TACLOBAN CITY– Letecia Latorre, 40, has no knowledge to cut, carve, design objects made of wood or other objects, much more measuring precisely the door, windows and posts, activities in making a house.
But through sheer perseverance to acquire new skills and found a decent job, she along with 49 others, graduated as one of the 50 carpenters in basic carpentry and shelter construction organized and funded by the International Labor Organization (ILO) recently.

The skills-training was in cooperation with the Operation Compassion Philippines and the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) main campus. The training allowed them to gain on the job-training while also constructing temporary shelters in New Kawayan, Tacloban City. It also gave them financial literacy and basic business management to further enhance their employability said Lawrence Jeff Johnson, country head of ILO during the awarding of certificates of training. “Sadto di ak maaram na pagiging karpintero, dapat ngay an maaram ka hin mathematics kay igsakto ang sukol han kada himuon mo nga poste, hamba ug uban pa. Yana ngani maaram na ako magsarotso ngan mag gamit hin martilyo,” Latorre said.

Latorre, a mother of eight children, is a resident of Barangay 88, San Jose district, Tacloban where nearly 1,000 residents were killed when supertyphoon Yolanda made its landfall more than a year ago.
Latorre used to sell “kakanin” before Yolanda struck bust since stopped due to lack of money. She then grabbed the opportunity to join the training. Her husband works as a foreman if he is not working as tricycle driver. The rest of the graduates are also from the said village, 28 men and 22 women. It is a gender fair selection.

The collaboration of ILO, EVSU and OCP is one way of empowering the typhoon-hit communities to build back better, said Johnson. “I am happy to see women who graduate here. I also have daughters. This is to inculcate to the men and women all over, that given a chance, the female can also do male jobs which were former inclusive for the male for a long time,” Johnson said.

EVSU president Dominador Aguirre, Jr. expressed his elation that the ILO partners with the university by providing teachers-trainors in the program. The chance to build back better after the strongest typhoon to hit Tacloban City, is a big blessing, Aguirre added. “The Eastern Visayas State University is hoping for the success of every one,” said Aguirre. Rolando Cucio of Operation Compassion addressed the graduates that with their skills, they could apply these in finding jobs. “Continue to dream for a better life. Just because you are supertyphoon Yolanda survivors, it doesn’t give you an entitlement that people should help you because you are victims. It’s been a year, it is time to move on and do our part,” Cucio said. (VICKY C. ARNAIZ)

CALBAYOG CITY- The City Planning and Development Office(CPDO) along with other concerned offices in the city government of Calbayog like that of the City Solid Waste Management Office, City Social Welfare and Development Office, City Health Office, City Agriculture Office, City Environment and Natural Resources Office and City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management office recently conducted a 5-day training-workshop on Land Use-Based Barangay Development Plan Formulation thru Sustainable, Integrated Management and Planning for LGU Ecosystems (SIMPLE). Participants to this training were officials and representatives from various sectors from the three barangays of Capoocan, Carmen and Obrero.

In his message, Mayor Ronaldo Aquino said that a big task awaits them as the city’s progress starts from a successfully formulated barangay development plan. The city mayor said that unity could result to progress as he further called for their support to the economic plan of the city government. Meanwhile, Engr. Harold Sodusta of the CPDO said that they target to cover all of the 157 barangays composing the city for the said training-workshop.

He added that after every training-workshop they conduct for a cluster of barangays, these barangays are given one month to formulate their 6-year barangay development plan, present their output in a barangay assembly for constituents’ assessment, submit it to the barangay council for legislation and enactment, then forward the document to Sangguniang Panlungsod for the latter’s approval. Once approved, the document will now become the basis in the implementation of plans and programs in the barangay for six years regardless of change in administration, Sodusta said. (AIMEE A. CATALAN/PR)

ORMOC CITY- A fire reportedly caused by a substandard flashlight gutted down an old house this city in the evening of December 6. Razed down due to the more than three hour fire incident was the two-storey house inhabited by siblings Carmen Aranez, Nancy Sode, Ivy Pical and Jocelyn Soliva, located along San Nicholas Street. Based on the report of SFO2 Roel Wenceslao of the Ormoc Fire Bureau and Protection, the incident started at around 7 p.m. at the second floor of the house, which was divided into four doors. The fire was said to have originated from the area occupied by Sode’s family who were not around during the incident.

Wenceslao said Soliva told her daughter to check when she smelled an odor like a burning rubber that was later discovered due to combustion inside the area of the Sode family. Soliva and her daughter tried to force open the door only to retreat back due to the huge fire that already consumed the area. The fire incident was declared under control by the responding firemen at around 10.21 p.m. or more than two hours after they received the fire call at 8:35 p.m. No one was hurt on the incident.

Wenceslao said a reinvestigation was performed the following day that revealed that a charging flashlight had caused a short circuit resulted to the fire incident. Sode, a former electrical foreman abroad conformed to BFP’s findings, SFO2 Wenceslao went on. The incident had a damage of worth P1.5 million. (ELVIE ROMAN ROA)

KANANGA,Leyte- Water sampling conducted by the regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau(EMB) for the past three years, beginning in 2011, showed that the total suspended solids and total coliform found in Ormoc Bay and its major bodies of water are increasing. This was according to Engr. Carlos Cayanong during the Ormoc Bay Water Quality Management Area (WQMA) Test result conducted on several sampling stations within Ormoc Bay showing the Total Suspended Solids (TSS) in some areas exceeded the passing level of maximum of 50mg/ L.

This means that the result of the water sampling conducted last year in seven identified areas have exceeded 50mg/L with high total suspended solids fronting YMCA with recorded 82- 83 mg/L. The portion of Ormoc Bay, specifically the body of water fronting Don Felipe Hotel failed for two sampling conducted last May and June 2012; with total suspended solids of 53 and 56mg/L respectively. Other sampling sites also failed since their total suspended solids exceeded 50mg/L. These include portion of Ormoc Bay in poblacion Merida, portion of the Bay fronting Philmag, Sal’s Beach, Anilao River and poblacion Albuera.

For the test result of the total coliform, it showed that four sampling sites failed due to the fact that the total coliform present in these specific areas have exceeded the passing level of only 5,000 MPN/ 100 ml. This means that the coliform found in these areas are high. These include portion of Ormoc Bay fronting YMCA with 5,400 MPN, Poblacion Merida with 9,200 MPN, Portion of the Bay in Anilao River with 16,000 MPN and Portion of Ormoc Bay fronting Don Felipe Hotel with 16,000 MPN.

Cayanong explained that the there are three parameters in doing the water sampling/ test, these include the physical parameters that tests the temperature, total suspended solids, and total dissolved solids, the biological parameters that checks the level of the fecal coliform, total coliform, and dissolved oxygen, and the chemical parameters that tests the following; acidity, heavy metals, and as well as the presence chemicals such as boron, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, etc. (PR)

ORMOC CITY- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Philippines provided the city government of Ormoc of a large format printer/plotter that will be used for the production of large format printing and hazard mapping. UNDP area coordinator Dario Cubelo turned over the 36-inch HP Design jet T920 A0 size large format printer/plotter to Mayor Edward Codilla on December 1 following the weekly flag-raising ceremony witnessed by the city government officials and employees. Mayor Codilla expressed his appreciation for UNDP’s generosity. The printer was designed for the production of large format printing of Geographic Information System (GIS) under the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) as a requirement for the comprehensive land use planning (CLUP).

It is also intended to provide mapping requirements among villages here and nearby municipalities’ CLUP, mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction, among others that are assisted by UNDP. UNDP charged the program under “Typhoon Recovery and Resilience in the Visayas” with funds taken from donations in Sweden. The city takes charge of the equipment maintenance and ensures secured operation. (ELVIE ROMAN ROA)