PALO, Leyte – The province of Leyte has extended more than P1.7 million in cash awards during the “Pasidungog” 2018 awarding ceremonies to farmer organizations.
Governor Leopoldo Dominico L. Petilla, in an interview with Leyte Samar Daily Express, said that those honored and given the awards were the top 30 out of the 210 farmer associations organized and assisted by the province with total membership of 5,250 farmers from 41 towns and 1 city throughout the province.
The awarding, held on December 4 at the Leyte Academic Center, was attended by several mayors of the province led by Palo Mayor Remedios ‘Matin’ Petilla.
Also present was Vice Governor Carlo Loreto.
Petilla said that the total prizes from the province was P1,775,000 and Rep. Zajid Mangundadatu (2nd district of Maguindanao) also contributed P100,000 to the prizes.
Petilla said that the prize for the first place was P250,000; second P200,000; 3rd – P150,000; 4th – P100,000 while the 5th – P75,000.
He added that the 6th to 10th placers each received P50,000; the 11th to 20th placers each received P30,000 while the 21th 30th placers each received P20,000.
Petilla explained that Pasidungog 2018 is a way of recognizing or honoring the achievements and exemplary contributions of “our farmers who are involved in our poverty reduction and community resiliency efforts under the “Leyte EconoMICs Program.”
Petilla further explained that the Leyte EconoMICs Program is a poverty reduction agenda focusing on total human and economic development beginning in poor barangays.
It pushes the “More Income in the Countryside” (MIC) compact farming for high value vegetables and fruit crops training as its point of entry.
He said that more farmers are switching to high-value vegetables, egg-laying, tilapia production, hog fattening, vermicomposting, wing oyster project and seaweed farming since the program was implemented by his administration.
With the program implemented, eventually other livelihood interventions follow as part of the poverty alleviations of the province
The program also provides non-agricultural skills as well as programs in health and nutrition, values formation and education, social welfare, environment and disaster risk reduction and management and infrastructure support, he added.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT, LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

CAN-AVID, Eastern Samar – The municipal government of this town is proud to be the first local government unit in the region to showcase giant Christmas lanterns for the Yuletide season.
About 28 giant Christmas lanterns, representing the number of the town’s barangays, are on display in this town which are all made of recyclable materials.
Mayor Gil Norman Germino said that their Christmas Lantern Festival is a competition on innovativeness and creativity of Can-avid residents by transforming recyclable materials into beautiful attractions for Christmas.
Germino added that using recyclable garbages as materials for creating the lanterns is part of the solid waste management program of the local government.
“Among the criteria is to use recyclable materials which will become a tradition of our town every Christmas,” Mayor Germano said.
Empty plastic bottled water, plastic bottled of soft drinks and other sweetened drinks, plastic cups and other recyclable materials were painted with different vibrant colors and decorated with colorful Christmas lights were used by each village to create their respective giant lantern.
The lanterns are displayed along the national highway of the town that will surely catch the attention and curiosity not only of the town residents but even motorists who are passing the town going to the northern and southern part of Eastern Samar and to the Pacific Coastal towns in Northern Samar province.
The local government unit hopes that not only residents of their town but even those coming from their neighboring towns in Eastern Samar would visit them every night to witness how beautiful the 28 Christmas lanterns.
The giant lantern festival will last until New Year’s Day with a weekly judging to ensure that the creators will check their entries and ensure that these will remain in good condition.
Winners of the competition will be receive P20, 000 for first prize; P15, 000 for second prize and P10,000 for third prize.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

BORONGAN CITY- The Department of Public Works and Highways– Eastern Samar District Engineering Office (DPWH-ESDEO) formally turned over a two-storey, eight-classroom school building to Eugenio S. Daza Pilot Elementary School (ESDPES),this city.
Engr. Manolo Rojas, district engineer of the ESDEO in an interview with Leyte Samar Daily Express, said that the school building project is under the 2017 Basic Educational Facilities Fund Batch 14 of the Department of Education (DepEd) with the contract amount of P16.53 million.
The school has 2,096 enrolled pupils for this school year.
However, before the school building project was realized, insufficient classrooms had been a concern of the school.
“Because of insufficient classrooms before, we had many overcrowded and noisy classes which hinders our students’ learning,” shared Myra Fe G. Obina, an adviser of the said school.
Rojas said that this newly-constructed school building could create great opportunity to sustain quality education that will help uplift the lives of the pupils and teachers of ESDPES.
“Just as how the progressive nations extensively invest in their respective education sectors, we, the ESDEO, are completely honored that the DepEd trusted us to implement and monitor this school building project which paves a way to our own national progress in its most possible way,” Rojas said.
Meanwhile, Ma. Ivy Ravilas, the principal of ESDPES, expresses her utmost gratitude in her acceptance speech to the DPWH and DepEd for the realization of the project.
“We will utilize this building properly for this will benefit both the pupils and their teachers as they get more inspired in coming to school,” she said.
Present during the turnover were Rep. Ben Evardone of the province’ lone congressional district; City Mayor Fe Abunda; and Rudyard Lim, assistant district engineer.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)

PALO, Leyte – The Department of Health (DOH) in the region presented awards to local government units and government agencies that strictly implements the no-smoking policy.
For this year’s Red Orchid Award, 22 government offices, three hospitals, and seven local government units were given the recognition by the DOH for their strict implementation of the 100-percent tobacco-free environment.
“This serves as an inspiration and reminder to all to continue working for the betterment for the community members,” DOH Regional Director Minerva Molon said in her message during the awarding ceremony held Friday (December 7).
Among the awardees for government offices were the local health insurance offices of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. in the cities of Tacloban, Ormoc, Maasin, Borongan, Calbayog and Catbalogan and the municipality of Naval; Bureau of Jail Management and Penology 8 and the district jails in Naval, Catarman, Burauen, San Juan, Carigara; city jails in Baybay City, Borongan City, Ormoc City (female and male dorm) and the municipal jails in Palo and Palompon.
For the government hospitals, Red Orchid Awardees were the Allen District Hospital in Allen town; Northern Samar Provincial Hospital; and the Tacloban City Hospital.
For the LGU category, awardees were the towns of Silago, Limasawa, San Francisco and Padre Burgos in Southern Leyte; San Antonio in Northern Samar; Arteche in Eastern Samar and the city of Ormoc.
PhilHealth Regional Office 8 and the regional office of the Civil Service Commission bagged the Hall of Fame award for government offices.
Arteche town Mayor Roland Boie Evardone was proud of their achievement given by the DOH to their town, the only municipality in the region to receive the Red Orchid Award.
“The campaign became successful because of the support of the people and I am very much thankful, proud and happy for the people of Arteche because we are able to sustain the anti-smoking ordinance,” the town mayor said.
The municipal council of Arteche enacted the ordinance banning the selling and distribution of cigarette in the town in March 6, 2017.
“Technically, smoking in the entire town of Arteche is ban because we don’t have smoking areas and we prohibit selling. If there are people who are into smoking they must do it inside the premises of their house,” Mayor Evardone added.
The DOH Red Orchid Award is an annual search for the 100 percent tobacco-free environment, given to those who positively respond by creating policies and implement to achieve the 100 percent smoke-free environment.
Tobacco use has been recognized as the major contributor in cardio-vascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes and Cancer.
Red Orchid is the highest award given in this particular search followed by the second highest award, the Pink Orchid, and the third the White Orchid.
For the Pink Orchid, which is given to LGUs who are able to achieve less than 90 percent of tobacco-free environment, the award was given to the Northern Samar provincial capitol. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

In Northern Samar

CATARMAN, Northern Samar – A barangay chairman was killed while his councilor was wounded when they were fired upon by motorcycle-riding suspects in Lope de Vega town, this province, on Thursday afternoon.
Killed due to bullet wounds he sustained was Edwin Teopinto,44, village chairman of Bugho of said town. He sustained five gunshot wounds.
His companion, Benadio Laurian, 34, councilor of their village, survived the ambush though he sustained gunshot wounds.
The two, on board a motorcycle driven by Laurian, was cruising along Brgy. Bayho, 10 kms away from the town proper, when the motorcycle-riding suspects suddenly appeared and fired at them at about 2:50 pm.
SPO3 Marlon Hipe, municipal executive senior officer of the Lope de Vega police station, said that Teopinto died on the spot due to the five gunshot wounds he sustained while Laurian was hit on his right shoulder and right leg and is now recuperating at the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital (NSPH) in Catarman.
The two has just attended a Christmas party tendered by the municipal government for town barangay officials and on their way home when they were ambushed by still unidentified suspects.
The authorities are still investigating the incident to establish the motive of the suspects who immediately fled after the incident.
Police Superintendent Rafael Tayaban, community relations officer of the Northern Samar Police Provincial Office, called on the possible witnesses to report to the police so they could arrest the perpetrators. (RACHEL V. ARNAIZ)

BORONGAN CITY- The Department of Public Works and Highways Eastern Samar District Engineering Office (ESDEO) inaugurated and turned over a new multi-purpose building in Songco Elementary School to school principal Norieta Alpez and the rest of the teaching staff on November 15, 2018.
Construction of the multi-purpose building (MPB) started on March 5, 2018 and completed on July 17, 2018. The building has a dimension of 15m by 20m.
The project cost of the building amounts to P 2,475, 000 funded under the local fund for building and other structures of the General Appropriations Act for this year.
In behalf of DPWH-ESDEO, Assistant District Engineer Rudyard Lim attended the turn-over of the multipurpose building.
Alpez’s, her acceptance speech, expressed her gratitude for the materialization of the multi-purpose building.
“We have been yearning for so long for this covered court to come into existence. It has long been our dream to have a facility like this. We gladly accept this, and ensure you that we will utilize this in its proper purpose. And we will maintain this facility,” the school principal said.
A teacher of Songco Elementary School said that finding a venue for their graduation was always their problem and that they have to incur rental expenses because of it.
But now, they expect to conduct their 2019 graduation rites in their new MPB inside of their very own Songco Elementary School.
Rep.Ben Evardone, Mayor Maria Fe Abunda, among others, graced the said event.
Rep. Evardone, in a message he conveyed during the turn-over ceremony, encouraged the students to study well to have a brighter future.
“You should study diligently for it will serve as your stepping stone in achieving a brighter future,” the solon said.
In an interview, assistant district engineer Lim stressed the value of having educational facilities like an MPB to nurture a student’s potential.
“A school must not only have a classroom but also other facilities that will hone a child’s potential. A school becomes an institution conducive to learning if it can provide well-built classrooms and facilities for outdoor activities where students can learn, enjoy, and develop their multiple intelligence,” he said. (ESDEO PIO Staff Quiteria Baleña)