DOH to train village health workers on eye check-up

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 1 -- The Department of Health (DOH) regional office will embark on a massive training of village health workers in Eastern Visayas to prevent blindness and other eye diseases. 

DOH Regional Director Minerva Molon said they will start the training within the year and cover all the region’s more than 4,000 villages until 2022 in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Philippine Health Agenda. 

“We will capacitate our local health workers to detect eye problems early and refer more serious cases to health professionals,” Molon said during the opening of "Sight Saving Month" celebration here on Tuesday. 

The official noted if someone suffers sight problem, they will go directly to hospitals due to absence of ophthalmologist or trained health workers in their locality. 

“As a result, our out-patient department is always congested. After the capacity-building, we expect our village health workers to make initial check-up,” she added. 

The campaign will also raise public awareness on eye care and eye diseases and conditions.

Winnie Dorego, DOH regional coordinator on the prevention of blindness said the most common cause of blindness is cataract or clouding of the lens in the eye. 

“The eyes needs rest and should be used properly and not be abused. To be able to take care of our eyes, we need to have a healthy lifestyle and eat right because there are foods that can prevent blindness.” 

Dorego asked the public to seek medical attention from professional if they have eye problems.

“If something is wrong, people tend to buy glasses and wear it. The disadvantage of wearing ready-made eyeglasses is that it doesn’t fit or it doesn’t have the exact grade that our eyes need,” the official said. 

Virginia Frividal, 65, health worker of Fatima village in this city said this is her first time to seek consultation after decade of suffering from vision problems. 

“I only earn PHP2,000 monthly as health worker. I don’t have enough money to pay for my consultation,” said Frividal, one of the recipients of free consultation during the "Sight Saving Month" celebration opening. 

The health department estimates that not even one percent of Filipinos with eye disease seek consultation from health professionals. 

"Sight Saving Month" is an annual celebration in August aimed at strengthening public awareness of the importance of proper eye care and the prevention of blindness and eye diseases.(Sarwell Q. Meniano with reports from Alecxis L. Panganiban, OJT/PNA)

Leyte town to develop religious, tourism site

PALO, Leyte, Aug 1 -- The local government unit here is poised to make one of its historical and religious site to be a prime tourist destination in Eastern Visayas region.

The Guinhangdan Hill, found in Purisima village here, is an important landmark in Leyte province. 

Commonly called as Hill 522, it offers a panoramic view of the town and Leyte Gulf where American General Douglas MacArthur landed on October 20, 1944.

Palo Mayor Remedios L. Petilla said they had set their sights in making the hill into a religious, tourism and historical site “rolled into one”. 

Guinhangdan Hill is a favorite pilgrimage site during Holy Week where thousands of Roman Catholic devotees in Leyte climb the 522 steps leading to the cross to offer candles and flowers. 

During the observance of Holy Week this year, at least 30,000 pilgrims were noted to have climbed the hill on Good Friday alone.

Petilla said the hill's historical contribution was being the entry point to the first liberated town of Palo in 1944. The existence of garrison, which was built by the Japanese artillery units, will be a good place to visit for tourists to the area, she said.

The hill is also a site where fierce fighting for the control of this strategic area cost the lives of about 50 Japanese fighters and at least three American soldiers.

Petilla said there were plans to enlarge the La Purisima Shrine located at the foot of the hill. The shrine was constructed in 1887 by the Spaniards to dispel evil spirits, which people believed to be the cause of many accidents and deaths on the premises.

“With many pilgrims coming in to visit not just during the Holy Week, we need to enlarge the area where they light the candles and say their prayers before going up the hill,” Petilla added.

As for the white cross on top of the Guinhangdan Hill, it will not be replaced but will instead be improved, the mayor said. The local government earned flak early this year when it reportedly said to “replace” the more than 50-year-old cross, with historical and cultural significance.

Improvements of the nearby surroundings on the top of the hill are included in the plans for tourists to enjoy “picnic style” as the hill provides a scenic view of the Leyte Gulf, with the southwestern part of Samar Island across the sea, and the northeastern part of Leyte.

The 522 steps will likewise be constructed into two-way steps to accommodate the volume of pilgrims and tourists expected to climb the site. Sufficient lighting will also be built around the whole area and ensure security at night.

Meanwhile, Petilla said that informal settlers still living at the foot of the hill would “definitely have to be relocated” once development of the whole site starts. The settlers will be transferred to the various housing units being built by the government.(Ahlette C. Reyes/PNA)

Ex-cop killed by riding in tandem in Leyte town

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, July 31 -- A dismissed cop was shot dead Monday morning by unidentified riding in tandem along the highway of Villaba town in Leyte, local police reported.

Villaba town police chief Insp. Ruben A. Recilla identified the victim as Higino Gaspay, 52, a resident of Libangon village of the same town. 

Gaspay served in the police force with a position of Police Officer 2 when discharged for still unknown ground from the Philippine National Police (PNP). 

During his death, Gaspay was working as job order employee of the Civil Security Unit at the town municipal hall. He was allegedly known to have been frequently reprimanding drug users particularly teenagers.

Gaspay sustained multiple gunshot wounds in his body but mostly to the head. 

The Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) recovered eight empty shells and one deformed slug of suspected caliber 45 gun.

The police are currently pursuing investigations to identify the suspects and to get the motive for the killing. (Elvie R. Roa/PNA)

Leyte town strengthens anti-smoking program

PALO, Leyte, July 31 -- The local government here has strengthened its smoking cessation program by conducting regular visit to barangays and one-on-one dialogue to help town residents to quit the vice. 

The intensified campaign is in support of the nationwide smoking ban which took effect last July 23. 

“If they want to quit smoking, they are very much welcome in our local health facility to avail the program. We have a team who will help them under our smoking cessation initiative,” said town health officer Leo Calonia on Monday. 

Under the cessation program, smokers have to follow a calendar dates where they will need to be “sober in stopping smoking.” 

The team from the local health office also regularly visits the town’s 33 villages to promote the program. 

The team also conducts one-on-one talk with smokers, especially those families with members suffering from smoking-related diseases. 

“The process is difficult but this is beneficial to the residents of Palo,” Calonia said. 

The local health office is also focusing on encouraging teenagers addicted to smoking to stop with the help of the Department of Education. 

“We have been conducting information and education campaign to the youth for them to know the negative effects of smoking especially to their health. This is also part of the Adolescent Sexuality Health Program where anti-smoking is also part of the topics,” he added. 

Calonia said that teenagers must be taught of the ill-effects of smoking to ensure that they would not take up the vice. 

President Rodrigo Duterte signed on May 16, 2017 Executive Order (EO) 26, implementing the nationwide smoking ban and took effect, July 23 or 60 days after its publication in major publications. 

Under EO 26, smoking is ban in public places like schools, recreational facilities for youth, public conveyances like buses, jeepneys, taxi, tricycle, trains, and the likes which carry public passengers, within premises of public and private hospitals; and medical, dental, and optical clinics, airports and seaports, including parking areas in malls. 

Malls, hotels, buildings and establishments except schools and youth facilities may have a designated smoking area but this must not exceed 20 percent of the total floor area of the establishment or building.(Roel T. Amazona/PNA)

Widening project closes major Leyte bridge

CARIGARA, Leyte, July 31 -- The Jugaban Bridge will be closed until September 21 this year to give way to widening activities. 

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Leyte Second District Engineering Office has advised all motorists, coming from both directions of Tacloban and Ormoc, to utilize alternate routes at the streets of Enage, Real, and Esperanza going to the national highway. 

Appropriate directional signs and traffic advisories have been installed to inform motorists about the closure of the bridge. 

The district office also coordinated with the local government unit, Philippine National Police, and village officials to provide assistance in managing the re-routed traffic. 

Jugaban Bridge in this town has been closed since July 27. Its widening project was supposed to start last June 6, but was delayed due to pending pipe relocation works by a local water district.

The project cost at PHP4.6 million and will turn the two-lane bridge into four. The bridge widening project is to complement the road widening also being undertaken by the DPWH all over the area. 

The two-lane Jugaban Bridge is in need of a good repair, said District Engineer Carlos Veloso. 

The DPWH has continued to lobby funding to widen all two-lane bridges in the region into four lanes. 

The official ordered the contractor for speedy completion with enough manpower to finish the project in accordance with the plans and specifications. 

Veloso asked the public to bear with the bridge’s temporary closure, saying the expansion project would be for the greater good that could last a long time. (Ahlette C. Reyes/PNA)