Information is our business.
iSIQUIJOR 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. 5| NO.15 May 4 - 12, 2017
DepEd taps partners’ support for quality education SIQUIJOR (PIA) -- The Department of Education (DepEd) is seeking support from different stakeholders here to attain quality education for the children of Siquijor through the implementation of the Adopt-a-School program. In a recent forum, Schools Division
Superintendent Ronald Gutay said that efforts have been made to make Adopta-School program benefit all the school children in the province. The program is an engagement between the internal and external stakeholders, he said, citing the teachers,
Regional Launching of the Brigada Eskwela 2017 themed “Isang DepEd, Isang Pamayanan, Isang Bayanihan Para sa Handa at Ligtas na Paaralan” at the Capital Square, Siquijor, Siquijor. #EmpoweringCommunities #PartnerForChange
learners and school administrators as the internal stakeholders with the parents, local government units (LGUs), barangay representatives, and the General Parents Teachers Association (PTCA) as among the external stakeholders. Gutay said the success of the program lies in the hands and minds and strong cooperation of the various partners. Institutionalized under Republic Act 8525 and approved on Febuary 14, 1998, Adopt-a- School program is one of the successful endeavors directed towards molding the minds of the youths as it brings in companies like ABS-SBN, Trans Asia, and Tukod Foundation to become donors and supporters of the program. District Supervisor Francis Morados cited Larena Central Elementary School as the recipient of the City Savings Bank donation for three years already. Gutay encouraged the barangay captains, PTA officials, and all partners to help advocate the program. He also advised the parents to strictly and conscientiously moitor their children’s time and activities and encourage them to read books and other valuable reading materials for their intellectual enhancement. (PIA7-Siquijor)
CHED continues scholarship grants for tertiary faculty members May 18 (PIA) --- With the K to 12 implementation displacing some faculty members, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) continues to push for institution development and offer scholarship grants for graduate studies. Dr. Freddie Bernal, CHED-7 and Negros Island Region Director, highlights the opportunity for the displaced faculty to avail of the K to 12 Transition Programs such as the scholarships and research grants.
According to Dr. Josefino Ronquillo, Supervising Education Program Specialist in Region 7, only 42 percent of college and university faculty members are master’s degree holders. “It’s not enough,” he said, adding that the rounds of allocation for scholarships are being increased. Dr. Ronquillo also hopes that by 2018, faculty members with master’s degrees will increase to 70 percent. A master’s degree is the minimum
requirement to teach in tertiary schools. Existing college and university faculty members without master’s degree are welcome to apply for scholarship grants offered by CHED. As of academic year 2016-2017, a total of 164 scholarship grants for local graduate studies and one for abroad were given under CHED’s K to 12 Transition Program. The deadline of submission of requirements to CHED-7 office is on June 30, 2017. (jsme/PIA7-Cebu/asv)
iSIQUIJOR GOVERNMENTNEWS
#EmpoweringCommunities
2017 Climate Science Boot Camp in Siquijor through the lens
Engr. Reinhold Jek Y. Abing, IO-designate of DOST Siquijor PSTC
How greenhouse gas CO2 affects the earth’s temperature? DOST PAGASA staff demonstrates to students from different schools in Siquijor province, through an experiment, how trapped CO2 can contribute to an increase in the world’s temperature thus causing global warming.
Storm surge simulation. With the use of molding clay, dishwashing liquid and hair dryer, the students were able to simulate the occurrence of storm surge and how the types of slope can affect the its impact to the community. The world of oceans. Dr. Aletta Yñiguez of the UP Marine Science Institute conducted a lecture on the importance of oceans and how it can affect our everyday life especially the climate.
Locate ‘em in the map! With the aid of the Philippine map and colorcoded drawing of a hypothetical typhoon courtesy of DOST PAGASA, students identified the provinces which were given advisories which were at typhoon signals 1, 2, and 3.
iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS #Empowering Communities
FOI to benefit Filipino families - PCOO
DUMAGUETE CITY, May 9 (PIA) -- The Freedom of Information (FOI) is not only intended for members of the media, but Filipino families can also benefit from it. Michelle Arianne Manza of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) said Filipino families can utilize FOI for various reasons. “The question thrown to us before was what is FOI? Is this something we can eat? Well of course you can. You can eat it in a way because information is something you can consume. It gives you the right tools for you to decide especially on important information,” Manza said. Manza also added that FOI has been known to be used when deciding on regular problems. “Where can we relocate our families? What school will I choose for my kids? Which school provides quality education for my children? These are some of the information we can get from the government.” President Duterte’s Executive Order No. 2 mandating all offices under the Executive Branch of the government to implement Freedom of Information was one of the main topics discussed in the recently held Ugnayan Dialogue for Progress event in Dumaguete City. Manza tackled the process of obtaining information from government offices under the Executive Branch. However, she mentioned that agencies under the Legislative and Judiciary are not covered by the FOI. Still, through FOI, the public can have access to records, statistics, archives and documents from different government agencies. “When PCOO was mandated to implement the FOI program we drafted the agency People’s FOI manual and the agency FOI manual. The agency FOI Manual is for agencies. It serves as guide for implementing the FOI. On the other hand the People’s FOI Manual is for every Juan Dela Cruz. What if they have an inquiry to DENR? They will follow the (people’s) FOI Manual,” Manza said. For those who want to make an FOI request, a set of procedures must be followed: 1. Applicant must fill out the FOI request form. The form can be downloaded at www.foi.gov.ph. The form asks for the name, address, contact details, and the preferred mode
of communication of the requesting person. It also asks how the requesting party would like receive the information (e-mail, personal appearance to the agency, snail mail). Manza noted that requesting persons must bring along a valid identification when submitting their FOI request to the concerned government agency. She also added that a valid ID is important especially in dealing with sensitive personal information. 2. The requesting party will submit the FOI request to the receiving officer of the concerned government agency. 3. The receiving officer will forward the request to the internal decision maker of the agency. The decision maker will determine if the information which the requesting party wants to obtain is very sensitive to be released. In that case, the agency can deny the release of the said information. Manza noted that information cannot be disclosed if it is covered by Executive Privilege, related to national security, defense or international relations, law enforcement and protection of public and personal safety, confidential Information for the protection of privacy of persons, confidential Information by reason of official capacity, prejudicial premature disclosures, records of proceedings, confidential information under banking and finance laws, and other exceptions under laws, jurisprudence, and implementing rules and regulations. 4. Once the decision maker approves the release of information, it will be returned to the receiving officer and the receiving officer will
deliver the information to the requesting party. Government offices have 15 days maximum to respond to a FOI request. If in case the requesting party was not satisfied on how the agency handled the FOI request, that person can apply for an appeal. On the other hand, requesting parties can also apply for an FOI request online. Individuals must log in to www. foi.gov.ph or the eFOI portal and they can browse information they need from government agencies. As of now, there are 65 national government agencies and government owned and controlled corporations linked with eFOI portal. Manza said the government is moving towards pro-active disclosure and it continues to enhance mechanisms that would make as much government documents public and to reduce the burden on public administration of having to process requests for information. “Ang ibig sabihin noon (proactive disclosure) ay bago pa hingin na ang impormasyon ay ilalabas na natin. Saa paanong paraan? Sa media, sa social media, sa website ng agency at sa iba’t ibang portals na pwedeng pagkuhanan ng impormasyon. Ang pinaka-prinsipiyo talaga niyan ay ilabas na bago pa hingin ng mamamayan. (What we mean there is that we have already released the information before an individual would ask for it. It can be through media, social media, websites of different agencies and web portals where people can visit to obtain information),” she said. Aside from the eFOI portal, data. gov.ph is also a website where the public can access government information. “In a nutshell, the FOI program is composed of open data which is proactive disclosure and the FOI, which involves engagement with people. Open data releases (information) from government agencies while FOI asks the public: Ano ang kailangan mo sa gobyerno? Anong impormasyon iyong importante sa iyo?” Manza elaborated. Through these mechanisms, Manza hopes that people will be able to consume and utilize the information they can get from government to improve their lives as she emphasized. “We all have equal rights when it comes to getting information from the government.” (ral/PIA7-Negros Oriental)
iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS
DepEd: Brigada Eskwela andam na sa pagbukas sa klase May 9 (PIA)—Ang buhatan sa Department of Education nangandam na sa pagbukas sa klase pinaagi mas halapad nga programa sa Brigada Eskwela Plus. Ang Brigada Eskwela Plus gi tumong nga mapadayon ug ilahutay ang mga kalihokan sa mga tunghaan sa tibook tuig sama sa pakigdugtong sa komunidad aron maaghat ang mga estudyante nga mu apil sa school activities ug ma menosan ang “drop-outs.” Mahimo usab nga mu enroll sa Alternative Learning System (ALS), ug ang pakiglambigit ug pagtinabangay sa komunidad aron mapalambo ang “performance” sa mga estudyante. Samtang ang mga Brigada Eskwela Hall of Fame Awardees gitahasan nga mu dasig sa mga pilot schools sa pagpatuman
sa “innovative and community-led effort “ sa Brigada Eskwela Plus 2017. Si Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones mipahibalo nga apil sa pagbukas sa Brigada Eskwela ang kampanya batok sa rabies sa mga magtutudlo, estudyante ug mga ginikanan. Mga health educators ipaubos sa training sa rabies awareness sa dili pa magsugod and Brigada ESkwela. Basi sa Republic Act No. 9482 ang nailang Anti-Rabies Act of 2007, gitahasan ang DepEd nga i apil sa school health teaching o curriculum ang rabies education program ug ang pagpaambit sa tukma nga impormasyon kabahin sa responsible pet ownership sa mga estudyante sa elementary ug secondary levels. (lpp/PIA7/Negros Oriental
The all out war against illegal drugs of the government made considerable gains in terms of reducing crime rate in the country according to the Philippine National Police. #RealNumbersPH
Cebuano News Drug test sa mga estudyante ug magtutudlo, idayon sa DepEd
May 16 (PIA)--Plano sa Department of Education (DepEd) nga idayon ang pagpahigayon og drug test sa mga estudyante, magtutudlo ug mga personnel niini karong tuig. Matud pa ni DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali, random drug testing ang himuon sa mga estudyante samtang mandatory drug testing usab ang sa mga magtutudlo ug DepEd personnel. Giingong ang maong drug testing parte sa pakighiusa sa DepEd sa ginahimong pagsumpo batok sa ilegal nga droga ni Presidente Rodrigo Duterte. Apil sa ipaubos sa drug test ang mga estudyante gikan elementary ug secondary school, apil na usab ang mga magtutudlo ug mga DepEd personnel gikan sa central, regional ug Division office. “With the consent of parents or guardians, DepEd will conduct drug tests among students in “a very discreet manner” to prevent traumatizing them,” matud pa ni Umali. Kun magpositibo sa paggamit sa ilegal nga droga ang usa ka estudyante, ipaubos kini sa ahensiya sa psychosocial intervention o di kaha i-admit sa usa ka drug rehabilitation center depende sa degree sa adiksiyon sa bata. Samtang i-konsiderar sa ahensiya ang awtomatikong dismissal sa serbisyo kun magtutudlo ug DepEd personnel ang mag-positibo sa ilegal nga droga. (ecb/PIA7-Bohol)
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