Groundbreaking for city swimming pool - Ormoc

AngOrmocanonwww.ormoc.gov.phVol. 2 no. 45 The Official Publication of Ormoc City Government July 22-29, 2012Groundbreaking for cityswimming poolBy: Robert C. DejonMayor Eric C. Codilla led cityofficials in the groundbreakingceremony of the Olympic-sizeswimming pool to be built insidethe New Ormoc City NationalHigh School grounds last Friday.Assisting him were PTA and localDepEd officials.In his speech, the mayor saidthat the groundbreaking is therealization of the long-plannedswimming pool. He added thatthe project is funded from out ofthe Special Education Fund (SEF)which is in turn generated fromReal Property Tax collectionsof the city. With the actualconstruction set to begin in earlyAugust, the city’s first Olympicsizeswimming pool is expected tobe completed early next year.Mayor Codilla also said thatthe swimming pool project was-Groundbreaking...Page 3Mayor Beboy Codilla prepares to lower the time capsule for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Olympic size swimming pool.Assisting him are SP Councilors: Demy Tugonon, Payling Omega, Menoy Maglasang, Pepe Alfaro and Bingo Capahi andsome DepEd officials.Fire Station building already 82% completeBy: Elvie Roman-RoaThe City Fire StationBuilding is on track, beingalready 82% complete as of thefourth week of July.This latest project from theYour taxes are working for you. The Bureau of Fire building as it nears completion,one of the priority projects of the Codilla administrationCity Government of Ormoc willbe enjoyed by our firemen before2012 ends. In fact, it is projectedthat the Bureau of Fire Protection(BFP) will finally occupy a safeand comfortable workplace bySeptember, as the two-storeystructure will already be habitableby that time.Current work is for Phase 1,which excludes tiles and paintings,said contractor Engr. Glenn AlvinMaglasang of Magnum Konstrukt.However, even if the tiles andpaintings were incorporated intoPhase 1, still the turnover couldbe way ahead of its original targetschedule which December 2012.This, despite some issues stillbeing resolved like the relocationof the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail,which sits on an area where a fewposts of the Fire Station garagewill be placed.At present, the c-purlinsare being installed preparatoryto roofing. The wall finishingaround the office area is likewiseongoing. It is expected that the-Fire station bldg...Page 7

Bad weather fails to stop brgy. visit toGuintigui-anBy: Elvie Roman-RoaInspired by the desire forservice, Mayor Eric Codilla andmembers 12th SangguniangPanlungsod braved strong windsand heavy rain to push throughwith the visit to Brgy. Guintigui-anlast July 27.On the occasion of the visit,Mayor Codilla likewise turned overa 580-meter long road concretingproject with riprap to the officials ofthe barangay. Former CongressmanDodong Codilla also gracedthe special occasion for Brgy.Guintigui-an.Brgy. Chair Marilyn Tantogether with her councilors andconstituents made full use of thechance to have the city mayor andother city officials with them forthe whole afternoon. Departingfrom tradition, the barangay councildecided to list down all theirconcerns for Kap. Tan to discuss,rather than for each Kagawadto discuss the concerns of theirrespective committee or sitio. Theseconcerns included road surfacing,drainage, water lines, box culvert,a footbridge, the status of theelectricity refund and many others.With the aim of quicklyresponding to the concerns raised,the city mayor asked the departmentheads were asked to immediatelytake action. The mayor himselftook the opportunity to respond tosome of the concerns.Made available to residentsduring the barangay visit werevarious services, including freeMedical and Dental consultations/services, free medicines, feeding,free haircut and cosmetology,distribution of seedlings, registrationof senior citizens and livestockand many more. As a bonus, freereading glasses were distributed to100 residents with poor eyesight.The residents did not mind therains, sitting patiently under tentsset up just for the barangay visit.They actively participated in thediscussions that went on, not tomention in the “pakulo” that thecity’s First Lady, Jing-Jing Codilla,cooked up.Hon. Filomeno Maglasang, thecouncilor-in-charge of Guintiguian,pointed to the electrificationand construction of a stage in SitioWala – among other projects in4AngOrmocanonwww.ormoc.gov.phthe barangay – as a proof that theproblems of the barangay wereanswered by the city.Mayor Codilla took an activehand in the discussion of thebarangay’s concerns. On therequest for road opening, the mayoradvised barangay officials to firstsettle the road-right-of-way issue.He emphasized that the city couldnot construct the road throughprivately-owned properties. On theissue of water interruption, MayorCodilla directed Engr. GervacioGermano of ORWASA to determinethe cause of the interruption. Uponbeing told that some of the pipeswere destroyed after being run overby some farmers’ land-masters, heurged local residents to take careof the pipes in order to maintainsufficient and safe drinking water.In his speech, Mayor Codillaspent time to explain the statusof the electricity refund. Heinformed residents that the moneyfor the refund has long beenready, but that the Departmentof Energy (DOE) was delayedin giving out the guidelines forthe distribution. While he hadcontinuously followed up onthe issuance of such guidelines,the DOE had yet to comply butpromised to do so very soon. Themayor also warned the residentsnot to fall for “rackets” of someunscrupulous individuals who notonly spread malicious rumors thathe had misused the funds for therefund but also take advantage by“buying” their electricity receiptsfor just P400. He urged residentsto report these individuals to theauthorities, and to hold on to theirreceipts as there will be needed toclaim their refunds.Residents of Brgy. Quintiguianalso appealed to Mayor Codillafor some sports equipment. Theywere referred to Hon. BingoCapahi, the city sports chairman,who immediately conferred withbarangay officials to determine theequipment they needed.As a fitting highlight for thebarangay visit, Mayor Codilla andcity councilors turned over the580-meter concrete road with riprapto Brgy. Guintigui-an officials.The group, led by Mayor Codilla,strolled the length of the new road,despite the constant drizzle.The city councilors whoattended the barangay visit wereHons. Demy Tugonon, FilomenoMaglasang, Bingo Capahi, LeaDoris Villar, Payling Omega,Chuchi Pepito and Pepe Alfaro.

PWDs care for nature; plant treesBy: Ronnie C. RoaNo less than fifty (50) PersonsWith Disability (PWD) joined thetree planting activity last July 17 atLake Danao Nature Park.The activity was part of theNational Disability Preventionand Rehabilitation Week, which isfrom July 17 to 23, and in line withthis year’s theme “MainstreamingPersons with Disability in EconomicDevelopment”. The group also hadtheir motorcade around the citybefore going to Lake Danao for thetree planting.Analiza Cantero, a PWD,refused to be assisted while in herwheelchair planting the red lawaan.When asked, she said she felt greatand realized that she too can helpprotect the environment. “Lamikayo ang feeling nga makatabangdiay ko nga maprotektahan angkinaiyahan… Kamao diay komagtanom”.OCPO conducts outreachprogram, tree plantingBy: Elvie Roman-RoaThis Nutrition Month, theOrmoc City Police Office provedthat policemen can do more thanjust prevent and solve crimes: theycan also do outreach programs.This was exactly what they did inseveral barangays last week (July16-19).SSupt. Elezar Egloso, OCPOhead, led the feeding programin Brgys. Linao, San Antonio,Sitio Laray, Valencia, Linao,Cambantog and Milagro. About500 children from these barangaysavailed the nutritious arrozcaldo and sopas. Furthermore,approximately 240 disadvantagedchildren from these barangaysreceived slippers.Personnel of the CIDG(Criminal Investigation andDetection Group), HPG (HighwayPatrol Group) and CrimeLaboratory also gave their sharefor the less privileged.Last July 13, the PNP donated68 bags of blood following abloodletting at the OCPO HQ inCamp Downes.In addition, the police alsocontinued their tree plantingthrough their Adopt-A-Forestprogram hand-in-hand with the cityCity Social Welfare andDevelopment staff guided otherPWDs specially the blind.The Department of Labor andEmployment as the lead agency forthis year’s celebration conducted alivelihood training seminar at theOrmoc Superdome last July 19 andgovernment headed by Mayor EricC. Codilla. This was the reportof SPO1 Rachel Salas, the OCPOPolice Community Relations Non-Commissioned Officer.In the continuation of thePNP’s tree planting that started inFebruary 1 this year, roughly 500Lawaan seedlings were added tothe thousands of hardwood treesplanted along the Sanitary Landfillin Brgy. Mas-in. Almost 150 PNPenlisted personnel complied withPnoy’s Executive Order No. 26Series of 2012 -- the NationalGreening Program -- through whichPNP Chief Bartolome initiated his“Sampung Milyong Puno Pamanasa Kinabukasan” program. Underthis program, each PNP personnelis to plant six trees each month forone year, with the period ending inFebruary 28, 2013.SPO1 Salas added thatupon seeking a specific area forreforestation, Mayor Codillarequested the PNP to center theirAdopt-A-Forest Program at the city’slandfill. This way, the PNP can alsomonitor the mortality rate of theirtrees. A Memorandum of Agreementwill soon be signed by the PNP andthe city identifying the landfill areaas the PNP’s reforestation site.a job fair in Tacloban City. This isalso a program of the DOLE to givePWDs a livelihood and opportunityto be employed. The DOLE intends toregister the skills of the PWDs on theirSRS or Skills Registration System.Ormoc City Councilor Lea DorisC. Villar, committee chair on socialservices, pointed out that Ormocalready has a PWD center wheremassage, manicure and pedicureservices are available for walk-inclients.Joel Amistad, PWD federationpresident, said that they also offerhome service, just call 255-4484.PHILAMCOP OFFICERS PAY COURTESY TO DAVAO CITYGOVERNMENT. From left to right: Trustee-Visayas SamuelRamirez (EDC-Tongonan); Trustee-Luzon Carol Tuvera (Hedcor-Aboitiz); Treasurer Jun Colocado (Universal Robina Corp.);Secretary Amy Amar (Lopez Sugar); PHILAMCOP PresidentSherlock Codilla (PASAR Corporation); Mayor Sara Duterte;PHILAMCOP Immediate Past President Rene de los Reyes(EDC-Tongonan); PRO Gina Fe Israel (University of Mindanao);ALMACOP-XI President Benz (Jollibee); Trustee-Mindanao DeoMocam (Dole Phils.-South Skyland Zone); Trustee-Mindanao YeyeAngeles (EDC-Kidapawan). This is in line with PHILAMCOP’spreparations for its 10 th National Convention on Labor-ManagementCooperation, which is slated to take place in Davao in November2013. About 1,500 LMC practitioners from the labor sector,management, employers’ groups and the academe are expected toattend this huge event from among PHILAMCOP’s 1,796 membercompaniesand its 25 regional affiliates (the Association of LMCPractitioners-XI or ALMACOP is its local counterpart in DavaoCity). The event will be co-hosted by the Association of VoluntaryArbitrators-Davao Chapter thru its president, Atty. Arturo Tan, andthe National Conciliation and Mediation Board-Department ofLabor and Employment thru Executive Director Reynaldo Ubaldoand his regional officers. Davao City Hall, June 28, 2012.www.ormoc.gov.phAngOrmocanon 5

Multicab and tricycle operatorscome to termsBy: Joey Vincent C. MotelA son wants a special viandfor his dinner, but his youngerbrother disagrees. He wantsto watch a certain programon TV, his younger brotheragain disagrees. Finally, theirfather speaks. The viand servedwasn’t special after all andthey compromised on the TVprogram, but both sons feltcontented and satisfied.This was the scenariowhen the officials of themulticabs and tricycles-forhirecame to terms following adialogue with City Mayor Eric“Beboy” Codilla. The multicaboperators were representedby their president Edgardo Yuwhile Benky Lambonao led thetricycle group.The dispute arose when themulticab operators traversingthe Ormoc-Bagong Buhay routerequested Mayor Codilla to closethe route to tricycles. The mayorthen called the tricycle operatorsto a meeting with the multicabsoperators to hear both sides.The multicab operatorsfirst ticked off their requests,6AngOrmocanonwww.ormoc.gov.phexplaining that the presence oftricycles greatly affected theirdaily income. Proof of this isthat the number of operatorshas reduced from almost 80to just below 50 today. Also,their drivers and extradors havepartly transferred to tricycles asthey earn more with the sevenseater,three-wheelers compareto multicabs. This promptedtheir association to requestsuspension of the BagongBuhay route to tricycles.Ormoc Motorized TricycleOperators and DriversAssociation (OMTODA)President Benky Lambonaohowever objected to the request.He said that such an appealwill cripple the livelihood ofthose depending on the ridingpublic in the said barangay.He also pointed out that theroutes the tricycles traverseare in accordance with the cityordinances and that local lawsaren’t choosy and selective onits coverage.Lambonao also sharedthat while their counterpartslook at them as competitors,competition already has beenthe top agendum among tricycledrivers. He believes that thenumber of tricycles operatingin Bagong Buhay was due tothe fact that the area is withinthe free-zone of the city’s colorcodingscheme for tricycles.After hearing both parties,Mayor Codilla explained that therequest to close Bagong Buhay totricycles is a long and impossibleshot. He said that it will affectnot just the operators but theriding public as well. Also, theprovision of the local ordinancedoesn’t prohibit anybody to travelthe said route.To accommodate bothsides, Mayor Codilla saidthat the least he can do is toimplement what is in the law.A law prohibits tricycles frompassing national highwaysunless no alternative routesare available. When strictlyimplemented, this bringstricycles towards BagongBuhay using the Ormoc-Linao-Bagong Buhay alternativeroute. This also means thesame for those traversingtowards Libertad, Lilo-anand all barangays towardsthe municipality of Merida.For those going towards SanLorenzo Ruiz College alongSimangan, tricycles willpass through the alternativeroute in Toog, before exitingnear Ormoc District Hospitalbefore turning to CogonRotunda and proceeding toSLRC and Simangan. LiliaAvenue will then be closed totricycles.However, before finalizingthe said implementation, theMayor assured everyone thathe will open the matter to theLand Transportation Officeand the traffic enforcers tospecify certain routes and partsof highways that will be openfor tricycles, citing as examplethose from Dist. 29 towardsNew Ormoc City National HighSchool which cross the AnilaoBridge in Cogon.Both parties agreed to theMayor’s stand. Bagong Buhaywill still be open for tricycleswhile multicabs will have thefull opportunity to traverse LiliaAvenue. The leaders of bothsides expressed the hope thatthe development will be of helpto drivers and the riding public.BFP enumerates violations at provincial jailBy: Josephine N. SerseñaOther than inspecting thedifferent establishments andschool buildings here, theBureau of Fire Protection(BFP) also took a look at thenearby Leyte Sub-ProvincialJail Building located acrossthe campus of the New OrmocCity National High School.The bureau’s observationswere part of the report takenup at this month’s meeting ofthe Sangguniang Panlungsod’sCommittee on Police, Fire andPenology chaired by CouncilorDemosthenes Tugonon.City Fire Marshal CharlieGerzon reiterated in hisreport that he has written theleadership of the Provincial Jailof Leyte to inform them of hisrecommendations. Gerzon toldthe body that they conducteda fire safety inspection at theprison facility last June 6.Based on the provisions ofRepublic Act 9514 (the NewFire Code of the Philippines)the Sub-Provincial Jail hasmany deficiencies and isno longer conducive foroccupation. To begin with,said Gerson, the facility isovercrowded. Secondly, thereare no first aid fire suppressiondevices, no fire alarm systemsand no automatic emergencylighting devices. Thirdly, theextension/annex structure ismade of light materials andvisibly dilapidated and istherefore a fire hazard. Plus theelectrical wirings are not up tostandard.“If we imposed the aboveabatement of overcrowding ofinmates, judging from the sizeof your facility it is safe tosay that there is no way it cansatisfy the requirement of thelaw”, Gerzon states in his letterto the Provincial Warden.The City Fire Marshalalso wrote the letter becausethe jail will be affected bythe construction of the NewFire Station Building fundedby the City Government ofOrmoc. Contractor Engr. GlennMaglasang of MAGNUMCONSTRUKT had alreadyasked City Mayor Eric Codillaand the leadership of the localBFP to convince BJMP officialsto relocate the Provincial Jail.In fact, BFP personnel whoused to live on the lot havealready left, leaving the jail asthe only “squatter” on the cityownedlot dedicated for theFire Station.At the meeting, it wasalso pointed out that the jailis located very near the NewOrmoc City Hall and thecampuses of the New OrmocCity National High School andEVSU. The jail’s locationwithin a populated residential/commercial/school area isnot advisable or safe, as it isa potential threat to safety,security and peace and order.