TACLOBAN CITY – The provincial government of Northern Samar has recognized top performing local government units in the province as part of its 56th founding anniversary held through virtual program last Saturday (June 19).
The town of Allen was recognized for posting the highest collection of real property tax (RPT) among the 24 municipalities of the province. The town collected P4.311 million for RPT last year or an increase of over 126 percent compared to 2019 collection or P1.90 million.
Also recognized were the towns of San Isidro and Laoang for also collecting real property tax.
The provincial government has also recognized the top 10 local government units with highest collection efficiency rate.
These were the municipalities of Palapag, Lavezares, Capul, San Antonio, Mondragon, Mapanas, Bobon, Catarman, Victoria, and San Isidro.
Special award was also given to Catarman town, the capital of Northern Samar, for contributing a significant amount of collection of their RPT to the province.
Meanwhile, Kadasig Award, which is given to the outstanding program initiated by youth organization, awardees were the Kabataan Kabubwasun Kausawagan (KKK) youth organization of Mapanas, Northern Samar for the environment and disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation category.
For the agriculture, livelihood and entrepreneurship category, the award was given to SK Federation of San Roque town.
For sports, culture and arts category, the award was given to the isTOURyahe of the Allen District Volleyball Organization of Allen town.
For the health and well-being category, the award was given to the psychosocial support services: Kumustahan sa Gitna ng Krisis of GIOS Kabataan Organization of Laoang town.
Each winner was given P20, 000 cash prize.
Governor Edwin Ongchuan, in his message, said that while this year’s celebration is not the same with previous year due to the on-going pandemic of corona virus disease (COVID-19), the province made some victories that needs to be share and for people to know.
This include the reduction of poverty incident and the fight against COVID-19.(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY-The vaccination activities here in the city resumed Monday  (June 21) after of more than a week of temporary stoppage.
The scheduled inoculation drive on June 21 to 25 at the USAID Building in Kanhuraw Hill will be for target barangays 76, 1&4, 50-A, 59-B, 59, and 79.
On June 21 to 24, another vaccination drive will take place at Robinsons North Tacloban Mall in Abucay for the A2 Priority Group or Senior Citizens.
These senior citizens will come from target Barangays 3&3A, 18, 17, 28, 47, 5, 89, 30, and 50-B.
Around 500 elderly citizens of the city are expected to receive the jab at each site on the said dates, from 8a.m. to 11a.m., according to the city government.
Senior citizens scheduled for inoculation are reminded to bring their OSCA ID, ball pen, and QR Code; wear facemask and face shield; and show confirmation text message at the verification area to get a priority number.
“No walk-in will be allowed. Only senior clients who have received the confirmation text will be entertained. Those not belonging to the A2 category will not be entertained,” the city government said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the city government said the resumption of the vaccination drive came after a week’s pause due to the surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases which also infected several vaccinated healthcare workers or vaccinators in the city.
Dr. Gloria Fabrigas, acting city health officer, said three nurses, one doctor, two information technologists, and two medical technologists were tested positive for COVID-19.
“However, even before they were infected with the virus, they have been isolated,” said Fabrigas.
The infected health workers were discharged last June 19.
The health official also clarified the confusion over the online vaccination registration that checks the status of the applicant’s jab appointment.
The clarification was issued after some alleged complaints in recent weeks, saying that registrants have not been given their schedules after signing up for vaccination.
Under the new system, https://safecity.tacloban.gov.ph/vaccine-registration/, residents are asked to sign up online and are advised to wait for a text message detailing where and when they can get their first or second dose, according to the City Information Office (CIO).
Citing Fabrigas, the city’s information arm said that registering online does not mean that the applicant can immediately be notified of their schedule and can be vaccinated.
“Almost 15,000 have already registered online, but this does not denote that they will be automatically be inoculated. It has to follow the priority population,” Fabrigas said.
“They have to be scheduled based on the priority groups (A1-A3) and second, they have to be verified by the barangay,” she added.
According to the health officer, the vaccination activities in the city also depend on the vaccine allocation by the Department of Health (DOH).
As of June 17, the city received 3,000 doses of Sinovac shots, which are good for 1,500 vaccine recipients.
It was learned that since the start of the rollout, about 15,300 people have received the COVID-19 jab and of the said number, almost 9,000 have been fully vaccinated.
Meantime, Tacloban officials urged the public to continue complying with minimum health standards.
Individuals who will be scheduled for vaccination are also advised to get ample rest right after getting their shot, as it typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity, the city government said.
“COVID-19 is here to stay, so we can’t neglect the fact that we need to follow the minimum health standards–it is a shared responsibility,” Fabrigas said. (RONALD O. REYES)