With COVID-19 restrictions lessen

TACLOBAN CITY– Tourists are expected to flock to this city as it celebrates its annual fiesta-now on its 134th year- on June 30, honoring its patron Senior Santo Niño.

Tourism officer Malou Tabao said that with the restrictions due to the pandemic caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been lessened, they expect droves of tourists to come to the city, particularly to witness its Sangyaw Festival’s Parade of Lights scheduled a day before the fiesta.

“We can expect thousands of tourists and guests to come to the city to join us to celebrate our fiesta and watch our activities like our Sangyaw Parade of Lights,” she said Tuesday.
Tabao said that prior to the pandemic, a million of tourists came to the city during its fiesta celebration, many of them Taclobanons who now work and stay abroad.

She said that the festivities also help the local economy with guests staying in hotels, hiring transport vehicles, eating in restaurants, and buying local products, among others.

Among the highlights of the annual city fiesta is the holding of the ‘Sangyaw Festival Parade of Lights’ which is participated by schools and barangays and private sectors.

The contingents have their street performances clad in colorful costumes dancing to a beat, giving honor to the Child Jesus.

For this year, 12 contingents participated who vied for the top prize of P500,000. Each of them was given a subsidy by the city government worth P100,000.

The Sangyaw Festival was organized by former first lady, Imelda Marcos, in 1983 but was stopped after the EDSA Revolution in 1986.

Mayor Alfred Romualdez, nephew of Marcos, revived the cultural festival in 2008, and since then been celebrated during Tacloban’s annual fiesta.

Tacloban is the only area in the Philippines that give honor to Senior Santo Niño in the month of June, unlike in other areas which hold their patron and festival in honor of the Child Jesus every January.

The holding of the city fiesta every June traces the return of the miraculous image of Santo Niño to Tacloban on June 30,1889 after it was found floating off the coast of Semirara Island, Mindoro.

The image, placed in a crate, was among those that were on board a boat from Manila that caught fire while on its way to Tacloban.

The image was brought to Manila for restoration and enhancement.
(JOEY A. GABIETA/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is expanding the implementation of its soil rejuvenation program to increase yield covering 10 more farming towns in five provinces of the Eastern Visayas region.

DA Eastern Visayas Regional Executive Director Andrew Orais said the Yamang Lupa: sustainable community-based action R4DE for enhancement, upliftment and prosperity (SCALE-UP) program is now ready for application in other areas following the success of the pilot program in selected rice farms in Samar and Leyte provinces.

For this year, the covered areas, measuring over 10,000 hectares, are Abuyog and Javier in Leyte; Maasin City and Bontoc in Southern Leyte; Borongan City and Salcedo in Eastern Samar; Catarman and Allen in Northern Samar; and Naval and Caibiran towns in Biliran province.

“Yamang Lupa SCALE-UP program in the region aims to harness the adaptive science revival strategy to further boost farmer productivity. We are praying that this project will be our key in achieving food security in the region,” Orais said Monday.

The department launched the program in 2014, which included three provinces – Samar, Quezon, and Zamboanga Sibugay as pilot areas.

Replicating the success of the program in Samar, the DA has included Javier and Abuyog towns in Leyte as expansion areas in 2022.

Leonarda Londina, DA regional chief research division, said the program is an adoption of Bhoochetana principles and approaches for natural resources management towards sustainable agriculture. Bhoochetana is an Indian term for soil rejuvenation.

“The objective is to develop a program management structure and policies within the regional network, increase agricultural productivity and profitability while conserving the natural resources, enhance capacities of farmers and groups, community, and other stakeholders and to develop sustainable livelihood and enhance marketing strategies,” Londina added.

The pilot implementation in Samar generated soil fertility maps, adopted the best farm management practices, and followed the recommended macro-and micro-nutrients for soil rejuvenation, according to DA.

The DA reported that the average yield in tons per hectare of all commodities increased significantly, with ginger, rice, and sweet potato, posting a 193 percent, 30 percent, and 79 percent increase, respectively. (PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY-On June 29 and 30, almost a thousand uniformed troops will be stationed in key locations throughout the city to provide security during the Sangyaw Festival festivities.

Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) Public Information Officer, Police Major Marjorie Manuta, said that this is part of the security plan prepared by the local police office for the Sangyaw Festivities.

Manuta disclosed in an interview over the radio program “Oras Han Tacloban’’ of the City Information Office on Monday that the full force of the TCPO will be on duty on the eve of the City Fiesta and on June 30 and will have augmentation coming from the Police Regional Office 8.

She also stated that since the start of the month-long Sangyaw Activities, security details have been consistently posted at the Festival venues.

As part of the security preparations on June 29, downtown area roads will be closed to vehicular traffic, starting at 4:00 p.m., namely Real, Independencia, Imelda Avenue, Salazar, Paterno, and Burgos Streets.

Along with this, Manuta also mentioned that the TCPO will run mobile and ‘beat’ patrol units to monitor the situation during the Sangyaw Festival.

The Sangyaw Festival is the official festival of Tacloban City, and displays the artistic talent and cultural diversity of the people of Tacloban and the other participating communities. The Parade of Lights serves as the festival’s centerpiece.

Twelve floats and dance groups, two of which will be from local government units outside the city, will take part in this year’s Parade of Lights.

The float and dance contingents are composed of Sagkahan National High School, JE Mondejar Computer College, Barangay 91 Abucay, Tacloban City National High School, Tacloban Institute of Electronics, Tacloban City Night High School, San Jose National High School, KFDMT Barangay 43-B, Barangay 85 San Jose, Tacloban Angelicum Learning Center, LGU Basey, and LGU Caibiran, Biliran.

Also joining the parade at 5:30 on Thursday are competing and non-competing groups of Merrymakers, officials, and employees of the Tacloban City local government unit.
The parade route includes Justice Romualdez, Rizal Avenue, Imelda Veteranos, Real Street, and Magsaysay Boulevard, where the winning dancers and floats will be announced at the Balyuan Amphitheater.

In order to avoid attracting the attention of criminal elements, the TCPO advises those who will attend the festivities to refrain from wearing valuables and to be vigilant of their surroundings. Other lethal weapons, such as those with blades are also prohibited.
(TACLOBAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)