In Northern Samar

CATARMAN, Northern Samar- The Northern Samar Electric Cooperative (Norsamelco) has lowered its electricity rates from P12.27 per kilowatt hour (kwh) to P9.38/kwh effective February this year.
The downward adjustment means a decrease of P578 in the bill of a typical household consuming 200 kwh per month. On households and commercial establishments consuming 500 kwh, a reduction of P1,445 is expected.
Engr. Hector Tabilisma, project supervisor and acting general manager of Norsamelco, attributed the decrease of P2.85/kWh to the commencement of a long-term power supply contract procured through Competitive Selection Process (CSP) conducted in 2015 including the 10 electric cooperatives in the region.
Tabilisma hopes that this development will attract more investors to do business in the province.
“The rate reduction will greatly enhance the investment climate in Northern Samar. At present, power rate in Manila is higher compare to our power rate,” he said.
Tabilisma expressed his utmost thanks to the leadership of the provincial government of Northern Samar for their support in making Norsamelco a stable electric cooperative.
“Governor Jun Ong has been very supportive, as well as Vice Governor Gary Lavin and all the board members. All our initiatives are being supported by them. They even passed a resolution regarding our restructuring plan,” he said.
From being an ailing D-rated cooperative, Norsamelco has greatly improved since 2013 and is now rated A by the National Electrification Administration (NEA), two notches away from the highest rating of AAA.
It can be recalled that the debt of the cooperative to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) rose to more than P641 million in 2013, prompting NEA to intervene and took over the management and operations.
NEA installed Engr. Hector Tabilisma as acting general manager in July 2013 while allegations of mismanagement and corruption led to the resignation of its board of directors in August of that year.
Gov. Ong is glad of the improvement and stability that Norsamelco now enjoys, and hopes that somehow it will help improve the quality of lives of the people of the province.
“We are so proud of the gains of Norsamelco. At the start of my term as governor, I was one of many who opposed of having a board of directors, and turning over the management of the cooperative to them. I commend the leadership of Engr. Tabilisma for having resuscitated the cooperative from near dissolution,” the governor said.
Recently, the proposal to elect a new set of board of directors was again raised but Gov. Ong expressed his opposition on this.
“I believe that rushing to elect a new set of board of directors at this crucial time where Norsamelco is just rebuilding is counterproductive and something the cooperative can do without for now. In fact, this sentiment has also been expressed by our Sangguniang Panlalawigan through a resolution. The many businesses coming to invest in the province is a good indication of the current strong leadership at the cooperative’s helm,” Gov. Ong stressed.

Tabilisma also expressed gratitude to Representatives Edwin Ong and Raul Daza for personally lobbying to PSALM to approve the restructured loan payment plan of the cooperative which led to the signing of a restructuring agreement last November 26, 2018.

He added that the long-term power supply contract with GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Company which started this year will ensure a secure and dependable electric power supply for the province.
“Our investors can be assured of a stable power supply in the province at a low power rate,” Tabilisma said. (JENNIFER SUMAGANG ALLEGADO)

TACLOBAN CITY–Ma. Crisel Inocando, the union chapter president of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in Maasin City, won the top award in the recently concluded 2nd International Multidisciplinary Research Conference at the Leyte Normal University, this city.
Inocando’s research paper entitled “Human Resource Management Strategies, Practices and Employees’ Performance of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in Region VIII” won the best paper under track 4 tourism, hospitality and management.
“I wrote the paper but I am only a ‘miniature’ part of it. The GSIS employees are truly an inspiration to all public servants. They continuously proved that the heart of the service is not dominated by monetary benefits, but it’s something more,” said Inocando, who is also the division chief of the billing, collection and reconciliation division of GSIS-Maasin.
While saying that she didn’t expect to win the top award, she thanked Solomon Faller Jr., the LNU Research and Development Office (RDO) director, for the “big part” of her success.
“Having chosen as one of the presenters was already a great honor for me. I really went home early because all the presenters were really great,” said Inocando, noting that the conference was fully represented by participants from across the Philippines and abroad.
As part of her recognition, Inocando can participate in an international research conference as a presenter.
“I plan to present my paper in an international conference in other country. Actually, I have one pending book, not yet finished. It’s theoretical not research entitled ‘Creating Symmetry Between Achievement and Success,’” she said.
During her presentation, Inocando also played a documentary video of the “World’s Best Workplace” in 2015 which featured the Google company, saying that as a researcher she is “optimistic that GSIS employees deserved those perks Google is providing to its people.”
“It might be an exaggeration but if employees of GSIS happened to work outside this country, they will definitely be treated like that,” she said.
Inocando disclosed that the reason why her paper won and touched the hearts of the judges was that it discussed the triumphs of GSIS amid various issues hounding their office during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
“During the Aquino administration, GSIS employees were among the government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) rank-and-file employees who were not given salary increases. While the GSIS top officials’ perks were under scrutiny, the salaries of the rank-and-file employees became part of the sacrificial lamb,” said Inocando, who led various petitions against the system during those years.
Inocando, who is also a certified public accountant, conducted her study from June 2015 to February 2016.
While GSIS employees were suffering from “poor” human resource management from the government and the system during the period, Inocando said that GSIS continued to excel as the “beacon of good governance.”
“GSIS has become the recipient of international, national and local awards. It was awarded excellent of the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) of 2007,” she said.
Also, GSIS employees were rated high in terms of courtesy, service with empathy, customer service skills, norms of conduct, competencies, others in the Customer Feedback Survey spearheaded by the GSIS Corporate Services Group since 2014 and even in ARTA Watch conducted by the Civil Service Commission.
According to Inocando, GSIS had completely improved the trust and confidence of the public.
“GSIS has been receiving commendable and exemplary service recognitions until today. Though the system had tremendously improved its Human Resource Management during the current helm of president and general manager Jesus Clint Aranas, the system has been struggling for approval of Compensation and Position Classification System/ Total Compensation Framework until today,” she added.
Inocando said her next paper will be on the topic highly organized microbusiness, as a way to create passive income for government workers.”
(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY- A young man’s attempt to commit suicide by hanging himself was saved by his uncle.
Based on a police report, the victim only identified as ‘Patrick’, 23, single and jobless and a resident of Barangay 84, San Jose district, this city, attempted to kill himself using a rope at about 4 pm on March 7.
But his attempt to kill himself was stopped after his uncle, identified as ‘James,’ rescued him and brought him to a hospital, police said.
Accordingly, the father of the victim, who is in Manila, called James to go to their house as he received information that his son was to commit suicide.
Police authorities conducted their probe on the incident to determine the reason why Patrick wanted to end his life. (RICA NIÑA FABILLAR, MA. ESTERLITA HERMANO, CHRISTINE CARDONA, LY-ANN LANIGAO, EVSU-Interns)

TACLOBAN CITY- Police in Samar continue to conduct hot pursuit operations against two detainees of the Calbiga Municipal Police Station after they escaped on Monday evening, March 11.
Police identified the two inmates as Roel Mabahin,22, and his brother Rodel,19, both residents of Barangay Minata of said town.
The brothers, both single and jobless, are facing robbery case.
“We must do everything in our ability to prevent such untoward incidents from happening again. I am calling on all the chiefs of police to stay on the ground with your men to be in full force to maintain the peace and order of the community,” said Police Director Chief Supt.Dionardo Carlos.
Initial investigation showed that after the brothers bolted out from their detention jail, they stole a motorcycle which they used as their getaway vehicle and took a hostage who luckily managed to escape from them.
Police said the two escapees are armed and dangerous.
The public is advised to report immediately to nearest authorities the whereabouts of the two detainees.
Meanwhile, Carlos ordered all the police stations in the region to be more alert and vigilant in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
(RONALD O. REYES)

ORMOC CITY-Leyte Fourth District Engineering (DEO) led by District Engineer Lino Francisco C. Gonzalez, together with Rep.Lucy Marie Torres – Gomez and Mayor Richard I. Gomez turns over a multi-storey, 9-classroom school building to Liloan National High School and Department of Education (DepEd) officials.
According to DE Gonzalez, the school building was designed to be typhoon resilient as to withstand any calamities. The new school building also comes with a complete push button fire alarm set, a stainless steel overhead water tank that can hold up to 2000 gallons of water, 3 Hp booster pump, and fire sprinklers making it safe and convenient for the students.
This school building amounting to 24.47 million pesos is part of the 68 school building projects of Leyte 4th DEO under the Basic Educational Facilities Fund (BEFF) 2017.
At present, Leyte 4th DEO is fast-tracking the implementation of the schools building to accommodate more enrollees come this June 2019. (PR)