Pamplona to host Halad sa
Katawhan on April 24
Dumaguete City (16 April) -- National and local government agencies will once again converge for the 23rd Halad sa Katawhan ni PGMA on April 24, 2009 at the municipality of Pamplona, Negros Oriental.
The Halad sa Katawhan ni PGMA is part of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s program of bringing government services closer to the people.
At least 30 national agencies are expected to join and provide free services such as medical and dental mission, passport processing, distribution of kits for livelihood, seedlings and other agricultural services.
Some of the sought-after agencies that regularly join the Halad include the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Statistics Office, Department of Agriculture, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, among others.
The Halad was created in May 2002 by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas headed by Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas Felix Guanzon with at least ten national government agencies with the first Halad conducted in Brgy. Tinago, Cebu City
Seeing the positive results, Guanzon and the Department of Interior and Local Government decided to continue the program which now has around 30 participating agencies. (PIA/Rachelle Nessia)
NegOr to host int’l dance festival
The Dance Xchange: 1st International Dance Workshops and Festival with the theme “Cultural Exchange and Connectivity through Dance” will roll out in Negros Oriental on April 26 to May 1, 2009.
The international dance festival and workshop is organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
As of this writing, dance teams from Singapore , Macau , Spain , Korea and Malaysia
He said that Gov. Emilio C. Macias II believes the festival is an opportunity for the province to showcase local facilities that can host international events. “The workshops will make use of the Negros Oriental Convention Center , Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Center and the Sidlakang Negros Village
The Dance Xchange will hold activities such as artists forum, dance workshops, concerts, festival of dance performances and outreach programs which Sedillo said, will be held in Bais City , Tanjay City , Bayawan City , La Libertad, San Jose
Prior to the event in Dumaguete City , a performance at Concert at the Park, Manila
According to Shirley Halili-Cruz, head of the National Committee on Dance and Festival Director of Dance Xchange, the event will provide a venue for interaction and facilitate learning between dancers, directors, dance teachers, choreographers from the other countries and the dance groups, choreographers, dancers and dance directors, teachers, tourism and cultural officers and students from the Philippines
“It will also provide new ideas and inspiration that will stimulate the creativity of the dance educators, directors and choreographers, showcase the unique dances of each country to facilitate cultural understanding, and strengthen network among dance organizations and diplomatic relations among the participating countries,” she added. (PIA/Rachelle Nessia)
Two human deaths due to
rabies recorded in 1st qtr
This was disclosed during the recent Provincial Rabies Consultative Conference held at the Legislative Building
The victims came from Tanjay City and San Jose
With a population of 1.3 million in the province, Sedillo said that the two human deaths this year is alarming as there is a risk that there will be more rabies-related deaths within the next eight months.
Records show that three persons died from rabies in 2008 and four in 2007.
In line with this, Gov. Emilio C. Macias II is urging local government units to focus more on the preventive side of the anti-rabies campaign rather than vaccination.
The campaign aims to make Negros Oriental rabies-free by 2010.
The governor, during the conference attended by municipal health officers, provincial health officials, veterinarians and agriculturists, described rabies as preventable and that it is a crime to neglect the preventive aspects of the disease.
He is also pushing to expand the campaign and make it island-wide due to the accessibility between Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.
In the same conference, Department of Agriculture-7 Research and Regulatory Regional Technical Director Dr. Eduardo B. Alama admitted that the implementation of the anti-rabies campaign in region is very low, in view of the country’s aim to be rabies-free by 2020.
Alama disclosed that Region 7 is among the top 10 regions in the country with high cases of rabies-related deaths.
Around 70% of dog bite victims in the country are below 15 years old and mostly male.
He also said that 50% of the rabies cases recorded worldwide comes from Asia .
Alama also proposed that for Negros Oriental to be rabies-free, its islets like Apo Island
Ordinance protecting
NegOr watersheds passed
The ordinance stemmed from the previous water program of the provincial government anchored on an executive order passed by then Governor and now Congressman George Arnaiz that created the Provincial Water and Sanitation Development Council.
In line with this, the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), whose water program the provincial government has an existing partnership with, has invited the Bantay Kalikasan Movement to help the province come up with an effective watershed management plan.
Bantay Kalikasan is a non-government organization supported by the ABS-CBN foundation.
Valerio Mendoza, project manager of Bantay Kalikasan, has submitted to Gov. Macias a proposed management plan based on the NGO’s experience on its La Mesa Dam Movement.
The province’s watershed management plan will focus on the biggest watershed areas in the following locations, namely Tanjay River , Kawitan in Sta. Catalina, Okoy in Sibulan, Siaton River and Banica River in Dumaguete City
School bldg project to be completed in June
120 new teacher items expected in each LGU
Dumaguete City (16 April) -- The school building construction project under the Basta NegOr Education 104 program of the provincial government here is expected to see completion in June this year.
This was disclosed by Capitol Information Officer Adrian Sedillo, who disclosed that of the 52 two-classroom school building targeted to be built under said program, only nine have yet to be constructed.
“But we expect a one hundred percent completion by the month of June,” he said.
In line with this, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus has instructed Department of Education Region 7 Director Dr. Recaredo Borgonia to look for 120 new teacher items to be assigned throughout the province.
Lapus, in 2007, in a challenge to Macias, said that DepEd will provide a counterpart of one teach item for every classroom that the provincial government will build.
“This is why the program Education 104 was formed, in partnership with the local government units,” said Sedillo.
He said that each LGU here is expected to have four new teacher items at the opening of the school year this June as each school building built in each LGU have four classrooms each.
Meanwhile, DepED has denied allegations that noodles used in its food-for-school program last year were overpriced.
DepED pointed out that the price of noodles was relatively high then due to the high cost of flour.
The department also explained that the total cost was high because they have widened the scope of the program at the time and had other expenses such as delivery.
Furthermore, the noodles used in the program met the requirements of the Bureau of Food and Drugs. (PIA/Rachelle Nessia)
Maximize private rooms
in gov’t hospital- Guv
This developed after the governor observed that the ten private rooms at NOPH are seldom used when he was admitted at said hospital for viral infection sometime in March this year, said Capitol Information Officer Adrian Sedillo.
Macias noted that the private rooms at the provincial hospital are at par with those in private hospitals, spacious and equipped with amenities.
“The cost is also cheaper by 30% compared to the private rooms in private hospitals,” said Sedillo.
The private rooms were earlier renovated and furnished using funds from private donations.
In line with this, Macias appointed Board Member Marcelo Adanza as chair of the Committee on Health to lead the efforts in seeking ways how to maximize the private rooms at NOPH. (PIA/Rachelle Nessia)
RAFI awardees, finalists
share success stories
The Triennial Xchange Series Forum held April 15 at Plaza Ma. Luisa Forum is the the 5th of its kind but a first to be held in Dumaguete City
The winner for the Exemplary Individual category, Dr. Chelsea Cacaldo, discussed how wellness and health services are being promoted in the community hospitals.
Cacaldo currently oversees operations of six community hospitals in hinterland areas in the province where she initiated the Neighborhood Family Health Care and Wellness Program wherein community hospitals train groups of volunteers on primary health care.
Cacaldo’s award is significant being the first winner to come from Visayas since the Triennial Awards, conferred every three years, was first conducted by RAFI in 1996.
In the same forum, other finalists Dr. Gerardo Maxino, Eddie Lantaca of the Perpetual Help Credit Cooperative, Inc. and representatives from St. Catherine Family Helper Project were on hand to share their inspiring stories as well.
RAFI Program Officer Alfred Domingo said that finalists chosen for said award are all equally outstanding in their respective fields with a track record for selfless commitment to serving the less privileged.
Domingo is hopeful that through the Triennial Xchange Series Forum, more people will be inspired to “rekindle hope for the future, nurture idealism and service and cultivate genuine citizenship” even in the midst of a global economic crisis.
He also hopes that more deserving individuals and non-government organizations from Negros Oriental will be nominated for the Triennial Awards. “We acknowledge that there are more NGOs and individuals out who are working unselfishly to bring about change and improvement to the lives of the less privileged and yet they do not seek the spotlight. Those are the people we want to recognize,” he said.
RAFI is currently accepting nominations until the middle of next year for the next Triennial Awards on 2012. (PIA/Rachelle Nessia)
WOFEX invites food makers in Negros Oriental
Dumaguete City (16 April) -- The World Food Expo (WOFEX) has called on local food producers, hotels and restaurants here to participate in the 3rd Food Processing, Packaging and Foodservice Expo on April 22-25, 2009 at Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), Mandaue City, Cebu.
This international food exhibition brings together different types of food, beverages, and other related products from all around the world in one venue.
WOFEX Visayas, according to Chari Zarcal, Trade Officer of Premier Events Plus Group, brings opportunities, new trends and new products direct to the market in the most effective marketing strategy in keeping economies robust.
Zarcal said the expo is set to help propel the food & beverage industry amidst the dim economic prospects of 2009 and this is just the venue for suppliers to effectively reach the F & B stakeholders in the acknowledged food basket of the Philippines
This four-day event is free admission with seminars and workshops for participants who will attend. The trade show is a comprehensive line-up of exhibitors from Manila
The Wofex is on its sixth year. This will be the second time the event is held outside Metro Manila.
The event is co-organized by the Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc., the Association of Food Manufacturers and Exporters and the European Chamber of Commerce Cebu. (PIA/jct)
The event is co-organized by the Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc., the Association of Food Manufacturers and Exporters and the European Chamber of Commerce Cebu. (PIA/jct)
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