GOVERNMENT CENTER, PALO, Leyte- The Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office No.8 recently received the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 Certification for Quality Management System (QMS), a demonstration of its commitment to provide excellent service to its stakeholders.
ISO 9001:2015 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is based in a number of quality management principles including strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement. ISO 9001:2015 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good quality products and services.
The following frontline services of MGB-8 are covered by the ISO 9001:2015 Certification: 1) provision of Mine Management Administration;2) safety, environment and social development services; and 3) geosciences services.
RD Raul Laput is grateful to all MGB-8 employees who worked hard to achieve the milestone.
“It is a concrete manifestation of our commitment to provide excellent service to our stakeholders,” stressed RD Laput.
The Certification Audit was completed on December 18,2017.NQA, one of the biggest and most respected certification bodies in the world, has issued the Letter of Certification to MGB-8 ON January 24,2018.
(CELESTES FAITH S. DE LA CRUZ)

CAMP RUPERTO KANGLEON, PALO, Leyte- A businesswoman was wounded after she was shot by a still unidentified assailant while she was on her to the municipal hall in Albuera, Leyte.
The victim, Mercy Villar, 40 and a resident of Barangay Poblacion of said town, was hit at her stomach and was rushed to a hospital at the nearby Ormoc City.
The incident took place at about 8:00 am Thursday (March 22) in front of the Albuera municipal hall.
Based on the initial police report, the shooting incident was perpetrated by two suspects who were on board a motorcycle.
One of the still unidentified suspects drew his gun and shot the victim, who had just alighted from her vehicle, hitting her at her stomach.
The victim, said to operate a lending business and own a store at the town public market, was rushed to a hospital in Ormoc City where is recuperating from the bullet wound she sustained while the suspects fled after the incident.
Elements of Albuera Municipal Police Station are conducting a follow-up investigation and hot pursuit operation for the arrest of the suspects.
Police have yet to determine the motive on the shooting of the victim.
Recovered at the crime scene were three empty shells of caliber 45 pistol. (PR)

ORMOC CITY – About 139 couples from the city officially solemnized their unions through a civil ceremony sponsored by the city government under Mayor Richard Gomez.
The mass wedding, held at the Superdome on Thursday (March 22), was part of the Women’s Month celebration of the city.
It was a happy occasion for the couples who were wed free of charge, coming from Ormoc’s 110 barangays.
All the brides came in wedding gowns with bouquets made of recycled plastic, even headdresses. The grooms, on the other hand, were either dressed in white barong or long sleeves.
The couples had Vice Mayor Leo Carmelo Locsin Jr. and the city councilors as their sponsors.
Delia Corbo, city social welfare and development officer, said that the mass wedding was part of Women’s Month celebration, with the aim of empowering women by having their unions recognized by the state, and help also their children get legal status.
Mayor Gomez also made sure that the couples’ wedding day was made memorable.
Each couple received a gift pack from him and Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez containing two hams and queso de bola. They also went home with a food pack containing rice and canned goods, and a cake and a bottle of wine each that they used during the ceremonial slicing of cake and toast.
They also had group pictures with the mayor and their sponsors.
There was also a photo booth with standees of Mayor Gomez and Rep. Torres-Gomez where the couples had their pictures taken as their souvenir.
The sponsors, on the other hand, gave the couples small tokens like rosaries to remember the day. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

ORMOC CITY- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar assures the public during his visit here on Wednesday (March 14) that the rehabilitation of the Ormoc Airport Terminal Building will be completed this year.
According to DPWH Leyte Fourth District Engineer Lino Francisco C. Gonzalez, the first phase of the rehabilitation is now more than 30% complete.
As such, the Leyte Fourth District Engineering Office (DEO) is positive that the overall improvement of the building will be finished within the year.
The building was built exactly eight years ago but was severely damaged by super typhoon ‘Yolanda in 2013’. Since then, it has been unusable and has not undergone repair.
The facility suffered major damages when Ormoc was hit by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake July of last year.
But Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade, upon seeing the dilapidated building, announced its repair through the collaboration of DOTr and DPWH.
Currently, the first phase of the rehabilitation amounting to P31 million is exactly 32.49% complete, while three more projects amounting to a total of P65 million, are set for the extended rehabilitation this year.
This will cover overall improvement of the said building, including high-quality facilities and amenities, as well as site development.
Once completed, the Ormoc City Airport will significantly improve the transportation, tourism, and economic development of the city as well as nearby municipalities. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY- City Mayor Cristina Romualdez gave her homage to women, describing her as heroes and plays a crucial role towards the city’s development.
In her speech during the Women’s Month Congress held on Tuesday (March 20), the city mayor said that there is really no denial how important the roles being played by our women, both at their respective homes and in the city, in particular.
“To me, they are their family’s heroes, rearing children 24/7.As a mother and housewife, they pour out their love and compassion without expecting anything in return,” Romualdez, who is strong advocate on issues related to women.
As a strong advocate on women, Mayor Romualdez has shown how she extended her role to reach out to women by establishing the only women shelter in the region.
The shelter house is just at the foot of the Kanhuraw Hill where the City Hall is located.
Mayor Romualdez likewise encouraged the creation of women’s organizations to illustrate the role of women towards progress.
In an interview, Rebecca Ada, who chairs the Tacloban City Council of Women Ada, said that the council came into existence after President Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order for all local government units to create a women’s council that would help women.
According to Ada, presently the council is composed of 19 women organizations from various sectors of the city.
This year’s women’s month celebration carry a theme “We make change, work for women.”
(GAY B. GASPAY-TISAT/KANHURAW MEDIA TEAM)

By Sarwell q. Meniano/pna

PALO, Leyte-The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has warned of a possible strong earthquake in central Leyte as the Philippine Fault in the province never had significant shaking in more than 100 years.
Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum told reporters on Wednesday that a 100-meter portion of the Philippine Fault system stretching from Albuera to Mahaplag towns in Leyte is ripe enough for a strong earthquake.
“If the fault line in the central part of Leyte would move at magnitude 7.2, consequently, an Intensity 8 earthquake may affect many populated areas of Leyte,” Solidum said.
The recent shaking of a connected fault line segment, such as the July 6, 2017 earthquake that struck Kananga, Leyte and Ormoc City, may trigger movements of the Philippine Fault, the Phivolcs official said.
“There are movements but very weak since 1900 until the present. We don’t know when the major earthquake will happen, but people have to be aware,” Solidum told reporters.
The Phivolcs chief asked local government units (LGUs) to relocate houses within fault lines to prevent loss of lives and serious damage to properties.
Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said LGUs, especially those near the fault line, have been preparing for the possible earthquake.
“Apart from implementing the updated National Building Code, we will also come up with a local building code to ensure that concrete buildings are safe from earthquakes,” Petilla added.
The Leyte Island fault line is part of the 1,200-km.-long Philippine fault zone, a major tectonic feature that transects the whole Philippine archipelago from northwestern Luzon to southeastern Mindanao.
This arc-parallel and left-lateral strike slip fault is divided into several segments and has been the source of large-magnitude earthquakes in recent years, such as the 1973 Ragay Gulf earthquake (magnitude 7), 1990 Luzon earthquake (magnitude 7.7), and 2003 Masbate earthquake (magnitude 6.2).
The high seismic risk posed by this fault zone requires a large-scale active faults map, a fundamental data set for seismic hazard mitigation.
“The record of Palo seismic station is very important for the monitoring of movements of the Philippine Fault and Philippine Trench. Our present location is very ideal for seismic station since we are on top of bedrock,” Solidum said.
The seismic station was established in Arado village back in the 1970s by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration when geotectonic phenomena monitoring was still under the weather bureau’s watch.