TACLOBAN CITY- The National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) paid tribute to the seafarers across the region during the celebration of the “Day of Filipino Seafarers” held on June 25.

The theme of this year’s celebration was “Pinoy Seafarers: Proudly moving the world,” a very apt theme considering that more than 35 percent of the world’s seafarers come from the Philippines.

There are over 8,000 seamen from the region which helps Eastern Visayas’ economy through their remittances. The said sector contributes more than $2 billion to the country’s economy.

As part of this year’s celebration, series of activities were lined up by the NMP which included a media conference and a thanksgiving mass held at the Santo Nino Church.
A floral offering, led by the Leyte Chapter president of the Seamen’s Wives Association of the Philippines Inc. (SWAPI), was also held at the NMP office in Barangay Cabalawan, this city.

According to NMP Executive Director Forter Puguon Sr. the occasion aims to increase the awareness of the public on the services rendered by the seafarers and to honor and recognize them. (CARYL TOMANDA, LNU Intern)

TACLOBAN CITY- The members of the Leyte Dance Theatre recently performed at various cities in the United States. But unlike on their previous performances, which center mainly on showcasing the country’s local dances, this time they made their performances to help raise funds for the victims of super typhoon Yolanda.

And incidentally, almost all of the members of one of the country’s most prestigious dance groups were also victims of Yolanda. This mission of raising funds, needless to say, was achieved, said dance master Jess de Paz, founder of the Leyte Dance Theatre. The group performed in various states of the US from April 11 to June 14.

“All our performances was well-received, (we get) overwhelming response from our audience and that’s precisely why I think most of our members were satisfied and fulfilled. I think they are happy that the Leyte Dance Theatre, being victims of Yolanda was able to go,” de Paz said.

The group had their performances in San Francisco, San Jose, and Anaheim, all in California; Las Vegas, Nevada; San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Austin in Texas; Killeen, Beaumont; Virginia Beach; Washington DC; New Jersey; New Haven, Connecticut; Tucson, Arizona; Melbourne and Tampa in Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina and New York. All in all, they held 21 performances and also presented in sideshows at hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, de Paz said. The LDT founder, however, did not mentioned how much they were able to raise during their performances in the US.

During their fund raising, the LDT performed “Diwata ha Buscada,” a story of a diwata or an enchanted woman falling in love with a mortal man; “Mindanao Sketches” which showcase the royalty of the Filipino Muslims; “Dances of Lowlander” (Rural Suite) magnified the festival culture or the fiesta spirit of the Filipinos and “Bayan Ko,” which showcases Filipino’s love for freedom. (REINALORE P. GUIMBAOLIBOT/LNU Intern)

TACLOBAN CITY – Robinsons Place Tacloban is now back to its full operation close to eight months after super typhoon Yolanda that incurred the mall developer nearly P300 million losses.

The Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) formally reopened its 38,000 square meter Tacloban mall on June 28, two months behind the target reopening timetable. “We initially targeted to reopen April, but it was so hard for us to bring all construction materials. It was a logistical nightmare. However, it gave us more time to concentrate on total rehabilitation,” said Arlene Magtibay, RLC’s senior vice president and general manager for commercial centers division. During its reopening, only 40 of the 180 tenants resumed their business, but RLC expects that most tenants will reopen their branch inside the mall by fourth quarter in time with the Christmas season.

“Rehabilitation of the mall is practically 100% complete. We are happy that majority of tenants committed that they will come back to Tacloban soon. In the next few weeks a lot more will open,” Magtibay added.

Robinsons Supermarket and Department Store reopened in a compressed area on December 19 last year or six weeks after the storm struck. The mall had very limited shopping hours and only used generators until January when power distribution utilities restored the electricity. With its full operation, mall hours starts at 10 a.m. up to 9 p.m.

In its latest disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission, RLC reported P297.20 million losses due to the typhoon’s fierce winds, storm surges, and looting incidents. The calamity significantly contributed to the reduction of interest income by P89.5 million during the first quarter of 2014. “When Yolanda struck, there’s a lot of uncertainty given the magnitude of destruction. However, with the encouragement of local government, we initially reopened, offering pre-typhoon level of prices despite high operating costs. This is our way of giving back to the city’s loyal patronage. We are here to stay,” Magtibay said. Leading the reopening on June 28 were top RLC and Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. officials led by its President and Chief Operating Officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe wearing white shirts carrying an inspirational message “Tindog (stand up) Tacloban.”

Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez is optimistic that the full reopening of Robinsons will encourage other entrepreneurs to reopening their business. “This gives us hope that the city will rise up soon after the typhoon. Robinsons will spur economic activities.” (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)

TACLOBAN CITY – The regional Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has called on students anew to take priority courses for them to get scholarship aid and increase their chance of employment after college. CHED Regional Director Maura Consolacion Cristobal also encouraged higher learning institutions (HEIs) to offer the recommended field of studies to address labor mismatch and spur economic growth.

“Those who will take these courses starting this school year until 2018 have a big chance to avail of scholarship grants from the government,” Cristobal said.
The CHED has allocated P172 million for scholarship grants this academic year for 14,000 college students out of the 20,000 applicants in the region.
The commission’s budget for scholarship significantly increased following the diversion of priority development assistance fund (PDAF) of the congressmen to CHED’s coffer.

For academic years, starting 2014 – 2015 up to 2017-2018, CHED has listed in-demand college courses (with corresponding share of scholarship funds) related to agriculture (15 percent), engineering (15 percent), science and mathematics (13 percent), information technology (10 percent), teacher education (10 percent), health sciences (10 percent), arts and humanities (5 percent), social and behavioral sciences (5 percent), business administration and related courses (5 percent), architecture (5 percent), maritime (2 percent), and communication (2 percent).

Cristobal said that listed priority courses are still within the thrust of the Regional Development Plan until 2016 that tagged agriculture, information and communication technology, and eco-tourism as major economic growth driver. “We urge schools to offer these courses and students to consider taking these fields of studies since these were identified by CHED through consultations with the Philippine Association of Universities and Colleges, National Economic Development and Department of Labor and Employment,” Cristobal added. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)

TACLOBAN CITY–KATIG Writers Inc., an organization of writers in Eastern Visayas, and the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Cities (iCSC) on June 28 launched its book entitled “Agam: Filipino Narratives on Uncertainty and Climate Change” at the Multi-Purpose Building, University of the Philippine- Visayas Tacloban College.

“Agam reflects the confrontation between climate change and diverse cultures across the country. It combines original new works in prose, verse, and photographs and depicts uncertainty–and tenacity–from the Filipino perspective,” said Janis Claire Salvacion, president of KATIG Writers, Inc.

The book is composed of creative narratives in eight languages–crafted by twenty-four writers representing a broad array of disciplines–poets, journalists, anthropologists, the country’s godfather of climate science, and an indie erotic artist working with twenty-five images from the lens of the photojournalist Jose Enrique Soriano,” added Salvacion, who is also the regional coordinator of the National Committee on Literary Arts-National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
In an emailed letter to reporters, Salvacion said the book launch in Tacloban “holds a special significance for all of us, who experienced firsthand the impacts of climate change.”

This event becomes part of our reflection and rebuilding for a better community, added Salvacion. iCSC, a non-profit group working on sustainable energy solutions and fair climate policy, is the publisher of the book. According to the organizers, the full price of the book is at P1,600 though it was offered at a discounted price of P1,200 during the launching. Proceeds of the book sales will be given to iCSC’s RE-Charge Tacloban, wherein a fleet of electric jeepneys (e-jeepneys) will serve the commuters of Tacloban and will be powered by a solar photovoltaic (PV) facility, and combined with training programs for local drivers, dispatchers, operators, administrators and technicians in the maintenance and servicing of operations, the organizer said.

“As our community rebuilds after Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, we seek to be more responsible to our environment, and utilize a sustainable transport fleet composed of electric vehicles is significant response in that direction while answering the needs of the public transport system,” added Salvacion.(RONALD O.REYES)