Anti-poverty program pours in PHP3.2-B funds for community projects in Region 8

TACLOBAN CITY, July 20 (PNA) –- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the region reports a total of 4,470 projects completed under its flagship anti-poverty program Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).

In a press conference Tuesday, DSWD shared a recent regional update on the Kalahi-CIDSS program in the region which has already disbursed a total of PHP3.2 billion in under a PHP3.7 billion total fund allocation for the region.

As of June 2016, the DSWD has already provided the program the financial requirements of PHP1.5 billion for Leyte; PHP785 million for Samar; PHP658 million for Northern Samar; PHP402 million for Eastern Samar; PHP218 million for Southern Leyte; and, PHP122 million for Biliran.

These funds went into the construction of 1,018 school buildings and day care centers, 265 health stations, 73.65 kilometers of drainage canals, 2,668.8 linear meters of seawalls, 749 water systems, 1,284 electric lamp posts and 1,245.76 kilometers of roads, access trails and bridges all over the region.

Capability trainings were also conducted for recipient villages.

There remain 827 on-going projects while 183 are in the procurement stage.

DSWD Eastern Visays Regional Director Restituto Macuto said the agency will continue to involve communities in the region in their own development through the Community-Driven Development (CDD) strategy.

The CDD is an approach that engages citizens in local development so that they will determine and implement what interventions that will help their communities respond to issues affecting their poverty situation.

Community projects under the program are being completed through the various modalities which include Kalahi-CIDSS additional financing, which expanded the first phase of Kalahi-CIDSS; 

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Project, Australian Grant project from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Other modalities are Japan Social Development Fund-Livelihood for Vulnerable Urban Communities (JSDF-LVUC) Project, Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), kalahi-CIDSS-Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan, and the Kalahi-CIDSS Bottom-up Planning and Budgeting.

In the region, Kalahi-CIDSS is all over in its six provinces with 3,785 villages in 138 towns.  The DSWD listed a total of 738,548 households in the region. (PNA)

LAP/SQM/Ahlette C. Reyes/egr

DOH Region 8 to set up HIV/AIDS treatment hubs

TACLOBAN CITY, July 20 (PNA) -- The Department of Health (DOH) regional office here will establish treatment hubs in every province and city in Eastern Visayas for human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) affected individuals.

DOH Assistant Regional Director Paula Paz Sydiongco the proposal seeks to address the increasing number of HIV-AIDS cases in the region’s six provinces – Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Samar, 

Eastern Samar and Northern Samar and seven cities – Tacloban, Baybay, Ormoc, Maasin, Catbalogan, Calbayog, and Borongan.

The DOH will also open social-hygiene clinic in strategic areas as part of the services provided by the HIV/AIDS treatment hub.

Currently, the region has only one operating treatment hub for the disease – the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in this city.

“We will bring services closer to the people hub and we can examine more people at the social-hygiene clinic,” Sydiongco said.

The same services offered at EVRMC will be offered in treatment hubs.

Since 1984, HIV/AIDS has already killed five persons and infected 312 others in the region. In 2016, the health department detected 33 new cases.

Majority of those infected are males who acquired the disease through male-to-male sexual intercourse, according to health department. (PNA)

BNB/SQM/ROEL T. AMAZONA/EGR

Ex-solons in Region 8 hail Arroyo’s case dismissal

TACLOBAN CITY, July 20 (PNA) -- Former members of the House of Representatives in Eastern Visayas have welcomed the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling dismissing the plunder case of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Former Leyte 2nd district Rep. Sergio Apostol said that the decision of the SC in acquitting the former Chief Executive is in accordance with the law.

“Arroyo was acting as the President of our country, doing it for the welfare of our country and she did not pocket the money,” Apostol said in an interview with PNA.

“The plunder charge against the former President would not reach Supreme Court had the Sandiganbayan acted on it,” he added.

The former solon, who served as the chairman of the Committee on Justice in Congress during the first three years of Arroyo administration said that filing of a plunder case against Arroyo was politically motivated.

“She did not act, she just told the PCSO board to use that fund,” said Apostol, who also served as Arroyo’s presidential legal counsel, who engineered giving pardon to former President Joseph Estrada.

Plunder charges arise from the alleged embezzlement of PHP366 million in intelligence funds of the PCSO from 2008 to 2010.

“Arroyo did not embezzle the intelligence funds of the PCSO, he was just been involved because of the marginal note,” Apostol said

Former Northern Samar 2nd district Rep. Emil Ong was, however, saddened that it took so long for the High Court to decide on the case.

Citing the Constitution, Ong, a lawyer, said that the SC must decide on special cases such as Arroyo’s for not more than one year.

“It’s too harsh, why did they delay the decision of the case if the respondent is innocent?” he asked.

Ong, a former Arroyo ally, believed that the new administration wanted a fair and speedy decision without political considerations that’s why the SC immediately decided on the case.

“Maybe SC justices was just scared to be impeached because of the former administration has many allies in the previous Congress,” he added.

“It should really be a precedent that they shall abide on their mandated task and not be afraid of any persecution coming from any administration because they have their fixed term,” Ong said.

Under Arroyo’s administration, Ong was the vice chairman of Committee on Appropriation and chairman of the Committee on Labor in the House of Representatives. (PNA)
LAP/SQM/RYAN GABRIEL LLOSA ARCENAS/EGR

Arroyo’s acquittal elates staunch ally

TACLOBAN CITY, July 20 (PNA) –- A staunch ally of Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo hailed the Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday to dismiss the plunder case against his former boss.

Victor Domingo, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary during the last eight months of Arroyo administration, said he’s very happy that justice prevailed after five years of the former president's detention.

Arroyo and her co-accused had been charged with plunder for reportedly pocketing Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) intelligence funds totaling PHP366 million from 2008 to 2010.

The Supreme Court en banc in a vote of 11-4, dismissed the case due to "weak evidence" presented by the prosecution team.

“From the beginning, I believe there was no basis of those charges against her since she did not seat as member of the PCSO board. She just trusted the judgement of the board and did not personally use the money,” said Domingo, who was also a PCSO director during the early years of Arroyo presidency.

Domingo, who is now running businesses in this city, has been Arroyo’s friend since they both worked in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the 1980s.

Arroyo appointed Domingo, a former DTI regional director, as presidential assistant for Eastern Visayas, PCSO board member, presidential adviser for new government center, and DPWH secretary.

“They should have considered Arroyo’s health. It was not prosecution, but persecution as she was not able to leave the country to get the best treatment,” he added.

The former President has been under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City since 2012 in connection with the plunder case.

Domingo credited the former President for the completion of major projects in Eastern Visayas – rehabilitation of the national highway from San Juanico Bridge to the port in Allen, Northern Samar, 

Agas-Agas Bridge construction, Biliran Circumferential Road and lobbying for the inclusion of Samar road upgrading in the Millennium Challenge Corporation grant. (PNA)
LAP/SQM

Ombudsman urges public to report gender-related complaints

TACLOBAN CITY, July 20 (PNA) -- The Office of the Ombudsman has encouraged all residents in Eastern Visayas to visit their office and file complaints on gender matters involving government official.

Assistant Ombudsman and Gender and Development Chairperson Jennnifer Jardin Manalili said during the launching of Gender Information Desk (GID) Tuesday afternoon that even male victims of abuses are welcomed file their complaints at the desk.

“Gender is not only about women, but for all of us. Many incidents are happening, but if it’s not reported or if they don’t have venue to report it, we will not know it. This is our way of telling them to come out and tell us what is really going on, if there are really cases of harassment against women, children and men,” Manalili said.

Gender issues have been stereotyped that it only focuses on women, but this should be broken, according to Manalili.

“This is a product of our culture orientation since we were children because of stereotyping. So we are here to teach values. Our difference is because of nature and other than that, we are all the same, we all need to grow our full potential,” she explained.

Manalili clarified that complaints that will be received by the desk will not only focus on sexual abuses, but also on discriminatory laws against men and women and complaints on inequality.

“If it falls under our jurisdiction, then we will take action on it, but if they want other interventions to their complaints, we will look at ways of how we can help them,” she added.

The official added that with the launching of GID, they can now gather accurate statistics on complaints regarding gender matter and check if there is an increase or decrease of cases every year. (PNA)
BNB/SQM/ROEL T. AMAZONA/EGR