TACLOBAN CITY – The Rotary Club of Chinatown Manila District 3810 is very committed to uplift the lives of typhoon Yolanda survivors. The club, headed by its first class president Zeni Yao and Rotary International District 3810 Governor for Rotary Year 2013-2014 district governor Karen Tama, has donated sewing machines to women inmates at the Tacloban City Jail Female Dorm last May 19. In donating sewing machines to female inmates, the Rotary Club of Chinatown Manila believed that the inmates should be provided with livelihood skills so that when they go back to the normal life of being free, they will be empowered. Aside from the sewing machines, the Rotary Club of Chinatown Manila has also donated pedicab units for Tacloban’s drivers who lost their source of income because of Yolanda. “This is a big help to the people of Tacloban who lost their means of livelihood after typhoon Yolanda,” Yaokasin said. Earlier, the group donated six classrooms to the Northern Tacloban City National High School (NTCNHS) through the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. and Tacloban Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. on its endeavors, particularly on classroom donations. Meantime, one of their member-clubs the Rotary of Manila 101, presented Science Laboratory Equipment/Water Filters to the Sacred Heart College. The turnover was led by the club’s first class president Joyce Reyes. Rotary club’s motto is “Service Above Self,” which exemplifies the humanitarian spirit of the Rotarians all over the world. (VICKY C. ARNAIZ)
DPWH to start repair of damaged schools in Leyte’s second district
TACLOBAN CITY – Repair of damaged schools due to supertyphoon Yolanda in Leyte’s second district will now start as construction materials are now available. Thus said district engineer Carlos Veloso of the 2nd Leyte Engineering District (LED) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). According to Veloso, the rehabilitation of the damaged schools under his area was delayed due to lack of materials. About 256 classrooms in Leyte’s second district were identified to be rehabilitated by the 2nd LED with partially damaged classrooms given priority for immediate repair within the 76 sites in various municipalities in the district. “These are schools which sustained minor damages such as their roofings. Those that were totally destroyed will have to be undertaken by the Department of Education,” Veloso said. The 2nd LED prioritized repair of classroom of three big schools through the use of the office own materials and funds. “We initially started the repair of these three sites so as to jump start the works. Everything else will be in full swing since the materials needed are now available,” Veloso said. He said that they target to finish the entire rehabilitation work before the start of classes this June to ensure that students will no longer attend their classes inside makeshift classrooms. Veloso said that with typhoon strength and frequency increasing yearly, the district aims to repair and rebuild classrooms with roofs that can endure maximum sustained winds of at least 300 kilometers per hour. With an average strength of 314 kilometers per hour, Yolanda was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in recent history. (AHLETTE C. REYES)
APO extended financial assistance to Tacloban’s SPED school
TACLOBAN CITY- The Alpha Phi Omega South Eastern Visayas Administrative Region handed over last weekend a cash donation of P150,000 to the officials of the Sto. Niño SPED Center (SNSC) in a simple ceremony held during the school year-end conference of the school’s general parents-teachers association. The SNSC, a prime institution of quality education in the region, was among the hundreds of public schools that were severely ruined by the storm surges and tornado-like winds generated by supertyphoon Yolanda that devastated the entire Tacloban November 8 of last year. Among the facilities and buildings of the SNSC that were devastated by the supertyphoon were those belonging to the special education classes. The destruction, although affected significantly the holding of regular classes especially in the SPED program, did not badge the faculty from delivering the quality education that the pupils need. The SNSC administration and faculty endeavored to bring back the academic ambience to normalcy in January this year. The SNSC SPED program catered to the basic education needs of physically impaired and later, as pipelined, to the mentally or psychologically impaired. The financial assistance of APO to SNSC was the proceeds of the Race and Shine Marathon and Fun Run that the APO-SEVAR organized in April this year. APO, an international service fraternity and sorority, had donated learning supplies in December last year to schools affected by Yolanda, including SNSC. Jaro Municipal Trial Court Judge Cielo Velasquez-Martinez, a key officer of APO-SEVAR, stated that the donation was the group’s affirmation in reaching out not just to the members but to the community as well. “We deem it our social responsibility to help. We consider it a great privilege for us to assist the school in the renovation and rehabilitation efforts,” she said. Ledwina Eva Teston, an APO SEVAR member and SNSC SPED teacher, expressed gratitude to the SNSC community and all other individuals for the full support extended leading to the success of the Fun Run. She likewise expressed her thanks SNSC Principal Delilah De Los Santos for the great confidence reposed to the APO on this project. Teston underscored the need to help primarily the SNSC pupils with “special needs” and later the entire school on other concerns where the cash donation could ably ease the burden. This pursuit is the cornerstone on which APO moored its humanitarian assistance following the supertyphoon that killed more than 6,000 people and destroyed properties. De Los Santos and the GPTA officers extended mutual appreciation to the effort of the APO-SEVAR for the substantial contribution it is giving to the rehabilitation and build back attempts of the SNSC. (EILEEN NAZARENO-BALLESTEROS)
CSC to spearhead summit on good governance
PALO, Leyte- The Civil Service Commission here in the region will lead a partnership summit on human resources and good governance slated on May 26, 2014. In a press statement, CSC Regional Director Victoria Esber said that the summit will be a convergence of “competence and commitment” among leaders and human resource practitioners both of the national and local government institutions. It will be an opportune time to share principles and practices on organizational productivity (SPMS), effective frontline service delivery and promotion of good governance Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) Program, Esber added. The summit is to be held at the Visayas State University in Baybay City. The program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM) will also be launched in the said event. According to Esber, the PRIME-HRM aims to continuously capacitate agencies in the performance of their human resource management functions; as well as recognize best practices in the various areas of human resource management. During the summit, a memorandum of cooperation among CSC- 8 officials and the awarding of the Anti-Red Tape Act Citizen’s Satisfaction Center Seal of Excellence to deserving agencies will be signed. Esber also emphasized the need of the involvement of the external stakeholders particularly the Multi-Sectoral Advisory council to encourage feedback and recommendations; views and perspective in formulating and executing strategies initiatives on the CSC policies, programs and services which heightens transparency and accountability. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
Despite Yolanda’s havoc Tourism still alive in Tacloban, E. Visayas, UN official said
TACLOBAN CITY- Amid the rubbles of supertyphoon Yolanda, the tourism industry of this city and the rest of the region is not dead. In fact, it is just the “beginning of a re-birth.” Thus said the secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai, who visited this city, considered the ground zero of Yolanda, last May 17. “I have been all over the world. I’ve seen much. I see so many places from America to Europe to Asia to Africa, but I will tell you, this was the devastated episode, but one of the most bright episode of courage, “Rifai said in his speech before provincial and tourism officials held at the Governor’s Hall of the provincial capitol building. “I was struck by the amount of devastation but at the same time, at the same moment, what came to my mind was how courageous these people are. You are still smiling. It is wonderful. It is beautiful,” Rifai said. Amid the scale of destruction left by Yolanda, Rifai said he “see exactly the other way around.” “It is the beginning of the rebirth, the future of development,” Rifai said on what to expect from the impact of the storm. Rifai added that the opportunities after the typhoon include the “the opportunity to learn about mistakes.” “Now that we are reflecting on it, we can do it right. Second, we have learned how important this (tourism) industry. We have seen the industry lost so much. We have seen the loopholes that existed during this challenge. Do it better, make sure that the tourism and travel industry will respond to that,” Rifai said. Asked on the percentage of tourism businesses that prepared against climate change, Rifai maintained “it is difficult to put it on number, to quantify this.” “But we can be sure that every day, we have more businesses committing themselves not only because the business is correct but because the consumers, the travelers in this world are demanding that. The travelers today would like to go to the place where they feel good with what they are doing. They do not go to a place that doesn’t respect the environment.” Rifai said that they are mobilizing to inject more funds in the affected areas to recover its tourism potentials. “We have been injecting (funds), and now we are establishing and working on some technical assistance.” “Don’t give up. Because if you will do, you will send wrong message to the world. Tell the world you are ready,”came Rifai’s appeal, adding tourism “is very stubborn” kind of industry, emphasizing on over a billion tourists travelling around the world. Karina Rosa Tiopes, regional director of the Department of Tourism, expressed her gratitude for the visit of Rifai saying that this will send a message to the world’s travelers that Tacloban and the rest of the region remains to be a safe haven for them and we have much to offer to them. (RONALD O. REYES)
NMP offers course on Ship Security Awareness Training and Seafarers with Designated Security Duties
TACLOBAN CITY- The National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP), the premier government owned maritime training center of the Philippines, now offers Ship Security Awareness Training and Seafarers with Designated Security Duties (SSAT and SDSD) Course starting April 24, 2014, for a training fee of P1,200 at the NMP Training Complex, Cabalawan, Tacloban City. This SSAT and SDSD course will provide seafarers with the standard of competence to contribute to the enhancement of maritime security through heightened awareness, recognition of security threats and knowledge of how to respond appropriately and enabling them to undertake their assigned duties under the Ship Security Plan (SSP). This one (1) day course covers theory and practical exercises in compliance with the requirements of the 2010 Manila Amendments to the STCW Convention, particularly of Regulation VI/6 (Mandatory minimum requirements for security related training and instruction for all seafarers), of Section A-VI/6, paragraphs 4-8, Tables A-VI/6-1 and A-VI/6-2 of the STCW Code and as prescribed in MARINA Circular No. 2013-11 Series of 2013, which mandated Maritime Education and Training Institutions (METIS), among others to adopt the Course for Ship Security Awareness and Seafarers with Designated Security Duties. The course was pilot-tested last April 14 & 15, 2014 with Twenty-Two (22) seafarer-trainee participants in accordance with the Agency’s Quality Management System. The course would further enhance the global competitiveness and employability of Filipino seafarers in the international shipping. For inquiries and reservation you may contact NMP with these mobile numbers 09194361409/09296881740/09165429675.