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By Juju Manubag-Empuerto
THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY-7 | WWW.PIA.GOV.PH VOL. 2 | NO. 18 August 23, 2013
TOPSTORIES
DENR-7 attains more than half of NGP target to date
By BJyuju Manubag -Empuerto Juju Manubag -Empuerto
Government officials and other stakeholders (seated) led by Department of Tourism--7 affix their signatures on the Covenant of Commitment for the Protection of Children in Tourism during the launching of ChidWise Tourism Programme at Plaza Independencia, Port San Pedro, Cebu City on August 17, 2013. (VVV/PIA Cebu)
News Feature: Cebu says NO to Child Sex Tourism By Ferliza calizar-contratista CEBU CITY (PIA) --- Cebu made a resounding commitment for a Child Wise Tourism in the province. This after thousands of Cebuanos from different parts of the province joined a caravan on Aug. 17 covering one municipality and three cities bringing with them banners, leaflets, balloons, shirts, and caps bearing one strong message which is "NO to Child Sex Tourism." The caravan passed by the following local government units: Municipality of Cordova, Lapulapu City in the island of Mactan, and cities of Mandue and Cebu. Cordova, a fishing municipality, made headlines recently after the clandestine industry on internet pornography involving children was exposed to be operating in the town. On the other hand, Lapulapu City has over 60 resorts and hotels and an average of 3,000 tourists quarterly. Mandaue and Cebu cities have facilities and services catering to the tourism industry. Maria Rica Bueno, director of Office of Tourism Standards and Regulations of the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Cebu is becoming a prime tourist destination in Asia and in the whole world. The Philippines, as a whole, has a rising market economy because of tourism accomplishments. “But despite the good news, much more is to be done to sustain and most specially in containing the downside of tourism, to protect our national treasure, our children,” Bueno said. She said there is a need to get the
support of local government units to continue the advocacy since they are the ones who can monitor closely the front liners of the tourism industry. She said street children are at a high risk of being lured into the sex trade. The ages of children involved in pornography and sex videography are getting younger, Bueno added. Josephine Alforque, advocacy officer of End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), said that sex tourism is a lucrative industry whose growth is driven by the demand for children in tourist destination. She said that unlike adult prostitution, the child prostitute is always the victim. “There are no excuses for the sexual exploitation of children at any time and any place, that is why we measure our success with the cooperation of the local government units who are on their own crafting setting up local legislations addressing the issue,” Alforque said. Grace Paulino, Cebu Provincial Tourism Officer, said Cebu already has a Women and Children’s Code that covers children’s protection and development. Lapulapu City Tourism Officer Hembler Mendoza said they also have a local ordinance for women and children and they constantly meet with hotel and resort owners for security reasons and share reports of suspicious looking tourists. Cordova Vice Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho, for her part, said the CWT is a welcome initiative since her town needs all the help from the local, national, and international levels to stop the child sex industry from proliferating. Teodolo Romo, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), said they had always been a partner with DOT and other agencies in empowering the
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CEBU CITY (PIA) -- More than 50 percent of Central Visayas' target coverage under the National Greening Program (NGP) plantation establishment have already been met to date, according to Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-7 Information Officer Dr. Eddie Llamedo. Llamedo said 12,413.73 hectares were covered with various native and agroforestry tree species. This is more than half of the total 24,361 hectares of plantation establishment targeted by DENR-7 in Central Visayas under NGP. DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Dr. Isabelo R. Montejo has earlier pushed to speed up the plantation activities in various selected forest land areas in the region to meet at least half of the target on or before August 15. Montejo said that aside from conducting massive tree planting or growing activities, "it is our responsibility also to ensure that these planted seedlings would result to a high survival rate through the conduct of regular monitoring and validation." Based on records from forest management services (FMS), as of August 15, the partial accomplishments of the region are, namely: Cebu with 4,797 hectares planted with 2,694,106 seedlings; Bohol with 2,630.00 hectares planted with 2,385,795 seedlings; Negros Oriental with 4,921 hectares and 2,707,222 seedlings; and Siquijor with 66.5 hectares planted with 13,303 seedlings. Montejo added that NGP’s intention is to put back trees on hundreds of thousands of hectares of land where they once stood. He said: “Our goal is to meet the plantation establishment requirement of 24,361 hectares before November 30 this year and with this 50 percent mark already, we are confident that we will be able to meet our target for NGP for 2013." NGP also seeks to improve water quality in rivers and irrigation of farmlands, reduce the potential for flooding, soak up carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, and lay the foundation for an expanded wood-products economy. disadvantaged. “DSWD is deeply involved with DOT with the 5.2 million assistance for poor households particularly those living within or near tourist sites,” Romo said. During the launching at the historical Plaza Independencia, a Covenant of Commitment for the Protection of Children in Tourism was signed by representatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Education (DepEd), DSWD, LGUs, and partner agencies. CWT Program was established in 2001 encouraging tourists and the public not to turn a blind eye to situations wherein children are placed at risk. The public can report suspicious incidents that might lead to child sex prostitution to a 24 hour-hotline: 0919-777-7377. (rmn/ FCC/PIA-Cebu)