TACLOBAN CITY- To better serve the Taclobanons, the city government under the administration of Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez held a grand barangayan dubbed as the “Caring, Giving & Reaching Out Program” recently at the Tacloban Convention Center(astrodome).
Thousands of Taclobanons availed the various services offered by the city government during the said activity.
“Its (providing) services closer to our constituents,” said Mayor Romualdez on the importance of the grand barangayan, a one stop shop service where clients can access in a days’ time.
Services offered include medical and dental like tooth extraction, blood pressure check-up, weighing (Operation Timbang) and nutritional feeding for problem in the city.
Livelihood training registration, utilizing CLEP (Cristina Learn and Earn Program) free haircut from the graduates was extended during the barangayan.
Personal documents like live birth certificates were also provided during the barangayan.
Seed distribution and technical assistance were also provided to farmers, while senior citizens were briefed of the Expanded Senior Citizen Act of 2010 (RA 9994).
Reading materials for children were also provided during the barangayan.
The City Population Office also conducted services like family planning counseling and Lipad advocacy.
Protective services were made by the Tacloban City Police Office and counseling for the transformation project were likewise extended during the barangayan.
Meanwhile, anti-rabies vaccination, deworming, dispensing of vitamins (for dogs & livestock animal) and dog impounding for astray animals were also available during the barangayan.
The City Cooperative Office, meantime, shared their expertise through information advocacy backing up small groups to indulge in cooperativism.
Employment opportunities were opened and enhancement of the skills regulatory system.
Taking good care of the city’s environment through solid waste management was also lectured during the barangayan as the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council gave tips on what to do and prepare during a disaster situation.
Legal assistance was likewise offered for free.
The barangayan started during the term of then Mayor Alfredo “Bejo” Romualdez and continued during the administration of Mayor Alfred Romualdez.
The program was retained by Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez.
(GAY GASPAY, TISAT)
Mayor Romualdez leads grand barangayan; thousands availed free services
DPWH Southern Leyte ranks 20th nationwide in project contract management app use
MAASIN CITY- The Department of Public Works and Highways Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) has been listed as one of the country’s top performing offices in the usage of the Project Contract Management Application (PCMA).
With a score of 86.14 percent as of end of November 2016, the SLDEO ranked first in Eastern Visayas region and 20th nationwide in terms of PCMA use.
There are 234 DPWH district offices in the country.
“This is something that we should be happy about because PCMA was just adapted in the district this quarter and yet we’re able to make it to the best of 20 district offices,” said District Engineer Ma. Margarita Junia.
The PCMA replaces the modernized project monitoring system used to check projects from 2015 and prior years.
“Aside from improved monitoring of project contracts, the new system also aims to achieve transparency since project updates can be viewed online,” Junia added.
The PCMA include data quality and internal control features to prevent basic data problems from occurring, immediately highlighting the error and preventing data entry until corrected.
“After a project engineer encodes updates, there’s no way for them to manipulate the information since the database is centralized,” she added.
Through the PCMA, the public can verify the data available online and actual physical accomplishments of project on sites, according to DPWH.
The PCMA utilizes the new project identification and project component identification structure in the multi-year programming and scheduling application.
The application adheres to the new way of project identification with monitoring of physical accomplishments will be by project, project component, and contract.
Under the 2016 infrastructure projects based on National Expenditure Program, the district office has P1 billion worth of infrastructure projects this year.
Other district offices tagged as excellent in PCMA usage are located in the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Bohol, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City, Pangasinan, Camarines Sur, Isabela, Tarlac, Cebu, Quirino, Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Cotabato, Sarangani, Cagayan, and Surigao. (PR)
DPWH-8 clarifies concerns on tide embankment project
GOVERNMENT CENTER, PALO, Leyte- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office 8 OIC Director Edgar B. Tabacon clarifies issues and concerns of Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) with the Community of Yolanda Survivors and Partners (CYSP).
OIC Director Tabacon asked Pascualito Ilagan, EVSU professor and Community of Yolanda Survivors & Partners (CYSP) spokesperson in a dialogue on Monday (December 12) within the premise of DPWH Multi-Purpose Hall to address the issues and concerns with affected “Yolanda” survivors who initiated the march-caravan and protested in front of the agency.
The dialogue was presided with OIC Director Tabacon.
Also present were Atty. Eulogio Laboga, DPWH legal consultant; CYSP spokesperson Ilagan; Danilo Carranza, CEC policy and advocacy lead person; DPWH Tide Embankment Working Group and 188 participants composed of Yolanda survivors, Urban Poor Association (UPA) members and Bakhawan Groups.
During the dialogue, among the concerns addressed were: no consultations done by the DPWH; massive transfer to relocation site is caused by the construction of tide embankment; the project is a loan from JICA; inland flooding were not answered; mangrove planting instead of tide embankment and DPWH are now constructing tide embankment alongside Tacloban areas.
OIC Director Tabacon reiterated that DPWH has not started yet the construction of tide embankment as he assured them that structures being constructed are not tide embankment.
The massive transfer of affected families to resettlement areas is due to the urgent instruction of President Duterte to answer the request of Yolanda survivors of their housing needs.
DPWH assisted the transfer of these victims to the relocation as well as the assistance to transfer of water tanks in response to the water shortage in these areas.
Tabacon further said that the project is not a loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) but the national government through the General Appropriation Act (GAA) funds the project.
Moreover, he said that construction of tide embankment along Cataisan and Magallanes will not push through anymore because of the reclamation project from the city of Tacloban. The families along these areas need not to worry.
Director Tabacon clarified that tide embankment is designed with the installation of flood river gate or flap gate and/or extra size culverts as the case may be to facilitate easy flow of flood waters or run-off.
These side canals and relief pipes with flap gates are carefully designed to effectively drain flood waters.
The four-meter high structure is designed to shield coastal communities from storm surges similar to that of Yolanda. (rbtc/arl/DPWH-8/PR)
5 passengers killed in a vehicular accident in Leyte town
ORMOC CITY- Five passengers on board a van-for-hire were killed after it collided with another passenger van in Villaba town, Leyte about 3 pm on Wednesday (December 14).
The vehicular accident took place along a national highway located in Barangay A. Tumamak of said town.
Police reports said that the two vehicles were coming from opposite directions, one was bound for Palompon from Tacloban City while the other vehicle was en route to Ormoc City.
The two vehicles were owned by Ephraim Requitillo Jr.
Themistocles Hortellano Jr., the driver of the van heading to Ormoc (Gee Rhaim), said the other van(ER Jr. van) was cruising fast which caused it to skid because the road was wet due to the heavy rain.
He said he already saw the van, zigzagging prompting him to stop but his van was still hit which led the van to head towards a nearby slope.
Four of the passengers, including the other driver identified as Boy Salvador, who were brought to the Villaba District Hospital in Villaba town were declared dead on arrival.
They were identified as Lenny Moe, Russel Alih, an American with Indian origin, a certain Umpad and Orlando Raagas, 43, a makeup artist.
One of the five passengers brought to the Ormoc District Hospital died while being treated.
It was learned that the owner of the vehicles provided assistance to the families of the fatalities as well as those who sustained injuries.
(ELVIE ROMAN ROA)
Jobless man in possesion of P30,000 worth of shabu arreasted
TACLOBAN CITY- A jobless man from this city was arrested in a buy-bust operation and discovered to be in possession of methamphetamine (shabu) valued at P30,000.
Arrested by the city operatives, led by Chief Inspector Steve Castillote III during a buy-bust operation on Wednesday (December 14) was Elias Perpiñan.
Perpiñan, 53, was arrested during the buy-bust at his residence at Barangay 95, Caibaan district, this city.
Recovered from the suspect were 18 pieces of sachets containing shabu valued at P30,000.
The poseur buyer bought from the suspect one piece heat-sealed transparent sachet containing suspected shabu.
The confiscated pieces of drug evidence were turned-over to the Regional Crime Laboratory Office (RCLO8) for qualitative and quantitative analysis while the other pieces of non-drug evidence were turned-over to TCPO Evidence Custodian.
The suspect is now under the custody of the Tacloban City Police Office Custodial Facility while cases for violation of Sections 5 & 11, Article 2 of RA 9165 are being prepared for filing before the City Prosecutor’s Office.
The operation was conducted in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-8 under the supervision of S/Supt. Rolando Bade, acting city director of Tacloban City Police Office. (PR)
Robinsons new wing generates new jobs
To open new hotel and another shopping mall in 2017
TACLOBAN CITY- Additional 800 people will gain employment as the Robinsons Place-Tacloban opens its additional wing on Thursday (December 8).
The opening of its new wing, connected with its main shopping mall was described by officials of the Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), operator of the Robinsons shopping malls, as a testament that Tacloban has now recovered after it was devastated by supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
The opening of the three-level “expanded Robinsons Place- Tacloban,” has now brought its gross floor area to 77,000 square meters.
The expanded area of the shopping mall sits on 15,000 square meters of which 85 percent of its 80 spaces are already occupied.
The opening of the additional section of the Robinsons Place- Tacloban has now brought to 230 outlets operating at the said shopping mall.
Known brands, food chains and restaurants, to include local-based, have opened their outlets at the expanded area of the Robinsons Place-Tacloban.
Among them are apparel brands like Giordano, Bayo and Vise Versa; food chains like Bonchon, Yellow Cab, Iceberg, Pancake House, Hap Chan, Bagnet & Beyond; and furniture store La Sedia.
Local establishments like Cosina Don Vicente, Shylear Sizzling Steak, Canto Fresco; Elke’s Breadhouse, and Miga Natives have put their outlets at the new wing of the shopping mall.
It has also two cinemas, an amusement area and a “Lingkod Pinoy Center” where the public could transact their businesses with the Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth), Philippine Postal Corp. (Phil post) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The opening of the new wing of the Robinsons Place Tacloban has resulted for an additional 800 employment on top of over 2,000 people currently employed.
Arlene Magtibay, Robinsons mall general manager, said the expansion of the shopping mall is an indication that the economy of Tacloban City and the rest of Leyte province has recovered after Yolanda’s devastation.
“The economy of Tacloban and other parts of Leyte has been growing very, very well that’s the reason why our sales is also doing well and improving,” Magtibay, who led the opening, said.
“We are really amazed of the resiliency of Tacloban and Leyte. This is a very auspicious occasion because it’s only been two and a half years and yet here we are opening the latest addition to the mall – the expansion wing of Robinsons Place Tacloban,” she added.
Magtibay also revealed that the new structure also features solar panels that could generate power equivalent to 1.44 million kilowatts.
City Mayor Cristina Romualdez said that she is happy that the RLC continues to expand its investment in Tacloban, three years after Yolanda.
“This will embolden us to invite more investors to the city,” she said.
Also present during the opening were Leyte Rep. Yedda Romualdez and Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla and City Councilor Aimee Grafil, among others.
Magtibay also announced that its 380 room Summit Hotel, located adjacent to the shopping mall, will open on the first quarter of 2017 together with its another shopping mall located at the Tacloban New Bus Terminal in Abucay district to be known as Robinsons North Tacloban.
The current Robinsons Place-Tacloban is located along Marasbaras district.
Robinsons shopping mall first opened its branch in Tacloban City in 2009 and later added an annex section in 2012 coupled with its budget hotel, Go Hotel.
However, when Yolanda hit Tacloban, the shopping mall did not only sustain damages but was heavily looted.
It reopened on June, 2014.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO, VICKY C. ARNAIZ, LIZBETH ANN ABELLA and JOEY A. GABIETA)