MAASIN CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) field office here and Department of Education (DepEd) will soon start the construction of 55 two-story school buildings in Southern Leyte province under the Basic Educational Facilities Fund.
Under the DepEd-approved project list, 22 units are included in batch 12 with P457.08 million budget, and 33 units under batch 13 with P576.57 million allocation. These projects will be financed through the 2017 allocation for education facilities.
DPWH Southern Leyte district engineering chief Ma. Margarita C. Junia said their office rushed to complete pre-construction activities and bid out all projects before the expiration of special allotment release order on December 31, 2017.
Each unit will have an average of eight classrooms. It will have upgraded designs enough to withstand typhoons and earthquakes.
“All these new facilities are disaster-resilient. Its structural components such as footing, columns, and beams will be expanded based on the upgraded standard designs of DPWH and DepEd,” said Junia.
Of the 55 buildings, 13 will rise in Maasin City; six in Bontoc town, four each in Libagon, St. Bernard, Pintuyan, Pintuyan, Silago, and Bontoc; three each in Liloan and Macrohon; two each in San Francisco, Sogod, Anahawan, Hinundayan, San Ricardo, San Juan, Malitbog; and one each in Hinunangan and Limasawa towns.
Aside from the high rise school buildings, 13 one-story units worth P38.73 million are also included in batch 12. Two buildings are meant for each of the towns of Bontoc, Hinunangan, and St. Bernard; and one each in Silago, Libagon, San Francisco, Malitbog, Anahawan, Hinundayan, and Silago towns.
In the last quarter of the year, the district engineering office has already bid out 47 school building projects under batch four and seven, which was initially included in DepEd fund release.
“This is literally a massive school building projects for this year. If completed, including the previous batches, there will be a total of 550 new classrooms for the province,” Junia said.
Overall, the school building projects for Southern Leyte will cost P 1.21 billion covering construction of K-12 classrooms and technical vocational laboratories. (PR)

CAMP RUPERTO KANGLEON,Palo, Leyte- Former drug users who surrendered under the government’s ‘Oplan: Tokhang’ are encouraged to join a skills training that could help them become useful members of the society again.
The skills training, in collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and dubbed as ‘Pagbabago’ will last for 45 days to be held inside the regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police(PNP), here.
Its first day started last Thursday (January 18).
The training will involve on food processing by salting, curing, and smoking; processing food by fermentation and pickling; organic vegetable farming; organic poultry; bread-making; motorcycle or small engine servicing; service consumer electronic products and systems and wellness massage or ‘hilot.’
Chief Inspector Ma. Bella Rentuaya, information officer of the PNP-8, said that for this activity, they are opening 200 slots for former drug users.
But so far, only half of the slots have been filled up, she added.
It was learned from Rentuaya that those who will avail of their activity will have to choose two of their preferred courses and will have sessions from Monday to Friday.
At the same time, they will also be taught on search and rescue, and traffic management during weekends.
Rentuaya is optimistic that this project will change the drug surrenderers and will give them the opportunity for employment because it was found out that some of them indulged into illegal drug activities for reason of not being employed or they don’t have a livelihood.
Chief Supt. Gilberto Cruz, police regional director, said that after the program the drug surrenderers will do well, he will coordinate with provincial governors and mayors and even private companies to prioritize them for employment.
He added that this program is a way of solving the problem in the rehabilitation of the drug surrenderers and will show that they can still be rehabilitated and become useful members of the society.
The budget allocation of TESDA for the classes is worth P492,000.
TESDA will award a certificate of competency to the drug surrenderers after the program.
Barangay officials helped in identifying the participants. Some of the supplies were sponsored by various civilians and sectors.
(EDIZON CAHINDO, LNU Student Intern)

TACLOBAN CITY- The annual rate in Eastern Visayas slightly increased to 95.6 percent in 2017 from 95.5 percent in 2016, ranking sixth among the regions with high employment rate in the country.
Employment rate is the proportion of employed persons to the total labor force.
Out of the estimated 3.0 million population 15 years old and over in 2017, about 1.9 million were economically active or in the labor force.
This number translates to an annual labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 60.3 percent.
This figure is 1.8 percentage points lower compared to the previous year’s LFPR of 62.1 percent. Among the regions, Eastern Visayas registered the sixth lowest annual LFPR.
The underemployed persons or those employed persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer working hours was estimated at 402,000.
This is equal to an underemployment rate of 22.6 percent lower than the 28.3 percent recorded a year ago. The region had the fourth highest underemployment rate in the country.
Meanwhile, about 82,000 persons in the labor force were unemployed. This translates to an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent slightly lower than the 4.5 percent rate recorded in 2016. Eastern Visayas ranked sixth among the regions with low employment rate.
The preliminary results of the annual labor and employment estimates are based on the average of the four labor force survey rounds (January, April, July, and October). (PR)

CARIGARA, Leyte- The Second Leyte Engineering District (2nd LED) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be pouring in P131 million in funds for two major tourism road projects in the area this year on its bid to help shore up tourism activities in the area.
District Engineer Carlos Veloso said tourists could expect better roads towards new tourist sites in Leyte’s second district with the construction of more access roads, particularly in the towns of La Paz and Jaro.
In Jaro, their office is to construct roads leading to the Villaconzoilo Agri and Eco-Tourism Farm and Silawa Falls, both located in Barangay Villaconzoilo. The project would cost P85 million.
Villaconzoilo, an upland barangay seven kilometers from the town proper, is offering farm tourism and is fast becoming a favored tourist destination among locals and foreigners.
Through the farmers’ organization here, Villa Conzoilo Community Association (VCA), it produces high-value crops, including lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cauliflowers, rambutan, radish, asparagus, grapes and strawberries which are sold in shopping malls and hotels in the region.
The village, with a population of almost 400, is near Mount Amandewing or the Alto Peak, considered the highest point of the province and endowed with natural wonders and pristine, unspoiled environment.
On the other hand, Silawa Falls is nature’s jewel hemmed beside cloud-capped mountain ranges. Wild animals roam its surrounding forest, making it a hunter’s paradise and home of endangered species both flora and fauna including insects, butterflies, deer, wild boar, monkeys and other different types of birds from the Central Amandewing mountain ranges.
Another tourism road project in the pipeline this year is the access road that will be constructed and improved leading to Calabato Hot Spring in Lapaz town which will cost P46 million.
The Calabato Hot Spring lies deep within the quiet town of La Paz. Untouched and still undeveloped, few venture to explore the rough terrains going to the spring.
A regular trek usually takes some 4-6 hours starting from the town proper which deters tourist from coming. Paving the road is seen to increase tourists and visitors to enjoy Calabato’s natural beauty in all its roughness.
Engr. Veloso said that road infrastructure is important so tourists could easily visit destinations that are located far from the town of city centers.
Veloso vowed to aggressively implement infrastructure projects geared toward bringing livelihood and development to the countryside.
The DPWH has secured the backing of the national government in funding tourism support programs which would allow local communities who are dependent on tourism, to earn more income.
(AHLETTE C. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY-The Commission of Elections (Comelec) is in the midst of preparation for the holding of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls on May 14 of this year.
This was disclosed by lawyer Ma. Corazon Montallana, elections supervisor for Leyte, who dismissed speculations that the barangay elections may be postponed again.
Congress had earlier passed a law cancelling the village and youth polls scheduled on October 23, 2017 to May 14 of this year.
Montallana said that unless Congress cancels again the May 14, 2018 elections, they have no reason not to prepare for the scheduled village elections.
The Comelec en banc had earlier issued the calendar of activities relative to the synchronized barangay and SK elections with the election period set from April 14 up to May 21, 2018.
Those who will run for the barangay and youth elections are to file their certificates of candidacy starting on April 14 to April 20 with the nine-day campaign period to commence on May 4.
The conduct of the barangay and SK polls will be manual unlike the previous 2016 national elections which were conducted through automation.
Meantime, Montallana said that based on their recent listing up, Leyte will have 1.20 million voters for the barangay polls while 478,000 youths or from 15-30 years old, are to participate the SK polls. (MARY ANN PAGAYANAN/SMILE UY, EVSU Student Interns)