ORMOC CITY-A newly-born infant was found lifeless in a construction site in a diversion road past 1 pm located in Barangay Looc, Almeria, Biliran.
Town police chief, Capt. Teofilo Gervacio III, described the infant as a baby girl who was found by local residents beside a black bag believed to be where the infant was placed and abandoned.
Case investigator Police Staff Sergeant Reynate Palconit, in an interview, said that Leonardo Gomez appeared at their station and reported that his son found a stray dog with a carcass in the mouth his son believed to be an infant.
Palconit added that they immediately responded to the area and found the lifeless infant covered with a leaf of a giant taro. The residents in the area believed that the infant must be delivered in another place and was only left in the area.
The newly-born infant was turned over by the police to the local office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development which immediately buried the infant in a local cemetery. (ROBERT DEJON)
ORMOC CITY– A land dispute between siblings resulted in the shooting of the younger brother inside his residence but accidentally hurt two visitors in the victim’s house in Barangay Agrufacion, Sta. Margarita, Samar at about 8 pm on Monday (Nov.6).
Police identified the victims as Joel Calagos, 41; Angelo Cailo, 21; and Kevin Gorgonia Casulig, 18 while the suspect was identified as Juwel Calagos, 40, who is at-large.
Initial investigation conducted by local police disclosed that while the victims were in their residence watching television, the suspect arrived and confronted his elder brother regarding their land dispute.
A heated argument ensued between the two siblings when the suspect suddenly drew a firearm locally known as “bardog” and shot his elder brother hitting his right and left legs while the two other victims were accidentally hit by the metallic pellets hitting their right leg, left arm, and waist.
After which, the suspect fled on foot towards the mountainous area of the said place bringing along with him the firearm used in the incident.
The victims were subsequently rushed to Calbayog District Hospital for immediate medical attention. (ROBERT DEJON)
TACLOBAN CITY– Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone has personally asked President Marcos to help local government units to gain access to funds under the People’s Survival Fund to help them address concerns on climate change.
Evardone made his appeal during a gathering attended by governors and mayors from Eastern Visayas during the ‘Handa Pilipinas’ Visayas Leg held at the Summit Hotel, this city on Wednesday (Nov. 8), coinciding the 10th anniversary of the onslaught of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in the region.
“I appealed to President Marcos in the presence of Speaker Martin Romualdez and Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo to help LGUs access the multibillion-peso People’s Survival Fund for disaster preparedness, mitigation, and rehabilitation,” the governor said in an interview.
According to the governor, the People’s Survival Fund as contained under Republic Act 10174 was institutionalized in 2012 which includes a long-term finance stream to enable the government, including the local government units, to effectively address the problem of climate change.
It also mandates for local government units have access to funds to augment their resources for implementing climate change-related projects or programs.
The governor also appealed to the President to ‘relax’ the stringent requirements so the LGU could gain access to the Fund.
“I explained to the President that there is a need to relax the requirements so LGUs can readily access to the fund and the President vowed to look into it why the LGUs can’t access to that fund,” Evardone said.
“(And) since it speaks of people’s survival, access to that fund to help communities in disaster-prone areas should be easy,” the Eastern Samar governor said.
For the local government units to gain access to the fund, estimated to be at P1 billion per year, the requesting LGU must submit a letter of intent, accomplished project proposal template, climate risk and vulnerability assessments, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction-enhanced comprehensive land use or development plans and local climate change action plan, among others.
Evardone said that they have complied with the requirements and submitted them to the Climate Change Commission early this year but did not receive any response.
“Our province was able to comply with all the requirements last April but unfortunately no word from the Climate Change Commission,” he said.
Meantime, in his speech, the President said that the Handa Pilipinas Visayas Leg was launched to showcase the different disaster risk reduction and management initiatives of the government.
“The government remains committed to advancing our country’s disaster resilience, and of course, we must recognize the role of the Department of Science and Technology in this undertaking,” he said.
According to the President, the DOST has been instrumental in developing cutting-edge technologies for disaster risk prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
“I am confident that the technologies featured in this event such as the mobile command post, the triaging trailer tent, the collapsible toilet bowl, upgraded emergency disinfection system, fire blanket, unsinkable porta boat and water ambulance, amongst others—will be of great help during relief and rescue operations,” he said.
“Kaya’t kailangan ipagpatuloy natin ang pag-develop. Hindi na ‘yung teknolohiya kung hindi ang pagpababa ng presyo ng ating mga produkto at pagparami para maging available sa lahat ng ating mga LGU para naman magamit pantulong sa tao kapag may pangangailangan,” the President added. (JOEY A. GABIETA)
TACLOBAN CITY – The World Food Programme (WFP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) donated equipment to the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to boost the disaster response in Eastern Visayas.
The equipment donated to the DSWD includes a reach truck, rice milling machine, automatic box sealing machine, portable vacuum sealing machine, retractable roller conveyor, hydraulic hand pallet trucks, plastic pallet bins, high volume low-speed ceiling fan, and a generator set as part of the 10th anniversary of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’(international name: Haiyan).
A communication system from the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) was also included as part of the WFP partnership with DSWD.
The ceremonial handover event, held at the Regional Resource Operation Center of the DSWD in Palo town on Wednesday(Nov.8), was attended by Undersecretary for National Household Targeting System and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Vilma Cabrera, DSWD Undersecretary for Disaster Response and Management Group Diane Rose Cajipe, DSWD-8 Regional Director Grace Subong, Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla, WFP-Philippine Country Director, ad-interim, Dipayan Bhattacharyya, and USAID Mission Director for the Philippines and Mongolia Ryan Washburn.
The donation of the WFP is in response to the department’s request for support in upgrading its warehouse capacity, and to ensure that the regional warehouse will continuously be able to supply the requirements of the region during times of disaster, calamities, and emergencies.
The equipment will be utilized by the DSWD Eastern Visayas in its warehouse operations to enhance its stockpiling capacity and improve production and repacking, ensuring a longer shelf life of rice and other relief goods, particularly those that will be delivered and prepositioned in the different satellite and warehouses of the local government units.
Gov. Petilla, in his message, emphasized the importance of distributing resources before disaster strikes to ensure that local government units and national government agencies can respond immediately after calamities.
“It’s not centralization but actually distribution. In every disaster, distributed resources are actually crucial,” he stressed.
This was supported by Usec. Cabrera, who said that among the lessons they have learned during Yolanda, was to distribute preparation activities in disaster response, particularly on food and non-food stocks.
“Preparation for stockpiling should not be done in one location but should be scattered in all areas, particularly in areas that will not be directly affected so that it will be easy to distribute during a humanitarian response,” the DSWD official said.
During the turn-over, the WFP also highlighted the ongoing collaboration with the DICT that showcased innovative emergency telecommunications solutions to emphasize the critical role of connectivity during emergencies through the Government Emergency Communications System – Mobile Operations Vehicle for Emergencies (GECS-MOVE).
They also featured the newly constructed mini-MOVE, a project supported by USAID.
This collaboration is a first not only in the Philippines but also in the world, according to the WFP.
Bhattacharyya said that this is one of the innovations that they made in terms of disaster response.
“WFP is very grateful for this collaboration. Together, we are making a difference before and after disaster strikes,” he said. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
ORMOC CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Leyte 4th District Engineering Office (DEO) participates in the 4th Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) in coordination with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) on Thursday, November 09, 2023.
During the exercise, employees engaged in the implementation of the Duck, Cover, and Hold Technique, a fundamental practice for personal safety during earthquakes.
Additionally, the emergency response team simulated earthquake scenarios involving the assistance of an injured person and demonstrating first aid measures.
Upon the drill’s completion, the evaluators from the BFP provided valuable feedback, contributing to the continuous improvement of the DEO’s disaster response strategies.
The quarterly NSED is conducted in adherence to the standards set by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) aimed to enhance preparedness and safety protocols in the event of seismic activities. (PR)
TACLOBAN CITY – The newly-elected Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials in Northern Samar attended the SK Mandatory Training (SKMT) as they are to formally assume their posts beginning November 14.
The capability-building training is a prerequisite for assuming office. Those who won cannot assume if they cannot present the certificate of completion for the mandatory training even if they have already taken their oath.
The Provincial Youth Development Office (PYDO) headed by Anne Kirsten Tobes facilitated the training together with the Local Youth Development Offices (LYDOs) and the Municipal Local Government Operations Officers (MLGOOs).
The mandatory training was previously conducted by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Youth Commission (NYC), however this year they allowed PYDO to conduct the training to make it more accessible to all SK officials.
The SKMT is mandated under Section 27 of RA No. 10742, commonly known as the SK Reform Act, imposing an additional requirement before the winning candidate can assume office, specifically, that they must undergo and successfully complete training to be administered by the NYC and the DILG.
Any SK official, whether elected or appointed, must undergo the mandatory training program before he or she can assume office.
The province has a total of 569 SK chairmen from 569 villages across 24 towns of the province.
Also during the training, the PYDO emphasizes to the participants the significance of the SKMT in providing orientation to the newly-elected youth officials on various aspects of basic knowledge and skills needed to effectively fulfill their roles and responsibilities like planning and budgeting, meetings, and resolutions, code of conduct and ethical standards, decentralization, and local governance.
The training also aims to assist the SK officials in identifying their priority programs for the allocated 10-percent development fund.
The SK officials were also reminded that they have to participate and attend continuing training programs during their incumbency to avoid sanction of disqualification or disciplinary actions. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
