MORE NEWS, BAGUIO CITY

2 Cordillera workers garner presidential lingkod bayan awards

BAGUIO CITY -- A teacher from Baguio City National High School and a city medical officer shall share the limelight come September 19 with five other national awardees in the 2008 Search for Outstanding Public Officials and Employees (SOPOE).

This was bared by Civil Service Commision regional director 1V Lorenzo S. Danipog who said Warren L. Ambat, Teacher II, Baguio City National High School and Dr. Celia Flor C. Brillantes, Medical Officer V, Health Services Office, City Government of Baguio emerged as 2008 Presidential Lingkod Bayan Awardees.

The awards rites for the 2008 Presidential Lingkod Bayan, the Dangal ng Bayan and CSC Pagasa Awards on Sept. 19, 10 am at the Kalayaan Hall, Malacañang Palace will serve as culmination of the search for the Outstanding Government Officials and Employees of the CSC’s Honor Awards program (HAP) and shall be graced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Ambat is a model of innovativeness and resourcefulness that should inspire public school teachers and civil servants elsewhere. An English teacher with no formal computer education, Ambat persevered to learn about ICT, integrate it to his teaching and share his knowledge to his peers.

Brillantes spearheaded the creation of Bonjing, the first government-run interactive website dedicated to sex education for young people and which earned the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Award as Best E-practices in Internet-based Public Service for Young Adults in the Asia Pacific.

Lingkod Bayan awardees receive a gold (gilded) medallion, a plaque containing the citation and signature of the President of the Philippines & cash award of Php100,000.00. Aside from the regular incentives, additional incentives in the form of scholarship privileges (bachelor’s degree, masteral or doctorate) may be given to individual awardees. The scholarship may be availed of in CSC partner schools nationwide and in the region.

Aside from honoring the 2008 HAP awardees and finalists from the region, the CSC-CAR shall also be awarding the 2008 Best PRAISE Committee in CAR during the Regional Recognition Program. At the provincial level, the CSC – CAR Field Offices shall be recognizing the PASADA top-rating agencies during the anniversary celebration. ‘Gawis ay Mt. Province’ walk scheduled Oct. 14


Groups barricade SM Baguio condotel site

BAGUIO CITY – More than 1000 cause-oriented groups, students and church members protested plans for the construction of four condominium buildings in the mini-forest in front of the UP campus by barricading the area last week.

The project is spearheaded by the SM Investments Corp. and Government Service Insurance System.

Protesters included UP Baguio officials, administrative staff and workers, youth groups Anakbayan and League of Filipino Students, UP and high school students, church members led by Bishop Cenzon, and representatives of the Cordillera People’s Alliance and Tongtongan ti Umili.

A short program headed by the UPB community was held during the human barricade and culminated in a march to SM through the Session Road entrance But the group was met with policemen from the police outpost near SM, said John Silverio F. Saligbon, UPB students council chairman.

He said a meeting between the police and UPB Chancellor Priscilla Supnet-Macansantos along with other UPB administrators was held.

The group peacefully returned to the campus to end the protest with a closing program wherein the UPB community mebrs said they would continue the fight against the condominium construction and cutting of trees.

The mini-forest is believed to be a property of the UPB that was managed by the GSIS after the Marcos presidency.

Protesters said while the issue of ownership remains disputed, the area is clearly an institutional zone and should not be used for commercialized purposes such as the construction of condominiums.

The UPB students said construction of the condominiujm buildings was a move towards the commercialization of education, since the land is purportedly a property of the University.


DENR picks Baguio landfill site; folks still complaining
By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY — The Cordillera office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has picked a city-owned lot in Barangay Sto. Tomas Apugan here as suitable site for its engineered sanitary landfill even as residents here are still complaining over uncollected garbage.

If the city government constructs the landfill at the recommended site, it would save millions of pesos because it would no longer buy a lot and would not be dumping its garbage in areas outside of Baguio, DENR officials said.

The 14-hectare, city-owned property was endorsed as site for the sanitary landfill by French consultants who conducted a study sponsored by the World Bank in the late 1990s.

Aside from Sto Tomas, city-owned property, the WB study also recommended two other sites, which are Virac, Itogon, Benguet, and the Antamok open-pit area.

It appears, however, that the previous city officials did not pursue the project.

In a report, the DENR found that the nearest residential area to the Sto Toms property is some two kilometers away.

Recently, the Environmental Management Bureau in the Cordillera reaffirmed an earlier DENR recommendation when it stated that the Sto Tomas property is feasible for the establishment of a permanent sanitary landfill.

It said, however, that the city government should adopt engineering measures and other intervention schemes.

At the same time, an executive of Philex Mining Corp. told city officials the company’s experts and engineers are willing to help the city prepare a plan for the a sanitary landfill in Sto. Tomas.

But the way things are going at City Hall, the current garbage woes in the city will go on for a long time because the technical people tasked to identify the possible site for the sanitary landfill have not yet selected which property is best.

While the city is spending a lot of money for the hauling of the city’s garbage to Capas, Tarlac, city officials could not get their acts together and come out with a common stand on the pressing issue.

The reason for this is politics, observers said. With the much heralded garbage crisis, tourist arrivals in the city have significantly declined in the past three weeks.

Prospective visitors fear that they might be afflicted with diseases that may come as a result of the decomposing garbage dumped all over the city.

Garbage collection has remained erratic despite the huge expense for hauling services.


DSWD clarifies ‘no RAL, no rice’ policy
BAGUIO CITY -- The regional Department of Social Welfare and Development said reports that Tindahan Natin Outlets (TNOs) no longer distribute NFA Rice at P 18.25 per kilogram in the region needed to be clarified.

DSWD Regional Director Porfiria Bernardez said since the use of the Family Access Card (FAC) for rice has yet to be effected in the Cordillera, the distribution of P18.25 per kilo of NFA Rice will be solely based on a Rice Allocation Ledger (RAL) used by TNOs.

The RAL contains the list of families who are entitled to avail of the NFA rice in TNOs, who are identified by the local government units where the TNOs are located.

It is here where family representatives sign as proof that they have claimed their rice allocation for a given period.

As agreed during a coordination meeting between DSWD and the National Food Authority, rice allocation from NFA particularly for TNOs shall be based on the number of beneficiaries identified per outlet, with a 2-kg limit per family per week.

As a policy, only those listed in the DSWD RAL shall be served by the TNOs.

In the Cordillera, every TNO can accommodate a minimum of 250 families at five kilos per family per week.

This is considering that depressed families come from far-flung barangays and family members engage in hard labor, Bernardez said.

At present, there are 648 TNOs operating in the region, stationed in identified depressed barangays.

This is to make affordable rice more accessible to indigent families.

Beginning Sept. 1, the NFA will only distribute 18.25 per kilo of NFA rice to TNOs with identified beneficiaries of at least 250 families.

NFA outlets located in public markets and identified bigasang bayan outlets will be selling NFA rice priced at P25 per kilo.