TACLOBAN CITY –The booth of Eastern Visayas was adjudged as the first runner-up for the Best Booth Regional Category at the recently concluded 34th Philippine Travel Mart held at the SMX Convention Center.

The region’s booth was designed with the iconic San Juanico Bridge, which connects the Leyte and Samar islands, as the main backdrop.

“We’re thankful for this recognition and are committed to continuing to showcase the captivating treasures of Eastern Visayas to the world,” Department of Tourism 8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said.

More than 200 exhibitors from all over the country joined the event. The Eastern Visayas Pavilion showcases hidden gems from the provinces of Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Southern Leyte, Maasin City, Tacloban City, and the towns of Burauen and Palompon, both in Leyte.

Several notable tour operators from the region also joined the event.

Held from September 1 to 3, the Philippine Travel Mart, the country’s most prominent and longest-running travel expo, is an annual event sponsored by the Philippine Tour Operators Association or PHILTOA.

This annual expo is participated by tour operators, hotels, resorts, and airlines including local government units.

DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, in her message during the opening ceremony, noted that the country has big potential to become a tourism powerhouse.

“The Philippine Travel Mart reflects all the reasons to love the Philippines. All of our regions in the country are represented and they have brought the best of the best of their destinations—their products, their festivals, the work of indigenous peoples, especially from Mindanao. It also shows how much our tourism stakeholders have worked so hard to ensure that Philippine tourism rises back stronger than ever,” she said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Seen to spur economic activities, seaport congestion

TACLOBAN CITY– A bridge connecting Visayas and Luzon should be constructed under the government’s ‘Mega Bridge Program’ as this would help sea congestion and address passengers being stranded during typhoons.

Thus said House minority floor leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan in a press statement Monday (August 28).

Under the proposal of Libanan, the two major islands could be connected through Northern Samar on the Visayas side and Sorsogon on the Luzon side.

“We are calling on the government’s economic planners to include the Sorsogon-Northern Samar Bridge over the San Bernardino Strait in the Mega Bridge Program,” Libanan said in a statement.

“The bridge will solve the recurring problem of seaport congestion and thousands of passengers getting stranded during weather disturbances,” he added.

Also, the proposed bridge will help spur economic activities as this would result in more mobility of people and goods, especially for small business entrepreneurs, Libanan said.

At present, people from Visayas, particularly from the Eastern Visayas region, have to use ferries through seaports in Northern Samar in going to Luzon through Matnog, Sorsogon.
Libanan said that based on an earlier study made by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), this Luzon-Visayas Bridge is feasible.

The study, completed in 2019, had estimated that the crossing bridge would cost around P284 billion with a construction timetable of six years covering about 28 kms, he said.
Libanan said that considering of the huge cost needed to realize this proposed project, it could be done in phases.

“All we want is for this could be started early,” he said.

Under the Mega Bridge program of the government, which was conceptualized under the Build Build Build program of the Department of Public Works and Highways during the Duterte administration, among the proposed bridge projects to be constructed include the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges; Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge; Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge; Cebu-Mactan 4th Bridge and Coastal Road; Panguil Bay Bridge; Panglao-Tagbilaran City Offshore Bridge Connector; three Tawi-Tawi Bridges (1.79 km); and Guicam Bridge.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Office of the Vice President (OVP) together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the region and the local government unit of Matag-ob, Leyte planted 8,500 indigenous seedlings on the tree planting activity in support of the ‘PagbaBAGo: A Million Learners and Trees Project.’

DENR 8 Regional Executive Director Lormelyn Claudio, Richard E. De Jesus, assistant satellite lead of OVP- Tacloban, Matag-ob Mayor Bernandino Tacoy led in the tree planting held in the 11-hectare area in Barangay Malazarte.

Claudio, in her message, encouraged those who participated in the tree planting to ensure that the seedlings they planted will survive.

She also urged those who participated to influence others to engage in tree planting activities and other undertakings whose goal is to protect and conserve the environment.

“Protecting our nature should be a priority. You can do that by influencing others in popularizing environmental management and protection approaches,” Claudio said.

Mayor Tacoy thanked the OVP and DENR for including Matag-ob in the PagbaBAGo project and committed his full support to the endeavor.

“I would like to ask you today, to be part of the program, be part of the legacy of everyone, to make Matag-ob green again. Making our environment sustainable and taking care of it is the only lasting legacy that we can give to our future generation,” the town mayor said.
He also shared that in the previous tree-planting activity of the LGU, they were able to plant around 10,000 seedlings.

The PagbaBAGo: A Million Learners and Trees Project of the OVP is a special project targeting to plant 20,000 tree seedlings each year per region until 2028 in support of the government’s National Greening Program (NGP) according to De Jesus.
He added that they are targeting to plant at least 100,000 indigenous tree seedlings in the region by 2028.

De Jesus added that since the program was launched by the OVP in the region this year and had planted 1,000 mangroves in Catbalogan City, and 5,000 indigenous tree seedlings in Basey, all in Samar province. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)