RARE WETLAND BIRD SIGHTED IN CABUSAO WETLAND
…presence attributed to available food source

CABUSAO, Camarines Sur — Two whimbrels, wetland migratory birds often seen in Olango Island in Cebu, were recently found by a team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Cabusao wetland here.

The team, headed by Senior Ecosystems Management Specialist Myrna Baylon, was surprised to find whimbrels in the area because they were not seen in the past monitoring activities.

Regional Executive Director Joselin Marcus Fragada of DENR Bicol has commissioned the team in conducting the Annual Waterbird Census in the region, in concurrence with similar counts conducted across the county and coordinated around the world.

During migration and in their winter diet, whimbrels are known to feed on fiddler crabs and shore worms, which Baylon noted thrive in Cabusao wetland adding that might have attracted the said bird specie.

Fiddler crabs are considered as an important food during winter, and the shape of the whimbrel's bill matches the curve of the crab's burrow.

This development is essential to DENR Bicol to analyze and substantiate as it submits input to the 2010 Asian Waterbird Census Report.

To bird conservationists the data would help identify and protect important migration stopover to ultimately protect the birds and their habitats.

The Sangguniang Bayan here, meanwhile, has issued a resolution declaring part of the San Miguel Bay area as critical habitat owed to its being a roosting (perch area on which birds, esp. domestic fowls, can rest or sleep) and feeding ground of thousands of migratory birds, ducks including other shore and water birds.

Cabusao is in fact the roosting and feeding ground of Anas luzonica, a vulnerable wild duck found only in the Philippines.

Estimated number of wild duck found during the monitoring activity was estimated at 2,500; mallard duck at 1,300; common sand piper 850; and Kentish plover 550. Other wetland bird species found include: little ring plover, Northern shoveller; terek sand piper; little egret; and gray heron.

The 27-hectare wetland area in Cabusao hosts some 20 species of birds, 17 mangrove species, 11 grass, among other species, a recent DENR Bicol assessment report stated. A DENR Bicol team determined the bird species and its population over a period of active migration.

With the passing of said resolution both the DENR Bicol and local government here have achieved the goal of establishing the said site as a critical habitat, Fragada remarked. (RLMendones, DENR V/PIA)

BIR IMPOSES 5 PERCENT TAX ON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES

DAET, Camarines Norte — The Revenue District Office (64) here has reminded local candidates for the May 10 Elections to comply with the 5% withholding tax in accordance with the Oplan: “Iboto Mo Kandidato, Nagbabayad ng Buwis na Wasto” of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Marcelino M. Quito, Camarines Norte BIR chief, bared that the bureau has already reiterated to all the candidates in the local level, including those vying for congress, governor, board members, mayors, vice mayors and councilors, on their obligation for the payment of 5% withholding tax.

Quito said that the directive is based on the Revenue Regulation 8-2009, stating that candidates have the civic duty of assisting in nation building which can be attained with them being involved in complying with their obligations.

He stressed that these regulations are promulgated to ensure that the purchases of goods and services for the campaign and election activities of the candidates and their contributors and supporters shall be subject to withholding tax.

He explained that subject to 5% withholding tax are services and campaign materials expenses like flyers, tarpaulins, brochures, primers, among others. (RBManlangit, PIA CamNorte)

LTO IN BICOL LAUNCHES CITIZEN’S CHARTER

LEGAZPI CITY — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Bicol has launched Thursday (February 4) its Citizen’s Charter and Road Safety Program in an effort to improve the efficiency in the delivery of its services to the public.

LTO chief Arturo Lomibao, during the formal lunching of the program held at the Concourse Convention Hall on Wednesday, said the Citizen’s Charter will be implemented to address the bureaucratic red tape, eliminate graft and corruption and streamline its services to serve the public promptly and effectively.

Overall, "this is for the satisfaction of our clients and this charter means we must ensure utmost customer satisfaction," Lomibao said.

Atty. Ramon Roco, LTO Bicol chief, said that the Citizen’s Charter is in adherence to the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.

Roco said the processing of the transactions in their office will now be done promptly with the new and effective system through the Citizen’s Charter.

“The flow of transactions will be posted so that the people will make aware of the step-by-step procedures. Through this, they would no longer ask for fixers,” he said.

Roco said the Citizen’s Charter also provides a corresponding feedback mechanism and uniformity in all government transactions, thus eliminating graft and corruption, red tape, and serves as a venue for complaints and suggestions.

"We will also be putting up complaint and action center," he said.

As to the road safety program, Roco said it was launched to minimize the road accidents.

According to the LTO, around 41 persons are killed daily due to road accidents.
The program aims to provide information to the motorists the road safety measures such as the use of seat belt and helmet, he added. (NIMediavillo, RNB/MALoterte, PIA V)

DENR DISTRIBUTES 4,562 FREE PATENTS

LEGAZPI CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Bicol distributed 4,562 free patents to farmer beneficiaries in the region last year under its Handog Titulo program.

DENR Regional Executive Director Joselin Marcus Fragada said the distribution of free patents, covering 5,342 hectares of alienable and disposable lands classified as agricultural, residential and commercial, was in support to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

DENR, through its Land Management Service (LMS), regularly conducts cadastral and public survey of lands of the public domain also in support to the titling component of the CARP, Fragada added.
He said that aside from the issuance of patents/title to alienable and disposable lands, three other major activities were conducted by the DENR in Calendar Year 2009.

These include: Identification, processing and preparation of draft proclamation on lots for school sites; identification of lots suitable for socialized housing; and disposition or resolution of land claims and conflicts cases.

The agency also inspected, verified and approved 8,435 lots with a total area of 3,962.7405 hectares under regular fund and 12,223.7909 hectares equivalent to 7,871 lots under CARP funds.

Fragada said his agency is mandated to verify, synchronize and regulate all surveys of the public domain in order to accelerate the adjudication of lands for the purpose of achieving tenurial security, landownership equity, improvement of standard of living and stimulation of land market activities in consonance with the principle of sustainable development.

DENR has processed 198 foreshore lease/contracts/permit applications for the use/occupation and management of foreshore areas.

It has encoded 9,824 land records, consisting of survey maps, plans, lot data computation and public land applications to serve the needs of its clientele regarding accurate, fast information and references on the status of public land application, survey matters and issuance of survey maps and plans.

The agency has established 105 control points through its Field Network Survey Party which is tasked to intensify 3rd and 4th order geodetic control points (mojons) to serve as basis in all surveying activities. (DENR V/PIA)

CONTRACEPTIVE PREVALENCE COULD INCREASE
IF ALL FAMILY PLANNING NEED WERE SATISFIED
… 2008 National Demographic and Heath Survey

Seven in ten married women (73 percent) could be using a family planning method if all family planning need were satisfied, according to the results of the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).

The survey reveals that 51 percent of married women are using a family planning method or have a met need for family planning.

Those with unmet need for family planning comprise 22 percent; 13 percent for limiting births and 9 percent for spacing births. Thus, overall, 73 percent of currently married women have a total demand for family planning.

Unmet need for family planning has increased in five years. In the 2003 NDHS, 17 percent of married women had an unmet need for family planning; 9 percent for limiting births ad 8 percent for spacing births. The met need for family planning or the proportion of married women using a family planning method in 2003 was 49 percent.

The 2008 NDHS results indicate that unmet need for family planning decreases with education, wealth, and age.

For example, 29 percent of women with no education have unmet need for family planning compared with 20 percent for women with college education or higher. Twenty-eight percent of women in poorest households (lowest wealth quintile) as compared to around 20 percent of those in wealthiest households (fourth and highest wealth quintiles) have unmet need for family planning.

The percentage of women aged 15-19 with unmet need for family planning (36 percent) is twice that of women aged 45-49 (18 percent).

Unmet need for family planning also varies by region. It is highest in ARMM (33 percent) and Bicol (32 percent) and lowest in Davao Peninsula (15 percent) and Cordillera Administrative Region (17 percent).

The 2008 NDHS is a nationally representative survey of almost 14,000 households and 14,000 women 15-49, conducted from August 7 to September 27, 2008. The 2008 NDHS is the 9th in a series of demographic surveys undertaken by the National Statistics Office (NSO) at five-year intervals since 1968.

Other major findings of the 2008 NDHS will be presented in a data dissemination forum on January 4, 2010. The final report on the survey findings will be distributed in the forum. (NSO V/PIA)

WWII VETERANS HAVE UNTIL FEB. 16, 2010 TO APPLY FOR ONE-TIME BENEFIT

All claims from Filipino WWII veterans for benefits created by the 2009 Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 must be received by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) by February 16, 2010.

These one-time payments were made available when the ARRA was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Obama in February 2009 to recognize the service of qualified veterans.

The one-time benefits are available to eligible veterans and widows of eligible veterans who applied before their death. Any change in the law to provide these additional benefits to other survivors would require new legislation in the U.S. Congress. Every application is handled expeditiously so that qualified veterans receive their payments as quickly as possible.

As of December 29, USDVA has approved the applications of more than 11,300 eligible Filipino WWII veterans or their widows; these qualified veterans and widows have been paid a total of nearly P6.4 billion. Approximately half of the nearly P6.4 billion in one-time benefits paid out so far has gone to Filipino WWII veterans with American citizenship, and the other half to non-U.S. citizen Filipino WW II veterans.

Individuals unsure of their eligibility are encouraged to apply by the deadline regardless of whether they can submit full and complete military service documentation. All that is needed is the signed application form. If further military or other documentation is needed, USDVA will make arrangements to obtain the necessary documents or USDVA will write the claimant advising them of the additional information needed.

There is no “master list” of eligible veterans for this new, one-time benefit. Each claim is unique and decided on its own merits. All veterans who feel they may be eligible are encouraged to apply immediately. The application process is free and simple, and there is no need to pay anyone to assist in completing the form, which can be mailed to the U.S. Embassy.

If sending the application by mail, veterans are encouraged to send the application early enough to ensure its receipt by USDVA by the February 16, 2010 deadline. Simply mailing the application by the deadline is not sufficient. It must be received by USDVA by the deadline.

Veterans can also submit their application in person to the USDVA offices at the US Embassy. Veterans can call USDVA at (632) 528-2500 or toll free outside Metro Manila at 1-800-1888-5252 for more information about this option. No appointments are necessary to file an initial application for this new benefit.

Veterans who have already applied for this one-time benefit will receive an acknowledgement receipt from USDVA. There is no need to submit multiple applications, nor any need to obtain additional military service information unless requested by USDVA.

USDVA will have a team of representatives standing by to take Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation claims at the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) at Camp Aguinaldo from Monday February 8, 2010 through the February 16, 2010 filing deadline.

USDVA staff will be available from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm at PVAO on those days. No appointment necessary.

USDVA's offices at the U.S. Embassy will be open to the public from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm to take Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation claims on Monday, February 15, 2010. No appointment necessary.

The remainder of the U.S. Embassy will be closed that day for a U.S. Holiday, President's Day.

USDVA will also have representatives standing by to take phone calls about the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation benefit on Monday February 15, 2010.

VA telephone representatives will be available from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm and can be reached by calling 528-2500 within Metro Manila or toll free at 1-800-1888-5252 outside Metro Manila.

VA Assistant Director Rick Johnson will lead a USDVA Outreach Team to Davao City on February 11, 2010 to accept Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation claims from Veterans in that region, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Rizal Park, in front of the City Hall of Davao City.

Application instructions for the one-time benefits are on the U.S. Embassy website: http://manila.usembassy.gov. (Public Affairs Section, US Embassy/PIA)

PGMA TO CONTINUE LEGACY TOUR

MANILA — The Cyber Corridor is just the beginning. The tour of the administration’s “legacy projects” will continue in the coming weeks, with Tourism Central Philippines next in the agenda.
In a press briefing in Malacanang Friday (February 5), Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Gary Olivar told reporters the “legacy communication campaign has been making headway.”

On Monday, the President embarked on the Cyber Corridor tour with Angeles University Foundation constituting the first leg of the week-long journey.

The Cyber Corridor hosts ICT (information and communications technology) and BPO (business process outsourcing) from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao.

Initially confined to Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, the digital infrastructure has since grown to include cities and capital towns all over the country. Likewise, from a mere $24 million in 2001, the ICT and BPO sector has brought in $7.3 billion in revenues last year.

“It is a continuing task, and not an easy one, but we have to inform the people of what has been done,” Olivar said.

The project, Olivar stressed, is not meant to make the President popular. He added it is a simple initiative to inform the people of the achievements made under the economic development plan.

In her 2006 State of the Nation Address, President Arroyo announced the creation of five Super Regions. Apart from the Cyber Corridor, the other four are Agribusiness Mindanao, Tourism Central Philippines, North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, and Luzon Urban Beltway.

The President, in that address, noted the importance of grouping selected regions and provinces by their economic strengths to stimulate economic growth and development so that the Philippines can keep up with its Asian neighbors. (PIA V Release)

PGMA LAUDS VOC-TECH AS JOB CREATORS

MANILA — Vocational and technical education is what the country needs to find its rightful place in the modern world.

In a speech delivered before students and faculty of Don Honorio Lopez Institute of Technical Institute (formerly Sentro ng Karunungan Vocational Institute) in Tayuman, Tondo, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said skills training is an indispensable tool to guide the country to the future.

“This school, by helping young and not-so-young students acquire vocational training, prepares them for the challenges,” the President said of the institute.

The President earlier toured the institute’s new three-story annex, where classes in fashion jewelry making, cosmetology, hair science, reflexology, hotel and restaurant management, food trade, baking, cell phone repair and maintenance, and computer repair were held.

“It is my honor to tell you that 1,000 of the students here are scholars of PGS (President Gloria Scholarships) in food and beverage, barista, hair cutting, massage, motorcycle repair, carpentry, plumbing masonry, welding, and coming soon culinary arts,” she said.

Since the President assumed office in 2001, the national budget for education has doubled, to almost P200 billion. Investments in technical and skills training during the last nine years have approximated the combined spending of the three previous administrations.

“We did not just improve the public school system, we have also increased the number of poor but deserving students in the private school system through the government scholarship programs,” the President said. “In science and engineering, we have provided college and post graduate education to over 600,000 scholars.”

As a result of these investments, the national achievement test scores went up from 44 percent to 55 percent in elementary schools and 36 percent to 47 percent in high schools in the last four years. (PIA V Release)

NEXT GOV’T SHOULD BUILD ON PGMA’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS -- Palace

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has made the Philippines a global powerhouse in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, and the next administration should build on this accomplishment.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Gary Olivar and Director Dennis Arroyo of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) made the observation at a media briefing Friday morning (February 5) in Malacanang.

“From a virtual non-entity in 2001,” Olivar said, “the President has lifted the BPO sector to the status of a sunshine industry that generated last year $7.3 billion in revenue, or about 4 to 5 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”

The BPO industry, Olivar added, insulated the country from the global economic downturn by generating close to half a million jobs in 2009. In 2001, he noted, the fledgling industry only 2,000 workers.

For his part, Arroyo said the government expects the industry to generate some $13 billion revenue by 2011. He added that by 2020, the amount could go up to as much as $100 billion in a global industry of $500 billion, or about 1/5 of the market share.

If the next administration does the right thing, the Philippines could become number one in the industry, considering the telecommunications and digital infrastructure already in place and the high demand for the English-proficient, highly-skilled, and easily trainable Filipino workforce.

With a population of 90 million, the Philippines is next only to India’s one billion population as the world’s top BPO outsourcing destination.

The two officials said the country’s $7.3 billion BPO revenue last year is just behind India’s $9 billion earnings.

Arroyo called on Congress to pass the pending bill creating a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), which will institutionalize the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), which now oversees the country’s digital infrastructure.

The NEDA chief said the next government should likewise continue the President’s educational thrust. He pointed out that right now more than 5,000 public high schools have been given computers, with 4,000 of them connected to the Internet.

During the briefing, Arroyo disclosed a plan by PLDT to use the Meralco power posts for broadband connections.

According to Arroyo, this will further spur growth of the ICT and BPO sector, especially in the fields of legal and medical transciptions, animation and 3D design, and software development. (PIA V Release)

PALACE TELLS SEN. LACSON: SUBMIT YOURSELF TO COURT’S JURISDICTION

MANILA — Being a legislator, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson should abide by the law and submit himself to the court’s jurisdiction.

Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Charito Planas made the observation after Judge Myra Garcia Fernandez of the Manila Regional Trial Court issued an arrest warrant Friday afternoon (February 5) against the senator in connection with the abduction and murder of Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver, Emanuel Corbito, ten years ago.

“Well, Senator, you know of the warrant of arrest,” said Planas, who is a lawyer. “Abide by the law and set an example, as a lawmaker yourself.”

The deputy spokesperson reiterated that the Palace has nothing to do with the issuance of the arrest warrant. She added that the current administration has always observed and followed the Constitution, especially with regards to the separation of powers in the three branches of government.

Lacson, who has been out of the country since early January, is now a fugitive from justice. (PIA V Release)

PGMA VOWS TO SIGN EXPANDED SENIOR CITIZENS ACT

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday (February 4) promised to sign the Expanded Senior Citizens Act with all its provisions intact.

“I will certainly not veto it,” the President told reporters after her visit to the Qualfon Quality Contact Services here this afternoon.

The proposed law exempts senior citizens from the value added tax. It thus gives them the full 20-percent discount when purchasing medicines and other consumer services. Under the law currently in force they get to enjoy only an 8 percent discount because of the imposition of the 12 percent VAT.

Already ratified by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the bill also entitles indigent or non-pensioner senior citizens to a monthly pension of P500; free medical insurance and disability assistance through PhilHealth, including free anti-flu and anti-pneumonia vaccines; and a P2,000 burial assistance.

The discount also applies in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments; cinemas, theaters and other places of culture, leisure and amusement; and funeral homes. (PIA V Release)