TACLOBAN CITY – Local government units were given only up to June 30 of this year to finish the distribution of the emergency shelter assistance(ESA) for families whose houses were damaged or destroyed by supertyphoon “Yolanda.”  Otherwise, there is a possibility that its release could be affected due to election ban relative to the general elections next year, said Nestor Ramos, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Ramos said that P2 billion has been released by the national government to the regional DSWD intended for ESA in the 63 towns and cities hit by Yolanda. The amount represents less than half of the estimated P6 billion shelter aid requirements of the 63 towns in the region. “I am appealing to the local government units to complete all documents and if they already received ESA funds, they should release it immediately to recipients. If it won’t be released after June 30 or early July, it will be affected by election ban on October 30,” Ramos told reporters in an interview. Earlier, the national government had set the April 30 timeline to complete the ESA distribution but it failed due to delayed fund disbursement from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“There are issues that are beyond our control but if all the records are ready, we have to release it the soonest,” Ramos said. On the part of local government units (LGUs), duplication in the listing of beneficiaries has slackened the process of handing out the P10,000 grant for each family with partially damaged house and P30,000 for each family whose house were totally damaged. Of the 63 areas affected by Yolanda, only the towns of Tanauan, Tolosa, Palo, Tunga, Palompon, Mahaplag, Kananga, Jaro and Tacloban City, all in Leyte have completed the ESA distribution.

Tacloban and nearby Sta. Fe town have partial releases of shelter aid for typhoon victims. President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the DBM to immediately release the P11.18 billion ESA funds to Yolanda-hit areas in the Visayas. DSWD field offices were asked to start the preparation of documentary requirements needed for the ESA release. Among the documentary requirements are disaster terminal report, project proposal, rehabilitation plan, certificate of eligibility of the beneficiaries, omprehensive land use plan and certification from the local engineering office ensuring that the areas are safe from hazards. Qualified to receive the shelter aid are poor families living in safe zones and earning less than P15,000 monthly.

CATBALOGAN CITY- Prisoners at the Samar Provincial Jail are calling for the ouster of their jail warden accusing of string of violations against them. The 300 strong prisoners wrote a letter dated April 17 to Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan and Vice Gov. Stephen James Tan seeking for the ouster of jail warden Jail Guard 3 Victor Templonuevo.

The prisoners accuse Templonuevo of various allegations which include reducing the cost of their daily meals to P21 from P35; inhuman or degrading punishments; providing special treatment to certain prisoners and immorality involving some jail guards. “We are being treated worst than criminals and being judged as guilty of (the crimes imputed against us),” Renato Baleros, one of the prisoners who signed the petition and a member of Anti Repression and Corruption Committee of Samar Province, said.

As of press time, it was not yet known what were the actions taken by Gov. Tan on the call of the prisoners against Templonuevo. Meanwhile, Ipe Soco of Katungod Sinirangan Bisayas, said that there had been a pattern of complaints that they received concerning conditions of prisoners in the region, not just inhuman treatment but also overcrowding which is a clear violation of the constitutional rights of the inmates. `We call on authorities to uphold rule of law, to respect human rights and to ensure that every people to include the prisoners, are afforded all the human rights and fundamental freedoms to which all citizens are entitled, including the right to express their views freely,”Soco added.(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Social Welfare and Development has allocated P547 million for Leyte under its Accelerated and Sustainable Anti-Poverty Program (ASAPP).

This was disclosed by Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla who said that the implementation of the program is expected to help address the worsening poverty situation of Leyte still reeling from the impacts of supertyphoon “Yolanda” that pummeled the province on November 8, 2013. Leyte’s poverty incidence rose dramatically after Yolanda’s wrath with half of its 1.5 million people living below poverty line.  Petilla said that of the P547 million allocated for Leyte under the ASAPP, 90,078 poor families are to directly benefit the anti-poverty program of the government. The support for the livelihood activities of the families affected by the typhoon will greatly help and spur for the economic recovery of the province and help more than half of its 1.5 million population out from poverty, Petilla said.

Petilla said that alongside with this DSWD program, there are other several government agencies who are working together at present and are implementing their respective programs to combat against poverty and for employment generation. Petilla said that the identified lead economic livelihood and activities of this DSWD program, among others, are homegrown industries like the chicharon production in the town of Tunga and the peanut production in Dulag; hollow block production; port development, hot spring development and the eco-tourism in identified towns.
(RESTITUTO A.CAYUBIT)

TACLOBAN CITY- After 16 years of suffering and fear, farmers from Ormoc City claimed their rights to farm lands awarded to them by the government. The 21 farmers from Barangay Matica-a of said city belong to the Bugho Farmers Association who were awarded by their CLOAS(certificate of land ownership) by the Department of Agrarian Reform(DAR) in December,1999. However, months after they were installed as beneficiaries of the government’s agrarian reform program, farmers who were said to be aided by an armed group took control of their lands.

On April 30, the 21 farmers initiated a self-installation saying they were reclaiming their lands awarded to them 16 years ago by the DAR. Rosenda Apay, president and at the same time spokesperson of their group, said farmers who were working in a private company forcibly took their land away from them, with armed group providing them support. “In December 26, 1999, when we were installed by DAR, no protests from any group of farm workers were heard. We were able to clear the land which was previously planted with sugar cane (and) convert it into rice farms, through manual method, as we do not have any farm machineries. We were able to make it productive and were able to harvest the first fruits of our labor,” Apay said in a statement.

Apay added that by their second cropping, a group of former farm workers who also claim to be qualified beneficiaries of the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program started to harass them. Apay recalled that the “the gravest act they did to us was when they drove us out when we were harvesting our crops by using armed men, and even some military men, who are friends and allies of one of their members.”
According to Apay, they reported their plight to the DAR but to no avail.

“It is in this context that we are now exercising our rights through self-installation, based on the certificates of land ownership award under CLOA # 00276805, TCT# 780 and CLOA#00276806, TCT# 781 as the lawful and rightful owners of said lots,” Apay said. The Rights Network, a nongovernment organization, is assisting the farmers.
Leyte Samar Daily Express sought comments from DAR officials in Leyte, yet they denied the request for interview in the meantime that they are still yet to consolidate the official information on the ground from the assigned agrarian reform program officer in Ormoc.
(RONALD O.REYES)

KANANGA, Leyte-After their training was abruptly interrupted by supertyphoon “Yolanda”, the 130 trainees of the Kananga-EDC Institute of Technology (KEITECH)have graduated and fulfilled their dreams of a better life for their families. The trainees belong to the fifth batch of graduates completing the regular courses offered by the institution. Of the 130 graduates, 44 obtained national certifications in electrical installation and maintenance, 41 in metals and engineering, 25 in pipe fitting, and 20 in tourism.

Armed with the skills and values that they learned in KEITECH after 10.3 months of training and national certifications from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), KEITECH’s latest graduates can now look forward to employment opportunities with the institution’s 24 partner companies in Leyte, Cebu, and Manila. They can also seek employment abroad where their skills are in demand and valued. KEITECH’s aggressive placement program has increased the graduates’ employability. Of the 530 graduates from Year 1 to Year 5, 492 or 93% are already employed by our industry partners. For this batch of graduates, 49 who are still undergoing on-the-job training (OJT) at Keppel in Subic and Batangas have already signed up with Keppel management last April 7, 2015.

KEITECH has signed agreements with several companies which guarantee OJT for the trainees and possible employment after training. Most of these companies which include construction, shipping firms and hotels have renewed their contracts with KEITECH because of the superior performance of the graduates they employed.
Aside from the regular courses, KEITECH has offered a short-term (3 months) extension program on electrical installation and maintenance, plumbing and carpentry. This is part of the Lopez Group’s commitment to the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR) to help in Leyte rebuilding projects. Under the program, KEITECH will provide training to 1,080 qualified members of households affected by Typhoon Yolanda and assist them in securing jobs in various reconstruction projects in the province.

KEITECH’s good track record and contribution to technological-vocational education in the region was formally recognized by TESDA. For two years in a row (2013 and 2014), KEITECH received TESDA’s Kabalikat award for being the best among TESDA’s institutional partners in Region 8.
Established in 2009, KEITECH is a joint project of geothermal leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the local government of Kananga and TESDA and aims to be a world-class technical-vocational training center.(PR)