Just one vote needed to win

TACLOBAN CITY-Reelectionist Biliran Rep. Gerardo Espina, Jr. is sure of another term as he is running unopposed in next year’s elections.
Espina, who is on his first term in office, is among the candidates in Biliran province who are running without an opponent.
The congressman’s nephew, Gerard, is only to vote for himself for him to get his third and last term as mayor of Naval, the provincial capital.
Also without opponent is his running-mate, incumbent Vice Mayor Vicente Curso, Jr.
The mayor’s father, Rogelio, has to contend an opponent whom he defeated during the 2019 elections as he is seeking for his own second term as governor.
The incumbent vice governor, Brigido Caneja, Jr., however, is sure to win again as he is without a rival for the post.
Among the mayoralty race in the province, Mayor Rhodessa Revita of Caibiran town, also just need a single vote for her to get her second term.
Other interesting races in the province include the couple Manolo Rubi and Jessica Rubi, who are both running for mayor of Kawayan town.
Manolo is the incumbent president of the provincial Association of Barangay Chairmen (ABC).
The incumbent mayor, Rodolfo Espina, twin brother of Gov. Espina, is not in the running as he is on his third and last term.
In Culaba town, former mayor Lorenzo Reveldez, Jr. has his sister, Melba David, as running-mate.
The siblings are squaring off with reelectionists mayor, Humphrey Olimba, and vice mayor, Enrico Uyvico. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

Vaccination for 12-17 years old begins Friday

TACLOBAN CITY- As the vaccination among 12 to 17 years olds started on Friday (Nov.5), Mayor Alfred Romualdez issued anew an appeal for the non-vaccinated residents to get the jabs against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Mayor Romualdez admitted that he still finds the number of vaccinated in the city a little bit lower reason why he is pushing that those who have yet to receive the vaccine to visit  the different vaccination sites in the city.
The city mayor  was seen visiting the vaccination centers in the city like the Tacloban City Convention Center, the shopping malls, and recently at the city public terminal to see for himself the progress of the vaccination campaign.
“We have more than enough supplies of vaccines. I am appealing, encouraging everyone to get vaccinated…for us to achieve herd immunity and in the process, open our city, our economy,” Mayor Romualdez said.
He also warned that the vaccines supply of Tacloban may be distributed to other areas if the city will continue to register low vaccination rate.
Mayor Romualdez, however, remain hopeful that if Tacloban will attain its targeted immunity population early, the residents may enjoy a Merry Christmas.
“I know our people are already tired of these restrictions. But once we get the herd immunity, we can lift all these restrictions,” Romualdez said.
As of Wednesday, 92,901 Taclobanons have received their first dose of which 78,680 of them are considered fully vaccinated.
The number of vaccinated people is still far cry from the targeted 185,000 people for Tacloban to achieve herd immunity from the virus.
On Friday, the city has started its vaccination campaign for 12 to 17 years of age.
Dr. Gloria Fabrigas, city health officer, said that they are targeting 26,563 of this age group.
The vaccination will cover both those with comorbidities and the rest of the pediatric population (ROPT).
For the first rollout of the pediatric vaccination, 1,240 slots will be available at the Tacloban Convention Center while 167 slots at the Tacloban City Hospital and 168 at the City Health Office.
Fabrigas said that those who will avail the vaccination targeting the young population need to present their birth certificate to determine if they really belong to the 12 to 17 age bracket; consent for the parents or guardians and assent for teeners who will be inoculated; and medical certificate for those who are suffering with illnesses.
“There will be no walk-ins they have to register in our safe city (application),” she said.
The city health officer said that out of the more than 6,000 COVID-19 cases of the city since the pandemic started more than a year ago, three percent of it involved this age group.
Mayor Romualdez, meantime, suggested that if the companions of these children are not yet vaccinated, they could get the shots.
He added that if all the younger population of the city will get the vaccine, schools could now conduct face-to-face classes.
While Romualdez noted that COVID-19 cases of the city is now on a drop, he reminded his constituents to continue to observe the mandatory health protocols  like the wearing of face mask and face shield and social distancing.
Currently, Tacloban has 109 active cases of COVID-19.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Ormoc City has identified two rivers as major sources of water in the city as part of its bid to ensure a stable water supply to 82 percent of its communities in the next 25 years.
The initial result of the latest feasibility study recommends Ahag River, Pagsanga-an River and Lake Danao as possible sources.
“(However,) it cannot be Lake Danao because water might be plentiful in our lake, but considering it is on a fault line, the consultants said it is not advisable. Any ground movement from the fault line will damage the major pipelines,” Mayor Richard Gomez said in an interview on Thursday.
“It is actually easy for people to say that Lake Danao is the best source, but unfortunately, the study suggests otherwise,” he added.
The lake has been one of the sources of water for six Leyte towns and Tacloban City.
The official was referring to a study of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.
The water system project aims to provide an uninterrupted supply facility with a source, a reservoir, a piped distribution network with an adequate treatment facility, and household taps.
A reservoir will be set up and a new pipeline from bulk water will also be built to augment the interconnection of existing pipelines.
The project will also establish a clarifier and filtration gallery to improve the quality of the water.
It is seen to upgrade the water supply in 28 service areas.
Earlier, the city government said they are eyeing loans from state-run banks to finance the long-term water supply project. The estimated cost is PHP2 billion.
At present, the city’s water supply comes from various sources including underground water and rivers.
The existing water system only supplies about 70 percent of the requirement of the city’s 25,000 water concessionaires, Gomez said.
Around 61.5 percent of Ormoc’s population are connected to a piped distribution network with an adequate treatment facility.
Ormoc is a first-class independent component city in Leyte province with a population of 230,998 in 110 villages, making it the second-most-populous city in the province Leyte.
The city is the economic, cultural, commercial, and transportation hub of western Leyte.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO/PNA)

CATARMAN, Northern Samar- The province of Northern Samar places third, best in government internal process award, provincial category in the 2021 Digital Governance Awards (DGA) organized by DICT, DILG and the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines.
The results were announced in an online awarding ceremony on October 29, 2021.
DICT thru ICT Industry Development Bureau Director Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin congratulated the Provincial Government of Northern Samar for stepping up and embracing digital transformation in improving its services to its constituents. “A proud Nortehanon, I hope that the DGA initiative will continue to spark innovations not only at the provincial level but also in the municipalities of Northern Samar,” Director Delfin said.
DGA is an annual search for innovative information and communications technology (ICT) practices showing outstanding and remarkable integration of ICT to the different sectors of society, and utilizing ICT for a more efficient and effective delivery of services to the public.
The best in government internal process award category recognizes efforts of an LGU in developing or improving its internal systems and adhering to various recognized standards to be able to provide better services to its internal customers.
PGNS, through its ICT arm, the Management of Information Systems Office (MISO) submitted the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital Point of Sale (NSPH POS) System as its entry to DGA 2021, which qualified during the initial screening and certified complete based on the entry requirements.
A total of 125 entries from 80 LGUs qualified and competed for the Digital Governance Awards.
Good governance which includes PGNS ICT initiatives, is a priority agenda of Governor Edwin Ongchuan under his development framework dubbed as continued progress.
(NORTHERN SAMAR PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE)