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WFP donates equipment to DWSD-8 for easy disaster response

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Part of the 10th year ‘Yolanda’ anniversary

TACLOBAN CITY – The World Food Programme (WFP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) donated equipment to the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to boost the disaster response in Eastern Visayas.

The equipment donated to the DSWD includes a reach truck, rice milling machine, automatic box sealing machine, portable vacuum sealing machine, retractable roller conveyor, hydraulic hand pallet trucks, plastic pallet bins, high volume low-speed ceiling fan, and a generator set as part of the 10th anniversary of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’(international name: Haiyan).

A communication system from the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) was also included as part of the WFP partnership with DSWD.
The ceremonial handover event, held at the Regional Resource Operation Center of the DSWD in Palo town on Wednesday(Nov.8), was attended by Undersecretary for National Household Targeting System and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Vilma Cabrera, DSWD Undersecretary for Disaster Response and Management Group Diane Rose Cajipe, DSWD-8 Regional Director Grace Subong, Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla, WFP-Philippine Country Director, ad-interim, Dipayan Bhattacharyya, and USAID Mission Director for the Philippines and Mongolia Ryan Washburn.

The donation of the WFP is in response to the department’s request for support in upgrading its warehouse capacity, and to ensure that the regional warehouse will continuously be able to supply the requirements of the region during times of disaster, calamities, and emergencies.

The equipment will be utilized by the DSWD Eastern Visayas in its warehouse operations to enhance its stockpiling capacity and improve production and repacking, ensuring a longer shelf life of rice and other relief goods, particularly those that will be delivered and prepositioned in the different satellite and warehouses of the local government units.
Gov. Petilla, in his message, emphasized the importance of distributing resources before disaster strikes to ensure that local government units and national government agencies can respond immediately after calamities.

“It’s not centralization but actually distribution. In every disaster, distributed resources are actually crucial,” he stressed.

This was supported by Usec. Cabrera, who said that among the lessons they have learned during Yolanda, was to distribute preparation activities in disaster response, particularly on food and non-food stocks.

“Preparation for stockpiling should not be done in one location but should be scattered in all areas, particularly in areas that will not be directly affected so that it will be easy to distribute during a humanitarian response,” the DSWD official said.

During the turn-over, the WFP also highlighted the ongoing collaboration with the DICT that showcased innovative emergency telecommunications solutions to emphasize the critical role of connectivity during emergencies through the Government Emergency Communications System – Mobile Operations Vehicle for Emergencies (GECS-MOVE).

They also featured the newly constructed mini-MOVE, a project supported by USAID.
This collaboration is a first not only in the Philippines but also in the world, according to the WFP.

Bhattacharyya said that this is one of the innovations that they made in terms of disaster response.

“WFP is very grateful for this collaboration. Together, we are making a difference before and after disaster strikes,” he said. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Leyte 4th DEO joins 4th Quarter Nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill

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ORMOC CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Leyte 4th District Engineering Office (DEO) participates in the 4th Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) in coordination with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) on Thursday, November 09, 2023.

During the exercise, employees engaged in the implementation of the Duck, Cover, and Hold Technique, a fundamental practice for personal safety during earthquakes.

Additionally, the emergency response team simulated earthquake scenarios involving the assistance of an injured person and demonstrating first aid measures.

Upon the drill’s completion, the evaluators from the BFP provided valuable feedback, contributing to the continuous improvement of the DEO’s disaster response strategies.

The quarterly NSED is conducted in adherence to the standards set by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) aimed to enhance preparedness and safety protocols in the event of seismic activities. (PR)

Newly-elected SK execs attend seminar on leadership and functions as youth leaders

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In Northern Samar

TACLOBAN CITY – The newly-elected Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials in Northern Samar attended the SK Mandatory Training (SKMT) as they are to formally assume their posts beginning November 14.

The capability-building training is a prerequisite for assuming office. Those who won cannot assume if they cannot present the certificate of completion for the mandatory training even if they have already taken their oath.

The Provincial Youth Development Office (PYDO) headed by Anne Kirsten Tobes facilitated the training together with the Local Youth Development Offices (LYDOs) and the Municipal Local Government Operations Officers (MLGOOs).

The mandatory training was previously conducted by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Youth Commission (NYC), however this year they allowed PYDO to conduct the training to make it more accessible to all SK officials.

The SKMT is mandated under Section 27 of RA No. 10742, commonly known as the SK Reform Act, imposing an additional requirement before the winning candidate can assume office, specifically, that they must undergo and successfully complete training to be administered by the NYC and the DILG.

Any SK official, whether elected or appointed, must undergo the mandatory training program before he or she can assume office.

The province has a total of 569 SK chairmen from 569 villages across 24 towns of the province.

Also during the training, the PYDO emphasizes to the participants the significance of the SKMT in providing orientation to the newly-elected youth officials on various aspects of basic knowledge and skills needed to effectively fulfill their roles and responsibilities like planning and budgeting, meetings, and resolutions, code of conduct and ethical standards, decentralization, and local governance.

The training also aims to assist the SK officials in identifying their priority programs for the allocated 10-percent development fund.

The SK officials were also reminded that they have to participate and attend continuing training programs during their incumbency to avoid sanction of disqualification or disciplinary actions.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Nursing student topped SK race in one of Tacloban’s biggest villages

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Maxinne Allyssa Cancino Roseño
Maxinne Allyssa Cancino Roseño

TACLOBAN CITY– A graduating Nurse student won handily in the race for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) top post in Barangay 109-A, V and G subdivision.

Maxinne Allyssa Cancino Roseño was proclaimed as the duly-elected winner for the chairmanship of the SK in the village during the recently-concluded barangay and SK polls.
And the 23-year old Nursing student was rather surprised by her poll victory considering that of the 900 SK voters in their village, she only knew one of them, her schoolmate.
But she worked hard to get the majority votes of the SK voters by campaigning hard and practically went to a house-to-house campaign, aware of the 10-day campaign period set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“I was overwhelmed by the number of things expected from a candidate. It is vastly different from school elections where you will just introduce yourself in every classroom because if you are an SK candidate, you need to visit every house,” she said.
Roseño helped in giving out campaign materials around their barangay and took the initiative to introduce herself to SK voters in order to gain recognition.

“I had to manage my time well between school and running as a candidate. It is hard since our school has a hectic schedule,” she said, emphasizing how she values education.
She is currently a 4th year college Nursing student at the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez (RTR) College of Nursing in Tacloban City.

Roseño stated that there were times she had to go on hospital duties and then promptly meet with the other SK kagawad candidates in her lineup.

“There was also a time that I needed to go home immediately during a motorcade because I would be late for my hospital duty,” she said.

On election day, Max and her political team partnered with Tingog Kabataan Inc., a non-stock, non-profit, socio-civic youth organization.

Together, they established a Voter’s Assistance Center offering free SK precinct verification and blood pressure check.

They also offered complimentary water and Maxx candies to pedestrians, poll watchers and voters, regardless of what barangay they belong.

“It was a good thing that I voted early in the morning without any inconvenience. There were no queues and the weather was not that hot,” she said.

At 1 am, the following day of the balloting, Max Roseño was officially proclaimed as the SK chairperson of Barangay 109-A, V and G Subdivision, Tacloban City, garnering a total votes of 352.

Additionally, five of her SK Kagawads were also elected: Iris Jaingue (1st Kagawad), Nitay Bareja (2nd Kagawad), Mavs Duran (4th Kagawad), Deb Gonzaga (6th Kagawad), and Jorge Coral (7th Kagawad), were also proclaimed as winners.

“I did not expect that I would win as a first-timer. I would like to thank all those who voted for me and provided invaluable support during the campaign,” she said, adding that she is very much ready to lead the youths in their village by coming up programs and activities that would benefit them.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

Now on its 10th anniversary

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THEN AND NOW. As Tacloban City and the rest of Eastern Visayas will mark the 10th anniversary of the onslaught of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda,’ activities have been lined up. Photo shows Tacloban Convention Center in the aftermath of the deadly typhoon serving thousands of people as the temporary site and how the structure looks now, a decade after. (ALFRED ROMUALDEZ FACEBOOK)

Pres. Marcos to lead ‘Yolanda’ program

THEN AND NOW. As Tacloban City and the rest of Eastern Visayas will mark the 10th anniversary of the onslaught of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda,’ activities have been lined up. Photo shows Tacloban Convention Center in the aftermath of the deadly typhoon serving thousands of people as the temporary site and how the structure looks now, a decade after. (ALFRED ROMUALDEZ FACEBOOK)

TACLOBAN CITY– President Ferdinand Marcos ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. will lead this year’s commemorative program of the onslaught of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’, now in its 10th year.
For this year’s commemoration of one of the world’s deadliest typhoons to hit inland that resulted in the deaths of more than 6,000 people, over 2,200 are from this city alone, will be of a ‘thanksgiving.’

President Ferdinand Marcos
‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr.

The President will arrive in the city in the morning on Wednesday (Nov. 8) and will proceed to the Tacloban City Convention Center (astrodome), once the biggest temporary shelter of Yolanda survivors who lost not only their material things but also their loved ones.
Mr. Marcos will be accompanied by Leyte congressman and Speaker Martin Romualdez and will be welcomed by local officials led by City Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

Last year’s anniversary, the President also graced the event held at the mass grave in Barangay Basper, where the more than 2,200 people from the city who died due to Yolanda where buried.

During this year’s commemorative program, the President will also lead in the distribution of land titles to Yolanda survivors.

In the afternoon, a Thanksgiving Mass will be held at the mass grave site at the Holy Cross Memorial Park.

A solemn candlelight ceremony in every streets of the city will marked the end of the commemorative program.

Ma. Lumen Tabao, city tourism officer, said that unlike in previous commemorations, this year will be more on thanksgiving and will have a ‘celebratory tone.’

“It’s been 10 years now. What we will be observing is a thanksgiving, especially to those who extended assistance to us like various international nongovernment organizations which help us recover fast from devastations,” she said.

“This is our way of saying thank you to them and 10 years after, this year is a celebration of a new lease of life especially coming from the pandemic that we all have experienced,” Tabao said, referring to the coronavirus disease.

This sentiment is also being shared by Emelita Montalban, who was the village chairman of Brgy. 88-the worst-hit village in the city- at that time.

“Of course, we cannot forget Yolanda but I think we have to move on and just be grateful that we have survived,” she said.

Ten years after, Montalban described the major disaster as a ‘blessing in disguise.’
“It was a sort of a blessing in disguise for many of us, save of course for those who have lost their loved ones,” she said.

She was referring, in particular, to the housing assistance extended to Yolanda survivors who were mostly living in houses not only made of light materials but erected on public lands.

“Now, we not only own a house but a shelter against typhoons. For us, this is something that we can be grateful,” Montalban said.

“The families from our village who are now living in the different resettlement sites now live comfortably. They now live in better and concrete houses unlike before where they lived in houses mostly made of wood and corrugated sheet metal,” she added.

Montalban herself is now residing in one of the 15 resettlement sites put up by the government in its northern part, about 14 kms away from the city proper.

These houses, built a year after Yolanda pounded Tacloban City, were either built by the government through the National Housing Authority (NHA) or by multiple nongovernment organizations, both local and international.

She said that more than 3,000 families from their village are now living in various resettlement sites though about 900 families remain to reside in Brgy.88.

And these resettlement sites are safe from possible occurrence of storm surge, considered the main reason why Yolanda turned into a deadly typhoon, as they are located away from any body of water.

Barangay 88 faces Cancabato and San Pedro Bays where the wall of water cascaded towards the village and the rest of the city, reaching to more than 20 feet.

Montalban, who now lives at North Hill Arbours in Barangay 106(Sto. Nino) for the past five years now, said that those who chose to remain in Brgy 88 are those residing in subdivisions or due to the nature of their work.

Tedence Jopson, assistant chief of the City Housing and Development Office, said that the northern part of the city, where the resettlement sites are located, is now a ‘booming area.’
“Overall, the northern portion of the city is looking good with all the basic amenities like water and power put in place. That portion of the city is booming. There are now several business outlets like gasoline stations, convenience stores operating 24/7, among others,” he said.

The official added that the resettlement area is also proximate to the Eastern Visayas Medical Center, the regional hospital located in Brgy. Cabalawan, where they can get access to their medical or health needs.

The city government under Mayor Romualdez has also put up a city hall extension office in the north to cater to the needs and concerns of the people there, Jopson said.

A police and fire station offices were also built there as well as a training center, market, health centers, schools, evacuation centers, parks and basketball courts, and even a cemetery, Jopson added.

According to Jopson, the northern part of the city is now populated by half of the city’s more than 245,000 residents, counting the regular residents of the villages there.

“That is practically a city within a city and while the cost of living there is quite expensive for the residents but at the end of the day, our main purpose is to put these families into a safe place,” he said.

Jopson also said that the city government makes sure that all the resettlements will not experience flooding especially during heavy rains or typhoons.

“Ten years after, our people have learned lessons from Yolanda in terms of what to do before a disaster strikes. We don’t have to order them to transfer or relocate to a safer structure,” he said.

He said that this change of attitude was noticed for the past typhoons that hit Tacloban since Yolanda with the city government identifying several evacuation centers, mostly schools. Several houses after the massive typhoon put additional floors in case there will be massive flooding.

Jopson said that just like in the city proper, the city government has constructed or improved the drainage canals in each of the resettlement sites and rehabilitated rivers to ensure that there will be no flooding there.

Road widening within the sites or leading to the sites were either been constructed or ongoing, the official added.

JOEY A. GABIETA

Chinese gov’t donates greenhouse project to Guiuan town

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Seen to increase yields of local veggies growers

TACLOBAN CITY– The Chinese embassy has donated a P2 million worth of greenhouse facility in Guiuan town, Eastern Samar which was formally opened on Saturday (Nov. 4).
Zheny Junlyn, representing the Chinese embassy, said that they hope that the greenhouse project donated by their government could help the local vegetable farmers increase their income, aside from learning new technology.

“We hope that our humble donation will contribute to the growth of low-land vegetables and other economic crops and contribute to the income and economic condition of the people here,” she said in her message during the inauguration of the facility located at the town’s eco-waste management center and park in Barangay Santo Niño of the town.
It was learned that the construction of the greenhouse project in Guiuan was made possible through the help of 4Ps party-list congressman Marcelino Libanan, a former congressman of the province.

The three units of the greenhouse uses a solar hydroponic system wherein vegetables grows even without the use of a soil but with the help of the solar supply.

The structures, measuring 42 square meters each, are also equipped with automated drip and microsprinkler irrigation system.

Town Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan said that she is happy that the Chinese embassy donated the facility to their town.

“I find the timing appropriate. After all, one of the most critical sectors affected by climate change that brought us typhoons like Super Typhoon Yolanda is the agriculture,” she said.
“And one of the most critical concerns is food security. I believe the greenhouse project serves as one of the most sustainable solutions to the problem of food security in the face of the changing climate,” Kwan said.

She then urged the local vegetable growers to make use and avail of the project which can help them use modern ways of planting their vegetables.

Meantime, Junlyn promised not only to provide more new farming technologies being used by the Chinese farmers but also Chinese tourists to visit the town.

Guiuan is known of its beautiful beaches including Calicoan Island which is being promoted by the town as a surfing area.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

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