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Losing sight of science, a peril to development?

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Ignorance of science is absolutely a peril to development. This was a buzzword from Dr. Kelvin S. Rodolfo, an Earth and Environmental Scientist who spoke in a forum organized by the Urban Poor Associates this morning regarding the impacts of the proposed 27.3 kilometers embankment project to be built from Tacloban City to Palo and Tanauan, Leyte. Having extensively worked on the field of geological sciences, disaster risks reduction and climate change studies, his technical inputs uncovered many unforeseen impacts of the tide embankment as the  engineering works take-off. In his lectures, he presented several cases of ground movements and observable environmental hazards associated with poorly planned protective infrastructure projects.  He emphasized  that any planned development that entails alteration of the existing ecosystem and massive displacement of communities should be science-informed, otherwise these will only create more disasters. Dr.Kelvin Rodolfo ...
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PFV Community observes a traditional house cleansing ritual

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The belief in the supernatural is very prominent in the Filipino culture. Performing some house cleansing rituals come into play when, people are building houses or moving to a new house. Generally people do these to ward off evil spirits and other mystical entities. As a show of respect to traditional practices of Taclobanons, I have documented a seasoned ritual called “Padugo” or offering blood of an animal as a form of sacrifice at Pope Francis Village yesterday. The ritual was performed during the pre-concrete pouring for foundations of the first batch of rowhouse units.. It involves slitting of the throat of three white chickens and dripping the blood to the excavated holes before actual pouring of cement. This was performed by a folk healer who happened to be one of the community members of Pope Francis Village. According to traditional beliefs, this practice of taking the life of a sacrificed animal will prevent the evil forces from taking the life of workers or anyone conne...
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Pope Francis School Building Construction: Uncovering Its Bottlenecks and Gains

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  The construction of the two-storey, six-classroom building at Scandinavian Elementary School in Barangay 100 San Roque, Tacloban City is one of the strategic rehabilitation assistance of Alberta School Board to children of Typhoon Yolanda survivors in partnership with Pope Francis for Resilient and Co-Empowered Sustainable Communities (FRANCESCO). The building has robust and structurally-sound features purposely designed to accommodate around 300 additional school children especially those who will be coming from Pope Francis Village. It could also serve as an evacuation building in times of emergencies and disasters. Proposed architectural design of Pope Francis School Building Project Unlike most traditional contractor-led construction practice, the Pope Francis School Building Project puts premium on integrated and people-driven approach to construction management. Here, partner communities and other relevant stakeholders are assuming a more active role in various a...
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