HEALTHY START FEEDING PROGRAM LAUNCHED

DIMASALANG, Masbate — Governor Elisa Olga Kho and Mayor Dymphna Du led the launching of the Healthy Start Feeding Program here providing hot nutritious food to children in care center in addition to their regular meals at home.

DSWD Bicol regional director Remia Tapispisan said the food supplementation programs caters milk and hot meals served in day care centers, five days a week for a period of 200 days or ten months.

Tapispisan explained the feeding program is being managed by the parents, with the support of the concerned local government units. The food to be served will be based on the prepared cycle menu using indigenous food materials.

At least 1,000 children initially benefited from the program, while the Day Care Parents Group also received the check from DSWD and LGU officials during the launching activities.

About 29,200 day care children in 853 day care centers will benefit from the program with an allocation of P12 per child per day.

The Healthy Start Feeding Program will be implemented in 20 municipalities and Masbate City in the province, identified as the 5th among the poverty stricken province in the country.

Tapispisan has encourage the provincial residents to work hand in hand with DSWD to lower the prevalence of underweight pre-school children, improve parenting capacities of parents and caregivers and raise awareness on the importance of nutrition for the development of children and sustain the desired nutritional level. (EEJerusalem, DSWD/PIA)


3 BICOLANOS QUALIFY IN CSC HONOR AWARDS 2009

LEGAZPI CITY — The Civil Service Commission (CSC) Bicol regional office here has gladly announced that three Bicolano civil servants are nominated to the Honor Awards for 2009.

Result of the preliminary evaluation and deliberation made by the Committee on Search for Outstanding Public Exemplars declared the following government workers as semi-finalists:

1. Camarines Norte Water District – Daet, Camarines Norte for CSC Pagasa Award;
2. Cesar Q. Letada – Driver I, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Revenue Region No. 10, Legazpi City for Outstanding Public Officials and Employees or Dangal ng Bayan Award; and,
3. Naga City PSEP Team – City Government of Naga, Camarines Sur for Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award.

Meanwhile, the CSC Pagasa Award has a total of 17 semi-finalists; the Outstanding Public Officials and Employees or Dangal ng Bayan Award has 19; and, the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award has 24 semi-finalists.


The entire bureaucracy and other concerned individuals are enjoined to send-in their negative and positive feedbacks regarding the above-enumerated semi-finalists to the Honor Awards Program (HAP) Secretariat through the following address and contact numbers not later than July 29, 2009:

Fax number : (632) 932-01-79
Text CSC : 0917-839-8272
Email : hap@csc.csc.ph/csc_paio@yahoo.com
(CSC V/PIA)


US CORPORATION “MORE THAN WILLING TO FUND” KALAHI-CIDSS: KKB

LEGAZPI CITY – Delegates from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) observed during their visit here that “local communities demonstrated a laudable response in the implementation of KALAHI-CIDSS: KKB project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).”

Troy Wray, MCC country director, made the assessment during visit in barangay Taboc, Juban, Sorsogon. Accompanying Wray was DSWD Bicol regional director Remia T. Tapispisan.

Shery Swisher, MCC finance specialist, along with Wray and KALAHI-CIDSS National Project Management Team (NPMT) chief Camilo Gudmalin and his staff, conducted an assessment and interacted with community volunteers and local officials in the Libon, Albay and Juban town last July 10-13

In a meeting, Juban mayor Maria Theresa Guab Fragata shared lessons that she and her people learned from KALAHI-CIDSS.

“Community volunteers become aware of the present socio-economic conditions of their communities and are now more vigilant on the problems and issues in their barangays.” “KALAHI-CIDSS helps empower communities,” she said.

Tapispisan and Fragata escorted the MCC and NPMT to water system, irrigation and school building projects in barangays Taboc and Guruyan in the said municipality.

“We do not need to fetch water in streams and wells anymore, the water reservoir has top-stand faucets around the village.,” said Punong Barangay Roger Geul of Guruyan.

Guruyan High School, on the other hand, had a shortage of classrooms before KALAHI-CIDSS built a three-classroom building.

Swisher said “the new school will prepare the children to face their future.”

KALAHI-CIDSS: KKB or Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan, Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services: Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay is a poverty alleviation project that empowers communities, strengthens local governance and hastens development in the barangays.

DSWD takes the lead in the implementation of the project, with funding support from the World Bank.

At present, KALAHI-CIDSS already culminated in Bicol region. Since 2003, the Project funded a total of 667 community projects with a total project cost of P777.6 million. Of this amount, KALAHI-CIDSS grant amounted to P544.8 million and the rest came from local government contributions.

“We are selling our best practices learned from the process of KALAHI-CIDSS to the delegates of MCC with the hope of accessing more support funds so that either way, KALAHI strategy will continue in our municipality,” said Mayor Fragata.

“I am confident that the collective experiences of the communities and the local government unit gained since the inception of KALAHI-CIDSS will permit us for possible expansion of the project,” Tapispisan said during the meeting.

According to Wray, they hope to complete the project proposal for presentation and approval of the MCC board of directors by December this year.

“We are more than willing to help the government achieve concrete results in poverty reduction,” Wray added.

The MCC is a US corporation established in 2004. Its mission is to reduce global poverty through the promotion of sustainable economic growth in poorest countries in the world. (CLMartinez, DSWD/PIA)


AdeNU STUDENT CONTRACTS INFLUENZA A(H1N1)

NAGA CITY — The Department of Health (DOH) Bicol confirmed Thursday (July 16) that one student of Ateneo de Naga University (AdeNU) here contracted AH1N1 virus.

The student has been confined and treated at the Bicol Medical Center, and as of press time has fully recovered and discharged from a healthcare facility.

Those with whom this student has had immediate contact are already known and likewise being closely observed.

Romeo Fajardo, chair of the Committee on Prevention/Containment of the Influenza A (H1N1) of AdeNU, said university officials have been in constant communication with DOH officials and are closely coordinating with the City and Provincial Health officials regarding the management of the case and other flu-like illness.

Fajardo bared prior to the reported case and as early as June 2009, the university instituted campus-wide precautionary measures such as information dissemination regarding the Influenza A(H1N1) virus and disinfection of campus buildings and facilities as part of the regular housekeeping routine.

He added the mechanisms and guidelines observed by the university in the management of flu-like illness among students and employees have been evaluated by the DOH Bicol as very good in the context of AH1N1 threat and in handling flu-like cases.

“We will continue to implement these mechanisms and guidelines,” he stressed.

“To the members of our community we shall reiterate that necessary precautions be observed for the prevention of illnesses such as a healthy lifestyle, adequate rest, regular and frequent hand washing, and proper etiquette in coughing or sneezing,” appealed Fajardo.

“We appreciate these precautionary practices throughout the region,” he said.

At the university, persons with cough, cold, and/or fever, as well as other symptoms of influenza-like illness, are required to seek medical attention and rest for seven days to ten days after the onset of illness. At the end of the prescribed period, they should go to the University Health Service Center/Infirmary to seek clearance before going back to their classes and/or office.

Classes in all levels will continue. University business operations will go on normally.

AdeNU, however, continues to exercise understanding and consideration for those whose health have been affected by this flu-like illness.

As the flu-like virus continues to spread to various areas in the locality and around the country, more and more people are susceptible to acquire the virus from almost anywhere.

Fajardo urged every student, faculty member, and non-academic personnel to continue to be vigilant and let us all be responsible for our own health and for the health of those around us. (AdeNU Release/PIA)


LOCAL TOURISM REMAINS STRONG AMIDST ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

SORSOGON Province – Despite the economic slowdown felt around the world today, this province is still doing well in tourism industry.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DoT) during the last quarter of 2008 has revealed a total number of 83,541 tourists, with a gross rate of 39 percent, visited the province, out of whom 71,570 are foreign and 11,971 are local tourists.

The DoT is still currently working out for statistics of tourists coming in to the province for the past two quarters of 2009 which they have initially assessed as still increasing.

Kinatawan Francisco Ravanilla, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Tourism chair, said the global financial crisis can be a challenge toward creative ways of marketing Sorsogon’s tourism industry.

Citing the whaleshark in Donsol, the prime tourist attraction in the province, Ravanilla said that it has consistently attracting local and foreign tourists since the town was officially declared as “The Whaleshark Capital of the World” in 1998.

“Aside from Donsol’s whaleshark, other eco-tourism destinations in the province also promise better opportunities for investment and economic development as well as job generation among the locals,” he said.

Among the other attractions he enumerated were the mangrove forest in Pto. Diaz town, Bulusan Lake in Bulusan, also situated at the foot of Bulusan Volcano, the natural hot springs in Irosin and the white-sand beaches in Gubat town and in Bacon District in Sorsogon City.

It can be noted that the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (NAITAs) has identified Sorsogon as a “major hit” among the foreign tourists and has mapped out plans for the tourism industry of the province and the current economic crunch.

NAITAs is the largest group of travel agencies working together to come up with attractive tourism package. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon)


EMERGENCY, EVACUATION DRILL FOR CALABANGA COASTAL RESIDENTS

PILI, Camarines Sur — More than sixty families from the coastal barangay of Punta Tarawal in Calabanga, Camarines Sur took shelter at the Union Elementary School. Men, women, children and the elderly, bringing only a few of their belongings, boarded boats upon signal given by barangay leaders, and proceeded to their designated evacuation site.

The activity held over the weekend was a simulation of an actual evacuation of the high-risk barangay.

The drill, led by the barangay and municipal disaster coordinating councils, capped the series of disaster response and mitigation activities carried out by the residents of barangay Punta Tarawal, including trainings on community-based disaster risk management and disaster preparedness, and collectively updating their contingency plan.

With the trainings, Tarawal barangay council reviewed their worst-case scenario, which was their basis in updating their contingency plan.

The drill aims to test the effectiveness of the community’s contingency plan, particularly the early warning system and evacuation plan. It will also check how the Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council (BDCC) and the Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC) will function, and coordinate actions in an emergency situation.

Punta Tarawal’s disaster risk reduction activities are part of the ACCORD Project, or Strengthening Assets and Capacities of Communities and Local Governments for Resilience to Disasters Project.

Already on its second phase, ACCORD is a collaboration amongst the Corporate Network for Disaster Response, Agri-Aqua Development Coalition and CARE Nederland, with funding from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department.

The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department is one of the world’s largest providers of financing for humanitarian aid operations. Its mandate not only includes the funding of disaster relief but also the support of disaster preparedness activities, in particular at local level. Through its disaster preparedness programme (DIPECHO), it assists vulnerable people living in the main disaster-prone regions of the world in reducing the impact of natural disasters on their lives and livelihoods.

Punta Tarawal is one of the pilot areas of the ACCORD Project, which targets to strengthen preparedness and disaster risk reduction capacities of the most vulnerable barangays in Dingalan in Aurora, Calabanga in Camarines Sur, St. Bernard in Southern Leyte, Jabonga in Agusan del Norte and Maragusan in Campostela Valley. These areas are all prone to multiple hazards such as floods, typhoons, earthquakes and landslides.

The barangay geographic location and the prevalence of poverty amongst its people make them vulnerable to floods and typhoons. Its proximity to San Miguel Bay and Bicol River makes them very susceptible to flooding incidents. Continuous heavy rains for 1 to 2 days isolates the entire barangay from the mainland.

“This is a milestone for us in Punta Tarawal. This signifies our gains in protecting ourselves and our livelihoods from disasters that frequently visit us. We attribute our success to our own collective effort, and the support of the European Commission and partners in the ACCORD project,” said Punong Baranagy Ronnie Coner of the significance of the evacuation drill. (MMBrusola/ CSantiagoIII, ACCORD 2/PIA)


More good news for the economy: Export slide bottoming out, July inflation is lowest

Malacañang today announced more good news. Aside from the earlier announced record remittances from overseas Filipino workers, last May, it said slide in exports as a result of the recession among trading partners, is now bottoming out while July inflation is lowest at 1.5 percent.

May remittances reached almost $1.5 billion, a 3.7 percent increase year-on-year and a 2.8 percent year-to-date for the first five months of the year or a total of $7 billion.

The meaning of this is that we have a more stable, highly paid overseas work force than a year ago and the increased remittance is a product of that, explained Presidential Spokesperson for Economic Matter, Gary Olivar.

Exports, which had been on a skid because of the recession, is now improving with the reduction in exports becoming lower than what it was last year. This means that even among analysts, the bad performance of the export sector together with other Asian countries has already been starting to bottom out.

“We are happy to see the bottoming out of the decline in export performance in our country but also in the rest of the region. Because we do not just get our dollars from OFWs but also from export, which is now starting to recover,” Olivar said.

Thirdly, the inflation in July was only 1.5 percent, the lowest in 22 years but that of course is largely a function of the recession abroad,” Olivar stated. (PIA V Release)


PGMA to LMP: Establish green energy projects

DAVAO CITY – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called on the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) today to establish green energy projects to be able to avail of the $250-million facility being offered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Carbon Credit Framework of the Kyoto Protocol.

At the culmination of the League of Municipalities (LMP) Zero Basura Caravan 2009 at the Waterfront Insular Hotel here, the President cited an example the national program to replace incandescent bulbs with compact flourescent bulbs, a five-year $15- million project implemented by the Department of Energy (DOE) with support from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

At the 15th NAM Summit in Egypt, the President said she spoke on behalf of Asia on increased international solidarity to foster economic development and address the challenges posed by the global economic downturn, terrorism, poverty alleviation, the rights of migrant workers, and high on the list is climate change.

The President said part of our country’s drive for energy security and environmental conservation include green initiatives that can be financed up to $250 million by the ADB.

“As local government units, you have corporate powers, you can access this facility of the ADB,” she said.

The President said the $250 million is part of the $2 billion total facility that ADB has committed to help significantly reduce carbon growth and cut greenhouse gas emissions in the region.

The fund come from industrialized countries, the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, who are sponsoring clean development mechanism (CDM) projects to achieve carbon neutral status.

To date, some 65 percent of the total 1,186 CDM projects registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are from Asia and the Pacific.

This represents over 80 percent of all preliminary Carbon Emissions Reduction (CERs) traded in the international carbon market. China and India lead the pack with some 640 CDM projects followed by Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. (PIA V Release)


PGMA assures: There will be elections next year

DAVAO CITY – For those who may still be doubting, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said it in no uncertain terms today: There will be elections in 2010.

The President made the assurance at the culmination of the Zero Basura Caravan 2009 of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines at the Waterfront hotel here, minutes after arriving from Egypt where she attended the 15th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Leaders.

“And even as we begin fundamental political reform to fix our broken political system, let me say in no uncertain terms: There will be elections in 2010. Anyone who questions our resolve on this critical issue is undermining our nation’s commitment to a vibrant democracy,” the President said in obvious reference to doubting Thomases who have made a big issue out of a possible No-El or no elections scenario.

The Chief Executive called on the LMP to help ensure the success of the 2010 poll automation to send a strong signal that democracy remains strong and vibrant in the country.

She congratulated the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for putting in place the automation of the 2010 polls as part of the country’s political reform.

“And I call on you dear mayors, not only to put up MRFs (Materials Recovery Facilities) in your barangays, but to support the Comelec in making the first ever nationwide automated elections in our country a success. These elections will send a signal that our democracy remains strong, viable and stable,” the President said.

Aside from their solid waste management programs to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, the President thanked the local government units (LGUs) for working together with government these past eight years that resulted to a sustained economic growth.

But the President said that, still, there are two Philippines – one where the economy is working again and moving ahead; and the other, where the political system is badly broken.

The President thanked the LMP “for advocating the need to fix our broken political system.” (PIA V Release)


Record OFW remittances in May hardly surprises Palace

The unexpected record remittances from overseas Filipino workers in May in the face of the lingering global economic slowdown hardly surprised Malacanang.

Presidential Spokesperson for Economic Matters, Dr. Gary Olivar said that what the figures show and what foreign analysts don’t understand is that Filipino migrant workers are no longer low paid and easily kicked out of jobs.

“They are now in more stable, higher paying and higher value-added positions. That is the reason why our foreign remittances continue to be stable and the prospects of our OFWs continue to remain stable in spite of the global recession,” he said.

On reports that deployment of workers has also increased during the period, Olivar said “that is true and we must feel happy about it.”

“While it’s true that there are more people going overseas, we are not the only ones—neither are we the first ones-- to do this (sending more people overseas) The Chinese and Jews have done it. So it’s not unprecedented for a country to find its fortune in other countries, Olivar stressed.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that remittances in May were higher than its earlier expectations, with the monthly inflows reaching a new record high at $1.48 billion with more Filipinos working abroad.

The record inflows in May brought the cumulative remittances for the first five months of the year to $6.98 billion, or an increase of 2.8 percent from the level recorded in the same period last year.

Triggered by the need to send funds back home for the tuition fees and education of their children, the remittances of both sea and land based workers posted gains of 4.6 and 2.4 percent, respectively.

Given the trend in the first five months of the year, the BSP’s zero- growth projection for 2009 now appears to be conservative and may have to be upgraded, according to BSP Gov. Armando Tetangco Jr.. (PIA V Release)


No amnesty for ASG – Palace

After careful study, Malacañang said Thursday (July 16) it would not grant amnesty to the Abu Sayyaf and would instead press on with its offensive against the terrorist group.

In a press briefing at Malacañang, Deputy Spokesperson Anthony Golez said the decision was arrived at after giving due consideration to calls for justice and retribution.

“There will be no amnesty granted to the Abu Sayyaf group,” Golez, who had been utilized by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita to speak on the issue, said. “This decision was arrived at after careful study, after giving due consideration to popular calls for justice and retribution, on one hand, and to the equally pressing imperatives of peace and development in Mindanao, on the other.”

“This decision not to grant amnesty is consistent with our position that such leniency should be extended only to those accused of political offenses, not common criminals especially those as brutal as the Abu Sayyaf,” Golez said.

He added that the decision also reflects the administration’s confidence that the peace process “will not be affected by the denial of amnesty to a fringe gang of bandits and terrorists.”

“Our government believes that the peace process can and should continue on the basis of good faith discussions between government and mainstream political rebel groups, following the UN-sanctioned principles of DDR or disarmament, demobilization and reintegration,” Golez said.

When asked on how the government should address the ASG, Golez said, “Just like how we are dealing with the Abu Sayyaf now and yesterday, all out war with terrorist groups.” (PIA V Release)