TACLOBAN CITY – The province of Leyte has produced the highest number of chickens in Eastern Visayas for the third quarter of 2018,a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority(PSA) said.
Wilma Perante, PSA regional director, said that among the six provinces here in the region, Leyte recorded the highest number of chicken at 1,695,155 birds, or 51.8 percent of the total regional chicken population.
Samar ranked second with 555,440 birds, accounting 17 percent of the region’s total chicken inventory.
Eastern Samar, meanwhile, registered the lowest inventory of chicken with 3.9 percent share or 128,157 birds.
Perante reported that the chicken industry in Eastern Visayas posted an 18.1 percent increase in production during the third quarter of 2018.
Based on the preliminary data, the total chicken production in the region went up to 14,280 metric tons (MT) in the third quarter of 2018 from 12,092 MT in the same quarter last year.
“Region VIII accounted for 3.3 percent of the country’s total chicken production during the third quarter of 2018. It ranked seventh among the regions with low chicken production in the country,” Perante said.
Meanwhile, as of October of last year, the total chicken population in Eastern Visayas stood at 3,268,844 birds which a decrease of 2.9 percent from its 3,365,703 inventory compare to 2017 of the same period.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
Regional poultry industry posted an 18.1 percent increase during the Q3 of 2018
Prioritizing employment opportunities will be a key to address poverty in EV, says Noel
TACLOBAN CITY- The An Waray party-list group will give focus on providing livelihood, aside from its regular programs.
This was revealed by former congressman Florencio ‘Bem’ Noel, first nominee of the party-list for this year’s midterm elections.
According to Noel, considering that the government is also giving free education for college students and free health care, they have decided to give importance on livelihood opportunities as its major thrust.
“We have been focusing on trying to help the district congressmen to push for programs that will send children to school, provide jobs and help to be able to send sick family members to hospital,” Noel said.
“(But)now that these services are now included on the programs of the government such as free education, the universal health care for the sick, An Waray will shift its focus on providing livelihood to help address poverty,” he added.
Noel said that they will coordinate with other government agencies like the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) on their livelihood-related programs.
He added that by giving opportunities to the people, particularly those coming from poor families, will somehow address the problem on poverty as this could open employment opportunities to them.
Still, the An Waray party-list would continue to provide free medical services by putting up funds at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center as well as allocate for its scholarship program for poor but deserving students.
Noel said that for the past couple of weeks now, he has been going around, visiting even remote areas in the region which give him idea on the real condition of the villagers.
“It is good that I am able to go out and observe the real problems of the families,” he said.
The An Waray party-list group also launched a program dubbed as ‘One Visayas’ which aim to help promote the tourism industry of the region as well as boots its local products.
(LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
Gov. Petilla distributed tractors to 36 farmers’ associations in Leyte
PALO, Leyte – About 36 tractors were distributed to farmers’ associations in Leyte as assistance of the provincial government’s ‘Yolanda’ rehabilitation program.
Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said in an interview that the tractors were distributed to 36 farmers associations in 17 towns of the province.
The governor added that the money used for the procurement of the tractor, which cost P1 million each, was from the P236. 2 million Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery Program of the Department of Agriculture.
He added that the tractors will greatly help in the agricultural modernization program being undertaken by his administration.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
Army asks Samar soldiers to step up fight vs. NPA
TACLOBAN CITY– The Philippine Army in Eastern Visayas has asked its men to be more aggressive in their fight against the New People’s Army (NPA), after a soldier engaged in community support program was killed in an ambush in Las Navas, Northern Samar on Saturday.
In a statement, Maj. Gen. Raul Farnacio, commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan City, Samar, said there should be no holiday break for soldiers despite their enemy’s declaration of holiday truce.
“I instructed the troops to be more aggressive to put an end to the terroristic activities of the terrorists against our people within our area of operations,” Farnacio said.
On Dec. 22, about 30 NPA members attacked soldiers in Caputo-an village deployed to assist the community for the needed basic services by the local government of Las Navas town.
The more than one-hour gun battle killed Pfc. Alvin Avila of Burauen, Leyte and wounded Privates Ivan Anthony Ignao and Michael Ocasla. After the encounter, the troops recovered drop wire; a bag of assorted empty shells of machine gun, rifles, and pistols; cooking pots; detonating cords and one empty box with Armscor trademark.
The Army also condemned recent crimes committed by the NPA such as the killing of former San Jose de Buan, Samar Mayor Ananias Rebato, assassination attempt on Matuguinao, Samar mayoralty candidate Aran Boller, and landmine explosion that wounded soldiers and civilians in Catarman, Northern Samar.
“It only shows how desperate they are in their armed struggle, in their failure to conduct extortion activities in the far-flung areas particularly in San Jose De Buan and Matuguinao, Samar,” Farnacio said.
“I urge the community to report to the authorities the presence of any armed group in your area. Security is a shared responsibility of everyone, it is not just for us, the security forces and government institutions but also with the civil society and the communities,” he added.
With communist rebels poised to celebrate their 50th founding anniversary on Dec. 26, the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday advised the public to take the necessary security precautions and remain vigilant for possible attacks by the terror group.
The NPA, the rebel group’s armed wing, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. (PNA)
Personnel, doctors of the Baybay District Hospital receive cash
PALO, Leyte – The local government unit of this province has distributed cash incentive to personnel of the Baybay District Hospital in Baybay City.
Over P1 million was released by the provincial government in giving the cash incentive to doctors and non-doctor, as well as the employees of the said hospital.
It was learned from Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla that P423,855 was allocated for the 94 employees of the hospital.
While each of the 10 doctors of the hospital received P6,569.59 while each of the non-doctors received P3,826.30.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
‘Usman’ resulted to suspension
Force evacuation enforced in Biliran
TACLOBAN CITY-Work in both public and private offices were suspended in various areas here in the region on Friday (Dec. 28) amid threat of tropical depression ‘Usman.’
Also, over 3,000 passengers were stranded in the different ports as the Coast Guard implemented a ‘no sailing policy’ as Eastern Visayas was placed under signal number 1.
Work in government offices were suspended by Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romualdez while the suspension in Catbalogan City, and Pinabacdao, both in Samar; and Guiuan and Borongan, both in Eastern Samar, covered also those in private offices as directed by their respective local government units.
About 13 families (78 persons) from Barangay Lico, Naval in Biliran province, were evacuated to safer ground due to the threat of a possible landslide incident.
Another 58 families or 274 persons from the villages of Sto, Niño,Calumpang, and Santisimo Rosario, all in Naval, were evacuated.
The Coast Guard in the region has reported that 4,511 passengers were also stranded in the ports of San Isidro and Allen, both in Northern Samar; Ormoc City in Leyte; and in Liloan in Southern Leyte.
The municipal government in Almeria, Biliran conducted a forced evacuation in its four barangays identified prone to flooding and landslide incidents, Richard Sanoy, municipal disaster risk reduction management officer, said in a phone interview.
Sanoy said that they started their forced evacuation at about 8 am on Friday and is expected to end before the onset of darkness.
“We are being joined by personnel from the Philippine National Police and Bureau of Fire as many of the residents does not like to leave their houses. In fact, we’re forced to tie the hands of those who really does not cooperate with us,” he said, adding that they are only for their safety.
Sanoy said that about 200 families or about 1,200 persons were affected by their forced evacuation coming from the villages of Talahid, Poblacion, Salangi and Iyusan.
To recall, the town of Almeria was among the most devastated areas when Biliran province was hit by typhoon ‘Urduja’ December of last year.
About 13 people died, mostly from Salangi and Iyusan, due to the landslide incident as a result of Urduja’s onslaught.
(JOEY A. GABIETA with RONALD O. REYES)