By Alice Nicart

Borongan City (17 November) -- Not one but several farmers and sectoral groups in Eastern Samar province have now availed of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Comprehensive Livelihood Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP).

Some 21 fisher folks of barangay Pepilitian, this town, embraced recently, this government's assistance in a form of fishing boats which was estimated to cost P130,000.00.

This was learned from Engineer Alexi Abellar, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Provincial Chief in an interview.

Aimed to combat extreme hunger and poverty, the program had been running in the province since it was launched last year.

Abellar stressed that the financial aid do not usually go direct to the beneficiaries, as in other CLEEP projects, rather, the fund for boat-making for instance for the Borongan folks was coursed through the local government unit which was identified as the accredited co-partner.

The fishermen received also paddles (bugsay) and other fishing paraphernalia from the project which complied with the bidding procedures and other Commission on Audit (COA) rules and regulations, Abellar added.

On the same note, the 25-member Cabadlongan Fisher Folks Association (CAFA) of barangay Cabadlongan, Guiuan, claim that life had been bettered with their increased earnings from Bahalina and Vinegar making.

CAFA received P500,000.00 assistance from DOLE, still under PGMA's CLEEP program.

CAFA President, Mr. Teofilo Adesna, a.k.a. Man Tioping, mentioned that many of their members' children are now in school because their parents' income have become sufficient for their school needs.

Asked through a long distance call to Cebu, where his association joined the recent 'One Town, One Town Product' (OTOP) display, the 52-year old Man Tioping disclosed that the Bahalina process includes the sealing of several barrels of freshly gathered Tuba, [pronounced /chuba/ in English] in eight to 12 months.

"With the containers awarded of us by the CLEEP program, through the Guiuan town LGU, we no longer worry where to stock our raw Tuba as we await the lengthy procedure of Bahalina making", he explained. "The P150.00 per gallon of fresh Tuba, is sold as a processed Bahalina at P350.00 per container which is good enough to them", Man Tioping added.

He also said that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) with Provincial Caretaker, Mrs. Eleanor Alido and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) have been their constant mentors in determining the quality of their product as well as in the packaging.

The CAFA President also quipped that they are no longer stagnant citizens because in times of Bahalina processing, where the Tuba stands in months, they go fishing where another humble earning is expected.

There is quite a long list of CLEEP implemented projects in Eastern Samar province as revealed by Engr. Abellar; among them are: The capability building on livelihood formation and enhancement for the Employees' Union of ESAMElCO, (P400K for the rank and file Union and P240K for the Supervisory Union); P162K aid for Persons with Disabilities ; the emergency employment assistance for labor for the rehabilitation of Balangiga river control, P200th; the rehabilitation of the drainage canal at barangay Tigib in Guiuan, P300K and Kampakerit, Maydolong water system rehabilitation for their Day Care Center.