THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016
Malaybalay joins nation in commemorating 118th Araw ng Kalayaan
MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon – Thousands of peace-loving people gather at Ereccion del Pueblo in Malaybalay City Plaza Rizal as the city government takes the lead in “Salute to the Flag” to join the nation’s commemoration of the 118th “Araw ng Kalayaan (Independence Day).”
Upon the arrival of parade participants at Plaza Rizal, the Boy Scouts of the Philippines’ halyard pullers immediately moved to the flagpole for the flag raising ceremony. After the Philippine national flag was hoisted, the “Panunumpa sa Watawat (pledge of allegiance)” was adeptly recited by a DepEd (Department of Education) rhymester. Likewise, in honor of the brave heroes and veterans who fought and made the ultimate sacrifice for the country’s freedom, the Philippine Army’s 403rd Brigade offered a ‘21gun salute.’ In line with the theme “Kalayaan 2016: Pagkakaisa, Pag-aambagan, Pagsulong,” Malaybalay City Vice Mayor Roland Deticio—who talked in behalf of Mayor Ignacio Zubiri—said that celebrating ‘Independence Day’ is not because it is a significant chapter in the country’s history, but because it is a life-long commitment in the task to nation-building and development. In his inspirational message,
Deticio said “the 118th Araw ng Kalayaan is not merely about floral offerings, parades, or show of patriotism. The people should be inspired by drawing strength from the heroes who fought not only for the sake of independence but also on freedom from hunger, oppression, poverty, injustice, and discrimination.” Highlighting the June 12 commemoration of Araw ng Kalayaan, public servants, employees, schools, including private sectors and civil society organizations offered hundreds of colorful flower bouquets at the Rizal Shrine while the Bukidnon State University Chorale and Brass Band stately sung the “Ang Bayan kong Pilipinas.” The sounding of sirens and blowing of horns by the Bureau of Fire Protection, followed by simultaneous ringing of church bells, capped the 118th Philippine Independence Day commemoration rites here in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. (Ruby Leonora R. Balistoy)
DOH reiterates 4S strategy in dengue control CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Noting on the rise of dengue cases every two years in Northern Mindanao, Department of Health-Research Epidemiology Surveillance, and Disaster Response Unit in the region calls for community’s involvement in controlling the spread of the disease.
“We can’t do it alone, we need the people to imbibe and practice the 4S strategy in dengue prevention which stands for Search and destroy the possible breeding place of Aedes aegypti, Seek early consultation, Self-protective measures and Say no to indiscriminate fogging,” said DOHRESDRU region 10 cluster head, Dr. David Mendoza. He said that the public should not be complacent, because even in the months from January to March, which is a dry season, posted increased cases of dengue. Mendoza explained this is also because in areas with less water, uncovered water containers have also become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. “As we are now in the onset of rainy season, I am appealing to
everyone to be careful also with other diseases common during the period like cholera, leptospirosis, typhoid fever, hepatitis, and other vector borne diseases,” he added. Meanwhile, the DOH for their part through RESDRU is monitoring and recording closely suspected dengue cases in the region. He calls it “data in action,” it’s provided weekly to partners at the local level to be able to respond immediately if ever clustering of cases have been noted on their area. A dengue quick response team is likewise being organized in 18 local health zones, while the DOH is also strengthening the “Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue (ABaKaDa) to stir up community action. (Jorie C. Valcorza)
Northern Mindanao farm output contracts due to El Nino CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The dry spell brought about by El Nino negatively impacted the farm output in Northern Mindanao in the first quarter of 2016, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Engr. Cecilio Clarete, chief economic development specialist of NEDA in region 10 said the drought caused the production of major crops in the region to contract during the first quarter of the year. Citing reports from the Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA), Clarete said palay production declined by almost six percent to 170,185 metric tons (MT) from 180,694 MT in the same quarter last year. Decreases were recorded in four of the five provinces in the region for
both irrigated and rainfed areas. Clarete said the insufficient rainfall caused lesser plantings in Lanao del Norte and decreased the harvest areas and average yield in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental. Despite the reduced production, the total value of palay produced went up by 1.1 percent reaching P3.356 billion as farm gate price increased by 7.3 percent to P19.72 per kilogram from P18.37 in 2015 . El Nino also affected corn production as it dipped by 19 percent in the first quarter of this year to only 249,680 MT from 307,848 MT in the same period of last year. Hardly hit provinces were Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Camiguin which posted double digit decreases. Bukidnon’s corn production went down by 23 percent as some yellow corn areas were greatly damaged by the drought. Bukidnon accounted for 68 percent of the region’s total corn production. Farmers in Misamis Oriental, on the other hand, planted pineapple and cassava in some corn areas due to insufficient rainfall. However, Lanao del Norte did relatively well increasing its output by three percent as high yielding variety of corn seeds were planted in the province. Clarete also said the value of production declined for both white and yellow corn despite increases in farm gate prices.
In terms of the sufficiency level, the total corn produced only met 64 percent of the region’s requirement during the quarter while rice sufficiency stood at only 74 percent. The production of coconut, which is sensitive to a dry spell, also contracted during the quarter. The volume of matured nuts produced went down by 1.94 percent while green nut by 1.07 percent. The biggest drop was again registered in Bukidnon. With the decline in production, the prices of copra increased by 19 percent to P35.21 per kilo. It also caused the export of coconut commodities to decline by 11 percent in terms of volume and nine percent in sales reaching only US$115.35 million from US$130.80 million yearon-year. The brunt of El Nino on the agricultural industry also affected the region’s other development indicators. Employment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points from 94.8 percent in January 2015 to 94.6 in January 2016. The decline in the employment rate, amidst the decline in the labor force, resulted to a 5.5 percent reduction in the total employment in the region. Clarete noted that the biggest reduction was recorded in the Agriculture sector, where employment was reduced by 23 percent from 849,000 employees in 2015 to only 654,000 in January 2016. (Apipa P. Bagumbaran)