative which aimed to al-leviate the condition of indigents and revitalize the Filipino’s tradition during yuletide season. Priorities of the said activity were indigents residing in remote barangays.

Receiving food packs and warm arroz caldo dis-tributed by soldiers is not a common scenario in Brgy. Mahawan of Kananga, Leyte. But for the constitu-ents of Brgys. Tinaguban in Carigara and Tabangohay in Alang-alang, gift-giving

B� GINA DEAN RAGUDO

MEMBERS of the 8th Infantry Division in coopera�on with some LGU officials fed the indigent residents in some villages of Leyte as one of their “Pamaskong Handog 2011.”

is an ordinary venture ren-dered by the soldiers.

It can be recalled that 19th IB in coordination with the Kiwanis Founda-tion International (KFI) handed out school supplies (notebooks, paper, pens, pencils and sharpeners) to one hundred thirty-three (133) pre-elementary and elementary pupils of Brgy.

Tabangohay on September 28. Likewise, three boxes of assorted medicines were dispatched for Brgy. Tina-guban during the launching of the Army-led Pamaskong Handog 2011.

Lt. Col. Cabugon, Com-manding Officer of 19th IB expressed his gratitude for the support extended by the provincial government

of Leyte who co-sponsored the month-long activity.

“We are grateful to Gov. Petilla for granting us our request. These goods may only feed the recipients for one day but the good action extend-ed by the local government will always be remembered”, Cabugon said. (Gina Dean Ragudo)

TACLOBAN CITY – Approximately 70 hectares of cassava farms in two cities and three munici-palities in Eastern Visayas are affected of “witches broom” disease, officials of the Department of Agricul-ture in the region informed December 23.

According to DA infor-mation officer Francis Rosa-roso, the areas affected of the cassava disease are the cities of Maasin and Ormoc and the municipalities of Kananga, Bato and La Paz in Leyte.

Witches broom is a disease or deformity in a woody plant, like cassava, where the natural structure

Rep. Ben Evardone

for their additional bo-nuses and incentives.

In a separate source, Budget Secretary Butz Abad also said that some P23B waits to be spent for these unfilled positions and should these remain untouched, it will be re-trieved by government for other meaningful ex-penditures.

Among others, 12 thousand nurses are needed by the coun-try, 200 doctors, 1,000 midwives, 13 thousand teachers, 665 staff for Congress, 5thousand for Supreme Court, 269 for the Civil Service Com-

mission and still more policemen, auditors, lawyers, soldiers and judges.

More teachers are needed next year, the source added because of the implementation of the new DepEd Curriculum-K+12. Today’s hiring rate for teachers is now better-off as compared to the past, because it is now pegged at P15thousand a month. Besides, gener-ally, government salary rates are now close to be competitive with the pri-vate sectors and corpora-tions, the source added. (Alice Nicart)

of the plant is changed. A dense mass of shoots grow from a single point, result-ing in a formation of a struc-ture resembling a broom or a bird’s nest.

It particularly causes the internodes’ to grow shorter and the leaves to discolor (light purple) and be distorted turning into bouquet-like in the apical portion of the plant. Roots and tubers become small with rough-textured skin and brown-streaked flesh.

Rosaroso said that the Philippine Crop Train-ing and Research Center in VISCA and the Plant Quarantine Office of the Department of Agriculture

has been monitoring said areas that are affected of the witches broom disease.

Rosaroso calls on the farmers to report to the municipal agriculture of-fice or to DA for valida-tion or confirmation if they observed similar cases in their locality. Likewise, the information officer advices the farmers that planting materials should come from trusted source and have proper coordination with the concerned agencies. Next year, DA will conduct full blast information cam-paign about this as well as how it will be eradicated as this disease is just new, he said. (PIA)

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYDECEMBER 20-26, 2011

Samar Weekly Express3

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‘Ignite the Mind’ to unite DOST family, cheer on 2011 feats

Four companies in Eastern Visayas get DOLE safety milestone awards

DOST’s aid in upgrading SMEs totals P8.8-M in 2011

Cabunga-an Integrated School celebrates Family Day

The authorized miracle of Blessed Pedro Calungsod reportedly happened in 2003 at a Cebu hospital when a woman who was clinically pronounced dead for two hours was allegedly brought back to life through the inter-cession of Calungsod.

A young martyrCalungsod, together

with companion Blessed Diego San Vitores, was killed while doing mission-ary work in Guam in 1672. He was 17 years old then. Through their missionary efforts, many were convert-ed to the Roman Catholic Church through the Sacra-ment of Baptism.

A p l o t t o m u r d e r Calungsod and San Vitores started through false accu-sations that the missionar-ies were spreading poison through the ritual of the pouring of water or baptism. They were both caught and murdered after baptizing a mother and her child.

Because of his associa-tion with the Chamorro natives of Guam, Calungsod is often portrayed with a crucifix and a palm leaf.

Calungsod, who was described by Vatican as a lay catechist and a martyr, was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2000.

The other six candidates for canonization together with Calungsod are: Blessed Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth and of the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord; Blessed Jacques Berthieu, French martyr and priest of the Society of Jesus; Blessed Maria del Carmen, Spanish foundress of the Conceptionist Mis-sionary Sisters of Teaching; Blessed Maria Anna Cope, German religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse; Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, American laywoman; and Blessed Anna Schaffer, Ger-man laywoman.

CATBALOGAN CITY – Four business establish-ments in Eastern Visayas were among the compa-nies nationwide which received DOLE’s Safety Milestone (Smile) Recogni-tion Awards.

In an email sent to The SWE, these companies are the Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc.-Tacloban Plant, Petron Corporation Tacloban Depot, Petron Corporation Ormoc Depot, and Petron Corporation Isabel Depot.

This was known from

DOLE Regional Director Forter G. Puguon who just returned from the 2011 Safety Milestone (SMILE) Recognition Awarding Ceremony held in the af-ternoon of Monday, De-cember 12, 2011 at the Bayleaf Hotel, Intramuros, Manila.

According to Director Puguon, the Safety Mile-stone (Smiles) Awards is a safety recognition of companies for their com-mitment in implementing Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) programs

and activities which has resulted in having NO disabling injuries or NO lost time accidents. More specifically, it is an in-centive-award given to a company that achieved excellent safety perfor-mance of having no lost time accident (NLTA) for at least one year.

Puguon explained that the Awards Program aims to encourage and motivate companies to be steadfast in the implementation of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) programs

and activities that would result in a safe (accident-free) and healthy work-place. The ultimate aim is to develop a culture of voluntary compliance by companies with the provi-sions of the Occupational Safety and Health Stan-dards (OSHS) which is the underlying objective of the New Labor Standards En-forcement Framework.

The Safety Milestone (SMILE) Recognition Pro-gram is an initiative of the Bureau of Working Condi-tions (BWC) headed by Di-

rector Brenda Villafuerte, one of the Bureaus under the Social Protection and Welfare Cluster headed by Undersecretary Lourdes Trasmonte.

The Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc.-Tacloban Plant achieved 509,946 safe work-hours during the period January to De-cember , 2011, while the Petron Corporation Taclo-ban Depot, Ormoc Depot & Isabel Depot achieved 130,000, 60,478 and 28,112 safe work hours, respec-tively. (rjb)

TO CELEBRATE its 2011 accomplishments, the De-partment of Science and Technology will stage its second consolidating yearend activity dubbed “Ignite the Mind 2.0” on December 21, 2011.

The celebration, organized by the DOST’s communi-cation arm, Science and Technology Information Institute (STII), will gather over 3,000 DOST employees from 22 Agencies and 16 regional offices. The event was concep-tualized to reiterate to science and technology workers DOST’s mandates by understanding the thrusts of the administration while working as a unified body.

Aristotle Carandang, project leader of Ignite the Mind 2.0 and chief of STII-CRPD, says, “Last year, DOST have successfully launched the first ‘Ignite the Mind’ event. In the same venue, this year’s ITM 2.0 showcases the new administration’s leadership that ushers renewed hope among the Filipinos especially with in the DOST system. It is the way toward Tuwid na Daan.”

With this year’s theme, “Ignite the Mind 2.0 Nasa Siy-ensiya ang Pag-asa, Pasko ay Ipadama’” the said project aims to continue creating oneness, belongingness, cooperation, and sharing as focal values in the DOST family.

“‘Entertainment has also been used for educational pur-poses. This only implies that education does not really need to be that boring. This is commonly known as enter-educate approach involving activities that entertain and educate simultaneously. After all, what really matters is to get the message across,” explains Carandang.

The Ignite the Mind project believes that, by bringing the DOST employees in one occasion and letting them par-ticipate in a number of activities, it would create a positive spirit of healthy competition, share a common vision, and express creativity by working as one. It thereby realizes the age-old Filipino tradition of bayanihan.

Highlighting ITM 2.0 is DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo’s year-end report and the launch of the DOST institutional video. The event will also inform the public on the DOST’s plans and programs for 2012.

DOLE 8 regional director Forter Puguon gives his Christmas message to the par�cipants, organizers, parent/guardians and the media during the Christmas Card-Making contest sponsored by the East-ern Visayas Associa�on of Recruitment Agencies (EVARA) held at DOLE Training Center, Tacloban City, December 17. (Vino R. Cuayzon)

STO. NiñO, Samar – Rec-ognizing the primary role of each family, its vital part in molding the very core values of a child, the Cabunga-an In-tegrated School successfully held a Family Day last No-vember 30, 2011 as an integral part of the its 9th Founding Anniversary celebration.

Family is a sanctuary of love, security and under-standing where each member is given value and acceptance whoever and whatever he/she is. Family or shall we say, “Father and Mother I love You.”

The objectives of the affair were: 1) to strengthen father/mother child rela-tionship and family bond-ing; 2) to give recognition to parents for their efforts in guiding their children;

and 3) to establish stronger partnership between parents and teachers.

The symbolic affair was attended by more than 300 parents, 700 learners, 15 teachers, 8 barangay officials and a Sangguniang Bayan member who is the commit-tee chair on education.

Other distinguished guests who graced the mean-ingful occasion were: The executive board member of the Boy Scouts of the Philip-pines Samar Council, Ms. Malou Bermejo who also delivered a message in behalf of Vice-Governor Jimboy Tan, Ms. Merla Rosalado of the Consuelo Founda-tion Family Life Enrichment, who likewise facilitated a Family Life workshop, Carl Jamie Bordeos of Samar Ar-

chaelogical Museum, DepEd District Supervisor of Sulat Eastern Samar, Dr. Felix D. Acong; Rev. Fr. Francis Uy, a Philanthropist Mrs. Welyn Sagadal—Jumantoc and DJ “Billie” of Radyo Natin Cal-bayog among others.

The organizers said the event was the very first of its kind in the Division of Samar or even in the region, organized by the active pro-gram director Mr. Santiago L. Cachero. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Science and Technology for this year re-leased some P8.8 million to upgrade the technology ap-plication of some 25 SMEs in Eastern Visayas.

DOST 8 Director Edgardo Esperancilla said the number of assisted entrepreneurs ex-ceeded the agency’s 20 target set at the start of 2011.

“Many of these assisted projects aims address productiv-ity needs of community-based enterprises in order to create more job opportunities,” Direc-tor Esperancilla informed the media practitioners during the NUTRICOMNET Media Forum in Tacloban City.

The assistance is centered on SMEs engaged in furniture making, food processing, farm-based products, and handicrafts making. Forms of assistance included upgrading of facilities, adoption of DOST developed technologies, inno-vation support, and provision of equipments.

Among the assisted SMEs this year are citronella oil pro-cessing facility in Biliran, Bili-ran; coconut wine processor in Palo, Leyte; handicrafts pro-duction facility in Kawayan, Biliran; coco-vinegar maker in Salcedo, Eastern Samar; feed mill plant in San Juan, Southern Leyte; calamansi juice concentrate processor in Guiuan, Eastern Samar; cheese sticks producer in Hilongos, Leyte; meat processing center in Guiuan, Eastern Samar; charcoal briquettes processor in Sogod, Southern Leyte; and Copra drying and accelerated vinegar production center in Basey, Samar.

Also included in the list

are meat shop and process-ing center in Bontoc, South-ern Leyte; vegetable-based breads and squash canton noodles maker in Calbayog City; suman (Balintawak) processing facility in Na-val Biliran; nutritious food baker in Bato, Leyte; choco-late-based products maker in Bobon, Northern Samar; sweets and desserts producer in Catbalogan City; upgrad-ing of pastry production fa-cility in Kawayan, Biliran; bakeshop in Calbiga, Samar; veggie enriched bread maker in Capoocan, Leyte; delicacies packaging in Borongan City; marine products processor in Macrohon, Southern Leyte; noodles production in Cat-balogan City; food products improvement in Almeria Bili-ran; and soy sauce processing in Tacloban City.

For 2011, the National Government has set aside P300 million to finance the implementation of Small En-

SEE DOST P5

• EDITORIAL •

Ceasefire

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4 OPINION Samar Weekly Express

DECEMBER 20-26, 2011 OPINIONDECEMBER 20-26, 2011

Samar Weekly Express5

EXPRESSSamar Weekly

THE EXPONENT OF SAMAR PROGRESS

When disasters strike

This comes as a wonderful gift, a fitting development to all Filipinos cel-ebrating the holiday season in this part of the globe. The government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) agreeing to an 18-day ceasefire during the Christmas sea-son is indeed something to cheer about.

With the truce in effect from Dec. 17 to Jan. 4, both government forces and com-munist rebels will be confined to their respective camps, not worrying anything except to celebrate the yuletide season in tranquility. After government troops announced the suspension of military operation during the period, the commu-nist rebels reciprocated by also putting on hold their offensive maneuvers in compliance with the ceasefire.

This would mean the silencing of guns on both sides and preventing bloodshed to reign at this time of the year when people, be they soldiers or rebels, want to share time with their love ones and seek to enjoy every bit of that duration.

The truce also comes at a most favor-able time as this, as the Aquino admin-istration had manifested, will allow discussions for the resumption of the formal peace talks. The peace process is a bid to end the decades-old conflict with the CPP-NPA, a strife that has already claimed thousands of lives.

Holiday truce is really nothing new in the Philippines. Past administrations also declare ceasefires with the CPP-NPA dur-ing the holiday season. So are the commu-nist rebels who, despite the warriors in them, also have the character to lay down their guns in the spirit of Christmas.

Let’s just hope both government and the CPP-NPA honor their commitment. If the truce holds true, soldiers and rebels, and above all the whole nation, can go on celebrate a wonderful Christmas.

HINTS & TRACESBY FR. ROY CIMAGALA

roycimagala@gmail.com

WE have to be ready spiritually and morally, and not just materially, socially, politically, etc., when disasters and calamities strike. In the end, this is really what matters.

This state of preparedness should not be reduced to lower levels, overtaken by other considerations that, while they may be more immediate, are not the ultimate and decisive factors.

At the moment, I can discern an unspoken lament over God’s role in these sad events. Why did God allow Typhoon Sendong to happen? Why did he let so many people, even innocent children, to die in such a manner? Why does he want us to suffer?

We have to be ready for the right answers to these questions that understandably would spring in anyone’s mind and heart. And for this, let’s not rely on our reasoning alone, but rather on our faith always.

Faith gives us a glimpse of the mind of God with re-spect to our human affairs and world events.

And what can we gather from our faith? What we can safely say is that God allows these disasters to happen, first, because our natural world has its inherent finite and limited character. And God deals with the world as with us always respecting the nature the world and we have.

Sooner or later, our world and everything in it will meet their end.

They will pass away. As an old Nat King Cole song would have it, “The Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble, they are only made of clay, but our love is here to stay.”

That romantic line echoes what our Lord said: “Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass.” (Mt 24,35) It’s a clear indication that in our earthly affairs, we have to be guided by God’s word, by the faith God revealed and gave to us, more than just our gut feel, or our sciences,

arts and technologies.We can then say that disasters and calamities are occa-

sions, reasons and invitations for us to grow in our faith, to go beyond what our senses can perceive and intelligence can understand. We need faith!

Thus, in the episode of our Lord with the apostles on a boat tossed by big waves of a storm, he reprimanded the apostles for their lack of faith when they in fear roused him from sleep to do something about the water threatening to sink them. “Why are you fearful: Have you no faith yet?” he told them. (Mk 4,40)

It’s not that we should not bother our Lord because of our faith. We can and in fact should bother him when we are threatened

by disasters or are already suffering in them. It’s just that we have to bother him out of faith, and not out of mere fear. With faith, our Lord can always calm down the raging seas of our life.

We have to strengthen our faith always. We have to see to it that our thinking, judging and reasoning are always infused by faith. We should never allow them to be inspired only by what we see, hear and feel, or even by what we understand. We have to go by our faith always.

Our earthly condition is made worse by the mistakes and sins we commit. So, not only do we have to contend with the natural limitations and weaknesses, but also with the infranatural factors of these sins and mistakes.

That is why, our Lord taught us how not only to have faith, but also to be ready to carry the cross with him. The cross is a necessary element of our faith. It signifies, among other things, the inevitable suffering we have to undergo in this life because of these natural and infranatural factors of our wounded human nature.

Knowing how to carry the cross with Christ enables us to face whatever disaster we can meet in life. Our cross then becomes the cross of Christ, a suffering that will lead us to our own resurrection, to our victory over sin, to our own perfection as children of God.

The cross of Christ, converts our suffering into some-thing redemptive and perfective of us, and not just painful events of our lives. We have to assimilate this truth of our faith well.

For this, our Lord wants us to be ready always. “Know this, that if the good man of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch… be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come.” (Mt 24,43-44)

KAKAMPI MOANG BATAS

BY ATTY. MELANIO ‘BATAS’ MAURICIO

NOTARY PUBLIC

DISCLAIMER: Views expressed in the opinion and commentary sections do not neces-sarily reflect the editorial position of The Samar Weekly Express. The SWE does not knowing-ly publish false information and may not be held liable for the views of readers exercising their right to free expression. The publication, however, reserves the right to edit contributions for clarity, as it sees fit. - Ed.

Angara sounds alarm for telcos

4 OPINION Samar Weekly Express

DECEMBER 20-26, 2011 OPINIONDECEMBER 20-26, 2011

Samar Weekly Express5

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LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… the angel said to them, `Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord’…” (Luke 2:8-11, the Holy Bible).

-o0o-

REASON WHY SENDONG CAME? And now, the bad news: residents of Cagayan De Oro City will still not get water from their faucets for a few more days, because thieves took advantage of the chaos brought by Sendong and stole the water district’s production facilities and dis-tribution systems, worsening further the city’s water woes. Are these thieves the reason why the city was penalized with Sendong’s rains and floods?

-o0o-

GREED AND CRIMINAL NEGLECT: One more bad news: almost a week after Sendong, Iligan City remains flooded, no longer with water, but with thousands of logs which came from illegally cut trees from the city’s mountain region. Did God use Sendong, and the death and destruction in its wake, to show to all and sundry the greed in the hearts of Iligan City illegal loggers and unscrupulous individuals, and the criminal neglect of its

public officials in allowing this rape of its forests?

-o0o-

TEN PROVINCES TO BE HIT BY DEADLY RAINS & FLOODS: Now, here’s one other bad news: ten Philippine provinces are likely to suffer the same kind of deadly rains and floods, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. These are Pangasinan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Norte, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Oriental Mindoro and Metro Manila. Are Filipinos from these places ready to battle with rains and floods?

-o0o-

PAGASA WARNS OF MORE RAINS AND FLOODS IN SUMMER: This bad news takes on a very great sig-nificance with the warning issued by PAGASA, or the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Sciences Administration, that the country, especially its eastern provinces, will have more rains even during the summer season in 2012, because of the heightened La Nina phenomenon. With more rains, PAGASA is saying, there will be more floods and landslides. Indeed, what are we doing to truly prepare for these natural calamities?

-o0o-

THE WAY TO FIGHT RAINS & FLOODS: The only way to prepare is to follow what Jesus, our God and Sav-ior, said in Matthew 7:24-27 of the Bible: we must now endeavor to truly listen to His Word (which means, read the Bible), and sincerely obey His commands. If we do not follow Jesus, the only alternative is death and destruction, for that was what He said. Jesus, as God, is faithful to His Word. So what are we waiting for?

-o0o-

ABALOS MERELY CONNED? If Benjamin Abalos,

the former election chief, could prove that there were re-ally lawyers who offered to fix his electoral sabotage case with the help of Pasay Judge Jesus Mupas, he should not only seek the judge’s inhibition or disqualification from his case. Abalos should file the necessary graft charges. But then, he must prove first that those who came to him with the offer really were sent by Mupas. Otherwise, it would appear that some people only tried to “con” him in his hour of need.

-o0o-

ANGARA CALLS FOR TELCO PREPARATIONS: Sen. Edgardo Angara could not have said it better: Globe, Smart, Sun and even PLDT and Bayantel, must come up with back up systems to assure their continuing operations after di-sasters shall have stopped their operations. “We enhance our abilities in managing disasters when we make sure that in the face of any disruption, our telecommunications services are resilient and quick to go back online,” Angara said. Is anyone responding to Angara’s call?

-o0o-THANK GOD FOR EVERYTHING: As we celebrate

Christmas 2011, let us remember to thank God for ev-erything that happened to us during the last 365 days. Whether we consider the events that occurred as good or bad, thanking God will assure us of His continuing blessings, guidance and protection, no matter what. As Ephesians 5:20 of the Bible says: “… always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

-o0o-MERRY CHRISTMAS, GOD LOVES US: And as we

face another year, let us not forget that God, the Mighty Creator, loves us very much, even in the face of our unfor-givable sins. This love will see us through thick and thin. John 3:16 of the Holy Bible said: “For God so loved the world He gave us his only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life…” Merry Christmas!!!

Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

8th Judicial RegionBRANCH 41

Gandara, SamarIN RE: PETITION

FOR THE DECLARA-TION OF HEIRS OF ASONCION C. TAN-

MAHINAY:ELIODORO T. MA-

HINAY, FELICISIMA T. MAHINAY and

BONIFACIO T. PA-GHUGASAN;

Petitioners,SPL. CIVIL ACTION

NO. 40FOR: DECLARATION

OF HEIRSHIPx - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x

ORDERA verified Petition has been filed by Petitioner though counsel on November 28, 2011, praying that after due hearing, judgment be ren-dered declaring ELIODORO T. MAHINAY, BONIFACIO T. PAGHUGASAN and FE-LICISIMA T. MAHINAY, as the sole heirs of ASUNCION C. TAN-MAHINAY.The Petition reads:“1. That they are all of ages, with capacity to sue and be

sued, and domiciled in Brgy. Quezon, San Jorge, Samar, where they may be served with summons and court processes;2. That PETITIONERS are the children and heirs of the late ASONCION CABAL-LERO TAN-MAHINAY, who was born on October 13, 1912, in Brgy. Sto. Niño, Sa-mar, and who died at the age of 79, in Brgy. Quezon, San Jorge, Samar. Attached here-with as proof are the Certifi-cate of Live Birth of Eliodoro T. Mahinay, Felicisima T. Mahinay and Bonifacio T. Paghugasan, the latter being a half-brother of the siblings Eliodoro and Felicisima, and the Certificate of Death of Asuncion C. Tan;3. That during the lifetime of said ASONCION C. TAN-MAHINAY, she acquired by inheritance the herein-below described real property, to wit;a. A parcel of agricultural land situated in Brgy. Ilijan, Sto. Niño, Samar, designed as Cadastral Lot. No. 640-D, covered by Original Cer-tificate of Title No. 25638, in the name of the Heirs of Asuncion Tan and Assessor’s Lot No. 978, and registered

for taxation purposes in the name of Asuncion Tan Un-der Tax Declaration No. 05-17007-00172, and bounded on the North and East by Lot No. 979 (037), on the South and West by the Seashore; with a total area of 1-63-08 square meters, more or less, with a assessed value of Php23,380.00”4. That attached and form-ing integral parts hereof is a machine copy of the origi-nal Certificates of Title NO. 25638 and Declaration of Real Property No. 05-17007-00172 of the above described property;5. That to the best knowledge of the PETITIONERS, their decreased mother has no other children of heirs, and therefore, they are institut-ing this Petition seeking for a court’s declaration that they are the heirs of Asuncion C. Tan-Mahinay.”Finding the Petition to be sufficient in form and in sub-stance, notice is hereby given that this case be set for hear-ing on February 2, 2012 at 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon before this Court, at which date, time and place, all per-sons who have an objection thereto may file any oppo-

sition and and show cause why the same should not be granted.Let copies of this Order be published at the expense of the Petitioners once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior the above-setting in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Samar and in Calbayog City;Finally, let copies of this Or-der together with a copy of the petition and its annexes be furnished to Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, Cal-bayog City, the Administra-tor of the Land Registration Authority, Director of Lands, Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Regional Office, Tacloban City and the Regis-ter of Deeds of Catbalogan, Samar and the adjacent prop-erty owners of OCT. NO. 25638.SO ORDERED.GIVEN this 5th day of De-cember 2011, Calbayog City for Gandara, Samar, Philip-pines.(Sgd.) FELICIANO P.

AGUILARPresiding Judge

SWE Issue Dec. 6-12; 13-19 & 20-26, 2011

trepreneurs Technology Upgrading Program (Setup), a nationwide program de-signed to upgrade productivity of SMEs through technology application.

The program enables firms to address their technical problems through tech-nology transfer and technological interventions to improve productivity through better product quality, human resources development, cost minimization and waste management, and other operation related activities, Director Esperancilla said.

Beneficiaries under Setup may be a company or individual firm that is based in the Philippines and wholly owned by Filipinos citizens, small and medium scale business firm that can be classified under the identified priority sectors, and indi-vidual firm that is willing to apply technological improvements in their existing operations.

DECEMBER 20-26, 2011 PAGE 6

PNoy’s yuletide message to the youths: “Be good” EXPRESS

Samar Weekly

THE EXPONENT OF SAMAR PROGRESS

Love no more time for Ronald

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III’s Christmas wish is for the Filipino youth, especially the un-derprivileged, to emulate the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and be good citizens of the country.

In his message, Presi-dent wished the youth a better celebration of Christ-mas and for them to live their lives with love, care and concern for others to-wards a progressive and peaceful nation.

“Ang wish ko po ngayon, maging mas ligtas, masaya at masigla hindi lamang ang in-yong darating na Kapaskuhan, kundi pati na ang inyong pa-mumuhay sa mga susunod na taon,” the President said.

“Pasko man o hindi, patu-loy nating tularan at isabuhay ang mga aral ni Hesukristo. Panatilihin natin ang pag-mamahalan, pagmamalasakit at pagbibigayan sa isa’t isa tungo sa isang masagana at payapang bansa,” he noted.

The Chief Executive assured the younger gen-eration of Filipinos that the Aquino government, through the Department of Social Welfare and De-velopment with Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman at the helm, will relentlessly pursue social programs to provide and ensure them the best for their future.

“Narito po kaming mga nakakatanda para isakatuparan ang wish na ito. Gumagawa kami ng mga paraan para bigyan kayo ng pagkakataon na maranasan din ang pinag-dadaanan ng karaniwang mga bata --- pag-aaral sa eskuwela, pakikipaglaro sa mga kaibigan, at pag-aaruga ng mga mai-tuturing ninyong pamilya… Nagtatrabaho kami para ita-guyod ang inyong magandang kinabukasan,” the President said.

With all these efforts, the President said that in return, the government is expecting a more respon-sible breed of Filipinos in the years to come as they mature into law-abiding and righteous members of society.

“Ano naman ang ina-asahan namin sa inyo? Simple lang: ang maging respon-sableng kabataan kayo; ang maging matinong Pilipino.

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Habang tinutupad ng pama-halaan ang mga paraan para mabigyan kayo ng edukasyon, mahandugan ang inyong mga magulang ng trabaho, mab-igyan ang mga kapatid at kaibigan ninyo ng pagkain at gamot, sana naman ay tulun-gan din ninyo kami,” Aquino said citing the numerous ways the administration is trying to achieve its goal of creating a better nation.

“Wala na nga pong sa-saya pa sa pagdiriwang ng Kapaskuhan basta’t tayo ay magkakasama at nagkakaisa” the President said.

Pres. Noynoy Aquino

LOVI Poe’s role as a singer in “Yesterday Today Tomorrow” is something near to her heart as she really started her showbiz career as a singer then branched out into acting. She sings the theme song of “Yester-day Today Tomorrow” in its trailer, “What I Did for Love,” and she does a knockout rendition of the classic song originally sung in the Broadway musical “Chorus Line.” She also gets to do several song numbers in the mov-ie and in one sequence, she is singing when the deadly earthquake in the story strikes, wreaking havoc all around. Some writers who saw the film at its jampacked premiere night at SM Megamall say she has a good chance of winning the best actress award but she doesn’t want to entertain any ideas.

“I’m flattered sa ti-wala nila sa’kin but sino ba naman ako compared to Maricel Soriano who’s also in our movie?” she

DIRECTOR Jay Altarejos hardly sleeps these days as he shuttles back and forth taping two soaps: the hit afternoon drama “Kung Aagawin Mo ang Langit” and the prime-time soap “Legacy.” “Naka-kapagod but I enjoy what I do so okay lang,” he says when we visited him on the set of “Kung Aagawin” that’s just been extended to 20 weeks. “We’ll run until the first week of February. ‘Legacy’ naman will replace ‘Amaya’ that ends on January 13.”

He credits the cast of ‘Kung Aagawin’ for its suc-cess. “Magagaling sila lahat, sina Michelle Madrigal and Carla Abellana as the war-ring sisters and Mike Tan as the man who comes between them. They’re all very compe-tent and I’m amazed at their ability to sustain their acting in long scenes delivering long lines. Kung minsan, we do three to four takes of the same scene and nakakagulat the way they maintain their emo-tions all throughout. Mike has improved a lot. Noong una, manipis ang boses niya so I told him to lower it at na-modulate naman niya. Sa

Heart’s show to replace ‘Amaya’

lahat ng soaps na ginawa ko, dito ako pinakamasaya kasi naging maganda ang bond-ing namin ng entire cast, staff and crew.”

“Legacy” is his first primetime soap and he’s also pleased with his huge cast. “Sa first week, we start with Dennis Trillo as a man with three wives: Bianca King, Chynna Ortaleza and Mari-toni Fernandez. As an older man, Dennis will be played by Robert Sena, Bianca by Jackielou Blanco, Chynna by Cherie Gil, while Maritoni remains herself. Heart Evan-gelista will be the daughter of Jackielou, Lovi Poe kay Cherie and Alessandra de Rossi kay Maritoni. The family owns a big company manufactur-ing beauty products called

Legacy and their model is Carla Abellana. Bianca, Lovi and Alex will later fight for the inheritance na maiiwan ng dad nila. They have four leading men involved with them: Geoff Eigenmann, Sid Lucero, Mike Tan and Mark Bautista. Kasama rin dito si Dominic Roco as the man who’ll marry Bianca and he’ll later be played by Richard Quan pagtanda niya.”

Direk Jay is a well known maker of indie films like “Lalaki sa Parola” and “Lihim ni Antonio.” His only regret is that since he’s so busy with TV work now, he has to shelve a new movie he has started shooting. “Sana nga, mabalikan ko one of these days,” he says.

says. “And there are other actresses sa filmfest like Judy Ann Santos and Ai Ai de las Alas na award-winners na rin sa filmfest before. Basta natutuwa akong maraming nag-kagusto sa performance ko as Jericho Rosales’ wife na nagsinungaling sa kanya about the death of our child then felt so guilty about it.”

Her ex-BF Ronald Singson will reportedly be released on January 12 by Hong Kong jail authorities after he has served 18-month sen-tence for drug-related charges. Will she go to Hong Kong to welcome him? “No, I’m so busy sa taping ng bago nam-ing soap, ‘Legacy,’ on GMA7 that will start air-ing January 16 kaya di ako puwedeng umalis. At saka, ibigay na lang natin ‘yung important event na ‘yun to his fam-ily dahil matagal silang nawalay sa isa’t isa. But I’m happy he’ll be free soon kasi mabait naman siyang tao.”

Lovi Poe