The Department of Health (DOH) in Region 7 is welcoming more applicants for Botika ng Barangay (BnB) in Oriental Negros as two more local government units here have signified their interest to put up BnBs in their communities.
According to Dr. Thelma Fernandez, BnB Regional Coordinator at the DOH-7 Local Health Assistance office in
“But of course, we welcome more applicants for this program,” said Fernandez.
Around 45 BnBs are now operating in the province within the Sta. Catalina-Bayawan-Basay (Sta. Bayabas) health district, Amlan and Bindoy.
Fernandez disclosed that the Amlan LGU is eyeing to put up BnBs in five more barangays sometime next year.
According to Valencia Information Officer Des Tilos, the municipal government plans to put up a counterpart fund of half a million which will be used to finance the putting up of BnBs.
Valencia Mayor Rodolfo Gonzalez, Jr. is receptive to the program, which aims to ensure accessibility of low-priced generic over-the-counter drugs in the communities.
“The mayor believes that this program poses livelihood opportunities for barangay residents here. This also part of his administration’s thrust to provide livelihood support and assistance,” Tilos explained.
From the P500,000 counterpart fund, interested BnB operators in
Tilos said the municipal health board prefers to prioritize applicants who already own stores in the barangay.
It is up to the barangay captains to identify who would avail of the botika program.
The botika program is in line with the Generic Act of 1988 or AO 63 which prescribes to “ensure the adequate supply of drugs with generic names at the lowest possible cost.
Recently, the government’s half-priced medicines program got a big boost with the signing of an agreement between Interphil Laboratories and the government on the manufacture and distribution of selected generic drugs in the country at the lowest possible costs.
Under the agreement, Interphil, the Zuellig Group’s publicly traded contract pharmaceutical arm in the Philippines, will manufacture some 20 off-patent drugs as part of the President’s commitment to cut the costs of selected drugs for the poor by some 50 percent.
The agreement covers an initial three-year period.
Functional council for children in all CPC-6 focus areas eyed
The Children in Need of Special Protection (CNSP) of the Country Program for Children (CPC)-6 expects to encourage the setting up of barangay councils for the protection of children (BCPC) before the program ends in 2010.
According to Jennifer Catan-Tilos, Focal Officer of the communications component of the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) program, at present only half of CPC-6’s ten focus areas or barangays have functional councils to protect children.
The CPC-6 focus barangays are in
Catan-Tilos, provincial manager of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Negros Oriental, said that based on the program implementation report of CNSP parents in the focus areas have increased their knowledge and have been empowered to respond to child abuse cases.
She said CPC activities conducted have raised awareness in terms of children laws and in responding to protective issues and concerns of CNSP.
The CPC communications officer said that in meetings conducted, participants from different agencies and Barangay officials have realized their different roles to prevent children from abuses especially during disasters.
New housing project to open in Sibulan
Estanzia South Housing Project, another housing project of Firm Builders Realty Development Corp. is set to open its doors in Brgy. Maslog, Sibulan, this province.
Mrs. Aleli Villacorte, project manager, said the land development and selling of the house and lot units are now ongoing.
The official launching of the project and site blessing is slated on February 2, 2007.
Villacorte said 419 units shall be constructed. Potential homeowners can choose from two types of house models, namely the Rowhouse Core Type (lot area of 50 sq.m., floor area 32.4 sq.m.) and the Single Attached Complete Type (lot area 70 sq.m., floor area 32.4 sq.m.).
Estanzia South is about 300 meters off the National Highway and is linked by an existing barangay road, of which a portion of the road will be widened to 10 meters by the developer, said Concepcion Rosales, Sibulan Information Officer.
Some of the project’s amenities include a water treatment facility, basketball court and open spaces for a park and playground.
Villacorte said their primary market targets PAG-IBIG Fund members, government employees, teachers and businessmen who will qualify for housing loans under the PAG-IBIG housing loan program.
PAG-IBIG has recently announced that it has cut the interest rates on its housing loans packages to as low as 6% to low-income members for the second time this year.
The Home Development Mutual Fund, known as the Pag-IBIG Fund has cut interest rates on its housing loans packages to as low as 6% to low-income members for the second time this year.
However, the PAG-IBIG office in Oriental Negros has yet to wait for the implementation of the cut-down rates.
“We are still adapting the same rates and guidelines at present,” said Julio Carmel Alfarero, Pag-IBIG Fund Provincial Officer-in-Charge.
Alfarero said that they have learned of the new housing loans but they still have to get the official communication for the set of guidelines He added that their office would receive the policies by next week.
Vice President Noli De Castro, chairman of Pag-IBIG Fund Board approved the rate deduction. De Castro, also the chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said that loan packages up to P300, 000 will have a an interest of 6% from the previous 9%.
“This is our early Christmas gift to the minimum wage earners and government workers,” De Castro said, emphasizing that the new interest rates would have the biggest effects on housing loan packages valued up to P500, 000.
All housing loan packages will now have a maximum term of 30 years. Under the old guidelines, loans over P750, 000 up to P2 million had a maximum payment period of only 20 years. He added that the new rates would apply to new loan applicants, and not on existing loans.
“This is the best time to translate these gains into services that would give our members the best opportunity to become homeowners, “De Castro said. He further credited the Pag-IBIG Fund’s strong financial performance in recent years for the cuts in interest rates.
The new rates for loans of up to P300, 000 would greatly benefit minimum wage earners, or those earning P7, 700 a month, as well as government employees classified under Clerk III and Utility Worker.
Meanwhile, the target-beneficiaries for loans of P500, 000 are employees classified as Teacher I, Police Officer I, and security guards.
Intensity 2 quake felt in Dumaguete
An earthquake measuring 4.9 in magnitude was felt in large parts of Regions 6 and 7 yesterday, Dec. 6, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) here.
Phivolcs recorded the quake at 11:26 in the morning and its epicenter was 123 kms. North, 79 degrees west of Dumaguete or 140 kms south southwest of Iloilo City, according to Henry Villaflores, sience research analyst of Phivolcs here.
The tremor registered intensity 2 in the cities of Dumaguete, Cebu, Tanjay and Ayungon town.
La Carlota, San Jose in Antique, Kabankalan and Bacolod felt the quake at intensity 3 while the strongest tremor hit Iloilo City at intensity 4.
He said the intensity levels were identified based on the description of residents who called up Phivolcs to report the tremors felt in their areas.
No injuries or damages to property have been reported.
The tectonic quake originated from Negros Trench, an active earthquake generator between Negros and Palawan, said Villaflores.
Philippines is located within the Pacific Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.
An average of 15 quakes a day occur in the country, said Villaflores.
He recalled that the last time the Negros Trench sent out tremors was in 2002. “We felt a quake in one week and another six days after,” he said.
He added that Phivolcs has tied up with the Department of Education here in the conduct of earthquakes drills in public as well as private school every quarter.
Should strong earthquakes occur, he advised to “duck and cover.” “If you are inside an office, duck or drop down to the floor and hide under a desk, table or other furniture. Make sure it is sturdy enough,” he said.
If outdoors, and the quake is too strong for you to remain standing, lie down on the ground. “But be aware of your surroundings,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, although hopes of finding survivors continue to dim, authorities have decided to prolong by 10 days their rescue efforts for victims of the mudslide from Mayon Volcano.
Some local government officials had practically given up hopes of finding more survivors as the death toll from super typhoon continued to rise until Wednesday morning.
In its advisory, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) the number of confirmed fatalities had risen to 543. Those missing or feared dead now numbered 740.
People injured during the typhoon rose to 1,861, the NDCC said.
Rape cases in NegOr up
Law is on your side, women victims told
Before this year is up, rape cases reported in the province could double from the figures recorded last year.
Records from the Provincial Police Office here show that 98 rape cases have already been reported to the Provincial Women’s and Children’s Desk Office from January to November this year.
Last year, a total of 57 rape cases were reported.
It’s possible that by the end of this year more rape cases would have been reported, said P/SInsp. Rosalinda Abellon, Provincial Women’s and Children’s Desk Officer at the Provincial Police Office in Agan-An-, Sibulan.
Abellon, who spoke during the Kapihan forum, said that although she’s sad that rape cases have been on the rise this year, there is also a reason to take it positively. “I’m also happy because this means more women and children victims are coming out. Probably because they know now that the police can help them,” she said.
Abellon believes that more women are now aware that the law will help and protect them under the RA 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.
The Anti-VAWC Act penalizes any act of violence against women and their children as a public crime.
Cecilia Hoffman of the Gender Watch Against Violence and Exploitation (GWAVE), in the same forum said that times have now changed as violence against women, particularly domestic violence, which once was kept under wraps has now been criminalized.
“Before, gihilum ra ang women violence cases. Now, we are all obliged to put a stop to it,” said Hoffman.
“This law is an eye-opener…it criminalizes what was considered normal before, that is hurting a woman or a child,” she said.
She stressed that the country’s “wrong culture” when it comes to how the woman is treated has allowed misconceptions about violence on women to thrive.
But with RA 9262, “this is one way to correct this misconception.”
Since the law has been implemented, Abellon said her office has issued several warrants of arrests in the province.
The law also serves as a deterrent to abusive situations. A bail bond of P120,000 is more than enough to scare would-be perpetrators, said Abellon.
Both Abellon and Hoffman assured women and children victims of abuse and exploitation here that the law will work for them if only they come out and report the abuse.
Central Visayas’ economic performance in the third quarter tip to a higher growth, which tourism, retail trade and construction showed a good performance. This was reported by the National Economic Development Authority during the full council meeting of the Regional Development Council last week here in Dumaguete City.
However, the agriculture sector continued to perform below par in the third quarter. Only palay continued to post positive growth throughout the year. Palay output of 26,612 metric tons was higher by 45.5 percent than last year.
The increase was a result of the expansion of the harvest area, which totaled 8,035 hectares. Many of the new areas harvested to palay were in Canlaon City, Sta. Catalina, Siaton and Basay in Oriental Negros.
The retail industry’s good performance in the third quarter has been attributed to the brisk tourism activities which raised the demand for souvenir items and increased consumption at hotels and restaurants, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Tourism and professional service industries are in for a windfall with the start of the Summit Dec. 10 and the preliminary meetings Dec. 6. The boost to the tourism sector, according to the report, will eventually benefit the retail trade industry.
The construction industry also posted a good performance with many projects in the implementation stage. Modest growth was also observed in the transportation industry
Domestic flights departing and arriving at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport have risen by almost six percent after local companies increased operations in Central Visayas.
Various events in Cebu have also increased the number of passenger arrivals at the airport with the 27th ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Organization General Assembly alone drawing 300 delegates.
The Special Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry also brought in 60 delegates.
Visitor arrivals in Central Visayas from January to September reached some 1.2 million, about 11 percent higher than last year’s, according to the (Regional Economic Situationer) RES.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, will hold a free movie showing on Thursday, December 14 at 6:00 p.m. at the Freedom Park Stage, Capitol Area, Dumaguete City.
The public is invited to watch the movie “The Testaments of One Fold One Shepherd” which is inspired from the scripture found in John 10:16 of the New Testament: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.”
Alipio T. Lomoljo, District President, in a statement said the movie produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, depicts the life of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem while dramatizing the event described in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ from approximately the same time period.
The movie’s climax occurs after Christ’s resurrection, when Jesus appears in America.
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