BABATNGON,Leyte- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director Pedro Noval, Jr. assisted by his regional legal officer Cyril Casey Blanco, installed Winston Menzon as the duly elected vice-mayor of Babatngon town in Leyte . Director Noval and Atty. Blanco installed Menzon as vice-mayor of Babatngon, Leyte following the memorandum of Undersecretary Auster Panadero pursuant to the authority granted by DILG Secretary Mar. Roxas.
Earlier in Manila , Menzon was proclaimed by a Special Board of Canvassers at the Palacio del Governador in Intramuros Manila as the duly elected Vice-Mayor of Babatngon, Leyte . The Comelec en banc issued a resolution last January 20, 2015 written by then Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Jr. and concurred by all Commissioners ordering the proclamation of Winston Menzon as the duly elected vice-mayor of Babatngon. The motion for reconsideration filed by the opponent of Menzon was denied by the Comelec with finality after cancellation and annulment of her certificate of candidacy.
Menzon asked the officials of Babatngon to serve their constituents with utmost honesty and sincerity in order for Babatngon to achieve progress and inevitable prosperity. (PR)
PALO, Leyte—The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on March 25 has turned-over another school building in this town making it as the third classroom building project completed by the said agency this year. Andrew Holland, USAID supervisory contracting/agreement officer, who led in the simple turn-over ceremony of two buildings with 14 classrooms in Palo I Central School, said he was happy to see the classrooms finally completed for the sake of the school children. “This building is for you, for your children. The United States government and other countries in the world have great determination to rebuild your lives after Yolanda,” Holland said in his speech, to the applause of parents, local officials and students who were also waiving American and Philippine flaglets.
Holland assured that aside from school building project, the U.S. government is also keen on its livelihood and health care assistance to the communities affected by supertyphoon “Yolanda.” “This school building project is a reaffirmation of our commitment,” he said. Melfe Sanchez, school principal, said that they are happy and in deep gratitude to the USAID for their assistance to their school. “Children need a good environment for their education. From the temporary learning spaces, we now have beautiful, well-painted, well- equipped with water and electrical facilities, and other learning materials,” Sanchez added.
Grade six pupil Shan Abril, 11, said he is happy on the changes in his school after the typhoon. According to Engr. Carlos Tan, USAID Rebuild Deputy Chief of Party for Infrastructure, USAID-Rebuild is targeting over 250 classrooms to be completed until January 2016 under their medium term disaster rehabilitation program in Tacloban city and other municipalities in Leyte affected by typhoon Yolanda with partnership from local government units. “These classrooms will be earthquake and typhoon-resilient, taking the lesson after the powerful storm Yolanda,” he said. (RONALD O. REYES)
TACLOBAN CITY- The dubious distinction attained by Eastern Visayas as the country’s poorest region was not at all a surprise. Thus said Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, who also chairs the Regional Development Council. According to Petilla, when supertyphoon “Yolanda” devastated the region, they already anticipated its economy will suffer a hard blow. Based on the report of the regional National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the region posted a poverty record of 54.9 percent. Before Yolanda pummeled Eastern Visayas, particularly Leyte and the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar, the region was the country’s second poorest region with a poverty level of 45.2 percent. “I was already anticipating that our poverty level will decline further after we were hit by Yolanda. We were not surprised at all but though this is alarming,” Petilla said.
NEDA reported that the region posted damages to infrastructures and livelihoods at P130 billion. The national government, under its Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) has allocated P361 billion of which P34 billion was set aside for Eastern Visayas. The Yolanda Regional Investment Program, approved by the Regional Development Council, estimates of P96 billion needed for the region to cover the repair of infrastructures destroyed and create livelihood for those displaced due to Yolanda.
Petilla said that “necessary interventions” are being undertaken to somehow arrest the poverty level of the region, particularly in Leyte. The governor said that before Yolanda struck Leyte, his administration had already formulated its economic development plan. He said that he is hopeful that the region will recover soon once the rehabilitation works will really come into full swing as this will help create jobs and more money in circulation.
Among these program includes the P2.5 billion set aside for the rehabilitation of the coconut industry targeted to help recover the region’s more than 1.1 million coconut farmers from the devastation of Yolanda.(Lizbeth Ann A. Abella)
Yolanda Monument. The once mass grave located in Barangay Calogcog, Tanauan, Leyte was converted into a “beautiful” memorial park. Buried there are more than 200 people from Caloglog who died during the onslaught of supertyphoon “Yolanda.” The memorial park was blessed on March 31. (LGU Tanauan)
Yolanda Monument. The once mass grave located in Barangay Calogcog, Tanauan, Leyte was converted into a “beautiful” memorial park. Buried there are more than 200 people from Caloglog who died during the onslaught of supertyphoon “Yolanda.” The memorial park was blessed on March 31. (LGU Tanauan)
TANAUAN, Leyte- Relatives of the 1,384 people who perished when Supertyphoon “Yolanda” smashed this town more than a year ago will now have a better place where they could offer their prayers and remember them as well. The once mass grave located at the “rotunda” of Barangay Calogcog, was unveiled and blessed on March 31 converting it into a “Yolanda” monument dubbed by its town mayor, Pelagio Tecson, Jr., as “hope of surge monument.” At the said Yolanda monument, more than 200 people were said to have been buried. The rest of the confirmed 1,384 people from this town were buried in a separate mass grave located at the town proper. For Joan Alamo, 16 and sister Jonalyn, 15, they are “happy” that the mass grave where their parents and an elder sister were among those buried have now a “beautiful resting place.” “Before, this was just a place where we have buried our parents and our elder sister. Nothing but grasses. Now, there is a landscape and a monument giving them honor,” Joan said. Joan’s parents, Jose, 57 and Lorna, 50 and sister Josephine, 26, died inside their house in Calogcog when it was hit by a storm surge generated by Yolanda on November 8, 2013.
The sisters, together with an elder sister, Jocelyn, now live with an aunt also in the same village more than a kilometer away from the town center.
The Yolanda monument, covering more than 60 feet in width, consists of statues in human forms made of cements. In the words of its Rey Mudjahid “Kablai” Milllan, who was commissioned to do the monument, the main structures are two spiral curves measuring 14 feet, the estimated high of the storm surge that pummeled this town. On the left are abstracts of aid workers and volunteers while on the right side, are similar figures depicting the survivors. In the center stood a mass of figures that are building and holding each other, releasing a flock of birds to the sky, topped with a rainbow and more birds. Names of the 1,384 people were engraved in a glass panel mounted in an artificial water falls. The Yolanda monument was started to be constructed last September but due to bad weather, its construction was hampered and just finished this month. Mayor Tecson said that the construction of the said monument was made possible through the financial assistance of Smart Telecommunications and the Granix Distributions, Inc. of the Procter and Gamble.
Maria Jean Paredes, Smart’s vice president for Visayas and Mindanao, said that the monument will not only serve those who perished during the onslaught of Yolanda but as a symbol on how the people of Tanauan rise after the massive tragedy. Mayor Tecson seconded the observation of Paredes saying that the monument, he fondly dubbed as “surge of hope” will serve as a symbol of renewed hope for the people of Tanauan. “This is so meaningful for all of us. This symbolizes the strength of the people of Tanauan and the bayanihan of different organizations that come in our way,” Tecson said. Village chair Julian Modesto expressed his gratitude to those responsible in the construction of the monument. “This will not only serve as the final resting place of my people who died during Yolanda’s wrath but will also become a very relevant tourist spot,” Modesto said. He said that majority of the more than 200 people buried in the monument were from Calogcog. Some were residents from nearby town of Santa Cruz. (JOEY A. GABIETA)
DA RFO 8’s Regional Executive Director and concurrent Regional Project Advisory Board Chair Bernadette San Juan (center) gestures as she cites some important points during the evaluation process for proposed Small Livelihood Sub-Projects for possible funding under the PRDP.
DA RFO 8’s Regional Executive Director and concurrent Regional Project Advisory Board Chair Bernadette San Juan (center) gestures as she cites some important points during the evaluation process for proposed Small Livelihood Sub-Projects for possible funding under the PRDP.
TACLOBAN CITY- The Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB), a body which provides guidance, reviews and approves subprojects for funding under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), unanimously approved and correspondingly endorsed 13 small livelihood subproject proposals for funding under the project. This, however, is subject to the compliance by the proponents of the findings and suggestions by the RPAB during their evaluation.
In a meeting held on March 25, 2015 at the Leyte Park Hotel, this city, Department of Agriculture-8’s Regional Executive Director and concurrent RPAB chair Bernadette F. San Juan lauded the proponents of the livelihood sub projects, “These proposals may likely be funded under the PRDP,” she said. The livelihood subprojects proposed ranges from livestock and poultry production, organic fertilizers, and root crops production as well as, aqua culture and fisheries.
These proposals come from the following cities/municipalities: Tacloban City, Alangalang and Isabel, all in Leyte; Maasin City, Bontoc, Malitbog and Silago, all in Southern Leyte; Quinapondan and San Policarpo, both in Eastern Samar; Calbiga, Samar; Allen and Catarman, both in Northern Samar.
“SLP is actually a window under the PRDP especially meant to provide livelihood assistance for the farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihood were affected typhoon Yolanda and the earthquake in Bohol,” San Juan clarified.
The total funding support which could be provided for each sub project proposed under the SLP may reach up to a million pesos. There is however a required equity from the proponent group which consists 20 percent of the total cost of the proposed enterprise sub project. Dir. San Juan however, hinted, “This equity may be in -cash or in –kind.” (PR)
CALBAYOG CITY- The new chief of police of this city, albeit in an officer-in-charge capacity, Supt. Marben Ordonia, assumed the post on March 23, replacing Supt. Glenn Oliver Cinco. Cinco served as Calbayog’s top police officer since June, 2014, will take the post vacated by Ordonia as company commander of the Samar Police Public Safety Company.
Ordonia, who was once assigned in Calbayog in 2013 as its police chief, said that he considers his assumption as the new chief of police of Calbayog as a “tough journey” for he is aware of the difficult tasks he is to face. He, however, said that he is ready to face the challenges ahead adding that these will serve him as motivation to improve and enhance the capability of the personnel of the Calbayog Police Station. “I am well aware that I have my work cut out for me but I am well prepared to take on the challenge(s),” Ordonia said. He asked for the support and cooperation of the uniformed and non-uniformed personnel of the entire city police station in serving and providing police service to the public. Meanwhile, Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino welcomed the assignment of Ordonia.
“I, being the father of the city, am dreaming of a livable, peaceful city of Calbayog. That’s my wish, that’s my dream, that’s what I want,” Mayor Aquino said. “I am hoping for a very peaceful place here in Samar, here in our very own Calbayog,” Aquino added. He also encouraged the policemen to be diligent in helping and in performing their duties and do what a policeman need to do for the betterment of the city. For the past months, Calbayognons were alarmed of the series of crime incidents particularly shooting incidents that happened in the different parts of the city. Since the start of the year, there were already 10 cases of shooting incidents across the city. Regional Police Director Chief Supt. Asher Dolina, during the turn over rites, announced that he would send in more policemen in Calbayog in response to an earlier request made by Mayor Aquino.
(JENNIFER SUMAGANG ALLEGADO)
