Sen Trillanes to visit Albay tomorrow, graces opening of Magayon Festival 2011
By Ed de Leon

LEGAZPI CITY – Senator Antonio Trillanes will visit Albay tomorrow (Friday, April 1) as special guest during the launching of the Magayon Festival 2011, sponsored by the provincial government of Albay.

Trillanes was invited by Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay to grace the kick-off ceremonies of the month long festivities that include art exhibit, trade fair, a 50 mile ultra marathon and a lot of other sports and other competitions.

The senator, who hails from Ligao City, Albay, upon arrival will attend a mass and hold a press conference before proceeding to the festival opening ceremonies.

Trillanes will also hold meeting with some local officials and Magdalo members the following day before departing for Manila. (PIA V/Albay/mal)


Urban greening caps Women’s Month celebration

LEGAZPI CITY, March 30 (PIA) -- Golden shower and fire trees will soon be seen teeming along the roadsides of Taysan Resettlement Site in Barangay Tayzan here after advocates of gender and development planted scores of seedlings as Bicol region capped the Women’s Month celebration (WMC) last Friday (March 25).

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women or CEDAW campaigners both men and women, from various government agencies did their share in the tree planting endeavor.

Some making sure of high survival rate of the seedlings, broached the bottom part of the plastic pots holding the saplings, dug deep enough and covered it well with top soil.

“We join this event to promote awareness on gender development as well as help planting more trees to address climate change” says Crisencia Marantal, an overseas Filipino worker. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) fielded a team of OFWs to support the urban greening last Friday. Alongside the OFWs, teachers, representatives from the local Police and Fire Bureau also made the effort to plant, and campaign for CEDAW 2011 goals.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources spearheaded urban greening was in tune with the national government’s National Greening Program which promotes the role of women and achieving the country’s millennium development goal of ensuring sustainable development.

NGP as a national priority program has a goal of planting 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares for the period 2011-2016. 10 percent of the NGP target will be allotted for urban greening.

“Aside from the Magna Carta of Women and the Millenium Development Goals, 2011WMC will focus on climate change,” Elizabeth Padilla, DENR-GAD focal person explains.

The 2011 Women’s Month theme in the DENR is “Magna Carta of Women, Philippine CEDAW: In Support of Millennium Development Goal 7 (To Ensure Environmental Sustainablity)”.

Meanwhile, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje emphasized that the successful implementation of the NGP will be the agency’s major contribution to the fulfillment of this year’s theme for National Women’s Month, “Magna Carta of Women, Philippine CEDAW: In support of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)”. Further, monitoring of the agency’s accomplishments would consider sex-disaggregated data to determine the number of female beneficiaries or participants in the program.

According to him, the DENR has undertaken concrete initiatives in response to the three-fold challenge of gender and development (GAD), namely, the country’s commitment to the international Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women or CEDAW; compliance to Republic Act (RA) 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women; and MDG number 7, ensuring environmental sustainability.

He cited that the DENR has long been issuing tenurial instruments such as forest stewardship and land patents to female beneficiaries. He has also instructed the agency’s land management sector to include gender perspectives in the implementation of, and information campaign for, Republic Act 10023 or the Residential Free Patent Act. (JSBasanta, DENR V/PIA Albay)

Sorsogon Tourism Council holds accreditation seminar and elects new officers
By Irma A. Guhit

SORSOGON CITY, (PIA) -- The Sorsogon Provincial Tourism Council (SPTC) here has been assisting the various stakeholders in the tourism industry in the province to be officially accredited by the Department of Tourism (DOT) Bicol to make them globally competitive.

SPTC secretary and chief executive officer Angelita D. Agnes said in today’s assembly the council intends to make tourism industry stakeholders in the province provide services and packaging based on the official global tourism standards.

Agnes, relaying a message from SPTC chair Imelda Nicolas, now also Secretary of the Commission for Filipinos Oveseas, said that "It is has been the desire of Nicolas for two years that official accreditation will provide our service providers and stakeholders in the province of Sorsogon to be globally aware and competitive in the world market.”

“The morning session will focus on the accreditation of the tourism service providers by the DOT Bicol, and SPTC has already sent the official communication to bring with them the needed documents for the accreditation.” Agnes sadi.

According to Agnes, tourism providers that should be accredited include agri-tourism farm sites, mountain guides, tour guides, cave guides, foreign exchange dealers, galleries, hotels, tourist inns, motels and apartels, pension houses and all accommodation establishments including home stays.

In the letter that was sent to tourism industry providers, Agnes said that the SPTC has expanded their accreditation to include motorized boats used for ecotourism like in the butanding whale shark interaction, firefly watching also vehicles used for tourism and even tricycles operators who also would bring tourist within certain destinations.

It has been found out also that maintaining regular rates for vehicles and other forms of conveyances to include tricycles for rentals should also be provided orientation so that the tourism industry here should really be tourist friendly accommodating, polite, presentable and become an information giver and sharer.

In the afternoon afternoon, no less than Nicolas will provide the members with the report of accomplishments of the SPTC during her term for two years.

DOT Bicol Regional Director Maria "Nini" Ravanilla will give the regional state of the industry to provide the members the new trends and mechanisms to upgrade the services of the tourism providers here and where Sorsogon is in the tourism industry.

Cristina Racelis, provincial tourism officer- designate od Sorsogon, will present the highlights of the Sorsogon Tourism Master Plan.

SPTC website will also be presented to provide the various tourism stakeholders insights on how how to come up with packaging destinations and selling it through the internet.

The election of the new sets of officers of the SPTC will also be one of the highlights of the general assembly.

SPTC newly elected board of directors will also elect their new sets of officers and hold their first meeting after the election to lay the plans and programs for the next two years. (PIA Sorsogon/mal)

Masbate exec bats for ‘legalized askals’ in gold-rich area

MASBATE CITY (PIA) —A senior member of the Masbate provincial board is appealing for the granting of permits to small-scale miners who have been conducting illegal operations in the gold-rich town of Aroroy.

Juan Sanchez Sr., chair of the committee on natural resources and environment of Masbate provincial board, urged agencies regulating mining and the provincial government to work together for the designation of gold-rush areas in Aroroy as communal sites or “minahang bayan” to help generate jobs and bring more revenues to the host municipality.

Presently, small-scale miners hop from one site to another in their quest for gold, leading detractors to deride them as “askals,” street lingo for “asong kalye” (stray dog).

Back in February, a public hearing by the provincial board exposed the fact that there were no small-scale mining permits issued in Barangays Syndicate, Balete, Panique, Capsay and Bangon. This means that the individuals and groups in those areas had started mining operations without any form of government regulations.

Sanchez asked his colleagues to add their voices to the call for Environment Secretary Ramon Paje to breathe life to the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) here.

Under RA 7076 or the People’s Small Scale Mining Act of 1991, persons undertaking small-scale mining activities must register with the PMRB and may organize themselves into cooperatives to qualify for the awarding of a mining contract.

The PMRB, however, has yet to convene for the first time since RA 7076 took effect in 1992.

The PMRB is composed of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), the provincial government, and representations from the large-scale miners, the small-scale mining cooperatives and the religious (for the non-government organizations).

According to the guidelines obtained from the MGB, a resolution adopted by PMRB is needed to declare the gold-rich areas as communal sites.

Sanchez said the declaration would secure the livelihood of small-scale miners and ensure that the government receives its fare share of the revenues from extracted materials.

He said it would also protect the small-scale miners from large mining operators, something that would be a shot in the arm for the thousands of small miners currently struggling with Filminera Resources Corp., which has an Australian partner.

The declaration requires an executive order from the governor and approval from Paje.

Danilo Corpus, a leader of small miners, said the violent squabbles that had characterized gold-rush sites in Aroroy in the past would be “diminished if not completely prevented in the Minahang Bayan sites where maintenance of order among miners is enhanced.”

Official sources, however, doubted the small miners’ request because the areas occupied by them are supposedly within the mining concession of Filminera.

As of Feb. 7, 2011, some 1,129 hectares in Bangon, Syndicate and Panique have been covered by four Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSA) that Filminera has struck with MGB. One of the agreements allows Filminera to extract gold from about 584 hectares up to March 2035.

On top of it, Filminera was able to secure a new exploration permit in April last year. The license was for an area of about 5,231 hectares contiguous with the tenements currently covered by its gold project.

In August 2005, another company, Vicar Mining Corp., was also able to forge an MPSA with MGB. The agreement allows Vicar to extract mineral ores from about 783 hectares in Aroroy in the next 25 years.

Under the People’s Small Scale Mining Act, before a small-scale mining permit may be issued by the provincial government, applicants must first get a waiver form the mining company that owns the mining rights to these areas.

This requires PMRB and MGB to negotiate with Filminera and Vicar officials for the grant of waivers of their mining claims over areas occupied by small-scale miners. (EADelgado, PIA Masbate/mal)

Fireman sees good side in nonstop rains

MASBATE CITY, (PIA) — While some people are cursing the lingering wet season caused by the La Niña, the somewhat nonstop rains in Masbate are greeted with a warm welcome by firemen.

Fire officer Victor Pascual said Tuesday the weather anomaly was good for the prevention of fires.

“Actually it is the abnormal weather condition that is doing a very effective fire prevention,” he said in reply to a question in a radio interview.

Pascual said his colleagues at the Bureau of Fire Protection were happy “dahil nakikisama ang panahon.”

Just the same, he advised the public to observe safety measures in their daily life to avert fires.

He also urged the public to check electrical wiring in their homes and seek help from licensed electricians.

Electrical misuse is the most common cause of fires that hit many areas, he said.

He lauded a policy of Masbate City Mayor Socrates M. Tuason of withholding the business permit of any applicant until a fire clearance is obtained.

Pascual disclosed that one of their activities to drum up support to the observance here of Fire Prevention Month is conduct drills in several schools in many towns, including Milagros.

“We have seen it in Japan, powerful earthquakes triggers massive fires,” he added. (EADelgado, PIA Masbate/mal)

Coast Guard Bicol to celebrate 12th Anniversary
By Ed de Leon

LEGAZPI CITY, (PIA) – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Bicol district command will celebrate its 12th founding anniversary tomorrow (April 1) with no less than Admiral Wilfredo D. Tamayo, PCG commandant, as its guest and keynote speaker.

Capt. Tranquilino G. Paiton , Coast Guard Bicol District commander, said that part of the celebration will include the 66th commemoration of the Albay Gulf Landing to be held at the Mariner’s Polytechnic Colleges Foundation annex compound in Barangay Rawis , this city.

Paiton disclosed that Coast Guard Bicol district has grown from its three original provincial stations to six now covering the six provinces of Bicol, adding that an additional nine detachments were also set up from the original 23 to cover more existing strategic ports in the region.

He said Coast Guard Bicol district can now better serve and protect the interest of passengers of ocean going vessels with its additional stations and manpower as well as immediately respond to distress calls from fishermen and passenger vessels who need to be rescued more so in times of bad weather.

Paiton said that Coast Guard Bicol district will also be able to better assist in the protection of the marine resources in cooperation with other agencies like the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Maritime Police. (PIA V/Albay/mal)

Sen Trillanes to visit Albay tomorrow, graces opening of Magayon Festival 2011
By Ed de Leon

LEGAZPI CITY – Senator Antonio Trillanes will visit Albay tomorrow (Friday, April 1) as special guest during the launching of the Magayon Festival 2011, sponsored by the provincial government of Albay.

Trillanes was invited by Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay to grace the kick-off ceremonies of the month long festivities that include art exhibit, trade fair, a 50 mile ultra marathon and a lot of other sports and other competitions.

The senator, who hails from Ligao City, Albay, upon arrival will attend a mass and hold a press conference before proceeding to the festival opening ceremonies.

Trillanes will also hold meeting with some local officials and Magdalo members the following day before departing for Manila. (PIA V/Albay/mal)