One Mindanao -September 17, 2011

2 Saturday, September 17, 2011

C O N T E N T SNATIONAL

• Japan trip aimed at forging stronger ties, expressing solidarity, says President Aquino• Palace welcomes passage of 2012 national budget

TALKING POINTS

• Phl has 60-day rice buffer stock –NFA official• Tagalog news: Presyo ng NFA rice bababa pag naabot ang self-sufficiency period• Tagalog News: ’Self-sufficiency’ ng Pinas, nasa 85% na--NFA

Central Mindanao (SOCSKSARGEN)

• Hamon ni Gov. Pingoy sa bagong PD, pigilan ang street crimes• DA program helps SK town to rise• Bagong police director ng South handa nang simulan agad ang trabaho

Northeastern Mindanao (Caraga)

• DTI vows to monitor prices, quality of Christmas lights sold in dept. stores• DOH, PhilHealth conduct Forum on Universal Health Care Program• CDA-Caraga bares rationalized guidelines in the organization, structure of the Cooperative Dev’t Councils• Transparency corner launched• Former household service workers receive livelihood starter kits

Western Mindanao (Zamboanga Peninsula)

• DILG reiterates guidelines for pedicab, tricycle operations• Dipolog approves PAG-IBIG coverage of casual employees• 1,900 studes attend reproductive health symposium• DOLE ZamboSur holds Re-Orientation on PPACL• P679,272 released to 441 SPES grantees in ZamboSur

Northern Mindanao

• Mis. Or. OFW’s and dependents undergo training on swine and goat raising• Volume of NorMin major crops, up 157% in 2Q• CEPALCO campaigns for increase of solar photo-voltaic capacity in Mindanao • 4ID soldiers garner medals in sports competition• Cebuano news: Aquino mogikan karong Sept.18 alang sa 4 ka adlaw nga pagbisita sa Amerika

Southern Mindanao (Davao Region)• Asia Foundation and USAID donate books to Panabo City• Legislator tackles the Big C• Davao solons laud CC identification process

OUR COVER:

OIC aspirantsfor ARMM

EDITORIAL STAFF

An Electronic News Magazine published daily by Philippine Information Agency (PIA)

Mindanao Clusters

Executive Editor ……......... EFREN F. ELBANBUENA Cluster Head, Southern, Western and Central Mindanao Regional Director, PIA Region XI

Managing Editor ……......... ABNER M. CAGA Cluster Head, Northern and Northeastern Mindanao Regional Director, PIA Caraga Region

Associate Editors ……....... OLIVIA T. SUDARIA Regional Director, PIA Region XII NOEMI A. EDAGA Regional Director, PIA Region IX

RUTCHIE C. AGUHOB Officer-in-charge,PIARegionX

Regional Desk Editors …... Jocelyn P. Alvarez, PIA Region IX Elaine O. Ratunil, PIA Region X Rudolph Ian G. Alama, PIA Region XI Danny E. Doguiles, PIA Region XII Robert E. Roperos, PIA Caraga Region Nora CL Molde, PIA Caraga Region

Copy Editor ……………….. Robert E. Roperos, PIA Caraga Region

Layout Artists ……………... Gerie Mae G. Coco, PIA Caraga Region Richard D. Atillo, PIA Caraga Region Emmanuel D. Gonzales, PIA Caraga Region

Editorial Advisers ……….... ATTY. JOSE A. FABIA Director-General Philippine Information Agency

SEC. HERMINIO “Sonny” B. COLOMA PresidentialCommunicationsOperationsOffice

3Saturday, September 17, 2011

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Japan trip aimed at forging stronger ties, expressing solidarity, says President Aquino

President Benigno S. Aquino III said he’s visiting Japan late this month to strengthen relationships, discuss nu-clear issues as well as things that in-

terest both countries particularly the West Phil-ippine Sea.


Japan Trip.....from page 3

The President, who leaves for an official visit to Japan on September 24, told Japa-nese media on Friday in Mal-acanang that he wants to thank Japan for its continu-ing assistance to the Philip-pines. The President will re-turn to Manila September 29. “Japan has been very good to us… contributing the largest source of official development assistance. Japan has under-gone a tremendous shock with both earthquake and tsunami and of course the continu-ing issue on radio activity,” the President said in an inter-view with the Japanese press. “We would want to ex-press solidarity with the Jap-anese people because in our culture there’s a phrase in Filipino called utang na loob (debt of gratitude)” Japan has a new leader described by the President as “a good prime minister” and he said he wants to meet him to

be able to continue the strong relationship between the two countries that have been al-lies for quite a long time. “We are honored… and I understand that I’m the second head of state who will be talk-ing to him. We want to appraise him on the things happening in the Philippines …and for him appraise us also on things happening in Japan,” he said. In terms of being trad-ing partners, Japan is in the top three trade partners of the Philippines, and any downturn in the economy of Japan would have a corre-sponding effect on the Phil-ippines, the President said. Asked if he’ll seize the op-portunity to ensure employ-ments of Filipinos in Japan as its economy expands, he said: “The sooner you recov-er redounds the benefit to the entire world, and our people has demonstrated time and again given the proper environ

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ment they can re-ally excel in which-ever company that does hire them.” The President noted that in his last visit to the Fili-pino community in Japan, he found that more and more Filipinos are no longer in the en-tertainment sector but already in the professional sector. The chief execu-tive also mentioned the West Philippine Sea as an area of mutual interests for Japan and the Phil-ippines. He said he will be raising the idea of unhampered trade and the free-dom of navigation in this particular area so complimen-

tary efforts could be done to ensure the safety of trade. Another ma-jor agenda will be discussions on the use of nuclear en-ergy because of the ongoing de-bates in the Phil-ippines on the use of nuclear power. “Their expe-riences undoubt-edly will help us, will guide us on whether or not to do the same,” the President said not-ing the nuclear di-saster Japan expe-rienced recently. The President also told the Japa-nese media that the Philippines is arranging another package of assis-

tance for Japan af-ter it sent food and clean water right after the disasters. There is a substan-tial amount allo-cated by the Phil-ippine government to assist Japan, the President said. Aside from the help already ex-tended by the Phil-ippines, President Aquino said the country also dis-patched a medical team of psychia-trists and psycholo-gists to assist those suffering from emo-tional distress af-ter the disasters. “To our mind it’s a significant expres-sion of solidarity for the Japanese people,” he said.

Japan Trip.....from page 4


“Happy po tayo na naipasa na on second reading yung budget po natin. According to RG Cruz it was at 11: 29 p.m. when the vote was entered,” Deputy Presi-dential spokesperson Abigail Valte said during an interview Saturday over government-run dzRB radio. “I was also moni-toring that and masaya po tayo that it was on-time. Nag-commit na-man din po kasi ‘yung ating congressmen at talagang… Maganda kasi ang nangyari like last year, kung naaalala ninyo our budget was also passed on time so hindi po tayo nagre-re-enact ng budget,” she added. The lower house passed on second reading the proposed P1.816-trillion budget for the 2012 fiscal year that aims to continue to

provide lifeline for the poor, and cut govern-ment expenditures for debt servicing. Members of the House of Representa-tives approved House Bill 5023 or the Gen-eral Appropriations Act of 2012 before midnight Friday following nine days of marathon ple-nary sessions. According to House Speaker Feliciano Bel-monte Jr. the proposed 2012 budget anticipates the opportunities and threats that the econo-my might face in 2012 and at the same time support the reforms that promote transpar-ency in government. The lower house will finally approve the budget in October and then transmit it to the Senate. It is expected to be ratified in Novem-ber and signed into law by President Aquino

before the Christmas break. The Department of Education (DepEd) got the biggest appropria-tion with P238.8 billion or 15.2 percent higher than its current bud-get. The Department of Public Works and High-ways (DPWH) comes next with P125.5 bil-lion, followed by the Department of Nation-al Defense (DND) with P107.9 billion. The Department of Interior and Local Gov-ernment (DILG) also got a big share with P101.4 billion, as well as the Department of Agriculture (DA) with P54.1 billion. In terms of sectoral allocation, a bulk of the spending pie goes to so-cial services with P575.8 billion or 31.7 percent, with economic services getting P438.9 billion or 24.2 percent. (AS)

Malacanang expressed elation over the passage of 2012 national budget by the House of Representatives Friday night saying this will mean better services to the people more especially the poor.

Palace welcomes passage of 2012 national budget


Phl has 60-day rice buffer stock –NFA officialby Jerome Carlo R. Paunan

QUEZON CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) -- In times of emergency and rising global rice prices, the Philippines can rely on a 60-day buffer stock for rice, an official from the National Food Authority (NFA) said Thursday. During DZRB and PTV 4’s radion program Talking Points Lauengco said that the Department of Agriculture targets to increase rice production by 10 percent every year until 2013. However, he said this goal of rice self-sufficiency by 2014 may be affected by various

factors such as weather conditions and the lifting of quantitative restriction set by the World Trade Or-ganization to its member countries. Lauengco said Ty-phoon Ondoy which struck the country in 2009 result-ed to the loss of 500,000 metric tons of rice. Due

to this, an inter-agency committee comprised of the NFA, Department of Agriculture (DA), Depart-ment of Trade and Indus-try and the Philippine At-mospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) closely monitors weather disturbances which may

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Phl has.....from page 7

decrease the country’s rice yield. In line with this, DA is also developing a new variety of hybrid rice which could withstand constant rains and could increase the farmers’ yield at the same time. Lauengco also clarified that DA does not use GMO rice. Lauengco also said that lifting the quantitative

restrictions on rice impor-tation will also affect the country’s drive to reach the self-sufficiency target. The Philippines and South Korea are the only mem-ber countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) who have not lifted the re-striction. He said lifting the quantitative restrictions puts local farmers’ in-

come at risk as imported rice is cheaper than rice produced locally. The re-striction of rice importa-tion in the Philippines will be lifted on June 2012. However, the government has already formed a task force to ask members of the WTO for an extension for the implementation of quantitative restriction. (PND GGPIA-GHQ)

Tagalog news: Presyo ng NFA rice bababa pag naabot ang self-sufficiency periodby Domingo B. Natividad V

QUEZON CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) -- Bababa ang presyo ng kasalukuyang presyuhan ng NFA rice na P27 kada kilo ayon kay National Food Authority (NFA) special assistant to the administrator, Atty. Gilbert F. Lauengco, pag naabot na ng bansa ang target nitong maging rice sufficient sa taong 2013. Sa programang “Talking Points” ng DZRB-Radyo ng Bayang at Phil-ippine Information Agency (PIA) ngayong umaga, pinaliwanag ni Lauengco na mangyayari ito dahil “pag na-achieve na po na-tin ang self-sufficiency sa 2013, hindi na natin kai-langan mag-imbak pa ng buffer stock ng bigas.” Target ng Depart-ment of Agriculture (DA) na umabot sa 17.45 milyon metriko tonelada (MT) ng

palay ang maani ngayong taon. Sa susunod na taon, kailangang maitaas ito ng 10 porsiyento at umani ng 19.2 milyon MT, at umusad ng 10 pang porsiyento sa 2013 kung saan 21.11 mi-lyon MT palay ang kakail-anganing maani. “Pag naabot na ng bansa ang mga targets nito sa kada taon ng produk-siyon ng palay mula 2011 hanggang 2013, maari ng tawagin na rice sufficient ang Pilipinas,” ani Laueng-

co. Nilinaw naman ni Lauengco na pag naging tuluyang food sufficient na ang bansa, tuloy parin ang NFA sa tungkulin nito. Ani-ya, “Kahit self sufficient na po tayo, mayroon tayong pangangailangan mag-maintain ng buffer stock.” Paliwanag niya, “hin-di po natin masabi, baka magkaroon ng kalami-dad o magka-problema sa produksyon, kaya kailan-gan po ng NFA panatilihin

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ang food suplay.” Dagdag pa niya, nasa mandato rin ng NFA na siguraduhing abot kaya

ang presyo ng bigas para sa nakararami. “Mayroon din po tayong role sa price stabilization, sakaling ang

presyo ng bigas sa mga pribadong supplier ay tu-maas,” sabi niya. (PIA-NCR, rjb)

Tagalog News: ’Self-sufficiency’ ng Pinas, nasa 85% na--NFA by Mishella Cruz

QUEZON CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) -- Sa programang Talking Points sa Philippine Information Agency, sinabi ni NFA Special Assistant to the Administrator Atty. Gilbert Lauengco na sa ngayon, ang self-sufficiency sa bigas ng bansa ay nasa 85-90% na.

Binanggit niya na ang produksyon ng bigas ay tumataas ng hang-gang 7.6 metriko tonela-da at sumasang-ayon sa plano ng programang Rice Self-sufficiency Pro-gram ng Department of Agriculture, kung saan isa sa mga kaakibat ni-tong ahensya ay ang NFA. Sa proyektong ito, target ng dalawang ahensya na sa 2013 ay na kaya na ng Pilipinas na tugunan ang pansarili nitong pangangailangan sa bigas. Aniya, mayroon ding mga salik na makakaapekto sa target para sa taong ito kung kaya’t patu-loy pa rin ang kanilang pakikipag-ugnayan sa PAGASA para sa tamang pagtaya ng panahon.

“Ang negosyo o transaksyon ng bigas ay para po tayong nangon-gontrata sa Diyos, di na-man natin masasabi ka-hit maganda nga yung plano naten, kung tata-maan naman tayo ng typhoon ay maiiba yung plano na yun,” aniya. Sinabi rin ni Laueng-co na makakaapekto ang pag-alis ng ‘quantitative restriction’ sa pagkamit ng Pilipinas sa target na rice self-sufficiency. Ang quantitative re-striction ay isang pahin-tulot mula sa World Trade Organization-kung saan miyembro ang Pilipinas-upang pansamantalang magtakda ang pama-halaan ng bilang o limit sa pag-aangkat ng bigas ng mga pribadong nego-

syante. Ang ‘quantitative restriction’ sa Pilipinas ay matatapos sa taong 2012 ngunit nagbuo na ng task force ang De-partment of Agriculture na hihingi ng palugit sa WTO. Sa lahat ng ban-sang kasapi sa WTO na nagpapatupad ng ’free market,’ tanging ang Pilipinas at South Korea lang ang napagbigyan ng WTO noong 2005 para maipatupad ang natur-ang restriksyon. Kung mangyayari ang inaasahan sa tar-get na 2013, ang pre-syo ng bigas sa bansa ay tiyak na bababa, sabi ni Lauengco. (RJB/MC-PIA NCR)

Tagalog news: Presyo ng NFA.....from page 8

10 Saturday, September 17, 201110 Saturday, September 17, 2011

Hamon ni Gov. Pingoy sa bagong PD, pigilan ang street crimes

B-- ibigyan niya ng il-ang araw ang bagong upong police pro-vincial director

para resolbahin ang mga street crimes sa lalawigan, partikular na ang pagnananakaw ng motor, ayon kay South Cotabato Gov. Ar-thur Y. Pingoy Jr.

ni Danny E. Doguiles

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Ang hamon ay inihayag ni Gov. Pingoy kasanay ng oath taking ni Po-lice Senior Superin-tendent Randolph Delfin noong Mi-yerkules kapalit ng magreretirong si P/SSupt Nilo Wong. Ayon sa Gober-nador nakababa-hala na ang mahig-it limang kaso ng pagnanakaw ng mo-tor sa ilang bahagi ng lalawigan, kabi-lang na ang lung-sod ng Koronadal mula Enero hang-gang Agosto ng ta-ong kasalukuyan. Ilan sa mga bik-tima ay pinaslang pa ng mga salarin. Bilang tugon, sinabi naman ni P/SSupt. Delfin na tinatanggap

niya ang hamon ng gobernador. Aniya, kabilang sa kanyang mga pinakaunang hak-bang ang pagpa-patupad ng police visibility sa mga es-trahikong lugar sa buong lalawigan at pagpapalakas ng ug-nayan ng mga otori-dad at kumunidad. Dagdag pa ng bagong police di-rector, determinado siyang mapanatiling maayos at ligtas ang buong South Cota-bato at kasabay sa kanyang pag-upo dapat pinapanday na rin umano ng buong puwersa ng kapulisan sa South Cotabato ang mag-ing pinakamagaling na mga pulis station sa bansa. (PIA 12)

Ayon sa Gobernador

nakababahala na ang

mahigit limang

kaso ng pagnanakaw ng motor sa ilang bahagi

ng lalawigan, kabilang na ang lungsod

ng Koronadal mula Enero

hanggang Agosto

ng taong kasalukuyan.

Hamon ni Gov......from page 10


DA program helps SK town to riseKORONADAL CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) – The antipoverty program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) was a key component to the town’s growth.

This was how Ka-lamansig Mayor Rolando P. Garcia described the holistic interventions of DA’s Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP). “When I assumed office in 2007, our lo-cal coffers was empty and MRDP was the first and only opportunity presented to me, and I seized the chance,” May-or Garcia said. MRDP is a pover-ty-alleviation initiative under DA that aims to improve rural incomes and strengthen decen-tralization of delivery of basic agricultural servic-es in 225 towns across Mindanao. It is funded through a loan portfolio from the World Bank and the counterparts of the national government, and local government

units. “We needed some assistance to start devel-opment. It was like we were groping in the dark but when MRDP staff Jojo Mijarez explained the features of the pro-gram, I was determined push for it,” he said. Garcia said he be-lieved their town before was left out. “We seem isolated from development as we were hard to reach and that it had a long history of insurgency and extor-tion,” Garcia said. Due to unfavorable road condition, it used to take at least six to seven hours of travel from Isu-lan town, the province’s capital. Today, after the completion the cement-ed road connecting to Cotabato City and Isu-

lan, travel time is cut to three hours. “The first thing we did was to revise our lo-cal tax rates and fees, and improved our rev-enue collections,” he said. As a strategy, may-or Garcia personally vis-its those businessmen whom he believed have been delinquent in pay-ing taxes as well as those who did not register their businesses. MRDP extended ca-pacity-building on reve-nue generation through the Investment for Gov-ernance Reform compo-nent. “We are now seeing results as we were able to provide our counter-parts for the projects under MRDP and other development assistance that requires counter-

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part,” said Garcia. “Our first invest-ment under MRDP was on the Natural Resourc-es Management (NRM) component to help us sustain our natural re-sources. And this is also the only component I have some knowledge of,” he added. Before joining poli-tics Garcia was the dean of the College of Fisher-ies of the Sultan Kudarat State University (Kala-mansig campus). Resource conser-vation is an important investment, he said, as the town is rich in nat-ural resources from its terrestrial terrain down to the coastal areas and deep sea waters. Facing the Moro Gulf, the Kalamansig has one of the richest tuna population, lobsters, slipper crab and the sweet shell-fish locally known as “Imbao” which are popular in seafood restaurants. They have relative-

ly dense forest cover and diverse fauna population from wild boars, monkey and the Philippine deer. The town’s total invest for NRM reach-es P6, 738,000.00 for Riverbank stabilization, Mangrove forest rehabil-itation and agro-forestry development. “We also have at least P5 million invest-ments for at least 25 agri-based livelihoods under the Community Fund for Agricultural De-velopment component,” he added. Among the projects that have already helped increase income of farm-ers and fisherfolk includ-ed Mini Ring net fishing, fish marketing/vend-ing, seafood process-ing, deep sea fishing, rubber-based integrated farming, and coffee pro-duction. Further, under the Rural Infrastructure com-ponent they also invest-ed in two farm-to-market roads (FMR) amounting

to 9,702312.50. These roads traverse the high-land communities of the indigenous peoples who are mostly Manobo. “Even it required a 50:50 equity, we still gambled because I thought 50 percent cut from the project cost is already a big help for us and FMR is a much need-ed infrastructure here,” he said. “My entering into politics is not for per-sonal benefit but for the love of this community. I have grown old here and I know it’s been a long time that this town re-mained underdeveloped. W e are already behind our neighboring towns,” Garcia said. “Now, we have seen the results of our hard work. Had it not for MRDP, many would still be very poor and won’t be given the opportuni-ties that we were able to provide,” he said. (DE-Doguiles/PIA 12/SB-Manual/DA- MRDP)

DA program......from page 12


Bagong police director ng South han-da nang simulan agad ang trabahoKORONADAL CITY, Setyembre 17 (PIA) -- Siniguro ni P/SSupt Randolph Delfin, bagong police provincial director ng South Cotabato, na handang-handa na siyang gawin ang kanyang mga responsibilidad bilang pinuno ng kapulisan sa lalawigan.

Ani Delfin, hindi lamang siya pumun-ta sa lalawigan bilang pagtalima sa order na maging police provin-cial office kundi para na rin gawin ang ang kanyang trabaho at pamunuan ang South Cotabato Police Provin-cial Office. P i n a k a m a h a l a -ga umano sa kan-yang pagtutuunan ang masigurong makaka-pamuhay ang mga ma-mamayan ng lalawigan na mapayapa at may kaayusan. Sa isang panayam sinabi, ni P/SSupt. Nilo Wong dating police provincial director ng lalawigan, nagkasama sila ni Delfin sa tour of duty sa East Timor.

Kilala umano niya si Delfin na maasahan at tapat sa kanyang tung-kulin. Kilala rin umano itong istrikto at ma-higpit sa disiplina ng mga tauhan. Kinumpirma na-man ni Delfin na istrik-to nga siya at disci-plinarian pero nilinaw nito na kailangan la-mang niyang maging istrikto at disiplinahin ang mga tauhan kung hindi tumutupad sa kanilang mga sinump-aang tungkulin at hindi sumusunod sa tamang kautusan. Samantala, umaa-sa naman si Gov. Arthur Y. Pingoy Jr. na malu-lutas ni P/SSupt Delfin ang mga street crimes sa lalawigan, partikular

ang nakawan ng mga motorsiklo sa lalawigan sa lalong madaling pa-nahon. Nangako naman si Gov. Pingoy ng suporta sa bagong pamunuan police provincial of-fice. Ayon sa gober-nador may pondo pa ang pamahalaang pan-lalawigan na maaaring magamit sa mga pro-grama ng bagong po-lice director. Ibibigay na rin um-ano niya ang mga motor-siklong binili ng pama-halaang panlalawigan para sa police provin-cial office na kanyang pinigil ilang buwan na ang nakalipas dahil sa ilang isyung kailangan resolbahin. (DEDogu-iles/PIA 12)


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DTI vows to monitor prices, quality of Christmas lights sold in dept. stores

The provincial office of the Department of Trade and Indus-try (DTI) in Agusan

del Norte today vowed to monitor department stores here to assure that only quality Christ-mas products are sold at a reasonable price, and to avoid any untoward inci-dents caused by factory defect Christmas lights.

by Robert E. Roperos

Lighting chains/Christmas lights with

Light Emitting Diodes or LEDS are covered by the mandatory

certification and shall be tested for compliance to PNS 189:2000.


In a radio inter-view here recently, Mr. Win Palma, DTI-Agusan del Norte Consumer Welfare Di-vision Chief said per-sonnel from DTI-Agu-san del Norte were tasked to monitor the prices and quality of these products in mall and supermar-kets in the province. Palma added Christmas lights are considered man-datory products. “This means that these products must be monitored and checked if it complied with the standards set by the govern-ment,” Palma said. The official also enjoined the public to buy products that have ICC stickers and numbers ton ensure

its quality. “This indi-cates that the prod-uct has passed the standards,” he said. It was learned that lighting chains/Christmas lights with Light Emitting Diodes or LEDS are covered by the mandatory cer-tification and shall be tested for compliance to PNS 189:2000. Earlier, DTI Bu-reau of Product Standards (BPS) has issued a memoran-dum to intensify the monitoring and en-forcement activities to clear the mar-ket of uncertified lighting chains and Christmas lights that are putting unneces-sary dangers to the properties and wel-fare of the consum-ers. (PIA-Caraga)

Earlier, DTI Bureau of

Product Standards (BPS)

has issued a memorandum

to intensify the monitoring and

enforcement activities to

clear the market of uncertified

lighting chains and Christmas

lights that are putting

unnecessary dangers to the properties and

welfare of the consumers.

DTI vows......from page 15


DOH, PhilHealth conduct Forum on Universal Health Care Program

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) -- The Philippine Health (PhilHealth) Insurance Corporation Caraga Regional Office headed by Regional Vice Pres. Johnny Sychua, and Department of Health (DOH) Caraga Regional Office headed by Dir. Leonita Gorgolon jointly spearheaded the Forum on ‘Kalusugan Pangkalahatan’ (Universal Health Care) Program with the Local Chief Executives in the region, representatives from the national line agencies, and members from the local tri-media, held Thursday, Sept. 15 in one of the hotels here.

by Jennifer P. Gaitano

18

In his message, Bu-tuan City Mayor Ferdi-nand Amante Jr. said that being a medical doctor, health care is very impor-tant to him that is why the city government sees to it that Butuanons avail the affordable and quality health care services. “I hope that with this forum, local chief execu-tives and all other partner agencies would come up with new pans to better enhance the health care services of the govern-ment,” Amante said. Also, Dir. Gorgo-lon emphasized that the implementation of the said program shall be di-

rected towards ensuring the achievement of the health system goals of better health outcomes, sustained health financ-ing and responsive health system by ensuring that all Filipinos, especially the disadvantaged group in the spirit of solidarity and have equitable access to affordable health care. DOH-Caraga Re-gional Director Dr. Cesar Cassion also added that the Aquino Health Agen-da – Achieving Universal Health Care for All Filipinos is being launched especial-ly in Caraga to improve, streamline and scale up reform interventions es-

poused in the Health Sec-tor Reform Agenda. “This deliberate fo-cus on the poor which will ensure that as the imple-mentation of health re-forms moves forward, no-body are left behind,” said Cassion. It was also learned during the forum that among the roles and re-sponsibilities of DOH in-clude: 1) to develop guidelines and protocols to organize the commu-nity health team and ser-vice delivery network, implement a functional referral system, deliver health service packages, contract with private pro-


DOH, PhilHealth....from page 17

viders, implement clini-cal practice guidelines, generate, retain, and use hospital revenues, and establish hospital pricing system to maximize ben-efits from PhilHealth; 2) to utilize its resources for public health grants and commodities to leverage the performance of LGUs to organizing the com-munity health team and service delivery network, delivering health service packages, and providing critical inputs like supplies, drugs and commodities; and 3) engage partners in policy development and implementation of strate-gies including the media in providing accurate and timely information to the public regarding the im-plementation of the Aqui-no Health Agenda. As co-implementer, PhilHealth will also ex-pand National Health In-surance Program (NHIP) coverage by ensuring the

annual registration and enrolment of poor families while leveraging for local counterparts and provid-ing member and provider services to promote utili-zation of NHIP benefits; secure financial risk pro-tection for outpatient ser-vices by linking capitation payments with discrete outpatient services; se-cure financial risk protec-tion for inpatient services by implementing a no-balance-billing policy in government hospitals for our poorest population; improve management of the NHIP by investing in modern information and communication technol-ogy to link members and providers with PhilHealth offices; and seek other financial instruments and strategies to maintain/improve financial sustain-ability. Meanwhile, LGUs are encouraged and as-sisted to do the following:

1) Develop policies and plans appropriate to their locality and consistent with the implementation of the AHA; 2) Mobilize and utilize resources such as Internal Revenue Allot-ment (IRA), PhilHealth re-imbursements, user-fees, capitation fund, and other resources to organize and sustain the community health teams and service delivery networks includ-ing provision of supplies, drugs and commodities; 3) Allow their local hos-pitals and other public health facilities appropri-ate incentives such as in-come retention, socialized pricing, and improved hospital pricing to improve their capacity to deliver services; and 4) Organize Community Health Teams and Service Delivery Net-works in partnership with the private sector for ef-fective delivery of health service packages, and whenever appropriate,

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CDA-Caraga bares rationalized guidelines in the organization, structure of the Coopera-tive Dev’t CouncilsBUTUAN CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) – The Cooperative Development Council (RCDC) Caraga Regional Office headed by Regional Director Manuela Pelaez bared the Simplified Policy and Rationalized Guidelines in the Organization and Structure of the Cooperative Development Councils, during the Regional Development Council (RCDC) Meeting held recently at the CDA-Caraga Conference Room, this city.

contract private providers to supplement available services or provide other services that cannot be delivered by existing pub-lic providers (e.g. family planning services such as

tubal ligation or perform caesarean sections). Atty. Alexander A. Padilla, Executive Vice President/Chief Operat-ing Officer of PhilHealth together with Mr. Oscar

B. Abadu, Jr., AVP Senior Manger – MCD, PhilHealth graced said activity and answered several queries and clarifications from the participants. (PIA-Cara-ga)

by Jennifer P. Gaitano

Dir. Pelaez recalled that the creation, organization, operation and functions of the different CDCs at the var-ious levels shall be in accor-dance with the intention and purpose of Executive Order No. 95 entitled “Designating the CDA as the lead govern-ment agency on cooperative promotion, development, regulation and calling on all government agencies with cooperative programs to co-ordinate these with CDA and

for other purposes. “The councils in the various levels as organized shall serve as mechanism for collaboration, consulta-tion and coordination in the implementation of various cooperative programs and projects implemented by all government branches, in-strumentalities subdivisions and agencies in partnership with the cooperative sector,” said Pelaez. Pelaez further said

that powers and functions of the councils are retained. Among the mandate and re-sponsibilities of the councils include: 1) to coordinate, harmonize and monitor the implementation of various cooperative development plans, programs and proj-ects of national government agencies, government fi-nancial institutions (GFIs), local government units, and non-government organi-zations within the areas of

DOH, PhilHealth....from page 18


CDA-Caraga....from page 19

such councils; 2) to opera-tionalize and monitor the Cooperative Medium Term Development Plans (CMT-DP) through the collective efforts of all sectors and to develop such mechanism as may be required in line with the CMTDP; and 3) to share resources (financial, supplies and equipment, manpower) towards the full realization of such development plans. It was learned that in the composition of the coun-cils, little changes/revisions were made. With the ratio-nalized guidelines, the offi-cers of the councils should only be the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secre-tary, Treasurer, and Auditor. Unlike before, aside from the chairperson, there is also a co-chair which is the office of CDA but now, CDA would automatically be the secretariat in every council. Involvement of the Regional Development Council (RDC) is also realized. Compositions for the National CDC are as follows: Members of the National Coordinating Committee; National Presidents of Gov-

ernors, Vice-Governors, City Mayors, City-Vice Mayors, Municipal Mayors, Munici-pal Vice-Mayors Leagues of the Philippines, Sangguni-ang Panlalawigan and Sang-guniang Bayan Leagues of the Philippines; League of Cooperative Development Officers of the Philippines; Chairpersons of the various RCDCs; Chairperson of the Philippine Cooperative Cen-ter; Chairpersons of tertiary cooperatives; and Represen-tative of other organizations with cooperative develop-ment programs as may be identified by the CDA. For the RCDC, it shall be composed of the Region-al Directors of the national government agencies; Re-gional Managers/Area Man-ager of government finan-cial institutions; Chairperson of RDC; PCDCs; CCDCs; Chairpersons of the regional cooperative federations and unions; and Representative of other NGOs with coopera-tive programs. The Provincial CDC shall be composed of the Provincial Directors of the national government agen-

cies; Designated/or assigned officer of any government agency which does not have any established provincial office; Chairperson of Pro-vincial Development Coun-cil; Provincial Cooperative Development Officer; Mu-nicipal Cooperative Devel-opment Officers for compo-nent cities; Chairpersons of MCDCs; Chairpersons of the CCDCs in component cities; Chairperson of the commit-tee on cooperative at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan; Chairpersons of provincial cooperative federation and unions; and Representative of other NGOs with coopera-tive programs. The composition of the City CDC shall also be the representatives of na-tional government agencies with cooperative programs including GFIs; Chairperson of the CDC; City Coopera-tive Development Officer; Chairperson of the Commit-tee on Cooperatives at the Sangguniang Panlungsod; Chairpersons of primary co-operatives in the city; and representatives of other NGOs with cooperative pro-

21


22

grams. Lastly, the Municipal CDC shall be composed of the representatives of the national line agencies with cooperative programs in-cluding GFIs; Chairperson of the Municipal Development Council; Municipal Coopera-tive Development Officer; Chairperson of the Com-mittee on Cooperatives of Sangguniang Bayan; Chair-persons of the primary coop-eratives in the municipality; and representatives of other NGOS with cooperative pro-grams.

Meanwhile, Dir. Pelaez stressed that the officers shall be elected directly by the members constituting the councils at their respec-tive level. “As much as practi-cable and when feasible, if the elected Chairperson is from the government sector, the vice chairperson should come from the private com-ponent of he cooperative sector and vice-versa,” Pe-laez added. The term of office of the elected officers shall be one year with right to

re-election and which shall commence on the fifteenth (15) of January and shall end on the same date one year thereafter when the newly elected officers shall commence their term. The manner of election of officers shall be by secret ballot and shall be held on the last week of November every year. With this, Dir. Pelaez acknowledged the continued support by the coop mem-bers in the region and hoped for a longer years of partner-ship. (PIA-Caraga)

Transparency corner launchedBUTUAN CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) - The City Government here led by Hon. Ferdinand M. Amante Jr., City Mayor, recently launched the TRANSPARENCY CORNER at the city hall with the presence of the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod headed by Vice Mayor Lawrence Lemuel H. Fortun, Chiefs of Offices headed by City Administrator Leah A. Mendoza, Barangay officials, and guests from the TOYO University of Japan. This TRANSPARENCY CORNER, located at the ground floor of the city hall building, will display all government transactions of the different offices of the city.

by Cecil Ybañez

In the Depart-ment of Interior and Lo-cal Government (DILG) MEMORANDUM CIRCU-

LAR 2010-83 issued on August 31, 2010, all Lo-cal Government Units (LGUs) are directed to

faithfully implement FULL DISCLOSURE PRO-GRAM. This is a govern-ment’s policy which re-

CDA-Caraga....from page 20


Transparency corner....from page 21

quires all LGUs to post all their Budget and Fi-nances, Bids and Public Offerings in government websites, newspapers of general circulation, and in conspicuous place within their respective localities. This said circu-lar was issued in line with PNOY’s call for an end in government’s luxurious spending and misappro-priation of public funds and to scale-up inter-ventions to elevate the practice of governance that values transparency and accountability. Vice Mayor Fortun congratulated Mayor Jun Amante for being consistent in his elec-tion campaign platform of change and prom-ised to work hand-in-hand with the mayor in their transparency ef-forts. “It is alarming to note that corruption and abuse has become com-mon and worse is that

people have at some point come to consider these evils as an accept-ed norm in government. But the current adminis-tration, under the lead-ership of Hon. Ferdinand M. Amante Jr., will not accede to that, no mat-ter how common place these evils have be-come” Fortun said. City Mayor Jun Amante emphasized the importance of being transparent in his gover-nance in order to attract foreign investors. Quot-ing one of the Japanese investors, “Being trans-parent is a good thing because this is one of the first things that in-vestors consider before embarking on a busi-ness venture”, the may-or said. He also cited the Japanese guests of their being known for integ-rity and honesty. The mayor also en-couraged the Punong

Barangays to do their part and cooperate with the city government to gain the trust and confi-dence of the people. He challenged them not to be afraid of showing to the people where and how their taxes are be-ing spent. Mayor Ferdinand M. Amante Jr., further assured the people of Butuan City that bright-er future is ahead for the city because of the transparency program of his administration. “Bet-ter things are in store for our city and we owe that partly to our full disclosure program. Just like our Balangai, which has become the symbol of Biyaheng Pinoy cam-paign for good gover-nance, let us all row our oars together, face the rough waves ahead and sail towards the better Butuan”, the mayor said. (PIA-Caraga)


Former household service work-ers receive livelihood starter kits

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) -- The Balik-Pinay, Balik-Hanapbuhay Program, a flagship of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now fully implemented in Caraga Region.

by Ritchel M. Molero

Twenty-eight house-hold service workers from Butuan City received the Pangkabuhayan Starter Kits on September 14, 2011. Each starter kit is worth three thousand pe-sos and contains body tow-el, hand towel, lotion, baby powder, oil, manzanilla, al-cohol, and liniment. Fifty-five Household Service Workers from Bislig City and neighboring mu-nicipalities of Tagbina and Hinatuan completed the training on Massage Ther-apy and Technology Trans-fer Demonstration on Mon-day, 12 September 2011 at the TESDA Training Center, Poblacion, Bislig City. The workers learned how to make liquid dishwashing paste, fabric softener, Per-fume and cologne. After a 10-day inten-

sive skills training, gradu-ates of the 3rd Batch of the Galing Masahista received their livelihood starter kits. Said graduates already passed the NCII (National Certification) accredita-tion. The training was spearheaded by the Over-seas Workers Welfare Administration Regional Welfare Office-Caraga in partnership with the Tech-nical and Skills Develop-ment Authority (TESDA). LGU Bislig Mayor Librado C. Navarro provided free use of training venue, while Surigao del Sur District II Representative Florencio C. Garay provided extra Pangkabuhayan Starter Kits. The other 21 gradu-ates received the starter kits for Liquid Dishwashing Paste Making, Fabric Soft-

ener Making, Perfume and Cologne Making. Ms. Marieta A. Lu-mawag, OIC of RWO-Cara-ga in her graduation mes-sage challenged the OFWs to become successful busi-ness entrepreneurs us-ing the “Balik-Pinay, Balik- Hanapbuhay” starter kit as starting capital. With their newly ac-quired skills and start-up kits, the graduates are now ready to start their own livelihood undertaking in their own communities and augment their family income. Sixty-two workers graduated under the 3rd Batch of the Galing Ma-sahista program. The said program have already graduated more than a hundred recipients. (OW-WA-Caraga/LCO)


DILG reiterates guidelines for pedicab, tricycle operations

The Department of Interi-or and Local Government (DILG) has recently issued Memorandum Circular No.

2011-68 urging all the local gov-ernment units (LGUs) to strictly follow the guidelines governing the operations of public utility ve-hicles.

by Franklin P. Gumapon

25


Reports reach-ing the DILG dis-closed that pedicabs and tricycles in many cities and municipal-ities still operate on national highways despite the prohi-bition of the same. DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo has enjoined the local chief executives to strictly implement in their respective cities/municipalities the guidelines for public utility vehicles including the pedi-cabs and tricycles. Under exist-ing laws, the pedi-cabs and tricycles are prohibited to operate on national highways. However, they can only use the national roads if

there are no other streets to and from the city/town proper. In support of this DILG directive, the city government here has urged all pedicab and tricycle operators not to use the national high-ways as directed. In a related de-velopment, the city has long adopted the number coding scheme in which the tricycles have been assigned their day-offs to decongest traffic in the city. New city streets have also been con-structed to provide alternate routes to both passenger and private vehicles. (ALT/FPG/PIA-Zambo. Norte)

Under existing laws, the pedicabs

and tricycles are

prohibited to operate

on national highways. However, they can only use

the national roads if

there are no other streets to and from

the city/town proper.

DILG reiterates....from page 24


Dipolog approves PAG-IBIG coverage of casual employeesDIPOLOG CITY, Sept. 17 (PIA) - - City Mayor Evelyn T. Uy has agreed to the proposal to enroll the casual and job order employees of the city government in the PAG-IBIG Fund.

by Franklin P. Gumapon

A news release is-sued recently by the City Information Office (CIO) disclosed that the city government headed by Mayor Uy has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the PAG-IBIG Fund authorizing a manda-tory deduction of P100 from each casual/job or-der employee’s monthly pay. Personnel Office

Wilson Mabilog explained that the contribution made by the casual/job order employees to the PAG-IBIG fund would serve as their savings. Besides, Mabilog said, “it would also entitle them to enjoy the services and programs of the PAG-IBIG Fund such as prov-ident savings, housing and multi-purpose loans and death aid benefit. It can be recalled

that membership to PAG-IBIG Fund is only mandatory to regular employees covered by the Social Security Sys-tem (SSS) and/or Gov-ernment Service Insur-ance System (GSIS). Casual employees can join the PAG-IBIG Fund on a voluntary basis. (JPA/FPG/PIA-Zam-bo. Norte)

27

1,900 studes attend reproductive health symposiumZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Sept. 17 (PIA) -- More or less 1,900 students of Sibugay Technical Institute Incorporated (STII), a local school in Ipil, attended the one-day symposium on adolescent reproductive health recently held at the STII Gymnasium in Barangay Lower Taway, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay through the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) and HealthPRO.

by Paulnazer Lontua

According to Erwin Cenas, STII School Regis-trar, the school was grate-

ful that majority of the students responded to their invitation and just

manifests that most of the young generation are ea-ger to learn about repro-


DOLE ZamboSur holds Re-Orientation on PPACLPAGADIAN CITY , September 17 (PIA) –- The protection of Filipino children remains to be a national concern in view of the growing complexity of child protection issues in the country and the continued increase in the number of cases of child neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and discrimination.

by Alma L. Tingcang

1,900 studes....from page 26

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ductive health. “We actually have a 98% attendance now and this is a very good sign that our students here welcome reproductive health educa-tion and are eager to learn new things”, Cenas said. Resource speakers who are experts in their respective fields tackled fertility awareness, men’s health and involvement, reproductive health plan-ning and sexually trans-mitted infections with the crowd of hungry for knowl-edge students. One student, Arvin James Bioy, a 2nd year Practical Nursing student, said that he was grateful that his time was spent with learning and knowl-edge. He further said that the speakers were able to put the message across

the students and the latter acquiring the basic things to know about reproduc-tive health. “This is a good ex-perience. We were able to grasp the ideas that our speakers imparted to us and at the same time we learned a lot and had fun. My time was not wasted and I am grateful that our school gave us this oppor-tunity to learn more”, said Bioy. Zamboanga Sibugay 2nd District Board Mem-ber, Eufemio Javier, Jr., former President of STII, who was also present dur-ing the symposium, said that students deserve the right to know things about reproductive health and he also expressed his ap-preciation to the Admin-istration and work force of the school for initiating

the said symposium and giving quality education to the students. “This one of the basic rights of our students and I am giving two thumbs up to the people behind this event. Students as well as their instructors learned a lot”, Javier said. The speakers were Agnes Ortega Dr. Sherwin Bastero, Julia Revantad and Dr. Adnilre Verzon, all from the local and provin-cial health agencies of the province. The symposium is part of the campaign of the IPHO and MHO-Ipil to increase the awareness of the people especially the students about reproduc-tive health, family plan-ning and sexually trans-mitted infections. (NBE/ PL, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay)


Hence, the De-partment of Labor and Employment Provincial Office holds a two-day re-orientation on the Philippine Program Against Child Labor (PPACL) on Septem-ber 15-16 which is held at the Asia Hall of Hotel Guillermo here. Ms. Virginia L. Bonbon, DOLE Pro-vincial Head in her opening statement acknowledged the presence of program partners who play a pivotal role in the PPACL’s vision of a child labor-free Phil-ippines. “For the next two days, we will be reviewing the country’s program against child labor strategic framework and undertake the knowledge sharing system. We will also discuss how we can do our share and put these plans into ac-

tion,” Ms. Bonbon said. The PPACL is a network of mutually enabling social part-ners composed of national government agencies, non-gov-ernment organiza-tions, the academe, private institutions, religious organi-zations and other concerned groups working towards the prevention and pro-gressive elimina-tion of child labor through protection, withdrawal, healing and reintegration of child workers into a caring society. Ms. Annavic S. Cordova, Focal Per-son of the Child Labor Program in Region IX discussed the PPACL and relevant laws such as RA 7610 oth-erwise known as the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploi-tation and Discrimi-nation Act” as well

as facilitated the ac-tion planning which elicited a productive output from the par-ticipants. A child is any person under 18 years of age. Child labor is defined as any work or econom-ic activity performed by a child that sub-jects him to any form of exploitation and is harmful to his health and safety or physical, mental or psychosocial devel-opment. Children work-ing in mining sites, agriculture/farming, deep-sea fishing, prostitution/pornog-raphy, pyrotechnics, all forms of slavery as defined in the An-ti-Trafficking in Per-sons Act of 2003 in-cluding recruitment of children for use in armed conflict are considered child la-borers. (ALT/PIA9-Zambo Sur)

DOLE ZamboSur....from page 27


P679,272 released to 441 SPES grant-ees in ZamboSurPAGADIAN CITY , September 17 (PIA) –- The Department of Labor and Employment has released the amount of P679,272.00 for the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) in the province of Zamboanga del Sur. DOLE Provincial Head Virginia L. Bonbon said in July, 2011, 323 students were given their SPES checks bro-ken down as follows: Sominot – 17 grantees, P20,400.00; Dimatal-ing – 17, P30,600.00; Vincenzo Sagun – 25, P45,000; Margosat-ubig – 30, P36,000; Pagadian City (South-ern Mindanao College) – 50, P153,000; Lake-wood – 91, 131,040; Dinas – 51, P58,752; and Kumalarang - 42, P60,480 or a total of P535,272.00 Another release was made by DOLE on September 7 in the amount of P144,000.00 to 5 municipalities as follows: Dumingag (J.

H. Cerilles State Col-lege) – 20 grantees, P19,200; Pitogo – 12, P 14,400; San Miguel – 12, P9,600; Lapuyan – 20, P21,600; and Bayog – 54, P79,200, bring-ing the total amount to P679,272.00. Ms. Bonbon said the objective of the SPES is to develop the intellectual capaci-ties of children of poor families and harness their potentials for the country’s well being. Specifically, the pro-gram aims to help poor but deserving students pursue their education by providing income or augment their income through encouraging their employment dur-ing summer and/or

Christmas vacations. SPES is mandated under Republic Act No. 9547 otherwise known as “An Act To Help Poor But Deserving Students Pursue Their Education By Encouraging Their Employment During Summer and/or Christ-mas Vacations Through incentives Granted To Employers Allowing Them To Pay Only Six-ty Per Centum of Their Salaries Or Wages and the Forty Per Centum Through Education Vouchers To Be Paid By The Government, Pro-hibiting and Penalizing the Filing of Fraudulent and Fictitious Claims, and For Other Pur-poses.” (ALT-PIA9/Zambo Sur)

by Alma L. Tingcang


Mis. Or. OFW’s and dependents un-dergo training on swine and goat raising

Some 27 Overseas Fili-pino Workers (OFW) and their dependents partici-

pated in a Training on Swine and Goat Rais-

ing, last Sept. 7- 8.

by Nestor B. Flores, Jr.

31


Mis. Or. OFW’s...from page 30

Volume of NorMin major crops, up 157% in 2Q

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, Sept. 17 (PIA) – A total volume of 2,691,434 metric tons of major crops was produced in Northern Mindanao, during the second quarter, higher by 157 percent compared to the 1,049,050MT in the same period of 2010.

by Apipa Bagumbaran

The training was a joint undertaking Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), region 10, and the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) of Misamis Oriental. Director Petrona M. Bergado of OWWA-10 said, among the topics covered during the training, were breeds of swine, housing, breeding management, feeding management, marketing, and health management. She said the following veterinarians from the Mis. Or. PVO gave the lectures: Dr. Russel Roa, Dr. Gerlie Flor Velasco, Dr. Efren Melner Viloria, Dr. Mariadeth Occeña, Dr. Nonito Labis, Dr. Benjamin Resma and Jose Victorino Cabotaje. Meanwhile, an

educational tour was made to a Livestock Farm owned by Dr. Nonito Labis in Kibonbon, El Salvador City. This was followed by site visits to a piggery operated by the Municipal LGU of Villanueva and a backyard piggery project in Mandangoa, Balingasag town.During the occasion, the participants had the opportunity to observe the operations of a livestock farm for cattle, goats and sheep. They were introduced to different breeds of goats that included the Boer, Saanen and Anglo Nuvian stocks. They marveled at the information that the price for a male goat breeder could go as high as P60,000, each and

received instructions on the breed and herd size of goats for beginners. Later in the day, they had a hands-on experience in piglet castration, Bergado said Francisca Liloc, a participant who operates a backyard piggery said, “This is my first time to castrate a piglet. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought. From now on, I will no longer hire a technician to do the castration. The experience here in the seminar is a big help in my backyard piggery.” The Livelihood Skills Development Training is one of the interventions under OWWA`s Reintegration Program to improve the economic conditions of returning OFWs and their dependents. (OWWA/PIA-10)

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33

Data presented by the Bureau of Agricul-tural Statistics to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), in region 10, show that increase in the volume came most-ly from industrial crops, especially sugarcane. In a media forum held recently, Engr. Ce-cilio Y. Clarete, Chief Economic Develop-ment Specialist of NE-DA-10, disclosed that the positive growth on the regional output was pushed by the tremen-dous increase of sugar-cane produced during the quarter. The sugarcane recorded a huge 12-fold increase, from the 143.56MT to 1,709MT due to the high price of sugarcane which encour-

aged farmers to produce more, he cited. He also said that both the area planted and yield per hectare for sugarcane increased during the period. Vegetable produc-tion, on the other hand, went up by 10.53 per-cent, posting a volume of 17,655MT from the 15,973MT recorded in the same quarter of 2010. The increase is largely attributable to the 37 percent increase in the production of broc-coli, Clarete said. While most of the fruit crops registered negative growths, pine-apple, which shared 43 percent of the total fruit production, grew by al-most 20 percent push-ing the overall fruit crops production by 6 percent,

he added. Cassava, which is the greatest contributor to root crop production, also grew by 16.63 per-cent. Clarete said the in-crease in area planted to root crop in Misamis Oriental, as well, as the increase in the number of contract growers of San Miguel in Bukidnon caused the increase the cassava production. Meanwhile, the es-timated value of selected major crops rose by al-most 16 percent, reach-ing P10.504 billion. Among the largest gainers were eggplant for vegetable, camote for rootcrops, pineapple and mango for fruits, and rubber and abaca for industrial crops, Clarete added. (PIA-10)

CEPALCO campaigns for increase of solar photo-voltaic capacity in Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, Sept. 17 (PIA) --- The Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company, Inc. (CEPALCO) is campaigning for solar photo voltaic (PV) technology to boost power generation in Mindanao.

by Apipa Bagumbaran

Volume of NorMin....from page 31


CEPALCO campaigns...from page 32

With the constantly increasing demand for power in Mindanao, solar PV is the fastest technology to address the current capacity shortage in this part of the country, said Engr. Cecilio U. Sumaoy, Senior Manager, CEPALCO’s System Operations Department. He emphasized that the solar PV will effectively complement the hydro-electric power (HEP) plants, especially during dry seasons, since major portions of the energy supply in Mindanao comes from these plants. Sumaoy, further, said that based on their simulation, a 100 MW solar power plant will enable large HEP plants to store and reserve water for the night time peak. “If we can store water at the hydro, we can use that water to complement the deficiency in the contingency reserve during peak time and augment the reserve of

the system during night time peak,” he cited. He also said the solar electricity production matches the daytime peak in Mindanao, so it can displace up to 365 MWh per day of electricity from oil-fired generation resulting to savings in generation costs. At the current fuel costs of P9.35/kWh, displaced oil-fired generation translates to around Php1.0 billion a year of savings, and with the total Mindanao consumption at around 7GWH, this is equivalent to P0.14/kWh reduction in generation costs, he added. With this, CEPALCO is calling for the immediate implementation of the Renewable Energy Law and asks Malacañang to increase the solar capacity targets, especially for Mindanao. Out of the 760MW additional capacity for renewable energy, the Department of Energy (DOE) has endorsed

or certified only 50MW for solar capacity, while wind has an allocated capacity of 200MW, ocean with 10MW, and hydro and biomass with 250MW each. Sumaoy also stressed that solar PV is the cheaper alternative than fossil-based generation. Based on the National Renewable Energy Board figures, adding 760MW of renewable energy plants eligible for the proposed Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) will result to a rate impact of only 10 centavos per kWh with solar PV contributing only 1.14 centavos per kWh. The rate impact, he said, is much less than the Php0.05 centavos per kWh, additional electricity payments experienced by the people of Mindanao at the height of power shortage in 2010. At 100MW installed solar capacity, the rate impact is only 2.28 centavos per kWh, he concluded. (PIA-10)


4ID soldiers garner medals in sports competitionCAMP EVANGELISTA, Cagayan de Oro City, Sept. 17 (PIA) – Maj. Gen. Victor A Felix, Commander of the 4th Infantry “Diamond” Division, Philippine Army (4ID, PA), has commended five (5) of his soldiers for bagging the major prizes in the long distance foot race/fun run initiated by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), region 10. The said soldiers bagged the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 10th prizes in the event, which was held in observance of the 111th Philippine Civil Service Anniversary, recently. To celebrate the occasion, CSC-10 has lined up a series of activities participated by all inter-agency employees in the region envisioned to show-case their skills through friendly games and fun-run competition. Meanwhile, the 4ID runners, who show-cased their skills, sportsmanship and camaraderie in the said athletic activity and their respective units were the following: PFC Ernie Z.

Cabingue, 26IB, 1st Placer, PFC Danilo L. Orallo, 4th Mechanized Infantry Company, 2nd Placer, SGT Jerry N. Gamilla, 8IB, 3rd Placer, SSg Donato A. Barua, 4PDS, 4th Placer, Cpl Jester T. Camargo, 23IB, 5th Placer and SSg Joennel L. Traces, 23rd IB, 10th Placer. The event started from Bulua Gymnasium passing along Marcos Bridge, and ended-up at the Don Gregorio Pelaez Sports Center. It was also participated in by all government agency employees and was among the month-long series of activities for the celebration.

“I commend these soldier-athletes who dedicated themselves in improving their skills and by showing commitment and discipline,” Felix said. He, likewise, gave motivation to personnel by providing them adequate support to enable them to maintain their excellent performance in sports. The participation of the “Diamond” troopers was an expression of commitment and support to the community, as soldiers were not only trained to hone their combat prowess, but they were also physically and mentally trained in any sports competition. (4CM0/PIA-10)

Cebuano news: Aquino mogikan karong Sept.18 alang sa 4 ka adlaw nga pagbisita sa Amerika MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon, Sept. 17 (PIA) – Si President Benigno S. Aquino III mogikan ugmang adlawa, Domingo, Septembre 18, alang sa opisyal nga pagbisita sa United States of America agig pagtando sa imbitasyon ni US President Barack Obama sugod Sept. 18 hangtud Sept. 22.

35


Ang Presidente gi-imbitar ni US President Barack Obama ug ni Brazil President Dilma Rousseff, nga mga ‘co-chairs’ sa gitawag nga “Open Government Partnership (OGP),” alang sa opisyal nga paglusad sa OGP sa September 20 didto sa New York. “Ang OGP maoy bag-o nga paningkamot ug ideya alang sa pagsuporta sa ‘transparency’, paghatag ug gahum sa katawhan, pagsumpo sa pangurakot ug pagpahanas sa bag-ong mga teknolohiya alang sa mas lig-on nga pagpadagan sa p a n g a g a m h a n a n ,” matud ni Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Patricia Paez. Sa ilang hini-usa nga sulat kang Presidente Aquino, si President Obama ug President Rousseff miingon: “Among gidayeg ang aktibo nga ‘commitment’ ug liderato sa imong pang gobyerno diha sa pagpalambo niini nga paningkamot, ug

nagalaum kami nga makauban ka atol sa paglusad niini nga ‘initiative’ karong Septyembre. Ang Pilipinas usa sa duha lamang ka nasud sa Asya nga gi-imbitar aron mahimong miyembro sa International Steering Committee sa OGP. Ang ubang miyembro sa Steering Committee mao ang United States, Brazil, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway ug South Africa. Matud ni Paez, ang mga miyembro Steering Committee gipili kini base sa mosunod nga mga ‘criteria’: Fiscal transparency kon dayag nga paghupot sa panalapi, ‘access to information’, ‘disclosures to related officials’ ug ‘citizen engagement.’ “Ang pagkapili sa Pilipinas isip miyembro sa Steering Committee usa sa timailhan nga giila usab sa nagkalainlaing nasud ang maayo nga pangagamhanan ni Presidente Aquino

diha sa natad sa dayag nga pangagamhanan ug ‘anti-corruption,” dugang ni Paez. Gitakda usab nga mohatag si Presidente Aquino sa iyang ‘keynote remarks’ sa usa ka forum sa OGP nga may tema “The Power Open: A Global Discussion” didto sa New York City. Ang Presidente maoy nag-inusara nga ‘head of state’ nga gi-imbitar aron sa paghatag ug pakigpulong sa maong ‘OGP forum. Samtang atua sa New York, si President Aquino motambong usab sa ‘roundtable meeting’ kauban sa tulo (3) ka mga organisasyon sa pangnegosyo aron ipadayag usab ang ‘economic agenda’ ug mga nahimo sa kagamhanan human sa usa ka tuig nga serbisyo isip Presidente sa nasud. Kining tulo ka mga ‘business organizations’ mao ang US-Asean Business Council, ang US Chamber of Commerce ug ang Phi l ippine-American Chamber of Commerce. (NCR/PIA 10)

Cebuano news: Aquino mogikan...from page 34


Asia Foundation and USAID donate books to Panabo City

by Elreen Ann D. Albuna

Dr. Steven Rood symbolically handed the books to May-or Jose L. Silvosa, Sr. in time of the turn-over ceremo-ny at the Lobby of the New Panabo City Hall. Together with them were (L-R) Honorables Alan Piedad, Emete-rio Blase, Janrey Gavina and Vice Mayor James Gamao.

Through the partnership of the City Government

of Panabo, the Asia Foundation and the founding agency of the program, United States Agency Inter-national Development (USAID) symbolically turned-over 3,505 books last September 14, 2011, 4PM, at the Lobby of the New City Hall..

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Asia foundation.....from page 36

Legislator tackles the Big CDAVAO CITY. Sept. 17 (PIA) - Woman legislator Senator Loren Legarda underscores the important role of family and friends in the battle against breast cancer.

by Mai Gevera-Macapagat

Legarda joins all the other breast cancer advocates and survivors in today’s Silver Linings, an

educational forum about the Big C, how to cope with it, and how to prevent it. “A cancer patient

needs to be strong, but her loved ones need to be stronger. A sister trimming down her beautiful

The City Government of Panabo is one of the outstanding partners of the Asia Foundation in the implementation of the Transparent A c c o u n t a b l e Governance (TAG), hence, the City was so blessed as one of the beneficiaries of the Books for Asia. The books officially received by Mayor Jose L. Silvosa Sr., accompanied by Vice Mayor James Gamao; City Councilors Janrey Gavina, Alan Piedad, Emeterio Blase, Jovito Glodo and Ferdinand Gocon; and DepEd Education Program Supervisor Azucena Bendijo.

According to Dr. Steven Rood, Country Representative and Regional Adviser for Local Governance of the Asia Foundation, “the Foundation and the founding agency USAID distribute these books to Panabo City as a matter of enhancing the education of Mindanao.” He also mentioned the importance of the books for the new generation, “books provide knowledge which guide our children as they made their way for a better society. Increasing their access of books and reading materials means investing for the next generations and

human development. ‘Kabataan ay pag-asa ng bayan.” Books were turned-over to the 44 public elementary schools and 12 public high schools in Panabo City, as well as to the 7 private colleges, 3 private high schools and 9 private elementary schools. Some books were also donated to the Panabo City Library and the Institute of Primary Health Care. The turnover ceremony was witnessed by the city hall employees, School Presidents, A d m i n i s t r a t o r s /Principals and students representing their schools.(PIA 11)

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long locks to a boy cut style while her sibling is losing hair from chemotherapy; a friend trading her leisure time with trips to the hospital to accompany her friend to treatment sessions; a husband assuring her wife that she is sexy and beautiful as ever even after losing a breast—these are simple ways of assuring a person with cancer that she is important, that people around her support her because they want her to get cured—this is where she will get the strength and will to go through the long and painful process of battling the disease.” Legarda shared as she remembered the difficulties experienced

by her family as they lost a mother, Bessie Bautista Legarda, who succumbed to breast cancer in 1996. Her family got surprised upon learning the illness of their mother, toned down the focus on the pain but rather on how to be extra cheerful every time they were with their mother. Legarda shared that they instead made her feel the warmth of love instead of adding fright and worry she was feeling at that time. “The manner in which relatives and loved ones treat cancer is an important part of the healing process. Emotional healing is

as vital as the physical healing through chemotherapy and radiation therapy.”, she said. Learning so much from the experience, Legarda established the Bessie B. Legarda Memorial Foundation in the year 2000. “I wanted the foundation to embody the virtues—such as kindness, compassion and the strong desire to touch people’s lives in a meaningful way—that mama lived by.” One of her advocacies today is to raise awareness about breast cancer and to empower women who are struggling against the disease.(MGM/PIA 11/)

Davao solons laud CC identification processDAVAO CITY Sept. 17 (PIA) -Representatives Karlo Alexie B. Nograles of the 1st District, Davao City and Ma. Carmen Zamora - Apsay of the 1st District, Compostela Valley were all praises for the DSWD’s identification of the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries.

Legislator tackles.....from page 37

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“Maayo ba ang pagpili sa beneficiaries sa programa? Ako, isip congresista sa 1st District sa Davao City, nalipay sa pagpili sa mga beneficiaries sa CCT sa akong distrito. Nakita nako na ang mga napili mao gyud ang nanginahanglan nga mga pamilya. Ang mga barangay usab na nahiapil sa programa mao gyud ang mga nanginahanglan na barangay sa Distrito Uno (Is the selection of beneficiaries of the program faultless? Being the Congressman of the 1st District of Davao City, I am very happy with the beneficiaries that were identified in my district. I have observed that the families that were chosen were really the ones who are poor and need assistance. Also, the barangays that were selected are the barangays that are really poor and underprivileged),”

acclaimed Nograles during the recent Pakiglambigit Alang Sa Kalamboan caravan hosted by ABSNet Davao City Cluster. In like manner, Apsay believed that the identification of beneficiaries should be done by DSWD and not by any political figure to avoid politicization. “Mas maayo kung ang DSWD ang mopili kay sila man ang mas nakabalo kung kinsa ang mas angayan nga tagaan. Itugot sa nato sa DSWD ang pagpili sa beneficiaries, dili nato hilabtan (It is best that DSWD will be in command in the selection of the beneficiaries since they are the ones who know who and where the poor are. Let DSWD do the selection of beneficiaries, we should not intervene),” stressed Apsay at the recent caravan Pakiglambigit Alang Sa Kalamboan sponsored by the SKA Federation of Compostela

Valley. District 1 of Davao City has 18 recipient barangays with 5,332 total number of registered households. On the other hand, the 1st District of Compostela Valley has 4 recipient municipalities with a total of 13,262 registered number of beneficiaries. “The Department selects the beneficiaries through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) where enumeration of households in the selected municipalities is conducted to identify who and where the poor are,” said Ester Acebedo-Versoza, the Regional Director of DSWD XI. To be elegible for the program, beneficiaries must be: (1) residents of the poorest municipalities based on 2003 SAE of the NSCB; (2) households whose economic condition is equal to

Davao solons.....from page 38

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or below the provincial poverty threshold; (3) households that have children 0-14 years old and/or have a pregnant woman at the time of assessment; and (4) households that agree to meet the conditions specified in the program. The poorest households in the municipalities that were enumerated and interviewed were filtered through a Proxy-Means Test which determines the socio-economic category of the families by looking at certain proxy variables such as ownership of

assets, type of housing, education of the household head, livelihood of the family and access to water and sanitation facilities. At present, a total of 125,165 families in 4 provinces, 32 municipalities and 3 cities in 625 barangays are already benefiting from the program in Davao Region. Patterned after the Conditional Cash Transfer Programs that is practiced in over 40 countries worldwide, the Philippines has benchmarked the program and called it the “Pantawid Pamilyang

Pilipino Program” (formerly known as 4Ps) which has the same goals of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty by providing cash grants to identified poor households in the country to help improve the health, nutrition and education especially of children aged 0 to 14 years old. The families must comply with the program conditions on health, nutrition, education and family development sessions prior to getting their grants. (MGM/PIA 11/DSWD/Sheryll Jane B. Sanico)

PHOTO RELEASESMindanao IP REGIONAL ASSEMBLY

Chair Zenaida Brigida Hamada-Pawid of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) addresses Mindanao IP leaders, heads of regional line agencies of the national govern-ment and LGU representatives on the 2nd day of the Mindanao IP Regional Assembly held at the Bulwagan ng Lalawigan, Davao del Norte Provincial Government Center. (JMDA, PIA-11/photo by PIO Davao del Norte)

Davao solons.....from page 39

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Senate Committee Chair on Cultural Com-munities and Climate Change Senator Lo-ren Legarda answers some concerns of the participants to the recently held Mindanao IP Regional Assembly at the Bulwagan ng Lalawigan, Davao del Norte Provincial Gov-ernment Center. With her is Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo P. del Rosario.

Senate Committee Chair on Cultural Communities and Climate Change Senator Loren Legarda talks about her IP bills filed in the Senate during the Mindanao IP Regional Assembly held in Davao del Norte. Among those IP bills seeking to advance the welfare of Indigenous Peoples are SB. No. 2858 or the Ethnic Origin Act, SB 2831 or the Traditional Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the Anti-Ethnic or Racial Profiling and Discrimination Act of 2011. (JMDA, PIA-11/photo by PIO Davao del Norte)

Ethnic designed handicrafts were displayed for sale during the Mindanao IP Regional Assembly held from Sept. 16 to 17 at the Bulwagan ng La-lawigan, Davao del Norte Provincial Government Center, Mankilam, Tagum City. (JMDA, PIA-11/photo by PIO Davao del Norte)

Ethnic weaving was also being featured during the Mindanao IP Regional Assembly held from Sept. 16 to 17 at the Bulwagan ng Lalawigan, Davao del Norte Provincial Government Center, Mankilam, Tagum City. (Jean D. Abangan, PIA XI)

Photo releases.....from page 40


Documents

One Mindanao -September 17, 2011