TACLOBAN CITY – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Eastern Visayas has successfully concluded its Gawad Kalasag (GK) Seal and Humanitarian Assistance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Caravan across all six provinces in the region.
From January to February, OCD-8 personnel visited each province in partnership with Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices and Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers’ Associations. The caravan aimed to assist local government units (LGUs) in preparing their documents for the GK Award.

During the activity, OCD-8 provided a comprehensive visual guide outlining the necessary means of verification (MOVs) required for submissions, along with instructions on properly organizing and packaging supporting documents based on the 2024 GK guidelines and checklist.

This initiative seeks to streamline the submission process, ensuring LGUs can effectively present their DRRM practices and supporting documents in a well-structured manner.
OCD-8 has been conducting the caravan since 2022 to guide LGUs in refining their entries and ensuring smooth submissions.

As a result, the number of GK award submissions increased from 105 in 2023 to 139 in 2024, with the number of awardees rising from 31 to 87 within the same period.

In addition to assisting LGUs, OCD-8 also conducted caravans for the Special Awards Category under the GK program. This category recognizes critical institutions such as hospitals, higher education institutions, organizations, and government emergency response teams for their contributions to disaster risk reduction and management.

Potential awardees were visited and given an overview of the GK process, along with technical assistance on category-specific checklists and formatting guidelines.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY– Farmers in Leyte are getting positive gains from the Farming Support Services Program of the National Irrigation Administration Region 8 which produces the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) rice that sells at a very affordable price of P29 per kilo.
At least 11 irrigators association joined in a recent “Kadiwa ng Pangulo sa NIA” as their farmer-members beam with pride in being able to produce quality but affordable rice for the communities, especially for the vulnerable sector.

Danilo Ulbata, President of the Sanolmaco Irrigators’ Association in Javier town in Leyte, said NIA’s Farmers Support Services Program has provided farmers with the much-needed leverage in order to compete with the commercial rice market.

“The support package our farmers we receive from NIA is a big help and incredibly beneficial in reducing the average cost from production to harvest,” Ulbata said.

More than that, he added, is the satisfaction that farmers are able to provide consumers with affordable but quality and locally-produced rice.

Under this program, farmers receive a P50,000 support package comprising hybrid seeds, fertilizers, and labor cost assistance. In return, they provide NIA with five metric tons of rice per harvest. If a farmer’s yield falls short, the incentives are adjusted proportionately.
Meanwhile, NIA-8 Regional Manager Jaime C. de Jesus, contract farming support services program is steadily getting its goal for food security and sustainable resource management.
“This program will continue to assist our farmers in the value chain process while providing our consumers with access to affordable rice,” De Jesus said.

2,000 bags rice packed at 10 kg per bag and priced at P29 were sold during the recent Kadiwa ng Pangulos sa NIA which prioritized vulnerable groups such as the senior citizens, solo parents, persons with disabilities and those under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The Kadiwa ng Pangulo sa NIA also offered vegetables, corn, eggs, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other processed products which were produce from the local irrigators’ associations.

(JASMINE KATE P. AGOSTO/ PIA LEYTE)

TACLOBAN CITY – The inflation rate (IR) in Eastern Visayas continued its downward trend, reaching 1.1 percent in February 2025, a slight decrease from 1.3 percent in January 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This brings the region’s average inflation rate from January to February 2025 to 1.2 percent, lower than the national inflation rate of 2.1 percent for the same period.

The latest figure also marks a significant improvement compared to February 2024’s regional IR of 3.7 percent, reflecting easing price pressures across key commodity groups.
The drop in inflation was primarily driven by slower price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which saw a decline from 1.0 percent in January to 0.7 percent in February 2025. The transport sector also contributed to the downtrend, with its IR decreasing from 0.6 percent to 0.1 percent over the same period.

Additionally, personal care, miscellaneous goods, and services registered a slower IR at 1.3 percent in February, down from 1.7 percent in January. Other commodity groups that recorded slower IRs include health – 1.6 percent (from 1.7 percent); and recreation, sport, and culture – 1.8 percent (from 2.0 percent).

Despite the overall decline, certain sectors saw an uptick in inflation. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco registered an increase from 3.0 percent in January to 3.4 percent in February 2025, while housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels rose from 1.7 percent to 2.2 percent.

Food inflation in Eastern Visayas further declined to 0.6 percent in February 2025, down from 0.9 percent in January and significantly lower than 7.0 percent in February 2024.
The drop in food inflation was mainly due to the faster annual price decrease in rice, which recorded a 6.3 percent decline in February, compared to a 4.2 percent drop in January.

Slower inflation was also observed in vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses – 6.0 percent (from 8.7 percent); sugar, confectionery, and desserts – (-2.0 percent from -1.9 percent); flour, bread, pasta, and other cereals – 1.6 percent (from 1.7 percent).
However, price increases were recorded in corn – 1.5 percent (from 0.9 percent); meat – 3.7 percent (from 1.0 percent); fish and seafood – 4.9 percent (from 4.5 percent); milk, dairy products, and eggs – 2.3 percent (from 2.0 percent); fruits and nuts – 5.9 percent (from 4.5 percent); and ready-made food products – 5.0 percent (from 4.9 percent)
The top three contributors to regional inflation in February 2025 were housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels – 34.6 percent share (0.4 percentage points); food and non-alcoholic beverages – 28.5 percent share (0.3 percentage points); and education services – 8.4 percent share (0.1 percentage point)

For food inflation, the biggest contributors were fish and seafood – 221.0 percent share (1.33 percentage points); meat – 143.6 percent share (0.9 percentage points); and vegetables, tubers, plantains, and pulses – 117.0 percent share (0.7 percentage points).

(JOEY A. GABIETA, LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)