TACLOBAN CITY – The municipal government of Carigara will be giving more focus on infrastructures and implement projects that could stir more economic activities among its local businesses as it charts its local agenda for 2017.
Town officials together with department heads, selected employees, and representatives from national government agencies recently gathered to formulate its Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA) in Cebu City.
Carigara Mayor Eduardo Ong disclosed that he would be prioritizing for more investments and businesses to generate more jobs and livelihood opportunities for the people.
“More investors would mean more jobs and economic opportunities for our people,” Ong said.
Meanwhile, Ong said that they will be providing a special program for those who surrendered under the Philippine National Police’s “Oplan Tokhang” which would include food- for- work and counseling classes.
About 350 drug users and pushers in the town have voluntarily surrendered since “Tokhang” was enforced last month.
“The surrenderees underwent several trainings for self-renewal as they were integrated back to the community” said Ong.
The mayor said that since they don’t have limited fundings, the plan to put up their own rehabilitation center is remote at this time.
“The LGU may be able to construct a rehab center but with the limited funding, we cannot operate our own since it will require staff, counseling, and food,” Ong said.
The mayor emphasized other target priorities such as improved health service; program for basic services; housing programs for families living along the coastal areas and permanent danger zones; business industry promotion and marketing for more economic activity and, effective disaster preparedness and management.
Mayor Ong said formulation of the ELA is important as it guides and enables the executive and legislative branches to agree on priority problems and issues and focus on a set of interventions.
“This activity also promotes the judicious use of LGU budget and resources,” Ong added.
Carigara works on P102 million internal revenue allotment and an P 18 million local revenue. (AHLETTE C.REYES/
LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
Leyte town to focus on infra works, investment promotion
Calbayog officials seeks additional police force to ensure peaceful brgy and SK polls
CALBAYOG CITY-Anticipating of a possible violence on the forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, the city government will be seeking for additional police force.
Mayor Ronaldo Aquino said that the request was contained in a resolution aproved by the city council which aim to ensure that the conduct of the barangay and youth polls in Calbayog will be peaceful.
“In our quest for peace, we feel the need of urgency. We’ve decided to pass a resolution to request for addition number of police forces here especially in our remote villages, so that we can stop violence,” he said.
However, the city mayor did not say as to how many additional police they need to ensure a peaceful and orderly barangay polls in Calbayog.
At present, the city has 86 policemen.
The country is set to hold barangay and SK polls this October.
“There has been a history of violence and conflicts being incited by some political parties here in previous elections,” Aquino said.
“Politics is politics. We cannot blame anyone. We all know that barangay and SK election is a litmus test for our young democracy,” the mayor added.
Calbayog has always been tagged as among the region’s hot spots during elections.
The city is politically subdivided into three districts (Calbayog, Tinambacan and Oquendo) and has 157 barangays.
According to Aquino, he has received reports that as early as now, there are “conflicts” monitored in the different barangays in the city with the forthcoming village polls as the reason.
“In our quest for peace, we feel the need of urgency. We’ve decided to pass a resolution to request for addition number of police forces here especially in our remote villages, so that we can stop violence,” he said.
However, the city mayor did not say as to how many additional police they need to ensure a peaceful and orderly barangay polls in Calbayog.
(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)
Couple arrested in drug bust operation claims Kerwin as their supplier of shabu
KANANGA, Leyte- A couple arrested in an anti-drug operation of this town named alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa as their supplier of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride).
Not only that, Espinosa also gave them security so they could evade arrests from authorities, said Sarah Tan.
Tan and her husband, Ernesto, were arrested inside their house located at Riverside, Poblacion, this town.
Tan, 50 is considered as Kananga’s second drug pusher while her 54-year old husband is ranked just behind her, Chief Inspector Ricky Reli, town police chief, said.
According to her, it is Espinosa who provided them with shabu which they sold.
“Kerwin provided us (drug) supply. He promised he will do the rest so we will be protected (and not get arrested)”, she said during an interview.
Tan said that she normally received a gram of shabu valued at more than P260,000 from Espinosa who has long gone into hiding.
Espinosa and his father, Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. has been tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte as among the country’s biggest drug lords.
The embattled mayor, however, strongly denied the allegation though he faces complaints for possession of illegal drugs before the Leyte prosecutor’s office filed by the police.
Tan also said that Espinosa also provided them security so they could continue their illegal activity.
“There were times he would call telling me to cool down and leave the place for a while. Then days after, our house were raided”, she said.
The couple left the town last June and returned the following month to surrender to the police.
Tan insisted they already stopped in the prohibited business as she denied that the shabu seized from their houses were planted.
The local police, armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Ephrem Abando of Regional Trial Court Branch 18 in Hilongos, Leyte, seized from the couple nine sachets of shabu, P500 marked money and drug paraphernalia.
“The police are serious in running after those who still engaging in the outlawed occupation and who are still resorting to use drugs. I urge everybody to stop,” Reli said.
(ELVIE ROMAN ROA)
DA sets program to help farm sectors in 3 Samar provinces
TACLOBAN CITY – Teams will be deployed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office to three Samar provinces to assist farmers in the identification of priority farm commodities, heeding Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol’s directive to transform Samar Island into a “food basket.”
DA Regional Executive Director Wilson Cerbito said the department will embark on participatory governance through community-based consultation, striking a balance between farmers’ preferred crops and suitable commodity in specific areas.
Initially, the initiative will cover five poorest towns in each of the three provinces or a total of 15 areas.
“We want to make sure that after the project, there should be an impact. Success of the project will be measured by evaluating the poverty incidence,” Cerbito said.
The three provinces – Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar – were tagged as priority areas in the implementation of Special Area for Agriculture Development (SAAD), the strategy of the Piñol in attaining agricultural development and poverty alleviation.
Through this program, the national government aims to bring down poverty incidence in Samar provinces to only 25 percent.
Recently, DA organized a technical working group with local government units for a specific identification of the beneficiaries and determines the exact location, preferably create a database.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has identified Samar provinces as among the 10 areas with the highest poverty incidence in the country.
Eastern Samar had 55.4 percent while both Samar and Northern Samar posted 43.5 percent poverty incidence.
“Development will not only focus on crops, but fisheries as well. This can be done through collaboration with other agencies such as Department of Social Welfare and Development because the targets are conditional cash transfer beneficiaries,” Cerbito added.
The DA will also tie up with the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, DA-attached agencies and bureaus, and local government units in the implementation of SAAD.
During his visit to the region last month, Piñol committed to organize project management teams in the three provinces, hire additional workers to assist designated agricultural extension workers, and prioritize projects with a turnaround of six months to one year to “achieve much awaited changes.”
DA regional information Francisco Rosaroso said SAAD program has been proven successful in North Cotabato, where Piñol served as its governor for nine years.
“SAAD, a comprehensive program focusing on the country’s ten priority provinces, will assess the strengths and weaknesses of an area and its potentials in food production,” Rosaroso explained.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
DOT trains more tour guides for Eastern Visayas
TACLOBAN CITY – The number of well-trained and accredited tour guides here in the region has increase more than 10 times, raising the bar of tour guiding among its six provinces. The Department of Tourism (DOT) recently completed the month-long training of 23 regional tour guides, tagged as the best capacity building for the group in the regional level. “Now, they can be tour guides anywhere in the region. This is another feather to our cap because we only had two tour guides in the past,” said Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes.
“They passed through the eye of the needle from pre-screening, examinations to 27 days of rigorous training,” she added. According to Tiopes, this is the first seminar for tour guides in the regional level. In the past, the DOT conducted training only for community-based tour guides. The activity aimed at achieving high standards of selection, training, and certification of all local guide practitioners in the region. The Regional Tour Guiding Course module has considered provisions on European Union’s Innoguide Training as well as comments and recommendation of DOT-accredited tour guides.
The seminar topics include tourism industry overview, becoming a tour guide, knowing about Philippines, local tourism, destination and activities in the country, Filipino culture, environment, developing tour guiding knowledge and skills, tour guide tools, personality development, and crisis management. Participants were also engaged in fieldworks such as familiarization tours, research, and technique application. Tiopes is optimistic that with the new set of accredited and well-trained tour guides, tourist will appreciate the region more. Eastern Visayas, which consists of six provinces, is known for its natural and man-made attractions – Calbiga Cave, Ulot River, and Calbayog waterfalls in Samar; San Juanico Bridge, Macarthur Park, and Kalanggaman Island in Leyte; Calicoan Island in Eastern Samar; Biri Rock Formations and pink beach in Northern Samar; waterfalls in Biliran; and dive sites in Southern Leyte. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
Tacloban lass named 2016 Ms. Chinatown to visit the city
TACLOBAN CITY– “This is a homecoming for Miss Shirley Mae Vy, crowned Miss Chinatown Philippines 2016, who is a native of Tacloban. The Filipino-Chinese community is very proud of her. This is the first time a Taclobanon was declared winner in a prestigious national beauty pageant,” said Jack Uy, president of Tacloban Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (TFCCCI).
Vy and Jon Loiue Ngo, Mr. Chinatown 2016, and their respective courts are to visit Tacloban this Friday (August 26). They will make a courtesy call to Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Gonzalez Romualdez at her office after a motorcade around the major thoroughfares of the city. The group will be accompanied by Wilson Agbayani, chairman of Miss Chinatown Foundation, Loraine Tan and Alvin Tan officers of Chinoy TV. They will tour the famous tourist destinations of the city before they fly back to Manila. Vy and Ngo bested 28 other contestants during the pageant at Resorts World Manila last July 31. Both endowed with sexy and fit body clinched the best in swimwear during the search.
Vy, a bossa nova singer waxed an album with Universal Records. She was also proclaimed Miss Chinatown Oriental and Miss Chinatown Shimian. She received P500,000 worth of cash, services and goods for the awards. Vy will also represent the Philippines in the Miss Chinese International pageant in January 2017. The TFCCCI will give her a victory dinner celebration at Patio Victoria in this city, Uy said. Members of the chamber and friends of Vy’s parents Bebot and Annabelle Vy will grace the affair. Mayor Romualdez will be the special guest. Vy, being an alumnus of the Leyte Progressive High School and Sacred Heart, will visit the schools and give an inspirational talk to the students. A press conference will be held in the afternoon at Chew Love. (VICKY C. ARNAIZ)