GOVERNMENT CENTER, PALO, Leyte- The controversy on Dengvaxia was blamed by the health officials in the region for the drop of their accomplishment on their anti-measles campaign.
Because of the controversy generated by the Dengvaxia issue, parents are now hesitant, if not outright reject, any vaccination campaign like anti-measles being administered by their department, Boyd Cerro, regional chief of epidemiology and surveillance unit of the DOH, said.
Last year, their measles immunization campaign has only reached 62.70 percent which was lower compared to the 71.08 percent in 2016.
The controversy on Dengvaxia, which generated so much media coverage, started to come to light in 2017 though the campaign was made in 2016 covering Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Metro Manila and some cities in Cebu involving more than 837,000 students in public schools.
Cerro said that while the region was not among the regions where the Dengvaxia vaccine was administered, the controversy it created result in negative impression to the department’s immunization campaigns.
“But because of the controversy, parents in the region are now hesitant to any immunization program of the DOH. Some even reject that their children be given any vaccines from the department. They are now afraid to have their children immunized because of the controversy generated by the Dengvaxia issue,” the health official said.
In 2017, out of the targeted 127,032 children below two years old, only 79,651 were able to be given with the anti-measles vaccine or just 62.70 percent.
And this drop of number of children getting the measles vaccine is a cause of alarm to them, Cerro said.
“This could result to a measles outbreak considering of the low turnout of our (coverage) campaign of anti-measles vaccine,” he said.
The DOH-8, however, has yet to monitor any outbreak of measles in the region.
Because of this situation, they have strengthened their campaign for parents to allow their children have the measles antidote.
Cerro said that while they have not administered the Dengvaxia vaccine in the region, they were still able to monitor 96 children, whose ages ranged from 11 to 19, to have been given the said vaccine.
He said that 80 of these children received the vaccines from private physicians while the 16 others were children who were from the places where the vaccine was administered like Zambales and Cebu but were in the region for a vacation or Christmas break.
“Eight of them were confined in the hospital with only six of them to have been confirmed to have dengue fever. Fortunately, we don’t have any fatality,” Cerro said.
Cerro said that the Bureau of Foods and Drugs (BFAD), an agency under the DOH, revoked the licenses of these doctors to further administer Dengvaxia vaccine.
“The products were also recalled from these private physicians,” he said.
Cerro, however, declined to give details on the private physicians who administered the vaccine adding that they have no liability as it was the DOH which earlier gave them the authority to use the Dengvaxia vaccine.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

SAN ISIDRO,Northern Samar – Six persons have been arrested in an operation against illegal logging launched by the San Isidro Municipal Police Station(MPS) on April 8, 2018 at Barangay Seven Hills, this town.
Police Chief Inspector Antonio P. Montaño identified the suspects as Antonio Meregildo, 50; Catalino Albuera, 42; Ryan Monares, 28; Erlek Dalangpan, 29, and all residents of Brgy. E. Duran Bobon, Northern Samar; Erwin Cajandab, 29 and Richard Abenir, 26, residents of Brgy. Balite and Brgy. Alegria, this town, respectively.
He added that the suspects were caught in flagrante delicto of transporting the illegally sawn lumber while they were conducting mobile patrol in the said barangay.
Catalino Albuera, who was identified as the owner of said lumbers, failed to present permit to transport the items to the authorities.
Recovered from said suspects were 58 pieces of 2x8x12 lawaan or 928 board feet loaded in four motorcycles; one Rusi 150, one Honda 155, one Motoposh 155 and one Rusi 150 color blue, all bearing no plate numbers.
The lumbers have an estimate market value of P27, 840 and brought to San Isidro MPS for documentation and were turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for proper disposition.
Also, suspect will be facing charges for violation of PD 705 or the Forestry Act.
Meanwhile, S/Supt. Romeo P. Campomanes lauded the efforts San Isidro MPS for seriously taking into account the implementation of environmental laws. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY- The regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said that more than 2,000 private workers have been regularized since the start of the year.
The 2,048 regularized workers represents 22.75 percent of the 9,000 workers that they hope to be given regular positions at their respective establishments for this year.
Last year, 1,753 workers from 124 establishments across the region became regular workers.
As regularized workers, they have now security of tenure and avail other benefits like the mandatory government benefits and contributions and 13th month pay.
The campaign of the DOLE is part of the program of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to end the ‘endo’ or end of contract practice of private establishments in the country.
Amado Ildefenso Roa, senior labor employment officer, said that they hope to achieve their target of 9,000 workers to become regulars by this year.
Roa said that of the 2,048 regularized workers as of April of this year, more than half of them or 1,480 were workers of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) and Pasar (Philippines Associated Smelting and Refining Corp.).
EDC, located in Ormoc City, and Pasar located inside the Leyte Industrial Development Estate (LIDE), an economic zone located in Isabel town, Leyte, are two of the region’s biggest industries.
Roa, however, could not say as how many workers from EDC and LIDE, have been regularized.
Aside from EDC and Pasar, the regularized 2,048 workers were from over 50 establishments like hotels, restaurants, and shopping malls in the region.
“We are just glad that our business owners here are open to regularize their workers. But our campaign will still continue,” Roa said.
It was learned from him that the 9,000 targeted workers for the year was given by their central office.(JOEY A. GABIETA)

In Maasin City

TACLOBAN CITY- The anti-Drug elements of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA RO8) – Southern Leyte Provincial Office, Southern Leyte Police Provincial Office- Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit(SLPPO-PDEU), and Maasin City Police Station arrested a drug personality during the conduct of a buy-bust operation at Barangay Abgao, Maasin City on April 10, 2018 at around 2:50 pm.
In a report submitted to PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino, elements of PDEA- RO8 under Director Edgar T. Jubay, SLPPO-PDEU, and Maasin CPS identified the suspect as Joevil Lim, 29, single, businessman, and resident of Brgy. Canturing, Maasin City.
Confiscated during the said operation were 103 pieces transparent plastic sachet containing suspected shabu with a total estimated weight of 20.0 grams with an estimated market value of P 100,000, and drug paraphernalia.
The suspect will be facing charges for violations of Section 5 (sale of Dangerous Drugs), Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs) and Section 12(Possession of Drug Paraphernalia), Article II of RA 9165.
The suspect is temporarily detained at PDEA RO8 Detention Facility, this city. (PR)

MAHAPLAG, Leyte – A flood control project in this town is saving residents living along a river bank and prevents flood waters in reaching to the national highway.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) regional office funded the P12.5 million flood control project aim to prevent raging flood water from the Layug River not only houses along river bank but also to the town proper.
The construction of the flood control is one of the priority projects under the administration of Mayor Daisy Lleve, said Erwin Walis, the municipal planning and development officer and at the same time the disaster risk reduction and management officer.
“If we didn’t came up with this project, maybe the whole town proper will be washed out. So the initial action of the LGU was to loan at the Department of Finance through the municipal development fund worth P47 million, then later DILG came with P12.5 million and then the Department of Public Works and Highways,” Walis explained.
Nelia Ritana, whose house is located along the river bank, said that she feel secure now that a dike was constructed at their place.
“Even if there is a typhoon and flooding, I no longer worry because this flood control is protecting us. I can now sleep well at night unlike before that I have to monitor if the water level in the river had reached my house,” Ritana said.
Poblacion village chief Carolina Bonafe said that before the flood control was constructed, some of the more than 4,000 residents would immediate look for place to evacuate during bad weather.
And in one of these instances, five houses located along the river bank were swept away by the flood to the neighboring town of Abuyog, said Bonafe.
“After this flood control project was constructed, the villagers would stay at their houses even there is flooding but they continue to monitor the water level,” she added.
Walis said that the LGU had already submitted a proposed plan for the extension of the flood control project.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

This school year 2017-2018 marked the first senior high school graduation nationwide with the theme, “K to 12 Learners: Ready to Face Life’s Challenges”.
The Antonio Balmes National High School (ABNHS) recently concluded its first senior high school graduation on April 4, 2018.
This was attended by the school officials from the Schools Division of Tacloban City headed by District Supervisor Cesar C. Corpin.
A total of 27 first batch graduates (18 boys and 9 girls) received diplomas.
The boys had chosen the Technical Vocational Track (Automotive Servicing) while the girls preferred the General Academic Strand (GAS).
The guest speaker, Roxbelle Sabela, who is an alumna of ABNHS, shared her true-to-life story that she came from a poor family.
There were times that she wanted to give up life’s challenges, but, she did not. Instead, she made it as a motivation not to marry early and focus and finish her studies and look for a job.
Now, she was able to find a job in the government and helped her parents.
She emphasized to the graduates that they should not give up with the difficulties in life but strive hard and focus to finish their studies and look for a job.
Every single word that she uttered got the attention of the graduates and audience, which in exchange gave her a resounding applause.
The graduates were also motivated by the graduation speech of Antonio Lababo, Jr., who is an honor student in this school.
Lababo expressed that his family had faced a lot of difficulties in life, especially when his father committed a terrible mistake which greatly affected their daily subsistence.
At that time, he said to himself that he should not stop his studies whatever may happen because he had seen his mother cry at night and he could felt her pain.
He wanted to give her a good life and peaceful living. That is why whatever challenges that may come into his way, he always sees it positively. He also vowed that he will focus and finish his college studies in order to become a professional someday.
Lababo, in a private talk, when asked the question, “How do you feel finishing the senior high school education?” answered that he “feels happy, prepared, and confident to face life’s challenges because the curriculum of senior high school honed him to be more prepared to enter the labor force.
He enjoyed studying with the different subject areas although some problems cropped up along the way in its first two years of implementation, but, its long-term effects will be beneficial to us Filipinos.
He believes that change in our society starts with education. He hopes and pray that the implementation for the second batch of senior high school students will be near perfect, if not perfect, he added.