TACLOBAN CITY – The Tacloban City Government under Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez will implement a new traffic scheme in the Central Business District, starting on Wednesday, August 1, 2018.
In a traffic advisory, the city government said the implementation of the new traffic management and re-routing scheme is aimed at easing traffic along roads within the downtown area.
Under the new traffic scheme to be implemented by the Traffic Operations, Management, Enforcement, and Control Office (TOMECO) in coordination with Taskforce Kanhuraw, streets formerly designated as one-way will be opened to two-way traffic such as M. H. Del Pilar, Sto. Nino and Paterno Streets.
As part of the recommendation of the Traffic Management Study conducted by the UP National Center for Traffic Studies (UPNCTS), motor cabs for hire (MCH) will be restricted to enter the following streets: Justice Romualdez, J.P Rizal Avenue, Avenida Veteranos and Real.
The truck ban ordinance will be strictly enforced such that trucks and other large vehicles covered by the ordinance will only be allowed to enter the downtown area only through Real Street.
To inform the motorists of the new traffic scheme Traffic advisory signages will be installed in strategic areas disclosed the TOMECO.
Meantime, the 10 installed hybrid system of traffic lights with cameras in city intersections, will have its dry-run prior to the implementation of the traffic scheme.
Dry runs have been scheduled for Thursday and Friday this week.
As part of the scheduled implementation of the new traffic scheme, members of the traffic enforcement team are currently undergoing basic traffic training.
The UP-NCTS study is part of the city government’s initiative to come up with a professional and scientific approach to solve the emerging traffic woes of the city.
(HENRY JAMES ROCA/CIO)

TACLOBAN CITY-The Leyte Electric Cooperative (Leyeco II) announces of a power interruption that will affect its entire coverage today (July 28).
The 12- hour power interruption will start at 6 am and is to end at 6 pm.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), in a statement, said that the interruption is to effect the relocation and conversion of structures replacement of conductors, affected by the construction of a 4-lane by–pass road by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The said 6-lane road will affect the proposed relocation area of the NGCP street number 82 which is the intention of the scheduled interruption on July 21.
Engr. Fernan Paul Tan, Leyeco general manager, said that all works may be finished ahead of time. Thus, power could be restored before the 6 pm scheduled power restoration. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

PALO, Leyte – In line with the observation of the National Disaster Resilience Month, Plan Philippines presented some invetions that could prove helpful during a disaster.
Five of the 10 innovations from the Visayan regions were from Eastern Visayas which were presented at the ‘Tuklas’ Innovation Labs held at the Oriental Hotel de Leyte, this town, on July 24.
A total of 40 original devices throughout the country were accepted in the Tuklas Innovation Labs which are now under trial stages.
Among them was the “Bakwit Kit”, a flat-packed evacuation kit made from PVC pipes for easy transportation and set-up, designed by DesignNovators from the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers – Eastern Visayas Chapter.
Heidrun Milan, one of the designers of the Bakwit Kit, said that their innovation prototype is being tested in Barangay 77, Tacloban City where residents are helping to enhance their design.
Milan said that they came up with the design as their group’s contribution during a disaster response.
The Bakwit Kit could also fits all the evacuation essentials like soft partition, sleeping mattress, dining set and storage shelving.
It was also design in a way that children, women or even persons with disabilities can easily assemble it.
The Bakwit Kit can fit a family of four, but could still be extended.
“We also would like to promote dignity, convenience and privacy for the families. What we have in the evacuation centers are camp spaces already, so we like to have comfort and convenience for the family because that is very important. Previously we already have issues on privacy and there was no demarcation between one families to another,” Milan said.
Another innovation presented was the Intelligent Flood Warning Monitoring System developed by TECH4DRRM from Cebu City.
The innovation is a flood warning system that uses sensors to send real time alert.
The warning device works when the river water reaches critical level, which the SOLVEX38 will broadcast in the local dialect to inform the community of the time of the possible flooding in the area.
This will allow the residents to set priorities of securing their properties and livestock and evacuate their family to safer place.
The developer of the software said that although they had received assistance from Tuklas, the government should also provide the same to encourage more innovators to create designs that could help communities in disaster preparedness and response.
“Developing this kind of software needs support. We are thankful that Tuklas is here to help us. I hope that the government will come up with a program that will support innovators and inventors to showcase their talents, although there is the Department of Science and Technology but the more government agencies providing fund for the development of innovations and invention which will have a better result because they have good resources,” Jonathan Cartilla, SOLVEX38 developer, said.
Tuklas, which is short for Tungo sa Kahandaan ng Pilipinas, is a community-centered innovation project that aims to support local solutions on disaster risk reduction and management which was launched last year and winners were selected from the 260 proposals from 17 regions in the country.
The selected innovation will be provided with up to P1 million in seed capital, training, and mentorship to test their disaster preparedness innovations from March to November 2018.
“The selected proposals revolve in the four themes of disaster risk reduction and mitigation which are preparedness, mitigation, response and rehabilitation. So, in the innovations that were selected you can see food security, the water, shelter, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and self-protection,” Michael Anthony Crus, Tuklas project manager, said.
The project is a partnership between Plan International, Action Against Hunger, CARE Philippines, and the Citizen’s Disaster Response Center with support and funding from the Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Program (DEPP) Innovation Labs, a global network of labs funded by United Kingdom aid, and co-managed by Start and Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Groups claim a failed gov’t

BY: JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T.AMAZONA

TACLOBAN CITY- Lies and unfulfilled promises.
Thus claimed members of the different progressive groups in the city as they held their protest rally in time of the third State of the Nation Address (Sona) by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday who boasted his administration’s accomplishments.
The rallyists, which started their rally inside the premises of the Santo Niño Shrine along Real Street and ended at Rizal Avenue where they held a short program, claimed that despite of the report of Mr. Duterte, Eastern Visayas, in particular, remain to be undeveloped with much of its people remain to be living below poverty line.
And their misery was compounded further with the implementation of the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) Law which they claimed resulted only in the soaring of basic prices.
Joshua Sagdullas, spokesperson of the Bayan Muna, said that under the administration of Pres. Duterte, killings have become common and ordinary.
He was referring to the controversial campaign of the President on illegal drugs which resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 people.
Sagdullas also said that the campaign has also resulted in the arrest of even innocent civilians.
In his Sona, Pres. Duterte said that, among others, his campaign against illegal drugs would continue be it may be ‘chilling.’
The campaign is being strongly criticized by human rights groups, to include some foreign countries.
The President also boasted his campaign to end contractualization being practice by several business establishments.
Mr. Duterte also asked government agencies to stop red tape which has been seen as a cause of corruption among government leaders and personnel.
The President also vows to connect all islands of the country, to include Eastern Visayas, by constructing needed facilities like bridges and seaports.
The 100 rallyists said that they would continue to dramatize their opposition to the administration of Pres. Duterte which they have earlier pinned their hopes in addressing the country’s basic woes like its poverty situation.
Joshua Sagdullas, spokesperson of the Bayan Muna, said that the implementation of the TRAIN Law also resulted for a higher inflation rate, or the rising of prices of goods and services, in the region.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the inflation rate of the region stood at 6.3 percent as of June, which was higher compare to the national level of 5.2 percent.
Jun Berino, secretary general of Sagupa (Samahan han mga Gugti na Parag-uma ha Sinirangan Bisayas), said that farmers in the region, for one, remains to be poor with majority of them still without their own lands to till.
“He had promised to give free lands to our farmers but this remains to be an unfulfilled promise,” Berino said.
He also said that proving another burden to the poor Filipino people was the implementation of the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) Law which he said resulted to higher prices of basic commodities.
“This TRAIN only resulted for the lives of the poor to become more miserable as it resulted to higher prices of commodities,” Berino said.
The President said that he would continue to implement the TRAIN Law saying it benefitted the poor through financial assistance.

With only few takers

MAASIN CITY – Officials of Southern Leyte are calling those who are qualified to take advantage of a scholarship program it is offering for those who want to become doctors.
For some reasons, only few are taking advantage of the medical scholarship program which was introduced by former governor and now congressman, Roger Mercado.
“We need more applicants for this program to address the lack of doctors in our hospitals,” Mercado said.
At present, only 20 students have availed of the program of the provincial government, Governor Christopherson Yap said in a separate interview.
“Having enough doctors in the province would allow our poor constituents to have better access to medical and hospital services. Like education, taking care of the health aspect our constituents is very important for our province to grown,” the governor said.
Aside from tuition, matriculation and laboratory fees, those who will be accepted of the scholarship grant also receives free board and lodging, books, uniform, and transportation allowance.
The program was conceptualized by the provincial government under then governor Mercado after the province faced a problem on lack of doctors serving the provincial run-hospitals spread on its seven towns and in Maasin City.
Since it was implemented in 2014, the program had produced two doctors who are now serving at the Southern Leyte Provincial Hospital.
“The only requirements needed for them to be accepted in the program is to finish the pre-medical school course and be accepted in a medical school,” Rep. Mercado said.
The applicants must also send their letter of intent to the Southern Leyte Board of Medical Scholarship Program.
Mercado added that those who will become doctors after the program will have to serve five years to any of the hospitals under the provincial government. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)