SEARCH IS ON FOR ECO-FRIENDLY SCHOOLS

LEGAZPI CITY — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) together with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Smart Communications, linked arms for the nationwide contest dubbed “National Competition for Sustainable/Eco-Friendly Schools,” to recognize efforts of various schools to undertake eco-friendly programs and activities.

Open to all elementary, high school and tertiary school levels, the activity aims to encourage schools and academic institutions to become more actively involved in environmental issues at a practical and local level.

School entries should revolve around the theme “Sustainable Eco-friendly Initiatives”. Participating schools should include a brief description of the project.

Entries will be rated according to the following: Inclusion of Environment-Awareness Aspect in the School Policy - 30 pts; Practice of Environment-friendly processes in School Operations - 30 pts; Integration of Environment Education in the School Curriculum - 30 pts; Presence of an Environmental Student Organization or Club - 5 pts; and Special Environment Programs and Projects - 5 pts. Only one entry per school for each category will be accepted.

Participants may submit entries in two copies and in exhibit-ready tarpaulins measuring 2 ft wide x 5 ft high to respective DepEd Division Offices for elementary and high school categories, and to EMB regional offices for the higher education category on or before May 31, 2009. Entries can likewise be submitted online in JPEG format with a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi), a minimum size of 1536 x 2048 pixels, and a maximum file size of 1MB. Entries may be emailed to elenemb2002@gmail.com or elenemb2002@yahoo.com. The top entry per category for region will be forwarded to the EMB Central Office for national judging.

For the national level, prizes include: College, High School and Elementary: P50,000 - 1st prize; P40,000 - 2nd prize; P30,000 - 3rd prize and plaques of recognition. For the regional level, a certificate of recognition and a cash prize of P5,000 will be given to regional finalists for each category.

For further details, please contact the EMB Regional Office 5, Rawis, Legazpi City. Telefax (052) 482-0197 or 482-0326. Website: www.emb.gov.ph/eeid. (EMB/PIA Release)

SSC STUDENTS TO LAUNCH RECYCLING COMPETITION

SORSOGON Province — Responding to the call for environmental protection, the Eco-Reps, composed of engineering students of the Sorsogon State College (SSC), here, will be initiating a province wide recycling competition tagged as “Recycle Mania: The 2009 Green Challenge.”

Scheduled on February 24, the competition will not only gather students but leaders as well in order to identify and come up with visible solutions to the issues and concerns related to climate change.
John Edward E. Evano, Recycle Mania Project leader, said that the Eco-Reps composed of engineering students taking up Environmental Science Class has tied-up with the Supreme Student Government of SCc has initiated a benchmarking toll for the college’s program through this competition to promote waste reduction activities across the province.

Said competition will be participated in by secondary students who are creative enough to craft masterpieces out of wastes like old paint cans, flea spray bottles and bleach containers.

“Eco-Reps believe that we have a lot of local artists, specifically from the young generations who can turn the materials and costs accrued for their finished product,” he added.


Emphasis on the criteria for judging was given to the originally and creativity of the winning participant.

Prizes at stake for the first prize will be P3,000, second prize will be P2,000 and P1,000 for the third prize. All winners will also receive a medal and certificate. Awarding will follow at the SSC Social Hall after the presentation.(BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon Release)

NGCP TAKES OVER NATIONWIDE POWER TRANSMISSION

LEGAZPI CITY — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has officially taken over the nationwide transmission grid operations since January 15, this year, according to NGCP president and CEO Walter W. Brown.

Brown revealed “the privately-owned corporation, a consortium of Mont Oro Grid Resources Corporation, Calaca High Power Corporation and State Grid Corporation of China, won the competitive public bidding last December 2007 for the 25-year concession agreement to operate, manage and expand the high voltage power grid.”

“The concession agreement is extendable for another 25 years,” he added.
The Philippine Congress has then granted NGCP a 50-year franchise, which was also signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on December 1, last year.

NGCP is now the official operator of the franchise formerly held by the government-owned and controlled National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), including the District II Office in barangay Peñaranda, Daraga town, this province to operate and maintain the country’s power transmission grid.

Brown further related that a residual TransCo organization has been organized to ensure NCGP’s compliance with the terms and condition of the concession agreement.
“The residual organization will monitor the power distribution firm’s compliance with regulatory laws, rules and regulations; divest remaining sub-transmission assets to qualified distribution utilities; and provide consultancy and other technical services for the management of the power distribution system,” he elaborated.

“The same team will also handle all existing cases, including right of way claims and other actions and claims retained by Tranco under the concession agreement,’ he added.

With NGCP’s take-over of power distribution franchise, the firm’s president and CEO assured the privatization and other reforms in the power industry will be carried out for the benefit of power costumers nationwide as envisioned by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.(MALoterte, PIA V Release)

FUNDACION INTERED PROJECTS
BENEFIT ARC IN CASIGURAN TOWN

CASIGURAN. Sorsogon — The Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) in this town has entered into a four-year contract with a Spanish cooperator to implement projects expected to help fast track and sustain development in the several rural communities here.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Roseller Olayres said DAR Sorsogon, agrarian reform beneficiaries of cluster in Casiguran town, and Fundacion InterRed, a Spanish NGO has signed a Memorandum of Agreement or MoA for the implementation of series of training programs that would help enhance the skills and capabilities of the stakeholders in operation, management and operation of livelihood projects.

“DAR Sorsogon and Fundacion InterRed have identified Escuala, San Juan, Tigbao, Inlagadian Multi-purpose Cooperative (ESTIMUCO), a farmers’ organization, as the recipient of the training programs on food processing and development as well as identification of prospective market for their products,” disclosed Olayres.

Lingap para sa Kalusugan ng Sambayanan (LIKAS), Inc., also a partner-NGO of DAR, takes the lead in the social preparation and will assist in the implementation of the training programs for the ESTIMUCO.

“The agreement already commenced last April 25, 2008 and will continue until April 25, 2012,” he said.

DAR municipal development facilitator Marciana Olondriz meanwhile said the Spanish cooperator will also put up a demo-farm in this municipality, construct school buildings and public toilets, and other infrastructures for social services.

Components of the said project include community organizing, good governance, productivity system development, education, health, and disaster risk reduction.

Similar projects are being implemented by in the municipality of Pilar, also in Sorsogon province, in cooperation with the Aquinas University Foundation based in Legazpi City.

Fundacion InteRed has identified Camarines Sur and Sorsogon provinces as pilot areas in Bicol region for its projects.

Fundacion InteRed is financed by (Ahencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarrollo (AENID) and has a base in Butuan City which operates in Caraga and Bicol region.(DAR Sorsogon/PIA Release)

RP-US BALIKATAN 2009 TO BRING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS TO MASBATE RESIDENTS

Masbate Province - The US Armed Forces will send its engineering unit to Uson town in this province in April this year to undertake infrastructure projects in the conflict-affected barangays of Sawang and Dapdap, where the Philippine military is fighting the New People’s Army.

Pamphlets given to media men by US Armed Forces representatives revealed that the US Navy would bring engineers, tools and heavy equipment to construct a water system and school building in Dapdap.

The American military engineers will also build a water system is Sawang.

Both water system projects will involve drilling of wells and construction of water reservoir and distribution systems.

The American troops will also send their medical unit not only to barangays Dapdap and Marcella in Uson but also to barangays Marintoc, Balatucan and Bagacay all in Mobo town.
The medical assistance includes primary care, optometry, dental, surgery and veterinary services.

Colonel Ariel Bernardo, commanding officer of the 901st Infantry Brigade, said the projects hope to show the communities in Masbate that Balikatan 2009 is about cooperation and development.(EADelgado, PIA Masbate Release)


YANO SAYS BALIKATAN IN BICOL TO PUSH THROUGH

MANILA — Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Alexander Yano said the Balikatan US-RP bilateral military exercises will push through in the Bicol region this April.

Yano said the humanitarian mission and projects as well as trainings on disaster response activities will proceed as planned under the annual Balikatan with RP and US troops to be dispatched in Albay, Masbate, and Sorsogon starting April 16.

“There is no instruction or no policy (has been issued saying) that we will not continue (Balikatan), amidst the call to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the AFP chief said.

Yano made the statement after at least five militant legislators reiterated their call for Congress to scrap the VFA, saying that the agreement’s provisions disparage Philippine sovereignty and violate the Constitution.

Representatives from party-list groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela and Anakpawis revived House Resolution No. 458 calling for the abrogation of the VFA, saying that the country had not gained anything from the agreement in the last nine years.

But retired Gen. Edilberto Adan, vice chairman of the VFA, said calls to abrogate VFA will not affect this year’s Balikatan exercise, saying that “all systems go for the bilateral military war games.”

“All systems go. The AFP Mutual Defense Board standing committee as well as the (US Armed Forces) Pacific Command representatives have been planning together for several months now,” Adan stressed.

“And the participants, the vessels, the aircrafts, the ships that will come are all programmed so it’s not that easy for us to say that it will push through (as) it’s still to early to say that the exercise will be cancelled,” he clarified.

RP-US Balikatan Exercises 2009 is the 25th in the series of bilateral exercises conducted every year to serve as a venue for joint and combined training between the Philippine and United States militaries.

The joint military exercises focus on revitalizing the inter-operability of the Philippines and US militaries in post conflict response through the conduct of disaster rehabilitation and rural development projects.

These will materialize through the Engineering Civic Action Program (ENCAP) and Medical Action Program (MEDCAP) activities which will be conducted in Bicol region.

About 11,000 Bicolanos will benefit from MEDCAP and a total of nine barangays will benefit from ENCAP. The vigorous relation between the military and the civilian community will be brought to greater heights as Community Relations activities will be conducted in several areas in the Bicol region.(PIA V Release)