TACLOBAN CITY – Teams will be deployed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office to three Samar provinces to assist farmers in the identification of priority farm commodities, heeding Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol’s directive to transform Samar Island into a “food basket.”
DA Regional Executive Director Wilson Cerbito said the department will embark on participatory governance through community-based consultation, striking a balance between farmers’ preferred crops and suitable commodity in specific areas.
Initially, the initiative will cover five poorest towns in each of the three provinces or a total of 15 areas.
“We want to make sure that after the project, there should be an impact. Success of the project will be measured by evaluating the poverty incidence,” Cerbito said.
The three provinces – Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar – were tagged as priority areas in the implementation of Special Area for Agriculture Development (SAAD), the strategy of the Piñol in attaining agricultural development and poverty alleviation.
Through this program, the national government aims to bring down poverty incidence in Samar provinces to only 25 percent.
Recently, DA organized a technical working group with local government units for a specific identification of the beneficiaries and determines the exact location, preferably create a database.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has identified Samar provinces as among the 10 areas with the highest poverty incidence in the country.
Eastern Samar had 55.4 percent while both Samar and Northern Samar posted 43.5 percent poverty incidence.
“Development will not only focus on crops, but fisheries as well. This can be done through collaboration with other agencies such as Department of Social Welfare and Development because the targets are conditional cash transfer beneficiaries,” Cerbito added.
The DA will also tie up with the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, DA-attached agencies and bureaus, and local government units in the implementation of SAAD.
During his visit to the region last month, Piñol committed to organize project management teams in the three provinces, hire additional workers to assist designated agricultural extension workers, and prioritize projects with a turnaround of six months to one year to “achieve much awaited changes.”
DA regional information Francisco Rosaroso said SAAD program has been proven successful in North Cotabato, where Piñol served as its governor for nine years.
“SAAD, a comprehensive program focusing on the country’s ten priority provinces, will assess the strengths and weaknesses of an area and its potentials in food production,” Rosaroso explained.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
DA sets program to help farm sectors in 3 Samar provinces
DOT trains more tour guides for Eastern Visayas
TACLOBAN CITY – The number of well-trained and accredited tour guides here in the region has increase more than 10 times, raising the bar of tour guiding among its six provinces. The Department of Tourism (DOT) recently completed the month-long training of 23 regional tour guides, tagged as the best capacity building for the group in the regional level. “Now, they can be tour guides anywhere in the region. This is another feather to our cap because we only had two tour guides in the past,” said Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes.
“They passed through the eye of the needle from pre-screening, examinations to 27 days of rigorous training,” she added. According to Tiopes, this is the first seminar for tour guides in the regional level. In the past, the DOT conducted training only for community-based tour guides. The activity aimed at achieving high standards of selection, training, and certification of all local guide practitioners in the region. The Regional Tour Guiding Course module has considered provisions on European Union’s Innoguide Training as well as comments and recommendation of DOT-accredited tour guides.
The seminar topics include tourism industry overview, becoming a tour guide, knowing about Philippines, local tourism, destination and activities in the country, Filipino culture, environment, developing tour guiding knowledge and skills, tour guide tools, personality development, and crisis management. Participants were also engaged in fieldworks such as familiarization tours, research, and technique application. Tiopes is optimistic that with the new set of accredited and well-trained tour guides, tourist will appreciate the region more. Eastern Visayas, which consists of six provinces, is known for its natural and man-made attractions – Calbiga Cave, Ulot River, and Calbayog waterfalls in Samar; San Juanico Bridge, Macarthur Park, and Kalanggaman Island in Leyte; Calicoan Island in Eastern Samar; Biri Rock Formations and pink beach in Northern Samar; waterfalls in Biliran; and dive sites in Southern Leyte. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
Tacloban lass named 2016 Ms. Chinatown to visit the city
TACLOBAN CITY– “This is a homecoming for Miss Shirley Mae Vy, crowned Miss Chinatown Philippines 2016, who is a native of Tacloban. The Filipino-Chinese community is very proud of her. This is the first time a Taclobanon was declared winner in a prestigious national beauty pageant,” said Jack Uy, president of Tacloban Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (TFCCCI).
Vy and Jon Loiue Ngo, Mr. Chinatown 2016, and their respective courts are to visit Tacloban this Friday (August 26). They will make a courtesy call to Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Gonzalez Romualdez at her office after a motorcade around the major thoroughfares of the city. The group will be accompanied by Wilson Agbayani, chairman of Miss Chinatown Foundation, Loraine Tan and Alvin Tan officers of Chinoy TV. They will tour the famous tourist destinations of the city before they fly back to Manila. Vy and Ngo bested 28 other contestants during the pageant at Resorts World Manila last July 31. Both endowed with sexy and fit body clinched the best in swimwear during the search.
Vy, a bossa nova singer waxed an album with Universal Records. She was also proclaimed Miss Chinatown Oriental and Miss Chinatown Shimian. She received P500,000 worth of cash, services and goods for the awards. Vy will also represent the Philippines in the Miss Chinese International pageant in January 2017. The TFCCCI will give her a victory dinner celebration at Patio Victoria in this city, Uy said. Members of the chamber and friends of Vy’s parents Bebot and Annabelle Vy will grace the affair. Mayor Romualdez will be the special guest. Vy, being an alumnus of the Leyte Progressive High School and Sacred Heart, will visit the schools and give an inspirational talk to the students. A press conference will be held in the afternoon at Chew Love. (VICKY C. ARNAIZ)
Petilla: LSA now produces world- class athletes
TACLOBAN CITY- The Leyte Sports Academy (LSA), based in this city, is now producing world class athletes. Thus said Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla speaking during the sixth anniversary of LSA last August 19. Petilla said that scholar-athletes from LSA are now considered as powerhouses who could compete against the country’s best. The governor added that the sporting academy has also produced athletes who have won honors and medals in various international sports competitions.
He said that as of this year, LSA athletes have already won 21 gold medals, 11 silver medals and 2 bronze medals in international competitions. One of them was Veronica Ompod, 15 and from Matag-ob town.
She was invited by the Philippine Sports Commission to Texas, USA representing the Philippines and won gold medal at the World Classic Power Lifting Championship.
“I am confident, and I just hope and pray, that more gold medals will be won by the LSA scholars this year in international competitions,” the governor said. Last year, Petilla said, LSA athletes won 10 gold medals, 22 silver medals and 9 bronze medals in ASEAN competitions held in Hong Kong and Taiwan. And in 2014, Eastern Visayas had the first taste of gold medals when the LSA athletes won 6 gold medals at the 2014 Oceania & ASIAN Powerlifting Championship held in Melbourne, Australia in the month of December of that year.
In the regional and national scene, LSA scholars have already won 41 gold medals, 45 silver medals and 34 bronze medals. Last year, LSA athletes won 237 gold medals, 116 silver medals and 69 bronze medals in several athletic competitions. While in 2014 LSA athletes won 41 gold medals, 45 silver medals and 34 medals, he further added.
Petilla said that LSA athletes are now the national record holder of the 4×400 relay for the secondary girls with a time of 3:56 minutes. Petilla said that with the gold medals won by the LSA athletes, it has improved the EVRAA standing in the Palarong Pambansa from the second to the last place to the present standing of 13th place.
LSA was founded last August 19, 2010 with the objective to promote world class athletes from Leyte and win gold after five years, however, the first gold medals were won in four years’ time in 2014 in international competitions held in Australia. LSA started with 37 students composed of 11 elementary and 26 secondary students with formal training started on athletics, boxing and swimming and later on included more training. At present the academy has an enrollment of 130 elementary and high school students. The academy has now 37 graduates enrolled in Visayas and Metro Manila universities as full college athlete scholars. (RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
Yedda Romualdez of Leyte
Gov’t to adopt 50-50 rerouting scheme
Tacloban-Manila and Tacloban-Clark flights
By: JOEY A. GABIETA
TACLOBAN CITY- It would be a 50-50 rerouting scheme. This was the agreement arrived between Transportation Sec. Arthur Tugade and Sec. Michael Lloyd Dino, residential assistant for the Visayas, regarding the rerouting of some Tacloban-Manila flights to Clark International Airport. The 50-50 rerouting scheme will also apply to other major airports in the Visayas like in Cebu, Iloilo and Bacolod. “This fifty-fifty rerouting scheme would mean to reroute fifty percent of all Visayas area flights to Clark International Airport and the remaining fifty percent be allowed to continue landing at the Manila International Airport,” Dino said in his communication to President Duterte dated August 15. Dino also proposed if this rerouting scheme should be implemented, airline companies that would service the Tacloban-Clark route should provide discount to the passengers. However, i’s unclear yet as to when this rerouting scheme would be implemented. The plan to reroute the Tacloban-Manila flights to Clark International Airport was met with strong opposition from air travellers from the region as well as business groups and officials.
Congressmen from the region made their personal appeal to Sec. Tugade not to push through with the plan saying it would result to inconvenience of the passengers. Leyte Rep. Yedda Romualdez (1st district) said that other flights should also be diverted to the Clark International Airport. “The Tacloban Airport will do its part to address the worsening air traffic congestion in Metro Manila. We are very glad to contribute but we should also take the option of diverting some of the flights from Cebu and Davao to Clark in Pampanga to strike a balance and achieve a successful decongestion program without jeopardizing the business and tourism industry of a particular province and region,” Romualdez said in a press statement. For his part, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone asked the Department of Transportation| (DOTr) to consult first the affected passengers and other stakeholders on this planned rerouting scheme.
“This plan of the DOTr is anti-poor and anti-people. This will aggravate the poor condition of Eastern Visayas,” he said. The rerouting scheme was announced by Sec. Tugade last August 10 saying it was the proposal made by the airline companies. The business sector slammed this proposal saying it would affect the recovery efforts of the region still reeling from the devastation caused by supertyphoon “Yolanda.” The Tacloban-Manila flight takes about an hour and additional 20 minutes if the route would involve the Clark International Airport in Mabalacat, Pampanga. And it would take another four hours to reach Manila.
A personnel from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)-Tacloban, which supervises the operation of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, said that they have no idea on this planned rerouting. “We have not yet received any advisory pertaining this planned rerouting scheme,” the personnel, who asked not to be identified for not being authorized, said. The Tacloban DZR Airport is being serviced by three major carries, the Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia. Currently, it has 15 daily flights for Cebu and Manila. Last year, about 1.14 million passengers used the facility and carried 568,545 tons of various cargos.