TACLOBAN CITY – The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), World Vision Philippines, the regional office of the Department of Health and other national and local government agencies conducted a policy forum on reducing teenage pregnancy in the region.

Held at the Summit Hotel in Tacloban City, the forum was graced by KOICA Country Director Kim Eunsub, Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, Eastern Samar Vice Governor Maria Caridad Sison-Goteesan, mayors from Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Leyte provinces, and national line-government agency officials.

The forum, which had a theme “Advancing Multi-Sectoral Policies to Reduce Teenage Pregnancy Cases in Eastern Visayas Region,” served as a venue to provide the current outlook of teenage pregnancy and foster multi-sectoral collaboration to address the multifaceted aspects of teenage pregnancy in Eastern Visayas.

The policy forum is part of the KOICA Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (KOICA MNCH) Project of KOICA and World Vision which aims to ensure healthy lives of mothers and infants/children to reduce maternal mortality rate in Eastern Visayas.

The program is implemented in 16 local government units in the region, namely, Basey, Marabut, Matuguinao, and San Jorge in Samar; Palapag, Laoang, Silvino Lobos, and Pambujan in Northern Samar; Quinapondan, Gen. MacArthur, Dolores, and Taft, Eastern Samar; Pastrana, Sta Fe, Tabon-tabon, and Tolosa, all in Leyte.

“Teenage pregnancy is something that is difficult to fix once it happens, and that is the reason why we have to address this,” Gov. Petilla said in his message during the forum.
He added that the provincial government is more than willing to collaborate with KOICA and World Vision to address this problem because it affects all sectors and members of a community.

“This is compounding health problem that really affect women especially younger girls whose body are not design to get pregnant at an early age,” Petilla stressed.

Matuguinao Mayor Aran Boller, for his part, said that the rural health unit in their municipality are implementing programs to inform the young girls of how getting pregnant early will have significant effect to their future.

Cases of teenage pregnancy in his municipality is not that high, he said but this still need to be address because its impact, both to the young mother and the local government unit.
“As local leaders, we should be aware of what should be done to address this problem because if this will be left unsolved, this will result to unemployment and lack of education among young mothers,” Mayor Boller said.

The challenges in the delivery of the teenage pregnancy programs at regional and LGU level were also discussed by representatives from the regional offices of the Department of Health, Commission on Population and Development, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine National Police, National Nutrition Council and the Department of Education.

World Vision Development Foundation, Inc., Director for Strategy Management, Impact and Learning Vanessa Retuerma said that through the forum they wanted to thresh out a thorough study what are the factors that really contribute to the high teenage pregnancy in this region.

“We have so many existing laws that also wanted to address the teenage pregnancy. For one we have the Reproductive Health Law, but the policy and the research shows that there is a certain gap in terms of implementation,” Retuerma said.

“To fill in that gap in terms of implementing that law specifically from the national and most importantly in the local because that’s usually where the challenges are how to implement a national law,” she added.

The program concluded with the signing of pledge and commitment of the municipal and provincial local government units to address the problem of teenage pregnancy in the region.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – A dairy box facility is to rise in Carigara, Leyte with the groundbreaking for the construction of said project held last Wednesday (Spt.6).

The P10 million worth of project was made possible through the assistance from the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), Philippine Coconut Authority, Department of Agriculture, and the office of Senator Cynthia Villar.

The facility aims to promote the daily milk production under the coconut complemented by coco-based farming system to augment farmers’ income.

It also aims to help in improving the nutrients deficiencies among children in the town of Carigara through feeding programs, provide agricultural interventions to coconut farmers through the cooperative conduit scheme.

Town Mayor Eduardo Ong Jr. said that the project will greatly benefit pastillas producers of the town.

“For the longest time, our pastillas producers are outsourcing their milk. With this project, this will help us become self-sufficient,” he said.

Carigara, located more than 50 kilometers from Tacloban City, is known for its pastillas product.

Pastillas or “pastillas de leche” of Carigara is unlike other products in the country that uses cow or goat milk.

The town’s pastillas product is made from carabao’s milk that gives its unique texture and distinct flavor.

Once finished, the facility will become a one-stop to showcase and sell products of Macapili Community MPC to support them with an opportunity to gain access for greater income.
This will be a go-to destination for travelers and tourist to buy fresh produced buffalo’s milk, pastillas and other milk-based products and other delicacies produced in Carigara town.

Also present during the groundbreaking were PCA 8 Regional Manager Joel Pilapil, and Barbara Bañez of Senator Villar’s Office.

Fifty carabaos were also distributed to ensure an enough supply of milk that is essential to delicacy makers of the town.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY-The government’s peace and development efforts and significant accomplishments on ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC), especially in Eastern Visayas region, were the main points of discussion during the post-State of the Nation Address (Sona) Forum in this city on Tuesday, September 5.

Some 500 participants attended the Eastern Visayas episode of the peace-themed talks, a public forum which will be held at this city’s convention center.

The day-long activity features a Serbisyo Caravan in which some 31 participating national line agencies put up booths where they displayed their programs, projects, activities, and services, freely offered to clients, including consultation and info dissemination on how to avail such programs and services.

Among those who graced the event were regional heads of national government agencies, information officers, punong barangays, SK chairpersons, KKDAT officers in the city, a youth group on poetry, friends rescued, and employees, while over a dozen local media practitioners are due to cover the event.

The Tacloban post-SONA forum carries the theme, “Pagkaurosa para ha Kamurayawan nga Kauswagan ha Sinirangan Bisayas” (Unity for Peace and Development in Eastern Visayas).
City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, the concurrent chairperson of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC), delivered the welcome remarks, while Paulino Gutierez of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, gave an inspirational message.

Program overview was tackled by Jose Torres Jr., director-general of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).

Other speakers are Usec. Ernesto Torres Jr., executive director and Secretariat of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), who shared a briefing on ELCAC accomplishments, and Eustacio Bacabac, regional director of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), on the topic “Awareness Orientation on CTG Infiltration and Exploitation.”

Oscar Valenzuela, Undersecretary for Peace and Order of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), discussed a briefer on “Benefits and Livelihood Opportunities for Friends Rescued.”

Leonilo Lopido, PIA-8 officer-in-charge, made the closing message following the open forum.
(MMP/PIA Southern Leyte)

TACLOBAN CITY – The remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Samar Island now are classified as roving bandits with no single village official supporting their ideology, an Army official said Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division told reporters that the remaining NPA rebels are jittery with the continued deaths, capture, and surrender of their leaders.

“The remaining 180 active regular NPA members are now roving bandits with the dismantling of two guerilla fronts and weakening of two others. They refuse to surrender since they are facing criminal charges,” Ligayo said in an interview Wednesday.
The official is confident in eradicating insurgents in three Samar provinces before the end of the year.

There are about 10 army battalions assigned in Samar province as the government heightened its fight against communist insurgents.

Only two NPA guerilla fronts in Samar Island remain in existence after the dismantling of one front and the weakening of another early this year.

But these fronts are already weakened with the surrender of mass supporters in communities.
Ligayo said the rebel’s Front Committee 2 that operated at the border of Samar and Northern Samar has been demolished after the capture and surrender of some of their combatants and recovery of firearms.
He said the NPA Front Committee 3, which operated near the borders of Northern and Eastern Samar, has been dismantled after a series of operations by government forces. (PNA)