Movatterモバイル変換

By Marcelo M. Pedalino

Published on November 11, 2019

Anahawan, Southern Leyte, Nov. 11 (PIA) --  The Department of Agriculture (DA) - Regional Office 8 (DA-8) has turned over to a farmer’s association here Wednesday, Nov. 6, a building and several equipment for churning locally-harvested coffee beans into high-quality powder good for brewing.

Larry Sultan, assistant regional director for operations of DA-8, handed to Candelaria Adanza, president of Anahawan Farmers Co-Ca (coffee and cacao) Growers Association, Inc. (AFCGAI), a certificate of turnover for the building and equipment, costing at P1 million each, for a total of P2 million.

The assistance was given as a grant under the high value crops production program of the agriculture department.

Attending as witness of the occasion was Michael Nunez, provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), an agency that helped a lot in the labeling, packaging, and marketing, of the finished product, Emie Acasio, provincial director of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), other DA regional officials, including their attached agencies, and municipal officials led by Mayor Alfredo Luna.

Also around were provincial and municipal agriculture officials, members of the regional, provincial, and municipal agriculture and fisheries councils which held their meetings earlier at Saint Bernard, and Rev. Fr. Conrado Saavedra, who led the Mass and the blessings.

In his message, ARD Sultan stressed that the association makes full use of the equipment and do some more improvements of the production site at barangay Tagup-an, an interior barangay, so as to pass sooner the requirements of the food and drug administration (FDA).

Sultan also recapped the challenging moments some years back in the course of establishing an agribusiness venture in the pacific area that uses raw materials planted by farmers in the locality, and the perseverance of AFCGAI president Adanza and their group made it all happen.

Romeo Delmo, another ranking staff of DA-8, said the coffee processing plant in Anahawan was a first not only in the province but in the entire region 8.

In a brief chat with local media before the start of the ceremonies, Adanza said she started planting 3,000 coffee seedlings, robusta variety, in 2008, the seedlings given to her by Cong. Roger Mercado.

Eighteen months after planting and onwards she began harvesting and selling to Nestle, until she partnered with DTI for packaging and marketing, and the DA for a level-up production assistance.

Now she is going around the whole of Leyte and Samar, meeting coffee farmers and buying their harvests at P40 to P60 per kilo depending on how clean and dry the coffee fruits are. (LDL/MMP/PIA-8, Southern Leyte)

By JANI ARNAIZ

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte – Interior Undersecretary Marivel C. Sacendoncillo disclosed on Thursday that the Internal Revenue Allocation or IRA of LGUs will increase by more than 300 billion on 2020.

She said that, “The additional IRA will not only be sourced from BIR but also from customs revenue and others. But it will only be implemented on 2020.”

“I know a lot of you here will run for re-election on 2020 because there will be a lot of funds by then,” Sacendocillo said addressing 19 mayors in the province who attended the “28^th local government month celebration” along with other agencies.

She stressed that local executives will no longer go to Senators or other agencies to ask for funding for their pet projects. “All the funds will be directly downloaded to the LGUs. All you have to do is to implement your projects well so that it will benefit your constituents.”

The Interior Undersecretary was the guest speaker during the 28^th anniversary of local government code where the provincial DILG was honoring the LGU’s that were awarded with Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).

The LGU’s that were awarded with SGLG for the second time were Liloan, Macrohon and Sogod.

Padre Burgos town and the city of Maasin were awarded with SGLG for three consecutive years.

Other agencies and organizations were also recognized by the provincial DILG office as their partners in the delivery of programs and services.

By Marcelo M. Pedalino

Published on October 22, 2019

MAASIN CITY, Oct. 22 (PIA)  -- Starting next year, 2020, and every year henceforth, the first seven days in the month of October shall be locally observed as a week to celebrate the freedom of the press.

This was the content of a draft, unnumbered ordinance which is due for signing by City Mayor Nacional Mercado, after having hurdled the regular rounds of intense discussion at the Sangguniang Panlunsod.

“This was a dream come true, now on my second term of office,” said City Councilor Zaldy Olita, himself a journalist, a news anchor of radio station DYDM before he joined the political fray, in a meeting at the Mayor’s Office Friday, where copies of the draft legislative measure were distributed.

Present during the meeting were members of the locally-organized media group, the Associated Mmedia of Southern Leyte (AMSL), City Information Officer Royeno Segovia, and some info officers of city offices.

Olita, the principal sponsor of the press freedom ordinance, said the city government has appropriated P200,000 funds to foot the bill for the various activities to be undertaken to mark the week-long celebration.

These include newswriting training for designated info officers of city offices, including barangay information officers, and another set of newswriting exposure for campus journalists, seen as next generation media practitioners.

A day, or a night, or perhaps day and night inclusive within the first week of October, will also be set aside as bonding and socials moments for individuals actively involved in mainstream or online media work, to foster camaraderie and rapport with the city local government unit, Olita declared.

The passage of the ordinance was historic in that this was the first time a local government unit in the province recognized the merits of having a free and responsible press.

It also sent the message that the local Fourth Estate deserved support, without having to exercise prior restraint, in reporting accurate, timely, and relevant information to the general public.  (LDL/MMP/PIA-8, Southern Leyte)

By Ma. Rebecca G. Cadavos

Published on October 14, 2019

MAASIN CITY, Oct. 11 (PIA) --  The local government of Tomas Oppus was awarded  as the Top Performing PESO (Provincial Employment Services Office) Employment Information System (PEIS) National Level in an awarding ceremony held October 9, this year.

Local PESO Manager Edgar Peter Tambis who received the award during the 2019 National PESO Congress said that the national award  was under the 5th-6th class municipality category based on 2018 records.

“The LGU received a cash incentive of P70,000.00 and a certificate of recognition,” Tambis reported.

 LGU-Tomas Oppus was also nominated as  Best PESO  for the same category, he disclosed but the Department of Manpower and Development and Placement (DMDP) of Cebu City was chosen as the Best National PESO, he added.

The 2019 National Search awarding ceremony held at the SMC Convention Center in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental was also attended by PESO Provincial Manager Norman Ordiz and municipal mayors of Liloan and San Francisco, all in Southern Leyte, among other delegates from the province.

Tambis in a short talk was grateful for the undying support of the municipal officials led by Tomas Oppus Mayor Jessica Escaṅo Pano, saying, “better luck next time.”

The PEIS, on the other hand, is the enhanced version of the Skills Registry System, which is a database of active manpower supply containing the profiles of all persons and employers registered under the National Skills Registration Program (NSRP) - a program initiated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) with the main objective of maintaining a continuing nationwide skills registry. 

The said activity was spearheaded by the PESO Managers Association of the Philippines, Inc., in collaboration with the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) and the Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office No. V as the host. (nbq/ rgc/PIA8-S. Leyte)

By Sarwell Meniano  

September 26, 2019, 5:01 pm

TACLOBAN CITY -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has expressed concern over indiscriminate cutting of trees in Eastern Visayas (Region 8)  in search of agarwood, one of the world’s most expensive natural raw material.

DENR Regional Director Crizaldy Barcelo said some traders from Mindanao have been coming to the region, expressing their intention to buy agarwood -- sometimes described as liquid gold -- extracted from host trees locally known as Lapnisan and Lanete.

“In the Philippines, we don’t have technologies to find out if the host tree has agarwood. This lucrative trade resulted in indiscriminate poaching of potential host trees,” Barcelo told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Thursday.

The DENR official warned those planning to cut Lapnisan and Lanete trees that they will face charges for violation of the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines and Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

From June to early August this year, authorities have already confiscated 13.58 kilograms of agarwood with an estimated value of PHP1.33 million. Several claimants have been facing charges for this illegal trade.

The team from DENR, police, and military seized expensive forest products in Abuyog, Leyte; Silago, Southern Leyte; and Babatngon, Leyte.

On August 27, the DENR regional office here formed the Agarwood Watch and Response Team to formulate procedures and implement suitable courses of action to address relevant issues from the arrest of violators, administrative adjudication, filing and disposition of cases.

“We asked our enforcement team in Samar and Biliran provinces to be on alert because we received reports of plans to expand agarwood search in other provinces of the region,” Barcelo added.

“People in the communities are tempted to engage in this illegal activity since agar is the most expensive wood in the world and considered as liquid gold.”

In the country, the first class agarwood is traded at PHP750,000 per kilogram. The resin-embedded wood is valued in Arabic-middle eastern culture for its distinctive fragrance and used for incense and perfumes.

Agarwood is a fragrant dark resinous wood and is used as incense, perfume ingredient, and also in small carvings. Agarwood forms when such trees as Lapnisan and Lanete become infected with a type of mold. (PNA)

By Marcelo M. Pedalino

Published on September 13, 2019

MAASIN CITY, Sept. 13 (PIA)  --  The Philippine Identification System, also known as Philsys ID, was intended to be a prime document of one’s identity as a Filipino citizen and a resident alien, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

With the owner or holder of the card duly established, “Philsys ID card will make access to government and private sector services simpler, quicker, and faster,” said Eutemio Llevado, provincial director of the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) - Southern Leyte.

Starting Sept. 2, the country’s new ID system has been undergoing pilot testing registration in Luzon, particularly the National Capital Region (NCR), involving beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT), as well as employees of PSA and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Llevado said during the Kapihan sa PIA interview, Friday.

The pilot-testing is expected to be completed in June next year, so that by July 2020, registration will be open to the public, and by 2021 overseas Filipinos will be next, Llevado also said.

Republic Act 11055 passed in August 2018 was the legal basis for the Philsys ID implementation with the PSA as the lead agency in close coordination with other concerned government agencies.

Aside from being a valid proof of one’s person, Philsys ID also eliminated the need to present other forms of identification when transacting with the government for passport, driver’s license, tax-related transactions, opening of bank accounts, and social welfare benefits, among others.

“The PhilSys ID, however, does not and will not replace existing government identification cards that serve a purpose beyond identity authentication, such as driver’s license (for driving), passport (for travel), and Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) for social security transactions, etc.,” the PSA said in a statement.  (LDL/MMP/PIA-8, Southern Leyte)

MAASIN CITY – Incumbent lone district Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado and former Rep. Aniceto Saludo filed their CoCs on the first day of filing in the special elections for Southern Leyte representatives after a law was signed assigning the province as two districts.

Rep. Roger Mercado and former Rep. Aniceto Saludo, Jr., filed their CoCs as representatives of the first and second district in the first elections to be held on October 26 this year.

Mercado, under PDP –Laban, filed at 1:05 p.m. while Saludo, accompanied by Gov. Damian Mercado, filed his own CoC at 2:04 p.m. His party is Federal Party of Philippines (FPP)

Earlier at 10:08 in the morning, Vice Gov. Christopher Yap filed his CoC for the 2^nd district. Yap was accompanied by all the mayors of the second district except the mayor of his hometown Sogod, Emmie Tan, wife of former vice governor Sheffered Tan, who is set to run for the 2^nd district.

According to Gov. Mercado, Saludo was reportedly has the support of Pres. Duterte, the reason why he is endorsing Saludo. The governor said, Yap, never told him of his intention to run.

On the other hand, vice governor Coco Yap, claimed that Mayor Sara Duterte and hubby Mans Carpio is supporting him.

By Marcelo M. Pedalino

Published on July 21, 2019

SOGOD, Southern Leyte, July 21 (PIA) -- Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) Genis Murallos of the Department of Education (DepEd)-Southern Leyte Division cited the creation and establishment of more schools at the top of the list of accomplishments that promote the learning process.

“One of the most notable milestones of the Division is that we actively seek to expand access to education,” SDS Murallos said during his second State of the Division Address (SODA) held inside the SLSU covered court here on Tuesday, July 16.

“We want to improve access to quality education for all children no matter where they live,” Murallos further declared, even as he recognized the supportive effort of local government units in areas where new elementary and high schools had emerged.

He said in 2018, three junior high schools were created, such as the Sto. Nino National High School (NHS) in Hinunangan, the Malitbog NHS in Malitbog, and San Isidro NHS in this town.

Also established last year were two integrated schools, the Kahupian Integrated School in Sogod, and the Saub Integrated School in San Ricardo.

For the first half of this year, one elementary school, the Juangon Elementary School in Juangon, Malitbog, and three more integrated schools:   Beniton Elementary School in Bontoc, Hitawon Elementary School, also in Bontoc, and Catmon Elementary School in Saint Bernard, were opened.

“We are also proud to inform our educational partners that all 42 secondary schools in the division, or 100 percent, now has SHS programs, offering academic and TVL tracks,” Murallos said.

He added:  “Today, the Division of Southern Leyte has 296 elementary schools (where five are Integrated Schools), 45 Junior High Schools, and 42 Senior High Schools.”

A division address was a new mandate of the DepEd to acquaint or update various stakeholders on the present learning environment situation and to know about future plans or direction, a top education official disclosed.

Last year’s first SODA, which was set a year after Murallos’ return to the province, dwelt more on the 10-year strategic direction of the DepEd division, but this year was more detailed, the second SODA itself lasted one hour, interrupted by at least 10 loud applause from an audience mostly composed of head teachers and some local chief executives.

This time around there are talks Murallos was set to be transferred to the Maasin City schools division, his first assignment about a decade ago.

“There is an impending transfer of assignments for all Schools Division Superintendents.  Be that as it may, this is my commitment to Southern Leyte Division:  I will remain your servant and fulfilling my duty to you is my highest and only reward,” Murallos ended, to the thunderous clapping of everyone.  (LDL/MMP/PIA-8, Southern Leyte)