GRATEFUL. Marcelo Tejano, 31, a former rebel from Barangay Alubihid, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte thanks the government for the livelihood assistance he received in a distribution activity in the province on Tuesday (Dec. 7, 2021). A total of 145 former rebels and 15 associations from conflict-affected areas in Agusan del Norte received PHP7.2 million in financial aid from the government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development. (PNA photo by Alexander Lopez) BUTUAN CITY - Marcelo Tejano, a 31-year-old former guerrilla from Agusan del Norte, said he plans to cultivate his farm and set up a small electrical shop using the livelihood assistance he received from the government on Tuesday. Tejano, from Barangay Alubihid, Buenavista, is among the 125 former rebels who received PHP20,000 each via the Sustainable Livelihood Assistance (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The distribution of the assistance at the Agusan del Norte capitol covered court was led by Gov. Dale Corvera and DSWD Caraga Director Ramel Jamen. "I was lost for more than eight years when I joined the New People's Army (NPA). I was the vice commanding officer of the Sandatahang Yunit Pampropaganda of Guerrilla Front (GF) 14 operating in Surigao del Sur area," Tejano said in a media interview. Tejano surrendered in Agusan del Norte in July 2020 to the 23rd Infantry Battalion and has since been reunited with his family and community. "The NPA failed to fulfill their promise of support that enticed me to join the movement. For eight years, the communist movement took me away from my family, especially my children. I abandoned the NPA because I want to be back to my family and renew my life," he said. After his surrender, he has since undergone different livelihood training in organic farming, and electrical installation and maintenance. "I will use the cash assistance I received to develop my farm and at the same time venture into electrical works," Tejano said. Twenty other former rebels also received PHP10,000 cash each under the DSWD's Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS). Nancy Borja, 20, of Butuan City, was among the 20 beneficiaries of the AICS program and was grateful for the support she received. "I was with the NPA movement for more than a year. I was a medic at GF-4A. I am a victim of the sweet promises of the NPA movement," she said. Borja said the NPA guaranteed her schooling if she agreed to join them. "Unfortunately, they did not allow me to enroll and continue my education," she said. Her family, she added, now intends to send her back to school, where she will enroll in Grade 7, the level she left when she joined the NPA movement. During the distribution of assistance, 15 grassroots associations in conflict-vulnerable areas in Agusan del Norte also received financial assistance worth PHP300,000 each from the SLP of the DSWD. The associations are from Barangays Casiklan, Durian, Ibuan, Lingayao and Maningalao in Las Nieves town; A. Beltran, Baleguian, Cuyapo, Libas and Maraiging in Jabonga; and Bangayan, Canaway, Hinimbangan, Jaliobong, and San Isidro in Kitcharao. A PHP7.2-million livelihood assistance was handed over by the government to the FRs and different associations. The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the National Democratic Front as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as "an integral and separate part" of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973. (PNA) }
MARING'S RAMPAGE. The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office in Agusan del Norte reports the evacuation of 660 families and the destruction of nine houses all worth PHP430,000 in the province caused by Tropical Storm Maring. The weather disturbance also destroyed 24 cottages all worth PHP480,000 in resorts in Cabadbaran City and Buenavista town. (Photo courtesy of PDRRMO Agusan del Norte) BUTUAN CITY - Around 660 families in Agusan del Norte have been affected when Tropical Storm Maring began lashing the province over the weekend. In an interview with the Philippine News Agency Tuesday, Erma Suyo, chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in Agusan del Norte, said most of the affected families were residents in coastal barangays in different towns in the province. "Strong waves caused by TS Maring damaged some houses in our coastal areas. We also implemented preemptive evacuations among residents in these areas for safety," Suyo said. The areas with affected families include Jabonga with 60 families, Cabadbaran City with 472, Tubay with 35, Buenavista with 21, Magallanes with 69, and the town of Santiago with three families. "As of 5 p.m. on Monday, all the evacuated residents have already returned home," Suyo said, adding that the affected families have been aided by the provincial government with relief goods. A total of nine houses in the coastal areas of Tubay, Carmen, Buenavista, and Cabadbaran City were also damaged by strong waves on Monday. "Most of these houses are built [with] light materials. Around PHP430,000 worth of properties, particularly houses, were damaged by TS Maring in our province," Suyo said. The PDRRMO also reported the damage of 22 cottages in several beach resorts in Cabadbaran City and two resorts in Buenavista town, incurring total damage of PHP480,000. Floods that hit the province caused by "Maring" also caused a PHP1,000,000 damage to infrastructure, specifically to roads in Del Pilar, Cabadbaran City, and a PHP500,000 damage in Tagmamarkay, Tubay. No casualties were reported during the onslaught of "Maring" and no damage to property were also reported on the agriculture and fishery sectors in the province. (PNA) }
Documents from Agusan del Norte found near NPA clash site in Southern Leyte sunstar.com.ph - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sunstar.com.ph Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
San Carlos City starts Astrazeneca jabs for senior citizens Philippine Information Agency 25 May 2021, 00:38 GMT+10 SAN CARLOS CITY, May 24 (PIA) - - The city government of San Carlos has started its vaccination program for senior citizens. Jhuliano Resuello, secretary to the mayor and city information officer, said the senior citizens were inoculated with Astrazeneca vaccines with the city having about 1,000 doses on hand and is set to receive 1,200 more doses from the Department of Health in the coming days. These will be divided among the senior citizens and other priority groups. Patuloy po nating pinapatupad ang mga health protocols at ito nga pong comprehensive vaccination program, Resuello told the Philippine Information Agency.
SunStar Coast Guard to conduct salvage operations for LCT Cebu Great Ocean SURIGAO. This photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the cargo vessel LCT Cebu Great Ocean aground along the shoreline of Barangay Cantapoy, Malimono, Surigao del Norte on Monday, April 19, 2021. (AP) + April 25, 2021 THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), in a report on Saturday, April 24, 2021, said the PCG Station Surigao del Norte has issued a certificate of salvage inspection number 1 for the salvage operations intended for the ill-fated LCT Cebu Great Ocean. The certificate of salvage inspection no. 1, a supporting document for salvage operations, was issued to Raul Basmayor, a PCG-accredited salvor.
2 more bodies of missing ship crew found in Surigao del Norte rappler.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rappler.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Philippine Rescuers Find Bodies of 4 Crew Members of Abandoned Cargo Ship; 9 Missing April 22, 2021 MANILA, Philippines – Rescuers in the southern Philippines found the bodies of four crew members Wednesday and rescued seven others who jumped off a cargo vessel, which took in water and listed after its anchor broke in rough seas, officials said. Nine other crew members of the LCT Cebu Great Ocean remain missing. The coast guard and maritime police were searching for them off Surigao del Norte province, where the vessel ran aground without its crew, coast guard spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo said. Those who were rescued floated in their life jackets and float rings for two days, Balilo said.
Coast guard continues search for 9 missing crew members sunstar.com.ph - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sunstar.com.ph Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
MANILA, Philippines Rescuers in the southern Philippines found the bodies of four crew members Wednesday and rescued seven others who jumped off a cargo vessel, which took in water and listed after its anchor broke in rough seas, officials said. Nine other crew members of the LCT Cebu Great Ocean remain missing. The coast guard and maritime police were searching for them off Surigao del Norte province, where the vessel ran aground without its crew, coast guard spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo said. Those who were rescued floated in their life jackets and float rings for two days, Balilo said. The vessel, which had a crew of 20 and was loaded with nickel ore and about 2,000 liters (530 gallons) of diesel fuel, had dropped anchor off Jabonga town in nearby Agusan del Norte. But it snapped in rough seas on Monday and the vessel took in water and started to list.
Published April 21, 2021, 2:59 PM The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) confirmed on Wednesday, April 21, the death of four crew members of a cargo vessel which was found abandoned after it ran aground on the shoreline of Surigao del Norte after the onslaught of typhoon “Bising.” PCG spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said the four fatalities were among the 20 crewmen of the cargo vessel Cebu Great Ocean, adding that seven of those missing were rescued by local residents while nine others are still missing. UPDATE: The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine National Police – Maritime Group (PNP – MARIG), and several…Posted by Philippine Coast Guard on Tuesday, April 20, 2021