TACLOBAN CITY-At least 14 competing entries from students and five showcase entries made by local upcyclers took center stage during the first interDependence’s Ecodesign Design challenge in Eastern Visayas held in Tacloban City Friday(August 23).
“This event is called interDependence Day. This is happening simultaneously around the world. I am part of the agency’s Global Climate Change Challenge Programme, a climate leadership program that the agency is running,” said Jacques Palami, event organizer.
“InterDependence is a newly-established UK (United Kingdom) agency that is looking to work on the interdependence blueprint — a plan to fund and scale up climate solutions, local renewable energy, and sustainable food production infrastructure,” added Palami, who studied social innovation in France.
As the only delegate from the Philippines, Palami said he decided to hold the same event in Tacloban, believing that “in the fight against climate change, representation and diversity is crucial.”
“The closest interDependence Day events are in Singapore and Australia. Each event is different, the organizers have the freedom to set up an activity to his or her liking. The Ecodesign Competition is just one aspect of the interdependence Day here—we also have representatives from different social enterprises and NGOs in the region—Greenpeace, Waste 360, BeenGo Farm, CocoAsenso, Green Collectiv,” Palami said.
“We also have partners outside of Eastern Visayas–Plastic Tides PH from Manila, Cleaner Earth from Germany,” he added.
Students from Leyte National High School bagged the first place with their entry “Haribon,” followed by Sagkahan National High School with their “Multi-Purpose Table” and Samar College Inc. with their ecodesign “Pitaka ni Jackie.”
The People’s Choice went to St. Therese Educational Foundation of Tacloban, Inc. (STEFTI) with their entry “Chroma.”
“Local initiatives like Ecodesign Design challenge by interDependence promote public discourse towards climate solutions and best practices, especially among the youth. Tacloban being at the frontlines of climate impacts like Yolanda, has always been an active voice in the fight for climate justice. This sends a powerful statement to the global community in the midst of a climate emergency,” said Joanna Sustento of Greenpeace Philippines and a known climate warrior based in Tacloban.
During the event, participants were also treated to a series of mini-workshops and sessions on climate change, sustainable development, and individual waste auditing, among other topics.
The competition was co-organized by the Department of Education (DepEd) Tacloban City Division and Yellow Doors Xchange.
(RONALD O. REYES)

ROSARIO, Northern Samar – Residents of this coastal town are happy now that they have a source of potable water.
Although the water system already existed in the town, it is still just considered as Level II as the water distribution had not reach houses but through a tap stand, strategically installed in specific places of the villages.
The water system uses ground water as a source and being pump to the treatment facility funded under the program of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Residents in the town proper are using the water for laundry, cooking, cleaning chores and for taking a bath.
“We are allowed to fetch at least six containers of water a day. That is already enough for our daily needs,” Matilde Pestaño, a resident of Barangay Poblacion, said.
Her family uses the water for taking bath and cooking. For drinking, they buy water at the refilling stations.
“Since it is not enough for our daily needs, the water we used in bathing is also used for the comfort room,” Pestaño shares.
She added that for washing clothes, this has to be done once a week to conserve water.
Her fellow resident, Rosa Opilanda, shares the same feeling with Pestaño.
“Unlike before that we need to walk to another village to fetch water, now it’s almost within our doorstep,” she said.
“But this will be better if the water system reaches each house because we no longer need to queue to fetch water,” Opilanda added.
The operation of the water system is from one to two hours a day and residents have to pay for P1 per water container. They are also encouraged to help in securing and protecting the water system project.
The water system project in Rosario worth P9 million is funded by the DILG under the program Assistance to Disadvantaged Municipalities (ADM).
The ADM program provides a “catch-up mechanism” to assist municipal governments in increasing citizens’ access to basic facilities and ensures participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in local governance. Project types funded by ADM program are water system, evacuation facility, local access roads, small water impounding, and sanitation and health facilities.
The DILG is one of the 28 agencies involved in the water sector with the implementation of national programs such as the Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig Para sa Lahat (Salintubig), Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB)- Water Supply, Assistance to Municipalities (AM)- Water Supply, and Local Government Support Fund (LGSF)- Water.
“Prior to the implementation of the project, one of the requirements was to come up with a barangay assembly to mobilize community participation especially in the protection of the project,” Director Danny Laguitan, provincial local operations officer, said.
The implementation of the water system project by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) requires local government units to gets a permit or approval from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“We realized, especially if the LGU is located along coastal area, that there could be in the future water incursion. When much ground water is pump, salt water comes in that increases the salinity affecting water potability and also destroying plants,” DILG Regional Director Artemio Caneja said.
“That is the requirement. Without the permit from DENR, we will not implement the project. If they say that we cannot get the source of water in this area, the LGU must look for another place for their source of water,” he added.
Caneja added that implementing a water system project is not that easy because there are municipalities and villages that do not have sources of water.
The DILG regional chief pointed out his experience while he was still the provincial director of DILG in Leyte where it took them four years to finished the project because they to look for a source of water since the town beneficiary is really waterless.
He added that one of the requirements of the project is for the beneficiaries awarded with a Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).
The SGLG originated from the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) which is DILG’s response to the clamor of the people for integrity and performance in public service. It challenges local governments to continue good governance practices while providing better public services.
SGLG awardees are given opportunity to have a share at the Performance Challenge Fund, multimillion-peso incentive for local development projects.
“But for those that are not SGLG passers, they can still benefit the project but the DILG does not download it to the LGU but to the provincial government to implement the project,” Caneja explained.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)