PALO, Leyte- The regional office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set to conduct a massive campaign and lecture on climate change. The program, dubbed as Iba na ang Panahon, Science for a safer communities, is to be held on May 22-23 in Ormoc City, said Engr.Ramil Uy, senior science research specialist of DOST-8. Officials from Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical Astronomical Administration, Philippine Institute of Volcanology, Seismology and project Noah are among the invited lecturers of the two-day gathering. Speakers are from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The presence of OCD and DILG is very important especially that the Local Government Units or LGU are the front liners of climate change and disaster mitigation, Uy said. He said that they invited mayors, governors and congressmen for the gathering. “This is very important because through this lecture, they can come up with laws or local ordinances so that what happened in Yolanda will never happen again,” Uy said. (LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY – A new church is set to be constructed while the historic Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, a 17th century church in Guiuan, Eastern Samar that suffered extensive damage due to supertyphoon Yolanda, would be rehabilitated. This was revealed by Monsignor Lope Robredillo of the Holy Rosary Parish who added that the new church is design to withstand natural calamities like typhoons. About P25 million will be needed for this church construction sourced from donations, Robredillo said. The church that will be constructed is located across the historic church which is located at Sta.Cruz St., which is within town’s center. But while they have decided to construct a new church, the repair of the historic Our Lady of Immaculate Conception will continue, the monsignor said. When Yolanda unleashed her fury last November 8, 2013, Guiuan was among the towns in Eastern Samar that was severely hit, destroying or damaging several structures to include the Spanish-era church. Robredillo said that the rehabilitation of the said church will be funded by the National Museum though he could not disclose yet the amount set aside for it by the agency. The Guiuan Church suffered heavy damage after its roofs collapsed due to the onslaught of Yolanda last year. Antique images and paintings inside the church where either destroyed or blown off but they were able to recover some of the items, Msgr. Robredillo said. The Guiuan Church has been declared by the National Center for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as a heritage site due to its age and historical significance. The church is also included in the list of pilgrim sites identified by the archdiocese of Palo that oversees all churches in the region. This is the second time that the church suffered heavy damage from a storm. The first time it happened was in 1800’s when a strong typhoon blown away its roofs including a part of the church’s bell tower. But even he already know that National Museum will handle all rehabilitation and restoration works for the century old church Msgr. Robredillo said that he is not aware how much budget will National Museum allocate for the repair.(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

CATARMAN, Northern Samar- A lone gunman shot and killed a provincial engineer of the Northern Samar District Engineer Office in the morning of May 12 with police authority still facing a blank wall as to what could be the motive of the killing. Killed was Virgilio Aleria, 54, who was shot in the head and chest by the lone gunman inside the basketball court of the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) this town. The UEP basketball court, which is located at Zone III, is just a walking distance from the residence of the victim which is at Zone II, UEP. His unidentified companion at that time also fled after the incident, witnesses said. Based on the police investigation, the gunman who was wearing short pants, of medium built and long hair, approached the victim from the back and shot him using a 45 caliber at around 6:15 in the morning, hitting him at the chest and head. His body was brought to Saint Peter Funeral Homes. Catarman police chief, Superintendent Jesus Miranda, said that they immediately conducted a manhunt operation against the suspect who fled towards the direction of the national highway using a motorcycle. He also said that they could not say yet as to what could be the motive of the killing of Aleria. “Actually, we are focusing on several angles one of which could be work related,” Miranda said in a phone interview. He declined to elaborate. Aleria was said to be the chairman of the bid and awards committee of the Northern Samar District Engineering Office and maintenance chief of said engineering office. District engineer Angie Opina asked the police authorities to speed up their investigation of Aleria’s killing whom she described to be a “professional colleague.” “We were shocked over his (brutal) death. He was a good worker and a professional colleague as far as I know. We call on the police to conduct an in-depth investigation,” Opina said in a phone interview. Meantime, former congressman Raul Daza also expressed his shock on the killing of Aleria whom he had known for 25 years. “I have personally known Engr. Aleria for about 25 years. An honest, dedicated and principled government engineer, he has suffered two tragic work-related injustices in his brief life- once when he was detained for 7 years without bail for a crime of which he was acquitted and now for losing his life because he refuses to kowtow to corrupt politicians. My heart bleeds for him and his orphans,” Daza said. (TITO TEPACE with report JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY- A top official of the International Labor Organization (ILO) revealed that they are planning to provide social and health protections to workers employed under its emergency program. The ILO provided work assistance to victims of supertyphoon Yolanda that hit Eastern Visayas more than six months ago. Jonathan James Price, chief technical adviser of ILO-Manila, informed in an interview that the agency has started with the second phase of their assistance which is to provide sustainable livelihood in order for the workers to have the means to sustain their membership and pay their contributions regularly in these social protection programs. He underscored the importance of workers being placed under the Social Security System and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) in order for them to enjoy the rights and benefits that correspond to their being members in good standing. For now Price added, the ILO is targeting to involve over 20,000 beneficiaries in areas affected by Yolanda, giving it the great challenge to generate the needed sum from donations made by foreign states. The ILO has set up offices in Tacloban, Ormoc, Northern Cebu, Negros Occidental, Coron, and Bohol in the aftermath of Yolanda. Price pointed out that the introduction of the social protection element of the work is to let the beneficiaries understand their rights and their benefits from the SSS and Philhealth if they are able to make contributions, which received a favorable response from the workers. “The beneficiaries really appreciate this opportunity because it really opens their eyes to their rights for that kind of protection. If their income is not that stable, they are not able to continue making finances quite steadily that they want to, “Price said. From an emergency employment that lasted only about four months, especially starting the months after Yolanda hit the Visayas on November 8, 2013, the ILO has expanded its work assistance to provide the workers new sources of income and new skills. The ILO is integrating trainings into the program working closely with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority on this aspect. Price reported that as of December last year, the ILO has provided emergency employment to about 5,000 people as immediate response. The ILO targets an additional 10,500 workers under their emergency employment program. (EILEEN NAZARENO-BALLESTEROS)