OCT/11/2008
Gov. Petilla: Find out truth on Tacloban being an HUC
by SARWELL Q. MENIANO

PALO, Leyte - Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla challenged Tacloban residents to “find out the truth” about being a highly urbanized city and “decide for themselves” on this issue.

Petilla vowed not to campaign against or in favor of the city’s reclassification but he is willing to discuss to the public the pros and cons of the pending change.

“My personal stand is that it’s about time that Taclobanons should decide for themselves. They will vote for HUC just once in a lifetime. They should find out the truth and decide for themselves,” Petilla said in an interview with Leyte Samar Daily Express.

The governor said that he was informed by the Office of the President beforehand at least a week prior to the issuance of Presidential Proclamation 1637 last October 4, 2008.

“That (proclamation) is no surprise to me. Malacañang called me a week before the signing. The content of the proclamation was read to me,” he added.

“Since the city is qualified in terms of income and population, President Arroyo has no choice but to issue a proclamation within 30 days. It was even delayed.”

The chief executive of the provincial government, who reportedly opposed the conversion, declined to elaborate the advantages and disadvantages of HUC. “It is best if we will discuss this in a forum.”

It was learned from him that the provincial government will also launch an information dissemination drive in this issue based on “automatic legal implications.”

“I will campaign for what is the truth. This should be decided by the people and not by a person,” the governor said.

In a news conference earlier, City Mayor Alfred Romualdez urged others to explain the disadvantages if there is. “Come out and say it.”

Even with the city’s independence from the provincial administration, the properties of the province will remain as it is as stated in the law.

“When Cebu was converted into an HUC, the provincial government still resides in Cebu City. A lot of provincial properties in Cebu are still in Cebu City,” he pointed out.

Earlier, City Mayor Alfred Romualdez claimed that the provincial government opposes the city’s HUC bid because it stands to lose millions of pesos on its internal revenue allotment (IRA) share.

“I don’t see any advantage on our part. The province would stand to lose of their IRA because we will not be anymore included in the population and land area,” Romualdez said.

The city mayor estimated that the province would lose around P80 million as its annual IRA share since the city government will be under the direct supervision of the Office of the President.

The provincial government at present gets a P700 million IRA share and is projected to reach P1 billion mark few years from now.


Source:
http://leytesamardaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4944&Itemid=233

17 Oct 2008
US-based call center to locate at the Leyte ICT Park
by AHLETTE C. REYES

TACLOBAN CITY - Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla announced that the coming in of a call center locator at the Leyte ICT Park is finally official following the signing of the lease agreement with the company APAC Customer Services, Inc. a NASDAQ-listed business process outsourcing firm.

The lease agreement was signed between the provincial government and APAC on Tuesday night, making the Leyte branch as the company’s fourth call center branches which include two other APAC branches in Alabang in Muntinlupa and another in Quezon City.

The contract signing also came with the announcement that APAC is set to hold a job fair for its senior staff this Oct. 24 to 26 at the Luxury Suites here in Tacloban City.

Gov. Petilla disclosed during the provincial government’s weekly radio program last Wednesday, APAC would be the only call center of its size to locate in the region and would be employing its capacity of 1,000 call center agents as it starts operations by January 2009.

The governor said the presence of a major BPO firm in the province would help ease joblessness and is expecting to improve people’s spending power.

“Not only that, other establishments would come in, particularly those in the food business, with more or less thousand of employees to cater to,” Gov. Petilla said.

The governor, who himself is in the IT business, said that although the bulk of APAC’S client, comprising about 98% of its total clientele, is from the US which is currently undergoing major financial undertow, the new locator has assured him they expect to continue growing here in the near to medium term.

APAC is providing customer solution particularly in the field of healthcare, publishing and logistics.

It was learned the Leyte-based workers may get lower salaries than their Manila counterparts, however, it is considered that the cost of living here in the province is lower compared to those in Manila.

The Illinois-based firm would invest around $200 million on their first site outside Metro Manila and would be the start of the company’s five-year expansion in the country, where 80% of its growth is projected to be in the provinces.

APAC has 9,000 employees, 4,000 of whom are in the US.

Meanwhile, APAC likewise announced their job fair set next week would be for operations director, manager, recruitment specialists, human resources manager, finance manager, accountant purchasing assistant, payroll assistant, compensation and salary assistant, IT employees, team leaders, quality analysts and administrative assistants.


Source:
http://leytesamardaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5008&Itemid=233

18 Oct 2008
P100M for Leyte Palaro
by Joey A. Gabieta

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte -- The national government will be spending around P100 million to stage next year's Palarong Pambansa, the country's largest sporting event, in Leyte.

The amount will not include the cost of renovating the sites of the games, as this will be shouldered by the host provincial government, according to Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani.

Bacani, who is a member of the executive coordinating committee of the 2009 Palarong Pambansa, said the P100 million will exclusively cover the cost of travel, uniforms, and food of participating delegates from the country's 17 regions.

About 10,000 athletes, coaches, and other delegates are expected to take part in the games, Bacani said.

Bacani was in the city Friday to attend the first national and regional sports coordination meeting between education and provincial government officials held at the Governor's Hall of the provincial capitol building.

The Palarong Pambansa, held for the first time in Eastern Visayas since 1983, will be staged at the Leyte Sports Development Complex from April 26 to May 2, 2009.

Students from the elementary and secondary schools all over the country will compete for honors.

Elementary students will compete in 16 sports while high school students will vie for medals in 17 games.

The provincial government has estimated it would be spending about P50 million to renovate the facilities at the sports complex and to spruce up the public schools that will be used as billeting spaces for participating delegations, said Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla.

The hosting of the Palarong Pambansa was earlier embroiled in a controversy after Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez informed Education Secretary Jesli Lapus in a letter that the city government would not co-host the sports event.

Despite the lack of cooperation from Tacloban City, Petilla decided to push through with his bid to host the Palaro.


Source:
http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20081018-167157/P100M-for-Leyte-Palaro

26 Oct 2008
Romualdezes eye return in 2010
By Joey A. Gabieta

TACLOBAN CITY -- A Romualdez is sure to run for Leyte governor in the 2010 elections.

But who among the members of the influential family would run for Leyte's top post was not bared by Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez who revealed his family's plan in a talk with reporters here on Saturday.

The mayor's disclosure came in the heels of his campaign to convert Tacloban into a highly urbanized city, which would exclude its residents from voting and being voted upon for any elective post in Leyte.

Other than the small town of Tolosa, Tacloban, which has over 90,000 registered voters, is considered to be the main bailiwick of the Romualdezes whose political fortune is largely credited to former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

Tolosa, some 24 kilometers from this city, is considered to be the hometown of the Romualdezes.

"Politically, the conversion of Tacloban into a highly urbanized city is not good for us because a Romualdez would like to run for (governor)," the city mayor said.

He, however, declined to identify who among the family members would run for governor.

Philip Romualdez, a cousin of the city mayor, is rumored to be interested to run for governor in 2010 elections.

Philip's younger brother, Ferdinand Martin, is the incumbent congressman representing the first district of Leyte which covers this city and seven towns.

Philip's father, Kokoy, served as Leyte's governor for 20 years throughout the Marcos regime. Philip himself was the provincial chairman of the Kabataan Barangay (Youth Village), the precursor of today's Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council).

The Romualdez family left the province in 1986 after the regime of Ferdinand Marcos was ousted through the peaceful Edsa People Power Revolution.

The family is now considered to be among the closest political allies of President Macapagal-Arroyo.

A close aide of Leyte Gov. Jericho Petilla, another Arroyo ally and whose family’s stock as a political clan rose during the Aquino administration, said they would welcome anyone from the Romualdez family who would seek the gubernatorial seat.

"It's every one's right to run for any elective position," said the aide, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized by the governor to speak on the issue.

The Petillas have ruled the province of more than 1.2 million people for 18 years now. Petilla's mother, Remedios, was the governor he succeeded.

Mayor Romualdez, meanwhile, dismissed speculations that he was pushing for the conversion of Tacloban into a highly urbanized city as part of his plan to return to Congress.

"That rumor is funny; that I will run for a congressional seat as my wife (actress Cristina Gonzales) will run for mayor," Romualdez said.

"I want to see Tacloban become an HUC because it will give us more opportunities like attracting more investors, and not for any political reason," he added.

An HUC is entitled to a congressional representation.

Romualdez served as congressman for Leyte's first congressional district from 1995 to 1998. He sought reelection but was defeated by popular news anchor Ted Failon.


Source:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20081026-168594/Romualdezes-eye-return-in-2010

17 Nov 2008
Leyte takes over Imelda-built resort
By Joey A. Gabieta

TACLOBAN CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the provincial government to take over the management and operations of a P100-million beach resort built by then First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos in the town of Palo, Leyte, and sequestered by the government after the Edsa Revolution in 1986.

The 43-room MacArthur Park Beach Resort is considered among the two top hotels in Eastern Visayas. The other is Leyte Park Resort, which was also built by the widow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and government-sequestered but is now being managed by the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), Assets Privatization Trust and provincial government.

Provincial administrator Vincent Emnas said the President issued Executive Order No. 756 on Oct. 2, which transferred the management of MacArthur Park Beach Resort from the PTA to the provincial government upon the request of Gov. Jericho Petilla.

Starting January next year, Emnas said the provincial government would take over the hotel, located several meters from the MacArthur National Shrine in Candahug, Palo. The hotel, named after the legendary American general who helped liberate the country from Japanese invaders, was built on a three-hectare lot owned by the provincial government.

Private operation

Although the MacArthur Park Beach Resort was built by Imelda in 1983, it was run by a private group called Island Corp., according to Jane Quisumbing, the hotel’s human resources chief. In 1994, the PTA took over the management and operations of the hotel.

On Friday, personnel from the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) were seen taking away Chinese jars, tables, chairs, a grand piano and other items. One of them said the items would be stored at the PCGG office.

A senior officer of the hotel, who asked not to be identified because of lack of authority to deal with the media, said the items were “borrowed” by the PTA from the Sto. Niño Shrine, a sequestered property of the Romualdez family, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Leyte Landings in 1994 attended by then President Fidel V. Ramos.

Under the new management, all revenues will go to the provincial treasury and will be used for hotel maintenance, operations and management, EO 756 said.

Emnas said the provincial government intended to rehabilitate the hotel and would look for private partners.

All 50 regular and three casual employees hired by the PTA will be under the provincial government, which Emnas said might “rationalize the personnel complement in accordance with the civil service rules and regulations.”

But a senior hotel officer, who asked not to be identified for fear of risking his job, said the employees were apprehensive about the turnover because they might not enjoy the same benefits.


Source:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20081117-172626/Leyte-takes-over-Imelda-built-resort

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03 Jan 2009
Youths to be trained on ICT to attract more investors
by Sarwell Q. Meniano

TACLOBAN CITY - The Leyte provincial government will train more youth on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the bid to attract ICT-related investors in the province next year.

Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla said the initiative would boast confidence of ICT firms to invest in Leyte with the presence of young computer programmers in the province.

"Our goal is to flood the province with information and technology (IT) experts. This is an industry-based education to ensure that they will land a job," Petilla said in a recent interview.

Last October 2008, the provincial government opened the Income Creating Opportunity thru Technology Program (ICOT-P) data center in the 6.8-hectare Leyte Information Communication Technology (ICT) Park. The program will develop capabilities of poor students in computer programming.

Housed in the new data center are 30 LCD (liquid crystal display) computers with high-end central processing unit for 34 students Leyte students who undertake advanced computer programming course. The center is equipped with wireless internet and projectors.

These 34 students were not able to pursue regular college education due to economic reasons.

"I've found out that some poor students are good in ICT. If they will go into four years in college, chances of getting employed is less. In this training, we're not teaching students how to use computer games and programs but on how to create it," Petilla added.

The provincial government has been conducting assessment in public secondary schools to look for potential students that will be trained with advanced ICT learning.

The governor said that potential investors also proposed to provide training modules and instructors and hire students after the training.

"We will provide ICT investors with proper programmers. We envisioned developing our own talents. That's the best way to become the country's ICT hub," he said.

Educating youth in ICT is now on its second phase after these 34 students finished the first phase through school-based learning for nine months early this year. The system is advanced considering that it takes four years for other ICT schools to complete the formal training.

In a project briefing provided by the provincial government, the program will promote certification of students, instructors and professionals; linking of academe and industry, promotion of open source software and creation of web portal for Leyte.

The Leyte ICT Park is a facility of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in Palo, Leyte with the provincial government as owner. Current occupants are Technology Business Incubator, Zurcsoft, AppLab Technologies, electronic Drawing Design Center , Leyte Tourism and Investment Promotion Center office, AMA Computer College , St. Augustine School of Nursing, LIDER Review Center.


Source:
http://leytesamardaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5752&Itemid=233