ORMOC CITY- District Engineer Lino Francisco Gonzalez of the 4th Leyte Engineering District Office(DEO) reported that out of the 81 projects lined up for this fiscal year, 63 of them have already been completed.
Gonzales made this disclosure during a press conference called by his office which was also attended by assistant district Engineer Irwin Antonio, construction chief Renato Frias, and quality assurance chief Elmer Napoles.
Gonzales said that their accomplishment was based last month with the remaining ongoing 18 projects expected to be completed by this year.
If not by the end of this year, these delayed projects would be completed in the first quarter next year as the contractors already have approved suspensions, he added.
Most of these 18 ongoing projects are considered high impact projects above P50 million. These include a number of road and bridge widening projects as well as some flood control structures.
The projects done in coordination with the Department of Education under the 2016 fund was also discussed during the press conference.
Among the 33 projects, 30 of which are completed while three are nearing completion.
Overall, these constitutes to more than 100 classrooms.
Projects with DepEd under the 2017 fund are, however, still awaiting release. Nevertheless, the plans are already ready. These include unique resilient workshops, vocational technical classrooms, and multi-storey buildings.
For next year, 2018, the DEO is expecting 72 projects worth P2.8 billion excluding school buildings and farm-to-market roads. (PR)
Only 18 out of 81 projects of 4th DEO are to be completed this year
DOLE-8 to conduct inspection in workplaces on no high-heeled shoes policy
TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here in the region will conduct inspection among establishments if they are complying an order ensuring the health safety of their workers.
DOLE-8 Director Joel Gonzales said that under Department Order 178, business owners are required to allow their workers to rest after standing a long period of time or of frequently walking, especially women who are wearing high-heeled shoes.
Women have complained that wearing high-heeled shoes for hours causes some joint pains or make them vulnerable to sprain ankles, among other discomforts.
The DOLE issued a guidelines prohibiting establishments requiring their women workers or employees to wear high- heeled shoes.
“Hindi directly na pinagbabawal ang pagsusuot ng high- heeled shoes like front liners workers (but) there should be safety measures or should provide seats or rest time because we are promoting here the health and welfare of our workers,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales, however, said that to ensure the safety of the women workers or employees, their office will conduct an inspection among establishments or offices if they are complying the order.
(JESSICA A.OLEVO, LNU Student Intern)
DOST’s Yolanda response fund now in full implementation, says official
TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has already started the implementation of the P20 million worth of Yolanda Recovery and Rehabilitation Program (YRRP) for Eastern Visayas.
DOST-8 senior science research specialist Engr. Ramil Uy said that the YRRP was approved December of last year but they only received the funding last June.
Uy said that out of the P20 million worth of YRRP, the DOST already released P13.79 million covering 59 projects for the six provinces in the region.
The YRRP is a funding initiated by the national government as its response for areas hit by super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ recovers from the devastation.
The DOST’s YRRP is divided into two component which includes livelihood and community empowerment through science and technology.
Under the livelihood aspect, the DOST check raw materials in a community which can be converted into an efficient livelihood mechanism which can be managed by the people, Uy said.
The beneficiaries are the poorest residents of the identified communities.
Meantime, the community empowerment through science and technology is divided into five components, namely, education, livelihood, water and sanitation, health and nutrition, and disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).
In education, Uy said that they would focus more on enhancing the knowledge of students especially in areas where their office has no scholars.
Under this component, the DOST conducts a review and distribute star books where they can research their project.
While in water and sanitation aspect, the DOST will visit a particular community wherein they will check if their water is potable and if they need to analyze their water.
“If there are incidences of water-borne diseases, we help them through our laboratory and give them appropriate technology,” Uy said.
Under the DRRM, the DOST will put up monitoring equipment in order for them to know the level of rain fall and if they need to evacuate. While in the health and nutrition, they will conduct feeding program especially in areas wherein there is a high malnutrition rate.
“We give importance to these five components in order to empower the community,” Uy said.
Uy said that they still accept and evaluate program proposals. In fact, they just recommended seven additional projects for funding.
“Our livelihood (component) continues but now it became a variety because of the funding that President Rodrigo Roa-Duterte under the Yolanda Recovery and Rehabilitation Program (YRRP) for one year,” Uy said.
Meantime, the DOST encourages other local government units, barangay and people’s organizations who want to avail the YRRP to submit a project proposal. (RYAN GABRIEL LLOSA ARCENAS)
Ormoc elementary school receives new school building from SM Foundation
TACLOBAN CITY- The SM Foundation Incorporated in partnership with UBS Philippines turned over a 2-storey four-classroom school building to Cogon Central School(CCS) in Ormoc City last September 1.
SM Foundation executive director for education Carmen Linda Atayde said that the school building they donated to the CCS is the 4th school building they constructed in the region as part of their response in the aftermath of the onslaught of super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ that hit the region in 2013.
But in all, the donated classrooms to the CCS add to the foundation 260 classrooms that they have donated since they started the activity in 2002.
Atayde said that each classroom of the building at the CCS can accommodate 50 students equipped with four toilets.
Also, they allocated 200 armchairs wherein 20 of these are for left-hand students, 4 teacher’s table with chairs, 16 wall fans, 8 blackboards, 4 wall clocks and 4 toilets.
The school building is also the first time that SM Foundation built with ramps intended for persons with disabilities.
“We hope that the school will take care of the building especially in maintaining its beauty,” Atayde said.
Atayde said that they will visit the school every year and make repairs if necessary.
The foundation also plans to provide learning materials and computer units to the school in the future.
(RYAN GABRIEL LLOSA ARCENAS with reports VICKY C. ARNAIZ)
Group claims substandard steel bars sold in Leyte
Denied by mentioned hardwares
TACLOBAN CITY- The country’s leading organization in the steel and iron industry, Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI), reported that substandard concrete reinforcing steel bars or rebars are being sold in some hardwares in Leyte.
PISI conducted a test buy in at least four hardwares located in Palo and Ormoc City, both in Leyte and in Basey, Samar, as part of their inspection in the aftermath of the July 6 earthquake that hit Leyte.
But two of the hardwares mentioned by PISI maintained that what they are selling are quality products and within the standards set by the government through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Personnel of the Ormoc Macmercury Hardware based in Ormoc City and New Mancera Lumber and Hardware Supply based in Palo, said that they can assure their customers that what they are selling are “quality and safe products.”
The two hardwares were named along with V. Lopez Lumber and Construction based in Palo and L’ Casi Enterprise based in Basey, Samar by PISI on their report where they bought some concrete reinforcing steel bars or rebars as part of their inspection in the aftermath of the July 6 earthquake that hit Leyte, particularly in Ormoc City and Kananga.
A commercial building in Kananga collapsed during the incident that also killed three people.
“Modesty aside, we are in this business for around 15 years and none of our clients have reported that we are selling products like rebars that are substandard,” Janet Pelota, purchasing officer of Ormoc Macmercury Hardware, in a phone interview, said.
“And we will not do that being one of the biggest hardware stores here in Ormoc,” she added.
The said hardware has three outlets in Ormoc, the ground zero of the 6.5 magnitude quake.
For his part, Edward Dueñas, internal auditor of New Mancera Lumber and Hardware Supplies, said the same thing.
According to him, what their suppliers are providing them are only the quality products and within the standards imposed by the government, particularly by the DTI.
“We have not received any complaints from our customers for all these years since we started our operations in 1995. I think being mentioned (on the report) is unfair,” Dueñas said.
Based on the PISI report, what they have discovered during their test buy disclosed that rebars with “marginal tensile strength” were found and rebars of nine millimeters in diameter were also being sold which are not within the specifications of the government-prescribed standards.
The group added that they have also discovered uncertified rebars used in some damaged structures in Kananga.
PISI, through its president Robert Cola, wrote a letter to the DTI through Undersecretary Teodoro Pascua regarding their inspection and what they have discovered.
Pascua, in turn, formed a team belonging to the Fair Trade and Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) which conducted their own inspection to several hardwares in Leyte last month.
Portia Teresa Calleja, senior trade and industry specialist of the DTI-8, said that they welcomed the inspection conducted by the FTEB team to these hardwares.
“But I am not privy if they have already made a report whether they have discovered some of these inspected hardwares to have violated certain fair trade laws or quality standards,” Calleja said.
“We are not taking this issue in stride because we want to protect the public,” she added.
According to her, the inspection made by the FTEB was in response to the letter of PISI.
By: JOEY A. GABIETA
Leyte chosen as pilot area for alternative education
PALO, Leyte- The Department of Education (DepEd) will incorporate skills training of the exisisting alternative learning system (ALS) with five towns in Leyte tagged as pilot areas.
DepEd Eastern Visayas Regional Director Ramir Uytico said the pilot stage has registered 75 students in the towns of San Miguel, Calubian, Hilongos, Kananga, and Tolosa.
“Hopefully, if this will be rolled out, all ALS learners and other stakeholders will be involved to strengthen the partnership and eventually expand the program,” Uytico told PNA in an interview Thursday (Sept.7).
The education department launched the project on Sept. 5 in partnership with a non-government organization and local government units.
The project dubbed as ALS-Education and Skills Training (EST) will train less privileged students on innovative technical vocational skills such as cookery, electrical installation maintenance, motorcycle/small engine servicing, agri-crop product, horticulture and shielded metal arc welding.
“Basically, this is an expansion of ALS to recruit new enrollees from out of school youth and adults without formal schooling. This is for them to acquire different skills and in the process, they are getting ready for employment,” said Robert Mangaliman, ALS supervisor for Leyte province.
“In order to acquire ALS-EST, there’s no required age limit unlike formal education, which is the beauty of this program to make sure that no Filipino youth will be left behind,” he added
The education department described ALS as a parallel learning system in the Philippines that provides a practical option to the existing formal instruction. When one does not have or cannot access formal education in schools, the system is an alternate or substitute. ALS includes both the non-formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills.
Eastern Visayas region has 21,000 ALS enrollees, mostly young workers. (SARWELL Q. MENIANO with reports from REYNADEL COSTILLAS/PNA)