ORMOC CITY – Tragedy struck on Saturday (March 30) when an 8-year-old boy drowned while swimming at the beach in Sitio Digyo Island, Barangay Apid, Inopacan, Leyte.
The victim, a resident of Barangay San Roque, Santa Fe, Leyte, was enjoying the Holy Week with his family when the unfortunate incident occurred.
According to the police, the boy was swimming at the beach without supervision when he was suddenly found lifeless near the coastline, indicating that he had drowned.
His family rushed him to the General District Hospital in Hilongos, Leyte, for immediate medical attention. However, upon arrival, he was pronounced dead by the attending physician.
The boy’s remains were then transported to a local funeral parlor before being returned to his hometown in Santa Fe. (ROBERT DEJON)
SECURITY CONCERNS: Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr.(center) met on Saturday (March 23) with several mayors from Leyte’s third district, an area plagued by a surge in shooting and killing incidents. Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho ‘Icot’ Petilla and police officials, led by regional director B/Gen. Reynaldo Pawid, were also present.Sec. Abalos made a commitment to tackle the escalating security problem besetting the area. (PHOTO COURTESY, JAY VIAGEDOR)
Proposed railway project also discussed
SECURITY CONCERNS: Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr.(center) met on Saturday (March 23) with several mayors from Leyte’s third district, an area plagued by a surge in shooting and killing incidents. Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho ‘Icot’ Petilla and police officials, led by regional director B/Gen. Reynaldo Pawid, were also present.Sec. Abalos made a commitment to tackle the escalating security problem besetting the area. (PHOTO COURTESY, JAY VIAGEDOR)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Regional Development Council (RDC) in Eastern Visayas has greenlit various projects for the current year with a total budget of P268.7 billion.
These government-initiated projects were approved by the RDC, chaired by Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez during their first quarter regular meeting held last March 19, Meylene Rosales, the regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority(NEDA) which serves as the secretariat of the council.
Rosales said that these projects are composed of 3, 575 government initiatives submitted and approved by the RDC to the various government agencies for funding purposes.
Included in these projects are ongoing projects under Tier 1 to be implemented next year and Tier 2 projects funded and to be implemented this year.
Of these 3, 575 projects, 1, 268 are priority programs and projects under the infrastructures and utilities sector, 357 under the social sector, 215 under the economic sector, and 127 under the development administration.
The RDC-8, during the meeting, also discussed three priority projects for the region which include the proposed Eastern Visayas Railway System worth P105 billion, scheduled to be implemented from 2025 to 2035.
The railway project aims to connect Samar and Leyte Island through a railway system which is one of the priority infrastructure projects of the Marcos administration.
The Department of Transportation will lead the implementation of this project which bidding for a feasibility study worth P78.60 million will be conducted this year.
They also discussed the Basic Education Facility project of the Department of Education worth P8.1 billion which implementation started in 2023 until 2027.
Another priority project for the region is the Tuna Development Program of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources worth P2 billion implemented in 2023 until 2028.
DENR-8 Regional
Executive
Director
Lormelyn Claudio
DENR-8 Regional Executive Director Lormelyn Claudio
TACLOBAN CITY – The regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) vowed that their office is strictly monitoring the operations of mining companies in Eastern Samar, particularly on the islands of Homonhon and Manicani.
DENR-8 Regional Executive Director Lormelyn Claudio made this assurance during an online press conference who said that protecting the two islands are among her priorities.
She said that she made this known when she assumed her post and during her meeting with officials of the Environmental Management Bureau and the Mines and Geoscience Bureau together with the provincial government of Eastern Samar.
“We discussed concerns, environmental concerns, and that needed studies that these mining corporations would have to do,” Claudio said.
“In fact, it would be good for you to know, that we even proposed for the mining companies to enhance the cultural and the historical features of both islands and they agreed on that,” she said.
“They agreed as well that the biophysical and marine assessment studies would be undertaken,” she further said.
Claudio said that this project even implemented by the government will still have to go through the clearance and permitting system of DENR.
“Please be assured that we will ensure that the stakeholder concern will be considered even with the review process within these two islands,” she said.
The environment agency official added that they had strengthened the environmental monitoring of the projects and that this monitoring “has to be transparent.”
“Even with the concern on the watershed in Homonhon Island, I’d like to inform you that one company will only be allowed to do the tree cutting and operation in the center of its MPSA,” Claudio added.
Environmental groups are opposing the mining operations on Homonhon and Manicani Islands which they said aside from destroying the environment, also pose health hazards to the residents.
The group added that these mining operations desecrates the historical value of the island particularly Homonhon which is recognized in the pages of world history, being the site where Ferdinand Magellan landed while they were looking for a new route going to Moluccas for spice trade.
At least four mining companies are operating on the island of Homonhon which are concentrated in two villages – Cagusuan and Casuguran, extracting nickel and chromite.
At least three of the eight villages on the island are not affected by mining operations, namely, Bitaugan, Habag, and Inapulangan.
During the commemoration of the 503rd Philippine part of the first circumnavigation in the world last March 17, a 21-kilometer road project was launched by the 4Ps Partylist headed by Rep. Marcelino ‘Nonoy’ Libanan together with the municipal government of Guiuan, and the Department of Public Works and Highways which will be part of the 61-kilometer Homonhon Island Circumferential Road. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY-The local police here are conducting a thorough investigation over the shooting that led to the death of a businessman last March 21.
The victim was identified as a certain Deo, 51, and a resident of Brgy. 28, P. Gomez St., this city, who was shot dead at about 5:30 am by still unidentified suspects who were on board a single motorcycle.
Investigation conducted by the local police disclosed that the victim was walking on the sidewalk along P. Gomez, St., and upon reaching in front of a pawnshop, one of the suspects, who seemed to be waiting for him in the area, suddenly pulled an unknown caliber of a firearm a shot the victim in his abdomen.
The suspects fled after the incident on board a scooter-type motorcycle with no plate number.
The victim was brought by residents in the area to Divine Word Hospital for medical attention but was declared dead on arrival by his attending physician.
Operatives of Police Station 2, of Tacloban City Police Office are now conducting a follow-up investigation for the possible motive and identification and arrest of the suspects. They likewise continue the backtracking of CCTV footage in the area for the identification of the suspects.
SOCO operatives that processed the crime scene recovered two empty shells of fired cartridges and one slug of an undetermined caliber of firearm. (ROBERT DEJON)
Only seven of 116 state universities and colleges (SUCs) have a college of medicine.
House of Representatives Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan wants the country’s SUCs to launch their own medical schools so that they can produce more doctors that are badly needed to build up the public healthcare system.
“Congress must enable highly advanced SUCs, particularly those in the provinces, to put up their own medical schools where tuition fees are at least partly paid for by the state,” Libanan said in a statement on Sunday.
“Very few Filipino families can afford to send their children to private medical schools that are very expensive. This is one of the reasons why we are not producing enough doctors,” Libanan pointed out.
“We must improve access to state-subsidized medical schooling if we want to produce a greater number of Doctor of Medicine graduates in the years ahead,” Libanan added.
Libanan made the statement as he batted for the immediate passage of his bill seeking to establish the Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) College of Medicine.
As proposed by Libanan in House Bill No. 9872, the new college of medicine would be formed in the Borongan City campus of the ESSU, the second-largest SUC in Eastern Visayas by student population.
Libanan previously served as representative of Eastern Samar’s lone congressional district for nine years. He is now 4Ps party-list representative.
Though a lawyer by profession, Libanan also holds a degree in medical technology.
“There are many SUCs that are highly capable of creating and running their own medical schools, but would they need the support of Congress by way of amendments to their charters and new appropriations,” Libanan said.
At present, only seven of the country’s 116 SUCs have a college of medicine.
The SUCs currently offering the Doctor of Medicine program are: Mariano Marcos State University, University of Northern Philippines, Cagayan State University, Bicol University, West Visayas State University, University of the Philippines, and Mindanao State University.
Based on Department of Health data, the country’s doctor-to-population ratio is only around 3.6 doctors for every 10,000 people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has pegged the ideal ratio at 10 doctors for every 10,000 population, or one doctor for every 1,000 people. (PR)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Regional Development Council VIII-Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RDC VIII-RPMC) inspected the Tacloban Causeway Project on 23 February 2024 to check on its progress.
This PhP4.59 billion project has two ongoing sections contracted to SUNWEST, Inc.. It includes a 2.57- kilometer, 4-lane road embankment with separate bike lanes, concrete canals, sidewalks, and wave deflectors on both sides. It also includes the construction of a 180-meter length bridge and five Reinforced Concrete Box Culverts (RCBCs).
The project envisions reducing travel time from Tacloban City proper to the Tacloban Airport from approximately 45 minutes to just 10 minutes. Additionally, it aims to protect the lives and property of residents from the damaging tidal surges and flooding brought about by typhoons and storms, which are regular occurrences in the region.
According to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) VIII, the project is set to use an innovative construction method, using geotextile tubes, also known as “geo tubes” for the first time in the region. It will help protect the causeway from damage by water. The tubes are made of a special permeable fabric that allows water to flow through while holding the sand or soil-fill material inside the tubes in place. It acts as a buffer to reduce erosion from waves and currents. Moreover, it helps prevent the natural water flow around the causeway from being disrupted. This makes geo tubes an effective and environment-friendly way to build sturdy structures along coasts and rivers.
The project commenced on 27 February 2023 and is targeted to be completed on 23 December 2024. The overall project accomplishment stands at 4.28 percent with a -5.02 percent slippage due to unfavorable weather conditions.
The causeway will complement the ongoing Tacloban Airport Development Project supporting the City’s growth as an economic hub in the region. (PR)
