TACLOBAN CITY – The number of areas here in the region included in the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) 2016 ranking as compiled by the National Competitiveness Commission(NCC) has increased three times than last year indicating that more local government units (LGUs) are taking part in the benchmarking of their performance against local and global standards. From 30 cities and towns included in the ranking, the number of participating LGUs rose to 97 in the 2016 ranking, NCC reported. “We are very happy with the result after we held an information caravan through the provincial development councils. We helped them understand what it means to be in the CMCI list,” said Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Regional Director Cynthia Nierras, chairperson of the Regional Competitiveness Committee. With the significant rise in the number of participants, the region received the Quantum Leap Achievement Award during the 4th Annual Regional Competitiveness Summit on July 14 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

All the region’s seven cities – Tacloban, Ormoc, Baybay, Maasin, Catbalogan, Calbayog, and Borongan – were included in the annual competitiveness survey. The NCC recognized Ormoc City as the most improved component city in the country. The city jumped to 30th rank this year from the 91st spot in the 2015 survey among the 110 component cities in the country. All the remaining six cities in Leyte and Samar provinces have shown remarkable ranking improvement except Tacloban, the regional capital. Tacloban is the least competitive among the 34 highly urbanized cities in the country. Of the 755 towns in the Philippines classified as 3rd to 6th class, Barugo, Leyte was recognized as the most improved in the CMCI 2016. Barugo, a 4th class farming town jumped to 56th spot this year from 436th spot in the 2014 ranking.

“I hope the awards earned by our city and town in the region will motivate other LGUs to take part in the CMCI data gathering. Those who participated registered the highest improvement. It means that competitiveness of our towns and cities as location of business are improving,” Nierras added. Of the 90 participating towns in the latest CMCI, 29 were in Leyte, 12 in Southern Leyte, 15 in Samar, 15 in Northern Samar, 14 in Eastern Samar, and five in Biliran. The CMCI is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities based on an overall competitive score along the three indicators and their sub-indicators – economic dynamism, government efficiency, and infrastructure.

The overall competitiveness score is determined by the completion rate or all the number of data points filled out over the number of data points required. The data are sourced from the LGUs and national government agencies. The study serves as basis for LGUs to improve their competitiveness to attract investments and contribute to socioeconomic development.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO)

TACLOBAN CITY- The members of the Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has submitted a copy of their proposal to Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino listing down priority areas considered as key for the region’s development. The proposal was personally given to Dino by Oliver Cam, an official of the LCCI during a gathering attended by President Rodrigo Duterte’s point man for the Visayas last July 29 here in the city.

LCCI, in particular, identified three priority areas which include the expansion of the Leyte Industrial Development Estate (LIDE); pushing for the establishment of an economic zone in the northern part of Tacloban city and support to tourism sector. On the expansion of LIDE, the chamber hopes to bring in more inclusive types of industry. “Right now the existing industry there is the copper smelting plant which their effect on the area is not inclusive simply because they import everything they export it all out,” Cam said.

Although the smelting plant has good impact to labor and its surrounding areas, what the chamber wants is to convince more industries to come in and establish operation in LIDE to generate more jobs not only for Leyte residents but also for those coming from Samar. LIDE is a 425 hectare special economic zone located in Isabel, Leyte, which was established in 1978 thru Letter of Instruction 962. It is the home of two major industries: Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp and the Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp. The establishment of economic zone in the northern part of Tacloban is a long term solution that will provide great impact to more than 80,000 residents in the area. The northern part of the city, consisting of 18 barangays, has been declared as the new township of this city where families that were displaced by supertyphoon “Yolanda” and those that are living along danger zones were relocated.

The government thru National Housing Authority together with private donors is constructing 16,000 housing units in the said area. “The absence of livelihood is one of the challenges why it is hard to move these people to that area. There is no job in the north but only housing. If you are moving people you should not only focus on housing but on holistic approach. That is why we are really pushing for the establishments of economic zone in that area,” Cam said. Electricity and water supply also hampers the relocation of displaced families to the northern barangay, added Cam. The LCCI is also pushing for support on tourism industry of the region that was able to recover immediately after the devastation of Yolanda in November 8, 2013 and contributed a lot to the regional economy.

“The problem right now is the funding for the proposed major tourism rehabilitation program that was proposed by the regional office of Department of Tourism that until now almost three years after the typhoon are not yet funded,” said Cam. DOT-8 reported that the region has experienced a resurgence in the tourism sector after the devastation of Yolanda. From 731,000 in 2013, tourist arrivals in 2014 reached 964,000 or a 31.9% increase. Last year, 1.099 million tourists visited the region resulting to a P 9.4 billion tourist receipts. “That is why we are really struggling with our tourism effort because our office of tourism here is not given the budget. They just become creative in trying to address the needs of our tourism industry here in the region,” he added. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY-Harmony and synergy are basic rule of thumb in achieving goals in any institution and these are what move the administration and the general parents-teachers association of Leyte National High School this school year. In a recent regular meeting of the GPTA board, attended by the school principal Jane Codilan, lack of water supply was discussed. This scarcity was a chief cause of the lack of functional lavatory facilities and comfort rooms within the campus to serve more than 7,000 students. Codilan, who is the adviser of the GPTA, informed that she tried to tap the cooperation of the alumni association in installing rain catchment facilities to address the need for water supply.

This, however, are not enough considering the number of school buildings in the campus that have comfort room, thus prompting her to seek same support from the GPTA board in putting up additional rain catchment structures. “If the GPTA can help put up at least one or two rain water catchment facility, this will be of great help in making comfort rooms functional again,” she said in the meeting. The GPTA board led by its president Nelson Balagusa is yet to consider this proposal as the board has just created and named the new composition of various essential committees jointly consisting of certain GPTA officers and teachers.

In the meantime, the board and Codilan agreed to allow homeroom PTAs to hire their own laborers who could help maintain functional comfort rooms, provided that those to be hired are personally recommended by the teachers in charge of each building in the campus. A greater challenge that the school now faces is providing enough classrooms for the Grade 12 students next school year. In this year’s statistics, the number of enrollees in Grade 11 reached to more than a thousand needing 26 classrooms, but to which only 15 are yet all that the school could afford.

“We could not deny them from enrolling because this is a public school,” stressed Codilan. She informed that besides the on-going construction of school buildings, there will be repairs to be done in some buildings in the campus. As of now there are over 40 buildings inside the campus including the administration office. The GPTA board, which has named Balagusa, GPTA vice president Harold Lacaba and treasurer Maria Lorna Garnace as members of the projects and programs committee, will take into account the current pressing needs of students LNHS in prioritizing help to be extended to the school.  (EILEEN NAZARENO-BALESTEROS)

ORMOC CITY- Five men who claimed to be under the employment of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa were arrested in a buy-bust operation on Thursday (July 28) which resulted to the confiscation of firearms and of suspected shabu valued at P1.9 million. Arrested were identified as Marcelino Adorco,40; Jose Antepuesto,36; Jeffrey Pesquera,39; Ernesto Dumalat,20 and Jessie Ocaris,34. Ocaris is a resident of Barangay Sherwood while the four other arrested men were residents of Brgy. Binulho where the 5:30 pm sting operation jointly conducted by the local police and the Regional Police Safety Battalion took place. Seized during the operation were 238 grams of suspected shabu worth P1.9 million, two caliber 45 pistols loaded with live ammunitions, cash and several drug paraphenalias, said Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido, Albuera police chief.

All the arrested men claimed to be workers of Espinosa, the police official said. They were arrested in a tennis court located near to the house of Espinosa, who just won as mayor of Albuera during the May 9 polls. Espinosa could not be contacted for his reactions. Leyte Samar Daily Express called his office but was informed by his staff that he was not available for an interview. An unconfirmed report had said that the neophyte mayor had gone on leave.

Espenido said a surveillance of the subjects few days ago triggered the buy- bust to Antepuesto that also led to the arrest of the four others. In a body search, the police yielded from Antepuesto two sachets of suspected shabu weighing 14.8 grams and marked money worth P300. Seized from Adorco was a Glock 21 caliber 45 pistol with 17 live ammunitions and large sachet believed to be shabu weighing 121 grams and P9,500. Found in Ocaris possession was a Glock 21 caliber 45 with 16 live ammunitions and several sachets of suspected shabu weighing 84 grams and cash worth P4,700. Both claimed to be security escorts of Mayor Espinosa reason why they were in possession of firearms.Found in Pesquera’s possession was a sachet of suspected shabu weighing 7 grams while a sachet of shabu weighing 3.7 grams were confiscated from Dumalat. Pesquera, Dumalat and Antepuesto were said to be working in a cockfight farm of Espinosa. All five suspects denied they were in the illegal drug trade. “Before we left the station, all of us prayed so no one will be hurt or killed. And I thank God for hearing my prayers, that none of the suspects prompted to open fire,” Espenido, who just assumed the post last month, said. Cases are being prepared against the suspects at the Baybay City Court.
(ELVIE ROMAN ROA)