one rainy day the the Airport

I took these pictures more than a week ago (February 13, 2008 to be exact) when we sent off a guest of the LGU. The flight was delayed for more than two hours (yes 2 hours, thanks to the rain) it gave me more than enough time to roam around the place. And thus these pix.

That's the ATO office

They still have these old baggage carts (is that the right term?)

Chicken wire is all that separates the arriving passengers and the well-wishers or the motorcab drivers (whoever comes first)

That's the pre-departure area which thankfully is airconditioned (courtesy of the LGU) and has a television set

Don't look now. That's the only airline plying the Manila-Calbayog route announcing its new flight schedule. Any comment?

One good news, they managed to make the floor of the airport lobby look shiny even on a rainy day.

But sadly, they scored bad on the restrooms. This area near it was the last one the wellwishers and passengers would have wanted to stay on that day 'coz it did not smell good, thanks to the odor coming from the rest rooms. And on that day, this is what I saw in the male restroom:

To be fair about it, we called up the attention of the airport personnel assigned to the area. They admitted their shortcoming and promised to to something about it.

crossing Mabagdoc Creek

As I posted these pictures, the rains have stopped, but not the flood at the left river, specifically along Mabagdoc Creek. These pictures were forwarded to me by Efren Jordan. He took these as they crossed the area at midday yesterday. It is along the boundary between Brgy. Cag-Anibong and Brgy. Pilar. Some enterprising locales raked it in that day. One crossing cost each person 20 pesos while a motorcycle can go as much as 50 pesos.

an sungkaan

I've got a good number of titles in mind for this blog update: "sungkaan", "hell roads of Samar no more (almost)", "mabalud", "the good news and the bad news". I guess sungkaan would be the best choice.

So, what about it?

First the good news. Part of the rehabilitation of the Highway in Samar is "asphalt overlay" or something to that effect. And when I took these two pictures last week (February 10, 2008 to be exact), they have put asphalt on the portion in Brgy. Bagacay. I still need to know about the portion from Catbalogan to Calbiga, but I heard that the section from Hinabangan to Calbiga is now okey. Anyway, when we traveled to Catbalogan last Saturday, I found out that the portion with asphalt on it extends from Bagacay to Ilo. And that's where the good news ends (so far).



Now for the not-so-good news. I have featured below two videos I took when we traveled to Catbalogan last Saturday. The first one was taken while on board a van to Catbalogan. The second one was taken while on board a bus going back to Calbayog. I guess I took it while we were plying the highway between San Jorge and Gandara.

T'was an uncomfy ride, no question. But knowing that rehabilitation work is being done or is ongoing makes one give a sigh of relief.

The Civil Registration Quiz Bee

In celebration of February as Civil Registration Month, the LGU thru the Local Civil Registry Office conducted the Civil Registration Quiz. I was a member of the panel of judges which included DepEd's Edita Paculan, CTIO's Linda Calesa and DYOG's Eleen Lim.

The activity was participated in by 13 students from from the various High Schools of Calbayog, namely: San Policarpo National High School (SPNHS), San Joaquin National High School (SJNHS), La Milagrosa Academy, CKC Boys' High School, Calbayog City National High School, CKC Night High School, Mag-ubay National High School (MNHS), CKC Girls' High School, Pilar National High School (PNHS), Trinidad National High School (TNHS), Rafael Lentejas Memorial School of Fisheries (RLMSF)and Tarabucan National High School (TNHS).

Declared as 1st-placer was Julia Frea Catorce (CKC Girls' High). Ronelo Suzara and Angelie Ann Anollado of SPNHS and TNHS respectively, tied for the 2nd place. Ms. Catorce will be Calbayog's representative to the Provincial level.

Let me share some pix I took during the event. (my apologies I used a different phone which explains for the dark shots)

The winners and their coaches with the panel of judges

The contestants with the panel of judges

People's Day

Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento through Executive Order No. 5 s, 2008, declared Wednesday of every week as PEOPLE'S DAY ".... in consonance with the present dispensation's effort to maximize its accessibility to constituents..." It is aimed at attending the needs of walk-in clients and personally address other concerns of the City's clientele.

The activity commenced last week when the City Officials and Department Managers converged at the City Hall Lobby and entertained various concerns from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Today is the second People's Day. Let me share some pictures I took during the activity.

Mayor Mel Sarmiento listens as Vice Mayor Ronald Aquino is interviewed

Some Department managers get interviewd by DYOG

Mayor Sarmiento with the BPLO head as he listens to the concerns of some clients. In this case it's the fried chicken vendors in the city whose concern is their relocation site

Vice Mayor Aquino (pix above) and Councilor Ver Porlares (pix below) as they entertain their clients

(seated l-r) City Legal Officer Juan Daguman, Councilor Danny Bernate and UHD Head Bebot Oquendo. (standing l-r) Councilor Noel Sermense, BPLO head Bong Galang and General services Officer Gani Togonon

Francisco Colayco in Calbayog

Mr. Francisco Colayco, one of the country's foremost financial analysts and founder of the Colayco Foundation for Education today conducted a Financial Management Seminar dubbed "PERA PALAGUIN" at the TTMIST Socio-Cultural Center.

The LGU-initiated activity was attended by a good number of participants that included the City Officials, LGU employees, DepEd Supervisors and Principals, TTMIST admininstrators and personnel and students from TTMIST and CKC.

I emceed the event and I got busy taking down notes I managed to take only a few pictures which I am pleased to share with you.

Mr. Francisco Colayco as he exchanged pleasantries with TTMIST prexy Socorro Bohol and Mayor Mel Sarmiento

The book-signing which capped the activity

High School student honored

The City Government of Calbayog today honored Caryl Araiz Gerarcas, a graduating student from the Calbayog City National High School.

Caryl is one the 21 fourth year students (out of 1,223,465) who made it to DepEd's elite "Club 99+" after taking the National Assessment Career Examination (NCAE) last August 28, 2007. These students obtained ratings of 99%plus in all domain areas namely: general scholastic aptitude, technical-vocational aptitude and entrepreneurual skills.

As per DepEd updates, members of this year's Club 99+ are mostly products of the public school system. Of the 21 studetns who made it to the exclusive club, 8 came from national high schools, 4 were from regional science / science high schools and 1 was a product of a state university laboratory school. 8 students were from private schools.

According to DepEd Scretary Jesli Lapus, the NCAE was developed to assess the aptitudes of 4th year high school students and guide them in choosing an appropriate career path after graduation. Unlike the NCEE which was discontinued in 1994, the NCAE is used entirely for recommendation purposes in career guidance.

NCAE is currently on its second year. On the third year of implementation test results are envisioned to serve as prerequisite for enrolment in any four or five-year degrees in colleges and universities as well as two-year vocational or technological courses. An enabling law is needed to make the test an admisiion prerequisite.

Below are pictures I took during this morning's simple ceremonies:

Vice Mayor Ronald Aquino as he read the SP Resolution congratulating Caryl

Caryl as she received the resolution from Vice Mayor Aquino and a 5-thousand peso cash gift from Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento

Caryl's mom saying a few words of thanks

a year ago (last week)

This was supposed to have been posted last January 24, 2008 but I got sick. Anyway, I took these pictures and videos on January 24, 2007 when the Calbayog PNP presented to the media the suspects in the killing of two female students at their Boarding House in Barangay Balud. A good number of Calbayognon went out that day to show indignation against the crime committed. The presentation was held at the Conference Hall of the Old Barracks Building (Handumanan) thus explains the image of the Cathedral in the background.

I tooks these videos using my CP to record how the crowd reacted as the suspects were taken down from the Old Barracks Building into the waiting police vehicle.

A City in Protest

The City of Calbayog today joined the nationwide protest against House Bill 24 which aims to convert 28 more municipalities into cities.

Mayor Mel Sarmiento led the activity in Calbayog. I have posted some pictures taken during this morning's event courtesy of Samar Sunday Star.

As with the other cities nationwide, the flag flew at half-mast as the Mayor delivered the LCP Manifesto.

Pictures below are of some of the employees who attended the activity.

(Here's the manifesto delivered by Mayor Sarmiento)

To our colleagues in the city government and members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, to our committed city employees who report to work daily, willing to serve our constituents with a ready smile, to all of you here present on this historic day:

A pleasant day to all!

Today, in our weekly flag raising ceremony, we mark one of the most important days in the history of cities in the Philippines. On this day, we show that we are one and united with the other 119 cities in standing for what is right and just.

We express our indignation and protest against the conversion of 16 municipalities into cities of the 13th Congress even if they did not meet the income and population requirements as mandated by law. We echo our dismay on the railroaded process of converting these 16 cities without due consideration of what is required by law. We are appalled by the inconsiderate and hasty move of the Congress for the conversion of the cities without thinking of the dire consequences it will bring to the existing cities and more importantly, to our constituents.

The consequence of this action is the minimal increase in the 2008 IRA or Internal Revenue Allotment of cities.

The IRA is derived from the income taxes that you pay to the national government. It is the rightful share of the local governments from the national government funds that essentially helps subsidize the programs and projects of our city government.

According to the Local Government Code of 1991, 40% of the national collection of taxes should be given to local government units as IRA. Then 23% of this should be given to the 120 cities in the country. This means that for every peso tax collected, 40 centavos should go to the local government units to be shared by provinces, municipalities and cities. And 23% or 9 centavos of which should go to the cities.

For the year 2008, the Department of Budget and Management released 210.7 billion pesos as IRA share for all local government units, with 47.9 billion pesos going to cities. But because of the questionable conversion of the 16 cities, the increase in the IRA of the 120 legitimate cities has been reduced by 4 billion pesos. This means that the cities get a measly increase in IRA despite the growing needs of the cities.

This deplorable effect of the reduced increase of IRA for cities is deeply felt by Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. Instead of receiving 146 pesos million as IRA, it will only receive 1.7 million pesos, a significant loss of 144 million pesos. The same is felt by other cities in the country.

Yet another blow to our cities is the use of the 2000 population data in the computation of the IRA. We all know that our population has continually increased in the past eight years especially with high urban migration. If we look closely, the IRA per capita of cities are actually far lower than that of provinces and municipalities.

Based on a 2005 statistics, each city dweller has an IRA share of 1,650 pesos compared to the allocation to provinces and municipalities which is 2,153 pesos. This is because there are more people living in the cities. In the Philippines, 55% of the population are found in urban centers.

Another burden for the cities are the thousands of transients who come in and out of the cities as workers, students, tourists and businessmen on a daily basis. These transients also need services from the city. With the reduced IRA share, the city budget which is not already in sufficient before is now even more strained.

The IRA is the fund used by the city government to fulfill its responsibility to promote the general welfare of its constituents. Majority of cities depend on IRA in extending basic services. These basic services include services on health, education, and housing.

A decrease in the IRA share therefore adversely effects the services that the city government could give to its constituents. The measly increase in the IRA is not enough to support the needs of our children for additional schools and educational facilities. It is not enough to supply cheap but quality medicine. It is not enough to cover expenses for our health centers and hospitals. It is not enough to ensure peace and order in our communities. It is not enough to offer shelter to those who need roofs over their heads. This is not enough for the proper collection and management of our wastes.

We are one of those who share this sad scenario. For this year, our city stands to receive 72,420,656.00 pesos instead of 6,583,834.00 pesos.

It is sad to mention that we in the city hall are not exempt from the effects of the IRA as it directly affects us. The casual employees of the city hall could possible carry the burden. If we have insufficient funds for our operations and for the implementation of our projects and programs, we could be forced to lay-off workers. Our operating costs are increasing. Gasoline prices increased many times last year. We need to trim down our expense. We need to identify possible resources while being more prudent in our expenditure. We are the innocent casualty of the reduced IRA share.

But we will not just allow this to happen. We will fight for justice and with your support , we will win.

We also reiterate that we are not against other municipalities to become cities as long as they meet the requirements mandated by the law. We are fighting for the right process. If there are qualified to be cities, let them be cities. But we hope that they comply with the requirements of the law and that they undergo scrutiny and proper deliberation before they are converted.

This morning we need to show our protest. We call for our law makers to respect and follow the laws that they themselves passed. We show that we are united in this issue. We here in the city, together with the rest of the 119 cities in the country are fighting for the right process and for the rule of law.

We enjoin everyone to wear black arm bands as our symbol of our dissent. This will be a symbol of our mourning for the effects of the unjust action of some of our lawmakers. This also means that we lament the blatant disregard of our plight as legitimate cities.

Let us show our unity so that others realize that the cities are a force to reckon with. It is high time that the authorities and every single Filipino understand our cause. As engines of growth of this country, we have to be heard.

This will be a continuing fight for us. We will do this protest every Monday. We encourage our constituents and all the stakeholders to join our fight. We will wear our arm bands. And flags will be raised on half mast.

The IRA issue is not just our issue. It is the issue of the people. Every citizen, rich, poor, young and old, should be involved. We should take stand and fight for our right.