MAKATI CITY- Nine local government units from the region have joined the roster of Municipal Leadership and Governance Program (MLGP) completers, overcoming the six building blocks of the country’s health system.
On Thursday (Sept.29) afternoon, the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila-School of Health Sciences in partnership with Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) and the Department of Health (DOH) held a colloquium at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center in Makati City.
The colloquium is a final requirement to complete their MLGP. During the event, mayors shared how their personal and leadership transformations paved the way for much needed reforms in their local health systems to help their poor constituents.
MLGP graduates were former mayors Loreto Yu of Alangalang, Leyte; Alden Avestruz of Barugo, Leyte; Fe Renomeron of Burauen, Leyte; Manuel Sia-Que of Dulag, Leyte; Mayors Kathleen Prudenciado of Almagro, Samar; Gemma Zosa of Sta. Margarita, Samar; Marilou Latorre of Villareal, Samar; Mark Biong of Giporlos, Eastern Samar; and Mario Madera of Mondragon, Northern Samar.
The local leaders were accompanied by their respective municipal health officers who also graduated from the MLGP.
“It is our duty to implement health plans and programs, allocate the maximum resources available, and support health workers and staff to ensure the well-being of our constituents,” said Salvador Isidro Destura, dean of the UP-Manila-School of Health Sciences.
The health department emphasized the value of building the capacities of local government units considering that they are frontline service providers after the devolution of health programs.
“Our graduates this afternoon can now be truly called bridging leaders. We also look forward that through them, we will be able to sustain all health initiatives,” said Exuperia Sabalbarino, DOH-8 local health system development system section chief.
ZFF vice president Arlene Gelia noted that the program enables transformation of mayors and local health leaders.
“You have true commitment to improve health in your communities by greening your score cards,” she said.
Score cards are tools used by the program to measure the local government’s performance before and after joining the program.
Indicators with green colors show good performance while red signifies poor performance.
The program has training and leadership coaching on local health system development, with focus on the World Health Organization’s 6 building blocks of health system.
These are good governance in the health sector, health service delivery, health workforce, health information, access to essential medicines, and healthcare financing.
The benefits of the program include personal development in health leadership and governance, improvement of municipal health outcomes, translate health outcomes into political gains, academic units leading to a master’s degree, networking and partnerships (building social capital), opportunity for health program grants and infrastructure development, and opportunity for Seal of Health Governance recognition.
In Eastern Visayas, there are already 49 mayors who completed the program, according to DOH.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO)
9 Eastern Visayas mayors complete health leadership program
DPWH-Biliran joined the 156th Pueblo Day in Naval
NAVAL, Biliran- The employees of Biliran District Engineering Office (BDEO) joined the 156th Naval Pueblo Day celebration on Monday (Sept. 26) with this year’s theme “Lingi sa Kagahapon, Asenso sa Kaugmaon.”
The day was declared as a special non-working day in the entire municipality of Naval under Proclamation No. 14 to give the people in the area full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.
The event was started with a thanksgiving mass at 6:00 am at the Naval Cathedral Church followed by a parade around the town wherein Biliran DEO employees actively participated on the said activity.
It was the longest parade so far in the town wherein numerous participants from local government, national government agencies, students of the different schools in the municipality and the provincial government of Biliran.
The parade lasted for two hours from 7:30am t0 9:00 am followed by a program at the municipal building rounds with various activities were lined up.
Among the activities were the presentation of Miss Naval and Festival Queen, Cosplay contest and people’s day activities such as tabo sa municipyo, free legal assistance, trabaho sa municipyo, passport requirements assistance, pakasal sa municipyo (mass wedding),bingo panalo sponsored by Coca-Cola and the cultural and employees night at Naval Gymnasium and Pasundayag Night 2016 at the municipal grounds.
The annual celebration is in commemoration of the recognition of the town of Naval as a ‘pueblo’ by the Spanish colonial government. (PR)
School building turned over in Calbayog secondary school
CALBAYOG CITY- A three storey-six classroom school building at Oquendo National High School (ONHS), Oquendo Poblacion, this city, was inaugurated Monday (Sept. 26).
The blessing and turn-over of this project was graced by various agencies involved in the implementation including the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Samar First District Engineering Office (SFDEO), Department of Education (DepEd), local government unit, ONHS faculty, and the senior high school students, the beneficiaries of the project.
Construction of the project kicked-off last October 21, 2015 constructed by B. Vicencio Construction in the amount of P9.83 million.
“I challenge the ONHS faculty and students to take good care of the building; to maintain and improve the structure, for the betterment of the facility and not to destroy it,” said Raul D. Agban, officer-in-charge, schools division superintendent.
“This building is for us; for the use of our senior high school students for a better learning. Let us maintain its beauty,” Agban added.
Milaner Oyo-a, ONHS school principal, humbly accepted Agban’s challenge.
“With the help of my teaching and non-teaching staff, I promise to deliver quality education to our students,” he said.
Engr. Carlos Ranola, chief of Construction Section, DPWH SFDEO, officiated the turn-over of the symbolic key.
Classrooms are utilized by some 166 senior high students. Prior to the completion of the project, classes are being held under the mango trees of ONHS. (PR)
Rehab of the abaca industry in EV now underway
TACLOBAN CITY- The AIS Hotel has formally opened for business on Tuesday and is ready to accept its guests.
A lion dance was performed to usher good vibes, as they say, before delighted guests.
The AIS Hotel, located at Manlurip district, this city sitting on a 1,200 square meters, is owned and operated by Golden Ox Asia Pacific Inc.
Each room of the AIS Hotel boosts with a 32- inches flat screen television with cable; hot and cold shower; keyless room and with intercommunication devise.
All the rooms are also equipped with smoke and fire safety detector; maternity size bed.
Out of the projected 50 rooms of the AIS Hotel, 10 rooms are ready to accept guests as constructions of the 20 rooms located at the second floor are underway.
Another 20 rooms are soon to be constructed at the hotel’s third floor to compete its 50-rooms capacity.
Aside from the amenities the hotel offers to its guests, AIS Hotel offers free breakfast and has also its own parking area.
What makes AIS Hotel an ideal place, particularly to tourists and travellers, is its proximity to the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport.
Also, guests of the AIS Hotel could also take a walk and visit the historic MacArthur National Memorial Landing Park at the nearby Candahug in Palo, Leyte.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
Visayas business leaders get oriented on geothermal energy operations
ORMOC CITY-Some delegates of the Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC) got oriented on how clean energy is produced by Energy Development Corporation (EDC) from the company’s geothermal plants in Leyte.
The plant visit was part of the activities that the conference organizers lined up for delegates.
Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, in his message at the opening of the VABC, cited EDC’s geothermal plants as one of the major factors why the city is being increasingly preferred by investors as they are assured of clean, reliable and uninterruptible power supply.
He added that the geothermal plants and the way its operations are harmonized with nature are also a potential ecotourism destination.
Geothermal is the only renewable energy that is available 24/7, all year round.
The Leyte geothermal plants with an installed capacity of 701 MW supply clean reliable power not only to Leyte but also to Visayas and Luzon. (PR)
Oxfam, Smart offer livelihood to ‘Yolanda’ survivors
(Photo by Vicky Arnaiz)
TACLOBAN CITY- Close to three years after supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ pummeled this city, thousands of its people remain out of jobs and with no steady income of their own.
But thanks to Oxfam, an international aid organization, together with its partners Smart Communications and others partnered with other non-government organizations at the forefront of relief, they could earn an income even they will just stay at their respective homes.
On September 11, 2016, Oxfam, Smart and PayMaya Philippines banded together in collaboration with the Tacloban City government launched the financial inclusion program at the Leyte Park Hotel to benefit 16,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).
At the launching, Justin Morgan, country director of Oxfam said that they believe that equitable access to financial services is crucial for them to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
“We are happy that Smart and PayMaya are working with us to help the LGU of Tacloban rebuild the local economy by improving financial literacy and inclusion. We have good partners in this collaboration for Tacloban to recover faster,” Morgan said.
In the Philippines, Oxfam works with poor people to sustain their livelihoods and reduce their risks to natural and human-made disasters and climate-change impacts.
Charmaine Esguerra, 24, a resident of Barangay Paseo de Legaspi, this city who was with her four-month old baby girl during the launching, said she was excited when she heard about the program in her village as this will help augment the income in the family.
“I want to avail of the sari-sari starter package incentive and resell the products. My baby is only four months old and this package is convenient for me since I don’t need to go out to sell the items,” Esguerra, whose husband is a construction worker, said.
For Alex Hembra, 65 years old and a resident of Calanipawan district, shared that the opportunity offered by Oxfam and Smart will be a good way to augment the meager income he earns as a pedicab driver.
“I am too old to drive a pedicab. My dream is to have a mobile sari-sari store and I know this will come true with this program,” Hembra, who lives with his 73 year-old brother, also a pedicab driver, said.
The humanitarian project promotes entrepreneurship and the value of savings in communities.
Under the project, qualified beneficiaries will receive Smart Money prepaid cards that can be linked to their mobile phones – a mobile money product of PayMaya Philippines where they are encouraged to place any amount (P1 and above) through any Smart Padala Center in Tacloban.
As they put their money, they will receive real-time notifications such as available balance via SMS (short message service).
Rewards and incentives are in-store for the beneficiaries. Once they reached a certain amount in their savings, they can opt to have a Smart retailer package consisting of a Smart retailer SIM and credits that they can use to start a mobile load business.
Another choice is a sari-sari store starter set with Unilever products that they can resell as another source of income.
The estimated 16,000 beneficiaries from 45 coastal villages in the city are encouraged to save every day to build the culture of savings.
City Administrator Irene Chiu, representing Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Gonzales Romualdez at the launching, thanked the partners in helping the city become resilient.
“It has been three years but Oxfam and Smart Communications are still helping the people of Tacloban and make our city better. This project is very helpful as not all have access to traditional financial banking system and it makes it easier for people to save through Smart and PayMaya,” Chiu shared.
The Financial Inclusion for Tacloban Resettlement Integrated Program (TRIP) also offers accident insurance.
For families composed of six or more members, the family is entitled to two beneficiaries who are 18 and above and belong to vulnerable group — senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), conditional cash transfer beneficiaries, single parents, child-headed families and pregnant or nursing mothers.
City Vice Mayor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin, who graced the event, said that that he and the people of the city are grateful for this financial literacy and entrepreneurship program.
Yaokasin said that this program uses technology to fight poverty, fight injustice, uplift and empower our people. This is the kind of program that ensures that nobody is left behind.
Benjie Fernandez, co-chief operating officer of PayMaya Philippines, shared that this program revolves around the slogan of the launching “Handa, Matatag, Determinado, Asenso Tacloban!
He said that technology was made available for the resilient people of Tacloban. The program provides education through series of financial literacy caravans in communities, incentives and start-up businesses.
“PayMaya Philippines is committed to creating a long-lasting impact on the development of communities through our financially inclusive innovations including Smart Money, which provides SIM-based mobile money services,” Fernandez said.
(VICKY C. ARNAIZ)