ORMOC CITY- Even soldiers agree that women deserve equality.
Thus said Colonel Dinoh Dolina, commanding officer of the 802nd Infantry Brigade based this city as they joined this year’s Women Month’s celebration.
And to ensure this equality, the military, at least in his area of responsibility, will implement the GAD (gender and development) to the fullest.
Colonel Nedy Espulgar, commander of the 19th IB, vowed to campaign gender equality not only during the women’s month celebration which is observes every March.
It was in 1997 when the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) first accepted female cadet, as the national law dictates to admit at least 10-percent female to the so-called men’s world. Presently, seven out of 12 PMA scholars are women, Col. Dolina went on.
Capt. Salvacion Evangelista, of 802nd Brigade accepted that women’s strength cannot compete with men but they could be of equal in other aspects.
The brigade appreciates a lot the works done by female officers that sometimes men find hard to perform. (ELVIE ROMAN ROA)
Army officials vows to observe gender equality
Despite of huge economic losses due to Yolanda BIR sets higher tax collection goal for EV this year
PALO, Leyte – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is keeping the P6.18 billion collection target for Eastern Visayas – slightly higher than last year’s goal – despite losses suffered by businesses in the aftermath of supertyphoon Yolanda.
BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe said that despite negative impacts in the business sector, they remain optimistic to generate more taxes from rebuilding and reconstruction activities.
“There is high demand due to rebuilding activities plus government infrastructure spending. We believe that 25% to 50% of the economy will improve because of government spending,” Aspe told reporters at the sidelines of the 2014 BIR Tax Campaign on March 25.
The official said the target is final and thee regional office is mandated to collect the amount, notwithstanding negative impacts of the storm last year.
“We just work hard by trying to attain the target considering that there are factors that would dramatically increase the collections. However, at the end of the reporting period, if there are factors beyond control, we will probably take some considerations,” Aspe said.
This year’s P6.18 billion target for the region’s six revenue district offices (RDO) is slightly higher than the P6.05 billion in 2013.
Last year, the BIR office here posted a P1 billion shortfall when it only generated P5.01 billion of the P6.05 billion target, according to BIR Regional Director Diosdado Mendoza.
Storm-ravaged Tacloban (northern Leyte) RDO has the lion’s share of the regional target with P2.72 billion, Ormoc (western Leyte) RDO with P1.08 billion, Catbalogan (Samar) RDO with P775.59 million, Catarman (Northern Samar) RDO with P553.34 million, Borongan (Eastern Samar) RDO with P533.17 million, and Maasin (Southern Leyte) with P514. 57 million.
“During the first two months, we set the target for the region as if there was no typhoon last year. I expect that they would not even attain 50%, but they achieved 75 to 80%. This is a very good turnout,” Aspe added.
Director Mendoza, obviously feeling the pressure, said that they would do their best to meet the collection target set by their central office.
“It is given to us and we have to collect. We just need to strictly implement tax laws to achieve the goal,” Mendoza said.
Although the region is heavily dependent on withholding taxes from the national government, but they still have to closely monitor the compliance of storm-hit businesses, the BIR regional chief said.
The tax bureau’s field office here generated almost zero collection from November 8 until end of December in the region especially its revenue district offices in Tacloban, Ormoc, and Borongan.
“Based on our survey, only 25% of businesses in Leyte and Eastern Samar provinces have resumed (their) operations,” Mendoza told reporters.
“Banks were not operating normally, thus affecting the collection even in areas not devastated by Yolanda,” said Mendoza in his first press briefing for almost a year. The BIR regional office has stopped sharing information to Tacloban-based media, heeding an April 22, 2013 memorandum order of BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
Simple rites to mark this year’s anniv. of the First Mass in Limawasa
MAASIN CITY– A simple commemorative program will be staged on March 31 this year for the 493 anniversary of the First Mass held in the historic island-town of Limawasa, Southern Leyte.
A fluvial parade to start from this city to Limawasa will serve as a highlight of the celebration with the arrival of the image of Sr. Sto. Niño and guests led by Bishop Precioso Cantillas of the diocese of Maasin, Southern Leyte Governor Roger Mercado, Representative Damian Mercado, Maasin Mayor Maloney Samaco and other guests, according to Nedgar Garvez, Southern Leyte tourism officer.
The image and delegation is expected to arrive at 7:00 A.M. in the island municipality.
Limasawa Mayor Melchor Petracorta and local officials will welcome the guests at Triana pier as “Sinugdan” dancers of Limasawa will offer a dance ritual in welcoming the Holy Image.
Foot procession follows from Triana port to Magallanes village, a 2-kilometer distance. A 6-gun salute will signal for the start of the Holy Mass to be officiated by Bishop Cantillas.
The officers of the National Commission of Culture and the Arts will launch the Declaration of the Opening of the TAOID Heritage Program in Limasawa.
The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan planted the Holy Cross at the Magallanes village where the Friar Pedro Valderrama officiated the First Catholic Mass that saw the birth of Christianity in the Philippines.
In historical accounts, the indigenous natives of the island welcomed their guests and showed them their hospitality. The natives were never converted to Catholicism, which may account that until 493 years after the First Mass, the Limasawa island residents of 6,000 remained a mixed of different religions.
After the anniversary mass, a dance that recreates the beginning of the Christianity in the country will be showcased in the Sinugdan Festival (the beginning) followed by the ceremonial tree planting.
The Holy Image of Sr. Sto. Niño is expected to arrive in Maasin City around 5:00 P.M. A foot procession of the faithful around the city follows upon arrival and a welcome Mass will be officiated by Rev. Fr. Jonas M. Mejares, OSA, Rector of the Basilica Del Sto. Niño, Cebu City.
Every year, the people of Limasawa and Southern Leyte celebrate the first Christian Mass in the country. This year, the theme revolves on “Unang Misa sa Pilipinas ug Asia ug ang Sto. Niño: Maoy Naglig-on sa pagtuo ug paglaum sa katawhan taliwala sa katalagman ug kalisdanan,” Garvez said. (VICKY C. ARNAIZ)
Government needs P1.62 billion to repair Yolanda-hit structures, said Singson
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is seeking P1.62 billion additional funds to rehabilitate government infrastructure destroyed by supertyphoon Yolanda.
Speaking in the recent transparency forum organized by the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College and Asia Foundation, DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said they have pending request at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for additional funding in reconstruction activities this year.
Of the P1.62 billion budget request, P583 million will be for repair of seawalls, drainage system, and flood control; P321 million reconstruction of damaged roads and bridges; and P221 million for rehabilitation of DPWH buildings.
“There is ongoing cost review for the remaining P491 million proposed budget,” Singson said.
The fresh budget request is expected to augment the P732 million released earlier by the DBM for clearing and emergency repair of roads and bridges.
The DPWH also utilized the initial release for the construction of 250 bunkhouses worth P200 million, procurement of 120,000 pieces of galvanized iron (GI) sheets, which were distributed through the Department of Social Welfare and Development for 7,500 families.
About 97,000 GI sheets are now in DPWH warehouses to be distributed to families with partially damaged houses in the next few months. Some 113,000 GI sheets were earlier purchased for destroyed classrooms in Yolanda-hit areas.
Singson said initial damage is pegged at P4.2 billion for the 5,540 government structures assessed. “These include roads and bridges, local government buildings, schools, and rural health units.”
In the case of classrooms, Singson said their office and the Department of Education agreed to come with a new design in rehabilitating the classrooms.
“Each school building will cost nearly P1 million. It can withstand 260 kilometer per hour wind force. Our agreement is that DepEd will implement the reconstruction, not the DPWH,” he added.
Singson said that P7.7 billion is required to reconstruct all damaged classrooms.
For state universities and colleges, the DPWH chief said the Commission on Higher Education is seeking P1.73 billion to repair the damaged buildings.
For damaged city halls, town halls and public markets, the Department of Interior and Local Government and DPWH will come up with standard design and costing.
“We will introduce standard design for LGU buildings, but if the LGU has capacity to expand, it can be extended. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
Australian group donates books to 14 schools in Leyte
TACLOBAN CITY- An Australian-based organization donated 5,000 books to different colleges and universities in Leyte during a simple turn over rites held on March 20.
The turn-over of these books was held at the University of the Philippines-Tacloban Campus and with the acting minister counselor of the Australian Aid, Geoff King, in attendance.
King said that the support from the Australian government reflects their commitment to help Filipino children have access to quality education.
“These books from Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program complement Australia’s assistance to Tacloban schools,” he said.
In the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda, Australian government provided immediate support for repairs of schools in Leyte by sending Australian engineers and military service personnel to help in clearing and repair operations, King added.
“We hope that new books and better classrooms will inspire students to learn while having fun and to study harder,” the Australian officer said.
The 14 school beneficiaries were the Doña Remedios Trinidad Medical Foundation, UP Manila School of Sciences, Leyte Colleges, Holy Infant College, St. Scholastica College of Health and Sciences, Visayas State University in Baybay, Tolosa, and Alangalang; the Leyte Normal University, University of the Philippines in the Visayas Tacloban College, Eastern Visayas State University- Tacloban, Tanuan, Dulag, Burauen campuses and the Asian Development Foundation College.
Each school received six boxes of books with each box containing 50 books.
The project was a collaboration of The Asia Foundation through its Books for Asia program and the Australian Aid. (LIZBETH ANN ABELLA)
Observes strict compliance on chainsaw using, PCA reminds operators
TACLOBAN CITY- The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) here in the region stressed that there is still strict regulations being implemented in using chainsaws even if these tools came from humanitarian groups intended for the rehabilitation efforts after supertyphoon Yolanda.
Aside from the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), there are still other international non-government organizations that also donates chainsaws reason why the PCA needs to trace all these tools to ensure responsible usage, said Thelma Remedio, officer-in-charge of the PCA province office.
Remedio stressed that only headless, uprooted and damaged trees can be utilized for lumber without the approval from PCA while a moratorium in cutting live trees is in effect to ensure that restoration of the coconut industry in the region will never be supplanted by mindlessly cutting trees for lumber or commercial purposes.
All chainsaw units should be registered first at their office together with the donor group serving as the saw owner/ operator.
“It is not expensive to acquire these permits, considering the nature of business which is humanitarian and non-profit, the NGO simply has to pay P1,000 to accredit their group and they can then travel the lumbers at any destination in the country; while they have to add P1,000 more for each chainsaw unit to register it,” Remedio explained.
The PCA had earlier disclosed that more than 33 million coconut trees were totally damaged due to Yolanda with a value of P16 billion.
To rehabilitate present plantations and restore local coconut industry, PCA then tapped universities to grow 500,000 seedlings (tumos in local term) with Visayas State University growing 400 of the said figure, 50,000 from Southern Leyte State University and 40 more from University of Eastern Philippines. (REGIN OLIMBERIO, Commuunitere)