BASEY, Samar- Officials and residents of this town are now readying activities to commemorate the first year anniversary of supertyphoon Yolanda. Basey is one of the two hard-hit areas in Samar when Yolanda barreled its way in Eastern Visayas, killing close to a hundred people and destroying thousands of houses. Mayor Igmedio Junjie Ponferrada said that they will hold a Mass to honor and remember those who were killed during the onslaught of Yolanda. He said that other activities are also being lined up during the commemoration of the first year anniversary of Yolanda. The town mayor also said that the occasion will also serve as a venue for them to express their gratitude to the various people and organizations, both local and international, for giving them the much needed assistance. (RYAN GABRIEL ARCENAS)
CATBALOGAN CITY- Over 700 out-of-school youths from this city could now avail computer education which they could use to apply for work. The basic computer education for the youths who are not in school was made possible through a memorandum of agreement entered by the city government as represented by Mayor Stephanie Uy-Tan and the AIHU Foundation represented by its national president, Alex Sy.
The free computer education is dubbed as “van aralan” as those who will avail of the program will have their lessons inside a van. Mayor Tan said that she is grateful to the AIHU Foundation for the opportunity they extended to the youths of Catbalogan. According to her, by gaining knowledge on basic computer lesson, which will last for four months, could help them find a job. “Nowadays, one of the requirements for one to land a job includes know-how on computer. And I am grateful to the AIHU Foundation for giving the out-of-school youths of Catbalogan the opportunity for them to learn even just the basic on computer,” the mayor said.
Those who will avail the free computer education have to study for eight hours a day. Tan said that while the priority of the van aralan are the out-of-school youths, those interested like persons with disabilities, barangay officials, full time students and even employees of the City Hall could avail the program. “There are still several employees of the City Hall who does not know how to use computer,” Mayor Tan said. (LITO A. BAGUNAS)
PALO, Leyte- The 67 school children from the village of San Joaquin who died during the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda were honored through the construction of a “garden of remembrance.” The garden of remembrance, located inside the San Joaquin Central School, this town, was formally inaugurated on October 10. The construction of said garden was initiated by pastor Victor Sang Yong Choi, a missionary who belong to the Truly Good Friends, a non-government organization based in Seoul, South Korea. Aside from the 67 school children, a teacher, Arleen Lacandazo of the same school, was also killed due to the storm surges generated by Yolanda. Tacloban City Vice Mayor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin, who attended the occasion, said that the garden of remembrance is for everyone to remember their loved ones who died during the typhoon. “I believe that through prayers, we can move on and continue living as we look to them in this garden,” Yaokasin added. According to Choi, the garden will serve as a comfort for the public to ease their agony. “I want to share not only food but also god of comfort and mercy for wounded heart,” Choi said during the simple ceremony attended by the school’s teachers, students and parents of those who died.
During the occasion, flowers and prayers were offered by those who lost their loved ones. Meanwhile, Pedro Lacandazo, a father who lost a total of 22 members of his family, expressed his heart-breaking testimony on how he struggle during the onslaught of the super typhoon. “Somehow this garden will help to give me strength and hope to continue living,” he said in his testimonial. He added that the stones placed in the garden will serve as a reminder that Yolanda caused for the deaths of his loved ones. Choi hopes that the garden of remembrance will help ease the pains for those who lost their loved ones. (KATHRYN A. ORBIGOZO, LNU Intern)
PALO, Leyte- After almost a year, the business processing outsourcing(BPO)owned by the family of former Leyte governor and now Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla returned its operation. The Freight Process Outstanding Solutions Inc. (FPOSI), formerly known as Accudata, started its operation last October 10 providing employment close to 1,000 people. “If you really want to help Leyte and the people, you need to bring back their jobs here,” FPOSI president Ann Petilla said in an interview. “This business became significant because when they came to us, we thought they will ask for money. But the first thing that they asked for was their jobs and I cannot say no to that,” added Petilla, referring to the workers. The BPO is a 24-hour operation and according to Petilla, more than $2 million were invested for the construction of the building which is located at the sprawling Information and Technology Park located in Barangay Candahug, Palo. The building is solar-powered with about 198 kilowatt solar panels installed on the rooftop of the building. Their new office at Palo can now accommodate around 1,100 employees seated at the terminals and about 30 to 40 administrative staff. FPOSI is a business process outsourcing (BPO) company serving American clients. “We want to support the idea that IT (information technology) is a promising profession in Leyte,” she added. (DONNA ABIGAIL BULA, LNU Intern)
PALO, Leyte- A disaster resilient school building is soon to be constructed at the Palo Central School. This was disclosed by Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla who said that construction of the two-classrooms building will be funded by the Direct Data Capture Group of Companies. The United Kingdom-based company, whose president is Jan Trevalyan, donated P2 million for the construction of the building.
The governor said that the construction will immediately start. His brother, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, led in the ground breaking of the project last October 8. Gov. Petilla said that the school building to be constructed could withstand strong typhoons like that of Yolanda which caused much destruction to this town on November 8, 2013. The DDC is a business partner of Freight Process Outsourcing Solutions, Incorporated (FPOSI), a business processing outsourcing company owned by the family of Sec. Petilla. (RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino in an animated discussion with one of the country’s noted restaurteurs, Glenda Barretto, during the second tinapa cooking contest, part of the 66th Calbayog Charter Day Celebration .(RRR)
Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino in an animated discussion with one of the country’s noted restaurteurs, Glenda Barretto, during the second tinapa cooking contest, part of the 66th Calbayog Charter Day Celebration .(RRR)
CALBAYOG CITY- In one of his lazy days, Rinz Matteo Montejo experimented cooking a different variety of morcon, a meat roll stuffed with sausages and hotdogs. But instead of using the all common ingredients in cooking the popular dish, the 19-year old hotel and restaurant services student, used instead “tinapa” as his main ingredient. Obviously, his experiment works as he and his two classmates won this year’s tinapa cooking contest sponsored by the City Tourism Office. The cooking festival, now on its second year, was held at the Calbayog Convention Center last October 11 as part of the 66th charter day celebration of the city.
Tinapa or smoked fish is one of the prides of Calbayog which they are trying to further promote, tourism officer Raymund Ronald Ricafort said. “I just made this dish out of my experiment. Little did I know that this will turn out good. So when we decided to join the contest, we decided to use it as our entry,” the second year student of the STI-Calbayog said.
For winning the contest, he received not only acclaim from the three-member judges headed by Glenda Barretto, one of the country’s foremost restaurateurs and cook book authors. Montejo, with his group mates Gelli Anne Gomez and Peter Aringay, won the cash prize of P3,500, besting 11 other students from various high and college schools of Calbayog. The menu whipped by the group of Montejo so impressed Barretto who said that she is thinking of having the kind of menu. “We judges were unanimous in our choice. Their entry was impressive,” the cooking guru, a native of Calbayog, said. City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino claimed that their tinapa is the best in the country reason why this product must be pushed. “But we have to admit that the production depends on our catch fish,” the city mayor said. He said that when bad weather prevails, makers of tinapa may not meet the demands of the market. (JOEY A. GABIETA)
