VOL. 2 l NO.15 l June 13, 2012
Renal disease in C.Visayas on the rise A Holy mass officiated by Monsignor Robert Alesna of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral starts the celebration of the 114th Philippine Independence Day in Cebu City led by Mayor Michael Rama and other city officials and employees at Plaza Sugbo, Cebu City Hall Grounds. (FCR/AS/PIA-7, CEBU)
By Fayette Rinen CEBU CITY, June 13 (PIA) -- Incidence of kidney diseases is on the rise in Central Visayas, even as medical renal experts here claimed that data on renal cases in the region are underreported. Dr. John Li, a private nephrologist, said the data given by the Department of Health (DOH) 7 of 514 patients undergoing dialysis treatment in 2010 taken from the Primary Renal Disease is "too low." Li said the data perhaps only reflected those patients with permanent residence and does not include transient dialysis patients. “I receive an average of 10 to 20 patients a day and half of them really have renal problems. And more than 50 percent cannot afford regular dialysis treatment,” said Li during this morning’s Kapihan sa PIA that featured the observance of June as National Kidney Month. Per session of dialysis treatment in a private hospital is said to cost between P3,000 to P4,000 while a patient with end-stage renal disease requires three times a week treatment, bared Li. “Lack of money is basically the reason why renal patients do not seek dialysis or either
CEBU
drop out from regular dialysis sessions or only dialyze one to two times instead of three times a week,” said Li. Renal transplant surgeon Dr. Alvin Roxas of the government-manned Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) also
City dad says unity and peace vital for dev't By Fayette Rinen
CEBU CITY, June 12 (PIA) -Unity and peace are essential elements to prosperity and development. This was the message of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama during the 114th Independence Day celebration here at the Plaza Sugbo this morning before a crowd of more than 1,500 people. The celebration kicked off with a solidarity run at 5 a.m. from the Provincial Capitol Grounds to Plaza Sugbo followed by a mass officiated by Msgr. Robert Alesna of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. Opening the program after the mass was a religious song “Let There Be Peace on Earth," which set the tone of Rama’s message on unity and peace as important components to progress. A dance presentation depicting love of country in “Pilipinas Kong Mahal" witnessed the making of the Philippine Flag by women in gold-inspired Filipiniana costume that ended with the death of Filipino hero Dr. Jose Rizal by the popular San Diego Dance Company. Mayor Rama then raised the Philippine Flag as the band from AFPCentral Command played the Philippine National Anthem while in attendance was five other city councilors. Two young children of city hall employees did the ‘Panunumpa sa Watawat,’
and the ‘Panatang Makabayan.’ In his message, Rama espoused the need for unity citing the popular adage ‘United We Stand, Divided We Fall.’ “In my political view, avoidance of political quarrel is a must not only for the city of Cebu but the entire world in order to build a better world for all of us," bared Rama. It has been common knowledge that Rama is at odds with former ally Rep. Tomas Osmeña who used to be the city mayor while both are contending for the mayoralty seat in the 2013 elections. Rama cited former City Mayor Ronald Duterte who once said that we can never be free from the bondage of oppression if political obstinacy and political stubbornness continues to exist adding that “the general welfare of the people is the supreme law." Rama also said urged the people to reflect on whether one should exist merely to serve oneself or to serve one's fellowmen. After the mayor’s message, a fancy drill was conducted by the Boys Scouts of the University of San Jose Recoletos, National Science High School. The climax of the program was the releasing of butterflies that signified freedom in observance of today’s historical event where the nation gained independence from foreign rule over a century ago. (PIACebu)
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believed that the data is underreported. “When I started five to six years ago, there were already 4,000 new dialysis patients then. Year in, year out the number of patients needing dialysis is growing. In fact, at VSMMC we do four shifts instead of the usual two shifts because of the growing number of patients,” disclosed Roxas. Roxas also said one indicator that supports the trend of rising renal cases is the sprouting dialysis centers in Cebu City. DOH 7 Regional Director Asuncion Anden in the same forum said there are 514 dialysis patients in Central Visayas in 2010. Of the figure, 290 patients were from Cebu followed by 108 from Bohol, 37 in Negros Oriental and two in Siquijor with a total of 329 patients from Region 7 while the remaining 185 patients were from other provinces. Anden said the same number is more or less recorded for 2009 while they do not have the data yet for 2011. The DOH-7 chief admitted that there is no system-based data on the exact figure of patients undergoing dialysis and that this is something that needs to be addressed in order to have the real situationer on incidence of renal diseases in Central Visayas. Li and Roxas, however, said that what is more important is to focus on disease prevention. Both doctors trained at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI). “We should focus more on how to prevent developing kidney disease rather than the correct data because we want to promote quality and productive life,” said Li. Roxas on the other hand, urged the public to undergo annual urinalysis for early detection of kidney dysfunction. This should be done at least once a year. he said. "Do it as a birthday gift to yourself,” said Roxas. Urinalysis costs around P60 here, he said. The DOH-7 meanwhile, has lined up several forums this month on kidney disease prevention particularly to public health workers in celebration of June as National Kidney Month. (PIA-Cebu)
NEGROS ORIENTAL
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NegOr exceeds seedlings requirement for this year's NGP By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 11 (PIA) -- The province of Negros Oriental have already surpassed the seedling requirement set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for this year. DENR set a 1.3 million seedling target for Negros Oriental for 2012. To date, the province has already prepared about 1.9 million seedlings ready for planting in its National Greening Program (NGP) sites. “This involves a total budget of about P18 million involving 30 people’s organizations here,” DENR Region 7 executive director Maximo Dichoso said about the massive undertaking. The seedlings will be planted in the province’s target area of 2,619 hectares for this year, which is double than the 1,900 hectares set by DENR for the province last year. The seedlings are from the more than 100 mother trees that were marked in the province’s seed production areas. “We are ensuring that the seedlings being produced for our NGP planting must come from these mother trees in order to have high quality planting materials,” said Dichoso. NGP’s national target last year was 100,000 hectares, and the number is hiked to 200,000 hectares this year. Negros Oriental’s total land area covers 540,203 hectares, of which only 5.6 percent or 30,000 hectares are existing natural forest cover.
The Philippine National Bank (PNB) and Silliman University (SU) in Dumaguete City signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) offering a tuition fee loan program. PNB executive vice-president Joven Hernandez and SU President Dr. Ben Malayang III formalized the partnership that provides tuition fee loan assistance to students. Hernandez said this student financial aid with an interest rate of only 1% monthly is the first pilot program offered exclusively for Silliman college students.
About 4.9 percent or 22,085 hectares of the total land area are plantation forest and man-made forest areas. President Benigno Aquino III declared NGP as a government
priority in Executive Order No. 26 with the goal of planting some 1.5 billion trees in about 1.5 million hectares across the country from 2011 to 2016. (RMN-PIA 7, Negros Oriental)
Livelihood center for sugar workers to rise in Dumaguete By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 11 (PIA) -- A livelihood training center that will benefit sugar workers and their families in Negros Oriental is set to be built in Dumaguete City. This after the city government of Dumaguete, led by Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, on Wednesday inked an agreement with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the construction of the Negros Oriental Sugar Workers’ Livelihood Training
Center. DOLE Region 7 Director Atty. Ma. Gloria Tango signed the agreement in behalf of the labor department. The center will sit on a 400square meter area within the premises of the Dumaguete City High School. The memorandum of agreement between DOLE and the city government is good for 25 years and renewable for another 25 years. DOLE has allocated a total of P6 million for the construction of said center, taken from the Special Project Funds (SPF) from Unclaimed Cash Bonus Funds of sugar field workers. The District Tripartite Councils (DTC) of the Central Azucarera de Bais (CAB) in Bais City, the Universal Robina Sugar Milling Corporation (URSUMCO)
in Manjuyod town, and the Herminio Teves Company Inc. (HTCI) passed a resolution in March this year expressing their appreciation of Mayor Sagarbarria for “being instrumental in the fulfillment of the project.” In 2009, the DTCs of CAB, URSUMCO, and HTCI requested the Sugar Tripartite Council to allocate P6.1 million for the construction of the livelihood training center here. The center aims to offer skills trainings for sugar workers and their families to provide them with support livelihoods. This is in line with the Social Alleviation Program in the Sugar Industry that intends to uplift the living conditions of sugar workers and their families. (RMN/PIA 7, Negros Oriental)
BOHOL
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K to 12 implemented this school year By Rey Anthony Chiu ` TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, June 11 (PIA) -- Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K to 12) starts this year. Bohol Department of Education (DepEd) officials assured concerned parents that the two more years in school, which begins this year, would make high school graduates earn the competency, better able to land jobs, and take a better standing among the country’s and international labor force. According to Dr. Wilfreda Bongalos, the old system allows students to graduate high school while they are yet too young to find work, and if they do, they could not demand for just wages as they are under-aged and are technically working illegally. This year, education officials implement the basic educational system reform agenda (BESRA), which will add more years in high school to keep graduates globally competitive. “They will be at the right working age (when they finish),” pointed out Dr. Bongalos, meaning after the additional two years of technical and vocational training in the senior high school. She also pointed out that the country should keep up with other countries in adopting an educational program that maximizes training for work competency. The reforms implemented in grade 1 digs into the pupil’s lingual resources- the mother tongue- to get pupils in a better position to grasp education concepts, she said. Dr. Bongalos, along with Education Supervisor Pablito Villalon explained the K to 12 at the Kapihan sa PIA recently. `After taking kindergarten and 12 years, students would have learned skills to allow them to determine their future trade or profession when they graduate from senior high school, according to Dr. Bongalos. Mother tongue is the language the kids use at home. She explained that the mother tongue will be used in the kid’s first three years in the elementary. The teacher will slowly introduce Filipino towards the fourth year. Other than the use of the mother tongue, pupils also get introduced to four more subjects: Mathematics, Araling Panlipunan, Edukasyon at Pagpakatao, Music, Arts Physical Education at Health (MAPEH) With the BESRA, students will find two more years of school after their completing their first four years in high school. Now called the senior high school, this is where technical and vocational trainings are introduced. According to the Division Office, those who finish the junior high school need to proceed to senior high school before they are accepted in college. As they graduate from high school, they would have learned some skills that would enable them to be hired.(mbcn/ rahc-PIA 7, Bohol)
INNOCENCE at its best. Katigbawan Princesses take a look at a photo taken by Ric Obedencio and Pia Bohol did not let the candid moment pass without a shot.
20 cop stations score perfect crime solution in April By Rey Anthony Chiu TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, June 11 (PIA) -- Twenty police stations located in Bohol’s 47 towns and one city, including the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC), scored perfect crime solution efficiency (CSE) for the month of April. This, as Bohol enjoyed a decrease in the crime volume in April, which police authorities attribute to the increase in police-initiated operations and accomplishments. PSSupt. Constantino Baro also said they achieved the decreased crimes through the active support of the community as reflected in the significant decrease of index crimes. Anda, Batuan, Balilihan, Bilar, Bien Unido, Buenavista, Candijay, Cortes, Dagohoy, Danao, Dauis, Guindulman, Loboc, Mabini, President Garcia, Sevilla, Sierra Bullones, Tubigon, Valencia, and the PPSC based at Camp Dagohoy had crime incidents recorded for the month, but its police operatives clocked in efforts to have the crimes solved to attain a 100 percent crime solution efficiency. For April, police solved 124 of the 145 index and 64 non-index crimes, capping a 59.3 percent general crime solution efficiency. The PPSC had six non-index crimes and Tubigon police station tallied five index and one non-index crime for the month,
both disposed of them by filing appropriate cases, topping the records with the most crimes solved. Balilihan (three index and one nonindex), Valencia (two-two) and Mabini (three-one) police stations also had four cases each and disposed all of them. Meanwhile, Alburquerque, Antequera, Corella, Dimiao, Getafe, Garcia Hernandez, Maribojoc, San Isidro and Sikatuna could go as the most peaceful and orderly towns in Bohol for April with zero crimes committed, at least according to the police station-based reports gathered by Camp Dagohoy. For Bohol, police operatives succeeded in apprehending 19 persons involved in illegal drug trade, confiscated 20.07 grams of shabu, 1.80 grams of dried marijuana leaves and an assortment of drug paraphernalia. In its campaign against illegal gambling, police arrested 15 persons in 13 operations and filed 14 cases while collecting P20, 626 cash, fighting cocks, voluminous tally sheets for illegal numbers game, fax machine, and two motorcycles. In its campaign against illegal possession of firearms, police recovered five high powered and eight low powered firearms, filed nine cases of illegal possession, and apprehended eight suspects in April.
SIQUIJOR
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Siquijor population shows increase of 11.6%
More than 91,000 posted as of May 2010 By Rizalie A. Calibo SIQUIJOR, June 11 (PIA) -The province of Siquijor posted a total population of 91,066 persons as of May 2010, according to a report from the National Statistics Office (NSO) here. In a press release submitted
to the Philippine Information Agency, NSO-Siquijor officer-in-charge Leopoldo P. Alpanta, Jr. said the figure shows an increase of 9,468 persons or 11.6 percent over the total population of 81,598 in 2000 census. The annual population growth rate (PGR) recorded in the province for the period 2000 to 2010 was 1.10 percent, which shows an increase of 0.11 percentage points from the 0.99 percent annual PGR noted for the period 1990 to 2000, he said. Among the six municipalities in the province, the capital town of Siquijor showed the biggest population with a total of 25,231, comprising more than one-fourth at 27.71 percent to the total population, the report said. This is followed by the town of Lazi with a total population of 20,024, which is The official marker of the San Isidro Labrador church as National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines. Unveiling was done on its Feast Day, May 15, 2012 with US Embassy Cultural Affairs Officer Alan R. Holst. (RACalibo/PIA-Siquijor with foto from Siquijor Tourism Office)
21.99 percent. The third and fourth spot was a close contest between the towns of San Juan and Maria at 13,525 and 13,383 respectively, which is an equivalent share of 14.85 and 14.70 percent, respectively, of the total population, Alpanta said in the report. President Benigno S. Aquino III signed Proclamation No. 362 on March 30, 2012 declaring the 2010 Population of the Philippines by province, city/municipality, and barangay, based on the 2010 Census of Population and Housing (2010 CPH) conducted by the NSO, as official. The census of population is the source of information on the size and distribution of population as well as information about the demographic, social, and economic characteristics. This information is vital for making rational plans and programs towards national and local development, the NSO said. The 2010 CHP is the 13th series of Census of Population in the country since 1903. Official results can be downloaded in the NSO website www.census.gov.ph. (rmn/RAC/PIA-7,Siquijor with reports from LPAlpanta Jr./NSO-Siquijor)
Dengue cases in Siquijor on the rise By Rizalie A. Calibo SIQUIJOR, June 11 (PIA) -- The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) has reported an increase in the number of dengue cases in the province from January to May this year over that of the same period last year. “A total of 28 dengue cases were reported from different Disease Reporting Units (DRUs) for the period January 1 to May 30, 2012,” said Disease surveillance officer Zellamaye Gascon, in her report submitted to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). This is 61 percent higher compared to the same period of last year with 11 cases, she said. Age of cases range from one to 44 years old, with both sexes represented with 54 percent female and 46 percent male, the report also said. Most of those affected were in the 11 to 15 years age group. Gascon said majority of the cases were from the towns of Maria with 11 cases constituting 39 percent, Lazi, seven cases or 25 percent and Siquijor with four cases or 14 percent. Larena, San Juan, and Enrique Villanueva towns have two cases each from zero-dengue cases in the same period last year. To control the rising tide, Provincial Health Officer Redempta Cortes called on the local government units (LGUs) to intensify their information campaign on dengue emphasizing the importance of eliminating the breeding places of mosquitoes. She also stressed the need to mobilize the community to actively participate in
environmental sanitation activities such as clean-up drives and establish Dengue Brigades in Barangays. Local health units are also encouraged to initiate clean-up campaigns in communities and continue or sustain disease surveillance on dengue and notify Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) on increase of dengue cases. Government hospitals are advised to strictly follow dengue clinical treatment protocol and activate dengue fast lanes. School authorities are likewise called to emphasize on school-based programs targeting parents and children in schools to eliminate
vector breeding places at home and in the school and create “Dengue School Brigades” and support its sustainability. People are advised to clean all possible mosquito breeding places such as flower vases, dish drains, old tires, roof gutters, used cans, etc. where water can pool or accumulate, especially during rainy season. The public is also instructed to use personal protective measures such as mosquito nets, insect repellent lotion, or install window screens. Water receptacles like drums and jars must be covered and most importantly, people should maintain the habit of cleaning up areas inside and outside homes. (RMN/RAC-PIA 7, Siquijor)