Leyte-Samar DAILYPOSITIVE EXPRESS l FAIR l FREE VOL. XXXI I NO. 060 TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2020 P15.00 IN TACLOBAN For COVID-19 contact tracing Tacloban’s SCAN system now in full operation JOEY A. GABIETA TACLOBAN CITY- About 150,000 individ- Thriving barter community uals from this city and those residing in other members welcome DTI's parts of the region have availed of a system in- troduced by the city government for easy con- non-tax pronouncement tact tracing relative to the pandemic caused by TACLOBAN CITY - Tacloban City Vice the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19). The barter community Mayor Jerry Yaokasin, in Tacloban welcomes who is also active in This was disclosed by government under Mayor the clarification made by joining the barter com- Randy Calahi, head of the Alfred Romualdez to ad- the Department of Trade munity, said that the Management Information dress the COVID-19 pan- and Industry (DTI) on announcement of DTI System (MIS), who said demic by having an easy an earlier report that on- is good news to many that they are overwhelmed and fast contact tracing for line barter is illegal and individuals who are en- with the response of the both positive individuals must be taxed. gaging in barter trade. public. and their close contacts, the Some residents of Ta- “This will now en- It was the office of MIS chief. cloban and from neigh- courage many to sur- Calahi that developed the All establishments, par- boring towns in Leyte vive, turning their system dubbed as sur- ticularly frequented by big province have created an throwaways & unused/ veillance, contact tracing, number of people, are re- online group accounts used/extra items into analysis and networking quired to have a scanner called as Tacloban Bar- something that they can (SCAN) which took effect wherein the SCAN cards ter Community and actually use,” Yaokasin on Thursday (July 16). issued by the city govern- Leyte Barter Communi- said. According to Calahi, ment would be scanned ty where they regularly “In this time of pan- 80,000 people have reg- before the holders would be share items they want to demic and prolonged istered the system online allowed entry. exchange with others. quarantine, many peo- while about 70,000 cards Calahi said that they CONTACT TRACING. Customers entering vari- ous business establishments here in Tacloban City The barter trading ple lost their regular were distributed to all have already distributed boomed during the sources of income. With need to present their SCAN cards, which can also be 138 barangays in the city SCAN cards to the villages quarantine period as the no more cash on hand wherein one household is wherein one household is downloaded, before they would be allowed to enter. movements of the peo- to buy daily necessities, entitled to one SCAN card. entitled to a single card. The system was devised by the city government for ple were restrained due the barter community The program is part of easy and fast contact tracing for COVID-19 infected see Tacloban’s/page 14 ... to the coronavirus dis- provides a platform for the campaign of the city persons and their close contacts. (RYAN AYON) ease 2019(COVID- 19) members to trade their pandemic. unused/used items for “If makikita niyo ang essential supplies. This As part of Mayor Romualdez’ Green Revolution Tacloban barter page, is welcome relief for mostly sa makikita nin- many cash-strapped in- Tacloban old dumpsite to be converted into a floral yo na bina-barter ay dividuals and families,” garden; design to become city's added attraction mga groceries and daily he added. needs like rice and oth- Through barter, Yao- TACLOBAN CITY- nation, in support of May- er commodities,” Rhoel kasin exchanges grocery The Tacloban City En- or Alfred Romualdez’ goal Ladera, Tacloban Barter goods with old things vironment and Natural to beautify the site, and his Community member, or vintage items which Resources Office (CEN- dream of bringing back said. see Thriving/page 3 ... RO) will be doing a flo- Green Revolution to Ta- “Barter became life- ristic restoration of the cloban City. line of many, dahil sa old dumpsite in Barangay The soon to rise hirap na nararanasan 106, Tacloban City North, two-hectare natural floris- nila, may mga nawalan according to City ENR tic park will showcase local ng trabaho, at mga busi- Officer Jonathan R. Hija- species and certain types nesses na humina ang da, together with Site Co- of plants which have been kita dahil sa COVID-19,” ordinator Marito Barillo, carefully considered for the local vines present in and creepers amidst the he added. environmental officer II. the type of soil of the old the area). Such planting “greens” in the north is Ladera added that The restoration of the dumpsite/park site: shrub activity is set to happen in something for Tacloban- because of barter, what old dumpsite to make it trees (Paguringon or Ka- August of 2020. ons to look forward to a other people think are ecologically stable again kawate), ornamentals (Ka- The natural park which few months from now. trash or useless in their is a move to convert the lipayan or San Francisco), will be filled with beau- (TACLOBAN CITY INFOR- homes became useful MATION CENTER) land into a tourist desti- and creepers (Kudzu and tiful flower trees, shrubs, during the health crisis. 2 Leyte Samar Daily Express NEWS Saturday, July 18, 2020 Maasin City’s new quarantine Part of the mass purging in the 1980s facility now ready for Former NPA leader returnees, Mercado says arrested in Leyte town TACLOBAN CITY – after 21-days of isolation in The city government TACLOBAN CITY- An Ormoc City, Leyte, said ernment. Maasin City Mayor Nacio- quarantine facilities will be have separate quarantine alleged ranking member of during a mobile phone in- A mass grave was nal Mercado disclosed that discharged despite pending facility for health workers the communist group was terview. discovered last August their new quarantine facil- test results. that can accommodate up arrested by government He said that informa- 31,2006 in Mt. Sapang ity is almost complete and Those who will be tested to seven individuals in sep- forces in Inopacan town, tion received by them Daku in Brgy. Caulisihan, ready to accommodate positive and have finished arate isolation areas with Leyte province on Tuesday from the residents of the also in Inopacan town, arriving locally stranded their isolation would no two separate disinfection (July 14) afternoon. village led to the arrest of where the victims of the individuals (LSIs). longer be asked for another tents. Arrested was Felomino Salazar. mass purging were said The facility can accom- swab testing. As of July 15, Maasin Salazar, Jr., 69, at his house “When we received the to have been buried. modate around 50 indi- Those with negative re- City had recorded eight in Barangay Tinago of the information, we verified it About 67 human viduals, the mayor said. sults before the end of the confirmed COVID-19 pa- said town at about 3 pm. and upon confirming, we skulls and over hundreds “This may not be as mandatory 14-day quaran- tients, where six had al- Salazar, who also car- right away conducted our of bones were discovered comfortable compared to tine must stay in the desig- ready recovered while two ried aliases of ‘Jun and Leo,’ operation which resulted at the mass grave. your own rooms but we nated facilities to complete are still active cases. was said to be a member of to his arrest,” he said. Velez said that the reb- are doing our best in giv- the prescribed isolation pe- (ROEL T. AMAZONA) the executive committee The military official el is now under the custo- ing quality service to our riod. of the Communist Party said that Salazar has been dy of the Criminal Inves- constituents most espe- of the Philippines-New living in Tinago since 2015 tigation and Detection cially on times of crisis,” People’s Army (CPP-NPA) where his nephew is said Group (CIDG) in Ormoc Mercado said. Samar ex-rebels tapped Southern Leyte Front, to be a village councilor. City for documentation The facility is in addi- to find more NPA graves was arrested by virtue of “He is in the village as and booking procedure tion to the existing quar- a warrant of arrest issued if he was a free man,” Velez before he would be pre- antine areas identified by TACLOBAN CITY – turnees to locate the grave by Regional Trial Court- said. sented to the Regional the city government and Government troops in of other NPA members Branch 32 of the Nation- Velez said that Salazar Trial Court-Branch 32 to the quarantine facili- Northern Samar thanked who died in clashes with al Capital Judicial region was part of the group of of the National Capital ty provided by Philippine rebel returnees for provid- government troops. based in Manila. the CPP-NPA responsible Judicial region based in Red Cross-Southern Leyte ing vital information that “Terrorism is a threat The alleged rebel lead- in the implementation of Manila. chapter. led to the recent discovery to peace, security, prosper- er has 15 outstanding the so-called ‘Operation “This is not our victo- Meanwhile, the city of a burial ground of the ity, and people. Let us all warrants for murder in Anti-Venereal Disease’ ry but victory of the peo- government will make New People’s Army (NPA) be united in exterminat- connection to the mass of the communist group ple who were victimized it mandatory that all re- in the province.