Governor Damian Mercado in behalf of the provincial government, has allocated an amount for each of the 3,350 Barangay Tanods (Barrio Guards) in the whole province of Southern Leyte for their Red Cross Insurance.

The approval of the 2009 Annual Performance Budget was moved by City Councilor Ma. Essie Espina-Garvez, Chairwoman Committee on Finance and Appropriation, and were seconded by Councilors Margarita Bantug and Nestor Sy, who likewise approved it unanimously.

Bad news to the residents and officials of Baybay City, Leyte. The city status of Baybay city will be reverted back to municipality after the Supreme Court ruled that the conversion of the 16 municipalities including Baybay, Leyte is unconstitutional. According to the ruling, the affected cities are not exempted from the requirements of the Local Government Code such as the number of population and the income (100 Million not 20 Million) for them to become cities.
The 16 municipalities are:

Baybay, Leyte
Bogo, Cebu
Carcar, Cebu
Naga in Cebu
Catbalogan, Samar
Borongan, Eastern Samar
Tandag, Surigao …