TACLOBAN CITY-The filing of applications for land titling will soon be made accessible and easier in two towns of Southern Leyte, after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-8) signed a memorandum of partnership with the town officials for this purpose. With the signing of the memorandum, the Land Information Office was effectively created in the towns of Malitbog and Libagon to carry out the task of a faster land titling process, said DENR Executive Director Leonardo Sibbaluca. Sibbaluca informed reporters that the signing of the memorandum of partnership agreement (MOPA) with the DENR-8 between Mayor Oliver Ranque of Libagon and Mayor Allan Go of Malitbog was held at the DENR Provincial Office in Maasin City last April 2, 2014. Sibbaluca said that through the said MOPA, the LIO is established and operated in the respective municipalities. The LIO will be manned by DENR-8 personnel and LGU personnel who are to be trained on land titling procedures, he added. He said that the people from the two towns could now file their land title applications and have other land transactions with the LIO at their respective municipality instead of going to the DENR’s Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices to transact on land matters. “The DENR came up with this strategy to bring its services closer to the people. It would be easier for them to secure lot data, maps, and file land title application, thus saving time, money and effort,” Sibbaluca said. He further said that at present his office together with the LGUs of Libagon and Malitbog are mapping plans for the training of the DENR-8 and LGU personnel who will be assigned and operate the LIO offices in the respective municipalities. Sibbaluca said that the establishment of the LIOs in municipalities is mandated in Republic Act No. 10023, otherwise known as “An Act Authorizing the Issuance of Free Patents to Residential Lands”. This covers applications for free patents pertaining to untitled public alienable and disposable lands which have been zoned as residential. It shall also cover zoned residential areas in proclaimed town site reservations, he added. Sibbaluca further informed reporters that in 2011, DENR issued Department Administrative Order No. 2011-06 which prescribed the guidelines for the implementation of public land titling in partnership with the local government units. He said that his office is still looking at increased partnership pacts with other municipalities to boost not only residential but also other modes of titling activities of the region. (RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
In western Leyte 25,000 families affected by Yolanda served by IOM
ORMOC CITY- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that 25,000 families affected by supertyphoon Yolanda were assisted by them for the past six months now. There were 190,000 families in western Leyte, consisting of 16 towns and the cities of Baybay and Ormoc, which were affected by Yolanda that resulted to the destruction of their houses. Giano Libot, communication with communities officer for Western Leyte, disclosed that the IOM handed out non- food items (NFI) namely: solar lamp – 1,600 units; school bags with hygiene materials – 2,546 school children; hygiene kits – 2,500 families; kitchen sets – 1,067 families; mat and blanket – 15,008 families and NFIs from Rotary of Burwood-Austrialia – 494 families. IOM also distributed repair shelter kits (RSK), emergency shelter, shelter recovery and disaster-risk reduction (DRR) and carpentry trainings. “To date, IOM has given out emergency shelters which consisted of tarpaulin, fixing tools to 13,102 families across 14 municipalities, 42,262 RSK and DRR training to over 9 municipalities”, it said. The IOM Ormoc hub had also conducted camp management and camp coordination training to local government units’ representatives for women organizations and non-government organization (NGOs) in 16 municipalities and two cities in western Leyte in relation to its “keep them safe” campaign. Awareness campaigns battling human trafficking among displaced communities especially at the bunkhouses were likewise conducted being one of IOM’s core programs. (ELVIE ROMAN ROA)
Fire at tent city killed mother, six kids
TACLOBAN CITY- A mother and her six children, to include a three-month old baby girl, were killed when their tent in Barangay Costa Brava, San Jose district, this city, was burned last May 28. The victims, identified as Maria Eliza Ocenar, 38 and children Kathlyn, 11; Justine, 10; Jovilyn, 5; Jasmine, 3 and three month old baby girl, survived during the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda last year. And the incident was so heartbreaking that even Fire Officer 1 Anthony Alvin Duran, officer-on-case, described it as “very shocking.” John Mark, 6, was the last to die while being treated at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center due to the third-degree burn that he sustained. “It was a miracle that the boy survived. That’s the only thing I can say on what happened to him. When we arrived on the fire scene, the tent was already completely burned down. They must have been trapped inside,” Duran of the Tacloban City Fire Department said. “It was very shocking and heartbreaking. They survived Yolanda but only to die in a fire incident,” he added. It was learned that Ocenar’s husband, Reynante, a fisherman, was not in the tent as he was somewhere in Samar to earn a living. Duran said their initial investigation revealed that a lighted kerosene lamp used by the family while they were sleeping was the source of the fire. The fire started about 12:10 a.m. and lasted only for about 15 minutes. The tent owned by family was made of canvas material given by United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) when the family was left homeless after Yolanda destroyed their house on November 8, 2013. There are 126 families or 508 persons living in tents in Costa Brava, considered to be one of the hardest-hit areas with 1,000 people dead and “hundreds” more missing. According to Duran, residents living in the area rushed into the scene and helped put the fire off. The residents conducted a “bucket brigade” using pails and other containers with water to put off the blaze that hit the tent of the victims. “It was so fast. When I was awaken by the fire reflecting into our house, I hurriedly went outside. The same with my neighbours. We hurried to get water; everyone is bringing a pale of water. Everyone was helping. But it was just so fast,” said Romeo Dela Torre, a neighbour. According to Dela Torre, the family was only using a kerosene lamp as a source of light just like the majority of the families living in the tent city. “I hope the government will look at our condition seriously. This thing should not happen again or should not have been happening at all,” Dela Torre said, adding he really wanted to have a permanent house the soonest possible time after staying in the tent for close to seven months already after Yolanda. “We heard an explosion. They were trapped inside. They were not able to open the zipper of the tent right away,” said Harlene Ocenar, a relative of the victims whose tent is just about five meters away from the burned tent. Raymund Solaya, 13, a friend of Justine, said he felt sorry for what happened to the family. “Justine was my playmate. He once told me he wanted to be a policeman someday. Now he is gone,” Raymund said, adding they were doing their best to stop the fire. Over 5,000 families in Tacloban have remained in tent houses and temporary shelters in the city. The regional disaster management council has said that 2, 678 perished in Tacloban alone during the storm. (RONALD O.REYES with ROEL T.AMAZONA)
Students from private schools expected to transfer to public schools this school year
PALO, Leyte- Leyte schools division superintendent Ronilo Al Firmo said that they are bracing for possible increase of enrollment in public schools this incoming school year. Firmo said that the expected increase of students in public schools could be due to transfer of several students previously enrolled in private schools.
The education official said that he met with some parents whose children were enrolled in private schools who told him that they plan to transfer their children to public schools this incoming school year due to financial difficulties. Firmo said that some of these parents either lost their employment or their business establishments ceased to operate as an aftermath of supertyphoon Yolanda. Last school year, more than 140,000 students from elementary and secondary levels were enrolled in public schools across the province. Students are to return to school on June 2. With an expected increase of enrollment in public schools, Firmo said that he instructed the school principals to prepare for this situation. According to him, he instructed the school principals to preserve the temporary learning spaces while the repairs of damaged school buildings are on-going to cater the expected influx of transferees from private schools. Firmo also announced that the division hired an additional 346 new teachers to beef up its current number of teachers. (LIZBETH ANN ABELLA)
20 survivors finished heavy equipment operator course
TACLOBAN CITY-About 20 survivors of Yolanda from Leyte, one them a female, have graduated from free heavy equipment operator (HEO) course and earned the National Certificate II (NC II) from the Technological Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico “Dominic” Petilla, in an interview said that storm victims who finished from the free training were among the first batch of the series of trainings on the HEO course for this year. Petilla said that with the NC II qualifications from TESDA, the 20 graduates from Leyte can now apply in any business establishments or firms that are in need of their skills here in our country and abroad. The series of free trainings with the period of six weeks for each training course, is sponsored by the Korean military contingent stationed in Leyte in collaboration with TESDA and the Leyte provincial government. “The series of free trainings on HEO course will be conducted this year for more supertyphoon Yolanda victims,” Petilla said. The governor said that the participants were trained on the operations of forklift, truck mounted crane, bulldozer, hydraulic excavation and wheel loader. Petilla also said that throughout the duration of the course, TESDA shouldered the three-week theoretical aspects of the training, the Koreans also assumed the three-week practical side and the hands-on operation of the heavy equipment which they also provided, while his office offered the venue, participated in the planning process and the recruitment of the participants.(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
Napolist tainted with uncertainty
Following the strong denial of three prominent journalists belonging to separate giant news networks in the country that they, too, enjoyed the fruits of the PDAF scam, the sure guilt of those named by Janet Napoles as having taken part of the P10-B PDAF stash is wobbly. The authenticity and truth of the sensational “Napolist” is likewise tainted with doubt. Further, the shock that gripped Mike Enriquez of GMA7, Luchi-Cruz Valdez of ABC5 and Korina Sanchez of ABS-CBN for being dragged into the mess cast much aspersion on certainty as to whether or not all other personalities disclosed by whistle-blower Benhur Luy to have benefitted in this stash is likewise placed in a balance. Most of the personalities so name-dropped into the imbroglio were placed in the hot seat at the Senate investigation. The entire Philippines has known the extent of their involvement with the probe given much focus by the national media. Even these newsmen thus named expressed their individual commentary against the scam. This is not a big deal because every citizen has right to know where each centavo of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money contributed to the coffees of the government – local or national goes is going and utilized. Of all citizens in a demicratic nation, newsmen enjoyed the highest rate of credibility next to church leaders. They are more believable than any statesman of any profession. Their integrity is beyond reproach. As between an accuser’s straightforward attestation and a vehement denial of a seemingly impeccable man as to his involvement in a controversial issue, the latter would usually end up clean and victorious. Now in the controversy at hand, whose pronouncement stands to be more trustworthy? If a lie detector machine is not that dependable and the justice system is not at all flawless, what quality verdict could we have in the PDAF scam? If the Napolist is being assialed by those named therein, who can prove as to its truthfulness? In law there is this long respected maxim that states, “The prosecution’s evidence must stand or fall on its own merits and cannot be allowed to draw strength from the weakness of the evidence for the defense.” In the Napolist contention and Luy’s allegation, Napoles, though being a suspect in the PDAF scam and Luy as the whistleblower have the same burden to prove their allegations. Whose testimony is worth believing is a matter for the investigating body weogh at the end of the day.