INFOBYTES, Issue No. 17, Vol. 1 (July 21, 2005)

DBM released P1M for Apo Island environment workers’ pay
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has recently released the salary of the 50 residents in Apo Island, Negros Oriental who were hired to protect and manage the tiny island’s rich marine reserve.

This was disclosed by Chamberlain Babiera of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) who said that around P1 million was released for the workers’ contractual pay for the first half of this year.

Babiera said that he expects the said workers to receive their salaries before the end of this month.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) hired local people in Apo Island to strictly enforce fishery laws and patrol the coastal area to preserve the tiny island’s pristine reefs, which have been declared a marine and fish sanctuary.

In 1996, through Proclamation No. 438, the island was declared a “protected landscape and seascape” and placed under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS).

The diverse and impressive coral reefs surrounding the golf course-sized island off the coast of Dauin town has been drawing local and international tourists, earning Apo Island the worldwide recognition of being an excellent location for scuba diving.

Babiera explained that the Apo Island community has a 75% share from the various fees collected from the island’s local and foreign visitors to manage the island.

The environment official said the delay in the release of the workers’ pay has been due to the extensive and time-consuming processing of the paperwork involved.
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Indigenous students in Bais find hope in PGMA’s scholarship program
There was a time when 17 year-old Rosemarie Cabanag was the butt of jokes, sneers and jeers at her school. Being a member of the indigenous Aeta tribe in Sitio Canlimokon, Bais City, Rosemarie’s kinky hair and dark complexion made her an easy target for her peers’ taunts.

But in spite of the tough time she went through at school, Rosemarie stubbornly refused to be held down and worked her way to the top of her class since first grade.

Now on her final year in high school, and still at the top of her class, Rosemarie has a dream- to become a nurse and work abroad.

This bright Aeta girl would soon realize this dream, with a little help from the government, for Rosemarie is one of the eight recipients in Bais City of the PGMA Educational Assistance Program being implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Central Visayas for 2002-2006.

According to May Silva, focal person of the program at DSWD-7, the program is offered to areas with high poverty incidence, presence of Indigenous People, street dwellers and in insurgency-affected barangays.

The program aims to lower delinquency and insurgency rates in these areas from 15% to 10%.

Like Rosemarie, Vicente Eborda, 20, another Aeta living in one of the remotest barangays in Bais City, also had a tough time growing up. He used to sell siakoy in the streets of Bais, enduring society’s racial bias and prejudices just to help his family while all the time dreaming of the day when he can go to school and find a job.

Thanks to the government’s education assistance program, Vicente’s dream is within his reach. He is now a third year Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) student at the Negros Oriental State University (NORSU).
Silva said there are more students like Rosemarie and Vicente in Central Visayas

As of press time, there are 406 out of 439 total recipients of the education assistance program who continue to attend high school and college.

There 343 beneficiaries in Danao and Dagohoy towns in Bohol, 50 in Cebu, 5 in Siquijor and 8 in Bais City.

The educational assistance in Central Visayas totaled to more than P5.1 million, inclusive of tuition fees, monthly allowance of P700 for high schools and P1,000 for college and an additional P1,500 for miscellaneous expenses.

Due to the program’s success, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reports that the PGMA Educational Assistance Program will be expanded to include more out-of-school youths and working children who, like Rosemarie and Vicente, dream of a better future.

The scholars reveal that the assistance they get is more than just for education, as it has also helped augment family expenses. “Dako kaayo’g natabang ang among allowance sa among pamilya kay magamit gyud ni namo sa uban pang panginahanglan sa balay,” they said.

Rosemarie and Vicente said they don’t know where they would be now if not for the said program. “We owe everything to this program- what we have achieved, and will still achieve,” says the scholars.
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DOLE grants P300,000 livelihood assistance under poverty-free zone program
The Department of Labor and Employment has already awarded P300,000 as livelihood grant to three people’s organizations in Oriental Negros.

A grant of P100,000 was each given to Nagbinlod Farm Family Association in Sta. Catalina, Valencia Fibers Multi-Purpose Cooperative and Bantolinao Farmers Association in Manjuyod, says Lilian Mondarte of the DOLE office here.

Mondarte said the livelihood grant is in line with DOLE’s Poverty Free Zone Program, which started only last year.

She said they are still accepting proposals from people’s organizations under the PFZP.

DOLE Undersecretary Danilo P. Cruz said that as a livelihood convergence project, various agencies assist in the implementation of PFZP, namely: the Product Design Center of the Philippines for the provision of competitive product and packaging designs; the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the loam weaving technology; Philippine Textile Research Institute for the material selection; DTI for securing international markets in the future; and TESDA for skills training.

Meanwhile, Mondarte disclosed that two local rural women’s organizations benefited from DOLE’s Women’s Employment Entrepreneurship Development (WEED) program last year.

A P44,000 livelihood assistance was granted on August 2004 to HTCCI, a group composed of the wives of workers in the Herminio Teves & Co. while a P48,540 grant was given to Dauin Loom Weavers Association on November 2004 for a skills training on sinamay weaving.
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PhilRice develops new disease-resistant and Vit. A-rich rice variety
A new disease-resistant and nutritionally enriched rice variety will be introduced by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) before 2010.

According to Dr. Antonio Alfonso, head of PhilRice’s plant breeding and biotechnology division, the aim is to produce after about three years a rice variety rich in beta-carotene or Vit. A and resistant to “tungro” disease and bacterial blight.

NFA Assistant Provincial Manager Francisco Lorico Jr. explained that tungro is a disease of palay that strikes in the early stage, resulting to a reduced palay production.

“This disease is a common problem among farmers in Visayas & Mindanao because we plant and harvest year-round due to our irrigation,” says Lorico.

PhilRice already began growing in its screened nursery last month F1 or first generation seeds of this new variety to assess the characteristics and performance of the resulting plants.

Should PhilRice’s experiments prove successful, authorities are optimistic that the new micronutrient-packed rice variety will help lessen incidence of Vit. A deficiency, particularly among Filipino children and pregnant women.

The rice institute is seeking to develop such variety since available rice varieties in the country are no longer capable of producing beta-carotene through the natural process.

Beta-carotene is the most important of the carotenoids, an affective antioxidant that helps reduce cellular damage in the body.

Lorico said what is available in the country right now is the iron-fortified rice, of which about 3 million bags are expected to arrive soon in the Philippines from Vietnam.

Of the total, 16,000 bags have been allocated for Oriental Negros.

Lorico explained that the allocation of each province was based on the population of malnourished children in the area.

According to NFA Information Officer Rolando Lazalita, last year’s records from the Integrated Provincial Health Office show that Oriental Negros is ranked 46th in the country with 209,549 malnourished children.

Lazalita encouraged local chief executives to coordinate with NFA for the purchase of iron-fortified rice. “Our priority is the local government units who have malnourished children. We will be inviting them and allocate bags for them if they have a budget for this,” says Lazalita.
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Bishop Du reiterates CBCP’s stand
Bishop John F. Du of the Diocese of Dumaguete has called on the people to pray more amid uncertainties brought about by economic and political crisis during the first profession of vows of two novice nuns recently.

Sisters Joan Peter Castillo and Michelle Carcarona took their vows of chastity, obedience and poverty in a concelebrated mass at the Sister Carmelite Chapel in Barangay Bantayan during the weekend.

Bishop Du cautioned the two nuns from joining street demonstrations as a form of sacrifice for the country.

In his homily, the bishop reiterated the stand of the Council of Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) not to demand or impose the resignation of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and instead provide moral guidance for accountability, constitutionality or follow the rule of law, seek non-violent solutions and have the capability to govern the country.

For those who demand the President to do the “supreme sacrifice,” Bishop Du has this to say: ”I hope they understand the true meaning of that word. Supreme sacrifice is for every Filipino to do by following the rule of law and due process, by being non-violent and by admitting accountability to any undesirable actions.”

The Bishop’s call came after the mass actions held by anti and pro-PGMA forces over the week.

Two more Cabinet officials, namely Victoria Garchitorena and Cora Guidote, followed the route taken by the “Hyatt 10” as they announced their irrevocable resignation, citing the cliché that “it is for the good of the Filipino people.”

But Malacañang said that all the Cabinet members have submitted their resignation, and it is the President’s call who’s to be and not to be retained.

Palace officials say that the move of the Hyatt 10 will neither distract nor threaten Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s vision of improving the lives of the poor and in moving the country forward.
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238 students avail of summer job program
SIQUIJOR- - Around 238 students in the province joined the summer programs offered annually by the Provincial Labor and Employment OFfice and the provincial government of Siquijor.

According to Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Manager Lina Medel, the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) aims to give students the opportunity to work and earn during summer for the next school year’s expenses.

“Nalipay gyud mi kay nakatigum mi ug dako-dako para sa mga galastuhan sa eskwelahan,” says the students assigned at the local office of the Philippine Information Agency and other neighboring office in Larena town.

Medel said these students were assigned in the different offices of local government units nearest to their residence to spare them from transportation and other expenses.

Prior to their assignment, an orientation-briefing on the program and value formation was conducted by Medel and Provincial Extension Officer Ma. Teresa Tanquiamco.

The provincial government has been allocating P500,000 yearly for the said program, covering the expenses for supplies and the SPES grantees’ salaries pegged at P196.36 a day.

Under the SPES co-sharing arrangement, the provincial government pays them 60% of the salary while DOLE shoulders the 40%.

With the salary co-sharing agreement, each SPES grantee receives P2,945.40 for 15 days’ work, P1,767.24 of which comes from the provincial government and P1,178.16 from DOLE.
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DA-7 eyes new jobs thru agri programs
SIQUIJOR--The Department of Agriculture (DA) has earmarked for agri development this year around 34,420 hectares of “new lands” in Central Visayas, which is expected to increase food productionand generate about 39,388 jobs in the region.

In Siquijor province, around 500 has. is targeted for the first batch this year, of which 150 has. is for livestock (goat) raising. “We expect this to generate about 1,140 jobs,” says Medel Panzo, officer-in-charge of the Philippine Cocounut Authority (PCA).

Panzo said the target site for cocoplanting has been fully validated in May this year.

“This is part of the agriculture sector’s contribution to the ‘Beat the Odds’ agenda of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo under the 2005 to 2010 of the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan or MTPDP,” explains Panzo.

Goal 1 of the MTPDP, Panzo said, is developing at least two million hectares of new land for agribusiness in order to contribute two million jobs out of the 10 million jobs targeted in 2010.

Goal 2 on the other hand is making food plentiful at competitive prices where the cost of priority “wage goods” such as rice, sugar, vegetables, poultry, pork and fish and other important non-wage goods like corn must be reduced.

This also means that the government will continue to fight for self-sufficiency in rice production by increasing price and production efficiency and competitiveness.
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Illegal drug problem far from over; community urged to get involved
Top ranking government officials in Oriental Negros admitted that the fight against illegal drugs in the province is far from over and stressed the community’s vast role in leading a successful anti-drug campaign.

During the recent Kapihan sa PIA forum, Board Member Arturo Umbac said that the steps being taken by the government to address the illegal drugs problem are just “mere palliatives” as the root of the problem lies in what he described as the failure of the family, church and the school.

Youths turn to drugs because of what they see in the homes and in their school, where they are not given the attention they seek, says Umbac. “Let’s go back to the school, church and home,” he said.

In the same forum, Dr. Henry A. Sojor, president of Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) suggested that the policemen should be trained by government lawyers on the technical side of filing cases to help the police secure a conviction during the hearing of drug cases.

Records from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7 (PDEA) show that there have been 50 drug operations conducted in Oriental Negros, but a conviction is yet to be scored, according to Ret. Police Gen. Rubilito R. Comilang who now sits as consultant of PDEA.

Sojor said that drug-related cases filed in court usually don’t end with a conviction because the policemen are not properly trained on the technical side of legal proceedings.

He added that barangay officials should also be trained how to make lawful arrests.

Comilang likewise urged barangay captains to activate and mobilize their anti-drug abuse councils and tap the help of students and the Parent-Teachers
Association in anti-drug activities in the barangays.

According to Comilang, illegal drugs activities have recently been slow due to an increase on the prices of illegal drugs, particularly shabu which he said is now priced at P3,800 per gram while marijuana, P800/kilo.
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