BORONGAN CITY-To improve planning and surveying capabilities of the district, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Eastern Samar District Engineering Office (ESDEO) procured 1-unit high end surveying instruments amounting to P2.6 million.
Manolo A. Rojas, ESDEO District Engineer, said that the district procured one unit Topcon Real Time Kinematic (RTK) which will help to fast track the preparation of plans during pre-detailed engineering activities.
DE Rojas said Eastern Samar DEO is a first-class district engineering office in Region VIII which implements high volume of projects amounting to billions of pesos, hence modern technology is highly needed to implement infra projects on time schedule and done it with accuracy.
“Eastern Samar District Engineering Office is committed to implement quality infra projects. With this new technology, we will now enhance our planning and design processes to better serve the interest of stakeholders’’, DE Rojas added.
According to Arturo C. Apura, chief of the planning and design section, the new RTK improves the efficiency and accuracy of survey works, decreases the manpower needed and reduces the working days in the field.
“This is a big help to our engineers to come up with a more accurate survey and decrease the risks of errors and problems,” said Engr. Apura.
Engr. Apura said the current operational survey instruments in the district are 2-unit RTKs and 3-unit total stations which are all operational.
Real Time Kinematic (RTK) position is a satellite navigation technique used to enhance the precision derived from satellite Systems (Global Navigation Satellites, GNSS) such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Total Station instrument is used to measure distances, angles and coordinates. (PR)
Eastern Samar district engineering office procures world-class surveying instruments
Cop commits suicide inside a hotel in Catarman
TACLOBAN CITY- A police officer reportedly killed himself using his service firearm inside a hotel in Catarman, Northern Samar on Sunday evening.
Patrolman Willard Jann Castillo, 27, was found dead at the lobby of RBVD Hotel located in JP Rizal and Quirino Streets, Catarman, where he stayed with his father who was not identified on the report reaching the regional headquarter of the Philippine National Police (PNP) based in Palo town, Leyte province,said.
Castillo who was from Capul town, also in the same province but was assigned at the 1st Northern Samar Mobile Force Company based in Allen town of the same province was found dead at about 6:45 pm by the responding policemen from the Catarman police station.
He said to have committed suicide by shooting his head using his own service firearm.
It was learned that Castillo entered the police force in 2015 but September of this year, he took a leave of absence for medical reason.
He was to report on Monday (Nov. 4) to the Provincial Personnel Holding Administration Unit (PPHAU) at the provincial PNP headquarter.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
‘Yolanda’ survivors visit loved ones buried at the mass grave
TACLOBAN CITY-Its been six years now but families of those who perished when super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ pummeled this city continue to long and miss them.
And during the observance of the All Saints and All Souls Days, they visited the mass grave where those who died due to Yolanda were entombed.
Nine-year old Nathalia, who declined to give her family name, said that she misses her mother, among those who died when their village in Alimasag, San Jose district, was pummeled by the world’s strongest typhoon to hit inland on November 8,2013.
“I really miss my mother. I just wished she was still around so everything will be okay,’ she said.
Aside from her mother, also killed were her three sisters.
Juanito Martinez, 54, said that he never fail to visit the graveyard of his wife and children who were also buried at the mass grave located in Barangay Basper.
‘Visiting the mass grave has been part of our lives. I miss my wife and children. I still cry (for them),”he said.
Martinez lost his wife Gina and three children, Bernadeth,9; Ma. Riza,8; and Margarita,7 due to Yolanda.
He said that while he misses his wife and children, his only consolation was he and his six other children survived the onslaught of Yolanda.
“I am sad that this happened to our family but still I am asking my wife to help me heal and be strong for my children,” he said.
The mass grave is where more than 2,200 people were buried by the city government who died due to Yolanda.
(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)
Residents of Community of Hope Village receive assistance from CCT, OB
TACLOBAN CITY-Some 40 residents of the Community of Hope Village received livelihood assistance from the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) in partnership with Operation Blessing (OB).
The turn-over ceremony of the livelihood assistance was held on Tuesday (October 29) at the sprawling 6-hectare village for ‘Yolanda’ survivors in Brgy. 103 Palanog, this city.
Guests of honor during the launching were Executive Vice President and Chief operating officer of CBN Asia and President of Operation Blessing Foundation Philippines Peter Kairuz, and 700 Club Asia’s Alex Tinsay.
Also present was the chairman of the CCT Credit Cooperative Professor Ron Chua.
The first batch of beneficiaries comprises 10 families per livelihood project, namely farming, piggery, poultry and fish pond.
The seed capital for the livelihood undertaking was provided by CCT, and profits from the venture will be equitably shared by the member-beneficiaries said a source from the CCT.
OB started the Community of Hope Village in 2015 as a permanent housing program for families displaced by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. The village is currently home to 93 households. (CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)
Eastern Samar town mayor appeals help for more evacuation centers
LLORENTE, Eastern Samar – This town needs more evacuation centers, especially for those living in remote areas that often experience flooding incidents.
This appeal was made by Mayor Daniel Boco who said that an evacuation center is very important to secure a safe temporary shelter for displaced families in times of calamities and disasters as the interior villages are only accessible by trekking which makes it harder for residents to evacuate to the town center.
Of the 33 villages of Llorente, eight interior villages, namely, Hugpa, Waso, Cantomco, Maca-anga, Magtino, Canduros, Burak and Barobo, needs evacuation centers to ensure the safety of residents during flooding.
He said that residents in the town centers have evacuation centers where they can temporarily evacuate in case of a calamity like flooding.
Boco said that while they have already the designs for these evacuation centers what hampers them to do these is due to lack of funds.
According to the town mayor, the water levels in these barangays reaches up to the roofs reason why based on their proposed designs, the ground floors are open.
“As the leader of Llorente, my main concern is the safety of my people. That is why when there are agencies and organizations that visits my town and I know they can help us in terms of funding, we always present to them our plan on building evacuation centers in interior villages,” Boco said.
“We’re hoping that government agencies can provide funding for evacuation centers including construction of river flood control projects. Our town has a minimal budget. It is not enough to fund big projects such as flood control,” he added.
Mayor Boco said that aside from the need of evacuation centers and flood control projects, access road to these interior villages is also important.
He said that while they were able to secure a P10 million funding from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the amount is still not enough to build access road to the eight remote barangays of Llorente.
Mayor Boco said that among the evacuation centers constructed within the town proper is a three storey facility in Barangay 3 which was built in the amount of P20 million, with the DILG under its Bottom-up Budgeting providing a P20 million funding with the remaining P5 million from the local government unit as their counterpart.
The said facility could accommodate 300 families or 710 persons and provided with amenities like potable water, electricity, comfort rooms, kitchen, laundry area and rooms for couples.
The construction of a new evacuation center in the town proper has minimized the use of classrooms during times of calamities and disaster, the town mayor said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
PNP says EV peaceful during the ‘undas’
Close to 2,000 cops deployed across the region
BY: RESTITUTO CAYUBIT
CAMP RUPERTO KANGLEON, PALO,Leyte – The observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day across Eastern Visayas was declared as ‘generally peaceful and orderly’ by the regional Philippine National Police (PNP).
During the two-day observance for the departed, they have not monitored any major untoward incident that could have disturbed the peace and order situation in any part of the region, Police Lieutenant Colonel Ma. Bella Rentuaya, PRO8 regional information officer, said in an interview with Leyte Samar Daily Express.
According to her, this could have been attributed to the preparations made by the police headquarters under the supervision of Brigadier General Ferdinand Divina, police regional director.
“The observance of “Undas 2019” in the region was generally peaceful and orderly and no untoward incident was reported throughout Eastern Visayas,” Rentuaya said.
Rentuaya said that the police force in the region was under full alert status starting October 31, until November 3 ending at 6 am.
She reported that PRO8 deployed 2,129 personnel, aside from the more than 4,000 force multipliers from various agencies all over the region and assigned to places of high convergence of people like the cemeteries, commercial establishments, bus terminals, seaports, airports, malls, major thoroughfares and other areas of convergence to ensure security and safety of the general public during the two-day occasion.
During the observance of the All Saints and All Souls Days, B/Gen. Divina ordered his commanders on the ground to coordinate with the different counterparts like the local government and barangay units, and other stakeholders and force multipliers for this long-held national tradition.
In addition, police assistance hubs were also activated, quick response teams were also on standby, and motor safety marshals were put up to provide assistance to the people who went to the cemeteries.