Information is our business.
INFOBYTES
THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY-7 | WWW.PIA.GOV.PH VOL. 2 | NO. 28 | SEPTEMBER 12, 2012
TOPSTORIES
CEBU
Cebu joins celeb of Int'l Coastal Clean-up Day on Sept 15 By Fayette C. Rinen
CEBU CITY, Sept 10 (PIA) -- Cebu joins in the celebration of the International Coastal Clean-up Day on Saturday, September 15 with a coastal clean-up drive along the coastal areas of Liloan town in northern Cebu. Spearheading the coastal cleanup activity here is the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 to commemorate the annual event by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 470. Hundreds of participants are expected to join the coastal clean-up, particularly DENR 7 employees and members of other government agencies, local government units, private entities, academe and other stakeholders. The Municipality of Lioan has been chosen to be the venue of this year’s coastal clean-up drive involving four coastal barangays. These barangays are Cotcot, Jubay, Poblacion and Catarman covering an approximate 6.5 kilometers of coastline. This year’s celebration carries the theme “Bayanihan Para sa Karagatan.” The DENR 7 placed emphasis on the importance of coastal clean-up because garbage dumped on the seas endanger marine resources and affect the livelihood of fisherfolks. (FCR-PIA7 Cebu)
Groundbreaking of Cebu Women's Development Center: Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia releases the time capsule for the groundbreaking of the P10.7M Cebu Women's Development Center that will house women and children who are victims of violence as reported to the Provincial Women's Council and the Provincial Council for the Protection of Children in Cebu. Garcia is flanked by Board Member Julian Daan (left) and Cebu Provincial Police Director S/Supt. Patrocinio Comendador and Heddah Largo, GAD Focal Person (right). (FCR/ JSME-PIA7 Cebu)
Public participation vital in crime prevention, gov't officials say By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY, Sept 7 (PIA) -- Top officials of regional government agencies here including the Philippine National Police (PNP) urged the public to take active part in preventing crimes amid the annual celebration of the National Crime Prevention Week (NCPW) held every first week of September. Everyone plays an important role in contributing to a peaceful environment said Ananias Villacorta, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG-7) regional director during the recent kick-off of the NCPW at Park Mall in Mandaue City. “Crime prevention is not the sole responsibility of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the
Philippines alone. It is everybody’s concern and public participation is a key to crime prevention,” said Villacorta. “We really need to complement the efforts of the PNP in crime prevention,” Villacorta added as he also expressed optimism that the public will empower themselves in solving crimes and not just rely on concerned authorities. “Sec. Robredo always said that each of one of us has a role in crime prevention and together we can always do more, and we can do beyond what is expected of us,” Villacorta quoted. “Let us do our part because crime prevention is everybody’s business not just for ourselves but for our children and for the future generations to come as the AFP will continue to boost the value of securing
FOR MORE REGIONAL STORIES, LOG ON TO: http://pia7news.blogspot.com
security and peace,” Villacorta concluded. PSupt. Armando Radoc, acting chief of the Police Community Relations Division of the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) in a recent PIA forum on the 18th NCPW said that for their part, the police will continue to strengthen its anti-criminality measures to prevent the occurrence of crimes. “In fact, we are deploying one policeman in every barangay where he is in-charge of addressing concerns related to peace and order,” Radoc disclosed as he urged the community to be participative in crime prevention measures. Risky Sibay of the National Police Commission (Napolcom-7) in the same forum however, said that at present, there is good community participation in crime prevention and all that is needed is how to sustain community involvement. (FCR/AYSPIA7 Cebu)
NEGROS ORIENTAL
INFOBYTES TOPSTORIES
DSWD trains gov't engineers in Kalahi infra operations By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, Sept 10 (PIA) -- The regional office of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Cebu gathered over 70 engineers from local government units (LGU) in Western, Central and Eastern Visayas for an inter-regional training on the implementation parameters of Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) program. Kalahi-CIDSS is a core poverty alleviation program of the national government carried out by DSWD in partnership with identified LGUs. "It is designed to empower communities by honing their capacities to analyze their local situation, identify community needs and implement small scale community projects in partnership with their LGUs," a statement from DSWD-7 said. The weeklong training was dubbed: "Inter-Regional Water System, Roads and Bridges Construction, Operation and Maintenance Training of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS)." It leveled off with the Kalahi-implementing LGUs on the design of the poverty alleviation projects in their towns. During the training, the participating engineers brought with them site validation reports and actual survey data on the infrastructure needs in their communities, which are results of a participatory situational analysis that were earlier conducted in their areas. DSWD-7 Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre, in her welcome address, quoted DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman's 3Rs, namely: Rigorous, Realistic and Responsive approaches that she said are needed to be considered in planning small or big-scale infrastructure. Macapobre said that community project should address people's needs. "In order to attain that, engineers would need to go back and refer to the PSA results of their communities done in the early part of the social preparation stage of the project," she said. DSWD, in the same statement, disclosed that in the Kalahi-CIDSS scaled-up operation, the project aims to ensure that the community projects are carefully designed and implemented to serve and respond to the needs of the community. "In the past, implementation of Kalahi-CIDSS, water systems, road projects and construction of bridges comprised more than 50 percent of the total community projects nationwide," the press statement said. There are currently 47 towns in Visayas implementing the program. Said towns have a poverty incidence rate of 33.33 percent or higher. National Council for Disability Affairs (NCDA) Executive Director Carmen Reyes-Zubiaga Of the total, 25 municipalities (left) meets up with a differently-abled friend in Dumaguete during the Dumaguete leg of the are located in the island-provinces of Fully Abled Nation (FAN) Day National Roadshow Launching at the Silliman University Hall Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor. on Sept. 6, 2012. Dumaguete City has been identified as one of the key cities nationwide (RMN-PIA Negros Oriental with reports with a high PWD population. (LJD/PIA) from Simeon Remata III)
Tanjay City bars motorists wearing bonnet, bandanna By Jennifer C. Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY, Sept. 9 (PIA) --Tanjay City in Negros Oriental intensified its implementation of the ordinance that prohibits drivers from wearing bonnets or other face-covering items. Tanjay City Mayor Lawrence Teves directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Tanjay City Integrated Traffic Operations Management to ban motorists that conceal or cover their
faces including those persons walking anywhere within the city "to deter crimes and other untoward incidents" from happening. Under Ordinance 3 prohibiting the use of bonnets, bandannas, or other materials of similar nature that cover the face or hide the identity of a person within the city of Tanjay, carries penalty of P200 to P1,000 and imprisonment not exceeding for five days for its violation. Citing the increase number of criminal activities using bonnets and the like, Teves directed the law enforcers to
strictly enforce the ordinance and other anti-crime measures to keep the area peaceful and orderly. With the implementation of the ordinance, the mayor said this is to ensure the safety of the residents within the city. (mbcn/JCT-PIA 7, Negros Oriental)
LET US KNOW! We welcome questions, clarifications and feedback: infobytes-editorial@gmail.com
BOHOL
INFOBYTES COMMUNITYNEWS
Text the police quick for crime prevention
By Rey Anthony H. Chiu
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) –--"Text your police." This is how the police answered when asked how to prevent crimes from happening. The latest tip is a solution the police adopted to deter crimes because it admitted that making police physically present in all areas where they are
needed is next to impossible with the civilian to police ratio still wanting. A new police directive in Bohol says police has to put up their “Be Safe, Be Prepared” contact numbers in tarpaulins to make its services accessible to the community. The move allows people in communities to text or call the police when crimes occur or when they sense
DOING IT RIGHT ALL THE TIME . Bohol key research advocates Romeo Teruel (BCDS), Josephine Cimene (HNU CLG), Maria Paz Espiritu (HNU RC) and Dr. Anacleta Perez unite in stressing the importance of research for local government units to be able to accurately put up interventions effectively. (PIABohol/hd)
an impending commission of a crime. Police superintendent Jeffrey Caballes, getting pro-active against crimes and the strategic use of force multipliers and an efficient judicial system are vital but an involved community makes it all possible in crime prevention. Speaking at the Kapihan sa PIA recently, Caballes admitted that while the Police Integrated Patrol System (PIPS) is a smart and scientific use of crime statistics, the continuing search for effective crime fighting programs never stops. PIPS helps boost police presence in places and times where crimes usually happen and allows police authorities to apportion their manpower and resources where they are most needed. With the PNP ten point agenda on peace at Pulis sa Barangay (PSB) now almost fully running in Bohol, Caballes’ task is cut down drastically. The PSB assigns a police officer supervising Barangay Peace Keeping Officers (Tanods) and action teams and brings town station operation templates to villages to equip local peace keepers on the capability to stand guard against crimes. Enhancing police visibility at the PSB is crucial in crime prevention, Caballes asserts, but if the police physical presence could not be assured at all times, his virtual presence may be boosted through a communication link, he added. (mbcn/rahc/PIA-Bohol)
Volunteers get awards as Kalahi-MT bows out By Rey Anthony H. Chiu
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) -- Two individual volunteers and two town partners in implementing the community driven development projects of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) went home with special awards during the Ceremonial Exit of the Kalahi-Makamasang Tugon (MT) held at the Jjs Seafoods Village, August 31. This as the World Bank and the Millennium Challenge Corporationfunded Kalahi MT marked its final stages of project implementation of the government’s flagship poverty reduction program in the 12 towns of Bohol and two towns of Siquijor. Started in 2003, Kalahi-MT downloaded funds for local government counter-parting pay-scheme for projects that communities identified, planned, implemented and monitored to make it a truly Local Government Unit-led community driven development. Since then Kalahi MT projects had empowered people from 729
communities that implemented projects ranging from health, education and agricultural facilities, public infrastructure. These considerably eased the chances of some 70,000 Boholanos and Siquijodnons to move out of the mires of poverty, according to an audio visual presentation showed during the event. Volunteers Samuel Aparece of Panghagban Buenavista and Eugenio Lloren of Lundag Pilar each got special DSWD citations in plaques for their pivotal roles in making sure that identified projects funded by the MT and the LGU were implemented properly. Aparece is DSWD Outstanding Community Volunteer while Lloren is Best performing Indigenous People’s Community Volunteer, announced Maribeth Agbon-Cabalda of the DSWD. On the other hand, Trinidad and Talibon towns also got each accolades for their pivotal roles in the speedy implementation of MT projects. Trinidad town received the Best in Sub-Project implementation
among all 14 Kalahi MT beneficiary towns in Bohol and Siquijor, while Talibon town received a special award for accommodating the Kalahi MT with a Bohol Project Management Office. DSWD Assistant Regional Director Nemia Antipala, in her message during the event challenged the other LGUs to control key development decisions and resource mobilization and to hang on to the principles of the Kalahi. Aside from empowering communities by opening up access to development decisions, the program also ensures transparency, accountability and community participation, according to Pilar Mayor Wilson Pajo, Kalahi MT beneficiary town in Bohol’s third district. (mbcn/rahc/PIA-Bohol)
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.
INFOBYTES COMMUNITYNEWS
SIQUIJOR
Tesda-Siquijor celebrates 18th anniversary By Rizalie A. Calibo SIQUIJOR (PIA) -- The Technical Education and skills Development Authority (Tesda)-Siquijor held a series of activities to commemorate its anniversary with this year’s theme, “Tesda @ 18: Akmang Pagsasanay Tungo sa Tagumpay.” Highlighting the activities was the search for “Miss Sportsfest 2012” during the opening ceremonies on August 23 at the Tesda-LNAS outdoor stage. It was a half-day activity that followed right after the parade around the heart of the town of Lazi. In his inspirational message, Provincial Governor, Orlando A. Fua, Jr. said graduates from TESDA Training and other Vocational Training Courses could be the best leaders to be elected officials in the government in order to solve our present economic crisis. “These leaders can feel the needs of the poor since they were once, poor, too,” he said quoting the words from the late Sec. Robredo when he was still a mayor before. The rest of the activities included a thanksgiving mass and sports competition among trainees from all qualifications including the welding trainees of CWSTI, and the Tesda Specialista. Championship game was conducted in the second day between the Food and Beverage Services NC II and the Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC II trainees. Declared Champion was the SMAW NC II. (mbcn/rac/PIA-Siquijor/ EBApiag/TESDA)
The candidates for Miss Siquijor Tourism 2012, clockwise: Enrique Villanueva town, Margrette Zellie M. Oloroso; Maria, Shemie H. Bomongcag; Larena, Haide S. Sumili; Lazi, Kate Duhaylungsod Stenmoe; San Juan, Allen Grace Vios Buhian; and Siquijor, Racquel Dingal as they welcome guests and stakeholders to the 41st Araw ng Siquijor ‘s Search for Miss Siquijor Tourism on September 16 during the Presentation of Candidates last September 5, 2012. (RACalibo/PIA-Siquijor with photo from Dave S. Mamhot/SSC)
DOST-Siquijor conducts MPEX briefing to 4 firms By Rizalie A. Calibo
SIQUIJOR (PIA) -- The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) conducts a briefing on Manufacturing Productivity Extension for Export Promotion (MPEX) to four firms at the DOST-Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC) Conference. DOST Provincial Director Mario de la Pena said the four firms identified by MPEX to be given assistance this year are: Larena Triad Coffee Shop, Sweet Sensation Cakes & Pastries, Elena’s Bakery and Pasalubong Center and DanMild Personal Care Products. The briefing was facilitated by Josie F. Elli, the MPEX Project leader of DOST 7 with consultants from the University of San Jose-Recolletos (USJR), engineers Dennis Kilongkilong and Gilbert Nakila. MPEX is a program intended to help increase the productivity of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippine
manufacturing sector. The Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI) of DOST was given the task of implementing MPEX. The program started in January 1991 and has already served 140 firms nationwide. About 65 percent of 32 first firm beneficiaries have implemented recommendations with good results. Moreover, MPEX has also given adequate opportunity for faculty members of cooperating universities to work on real problems thereby enriching their professional experience. MPEX has shown its relevance to the current concerns for productivity and quality concerns. In 1998, the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office 7 was chosen and funded by TAPI to directly manage and implement the program in Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas. MPEX identifies strategies to
improve productivity of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in the export sector and potential exporters; recommends productivity improvement measures for immediate implementation and develops capability to provide other forms of assistance to develop the manufacturing sector. To avail of the program, firm beneficiaries are endorsed by industry associations, the Department of Trade and Industry or may apply directly to DOST 7 regional office. MPEX team consultants may also recommend firms for inclusion in the program. Manufacturing sectors covered for MPEX are ICT, furniture & home furnishings, jewelry, ceramics, costume jewelry/fashion accessories, food processing, metal working, gifts/toys/houseware and electronics. For more details about the program, visit the local office of DOST at Siquijor, Siquijor. (RMN/RAC-PIA7 Siquijor)