As part of tourism promotion

By: JOEY A. GABIETA

TACLOBAN CITY- The city government under Mayor Cristina Romualdez is soon to launch a campaign giving Tacloban City its own branding as part of their effort to invite more tourists to visit the city.
Romualdez disclosed this saying that the launching of the campaign would take place before the city celebrates its annual fiesta on June 30.
By giving Tacloban its own brand, it would now be easy for tourists and even investors to have an easy recall of the city, considered the regional hub of Eastern Visayas.
“We will soon launch it. It will be a big launching,” Romualdez said.
The city mayor disclosed this on the heels of a successful national promotional campaign of Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan’s Spark Samar campaign held on March 9 at the SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.
She clarified that the campaign has been planned a year ago but was sidelined as she gave focus on other ‘immediate concerns’ of the city like providing accessible potable drinking water, particularly those located in the resettlement sites whose houses were destroyed when Tacloban was devastated by super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in 2013.
“We need to have a brand of our own as other cities have their own brand. We should have one of our own considering that Tacloban is the premier city of the region,” the city mayor said.
Asked for details on the campaign, Romualdez declined to say saying that they are still making some fine tuning on it with the help of their friends in an advertising company in Manila.
Romualdez, a former movie actress, also said they would solicit help from her friends in the movie industry on this campaign.
She, however, admitted that Tacloban will forever be known as the city that suffered massive devastation due to Yolanda, considered the world’s strongest typhoon to hit inland.
“We are known because of Yolanda but we have to rise up from the ashes, so to speak. We have to be positive and for the people outside to say that the city has recovered and that it has other beautiful things to offer for them,” Romualdez, a former movie actress said.
She said that aside from visiting Yolanda memorials constructed within the city one of which was a bow of a ship, M/V Eva Jocelyn located in Anibong district, which washed ashore when Tacloban City was pummeled by Yolanda on November 8,2013, visitors of the city could visit its other attractions like the San Juanico Bridge; the Santo Niño Shrine; Calvary Hills; and the Balugo Falls, among others.
“We want them to stay longer in Tacloban and on the following days, they could visit other places in the region. We are promoting not just Tacloban but Leyte and Samar,” Romualdez said.
Last year, 537,215 visited Tacloban of which more than 28,700 of them were foreigners.
At present, there are 83 hotels operating in the city with more than 2,500 combined rooms capacity.
The Robinsons’ Summit Hotel, which has a 380 room capacity, is to open this summer.

TACLOBAN CITY-With the reported possible temporary closure of the Boracay Island to tourists, officials in the region hopes to take advantage of it.
Raoul Bacalla, municipal development environment and eco-tourism officer of Palompon town in Leyte, said that while they are ‘sad’ on the possibility that Boracay Island would be closed temporarily, they expect an increase of tourist arrivals at their Kalanggaman Island who will find it as an alternative from the famed tourist destination.
Kalanggaman Island is considered as among Eastern Visayas top tourism attractions known for its white powdery sand and crystal blue water located in Palompon, more than three hour drive from this city.
“We are sad about what’s happening in Boracay Island but we just have to have a positive perspective about it. We are actually prepared to welcome (possible influx of) tourists,” Bacalla, in a phone interview, said.
Last year, about 101,312 tourists visited Palompon generating an income of P19 million for the local government unit sourced from what they called conservation fee or entrance fee to the island.
According to Bacalla, they are limiting the number of tourists going to the island in a day to ensure that Kalanggaman would not suffered any possible destruction and avoid over-crowding.
“We limit to just 500 visitors a day. In fact, there were instances that we have to turn down some of the tourists because of this policy,” he said.
The local government unit also imposed an environment-friendly septic tank system to address the issue on waste water contamination of its beaches.
The system uses a kind of organomineral that hastens the decomposition of harmful bacteria present in septic tanks which results in non-contamination of water.
“We don’t have hard infrastructures in Kalanggaman Island except a pavilion which serves as an office for our staff and at the same time, a shelter for them during bad weather,” Bacalla said.
For her part, Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan said that they are positioning the province for tourists who are into adventure tourism like caving, torpedo boat extreme ride, among others.
“Of course, we are not happy if Boracay Island would be closed considering that it is famous the world over. But if ever, we are just ready to welcome tourists to our province,” Tan said.
The provincial government has recently launched its tourism and investment campaign program dubbed as ‘Spark Samar.’
Samar is the home of the Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park, considered the country’s largest cave system in Basey town; torpedo boat extreme ride in Ulot River, Paranas town; and Langun-Gobingob Cave in Calbiga town which is known for its largest karst cave in the country, among others.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier said that he would close the operations at the Boracay Island due to some environmental concerns.
(JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Gov. Petilla says this could avoid
complaint against PNP members

TACLOBAN CITY- Body cameras were distributed to the police stations in Baybay City and 41 municipal stations across the province to record their anti-drug operations.
By using a body camera, the issue of alleged police abuses during an anti-drug operation could easily be checked, said Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla.
Petilla led the distribution of the body cameras, which has also voice recording, during the March 21 provincial peace and order council meeting held at the provincial capitol building.
Leyte province the first local government unit in the region to distribute body cameras to police offices as identified as a priority project of the Provincial Anti-drug Abuse Council.
According to the governor, the body cameras are intended during an anti-drug operation which could be used as evidence in case there is a complaint of police abuses when carrying the operation.
Gov. Petilla said that the acquisition of the body cameras by the provincial government is a result of the discussion he had with Chief Superintendent Gilberto Cruz, police regional director, who distributed body cameras last year to city and police provincial offices.
“We want to erase doubt against our policemen during the conduct of police operations. That is why, we are providing body cameras to them. This will benefit them,” the governor said.
“If it is true that the suspect resisted the arrest, check the camera recording to erase doubt. Doubting our policemen is not good, let us give them a chance to fix the problem,” he added.
During the turn-over ceremony, police chiefs were taught how to use the body camera, which can also be used during night police operations.
Clamor for the PNP to use a body camera came after incident of anti-illegal drug operation where police operatives were accused of committing abuses, particularly om the death of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos in a drug raid in August 16, 2017.
Anti-illegal drug operations across the province covering the period of December 2017 to March 2018 resulted in the arrest of 46 individuals involved in illegal drug trade.
Operatives also confiscated 25.8892 grams of shabu and .9735 grams of marijuana.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) will come up with policies to ensure that victims of calamities will be involved in the planning of post-disaster housing projects.
HUDCC Assistant Secretary Leira Buan said the mistakes in the implementation of permanent housing projects for Super Typhoon Yolanda survivors are a result of the previous administration’s failure to consult with beneficiaries.
“Before, they build thousands of small houses in inaccessible areas. That’s why it’s really challenging to provide water and electricity in some of these housing sites,” said Buan during the Open Government and Participatory Governance Regional Dialogues at Hotel Alejandro here Thursday.
The HUDCC official made the statement after some groups raised concerns on substandard housing projects and unoccupied units.
These problems prompted the HUDCC to come up with a uniformed policy to always include beneficiaries in the post-disaster rehabilitation planning process.
“Whatever we will do, we will always listen to the point of view of people affected by calamities and not just focus on quantity, but quality as well,” Buan said.
In 2014, the government approved releasing PHP19 billion for permanent housing of “Yolanda” victims in the central Philippines.
Buan admitted that many of the houses built are still unoccupied.
“In our investigations, we found out that substandard project is a result of lack of consultation,” Buan said. “This is very hard but we are trying our best to catch up. The problem is where to get budget since the fund was already allocated in the past.”
In Eastern Visayas region alone, only 12,000 out of 56,000 target permanent houses for typhoon survivors have been completed last year. Most of these housing units are in this city, considered as Yolanda’s ground zero.
The policy of consultation has been applied in building relocation projects in war-torn Marawi City.
HUDCC is the government agency which serves as the oversight, the over-all coordinator, initiator and facilitator of all government policies, plans and programs for the housing sector.
Department of Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno, the keynote speaker of the two-day gathering, said the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte truly recognizes the value of citizen engagement in governance.
“Through various citizen engagement programs, we are making sure that governance is not limited to government alone. We are opening up government by providing citizens with a seat at the policy table, and giving them a legitimate voice and vote in what the government does and plans to do in the years to come,” Diokno told participants of the town hall session.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Kristian Ablan said the dialogue is an effective way for local and national leaders to meet constituents. “This is to genuinely engage people and directly interface with high government officials.”
This is the last round of Open Government Partnership dialogues.
Earlier senior government official held sessions in Bacolod, General Santos, Zamboanga, Manila, and Baguio City.
(SARWEL Q. MENIANO/PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY-The 546th Engineer Construction Battalion (ECB) help in the clearing operation on landslide affected areas in Biliran Province that started on Jan. 6, 2018.
The 546ECB, upon the request of Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (PDRRMO) of Biliran Province, deployed 1 unit backhoe, 2 units backhoe-loader and 1 unit dump truck together with ten (10) personnel from this unit to fasttrack the clearing operation on the landslide affected areas in the province.
The Typhoon ‘Urduja’ hit the Visayas region last Dec. 16, 2017 and a search, rescue and retrieval operation was conducted by 546 ECB and 78 Infantry Battalion in coordination with PDRRMO Biliran. The heavy rainfall caused the landslide in some areas of the Biliran. After the SRR operation, clearing operation follows to restore the passage of transportation in the province.
According to Lt. Col. Ronilo H. Cudal (GSC) PA, commanding officer of the 546 ECB, the Army Engineers in the Eastern Visayas will always be ready to conduct Humanitarian and Disaster Response (HADR) operation in Region-8 Area and provide its equipment assistance, technical assistance and manpower assistance in any SRR response and Rehabilitation/Reconstruction operation to help restore the normalcy of the disaster-affected areas. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY-The University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College (UPVTC) triumphed over St. Paul School of Professional Studies (SPSPS) in the 2ndmatch of the Preliminary Rounds (Tacloban City/Leyte leg) of the 2018 Intercollegiate Federalism Debate hosted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) at the 2nd floor, Student Center, Leyte Normal University on March 21, 2018.
Leonardo Dimatangal of UPVTC also stood out among other debaters by bagging both the Best Debater and Best Speaker medals.
The teams argued on the following proposition, “Resolve that the country shall adopt a unicameral legislature in a federal system of government”, with SPSPS taking the affirmative stand and UPVTC tasked with the negative viewpoint:
The UPVTC team was composed of Brandon Ian Dela Cruz, Leonardo Dimatangal, Jeffrae Isaac Albert Damayo, and Gio Martin Ocfemia, with Prof. Dakila Yee as the coach; while the SPSPS team was composed of Jejomar Bru, Glydel Jain A. Tacad, Joshua V. Baldo, and Gil Kristopher C. Rosillo, mentored by Atty. Jose Aguinalde.
Prof. Arvin de Veyra moderated the debate, which aired live over DyVL Aksyon Radyo Tacloban and on the DILG Region 8 Facebook page.
The panel of judges were from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Leyte Chapter: Atty. Karah Jane A. Tamboong, Atty. Vincent Q. Piga, and Atty. Romeo Dax Calamaya.
UPVTC will be joining the quarterfinals with the rest of the winning colleges all over the region. The quarterfinal rounds of the debate are scheduled on April 2 for the match between Leyte Normal University (LNU) and Maasin City College (MCC); April 4 for Visayas State University (VSU) vs. Naval State University (NSU); April 11 for the match between University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) and Eastern Samar State University (ESSU); and April 16 for the debate between UPVTC and Samar College. The semi-finals and grand finals are to be scheduled within the same month.
The 2018 Intercollegiate Federalism Debate is one of DILG Region 8’s responses to the President’s task to the department to lead the information campaign on Federalism. Recognizing that the youth predominantly compose the voting population, the DILG-8 decided to gear many IEC activities towards this age group.
A debate on the merits and details of Federalism hopes to bring about improved awareness, knowledge, discussion, and appreciation of Federalism and other forms of government, and at the same time promote a culture of discussion on Federalism and relevant issues among various audiences tuning in. (PR