ORMOC CITY – Smoking ban will still be implemented even during the annual fiesta of this city.
This was declared by City Mayor Richard Gomez who warned violators that they will be apprehended once caught by the police.
Gomez is strengthening their campaign against public smoking across the city using an anti-smoking ordinance which carry some penalties.
Based on the anti-smoking ordinance of the city, the penalty ranges from P500 up to P1, 500, depending on the number of times a violator is caught.
“If they want to smoke they have to do it outside the city proper. There will be no exemption,” Gomez said.
Ormoc is aiming to be declared as a “smoke free city”.
It received a nomination for this year’s Red Orchid Award- LGU category, a program of the Department of Health that recognizes cities, municipalities, government offices and health facilities that are strictly enforcing tobacco control measures.
Mayor Gomez clarified that although the city government is imposing strict compliance of Republic Act 9211 also known as the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 they are not stopping anyone from doing their vice but they should do it in designated area or in their respective houses.
Under the law smoking is prohibited in indoor public places and workplaces such as government facilities, healthcare and educational institutions, and facilities frequented visited by minors, public land transport, aircraft, and public transport terminals.
Smoking is allowed in other public places and work places which include bars and nightclubs but there must be designated smoking areas.
“Our goal here is to keep our citizens healthy. We know the bad effects of smoking.It causes lung cancer and other diseases,” Gomez said.
Last week, Gomez together with personnel from the City Health Office and Ormoc City Police Office conducted “Oplan Baklas” of cigarette advertisement in stores within 100-meter distance from schools and barangay halls.
“We did an operation Baklas to implement RA 9211 which says you cannot put any cigarette advertising within 100 meters of places frequented by minors,” he said, adding that they also took down posters and billboards fronting barangay halls.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Agriculture (DA) will introduce climate resilient technologies in three Samar provinces as part of an initiative to help alleviate farmers from poverty.
This is the first time that adaptation and mitigation initiative in agriculture (AMIA) will be implemented in Eastern Visayas targeting beneficiaries of Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD), a project that provides intervention to poor farmers not covered by regular programs.
“Through AMIA, we want farmers to mainstream climate resilient measures meant to reduce losses arising from natural calamities. This is very helpful because our region is very vulnerable to weather disturbances,” said DA Eastern Visayas assistant regional director for operations Andrew Orais in an interview on Thursday.
SAAD recipients will be provided with seeds varieties and other inputs tolerant to impacts of climate change. Farmers will also be taught on proven climate resilient practices in farming, said Orais.
A major component of the AMIA project is the national color-coded farming guide map, which identifies crops that are most suitable in agriculture parcels, and overlays soil properties, elevation, rainfall pattern, temperature, and more importantly, the projected climate-induced multi-hazards.
The DA is eyeing a P1.37-billion outlay to assist less privileged farmers in three Samar provinces under SAAD.
From 2016 to 2017, the department has already poured in nearly P20 million to poor farmers not covered in regular programs of the central government. The project focuses on improving production of rice, corn, vegetables, and livestock.
The DA regional office is proposing P898.74-million budget for SAAD projects for 2019 to 2022. The initiative aims to alleviate 37,669 farmers from extreme poverty, said Orais.
DA aims to reduce poverty in Samar provinces by 25 percent in the next three years from 55.4 percent in Eastern Samar, 43.5 percent in Northern Samar, and 43.5 percent in Samar.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)

CALBAYOG CITY-The Department of Education (DepEd) in this city is set to welcome at least 55,000 students for this school year which will start on June 4.
The projected student population of this city for this school year is relatively higher compare to last year’s school year of 49,582 students.
“The schools are now in preparation for the opening of classes and we are expecting more children to go back to school,” Raul Agban, officer-in-charge of the city schools division, said.
The ‘Brigada Eskwela’ or the annual maintenance week is set to kick-off on Monday (May 28) with a simple caravan from Carayman National High School and a simple ceremony at the Calbayog City Convention Center.
Agban encouraged the parents, stakeholders to continue supporting the education sector in the city.
“Let us all join hands and continue helping our schools for the end beneficiary of these are the children,” he said.
Last school year’s Brigada Eskwela, the city schools division generated a total amount of P15.04 million at least 32,518 volunteers helped in the preparation for the school opening.
The city government under Mayor Ronaldo Aquino extended P5,000 cash assistance to all public elementary, junior and senior high schools in the city.
This year’s Brigada Eskwela, the city government will also extend same amount of assistance to all public schools in the city to augment the expenses relative to the said activity.
DepEd-Calbayog has also scheduled the ‘Visita Escuela’ 2018 at Mantaong Elementary School on May 30.
DepEd division heads, staffs, stakeholders and other DepEd partners will gather and join hands in painting, cleaning, and repair works of the classrooms and other facilities.
Meantime, Agban shared that for this school year, the city has 170 new teacher items.
“The number of teacher items I think is enough for our need but this is also helpful for us to split the multi-grade classes that we have right now,” he said.
Calbayog has 212 multi-grade classes, wherein a teacher handles two to three classes simultaneously. (JENNIFER SUMAGANG-ALLEGADO)

BUSALI, Biliran- An official from the Department of Education (DepEd) in Eastern Visayas disclosed that the opening of classes in public schools will start on June 4.
“We will see to it that June 4 will really be the start of classes in the whole of Region 8,” DepEd-8 Regional Director Ramir B. Uytico emphasized in an interview during the conduct of the schools maintenance activities dubbed Brigada Eskwela in Busali Elementary School on May 22.
Uytico said that all classrooms should be ready prior the resumption of classes, thus encouraged teachers, parents, and volunteers to cooperate anew in this year’s Brigada Eskwela.
Spirit of volunteerism
Uytico said that Brigada Eskwela is aimed to bring out the “bayanihan” spirit among Filipinos. He stressed that parents opting to give financial assistance in exchange for extending volunteer works in school will just defeat the purpose of promoting the bayanihan spirit.
“Brigada Eskwela is tulungan. Ang pag-educate ng kabataan ay hindi lang ‘yan responsibilidad ng DepEd but rather the responsibility of everybody in the community especially the parents,” Uytico added.
He also welcomed all the stakeholders in the community to participate during the conduct of this year’s Brigada Eskwela from May 28 to June 2.
“Puwede nilang puntahan ‘yung school, i-approach ang principal kung ano ang mai-ooffer nila so that the school will feel na hindi sila nag-iisa sa paghanda for the coming school year,” the regional director said.
This year’s Brigada Eskwela has the theme “Pagkakaisa para sa Handa, Ligtas at Matatag na Paaralan Tungo sa Magandang Kinabukasan.”
No collection policy
The DepEd chief reiterated that their department imposes the ‘no collection policy’ and further emphasized that attending in public schools is free.
“We would like to remind all the parents na pag-aralin ang kanilang mga anak sa public schools dahil walang bayad dito,” said Uytico.
He also encouraged the public to report to the offices of the principals and supervisors on any violations of the said policy.
(JNPD/RSV/PIA-8)

TACLOBAN CITY- At least three passengers, two of them were minors, died and scores other were hurt after the passenger they were on board fell off a bridge in Tanauan, Leyte at about 11:45 pm Tuesday.
SPO3 Restituto Faron, officer-on-case of the Tanauan police station, identified the fatalities as Queenly Galagnara3; Wendell Simbajon,15; and Brian Noterte,30.
The three fatalities were among the 52 passengers who on board a Philtranco Bus Line with plate number ACA 9771 which was cruising along Barangay Buntay of said town when it fell into the Solano Bridge by about three meters, Faron said.
The three were declared as dead on arrival by the attending physicians while the other passengers sustained injuries who were brought to different hospitals at the nearby town of Palo and here in Tacloban City.
Queenly was with her grandparents, Pepito and Marites Galagnara with address of San Jose, Dinagat Island, while Simbajon was with his father, Willy, who was said to be the assistant driver and with address of Dumoy, Davao City.
The address of Noterte was not known.
“Many of the passengers are now at an evacuation center in Brgy.Canramos as ordered by Mayor (Pelagio) Tecson for the meantime as they are recovering from the injuries that they sustained due to the incident,” Faron said.
The police officer said that the passenger bus, driven by Edgardo Legaspi, was from Pasay City and bound for Tandag City, Surigao del Sur.
And based on their initial investigation, the driver claimed that a passenger whom he identified as Wendell Simbajon tried to grab the steering wheel from him, causing him to lose control of the vehicle which resulted for the bus to swerve going down to the bridge.
“But I doubt it. Most probably, Wendell could have awaken from his sleep and fell straight to the driver. He (Simbajon) was sitting at the back of the driver,” Faron said.
The passengers were rescued by the town rescue group and local police.
Faron said that the driver, now detained at the local police lock-up facility, would be charged for reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide and multiple physical injuries and damage to property.(JOEY A. GABIETA)

Particularly area leading to the new EVRMC

During the EVRMC main building inauguration, Sec. Go reiterated the thrust of the Duterte administration to improve the health services for poor Filipinos.

TACLOBAN CITY- Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Sec. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go vowed to talk to Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar to address the perennial flooding along a main highway leading to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) in Barangay Bacagay, this city.
“I will personally request Secretary Villar to find immediate solutions to this flooding as soon as possible. It is important that the road to the hospital is always accessible,” Go told reporters during the press briefing inside the new P497-million EVRMC main building Tuesday (May 22).
The official asked his staff to help him remind of the complaint.
Go also received reports that the main road in the city are impassable during heavy rains due to flooding, forcing light vehicles, to include ambulances carrying patients to return to some parts of Samar.
Last December 2017 and February 2018, flooding of the national road along Nula Tula district stalled traffic and stranded hundreds of commuters.
The Department of Public Works and Highways earlier said the flood was caused by newly-constricted structures blocking the waterways.
The city government under Mayor Cristina Romualdez asked property owners to demolish their structures to ensure smooth flow of drainage waters.
Go also vowed to ask military to use its trucks to transport patients if in case flooding will make the road impassable in the future.
During the EVRMC main building inauguration, Sec. Go reiterated the thrust of the Duterte administration to improve the health services for poor Filipinos.
The opening of the main building signals the expansion of President Duterte’s Malasakit Center, a one-stop-shop that will provide access to government programs that extend medical financial assistance to the underprivileged, he said.
Go turned over P15 million to the EVRMC management for the first month operation of Malasakit Center.
This is the second center in the Visayas after the opening of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu.
Go also announced the provision of Toyota Grandia van to transport patients from remote areas in Leyte and Samar provinces to the regional hospital.
The vehicle donated by him and some friends from Davao City comes with regular operation and maintenance support.
The six-storey EVRMC main building has 353 beds and 35 cribs built in a new location free from threats of storm surges. With a floor area of 30,000 square meters, it was designed for 420-bed service wards and 180-bed private rooms. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)