The SOCA that lasted
over an hour was full of excitement to the audience. Many said that
it was the best delivered SOCA of Mayor Codilla in 8 years. Applauses
and crowds’ reactions of contentment were frequently observed.
LtCol. Joel Alejandro
Nacnac, Batallion Commander 19th IB said that he was impressed of
Codilla’s speech and delivery of the SOCA. Everything said was very
good and the accomplishments that he has done in the city, Nacnac
added. He also said he sees no problem in the city with regards in
peace and order situation. He assured the public his full support and
cooperation at all times together with the Philippine National Police
to maintain the peace and order in the city.
PSSupt. Eleazar Egloso,
City Director, OCPO, said that the SOCA was generally appreciative.
Ormoc’s great progress is noticeable. Generally, Ormoc is very
peaceful except for few isolated cases but those were immediately
addressed by the police force.
A lady entrepreneur
said, “The speech was very comprehensive and kudos to the mayor.”
Councilor Jose Alfaro
said that it was a very successful, very candid and very truthful.
“It depicts what has been done in the past years and what will be done
in the years to come,” he added.
Councilor Sotero
Pepito’s comment was on the issue of LIDE Management Corporation-LMC’s
extraction of natural resources in the city. He said that it is high
time that the city has to tell them that the patience has come to the
limit. (We are not after for the money, we are after for our safety.)
“Wa ta mag-apas og kwarta, ang ato safety,” Pepito said. For many
years, they have been using the natural resources (water). They are
making business out of it but in no return, Pepito narrated. The
councilman was anxious on mayor’s apprehension about salt water
intrusion and sink hole that could happen if LMC continues to extract
water. He was too concern how to answer the people living in the area
and the entire Ormocanon if that possibility comes. Pepito said that
it was the best time to send the message to them (LMC) and they must
act also. The city has just presented its stand and is waiting for
their answer, Pepito pointed out.
Brgy. Chairman
Wilfredo Rios of Lao believed that soil intrusion could affect their
areas if the mayor will not act now. Rios said he learned lessons
from the SOCA and the progress of the city gave benefits to the
Ormocanons.
Manuel Chua said that
the mayor has a lot of plans. He hoped that these plans be realized
because he said Mayor Beboy’s plans were all accurate. All his plans
gained positive results, he said pointing out to the 45 million pesos
award. “Saludo ako ni mayor,” he exclaimed.
Bremie Restauro was
amazed of what she learned after the SOCA. “It was amazing; I have no
idea that things happen na diay in Ormoc. It makes me realize that
attending SOCA is a learning process. Being an Ormocanon am being
proud of myself nga taga Ormoc jud ko. He is the best Mayor so far in
Ormoc,” Restauro said.
Coun. Rolando
Villasencio, minority floor leader, asked Ormocanons to support and be
united for everyone’s objective is for the progress of the city.
Coun. Demosthenes
Tugonon in his view said that the mayor showed the tangible and
concrete accomplishments and awards that the city of
Ormoc earned. He recognized the support of the 12th
Sangguniang Panlungsod and the barangay officials in getting these
reputations.
Coun. Filomeno
Maglasang rated the SOCA as outstanding. The public could see the
projects and programs implemented in this administration that
contributed the progress in Ormoc. The Codilla administration
anticipated the problem in classroom shortage. It is one of the
educational programs of this administration to give comfort to the
public school children in the city, Maglasang said. He added that the
unity of the city officials and other sectors in the city was the
secret of Ormoc’s progress.
The enterprise that
love for candy-making and concern for people build
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
February
22, 2012
ALMERIA, Biliran –
Several years ago, Santiago and Rose Nierra were about to return to
Manila where they work, after a short visit to their hometown in
Almeria, province of Biliran, however, they hesitated in going back as
they thought how difficult it was to survive in the metropolis with
their meager income as candy factory workers.
At about the same
time, Santiago was tasked to lead his local church community, thus,
the couple contemplated on starting a small business instead, Biliran
Provincial Science and Technology Director Romeo L. Dignos informed.
At first the couple
was indecisive as to what business to venture into, but after seeing
many rural people having no work, they were encouraged to venture into
business that will also provide employment. Thus, armed with enough
knowledge on candy making, the couple decided to start a small candy
business.
The enterprise was
given the name SAN-ROSE Processed Food Products. Obviously, the name
is a merger of the owners’ first names.
The business initially
produced milk candy (yema), hired unemployed women and youth as
packers and sell the products to peddlers with motorcycle who in turn
distributed the products around Almeria and the neighboring towns. So,
San-Rose products became available in stores around the province.
Seeing young people,
mostly women with hairnets and aprons, inspired rural folk with the
thought of having a small candy factory in their remote rural
community. This impression is what SANROSE has given to constituents
of Barangay Caucab, Almeria, Biliran about 5 kilometers from Almeria
town.
It was this same
commitment that led SanRose to seek assistance from DOST Biliran which
in turn enrolled the micro-enterprise under its Small Enterprise
Technology Upgrading program (SETUP), Mr. Dignos said.
DOST went further as
SanRose later received consultancy support through the
DOST-Manufacturing Productivity Extension (MPEX) Program.
Mr. Nierra, a local
church leader, set up a small area near his house as a processing area
for milk candy, pastillas, peanut butter, and similar products. With
the help of consultants from
Naval State University
commissioned by DOST's MPEX program, San-Rose was able to improve its
processing lay-out as well as the formulation of its candy products.
Based on its
operations last year, the firm generated about Four Hundred Thousand
Pesos (P400,000) worth of products and was able to employ at least 12
workers from the community based on its operation last year.
This year, 2012 a
technology acquisition support amounting to P85,000 which include
improving the packaging system of its products, has been released to
the firm.
Micro as it is
categorized, the enterprise strives to increase its production by 20%
through the assistance of DOST and other agencies in the coming years.
The ‘Bottom-Up’
approach for 2013 budget preparation process
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
February
14, 2012
TACLOBAN CITY –
Budget and Management Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said, in his
recent visit here, that national government will begin instituting a
“bottom-up” approach to the ongoing 2013 budget preparation process.
This, he said, is in
line with the present administration’s goal to reduce poverty and
achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by
2015.
Secretary Abad said
that budget preparations will be guided by needs identified at the
grassroots level, so that the 2013 budget will most decidedly be a
people-centric budget, aimed not just at the proper allocation of
resources, but also at the substantial reduction of poverty.
“For the first time in
our government’s history, we will be preparing the national budget
using a breakthrough ‘bottom-up’ approach,” Secretary Abad told the
local media in a press conference arranged by the Philippine
Information Agency.
The good Secretary,
who was in town to keynote the General Assembly and induction of the
Region Eight Administrators League and the Region Eight Association of
Leagues of Budget Officers, said that in the past, the General
Appropriations Act (GAA) was crafted from top to bottom, with state
leaders and officials exclusively deciding where public funds should
go.
“This time, however,
budget preparations will be guided by needs identified at the
grassroots level, so that the 2013 budget will most decidedly be a
people-centric budget, aimed not just at the proper allocation of
resources, but also at the substantial reduction of poverty,”
Secretary Abad said.
He added that the
bottom-up process will focus on engaging about 600 poorest Local
Government Units. Around 55 among these LGUs are from
Eastern Visayas, the Secretary said as he requested DBM Regional
Director Imelda Laceras to confirm the figure. Local-level engagement
will be facilitated via relevant government agencies, local community
leaders, LGUs, and partner civic organizations.
According to Secretary
Abad, the DBM will invite an initial set of agencies to spearhead the
new approach. These have been identified as the Rural Development
agencies which include the Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian
Reform, and Environment and Natural Resources and the Conditional Cash
Transfer Program agencies which include the Departments of Social
Welfare and Development, Education, and Health.
The agencies will
combine their respective services in poor communities by taking on the
prioritized list of projects and programs and incorporating these into
their budget proposals for 2013, Secretary Abad added.
“This new process may
likewise require rural development and economic agencies to be
responsible for achieving meso-economic indicators of inclusive growth
–indicated, for instance, by a five percent reduction of average
underemployment or hunger for the regions with the largest number of
focus municipalities from 2013 to 2016,” he added.
Abad said the earlier
initiation of the bottom-up planning process will ensure that the
needs of the poor municipalities will be adequately funded in the 2013
budget.
In the past,
municipalities were required to submit public investment programs (PIPs)
for the consideration of the regional development councils (RDCs) and
for inclusion in line-agency budgets.
“The problem with the
previous system was that proposals for PIPs were often conveyed to the
agencies in July, during which the President’s Budget is already being
finalized for submission to Congress. Now that we’ve begun the
bottom-up approach at a much earlier time, we can give the poorest
communities sufficient leeway to communicate their needs and have
their requirements effectively accounted for in the proposed budget,”
he said.
Secretary Abad added
that the bottom-up approach will be complemented by the expanded
engagement of civil society organizations (CSOs) and people’s groups
in the budget process.
At least 12 government
departments and six agencies will initiate consultation sessions with
CSOs to boost citizen participation in crafting the 2013 budget, the
Budget Secretary said.
He also said that
economic growth in the country must be more inclusive, especially in
areas where growth is neither high enough nor sufficiently robust.
The Secretary
underscored that the Aquino Administration is committed to fulfilling
its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), on top of which is the target
to reduce extreme poverty by half, from 33.1 percent in 1991 to 16.6
percent by 2015.
The Aquino
Administration intends to translate the gains of good governance into
direct, immediate, and substantial benefits that will not only improve
the lot of the poor and marginalized, but to empower them as well, he
added.
The Budget
Secretary said that the national government will be providing next
year an additional budget of P8 million to P12 million to each
identified poor area in the country under the new approach.
DENR promotes bamboos
for natural disaster prevention
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
February
11, 2012
TACLOBAN CITY – In
Eastern Visayas, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
is promoting bamboo cultivation by local government units in areas
that have been tagged by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau as
landslide-prone.
Planting bamboos in
potentially loose soil can serve to hold the earth in place with its
dense and wide-spreading system of roots. This can limit erosion,
particularly the large-scale sheet erosion that can lead to fatalities
and damage to properties.
This is the only tree
variety that is best suited to plant along river banks in order to
mitigate landslides, DENR regional technical director Manolito Ragub
informed.
RTD Ragub encouraged
the local government executives to initiate the planting of this
specie in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
Disaster pose a threat
to areas of virtually every province in the
Eastern Visayas region, with more than 2,531 villages considered to be
susceptible to landslides. With the high vulnerability of
Eastern Visayas to
natural disasters, bamboos can help stabilize critical areas against
landslides, RTD Ragub said.
The bamboo tree has a
wide-spreading root system capable of holding loose soil. In other
words, the tree is deep-rooted and best suited against landslides. It
was learned that the roots of a bamboo tree are capable of expanding
by 25 percent to hold six cubic meters of soil.
Bamboo anchors the
soil with its spreading root system thus preventing landslides. Aside
from this, bamboo is used as barrier against soil erosion and other
environmental services such as protection of water sources though
reforestation of watersheds.
Bamboo has many uses.
It is a source of livelihood as it is used for construction of
inexpensive homes that are also capable of withstanding natural
threats, assembling furniture, scaffolding as well as posts in
agriculture and aquaculture, weaving mats, making plywood and panels,
flooring, among others. Otherwise, its shoots can be harvested for
food.
Because of its
versatility, the planting of bamboo and other indigenous deep-rooted
species in most of the targeted 12,365 hectares of land across the
region, is now in integrated in this year’s implementation of the
National Greening Program of the government, RTD Ragub said.
Model Community
eCenter brings digital literacy to women in barangays
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
January
28, 2012
TANAUAN, Leyte – The
Community eCenter of Tanauan, Leyte which emerged as the grand winner
for both the CeC and the Knowledge Worker categories of the 2nd
Philippine CeC Excellence awards, has recently embarked on a new
undertaking, that of bringing digital literacy to women right in their
respective barangays.
Mr. Eugene Ramos, the
CeC manager and this year’s Knowledge Worker, informed that many women
in the 54 barangays of Tanauan cannot afford to go to the center in
the town proper in order to learn about digital information
technology.
Thus, instead of the
women coming to the CeC, the CeC staff brings the technology to the
women right at their barangays, Mr. Ramos said.
So far, the CeC of
Tanauan has conducted digital literacy training in three barangays,
Canramos, San Roque and Bantagan, Mr. Ramos informed. He said he is
happy that many women really show their interest to learn about the
course.
Ramos disclosed that
as far as he knows, the undertaking is the first of its kind among the
country’s CeCs.
The CeC manager
disclosed that this undertaking is in support to the Philippine
Digital Literacy for Women Campaign (PDLWC) which aims to empower
10,000 women from the poor and marginalized communities in the
Philippines through digital literacy training.
The campaign is
spearheaded by the Commission on ICT, together with the members of the
PhilCeCNet and the telecentre.org Foundation.
CeC Tanauan has
committed to train at least 800 underprivileged women out of the
10,000 target.
The series of digital
literacy training in Tanauan uses the Intel Easy Step modules which
the organizers found useful and comprehensive tools in the Basic ICT
Training Course. The course covers five modules; self-practice
activities were conducted after every module.
The CeC continues to
provide ICT trainings at the Center for those who are interested to
learn. At the same time, it also manages the eSkwela for the out of
school youth and adults who wish to finish elementary and high school
without going to the regular schools.
Ramos informed that
several eSkwela graduates are now enrolled in college after passing
the equivalency examinations of DepEd.
The Tanauan CeC
continues to strive to become a competent provider of ICT services
that will improve the quality of life of the people of Tanauan, Mr.
Ramos said. It will also continue to empower women through technology,
because empowered women make an empowered community.
838 East Visayas
informal sector workers get P8.337-M aid from DOLE in 2011
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
January
19, 2012
TACLOBAN CITY – Some
838 informal sector workers in Eastern Visayas have availed of around
P8.337 million worth of livelihood assistance under the
DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program for Workers in the
Informal Economy (DILP-WIE) in 2011.
The beneficiaries from
the six provinces of Region 8 received the livelihood assistance in
the form of tools and equipment, production and skills training as
well as upgrading to capacitate them to pursue their income-generating
activities, Mr. Virgilio Doroja, DOLE Information Officer said.
A total of 337
projects were implemented with the support of 22 accredited
co-partners (ACPs), Mr. Doroja added.
For Northern Leyte,
among the projects implemented were Integrated Aquaculture and Bangus
Cage Project at Barangay 1 of Babatngon town to enhance the livelihood
of some 31 fisherfolks.
Other projects include
a massage therapy and sari-sari store, a formation project for one
person with disability in Burauen, Leyte; school chair and other
furniture production, an enhancement project for 28 persons with
disabilities in Tacloban City; and starter kit projects, namely,
native delicacies making, commercial cooking and fish processing for
20 parents of child laborers in Babatngon, Leyte.
In Western Leyte, 20
bee hive farmers from Barangay Lamak, in Hilongos town received
financial assistance for the establishment of bee colonies to enhance
their livelihood while 37 fisherfolks from Barangay Matapay, also in
Hilongos, were granted financial assistance for the establishment of
deep sea fish shelter.
Informal sector
workers in Southern Leyte availed a total of P2.847 million to fund
200 projects such as the enhancement of 29 members of Bacolod Women’s
Health Organization root crops processing in Hinundayan town.
For displaced workers
affected by typhoon in Saint Bernard town, funded were livelihood
formation for displaced workers in Barangay Catmon; welding shop and
allied services for 12 workers from Barangay Mahayahay; TUPARIN
formation project for 43 displaced workers from Barangay Tambis; and
livelihood formation for 13 displaced workers from Barangay Mahayahay.
Moreover, at Libagon
town, 14 women vendors were provided 14 Nego Karts to enhance their
livelihood; while at Silago town, 26 women were granted funding for
the Puntana Vege-Garden Park.
In Maasin City, 48
fishermen were granted assistance for small scale project while 63
informal sector workers were provided starter kit for livelihood
formation.
In Biliran province,
60 informal sector workers in Naval availed of the funding to enhance
their suman production while 65 from Cabucgayan town were provided
funding for enhancement of their coco-wine production.
Further, in the
province of Samar, 85 informal sector workers were granted funding to
enhance their individual projects while in Calbayog City 20 ambulant
vendors were provided Nego Karts.
In the province of
Eastern Samar, 23 members of the Busilak Women’s Association were
granted funding for their Busilak Canteen and Sari-Sari store; while
42 fisherfolks from Borongan City were granted financial assistance
for the acquisition of 42 fishing paddle banca with gillnet.
In the province of
Northern Samar, 100 fishermen from Allen town were granted funding for
small scale fishing project; 17 women from Allen were given funding
for their weaving handicraft project; 25 women from Bobon town
received funding for their Pinangat and Pinato Making project.
The DILP-WIE provides
productive, gainful and secure employment to marginalized and
unprotected workers. It provides integrated livelihood interventions
for livelihood enhancement, livelihood formation, and income
augmenting livelihood.
Taking thyroid cancer
seriously
Press Release
January
18, 2012
CEBU CITY – With the
increasing incidence rate of thyroid cancer in Metro Cebu, the Eduardo
J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) urged the
public to undergo early screening and prevention measures to fight the
disease.
“Thyroid cancer is
high on prognosis. It is preventable through various screening
methods, such as physical examination and ultrasound of the neck, as
well as some prevention measures, including regular exercise and
maintenance of a well-balanced diet,” Ronald delos Reyes, EJACC
program coordinator, said.
Based on EJACC’s Metro
Cebu Population-based Cancer Registry, the incidence rate of thyroid
cancer in 2003 to 2007 is high but the mortality rate is comparatively
lower.
Within this period,
about 573 cases of thyroid cancer were reported and 116 were recorded
to have died of the disease. The figures also show that 97 cases have
been attributed to persons in between the ages 15-30 while 350 cases
are persons with ages 30-60. More women than men have been affected by
this disease; in fact, 134 cases are male while 439 cases are female.
As a common type of
cancer diagnosed in men and women, thyroid cancer ranked sixth in most
common cancer cases in Metro Cebu.
According to the 2010
journal of the Philippine Cancer Facts and Estimates of the Philippine
Cancer Society, the incidence rate had increased from 1980 to 2002,
with an annual change of 0.4% in males and 1.6% among females.
Thyroid cancer is the
most common cancer of women at ages 15-24 years. Among women, the
incidence rate rises at age 30 and continues to rise with increasing
age. Among men, the incidence rate begins to increase much later,
starting at 60 years old.
The thyroid is a
butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of the neck just below the
Adam’s apple. It works like a tiny factory that uses iodine, mostly
from the diet in foods like seafood and salt, to produce thyroid
hormones that, in turn, help regulate the body’s growth and metabolism
and other functions of the body.
The most common signs
and symptoms of thyroid cancer include a lump or thyroid nodule, that
can be felt in the neck; trouble in swallowing; throat or neck pain;
swollen lymph nodes in the neck; cough; and vocal changes.
People exposed to high
levels of radiation are much more likely than others to develop
papillary or follicular thyroid cancer. Treatment with x-rays is one
significant source of radiation exposure. Between the 1920s and the
1950s, doctors used high-dose x-rays to treat children who had
enlarged tonsils, acne, and other problems affecting the head and
neck. Later, scientists found that some people who had received this
kind of treatment developed thyroid cancer.
People who are
diagnosed with this kind of cancer may undergo surgery. Common
surgeries include thyroidectory, lobectomy, and tracheostomy.
Sometimes, even the removal of the thyroid itself is needed.
“Like many other
cancers, thyroid cancer may be more easily cured with early detection.
Earlier diagnosis removes thyroid cancer at a time when they are not
likely to have spread beyond the thyroid gland,” delos Reyes said.
For more
information about thyroid cancer, please contact EJACC at 254-6351and
look for Gina Mariquit.
'Ayaw kong magkawatak
watak tayo'
By ALEX P.
VIDAL /
PNS
January
5, 2012
VANCOUVER, British
Columbia – For Tomas "Tatay Tom" Avendano, president and CEO of the
Multicultural Helping House Society (MHHS) here, designating specific
places for ethnic groups in
Canada
"is tantamount to creating an atmosphere of division."
This was Avendano's
reaction to proposal to create a "Pinoy Town" located on a stretch of
Fraser Street between Kingsway and 33rd Avenue.
"Ayaw kong magka watak
watak tayo (I don't want our group to scatter). As Filipino-Canadians,
we have already assimilated with other ethnic communities and we are
all Canadians," Avendano told this writer.
Avendano's stand was
echoed by Nemecio "Mang Nemy" Cepeda, longest serving former president
of the Filipino Zodiac Circle of British Columbia.
"We have already
started so many projects and most of them have not been completed
yet," Cepeda, 68, sobbed. "We should focus on one project first so
that we can maximize our resources before undertaking another
project."
Leaders
Cepeda lamented that
past and present Fil-Can community leaders "have failed to erect the
Filipino Community Center which should have been given priority to
serve as the bastion of Filipino-Canadians' solidarity and identity."
"We always have the
temerity to start something and not finishing them," bemoaned Cepeda.
"It seems that some of our leaders have mental dishonesty and ulterior
motives the reason why we can't complete one major project except the
MHHS."
MMHS was built "to
help newcomers succeed in Canada...moving Canada forward, one
immigrant at a time."
Cepeda suggested that
in order to finish one project, members of the Filipino-Canadian
community "must do it ala Bayanihan style and set aside personal
interests."
Attention
"Let's work together,
focus our attention on one project so that our resources will not be
divided and wasted," he suggested.
The proposed "Pinoy
Town" rekindled the debate after 24 Hours, one of
Canada's
biggest daily tabloids with circulation in
Toronto,
Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver, devoted a
spreadsheet feature story about the project on January 4.
"Petitions for a
city-designated Pinoy Town – located on a stretch of Fraser Street
between Kingsway and 33rd Avenue – have been going out since October.
The movement comes after city council passed a motion last fall
designating Kingsway area between Fraser and Nanaimo Streets as
'Little Saigon' neighbourhood," 24 Hours reported.
"But Little Saigon
supporters made the misstep of not consulting with the entire
community before submitting a 3,000-signature petition to city
council, said RJ Aquino, a COPE candidate in the last municipal
elections who declared in favour of Pinoy Town. That omission angered
many locals.
Consultation
"City-funded public
consultation on the Vietnamese neighborhood is scheduled for the start
of 2012.
Councilor Kerry Jang,
who put forward the Little Saigon motion, said he supports efforts to
celebrate Vancouver’s diversity, but adds it’s important for
organizers to talk to both businesses and residents before approaching
the city."
The report also quoted
83-year-old Avendano as saying, "I think while we are here, we
shouldn’t live as separate Filipino or Vietnamese (communities). This
is Canada; therefore we should strive to be integrated and assimilate
to Canadian culture.”
Avendano said
"giving neighbourhoods official ethnic designations could hamper
integration of new immigrants and wouldn’t necessarily boost cultural
recognition or improve business."
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