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VOL. XXV NO. 017 MONDAY JANUARY 07, 2013 P10.00 IN TACLOBAN

DAILY EXPRESSPOSITIVE l FAIR l FREE

website: leytesamardaily.net e-mail: Editorial - lsdaily2@yahoo.com Adversing: lsdaily_ads@yahoo.com

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WATCH - REACT - LISTENto the Guest of the EXPRESS IT AT THE PARK at the

Nook of Leyte Park Hotel, Tacloban City every

Saturday 7:30-9:00 AM

For Special Edition by appointment

Tel. No. 321-4833 Telefax 053-321-5591

INSIDENEWS

weather

Sun and clouds mixed with a slightchance o thunderstorms during the

afernoon. High 87F. Winds lightand variable. Chance o rain 30%.

news page 2

opinion page 4

news page 3

news page 7

to page 6

A BFP award for LGU-Calbayog. Mayor Ronald Aquino beams with smile as he received from Calbayog

City Fire Marshal Insp Romeo Jaca the plaque of recognition which the Bureau of Fire Protection awardedto LGU-Calbayog City for its active involvement and constant support for the improved delivery of fire safety

service in Calbayog. The LGU was cited during the 39th BFP Fire Service Recognition Day. In photo with

Mayor Aquino are city administrator Rosario Gonzaga, SFO2 Diosdado Callosa and SFO1 Walter Magbutay.(CTIO/RONALD L. RICAFORT)

A C L O B A N

CIY An Waray

party-list Repre-

sentative Floren-

cio Noel said he is

doubtul the bill

pushing or the pri-

vatization o a num-

ber o government

hospitals in the

country will be ap-

proved by the pre-

sent Congress.

House Bill 6069

seeks to privatize 26

government hospitals

in the country includ-

ing Eastern Visayas

Regional Medical

Center, the largest

government-run hos-

pital in the region.

Rep. Noel saidthe bill may not have

enough time to go

through until inal

reading beore Con-

gress goes on recess in

time or the campaign

period and the elec-

tions this year.

He added that the

Lower House tackled

major bills, such as the

Reproductive Health

bill, beore the Christ-

anauans Pasaka Festival will again see action inone o the countrys grandest estival.

Lingganay Festival wowed the Cebu crowd andtourists with its resh and colorul interpretation

during the Sinulog 2012. he estival was concep-

Noel doubts plan to privatize

govt hospitals to be realizedBY

to page 2

ACLOBAN CIY wo Leyte estivalswill again join in the Sinulog Festival in CebuCity later this month o January.

Alangalangs Lingganay Festival will again

compete and deend its crown as the grandchampion during last years Sinulog, while

Lingganay, Pasaka Festivals

to compete in Sinulog Festival

Phivolcs Palostation likely

to relocate to itsmain offi ce

Mayor Codilla

proposes desilting

of Anilao River,

construction of

12-km diversion

road

PCGG gives upafter almost 3

Decades

Epiphany

Question

opinion page 5

Attainment of

MDG in 2015dependent on

parents support

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2 Leyte Samar Daily Express NEWS Monday, 07 January 2013

A & S Drilling Services

WATERDRILLING/ 09279311539/ 09195694214

We are now drilling in Balangiga Municipality Water Work

Te school is very acces-sible. We can only ndbedrocks in remote ar-eas, which is not a goodplace to set up an ofce,he added.

Te education de-partment has been ask-ing the service instituteto relocate their acilityor how many years nowclaiming that it is dis-ruptive to learning.

Our acility is alsoeducational. A lot o pu-pils and students havebeen coming here or

their educational tours,Caete said in a phoneinterview. (SARWELL Q. ME-NIANO)

rangay Arado back in1970s by the PhilippineAtmospheric, Geophysi-cal and AstronomicalServices Administrationwhen geotectonic phe-nomena monitoring wasstill under the weatherbureaus watch.

Philvocs Palo stationchie Nemesio Caetesaid that i the educationdepartment will insistto remove their acility,they have no choice butto relocate to their mainofce in Quezon City.

Our present loca-tion is very ideal orseismic station since weare on top o bedrock.

stand that any non-school acilities shouldbe taken out.

Yu conrmed thatPhilvocs main ofce or-mally asked the DepEdcentral ofce last monthto issue a special permitto the ormer to keeptheir seismic stations in-side the school vicinity.

Our stand is that thecampus should be solelydevoted to educationalpurposes. However, weare willing to supportany decision o our top

ofcials, Yu told LeyteSamar Daily Express.

Te seismic stationwas established in Ba-

PALO, Leyte TeDepartment o Edu-cation (DepEd) re-gional ofce heresaid that the Philip-pine Volcanology andSeismology(Philvocs)station should be re-moved out o a schoolgrouind, even as the lat-ter elevated its appeal tothe ormers main ofce.

DepEd Regional Di-rector Luisa Bautista-Yu said that even withthe repeated plea o thePhilvocs to let them

stay inside the campuso the Arado Elementa-ry School in this town,they still maintain their

Phivolcs Palo station likely

to relocate to its main oce

all government hospi-

tals nationwide in line

with President Benigno

Aquino IIIs Public-Pri-

vate Partnership. (AHL-

ETTE C. REYES)

raining and eaching

Hospital.

he privatization o

the 26 hospitals is re-

portedly the start o the

planned privatization o

cal Center, Amang Rod-

riguez Medical Center,

San Lazaro Hospital,

Vicente Sotto Memorial

Medical Center, East-

ern Visayas Regional

Medical Center, Cora-

zon Locsin Monteliba-

no Memorial Region-

al Hospital, Western

Visayas Medical Center,

Northern Mindanao

Medical Center, South-

ern Philippines Medi-

cal Center, Zamboanga

City Medical Center,

Cotabato Regional and

Medical Center, CARA-

GA Regional Hospital,

Davao Regional Hospi-

tal, and Mayor Hilarion

A. Ramiro, Sr. Regional

he 26 government

health institutions iden-

tiied or corporitiza-

tion are: Cagayan Valley

Medical Center, Veter-

ans Regional Hospital,

Ilocos raining and Re-

gional Medical Center,

Region I Medical Cent-

er, Dr. Paulino J. Garcia

Memorial Research and

Medical Center, Jose B.

Lingad Memorial Medi-

cal Center, Batangas

Regional Hospital, Bi-

col Medical Center, Bi-

col Research raining

and eaching Hospi-

tal, Quirino Memorial

Medical Center, Jose R.

Reyes Memorial Medi-

cal Center, Rizal Medi-

o the much-needed

government health ser-

vices and worsen the a l-

ready ill state o health

o the country. his

privatization is seen

to only urther reduce

overall access o the

poor to health services,increase the number o

seriously-ill people una-

ble to get treatment, and

result in more deaths

rom diseases.

House Bill 6069 is au-

thored by Bacolod lone

district Representative

Anthony Golez Jr. and

was led on March 2012.

A similar bill was also

led by Senator Franklin

Drilon in the Senate.

mas break that other

proposed legislations

stood waiting.

Moreover, Rep. Noel

said there is a number

o protests coming rom

other legislators or thesaid bill and may ace

heated debates rom

both sides.

It still has a long way

to go but I doubt it will

be passed during this

Congress, Rep. Noel

said in an interview.

Protesters to the bill

contend that corporati-

zation o public hospi-

tals will deprive people

Noel...from page 1

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3Leyte Samar Daily ExpressMonday, 07 January 2013 NEWS

The year of the Water Snake wont start slug-gish for you and your family at Robinsons Place

January 2013 atyour favorite Mall

Tacloban. The same fun and more will be happening this New Year2013! Watch for the following events at your favorite destination inTacloban:

On January 18, 4pm at the Activity Area, its JUMP IN DanceContest Grand Finals brought to us by SMART, Cellcom, BunkangMarketing and Love Radio 91.1;

January 19, 5pm at the Activity Area, its time to meet and greetin person Luke of ABS-CBNs Be Careful With My HeartJeromePonce!;

January 20-22, 10am at the Activity Area, its the Autism Societyof the Philippines Colors of Spectrum Photo Workshop andExhibit;

January 26, 4pm at the Annex Area, its time to search forRobinsons Singing Star Season 2 1st Elimination nalists;

January 31, 5pm at the Annex Area, Robinsons Center StagePresents a mini dance concert featuring The Battle DanceShowdown 4s Grand Winnerthe G-CLEF Dancers.

Plus, dining at the FOODCOURT has never been this rewardingwith Pepsi-Foodcourt YULETIDE TREATS Promo. A customer may geta Free Quaker Oaties Oatmeal Cookies for every meal with 16 oz drinkof any Pepsi Product. Promo runs until January 23, 2012. See postersor visit the Promo Booth at Level 2 Foodcourt Area of Robinsons PlaceTacloban. Per DTI-NCR Permit No. 8495, Series of 2012.

Fun never stops at your favorite MallRobinsons Place Tacloban![PR]

said.

he Ormoc city

mayor also said thatthe Larrazabal am-

ily, whose vast track o

lands are to be aected

by the diversion road

project, had agreed in

principle not to ask or

any payment.

But Codilla said

that he was surprised

that the Department

o Public Works and

Highways reportedlyallocated about P150

million as payment

or land owners who

would be aected by

the project like the

Larrazabal.

Codilla said that a

similar set up was ini-

tiated by his ather, Eu-

rocino Codilla, who

was then the mayor o

Ormoc who suggested

that aggregates exca-

vat ed rom the Mal ba-

sag River, which was

terways o Ormoc, is

about P92.7 million

while construction oa diversion road has a

proposed budget cost

o P100 million.

According to Co-

dilla, the national gov-

ernment through the

Department o Public

Works and Highways,

could save over P100

million i only the

Philippine Port Au-

thority (PPA) wouldbe allowed to source

the needed gravel and

sand or its port ex-

pansion program.

he port expansion

project involving the

Ormoc port, mean-

time, has a budget cost

o P130 million.

his is my sugges-

tion. I only they will

heed by suggestion,

the national govern-

ment can save about

P200 million, Codilla

ACLOBAN CIY-

he national govern-

ment stands to loseclose to P200 million

i his suggestion would

not be heeded relative

to the implementation

o two big-ticket pro-

ject s in his city.

hus said Ormoc

City Mayor Eric Codil-

la who explained that

his proposal is in con-

sonance with the tu-

wid na daan(straightpath) mantra o the ad-

ministration o Presi-

dent Benigno Aquino.

Codilla was reer-

ring to the proposed

desilting o the An-

ilao River and the con-

struction o a 12-kil-

ometer diversion road

covering about ive ba-

rangays.

he cost or the

proposed desilting

o the Anilao River,

one o the major wa-

Mayor Codilla proposes desilting

o Anilao River, construction o

12-km diversion road

then undergoing or an

extension o the lood

control mitigation pro-

jec t, wer e dumpe d to a

reclamation project in

Barangay Alegria.

his set up had re-

sulted or the city gov-ernment to save about

P55 million, he said.

According to the

city mayor, he had

made his suggestion

to Public Works and

Highways Secretary

Rogelio Singson.

Singson, however,

did not reply to the

text message he sent

to him regarding his

proposal,Codilla said.Codilla reiterated

that he has no other

intention with his pro-

posal but only to en-

sure that public unds

would not go to waste.

I we can save, then

why not, he said.

He also stressed that

when he made the sug-

gestion, it is not to de-

rail, much more,stop

the implementation oeither projects.

He said that the

people o Ormoc are

to directly beneit the

projects. (JOEY A. GA-

BIETA)

implementation in

2005.

We really need help

in identiying and veri-

ying where exactly the

reported peatlands are

and in building its ca-

pacity or peatlands

management, she add-

ed.

he country started

its participation in the

consultation workshop

or the development o

the ASEAN Peatland

Management Strategy

(APMS) held in Malay-

sia in May 2005.

he assessment

is part o the ASEAN

Peatland Forest Project

unded through the In-

ternational Fund or

Agriculture Develop-

ment and Global Envi-

ronment Facility.

Peatlands are wet-

land ecosystems where

partially decomposed

organic matter accu-

mulates over thousands

o years under water

logged conditions to

orm carbon-rich soil,

or peat.

Over the past 30

years, peat swamp or-

ests have been increas-

ingly cleared, drained

and degraded as a result

o unsustainable or-

estry and agricultural

practices.

An estimated 13

million hectares in

Southeast Asia have

been impacted and o-

ten degraded by legal

and illegal logging ac-

tivity which oten in-

volves drainage o the

peat during the extrac-

tion process, and over

exploitation o orest re-

sources.

Peatland ires and

their associated haze

have had the most se-

vere negat ive impact on

the environment, socio-

economic and health.

(SARWELL Q. MENIANO)

or the country will be

out this year, with the

completion a our-year

assessment o the esti-

mated 70,000 hectares

peatland cover in the

Philippines.

he area became

known as peatland area

citing the 1975 soil sur-

vey in Samar.

he ongoing assess-

ment, which started in

2010, also covers swamp

orests in Upland Peat,

Northern Luzon; Ul-

tramaic Hills, Surigao;

Ligawasan Marsh, Brgy.

an-ag Ilaya, Lopez,

Quezon; Sitio Balum-

bong, Brgy. Perez, Ca-

lauan, Laguna; Naujan

Lake Marshland, Ori-

ental Mindoro; Pag-asa

Peatland; alacogon

Peatland; and Bunawan

Peatland.

We were told by

the ASEAN Peatland

Forests Project that

there are about 70,000

hectares o peatland in

the country, which is

way beyond the 20,000

hectares conirmed

peatland in our map,

Andres said in an inter-

view.

he country has

two conirmed peat-

lands: Agusan Marsh

with more than 16,000

hectares and the Leyte

Sab-a Basin with nearly

4,000 hectares. Both ar-

eas were conirmed in

the 2005 validation.

he map o con-

irmed peatlands would

guide policy makers

and implementers to e-

ectively manage these

swamp orest - when let

ignored - can contribute

to wild orest ire, lood-

ing, and haze pol lution,

she added.

Andres said that

there is practically zero

knowledge on peatlands

at the start o the ASE-

AN Peatland Manage-

ment Strategy (APMS)

ACLOBAN CIY

Seven years ater the

validation o the Leyte

Sab-a Basin as the coun-

trys second conirmed

peatland, the govern-

ment will complete the

survey o another peat-

land in Barangay Do-

longan, Basey, Samar

this year.

Armida Andres,

Protected Areas and

Wildlie Bureau country

coordinator or peat-

land said that the area

in Samar will be includ-

ed in the map o con-

irmed peatlands in the

country.

Final peatland map

DENR to conduct survey

of peatland in Basey village

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DAILY EXPRESSPOSITIVE * FAIR * FREE

Dalmacio C. Grafil

Publisher

Ven S. LabroEditor-in-Chief

Abelardo G. Orteza

Managing Editor

Alma M. Grafil

Business Manager

The Leyte Samar Daily Express is

published daily with editorial and business

offices at G/F Knights of Columbus Bldg.,

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INSTITUTEThe National Association of

Philippine Newspapers

Leyte Samar Daily Express OPINION Monday, 07 January 2013

W

EDITORIAL

Its political combat, the main

event in the Year of the Water

4

Leyte Samar

PCGG gives up after almost 3 decades

to page 5

The Marcos clan, to include

the Romualdez family can rep-

licate privately, together with

their loyal cronies of course, a

similar New Year revelry ob-

served last Tuesday world-wide.

Why?

The Presidential Commission

on Good Government (PCGG)

has announced their proposal

to end their quest to recover the

Marcos loot.-oOo-

With over half of the alleged

$10 billion (repeat: billion dol-

lars) stolen wealth apparently

committed by President/dictator

Ferdinand Edralin Marcos and his

cronies from our poor Philippine

nation still unaccounted for, we

Observer

ALVIN GZ. ARPON

hatever signicance the Year o the Watersnake is among our people, it certainlypales in comparison to the orthcoming

May elections, the usual most awaited event in theland.

While the legal date or the ormal conduct o po-litical campaigns will still be in March, media out-lets; prints, broadcast, television and interpersonalcommunication have already made some subtle re-leases and shaded public pronouncements aimed atincreasing the level o awareness o voters who thecandidates are, their platorms, and suggested inno-vations or a better led governance.

Every candidate during elections appears to be thelong-awaited Messiah who has in his ngertips theready solution to our age-old problems o dishonestyand incompetence o some elected public o cialswhen they go out speaking beore their audience.

By and large its the season o building hopes or

and among our people who listen to them thatafer they shall have chosen their elected leaderbetter days may yet come indeed.

Money plays a very important role in elec-tions. Candidates spend a ortune to producecampaign materials and employ media outlets

to project their better image, especially to makeknown their commendable intentions or goodin their quest or an elective post. Tat is whatit should be, anyway.

But i candidates stack up money to buyvotes to win, that should be a no no in truedemocratic elections. Tat is prostitution o theballot; thereore immoral. And what is worse inthe elections Philippine style is that is a realityhere.

We pray that such practice should be a thingo the past as we venture into a straight pathnot only in the way o governance but most es-pecially in our private lives.

can not help but feel frus-

trated and should unite in

collective anger at realiz-

ing governments apparent

weakness and inutility in

running after this nations

greatest plunderer who

ranks at par, if not above

other leaders of other coun-

tries who shamelessly com-

mitted similar thievery.

-oOo-

That is almost 30 years

of looking for those hid-

den wealth and running

after perpetrators, all

under anti-Marcos Presi-

dents, with the exception

of President Erap Es-

trada who romped away

with a landslide victory

for President, but only

served an abbreviated

term since he was also

ousted from that exulted

position via People Power

II allegedly committing a

similar infraction.-oOo-

If at all, the nation can

be consoled that since 1986

PCGG has recovered some

P164 billion ($4 billion)

from some of the Marcos

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Leyte Samar Daily ExpressOPINIONMonday, 07 January 2013

Prayer for the Nation and

for Those who Serve inPublic Office

God, our Father, you guide every thingin wisdom and love. Accept the prayers we

offer for our nation; by the wisdom of ourleaders and integrity of our citizens, may

harmony and justice be secured and maythere be lasting prosperity and peace.

Almighty and eternal God, You know thelongings of our hearts and You protect ourrights. In your goodness, watch over those

in authority, so that people everywhere mayenjoy freedom, security and peace.

We ask this through our Lord JesusChrist, your Son, who lives and reigns withyou and the Holy Spirit, one God, foreverand ever. Amen. (Courtesy of Daughtersof St. Paul)

Pray the Holy Rosary daily for

world peace and conversion of sinners(The family that prays together stays together)

Monday after Epiphany1 Jn 3:22-4:6; Ps 2; Mt 4:12-17, 23-25

THE BEGINNING OF THE GALILEAN MINISTRY

When [Jesus] heard that John arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. Heleft Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the regionof Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah theprophet might be fullled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, theway to the sea, beyond the Jordan,/ Galilee of the Gentiles,/ the peoplewho sit in the darkness/ have seen a great light,/ on those dwelling ina land overshadowed by death/ light has arisen. From that time on,Jesus began to preach and say Repent, for the kingdom of heaven isat hand. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease andillness among the people. His fame spread to all of Syria, and theybrought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with

pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he curedthem. And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, andJudea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

TEST THE SPIRIT

A teacher once asked a class of ten-year olds to write down a deni-tion of religious faith. It was a quite a challenge for them. Nevertheless,one little boy wrote: Faith is believing what you know is not true. Ifthat is so, is faith a blind leap into the dark? For example, why do webelieve that Jesus is God? St. John says, Every spirit which confessesthat Jesus Christ has come into the esh of God (1 Jn 4:2). Is he refer-ring to blind faith? NO. His own faith in Christ came from his personalcontact with Christ and the grace of God. He was one of those peoplewho lived in darkness and had seen a great light (Mt 4:16). Hence hisfaith was an enlightened and discerning faith. Our own faith has to bethe same. Not a blind one. That is why St. John warns us, Not everyspirit is to be trusted and asks us to test the spirits to see whether theyare of God (1 Jn 4:1). Suppose there is big decision to be made: shouldone persuade ones still sprightly mother to put a badly senile father ina nursing home, so that she can be relieved of an almost unbearableburden? There may be a dozen reasons for and against. The family

needs discernment of spirits in the presence of God. When the familyapproaches God in prayer, he makes them free. In that freedom theywill be able to see more clearly what is good for the person in questionand for the good of the whole family. They will cease to be selsh andthe right course of action will emerge, because the Spirit of God whomakes them children of God sets them free. (His Word is Life by VimaDasan, S.J. published by Paulines. Visit us at www.paulines.ph or atPaulines Media Center, Real St., Tacloban City. Tel. #321-3195)

Sowers Seeds: God has a particular design over each one of us;if we give God our support we will carry out his design and attain ourhappiness. Blessed James Alberione, Founder of the Pauline Family

5

The Sower

The RH Law PCGG...from page 4

investments New York

real estate, Imeldas fantab-

ulous collection of jewelry,

and some $600 M stashed

in secret unnumbered Swiss

banks 26 years after.

-oOo-The Dept. of Justice is

recommended to assume

the task left by PCGG af-

ter Congress abolishes it.

With barely three years

left of the PNoy presi-

dency, we doubt if his ad-

ministration will succeed

in successfully recovering

all these Marcos-ill-gotten

wealth and of course and

most especially put guilty

heirs and cronies involved

in the thievery behind

bars. Wishful thinking it

is!!!?-oOo-

Come to think of it. If

we pay a visit to our jails

countrywide we will see

and count how many gov-

ernment employees are

incarcerated therein, who

committed crimes of dis-

honesty, like stealing few

pesos from government

coffers and other employ-

ees dismissed from public

service of smaller offenses

even earning perpetual

disqualication to re-enter

public service. Their dis-honest takes are but a mi-

nuscule.

Everybody equal before

the law? My eye!!!

-o0o

In the Marcos case,

some hidden wealth were

recovered though, a tell-

ing sign and of unearthed

unquestionable evidences

of unparalleled big-time

dishonesty, but not one of

them have seen prison bars.

-o0o-

And the most spec-

tacular albeit nauseat-

ing scenery in our midstis their easy resurrection

to political power. Im-

elda, the flamboyant for-

mer first lady is Congress

Representative of Ilocos

Norte, eldest daughter

Imee Marcos is governor

of Ilocos Norte, and the

namesake of the late Pres-

ident/dictator, his only

son Ferdinand Romual-

dez Bongbong Marcos

is senator of the republic

and he is reported to be

salivating and may yet

become President of the

Philippines.

Also in our midst is

the handsome highly

urbanized city May-

or of Tacloban Alfred

Romualdez, nephew of

the Conjugal Dictator-

ship.

-oOo-

Tacloban highly ur-banized city Vice Mayor

Lawyer Arvin Antoni

capped this development

with this statement:

Then the truism that

crime does not pay just

lost its potency in the

countrycrime after all

pays especially when the

crime committed is the

rape of our precious gov-

ernment coffers and only

when perpetrated under

the deposed (Conjugal)

Dictatorship.

Commentary

juan mercado

Araw Ng Tatlong Hari

or Feast of the Three

Kings, is marked here onrst Sunday of the new

year. Liturgically, this is

known as the Epiphany.

That translates into revela-

tion of God the Son as a

baby laid on a manger .

Day after Epiphany,

many take down their be-

lens and switch off Christ-

mas lights.

Others keep them until

February 2. But Epiphany

stirs old questions.

Behold, wise men

from the East came to Je-rusalem saying Where

is He who has been born

King of the Jews? Mat-

thew wrote. For we have

seen His star at its rising

and have come to worship

Him.

Was the Star of Beth-

Epiphany Question

lehem a comet? An align-

ment of planets? It led the

Magi, as historian HoracioDe La Costa put it, to

go on a fools errand, to a

Prince they have not seen,

in a country they do not

know., recalls the weekly

newspaper Mabuhay.

Science is unraveling

the mystery behind one of

the most famous stories

in astronomical history,

says a British Broadcasting

Corporation report. New

technology allows (scien-

tists) to map ancient night

skies with extraordinaryaccuracy. Theyre look-

ing at a number of unusual

events the Magi could have

seen.Experts now chal-

lenge a traditional claim:

that the star was a comet.

Halleys Comet appeared

about 12 BC. Chinese and

Korean star-gazers, around

5 BC, reported a blazing

object. For over 70 days, it

didnt budge.

Could the Star have been

a rare triple conjunction

of planets in 7 BC? asks

Dr. David Hughes of Uni-

versity of Shefeld. Jupiter

and Saturn came together

thrice, over several months,

that year. An ancient clay

tablet, now displayed in the

British Museum, describes

this merging, BBCs Re-

becca Ellis adds.They were probably

astrologers from Persia

There is evidence that Per-

sian astronomers predicted

this conjunction. Professor

Hughes adds. They com-

bined science with faith to

predict the birth of a new

Messiah

A particularly striking

conjunction occurred in

June 17, 2B.C, Ed Krupp

of Grifth Observatory

in Los Angeles told Na-

tional Geographic. For

skywatchers, at that time, it

looked like a massive, sin-

gle star.

Matthew writes when

the Magi found the Child

with Mary his mother, they

opened their bags and of-

fered him gifts of gold, in-

cense and mrryh. --- an-

cient symbols of divinity,

kingship --- and pain. In-

heriting Spanish tradition,

Filipinos call the Magi

Gaspar, Melchor and Bal-

tazar.

The Magi upset the

elite of their day. Herodwas greatly disturbed and

---- note this --- with him

all the people in Jerusalem.

He hurriedly summoned

leaders to what Filipino

politicians today would dub

a caucus or pulong-pulong.

Where would this Mes-

siah be born?, he demanded

of experts who had the

answer down pat: In the

town of Bethlehem And

they cited verse and line

from scriptures to back

their stand. But they didntmove out of their comfort

zones. They did nothing. It

was business-as-usual then.

Will it be business as

usual in 2013? Pew Re-

search Centers Forum on

to page 6

From A

Distancejoey e. clarin

A suit was led be-

fore the Supreme Court

against the new Repro-

ductive Health (RH) Law

which was signed into

law by President Aquino

last Dec. 21, 2012.

Lawyer James and

Ann Imbong led a case

assailing the constitution-

ality of the law. The RH

law mandates the state

to provide reproductive

health services, including

access to contraceptives

and information on family

planning to couples that

ask for it and appropriate

sex education to school

children. The Imbongs

petitioned the Supreme

Court to stop the govern-

ment from enforcing the

law.

In their petition for

certiorari and prohibition,

the Imbongs said the law

introduced policies that

negate and frustrate the

foundational ideals and

aspirations of the Filipino

people. The law is to take

effect on Jan. 17 or 15

days after its publication.

Rep. Edcel Lagman,

the principal author of the

law belittled the petition

saying it was premature

because it seeks to pre-

vent the implementation

of a law which is not yet

in effect.

If we read the Consti-

tutions it mandates the

protection of the life of

the unborn from concep-

tion. In other words, no

less than this constitution

acknowledges that life be-

gins when conception sits

in and it is upon concep-

tion that there is an un-

born which is entitled to

protection.

This suit is a good op-

portunity to explain to the

people the merits of the

law.

This petition of the Im-

bongs is non-sense. It is

based on shewed and dis-

torted reading of the RH

law. I could sense that this

petition has something to

do with the stand of the

Catholic Bishops Confer-

ence of the Philippines

(CBCP). James Imbong

is the son of CBCP legal

counsel Jo Imbong.

7/30/2019 LSDE January 7, 2013

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6 Leyte Samar Daily Express NEWS Monday, 07 January 2013

Republic of the Philippines

MUNICIPALITY OF CATARMAN

Province of Northern Samar-ooOoo-

BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID

The Local Government Unit of Catarman, Northern Samar, invites interested

parties/suppliers to Apply for Eligibility and to Bid for the Supply and Delivery

of 700 pcs. Tricycle Plates w/ Picture and 1,500 pcs. Business Plates w/Picture with an Approved Budget for the Contract of P500,000.00 (Source

of Fund: 2011 Gen. Fund Budget).

Eligibility/Prequalication Forms and Bid Documents shall be available for

issuance on the dates shown below and upon payment of non-refundable

amount of P1,000.00.

* Submission of LOI and Issuance of Eligibility/

Prequalication Forms January 14, 2013

* Deadline of Submission of duly accomplished

Eligibility/Prequalication Forms January 15, 2013

* Issuance of Bid Documents Janauary 16, 2013

* Pre-Bid Conference January 17, 2013

* Dropping/Opening of Bids January 25, 2013

All particulars relative to Eligibility, Bid Bond, Performance Bond, Pre-bidConference, Bid Evaluation and Award of Contracts shall be governed by the

Provisions of the IRR of RA 9184.

The Local Government Unit of Catarman, Northern Samar, reserves the

right to reject any or all bids, waive any minor defect therein, and accept the

offer most advantageous to the Local Government Unit.

The Local Government Unit of Catarman, Northern Samar assumes no re-

sponsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify the bidders for any ex-

penses incurred in the preparation of the bid.

(Sgd.) MR. SANDY C. BALITE

LGU-BAC ChairmanLSDE: January 7 & 14, 2013

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT WITH PARTITIONNOTICE is hereby given that heirs of late Cornelio Daylo extra-

judicially settled, partitioned and adjudicated over 2 parcels of land,

both situa ted at Brgy. Salvacion, Alangalang, Leyte, described as: 1)

Parcel 1, Cad Lot No. 2554, containing an area of 13.3362 has. more

or less, and covered by Tax Dec. No. 08-02-042-00045; Parcel 2, Cad.

Lot No. 2711 containing an area of 2.4479 has., more or less and cov -

ered by Tax Dec. No. 08-02-042-00046; per Doc. No. 569, Page No.56, Book No. VII, Series of 2010 of Notary Public Atty. Leodegario

Alimanguhan.

LSDE: January 7, 14 & 21, 2013

EmporiumROVIC BLDG., DEL PILAR &

JUSTICE ROMUALDEZ STREETS., TACLOBAN CITY

l HOUSEWAREl COSMETICSl GIFT ITEMSl SHOES & SANDALSl TOYS

l and many more

l GROCERYl CLOTHINGS & RTW

l HARDWAREl KITCHENWARE

lPLASTIC WARESl APPLIANCES

THE BIG DIFFERENCE IN MALL SHOPPING!

WITH THE LOWEST PRICE IN TOWN.

eFurnitures eOfficeTables

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Religion & Public Life just

published The Global

Religious Landscape This

study is anchored on analy-

sis of 2,500 national cen-

suses in 230 countries and

territories .

Among other conclu-sions, it nds that today

that there are 2.2 billion

Christians. Those who say

the heed the Child of Beth-

lehem make up make up

32% of the worlds popu-

lation. Breakdown of other

major faiths: 1.6 billion

Muslims ( 23%), 1 billion

Hindus ( 15% ), nearly 500

million Buddhists ( 7% )

and 14 million Jews ( 0.2%)

Fully 97% of all Hin-

dus live in India, Mauritius

and Nepal. Nearly nine-in-

ten Christians ( 87%) are

found in the worlds 157

Christian-majority coun-

tries. Theyre also the most

evenly dispersed. Europe

(26%), Latin America and

the Caribbean (24%) and

sub-Saharan Africa (24%).

Three out of every four,

who cluster in Asia and the

Pacic, are religiously un-

afliated (76%). In China,

the number of creed-less

people crests at about 700

million. Thats more than

twice the total US popula-tion.

`In his Christmas mes-

sage Urbi et Orbi, Benedict

XVI addressed a direct

appeal to the leaders in

Beijing, in a particularly

difcult time. Uneasy rela-

tions between the Holy See

and China, became more

tense after Beijing last year

forced sacking of Shanghai

auxiliary bishop Ma Daqin.

Epiphany...from page 5

May the king of peace

turn his gaze to the new

leaders of the Peoples Re-

public of China for the lofty

task that awaits them, the

pontiff said.. I hope it will

enhance the contribution of

religions, in respect to each,

so that they can contribute

to the construction of a so-

ciety of solidarity for thebenet of that noble people

and of the whole world.

`Chinese leaders issued,

just before Christmas, 8,330

copies of a 16-page secret

order, from the Communist

Partys Central Committee.

This directed universities

to root out foreigners seek-

ing to converting students

to Christianity, Reuters re-

ported.

The document singles

out Christianity as particu-

larly dangerous and the US

leads the effort. No othercountry or religion is men-

tioned by name, Reuters

notes.. Buddhism and Tao-

ism are now supported by

the government to some de-

gree, Christians remain a

source of contention, along

with Tibetan Buddhists,

Uighur Muslims and Falun

Gong practitioners.In his 1927 poem The

Journey of the Magi, TS

Eliot has one of the Magi,reecting years after they

were warned against return-

ing to Herod. They madetheir to their country by

another way. We returned

to our places, these King-doms,/ But no longer at

ease here, in the old dispen-

sation,/ With an alien peo-ple clutching their gods.

Life was never the

same, after being led by a

star to this Child. (Email:

juan_mercado77@yahoo .com )

tualized in 1995 based

on the legend o the

towns lost golden bell.

he legend says that

when the Moro pirates

surprised the people,

they tried to lee awaywith the bell.

Aside rom winning

the grand prize, Ling-

ganay Festival was also

named as the contingent

with the best costume

and best in musicality.

he Lingganay con-

tingent already started

practice even during as

the Christmas season to

ully prepare or the Si-

nulog competition.Lingganay earned the

right to represent the

province in the Sinulog

Festival as it won the

irst place in the Pinta-

dos-Kasadyaan Festival

in June 2012. anauans

Pasaka Festival was

Pintados-Kasadyaans

second place winner

thus likewise earning

the right to join in Cebu

this year.Pasaka was also a

contingent in the Si-

nulog 2012 and its lead

dancer Nerissa Modes-

to was named Festival

Queen irst runner-up

in the Festival Queen

competition.

he Sinulog Festival

is held every third Sun-

day o January where

millions o tourists and

devotees o the Sr. Sto.

Nino lock to Cebu or

the grand parade and

competition as well as

the religious estivities.(AHLETTE C. REYES)

Lingganay...from page 1

7/30/2019 LSDE January 7, 2013

7/8

7Leyte Samar Daily ExpressNEWSMonday, 07 January 2013

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Kar Ko

PALO, Leyte heability o the regionto attain universalprimary educationtarget under UnitedNations-sponsoredMillennium De-velopment Goals(MDG) in 2015, islargely dependent onsupport o parents,a top oicial o theDepartment o Edu-cation (DepEd) said.

Regional Direc-tor Luisa Bautista-

Yu said that parentscooperation is criti-cal in convincing allschool-aged childrento actively partici-pate in schools, evenas hope dims or uni-versal edu cat ion by2015 based on therecent enrollment re-port.

he target is stillattainable as long asall stakeholders, es-pecially parents, willpush children to pur-sue basic education,

Yu told Leyte SamarDaily Express.

Elementary edu-cation enrollment inimpoverished prov-inces o Samar Islandhas decreased by10.36% this year, asetback rom attain-ing universal prima-ry education targetunder MDG.

Samar provincerecorded the highestenrollment decreaserom previous school

year to present(111,355 to 91,896),Eastern Samar(79,306 to 67,374),and Northern Samar(119,111 to 118,379).

Citing the 2009survey, the NationalStatistical Coordi-nation Board saidthat Eastern Samar,Northern Samar, andSamar are consid-ered the top poor-est in Region 8 withpoverty incidenceo 54%, 51.2%, and

45%, respectively.he enrollment

decline o three Sa-mar provinces hasaected the peror-mance o EasternVisayas. Number ochildren studying inelementary slight-ly went down rom709,835 in 2011 to707,315 this schoolyear.

Poverty is themain reason that a-ects childrens abili-

ty to go to school butwe can overcome thischallenge with thesupport o all stake-holders, Yu added.

She claimed thatthey have no problemwith beneiciaries oPantawid PamilyangPilipino Program(4Ps), consideringthat parents are com-pelled to send theirchildren to school toreceive continuinginancial assistance.

But not all chil-dren belong to 4Psamilies and we have

to look or them, Yuadded.

Under MDG, thegovernment is eye-ing that 100% o el-ementary age chil-

dren should inishbasic education. Aso last school year,the region has a par-ticipation rate o90.4%, survival rate

Attainment of MDG in 2015dependent on parents support

o 66.5%, and com-pletion rate o 67.3%.he DepEd regionaloice is still pro-cessing data or thisschool year.

he United Na-tions reported thatenrolment in pri-mary education hascontinued to rise indeveloping countrieslike Philippines. Butthe pace o progressis insuicient to en-sure that, by 2015, allgirls and boys com-plete a ull course oprimary schooling.(SARWELL Q. MENIANO)

7/30/2019 LSDE January 7, 2013

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8 Leyte Samar Daily Express ADS Monday, 07 January 2013