TACLOBAN CITY- At least 940 classrooms in Eastern Visayas reported to have sustain damages when Typhoon ‘Ursula’ slammed the region on the eve of Christmas Day.
Still, the regional information officer of the Department of Education (DepEd), Jasmin Calzita, said that the students who came from these affected schools returned to their classes on Monday.
Based on the monitoring of the DepEd-8, 134 classrooms were said to have been totally destroyed while 806 others sustained damages.
The damages mostly include roofings, furnitures, and equipment like books and computers.
Of the provinces that were directly hit by Ursula, majority of these schools that reported damages were from Leyte province with 450 damaged and totally classrooms followed by Samar with 215 classrooms.
In Eastern Samar,165 classrooms were also reported to have been totally or partially damaged and Biliran with 110 damaged classrooms.
Only the provinces of Southern Leyte and Northern Samar did not sustain any damages to their classrooms due to Ursula.
Calzita said that during the opening of classes on Monday after the Christmas break, the school management immediately conducted their clearing operations with the help from personnel from the local government units.
“Also, repairs were conducted in schools where the damages were minimal,” the official said.
She also said that the school managements also hastily built their temporary learning spaces so studies of the students would not be affected.
Here in Tacloban City, nine schools in the city have built their temporary learning spaces either because power has yet to be restored due to fallen trees and other debris and still with flood water.
These are the Antonio Balmes National High School, Lorenzo Daa Memorial Elementary School, Lucio Veviro Elementary School, Old Kawayan Elementary School, Guadalupe Heights Integrated School, Greendale Residences Integrated School, Tagpuro Elementary School Annex, Villa Sofia Elementary School, and Panalaron Central School.
Calzita said that their office has enough funds to repair these damaged schools.
During the onslaught of Ursula,111 schools served as evacuation centers. The region has about 4,167 schools.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
DepEd says 940 classrooms in EV damaged due to “Ursula”
Region 8 tourism roads get P1.03-B outlay
TACLOBAN CITY — The national government has approved a P1.03-billion fund to finance the construction of roads leading to tourist destinations in Eastern Visayas in 2020, more than double than last year’s allocation.
The Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP) will provide funding to 29 new and ongoing road projects in the bid to improve access to identified tourism sites, said Department of Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes on Wednesday.
This year’s funding is higher than the P499 million spent for TRIP in 2019 with 17 listed projects.
“The impact was not just about improved accessibility of tourist to the destination, but making the lives of locals better. It generates more income to people in the communities,” Tiopes said.
The projects include access road leading to Talustusan Falls in Naval, Ulan-Ulan and Bagongbong Falls in Almeria, all in Biliran province; the road to Borongan-Llorente closed-canopy forest area in Maydolong, Eastern Samar; Coastal Boulevard road in Catarman, circumferential road in Capul, and road leading to Pinipisakan Falls in Las Navas in Northern Samar.
In Leyte province, these projects are access roads leading to MacArthur Landing Memorial Park in Palo, diving site in Capoocan, Buga-Buga Hills in Villaba, Lake Danao in Ormoc City, Masaba Falls in Palompon, Shrine of St. Anthony de Padua in Baybay City, Lintaon Peak in Baybay City, and Malaguicay Falls in Abuyog.
Also funded this year are roads leading to Mapaso Hot Spring in Calbayog City, Lulugayan Falls in Calbiga, Balantak Falls in Basey, Catbalogan City Circumferential Road, Rock Islet in Daram, all in Samar province; access roads to Taglinao Falls in San Francisco, Anas view deck in Padre Burgos, bird sanctuary and mangrove site in Saint Bernard, Crater Lake in San Juan, Fatima Hills in Macrohon, Guinsaugon Lake in Saint Bernard, Ollies wall dive site in Liloan, and Limasawa circumferential road, all in Southern Leyte province.
“Most of these destinations are located in upland communities, which will not just boost tourism, but transport of agriculture products to the town center,” Tiopes added.
Launched in 2012, the project, which is a convergence of DOT and the Department of Public Works and Highways has three stages of prioritization criteria — prequalification, prioritization, and readiness.
Under prequalification, priority for funding are those projects with a development map, whose location is within 60 kilometers or less from a tourism gateway, a concept study and a record of consultation with at least one stakeholder group, endorsed by the Regional Development Council.
In the prioritization stage, highly considered are road projects with nearby accommodation facilities, pre-feasibility study, preliminary engineering design, and concept study. This phase also looks into tourist traffic in the area.
A road project is considered ready for implementation if it is supported by technical road readiness documents to be evaluated and scored by the DPWH. It must also have undergone a series of consultations involving key stakeholders from the private and government sectors.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO/PNA)
Leyte 2 now a first-class district engineering office
CARIGARA, Leyte –In view of the increase in the national equivalent road length, the Department of Public Works and Highways-Leyte Second District Engineering Office has been reclassified into a first-class district engineering office.
From 206.985 kilometers, the office now holds a total of 250.664 kilometers of national road length succeeding the inclusion of various road widening projects from two-lane to four-lane along Daang Maharlika, Palo-Carigara-Ormoc Road, Bagahupi-Babatngon- Sta. Cruz-Barugo-Carigara Road and Jaro-Dagami-Burauen-Lapaz Road.
“This is a good start for 2020, as we aim for more projects to serve the second district of Leyte,” said District Engineer Gerald Pacanan.
“It inspires us to do better as we continue with the “Build, Build, Build” program of the government and carry on with the road widening projects and other programs lined up for this year,” he added.
This is in pursuant to Item No.2 of Department Order No. 110, series of 2016 and approved through Department Order No. 147, series of 2019, reclassifying the office from second class to first class district engineering office.
The district engineering office holds 14 municipalities of the second district of Leyte that include Barugo, Burauen, Capoocan, Carigara, Dagami, Dulag, Jaro, Julita, La Paz, Mac Arthur, Mayorga, Pastrana, Tabon-Tabon, and Tunga.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
PCSO extends financial assistance to areas hit by typhoons ‘Tisoy’ and ‘Ursula’ in the region
TACLOBAN CITY- The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has extended financial assistance to four provinces and this city which were hit in successions by typhoons ‘Tisoy’ and ‘Ursula’ last December.
PCSO board member Sandra Cam gave the checks to the officials of Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran, and this city, last January 3 in the total amount of P15 million coming from the agency’s charity funds.
The assistance by the PCSO was intended to help these typhoons-ravaged areas help recover from the devastations like procurement of food needs and feeding projects and purchase of medicines and medical supplies necessary for the conduct of health-related activities for disease prevention or treatment for typhoon victims.
The province of Northern Samar received P 5 million for being hard-hit by Tisoy last December 2 and again felt the wrath of Ursula though in a minimal scale.
Meanwhile, the provinces of Eastern Samar and Samar each received P3 million from the PCSO for suffering much devastations due to Ursula which hit Eastern Visayas on the eve of Christmas Eve displacing more than 230,000 families or over 960,000 persons and killing 13 people.
The province of Biliran and the city of Tacloban, each received financial assistance from the PCSO P 2 million each.
Here in Tacloban, the PCSO also provided food package to 400 families affected by Ursula.
All the local government units that received financial assistance from the PCSO are under state of calamity due to the impacts of Tisoy and Ursula. (JOEY A. GABIETA)
DOLE monitors compliance on new wage hike for EV’s kasambahays
TACLOBAN CITY- The regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will be monitoring the implementation of the new wage hike for the region’s house helpers or kasambahays as the new monthly wage for them took effect on January 1 of this year.
From the previous P2,000, all the house helpers in the region are to receive P4,500 for those working in the cities and first class municipalities and P4,000 for those working in second to sixth class towns as contained under Wage Order Number 2 approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board(RTWPB-8) on November 25,2019.
Norma Rae Costimiano, DOLE regional information officer, said that their office will be monitoring on the compliance of employers on the new monthly wage for their house helpers, reminding them that failure to do so has corresponding penalty.
“We would like to remind all the employers to really comply with the new wage order.Non-compliant employers will be made to pay to their workers what’s due to them,” she said.
Costimiano said that house helpers who have a complaint could just visit their office and to formally file their complaint against their employers for not following the new wage adjustment.
“Our workers can anytime visit our office to report any con-compliance with said labor standards. These rules are prescribed by law and our workers deserve it,” she said.
She, however, stressed that due process will be observed during their interventions with the employers who will fail to comply the new wage order for their kasambahays.
Analyn,26, kasambahay for three years now, was surprised when she learned that there is a new monthly rate for them and has taken effect beginning this month.
“Really? I am not aware that we kasambahays are to receive a higher monthly pay this year. What I am receiving is the same amount since I started my work with my employers,”Analyn, who declined not to give her family name, said.
The house help, who do all house hold chores, receives P2,500 per month.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
LTFRB restores P2/kms fare rate imposed in ‘07
Move surprises passengers
By: Joey A. Gabieta
TACLOBAN CITY-Passengers using public utility vans (PUVs) are to shell out an additional P2 per kilometer from their point of origin to their destination starting this week.
This after the regional office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB-8) agreed on the petition of PUV owners to restore back the P2 per kms which was supposed to be imposed in 2007.
LTFRB Regional Director Gualberto Gualberto, thus said, that it is not correct to say that there will be an increase of fare rate for PUVs plying different routes across the region.
“It is not a fare rate increase but just to restore back the P2 per kms rate in pursuant to Resolution 2007-007, meaning it was intended for 2007. But it was not fully enforced because sometimes in 2009, there was a petition from transport owners not to implement but just to decrease it to just P1.40,” he said.
But on March 14, 2019, the same transport groups sought for the restoration of the P2 per kms rate citing increases on gasoline and spare parts.
The LTFRB regional director said that it was just right to restore back the P2 per kilometer rate as it is only Eastern Visayas region which does not follow it.
“We understand the grievances of the transport operators because of the series of oil price hike and high cost of spare parts,” Gualberto said.
He also said that their office has followed the rules on this matter by conducting public hearings attended by transport operators and riding public with the same resolution publicized in a local regional newspaper in compliance of the LTFRB rules.
“So, there was no such thing as increase but just restoration of the P2 per kms as approved under Resolution Num. 2007-007,” Gualberto said.
Thus, he said, it was just proper to impose the P2 per kms fare rate.
The additional P2 per kms fare rate took effect this week, surprising some passengers.
Among them was Armenia Cabanatan who uses a PUV when she reports for work in Tacloban City from her hometown in Dulag, Leyte.
With the new fare rate, she would not be paying P77 from the previous P45, a huge increase for an ordinary wage earner like her.
“I usually uses a van because its faster compare to using a bus. But with that huge increase, I will be force to take a bus. Otherwise, a big portion of my monthly pay will just be consumed by my daily fare if I will continue to take a van,” she said.
Gualberto stressed that the new fare rate will only involve PUVs and not buses or jeepneys, adding that a fare matrix must be placed prominently inside the van showing the fare rate.
Otherwise, he said, the operators and the drivers would not be allowed to impose the P2 per kms fare rate.
The mandatory discounts for senior citizens, students, and persons with disabilities should be strictly followed by the operators and drivers, the LTFRB-8 says.