ISSUE NO. 24 JUNE 15 2006

Bayawan boosts eco-governance project
The local government unit of Bayawan City led by Mayor German P. Saraña has already set the wheels turning for its eco-governance program that will shoot not two, but three birds with one stone - develop underutilized areas and provide a sustainable market-led agricultural development while producing alternative energy.

Under its eco-governance program, there are now 30,976 jatropha seedlings thriving in 15 nurseries in Bayawan City as of May 2006, according to Bayawan City Agriculturist Luis Sumalpong.

Jatropha, or locally known as “tuba-tuba”, is a plant capable of producing bio-diesel fuel.

Aside from jathropa, Bayawan City is also embarking on a rubber plantation project which Sumalpong said they hope to launch by the first week of July.

He disclosed that they already have an estimated 300,000 seedlings being planted in a 60-hectare stretch in a watershed area identified by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).

The city government however has no plans of stopping there and is looking at expanding the rubber and jatropha plantations on a larger scale.

To encourage the 28 total barangays in the city to take part in the eco-governance program, Mayor Saraña is offering an incentive to the barangay officials.

For the barangay that can plant 350 hectares of jathropa, the city government will acquire a jatropha oil extraction machine for them, which costs around P100,000, says Sumalpong.

“The Mayor also ordered the schools to establish jathropa nurseries within the school premises,” he adds.

CENRO Chief Charlie Fabre has cited in a recent forum the active participation of the Bayawan City government in the eco-governance program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“Wala pa naghisgot si President Arroyo, ang atong mayor sa Bayawan aduna na sya’y 20,000 seedlings of jatropha,” says Fabre during a forum held by the Philippine Information Agency to mark the celebration of Environment Month.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has earlier revved up two national programs that can stem poverty and hunger in the countryside, at the core of which is the cultivation of jatropha as a diesel substitute in the government’s energy conservation program.

DENR together with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) have identified more than 700,000 hectares for agro-forestry and biofuel cultivation nationwide.

Primary among the agricultural products being pushed by the President is jatropha, a drought-resistant perennial shrub whose fruit can be processed into oil and refined into diesel or burned in home stoves.

Found throughout the Philippines, jatropha has an economical life of up to 35 years and can live for 50 years.

A readily available and renewable fuel, jatropha grows fast, with little or no need for maintenance and can reach a height of three to eight meters.

Based on extensive testing done in India, three kilos of jatropha seed can produce a liter of crude jatropha oil.

Mt. Kanlaon still on alert level 1
Alert level 1 remains in effect over Mt. Kanlaon as the volcano continues to show sporadic periods of unrest.

Henry Villaflores, chief of the seismology division of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said Kanlaon Volcano recently exhibited two episodes of ash emission.

The volcano spewed minor steam ash from 4:10 to 4:44 p.m. and 5:35 to 5:50 p.m. on June 13 and then again from 5:09 to 5:30 in the morning of June 14.

“The grayish steam clouds rose to about 900 meters above the active crater and drifted to northeast and northwest,” says Villaflores, reading from the latest Kanlaon Volcano Advisory from the volcanology division during a Kapihan forum held June 14 by the Philippine Information Agency.

But no volcanic earthquakes coincident with the ash puffs were recorded

No big recorded tectonic earthquakes have been recorded either, adds Villaflores.

Phivolcs, however, is still urging the public not to enter the 4-kilometer radius permanent danger zone around Kanlaon Volcano.

Aside from Kanlanon, other Philippine volcanoes have also been showing periods of unrest recently.

Mt. Bulusan had been on alert level 1 beginning March 19 but on June 7, the alert level was raised to No. 2 after the volcano exhibited an elevated degree of unrest.

Also on heightened alert status are Mt. Mayon in Albay province and Taal Volcano.

Villaflores, during the forum, dismissed the notion that the volcanoes’ activities of unrest are somehow interconnected. “Volcanoes like Kanlaon, Bulusan, Mayon and Taal have different vents or sources of heat from underground. It’s just coincidental na nagkadungan na sila, but it doesn’t mean that they all have one source,” he explained.

Villaflores also assured that the two other volcanoes in the province, Cuernos de Negros and Mt. Talinis, have been quiet for more than a hundred years.

But the seismologist is not shrugging off the possibility that it might suddenly stir awake. “Pareho sa nahitabo sa Mt. Pinatubo nga dugay nang gahilom, nikalit ra man ug balik ug buto,” he said.

Although there are no known fault lines within Negros island, Villaflores said they have identified what they call as probable fault lines, or areas where an earthquake’s epicenter falls.

“Whenever there is a quake, we get the epicenter and after a few years mahitabuan na pud nga dinha dapita, we mark it on the map and call it a probable fault line,” explains Villaflores.

According to Villaflores, the probable fault lines here are in an area in Bais City crossing the mountains to Siaton town and part of Guihulngan going to San Carlos City.

The identified fault lines in the country or the Philippine Fault Zone lies on the eastern part of the Philippine Archipelago.

Board member stressed community should be ready for disaster
Board Member Arturo Umbac urged the community to brace themselves for disaster in view of the onset of rainy season starting June.

“We should be prepared and the people should not depend solely on the government,” says Umbac, who also sits as executive officer of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).

According to Meteorologist Edsin Culi of the local PAGASA, around eight to 11 tropical cyclones are seen to cross the Philippine area of responsibility between July to December this year.

“July is the peak of the southwest monsoon or habagat, and tropical cyclones accompanied by heavy rains and strong winds are likely scenarios in this period,” says Culi during the Kapihan forum held June 14 by the Philippine Information Agency.

Umbac, who authored Ordinance No. 1 which establishes the Negros Oriental Community-Based Disaster Preparedness and Management Program, said they have already identified the flood-prone and landslide-prone areas in the province.

Based on records from the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council, the landslide-prone areas here are Canlaon City, Manjuyod to Himampangon, Bais to Mabinay, Dauis to Mabinay and Mabinay to Bayawan.

Identified flood-prone areas are Vallehermoso, Guihulngan, Bindoy, Manjuyod, Bais City, Tanjay City, Pamplona, Amlan, Sibulan, Dumaguete City, Bacong, Siaton and Bayawan City.

DepEd-7 sees 2% increase of student enrollment this year
With the nationwide opening of classes of public schools in both elementary and secondary levels early this month, the Department of Education in Region 7 (DepEd) is pegging the average increase of student enrollees this year to two percent.

However in Negros Oriental, it still cannot be determined whether there has been an increase in enrollment among the public schools under the DepEd Negros Oriental Division since the schools are still accepting enrollees, says Mrs. Miriam Lou Batiancila, DepEd Planning Officer 2.

Partial data from Batiancila’s office shows that as of June 13, some 39,615 secondary students and 105,092 elementary students have already been enrolled in the public schools under the provincial division.

This is just 77 percent and 90 percent of last school year’s enrollment for elementary and secondary levels, respectively.

A total of 135,243 elementary students and 44,873 high school students were enrolled in school year 2005 to 2006.

Batiancila said the final data on the division’ total enrollment this year will be determined by September.

The DepEd provincial division covers five divisions of public elementary and high schools in the province excluding Bayawan, Tanjay, Dumaguete and Bais cities.

In Cebu City, only over 25 percent of public elementary pupils reported to the first day of class according to DepEd-7 Regional Director Dr. Carolino Mordeno.

Mordeno appealed to parents to enroll their children immediately. Although they would still accept late enrollees, but only for valid reasons like being sick, newly migrated from another place or for emergency reasons.

Tropical storm leads to emergency bangus harvest in Siquijor
The recent typhoon Caloy that hit the country last month caused considerable damage to some lives and properties.

In Siquijor, fishing residents in San Juan and members of the Tubod Fishermen’s Association (TUFA) made an emergency harvest of about 700 kgs. Or 7 metric tons of milkfish or “bangus” as strong waves brought about by the typhoon hit the area, the Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) here reported.

Other damages were destroyed cage houses, torn nets and broken pipes.

The emergency harvest was done to save the bangus fish cage project from total loss, Provincial Fishery Warden Warren Inao said.

Inao said that they have made the harvest at 1 p.m. on May 11, 2006. However, due to the difficulties encountered during the harvest, almost 300 kgs. bangus escaped from their stocks.
He said that 18 days or more should have been waited for the harvest to complete the four-month culture duration as it was stocked on January 29 this year. It was obvious that the milkfish hasn’t yet reached its harvestable stage as there were bags of unconsumed feeds inside the cages, he said.

“The remaining feeds will be used for the next cropping or otherwise be given to some fish cages or other municipalities to prevent it from spoilage,” Inao said.

Inao further said that due to limited local market, members of the association agreed to sell it to neighboring municipalities and provinces at P80 per kilogram.

AI program in goats to benefit Siquijor farmers
A group of experts from the Department of Agriculture Region 7 was in Larena, Siquijor to conduct a training on artificial insemination (AI) in goats.

The training was conducted at the Provincial Veterinary Office compound on May 16-20, 2006 with livestock technicians from the local government units and selected goat raisers in attendance.

Topics on estrus detection, breeding and management practices were discussed during the lectures.

Before finishing the course, all participants had to perform actual AI works using induced local females.

AI is a method in which spermatozoa is deposited in the reproductive tract of a physiologically receptive female using instruments instead of natural mating with a male.

In animal industry, it is a very useful tool in the rapid upgrading of the local stock since semen from superior sire can be served to more females more quickly.

It is also more economical and less risky than maintaining males for natural breeding.

In Siquijor province, where almost every farmer raises goats, the use of AI to improve the genetic makeup of the native breeds will mean better income, says Dr. Federico G. Ada of the PVO here.

There are other biotechnologies like the multiple ovulation and embryo transfer but it is very rarely done in the Philippines for technical and economical reasons.

In some countries, cloning of animals to produce an exact replica of its donor have been tried with great success.

AI program in goats is scheduled to start during the 3rd quarter this year according to the Provincial AI Coordinator Basilio Castillon.

DENR leads observance of June as Environment Month
SIQUIJOR-- To mark June as Environment Month, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) is inviting the public to an ‘open house’ of their office to make known the various services the agency is offering.

DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Celso Loriega Jr. said the open house will last for a month as he encouraged the public to visit their office and see the day-to-day tasks involved in operations, administration and management.

In Siquijor province, DENR has lined up activities for the month-long celebration, including a motorcade within Larena town on June 1 and tree planting at Palinkgod Hills in Larena on June 5.

Herbal planting will also be done on June 23 at Bandila-an, Siquijor and on June 25 a tree-planting at Brgy. Bitaug, Larena to observe the Philippine Arbor Day which calls for a nationwide simultaneour tree planting along the roadside.

Under this year’s theme “Buhayin ang Matamlay na Kapaligiran” Loriega called on every citizen to care for the surroundings as the protection of the environment is a shared responsibility.

MEDIA ADVISORY
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 7, National Food Authority (NFA) together with the provincial government of Oriental Negros would like to invite the media to the launching of the “Tindahan Natin” project in Poblacion, Amlan town on June 20, 2006 at 10:00 a.m.

Residents from the pilot barangays are expected to attend the launching to receive their Family ID’s-cum-passbook as beneficiaries of the livelihood project.

The Tindahan Natin project sells low-priced but good quality rice and noodles through a store accredited by NFA.

Expected to grace the launching are concurrent Presidential Adviser on Job Creation and PMS Secretary Arthur Yap, DSWD Assistant Secretary Renand Maquiling, NegOr Gov. George P. Arnaiz, Congressmen Jacinto Paras, Emilio Macias and Herminio Teves, Amlan Mayor Victoriano de la Cruz, Dir. Flo Pascual of NFA and DSWD-7 Director Teodulo Romo Jr.

Around 115 store operators from Bohol, Oriental Negros and Cebu City have been opened which is seen to benefit almost 9,000 indigent families in the different identified poor communities in the areas.