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February 16-22, 2014

EASTERN
PACIFIC
HARDWARE
Baybay 3,
Borongan City
Eastern Samar

OCD continue to monitor

Wildfire in E. Samar
THE Office of the
Civil Defense (OCD)
here is continuously
monitoring the wildfire that has affected
several barangays of
the three municipalities of Eastern Samar.
A report by Eastern
Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council
officer Levi Nicart to
OCD regional director
Rey Gozon identified
the affected areas as
Sta. Rosa village in Balangiga; Barangay Paya
in Giporlos and Sto.
Nino in Quinapondan.
Gozon said that
proper coordination
has been made with
concerned government
agencies such as the
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the
Department of Public
Works and Highways

(DPWH) and the provincial government of

Eastern Samar.
He said that the BFP
is ready in case the fire
will pose potential threat
to residential areas of
the barangays. The fire
department has been
advised to evacuate residents in case the fire
becomes uncontrollable
and to coordinate with
the Local Disaster Risk
Reduction Management
Council for appropriate
actions.
Residents of the affected areas are also vigilant of the situation even
as they were urged to
report any information,
especially if the situation
is already a threat.
Meanwhile, the
DPWH was asked to
make its heavy equip-

cont. to page 2...

AROUND 33 million of coconut trees were severely destroyed or damaged in Eastern Visayas affecting more than a million farmers. Photo
shows destroyed coconut trees and makeshifts in Marabut, Samar. (Photo by Ricky Bautista)

Lesson learned from Yolanda: DENR to

plant more trees as natural barriers
TACLOBAN CITY- In order to protect the
communities against the devastating effects of
future storms, the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR) is targeting 380
kilometers of coastline for the restoration of
mangrove and beach forest in Eastern Visayas
which was ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda.
In an interview, DENR-8 regional information
officer Purificacion Daloos said that the tragedy
caused by Yolanda call attention to the need to
revive the regions damaged coastal forests to
make its coastlines less vulnerable to extreme
weather events.
The DENR started in 2014 its massive treeplanting activity under the governments National
Greening Program (NGP) in the coastal areas in
the provinces of Eastern Samar, Samar and Leyte
including the city of Tacloban in order to minimize
the impact of storm surges, flooding and calamities
following Yolandas devastation.
Daloos said that the DENR is looking at the
reversion of abandoned government-leased ponds
to mangroves in order to boost coastal protection,
food resources and livelihood opportunities for
coastal communities.

She said that the

implementation of NGP
in the region have been
reconfigured to give
more priority to coastal
intervention
over
reforestation in upland
communities.
Daloos added that the
DENR have allocated
around P347 million
for the restoration of
mangrove and natural
beach forest in coastal
areas devastated by
Yolanda.
The massive coastal
rehabilitation program
shall cover worst-hit
areas in Region eight
particularly the province
of
Leyte
including
the city of Tacloban

cont. to page 2...

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PCA-8 collects fallen

coconut debris
THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA)
here continues with the
collection of coconut debris
including toppled coconut
trees, which remained uncollected at various coconut
plantations, to increase land
area that will be subjected
to replanting following the
onslaught of super typhoon
Yolanda.
All coconut debris in
various coconut plantations
must be collected as soon
as possible for it affects the
on-going coconut planting
and re-planting, said regional manager Edilberto
Nierva.
There are farmers who
cannot start planting coconut seedling due to the fact
that there is still coconut debris stock in the plantation,
he added.

PCA has already deployed chainsaws and power saws to different local
government units (LGUs) to
help convert fallen coconut
trees into usable products
to aid in the shelter needs
of farmers.
However, to date they
still received reports about
uncollected debris.
The fast tracking of the
collection of debris also

aimed to prevent the occurrence of disease that may affect newly planted coconut.
There may be diseases
and other pest that may
arise once these coconut
debris will not be collected,
Nierva emphasized.
PCA reported that
some 33 million of the more
or less 72 million coconut

cont. to page 4...

QUATOGS
restobar
Oras
E.
Samar

BASED on the latest assessment of the NDRRMC, power supply

has already been restored in many parts of Samar and Northern
Samar. Eastern Samar, on the other hand, which sustain heavily
damaged transmission lines, restoration is still on going. (rjb)

NEWS

Korean military rehabilitates DSWD

facilities for abused women, children
TACLOBAN CITY The Republic of Korea Araw
Force headed by Younghwan Eom, commander of the
Korean Navy, has turned over two rehabilitated facilities
of the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DWD) that they repaired with the help of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The Home for Girls and Regional Haven for Women, a
government-owned facility and supervised by the DSWD
is located in Brgy Pawing, Palo. They house abused women
and unaccompanied young girls.
The facilities were partially damaged during the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda.
The centers provide temporary shelter and protection
to women who are victims of abuse and exploitation. They
served as venue for women in especially difficult circumstances resolve their problems and restore their normal
functioning.

The centers also help women regain their self-worth

and dignity through the provision of protective and rehabilitative services.
Repairing the roofing and repainting are the activities
done for the structure by the engineering team.
Luzvisminda Davis, regional haven head, expressed
gratitude in behalf of the DSWD and the center residents.
Their residents will now have a better place to stay after
it was hit by the typhoon, said Davis.
Everybody in this institution will now be comfortable
in their stay here as they used to before the typhoon, said
Davis.
Personnel of the 543rd and 546th Engineering Battalion
of the 53rd Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army
helped the Korean soldiers in the repair. The Korean troops
will now start with the repair of schools in Cabarasan Guti
and Baras villages in Palo town. (PNA)

DOH allocates P85 M Wildfire...

...from page 1
for repair of hospitals
TACLOBAN CITY The national government has set
aside P85 million for the emergency repair of hospitals
and rural health units damaged by supertyphoon
Yolanda in the region.
Health
Secretary
Enrique Ona said their
priorities are not just
hospitals,
but
health
facilities established in
local government units.
This is just an initial
allocation.
We
have
enough funds to rebuild all
aspects of health programs
affected by the storm, Ona
told reporters.
The Department of
Health is now reviewing
all needs, taking into
account financial aids
from the private sector and
international humanitarian
organizations.
Health
Regional
Director Jose Llacuna
dubbed the project as
quick fix where their
main concern is the repair
of partially damaged stateowned hospitals and health
centers.
We just have to make
it functional by putting
roofings, fixing windows
and doors, and re-install
vital equipments, Llacuna
said.

On February 18, the

DOH signed an agreement
with mayors of recipient
local government units.
The national government
did not ask cash-strapped
municipalities to put up
their counterparts in the
emergency repair initiative.
This is a very welcome
development for us since
local governments have
no budget to repair health
centers damaged by the
typhoon. Our priority
now is to provide food
and shelter to displaced
families, said Tanauan,
Leyte
Mayor
Pelagio
Tecson.
The quick fix initiative
will benefit 34 towns
in Leyte, nine towns in
Eastern Samar, three towns
in Samar and two towns in
Biliran.
The P85 million is on
top of the P1.2 billion
budget
approved
for
rehabilitation of destroyed
health facilities in the three
Visayas regions.
By 2015, we hope to

Lesson learned...

...from page 1

as a major concern
given its being a major
population center, but
the undertaking will
cover practically the
entire eastern seaboard
of Eastern Visayas, she
said.
She said that their
main objective is to
restore the regions
degraded coastal forests
to make its coastlines
less
vulnerable
to
extreme weather events.
If the mangroves in
Leyte and Eastern Samar

have not been decimated,

the storm surge in those
areas would have been
dissipated its strength,
Daloos said.
The surge can only
destroy the leaves, but
it cannot uproot the
mangroves because they
are so deep- rooted and
strong that they will
re-grow in time, she
added.
Mangroves
are
natural barriers against
tsunamis, storm surge
and other wave action,

complete the construction

of bigger, better and safer
health facilities, Llacuna
added.
The
official
said
international
groups
have committed to build
hospitals and health centers
in Palo, Tanauan, Tolosa,
and Dulag Mayorga, all in
Leyte and Lawaan, Eastern
Samar.
The DOH has reported
that about P1.2 billion
of health facilities and
equipment were destroyed
by the massive typhoon.
Of this, P702.76 million
was recorded for health
facilities and P274.86
million for equipment.
The DOH reported
that 1,229 facilities were
destroyed by fierce winds
and storm surges. About
219 are not functional
and 233 are completely
damaged.
Of the 1,229 damaged
facilities, 991 are barangay
health stations, 153 rural
health units, 68 locallymanaged hospitals, seven
city or district health
centers,
six
retained
hospitals, three private
hospitals and a municipal
health office. (SARWELL
Q MENIANO)
and therefore, should not
be destroyed, the DENR
information officer said.
Under their plan for
2014, some 19 million
seedlings and propagules
from mangrove trees and
beach forest species like
Talisay will be planted
over 1,900 hectares of
coastline under the NGP.
The establishment of
coastal green belts will
be done in clusters to
allow fisher folk access
to the shorelines, as
well as other sustainable
activities like ecotourism
and coastal management.
(RYAN
GABRIEL
LLOSA ARCENAS)

ment readily available

when needed. Bulldozers
are needed to reduce the
spreading of fire, said
Gozon, although its the
BFB that is aware of the
technicalities of the process.
The OCD regional director is yet to receive exact information as to how
and when the wildfire
started. The initial report
he got was it started two
days ago and continued
until last night.
Unconfirmed reports
from other sources stated
that the kaingin (slash
and burn) activities of
local residents caused the
wildfire.
An aerial inspection
of the areas affected was
conducted by the Tactical
Operations Group (TOG)
of the Philippine Air
Force (PAF) this morning. (PNA)

February 16-22, 2014

Inventory of court
records continues
TACLOBAN CITY -- Court offices of the Bulwagan ng Katarungan here in Tacloban are still conducting inventory of their records that were affected
by typhoon Yolanda.
We are now conducting an inventory of all the
cases to determine which record has been not affected,
partially affected and those that have been destroyed
or lost, said Regional Trial Court executive judge
Alphinor C. Serrano.
Once completed, the retrieved documents he said
will be published in a newspaper of general circulation
or in the official gazette so parties and lawyers of those
cases will be informed as to the nature of the record
of their cases.
A reconstitution proceeding to retrieve or to secure other documents that would replace those that
were damaged or lost will be done for records that
could no longer be found as provided for under Republic Act 3110, he added.
Serrano, however, could not determine when they
could finish with the inventory.
The documents are being handled delicately to
preserve their texts and contents.
Serrano, however, said that except for the trial, they
go on with the administrative function of the court
such as posting of bails and filing of motions.
Trials for new cases filed after Yolanda, however,
continue. They are being handled by Branches 43 and
44 making use of the Justice on Wheels bus.
The trial for old cases has to wait until the records
are retrieved and the physical structure of the Bulwagan is rehabilitated.
The reconstruction of record and rehabilitation of
the physical condition of the court go hand in hand,
he said even as they wanted them done as soon as
possible.
Super typhoon Yolanda has destroyed the offices of
the five existing branches of the Regional Trial Court
(RTC) and line agencies such as the offices of the
regional, provincial and city state prosecutors, public
attorneys office and the parole and probation office.
There is a need to rehabilitate the physical
condition of the building, necessary equipment and
information Technology (IT); equipment ... were destroyed. Only the structure has remained but inside
are all destroyed, he said.
As early as December last year, he said that they
have already submitted their rehab plan for consideration of the national government.
Also, the Supreme Court has committed to support
the rehabilitation.
Court Administrator Midas Marquez has visited
the Bulwagan several times to check on the retrieval
and inventory efforts, he added. (PNA)

February 16-22, 2014

OPINION

E A S TE RN S A M A R

Hints and Traces

EDITORIAL

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Sense of the End
WE need to develop
a sense of the end. This
is unavoidable and indispensable. Even in our
ordinary affairs, we take
it for granted that we
ought to have some idea
of the end or purpose in
mind before we move.
When we travel, for
example, we first identify the destination, and
then from there prepare
ourselves accordinglywhat to bring, how
to dress, etc. A student,
reviewing for an exam,
would try to figure out
the likely points that
would come out, and
from there start to organize his study.
I remember that in
the world of business,
a popular theory was
that of Management By
Objective (MBO) that
precisely highlights the
importance of the sense
of the end.
The end gives us a
global picture and sheds
light on the present. It
guides us. It gives us a
sense of confidence and
security. It reassures us
that we are on the right
track, that we are doing
well.
The sense of the
end motivates us to
make plans always, to
be thoughtful and anticipative of things. It
teaches us also a sense
of order and priority. It
motivates us to set goals,
make schedules and the
prudent use of time.
Ultimately, it helps us
to distinguish between
the essential and the
non-essential in our life.
A person who does
not have a sense of the
end is obviously an
anomaly. He tends to
be lazy and prone to his
personal weaknesses, to
drift off aimlessly and
lose control of his life.
Such person is usually
called a bum, a tramp or
a vagrant.
Since we all somehow pass through this
stage, lets hope that
the phase be as short as
possible, and that our
reaction to it should
produce the opposite
effect of precisely taking
the duty to develop this
sense of the end more
seriously.
There, of course, are
some complicated people who philosophize
too much by saying that
we can never know the
end, and so, they ask
how can we develop a
sense of the end? This

kind of thinking is pure

sophistry that can easily
be dumped by the mere
use of common sense.
Its true that we may
never know everything
about the end, but its
not true that we cannot
know enough about the
end of anything. Thats
why we can only talk
about a sense of the end,
since it is a dynamic affair that has known and
unknown, absolute and
relative, constant and
changing elements involved.
We are not dealing
with mere mathematics
and mechanical things
alone in this life. There
are spiritual and other intangible things involved
that necessarily would
require us to be continuously open to anything
and discerning, flexible
and focused.
And so, what we
instinctively do in our
daily ordinary affairs,
we should also do, and,
in fact, do it as best as
we can, in the ultimate
dimensions of our life.
Here we have to be guided by our core beliefs that
should penetrate beyond
the material, temporal
and worldly aspects into
the realm of the spiritual,
eternal and supernatural.
In this regard, for
those of us who are Christian believers, the model
to follow is Christ. From
childhood, he already
knew what his whole
earthly life was all about.
He never deviated from
that path. I do nothing
of myself, but as the Father has taught me. (Jn
8,28)
It would be good
that as early as possible,
we can also have the
same mind of knowing what our whole life
here on earth is all about,
guided by our faith and
the example of Christ.
It is this faith, and
not just some earthly
science or art that assures
of eternal life and joy. We
have to be wary when
our sense of the end is
ruled only by temporal
goals.
To be sure, to have
that Christian mindset
does not lead us to develop rigid thinking and
ways, to bigotry, intolerance and triumphalism,
as some quarters have
accused Christian believers even up to now.
On the contrary, if
we truly follow Christ,
we would have a very

Tacloban mayor inspires Yolanda

victims

ome 2,000 people attended

the 100th day gathering for
remembrance to scores of
victims of the strongest-ever

Yolanda typhoon that hit Tacloban and

other areas of Eastern Visayas, November
8, 2013. They felt so elated by the inspiring
message of Mayor Alfred Romualdez at the
Tacloban astrodome, Sunday the 9th day of
February 2014.
The mayor pledged to create a better
Tacloban, now effectively undergoing
massive rehabilitation efforts. He revealed
that he has come up with a master plan to
make this happen.
While he revealed that vast local resources
have been and will be employed to realize the

better Tacloban objective, he expressed

optimism that the national government
will come up with its share to make this
happen.
The occasion was attended by evacuees,
other typhoon victims and a host of
humanitarian groups of other nations
who have been part of the rehabilitation
activities. These groups have expressed
their desire to continue helping Tacloban
as articulated by one speaker from the
United Nations.
All hands are on deck for the rebuilding
activities, but Taclobanons, the immediate
beneficiaries should not simply watch
with folded arms and does nothing but
should actively join in the activities.

open mind. We would be flexible and adaptable. We

can accept anything and would know how to handle
them. Nothing can scandalize usthat is, if we are
truly living the life of Christ.
The death of Christ on the cross precisely signifies
his openness to everything in our earthly life. And his
resurrection means his victory over any form of sin
and evil, including death.
Lets forge a sense of the end that truly corresponds to our nature and dignity.

E A S TE RN S A M A R

Dalmacio C. Grafil
Publisher

Pio Calvo
Editor-in-Chief
Romeo Cebreros
OIC
Brgy. Songco, Borongan City
Eastern Samar

Fishermen from Brgys 88, 89 and 90, all in San Jose district
in Tacloban, are proud owners of fishing boats made of fiber
glass donated by the Negrense Volunteers for Change.(ROEL
AMAZONA)

(055) 261-3319

E A S TE RN S A M A R

Kids choir to hold

benefit concert for
surviving children
C A L BAYO G
CITY --The Seraphim
Choir of St. Augustine
International School
in this city will hold a
two-day benefit concert for kids in Palo,
Leyte who survived
super typhoon Yolanda starting tonight.
The proceeds of
the concert will be
used for our second
round of relief operations in Yolanda devastated areas
particularly in Palo,
Leyte, said School
Directress Clare G.
Siopongco.
Siopongco added
that they are planning
to go back to Palo,
Leyte before the start
of the next school
year 2014 2015.
We w i l l g i v e
school supplies to
the kids in Palo, and
before the end of
the school year we
will launched a book
drive in our school
wherein the students
are encouraged to donate their books that
still usable and other
school supplies, Siopongco added.
Aside from the
food packages the
school gave to Yolan-

PCA-8...

da survivors right after

the typhoon, St. Augustine International
School Calbayog
likewise made at least
300 children happy
with their A Toy for
a Smile project last
Christmas. The toys,
clothes, books and
other items were all
donated by the students.
The Angels on
High concert is the
first public exposure
of the Seraphim Choir,
according to Choir
Master Jed Pido.
The choir is composed of 27 kids aged
7 to 12 years old. The
concert will showcase different kinds of
songs, religious, folk
and pop. The concert
is for everyone.
The concert
is also dedicated to
God for giving us this
kind of talent and we
just wanted to share
everything that we
have, said Pido.
The Seraphim
C hoi r Angels on
High concert will be
held at the Agueda
Chan Auditorium,
SOS Village, Brgy. Dagum, Calbayog City.
(Jennifer Allegado)

...from page 1

trees have been damaged by the typhoon. Of the number,

around 15 million are totally damaged and nine million
are severely damaged. These trees have no more chances
of recovery.
Moderately damaged are at four million and almost
five million trees are slightly damaged. Moderate damaged
trees have 50-50 chance of recovery while it will take a
minimum of three years for the slightly damaged trees to
recover. (PNA)

NEWS
Scholarship grants up for coco
farmers children
THE United Coconut Planters Back-Coconut Industry Investment Fund (UCPB-CIIF) In. and the Philippine
Coconut Authority (PCA) are now accepting applications
from children of coconut farmers who are interested to avail
of their college scholarship program.
UCPB-CIIF Incorporated Program Specialist for
Visayas Elizabeth Salamanca said that the program is
available to children of small coconut farmers, tenants and
farm workers who are interested to enroll at their partner
university in Eastern Visaysas. These are the Eastern Visayas
State University (EVSU), Samar State University (SSU), and
Visayas State University (VSU).
To qualify the applicant must be a child of a small
coconut farmer or coconut farm worker as certified by the
head of a religious organization, Coco Foundation, or the
Philippine Coconut Authority and that he/she must have
a general average grade of not lower than 80 percent or its
equivalent for third year and fourth year high school.
They must first pass the College Admission Test (CAT)
given by their partner university as incoming freshmen in
order for them to be considered for the scholarship, said
Salamanca.
She also said that priority shall be given to children of
coconut farm workers, tenants, or coconut farm owners
with less than five hectares of coconut farm and children of
coconut farm owners with more than 10 hectares of coconut
farm are not qualified.
Priority courses for the scholarship program include
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Bachelor of Science
in Information Technology, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Bachelor of Science in Information System,
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Physical Science, Mathematics, Biological Science, Technology and
Livelihood Education, Bachelor of Science in Hotel and
Restaurant Technology, Bachelor of Science in Electronics
Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering, Bachelor
of Science in Industrial Education major in Architectural
Drafting Technology, Automotive Education, Electrical
Technology, Electronics Technology, and Bachelor of Science in Community Development.
The scholarship benefits include tuition and other
school fees at a maximum amount of P6,000 per semester at
two semesters per year and a monthly allowance of P1,750
to cover books, transportation, meals, and other needs for
five months per semester.
Fifteen slots were allotted for this region, however,
it may increase if the number
of applicants is higher.
Interested applicants
should check directly with
the Student Affairs Office at
the nearest partner university for the schedule of examination and assessment.
The deadline for submission of all duly-accomplished forms and complete
requirements is March 31.
(PNA)

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez, Councilor Cristina G. Romualdez and the
international organizations prayed in silence for the thousands of Yolanda victims
who perished last Nov. 8, 2013 Supertyphoon Yolanda taken during the 100 days
commemorative program which features singing of Christian songs, candlelight rite held
February 16, 2014 at the Tacloban City Convention Center.
(Photo by: Tim Canes / Gay B. Gasay-TISAT)

February 16-22, 2014

PNP to hire
more cops this
year

CAMP RUPERTO KANGLEON, Palo,Leyte- As part

of the modernization program of the Philippine National
Police, the PO1 Recruitment Program for this year is to be
implemented.
For this year, about 28,827 would be hired by the PNP
under this program distributed as 13,000 for uniformed
personnel regular quota; 6,000 uniformed attrition
(proposed); 2,358 uniformed unfilled (2013 attrition) and
7,469 non-uniformed personnel.
For the regions quota allocation, processing and date of
oath-taking will be disseminated as soon as this Office will
be furnished with a copy of the Letter of Instruction (LOI).
Police Regional Office 8 under the leadership of Police
Regional Director Chief Superintendent Henry Losaes,
has activated its screening committees that will process the
mandatory minimum requirement and other documents
submitted by the applicants.
The following are the general qualifications for
appointment in the police service: Filipino citizen; with good
moral character; passed the psychiatric/psychological, drug
and physical tests to be administered by the PNP;possess
a formal baccalaureate degree from a recognized learning
institution; eligible in accordance with the standards set by
the commission which are NAPOLCOM PNP Entrance,
RA 6506 (Licensed Criminologist) RA 1080 (Bar and
Board Examinations), PD 907 (Honor Graduate), or CSC
Professional; not have been dishonorably discharged
from military employment or dismissed for cause from
any civilian position in the government; have no pending
criminal case in any court, including at the Office of the
Ombudsman or administrative case if he/she is already
an employee of the government; not have been convicted
by final judgment of an offense or crime involving moral
turpitude; at least 1.62m in height for males and 1.57m in
height for females and
weigh not more or less than 5kg from the standard
weight corresponding to his/her weight, age and sex; and
must not be less than 21 nor more than 30 years of age.
(PR)