DPWH closes Pawili Bridge to big vehicles
By Analiza S. Macatangay
PILI, Camarines Sur, Jan. 17 (PIA) -- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) regional office in Bicol has issued anadvisory on January 12 to temporarily bar big vehicles from using the Pawili Bridge in Barangay Pawili in this town, which is in the brink of collapse, to ensure the safety of the motorists and the riding public.
Planning engineers of the DPWH central office recommended closure, following assessment that the bridge is already in its critical stage and is structurally unstable for buses, cargo trucks and similar vehicles.
DPWH officials already designated alternative routes to motorists plying the Naga-Legaspi direction and vice-versa passing through the Pawili brdige.
The agency suggests the Nabua-Balatan road which is a national road and its adjoining area, the Panoypoyan, Bula area which is considered as a provincial road.
The 26-kilometer stretch which starts from Bula town proper until the exit point at Maharlika Highway will mean a one-hour detour to motorists and commuters who have to bear the rough roads in some of the portion of the route.
Another possible route is the four-kilometer course traversing the Himaao-Pawili road belonging to the Penafranacia Sugar Mill.
Punong Baragay Ariel Besmonte of Pawili, Bula said that the said route was also used in 1996 when the said bridge was also being to rehabilitated. This is currently not passable due to the broken spillway that connects the adjoining barangays of Pawili and Himaao.
Preparation of the road as alternate detour will also mean huge expenses on the part of government. The commuters then have no choice but pass through the only passable detour which is through the Nabua-Bula alternate route until the rehabilitation phase is over. (MAL/LSM-PIA5, Camarines Sur)
Climate Change Academy continuously training LGUs, NGOs
By Maya Filipina A. Madroño
LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 17 (PIA) -- Pursuing its objective to educate the country’s local government units and non-government organizations on disaster risk reduction and climate change awareness, Albay Climate Change Academy is now on its eighth batch of trainees from Region 11 or Southern Mindanao.
The DRRM and CCA training started in October 12, 2012 and had already trained many local government units and non-government organizations coming from Regions of Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Northern Mindanao.
The seminar will be held at Albay Climate Change Academy. It will be attended by experts who will serve as the speakers. They will be coming from the partner agencies and organizations of the Academy including those from the Office of Civil Defense, Ateneo School of Government, and Albay Public Safety Office.
Region 11 or Southern Mindanao which is composed of the provinces of Compostela Valley, Davao Del Norte, Davao Del Sur, and Davao Oriental can be regarded as befitting addressees of the said seminar considering the affliction these endured after being hit by typhoon Pablo last December 2012.
The experiences that the trainees have from typhoon Pablo will be reflected on the first day of the seminar since it will focus on understanding disaster risk by looking at past disasters.
A comprehensive lecture will also follow which will be about the kinds of hazards, distinction between disasters related hazards and climate change hazards, identifying early warning signs of disasters and human vulnerability and readiness against disasters.
On the second day, focus will be on the different approaches, principles, and laws regarding disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
They will also take up the rules and studies created by United Nations’ International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) including the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), Global Assessment Report (GAR), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX).
There will also be a briefing about the disaster risk reduction management and climate change laws in the Philippine context. The rules in decentralizing DRR agencies in their respective provinces will also be taken up.
There will be field visit in selected evacuation centers, resettlement areas, flood control areas, and hazard areas on the fourth day of the seminar.
At the end of the seminar, the participants are expected to share the reflections that they gained during the training which can be used to enhance succeeding seminars. (MAL/MAM-BU/PIA5, Albay)
Albay Guv says Oslob butanding promotion abusive, violated ecological standards
By Marlon A. Loterte
LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 14 (PIA) -- Albay Gov. Joey Salceda labelled the promotional campaign recently launched by promoters in Oslob, Cebu as abusive and violated ecological standards putting the whale shark, and the tourism industry, at risk.
Salceda even tagged the act as “eco-terrorism” rather than “eco-tourism” the underwater fashion photo shoots showcasing the gentle giants of the sea being fed and being with international fashion models.
Salceda, who also chairs the Bicol Regional Development Council (RDC) and heads the Almasor (Albay-Masbate-Sorsogon) Tourism Alliance, said in an interview that he would call on the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to take strong and punitive measures against the abusive promotion made by event sponsors and promoters including the models.
The Albay governor said, “this is all very wrong--it is eco-terrorism, not tourism--they should be jailed for animal cruelty.”
Salceda noted that this kind of promotion would send a wrong signal to the rest of the world where the ecological standards - especially in the tourist markets - have heightened, instead of promoting the event.
“Such would instead expose and degrade the entire Philippine eco-tourism industry,” Salceda added.
Tourism, he stressed, is the fastest growing industry and with the most market potential, but with our inability to take care of our nature, including animals, these prospects would come to naught.”
“The promotion only subtracts rather than adds to our attraction in the long term since it shows we do not know how to take care of nature--so travel operators and agencies would expect these eco-tourism destinations to deteriorate eventually,” the environmentalist governor pointed out.
“Let’s put an end to the whale shark abuse by setting up measures that would protect these creatures,” he added.
Salceda also took notice of a report that the low sighting of butanding in the coastal waters of Donsol town in Sorsogon was due to the scarcity of planktons being eaten by whale sharks.
He said the lack of planktons must be scientifically established, but in between December to date and with the report that Oslob is feeding them again, it is so obvious that these gentle creatures might have diverted again.
Domestic and foreign tourists visiting Donsol town for a whale shark interaction recently complained of the scarcity in the sightings of the sea creature. According to reports, of nine whale sharks that attracted hundreds of tourist in last year’s season, only two had been sighted by the end of December last year. (MAL/MSA-PIA5/Albay)
1M seedlings planted in 2012 - DENR
VIRAC, Catanduanes, Jan. 17 (PIA) -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) provincial office here said almost one million seedlings and mangrove propagules were planted in the province of Catanduanes in 2012 in line with the National Greening Program (NGP) of the government.
According to Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) officer-in-charge Joaquin Ed Guerrero, 574,290 timber-fruit trees and ornamental seedlings were planted in 1,160 hectares in the towns of Bato, San Andres, San Miguel, and Virac.
A total of 338,888 mangrove propagules, on the other hand, were planted in 72 hectares of swampland in Panganiban and San Andres towns.
President Benigno S. Aquino III issued Executive Order No. 26 ordering and declaring the implementation of a National Greening Program as a government priority. The target of the program is to plant 1.5 billion trees covering about 1.5 million hectares by 2016.
Aside from being a reforestation initiative, the NGP is also seen as a climate change mitigation strategy as it seeks to enhance the country’s forest stock to absorb carbon dioxide, which is largely blamed for global warming. It is also designed to reduce poverty, providing alternative livelihood activities for marginalized upland and lowland households relating to seedling production and care and maintenance of newly-planted trees.
Catanduanes Mangrove Planters Association, Inc.; Samahang Pangkabuhayan ng Palawig; Mayngaway Upland Farmers Association, Inc.; Buyo Upland Farmers Association, Inc.; Genitligan Upland Farmers Association, Inc. and Samahang Magsasaka sa Maunlad na Lupa ng Progreso in San Miguel, among others, were among participants to the series of tree-planting activities in the province.
Said groups were given P1,000 incentive for every hectare planted which covered site preparation, hauling of seedlings, plantation establishment as well as maintenance and protection which was charged to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) savings of DENR.
CENRO officer-in-charge Luzvimindo Chioco said that the accomplishment for 2012 NGP will be verified by a team of validators from DENR central and regional offices. (MAL/EAB-PIA5, Catanduanes)
CSC now accepting applications for Career Service Exams
By Marlon A. Loterte
LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 17 (PIA) -- The Civil Service Commission (CSC) regional office here has announced that provincial offices of the commission has been accepting application for the career service examinations, both sub-professional and professional, to screen prospective job applicants in government.
CSC information officer Yoyie Jalmanzar said in a radio program “Ugnayan sa Bikol” of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) that the commission will administer the examinations this year in testing centers in this city, Naga City, and Masbate City.
CSC, according to Jalmanzar, will conduct the written examinations this year on April 14 and October 13.
“For the April 14 schedule, applications are being accepted at CSC field offices nationwide until February 28,” reminded Jalmanzar.
CSE are general ability tests designed to measure verbal, analytical, numerical, and clerical skills.
Passing the CSE entitles one to either a Professional or Sub-Professional eligibility which, along with education, experience and training requirements, is needed for permanent appointment to corresponding positions in the government career service.
Jalmanzar explained that the examination is open to Filipino citizens, regardless of educational attainment, who are at least 18 years old at the time of filing of application and who have not taken the same level of examination in less than three months.
However, taking different levels of examination within the said period is allowed.
Jalmanzar furthered that other examinations to be administered for the year include the Foreign Service Officer Examination (FSOE) Qualifying Test and the Fire Officer Examination (FOE) on March 10; the Local Scholarship Program-Modified (LSP) Written Examination and the Penology Officer Examination (POE) on August 11.
The CSC advises interested applicants of the said government examinations to visit the nearest CSC regional and field offices nearest in their areas. (MAL-PIA5, Albay)
BJMP re-assigns district jail personnel in Bicol
By Analiza S. Macatangay
NAGA CITY, Jan. 17 (PIA) ---Fourteen Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel, including chief Jail Superintendent Wilmor T. Plopinio, were discharged of their current functions in the city's district jail and re-assigned to different jail units.
This, after BJMP Special Orders Number 2013-01 from the BJMP 5 took effect last January 7 through a formal turn over ceremony.
Plopinio was assigned as full time administrator of Camarines Sur BJMP while Jail Superintendent Bernardo M. Sanchez was transferred and designated as officer in charge of the district jail of this city. They will be joined by JO1 Marifel Sarte who was formerly assigned at the Tigaon District Jail.
Jail Chief Insp. Dominici G. Batacan was relieved from Tigaon District Jail and re-assigned as officer-in-charge at the Iriga City District Jail.
Jail Officer 1 Rene Zaldy D. Catangui who will be swapping post with Mamatod will be with Batacan as the latter will be re-assigned at the Iriga City District Jail, Camarines Sur BJMP.
Also affected by the reshuffle of personnel are Jail Senior Inspector Michael Richard R. Oliva, formerly assigned in Iriga. He will be transferred at the Tigaon District Jail while Jail Officer III Mamarinta P. Mamatod who was also detailed at the Iriga City District Jail will be relocated at the Pioduran Municipal Jail, Albay BJMP.
At the Regional Office in Legazpi City, Jail Senior Inspector Gerardo B. Yuson was the newly designated Officer-in-Charge of the Operations Division while Jail Sr. Insp. Ave Are was tasked as Officer-In-Charge of the Personnel Record Management (PRM) and Human Resource Divisions (HRD), BJMP Regional Office.
Jail Chief Inspector Alberto Toledo Jr was relieved from the Regional Office V but was re-assigned as OIC at Albay BJMP. He is also the concurrent OIC of Legazpi Jail. Jail Sr. Insp. Danilo Boarao was also designated as Officer-In Charge of the Program Development and Community Relations Service (CRS) Division at BJMP Regional Office V.
The re-shuffle, according to Plopinio, is being done by their bureau in line with their existing policy, especially for personnel who have already spent 2 years in the service. This is also to avoid familiarity between the inmates and the jail officers. (MAL/LSM-PIA5, Camarines Sur)
Albay authorities issue advisory on countermeasure for cold weather
By Marlon A. Loterte
LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 17 (PIA) -- At the onset of cold weather Albay province is presently experiencing, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) and Provincial Health Office (PHO) both issued Wednesday a bulletin on precautionary measures to avoid cold diseases and other injuries.
Albay Governor Joey Salceda, chair of the PDRRMC, said the bulletin recommends countermeasures to avoid diseases or injuries that may result in lowering of body’s core temperature or mal-adaptation to cold weather.
Salceda noted that cold-weather injuries may affect health due to decreased temperatures, carbon monoxide poisoning, and accidents due to impaired physical and mental function resulting from cold stress.
Pagasa recorded that Albay, along with some areas in the country, has been having cold temperature of 20.4 degrees Celsius these days and more head.
In said bulletin, residents are advised to keep warm and wear clothing the likes of jackets, sweaters, socks, hats and scarves or knit masks to cover the face and the mouth; long-sleeves that are up to the wrist; mittens and water-resistant coats and shoes.
“Also, one should avoid going outside if it is raining. If one becomes soaked, it will be colder and will further reduce the body temperature. Keep house closed to preserve warm room temperature," the advisory stated.
When going outside, layer with loose-fitting clothing, turn off air conditioning units and stock food, water and other household and personal necessities to minimize outside movements, it added.
The advisory also recommends giving special care and attention to babies and elderly.
"Overall, use thick clothing to keep their body warm. Infants lose body heat more easily than adults; additionally, infants can't make enough body heat by shivering," it added.
It furthered that infants less than one year old should never sleep in a cold room. "They should be provided with warm clothing and a blanket, at the same time maintaining a warm indoor temperature."
“In an emergency, keep an infant warm using a young adult’s body heat. Older adults often make less body heat because of a slower metabolism and less physical activity. If you are more than 65 years of age, check the temperature in your home often during severely cold weather,” the advisory said.
The bulletin also advised the public to check on elderly friends and neighbors frequently to ensure that their homes are adequately heated.
Another precautionary measure is to eat hot foods, especially soups, citing that eating well-balanced meals will help you stay warmer. Avoid liquor as they cause your body to lose heat more rapidly. Instead, drink warm, sweet beverages such as hot chocolate to help maintain your body temperature. If you have any dietary restrictions, ask your doctor.
Other measures are to cover one’s nose and mouth while coughing or sneezing; in case one develops fever, seek consultation immediately; hospitals should prepare for the admission of victims of hypothermia and increased incidence of cold weather-related diseases; and the public is advised to take precaution as the use of firewood or charcoal fires for heating and cooking within an enclosed dwelling is extremely dangerous due to carbon monoxide poisoning and it may cause fire. (MAL-PIA5, Albay)
CSC-5 calls on Bicolanos to submit nominees to 2013 Honor Awards Program
By Sally A. Atento
LEGAZPI CITY, Jan 17 (PIA) -- The Civil Service Commission (CSC) regional office here called anew on government employees and officials, including the private sector, to nominate outstanding individuals to this year’s Honor Awards Program.
Yoyie Jalmanzar, CSC information officer, said the CSC is currently conducting information dissemination drives to encourage more nominees in the region particularly barangay officials and employees.
“We need the help of residents of Bicol to aid us recognize government workers with exemplary performance who are often left unnoticed,” Jalmanzar said.
The Honor Awards Program is open to government officials and employees, individual or group, under two categories. These are awards for outstanding work performance and award for exemplary conduct and ethical behavior.
Under the first category is the Presidential or Lingkod Bayan award given in recognition of the nationwide impact on public interest, security and patrimony of one’s exceptional or extraordinary contribution. It also includes the CSC Pagasa Award for outstanding contribution that directly benefit more than one department of the government.
DILG Sec Jesse Robredo, the Bicolano champion for good governance, was among the Lingkod Bayan awardees in 2012. It was posthumously conferred by President Benigno Aquino III at the Malacanang Palace.
The Outstanding Public Officials and Employees Award or Dangal ng Bayan on the other hand is given for extraordinary act of public service and consistent exemplary ethical behavior. The basis of which are the eight norms of behavior provided under Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Jalmanzar further assured nominees of technical assistance from the CSC to help them in the packaging of needed write-ups and documentation.
Awardees for Lingkod Bayan and Dangal ng Bayan categories will receive P200, 000 cash and other forms of incentives while Pagasa awardees will have P100,000 cash reward.
“Added incentives might be given for this year’s awardees,” Jalmanzar said.
Deadline for submission of nominations is on March 29, 2013. (MAL/SAA-PIA5, Albay)
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