Salceda named 2013 Presidential Lingkod Bayan awardee

LEGAZPI CITY, Oct. 10 (PIA) -- The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has declared Albay governor Joey Salceda as the 2013 Presidential Lingkod Bayan awardee this year besting the other 16 semi-finalists selected out of 97 qualified nominations all over the country.

CSC Chairman Francisco T Duque recently made the announcement in a letter addressed to Salceda congraulating the latter for being chosen as the 2013 Presidential Lingkod Bayan Awardee!”

Salceda in response said: “It is my honor to serve the people of Albay, and to be chosen as Presidential Lingkod Bayan Awardee for 2013, after six years, I thank the CSC and His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III for this recognition.”

Previous recepients of the award include Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Jesse Robredo, Batangas governor Vilma Santos-Recto and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Renato Solidum Jr.

The province of Albay has reaped many recognitions and awards under Salceda.

Such honor includes the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Award conferred by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to Albay last March for exemplary performance in administrative, social, economic and environmental governance.

The province also received the much coveted Galing Pook Award, recognition for innovative approaches in local governance from the United Nations Development Program and another from a Dutch development agency.

With intensified tourism programs and advocacies for the province, Albay ranked 7th among the fastest growing tourist destination in the country.

Salceda initiated disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programs for local government units

He is currently the board director of the Green Climate Fund representing Southeast Asia and developing countries.

He was also acclaimed Senior Global Champion with the province declared the global model for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation by the United Nations.

The Lingkod Bayan Award is given to an individual or group in recognition of the recipient’s exceptional performance and extraordinary contributions to public welfare, resulting from an idea or performance that had nationwide impact on public interest, security and patrimony. (MAL/SAA/PIA5-Albay)

Passengers, vessels stranded in Bicol ports as Santi accelerates

LEGAZPI CITY, Oct 10 (PIA) – Hundreds of passengers are stranded in the ports of Albay and Catanduanes in the Bicol region today due to tropical storm Santi.

The Philippine Coastguard (PCG) in the Bicol region reported that as of 2:00 this afternoon a total of 420 passengers are stranded. 408 of which are in the port of Tabaco Albay and 12 are in San Andres and Virac Catanduanes.

The report said 18 trucks, four light vehicles, three buses and six vessels are stranded in Tabaco Port while two trucks and two vessels are in Catanduanes.

The PCG is closely monitoring and rendering assistance for the security and safety of passengers and vessels.

Guidelines on movement of vessels during heavy weather and procedures on alert and response procedures are likewise strictly implemented in the region.

PCG added teams are on standby and ready for deployment upon signal.

Catanduanes, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte are currently under public storm signal #1 said Pagasa. (MAL/SAA/PIA5-Albay)

Volunteers trained, 45 barangays receive first aid kit from Red Cross

VIRAC, Catanduanes, Oct. 10 (PIA) – A total of 45 barangays here will receive first aid kits from the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Catanduanes chapter after completing three-day training to on emergency response.

According to Reymond Reginaldo, the training conducted by PRC on first aid aimed at enhancing the community’s capacity to respond to emergencies.

The Red Cross board of directors, led by chairman Gabriel Tejerero, turned over the kits containd in a backpack during a brief ceremony at the PRC Catanduanes chapter headquarters here in time for the chapter’s celebration of the World First Aid Day.

A total of 28 barangays of Virac, Bato (16) and San Miguel (1) received the kit can be used for treatment of fifteen (15) injuries.

On September 26,barangays Lanao, Sto. Nino, Marcelo Alberto, Salvacion, Francia, Capilihan, Antipolo del Sur, Pajo Baguio, Antipolo del Norte, Talisoy, Rawis, Sogod Tibgao, Palta Small, Sto. Domingo, Calabnigan, Hawan Ilaya, Calampong, Magnesia del Norte, Buenavista, Simamla, Tubaon and Calatagan Proper, all in Virac; Aroyao Pequeno, Cabugao, Banawang, Ilawod Poblacion, Cagraray, San Pedro, San Roque and Mintay in Bato; and, District III in San Miguel initially received similar emergency response kits.

Five volunteers for each barangay underwent the First Aid in the Community and Basic Life Support Adult CPR training composed of lectures and skills demonstration.

The recipient barangays are covered by the PRC Project 143 which is a network of trained volunteers who provide information to the public and who are willing to respond in case of emergencies. (MAL/EAB-PIA5/PIA Catanduanes)

CSC revises rules to facilitate early release of claims, benefits of retired state workers

BY: SALLY A. ATENTO

LEGAZPI CITY, Oct. 9 (PIA) – Retiring government employees need not secure clearances of No Pending Administrative Case (NPAC) from their agency, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Office of the Ombudsman.

The new policy that would definitely ease the burden of retiring government workers was specified in the resolution recently issued by the CSC amending the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 10154  also known as An Act Requiring All Concerned Government Agencies to Ensure the Early Release of the Retirement Pay, Pensions, Gratuities, and other Benefits of Retiring Government employees.

Lyn Niebla, CSC Bicol information officer, said in the Ugnayan sa Bikol radio program of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) here that this amended section of the IRR requires the retiring employees with a pending case to merely execute a statement under oath.

“In the event that the employee has a pending case, he/she shall disclose its nature and status,” Niebla said.

A notary public or any administering officer of the employer-agency designated by the head of the agency may administer the oath. The form for the Declaration of Pendency/Non Pendency of Case shall be used by the employee.

However, Niebla said this was found problematic by CSC chairman Francisco T. Duque III.

“We are serving a thousand clients each day. Retiring employees individually lilne up at the CSC to request for their clearances as part of the requirement for retirement. We want to resolve this given the physical and financial limitations of the retiring employee, as well as manpower limitations of CSC,” Niebla quoted Duque.

For the month of September this year, the records section of the CSC office for legal affairs received 14,000 clearance requests.

Niebla added the CSC as the human resource institution of the bureaucracy is committed to a responsive, accessible, courteous, and effective public service aiming to provide convenient retirement to retiring civil servants which the IRR will make possible.

Before the release of the IRR, retiring employees are required to secure a clearance of pendency or non-pendency of administrative cases from his employer-agency, the CSC, office of the Ombudsman and Office of the President for presidential appointees.

The amendment is also now in effect, according to Niebla. (MAL/SAA/PIA5-Albay)

Calabanga's disaster preparedness practices now replicated in Camarines Sur towns

BY: ANA-LIZA S. MACATANGAY

NAGA CITY, Oct. 9 (PIA)--- The successful implementation of eco-based disaster risk reduction project Calabanga town in Camarines Sur has been now being replicated in the neighboring municipalities of Magarao, Bombon and Magarao while others located along the Bicol River Basin are also mulling to adopt the same measures.

Calabanga has successfully projected the effective practice of disaster risk reduction by pursuing an eco-based approach through propagation of the mangrove plantation in Barangay Pagao, this town.to lessen the harsh impact of catastrophes besetting their villages and disaster prone coastal barangays,

CARE Netherlands representative and DRR advisor Celso Dulce Jr. said that the effective practice of risk reduction has attracted other local government units to share the same goal regardless of their political affiliations and come up with a unified effort to provide their community with ample protection from disasters.

This was also the positive remarks aired by European Union Head of Delegation Guy Ledoux after visiting Calabanga last week to check on the status of the implementation of the Scale-up, Build-up (SUBU) project being implemented by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid  (ECHO) through its disaster preparedness ECHO (DIPECHO).

DIPECHO, which started in 1996, aims at improving the capacities of at-risk communities to prepare for and shield themselves from natural disasters.  Calabanga was one of its recipients in its SUBU project which aims to strengthen local alliances and enjoin them to work together to create a bigger leap in combatting the ill effects of disaster.

Ledoux complimented the local government unit and members of the community for recently incorporating disaster risk reduction in the municipality’s comprehensive development plan.

“I would also like to commend our local leaders for ensuring that disaster risk reduction programming has survived the leadership change occasioned by the recent elections,” Ledoux added.

The town of Calabanga is now being headed by newly-elected mayor Eduardo Severo after former Mayor Evelyn Yu finished her term last May elections.

Mayor Eduardo Severo is also thankful that the European Union has continued to give its support to their town by ensuring that the project is properly implemented and by providing their people with necessary trainings to sustain the needs and demands of the program.

“With support from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department since 2007, the time when the Disaster Risk Reduction project also started in Calabanga, we expanded coverage to a few coastal barangays and by 2011, we have already covered some upland barangays after realizing that the lowland is affected by problems besetting the upland area,” Severo added.

After the project ended in 2011, a Food Facility project , which complimented the DRR project was implemented from 2009 until 2011.  A Php24M budget was allocated by EU for the said purpose.

EU  is happy to note that their efforts were not wasted. Calabanga is currently serving as mentor-LGU to the municipalities of Canaman, Bombon and Magarao.  Other LGUs who expressed their intent to adopt the same mechanism include the towns of Camaligan, Minalabac, Milaor, San Fernando and Tinambac- all shared a history of severe typhoon damages, landslide and flooding. (MAL/LSM-PIA5/Camarines Sur)