CALBAYOG CITY- Wanted: students who will take agriculture-related courses.
Those who will take the offer are not only sure of free education but employment.
Mayor Ronaldo Aquino of this city said that he is offering 10 slots while another 10 slots will be offered by the office of Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento for scholarships for students who will take agriculture-related courses.
In the region, agriculture-related courses are being offered by the Visayas State University in Baybay City and at the University of Eastern Philippines in Catarman, Northern Samar.
The Calbayog city mayor lamented that only very few students from the city or other parts of the province are taking agriculture-related courses which he find it ironic considering that Samar is known to be depended so much on agriculture.
“The reason why I came up with this program is that we already lack of people who are experts in agriculture, those who have technical know-how in the said field,” Aquino said.
He pointed out as an example the posts of farm technicians for the city government remains vacant up to now because of lack of takers who are qualified for the vacant posts.
Mayor Aquino said that those who will avail of the scholarship program will have no worry except to concentrate on their studies.
As a sweetener, they will be right away absorbed by the city government under its work force, the city mayor added.
“They will work with the LGU for five years after they graduate. If there is an item available related to their course they will be the priority.If there is none, they will work as a contractual employee,” Aquino said.
Rep. Sarmiento supports the proposal of Aquino.
He said that Samar as an agricultural province need to have enough experts in the said sector.
“We want these students will have really a passion on farming; that he believes that there is a good fortune in farming,” Sarmiento said.
Mayor Aquino, meantime, also asked Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan to also offer the same scholarship program.
“I also ask our good Governor Sharee Ann Tan to do the same for the province to have scholars enrolled in an agriculture course because we lack of students who are inclined in agriculture,” he said. (JENNIFER SUMAGANG-ALLEGADO)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) vowed to release within six months the P5,000 cash aid for supertyphoon “Yolanda” survivors who were left out during the distribution of emergency shelter assistance (ESA).
DSWD Secretary Jody Taguiwalo said on Jan. 25 that there is an ongoing validation of 194,000 beneficiaries in the Visayas who have filed complaints at their office before Nov. 8, 2016.
“While the validation is ongoing, we also have to decide on the mode of payment – by cash, check or cards,” Taguiwalo told reporters.
On Nov. 8, 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the distribution of P5,000 ESA to selected Yolanda survivors.
The DSWD needs about P1 billion funds from the Office of the President for the distribution of across- the- board cash assistance.
The agency has only P46 million remaining funds for Yolanda survivors, just enough for administrative cost.
“The beneficiaries are people who have worked in the past three years to claim what is rightfully theirs. This is in recognition of people who have been asking for justice,” Taguiwalo said.
Between 2013 to 2015, the government had distributed P30,000 ESA for families with totally damaged houses and P10,000 for those with partially damaged houses.
The President also announced the provision of additional P3,000 for livelihood support of selected survivors.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO)

TACLOBAN CITY- Effects and how to avoid illegal drugs was the main subject of a forum recently conducted at the Asian Development Foundation College (ADFC) this city.
The main purpose of the forum is to ensure that the students of the school would be clean of drug abuse, said its president Edward Chua.
Aside from the students, the forum was also attended by the school’s teaching staff who Chua admitted are not that informed about the matter.
Chua said that teachers play a critical role in helping their students become drug-free.
The ADFC president said that there could be some students who are into illegal drug use which makes their campaign become more important.
“Most drug use happens off-campus and we assume that parents are talking drug prevention at home while on the other hand, parents often assume also that the school has the subject covered,” Chua said.
“Prevention for us is everything and we wanted to address this problem early,” he added.
The subject on illegal drugs has become a sensitive, if not controversial, issue in the country with the government claiming that there are around 4 million Filipinos who are hooked in the illegal drugs.
The government, under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, launched a massive campaign aim to eliminate the illegal drugs problem in the country.
“Drug addiction is something we openly talk about with our students and we allow them to ask any questions. This is our way of helping the students avoid to be hook from illegal drugs,” Chua said. (JAZMIN BONIFACIO)

TACLOBAN CITY- As he promised, President Rodrigo Duterte visited the city to check the progress of the housing relocation projects intended for families who lost their houses when Tacloban was pummeled by supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013.
On Wednesday (January 25), the President returned but was visibly disappointed when he learned that there are more works to be done and that around 38 percent of the targeted 14,433 families that need to be relocated have been accomplished.
“I will be back on March to check if my directive is followed,” the fuming President said, pounding several times the podium as he stressed of his disappointment.
Mr. Duterte lead in the giving of certificate of house and lot allocation(Cela) to 1,062 families who are now residing to seven relocation sites- Ridge View Village, Greendale, Guadalupe, Villa Dina, Villa Sofia, North Hill Arbours at New Hope Village in Barangay Santa Elena where the program was held.
“Sabi ko noon, 28 lang ang nakalipat. Kung 28 lang ang nakalipat noong nandito ako November, sabi ko, itong project nyo sunugin na lang ninyo. Sabi ko I will return by December (but) was not able to return last December because I was very busy,” Duterte said.
During the third year commemoration of Yolanda’s onslaught last November 8, 2016, Mr. Duterte visited Tacloban and promised to return on December of same year to check the progress of the work.
Of the 14,433 identified families that need to be relocated, only 5,617 of them have been transferred to their new homes as of January 23, 2017 by the National Housing Authority and the city government of Tacloban.
During his visit, the President gave the government agencies involved in the housing projects until March this year to finish the transfer.
NHA regional manager Rizalde Mediavillo when asked on the directive of the President said that they would comply the presidential directive.
“If we need to do overtime, we will do that,” Mediavillo said.
Mediavillo said some of the causes of delay were identifying the relocation site, buying the property from the owners, titling the property, soil tests, non-availability of construction materials locally especially in 2014, weather concerns.(VICKY C. ARNAIZ)