Like Tacloban, Palo was similarly hit hard by supertyphoon Yolanda. The new municipal building was partially damaged, hundreds of dwellings flattened, some public school buildings got shattered and many more. Yolanda! Yes Yolanda!
Three months after the fury, Palo literally has shown a realistic Bangon Palo. Through Mayor Matin’s relentless efforts to rehabilitate the town she has gone out of her way to seek assistance from all over – to concerned both government functionaries and benevolent private sectors.
Noticeably, an agricultural center will he set up in a five-hectare lot owned by Atty. Ramon Pedrosa, son of philanthropist Pio Pedrosa, now residing in Manila. This area will be planted with vegetables, put up a seedling bank.
Don Bosco sets up 17 dwellings in Candahug.
Thirty-eight day care centers are being rehabilitated, all sourced from local funds.
These are some of the few I saw and heard. There are a lot more that the lady mayor did to show sterling and sincere leadership in reviving what was Palo before Yolanda.
Before the Yolanda fury, Palo was haven especially in the evening when one enters the town from both ways. From Sta. Fe down to Palo – from Tanauan entering Palo the streets were beautifully lighted, with special colorful lights – a thrilling ride experience before entering Tacloban.
-oOo-
We heard of land breaking ceremonies for housing projects in Barayong, and livelihood projects and in support with DAR; a birthing clinic in Anahaway is established and in some other barangays of Palo. This is one of the major projects of Matin and a lot more since she assumed office and now in her second term as mayor of Palo.
We are putting some of these achievements on record, in response to what we hear of some commentators in broadcast media saying anything negative about the lady mayor. Of course, this few, I repeat, few of them just love to criticize the Petillas especially Mayor Matin via twisting facts and virtually lie, not to inform people but to please their bosses from the other fence of our political divide here in Leyte.
ME? I simply express happy thoughts about Matin and the Petilla political group because it is clear: They do their jobs well. They do not cry in public to generate sympathy for the problems they are confronted with. They solve them as they should be.
-oOo-
A memo agreement was signed lately between Alfonso G. Sy, resident, of the Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FFCCI) and Leyte Gov. Leopoldo “Mic” Petilla for the construction of 500 houses and 5 school buildings for Yolanda victims. This was done in Malacañang and witnessed by Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III.
Matin never tires!!
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) delegation visits the Archdiocese of Palo
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) delegation visits the Archdiocese of Palo on February 4-6, 2014. A concelebrated Mass was held at the Redemptorist Church on February 6, 2014. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, President, US Conference of Catholic Bishops/Arch, of the Archdiocese of Louisville (center) was the main celebrant. With him are Arch. Philip Wilson, Chairman of Caritas Australia/ Arch. of Adelaide (right) and Arch. Paul Coakley, chairman of CRS/ Arch. Of Oklahoma City. (TOOTSIE CINCO MAYE)
INTERSOS to increase its area of intervention to serve more Yolanda victims
TACLOBAN CITY- An international aid group helping the victims of super typhoon Yolanda vowed to increase its area of intervention on its bid to ensure that more victims could avail of their food and non-food services.
At present, the INTERSOS serve the people of Tacloban, Tanauan, Tolosa, Tabontabon and Santa Fe, all in Leyte.
The group’s assistant project manager Aljun Diaz said that it was in Tanauan town that they first visited distributing tents, tarpaulins, kitchen sets and blankets to its 858 families.
Also, the group donated a generator set to the MSF Hospital and local church; water treatment unit and other related items to Department of Education, and also a tent to municipal government of Tanauan.
In their educational support, the INTERSOS has started its holistic education activities so that the children can go back to school and continue learning while teachers including other individuals involved with education, would be confident to support children after Yolanda.
“Our activities are based on the principles of solidarity, justice, human dignity, equality of rights and opportunities, and respect for diversity and coexistence (and) paying special attention to the most vulnerable and unprotected people,” Diaz said.
Partnering with the United Nations International Children’s Fund(Unicef), INTERSOS is working in 125 schools with 79,181 students in Tacloban, Tanauan, Tolosa, Tabon-tabon and Santa Fe in which they started its massive “Back-to-Learning” campaign so that children affected by Yolanda will be motivated to go back to return to school.
It also provided training for teachers and staffs of the Department of Education on psychosocial care for children affected by Yolanda and disaster risk reduction (DRR) to smile again while learning how to avoid, or cope with, future risk by natural disaster.
INTERSOS is also planning to start its engagement for protection, especially child protection area, Diaz said.
By: RYAN GABRIEL LLOSA ARCENAS
Gov’t told to address bottlenecks in post-Yolanda recovery
TACLOBAN CITY – A United Nations official asked national and local government to address bottlenecks that impedes recovery of areas hit by supertyphoon Yolanda.
Specifically, Luiza Carvalho , UN Philippines humanitarian coordinator official, asked authorities to work on full restoration of businesses, electricity and public transportation system.
“We really need to see the secondary needs and analyze the bottlenecks that are impeding us to achieve full fledge development,” she told reporters after meeting national and local government officials in Tacloban over the weekend.
Carvalho noted that there’s too much focus on issues on shelter, which cannot be resolved immediately due to concerns like land acquisition and site development.
“There are immediate things that we can address and it will be a new universe of good results. This is something that we should find out collectively through coordination,” she said.
Among this is the full restoration of electric supply that will encourage businesses to reopen, thus allowing displaced employees to return to work.
“Let’s have a clear perspective of what we want. We need the electricity set up so all the commerce can go back again,” Carvalho added.
As of third week of January, less than 200 businesses have renewed their licenses of the 15,000 registered businesses in Tacloban. Only 6,600 houses and businesses have electric connections, accounting 19% of the total pre-Yolanda operating establishments.
Carvalho also cited the deficiency in the existing public transportation system. “We need more buses and other public transportation to take commuters back home at night after work,” she noted.
The super typhoon and storm surge have destroyed jeepneys that transports thousands of commuters to Tacloban from coastal towns of Palo, Tanauan, Tolosa, Dulag and Mayorga.
“Overall, the improvement in the city is very positive. The local people and the government are doing their part. It’s good to see the city moving and to see the lights at night although it’s not enough,” Carvalho said.
By: SARWELL Q.MENIANO
Completion of rehab plan eyed this month
TACLOBAN CITY – An official from the business sector, appointed as regional coordinator for storm rehabilitation and recovery in Eastern Visayas is eyeing to complete the post-Yolanda regional master rehabilitation and recovery plan (MRRP) within this month.
Robert Castañares, regional governor of the Eastern Visayas Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EVCCI), said that for Tacloban City alone, they are targeting to receive the final draft copy of the plan on February 7.
“For Tacloban, we will start the deliberation of their plan next week. We expect to get the local plan from Eastern Samar, Samar and Leyte provinces in the next few days. The regional plan will have to be consolidated with the national plan,” Castañares said.
Castanares was appointed January 31 by Presidential Assistant on Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) Secretary Panfilo Lacson as full-time regional coordinator.
“Hopefully we will be able to complete the regional master plan by end of February and present the blueprint to Secretary Lacson by first week of March. We will be asking local government units and national government agencies to list down projects that are deliverables,” he told said.
The MRRP will contain the list of deliverables in key result areas to include social, economic, infrastructure and environment with specific projects, schedules and indicative budget as well as functions of national government, local government and concerned stakeholders in attaining the plan.
Castañares, who has been known for critiquing slow economic progress in the region, said they will make sure that substantial accomplishment will be realized by June 2016.
“I am echoing Sec.Lacson’s goal to have substantial compliance by June 30, 2016, say 80-85%. We will be leaving some work to be followed through by the local government units so that they will not lose their self esteem by relying completely on the national government,” he added.
The PARR regional office will be set up within the month at the Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry office at the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Center (SMED) Center.
“Our focus will be on policy issues and consolidate reports from local and national government offices,” he added.
Castañares urged the local government to focus infrastructure to “improve the quality of life” and also keep agriculture as a priority considering that 90% of the population in Region 8 rely on farming for their livelihood.
By: SARWELL Q.MENIANO
SPED School gets going after Yolanda
Continuing with the usual campus grind, the admistration, faculty, studentry and the entire general parents-teachers association of Sto. Niño Sped Center, one the government-run schools hit by the killer supertyphoon Yolanda last year, convened for the first time this year, their first, too, after the occurrence of the shocking disaster. Although not yet fully recovered from the effects of the calamity’s devastation, the members of the GPTA concluded the general assembly with a consensus that wooed no resistance from the group.
SNSC Principal Delilah De Los Santos reported with mixed emotions the present condition of the school and the significant drop in the number of students who returned to the campus to continue with their studies. Six pupils and a teacher from this renowned institution of academic excellence perished during the megastorm’s onslaught. From 1042 during enrollment in June last year, there are officially 793 pupils who went returned to SNSC or a 24% drop in the entire school population.
Of the 36 classrooms of the schools only 12 remained functional, while the rest were either left roofless. Even the principal’s office and the two canteens where apparently vacuumed and rendered useless by the sty Yolanda.
This time, SNSC is beneficiary of assistance from various local, national and international organizations, such as UNICEF, Child Fund, Korea International Cooperation Agency, Philippine Red Cross, Chinese Red Cross, Solid Group Foundation, Jollibee group of companies, Alpha Phi Omega, HOPE and some church-based groups. Help came in various forms like psycho-socio and stress debriefing activities, nutritious food, potable water, electronic gadgets, power-generating set, arm chairs, classrooms and learning materials.
The GPTA, headed by Tacloban City Prosecutor Higinio Yazar, financed the repair of three classrooms of the school which partitions were knocked down by Yolanda’s storm surge. It will also finance the gasoline maintenance of the power-generating set and the other major concerns of the school now that the maintenance and operating expenses fund of the DepEd, including that of SNSC for January is yet being processed, while that for November and December were reverted back to the national coffers.
De Los Santos informed that the construction materials delivered by the Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH) lay idle on the schoolyard awaiting the team of carpenters that will work of the repair needed to be done on the main schoolbuilding’s roof wrought by Yolanda.
She said that the DPWH laborers are working on the double in other assignments, but promised to be next in line. She added that when the 6-classroom schoolbuilding that the Solid Group foundation will be finished, the Grade IV pupils will also have their whole-day classes once more. For now, after momentary shifting schedule, the Grades V and VI levels are back in their whole-day schedule.
De Los Santos conveyed her gratitude to all the individuals and groups who helped in the rebuilding and recovery efforts of the school administration and the GPTA saying. A member of the Couples for Christ, she exclaimed her gratefulness at the general assembly, “Thank God, we have good people who are helping us.” She stressed further, “Faith works wonders.”
For now, the pupils and others in the campus freely avail of the feeding program of the Jollibee group of company such as congee, chicken tinola and sautéed mongo, with ingredients from the Mang Inasal and Chowking and water from PRC.
By: EILEEN NAZARENO-BALLESTEROS