In  Northern Samar

CATARMAN, Northern Samar- Works for the concreting of a farm-to-market road in Rosario, this province, is to start as its groundbreaking was held on February 13.
The 2.96 kilometers farm-to-market road project will cover the villages of Salhag and Kailingan with a fund cost of P50 million.
The road project is a component of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) of the Department of Agriculture with 80% of the funding coming from the World Bank.
The provincial government of Northern Samar, thru Governor Jose Ong and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, shouldered the 10 percent equity amounting to P4.98 million for the said project.
The same amount was given by the national government as its counterpart.
The road project is expected to reduce travel time from and to Rosario town proper, increase traffic count in the subproject area, open up potential production areas, and reduce hauling cost and transport losses of crops.
The village councils of Salhag and Rosario, whose main crops include copra, rice and banana, expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the farm-to-market road project.
Present during the groundbreaking ceremony were Mayor Gerardo Miranda and the entire members of the town council with environmental planner Retchel Depena giving the project brief.
Regional Executive Director of the Department of Agriculture-8 Milo Delos Reyes, who is also the project director of PRDP, also graced the momentous event.
Mayor Miranda expressed his gratitude for all officials and government agencies that provided the support on the project.
“I am very grateful to the hardworking people of the municipality of Rosario for lobbying for this project and preparing the pertinent documents to make the Salhag-Kailingan farm-to-market road a reality. I am also equally thankful to the provincial government of Northern Samar, under the stewardship of Gov. Ong for immediately responding to our request for a counterpart budget when our municipal local government unit could not allocate the same for this (project),” he said.
Also present were Vice Governor Gary Lavin, representing Gov. Ong, and board members Vicvic Singson and Neil Hernandez, representing Reps. Edwin Ongchuan and Raul Daza, respectively.
“One thing I learned as I was visiting the far-flung areas of the province is that we lack a lot of farm-to-market roads. In fact, this is one of the reasons why we consistently rank among the poorest provinces in the country. This farm-to-market road project will contribute greatly to the economy of our province and way of life of our fellow Nortehanons,” Lavin said.
(TITO TEPACE)

TACLOBAN CITY – As part of its peer education and youth advocacy initiatives, the city government of Tacloban through Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez and the City Population Office will spearhead the Adolescent Health and Development forum at the Tacloban Training Center this, February 23, 2019.
More than a hundred peer educators, information service delivery network members and youth from non-government organization World Vision will be attending the said gathering which will be held from 8:00 to 12:00 pm on Saturday.
Highlights include the presentation of the Tacloban Young Adult Reproductive Health Sexual Survey Result, the Adolescent Health Development Program Initiative of Tacloban City and a talk on values formation among adolescents.
Under Mayor Romualdez, the local government unit of Tacloban has come up with policies that champion reproductive health issues and concerns, such as the passage of the Gender and Development (GAD) Code which prioritizes gender and health, adolescent health and training for health care service providers.
The city government also created the City Implementation Team (CIT) for Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive (RPRH) Law Implementation.
The event will be conducted in partnership with World Vision, the Tacloban Peer Educators Association and the Youth for Human and Ecological Security (YHES).
(HENRY JAMES ROCA/CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)

TACLOBAN CITY – The inflation rate of the region at the start of the year was pegged at 4.0 percent, a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority – Regional Statistical Service Office VIII (PSA – RSSO 8), said.
Wilma Perante, regional director, PSA – RSSO 8, told Leyte Samar Daily Express in an interview that Eastern Visayas welcomed 2019 with a 4.0 percent inflation rate.
Perante reported that the 0.4 percentage point is lower compared with the 4.4 percent inflation rate a month ago but equal with the same period last year.
The regional inflation rate was 0.4 percentage point lower than the 4.4 percent national average in January 2019.
Among other regions, Eastern Visayas ranked fourth from the bottom.
Perante said that four provinces in the region registered lower inflation rates in January 2019 compared with their figures in the previous month.
“Eastern Samar and Northern Samar posted the highest decrease of 2.2 percentage points each. Southern Leyte recorded a 0.7 percentage point decrease, while Biliran registered a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from their figures a month ago. On the other hand, increases in inflation rate were noted in Samar with 0.7 percentage point and Leyte at 0.4 percentage point. Samar recorded the highest inflation rate at 6.3 percent, while Biliran posted the lowest at 1.4 percent,” Perante said
Perante said that the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages eased down to 5.3 percent in January 2019 from its previous month’s rate of 6.0 percent, a decrease of 0.7 percentage point.
This can be traced to slower price increases of majority of the food items. Fruits index registered a negative inflation rate at 1.3 percent, from 2.1 percent in December 2018.
Inflation rate for transport also went down by 0.5 percentage point, from 3.0 percent in December 2018 to 2.5 percent in January 2019. This can be traced to the slower inflation rate seen in the index for operation of personal transport equipment.
The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) of the region was recorded at P0.80 in January 2019, slightly weaker than the P0.81 PPP a month ago.
PPP implies that goods and services worth P100 in January 2019 costs P80 only in 2012.
Biliran and Eastern Samar registered a 0.01 centavo decrease each in PPP compared with their figures in December 2018, while Southern Leyte recorded a 0.01 centavo increase from its PPP a month ago.
The rest of the provinces sustained their PPP last month. Leyte recorded the strongest PPP at P0.83. Biliran and Southern Leyte ranked second at P0.82, followed by Eastern Samar at P0.77. Northern Samar and Samar posted the weakest PPP at P0.76.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)