One Mindanao - October 18, 2011

Western Mindanao (Zamboanga Peninsula)

P. Urro Street, San Francisco DistrictPagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur 7016Telephone no. (062) 215-1480 / 925-0038Cellphone no. 0908-8843404E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]: hnb_r9pia

Northern Mindanao

Graces’ Building, Antonio Luna StreetCagayan de Oro City 9000Telefax No. (08822) 72-66-83Telephone no. (088) 856-8178 / 729-594Cellphone no. 0928-5204305 0917-3084969E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Southern Mindanao (Davao Region)

2/F Kanto Motors Bldg.,Quimpo Blvd., New MatinaDavao City 8000Telephone no. (082) 297-0991 / 301-8580Telefax no. (082) 297-0992 / 304-2044Cellphone no. 0917-7053606 / 0918-9202950E-mail: [email protected]

Central Mindanao (SOCSKARGEN)

Provincial Capitol Compound Bautista Bldg., Zulueta St.Koronadal City, South Cotabato 9506Telephone no. (083) 520-0249Telefax no. (083) 228-9736 / 228-9739 / 520-0100Cellphone no. 0921-6873373 / 0928-5204307E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Northeastern Mindanao (Caraga)

Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines Bldg.,J. Rosales Avenue, Butuan CityTelephone no. (085) 341-5285 / 360-1239Telefax no. (085) 341-2370Cellphone no. 0917-7188834Email: [email protected] [email protected],ph

PIA REGIONAL OFFICESIN MINDANAO

OUR COVER

Lake Mainit The fourth largest and deepest lake in the Philippines. It is lo-cated in northeastern part of Mindanao and shared between the provinces of Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Norte.

Executive Editor ……......... EFREN F. ELBANBUENA Cluster Head, Southern, Western and Central Mindanao Regional Director, PIA Region XI

Managing Editor ……......... ABNER M. CAGA Cluster Head, Northern and Northeastern Mindanao Regional Director, PIA Caraga Region

Associate Editors ……....... OLIVIA T. SUDARIA Regional Director, PIA Region XII NOEMI A. EDAGA Regional Director, PIA Region IX

RUTCHIE C. AGUHOB Officer-in-charge,PIARegionX

Regional Desk Editors …... Jocelyn P. Alvarez, PIA Region IX Elaine O. Ratunil, PIA Region X Rudolph Ian G. Alama, PIA Region XI Danny E. Doguiles, PIA Region XII Robert E. Roperos, PIA Caraga Region Nora CL Molde, PIA Caraga Region

Copy Editor ……………….. Robert E. Roperos, PIA Caraga Region

Layout Artists ……………... Gerie Mae G. Coco, PIA Caraga Region Richard D. Atillo, PIA Caraga Region

Editorial Advisers ……….... ATTY. JOSE A. FABIA Director-General Philippine Information Agency

SEC. HERMINIO “Sonny” B. COLOMA PresidentialCommunicationsOperationsOffice

An Electronic News Magazineof the Phliippine Information Agency

Mindanao Clusters

EDITORIAL BOARD

Photo Credits: Zimm Mosende edcadena

Vol. 1, No. 65 OCTOBER 18, 2011

N A T I O N A L

contents

CENTRAL Mindanao

CARAGA Region WESTERN Mindanao

NORTHERN Mindanao SOUTHERN Mindanao

Cover Story :Lake Mainit: The gift and challenge for Mainitnons

Aquino to meet with heads of Finance Department/Bureau of Internal Revenue on Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates Bonds

LGU gathers 4Ps parent-leaders to discuss issues on implementation

RDC 12 trains trainers on road safety advocacy

PD Delfin pinuri ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan

DOLE-Caraga advocates use of PHIL-JOBNET for employment

Santiago, Ag Nor to impose GPS rental

Six towns to get P1M from DILG

24USDA Couselor visits Sulu for veterinary and agriculture seminar

Kapatagan town officials visit Dipolog

INC plants 3,000 trees in Bayog

31BIMP-EAGA ministers, senior officials meet opens today

3 Gawad Pamana ng Lahi awardees are from region 10

DSWD to take closer look on misuse of 4Ps funds, ATM pawning

DavSur’s coco-sugar business epitomizes countryside development - DOST

by Zimm Mosende and Al Mozol contents

13

Aquino says reacquisition of Petron Bataan refinery wouldn’t serve public interest

Aquino urges officers and staff of Philippine Coast Guard to continue efforts to save lives

Cotabato City Central Pilot School to receive 45 schoolhouses from Aboitiz Group

Special Task Force Tentorio binuo ng PRO 12

44

DBM directs gov’t offices to use procurement service, PhilGEPS

Agusan del Sur children took over the provincial governance

15

Lanao Norte Hajj pilgrims depart for Mecca

NDA Administrator Cenas to grace the Dairy Forum in Cag. de Oro

33

Corn production yields 1.8 million in Mati barangay

Health Services remains on top of Davao Oriental’s development agenda

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PNoy awards Zambo Chamber as Most Outstanding Chamber in Mindanao

21DOT, Nat’l Museum approve enhancement of Zambo’s Fort Pilar, museum

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4 Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Cover Story

An old adage reminds us that “we do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children.” Same can be said about our Lake Mainit - we did not inherit it from our kapopo-

popoan and kauya-uyahan, we simply borrow it from our kabataan and ka-apo-apohan.

Lake Mainit: the gift and challenge for Mainitnons by Zimm Mosende and Al Mozol

5Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Lake Mainit: the gift and challenge for Mainitnons

As “borrowers,” we are re-sponsible in ensuring that when we ”return” it, Lake Mainit remains a living lake for our children and our grandchildren. We are bound to conserve its resources and pre-serve its beauty.

The Lake Lake Mainit is the fourth larg-est lake in the Philippines and the second largest in Mindanao, having a surface area of 173 square kilo-meters. The lake is also the deep-est lake in the country with a max-imum depth of 223 meters. The largest lake in the country, Laguna de Bay, has a maximum depth of only 20 meters. In January 2004, it was de-clared as the most transparent lake in the Philippines hav- i n g a 6.65 meters S e c c h i dep th . L a k e

Lanao was the most transparent lake from 1932 to 2004 when it registered 6 meters Secchi depth. Lake Mainit can absorb 1% of the indirect sunlight up to a depth of 13 meters indicating that primary production is distributed through-out a substantial depth. The lake water is greenish and odorless with an average transparency of 3 me-ters. The coastal areas are sandy mud. The lake is fed by more than twenty small rivers and creeks but has only one outlet, the Cali-nawan River, which flows south-ward to join Aciga River and forms the Tubay River which eventually flows out into Butuan Bay. The lake is located in the northeastern part of Mindanao and shared by the provinces of Surigao

del Norte and Agusan del Norte. Clustered

around it are the municipalities

of Alegria,


Mainit, Sison and Tubod in the province of Surigao del Norte and the towns of Jabonga, Santiago, Tubay and Kitcharao of the prov-ince of Agusan del Norte. The lake is home to sever-al plant species especially in the marshy areas. Land around the lake is intensively cultivated. There are about 24 economi-cally important fishes found in the lake. The rich fish fauna includes non-migratory (pidjanga, palawan, hayuan, pantat, bakag, and pait-

pait), migratory (bangus, bayanak, gingao, kasili, kikilo, bolinao, etc), and introduced species (tilapia, karpa, gurami, etc). Some spe-cies of freshwater shrimps (isik, pasayan, etc) are also found in the lake, as are shellfishes (ige, bebe, kiyambuay, etc). A number of bird species, including waterbirds who use the lake as feeding areas, are also identified within the vicinity of the lake.Economic value The lake supports an impor-

Quick FactsWatershed Area: 87,072 ha (870.72 km2)LakeSurfaceArea: 17,340 ha (173.40 km2)Shore length (Shoreline):38.59 mi (62.10 km)Maximum Depth: 223 m(731.63 ft)Average Depth: 128 m (419.95 ft)Water volume: 4.32 cu mi (18.00 km3)No. of River Tributaries (inflows): 28 riversNo. of Outlets (outflows): 1 river (KalinawanRiver)Surface elevation: 42 m (137.80 ft)No. of Towns around the Lake: 8 municipalities


tant fishery with an annual produc-tion of more than 300 metric tons in the 70s. The economy of the municipalities around Lake Mainit is heavily dependent upon the ag-ricultural production concentrated around the perimeter of the lake. The lake is state-owned but the agricultural lands and the ricefields around it are privately owned. In the past, two timber companies operated in the water catchment area. Currently, there are mining explorations in the lake’s catch-ment area.Disturbances and threats Indiscriminate gathering of raw materials, especially sand and gravel from the lake shore are hauled and sold as housing or as road filling materials. The mouth of the lake outlet is increasingly becoming shallow as a result of silt deposition in the area. The shallow mouth prevents rap-id exit of the water, consequently flooding the lower portions of the lakeshore including the ricefields. Erosion from the denuded moun-tainside where timber and min-ing companies operate threatens the watershed area as well as the lake. Mining wastes, domestic sew-age, fertilizers and pesticides are serious pollutants of the lakewa-ter.

Conservation and preservation Our world experiences a con-tinuous process of transformative change. Our task is to develop so-lutions to the unprecedented prob-lems facing humanity-and to do so quickly. This is a call to action and a call to commit one’s energy and passion to the betterment of the world,and the preservation of what is precious and beautiful in nature. The disturbances and threats to Lake Mainit are crucial envi-ronmental issues. Let us influ-ence policy decision makers, poli-ticians, business people and other stakeholders. Let us work towards achieving concrete conservation targets and encourage fellow Main-itnons, organizations, corporations, and our local governments to take action towards protecting our pre-cious natural resource: Lake Main-it. Wild and semi-wild plants and animals contribute significantly to nutrition, health care, income, and culture of developing countries,


and the poorest and most vulner-able people often rely on those resources. Depleting those re-sources or making them inacces-sible can impoverish these people even further. ‘Pro-poor conserva-tion’, that is, conservation that aims to support poor people, ex-plicitly seeks to address basic hu-man needs.Make a difference wherever you are Each of us has a responsibil-ity to the area we live in. If we don’t take action, personally or by voicing out our sensible ideas and opinions to the authorities, chanc-es are, nothing will be done. Let’s bring our concerns about environ-mentally sensitive areas before our local officials. We can share our time or volunteer through a local conservation group. We

can encourage others to adopt a greener lifestyle. When we need more information relevant to the environment, we can always be-come proactive by doing research or simply ask people more knowl-edgeable about it. Let’s keep the beauty of our lake. We can remove garbage from the lake because many items take years to degrade and are danger-ous to wildlife. We have the choice not allow dogs and other animals to disturb or foul the wildlife at the lakeshore. If there are no garbage cans, we can ask the lo-cal council to provide some.And how about disposing our sanitary waste properly - not down the toilet – or we might just find it on the lakeshore endlessly.Also, we can report anything unusual such as pollution to the Barangay Captain concern. In many small ways, we can always tap our God-given power to preserve and con-serve the integrity of our natural resources, foremost is our Lake Mainit. We owe some gratitude to the past generations for their re-spect of Lake Mainit, and some responsibilities to protect it to the present as well as future genera-tions. So we can keep on feasting with our lives with the Lake.


Aquino urges officers and staff of Philippine Coast Guard to continue efforts to save lives

President Benigno S. Aquino III urged the officers and the men and women of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to live up to the expectations of the Filipinos and

perform their duties and responsibilities to ensure the safety and protection of the citizenry.


In his speech during the 110th An-niversary Celebration of the Philippine Coast Guard at its Head-quarters in Port Area, Manila on Tuesday, the President cited the PCG’s continued efforts in saving lives and properties of the people whom they are serving. “Bilang bahagi ng Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas, obligasyon ninyong itaguyod ang seguridad at pro-teksyon ng ating mga kababayan… sa pa-nahon ng kalamidad at sakuna, manatili kayong tagapagligtas ng ating bayan, sa gitna man ng kara-gatan o sa lawak ng kapatagan manatili kayong takbuhan ng mamamayan,” the

President said. “ I p a g p a t u l o y ninyo ang mayamang tradisyon ng Philip-pine Coast Guard upang maging gabay natin tungo sa mas maliwanag at mas mapayapang pagla-layag sa tuwid na lan-das,” he added. President Aquino assured them of his support in the im-provement of equip-ment and capabilities in heeding and an-swering the needs of the people. “Makaaasa kayo na habang iginugugol ninyo ang inyong oras at pagod sa pagba-

bantay ng ating kara-gatan, doble kayod din ang ating admin-istrasyon sa pag-tugon sa inyong pan-gangailangan,” the President said. The Chief Execu-tive noted the govern-ment’s various efforts in pushing for actions focused in serving the Filipino people. During the event, President Aquino led in awarding the med-als and plaques of recognition to some officers of the PCG who have shown ex-emplary performance in pursuing their du-ties.


The President also took time to walk to the PCG wharf to view and inspect the static display of PCG personnel and equip-ment, which are ready to be deployed in time of maritime emergencies 24/7. Anchored on the theme “Para sa Lig-tas, Malinis at Ma-payapa na Karagatan Tungo sa Maunlad na Bayan,” the PCG’s 110th anniversary celebration was at-tended by other gov-

ernment officials led by Transportation and Communica-tions Secretary Man-uel “Mar” Roxas II, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Eduardo Oban Jr., Philippine National

Police Chief Police Di-rector General Nica-nor Bartolome, PCG Commandant Admi-ral Ramon Liwag and other Foreign Digni-taries. (JCL)

Aquino says reacquisition of Petron Bataan refinery wouldn’t serve public interestPesident Benigno S. Aquino III rejected

the offer of Petron to sell back its Bataan refinery to the government saying it’s not in the best interest of the state to operate

such refinery.


“I think this is the public po-sition I’ve had since the time I’ve been in public service—hindi efficient kapag gov-ernment ang nagpap-atakbo ng something that has purely busi-ness applications,” the President said in a chance interview with the Malacanang Press Corps at the 110th anniversary of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tues-day. The govern-ment should remain a regulator instead of a player to ensure sound business prac-tices, the Chief Execu-tive said. Repurchas-ing Petron may lead to another burden for the government and the public. The President said he doesn’t think

that the oil compa-nies aren’t happy with their current situa-tion that’s why Petron wants to dispose its Bataan refinery. “They have to be very sensitive to the consumers’ sen-timents and perhaps this is a way of ad-dressing that,” he said. Petron chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ang offered Petron’s re-finery, the largest in the country, to the government. Petron, now con-trolled by San Miguel Corp., was owned by the Philippine gov-ernment before it had an initial public offer-ing in 1994. Ang said Petron could appoint a third party asses-sor to establish the valuation and set the deal structure for the Bataan refinery for its possible sale. (AS)


Aquino to meet with heads of Finance Department/Bureau of Internal Revenue on Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates BondsPresident Benigno S. Aquino III said

that he would meet with the heads of Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to discuss the

issue on government’s Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates (PEACe) Bonds.

“I’ll be meeting both the Secretary of Finance and the Com-missioner of the BIR, or the chair, to discuss this particular issue tapos ire-review natin specifically to address the complaints of those who undertook the PEACe Bonds,” the President said. President Aquino made the statement during a chance inter-view with members of the Malacanang Press Corps after attend-ing the 110th found-ing anniversary of the

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday at the PCG headquarters in Port Area, Manila. “There are also certain members of the NGO [non-gov-ernment organization] community who ben-efited from this who also have asked for a meeting. I think I’ll be meeting some of them today or at least within the week,” he added. On Monday, eight banks have asked the Supreme Court to is-sue a temporary re-

straining order to stop the BIR from impos-ing a 20-percent final withholding tax on the P35 billion PEACe Bonds, which is ma-turing today. These banks are Banco de Oro, Bank of Commerce, Chi-na Banking Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Philippine Bank of Communica-tions, Philippine Na-tional Bank, Philip-pine Veterans Bank, and Planters Devel-opment Bank. (CO)


P-noy Photos

President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Coast Ready Force Commander Captain Joselito dela Cruz, troops the lines during the Arrival Honors accorded him for the 110th PCG Anniversary at its Headquarters in Port Area, Manila on Tuesday (October 18). PCG is a maritime law enforcement agency operating under the Department of Transportation and Communications of the Philippines. (Photo by: Ryan Lim / Malacañang Photo Bureau).


P-noy Photos

www.piacaraga.blogspot.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/PIA-Caraga-Updates/165374590187484

[email protected][email protected]

DOLE-Caraga advocates use of PHIL-JOBNET for employment by Jennifer P. Gaitano

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Caraga Regional Office Dir. Ofelia Domingo called on labor stakeholders to utilize the PHIL-JOBNET

to promote employment in the region.

AGUSAN DEL SUR -- Some 85 youth leaders from all over the province will today run government affairs in the province of Agusan del Sur as mandated under Article 4, section 46 of Ordinance No. 16, series of 2002, which declared every third Monday of October as children’s day of governance/administration.

During the Region-al Development Coun-cil – Development Ad-ministration Committee

(RDC-DAC) Meeting held Monday, Dir. Do-mingo bared that the PHIL-JOBNET is an in-ternet-based, automat-ed job and applicant matching system which aims to fast-track job seeker’s search for jobs and employer’s search for manpower. “It is a facility of DOLE with a centralized database maintained by the Bureau of Local Employment. It caters to all Filipino job seek-ers and employers, as well as labor unions, educational institutions and various foundations and non-government organizations. Its ser-vices are free of charge both for job seekers and employers,” Domingo said.

Domingo added that last Sept. 28, 2011, DOLE conducted the 1st

Industry-Academe Forum which was aimed at deter-mining the gaps between demand and supply and identifying solutions to minimize the incidence of jobs mismatch in the re-gion. Dir. Domingo called on the private sector, local government units (LGUs), academe and other line government agencies to use the PHIL-JOBNET in the hiring of workers. DOLE also encour-aged other LGUs to fol-low the LGU-Butuan City, LGU-Surigao City and LGU-Surigao del Norte on the issuance of an Execu-tive Order on the posting of PHIL-JOBNET stickers in all public utilities as well as requiring private companies to register with the facility prior to the issuance of business permit.

Agusan del Sur children took over the provincial governance by Pennie Angelica Jamero


An election of youth provincial officials, includ-ing the selection of the different chiefs of offices, was conducted on Octo-ber 16 to cap the two-day Childrens Congress. While the youths were attending to lectures on values formation, election returns were counted and later the elected young officials were proclaimed. A “panunumpa sa ka-tungkulan” or swearing into office followed im-mediately. Maria Concepcion Betaizar and Kristina Dan-ica Balanay of San Fran-cisco were elected young governor and young vice governor, respectively. The elected youth mem-bers of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for District I were Nieva Rica Chua, Hanna Lou Ibal, Mark An-gelo Yecyec, Lovely Rose Libres and Abie Jane Ca-toto. For District II elect-ed were Alberto Picot Jr.,

Isagani Custodio, Dan Dave Galendez, Janrick Inchoco and Vizelle Joyce Vidal. The big day for the youth started during the Monday flag raising cer-emony at the Provincial Capitol. As newly elect-ed provincial officials and appointed provincial chiefs of offices, they led the ceremony from the singing of the doxology, the National Anthem and singing of the Agusan Hymn. In her message, young Gov. Betaizar said, children in Agusan del Sur are very lucky to be given the chance to explore the world of real government leaders. Betaizar added that aside from the schol-arship that the provincial government are granting to deserving students, they also observed that only here in Agusan del Sur that they are given full support in terms of financial when they trav-el to other places during competitions. “That is why, we, the youths of Agusan del Sur, always do our bests to bring the honor back to our province when we compete in other plac-es,” Young Gov. Betaizar

said. At exactly 9:00 o’clock in the morning, the youths were guided to their respective as-signments to execute and perform their duties and responsibilities according to the mandate of the of-fice. Their official func-tions ended at 3:00 in the afternoon, after which a culmination program fol-lowed. The young offi-cials received compensa-tion corresponding to the salary grade for the said positions. According to Vice Gov. Santiago Cane Jr., the program will help de-velop the potentials of the youths to the fullest. This is one way they can gain self-confidence in facing any problem that they may encounter in the fu-ture. It will also help the youths in discovering where their strengths lie, and encourage them to pursue those avenues.


BUTUAN CITY -- To ensure transparency in the procurement of government supplies, materials and equipment, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued the Administrative Order No. 17 series 2011.

DBM directs gov’t offices to use procurement service PhilGEPS

With the AO No. 17 series 2011, DBM is di-recting the use of the Procurement Service (PS) and the Philippine Government Electron-ic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) in procure-ment activities in accor-dance with Republic Act No. 9184, and improving the operation of the pro-curement service. During the recently held Regional Develop-ment Council – Devel-opment Administration Committee (RDC-DAC) Meeting chaired by Butu-an City Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr, the committee discussed said AO and re-iterated its purpose and

significance to the gov-ernment offices. Ms. Bernadeth Ja-cob of DBM-Caraga Re-gional Office said that AO No. 17 reiterates the pol-icy that the procurement of government supplies, materials and equipment shall be done in the most transparent and com-petitive manner and that all government agen-cies shall procure their common-use supplies from the PS and use the PhilGEPS in all govern-ment activities, including publishing all their bid opportunities and posting all their awards and con-tracts in it. “In order to improve service delivery further, the PS shall strengthen its operations and shall undertake the following activities on a regular ba-sis: a) Review of Product Standards and Specifi-cations; b) Expansion of Product List; c) Price Monitoring; d) Expansion of Distribution System; e)

Improvement of Inven-tory Management; and f) Additional Phil-GEPS fea-tures,” said Jacob. Jacob added that the AO shall apply to all National Government Agencies (NGAs), in-cluding Military and Po-lice Units, Government-Owned and/or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Government Financial In-stitutions (GFIs), State Universities and Colleges, and Local Government Units. by (JPG)


AGUSAN DEL NORTE- A rental fee amounting to P1,500.00 per day will now be imposed to any private individual or government entity who wants to use the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the municipality of Santiago, Agusan del Norte by virtue of Municipal Ordinance No. 41-2011 authorized by SB Sulpicio T. Dedumo.

Santiago, Ag Nor to impose GPS rentalby Mary Cheryl S. Monoy

A GPS is a sensitive and a high technology in-strument capable to de-termine and establish a geographic location. Provincial Prosecu-

tor Marigel S. Dagani-Hugo also opined that the imposition of fees and charges for all services rendered by the munici-pal government to pri-vate persons or entities is in the line with the law. Payment shall be made to the Municipal Treasurer’s Office upon showing the notice of ap-proval from the Mayor’s office. Only trained em-ployee is authorized to op-erate the GPS and rental of the said unit shall not

be allowed during Satur-days and Sundays includ-ing holidays. A fine of P2,500.00 and an imprisonment of 5 days but not more than 10 month shall be penal-ized to anyone who vio-lates the said ordinance. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the said municipal ordi-nance thru Sanggunian Resolution No. 218-2011 authored by BM Ernie M. Ceniza. (LGU-Agusan del Norte)


AGUSAN DEL NORTE - Good governance is the ultimate aim of all local officials during their term of office and other stakeholders.

Six towns to get P1M from DILGby Ellen Vee P. Chua

In recognition of the local government units (LGUs) which are striving to improve their perfor-mance in governance and delivery of basic services, the national government through the Department of Interior and Local Gov-ernment (DILG) allocated P500M for Performance-Based Challenge Fund under the Local Govern-ment Performance Man-agement Program to cover financial subsidy to qualified LGUs. The grant shall be used for the implementa-tion of priority projects of the national government in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The PCF recogniz-es LGUs exhibiting good performance in internal

housekeeping particularly in the areas of transpar-ency and accountability, planning, fiscal manage-ment, and valuing per-formance monitoring. The priority of this program is the 4th to 6th Class LGUs nationwide. In Agusan del Norte, all the six LGUs belonging to the 4th-6th Class name-ly, Carmen, Magallanes, Kitcharao, RTR, Santiago and Tubay will receive P1M each to support their projects. It is noteworthy that all the 6 LGUs were able to meet require-ments set by the DILG. These requirements to name a few were stan-dard rating provided in the LGPMS result of CY 2010, the indicators provided in the Seal of Good House-keeping, and to support

the project requirements culled out from the 20% Development Plan of the LGU. The deeper the meaning of being a re-cipient LGU in the context of governance, is know-ing that these LGUs al-ready have a stable and established systems of governance manifested in their ratings in the LG-MPS and Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) and were able to comply with the Full Disclosure Policy of today’s administra-tion’s flagship program on transparency and ac-countability. The LGUs are now waiting for the distribu-tion of check to imple-ment their project pro-posal. (DILG)


DOT, Nat’l Museum approve enhancement of Zambo’s Fort Pilar, museum by Jocelyn P. AlvarezAmore illuminated, vibrant and an improved quality of

sound system will awe the public as the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the National Museum have

approved in principle the city government’s proposal to enhance Fort Pilar Shrine and the improvement of some infrastructures of the city’s national museum, this revealed City Information Officer

Covarrubias said “the National Museum through Director Jeremy Barnes has committed to allocate funds for the improvement of some infrastructures of the Zamboanga’s national museum located right behind the Fort Pilar Shrine.” C o v a r r u b i a s shared, the city’s proposal for the shrine’s enhancement specifically its façade, through the provision


of light and sound effects was an offshoot of the lights festival that the city initiated sometime in June, “of which the area was transformed into a spectacular canvass of light, music and ideas,” she shared. “The lights festival, the first ever to be held in the M i n d a n a o encouraged the mayor

to seek DOT’s support and assistance to provide the lights and sound effects on a permanent basis,” Covarrubias was quoted as saying. “The city government submitted the proposal to the DOT and so Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr and Director Barnes came to visit the city for the purpose,” the lady

IO said. The enhancement projects are expected to be carried out within the next few months. Outside Intramuros and Fort Santiago, Zamboanga

City’s Fort Pilar is the largest outside of Metro Manila and is also the most preserved fort. (JPA/PIA9-Zambo City)


PNoy awards Zambo Chamber as Most Outstanding Chamber in Mindanao

President Benigno Aquino III awarded the Zamboanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc. (ZCCIFI) as the Most

Outstanding Chamber in Mindanao and Most Outstanding Chamber for Advocacy in the recently concluded 37th Philippine Business Conference (PBC) held in Manila.

by Jocelyn P. Alvarez

The PBC was hosted by the Philip-pine Chamber of Com-merce and Industry, October 11-14. The award was in recognition of the ZCCIFI’s admirable efforts in hastening business growth in the area by its exem-plary leadership, dy-namism, strong advo-cacy program, good working relationship with government, in-creased membership and effective delivery of services. ZCCFI President Pedro Rufo Soliven

said this is a huge honor not only for the chamber but for the city as well “as only ZCCIFI won back to back major awards beating the more es-tablished chambers in

the country.” Soliven shared the honor to the ZCCFI officers and board and the gener-al membership who are also key players to the chamber’s ef-ficacy. “It is a collective effort and the all out support of the multi-sectoral group and other business orga-

nizations who rallied behind and supported the ZCCIFI in the dif-ferent advocacies that not only benefited the business sector but the general good,”


Soliven said. “It made the Zamboanga Cham-ber effective and relevant ,” he con-tinued.

According to So-liven this is the first in the history of the business chamber movement in Zam-boanga City and the

entire Western Mind-anao to be accorded such honor. ZCCIFI present-ly has a total of 145 members.

USDA Couselor visits Sulu for veterinary and agriculture seminarA total of 150 participants representing the

technical personnel from the Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Provincial

Agriculturist, and the academe in the province attended a Veterinary/Agriculture Seminar conducted by Department of Agriculture (USDA) with Mr. Philip Shull, Foreign Agriculture Service Councilor, the highest official of USDA based in the Philippines, as speaker last June 1, 2011 at the Sulu Area Coordinating Center, Bangkal, Patikul, Sulu.

by Mercia S. Alli

Mr. Shull point-ed out in his presen-tation the following components neces-sary to develop the economy: focus on food for progress, improved agricultural techniques, market-ing system, farmer education and coop-erative development,

expanded processing capability, and agri-cultural business de-velopment. He also highlighted the topic on Biotechnology, its power and promises. He also shared the USDA assisted proj-ects in Mindanao. Other topics dis-cussed were Veteri-

nary Civic Action Pro-gram (VetCAP): The Sulu Experience by Ms. Mercia Alli, Pro-vincial Livestock Co-ordinator of DA-Su-lu and Team Leader of the Sulu VetCAP team. She also shared the agriculture situa-tioner with emphasis on livestock


and poultry, including the common animal dis-eases, farmers’ practic-es, and how Veterinary Civic Action Program or VetCAP as a response will help farmers improve the health and produc-

tivity of their animals. Problems encountered as well as the areas for collaboration was also tackled. Cpt. Angelito Borja, a veterinarian by pro-fession and a reservist at the AFP Veterinary Corps, discussed the

veterinary techniques for Mindanao, present-ing a comparative situa-tion for vet services. He mentioned that in Luzon and Visayas farmers pay for the ser-vices compared to Min-

danao like Sulu where it is provided through out-reach activity for free. Common diseases and treatment was also part of the discussions. The topic on Veterinary Education in the Philip-pines was also enlight-ening and is seen to open opportunities for

the academe and the students the potentials of opening a course or pursuing studies on vet-erinary considering that the province of Sulu lack graduates of veterinary medicine. The topic on pes-ticides and herbicides toxicity was discussed by Lt. Col. Don Beckett the Joint Special Opera-tions Task Force veteri-narian. He supported his lecture with result of re-search studies regarding the effects and toxicities to animals and man. This is a timely top-ic considering the farm-ers’ uncontrolled use of pesticides to manage external parasites like flies, mites, ticks and mange. He also stressed that improper use of herbicides to control weeds/grasses will en-danger animals because they feed on grasses. Though agricultural chemical is critical to production its misuse will lead to health


hazards, thus education is a very important tool for intervention. Most vet medicines for livestock are not read-ily available in the locality; they are usually adminis-tered by injection. It is costly because packaging is usually in multiple dosages. Similar-ly, farmers lack the knowl-edge and skills in the ad-ministration of drugs. Also Livestock tech-nicians can not readily at-tend to farmers need in treating their animal espe-cially in remote areas but the effectiveness of botan-ical/herbal medicines are handed down from gen-eration to generation. These are the rea-sons why Mr. Abdulkamar Taludjog, Animal Quaran-tine Officer of the Depart-ment of Agriculture-Sulu chose the topic on the lo-cal remedies for livestock and poultry diseases had been incorporated in this seminar. The last topic focused on toxic plants to animals. Dr. Nursima Arakama, Co-ordinator for Agricultural Research of Mindanao

State University, handled the session with actual sample of toxic plants available in the locality for familiarization. The whole learning session was instrumental in bringing together the agriculture sector particu-larly those involved in im-proving the livestock pro-gram of the province of Sulu. Aside from enhancing the capa-bilities of the participants, this training is also meant to strengthen the program of the provincial govern-ment in helping farmers increased their income through improved tech-nology, trained agricultur-al personnel and a unified approach to service deliv-ery. Recognizing the sig-nificance of this seminar to the development goal of the province, the mes-sage of support from Gov-ernor Abdusakur Tan has been delivered during the opening program by Mr. Irwin Tan, the Provincial Administrator and OIC designate. Prior to the VetAg Seminar, a consultation

meeting with the agricul-ture sector was conducted on May 31 participated by commodity specialists of the Department of Agricul-ture and Mindanao State University College of Agri-culture. Discussions have been made on the pos-sible areas of collabora-tion where the USDA can come in to help the prov-ince of Sulu, especially in the area of developing the capabilities of technical personnel and farmers to improve agricultural pro-ductivity. Together with Mr. Shull are Ms. Pia Ang and Mr. Perfecto, both Ag-ricultural Specialists, from the US Embassy. The visit of Mr. Shull was facilitated by the Civil Affairs Team of the JSOTF-Philippines, a strong partner of the ag-riculture sector, together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Ini-tial collaboration made was in the areas of vet-erinary services, train-ings and the recent ac-tivity undertaken in the rehabilitation of a dam in Omar municipality to help irrigate farms.


Kapatagan town officials visit Dipolog by Franklin P. GumaponMunicipal officials of Kapatagan town in Lanao

del Norte headed by Mayor Benjie Yu Baguio came here recently to see for themselves

the implementation of the city government’s solid waste management program.

Around 126 mu-nicipal officials and employees joined the field visit to this city to learn more about the “Materi-al Recovery Facility (MFR) and the Solid Waste Management Program” currently pursued by the city government led by Mayor Evelyn T. Uy. City General Services Chief Alice U. Calagui presented to the visitors how the city government is implementing the MRF and how the wastes are being

collected and dis-posed of. Presently, the city leadership is strictly implement-ing the “no segre-gation, no collection policy,” urging the public to separate out their wastes/garbage. Every household shall have separate contain-ers for biodegrad-able, recyclable and non-biodegradable wastes. Mayor Baguio, who was accompa-nied by Vice May-or Perlito Gonzaga,

Sangguniang Bayan members, municipal heads of offices and education officials, expressed his thanks to the city officials of Dipolog for giving him the idea and the strategies to be rep-licated in his munic-ipality in pushing for a clean and healthy environment. The Kapatagan visitors were greatly amazed at how the city government has been able to main-tain the cleanliness of the city streets and the public


market, which even during nighttime remain spick and span. The visiting town officials were also

toured to the Dipolog City Boulevard, Holy Rosary Cathedral whose altar was de-signed by Dr. Jose Rizal, Demonstration

Farm and Dipolog Sports Complex at Barangay Olingan and the MRF at Ba-rangay Cogon.

INC plants 3,000 trees in Bayog by Bernadine Astillero-GabawanThe Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) in coordination with the

local government unit of Bayog conducted a tree planting activity on Sunday (October 16) at Sitio

Quibranza, Barangay Kahayagan, this municipality.

The said activ-ity was participated by approximately 2,000 members of the said sect from the 62 local church of the 26 munic-ipalities of the province including some mu-nicipalities from Zam-boanga Sibugay. The group planted 3,000 rubber seedlings in a six (6) hectare portion of Bayog EcoPark. In his message ad-dressed to the partici-pants, Dermilo R. Pas-cua, Tagapangasiwa ng Distrito said, “we could

no longer find tress in some of our forest, we will plant trees to help our fellowmen, nature and environment. With this activity, sooner it will minimize land-slides, soil erosions and flooding to happen,” He further stated that “planting trees is not only for us but also for our future generation to come.” He said, “after seven years, the tress that we are about to plant will be harvested and it will give liveli-

hood to the people of this municipality.” On the other hand, Mayor Leonardo Babasa, Jr. welcomed this initiatives as this is in consonance with the National Greening Pro-gram of President Be-nigno S. Aquino III.It can be recalled that sometime in August this year, Pascua co-ordinated with the lo-cal chief executive to hold the said activity in Bayog. The ministers of the district have chosen Bayog as its host in


the tree planting activity. Other officers of Iglesia ni Cristo who participated in the event were: Tito Ma-ghuyop-II Tagapan-gasiwa ng Distrito; Ed-uardo Estacio-Katiwala sa Pagpapatibay; Al-fredo Cenita, Jr.-Kali-him ng Distrito; Romel

Galleto-Ingat Yaman ng Distrito; Eoudy Rios-Auditor; Edison Romaguera-Katiwala ng Ilaw ng Kaligtasan; Melvin Torres-Technical Assistant to the District Minister; Jeremias Tab-erna-Land Registration Officer and Rogelio Jo-venal Distrito Lokal Bayog Minister.

The tree planting was facilitated by Mr. Pablito Matias, Munici-pal Economic Enterprise Officer and concurrent Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office with the Soci-ety of Communicators Network Internation-al (SCAN) of the INC. (JPA)

Some 2,000 members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) participated in the tree planting ac-tivity held on October 16, 2011 at Bayog EcoPark, Bayog Zamboanga del Sur. Some 3,000 rubber seedlings were planted.


BIMP-EAGA ministers, senior officials meet opens today by Apipa BagumbaranDignitaries and delegates from the Brunei Darussalam-

Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) met here today for the opening of the 20th

Senior Officials and the 16th Ministerial Meeting (SOMM).

Slated from October 18-21, the SOMM is an annual meeting of high-level officials and ministers of the four (4) EAGA countries where strategic directions related to the sub-regional cooperation are to be tackled and agreed by them in consensus, said Romeo M. Montenegro, Spokesperson and Head of Communication and Media

Affairs of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA). It aims to effect concrete outcome from several initiatives being undertaken to achieve the sub-region’s twin strategic vision of being the ‘food basket’ and the ‘premier ecotourism’ destination of ASEAN and the rest of Asia.


BIMP-EAGA ministers, senior officials meet opens today

Aside from the usual high-level meeting scheduled on October 19 and 21 at the Xavier Estates Sports and Country Club, various activities are also lined-up in conjunction with this year’s SOMM. Today, journalists, communicators and government information officers from across the member-countries gathered in the BIMP-EAGA Media Forum to forge concerted efforts of communicating the initiatives and gains of the sub-regional cooperation. The investment potentials and opportunities within the sub-region were also discussed during the 2011 BIMP-EAGA Investment Conference (iCON) held at the Pryce Plaza Hotel. Also, customs heads of the four (4) member-countries met at the same location for the conduct of the BIMP-EAGA Heads of Customs Meeting where the priority projects and programs of the

Task Force on Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) will be tackled. Meanwhile, the Senior Officials and delegates are also expected to grace the opening of the Oro Business Enterprise Services and Trade (OROBEST) Expo at the Atrium of SM Mall on October 19 where the local products in Northern Mindanao will be showcased to encourage investors to do business in the region. On October 20, the Senior Officials will likewise meet with China, Japan and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to deepen engagements, particularly, on some viable projects that can be undertaken jointly while the Ministers will meet with the business leaders to discuss the BIMP-Facilitation Center Implementation Blueprint and the Heart of Borneo, among others.

Lanao Norte Hajj pilgrims depart for MeccaBy Vincent N. Labial

Tubod, Lanao del Norte- Approximately 587 pilgrims from the province of Lanao del Norte headed off for Mecca, Saudi Arabia on October 12 to fulfill one of Islam’s five pillars – the Hajj (pilgrimage).

This was the biggest number of pilgrims who availed of the Hajj program of the provincial government since it started on 2002. “The increasing number of pilgrims in the Hajj program is a testament of its importance and effectiveness in addressing

the needs of our brothers and sisters who wish to take their hajj,” Program Head Lyndon Calica said.

As the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad and a site of the composition of the Quran, Mecca is regarded as the


holiest city in Islam. The annual Hajj is the largest pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to

God. “Governor Khalid Dimaporo gives equal support to the two biggest ethnic and religious groups in the province – the Maranaos (Muslims) and the Christians. For the Christian constituents, every month of January Governor Dimaporo is sending a delegation to the biggest fiesta celebration in the country – the Sinulog. The Hajj program is intended for our Muslim residents,” Calica explained. Under the Hajj program, pilgrims receive assistance in securing their passport and other required travel

documents. Enrolled pilgrims are also reserved airline seats for their flight to Saudi Arabia. As part of the program, the provincial LGU also help facilitate for the transportation needs of the pilgrims from Lanao del Norte to Manila as well as book their hotel accommodations while waiting for their scheduled international

flight. Last year, 427 pilgrims from Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur availed of this unique program by the provincial government. “Governor Dimaporo has accepted hajj applicants from Lanao del Sur because he believes that they too deserve this kind of assistance for this special onc e-in-a-lifetime journey,” Calica added. Composing the Hajj organizing team are

personnel from the Provincial Community Affairs Office (PCAO) and the Provincial Information Office (PIO). “We are truly thankful to Governor Khalid Dimaporo for supporting this (Hajj) program. Many of us who are availing of the Hajj program this year were convinced by pilgrims of the previous years of the effectiveness of the program,” expressed University Professor Pili Salem. The Hajj proper officially starts on November 4 and will end on November 9.


3 Gawad Pamana ng Lahi awardees are from region 10By Rochelle D. Dagang

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental– At least three (3) out of 46 “Gawad Pamana ng Lahi (GPL)” awardees, in the country, came from Northern Mindanao.

These are the local government units (LGU’s) of Misamis Oriental in the Provincial Category, Cagayan de Oro City in the City Category and Opol town, also of Misamis Oriental in the Municipality

Category. A total of Php91million as incentives for good governance under the government’s GPL program was awarded to some 46 provinces, cities and municipalities throughout the 13 regions,. last Tuesday, Oct. 11. The funds came from the Congress-appropriated Php500 million Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) aimed to serve

as incentives for the country’s LGU to adopt transparent, accountable and participatory governance.Secretary Jesse M. Robredo of DILG and Gov. Alfonso Umali, Jr. of Oriental

M i n d o r o , President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines ( U L A P ) , presented the awards to the

beneficiary LGUs during the culminating activity of the “Biyaheng Pinoy,” a yearlong celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Local Government Code, held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City. All awardees received a trophy and a check of Php3.0 million for each provincial winner, Php2.0 million for each of the city winner, and a check of P1-million for each municipal winner. The governors and mayors of the


recipient LGU’s personally received the checks to serve as funding support for the implementation of programs and projects under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in their areas. Robredo said the GPL Award is conferred to LGU’s for their exemplary performance across major development initiatives in administrative governance, social governance, economic governance and environmental governance. “Through this awards program, we aim to recognize the invaluable contribution of LGU’s that have continuously adhered to the good governance principles of transparency, accountability and inclusivity in local administration and development,” he said. Of the 46 regional winners, 15 were provinces, 15 were cities and 16 were municipalities. Meanwhile, Regional Director Loreto Bhagwani of DILG, region 10, said the other GHL provincial awardees included the following: Benguet, La Union, Quirino, Bulacan, Cavite, Marinduque and Albay, in Luzon, Negros Occidental, Bohol and Leyte, in the Visayas, and Zamboanga del Norte, Compostela Valley, Cotabato, Agusan del Norte in Mindanao. The cities who were also cited as

GPL Awrdees were: San Fernando, Santiago, San Fernando, Antipolo, Puerto Princesa, Ligao, Iloilo, Cebu, Ormoc, Zamboanga, Tagum, Kidapawan, Surigao, and Tabuk. On the other hand, the municipal GPL awardees were: Sta. Marcela in Apayao, Tagudin in Ilocos Sur, Ilagan in Isabela, Llanera in Nueva Ecija, Carmona in Cavite, Odiongan in Romblon, Tiwi in Albay. New Lucena in Iloilo, Amlan in Negros Oriental, and Naval in Biliran, in the Visayas, and Labason in Zamboanga del Norte, Laak in Compostela Valley, Surallah in South Cotabato, Cagwait in Surigao del Sur, and Sultan Mastura in Maguindanao. Bhagwani said the LGU’s were chosen based on the following criteria: scores in the development indices from the Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS), the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH), organization of national government bestowed awards, and acknowledged innovations. “Secretary Robredo expects the GPL awardees to sustain their outstanding performance and serve as shining exemplars of good governance,” Bhagwani said. (DILG-10)


NDA Administrator Cenas to grace the Dairy Forum in Cag. de OroBy Apipa Bagumbaran

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental- National Dairy Authority (NDA) Administrator Grace J. Cenas is set to attend the Dairy Forum, at the Atrium of SM Mall, here, this coming Oct. 20.

She will be accompanied by the NDA Planning Manager Rene Martin de Guzman, James B. So, officer-in-charge of NDA, region 10, said. Among others, the dairy situationer and the Philippine Dairy Roadmap will be discussed to the dairy stakeholders in Northern Mindanao, during the forum.Aimed to promote the development of the dairy industry in the region, the forum will be attended by representatives from the different farmers’ organizations and the local government units (LGU). It will also be staged back-to-back with alivelihood training on milk products processing techniques for targeted women in the city, he further said. A component of the Information Campaign and Education (ICE) on Milk Project, the livelihood training is aimed at addressing the problems of marketing of dairy products, low milk production, consumption, malnutrition and the low awareness and appreciation of the importance of milk in creating a healthy population. Meanwhile, OROBEST EXPO 2011,

a parallel event of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines, East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Trade Fair, will run from October 19 to 22. Both the OROBEST and the Dairy Forum activities will be conducted, in partnership with the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Foundation, Inc. (OroChamber), the Land O’ Lakes Foundation Phil., Inc., and the Northern Mindanao Federation of Dairy Cooperatives (NMFDC), So said.


DSWD to take closer look on misuse of 4Ps funds, ATM pawning

The Department of Social Welfare and Development

(DSWD) XI is now intensifying its monitoring on reported cases of misuse of Pantawid Pamilya funds and pawning of ATMs used in withdrawing cash grants. Regional Grievance Officer Odis-sa Esther Kilayco said Pantawid Pamily-ang Pilipino Program (4Ps) links at the community level are giving emphasis on the prohibition of ATM pawning and misusing of 4Ps cash grants during as-semblies with beneficiaries. They are also warning beneficiaries of the possible suspen-sion of cash grant release if they would be found guilty of using it to purchase goods or services other than for the ed-ucation and health of their children. “Dapat focus lang jud ang kwarta sa education ug health sa mga bata,” she said in a radio interview over DXRP Radyo ng Bayan Davao. Kilayco admitted that complaints on diversion of 4Ps cash grants partic-ularly to alcoholic drinking sprees, and pawning of 4Ps ATM cards had reached DSWD, but she said accused were not outright delisted because due process was taken.

The complainant has to fill in a form in which stated his or her ac-cusation. There will be fact-finding to be conducted and if found guilty, the accused will be warned verbally. Writ-ten warning will follow in the succeed-ing offense but the accused is given 15 days to explain. 4Ps beneficiaries can also be delisted if they would file a waiver stating their ineligibility of such govern-ment cash grant which is intended only for the survival needs of the poorest of

the poor. If found having a regular source of income during the conduct of eligibility check routine (ECR) , 4Ps beneficiaries can also be taken out of the list.

by Jean Duron-Abangan


These beneficiaries are spread in Davao City with 16,557; in eight towns of Davao del Sur with 34,084; in two cit-ies and eight towns in Davao del Norte with 24,454; in nine towns of Davao Oriental with 24,576; and in seven towns of Com-postela Valley with 25,186. (PIA 11/jean duron-abangan)

DavSur’s coco-sugar business epitomizes countryside develop-ment - DOSTBy Carina L. Cayon BANSALAN, DAVAO DEL SUR– The De-partment of Science and Technology executive head has tossed up the co-conut sugar firm here to be one of the country’s role models to DOST’s flag-ship program in countryside develop-ment. DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo commended the Lao Integrated Farms, Inc. based in Barangay Eman, Bansalan this province, for bringing in improvements at the rural areas in this part of the province, using appropriate technology innovations.

Montejo said that the inventor and producer of the Donnabelle coconut sugar and syrup products made from coconut sap, epitomizes DOST’s countryside development program as an effective strategy in realizing Presi-dent Benigno Aquino’s goal for an inclusive economic growth. He explained that the countryside de-velopment covers the program of develop-ing appropriate technology, improving ex-

isting products to be world-class products and generating jobs around the area. He said that the enterprise “clearly ex-emplifies” this, citing particularly the pres-ent employment that the firm has provided for the rural folks in its surroundings. “The Lao Integrated Farms is a perfect model in the middle of the countryside help-ing people and creating world-class prod-ucts.” Montejo added “We hope that the company would permit to become a model of the program,” the DOST official said during his visit at the farm last week to see the impact of the DOST-assisted projects under the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP). The DOST-SETUP provided the Lao Integrated Farms a financial assistance of P660,000 with no interest and payable for three years. Donabelle Coco-sugar

According to a DOST project briefer, the amount was used for the purchase of a double jacketed steel pasteurizer and rotary dryer project which made improvements in the production process and quality of coco-nut syrup complying with the export market standards. During the visit, Lao Integrated Farms owner and chief executive officer Benjamin Lao informed the DOST Secretary of how the business has improved a lot starting ten years ago from a barren land in Brgy. Eman. Lao recalled that he started develop-ing about one-hectare coconut farm and in-troduced organic farming, until currently, its Donnabelle coco sugar and syrup products are being exported to Australia, Germany and Japan. The business has also expanded to other coco sugar-based products such as ginger tea, moringa, lemon grass and sea-soning. Lao said that he only had seven work-ers prior to the DOST assistance. He added that the company now has a work


force of 86 toddy suppliers and 35 regular employees. He revealed a plan of employing 50 additional workers when it expands busi-ness in Japan by the last quarter of 2012. Lao is a national awardee as Outstand-ing Farmer and Magsasakang Syentista. The provincial government also recognized Lao for his exceptional contribution not only in improving the agriculture sector, but also in uplifting the agri-entrepreneurship through his invention and production of the coconut sugar/syrup. (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)

Corn production yields 1.8 mil-lion in Mati barangay

MATI, Davao Oriental—The provincial government through the Provincial Agriculture Office celebrated on Fri-day a Corn Harvest Festival at Baran-gay Bobon in the city of Mati where 52 farmer cooperators have benefited from the 1.8 million pesos worth of corn production on the project dubbed as “Davao Oriental Corn Enhancement Project” under the Pagkain at Kita program, a brainchild of the provincial Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon. For the first cycle alone, the total corn pro-duction in the 59-hectare area has reached to 50 metric tons for white corn and 136 metric tons for yellow corn. The figures however are projected to increase as the agriculture sector remains de-termined to double its production on the second cycle.

Rotchie M. Ravelo, Technical Assistant for Pagkain at Kita Program felt elated pointing out that this year’s biggest area in the entire city of Mati in terms of corn production is in Barangay Bobon. Fifty-nine hectares was harvested out of the 110 hectares total established corn project site, where 20 hectares of which were planted with white corn variety and 39 hectares with the yellow variety. The shelled white corns were pegged at 13 pesos per kilo and the yellow corn at 9 pesos per kilo. According to Ravelo, the income would have been much higher if the produce was sold at a better value. “We will study how to balance the price so that we could compete with the market price,” says Governor Malanyaon. As a result, the provincial government de-liberates selling the produce outside the province, a marketing strategy that is guaranteed to give off a better price, thus increasing income of the local farmers. “For its marketing support, the provincial government initiated the purchase of a hauling truck (Forward truck) costing 950,000 pesos. This will be used to load the produced corn transport-ing them to Tagum City where the market buys them in a fairly higher price,” Ravelo said. Moreover, a new tractor worth 2.4 million was purchased through a counterpart scheme between the Provincial Government Unit who granted 1.2 million pesos and the Department of Agriculture allotting 1.2 million pesos. “This only proves how strong the commitment of our gov-ernment to provide our people with better lives,” he added. Ravelo revealed that the income generat-ed per hectare from white corn alone has reached up to 30,000.00 and 35,000.00 for the yellow corn. The 1.8 million total value of production (1,228,500 pesos for the yellow corn and 600,000 pesos on the white corn) has encouraged more corn farmers to further boost their production.


To realize this project, the Provincial government has subsidized 800,000 pesos counterpart of the 1.2 million-budget allot-ted. This includes trainings and semi-nars for the farmers, farming inputs such as corn seeds and fertilizers, as well as the provision of tractor. The city government of Mati, the barangay LGU, and the coopera-tors themselves who have also contributed their share to the project have expressed their commitment through their continuous support to the programs of the provincial government with its thrust of advancing the agriculture sector in the province. To date, the Davao Oriental Corn En-hancement Project has a total of 100 farmer cooperators in Barangay Bobon. The provin-cial government however remains vigorous in expanding the project so that more small farmers will be benefited.

“The marginalized sector deserves more from the government but doesn’t mean de-pendency to the government. While they re-ceive more from the government, the gov-ernment also expects more in return through their relentless efforts towards their farming venture,” explained Ravelo. Governor Malanyaon stressed out that achieving progress starts with values trans-formation primarily by changing the mind sets of people from dependency to self reli-ance. “Let us maximize our vast agricultural

resources in the province as my agricultural slogan goes “Matag Yuta, Adunay Tanum”, says the Governor. “The presence of the provincial gov-ernment should be established in every ba-rangay through various programs that will benefit all our constituents”, adds Governor Malanyaon. To fast track the development of the agriculture sector in the province, the pro-vincial government is focusing its direction not only in terms of production but as well as in semi-processing, value-adding, and marketing. “That’s why we already have the Agri-Business section in the Provincial Agri-culture Office,” Ravelo said. The Pagkain at Kita program was the first program implemented by Governor Malanyaon under the Executive Order no. 001 as she took the gubernatorial seat in 2007. “The Pagkain at Kita program explic-itly aims two things implied basically by the project’s name itself as food security and income generation in each household, said Ravelo. “This is the reason why we are here to ensure that the program objectives are achieved,” he added. As the champion province in the re-cent Regional Gawad Saka Award and is now vying for the National category, the provin-cial government of Davao Oriental is indeed determined in its pursuit of developing ag-riculture in the province and improving the lives of its constituents.)

Health Services remains on top of Davao Oriental’s development agendaBy : Ms. Neela G. Duallo City of Mati, Davao Oriental – “We will improve the delivery of health services rendered by the Dvo Or Provincial Hos-pital” This was disclosed by Gov. Corazon Malanyaon, in explaining the continuing ef-forts of the provincial government that the focus in health services stands still, for the


people of Davao Oriental. “I hired a team tasked to see the weak-est points in the delivery of services of the provincial hospital, from the facilities, sup-plies, and medicines,” she bared. As yet, the Operating Room of the pro-vincial hospital is undergoing repair, and ex-pectedly, the work will be done by Decem-ber. Gov. Corazon Malanyaon is also eyeing the services of some surgeons so the Provin-cial Hospital can now have regular surgery. “I will ask the help of Dr. Rey Lobo on this. He has the connections, and he has been a big part of the medical and surgical missions that the provincial government con-ducted in the previous years,” she added. For years now, the province has been

conducting medical and dental missions in the different barangays in the ten municipali-ties and one component city of the province, and the annual Provincial Surgical Missions. Last month, the medical and den-tal mission was successfully conducted in the municipality of Baganga, where almost 12,000 residents availed of the free servic-es. On Oct. 19-23, 2011, the medical and dental mission goes to the City of Mati, to benefit all of the 26 barangays of the com-ponent city. “I really want the health services, par-ticularly the medical missions to reach the far flung baranays, so that they can feel the presence and assistance of the provincial government. I see to it that i will be at the activity, myself, so i can see the people who

do not deserve to be deprived of at least, the basic services,” the Governor explained. One important and big help that the medical missions did were discovering cases that need immediate medical attention, and had to be referred to Tagum Regional Hospi-tal, or to the Davao Medical Center, of which, the provincial government gave financial as-sistance to the said cases. The Governor also sees the full com-puterization of the Davao Oriental Provincial Hospital in due time. Now benefitting almost 38,000 enroll-ees as reported by Board Member Ronald Lara, the provimcial government boasts of its Madayaw Health Care Program. “So i am asking all the Phil Health members to have the necessary documents ready at all times so they can immediately avail of the program in times of need. With the said total number of bene-ficiaries, the province now accomplished the universal coverage for Phil Health. Gov. Malanyaon also gave her as-surance that the improvement in the de-livery of health services will not end on putting health structures, but also em-bedded in the health care development plan is the upgrading of facilities, and the district hospitals in the province, as well as the rural health units, and com-plementing the health care development plan is improving the plight of the health care workers. Just very recetly, the provincial government received another assistance from the Dept. of Health-DOH through Reg’l Director Teogenes Baluma, amount-ing to Thirty Five Thousand pesos. Talking in one of the meetings of the League of Municipalaits-Davao Oriental chapter, the Governor said “Health care means saving precious lives, and when one talks about life, it makes the differ-ence, and I believe this is one factor that has endeared me and my admiistration to the constituents of Davao Oriental.”


LGU gathers 4Ps parent-leaders to discuss issues on implementationBy Dani Doguiles KORONADAL CITY -- At least 88

parent-leaders from 12 LGU- beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pas-adang Pilipino Program gathered in Kidapawan City last week for a forum regarding the implemen-tation of the government’s pri-mary poverty alleviation program.

The forum - assembly organized by the provincial government of North Co-tabato aimed to identify gaps, issues and concerns confronting the imple-mentation of the anti-poverty program, particularly the conditional cash trans-fer.

Parent-leaders were also orient-ed on the programs systems includ-ing Compliance and Verification Sys-tem (CVS), Grievance Redress System (GRS), Supply Side Assessment (SSA), and Beneficiary Update System (BUS). They also received lectures on leader-ship and teamwork.

“The Provincial Government is strongly pushing for efficient and ef-fective implementation of the program since this is the biggest and single instrument of the government to im-prove the human capital,” said Gov. Emmylou “Lala” Taliño-Mendoza.


“Let’s not put to waste government’s money. We should see to it that the program serves its purpose,” she told the participants.

The governor was encouraged by the observation that those who were chosen as household heads or parent-leaders are mother-beneficiaries.

This she said is an indication of gender equality and empowerment, which proves that mothers in the prov-ince are capable of leading groups.

North Cotabato has 41,320 CCT household-beneficiaries clustered into 1,489 parent groups.

As partners of the program imple-mentation, parent-leaders of the clus-ters lead their members in meet-ings, develop of rapport, monitor attendance of household grantees in the community assemblies and family development education sessions, visit households grantees who have missed community assemblies and dissemi-nate information to household benefi-ciaries.

During the forum considerable

time was spent in the discussion of the Beneficiary Update System (BUS).

BUS’s primary purpose is the gather, validate, report and record the changes that have occurred on the status or condition of any mem-ber of the beneficiary household while under the program.

This is one of the tools that the government, through the Depart-ment of Social Welfare and Develop-ment (DSWD), uses to continue, suspend, or terminate cash grants to specific beneficiaries.

An information sheet on the pro-gram says: “The continuity of the cash grant is dependent on two di-mensions as follows: how the bene-ficiaries abide by the conditionalities as would be monitored through the Compliance and Verification System (CVS); and the change (s) on the status or condition of each beneficiary household which would be reflected in the Update Report. (PIA 12)

RDC 12 trains trainers on road safety advocacyKORONADAL CITY -- To address rising statistics on vehicular and related accidents involving teenagers, the Regional Development Council of Soc-csksargen Region (RDC 12) recently conducted a trainers’ training on road safety advocacy.

Information from RDC 12 says that statistics show that fatality rate among drivers aged 16 to 19 is four times higher than that of the 25 to 69 years old bracket.

Crash fatality rate per 100,000 population is highest for the ages 16

– 17 within the first six months after securing licences and remains high through age 24.

Reckless driving, over-speeding, distraction from cellular phones and substance abuse are among the main causes of accidents involving teen


age drivers, the same report says.To address this concern and to pre-

vent more accidents among teenag-ers, the Regional Social Development Council (RSDC 12) proposed to the RDC for the conduct of orientation on proper driving behaviour among teen-age drivers.

This was supported by a resolution pushing for the conduct of advocacy activity on road safety in secondary and tertiary schools in Region 12.

Another resolution was passed de-claring October 21, 2011 as Road Safety Day in Region 12.

In accordance to the road safety advocacy efforts, RDC 12 through the United Transport Operators and Driv-ers Servicing Cooperative (UTODCO) conducted a training of trainers (TOT) on road advocacy on October 12.

UTODCO is headed by RDC 12 pri-vate sector representative Nestor Lu-mawig.

TOT topics covered Land Trans-portation Code of the Philippines (RA 4136), defensive driving and road courtesy, road safety and accidents, and first aid.

Trainers trained were from Depart-

ment of Education (DepEd), Depart-ment of Health (DOH), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Public Works and High-ways (DPWH), Land Transportation Of-fice (LTO), and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

There were also participants from Dole Philippines, Marbel School of Science and Technology (MSST), St. Alexius College, STI College, Marvel-ous College, and Bombo Radyo – Ko-ronadal.

Participants from TESDA, CHED, DepEd, and the tertiary education institutions are expected to echo the same seminar to supervisors, principals and administrator who, in turn are encouraged to conduct advocacy activities in their respec-tive schools and offices.

Simultaneous road safety sympo-siums are also expected to be held on October 21 in time with Road Safety Day celebration the Soccsk-sargen Region.

Soccsksargen region covers the provinces of Sarangani, South Cota-bato, Sultan Kudarat, and North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kida-pawan, and Cotabato.

RDC 12’s Technical Working Group on Road Safety Advocacy (TWG-RSA) can be tapped for the conduct of activities on road safety advocacy.

Interested parties may contact Rosa Lemana, Helen Vestal, or Engr. Romeo Salac through telephone number 083-520-0009. (PIA 12)


Cotabato City Central Pilot School to receive 45 schoolhouses from Aboitiz GroupGENERAL SANTOS CITY --The day was festive and school children were flashing sweet smiles as they run around the newly-completed school building inside Cota-bato City Central Pilot School (CCCPS).

From a dilapidated and overcrowded one, the pre-school kids will now be occupying their fully furnished and well ventilated classroom. Assorted educational materials, colorful books, workbooks and learn-ing tools have been ar-ranged in such a way that the children will be in for a great play. This is one of the 45 Silid Pangarap schoolhouse built by the Aboitiz Group through the Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (AFI). AFI has teamed up with the AGAPP (Ak-lat, Gabay, Aruga tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa) Foundation to help pre-school children by providing 1 storey-2-classroom building na-tionwide. Aboitiz Foundation Inc. pledged to build 45 Silid Pangarap buildings in two years in support to AGAPP Foundation’s education initiatives. For 2011, 26 buildings will be turned-over, one of which was done recently in Cotabato City .

Cotabato Light and Power, an Aboitiz com-pany, facilitated the con-struction and selected Cotabato City Central Pilot School (CCCPS) as the recipient school bas-ing from their volume of students and number of enrollees. “Wala ng hihigit pa sa tamis ng isang bagay na hindi hiningi, kusang ipi-nagkaloob at walang in-aasahang kapalit mula sa pinagpalang mapag-bigay,” Wahabi Guiani, CCCPS Principal said. “We would not forget, and forever, we would value every drop of the portion you have ex-pended for our children’s behalf. We can guaran-tee you that we will take this as a precious gift because it is the product of your untainted inten-tions,” he further said. Danny Cerence, man-ager and project devel-opment officer of AFI who came all the way from Cebu Head Office to grace the event read Pinky Aquino – Abel-lada’s message, AGAPP

chairperson: “Ang Silid Pangarap ay nakatayo na ngayon na may mga silya’t mesa, school sup-plies at aklat para sa kinder hangga’t Grade 3. May teacher train-ing pa po itong kasama! Salamat sa Aboitiz Foun-dation, Cotabato Light, LGU, DepEd at school faculties, sa tulung-tu-long nating mahanapan ng solusyon ang prob-lema sa edukasyon.” About Php1.1-M has been set aside by Aboitiz Foundation Inc. for this project for AGAPP-CCCPS constructed by Compact II Gencon, Inc. The sturdy and attrac-tive building was based on the same design of AGAPP schoolhouse na-tionwide. With com-plete books, supplies and teacher’s training, this project is definite-ly on its way in mak-ing sure that all Grade 1-entrants have the necessary preparations to make them ready for academic challenges and consequently succeed in formal school.


“We, at the Aboitiz Group are very happy with this donation. We are glad to be of service to our community. Cer-tainly with the increas-ing number of pupils this project will be of great use for the welfare and education of the stu-dents especially with our pre-schoolers. Kami

sa Cotabato Light at AFI ay inyong ka-AGAPP-ay,” Donjie Vertuoso spoke on behalf of Cotabato Light’s Resident Manag-er Crisente Ferolino. Present during the turnover were city coun-cilors Hadji Abdullah An-dang and Graham Nass-er Dumama; DepEd 12 Superintendent Dr. Me-

linda Maruhom; Admin Officer V- Johnny Bala-wag; CLPC CSR Team headed by Anna Lea Lee Nataño, Project Engineer Anthony Bueno and oth-er officers who made the nationwide project possible. (dannyes-cabarte/PIA General Santos City/CTApela-cio)

PD Delfin pinuri ng Sangguniang PanlalawiganKORONADAL CITY, Okt. 18 -- Tumanggap ng pagpupuri mula sa Sang-guniang Panlalawigan ng South Cotabato si Provincial Police Director P/SSupt. Randolf Delfin isang buwan matapos nitong pamunuan ang ka-pulisan sa lalawigan.

Sa isang resolusyon na isi-numite ni Board Member Agustin Demaala, chairman ng committee on public order and safety, binigyang-pugay ng SP si Delfin at mga mi-yembro ng provincial police force sa mga pagbabago na kanyang ipinatupad sa pamu-

nuan ng South Cotabato Police Provincial Office na siyang dahilan ng pag-unlad ng segu-ridad sa buong nasasakupan.

Sa isang inihayag naman ni Vice Gov. Elmo Tolosa ang kanyang paghanga sa bagong provincial director.

Aniya sa unang buwan pa lang ni Delfin sa lalawigan marami na itong nagawa, kabi-lang na ang pagkakadakip sa dalawang suspetsado ng car-napping. Nakikita din umano niya na sinsero ang huli pag-pigil sa kriminalidad.

Malaki na rin umano an pagbabago kahit na sa kondi-syon ng provincial police headquarter na ngayon ay malinis na.

Kahanga-hanga din umano ang ginagawa nitong paglili-bot sa mga police station ka-hit na gabi at madaling araw upang masigurong handa sa lahat ng oras ang mga pulis sa kanilang pagpapatupad ng kanilang tungkulin at pagdi-siplina sa mga tauhang hindi ginagawa ang kanilang tung-kulin.

Kahapon, humarap si PD Delfin sa Sangguniang Pan-lalalawigan upang ilahad ng kanyang ulat sa unang buwan ng panunungkulan sa South Cotabato at planong ipapatupad sa pagpapanatili ng kaayusan at katiwasayan sa buong lalawigan. (DEDogu-iles/PIA 12)


Special Task Force Tentorio binuo ng PRO 12KORONADAL CITY -- Kinumpirma ni Police Regional Office 12 (PRO 12) director P/CSupt Benjardi Mantele na nagbuo na siya ng isang task force na tututok sa paglutas sa kaso ng pagpatay sa Italyanong pareng si Father Fausto Tentorio sa Arakan, North Cotabato kahapon.

Aniya ang special investigations task force ay pangungulu-han ni deputy director for administration P/CSupt Lester Camba, Kasama sa naturang task force ang mga re-gional heads ng law enforcement agencies kabilang na ang crime laboratory, Criminal Investigation and De-tection Group at ilang miyembro ng in-telligence com-munity.

Ani Mantele, sisikapin nilang malulutas sa madaling pana-hon ang krimen.

Matatandaang binaril ng hindi pa nakikilalang suspek si Fa-ther Tentorio sa mismong gara-he ng kumben-to ng Mother of Perpetual Help Parish sa bayan

ng Arakan mag-a-alas ocho ng umaga.

Ayon sa inisyal na report ng mga pulis, mahigit sampung bala ng 9 mm pistol ang tumama sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng katawan ng pari.

Sa ngayon blangko pa umano ang mga pu-lis sa pagkakakilanlan ng suspek dahil naka-suot ito ng crash hel-

met nang binaril niya si Father Fausto.

Mariin naman kinon-dena ng mga opisyal ang lokal na pamaha-laan, ng simbahan at mga civic groups ang karumal-dumal na pag-patay sa Italyanong pareng misyonero na mahigit 20 taon nang nagsilbing misyone-ro sa Mindanao. (DE-Doguiles/PIA 12)

48 Monday, October 17, 2011

One Mindanao - October 18, 2011

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