TACLOBAN CITY – City Mayor Alfred Romualdez said that he would allow the organizers of the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festivals of Festival to their street parade.

He, however, stressed that it will be the city government that will have a say as to when they can have the street parade, which is most likely to be on a weekend.

In previous years, the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festivals of Festivals hold their street parade attended by participating contingents either on June 27 or 28, days ahead of the annual city fiesta which is celebrated every June 30.

“Based on the recommendation of the department heads, we do this para hindi naman madisrupt yung anu, ito rin ang sinabi sa licensing, weekends na lang sila,” Romualdez said during a press conference.

“So, ta-timing tayo, hahanap tayo ng date ito ang pwede sa kanila. Hindi naman katulad noon na sila ang magdidikta kung kalian pwede o anu, hindi pwede ang ganun,” the city mayor added.

The said twin-bill festival was canceled for the last two years due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease(COVID-19).

Pintados, organized by a business group from Tacloban in 1986 is the oldest festival in the region while Kasadyaan Festival, organized by the provincial government of Leyte is participated by festival contingents from various localities of the region.

Mayor Romualdez said that closing the streets will affect the operation of businesses in the city.

“I cannot do that. I cannot just close the city just like that because we will be losing a lot of money,” he said.

Meantime, Mayor Romualdez said that the Sangyaw Festival of Lights will return this year as part of this year’s celebration of the city fiesta.

“May kino-correct lang kami, may ibang things na we are modifying and correcting,” he said.

He added that as part of the city preparation, they are doing a clearing operation at the Leyte Park Hotel grounds to prepare the site as the location for some activities in relation to the city fiesta.

“We are preparing this area since it is easy to secure and more convenient to people,” Romualdez added. (ROEL T.AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – A fishing vessel donated by the Bureau of Department of Agriculture (DA) and Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to a fishermen’s cooperative in Northern Samar is now in operation.

On May 15, the FV DA-BFAR 2102 steel-hulled fish harvester, made its first fishing voyage resulting in a catch of 3,000 kilograms of fish.

The P39 million worth fishing vessel was donated to DA-BFAR to the Northern Samar Pacific Towns Fishermen’s Cooperative (NSPTFC) last March 29 of this year.

The fishermen are from the Pacific towns of Laoang, Palapag, Mapanas, Gamay, and Lapinig.

“With more fish expected to come in and more regular voyages, we are prospecting an increase of needed labor with the local fisherfolks to deal with the demand of work,” Mapanas Mayor Ronn Michael Tejano said.

“This will not only provide more employment locally but would definitely enhance our local economy and provide extra revenue for our LGU which could be used to further the development of our fishing industry. Our local consumers, particularly the indigents, are now enjoying cheaper prices of the fish caught by NSPTFC,” he added.

Northern Samar has almost 1,000 tuna fishers who mostly rely on traditional fishing methods when catching tuna within the Pacific Ocean, according to the data of BFAR-8.
Through the help of the fishing vessel that BFAR gave to the fisherfolk organization, the bureau foresees at least a 5.4% or 180-200 metric ton increase in tuna production in Northern Samar being provided with the state-of-the-art steel-hulled purse fishing vessel which can store at most 5,000 kilograms of fish catch.

In 2022, Northern Samar contributed 13% of the region’s total fisheries production and recorded the second-highest yield of tuna production in the region.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – At least 18 individuals are now undertaking a two-year auto mechanic training at the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) – 8.

The trainees were chosen from the 620 applicants all over the region for the scholarship program offered by TESDA, Isuzu Motors Limited, and World Vision Philippines.

Among the new trainees is Megan Longasa, 20, from Barangay San Antonio, Basey, and Samar who stopped schooling after the first semester of her first year in college due to financial difficulties.

Longasa said that being chosen as one of the scholars for the program is a challenge for her being a woman as she has no prior knowledge on vehicles or on mechanical works.
“I will listen carefully during our lesson, and persevere to make sure that this opportunity that was given to me will not be wasted,” she said, adding that graduating with the national competency will allow her to land jobs not only in the country but even abroad.

“To my fellow scholars, our dream is now ahead of us and thankfully enough, we are the luckiest one out of the many others who aim to be part of this scholarship. I hope that we continue to follow our dreams, always find our passion, and never let go,” she said in her message of commitment during the welcome ceremony Wednesday (May 17).

For Remar Taneo, 22, who is from Ormoc City, the opportunity given to him to be part of the Batch 23 scholars of the auto mechanic training is a stepping stone for him to achieve his goal to become an engineer.

Taneo said that he took up an engineering course at the Eastern Visayas State University but due to some problem, he had to stop his schooling.

“I have a better chance of getting employed after my two years of training here at TESDA as an auto mechanic. The competency that they are giving to us is a big help in looking and landing for a job,” Taneo said, adding that he would like to pursue his engineering course once he already enough savings.

The Isuzu-TESDA auto mechanic in partnership with the World Vision had been ongoing since 2008 and had produced more than 300 trainees mostly come from underprivileged families but deserving to be provided with needed education to gain employment.

Isuzu and World Vision had allocated P366 million for the operation of the project since their partnership started in 2012.

The training facility located inside the regional office of TESDA-8 is complete with training tools and equipment, a dormitory for boys and girls, a cafeteria, and a multi-purpose covered court.

Graduates of the training will undergo competency assessment and those who will pass will be certified by the TESDA and issued the national certificate or certificate of competency.
The Isuzu-TESDA auto mechanic scholars were welcome by the Isuzu Senior Executive Officer of administrative division Hirokazu Okubo, World Vision Philippines Executive Director Rommel Fuerte, TESDA Regional Director Gamaliel Vicente Jr., and TESDA Leyte Director Rolando Bade.

Vicente, in an interview, said that more than 91 percent of the graduates under the scholarship program are employed after the training both locally and abroad.

“Some of the graduates are hired by Isuzu and with their learning and skills being globally competitive, companies from the Philippines and abroad may immediately hire them,” he said.

Aside from the 18 new scholars, the training center has currently 18 auto mechanic trainees for automotive servicing NC I, 18 for NC II, 18 for NC III, and 19 for NC IV.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)