TACLOBAN CITY – The appointment of Mayor Alfred Romualdez as the new Regional Peace and Order Council chairman for Eastern Visayas was hailed by officials in the region.
Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres Gomez and Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan said that with his experience as the mayor of Tacloban, considered the region’s capital, makes Romualdez capable to lead the regional body.

“We all need each other in the development of the region. That is a very important committee because peace and order is the foundation of all development. Without that there could be no real development,” Mayor Gomez, who also chairs the Regional Development Council, said.

She said she is looking forward to meeting Romualdez and discuss with him for a possible collaboration to attain the common goal of economic development of the region.
For Gov. Ongchuan, Mayor Romualdez leading the RPOC would enable the council to work efficiently with national and local agencies including stakeholders that are working tirelessly to attain long lasting peace.

“Eastern Visayas is performing well in achieving its target outcomes in maintaining the peace and order in the region, and now with Mayor Alfred’s strong leadership and the synergized efforts of the local government units and regional line agencies, we believe that we can finally attain just and lasting peace,” he said.

Mayor Romualdez, who was appointed as RPOC chair by his cousin, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on March 15, said that one of the things that he would like to do as RPOC chair is to push for a summit with all the stakeholders to visit previous policies that was crafted to address the peace and order and security situation of the region.

“My plan is to touch base with all the stakeholders, all the members of the regional peace and order council, touch base with them so that we can now give an update on the latest situation, also we review the past policies on how effective they were and if they need to be extended or modified,” Mayor Alfred said.

He added that he wanted to visit various LGUs to meet with local leaders and to assess the current peace and order situation in their area.

Romualdez said that among the first areas in the region that he would like to visit in Northern Samar province.

Northern Samar is considered by the Philippine Army as the ‘last bastion’ of communist insurgency in the region where four of the five its guerrilla fronts are operating.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Two electric cooperatives in Samar province were recipients of a grant from the European Union (EU) under the Access to Sustainable Energy Program – Rural Network Solar (ASEP-RNS) to construct solar power plants.

Under the $1.17 million grant, a one-megawatt solar power facility will be constructed each by the Samar Electric Cooperative (Samelco) I and the Samar Electric Cooperative (Samelco) II.

The two Samar-based electric cooperatives are among the six power cooperatives which were identified under the EU grant.

The solar power plant for Samelco 1 will be constructed within the 1.5-hectare lot located beside their office in Barangay Carayman in Calbayog City while in Samelco II, the solar power plant is to be constructed at the 1.5-hectare property of the electric cooperative in Paranas town.

Samelco I serves the city of Calbayog and 11 towns while Samelco II serves the city of Catbalogan and 15 municipalities in the second district of the province.

Samelco I has 79,931 member-consumers while Samelco II has 99,750 member-consumers.

The construction of the facilities is expected to be completed by June of this year as the ground-breaking was held on March 14.

Among those who graced the groundbreaking were National Power Corporation vice president, Atty. Rogel Teves, and project director, Godofredo Magpoc, Jr.

“Since this is a grid-tied, power will not pass through NGCP/Transmission line, this will somewhat help in lowering the rates. Power generated from this will not be recovered to the consumers since this is a grant, project,” Jane Custodio, Samelco 1 information officer, said.

The solar power plant will also somewhat enhance the capacity of Samelco 1’s power supply and ensure grid stability.

Samelco II general manager Joey Talon, for his part, expressed his heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the Napocor and World Bank for choosing their cooperative as one of the recipients of the said grant.

“Th(is will) benefit the member-consumer-owners as this will somewhat reduce the power rate,” GM Talon said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

NSSDEO, Brgy. Burabud, Laoang, Northern Samar-The Northern Samar 2nd District Engineering Office (NSSDEO) technical and non-technical regular and job order employees took the Computer Proficiency Examination (CPE) last February 28, 2023 held at NSSDEO Multipurpose Hall in Brgy. Burabud, Laoang, Northern Samar.

This is to ensure that those hired Contract of Service (COS) and entry level positions during the suspension of the CPE possess the minimum proficiency to perform the computer-aided work/responsibilities as required by the position, passing the CPE within six (6) months in the position is required.

The district office has thirteen (13) examinees (11 clerical and 2 technical employees) divided into 3 batches. The said CPE is a standard test for new employees conducted by the central office to determine literacy and competence on office automation systems.
(LYCA MAE T. QUILICOL, PIO ALTERNATE)