Dayan’s arrest eases tension
in P’sinan town
URBIZTONDO, Pangasinan – Life in Barangay
Galarin here is expected to return to normal now that Sen. Leila De Lima’s
former driver, Ronnie Dayan, has been arrested.
Dayan’s residence and
that of his relatives are located in the village of Galarin. Days before Dayan’s
arrest, journalists and law enforcers frequented the site, which created
tension among village folk.
Mayor Martin Raul
Sison II said Dayan’s arrest would bring back peace in his town.
“It’s like a heavy load was taken off me and
my dad. We are happy because no untoward incident occurred during his arrest,”
Sison said. – Eva Visperas
Baguio City wins CROWN award
BAGUIO CITY- The city through Mayor
Mauricio Domogan and members of the Baguio City Nutrition Council will receive
the Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN) award on Dec.
13 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Pasay City.
With
the award is P500,000 to be given during the national Nutrition awarding
ceremony; Assistant Secretary of Health Ma. Bernardita Flores informed the
mayor through a letter.
The
CROWN award for 2015 is conferred to a city after consistently winning the
Outstanding City in the Region for three years, the Flores’ letter states,
based on the recommendation by the interagency Regional Nutrition Evaluation
Team (RNET), approved by the Regional Nutrition Committee and favorably
endorsed to the National Nutrition Council central office.
Flores
also informed Mayor Domogan that with the awarding ceremonies will be the
launching of the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2017-2022
through the nutrition summit.
Included
in the summit are directives, objectives and targets to address child stunting
and wasting, prevent micronutrient deficiency and obesity increase among
children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers, Flores said.
National
government agencies, local governments, Non-Government organizations (NGOs),
communities and other stakeholders are then guided to implement nutrition and
nutrition-sensitive interventions, Flores added.
A
commitment and declaration of war against malnutrition and PPAN 2017 will also
be presented to President Rodrigo Duterte during the occasion. – Julie G. Fianza
Benguet overshoots rabies vaccination
target
LA
TRINIDAD, Benguet -- The free massive anti-rabies vaccination campaign in the
province was successfully conducted even overshooting its target.
An interagency collaboration with the
Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Department of Education,
Department of Interior and Local Government and municipal local governments,
the anti-rabies campaign led by the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian, started
in March as part of Anti-rabies Awareness Month observance and extended until
June.
Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Miriam Tiongan
said they have exceeded the target of the dog population by 7.34 percent which
is above the national target of 70% and the region’s target of 80%.
Of
the total dog population of 35,069 in the 13 towns of the province, 30,628 dogs
were vaccinated.
The capital town of La Trinidad had the
highest number of dogs vaccinated with 6,479 out of the 7,652 dogs.
Other towns that had high rate of vaccination
are Bakun, Kapangan and Buguias. The campaign is aimed to eradicate
rabies by 2020. Fortunately, no rabid dog case is recorded this year so far,
Tiongan said.
The OPVet is still doing vaccination but
with minimal charge. The Office is also conducting information education
and administering spay and neuter to control dog population. -- Susan C. Aro
DDB clarifies liquidated funds
Only P60 million of Dangerous Drugs Board funds remain
unliquidated, DDB chairman Benjamin Reyes has clarified.
Reyes said P54 million were liquidated in August while
local government units are expected to file the liquidation reports for P74
million used for the construction of drug rehabilitation and treatment centers
in their respective areas.
He said the remaining funds are due for
liquidation by partner agencies of the DDB, adding that they have been calling
the attention of the beneficiaries.
“We are in touch with COA
(Commission on Audit) and have sent demand letters to agencies that received
the funds,” Reyes said.
The DDB chairman made the clarification in response to a
COA report that the agency had P189 million unliquidated funds as of December
2015.
Reyes said the DDB allocates the funds in tranches. It
takes up to two years to construct the facilities and another one to two years
to fully liquidate, he said.
24 Chinese
manufacturing fake cigarettes
arrested
VILLASIS, Pangasinan – At least 24 Chinese nationals
were detained after a raid at four warehouses here in Barangay Unzad on Nov.
18.
The raid was conducted by the personnel of
Bureau of Customs and Bureau of
Immigration and Deportation, assisted by Pangasinan Police and Villasis PNP.
Then four warehouses yielded equipment and
apparatus used in the manufacture of fake cigarettes.
Supt. Jackie Candelario, spokesman of
Pangasinan Provincial Police Office, said operatives also seized cartons of
cigarettes and raw materials of different brands, the total amount of which is
still being inventoried.
The 24 Chinese nationals are being held for
investigation and detained at the BID regional office in La Union.
Candelario
said that fake cigarettes could have been distributed in Pangasinan and nearby
provinces. -- Liezle Basa Iñigo
Mark Anthony’s arraignment
set
ANGELES
CITY – Movie actor Mark Anthony Fernandez will be arraigned on Dec. 13 on
charges of illegal possession of marijuana and on Jan. 12, 2017 for resistance and
disobedience to authorities.
Ma. Socorro Garces, clerk of court of the
Regional Trial Court, Branch 58, said Fernandez’s arraignment on drug charges
was originally set on Nov. 8.
The date was moved to Dec. 13 after
government prosecutors filed a motion seeking to include a “grinder” for
marijuana on the list of items recovered from the actor.
Fernandez
was arrested in this city on Oct. 3 after police officers found over 500 grams
of dried marijuana in his car.
The drug case was initially filed before the
RTC Branch 60, but Judge Eda Era inhibited from the case as her husband is a
co-member of Fernandez in the Guardians Brotherhood.
The case was re-raffled and landed in the
sala of RTC Branch 58 Judge Meredith Malig, who set the arraignment on Nov. 8.
Meanwhile, the case of resistance and
disobedience was filed with the Municipal Trial Court Branch 1.
The
charges stemmed from the actor’s alleged attempt to escape when authorities
discovered the marijuana during an inspection at a checkpoint.
Pursuing police officers shot the tires of
the actor’s car and cornered him in nearby San Fernando City.
Fernandez
was briefly detained at the Angeles City district jail and was later
transferred to the provincial jail in San Fernando. -- Ding Cervantes
Baguio posts 82%
passing rate in 2016 A&E
exam
BAGUIO
CITY- - The Department of Education – Alternative Learning System(ALS) Baguio
Division again registered the highest passing rate in the April 17
Accreditation and Equivalency examination in the region with an average
of 82.78 percent for the elementary and secondary levels.
ALS Baguio Education program supervisor
Arthur Tiongan said 42 out of their 45 (93.33%) examinees for the
elementary level while 410 out of the 501 takers in the secondary level passed
the exam.
Passers
include eight of nine examinees from the Baguio City Jail.
Ifugao was second with a passing rate
of 62.44% with 11 out of the 24 examinees in elementary and 732 out of the 1166
in high school passing the exam.
Mountain Province followed at third with
58.92% passing mark with 13 out 39 in the elem. level and 357 out of 589
in the high school level making it.
Abra and Benguet followed closely with 57.58
and 57.16%, respectively, then Apayao at 43.05%, and Kalinga at 27.25%.
The Schools Division of Tabuk City registered 36.49% passing rate.
Overall, there are 130 elementary passers and
5,906 high school level passers in the region.
Tiongan explained these A & E passers
will get their DepEd elementary and high school diplomas equivalent to those who
finished basic education and can enroll in higher level.
ALS A&E test is a paper and pencil
examination designed to measure the competencies of those who have neither
attended nor finished elementary or secondary education in the formal school
system. Passers are given a DepEd certificate/diploma certifying their
competencies as comparable graduates of the formal school system
“Those who passed the elementary level can
now go to high school, while those who passed the secondary can either take
technical – vocation education or college courses”, he said. -- Carlito Dar
CCTV cameras
installed in Kalinga’s main road
TABUK
CITY, Kalinga -- The city-government had installed closed circuit television
(CCTV) cameras along the provincial road leading to the city proper in a bid to
strengthen its anti-criminality and traffic management efforts.
City Public Order and Safety Officer (POSO)
Dionisio Falgui III informed there are 15 CCTV units installed at strategic
points of the 7-kilometer road to help in the solution of cases, mostly
traffic-related, that usually occur in the area.
The CCTVs are operational under two
centralized monitoring stations at the police provincial command and city POSO.
Falgui disclosed that the city government has
approved an additional fund for the extension of the project to cover the
entire stretch of the road up to the farthest barangay in Balong.
He also revealed the plan to install CCTV
cameras near schools.
Police intelligence reports indicated that
drug pushers are targeting schools in their illegal trade.
Other sites in the city earlier installed
with CCTVs include public markets, landmarks, PNP compact posts, city hall
compound and other crowded areas.
In a related report, the provincial
government recently held the blessing of the four-lane improvement project of
the provincial road.
Funds used for the project constructed in
phases came from the province’s cash incentives on the Seal of Good Local
Governance Award from the Department of Interior and Local Government for three
years. -- Larry T. Lopez
La Union power rates
going down
SAN
FERNANDO CITY, La Union – Electricity
rates in La Union have gone down by P1.50 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) and are
expected to decrease by another 20 centavos.
Bernardo
Valero, La Union Electric Co. (Lueco). general manager, said rates dropped to
P4.38 per kwh since August.
“Generation
cost is now at P4.38. By next month, we expect that it will go down to P4.20,”
Valero said.
He
said the decrease is due to the adequate supply of electricity.
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“There
are a lot of electric companies… There is an ample supply to serve as back up
in cases of emergency,” he said.
Valero
said Lueco is getting its supply from the Sual power plant, which generates up
to 12 million kwh per month. – Jun
Elias
Ifugaos sustain
traditional forest management system
LAGAWE,
Ifugao – This age when technology has invaded all aspects of life, Ifugaos are
proud of still practicing the muyong, the traditional way of preserving the
forest.
The “muyong” system revolves
around the concept of protecting the forest as watershed and preserving its
flora and fauna, its wildlife and keeping the ecological balance.
It is a private or clan-owned woodlot, which
serves as a “forest zone where people can gather firewood and lumber for their
house-building needs through selective harvesting.
The ‘muyong’ is one of Ifugao’s living
tradition that is passed from generation to generation,” he said.
The vital water systems that irrigate the
province’s famed rice terraces come from watersheds and headwaters, which
traditionally have been maintained through the muyong approach.
Local officials said the muyong system should
be replicated in other parts of the country as a solution to water shortage,
floods, landslides that kill thousands of people every year. -- JDP/JBZ
Pangasinan’s Casa
Real restoration on as museum
LINGAYEN,
Pangasinan -- The restoration of the province’s
260-year-old Casa Real here into a museum is nearing the final
stage of completion, the Department of Public Works and Highways said.
The
DPWH said the first and second phases were already implemented together
with the Department of Tourism to the tune of P35 million.
DPWH region 1 director Danilo Dequito said
phase 2 of the rehabilitation covers concrete beam and slab, masonry walls,
roofing system and ceiling works, electrical works including installation
generator set and power house, and office furniture.
The building is also retrofitted with
high-definition screen and audio system, security cameras and plumbing works
including cistern tank and fire sprinkler system.
An additional P50 million will be spent for
the third and final phase which will take place soon, DPWH said.
“What
was long been abandoned will soon be home of artifacts with significance to
Pangasinan’s rich history and cultural heritage,” said Dequito.
Casa Real is one of Lingayen’s oldest public
buildings that once served as Pangasinan’s seat of government during the
Spanish occupation.
It was devastated during World War II.
In 2008, typhoon Cosme ripped off the
building’s roof, and it has since been abandoned until restoration plans were
successfully proposed. -- Argyll Cyrus
Geducos
Tabuk City shifts to
high-tech waste management system
TABUK
CITY, Kalinga- - This city is now going high tech in its waste management
system.
The local government unit has
shifted to Technology for Waste Diversion Facility and installed a granulator
“Markell” machine for the processing of bio and non-bio waste materials at its
Dilag open dump site in Sitio Bayabay this city.
Salud Lammawin, City Environment and Natural
Resources Officer, said the machine worth P6.5 million will reduce the garbage
disposed at the site. She said the supplier has already conducted training on
the operation of the diesel fuel-run waste processing equipment.
Other facilities currently being constructed
in the area are a materials recovery facility (MRF) and a composting unit
amounting to P1 million and P500, 000.00, funded respectively by the LGU.
The installation of these facilities is in
compliance with the provisions of Republic Act 9003 known as the Ecological
Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
Lammawin also bared
rehabilitation of dump site is underway with the city
government providing P3 million funding for the first quarter this year
particularly for initial perimeter fencing, leachate pond, high density polyethylene
(HDPE) liner, retaining wall, guard house, gate, billboard, and gas
vent among others. -- Peter A. Balocnit
DOLE allots P6
million for 16 Kalinga groups
TABUK
CITY, Kalinga -- Sixteen associations are set to receive financial
assistance for livelihood projects from the Department of Labor and Employment.
Dr. Alexander Gumabol, DOLE provincial office
head here, said they are preparing the checks worth around P6 million for
distribution to livelihood proponents, mostly farmer groups needing
post-harvest facilities.
Organizations to be given post-harvest
facilities are San Isidro Farmers Asso. of Magabbangon (P352,700.00); Lumawig
Clan of Pinukpuk (P481,000); Talac Yellow Corn Upland Rice of
Gogbgog(P350,000); Matagoan Lapata of Tabuk(P350,000); Mengawisan Association
of Masablang(P500,000); Bulitnao Tourism Manggayadan Farmers of
Magnao(P353,000); Purok 3 Matayog Farmers(P200,000); Saltan Organic
Farmers(P50,000); Amlao Farmers(P450,000); Guringad-Tope Clan(P350,000);
Sumadel 1 Livelihood(P420,000), and Pakawit Pumiyaan(P350,000).
Others with different livelihood are Tuga
National High School (P403, 050) for bakery and pastry making; Tabuk
Ornamentals, Landscaping and Nursery Livelihood (P485, 000); Purok 3 Bulanao
Indigent, Tourism, Handicraft Asso. (P383, 000), and Naneng Rural Improvement
Club on red rice processing (P326, 000).
These projects will have immediate
impact on employment of members and additional income for their families,
Gumabol said. -- Peter A. Balocnit
Ifugao farmers groups train on livestock
raising
ASIPULO,
Ifugao -- Members of two farmers organizations from this town and Hingyon
municipality underwent a training on poultry and swine production and hands-on
preparation of fermented feeds conducted by the Provincial Veterinary
Officer (PVET).
The
farmers were given lectures on the health and economic significance of
utilizing home-made or processed fermented feeds for their poultry and
livestock industry, good animal husbandry practices, animal health management
and the various animal diseases such as the New Castle Disease of poultry and
fowls.
There
was also hands-on demonstration on how to process their own organic feeds
using raw and indigenous foodstuff that abound in the area.
The
22 members of the Haliap Farmers Organization of this municipality who attended
the training received 13 piglets as their animal dispersal while the 23 members
of the Bitu Resource Cooperative and Development Association, Inc. given 19
piglets.
PVET
training coordinator Ferdinand Dunuan said that the project was funded by the
Department of Agriculture which is mandated to exclusively promote organic
agriculture in the country pursuant to Republic Act 10068. -- Daniel B. Codamon
Doctor pushes
diabetes prevention among children
BAGUIO
CITY -- Diabetes is now a global concern and intensive education among young
ones who are potential victims, is still best prevention,
Dr. Domingo Solimen of the Baguio General
Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) said during the Department of Health media forum
last week.
The World Health Organization figues
said 350 million people with diabetes
around the globe, and disease is the direct cause of around 1.5 million deaths.
Solimen said diabetes, a non-communicable
disease that is due to high blood sugar level, is the number one cause of
kidney failure.
At BGHMC, 60 percent of their dialysis
patients are due to diabetic complications, he bared.
Diabetes is also considered risk factor to
heart attack, blindness and traumatic amputation.
Diabetic
complications can be fatal but the disease is also highly preventable and
treatable especially if detected early on.
As a preventive measure, Solimen said their
intensive information and education campaign is focused on orienting elementary
pupils of healthy lifestyle given that obesity, a risk factor for diabetes, is
now prevalent among children.
Obesity in the younger ages is related to the
manifestation of diabetes in their adulthood, he said.
Solimen
advised the general public to maintain a healthy lifestyle and have a balanced
diet which includes avoiding salty foods, too much sweets and frozen foods, as
well as smoking.
He also advised diabetic family members
and those feeling the symptoms (that include frequent urination, increased
thirst and increased hunger) to have their blood sugar checked.
This year’s World Health Day on
April 7 focuses on diabetes with the theme, “Beat Diabetes” to scale up
diabetes prevention, strengthen care and enhance surveillance. -- Leo and G. Montecastro
Kalinga barangays,
schools set sites for pre-fab
health stations
TABUK
CITY, Kalinga -- Recipient barangays and schools of pre-fabricated barangay
health stations (BHS) in the province are now busy identifying and preparing
the sites.
Dr. Bernadette Andaya of the Center for
Health Development reported that
barangay Dangtalan in Pasil was the first to prepare and concrete the
site.
Andaya
bared that the pre-fab BHS is 12x18 feet or 50sq.m. in dimension and worth P240, 000.00.
The pre-fab BHS project is funded under the
Department of Health’s (DOH) Tamang Serbisyo sa Kalusugan ng Pamilya or TSeKaP
.
She said a joint memorandum of agreement was
forged between DOH, the Department of Education and barangay local government
units.
The nationwide construction of said BHS
projects is contracted by a single contractor. An engineer will be hired per
province to supervise project implementation, she added.
TSeKaP
strengthens health systems;
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of delivery of basic health services
and enable a more equitable distribution of national health programs through
the government’s Daang Matuwid Program
In another development, Andaya announced that
DOH Sec. Janette Garin will visit Kalinga in April to distribute medical
equipment packages to rural health units, and barangay health stations. – Peter Balocnit
NFA-Kalinga urges
bigasan outlets to renew permits
TABUK
CITY, Kalinga – The National Food Authority (NFA) provincial operation center
here urged bigasan operators to renew
their permits in order to continuously to provide accessible and cheap rice.
Assistant Provincial Manager Ric Baliang informed their
office is open to renewal of 2016 permits to NFA-bigasan retail outlets and
licenses for grains traders.
NFA
is also accepting new
applications for its rice retail service especially in remote areas of the
province where there is problem on accessibility.
There are at least 80 bigasan retailers
stationed in various sites in the province selling NFA cheap quality rice at
P27-32/kg, Baliang disclosed.
Baliang cleared there is no price adjustment
in government rice but NFA allows minimal add-on cost to defray transportation
expenses by retailers from far-flung barangays.
Meanwhile, the provincial NFA warehouse has a
current inventory of 23,000 bags of rice, which according to Baliang is
sufficient until the next quarter.
In
the last cropping, NFA procured only 2,000 bags of palay due to the province’s
low palay production arising from the irrigation crisis.
Baliang hopes
their procurement operation would be back to normal with the resumption
of regular operation of the National Irrigation Administration’s service in the
province this cropping. -- Larry T.
Lopez
DOST provides baking tools to women’s group
PINUKPUK,
Kalinga -- The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) provincial office
here recently provided bakery equipment to Barangay Dugpa Kalipi
(Kalipunan ng Liping Pilipina) Organization this town for its bakery project.
The Kalinga Science and Technology Center
said their office provided P149, 000.00 for the purchase of one set oven, one
set dough roller, one set dough kneader, and a blender while the proponent
shared P140, 000.00 counterpart.
The group aims to produce baked products enriched
with vegetables.
Raw material for the manufacture of baked
products is not a problem since local raw products like malunggay and root
crops are found in abundance in the place. Members of the organization will
undergo training on good manufacturing practices from January 27-28.
Meanwhile,
Alfonso Berto, provincial DOST officer,
said they are processing approval of other proposals under the
community-based program on Science and Technology Enhancement for the
Advancement of Municipalities or STEAM. -- Peter
A. Balocnit
Baguio sets regulations on use of ambulance
BAGUIO
CITY – The city government set regulations on the use of the three
government-operated ambulance units serving the city’s constituents.
In
Administrative Order No. 112, Mayor Mauricio Domogan authorized the city
treasurer’s office to collect fees from patients using city-owned ambulances
for transport within and outside the city.
The
fees will be minimal or “socialized” and will go to the maintenance of the
vehicles, gasoline, meals for volunteers and toll fees.
The
three ambulances are assigned in three separate offices – the health services
office, the Bureau of Fire Protection and the City Disaster Risk Reduction
Management Committee (CDRRMC) under the city administrator’s office.
The
HSO maintains the Baguio City Emergency Medical Services (BCEMS) as the
pre-hospital emergency management arm of the CDRRMC which includes ambulance
services under the Health Emergency Management System.
The
mayor said while the BCEMS uses the HSO ambulance to transport patients for
medical treatment at hospital facilities or referral for higher management
within and outside the city, the transport of patients is not the priority
function of BCEMS.
“As
the pre-hospital emergency arm of CDRRMC, its main function is primarily
emergency medical responders,” he said.
On
payment of the regulatory fees, the process: applicants secure payment slips
from the office where ambulance is assigned indicating the amount to be paid at
the city treasury office.
The
offices will record all official receipts before transporting the patient and
will prepare necessary official travel order for the personnel in the ambulance
team to be signed by the department or assistant department head and approved
by the city mayor.
The
city treasury office will collect the amount based on the payment slip issued
by the concerned offices based on the following charges: For every trip within
Baguio City, the client will pay P500 one way and for trips outside the city,
the client will pay P75 per kilometer. – Aileen
P. Refuerzo