NEWS BRIEFS

 LTO collects P16 million in Kalinga

TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Land Transportation-Kalinga’s collection reached P16 million, overshooting its 2015 target by about  P3 million.

In her collection performance report, Provincial Land Transportation Officer Jenelyn Angog said as of Nov. 30, the agency collected P16, 093,145. Collection on September was P13, 993,145. The 2015 target collection was P13 million.

Angog attributed the agency’s collection performance to LTO’s continuing program in scaling-up its services on registration of vehicles, issuances of driver’s license and processing of other vehicle documents.

LTO provincial stations had installed on-line systems that cut the “turn-around” time in the processing of transactions.

Angog also credited the performance to the agency’s continuing education drive and increased law enforcement operation. – Larry T. Lopez  

Baguio, BCDA to check Country Club school site

BAGUIO CITY – The City government, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Department of Public Works and highways during a special meeting here agreed to put on hold bidding for construction of the Country Club School and conduct first a joint soil evaluation in the area.

The bidding for the school building was earlier set Dec. 10, but Mayor Mauricio Domogan reiterated his stand to first conduct a joint soil evaluation before any construction can be undertaken.

The city government earlier identified a 8,500 square meter lot in Country Club Village as site for a new school to accommodate school children in area with an initial fund of P2 million for its construction.

The basketball court area was however recommended by BCDA and John Hay Management Corp. (JHMC) for the construction of the school stating the proposed site identified by the city was landslide-prone as per a certification from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

Domogan raised two questions as far as the identified school site was concerned which can only be answered by conducting a joint evaluation on the area.

This included assessing if the entire 8,500 square meter area is slide prone and the possibility of introducing engineering interventions to make the area safe.

Temporary classrooms were built to house the displaced school children at the covered court in the barangay agreed upon by the city government, Dept. of Education and barangay officials including JHMC head Jaime Agbayani. -- Paul Rillorta 

Pampanga produces 556 skilled graduates

LUBAO, Pampanga — A total of 556 students who graduated Wednesday from the Lubao Training Center (LTC) can now look forward to better work pays as they are armed with the skills needed for better future, Gov. Lilia G. Pineda said.

Pineda led the ceremony that was held at the Lubao Sports Complex. She also distributed the certificates to the graduates.

The students underwent different rigid training courses provided by the municipality of Lubao in partnership with the Pampanga Provincial Manpower Training Center (PMTC) from January to November of this year.

The 556 graduates include 64 students on computer hardware servicing, 58 on electrical installation and maintenance, 14 on flower arrangement, 7 on consumer electronics, 63 on automotive servicing, and 13 on heavy equipment operation, among others. – Franco Regala

Baguio braces for influx of taxpayers

BAGUIO CITY – The city government through the city treasury office prepares for the influx of taxpayers beginning January 4, 2016 by fine-tuning the systems and procedures involved in facilitating payments for new and renewal of business permits as well as of real property and other taxes.

The office began receiving applications for payment as early as November to expedite the initial clearances required.  The bulk of the taxpayers will flock to City Hall from January to March.

City treasurer Alicia Onoza said that as in the past years, taxpayers who will settle their revenue obligations early will receive incentives like discounts and “roleta” and raffle prizes.

Assistant city treasurer Alex Cabarrubias spelled out the process of renewing business permits.

He said taxpayers should proceed to the one-stop shop section to claim printed 2016 assessment.  Owners must issue an authority to their representatives while messengers or bookkeepers must submit a list of clients and authority or special power of attorney from the owners to the business tax filing division and claim the assessment the following day.

Those without printed 2016 assessment or if assessment has issues, applicants can proceed to the business tax assessors for resolution or printing.  All unresolved issued will be referred to the city treasurer.

Once assessment is finished, the applicants may pay the taxes and fees to the tellers by showing first official receipts for residential garbage or if not, the garbage fee will be included in the assessment.

The next step will be the payment of fire code fees to the Bureau of Fire Protection tellers then process to the permits and licensing office to claim business permit and/or business plate upon submission of the following: barangay, health, fire clearances, market clearance if business is in the market and real property tax clearance if prompted by the system.

For new businesses, applicants must proceed to the licensing office and fill up the application form which will be forwarded simultaneously to the following offices for processing: city planning office, fire department, city environment office, city health office, city building and architecture office, campaign and investigation or the city treasury office.

Upon clearance of the said offices, the applicants must proceed to the one-stop shop for the assessment, payment of taxes and fees and finally go back to the licensing office to claim business permit.

Inquiries on the status of applications may be coursed through the licensing office. – Aileen P. Refuerzo

Outreach mission serves 1,300 in Sadanga town

 SADANGA, Mountain Province -- Cordillera- based soldiers and health care providers recently held an outreach program  benefitting more than a thousand residents of this municipality.

 The 54th Infantry Battalion (Magilas) and civilian medical practitioners of the province conducted free medical and dental services, gifts giving and feeding at the Sadanga Central School serving about 1,300 people.

The  54IB and Philippine Pharmacist Association-Mt.  Province Chapter (PPhA-MPC) conducted gift giving and feeding program to around 800 pupils of the elementary schools of Poblacion, Sacasacan, Bekigan, Demang and Belwang as well as students of the Alternative Learning System.

Free medical and urinalysis examinations, tooth extractions and haircutting were administered to around 500 residents of same barangays including a 100-year old elderly.

Arlene Alingawad, PPhA-MPC President and coordinator of  said outreach, the gift giving, feeding activity and medicines were sponsored by the PPhA-MPC, CB and F Marketing Association, Bontoc General Hospital, Provincial Health Office and those solicited by Charlie Company, 54IB, PA.

The Philippine Army also provided additional medical personnel coming from 5th Infantry (Star) Division headquarters in Gamu, Isabela. The 54th IB covers the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province. 

More borrowers avail of livelihood program

BONTOC, Mountain Province --   At least 22 individuals were helped last year by the Provincial Livelihood Development Program of the provincial government.

Data from the Provincial Cooperatives Office which is in-charge of this program showed from January 2015 up to November,   P1, 870.00 was loaned out to 22 borrowers.

Since the program started in 2011, a total of 436 individuals availed of financial assistance in the form of a loan with a very minimal annual interest of five percent.

 This was conceived to help jobless individuals, organizations, associations and cooperatives who want to start potential projects through the provision of financial assistance.

The amount of loans released to applicant is determined by the Provincial Cooperative Officer after due evaluation of the livelihood project submitted.

Payments collected from the borrowers were loaned out to other interested applicants.

Payment of the loan shall be made in 12 monthly installments starting on the fourth month after the release of the loaned amount. A two percent shall be charged to defray program administrative cost which shall be deducted immediately from the loaned amount.

Borrowers have invested the money they loaned in piggery/swine raising, coffee shop, sari-sari store, computer shop, buy and sell, animal production, and gardening. -- Juliet B. Saley

Ifugao eyes malaria-free province by 2017

LAGAWE, Ifugao -- Ifugao through the Provincial Health Office is eyeing to be a malaria- free province by early 2017.

In a radio interview, SaturninoAngiwan, PHO’s malaria program coordinator, said with current trend of no indigenous malaria case in the last three years, the province is qualified to apply for the Department of Health’s assessment as malaria-free province in 2017.

Angiwan explained that were no malaria related mortality after 2005 and from 2012 up to present, the province did not record any indigenous malaria case except an imported case, meaning the infection was taken from other places and not in Ifugao.

“Seven municipalities of the province or 13 barangays out of 175 barangay used to have indigenous malaria cases, however with the proper implementation of malaria programs, no indigenous case was recorded since 2012,” he said.

An area maybe declared as malaria-free if it has no indigenous case in five consecutive years.   -- Marcelo B. Lihgawon

Far Abra town recipient of medical mission

MALIBCONG, Abra -- Trekking rough   terrain and muddy pathways   health service providers and advocates from the Provincial Health Office, the Philippine Red Cross - Abra Chapter, and Philippine Information Agency     delivered  medical services  and health advocacy to the communities in  this far flung municipality.

The health team led by program coordinator and Lingkod  Bayan Awardee, Lilibeth B. Martin, in collaboration with the Municipal Health Office under Dr. Desiree Ortiz initiated a two-day medical mission to Bangilo District at Brgy. Umnap and Malibcong District at Barangay Taripan.

The team conducted urine screening, check-up and ‘kilatis- kutis, gave vitamins to pregnant women, elders and children and distributed medicinal soaps especially to those with skin problems.

They also conducted blood typing to support the Blood Life Program advocacy.

“It would now be easier to refer to the list of potential blood donors if ever somebody in the community needs blood transfusion. No need to frantically take all relatives in the hospital to undergo blood typing just like the old times,” said Martin.

The Malaria Control Program under Martin likewise distributed long lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets to the households to prevent reintroduction of malaria in order to sustain the malaria-free status of the province.

The team also gave simple gifts like biscuits to partner the folks’ traditional favorite coffee break and wraparound clothing to fight the cold weather there.

Malibcong is one of the farthest municipalities in Abra where most of its roads are still impassable to four-wheeled vehicles. -- Maria Teresa B. Benas with reports from Ginalyn B. Brioso

Gov. Pineda honors 12 as pride of Pampanga

CLARK, Pampanga — For their dedication, hard work, and contribution to the welfare of others in this province, 12 proud sons and daughters of Pampanga were feted as “2015 Most Outstanding Kapampangan Awardees (MOKA)” in a glitzy ceremony at the Holiday Inn, here Monday night.

MOKA was the main highlight of the weeklong celebration of the 444th Founding Anniversary of Pampanga which is called “Aldo NingKapampangan.”

The awardees were Judge Maria Angelica Paras-Quiambao for the field of Judicial Service; Ambassador Laura Quiambao-Del Rosario for Government Service; Cesar Victor P. Reyes for the Arts; Michael L. Escaler, Business and Entrepreneurship; Eduardo T. Mutuc, Culture; Matrose P. Galarion, Ph.D., Education;

Police Officer 3 Comet Dimla-Dumangeng, Law Enforcement; Ruperto S. Nicdao Jr., Mass Media; Juliette Gomez-Romualdez, Parenthood; Virgilio Malang, Science and Technology; Sr. Eloisa L. David, Social Service and Jayson C. William, Sports.

Judge Quiambao, an awardee of the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Judicial Excellence Awards in 2013, and Amb. Del Rosario, a diplomatic and consular officer in the Philippine Embassy in Vienna, Singapore, and Washington D.C. and ambassador to India, Nepal, and Vietnam, led the awardees.

“Their accomplishments will serve as inspiration to every Kapampangan to work and achieve more so they are   worth to be recognized and emulated,” said Gov. Lilia Pineda, who gave the awards. -- Franco G. Regala

DOH to public: Be health-conscious during holidays

BAGUIO CITY – With the start of the new year,  the Department of Health (DOH) urged people  to eat and drink in moderation to curb the increasing prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases.

The DOH Cordillera bared heart attacks and strokes peak from December to January due to eating fatty and high cholesterol foods like “lechon” and drinking too much alcohol during the holiday festivities.

DOH CAR regional director Dr. AmelitaPangilinan urged the public to practice healthy lifestyle to the max this holiday season.

Here advise: Don’t overeat, avoid too much alcohol, stop smoking, have regular exercise and maintain appropriate weight.

The health department also cautions the public of the common sickness acquired during the Christmas season like cough, colds and flu-like symptoms due to the cold weather.

Have a balance diet, eat nutritious foods rich in vitamin C and the best still is prevention,  to an effective way to dealing with any kind of sickness, Pangilinan added.

Meanwhile, the health department is again promoting “OplanIwasPaputok”, total ban on any form of firecrackers, for the safety of everyone this holiday season. – Joseph Zambrano

Baguio treats, cites partner agencies

BAGUIO CITY  -  Pasadang pambarangay partner agencies were recognized through a luncheon treat by the city government here spearheaded by the Special Services Division of the Mayor’s Office last Dec. 17 at the Baguio City multi-purpose hall.

Partner agencies were honored for its exemplary services rendered in the field of dental, medical, anti-rabies vaccination, blood typing, as well as other services to the different barangays in this mountain resort for attaining the goals of the pasadang pambarangay.

 The different partner agencies that were recognized include the Baguio Rotary Club, Baguio City Emergency Medical Services, Family Planning Organization of the Philippines, Baguio Center for Young Adult, Reflexology Association of the Philippines Traditional Medicine Inc., Department of Science and Technology, Optical Clinic, Philippine Red Cross, Philhealth, Public Employment Services Office, DZEQ Radyo ng Bayan, Lue Foundation, Veterinary Office and Health Services Office.

In his inspirational message, mayor Mauricio Domogan stressed that the conduct of the pasadang pambarangay is aimed at bringing the various services of the city government to the marginalized sector of the society living in the city in order to address the problems of the community like health and medical needs, social services, infrastructure, environmental, among others.

“Your active participation in the weekly pasadang pambarangay in the different barangays is very instrumental in the delivery of basic services to the grassroot level,” said Domogan.  – Jho Arranz

Bayanihan clears Paracelis road

PARACELIS, Mountain Province – The Anonat National Agricultural and Vocational High School through leadership of the newly assigned school head, Dr. Ma. Marissa A. Balao-as conducted a bayanihan clean – up drive for road accessibility of barangay road of Anonat starting from the school up to Barangay Palitod here to national road to Roxas, Isabela.

The activity was a joint effort of 53 stakeholders from Mullian led by  Noel N. Moleg, Parents Teachers Association president of the school; 110 students, teachers and barangay officials headed by Anonat barangay chief Bonifacio I. Ramos.

The activity was the result of PTA meeting on Nov. 13, 2015 herein stakeholders agreed to address issue on inaccessibility of the road from the school going out and vice versa and take part in development of the school. Road condition hampered transportation of students and teachers during competitions and other school engagements. Delivery equipment and materials for the construction of the Senior High School Building was also cited.

After the bayanihan, vehicles loaded with corn products of the community were brought to Roxas, Isabela. The restored status of the road going in and out of the school made travel easier. -- Ma. Marissa A. Balao-as

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Rise of ‘mini-dictators’

EDITORIAL

Even with the good economic performance of the country, bringing in inclusive growth is hard to attain and the present political system has something to do with it.

Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center executive director Dr. Ronald Mendoza pointed this out during discussion in Baguio on “Economic and political equality in the Philippines: Two sides of the same coin” with student leaders.

Mendoza said based on their study, there had been a rise in “mini dictators” or political dynasties wherein based on AIM Policy Center Dataset, the political clans in the Philippines compose  75 percent of the elected officials, the highest compared to other democratic (parliament) countries such as Thailand (42%), Mexico (40%), Japan (29%, India (24%) and Ireland (22%).

He outlined the link of political equality to that of the economy and the attainment of inclusive growth, citing some areas in the country that are controlled by political clans which have high incidence of poverty.

“It plays a very complex role but the point is that politics and economic inequality are linked like for example, if there is high political inequality people will wonder where the power is? If it be in the hands of a few people, is there accountability and are deep reforms have been implemented (to bring in inclusive growth)?” he said.

“Now, if the political inequality is the product of some economic inequality, the people will also begin to question whether these people with economic power will actually change anything dramatically,” he  added.

With the Anti-dynasty bill still pending in Congress, Mendoza called on the people especially the young voters to push for inclusive democracy.

“Despite the growth of the economy, we have to take into account the number of people who actually benefit from this so called growth that is why we should push for inclusive democracy,” he said.

Mendoza also pointedout under the political system, many Filipino voters still vote for politicians who use money during elections. He shared their study on vote-buying in the 2013 election in 17 Metro Manila cities  wherein result shows 18.9%  directly admitted  vote buying, while 38.9% indirectly admitted  (they see others who voted for money) the presence of vote-buying.

Mendoza also outlined some government reforms that are vital in helping change the political landscape in the country such as the push in transparency and participatory governance in local government units and the PantawidPamilyang Pilipino Program that empowers the younger generation through education.

Through transparency and participatory governance, the people will see what their leaders are doing and they will also have a hand in what project or programs they need.

The discussion was a project of the SLU School of Accountancy and Business Management under Dean Reynaldo Bautista. SLU and AIM also have a memorandum of understanding in pushing for researches that can influence policy.  

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Night entertainment

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – Nightspots abound in this summer resort offering all forms of entertainment from “guest relations” services in seedy to gay bars to bars which feature country, retro, jazz, rock, reggae,  and pop music.

Name it, you have it. But this Yuletide season, establishments offering companionship for male and female patrons and tourists out for a thrill were the top grossers, if radio reports are to be believed.

This, while the number persons affected by HIV and AIDS continues to rise in this summer capital. It is for this reason Health officials are advocating “clean entertainment to stop the rise of the dreaded disease.  The Reproductive Health and Wellness Center of the Baguio City Health Services Office is focusing its sights among night entertainers.

During the Baguio City celebration of the recent World AIDS Day, Dr. Celia Flor Brillantes, head of the Social Hygiene Clinic of the Baguio CHSO, said education campaign and advocacy is now focused on making night entertainers understand the idea of a “clean entertainment” to prevent the spread of sexually acquired diseases.

Brillantes said “clean entertainment” encourages night workers from entertaining and mingling with costumers inside establishments and avoiding sexual contact in the workplace or outside. Hotels and inns have registered high occupancy rates despite expensive room rates the past season and reports have it that some if not most women and men entertainers have been doing the entertaining inside the more private rooms.  

“We educate our entertainers to just sit with costumers, talk with them, eat with them, dance and entertain them but having sex with costumers should be prevented,” she said. “With these methods of the clean entertainment, night entertainers would avoid catching sexually acquired diseases such as STD, STI, HIV and AIDS which have increased in the city.”

Although most sectors see this concept as impossible, Brillantes said she was optimistic that by educating night entertainers on effects of different sexually acquired diseases to their lives and their families if they would be infected, there were positive results of this campaign.

Data showed Baguio recorded HIV cases at 21 percent increase with six to seven cases added every year since 2013 and most of the new HIV cases were those of MSM (men having sex with men).

Out of 300 MSM tested, nine were HIV positive, and out of the total 5,000 tested in the city, 12 were positive including a mother and child, Brillantes said.

In 2014, there were 6,011 total cases of HIV in the country reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry, making the reported cases from 1984-2014 to a total of 22,527.

Meanwhile, during recent celebration of the World AIDS Day at the Baguio Convention Center, two HIV/AIDS positive shared their experiences as they battle the deadly disease. They encouraged the audience, mostly night entertainers to avoid sexual contact with different partners to avoid acquiring and spreading the diseases.

The recent World AIDS Day celebration with the theme “Getting to zero… zero new HIV infection, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths” was headed by the city government in coordination with Baguio City Surveillance Team, the Baguio AIDS Watch Council and the Baguio Association of Bars and Entertainment Society.

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It’s never too late to change

PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz

In 1914, more than a century ago, the German Army was advancing into French territory along a 27-mile stretch of land known as the “Western Front.” The French and the British armies were fiercely defending French territory in trenches along a 200-foot narrow strip called “No Man’s Land” that separates them from the Germans who were dug in on the other side. Firing at each other incessantly, they seemed to be oblivious of what was going on in their countries: people were celebrating Christmas.

Then on Christmas Eve the firing stopped and one of the most incredible events in history took place: the Germans started placing candles on “No Man’s Land.” Suddenly in those dark hours, “No Man’s Land” became a beautiful landscape full of “Christmas” trees.

The Germans began singing Christmas songs and the French and British responded by singing too, which then turned the entire “No Man’s Land” into a symphonic Christmas celebration. Then the Germans proposed a “Christmas Truce,” which the French and British troops gladly accepted.

In his book, “Silent Night,” Stanley Weintraub narrated that memorable event:“Signboards arose up and down the trenches in a variety of shapes. They were usually in English, or — from the Germans — in fractured English. ‘YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT’ was the most frequently employed German message. Some British units impoverished ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ banners and waited for a response. More placards on both sides popped up.”

The following Christmas morning, soldiers from both sides filled the “No Man’s Land” and started fraternizing with one another, sharing rations, exchanging gifts, singing together, playing soccer, and… solemnly buried their dead.

When the generals heard about the “Christmas Truce,” they ordered their soldiers to start shooting at each other. The soldiers resumed shooting but most of them — for several days — aimed their rifles at the sky. But in some sectors, the truce continued until New Year’s Day.

On November 21, 2005, Alfred Anderson, aged 109, the last veteran of that “Christmas Truce,” died at his home in Angus, Scotland. Anderson was decorated with France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur. He never forgot that moment in his life when he celebrated Christmas with his enemies. Indeed, it was a singular moment in history that has yet to be repeated.

World at war

This year, the world is at war again but on a scale much bigger than the battle along the “Western Front.” Instead of warring soldiers firing their rifles at each other, weapons of mass destruction – deadly cruise missiles fired from ships and submarines, bombs dropped from supersonic bombers, and suicide bombers targeting civilians including women and children – are used. The “No Man’s Land” along the “Western Front” doesn’t exist anymore. But today, the entire world is a “No Man’s Land.”

With rogue states like Russia, China, and North Korea threatening to use their nuclear ballistic missiles against their enemies, no one is safe anymore and there are no safe havens. With mad men having the ability to launch their nuclear ballistic missiles at will, the world is at risk of total annihilation. Yes, Dr. Strangelove is alive and the “Doomsday Clock” is just a minute away to midnight, which makes one wonder: When will there ever be peace on Earth?

In 1955, in the midst of the Cold War, Jill Jackson Miller, an American singer and actress, and her husband Sy Miller, wrote a song that has captured the hearts of many people. It’s all about peace. Titled “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” this classic song is popularly sung during the Christmas holidays.

The song begins: “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be. With God as our Father, brothers all are we. Let me walk with my brother, in perfect harmony.

“Let peace begin with me. Let this be the moment now. With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow. To take each moment and live each moment with peace eternally. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

Christmas truce

Indeed, peace begins with each of us. And only then can harmony be achieved. The “Christmas Truce” during the Great War in 1914 was a manifestation of what the song suggests. All it took was for a German soldier to put up a sign that said, “YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT,” and everybody took the cue and stopped firing. It’s the power of persuasion of one man that did it.

But it was the generals who forced their soldiers to break the truce, but only after the “brothers” – Germans, French, and British soldiers – walked in perfect harmony in “No Man’s Land,” without fear of shooting at each other. And to this day, we remember how easy it was to make peace… even for just a day.

Perhaps if the generals gave the truce a chance to keep the peace for a longer time, they probably would come to the realization that peace can hold while the warring powers negotiate a permanent peace, which they eventually did on the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918. Known as “Armistice Day,” the date is commemorated in my allied countries that also coincide with Remembrance Day and Veterans Day.

Give peace a chance

In 1969, John Lennon, of Beatles fame, wrote a song titled, “Give Peace a Chance.” The song became the “anthem” of the American anti-war movement during the 1970s. On January 27 1973, the U.S., North Vietnam, and South Vietnam signed the Paris Peace Accord, which ended direct U.S. military combat, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. But it took another two years before the war actually ended with the fall of Saigon.

Today, with all the wars going on in several flashpoints around the world, one wonders if peace would ever be achieved in our lifetime. With the war in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and the specter of war looming Asia, the world is in the brink of World War III. But this time around, the scope and magnitude of World War III would cause the end of civilization and the extinction of the human species.

Change the world

Perhaps it’s time to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask: How can I change the world to achieve peace? And we see ourselves in the mirror looking back at us, reminding us of what Leo Tolstoy once said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

This reminds me of a Chinese monk who lived 1,000 years ago. He said: “When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.”

One shouldn’t give up because he’s old. It’s never too late to change. Change is not the exclusive domain of the young; it is the covenant of every human being who occupies a space on planet Earth.

May the spirit of Christmas be with you all and may there be peace on earth.

(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)

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Sagada radio, Drainage issues

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina P. Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Dagdag barangay constituents here recently called for a stop to construction of a drainage system not identified by civil society organizations and barangay officials during a meeting.l  

This, while a private lot owner complained that she was not consulted on the use of her property on the constructing said drainage system.

In their Dec. 11 general assembly, barangay constituents further agreed to forward a resolution to concerned officials and construction firm  to reroute the Letang-Daoangan drainage  canal  consistent with the  identification of  concerned CSOs and barangay council.

Construction of a drainage canal with project cost of P1 million  was listed as a project under the Bottom up Budgetting (BuB) scheme  of the local government unit of Sagada municipality for 2014  wherein  concerned  civil society organizations (CSOs) identified continuation of the existing Letang-Daoangan drainage.

Yakie Tumbaga chairperson of Dagdag-based Tulan Young Mothers organization said what they identified was the rehabilitation of  existingLetang- Daoangan drainage  and not what is currently being contested which is the opening of a new drainage canal.

Sangguniang  Kagawad  Regina Baldo said the barangay council  earlier forwarded a resolution  to Mayor Eduardo Latawan  stating that the P1 million Letang-Daoangan drainage route  continue rehabilitation of an  existing drainage system.  

Dagdag barangay resident  Egbert Dailay said  constructing  another route was an act  disrespectful to barangay officials who were duly  elected by  constituents of  Dagdag.

This, as private lot owner and Dagdag resident Magdalena Rimando complained of her lot having been dug for said  drainage canal  when she  has not  given her consent nor  was she consulted on the matter.

In her letter to Latawan, Rimando expressed her vehement opposition to the construction done to her lot as she called for a stop on the construction and the restoration of the initial state of her property.

It was also learned that  part of the P1 million peso drainage fund was used for another drainage project in a different location.

Barangay Dagdag in their  collective resolution called for a  stop on the construction of  Letang-Daoangan drainage system on affected lot owner’s property, rerouting of drainage system to its identified location path and using project funds to where it is designed to be.

***

It was in 2002 when Bayan Muna Rep. Liza Maza  granted P1 million from her  priority development assistance funds (PDAF) for the establishment  of a wireless public address system or community radio for Sagada.

With local govnerme3nt unit partner non-government organization DAGAMI of  Sagada, the amount of P150,000  was initially released for office repairs and trainings leaving a balance of P850,000 which is now deposited in the trust fund of the LGU. 

Commission on Audit   findings noted that the P850 thousand was not utilized because  a community radio station  had already been put up. COA noted that no follow up was made on a request to use the funds for a project related  to the original  intent of the fund.

Mayor Eduardo Latawan informed Commission on Audit they experienced a problem in the implementation of the project to which the fund was originally intended for much as there was already an existing radio station.

It was learned the LGU intended to build an office space for the radio station on the second floor of the newly built rural health clinic.  

The  remaining P850,000 remains in the trust fund of the municipality.

A radio station called Radio Sagada  with frequency 104.7 FM was separately established by the Sagada Community Media Network and Northern Information Media Network with  funds sourced from donor Germany-based Miserior. 

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Escapades with a race car driver

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March Fianza

In memory of Ceferino Willy Jr., 62, I dedicate this space. Jun or Manong Jun to younger newsmen had lots of unforgettable adventures that happened in the prime of his life, especially during his stint as the lead man and manager of Peoples Television 8 (PTV-8 Baguio).

A number of these exploits are quite familiar to me because I was then a permanent passenger during several media coverages by the government TV station’s 8-cylinder Toyota Land Cruiser gas guzzler that we called Blue Bird.

In most trips in the Cordillera immediately before, during and after the 1990 killer earthquake, Jun took the wheel with Richard S. Valdez in the front seat while Joseph “Jo Es” Esteras, Jorge Pawid and I were backseat drivers. In some instances, Richard, Jo Es and Jorge steered the Blue Bird alternately.

Jun was fond of cars and machines, especially sports car models so that he can spend the whole afternoon talking about his interests with the late Angelito “Toots” Soberano, another sports car aficionado who left earlier on December 25, 2014 for a race track in the sky.

Sometime in 1992, Jun and Richard were driving and enjoying a newly refurbished sports car to get their travel visas from the US embassy in Manila when unluckily, they got involved in a freak accident somewhere along the highway in Tarlac.

A flying cow landed on Jun’s new car. It was not another joke fabricated by the inseparable pair because, according to police reports, that literally happened. A truck that was speeding ahead of them hit an astray cow on the highway, the cow flew towards heaven then smashed Jun’s windshield.

Luckily, Jun was hurt with a few bumps but Richard was rushed to the St. Lukes Hospital in Quezon City for the painful removal of little shards of windshield glass that got stuck in his eyes.

A few days later, the duo got their visas for their trip to the US with Baguio officials and became two happy Igorots who wanted to get lost in Los Angeles, California.

A year later, I was again with the PTV-8 team in Mountain Province, along with the late Toots and fellow newsman Fred Puntawe, to cover the release of seven Tadian cops who were hostaged by the New People’s Army.

When we were not in a room at the Chico Inn, the Blue Bird was practically converted into a traveling newsroom as we had with us typewriters, walkie-talkies and wireless telephones, the communication units that preceded the cellphones of today.

And we had Jun who, without difficulty, maneuvered the gravel mountain highway to deliver our news articles to the newsrooms, just in time for the deadline. For a straight month, the Blue Bird crisscrossed Sagada, Besao, Bontoc, Tadian, and Baguio – just gathering news from mountain folks with a few bottles of San Miguel gin in between.

In 1994, Jun and the same team were again called to Tinglayan, Kalinga to cover the recall of Armalite rifles from members of the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) in exchange for livelihood projects.

The one-lane narrow road to Tinglayan was treacherous that any motorist may fall off the cliff down to the Chico River if one of the wheels slipped. Although Jun was the master driver of the Blue Bird, he made our hearts jump and “relocated” our balls on our foreheads because once in a while, he would drive through that Tinglayan road like he was traveling on an airport tarmac.

The road leading to the Mt. Santo Tomas relay towers is likewise a death-defying trail, and so with Mt. Caniaw, Vigan where communication antennae for shipping lines, government and military relay towers are installed. On few occasions, we travelled these roads but never came upon unpleasant trips because Jun had watchful eyes and steady hands.

Mang Jun met the Master race car driver on Christmas Day 2015, the same day as Toots did. What an unholy hour to go on a very Holy Day as Christmas. Or do race car drivers have the talent to pick their own time to bid farewell?

So long Jun. In the meantime, allow us to tell stories and memories of you.   

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Forms of greatness

BENCHWARMER

Ramon S. Dacawi

The greatness of Nelson Mandela lies not in his having achieved and wielded power. It lies in his having relinquished power voluntarily at the height of his power.

A former South African student activist who worked for Mandela’s African National Congress told me this in 2004. We met that September at the World Urban Forum in Bardelona,  in the Catalan region of Spain. UN Habitat had invited us to exhibit our own cities’ programs – his group’s work helping prevent AIDS and helping  its victims, and Baguio’s “Eco-walk” environmental awareness program for and with children.

That activist’s observation about true greatness continues to haunt. Time and again, we hear news all over of lesser mortals grabbing and holding on to power as if bequeathed to them in perpetuity by the Almighty. That image also haunts – of their clinging to power at all costs, until it has to be pried off from their closed fists, sometimes over their dead bodies and at the cost of thousands of other lives who had suffered under them.

As we were manning our exhibits away from the forum hall in Barcelona , I learned late that Mikhail Gorbachev, Mandela’s fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, had keynoted the forum the day before.

“Enough is enough,” Gorbachev told the delegates in a searing indictment of tokenism. He bewailed the gaping hole between form and substance, the disunity between theory and practice, between pledge and action in addressing extreme poverty and saving the world since the world leaders signed the UN Millennium Declaration in September 2000.

“We are not living up to our commitments, we are not rising to the challenge,” Gorbachev said. “I am here today to declare that Enough is Enough! Enough broken promises, enough lame excuses.”

Like Mandela, Gorbachev gracefully yielded political power. As president of the USSR, he introduced “glasnost” (openness), “perestroika” (change) and other democratic reforms that eventually undermined his own  power and position. So he stepped aside as leader to allow the member-nations of the former Soviet Union to achieve independence and chart their own destiny.

Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 “for his leading role in the peace process which today characterizes important parts of the international community”. He was honored for bringing the Cold War to a peaceful end, marked by the crumbling of the Berlin Wall in 1989.  

After the Soviet Union crumbled, Gorbachev went on to found Green Cross International, that prestigious group now at the forefront of grounded environmental and development work.

Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years in his fight against apartheid, was catapulted to power as South Africa’s first elected black president in 1994. A year before, he and then South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk  jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize  “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa”.

To say that De Klerk basked in the glory  of Mandela would be a mistake. Although he was a staunch advocate of white privilege, De Klerk eventually saw the economic and political destruction being triggered by apartheid. Re-inventing himself, he had Mandela released from jail in 1990 and , together, they opened negotiations for equal rights and for a presidential election that Mandela won in 1994.

At the end of his term in 1999, at the height of his popularity, Mandela relinquished power. Tiday, the whole world mourns his passing on at 95, a revered, unifying symbol in South Africa’s – and the world’s – struggle towards stability, peace and development.

So did President Corazon Aquino, the wife and mother with the widow’s might, achieve power, only to yield it voluntarily. She remains our revered unifying symbol as a nation, an inspiration to the rest of the world for the bloodless people’s revolution she led in 1980 that influenced the struggles of other nations for deliverance from greedy grip on power.

Amidst all the statements from the powers-that-be honoring Corazon Aquino, I was drawn to the words of one of lower rank and stature. Insp. MelchorMamaril, President Cory’s long-time security aide, somehow summed up not only  our common and collective  grief as a nation. He summed up Cory’s legacy of dignity.

“She treated us not as mere employees but like a mother tending to a son after a hard day’s work,” Insp. Mamaril recalled. “I feel a sense of wonder and at the same time, I realized that her treatment raised my dignity as a person. She gave us self-respect, self-worth and self- confidence.”

So did Clifton Pollard  sum up  the  deepest sense of loss of the United States of America and the rest of the world over the death, in 1963, of President John F. Kennedy. Pollard who?

He  was the grave digger who dug President Kennedy’s resting place at the Arlington National Cemetery.  While the rest of the world’s reporters were seeking the statements of the world’s leaders, Newsday’s Jimmy Breslin sought out the feelings of the lowly gravedigger.  

“He was a good man,” Breslin quoted Pollard as saying about the assassinated President. “Now they’re going to come and put him right here in this grave I’m making up. You know, it’s an honor just for me to do this.”

Breslin’s piece capturing Pollard’s thoughts and feelings has become a mini-classic, a shining standard for powerful narrative journalism. It also proves that greatness is also found down here, among the ordinary folks we never read or hear about in  media.

That’s why that image in 1991, while Mt. Pinatubo was still blowing its top and creaking over Central Luzon, still haunts.

We were then weeks into “Operation Sayote”, the Baguio media-initiated relief operation launched on June 12 that year. We were then sorting donations for the nextshipment of relief goods to lahar-devastated areas.

I opened a small, recycled carton of canned milk. Inside were small, transparent plastic packets containing legumes: black beans, white beans and mongo. Each seed aggregate was about the size of a child’s fist, as if scooped by a kid’s palm which then gingerly poured the grains into the plastic packet. Each packet was tied near the mouth with a string. Each string end held a rectangular tag cut or torn out of a notebook or a first grader’s writing pad.

Each tag bore the name, the grade and the class or section of a child, in his or her own handwriting. The box came from Mt. Province, prepared by elementary school kids in the capital town of Bontoc.

The image of those tiny scoops of beans still haunts. My mistake was failing to copy names of the kids who must be now in their late 20s or early 30s. (e-mail:mondaxbench@yahoo.com for comments.)

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Massive reforestation

BANTAY GOBYERNO  

Ike Señeres

Words have meanings and the wrong interpretation of words could result in the wrong outcomes. Add to that the fact that development programs need to have an overall framework, otherwise the outcome could either be wrong or it would fall short of actual development needs. Perhaps this is what happened in the case of countless “tree planting” initiatives all over the country over the past many years.

Of course it is obvious that reforestation needs more than just planting trees. As a matter of fact, reforestation needs more than just planting a few trees here and there. Going back to the basics, the clear objective of reforestation is to grow back the trees in specific areas of what used to be the forest.

Going direct to the point, reforestation should have percentage targets in terms of how much percent of the deforested areas should be reforested.

Anyone can plant a seedling, but not everyone can grow a tree. That is just like saying that any woman can bear a baby, but not every mother can raise a child.

It may just be a matter of semantics, but strictly speaking, we are really planting seedlings and not trees. And if it is really a tree that we are referring to, we should already call it replanting trees and not planting trees. And if it is a seed that we are talking about, we should just call it sowing seeds of trees and not planting seeds. Pardon the exaggeration of meanings, but I just want to get to the bottom of the problem, as to why so many “tree planting” initiatives have failed before in the past.

While on a trip to Thailand many years ago to visit some orchards, I noticed how a farm worker was watering a coconut tree. My first reaction was that the farm worker was probably stupid, but then I realized that a coconut tree or any other tree for that matter needs water to grow, and for it to grow well, it should have a supply of water that should not be left to the incidence of rain alone.

In other words, that Thai farm worker was actually the right thing, because he was probably doing it at a time of the year when rains were hard to come by, and the coconut trees had to be watered some other way. Later on, in that same trip, I found out that Thai farm workers actually apply fertilizers on the coconut trees also, something that we almost never do here in the Philippines.

Six African nations have committed to reforest at least 78.3 million acres in the African continent, and four more countries are in line to join the program. The African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) has been officially adopted by the African Union and more than 1.5 billion dollars have been pledged by various international organizations to fund the initiative. AFR100 was announced at the 21st meeting of the Conference of Partners (COP21), the meeting in Paris where an agreement was finally reached by participating countries to reduce carbon emissions as a strategy to reverse global warning that is the cause of climate change.

According to the Global Restoration Initiative (GRI) at the World Resources Institute (WRI), there are about 700 million hectares in the African continent that could be restored to natural forests or areas with some form of agroforestry. GRI cited deforestation, loss of soil nutrients, erosion and overgrazing as some of the contributing factors that prevent full environmental and economic productivity.

In a related development, officials of Greenpeace said that they are worried about the over emphasis on restoration, because according to them, restoration programs are more expensive than the prevention of deforestation. They added that many areas that many areas in need of forest restoration may require extensive soil restoration first.

Learning from the experience of the African nations, I now think that the target of our own National Greening Program (NGP) should have been the restoration of lost forests in terms of hectares, and not the planting of trees. As it is now, it is very difficult to measure the success or failure of the NGP, because there is no way to inspect the trees where they are supposed to have been planted already.

There is also no way to find out whether the seedlings (not really trees) that were planted were cared for and nourished until such time that they would have grown into mature trees. When counting the number of hectares that have been restored, there should be a standard as to how many trees should have been planted per hectare.

In the case of the African Union, the commitments were made by the member countries, and it is implied that these countries already set aside the resources needed to make the initiative happen from their end of the equation, before they made their pledge.

If countries can do that on a continental scale, perhaps provinces could also do it on a national scale. After all, it is not too difficult for each province to measure how much of their deforested areas could still be restorable.

Once they are able to measure the total number of hectares that could be reforested, then they can already set their own provincial targets on an annual basis, until they are able to achieve 100% of their targets at the end of their timeframe.

In reality, this idea to require the provinces to set their own reforestation targets should not be viewed as an imposition, because the provinces could make money from these reforestation initiatives not just once, but thrice. Yes, it is not just twice, but thrice.

The first source of money is the “Debt for Nature” scheme, a global program that could be used to pay our foreign debts not with money, but with “nature credits”. Of course the national government would not make any earnings from this scheme, but it could generate savings because it does not have to pay with cash anymore. In turn, the national government could convert these savings into cash and give it to the provinces.

Aside from earning from “nature credits”, the provinces could also earn from “carbon credits”. There is hope that because of the agreements reached in COP21, the global carbon credits scheme will gain new momentum. The third source of money is from the taxes that the private businesses will pay to the provinces when the local economy grows because of the multiplier effects of the massive reforestation programs. There is a fourth benefit, although it is not directly in terms of money. More trees would mean less flooding, less erosion and less pollution. Down the line, more trees would mean more water from the ground, more rains from the sky and more fruits from the forests. Add to that more cooking fuel and more electricity from gasifier power plants.

 Email bantaygobyerno-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or text +639369198429

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Massive reforestation

BANTAY GOBYERNO  

Ike Señeres

Words have meanings and the wrong interpretation of words could result in the wrong outcomes. Add to that the fact that development programs need to have an overall framework, otherwise the outcome could either be wrong or it would fall short of actual development needs. Perhaps this is what happened in the case of countless “tree planting” initiatives all over the country over the past many years.

Of course it is obvious that reforestation needs more than just planting trees. As a matter of fact, reforestation needs more than just planting a few trees here and there. Going back to the basics, the clear objective of reforestation is to grow back the trees in specific areas of what used to be the forest.

Going direct to the point, reforestation should have percentage targets in terms of how much percent of the deforested areas should be reforested.

Anyone can plant a seedling, but not everyone can grow a tree. That is just like saying that any woman can bear a baby, but not every mother can raise a child.

It may just be a matter of semantics, but strictly speaking, we are really planting seedlings and not trees. And if it is really a tree that we are referring to, we should already call it replanting trees and not planting trees. And if it is a seed that we are talking about, we should just call it sowing seeds of trees and not planting seeds. Pardon the exaggeration of meanings, but I just want to get to the bottom of the problem, as to why so many “tree planting” initiatives have failed before in the past.

While on a trip to Thailand many years ago to visit some orchards, I noticed how a farm worker was watering a coconut tree. My first reaction was that the farm worker was probably stupid, but then I realized that a coconut tree or any other tree for that matter needs water to grow, and for it to grow well, it should have a supply of water that should not be left to the incidence of rain alone.

In other words, that Thai farm worker was actually the right thing, because he was probably doing it at a time of the year when rains were hard to come by, and the coconut trees had to be watered some other way. Later on, in that same trip, I found out that Thai farm workers actually apply fertilizers on the coconut trees also, something that we almost never do here in the Philippines.

Six African nations have committed to reforest at least 78.3 million acres in the African continent, and four more countries are in line to join the program. The African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) has been officially adopted by the African Union and more than 1.5 billion dollars have been pledged by various international organizations to fund the initiative. AFR100 was announced at the 21st meeting of the Conference of Partners (COP21), the meeting in Paris where an agreement was finally reached by participating countries to reduce carbon emissions as a strategy to reverse global warning that is the cause of climate change.

According to the Global Restoration Initiative (GRI) at the World Resources Institute (WRI), there are about 700 million hectares in the African continent that could be restored to natural forests or areas with some form of agroforestry. GRI cited deforestation, loss of soil nutrients, erosion and overgrazing as some of the contributing factors that prevent full environmental and economic productivity.

In a related development, officials of Greenpeace said that they are worried about the over emphasis on restoration, because according to them, restoration programs are more expensive than the prevention of deforestation. They added that many areas that many areas in need of forest restoration may require extensive soil restoration first.

Learning from the experience of the African nations, I now think that the target of our own National Greening Program (NGP) should have been the restoration of lost forests in terms of hectares, and not the planting of trees. As it is now, it is very difficult to measure the success or failure of the NGP, because there is no way to inspect the trees where they are supposed to have been planted already.

There is also no way to find out whether the seedlings (not really trees) that were planted were cared for and nourished until such time that they would have grown into mature trees. When counting the number of hectares that have been restored, there should be a standard as to how many trees should have been planted per hectare.

In the case of the African Union, the commitments were made by the member countries, and it is implied that these countries already set aside the resources needed to make the initiative happen from their end of the equation, before they made their pledge.

If countries can do that on a continental scale, perhaps provinces could also do it on a national scale. After all, it is not too difficult for each province to measure how much of their deforested areas could still be restorable.

Once they are able to measure the total number of hectares that could be reforested, then they can already set their own provincial targets on an annual basis, until they are able to achieve 100% of their targets at the end of their timeframe.

In reality, this idea to require the provinces to set their own reforestation targets should not be viewed as an imposition, because the provinces could make money from these reforestation initiatives not just once, but thrice. Yes, it is not just twice, but thrice.

The first source of money is the “Debt for Nature” scheme, a global program that could be used to pay our foreign debts not with money, but with “nature credits”. Of course the national government would not make any earnings from this scheme, but it could generate savings because it does not have to pay with cash anymore. In turn, the national government could convert these savings into cash and give it to the provinces.

Aside from earning from “nature credits”, the provinces could also earn from “carbon credits”. There is hope that because of the agreements reached in COP21, the global carbon credits scheme will gain new momentum. The third source of money is from the taxes that the private businesses will pay to the provinces when the local economy grows because of the multiplier effects of the massive reforestation programs. There is a fourth benefit, although it is not directly in terms of money. More trees would mean less flooding, less erosion and less pollution. Down the line, more trees would mean more water from the ground, more rains from the sky and more fruits from the forests. Add to that more cooking fuel and more electricity from gasifier power plants.

 Email bantaygobyerno-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or text +639369198429

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