TACLOBAN CITY – A week before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) and the resumption of session, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez assured on Sunday, July 14 that the House of Representatives is committed to passing the 2025 national budget, remaining Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority bills, and possible additional key Sona measures.

“The House (of Representatives) is ready to take swift and decisive action to ensure these legislative priorities are met, paving the way for sustained development and progress under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos,” Speaker Romualdez said in statement.

He mentioned that Congress awaits the executive branch’s proposed P6.352-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP), which will form the basis for the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), and aims to pass it before the end of September.

The Speaker emphasized that the swift and timely passage of next year’s national budget is a top priority.

“The 2025 national budget is essential for sustaining our nation’s growth and addressing the immediate needs of our citizens, and the House is ready to ensure its swift approval to support our development and progress,” he added.

“We are ready and determined to work hard to pass the 2025 GAB before we go on break at the end of September. We will ensure the timely transmission of the spending bill to the Senate for their consideration as well,” the Leyte solon further said.

The 2025 national budget, which represents a 10 percent increase from this year’s P5.768-trillion allocation, is equivalent to 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

In addition to the 2025 national budget, Speaker Romualdez said the House of Representatives is ready to pass all the President’s priority measures during the remaining session days of the 19th Congress.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY – About 15 medical interns and students from Ateneo de Manila University School of Medicine and Public Health (ASMPH) are currently in Northern Samar to help extend hospital and community care.

The interns will stay in the province for four weeks as part of their internship and immersion program, the Northern Samar Provincial Information Office said in a statement.
This group is the first of two batches of interns and medical students deployed to the province.

They will be assigned on a rotational shift at the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital, district hospitals, and rural health centers in the province, allowing them to experience work in both curative and preventive healthcare settings in Northern Samar.

Dr. John Ezekiel Valera, chief technical officer of the Northern Samar Provincial Health Office, mentioned that the deployment of doctors, interns, and medical students is part of an ongoing partnership program between the provincial government and ASMPH.

This program has, so far, helped bring several medical personnel to work in the province.
The first batch consists of six intern doctors and nine medical students. Among those deployed in Northern Samar are Yeoj Luces and Generoso Rene Romo III, who are assigned to two district hospitals.

“I really enjoyed it. My eyes were opened to how different the setting here in Northern Samar is compared to Metro Manila. I am impressed by the resilience of the people here and those who work here. Especially their resourcefulness in getting things done. I am happy that I chose to do my elective internship here,” Luces said.

Romo, on his part, said that interacting with patients during their daily rounds helps him be more sensitive to the patients’ needs.

“Our mindset is being molded. We are becoming more ready in a sense. Aside from interviewing patients, we are learning quick examinations, things like catheterization, and assisting. We are becoming more aware of things, not extending time in thought processes,” he said.

Since 2016, about 140 Ateneans have been deployed to Northern Samar under the ASMPH program.

Additionally, UP medical interns have also expressed interest in joining Ateneans in working for Northern Samar to complement health resources, learn from health experts, and increase people’s access to healthcare services. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The mayor of Arteche, Eastern Samar expressed his gratitude for the opportunity given by the Department of Health (DOH) to share his programs addressing nutrition problems in his locality.

Mayor Roland Boie Evardone was one of the mayors from the Visayas who shared their experiences at the Mayor’s Forum for the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP) held last week.

This initiative of the Marcos Administration focuses on promoting good health and nutrition through a multisectoral approach.

PMNP is implemented by the DOH and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in collaboration with the National Nutrition Council (NNC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Science and Technology – Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“We sincerely thank the DOH and DSWD for giving us the opportunity to share with our fellow mayors from Regions 8, 7, and 6 our health and nutrition strategies through Project Susan.e,” Mayor Evardone said.

Project Susan.e, or Project Sustainable Nutrition and Nanay Empowerment, is a collaborative initiative aimed at addressing the critical issue of malnutrition among children in the municipality.

It has several components, including MaMa (Masaganang Pagbubuntis, Masiglang Kamusmusan/Masustansiya at Masiglang First 1,000 Days), LETRA (Literacy Enrichment Training and Reading Assistance), One Barangay One Gulay, among others.

In his presentation during the forum, Mayor Evardone shared that they successfully reduced the stunting rate in their town from 26.04% in 2023 to 14.89% in 2024.

Additionally, they improved their ranking in terms of the prevalence of underweight children from 2nd among 23 towns in the province with 10.86% in 2023 to 19th with only 4.52% in 2024.

As a recipient of the project, the LGU of Arteche received a total of P1.95 million under Component 1 of the PMNP to support their health and nutrition programs.

Out of the 236 municipalities across the country participating in the PMNP, 70 are from Eastern Visayas, including those from the provinces of Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, and Biliran.

The program, implemented over four years, aims to provide iron folic acid supplementation among pregnant women, ensure access to prenatal care services, offer nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific services, promote breastfeeding, and provide access to sanitary toilets.

LGUs included in the program have stunting rates higher than 17.5%, poverty incidence equal to 21% based on the 2015 Philippine Statistics Authority Small Area Estimate, KALAHI-CIDSS implementation, and are covered by the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Area program.

Throughout the four-year implementation, the region is expected to receive P943 million in funding. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)