In Northern Samar

CATARMAN, Northern Samar-No less than Secretary Manny Piñol, representing the Department of Agriculture(DA), in the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the Rice Seed Production Project with the local government of San Roque, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and other stakeholders on February 22 at San Roque, this province.
Sec. Piñol emphasized that the island of Samar has great potential with its large rivers and fertile lands. Unfortunately, he added, the three provinces in this island are all in the ten poorest provinces of the country.
He puts part of the blame on the past administrations for neglecting the island. But this time around, he says that the Duterte administration will change this fact.
“We should modernize agriculture in Samar. And our intention in San Roque is to transform this town into the seed production area of the whole Region 8. Dito natin sa San Roque uumpisahan ang pagbangon ng buong isla ng Samar. Because we would like Samar to be included, not in the list of the poorest provinces of this country, but in the list of progressive provinces in the country three years from now,” Sec. Piñol declared.
Under the Rice Seed Production Project, the investors’ group, represented by Samar Island Seed Producers, will be leasing 200 hectares of land from land-owners at P15,000/hectare every year for five years to be used as demonstration area for seed production. They will be teaching the method to other farmers in order for them to replicate the process.
“Led by seed grower Nathanael Fabila, the experienced seed growers and farmers will serve as the on-site instructors for the local farmers. We will provide equipment, financing and technology,” Sec. Piñol said.
The Agricultural Credit Policy Council of the DA will initially allocate P40 million to fund the seed production project and start an orientation program for the prospective seed producers of the town.
Sec. Piñol further said that modern farming facilities and machineries will be utilized under this project.
The project is expected to turn San Roque into one of the biggest rice seed production areas of the country and a model farming area which will use solar-powered irrigation, laser-guided field leveller, drones and a computerized geo-tagging and data encoding for farmers participating in the program.
“They will build a German-designed, typhoon-resistant, dome-type warehouse. They will also be constructing seed-processing, drying, and packing facilities so that the rice seed will be ready for distribution after it leaves San Roque,” Sec. Piñol added.
The seed production project is expected to supply the rice seeds requirements of about 200,000 hectares of rice fields in Samar and Leyte.
According to Sec. Piñol, San Roque has been identified as an ideal area for the project, not only because of its abundant water and fertile soil, but especially because of the support of the local officials led by Mayor Don Abalon.
In return, the local chief executive is very grateful for this project, which is expected to inject more than P200-M to the town’s economic activity.
“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa pagdalaw ng ating butihing kalihim. Umaasa tayo na patuloy ang ating pagtanggap ng biyaya mula sa Kagawaran ng Agrikultura at sa pambansang gobyerno,” Mayor Abalon stated. (JHON ALLEN B. BERBON/PR)

MAASIN CITY – Landslide and rock fall threats along a major road section in Southern Leyte have been eliminated with the recent construction of a P58.81 million slope protection project.
The project in Barangay Kahupian in Sogod town has applied Switzerland’s rock protection netting technology as a permanent solution to recurring landslide and rock fall within the road that links Southern Leyte to Leyte province.
District Engineer Ma. Margarita Junia said about 140-meter stretch of the province’s highway is now covered with high tensile wire netting for slope stabilization.
This method of slope stabilization uses rock or soil anchors to pin the netting to the slope and the addition of an erosion control mat designed to prevent landslides.
“The Kahupian, Sogod road section has been identified as one of the sections that are prone to landslides. We prioritized the implementation of this project to ensure the safety of the travelling public since this is frequently-used road section,” Junia said.
The official added that it is ideal to invest in long-term solutions even if it entails more cost.
The project used high tensile wire netting to decrease the possibility of erosion and landslide in the area.
Aside from rock netting, the field office also installed stone masonry crib wall and gabions to stabilize the roadside slope and prevent soil erosion from blocking the roads.
The DPWH field office here is stepping up its efforts in providing solutions to curb landslide, rock fall, and soil erosion in the province.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ranked Southern Leyte province as the seventh most vulnerable to heavy landslides in the Philippines. (PR)

When it comes to entertainment, millennial in the Philippines are usually seen spending time online, watching YouTube videos.
They have the latest apps, watch the latest TV series or into the latest hits. They DON’T READ NEWSPAPERS. They have Google for information and Waze for road directions.
Another set of description that best fits the millennial are: upbeat, lazy, narcissistic, materialistic, self- expressive, fun-loving and liberal. They also have short attention span.
It has been said that they’re digital natives- growing up amidst social networks and rapidly evolving technology.
Take an example in school- they can’t stay in an hour in a class without visiting their social media account, hence, posting a selfie in whatever move they have to do.
They let followers, likers, and friends (they actually haven’t met) for opinions, comments, and advice about certain topic. They are also known as career shifters, jumping from one field to another, seeing career as “self- discovery” and who are in Facebook may not necessarily who they are in real-life. They have different versions of themselves depending on what they want to show the world.
But knowing a millennial has its gauge. They are imaginative, creative, and build a community of their own. The way they express themselves makes them special. Different in a way that they manage to be responsible on the decision they make. They are open-minded and easily embrace the changes in the society they actually adapt without so much pressure or question.
Help create a clearer, better picture of millennials. Let’s be more open in understanding them as they build their future for the world to see.
(Note: The author is the head teacher I of the Tanauan School of Craftsmanship and Home Industries in Tanauan, Leyte)

TACLOBAN CITY- Last February 23, 2019, Consuelo Foundation (CF) in partnership with the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the city government of Tacloban through the leadership of Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez launched the “Consuelo on Wheels” Program in Barangay Diit, this city.
The multi-stakeholder program will provide on-site training on bread and pastry production and Cookery to residents of Pope Francis Village and Brgy. 99 Diit using a Mobile Wing Van outfitted with training equipment and materials.
After the training, the trainees will receive post-training assistance from CF, the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) and the City Cooperatives Development and Livelihood Assistance Office (CCDLAO) to ensure the sustainability of the livelihood assistance.
The program is also in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment, Francesco, Inc. and the Center for Community Transformation (CCT).(with a report from D. ABARQUEZ/CIO)

TACLOBAN CITY- At least 26 towns in Eastern Visayas lack firefighting facilities and many firefighters have no personal protection equipment, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported on Wednesday.
Senior Supt. Renato Marcial, BFP 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director, said in a press briefing they also need nearly 1,000 additional firemen to meet personnel required for the region’s 136 towns and seven cities.
The official said he hopes that the need would be addressed as soon as the Department of the Interior and Local Government has laid out its modernization program.
“Although some areas have no fire stations, they are still being served by BFP through clustering, like in some parts of Samar and Eastern Samar. Our mission is that by the year 2034, we will have a modern and highly capable fire service, but we will be able to achieve that earlier,” Marcial said.
Samar province has the most number of areas without fire stations and fire trucks. These are the towns of Almagro, Daram, San Jose de Buan, Sto. Niño, Tagapul-an, Talalora, and Zumarraga.
In Northern Samar, these are the towns of Biri, Bobon, Lapinig, Rosario, San Vicente, and Victoria. Without fire stations in Eastern Samar are the towns of Llorente, Maydolong, Mercedes, and San Julian.
Marcial said that even the more accessible towns of Leyte, such as Julita and Macarthur, do not have any fire station. Lapaz town has a fire station, but has no fire truck, according to BFP’s record.
In Biliran province, only the island town of Maripipi has no firefighting facility.
Also included in the list are the towns of Anahawan, Limasawa, Padre Burgos, Pintuyan, and Tomas Oppus in Southern Leyte.
This is already a big improvement compared to 2015 where 56 areas in the region lacked fire stations and trucks.
Procurement concerns in the past had been the setback in BFP’s goal to establish a fire station, provide one fire truck, and at least four personnel in every town.
To establish one fire station and acquire a new fire truck, the BFP needs at least PHP22 million, Marcial said.
The BFP is stepping up its fire prevention drive in Eastern Visayas, even if fire incidents in the region have not reached threatening levels in the past years.
The official said the best defense against fire is the awareness of people on how to prevent such incidents in their own houses and in the community.
This Fire Prevention Month, the BFP will distribute information materials, conduct lectures, inspect all establishments, test fire hydrants, conduct fire disaster emergency evacuation planning, conduct drills, monitor hazard operations, and identification of fire-prone areas.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)