TACLOBAN CITY– The City Health Office (CHO) encourages the public to continue the preventive measures against Dengue, as it recorded a spike in cases during the past few days.

From January 3 to November 19, 2022, a total of 443 cases were recorded by the CHO, compared to 56 in 2021, or 550% higher than the same period last year.

According to acting City Health Officer Danilo Ecarma, seven cases were recorded during the past week, including a seven-year-old fatality. The reported death brings the total number of mortalities in the city due to the viral disease to 3.

The latest cases came from 99, 78, 17, 96-A, and 50-B.

Per the monitoring of the CHO, no clustering of dengue cases was recorded in any city barangay.

Meanwhile, fumigation and information, education, and communication efforts by the CHO are ongoing in barangays and schools with reported cases.

The office also underlines the steps that must be taken in order to prevent dengue, such as covering water containers, maintaining a clean environment, donning protective clothes, supporting fogging or spraying only in areas where dengue cases have been proven, and obtaining early medical advice.

(HJ ROCA/TACLOBAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)

TACLOBAN CITY – The National Housing Authority (NHA) in the region reported that it has terminated contracts of 10 ‘Yolanda’ housing projects due to the failure of the developers to finish the projects on time resulting in several housing units to be dilapidated.

NHA Regional Manager Constancio Antiniero said that these terminated contracts are housing projects in the island towns of Daram and Zummaraga, and Marabut, all in Samar; Pastrana, Leyte; and in Tacloban City.

The rescinded contracts involved over 2,000 housing units, he said.

Antiniero said that of the terminated contracts in the city, for example, are in Greendale 2, Guadalupe Heights 1 and 2, and Ridge View Park 1 and 2.

All these areas are among the 15 resettlement sites for families whose houses were totally damaged when Super Typhoon Yolanda pummeled Tacloban and the rest of the region.
To complete the project, the NHA will be downloading the fund to the local government units which already expressed their willingness to finish the project, the NHA official said during the weekly media forum held at the Hotel de Fides, this city.

The lack of personnel working at the projects was one of the main reasons why the developers failed to complete the projects on time, Antiniero said.

Antiniero said these developers are supposed to finish the projects in one year.
The NHA official said that these unfinished housing projects with grass and garbage while others were completely abandoned.

Because of these conditions, local government units are not accepting these projects from the NHA, he said.

“There are projects which was not accepted by the city government. The issue of dilapidation is subject to rectification of our developer. Ang developer namin, once the project is not yet accepted and to be turned over to the local government, we keep on negotiating to rectify everything including the land development and housing construction for this project to be turn-over to the local government,” Antiniero said.

Of the 119 Yolanda housing projects that were funded by the national government for Eastern Visayas, a total of 78 of which are already completed and are awarded to beneficiaries.

Antiniero appealed to the beneficiaries to take good care of their units awarded to them as their subsidy to the effort of the government in providing them a better shelter to live in. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

In Catarman

CATARMAN, Northern Samar – Four villages here are to start their chosen projects funded by the government under its Local Government Support Fund-Support to Barangay.
Each recipient-barangays, namely, Cervantes, Polangi, Tinowaran, and Hinatad, where the ceremonial groundbreaking was held on Tuesday (Nov. 22), received P4 million under the program.

These villages are either to construct a farm-to-market road, a school classroom building, or improve their water systems.

The four barangays were said to be once identified among the ‘conflict-affected areas’ due to the presence of the communist armed group.

The ceremonial groundbreaking was led by Catarman Mayor Francisco Aurelio Rosales III joined by other government officials who included from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police.
(EUGENE M. ENANO)

TACLOBAN CITY– The deputy chief for operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos, Jr., reminded the members of the police organization of the peace and security framework of Police Chief, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr.

Police Regional Director, B/Ben. Francisco Marbil, Jr. led in welcoming Santos on his visit to the regional headquarters of the PNP on Thursday (Nov.24).

The peace and security framework of Azurin is known as M+K+K=K which stands for ‘Malasakit’, ‘Kaayusan’, ‘Kapayapaan’’, and Kaunlaran’.

Santos also reminded the regional police that along with the M+K+K=K program is the enforcement of the ‘Kasimbayanan’, its crime prevention strategy.

“I hope in your shop everything is aligned with the M+K+K=K and the Kasimbayanan. Let us be efficient and the only way to be efficient is for us to know our job and doing our job well,” he said.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)