MONDRAGON, Northern Samar- Ninety-nine farmers from remote villages in this town braved the heavy rains on Friday afternoon to receive their certificates of landownership award (CLOAs) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
DAR Assistant Regional Director Ma. Fe Malinao, assisted by Mayor Mario Madera, handed to the beneficiaries the 118 CLOAs covering a combined area of 123.8 hectares of farmlands situated in Barangays Talolora and La Trinidad in this town.
The distribution was held at the covered court of the municipal hall amid heavy rains.
Malinao, Madera and DAR Northern Samar Legal Chief Atty. Edsel Ballicud repeatedly stressed to the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) not to sell or mortgage their awarded lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) as stated in the CLOA.
Moreover, Ballicud explained to the ARBs their roles, obligations and responsibilities as recipients of the land transfer program.
Malinao added that DAR also provides support services to ARBs to improve farm production that would eventually lead to increased income. (JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA/PR)
99 N. Samar farmers receive CLOAs from DAR
No single firecracker incident at the EVRMC during Christmas revelry
TACLOBAN CITY- Zero.
Thus the record at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) in terms of person treated due to burn caused by pyrotechnics during the Christmas celebration.
In fact, the hospital, designated by the Department of Health (DOH) as the center for treatment for any fireworks-related injury, has not reported any such case.
“We don’t really anticipate any such case during Christmas. But of course, we are glad that we have a zero case during the celebration,” Alex Justin Marchedecsh, over-all in charge of the Emergency Room of the EVRMC.
Instead of treating injuries related to firecrackers, doctors at the EVRMC treated stabbing and hacking victims during Christmas, he said.
Marchedecsh said that the hospital is prepared for the situation as the DOH placed the EVRMC under a white code alert since December 21.
A white code alert means that personnel assigned at the emergency room or surgeons whose specialization are in trauma and injuries are not allowed to go on leave.
All needed medical paraphernalias and equipment are also in place while the white code alert is in effect.
The white code alert is to end on January 5, 2017.
The DOH is aiming for a zero case due to firecracker injury as it supports on the campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte to impose a nationwide ban on firecracker used during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The President is expected to sign an executive order for such purpose. A firecracker ban was imposed in Davao City when Mr. Duterte was its mayor.
The DOH is instead pushing for local government units to assign an area where they could put into display harmless pyrotechnics during the New Year’s celebrations.
Most of the victims of the firecracker-related injury are children.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
Samar island town wins best Christmas décor
CALBAYOG CITY- The island town of Almagro, Samar was named as the grand prize winner of the first inter-municipality Christmas Décor competition ever held in the first district of the province.
The theme of the Christmas décor competition had a theme of “Malamrag nga bungto, dalan san pag-asenso,” and was initiated thru the congressional district office of Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento.
By winning the competition, the town of Almagro received P50,000 as a prize during the awarding held last December 20.
The island town of Sto. Niño was declared as first prize winner with a cash prize of P35,000; Sta. Margarita second (P25,0000; Matuguinao third(P15,000) and Gandara as the fourth prize(P5,000).
The participating towns showcased Christmas decorations made by indigenous or native materials, and a Christmas symbol representing the municipality was the highlight of the decoration.
The decoration was judged based on the adherence to the theme, visual appeal or aesthetics and creativity or craftsmanship.
The first district of Samar has nine municipalities, to include the city of Calbayog. However, four towns chose to beg off to join the competition due to lack of preparation.
Rep. Sarmiento said that the activity mainly aims to give happiness and that Samarnons will be merry at this time of the year thru Christmas decorations placed at their respective town halls or plazas.
“As other big cities shine and lighted of different Christmas lights and decorations, there are municipalities that are into darkness without even minding that there is a very important occasion that needs to be celebrated, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ,” Sarmiento said.
“The light (lamrag) is a symbol of hope and inspiration for a better future,” the solon added.
Rep. Sarmiento also shared that through this activity, Samarnons need not go to cities to enjoy “grandiose Christmas decorations” as these towns have put up their own decors that could be seen in big and urban areas.
“I hope that by next year all towns in the district will participate in this very meaningful activity.” He added.
(JENNIFER SUMAGANG-ALLEGADO)
Samar provinces hit by massive flooding
By: Joey Gabieta
Over 72,000 families affected with 2 casualties
TACLOBAN CITY- Flooding incidents spawned by the torrential rains have displaced more than 72,000 families in the three provinces of Samar Island since Saturday.
While the province of Leyte was also hit by heavy rains for days now, the provincial disaster risk reduction management office has yet to monitor flooding incident in any part of the province.
Water levels experienced in these areas hit by flooding incidents reached to four to six meters even houses with two stories were inundated, officials said.
Reports reaching the regional Office of Civil Defense (OCD) based in Tacloban City, said that flooding incidents have displaced 6,650 families in Eastern Samar or about 29,166 individuals; 2,687 families or 11,438 persons in Samar and 7,333 families consisting of 32,358 individuals in Northern Samar.
The incessant rains have also resulted to several cases of landslides in different areas of the three Samar provinces affecting the flow of traffic as roads in these places were rendered not passable.
Levi Nicart, disaster risk reduction management officer for Eastern Samar, said that the towns of Maslog, Oras, Jipapad, Can-avid, Dolores, Taft and Sulat were among the hard-hit areas due to flooding experienced largely in Eastern Visayas since Saturday.
Nicart, in a phone interview, said that they are still consolidating reports from these areas which, in turn, could be used by the provincial government as basis for the declaration of state of calamity for the entire province.
“But on Saturday and Sunday, the municipal governments of Sulat and Taft have already declared state of calamities due to the damages they sustained due to the flooding,” he said.
Taft Mayor Marianne Libanan said that the town council, upon her request, placed the entire town under state of calamity on Monday (December 19) after 11 out of its 24 barangays experienced much flooding which she said also caused its crops and bridges and roads were damaged.
Among the roads that sustained damage was the one constructed by the MCC (Millennium Challenge Corp.)an aid agency of the United States) located along Buray-Taft section.
Libanan said that 1,694 families were displaced with more than P50 million in damages initially reported by the municipal disaster risk reduction management council.
Engr. Manuel Catuday, municipal disaster risk reduction management officer of Dolores, meantime, said that 28 out of its 46 barangays experienced flooding.
“Water levels reached up to six meters in height even houses with second story were also flooded,” Catuday said.
He said one man from Barangay San Isidro, Primitivo Lazarra, 60, was reported killed due to drowning on Saturday.
Another man, Elpedio Zacate, husband of the town agriculture officer, Lucia Zacate, was also confirmed to have died due to drowning from Barangay Manatag, Taft, Eastern Samar.
Meantime, Ryan Oledan,30,Rommel Omlang,28 and Renato Pagas,53, all fishermen from Barangay 4, Taft, were reported missing since December 15 after they went out to the sea to fish, Nicart said.
Catuday said that the flooding displaced 3,997 families who are either fled to areas located in higher areas or chose to remain at their houses, especially those who have second floors.
“We have placed an estimate damage of more than P50 million due to flooding, and most of them are our crops. Around 80 percent to 90 percent of our crops were damaged due to the flooding,” he said.
Aileen Franzuela Diaz, provincial head of the Philippine Information Agency based in Catarman, said the massive flooding experienced by the province have also displaced 9,284 families or 1,951 more families from the OCD-8 report.
The towns of Catubig and Las Navas, both low-lying areas, were the most hard-hit due to flooding incident.
But power supply in the province was not affected by the flooding, Diaz added.
Meantime, Arvin Monge, Leyte disaster risk reduction management officer, said that while the province is also experiencing heavy rains since Saturday, no flooding incidents have been monitored.
“But I have asked all our municipal disaster risk reduction management officers to monitor their situations especially those located in low-lying areas and their watersheds,” Monge said.
Leyeco II: Houses at the resettlement sites have now power connections
TACLOBAN CITY- Practically all houses located in the resettlement sites in this city have now power connection, beating the deadline set by Malacañang.
Engineer Fernan Paul Tan, general manager of the Leyte II Electric Cooperative (Leyeco II), announced that even houses who have no occupants have now power supply. Leyeco II provided power connections to around 11,000 houses at various resettlement sites in Tacloban.
“Leyeco II, being a resilient cooperative, and with the experience of the supertyphoon, was able to do our job. In two weeks’ time, a record breaker, we were able to finish energizing the houses with primary and secondary lines,” Tan said during the gathering of the members of the Multi-Sectoral Electrification Advisory Council (MSEAC) held last Sunday (December 18).
MSEAC is a group which serves as an advisory council to the officials of the Leyeco II with its members coming from various sectors within the coverage area of Leyeco II, Babatngon, Palo and Tacloban City.
Tan said that no less than President Rodrigo Duterte directed Leyeco II, together with concerned agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways, Leyte Metropolitan Water District and National Housing Authority, issued a directive for them to address problems besetting the resettlement sites, located in the northern parts of Tacloban, intended for families who totally lost their houses due to supertyphoon “Yolanda” within this month.
Mr. Duterte issued the order during his November 8 visit in Tacloban coinciding the third year anniversary of Yolanda.
But Tan said that Leyeco II was able to finish their work by December 11.
Tan said that they were able to do their job with the help of linemen coming from other electric cooperatives from the region.
The electric cooperatives worked at the resettlement sites under “Task Force: Duterte Speed.”
Because of its sterling work, Leyeco II was given recognition by Malacañang, through Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, Sec. Michael Lloyd Dino, along with other government agencies.
It was learned from Tan that all the permanent shelters were given an individual electric meter although the process could turn out to be disadvantageous to the power cooperative.
This is because, Tan said, not all of these houses have occupants who would pay the monthly electric consumption.
Tan also announced that Leyeco II has to recover the amount it spent to connect power supply to these houses at the resettlement sites. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
Heavy rains resulted landslides in Samar provinces
TACLOBAN CITY – Incessant rains dumped over the weekend has caused landslide and flood incidents that rendered some roads impassable in Samar provinces until early morning Monday(December 19), the regional office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported.
In a situationer report sent to media, the DPWH has monitored 11 landslides, rockslides and roadslips in three Samar provinces that blocked the highways.
Floodings in 13 sections of national roads have been reported, thus preventing traffic flow in some busy streets.
“The DPWH has been doing everything to clear the highway from landslide and rockslide debris in order to curb further disruption of traffic flow,” said DPWH Eastern Visayas Regional Director Edgar Tabacon.
Landslides, rockslides, and roadslips have been noted in road sections along Borongan to Guiuan, San Julian, Taft, Arteche to Taft in Eastern Samar; Calbayog-Allen, Calbayog-Catarman, Calbayog diversion road in Samar; Laoang-Catubig, Lapinig-Arteche, and Palapag-Mapanas-Gamay-Lapinig road in Northern Samar.
Highways submerged with floodwater were reported along road sections in Taft-Borongan in Eastern Samar; Calbayog City in Samar; Catarman-Calbayog, Lope de Vega, Catarman, Bobon, Mondragon, Laoang-Catarman, Laoang-Catubig-Las Navas, Laoang-Catubig, Lapinig-Arteche, and Palapag-Mapanas-Gamay-Lapinig in Northern Samar.
On Monday, the state weather bureau Pagasa has raised flood warning for rivers in Oras, Dolores, Ulot, Taft, Borongan, Suribao, Llorento, Balangiga and Sulat, all in in Eastern Samar, due to northeast monsoon that will bring light to moderate rains
Other affected water courses are Catarman, Bugko, Pambujan, Catubig, Palapag, and Gamay in Northern Samar; Sangputan, Palo, Salano, Daguitan, Marabong, Cadacan, Bongquirogon, Salug, Pagbanagaran, Pagsangahan and Binahaan in Leyte; Bisay, Himbangan and Pandan in Southern Leyte; and Basey, Silaga, Calbiga, and Jibatan rivers in Samar.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO)