MANILA- Ambassador Philip Goldberg of the United States to the country believes that the assistance that his country donated intended for victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda were all accounted for. Goldberg, in a press conference held at the US Embassy on Sept.15, made this statement after he was asked if his government would still continue to provide assistance amid claims that there were donations that remain unspent ten months after Yolanda hit central Visayas, particularly Eastern Visayas.

“The fact is that we believe (that) every dollar is accounted for and we’re satisfied with the process from our point of view. And so, we do not believe that our assistance has been an issue,” Goldberg said.
The US is one of the biggest donors to the country for assistance and rehabilitation of areas hit by Yolanda at more than $87 million. Gloria Steele, Philippine mission director of the USAID (United Agency for International Development), in the same press conference, said that the US uses its own tracking and auditing system on how their assistance went.

She also said that the US has committed to provide $142.5 million to the country, which included both for emergency and recovery assistance. The People Surge, a group of Yolanda survivors, asked for Soliman to step down due to her alleged inefficiency. Earlier, the Commission on Audit reported that there were food packs intended for Yolanda victims worth P2.7 million were wasted and P5 billion was not liquidated in conditional cash transfer fund by PhilPost, among others. Soliman, however, ignored the call saying she will not step down insisting that she is doing her work and that all the financial received by her office were all accounted. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY- Samar Vice Governor Stephen James Tan expressed his confidence that this year’s budget of the province will be approved without much hitches. Tan, who acts as the presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, said the proposed P1.18 billion budget for 2015 will be deliberated by them during their regular session next month. The proposed P1, 185,396,978 budget for the province for next year is relatively higher compare to the current budget of P1.042 billion. It was learned that under the 2015 budget, bigger allocations were given in the sectors of agriculture, infrastructures and health, underlying the thrust of Governor Sharee Ann Tan to improve Samar’s economic standing.

Basic social services were also given a priority under the IRA (internal revenue allotment)-driven proposed 2015 provincial budget. “So far, I don’t see any problems that will deter the approval of our proposed budget for 2015.All the contents of the proposed budget are presented to the members of the board for them to see and scrutinize,” Vice Gov. Tan said.

In several instances, the passage of provincial budget of Samar has become a contentious issue among provincial board members which resulted for the reenactment of budget to the detriment of the people. Meantime, Vice Gov. Tan said that they will also make sure that the rehabilitation of the province, especially those areas that suffered the brunt of supertyphoon Yolanda, will be faster. According to him, rehabilitation work will immediately commence once the funds are downloaded by the national government. The towns of Basey and Marabut are considered to be the hardest-hit areas in the province due to the onslaught of Yolanda. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to conduct the second round on the enumeration of households in the whole region. This was disclosed by Yvonne Abonales, chief of the policy and plans division of the DSWD-8, who said that the enumeration is slated to be held before the end of the year. The National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is in accordance with the Executive Order 867 which aims to identify who and where the poor are in the Philippines.

“The households that will be listed in this database will be our target for program implementation. All beneficiaries of social protection programs of the government should come from the NHTS-PR list,” Abonales said in an interview. As of the August of this year monitoring of the DSWD, there are 269, 167 registered/ active households in the whole region.
Once the enumeration starts in October or November, the encoding should be done by December, Abonales informed. Meanwhile, with regard to the 4Ps student beneficiaries’ issue, Abonales has clarified that beneficiaries who turns 18 are only delisted from the 4Ps (Pamilyang Pantawid Pilipino Program) but not on the database.

“If a student beneficiary turns 18, he or she can still avail of other programs offered by the DSWD as long as he or she coordinate first with their respective local government units,” Abonales said. The DSWD has more than 1,000 scholars and has already produced four graduates from Leyte Normal University (LNU) and Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) in the past two years. At present, the DSWD has expanded the choice of universities for convenience and practical reasons especially to those scholars coming from other provinces.
The scholarship programs of the DSWD are in coordination with the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education.
(ROSE ANGELIE S. CASTILLANO, LNU Intern)

TACLOBAN CITY— Two business establishments and a government agency were bestowed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for their contributions to economic growth in the region. Recognized by the BSP on September 16 were Ktrust Commodities Inc. as outstanding respondent among large and medium firms; Business Frontier Corporation as outstanding respondent among small firms and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as outstanding partner on regional economic development. The abovementioned awards signify BSP’s appreciation to stakeholders that provide information and statistics, enabling the government-run financial institution gets an idea of people’s perspective on the general direction of the economy, which is significantly needed in monetary and financial policy setting. Juan de Zuniga Jr., Monetary Board Member, said that the annual giving of awards, which is now on its 11th year, is BSP’s way of expressing their appreciation to all stakeholders in helping them make their policies well anchored, their forecast more credible and their regulatory more effective. On the other hand, BSP deputy governor resource management Vicente S. Aquino said that expressed his gratitude to their partners on their “contributions in the effective delivery of the Bangko Sentral mandate to promote price and financial stability and develop a better inclusive financial system.” (JESLY MARVIE GASPAY, LNU Intern)