As part of ‘Yolanda’ assistance

TACLOBAN CITY-Hundreds of dressmakers from this city coming from different barangays who all survived the onslaught of supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ received sewing machines from Mayor Cristina Romualdez for their livelihood.
Some 103 dressmakers received their sewing machines from Mayor Romualdez during a simple turn-over ceremony for livelihood assistance held on Thursday(October 6) at Plaza Rizal.
In her message, Mayor Romualdez told the recipients to take good care of the machines awarded to them as a source of their daily income.
“Gamita hin maupay ini nga mga singer machines kay dako ini nga bulig ha iyo, swerte kamo kay upod pa dinhi electric machine to produce more output,” she said.
She likewise thanked the Department of Labor for always being around in assisting the city for the livelihood of Yolanda survivors.
The city government through it Public Employment Service Office (PESO) will be assisting the recipients to look for their clients.
One of the recipients, Elisa Isonan, 65, lost her four machines when Yolanda lambasted their home near the coastal waters of San Jose Alimasag.
“To me it’s a big grace and blessing to be chosen as one recipient of this facility. Now I can start my once loved dressmaking business,” she said.
Fifty-six years old Nenita Talisay of GMA Village, has shifted her venture from a sari-sari Store owner to dressmaking, where she availed the two-month CLEP training of the city government (a livelihood priority program of Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez).
With 10 children, the income of her small business was not enough for their daily needs.
“I’m too happy to have this sewing machine, salamat han mga sponsors”, she said.
The sewing machine livelihood assistance was made possible through the help of the DOLE’S Integrated Livelihood & Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) in partnership with the city government thru the PESO. (GAY GASPAY, TIM CANES, TISAT/Kanhuraw Media Team)

TACLOBAN CITY- The National Housing Authority (NHA) here in the region has reported that 139 families were transferred to their permanent shelters, close to three years since they totally lost their houses due to supertyphoon ‘Yolanda.’
Dorcas Secreto, estate management specialist and community relations officer of the NHA, said that the 139 families who were living in their transitional houses were resettled to their permanent houses located in Villa Sofia and Villa Diana, two of the city’s resettlement sites for families whose houses were washed out due to Yolanda.
Last Monday (October 3), 68 families living at the transition houses were resettled to their permanent houses at Villa Sofia in Barangay Tagpuro.
Another 71 families were relocated last Friday (Oct.7) to their new homes in Villa Diana, located in Brgy. New Kawayan.
Councilor Aimee Grafil, who chairs the committee on urban poor and housing resettlement of the city council, said that the families need to be transferred considering the onset of rainy season.
“These families really wanted to transfer to their new permanent houses despite lack of electricity. Their units are already dilapidated,” Grafil said.
She added that the city government under Mayor Cristina Romualdez wants to see all families still living in temporary shelters be moved out to their permanent shelters at least by the end of the year.
The 135 families joined the 2,000 Yolanda survivors in these permanent houses at the northern barangays.
The transfer was spearheaded by the city government of Tacloban after several meetings and consultations with the members of the Sub Local Interagency Committee (Sub-LIAC) of which NHA is a member.
These families are from Suhi Badato TRS; New Kawayan LGU Duplex 1 and Duplex 2; Operation Blessing (OB) in Sto. Nino village and 3 Operation Compassion TRS transitional shelters
The NHA has built 1,000 permanent concrete houses a Villa Sofia, Ridgeview and Diana.
The families were reminded that once they settled at their permanent resettlement areas, they will be responsible in maintaining cleanliness in their surroundings, peace and order within the community. (VICKY C.ARNAIZ)

TACLOBAN CITY- Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Guiling Mamondiong announced the opening of 10,000 scholarship grants for the region.
To avail the scholarship grants, applicants must go to their respective barangay officials, Mamondiong said during her speech at the recently-held regional consultation with government agencies and private sector at the Eastern Visayas State University, this city.
TESDA had already sent letters to barangay officials for them to submit the names of their constituents that need skills training.
“There is a possibility that in the submission of nominees, those who did not support their barangay officials will not be listed so we also made the application form available online so groups can nominate them,” Sec. Mamondiong explained.
Applicants may also apply directly at their offices, he said.
Providing skills to unskilled individuals will lead them to land better jobs which could also result to decline of crime incidents to include being hooked to illegal drugs, the TESDA chief added. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – At least 2,601 senior high school (SHS) students in this city have availed the voucher program for enrolling in private schools and state universities and colleges.
The Department of Education (DepEd) expects that more SHS students will be listed in the program with the current updating of information at the department’s main office.
The number accounts more than half of the nearly 5,000 SHS learners enrolled in both public and private schools in the city this academic year.
Norberto Erandio, DepEd Tacloban division SHS coordinator, said there are 20 private schools and eight public learning institutions offering the SHS program.
The voucher program is intended for Grade 10 graduates who wish to pursue SHS education in non-DepEd schools such as private high schools, colleges, and universities, and technical and vocational schools, starting this school year.
The voucher enables students to claim a “discount” or a deduction from the cost of tuition and other fees charged by a non-DepEd school where they are enrolled.
The voucher subsidy is not given to students directly in the form of cash but will be disbursed by DepEd to the school.
“Through the voucher program, students and their families are able to exercise greater choice in deciding the SHS program that is most relevant to their needs and career goals,” Erandio said.
Since Tacloban is highly urbanized city, recipients are entitled to receive a full voucher amount of P20,000.
The SHS voucher amount is aligned to the cost of public provision or how much it would cost government to support the schooling of a public SHS student.
“This means that whether a student decides to enroll in a public or a non-DepEd SHS, the government’s investment in his or her education is the same,” Erandio added.
The voucher amount varies for a Grade 10 graduates in a public JHS (100 percent voucher value) and from a private JHS (80 percent voucher value), since students in private schools are paying students and have some capacity to pay.
SHS covers the last two years of the K to 12 program and includes Grades 11 and 12. In this system, students go through a core curriculum and subjects under a track of their choice.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO)