Aside from helping fishermen in the area

CABUCGAYAN, Biliran- Residents of this village and nearby areas earn income out of protecting mangrove areas aside from ensuring their place from possible storm surge.
Town Mayor Edwin Masbang told Leyte Samar Daily Express in an interview that the mangrove protection in his town showcases the blending of environmental protection and the appreciation of nature with ecotourism, livelihood and poverty alleviation in this municipality.
Practically it is like a “mangrove gardening” with a blend of environmental protection and livelihood, he said.
The style of mangrove protection in sitio Naga, Rawis Villa Corro of Barangay Looc, fondly called by the residents as ‘boardwalk,’ demonstrates that environmental protection and conservation can go hand in hand with livelihood undertakings to uplift the depressed socio-economic conditions of the people in the area.
He said about 100 fishermen in the area are benefiting the mangrove protection program.
The mayor claims that the people in the area find their livelihood as the mangrove areas are now a tourist attraction of the town.
“An average of 5,000 local and foreign tourists are now visiting the area every week to enjoy swimming and the ambiance of the mangrove areas including its natural setting. The place offers the tourist for relaxation, communion with nature, enjoyment and a unique experience one can observe with nature and the picturesque view of the area,” Masbang said.
The rise of the ecotourism industry encourages him to work on improving their new tourist attraction by putting up facilities.
The new improved project was unveiled by Mayor Masbang last January 8, 2017, with a 300-meter boardwalk that traverses to the sea passing through mangrove areas wherein everyone can enjoy the floating boardwalk experience.
Presently, the project with a mud crab production in the area has cottages, a restaurant and has boating services for the tourists to enjoy the attractive and picturesque view of nature. (RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)

PALO, Leyte- The Saint Paul School of Professional Studies (SPSPS) continues to be one of the country’s top notch schools, particularly in the field of accountancy.
This was disclosed by its president Erwin Vincent Alcala who said that the school is also fast emerging as choice school in Law and real estate management.
Alcala also revealed that the SPSPS has partnered with some well-known universities in the world like the Seisen University in Tokyo, Japan and even foreign governments like Canada in conducting research.
The school president also said that they were also contracted by the Leyte Metropolitan Water District for its human resource plan.
SPSP will also partner with the De la Salle University and Environmental and Climate Change Institute in training higher education institutions in the region on disaster preparedness due to climate change, Alcala said.
Alcala said that he still envisions to see SPSPS become a world-class academic institution by producing world-class professionals imbued with the ideals of Saint Paul, giving back, living up to society’s expectations on environmentally-conscious and socio-economic responsive academic instruction, development research and community service.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

LAVEZARES, Northern Samar – About five men from this town were detained and facing charges for illegally cutting coconut lumbers.
The suspects, Mario Singler, Ruben Mauno, Albert Permas, Fernando Banjawan and Domingo Gega were arrested by the members of the local police led by provincial director, in an officer-in-charge capacity, S/Supt. Felix Diloy, while transporting the illegally sewn lumbers.
Seized from the suspects were 157 pieces of illegally cut coconut lumbers with an estimated value of P16,200.
It was learned that the suspects failed to produce a document allowing them to cut and transport the seized items.
The hot items were delivered to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) for safe keeping and evidence against the suspects.
The elf truck, used by the suspects as their delivery vehicle, was also confiscated by the local police during the September 3 incident.
The suspects were arrested in Barangay Libis, this town.
They will be charged for violation of Republic Act 10593, otherwise known as the ‘Regulation of the Cutting of Trees.’ (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY-The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Leyte will start monitoring prices of ‘noche buena’ products starting this October in preparation for the upcoming Christmas season.
Prices on noche buena products such as hams, fruit cocktails, and other processed food, will be monitored by the DTI to ensure that there is no overpricing in the market as the Christmas seasons is fast approaching.
Araceli Larraga, DTI-Leyte chief of the consumers’ welfare division, said that the prices of these products should not exceed the suggested retail price (SRP).
Larraga advises the public to report stores with overpriced noche buena products to their office. Stores caught overpricing will be given a show cause order to explain why their prices are higher than the SRP.
No cases of overpricing were reported during the same season last year, Larraga said.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), on the other hand, assured the public that chicken and other poultry products is enough to supply the demand of the region during the season.
This was stated by agriculturist Dioscoro Gasatan who said that the supply of chicken and other livestock products in the region are sufficient to address the need of the consumers.
According to Gasatan, it is more probable that prices of vegetables during the season may increase due to low production in the region. The department also conducts price monitoring two times every week. (MARWAH JAILANI, LNU Student Intern)

TACLOBAN CITY- The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) had completed the restoration of the Ormoc High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Converter Station, and is now fully engaged to allow power sharing between the Luzon and Visayas grids.
This was disclosed by NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza during a public hearing conducted by the Leyte provincial board last September 8 on the status of electricity in the province after it was hit by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake last July 6.
Energy Undersecretary Petronilo Ilagan also attended the public hearing conducted by the provincial board, sitting as a committee as a whole and presided by Vice Governor Carlo Loreto.
The tremor that hit the province, particularly Kananga and Ormoc City where the power plants of the NGCP and Energy Development Corp. are located, resulted in a massive blackout that lasted for more than a month across the region and parts of Bohol and Cebu.
Alabanza said that their restoration work involved moving several heavy equipment from different NGCP facilities in the country to replace damaged parts such as converter transformers and breakers, among others, according to the company.
“What we did was we repair first(the transformer) and if it is not repairable, we replaced but then again repairing is not that easy because it entailed packing the transformers that as big as this session hall and bringing it to Ormoc,” she said.
Alabanza added that having a spare transformer in Cebu that is compatible with the transformer in Leyte makes it easier for them to energize the converter station in Ormoc, a project they implemented when they took over the transmission company in 2007.
With the energization of the HVDC in Ormoc, the Visayas grid can now import power from Luzon grid to augment the power supply requirements and relieve generation deficiency, she added.
Also during the public hearing, Alabanza expressed her concern over the absence of power generation facilities in Samar provinces that could augment the electricity needs of the region if the power generation companies in Leyte fail to produce energy.
The provincial board will set another date for the continuation of the public hearing with the EDC, being one of the important pillars in the energy sector.
“We need to know their plans and commitments (and) when will they finish the repair of their damaged facilities,” Loreto said.
From more than 700 megawatts (MW), EDC’s electricity production was reduced to 210 MW after the earthquake. The company is supplying the power needs of the whole region as well as to Cebu, Bohol and other parts of the Visayas, including Luzon.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Involving catering service worth P68,875

TACLOBAN CITY- Former vice mayor of this city, Arvin Antoni, is facing graft charges before the Sandiganbayan over an alleged irregular catering services deal.
The Office of the Ombudsman forwarded its recommendation to prosecute Antoni to the Sandiganbayan on August 25 but only made it available to the media last week.
Antoni, who served as vice mayor of the city for three terms ending in 2013, is facing three counts of falsification of public documents under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code involving a deal on catering services in 2007.
Graft investigation and prosecution officer Ma. Golda Gigi Miñoza said Antoni, in July 2007, falsified three public documents to make it appear that the payment of P68,875 to Rowan’s Catering Services was above board.
But based on their investigation, Antoni falsified an abstract of quotation of canvass to make it appear that Rowan’s Catering Services submitted the lowest price for the supply of heavy meals for the inaugural session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod or city council on July 4, 2007.
The ombudsman said Antoni was aware that it was another business entity, Suisse Catering Services, which submitted the lowest price for the meal supply deal.
Antoni also reportedly falsified an inspection and acceptance report to make it appear that it was Rowan’s Catering that supplied the food items for the event instead Suisse Catering which actually supplied the meals and the same were inspected and accepted by the city council.
The former vice mayor, who is a lawyer by profession, also alledegely falsified a purchase order addressed to Rowan’s Catering to make it appear that the city government ordered food items from the company, “when accused well knew” that a same purchase order was earlier issued to Suisse Catering.
The ombudsman recommended to the Sandiganbayan to set Antoni’s bail at P72,000.