COMMUNITY BILLBOARD

Old-timer family donates land to city government

An old-timer Baguio family donated a 95-hectare land to the city government for maintenance as a forest and research area.

            This is a welcome development for the city now mired in problems on land grabbing, squatting and spurious ancestral land claims.

            Mayor Mauricio Domogan on Wednesday received the lot documents for the donation from the family of Virginia De Guia, former vice mayor and acting city mayor.

            “We thank the family for their generous donation to the city.  This is really a good development for the city,” he said.

            The mayor said apart from the land, the family also donated the road lots adjacent to the property located in Sto. Tomas, Green Valley.

            The mayor said the lot was bought by the De Guia patriarch, Victor, from the Carino family a long time ago and it is only now that the intestate proceedings have been completed. 

            He said the family’s only condition in the donation was for the city to maintain the area as a forest and research center.

            He said the documents will be forwarded to the city council for approval.  The area will also be subjected to a survey and evaluation for the city to determine other suitable uses the land may serve in line with the city’s public service mandate.  – Aileen P. Refuerzo

  

Council cites two athletes for medals in Asian Games

The city council recently passed Resolution No. 004, series of 2014 congratulating and commending two Baguio-based athletes who won in the recently concluded 27^th South East Asian Games held at Myanmar.

Said two Baguio-based athletes represented the Philippines competed in the sports competition.

 Helen Dawa garnered a silver medal in the judo event and Maricris Igam was able to get the bronze medal in the boxing competition.

“Their hauled medals in the tough competitions have not only brought honor and pride to our beloved city but to our country as a whole, and that their astounding talents and skills are testament to our country’s heart and strong will in the sports competition, the council said in their citation. -- Jho Arranz

Signboards imposed on Ifugao biz establishments

By Marcelo Lihgawon

LAGAWE, Ifugao --  The municipal council recently  placed  sign boards containing reminders  for welfare of minors here in business establishments.

The posting in internet cafes, computer shops or gaming centers, billiard halls and other similar establishments was authorized by a municipal ordinance to protect children against exploitation.

The said ordinance said the local government unit (LGU) is duty-bound to protect its constituents against establishments whose unregulated operation would contribute in the formation of rebellious and defiant character or jeopardizing the well-being of children.

“We hope this would send a strong message to establishments concerned on their moral and social responsibility to keep minors from engaging in activities that are not appropriate for their age and may destroy their future,”  mayor Ceasario Cabbigat said.

The mayor urged the cooperation of everyone particularly business owners.

Removal of signboards in establishments is punishable with P1,000 for the first offense; second offense - P3,000 and one month suspension of license or permit to operate and P5,000 and permanent revocation of license or permit to operate for the third offense.

Samaritans give young dad, girl  new lease on life

BAGUIO CITY -- Housewife Ofelia Nalos found relief there are more Samaritans out there. She wrote she was amazed “to know that in our cruel world, there are still a lot of people who are willing to help the needy ones like us”.

In a note to them, the 29-year old mother to a three-year old girl said “you were able to extend or save someone’s life”.

Her husband, 31-year old Leonard Nalos, made it to the new year because Samaritans earlier pooled P15,200 that paid for six hemodialysis treatments  he  underwent at two sessions per week.

Early this January, Ofelia asked that her family’s gratitude to them be published. Her gesture of thanks drew more benefactors who contributed a total of P17,136,

A family from the United States sent P7,136 through Juliet Cosep of BPI Family Bank. Mackay Enterprises at the third floor of Abanao Square handed over P2,500 while a woman who introduced herself as from Sagada, Mt. Province gave an equal amount.

Capt. Ramon Ernesto Tagle from the VTA Foundation delivered P5,000 for two hemodialysis sessions.

Last Christmas break, a certain Jad Pasan read of Leonard’s plight and opened up with a  P5,000 donation. Engr. Taule  of the La Trinidad Water District contributed P2,500 while a Session Road restaurant owner gave P2,200, the cost of one treatment.

The  Willy Family of Pinsao shared while Adelie Faed of Bontoc, Mt. Prov ince added P500. A man claiming to be from Ifuago handed over P2,200.

A few days before Christmas day, Ofelia was desperate  as Leonard was about to miss his treatment due to fund lack. A carpenter and native of San Quintin, Pangasinan, he had been sidelined since last February when he underwent his first four-hour hemodialysis session after doctors told him his two kidneys had failed.

Ofelia, whose roots are from Besao, Mt. Province, and in Lamut, Ifugao, spends her hours taking care of her husband and Ira, their three-year old daughter and trying to figure out from where to pay the next hemodialysis session.

Those who can help may visit Leonard during his dialysis sessions scheduled at 1 p.m. on Mondays, 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and 9 p.m. on Saturdays at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center. They can call Ofelia’s cellphone number:  09084672238.

As Ofelia’s story of gratitude was about to be sent to the weeklies, another kidney patient came and asked if her own expression of thanks could also beat the deadline.

Leah Lyn Talangan’s medical condition published last Jan. 12 triggered response from several Samaritans who came up with a total of P2600 she badly needed to sustain her thrice-a-week hemodialysis treatment at the BGHMC.

A certain Ate Flor visited while Leah was confined at the hospital last Jan. 12 and handed P3,000. A certain Celestina later went to her boarding house and gave P4,000. A donor, believed to be an expatriate with the initials DJA sent P6,000 through Cebuana Lhuiller.

A couple from Bontoc, Mt. Province met Leah at the St. Vincent Church here las tjan. 15 and contributed P3,000. While she was on dialysis last Jan. 2, a man who requested anonymity visited and handed P10,000.

Last Friday afternoon, a man who said he was from Bontoc, Mt. Province added P5,000.

“May God bless you more,”  Leah wrote in letter she handed last Friday afternoon.

Leah, 26, is the eldest of six children of an aging farmer-couple from Talubin, Bontoc, Mt. Province. She was working at Texas Instruments-Baguio when she was forced to quit last year due to chronic kidney disease.

She began her thrice-a-week dialysis treatment the other May and is now scheduled on the 4 p.m.-8 p.m. shift at the BGHMC every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

 She had wanted to be a geodetic engineer but failed to finish the course at the Mountain Province Polytechnic College due to fund lack. She now stays with cousins in a boarding house at Purok 6, Military Cut-off here in Baguio.

“I have to be in Baguio to be near the hemodialysis treatment center,” she said.

Samaritans may call her number – 09297348367. – Ramon Dacawi 

Housewife appeals for husband blinded by diabetes

Housewife Glory Tandoc waited for this Sunday morning, when the medical case of her husband Leandro is carried in the weeklies so Samaritans out there would read and be able to respond.

Leandro. A 64-year old father of three and a native of Bakun, Benguet, won’t be able to read his story. He has been blind for about 11 years now, a complication of diabetes which also triggered kidney failure.

 Glory, 51, said Leandro was diagnosed for stage 5 or end-stage kidney failure in 2005. Since then, he has been on expensive, thrice-a-week hemodialysis treatment needing P2,200 per session at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.

Last Friday morning, Glory was out seeking cash donors to be able to purchase five vials of iron sucrose her husband badly needs. A donation of P3,000 from a city hall lady employee enabled her purchase two units at a discounted price of P1,400 using Leandro’s card as a senior citizen.

Half of the donated amount was used by, another mother, Benita Ayson, who was also searching for donors so she could by two units of type O+ needed by her daughter Nancy, who is also undergoing hemodialysis for kidney failure.

The Tandoc family stays at No. 72, Purok 11, Upper Pinget here in Baguio. The members are dependent on Leandro’s monthly pension of P13,000 and the earnings of his daughter April who works as a nurse.

April’s brother Kansas, 22, is also a nurse, while Noel, the youngest sibling at 20, finished electrical engineering. Both, however, are unemployed.

“(Leandro’s) pension is mainly for the medicines and basic needs of the family, which is sometimes sacrificed for the for the client’s medication,” noted social welfare officer Jeterda Junio in a social case study report on the patient.

Those who can extend their support may ring up Glory’s cellphone number:09283234400. They may see Leandro during his hemodialysis schedule at the BGHMC at 7 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. – Ramon Dacawi  

Registration for employment of students on in Baguio

The registration for the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) is now on at the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) at City Hall.

           

PESO Baguio labor and employment officer Romelda Escano said that as in the past years, 300 slots are available under the program on a first-come-first-served basis.

Applicants must be bonafide residents of Baguio, physically fit, 15-25 years old, must be currently enrolled or a student who has not been able to enroll for the past semester of academic year but is intending to enroll this school year. 

They must have garnered an average passing grade during the last school term attended and must belong to families whose combined net income after tax does not exceed the latest annual regional poverty threshold level for a family of six pegged at P116,898.

           

Registrants must bring two sets of the following documents: dully filled out pre-numbered SPES application form with 1x1 ID pictures; birth or baptismal certificate or Form 138 where the date of birth is indicated; certification from the school registrar as to the applicant’s last enrolment and average passing grade or Form 138 or copy of original class card; copy of parents’ or guardians’ most recent Income Tax Return (BIR Form 2316) or BIR certification of tax payment exemption or barangay certificate.  For out-of-school youth, a certificate of good moral character will be required issued by the barangay.

            Applicants including former SPES grantees must register personally at the PESO at the 2^nd Floor of the Baguio City Hall  from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays until February 28.

            Registered SPES applicants will undergo a general orientation on March 2 9 a.m. at the Multi-Purpose Hall City Hall while the qualifying examinations will be held on March 9.

             The program is designed to help poor students and out-of-school youth support their education.

The grantees are entitled to receive over P8,000 in wages.  Sixty percent of said amount will be paid by the city government while the DOLE will shoulder the remaining 40 percent through education vouchers.

The SPES is based on Republic Act No. 7323 or an Act to Help Poor but Deserving Students Pursue their Education by Encouraging their Employment during Summer and/or Christmas Vacations, through Incentives Granted to Employers, Allowing them to Pay only Sixty per Centum of their Salaries or Wages and the Forty per Centum through Education Vouchers to be paid by the Government, Prohibiting and Penalizing the Filing of Fraudulent or Fictitious claims and for other purposes. – Aileen P. Refuerzo