NEWS BITS

Dolphin rescued off Ilocos

CURRIMAO, Ilocos Norte  – A dolphin was rescued after it got stranded on a beach in Currimao Bay, Ilocos Norte last week.

Although the dolphin was breathing, it had to be revived before it was returned to the sea, said Arthur Valiete, provincial Fishery regulatory coordinator. 

The dolphin was placed under 24-hour observation at a pond near the coastal area of Barangay Maglaoi.

Valente said the dolphin bore scratch wounds.

Mayor: Make mines view truly mines view

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan wants Mines View Park to have a touch of the real mines so it can live up to its name and gain more appreciation.

The mayor last week managed to convince the Philippine Mining Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) under president Louie Sarmiento to draft a master plan to develop the park into a mining sanctuary.

“We asked the PMSEA to come up with a plan to capture the true mining setting at the park and they gladly accepted,” the mayor told his Ugnayang Panlungsod media briefing.

He said the PMSEA through Sarmiento agreed to undertake the plan “at their own time and expense” with the involvement of the mining students of the universities in the city.

The mayor said they will consider building an underground tunnel, a repository of rocks and minerals with historical accounts on the mining industry in Baguio and Benguet.

He said Mines View Park’s development into a mining haven will not only attract more tourists but will also create more awareness on the industry which played a key role in the development of the city being the main source of livelihood in the early years.

The mayor said the city will use the plan as a blueprint in continuing the development of the park depending on the availability of funds.

At present, the city is undertaking the partial fencing of the park as the first phase of the rehabilitation work at the park.

Mines View in the past offered a panoramic view of the gold and copper mines of Benguet but over the years the sight has been replaced by residential houses.

The park was delisted by the Dept. of Tourism (DOT) after vendors mushroomed and turned it into an eyesore.

Last year, the city cleared the stalls and prohibited all business activities inside the park to give way to rehabilitation to restore the area as a promenade center and tourist destination.

Also last year, Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda proposed the construction of overground tunnels with a background of the city that “shall orient the visitors and make them experience the thrill of the mining experience, consistent with the Park being a Mines View Park.”

“This experience will make Mines View Park a unique and distinctive tourist destination,” she said in a proposed resolution. 

The mayor said the PMSEA committed to complete the plan the soonest they can. – Aileen P. Refuerzo

65th Fil-Am golf tourney starts in Baguio City

BAGUIO CITY -- This summer capital’s tourism industry got a pre-Christmas boost  with the 65th staging of the Fil-Am invitational golf  tournament which started Nov. 19 up to Dec. 6 here at Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay.

The Fil-Am Golf, an annual tournament since 1949, is listed at the Guinness Book of World Records as biggest amateur international golf tournament that joined by known golf teams and high profile/celebrity individuals.

For the  tournament, practice rounds started Nov. 19. Ceremonial tee-off for the Senior’s tournament wason Nov.  21  and Nov. 30 for the  Fil-Am regular tournament.

Atty. Federico Agcaoili, BCC president and 65th Fil-Am golf tournament honorary chair, disclosed in media forum  a bigger tournament  is expected this  year with 1,235 initial registrants. About  1,110 golf players that participated in said tournament  last year.

Aside from the camaraderie and fun, Agcaoili said they encourage golfers to also do something meaningful for the environment and the community.

He said they are considering tree planting activity and putting-up a scholarship fund for caddies’ children.

Fil-Am golf co-chair and BCC General Manager Anthony De Leon, in the same forum, said aside for being a big annual event for BCC and Camp John Hay, the tournament will give a big boost to Baguio’s tourism sector, especially to business establishments (hotels and restaurants) and transportation (particularly taxi cabs), as well as employment opportunity for caddies, who are not a regular employees of golf clubs.

“We are talking of more than 1,200 golfers here, local and international, which surely will also bring in companions that will spend for food, accommodation and visit  the city’s tourism spots for 18 days”, De Leon said.

Joining Agcaoili and De Leon in  the forum launching were tournament co-chair and Camp John Hay Golf Club General Manager Tim Allen, BCC Corporate Communication and Customer Service Manager Andrew Pinero and BCC Recreations Manager Roanne Galicia.

DSWD gives P1M to Ifugaos in crisis

MAYOYAO, Ifugao -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development in  Cordillera  recently  turned over P1million for  assistance to individuals in crisis situation  program  for this town  and Alfonso Lista.

Each town received P5000,000 each through DSWD – Cordillera director Janet Armas.

Ramos said the assistance was for poor, marginalized and vulnerable or disadvantages individuals in local government units.

The amount she said will be used by beneficiaries until December as financial assistance for education, burial, medical, transportation, food and non-food assistance. 

Beneficiaries shall use the amount to pay transportation expenses like purchasing tickets to air/sea and transport facilities to enable them to return to their home provinces permanently or to attend to emergency concerns.

The amount  shall  be used for medical assistance to help shoulder hospitalization expenses, purchase of medicines and other medical treatment while burial assistance will include funeral costs and other related expenses.

For educational assistance, the fund will be  use to defray the other cost of sending students/children to school such as tuition fees, school supplies, transportation allowance and other school related expenses.

The municipalities of Hingyon and Tinoc were  earlier  granted the same amount as financial assistance to AICS. -- Marcelo Lihgawon and Lorena Dulnuan

La Trinidad lass pummels kicker in taekwondo match

LA TRINIDAD,  Benguet—To advance to the national games, this capital town of Benguet’s pride Yannah Bomogao pummeled Jelian Casandra of Olongapo City in their women’s taekwondo match during the Batang Pinoy-Luzon Leg held in Naga City, Nov. 11-15.

After receiving hits on the chest, 14-year-old Bomogao made a sidestep that gave her the perfect angle in delivering a right kick on the opponent’s head to win the first round, 7-2.

“Before the second round, my coach advised me to kick higher,” recalled Bomogao referring to Coach Gilbert Balangkar.

In her attempt to control the fight, Casandra managed to exchange kicks while maintaining a close distance with her Igorot foe.

But Bomogao connected a heavy right kick towards Casandra’s left face that finally ended their bout, 9-3.

The victory of this grade eight student of La Trinidad National High School, Lubas, La Trinidad qualified her to gear up for the BatangPinoy-Nationals in Olongapo City on Dec. 9-13. -- Augustin Dao-anis

Ilocos Norte sets summit to address water woes

LAOAG CITY – Urged by Gov. Imee R. Marcos during her recent State of the Province Address to better manage IlocosNorte’s water resources, the provincial governmenT with Ilocos Norte Water District is set to conduct the first provincial water summit here Nov. 27 at Laoag City auditorium.

Various groups composed of policy makers, farmers, students, academe, private and public organizations will gather to discuss steps on reaching effective provincial water management and to conduct workshop on how to avoid the looming water crisis in the province.

“IlocosNorte, as we all know, is abundant with water resources but we need to reach the goal on how to properly manage them so that our province can effectively adapt to the challenges of climate change,” said engineer John Teodoro, INWD general manager.

Gracing the summit as special guest is Administrator Florencio Padernal of the National Irrigation Administration.

Administrator Padernal has just been appointed last July 2014 as chief of NIA and has been tasked to take over and irrigate more than 1.3 million hectares of land in the country.

Speakers from various institutions like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and Philippine Rice Research Institute were invited to hold talks on watershed development and management, rainwater harvesting, alternate wet and dry method (AWD) and solid waste management on December this year. –Michael Mugas

Abra ‘week for peace’ set

BANGUED, Abra -- The Abra Week for Peace was set Dec. 1-4 with theme, “Abrenioak, Linak ken Kappia’t Kalikagumak” to stop violence and proliferation of illegal drugs in the province.

Officials said while increase in crime n the province could not be attributed to drug abuse, the use and sale of illegal drugs and substances has proliferated.

The drug problem especially among the youth is reportedly causing  trouble in school campuses and communities.

The opening day on  Dec. 1  will be  highlighted by a  bloodletting activity a   and “Christmas sale of Abra’s best.”

 The second day will be the Red Day Parade around Bangued to be participated by students from schools wearing red shirts to symbolize their anti-drug campaign.

To sustain the anti-drug campaign, counseling centers and hotline for substance abuse shall be established.

A drug-free youth club in every school shall be organized to help schools administrators address the problem of drugs among the youth.

Day 3 will be inter-agency outreach project to be participated by different departments of the Provincial Government, national line agencies and private groups.

The following agencies are expected to come with their services like the Health Department and the Philippine Army for the medical-dental mission component; the Office of the Governor and the Social Welfare and Development for distribution of family food packs; the Agriculture and Veterinary Offices for the agricultural services; the national agencies such as the Social Security System and the PhilHealth, the National Statistics Office, the National Tobacco Administration for their seeds distribution, the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority for their manicure, pedicure and massage services; and for the gifts of sleeping mats and blankets and slippers from the AbraCadua

Bishop Pol Jaucian Friendship Games will remain a regular component of the annual AWP.

A new event   will be launching of  Peace-Loving Abrenian Pamphlet and resolution signing for peace initiatives of the province.

The pamphlet was formulated based on the opinions of all Abrenians through the representatives of all the sectors of the Abra society.

Winners of the annual search for best municipal peace and order councils, barangay peace and order committees, and non-government organizations/civil society organizations will be awarded during closing program. – Maria Maritess Benas

Barangay in Itogon celebrates IP Month    

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Barangay Tinongdan here celebrated Indigenous Peoples Month through a program called “Sintil ni Tinongshan,” a retrospect of their culture or way of life as members of the indigenous cultural community.

Led by Tinongdan Indigenous Peoples Organization in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples-Cordillera, Tinongdan local government with support from SN Aboitiz Power- Benguet, Itogon local government and Smart Inc., the event was recently held at the barangay hall themed “Conquering Mountains, Preserving Cultures, Saving the Environment.”

Itogon Councilor Norberto Pacio, former punong barangay of Tinongdan and president of the TINPO, said was celebrated for people to be reminded of  “sintil” which means to give focus to or be reminded of their culture.

The term “tinongshan”, meaning land planted with rice, was the origin of the name of the barangay.

The program starts with a thanksgiving mass followed by a ritual with Mayor Victorio T. Palangdan delivering a message.

Activities  included  information education campaign on ancestral domain.

There were also competitions on indigenous products such as gabi or taro, camote among others  featuring  the biggest products of the barangay.  Competitions on food preparations of indigenous products also also take place.

The young and old joine competitions on the best  performance  of indigenous musical instruments such as solibao, kalsa and kimbal which are used in an ensemble to beat the rhythm of native dance.

There were also  academic competitions in oral and written form by translating English terms to the local dialect. Open to high school students, the purpose wasto familiarize them on IP terms especially the difficult terms which are not commonly used, according to Pacio.

The ‘Sintil ni Tinongshan” is planned to be   a yearly activity in line with the IP Month celebration. -- Susan Aro 

DTI bares guide to buying products

BAGUIO CITY -- The Department of Trade and Industry urged the public that before buying products, accreditation markings should be checked first to ensure these are quality and safe products.

DTI standards officer Danilo Fontanos said in buying locally made products,  there should be Philippine Standards (PS) license which can be checked through a PS Quality Certification Mark or PS Safety Certification mark, which refer to a product’s conformity to product quality and safety standards that usually appear on the product itself or on the product’s packaging.

The Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) issues the PS license to a manufacturer whose product has successfully complied with requirements of Philippine National Standards. With the license, the manufacturer affixes the PS Mark on his product or product package, Fontanos added.

In buying imported products  the public should check for the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) mark which attests that a certain imported product is covered by the mandatory PNS.

Fontanos said the BPS/DTI issues the ICC to an importer whose product has successfully complied with the requirements of a PNS. With the clearance, the importer affixes the ICC Mark on his product or product package.

He said products without these necessary licenses should not be distributed in the market therefore consumers should be careful not to buy them.

He called on all manufacturers, retailers and distributors to check on their products first before they put it on sale for the public. -- PIA

Lamut, Ifugao LGU creates own website  

LAMUT, Ifugao --  The Local Government Unit (LGU) of this municipality has created its own website, www.lamut.gov.ph for the promotion of good governance.

Mayor Mariano Buyagawan, Jr. said that the creation of the LGU’s website is to provide significant information to the people in conjunction with the realization of the mission to manage the limited resources with transparency and accountability.

“The right to information is one our priority to bring our humble municipality to the eyes and hearts of our people here and abroad and shall be proud of their town’s diverse cultures, traditions and good governance,” Buyagawan added.

He  said  the website will provide a venue for the people to express their ideas, aspirations and comments for the betterment of the municipality. -- MBL 

Two former rebels get financial aid             
TABUK CITY, Kalinga– For laying down their firearms, two former rebels in the province last week  were  awarded checks under the government’s gun for peace program.

Army 501st Infantry Brigade Commander Col. Paul Atal and Gov. Jocel C. Baac handed the checks worth P45,000 and P20,000 to the two after they surrendered one M-16 armalite rifle and one carbine rifle.

The program under the Armed Forces of the Philippines offers corresponding cash value  to firearms laid down by rebels who return to the fold of the government.

Atal said there is still  P300,000 remaining fund under the GFP as he urged  rebels to return to the folds  of the law and avail of such incentive.

Former rebels who receive financial aid under the program can use the money as seed capital to open a small livelihood project, while applying for other assistance from concerned government agencies like the Comprehensive Integrated Livelihood Program (CLIP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. -- JDP   

Ilocos Norte youth  program marks anniversary

LAOAG CITY -- Sirib Express, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte’s flagship youth program celebrated its first year anniversary on Nov. 22.

From its launching last year at Ilocos Norte Agricultural College in Pasuquin, Sirib Express has evolved into an official capitol office—the Sirib Youth Office last March through executive order 14-226.

Sirib Express was originally a roving one-stop shop to seek intervention and provide assistance to students, out-of-school youths, and job-seeking graduates.

Since its launching, Sirib Express had been holding campus tours in high schools, colleges and universities all over the province to bring services which included educational scholarship, employment assistance, guidance counseling as well as free seminars and workshops on photography, graphic design and resumé personality development.

The program encourages full participation and involvement of the Ilocano youth in governance by providing them opportunities to interact and voice out public concerns that would contribute to the province’s development.

SYO and the SiribIlo kano Kabataan Association (SIKA), its newly-formed youth volunteer organization, now have over 4,000 volunteers with representatives from all cities and municipalities in the province.

The whole day celebration will begin at the Ilocos Norte National High School (INNHS) Gymnasium with the second General Assembly of SIKA.

Gov. Imee Marcos handed new equipment to the office last Nov. 22.

“We will recognize the accomplishments of Sirib from the past year—from being a program to its establishment as an office for the Ilocano youth. We will also recognize and introduce our new youth leader scholars, the recipients of Sirib scholarship for youth leaders,” JoazLagundino, Sirib Express Coordinator said.

“We will also introduce the members who have undergone the peer career counseling seminar workshop for the others to know whom they can reach out in times of trouble, whom they can talk to and share problems with,” he added.  —Jennifer T. Pambid

Ifugao govt.  workers hold ‘walk for a cause’  

AGUINALDO, Ifugao – Government workers here held a “walk for a cause” recently to support the needs of day care centers of this municipality.

The charity activity led by Mayor Clemente Talusig, Vice-Mayor Gaspar Chilagan, Jr. and other local officials was participated by about 213 employees of national and municipal offices here.

A P50 registration fee was collected from each participant to purchase supplies like water jugs and other school supplies to be used by pre-schoolers.

Human resource management officer HondolanceAbbacan said the friendly walk not only offers public servants a change to give back and share their fortunes but also as support for many school children.

“Besides, the walk promoted physical activity and heart healthy living in a fun family environment. The participants also demonstrated their being a “lingcod bayani” by raising money for common cause to provide much needed services,” Abbacan stressed.

Meanwhile,  the 40-member Kiangan Federation of Child Development  Workers here  requested the municipal government to allocate additional incentive of P500 per month   to all child development workers in the municipality.

Mylene Pumihic of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office  said  municipal CDWs are receiving subsidy amounting to P1,500 a month while barangay CDWs  have  stipend of P 1,000- 1,500 per month  depending on  Internal Revenue Allotment  of the barangay. -- Roanie Chili-on

Tabuk sets Pamaskong Handog jobs fair

TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The city government here is set to hold a jobs’ fair December 12 at the People’s Gym as early Christmas present for those seeking jobs.

Tabuk City’s Public Employment Service Office head Loyda Saboy said  the activity dubbed

‘Pamaskong Handog para sa mga Tabukeño’,  will accommodate  10 accredited recruitment agencies that will be soliciting jobs for both local and overseas employment.

“We are encouraging the hiring of more skilled workers from the locality for overseas work especially for the European and Western countries where our job seekers could find greener pasture and better work conditions,” she said.

Local employers from Tabuk City she said are also being encouraged to post and join the jobs fair especially for those seeking skilled human resources for construction work, computer shops and local businesses.

To facilitate immediate hiring, job seekers she said are required to bring the  documents to include passports for those planning to work overseas.

Applicants she said should not limit applying in one agency so they will have the option to choose employment.

“The city government is conducting jobs’ fair almost every year and we hope that our skilled workers will  take advantage of this opportunity to uplift not only the economic situation of their families, but would also contribute in the city’s development,” Saboy said. -- JDP/GGD

Baguio gov’t conducts training for cooperatives

BAGUIO CITY  -  As part of the technical assistance which the city government here to small and beginning cooperatives, the Special Services Division of the Mayor’s Office in partnership with the Northwestern Luzon League of Cooperatives (NORWESLU) conducted a training/workshop at the Baguio City multi-purpose hall last Nov. 11 to 12.

About 60 members of the election committee of the different cooperatives in the city of Baguio attended training on rules formulation for the cooperatives in the city.  

Said training aimed to review legal provisions related to conduct of elections in cooperatives, would expand the knowledge of the officers so that they can make good election rules and regulations that fits their respective cooperatives.  It would also help many cooperatives to reconcile their current election rules and regulations with the correct rules and regulations as required from the Cooperative Development Authority.  --  JhoArranz