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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. 2 January 9-16, 2015

PENRO pushes for forest conservation in Siquijor

SIQUIJOR (PIA)— Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Moreno Tagra is pushing for forest conservation in Siquijor province as he recognizes the significant role of forests in the biodiversity and in abating the effects of climate change.

Tagra said three of the six municipalities in the province namely, Larena, San Juan and Enrique Villanueva have adopted the Forest Land Use Plan (FLUP) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as one of the best ways to preserve and conserve the country’s forests.

F L U P, s a i d T a g r a , contains comprehensive forest land use plans that are important tools in the holistic and efficient management of forest resources.

It helps determine the optimum and balance use of natural resources to support local, regional and national growth and development, he added.

With this development, Tagra said the DENR will closely work with all the local government units (LGUs) and other national agencies for its implementation.

DENR record shows a total land area of 1,489,077 hectares for Region 7.

Thirty percent or 451,992 hectares of this are classified as forestland; 904,053 hectares or 61% are alienable and disposable lands and only 133,032heactares or 9% are protected areas.

Only six percent of the country’s orginal forests remains, the DENR record also shows.

Supporting the effort, Larena Municipal Mayor Dean Villa said FLUP has given the DENR, the LGUs and the local communities right direction to pursue for good management of the forests and forestlands in accordance with the ideals of sustainable services, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity conservation, and climate change adaptation for a resilient community. (rmn/RAC/PIA7Siquijor w/ reports from IAAbatayo)

Salagdoong Forest: Parf of the PIA-Siquijor’s Climate Change advocacy is the tagging of Salagdoong Forest in Maria, Siquijor. The forest is part of the local government’s reforestation program that features impressive growth of molave trees making it the best mahogany man-made forest in the country, according to DENR RED Dr. Isabelo Montejo

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Online early renewal for business name now in place

MAKATI, Jan. 27 -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) now offers the online early renewal of business name registration as part of its effort to provide an enabling environment for businesses to grow in the country.

“With this initiative, we intend to lower cost of doing business, save time, and avoid the long queues in DTI offices nationwide. Likewise, we promote a paperless environment in government,” DTI Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado said.

Terrado said that to avail of this scheme, sole proprietors may log on to the Business Name Registration System’s (BNRS) website at bnrs.dti.gov.ph, and

process the renewal of their business name registration three months before its expiration. Within this period, online updating of business profile is allowed and free of charge.

In the old manual scheme, change of business name information is done through DTI tellers with a fee of P65, which includes P50 renewal fee and P15 documentary stamp tax per transaction.

“With this online early renewal scheme in place together with the electronic payment (ePayment) facility using BancNet debit card or GCash, renewal transactions may now be processed through computers or mobile phones through the internet within

15 minutes, anytime, anywhere,” Terrado said.

The following fees will be based on the scope of business name being applied for renewal: barangay, P200; city or municipality, P500; regional, P1,000; and national, P2,000. Change of business name scope will be in accordance to current validation rules.

For more information on this scheme, you may call the DTI Call Center through 751.3330 and Business Name Registration System (BNRS) Helpdesk at 751.3142, 751.3259 and 751.3257 and email bnrshelpdesk@dti.gov.ph. (DTI)

APEC ramps up Climate hange focus with Innovator Search

APEC, the world’s leading economic growth engine and most natural disaster prone region, is on the lookout for a young scientist whose collaborative research in the Asia-Pacific stands to revolutionize efforts to protect lives, livelihoods and the future of the global economy against the increasing threat posed by climate change.

Nominations are now open for the 2015 APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education whose theme, Disaster Risk Reduction: Understanding the Role of Climate Change and Variability, spotlights the cross-border development of next generation technologies vital to helping economies adapt to changing natural conditions, strengthen environmental protection and build more resilient, sustainable communities.

The theme of this year’s award, known as the ASIPRE Prize, was selected by APEC Chair for 2015, the Philippines. It is an extension of deepening partnership between the 21 APEC member economies to tackle climate change and related challenges, which are among the policy priorities being taken forward by Senior Officials and technical experts meeting through this week in Clark and Subic.

“We recognize the new and escalating challenges posed by climate change to AsiaPacific economies and the region’s three billion people,” exclaimed Mario Montejo, Secretary of Science and Technology in the Philippines.

“Rising sea levels and the increasing ferocity of typhoons tearing through the region are the compelling and urgent reasons for gamechanging solutions.”

Collectively, the 21 APEC member economies account for 40 per cent of the world’s population, half of global trade, 60 per cent of total GDP and most of global growth today. They are also hit by more than 70 per cent of all natural disasters. In December, a key APEC planning meeting was abruptly moved from Legazpi, Albay to Manila due to concerns over Typhoon Hagupit which traveled the same path as devastating Typhoon Haiyan just one year before.

“Climate change is at the top of the Asia-Pacific agenda and prompting a new era of cooperation to combat this rapidly unfolding threat to humanity,” explained Chen Linhao, Chair of the APEC Policy Partnership for Science, Technology, and Innovation, which administers the annual ASPIRE Prize. “Crossborder research has the power to inform how economies can adapt to, and mitigate, the effects of climate change and must be fully tapped.”

“APEC economies alone suffered around USD70 billion in costs related to natural disasters annually over the last decade and the rapidly warming planet continues to magnify associated risks,” noted Dr Alan Bollard, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat. “We are seeing important signs of progress in areas like emissions reduction and emergency preparedness. The introduction of new innovations is crucial to building on this momentum and strengthening capacity right across the world’s most populous region to save lives and secure growth.”

Entering its fifth year, the ASPIRE Prize recognizes the interaction between the APEC region’s researchers, universities, research centers and the business community to foster cutting-edge ideas and technologies that result in more robust, integrated and sustainable economic activity.

Each APEC economy may nominate

one individual for the ASPIRE Prize. Nominees must be from the region and under 40 years of age. The impact of their work will be screened against scholarly publications and must involve cooperation with peers from other APEC economies. Relevant academic disciplines in 2015 include sustainable development, environmental studies, ecology, disaster management, urban planning and engineering, among others.

The ASPIRE Prize will be awarded at a ceremony in Cebu in August 2015. Wiley and Elsevier, publishers of scholarly scientific knowledge, are sponsors of this year’s Prize.

The winner will receive USD 25,000 in prize money.

“Support for early career researchers in the Asia-Pacific will open up new avenues for tackling environmental challenges in the region,” said Stephen M. Smith, Wiley’s President and CEO.

“Young scientists in the region are at the forefront of efforts to address an issue that knows no borders,” concluded YoungSuk “Y.S.” Chi, Chairman of Elsevier. “Recognition of their work can help to encourage further breakthroughs that will be critical to ensuring the sustainability of human progress and prosperity worldwide.”

For more information please visit: http://www.apec.org/aspire.

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DSWD needs 47,644 field workers

The area coordinators will supervise and train area supervisors who are tasked to lead a team of enumerators.

The enumerators will conduct family interviews using the F a m i l y A s s e s s m e n t F o r m ( FA F ) that contains variables pertinent in determining a household’s welfare level.

Encoders will input the data collected by the enumerators to the Listahanan database, while verifiers will check if the data

The early enactment of the 2015 General Appropriations Act is set to power this year’s public spending courtesy of the National Government’s massive infrastructure programs scheduled for 2015.

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio “ B u t c h ” A b a d s a i d , “ L a s t y e a r ’s underspending issue will be addressed by the increase in our infrastructure investments, which is equivalent to four percent of our projected GDP for this year.

Ultimately, we’re targeting an infrastructure spending level of five percent by 2016.”

In the 2015 National Budget, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received the second largest allocation and the highest yearon-year increase—P303.2 billion or an increase of 37.9 percent from P219.9 billion last year. Of this total, P185.8 billion will be allotted for the completion of all national roads by 2016 and all bridges along national roads by 2015.

There are also the major Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects supported by the National Government in the offing.

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has a budget of P59.5 billion—

higher by 21.9 percent in 2015 as compared to last year’s budget of P48.8 billion—from which to fund their own infrastructure programs. These include P10.6 billion for the improvement of the country’s railway systems (including the rehabilitation and extension of the LRT Lines 1 and 2, and the subsidy for MRT 3) and P15.4 billion for the various airport and seaport projects.

L a s t l y, t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f Agriculture (DA) has a budget of P89.1 billion for 2015—higher by 11.5 percent compared to their 2014 budget of P80 billion—to address a number of agricultural infrastructure programs. With this funding, the DA will be able to construct a number of irrigation projects, farm-tomarket roads, and fishery infrastructure projects like fish landings and fish ports.

Abad said, “Drafting a national budget that will support our country’s inclusive development means we must not only sustain the rapid growth of our economy but also improve the quality of life for our people. We can do this by creating employment and livelihood opportunities, and by revitalizing employmentgenerating industries and connecting towns to growth centers.”(dbm.gov.ph)

entered are consistent and accurate.

Applicants will undergo a series of examinations and interviews to ensure that the most qualified individuals will be hired.

Once hired, they will be given intensive training on their specific roles in the assessment. They will also be deployed in areas where they are not from to ensure objectivity in conducting the assessment.

“The qualifications for these jobs are tight. This is because we want to work with competent, dedicated and honest individuals who can assure us that the data they’ll collect will be of the highest quality, complete, and accurate,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman emphasized.

Applications may be submitted via e-mail to nhtspr.npmo@dswd.gov. ph or delivered personally to the nearest DSWD Regional Office or at the Social Welfare and Development Team office in the province. Interested individuals are encouraged to check the DSWD Regional Office websites for details.

In 2009, the DSWD conducted the first nationwide assessment that resulted in the identification and inclusion of 5.2 million poor households in the Listahanan out of the 10.9 million assessed.

The Listahanan is an information management system that makes available to national government agencies, local government units, and other social protection stakeholders a comprehensive list of poor families in need of assistance.

DSWD is currently implementing the following programs to alleviate poverty among Filipinos: Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services-National Community-Driven Development Program (KALAHI CIDSS-NCDDP), Conditional Cash Transfer and Modified Conditional Cash Transfer. (DSWD/RJB/LFB/PIA-NCR)

QUEZON CITY . (PIA) - The Department of Social Welfare & Development needs some 47,644 field workers for the implementation of its Second Listahanan nationwide assessment.

The field workers needed will comprise of 1,277 area coordinators, 6,383 area supervisors, 31,908 enumerators, 4,038 encoders and 4,038 verifiers, who will be tasked to collect information from 15.3 million households in 1,490 municipalities and 144 cities nationwide.

Gov’t infra programs to jumpstart 2015 public spending

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Cebuano News Pilipinas padayon ang pagpauswag sa rice production

MANILA, Enero 14 (PIA) – Ang Department of Agriculture (DA) padayon nga mohatag sa mga serbisyo ug programa isip ayuda sa mga mag-uuma ug mangingisda nga mapalambo ang ilang mga abot ubos sa programang pang gobyerno ni Presidente PNoy.

Mao kini ang pahibalo ni Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala atol sa usa ka media briefing didto sa Quezon City nga gipahigayon ning bulan sa Enero.

Sugod karong tuiga lahutay sa tuig 2017, ang gobyerno mopahiluna ug mga imprastraktura ug ubang proyektong pang kalamboan ngadto sa mga lagyo nga umahan aron mapakubsan ang “production cost” sa abot sa mag-uuma ug aron usab makab-ot ang tinud-anay nga kompetitisyon sa binaligya-ay sa ilang mga produkto.

Ang DA nakahimo na sa mga programa ug serbisyo nga naka ayuda sa mga mag uuma sama sa rice mechanization program nga combine harvesters diin bayran sa gobyerno ang 85% niini ug ang 15% gikan sa grupo sa mga mag-uuma.

Gipasigarbo ni Alcala nga tungod sa maong programa nakab-ot sa nasud ang pinakataas nga rice harvest nga miabot ug 18.4 million metric tons niadtong tumalapos sa tuig 2013.

Dugang ni Alcala, sa tumong nga mapauswag pa ang rice production sa nasud nanghatag sila ug mga high quality seeds, fertilizers ug mga modernong pamaagi sa panguma.

Ang Philippine Statistics Authority sa ilang bahin mi taho nga ang rice production sa Pilipinas mi taas ngadto sa 9.55% in terms of value ug 0.33% in terms of volume sa milabayng siyam ka bulan.

Tungod niini ang ubang nasud sa Asia sama sa Korea nahimu-ot sa nakab-ot nga record harvest sa Pilipinas ug nanghinaut ang Korean government nga mapaambit usab ngadto kanila ang mga pamaaging gihimo sa atong agrikultura sa pagpadaghan sa rice production.(mbcn/lpp/PIA-7/NegOr)

iSIQUIJOR

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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