11th September 2012

Mayor asserts viability of Ormoc airport Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on September 11, 2012, 8:11 pm (By Felix N. Codilla III, Tuesday, 8:11 pm, 11 Sep 2012) ORMOC CITY --- Mayor Eric C. Codilla said the airport in this city remains a viable route where airlines can attract passengers from as far as West Coast Leyte, Southern Leyte and Biliran provinces. Codilla made this announcement during a re-mentoring activity on tourism statistics data generation. The mayor cited a local airline, PAL Express, for its alleged failure to establish a foothold on the Ormoc passenger market. PAL Express inaugurated its Ormoc-Manila flight on August 15, 2008, but canceled it on November 18, 2010. Codilla disagrees that lack of traffic was the reason, saying the 76-seater plane carried 49 passengers on its maiden flight and attained full capacity on its third flight. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

1st September 2012

7.6 quake hits easter PH Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on September 1, 2012, 1:23 am No reports of extensive damage as of press time (By Inquirer Bureaus, 1:23 am, Saturday, 1 Sep 2012) A minute-long 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit off the Philippine’s coast on Friday, triggering a tsunami warning for the eastern part of the archipelago and Indonesia, US seismologists said. Philippine authorities said the quake shook the eastern Philippines but as of press time, there were no reports of extensive damage. The US Geological Survey said the quake had a depth of 34 kilometers and hit at 8:47 p.m. (1247 GMT), 139 km east of the city of Sulangan on Samar island. The epicenter was located at 93 km east of Sulangan in the resort town of Guian in Samar. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

31st August 2012

Tsunami alert level 3 raised in Samar, Leyte, Surigao Phivolcs Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on August 31, 2012, 11:53 pm (By DJ Yap, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 11:53 pm, Friday, 31 Aug 2012) MANILA, Philippines­Tsunami Alert Level 3 has been raised in Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Surigao del Norte and Surigao Sur, said Renato Solidum, director of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Friday night. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council executive director Benito Ramos said first responders have been deployed to the concerned areas. “Strong tremors were felt up to the Cagayan Valley even, but there were no reports yet of toppled structures,” he told the Inquirer by phone. As of 9:30 p.m. Friday, Ramos said the agency had received no reports of casualties and damage. But he warned people living on the coastlines and seaboards from Cagayan to Surigao del Norte to be on the alert, Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

11th July 2012

Fishers blame firm's wastes for fish kill Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on July 11, 2012, 10:00 pm (By Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas, 11 July 2012) MACARTHUR, Leyte --- Residents of Barangay (village) Imelda here are up in arms against a mining firm that they accused of causing a fish kill that affected one of their main sources of income --- tilapia-raising. The residents tied a rope across the street at the boundary of Barangays Imelda and Pongon to prevent the heavy equipment of Nicua Mining Corp. from getting near their quarry site in Saloquege Creek, Barangay Pongon. "We will not allow them to enter our village. This is ours and we will not allow them to cause further destruction," said Jesus Cabias, president of Bito Lake Fisherfolk Association. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

8th June 2012

Leyte leads Danajon Reef preservation Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on June 8, 2012, 7:31 am (By Felix Codilla III, BusinessMirror.com.ph, 8 June 2012) ORMOC CITY­ Local government units (LGU) in Central and Eastern Visayas will reactivate a management council that will protect and preserve the marine resource-rich Danajon Double Barrier Reef. Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said the governors and mayors of Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Southern Leyte have agreed to come up with new steps to mitigate further damage to the reef. The four provinces cover Danajon Bank, a 130-kilometer (km.) long, 272-square km. coral area. It represents one percent of the country’s total coral area. Read more... Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

3rd May 2012

Leyte lake fishing community block mining barges. Fear threat to fisheries livelihood. Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on May 3, 2012, 7:05 am (By Angelo Kairos Dela Cruz via Ronald Reyes, 3 May 2012) MACARTHUR, LEYTE -- Hundreds of fishers from Lake Bito, in Villa Imelda village, decided to block the entry of three mining barges which aim to dredge and clean-up the silt making the lake shallow. In an emergency community assembly called by the village officials last night, the community vehemently expressed its opposition to the entry of the mining barges fearing that the disturbance which will be brought by the vibrations of the machine equipment and extraction of silt and sand may cause more fish kills in the lake. ‘The fisherfolks are still suffering from the loss of 21,000 kilos of fish and the investigation on the fish kill is not yet finished, we are now again exposed to another threat which may lead to a more complicated situation,’ said village chief Ronald M. Mentes. Mentes claimed that no proper public consultation was conducted allowing the dredging of the lake. ‘What we wanted is for the mining company to clean up their silt which blocks the waterways of the lake towards Pamunawan and Saloquege creeks. However, we will not view this as a favor from the mining company, they should be responsible and accountable to whatever mess they caused to the community and ecology,’ explained Mentes. Located in Barangay Villa Imelda, Lake Bito lies in the middle of prime agricultural land producing rice where more than three companies were given permit called Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), among which is a Chinese mining company currently extracting magnetite sand within an area of more than 7,000 hectares. It has been observed that heavy siltation from the company’s operation caused the blockage of lake outlet wherein sandbars are gradually forming. ‘We cannot deny the fact that MGB allowed mining in ricefields or close to it, surrounding Villa Imelda, the community around Lake Bito has nowhere to go,’ said Jesus Cabias, president of the newly formed Unahin Lagi ang Diyos - Bito Lake Fisherfolks Association (UNLAD-BLFA). Cabias asserted that if magnetite sand extraction is not stopped, food security and sufficiency is at stake. ‘Everything is interconnected, whatever you do to the surrounding areas, the lake will still be affected,’ concluded Cabias. Joining the fisherfolk community, Archdiocese of Palo Social Action Director Fr. Edwin Perito articulated the position of the Catholic Church considering mining as a spiritual and moral issues which continually divides the faithful. ‘It is greed which forces the influential few to the detriment of the majority, denying the people to a balanced and healthful ecology,’ declared Fr. Perito. Meanwhile, Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina, said in an official statement that ‘MacArthur magnetite mining is a clear threat to food security wherein fishery industry in Lake Bito is at stake as well as rice production in the area.’ Garganera claimed that magnetite mining in prime agricultural lands as well as in other areas such as in coastlines and offshore should be stopped considering the present threats of climate change and disasters. ‘The Mining Act of 1995 is not clear on the protection of our agricultural areas – mining is being permitted adjacent to productive farms or within ricefields. It gives mining companies full right over our water resources,’ claimed Garganera. Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

30th April 2012

3.5 magnitude quake hits Ormoc City Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on April 30, 2012, 6:17 am (By Chona Yu, Radyo Inquirer, 30 Apr 2012) MANILA, Philippines -- A 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck Ormoc City before dawn on Monday, a Radyo Inquirer 990AM report said.   The earthquake, which hit the city at 3:11 a.m., was of tectonic origin, said the report, quoting   Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).   Intensity 3 was felt in San Isidro and Calubian, Leyte as well as Naval, Biliran while Intensity 2 was experienced in Cawayan, Biliran; Tabango and Leyte, Leyte.   Phivolcs said no damages or aftershocks were expected.   For more of the report, listen to Radyo Inquirer 990AM. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

27th April 2012

Ormoc mayor stops ind’l estate from extracting water Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on April 27, 2012, 9:21 am (By Elvie Roman Roa, Inquirer Visayas, 27 Apr 2012) ORMOC CITY -- The Leyte Industrial Development Estate (Lide) Management Corp. (LMC) has been directed to stop operating its eight water pumping stations for failing to pay around P93 million in regulatory fees. Mayor Eric C. Codilla said he issued a cease-and-desist order on Tuesday because the LMC  has not settled its obligation for three years. The LMC operates the Lide Water Supply System (LWSS), with pumping stations and a distribution system located in Ormoc City and in Isabel town, both in Leyte. The LWSS supplies water to two big industrial companies in Isabel -- the Philippine Phospate Corp. (Philphos) and the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (Pasar). It also provides water to thousands of consumers in Merida and Isabel towns in Leyte and nine of 110 barangays in Ormoc. City Ordinance No. 149, which took effect in 2009, regulates the mechanized extraction of water in any surface and subsurface sources of the city. The city is imposing fees on water extraction using pumps and other equipment, beyond 40 cubic meters. The fees range from P0.25 to P0.55 each cubic meter for commercial or industrial users, from P0.05 to P0.10 for institutional users and P5 per cubic meter for a volume of 400 cubic meters and above. The LMC owed the city P93.075 million in unpaid fees from 2009 to 2011 as the records submitted by the LMC to the Ormoc City treasurer’s office showed that the LWSS extracted 17,000 cubic meters per day. The LMC did not issue any statement despite repeated phone calls to its office asking for the company’s comment on the issue. Codilla on Thursday said the LMC continued to refuse to pay the required fees. He added that they have no intention to shut down or inconvenience the company as they only wanted to implement the ordinance, which is applicable only to forced extraction of water. Codilla explained that there was a need to regulate the extraction of groundwater so as to minimize threats of saltwater intrusion or sinkholes. City Councilor Jose Alfaro, the council’s committee chair on public safety, said there was danger of a sinkhole developing in areas where LMC had extracted water because they noticed that the soil on the ground had softened. The LMC supplies 3,000 cubic meters from each of Barangays Salvacion and Sto. Niño, where the LWSS pumping stations are located, for free. However, the company collects P16 per cubic meter in excess of the 3,000 cubic meters. But the seven other barangays in Ormoc City that gets their water from the LWSS have to pay the P16 per cubic meter charge. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

17th April 2012

Eastern Visayas to achieve goal on malnutrition rate by 2015 Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on April 17, 2012, 6:45 pm (By Sarwell Q. Meniano, 17 Apr 2012) PALO, LEYTE -- Achieving the goal to reduce the malnutrition rate for Eastern Visayas can be achieved within the period set under a United Nations-led program, an official said. A feeding program for children. The level of malnutrition in Eastern Visayas is expected to reach UN goals by 2015. -- AFP As of last year, 79,287 children, or 15% of the children in Eastern Visayas, were still considered malnourished, said Carina Z. Santiago, National Nutrition Council regional coordinator. Under the Millennium Development Goals, the target is to reduce malnutrition prevalence to 10% by 2015. The malnutrition rate in the region has consistently declined, Ms. Santiago said, from 22% in 2002 to 20.15% in 2007 and further to 15% last year, with the goal expected to be met by improving capacities at the local level. “That is still possible [decrease the rate of malnourished children to 10% by 2015] with all the efforts done by the national government to build the capability of local government units to curb the problem,” Ms. Santiago said. Of the 528,593 preschool children weighed last year, 60,960 were identified as underweight and 18,327 were classified as severely underweight. The region posted a 15% malnutrition prevalence, a little lower than the 15.73% rate recorded in 2010. Ms. Santiago said municipalities in Samar and Northern Samar were still in the list of top 10 nutritionally poor municipalities in the region as of last year. Catbalogan City in Samar ranked first in terms of high percentage of underweight children with 27.75% followed by Samar province (21.54%), Northern Samar (17.69%), Leyte (15.73%), Borongan City in Eastern Samar (14.05%), Biliran (13.11), Ormoc City in Leyte (12.57%), Eastern Samar (11.83%), Calbayog City in Samar (11.76%), Tacloban City in Leyte (9.88%), Southern Leyte (7.95%), and Maasin City in Southern Leyte (5.03%). “Majority of municipalities in the region have shown an improvement, which contributed to the better regional performance last year,” Ms. Santiago said. Top performers were Limasawa, Southern Leyte; Anahawan, Southern Leyte; Llorente, Eastern Samar; San Juan, Southern Leyte; Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte; Silago, Southern Leyte; Liloan, Southern Leyte; Hinunangan, Southern Leyte; Taft, Eastern Samar; and Balangiga, Eastern Samar. Listed as top 10 nutritionally poor towns were San Jorge, Samar; Silvino Lobos, Northern Samar; San Jose de Buan, Samar; San Sebastian, Samar; Jipapad, Eastern Samar; Matuguinao, Samar; Pagsanghan, Samar; Sto. Niño, Samar; Paranas, Samar; and Zumarraga, Samar. Among the initiatives to combat malnutrition are the organization of breastfeeding support group, Pabasa sa Nutrisyon, feeding for day care children, monitoring of pregnant women, proper complementary feeding for babies six months and older, and vegetables production. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0

12th April 2012

Ormoc mayor stops ind'l estate from extracting water Posted by Yel Cobile, Contributing Correspondent, on April 12, 2012, 7:20 pm (By Elvie Roman Roa, Inquirer Visayas, 12 Apr 2012) ORMOC CITY -- The Leyte Industrial Development Estate (Lide) Management Corp. (LMC) has been directed to stop operating its eight water pumping stations for failing to pay around P93 million in regulatory fees. Mayor Eric C. Codilla said he issued a cease-and-desist order because the LMC has not settled its obligation for three years. The LMC operates the Lide Water Supply System (LWSS), with pumping stations and a distribution system located in Ormoc City and in Isabel town, both in Leyte. The LWSS supplies water to two big industrial companies in Isabel - the Philippine Phospate Corp. (Philphos) and the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (Pasar). It also provides water to thousands of consumers in Merida and Isabel towns in Leyte and nine of 110 barangays in Ormoc. City Ordinance No. 149, which took effect in 2009, regulates the mechanized extraction of water in any surface and subsurface sources of the city. The city is imposing fees on water extraction using pumps and other equipment, beyond 40 cubic meters. The fees range from P0.25 to P0.55 each cubic meter for commercial or industrial users, from P0.05 to P0.10 for institutional users and P5 per cubic meter for a volume of 400 cubic meters and above. The LMC owed the city P93.075 million in unpaid fees from 2009 to 2011 as the records submitted by the LMC to the Ormoc City treasurer's office showed that the LWSS extracted 17,000 cubic meters per day. The LMC did not issue any statement despite repeated phone calls to its office asking for the company's comment on the issue. Codilla on Thursday said the LMC continued to refuse to pay the required fees. He added that they have no intention to shut down or inconvenience the company as they only wanted to implement the ordinance, which is applicable only to forced extraction of water. Codilla explained that there was a need to regulate the extraction of groundwater so as to minimize threats of saltwater intrusion or sinkholes. City Councilor Jose Alfaro, the council's committee chair on public safety, said there was danger of a sinkhole developing in areas where LMC had extracted water because they noticed that the soil on the ground had softened. The LMC supplies 3,000 cubic meters from each of Barangays Salvacion and Sto. Niño, where the LWSS pumping stations are located, for free. However, the company collects P16 per cubic meter in excess of the 3,000 cubic meters. But the seven other barangays in Ormoc City that gets their water from the LWSS have to pay the P16 per cubic meter charge. Tell a Friend... :: Comments: 0