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RDC-8 endorses P238.5 billion worth of projects for 2026 funding

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TACLOBAN CITY – The Regional Development Council (RDC) in Eastern Visayas has endorsed more than P238.5 billion worth of projects and programs for funding in the 2026 national budget.

The proposed funding is allocated as follows: P177.45 billion for infrastructure projects; P28.35 billion for economic development; P28.28 billion for social development; and P4.4 billion for development administration.

The first-quarter RDC-8 meeting was held on March 27 in Ormoc City, where high-impact and big-ticket projects were approved for endorsement to national agencies for funding consideration.

Among the major infrastructure projects endorsed are the Benjamin Romualdez International Convention Center in Tacloban – P750 million; redevelopment of Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, including a new terminal – Over P2 billion; seaport in Babatngon, Leyte – Over P930 million; new bridge in Biliran province – P500 million; and the San Juanico Bridge 2 – P9.17 billion.

RDC-8 Chairperson and Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez expressed optimism that these projects will gain national support, particularly from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who personally attended the March 14 RDC-8 meeting in Tacloban City.

“It was the first time a President attended an RDC-8 meeting. During the session, he instructed his Cabinet members to work closely with us,” Gomez said in a media interview.
However, RDC-8 officials acknowledged that not all endorsed projects secure funding.

NEDA-8 Regional Director Maylene Rosales, whose office serves as the RDC secretariat, revealed that in 2025, only P9.2 billion of the P157.4 billion proposed projects received funding.

With the President’s backing and the support of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, RDC-8 hopes that a larger share of its 2026 proposals will receive approval and funding.

(JOEY A. GABIETA)

Borongan City launches P118-M People’s Survival Fund project for climate resilience

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PEOPLE SURVIVAL FUND. The Lo-om River in Borongan City will be rehabilitated through the People’s Survival Fund granted by national government. Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda expressed his gratitude to Pres. Marcos for the release of the P118 million for this purpose.(BORONGAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)
PEOPLE SURVIVAL FUND. The Lo-om River in Borongan City will be rehabilitated through the People’s Survival Fund granted by national government. Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda expressed his gratitude to Pres. Marcos for the release of the P118 million for this purpose.(BORONGAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)

TACLOBAN CITY – The city government of Borongan has officially launched the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) Project, titled “Reinforcement of the Lo-om River’s Flood Protection System and Redevelopment for Resilient Communities and Livelihoods.”

The P118-million project, approved in October 2023, aims to strengthen the Lo-om River Flood Protection System to shield surrounding communities from flooding while supporting local livelihoods to enhance collective resilience.

The initiative focuses on four key aspects of climate adaptation: reforestation, disaster risk reduction, livelihood capacitation, and infrastructure development.

The project is overseen by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, City Cooperative and Development Office, City Environment and Natural Resources Office, and City Engineering Office.

City Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda expressed gratitude to the PSF for recognizing the project’s value and impact on the local community. He acknowledged the rigorous assessment and revision process the project underwent to ensure compliance with climate-responsive standards.

“The departments involved in the application and submission of this PSF project were truly exemplary. Congratulations to all. This achievement is a testament to your dedication and capability,” Agda said, commending the team behind the project.

In November 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. personally turned over the project’s budget—a financial grant from the PSF—to Mayor Agda following the approval of the PSF Board.

Out of 355 LGU applicants nationwide, Borongan’s Lo-om project was one of only five proposals approved by the Department of Finance-People’s Survival Fund (DOF-PSF).

The PSF, established under Republic Act 10174, provides financial assistance to local government units (LGUs) for climate change adaptation projects. The fund ensures that recipients meet high standards in organizational independence, field expertise, financial management, and participatory practices.

(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

Kerwin vows to eradicate illegal drugs, boost local livelihood

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If elected Albuera mayor

ALBUERA, Leyte – Mayoral candidate Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa has pledged to make the fight against illegal drugs his top priority if elected, alongside efforts to improve livelihood opportunities for residents.

Espinosa made this commitment during a press conference on Sunday, March 30, as he officially launched his bid to lead Albuera, a town once labeled as the illegal drug capital of Eastern Visayas.

Espinosa, whose father Rolando Espinosa Sr.—a former mayor—was killed inside his jail cell in Baybay City in 2016 while facing drug-related allegations, said he had already spoken directly with individuals involved in illegal drugs, urging them to stop.

“The presence of illegal drugs in Albuera will be one of my priority programs once I am elected mayor,” Espinosa said at his campaign headquarters, located in front of the municipal hall.

He promised a two-pronged approach: rehabilitating drug users and ensuring that drug pushers face legal consequences.

“I am serious about my goal to clear Albuera of illegal drugs. Those who are using the illegal drugs will be rehabilitated while the drug dealers will be dealt accordingly without involving any killing,” he added.

Beyond the drug issue, Espinosa said he would focus on creating jobs and providing livelihood opportunities to ensure economic stability for Albuera residents.

He vowed to require investors to hire local workers, citing the town’s economic growth as an opportunity for residents to benefit.

He also plans to introduce training programs for individuals who were unable to complete their education, offering courses such as welding and other vocational skills.

“We have many residents here who are not graduates. Perhaps they can be provided with skills training to help them secure jobs,” he said.

Espinosa also promised to protect the town’s municipal waters, ensuring that only Albuera’s fishermen would be allowed to fish there.

Local fishermen, he said, have been competing with those from Ormoc City and Merida, despite a previous agreement allowing them to share the fishing grounds of Ormoc Bay.
“If elected, I will ensure that our local fishermen will have exclusive rights to fish in our own territorial waters,” he emphasized.

Espinosa is running under the ‘Bando Espinosa, Pundok Kausaban’ party, with his younger sister, Mariel, as his vice mayoral candidate.

He is up against incumbent Mayor Sixto de la Victoria and Leyte Board Member Vincent Rama in the May 12, 2025 elections.

Arrested in Abu Dhabi in October 2016, he was extradited to the Philippines and faced charges of illegal drug trading, money laundering, and illegal possession of firearms.
Between 2021 and 2023, several courts dismissed the cases against him due to lack of evidence.

In December 2023, he posted bail of P600,000 before RTC-Branch 14 in Baybay City.
On January 5, 2024, the same court dismissed his remaining drug cases after granting his motion of demurrer, effectively acquitting him.

However, an anti-money laundering complaint remains active before a Pasay court, and the Court of Appeals reopened his drug cases in February 2024, citing due process violations in the original dismissal.

Espinosa, who returned to Albuera last year, is now seeking a political comeback, aiming to reestablish his family’s influence in the town and shed his controversial past.

(JOEY A. GABIETA)

A wake up call

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The most recent powerful earthquake that struck Thailand and Myanmar is a chilling reminder of the uncertainties of the natural world. For the Philippines, a nation located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the peril of earthquake tragedies has become a question of when and not if. But even with peril always at one’s doorstep, the country itself remains grossly unprepared.

The absence of company earthquake readiness in the nation can be seen in its old infrastructure and weak enforcement of building codes. The majority of structures, especially in high-density urban communities, are not designed to withstand strong shakers. Private developers and local government units take shortcuts in building, and endangering communities. Without political will and strict regulations to prioritize structural resilience, the devastation witnessed in neighboring countries could easily be replicated in the Philippines.

No less disturbing is the lack of a public campaign on earthquake preparedness. Although there are periodic earthquake drills, these are ritualistic and do not create a culture of preparedness. Communities, particularly those in high-risk coastal and mountain areas, have no access to timely information and unambiguous guidelines on evacuation procedures. Preparedness does not have to be a ritual drill but must become a way of life.

Apart from that, the country’s disaster response capacity is insufficient to address the disastrous effects of a large earthquake. Disaster response teams are usually underfunded and under-equipped and struggle to respond in time when disasters strike. Search and rescue training, healthcare facilities, and relief activities must top the investment list.

Coordination needs to improve between the national government, local governments, and the private sector to provide an effective and robust response system.

Sealing those gaps means making tough decisions. Tightening enforcement of earthquake-resistant construction codes, initiating relentless public education campaigns, and developing disaster response capacity are non-negotiable decisions. The state should take the lead, but citizens cannot just sit back either. It is only with united dedication that the country can stand against some seismic

AI at work

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The other day I came across a fast-food outlet replacing all its frontline personnel with artificial intelligence-driven kiosks. Overnight, the friendly greeting of the cashier was a computerized instruction. It was like viewing the future arriving in all the subtlety of a bulldozer—efficient, brutal, and totally insensitive.

We idealize progress as a shining, upward march. But what if the march steps on whom it vowed to lift? The rapid rush toward artificial intelligence potentially sends human workers not just away from menial work, but skilled work we long thought secure. Surely, modern AI trips over sarcasm and gets the subtleties of a child’s laughter wrong. That will change, though. The distinction between our present AI and the advanced monsters of the future is similar to that between a hulking puppy and a mature wolf. The question hanging over us is this: what happens when machines surpass us in intellect and speed, and no longer need our interfering hands?

The usual argument is that humans will just modify, switching to new functions just as they did during the Industrial Revolution. But that era’s machines didn’t possess cognitive ambition. They could not learn and strategize. Artificial intelligence, however, is no mere set of gears and levers. It evolves, swallows data like a glutton, and refines its algorithms without the need for human oversight. Unlike the smoke-belching factories of the 19th century, this time the machine doesn’t just displace us; it renders us irrelevant.

We’re already seeing the cracks. Writers, designers, and coders—occupations built on intellect and imagination—are now threatened by AI rivals that produce words and code with dazzling proficiency. Clerks for lawyers are pushed aside by computer software that reviews contracts quicker and without a whiff of human mistake. Even physicians and radiologists have to review AI diagnoses that do not provide even a flicker of doubt. Others might describe it as progress. Progress without sense is what, though? An empty hospital in which illness is cured by algorithms, but nobody stays to hold a shaking hand.

And when artificial intelligence reaches apotheosis at a point so high that it maintains and renovates itself without human intervention—our function fades to near nothing. It will code itself, correct its bugs, and possibly even forecast the next technological advancement. The codes will keep advancing their territory, creating new fields we can’t even understand or manage. Humanity, once the creator of its tools, will be an asterisk.
But the loss is more than economic. Work is not wages alone; it is identity. It is the dignity of the fisherman repairing his nets at dawn, the carpenter’s hands that shape wood into something productive. When people lose meaningful work, they lose dignity. When purpose is gone, so is the soul. We will be nourished, dressed, and amused by the mechanical courtesy of AI, but we will be hungry for meaning. A world without work is a world without discontent.

And maybe the greater danger is not the power of AI but the complacency it creates. We marvel at chatbots that write poetry and computers that mimic compassion, without recalling that mimicked warmth is empty. There are no dreams in any algorithm. There is no code warmed by sunlight. And still, we allow them in deeper, in the thrall of convenience. The price of that convenience will be our loss of humanness—slowly at first, and then suddenly.

The solution is not to blow up the machines or curse the code. Rather, we must reclaim our position as masters of technology, not slaves. AI must be a force that adds to human capacity, not a master that diminishes it. Labor rights, investment in retraining, and a dedication to upholding the dignity of labor are not suggestions—mandates. Let us build the future with purpose so that growth continues to be human in spirit. Because after the machines don’t need us anymore, they won’t care what they say. It will only matter what we’ve lost.

Gahum han Botos (Power of the Vote!)

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Tagan ta han higayon an mga presko nga halad para han aton paglambo ngan pagdukwag!

Elections are more than just a democratic tradition—they are a chance to shape the future of our communities and our nation. In the Philippines, we celebrate the right to vote with passion, yet progress often feels out of reach. Why? Because the power of our vote is sometimes overshadowed by old habits and broken systems. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Together, we can change the course of our history.

For too long, political dynasties have held a tight grip on local leadership. These families have passed power from one generation to the next, leaving little room for fresh ideas and new leaders. But we, the voters, have the power to break this cycle. We can choose leaders based on their vision and competence, not their last name.

Vote-buying is another challenge we must overcome. When we sell our votes, we sell our future. A few pesos or a bag of rice might help today, but it won’t build better schools, create jobs, or fix our roads. We deserve leaders who will work for us, not just pay for our support.

We also need to look beyond popularity. A familiar face or a catchy slogan doesn’t guarantee good leadership. Let’s dig deeper. Let’s ask the hard questions: What is their plan? How will they make our lives better? Our votes should go to those who have the skills and the heart to serve.

Social media has made it easier to spread lies and distractions. But we can fight back by seeking the truth and sharing it with others. Let’s focus on real issues, not fake news or empty promises.

The power to change our country lies in our hands. When we vote wisely, we send a message: We will no longer settle for less. We demand leaders who will fight for progress, justice, and equality. We deserve a brighter future, and it starts with the choices we make at the ballot box.

So, rise up, Philippines! Let’s take back the power of our vote. Let’s choose leaders who will lead with integrity, vision, and compassion. Together, we can build the nation we dream of—one vote at a time.

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