BURAUEN, Leyte – Public school teachers serving in upland communities here shared stories on how they stayed strong despite financial, family and work-related struggles.
Airen Modina, 39, admitted that she tries to be emotionally numb every time she notices that some of her pupils go to school barefoot, with empty stomach and only one notebook for eight subjects.
“Although I am mindful of their plight, I have my own burden to bear. My husband has been suffering kidney failure for three years now and the only way for him to survive is through dialysis, which is very costly,” said the mother of two, who has been in the teaching profession for more than a decade.
Modina is a Grade 6 teacher of Catagbacan Elementary School, a small campus in a farming community nine kilometers upland from the town center.
The teacher and some family members chip in P23,400 every month for her husband’s monthly dialysis. She only gets P6,900 monthly net salary, with P18,000 cut due to loan deductions.
Since she’s considered as better off than other siblings, she is obliged to provide financial support to her parent and nieces.
“Yes, life is more burdensome with so many work-related problems such as paper works, classroom maintenance, poor performing pupils, but I have to be strong to see my children live a better life in the future. I have been very prayerful and positive that the best is yet to come,” Modina shared.
Shirly Esquierdo, 33, a teacher for more than two years currently assigned at Anonang Elementary School in Barangay Anonang said occasionally hanging out with friends helped her a lot to cope up life’s countless stress.
For two years, she has been left alone to support her three young children after her separation from her husband due to unsettled differences.
Esquierdo also recalled heart-breaking stories among her students from indigent families in Anonang, an upland barangay, 18 kilometers away from the town’s commercial hub.
“Some children just eat a little rice with boiled frogs as side dish for lunch while some just drink water to beat hunger pangs. Deep within, I want to help them all, but I am incapable,” she said.
Accumulated debts reduced the young teacher’s monthly pay from over P20,000 to only P6,500. The meagre pay supports her three school-aged children and jobless mother.
“Personal problems and paper works are inevitable, but staying optimistic of what the future holds is the best choice to manage depression,” she added.
Every day, a teacher is required to prepare a 10-page lesson plan and some instructional materials. On a regular basis, they have make oral reading reports of children, individual cards, and document all school-related activities as attachments to the bi-annual Individual Performance Commitment and Review Form for Teachers.
Department of Education Leyte assistant schools division superintendent Edgar Tenasas praised teachers for their determination to face personal and work-related challenges.
“I salute these teachers who are relentless in their effort to educate our children even in remote communities despite all these problems. I believe that it all depends on emotional stability of a person,” Tenasas added.
The education department reiterated its call for teachers to manage depression after reports circulated on social media that piles of paper work had prompted Emylou Malate, 21, a multi-grade teacher in La Paz, Leyte, to commit suicide inside their house in Limba village last July 14.
Malate, single, was assigned to a multi-grade class at the Bagacay West Primary School, an upland school some 5 kms. from the town center. Her first day of work was last June 25.
(Note: The author is the school head of the Anonang Elementary School in Barangay Anonang, Burauen, Leyte)

By: LIEZEL RECAMADAS

BURAUEN, Leyte – The local government here has established a high school in an upland farming community in a bid to encourage more elementary graduates to proceed with secondary education.
School head Adolfo Raga said they have to start classes in makeshift classrooms at the Buraburon National High School this school year as 90 students have signified their interest to study in the new campus closer to their homes.
“Since we don’t have maintenance budget yet, we have to ask donations from our friends for learning materials and gather extra furniture from other schools,” Raga shared.
Town Mayor Juanito Renomeron has pushed for the opening of a new school in Barangay Tagadtaran to serve 15 upland barangays, noting that many children stopped going to school after Grade 6. The campus is projecting about 200 enrollees every year.
The local government had set aside P3.2 million for the site development and construction of a three-classroom building in Brgy. Tagadtaran, some 13 kilometers upland from the town center. Completion of the new building is set early next month.
“The new high school will bring hope to hundreds of elementary graduates who have been discouraged by distance to continue learning,” Raga said. One of the student is a 21-year-old father who graduated elementary nine years ago, according to the school official.
“Many of our enrollees have been out of school for years. We’re planning to come up with a way to help them catch up with classroom learning,” Raga added.
The farthest barangay covered by the new campus is Villa Corazon where children have to spend P120 daily for transportation to study in the nearest campus in town.
Christian Caca, 14, a Grade student from Tagadtaran said his family saved a lot after he transferred to the new campus.
“Last year, I spent P60 daily for fare alone, but now P12 is just enough daily for my refreshment,” the aspiring professional basketball player said.
The Department of Education regional office in Palo, Leyte approved the school opening through a memorandum issued on May 17, 2018, but have not yet provided maintenance funds pending some documentary requirements. (Note: The author is the school head of the Tagadtaran Elementary School in Barangay Tagadtaran, Burauen, Leyte)

TACLOBAN CITY- Due to rising number of dengue cases, the city government of Baybay City is now under a state of health emergency, hastening the procurement of needed medicines and a fogging machine.
Dr. Norberto Oja, city health officer, said that as of Thursday (July 19), there were 193 confirmed dengue cases in Baybay covering from the start of the year.
Last year, there were more than 200 dengue fever cases in Baybay with no death recorded.
But for this year, the mosquito-causing ailment has already killed one child each from the villages of Hipusngo, Zones 5 and 6.
Oja said that dengue fever cases were monitored to have detected in almost all of the city’s 92 barangays with the villages of Hipusngo, Guadalupe, San Isidro, and Zone 5 having the highest number of cases.
“We are addressing the problem with the help from the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) as well as from the provincial health office,” Oja, in a phone interview, said.
According to Oja, Mayor Carmen Cari, upon the recommendation of the City Health Office, declared a state of health emergency in the city on July 10.
The declaration would mean that the city government could now fast track in the procurement of needed medicines and equipment like a fogging machine to address the rising number of dengue fever cases.
Oja, however, could not say how much the city government would allocate for this purpose.
The city government is to buy a fogging machine as of its two current fogging machines, one has bogged down. A fogging machine cost around P50,000, the health officer said.
It was learned from Oja, that they are now conducting massive ‘search and destroy’ operations on breeding places of dengue-causing mosquitos as well as fogging operations.
Based on the monitoring of dengue fever cases in the region by the DOH-8, as of this week, 16 people have died and about 1,179 others were afflicted due to dengue fever.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY– The regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is targeting to complete the pay out of social pensioners under the its unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program by the end of this month.
The distribution of UCT to social pension beneficiaries is a government intervention after implementing the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law that affects fuel prices triggering for the increase of prices of basic commodities.
Each social pensioners will be receiving additional P200 cash grant every month.
DSWD Regional Director Restituto Macuto said that the simultaneous pay-out started last Friday (July 20) and will end on July 31.
However, this target may be extended considering the large number of beneficiaries that are expected to receive the cash grant.
The request of local chief executives to bring the pay-out in their respective localities is also a problem considering that Landbank of the Philippines has only 15 branches in the region covering its seven cities and 136 municipalities.
Macuto said that lack of Land Bank outlets was the reason why they were not able to meet the original deadline, which is this month, in the distribution of the UCT.
He added that bank personnel could not also handle the influx of beneficiaries going to their bank during banking hours.
Here in the city, a total of 4,902 social pensioners are to receive the cash grant from the DSWD which will be divided into two batches, half of the total beneficiaries will receive the cash grant that is to be distributed at Balyuan Park in the morning while the remaining half receive their share in the afternoon.
Macuto said they consider the conditions of the social pensioners who have delicate conditions and may not be able to withstand severe weather and standing for hours reason why they have to do it at the Balyuan Park.
Macuto added that aside from the UCT for social pensioners, beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program will also receive additional P200 a month.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The committee on transportation and terminal administration of the Sangguniang Panlungsod here has endorsed a P9 fare hike for motorcycle-for-hire (MCH) during a public hearing conducted on Thursday (July 19).
The P9 fare agreed by the committee, which is chaired by Councilor Edward Frederick Chua, however, is lower by P1 compare to the demand of the Tacloban Federation of MCH Drivers and Operators, Inc. (TAFEMADO).
The group, headed by its president Joseph Tangeli, had earlier passed their position paper demanding that the current P8 MCH fare be increased to P10 covering within the city’s main streets.
The group cited the rising cost of gasoline, the implementation of a rerouting scheme by the city government which is taking longer routes, and the enforcement of the TRAIN (Tax Reformation and Acceleration and Inclusion) Law as reasons why they were demanding for a fare increase.
“Due to these circumstances, we appeal to the honorable Sangguniang Panlungsod (members) and the honorable Mayor Cristina Romualdez for fare increase to MCH from the current P7 for the two kilometers to P10 for the first one kilometer and additional P1 for succeeding kilometer,” the group on their May 7 petition submitted to the city council said.
They also asked for a fare for a ‘special trip’ which means routes outside the main streets of the city.
The group, cited as an example, that a ride from downtown area to Abucay bus terminal would have a fare of P48.
They used the current fare of public utility jeeps at P8 multiplied by 3(seating capacity) and multiply again by 2(round trip).
But during Thursday’s public hearing held at the Legislative Building, the Chua committee agreed with a proposal made by a commuter to just put the fare hike at P9, Councilor Jerry Uy, member of the committee, said.
Councilor Uy said that a P9 MCH fare within the city streets is ‘reasonable’ reason why the committee would endorse it to the entire city council for approval.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)