TACLOBAN CITY-Health officials here are confident that its dengue cases remain within a manageable level.

This assessment is in the wake of the decreasing cases of dengue fever in the city.
Based on its latest report, City Health Office (CHO) cited the continuing control and prevention measures of the city government through its fogging operations in the barangays to eliminate breeding grounds of mosquitoes.

“Roughly 43 suspected cases were identified eight weeks ago. However, the number has gone down to eight cases this week,” the City Information Office said in a statement.
For October, CHO and City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office personnel regularly monitored and conducted fumigating activities in the areas with reported cases of dengue.

Fogging operation were held in Barangays 83-B Cogon; 109 V&G; 82 Marasbaras; 84 Manlurip; 25 Paterno Extension; and 110 Utap.

“The search and destroy team also conducted fogging in some schools in the city before the opening of classes this school year,” CHO added.

While the dengue cases continue to decline, the residents were urged to do the necessary precautions to prevent dengue fever in the city.

The CHO also advised households to do their share of eliminating breeding sites of mosquito larvae as well as those barangays that have not yet been checked for fogging/spraying to also coordinate with the LGU to intensify the surveillance and implementation of the 4S strategy.

4S strategy stands for Search and destroy mosquito breeding places, Self-protection or protecting oneself from mosquitoes carrying dengue virus, Seek early consultation from doctors or other health personnel, and Support fogging or spraying in hotspot areas. (RONALD O. REYES)

Poverty incidence among families in Eastern Visayas in 2021 was estimated at 22.2 percent. This implies that in 2021, about 22 in every 100 families in the region were poor or have income that were below the poverty threshold, or the amount needed to buy their basic food and non-food needs.

Among provinces, Eastern Samar posted the highest poverty incidence in 2021 at 29.4 percent, while Southern Leyte registered the lowest poverty incidence among families at 16.0 percent.

Eastern Samar and Samar registered higher poverty incidences among families than the regional level in 2021, while the rest of the provinces posted lower poverty incidences than the regional estimate at 22.2 percent.

Significant improvements in poverty incidence among families were noted in
Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.

Poverty incidence among families in Eastern Samar dropped to 29.4 percent in 2021 from 40.9 percent in 2018. The province of Northern Samar, meanwhile, registered 19.3 percent poverty incidence among families in 2021, lower than the 27.6 percent in 2018.

On the other hand, poverty incidence among families in Biliran significantly increased to 19.9 percent in 2021 from 13.7 percent in 2018. Samar registered 27.0 percent poverty incidence among families in 2021, significantly higher than the 22.2 percent in 2018.

Given the new master sample, PSA was able to generate reliable statistics down to the provincial level as well as for highly urbanized cities (HUCs). Poverty incidence among families for Tacloban City, the lone HUC in the region, was significantly higher in 2021 at 10.7 percent compared with its recorded 5.3 percent poverty incidence among families in 2018.(PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – The three Samar provinces have started the drafting of the Samar Island Peace and Prosperity Roadmap for 2023 to 2028 in a bid to address the decades-old conflict in remote communities.

After initial agreements among the governors of Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar provinces, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) regional office here led the harmonization workshop on the roadmap.

“The workshop aimed to foster island-wide collaboration to create sustainable peace and prosperity, identify and harmonize programs to stop negative peace in Samar Island, and to identify institutional arrangements, timelines and assessment indicators to achieve positive peace,” the DILG regional office here said in a statement on Monday.

Discussions during the workshop held on Oct. 14 tackled the review of the framework on positive peace, presentation of provincial highlights and plans, presentation of geographic information system (GIS) map on insurgency and development needs, retooled community support program (RCSP), and support to the barangay development program (SBDP), identification of priority programs, institutional arrangements, and timelines and assessment indicators.

The three provincial governments sent their representatives with the list of proposed projects to the gathering.

“The plans should be responsive to the needs of the people of Samar and that good governance is the key to achieve lasting peace,” the DILG added.

In a separate statement, Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan said that upon the finalization of the Samar Island Peace and Prosperity Roadmap, the three Samar governors have agreed to lobby to the national government and its various line agencies to include funding for identified projects in the succeeding annual national budgets.

“As Samar Island is naturally rich in natural resources, similar programs on tourism promotion, environmental conservation and utility infrastructure, such as water supply systems, renewable energy sources and internet connectivity, were also included to attract more investors and provide more jobs and economic activities,” Ongchuan said.

On Aug. 17, the DILG organized a gathering where Ongchuan, Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan, and Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone signed the pledge of commitment to ensure peace and development in Samar Island. (PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY– The cancellation of the this year’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will allow officials to fulfill their electoral promises to their constituents which had to be put on hold due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Thus said Southern Leyte Rep. Christopherson “Coco” Yap, following the signing of the Republic Act (RA) 11935 by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr which scheduled the supposed December 2022 barangay and SK elections to October, 2023.

“This will spare the national government from the expenses of conducting an election, training new officials in their functions and in the proper distribution of ayudas and implementation of new protocols,” he said.

Yap, along with fellow lawmakers, passed House Bill 02235 in the House of Representatives which was eventually consolidated to HB04673, the third reading version of the House, “to afford continuity in governmental operations in the grass-roots level as the national government tries to recover from the pandemic.”

“Although our original proposal to move it to October 2024 was not carried, we are still happy that the final version approved by the President postponed the elections to October 2023,” Yap said.

“This is the second bill I principally authored which became law,” he added.
As this developed, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia said they are anticipating and reactivating 5 million more regular and youth voters by the end of the 6-month registration program.

“One of the major changes that is expected to be implemented is the resumption of the voter’s registration, which would be scheduled on the last week of November this year to the last week of May 2023,” the commission said in a statement.

Garcia also urged barangay and SK officials for support and assistance in the voter  education and registration activities that they are going to implement.

(RONALD O. REYES)

BORONGAN CITY-About 287 farmers and fisherfolks from various parts of Eastern Samar benefited from the various extension projects of the Eastern Samar State University (ESSU).

These projects are under the banner program of the university dubbed as “Infusion of Community Empowerment Interventions thru Science and Technology (CEST),” a joint undertaking with the provincial office of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-8).

Dr. Katherine Añosa, the director of the Training & Extension Services Office (TESO) of ESSU, in an interview, emphasized the importance of these collaborative extensions and community development projects launched by ESSU, DOST, and DAR.

“With regard to our selfless efforts in imparting knowledge and skills to the community, I can say that the extension programs of the ESSU are felt by our beneficiaries. We were able to uplift their livelihood, provide them life skills, give them the needed technology for their crafts, and provide technical assistance to various barangays,” Añosa said, adding that the target beneficiaries immediately embraced their programs.

This program aims to address economic development, health, environmental protection and conservation, human resource development and disaster risk reduction in seven farmers and fisherfolks associations registered by DAR, namely: San Gabriel ARB Cooperative (SGARBC), San Gabriel Integrated Farmers’ Association (SAGIFA), Borongan Cacao Producers and Processors Association (BCPPA), and Balacdas Vegetable Farmers’ Association (BVFA), all in Borongan City.

It also includes three organizations in key service areas such as the Organisasyon ng mga Mahihirap ng Trinidad (OMANGAT), an island barangay in Guiuan town; Pinag-isang Mangingisda ng Arteche Consumers Cooperative (PIMACC) in Arteche; and Madre Ignacia Women’s Association Producers Cooperative (MIWAPC) in Llorente.

Vicente Cada, SAGIFA president, narrated how the ESSU-led extension programs have substantially improved their livelihood.

The organization was a recipient of egg-laying facilities worth P250, 000 funded by the DOST under CEST, and implemented by ESSU.

“The training provided by the College of Business Management and Accountancy and the College of Agriculture has greatly helped us in starting our business. As of now, our production is not yet able to meet the demand of our customers. We supply various stores within Borongan City,” Cada said in the vernacular.

Some of the major activities that benefitted the farmer-beneficiaries included the conduct of the “buntis’ congress in Barangay San Gabriel, Borongan City led by the College of Nursing and Allied Sciences (CONAS) on June 22.

This aimed to increase health awareness among pregnant women and avoid cases of infant mortality in the community. These health education activities were complemented by a training program on the preparation of medicinal plants as immediate first aid resources and as treatment for community-related diseases.

With the Department of Health (DOH) approving their safety and efficiency, the faculty and extension workers from CONAS introduced to the community the medicinal properties of plants such as akapulco, guava, and ampalaya, among others.

Meanwhile, for other farmers, construction materials needed for goat production were provided to the beneficiaries from barangays Balacdas and Calicoan in Borongan City on September 26, 2022. This is eyed to address the increasing demand for goat meat in the local market.

In the case of fishermen’s organizations, an assessment was conducted on July 30, 2022 to provide science and technology assistance to members of the Pinag-isang Mangingisda ng Arteche Consumers Cooperative (PIMACC) in Arteche.

This is in line with their aim of establishing a seaweed cracker production facility in the northern part of the province. Similarly, a smoked-fish processing project is set to be established in Trinidad, Guiuan through the members of the Organisasyon ng mga Mahihirap ng Trinidad (OMANGAT) Fisherfolks Association.

Funded by the DOST, the fisherfolks will receive technical assistance both from ESSU and DOST in order to realize the said project given the abundance of fish as raw materials in the area.

By collaborating with DOST, DAR, and other agencies, these ongoing extension and community development programs are part of the overarching goal of ESSU under the leadership of university president Dr. Andres C. Pagatpatan, Jr., to improve the lives of Estehanons.
(MARK VAN P. MACAWILE, contributor)