ESB Oct. 19-25, 2014

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    Oct. 19-25, 2014Vol. XI Issue No. 75

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    A ship docked in Tacloban City regional port carrying 77,000 GI sheets of the Philippine Red Cross for the shelter program for cities ofTacloban, Ormoc, Leyte and Cebu. To date PRC has built 5,000 core shelter in Leyte and Samar.

    ACLOBAN CIY- About 50,000 peo-ple are expected to participate in the can-dlelight memorial to commemorate the firstyear anniversary o supertyphoon Yolandaon November.

    Te candle lighting ceremony is not onlyto give honor and remember to those whoperished during the massive typhoon butalso to show the publics gratitude to the var-ious nongovernment and international or-

    ganizations that extended assistance to thesurvivors, said event organizer Jeff Manibay.

    Tis is the most awaited civic event othe year which is supported by the city gov-ernment, some international agencies, vari-ous groups and private donors who gave aidto the survivors and contributed or rehabil-itations in the region, Manibay, said.

    Some NGOs will be leaving next yearand this is probably the biggest oppor-tunity for all of us in the region to thankthem for the aid they sent, he added.

    Te event will be carried as live byfive radio stations in the region and willbroadcast the one-hour ecumenical Massthat will start at 5.30 p.m. at Santo NinoChurch.

    Like the Earth-hour style, the residentsare expected to turn off lights for 60 sec-onds.

    50,000 people expectedto join Yolandas 1st

    anniversary

    BORONGAN CIY, Eastern Samar - City MayorMa. Fe R. Abunda is strongly supporting the new projecttagged Te National REDD-Plus (Reducing Emissionsrom Deorestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)System Philippines, which is being implemented byGesellschaf ur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)in partnership with the Department o Environmentand Natural Resources (DENR).

    Her statement o support was done during the Cer-emonial MOA signing and Project Launching on Oco-ber 14, 2014 at Serenada Resturant and Event Center atBaybay Boulevard this city.

    According to her, this project is very relevant to theconcern o security, protection and preservation o theorests, orestlands and watersheds which are ideal orthe measures being currently undertaken in the effort

    to be a climate-adaptive city.

    BORONGAN CIY, Eastern Samar, - Te Departmento Environment and Natural Resources Forest Manage-ment Bureau (DENR-FMB) and the Deutshe Gesellschafur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) together withthe Provincial Government o Eastern Samar, City Gov-ernment o Borongan and the Municipality o Maydo-

    DENR, GIZ, LGUs ink

    MOA for environmentlong signed a project aimed at reducing emissions romdeorestation and orest degradation through the Nation-al REDD-Plus (Reducing Emissions rom Deorestationand Forest Degradation) on October 14, 2014 at SerenadaRestaurant and Event Center, this city.

    According to Florante . Sabejon, Senior Coordinator,National REDD-Plus System Philippines and ProtectedArea Management Enhancement, the project aims to con-tribute to the reduction o greenhouse gas emissions in thecountry by avoiding deorestation and orest degradation,

    and contributing to reorestation efforts.Sabejon said that the project supports the implemen-

    tation o the Philippine National REDD-Plus Strategy(PNRPS) in creating important rame conditions at the lo-cal and national levels.

    During the project launching, Governor Conrado B.Nicart, Jr. welcomed the participants and gave his commit-ment.

    In his message, he cited an article o the InternationalJournal o Forestry Research, REDD-plus activities whichsays that the Philippines is experiencing almost the sameproblems with other countries readying REDD-plus be-cause o lack o knowledge and involvement o local people,tenure conflicts and insecurity due to insurgency, conflict-ing and weak enorcement o orest policies due to politicalunrest among other issues.

    Te Governor also said that in an attempt to counterthese issues, the Provincial Government o Eastern Samar

    Borongan Mayorsupports REDD-

    Plus

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    NOTICES2 Easter Samar Bulletin Oct. 19-25, 2014

    HERNANI, Eastern Samar- Te Na-tional Statistics Office (NSO) will replacecopies o civil registrations o this townwhich were destroyed during the superty-

    phoon Yolanda.About 500,000 civil registration copies,stored at the local municipal hall wherethe registrars office was located, werewashed out in the afermath o Yolanda.

    Te reconstruction o these vital docu-ments started about our months ago andis expected to be over beore the year isover, Raul Dones, acting regional direc-tor o the Philippine Statistical Authority(PSA), said.

    Te reconstruction was unded by theInitiatives or Dialogue and Empower-ment through Alternative Legal Services,Inc. (IDEALS, Inc.) and UN High Com-

    missioner or Reugees (UNCHR) where-in they also provided computer machineson the local civil registrar to hasten therecovery o the documents.

    Te reconstruction is at our central

    NSO to recover civil registration

    documents lost due to Yolandaoffice in Manila. All digital records will bephotocopied and will be sent to Hernanito serve as their new copy o certificate olive births, marriage contract and death

    certificates, Dones said.As soon as Hernani receives it, they cannow start the registration and replacemento destroyed records, he added.

    Municipal civil registrar Charito Abe-ria said that the destroyed records havebeen stored rom 1913 to 2013, but allwere lost in just our hours during the on-slaught o the massive typhoon.

    We recovered a ew records, but weredripping wet and not readable anymore,Aberia recalled.

    Aberia said they hope that the recon-struction o records will be completedsoon as she stressed the value o civil reg-

    istration in the recovery process o theirbadly-hit town.Te town is the only typhoon-affected

    local government unit in Eastern Visayasthat lost all records to storm surges.(JEF-FREY D. CONSULTADO, LNU Intern)

    ACLOBAN CIY

    Te United Nations Inter-national Children Emer-gency Fund (Unice) is setto support the civil docu-mentation to 80, 000 indi-viduals in 20 municipalitiesin the region hit by superty-phoon Yolanda.

    Te activity, in partner-ship with Initiatives or Di-alogue and Empowermentthrough Alternative LegalServices, Inc. (IDEALS,Inc.), will involve in partic-ular the birth registrationsor children to access healthand education services as

    well as child protection whoare vulnerable to cases likesexual exploitations.

    Civil registration isimportant to children toavail services provided bythe government, or whena child committed a crimeor against the law or to helptracing the parents o chil-dren rom separated ami-lies, Sylvi Hill, Unice child

    Unicef aids 80,000 people who losttheir documents due to Yolanda

    protection team leader, said.

    Tis project includesindividuals including girlsand boys and their parentsrom 20 municipalities whoare targeted and obtaintheir personal certified cop-ies o civil records.

    Te recipients rom thePantawid Pamilyang Pilipi-no Program (4Ps) are pro-vided with legal documen-tation services by IDEALSand benefit rom publicservices, such as pensionschemes, education, buri-al, social security, access toemployment and other ba-

    sic social services.Tis 4Ps are expected

    to have civil documenta-tion, the majority will bebirth registration, marriagecertificates and death cer-tificates to help them accessbenefits and existing ser-vices, Hill added.

    Te project started thismonth and to end on Feb-ruary, 2015 where its goal

    President Aquino was the guest speaker during the 70th Leyte Gulf Landingsanniversary last October 20 wherein he expressed gratitude to the assistanceextended by various countries as Eastern Visayas was pummeled by Yolanda.

    Envoys from different countries led by US Ambassador Philip Goldberg also at-tended the occasion. (LITO A. BAGUNAS)

    through the Provincial Planning and Development O-fice (PPDO) will be having a Provincial Summit on No-vember 7, 2014 with the theme, Harmonization o De-velopment Initiative o Stakeholders o Eastern Samar.

    Tis summit aims to create or uniy political leader-ship in the province.

    Gov. Nicart urher said that to balance the equation othe solution to this biodiversity concerns that the coun-try is acing, his Office conveys ull support to this proj-ect through the signing o MOA with other stakeholders.

    I sincerely hope that this activity will add more bind-ing strength among us in our fight against degradation oour environment, Nicart added.

    In his opening message, Dr. Bernd-Markus LISS,

    Principal Advisor on National REDD-plus System Phil-ippines Project said that he is delighted to see so muchcommitment and so much emphasis on environmental

    protection in Samar especially in Eastern Samar, the Cityo Borongan and the Municipality o Maydolong, an in-dication that there is a joint thinking or saeguarding the

    planet.He also said that GIZ is working in the Philippines un-

    der many components. We are doing work or sustainabledevelopment, support through improving the livelihood,support and protect the biodiversity, work on economicdevelopment, greening the value change in the Philippineeconomy up to the work in renewal o energy and the over-all policies towards planet protection and environment,Dr. LISS added.

    Dr. LISS emphasized the importance o this project, toachieve jointly, a better planet, better places to live or us,or our generations and or the generations to come espe-cially the children who will be the one to build the uture.

    Another important part o the program were the mes-sages o commitment given by Atty. Mark de Claro, ocalperson o DENR-FMB, Central Office Manila and RegionalExecutive Director Danilo Javier o DENR, Region-8.

    Te message o support o Hon. Ma. Fe. R. Abunda,City Mayor o Borongan and Vice-Mayor Daniel E. Baldo-no, Actg. Mayor o Maydolong were also heard ollowed by

    the MOA signin.Te MOA will intensiy measures on REDD-plus inEastern Samar, one o the hard-hit areas o yphoon Yolan-da. Tis will pave the way or the protection o orests thatwill in turn prevent floods and conserve the rich biodiver-sity in the area.

    Tis MOA will also be instrumental or ast trackingthe development o REDD-plus activities in Eastern Samarand building climate resiliency.

    Te event was also attended by heads o different na-tional agencies, representatives rom the provincial, mu-nicipal and city government units, Non-GovernmentOrganizations (NGOs), Peoples Organization (POs), theacademe and media.

    Tis project is being implemented by GIZ in partnershipwith DENR-FMB, Climate Change Commission (CCC),National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Ateneo de

    Manila University through Ateneo School o Government,CoDE REDD and other stakeholders, including the LGUsand the communities. (PIA8-E. Samar)

    DENR, GIZ........from Page 1

    is to expand the project to

    other affected communitiesin the region and be able tocontinue help building backthe lives o affected childrenand amilies.

    Furthermore, 200 com-petent staff o IDEALS aretrained on social protectionand civil registration andmobilized to reach out, a-cilitate and provide logisticssupport to the Mobile CivilRegistration already travelsto different municipalitiesto explain about the projectto the residents.

    However, local govern-

    ment units (LGUs) at theprovincial, municipal andbarangay level are encour-age to pass enabling resolu-tions to allocate and includein their annual investmentplan a budget to support thebasic protection services othe targeted 250 barangays.(JEFFREY D. CONSUL-TADO, LNU Intern)

    MAASIN CIY,Southern Leyte--World-renowned pho-tographers, who are ex-perts in taking pictures obustling marine lie un-derneath the seawaters,are expected to conducttheir master crafs alongthe vast expanse o SogodBay in early Decemberthis year.

    Nedgar Garvez, Pro-vincial ourism Officer,said in an interview overAction Center Kapihansa

    PIA recently that theevent has been scheduledon December 1-5, where-in at least 100 photogra-phers rom around theworld will participate,each one bringing withthem their sophisticatedunderwater cameras and

    Underwater international

    photographers to converge

    in Sogod Bayother high-end gadgets.Dubbed Underwa-ter International PhotoWorkshop, the upcominggathering is largely seenas a major boost to thedive tourism potentialso the province, and anopportunity to promoteand discover the rich po-tential o Sogod Bay to at-tract more divers o glob-al caliber, Garvez said.

    Sogod Bay has beenlisted as a top dive siteamong divers circles, inprime lists, dive maga-zines, and more discov-eries o rare sights andpictures await the enthu-siasts who are willing tocross long distances andtime zones just to expe-rience the thrilling, wetworld several metersbelow the sea surace,Garvez also said.

    During the recentFirst Provincial ourism

    Summit held last month,Department o ourism(DO) Regional DirectorKaren iopes also men-tioned the huge potentialo Sogod Bay dive sites,saying this has been oneo the priority promo-tions undertaken by theagency in close cooper-ation with the provinciallocal government unit.

    Pictures generatedrom the 5-day work-shop will be posted inthe internet and in theindividual blogs o thephotographers, creatinga multiplier publicity e-ect among their ollow-ing, and this will gen-erate more interests orpassionate practitionerso the craf to come and

    visit the place to see it orthemselves, Garvez said.

    In a related develop-

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    OPINIONCOMMENTARY:

    By Fr Roy Cimagala

    Email: [email protected]

    EDITORIAL

    Easter Samar Bulletin 3

    Dalmacio C. Grafl

    Publisher

    Romeo CebrerosOIC

    Brgy. Songco, Borongan CityEastern Samar

    (055) 261-3319

    Aljim Denver M. ArcuenoEditor-in-Chief

    Oct. 19-25, 2014

    We still have to find out if thesetwo famous Japanese traitsand or practices, are still fol-lowed by the present gener-ation of the Japanese nation.

    Hara-Kiri/Kamikaze

    We learned that when a Japanese feels guilty of

    a crime he would commit hara-kiri immediately.Kamikaze which means divine wind, accordingto Wikipedia, is an act of a Japanese pilot whowillingly gives up his life dives into enemy shipsand with his plane heavily loaded with bombsmercilessly kills most of the soldiers in that ship.The pilot feels no guilt and in silence rejoic-es in triumph even as he knows that he dies;believing it was a duty to die for his emperor.Kamikaze was the final desperate strategy theJapanese Imperial Forces employed when theycertainly knew they would lose in the war duringWorld War II against the United States and itsallies. And of course they lost in the war in spite!This two, Hara-Kiri and Kamikaze, are basically sui-cides. It has no place in our democratic system ofgovernance and more so in our Christian society.Theres however some lessons we can getfrom this practice. We commend the act ofrecognition and acceptance over the personssense of guilt for those who commit hara-ki-ri. It decreases the burden shouldered by thejustice system to hear their cases because if

    the guilty submits to a hearing the result takestime to unravel and to bare the truth about thecrime. Therefore when hara-kiri is done, the

    case is closed and no doubt the guilty is known.Kamikaze pilots undergo in-deep briefing beforehe goes into such a mission. The briefing resultsin a full and complete belief that he does it for loveof country and a patriotic duty to die for the em-peror. By doing so he believes further that Nirvanaor Heaven shall be his abode in the life hereafter.Corrupt senators and other govern-ment officials of the Philippines couldbe silently rejoicing deep inside their in-ner selves thankful they are not Japanese.

    WE are all amiliar with that gospel lesson that thosewho have been blessed and gifed much, much is also ex-pected and demanded. Much will be required o the per-son entrusted with much, and still more will be demandedo the person entrusted with more. (Lk 12,48)

    Tis sounds commonsensical enough. We dont haveto argue about it. Te problem is how to apply this rule

    to specific situations and how to quantiy the much in-volved in what is given and what is demanded.

    Considering the way the world is now, plunged as it isin conusion, ignorance, error, i not in sin, perversionsand other anomaliesall this in spite o the many advanc-es in many fields o our liegetting to know the answersto these questions is like looking or a needle in a haystack.

    ake the case o the controversy arising rom the re-cently concluded synod on the amily. Tere is definitelya need to reach out to people in some difficult situations,like those who are divorced and remarried and still wouldwant to be aithul Catholics, or those with homosexualtendencies who want to be true to their Christian aith.

    Tis is not to mention that we need to reach out to themeven i they do not want to be aithul. Tey are usually re-

    erred to as the weak and the lost or the unchurched, theuncatechized, etc. I we have to ollow Christ closely, wehave to have that attitude.

    But, in the first place, there are some o those affectedwho do not even acknowledge theres something wrongwith them. As i there is anyone in this planet, whether inregular marital status or not, whether straight or not, whois completely ree o anything wrong. Who to deal withthese people, and how, is a question needing clear answers.

    Te same question, o course, can be poised with re-spect to those who acknowledge their predicament. Its notan easy question to answer, since not just anyone can do itor sheer lack o pertinent skills, aptitude i not o spiritu-ality. People with the appropriate gifs should do it, peoplewho are strong enough to carry the weak.

    In general terms, we perhaps can say that the clergyshould lead the way in dealing with this challenge. Aferall, they (we, me included) with their sacramental priest-hood have certainly been given much in terms o graceand training, and they are in touch with just about every-one, at least in theory.

    But can we really say that they are generally trainedor this? We just have to take a quick look around and seeclearly that, first o all, they are not enough to handle thissituation. Ten, they are burdened with all sorts o duties,responsibilities and tasks.

    Ten, they simply cannot go ar beyond giving genericreminders and suggestions. As ar as I know, many o themare not trained to handle counselling and spiritual direc-tion. Teres even a big problem about encouraging them

    to sit in conessionals to hear conessions.And with these aithul who have to be reached out,what is needed is special, personalized attention. Tey justcannot be given the normal things, or the simple reasonthat they are not yet in the proper condition. Tey needa lot o talking, clarification, encouragement, counselling,spiritual direction, etc.

    Our Church leaders should come up with appropri-ate structures and programs to tackle this challengebutstructures that are properly animated with the true spirit oGod, and not just purely human structures and programsthat just can be turned on and off at ones convenience.

    We can already make use o the many groups which,animated with a certain charism, are doing some pastoralwork. Tese are the charismatic groups, the Basic EcclesialCommunities, and other organizations apostolic in char-acter. Schools, too, can be tapped.

    Te laity, more than the clergy, to my mind would be

    Much given, muchexpected

    most appropriate to carry out this task. Tey are spreadout all over and can easily get in touch and journey withthese people in special conditions. Tey thereore have tobe properly motivated and trained. Teir competence to dothis task should be clear.

    Its quite obvious that or this concern to be effective,the dealings have to be based on real riendship and confi-dence. Tey just cannot be done in a proessional or clin-ical level.

    It might be good to revisit the points articulated in theFamiliaris consortio o St. John Paul II to give us a clearidea o how to deal with special cases.

    ment, Garvez announced that an airline company,Cebu Pacific, has surveyed the Panan-awan Airportor viability in their commercial operation, and haslisted specific observations as a pre-requisite to putthe acility in their air traffic route as soon as possible.

    Garvez said most o the comments were doables,like repainting o worn-out paints, and the provisiono standard fire fighting rescue and equipment.

    He said he had reerred these points to Gov. RogerMercado, and actions have been undertaken to ad-dress the companys concerns. (PIA-8)

    Underwater........from Page 2

    Literature is strewn with thewreckage of men who have minded

    beyond reason the opinions of

    others. Virginia Woolf

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    NEWS4 Easter Samar Bulletin Oct. 19-25, 2014

    CABALOGAN CIY, Samar, Sept 23 (PIA) - Some267 amilies located in the hinterlands o Samar can now

    bid goodbye to the lampara they use at nighttime.On Monday, three Punong Barangays rom the SevenHills area in Calbayog City joined Mayor Ronald Aquinoreceived the solar panel, bulbs and solar charger rom theDepartment o Energy- Affiliation o

    Renewable Energy Center (DOE-AREC) engineersbased in the University o Eastern Philippines (UEP),Catarman, Northern Samar.

    Engineers Lidany Cornilles and Simon an demon-strated to the three Punong Barangays o Mabini, San An-tonio and Olera how the system works.

    Lampara gud la an amon gamit pagsuga,(We use ker-osene lamp as source o light) PB Sixto Vicentino o SanAntonio told

    PIA. He added that the price o kerosene is too heavyor his people.

    His 600 households easily accepted that they have toshell out some P 200.00 a month or the projects sustain-ability.

    Te money they shared is their stake, so that, they can

    She also said, that in early 2011, they engaged the ser-vices o those who were doing illegal logging activitiesthemselves by hiring them as Forest Enorcers so theycan earn money or their living and stop their illegal ac-tivities.

    Indeed, they stopped cutting down trees and helped inthe Local Greening Program and concentrated on plantingmore trees.

    As you would know, unlike other places and provinces,we still have rich orest reserve in the city, and the City oBorongan is just so lucky perhaps because my administra-tion is a strong advocate or the protection o our environ-

    ment, Mayor Abunda said.Abunda urther said, this is the first time that they will

    have the REDD-plus Project activities and this is also thefirst time that the unding agency o a certain project hasinvolved the city government.

    Previously, projects were given directly to Peoples Or-ganizations (POs). But we do think that was not enough.Te big issue here is the accountability and sustainability othe project, she stressed.

    With the city government being made a partner, wecan be assured o transparency in the disbursement o theunds, and once the project is finished, the city governmentcan still pursue its sustainability, she added.

    Abunda was thankul to the GIZ or this laudable proj-ects as well as to the DENR or their technical expertise.

    In conclusion, Abunda hopes to be able to extend toothers the same goodness the donor agencies have man-iested to the city to make this part o the world a betterand saer place to live or all generations to come. (PIA8-E.S )

    Borongan mayor......from Page 1

    Candles will be placed starting from the Daniel Z. Ro-mualdez Airport in San Jose district along the primaryroads to downtown area going through to Anibong areaand up to winding up to Nula-tula district to the north inKawayan.

    Alternative routes will be put into place by city traffic

    enforcers during the one-day event to ensure safety of thepedestrians, Manibay said. (KATHRYN A.ORBIGOZO,LNU Intern)

    50,000 people........from Page 1

    Rural olks in Samar hinterlandssay goodbye to Lampara

    claim ownership o the program, said Simon an.Te money is deposited in a rural bank and will be used

    to purchase damaged gears in the uture.Te Household Electrification Project o the energy de-partment can provide each household with our bulbs, onecharger that can also be used to charge cellphones, MP3player and even a DVD player.

    While the punong barangays acknowledge that theymight need the new gadgets or

    entertainment and inormation, the provision o thelight is giving them more excitement.

    O course, we will not discard the lampara just in case,but we can give it some rest, Rodrigo Wahingon o Baran-gay Olera said in jest.

    Te project targets rural barangays that are not yet inthe list o the electric cooperative that services other baran-gays in Calbayog.

    Engr Raaelito Serrano, assistant city engineer who is incharge o overseeing the project said that some ten moreremote barangays have yet to enjoy the same solar energyproject. (PIA 8-Samar)

    --No less than President Aquino himsel committed thatthe ongoing repair o the runaway o the Daniel Z. Romualdez(DZR) Airport, this city, will be finished by November.

    Aquino, who made this assurance in an interview during the70th Leyte Gul Landings celebration on October 20, said thatwith the return to ull operations at the airport, big commercialplanes could again use the airport.

    Te President said that he was inormed that the problemthat seems to hinder the repair o the runway o the airport wasdue to lack o asphalts and aggregates.

    PNOY promise to

    fnish DZR repair

    by NovemberAng issue raw dito asphalt tapos yung aggregates. Yung ag-

    gregates, tutulong na si Governor (Leopoldo Dominico Petilla)at ibang mga mayor, meron tayong aggregates. Yung asphalt,DPWH (Department o Public Works and Highways), pinariori-ty (priority) sa mga supplier nila na unahin muna ito para mata-pos yung paving, Aquino said.

    Ngayon, sana hindi mapako yung pangako ko, pero in-aasahan ko imbes na December 2014, November 2014 or nextmonth, matapos itong pagre-repave nung airport at makabalikna yung other types o aircraf tulad ng mga jet, he added.

    Earlier, Eren Nagrama, area manager o the Civil AviationAuthority o the Philippines (CAAP) whose office is located atthe airport, said that they need 200 tons o asphalt or the asphalt

    overlay work at the runway.Repair on the airports runway started last September 3 with

    the Civil Aviation Authority o the Philippines (CAAP), basedthis city, said the work could be finished by December yet.

    Te airports 2. 14 ki lometers runway was seen to have devel-oped some potholes partly due to impacts o airplanes landingand taking off and became more vulnerable to potholes whenit was submerged by sea waters or hours spawned by the stormsurges generated during the onslaught o Supertyphoon Yolandaon November 8,2013.

    With the ongoing repair, only turbo propeller type o planescould land at the DZR, the main airport in Eastern Visayas.

    Beore the repair work, about 11 Airbus planes uses the DZRAirport coming rom Cebu and Manila. Now, only 10 turbo pro-peller planes are using the DZR airport.

    An Airbus plane could accommodate about 180 passengerswhile a turbo propeller could only accommodate 70 passengers.

    Te repair at the DZR is being astrack due to the orth-coming visit o Pope Francis to Leyte. He is expected to arrivein acloban on January 17,201 where he will hold a Mass at theproposed new tarmac o the airport and motor his way to theneighboring town o Palo.

    ACLOBAN CIY- Owners o houses that are to be a-ected by the ongoing road widening in Palo have sought theassistance o President Benigno Aquino or him to stop thedemolition o these houses, many considered as o historicalimportance.

    Te petitioners said that demolishing their houses wouldbe tantamount to violating a law directing to save and pre-serve structures that have historical importance.

    Te Department o Public Works and Highways (DPWH)here in the region have conducted their road widening proj-ect in Palo that resulted to the possible demolition o housesaffected by the project.

    Te DPWH have directed the owners to demolish theirhouses otherwise they would charge them the cost or thedemolition.

    Among the structures that would be affected by the road

    widening project is the Palo municipal library.DPWH has accused the owners o violating section 23 o

    Presidential Decree No. 17 o usurping a right o way, con-verting part o a public highway to their private use or ob-structing the same.

    o date around 33 residents o Palo affixed their signa-tures in the petition addressed to the President.

    Retired judge Marino Buban, counsel or the Pedrosaamily whose ancestral house was one o those affected bythe project, said that these houses have been erected or 200years now and considered to be the among the landmarks othe town.

    It was learned that the matter was already brought to theNational Historical Commission o the Philippines or clarifi-cation. In act NHC chairperson Maria Serema Diokno wroteDPWH Director Rolando Asis asking him to coordinate withher office on the said matter.

    Te owners are hopeul that their petition would be givendue course by the President.(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

    President Aquino

    urged to intervene

    demolition of old

    houses in Palo