ORMOC CITY– A carpenter was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Tacloban City who was in possession of suspected shabu with a street value of P272,000.
Arrested during the sting operation was Rafael Agner, 45, in Barangay 108 at about 1:32 pm on Wednesday (August 16).
Police here identified Agner as a high-value target in the drug watch list.
Seized from the suspect were 40 grams of suspected shabu with a street value of P272,000.
Charges of violations of Secs. 5 (selling) and 11 (possession of illegal drugs) of Art. II of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs, were filed against the suspect who is now detained at the locked-up cell of the city police office. (ROBERT DEJON)
ESSU-BALANGIGA. Rep. Jude Acidre of the Tingog party-list group led in the opening of the satellite campus of the Eastern Samar State University in the historic town of Balangiga on August 17. Joining him were Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone and Balangiga Mayor Dana Flynch de Lira. (Photo Courtesy)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) opened its Balangiga campus, its sixth in the province, on Thursday (August 17).
ESSU-BALANGIGA. Rep. Jude Acidre of the Tingog party-list group led in the opening of the satellite campus of the Eastern Samar State University in the historic town of Balangiga on August 17. Joining him were Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone and Balangiga Mayor Dana Flynch de Lira. (Photo Courtesy)
Governor Ben Evardone, Vice Governor Maricar Sison-Goteesan, Rep. Jude Acidre of the Tingog party-list group, among others graced the event as they were welcomed by town Mayor Dana Flynch de Lira and university president Andres Pagatpatan Jr.
The newly-launched ESSU Balangiga Campus is offering Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship with 71 enrollees and Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management with 82 students and four teaching staff.
During the launching, Gov. Evardone announced that the first batch of enrollees in ESSU Balangiga are going to be scholars under the provincial government.
Meanwhile, Rep. Acidre, in his message, said that funding is forthcoming for the construction of new buildings at the ESSU-Balangiga Campus.
Among the buildings to be constructed include an academic building with a proposed budget of P50 million and an administrative building at P40 million.
It was learned that the creation of the ESSU satellite campus in Balangiga was made possible through a legislative measure authored by the Tingog party-list supported by House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Eastern Samar Rep. Ma. Fe Abunda, and 4Ps Rep. Marcelino Libanan, who is also the minority floor leader of the House of Representatives. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Leyte Second District Engineering Office recently completed a preventive maintenance project in the municipality of Barugo.
District Engineer Leo Edward Oppura disclosed this saying it involved a 1.632-lane kilometer layer of asphalt in Poblacion District V, Barugo, a portion of the Bagahupi-Babatngon-Sta. Cruz-Barugo-Carigara road.
The P17.51 million worth of project aims to make travel safer and more convenient and help improve the road’s surface capability, making it easier and quicker to visit nearby government offices, schools, health facilities, and other public and commercial entities.
Other provisions of this project include the re-blocking of damaged pavement and the application of reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians, especially at night.
The project is sourced from the DPWH General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2023, under the Preventive Maintenance program. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
TACLOBAN CITY-As the country observes National Tuberculosis Awareness Month this August, the Tacloban City Health Office (CHO) has noted that TB cases in the city are increasing every year, encouraging the public to take proactive steps on the prevention, early detection, and treatment of the latter.
Acting local health officer Dr. Danilo Ecarma said that Tacloban has a “high burden of tuberculosis” urging them to scale up and sustain their TB Control Program to intensify active case finding and complete treatment.
In an interview on Wednesday, the official declared that in 2022 approximately 1,600 were diagnosed with the condition compared to 2021 with only 483 cases, adding that this is a “public health problem” in the city.
Per records of CHO, the count of TB illness is at 617 (as of August 17, 2023) and is seen to continue to rise since more Taclobanons are being screened each day.
CHO Multi-Services Clinic serving as TB DOTS (Directly-Observed Therapy, Short-Course) facility is open for consultation from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon every Tuesday and Thursday, and provision of treatment is given free of charge by the government.
Medicines and other assistance are supplied by the health department so there is no reason that an individual with TB ailment will not be treated.
The official reiterated anew that TB is preventable and curable which is why those who might experience the signs and symptoms of the condition such as persistent coughing for two weeks, lack of appetite, weight loss, and coughing up blood are recommended to have themselves checked at the nearest primary care facilities.
Transmission of TB is spread from one person to another through the air when infected individuals expel droplets, by means of coughing, sneezing or even speaking.
Based on historical data, a TB patient can infect 10-15 persons in a year, Dr. Ecarma disclosed as he called household contacts to get medical care as well as early as possible to reduce the incidence and deaths of the highly contagious airborne disease in the country.
The 2022 statistics of the National Tuberculosis Control Program of the Department of Health recorded 372, 367 notified cases of drug-susceptible tuberculosis (DSTB) and drug-resistant tuberculosis (DRTB).
Under TB-DOTS, a patient’s drug intake and condition are regularly monitored, citing that around 85 percent of people with the said illness can be successfully treated with a 4 or 6-month treatment session at their assigned facility.
Other primary care facilities in Tacloban include Abucay District Health Center (DHC), Diit DHC, Sagkahan DHC, San Jose DHC, V&G DHC, New Kawayan DHC, and Sto. Niño DHC. (TACLOBAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)
TACLOBAN CITY– The municipal health office of Babatngon, Leyte, headed by Dr. Juliet Conge received an award for their campaign against tuberculosis (TB) from the Department of Health.
Mayor Leny Bobares Lugnasin, who attended the ‘Race to End TB Awards,’ received the award from Health Sec. Teodoro Herbosa.
Babatngon was cited for having one of the highest rates in TB treatment coverage.
Conge said that the award would serve to the ‘unwavering commitment’ of the town’s health workers to eradicate tuberculosis in Babatngon.
(BABATNGON LGU)
BRIGADA ESKWELA. As the new school term begins on August 29, members of the 2nd Eastern Samar Police Mobile Force Company, which is headed by Lt.Col. Marino Estonio, joined the Brigada Eskwela activity at the Salcedo National High School in Salcedo, Eastern Samar on Monday (August 14).
(2nd Eastern Samar PMFC)
Councilors give their OK to the project
BRIGADA ESKWELA. As the new school term begins on August 29, members of the 2nd Eastern Samar Police Mobile Force Company, which is headed by Lt.Col. Marino Estonio, joined the Brigada Eskwela activity at the Salcedo National High School in Salcedo, Eastern Samar on Monday (August 14). (2nd Eastern Samar PMFC)
TACLOBAN CITY-Its all systems for the construction of the causeway project in the city but with some modifications.
This was disclosed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the region which will supervise the said project that will traverse over the Cancabato Bay, a marine protected area.
Edgar Tabacon, the DPWH regional director, said that the construction of the causeway project will now proceed with the members of the city council ‘lifting’ an earlier resolution opposing the project due to environmental concerns.
“The construction of the causeway project will soon to start with the lifting by the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of their opposition,” he said on Friday (August 11).
He added that their office has also given the contractor to resume the project that will serve as an alternative road from the city proper, located along Magsaysay Boulevard, to Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport, in San Jose district.
According to Tabacon, the two parties, meaning the DPWH and the members of the city council, agreed to do some ‘enhancement’ on the project to ensure that no environmental problems may arise.
Included in the modification was the doubling of the length of the bridge from 180 meters to 360 meters. Also, several box culverts with three meters in width and height so as not to impede the flow of water.
He also disclosed that a sewerage water treatment will be installed to avoid contaminating the Cancabato Bay.
To recall, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, in a resolution authored mainly by Councilor Aurora Aimee Grafil, directed the DPWH in the region to address first several issues before they could be allowed to proceed the project.
Based on Resolution 15-88 issued on May 25 of this year, the council members said that they have learned that the DPWH has failed to include an environmental study on the Cancabato Bay which is declared as a marine protected area in Ordinance No.2003-8-138 which prohibits against industrial wastes and pollutants.
It also said that under its zoning ordinance, Cancabato Bay was identified as a ‘not a stand-alone bay.’
“Moreover the causeway project would greatly affect the environment, impacting the fisherfolks in Tacloban City,” the resolution added.
With the enhancement, Tabacon admitted that from the original project cost of P3.46 billion, the cost has now ballooned to P4 billion.
“Right now, we are at phase I with a cost of P800 million. We hope that this causeway project will be completed within the term of Pres. Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.,” Tabacon said.
The causeway project, considered one of the priority projects of the government in Eastern Visayas, will involve the construction of a 4-lane road embankment measuring a total of 2.56 kilometers, a bridge spanning 180 meters, with the provision of a separate bike lane, installation of concrete canals, sidewalks, and wave deflectors on both sides.
Once completed, travel time from the city proper going to the DZR Airport will only be 10 minutes from the current travel time of 45 minutes.
Tabacon said that they hope that the completion of the project will coincide with the completion of the ongoing rehabilitation of the DZR Airport to an ‘international standard.’
“These (two projects) will benefit us. This will help our economy,” he said.
