TACLOBAN CITY– The city government of Maasin City is among the three local government units vying this year’s Nutrition Honor Award (NHA), highest nutrition award conferred by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) annually.
This was announced last week by newly- designated Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator for Eastern Visayas Dr. Catalino Dotollo who said that a multi-sectoral member-team will make pre-evaluation in Maasin City during the Holy Week.
Assistant Secretary of Health and NNC’s Executive Director Maria-Bernadette Flores will lead the inter-agency National Evaluation Team (NET) in conducting the validation visits to these LGUs from April to May 2014.
“The NNC-8 gives its full support to the city of Maasin as they vie for nutrition’s highest award. They have passed many resolutions last year in support for the nutrition programs and to engage the people of Maasin to actively participate the local government unit’s nutrition programs,” Dotollo said.
According to Maasin City Mayor Maloney Samaco, they are hopeful they can bag the highest award this year, having worked hard for the good nutrition and the best interest of the pre-school and school-aged children of the city.
Last year, Maasin bagged the Crown Award for the second time with P500, 000 as cash incentive. The cash prize was used to further curb malnutrition and improve the nutrition needs of the children of the city.
“This is a challenge to us because Maasin City has 85,200 population based in the 2010 Census. To have a healthy populace, this is a big nutritional challenge,” Samaco said.
The other LGUs vying for the award are the Ifugao Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region and the municipality of Lal-lo, Cagayan in Region II according to the NNC website.
Annually the NNC honors LGUs that have shown efficient and effective management of their nutrition program consistently for the past five years.
The nutrition programs of the LGUs are expected in the low prevalence of underweight among its pre-school and school-age children.
The awardees of NHA will get a cash prize incentive of P1 million. In 2011, the municipality of Limasawa, Southern Leyte won the Nutrition Honor Award. It was the first for the province and the Eastern Visayas region. (VICKY C.ARNAIZ)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Dona Remedios Trinidad Romualdez (RTR) Medical Foundation has donated two farm tractors to the municipal government of Albuera, Leyte.
The donation of the equipment was held last April 14 and was accepted personally by Mayor Ramon de la Cerna who said that the equipment would be of big use to the farmers of the town which also suffered extensive damage of its agriculture sector due to Yolanda.
Ana Margarita Honteveros of the RTR Medical Foundation represented Benjamin Philip Romualdez during the simple turn over rites of the equipment held outside the municipal hall graced by town and barangay officials and several farmers, the intended beneficiaries of the equipment.
The Albuera mayor said that the donation of the two farm tractors was “very timely” considering that the farmers are now in the midst of land preparation.
Aside from palay, planting of sugarcane is also among the principal livelihood of the people of Albuera. However, this sector was also affected by Yolanda.
The tractors would help the farmers in the cultivation of their farmlands and plant vegetables, for example, as their alternative source of income.
de la Cerna said that all farmers of the town, particularly those who suffered losses due to Yolanda, can use the tractors for free.
The municipal government, he said, would shoulder the gasoline expenses and even lend a driver.
It was learned that Mayor de la Cerna made a personal request before the RTR Medical Foundation for the tractors which are guaranteed to help the farmers of the town. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

PALO, Leyte- Aside from conducting repair of damaged public structures due to supertyphoon Yolanda, the Korean soldiers will also now conduct teaching of their language and training on how to operate heavy equipment.
This was revealed by Colonel Chun Won Lee, head of the Korean Araw Force Contingent, whose group is based in this town.
The Korean contingent is among the foreign groups that assisted the country in the aftermath of Yolanda and is to stay until the end of this year.
Since their arrival in Leyte, the group has rehabilitated the Leyte Provincial Hospital and various schools in the province.
Lee said that the training on heavy equipment operation will be in partnership with the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) that will provide the theoretical knowledge while practicum or the actual training will be handled by them.
The skills training will last for six weeks, three weeks for theory and three weeks for the practicum.
Initially, 48 students will attend the heavy equipment training with each of them to receive P100 daily as a stipend, Lee said.
There will be 12 batches for the heavy equipment training with trainees coming from the towns of Tolosa, Tanauan and Palo and from the city of Tacloban.
Upon completion, they will be given a certificate by TESDA which they used in looking for job not only in the country but also abroad.
Col. Lee also explained that the reason why they offered such training is that some local government units have heavy equipment but they lack trained personnel to handle them.
As for the training of Korean language, which is being held at the Pawing Elementary School in Palo, Lee explained that those with knowledge or knows how to speak their language have advantage to find jobs in their country.
“Korean government favors more those who speak and understand our language,” said Col Lee.
Lee said that they want to help typhoon survivors to have the knowledge and skills that could help them land jobs for them to earn money. (ROEL T.AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-8) entered a memorandum of agreement with the local government unit of Paranas in Samar for the management and conservation of the Ulot Watershed Model Forest (UWMF).
DENR Regional Executive Director Leonardo Sibbaluca said that he and Paranas Mayor Felix Babalcon signed the agreement that would help on the protection and conservation of the UWMF biodiversity and forest resources as well as development and management of ecotourism and other sustainable development activities in the area.
Aside from Paranas, the UWMF covers the municipalities of Taft and Can-avid in Eastern Samar; San Jose de Buan, and Hinabangan, all in Samar covering a total area of 86,514 hectares.
It is one of the eight watersheds covered by the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP) and is considered to be the remaining forest frontier of Region 8.
“Protecting and conserving the remaining resources of the Samar Island Natural Park and the Ulot Watershed Model Forest is a big challenge for us. We at the DENR cannot do it alone; that is why we are seeking the help of the different stakeholders to help us protect and conserve this biologically and globally significant natural heritage”, Sibbaluca stressed.
He said that several projects are being implemented for the UWMF which include, among others, the ongoing ecotourism development projects; the International Model Forest Network Funded Project dubbed as “Forest Landscape Restoration”; reforestation and establishment of tree plantations using the funds generated from the trees cut by the Millennium Challenge Corporation road development project; the forest development project funded by the German International Cooperation which is already approved in principle and community based forest management project activities regularly funded by the DENR.
Mayor Babalcon in an interview said that he is committed to work with the DENR for an extensive campaign on forest protection and law enforcement to deter illegal loggers and charcoal makers from their destructive activities.
“We are looking at the implementation of livelihood projects as part of the solution to forest destruction. We will also tie up with schools offering forestry courses for our scholarship program as we encourage our constituents to let their children take forestry course so that in the future they will help in the management of their own forest”, Babalcon said. (RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)

PALO, Leyte- Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) visited Leyte to distribute checks to areas hit by supertyphoon Yolanda.
During his visit on April 11 and 12, Roxas distributed a total amount of P801.80 million to 35 areas in Leyte which sustained damages due to Yolanda.
And among the recipients was Tacloban with its mayor, Alfred Romualdez, personally receiving the financial assistance.
Roxas said that Tacloban received P230.87 million which is about 80 percent of the total amount that he distributed.
Tacloban is considered to be the “ground zero” of Yolanda’s wrath.
The DILG Secretary stressed that the financial assistance should be used by the local governments for the repair of their city or municipal hall; civic centers; public markets and key public infrastructures.
According to Roxas in Leyte, out of 40 municipalities hit by Yolanda 35 received checks while the five others will be directly assisted by foreign agencies.
A total of 19 mayors or their representatives received their checks in Palo and others received it in Baybay and Ormoc cities.
The assistance, according to Roxas, is part of the national government’s Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) to cities and municipalities in Leyte and other areas that sustained damages due to the supertyphoon that hit the Visayas on November 8, 2013.
Roxas requested the local chief executives present during the distribution of checks to buy products from their localities and employ local laborers so that the money will circulate within their areas and help in the process revive their economies.
Roxas also emphasized that the LGU has the option whether they will handle the construction work or bid them out.
He then requested the mayors to construct their structures that could withstand a supertyphoon as much as possible. (LIZBETH ANN ABELLA).