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Superstar Nora Aunor shots film on Yolanda

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IN ACTION. Superstar Nora Aunor was in Tacloban last week to shoot a movie on Yolanda. The “indie” film is being megged by award-winning director, Brillante Mendoza (left). (Photo by: LITO A. BAGUNAS)

TACLOBAN CITY- Doing a film about supertyphoon Yolanda would at least ensure that the tragic incident would not be forgotten by the world. Thus said acting multiple winner and considered the Superstar of Philippine movies, Nora Aunor, when asked why she agreed to do the film about Yolanda and shot here in Tacloban, considered the ground zero of the world’s strongest typhoon to make landfall.

“Hopefully, this film will help the people not to forget on what happened here,” Aunor said. Aunor shot the film, tentatively titled as “Taklub,” in different parts of the city like at the Tacloban Convention Center and in Barangay 88, San Jose district. The movie, though considered to be of “indie,” as not being backed by a big film studio, is being directed by internationally acclaimed Brillante Mendoza. Mendoza recently won the best director award from the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for his film “Kinatay,” in 20012 becoming the first Filipino director to achieve such distinction. Aunor, herself winner of best actress awards from different international film circuits, plays a Yolanda survivor in the film along with award-winning actor Julio Diaz. The film is said to be shown by next year and not clear yet if it would be shown and compete at various film festivals abroad. Nora and the rest of the cast, who included her close friend John Rendez, filmed the movie for 12 days in Tacloban with her rabid fans and ordinary onlookers always present during the filming, causing some traffic and halting in some instances the filming.

Nita Baanyado, 64, said that she could not contain her happiness seeing her “all time movie idol.” “I’ve been her fan since she started her career as a singer,” she said, holding cut-out old pictures of the superstar. “I was not able to save some of our personal belongings but I made sure that my pictures of Nora will be safe,” Baanyado, a resident of Brgy.85, also in San Jose, said. She along with several others waited for hours just to see Aunor in person while shooting the film in Brgy. 88. The actress obliged for some photo opportunity with her fans. This Aunor- starrer film is the first movie with the onslaught of Yolanda as the backdrop. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

Elder Mamanwa leader gets education for the first time

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TACLOBAN CITY – Dioni Manatbanat, a Mamanwa tribe leader, only finished first grade in elementary and he does not even remember to read and write, a plight that he won’t allow his young ethnic group members to experience. Manatbanat, who hails from the remote village of Kagbana, attended the launching of the government’s Indigenous People (IP) Education last September 25 at the regional office of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Palo, Leyte. “Life is hard for someone like me who doesn’t even know how to read and write. We really need help from the government because many of our tribe members have no money to send their children to school,” said the 40-year old tribe leader, the most respected males in their community of 50 members. Unlike him, Manatbanat’s five children made it to school. His eldest child finished secondary, the highest educational level attained by a Mamanwa member in Kagbana village, 40 kilometers away from the town center of Burauen, Leyte.

“For many decades, obtaining education was not part of our life. What was important to us is that we’re able to eat,” he recalled. The ethnic leader’s family migrated from Mindanao to Leyte in 1981. Providing education to the indigenous group has been implemented since 2011 after the issuance of DepEd Order No. 62 or the National Indigenous Peoples Education Policy Framework. However, it is only this year that the DepEd launched a regional convergence of IPED (indigenous people education) involving local government units, educators, national government agencies, and non-government organizations.

IPED employs mother tongue-based multilingual education, which starts from where the learners are and from what they already knew. The system is flexible as it allows schools to localize, indigenize and enhance the same based on their respective educational and social contexts. “It’s not about schooling, but it is also about respecting culture. IPED enable communities to ultimately determine the relevance and responsiveness of education,” said Rozanno Rufino, DepEd advisor to Secretary Armin Luistro on IP concerns.

The community where the Mamanwa resides only hosts an elementary school, said Manatbanat. The nearest high school campus is 40 kilometers away which can be reached through a two hour single motorcycle ride traversing bumpy roads and three hours hike crossing four mountains and three rivers. Each of the 10 families in the tribe earns an average of P1,500 monthly from gathering wildly grown rattan, a raw material for baskets and furniture which they sold through a five-hour hike to highway in Baybay City.

The Mamanwa group is one of the estimated 1,000 potential learners from the ethnic group in the provinces of Leyte, Samar and Eastern Samar. Rosemarie Guino, regional IPED focal person, said that there are three known indigenous groups in the region – Badjao, Manobo and Mamanwa. Badjao has established settlements in Bato and Isabel, Leyte; Mamanwa dwells in Burauen, Leyte; San Jose de Buan, Basey, Marabut, all in Samar; San Roque and Las Navas in Northern Samar. “Under IPED, they will be taught with the basic literacy through the alternative learning system. Teaching is designed in such a way that they will preserve their culture,” Guino said. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)

Yolanda victims bring fight to climate change summit in New York

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TACLOBAN CITY- From the Philippines to the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change in New York, victims of supertyphoon Yolanda in the country joined other environment advocates in the world to air their plight and demand justice.

Efleda Bautista, convenor of an alliance of Yolanda survivors People Surge, stood with other international rights groups for a “People’s General Assembly” in New York as an alternative gathering outside the building where world leaders convened during the September 23 summit. “We are here to claim justice. The devastation caused by typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines is a wake-up call to leaders about the fatal consequences of global warming and climate change to people, especially from developing countries,” Bautista said.

Supporting the group are Campaign for People’s Goals for Sustainable Development, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), and IBON International. A network of non-governmental organizations Rights Network claimed that rehabilitation in Yolanda-stricken communities continues to be at a snail’s pace. Ruelie Rapsing, the group’s communication and development officer, said that “survivors of the super typhoon, mostly from the farming and fishing communities, are still unable to avail of the support services and other programs from government agencies and aid groups” eleven months after Yolanda.

“Lack of tenurial instruments poses a major hindrance in the delivery of support services for the farmers and shelter programs for fisher folks,” Rapsing said. To address this, Rapsing said that government must first settle land distribution and ownership among the victims. “The government should fast track the resolution of pre-existing tenure and property rights questions, particularly the implementation of agrarian reform in favor of farmers with no land tenure security and land and housing rights for fisher folks with no housing tenure security,” he said. The group is currently launching a signature campaign in Leyte and Samar to call on the government “to exercise its power of imminent domain to acquire lands for the relocation of survivors within areas accessible to their sources of livelihoods.” (RONALD O.REYES)

Construction of climate change building over by December, said Sambo

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TACLOBAN CITY – City Vice Mayor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin said that construction of a multi-purpose building funded by a women’s group is expected to be finished by December of this year. The construction of the building is funded by the Inner Wheel Club International, the world’s biggest international women organization, to the tune of P2.6 million. The construction of the building started last month. “This is one their contribution to the Yolanda victims in the city. We are happy that they provided it for free and we also asked the permission from Mayor Alfred Romualdez if we can construct the building which he gladly allowed,”Yaokasin said.

According to the vice mayor, the first floor of the building will serve as a multi-purpose and livelihood training center while a museum and library for climate change will be located at the second floor. It covers 94 square meters and is located adjacent to the city legislative building. “Materials, documents and any resources that will create awareness on climate change are already available for the library,” Yaokasin said.
The library may also be visited by students for their field trip and educational tour, he added. For the training center, Yaokasin said that they can tie up with the Technical Education Skills Development Authority and even their donors may provide them facilitators for livelihood trainings. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Tzu Chi to construct 2,000 houses for Yolanda survivors in Ormoc

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ORMOC CITY-Analyn Abelle, a mother of five children, was visibly happy while members of the Tzu Chi Foundation have their ceremony on September 29 for the construction of 2,000 housing units to be given to families who lost their houses during the onslaught of Supertyphoon Yolanda close to a year now. “Of course, I could not contain my happiness because before the year is over, my family will be moving in to these houses donated by them,” the 29 year old mother said. Her house in Barangay Liloan, 12 kilometers away from the city proper, was totally destroyed during the onslaught of Yolanda. But before the year is over, weather permits, Abelle’s family along with 1,999 other families were projected by the Tzu Chi Foundation to transfer from their bunk houses to their new homes made of steel, tile cement and polyethylene plastic.

Each unit, consisting bedrooms, kitchen and a comfort rooms, measures from 21 square meters to 27 square meters, depending on the size of the family, said Alfredo Li, chief executive officer of the Tzu Chi.
Li, together with city officials led by Mayor Edward Codilla, attended the ceremonial program for the lunching on the construction of the houses in Liloan village. The houses will be constructed within the 50 hectares of lot donated through usufruct by Mayor Codilla to the Tzu Chi Foundation. Li said that given a good weather condition, the houses could be finished before the year is over. “But we hope we can finish it before the first year anniversary (of Yolanda)or November 8 or before December 24, as our Christmas gift to the people,” he said.

The construction of the 2,000 housing units in Ormoc is part of the 3,000 houses planned by the Taiwan-based Tzu Chi Foundation in Leyte. The Buddhist foundation, among the first groups to respond to Leyte after it was pummeled by Yolanda, also plan to construct 700 units in Palo and 300 units in Tacloban, ground zero of Yolanda. Lack of lots in Palo and Tacloban hinders the actual construction in these areas.
Each housing unit costs around P100,000 as materials were from Taiwan.

Meantime, Restituto Macoto, assistant regional director for operations of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, said that the deed of the Tzu Chi Foundation is “a very big help to us.” “We cannot deny that we cannot afford to construct houses for the victims of Yolanda who lost their houses. That is why, we are happy for their donation,” Macoto said.(JOEY A. GABIETA)

Mayor Romualdez urged to make drug testing mandatory among City Hall workers

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TACLOBAN CITY- Mayor Alfred Romualdez should make drug testing regular and mandatory among employees of the city government. This was the statement made by the information officer of the Traffic Operation Management Enforcement and Control Office (Tomeco), Jobs Lagutan.  Lagutan made this statement in the wake of a recent arrest of an employee of the City Treasurer’s Office for selling illegal drugs by the agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration. Lagutan said that by conducting regular and mandatory drug testing, a drug-free City Hall, particularly involving its personnel, is ensured. He added that Tomeco personnel, who are dealing with motorists, should not engaged in any illegal drug activity for them to better carry out their duties as traffic enforces. There are information that cases of illegal drug trade in Tacloban, still reeling from the aftermath of supertyphoon Yolanda, has become rampant. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

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