PDRRMC convenes, assesses damages caused by
'Pablo' in Agusan del Sur
By David M. Suyao
AGUSAN DEL SUR, Jan. 18 (PIA) -- Provincial
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Chairman Gov. Adolph Edward
Plaza recently convened council members to discuss and assess the extent of
damages left by typhoon Pablo that hit the province on December 4, 2012 in
order to come up with correct estimate of relief goods and materials.
In a report prepared by Provincial Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) and presented to the council by Vice
Gov. Santiago Cane Jr., it shows that of the 314 barangays in the entire
province, 194 were affected by the typhoon with 45,190 families or almost
222,000 persons. Eighteen persons died, one missing while 28 were injured.
The total estimated amount of damages on social
and economic sector alone reached up to P2.98 billion where agriculture claims
to be on top, with P1.7 billion, and economic with P873 million.
Although provincial agriculturist Dr. Jorex
Elivaso said many farmers had already harvested their palay when the typhoon
came, with 16,700 hectares of farmlands affected, the damage was still
tremendous on rice, corn, rubber, banana, oil palm, and coconut.
Totally damaged houses in six most affected
municipalities of Veruela, Sta. Josefa, Trento, Bunawan, Lapaz and Loreto
reached 11,982 while partially damaged were 26,172 houses with an estimated
cost of P327,567,228.
In education, reports shows 473 classrooms in
the elementary level were damaged where 161 were totally damaged and 312
partially. On secondary level, totally damaged classroom reached to 21, while
partially recorded 85 with the total estimated cost of P364.3 million.
Damages on health and social facilities totaled
to P182 million, which were identified to be government buildings P91 million;
day-care centers, 24 units P6.4 million; health center 14 units amounting to
P2.1 million; barangay halls 16 with the estimated cost of P10 million; multipurpose
buildings, gymnasium with eight amounting to P4.65 million; and other public
building worth P67.85 million.
Damaged roads spanning 141 kilometers with an
estimated cost of P116 million while five bridges were also damaged amounting
to P12.65 million. Two flood control facilities with estimated cost of P58
million was also damaged, while power lines claimed P30 million damage, and
another solar power to 143 houses with estimated cost of P5.5 million.
Some 8,907 hectares of watershed areas were also
reported damaged while tree parks claimed six hectares damaged. For the second
growth forest, damages reached up to 262,305.54 hectares.
“I want to know all these figures especially the
residential houses of our people so that we can find ways and means to produce
the needed relief goods, materials and services. Although we have already
distributed partial materials like galvanized iron and other construction
materials to helpless typhoon victims, we need more because of their number. We
all know that it will take time for them to recover because their means of
livelihood and their crops were also damaged. I am therefore knocking on the
hearts of our friends for help, so that our fellow Agusanons can recover the
earliest possible time,” Plaza said.
To date, rehabilitation and distribution of
relief goods are on going. (DMS-PIA 13, Agusan del Sur)
NSO to recruit, train personnel for the upcoming
2012 CAF
By Nida Grace B. Tranquilan
SURIGAO DEL SUR, Jan. 18 (PIA) -- The National
Statistics Office (NSO) provincial office here headed by Provincial Statistics
Officer Ruel Dres will undertake personnel recruitment and training in
preparation for the 2012 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) field
operation this coming February 25.
According to Dres, they will be hiring 529
personnel composed of 167 team supervisors (TS) and 366 enumerators (ENs)
including reserved ENs.
Pre-selected TS will become participants of the
third-level training along with the Regional and Provincial Agricultural
Statistics Officers (RASO and PASO), Provincial Statistics Officer (PSO), PO
Staff, District Statistics Officers (DSOs), Statistical Coordination Officers
(SCOs), and NSO contractual personnel. They will serve as trainers on the
fourth-level training where the participants are the hired ENs.
The third-level training is scheduled on
February 4 to 8. Likewise, those qualified applicants who passed the
examination and interview will join the first and second batches of the
fourth-level training on February 11 to 16 and February 18 to 23.
Dres said those who are interested to apply may
visit their respective Local Civil Registrar’s Office for information on the
qualifications and requirements of the applicants.
The 2012 CAF execution is under Executive Order
352 which requires generation of data for decision-making of government and
private sector. The 2012 CAF aims to provide basic data for use in national as
well as sub-national development planning.
The CAF 2012 is the sixth census undertaken on a
large scale, geared toward the collection and compilation of statistics on the
nation's agriculture and fisheries sectors.
Formal launching and press conference is on
January 24, 2013, 10:00 a.m. at the provincial office here. (NGBT with reports
from PSO Ruel Dres, NSO-SDS/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
Day care pupils get new school, playground
CEBU CITY, Jan. 18 -- The Ramon Aboitiz
Foundation Inc. (RAFI), through its Dolores Aboitiz Children’s Fund (DACF),
recently turned-over a day-care center and a playground funded by Vereniging
Haarlemmermeer Cebu (VHC) to Barangay Pooc, Talisay City.
The day-care center, built to meet DSWD
accreditation standards, will benefit 58 three- to four-year-old pupils of the
barangay. The classroom features elements that foster independence and
self-sufficiency such as child-sized toilets, sinks, doorknobs, and windows at
children's height.
Recognizing the importance of play in child
development, a playground was built within the facility. The playground, built
by local laborers, is made of bamboo, used tires, and nipa.
The project is an example of various
institutions and individuals collaborating to support children―the design and
materials were donated by DACF, while the local government unit of Talisay and
the barangay shouldered the labor cost and ensured that the standards were
followed. International organization VHC donated the playground. This collaboration
was marked by a hand-printing ceremony, where everyone involved in the said
endeavor placed their handprint on the wall of the day care center.
“Recognizing the long-term effect that early
childhood care and education can have on both the individual and society as a
whole, DACF is committed to supporting communities as they prepare young
children to become successful students and responsible citizens of the
Philippines," Amaya Aboitiz, RAFI–DACF executive director, said.
The completion of the center and the playground
in Pooc, Talisay City now brings RAFI-DACF's coverage to a total of five
classrooms and playgrounds in four towns in Cebu, benefitting 255 pupils since
it started early 2012.
“I'm very thankful to have this kind of facility
in our barangay, the building is spacious and conducive for learning. The
playground is safe for my pupils to play in while they develop their
psychomotor skills. As a teacher, I will also strengthen the day care service
parents group in order for the parents to be active in helping out in the
maintenance of the facility given to us,” Jocelyn Maneja, day care center
teacher, said.
For more information on how you or your
organization can help build more day care centers and playground, please
contact 418-7234 loc. 512 and look for Engr. May Reah Cuevas.
DACF is under RAFI's Education focus area,
believing that shaping the next generation of talents begins with nurturing the
love for learning. Other focus areas of RAFI are Integrated Development,
Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture & Heritage, and Leadership
& Citizenship.
For more information about DACF, please contact
255-5630 and look for Joem de Gracia, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or
www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph. (RAFI/PIA-Caraga)
RAFI-KAC program supports grade school
curriculum
CEBU CITY, January 18 -- Kool Adventure Camp
(KAC) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) introduces the Integrated
Learning through Adventure Education (iLead), the first KAC program integrated
in the grade school curriculum of Sacred Heart School–Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC).
The program's pioneering group are a hundred
grade 6 students of SHS-AdC last year.
iLead is an urban backpacking program that
provides students the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills learned through
their academic subjects.
This program also aims to hone in students
leadership qualities, such as ownership and accountability of responsibilities,
initiative, and active citizenship anchored on the school’s theme, “Nurturing
Ignatian Heroic Leaders.”
Students are grouped and given cards with tasks
they have to accomplish. These challenges include knowing about the history of
Christianity in Cebu, recycling, demonstrating the country's traditional
martial arts, and feeding a family with the minimum daily wage. They also have
a chance to reach out to some orphans in Cebu.
Key areas include the Magellan’s Cross, Carbon
Market, Old Jesuit House, Pari-an Drop-In Center, and the Archivals’ House
Close to Nature.
“The group has very high perception and good
thinking skills. They were competitive and wanted to excel given their goals
and targets. The students can be very well honed to take on lead roles in tasks
assigned in the school. With enough mentoring, the group can perform and
deliver,” Marie Sol Gonzalvo, KAC deputy director for Youth Programs, said of
the program's participants.
This program is expected to achieve particular
outcomes per subject area of the school’s curriculum. Students are expected to
use verbal and writing communication skills, clearly articulate ideas and
feelings, recognize the relationship between good health, good physical
well-being and the natural environment.
In Math, they are expected to use basic
mathematical operations through word problems involving actual transactions.
For their Christian Life Formation subject,
students should be able to trace the growth of the local Church and history of
the Jesuits and its impact in Cebu.
While in Social Studies, the participants are to
discover one’s role in nation building as a young citizen, to be aware and to
appreciate one’s local culture, and to have a sense of pride of place.
KAC is one of the programs under RAFI’s
Leadership & Citizenship focus area, where future leaders are nurtured to
prepare them to take an active role in affecting change. RAFI’s other focus
areas are Integrated Development, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture
& Heritage, and Education.
KAC is currently building the Philippines’ first
outdoor experiential center at Barangay Cansomoroy, Balamban Cebu, which is set
to open this year.
For more information about KAC, please contact
418-7234 local 407 and look for Althea May Santillan, or visit www.rafi.org.ph
or www.facebook.com.ph/rafi.org.ph. (RAFI/PIA-Caraga)
Watershed Consciousness Week declared
By Junesther Jean S. Iway and Eldie David
BUTUAN CITY, Jan. 18 -- In an effort to
strengthen the consciousness of the people of Butuan on the importance to
protect our watersheds, the Sangguniang Panlungsod recently approved an
ordinance that will make every third week of January as Watershed Consciousness
Week.
The SP Ordinance No. 4097-2013 principally
authored by Vice Mayor Law Fortun, cited in its explanatory note that the
purpose for the declaration is in cognizance of the city’s avowed policies
concerning the commitment to protect, preserve and rehabilitate the watershed
areas within Butuan.
The week-long celebration will be dedicated
towards the strengthening and reinforcement of watershed awareness projects,
programs and activities of the city.
According to Fortun who is a staunch advocate
for the protection of the environment, it is but fitting that we increase the
consciousness of every individual to protect our watersheds because this is our
only source of potable water in the city.
“The protection of our watersheds which has been
threatened with man-made destruction is not only the sole responsibility of the
government but an inherent responsibility of everybody,” Fortun said.
Thus, he added, that all the people should be
involve in this effort for we are the ultimate beneficiary of this.
This year’s Watershed Consciousness Week starts
off with the formal launching of the Butuan City Watershed Code on January 24,
2013 at Guingona Park, this city.
Other activities lined-up for the week-long
celebration are the On the Spot Essay Writing Contest, Poster Making Contest
and the 5th Caraga Parliamentary Debate Championship: Law Fortun Cup which will
tackle relevant issues on environmental protection. (NCLM/LGU-BC/Vice Mayor’s
Office/PIA-Agusan del Norte)
RAFI, Carcar hold school governance workshop
CEBU CITY, Jan. 18 -- The Ramon Aboitiz
Foundation Inc. (RAFI), in partnership with the Synergeia Foundation Inc.,
conducted a workshop, dubbed “Equip-CEBU (Educational Quality Improvement
through Community Empowerment and Capacity Building) LEAD (Local Education
Agenda Development) Workshop for Carcar City,” late last year at Diamond Suites
Hotel and Residences, this city.
The education planning workshop aimed to build a
collaborative relationship with the Carcar City and develop strategic goals to
address the education needs of Carcar City.
The activity was participated by the Project
Management Team, local government officials, school heads and teachers from
private and public schools of Carcar City, and representatives from other
sectors.
Through team-building activities conducted by
RAFI's Kool Adventure Camp (KAC), the 30 participants saw the importance of
collaboration and planning to address education concerns in the city level and
succeed in their efforts to improve the quality of education.
Carcar City Division Superintendent Dr. Gregorio
Cyrus Elejorde presented on the second day of the workshop the current state of
education of the city. Education gaps in Carcar City such as inadequacy in the
number of teachers for elementary and secondary schools and supply of school
furniture and equipment, deficiency of textbooks, among others, were discussed.
“There may be a lot of problems as far as
education is concerned but we should not let DepEd solve everything. DepEd
cannot do it alone. That is why, as teachers, we also need to do our part,”
Elejorde, said, referring to the lack of textbooks among elementary and
secondary schools.
“If there is a lack of new books for our
students, then, we can make use of old books. As teachers, we must be creative
enough to find solutions even to simple problems,” Elejorde, added.
Carcar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura also graced the
activity and expressed his support for the project.
“I believe that education is the most powerful
weapon in our fight against ignorance and poverty. The greatest gift that this
administration can give to its constituents is access to good quality
education,” Apura, said.
On the third day, initial steps to be done as
well as the desired outputs for Carcar City in terms of education were defined.
Equip-CEBU is one of the projects under RAFI’s
Education focus area, believing that shaping the next generation of talent
begins with nurturing the love for learning. Other focus areas of RAFI are
Integrated Development, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture &
Heritage, and Leadership & Citizenship.
For more information about Equip-CEBU, please
contact 419-7234 loc. 209 and look for Tanya Flores, or visit www.rafi.org.ph
and www.facebook.com/rafi.or.ph. (RAFI/PIA-Caraga)
