TACLOBAN CITY – Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said that there are areas in the province which could be planted for bamboos.
In fact, about 7,000 hectares along the Binahaan River could be planted for bamboos, the governor said.
Lately, the governor has been encouraging farmers in the province to plant bamboos to help increase their income saying there is now a huge demand of bamboos in the world market.
Petilla, who recently led in the oath-taking of officials of a bamboo farmers association in San Isidro, Sta. Fe town, said that aside from generating more income for the farmers, bamboo planting could help save the province from climate change.
“We may come to that part but we have to produce first before we market our province on bamboo production. It’s hard to sell our province for a product that is not existence. The key to that is to enhance the skills and knowledge of our people on bamboo production,” Gov. Petilla said.
“Before we also market our bamboo abroad, we also need to examine what are their quality standards. We need to know if we can meet their standard and if we see that we can meet it then we will produce the quality of bamboo according to that standard so that we can export,” he added.
Demands of bamboos continue to rise making it a multi-billion export industry in global market, according to Senator Cynthia Villar who visited China last June.
“Bamboo is an alternative source of income to farmer,” Villar said citing that based on her visit in China, a farmer can earn as much as P1.5 million a year on a one-hectare bamboo plantation which is good for poverty reduction campaign of Philippine government.
“I am supporting bamboo industries, primarily because bamboo is a cash crop for Filipino farmers and can be a good source of income and livelihood of poor communities, particularly in rural areas in our country,” Villar added.
The National Greening Program, which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) implement, mandates that 20% of the target land for reforestation must be planted with bamboo.
Promoting bamboo as alternative crops in rehabilitating mined sites is being pushed by the DENR according to Secretary Roy Cimatu.
“Demand of bamboo worldwide including China is huge. But before we can plant it we need to test first if what variety is suitable on that area,” Sec Cimatu said.
He added that while the DENR is in charge of bamboo production, the Department of Trade and Industry will handle its marketing.
From home decors and furniture, the use of bamboo had evolved to industrial and construction usage. The leaves of bamboos are also known to absorb more than 100 times of carbon monoxide than that of the ordinary tree.
In Tacloban, engineered bamboo was introduced as material for housing construction after the devastation of super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in 2013.
Hilti Foundation (Base Balay Inc.), a partner of Operation Blessing, brought the construction concept in the city for the building of 324 housing units in the 1.5 hectare land housing projects in Palanog for families from Barangays 89 and 90. (ROEL T. AMAZONA

By: MICHAEL PARADO

While the plan of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration (PDEA) to conduct drug testing to all students age 10 and older is laudable, the Department of Education and other sectors looked at it in the other way around.
No less than the Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said that plan may require the amendment of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which authorizes drug testing for secondary and tertiary level students only.
Briones, in a statement, said that it will be good to compare the objectives of the two government institutions in implementing the drug test in connection to DepEd’s program which is “mainly to know the prevalence so it can provide interventions compliant to its mandate, and for health reasons, so proper treatment can be provided.”
As expected, DepEd took side with the children. This deserves a commendation from the public.
Aptly said, the Human Right Watch also criticized the move of PDEA, saying this proposal “will place school children at grave risk.”
“It marks a drastic extension of mandatory drug testing already in place for all college students and applicants, and will effectively allow the police to extend their ‘anti-drug’ operations to primary school classrooms. Imposing mandatory drug testing on schoolchildren when Philippine police are committing rampant summary killings of alleged drug users puts countless children in danger for failing a drug test, said Phelim Kine, Asia deputy director in Asia.
According to the rights group, the mandatory testing of children for drug use raises other human rights concerns as well.
“Taking a child’s bodily fluids, whether blood or urine, without their consent may violate the right to bodily integrity and constitute arbitrary interference with their privacy and dignity. Depending on how such testing occurs, it could also constitute degrading treatment, and may deter children from attending school or college for reasons unrelated to any potential drug use, depriving them of their right to an education,” Kine added.
Personally, I agreed with what Kine suggested when he said that government “should provide children with accurate information about the potential risks of drug use, not put them in the crosshairs of a summary killing campaign that has already claimed the lives of more than 12,000 Filipinos.”

We are also thankful to progressive youth groups who voiced out their criticism against the plan. League of Filipino Students national spokesperson JP Rosos said that subjecting students in random drug testing does not consider the welfare of the youth or provide interventions whether they are lost in track or not.
This is clearly an avenue for students to be vulnerable to attacks, he said.
As the drug campaign of Pres. Duterte already claimed the lives of dozens of children, it would be wise for the government to spare the children from mandatory drug testing.
(Note: The author teaches at the Palo National High School in Palo, Leyte)

Palay production in Eastern Visayas increased by 7.9 percent, from 239,600 metric tons (MT) in the second quarter of 2017 to 258,486 MT in the second quarter of 2018.
Increases were observed among all provinces, except in Northern Samar, which posted a decrease of 9.3 percent.
Southern Leyte recorded the highest increase in production of 50.3 percent, from 24,817 in the second quarter of 2017 to 37,306 percent in the second quarter of 2018.
Among the provinces, Leyte produced the highest volume of palay at 147,221 MT, which comprised more than half (57.0 percent) of the total palay production in the region.
Eastern Samar, meanwhile, had the lowest volume of production (12,215 MT) accounting for only 4.7 percent.
The total harvest area for palay in the region decreased slightly by 0.2 percent, from 69,453 hectares in the second quarter of 2017 to 69,289 hectares in the second quarter of 2018.
Increases recorded in Biliran (7.0 percent) and Samar (1.0 percent) were offset by the decreases registered in Northern Samar (6.8 percent) and Southern Leyte (2.0 percent).
Leyte recorded a little over half or 53.6 percent (37,144 hectares) of the total palay area harvested during the quarter in review, while Biliran contributed the least (4,763 hectares) accounting for only 6.9 percent.
Yield per hectare for palay in the region went up by 8.8 percent, from 3.4 MT per hectare in the second quarter of 2017 to 3.7 MT per hectare in the same quarter of 2018.
Among the provinces, Biliran posted the highest yield per hectare during the quarter in review at 4.6 MT per hectare. Eastern Samar registered the lowest yield per hectare at 2.3 MT per hectare.(PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – At least P 2.3-million worth of livelihood assistance was distributed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional office and the city government of Tacloban under Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez to beneficiaries on Friday.
DOLE Undersecretary Renato Ebarle and Assistant Secretary Mariano Alquiza led the distribution along with City Councilor Evangeline Esperas who represented Mayor Romualdez, DOLE 8 Director Yahya Centi, National Maritime Polytechnic Executive Director Romulo Bernardez, and Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Manager Emilia Cruz.
Sixty beneficiaries from different barangays received P 1.7-million worth of grant under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) for various livelihood activities like Dress Making/Tailoring, Pedicab, Nego-Cart, Rice Retailing, Bread and Pastry Making and Food Vending.
On the other hand, the Nazareth Farmers Association which has 27 members received P699, 000 worth of livelihood grant for their Sustainable Organic Vegetables and Milkfish Alternative Production Project.
Thirty-one coconut farmers in Barangay 12 Palanog also received P475,800 cash assistance, and a grant of P778,000 was given to the 24-member Tiangge Fruit Vendors Association (TFVA).
One of the beneficiaries of the assistance, Melanio Pelino, said that the grant will bring livelihood enhancement to him and members of their association.
“This livelihood grant is helpful to us who rely on fruit vending as a source of income to support my children and family in the financial aspect,” said Pelino.
“We thank DOLE and the city government for this assistance” he added.
The DILP aims to promote poverty reduction and provide protection to vulnerable and marginalized workers. The program promotes entrepreneurship through small income-generating projects.
(HENRY JAMES ROCA/CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)

Hours after he stepped down from the post

BY: JOEY A. GABIETA/RONALD REYES

TACLOBAN CITY- The former chief of the Leyte regional prison colony in Abuyog, Leyte, was ambushed by still unidentified suspects just hours after he stepped down from his post during a ceremony on Monday(August 6).
Geraldo Aro, 55, who survived the slay try, was on board a vehicle when he, together with his four companions, were ambushed in Barangay Cadac-an, about 15 kms away from the Leyte Regional Penal Colony at about 12 noon.
Three of Aro’s companions reportedly died in the ambush incident.
The incident happened just after Aro formally stepped down as chief of the regional penal colony and was on his way to Tacloban City, Supt. Norberto Tuazon, police provincial director for Leyte, said.
Aro was replaced by Supt. Danilo Dador as head of the Leyte Regional Penal Colony which is located in Barangay Mahagna, Abuyog.
“As of this time, I cannot give you further details regarding the incident as members of our SOCO (scene of the crime operatives) and the Abuyog police are still in the area,” Tuazon, in a phone interview, said.
Tuazon also declined to say what could be the motive of the perpetrators as investigation is still ongoing.
Aro, who assumed the post as head of the penal facility in 2013, sustained several bullet wounds and was brought to an undisclosed hospital in the city.
Three of his companions, one of them a woman, died on the spot.
They were on board a Hi-Lux vehicle with plate number SAA-3937.
Names of the dead, who were all personnel of the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) which runs the regional facility, were not disclosed as of this writing.
Aro was on his way to the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, this city, when the incident happened.
He was supposed to take the post as head of the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Sablayan, Mindoro Occidental on orders of Bucor Director Ronald ‘Bato’ de la Rosa.

TACLOBAN CITY — Concerns have been raised over early signs of environmental degradation in Cuatro Islas, an emerging tourist destination in Leyte province.
In a “Protect Cuatro Islas” report issued Tuesday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office here said the environmental condition of the four picturesque small islands is not as worse as Boracay’s but early signs of pollution are now evident.
These four islands are Apid, Mahaba, and Digyo in Inopacan town; and Himokilan in Hindang town.
The 48-hectare Himokilan Island is the most populated with 200 families or 1,110 individuals.
There are about 2,138 people living on the four islands, which were declared as marine protected areas by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 270 dated April 13, 2000.
Among the environmental issues identified by the DENR include the existence of communities in the protected landscape, biodiversity disturbance due to influx of tourists, and poor waste management.
“As small islands, these are not capable to withstand the pressure of communities in the area. Adding pressures to the fragile ecosystem is the influx of tourists,” said DENR regional information officer Maita Reina Sucgang.
Sucgang said the island’s carrying capacity has been breached since early 2015 after the local governments of Hindang and Inopacan intensified promotion their tourism activities.
The DENR assessment team noted that many families on the four islands are non-tenured migrants, with some of them already served notices to demolish structures that disturbed the natural biodiversity and vegetation.
“Solid waste generation in disposal in Digyo Island alone is basically increasing due to high influx of the coming in and out of visitors and tourists contributing to number of kilograms of garbage per person per day. However, only 30 percent of these were then regularly collected by the local government and brought out of the four islands in compliance to the protected area rules,” the report said.
Earlier, the DENR launched “Protect Cuatro Islas” campaign in its bid to raise awareness and understanding on the significance of cleaning up not as an ecotourism area, but also as an ecosystem.
The drive also seeks to elicit support and participation of stakeholders in saving the eco-tourism destination, and strengthen partnerships and networks for this effort.
Cuatro Islas covers an area of 12,500 hectares known for its white sandy shores surrounded by coral gardens, which are considered as one of the best in Leyte Island. It is home to Tridachna and marine turtles such as Green Sea and Hawk bill turtle.
Experts found 287 species of reef building corals in the island’s waters. It is also a rich fishing ground and a home to countless diverse coastal and marine organisms, wildlife and ecosystems. (SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)