Lacson: Romualdezes brought ‘hakot’ crowds to anti-govt rallies in Tacloban

 Entertainment
Apr 192014
 
Presidential Adviser on Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Panfilo M. Lacson answers questions from the media in an interview after he delivered his address at a forum in Makati City last January 23. The former senator had refused to accept his pork barrel funds from the start. He said in a privilege speech that the funds had corrupted legislators. Now, even the members of the media are being named as those who received “payolas.” (MNS photo)

Presidential Adviser on Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Panfilo M. Lacson answers questions from the media in an interview after he delivered his address at a forum in Makati City last January 23. The former senator had refused to accept his pork barrel funds from the start. He said in a privilege speech that the funds had corrupted legislators. Now, even the members of the media are being named as those who received “payolas.” (MNS photo)

MANILA (Mabuhay) – Rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday accused politicians from Leyte’s Romualdez clan of ferrying paid crowds to rallies in Tacloban City over the past months to protest the government’s response to Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Lacson said Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez provided a “truck bus” to transport residents from an area in Samar not hit by Yolanda to a rally in Tacloban City last February 17.

“Obviously, hakot crowd since those people were not victims of the typhoon,” Lacson said.

He added that Rep. Romualdez already admitted to him through text that the vehicle indeed came from the congressman.

Lacson further said that “vehicles bearing red plates” were also used to ferry protesters in succeeding anti-government rallies in Tacloban.

Citing unnamed sources, Lacson said those who agreed to attend the rally were given or promised P500 each.

“It’s politics and nothing else… I texted them to convey to them that I’m not dumb not to know what is happening on the ground,” Lacson said.

In November last year, Yolanda ripped through central Philippines, leaving over 6,200 dead based on official government records. Tacloban was one of the areas most hit by the weather disturbance. (MNS)

NDRRMC: Yolanda death toll hits 6,300 mark nearly 6 months after typhoon

 News
Apr 172014
 
NDRRMC: Yolanda death toll hits 6,300 mark nearly 6 months after typhoon

Nearly six months after super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) devastated the Visayas area, the death toll continued to rise and reached 6,300 as of Thursday. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said seven more, all from Tacloban City, were added to the list of fatalities. “Seven people in Tacloban City were added to the list… to which the total of dead individuals increased to 6,300,” it said in its update. It also said 1,061 remain missing while 28,689 were injured. Meanwhile, the NDRRMC said the damage to property caused by Yolanda now stands at P89,598,068,634.88. A breakdown of the damage includes: – Infrastructure: P9,584,596,305.69– Productive: P21,833,622,975.09– Social: P55,110,825,740.69– Cross-sectoral: P3,069,023,613.41 — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News 

Iglesia ni Cristo opens housing, livelihood projects in Yolanda-hit Leyte

 News
Mar 162014
 
Iglesia ni Cristo opens housing, livelihood projects in Yolanda-hit Leyte

As it joined in efforts for the rehabilitation of Yolanda-stricken province of Leyte, the Iglesia Ni Cristo inaugurated last Friday its Eco-farming Facility and Resettlement Area in Sitio New Era, Barangay Langit in Alang-alang town. According to INC’s events spokesman, the projects site is located 18 kilometers from Tacloban City, which was considered “ground zero” of huge storm surges spawned by super Typhoon Yolanda, the strongest cyclone ever to hit land in recorded history.  A total of 1,000 housing units will soon rise in the 3,000-hectare property for the project, the INC said, adding 100 units have already been completed. Also, the INC said the garments and dried fish factories are yet to be constructed within the property. However, it said the housing project is exclusively for INC members only, but the livelihoodprojects will eventually be open to non-members. “If and when we need more workers and INC members cannot fill up the need, we might hire non-members,” said Bro. Edwil Zabala, the events’ spokesperson. He said a variety of plants, rice, vegetables, cultured mushrooms, fruit-bearing trees and other crops will be cultivated for the Eco-Farming project. INC’s executive minister Bro. Eduardo V. Manalo led the ribbon-cutting for the project at the launching event that was attended by INC brethren from different provinces in the Eastern Visayas. Relief operation, and medical and dental mission followed at the Leyte National High School in Tacloban City. Record-breaking charity walk Almost a month ago, the INC made news for it’s record-breaking Worldwide Walk Read More …

Feb 25 a regular working day, but all classes suspended — Palace

 News
Feb 222014
 
Feb 25 a regular working day, but all classes suspended — Palace

While there will be no classes on Tuesday on the 28th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power revolution, there will be work in offices, Malacañang stressed Sunday. Citing Proclamation 655 series of 2013,  Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr., in an interview on dzRB, said: “(W)alang pasok sa lahat ng paaralan, lahat ng antas at ito ay isang regular working day. The EDSA-1 Revolution ousted then President Ferdinand Marcos and installed Aquino’s late mother Corazon to the presidency. But Coloma said this year’s commemoration will be unique as it will be held outside Metro Manila, with the traditional “Salubungan” in Cebu. He said Cebu had been the bulwark of the opposition during the Marcos administration. It was also where the late former President Corazon Aquino, then the opposition’s presidential bet, was staying when the military withdrew support for Marcos. Aquino itinerary On Tuesday, Coloma said,  Aquino will go to Cateel, Davao Oriental to check on the progress of rehabilitation work there in the wake of Typhoon Pablo in December 2011. He said Aquino will then head for Loon town in Bohol in Central Visayas for a town hall-style meeting. Aquino is also scheduled to visit Cebu province’s Bantayan Island, one of the areas where super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) made landfall. He will also head to Guiuan in Eastern Samar and in Tanauan in Leyte in Eastern Visayas and inspect the Department of Health’s project in Tacloban City. — LBG, GMA News

Efforts being made to address problem on unburied Yolanda victims – Palace

 News
Jan 022014
 
Efforts being made to address problem on unburied Yolanda victims – Palace

The government is doubling its efforts to address the problem on unburied victims of Typhoon Yolanda, which is said to be numbering about 1,400, a Malacañang official said Thursday. At a press briefing, Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. quoted Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery Sec. Panfilo Lacson as saying that national government agencies are “working closely” with the Tacloban City government to “speed up” the burial of the bodies. Lacson specifically said the Department of Health has already sent 1,500 body bags and protective kits for personnel in charge of the burial. On the other hand, the Department of Public Works and Highways has sent additional backhoes and payloaders while the National Bureau of Investigation has redeployed its forensic team on the ground. “So ginagawa na po ito sa pamamagitan ng puspusang pagtutulungan ng DOH, NBI, DPWH at kanilang pakikipag-ugnayan sa Tacloban City government,” said Coloma. Agence France-Presse earlier reported that about 1,400 rotting corpses in black body bags are laying on a muddy open field in Tacloban in Leyte province, more than a month after super typhoon Yolanda hit central Philippines on Nov. 8. Coloma said there was a delay in their burial because of problems in the procedure in identifying the bodies. He explained it was taking longer because they were following the INTERPOL way of identifying cadavers, which he said was designed for victims of crimes and therefore takes longer. “So they threshed it out… kung paano makakapag-comply doon and at the same time Read More …

Papal Nuncio spends Christmas with ‘Yolanda’ survivors

 News
Dec 232013
 
Papal Nuncio spends Christmas with ‘Yolanda’ survivors

By Kristine Angeli SabilloINQUIRER.net 12:04 pm | Tuesday, December 24th, 2013 Typhoon survivors attend mass at the damaged Santo Nino Church in Tacloban, central Philippines on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. AP MANILA, Philippines – Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, arrived in Tacloban City in Leyte on Tuesday morning to visit and spend Christmas with the typhoon survivors. Pinto, representative of Pope Francis, was welcomed by local priests when he arrived at the Tacloban City Airport around 9 a.m., Inquirer Radio 990AM said. The papal nuncio will first visit an evacuation center in the city to see first-hand the situation of families affected by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” last month. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Pinto will attend a gathering of the clergy before leading the midnight mass at the Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration in Palo. Palo Archbishop John Du, in a statement, said they were worried about where the papal nuncio will sleep but Pinto was quoted saying, “I will sleep wherever you sleep.” On Christmas Day, Pinto will preside over a 10 a.m. mass at the Sto. Niño Church in Tacloban City before heading to Manila. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Catholics , Christmas , Giuseppe Pinto , Papal Nuncio , Philippins , Religion , Tacloban Factual errors? Read More …

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to visit Tacloban City

 News
Dec 162013
 
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to visit Tacloban City

UNITED NATIONS – UN leader Ban Ki-moon will go to the typhoon-stricken Philippines city of Tacloban this week to highlight the growing number of weather disasters. “2013 was another year of extreme weather — as we saw most recently with Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). On Thursday, I will depart for Manila and Tacloban for a firsthand assessment of the aftermath,” Ban said Monday as he announced the visit. The UN secretary general is to arrive in Manila on Friday for talks with government leaders and will go to Tacloban on Saturday, UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko said. “He will visit affected communities in Tacloban,” Kaneko said. The UN leader will leave the Philippines on Sunday. The Philippines government says that more than 6,000 people died in the November 8 typhoon — one of the strongest storms ever recorded — which badly hit Tacloban and surrounding regions. Almost 1,800 people are still missing. Ban said that he is organizing a major summit on climate change for September 23 next year, just ahead of the UN General Assembly. — Agence France-Presse

Mom puts up bounty for missing daughter in Tacloban

 News
Dec 062013
 
Mom puts up bounty for missing daughter in Tacloban

Photo of missing 9-year-old Kassandra Mae Villanueva posted on her mother’s Facebook account on November 14. Her mother, Jella Yu, is putting up a P20,000 bounty for Kassandra, who went missing after Supertyphoon Yolanda struck their house in Tacloban City last November 8. MANILA, Philippines— “I know how to make  bubble. I can swim a little.” This  was  nine-year-old Kassandra Mae Yu-Villanueva’s last message to her mother on Facebook  a day before she disappeared when  Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) struck Leyte on November 8. Still missing almost a month after, her mother Jella Yu has now come to terms that Kassandra might have already  joined her  younger  sister, Shamel Anne Jella Yu, who perished  from the typhoon. All Jella wants now is to  find  Kassandra’s  body. The 34-year-old mother, who is working in Abu Dhabi, is putting up a P20,000 bounty for those who can  find  her eldest daughter. “We also distributed pictures  of my daughter in Tacloban. I also put up a reward to whoever can find  her body. Hope you can help me  spread  the  pictures of my daughter  please,” Jella’s status on Facebook read. From Abu Dhabi, Jella travelled 24 hours to Manila and then to Cebu before she could finally  reach  Tacloban City,  one of  the areas severely hit  by  the  typhoon, to personally look for  her two daughters, whom she  left under the care of her elder sister, Jenny, and their  67-year-old mother Salome. Jella said her mother and other relatives  also perished from the  typhoon. Mother, Read More …

DOF officials to arrive in Tacloban to address traders' concerns

 Economy
Nov 252013
 
DOF officials to arrive in Tacloban to address traders' concerns

MANILA, Philippines – Officials from the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are set to arrive in Tacloban City this week to address concerns of business owners as they reopen their establishments weeks after typhoon Yolanda destroyed the city. “(The traders’) primary concern is security and … soft loans and implication of the BIR,” Lim said on Monday at an inter-agency meeting. He added that security options are also being studied by the business owners, and officials from major malls are also assessing when to open supermarkets. Lim said the aim is to have the supermarkets open by the second week of December.

60% of banks in Samar, Leyte back to normal

 Economy
Nov 242013
 
60% of banks in Samar, Leyte back to normal

MANILA, Philippines – The central bank on Monday said about 60 percent of banks in typhoon-hit Leyte and Samar have resumed their operations nearly two weeks after the massive destruction caused by typhoon Yolanda. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that 102 banks out of the 171 banking offices in Leyte and Samar are back in operations as of Nov. 21. Meanwhile, only 63 out of the 204 automated teller machines (ATMs) in the two provinces are back online. The central bank said in the six provinces hit by Yolanda- Leyte, Samar, Cebu, Aklan, Capiz and Palawan- 742 of the 855 banking offices have resumed operations while 931 of the 1,203 ATMs are now online. However, BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. said only five out of the 44 banks in Tacloban City resumed operations during the same period. He said banks in the city are finding it hard to resume operations after the typhoon, and damaged equipment and unavailable employees make it difficult to resume operations. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “They need to bring in new ATMs among others because those being used before the typhoon were heavily destroyed,” Espenilla said. He added that there were isolated cases where ATMs were stolen. Espenilla said he expects most of the banks in Tacloban to reopen by the end of the year.

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