JIABONG, Samar – Mayor Julie Cereno of this town expressed gratitude to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for continuously supporting the farmers by providing them with various assistance.

Cereno, who witnessed the turnover of P465,000 worth of farm equipment, hybrid seeds and fertilizers to Malino Small Farmers Association (MSFA) last month, thanked Samar Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO II) Alfonso Catorce and other DAR officials present during the occasion for including agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) from this town in the list of recipients of DAR support services.

Catorce led in the turnover of the said assistance which also included starter feeds, pellet feeds, vitamins, dewormer and cylindrical automatic pig feeders for the MSFA’s hog raising livelihood project. Earlier, MSFA was provided with 6 piglets as additional livelihood to their vegetable production.

Catorce explained that DAR does not stop in the distribution of lands alone. DAR continues to help agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) make the land awarded to them productive by providing them support services. This agency also encourages ARBOs to venture into livelihood activities for additional source of income, he added.

Chief of DAR Samar’s Program Beneficiaries Development Division (PBDD), Thelma Alfaro, disclosed that the above-mentioned package of assistance was funded under the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS) program for Sustainable Livelihood Support to Disaster Affected Areas.

Alfaro also explained to the recipient ARBO that Catorce and MSFA president, Emma Pabua, will sign a Trust Agreement stating that DAR will monitor, within the period of six months, the farm machineries and equipment provided to them if they are being used and accordingly managed.

If the said common service facilities (CSFs) will not be used within the said period or used for other purpose in violation of the Trust Agreement, the DAR will pull them out and transfer to another interested ARBO, she added.

However, if the CSFs are used and well managed, the DAR will execute a deed of donation to MSFA, Alfaro stressed.

Provision of modern farm equipment, fertilizers and other farm implements and inputs is among the priorities of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III.

Meanwhile, Pabua assured the DAR officials that their organization will treasure everything given to them so that they can still avail of other assistance from DAR in the future.

On the other hand, Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer (MARPO) Annaliza Gutierrez encouraged the 43-member MSFA, of which 30 of them are ARBs, to make this opportunity an inspiration to grow as an organization and inspire other ARBOs as well.
(JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA)

NSSDEO, Brgy. Burabud, Laoang, N. Samar– The Department of Public Works and Highways – Northern Samar 2nd District Engineering Office spearheaded by the OIC-District Engineer Charlito S. Carlobos, instructed Engr. Fiona A. Anunciado, OIC-Chief, Planning and Design Section assisted by Engr. Marc Christian L. Adora and Ronnel Bernard B. Suedad to survey the Batag Island Lighthouse located at Brgy. Marubay, Laoang, Northern Samar, last August 30, 2023.

The DPWH – Planning and Design Section personnel submitted their evaluation and recommendation to look for a new location for the construction of a new lighthouse considering that the integrity and condition of the structure of the said lighthouse is dangerous since it was constructed in the early American Colonial period in 1907, Acting Chief, Anunciado said.

Furthermore, the lighthouse is an important cultural property under Republic Act No. 10066 known as the historic “Century Old Batag Island Lighthouse”.

Most lighthouses comprise a narrow tower, with a rotating or flashing light at the peak, located near the coast. The invention of the lighthouse paved the way to avoid dangerous areas, in following certain routes.

In addition, these aid in maritime coastal navigation. The structure provides lights to guiding mariners and fishermen at the entrance to ports and harbors that provide safety to the Maritime Community, as OIC-Chief, Anunciado added.

The Faro De Isla Batag or commonly called the Batag Lighthouse has a cylindrical tower with double balcony and lantern with a height of 30.8 metres (101 ft.). This lighthouse is the third major lighthouse fully designed and built by the Americans.

By this initiative, it continuously helps the seafarers especially the fishermen for many years and it became one of the tourist attractions that made Laoang, Northern Samar is known for. On the other hand, DPWH-NSSDEO realized the significance of Batag Lighthouse and its new location for the safety and firmness of the structure.
(MA. LUISA G. ADORA, PLANNING AND DESIFN SECTION-PIO STAFF/PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) and the Department of Education (DepEd) has inaugurated a facility intended for girls who are enrolled at the alternative learning system on Thursday (Sept.14).

The groundbreaking of the facility, dubbed as ‘Girls Education Center (GEC)”, was graced by Koica country director Kim Eunsub, DepEd Undersecretary Gina Gonong and Assistant Secretary G.H. Ambat, and Dr. Choi Mee Young of Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) multisectoral regional office based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The GEC, built inside the DepEd regional office at Government Center, Palo, Leyte, is one of the key components of the “Better Life for Out-of-School Girls to Fight Poverty and Injustice in the Philippines” Project of Koica and Unesco Jakarta launched which was 2017.

The construction of the center started in 2021 and was completed March of this year. It can accommodate at least 30 students.

“The GEC is envisioned to be a one-stop educational hub where ALS learners of Tacloban City and surrounding areas in Leyte will be able to avail holistic support and opportunities to improve their lives through continuing learning and life skills training under the ALS program,” Koica country director Kim said.

Koica provided $1-million funding for the construction of the building including the equipment.

The facility is part of Unesco and Koica assistance to Eastern Visayas when it was pummeled by Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ 10 years ago.

The project’s primary target beneficiaries are out-of-school-girls registered in the ALS Program for further education and job opportunities.

Through the project, DepEd Regional Office8 also received 1 mini bus which will be used to shuttle the ALS girls’ learners from different parts of Leyte to and from the center.

“As we inaugurate this center, we reaffirm our belief that every girl deserves equal opportunities, just as boys do, in terms of education, job opportunities, living standards, and respect within our society. Education serves as a powerful catalyst for personal growth and skill development, allowing individuals to reach their full potential,” Evelyn Fetalvero, DepEd regional director, said.

The facility, she added, would give hope to ALS girls students that they too could have the quality life they deserve in the future.
The building is not just a plain physical structure but a memento of commitment to the achievement of the 4th Sustainable Development Goals, Fetalvero stressed.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)