TACLOBAN CITY – The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) will come up with policies to ensure that victims of calamities will be involved in the planning of post-disaster housing projects.
HUDCC Assistant Secretary Leira Buan said the mistakes in the implementation of permanent housing projects for Super Typhoon Yolanda survivors are a result of the previous administration’s failure to consult with beneficiaries.
“Before, they build thousands of small houses in inaccessible areas. That’s why it’s really challenging to provide water and electricity in some of these housing sites,” said Buan during the Open Government and Participatory Governance Regional Dialogues at Hotel Alejandro here Thursday.
The HUDCC official made the statement after some groups raised concerns on substandard housing projects and unoccupied units.
These problems prompted the HUDCC to come up with a uniformed policy to always include beneficiaries in the post-disaster rehabilitation planning process.
“Whatever we will do, we will always listen to the point of view of people affected by calamities and not just focus on quantity, but quality as well,” Buan said.
In 2014, the government approved releasing PHP19 billion for permanent housing of “Yolanda” victims in the central Philippines.
Buan admitted that many of the houses built are still unoccupied.
“In our investigations, we found out that substandard project is a result of lack of consultation,” Buan said. “This is very hard but we are trying our best to catch up. The problem is where to get budget since the fund was already allocated in the past.”
In Eastern Visayas region alone, only 12,000 out of 56,000 target permanent houses for typhoon survivors have been completed last year. Most of these housing units are in this city, considered as Yolanda’s ground zero.
The policy of consultation has been applied in building relocation projects in war-torn Marawi City.
HUDCC is the government agency which serves as the oversight, the over-all coordinator, initiator and facilitator of all government policies, plans and programs for the housing sector.
Department of Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno, the keynote speaker of the two-day gathering, said the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte truly recognizes the value of citizen engagement in governance.
“Through various citizen engagement programs, we are making sure that governance is not limited to government alone. We are opening up government by providing citizens with a seat at the policy table, and giving them a legitimate voice and vote in what the government does and plans to do in the years to come,” Diokno told participants of the town hall session.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Kristian Ablan said the dialogue is an effective way for local and national leaders to meet constituents. “This is to genuinely engage people and directly interface with high government officials.”
This is the last round of Open Government Partnership dialogues.
Earlier senior government official held sessions in Bacolod, General Santos, Zamboanga, Manila, and Baguio City.
(SARWEL Q. MENIANO/PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY-The 546th Engineer Construction Battalion (ECB) help in the clearing operation on landslide affected areas in Biliran Province that started on Jan. 6, 2018.
The 546ECB, upon the request of Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (PDRRMO) of Biliran Province, deployed 1 unit backhoe, 2 units backhoe-loader and 1 unit dump truck together with ten (10) personnel from this unit to fasttrack the clearing operation on the landslide affected areas in the province.
The Typhoon ‘Urduja’ hit the Visayas region last Dec. 16, 2017 and a search, rescue and retrieval operation was conducted by 546 ECB and 78 Infantry Battalion in coordination with PDRRMO Biliran. The heavy rainfall caused the landslide in some areas of the Biliran. After the SRR operation, clearing operation follows to restore the passage of transportation in the province.
According to Lt. Col. Ronilo H. Cudal (GSC) PA, commanding officer of the 546 ECB, the Army Engineers in the Eastern Visayas will always be ready to conduct Humanitarian and Disaster Response (HADR) operation in Region-8 Area and provide its equipment assistance, technical assistance and manpower assistance in any SRR response and Rehabilitation/Reconstruction operation to help restore the normalcy of the disaster-affected areas. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY-The University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College (UPVTC) triumphed over St. Paul School of Professional Studies (SPSPS) in the 2ndmatch of the Preliminary Rounds (Tacloban City/Leyte leg) of the 2018 Intercollegiate Federalism Debate hosted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) at the 2nd floor, Student Center, Leyte Normal University on March 21, 2018.
Leonardo Dimatangal of UPVTC also stood out among other debaters by bagging both the Best Debater and Best Speaker medals.
The teams argued on the following proposition, “Resolve that the country shall adopt a unicameral legislature in a federal system of government”, with SPSPS taking the affirmative stand and UPVTC tasked with the negative viewpoint:
The UPVTC team was composed of Brandon Ian Dela Cruz, Leonardo Dimatangal, Jeffrae Isaac Albert Damayo, and Gio Martin Ocfemia, with Prof. Dakila Yee as the coach; while the SPSPS team was composed of Jejomar Bru, Glydel Jain A. Tacad, Joshua V. Baldo, and Gil Kristopher C. Rosillo, mentored by Atty. Jose Aguinalde.
Prof. Arvin de Veyra moderated the debate, which aired live over DyVL Aksyon Radyo Tacloban and on the DILG Region 8 Facebook page.
The panel of judges were from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Leyte Chapter: Atty. Karah Jane A. Tamboong, Atty. Vincent Q. Piga, and Atty. Romeo Dax Calamaya.
UPVTC will be joining the quarterfinals with the rest of the winning colleges all over the region. The quarterfinal rounds of the debate are scheduled on April 2 for the match between Leyte Normal University (LNU) and Maasin City College (MCC); April 4 for Visayas State University (VSU) vs. Naval State University (NSU); April 11 for the match between University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) and Eastern Samar State University (ESSU); and April 16 for the debate between UPVTC and Samar College. The semi-finals and grand finals are to be scheduled within the same month.
The 2018 Intercollegiate Federalism Debate is one of DILG Region 8’s responses to the President’s task to the department to lead the information campaign on Federalism. Recognizing that the youth predominantly compose the voting population, the DILG-8 decided to gear many IEC activities towards this age group.
A debate on the merits and details of Federalism hopes to bring about improved awareness, knowledge, discussion, and appreciation of Federalism and other forms of government, and at the same time promote a culture of discussion on Federalism and relevant issues among various audiences tuning in. (PR

TACLOBAN CITY – The Public Employment Service Office (PESO) has announced that it will start the deployment on April 3, 2018 of the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) workers to the different departments of the city government.
Some 237 slots are available under the SPES of the city government of Tacloban under Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez for this summer break.
PESO started accepting applications for the program last January to facilitate the processing time required by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Aside from being assigned regular office work, SPES workers will also undergo several activities like livelihood orientation and other socio-civic activities as part of the holistic approach of the City Government to the program.
The SPES workers will work for 20 days and will be paid a minimum wage. Sixty percent of the total wage of students is shouldered by the city government while the other 40% is paid by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The program is mandated under RA 7393 and intends to develop the potentials of poor but deserving students to finish their education by being employed during school breaks.
(HENRY JAMES ROCA)

CALBAYOG CITY- A three-day Refresher Course on Equipment Preventive Maintenance and Operation of Construction and Maintenance Equipment and Porto Clinic Examinations was conducted for the second batch of DPWH drivers and heavy equipment operators on March 13 – 15, 2018 at Samar First District Engineering Office Multi-purpose Hall, Calbayog City.
Batch two participants included Samar I DEO, Samar II DEO, Northern Samar I DEO, Northern Samar II DEO, and Eastern Samar DEO.
The course is designed to upgrade their knowledge in maintenance of various vehicles and equipment as well as its utilization and preparation of equipment log book, log sheet and other forms.
Driver’s or operator’s clarity or sharpness of vision (visual acuity), field of side vision, synchronized alertness of eyes, hands and feet, and depth perception are also measured whether or not it all compensates the minimum standard requirements.
Pre-and-post training survey, post course evaluation and examination were administered to the participants at the beginning and at the end of training to gauge its effectiveness.
After the training, Samar I DEO drivers and operators along with other participants are expected to have a better understanding of their roles as well as have better adeptness in executing their duties and responsibilities. (BON JOSEPH N. ASTILLA/PIO STAFF)

GOVERNMENT CENTER, PALO, Leyte- The Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office No.8 recently received the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 Certification for Quality Management System (QMS), a demonstration of its commitment to provide excellent service to its stakeholders.
ISO 9001:2015 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is based in a number of quality management principles including strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement. ISO 9001:2015 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good quality products and services.
The following frontline services of MGB-8 are covered by the ISO 9001:2015 Certification: 1) provision of Mine Management Administration;2) safety, environment and social development services; and 3) geosciences services.
RD Raul Laput is grateful to all MGB-8 employees who worked hard to achieve the milestone.
“It is a concrete manifestation of our commitment to provide excellent service to our stakeholders,” stressed RD Laput.
The Certification Audit was completed on December 18,2017.NQA, one of the biggest and most respected certification bodies in the world, has issued the Letter of Certification to MGB-8 ON January 24,2018.
(CELESTES FAITH S. DE LA CRUZ)