TACLOBAN CITY- There is nothing more special than to capture a moment and hold it forever.
This is just what Dante Enage is doing when he opened his “Hiyum Art Exhibit: 9th Solo Exhibition” at Robinsons Place Tacloban Activity from February 6 to 13.
Hiyum, which means smile in the local dialect, is a contraction from Enage’s 11-year-old daughter Hiraya Yumi.
“Most of the 40 paintings at the exhibit are about the environment to raise more awareness about environmental issues,” said Enage, 46, a “Yolanda” survivor.
Despite the different conditions of the planet’s environment brought by man’s neglect and climate change, visitors at the exhibit are more drawn to the “unadulterated lightness…playfulness of youth, of hope, and belongingness” brought by the smiles of Enage’s daughter on the canvas.
“Hiyum reveals the artist’s outlook on life: his love for environment and nature, his advocacy for culture in the hidden baybayin texts, and his intense love for his daughter that reflects in each of the smiles displayed on every canvas,” said Aaron JP Almadro, editor and publisher of travel/lifestyle 8 Magazine in Tacloban.
“The subject is obvious in all artworks, as Enage captures his daughter in various stages of pure joy, forever stilled in time,” he added.
According to Almadro, the public need to see more exhibits like Enage’s “Hiyum” to counter the hate and negativity resulting from the misuse of social media, politics, and ignorance.
While local artists continue to struggle for the lack of art space in Tacloban, Enage remains thankful that the city’s art scene is still thriving. (RONALD O.REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY- More patients could now be accommodated at the Samar Provincial Hospital (SPH) in Catbalogan City.
This after the construction of the annex building that targets to accommodate about 220 patients started on Feb.11.
This was announced by Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan who in previous interviews said that improving the delivery of health services at the SPH is one of her priority programs.
At present, SPH could accommodate at least 100 patients but with the eventual operation of its annex building, it could now accommodate more than 300 patients.
The annex building of the SPH could accommodate at least 220 patients, doubling its current capacity.
Tan, who is to bow out as governor of the province June of this year, has made health service as one of her administration’s cornerstones.
With an increased bed capacity of the SPH, patients from the province would no longer need to go to hospitals in Tacloban City, like the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC).
Tan described the groundbreaking of the SPH-Annex as ‘historic.’
Aside from the annex building, a new outpatient building was also opened and part of the services being offered in this facility is the ‘Malasakit Center’ a one-stop shop wherein patients, especially the economically deprived, could immediately availed all their needed medical assistance to include access to medicines.
SPH, which is under the supervision of Dr. Katherine Faith Tabuan, has been undergoing improvements under the administration of Gov. Tan. (JOEY A. GABIETA)