TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the region, together with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), held a two-day training to strengthen the capacity of Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADACs) across Eastern Visayas.

DILG Regional Director Arnel Agabe underscored the role of barangays as the first line of defense in the fight against illegal drugs, urging participants to improve strategies and ensure that BADACs are fully functional.

The sessions included updated guidelines, benchmarks, and community-based approaches under the BADAC 3.0 framework, with participants crafting localized action plans to reinforce the government’s campaign for drug-free communities.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Thirty-three micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from Northern Samar will showcase their products at the 25th Bahandi Eastern Visayas Trade Fair, set from October 9 to 13, 2025, at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

The participating enterprises will feature a wide array of goods, including processed food, wearables, handicrafts, and eco-friendly products—each reflecting the province’s creativity, craftsmanship, and resilience.

“Their participation underscores the dynamic entrepreneurial spirit that continues to thrive in local communities,” the Northern Samar provincial government said in a statement.

To prepare the exhibitors, the Department of Trade and Industry–Northern Samar Provincial Office (DTI-NSPO) and the Provincial Government through the Provincial Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office (PEDIPO) conducted an orientation and exhibitors’ briefing.

Governor Harris Christopher Ongchuan has consistently pushed for stronger MSME development, with the provincial government highlighting his commitment to support initiatives that build competitiveness and open wider market opportunities for local producers.

Now on its silver year, Bahandi remains the flagship trade promotion program of DTI in Eastern Visayas, bringing together products from the region’s six provinces to reach the national market. It has become a venue not only to celebrate regional identity but also to expand market access for local entrepreneurs.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY – Eastern Samar Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales has filed a resolution calling for a congressional inquiry into the environmental and social impact of large-scale mining operations on Homonhon Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

In House Resolution No. 234, Gonzales urged the House committees on natural resources, ecology, and local government to investigate reports of massive deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution, biodiversity loss, and health problems among residents caused by nickel and chromite mining on the island.

“Homonhon is not only rich in natural resources but also steeped in history as the first landing site of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Decades of unchecked mining threaten to erase both its heritage and its future,” Gonzales said.

He also cited the hardships faced by local communities, including the loss of livelihoods in farming and fishing, unmet promises of development projects, and the lack of basic services despite years of mining operations.

The resolution likewise flagged allegations of firms encroaching beyond their concession areas, foreign nationals engaging in illegal mining, and companies with prior environmental violations resuming activities with little transparency.

Gonzales, House minority leader, said the inquiry should cover environmental damage assessment, health and livelihood impact, compliance with laws, revenue sharing, and measures to preserve the island’s historical and ecological integrity.

“The voices of Homonhon residents, environmental advocates, and church leaders must be heard. Congress has a duty to ensure that mining operations are lawful, sustainable, and beneficial to the people—not destructive,” he stressed.

Home to about 15,000 residents in eight barangays, Homonhon is historically significant as the site where Magellan landed in March 1521 during his circumnavigation of the globe.
Gonzales’s call comes shortly after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12253, or the Enhanced Fiscal Regime for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act, which streamlines the country’s mining tax system and is expected to raise P6.26 billion annually in government revenues.

(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY – To prepare poor households for the country’s shift to cashless transactions, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has launched its digital financial literacy program “e-Panalo ang Kinabukasan” in Leyte province, providing 100 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries with brand-new mobile phones.

The initiative, piloted in February 2024, aims to transition 4Ps cash grants from traditional cash cards to electronic wallets, ensuring that beneficiaries are digitally equipped to manage their finances.

“This is an initiative of the DSWD to ensure that all 4Ps beneficiaries are digitally and financially literate. We are now in the stage of moving to electronic transactions, so we need to ensure our beneficiaries can keep pace with these changes,” said DSWD-8 Regional Director Grace Subong.

By teaching beneficiaries how to use digital tools, the program hopes to end the practice of cash card pawning, reduce travel expenses to ATMs, and promote responsible use of grants. It also encourages saving, investing, and using financial resources more wisely.
“e-Panalo is a way out of poverty. By promoting digital financial literacy, our beneficiaries learn to save, invest, and spend wisely because this program is not forever,” said 4Ps National Program Manager Gemma Gabuya during the launch.

Under the program, Globe Telecom and its fintech arm GCash distributed the mobile phones to selected beneficiaries from different towns in Leyte. Beneficiaries were chosen based on the availability of internet connectivity in their communities.
The DSWD emphasized that digital transactions will also widen beneficiaries’ access to financial services, such as bill payments and online purchases, while ensuring faster and more secure disbursement of grants.

Launched nationwide as part of the government’s effort to modernize poverty reduction programs, e-Panalo is expected to gradually cover all 4Ps beneficiaries in the coming years.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)