February 12, 2014 1

“in pursuit of PIA’s commitment to provide a national mechanism for the free flow of timely, accurate and relevant information… “

VOL 2 ISSUE 34 Daily E-Newsletter of Philippine Information Agency - 8 February 12, 2014

KOREA EDCF to finance P875.247-M Samar PacificCoastal Road Project

A s i a n D e v e l o p m e n t B a n k P r e s i d e n t T a k e h i k o N a k a o

w h o w a s i n t o w n f o r a o n e -d a y v i s i t t o a r e a s a f f e c t e d b y T y p h o o n Yo l a n d a , o p e n e d a n o f f i c e i n T a c l o b a n C i t y w h i c h w i l l c o o r d i n a t e a n d m o n i t o r t h e u s e o f f u n d s , a s w e l l a s a d v i s e l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t s o n t h e r o a d t o r e c o v e r y b y p r o v i d i n g t e c h n i c a l b a c k u p i n p r o j e c t a c t i v i t i e s . I n a s t a t e m e n t , M r . N a k a o s a i d A D B ’ s a s s i s t a n c e w i l l h e l p r e b u i l d c r i t i c a l s o c i a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e s u c h a s s c h o o l s a n d c l i n i c s , a s w e l l a s

ADB president opens monitoring, coordination office in Yolanda-hit Tacloban

T he Korea Export-Import Bank-Economic Development

Cooperation Fund (KEXIM-EDCF) is set to finance the Samar Pacific Coastal Road Project through a loan amounting to S$20.631 mill ion or P875.247 mill ion. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in Eastern Visayas informed the Philippine Information Agency that the loan has been declared effective on 17 January 2014 based on the Notice of the Effectiveness of Loan Agreement (EDCF Loan No. PHL-14) issued by KEXIM-EDCF. NEDA-8 Regional Director Bonifacio Uy said the Samar Pacific Coastal Road, which has a total length of 109.30 km, is one of the strategic roads under the Arterial Road Network. The road will l ink the so-called “Pacific Towns” of Samar Island and would compliment and eventually complete the circumferential road loop for Samar Island. The project aims to complete the remaining loop/gap of the road section with components to be funded by the EDCF loan, such as the improvement of 14.87 km of existing gravel to Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP), with carriageway of 6.7 m and thickness of 23 cm; and the construction of three bridges, namely : i ) Simora Bridge across Catubig River- 140 l.m.; i i ) Jangtud Bridge – 30 l.m.; i i i )

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r e s t o r e d i f f e r e n t s o u r c e s o f i n c o m e i n r u r a l c o m m u n i t i e s . M o r e o v e r , i t w i l l b u i l d t h e c a p a c i t y o f l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t s t o i m p l e m e n t r i s k s e n s i t i v e l a n d u s e p l a n n i n g a n d d i s a s t e r p r e p a r e d n e s s i n a n t i c i p a t i o n o f f u t u r e c a l a m i t i e s . I t w a s l e a r n e d t h a t A D B s u p p o r t e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t i n a s s e s s i n g d a m a g e s , l o s s e s a n d n e e d s a c r o s s v a r i o u s s e c t o r s . I t s w o r k i s c e n t e r e d a r o u n d R e c o n s t r u c t i o n A s s i s t a n c e o n Yo l a n d a

Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon (center) and Red Cross Society of China Exec Vice President Baige Zhao handover the symbolic key to one of the principals in Tacloban City during the ceremonial turnover of school buildings for Tacloban and Leyte schools held in San Jose Elem. School, February 10. (Raul Tiozon, Jr/PIA-8)

2 February 12, 2014

DepEd ASEC cites the importance of teachers, principals

H on. Reynaldo D. Laguda, Ass istant Secretar y and Chief

of Staf f of the Depar tment of Educat ion cal led the teachers and pr incipals here in Tacloban as “communit y of rebui lders.” “M y f i rst t ime to come here af ter Yolanda was exac t ly three months ago and I ’ve been coming back s ince then. I keep te l l ing our people in Dep - ed that things are changing s low or fast , th ings are st i l l changing. One thing that this t yphoon has shown us is the Fi l ip ino people’s res i l ience,” he sa id. “ We wi l l not be beaten and

we wi l l overcome this s i tuat ion and chal lenge,” added Laguda. Laguda sa id that i t i s much eas ier to destroy than to bui ld and ac tual ly harder to rebui ld. He made the recognit ion to the teachers and pr incipal on the occas ion of the turn over ceremony of c lassrooms construc ted in par tnership with the Red Cross Societ y of China and the Phi l ippine Red cross. Laguda sa id that teachers and pr incipals are s i lent ly work ing to “rebui ld our schools , our communit ies and even our l ives.”

“ This i s the backdrop in which your help and ass istance is real ly much appreciated. I n t ruth your ass istance is not just about c lassrooms, your ass istance is not just about school s i ts , your ass istance is real ly about giv ing hope to our learners, to our communit y and even to our own people” sa id Laguda. I n his message Laguda sa id that Fi l ip ino spir i t armed and fuel led by the hoe provided by the teachers and pr incipals can real ly go a long way. (P IA 8 with L izbeth Ann A. Abel la)

DepEd Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali and Ms. Cheryl Cabal-Revilla, PLDT-SMART-Gabay Guro Foundation chairperson led in the ribbon cutting during the turn-over of the new 4-classrom building courtesy of PLDT given to Pawing Elementary School on February 9. Looking on are: Actor Derek Ramsey and Mr. Butch Meilly, chairperson. Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation. (Photo by Raul Tiozon, Jr./PIA-8)

SLSU pushes for the establishment of rubber industry in Southern Leyte

BY: ERNA S. GORNE

T he Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) strongly

pushes for the establishment of rubber industry in the province as

it was launched among its newly identified prime agricultural commodity last February 5, 2014 and set to be presented on its second international congress come March 2014. According to Dr. Valerio B Cabalo, Vice President for Administration and Finance during the launching and press conference for the Second International Congress for Rubber and Freshwater Prawn at SLSU Sogod Board Room, “we strongly support Governor Roger Mercado, who introduced the potentials for the said agricultural industry to help alleviate the economic conditions of the marginal farmers in the province.” Cabalo noted that the five SLSU Campuses grew rubber tree plantation, where 1,000 bud sticks were allocated for propagation for each campus. Where two rubber nurseries were established at SLSU San Juan and Hinunangan campuses while a

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February 12, 2014 3Catbalogan City honors “Yolanda’s little heroes”T h e C i t y g o v e r n m e n t o f C a t b a l o g a n h o n o r e d a n d g a v e r e c o g n i t i o n t o s p o n s o r s , d o n o r s , v o l u n t e e r s , o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d r e s p o n d e r s i n t h e S a l b a r S a m a r R e l i e f O p e r a t i o n s t h a t i t c o n d u c t e d a f t e r t y p h o o n Yo l a n d a d a m a g e d V i s a y a s . T h e e v e n t d u b b e d “ PA S I D U N G O G : A T h a n k s g i v i n g a n d R e c o g n i t i o n f o r t h e L i t t l e H e r o e s o f Yo l a n d a ” h e l d F e b r u a r y 1 0 , 2 0 1 4 a t t h e M a c e d a G y m , S a m a r S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , s t a r t e d w i t h a t h a n k s g i v i n g m a s s o f f i c i a t e d b y C o a s t G u a r d C o m m a n d e r R e v . F r . L o w i e P a l i n e s . “ I n t h e f a c e o f u t t e r d e v a s t a t i o n , e x t e r n a l a i d – a h e l p i n g h a n d f r o m o t h e r L o c a l G o v e r n m e n t U n i t s , o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d c i v i c g r o u p s – i s v e r y i m p o r t a n t t o e a s e t h e b u r d e n a n d m i s e r y o f t h e s u r v i v o r s a n d e n a b l e t h e m t o t a k e s m a l l s t e p s t o w a r d s r e c o v e r y ,” s a i d t h e s t a t e m e n t f r o m t h e C a t b a l o g a n C i t y g o v e r n m e n t . “ B y h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e m a n y h u m a n i t a r i a n a c t s , w e h o p e t o p r o m o t e a c u l t u r e o f v o l u n t e e r i s m w o r t h y o f e m u l a t i o n b y o u r f e l l o w C a t b a l o g a n o n s a n d S a m a r n o n s ,” t h e s t a t e m e n t o f t h e m a y o r a d d e d . I t w i l l b e r e c a l l e d t h a t t h e c i t y g o v e r n m e n t o f C a t b a l o g a n i m m e d i a t e l y r e s p o n d e d t o d i s t r e s s c a l l s i n B a s e y , M a r a b u t a n d Ta c l o b a n . E v e n t h e m u n i c i p a l i t i e s i n E a s t e r n S a m a r r e c e i v e d r e l i e f a s s i s t a n c e f r o m t h e c i t y g o v e r n m e n t .

M e r c e d e s ( E S a m a r ) M a y o r E n r i q u e C a b o s , s a i d t h a t i t w a s C a t b a l o g a n t h a t f i r s t r e s p o n d e d t o t h e i r d i s t r e s s c a l l . “ C a t b a l o g a n C i t y p r o v i d e d t h e b a s i c n e e d s i n t h e c a l a m i t y t h a t d e s t r o y e d m y t o w n a n d k i l l e d s o m e o f m y p e o p l e , t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e p r e t t y M a y o r S t e p h w a s a r e f r e s h i n g s i t e i n t h e m i d s t o f t h e d e s p e r a t i o n w e f e l t a f t e r Yo l a n d a ,” a n e m o t i o n a l m a y o r s a i d i n a n i n t e r v i e w . L a w a a n M a y o r C a n d i d a G a b o r n e s a l s o t e s t i f i e d h o w r e l i e v e d s h e f e l t w h e n M a y o r S t e p h r e a c h e d h e r t o w n w i t h a m e d i c a l t e a m . “ F o r m e , M a y o r S t e p h i s a b i g h e r o , a s s h e h o n o r s o t h e r d o n o r s , t h e m a y o r s o f E S a m a r a l s o g i v e h e r h o n o r s ,” s a i d G a b o r n e s a s s h e s h a r e d h e r Yo l a n d a e x p e r i e n c e .

T r e c e M a r t i r e s , C a v i t e M a y o r M e l a n d r e s D e S a g u n w h o w a s a l s o a n h o n o r e e n a r r a t e d b r i e f l y h o w i n s p i r e d h e h a d b e c o m e t o a s s i s t M a y o r S t e p h i n r e a c h i n g o u t t o E a s t e r n S a m a r a r e a s a f f e c t e d b y Yo l a n d a . W i t h t h e d e v a s t a t i o n b r o u g h t b y Yo l a n d a , L G U C a t b a l o g a n r e s p o n d e d o u t o f s e n s e o f c i v i c d u t y t o i t s b r o t h e r s a n d s i s t e r s i n t h e r e g i o n , a c c o r d i n g t o a n e a r l i e r a c c o u n t o f P I A 8 .T h e c a m p a i g n , P I A 8 s a i d , s e r v e d a s t h e m i n d s e t i n g i v i n g r e l i e f g o o d s , f e e d i n g a n d c o n d u c t i n g m e d i c a l m i s s i o n . S a l b a r S a m a r a l s o c o o r d i n a t e d w i t h N G O s , p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l s a n d L G U s f o r d o n a t i o n s a n d t h e p r o j e c t b r o u g h t t h e n e e d e d i t e m s a n d s e r v i c e s t o t h o s e i n n e e d . ( N B Q / P I A 8 - S a m a r )

Childfund President Ann Godard (left) looks at the handmade exhibit of the children at the Sto. Nino Sped Center in Tacloban which showcases recycled materials made into colorful items of various kinds during her visit in said school Monday. (Photo by Raul Tiozon, Jr./PIA-8)

4 February 12, 2014

Palo Mayor exhorts teachers in Pawing Elem. Sch. to take care of the new classrooms

Palo Mayor Remedios L. Petilla has urged the administrators,

teachers and pupils in one of the schools in her municipality to take good care of the newly-constructed four (4) classroom buildings donated recently by a private sector and a foundation as she expressed her sincere gratitude to them. This was emphasized by the local chief executive when she spoke infront of the officials of the Department of Education led by Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali

and the administration and teachers of Pawing Elementary School, Barangay Pawing, Palo Leyte, a recipient of the project. “Before anything else I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all kind-hearted people who donated the classrooms as this would be beneficial to the pupils as an institution of learning”, Petilla said. Petilla also asked the teachers to take care of the facility for she considered it as a wonderful

gift with a hope that through this, pupils would learned a lot and show up. The four(3) classroom buildings were donated by PLDT-Smart Gabay Guro Foundation through its chairperson Cheryl Cabal Revilla and the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF) through its chairman Mr. Butch Milley. It was learned that all 12 classroom buildings at Pawing Elementary School were destroyed by typhoon “Yolanda”.(PIA-8)

T he Nat ional Disaster R isk Reduc t ion M anagement

Counci l (DRRMC ) headed by the O ff ice of Civ i l Defense (OCD)-Centra l O ff ice wi l l conduc t Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) th is week in f ive towns as several destruc t ions repor ted af ter t yphoon Yolanda and aggravated by succeeding TD Agaton and TS Basyang. OCD - Centra l O ff ice representat ive R ylan Asuncion, who lead in the 12-man PDNA team, wi l l work c losely with the local d isaster r isk reduc t ion management groups in the munic ipal i t ies of S i lago, Anahawan, L ibagon, Sogod and Maasin on the assessment of impac ts brought about by ser ies of t yphoons. According to Asuncion dur ing the PDNA br ief ing to the members of the Provincia l

Disaster R isk Reduc t ion M anagement Counci l (PDRRMC ) last Fr iday at RK K angleon Func t ion House, Maasin Cit y, the government - led assessment, wi l l personal ly val idate the repor ted damages f rom the fol lowing sec tors, namely, on the infrastruc ture, socia l , l ive l ihood, cross cultural and environment aspec ts. He a lso noted that , “ a l l the concerns must be taken into considerat ion in the assessment other wise there wi l l be no ass istance to be expec ted i t these were not included in the post d isaster need assessment as the Pres ident ia l Ass istant for Rehabi l i tat ion and Recover y Secretar y Panf i lo Lacson is wait ing for their assessment repor t f rom Southern Leyte.” Asuncion noted that as far as Typhoon Yolanda is

BY: CONSUELO ALARCON

NDRRMC conducts post disaster needs assessment in 5 Southern Leyte town

BY: ERNA GORNE

concerned only the munic ipal i t y of S i lago repor ted damages were submitted to their of f ice whi le the remaining four munic ipal i t ies who incurred destruc t ions brought about by t ropical depress ion Agaton and t yphoon Basyang wi l l be considered in their assessments. That af ter Typhoon Yolanda, t ropical depress ion Agaton rendered the Mahar l ik a H ighway a long Sogod road sec t ion unpassable as i t was cut of f and several landsl ides a long the main roads throughout the province were repor ted whi le Typhoon Basyang f looded at least 11 barangays in Maasin Cit y and lef t 1 dead person, who was drowned at Amparo R iver in Macrohon, drowned several l ivestocks, as wel l , Provincia l Disaster R isk Reduc t ion

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February 12, 2014 5Korea EDC...from page 1

ADB President...from page 1

( R AY ) , t h e g o v e r n m e n t ’ s s t r a t e g i c p l a n f o r r e c o v e r y a n d r e c o n s t r u c t i o n , w h i c h c o o r d i n a t e s a s s i s t a n c e f r o m a l l i t s p a r t n e r s . I t w a s l e a r n e d t h a t t o d a t e , A D B h a s a p p r o v e d n e a r l y $ 9 0 0 m i l l i o n a s s i s t a n c e f o r i m m e d i a t e r e c o v e r y e f f o r t s a n d l o n g - t e r m r e c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d r e h a b i l i t a t i o n . T h i s i n c l u d e s a $ 3 m i l l i o n g r a n t f o r e m e r g e n c y a s s i s t a n c e ; a $ 2 0 m i l l i o n g r a n t f r o m t h e J a p a n F u n d f o r P o v e r t y R e d u c t i o n ; a $ 3 7 2 m i l l i o n l o a n t o e x p a n d a n e x i s t i n g c o m m u n i t y -d r i v e n d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m i n t o t y p h o o n a f f e c t e d a r e a s ; a n d a $ 5 0 0 m i l l i o n l o a n f o r b u d g e t s u p p o r t t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o c o v e r c o s t a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e r e l i e f a n d r e c o v e r y e f f o r t s . W h i l e i n L e y t e , N a k a o v i s i t e d a r e a s a f f e c t e d b y T y p h o o n Yo l a n d a w h e r e h e e m p a t h i z e d a n d e x p r e s s e d d e e p c o n c e r n f o r s u r v i v o r s d e a l i n g w i t h t h e s u p e r s t o r m ’ s a f t e r m a t h . H e m a d e a p e r s o n a l a s s e s s m e n t o f p o t e n t i a l s i t e s f o r a s s i s t a n c e . ( P I A 8 )

Pinaculan Bridge – 50 l.m. The project has a total approved cost of P1,032.71 mill ion, wherein P875.247 mill ion will be financed through the Korea EDCF loan, while the P157.463 mill ion will be the Philippine Government counterpart. The project will be implemented for the period 2013 to 2016 by the Department of Public Works and Highways, NEDA 8 said. (PIA 8)

rubber research center at SLSU San Juan campus is located, he said. He said rubber growing in the province is suitable and adaptable as gleaned from the successful rubber growing of a private individual farmer, based in Catbuli-an,Hinunangan, who has grown 2,000 matured rubber trees in his 5-hectare property and reportedly earning between P17,000.00-P20,000.00 every month for the last 10 years already. The rubber latex is sold at P40.00-P50.00 per k ilo, Cabalo said. Cabalo further disclosed that a rubber processing plant, though not the sophisticated one, shall be put up in the province soon. As of now, its building is on going construction while the equipment will follow soon. Cabalo also informed the public that the provincial government of Southern Leyte now offers Plant Now Pay Later schemes for the rubber industry to interested local farmers.(PIA8 SoLeyte)

SLSU pushes for...from page 2

Management O ff icer Dani lo At ienza par t ia l repor t noted. The group wi l l personal ly val idate the repor ted damages and wi l l work c losely with the respec t ive local DRRMCs to f igure out the exac t damage costs to school bui ld ings, br idges, roads, houses, t rees, agr icultural crops, casualt ies, in jur ies, a l ike, he sa id. “ There should no exaggerat ion in the f igur ing out of the costs of damages for Pres ident Benigno Aquino I I I can make his own judgement as to the veracit y of the ex tent of damages,” Asuncion warned. The group wi l l a lso coordinate with the concerned government agencies such the Depar tment of Trade and I ndustr y, Provincia l Socia l Welfare and Development, Phi l ippine Coconut Author i t y, among others and the local government units in the assessment of most urgent needs of the af fec ted communit ies, Asuncion sa id. (P IA8 SoLeyte)

NDRRMC conducts...from page 4

6 February 12, 2014

DBM: P17.7 bilyones napagawas na alang sa rehabilitasyon sa bagyong Yolanda Ang Department of Budget and

Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio B. Abad mikompirma nga kinatibuk-an nga P17.69 bilyones ang gipagawas alang sa pag-rekober og rehabilitasyon nga programa alang sa mga komunidad nga napukan sa hilabihang kusgana nga bagyo sa Nobiembre 2013. “True to the President’s word,

the Administration has been working continuously to expedite the rehabilitation and recovery process for all communities destroyed by Yolanda. Relief operations—which commenced as soon as logistical bottlenecks had been cleared—have run full-throttle to ensure the safety and full recovery of Yolanda’s survivors,” matud ni Abad.

Ang mga importante nga pagpagawas gikan sa P17.7 bilyones – diin kini gipagawas diha sa katapusan sa Disyembre aron sa pagpalihok sa pagpatuman sa importante nga mga prohekto sa rehabilitasyon- lakip ang P 2.2 bilyones nga pagpagawas ngadto sa National Housing Authority (NHA) alang sa Permanent Housing Units sa apektado nga mga dapit, ilabina kaniadtong tabang diha sa mga balay nahimutang sa “no-build” nga mga dapit. Ang lokasyon sa mga balay nga makabenepisyo gikan niining mga pundo mahibalo-an pinaagi sa Mines and Geosciences Bureau alang sa relokasyon ngadto sa mas sayon nga mga dapit. “One of the more critical components in long-term rehabilitation is the provision of adequate shelter assistance, particularly to families whose houses were formerly situated in high-risk, disaster prone areas. Several of those who unfortunately perished during the super typhoon were living in very vulnerable areas. We want to prevent future calamities from reaching the scale of Yolanda’s tragic aftermath by rebuilding communities on safer ground,” matud ni Abad. Ang rehabilitasyon sa publiko nga mga kahimanan usab nakadawat og dugang P5.72 bilyones, diin P3.393 bilyones ang gigamit alang sa pag-apod-apod sa kuryente nga mga kahimanan ubos sa National Electrification Administration (NEA) usab ang nakadawat og suporta sa kantidad nga P101.2 milyones, samtang ang transmission nga mga kahimanan ubos sa National Transmission Corporation ( TRANSCO) ang napabalik kauban sa P1.5 bilyones.

CEBUANO NEWS

padayon sa page 7

February 12, 2014 7

Sa P5.72 bilyones nga gipagawas alang sa pag-ayo nga mga kahimanan sa gobierno, laing P111.2 milyones ang gihatag ngadto sa National Food Administration (NFA), samtang P77.01 milyones ang gipagawas ngadto sa Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) alang sa pagpasig-uli sa lokal nga sistema sa tubig diha sa apektado nga mga dapit. “Some of the more crucial releases we made were directed towards the restoration of basic public services, such as the rebuilding of power generation, distribution, and transmission systems, as well as the reestablishment of clean water supplies. The restoration of these services was especially time-sensitive, as the continued well-being of survivors were especially dependent on how quickly we could bring the power and water supply back up,” matud ni Abad. Ang uban nga pagpagawas nga naglangkob sa kinatibuk-an nga P17.7 bilyones lakip ang P 1- bilyon nga pundo alang sa edukasyon og serbisyo sa panglawas. Kini naglakip sa pagpasig-uli sa mga serbisyo diha sa mga ospital, rehiyonal nga mga health unoits, og ang mga barangay health units sa napaig sa Yolanda nga mga dapit, maternal og child health og nutrisyon, pagpang-apod-apod og WASH (water, sanitation og health) nga mga kahimanan, og pag-apod-apod alang sa importante nga mga medisina. Ang dugang

DBM...gikan sa page 6

nga P2.01 bilyones usab gitabang alang sa mga lokal nga serbisyo sa pangagamhanan. Dugang pa, P2.87 bilyones ang gitabang ngadto sa agrikultura og fishery nga serbisyo, lakip ang pag-apod-apod og mga humay og mais nga mga liso bangka og fishing paraphernalia (depende diha sa gidaghanon sa mga benepisyaryo), og mga farm implements og tabang sa gasolina alang sa mga makinarya sa kaumahan, maingon man sa mga serbisyo alang sa coconut tree nga disposal og paggamit. Ang administrasyong Aquino usab nagmando sa P953.5 milyones alang sa pag-apod-apod alang sa temporaryo nga pagpanarbaho sa apektado nga mga pamilya kansang mga balay naguba, maingon man P1.88 bilyones alang sa pag-apod-apod og pagkaon og suplemento nga pagpakaon nga mga kalihokan alang sa mga survivor sa bagyo. Laing P1.07 bilyones usab ang gipagawas alang sa dugang Quick Response Funds. Gawas sa P17.7 bilyones

ang gipagawas, si Abad mipahayag nga ang DBM usab nagpagawas og kinatibuk-an nga P3.1 bilyones sa Disyembre alang sa madali nga rehabilitasyon alang sa Tacloban Airport, diin kini hilabihan nga nadaut sa bagyong Yolanda sama sa pagpuo sa Tacloban City. “The rehabilitation and reconstruction of areas ravaged by Yolanda is already well-accounted for in the Philippine Development Plan, which is the Administration’s medium-term strategy for bringing inclusive development to the country. The extent to which the typhoon struck down economic activity in several parts of the Visayas will have serious implications on the country’s growth agenda, far beyond the limits of Yolanda’s destructive path. Public expenditure in 2014 will therefore respond both to the common development needs of the country’s broader population, as well as the extraordinary requirements of typhoon survivors as they rebuild their lives and communities,” matud ni Abad. (esg/PIA 8-Southern Leyte)

A pupil of Sto. Nino Sped Center gives a flower to Childfund President Ann Godard as a symbol of thanks for the assistance extended during their visit in said school on February 10. (Photo by Raul Tiozon, Jr/PIA-8)

8 February 12, 2014

Guiuan to revive its tourism industry after Yolanda

Despite the vast destruction caused by super typhoon Yolanda in the

ancient town of Guiuan Eastern Samar, local authorities are still determined to revive again its tourism industry for it is endowed with many tourism attractions. Aurora Delos Reyes, Municipal Investment, Environment and Tourism Officer said, during an interview over PIA’s Power Fm, Tourism is a flagship program of the local government unit of Guiuan and as such, three (3) big projects are in store for this year in order to sustain the tourism industry under the three(3) tourim circuits to include religious tourism circuit, historical circuit and adventure circuit. One of the activities under the religious circuit is a 23 kilometer pilgrimage walk scheduled on Holy Monday April 14, 2014 from the 16th century Immaculate Concepcion Church located at the town proper to St. Anthony de Padua Church, Barangay Sulangan, Guiuan Eastern Samar. The pilgrimage will start at 2 o’clock in the morning until 6

o’clock in the morning. While going to Sulangan, a series of holy rosaries will be recited by the devotees, a rare occasion where people from different places are invited to attend. Under historical circuit, Delos Reyes announced that comes July this year, a group of 30 Italian scientists on board a big sailboat are expected to arrive in Guiuan in order to explore the area relative to climate change issue. However, said scientists are to follow the voyage of Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his men. It maybe recalled that it was in Guiuan Eastern Samar particularly in Homonhon Island when Magellan first foot on Philippine soil on March 16, 1521 after crossing the vast Pacific Ocean which was later marked as the “Discovery of the Philippines”. In relation to the Adventure circuit, an international surfing

competition is slated in October where international surfers will join. The municipality of Guiuan is not only rich in history and culture but also of its natural wonders which are tourist attractions. Hence, the local government unit under Mayor Shane Gonzales is very optimistic that they can revive the tourism industry as quickly as possible. The Municipality of Guiuan is located at the southernmost tip of Samar Island. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Mercedes and on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Surigao Strait, and on the west by the Leyte Gulf. Guiuan is 109 kilometers south of Borongan and 154 kilometers from Tacloban and has a total land area of 175, square kilometers. It is composed of sixty barangays and the only town in the province with biggest number of island barangays.(PIA-8)

B Y: CONSUELO ALARCON

Municipal Investment, Environment and Tourism Officer Aurora delos Reyes (right) of Guiuan, Eastern Samar said during Thursday's Power FM interview that LGU-Guiuan in Eastern Samar through the leadership of Mayor Christopher Sheen Gonzales is addressing the needs of the Yolanda survivors in said town and will provide permanent shelters for them. (Photo by Neil Lopido)