KBP Butuan Chapter inducts new sets of officers
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, April 8 (PIA) – The Kapisanan ng
mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) Butuan Chapter has inducted newly sets of
officers for this year held on Monday in one of the local convention centers
here.
On behalf of Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr, Vice
Mayor Angelo Calo led the induction of new sets of KBP Officers, and read the
message of the mayor.
Amante expressed his congratulations to the new
sets of officers and encouraged the KBP members to maintain the level of
professionalism as broadcasters. "We hope that the good will out-number
the not-so-good kind of media," emphasized Amante on his written message.
Amante, further commended the efforts and
initiatives of the broadcast media in promoting the city government’s “Grow a
Million Trees Program” and its Vision 2020.
The mayor also disparaged the acts of some media
who give false information to the public and attacking personalities without
basis. “If you witness corruption in the city hall and anomalies in the city
government offices, report it and be not afraid if the truth is on your side,”
he stressed.
Also, Vice Mayor Calo shared that the media has
a lot to do to influence the people. “While we enjoy freedom of speech, we must
also not forget that we have obligation and duty to deliver the best to our
people (listeners and viewers). Let’s be honest in what we say and do,” he
remarked.
The following are the 2014 new set of officers
of the KBP Butuan City Chapter - President: Mr. Carlito 'CK' Kho of TV-7; Vice
President: Ms. Catherine A. Tobes of dxMK-Magik FM; Secretary: Ms. Himaya
Veronica D. Juni of dxBN Radyo ng Bayan; Treasurer: Ms. Marivic C. Cubelo of
dxJM-Radyo Asenso; and Standards Performance Officer: Mr. Allan Silor.
Meanwhile, the KBP Board of Directors are: Mr.
Israel Palero of dxMB-Love Radio FM; Mr. Romeo Zerrudo of Philippine Electronic
Communications Broadcasting Corporation (PECBC); Mr. Benjie Balansag of Bombo
Radyo; Mr. Richmond Hinayon of ABS-CBN; Mr. Rolando Presilda of Wild FM; Mr.
Ramil Bangues of RMN; Mr. Romeo Catalan of Sunny FM; and Kevin Kho of KillerBee
FM.
The night ended with the presentations of each
member station through dances and song numbers. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)
Butuanong Konsumador, DTI Agnor launch price
billboard project, conduct consumer education seminar
By Nora L. Molde
BUTUAN CITY, April 8 (PIA) – The Butuanong
Konsumador, Inc. and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Agusan del
Norte provincial office launched on Monday the Price Billboard Project at
barangay Ampayon public market here.
According to Butuanong Konsumador, Inc. vice
president Nora Rama, the Price Billboard Project will help provide information
to consumers on the prevailing prices of basic and prime commodities in the
locality. "It is a tool for them to make wise buying decision," Rama
said.
The project is under the Bantay Presyo Program
of DTI, which aims to put up price billboard in select public wet markets in
the city. Barangay Ampayon is the first Price Billboard Project recipient-wet
market of the city, Rama added.
During today's launching of the Price Billboard
Project, a barangay consumer education seminar was also conducted at the
barangay covered court.
“Businesses can refuse to give refund to
you/consumers if you can't prove that you bought it in their establishment -
you should have a receipt; you changed your mind about it; you have damaged it;
and you knew or should have known about a fault when you bought it (example
second hand items), said Cristina Dedel, public information officer of DTI
Agusan del Norte.
Dedel also discussed during the seminar the
eight Rights of the Consumers, these include: Right to Basic Needs; Right to
Safety; Right to Information; Right to Choose; Right to Representation; Right
to Redress; Right to Consumer Education; and Right to a Healthy Environment.
Dedel also said that "a well informed
consumer is a well protected consumer."
The Butuanong Konsumador, Inc. is a consumer
organization of the city. (NCLM/PIA-Agusan del Norte)
NSO readies April 2014 labor force survey
By Villa Bayotas
BUTUAN CITY, April 8 (PIA) - The Philippine
Statistics Authority (National Statistics Office) Caraga will conduct the April
2014 Labor Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a nationwide quarterly survey of
households conducted by the NSO to gather data on the demographic and
socio-economic characteristics of the population.
The LFS aims to provide a quantitative framework
for the preparations of plans and formulation of policies affecting the labor
market. Specifically, the LFS is designed to collect information on the
following:
1. Distribution of
household population 15 years old and over, by employment status, by sex, and
age group;
2. Distribution of employed
persons by major occupation group, major industry group, class of worker,
number of hours worked, highest grade completed, nature of employment, and by
sex;
3. Distribution of
underemployed persons by total hours worked, major occupation group, class of
worker, and by sex; and
4. Distribution of
unemployed persons by age group, highest grade completed, by number of weeks
looking for work, job search method, and by sex.
In Caraga, NSO Field Staff and selected trained
Statistical Researchers (SRs) will do a comprehensive door-to-door interview to
the sample households from April 8 - 31, 2014. NSO would like to assure the
respondents that all information furnished to the SRs are strictly confidential
and shall not be used as evidence in court for purposes of taxation, regulation
or investigation as provided for in Section 7 of RA 6713.
A total of 2, 246 sample households will be
visited by the regular NSO Staff and Statistical Researchers. Among the
provinces in the region, Agusan del Norte including the City of Butuan has the
highest sample households posted at 642. (NSO-13/PIA-Caraga)
DepEd Butuan City division intensifies info on
'Abot-Alam' program
By Marivic M. Cuizon
BUTUAN CITY, April 8 (PIA) – The Department of
Education (DepEd) Butuan City division intensified its Abot-Alam Program to
improve delivery of quality education for the Out-of-School Youth (OSY) in the
country.
Education Program Supervisor and Division
Information Officer Dr. Israel Reveche said that as what education secretary
Br. Armin Luistro aimed for the country that “No Filipino youth would be left
behind in education," the division is now doing announcements and
information dissemination activities to barangays in order for the OSY to avail
the Abot-Alam program of the government.
DepEd’s Abot-Alam program is a strategic
framework that envisions a “zero” OSY in the Philippines. For the year 2014,
the program targets to give education and livelihood skills to one million OSY
in the country.
The Abot-Alam Program will also improve delivery
of quality education for the OSY in the country, Reveche said. (DepEd-Butuan
City Division/PIA-Agusan del Norte)
SurSur PDRRMC on alert, standby due to TD Domeng
By Greg Tataro, Jr.
TANDAG CITY, April 8 (PIA) – The Provincial
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) in Surigao del Sur said
that they have been on alert as well as on standby over the weekend due to
Tropical Depression (TD) Domeng that has entered the Philippine area of
responsibility (PAR) on Sunday.
According to Josefina Palma, Senior Staff of the
PDRRMC, all of their office and field personnel are now ready for any
eventualities that might come along.
Last week, she said that hotlines with all their counterparts at the
city and municipal levels have already been activated for any advisory from the
DRRMCs top hierarchy being the standard operating procedure (SOP).
Based on the latest typhoon tract from the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration
(PAG-ASA), as of 4:00 a.m., TD Domeng was spotted at 620 km east of Davao City,
with maximum sustained winds at 55 kph near the center while moving
west-northwest at 5 kilometer per hour. (NGBT/Radyo ng Bayan/PIA-Surigao del
Sur)
LAWig TESDA program ushers 733 TWSP grads
By Gervacio C. Dauz, Jr.
BUTUAN CITY, April 8 (PIA) - In an unprecedented
move that gathered several hundreds of Training for Work Scholarship Program
(TWSP) graduates at the spacious Capitol Covered Court here just recently,
Cong. Lawrence Lemuel H. Fortun, Representative of the 1st District of Agusan
del Norte, candidly acknowledged his graduates’ presence and sent them off via
a plain handshaking and certificate-bestowing ceremony together with a message
of goodwill and encouragement.
Bannering under the moniker “LAWig TESDA”
program, his LAWig’s human resource development uptake in tandem with TESDA
ushered at least 733 TWSP constituent-graduates who became skilled and
capacitated after a grueling hands-on training in their respective
qualification choice. Curiously, his part
of the tandem is represented by “LAW,” which was taken from his signature
nickname, plus an “ig,” which when juxtaposed or fused together connotes and
conjures the image of a “voyage.”
During his “heart to heart talk” with the TWSP
graduates, he challenged them to soil their sleeves until such time that they
get employed. “Inasmuch as you are
already armed with the skills of your own choice,” he bellowed, “make the
necessary move so that you will become relevant” as constituents of this
district or as citizens.
Not going far, he actually used his personal
experience to drive home a point in order to encourage them. As per his narrative, he once was a working
student who toiled at work by daytime, and studied diligently at night, even
burning the midnight candle on countless occasion . . . until he made it
through the rain by graduating from the premiere University of the Philippines
and becoming a lawyer in the process.
Like one showing a report card, he divulged his
brisk attempt of scraping some nooks and crannies just “to source out funds for
your scholarship. "This is because
I really value human resource development,” he revealed.
Furthermore, “we will attempt to sustain and
expand our LAWig TESDA program even more, so that we will be able to help in
the development of our community, our country,” this he vowed to the loud
cheers and clapping of both the school executives who were present as well as
the graduates themselves.
Regional Director Florencio F. Sunico, Jr. of
TESDA Caraga pointed earlier during his talk that “this gathering is the most
extensive in terms of the number of qualifications as well as the number of
graduates.” However, “the bigger
challenge is not so much about getting the certificates actually, but more of
getting into employment or the job market,” he argued.
He admonished the graduates to really aspire, if
not perspire, in clinching a job, because “the next batch of TWSP scholars will
be dependent upon you as we will be seeking employment report of at least 62
percent. The next round of our TWSP
slots would hang in the balance if you will not land a job,” this he repeatedly
pronounced.
Veering on practical terms, he asked the
graduates: “What has the training done for you?” He went on to answer that “it opens door of
opportunity for you. And the equity that
you should give in exchange is for you to make use of your skills.”
Provincial Director Rodrigo G. de Villa of TESDA
Agusan del Norte, on the other hand, urged the graduates to aim for the stars,
to be experts in their respective fields of endeavor. And being experts he meant the need to
continue learning as “you will play a dynamic role . . . in the development of
our country.”
As for statistical breakdown, Cong. Fortun and
TESDA’s TWSP fellows graduated in exactly 10 qualifications with the
corresponding number of graduates per qualification, to wit: Bartending NC II,
23 finishers; Bookkeeping NC III, 50; Computer Hardware Servicing NC II, 195;
Consumer Electronics Servicing NC II, 25; Driving NC II, 20; Food and Beverage
Services NC II, 160; Household Services NC II, 33; Housekeeping NC II, 50;
Massage Therapy NC II, 27; and Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC II, 150.
Participating schools that trained the TWSP
fellows were the following: Agusan Colleges, Agusan Institute of Technology,
AMA-Computer Learning Center, Butuan City Colleges, Butuan City Manpower
Training Center, Butuan Doctors’ College, Caraga State University-Main Campus,
Center for Healthcare Professions, Father Saturnino Urios University, Global
Competency-Based Training Center, Las Nieves Training Center, Philippine
Electronics and Communication Institute of Technology, and Saint Joseph
Institute of Technology. (TESDA-Agusan del Norte/PIA-Agusan del Norte)
5 agrarian scholars earn college degrees
By Daryll M. Tumbaga
SURIGAO CITY, Apr. 8 (PIA) – Five scholars under
the Programang Agraryo Iskolar (PAI) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
graduated from baccalaureate degrees.
The three DAR scholars who graduated recently
from Surigao State College of Technology (SSCT) Malimono Campus, Surigao del
Norte were Federico C. Maturan, graduated with a degree in Fisheries
technology; Marecel M. Maturan finished her Bachelor of Science in Secondary
Education, and Rona C. Garcitos finished her degree in Marine Biology.
While the two DAR scholars graduated from
SSCT-Main Campus, Surigao City were Zenith R. Labadan and Cherry Loue I. Ocon
who both graduated with a degree in Bachelor in Technical Teacher Education.
In his message, Federico Maturan expressed his
deepest gratitude to DAR for giving him the scholarship grant that will pave
the way to change the course of his life and his family as well.
“I am very happy and grateful to DAR for giving
me this rare opportunity because I know that may parents cannot afford to send
me to school. That’s why I really tried hard to take my studies seriously so
that I will be able to help them financially in the future,” Maturan said.
The five scholars were honored and given
certificates of recognition by DAR Caraga Regional Director Faisar A. Mambuay
witnessed by Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer (PARPO) II Jamil P.
Amatonding, Jr, PARPO I Jose T. Sebucao, Program Beneficiaries Division Chief
Elizabeth L. De Guzman and the parents of the scholars during the simple
recognition ceremony held recently at the DAR provincial office, Surigao del
Norte.
The DAR scholarship program started last 2003
and was called as President Diosdado Macapagal Agrarian Scholarship Program
(PDMASP).
Then, on June of 2010, President Benigno Aquino
changed the PDMASP to what it is now known as Programang Agraryo Iskolar (PAI).
Through these years, the DAR Scholarship program
in Surigao del Norte alone has already benefitted 23 recipients, all of them are
sons and daughters of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in the province of Surigao
del Norte. (SDR/DAR-SDN/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
Gov’t moves for earlier completion of Cotabato
airport expansion project
COTABATO CITY, April 8 (PIA) - Government officials
have assured business leaders here that flight operations at Cotabato (Awang)
Airport willl resume normal operations in August this year, with the expected
completion of runway and taxiway expansion project earlier than the original
target.
In a recent dialogue-meeting at the Executive
Office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), officials from key
government agencies and local business leaders have reached a consensus for
flight adjustments and fastracking of airport expansion work.
The meeting, which sought to address issues
arising from the airport’s flight service limitations, was attended by
officials from the ARMM, City Government of Cotabato, Department of
Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Mindanao Development Authority
(MinDA), as well as leaders from the business community.
Currently, flights to and from Cotabato City are
reduced to four days-a-week schedule with Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays
dedicated for project construction work.
Prior to this, the airport has four daily flights to and from Manila.
“We are looking into every possible way to ease
the inconvenience resulting from the airport expansion work, even as we
recognize the impact of this to the business sector,” said MinDA Executive
Director Janet Lopoz, adding that, “efforts are geared at hastening project
implementation, while ensuring that quality is not compromised.”
According to DOTC’s Lino Dhabi, Assistant
Secretary for Project Monitoring and Evaluation, the rehabilitation of Cotabato
Airport accords safe and enhanced facility for flights by providing adequate
dimension of runway and taxiway, in compliance with the standards of the
International Civil Aviation Organization.
Meanwhile, Lopoz said the DOTC Project
Management Unit has committed to submit monthly reports to the concerned
agencies to ensure that the new project timeline and the quality standards are
strictly followed.
An agreement was also met by the inter-agency
group to facilitate a window time of flight schedule from 12:00 PM to 4 PM
every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with the Philippine Airlines (PAL)
Express expressing interest to provide flight services to the proposed window
schedule.
The P55-million airport improvement project,
which commenced in January this year has drawn negative reactions from the
Cotabato flying passengers reporteldy due to lack of public consultation and
delays in work. The reduced flights also resulted to double handling and
attendant costs.
The original project timeline has set the project
completion, including construction of perimeter fence, to December this year.
Acting on the call of the Cotabato business
sector and other flying passengers, the Regional Board of Investments of ARMM
passed a resolution to convene all the concerned entities to resolve the issues
on airport improvement project.
“It was a good thing that MinDA acted
immediately on our request to convene all the concerned agencies in this
project, even elevating our discussion to the DOTC Central Office,” said RBOI
Director Atty. Ishak Mastura.
He added that the meeting has paved the way for
revising timeline for project completion and subsequent resumption of daily
flights, sooner than planned.
“The completion of the project is seen to
significantly improve the business climate in Central Mindanao, as it aims to
attract more local and foreign investors by providing the needed business
logistics, particularly flight connectivity,” Mastura said. (MinDA/PIA-Caraga)
DILG-13 turns over new fire truck to BCFS
BUTUAN CITY, Apr. 8 (PIA) – The Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region 13 has formally turned over the
Rosenbauer TFL 4000 fire truck to Butuan City Fire Station (BCFS) through city
mayor Ferdinand M. Amante, Jr. during the regular Monday Flag Raising Ceremony
on April 7, 2014 at the city hall grounds, this city.
The new firefighting engine is a 1,000 gallon
water-pumper, four-door fire truck with seven-passenger seating capacity.
Mounted on the chassis is a 240hp water-cooled main engine linked to the water
pump via power-take-off.
Also, it features a strong water cannon that can
push water up to 62 meters horizontally and 24 meters vertically which is
equivalent to an eight-storey building. It can discharge 2,400 liters of water
per minute.
“I’m very glad because with this highly capable
fire truck, inevitable fire incidents in the city will be swiftly suppressed
especially this hot summer season,” Amante expressed.
The mayor encouraged everyone to be more
cautious and responsible to avoid the risks of destructive fires.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Fire Protection
regional director SSupt Mario Socorro C. Timonera also conveyed his gratitude
and further disclosed that additional fire trucks will be furnished for the
city’s benefit.
“It will definitely augment the physical
component and operational capability of our fire station,” Timonera added.
(VLG/PIA-Caraga)
