The Philippine Arena will eventually become the world’s largest indoor arena. It will be fitted with 50,000 seats inside and can still accommodate another 50,000 seats outside the arena.

About the Iglesia Ni Cristo

The Iglesia Ni Cristo is one of the minority churches here in the Philippines. But it is the largest indigenous or native Christian religion in Asia.

It has a local congregation here in Maasin City where its church is located in Barangay Asuncion near the Canturing Bridge. There are also churches of the Iglesia Ni Cristo in different towns of Southern Leyte. Those that are easily to notice are their church in Padre Burgos in Barangay Cantutang, in Barangay Salvation in Sogod, and in St. Bernard. It also has churches in Hinunangan.

For more information about the church, kindly visit the Iglesia Ni Cristo blogpost of SELaplana.

The soft opening of the eco-tourism attraction was done simultaneously with the ground-breaking ceremony of the Provincial Pavilion to be constructed atop a hill overlooking the Agas-Agas Bridge, considered by bridge builders as the longest and the tallest bridge in the Philippines.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the proposed building where extreme adventure enthusiasts and tourists are to be housed temporarily while waiting for their turn to zipline down the mountain was led by Congressman Roger Mercado and Governor Damian Mercado. It was witnessed by some provincial and city officials and employees, Mayors, some city and barangay officials and the barrio folks.

However, the kind of sandy-looking soil atop the hill for the proposed construction of the provincial pavilion needs some steel or iron reinforcement and embankment to make it strong and durable to resist a potential earthquake tremor that would possibly rock Agas-Agas.

Also present to witness the soft opening of tandem ziplines as well as the provincial pavilion ground-breaking ceremony were, among others, DPWH’s Engr. Celso Veloso, Leyte Vice- Governor Memit Bagulaya, Maasin Mayor Maloney Samaco and some city officials ,DTI-Maasin Michael Nuñez and his staff,DTI-Regional Director Cynthia Miras and some of her staff,DYDM Manager Rev. Arniel Borneo,Rev Celso Paler,Kahupian Brgy.Captain Cristina Kagurol,Dept. of Tourism Regional Director Carina Rosa Teopes ,Abgao Barangay Captain Nacional “Nikko” Verano Mercado.

Tourism Development

Engr. Robert Catañares, President of the newly-organized Southern Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc.(SLCCII) revealed to the thick audience that 95% of the businesses in the province were classified as micro-entrepreneurs. The agricultural sector was down with the bunchy top pests attacking the abaca plantations in various municipalities, he said. While 9 Maasin barangays coconut plantations were already infested with brontispa pest.

He further disclosed that 200,000 workers were all employed in different government agencies and offices and only small percentage of private employers have hired to work in their businesses.

He then concluded that the only way to let the province of Southern Leyte become progressive and provide employment to the hundreds of jobless individuals is the development of tourism in every municipality that has tourist spots.

Castañares told the crowd that from 2011 up to 2013 “we will focus here in our region (Region 8 Leyte and Samar) before embarking in other places”. Cable cars and bungee jumping will also be constructed in the Mega Bridge. “We intend to finish these projects in time for the 51st anniversary celebration of the province of Southern Leyte”,he said.

He added to say that a 25-hectare animal teen park shall also be built at the Maasin City Forest Park, formerly Danao Reforestation Project of the DENR in brgy.Malapoc Norte.

MOA Signing

Governor Damian Mercado for his part informed the audience that a MOA was signed between the provincial government and former Presidential Assistant for Eastern Visayas Vic Domingo, allowing the former to develop the tallest bridge thru private-public partnership for the enhancement of tourism in the area.

The Governor also urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) not to allow farmers in the nearby areas to engage in kaingin farming and to preserve/protect the forested surroundings of Agas-Agas from poachers including legal and illegal loggers.

He said he intends to also have a MOA signed between the provincial government and DENR to make such agreement more effective and implementable.

He likewise admonished the barangay folks in the area to treat both local and foreign tourists with respect and hospitality and to patronize the local businesses.

Mercado further enjoined the Mayors of the 18 municipalities to allow and encourage their respective bulk of students from different schools to visit the Agas-Agas Bridge particularly during semestral breaks and summer vacations.

Inviting Micro-entrepreneurs

On the other hand, Congressman Mercado, the Governor’s older brother has expressed his elation that the new bridge construction has provided a comfortable rides for travellers in going to Tacloban and other parts of region 8(Leyte and Samar).

Like the Governor, he also invited micro-entrepreneurs to sell foods and souvenir items near the bridge and for investors to build cottages as their rest houses and for rent to tourists/visitors while they are not occupying it.

In an interview with the contractor Edwin Sacdalan of Camp Sabros, Digos City, Davao del Sur, he divulged that the estimated P1.7M first tandem ziplines in Eastern Visayas has a length of more or less 880 meters each. That is from the starting point at the topmost part of a hill, down to the other side of the road across the bridge.

The two ziplines were placed parallel to each other, which would take only more or less than 30 seconds to reach the end of the cable wires with stoppers both installed at the end.

Since the opening is free of charge, several curious officials, visitors and extreme adventure enthusiasts were queuing the line. They patiently waited for their turn to test their mettle and the ziplines’ durability.

Additional Ziplines

Sacdalan also informed that an additional 2 or 3 ziplines might be constructed to meet the needs among the extreme adventure enthusiasts that will come to Agas-Agas.

The Leyte and Samar tri-media representatives were also welcome to try it. Nonetheless, the long queue and the fact that all of them have been interviewing personalities involved in the realization of the tourism project, majority of them just let the chance passed by.

Those who have tried the tandem ziplines were the youngest SP member Daisy Gumale of District 2, Anahawan Mayor Roberto Loquinte, President of Southern Leyte Mayors’ League, Carina Rosa Teopes, Brian Sadoguio of the Provincial GSO, City Councilor Nestor Sy, Sr.’s youngest daughter Panny together with her sister-in-law’s younger sister and some other unidentified individuals.

Moreover, the incumbent Governor after talking to some officials present atop the hill was amazed upon learning that Daisy was one of those who tested the zipline.

The very first to test the zipline as a sample for everybody to see was Sacdalan’s companion. He chose to hang himself in an upside down position-that is his head was below and his feet up!

Australian Jack Reed, 68 years old, married to a Filipina, who was one of those who tried the new tandem ziplines, confided that he has already been riding high up the air via zipline in several occasions.

Nonetheless, his very young companion, obviously a close relative of his Filipina wife has vomited right after riding the zipline. It was his very first time to be up in the air. Extreme adventure enthusiasts here in Region 8 and other places can now have their time of recreation, fun and excitement at the Agas-Agas Bridge. (Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)

Youtube Video

Ordinance no. 2011-45 will regulate students in going into beaches and KTV bars during school days.

The prohibition is the result by the years of observations that students in both public and private schools have the habit of converging in some beaches of the municipality and in KTV bars during school days. This kind of activity did by students have made some of them to allegedly cut classes just to be with their peers. It has also brought some bad effects to the youth particularly those who were enrolled in schools. Instead of focusing their time in studying their lessons or doing some assignments, they tend to put it on the sideline and prefer to go with their barkadas.

Earlier, SP Florentino Fernandez, a member of the Committee on Laws, said that his committee has recommended for its approval since it is very beneficial, not only on the part of the parents, but also on the part of the students. He said that the ordinance has a corresponding penalty, although Sogod Sangguniang Bayan did not specify whether the penalty for violators is imprisonment or community service.

The second approved ordinance no. 2011-46 would prohibit the existence of nuisance in the municipality and it imposes penalties for violators.

Nuisance in this particular ordinance is defined as “an act of omission, establishment, business, condition of property or anything else which:

(a) injures or endangers the health and safety of others like (old, dilapidated buildings/chemical fire hazard structures) or a

(b) annoys or offends the senses like (excessive sounds from various electronic machines and motor vehicles, billboards, signages, etc.);

c) shocks ,defies or disregards decency or morality (bold magazines) or,

d) obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any public highways, streets or any body of waters or,

e) hinders or impairs the use of property”.

Penalties for violations range from P500.00 for the first offense, P1, 000.00 for the second offense and P2, 000.00 for the third offense.

Fernandez also informed the august body that both abovementioned ordinances have been subjected to public hearings in Sogod’s different barangays.

Although there were some oppositions, but majority of those who have attended expressed their favor and support.

The member of the Committee on Laws then moved for the approval of the two ordinances.

SPs Cesar Rey, Felicula Escaño and Abelardo Almario have seconded his motion. (Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)

SP Teopisto Rojas,Jr. disclosed that Governor Damian Mercado has received reports from some residents of Napantao that member-volunteers of the Coral Cay Conservation were receiving payment from the members of the royal blood and the sons and daughter of ambassadors who have undertook diving lessons.

Rojas asked his colleagues during their recent weekly session held at the provincial capitol if CCC has extended financial assistance in the form of grant or soft loan for the protection and preservation of marine life in the aforesaid area similar to what the GTZ (now GIZ) was doing in the province. “Even if the payment is minimal,” he said,” but if converted to euro into peso then it will be significant amount”.

photo credit: Napantao Dive Resort

He also divulged that because of the Napantao residential building the province has spent millions of pesos for the opening of the road towards the residential house including power facilities with only one house benefiting from it. “Yet the millions of pesos spent by the province are not deductible to the rentals of the residential house”, he said.

Rojas said he believed that the P12,.000.00 monthly rate, which he described as unreasonable and exorbitant, is not the prevailing rate of residential houses in the municipality of San Francisco.

On the other hand, SP Daisy Gumale defended the CCC members saying there was only one instance that the Coral Cay Conservation received a foreign visitor, the son of the Ambassador, who called the Governor and informed him that his son is in Napantao Dive Resort. Another one, she said, was when Robert Chapman gave a courtesy call at the provincial capitol.

Gumale said that the occasion has prompted them to build the bridges and cemented the roads leading to the dive site to attract tourists to Napantao Dive Resort, considered by experienced scuba drivers as one of the beautiful dive sites of the world. “If you have been there before,” she said, “you find it hard and in my young age I have to walk 30 minutes going down Napantao. But now you it’s been easier, and you can even park your cars right at the house of the owner.”

“I want to make it on record that it was not the CCC that made the deal between the province and the owner of the house,” she elaborated. “Which regards to the rental, I think we are solely responsible and Coral Cay has nothing to do with how much we are paying.”

She continued, “My contention is, it is always the intention of the province for the advantage of our marine environment and for so long the CCC is doing their part. They have been submitting reports and they have been helping our PENRMO and CENRO in the establishment of MPAs. And because of their help our LGUs are receiving rewards on MPAs. So I don’t think that it is very disadvantageous for the province to have the Coral Cay. So if the rate found is expensive, we have the power to change and revised the deal and the CCC has nothing to do with the agreement between the owner and the province.”

Despite Gumale’s argument however, Rojas has further stressed that the Legal Officer must move on to fulfill his task of conducting an investigation of questionable things like:

1) Whether or not the MOA or lease contract is disadvantageous to the province for spending millions of pesos in the construction of roads and electric facilities for the residential building at the dive site;

2) Whether or not the monthly rental of the said residential house is the prevailing rate of houses of that particular municipality;

3) Whether or not the CCC has generated income from the Napantao Dive Resort by accepting fees for diving lessons from the members of the royal blood and sons/daughters of ambassador and other officials from UK;

4) Whether or not the approval of MOA for the lease contract by the SP will tantamount to violation of Section 3, paragrahph (g) of RA3019 otherwise known as Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices. (Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.).

This was the disclosure of former SP member Jason Calva, the undefeated third termer, now works as a Capitol Consultant to the provincial government, during the recent session held at the provincial capitol here.

Calva revealed that Governor Mercado had a discussion with the Vice-President in Manila during his visit there, the latter being the Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). He said Binay wanted to see personally the province of Southern Leyte for such plan of the aforesaid project.

above image shows the HUDCC projects (outside Southern Leyte)
during the time of Vice President Noli de Castro.
Image credit: hudcc.gov.ph

He said HUDCC is an umbrella organization of the LHURB and the National Housing Authority and other housing institutions of the national government. The housing institution, he said, was created thru Executive Order no. 19 dated Dec. 17, 1986 of which the Chairmanship is usually handled by the Vice-President.

The former SP Financial Chair claimed that Binay has committed 100 to 150 housing units for the province. The earmarked budget is something like P36M or more.

Asked by SP Albert Esclamado if the province has to put a counterpart, Calva answered in the affirmative, saying a lot where the housing units are to be constructed. That is, any LGU recipient would have to provide a lot as counterpart, he said.

The Consultant also made clear to Esclamado that if the project would materialize in the near future, the number of housing units would be distributed in selected municipalities after it would be identified by a task force formed and approved by the Governor.

However, SP Teopisto Rojas,Jr. has revealed that in Metro Manila where similar projects were existing, housing units that were distributed to the lower middle class were in the form of soft loans, but not for free.

Calva told Rojas and the rest of SP members, that according to the information he got in the HUDCC’s website relative to the housing program, if beneficiaries are considered indigents and certified by the DSWD, it would be a grant to them, as it was in other provinces. But for the higher income families like some of the beneficiaries in Metro Manila, he said, the procedure in acquiring might be similar.

In answer to Esclamado if the HUDCC Chair or its staff will be the one to identify the recipients, Calva clarified that it would be the provincial government, while the only role of the former is to provide the housing units in accordance with its specifications.

Moreover, the third termer SP member reiterated the earlier call of Binay for the SP to pass a resolution addressing it immediately to the latter’s office for approval.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)

This was the disclosure of PENRMO head Eva Abad during the SP’s recent session held at SP session hall. She said that the P1.3M will be a grant from GTZ, the P263, 000.00 will be the counterpart of the province. While the P32, 000.00 counterparts will be shared by the involving 8 municipalities, which is for the hauling of seedling production from the sources to the sites.

Abad pointed out that the province’s counterpart is already part of the provincial government’s Annual Investment Program for 2011 under the PENRMO Coastal Fisheries Resource Management.

The PENRMO head also stressed that the amount of P263, 000.00 will be used for the technical trainings and information education program to the concerned barangays and municipalities. Whereas the GTZ funds will be for buying the materials and cash payments for the beneficiaries who will engage in seedling production and planting.

Earlier, she further informed the SP members that a resolution is needed authorizing Governor Damian Mercado to sign the Financial Agreement or MOA, which she said, is substantial and binding, so that the project can be implemented at the soonest possible time.

She clarified that with the greenbelt project, the provincial government thru her office is responsible in implementing in the municipal level. While the municipalities that are involved will assist the Barangay Councils in the selection of beneficiaries’ lists based on the established criteria.

Specifically, she emphasized that the role of the province in the project is to supervise, monitor and access the funds for them to really implement the mangrove rehabilitation program.

The places involved are one city and 7 municipalities, namely, Maasin City, which has the biggest mangrove area of the province, Macrohon, Padre Burgos, Bontoc, Sogod, Libagon, San Juan and Silago. Two other municipalities that are going to be involved in seedling production only are Liloan and St. Bernard.
Furthermore, another PENRMO staff has divulged that the MOA was finally signed by the incumbent Governor and that recently the SLMGP project will be implemented sometime in February of the current year.

According to Abad the objectives of the project are the following:

1. To promote the mangrove resources that are the major source of foods of fishes in the coastal zone. Lots of mangrove trees can produce more foods for our fishes;
2. To mitigate the effect of climate change which is globally a major threat to human life;
3. More mangroves trees in coastal areas will protect coastal communities from typhoon surges, tsunamis and other impact of climate change;
4. To promote awareness in our communities on the importance of our environment and active involvement in our EFOs in the government side.

By: Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.

The victims were identified as Angelito Mariano, Sr., his son Angelito, Jr., Vener Bermillo, Luisito Caparas, and one Richard del Pilar.

According to the investigators, the hunters were using a gasoline driven water pump inside the tunnel. The engine normally emits carbon monoxide which was believed to be cause of their suffocation.

Rescuers successfully got the unconscious hunters out but were declared dead upon arrival in the hospital.

According to him, symptoms of the Dengue Fever are fever, rashes on skins or bleeding. “However, Dengue Fever currently doesn’t show symptoms recorded on the book. Sometimes patients experience only the fever without rashes. Sometimes there’s no bleeding… That’s why, the patient should be brought immediately to the hospital for immediate checkup and treatment,” the doctor said.

Dr. Trumata added that the two elementary grader who died this month of August were not immediately brought to the hospital before the illness’s worsen. The first victim was an 11 year-old girl from Barangay Abgao who studied at the St. Joseph College and the other victim was a resident of Barangay Mantahan and a pupil of the Tomas Oppus Pilot School.

However, the number of patients admitted at the SOYMPH who are suffering from Dengue Fever, according to Dr. Trumata,  has decreased compared to the number of patients last month of July. (Report by Jade G. Nombrado /English Translation by Sustines Laplana /Image credit to thinkquest.org )

Yellow confetti showered while people mostly wearing yellow shirt chant “Cory! Cory!…” and holding their hands with the “L” or laban sign which was used by Cory during her campaign for the 1986 Presidential Election against the dictator president Ferdinand Marcos. They were not hindered by the hunger and rains in laiding her to her destination.

Former president Aquino’s remains were buried just beside her beloved husband, Ninoy Aquino.

In the other regions of the Philippines, people stayed off the street watching the live coverage of the burial. Yello color is everywhere… People wear yellow shirt, pinned yellow ribbon and flew yellow ballons. Some Catholic parishes offered mass for the president.

The reason of the accident that happened in the heavily traveled Red Line at 5PM (Washington time) between Fort Totten and Takoma stations is not yet known. But the Homeland Security Department authority said that there was no sign of terror in the incident.

According to the report, one of the dead was the female operator of one of the trains, and the rescuers were treating 70 injured passengers.