BURAUEN, Leyte- The Cadahunan Elementary School (CES) of Burauen North District, this town, is one of the recipients of School-Based Feeding Program of the Department of Education (DepEd).
The beneficiaries are all the undernourished children in the school based on the nutritional assessment conducted at the beginning of the school year.
It aims to improve the daily attendance, performance and nutritional status of learners from Kindergarten to Grade 6.
About 23 students of CES were identified as beneficiaries of this program which was implemented this month and is to end by August of this year.
Each beneficiary is given P18.00 per meal for 120 feeding days including the operational expenses.
The target beneficiaries are to take deworming medicine and vitamins with the consent of the parents.
The school, together with the stakeholders, are encourage to have Gulayan sa Paaralan Program and backyard vegetable gardening to augment the feeding program.
This program also promotes health and nutrition information and awareness among the target beneficiaries.
They will conduct hand washing and tooth brushing every day before and after the feeding.
The parents of the identified beneficiaries will prepare the menu every day with the supervision of the school feeding coordinator Florencia C. Arellano and to be monitored by the school head Lisa D. Superales.
It is very important that the school have this school-based feeding program, because most of the children go to school with empty stomach due to poverty.
And most of the pupils fond of making absences because of hunger. It affects the academic performance of the learners.
Through this program, it will reduce hunger, improve the nutritional status, health condition and academic performance of the learners.
(NOTE: Lisa D. Superales is the school head of Cadahunan Elementary School, Burauen North District, Burauen, Leyte)

TACLOBAN CITY- At least 5,148 workers in Eastern Visayas have been regularized from January to the first week of July year as the national government stepped up its drive to end labor-only contracting or “endo”, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here reported Friday.
Of the number, 2,594 benefitted from the campaign when their employers voluntarily complied with the directive to stop endo, while the remaining 2,554 workers attained regular employment status after labor inspection activities.
DOLE 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Cyril Ticao has expressed confidence about hitting the target of 9,000 regularized before the end of this year.
“President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to Congress to pass legislation ending the practice of illegal contractualization is a big boost to our goal to meet or even exceed the target this year,” Ticao told the Philippine New Agency (PNA).
The Chief Executive, in his State of the Nation Address on Monday, asked lawmakers to pass legislation that will “once and for all” stop illegal contractualization.
Contributing to the remarkable performance in the region is the regularization of more than a thousand of these workers, who were given permanent employment status by the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp., the country’s largest copper smelter based in Isabel, Leyte.
The priority in the campaign are shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, food chains, gas stations, manufacturing, construction, transport, and fishing industry since these are the establishments vulnerable to labor-only contracting.
The regional office is largely counting on voluntary compliance since it only has 20 labor inspectors tasked to check the compliance of thousands of business establishments in the region’s six provinces.
The DOLE adopted two tracks in eliminating labor-only contracting or endo.
In the first track, its regional offices conduct a series of consultations and meetings to encourage employers to voluntarily regularize workers.
For the second track, labor law compliance officers inspect establishments, principals and contractors practicing labor-only contracting arrangements.
Those found to be engaged in labor-only contracting are subjected to mandatory conferences to assist them in their compliance with labor standards.
In 2017, about 1,733 workers were given regular employment status in the six provinces of Eastern Visayas.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO/PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY–At least 136 out of 138 barangay chairmen and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) leaders here in the city attended a special gathering Sunday (July 29) in a show of support and alliance to Tingog Sinirangan, a party-list group based in the region.
While Tingog Sinirangan regional chairman and first nominee Jude Acidre thanked the recently elected barangay and SK chairmen during the gathering, they assured them of their continued support through their priority projects and programs.
“We believe that in party-list, the party should be remembered and not the individual personalities. Tingog Sinirangan is more than its nominees,” said Acidre as he disclosed the various medical programs and initiatives they conducted around the region despite not winning the position during their first attempt in the 2016 national elections.
In a speech, Acidre thanked Tacloban for giving them over 40,000 votes, which pushed the Tingog Sinirangan into an “advantageous position” among hundreds of party-list groups.
“Tacloban did not also disappoint us for giving us the biggest margin of votes. If Tacloban wasn’t there, we’ll not make it there, too. Maybe it’s not yet our time, but we’re not tired,” said Acidre, adding that they continue to serve the city and Eastern Visayas to “return the favor” that they received from their supporters during the 2016 national elections.
“Whether we have a position or not, we remember Tacloban. We’re here to give you service,” said Acidre as he called the barangay and youth leaders as their “partners.”
According to Acidre, Tingog Sinirangan will be the second “voice” to the congressional districts in the region.
For the past three years, Tingog Sinirangan already conducted over 40 medical program services around Eastern Visayas. Its latest is the free check-up and cataract operation they started in July until August.
Although a newcomer in the national party-list elections, Tingog Sinirangan has been in existent since 2012.
Lawyer Butch Corpin, its second nominee and the current executive director of Lakas-CMD party, said that Tingog Sinirangan was formerly called as Tingog Leytenhons, a provincial political party in Leyte.
Former congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, its chairman emeritus, pushed for its entry in the regional level to give “voice” to the region’s people along with bringing in the development of the regional countryside, and representation in the House of Congress through the party-list system.
The Commission of Elections accredited Tingog Sinirangan through a resolution promulgated on Aug. 19, 2015, which qualified the party to run in the party-list elections in May 2016 national and local elections.
Acidre has been in a region-based party-list organization for over 10 years.
Meanwhile, Leyte First District Rep. Yedda Romualdez, who accompanied Acidre during the event, said they are “pushing for more projects and we’re doing many things.”
She highlighted the ongoing tide embankment, by-pass road and bridge projects in Tacloban City and Leyte province.
Romualdez assured many more projects will happen in the City and in her district, saying that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and the new House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are “very kind and close to us.”
Newly-elected Association of Barangay Chairmen (ABC) president Eden Chua-Pineda and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president Thomas Diaz lauded Romualdez and Tingog Sinirangan for responding to the needs in the barangays in the city.
Now on her second year in Congress, Romualdez was instrumental in the passage of 13 laws and 23 other legislative measures now on its third reading, making her as one of the hardworking representatives in the 17th Congress. (RONALD O. REYES)

Four of them minors

BY: JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T. AMAZONA

TACLOBAN CITY- At least 32 men, four of them minors, from this city said to be victims of trafficking were rescued by authorities in Sual, Pangasinan province.
The trafficked victims were recruited to work in a big fish cage farm reportedly owned by Chinese nationals and were promised of a monthly compensation of P5,000.
But based on the accounts of the victims, they were told that they would only be paid P3,500, worked overtime under harsh condition and always being threatened.
“Yohan,’ 15, and from Barangay 96, said that he together with his companions were recruited by a neighbor identified as Eduard Moreno on July 11 of this year.
“I don’t really know him though we belong to the same village. He promised us that we will be paid P5,000 and with food allowance and with a decent living quarters,” the victim said.
But when they arrived in the area on July 13 after almost two days of land travel, they were shocked that their living quarters were just like pig pens; worked from 4 am until 10 pm every day of the week and with no rest allowed.
They were also provided with their daily food, placed in a plastic wrapper.
“We always ate fish and vegetables with foul-odor smell,” Yohan said.
About seven armed men were said to be monitoring them.
Yohan, who only finished Grade 4 whose parents have no stable employment, said that he was glad that his and his companions’ nightmarish ordeals are over.
“At least I am with my parents and younger sibling now. I will just continue my studies here with the help of our government,” he said.
The other victims were recruited by Moreno’s brother, Dick, who is based in Sual.
The plight of the victims were discovered when one of the mothers of the trafficked victims went to the office of the City Social Welfare and Development Office(CSWDO) complaining that her 15-year old boy has not contacted her since he left for Sual on July 11.
Carmela Bastes, social worker of the CSWDO, immediately informed their regional office in Tacloban City which, in turn, contacted their counterparts in Pangasinan on July 13.
And on July 19, with the help of the National Bureau of Investigation in Pangasinan, personnel from the DSWD-Pangasinan, went to the area and conducted their rescue operation.
The Chinese owners did not resist during the operation.
Claire Banzuela, social worker officer based in San Fernando, Pangasinan, said that their office provided food and clothing to the victims and were given P5,000 as assistance.
Banzuela, together with other staff of their office, escorted the trafficked victims to the city on July 24.
The NBI, she said, are to file cases of human trafficking against the Chinese nationals and the recruiters of the victims.
The city government of Tacloban initiated press conference on Thursday (July 26) with the victims as well as social welfare officers from Tacloban and Pangasinan in attendance.

TACLOBAN CITY- Billboards showing some of the region’s top tourist destinations were put in display at the Tacloban new bus terminal and in a private van terminal with the aim of attracting tourists to visit these tourism gems.
The unveiling of these promotional billboards showing the tourist destinations of the region like the Biri Rock Formations in Biri, Northern Samar, Sambawan Island in Maripipi, Biliran and Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte, was held on Friday (July 27).
The project was initiated by the An Waray party-list group in coordination with the city government of Tacloban under Mayor Cristina Romualdez and the regional Department of Tourism (DOT).
Florencio ‘Bem’ Noel, former congressman of the An Waray party-list group, said that the project aims to encourage the locals to visit these regional tourism attractions.
According to Noel, it is quite disheartening to note that several of the people in the region have not visited these God- given attractions.
“I myself is guilty of it,” the former solon admitted.
Noel said that it was for this reason why this undertaking was initiated and with the tarpaulins purposely displayed in public places like the city’s bus terminal as these are frequented by the public.
Noel said that they are hoping that through this undertaking, the local people will start to patronize these destinations and help promote them in the process.
“Our intention is to attract our local tourists,” he said.
Malou Tabao, acting city tourism officer, seconded the statement of Noel saying that the city government is throwing its full support on this project.
“This will not only benefit Tacloban City but the entire region eight,” Tabao said.
Norberto Lumbre of the DOT-8 said that their office is thankful for this initiative of the An Waray party-list as well as by the Tacloban City, as this could help them in promoting Eastern Visayas as a tourism destination.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY-Three major streets in downtown here in the city will be open for a two-way traffic starting August 1.
The streets in Sto. Niῆo, Del Pilar and Paterno, classified as one-way when the city government implemented an experimental traffic scheme on November 24 of last year, will now be two-way streets.
The city government, under the administration of Mayor Cristina Romualdez, has implemented a one-way traffic scheme in major streets based on Executive Order 2017-11-80 which ended January of this year.
On February 20 of this year, the city government introduced a similar traffic scheme.
The city government in partnership with the University of the Philippines National Center for Traffic Studies (UP-NCTS) conducted a traffic study to implement a new traffic scheme.
The study came up with a modified version of the one- way scheme enforced on 2016.
It also recommended on street parking, identification of bike lanes, the strict enforcement of ordinance on illegal sidewalk vending and crackdown on the existence of illegal terminals.
Under the proposed scheme, the following will be designated as one-way streets: Rizal Avenue, Avenida Veteranos St., Real St., Justice Romualdez St, P. Burgos St., Zamora St., Salazar St., Juan Luna Street. Two-way streets are Gomez St., M.H. del Pilar St., and Sto. Nino St. and Paterno St.
Juan Luna Street, fronting Rizal Central School, will be closed to traffic.
Advisory signages will be installed in strategic areas to ensure that motorists will follow the new traffic scheme.
City Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin said that the council need to have a copy of the traffic scheme to be introduced starting on August 1.
“We are eagerly awaiting the final proposed Traffic Management Program from UPNCTS so that we can enact (an) ordinance that will legalize (the) traffic scheme,” he said. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)