TACLOBAN CITY- Hundred twenty children orphaned during the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda are now being supported by the SOS Children’s Village under its kinship program. The children, who are all below 18 years of age and from the town of Tanauan and Tacloban City, are staying with their nearest kins while at the same time, with the SOS Children’s Village providing them assistance.

Oscar Garol, director of SOS Children’s Village, the orphaned children are supported by their organization of their education, basic needs, food and clothing allowance and fare for schooling. To date, Philhealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corp.) packages for the children are being process to help them during hospitalization. Garol added that the program is part of their emergency response program after Yolanda.

Children enrolled in the program are from San Jose district and northern part of Tacloban and from the villages of Lukay and Bislig in Tanauan. The purpose of the program where orphans were made to live with their relatives is for them to recover from the trauma on losing their parents and spare them for the meantime the fear of new environment, added Garol.

Orphans enrolled in the program were referrals from barangay officials although SOS enrollment is still open as there are still many orphans left unattended who may qualify for the program, he added. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

SAN ISIDRO,Northern,Samar- Members of a team from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau(MGB) recently conducted their geohazard mapping in all the villages of this town. The MGB team, headed by geologists Leah Mae Marie Gegare and Vincent Gascal, made recommendations to the local government and barangay officials for them to observe to avoid if not minimize impacts due to a natural calamity like flooding and landslide.

Eulalio Sola, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, said that the MGB team presented the result of their assessment last September 30. Among the recommendations involved the following: construction of canals along village rod and evacuation centers to minimize flooding; vigilance during bad weather; establish a 40-meter “no dwelling zone” along coastal areas and 5-10 meter buffer zone from the creek’s bank—under P.D. 1067; slope stability improvements and as well proper maintenance of canals and discourage residents in settling along coastal and river mouth.

The MGB team also identified the town’s villages with low and high susceptibility on landslide and flooding incidents and at same time advises the public to initiate readiness and measures for the said identified geo-hazard. According to Poblacion village chairman Nelson Badillo Jr., the first-ever conduct of geohazard mapping on their town was a big help considering that occurrence of typhoons in the region has become frequent that results to destructions of properties and lose of lives. (PETER D. PAREDES)

TACLOBAN CITY- Extending until 30 years of age for one to be considered as eligible as an SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) would entail a long legal process. Thus said lawyer Jose Nick Mendros, regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), when asked on his stand on the proposal to widen the age requirements for one to be considered as an SK. Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos filed a resolution extending the age requirements for the SK up to 30 years old from the present 15 to 17 years old.

According to Mendros, if the proposal of Sen. Marcos will be considered, this will take a long process as Congress has to amend the law on age requirement for the SK. On top of this, the age requirement for one to run for a local post like mayor or even governor has also to be amended considering that even a 22 year old could run for a local post, Mendros said. The Comelec regional director, however, said that he personally believes that for one to be eligible as an SK, the age requirement must be from 15 to 25 years old. Increasing the age requirements for SK members to 25 years old would result to wider range of choices for youth leaders, Mendros explained.

“If we want to increase the age of SK to 30 years old therefore we need to amend the law that allows for a person to run for elective position like on local chief executive position by also increasing their age to above 30 years old,” he added. Leyte Vice Governor Carlo Loreto, meantime, said that while their council continue to function even without a representative from the SK, he still want to see one saying that they are better situated to really know the needs and concerns of the young sector they represents. During the recently listing up for the SK, there are now 220,416 eligible voters for the youth elections slated on February 21, 2015. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

BASEY, Samar- Officials and residents of this town are now readying activities to commemorate the first year anniversary of supertyphoon Yolanda. Basey is one of the two hard-hit areas in Samar when Yolanda barreled its way in Eastern Visayas, killing close to a hundred people and destroying thousands of houses. Mayor Igmedio Junjie Ponferrada said that they will hold a Mass to honor and remember those who were killed during the onslaught of Yolanda. He said that other activities are also being lined up during the commemoration of the first year anniversary of Yolanda. The town mayor also said that the occasion will also serve as a venue for them to express their gratitude to the various people and organizations, both local and international, for giving them the much needed assistance. (RYAN GABRIEL ARCENAS)