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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 - [email protected] Adversing: [email protected]
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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
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Business Manager
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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
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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
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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
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