TACLOBAN CITY – The Second Leyte Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to start the bidding of P 632 million worth of infrastructure projects for 2017.
These are projects to be undertaken by the district office under the P 1.7 billion regular infrastructure fund approved by the DPWH national office for the district engineering projects for 2017.
2nd LED District Engineer Carlos Veloso said a higher budget is allocated for 2017 compared to this year, thus, the district can expect more infrastructure projects to be started in the next coming months.
On November 27, scheduled to be bidded are 27 projects after its pre-detailed engineering was recently completed.
Meanwhile, the rest of the projects are still ongoing pre-detailed engineering and will be bidded out by December 5, 2017.
Veloso said that all projects of the district for 2017 are targeted to be all bidded out next month.
These projects consist mainly of widening, reblocking and flood control projects. Also, bridge widening projects are also set in 2017 and will target to expand the bridges to more than two lanes.
These bridges include Calbasag Bridge, Bocog Bridge, Balocawe Bridge, Bawon Bridge and Balire Bridge along the Maharlika Highway.
Ponong Bridge, Sagkahan Bridge, Tagak Bridge and Cocot Bridge along the Palo-Carigara-Ormoc Road are also part of the bride widening project.
Meanwhile, a P 201 million Binahaan Bridge project will also be started along the Pastrana-Dagami-Burauen road. The project will be implemented by the regional office of the DPWH.
(AHLETTE C. REYES)
TACLOBAN CITY-To avail of discounted commodities and Christmas products, Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez enjoined all Taclobanons to take advantage of the three-day diskwento caravan noche buena edition at the City Engineer’s gymnasium.
Food items enjoyed by families during Christmas are sold in the caravan as well as gift items, Christmas items and decor, souvenir items, local delicacies, among others at discounted prices, Mayor Romualdez said.
The caravan, which is a tie-up activity between the Department of Trade and Industry- Leyte and the city government of Tacloban, aims to help consumers avail items at lower prices during the Christmas holiday.
DTI-Leyte consumer welfare chief Araceli Larraga, in an interview, said that products sold at the diskwento caravan are 5 to 10% lower compared to the regular prices of the items sold in the business outlets.
Local distributors and entrepreneurs joined this diskwento caravan, Larraga said.
Free massage and haircuts are also available at the caravan courtesy of the CLEP (Cristina Learn & Earn Program), a comprehensive livelihood entrepreneurial program that addresses job employment of the city government. (GAY B. GASPAY, TISAT)
TACLOBAN CITY -Local government units (LGUs) should be given directly their share of taxes from national wealth.
This is being suggested by the members of the Leyte provincial board which recently unanimously approved an endorsement supporting four Senate bills namely 241, 427,827, 1085, which provides for mechanisms for national wealth taxes to be directly given to host local government units.
Vice Governor Carlo Loreto noted that the proposal can improve the collections of the LGUs share of the national wealth tax and at the same time fast track the process for the host provinces, cities and municipalities to get hold and utilize their excise taxes.
At present, the share of LGU in national wealth taxes has to be remitted first to the national government and will remain in government coffers for three years before it will finally be released to the concerned LGU.
“The proposed bill is good because, as it is, there is already a delay in getting the remitted taxes back to the LGUs,” Loreto said.
Out of the 45%, only 40% shares are being remitted back to LGUs which, according to Loreto, this causes delay to development projects the taxes are intended for.
The Local Government Code provides that in addition to the internal revenue allotment (IRA), LGUs shall have an equitable share in the proceeds derived from the utilization and development of the national wealth within their respective areas, including sharing the same with the inhabitants by way of direct benefits.
The amount of share is 40 percent of the gross collection derived by the national government from the preceding fiscal year from mining taxes, royalties, forestry and fishery charges, and such other taxes, fees, or charges, including related surcharges, interests, or fines, and from its share in any co-production, joint venture or production sharing agreement in the utilization and development of the national wealth within their territorial jurisdiction.
In June, the Department of Budget and Management released in a total of P863,722,833.48 from the total actual collection amounted to P2,158,194,583.76, as 40% share of LGU in the proceeds from petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal, and wind resources.
Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Central Visayas get the biggest allocation of shares in the amount of P724.84 million, P49.21 million, and P33.55 million, respectively.
Leyte hosts the largest geothermal field and a number of other mining explorations. (AHLETTE C. REYES)
TACLOBAN CITY-Albuera, Leyte police chief, Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido, downplayed the complaint filed against him by Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez before the National Police Commission (Napolcom).
Gomez on Wednesday (Nov.16) filed a seven-page complaint before the Napolcom-Manila for grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, dishonesty and conduct of unbecoming of a police officer against Espenido.
Also charged by Gomez were Inspector Leo Laraga of the regional office of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and PO3 Hydie Yutrago of the Albuera police.
Laraga publicly named Gomez as one of the alleged protectors of the Espinosa drug group during a Senate inquiry while Yutrago was said to have “prepared” an affidavit where names of alleged drug protectors were mentioned.
“That is his right to file the complaint. As they say, we live in a democracy. I will just answer the complaint filed against me by the mayor,” Espenido said.
The Albuera police chief insisted that he never committed any wrongdoing on his campaign against illegal drugs in Albuera.
Espenido added that what he said was based on the affidavit executed by slain Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr.
“He and the others who also executed their affidavits came to our station voluntarily. We never used force for them to execute and sign the affidavit and they were assisted by lawyers when they did that,” he said.
Gomez, in filing the complaint, claimed that he has never been a supporter nor received money from the Espinosas.
He also alleged that the affidavits containing names of alleged drug protectors of the Espinosas were “ready-made.”
Three witnesses who later retracted the affidavits they signed, namely, Max Miro, Gado Stephen Bobares and Brian Anthony Gates Zaldivar, were “ready-made.”
By dragging his name to the Espinosas, the three police officials should be “punished for their deplorable acts in order to preserve the stringent standard for police officers.”
“Their complete disregard of the laws and rights of the innocent individuals clearly make them unworthy to remain in the police force,” Gomez said in his complaint.
He asked for the Napolcom that the three police officers be placed under preventive suspension order amid his complaint.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Second Leyte Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to start the bidding of P 632 million worth of infrastructure projects for 2017.
These are projects to be undertaken by the district office under the P 1.7 billion regular infrastructure fund approved by the DPWH national office for the district engineering projects for 2017.
2nd LED District Engineer Carlos Veloso said a higher budget is allocated for 2017 compared to this year, thus, the district can expect more infrastructure projects to be started in the next coming months.
On November 27, scheduled to be bidded are 27 projects after its pre-detailed engineering was recently completed.
Meanwhile, the rest of the projects are still ongoing pre-detailed engineering and will be bidded out by December 5, 2017.
Veloso said that all projects of the district for 2017 are targeted to be all bidded out next month.
These projects consist mainly of widening, reblocking and flood control projects. Also, bridge widening projects are also set in 2017 and will target to expand the bridges to more than two lanes.
These bridges include Calbasag Bridge, Bocog Bridge, Balocawe Bridge, Bawon Bridge and Balire Bridge along the Maharlika Highway.
Ponong Bridge, Sagkahan Bridge, Tagak Bridge and Cocot Bridge along the Palo-Carigara-Ormoc Road are also part of the bride widening project.
Meanwhile, a P 201 million Binahaan Bridge project will also be started along the Pastrana-Dagami-Burauen road. The project will be implemented by the regional office of the DPWH.
(AHLETTE C. REYES)
Lettuce is one of the high value vegetables that the 38-strong Villaconziolo Community Association of Jaro, Leyte, plants at their 28 hectares lot. VCA was named as one of the country’s best farmers group by the TOFARM Awards held in Makati City.
(VICKY C. ARNAIZ)
Lettuce is one of the high value vegetables that the 38-strong Villaconziolo Community Association of Jaro, Leyte, plants at their 28 hectares lot. VCA was named as one of the country’s best farmers group by the TOFARM Awards held in Makati City. (VICKY C. ARNAIZ)
By VICKY C. ARNAIZ
TACLOBAN CITY- A farmers’ group from Jaro, Leyte was named as one of the country’s best farmers groups by a prestigious group.
The Villaconzoilo Community Association (VCA), a cooperative of farmers in Barangay Villaconzoilo, Jaro, Leyte was named as this year’s winner of the TOFARM Awards in the agriculture initiative category during the awarding ceremony held Tuesday (Nov.15) at Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Makati City.
The TOFARM Awards, launched in 2012, aim to inspire and encourage farmers to remain true to their noble calling.
For winning an award, VCA received P100,000 cash award and a gold-plated trophy personally received by Alex Arbonita, founder and president of the group.
Arbonita is also the current village chair of Villaconzoilo, an upland village of 360 residents and is seven kms away from the town proper.
The association started in the year 2010 by 18 farmers of the village who bonded together to start compact farming with just P1,000 as their initial capital and a two hectares lot.
They first grow native vegetables and later shifted to “salad type” vegetables that are not normally grown in the region.
Six years later, the group has now P4 million in cash at the bank and P20 million in assets including the 28 hectares of land they are currently cultivating.
Its members have also grown to 38.
Seeing the potential of this farming village, on the directive of Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, who also joined Arbonita in receiving the award, the Provincial Agriculture’s Office (PAO) conducted technical assistance to the group.
The farmers group was formally created and registered at the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) last January 25, 2016.
PAO has provided farmers’ training and seedlings as well as tilapia fingerling dispersals including hogs.
They were also provided with assistance in downloading projects from government line agencies aside from the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in their National Greening Program, the Philippine Coconut Authority and other government and private agencies.
“We maintain a wide support to our farmers. We always motivate them in pursuit of agriculture excellence under the More Income in the Countryside or MIC Program,” Gov.Petilla said.
Aborita said that their cooperative is community-based and their programs and projects aimed in helping the government solve poverty and hunger.
The farm produces high-value vegetables including lettuce, radish, Baguio beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflowers, eggplants, onions, ginger, cucumber, turmeric, sweet bell peppers and cherry tomatoes.
Their harvests are mostly distributed to shopping malls in Tacloban City.
They also allotted 11 hectares for root crops, jackfruit, rambutan, durian, banana, lanzones and papaya; seven hectares of land planted with the Queen watermelon of the sweetest variety and six hectares of land planted with cacao.
They also grow grapes and recently cultivated strawberries and asparagus.
The province recently opened a vegetable market for their produce and that of other farmers’ vegetable association at the Leyte Academic Center.
When Leyte was devastated by supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013, farmers of Villaconziolo felt isolated and almost lost hope since their vegetables were wiped out.
But under the stewardship of Aborita, the farmers gathered enough strength and guts and started trekking 20 kilometers in the ranges of Mt. Amandewing to reach Ormoc City to purchase seedlings that include cucumber, tomatoes, eggplants, pechay, cabbage and pepper.
The VCA was later adopted by the “Balik-sa-Saka” (Back to Farm), a project of the Junior Chamber of International Philippines (JICP) and Universal Harvester, Inc. (UHI) and assisted in their rehabilitation and development.
JCIP said that they helped the Yolanda stricken areas which meant being one with them in their suffering and doing something to alleviate it.
In early 2014, they were selling vegetables in the market of the municipalities of Jaro and nearby.
In May 2015, they joined the launching of the Summer Fun leg in Leyte as farm tourism.
