MONDRAGON, Northern Samar — The municipal government of Mondragon inaugurated its newly constructed Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) Operations Center in Barangay Chitongco on August 26, 2026, to strengthen the town’s emergency response and disaster preparedness efforts.

Mayor Mario “Jojo” Madera and Vice Mayor Myla Marquita led local officials, employees and residents in the blessing and inauguration of the facility.

The MDRRM Operations Center, which cost P8.9 million, was funded by the municipal government and was initially pursued during the administration of former Mayor Lerma Madera, the incumbent mayor’s wife.

The lot where the facility was built was donated by the Madera family, according to municipal officials.

Officials said the new center is expected to improve the municipality’s coordination and response during emergencies and disasters while promoting preparedness and helping protect lives and property.

Municipal officials and employees also attended the inauguration, with Vice Mayor Marquita delivering the closing statement during the ceremony.

The facility forms part of the municipality’s efforts to enhance its disaster risk reduction and management capabilities and provide a dedicated area for emergency coordination and response.

(PETER D. PAREDES)

CATARMAN, Northern Samar — The provincial government of Northern Samar is refining its renewable energy roadmap through a public consultation aimed at strengthening the province’s energy security, resilience and access to sustainable power.

The consultation was held August 25, 2026, at the provincial capitol and brought together members of the Provincial Energy Development Council (PEDC), representatives of government agencies, academe, energy stakeholders and cooperatives.

Jay Keenson Acebuche, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Planning and Development Office, said the consultation sought to review, improve and validate the roadmap’s objectives and ensure that the proposed strategies respond to the province’s energy needs.

Acebuche said reliable and sustainable energy is essential to critical services and economic activities, including hospitals, utilities, digital education, agriculture, water systems, fisheries and local livelihoods.

The proposed roadmap envisions an energy system that is stable, affordable, accessible, resilient and sustainable. Provincial officials said expanding renewable energy could help improve essential services, support livelihoods, stimulate economic activity and strengthen communities’ preparedness for disasters and other emergencies.

During the consultation, stakeholders called for a practical and easy-to-understand roadmap that would clearly identify incentives for renewable energy investments and translate technical concepts into actionable measures.

Participants also recommended integrating human capital development and employment opportunities into the roadmap, including the establishment of a “green energy skills pipeline” involving academic and training institutions to develop local technical expertise.
The consultation also highlighted the need to strengthen the roadmap’s policy, monitoring and evidence base, align national energy laws with local conditions, and establish clear and measurable indicators for implementation.

Stakeholders further proposed an inventory of existing solar installations, stronger community preparedness initiatives and additional studies to address gaps in energy-related data.

The consultation supports the provincial government’s efforts under the leadership of Governor Harris Christopher M. Ongchuan to develop a reliable and sustainable energy system for Northern Samar and future generations.

(EUGENE M. ENANO)

TACLOBAN CITY — Around 8,000 students in Eastern Samar are expected to benefit from the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) program of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), providing financial support to qualified students enrolled in public and private higher education institutions in the province.

CHED Regional Director Maximo Aljibe announced the projected number of beneficiaries during the 2026 Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST)-TES Congress held at the provincial capitol gymnasium in Borongan City.

About 2,800 TES beneficiaries from the Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) system and private higher education institutions in the province attended the congress, which provided updates on the 2026 TES guidelines and other government education assistance programs.
The activity also included discussions on financial literacy and the opening of PISO accounts with the Land Bank of the Philippines, through which beneficiaries can receive their financial assistance.

Aljibe said TES is one of the four major programs under Republic Act No. 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The other programs are Free Higher Education (FHE), the Tulong Dunong Program (TDP), and Free Technical-Vocational Education and Training (FTEVT).

Under TES, qualified students enrolled initate universities and colleges and CHED-recognized local universities and colleges may receive P20,000 per academic year, while qualified students in private higher education institutions may receive P27,000 per academic year.

Additional assistance is also available to qualified students with disabilities and those taking board or licensure examinations.

Meanwhile, the TDP provides qualified beneficiaries with up to P7,500 per regular semester, while FTEVT covers tuition and other school fees, training support, instructional materials, uniform allowance, accident insurance and other related expenses.

Eastern Samar Gov. Ralph Vincent Evardone urged students to use the subsidies wisely, particularly for their educational needs, and to make the most of the opportunities provided through government assistance.

Representatives from UniFAST and the Land Bank of the Philippines attended the congress, along with ESSU President Andres C. Pagatpatan Jr., local government officials, school representatives and student beneficiaries.

The activity forms part of the government’s continuing efforts to expand access to higher education and provide financial assistance to qualified Filipino students.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Eastern Visayas has extended P1.2 million in livelihood assistance to an irrigators’ federation in Ormoc City to help expand its rice trading business and generate additional income for its members.
The assistance was granted to the LACASNA, KASANAG, KASSAMAVA, SJSB, MARLIS, OSDI (LAKKASMO) Irrigators Federation of Agriculture Cooperative (FiCo) under NIA’s Irrigation Management Transfer Support Services (IMTSS).

NIA-8 Institutional Development Section chief Karen Mades said the program is part of the agency’s effort to help irrigators’ associations become more entrepreneurial by providing capital for viable livelihood projects.

“Apart from providing water and irrigation facilities to irrigators’ associations, one of the thrusts and directives of our new irrigation administrator, Eduardo Guillen, is to find initiatives to make our irrigators’ associations enterprising and help them have capital for livelihood through the IMTSS,” Mades said.

The assistance is expected to benefit 2,259 members of the federation, whose rice farms have a combined area of 2,482 hectares.

The LAKKASMO FiCo recently secured a contract with the Ormoc City government under the Sagip Saka Act to supply 37,311 sacks of rice, each weighing 10 kilograms, at P500 per sack.

The contract is valued at about P18.6 million.

Mades said the federation submitted a feasibility study for the proposed rice trading project, which NIA validated through an onsite assessment to determine its viability and potential benefits to the irrigators and the community.

She said NIA will continue to monitor the use of the livelihood assistance to ensure that the funds are properly utilized and that the project remains viable.
“The livelihood assistance before was solely for training, but now we have ventured into another initiative, which is the livelihood program. We assess the projects and continue our monitoring,” Mades said.

Since February this year, NIA-8 has provided more than P13 million in livelihood assistance to various irrigators’ organizations across Eastern Visayas.

The assistance has supported a range of livelihood projects, including agricultural lending, farm-input retail stores, free-range chicken and organic egg production, goat raising, small farm machinery services, microfinancing, virgin coconut oil and other coconut-based products, agricultural input merchandising, agrivet supplies, rice retailing, frozen goods, micro-savings, hog raising and lending programs.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

ORMOC CITY— Police arrested in Surigao del Sur a 53-year-old farmer from Albuera, Leyte, who is listed as the region’s top most wanted person in connection with multiple counts of qualified rape.

Johnny Cayanong, a resident of Barangay Balugo Uno, Albuera, Leyte, was arrested at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, September 3, in Purok 7, Barangay Banahao, Lianga, Surigao del Sur.

Police said the arrest was carried out by virtue of a warrant issued on October 23, 2024, by Judge Carlos Arguelles, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court Branch 14 in Baybay City.

The operation was led by personnel of the 1st Law Enforcement and Public Safety Mobile Force Company (1st LPMFC), with assistance from the Lianga Municipal Police Station, Albuera Municipal Police Station, Regional Intelligence Unit 8-Criminal Investigation Task Force (RIU8-CIT) Ormoc, and Anti-Kidnapping Group-Visayas Field Unit (AKG-VFU) Ormoc Satellite.

Cayanong is facing three counts of qualified rape by sexual assault, with a recommended bail of P600,000.

He is also facing a separate count of qualified rape for which the court recommended no bail.

After his arrest, Cayanong was brought to the Lianga Municipal Police Station for documentation and proper disposition.

Police said the arrest resulted from coordination among law enforcement units in Eastern Visayas and the Caraga region in locating Cayanong, who was identified as the region’s top most wanted person in connection with the cases filed against him.

(ELVIE ROA)