By: Jennifer Catan-Tilos
Dumaguete City, October 14, 2010) This year's Philippine University Games Unigames) will be a continuation to Buglasan Festival celebration in Negros Oriental as slated on October 24-30.
As lead host, Silliman University is expecting more than 2,000 athlete-participants representing 45 schools and universities from various parts of the country to compete in the 15th Unigames in Dumaguete City.
With a number of visitors for this activity, Unigames co-convenor Earl Jude Cleope of Silliman University said sports tourism and local livelihood are foreseen to boost with an expected budget of P3Million so far from Silliman University and Negros Oriental government for this event.
The public and sports enthusiasts are free to watch all the games in different playing venues such as in Mariano Perdices Coliseum for track & field, Aqua Center for swimming, SU Ballfield for football and archery, Praxivilla Tennis Court for tennis, and the rest of the sports will be done in the municipalities of Valencia and Zamboanguita, Cleope said.
Meantime, as the colorful spectacle of Negros Oriental’s unique BUGLASAN festival of festivals will culminates on October 24 it will also welcomes the Unigames delegates with a big rave of ‘Kasikas sa Kalye” and fireworks competition.
The organizers are expecting the participating schools to join the Buglasan revelry to give them chance to discover the beauty of Dumaguete City at the boulevard where ‘Kumbira sa Boulevard” or food fest will be held. (PIA/JCT)
4/16/2009
Press Releases 4/16/09
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)
Members of the Forever Young and Parish Youth Council teams up for the re-enactment of Christ's Passion at the St. Augustine of Hippo Parish of Bacong, Negros Oriental during the Good Friday observance. The cast and crew of 80 persons were organized by Emma Montejo and directed by Carol Aurea. The re-enactment at the Parish of Bacong was started during the time of then Bishop Julito Cortez and has been running for 10 years now. Most of the cast are children aged 18 below with the youngest at 7 and oldest at 35. (PIA)
3/06/2009
Community hospital receives donated medical supplies
DSCN2453: (L-R) Roland Heimann and Araceli Bejar-Heimann of the German NGO Sampaguita Deutsch-Philippinischer e.V., Dr. Emmanuel Galor, Community Primary Hospitals Chief Dr. Chelsa Cacaldo and Sampaguita Deutsch-Philippinischer e.V Supporting Officer and PPDO staff Nanette Tindoc.
The German non-government organization Sampaguita Deutsch-Philippinischer e.V. turns over boxes of much-needed medical supplies and hospital equipment to Inapoy Community Primary Hospital
This is the second donation that the NGO has secured for Negros Oriental from German Ministry of Defense, with the first granted to the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital
“My only wish now is for the government procedures in our country regulating donated items from abroad be made easier and less burdensome,” said Heimann, referring to what she described as her ordeal in making sure that the intended beneficiaries receive the donations. “This second donation took 18 months before we finally got hold of the boxes. With that amount of time we could have been able to secure two more shipments of donations for the province but instead we spent it on the paperwork,” she said.
She, however, remains undaunted and assured that she will continue to solicit more needed donations in response to the critical need to equip the community hospitals for better delivery of health services in far-flung areas.
Press Releases March 6 2009
Sta. Catalina hosts Halad
sa Katawhan on Mar 12
National and local government agencies will converge in Sta. Catalina town on March 12 (Thursday) for the 22nd Halad sa Katawhan ni PGMA as 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 dental mission, passport processing, distribution of kits for livelihood, seedlings and other agricultural services, etc.
Some of the sought-after agencies that regularly join the Halad include the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Statistics Office, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Coconut Authority, among others.
In a coordination meeting held in February, Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas Felix Guanzon has requested the municipal health offices here to do a pre-listing of patients in their respective areas to identify what medicines need to be purchased.
The Halad was created in May 2002 by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas headed by PA Guanzon with at least ten national agencies with the first Halad conducted in Brgy. Tinago, Cebu City
Seeing the positive results, Guanzon and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) decided to continue the program which now has around 30 participating agencies. (PIA)
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DPWH seeks workers
By: Rachelle M. Nessia
March 4, 2009
The Department of Public Works and Highways in Region 7 is opening its doors to the unemployed as it will hold a series of jobs fairs in Central Visayas provinces in March.
Applicants who are foremen, heavy equipment operators, steelmen, piyon, kaminero, masons o latero or other class of construction workers are qualified to register at the DPWH jobs fairs at the following venues and dates:
Negros Negros 2nd District Engineering Office March 9, 2009
Bohol Bohol 1st District Engineering Office March 17, 2009
New Capitol Site, Tagbilaran City
Siquijor Siquijor District Engineering Office March 19, 2009
Larena, Siquijor
According to Josefino N. Rigor, DPWH-7 Regional Director, applicants who will be registered will be included in the DPWH workers database for possible employment with the department’s contractors implementing the DPWH 2009 infrastructure program in Region 7.
The jobs fairs are held in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment in Region 7 and local contractors.
DPWH continues to call for applicants because the recent job fair in its offices netted only 2,000.
The department is in need of engineers, carpenters and plumbers who are on the lookout for temporary jobs for the 1,260 projects nationwide.
Police stations and military camps are likewise looking for warm bodies.
The Philippine National Police recruitment is part of the executive directive to recruit 15,000 police officers in five years which started in 2006.
These new bloods, totaling 7,000 will replace the retiring, dead an dismissed police officers in the last semester of 2008 and for the first semester of 2009.
On the other hand, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque is pushing for jobs interviews via the Internet as this will reduce the cost of job hunting for the unemployed.
Roque said Internet facilities, which can be set up in DOLE regional offices, will bridge the distance between applicants and their prospective employers who are based abroad.
TESDA reported Filipinos are preferred workers in Canada , Australia and in the Middle East in sectors of health care and construction. (Rachelle Nessia/PIA)
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PGMA's Super Regions project
By Rachelle M. Nessia
March 5, 2009
Local tourism industry in Negros Oriental is seen to get a boost from the infrastructure improvements undertaken at the Dumaguete Airport
Almost all rehabilitation and construction work under said project are already completed except for the rehabilitation of airfield lightings of which phase II costing more than P21M is still ongoing.
Target completion date is on May 15, 2008, according to the private construction company working on said project.
Local Air Transportation Office Manager Veronica Chuang said that phase I of the airfield lighting rehabilitation, worth more than P75M, was completed on Dec. 30, 2008.
The construction of access road and installation of a perimeter fence of the P299.63-million Dumaguete Airport
The airport's runway, by December 2008, was widened from 36 to 45 meters while phase I and II of the runway asphalt overlay has already been completed last year together with the rehabilitation of the runway lights and installation of taxiway lights.
Phase I of the the airport's departure building has also been completed.
Primary lines from the old electric posts inside the airport were likewise relocated to make way for said improvements.
The President earlier announced that the Central Philippines Super Regions Project will pour funds to upgrade the local airport to attract electronics and semi-conductor companies to locate in Valencia
Since the town of Valencia
The Central Philippines Super Region, composed of the entire Bicol Region, Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas, the provinces of Romblon, Palawan, and Camiguin, and the island of Siargao
The Super Region's tourism potentials were enhanced by increasing infrastructure investments that will make inter- and intra-regional travel faster and more comfortable.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has stressed that even in the midst of the global economic crisis, the tourism industry remains a key sector in generating jobs and various opportunities across the nation.
“Tourism is one of the sectors we have to strengthen as our response to
the global meltdown. We have done it today. We should continue to push it
to provide jobs and vast opportunities to our people,” she said. (Rachelle Nessia/PIA)
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Random drug test for NegOr high
schools start in June 2009
By: Jennifer C. Tilos
March 5, 2009
The Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division in Negros Oriental will conduct its random drug testing in the 133 private and public high schools in the province starting this June 2009.
According to Ma Joy Catacutan, Coordinator of the National Drug Education Program (NDEP) in the province that some 10 students per school will be randomly selected for drug testing.
While some parents argue that random drug testing in schools bears certain ethical issue such as the child rights to privacy during the Federation of Parents-Teachers-Community Association (PTCA) meeting this week, Catacutan assured the parents that the results of the test will be strictly confidential and no school would publish or post results whether positive or negative.
The purpose for this is not to expose and punish students for drug use but to deter use and intervene early wit h those who have just begun to use and to provide counseling or professional help to those who become dependent, Catacutan said.
According to the DepEd order, “drug test results shall be treated with utmost confidentiality and shall not be used in any criminal proceedings” against those found positive for drug use.
All parents concerned will be informed through a notification letter on the conduct of random drug testing for students from a school principal. It is noted that the cost of the drug test is free of charged.
For Negros Oriental, the schools division official said that the test will run for seven days for 10 teams (4 persons each team) from Manila
Under RA 9165 states that students refuse to undergo random drug test will be dealt with in accordance with the rules and regulations of the school as provided for in Student Handbook so with the school is liable if refuse to implement.
As President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gathered all government drug enforcement agencies to review and institutionalize the components and details that form the enforcement pillar in the campaign for a drug-free Philippines
The conference on “Effective Prosecution of Drug Cases” held this morning at Malacanang’s Heroes Hall was attended by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Department of Justice (DOJ), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the military and police.
“The events of the past couple of months have highlighted the need for offices in the law enforcement pillar against illegal drugs to share vision and harmonize their operations so that the syndicates and peddlers of illegal drugs are brought to justice and penalized in accordance with law and the procedures of the law,” Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Chairman Vicente Sotto III said.
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Disaster needs assess to mitigate
extensive damage - PDCC
by: Jennifer C. Tilos
March 5, 2009
The lack of functional disaster operation center created confusion among members of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) when a considerable worst flashfloods hit Negros Oriental on February 7, this year.
This was raised during the Provincial Disaster Risk Management Planning-Workshop held last week by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
Engr. Dexter Patrocinio of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) express dismayed that during the calamity there has no coordination among agencies concerned but was ‘to each his own.’ “The province needs to have a disaster operation center where members of the PDCC converge for coordination and do the reporting in times of calamities,” Patrocinio cited.
The OCD Region7 has facilitated the PDCC here in assessing its capabilities, knowledge and skills again to establish a clear line of defense against any disasters.
According to Minda Morante, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), there are problems as regards the process of acquiring aid for disaster areas. “This planning-workshop should establish a clear line of defense against disasters and disaster councils in the provincial and municipal level should be functional and operational when it comes to disaster response,” she said.
Based on early warning, PDCC is expected to prepare a comprehensive disaster management plan to react promptly in saving lives and prevent or minimize damage to properties and agriculture, the OCD official cited.
However, during the workshop the local council has observed that there is a need to review and strengthen its organizational structure to identify each government agencies’ delineation for prompt coordination and to effectively prioritize activities on disaster management.
It was also noted that there is a need for the Provincial Governor to issue an executive order on standing agreement for standard operation procedures (SASOP) so that the PDCC would effectively functional and operational on its respective task units during calamities.
As the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) called on schools and local government units (LGUs) to hold exercises to prepare for disasters
Schools and local governments should prepare for disasters by holding exercises such as earthquake drills.
Defense Secretary and National Disaster Coordinating Council Chair Gilbert Teodoro said earthquakes drills in schools are necessary because of the large concentration of people. “The potential for injuries is great,” he said.
Teodoro, along with Office of Civil Defense Administrator Glenn Rabonza, Director Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) and representatives from the Quezon City Government and Department of Education, led the kick off ceremony of the simultaneous earthquake drill in San Francisco National High School in Bago Bantay, Quezon City
Six schools here in Dumaguete City
Hundreds of students, teachers and school personnel performed the duck, cover and hold procedures during the drill.
Duck and cover means shielding body from debris and other falling objects or structures; hold simply refers to holding on to the available cover or shield until the shaking is over.
The earthquake is represented by sound of sirens; once the siren stops, it means the shaking is over and people will move on to safer grounds such as quadrangles or any open space that are free from falling structures.
The Philippines
The last destructive earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.7, occurred in July 16, 1990 that killed more than 2,000 in Northern and Central Luzon . (Jennifer Tilos/PIA)
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Four applicants qualify for PSHS scholars
By Rizalie a. Calibo
At least four applicants from this province qualifies in the PSHS search for scholars for 2009. This was revealed recently by Provincial Driector Mario E. de la Pena of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) here.
He said that out of 108 applicants who took the entrance examination last November 15, 2008 at Siquijor Sate College Lazi Central School , Chenee Clea E. Gumalo of Enrique Villanueva Central School and Axl A. Sister of Larena Central Elementary School Cebu , tel. no. (032) 367742 or (032) 5161543.
PSHS scholars will get a monthly stipend in addition to free tuition fee and free loan of textbooks. Uniform, transportation and living allowances are also given according to financial need. Scholars are expected to meet the highest standard of scholastic achievement and behavior.
DOST Secretary and Chair of the Philippine Science High School System Board of Trustees Estrella F. Allabastro announces the successful qualifiers to the PSHS Search for Scholars for 2009 recently.
She said that out of 21,303 applicants nationwide, 1,119 successfully hurdled the one-step screening administered on November 15, 2008.
The PSHS system has 11 campuses all over the country.
Qualifiers have to immediately contact the REgistrar or the campus director of the PSHS campus where they qualified, or visit the following websites: www.pshs.edu.ph or www.dost.gov.ph for more information on early enrolment.
For principal qualifiers of region 3 and CAR, contact the PSHS System Admission Office for the schedule and venue for distribtuion of enrolment forms. Last day for pre-enrolment of principal qualifiers is on March 31, 2009. Specific schedule of other enrolment activities shall be announced by the respective campuses.
Another eye surgical mission comes to Siquijor
By Rizalie A. Calibo
There will be an eye surgical mission on March 12-13 at the Siquijor Provincial Hospital
This was announced by Dr. Redempta A. Cortes, head of the Integrated Provincial Health Office here in her letter to the municipal mayors and municipal health offices in the province.
Eye specialists from Cebu and other parts of Region 7 will conduct this Surgical Mission
NSO holds refresher training for MCRs, clerks
By Rizalyn T. Gaviola
In line with the celebration of the Civil Registration Month in February each year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) Siquijor Provincial Office conducted a one-day Refreshers Training on Civil Registration and Briefing on the Use of the Civil Registration Information System (CRIS). The training was held at the SB Session Hall of the municipality of Siquijor
The training reorients Municipal Civil Registrars (MCRs) on the implementation of RA 9-048 or the Clerical Error Law and RA 9255 or the Act Authorizing Illegitimate Children to Use the Surname of their Father as well as the procedures on late and out of town registration and the registration of court orders and legal instruments (CDLI). It was participated by the MCRs of the six towns of the province with their clerks.
The attending civil registration officers were briefed again on the use of the Civil Registration Information System . CRIS is a database computer information system which was designed for the use of local civil registry (LCROs) in the storage, retrieval and reporting of information of civil registry documents. It was aimed at computerizing the services of LCROs nationwide.
In Siquijor province, only the towns of Siquijor, San Juan
NSO Siquijor Provincial Statistics Officer Ronie C. Taghap conducted and facilitated the training. Director Matilde L. Alejandro, the new REgional Director of NSO Region VII also graced the activity to provide additional input for MCRs.
Meanwhile, the local association of MCRs in the province has recently elected its new set of officers. Elected as the new president is MCR Nandy Pescante of the town of Siquijor San Juan
This year's Civil Registration Month celebration focuses on the theme "Civil Registration: Key to Global Opportunities" to higlight the importance of civil registry documents in the global community. (RTSGaviola/IO-NSO)
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Super region projects boost tourism in Siquijor
By Rizalie Calibo
Super regions projects in Siquijor province helped boost the island’s tourism industry.
Provincial Governor Orlando A. Fua Jr. said in one of his speeches that with the ports development in Siquijor a dramatic increase of tourist arrivals to the province in the past years has been noted.
“In 2006, we had 20,421 walk in tourists coming to Siquijor. In 2007, we had 74, 192 or a 363 per cent increase. For the past six months between January to June of this year (2008), we had 37,918 tourists coming over. Very easily our projections for this year will surpass the number of arrivals in the past year. These figures exclude the arrivals by boat that dock in the municipality of Larena, or the diving safaris that are packaged by tour operators in the region who make are trooping to the various diving spots of our seas", Fua once cited in his state of the Province last year.
Fua also stressed that ports development helps perk up economic activity of the island and is seen to open up windows for investment opportunities.
He attributed this development to the super region projects, particularly the ports development that with its complete facilities, are now ready to cater more tourists and investors.
Siquijor was a recipient of a P65 million package from the Philippine Ports Authority to rehabilitate the Siquijor port as part of the super region projects spelled out by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her State of the Nation Address (SONA). The project had already been completed in 2007.
Siquijor town, as Mayor Richard Quezon reported in his State of the Town Address (SOTA), also successfully completed last year the partial construction of their Baywalk funded by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) in the amount of 5 million pesos and allocated P3,300,000 for the construction of the permanent bleacher in Siquijor port.
The mayor said the completion of these projects would augur well for the economy of the local communities in their municipality. With tourism as its highest potential, Quezon said the project would serve as a good foundation for a better and more revitalized tourism and travel program.
The Arroyo administration’s Medium Term Development Plan (2004-2010) stated that the tourism sector’s primary importance in poverty alleviation lies in its potential to generate millions of jobs for various groups of people.
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Siquijor all set for One Visayas Expo
By Rizalie A. Calibo
The province of Siqujor is all set for the One Visayas exhibit in Cebu come March 1 to 8, 2009 at the Cebu International Convention Center
This was bared by no less than the provincial governor himself, Governor Orlando A. Fua Jr. who has been inviting offices to witness the first-ever tourism expo in Cebu and for those who cannot come to Cebu, at least witness the rehearsal of the Solili dance at the Provincial Capitol.
Guv. Fua will lead Siquijor delegation cocmposed of key provincial officials, tourism officers, artists and craftsmen, furniture makers, food entrepreneurs and some operators of tourism establishments.
The exposition will bring together the Visayas provinces in a week-long series of exhibits and exhibitions dubbed ONE VISAYAS, an event that hopes to foster ties that binds the three regions (6, 7 & 8).
Meanwhile, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called on the private sector to help the government insulate the Philippines
In her address before the gathering of top local and international investors during the “Philippine Economic Briefing” at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City, the President said that the economic and fiscal reforms instituted by her administration have shielded the country from the wave of challenges since last year, such as the huge spike in food, fuel and rice prices, and now, global financial crisis.
Because of these reforms, the President said the Philippines
With the country’s sound fiscal management and prudent monetary policies, the President said she remains hopeful that the continued partnership with the private sector and the resiliency of the Filipino people would help insulate the country from the continuing global financial crisis.
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KBP project: A show window of government’s sincerity, says Sta. Catalina Mayor
By Rizalie A. Calibo
Most of us can wash our clothes, boil vegetables, clean ourselves or have a drink of fresh water just by turning on a tap…but many people across the country are not so fortunate.
Local folks of barangay Talalac of Sta. Catalina town in Negros Oriental are just few of them. A small village with more than 2,000 inhabitants, barangay Talalac has no direct access to water. Water had to be drawn from a nearby stream that was not reliable enough for drinking which can even cause the outbreak of diseases.
Poor people, poor road
The state of development of the barangay was in fact appalling – inadequate health and education services, sterile economic activities, long and treacherous roads, rendered worse by the village’s insurgency problem.
“These barangays (Talalac and the other town’s four rebel-infested barangays) was the center of the left movement before. Rebels were as near as a kilometer from the town proper,” says Sta. Catalina Mayor Ruben Melodia in an interview with the PIA here. “They have established factions but when the CAFGU’s were adopted, they were driven out slowly… but remnants of them remain,” he added.
Road to rehabilitation
Many of us may have asked what the government is doing to resolve the problems. Efforts have been made in the past but impacts must not be that real to be felt by many. A concrete step was needed -- an example which could give people hope.
Wanting to give that hope and sow progress to the community, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo brings the Kalayaan Barangay’s Project (KBP) right to Brgy. Talalac to reaffirm her administration’s strong commitment and resolve to put an end to social unrest.
The farthest and yet with biggest allocation of all four barangays in Sta. Catalina, Talalac is a recipient of a P3-M farm to market road project and another P979,200 for the construction of water system, totaling some P3,979,200, a good start enough to let people feel that the government is really doing something for them.
“I believe these projects will have a big impact, “ the Mayor said adding that the project is a show window of the government’s sincerity in recognizing the people up there in the mountains. “We hope these people will also adopt the system that the government is doing and will cooperate,” he said.
“If there is no peace, there will be no progress at all,” he stressed.
The projects, he said, will pave the way for the municipal government to easily reach those in the hinterlands. “It is easier for us to reach them if we bring projects,” he said.
Other recipients are barangays San Jose
“We are very happy and thankful to the President we became recipients of these projects,” Talalac Brgy. Captain Glicerio T. Bigay said. “Naa na gyud ta’y ikapakita nga sincero gyud ang gobyerno sa pagtabang kanamo.” (We have something to show that the government is really sincere in helping us), he said.
“Once the project is finished, life will become easier for our people,” he said referring to the more than 800 households who will turn to benefit from the water system and the easy transport of the folks’ produce with the farm to market road to be constructed from Sitio Tamlang to Avocado of his barangay.
“Mahayahay na unya ang mag-uuma,” (Our farmers will soon have smoother lives) he mused.
Rightly so for indeed, it is the overarching goal of the KBP project: to ease what would be an otherwise dramatic situation of poverty.
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PGMA asks government agencies,
private sectors to preserve jobs, industries
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo urged government and private labor sectors to work together to preserve employment and aid industries to survive the global recession.
During the Jobs Forum on Overseas Employment at the Malacanang, the President said both sectors must join hands to prevent global crisis become a Philippine Crisis.
She also underscored the role of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in job matching by helping displaced workers learn new trades and skills that land them with new jobs or gain alternate livelihood.
The President also took note of the 500,000 jobs abroad as reported by the Department of Labor and Employment.
Meanwhile, the Board of Investments is looking into incentives for distressed companies in selected industries in exchange for keeping laborers in payroll or avoiding reduced working hours.
All they have to do is to prove that they are losing money because of bad market conditions.
That is the gist of the first classification of the new section in the drafted 2009 Investment Priority Plan that will be submitted to the President.
Industries that could be eligible in the proposed tax incentive would include Business Process Outsourcing, logistics and tourism.
The rest of the classifications are as follows: (1) those that will retain investment and increase jobs; (2) those that will increase investments and retain jobs; and (3) those that will increase investment and increase jobs. (PIA)
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Government emergency
program produce jobs, livelihood
Investments in irrigation and farm-to-market road programs generate employment in the countryside.
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) reported that more than 43,000 workers and 580 households found jobs and livelihood opportunities last January through Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP).
CLEEP, NAPC Secretary Domingo Panganiban explained, aimed at securing food supply while improving irrigation, farm-to-market roads and other agricultural infrastructures.
Funding for the projects comes from savings in the 2008 national budget and local government resources.
With the success of the CLEEP, government is encouraged to sink in Php 9 – billion into the program that will not only triplicate the employment generation but to encourage private investments come in as well.
NAPC estimated that more than 220,000 workers nationwide would benefit from the new investment. (PIA)
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Filipino vets in the US
by them in “long quest for justice and equity”
Filipino World War II (WWII) veterans all over the United States
The WWII veterans in the Washington DC area in the eastern seaboard were seconded in their expression of gratitude to President Arroyo by those in the Los Angeles
“Speaking on behalf of the veterans, Celestino Almeda conveyed his deep appreciation to President Arroyo at a reception hosted by the Philippine Embassy to honor Filipino World War II veterans and to celebrate the signing into law of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),” the DFA said.
The DFA said the 92-year-old Almeda “is one of the most active lobbyists in Congress,” adding that the latter “also thanked all those who helped make this victory possible namely, members of the Filipino community, officials in the Philippine government, and the advocates and supporters of the bill in both Houses of the U.S. Congress.”
“One cannot truly appreciate the light if one has not been subjected to the darkness,” the DFA quoted Almeda as saying when the WWII veteran rejoiced at the signing of the ARRA which contains provisions that finally recognize the military service of Filipino World War II veterans and provides them with lump-sum benefits.
Recounting the suffering and ordeal that he and his fellow veterans experienced and witnessed during the war, Mr. Almeda expressed the joy that he felt on this momentous occasion and stated that he was happy with the outcome, the DFA added.
Almeda’s sentiments were echoed by WWII veterans in the West. “Mr. Franco Arcebal of the American Coalition of Filipino American Veterans, in a celebration held in Lake Street Park in Los Angeles , California
To celebrate the victory of Filipino WWII veterans in their fight for recognition and benefits, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Willy C. Gaa recently hosted at the Philippine Embassy a reception that also served as “an occasion to render thanks and appreciation to all those who have supported the cause of the veterans.”
“The reception was attended by Filipino veterans, leaders and members of the Filipino American community in the Metro D.C. area, the media, and staffers of key supporters of the bill in the U.S. Congress such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Bob Filner,” the DFA said
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