Senator on PNoy visit to MILF camp: ‘bold, historic’

By Marlon A. Loterte

LEGAZPI CITY, Feb. 14 (PIA) -- A legislator praised President Benigno Aquino III who, he said, made history by visiting a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camp in Sultan Kudarat on Monday, Feb. 11, manifesting his commitment to the peace process in Mindanao.

President Aquino was at the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute compound in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao and led the launch of the socio-economic initiative called Sajahatra Bangsamoro in preparation for the creation of the autonomous region spelled out in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

“He is making history, it’s bold, it’s courageous, and I salute him for it,” Senator Francis Escudero said of the President’s effort to reach out to the MILF.

“It is part, I believe, of confidence building measures that are necessary to make the framework agreement work and achieve lasting peace in Mindanao,” Escudero said.

Sajahatra Bangsamoro is an initiative aimed at uplifting the health, education, and livelihood conditions of MILF communities to pave the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity that was agreed on between government and the MILF.

Escudero said President Aquino's gesture to personally tackle and find solutions to the peace problem in Mindanao is a grand and magnanimous act coming from the highest leader of the land.

Included in the program are provisions of health insurance by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), upgrading of community-based health services by the Department of Health (DOH): awarding of of college scholarships and technical-vocational training by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), respectively.

Educational assistance will also be provided to madaris (Islamic schools) and private schools by the Department of Education.

Needs assessment of selected Bangsamoro communities and the Cash for Work Program, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, will also be initiated, Almendras said. (MAL-PIA5/Office of Sen. Escudero)



NSO calls on Bicolanos to support Agriculture, Fisheries Census

By Sally A. Atento

LEGAZPI CITY, Feb. 14 (PIA) -- The National Statistics Office in Region 5 (NSO-5) is calling on its respondents in the region to support the 2012 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries to be conducted on February 25 until May this year.

NSO 5 regional director Cynthia Perdiz said the survey will be conducted simultaneous in other areas in the country to gather authentic and timely data from the agriculture and fisheries sector. The collected data will then be used by government to formulate policies and implement programs to boost agriculture and fisheries in the country.

Perdiz said registered NSO enumerators will visit households on February to April and agriculture and fisheries enterprises on April to May 2013.

For agriculture, the information to be gathered are on operator/hired manager, physical area of the holding, tenure status, land utilization, irrigation facility, crops planted, and livestock and poultry raised.

For aqua farms, enumerators will be collecting data on the type, location, and size of aqua farm and the species cultured.

For fisheries, to be collected are data on characteristics of fishing operators, category of fishing operation, tonnage of fishing boats/vessels used, and kind and number of fishing gears.

Interviews of key informants including the punong barangays and other barangay officials will also be conducted by the enumerators aside from household and enterprise visits.

NSO has assured the respondents that the information given in response to the census will not be used against them as assured by Section 4 of Commonwealth Act No. 591. (MAL/SAA-PIA5, Albay)