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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. 44 December 17-31, 2015

Gov’t to spend P6.5-B for rehab of 73 provincial roads

The amount of P6.5 billion has been appropriated in the 2016 General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the rehabilitation and upgrading of provincial roads in 73 provinces. The allocation of funds is based on the performance of the chosen provinces which complied with good governance standards.

Aside from good governance standards, Budget Secretary Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad said that the qualified provinces have met social development benchmarks, and established monitoring and evaluation m e c h a n i s m s .

D u b b e d KALSADA (Konkreto at Ayos na Lansangan at Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran), Abad said the program is “an innovative devolution program that aims to institutionalize good governance by enabling and shepherding local government units on Local Road Management.”

The program will rehabilitate and upgrade provincial roads and transfer these road assets permanently to the provincial government which will maintain them. It will also develop the Provincial Road Network Development Plan for each province and promote the use of an online open data portal as a mechanism for monitoring and evaluation of provincial roads.

Allocations were determined by a combination of performance and need criteria, such as inclusion in the Budget Priorities Framework provinces, utilization and completion of local road projects under the Special Local Roads Fund, and regular appropriation and use of maintenance funds for local roads.

Abad also said the program has put in place a monitoring and evaluation system to ensure that the upgrading and rehabilitation of the roads will be

Provincial Governor Villa (center) posed with the Siquijor Provincial Rescue Team following his giving of certificates of appreciation for making it to the First Runner Up in the Regional Rescue Olympics in Cebu City recently. completed. In collaboration with the World Bank and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the government has created a system that uses geotagging for reporting on the status of the projects. Through the Open Roads Portal, the public can check online which roads have been selected for rehabilitation or upgrading and track the progress of the road project from start to completion.

Abad said KALSADA will increase the provinces’ ability to bring their road networks to sustainably-maintainable conditions by incorporating both Public Financial Management and technical criteria developed by the Department of the Int e r i o r L o c a l G o v e r n me n t through the Philippine Provincial Road Management Facility, an earlier governance reform program to improve the way provincial governments plan, budget, and maintain local infrastructure.

Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio L. Singson agreed that KALSADA is indeed an exemplar considering that capital funding required to offset road asset depreciation has never been given to provinces.

Singson also said Provincial, Arterial Roads, and Farm to Market Roads (FMR) will get the bulk of infrastructure investment in 2017 after completion of all construction and upgrading of national roads and bridges this year. Likewise, local bridges and roads will be upgraded to ensure the safe use of local infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto, Secretary-General of the League of Provinces of the Philippines and a champion of the KALSADA program said that “This is the first time in Philippine local governance that the government is implementing a national incentive program for local road management to enhance connectivity and economic productivity.”

He added that KALSADA responds to last year’s General Assembly Resolution of the League of Provinces of the Philippines that urges the DBM and the DILG to formulate guidelines for a Provincial Road Network Development Program, taking off from the lessons of the DILG, DFAT, and pilot LGUs’ collaboration on the Provincial Road Management Facility. (DBM)

The Open Roads Portal can be accessed at www.openroads.gov.ph.

iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Civil Service Commission now accepting applications for Career Service Exam this 2016

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is now accepting applications for next year’s Career Service Professional and SubProfessional written examinations slated for April 17. The application period started on November 9, 2015 and will end on February 25, 2016, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Examination Test pencil and paper

The Career Service Examinations – Paper-and-Pencil Tests (CSE-PPT) are open to individuals who are Filipino

citizens including those holding dual citizenship under Republic Act No. 9225, at least 18 years old at the time of filing of application, and have not taken the same level of examination in less than three months. Applicants who meet these qualifications may apply for and take the CSE-PPT regardless of their educational attainment.

Application requirements include properly accomplished Application Form (CS Form No. 100, Revised 2015), four pieces of recently taken passport size I.D.

Are you eligible to be a fire or penology officer?

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) announced that interested individuals and incumbents of positions in the fire and penology services may still file their applications until January 22, 2016 for next year’s Fire Officer and Penology Officer examinations.

CSC-exam

The CSC, in collaboration with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), will simultaneously administer the examinations on March 13, 2016.

The exams are open to incumbent and former personnel of the BFP and BJMP, respectively, including Bureau of Corrections and all provincial and sub-provincial jails for the latter.

Applicants must: be Filipino citizens; have a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution of learning; be physically and mentally fit; be of good moral character; have not been convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude; and have not been dishonorably discharged from military service or dismissed for cause from any civilian position in the government.*

For private individuals interested to take either of the examinations, the CSC clarified that age and height requirements shall also apply. For the Fire Officer exam, applicants must be 21 to 35 years old at the time of filing of applications; no height is required. For the Penology Officer exam, applicants must be 21 to 30 years old and at least 5’4” in height for male and 5’2” for female.

Applications should be filed in person at the CSC Regional Office (CSCRO), or at any of the concerned CSCRO’s Field Offices, where the applicant intends to take the examination. Examination fee is P700.

Exam passers shall be granted the Fire Officer Eligibility and the Penology Officer Eligibility, which are both second level eligibilities. The former is specific and appropriate to second level ranks in the fire protection service and functionally related positions; the latter to second level ranks under the uniformed service in the jail management, penology, and functionally related services. However, the CSC stressed that ranks under the Philippine National Police are not covered by the eligibilities.

*Applicants with pending administrative and/or criminal cases may take the examinations without prejudice to forfeiture of the eligibility if later convicted. – From the Civil Service Commission

pictures, and original and photocopy of a valid I.D. card with date of birth. In case the I.D. card has no date of birth, original and photocopy of birth certificate issued by the National Statistics Office should be submitted. Applicants holding dual citizenship should also submit the original and a photocopy of their Certification of Retention/Re-acquisition of Philippine Citizenship issued by the Bureau of Immigration. Examination fee for both levels of examination is PhP500.

Applications should be filed personally at the CSC Regional Office (CSCRO), or at any of the concerned CSCRO’s Field Offices, where they intend to take the examination. Application forms are available at any CSC Regional or Field Office, or may be downloaded from the CSC website.

Interested applicants are advised to access CSC Examination Announcement No. 07, s. 2015, posted in the CSC website www.csc.gov.ph for detailed information on the specifications of the I.D. pictures, the list of accepted I.D. cards, and other information including testing centers.

The CSC reiterates that it neither holds any review class nor publishes and distributes any review material for the career service examinations. Also, the CSC has not accredited any review center for the purpose of offering and holding review classes to prospective career service examinees.

Passing the Career Service examinations results in the conferment of either Career Service Professional eligibility or Career Service SubProfessional eligibility needed, the minimum requirement for permanent appointment to corresponding positions in the government that do not involve practice of profession and are not covered by other/special laws. ( From the Civil Service Commission)

DOH should explore e-learning to inform and educate more Filipinos

A study released by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said the Department of Health (DOH) can improve its information dissemination capacity by using e-learning.

Author Ayedee Ace Domingo, a PIDS consultant, recommends to the DOH

iNFOBYTES

to explore creating a virtual learning environment for its Resource Center for Health Systems Development (RCHSD), a research site launched in 2009 to serve as a “repository of knowledge products on health system reforms”. The site aims to keep the public informed about the country’s health system policies and programs.

The advantages of educating people through the internet is well known.

Siquijor Police Provincial Office personnel and their families enjoying the generosity of their new Provincial Director Erson Digal during the Christmas Party last December 28 where food, prizes and gifts of all sorts abound.

But with an e-learning feature, the DOH would be able to reach those who cannot access the RCHSD. It can engage a wider audience and eliminate restrictions of geographic distance, time, and lack of resources, limitations to mobility, and other limiting factors.

The type of e-learning Domingo recommends is the asynchronous self-paced approach. Unlike other e-learning approaches, this type does not require administrators once the courseware is developed, and it is less rigid with its syllabus and timeline.

To make it functional, however, the DOH would need to organize a developing group for the programs it intends to offer. The group should consist of a program manager, instructional designer, subject matter expert, programmers, course administrator, online facilitators and tutors, and technical support.

The development of programs has five stages – analysis and identification of goals; design of the course; development of the program’s content, storyboard, and courseware; implementation; and evaluation.

With an e-learning feature on the RCHSD, the DOH would help the public become more informed about the country’s health system policies and programs.

This could foster greater understanding and engagement a m o n g stakeholders t o w a r d a healthier Filipino s o c i e t y. # # #

iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS

DSWD bares thrusts priorities for 2016

The year 2015 saw the increasing efforts of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to achieve its strategic goals aimed at uplifting the lives of poor Filipinos, and empowering the sectors that it serves, as well as its stakeholders.

These strategic goals are: to raise 2.3 million Pantawid Pamilya families with a capacity for improving their level of well-being by 2016, increase the number of National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTSPR)-identified poor families covered by at least two social welfare and development programs/services from 3.9 to 5.2 million by 2016, and increase the number of provinces with majority of their cities/municipalities having fully-functioning Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDO) to 40 provinces by 2016.

To achieve these goals, the Department will continue to implement the convergence approach of its core poverty programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino, Sustainable Livelihood; and, Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), and the harmonization of its promotive and rehabilitative programs and services to more effectively reach its intended beneficiaries.

According to DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman, the Department’s thrusts and priorities for 2016 contribute to the achievement of the agency’s strategic goals and organizational outcomes which are to improve capacity of targeted poor

families to access opportunities to improve their level of well-being, and to promote the rights of vulnerable sectors, such as poor families and victims of disasters, indigent senior citizens, women and children, solo parents, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

To ensure that these outcomes are met, Soliman stated that all the clusters in the DSWD Central Office – namely, the Policy and Plans Group (PPG), Operations and Programs Group (OPG), Institutional Development Group (IDG), Office of the Secretary Group (OSG), and the General Administration and Support Services Group (GASSG), together with its 16 Field Offices, will work closely to render “matapat, mabilis, mahusay, at magiliw na paglilingkod sa iba’t ibang sector na nangangailangan ng ating tulong (Honest, fast, efficient, and passionate service to the different sectors that need our assistance).”

Moreover, the DSWD’s strengthened partnership with international organizations such as the United Nations-World Food Programme (WFP) will result to an improved and more efficient system of disaster operations.

Aligned with this is the establishment of the Department-wide Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) protocols/system/ capacity building guidelines as part of scenario planning to prepare for disasters with the scale and magnitude of Typhoon Yolanda.

The DSWD will also focus on the full implementation of the recovery and rehabilitation efforts in disaster stricken areas of the Visayas Earthquake,

Cebuano News: ‘No Bio, No Boto’, ipadayon – Korte Suprema

Z a m b o a n g a C o n f l i c t , a n d Ty p h o o n s Sendong, Pablo, Glenda, and Yolanda.

Enhanced social protection programs

Included in the Department’s priorities for 2016 is to reach out to more vulnerable sectors through the expanded coverage of the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens which will cover poor older persons 60 years old and above by 2016.

Another priority is the streamlining of processes for immediate placement of eligible children for adoption, foster care, and other alternative care strategies.

“We believe that every child needs a loving and stable family, and institutionalization should be the last resort,” the Secretary expounded.

The DSWD will also continue to assist distressed overseas Filipinos avail of social services by deploying Social Welfare Attaches in countries where there are large numbers of overseas Filipino workers and migrants.

“The DSWD will likewise continue to ensure the continuing compliance of social welfare and development agencies (SWDAs) to standards in the delivery of social welfare services, as well as render technical assistance to local government units (LGUs) to improve their delivery of social welfare programs,” Soliman added.

The Department will also intensify its advocacy, social marketing, and networking activities to effectively communicate its plans and policies with its publics and stakeholders. (DSWD)

iSIQUIJOR

is the Island of Siquijor’s first electronic newsletter produced by the Philippine Information Information Center

MANILA, Dec. 17 (PIA)--Ipadayon na ang ‘No Bio, No Boto’policy sa Commission on Elections Agency-Siquijor (Comelec) human gi-deklarar nga ‘dissolved’ sa Korte Suprema ang gipagawas nga temporary and the DOST - Provincial Science and restraining order nga ilang gi-isyu niadtong Disyembre 1 base na usab sa petisyon sa Kabataan partylist. Technology Center.

Matud pa sa Korte Suprema, gibasura nila ang petisyon sa Kabataan partylist tungod na usab sa ‘lack of merit’.

Tu n g o d n i i n i , m a s g i p a b o r a n s a K o r t e S u p r e m a a n g a r g u m e n t o sa Comelec nga nag-ingong ang tumong sa ‘No Bio, No Boto’ mao ang pag-ila s a “ q u a l i f i c a t i o n ” u g “ r e g i s t r a t i o n ” s a m g a b o t a n t e a r o n m a k a b o t a r.

Pasabot pa sa Korte Suprema, maayo ang tumong sa Comelec nga hinluan ang national voter registry diin mahitabo ang tikas nga posibleng magdala og di maayong epekto sa nasud.

Apan matud pa sa Kabataan party­list, mokabat pa gihapon sa 3,599,906 ang wala naka-parehistro bisan pa sa implementasyon sa “No Bio, No Boto” hangtud Setyembre 30, 2015.

Samtang gikalipay ni Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista ang desis­yon sa Korte Suprema sa pag-ingong padayon na ang pagsapinal sa listahan sa mga botante ug proyekto sa mga presinto.

Kahinumdoman nga nipahayag og kabalaka ang Comelec nga posibleng ma-oktaba ang piniliay sa Mayo 9, 2016 kun dili tangtangon sa Korte S u p r e m a a n g T R O s a “ N o b i o , N o b o t o ” p o l i c y. ( e c b / P I A 7 - B o h o l )

It contains snippets of information about Siquijor, Central Visayas and the Philippine Government.

THERE IS GOOD NEWS EVERYDAY.

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