TACLOBAN CITY – On the occasion of the 116th Police Service Anniversary held last Tuesday (August 22) at the Philippine National Police Regional Office Camp Ruperto Kangleon, the Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) headed by S/Supt.Rolando V. Bade was named as the best city police office in Region 8 for outstanding accomplishment on Police Administration and Operation by Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
The local police office was also awarded as the best police strategy management unit in Eastern Visayas.
The TCPO merited the recognition “for service and dedication, visionary guidance and stellar accomplishments in the effective execution of the PNP P.A.T.R.O.L. Plan 2030,” which puts a premium on a ”highly capable, effective and credible police service working in partnership with a responsive community towards the attainment of a safer place to live, work and do business”.
Likewise, TCPO personnel SPO1 Anthony-Re Amora was awarded best senior police non-commissioned officer for operations in the region during said event.
Last July 31, 2017 coinciding with the Police Regional Office 8 closing ceremony of the 22nd Police Community Relations Month at the PNP Regional Office, the TCPO also got four major awards namely: outstanding city police office in community, best provincial PIO – PSINSP Jessica Ortega, outstanding junior PCO in police community relations – SINSP Jessica Ortega and outstanding senior PNCO in Police Community Relations SPO1 Abdulmain G Halliluddin.
The city government of Tacloban under Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez has actively partnered with the TCPO by extending logistical and other support to the local police force. (HENRY JAMES G. ROCA/CIO with reports from the TCPO)

CATBALOGAN CITY- The contingent from the Samar National School(SNS) was declared as champion in this year’s Manaragat Festival 2017 held at the grounds of the Samar provincial building held last Wednesday (August 23), besting eight other participants.
The grand winner of this year’s festival, who received P100,000 as cash prize, will represent Catbalogan City in next year’s Sinulog Festival in Cebu City.
The SNS contingent was also named as the best in musicality.
Samar College bagged second place and won P60,000 while Catbalogan National High School was named as third place and won P30,000.
Meantime, Samar State University bagged best in costume special award.
This year’s Manaragat Festival is a continuation of the activities they lined up as the city celebrates its 400 years founding anniversary.
The Manaragat Festival centers on the dance presentation on the fishing heritage of the people of the city from the time before Spanish colonizers arrived in Samar Island up to the present which they call “Kamurasak han Kadagatan”.
The showcase of the fishing practice through a festival dance is an effort to rediscover and reinvigorate old traditions of the city as well as to educate the community on sustainable practices in fishing as a climate change mitigation program.
Manaragat, a local term for fishermen, is the annual festival of Catbalogan City held every August 24 in honor to St. Bartholomew the Apostle as the miraculous Saint who maintained the richness of Maqueda Bay, a major fishing ground of the province of Samar. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Tacloban as most improved HUC in the country

By Joey Gabieta

TACLOBAN CITY- The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) has named Tacloban as the most improved local government unit in the highly urbanized category (HUC) for this year.
From being the last ranked among the country’s 34 highly urbanized cities, Tacloban now ranks 18 based on the 2017 NCC survey.
“Of course we are happy with the recognition. This will inspire us to work harder,” City Mayor Cristina Romualdez said.
The city mayor said that with the recognition, Tacloban’s competitiveness as a city in so far as attracting more investors was bolstered because of the recognition from the NCC.
“Definitely, (this will help us attract) more investors (and that) we are vibrant as a city,” Romualdez said.
Mayor Romualdez, together with city administrator Irene Chiu, personally received the recognition during the ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center last Wednesday (August 16).
The award was conferred by Interior Undersecretary Austere Panadero, National Competitiveness Private Sector co-chairman Guillermo Luz and Trade and Industry Undersecretary Ruth Castelo.
Based on the results of the NCC’s Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) for this year, Tacloban generated an overall rating of 41.684900 using economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency as parameters.
This year’s ranking of Tacloban is higher compared to other more established highly urbanized cities in the Visayas except for Cebu City which is ranked number 13.
Bacolod is ranked 20, Lapu-Lapu City is ranked 21 while Iloilo City is ranked 32.
Quezon City topped as the number one HUC in the country followed by Manila and Davao cities, respectively.
Tacloban is the only HUC in the region. It was converted from its previous status as an independent component city to its current category in 2008.
When supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ hit Tacloban, its economy was severely devastated, with an economic loss of estimated to P10 billion.
Mayor Romualdez said that close to four years after the devastation of the world’s strongest typhoon, the economy of the city has now recovered with new investors coming in.
Before the year’s end, the Robinsons Land Corporation is set to open its second shopping mall in Tacloban with its 138-room Summit Hotel slated to open before summer next year.

ALANGALANG, Leyte- More than 4,000 farmers from this province are expected to increase their yields which would mean additional income for them.
A memorandum of agreement was signed by the Land Bank of the Philippines providing a loan to the ChenYi Agventures, a private company, that will help mechanized the farming method in Leyte.
The ChenYi Agventures will provide technical and skills assistance to the farmers like providing equipment and at the same time, procure their palay at the current prevailing rate, company president Rachel Renucci-Tan said during the signing of the agreement held this town last Wednesday(August 16).
The company’s facility is located in Barangay Mudburon, this town.
The company initially targets about 4,000 farmers coming from the towns of Jaro, Sta. Fe, Carigara, Pastrana and this town, all rice-producing areas in Leyte.
Renucci-Tan said that the number of farmers who will benefit their ‘revolutionary’ program will increase as the program is just on its first phase.
The company hope to develop the most technologically advanced post-harvest facilities, and will also be the largest producer that integrates seed growing, planting, farm management, harvesting and rice production not only in Leyte but the whole Visayas and Mindanao.
For his part, Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said that he was glad that ChenYi chose Leyte as its site in helping modernize the agriculture sector.
The governor said that with farmers now to use full mechanized equipment on their farming, their yields could increase.
Under the auspices of ChenYi, farmers could expect about 7,000 tons of palay per harvest which is more than double from their current yields.
In turn, the company will buy their produce using the current rate which is between P13 to P18 per kilogram.
“They will have more income considering that our farmers will have now more produce,” Renucci-Tan said.
Renucci-Tan, who runs the ChenYi together with her husband, Patrick Renucci, a French national, said that aside from helping the farmers achieve higher yields, they also like to see them increase their income.
The company is the first to offer an end-to-end mechanized rice farming process in the Visayas region.
“When we say end- to- end mechanized farming, it means from land preparation to planting, cultivation, to harvesting, drying, silo storage, milling, bagging, and distribution,” Renucci-Tan said.
Inputs-in-kind it was learned will be provided to farmers, in the form of high- yielding seed varieties, fertilizers, and pesticides.
Among present during the loan signing were LBP president and CEO Alex Buenaventura, Edward John Reyes, LBP executive vice president for agriculture and development lending and Mayor Reynaldo Capon Sr. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA/JOEY A. GABIETA)