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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. 2 | NO. 27 August 12-20, 2014
Teach Filipino solidarity to youths by Roi Anthoni B. Lomotan DUMAGUETE CITY (PIA) – Teachers should tell more about Filipino solidarity to their students. Philippine Information Agency Director
General Jose Mari Oquiñena conveyed this message to hundreds of elementary and high school teachers at the Pintig Pinoy lecture here recently organized by the Department of Education (DepEd) – Negros Oriental.
SIQUIJOR (PIA) – The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Siquijor province pooled efforts and resources to conduct a seminar recently on climate change adaptation and energy audit to the members of the small and medium entrepreneurs in the province. DTI-Siquijor provincial director Nimfa Virtucio in her opening remarks explained the importance of convergence for SMEs development and to strengthen advocacy on climate change adaptation and energy conservation.
The activity, she said is part of the DTI’s SMERA (SMED Roving Academy) that brings learning program through a series of training and seminars to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help them become competitive both in the domestic and international markets. PIA-Siquijor through this writer also briefly explained that business should embrace the need to tackle climate change and enhance energy efficiency to improve their competitive position because Climate Change and Energy Efficiency advocacy are a shared challenge. DOST provincial director Mario de la Pena also gave his message for DOST’s part
DTI, DOST, PIA hold energy audit, climate change adaptation seminar
Energy Audit and ClimateChange Adaptation Seminar to SMEs under furniture, food processing, Gift Decors & Housewares (GDH), Metals & Engineering and Tourism sectors in Siquijor province. (RAC/PIA-Siquijor)
and introduced the participants and the resource persons. DOST7’s Engr. Edgar Osorio talked on energy management in response to the call for climate change adaptation while E n g r. R o b e r t o Edra presented actual Energy Audit with the Furniture Makers in the island as the subjects. Participants come from the gift, decors and housewares ( G D H ) , engineering and metal, food processing, furniture and the tourism sectors. (mbcn/RAC/PIA7Siquijor)
The activity aims to empower teachers in their role in shaping youth’s social participation today. Oquiñena said that the issues of climate change, the dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea, poverty and corruption are problems that challenge Filipino solidarity and can be overcome if people would unite to face these “bullies.” Oquiñena emphasized that the school teachers play a big part in molding every youth’s well being as they grow up and they should take advantage of this by imparting the value of unity and solidarity to their students. “You have been given a task, a responsibility and an opportunity to co-create a person especially now that the challenges are very tough, (we have) climate change, poverty, the threat of war, the lack of food, etc. This is the time we teach a very important lesson, the ability to be a unifying person,” Oquiñena said. “We can only face climate change and other challenges if we learn how to be one. We cannot address social concerns kapag watakwatak tayo,” he added. This is part of what he calls the ‘Filipino’ brand which young people should learn today. Oquiñena explained that the Filipino brand connotes excellence, right attitude towards others and the ability to set aside insecurities, biases and self pity in order to work for the good of the nation. Aside from these, ‘Filipino’ brands also exhibits confidence in facing challenges and compassion to fellow countrymen. He noted that the country experienced colonization thrice and this led to the perception that Filipinos are treated as second class citizens. But Oquiñena believes this can still be changed if teachers can inspire students to have the sense of purpose and passion in their lives. “We should make sure that we will raise children that will have an intelligent heart before an intelligent mind, because an intelligent heart is a sure foundation for development,” he remarked. Meanwhile, the Pintig Pinoy lecture was attended by SSG Advisers (Secondary Schools), main high school principals, Araling Panlipunan department heads, district HEKASI coordinator, central school principals, DepEd, Sillimanians and elementary and high school teachers. (mbcn/ral/PIA7-NegOr)
iSIQUIJOR GOVERNMENTNEWS
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
DOST upgrades two more furniture entreps thru SETUP
SIQUIJOR, Aug 31(PIA)--The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) handed over checks worth P295,182 and P256,605 for the upgrading of 2Kir Furniture and JH furniture in Siquijor province respectively. 2Kir Furniture is owned by Vicky Suan of San Juan town while JH Furniture is by Elbert Herlao of Sandugan, Larena. DOST-Siquijor provincial director Engr. Mario de la Peña briefed the beneficiaries on the terms and conditions of the memorandum of agreement (MOA). De la Peña reminded them to stick with the purchase of the equipment based on the approved proposal and to coordinate with the provincial office from time to time. They were also reminded to report corresponding receipts of purchased equipment as soon as available for liquidation purposes.
Such activities that are to be monitored
during the project implementation are the reporting of production output and income every semester and annual inspection of purchased equipment by DOST Auditing Team, among others. DOST lauded the furniture entrepreneurs for their successful business operations despite tight competition in the province and their target markets. They were also encouraged to continue employing local folks and to continuously diversify their products while adopting to the technological intervention through DOST’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP). Engr. de la Peña told the beneficiaries that the assistance, although handed to them through checks, is not in a type of loan because DOST is not a financial institution. The beneficiaries were gratitude to DOST for the support it has extended to their businesses. They pledged for their full
(L-R) DOST-7 OIC-Assistant regional director Engr. Jesus F. Zamora, Jr., provincial director Engr. Mario de la Pena and Ramir Quijada of MRG Furniture with a DOST staff during the turnover of Php 277,623.00 check under the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program
DOST-Siquijor provincial director Engr. Mario De la Peña (2nd from left in both photos) turns-over on August 15 the check to couples Vicky and Saturnino Agan, owners of 2KIR Furniture Shop in Tubod, San Juan (1st photo) and Elbert and Annabelle Herlao of JH furniture as DOST-SETUP’s assistance for the upgrading of their products. With them is Macbeth Dal (left), also a DOST Staff.
cooperation during the project implementation. (mbcn/rac/PIA7-Siquijor with reports from Engr. Reinhold Jek Abing/DOST-Siquijor)
DOH-7 aims to immunize 1.8M kids in CV for measles, polio in Sept
CEBU CITY, August 27 (PIA) --- The Department of Health (DOH-7) in Central Visayas aims to immunize 1.8M children ages nine to 59 months old for measles, rubella and polio during its massive nationwide immunization campaign in September dubbed as “Ligtas sa Tigdas, Magkaisa, Magpabakuna.” DOH-7 child health program coordinator, Dr. Emmelie Pflieder Silao said for both measles and rubella, the target for Region 7 in next month’s massive immunization drive is 840, 555 children ages nine to 59 months old or almost five years of age. Rubella is commonly known as German measles and shares common manifestations with measles but to a lesser degree, said Silao during the weekly Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO-7) forum. For polio, Silao said the target for Central Visayas is much higher with 986,739 children at birth until 59 months of age. “We are urging mothers to bring their children ages nine to 59 months old to the nearest barangay health center anytime next month to have them vaccinated against measles, rubella and polio,” said Silao. Silao said the massive immunization drive in September provides an opportunity for parents whose children have not been vaccinated and to halt the continuing circulation of the measles virus and protect the country from poliovirus importation. Measles cases in Central Visayas however, witnessed a drastic increase from January 1 to August 16 with 1,098 recorded cases this year compared to the same period last year with only 93 cases or a significant rise of 92 percent. “Cebu has the most number of the 1,098 cases with Cebu City alone having over 400 measles cases followed by Negros Oriental, Bohol and lastly, Siquijor,” revealed Renan Cimafranca of the DOH-7 Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit. Cimafranca on the other hand, added the case fatality rate of measles is less than one percent. For both measles and rubella, the common symptoms are fever, headache, runny nose, red eyes, rashes, joint pain and cough, said Cimafranca but measles manifest hi-grade fever and redder rashes than rubella. Pneumonia is the most common complication of measles as parents are urged to immediately seek medical help when manifestations occur, advised Cimafranca. (mbcn/fcr/PIA-7)
iSIQUIJOR GOVERNMENTNEWS
Philhealth members can now file direct claims for hospital reimbursement CEBU CITY, August 20 (PIA) --- A new memo circular of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) released last week now permits members to file direct claims for allowable hospitalization reimbursement from PhilHealth to its office or any of its express lanes in major malls in Central Visayas. PhilHealth chief of the Benefits Administration section, Dr. Nelda Pe said that unlike before, where hospitals are the only ones that can file reimbursement
claims for hospital bill deduction of PhilHealth members from PHIC, the new memo now allows members to directly file hospital reimbursement claims. “The new memo is retroactive starting January 1, this year,” bared Pe during the weekly forum of the Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO-7) that featured PHIC or PhilHealth’s programs and services. Pe said the memo is applicable to any hospitalized PhilHealth member who has
been discharged on a weekend but has not prepared the needed Philhealth form signed by the member’s employer for the hospital to deduct the PhilHealth contributions. “In this case, the member will just have to shell out her personal money then file for reimbursement claim from our office,” said Pe. Total processing time for reimbursement claims is 60 days or two months from receipt of required documents. Pe said the PHIC member who will file direct claim for reimbursement also need to submit to PhilHealth the waiver form signed by the hospital so the latter would no longer file any reimbursement claim. PhilHealth public relations officer, Atty. Karisma Agraviador however, advised members to have a copy of their Member Data Record (MDR) as this is very important especially during hospital discharge for PhilHealth deduction. “We never know when we need it so we must keep a copy of our MDR always,” said Agraviador adding that the MDR would suffice in case the member has no PhilHealth form that required the employer’s signature for Philhealth deduction from hospital billing. Agraviador said any member can visit their office to obtain the MDR or just visit the PhilHealth express lanes in major malls in Cebu like Ayala Center, SM City, Robinsons Fuente, JC Mall and Pacific Mall and ICM City Mall in Tagbilaran City, Bohol and Robinsons Dumaguete in Negros Oriental. With the MDR, the member can do away with having to pay personal money for reimbursement claim from PhilHealth, said Agraviador as the hospital would now be the one to file for the reimbursement claims. (mbcn/FCR/PIA7)
LBP launches 1stMobile LoanSaver in the country CEBU CITY, Aug. 14 (PIA) --- The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in partnership with Smart e-Money launched the first Mobile LoanSaver in the country during the LandBank 51st anniversary held at the Marriott Hotel, Cebu City. LBP President and CEO Gilda Pico said, this is the first paperless fully electronic salary loan with autosavings builder feature offered by LandBank and Smart Communications. It seeks to provide greater banking convenience to government employees. “We at LANDBANK recognize the needs of our customers, so we see to it that we devise responsive facilities for them. The LANDBANK Mobile Loan Saver is indeed an innovation which provides greater banking convenience that transforms our service delivery to our clients,” Pico added. She said, “we are grateful for the opportunity to work with Smart
e-Money Inc. on this breakthrough service, which brings us a step closer towards achieving our shared vision of greater financial literacy and inclusive growth.” At the same time, Smart e-Money head for innovation and emerging payments Lito Villanueva is also grateful to LandBank for the partnership in carving out new ways to serve the people using the latest technology. Villanueva also believes that through LandBank more private and government offices will be reached with this program. This loan facility is being offered to make loan applications quick, easy and faster for LandBank clients. They only have to submit their applications online and receive SMS notifications on their mobile phone that his /her loan proceeds have been credited to his/her ATM Payroll Account and available for withdrawal. The qualified employees shall initiate mobile loan application
using Smart, Talk n’ Text or Sunenabled mobile by typing the following keyword: LOAN EMPLOYEE NUMBER AGENCY CODE then send to 5363. Rank and file employees can borrow up to P500,000 while officers can avail themselves of salary loans up to P1 million with a minimal monthly interest rate of 0.83 percent a month. The loan proceeds shall be released within three banking days after loan approval. Terms run from 12 to 36 months. For the private and government offices that want to avail of the service must sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the bank and submit a list of preselected employees containing information needed to determine loan approval. To know more about this innovative product, you may call *89507 through t h e i r S m a r t , Ta l k N Te x t o r S u n Cellular phones. (mbcn/HFG/PIA7)
iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS
iNFOBYTES
DepEd 7 sets ‘Yes for Peace’ campaign Central Visayas, August 14 (PIA) ---- The Department of Education (DepEd-7) commits to intensify its campaign on ‘Yes for Peace- Bayanihan para sa Kapayapaan’ among students. In a recent press conference, Dr. Leah Apao of DepEd-7 says the department adopted the advocacy to keep track of the peace process all throughout the country. Apao also noted the past State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Pres. Benigno Aquino III giving emphasis on the importance of implementing a transparent peace process and working on initiatives geared towards peace. With this she added that DepEd-7 is committed to contribute to the nationwide target of involving 10 million students in the Bayanihan of the ‘Yes for Peace’ advocacy campaign through distribution of questionnaires that would answer the willingness of the students to contribute to a peaceful and harmonious Philippines. Apao added that from August 12-September 15 this year, DepEd-7 is expected to finish the distribution of these questionnaires to students in Central Visayas ages 10 years above for them to be part of this Bayanihan or signature for peace. “We need to have this response from our 10 million target students in Central Visayas we are aiming to reach at least 19 school divisions in the region,” she said. Apao added that this year DepEd-7 is set to exert effort to tap 1,180,586 elementary students and the 455, 567 high schools students in Central Visayas. Last year Central Visayas was able to gather 15 thousand signatures for the ‘Yes for Peace’ campaign through its massive implementation of the advocacy during the 2013 Palarong Pambansa held in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. Based on records presented as of July 31 this year there are about
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is the Island of Siquijor’s first electronic newsletter produced by the Philippine Information Agency-Siquijor Information Center and the DOST - Provincial Science and Technology Center. It contains snippets of information about Siquijor, Central Visayas and the Philippine Government.
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Cebuano News
Mga angay hinumdoman kalabot sa Ebola virus
MANILA (PIA)--Gipa-amping sa Department of Health (DOH) ug Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) ang mga overseas Filipino worker (OFW) ilabi na sa mga nasud nga Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea ug Nigeria tungod sa nagka-daghang kaso sa Ebola virus. Ang Ebola usa ka matang sa sakit nga makatakod ug makamatay sa tawo ug mga mananap sama sa mga unggoy tungod sa impeksyon gikan sa Ebola virus. Niadtong Agosto 1, natala 9,278,129 or 92.78% Kabayanihans or students who took part and express willingness to live a peaceful country through the ‘Yes for Peace’ Campaign. “DepEd 7 is encouraging teachers and principals to support in the advocacy of the Yes for Peace, because this is for the students to experience an environment that is peaceful and free from conflict,” Apao concluded. In 1988, Yes for Peace was just a students’ initiative of the University of the Philippines tagged as Di-Yes for Peace Bayanihan Para sa Kapayapaan on mobilizing a national consensus for peace. Then it was being adopted by the government through the establishment of several peace seeking body and board. Some peace summit and peace talks were also anchored on this. In 2002 marked the repackaging of the campaign into YES FOR PEACE – Bayanihan para sa Kapayapaan, in which questions presented on the questionnaires distributed for students as target proponent were reformulated upon the suggestion and in cooperation with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). Educational institutions specifically under DepEd and CHED committed to instill in the youths’ mind the importance of peace and its process. (mbcn/ays/PIA7)
nga kapin sa 1,323 ka kaso niini gikan sa mga nasud sa West Africa ug giingong may fatality rate kini nga 55%. 729 na ang namatay tungod niini. Bisan padayon nga gi-monitor sa DOH ang maong virus, gipapas usab niini ang kahadlok nga mosulod sa nasud ang maong makamatay nga sakit. Gipahinomdom sa buhatan ang mga angay bantayan kalabot sa Ebola virus aron dili mataptan sa maong sakit. Mahimong mapasa ang Ebola virus pinaagi sa dugo, organ o uban pang fluid contact sa apektadong mananap; body fluid ug hugaw sa natakdang tawo; kontaminadong dagom; habol sa mga adunay sakit niini; ug direct contact sa patay’ng lawas sa namatay tungod sa Ebola virus. Angay bantayan ang mga sintomas niini sama sa hilanat, pagsakit sa ulo, joint ug muscle pains ug sakit sa tutonlan. Mahimo pa kining mahulog sa pagsuka, pagkalibang, pagsakit sa tiyan, paggawas sa mga rashes, pagkadaot sa kidney ug atay, internal ug external bleeding, pagpamula sa mga mata sud-ok ug pagdugo. Kun maka-bantay niining mga sintomas, maayo nga magpatanaw dayon sa pinakaduol nga health center aron mabantayan sa awtoridad. Sa pagkakaron, wala pay partikular nga tambal o bakuna batok niini. Apan mahimong malikayan nga mataptan niining sakita pinaagi sa paglikay sa mga natakdang pasyente, dili mokaon og hilaw nga sulod sa fruit bat, unggoy o bisan unsang mananap nga adunay virus, pagsul-ob og gwantes ug uban pang protective equipment kun moduol sa mga adunay sakit niini ug paghunaw sa mga kamot human mobisita sa mga may-sakit nga paryente o kaila. (mbcn/ecb/PIA7-Bohol)