NEWS BRIEFS

Streetlights along scenic Kennon Road. to be restored

The street lights that used to greet  passengers to Baguio through the scenic Kennon Rd. will be restored by the Benguet Electric Cooperative which wrote-off the power arrears and pay the incoming energy consumption through the cooperative social responsibility fund of director Robert Valentin of Tuba and Sablan towns.

In a letter, Valentin informed Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan, provincial governor Crescenco Pacalso, Tuba mayor Ignacio Rivera  and Punong barangy Ciupriano Balinag of Camp 1, Tuba that the Beneco board condoned power bills totaling P40,272.75, with future payments estimated at P4,500 a month charged to his corporate social responsibility fund.

The illumination of the approach to Tuba and Baguio was earlier sponsored by Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan but was discontinued in November, 2010.

“We are likewise pleased  inform you,” Valentin said, “that our Beneco Honorable Board favorably approved the condonation of the P40,272.25 unbilled power of the said streetlights. Moreover, our cooperative will shoulder the necessary rehabilitation of he streetlights as well as extension of secondary lines with an estimated cost of P23,086.10.”

“We hope that our modest contribution will improve the image of the Cordilleras as one of the premier tourist destinations in the country,” Valentin added.

Aside from illuminating the approach to Baguio, the streetlights at Camp 1 give commuters traveling 

at night  the signal that they are already ascending to the city proper and to other parts of Benguet. – Ramon Dacawi.

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YMCA academic olympics Oct. 21-22

BAGUIO CITY – Students from various elementary, high schools and colleges in the city  showcased their scholarly prowess in the 2017 Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Academic Olympics which started yesterday (Oct. 21) until today at the YMCA Baguio.

YMCA Baguio president Jerome Gawidan said the olympics which has run for decades now  feature various competitions including quiz bee, Bible quiz bee, essay writing, on-the-spot drawing, oration, extemporaneous speaking and tula (poem) delivery.

Contests in the performing arts include particularly dance and singing (vocal solo and duet).

This year’s olympics with the theme, “A Call for Servant Leadership” is part of the activities lined up for the YMCA Baguio’s 76th anniversary celebration on Dec. 1.

The winners will represent the city in the regional leg slated on Nov. 18-19. 

The next activity in the YMCA Baguio anniversary calendar will be the inter-school debate to feature competitors from the various high schools on Oct. 28-29.

On Nov. 4, a Fun Run will fire off.  Registration is on-going for P150 with medal, certificate and t-shirt.

The year-round basketball tournament is also ongoing with match-ups now among corporate groups following the conclusion of the high school league recently.

On Nov. 29, the choral competition will unravel featuring choirs from the various elementary, high schools and colleges. – Aileen P. Refuerzo    

Bontoc girl needs fistula to survive

BAGUIO CITY -- Maintaining dialysis three times a week for a lifetime is a common problem among dialysis patients being squeezed continuously of their meager finances.

Double the fund stress and you have Julla Sabling,a 21-year old from Bontoc, Mt. Province whose family has been trying to cope with her need to undergo thrice-a-week blood-cleansing sessions in order to survive.

That’s why she has been here in Baguio since she was diagnosed for kidney failure in June last year, to be closer to the life-saving dialysis machines at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.

Beside the need to pay P2,200 per dialysis session, Julla is threatened by the successive failure of her arteriovenus grafts (AVFs) created to allow treatment.

She has undergone several AVF creations which eventually failed, with doctors advising her to undergo AVF grat at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City.

The graft would cost some P45,000 which the family cannot raise. Her father Juan is an electrician while her mother Chernlyn is a government employee earning P30,000 a month.

Julla has two brothers – Jovanne, 14 and at Grade 7, and Juan,   17 and at Grade 11.

Those who can help raise Julla’s fund for a graft or would like to sponsor a session or two of dialysis may contact her at the dialysis center at the Baguio General Hospital. -- Ramon Dacawi

No texting for Central Luzon cops on duty

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga – Central Luzon police officers are no longer allowed to send text messages while on duty, based on an order issued by the regional police director Chief Supt. Amador V. Corpuz.

Corpuz said the “no text policy” is effective immediately in the entire region.

Corpuz said a number of police officers are often preoccupied with sending text messages or fiddling with their mobile phones while on duty.

“The no text policy is my marching orders and the alibi that they are making report in texting is already an old alibi,” Corpuz said.

He said the public feels safer if there are police officers on duty who are alert and not preoccupied with texting.

“There will be greater challenges ahead and we need to build a stronger community; you are old enough to do what is right,” Corpuz told his men. -- Mar T. Supnad

Wi-fi connections eyed for 2,300 buses

At least 2,300 provincial buses and their riders will benefit from the free, high-speed wi-fi connections and other services  that will be provided by communications giant PLDT Inc. to  members of the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP).

The PLDT said over the weekend that the partnership, forged through its corporate business unit PLDT Enterprise, would involve providing PBOAP members with wi-fi connectivity, closed-circuit television monitoring and vehicle tracking through the SmartBus suite of services from the Smart Biz LTE bundle.

“Giving the commuting public easy and fast access to the internet through our Smart Biz LTE can take their mind away from the daily grind. It will also  enable them to perform  tasks online while in transit,” the PLDT said.

“Our partner bus operators said the Smart Bus suite gives them the assurance that their buses, personnel and the riding public are secured,” Jovy Hernandez, senior vice president and head of PLDT Enterprise, said. 

PLDT’s SmartBus product enables bus operators to comply with the government’s plan to modernize the country’s public transport system.

Kalinga 4Ps get rice aid

TABUK CITY, Kalinga – More than11, 000 Pantawid Pamilya program beneficiaries in the province started receiving rice subsidy from the program.

Under the Duterte Administration, Pantawid beneficiaries are extended additional P600 monthly rice aid.

Lorna Lumiwan, 4Ps Provincial Link, disclosed the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development released the rice assistance for January because the period was covered under the “suspension of evaluation on compliance” due to super typhoon ‘Lawin’.       

But starting February until end of the year, release of rice aid will be back as compliance-based, Lumiwan said.

Under the 4Ps program, indigent beneficiaries receive monthly cash benefits provided they comply with conditions set on health, education and attendance to family development sessions.

Pantawid families are required to have regular health monitoring at rural health units, qualified children should be in school and undergo regular family development sessions.  -- PIA Kalinga

Central Luzon OFWs to be hired as teachers

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Dept. of Education in Central Luzon announced that it will be hiring 43 returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to teach in different schools in the region.

Michelle Catap-Lacson, DepEd3 Project Development Officer II said the 43 returning OFWs will be given permanent teaching positions in public schools near their residences in the provinces of Aurora, Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac.

“They will be automatically given permanent teacher items, and be assigned to schools with shortages,” she said, adding that 25 teachers will be assigned in the elementary level while 18 will be assigned in the Junior High School level.

She added that the Schools Division Offices have been instructed to conduct thorough interview and demonstration teaching and address noted gaps through the conduct of teacher trainings and other apt interventions.

The hiring of OFW-teachers is under the “Sa ‘Pinas Ikaw ang Mam at Sir” (SPIMS) Program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in partnership with DepEd, which was launched in 2014 to assist OFWs who are passers of the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) working abroad as professional teachers or household service workers to be employed as teachers when they return to the country.

-- Franco G. Regala

Tabuk City ups drive against minor drivers

TABUK CITY, Kalinga --  The City Public Order and Safety Office has intensified its campaign against  minor drivers amid reports of high violations.

POSO Dionisio P. Falgui III reported their office had recorded 1,911 traffic violators in the city from January-June, mostly minor drivers and driving without license.

This explains why road accident is the top cause in cases of physical injuries in the city police report, Falgui said.

In line with the campaign, mobile check points along the city’s main thoroughfares has  been intensified. Because of strict traffic regulation enforcement, the POSO had collected P574,350 in penalty fees for the period.

But Falgui said collection of penalty fees is just secondary to their mandate of assuring public order and safety.   

We impose penalty because we want drivers to follow proper traffic rules to avoid accidents, he said.   

He appealed to parents to cooperate with the authorities by preventing their minor-children from just going on fun-driving  without the assistance of licensed drivers.  -- PIA Kalinga  

 Kalinga farmers learn ratooning technology

CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga --  The Provincial Agriculturist Office educates farmers on the ratooning technology to increase rice production.

Joe Casibang, Kalinga rice program coordinator, said ratooning could add at least 40 percent of the average yield per hectare to farmers.

Under the technology, farmers are taught to apply some interventions to palay plants left out during harvest and could still get additional yield. Farmers just apply additional two bags of urea per hectare compared to the usual 8-10 bags of fertilizer per hectare in the regular cropping.

Casibang said the ratooning period runs for about 60 days, which is actually the regular cropping interval, before the ratooned palay is ready for harvest.

The technology is applicable to both hybrid and inbred rice. Rice farmers get an average of 120 bags of palay per hectare.

A 50-hectare demo-farm is being used for the technology in this City, the province's major rice producing area.  -- PIA Kalinga  

DSWD sets 30,000 family food packs for rainy months

BAGUIO CITY – Dept. of Social Welfare and Development in the Cordillera Administrative Region has set family food packs for disaster augmentation this rainy season particularly for  landslide-prone areas in the region.

 DSWD-CAR regional director Janet Armas said 30,000 food packs have already been brought to provinces for distribution in case of disasters.

She said 6,200 food packs are in Mountain Province; 5,000 in Ifugao; 2,642 in Abra; 1,500 in Apayao; and 15,601 at their warehouse in Puguis, La Trinidad town in Benguet.

A food pack contains 6 kilograms of rice, half dozen 3-in-1 instant coffee, 8 canned goods, brown rice bar (energy bar) and infant dry-cereals.

Armas said the goods will augment food supplies in cases of disasters in Cordillera as landslides frequently occur due to the terrain.

DSWD-CAR, she said, spent about P13 million for the family packs. About P21 million was also spent for non-food items like blankets and tents.

Cordillera the past days has been experiencing strong rains and thunderstorms brought by the southwest monsoon. A number of roads were closed to vehicular traffic due to landslides. -- PNA

  PVET teaches farmers organic feed formulation

HUNGDUAN, Ifugao --The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVET) here recently conducted skills training on organic swine and poultry raising and feed formulation to 83 farmer- recipients of native pig raising project of the provincial government.

The training was to enable pig raisers gain more profit in their backyard livestock endeavor by formulating their own organic feeds using ingredients and materials that are abundant and indigenous in their places rather than relying on commercial feeds which are very expensive, said PVET training coordinator Ferdinand Dunuan.

By adopting organic farming  that  includes feed formulation to reduce feed cost,  they can produce not only animal meat products which are safe and fit for human consumption but also earn more profit because organically produced farm products nowadays are in great demand.

Dunuan   lectured to participants on animal husbandry, issues on bio-organic inputs and good agricultural practices.

Gilbert Caclini, also of PVET, demonstrated the preparation of the feeds using the indigenous materials with the hands on participation of the farmers  so that they can learn and experience on the spot organic feed formulation.

The ingredients and materials used during the actual preparation of  50 kilograms (kgs) of organic feed include 20 kilos rice bran, 5 corn grits, 5 corn bran, 3 chopped banana stalk, 3 chopped camote trunk and leaves, 3 ofipil leaves, 10 ofazola, a kilo of brown sugar, another kilo of indigenous micro-organism (for fermentation) and two liters of rice wash.

The farmers said were happy with what they learned and promised that they will immediately start preparing their own feed supply. -- Daniel B. Codamon