The Weekly
Vanguard
Vol. 1, No. 1
The truth is rarely pure and never simple. - Oscar Wilde
October 10 - 15, 2016
Photo by Jovic Navarro
As we commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the Leyte Landing, the social landscape is wracked by scandals fomented by drug lords and coddlers of all sorts, often in conspiracy with the police and other public officials. Our war heroes must be turning in their graves, indeed.
Codilla scion, media tagged 4 others said to be coddlers
By Jun Tarroza
EV mail publisher and editor Lalaine M. Jimenea
Eufrocino “Winnie” Codilla
The list of six suspected drug coddlers seems like a strange mix, considering their political affiliations.
cloban City for being coddlers of drug lord Kerwin Espinosa. Codilla was said to have received P2 million, while Jimenea regularly received some P8,000 to P10,000 weekly payoffs, like two other media practitioners who are similarly accused. Codilla, son of former Ormoc City Mayor and Congressman Eufrocino “Dodong” Codilla, has earlier denied the allegations, saying the money was payment for a construction job he had done for Espinosa. Codilla is the former husband of former Cebu Governor and Congresswoman Gwen Garcia. But this is not the first time that Codilla has landed
Eufrocino “Winnie” Codilla, one of the more prominent persons listed, is the exact political opposite of, EV Mail publisher and editor Lalaine M. Jimenea, who is known as a close-in consultant of current Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez. But their disparity ends there. Both have been recently tagged in complaints filed by Albuera Police Chief Jovie Espenido last week at the Department of Justice in Ta-
in the news as drug protector. In September 2013, he was said to have intervened in an operation of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on the seizure of high-powered firearms from Kerwin Espinosa. Codilla claimed the firearms belonged to Police General Vicente Loot, not to Espinosa. A month later then PNP Chief Alan Purissima cleared Loot of any involvement with the Espinosa syndicate, which also automatically absolved Codilla of any wrongdoing. But Codilla has been seen in public with known drug lord Espinosa, and his own nephew, Joel Aberilla, was tagged by state witnesses as one of Kerwin’s trusted drug distributors in the region. Jimenea, on the other hand, was cited by another news source as saying she will answer the charges as soon as she gets a copy of the complaint. She campaigned strongly for the Gomezes during the last elections against the Codillas, and after that became a fixture at the city hall as one of the mayor’s
(Go to P.3)
Hot stuff this week Some Unfinished Drug Business needs further investigation in Calbayog as the so-called ‘magnificent 7” are still around. And these are backed up by rouge cops...P 9. Several murders happened in the turf of arrested mayor Rolando Espinosa, not just two. In the sworn testimony of one who turned state witness, there were 10 other murders committed on the orders of the Espinosas.....P 3 In a bid to overcome poverty especially among the farmers of Eastern Samar, NGOs may have found a way out. They have trained local service providers who not only provide technical inputs and capital but marketing assistance as well....P. 8 A radio broadcaster is linked to the Espinosa drug syndicate as a coddler...P. 2
Import-Export Corporation Valenzuela City
Vanguard
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Rouge cop?
Oliva denies drug links
Albuera town Police Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido and his police team after the raid of Espinos’s home where payola documents linking more than a hundred police and public officials in the region
By Jun Tarroza
PO3 Francisco “Jongjong” Oliva: Fabricated lies A cop assigned as bodyguard to Leyte 4th district congresswomen Lucy Torres has vehemently denied links to the Espinosa drug syndicate, saying the complaints have been fabricated. The
reaction came after Albuera town Police Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido filed charges against him last week, along with 21 suspected drug coddlers of the police at the office of the Regional Internal Affairs Service (RIAS) in Tacloban. In an exclusive interview with The Weekly Vanguard Wednesday last week, PO3 Francisco “Jongjong” Oliva dismissed the allegations, saying he has been the close-in security of the congresswoman for eight years, making it impossible for him to double as ‘drug protector’. Still the complaint was enough to have him suspended from his duties as close-in
security to Torres. His police superior also disarmed him of his service firearm and restricted him to the police Regional Headquarters in Palo, Leyte. He is now on ‘floating’ status, Oliva said. He said is willing to undergo drug tests, bare his assets and liabilities and open his bank accounts to dispel any doubt resulting from Espenido’s accusations. There are speculations that Espenido’s moves may have been politically motivated though as the latter has been closely identified with the Codillas, the political opponents of current City Mayor Richard Gomez and Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez. The current assignment of Espenido has been allegedly opposed by the Gomezes. Oliva said the complaints are still in the office of the Regional Internal Affairs Service (RIAS) pending investigation and evaluation. He cannot comment or react on it yet until the investigation is over. Oliva was one of the 22 suspected coddlers and protectors of the drug operations of Kerwin Espinosa. Also implicated by Espenido were Police Chief Inspectors Jonathan Camacho, Martin Pardinas, Wilfredo Abordo; PSupt. Neil Bragares Montano, PSInspectors Benidie Macamay, Eufracio Havines, Rio Tan and Edwin Martinez Oloan Jr.; SPO3 Edgardo Bituin, SPO1s Kenneth Valley, Romeo Blanco, Victor Plaza, and Frederick Cabaltera; PO3s Roberto Arafol and Edwin Jao; PO2s Jay Quilantang, Marvin Parac, Wenceslao Lumakin, Renato Caray Mekitpikit, and Romeo Torres, and PO1 Ronilo Felizarta. The complaint was filed weeks after Espinedo uncovered a list of names in a notebook and pocketbooks, including testimonies of six drug suspects apprehended during a series of antidrug raids in the town last month. The testimony of Mayor Espinosa was used as well. In that operation, the police team led by Espinedo confiscated 25 light weapons, 31 small firearms, 40 hand grenades, 17 rifle grenades, 19 M2O3 ammos, and 14.876 grams of Shabu worth P119 million, A list of suspected coddlers and returned checks were also found.#
“Drug misuse is not a disease, it is a decision, like the decision to step out in front of a moving car. You would call that not a disease but an error of judgment.” ― Philip K. Dick
October 10 - 15, 2016
Broadcaster in hot seat
Kaugop-DYBR FM Radio blocktime reporter John Kevin Pilapil, 27, admitted he received cash from jailed Albuera town Mayor Rolando “Daddy Onick” Espinosa Sr. through his daughter Mariel Espinosa. However the money he received several months ago was from a legitimate business transaction in line with the radio program he was handling, he said. Kerwin Espinosa’s Zellan Hotel was said to be the principal sponsor of an hour-long blocktime radio program. In an interview with The Weekly Vanguard on Friday last week, he said Brod Huge Hugo and Janeth Almario were the principal actors of the media business, not him. The two were his radio blocktime anchors. The program earned P35,000 a month, but he was only paid P2,500 as a broadcaster. This was during the campaign period when the accused drug lord mayor Rolando Espinosa ran by his loneself and was using the program to project his candidacy. However, after the elections, Espinosa’s daughter continued to hire his services for which he was paid P15,000 a month. This time he was with Almario only as Hugo was out of the picture, he said. “Ambot kung drug payola ba kaha kana nga mga kwarta ang akong nadawat, coddler ba or protector ba kaha ko niini? (I don’t know if this is drug money or if this makes me a coddler or protector,)” he said shaking his head in doubt. He said he knew of the charges only from CNN Philippines where he serves as a stringer. Because of the allegations, he was suspended by the news outfit and by Sun. Star Superbalita in Cebu City where he also serves as correspondent. That Friday night, his FM radio outfit also suspended him. The news has devastated his family, particularly his mother, who could not believe the allegations. His mother’s eyes were swollen from profuse crying, The Weekly Vanguard noted He said he never saw Kerwin at all during the days he was handling the program for the Espinosa family. The last time he saw Kerwin was in 2014 when he was arrested in Tacloban City, Pilapil said.
- By JunTarroza
Vanguard
October 10 - 15, 2016
More murder raps vs Espinosa Suspected drug lord Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa was last week accused of two murders in his run for political power, but other murder raps are waiting to be filed against the embattled mayor and his fugitive son, Kerwin. A former trusted man of Kerwin, now turned state witness, has cited at least 10 other murders ordered by the younger Espinosa, which the father also knew about. Two of the victims cited in the indictment were a close aide of former Mayor Ramon “Junie” de la Cerna and retired policeman Alfred Bucabuca, a candidate for town councilor. The aide was allegedly killed by Leonardo dela Cruz and Alfred Christian Batistis, a nephew of former Albuera councilor Sergio Batistis, who was recently dismissed from public service by the Ombudsman for serious dishonesty and grave misconduct. Bucabuca for his part was ambushed at a bridge that served as boundary between Ormoc and Albuera. In his sworn statement, Binolho Kagawad Nelson Pepito Jr.
said it was he who pointed him out to his killers. A few days after the murder, the entire Bucabuca clan in Albuera left for Davao to seek refuge from Espinosa as his men continued to harass the family from the time of Bucabuca’a wake. Unknown to many, at least 10 other murders have been allegedly ordered by the mayor’s son in line with his drug business. There was a certain Boboy surnamed Valencia who hailed from Brgy. Valencia, who was killed because apparently he failed to remit a huge sum to the drug lord. Another was an asset of the PNP Region 8 Intelligence who was killed inside the Ormoc Community Credit Cooperative, Inc. (OCCCI) in Kananga, Leyte. Kerwin Espinosa was said to be the driver at that time, but he instructed a hired gun Mauro to kill the asset. There was this celebrated case of the driver of the VSU bus who figured in an altercation with Mayor Espinosa himself. Later on, Kerwin Espinosa instructed Baran-
Murder suspect Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa
Murder victim Alfredo Bucabuca
gay Kagawad Nelson “Jun” Pepito to make the necessary arrangements with the driver’s family to withdraw their complaint. A certain police of Ormoc, who was from Mabini, was also ordered killed, with three hitmen provided by the Barangay Captain Dandy Cruz of Sherwood, Albuera. The hitmen were said to have been paid P200,000. But the most celebrated hit was that of former Villaba Vice-Mayor Claudio “Kalaw” Larrazabal. The younger Espinosa accordingly ordered a
certain rebel returnee to do the job after the official refused the money he offered. However, the most gruesome murders were committed against two residents suspected of stealing the carabao of Kerwin Espinosa. Their bodies were chopped into several parts, then separately put into two drums and filled with mixed cement. These were later on thrown into the sea, said Kag. Nelson “Jun” Pepito in his affidavit.- Vanguard
Research group
Cucina de Aleia
Dealer & merchandiser of imported kitchenwares
3 Codilla scion...from P1 trusted confidantes. News of her alleged involvement with the drug lord Kerwin Espinosa has been met with a mixture of surprise and shock by netizens. She is now on travel in Europe along with other Ormoc socialites. Four others included in Espenido’s charges are Victor Espina Jr., the brother of retired Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina; retired Bureau of Jail Management and Penology official Joseph Nuñez, the former jail warden of Ormoc City; Leyte-based media practitioners Leo Dumon of dyKC and Sunday Punch; and John Kevin Pilapil of Power FM in Ormoc City, and a correspondent of both Sunstar Superbalita and CNN Philippines. (See Pilapil story in another page.) Espina was tagged in the affidavit of Mayor Espinosa by as one of the gun suppliers of his son Kerwin for their protection. Espenido also claimed that Espina was the bag man of a police general in active service, who was formerly assigned in the region. He said this general will be charged next week at the Internal Affairs Service Office of the PNP in Camp Crame. Retired warden Joseph Nuñez, on the other hand, was the chief of Ormoc City Jail when Kerwin was jailed there, during which time illegal drugs flourished in the jail as well as outside of it. The drug lord was said to be operating from inside, often using jail guards in his syndicate’s operations.# - With
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October 10 - 15, 2016
Congratulations to The Weekly Vanguard on its maiden issue.
From Gen. Danilo D. Lim, AFP (Ret.) National Chairman Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makanbansa (RAM) and RAMGUARDIANS Alakdan (RGI)
Congratulations to
The Weekly Vanguard on its maiden issue
From
Congratulations to
The Weekly Vanguard on its maiden issue
From
Vice-Mayor Michael Cari Baybay City
Vice-Mayor Mildred C. Modesto & family Carigara, Leyte
Vanguard
October 10 - 15, 2016
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At the Ormoc market
Rotten goods, no sales in new area
By Jun Tarroza
T
he recent destruction of temporary structures built by sidewalk and ambulant vendors in the Ormoc market may not have fared well with said vendors, but this is all for the good of the city, said OIC Market Supervisor Rodolfo Labarda in an interview Monday last week. He said they have to enforce the market city ordinance to clear up the roads and gutters in the market area. The affected vendors had been occupying the roads in between and gutters of the Buildings A and B, meat and fish sections, grocery and handy craft buildings, building illegal structures to display their wares. Fruit and vegetable vendors have been relocated to a 200-sqm floor area of Bldg 3, while those selling root crops coming from the barrios have been relocated near his office. In an interview with The Weekly Vanguard, a leader of the vendors said all has not been well since the transfer to the present place. Their goods have rotted since the area is rarely visited by buyers. Lourdes Pangaral, president of Ormoc Sidewalk Vendors’ Association (OSVA), said they have started to use pushcarts to sell their goods in other areas frequented by buyers, this despite the strict monitoring by the demolition team. “Kining Bldg 3 para unta kini sa Muslim sidewalk vendors. Pero nanggawas gyud sila adtong una kay wala gyu’y halin sila. Mao gihapon sa among sitwasyon karon (This Bldg 3 has been assigned to the Muslim venders but they went outside because they had no sales here. This is our situation now.)”
(Samar Breeze...from P. 7) kilometers away downhill. Farmers were happy to have access to seeds of veggies that command good market prices. From planting the usual pinakbet veggies, some have tried planting cabbages, cucumber and bell pepper. The service providers served as ready buyers. In more than 900 targeted farmers, volume sales and income increased by at least 10%. Since March, the local service providers have obtained 1,593 purchase orders from vendors and retailers in public markets and also from local restaurants and hotels. To satisfy the orders, they have consolidated 83, 313 kilos of root crops and vegetables worth around 3.5 million pesos. Some vendors prefer locally-produced veggies because they last longer than veggies coming from Davao, even if local
Their new location is 20-30 meters away from the fish and meat sections. “Bahala na kung adunay demolition. Basta dili lang magutom among pamilya. Naghiusa me niini nga desisyon (Never mind if there is a demolition, so long as our families don’t
starve. We are one in this decision,) “ She said this was the effect after they were displaced by the demolition team two weeks ago. With her in ORVA are 61 members organized sometime in 2007. The group is registered with the Department of Labor and Employ-
veggies are often more expensive. The local service provision system is seemingly working. With a carrot for each player, the system may self-sustain. But it’s not without flaws. Service providers, for example, don’t have the incentive to tell farmers the prevailing market prices as doing so would weaken their negotiating positions for the lowest farm gate prices. Thus, farmers in remote communities risk being shortchanged. To address this concern, the NGOs are starting a radio program in two stations in the province. The program will provide market updates to better inform the pricing decisions of farmers. It will also promote new agricultural technologies, encourage vegetable eating and the use of idle lands for farming. Negotiation is underway for an agriculture company to sponsor the program. If it agrees, the radio
program, like the local service provision system, may also become self-sustaining. The system has been tried for less than a year. It’s working, but a lot of kinks still need to be ironed out to make sure it’s fair to everyone and that it can selfsustain. What’s obvious though is that people are earning from the system and it may just be what’s needed in a province where 51% of the people are poor. # (This column will be writing mostly about possible solutions to problems that have been hounding the Samar provinces for decades—poverty, conflict, crime, corruption, etc. Thus, it’s called Samar Breeze. Also because of a song we use to sing when we were young and which I still hum today that I’m older, “Samar breeze makes me feel fine blowing through the jazmines in my mind…”)
ment (DOLE). Already in her ‘50s, Pangaral has been vending for over a decade in the market sidewalks, earning from P50500 in gross sales a day. But the income is not enough to pay a ticket from the city government worth P20 a day, pay loans, education expenses, among others. And she has a child and a grandchild to feed. The feisty Pangaral said they have a right to earn to meet a decent living for they are not criminals in a cat-
and-mouse situation. With the collection from OVRA members alone, the market may be able to collect P36,600 a month, but still they are branded by government as “illegitimate vendors.” The demolition implemented some two weeks ago was attended by dozens of policemen, even if it was the vendors themselves who dismantled their structures. The market clean-up is said to follow the mayor’s tourism program. Market OIC Labarda said they only implemented the demolition after several meetings and consultations with the vendors with instructions from Mayor Richard Gomez. Such moves have accordingly improved the congested market, made buying easier for the buying public, maintained cleanliness, and order in the area, including traffic. He said they are not against small business. But illegal structures as defined in the ordinance should be demolished. The market code was drafted over a decade ago but was not fully implemented. Although Labarda said he sympathizes with the vendors, he will continue to bar, warn and admonish them every day if necessary not to ply their wares on the streets and gutters. He said the confiscated goods will be distributed for prisoners in Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Lingap and holding centers of the City Social Welfare and Dev’t. Office (CSWDO). He said the current situation would not long last because they are looking for a permanent solution for over-crowded market area where goods and wares are not properly classified in one building. The market situation today is just a “band aid solution for long term solution.” In the U. S. the war shows no
(Swiss...from P. 7) signs of winning. They just came cal news impact on the national. Since the administration is bent on pushing for federalism, the input must come first from local situations. And talking of this administration which has already navigated its own 100th day, need it be said that the helmsman came like a bolt of lightning from a locale whose name was even hardly mentioned in the national newspapers? Then his entrance came with the cutting swish of a sword. WAR ON POVERTY. The Duterte administration can’t do a Swiss on the War on Poverty. The administration of Lyndon S. Johnson in the U.S. first declared this protracted war in the early seventies. How far have the gains extended, and in how many years before a minimum was attained?
out of a severe financial crisis. So this plea of the Duterte administration to open the war on poverty is but a response to the cry of his millions of voters who pine for a better life. Unlike the war on drugs, no deadline or ultimatum has been fixed. That 25 years timeline is flexible; it can be for now or even earlier. A peripheral theory of history claims that a cycle of twenty years is needed for societies to change. Poverty is not a disease, although it also a moral problem granted. When Christ said, “the poor you will always have with you,” he certainly did not mean it in malice, or ill intention. The poverty that dehumanizes, that’s the enemy. As a political issue, those who wage war against poverty may as well heed the insight of the liberationist theologians.# .
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October 10 - 15, 2016
OPINION The Power of Far Vista By Phillip Ting
I Editorial
W
Hello, world
e live in a world that’s ruled by information, the principal vehicle of which is the internet with its various gadgets. These days, nobody gets by without a cell phone with which one can receive and send messages and access information. One can in fact read the daily headlines in these gadgets, that one is tempted to ask why bother with a printed page at all? Are hard printed copies of newspapers still relevant? This and some other questions make for a difficult decision to make. Ours is probably the nth among several newspapers put out in the region since the first ones appeared during the early American occupation period in the 1900s. Names like La Voz de Leyte, El Heraldo de Leyte, Noli Me Tangere, El Liberal, and El Obrero come to mind. They wrote in Spanish in those days. That was the language the intelligentsia were used to. Naturally, very few understood them. They got little support from the mass-
es. Thus, their advocacies left a very small impact on their supposed readers. Soon their papers folded up and were laid to eternal rest. Today, the path of journalism here in the region is littered with memories of failed endeavors. Thus, two of the virtues of newspaper pioneers should be courage and optimism, the kind that never says die. The kind that never buckles down in the face of financial difficulties. We know this is one of the hardest to hurdle. We have to survive our first year because the second supposedly makes one financially more stable from advertising and court notices. The experienced ones say so. Unfortunately, newspapers do not only do battle with financial woes. There can be other external reasons that can be more difficult to fend off. How many newspapers and tabloids were padlocked during the Japanese occupation period and in the heyday of the Marcos years? Newspapers, at least the ones
that try to be independent, have politicians as natural enemies, especially the ones who abuse their positions of power to enrich themselves. Anti-corruption is a battle cry long bannered by the most combative ones. So those who are in power naturally want these kinds of newspapers closed down. Silenced. Newspapers are not supposed to be partisan or embedded. They are supposed to keep some distance from those who govern to be more objective and impartial in the gathering and writing of relevant information. Ideally, people have to be able to get the information they need to arrive at intelligent decisions in their engagement with government. Biased information only beclouds reasoning, leading to erroneous judgment. As Oscar Wilde says, ”Truth is rarely pure and never simple.’ We will however try to simplify things as best as we can in our partnership with our readers. Wish us luck!
The Weekly Vanguard
is the Eastern Visayas weekly newspaper published by The Vanguard Communications and Publishing Corporation, with its main office at Maharlika Highway corner Caibaan, Tacloban City. Publisher: Melvin “Bong” Contapay Business Manager: Rey Enales Editor: Emil B. Justimbaste Associate Editor: Elmer V. Recuerdo Columnists: Prof. Rolando Borrinaga, Phillip Ting, Fr. Virgilio Cañete, Eric Aseo Writers/Correspondents: Miriam Desacada (Tacloban), Gina Dean (Samar), Jun Tarroza (Ormoc), Jose Victor Navarro (Photojournalist) Email Address: rey_enales@yahoo.com Telephones: 0975-832-7523; 929-288-4667
Of beginnings and fresh hopes
have always been fascinated by the future. In high school, my fascination with science and the future has led my classmates to write me into the class prophesy as a scientist. As it turns out, I did became a scientist of sorts, studying the science of social development, of media, of power and politics, and of progress. It has now been over 15 years since I left Tacloban to work here, in Manila, at the center of every national thing in this country. In that span of time, I worked and learned from a lot of good people, from my 6-year stint with the National Anti-Poverty Commission, to the 6-months or so with the tourism’s scuba commission, to working with the NGO KAGABAY, and my political involvement in the campaign of PGMA, Noy-Mar, and lately my work with the Binay Foundation. I would like to believe that the 15 years has given me a different view, perhaps a more powerful, compelling, yet patient, gracious and enduring view about development, power and politics, and how we move forward into realizing a desired future. Thus, the title of the column. There is another, more personal reason for the title, which my friends in college will realize. The name is a combination of the names of two publications that have shaped my college life, and in the process locked in the directions that my life was to take to this day. The Power Magazine of the Divine Word University, which shaped my first involvement in media, politics and social development, and the UP Vista,
which till today carries on the legacy of a progressive, activist campus press that I was glad to have been part of. I dedicate this column to those who have been part of the life of these two institutions, and hope that I can continue to live up to the tenets that these institutions have given life to in their time. Beginnings are always fragile, and for a newspaper, getting up and out is always a gamble, a gamble that crazily spins around the tight balancing act of sustainability versus adherence to truth and factuality. In many instances, newspaper falls on one side, and learns to live with the compromises that other factors demanded for its survival. But, there are also newspapers that never compromised with the truth or with facts, and have preferred to die staying on its course, living on in the memory of its editors and staff whose pride in their work sustained them even beyond sustainability. I am happy that I am once more in the company of these few good men, my editors and fellow columnists, who have been alumni of Bankaw, and other very good and principled media productions. We never forgot the dream of coming up with a principled media. And so long as that dream continues, good papers and good journalism may fade away from time to time, but will never really die. Here’s to new beginnings, to new and wider vistas, new perspectives and new truths and the power of hope and dreams to keep the journey to the future moving ever forward.#
Vanguard
October 10 - 15, 2016
Vintage View By Rolando Borrinaga
Heroes, Brigands and Spies: A Comment (A panelist’s reaction at the Book Launch and Forum for Heroes, Brigands and Spies by Emil B. Justimbaste, UPVTC Multi-Purpose Building, Tacloban City, September 2, 2016.)
I
had read the contents of Emil Justimbaste’s book since its manuscript stages and I am truly glad that it has been finally published. Some of the common data and information we shared had been included in two WW2 documentaries. One documentary was titled “Unsurrendered,” produced by Peter Parsons, son of the legendary Commander Chick Parsons, for which I was one of the 100 featured interviewees. The other was an NHK (Japanese TV) documentary on the Battle of Leyte that was first broadcast in August 2008, which involved me as consultant and my son George as field interviewer of still-living guerrillas at the
time of its production. A featured incident in both documentaries was the Allied carpet bombing of Dulag town on the morning of October 20, 1944, which resulted in the still-uninvestigated massacre of at least 3,000 Dulagnons due to “friendly fire.” Mr. Parsons told me that during the presentation of the “Unsurrendered” documentary at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia sometime in late 2010, the “new information” about the Dulag massacre was met with “stunned silence” from U.S. veterans in the audience. This means that there was an element of truth to this incident; otherwise, the veterans-spectators would have ranted and
noisily disputed this claim during the open forum. Mr. Parsons agreed that the Massacre of Dulag is worth an investigation of its own. In the NHK documentary, the production team actually interviewed a residenteyewitness of the Allied bombing of Dulag, complete with graphic descriptions of the carnage that the informant had witnessed. The film also showed an aerial footage of the destroyed and still-smoking Dulag town, apparently taken from a U.S. archival source. But it seems the Massacre of Dulag is an incident that Dulagnons themselves would rather forget. Instead, they had insisted that General MacArthur first landed in their town on October 19, 1944, and only secondly in Palo on October 20, 1944. Accommodation of the Dulag claim of the MacArthur landing in that town during the Ramos Administration (for the 50th Leyte Landing Anniversary in 1994) resulted in a side-complication of its own. The late Scout Valeriano Abello was always certain that he signaled to the U.S. warships using improvised semaphore flags from the beach of Telegrapo, Tolosa on the afternoon of October 19, 1944. But this long-documented incident was ignored and Man Yayong was still alive when the authorities unilaterally decided that he did his signaling act on October 18, 1944. And so, “Signal Day” is commemorated as a holiday in Tolosa on October 18, and not on October 19. This is something forgotten now. But the Boy Scout statue now installed at the Coca-cola rotunda (in Fatima Village) was actually donated (to Leyte) by the World Organization of the Scout Movement to memorialize Abello’s act on October 19, 1944, which greatly helped the Allied Forces to neutralize strategic Japanese defensive positions before the landing on Leyte the next day. As a sad denouement of this episode,
By Eric Aseo
when Man Yayong Abello died (in 2000), his family requested his burial at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani (yes, the now famous Libingan ng mga Bayani). But the request was refused, allegedly because Abello was not an officially-recognized hero. Emil’s book slays a lot of historicized myths about the WW2 experiences of the Leyteños. The title speaks a lot for itself. When you listen to the speeches at the annual October 20 ceremonies at the Leyte Landing Memorial in Palo, Leyte, the speakers would almost invariably refer to the guerrillas as “heroes”. Emil admits that many of them were heroes, but many others also acted as “brigands” or pirates and “spies”. And he associates the words “brigands” and “spies” with actual incidents and personalities during the war years. “Heroes, Brigands and Spies” is very interesting to read, especially the “unheroic” undersides of our WW2 experience. These have since been covered up by interested parties hell-bent on presenting largely the visible “heroes” of those difficult years and not the dignified and creative collective efforts to survive by the silenced majority, who had to deal with “heroes, brigands and spies” in their midst. Of note, Emil raises questions about the wartime legacy of guerrilla leader Col. Ruperto Kangleon. He also wrote a very comprehensive narrative about the Western Leyte Guerrilla Warfare Forces, which contested Kangleon’s leadership during critical months of WW2. Buy a copy of the book, read, and become startled by narratives of suppressed incidents of our WW2 experience. #
By Fr. Virgilio Cañete
LSPs in anti-poverty role
T
OPINION
Swiss
Samar breeze
hat Eastern Samar remains in the list of the country’s poorest provinces is no longer news. What may count as news is a service provision system put up by three European NGOs that’s bringing in income to some farmers, consolidators and vendors in the province. Two years ago these NGOs identified several constraints to rural development in Eastern Samar. What keeps the farmers poor, they said, is the lack of access to inputs and technologies and their lack of access to markets and to appropriate financial products. Farmers also lack the capacity to engage government and other institutions. We knew these problems all along. But unlike many of us, these NGOs have started working to address the problems. They asked communities to choose trusted members who will be trained as local service providers. These service providers went through intensive trainings in crop production, livestock and
7
poultry, basic food processing, financial literacy, agribusiness and marketing. Then they went on to perform multiple roles as extensionists, inputs providers, consolidators, point persons of microfinance institutions and links to government. They had been doing these roles since March, this year. They earned mainly from selling seeds to farmers and from consolidating their produce then selling the same to vendors in public markets. Some service providers earned from 400 to 800 pesos a day. Other services, like to teach farmers how to manage soil fertility and link them to government agencies They come as part of the package and were done for free. The local service providers bought seeds at discounted wholesale prices, and sold them to farmers in remote communities on prices comparable if not lower than prices at agrivet stores, often located
(Continue at P.5)
The press ain’t dead
T
he press has got a bad press lately. The fast and easy access to social media has made the print media the equivalent of the snail mail. It is safe to assume even without the figures that the print media has been losing readers. When you can watch radio announcers on TV and when newspapers go online, it is as if the ocean has gone inland. But Gutenberg came before whoever it was who invented the internet. Even without the bias against the mainstream media, the print news shouldn’t be counted out. This newspaper then is a resolute stand against social media’s assault on the mainstream. Thus, when I was invited to be a columnist, I didn’t hesitate to accept, out of gratitude to the newspaper who has been a kind companion and a source of information, pleasure and education. While I’m a social media user and grateful that I live on its golden age, I cannot stand watching my newspaper buddy consigned to the house of the aged. Switzerland is where aging people
go for rejuvenation. Frankly, it was just a whim off my head to hustle this because at a time I was on the verge of suffering a cold. Well you, dear readers, may take it as a sound of something liquid-like streak flowing into nowhere - into your own faculty of understanding and judgment. As fast and pointed blimps and flashes of social media. Maybe it’s not so obvious, but globalization and the widespread reach of information may help restore the community local paper, just as urbanization swept peoples to go to the suburbs, and then back to the small town settings. There are a lot of news worthy events, and locals are entitled to know them. ”All politics are local,” somebody said. Take the case of the ENDO scheme. A Tacloban firm is one of the first to implement this change initiated by the Duterte Administration. It is not only that national news impact on the local. It is also that lo-
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8
Features
A
fter a long day of delivering vegetables to vendors at the Guiuan public market, Josefa Ibanez, 50 years old, sits quietly in her home, looking tired but smiling. “I wonder what I would’ve done if I wasn’t selected as a Local Service Provider (LSP). I’d still be borrowing money to pay for my son’s studies in Tacloban City,” she said. With three children in college, a jobless husband, and an aging mother who lives with them, life has been tough for Josefa. Josefa comes from Barangay Gahoy in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. The people in her community chose her as LSP for the livelihood recovery project of People in Need (PIN) in typhoon Yolanda-hit municipalities. Along with 19 other LSPs, she went through a three-month intensive training in crop production, livestock and poultry raising, food processing, financial literacy, agribusiness and marketing. This local service provision system set up by PIN attempts to address the poor access of farmers to inputs, to the market and to sources of financial products. The system is part of a project that also builds the capacity of farmers to engage government and other institutions. As LSP, Josefa sells seeds and other farm inputs to farmers, gives them technical advice in crop production, offers crop and life insurances, consolidates farm products, and links farmers to government, non-government agencies and micro-finance institutions. Her highest income the past six months comes from
Vanguard
October 10 - 15, 2016
Eastern Samar
Battling poverty with local initiatives
By Jenifer Raloso our business and we are earning from it.” Since March Josefa has served 489 different farmers in Guiuan, 156 of them she consider her “suki” or repeat customers. She has consolidated around 14,710 kilograms of vegetables, worth Php 174,969 pesos and delivered to vendors at the Guiuan public market. “I’m already well-known at the public market. Every time vendors would see me, they would ask, ‘Osep, what do you have for us?’ ‘Can you deliver 20 kilos of ampalaya tomorrow?’ ‘Please deliver fresh tomatoes,’’ she related with excitement. Zeny Goyjuco , a market vendor said, “Now that Osep regularly delivers fresh vegetables, I don’t have to wait for the trucks from Davao because most of my customers prefer the fresh ones. She’s really a big help in my business. I call her up in the morning to place my orders and immediately she delivers in the afternoon.” Canteens, eateries and restaurant owners in Guiuan also call her for orders. The project provided Josefa and other LSPs with calling cards. Brochures were also printed to advertise their services and expand their market. The LSPs organized themselves into the Local Service Providers Association regis-
Since March when they started their work, the LSPs have provided services to 8,045 poor farmers in the province. the sale of seeds and consolidation of farmers’ produce. She earns Php 400-800 a day from consolidation alone, much higher than her income from selling burial plans before. Aside from the income, her satisfaction also comes from farmers who express gratitude for the services she renders. “It’s fulfilling to hear farmers say ‘Thank you Mana Osep, we can now buy the school needs of our children,” she said. According to Ernesto Opriasa, a farmer in barangay Hagna, Guiuan, “Josefa or Osep comes to us regularly and buys our vegetables, offers us good quality seeds and teaches us how to increase our productivity. Before, we planted only for consumption because we were afraid nobody would buy our produce. Now we have already expanded our garden and it has become
tered at the Department of Labor and Employment. They come from the 12 Yolanda-affected municipalities of Eastern Samar. The LSPs serve as extension workers, consolidators, input providers and links to government, non-government organizations and microfinance institutions. Since March when they started their work, the LSPs have provided services to 8,045 poor farmers in the province. They provided technical assistance in basic agriculture to 879 farmers, sold agricultural inputs to 1,106 farmers, consolidated 73,848 kilograms of products from 2,029 farmers and obtained 1,113 purchase orders from 627 vendors and retailers. The purchase orders were worth Php 3.4 million. The LSPA also serves as underwriting agency of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC). To date
the LSPs have enrolled 1,011 farmers for free crop insurance, with a total premium of Php 2.7 million equivalent to Php 18 million worth of coverage. The association has also supplied inputs to government, non-government organizations, farmers’ associations and individually, some LSPs have served as lending conduits to microfinance institutions.
From her income as LSP, Josefa has paid the repair of her husband’s tricycle so they can use it to deliver vegetables and to earn additional income for the family. The tricycle brings Josefa’s consolidated products to the market in the morning and, in the afternoon, it is used to ferry students back to their communities. “I’m thankful I became a
local service provider. I help fellow farmers earn from their produce and earn for myself as well. I’ve also gained new friends and new skills from my work. Thanks to my work, my second son will now graduate this semester. I’m really proud of it,” Josefa said. #
(The author is currently the project officer of PIN.)
Vanguard
October 10 - 15, 2016
9
In Calbayog
Unfinished business with drug mafia By Inocencio Escabarte
While drug-related extra-judicial killings may have slowed down here in the post-Jambiran era, the police have many unfinished business in their hands. In an interview by The Weekly Vanguard during the weekend, NAPOLCOM Vice Chair and Exec Officer Rogelio Casurao said the police must look further into the involvement of some businessmen in the drug trade. The apparent decrease in the EJK killings came after Calbayog police chief PSupt Ibrahim Jambiran was relieved from his post, but the city’s drug mafia, the so-called “Magnificent Seven,” has continued its operations. According to a reliable source, the group even funded the campaign of some politicians in the last elections. The cops who were identified as protectors in drug operations were connected with the group and small
time drug-pushers. So when Oplan Tokhang was at its peak, they were the team leaders. Consequently, many of such raids produced negative results. The source said that at the height of the drug trade in the area, sales reached up to Php30 million a week. Asked if members of drug mafia are still around, the source said some have surrendered to former chief Jambiran, some are still active in their respective businesses, while the rest left Calbayog. Napolcom’s Casurao admitted that his office has yet to investigate the drug operations in Calbayog and other parts of the region since his agency has been busy at the national Capital Region. Some two weeks ago, 22 cops have been charged with involvement in the drug operations of drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.
Carusao said while these cops are under technical arrest, their badges and firearms are confiscated by the PNP regional office. Those facing administrative charges in other police offices are still the subject of further investigation in terms of their participation in the buy-bust operations. He said this it is not surprising, despite of the awards and recognitions received from the PRO8 resulting from successful drug busts. “Smokescreen” awards are commonly given to ninja cops with dubious backgrounds, he said. Carusao also said cops should respect human rights, adding that proper operation procedures should be observed in the conduct of buy-bust operations. This is in response to the call of “human rights advocates” to stop extra-judicial killings (EJK) in Calbayog.
Congratulations to
The Weekly Vanguard on its maiden issue
From
NAPOLCOM Vice Chair and Exec Officer Rogelio Casurao
Congratulations to
The Weekly Vanguard on its maiden issue
CENRO BAYBAY
Ecological Farmer Cooperators Barangay Pangasugan City of Baybay, Leyte.
FORESTER ALEJANDRO K. BAUTISTA CENRO Officer
“Working for what is true, for what is right, for what is just environmental governance”
October 10 - 15, 2016
10
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