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iSIQUIJOR Information is our business.

THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY - SIQUIJOR | WWW.PIA.GOV.PH and the DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - SIQUIJOR | WWW.DOST.GOV.PH VOL. 3 | NO. 26 July 22-31 2015

Model A Negosyo Center now in Siquijor

by Rizalie Anding Calibo

SIQUIJOR (PIA) --- The Model A “Negosyo Center”, the first in the province, is now open at the Department of Trade (DTI) building in Siquijor, Siquijor.

Blessing and launching was done last week with DTI 7 Regional Director Aster Caberte, local officials heads of national government agencies, Micro Small and Mediul Enterprises (MSMEs), financial institutions, members of the provincial micro small and Medium enterprises

development council (MSMEDC) and Senator ‘Bam’ Aquino’s representative, M o n a Ya p , g r a c i n g t h e a f f a i r.

Caberte, in a message, said Region 7 is committed to mount Model A Negosyo Centers and urged provincial DTI offices and the local government units (LGUs) to work on it.

“We hope to have more but the initiative shouldn’t be coming from the DTI alone. We are looking for partners from the LGUs,” said Caberte while pushing DTI to draw inspiration from

Blessing and launching of Model A Negosyo Center at the DTI Office, Siquijor, SIquijor.

their clients and LGUs to be their future partners in the mounting of more Negosyo Centers throughout the province.

She said the Go Negosyo Act is empowering partners—SMEDCs, LGUs and other private sector partners—to come up with a purposive MSME development that “for the longest time was never felt.”

She said this as she cited the World Bank report that says Philippines will be a survivor next year because of strong macro-economic factors that this administration has placed.

Negosyo Centers establishment is an offshoot of RA 10644 or “An act Promoting Job Generation and Inclusive Growth through the Development of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs),” authored by Senator Aquino.

It was signed into law by President Benigno S. Aquino III on July 15 2014 and took effect on January 13, 2015.

It aims to bring government services closer to small businesses, further boost assistance for MSMES to grow and flourish, and to intensify the promotion of entrepreneurship in the country.

“Naniniwala po si Senator Bam na ang hinahanap ng ating malilit na negosyante ay mga taong puede nilang kausapin, puedeng hingan ng tulong at advise sa kanilang arawaraw ng pakikipagsapalaran,” Yap said.

She said that Siquijor province is part of the top 100 Negosyo Center targeted this year which plays an important role in making their vision a reality and that proves that the province can help small businesses grow.

“There’s a really big potential for Siquijor to grow as an economy and to contribute to the whole economy of the Philippines,” said Yap.

She hoped that as the economy of Siquijor continues to grow micro-enterprises grow with it.

Negosyo Center, she explained, is a one-stop shop that brings together the existing and more services of the DTI and LGUs that provide three main services: business registration, business advisory council including mentoring and coaching, and business information advocacy.

In simpler terms, it’s about providing money, marketing and mentoring for business to grow, she said. (rmn/rac/PIA7-Siquijor)

iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS

‘Ride to save Mother Earth’ festival held in Siquijor

by Rizalie Anding Calibo

SIQUIJOR (PIA) -- For the first time in Siquijor province, a “Ride to save Mother Earth” mountain bike festival was hosted by the Secular Franciscans-Siquijor region, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, and the local office of the Philippine Information Agency at Enrique Villanueva, Siquijor.

The event is part of PIA’s continuing Climate Change advocacy and the secular Fransciscans and parishioners timely response to Pope Francis’ Eco-Encyclical, or more formally known as Encyclical letter ‘On Care for Our Common Home.’

Some 50 racers headed by

professional downhill category titlist and this year’s champion for the downhill race for the master’s division, Wendell Barba, joined the competition with local bikers and enthusiasts nationwide.

The biking competition was open to all bikers and biking enthusiasts nationwide for the downhill and enduro categories.

During the festival, bikers raced through the Balolong-Manan-ao downhill trails of Enrique Villanueva town to give them critical awareness of how the uplands and people need help particularly with the town’s depleting water supply due to environmental degradation.

The activity did not only highlight

Fiscal Rav Rocamora and PIA-7 regional director Minerva BC Newman both giving their special message to bikers, enthusiasts, youths and parishioners of Enrique Villanueva during the 1st Mountain Bike Festival dubbed “Ride to Save Mother Earth” recently.

the town’s fiesta celebration in honor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, but also served as an awareness and a wakeup call to help understand the destruction humans continue to inflict on the environment.

The event also hoped to solicit some possible actions to bring the “dying” uplands back to life, at the same time help boost our province’s tourism industry.

The Holy Father, in his encyclical, has challenged the people to “heed the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” saying that it is “only by radically reshaping our relationships with God, with our neighbors and with the natural world, can we hope to tackle the threats facing our planet today.”

Science, the Pope said, is the best tool by which we can listen to the cry of the earth, while dialogue and education are the two keys that can “help us to escape the spiral of selfdestruction which currently engulfs us.”

PIA-7 Regional Director Minerva Newman, in a special message during the opening ceremony, told bikers nationwide to “ride high, move faster than usual and run if we must to avert our extinction.”

Newman challenged all bikers and biking enthusiasts as well as locals in Siquijor province to ponder on the reports and take rapid action as it was still possible to avoid a “dramatic decay of biodiversity.”

This she said after sharing a new study report from three U.S. universities led by the universities of Standford, Princeton, and Berkerly that says “the Earth has entered a new period of extinction and humans could be among the first casualties.”

The report said vertebrates were disappearing at a rate 11 4 t i m e s f a s t e r t h a n n o r m a l .

The findings, she added, also echo those in a report published by Duke University last year where one of the study’s authors said, “We are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event.”

Climate change, deforestation, and pollution are among the reasons why we may be facing extinction, says Newman.

The last such event, the report said, was 65 million years ago, when dinosaurs were wiped out in all likelihood by a large metor hitting Earth.

“If it is allowed to continue, life would take many millions of years to recover and our species itself would likely disappear early on,” Newman echoed lead author Gerardo Ceballos.

The study, published in the Science Advances journal, cites causes such as climate change, pollution and deforestation.

“Your theme for this year ’s Mountain Bike Festival aptly describes the kind of action we have to take to protect ourselves, to protect our land, to protect Mother Earth, our only home,” she said. (rmn/rac/PIA7-Siquijor)

iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS iSIQUIJOR GOVERNMENTNEWS

Gov’t urges youth to participate in disaster preparedness

iNFOBYTES

D U M A G U E T E C I T Y, July 30 (PIA) – The youth sector plays an important role in disaster preparedness and mitigation.

This was the reminder issued by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) to all youths in a Kapihan Forum here today to culminate the observance of the National Disaster Consciousness Month this July.

Participants of the forum are composed of students from local universities namely Foundation University, Silliman University, Asian College, and STI.

PDRRMC-Negros Oriental executive director Adrian Sedillo said the young people can participate in disaster mitigation by planting trees and practicing proper waste segregation.

On the other hand, schools can also help in raising the youth’s knowledge on disaster preparedness through conducting forums, trainings or seminars related to disaster management.

He noted that some students are not yet fully knowledgeable on different terminologies and concepts related to hydro-meteorological and seismic hazards.

He told them to invite disaster experts from line agencies like the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) to brief them on these concepts.

“This is a continuing challenge to all of us, to make everybody understand it so there’ll be a common and simultaneous response to it,” he said.

Sedillo cited the four thematic areas in disaster management which are mitigation and prevention, response, recovery and rehabilitation which the youth can actively take part.

Another way of reinforcing the youth’s capability in disaster preparedness is by integration of disaster risk reduction and management programs and climate change adaptation of school curriculum as required by Section 15 of R.A. 10121.

Aside from this, the PDRRMC executive director also emphasized to the students that the government and the people has an equal responsibility when it comes to disaster management.

He explained that 50% comes from the government in laying down policies and programs while the other

50% is about public’s compliance to them.

“With that, I hope we are soliciting serious cooperation coming from the youth sector,” he said.

This year’s National Disaster Consciousness Month carries the theme ““Pamilya at pamayanang handa, katuwang sa pag-unlad ng bansa.”

The national government highlights the importance of individual, family and community readiness against emergencies. The government also also encourages youths to practice disaster preparedness in their own households.

Meanwhile, Engr. Jose Chiu, Dumaguete City Risk Reduction and

Management Officer, also disclosed in the forum that the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) will spearhead an earthquake drill tomorrow at 9:00 am at the City Hall and City Central Elementary School.

CDRRMC will also conduct a lecture on earthquake preparedness and earthquake drill at Piapi High School tomorrow afternoon.

Engr. Chiu explained this is an initiative of the city government following the massive earthquake drill conducted in Manila today. (rmn/ral/PIA7-Negros Oriental)

iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS

Diabetes, hypertension lead causes of blindness

(PIA) --People suffering from diabetes and hypertension may have higher risk of permanently losing their eyesight, if they continue to disregard proper care, diet and lifestyle.

At least three Boholano eye specialists agreed that unmanaged diabetes and hypertension can have devastating end results of permanent blindness.

At the Kapihan sa PIA recently, opthalmologist doctors Jose Oliver Yu, Theodore Dumaluan and Roel Kabigting explained that both diabetes and hypertension messes with the blood vessels which run into the eyes.

The three eye doctors came to the radio forum on the air to spread proper eye care and blindness prevention in line with the observance of August as ‘Blindness Prevention Month’.

A rupture in the blood vessels in the micro vascular levels may be slow that patients sometimes can feel the slight changes in sight, from losing focus to murky vision until the blood from the burst nerves cover the lenses causing blindness.

They also said that another disease which goes with age that can be devastating to the eye is cataract. Dr Dumalu-an explained that a cataract is the murkiness of the eyes lenses caused by the uneven distribution of blood supply in the eyes nerves.

Dr Kabigting added that this could have something to do with aging and is exacerbated by taking of some anti-arthritis or anti tuberculosis medicines, even as he warned people not to self

medicate especially when the medicines have something to do with other body functions.

Eyedrops for example, Dr Kabigting said, is only good for a month after opening the seal, and then it could be contaminated and could somehow cause eye infections when used after a month.

Other than the regular eye care, like blinking regularly to moisten the eye, keeping off causes of trauma in the eye, the option for beta carotenes, vitamin A, and other eye health enhances, proper

Mountain part (Manan-ao Balolong area) of Enrique Villanueva town where the bikers’ tracks are.

diet and exercise interestingly can be good for the eyes, as they can work well with managing diabetes and hypertension, they said.

I f h o w e v e r, a p e r s o n s u d d e n l y n o t i c e s c h a n g e s i n v i s i o n , D r D u m a l u a n s u g g e s t s t h e penhole test. He said all one needs to do is peep through a hole punched in a paper and read from there.

If the words seen from afar are clear and readable, chances are the person only need an eyeglass. if it is still blurred, then an appointment with an opthalmologist is in order. (mbcn/rac/PIA-7/Bohol)

Cebuano News

Pagtomo-tomo sa pagtomar makaingon sa pagkabuta

TAGBILARAN CITY, Aug. 10 (PIA) -- Ayaw pagtomotomo og inum sa bisan unsang tambal ilabi na kadtong para sa arthritis ug tuberculosis, kay mahimong kini makadaut sa imong mata.

Kini maoy tambag ni Dr. Theodore Dumalu-an ug ni Dr. Roel Cabigting atul sa Kapihan sa PIA nga gitumong a pagtubag sa suliran sa pag-amping sa mata ug paglikay sa pagkabuta.

Matud ni Dr. Dumalu-an, kinsa usa sa mga inilang mananambal sa mata sa Bohol, may mga tambal sa arthritis nga adto karesulta sa mata ug maoy makaingon sa pagkabuta.

Sa laing bahin, matud ni Dr Cabigting, may mga tambal sa tuberculosis usab nga iSIQUIJOR is the Island of kon imnon lapas sa usa ka buwan, makaapekto sa mga ugat sa mata, nga maoy sinugdanan Siquijor’s first electronic newsletter sa pagkabuta. produced by the Philippine Information

Gawas pa niana, mipahinumdom si Dr Cabigting sa paglabay na sa eyedrops Agency-Siquijor Information Center nga naablihan na sa usa ka buwan, tungod kay dili na kini magamit tungod sa posibleng and the DOST - Provincial Science and kontaminasyon.

Technology Center.

Sila si Dr Dumalu-an, Jose Oliver Yu ug Cabigting mipadayag sa Kapihan sa PIA sa ilang mga pagpasabot kabahin sa katarata, ug sa mga hinungdan sa pagkabuta, agi og It contains snippets of information about paghandum sa buwan sa pag-amping sa panan-aw, sa buwan sa Agosto.

Siquijor, Central Visayas and the Philippine

Ang pagkabuta, gawas sa disgrasya, mahitabo usab kon ang tawo magka-edaran Government. na, kon ang katarata, dili ma-dali.

Sa laing bahin, kon ang tawo adunay suliran sa diabetes ug hypertension o THERE IS GOOD NEWS EVERYDAY. altapresyon, dako ang psibilidad nga kini maghatud na gayud sa pagkabuta kon ang pasyente dili mag-amping sa lawas.

Ang duha, diabetes ug alta-presyon magpabuto sa mgaugat ugat ug kon kini mahitabo sa mata, moresulta kini sa pagpabuta tungod kay ang lente sa mata, matabunan na sa dugo /Pia Siquijor nga wala na mag-agi sa ugat. /PIA Siquijor

Matud sa mga mananambal, kining kondisyona, dili na maayo.

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Tungod niini, tambag nila, sa unang timailhan sa diabetes ug alta presyon, mag-amping na sa lawas, sa pagkaon, sa eherhisyo ug sa pagtomar sa mga tambal nga gireseta sa mga doktor. (rmn/rac/PIA-7/Bohol)

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