Tacloban City, Leyte (PNA) – Eight fishermen were rescued by a private yacht and officers of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) yesterday morning after their fishing boat capsized off Biliran seawaters due to stormy weather.

Lt. Junior Grade Paul Ryan C. Gonzales, station commander of the Tacloban PCG station, said they received a distress call from private yacht M/Y Luvedico informing them about a fishing boat that sank near Barangay Tucdao in Kawayan, Biliran.

“Everyone is accounted for. All of them are safe and were brought to Kawayan town,” Gonzales said.

The fishermen were identified as Marlo Asugas, Randy Rosaros, Elian Dadela, Elwino Uluhan, John Berber, Dan Arnado, Romeo Uluhan, and Margarito Uliga, all residents of Barangay Tucdao.
“While M/Y Ludevico, skippered by Capt. Ronald Salmoren, was transiting the area, they saw the distressed fishermen and immediately rescued them. The PCG personnel from Naval substation immediately assisted the rescued fishermen and were safely brought to the shoreline in Kawayan,” Gonzales added.

He also said the prevailing bad weather condition brought about by tropical depression that caused a disturbance on Visayan seawaters may have swept the fishing boat with its strong waves.
The PCG in Tacloban already issued a warning to the sea-going public particularly fishermen on the possible dangers posed by Tropical Depression “Emong,” now affecting the eastern part of the country.

No storm warning signals have so far been raised, but “Emong” is expected to intensify into a tropical storm within the next 24 to 48 hours which would bring moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms over Visayas.

The M/V Unicorn Logger, the foreign vessel which ran aground in Sambawan lsland off Maripipi and damaged its coral reef.

BiliranIsland.com Video

GmaNews Video

ABS CBN News

The ABS-CBN report on the Sambawan incident involving MV Unicorn Logger utilized video footages gathered by biliranisland.com.
Video

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• VIETNAMESE CARGO RUN AGROUND PHILIPPINE CORAL

In its 6 p.m. report, the NDRRMC said the vessel – MV Unicorn Lodger of Wisdom Lines – ran aground at Sambauan Island in Maripipi town in Biliran at 8 p.m. last June 13.

The NDRRMC said the Coast Guard checked the area Friday morning for signs of an oil spill and found none.

A further check showed the ship’s crew included 18 Vietnamese, including:

Captain Nguyen Anh Tuan, 41
Chief Mate Pham Son Ha, 46
Second Mate Bui Dinh Hai, 33
Third Mate Phan Huu Chien, 28
Chief Engineer Nguyen Van Tinh, 42
First Engineer Nguyen Huu Trang, 34
Second Engineer Nguyen Van Minhi, 29
Third Engineer Bui Van Dung, 31
Phan Van Tieng, 58
Bui Van Tung, 26
Nguyen Trung Duc, 26
Pham Anh, 26
Nguyen Sy Thang, 29
Nguyen Van Viet, 22
Ta Huu Phang, 44
Pham Duy Huong, 26
Le Van Nhan, 25
Chief cook Dinh Duy Thin, 34

The Coast Guard, local government and local police in Maripipi held an investigation and inspection of the site.

A Coast Guard team went to the site for further investigation, the NDRRMC added. — ELR, GMA News

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TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—A foreign commercial vessel manned by Vietnamese and loaded with more than 1,600 pieces of lumber ran aground off Maripipi Island in Biliran province Thursday night, officials said.

The Japan-bound ship M/V Unicorn Logger, which had 18 crew members and was skippered by Nguyen Anh Tuan, ran aground at Sambawan Islet at around 7:10 p.m., Maripipi town local government operations head Ritchie Peñaflor said in a phone interview.
The 5,691-ton Panamanian-registered ship was carrying lumber weighing a total of 836 metric tons, Peñaflor said. He identified the vessel’s operator as Wisdom Marine Lines based in Panama.

The vessel departed from Sandakan, Malaysia, on June 11 at around 9 a.m. and was bound for Japan when it ran aground at the Sambawan Islet off the island town of Maripipi.

The vessel hit about 270 square meters of coral reefs, Peñaflor said.

“This is now our concern. The incident has resulted in the destruction of our coral reefs covering 270 square meters based on the initial assessment of our local fishery and agriculture office,” Peñaflor said.

On top of this, they were also looking for possible oil leaks that might result from the incident, he added. So far, no oil was seen coming from the vessel.
Peñaflor said the Maripipi local government was studying the possibility of seeking damages for the destruction of coral reefs from the owner of the vessel.

The site of the grounding is 50 to 60 meters from a beach resort maintained by the local government of Maripipi, the farthest island municipality of Biliran province.

Philippine Coast Guard personnel from Tacloban City were on their way to assess the situation, Peñaflor said.

He explained that they were having some difficulty getting more information from the ship captain due to the language barrier.

Peñaflor said the local government has offered assistance to the crew, who were all Vietnamese, but they chose to stay on the vessel.

Peñaflor also said that based on their initial interview with the captain, the ship was trying to avoid a fishing vessel when they ran aground.

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NAVAL, Biliran – The much-publicized damage on the Tubbataha Reef by an American military vessel and a Chinese fishing vessel not long ago seemed not enough, as another foreign vessel plowed through another reef in a more central part of the Philippines.

A Panamanian registered cargo vessel ran aground in the evening of June 13 near Sambawan Island, in the island municipality of Maripipi in Biliran province. The boat plowed through its coral reef.

According to Lieutenant Junior Grade Paul C. Gonzales, station commander of the Tacloban Coast Guard Station, which oversees the Coast Guard detachment of Naval, the MV Unicorn Lodger of Wisdom Lines, skippered by Captain Nguyen Anh Tuah with 17 other Vietnamese crew on board, ran aground approximately 60 to 80 meters southwest of Sambawan Island.

Gonzales said that a certain Jessie Manuel, caretaker of the Sambawan Island resort, reported to the personnel of Philippine Coast Guard detachment in Naval that at around 9:15 p.m. of June 13 the vessel had ran aground in the area.

Gonzales disclosed that the foreign vessel with a gross tonnage of 5,691 and net tonnage of 3,197 was loaded with 1,607 pieces of logs weighing 836 tons and was sailing from Malaysia to Japan.

The coast guard official added that per initial report conducted by the PCG-Naval personnel together with the Bantay Dagat personnel of Maripipi this morning, no sign of oil spill was observed. However, drag marks on the coral reef in the area were spotted.

“About 270 square meters of the coral reef area in Sambawan Island were plowed through by the hull of the foreign vessel,” Gonzales added, based on the initial report submitted by his men and other authorities conducting initial inspection in the area of the incident.

He said that the foreign cargo vessel might have had no intention to dock in Sambawan area, but was just on a “right of innocent passage,” a term in international law referring to a ship or aircraft’s right to enter and pass through another’s territory as long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the other state.

It was learned that the sea surrounding Sambawan Island is a marine protected area. Sambawan Island is a widely known local tourist destination in Biliran province and is among the tourist destinations of the province covered by the recently-enacted RA 10409 sponsored by Biliran Congressman Rogelio J. Espina, which declared Biliran province as a tourism development area.

The PCG Tacloban station commander further said that the foreign cargo vessel was inclined at four degrees during low tide, but was already afloated around 2:19 p.m. today based on the initial report. The boat is now docked at the Naval port for further inquiry by the PCG and other concerned authorities.

Other concerned agencies of the government like the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) here in Region 8 have already been furnished with initial reports on the incident for information and appropriate action by their respective agencies, Gonzales said. (PIA 8 Biliran rvictoria)

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A motorcycle and a mocad figured in a collision just outside the Naval Catholic Cemetery, Naval, Biliran.

Time, around 9:05 pm June 11, 2013. A victim rushed to the hospital.

UPDATE. The driver of the motorcycle, Mario Bringa, 48 to 50 yrs old, from Brgy. Villa Consuelo died after arrival at the hospital. His back rider was his daughter, Maria Luz Bringa, 19. The driver of the mocad was — Garcia y Dagotdot, 34, from Brgy. Sto. Niño.

The driver of the mocad was beaten at the hospital by relatives of the dead motorcycle driver.

The passengers of the mocad, a foreigner and a Pinay, suffered minor injuries.

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NAVAL, Biliran – In just a period of one year after PSSupt. Felix Alberca Diloy assumed office on June 7, 2012 as the provincial director of the Biliran Police Provincial Office (BPPO), crime volume in the province of Biliran has significantly decreased.

A total crime volume of 299 were recorded from June 6, 2012 up to June 7, 2013 based on the provincial director 1st annual accomplishment report of PSSupt. Diloy presented on June 7, 29013 at the BPPO Chapel.

The report showed that the crime volume is lower compared to the previous year which recorded a total of 618. A decrease of 319 total crime volume is noted.

It was reflected in the 1st annual accomplishment report of PD Diloy that out of the 299 recorded crime volumes, 165 were index crimes and 134 were non-index crimes.

Index crime significantly decreased by 166 compared to 331 and a decrease also 153 for non-index crime compared to 287 of the same period of last year, the report revealed.

Of the 165 index crime recorded at the BPPO, seven were recorded for murder, 14 for homicide, 74 for physical injuries, 12 for robbdery, 41 for theft, 14 for rape and three for carnapping.

The 1st annual report of PSSupt. Diloy likewise showed the decrease of the average monthly crime rate in Biliran province which posted 14.83 percent compared to 29.88 percent of the same period of last year.

On the other hand, crime clearance efficiency increased from 33.44 percent to 75.38 percent and crime solution efficiency also increased from 16.04 percent to 54.18 percent under Diloy’s watch.

Meanwhile, BPPO’s operational accomplishments were significant on campaign against illegal activities like logging, fishing, gambling, drugs; wanted persons; implementation of search warrant; arrest of most wanted person; loose firearms and other operational accomplishments on renewal of firearms “ Bilang Boga” and ”Pulis Makakalikasan” BPPO’s support to the national greening program of the Aquino administration.

The report also showed the significant administrative accomplishments of BPPO under Diloy’s one year leadership such as the different improvements of the BPPO’s facilities which enabled for the inspectors of the Annual General Inspection-Operational Readiness and Security Inspection Test and Evaluation (AGI-ORSITE) for CY 2012 to recommend as best police provincial office.(PIA-Biliran

NAVAL, Biliran – No less than the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) here in Region 8 has congratulated the top official of the Biliran Police Provincial Office (BPPO) for such an outstanding performance in his first year at the helm of the BPPO.

PCSupt. Elmer Ragadio Soria, regional director of PNP-8, congratulated PSSupt. Felix Alberca Diloy, provincial director of BPPO, for his 1st annual accomplishment report as provincial director of the BPPO.

It was learned that the conduct of the 1st annual accomplishment report of a PNP provincial director was the first one in Biliran province.

Soria together with Judge Constantino Esber of RTC Branch 37 here in Biliran province, Biliran town Mayor- elect Grace Casil and Caibiran councillor Lorna Ferguson graced the occasion held on June 7, 2013 at the BPPO Chapel.

“PSSupt Diloy cannot do it alone” Soria emphasized and further acknowledged the support of the BPPO personnel and the active support of the community in achieving such outstanding feat within his one year stint as provincial director of the BPPO since he assumed the post on June 7, 2012.

Meanwhile, Soria reminded the BPPO personnel to continue to focus its operations on loose firearms or the Oplan Katok, wanted persons, private armed groups and on illegal activities. He also urged them to give focus on anti-criminality campaign.

On the other hand, the chief of PNP-8 also acknowledged the contribution of the BPPO in the conduct of the May 13, 2013 synchronized national and local elections in Biliran province where he labelled as “one of the most peaceful elections ever had”.

“What we have done and failed to do during the May 13, 2013 elections including the best practices” Soria noted will be maintained and be improved in the conduct of the upcoming barangay elections in October 2013. (PIA-Biliran)

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/15211-aquinos-other-political-clans-rule-mid-term-polls

Filipino voters all expect reforms that will lift the country from poverty and other extreme economic conditions in the years ahead but the results of the recent elections concentrated on political power to traditional political clans limiting the prospects for a democratized system in government to institute changes.

In an analysis, the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) said that for any substantial reform to happen, political authority and government machineries must first be democratized whereby the people’s representation in policy making is effectively ensured.
It said such a pre-condition did not happen in the recent mid-term elections.

“Not only did the elections allow a significant number of political clans back in power but it also led many of them to become more entrenched with more members per family winning elective positions across several territorial jurisdictions and in terms of higher posts they will occupy,” it said.

In the recent elections, several nationally-known political dynasties fielded more of their members running for different national (Senate and House) and local positions (from governor, to mayor, vice-mayor, and councilors) in several towns.

“These dynasties had from 8 to as many as 20 members running but none could beat the number of candidates coming from the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao province, with 74. Opportunistically, they ran under different traditional political parties, whether administration or “opposition”,” it noted.

Seven members of the Aquino-Cojuangco clan in Tarlac are in public office, with Bam Aquino in the Senate aside from Benigno S. Aquino III in Malacanang, it noted.

Partial results of the mid-term elections show some of the biggest gainers, led by the Binays of Makati with a new senator, congresswoman, and reelected Makati mayor aside from the incumbent vice president himself; Singsons of Ilocos Sur, nine wins (including two congressmen and one governor), no loss; Ortegas of La Union, six wins (including one congressman and one governor); Dys of Isabela, six wins, no loss (including one congressman, one governor, and three mayors); Pinedas of Pampanga, governor, vice-governor, and councilors;

Espinas of Biliran, six wins, no loss (including one congressman, one governor, one mayor); Tupases of Iloilo, seven wins out of 13, including one congressman, one vice-governor, and several councilors; Ynares of Rizal, one governor and two mayors; Dimaporos of Lanao del Norte, five wins, no loss (including two House seats, one governor, one mayor); Romualdos of Camiguin, three wins, no loss (one House seat, governor, and mayor); and Mangudadatus of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao, with 10 candidates so far winning out of 19 fielded (including two governors, one House seat, and several mayors and councillors).

Seventy-four members of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao ran with 23 of them so far getting elected including the wives of three town mayors now jailed for the Nov. 2009 massacre case. Another son, Benzar, who is also detained was re-elected mayor. The richest member of the lower House, boxer-turned politician Manny Pacquiao, was also re-elected and now packs a new dynasty, with wife Jinkee as new Sarangani vice-governor and protégé, Ronnel Rivera, son of a fishing magnate, as new mayor of Gen. Santos City. The 1-2-3 punch floored the Antonino-Custodio clan of South Cotabato.

The next Senate will also host two political families with two members each – the Cayetanos and Estradas. The Estradas also took two mayoralty posts – San Juan and Manila, with former president Joseph E. Estrada. The Senate seats soon to be vacated by Edgardo Angara and Manny Villar will be occupied by son Sonny and wife Nancy, respectively.
CenPeg said the dominance of political dynasties in the Senate has increased from 85 percent in the current 15th Congress to 87 percent in the new Senate – excluding three senators.

Meanwhile, two members of the Macapagal-Arroyo family retained their seats – discredited president Gloria M. Arroyo (Pampanga) and son Dato (Camarines Sur).

A few political clans lost in all contests, including the Gordons of Olongapo, Payumos of Bataan, Dazas of Northern Samar, and Tañadas of Quezon.
On the other hand, two out of five members of the Jalosjos family in Zamboanga del Norte won – a House seat and Dapitan mayor.

Other dynasties cannot be counted out yet, despite some setbacks: the Garcias lost the governorship of Cebu but won one House seat and two mayoralty posts; Migz Zubiri lost his Senate bid but two other members of the Zubiri family of Butuan won the governorship and one House seat.
The debacles suffered by some clans did not signal the end of dynastic rule. Most candidates from these clans lost their seats either to their own relatives or rivals coming from similar traditional political parties.

“The Dazas of Northern Samar, for instance, were trounced by the Ong family, who took the House seat, governorship, and mayoralty of Laoang town. As shown by the Marcoses, political dynasties are resilient and are able to recover their losses – and still multiply – after some time,” according to CenPeg.

It added that in many provinces and districts, candidates from political dynasties ran unopposed.

“Third party coalitions tried to field their own senatorial slates but could not match the traditional advantages of the ruling political clans – family name recall, voter awareness, and resources. In many areas, local contests were decided by widespread vote buying and, in some places, by intimidation involving local dynasties and their private armies,” CenPeg added.

There were also reports of automated fraud ranging from pre-shading and pre-loading of ballots, offers by local election officials to make candidates win, and unexplained long brownouts in many vote-rich provinces on election day, it said.

It also noted that similar to the 2010 presidential elections, voters could not really tell who won and who lost in the recent mid-term elections.
Comelec used a different approach: Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Jr. was quoted by the press as saying that the proclamation of winning senatorial candidates was based on vote projection and not on the 100 percent completion of certificates of canvassing (COCs).
“We rely not on the exact number of votes but on the projected number of votes [that] we anticipate,” he said.

“Thus, the proclamation of the 12 Senate winners was made despite the failure to electronically transmit 18,000 election returns (ERs) representing about 9 million voters. And yet 9 million votes can technically change the rankings in the Senate,” it said.

The credibility of the mid-term elections was tainted by Comelec’s and Smartmatic’s removal of major safeguards and security features of the poll automation system, the repeated non-compliance of election laws including the timely independent source code review, the PCOS machines’ systematic and widespread transmission failures, the highly irregular and arbitrary decisions on the RMA, illegal CF cards and their physical transport to the NBOC, and the premature proclamation of election winners, CenPeg said.
CenPeg said all these conditions are what make an election failure.
The questionable performance of the Comelec-managed poll automation was as predictable as the election process itself, it added.

The playing field was uneven from the beginning, therefore, the election could not qualify as fair and democratic reflective of the voters’ sovereign will. Only an election that is fair and promotes the competition of platforms and track record and not decided by popularity and money can qualify as democratic.

Moreover, the right of suffrage was violated on account of the poll automation’s disabling of transparent features that would have allowed every voter to see in his own eyes how his vote is counted.

The absence of the legally-mandated digital signature compromised the validity of all election returns and this alone serves as a legitimate ground for questioning the election results, CenPeg said.

Thus, the recycling of political dynasties was a foregone conclusion. Political dynasties, by and large, perpetuate themselves in power through elections made farcical by being undemocratic and now by an illegitimate automation process that is unable to modernize let alone democratize the public exercise that is administered by a hostile and incompetent election body, it added.

Having concluded the mid-term elections, the first priority of the country’s dominant political oligarchs is to gear up for the 2016 presidential derby three years from now.

The consolidation of political gains in Congress, such as the new Senate presidency, and the league of local government unit (LGU) officials will be the main agenda of both the administration and the “opposition” bloc.

As expected, the agenda for genuine social and economic reform will be sidelined no matter the economic deterioration, joblessness, and worsening poverty in the country.

The representation of the poor in government has been further eclipsed by the dominance of the political dynasties whose power is now boosted by the anti-people ruling of the high court opening the Party-list system to the high and mighty, according to CenPeg.

Real development requires the distribution of wealth and an end to the concentration of wealth by the small elite. This can happen if the political system allows the distribution of power under the principle of a people-based and rights-driven government. When none exists, a country will continue to wallow in poverty and social inequities. Where oligarchies rule real development cannot take off. A classic case is the Philippines, it said.

Published in Headlines

TACLOBAN CITY- A former mayor in Biliran province was convicted by the Sandiganbayan for graft involving an amount of P160,000 for an alleged ghost project.

Found guilty by the first division of the Sandiganbayan was Melchor Maderazo who served as officer-in-charge mayor of Caibiran town.

Also convicted by the anti-graft court was former municipal accountant Dionesion Veruen Jr. Both were sentenced to six to 10 years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
The decision of the Sandiganbayan stemmed from a transaction involving the release of P160,000 which represented the cost of a project involving 400 pieces of tapping saddles (steel pipe connectors) that were not actually delivered.

The materials were supposed to be used for a water system project of the town.

The two were directed to pay the amount of P160,000 to the local government of Caibiran.

The Sandiganbayan, on its decision issued last May 30, held that the two defrauded the local government after the alleged contractor of the project,Artemio Vermug, testified that Maderazo forced him to sign a contract and endorse a check amounting to P160,000 but was not asked to do the actual work.

It also held that Maderazo could not have succeeded with the crime without the cooperation and participation of Veruen because they both signed the disbursement voucher, the Land Bank of the Philippine check and the false inspection report that was submitted as liquidation for the “ghost delivery” of the tapping saddles. (JOEY A. GABIETA)