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INFOBYTES THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY-7 | WWW.PIA.GOV.PH VOL. 2 | NO. 23 September 27, 2013
TOPSTORIES
DENR allots P80M to establish 1st mechanized seedling nursery facility in CV By juju M. Empuerto with reports from DENR-7 CEBU (PIA) --- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) earmarked nearly P80M to establish the firstever mechanized seedling nursery facility in Central Visayas. DENR-7 regional executive director
Dr. Isabelo Montejo said, this is the largest among the five nurseries in the country when it comes to producing or generating superior quality seedlings under the national greening program (NGP). "The facility uses series of equipment
27After over a week of staying in Zamboanga City, President Benigno S. Aquino III heads back to Manila for several engagments, but assured that Zamboangenos for a sure, deliberate, and long term solution to the tension that sprang between the Philippine military force and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Also in photo are Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin AFP Chief Emmanuel Bautista PNP Chief Allan Purisima and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman during the press briefing at the Edwin Andrews base in zamboangga . Photo By Robert Vinas/Malacanang Photo Bureau
for bagging, seeding, hardening and other related activities. This is something different from the conventional manner of growing seedlings considering the magnitude of seedlings to be generated in a year to address the tree planting and growing activity.” Montejo added. The nursery will be put up within the 9.3-hectare lot in Barangay Banban, Ayungon, Negros Oriental that will start in October. Owing to the huge volume of seedlings to be produced, DENR-7 and Ayungon LGU signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on September 3. “We are very proud that Central Visayas particularly Negros Oriental, was chosen to be one of the pilot areas in the country to have this kind of mechanized nursery and with this, we can be assured of faster and quality production of our seedlings,” Montejo said. The mechanized nursery is set to produce and accommodate 15 to 20 million seedlings every six months which guarantees at least 40 million seedlings in a year. Other pilot areas in the country chosen for mechanized nursery establishment include the National Capital Region, regions 5 and 13, and the DENR Central Office. Under the Executive Order No. 26, the NGP is to be carried out in the following lands of the public domain: forestlands, mangrove and protected areas, ancestral domains, civil and military reservations, urban areas, and abandoned mine. Montejo concluded that this is a government’s blueprint for poverty reduction, food security, biodiversity conservation, environmental stability and climate mitigation and adaptation. (mbcn/JSME/PIA7-Cebu with reports from DENR-7)
Exemplary civil servants need good packaging - CSC By Ferliza Calizar-Contratista
CEBU CITY (PIA) --- Civil servants need “good packaging." This was the statement of the officials of the Civil Service Commission (CSC-7) in today’s Kapihan sa PIA Cebu forum as part of the 113th Civil Service Anniversary celebration. Prolaine Daclan, Chief Personnel Specialist of CSC-7, said to counter the various misconceptions the public has about government employees, there is a need for “good packaging” among civil servants, or documentation of their accomplishments. “Despite these misconceptions we would like to emphasize that there are still many who are doing their jobs well,” Daclan said. Daclan admitted they have a difficulty in finding nominees because it is rare for civil servants to keep track
of their accomplishments. “Kasagaran gani moingon man lang nga sagdi lang mam oy, maulaw ta (Most of them would just say never mind because they're too embarrassed),” Daclan said. This why there is a need for nominees to be guided accordingly in their documentation process, she said. She disclosed that CSC plans to hold a training program for individuals who are nominated in the various award categories on how to go about with the documentation needed for submission. “We can teach them how to make a winning nomination,” Daclan said. She said there are various awards and citations for civil servants and some of the most prestigious are the Presidential Lingkod Bayan, Pagasa and Dangal ng Bayan Awards. Presidential Lingkod Bayan
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Award is for individuals or groups which had an extraordinary contribution that has an impact to the entire country while Pag-asa Award is for individuals or groups whose contribution benefitted one or more department of the government. Dangal Award is for any individual or group who displayed consistently exemplary ethical behavior. There are over 300 national government and local government organizations in Central Visayas. For this year, Region 7 produced two finalists for the national search, namely: Exepdizita Lenares of Dalaguete Municipality and Pelagio Ceballos of Bayawan City, Negros Oriental. For this month’s Civil Service Anniversary celebration, CSC held a fun run, a tree planting, and partnered with SM City Cebu for the extension of a five percent discount to government employees for three days. (rmn/FCC/ PIACEBU)
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NEGROS ORIENTAL
Bikers join Bike for Peace in NegOr by
Roi Lomotan
DUMAGUETE CITY (PIA) – Hundreds of bikers joined the “Bike for Peace” activity organized by the Negros Oriental Bikers Association (NOBA) recently that aimed to promote goodwill, unity and awareness of peace initiatives among law enforcers and the civilians through biking events. “The biking community of Negros Oriental is part of peace movement. We would like to let the people know that we are not just cycling but we also take part in the commitment in building peace,” said event organizer Dondee Señeris. The cycling event gathered different biking groups from Mabinay, Canlaon City, Bayawan City, Guihulngan City and other teams from the different towns of the province. The “Bike for Peace” activity started at 4:00 am with two major biking groups starting from Guihulngan City in the northern part of the province and from Bayawan City in the south. These two groups converged at the Freedom Park in Dumaguete City later that morning and signed the wall of commitment for peace. Señeris said other biking groups joined with the two major biking groups as they pass through their towns on their way
to Dumaguete City. Señeris thanked those who participated in the event and especially the government agencies which are members of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) who supported the biking activity. “We are happy for this event. We would like thank the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG-NegOr), the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police (PNP-NegOr) who are very supportive to it. What we received is the logistical and communication support from the Philippine Army and the PNP,” Señeris
said. The event concluded with a turnover ceremony of five units of bicycle to student-beneficiaries identified by NOBA who take long walks before they reach their schools. Señeris hopes that through this, these students will no longer take long walks in order to get to their schools. The “Bike for Peace” is one of the activities in celebration of the Peace Month this September. (mbcn/RAL/PIA7-Negros Oriental)
Sen. Bam A q u i n o meets with Dumaguete City Press d u r i n g his recent Pasasalamat Tour in Negros Oriental. A q u i n o assured press people that he will propose laws that would support industries in the province. (RAL/ PIANEGOR)
POEA launches e-registration service in NegOr By Roi Lomotan NEGROS ORIENTAL (PIA) – Thousands of jobseekers flocked at the launching of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)’s e-registration service for Negros Oriental held at the Provincial Convention Center recently. POEA provincial director Jocelyn Sanchez disclosed that Negros Oriental is the fourth province that conducted the e-registration service. The other provinces are Cebu, Ilocos and Pampanga. The POEA’s e-registration service aims to make employment abroad easier to aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). “We will bring the opportunity of working abroad in Negros Oriental with the help of the governor and the Provincial Public Employment Service System (PESO),” Sanchez said. Aspiring OFWs who want to avail of the government-to-government job placement must log in to www. eregister.poea.gov.ph and fill out the electronic form with their personal information. After this, the system will generate an online biodata account for the applicant which will be saved in the agency’s database. Sanchez explained when governments from other countries partnering with the POEA would have a job opening they will just look on applicants online biodata for their hiring.
She also added that it’s the international governments who will decide what job will they give the applicants and where will they be assigned. However, applicants are reminded to open their biodata accounts at the POEA website every six months to avoid deactivation. “If you don’t open it after six months, your accounts goes inactive so please be reminded that after six months open your account. If you have undergone additional training or experiences just edit your profile,” Sanchez advised the registrants. She also reminded them that passports and active e-mail addresses are additional requirements or the e-registration service. The launching of the e-registration service is also coupled with a job opening for South Korea. The POEA official said South Korean government will accept Filipino applicants through the online service. Sanchez cited that Koreans are good employers because they pay P50, 000 to their employees and they don’t require placement fees. However, applicants must pass the Korean Language Test to become more qualified for the job posts there. Meanwhile the launching of POEA’s e-registration system and job fair is a kick-off activity in celebration of the second year anniversary of the Provincial PESO. Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo expressed his gratitude for the POEA and to the South Korean
government for partnering with them in job generation. “Today we celebrate the second anniversary of the Provincial PESO. We (also) have recruitment for Korea and hopefully we can send many people there. I am also happy the on our second year anniversary we launched the e-registration of POEA,” Gov. Degamo said. He then assured Negrenses that this is only one of the job generation projects of the provincial government and they will generate more employment for them. On the other hand, Provincial PESO Manager Ramon Benedicto said he’s overwhelmed by the bulk of people who attended the event. In line with this, Benedicto disclosed that the e-registration service will be a continuing project of his office. He said the Provincial PESO will allot a room for those who would like to sign-up for the e-registration and would also like to avail of the government-togovernment job placement. “I promised the Governor that I will do this to help him, to help the province and to help Negrenses that don’t have jobs. We are made for service that is why we are doing our best to give service to people,” Benedicto said. Apart from this event, the PESO will also conduct job fairs on Sept. 24 for those looking for jobs in Dubai, Taiwan and Malaysia and on Oct. 1-3 and 19 in time of the Buglasan Festival. (mbcn/RAL/PIA7-Negros Oriental)
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BOHOL
DOLE-7 grants livelihood funds in support to Bohol's HEAT, IT caravan By Hazel F. Gloria
In her message during the launching, DOLE-7 regional director Chona Mantilla thanked the MDC for its voluntary involvement CEBU (PIA) --- The Department “Big Brother” - “Small Brother” concept. and for choosing to enroll under the DOLE of Labor and Employment (DOLE-7) and the According to DOLE-7 information KAPATIRAN project. Makati Development Corporation (MDC) formally officer Emmanuel Ferrer, large companies “We hope the companies under this launched the 2013 KAPATIRAN project at the (Big Brothers) as part of their corporate social program would see this undertaking as an City Sports Club, Cebu City recently with the responsibility, using their own resources and investment rather an expense, Mantilla said. theme “Kapatiran Para sa Mas Ligtas, Produktibo expertise help and assist the small companies She also described how robust the at Malusog na mga Manggagawa.” (Small Brothers) to be compliant with labor construction industry in Cebu is with 145 percent The program which was first advocated standards including safety and health in the year-on-year growth and the multiplier effect to by the Bureau of Working Condition features the workplace. other industries e.g. transport, food, grocery, hotel, others. The highlight of the program was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the stakeholders of the KAPATIRAN program. Signatories to the landmark document were DOLE–7 Dir. Chona Mantilla, Ferdie Mangali representing the Makati Development Corporation, Chairman of the Board (ITC for construction) Benjamin Alfred Jose and its members. Companies were recognized as well, during the event for adherence to Occupational Safety and Health Standards compliance, namely: 1016 Residences for reporting 2.005,989 safe man-hours; ACC PLB project site 4,480,123 safe man-hours; AVIDA Tower Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. (3rd from 1 – 3,456,614 safe man-hours; AVIDA right) joins Hon. Senator Grace Poe and other participants from Filipino Civil Society during the Tower 2 – 1,550,247 safe man-hours. launching of the "Kayanihan" Projet held at the Kalayaan Hall-Club Filipino, Club Filipino Avenue, AMARA North Expansion Greenhills in San Juan City on Friday (September 20). The "Kayanihan" Project, which showcase project site for having no loss time of industry creative-production state-of-the-art, made possible by the first "Kayanihan" sponsor, accident within the duration of the project P&G, with the invaluable and collaborative support of Campaigns & Grey/Capri, and ASAP's and Certificate of Recognition to Makati World stages, Executive Decisions IMCF, stAges Production, Straight Shooters Media Inc., Hit Development Corporation for being the Studios and Vitalstrats Designs, working together under the auspices of the foundation's Special Champion of the Cause of Construction Projects Committee (SPC) and Social Communications Unit (SCU).The term "Kayanihan" is a Safety through its enrollment in the combination of bayanihan, the community spirit that is a defining aspect of our culture, and the KAPATIRAN Program. (mbcn/HFG/PIA-7/ DOLE-7) with reports from emmanuel
Ferrer/DOLE-7
CEBU
Cebuanos celebrate September as 'Water Consciousness Month' By Juju M. Empuerto CEBU (PIA) --- The people’s low regard in managing the country’s water resources is something that should be looked into by government agencies, private sectors and various stakeholders.
pressures to the water bodies, polluting them due to rapidly growing population resulting to increased economic activities, he noted.
of shower when bathing or the hose when washing vehicles and gardening d u r i n g c o o l e r t i m e s o f t h e d a y.
“These things should move us to action amid a scarcity of freshwater,” Montejo suggested.
This was the message of the regional executive director of DENR-7, Dr. Isabelo Montejo during the launching of the Cebu Water Conservation Month 2013 celebration with the theme “Water Security for a Sustainable Cebu" for the whole of September.
According to DENR-7 information officer Eddie Llamedo this is the reason the agency through the Central Cebu River Basin Management Council (CCRBMC) with the Provincial Government of Cebu and other private institutions organized a Cebu Water Conservation Month 2013 celebration.
Reduce the frequency of doing the laundry, as well as hanging clothes to dry instead of prolonging t h e w a s h i n g m a c h i n e ’s s p i n c y c l e .
Montejo said, the country at any given time has 146 billion cubic meters of water available however, it is being treated like a free resource. "We are throwing water away every second, and we fail or ignore to manage it properly,” Montejo added. Montejo said that despite the abundance of water in the Philippines, not much of it is available for public consumption because of problems in “catching” and “keeping” the water such as through water impounding systems; lack of infrastructure especially for irrigation; and pollution of water bodies.
Everyday people are adding more
Llamedo said more than 70 participants from the national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs) and the private sectors attended the activity that was formally launched on September 20 at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Social Hall. During the event, DENR-7 shared five water saving tips that the public may do or practice at home and these are; checking of plumbing leaks and reporting pipe leaks to the water concessionaires; using water sparingly such as when brushing teeth, washing hands, washing dishes and washing clothes.
Use pail and dipper instead
Re-use 'used water' for dousing garden plants. Water used in food preparation and soapy laundry water can also be used for washing vehicles. (mbcn/JSME/ PIA7-Cebu with reports from DENR-7)
INFOBYTES
is a weekly electronic newsletter produced by the Philippine Information Agency-Region 7 with stories submitted by its Provincial Information Centers in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
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DTI records 2,544 participants in SME Roving Academy nationwide initiation After its recent national launching, the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) SME Roving Academy program jumpstarted in the country’s 16 regions and recorded 2,544 participants nationwide. “This synchronized introduction of the program nationwide is just the start. The DTI will be continuously implementing this program in various regions within the year and next year,” Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BMSMED) Officer-in-Charge Jerry T. Clavesillas said. The SME Roving Academy is a continuous learning program for the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to make them become competitive in the local and foreign markets. “The DTI is pursuing this program to enhance the competitiveness of MSMEs in various regions of the country. In this way, we capacitate them to generate employment and contribute to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP),” Clavesillas said. For up-and-coming entrepreneurs, the DTI is providing the following training topics: entrepreneurship, business opportunities, and skills training. For entrepreneurs with existing businesses, the following
topics are given: business registration, managerial skills training, financial management, marketing management, costing and pricing, technology application, productivity improvement, production management, basics of exporting, trade fair participation, market intelligence, product development, packaging and labeling, website development, and visual merchandising. Clavesillas noted that one-half of the participants of these recently conducted SME Roving Academy learning sessions are aspiring entrepreneurs. Out of the total participants nationwide, 1,147 are budding entrepreneurs and 1,397 entrepreneurs with existing businesses. The program was initiated in the following regions: 1, 3, 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Caraga, and National Capital Region (NCR). The program’s introduction in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Region 2 are set to follow. “In pursuing the development of MSMEs through this program, we are integrating the various interventions provided by government agencies and private sector organizations,” Clavesillas said. To implement this program, the DTI is collaborating with local government units (LGUs), chambers, academe, finance institutions, trade and industry
associations and other government and non-government organizations. “While the SME Roving Academy program has seven stages along with the Export Pathways Program (EPP), only some MSMEs will go through the latter stages of the program,” Clavesillas added. The SME Roving Academy p r o g r a m ’s s t a g e s i n c l u d e s t a r t up and capability building, market awareness, market readiness, export readiness, export market entry, export sustainability, and export expansion. “We plan to focus our interventions to those enterprises that intend to proceed in the latter stages or export stages covered in the EPP,” Clavesillas added. The EPP is an innovative strategy that assists existing and new exporters by offering client-focused interventions fit for the requirements of their businesses at certain stages. To implement the EPP, the DTI’s Bureau of Export Trade Promotions (BETP) uses the Regional Interactive Platform for Philippine Exporters (RIPPLES) as tool. The RIPPLES aims to keep current and potential exporters updated with international market access requirements, product trends and developments, and other international trade information for them to be competitive.