TACLOBAN CITY – After more than a month of intensive training, the 117 candidate Special Cafgu Active Auxiliary (SCAA) from Borongan City had finally finished their basic military training on November 23.
Citizen Armed Force Geographical Forces (Cafgu) Active Auxiliary (CAA) is a paramilitary unit composed of volunteer reservists organized into companies of personnel that are led by regular troops.
The 45 days of intensive training aims to develop their stamina, attitude, and skills required prior to their dispatch in the different communities in Borongan City
Present during the graduation ceremony were Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda as the guest of honor and speaker; Brigadier General Camilo Ligayo, commanding officer of the 801st Infantry Brigade; and Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Alvior, commanding officer of the 78th Infantry Battalion.
About 100 of the trainees were from Borongan City while the rest were from other parts of Eastern Samar.
Mayor Agda, in his message, said that the establishment of Cafgu in the city is essential for the attainment and in the maintaining of peace and development of the city.
“It gives confidence to the LGU and the people of Borongan City to uplift its constituents’ lives,” Agda said.
The mayor also extends the city’s gratitude to the Philippine Army for ensuring the completion of the CAA-II Basic Military Training, which he agreed on the new CAAs will serve as an added safeguard for the Boronganons against the NPA atrocities.
The city government will provide each Cafgu P6,500 monthly allowance during their deployment in the villages of Amantacop, San Mateo, and Canyupay.
In 2019, the city experience two NPA related incidents, one happened in the upland village of Pinanag-an where six soldiers were killed and 20 others are wounded while the other happened in the village of Libuton, where landmine was used by the communist group to attack personnel of the Philippine National Police.
A policeman and a civilian were killed in the incident.
Meanwhile, BGen Ligayo, expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the city government for its achievements in the various program for peace in partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
He also added that the establishment of Cafgu in the city is to maintain peace and help develop the community and thwart the possible atrocities of the rebels that could hinder the development of Borongan City. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan(SP) of Leyte approved on the third and final reading the proposed Leyte Bike Lane Ordinance of 2020 during their regular session last November 20.
The ordinance was approved two days before the celebration of the National Bike Day which is observed every fourth Sunday of November as approved by President Rodrigo Duterte through Presidential Proclamation 1052 which he signed on November 18.
“Basically this reinforces the mandate that we impose through our Environmental Code ordering local government units to come up with a different networks of bicycle lanes in their respective municipalities,” Vice Governor Carlo Loreto said.
“In this ordinance it does not only requires them to put up bike lanes but also activity areas which can be used under the new normal like areas for jogging or walking provided that they still follow the minimum health protocols such as wearing of face masks to prevent virus transmission,” he added.
Under the ordinance, authored by the vice governor, the province through the Active Mobility Committee which is chaired by Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla with Loreto as his vice chair, shall review all roads within its jurisdiction and determine sections that may be developed into a continuous bike lane network.
The committee also includes the provincial legal officer as secretary and members are representative from the provincial engineering office, planning and development office, budget office, disaster risk reduction and management office, health office, SP chairman on committee on infrastructure, representative from local cycling group, persons with disability, women’s group, senior citizens, and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The committee is also mandated to adopt traffic engineering solutions that will prioritize, complement, and support safe and efficient biking and walking.
The measure mandates that all bike lane designs and sidewalks must comply with the design standard by the Department of Transportation and the DPWH and must also take into account for the safety, social distancing measures, operating speed, volume and composition of traffic and the carriageway width of the road.
Signages that indicate bike lane and motor vehicle lane are also need to be installed including speed limits, and other traffic rules to ensure safety of all road users.
The traffic management office of the city and the municipality is also task to maintain the bicycle lane network from use of motorized transport vehicles, and illegal road obstruction such as illegal parked cars.
The ordinance also mandates that every bikers or cyclists must use personal protective gear for their safety such as helmets, closed shoes, head gear, bicycle lights or reflectors, while minor or those below age 18 years old are required to use additional appropriate protective gear as determined by the committee.
The municipality or city under Leyte province will have to adapt the ordinance and include a penalty provisions to be impose against violators.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

ALANGALANG, Leyte- Soon, agriculture graduates and uniformed personnel will have their own lands to till.
This was disclosed by Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones during his visit to this town Thursday (Nov. 26) as he led in the distribution of certificate of land ownerships (Cloas).
Castriciones said that giving lands to agriculture graduates will help increase the number of young people who will take agriculture courses and this could encourage parents for their children to farming-related course.
“Kaya nga marami rin ang nag-aral ng agriculture, pero dahil sa pagkagraduate nila yung kanilang natutunan hindi nila magamit sapagkat wala silang sariling lupa. Kaya po ngayon ang aking gagawin, gagawa po tayo ng administrative order in relation to sections 6, 7, and 14 or RA 6657 so that all agriculture graduates will have their own piece of land, so they can put into practice their wealth of experience and the knowledge they gain from their agricultural studies,” he said.
RA 6657 refers to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of 1988.
“Some of them even have masteral degrees, some of them even have doctorate in agriculture. But the only problem is they don’t have a piece of land that they can use as a laboratory in order to implement what they have learned as experts in agriculture,” Castriciones said.
According to the DAR Secretary, there is around 200,000 hectares of government-owned idle lands that could be used for this purpose, adding that there is also around 500,000 hectares of lots could be distributed to potential CARP beneficiaries.
Other than agriculture graduates, retiring or retired uniformed personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police who are landless will also be entitled to receive a portion from the government-owned idle lands, according to Castriciones.
Rebel returnees are also included in this program he added.
Under the proposed administrative order that he will issue next week, agri-graduates and retired AFP and PNP personnel will receive 3-hectares of land for them to till and nourish.
“Definitely this will be a bold steps in order to see to it that agriculture will really take the lead when it comes to the development of our country,”he said.
Castriciones, in his visit to this town, lead in the ceremonial distribution of CLOAS to 1,031 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) from the towns of Alangalang, Barugo, Burauen, Capoocan, Carigara, Dagami, Jaro, Kananga, and Pastrana, all in Leyte.
Farm machineries were also distributed to ARBs from Alangalang town.
The event was also graced by Vice-Governor Carlo Loreto, Mayor Lovell Yu, and national government agency heads.
Castriciones also lead the launching of the Support for Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT), a program in partnership and funded by the World Bank worth PhP24 billion.
This project, which will be implemented for three years, seeks to improve land-tenure security and stabilize property rights through fast-tracking of land subdivision of collective CLOA and generate individual titles on lands awarded under CARP.
The program is targeting a total of 63, 373 ARBs for CLOA subdivision, 36, 287 ARBS for CCLOA redocumentation, a total of 114,661 hectares for CCLOA subdivision and 92, 644 hectares for CCLOA redocumentations. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)