Committee leadership elates neophyte Leyte solon

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 31 -- The decision to have him lead the House of Representatives’ Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries has elated a neophyte solon from Leyte province.

Leyte 2nd District Rep. Henry Ong said this is the first time that a first-term congressman heads the committee with jurisdiction on all matters relating to banking and currency, government-owned or -controlled banks and financial institutions, non-government banks and financial institutions, insurance, securities and securities exchange.

“I thank Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for appreciating my efforts in laying down the priorities of Congress in terms of bank and financial intermediaries in the Philippines,” Ong said in a mobile phone interview Friday.

The committee, he said, is one of those panels that is not high on the public and media radar because its work is largely non-controversial and usually land on the business and economy pages of newspapers.

He added that the work they do is important because they affect the personal finances of ordinary citizens and the investments decisions of companies and industries.

“In the past few months, I have kept my focus on financial banking and banking issues that matter to the Filipinos and their families. I want our banks and financial institutions strong and dependable in good times and in bad,” said Ong, who was the committee’s vice chairperson during the leadership of then Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Ong said he will link with stakeholders in the banking and financial sector, from bank executives to depositors. He will also meet with officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Insurance Commission and financial regulators.

He said he is positive that within the next two months, the committee will approve on third and final reading four to six bills and approve on second reading six to eight bills. (LAAA/PNA)

Region 8 project monitoring body enlists Army as new member

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 31 – The Regional Development Council (RDC) has listed the Philippine Army as member of a committee tasked to monitor infrastructure projects in remote Eastern Visayas areas infested with communist rebels.

Acting on the request of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, the Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC) approved the proposal to consider the military as one of the members of the body.

The RPMC, composed of officials from the government and private sector, admitted that several projects, especially in Samar provinces, have been delayed due to threats of the New People’s Army. Consequently, incomplete projects have affected the delivery of basic service to poor families.

“Through the participation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in RPMC meetings, delays in implementation of projects due to security-related reasons shall be appropriately addressed,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Director Bonifacio Uy said, quoting Lorenzana’s letter.

Uy, chairperson of RDC’s monitoring arm, RPMC said the military will help check some ongoing projects and report their status in quarterly meetings.

Lt. Col. Gasanara Sultan, Army’s 8th Infantry Division assistant chief of staff for civil military operations, said they can tap all military units in the region to monitor ongoing construction activities, secure heavy equipment, and escort personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) inspecting the project.

“Our efforts will be coordinated with DPWH because we need to know what kind of projects we have to prioritize in monitoring,” Sultan said.

At least 188 major projects in Eastern Visayas have been listed by the RPMC as priority for monitoring this year, citing their importance to the attainment of regional development goals and targets.

These projects include post-Yolanda reconstruction activities; resettlement sites in Tacloban City, Eastern Samar, Leyte, and Biliran; livelihood projects; irrigations; social infrastructure; agriculture and fishery; road and bridges; roads leading to tourism destinations; roads in conflict-stricken areas; seaports; and airports.

Uy said the project monitoring initiative by RDC members, both from government and private sector, will help ensure timely implementation of programs and projects critical to the attainment of goals in the 2017-2022 Regional Development Plan.

The official said programs and projects with substantial negative slippage and problems in implementation have been the priority for field monitoring and problem-solving sessions.

The RPMC is RDC’s project monitoring arm responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of priority programs and projects implemented in the region, particularly those that are encountering implementation bottlenecks and projects that are worthy for replication.

The body forwards monitoring reports and recommendations generated during the problem-solving sessions to the council for information and appropriate action. (SQM/PNA)

Samar-Luzon bridge up for full-blown study: NEDA

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 30 -- The proposed 18.2-kilometer bridge connecting Samar to the main island of Luzon has been highly considered for full-blown feasibility study in the next 12 months, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has reported.

NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy on Friday said experts recommended the conduct of feasibility study after months of preliminary surveys and assessments.

“The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has contracted Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd. (Arup) to help prepare feasibility studies and detailed engineering designs for this new inter-island bridge,” Uy told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Uy said the government has tapped Arup to proceed with the study within the year, given its 40 years of experience in mega transport projects. Its local partners are DCCD Engineering Corp. and EcosysCorp.

The Sorsogon-Samar project with an estimated PHP375-billion cost, consists of three long span bridges -- Allen to San Antonio in Northern Samar, San Antonio to Capul in Northern Samar, and Capul, Northern Samar to Matnog, Sorsogon.

Under the proposal, the project is a four-lane cable-stayed bridge, a permanent solution to the perennial problem of stranding during weather disturbances and port congestion during peak season. A cable-stayed bridge has one or more towers, from which cables support the bridge deck.

For decades, roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ferries cross the San Bernardino Strait, carrying passengers and vehicles to and from Allen Port and Matnog Port in Sorsogon. With a distance of 28 kilometers, the average travel time is one hour and 30 minutes.

The long-span bridge and seven other mega infrastructure projects were listed as priority in the Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility supported by the Asian Development Bank through a USD100-million loan.

Other projects included as priority in the study are the North Eastern Luzon Expressway, Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Link, Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge, Laguna Lakeshore Road Network, Cebu-Bohol Link Bridge, and Negros-Cebu Link Bridge.

Aside from Samar-Sorsogon Bridge, officials in the region are also pushing for long bridges connecting Leyte and Bohol and Southern Leyte and Surigao. (SQM/PNA)

RDC puts off request to study new airport in Northern Samar

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 30  – The Eastern Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC) has deferred the approval of a request to conduct a feasibility study for a new airport in the coastal town of Gamay, Northern Samar.

Members of the RDC infrastructure and utilities development committee (IUDC) agreed during its meeting Wednesday afternoon to set aside the endorsement, citing an existing feasibility for a new airport in Pambujan, Northern Samar.

The regional body asked the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to provide a copy of the recent feasibility study done by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which identified Pambujan as viable site for a new airport.

“We really have to check first the feasibility study for Pambujan before endorsing this proposal to conduct another study for an airport in Gamay, said RDC-IUDC co-chair Oliver Cam. “We have many airports in the region, but only Tacloban is the only income generating. Even the feeder airports in Samar provinces with commercial flights are not even sustainable. If we add a new airport, at what point would it be sustainable?”

Ceasar Clacito, Gamay municipal administrator said they are offering a 239-hectare vacant lot near the town center as site of a new airport in the province, considering that Catarman Airport is already restricted and no room for expansion to meet international standards.

“Constructing airport in Gamay will be less costly because no permanent structure erected in the proposed airport location. The airport will cater to the Northern Samar and Eastern Samar market,” Clacito said.

The site has enough space to build up to 3,500 meters of runway, more than double than the 1,600-meter runway of Catarman Airport, according to Clacito.

Gamay, a 4th class coastal town near the border of Eastern Samar, is about 110 kilometes from Catarman, the provincial capital, while Pambujan is only 51 kilometers away from the existing airport.

In 2009, local officials formally asked the central government to transfer the Catarman Airport due to recurring security problems.

The runway, located in the middle of populated communities, is used by the people as a road or plaza, posing danger to aircraft operations.

The airport’s structural limitations constrain airlines to utilize smaller aircrafts that are less cost effective and less fuel efficient. Using bigger aircrafts means bigger capacity and more fuel efficient, allowing airlines to offer more promotional fares, according to Philippine Airlines in a letter sent to the Northern Samar local government last year.

Currently, only Philippine Airlines uses the airport for its four times weekly Catarman-Clark flights. (SQM/PNA)

Gov’t rejects Region 8’s P94-B proposed infra projects

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 29 -- The central government disapproved the funding for PHP94 billion worth of infrastructure projects in Eastern Visayas, which were endorsed by the Regional Development Council (RDC) for implementation in 2019.

Of the PHP123.46 billion projects proposed by four regional offices and backed by the region’s highest policy-making body, only PHP29.49 billion projects have approved funding next year, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) disclosed in a meeting Wednesday.

NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy, RDC vice chair, said every year not all project proposals are accepted, also citing the cash-based budgetting system to be implemented by the national government starting next year as reason for the limited disbursement of funds. 

For the Department of Public Works and Highways, only PHP27.40 billion out of the PHP120.33 billion endorsed by the RDC has been included in the 2019 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Most of the unfunded projects are roads leading to airports, seaports, and economic hubs.

The RDC also endorsed PHP2.22 billion for the improvement of airports and seaports under the Department of Transportation (DOTr), but only PHP1.11 billion was considered for financing.

Out of the 10 airports pushed by DOTr for upgrading in 2019, only the Catbalogan Airport in Samar and the Tacloban Airport will get budget next year.

Some PHP450 million will be set aside to extend the Catbalogan Airport runway and PHP50 million for building the Tacloban Airport’s control tower.

The Maritime Industry Authority will only get PHP79.93 million out of the PHP140 million endorsed by the regional body. It will only finance the agency’s regulatory and supervision program. Also disapproved is the long-awaited construction of its PHP80 million regional office building.

Of the 10 projects of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) with PHP77.46 million budget requirement, only one was considered for funding under NEP. This is the PHP18.79 million for telecommunications management and enforcement program.

The Department of Budget and Management prepares the NEP with recommendations from cabinet secretaries. It contains detailed proposed programs submitted to assist Congress in the review and deliberation of the proposed national budget for the legislation of the annual appropriations measures for the next fiscal year.

Oliver Cam, co-chair of the RDC infrastructure and utilities development committee, has renewed the body’s call for the 13 members of the House of Representative from the region to strongly lobby for the proposed development projects.

“We have done our part and we fought for it. It all points back to national level offices. I hope our congressman will really push for the realization of these development projects,” Cam said.

He urged lawmakers to personally attend the regular RDC advisory committee meeting and not just send their staff to listen to presentations of key RDC members. The meeting is held twice a year at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

The RDC organized the committee to advise, assist and support it in discharging its functions. It is composed of key RDC leaders and members of the House of Representatives, who have signified their intention to join the body.(SQM/PNA)

DPWH installs rainwater collectors in Leyte

CARIGARA, Leyte, Aug. 29 -- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will soon install 17 rainwater collection systems in some parts of Leyte with the onset of the rainy season in the region.

The PHP3.4 million project will be put up in various schools in central part of Leyte covered by the DPWH Leyte 2nd engineering district. The project is up for completion within the year.

District Engineer Carlos Veloso said on Wednesday that schools without access to potable water supply are the top priority of the project.

“Rainwater can be collected through pipes connected from the roofs of school buildings, and can be used in toilets, washrooms, and other facilities,” Veloso said in an interview.

Rainwater collectors follow the prototypes set by DPWH such as reinforced ground storage tank with 4,000 liters water capacity.

The project includes structure excavation, concrete works, reinforcing steel, roof drains with strainers, installation of stainless steel water tank that can hold approximately 4,000 liters with plumbing accessories, and forms.

Rainwater collector system harvests, collects and stores rainwater from the roof or from a groundwater catchment or multipurpose pavement for use during dry season.

The project aims to answer the problems brought by diminishing freshwater supply due to over extraction of groundwater, water pollution, inefficient water infrastructure, and climate change.

This project is in compliance with Republic Act 6716, dated March 1989, mandating the construction of rainwater collectors in every community. (LAAA/PNA)

DPWH widens 10 bridges in Southern Leyte

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 29 -- At least 10 bridges are being widened in Southern Leyte to complement the ongoing road expansion works of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Widening activities will be completed within the year, utilizing PHP252.59 million funds for 2018, said DPWH Southern Leyte field office chief Ma. Margarita Junia.

“We have to expedite the project since it’s not good to see that there are still narrow bridges in the middle of four-lane highways,” Junia said in a message sent to the Philipine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday.

Aside from widening, bridges are being strengthened to conform to the standard design under DPWH design guidelines, criteria and specifications to make these structures resilient in the event of strong earthquakes.

The bridges bing widened are Bitanhuan (PHP47.64 million), Gakat (PHP17.3 million), Iti (PHP23.4 million), Nahaong (PHP17.3 million), Nahulid (PHP26.3 million), Oticon (PHP37.3 million) and Pangi (PHP18.75 million), all in Libagon town.

Also ongoing are the expansion of Buac (PHP16.5 million), Maac II (PHP22.5 million), and Magapso (PHP25.6 million) bridges in Sogod town.

These bridges are along the major highways that connect the island of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao.

The bridge widening activities is part of the PHP2.2 billion worth of infrastructure projects for Southern Leyte this year.

The DPWH in Southern Leyte is tasked to maintain 299 kilometers of national roads and 155 bridges built in 18 towns and one city. (SQM/PNA)

More aid to poor families to ease high inflation impact: NEDA

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 29 -- The surge in prices of basic commodities calls for stronger efforts to assist poor families in poverty-stricken Eastern Visayas region, said an official of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Wednesday that while high inflation rate is only temporary, it will have a profound impact on long-term anti-poverty programs if there will be no intervention for vulnerable families.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported during the awarding rites here Tuesday that from January to July 2018, the region’s average inflation rate rose to 5.3 percent, more than the 3.4 percent recorded in the same period last year. For July alone, inflation surged to 5.9 percent from 3.2 percent a year ago.

Eastern Visayas posted the same rate as the National Capital Region during the first seven months, more than the 4.5 percent in the national level and the highest among three Visayas regions, according to BSP.

The region’s inflation rate is more than the government’s two to four percent target for the year.

“We have to strengthen our initiatives to reduce poverty, including the provision of financial assistance to poor families. Stronger government measures is needed to improve agriculture productivity to address supply constraints,” Uy said.

He urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of Energy to fast track the implementation of the unconditional cash transfer to the poorest 50 percent of households and the fuel discounts for transport groups, respectively.

Other proposed measures include boosting farm productivity, address the high cost of bringing agricultural products to markets, and maximizing trade opportunities with ASEAN partners to beef up food stocks.

The official voiced optimism that the availability of cheaper government rice in the region’s major markets is a big help to minimize the impact of rising prices.

He said rice takes up a large chunk of the food budget of poor families.
Last June, Eastern Visayas ranked fifth nationwide with the highest monthly inflation.

All provinces in the region, except Biliran recorded inflation hikes. Northern Samar topped at 7.8 percent, followed by Samar at 7.7 percent, and Eastern Samar at 7.5 percent. (SQM/PNA)

BSP honors Eastern Visayas partners in annual awards

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 28  -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has recognized private firms and government agencies in Eastern Visayas for providing data needed in crafting the country’s monetary and financial policies.

Monetary Board Member Juan De Zuñiga, Jr., who led the awards ceremony at the BSP Tacloban branch on Tuesday, said the ties are very vital since the central bank is highly dependent on its partners to gather vital information.

“BSP formulates monetary and banking policies and in formulating these policies, we are largely data dependent from all sectors and from all regions. We appreciate very much your effort because you are doing it to assists us in doing our work,” Zuñiga said.

The central bank picked TBK Manufacturing as the outstanding respondent among large and medium firms, while Viguz Construction Corp. was recognized as the outstanding respondent among small firms for the business expectations survey in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas).

The National Economic and Development Authority regional office here received the award for outstanding partner for the report on regional economic developments and was the recipient of the Gold Hall of Fame award, after winning the same award category for three consecutive years.

Recognized as outstanding partners in currency programs are the Security Bank Tacloban Veteranos Branch for clean note policy and Department of Social Welfare and Development regional office for demonetization of the New Design Series.

Card Mutually Reinforcing Institutions earned the award for assisting the BSP on public information drive.

Each awardee received the “Dynamic Balance, Philippine Eagle” trophy, while the Gold Hall of Fame awardee received the “Soaring to Greater Heights” trophy, both crafted by visual artist and multi-awarded sculptor, Ferdinand Cacnio.

The New Central Bank Act approved in 1993 mandates the BSP to “prepare data and conduct economic research for the guidance of the Monetary Board in the formulation and implementation of its policies.”

The law gives the central bank the “authority to request from government offices and instrumentalities, or government-owned or controlled corporations, any data which it may require for the proper discharge of its functions and responsibilities.”

“Through your participation, the BSP is better able to formulate policies towards maintaining price stability, promoting financial stability, and maintaining safe and efficient payments and settlements system,” Zuñiga said.

“The BSP organization most thrived in an ecosystem that is becoming more interconnected. We must understand the dynamics, and more importantly, recognize that our partnership in these changing times is vital for our society to flourish,” he added.

Since July 10, the BSP has recognized 164 partners nationwide.

The annual stakeholders’ awards in Eastern Visayas marked the seventh in a series of 12 regional stakeholders’ events for this year.

It started in Metro Manila and will conclude in Zamboanga on Sept. 25. (SQM/PNA)

Detailed technical review delays San Juanico Bridge lighting project

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 28  -- The bidding for the San Juanico Bridge lighting project has been delayed as the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) extensively reviews its technical details.

The April 2019 original completion target is no longer attainable, given the many technical considerations for the lighting project but bidding will proceed within the year, said Department of Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes.

“TIEZA would really want to come up with terms of reference. There’s no room for mistakes since this is one-time big project. They want it to be done in the best way possible,” Tiopes told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday.

A big challenge is finding the right company to join the bidding since this is the first bridge lighting project in the country, said Tiopes.

“Interested bidders have different profiles and they have different ideas. The technical team is still studying the best lights that will be used. It takes a lot of time to come up with specific cost and design,” she added.

The official is confident that the project will proceed next year with the availability of PHP80 million funds. Completion is within 2019, said Tiopes. TIEZA will finance the bridge-lighting project.

Under the initial proposal of local governments, the project will use light-emitting diodes, one of today's most energy-efficient and rapidly-developing lighting technologies.

It was proposed that there would be a 10-minute light show for six times nightly that may include water, light, and laser aspects. Every night, there would be six-hour park mode or static mode lights with subtle movement of lights.

Just like other shows, its colors will be in support of various events throughout the year, the lighting will also be programmed to celebrate special occasions.

Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan had shared the idea of illuminating the iconic bridge to Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romualdez, Regional Development Council chairperson, in an effort to add vibrancy and interest to nigh time tourism.

At present, tourists can enjoy daytime activities at the San Juanico Bridge through the tour packages offered by private operator, Aqua Momentum.

The bridge’s transformation would be a new attraction under the Spark Samar, a branding campaign initially launched in 2015.

Once called the Marcos Bridge, the San Juanico Bridge was built in August 1969 over the San Juanico Strait, the narrowest navigational strait in the world that separates Samar and Leyte Islands, and was completed in December 1972.

The bridge that spans 2.162 kilometer was built as part of the Pan-Philippine Highway now called the Maharlika Highway, a network of roads, bridges, and sea routes that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. (SQM/PNA)

P800K worth of firecrackers destroyed in Ormoc City

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Aug. 24 --For more than an hour on Thursday, the sand and gravel quarry zone of San Juan village here glowed like it was New Year’s Eve, as the police explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) unit “blasted” two truckloads of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices worth PHP800,000 confiscated last December.

The disposal came after the police received an order from Municipal Trial Court in Cities Presiding Judge Rene Romero Jr., directing them to “transmit and deliver the confiscated illegal firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices” to the police regional civil security unit in Palo, Leyte.

However, for safety reasons, the local EOD preferred to dispose of the items in the city rather than transporting it to the regional police office, said Philippine National Police (PNP) regional EOD chief Senior Insp. Franklin Romeo Parangan.

“The pyrotechnics are dangerous for a long travel for it might explode on the way. And besides, the region has no storage area, that is why it was decided to crush it up here,” Parangan said.

When the crushed firecrackers and pyrotechnics were set on fire, the smoke produced reached about a hundred meters high and lasted more than an hour.

The city police has no storage designed for confiscated explosives. For several months, the pyrotechnics were laid at the open space and were exposed to rain and intense sunlight.

The police had earlier confiscated the boxes of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices illegally sold in the market.

The EOD is an operation support group of the PNP mandated to conduct safe disposal of all bombs and neutralization of hazards from chemical, nuclear, and improvised explosive devices. (ERR/PNA)

DOH raises alarm over 4 measles deaths in Samar Island

PALO, Leyte, Aug. 24  --  The death of four children in Samar provinces due to measles is very alarming as it came after decades of carrying out immunization program, said an official of the Department of Health (DOH) regional office here on Friday.

The highly contagious disease has killed three children in the remote town of Silvino Lobos in Northern Samar and a child in Catbalogan City, the capital of Samar province this year.

The latest victim is a 10-month-old girl in Silvino Lobos town as her parents failed to bring the child to the health center for immunization.

“Our health workers visited the house of the family several times, but no one is at home. The father was busy with carpentry works and the mother went somewhere,” said Elaine Joy Villarosa, Department of Health national immunization program manager for Eastern Visayas (Region 8).

The DOH recorded 76 cases of measles from January to third week of August this year in six provinces of the Region 8.  In the entire 2017, at least 80 children suffered the disease, but no fatality.

“Measles immunization starts at nine months. Some of the victims are younger than nine months or what we call the window period. These children got the disease from older children whose parents missed the scheduled immunization activity,” Villarosa explained.

Measles immunization provided by the government for free saves children's lives as it prevents children from getting seriously ill.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It remains one of the top caused of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, according to the World Health Organization.

Measles is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. Initial symptoms, which usually appear 10–12 days after infection, include high fever, a runny nose, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth.

Several days later, rashes will develop, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading downwards.

The DOH has reiterated its call to support the government’s immunization program this year that will benefit 213,717 children in the region.

The health department has been conducting its regular mass vaccination to combat polio, measles, tetanus, meningitis, diphtheria, and tuberculosis.

The immunization program targets 129,370 children 0 to 12 years old and 84,347 Grades 1 to 7 school children in the region.

The DOH pushed for vaccination noting that in the past two years, there are still confirmed cases of fatal diseases preventable by vaccines. (SQM/PNA)

Creation of local HIV/AIDS council in Region 8 urged

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 24 -- The Department of Health (DOH) has urged local government units in Eastern Visayas (Region 8) to organize local HIV and AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome) council to help monitor cases.

Each local government needs the group to ensure that advocacy campaign is funded, said Roderick Boyd Cerro, chief of the DOH regional epidemiology and surveillance unit during the council’s creation in Leyte on Friday.

“This council monitors our action taken to address HIV and AIDS. Their task is to find out if programs are properly done or if it needs enhancement,” Cerro said.

The Leyte provincial council, chaired by the governor, has members from the provincial board, health office, social welfare, interior and local government office, education department, a representative from an organization of persons with HIV, and an official of faith-based organization.

“We want the council to localize their action in the prevention and control of the deadly disease. As a council, their function is to guide the province on what should be done on its advocacy campaign through the various committee created,” he added.

The council will also make sure that medical assistance is regularly provided to those who are living with the disease.

As of May 2018, the region has 664 HIV and AIDS cases recorded by the DOH since 1989. Of this number, 343 cases were recorded in Leyte province.

About half of the infected persons are 25 to 34 years old while 34 percent of victims are 15 to 24 years of age.

The practice of unsafe sex, those with risky sex behaviors and having sex with multiple partners, are among the reasons why cases of HIV and AIDS have increased in the region. Most of the victims are males and the youngest victim is 15 years old.
The DOH also diagnosed a two-year-old child who acquired the disease through a mother-to-child transmission.

From January to May 2018, the DOH recorded 94 new cases coming from the cities of Tacloban, Calbayog, Ormoc, Catbalogan and Baybay, and the municipality of Palo in Leyte. (RTA/PNA)