SSC PROMOTES ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG STUDES, COMMUNITIES

SORSOGON CITY — Sorsogon State College (SSC), in all its three campuses here, in Bulan and Castilla towns, is putting its best foot forward in guiding the students and community’s consciousness in ensuring food security and beef up income-generating projects.

Dr. Antonio Fuentes, SSC president, said in a press statement that the city government here has positively responded to request of Lourdes Dy, SSC Soft Trades coordinator, and provided vegetable seeds to SSC campus here in support of the ‘Gulayan sa Paaralan’ project.

Fuentes said that ‘Gulayan sa Paaralan’ complements the city government’s ‘Luntiang Daigdig’, which also seeks to ensure food security and provide additional income for the local residents.

Dy said that the city government has initially turned-over seeds of sweet pearl, sitao, upo, squash, patula, upland kangkong, radish, pechay and eggplant to start up the project.

“SSC’s ongoing production project has multiple crop garden envisioned to be self-liquidating and self-sustaining,” she said.

According to her, the harvest will be sold at an affordable price to the students, faculty, employees, and interested individuals.

Meanwhile, the SSC campus in Magallanes town has been already reaping the fruits of investment from the P200,000 financial assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the school’s livestock project.

Augusto N. Calabines, SSC Magallanes campus director, said that the amount has been allotted for the fish processing project under the SSC-DOLE Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) program.

Calabines said that the student-recipients’ income-generating project is focused on tilapia-tocino and smoked fish production,”.

Income generating projects (IGP) of the SSC campuses have already posted revenues amounting to P513,206.45 from January to June, this year. (SSC/BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon)


CAMARINES NORTE REVIEWS CPC 6 IMPLEMENTATION

DAET, Camarines Norte — The provincial technical working group (PTWG) of the Sixth Country Programme for Children (CPC 6) recently convened to assess the Sub-Regional Multi-Indicator Survey 2007 on women and children in the province.

Madonna A. Abular, provincial planning and development officer/CPC 6 coordinator, said that PTWG members were provided baseline information for assessing the situation of children and women in the province; data in monitoring programs and projects geared towards the achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) as basis for future direction; and contribute to the improvement of data and monitoring system in the province.

Abular said that the data of the SR-MICS can be use by stakeholders in the planning and implementation of programs and projects concerning women and children in the province.

Meanwhile, group also discussed some of the plans for the coming Children’s Month celebration this October that will highlight the State of the Children Report.

The State of the Children Report will include the executive summary, situation of women of children, measures of implementation, highlights of accomplishments on health and nutrition, education, child protection, communication, and social policy and local development.

Also, the report will include the implementation issues, gaps and challenges and future directions, and the children’s statement. (RBManlangit, PIA CamNorte)


PHILHEALTH SETS GUIDELINES FOR NEWBORN CARE BENEFITS

LEGAZPI CITY — Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), in line with its Circular 29, series of 2009, has set the reimbursement limit for newborn screening test to only P550, including the collection kit, and the maximum allowable service fee is set at P50.

In its advisory, PhilHealth state that the directive will take effect for all claims with admission dates starting September 1, 2009.

It added that the Newborn Care Package (NCP) will cover reimbursement for the newborn screening fixed at P550, wherein the maximum out-of-pocket payment for members should only be P100

The advisory stressed that other newborn care services, such as eye prophylaxis, umbilical cord care, Vitamin K, thermal care, BCG and Hepatitis B immunization, should also be given as it is reiterated that partial provision of services will cause non-payment of claims for the NCP.

To achieve the 85 per cent target for newborn screening coverage by 2010, PhilHealth has reiterated that all newborns delivered in accredited facilities should undergo newborn screening tests, including sick babies who are not covered by the NCP.

The newborns are covered by the regular inpatient benefit package of PhilHealth, thus the cost for the newborn screening test should be charged against PhilHealth benefit earmarked for laboratory, x-ray, supplies and others.

PhilHealth warned that If an accredited hospital refuse to provide newborn screening and/or collect more than the maximum allowed newborn screening fee, complaints can be filed to the Department of Health and PhilHealth Legal Services Sector for investigation.

Republic Act 9288 (Newborn Screening Act of 2004) and Department of Health Administrative Order No. 2005-005 and 2008-026 guarantee that every baby born in the Philippines must be offered the opportunity to undergo newborn screening and thus be spared from heritable conditions that can lead to mental retardation and death if undetected and untreated. (MALoterte, PIA V)


POLICE SIEZED HOT LOGS IN IROSIN TOWN

IROSIN, Sorsogon — Elements of the Municipal Police Station (MPO) here apprehended last week an estimated 4,000 board feet of illegally-cut logs loaded in a ten-wheeler truck, with plate number RDP 710, reportedly bound for delivery to a client in Legazpi City, Albay province.

The contrabands were seized after the courier failed to present legal documents as required by existing laws and regulations to transport the forest products.

Apprehended were truck driver Mario Uno y Abayan, 45 years old, married and a resident of Navarro St., Makinabang, Baliwag, Bulacan; truck helpers Jeofrey Yarcia y pineda, 26, yrs. old, married and resident of Blk. 15 Lot 12 Phase 7 Toca tabang, Plaridel, Bulacan; Lino Caliuag y Cruz, 45 yrs. old, married and resident of 38 Paquito Ochoa St., Santo Cristo, Pulilan, Bulacan; and Quirico De Asis Jr. y Pantua, 28 yrs. old, married of Mondragon, Northern Samar.

Documents recovered from the courier showed the owner of the said logs was identified as Lito De Asis of Mondragon, Northen Samar.

The suspects were arrested for violating P.D. 705 and were appraised of their constitutional rights and put in jail for reglamentary period of detention.

Seized logs and vehicle are now under the custody of the Sorsogon Police Provincial Office (PPO). (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon)


BFP, DTI TO STAMP OUT DEFECTIVE LPG IN THE MARKET

SORSOGON CITY — The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) city station and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provincial office here are doing rounds in all authorized dealers and outlets of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to stamp out defective LPG containers to ensure fire safety.

Alarmed by the reports that defective LPG tanks continue to proliferate in the country, the city council here passed Resolution No. 241, Series of 2009, authored by Ho. Pedro A. Ravanilla, prompting the two government agencies to conduct the inspection.

Findings of the monitoring government agencies revealed some authorized dealers and outlets of LPG failed to comply with existing laws or violated the Quality and Safety Requirements of LPG tanks sanctioned by DTI.

Defective tanks can be easily identified because it has no permanent mark on the collar, the tare weight or weight of the LPG tank was not properly placed, owner’s name was not properly embossed on the shoulder, no markings of the Philippine Standard (PS) or Import Commodity Clearance (IIC) on the tank’s footring, and some of the markings are not clear because of the corrosion on the tank.

The primary purpose of the inspection is to minimize the loss of life and destruction of properties thru the supply and usage of quality and safe tanks.

Records show that there are at least an estimated two million defective tanks that are distributed and sold throughout the country. It is also a public knowledge that defective tanks are identified as one of the main causes of fire accidents. (CDBanico, BFP Sorsogon City/PIA)


ADVOCATES SAY, STOP PUNISHING OUR CHILDREN!

MANILA — Amid reports that a large proportion of children around the world experiences physical and humiliating or degrading punishment, child rights advocates call on parents, guardians and other authorities to end corporal punishment.

In a media briefing on the Advocacy and Campaign for the Promotion of Positive Discipline and Prohibition of Corporal Punishment held here recently, Child Rights Network (CRN), highlighted the need for a law that will ban the corporal punishment of children in the homes, schools and other settings.

According to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, Corporal Punishment are cases where physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light.

It also includes other non-physical forms of punishment that are cruel and degrading.

In the World Studies of Abuse in the Family Environment conducted by the World Health Organization presented by Ms. Hope Tura, CRN Co-Convenor, showed that severe physical punishment is commonly used as means of discipline in the Philippines.

Said study cites “21% of children are hit with an object in other parts of their body, 6% are kicked, 3% are beaten, while 1% is threatened with a knife or a gun, and another 1% is choked.”

“Unfortunately, here in the Philippines, we learn to tolerate a not so child-friendly society,” lamented Ramon San Pascual, executive director of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD).

“As a legislative advocacy institution, we put this challenge in legislation,” he added.

“That is why we are pushing for the passage of a law that will institutionalize mechanisms to educate the general public on effective non-violent forms of discipline and change the norms about the acceptability and use of corporal punishment,” he stressed

House Bill 6699 or the “Anti-Corporal Punishment Act of 2009” now pending for plenary deliberation at the House of Representatives is authored by Rep. Nikki Prieto-Teodoro of the 1st District of Tarlac.

Meanwhile, Child Rights Ambassador of PLAN International Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski expressed support for a law that will protect children. Reacting to a comment that corporal punishment is sometimes brought about by poverty, Ms. Jaworski said, “no amount of poverty is a justification for corporal punishment.”

Wilma Banaga of Save the Children, on the other hand offered positive discipline as an alternative approach to discipline children.

She stressed that positive discipline is a process, takes time and needs family support.

Child Rights Network (CRN) is a network of organizations advocating for the passage of national laws that will protect and fulfill the rights of Filipino children. (PLCPD/PIA)


“100 PERCENT IN ONE DAY“
A nationwide medical, dental, feeding and information gathering mission

MANILA — Two million patients. 100,000 volunteers. 2,000 medical mission sites.

On September 6, 2009, Sunday, more than 100,000 doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, health workers, medical professionals and concerned Filipino citizens from the government and private sector leave the comforts of their home to perform the biggest act of charity in the country, so far.

These Good Samaritans, in a massive display of collective volunteerism, offer their services for free as partners of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in providing medical and dental services to more than two million Filipinos— all in a single day.

Dubbed as the “100 Percent in One Day” project, the PCSO’s nationwide medical, dental and information- gathering mission aims to cover all of the country’s 41,995 barangays.

“This is a first-of-its- kind project in the Philippines that provides fast access to medical and charity care from PCSO and its partners to poor Filipinos all over the country in one day,” explains PCSO General Manager and Vice Chair Rosario Uriarte.

The project is envisioned to be both a celebration of the 75th Anniversary of PCSO, and a window for marginalized Filipinos from all over the country to access medical care and organized charity assistance.

For the medical and dental missions, the PCSO expects to cover 25,197 barangays in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, representing 60 percent of the total number of barangays in the country.

There are more than 2,000 medical mission sites to be set up all over the country on September 6, each site capable of providing service to 1,000 to 1,500 patients.

A medical mission site is manned by four doctors, two dentists, four nurses and one pharmacist. These health professionals are assisted by 30 to 40 volunteers who are in-charge of physical set-up and security.

Aside from general checkups, minor surgeries like the removal of cataracts and lumps, dental services, eye examinations, bone scan and ear check monitor will be available in selected medical mission sites located in government hospitals and rural clinics.

Medicines to be distributed free to patients at the sites include amoxicillin drops, capsules and suspension; metropolol tablets; mefenamic acid, paracetamol drops and tablets; and ascorbic drops, tablets and syrups.

“PCSO has been doing monthly medical and dental missions for several years now,” says Uriarte. “But this is the first time we’ll hold it in large scale in one day, targeting more than two million patients.”

In Metro Manila alone, more than 150,000 beneficiaries are expected to avail of free medical and dental services offered in some 100 mission sites spread throughout the National Capital Region.

The medical sites in Metro Manila are manned by volunteers from the seven Catholic diocese affiliated with Caritas, which mobilized lay leaders and church workers to assist the health professionals in the medical mission sites.

The information- gathering mission, on the other hand, is expected to cover 100 percent of the 41,995 barangays.

Under this component, barangay health workers and residents are encouraged to send to the PCSO through Short Messaging System (SMS) or text message the name and profile of a patient in their community who intends to seek financial assistance from the charity agency.

This would allow the PCSO to maintain a database of prospective beneficiaries whose cases would have to be evaluated to determine who may qualify for the medical assistance.

The feeding missions would be conducted in selected barangays, mostly in depressed areas, in coordination with church-based groups and civic organizations.

The “One Hundred Percent in One Day” project, according to Uriarte, is envisioned to be an annual activity that will serve as a vehicle for spreading the “charity virus,” and make organized and systematic sharing coupled with volunteerism as a way of life for Filipinos. (PIA V Release)


PGMA mourns Ka Erdie’s demise

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo joins the Filipino nation in mourning the passing of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) Executive Minister Erańo (Ka Erdie) G. Manalo Monday afternoon.

President Arroyo likewise extends the condolences and prayers of her family and Cabinet members to Ka Erdy’s son, Deputy Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo, and to all pastoral leaders and members of the INC.

INC, which celebrated its 95th anniversary last July 27, is the larget independent church in Asia.

With a membership of millions, it is politically influential.In a statement, Executive Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Eduardo R. Ermita said “this country and the world have lost yet another great leader in this generation, (one) who has touched the lives of multitudes by his life and his teachings.”

Deputy Spokesperson Anthony Golez, on the other hand, described Ka Erdie a “giant in the social religious and political life of the country.”

He added that the INC’s late leader guided millions of Filipinos on the path of righteousness and attended to social and economic needs of his flock.

Asked if the President, who is currently in Libya, will attend Manalo’s funeral, Golez said the Palace needs to check first on President Arroyo’s schedule when she comes home.

Manalo took over the church upon the death in 1963 of the founder, his father Felix Manalo. Manalo was born on Jan. 2, 1925. He was INC founder Felix Manalo's fifth child. (PIA V Release)

PGMA hopeful stalled talks with CPP-NPA-NDF will resume soon

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed hope that peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) will resume soon.

In her message for the celebration of the National Peace Consciousness Month this September, the President vowed to continue exerting efforts to achieve lasting peace for the Filipinos.

“I welcome the observance of the Peace Month with a happy note regarding the progress of our peace process. Peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are on track while our negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDF have suffered some kinks, which, hopefully, can be ironed out. These are indeed breakthroughs in our determined efforts to achieve a just and enduring peace for all Filipinos,” she said.

“At the same time, we continue to engage stakeholders in the communities through dialogues and collaborative endeavors to ensure that our peace agenda is reflective of the sentiments, aspirations and values of our people,” the Chief Executive added.

Stressing that peace remains a top priority of her administration, the President also called on everyone to support and cooperate so that gains in peace and development could be sustained.

The resumption of the peace talks stalled after the CPP-NPA-NDF demanded the withdrawal of criminal charges against the rebels’ negotiators and consultants.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Avelino Razon Jr. said the government will exhaust all legal means to allow the rebels’ negotiators to attend the scheduled Oslo talks on Sept. 5. (PIA V Release)

RP to train Somali coast guard

MANILA — Economic and cultural relations between the Republic of the Philippines and Somalia may soon include naval and civil service training after leaders of the two nations discussed the possibility of undertaking these types of “institution building” measures to address the occurrence of pirate attacks off the coast of the African nation.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told members of the Filipino Community in Libya that she had met with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at the sidelines of the African Union’s Special Summit on the Settlement of Conflicts in Africa to discuss ways to once and for all rid the region of pirates.

In a pre-departure statement before boarding a chartered flight bound for Tripoli, Libya Monday, the President cited the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Africa, saying this has a direct impact “on our energy security, but more importantly, on the safety and welfare of our overseas Filipinos, including our seafarers.”

According to the President, the occurrence of pirate attacks, specifically off the coast of Somalia at the end of the East African monsoon, has been a source of concern. She expressed confidence, however, that “this is an issue where Africa’s collective efforts to bring stability and order to the affected areas will be crucial.”

“Kanina, nakipag-usap ako sa Pangulo ng Somalia na abala din sa mga teroristang gingugulo ang mga barkong dumadaan sa Suez Canal,” “ Earlier I talked the President of Somalia who was also busy with the terrorista attacking Ships that passes through the Suez Canal,” the President said.

“Isa sa paraan kung papaano sagutin ang problema (of pirate attacks) ay institution building – halimbawa, palakasin ang kanilang civil service at Coast Guard,” “One of the solutions to solve the problem of pirates attacks is institution building. An example this is to strengthen the Civil Service and the Cost Guardshe added.

“Dahil mahalaga ito sa ating mga seafarer, pinag-usapan namin kanina na tutulong ang Pilipinas sa pag-train sa kanila,” “Since this is very vital among our seafarers, we discuses earlier that the Philippines will help in giving them training the President said. (PIA V Release)


Palace assures SSS will be run well whoever sits as its leader

MANILA — Funds managed by the Social Security System (SSS) will be well-protected and managed well, whoever sits as its leader as pensioners’ welfare is the government’s primary concern.

The government assured that any transition in SSS will not adversely affect its funds’ status as this has been secured by the government since the start of the present administration in 2001.

“SSS will not be affected. Whoever sits will only improve SSS,” Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Anthony Golez Jr. said.

While the Ombudsman has recommended the filing of graft charges and the imposition of a six-month suspension against SSS administrator Romulo Neri, Golez said it is unfair to already “float names” on his replacement.

“He’s been very loyal to the President, and he (in turn) enjoys the trust and confidence of the President,” he said.

Neri announced last week that SSS has been able to reverse a potential reduction in revenue, particularly from members’ contribution of the pension fund. Contributions totaled P36.3 billion as of the first half of the year, a 6.5 percent increase from the same period last year, despite some factory shutdowns and retrenchments.

This still outpaced benefit payments amounting to P35.65 billion during the same period. SSS’s investment income also grew in the first half to P11.18 billion, which is higher by 24 percent compared to the targeted investment income for the same period.

During the term of President Arroyo, SSS has been able to reverse a potential depletion of the pension fund through an intensive revenue collection effort and a minimal increase in members’ contribution.

This extended the life of the pension fund. As of 2001, SSS’s pension fund was projected to have a life of just 10-15 years. As of 2007, its life span has doubled to last up to 2038. (PIA V Release)