TACLOBAN CITY – A budget of P 3.2 million has been allocated by the 2nd Leyte Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways(2nd LED-DPWH) for the installation of 20 rainwater collection system (RWCS) in the district.
The implementation of the RWCS is in compliance with RA 6716 which mandates for the construction of water wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and rehabilitation of existing water wells in several barangays.
Rainwater harvesting is the accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse on-site, rather than allowing it to run off.
Rainwater can be collected from rivers or roofs, and in many places, the water collected is redirected to a deep pit, a reservoir with percolation, or collected from dew or fog with nets or other tools.
The feasibility of rainwater harvesting in a particular locality is highly dependent upon the amount and intensity of rainfall.
The DPWH has come up with prototypes of rainwater collector system that would harvest, collect, and store rainwater from the roof or from a groundwater catchment or multi-purpose pavement for use during dry season.
Based on the DPWH prototype, the RWCS should have a reinforced ground storage tank, with capacity of 3,200 litters of water capacity.
2nd District Engineer Carlos Veloso said priorities for the project are public schools and markets.
“Schools without access to potable water facilities are the top priorities for this project while public markets are also targeted,” Veloso said.
As RWCS uses existing structures not specially constructed for the purpose, rainwater harvesting has few negative environmental impacts compared to other water supply project technologies.
Rainwater harvesting can satisfy the ever increasing demand for water supply as rainwater harvested can also be used for several agricultural and environmental purposes.
The RWCS project is also part of the government’s efforts to promote water conservation to address the diminishing freshwater supply due to over extraction of groundwater, water pollution, inefficient water infrastructure and climate change. (AHLETTE C. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY – Air passengers using the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport could now sigh of relief.
The controversial and much opposed plan to reroute the Tacloban-Manila flights to Clark International Airport in Pampanga has been scrapped.
The decision to cancel the plan was made known by Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla in a letter on August 30 to the Regional Development Council (RDC).
Part of the communication said that “Tacloban was no longer the prime candidate for reduction of capacity to Manila.”
“The Cebu Pacific group mentioned that it would instead start complying with the President’s directive by doubling its Clark-Cebu operations while the Philippine Airlines and Air Asia groups committed to study their network further and make announcement of outstations to be rerouted,” Arcilla said.
Arcilla, whose office approves the air routes of the carriers, admitted that concerns raised by the businessmen in the region prompted them to consider the consequences of this “drastic move.”
The rerouting scheme was met with strong opposition from business sector in the region as its congressmen threatened to call a congressional inquiry on the matter branding it as “anti-poor.”
“While the suggestion of Tacloban is a move forward, the government must not actually dictate where the airlines reduce capacity of transfer the same to Clark. What’s more, there should be other routes in the suggestion box, to prevent singling out of any provincial airport,” the CAB said, citing the earlier statement of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier directed the Department of Transportation to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and increase flights at Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
Arcilla vowed to consider the RDC’s position would there be any changes to the Tacloban – Manila route.
In its meeting on Aug. 31, the RDC approved a resolution of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Eastern Visayas chapter urging the transportation department to reconsider the rerouting of all Tacloban-Manila flights to Clark.
The group argued that rerouting will hurt the tourism industry, adjustment in airfares, increase land transportation cost, adjustment of airfreight cost, longer travel time, and inconvenience to passengers.
Tourism stakeholders questioned why the transportation department picked Tacloban for the pilot rerouting when disaster-stricken communities are “still picking up the pieces” after the 2013 supertyphoon “Yolanda” left a trail of destruction.
Various groups in the region aired their concerns after Tugade announced in a Senate hearing on Aug. 10 that the three airlines – Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Air Asia – agreed to transfer all Tacloban-Manila flights to Clark.
The Tacloban’s Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, one of country’s busiest airports, is a gateway to Leyte, Biliran, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar provinces.
In the first quarter of 2016, NEDA reported some 311,944 inbound and outbound passengers at the airport. Last year, there were 1.14 million passengers who used the facility. – by: Sarwell Q. Minaiano

With Leyte Gov. Petilla and Samar Gov. Tan Mayors

GOVERNMENT CENTER, PALO, Leyte- Actors-turned politicians Richard Gomez and Cristina Gonzales Romualdez are among the contenders for the chairmanship of the Regional Development Council (RDC) for Eastern Visayas.
Aside from the two first-termer mayors, also contesting the RDC chairmanship are Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan and Leyte Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, the current chair of the regional policy-making body.
The four were nominated during their first regular meeting for the year on Wednesday (August 31) held at the regional office of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), this town.
While the RDC, composed of major government line agencies, various private sectors, city mayors, governors and head of the mayors leagues of the provinces, nominates who could be its chair for the next three years, President Rodrigo Duterte still appoints the chairman of the regional planning body.
Of the four nominees, only Gomez and Romualdez, who partnered in several movies during the early 1990s, are considered as political allies of Mr. Duterte in the region.
Petilla and Tan, during the presidential elections last May 9, supported defeated presidential candidate Mar Roxas.
However, this early, Tan is not optimistic that she would get the chair.
“I was actually surprised on my nomination. I’m just here to push programs for my province,” the third-termer governor said.
Gomez, for his part, said that while he was honored to be nominated as RDC chair, he would leave it to the President to decide.
“It will only happen upon the signature of the President. Nakakahiya naman if I will lobby. But if he find me to be the appropriate to chair the RDC, then will and good,” the Ormoc City mayor said.
The RDC secretariat is expected to submit the list of nominees to Malacañang next week with the announcement expected within the month.
All four nominees said that if elected, they would give focus on lobbying government agencies to improve the economic conditions of the region still reeling from the aftermath of Super typhoon “Yolanda” in 2013.
For one, Mayor Romualdez said she is pushing for water connections for families that were transferred at the northern part of the city who lost their houses due to Yolanda.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

PALO, Leyte- For derring-do campaign against illegal drugs in his area, Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido, police chief of Albuera, Leyte, received a commendation from the members of the Regional Development Council. Espenido, who just assumed the post last July of this year, conducted series of anti-drug campaign particularly against Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his son Kerwin, tagged as the biggest drug lord in the region.

In one of the operations, 11 kilograms of suspected shabu valued at P88 million were recovered from the house of Mayor Espinosa. The recovery was considered as the biggest haul in so far as confiscation of shabu in the region.  Espenido had been successful in the anti-illegal drug campaign in the town of Albuera since his assignment to the town last month of July. The embattled mayor had sought for police protective custody and now lives and works at the town police station. Mayor Espinosa had executed an affidavit at the Provincial Prosecutors Office naming personalities and government officials he claimed as their protectors as they carried out their illegal activity.

But Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez raises some points before they could approve the resolution. Gomez said that the alleged 11 kgs of shabu seized from the house of the mayor should first be validated whether these were original or fake. He also asked where the police authorities kept the confiscated shabu. “I think we need to check the authenticity of the drugs seized; who checked its validity; where it is kept right now. It’s easy to commend but we need to be very careful,” Gomez said.

Gomez, however, stressed that he supports and commends the effort of law enforcers in their campaign against illegal drugs. “I support all fights against illegal drugs especially in Ormoc,” Gomez added. In Ormoc alone, more than 2,000 individuals have surrendered to law enforcement operatives under its “OplanTokhang.”
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)