Difference between revisions of "Southern Leyte Province, Philippines"

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==[[Southern Leyte News]]==
==[[Southern Leyte News]]==
'''Over a thousand slots await “summer jobbers” in So. Leyte'''
'''Communities extract 170,000 Crown Of Thorns Starfish in Limasawa, Padre Burgos and Maasin City'''
*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R08&article=1301333436103
*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R08&article=1281333674402
*Wednesday 4th of April 2012
*Friday 6th of April 2012
:by Marcelo M. Pedalino
:by Erna S. Gorne






MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Apr. 4 (PIA) -- The Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) project of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) provincial office here just got even more special this summer time, as more qualified youths will be gainfully employed.  
MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, April 6 (PIA) -- The bane of corals are finally being decimated. At least 170,000 Crown Of Thorns Starfish (COTS), locally known of dap-marine invertebrates that feed on corals which are marine sanctuaries, and also kill corals, were extracted particularly in Limasawa, Padre Burgos, and Maasin City, all of Southern Leyte in less than 10 days.  


In a list of 2012 SPES pledged by DOLE, some 1,031 posts are up for grabs, mainly through the labor agency’s partner institutions that include local government units (LGUs), a public school, and one national government office - the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).  
“We have found extreme population of COTS particularly in the municipalities of Limasawa and Padre Burgos and the city of Maasin where we estimated the presence of over a thousand COTS in one hectare compared to 12 COTS in normal condition, “ according to Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Management Office (PENRMO) – Coastal Fisheries Resource Management Office (CFRMO) Chief Eva Abad.  


Mario Tictic of DOLE-So. Leyte said that for this year, their office was given an allocation of 1,500 students for SPES placement, also popularly known as summer job, so there are still some 400 more slots to be filled, this time in cooperation with private schools which already signified their intention to join.  
She said that in less than 10 days of synchronized extraction of COTS in the mentioned three different areas, an estimated 170,000 of COTS were partially gathered by the communities including the owners of foreign-operated dive shops in the locality particularly in Padre Burgos.  


DOLE and their respective listed partners are presently finalizing the papers of students who had applied for this summer’s SPES, which will start on May 7 for a 20-day employment period, while educational institutions in the private sector like Saint Joseph College (SJC) and the College of Maasin (CM) will start in June, Tictic said.  
Abad said the initial estimates of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Provincial Office reported last March 22 that in one 500 square-meter area of corals alone, there were an estimated of over a thousand COTS.  


The provincial government tops the list with 338 students up for hiring, followed by the city government at 150, and Malitbog LGU with 110, then Sogod LGU at 100. Malitbog has the distinction of hiring similar students for years in a row, even as it accepts new SPES applicants, 80 students for this summer.  
However, BFAR Provincial Office is now undertaking an actual underwater assessment of the presence of COTS to 500 square meters of corals and to determine the extent of the damaged coral areas had done in the province, she said.  


The public school which participated in this program is the Southern Leyte State University (SLSU)-Bontoc Campus.  
She added that there will be more joint lined up activities by the local government units and by the GIZ, a German organization in order to prevent this impending coastal disaster in the province.  


Other LGUs with SPES placements this year are Macrohon, Padre Burgos, Tomas Oppus, Libagon, Saint Bernard, Anahawan, Hinundayan, Silago, and Liloan.  
In Maasin City alone, the local government unit–initiated extraction got a total of 23,000 COTS collected March 27, 2012, she added.  


Most summer jobbers have a daily rate of P 150 per day, except for SLSU-Bontoc at P 133 per day, Maasin City at P 180 per day, and DPWH at P 250 per day. Salaries, however, will be shared between DOLE and the sponsoring LGU/agency, with DOLE paying 40 percent of the rate, and the LGUs, 60 percent.
She noted that extraction of COTS most of the times were stalled due to the lack of funds in order to mobilize the community to join in the extraction along their barangays. (ldl/esg/PIA8 SoLeyte)
 
Based on the list, DOLE had set aside a budget of P 1,338,662.40 for 1,031 SPES, while the combined counterpart of all the LGUs was P 2,007,993.60.
 
Last year, there were only a little over 400 SPES slots reserved by DOLE for Southern Leyte.
 
The Special Program for Employment of Students is mandated under Republic Act No. 9547 which aims to help poor but deserving students pursue their education by providing income or augment their income through encouraging their employment during summer and/or Christmas vacations. The SPES is open to all qualified high school, college or vocational students or drop-outs and interested employers. (GTT/MMP-PIA8, Southern Leyte)


==Photo Gallery of Southern Leyte, Philippines==
==Photo Gallery of Southern Leyte, Philippines==

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