Catarman, N. Samar – In celebration of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) 126th anniversary with the theme “Serbisyong May Bilis: Building Better More for a New Philippines,” the Northern Samar First District Engineering Office (DEO), led by District Engineer Alvin A. Ignacio and Assistant District Engineer Vivian G. Biaco, organized a coastal clean-up drive along the Dalakit Tamburusan Shoreline in Brgy. Dalakit, Catarman, Northern Samar, on June 8, 2024.
Over 300 permanent and job order personnel participated in the event, collecting trash and cleaning the designated areas.
The effort resulted in the collection and proper disposal of two truckloads of garbage, primarily consisting of non-biodegradable materials and sea debris.
District Engineer Ignacio emphasized the importance of community involvement in preserving the natural beauty and health of the shoreline. “Our beautiful coastlines are a source of life and sustenance for many, and it is our responsibility to protect and preserve them for future generations. This cleanup effort is not just about removing trash; it is about fostering a culture of environmental stewardship and collective responsibility,” DE Ignacio stated.
The successful coastal clean-up drive demonstrates DPWH’s commitment to environmental stewardship and community involvement, setting a positive example for future initiatives. (ANALIZA A. PABIA, PIO ALTERNATE/PR)
TACLOBAN CITY- The Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño here in the city is all set to celebrate its 135th parish fiesta with the holding of the pre-Balyuan rites kicking the celebration.
The pre-Balyuan rites, where in Sto. Niño de Tacloban travels to Basey, Samar, took place on Tuesday (June 18), marking the religious activities.
The Mass Celebrants of this year’s novena masses will be priests who were either born or are residents of Tacloban City.
The Vigil Mass will be on June 29, 2024 at 5 pm to be presided by Most. Rev. Oscar Jaime Florencio, D.D., bishop of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines.
On the feast day or on June 30, Archbishop John Du, D.D. will be the main celebrant of the stational mass to be held at 9:30 am at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño.
Fluvial and land procession will follow in the afternoon.
This year’s theme, “Urusa Pagmisyon ha Singbahan nga Sinodo,” invites devotees to unite in proclaiming the need to be in communion with one another as they walk towards the Kingdom of God. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
BORONGAN CITY– The Department of Public Works and Highways – Eastern Samar District Engineering Office (DPWH-ESDEO) with the Department of Education is set to implement 16 school building projects all over Eastern Samar this year.
In an interview during the PIA Eastern Samar’s Huruhimangraw ha Este radio program, Jayson Espeso, DPWH-ESDEO information officer, said the projects involve the construction of several one-storey two-classroom school building in the province.
The total budget for the projects amounts to P79.8 million under the DepEd Basic Educational Facilities Fund (BEFF) for Fiscal Year 2024.
The schools benefiting from this budget allocation include Bulawan Elementary School in Maslog; Guiuan East Central Elementary School, Tubabao National High School, and National High School in Guiuan; Naparaan Elementary School and Tagbacan Elementary School in Salcedo; San Isidro Elementary School and Hilabaan National High School in Dolores; San Jose Elementary School in Mercedes; Tinago Elementary School in Quinapondan; Can-avid National High School in Can-avid; Eastern Samar Comprehensive National High School in Borongan City; Malinao Elementary School in Taft; Giporlos Central School in Giporlos; Llorente National High School- Barobo Extension in Llorente; and Maydolong Central Elementary School in Maydolong.
District Engineer Domcelio Natividad announced that the Notices of Award for the school building projects were already issued within May 2024.
Natividad added that the timing allows for the optimal implementation of the construction projects while the students are on vacation, minimizing disruption to their classes.
The district engineer also emphasized the importance of this period for contractors to expedite construction efforts.
“We urge contractors to take full advantage of the vacation period to ensure timely completion of these projects,” said Natividad.
In 2023, DPWH-ESDEO has also implemented 21 school building projects with a total appropriation of P152.898 million under DepEd BEFF FY 2023 funding.
The district engineer mentioned that out of the 21 projects, 20 school buildings have already been completed and turned over to the schools while the remaining project, located in San Isidro Primary School in Lawaan Eastern Samar, is nearly complete with an accomplishment of 95.07 percent.
Natividad assured that the district office is fully committed to fast-tracking the implementation of these projects.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that these school buildings are constructed efficiently and in accordance with DPWH standards specifications. Also, this initiative underscores the commitment of the DPWH to improve educational infrastructure, providing a better learning environment for students in the province,” the district engineer said. (VEE TOLENTINO GUMBAN, PIA EASTERN SAMAR)
ORMOC CITY-A fire watcher for a local company was apprehended with seven sachets containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu during a buy-bust operation.
The operation was conducted by the Station Drug Enforcement Team of Police Station 2 of the Ormoc City Police Office at about 10:50 pm on Friday (June 14) in Purok 2, Brgy. Cagbuhangin, this city.
The suspect, identified as Roselle Macaban, also known as “Amaw,” is 26 years old, single, and employed as a fire watcher at Tacophil Construction.
Macaban is listed as a street level individual on the local police’s drug watch list.
During the operation, authorities recovered one cut plastic straw containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu, weighing approximately 0.54 grams, purchased by an operative for P500.
A body search, conducted in the presence of an elected official and a local media representative, yielded five sachets and one heat-sealed transparent cut plastic straw of suspected shabu.
The total estimated weight of the recovered substances was 2.20 grams, with an estimated street value of P15,000.
No statement was issued by the arrested suspect to the media covering the operation.
Charges for violations of Sections 5 (selling illegal drugs) and 11 (possession of illegal drugs) of Article II of RA 9165, the Comprehensive Law Against Illegal Drugs of 2002, have been filed against the suspect at the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Macaban is temporarily detained at the lock-up cell of Police Station 2 of OCPO in Brgy. Cagbuhangin. (ROBERT DEJON)
Guest mountaineers from mountaineering groups SAMOC, MFPI- MT. Pangasugan Trailblazers Assoc. Inc., Maasin Outdoor Enthusiast, NULOC, BAKTAS Tamolayag, Freelance poses at the Kapatagan Valley Camp site. (Photo credit to Clim Biliran)
Guest mountaineers from mountaineering groups SAMOC, MFPI- MT. Pangasugan Trailblazers Assoc. Inc., Maasin Outdoor Enthusiast, NULOC, BAKTAS Tamolayag, Freelance poses at the Kapatagan Valley Camp site. (Photo credit to Clim Biliran)
TACLOBAN CITY – The provincial government of Biliran is positioning itself as Eastern Visayas’ mountaineering haven with the launch of Climb Biliran.
Biliran is blessed with numerous natural wonders, including island destinations like Higatangan Island, Sambawan Island, and Dalupiri Island, as well as dozens of waterfalls such as Ulan-ulan, Recoletos, and Tinago.
In 2023, the province was officially included as one of the cruise tourism destinations in the region.
To create a unique tourism identity, the provincial tourism office has chosen mountaineering or hiking as their main tourism product.
“Being an island province offers a unique position. We may not compete in record heights or degree of difficulty, but we offer a variety of enjoyable summit experiences ranging from easy to moderate to more challenging,” Biliran Provincial Tourism Officer Jun Oliva said.
Biliran is the smallest province in Eastern Visayas, covering 536.01 square kilometers and comprising eight towns.
Prior to the launching of Climb Biliran, the province hosted several adventure activities, such as Karera Habagat in 2004, the Catamaran Challenge in 2008, and the joint La Routa and Asian Racing World Series in 2023.
“Biliran is feasible to become an adventure capital, an opportunity that might give us a good break,” Oliva said.
The preparation for promoting and marketing Biliran as the mountaineering haven of Eastern Visayas took about two years, with support from the regional office of the Department of Tourism.
Part of the preparation included training and refresher courses for mountaineering tour guides who are part of the Biliran Adventure Guides Organization (BAGO).
These trainings covered mountain guiding, wilderness first aid, and emergency procedure protocols. BAGO members also underwent mountain search and rescue training to ensure they are well-equipped to handle any situation and provide a safe and memorable experience for visitors.
Although the main goal of launching Climb Biliran is to increase tourist arrivals by encouraging hikers and professional mountaineers to visit the province, Oliva stressed that this is also part of their campaign for environmental protection and preservation.
“Tourism, while providing food for our tourism workers, should have minimal impact on the environment,” he said.
More than 40 mountaineering enthusiasts and hikers from Albay, General Santos, Cebu, Bislig City, Bacolod, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte, and Biliran were invited to participate in the invitational climb held from June 14 to 16 for the launch of Climb Biliran.
These mountaineers climbed the summits of Mt. Panamao, Tres Marias Mountain Range, Mt. Suiro, and the Kapatagan Valley, the summer capital of Biliran.
After their two-day climb, the mountaineers provided feedback to the tourism office on improvements such as clearing trails and providing two-way communication radios for emergencies.
DOT-8 Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes emphasized that identifying specific activities for a province makes promotion and marketing easier.
“It’s easy to promote a place if you have an image of that place,” Tiopes said.
She added that inviting mountaineers from other provinces and cities helps promote the activity within their respective communities, resulting in income for the local community as more visitors come to climb the mountains of Biliran and experience its untouched nature.
Tiopes also thanked the climbers who joined the invitational climb for their observations, which will help improve services for future guests.
“We will never be a mountaineering destination unless we are open to feedback. We took note of those and will address them so that next time when guests come here, we are ready,” Tiopes emphasized. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY-About 48,261 ‘poorest of the poor’ from the four provinces of Eastern Visayas have been targeted under the government’s food stamp program (FSP).
This was disclosed by Grace Subong, the regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the lead agency of the program which aims to address involuntary hunger and malnutrition, on Tuesday (June 11) in a press conference spearheaded by the Philippine Information Agency.
“For this program, out of the 300,000 identified target nationwide, 48,261 will come from Region 8 who will be receiving P3,000 worth of food stamps,” she said.
Subong said that the 46,261 targeted beneficiaries will come from the provinces of Northern Samar (5,073); Samar, 12,258; Eastern Samar, 7,618; and Leyte, 48,261.
Biliran and Southern Leyte were not included citing that these provinces were no longer considered as food- poor provinces, the DSWD regional head said.
It was learned from Subong that the identified beneficiaries of the FSP were culled from their ‘Listahan’ or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) which is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are in the country.
For this program, which will have a regional launching in July, the national government allocated P5.21 billion covering the three year implementation of the program, or until 2027, in Eastern Visayas.
Subong said that the beneficiary will be receiving their cards or electronic beneficiary transfer cards from accredited stores, including the Kadiwa centers, on their localities, wherein they are only to purchase nutritious foods to help address the malnutrition problem and at the same time, help the local businesses.
“There’s no cash involved; it’s strictly for purchasing goods in the form of food. It’s explicit that the funds are to be spent solely on nutritional items,” she clarified.
