As part of the Spark Samar campaign

TACLOBAN CITY- Nature lovers have a new place to visit in Samar province.
An eco-trail and birding site project, located in Paranas town, is set to open this summer where guests could freely commune with nature’ assets found inside the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP).
SINP is home to 215 bird species and over 1,000 species of flora and fauna, among others of its natural inhabitants, making an eco-trail an ideal activity, the Samar Provincial Tourism Office said in a statement.
The site had its soft launching last January 29 and will become an additional attraction to the Spark Samar, a tourism-related campaign of the provincial government under Governor Sharee Ann Tan.
The project is set to be formally open this April, just in time of the start of the summer season.
The eco-trail and bird watching project is in coordination with the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Bantay-Kalikasan and is supported by the Department of Tourism and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Based on the information provided by the tourism office of Samar, rest stops will be put up along the identified trails wherein tourists could see up close the unique and endemic species of flora and fauna inside the SINP, considered to be the country’s largest contiguous tract of old-growth forest covering more than 333,300 hectares.
The trails are guaranteed to be environment-friendly and would not cause any destruction to the natural resources inside SINP as the program is aimed in not only in making it as a tourist attraction but preserve its environment.
The guests will be given ‘lecture’ by assigned guides about the program and what species of flora and fauna and birds that they could see during their trails visit.
A viewing deck will be established in a strategic area where tourists could see and take photos of the 215 species of birds endemic at the SINP.
It was learned that the Paranas eco-trail and birding site program is designed not only to attract tourists as part of the Spark Samar campaign but also to provide additional income, particularly the identified people’s organizations, the Tenani Association for Women and Development (Tawad), and the Tour Guides and Boat Operators for River Protection and Environmental Development Organization (Torpedo).
The two organizations are trained in tour guiding, among others.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

In  Northern Samar

CATARMAN, Northern Samar- Works for the concreting of a farm-to-market road in Rosario, this province, is to start as its groundbreaking was held on February 13.
The 2.96 kilometers farm-to-market road project will cover the villages of Salhag and Kailingan with a fund cost of P50 million.
The road project is a component of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) of the Department of Agriculture with 80% of the funding coming from the World Bank.
The provincial government of Northern Samar, thru Governor Jose Ong and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, shouldered the 10 percent equity amounting to P4.98 million for the said project.
The same amount was given by the national government as its counterpart.
The road project is expected to reduce travel time from and to Rosario town proper, increase traffic count in the subproject area, open up potential production areas, and reduce hauling cost and transport losses of crops.
The village councils of Salhag and Rosario, whose main crops include copra, rice and banana, expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the farm-to-market road project.
Present during the groundbreaking ceremony were Mayor Gerardo Miranda and the entire members of the town council with environmental planner Retchel Depena giving the project brief.
Regional Executive Director of the Department of Agriculture-8 Milo Delos Reyes, who is also the project director of PRDP, also graced the momentous event.
Mayor Miranda expressed his gratitude for all officials and government agencies that provided the support on the project.
“I am very grateful to the hardworking people of the municipality of Rosario for lobbying for this project and preparing the pertinent documents to make the Salhag-Kailingan farm-to-market road a reality. I am also equally thankful to the provincial government of Northern Samar, under the stewardship of Gov. Ong for immediately responding to our request for a counterpart budget when our municipal local government unit could not allocate the same for this (project),” he said.
Also present were Vice Governor Gary Lavin, representing Gov. Ong, and board members Vicvic Singson and Neil Hernandez, representing Reps. Edwin Ongchuan and Raul Daza, respectively.
“One thing I learned as I was visiting the far-flung areas of the province is that we lack a lot of farm-to-market roads. In fact, this is one of the reasons why we consistently rank among the poorest provinces in the country. This farm-to-market road project will contribute greatly to the economy of our province and way of life of our fellow Nortehanons,” Lavin said.
(TITO TEPACE)

TACLOBAN CITY – As part of its peer education and youth advocacy initiatives, the city government of Tacloban through Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez and the City Population Office will spearhead the Adolescent Health and Development forum at the Tacloban Training Center this, February 23, 2019.
More than a hundred peer educators, information service delivery network members and youth from non-government organization World Vision will be attending the said gathering which will be held from 8:00 to 12:00 pm on Saturday.
Highlights include the presentation of the Tacloban Young Adult Reproductive Health Sexual Survey Result, the Adolescent Health Development Program Initiative of Tacloban City and a talk on values formation among adolescents.
Under Mayor Romualdez, the local government unit of Tacloban has come up with policies that champion reproductive health issues and concerns, such as the passage of the Gender and Development (GAD) Code which prioritizes gender and health, adolescent health and training for health care service providers.
The city government also created the City Implementation Team (CIT) for Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive (RPRH) Law Implementation.
The event will be conducted in partnership with World Vision, the Tacloban Peer Educators Association and the Youth for Human and Ecological Security (YHES).
(HENRY JAMES ROCA/CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)