As part of Yolanda recovery effort

TACLOBAN CITY –Several big ticket projects are to be funded by the national government as part of the rehabilitation effort in the aftermath of supertyphoon Yolanda here in Leyte.
The projects, running into hundreds of million of pesos, are to be implemented in the towns of Palo, Tanauan and here in the city, three of the hardest-hit areas in Leyte.
Among the projects identified under the provincial recovery and rehabilitation plan submitted by the provincial government under Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla includes housing projects, redevelopment of the Government Center in Palo town and the possible relocation of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport to Palo town from Tacloban.
These so-called priority rehabilitation projects were presented to Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation Secretary Panfilo Lacson, represented by his assistant secretary, Victor Batac, during the consultative meeting held at the Governor’s Hall of the Leyte Provincial Capitol held on February 7.
For Palo, the projects include the Barayong Housing Project in Barangay Barayong, where 500 houses are to be built and to be undertaken by the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) together with the provincial government; the 4.5 kilometer East-Bypass-Road that would run along Brgys. Pawing, Campetic, Guindapunan, San Jose and Arado.
Also included is the Guindapunan Residential and Growth Center which sits on a 34 hectare area and is located 1.5 kilometers north from the town proper of Palo. The area is already home to a number of residential subdivisions and some private commercial establishments.
The provincial government will also focus on the Pawing and Campetic Growth Center which has an initial area of 10 hectares and is located, 2.5 kilometers north of the town.
An estimated P343 million funding is needed for the area’s development.
Also among the priority is the regional and provincial center to house provincial and regional offices of the government.
This is being prioritized as the national rehabilitation plan called for imposing the no-built zone, 40-meter from the shoreline.
Another is the possible relocation of the Tacloban Airport to Palo town. The area proposed for the new airport is 300 hectares and is about 4.3 kilometers south of the town proper.
Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla said she is intent in realizing this project together with the support of the national government as this will boost its economy.
However, despite of the plan to relocate the region’s premier airport to Palo town away from the city, the national government would still fund for its rehabilitation.
About P115 million was estimated to cost for the repair of its shoreline protection, runway and terminal building which was damaged during the supertyphoon.
Also, expansion of the Tacloban Port Area is also being considered. The proposal is to expand the port area to the old Children’s Park, a provincial property adjacent to the present port area
Also included in the priority is the Tanauan relocation housing project where about 260 hectares is made available for housing units intended for families whose houses were destroyed by Yolanda.

AHLETTE C. REYES
Correspondent

TACLOBAN CITY- – Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman highlighted the need for sturdier, more dependable housing units for Yolanda-affected families of Tacloban. This statement came after Soliman inspected a number of the bunk houses. The development is meant to serve as a temporary shelter especially for those families who are within the “no build zones”, according to the new government policy that aims to safeguard those who are in the 40-meter danger area along the shorelines.
Soliman stressed out that the bunk houses are estimated to last 3 to 5 years and therefore a need exists for “permanent” housing solution when this timetable lapses. The official also noted that these bunk houses are still just a small part of the immediate response mechanism put in place by the DSWD not the “long term” solution for the displaced.
DSWD is optimistic about the project lead by the city government of Tacloban to secure more than 70 hectares of land in the northern district. An area that will now become the permanent settlement for displaced families. The proposed involve single-detached units with 20 square meters of floors space. Soliman hopes that these housing units will be available in time for the closing of the bunk houses.
Shelter is not the only concern, DSWD is looking into other services like security, camp management, food production and livelihood for families are issues also being considered. DSWD has arranged for Tesda to provide livelihood trainings to respective communities.
“Kompleto po na tinitingnan ng gobyerno ang mga concerns sa bunk houses, pinakaimportante dito yung livelihood dahil kailangan naman na kumita at mabuhay yung mga beneficiary natin; so definitely we are providing a total package for them to fully recover after Yolanda,” Soliman stressed.
Meanwhile in an interview with city information officer, Bernardita Valenzuela, the official announced about 30 barangays in Tacloban have “no build zone” areas; with 13,244 families affected. This situation prompted the city government to push its Comprehensive Community Development Partnership Program and actively look for donors to finance the mass housing project.
Currently, more than 6,500 houses and community facilities are being funded by the aforementioned program with the Philippine National Red Cross donating 5,000 units. Other organizations involved include Habitat for Humanity, GMA foundation, SOS Children’s Village Tacloban, Inc., Kimse Yokmu and Zonta.

(Regin Olimberio, Communitere)

TACLOBAN CITY – Wastes coming from the hospitals needs to be disposed properly to avoid possible spread of disease.
With this goal, the ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) has been going around in all hospitals in Tacloban to gather and collect all of their wastes.
The group collects about 100 cubic meters of solid waste a day. The ACTED started their hospital wastes gathering on November 19, 2013.
Collecting these wastes from the hospitals would deter possible occurrence of diseases, said its project manager Engr. Francis Lloyd Cinco.
He said that if these hospital wastes like gloves, syringes and medicine bottles, would not be disregarded, there is a high possibility that diseases would be developed.
“These hospital wastes must not be disregarded by the government. These must be collected and thrown in a proper area where there are no houses that will be distracted by the bad odor of those waste,” Cinco said.
All wastes collected by their group are being dumped at the northern village of Santo Nino where Tacloban’s open dump site is located.
The dump is far from any houses, schools, office and other structure, Cinco said.
“It is the duty and responsibility of the hospital to segregate their waste. Our (only) duty is to collect and throw their waste in dump site,” he added.
The ACTED collects the wastes coming from all hospitals in Tacloban. Hospitals from the towns of Palo, Tanauan and Burauen, all in Leyte, are also being cover by their wastes collection.
Cinco said that all their 80 volunteers are being paid by the ACTED at P260 a day of work. All of them wear safety gears such as safety mask, safety goggles, hand gloves and boots.

By: RYAN GABRIEL LLOSA ARCENAS

TACLOBAN CITY – The 2nd Leyte Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways is set to implement millions-worth of infrastructure projects this year as specified under the current General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The district’s regular infrastructure projects to be implemented amounts to P660 million for 2014, of which, P245 million will be funded by the regional office, said district engineer Carlos Veloso.
Veloso said the bulk of the project goes to the continuation of the Burauen-Albuera road project amounting to P150 million, and road reblocking project in the mountainous highway in Capoocan along the Palo-Carigara-Ormoc road amounting to P95 million.
It can be recalled that the Burauen–Albuera road project will get P322 million this year. Of this amount, P172 million will be used to construct bridges while P150 million is needed to pave gravel roads and road opening activities this year.
The allotment for Burauen-Albuera Road is part of the P5.08 billion infrastructure development program for Eastern Visayas.
The road aims to connect Leyte’s second biggest town, Burauen, to Albuera in the western side of the province traversing rebel-infested villages.
The road project is projected to be finished by 2016, Veloso said.
Veloso said arterial road rehabilitation of the Palo-Carigara-Ormoc road remains as one of his top priority as this serves as a major road and affects much the economic activity in the area.
Other projects to be undertaken by the 2nd LED this year include road rehabilitation, road widening, flood control, bridge construction, bridge strengthening, widening of junctions, shouldering and drainage canals, shoulder paving in populated areas, and preventive maintenance.

By: AHLETTE C. REYES

PALO, Leyte-Soldiers from the Republic of Korea conducted the repair of the Leyte Provincial Hospital which was severely damaged by supertyphoon Yolanda.
And after more than 30 days of work, the hospital is now functioning enough to offer health services to the people, a gesture welcome by chief of hospital Doctor Ophelia Absin.
“They are really a big help,” she said.
The 86 Korean soldiers, led by Colonel Chu Wan Lee, turned over on February 5 the rehabilitated buildings of the LPH.
“Of course, we are happy with the help extended to us by our Korean soldiers and their government. You know, we cannot accomplished this if we just rely on our (provincial) government considering that we are all affected and it will cost huge amount of money,” Absin said.
The Korean soldiers worked for almost a month, to include Saturdays and Sundays, just to finish the repair of the hospital’s out-patient department, laboratory, Ex-ray room, ward’s department and even its canteen.
The soldiers started their work on January 3, 2013 and finished their work by February 5, this year.
The rehabilitation just cost P1.3 million, according to the Lee.
Their Filipino counterparts also joined in the work aside from providing them security, said Brigadier Gen. Rolando Malinao, head of the Task Force Yolanda.
“I was deeply moved by the hospital’s personnel passion to look after the patients despite of the (bad) condition of the hospital,” Lee said.
When they first visited the place on December 30, they were shocked on the condition of the hospital- destroyed and full of debris.
Its patients have to contend with rooms without roofs on their heads.
Major Kwon Doo Young, public relations officer of the Korean troops, said that they were “so concern” with the physical condition of the LPH that instead of helping its patients recover from their ailments, it could only aggravate their health condition and spread of more diseases.
This was the reason why they made the rehabilitation of the LPH as their priority among other public buildings in Palo destroyed by Yolanda, Young said.
Absin said that with the restored LPH, they could now serve better their clients who are not only from the Palo town but from other areas of Leyte and even Samar.
The LPH, which has a 100- bed capacity, closed its operations after it was hit by Yolanda and reopened on November 22, 2013 despite of the damaged condition of the buildings and its facilities.
Leyte Board Member and former governor Mimiette Bagulaya said that the people of Leyte have so much to thank for on the assistance extended by the Korean government.
“This really means a lot for us. They were really a big help,”Bagulaya said.

By: JOEY A. GABIETA

TACLOBAN CITY- Citing damages and loss of potential income, the regional representative of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) in Eastern Visayas seeks for the transfer of more them 100 families taking shelter inside the sequestered-Marcos property in this city.
Relocating the families inside the People’s Center and Library should now be given focus considering that they have been living in the said facility for almost three months now, said Renoir Dauag, PCGG regional representative.
According to Dauag, the two-storey building constructed by former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos in 1979 was not identified as an evacuation center.
“The people forced open the building during the typhoon. It’s almost three months now since they occupied the People’s Center. It was just disappointing that they did not took care the properties and books inside the building,” Dauag said.
The building, sitting one hectare of lot located along Real Street this city, contains more than 54,000 volumes of books, journals and other reading materials.
It was constructed by Mrs. Marcos in 1979 alongside with the Santo Nino Shrine which Dauag made a stern warning to the assigned security personnel there not to allow any evacuees considering of the valuables inside the building.
At present, rows of makeshifts made of woods and tarpaulins could be seen inside the building with 105 families consisting of 448 persons living there.
Several “sari-sari stores” have also sprouted inside with a woman even put up a business on “charging for fee” of mobile phones and flash lights using a generator set. Much of Tacloban remains without electricity.
Dauag said that several books located at the 24 rooms of the building’s second level were destroyed by some of the evacuees, using them during their cooking or worst, when they used the bathrooms.
He also claimed that the building’s floorings, which are made of woods, were now destroyed as some of its properties like DVD players were now lost.
“The entire place is stinky. Some of them play mahjong inside the People’s Center as others put up a small variety store there,” he said.
According to him, the said facility generates an income to the PCGG of at least P2 million a year which is being used for various occasions like JS proms, large gatherings and bazaars.
“We don’t get any financial help from the (national).We are self-liquidating. The money that we raised is used to defray salaries of our 23 employees and other expenses,” Dauag said.
The building was supposed to be rented out to a bazaar last Christmas with the PCGG receiving an amount of P460, 000 as rent only to return it due to the presence of the evacuees, he said.
Dauag said that he is seeking the help from the Department of Social Welfare and Development on his desire to relocate the evacuees.
He said lack of income could result for the retrenchment of the agency’s 23 personnel.
The evacuees, coming from the barangays of Real, Pampango and Magallanes areas, occupied the building on November 8.
Jerome Espinosa, who acts as leader of the evacuees inside the People’s Center and Library, said that they are willing to move out on condition that they would be given relocation sites.
“We don’t like to stay here. We don’t have any privacy here. WE are willing to move out anytime so long as the government will give us a safe relocation site,” the 33-year old, who is living with his mother, two siblings and nephew, said.
He did admitted that “some” of the evacuees, especially those who occupied the second level of the building, destroyed some of the books there.
“But I already advised them not to touch or destroy anything inside the building. We are also now strictly observing health and sanitation for our own good,” Espinosa said.
Mary Rose Edara, 26, said that she and her two young children would leave the place as long as the government could guarantee them a relocation site.
“But up to now, we have yet to receive any information as to when we’ll stay here or when they will give us a relocation site,”Edara said.
Rena Bartoser, social worker assigned at the People’s Center, admitted that the government has yet to decide when the evacuees would be relocated.
“We cannot just move them out. There should be a relocation site first which has yet to be identified for them,” she said.
According to Espinosa, they were informed earlier that they would stay there for about six months.

By: JOEY A. GABIETA