Actress, Jude Acidre file COCs as Tingog’s 3rd, 2nd nominees

THE TINGOG party-list group led by Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez on Friday sought reelection following a very productive first term in the House of Representatives as actress-singer Karla Estrada, the very proud “momshie” of actor and recording artist Daniel Padilla, joined the group as its third nominee.

Estrada and Tingog 2nd nominee Jude Acidre personally filed their Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) in behalf of other nominees before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at the Harbor Garden Tent of Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City.

They were accompanied by Luningning B. Lariosa, TINGOG Secretary-General, during the filing.

Romualdez, the Chairperson of the House Committee on the Welfare of Children and a registered nurse, is TINGOG’s first nominee.

Acidre, the chief of staff of Romualdez and 2021 JCI Philippines President, a former youth leader, community volunteer and political affairs consultant from Barugo, Leyte, is the party-list 2nd nominee.

Estrada, Carla E. Ford in real life, is also an award-winning talk show host, strong advocate for education and volunteer and philanthropist for relief operations during calamities and other emergencies from Tacloban City, Leyte.

The 4th nominee is Jaime J. Go, an entrepreneur and civic leader from Tacloban City, Leyte and Alexis V. Yu, pharmacist, entrepreneur and community leader from Basey, Samar, is the 5th nominee.

ABOUT TINGOG

TINGOG Party-list (formerly Tingog Sinirangan Party-list) is a party-list driven by its core advocacies pagbag-o, paglaum, and pag-uswag — the Waray words for change, hope and progress, respectively — by empowering and improving quality of life and outcomes for many Filipino families and communities in the margins of society, starting with its home region of Eastern Visayas (Region VIII).

The party hopes to bring about change from the ground up with an empowered electorate supported by higher family incomes and increased social services, especially for the most vulnerable, who are politically active and engaged in improving governance in their communities and, eventually, on a national scale.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROGRAMS

TINGOG has been working closely with various government agencies to provide assistance and support programs to many in need, especially those who have been hard hit by the economic effects of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

TINGOG offers the following programs:

• Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP) program, medicines, vaccinations and wheelchair donations, and three (3) Mobile Dental Vans through its partnership with the Department of Health (DOH);

• Assistance in Crisis Situations (AICS), Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and Family Food Packs (FFPs) through its partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD);

• Tulong Dunong Scholarship Program through its partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED);

• Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program, Government Internship Program (GIP) and Nego-Karts program through its partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); and

• Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) through its partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

In over two years of service to the people, TINGOG has helped, as of July 16, 2021, over 20,381 beneficiaries through the MAIP program; 13,413 through the AICS program; 4,667 through the SLP; 12,751 through the TUPAD; 200 under the DOLE GIP; 20,000 scholars under the Tulong Dunong Program; and 12,120 TESDA grantees.

INFRASTRUCTURE

As of July 16, 2021, over Php 1.553B has been allocated for infrastructure projects to improve a massively underdeveloped Eastern Visayas, with 398 infrastructure projects currently completed and ongoing.

LEGISLATIVE

TINGOG has had 59 bills approved in the House of Representatives, 21 of which have now been signed into law. In its now two years of service to the public, three (3) of TINGOG’s priority bills have been signed into law, including two (2) bills for the improvement and upgrading of hospitals in Eastern Visayas, namely:

1. The Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (now the Eastern Visayas Medical Center) in Tacloban City, Leyte (Republic Act (RA) No. 11567), and

2. The Schistosomiasis Control and Research Hospital (now the Governor Benjamin T. Romualdez General Hospital and Schistosomiasis Center) in Palo, Leyte (RA No. 11566); and

3. The Alternative Learning System (ALS) Act (RA 11510), institutionalizing the ALS as the “other lung” of the Philippine education system and provides a more systematic and flexible approach by bringing both academic and practical, technical, and vocational skills to the learners outside of the formal educational system, such as out-of-school children, youth and adults, the elderly, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors of society.

COVID RESPONSE IN EASTERN VISAYAS

On the onset of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, TINGOG has been working to better prepare Eastern Visayas from the coming onslaught of COVID cases.

TINGOG was instrumental in securing the accreditation of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) as a dedicated regional testing center to reduce the major concern of delays in testing.

The party-list also lobbied for needed medical supplies for COVID response such as PPEs, disinfectants, hospital beds, ambulances to both Samar and Leyte, as well as community- and hospital-based isolation, treatment and monitoring facilities for healthcare workers (HCWs), locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning OFWs through its close partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and several hotels in Tacloban City.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

In running for its second term, TINGOG aims to share its vision of transformational politics, shared governance, and development of the peripheries it established for and from its home in Eastern Visayas and spread it to other underserved areas of the country as a model for sustainable, inclusive, unified, and overall societal change in the Philippines.

TINGOG hopes that it lives up to its name — the Visayan word for ‘voice’ — and continues to serve as the voice for the marginalized and underserved of the country.