BAGUIO CITY A-- Janice Bobila is 26,
the second of three children of Jovita (nee Fiao-ilan) , a 42-year old widow
who raised her children alone by doing laundry and odd jobs after her
husband succumbed to cancer in 1998.
Janice herself learned
early that life is no fairy tale. After graduating from the Benguet National
High School, she stopped going to school. Not because her mother could hardly
cope with the demands of single-handedly providing for three kids.
“Janice stopped
schooling after graduating in high school when she was diagnosed (for) brain
tumor,” noted social worker Kryslyn Pantaleon in a report she prepared last
April to support the girl’s application for financial assistance from the
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
The girl licked the
tumor through surgery and cobalt radiation therapy. Just when she thought
her medical trial was over, she learned she was diabetic and had to learn to
inject herself with insulin.
Last March 31,
another big blow came. She was diagnosed for end-stage kidney failure, a
long-term complication of diabetes. She was advised to maintain her insulin
dosage and start her life-time dialysis treatment/
What worries her
mother nowadays is that the PCSO support will be good only until the end
of this month. The girl had also her fund assistance from the Philhealth.
She will need Samaritans to maintain her life-time treatment for kidney
failure.
“She has to be on
twice-a-week hemodialysis treatment scheduled from 8 p.m. every Tuesday and
Friday at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center,” Jovita said. “We
simply don’t know how we could pay P2,200 per treatment session as her
PCSO fund guarantee will last only until next week.”
Jovita said her
daughter was eligible for 45 treatments a year under the Philhealth
package. “What I didn’t know was that the number of treatments was reduced as
the support fund was used to pay her other medical and hospital bills when she
was confined due to complications,” she added.
Last Tuesday morning,
hours before Jovita asked that her family’s appeal for support be publicized so
Samaritans could respond, Philhealth president Alexander Padilla said the
government health insurance agency is still studying a proposal to increase the
sponsored dialysis sessions of kidney patients from 45 to 90 a year.
“We are studying
this proposal as no less than (Baguio) mayor (Mauricio) Domogan noted the
increasing number of patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment,” Padilla
said during a press conference when he arrived her to inaugurate the new
Philhealth building along Leonard Wood Rd.
The mayor noted
the growing number of dialysis patients in a message welcoming the Philhealth’s
move to transfer to a more spacious office here.
Pending action
on the proposal, Janice and other patients – including 191 of them at the BGHMC
– are keeping their fingers crossed while figuring out how to fund their next
treatment session.
Like those of
many others, here orphaned family had long been drained – financially and
emotionally – by her medical trials.
Her brother Jordan, 28
and works as a security guard , has a family of his own. Their brother Jake,
19, is in third year college, leaving their mother as the sole bread winner.
People who can help
may ring up Janice’s cellphone number 09193834890 or that of her mother –
09301224699.
Meanwhile, two
members of Elementary Batch 1980 and High School Batch 1984 of Easter College
recently came to the aid of their batch-mate, 46-year old Winston Kilongan who
is on twice-a-week dialysis session at the BGHMC.
From Australia
came P5000, sent by Irwin Patol through a batch-mate. From Malaysia,
Shriley Bastasa also sent P8,000, of which P6,000 went to Winston and the remaining
P2,000 used as “abuloy” for someone who recently died.
Winston is in
the same boat as his maternal uncle, Angel Bangcawayan, who is also on
twice-a-week treatment in the same medical center.
Another member
of Easter School Elementary Batch ’80, Lennon Cambod of Riuverside, Baguio
City, also succumbed to kidney failure last Monday.
Our family is
indebted to all the people who supported Lennon in his treatment and helped
ease our suffering over the loss of a son,” his father, retired police officer
Policarpio Cambod, said. – Ramon Dacawi
Bakun
passes ordinance on wildlife preservation
BAKUN, Benguet —
Officials here passed an ordinance to conserve and protect indigenous wildlife
in this remote town..
Ordinance Number
04-2014 is now with the Provincial Board for deliberation.
Vice Mayor Edwin
Bandao who authored the ordinance, said
wildlife in the area were tagged
as critically endangered and endangered.
“We are indigenous
peoples yet we cannot show any indigenous wildlife in our area,” said Bandao.
“Our next generation will question us on what have we done to preserve all
those,” he added.
Among the critically
endangered flora are orchids, blackberry, Benguet Lily, Almaciga tree while
fauna include the Philippine brown deer and bearded pig. Some endangered
species are the cloud rat, wild cat, wood pecker, and giant ferns.
Contributing to annihilation of
indigenous wildlife are illegal acts such as killing and destruction,
hunting, trapping, collecting, possessing, trading, and transporting such species.
Dumping of waste products
detrimental to wildlife, squatting or occupying portions of the critical
habitat, mineral exploitation and/or extraction, curning, logging and quarrying
are identified as unlawful acts in
identified critical habitat.
If approved by the
provincial board, a task force on wildlife protection and conservation will be
created for the implementation of
the ordinance. — Susan Aro
TESDA
Kalinga offers free competency check for workers
TABUK CITY, Kalinga -
- The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is accepting
workers from the public and private sectors
to undergo a free competency assessment for the grant of national
certificate level II eligibility.
John Adawey, Kalinga
provincial TESDA director, said the program started in May and will go on until
October this year.
“Applicants may come
anytime of the week to register at the TESDA office, get the schedule and
secure the necessary requirements,” he said. This is on first-come-first-serve basis because of
limited slots.
Those who may avail of
the assessment are those working in
industrial and manufacturing firms, and service providers in order for them to
gain NC II eligibility as skilled workers.
Teachers teaching
technical/vocational course, public utility vehicle drivers, local government
unit workers, returning overseas workers,
and self-employed individuals may
also come for assessment.
“NC II eligibility
could upscale the position of those already employed or give them leverage for
the grant of additional benefits,” Adawey said. — Peter Balocnit
Construction
firms urged to renew licenses
LAGAWE, Ifugao —
Construction firms are asked to renew their respective licenses for fiscal
year 2014 on time to avoid additional charges.
According to the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), notices were given to concerned contractors in the different municipalities
in the province for their guidance.
The Philippines Contractors’ Accreditation
Board (PCAB) through Board Resolution No. 402 series of 2013 has provided the schedules for renewal and
corresponding penalties.
“Licenses ending with 0 and 1 should be
renewed on February; March and April also for licenses ending with 2,3 and 4,5
respectively; May for 6,7 while January
to June also for licenses ending with 8,9 including new licenses,” the DTI
added.
Contractors filing their renewal application
after the scheduled month will be charged with additional processing fee (APF)
and P5,000. The same amount will also be
paid as additional license fee by
contractors who are filing for licenses after the expiry date on June 30.
Application for new or renewal of
accreditation shall be filed at the DTI
Regional Office, Jesnor Building, Carino St., Baguio City. — Marcelo Lihgawon
Ilocos
Norte cited ‘champ’ vs poverty
LAOAG CITY, Ilocos
Norte — Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky”
Juliano-Soliman cited Ilocos Norte as model champion in poverty reduction.
Out from the 247,882 identified
poor households in Region 1, it was reported that only 10% or 24,890 are from
Ilocos Norte and all of them have already been reached out by the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) programs and services together with the
provincial government.
In a media forum held at the
Plaza del Norte, Laoag City, she claimed that Ilocos Norte is not qualified
enough for the poverty reduction
programs of the DSWD having 9.2% poverty incidence.
For her part, Gov. Imee R.
Marcos expressed appreciation to the poverty reduction programs being
implemented by the DSWD in the local level.
The lady governor said the DSWD
programs and services especially the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) or the
PantawidPamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is very effective considering the
beneficiaries’ conscious utilization of
their cash grants as what the program
conditionalities require.
— Freddie G. Lazaro
McDo
Session closes
BAGUIO CITY — The guy
in the yellow suit, big red shoes and big red hair was first seen in person
under the “golden arches” here in 1991. And that day will remain a good memory
to the people of this city as the first McDonalds store closed shop after 23
years.
The city’s first Mc
Donald’s fastfood franchise closed its store at session road Monday after the
lease contract between the lot owner and the franchise owner expired on June
25.
Franchise owner Mike
Del Rosario said while it saddened him and his crew to close shop, it will not
fully be long as they hope to complete the building of its permanent home
adjacent the present location.
Solar
lights for Lingayen Baywalk
DAGUPAN CITY,
Pangasinan — Environment-friendly streetlights will illuminate the Lingayen
Beach Baywalk soon as the P2.2-million solar streetlights project is underway.
The Lingayen Baywalk is a
stretch of 659-meter cement-paved straight path along the beach at the back of
the Urduja House, a stone’s throw from the golf driving range at the Capitol
Resort Hotel. — JojoRiñoza
Mt
Prov employees attend gender seminar
BONTOC – The
provincial government of Mountain Province through the Provincial Gender and Development
Council started conducting gender sensitivity seminars for its employees.
According to Eunice
Andaya of the Provincial Population Office here, seminar participants were
provincial government employees.
In his memorandum,
Gov. Leonard Mayaen said this seminar aims to ensure gender responsive services
to all people and it is also the initial effort to create awareness among
employees for them to become aware of gender concerns affecting the office, its
clients and even those affecting them and their families.
In lieu of the
governor, Provincial Administrator Johnny Lausan said that the seminar aims to
enlighten the participants on gender equality concerns affecting them in their
homes, workplace and community.
Participants included
Provincial GAD Focal Person Shirley Chiyawan, Men Opposed to Violence against
Women and Children Everywhere (MOVE) –Mountain Province Chapter President Dale
Marrero, MOVE- Provincial Capitol Chapter President Victorino Dines, Tyronne
Glenn Lawey, Prima Te-elan of the Provincial
Health Office and MiguelaAngwani of the Provincial Social Welfare and
Development Office. — Alpine L. Killa
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