Insurgency stalls dev’t of 900-hectare land in Samar

TACLOBAN CITY, May 24  -- A state-run university in Samar province blamed insurgency why the school has failed to develop its 900-hectare farm and forest land in San Jorge town.

Northwest Samar State University (NwSSU) President Avelina Bergado said Thursday that plans to develop a land in Matalud into an eco-tourism destination has been stalled by the presence of the New People’s Army (NPA).

The school official has expressed concern after the National Economic and Development Authority initially tagged the 900-hectare property as a potential site for public-private partnership.

“The presence of waterfalls, vast forest, and very cold weather make it an ideal place for ecotourism. There have been plans to build access roads as part of forest development integrated program, but it was not pushed through because developers are afraid to go there,” Bergado told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

NwSSU with its main campus in Calbayog City, has been supervising a satellite campus in San Jorge since it became a university on Oct. 14, 2009.

Republic Act No. 9719 renamed the Tiburcio Tancinco Memorial Institute of Science and Technology into NwSSU integrating Samar State College of Agriculture and Forestry located in San Jorge.

The university is mandated to provide advanced education, higher technological, professional instruction and training in trade, fishery, agriculture, science, education, commerce, engineering, forestry, nautical courses and other related fields.

The San Jorge campus owns a 900-hectare land, some parts of which had been occupied by an agriculture high school in the 1960s. When the NPA occupied the area from the 1970s to 1980s, development activities stopped, the school official recalled.

“It seems that armed rebels are against any infrastructure development project in the area. We have been seeking help from the Philippine Army to clear the area from insurgency threats,” she added.

The Samar provinces have been the stronghold of armed rebels due to their densely-forested mountainous areas, high poverty incidence, and issue of widespread landlessness, based on a 2013 study of William Norman Holden of the University of Calgary in Canada.

The NPA launched its first tactical operation in the country in Calbiga, Samar in 1974, when its members ambushed an Army scout patrol and seized a number of weapons. In 1976, the NPA gained popular support among the inhabitants of Samar following its actions against cattle rustling gangs. (SQM/PNA)

TESDA to train Leyte IPs on high-value crop farming

TACLOBAN CITY, May 23  -- More ethnic groups in Leyte province will receive formal training on high value crops production, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) said on Wednesday.

TESDA Leyte Provincial Director Loreta Banario said they will choose 40 indigenous people (IPs) from the Badjao community in Bato or Isabel town to be trained by Villaconzoilo Farm School based in Villaconzoilo village, Jaro, Leyte.

“Personnel from TESDA Leyte will visit their communities to talk with them and ask if they are interested to acquire farm production training,” Banario said. “We cannot force them to be trained on agriculture because we don’t want to waste funds on skills training not of their interest.”

Leyte has two Badjao communities. The first settlement was established in Dolho village in Bato town in a land provided by the local government. The community has 600 members.

The second Badjao community with 300 residents was established in 1985 in Marvel village in Isabel town.

Residents in both communities rely on fishing as their main source of income though some are into begging, which is prohibited by the government.

Last week, at least 50 Mamanwa tribe members living in the upland Kagbana village in Burauen town received a certificate from TESDA for finishing organic farming training.

The trainees, composed of 31 women and 19 men, finished the 10-day training on producing the organic vegetable leading to organic agriculture -- National Certificate II.
After the training, tribe members also received agricultural tool kits, seeds and cash assistance worth PHP5,000 as start-up capital to organize a cooperative. (RTA/PNA)

Eastern Visayas hospital opens P497-M modern main building

TACLOBAN CITY, May 22 -- The Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) opened its PHP497-million six-storey main building in a new location, reinforcing the government’s commitment to improve health services in this poverty-stricken region.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s partner, Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña, and Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go led the inauguration of the main building funded by the Department of Health (DOH).

Avanceña said ensuring the timely completion of the project is proof of Duterte’s love for the people of Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), who suffered the brunt of super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

“The President was here two days after Yolanda to help the victims. He saw the dead and the suffering of victims here and it made him cry,” Avanceña told a crowd of about 500, composed of local officials and hospital staff.

Avanceña, a former nurse at the state-run Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City, commended the hospital staff for their dedication.

“Working in a government hospital is physically draining because you have to be resourceful to address all the needs of poor patients,” she said.

The opening of the main building signals the expansion of Duterte’s Malasakit Center, a one-stop shop that will provide access to government programs that extend medical financial assistance to the underprivileged, Go said.

He turned over PHP15 million to the EVRMC management for the first month of operation of the Malasakit Center. This is the second center in the Visayas after the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center opened in Cebu.

“Asking for financial assistance from different agencies is now in just one roof and you don’t have to queue since this is digital. This is to amplify President Duterte’s advocacy of streamlining government processes, especially the health services needed for the poor,” Go added.

The opening of the Malasakit Center will pave the way to make EVRMC a premier hospital in the region, he said.

The center will be manned by staff of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, DOH, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., conferring the possibility of a unified requirement system, aside from the unified, single-window application form.

The main building, which had its groundbreaking on Feb. 25, 2014, is part of the PHP2.4 billion EVRMC modernization project supported by the Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, Inc. and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The EVRMC has 353 beds and 35 cribs. With a floor area of 30,000 square meters, it was designed for 420-bed service wards and 180-bed private rooms.

In September 2017, the regional hospital opened its PHP411-million three-storey outpatient department funded by JICA. The new design features screen blocks to protect the building's openings from flying debris, windows that can withstand strong winds, a power generator, and water supply good for up to three days.

In August 2016, the DOH opened the PHP300-million four-storey Mother and Child Building built by the Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc. It has a 100-bed capacity facility with a floor area of 4,715 square meters.

At least eight more buildings will rise within the regional hospital complex, the DOH said.

The old EVRMC, which was damaged by “Yolanda’s” storm surge along Magsaysay Blvd., has been upgraded.

The health department said they are targeting to complete the transfer within three years.

The modernization program is expected to enhance the quality of services of the medical center, improve health outcomes, and achieve equity in access to healthcare in the region.

The EVRMC, then known as the Leyte Provincial Hospital on Jones St., first opened its doors to the public on July 16, 1916. It had an authorized bed capacity of 14.

Due to increasing demand, the hospital was relocated to Magsaysay Blvd. and a new building was constructed in 1925. In 1936, the hospital was further expanded to 40 beds and the new building was inaugurated by President Manuel L. Quezon.

In 2008, Leyte lawmakers introduced a bill that would increase the bed capacity of EVRMC, upgrading its service and facilities and professional health care, authorizing the increase of its personnel and appropriating funds. It was later signed into law on Nov. 19, 2009. (SQM/With reports from Princess Rosette Cabonegro and Chanda Mae Dialino, OJTs/PNA)

Honeylet to critics: Understand Duterte’s firing of officials

TACLOBAN CITY, May 22 -- President Rodrigo Duterte’s partner, Cieleto “Honeylet” Avanceña, has asked the public to understand the Chief Executive in the light of the controversial resignation of high-ranking officials he personally appointed into office.

Avanceña, who was here Tuesday to inaugurate the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center, admitted that it hurts her to see some of the President’s appointees resign or told to quit for their alleged involvement in corruption.

Some of those who resigned helped a lot in Duterte’s bid for the presidency.

“Please do not take it against him. A lot of people are bashing the President because he has been firing the people he himself had put into office. He is just true to his promise to stop illegal drugs and eliminate corruption in the government,” she said.

Avanceña, a businesswoman in Davao City, added that eliminating corruption is a priority since this will encourage more investors to open businesses because of streamlined process and transactions free from red tape.

Among the axed Cabinet officials or who have quit from their posts over controversies were Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Information and Communications Secretary Rodolfo Salalima, and Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno.

Other officials fired by the President for various offenses were National Irrigation Administration chief Peter Laviña; Social Security System commissioner Jose Gabriel Laviña; Maritime Industry Authority Administrator Marcial Quirico Amaro; Commission on Higher Education chief Patricia Licuanan; Presidential Commission for Urban Poor chairman Terry Ridon and commissioners Melissa Aradanas, Manuel Serra Jr., Noe Indonto and Joan Lagunda; Labor Undersecretary Dominador Say; and Transportation Assistant Secretary Mark Tolentino.

On Tuesday, Duterte called for the resignation of Public Works Assistant Secretary Tingagum Umpa and Justice Assistant Secretary Moslemen Macarambon Sr. (LAAA/PNA)

DTI-Leyte to offer discounted sales of school supplies

TACLOBAN CITY, May 21 -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will conduct discounted sales of schools supplies in Leyte, offering buyers more choices of basic school needs at lower prices.

The DTI-Leyte field office announced on Monday that "Diskwento Caravan" back-to-school edition will be rolled out in this city on May 23 to 25.

“In this program, manufacturers and retailers are brought together to provide opportunity for consumers to access basic goods, schools supplies and prime commodities at discounted or reduced prices,” said DTI Leyte provincial director Desiderio Belas.

Products available during these activities are food items, school supplies, uniforms, shoes and other merchandise to help prepare students for the school year.

“This Diskwento Caravan aims to give consumers the best value for money by providing them quality products at cheaper prices,” added Belas.

The government-sponsored back-to-school edition will be participated by several wholesale and retail school supplies stores. 

Participating companies offer school supplies, bags, and uniforms at 10 percent to 50 percent discounted prices.

The public may also avail free haircut and massage for every purchase, courtesy of the Comprehensive Livelihood Entrepreneurship Program of Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romualdez.

The trade department will also hold consumer information activities to educate shoppers on consumer protection and awareness. (LAAA/PNA)