Tanauan's Pasaka Festival wins Region 8’s grandest fiesta

TACLOBAN CITY, June 28 -- For blending culture and post-disaster recovery efforts by dancing to rhythmic festival beats, the town of Tanauan won this year’s Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals, the region’s biggest competition of local festivities.

Hundreds of dancers of Tanauan’s Pasaka Festival, clad in colorful costumes, awed thousands of crowd at the Leyte Sport Development Center in this city late Wednesday afternoon for the annual cultural presentation.

“Pasaka,” a local term for progress, is a “cultural expression and manifestation of the town’s beliefs and ideals as a people.”

There’s a twist this year, as “Pasaka” performers told their stories of post-disaster recovery through their dance.

“We just showed to the crowd, through ritual dance, what really happened during and after super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ and how each one of us worked to recover and make each new day a better day in Tanauan,” said Mayor Pelagio Tecson.

The group’s use of props such as a makeshift helicopter distributing relief goods wowed the spectators, who came to see the presentation of five contingents from Leyte and Eastern Samar provinces.

This was the first comeback of Tribu Pasaka to the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival since the monster typhoon struck in 2013 and killed thousands of residents and shattered lives in the coastal town of Tanauan.

The contingent defeated the festival’s defending champion, the Buraburon Festival of Burauen, Leyte. Buraburon Fest is also the grand champion in this year’s Aliwan Fiesta held in Pasay City.

Buraburon placed second while Sanggutan Festival of Barugo, Leyte landed third place.

Heraite Festival of Leyte, Leyte and Solosogi Festival of Balangiga, Eastern Samar also joined the competition.

For the Pintados category, Tanauan’s Tribu Mangirisda also won third year in a row, besting five other groups.

Now on its 23rd year, the Leyte Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals brings together the diverse, vibrant and colorful festivals from the different towns in the province of Leyte and other participating festivals from its sister islands of Samar and Biliran, as well as other provinces in the Visayas.

It is one of the most awaited events of Tacloban City’s fiesta celebrations this month in honor of its patron, the Señor Sto. Niño de Tacloban.

Leyte’s festivals have brought fame and fortune to various champions, among them the Buyogan Festival of Abuyog, Burauen’s Buraburon, Tanauan’s Pasaka Festival and Lingganay Festival of Alangalang, having bested other festivals in the country and emerged as champions in such prominent festivals as Sinulog of Cebu and the annual national Aliwan Fiesta - Battle of Festival champions in Manila.

On the other hand, the Pintados Festival was first celebrated on June 29, 1987 when a group of businessmen belonging to the Pintados Foundation, Inc. came up with this event to showcase Leyte and Samar’s early tattooed inhabitants called Pintados, and their rich cultural heritage and indigenous music and dance.

In 1998, the Pintados and the Leyte Kasadyaan were merged into one big attraction called the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals. (SQM/PNA)

Army needs info from Leyte villagers to step up fight vs. Reds

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, June 28 -- The Philippine Army is counting on information from villagers to further strengthen its fight against the communist rebels in Leyte province, said the commander of the Army’s 802nd Brigade based in Ormoc City on Thursday.

Brig. Gen. Lope Dagoy, in a press conference, said locals play a big role in combating insurgency as they are able to observe suspicious-looking people in their communities.

The military official’s statement came two days after the military’s brief encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) and discovery of a rebel’s camp in the upland Mahayahay village, this city Tuesday morning.

Killed during the encounter was NPA leader identified as “Santoy” or “Padi,” a notorious member of the communist terrorist group Front Committee Leyte.

The 30-minute gunfight left one member of the government troop wounded and caused the rebels to flee with undetermined number of injured, said Dagoy.

The wounded soldier is now in stable condition, he said.

“Our soldiers conducted patrol operations acting on tip from a civilian regarding the sighting of a group having extortion activities and establishing their camps,” he added.

Soldiers also recovered firearms, improvised explosive devices, medical equipment, blasting caps, subversive documents, mobile phones, communication equipment, personal belongings, and others at the rebels’ camp.

Dagoy described the newly-built camp as a temporary structure with movable set up and has 16 bunkers, kitchen and a toilet.

The army commander lauded the informant for providing tip on the presence of the NPA rebels in the said village, eventually hampering possible extortion activities.

Dagoy added that the Front Committee in Leyte operates in the towns of Carigara, Capoocan, Barugo, Tunga and Kananga, all in Leyte with less than 30 members. (ERR/PNA)

DPWH’s PHP315-M project to connect Leyte areas

CARIGARA, Leyte, June 27  -- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has set aside PHP315 million to upgrade a road and build bridges in Barugo town, being eyed as part of an alternative road linking the cities of Tacloban and Ormoc.

The budget will finance the two-year construction of Minuhang Bridge (PHP150 million), Balud Bridge (PHP115 million), and road opening and concreting (PHP50 million) in Barugo town.

The completion of Minuhang Bridge in March 2019 will allow the passage of all types of vehicles on an alternative road that connects the towns of Barugo and Babatngon.

A major component is the replacement of a foot bridge in Minuhang village, said District Engineer Carlos Veloso on Wednesday.

“Currently, transporting agricultural and marine products to the public market is very costly and inconvenient since the existing footbridge is only passable to single motorcycles. Students also skipped classes during high tide, when the bridge is submerged,” he said.

The absence of this bridge forced vehicles passing through the four villages to take the longer route.

Moreover, Minuhang and Balud bridges can also be used as an alternate route in the event that Tacloban-Palo-Carigara-Ormoc road is not passable.

Veloso added that since the bridge will already be accessible to all vehicles, there will be economic growth in the area since transportation of commodities will be easier and cheaper.

Students will no longer make absences even during high tide and bad weather.

These infrastructure projects are part of a multi-year program of the DPWH, which aims to connect the three villages along Bagahupi-Babatngon-Sta. Cruz-Barugo-Carigara national road in support to Barugo Economic Zone program.

Barugo, a 4th class coastal town in Leyte province with a population of 32,745, is an agricultural town producing rice, corn and copra. Residents of a few coastal barangays are engaged in small-scale fishing and aquaculture. (LAAA/PNA)

PNP temporarily halts fight vs. Reds after Samar ‘misencounter’

TACLOBAN CITY, June 27 -- Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde has announced the temporary suspension of their anti-insurgency operations after the tragic “misencounter” between soldiers and policemen in Sta. Rita, Samar.

“It’s only temporary as we figure out the lapses. After finding out the problems and lapses, we will correct them and operate again,” Albayalde told reporters after visiting the wounded policemen confined at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center here Wednesday.

Six policemen under the 805th Mobile Company of the PNP Regional Mobile Force Battalion were killed while nine others were wounded after they figured in a firefight with soldiers of the Army’s 87th Infantry Battalion in San Roque village, Sta. Rita town on Monday morning.

The firefight took place in the middle of a heavily forested area.

The soldiers were already in the area for six days to hunt 20 members of the New People’s Army reportedly sighted on the outskirts of Sta. Rita and Pinabacdao towns.

Albayalde said the PNP sets no timeline to complete the thorough investigation on the misencounter, but they want results to come out soon.

“We are not forcing the task force to immediately provide investigation results, but we want to have the result as soon as possible since the family deserves to know what really happened,” he said.

Junior police officers Wyndell Noromor, Edwin Ebrado, Phil Rey Mendigo, Julius Suarez, Rowell Reyes and Julie Escalo were killed in action during a 20-minute gun battle with soldiers.

Wounded were rookie police officers Elmer Pan, Cris Angelo Pialago, Romulo Cordero, Joenel Gonzaga, Rey Barbosa, Roden Goden, Jaime Galoy, Rommel Bagunas, and Jonmark Adones.

The PNP presented a posthumous award and financial assistance to the family of each slain policemen while the wounded were pinned with recognition medal and given financial assistance by Albayalde.

“This was a tragic moment but this will not affect our relationship with the military,” he said. (RTA/PNA)

AFP, PNP chiefs vow thorough probe on Samar ‘misencounter’

TACLOBAN CITY, June 27  -- Top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have vowed to dig deeper into the misencounter that killed six cops and wounded nine others in Sta. Rita Samar Monday morning.

Both AFP chief General Carlito Galvez and PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde assured that justice will be served after the thorough investigation.

The two officials visited the wake of six slain policemen at St. Peter Funeral Homes in this city Wednesday noon.

While the investigation is ongoing, Galvez said the soldiers involved in the incident were disarmed, and their firearms are subject to ballistic test.

Galvez told reporters that what happened cannot be considered an ambush. “This is an unfortunate accident and nobody wanted it to happen. We assured the families of slain policemen that if there are lapses, justice will be done.”

Albalyalde said the event is tragic, but they don’t want to blame anyone since the investigation is still ongoing.

He clarified that the encounter site was highly vegetated and there was no way or low probability of identification.

“We have to understand that enemies wear the same uniform as part of their diversionary tactics.”

“What ever happened there, we will find out after the joint board of inquiry by the PNP and AFP release the findings of investigation,” Albayalde said. “If it is with lack coordination, then we will probably improve the coordination between the police and army especially so with our operating units.”

At least 17 members of the Philippine Army 87th Infantry Battalion had a misencounter with 33 members of the 805th Mobile Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion Region 8 past 9 a.m. on Monday in Sitio Lunoy, San Roque village in Sta. Rita town.

Both teams were conducting simultaneous combat operations against the New People's Army rebels. (LAAA/PNA)

PNP-Eastern Visayas forms task force to probe Samar ‘misencounter’

PALO, Leyte, June 26  -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army are jointly investigating the misencounter that killed six rookie policemen and wounded nine others in San Roque village, Sta. Rita, Samar Monday morning.

In a press briefing Tuesday morning at the PNP regional office here, both PNP Eastern Visayas Acting Regional Director Chief Supt. Mariel Magaway and Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division Commander Major Gen. Raul Farnacio said the encounter between soldiers and policemen was an accident.

“The commander of Army and I directed a joint investigation on the circumstances surrounding the incident. We will find out the lapses and see how we can strengthen coordination efforts,” Magaway told reporters.

On top of this, the PNP regional office formed a special task force to investigate the clash. A team from PNP national headquarters also arrived Tuesday afternoon to conduct initial probe, said Magaway.

“After the incident, soldiers have been asked to report to the headquarters of Army 87th Infantry Battalion for questioning and ballistic test of their firearms. They will be sanctioned if there are lapses,” Farnacio said.

At least 17 members of the Philippine Army 87th Infantry Battalion had a misencounter with 33 members of the 805th Mobile Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion Region 8 past 9 a.m. on Monday.

Both groups were conducting simultaneous combat operations against the New People's Army in Sta. Rita town.

The 20-minute gun battle was stopped after soldiers got a call that they’re fighting law enforcers.

The soldiers were already in the area for six days after receiving intelligence report on the sightings of 20 armed rebels in Sta. Rita and Pinabacdao towns, according to Farnacio.

The team from PNP, trained to fight insurgency, was conducting their regular minor patrol operations in a heavily forested area of the village for two days.

"Actions will be taken if there were lapses committed by any side. This is to ensure this incident will not happen again," Magaway added.

Farnacio admitted that the nearest army detachment in Anibongon village was informed of the presence of patrolling police, but wonder why coordinated information failed to reach the troopers on the ground.

Magaway assured that working relationships between the military and police will not be affected by this incident. “This is an accident and nobody wanted this to happen. We will remain close with our army counterparts.” (SQM/PNA)

Kin of slain cops in Samar ‘misencounter’ cry justice

TACLOBAN CITY, June 26  -- The family members of the six junior police officers killed in a misencounter in a village in Samar on Monday want soldiers to face charges for their role in the death of their kin.

Six police officers were killed while nine others wounded in the gun battle between patrolling cops and soldiers in Sitio Lunoy, San Roque village, Santa Rita, Samar past 9 a.m. on Monday.

Based on the Philippine National Police (PNP) list, killed were PO1s Wyndell Noromor, Edwin Ebrado, Phil Rey Mendigo, Julius Suarez, Rowell Reyes and Julie Escalo.

Wounded were PO1s Elmer Pan, Cris Angelo Pialago, Romulo Cordero, Joenel Gonzaga, Rey Barbosa, Roden Goden, Jaime Galoy, Rommel Bagunas and Jonmark Adones.

Police Officer 3 (PO3) Jessie Escalo, brother of one of the victims, insisted that it was an ambush and not a “chanced encounter” as claimed by the Philippine Army.

“They were attacked after resting for 20 minutes. It is impossible for the military not to recognize them since they were on standby on the same spot,” said PO3 Escalo in an interview, relaying the accounts of surviving team members.

He asked top PNP officials to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.

The relatives of the dead policemen were interviewed on Tuesday at the St. Peter Funeral Homes in this city, where all the victims’ bodies were taken.

Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division Commander Major Gen. Raul Farnacio said it was an accident and soldiers were unaware that they were policemen doing “regular minor operations.”

“The location of the army is 75 meters from the policemen and the area is heavily vegetated. The soldiers have been there in the area for six days after receiving reports of sightings of 20 armed rebels in Santa Rita and Pinabacdao towns,” Farnacio said in a press conference at the PNP regional office on Tuesday.

Richiel Ebrado, widow of PO1 Ebrado, said it is more painful to learn that her husband was killed by government troops and not by enemies.

“We want to know what really happened and to attain justice. They’re on the same side, but why they did not recognize them?” asked Richiel, who is expecting their second child this September.

Capt. Rommel Pulanco, operations officer of Philippine Army 87th Infantry Battalion based in Calbiga, Samar, said the nearby detachment in Anibongon village was informed of the presence of the team from the 805th Company of the Philippine National Police Regional Mobile Force Battalion.

“They’re not able to recognize them easily because they were wearing muddy combat uniforms in a lower ground in a heavily forested area. It looks like the same uniform wore by NPAs in many combat operations,” Pulanco said.

Farnacio said they will investigate why the coordinated information has not reached the troopers on the ground. The 17 soldiers, led by platoon leader Lt. Orlando Casipit, Jr., are now at the Army 87th Infantry Battalion for questioning and ballistic test of their firearms.

Sta. Rita has been identified as one of the areas in the region infested by the New People’s Army. The town is just 30 kilometers away from Tacloban, crossing the San Juanico Bridge. (SQM/PNA)

Samar ‘misencounter’ kills 6 cops, wounds 9 others

TACLOBAN CITY, June 25  – Six junior police officers were killed while nine others were wounded in a misencounter Monday morning between patrolling cops and soldiers in San Roque village, Sta. Rita, Samar, the Philippine Army reported.

Army’s 8th Infantry Division spokesperson, Capt. Francis Agno, said 17 soldiers of the 87th Infantry Battalion based in Calbiga, Samar “incidentally engaged” in a clash with a team from the 805th Company of the Philippine National Police Regional Mobile Force Battalion.

Both teams were conducting patrol in Sitio (subvillage) Lunoy, San Roque village past 9 a.m.

“After the skirmishes, 1st Lt. Orlando Casipit, Jr. and his troops discovered that the unit involved in the encounter belongs to the PNP unit under Chief Insp. Don Arhie Suspiñe who also operated on the same location,” Agno said in a statement issued late Monday night.

Killed and wounded during the encounter are all junior police officers of one of the PNP’s elite force trained in anti-insurgency operations. No one was hurt from the military.

“A joint, thorough and impartial investigation is being conducted even as we assure the public that your Army and PNP are fully cooperating to shed light on the incident,” said Major Gen. Raul Farnacio, commander of Army’s 8th Infantry division.

“The whole 8ID family extend our condolences to the bereaved families of those who died in the armed engagement. Rest assured that this unfortunate incident will not hamper the working relation of your Army and PNP in the region.” Farnacio added.

The casualties have been identified but the names are yet to be officially released pending notification of their next of kin.

The PNP Eastern Visayas regional office has not yet issued any statement on the incident.

Sta. Rita has been identified as one of the areas in the region infested by the New People’s Army. The town is just 30 kilometers away from Tacloban, crossing the San Juanico Bridge. (SQM/PNA)

Ormoc City stages 2nd Piña Festival

ORMOC CITY, June 25  – Thousands of spectators lined up along the city’s thoroughfare for the second Piña Festival with the city’s prime crop — sweet pineapples taking the center stage.

Celebrity couple Mayor Richard Gomez and Leyte 4th district Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez along with other city government officials led the parade before sunset on Sunday. Also joining the parade were candidates of the Miss Ormoc pageant.

This year, 10 schools competed for the PHP500,000 grand prize won by the STI College Ormoc. The group was also the grand champion in last year’s festival. The contingent also bagged the best in street dance award.

Ipil National High School, which was last year’s first runner-up, was also the first runner-up this year and won PHP200, 000. They also bagged second place in the street dancing category.

Eastern Visayas State University Ormoc Campus, the 2nd runner-up in last year’s competition, was again this year’s second runner-up and took home PHP100,000 cash prize. They also won the best in costume and best in choreography special award.

“The Piña Festival is the city’s modest way of paying homage to our patron saints for the countless blessings and goodness the Lord’s showered to the city and its people. We hope that the heaven will find goodness to this offering of ours as we thank God for all his goodness,” said Estrella Serafica-Pangilinan, chairman of the Ormoc Festival and Cultural Foundation.

The Piña Festival is also a celebration of the bountiful harvest of pineapple, a product that is distinct to the city of Ormoc which locals also dubbed as the “city of the most beautiful people.”

Ormoc Queen Pineapple is a variety that is among the sweetest in the world and being produced in farmlands in this city, second to sugarcane that is the top agricultural produce of Ormoc.

“The Piña Festival also seeks to promote not only Ormoc’s very own sweet queen pineapple, but also its people’s strong personality that overcomes challenges and obstacles they faced from personal problem to calamities and disasters,” Gomez said.

At least 500 hectares of local agricultural land, primarily owned by three well-known families, are devoted to pineapple. More than 100 tons of pineapple are produced every year from these plantations.

Ormoc City is a first-class independent component city of Leyte province with a population of 215,031, making it the second most-populous city in the province after Tacloban, the region's capital. Ormoc is also the economic, cultural, commercial and transportation hub of western Leyte. (RTA/PNA)

Army to secure major Samar road project

TACLOBAN CITY, June 25  – The Philippine Army will secure the construction of nearly PHP1 billion Samar Pacific Coastal Road project, in a bid to stop armed rebels from hampering the road works, a military official said Monday.

Major Gen. Raul Farnacio, commanding general of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said members of the New People’s Army may try to sabotage the PHP997.50-million road project, funded through a loan from the South Korean government

The 11.6-kilometer road works, which was awarded to a Korean contractor, will connect the island towns of Laoang, Palapag, Mapanas, Gamay, and Lapinig to the provincial capital of Catarman and to Arteche and San Policarpo, both in Eastern Samar. It is up for completion in March 2020.

“We need to have a unique approach together with the local government units and the community to ensure the safety of equipment and unhampered implementation of the infrastructure project. We will need their help because we cannot guarantee the safety without the cooperation of other stakeholders,” Farnacio said.

Three military battalions in the area -- the 20th Infantry Battalion in Catubig town, the Civil Military Operation Battalion and the 543rdEngineering Battalion in Laoang-- will help secure the project.

Aside from the communist group, the military is also considering threats from criminal elements that would affect the implementation of the government project.

“That is why we need the support of the people to make sure that this project will be completed on time,” Farnacio added.

The road project will also help promote the tourism potentials of the four Pacific Coastal towns blessed with beaches, rock formations, waterfalls and caves, he said.

On May 31, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the South Korean government held a groundbreaking for the project that will open an 11.6-kilometer, two-lane road and build three bridges. (RTA/PNA)

Leyte guv asks village officials to help create jobs

PALO, Leyte, June 25  – Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla on Saturday asked newly-elected village officials to become partner for change by initiating development programs that will create jobs in their communities.

During the mass oath-taking ceremony here, the governor urged village officials to replicate the initiatives of the municipal government that attracted several businesses after the 2013 super typhoon Yolanda.

“Many investors are now coming in to Palo and we need to sustain this. This has become an attractive investment destination not only for small businesses, but even for multi-national firms,” Petilla said.

Among the new business are McDonalds, Shakey’s Pizza, Jollibee, Mercury Drug, Dunkin Donuts, and Metrobank. Under construction is CityMall, a chain of community shopping malls operated by Double Dragon Properties.

“As village officials, we need to prepare our constituents for this change. The investment coming in means more jobs that we need to fill-in,” Petilla added.

The governor noted that economic development not only happens in the town but even in neighboring towns like Alangalang, where giant fast food chain Jollibee will open its newest branch.

Petilla also challenged newly-elected youth officials, who will assume their posts on June 30, saying they “need to create and push programs that provide and create better education to the youth.”

Almost 600 newly-elected village and youth officials from Palo attended the mass-oath taking ceremony held at the Oriental Hotel Leyte. After the oath-taking, the Department of Interior and Local Government Leyte provincial office briefed them on parliamentary procedures. (RTA/PNA)

Malnutirition among kids from 'not poor' Leyte families alarming

CARIGARA, Leyte, June 25  -- Malnutrition is directly linked to poverty, but not the case in this town, where children from high income families are on the list of the town’s most underweight.

Rosalyn Securata, 29, was not surprised to hear that her three-year-old son Chris Lawrence only gained a weight of 9.6 kilograms, way below than the ideal 13 to 15 kilograms for his age.

Her common-law husband, Almar Dabon, is not a poor man in the town's populated West Visoria village dotted with makeshift houses. The fisherman earns PHP300 to PHP1,500 daily, more than the PHP200 average daily income of pedicab drivers in their community.

Rosalyn, a high school dropout, admitted that their small family is capable of buying nutritious food, but her son’s taste bud limits their food choices.

“What can I do if my son has no appetite to eat any fish and vegetables? I don’t want him to go hungry that’s why I always prepare his favorite food -- instant noodles, fried chicken, and hotdogs,” Rosalyn shared.

The mother practiced exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of her baby, but the child was not provided with proper supplemental foods, nutrition workers concluded.

Maria Belinda Alberca, head of the local nutrition office in Carigara town, said on Monday the child already missed the so-called “golden window of opportunity” of children.

The first 1,000 days, which starts from conception until the child reaches his or her second birthday, is considered globally as the “golden window of opportunity” to build a person’s foundation for physical growth, mental development, health and economic productivity, according to experts.

In Libo village, one of the most malnourished children is nine-year-old Akisha Veronica Louisse, raised by well-educated Rina Rhea, a single mother from a well-to-do family.

Her mother, a local government employee, is unfazed to learn that her kid only weighs 17 kilograms, just a little over half of the ideal weight of 30 kilograms for a Grade 4 learner. “I’m not worried because I was also tiny when I was a kid.”

In contrast, Akisha’s teacher, Sonia Rendora of Cassidy Elementary School was bothered by the child’s performance inside the classroom. “This child is bright, but her attention span is very short and sometimes she fell asleep even before the end of the first subject,” the teacher shared.

Catalino Dotollo, National Nutrition Council (NNC) regional program coordinator, has expressed concern that some children not from poor families suffer food insecurity, citing that consequences of improper feeding are irreversible.

“Their caretakers are primarily responsible to make sure that they’re getting the right food after exclusive breastfeeding,” Dotollo told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday.

The official is worried of the consequence of malnutrition to education. “In the first two years of life, a child’s brain forms 1,000 new neural connections per second. This pace of development is never repeated again in life. Reduced cognitive development is largely irreversible,” he said.

The two children are among the 366 underweight children, representing 18.10 percent of all children covered by weighing activities.

Alberca is not convinced about the two mothers’ justification as she believes that feeding children requires discipline and determination.

“If the child is used to eating nutritious food six months after birth, it’s not hard to continue proper feeding practices in the first 1,000 days of life and beyond,” Alberca said.

With its limited resources, the local nutrition office, which shares a room with the town’s population office, has been conducting information drive among mothers in 49 villages.

One main activity is the “Pabasa sa Nutrisyon” an information-sharing type of activity that targets breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women and mothers of malnourished children to teach them the proper selection and preparation of affordable and nutritious food.

This activity is being led by barangay (village) nutrition scholars, among the low-paying community workers, receiving only PHP300 to PHP500 monthly.

Carigara, the oldest settlement in Leyte province, is a second-class town in central Leyte. In 2016, the town generated PHP125.32-million income with PHP102.68 million as share from the national government’s internal revenue allotment.

Alberca said that although the budget for nutrition program is very minimal, they have been linking with other agencies with activities that could help improve nutrition status of children such as agriculture, upgraded infrastructure, employment, and education. (SQM/PNA)

Zamboanga stakeholders benchmark Eastern Visayas tourism

INOPACAN, Leyte, June 23  -- A delegation from Zamboanga Peninsula has visited Eastern Visayas for a benchmarking mission on tourism practices in the region.

The team of 17 tourism and local government officials was headed by Department of Tourism 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) director Karina Rosa Tiopes.

On Friday, the group observed how the region handles cruise, farm and community-based tourism, which it could adopt.

Zamboanga Peninsula is like Eastern Visayas when it comes to what it can offer to tourists, however, the problems on security and armed conflict affect tourism promotion efforts.

Tiopes used to be the DOT regional chief in Eastern Visayas.

Among the famous places in Zamboanga Peninsula are Dapitan City, where the Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal was exiled for four years; the Fort Pilar Shrine and Museum, a Spanish garrison built in year 1635; and Sta. Cruz Beach, also known as the Pink Beach of Zamboanga City.

“There were lots of tourists who visited our region, but the number declined due to Martial Law and the Marawi siege,” said Dapitan City Councilor Danny Estacio.

“But now, it is recuperating slowly and we just have to come up with a new strategy. We are here to learn what the DOT in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) has done so we can duplicate the practice in our place,” Estacio added.

The visit in some popular tourist destinations in Eastern Visayas gave them an idea on how to market Zamboanga as a tourist destination.

“Tourism is a never-ending learning process and it is now a big industry that could give income to our local constituents, economic activity that could spur and improve their standard of living,” Estacio said.

“Hopefully, we can implement the things that we learned from our visit here,” he added.

Estacio noted that they have already learned many things on their first day of benchmarking, including how to project their region as a safe place to visit.

“Our city is a safe place. However, people think that there is a security and peace and order problem, which we need to clarify. Our city and our region is a beautiful and safe place to visit,” he said.

Unlike Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula has a distinct characteristic of hosting diverse communities of ethnic people, both Muslims and Christians.

“We have groups of people who are living harmoniously. I said harmoniously because the conflicts there are just pocket conflict. We tend to look at the conflict more than the actual situation,” Tiopes explained.

She said this distinct characteristic of Zamboanga Peninsula would make a good marketing strategy for cruise tourism because of its rich historical, heritage and cultural diversity that tourists would truly love and enjoy.

The delegation from Zamboanga toured Cuatro Islas and observed how DOT handles cruise tourism.

The group watched how the locals presented to foreign tourists their local songs and dances, their way of life, their source of income, their local cuisine and their local wine.

“We always thought that it is possible, but to see it in action is so empowering because it doesn’t take so much but just imagination and of course, cooperation between the local government, the DOT, and the private sector. This is, I think, the perfect mix where we see it work hand in hand in a successful form,” said Svetlana Jalosjos, general manager of Dakak Resort and Properties based in Dapitan.

“This is something that we envisioned for our place and aspire for and now we see it is so much doable,” Jalosjos added.

After witnessing how cruise tourism works, the group visited the famous tourist destination in Baybay City, the 16,000 Blossoms at Linta-on Peak, and Ormoc City to meet Mayor Richard Gomez to discuss post-disaster tourism industry recovery.

This weekend, the group will also visit the province of Biliran for benchmarking on farm tourism and the province of Samar where they will visit the town of Paranas for the Olot Torpedo Boat Ride and the Sohoton Cave in Basey town.  These areas are models for community-based tourism in Eastern Visayas. (RTA/PNA)

Summit Hotel Tacloban opening to draw big events

TACLOBAN CITY, June 23 -- The opening of the Robinsons-owned Summit Hotel in this city will attract big gatherings to the regional capital, key local tourism officials said on Wednesday.

Department of Tourism - Eastern Visayas officer-in-charge, Trina Dacuycuy, said the presence of the 138-room hotel, with function rooms that could accommodate up to 650 people, would boost the region’s bid to become a destination for meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE).

“In the past, we always failed in our bid to host bigger events because of the absence of hotels with large function halls in the city. With the opening of Summit Hotel, we are more confident of hosting MICE, which we see as one of the most effective tourism campaigns,” said Dacuycuy during the hotel’s grand opening on Thursday.

MICE visitor arrivals in the Philippines were unavailable but estimates showed an 8-percent share in total tourist arrivals.

City tourism officer Malou Tabao said the operation of a big hotel here would not only boost tourism activities in Tacloban City, but in the six provinces of the region as well.

“Since we are the gateway of Eastern Visayas, about 80 percent of the region’s tourists come to the city for a tour or an overnight stay. This hotel will give them more reasons to stay in Tacloban,” Tabao told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

“Event organizers and participants want to stay in the same hotel with large function rooms for major gatherings and break-in sessions. We did not have a place like this before,” she added.

Before the opening of the Summit Hotel, the city had 54 hotels and lodging houses with 1,859 rooms.

Summit Hotel Tacloban is the fifth property of the Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) under the Summit brand. The 138-room hotel, the largest in the city, is considered to be the first shopping hotel built next to Robinsons Place Tacloban on the RLC-owned five-hectare complex in Marasbaras district.

“We are looking forward to doing our share to capture the MICE market for Tacloban and Leyte. Conventions bring in much-needed tourist traffic to a destination and we hope we can build this market with the brand new facilities,” said Elizabeth Gregorio, Summit Hotels and Go Hotels general manager.

Summit Hotel is the second hotel of RLC in the city after Go Hotels, which opened in April 2012 in the same complex - where RLC opened its first mall in Eastern Visayas in 2009.

RLC operates five Summit hotels -- Summit Ridge Tagaytay, Summit Hotel Magnolia in Quezon City, Summit Galleria Cebu, Summit Circle Cebu, and Summit Hotel Tacloban. (SQM/PNA)