BORONGAN CITY– The Department of Public Works and Highways – Eastern Samar District Engineering Office paved the road leading to Brgy. Baruk, an interior barangay that is more or less 14 kilometers away from the downtown area in the municipality of Can-avid.

Efren Alfon, a resident of Brgy. Baruk said that before the construction of this local road, residents of Brgy. Baruk used kangga, a cart pulled by a carabao, in travelling to the downtown area. He added that some even walk on foot just to get there.

“Ha pagkayana po nga mayda na namon kalsada, an amon pagde-deliver ngadto ha bungto han amon mga produkto. masayon na ngan kumbaga nakakapagbalikan na kami han sakob han usa ka adlaw di suga ba han una nga kon madulhog ka, ayaw paghuna-huna nga diretso ka makakabalik [But now that we already have this road, we can easily deliver our farm products to downtown. It is easier and we can now go back to our home on the same day, unlike before if you go downtown, expect that you can go back home the next day],” Alfon stressed.

Alfon also said that the new concrete road is a big help for them in accomplishing their daily work, such as farming and tending to their animals.

“Han una han wara pa kalsada, naabot po ngane an mauuran nga panahon, gikukurii an amon pag mala kadto panhalin han amon kakarabwan, ngadto panlukad han amon mga kalubian dara kay gilalagayi an amon kalsada [Before the concreting of this road, during rainy season, it is so hard for us to take care to our carabao and to go to our farm to get coconut copra because the road is very muddy],” said Alfon.

Efren Alfon then expressed his gratitude to DPWH and to the local government in working together to implement and accomplish this very important project.
The completion of the road project in Brgy. Baruk is one of the many infrastructure projects that DPWH Eastern Samar implements in the province which helps the locals improve their way of life.

The latest completed road in Brgy. Baruk, Can-avid, Eastern Samar has a total length of 1.35 kilometer with project cost amounting to P19,799,863.59 funded under General Appropriations Act of 2020.
(IRMA A. BALLETE, PIO Staff/PR)

The Social Security System (SSS) announced on Thursday that its pensioners will be receiving their 13th month and December 2022 pensions as early as the first week of December 2022.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Michael G. Regino said the pension fund is set to release around P29.74 billion covering 3.36 million pensioners.

“This year, we have also pushed for the early crediting of the 13th month and December 2022 pensions so that our pensioners can withdraw them ahead of the holiday rush,” Regino said.

Today, December 1, 2022, the SSS will release the first batch of the said pensions covering pensioners with dates of contingency within the first to the 15th day of the month.

The second batch, on the other hand, is set to be released on December 4, 2022, covering pensioners with dates of contingency within the 16th up to the last day of the month.
Since December 4, 2022, falls on a Sunday, pensioners who are set to receive their pensions on the said date can expect that these will be credited to their account starting on the last working day before it, which is December 2, 2022.

Meanwhile, the SSS requested its accredited non-PESONet participating banks to release the said pensions to their SSS-pensioner clients no later than December 4, 2022. It has also requested the Philippine Postal Corporation to expedite the delivery of the checks of its pensioners who are receiving their pensions in this manner.

“Since December 1988, we have been granting our pensioners the 13th month pension, which is equivalent to their respective monthly pensions. This additional financial assistance or Christmas gift is our way of thanking them for their support to the SSS during their working years,” Regino said.

Pensioners who are qualified to receive the 13th month pension are SS retirement pensioners, and SS and Employees’ Compensation (EC) survivor, and total disability pensioners, including partial disability pensioners with pension duration of not less than 12 months. (PR)

Manila– To commemorate World AIDS Day, U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson led the handover of 86,000 U.S. government-donated HIV viral load testing cartridges valued at P85 million ($1.5 million) to strengthen the Philippine government’s HIV treatment program.

“These laboratory tests are further proof that the U.S. government is committed to working alongside the Department of Health (DOH), the community of Filipinos living with HIV, and local governments like Manila City to ensure that people living with HIV in the country have equitable access to a viral load test,” Ambassador Carlson said at the turnover ceremony hosted by the Manila City government on December 1.

“With this donation, we aim to amplify the hopeful message of U equals U: that undetectable is indeed itransmittable.”

Senator Risa Hontiveros, Manila City Councilor for Health Dr. Louisito Chua, DOH Undersecretary Carolina Vidal-Taiño, and members of the people living with HIV (PLHIV) community were also present at the event.

Secured through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), these cartridges will be distributed to HIV treatment hubs and facilities across the Philippines and are expected to cover the country’s viral load testing requirements for all patients undergoing HIV treatment for one year.

“This donation of more than 86,000 viral load cartridges from the United States government will be pivotal to the country’s HIV treatment program,” said Department of Health (DOH) Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.

“We are filled with so much hope that we will no longer have to lose our loved ones to HIV and that we will be able to carry on with our lives, free from worry and stigma,” Network Plus co-convenor Elena Felix said on behalf of the PLHIV community.

Since December 2020, the U.S. government has provided more than Php 1 billion ($18.2 million) to the Philippine government through PEPFAR to support HIV prevention, case finding, and treatment interventions. This includes a donation of more than 81,000 bottles of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an HIV-preventive drug that is being distributed by the DOH in more than 50 facilities across Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon. This donation, valued at Php 31.3 million ($552,996), was turned over to the Philippine government in June 2021.

These recent donations signify the U.S. government’s commitment to support the Philippines in addressing supply chain bottlenecks in the procurement of critical commodities in HIV detection and treatment and in achieving the country’s goal to end AIDS by 2030 through evidence-based strategies.(PR)