TACLOBAN CITY- The provincial government has extended P2.3 million financial assistance to three towns intended for their respective rice production program, among other priorities.  The financial assistance given to the towns of Babatngon, Sta. Fe and Tanauan is part of the More Income in Countryside (MIC) for rice. The program provides financial assistance to the farmers in the province to help them become more productive. The town of Babatngon was given the highest allocation at P1.67 million intended to help its palay growers while an amount of P310,000 was extended to the rice farmers of Tanauan. About P135,000, meantime, was given to the farmers of Sta. Fe.  According to the governor, improving the agriculture sector will help the farmers better their economic condition. “Let us continue to help or cooperate with one another for us to escape from the bondage of poverty. Your support to the project is your support to your livelihood,” Petilla added. (RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)

TACLOBAN CITY- The plan to transfer the flights at the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport to Clark International Airport (CRK) was met with strong oppositions by officials and residents alike of this city.
The move will not only add up to hour of travel but would mean additional cost to the travellers, they said.
After Transportation Sec. Arthur Tugade announced on Wednesday (August 10) this plan, netizens from this city and other parts of the region registered their strong opposition by coming up the “#notoclarktransfer” in social media.
The Tacloban city council, meantime, will file a resolution addressed to the Department of Transportations (DoTr) to reconsider its proposal, Vice Mayor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin said.
Yaokasin said that if this plan will push through, disadvantages are aplenty than the anticipated advantages.
“If this happens, our city and the whole Eastern Visayas will experience a hemorrhage, both our tourism and economy will be adversely affected especially that we are just recovering from the devastation caused by supertyphoon Yolanda,” the vice mayor said.
He added that travellers coming from Tacloban using the DZR Airport will be inconvenienced aside from incurring more expenses.
Sec. Tugade said that the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which approves the air routes of carriers, had already approved the change.
Businessman Oliver Cam, on his post on twitter, said that the change could displace travellers from Tacloban.
“This will effectively kill our tourism, not to mention the fact that this will be added cost, travel time and hassle!” he said.
Glaiza Mae Seno using her twitter handle @glaglaseno asked why Tacloban was single out in particular on this proposed transfer.
“We’ve been trying to improve our tourism, this would kill it,” she said.
At present, all flights from the DZR Airport lands at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City while the CRK is located in Mabalacat City, Pampanga. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

PINTUYAN, Southern Leyte – The saddle road leading to Benit port in San Ricardo town is currently the region’s most dangerous road section but this will soon change as improvement project goes full blast this year.
The Department of Public Works and Highways Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) is halfway done with the P48 million road realignment concreting project.
“The ongoing works is part of three-year activity designed to prevent road accidents in the area,” said District Engineer Ma. Margarita Junia.
The saddle road, within the boundary of barangays Son-ok and Manglit of the town, forms part of Liloan-San Ricardo Road. It leads to Benit port, one of the major exit points to Mindanao from Visayas.
The road earned the tag as the “region’s most dangerous” after several road accidents killed and injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
Consolidated report from the local police showed that from 2010 to 2014 alone, four people have been killed and 20 other were seriously injured in saddle road accidents.
The P48 million outlay for this year covers road concreting activities, construction of slope protection works, installation of line canal and metal guardrails.
In 2014, the national government has allocated P20 million for the 560-meter alternative road opening works.
The budget rose to P50 million in 2015 for the opening, widening and lowering of grades.
About half of the 1.6-kilometer critical sections will be transformed into four-lane road by doubling its existing 6.10-meter width to 12.2 meters. Blasting of rocks is ongoing to complement widening projects.
Junia is optimistic to complete all improvement projects for saddle road within the year.
The highway is tagged as a vital link that connects Eastern Visayas to Mindanao.
The DPWH observed that more buses and rolling cargoes use the Benit port in San Ricardo town instead of nearby Liloan port considering the former’s proximity to Surigao.
The route is being serviced by Montenegro Shipping Lines Inc. using a roll-on roll-off vessel, which makes four round trips daily.
Sea travel from San Ricardo to Lipata port in Surigao del Norte takes an hour, way shorter compared to more than three hours of travel time through Liloan port.
San Ricardo is about 40 kilometers away from Liloan town, traversing a paved road.
Although Benit port is closer to Surigao, some motorists prefer to take the Liloan port despite irregular trips, considering the difficulty in maneuvering along the saddle road in Pintuyan town.
The road steep incline and blind curves besides deep cliff make the road section the most dangerous in Eastern Visayas. (PR)