NAVAL, Biliran-The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Biliran District Engineering Office (BDEO) has completed 36 out of 57 lined-up projects for this year with a total allotment budget of P940.730 million.
Engr. Salvador G. Regis, Jr., chief of Construction Section, said that they are fast-tracking the completion of 18 ongoing projects to attain the target date of completion of each project.
Biliran DEO’s FY 2017 Infra Program consists of twenty projects under the National Road Network Services; five under the Flood Management Services, one project under the Maintenance and Construction Services of other Infrastructure; and 31 projects under the Local Infrastructure Program with a total of 57 projects based on General Appropriations Act.
As of July 31, 2017, the Biliran District Engineering Office posts 35.30% with only three projects not-yet-started (NYS).
According to Engr. Regis, these NYS projects have just bid out and undergoing post qualification while one is for revision and approval under the District Engineer’s authority.
BDEO’s major projects for 2017 include the P128.667 million concrete/ reconstruction of Maripipi Circumferential Road, P61 million slope protection project along Naval- Caibiran Cross Country Road, and P54.939 million rehabilitation including drainage and right-of-way(ROW) acquisition of access road leading to Naval Port, Naval, Biliran.
Another major project prioritized for FY 2017 is the road widening including drainage of Biliran Circumferential Road of road sections in Brgy. Tucdao, Kawayan, Brgy. Virginia, Culaba, Brgy. Bool, Culaba, Sto.Riverside to Sto. Sagrada, Naval, Brgy. Burabod, Biliran, and Brgy. Balaquid Cabucgayan, Biliran costing P172.192 million with a total length of 5.940km and another P125.588 million road widening project of road sections in Brgy. Lumbia, Biliran, Brgy. Burabod, Kawayan, Brgy. Mapuyo, Kawayan, Brgy.Tucdao, Kawayan, and Brgy. Kaulangohan, Caibiran, Biliran with a total length of 4.281km.
Engr. Regis said that the P172.192 million and P125.588 million widening project along BCR have just started in the month of July and now being closely monitored along with other on-going projects.
The big amount projects were started late due to late approval of the “request to bid and implement” at the Central Office, Manila. (PR)

CARIGARA, Leyte- One of the country’s leading grocery chains is set to open its branch here.
And this early, town Mayor Eduardo Ong allayed the fears of local businessmen that the operation of Puregold will not kill their businesses.
The Puregold branch in this town is expected to open its business on October with the construction of its space has already started.
It is located at the ground floor of a six-story commercial building located at the town’s commercial district.
Ong allayed the fears among local businessmen that the opening of Puregold here may affect their operations.
The mayor said that this could instead result to a healthy competition among business operators and create a more competitive business atmosphere that will enable small and medium businesses to grow.
Also, the opening of Puregold will generate additional employment opportunities and stir the local economy as a whole, Ong said.
Ong said he is happy that investors are considering Carigara town as ripe for such a nationwide grocery-store and favorably considers the economic footprint of the place.
Meanwhile, the mayor disclosed that more locators are interested to open new branches and businesses in his town.

He, however, admitted that lack and viable space may prove to be a challenge for these prospective locators.
“We continue to help them search for a good location if only to boost their interest and eventually help them locate in the town,” Ong said.
Puregold now has two branches in Tacloban City and another in Borongan City. (AHLETTE C. REYES)

Out of the 47 brgys endorsed by TCPO

TACLOBAN CITY- About 47 barangays of this city have been endorsed by the Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and be declared as drug-free.
But out of this number, only two villages have been approved by the PDEA, Inspector Jessica Ortega, city police information officer, said.
Meantime, the good performance by the TCPO under the leadership of city police director Supt. Rolando Bade was commended by Bernardita “Bering” Valenzuela, information officer of the Tacloban city government.
Valenzuela said that the awards received by TCPO during the 116th anniversary celebration of the Philippine National Police were indication that the city police force are performing well.
The TCPO was adjudged as the best city police station and best police strategy management station in the region during the August 22 event attended by Police Director General Ronald ‘Bato’ de la Rosa.
“Of course, we are proud of the awards received by the Tacloban City Police Office headed by Supt. Bade,” Valenzuela said.
The city official added that because of the relentless campaign of the TCPO under Supt. Bade to rid criminalities particularly on the proliferation of illegal drugs, Tacloban could easily rank as one of the most peaceful areas in the country.
Inspector Ortega said that the two villages that were declared as drug-free by PDEA are Barangay 77 in Marasbaras area and Brgy.44 in Quarry district.
Of the 138 barangays of Tacloban, 11 of them were considered as ‘non-affected’ or where drug proliferations are considered negligible.
Ortega said that initially they target 80 percent of all the villages of Tacloban to be declared as drug free.
Earlier City Mayor Cristina Romualdez said that she would like to see Tacloban as drug-free by next year.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY-The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has also declared the coastal waters of Daram Island in Samar positive of red tide toxin.
According to the shellfish advisory released by the bureau, on August 25, shellfish samples collected from the area were found positive of red tide toxin.
The toxin found in the shell fish meat samples reached 185 μgSTXeq/100g, exceeding the regulatory limit of 60 ugSTXeq/100g of shellfish meat.
This is now the fourth area in Samar and the sixth in the region to be found positive for the toxin in just one month.
Meanwhile, shellfish products from Irong-Irong, Maqueda, and Villareal Bays in Samar, Carigara Bay in Leyte, and Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar remains positive of red tide toxins.
The areas were declared positive about a week prior to the latest shellfish bulletin.
BFAR continues to inform the public that consuming shellfish products harvested from these areas are still prohibited. (MARWAH JAILANI, LNU Student)

TACLOBAN CITY – Two major bridge projects are now underway along the Palo-Carigara-Ormoc Road in line with the national government’s vision of a “golden age of infrastructure”.
These are the ongoing widening of the Pinamitinan Bridge in Capoocan town and Jugaban Bridge in Carigara town, which according to Second Leyte District Engineer Carlos Veloso will significantly boost growth and raise economic productivity and competitiveness along these areas.
The Pinamitinan Bridge is costing the national coffers P 21.46 million in fund to cover its widening to 3.05 meters in width and 23.4 meters in length.
The bridge will likewise have four lanes with grouted riprap and asphalt an overlay with thermal plastic. The bridge’s widening started on July 3, 2017 and is expected to finish in December 2017.
Meanwhile, its counterpart in Carigara town, the Jugaban Bridge is under a P 4.606 million funding to span the length of 12.66 meters. The Jugaban Bridge also has a December target month of completion.
Both of this bridge widening projects are to complement the road widening also being undertaken by the DPWH all over the area while both bridges have been a two-lane bridge for many years now and are in need of a good repair.
The Palo-Carigara-Ormoc Road is one of Leyte’s major and busiest highway linking two major cities in the Eastern Visayas region, Tacloban and Ormoc. (AHLETTE C. REYES)

GOVERNMENT CENTER, PALO, Leyte-The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Regional Office 8 participated in the 2017 PH-EITI Roadshow covering Cluster 5 composed of Regions 6, 7 and 8 in Cebu City on August 16-17, 2017.
With the theme, “Extracting Value in Transparency: A Forum on Promoting Local Development through Sustained Disclosure and Dialogue”, this year’s roadshow highlighted the 3rd Report while focusing on how the EITI process, through continued disclosure and dialogue among stakeholders can help strengthen natural resource governance at the subnational level and ensure that extractive activities benefit local communities in a sustainable way.
The roadshow consisted on a multi-stakeholder forum on the first day, and on the second day, a workshop on the following topics: Using the PH-EITI Report as a tool for local development and EITI implementation at the subnational level.
The workshop basically highlighted priority issues and recommendations and action plan in the respective topics assigned.
“Before CSOs don’t trust the industry, the industry doesn’t trust the CSOs, and everybody thinks that the government is not doing anything, but with the advent of PH-EITI, all that has changed. Now, we are all in this together!” Atty. Ron Recidoro, MSG-Industry, during the panel discussion, said.
Representatives from government agencies, local government units, extractive companies/businesses, and civil society organizations and the media, attended the forum and participated in a lively discussion that surfaced issues and suggestions in attaining transparency in the mining, oil and gas, and coal industries.
The PH-EITI roadshow nationwide aims to promote transparency and good governance in the Philippines’ extractives sector. The Cebu Leg was the fifth of six fora to be held in key cities across the country. (CELESTE FAITH B.DE LA CRUZ/PR)