TACLOBAN CITY- Counting its blessings, year 2017 has been fruitful for resilient Tacloban which has just risen from the 2013 devastation brought by super typhoon ‘Yolanda.’
Under the administration of Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez, the Tacloban city government has garnered several awards and recognitions locally and nationally from various organizations and government agencies.
These awards, indeed, are testaments how effective and efficient the administration of Mayor Romualdez who assumed the post in 2016.
The national awards garnered by the city government and its different offices in 2017 are the following: The City Tourism Office (CTO) was the grand champion of the best float competition showcasing its Sta Cruzan de Mayo float during the Aliwan Fiesta 2017(float competition) held April 23, 2017 at Star City, Roxas Blvd. and the best booth award during the 28th Philippine Travel Mart held Sept. 1-3 at SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.
As a highly urbanized city (HUC), Tacloban got the 1st place as the most improved local government units in the HUC category in terms of tax collection during the 5th Regional Competitiveness Summit held August 16, 2017 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) CCP Complex, Pasay City.
For the month of October alone, Tacloban City got two awards: as a finalist to the 2017 Most Business Friendly LGU Award by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry, city level category and for having the country’s best cooperative office.
The Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) garnered awards during the 116th Philippine National Police (PNP) Police Service Anniversary held on August 22, 2017 at the Police Regional 8, Camp Ruperto Kangleon Palo, Leyte.
TCPO got the “best city police office award” for outstanding police administration and operations in Eastern Visayas; “best police strategy management unit” for its service and dedication, visionary guidance and stellar accomplishments in the effective execution of the PNP P.A.T.R.O.L Plan 2010 and “ best senior police non-commissioner officers for operations” received by SPO1 Anthony Amora.
Also, the TCPO also got several awards during the July 31, 2017 Police Community Relations (PCR) culmination program: ‘outstanding city police office in community relations and “outstanding junior police”
The city was among awarded the 2017 seal of good of local governance award by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority (PDEA) also declared Tacloban City as a drug-cleared city, the first HUC in the country to be named as such.
And among the most promising services to rescue human victims, the Tacloban Rescue Unit (TACRU) got the 1st Place Gawad Kalasag Award during the 19th Gawad Kalasag Search for Excellence in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) and Humanitarian assistance for 2017 for being the Best government emergency response management services (basic search and rescue) category given by the Office of Civil Defense Dec. 4, 2017.
Meanwhile, giving priority attention to a child-friendly environment assuring that all children of Tacloban enjoy their rights for survival, protection and participation, Tacloban City was awarded as the national finalist to the 2016 Presidential Award for Child-Friendly Municipalities/Cities given December 12, 2017 at Malacañang Palace.
During the 9th HUC anniversary held December 18, 2017 at the City Hall lobby, Mayor Romualdez congratulated and thanked all department heads and their respective personnel for bringing pride and honor to the city.
(GAY B. GASPAY, TISAT/KANHURAW MEDIA TEAM)

TANAUAN, Leyte – A gift of school supplies brought back the smile on Jonabel Garcelazo’s face after the recent flooding brought by tropical storm ‘Urduja’ soaked her most valued school materials.
Jonabel, whose dream is to become a lawyer, is very grateful for the Christmas gift she got on Thursday (December 28), knowing that her mother, Joan, has no means to buy her basic classroom needs.
“This is my first time to receive a gift like this. This really motivated me to study. I am aware that my mother has no budget for new school supplies,” said the Grade 6 student, who turned emotional as she grasped a plastic envelope filled with notebooks, pens, crayons, and papers.
Jonabel’s mother is separated from her husband for more than 10 years now and leaving her no choice but to support her three children as a farm laborer, earning only P200 daily from eight hours of difficult jobs usually done by men.
“I really want to become a lawyer and help those who are oppressed to fight for their rights,” said Jonabel, although uncertain of who will support her college education.
Jonabel is one of the 156 pupils of Sacme Elementary School who received school supplies through the “Light the World” campaign of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) or commonly known as Mormon Church.
The campus is located in a flood-prone community of Sacme, a farming village in Tanauan, Leyte province.
Surrounded by rice fields, the school suspends classes many times in a year as floodwaters enter classrooms and swamp pathways during typhoons and rainy days.
Teacher Merriam Domael said this act of service is very timely as floodwaters caused by Urduja have soaked notebooks and papers.
“It breaks my heart seeing some children coming to school without a single piece of paper inside their bags. These gifts really means a lot to us,” Domael shared.
Local LDS church leader Rodel Almeria said churchgoers contributed money to buy school supplies for the Light the World campaign, now on its second year.
The LDS Church launched its global Christmas campaign on Nov. 26, 2017 with the goal to inspire individuals, families, and youth groups to be a light of the world by emulating the Savior’s example of service. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the LDS Church has established congregations and built temples in six continents.
From the original six members when the Church was first formed in 1830, the restored Church of Jesus Christ has now grown to a membership of nearly 16 million people, according to its website. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO/PNA)

MAASIN CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways field office here will pave roads leading to five tourism destinations in Southern Leyte next year.
Recently, the DPWH bidded out the more than P60 million worth of tourism road projects to ensure timely completion next year.
“Of the first seven 2018 projects bidded this month, five are tourism roads,” Junia said.
These road-access projects will lead to Bitoon beach in Liloan town, Buenavista dive site in Padre Burgos town, Calag-itan fish sanctuary and Doña Marta and Casa Isabel Cave in Hinunangan town, and Hindag-an falls in St. Bernard town.
“These roads are just few of our many projects next year in our effort to make the province more accessible to travellers and tourists,” Junia said.
Works for the concreting will include construction of covered canal and installation of slope protection.
The site for tourism access road project has been identified through a convergence between the DPWH and Department of Tourism in the bid to attract more tourists to less developed communities. (PR)

A day before New Year’s Eve, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) warns that any person who is caught manufacturing, selling, distributing or using illegal firecrackers and pyrotechnics may be fined or imprisoned or suffer both penalties.
DILG Officer-in-Charge Catalino S. Cuy says the government is serious in regulating firecrackers and will deal with those who do not abide by the law and regulations.
“Taon-taon ay nag-aabiso tayo sa publiko tungkol sa pagbebenta at paggamit ng paputok. Kaya pasensyahan po tayo kung kayo ay mahuhuli at mapapatawan ng kaukulang parusa o makakaloboso,” says Cuy.
Republic Act 7183 or An Act Regulating the Sale, Manufacture, Distribution and Use of Firecrackers and Other Pyrotechnic Devices states that any person who manufactures, sells, distributes or uses firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices in violation of the provisions of this Act shall be fined from P20,000 to P30,000, or imprisoned between six months to one year, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.
The license and business permit of manufacturers of illegal firecrackers shall likewise be cancelled and their inventory and stock confiscated.
Cuy, however, says allowable consumer pyrotechnics or ‘pailaw’ may be used outside places of residence.
“Naglabas naman po tayo ng listahan ng mga firecrackers o pailaw na puwedeng gamitin. Huwag na po tayong gumamit ng bawal kung ayaw ninyong maperhuwisyo sa paglipas ng Bagong Taon,” he says.
According to the law, the manufacture, sale, and use of the following firecrackers are strictly prohibited: piccolo or “scratch bangers”, pop pop, Goodbye Philippines or Crying Bading, Yolanda or Goodbye Napoles, Watusi, Pla-pla, Giant Kuwitis, Watusi or “dancing firecrackers,” Super Lolo, Atomic Big Trianggulo, Mother Rockets, Lolo Thunder, Pillbox, Boga, Big Judah’s Belt, Big Bawang, Kwiton, Bin Laden, Kabasi, Atomic Bomb, Five Star, Og, and Giant Whistle Bombs.
All firecrackers with gunpowder exceeding two grams or 1.3 teaspoons is also banned.
Only the following firecrackers and pyrotechnics are allowed: baby rocket, bawang, small triangle, pulling of strings, paper caps, el diablo, and sky rocket (kwitis), sparklers, luces, fountains, jumbo regular and special, mabuhay, Roman candle, trompillo, airwolf, whistle device, and butterfly.(PR)

TACLOBAN CITY—Victoria “Vicky” Arnaiz, a correspondent of Leyte Samar Daily Express (LSDE) succumbed to a massive heart attack on Wednesday night. She was 54.
Arnaiz was survived by her seven siblings and four children—John Paul, Vanessa, James, and Joshua.
Prior to this, Arnaiz was confined at the RTR Hospital, this city, on Dec. 22.
She died at 5:40 p.m. on Dec.27.
Aside from being a correspondent of LSDE and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Arnaiz was also known for her other mostly humanitarian activities.
She was a board of director of the Philippine Red Cross-Leyte chapter and worked with the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Tacloban.
Arnaiz, a survivor of supertyphoon “Yolanda,” spoke before a world gathering on climate change in Istanbul, Turkey last May 23, 2016.
She was also the president of the Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas (PRO-8) Press Corps and vice president of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Tacloban Chapter.
Arnaiz was the daughter of the late Agustin “Gus” Arnaiz, considered the “dean” of journalists in Eastern Visayas and founder of The Reporter, one of the first regional papers.
Her brother, Jani, now runs the online edition of The Reporter and is also a correspondent of Inquirer based in Maasin City.
Her body was brought to St. Peter’s Memorial on Real Street in Tacloban for an overnight vigil before she would be brought home to Maasin City, Southern Leyte, on Friday where she would be buried on Dec. 31.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

EV in 2017: Mother Earth calling

In what could be the most disastrous typhoon to hit the region-four years after Eastern Visayas was pummeled by super typhoon ‘Yolanda’, the world’s strongest typhoon to hit inland- ‘Urduja’ pummeled much of the region leaving a trail of destructions and loss of lives.
The region’s smallest province, Biliran, bore the brunt of Urduja’s fury when it barreled its way on December 16, causing several landslides that entombed 52 people, several of them children.
The storm resulted in the destruction of public properties in Biliran alone at P400 million.
The provinces of Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar also suffered devastations both in infrastructures and people killed due either to landslide or flooding incidents.
While several earthquakes shook the region, the July 6 incident was the most destructive.
The 5.6 magnitude tremor that hit Leyte resulted in the deaths of three people and destructions of roads and bridges as well as buildings, homes and public facilities like the Ormoc City Airport reaching to hundreds of millions of pesos.
The tremor was so strong that the region was without power supply for nearly two months, affecting major industries and businesses.
It was also in 2017 that all six governors of the region decided to belong to one common political party which happens to be the party of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Governors Leopoldo Dominico Petilla(Leyte), Gerry ‘Boy” Espina(Biliran), Christopher Yap(Southern Leyte), Sharee Ann Tan(Samar), Marcelo Ferdinand Picardal(Eastern Samar), and Jose Ong(Northern Samar) pledged their political loyalties to the President by jumping to PDP-Laban.
And save for Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza, all the other congressmen of the region now consider themselves as members of the PDP-Laban.
All of them, to include mayors, have vowed to continue to support on the controversial anti-illegal drug campaign of the President.
After being devastated by supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ in 2013, economic officials of the region has projected that the regional economy is now recovering.
In fact, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in the region had projected that Eastern Visayas economy would grow between 5.2 to 5.7 percent.
Tacloban City, the regional capital and main economic hub of Eastern Visayas, reported of new and big investments in 2017.
This year, the Robinsons Mall opened its second branch in Tacloban as it also soon to operate in the cities of Ormoc and Calbayog.
The tourism industry is also fast contributing to the regional economy as tourism officials eye an increase of about 20 percent from the current seven percent levels.
It was also during this year that the city government of Tacloban, under Mayor Cristina Romualdez, ‘took’ control of the Leyte Metropolitan Water District (LMWD) from the supervision of the provincial government.
Romualdez issued appointment papers to five new board of directors of the LMWD, a move that right away questioned by the ‘ousted’ officials, to include its general manager.
Despite of the natural disasters that struck Eastern Visayas, leaders of the region are optimistic that the New Year will bring not only stability but further economic growth for Eastern Visayas, still considered as among the poorest regions in the country.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)