TACLOBAN CITY – The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) program of the regional Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-8) has announced the completion of 694 child development centers (CDCs) in Eastern Visayas.
Engineer Gerry Piñeda, the focal person of the Kalahi-CIDSS program in region, told Leyte Samar Daily Express in an interview that the total cost of these 694 child development centers (CDCs) formerly known as day care centers is P408.82 million.
He said that in Leyte there are 163 CDCs worth P86.18 million; in Southern Leyte 18 CDCs worth P7.49 million; 12 in Biliran with the total amount of P6.85 million; 225 in Northern Samar worth P128.10 million; 195 in Samar with the total project cost of P119.40 million and 81 in Eastern Samar worth P60.77 million.
Piñeda said that these CDCs are now being used in the implementation of the supplemental feeding program (SFP) of the DSWD-8 in the region.
DSWD officer-in-charge Yvonne Serrano-Abonales reported that for the 8th cycle implementation of SFP in Eastern Visayas last year, her office has served a total of 69,721 day care children (DCCh) beneficiaries enrolled in 1,967 CDCs from the targeted 76,327 DCCh from 57 LGUs served by the program.
She added that her office had a total of P125.49 million fund downloaded to partner local government units from the fund allocation of P137.38 million for last year.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
694 child development centers worth P408.8 million completed in EV
All set for the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals on June 27
TACLOBAN CITY- The Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals parade will push through as planned on Thursday (June 27) at 8 am.
Thus said the organizers of the twin-bill festival amid information that the event has been cancelled or been moved to another date.
The Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals is being held days ahead of the annual June 30 fiesta of Tacloban City paying homage to its patron, Senior Santo Niño.
The organizers said that the street parade will start at the Leyte Sports Center or Grandstand and will pass the major streets of Tacloban heading back to Grandstand for the ritual dance presentations.
Pintados Festival will only have three contingents, while four groups will participate in the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals on June 27, expected to last less than in four hours.
The Kasadyaan participants are Pasaka Festival of Tanauan Leyte, Tolo-Usa Festival of Tolosa Leyte, Haru Tambalan Festival of Jaro, Leyte, and Macarato Festival of Matuguinao, Samar.
Palo Mayor Remedios ’Matin’ Petilla, chairperson of the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals, said all participating contingents will receive P500,000 from the provincial government of Leyte as financial assistance and seed money for contingents.
Petilla and Eugene Tan, president of Pintados, said that despite of the few numbers of participants in this year’s festival, the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals will continue to stage the annual festivities as this is already part of the Tacloban fiesta celebration.
Now on its 24th year, the Leyte Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals brings together the diverse, vibrant and colorful festivals from the different towns in the province of Leyte and other participating festivals from its sister islands of Samar and Biliran, as well as other provinces in the Visayas.
It is one of the most awaited events of Tacloban City’s fiesta celebrations this month in honor of its patron, the Señor Sto. Niño de Tacloban.
Leyte’s festivals have brought fame and fortune to various champions, among them the Buyogan Festival of Abuyog, Burauen’s Buraburon, Tanauan’s Pasaka Festival, and Lingganay Festival of Alangalang, having bested other festivals in the country; and emerged as champions in such prominent festivals as Sinulog of Cebu and the annual national Aliwan Fiesta-Battle of Festival champions in Manila.
On the other hand, the Pintados Festival was first celebrated on June 29, 1987 when a group of businessmen belonging to the Pintados Foundation, Inc. came up with this event to showcase Leyte and Samar’s early tattooed inhabitants called Pintados, and their rich cultural heritage and indigenous music and dance.
In 1998, the Pintados and the Leyte Kasadyaan were merged into one big attraction called the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals.
(LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
Election of four party-list groups will help protect PH electric cooperatives, says official
TACLOBAN CITY- The country’s electric cooperatives are optimistic that their interests and security are now guaranteed with the elections of four congressmen who ran under the party-list system of which they provided full support during the May 13 elections .
This was disclosed by Allan Laniba, president of the General Managers Association in Eastern Visayas, saying that the energy sector in the country is being rocked with various issues that could affect their operations and even existence.
Laniba, who is the general manager of the Don Orestes Romualdez Electric Cooperative covering Leyte’s second and part of its first districts, said that with the election of four congressmen from their sector, at least the interests and welfare of the electric cooperatives could be protected.
Electric cooperatives in the country have banded together to support the bids of four party-list groups which each gaining one seat each at the House of Representatives.
These are the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC), represented by Sergio Dagooc; Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (PHILRECA), represented by Presley de Jesus);Rural Electric Consumers and Beneficiaries of Development and Advancement,Inc.(RECOBODO),represented by Godofredo Guya; and Ako Padayon Pilipino(AKO PADAYON),as represented by Adriano Ebcas.
Laniba said that the four congressmen will push for the realization of the issues that they have been fighting for the past years now before the House of Representatives.
Among these issues include the full implementation of the Sitio Energization Program of which no less than President Rodrigo Duterte would like to realize.
However, Laniba said, this could not be realized as the budget for energization of sitios that remain without power supply has been pruned down.
Laniba said that it is Congress that has the powpower to allocate the needed budget.
He said that leaving these sitios still without power supply will result to injustice.
“It’s so different if a sitio has no electricity,” he Laniba said.
The four congressmen will also push for the cancellation of 12 percent tax imposed by the government that covers from generation, transmission, and distribution.
Laniba stressed that once this 12 percent tax would be removed,’it will result to reduction of power rates.’
Also, he said, the efforts by some multi-national companies, controlled mostly by the country’s oligarchs, to buy and take over power cooperatives could be blocked.
“(They) will protect the electric cooperatives from being privatized which will result to a 12 percent margin of profit,” Laniba said.(JOEY A. GABIETA)
Big crowd witness the 3rd Piña Festival of Ormoc City
ORMOC CITY- For the third year, this city has celebrated one of its agriculture produce, pineapple, through a festival.
On Sunday (June 23), eight contingents coming from various schools in the city joined the Piña Festival with their performances centered on piña, playing its importance to their communities.
Declared as this year’s champion was the contingent from the STI College of Ormoc City garnering P500,000 cash prize.
The STI-Ormoc City Campus has won the same award for the past two years of the Piña Festival staging.
The Piña Festival was organized by the city government under Mayor Richard Gomez as a way to promote its piña industry which is known for its sweet taste.
The Piña Festival serves as one of the cultural highlights of the annual fiesta of the city, now on its 422nd year honoring its patron saints Peter and Paul which fall on June 29.
Mayor Gomez said that he is happy that since they started to promote their piña, its demand has increased.
The city mayor said that on a daily basis, pineapple growers in Ormoc harvest two hectares of pineapples a day.
He, however, could not provide exact figures related to the pineapple industry in the city.
“It’s been so good for the past few years. There is now an under supply of pineapples in Metro Manila. Nauubos agad dito palang sa Leyte, sa Cebu,” he said.
The Piña Festival started with a street parade sneaking in the major thoroughfares of the city participated by all eight contenders and ended with each of them performing a dance ritual following a storyline on the importance of pineapples at the city plaza.
All the participating contingents danced for about 7 minutes for the ritual presentation aided with a video wall showing various scenic spots and business establishments in Ormoc City.
They danced using the upbeat festival music ‘Piña,’ composed by local talent Manny Panta.
City police director, Colonel Armel Gongona, said that the event was peaceful with no untoward incident reported during the more than four-hour festival attended by more than 20,000 people.
About 1,200 security personnel, to include force multipliers, were deployed during the Sunday event.
Aside from STI College of Ormoc, whose group dubbed as ‘Pundok Sa Pinaghusa Ormocanon’, also declared as winners were Eastern Visayas State University-Ormoc Campus as first runner-up winning P400,000, representing ‘Pundok Sidlakan’, and Linao National High School, representing “Pundok Mapasalamaton’ winning P300,000.
Declared as festival queen was Zuriel Coyos of the Linao National High School. (JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Miss Tacloban 2019 is Czarmy Alcober while Miss Pintados 2019 is Niña Athena Ariaza
TACLOBAN CITY –This year’s festival queens of Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals and Sangyaw Festival were separately crowned last week.
The new Miss Pintados, 18-year old Niña Athena Ariaza, who is from Tunga town, Leyte, was crowned on June 21 held at the Leyte Academic Center in Palo town.
Last year’s winner was Julie Ann Tarrayo.
Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla and former Miss Tacloban-Pintados 1987 Jitka Tupa crowned the 2019 Miss Pintados.
Ariaza received P60,000 as among her prizes for winning the crown. She defeated 11 others candidates from different parts of Leyte and other provinces of the region.
Joining her court were Dianne Virmiel Dulfo of Borongan City (4th runner-up); Bea Fernandez of Carigara, Leyte (3rd runner-up); Donna Ramada of St Bernard, Southern Leyte (2nd runner-up); and May Angelic Emmanuel Marzouk of Balangiga, Eastern Samar (1st runner-up).
Meantime, Czarmy Alcober was declared as this year’s Miss Tacloban, besting 13 others during the glittering show held at the Tacloban Convention Center held on June 22.
Aside from being the city’s ambassadress of goodwill, Alcober won P40,000 cash prize for winning the title won last year by Cassandra Marie Lee.
Also adjudged as winners were Angel Rose Tambal as Miss Tacloban Ecotourism who received P40,000 and Isabella Balboa as Miss Tacloban Charity who got P30,000 cash prize.
Cassandra Devora was named as 1st runner-up and received P20,000 while Ann Ygrubay was the second runner-up and got P10,000.
This year’s Miss Tacloban was hosted by actor Troy Montero while the Miss Pintados 208 was hosted by Blinky de Leon.
Also declared as winner was Niña Elaiza Maureen Magnawa of Tanauan, Leyte as Miss Teen Pintados. She was crowned by Eugene Tan, president of Pintados Foundation, and Palo Mayor Remedios ‘Matin’ Petilla, chairperson of the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals.
The two beauty and brain searches are held as among the highlights for the annual fiesta of Tacloban City in honor of its patron, Santo Niño.
The Miss Pintados is being run by the Pintados Foundation while the Miss Tacloban is sanctioned by the Tacloban City government through Sangyaw Foundation.
(ROEL T.AMAZONA)
Basiano wins Ambassadress of Tourism Philippines 2019
One of Tacloban’s top models
BY: RONALaD O. REYES
TACLOBAN CITY-This city’s top model and beauty queen Gabrielle Camille Basiano was crowned as this year’s first Ambassadress of Tourism Philippines.
The 5’9 stunner bested other 19 lovely and talented ladies around the country during the first Ambassador and Ambassadress of the World-Philippines 2019 in Manila on June 22.
Basiano, 21, will represent the country in the Miss Friendship International 2019 pageant in China this July.
As the top 15 finisher in the Miss Earth Philippines 2018, Basiano called the Ambassador of the World – Philippines pageant as “nerve-racking and exciting.”
She added that this is her first time to join a competition “wherein one’s pageantry experience and modeling skills will be tested.”
A fourth-year Tourism student at the Asian Development Foundation College in Tacloban, Basiano said she dreamt of representing the Philippines in an international pageant.
At 17, she was crowned Miss Asian Development Foundation College.
She was the 2017 Mutya ng PRISAA (Private Schools Athletic Association) Region 8 and 3rd Runner up in the Mutya ng Prisaa Nationals.
In the same year, she was also chosen as Miss Silka Leyte and Robinsons Tacloban Supermodel.
“My advocacy is beauty and unity in diversity. It is about seeing and appreciating our cultural, physical and other differences. And using it to empower one another,” said Basiano, who also hoped to become a businesswoman and flight attendant someday.
It was learned that the newly-crowned beauty queen met with former first lady and outgoing Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos who encouraged her to join a nationwide beauty search and win it which Basiano just did.
Marcos, who is from Leyte, was once crowned as the ‘Rose of Tacloban.’ Her niece-in-law, outgoing Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez was also crowned as Binibining Pilipinas-International in 1996.