SORSOGON RENEWS PARTNERSHIP WITH NGCP FOR ECONOMIC AND LIVELIHOOD DEVELOPMENT

SORSOGON Province — The provincial government here renewed its support to National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), formerly the Transmission Commission (Transo), which has long been a partner of the province in pursuit of its economic and livelihood development agenda.

Governor Sally A. Lee said that the provincial government recognizes the NGCP’s vital role in facilitating a smooth and systematic flow of electricity contributing to the province’s economy and of the nation as well.

“Electricity has already been part of people’s lives here, hence, power lines must be safeguarded not only by the concerned agency but by the people as well, because absence of a well-facilitated transmission of power will certainly hinder development of the province. Likewise, programs undertaken by NGCP must also be supported,” Lee stressed.

Nelson Bautista, NGCP corporate communication officer for South Luzon Region, said that the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) here also assured the NGCP through the newly formed Social Integration Program (SIP committee to protect NGCP power lines in the province.

Bautista has also sought the help of local media during the recently concluded press conference here, in making the public aware of their role as partners of NGCP and LGUs to strictly implement RA 7832 or the Anti – Electricity and Transmission Line Materials Pilferage Act of 1994.

He related series of incidences in Bicol region where almost majority of the electrical towers collapsed on the height of the successive typhoons ‘Milenyo’ and ‘Reming’ resulting a big loss for the company and in the economy as well.

“The tower lines easily collapsed due to the wide range pilferage of electrical power parts,” Bautista said.

The NGCP, which has officially taken over the nationwide transmission grid operations since January 15 2009, is a privately – owned corporation and a consortium of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp., Calaca High Power Corp. and State Grid Corp. of China who won the competitive public bidding in December 2007 for the 25-year concession agreement (extendable for another 25 years) to operate, manage and expand the country’s high voltage power grid. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon)


SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL CLEAN UP, OZONE MONTH

LEGAZPI CITY — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) regional office here has enjoined anew all Bicolanos to take part in the annual observance of the National Clean Up and Ozone Month as well as the International Coastal Clean Up Day on the 3rd Saturday, all within this September.

EMB Bicol has lined-up activities to highlight the observance which include media information campaigns, Ozone Forum on September 16 in Masbate City, Clean Bicol Rivers (simultaneous Linis Ilog project) slated within this week; International Coastal Clean Up Day on September 19; roadside mobile air conditioner (MAC) testing; Ozone Exhibit sa Mall, Kids Story-telling event and awarding ceremony for the Regional Search for Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Schools on the 4th week the Pacific Mall here.

The international theme for the Clean Up Month is “Communities Uniting to Combat Climate Change”, while the Ozone Month evolves on “Ozone Protection Unifies the World”.

“The activities focus on the implications of climate change on the ecosystem and communities, as well as the ensuing consequences around the world,” Engr. Gilbert C. Gonzales, EMB Bicol regional director, pointed out.

“Let us unite in adapting concerted actions locally and at the same time address public awareness on the grim issues of solid waste, ozone depletion, global warming and climate change,” he added.

EMB V have already enjoined colleagues from the different sectors and field offices of DENR to participate in the month-long activities and to coordinate closely with other government agencies, local government units and non-governmental organizations to facilitate similar environmental advocacies. (EMB5 release/PIA)

PATLEPAM SHOWCASES “SINING PARA SA KALIKASAN” FOR ENVIRO-CARE AWARENESS

LEGAZPI CITY — With the success of the recent launching of the Culture and the Arts Fair for the Environment (Sining Para sa Kalikasan), the Philippine Association of Tertiary Level Educational Institutions in Environmental Protection and Management (PATLEPAM) in Bicol showcased anew a much fruitful and meaningful event involving youth in environmental care awareness.

PATLEPAM recently sponsored the Digital Photograph Competition and Seminar on Video Clip Production and Digital Photography participated in by the association’s partner institutions from all school levels across the region

Dr. Faye Lea Patria Mata Lauraya, Bicol University and PATLEPAM’s regional coordinator, cited the sponsors of the event emphasizing the significance of their desire in addressing various problems on ecosystem degradation through relevant ways of raising the youth’s awareness on environmental protection and management.

Entry photos were displayed and judged during the photo exhibit held after the opening program.
The Camarines Norte Laboratory High School won the first place in high school level while students of DWCL declared champion in tertiary level.

The board of judges was comprised of Dr. Eva S. Ocfemia, Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Bicol Pollution Control Division chief; Aida Alcazar-Naz, Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Bicol Operation and Research Division chief; and Glenn Peralta of the Department of Tourism (DOT) Bicol.

Photos that were showcased by the students evolved on the theme “Pagrokyaw kan mga Bagong Tao: Pangataman sa Kapalibutan (Youth in Action Protecting the Environment and Having Fun Through Culture and Arts)”. (EMB V/PIA)


PCSO MARKS 75th ANNIVERSARY WITH HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS IN CAMSUR

PILI, Camarines Sur — The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur jointly spearheaded simultaneous medical and dental missions held in several municipalities in the province last September 6, in time for the PCSO’s 75th founding anniversary.

The medical and dental missions, dubbed “100% in One Day”, form part of PCSO’s nationwide medical, dental and information-gathering missions which aims to cover all of the country’s 41,995 barangays

Thousands of residents of Sipocot, Siruma, Caramoan, and Ocampo town have benefited from the project’s free medical and dental services and medicines.

The project is envisioned to be both a celebration and a window for marginalized Filipinos from all over the country to access medical care and organized charity assistance.

PCSO provided the medicines and supplies while the provincial government’s medical and personnel and staff, led by Dr. Gerardo Villafuerte, PHO chief, carried out the services.

Residents overwhelmingly expressed their support towards the program and appreciation for the free medical and dental services.

“I am very thankful for the medical and dental mission as I no longer need to travel far to have my medical examination and to get a tooth extracted,” a resident of May-Anao disclosed.

The medical and dental missions also form part of Gov. LRay Villafuerte’s advocacy to ensure sustained growth and prosperity in the countryside by catering to the medical and dental needs of the constituency, in addition to the delivery of basic social services. (ANDujar/GBCc/ANTuy, MMEC/PIA)


PILI FARMERS TRAIN ON ORGANIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTION

Pili, Camarines Sur – Some 50 vegetable farmers from barangay La Purisima in this town have trained on production of high quality vegetables minus the chemical-based fertilizers or insect repellants

The training program, dubbed Organic Vegetable Production, provided a venue among local vegetable producers to hone their knowledge and skills on various stages of vegetable production, including prevention and control of pests and diseases, farm management that would immensely contribute to a much efficient and improved growth of the vegetables as well as other high value commercial crops (HVCC).

If there is a Farmer Field School (FFS) for rice farmers, much as for vegetable producers which focuses on new technology that employs indigenous materials to drive away harmful insects from the vegetable plantations.

The FFS is a combination of lectures and actual field demonstrations which help facilitate learning among the participant-farmers.

Governor LRay Villafuerte has fully supported the training program in line with his thrusts in ensuring food security and providing the locals alternative source of income.

The Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit 5(DAR-RFU5), Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO), and the municipal government here spearheaded the training activities.

Training Management Team on High Value Commercial Crops (HVCC) of the PAO facilitated the lectures and field demonstration activities.

PAO is mulling to hold similar training in other municipalities of the province. (LAGavino/SNieve, MMEC/PIA)


CHURCH GROUP LAUNCHES TERCENTNARY MEDIA AWARDS

NAGA CITY — The Caceres Commission on Communications (CCOM) and the Tercentenary Committee have launched the Tercentenary Awards for Media Productions starting September 2009 until September 2010. The awarding of winners will be held in December 2010.

The awards are for print, electronic (website), radio, television and student campus papers (PERT campus).

The criteria for evaluation of the awardees are: emphasis on the devotion to Ina as a way to promote the common good, 30 percent; support to the ideals of the Tercentenary, 30 percent; and the requirements for a specific category, 20 percent.
Two groups will monitor and evaluate the nominees: the board of judges and the monitoring teams.

The monitoring teams will conduct an evaluation from September 2009 to September 2010 and will forward their recommendation to the board of judges for the final decision.

Award categories for radio consist of social service program, news and public affairs program, editorial, radio plug about the Peñafrancia devotion, feature story, program feature on voters’ education, program feature on culture, and radio coverage on the Peñafrancia activities.

The categories for television include news program, TV plug about the Peñafrancia devotion, feature story, program feature on voters’ education, program feature on culture and TV coverage on the Peñafrancia activities.

The award categories for print include editorial, opinion or column, feature article, feature article on voters’ education, and the billboard.

Award for the website includes comprehensive information about the devotion and an encouragement for the audience to nourish the devotion and to take an active part in social concerns.

Award categories for the campus paper include the editorial, opinion or column, feature story, feature article on voters’ education, feature article on culture and video documentary on the Peñafrancia devotion.(EGYu, PNA/PIA)


PGMA's Turkey trip highlights 60-year RP-Turkey relations

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officially announced today (September 14) the visit to Turkey of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on September 16 to 17, upon the invitation of Turkish
President Abdullah Gul.

The visit highlights the 60th anniversary this year of the establishment of Philippine-Turkey diplomatic relations. Turkey has been supportive of the Philippine bid for an Observer-State status with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and President Macapagal-Arroyo will reiterate her gratitude to President Gul for this support.

While in the capital of Ankara, the Chief Executive will also meet with OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to solidify the Philippine bid and update the latter on the progress of the Mindanao peace process.

Turkey actively supported the GRP-MNLF-OIC Tripartite Meeting held in Manila last March.

Also in March this year, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo visited Turkey and met with then Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, who is now Deputy Prime Minister.

Romulo was told that President Gul looks forward to his participation in the forthcoming Non-Aligned Movement's (NAM) Special Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Development to be hosted by the Philippines in early December 2009.

From Turkey, the President will proceed to the United Kingdom, then to Saudi Arabia.

Turkey is now the 16th largest economy in the world and the 6th in Europe, and an emerging market for Philippine exports.

In 2008, trade volume between the Philippines and Turkey amounted to more than USD114-million, with Philippine exports to Turkey reaching USD63-million, and Philippine imports from Turkey at USD51-million.

Among Philippine products for further promotion to Turkey include costume and precious jewelry (especially pearls, other precious stones), fresh and processed fruits (especially bananas, mangoes),garments and furniture, organic chemicals, and coconut products. (PIA V Release)


PGMA orders DOH to intensify campaign vs dengue

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the Department of Health to intensify the campaign against dengue through its public health educational programs.

The President, according to Deputy Spokesperson Anthony Golez, asked local government units and national health officials to cooperate in combating the scourge which has claimed a number of lives in depressed communities.

“Ang importante lang yung kooperasyon ng lahat. With the LGUs, ang kanilang mga health officials with the national health officials, and at the same time, ang suporta ng ating DOH particularly ang mga hospitals doon sa pamilya o pasyente na may dengue ngayon, kinakailangan magtulungan sila nang sa gayon ay maiwasan o mabawasan ang mga kaso ng dengue, (The important thing here is cooperation
between LGUs and health officials and how to support hospitals with dengue cases)” Golez quoted the President as saying.

Part of the DOH mandate, according to Golez is to destroy breeding grounds of mosquitoes.

“Kailangan alamin dapat nila kung ano puwede pag protekta sa kanila, number one yung mga screens para sa mga ekswelahan. Ang mga lotion kung may mga lotion sila para maprotektahan sila. Isa sa mga pinaka importante ay yung pagpunta nang maaga sa kanilang doctor. They should seek early onsultation on the second or third day of high fever, kailangan na silang pumunta sa kanilang mga doctor kung dengue nga ito o hindi, (They should know how to protect the public, like the use of screens in schools, and the need to see their doctors if they have fever)” Golez said in a press briefing.

The DOH, he said, has recommended, defogging in cases where dengue has already become an outbreak. “We should be doing all these things because we know dengue is very preventable,” he said. (PIA V Release)


More NPA rebels renounce communism

MANILA — More New People’s Army (NPA) rebels continue to renounce armed struggle and embrace a life of peace as evidenced in the various surrenders in the different parts of the country, the military reported today.

Five members of the local terrorist groups operating in the provinces of Bukidnon, Quezon, Albay and Kalinga surrendered to the government forces in four separate incidents over the weekend.

Reports reaching the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio disclosed that Edgar Sarino, alias Carlo, team leader of the local terrorist group operating in Sitio Mahayag, Barangay St. Peter, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, voluntarily surrendered to the 8th Infantry Battalion (IB), bringing along his firearm and ammunition.

In Luzon, Billy Leynes, alias Kris, member of a local terrorist group under Komite sa Probinsya (KOMPROB), surrendered to the elements of the 1st IB at Barangay Aluyon, Burdeos, Quezon.

In Albay, two local terrorist group members identified as Antonio Macasinag, alias Bong, and Sopromio Llorca, alias Jacky, yielded to the elements of the 2nd IB Battalion in Barangay Maopi, Daraga town, while another NPA rebel identified as Jeony Pebenito voluntarily surrendered to the elements of the 41st IB in Kalinga. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said the Philippine Army has recorded a total of 173 NPA surrenders in the past two months.

"Just a year after the Social Integration Program (SIP) was launched, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process recorded a total of 548 surrenderers, 330 of which yielded firearms," said
Burgos.

In addition, Burgos said the papers of another batch of 261 former communist rebels, who recently surrendered to avail of the SIP, are currently being processed.

At least 18 former rebels from Luzon were awarded financial assistance package under the SIP during the conduct of the Army Social Responsibility Symposium at the Army headquarters over the weekend.

"As agents of peace, the Philippine Army shall continue to conduct peaceful and development endeavors all over the country with the end in view of providing an environment of peace and stability," said Burgos. (PIA V Release)


FVR's warning of 'no-election' scenario baseless--Golez

MANILA — Palace dubbed as ‘baseless’ the warning of former President Fidel Ramos that the government might utilize the military for a ‘no-election” scenario next year to prolong the stay of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo beyond her term.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez, in a media briefing at the New Executive Building in Malacanang on Monday, said that Ramos' warning of a no-election scenario to prolong the term of Mrs. Arroyo in power beyond her term was “unfounded”.

”Those are unfounded, meaning to say they should be verified by the right authorities,” Undersecretary Golez said during the briefing.

Golez said that no body could say the elections would not push through in 2010 since President Arroyo herself had been consistent in saying that there would be election and she even assured this in her meeting with US President Barrack Obama.

Ramos on Saturday cautioned members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1978, of which President Arroyo is an adopted member, against staging a coup or putting up a military junta before May 2010 to prevent the conduct of an election.

Ramos, a former military officer, had served as Armed Forces chief before he became president in 1992. He was instrumental in toppling the Marcos regime in 1986 through the historic EDSA People Power revolution.

Golez also stressed that members of PMA Class of 1978 would not be involved in politics despite the key positions being held by some of its members in the military and police organizations.

Among the members of the class whom President Arroyo appointed to important positions were Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, commanding general of the Philippine Army; Maj. Gen. Romeo Prestoza, chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP); and Police Director Roberto Rosales, head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Meanwhile, the president of PMA Class of 1978, assured FVR that they would not be participants in a no-election scenario, stressing that his classmates are loyal to the Constitution.

“We assure him that the members of the PMA Class 1978 are professionals and as professionals, we remain loyal to the Constitution and to the government," said Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) chief Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali. (PIA V Release)


Tourism in RP remains proactive despite A (H1N1)

MANILA — Tropical regions of South and Southeast Asia continue to experience geographically regional or widespread influenza A (H1N1) activity (represented by countries such as India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia).

According to the World Health Organization (WH0), despite the scenario wthin the country’s Southeast Asian neighbors, the tourism in the Philippines remains proactive.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) reiterates the statement from the WHO recommending no travel restrictions, acknowledging that preparedness, and not panic, is the key response.

The DOT also echoes the statement from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which recently convened to anticipate the challenges the virus will bring, and ensure that the travel and tourism sectors are prepared.

In the two-day review and preparation exercise on ‘Travel and Tourism under Pandemic Conditions’ in Madrid on Aug. 26-27, it was emphasized that “travel limitations would not limit the spread of A (H1N1) because it is already ‘the dominant influenza strain in most parts of the world,’ after a thorough presentation by the WHO.

It was also strongly recommended that the sector “improve with business continuity,” as tourism continues to play an integral role in the country’s economic development. With this underscored, collective support for the industry is necessary.

Tourists coming to the Philippines are assured that all monitoring procedures are being implemented, and coordination with regional tourism offices is maintained to guarantee appropriate action.

The DOT enjoins tourism stakeholders to help strengthen the sector’s readiness by responding positively to the growing concern, and carry on in helping educate travelers on the practical steps to prevent the spread of the virus.

Being informed and prepared is always the key. Knowing that the A (H1N1) virus is not an airborne virus but transmitted via water droplets, it is important for travelers to practice necessary precautions through strict personal hygiene, regular hand washing, and etiquette.

For people showing symptoms of influenza before, during or after a trip, it is recommended to seek immediate medical attention. (PIA V Release)