TACLOBAN CITY- The signing of the Freedom on Information (FOI) by President Rodrigo Duterte was hailed by two mayors in Leyte who have experienced their share of criticisms both from the public and the media. Both Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Gonzales Romualdez and Palo Mayor Remedios “Matin” Petilla hailed the President for issuing an executive order giving flesh on the FOI. “I think it’s the right of the people to get information. Here in the City Hall, we are not hiding anything. We are open,” Romualdez said. The Tacloban city mayor said that her administration, to include that of her husband, Alfred Romualdez, has been practicing and observing transparency.
“We have been implementing it,” she said, referring to the policy of transparency.  For her part, Mayor Petilla said that her administration is also open to the public, to include the media, for them to access information that they want. “We have been open,” she said. However, Petilla was quick to say that while she is supportive on providing the media and the public in general, open access to information, there should still be some limitations. “Not all information being sought by the media should be given. I think there should be some limitations for the media…” the town mayor said during a press conference on Monday (July 25).
She, however, did not elaborate on where limitation on freedom of information should apply.

Petilla also said that she is still waiting for more guidelines on the executive order issued by the President on FOI. The Palo town mayor, who also served as governor and a congresswoman, stressed that she is supportive on Mr. Duterte’s campaign to make public officials open to the public and to the media.  Both Romualdez, serving on her first term after completing her nine years in office as a councilor, and Petilla have been subjected to media criticisms related to their duties as public servants. On July 24, Pres. Duterte signed an executive order on FOI. Under the executive order, all Filipinos shall be given access to information, records and documents to official government transactions, to include research data. Meantime, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) also welcomes the signing of the executive order on FOI.
In a statement, the NUJP only shows the President’s sincerity in making good of his campaign promise. “This is a gesture we are sure not only media but everybody who believes transparency and accountability indispensable to good governance and democracy highly appreciates,” the media group said.  It also called on every Filipino “to be vigilant that whatever gains are made are protected and should continue to expand the borders of press freedom in the country.”

TACLOBAN CITY- The controversial traffic scheme now enforced across the main downtown streets of the city will be reviewed by some traffic management experts. This was disclosed by Vice Mayor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin who said that the city government will be seeking assistance from traffic experts from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and from the University of the Philippines (UP).  The traffic management experts are expected to arrive in the city next week to study the worsening traffic situation in Tacloban’s downtown area. The one-way traffic scheme was enforced in the city on June 1 as part of the city government’s experiment to end the traffic woes in the city’s downtown area. The traffic scheme, supposed to end by this month but was extended indefinitely, was enforced through an executive order issued by former Mayor Alfred Romualdez.  The rerouting scheme was said to have been recommended to the former city mayor by the Traffic Operations Management Enforcement Coordinating Office (Tomeco). “What is important now, based on the expert recommendation, is to answer, as to what the things are needed. Do we need traffic signs, traffic lights or do we need more trained Tomeco personnel” Yaokasin said.  “The interest of the majority should be considered and that the good of all should prevail,” he added. Motorcab-for-hire (MCH) drivers already sent a manifesto to the city council stating their recommendations such as color coding of private vehicles, prohibition of double parking and the ouster of some Tomeco officials. Yaokasin said they will study if these proposals will contribute to ease traffic congestion together with the assessment of the invited traffic experts. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has issued stern warning against consumption of shellfish following recent spate of widespread red tide bloom in Eastern Visayas that has already killed two children. The BFAR-8 said that red tide toxins found on May 27 in Irong-Irong Bay in Tarangnan, Samar and Cambatutay Bay in Catbalogan City have extended to nearby Maqueda Bay, Villareal Bay and Carigara Bay. Maqueda Bay which encompasses the town of Jiabong, Catbalogan City, Motiong, Paranas, Pinabacdao, Hinabangan, San Sebastian, and Calbiga, all in Samar, is a major source of mussel in the region.

The area has been shipping shellfish to Manila for export. BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo said that a family of seven from Barangay Cagutsan, Sierra Island in Catbalogan City was brought to the Samar Provincial Hospital (SPH) and later to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) after consuming pen shell locally known as “sarad.” An 11-year-old girl from the family died due to paralytic shellfish poisoning on July 17. On July 20, another family from Brgy. San Andres, also in Catbalogan, consumed mussels for dinner bought from a village market. Two of their children were hospitalized after suffering severe stomach pain. The five-year-old boy succumbed at the SPH the same day due to dehydration. As of this week, seven patients are still confined in hospital after eating red tide-infected shellfish. The fisheries bureau asked local government units to assist in the information drive and enforcement of shellfish ban, which strictly prohibits consumption, trading, and transport of shellfish gathered from infested bays.

“It’s unfortunate that these incidents happen despite (our) effort to warn the public starting from the onset of red tide recurrence,” Albaladejo said. “We reiterate our public advisory to refrain from eating, harvesting, marketing, and buying shellfishes from affected bays until such time that the shellfish toxicity level has gone down below the regulatory level,” he added. Fish, squid, shrimp and crab are safe to eat “provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking,” according to BFAR.

In Eastern Samar, BFAR also raised red tide alert over Matarinao Bay after they found toxins from shellfish meat samples gathered from the bay. In its advisory issued late afternoon on July 22, the fisheries bureau disclosed that there are 65 saxitoxins per 100 grams of meat from shellfish gathered in Matarinao Bay. “This is above the regulatory limit because the normal should be below 49 saxitoxins per 100 grams of shellfish meat,” Albaladejo said. Saxitoxin is a principal toxin responsible for a human illness known as paralytic shellfish poisoning. Some shellfish can store this toxin for several weeks and very harmful if consumed by humans. Fish from affected bay are safe for human consumption so long as they are cleaned and washed thoroughly and internal organs are removed before cooking. Matarinao Bay covers the coastal waters of Salcedo, Quinapondan, Hernani, and Gen. MacArthur in Eastern Samar. The bay has been subject to regular monitoring after recurrence of red tide bloom. The last one was in 2013, which lasted for almost a year. In the last quarter of 2015, the region was hit by what the BFAR described as the biggest red tide bloom that has not been seen in more than three decades.  (SARWELL Q. MENIANO/JAZMIN BONIFACIO)

CATBALOGAN CITY- The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) has given this city high mark, prompting it to improve its ranking among the country’s component cities.
NCC gave Catbalogan a ranking of 46 covering the 2015 survey using government efficiency, infrastructure and economic dynamism as indices.
Catbalogan, whose cityhood was attained in 2009, was in the category of component cities.
The 2015 ranking was far higher compared to the 104 position it garnered on the 2014 NCC survey.
Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan personally received the award on July 14, 2016 during the 4th Regional Competitiveness Summit held at the Philippine International Convention Center.
“I am elated by the latest result. Our big jump from 104th to 46th spot out of hundreds of components cities in our nation serves as a vindication for the hard work of our employees, the cooperation of various agencies in the city and the support of the people of Catbalogan. This is no less than what we expected,” she said.
The city mayor added that she shares the recognition to all their development partners who had assisted them in all of their endeavors.
“It is through their generous inputs that we were able to improve our programs and services,” Uy-Tan said.
The city mayor appealed to her constituents and their development partners to continue helping the city government by working together to achieve their goal to make Catbalogan one of the most truly progressive cities in the country.
“Let it not be a cause for us to be complacent. If anything, let this victory further remind us how much we can achieve if we will be united. Let us therefor work together for the attainment of the much higher goal – the top spot,” she said. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- For returning a sizeable sum of money, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of this city is to commend Ricardo Moreno’s commendable act. On July 17, Moreno, who has been working as a porter at the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport for 21 years, found a box at the conveyor section of the airport containing P21,000, chocolates and personal belongings of the owner. The honest porter did not think twice in keeping the cash to himself as he surrendered it to the airport’s security immediately. On Wednesday (July 27), in giving tribute to his honesty, Moreno will receive a commendation from the members of the city council. Vice Mayor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin, presiding officer of the council, said that it is just proper to give credit to the instant celebrity. As he extolled the good deed of Moreno, the vice mayor also asked other airport porters to also be as honest as Moreno whom he described as his favorite porter wherever he arrives at the DZR Airport.  An employee of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), which manages the DZR Airport, posted the video of Moreno which went viral. As of last count, the video was shared and liked by more than 3,000 netizens. It was learned that Moreno, previous instances, has also returned lost items to the airport security. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)