TACLOBAN CITY — Concerns have been raised over early signs of environmental degradation in Cuatro Islas, an emerging tourist destination in Leyte province.
In a “Protect Cuatro Islas” report issued Tuesday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office here said the environmental condition of the four picturesque small islands is not as worse as Boracay’s but early signs of pollution are now evident.
These four islands are Apid, Mahaba, and Digyo in Inopacan town; and Himokilan in Hindang town.
The 48-hectare Himokilan Island is the most populated with 200 families or 1,110 individuals.
There are about 2,138 people living on the four islands, which were declared as marine protected areas by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 270 dated April 13, 2000.
Among the environmental issues identified by the DENR include the existence of communities in the protected landscape, biodiversity disturbance due to influx of tourists, and poor waste management.
“As small islands, these are not capable to withstand the pressure of communities in the area. Adding pressures to the fragile ecosystem is the influx of tourists,” said DENR regional information officer Maita Reina Sucgang.
Sucgang said the island’s carrying capacity has been breached since early 2015 after the local governments of Hindang and Inopacan intensified promotion their tourism activities.
The DENR assessment team noted that many families on the four islands are non-tenured migrants, with some of them already served notices to demolish structures that disturbed the natural biodiversity and vegetation.
“Solid waste generation in disposal in Digyo Island alone is basically increasing due to high influx of the coming in and out of visitors and tourists contributing to number of kilograms of garbage per person per day. However, only 30 percent of these were then regularly collected by the local government and brought out of the four islands in compliance to the protected area rules,” the report said.
Earlier, the DENR launched “Protect Cuatro Islas” campaign in its bid to raise awareness and understanding on the significance of cleaning up not as an ecotourism area, but also as an ecosystem.
The drive also seeks to elicit support and participation of stakeholders in saving the eco-tourism destination, and strengthen partnerships and networks for this effort.
Cuatro Islas covers an area of 12,500 hectares known for its white sandy shores surrounded by coral gardens, which are considered as one of the best in Leyte Island. It is home to Tridachna and marine turtles such as Green Sea and Hawk bill turtle.
Experts found 287 species of reef building corals in the island’s waters. It is also a rich fishing ground and a home to countless diverse coastal and marine organisms, wildlife and ecosystems. (SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Despite the lack of needed equipment, the members of a football team of San Jose Central School, this city, are determined to play the game they have learned not only to enjoy but also to love.
Playing in a sandy field without shoes to protect their feet from getting hurt, they are so determined to know the discipline of the sport and become good at it.
William Dacutno, 9, got used of playing football without shoes since he joined the club last year.
“I’m already used of playing this sport without a shoe,” he said.
“But it’s better if I will have a football shoes and other gears so I can play better,” the young football player, who comes from a poor family, added.
Idolizing Lionel Messi, the Argentinian football superstar, Dacutno said that he also aspire to play and represent Tacloban City in a big football competition.
Like Dacutno, Leo Reyan Fabi, 12, also plays football without a shoe and idolizes Messi. He had been playing football since he was six years old.
A son of a canteen worker and public utility vehicle driver, it was his elder brother who influenced him to play football.
“I used to have a shoe but it’s already damaged,” Fabi said.
Seeing the kids practice football without shoes is a common scene inside the San Jose Central School, John Ghannier Regis, volunteer football trainer of San Jose Football Club, said.
The football club has been in existing for more 10 years now, but was only reactivated in 2014 due to lack of trainers and gears.
Just like Dacutno and Fabi, Regis said that he also experienced the same when he was young.
Regis, whose most family members are playing football, is now varsity player for Leyte Normal University football team.
Regis added that since the children are from public school and their families are indigents, it is hard for them to buy footgear like shoes, socks and shin guards.
They are hoping that there are people with good heart to donate gears for their football players.
“We want them to have footgear to avoid injuries. We want to avoid problem with the parents of our club members because they got injured during our practice,” Regis said.
Regis added that his football coach had promised to provide the needs of the young football player by setting aside portion of his salary to buy gears of the children.
They were able to buy training vest to know who their players are during practice.
“Even we don’t have good field for practicing football, even they don’t have gears, I can see the determination from the children to learn the sport. There is potential for the children to become good football players,” Regis said.
“Their enthusiasm encourages us more to teach and train them, share with them our knowledge on playing football,” Regis added.
The kids’ performance on playing football will be determine this coming Tacloban City Meet, said Regis.
“That is why with or without gears, rain or shine we continue our practice to prepare the children. I want them to, if not reach or even surpass, what we have achieved,” he said.
Like Regis, some members of San Jose Football Club are now playing as varsity players in prominent schools in the country.
They include Jarred Troy Regis who was admitted as high school varsity player for University of Sto Tomas.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

GANDARA, Samar – The scarcity of carabao’s milk, the main ingredient in the production of ‘keseo,’ has affected its production and made it rather expensive.
Local producers said that because of the lack of carabao milk, they have to get their supply in Bohol, pushing its price in the process.
Keseo or white cheese is a local delicacy of which Gandara is more known.
Marietta Bernales, a local producer, said that she needs to source out the needed carabao’s milk in Bohol every time supply runs out in her town.
“The price of carabao’s milk is cheaper in Bohol than here,” Bernales said.
A jug of carabao’s milk cost P80 in Bohol while it’s higher by P20 if one will source it in Gandara.
At least 100 litter of carabao’s milk is needed per production.
The importation of carabao’s milk from Bohol resulted for the increase on production costs, raw materials, transportation and price of the product, Bernales said.
From the previous P80 pack of keseo, it now cost P110 while the retailers sell her product at P150.
These retailers include Savemore, Robinsons, Island City Mall in Bohol, Grand tours terminal and Monterey.
Last week, President Leni Robredo distributed 15 female carabaos to the municipal government of Gandara to help keseo producers and farmers to have value-adding activities.
Town Mayor Eufemio de los Santos Oliva said that the donation of Robredo would be of big help to the keseo industry of their municipality.
“This will complement the infrastructure projects implemented by the local government and the district representative of Samar, Edgar Mary Sarmiento (and) will give additional source of livelihood to support their family,” Mayor Oliva said, referring to the beneficiaries.
Mayor Oliva added that the 15 carabaos will be distributed to people’s organization in the town composed of persons with disabilities, senior citizens, single parents, retirees and farmers’ groups.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

CATBALOGAN CITY- Senior citizen beneficiaries of this city received P2,400 each during the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) payout at the Samar National School covered court through the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP).
In an interview, LBP Catbalogan Branch Head Bobby Mondoy said, “It is just a one-time payment amounting to P2,400 intended for indigent senior citizens of Catbalogan.”
The unconditional cash transfer program is the tax subsidy provided under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law to mitigate the economic impact of the law to the poor, said Nida Aroza, city social welfare officer of Catbalogan.
Gay Nueva of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 8 said the DSWD downloaded P3,708,000 for the 1,548 senior citizen beneficiaries from the city.
Jaime Vargas, 75, and a resident of Barangay Pangdan, this city, happily shared that he will use the money to buy food for his family.
“It is a big help for me. I will use it to buy food and medicine,” said Milagros Gibson, 73, a regular pensioner for three years.
Other senior citizens shared common sentiments saying they will use it for food and medicine and that such amount is a great help to them.
(PIA8-Samar)

TACLOBAN CITY- A cargo motorboat loaded with four passengers and merchandise escaped from sinking after it made a distress call with the Coast Guard in Naval, Biliran on Friday (August 3) afternoon.
The motorboat, MB Jemarlet, was sailing in between Sambawan Island, off Maripipi, Biliran province and Masbate province, when one of the passengers made a call at their office at about 2:30 pm, said Glen Asis of the Naval-Coast Guard.
“The said motorboat encountered big waves reason why one of the passengers made the distress call as they were afraid that they might sink as water started to enter their motorboat,” Asis, in a phone interview, said.
The rescued motorboat, captained by Lucas Solibaga with three passengers and loaded with 140 sacks of mangoes and 15 pigs, docked safely at Barangay San Lorenzo, Kawayan, also in Biliran, at around 4:30 pm.
Commodore Lawrence Roque, chief of the Tacloban Coast Guard, in a separate interview, said that MB Jemarlet left from Pio V. Corpus, Masbate at around 11:30 am Friday and on its way to Tacloban City where the loaded products are to be sold when it encountered big waves.
“The said motorboat arrived here in Tacloban port at around 1 am Saturday with all of its passengers safe and unharm,” Roque said.
Roque also said that another motorboat, MB Rea Angela, which also travelled 30 minutes ahead from MB Jemarlet, also from Pio V. Corpus which had seven passengers captained by Julie Amaroto, and loaded with more than 100 sacks of mangoes and 15 pigs, arrived in Tacloban safely.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)