MAASIN CITY- The Department of Health (DOH) has called on officials and teachers of public schools to have a regular cleaning of the school surroundings in an effort to ward off presence of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
Letty Tan and Dr. Verna Fernandez, DOH representatives for the city and province, respectively, made the call in front of school heads and district supervisors during the Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE) convergence meeting at the city and province in two separate occasions recently.
Dengue awareness has always been part of the opening of schools, Tan said at the city Department of Education (DepEd) schools division meeting with other government agencies, May 27.
“Every 3 o’clock in the afternoon, teachers and students do the cleaning inside and outside their classrooms,” Tan stressed.
At the DepEd provincial division office, a similar message was aired by Dr. Fernandez in the inter-agency meeting on May 31.
“Stagnant water in flower vases and used tires, and other water-collecting containers must be emptied so mosquitoes can have no breeding spaces,” Fernandez said, adding that dengue has always been associated with the onset of the rainy season.
This week with the opening of classes, the city and province experienced heavy rains yesterday afternoon, Thursday June 6, while in previous nights it was also raining.
Aside from spreading awareness on dengue, Tan also discussed some health highlights for the month of June, such as taking care of one’s kidney by drinking eight glasses of water everyday to prevent kidney stones, the deployment of nurses, and blood donors’ day.
Fernandez, for her part, talked also about DOH’s continuing efforts at measles vaccination where she reported that the oldest affected so far was 80 years old, the high rate of teenage pregnancy in the province, and the regulation on the use of cellular phones among schoolchildren during class hours. (LDL/MMP/PIA-8, Southern Leyte)
DOH to schools: conduct massive cleanup in surroundings
Leyte remains peaceful, says Col. Bade
Citing decrease of crime incidence
TACLOBAN CITY- The province of Leyte remains to be one of the peaceful areas in region, if not, in the entire country.
This was disclosed by provincial police director, Colonel Rolando Bade who made this assertion during the provincial meeting of the peace and order council held on June 7.
Bade used the reduction of the crime rate across the province as his basis on his claim.
Based on their record, the crime rate of Leyte, using the January to May period, declined by 1.07 percent compared to the same period of last year.
The crime incidence of the province covering the first five months of the year was 1,198 which is lower compared to the 1,211 of last year’s same period.
Bade credited the enhanced managing police operations mechanisms and the maximization of human and logistical resources as reasons why they were able to bring down the crime incidence of Leyte.
Of the 1,198 crime volume of the province, 963 of them were classified as non-index crime or those offenses involving properties and violation of special laws and 235 index crimes or those involving persons.
“While index crime was lowered from 332 reported incident in 2018 to 235 in 2019, the non-index crime for January to May increased to 963 cases from 879 cases due to intensive operation against illegal drugs, illegal gambling, illegal fishing, illegal logging and operation against loose firearms,” Col Bade explained.
Bade also said that crime solution efficiency increased to 1.46 percent or 81.72 percent in 2019 from 80.26 percent in 2018 and the crime clearance efficiency also went up to 98.05 percent in 2019 from 97.03 percent in 2018 or an increase of 1.02 percent.
The police provincial director also said that the average monthly crime rate went down from 15.8 percent of last year’s first five months to just 15.71 percent of the same period or a decrease of 4.01 percent while the average monthly index crime rate also declined to 3 percent from 4.30 percent compared to the same period last year or a 30.23 percent difference.
In the campaign against illegal drugs, Leyte Police Provincial Office (PPO) conducted a total of 95 police operations and arrested a total of 105 persons with two illegal drug personalities killed.
About 69.65 grams of shabu and 1, 012.45 grams of marijuana or a total value of P658, 401 were confiscated during the operations.
A total of 194 cases were filed in various courts by the Leyte PPO in relation to anti-illegal drug operations.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
‘Hello Kitty’ classroom brings joy to students
TACLOBAN CITY- There is a classroom in one of the public elementary schools here in the city that is getting attention.
This is because the classroom of Eilyn Cinco,a Grade II teacher at the San Fernando Central School (SFCS), is adorned with things to include some instructional materials, with Hello kitty, one of the world’s most famous cartoon characters.
Cinco, 49, said that aside from being a fan of the Japanese-creation fictional character, her move to have her classroom adorned with Hello Kitty is for her students healed from their traumatic experience during the onslaught of super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ that hit the city in 2013.
“These decorations make them happy and somehow, a sort of therapeutic to them after the trauma that they have experienced due to Yolanda because of the lively colors,” the mother of two said.
Her 32 students, who are 7 and 8 years old, live along the San Fernando district, located along the shores, and among the city’s hard-hit areas due to Yolanda.
Cinco, whose been teaching for 30 years now, said that aside from spending her own money, the stuffs inside her classroom with the Hello Kitty character plastered on them, were bought by her through donations from her friends.
Inside her tiled-floor classroom, the Hello Kitty character could be seen at the water dispenser, throw pillows, instructional boards, fans, and even the calculator they uses.
The arm chairs are painted in lively colors, adding attraction to her classroom.
“Some say that I am gender-biased because Hello Kitty is only for girls. But my boy-students also appreciate Hello Kitty and they say, they love it,” she said.
She also said that the Hello Kitty decors inside their classroom does not compete the attention of her students.
Aiselle Fabella said that she is thankful to her teacher, for decorating their classroom with Hello Kitty.
“I am happy that we are surrounded with Hello Kitty stuffs. I am also a fan of Hello Kitty,” the seven-year old student, whose bag is also decorated with Hello Kitty, said.
School principal Felieta Waniwan said that she is really glad that Cinco made such an improvement of her classroom.
“Among teachers, classrooms serves as their second homes. They spent not only effort but money in improving their classrooms,” she said.
Waniwan said that a beautiful and colorful classroom add excitement among students to study more and attend their classes.
“They love to be inside a classroom that is colorful and lively,” she said.
The school principal said that she is encouraging her 58 other teachers to improve their classrooms.
The school has 60 classrooms with 1,333 enrolled students.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
PNP: peaceful celebrations for Tacloban, Ormoc fiestas
As thousands expected to attend the two occasions
BY JOEY A. GABIETA
TACLOBAN CITY- Police authorities are assuring that the forthcoming fiesta of Tacloban and Ormoc cities will be safe and orderly.
And the regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is giving its support to ensure that no untoward incident would happen during the big events of the two premier cities of the region, said General Ariel Arcenas, police regional deputy director for administration.
Both Colonel Lope Macauba,Jr., deputy director for administration of the Tacloban City Police Office, and Col. Joel Camacho, deputy director for operations of the Ormoc City Police Office, said that they have laid down security preparations geared in ensuring that the celebration in their respective areas would be peaceful and orderly.
Tacloban celebrates its annual fiesta every June 30 in honor of its patron, Senior Santo Niño, while Ormoc marks its own fiesta celebration every June 29 in honor of its patron saints, Saints Peter and Paul.
Hundreds of thousands of people attend in both city fiesta.
Both city governments, in coordination with their respective parishes, have lined up activities to make their fiesta celebrations colorful and lively.
For the Tacloban fiesta, among its highlights is the holding of the Sangyaw Parade of Lights and its Piña Festival for Ormoc fiesta.
Here in the city, Macauba said, ‘enough’ security personnel are being deployed in areas where most of the people converged, particularly at the Balyu-an area where nightly activities are being staged.
Meantime, police personnel are also being deployed by the Leyte Police Provincial Office at the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez (RTR) Park, also in this city, where similar nightly also being held.
Macauba said that the security preparation that they have laid down started on May 30 where the grand Santacruzan was held here in Tacloban City.
“We have made the security preparation since May 30 and we have deployed more than enough security personnel at Balyu-an Amphitheater,” he said.
Aside from police, they have also coordinated with other security personnel like the Army and traffic personnel of the Tacloban city government.
Macauba said that members of the Tacloban city police ordnance division and K-9 were also deployed at Balyu-an Amphitheater.
“We have also deployed inside the Balyu-an Amphitheater in plain clothes,” he said.
For his part, Col. Camacho said that they have also made up their own security preparation in Ormoc City as they also to have their annual fiesta.
He said that in areas where major events relative to the fiesta celebration like the city plaza, security personnel are being deployed.
“(And) so far, we have not monitored any untoward incident,” Camacho said.
Drug operation result to the death of alleged drug suspect in Maasin City
TACLOBAN CITY- An alleged drug personality was killed after he fired back against the policemen during a buy-bust operation in Maasin City Wednesday (June 5).
Police operatives said the suspect Antonio Espera, legal age and jobless, sensed that he was transacting with a police officer which prompted him to draw his firearm and fired first towards the operating team during the joint operation around 11:25 am at Barangay Pasay of the said city.
The suspect sustained gunshot wounds on his body when elements from Maasin City Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) returned fire.
Espera was brought to Southern Leyte Yniguez Memorial Provincial Hospital for medical attention but pronounced dead by Dr. Wilfredo Tan Jr., the attending physician.
Recovered from his possession were four pieces medium size heat sealed transparent plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance suspected to be “shabu”, one unit revolver loaded with five fired cartridge case, one live ammunition, two pieces empty shell, one unit Kawasaki Rouser MC black and cash money amounting to P 4,783 in different denominations.
Espera, who was listed as high-value target 2, was a resident of Sitio Tubli, Barangay Tigbawan of the said city.
(RONALD O. REYES)