Cast your votes early on Election Day says
Comelec
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Jan. 31 (PIA) -- Following the
preparations of concerned agencies for the May 13 elections, the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) City Director Atty. Ernie Palanan encouraged eligibles to
cast their votes early on voting day in designated polling precincts here.
During a briefing with the local tri-media here,
Atty. Palanan said that to avoid any stressing experience in queuing,
registered voters should proceed to their polling precincts early and make sure
they bring with them their identification card.
Palanan added that the Department of Education
(DepEd) with the Comelec will also apply the "numbering" system of
the voters in the different precincts here. “This will make our voting process
more order and peaceful,” he said.
Palanan also emphasized proper delegation of the
functions and responsibilities of the PNP personnel assigned in the different
precincts.
It was also pointed out that the ballots must be
personally fed in the Precinct Count Optical Scanners (PCOS) machines by the
voters themselves.
“The teachers assigned in the polling precincts
usually assist the voters in feeding their ballots in the PCOS machine to make
sure that the ballot is properly fed inside the machine but voters are
encouraged to do it by themselves to avoid any issues of manipulation,” Palanan
said.
Meanwhile, Palanan also disclosed that DepEd
will provide the list of voters with their designated precincts in the
different schools of the city a day before Election day. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)
Rebel groups expected to enforce access fee to
politicians during campaign period – Army
PATIN-AY, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, Jan. 31
(PIA) -- The Communist Party of the Philippines/ New Peoples’ Army and the
National Democratic Front are expected to enforce the access fee or what they
call “permit to win” to politicians during the campaign period as one of their
source of income.
During the Provincial Peace and Order Council
(PPOC) meeting here, Major Ryan Callanta reported that every election period,
the rebels harass candidates to collect money during their campaign sorties,.
“We want to inform you that the rebels have many
sources where they collect what they call revolutionary taxes. Mining,
agriculture ventures and illegal logging are among the firms where they draw
their resources,” Callanta said.
In order to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful
election, the army said they have already formulated strategic plans and major
activities with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to be implemented before,
during and after election, and one of the activity that they consider most
important is the security for the transport of the PCOS machines to be used
during election.
“We have already identified the 115 voting
centers all over the province of Agusan del Sur, and we have already assigned
our battalions to safeguard the said voting centers. For the 26th Infantry
battalion (IB), they will cover 82 precincts, 24 for the 75th IB and nine
voting centers for 29th IB,” Callanta said.
“Even with the threats posted by these groups,
we are here to protect and ensure the safety of our people and to neutralize
their violent plans in order to maintain peace,” Callanta said. (DMS/PIA-Agusan
del Sur)
City income from business permits rises
BUTUAN CITY, Jan. 31 (PIA) -- Evaluators from
the Local Government Academy (LGA) and the International Finance Corporation
(IFC), a member of the World Bank, arrived in Butuan City to personally conduct
a thorough evaluation on the existing Business Permits and Licensing System
(BPLS) here, Jan. 30, 2013.
Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Ms. Mary
Penetrante and Mr. Christopher Llaneras, both from the LGA, and Monitoring and
Evaluation Consultant Mr. Nick Baoy of the IFC were welcomed by City
Administrator Leah Mendoza and Vice Mayor Lawrence Lemuel Fortun upon their
arrival at the City Mayor’s Office.
The evaluators were then joined by Mr. Paul
Cabrera - Business Permits and Licensing Division (BPLD) OIC and Mr. Arthur
Castro – City Treasure’s Office OIC for a roundtable discussion. A team from
the Information Technology Division was also present and responded to the
technical questions from the evaluators.
Mr. Cabrera relayed to the panel that the
current system is by far faster and easier compared to the previously used
Business One Stop Shop (BOSS), thus producing a more competent and impressive
result in their collection.
In January of 2011, the total collection
amounted to P61,171,171.96. Last year, a total of P66,775,232.10 was collected
for the whole month of January. However, from Jan. 02-23, 2013 alone, the BPLD
has already collected P68,518,479.94. And since renewals and registrations are
still going on, the figure is rapidly increasing as of this writing.
As part of the whole evaluation process, the
evaluators also made a short visit to the BPLD located at the ground floor of
the City Hall Complex. They interviewed the employees working in the said
office and were also able to get first-hand information and comments from the
clients.
As a result of this remarkable achievement the
Butuan City Government has been awarded the Performance Challenge Fund of
P3,000,000 which will now be utilized for the installation of fountains for the
newly-rehabilitated Guingona Park.
The notable increase in the collection of
business permits can be traced back to the launching of the BPLS on Oct. 20,
2010. The BPLS is under the Business Fastlane program of Mayor Amante.
(NCLM/Butuan City City Mayor’s Office/Public Information Office/PIA-Agusan del
Norte)
Tagalog news: UST alumni nagbigay donasyon sa
mga biktima ng bagyong Pablo sa pamamagitan ng PRC
Ni David M. Suyao
AGUSAN DEL SUR, Enero 31 (PIA) -- Iniabot ng
isang grupo ng alumni ng Universidad ng Sto. Tomas (UST) sa Philippine
Consulate General sa Agana, Guam noong Enero 25, 2013 ang isang tseke para sa
mga pamilya at komunidad na nasalanta ng bagyong Pablo noong nakaraang taon.
Ang donasyon na nagkahalaga ng US$500 ay idadaan
sa Philippine Red Cross.
Ang mga dumalo sa naturang pag-aabot ng donasyon
ay ang presidente ng UST Alumni Association sa Guam na si Glynis Almonte,
kasama ang mga miyembro ng asosasyon na sina Millay Young, Winnie Butler at
Mila Moguel.
Si Consul General Bayani Mangibin ay siyang
tumanggap ng donasyon kasama si Vice Consul Maria Paz Cortez. (RER/DMS with
reports from DFA/PIA-Agusan del Sur)
Tagalog news: Pamahalaan, bibili ng mga
modernong pandigmaang eroplano para sa pagsasanay at pagtugon sa mga sakuna -
Palasyo
Ni David M. Suyao
AGUSAN DEL SUR, Enero 31 (PIA) -- Sinabi ng Malacanang
na bibili ang bansa ng 12 pandigmaang eroplano mula sa Korea para sa
pagsasanay, pangdepensa at pagtugon sakaling may mga sakuna.
Inihayag ng Department of Defense noong
Miyerkules na ang Pilipinas ay bibili ng pandigmaang eroplano sa Korea bilang
bahagi ng programa ng modernisasyon.
“Bbibili tayo. Nakumpirma ko ito kay Sec.
Voltaire Gazmin. Ang mga eroplanong ito ay para sa pagsasanay, pangdepensa at
pagtugon sakaling may mga sakuna. Ang mga eroplanong ito ay may kamera at may
kakayahang magmatyag at kumuha ng mga larawan ng sinalantang mga lugar. Kaya
ang mga ito ay maraming mapaggagamitan,” ayon kay Presidential Spokesman Edwin
Lacierda sa press conference sa Malacanang noong Miyerkules.
“Kapag may sakuna, ang eroplanong ito ay
magagamit para magmatyag at nang makita ang lawak ng pinsala sa mga nasalantang
lugar. Ang mga ito ay paliliparin sakaling kinakailangan,” paliwanag ni Lacierda.
Sinabi pa ni Lacierda na programa na ng
pamahalaan sa simula pa lang ang maiangat ang kalidad ng mga kagamitan ng
kagawaran ng depensa kahit noong wala pa ang mga pangyayari sa pagitan ng Tsina
at Pilipinas bilang pagpapaliwanag na hindi ang sigalot ang dahilan sa pagbili
ng mga kagamitang ito.
Ginagawang moderno ang mga panghimpapawid na
gamit ng military matapos idineklara ng military na hindi na maayos gamitin ang
mga pandigmaang eroplano ng bansa,” sabi ni Lacierda.
“Wala na tayong mga jets sa kasalukuyan kaya
kinakailangang itaas natin ang antas ng mga gamit ng military ayon sa plano ng
pamahalaan at ito ay bahagi ng kasalukuyang programa ng modernisasyon ng mga
gamit ng military,” Lacierda added.
Ang batas ng modernisasyon ng Sandatahang Hukbo
ng Pilipinas ay prayoridad ng administrasyon at binigyang diin ni Lacierda na
ang pagbili ng mga bagong eroplano ay parte ng programang modernisasyon.
(RER/DMS/PNA/PIA-Caraga)
Cebuano News: Pagprinta sa mokabat 52 milyon ka
mga balota pormal ng gisugdan
By Susil D. Ragas
SURIGAO CITY, Enero 31 (PIA) – Pormal ng
giablihan ang pagsugod pag-imprinta sa mokabat 52 milyon ka mga balota nga
gamiton alang sa umaabot nga piniliay karong Mayo 2013.
Ang pormal nga pag-abli gisugdan pinaagi sa
ribbon cutting gipangulohan ni Presidential Communications Operations Office
Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma,Jr. uban nila NPO Director Emmanuel Andaya ug
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chair Sixto Brillantes didto sa basement area
sa NPO headquarters, Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Quezon City.
Sa iyang pamahayag, gidayeg ni Coloma ang
Comelec ug NPO sa ilang paninguha aron maseguro ang pagpahigayon og tinud-anay,
luwas ug kredible nga piniliay ug iya usab giawhag ang uban pang hintungdan nga
mga organisasyn sama sa Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting ug mga
miyembro sa medya sa pagsalmot sa maong panagtambayayungay aron seguroon nga
magpabiling gawasnon ug kredible ang piniliay karong tuiga.
Sa iyang bahin, gipasigarbo ni Abaya ang opisina
sa NPO sa dakong kontribusyon niini aron kredible ang umaabot nga piniliay.
Samtang sa bahin ni Brillantes, siya miingon nga
ang pag-abli sa pagsugod sa pag-imprinta sa mga balota maoy sinugdanan sa taas
nga proseso sa piniliay.
Ang National Printing Office gimugna niadtong
1987 ni Pangulong Corazon Aquino pinaagi sa Executive Order No. 285 ug
giwagtang niini ang kanhi General Services Administration ug gihiusa niini ang
tanang Government Printing Offices ug mga printing offices sa Philippine
Information Agency mao nga naporma kining gitawag nga National Printing Office.
Sukad niadto ang NPO ubos na sa pagdumala sa
Office of the Press Secretary, ug mao na usab kini ang gitahasan sa
pang-imprinta ug mga nagkalain-laing mga forms ug dokumento gamitonon sa
gobyerno lakip na ang mga official ballots ug public information materials. (PIA-Surigao
del Norte)
