CALBAYOG CITY- The Department of Health (DOH)-Central Office through its Health Emergency Management headed by Dr. Carmencita A. Banatin is to give due recognition to the city government of Calbayog for being the first to bring to Tacloban City the complete response and the most needed relief efforts including psychosocial services just right after supertyphoon “Yolanda” (with international name “Haiyan”) made landfall on November 8 (a Friday) last year that resulted mass destruction and cause lose of thousands of lives in the city.

In an interview, City Health Officer Dr. Sylvia de Guzman, said that Regional Health Emergency Management Coordinator Dr. Fidelito Dico had already sent her an advance notice about the awarding scheduled on July 18 in Manila that looks toward an individual’s or the team’s heroism during such unusual event that was beyond their ordinary duties.

To receive award are Mayor Ronaldo P. Aquino, Police Supt Elmer Cinco (former Calbayog City police chief) and Dr. de Guzman. The team from Calbayog arrived in Tacloban a day after Yolanda pummeled Tacloban “with an immediate soothing relief” to the sorrow and desperation of the affected residents. Mayor Aquino personally headed the team that brought in the immediate basic needs of the survivors like food, water, and medicines.He was with P/Supt Cinco (who served as the team’s ground commander), and along with Cinco were a number of PNP uniformed personnel who also helped in the road clearing operations, rescue efforts, resource mobilization and most especially, in bringing back security presence in Tacloban as security vacuum was experienced elsewhere after the typhoon because majority of local law enforcers themselves had been victimized by the super typhoon.

Likewise, Dr. de Guzman’s team helped those injured and provided emergency and basic medical and surgical services to the affected when they temporarily manned Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) as hospital’s staffs were also victims themselves. After Tacloban, same team went also to other Yolanda-hit areas like Marabut, Basey, Albuera, Capoocan and Tanauan to deliver same services. These efforts of the city government of Calbayog with other coordinating agencies continue until survivors learn to cope with the loss of lives of their loved-ones, their homes and their livelihood. At present, Calbayog-LGU is also helping in the national government’s recovery and rebuilding efforts for the victims and survivors of Yolanda through its “Sagubay Waraynon” project. (AIMEE CATALAN/PR)

TACLOBAN CITY- The government of South Korea continues its assistance to Leyte, ravaged by supertyphoon Yolanda, as new batch of its humanitarian group arrived in the province.

Lt Myunghyun Baek, public relation officer of ROK (Republic of Korea) Force Araw Contingent said that more than 300 military personnel arrived, replacing the first batch of their humanitarian group.

Col. Chulwon Lee remains the commander of the mission.

The second batch will be divided into five groups- three groups will focus on rebuilding and rehabilitating public elementary schools while two groups will focus in rebuilding and rehabilitating houses of Filipino war veterans during the Korean War and other local government offices such as police stations, fire station, rural health office and senior citizens office.

The second batch will stay in the province until December of this year.

Furthermore, Korean soldier part of the first batch shared what they had noticed in their experience on the six months of their stay here in Leyte.
Baek recalled that they were shocked on the extent of damage caused by Yolanda when they first arrived in Leyte.

Lt Dae Hueng Hwang said that teaching the Korean language to the residents of Palo and Tacloban made his stay more memorable as this reminded him his stay in the country when he studied his college at the University of Sto. Tomas.

He added that as an interpreter of the Korean forces, he was exposed in meeting people like those who are living in the villages.
“They always welcome Korean soldiers and appreciate us,” Hwang said. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster have built at least 22,063 toilets in the Visayas region areas affected by super typhoon Yolanda. WASH Cluster, composed of several humanitarian groups, started transitioning from life-saving intervention to early recovery planning and implementation in December 2013.

This included not only to restoration of communal and household level water and sanitation facilities, but also strengthening of governance and resilience at local levels.
As reported in the Philippine humanitarian response site, significant progress is being made in the roll out of the Philippine Approach to Total Sanitation (PHaTS) across Leyte and Eastern Samar.

The 22,063 toilets provided by various groups involving the WASH Cluster, was based on the June 19. However, another 2,579 latrines were constructed benefitting 12,891 people.

There are informal reports of more than 20 barangays across Leyte and Samar are ready to declare themselves a “zero open defecation” barangays.
It is working on the importance of water system infrastructure and water quality. In May, 2,460 people benefited from 12 systems upgrade. A desalination water treatment plant was also commissioned in Tacloban City at Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC).

As the pressure to provide long-term durable shelter solutions continues to mount, significant numbers of relocation sites are being developed by local government units and the private sector across Haiyan affected areas without adequate planning to construct WASH facilities. The upcoming rainy season also presents a heighted risk of vector and water borne diseases like dengue fever.

Health has also reported issues with community members unwilling to undertake dengue monitoring and sanitation cleaning activities without payment of cash- for- work.

Significant investment has been directed towards the capacity-building of government staff at all levels. Improvements are evident in some areas.
However, significant efforts are still required before the Cluster can fully transfer their responsibilities to the respected government counterparts. (AIRYLL A.YAPOC, LNU Intern)

TACLOBAN CITY – To give updates on the different Department of Health programs, the DOH Representatives in all municipalities in the region conducted their semi-annual meeting at Asia Stars Hotel on June 17-18, 2014.

DOH-Rep advocates the different programs of the department such as Family Planning, Expanded Program for Organizations, Maternal Care, Child and Nutrition, Leprosy Control Program, Tuberculosis Control Program, among others.

Aside from the updates on the various DOH programs, they presented their accomplishments and discussed gaps and issues on problems encountered in the field between local government unit and the DOH.

DOH-Rep point person Lucia Milagros Abantao said that their role in the municipality is that they serve as the conduit or linkage between the DOH and the LGU. (REINALORE P. GUIMBAOLIBOT)