CAPOOCAN, Leyte—The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Leyte Second District Engineering Office has recently completed bridge retrofitting and strengthening projects on the major highway of Palo-Carigara-Ormoc (PCO) road.
According to District Engineer Leo Edward Oppura, Candulman and Domiri bridges are along PCO road in the road section of Capoocan town has been retrofitted and strengthened to make the bridge structure meet the required standard, especially since it is along a major highway.
The project involves the placement of carbon fiber sheets under the bridge deck slabs to cover concrete cracks and prevent further extension of the concrete structure issues in order to improve the overall quality of the bridge.
“PCO is a busy road utilizing high volumes of vehicles daily; maintaining its pavement and bridges is our priority to provide the traveling public with smooth and faster travel,” DE Oppura added.
This project, funded under the DPWH General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2023 Bridge Program: Retrofitting and Strengthening of Permanent Bridges, has a combined contract amount of P3.92 million and was completed on July 4, 2023. (LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
EV’S BETS. About 294 young athletes from the region are seeing actions in this year’s week-long Palarong Pambansa in Marikina City which will start on Monday (July 31). Top officials of the Department of Education led by Regional Director Evelyn Fetalvero(center) and her assistant Ronilo Firmo(left) visited the young athletes at their quarters at the Marikina Elementary School. (DEPED-VIII)
EV’S BETS. About 294 young athletes from the region are seeing actions in this year’s week-long Palarong Pambansa in Marikina City which will start on Monday (July 31). Top officials of the Department of Education led by Regional Director Evelyn Fetalvero(center) and her assistant Ronilo Firmo(left) visited the young athletes at their quarters at the Marikina Elementary School. (DEPED-VIII)
Ex-NPA leader says move could encourage others to surrender
TACLOBAN CITY– The plan of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. to give amnesty to all former members of the New People’s Army (NPA), was welcomed by security officials and even by a former rebel leader in the region.
This move, they say, could hasten the end of the communist insurgency in the country, including in Eastern Visayas where the communist armed group continues to persist.
Pres. Marcos during his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 24 urged Congress to issue a proclamation giving amnesty to former NPA members to ease their reintegration into society.
Under the country’s Constitution, a presidential amnesty proclamation could only take effect only upon the concurrence of a majority of all members of Congress.
“We welcome the pronouncement of the President and our Commander-in-Chief on giving the amnesty to the former rebels. This will pave the way for the attainment of genuine peace that we work in the ground and longed for by our people for a long time,” B/Gen. Noel Vestuir, the commanding officer of the 802nd Infantry Brigade based in Borongan City, Eastern Samar, said on Sunday (July 30).
The Army official said that they hope that this offer of the President will be accepted by the former rebels.
“We expect that they would take the opportunity being offered by the President. Many of them have even surrendered even without the amnesty, how much more now,” Vestuir added.
This sentiment was also shared by the region’s top police officer, B/ Gen.Vincent Calanoga who said that the amnesty program being offered by the Marcos administration could just hasten the end of the communist insurgency in Eastern Visayas.
“Personally, it will be a big help to have a real and truthful reconciliation. If you want to have unity, there should be a reconciliation,” he said.
For her part, Alma Gabin said this move will be a big help not only to former rebels like herself but even to those who are still active in the outlawed armed group for them to give up their arms struggle.
Gabin, who served as the education secretary of the Eastern Visayas regional party committee, said that she hope that this proposed amnesty program will be realized.
“We will be thankful if all will be granted amnesty. This will encourage (active members) to surrender,” she said.
Gabin, 38, was a member of the armed communist group since she was 15 and was mostly assigned in Northern Samar province, considered the last bastion of the communist armed struggle in the region.
She was arrested in 2020 in Tolosa, Leyte, together with her husband. Both were charged with frustrated murder and murder but were provisionally dismissed by the courts in April 2021 due to a lack of witnesses on the part of the government.
At present, Gabin is under the custody of the military after she renounced her affiliation with the NPAs and since then, serve as one of the speakers of the military on its anti-communist campaigns.
CASH ASSISTANCE. The 10 young athletes from Tacloban City who are part of the region’s delegation for this year’s Palarong Pambansa received P10,000 ‘pabaon’ each from City Mayor Alfred Romualdez during their courtesy visit to the chief executive at the City Hall on July 25. (TCIO)
CASH ASSISTANCE. The 10 young athletes from Tacloban City who are part of the region’s delegation for this year’s Palarong Pambansa received P10,000 ‘pabaon’ each from City Mayor Alfred Romualdez during their courtesy visit to the chief executive at the City Hall on July 25. (TCIO)
TACLOBAN CITY-Acknowledging the efforts and dedication in earning recognition for the city, the ten Palarong Pambansa qualifiers each received a cash incentive amounting to P10,000 from the local government on Tuesday, July 25.
Mayor Alfred Romualdez personally handed over the cash “pabaon” and gave his full support and words of encouragement to these athletes who will be competing for the Palarong Pambansa in Marikina City.
The national sporting event started on July 26 and is to end on August 7.
“Give it your best shot. You have nothing to lose, but all to gain,” the local chief executive expressed.
The said athletes from badminton, chess, taekwondo, and table tennis will be departing tomorrow and will be accompanied by Schools Division Superintendent Judella R. Lumpas, DepEd Tacloban Division Sports Officer Jessica Abril, and two other coaches.
Also seen in disbursing the travel allowance at the Mayor’s Office was City Sports Coordinator Michael de la Peña.
Tacloban student-athletes who will represent the city at the Palarong Pambansa this year are Stephen James Pantuan; Dwayne Amancio; Ma. Nicole Notario; Joelle Faye Conjurado; Paul Abraham Antivo IV; Sally Mae Aguirre; Aamir Jolo Pablito Narido; Rayver Ezekiel Rojas; Renzel Jyron Sevill; and Jeiune Emmanuel Aston. (TACLOBAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)
TACLOBAN CITY – The local government unit of Palo is planning to develop the Binangalan Reef Fish Sanctuary (BRFS) into a tourist destination.
This is after the result of the assessment dive conducted by personnel from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
The Binangalan Reef Fish Sanctuary was declared a marine protected area (MPA) through Municipal Ordinance No. 94-03 which was passed and approved in 2019.
“Marine life is slowly thriving in the Binangalan Reef Fish Sanctuary,” Mayor Remedios Petilla shared after she received the assessment report from BFAR divers.
Based on the research conducted by the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College in 2019, the live coral cover of the BRFS is at 13.60% which is mostly composed of encrusting (7.10%) and massive (5.0%) corals.
Although the reef has not fully recovered from the destructions from the past as a result of illegal fishing and super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in 2013, corals had started to regrow and various species of fish can already be seen in the area.
At least seven different types of coral species are growing in the area based on the assessment of BFAR divers and several marine animals which includes sting rays were documented during the dive.
“So we are planning to develop the area to make it a tourist destination because this kind of site lacks in our area unlike in Southern Leyte where there are lots of coral reefs. In this portion of our region, we seldom see a site like it,” Petilla said.
The first thing the LGU will be doing to develop BRFS is to protect it and set delineations for people especially fishermen to easily identify that they are entering the protected marine area.
“We will order the Bantay-Dagat to regularly monitor the area and then there should be a delineation of boundary. That is a fish sanctuary so the rules and regulations should be strictly followed,” Petilla stressed.
Petilla added that they will be asking the BFAR to help them create measures to fulfill their plan of developing the area and at the same time, they will create a tour package that will connect Binangalan to other tourism activities in the municipality. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
NGCP is carrying out a comprehensive series of actions to tackle the challenges posed by the lengthy queue of System Impact Studies (SIS) for power plant connections.
The SIS is a critical assessment that determines the capacity of the power grid to accommodate a new generator, and identifies necessary improvements such as additional transmission lines, transformers, or substations.
Due to the increasing demand for power generation in the country, the number of applications for SIS surged significantly. Historically, however, majority of the applicants do not push through with their initial plans, with only around 28% of completed SIS resulting in the establishment of actual power plants.
“Although 7 out of 10 SIS applicants will not actually pursue their power investments, we are obliged to fully evaluate each application when they are passed on to us by the Department of Energy (DOE),” noted NGCP President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Almeda. “Accordingly, we have taken the necessary steps to expedite the process and improve its efficiency,” he added.
One of the key initiatives is the expansion of the SIS team through hiring additional manpower. NGCP expects to boost the capacity of the organization and conduct more SIS studies simultaneously.
The company is also adopting a clustering approach for SIS, grouping together power plants with a common connection point or study area. This clustering strategy aims to streamline the process and accelerate the evaluation of multiple projects, enhancing the overall efficiency and reducing the waiting time for potential power plant developers.
In addition to these measures, NGCP is in the process of outsourcing some aspects of the SIS process, pending the issuance of the accreditation process by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). This outsourcing initiative is anticipated to further augment the organization’s capabilities and expedite the completion of SIS for various power plant proposals.
Almeda pointed out that in more developed nations like the United States and the United Kingdom, the completion of grid impact studies typically takes more than three years. “Other countries usually operate on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis. We do it on a ‘first-ready-first-served’ basis, in order to be faster and more efficient,” he emphasized.
The measures used by the NGCP to address the SIS backlog forms part of the company’s extensive plan to meet the country’s increasing energy requirements. “Our company is a vital part of a much bigger energy landscape, with numerous roles and stakeholders. We take our functions and responsibilities very seriously, and continuously work towards a cohesive, centralized, and systematic approach to energy planning for our country,” Almeda concluded. (PR)
TACLOBAN CITY- Local government and civil society leaders from Eastern Visayas join forces in spearheading the region’s climate action and biodiversity conservation.
“Few local governments in the Philippines talk about climate action, but the responsibility and accountability of local leaders are fundamental. There is so much that we can do, and partnerships with civil society are crucial for us to learn more about critical issues we are facing, including climate change and biodiversity conservation,” said Mayor Eunice Babalcon of Paranas, Samar.
Paranas, along with Guiuan and Salcedo in Eastern Samar, are the bioregions of the Multi-Actor Partnership on Enhanced Local Climate Action (MAP-ELCA) project of the Manila-based think tank Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), which was launched in Tacloban City ON July 28.
The three-year project aims to champion successful local climate action and biodiversity protection cases through multi-sectoral collaboration. Representatives from local communities, government agencies, civil society organizations, academe, and private sector entities in the featured municipalities signed a statement expressing their full support and commitment to MAP-ELCA.
“Climate change is a global problem that really needs leaders at the local level,” said Atty. Melchor Mergal, Eastern Samar Board Member and a resident of Salcedo.
MAP-ELCA is a project under Investing in Sustainability and Partnership for Inclusive Growth and Regenerative Ecosystems (INSPIRE), which is implemented by the Gerry Roxas Foundation (GRF) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “Biodiversity conservation and climate action are at the core of INSPIRE’s vision, empowering civil society and local communities to take the lead in natural resource governance, climate change adaptation and mitigation,” said GRF Chief of Party Rebecca Paz through a recorded message.
Eastern Visayas has been at the forefront of climate change impacts for years, including extreme weather events such as typhoons and extreme heat; and slow onset events such as sea level rise. The region was the first to be devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) back in November 2013.
Guiuan Municipal Administrator Kinna Kwan recognized the vulnerability of their municipality to the impacts of climate change and emphasized the government’s responsibility to act. “Nearly 10 years after Super Typhoon Haiyan, our communities are thriving. Not only are we thriving, but we are also fighting and acting on the climate crisis, for our people now and for future generations,” she added.
“We do not have to look far to be inspired; it all starts here – within us and our communities. Let us work hand in hand to create a more resilient and sustainable future for Eastern Visayas. Hopefully, we will be able to inspire more communities in the coming years,” said Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, Executive Director of ICSC. (PR)
