2 boys swim across Agno River;
feared drowned
BAUTISTA, Pangasinan -- Two teenage boys are
believed to have drowned after they tried to swim across a river here Tuesday afternoon.
A radio report said
rescuers are still trying to locate Ronald Perez, 14; and Rodnel Justo,
15; both residents of Barangay Diaz, after being swept by strong current
while crossing Agno River around 2 p.m.
The boys' friends told
authorities that the two attempted to cross across the river despite the strong
current.
Reports added
that the authorities believe that the two boys could not survive the raging
river.
Based on the
records of local authorities the incident is the first case of drowning in the
Agno River this year.
Cordillera economy posts
record rise
The National Statistical Coordination Board –
Cordillera said the region’s economy recorded a whooping increase of 6
percent in 2013, which could give a big boost to the region’s economy. Benjamin
Navarro, NSCB-Cordillera said in a press conference.
He said the region’s
economy accelerated from one percent in 2012 to six percent in 2013, which was
propelled by the continuous growth of services as well as the recovery of the
industry sectors that will likely continue for the whole year of 2014.
17 hurt as same trike
figures in two Isabela road mishaps
STO. TOMAS, Isabela – Seventeen
persons, mostly students, were injured in separate vehicular accidents that
occurred two days apart involving the same tricycle in the towns of Cabagan and
Sto. Tomas, Isabela.
Last August 3, eight
students were injured when the tricycle driven by Melanio Villanueva fell into
a ravine in the village of Caniogan West, in Sto. Tomas.
Isabela police
director Senior Supt. Sotero Ramos Jr. said Melanio’s tricycle was rear-ended
by another tricycle driven by Pedro Cudal, who was hurt in the incident.
Aside from Cudal,
among those injured were students Joanna Cammayo, Erika Tarun, Aira Joy Ramos,
Jinky Bautista, Nicole Bautista, Ryza Mae Addatu, Mia Cudal, ReizabelEspejo,
and Peter Ramos Cammayo.
Three days earlier,
Villanueva also figured in another accident in Barangay Cubag, Cabagan
town, injuring 10 students.
Six of the victims
were identified as students May Ramos, Jovelyn Ramos, Gil Rian Rodriguez,
Melisa Mercad and Kenneth Bareno and motorcycle driver Rafael Adelan and his
backrider, Claire Mabbayad, 18.
Police said Adelan
swerved, hitting Villanueva’s tricycle. – Raymund Catindig
Baguio City PUJ drivers,
operators press 50 centavo hike
BAGUIO CITY -- Jeepney operators and drivers
in this city are asking for a 50-centavo fare hike (from P8.50 to P9), citing
the rise in prices of oil, spare parts and basic goods. “Prices of vehicle
parts are increasing and jeepney operators regularly change them because of the
fast deterioration due to the terrain in the city. The drivers are also
complaining because of the increase in oil prices giving them minimal income,”
said Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of Baguio, Benguet
and La Union (FEJODABLU) Chairman Perfecto Itliong.
Timbangan ng bayan
installed at Bontoc public market
BONTOC, Mountain Province -- Consumers can
now readily check the weight accuracy of the goods they buy in this capital
town.
This was made possible
by the two units of calibrated weighing scales recently turned over by the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to the local government here.
Popularly called
timbangan ng bayan, the two weighing scales were installed at strategic sections
at the Bontoc Public Market. One was placed at the meat section of the wet
market while another was placed at the grocery and vegetable area.
Both came in
locally-fabricated steel housing.
According to DTI
Mountain Province director Juliet Lucas, these weighing scales are among the
timbangan ng bayan being provided by the DTI for public markets nationwide that
are operating daily.
“These are intended to
be used by consumers so they can ensure that vendors are not short-weighing the
goods they buy,” Lucas emphasized.
Lucas added that the
provision of weighing scales for public use is in accordance with the
provisions of the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
Mayor Franklin Odsey
said the timbangan ng bayan is an effective means of giving consumers the real
worth of their hard-earned money.
“Through these scales,
our constituents will be protected from unscrupulous vendors who use inaccurate
weighing scales,” said Odsey.
The Bontoc Public
Market is the first public market in Mountain Province to receive timbangan ng bayan
from the DTI. The two units given were put under the supervision of Market
Supervisor William Patingan. - Desiree Sokoken
Nueva Ecija village chief
gunned down
CABIAO, Nueva Ecija – Motorcycle-riding men gunned down a
barangay chairman in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija Monday morning, authorities said.
In a report here,
Senior Supt. Crisaldo Nievez, Nueva Ecija police director, said the victim,
Mario Trillana, 37, chairman of Barangay Bagong Sicat, Cabiao, was driving his
car en route to another village when he was waylaid.
Police were still
clueless on the killing.
DOST to set up clay
water filter facility in Mt Province
BAUKO, Mountain Province -- The Department of
Science and Technology is set to BUILD ceramic clay filter technology facility in
this town, which can transform rain or flood water into potable water.
DOST Cordillera
regional director Julius Caesar Sicat said through the DOST - Industrial
Technology Development Institute, a portable ceramic clay filter technology has
already been developed locally and four regions including Cordillera, are set
to construct production center facilities.
“The portable ceramic
clay filter is very simple and very easy to use; you will just put the filter
in a pre-designed pitcher with a tap or faucet below and it can convert even
rain or flood water into drinking water. It can be useful to a family
especially during calamities as its small type can produce two to four
liters of potable water in eight hours,” Sicat said.
With climate change
bringing in unpredictable and stronger weather patterns, Sicat said with the
ceramic clay filter, airlifting drinking water to calamity stricken areas will
be less of a concern. It will now just depend on the disaster strategy of a
community.
Sicat said the filter uses
high temperature to properly cook the clay that is added with nano-microbial
agent so that no micro-organism can pass through and only clean potable water
will come out.
For Cordillera, the
production facility will be established in partnership with the local
government of Bauko.
The DOST has alloted
P2.27 million for the project under its Small Enterprise Technology
Upgrading Program or SET-UP.
According to Sicat,
they will construct the facility this year.
DOST will provide the
facility and it will be a self-liquidating project for Bauko government/
He said DOST- ITDI is
currently developing a bigger type of the ceramic clay filter
technology that can produce more potable drinking water. -- Carlito Dar
Abra gov’t gives
motorized barge for far upland towns
BANGUED, Abra -- People in the upland towns
of Luba and Tubo can now cross the Botic River soon – once a motorized barge
given by the provincial government will be repaired.
The Maeng tribes in
the towns earlier requested Gov. Eustaquio P. Bersamin for the barge so they
could to ferry vehicles in crossing Botic River that connects Luba and ubo.
For years, people have
been crossing the Botic River like all the other rivers in the province through
a manually driven bamboo raft.
If there was a steel
barge that would ferry a passenger jeep, it was rowed manually with the
aid of bamboo poles.
They said these were
risky especially during the rainy season. Many lives have been lost in the
river due to drowning.
The new motorized
barge was delivered to the area last month by the staff of the Provincial
Engineer’s Office in charge of the maintenance of the provincial
roads in Abra.
It will be operational
when the steel barge is repaired and ready to be installed with the motor.
Engineer Paterno
Bernal, PEO head said he will regularly monitor the operation of the barge.
He added there will be
two shifts for the motor operator to provide 24 hours service to the public
especially in times of emergencies. -- Maria Teresa Benas
Ilocos Region coastal waters
red tide-free
LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte — The Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has declared all coastal waters in Region 1,
the Lingayen Gulf in Pangasinan, as “red tide-free.” BFAR Executive Director
Asis G. Perez said the shellfish ban has been lifted based on the latest
laboratory examination of fish, squids, shrimps, crabs and seashells like
mussels and oysters gathered from the coast of Alaminos City; Bolinao; Anda and
Wawa in Bani, all in Pangasinan.
Baguio Aurora Hill barangays to get CCTVs
BAGUIO CITY – Thirteen barangays in Aurora
Hill district will soon be equipped with Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
cameras soon as the city council on Monday approved the realignment of the
budget for the gadgets.
The body passed the
ordinance dispensing with the first and second readings noting that the matter
has long been delayed.
Councilor Richard
Carino who proposed the realignment ordinance explained that the original
budget amounting to P2 million was included in the 2012 annual budget and was
approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the body only
needed to change the project title to qualify the appropriation.
The gadget and
installation cost was pegged at P150,000 for 11 barangays and P100,000 for the
two others.
The 13 barangays which
are all within the jurisdiction of the Baguio City Police station 6 are
Ambiong, Aurora Hill Proper, West Modernsite, Bayan Park Village, South Central
Aurora Hill, North Central Aurora Hill ,Leonila Hill, San Antonio Village, East
Modernsite, Honeymoon-Holyghost, Brookside, East bayan Park and Brookspoint. –
Aileen Refuerzo
Dagupan
gets new cops against drugs
DAGUPA
\’N CITY, City, Pangasinan — Twenty new
police officers were sent here to beef up the Dagupan City Police Station and
help boost its campaign to curb the problem of illegal drugs in the city.
Supt. Christopher N.
Abrahano, city police chief, said the assignment of additional personnel comes,
following Mayor Belen T. Fernandez’s appointment by President Aquino as chair
of the Regional Peace and Order Council. – Liezle BasaIñigo
Baguio
City gov’t rates fair in citizens’ satisfaction
BAGUIO
CITY - During the Citizens’ Satisfaction Index
System (CSIS) Utilization Conference last July 23, it was revealed that the
city government of Baguio was given a fair rate in citizens’ satisfaction on
the programs of the city which means that the clients/citizens were satisfied
with the programs as well as services of the city.
CSIS is a tool which
aims to generate citizens’ feedback on local government’s performance on
service delivery and the citizens’ general satisfaction, and the level of
availment of services.
The Department of the
Interior and Local Government (DILG) has been utilizing performance measurement
tools for Local Government Units (LGUs) as early as 1980. DILG is
developing a new tool which really can appraise whether a LGU is in the right
track in attaining good governance.
DILG-CAR Regional
Director John Castañeda said, “despite having the Local Governance Performance
Management System (LGPMS), there is still a need for a performance measurement
tool that will incorporate the “clients” or the citizens’ perspective as to the
realization of good governance. The CSIS will determine the
awareness of the citizens on the programs of the city as well as the level of
satisfaction.”
The University of the
Cordilleras (UC) has conducted the CSIS survey with 150 respondents covering 28
barangays in the city of Baguio.
Eight service delivery
areas namely: health services, basic education, social welfare services,
governance and response, public works and infrastructure, environmental
management, agricultural support services and tourism promotion services were
surveyed based on the awareness, availment and assessment/satisfaction or the
multi component performance assessment framework of citizen
satisfaction. -- JhoArranz
Body formed to set rules
in hiring of Baguio employees
BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan last
week formed a committee to formulate policy guidelines on the hiring of job
order employees in the city government.
This is to resolve
questions on the lack of well-defined policy guidelines on the recruitment of
personnel through job orders which was raised by the Commission on Audit
Cordillera through the audit team leader and supervising auditor in the city.
The said observation
was contained in the audit memorandum dated March 31, 2014 addressed to
Domogan, city human resource management officer Estrella Bisquera, city
accountant Antonio Tabin and budget officer Leticia Clemente.
The mayor said the COA
officers themselves recommended the creation of the committee to formulate said
guidelines which was considered by the local finance committee, Bisquera and
the department heads in their meeting last May 23.
Clemente will chair
the committee with Bisquera, Tabin and the department heads with job order
employees as members.
They were given two
months to formulate the guidelines which the mayor said should be in consonance
with the provisions of section 77 of the Local Government Code of 1991 and
existing Civil Service Commission laws. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
Outstanding Baguio
citizens search judges named
BAGUIO CITY - As continuing
program of the city government here, the annual search for outstanding citizens
of Baguio (SOCOB) was institutionalized through city ordinance no. 37, series
of 2008.
City Mauricio Domogan
signed Administrative Order No. 087, creating the judging committee for the
annual search.
Lawyer Edilberto Tenefrancia
will chair the said committee for the SOCOB 2014-2015 with members Dr.
Priscilla Macansantos, Dr. Elma Donaal, Dr. Divina Bautista and Dr. Julie
Cabato.
The city search
committee will accept screened nominees for the SOCOB 2014-2015 and will interview
and validate submitted supporting documents by the nominees for the said
search.
In the order, nominees
will be judged based on the following criteria namely: leadership qualities
(10%), community involvement for not less than ten years specifically on the
impact of involvement to the community (25%) and sustainability (15%), personal
traits such as community perception of the nominee/integrity (15%) and
relationship with the people he works with or the people/community where
nominees’ activities are being undertaken (15%); family relationship/background
(10%), and interview (10%).
The judging committee
will submit to the city mayor all nominations to the SOCOB to allow scrutiny of
the same whether or not the nominees are deserving to receive the recognition.
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