The road to Salvacion and Langit

Nine months after the completed road project here was turned over Alicia D. Josol, Barangay Captain of Barangay Salvacion in Alangalang, Leyte, remembers the time when the way going to her village was dangerous, as it was very slippery.

Accidents happened regularly. She even fell down one time from her ride on a motorcycle or “habal-habal,” as it is commonly known in the area.

There was no decent road at all. It was an unpaved one, only a foot trail where pedestrians, animals and motorcycles could pass by.

The road was such in a terrible state that accidents are an accepted reality.

It was part of the price to pay when going to the village. It was also a reality that they would have to wade through waist-deep water every time it rains just so they could go to their place, Josol said.

Now, these are just memories of the past.

Josol thanked the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that provided the funds under the second phase of the Agrarian Reform Communities Project, and the local government unit (LGU) of Alangalang.

Mayor Reynaldo Capon Sr. said that today, the road is made more comfortable.

People can already travel here and to the adjacent Barangay Langit using a bicycle, something that used to be unthinkable before, he added.

There are now more vehicles that ply this area. Motorcycle fare has gone down to ₱20 from the previous ₱80 to ₱100, Capon said.

The ₱8.49-million total project cost of the 3.55-kilometer road was shouldered by the LGU and a loan from the ADB by the national government.

Thus, Regional Director Sheila Enciso reminded the recipients during the turnover of the said road project to maintain it in good condition for 10 years. Otherwise, the LGU will have to pay the loan counterpart, equivalent to 40 percent of the total project cost.

Meanwhile, Leyte-Biliran Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Renato Badilla advised the residents in the area to take this opportunity in improving their quality of life.

According to him, this project is aimed at increasing household income by improving farm production, thereby reducing poverty in the countryside. 

Animal waste: An alternative fuel

Three farming communities in Southern Leyte were relieved somehow from using expensive fuel in cooking.

This after the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) introduced to the residents of three remote villages in the City of Maasin and the towns of Hinunangan and Tomas Opus the Community-managed Potable Water and Sanitation Hygiene (CPWASH) project, a new approach in delivering water, energy, health and sanitation in the countyside by using available resources in the community.

CPWASH has four sub-projects – the rain water collector, the bio-sand filters, the iron removable filters and the bio-gas digester.

Under the last sub-project, no one in these villages ever thought that the wastes of their pigs can be transformed into an alternative fuel.  

Virginia Dueñas, one of the recipients of the said project in Barangay Hantag, Maasin City, disclosed that they no longer use firewood or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) in cooking after this project was introduced to them by DAR. According to her, they can now save around ₱700 a month for they no longer buy LPG.

Their income likewise has increased as they are forced to raise more pigs in order to gather sufficient organic wastes that would be turned into fuel.

CPWASH project coordinator Julius Monge explained that animal wastes are fed and collected in the bio-gas digester that in turn, produce methane gas through anaerobic digestion.

         Further, under the CPWASH project rural folks were also trained how to construct bio-sand filters and iron removable filters to make water from deep wells potable. (PR)

Simultaneous Operations Rescue 13 Victims from Online Sexual Exploitation in Tacloban and Biliran

LEYTE – Nine (9) children are now safe from violence after being rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation Anti-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD) on Friday morning, February 23, 2018.  The children, ages 4 to 17 years old, are all victims of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC).  Three (3) suspected traffickers were arrested during the simultaneous operations. Four (4) adult victims were also rescued.

The NBI-AHTRAD conducted an entrapment operation in Tacloban City, rescuing two (2) minor siblings, ages 15 and 17, and arresting three suspects – the victims’ older sister Jessa (real name withheld), her male live-in partner, and another woman Monica (real name withheld). Jessa and Monica are believed to be cousins.

Two adult victims, ages 19 and 22, were also removed from Jessa’s house, where the operation was conducted. Authorities recovered a laptop computer and a cell phone.

During the entrapment operation, the suspects were caught by the agents in the act of offering to sexually abuse the victims and “live-stream” those sex acts from Jessa’s Tacloban home in exchange for money from a foreigner.  If convicted, the suspects face a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for human trafficking under RA 10364.

In the second operation, NBI-AHTRAD implemented a search warrant at a house in the Municipality of Culaba, Biliran Province where Monica was also operating a cybersex den.  Seven (7) children, ages 4 to 17, and two (2) adults, ages 20 and 24, were rescued. Several of the victims are related to the arrested suspects. Two of them were rescued inside the house while the rest were rescued from the neighborhood.

Among the items seized from the house were a desktop computer with screen and keyboard, headset, webcam, iPad and a smart phone. Both operations were conducted around 6:30 a.m.

“The Online Sexual Exploitation of Children is the most alarming, evil epidemic facing Filipino children today,” said Atty. John Tanagho, IJM Cebu Field Office Director. “Everyone from law enforcement to local and national government officials to prosecutors to NGOs to churches must work together to END this horrific abuse of Filipino children.”

Atty. Janet Francisco, Chief of NBI-AHTRAD, also hailed the successful operations.

“The arrest and rescues we made today in Region 8 by NBI-AHTRAD and local NBI agents should send a clear message that Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) will not be tolerated anywhere in the Philippines,” she said.

Both of the cases started with an international referral from the UK National Crime Agency after a UK citizen was arrested and convicted in the UK for sexual offenses against Filipino children, including child sexual assault and child pornography.  The UK perpetrator Alain Charlwood-Collings lived in Biliran from 2008 to 2012 where he sexually abused and exploited numerous children with the help of his Filipina girlfriend and other Filipinos.  From 2012 to 2015, he returned to the UK but continued to direct and purchase the live-streamed online sexual abuse of Filipino children (OSEC).

This is an alarming case of massive sexual abuse and exploitation of children taking place right in Biliran Province over a period of seven (7) years involving 35 to 46 victims.

Some of the identified victims who suffered abuse at the hands of Charlwood-Collings were infants under 6 months of age.

Through the years, he sent a total of over 2.4 million pesos (33,431 British Pounds) to at least 15 individuals in the Philippines.

When he was arrested, the UK police found an extensive amount of child sexual abuse materials in his possession, including 107 videos amounting to 104 hours of sexual abuse of Filipino children.

The UK perpetrator is now serving an 18-year prison sentence in the UK.

Police will file complaints against the suspects for criminal violations under RA 10364 the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, RA 9775 the Anti-Child Pornography Act in relation to RA 10175 the Cybercrime Prevention Act and potentially other related violations. 

These successful simultaneous OSEC operations were a collaborative effort of NBI-AHTRAD, NBI Region 8, Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 8 (DSWD-8), the Provincial Social Welfare Office and International Justice Mission (IJM). 

The rescued victims are now safe in the protective custody of the government. Rescued victims of OSEC need many social services, including therapy and rehabilitation.  OSEC victims would only be returned to the community after a comprehensive family home and risk assessment is conducted to confirm that the home is a safe place for the children and that they will no longer be sexually abused or exploited by their parents, relatives or family friends. (PR)

DTI-ARRM, JICA’s support to innovations in Mindanao’s rural value chain

The Department of Trade and Industry in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) gathered more than 350 stakeholders in Mindanao in a forum promoting local industries to potential investors and businessmen. 

The forum “Creating awareness for inclusive and sustainable industry development in ARMM” is an offshoot of the JICA-assisted ARMM Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (AICCEP) that aims to encourage collaboration, innovation, and sharing of resources among industry clusters including abaca, coconut, rubber, coffee, palm oil, and seaweeds to name a few. 

Said forum is implemented under the Market Driven Local Industry Promotion (MDLIP), a sub-project of the Comprehensive Capacity Development Project for the Autonomous Regional Government in Muslim Mindanao. The event included exhibits and business matching activities. (PR)

Catbalogan City received agricultural equipments

(Photos by Paulus Aragon)

Catbalogan City - The City Government of Catbalogan is a recipient of the 2016 Bottom-Up Budgeting (BuB) program of the Department of Agriculture through the Regional Field Office 8 under the Infrastructure Support for Sustainable Rice Production Program via Provision of thirty-three (33) units of tractor and twenty (20) units of Mechanical Thresher in the amount of Five Million Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (PhP 5.25 M).

Thirteen (13) farmers association registered at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) were the recipients of the said units along with the city’s nursery during the turn-over held at City Plaza last February 06, 2018 with Atty. Salvador Diputado as the guest representative from DA-RFU 8.

City Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan was personally present during the said turn-over along with City Councilor Max Pescos and the respective Barangay Chairs and Kagawads of the identified thirteen (13) barangays.

“Ini nga activity gintatawag naton nga turn-over ceremony, pagbalhin hin katungdanan — deri panhatag. Karuyag namon ipasabot nga gintatapuran namon kamo hini nga mga equipment deri como nga beneficiaries, kundi como kasugbong namon nga nakakakontribwer para ha kauswagan han aton siyudad”, Mayor Step shares.

Mayor Step further emphasized that all these support are provided so that farmers can have a sustainable means of livelihood and in turn address poverty and social inequities.

Catbalogan City through the leadership of Mayor Step is assisting indigent families and households through various programs and projects geared towards economic and social development. (PR)

DPWH to widen 10 bridges in Southern Leyte

MAASIN CITY – Widening of 10 bridges along Southern Leyte’s national highways is up for implementation this year to complement road widening activities of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“Based on our observation, motorists as well as the travelling public experience daily inconvenience brought by high volume of vehicles traversing the national highways. We believe the expansion of our bridges will provide an increase mobility in the area,” said DPWH Southern Leyte District Engineer Ma. Margarita Junia.

These projects amounting to P252.59 million are expected to ease out traffic and ensure a safer and convenient route to motorists plying the province’s major thoroughfares.

The bridges to be widened include Bitanhuan (P47.64 million), Gakat (P17.3 million), Iti (P23.4 million), , Nahaong (P17.3 million), Nahulid (P26.3 million), Oticon (P37.3 million) and Pangi (P18.75 million), all in Libagon town.

Also up for expansion are Buac (P16.5 million), Maac II (P22.5 million) and Magapso (P25.6 million) bridges in Sogod town.

“We would like to ask for the understanding and cooperation of the public once the construction of these bridges starts because this will cause short-term inconvenience,” Junia said.

The field office will be providing alternate route and install warning signs as well as traffic advisory once these bridges are closed during construction phase, the district engineer assured.

The widening of permanent bridges from two lanes to four lanes is among the major projects included in the 2018 General Appropriations Act approved by the central government. (PR)

DPWH completes rehab of S. Leyte bridges in 2017

MAASIN CITY - The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) field office here has recently completed major rehabilitation works of several permanent bridges in Southern Leyte funded in 2017.

District Engineer Ma. Margarita Junia said that at least 18 bridges have undergone retrofitting, repair and strengthening last year as part of its massive rehabilitation of old bridges in the province.

“Since the program started in 2015, we already rehabilitated a total of 102 bridges in Southern Leyte,” Junia reported.

The rehabilitated structures last year are Ag-agan, Ambao, Calag-itan, Catiwing, Dagsa, Hitunlob, Ingan, Malibago, Marayag, Minoyho, Panas, Pinamudlan, Sap-ang, Hindag-an, Silago, and Tuno bridges.

The P141 million-worth of rehabilitation activities included the carbon fiber application, stone masonry, and water proofing. These are intended to strengthen each structure weakened by decades of daily heavy trucks passage and abnormal weather.

“With the repair of these bridges, we assure that its quality have become stronger, thus, ensuring safer travel for motorists,” Junia said.

Rehabilitated bridges were determined through Bridge Management System (BMS) bridge data annually collected based on the bridge inventory and condition surveys done by DPWH-accredited bridge inspectors.

In 2018, the bridge strengthening project will continue with P59 million outlay covering Dan-an, Lanang, Liloan, and Pondol bridges.

DPWH Southern Leyte is tasked to maintain 153 bridges, the most number among 13 district offices in the region. Of the total number of bridges, 139 are concrete, and 14 are steel. (PR)