Army capacitates young cultural minority
professionals in Caraga
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Dec. 21 (PIA) - In its aim to enhance
the potential of the young cultural minority professionals to become an agent
of peace and development in the communities, the 4th Civil Military Operations
(CMO) Battalion, Philippine Army capacitated the youth sector thru the conduct
of ‘Young Cultural Minority Professionals’ Forum from December 21-22, 2016 at
4CMO Conference Room, this city.
According to 4CMO Battalion commanding officer LTC
Rey Pasco, this the first in Caraga region to conduct such forum involving the
youth sectors, who are mostly officers of the Caraga Mindanao Cultural
Development, Inc. (CMCDI), an Indigenous Peoples (IP) youth organization which
was organized by the 4CMO as IP Youth Leaders and Communicators in the region,
student leaders from Father Saturnino Urios University (FSUU) in Butuan City
and Muslim young professionals identified by the National Commission on Muslim
Filipinos (NCMF).
“The youths as future leaders of our society are
considered critical and decisive factor in the government's fight against
insurgency and violent extremism, for they will soon shape the course of our
society, thus, there is a great need to properly address and educate the youth
sector so as to deny the Communist Party of the Philippines – New Peoples Army
– National Democratic Front (CNN) and violent extremists a source for their
recruitment and to discredit the enemy's propaganda against the government,”
highlighted Col. Pasco.
Col. Pasco added that lecturers of said forum are
coming from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), NCMF,
Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), and
401st and 402nd Brigades of Philippine Army.
“We invited
speakers from the aforementioned agencies to discuss relevant topics, issues
and concerns that affect the youth sector. We wanted to equip the participants
with the right knowledge and capacitate them through a workshop to come up with
an action plan for their respective community. Right after the workshop, they
will present and explain their outputs to develop small group interaction and
break barriers in expectation and pre-conceptions,” Col. Pasco underlined.
It was also learned that said activity will be
replicated and conducted at the provincial and municipal level by the CMO
companies in coordination with the brigades in the area of responsibility.
(JPG/PIA-Caraga)
31 junior responders graduate from WASAR training
in SurSur town
By Nida Grace P. Barcena
BAYABAS, Surigao del Sur, Dec. 21 (PIA) – Thirty
one junior responders in Bayabas town graduated on Monday from the water search
and rescue (WASAR) training in simple ceremonies hosted by the Municipal
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) of Bayabas here.
According to Bayabas DRRM Officer Geralyn Guibao,
majority of the Junior Responders or Junior Bayabas SERTSS (Search for
Emergency and Response Team of Surigao del Sur) are Senior High School Students
of Solomon P. Lozada National High School.
Provincial DRRM officer Abel de Guzman confirmed
the 31 young graduates during the closing ceremony. In his mesage, he
emphasized the great role of being a 'responder,' that is, to save lives, and
to 'rescue,' which is a life saving activity. Said initiative according to de
Guzman is the first in the province and the entire region.
On the other hand, Bayabas mayor Maria Clarita
Limbaro thanked the young participants and their parents for their strong
commitment in supporting the activity.
“The consent
of the parents to allow their children to voluntarily join the training has a
great factor to make this happen,” said Mayor Limbaro.
Last July 21, 2016, some 30 Senior High School
Students of the same school also underwent a Basic Life Support Training
spearheaded by the LGU thru the local DRRM office. (PIA-Surigao del Sur)
Dinagat PDRRMO holds 1-day ICS executive course
training
By Susil D.
Ragas
SAN JOSE, Dinagat Islands, Dec. 21 (PIA) - The
provincial government of Dinagat Islands through the Provincial Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) in collaboration with the office of
the Civil Defense (OCD) recently conducted an Executive Course on Incident
Command System (ICS) held at Provincial Guest Center, Barangay Cuarenta, San
Jose town.
PDRRMO Officer Rosario Inday Roxas-Alon Jr. said
the one-day activity aims to increase appreciation of ICS as the vital tool for
effective disaster response and incident/event management and to understand ICS
background, concepts, principles and features, organizational roles, facilities
and the common responsibilities of the ICS under the five modules.
She said that the five modules are composed of
Introduction to Command System; Organizational and Staffing; ICS Facilities;
Organizing and managing Incidents/events; and Common Responsibilities.
Roxas further said the five courses under the said
modules are helpful to everyone in understanding roles and responsibilities
when incidents happen.
The said activity was participated by chief
executives and municipal council, provincial board members, national line
agencies and provincial functionaries. (SDR, PDRRMO-Dinagat Islands/PIA-Dinagat
Islands)
DA turns over P15 Million aggie projects to SurSur
farmers
BUTUAN CITY, Dec. 21 (PIA) -The Department of
Agriculture (DA) continues to provide pump priming economic activities for the
farmers. This is to offer the much-needed support in improving their lives.
Recently, DA-Caraga turned-over ₱15
million worth of various interventions for the farmers of San Agustin, Surigao
del Sur. DA Caraga OIC regional executive director Renato P. Manantan handed
the certificates of turnover to Municipal Mayor Libertad O. Alameda together
with the key of responsibility of the projects.
The purpose of the ceremonial activity is to
formally transfer the projects to the 11 Barangays of the municipality of San
Agustin namely: Brgy. Gata, Salvacion, Buatong, Buhisan, Kauswagan, Oteiza,
Hornasan, Sto. Nino, Pongtod, Pon-on, Janipaan. A total of 26 farmer
associations received the interventions from the department.
"We are very grateful for the Department of
Agriculture for giving us these interventions. I encourage all the recipients
and peoples' organizations to be good stewards from all they have received. The
local government of San Agustin will continuously support our farmers through
technology transfer and will continuously monitor all the interventions we have
received," said Mayor Alameda.
DA together with LGU San Agustin pursues to
strengthen its partnership for the farmers in the municipality. The essence of
partnership put in place the needed and suitable interventions in agriculture
as DA continues to strengthen farmer organizations through consultations and
dialogues.
"A united farmer organization and united LGU
is our key to progress. The resources you have received are the fruit of the
unified effort of all key players who actively supports the development of the
agriculture sector in the locality. I am appealing to all the recipients to
take good care of these interventions. We are looking forward that you will be
able to testify the successes of the projects you have received,” said Director
Manantan.
Janipaan Abaca Farmers Association (JAPO) was one
of the recipients of the provision of rubber and abaca planting materials and
one unit of water pump. It is an association with 45 members dependent on
agriculture as a means of livelihood. In an interview with Isidro Avenido-JAPO
President, he was grateful for the projects they received.
"The water pump we received helps us makes us
more productive. Today, we are now also earning from the abaca that we planted.
We are now selling abaca fiber for ₱80 per kilo, and this gave an additional income to
our respective families. We are very thankful for the Department of Agriculture
for giving us interventions that can help us and improve our lives," said
Isidro Avenido.
The turned-over projects include: Rubber and Abaca
planting materials; Ginger Production; Banana Production; Organic Rice
Production; Organic Fertilizer Production; Agro-forestry Plantation; Root crops
Production; Carabao Dispersal; Goat Raising; Production of Improve Native
Chicken; Fish-Pen Production; Pre and Post Harvest Facilities and Farm to
Market Road. These projects were funded by the DA- Bottom-up-Budgeting and
DA-Mindanao Rural Development Project additional funds. (DA-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
Surigao Norte guv to replicate Cuba’s best health
practices
By Ivonnie B. Dumadag
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Dec. 21 (PIA) –
Governor Sol F. Matugas will replicate
Cuba's best practices in health, following her recent visit to Cuba last Nov.
23-25, 2016 together with officials from the Department of Health and
representatives from the executive and legislative departments in the province.
"Cuba and the Philipines has a similar program
on health, the Community Health System, but Cuba is known to have the best in
the world," said Gov. Matugas. "Thus, when DOH Sec. Paulyn Jean Ubial
encouraged us to visit the place, I immediately took the chance," she
added.
On day one, the team was oriented on the evolution
of Cuba's health system. Presently, it has about 120,000 doctors serving their
12M population all over the 14 provinces. Families in a community is provided
with doctors who handles their immediate health needs. Patients that requires
treatment from specialists are referred to polyclinics and only those requiring
specialized medical treatment are sent to the hospitals.
The team visited a tenement with an assigned family
doctor, the Policlinico Universitario 19 De Abril, one of Cuba's polyclinics,
and the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital which is a highly specialized
state-of-the-art hospital that provides a wide range of medical services and
medicines to Cuban residents for free. The hospital has a capacity of 650 beds,
manned by 600 specialized doctors, 800 nurses and support staff, but does not
accept emergency cases, only referrals from polyclinics. It is also a teaching
hospital for post graduate medical courses with about 800 doctors being trained
at present to specialize various fields in medicine.
Support facilities to complement their health care
program were also visited by the team. This includes the Casa de Abuelo Plaza
dela Revolucion, a government facility that provides wellness and recreational
activities to physically fit elderlies. There are about 247 centers of this
kind all over Cuba. The Centro Communitario de Salud Central, a community
mental center was also visited by the team. It provides programs for persons
who needs counselling, rehabilitation, undergoing trauma and stress, at any
given age. It also has a program on drug addiction which is implemented in
coordination with the family and the community. Another facility visited by the
group was the La Esperanza del Mundo, a maternity halfway house for high-risk
pregnant women which monitors their health conditions before and after giving
birth.
Since Cuba is a disaster-prone area, their
government gives priority to disaster risk reduction and management program.
The team visited the Unidad Central de Colaboracion Medica (UCCM) and the Museo
dela Colaboracion, a Center for International Cooperation that has already
provided disaster response to 62 countries worldwide.
"What we can adopt from Cuba is their strong
community referral system, from their family doctors to the polyclinics, all
the way to the hospital. We can also replicate how they operate health care
support facilities such as their center for the elderly," Gov. Matugas
added.
After a series of site visits, the team met with
the officials of the Cuban Health Ministry and manifested their requests.
"We asked for Surigao del Norte's membership to the International
Cooperation on disaster response and the possibility of establishing
partnership between the government of the Philippines and Cuba to enable us to
request for Cuban physicians to assist us in providing health services in our
primary health care facilities," said Gov. Matugas.
In addition, the governor asked the ministry to
allow the sharing of Research Journals to complement the soon-to-be-established
Health Training and Research Center in the municipality of Placer.
"We are so happy that the Cuban Ministry on
Health was very receptive to our requests. Also, we are thankful to Sec. Ubial
for the invitation to visit Cuba, as health care is the top priority of my
administration and the insights we gained from the trip will help us improve
further our health services for the Surigaonons," Gov. Matugas concluded.
The Philippine delegation to Cuba was composed of
the former congressman of the first district, Atty. Francisco T. Matugas,
officials from the DOH represented by Assistant Sec. Dr. Leonita P. Gorgolon
and DOH Caraga regional director Dr. Jose Llacuna, Board Members Constantino B.
Navarro and Leonila Gorgolon, Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Ma. Isabel B.
Makinano and Provincial Planning and Development Office chief Ivonnie B.
Dumadag. They were assisted by representatives from the Philippine Embassy in
Mexico, headed by Ambassador Eduardo Jose de Vega. (LGU-Surigao del
Norte/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
