PHL welcomes arrival of 67 new US peace corps
volunteers
By Venus L. Garcia
BUTUAN CITY, July 5 (PIA) – In time with the 2017
Philippine-American Friendship Week, 67 new United States (US) Peace Corps
volunteers joined the family of more than 9,000 Americans who have served as
volunteers in the Philippines since 1961, making the Philippines the second
oldest with peace corps program.
Ranging from ages 21 to 69, these volunteers
journeyed by bringing diverse experience, technical expertise, and spirited enthusiasm
to learn about the Philippines as they embark on their new adventure.
Immediately after their arrival on Sunday, the
volunteers started to undergo an intensive 10 and a half weeks of pre-service
training covering technical skills, language, and cultural studies to prepare
them for their service.
In partnership with the Department of Education,
the Department of Welfare and Social Development, local government units, and
non-governmental organizations, the volunteers will be assigned to work for a
period of 27 months in communities throughout the Philippines in the fields of
education, youth development, and environment.
Inspired by President John F. Kennedy, the goal of
the US Peace Corps in the Philippines is to promote peace and friendship of
both nations as volunteers work side-by-side with Filipinos to help build
better lives for their communities. (U.S. Embassy/VLG/PIA-Caraga)
SurSur's nutrition, national disaster resilience
month kick-off activity set
By Nida Grace P. Barcena
TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, July 5 (PIA) – It's
all systems go for the 43rd Nutrition Month and National Disaster Resilience
Month kick-off activity in Surigao del Sur led by the city government here in
collaboration with the provincial government of Surigao del Sur.
Governor Vicente Pimentel Jr. has issued a
Memorandum No. 22-17 addressed to all the members of the Provincial Nutrition
Committee (PNC) to participate in the nutrition parade followed by a program on
Friday, July 7 in the city.
Based on the program of activities, the overview of
the 43rd Nutrition Month and the National Disaster Resilience Month will be
presented by City Nutrition Action Officer Ermalinda Donasco and City Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Officer Marivic Bandoy, respectively.
Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center (ASTMMC)
chief Janice Pagaran-Alcordo will grace the event as its keynote speaker.
There will also be a “Nutri-Hataw” as part of the
lined-up activity, it was learned.
Provincial Nutrition Office chief Ermelinda Ascarez
and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Abel de
Guzman both confirmed that in Lanuza town, same celebration will also be
conducted on July 6, 2017.
There will also be a tree planting activity in
partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
dubbed as “Itanim Ko, Para sa Kaligtasan Nyo” and Rescuers’ Convention to be conducted this
month, de Guzman added.
The Local DRRM officers and Volunteer Rescuers’
from the two cities and 17 municipalities have confirmed their participation in
the said activities. (PIA-Surigao del Sur)
DepEd, DRRMO SurSur hold DRR-CCA awareness contest
for students
By Nida Grace P. Barcena
TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, July 5 PIA) – The
Department of Education (DepEd) - Surigao del Sur Division and Provincial
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Office led on Monday the conduct
of the Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Change Adaptation (DRR-CCA) Awareness
Contest for the students - Division Level in Surigao del Sur.
PDRRM officer Abel de Guzman said the activity is
in line with the celebration of the National Disaster Resilience Month 2017.
Below is the list of winners:
On the spot Poster Making: (elementary) - Florean
Angelie Sela of Hinatuan town;
On the spot Poster Making: (secondary) John Kimilat
of Bigaan National High School in Hinatuan town;
Video Clip Making: Gwenlie Antonette Suniel of
Carrascal National High School from Carrascal town;
On the Spot Essay Writing: Maybelle Jay Espinedo of
Madrid National High School;
Quiz Bee: Mae Suarez of Madrid National High
School;
Jingle Making Contest: Carrascal District group.
All winners received P1,000.00 cash each. They will
also represent the province for the Regional level on Wednesday, July 5, 2017
in Butuan City in five different events, according to Rufino Reyes, Education
Program Supervisor.
This year’s activity carries the theme, “Kamalayan,
sa Kahandaan Katumbas ay Kaligtasan.” (PIA-Surigao del Sur)
DILG to LGUs: 'Maging LISTO at Alerto'
By Florian Faith Jr. P. Bayawa
BUTUAN CITY, July 5 - The Disaster Preparedness
(DP) Committee of the Regional Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) –
Region 13 (Caraga) chaired by the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) placed emphasis on the preparedness measures of Local
Government Units (LGUs) to be always “Listo at Alerto” for any natural or
man-made disasters during the 2nd Quarter Disaster Preparedness Committee
Meeting on June 23, 2017 at Prince Hotel, this city.
Donald A. Seronay, the OIC-Assistant Regional
Director of DILG representing the Vice Chair for Disaster Preparedness -
Regional Director Lilibeth A. Famacion, CESO III presided the committee
meeting. He stressed that it is better to be prepared than being caught unaware
and become one of the casualties in the event of disaster. The reason we are
investing so much on preparedness because we are not capable to respond given
our meager resources.
During the meeting, “Operation LISTO” was
discussed, a program launched by DILG, which is a national advocacy program on
disaster preparedness that guides LGUs and DILG personnel on actions needed to
be undertaken before, during and after a typhoon. Part of the program is to
strengthen the capacity and level of preparedness of the LGUs through the
formation of L!STO Teams both from the interior and local governments. The
discussions focused on the implementation of Listong Pamayanan, which is
centered on the conduct of community drills and the Listong Pamilyang Pilipino
with the support of the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC), which is
centered on the distribution of Gabay at Mapa (family-based preparation for
disaster) and the conduct of Family Development Sessions to 4Ps families.
Ray Gregory F. Jaranilla also presented the draft
of the Regional Disaster Preparedness Plan (RDPP) of the Caraga, which serves
as the roadmap of the region in disaster preparedness actions.
The meeting was attended by the Provincial and City
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers (P/CDRRMOs), Local Resource
Institutes (LRIs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and DP member agencies.
Part of the meeting was the E-Budget System for LGUs by the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM) for the convenience of LGUs in tagging their Annual
Investment Program (AIP) for Climate Change Expenditure, Status of LGU
compliance on Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA), Climate Change
Expenditure Tagging (CCET) and Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP). The
Office of Civil Defense also provided updates on the RDRRMC Operations Manual
and the Caraga State University presented the Geo-SAFER Mindanao Project for
the generation of high resolution flood hazard maps. The discussion also
include the compliance of LGUs in the preparation of 2017 La NiΓ±a Action Plan /
Oplan Tag-ulan.
As the Vice Chair for Disaster preparedness, the
department is pushing every LGU to comply with the minimum standards of
disaster preparedness, observe the expedient utilization of the disaster funds,
and follow strictly the Operation L!STO protocols para maging L!STO at Alerto
for any eventualities. (DILG 13/PIA-Caraga)
Let's get energy projects moving, says DOE chief
BUTUAN CITY, July 5 (PIA) - The Department of
Energy (DOE) emphasized the need to streamline regulatory processes for energy
projects to speed up the provision of stable and affordable energy throughout
the country.
Upon his assumption as DOE chief, Secretary Alfonso
G. Cusi has been strongly pushing for a sound policy that will ensure energy
projects to be carried out on time.
Supporting this call, President Rodrigo Duterte
issued on 30 June 2017 Executive Order (EO) No. 30, creating an Energy
Investment Coordinating Council (EICC) led by the DOE that will spearhead and
coordinate national government efforts to harmonize, integrate and streamline
regulatory processes, requirements and forms relevant to the development of
energy investments in the country.
The EICC will maintain a database of information
and a web-based monitoring system for information exchange and updates to
uphold transparency and accountability.
“The council will guide the various agencies in
speeding up their regulatory processes for the fast realization of energy
projects to be tagged as "Projects of National Significance’ under the
Philippine Energy Plan (PEP)," Cusi explained.
Cusi pinted out that “the PEP sets the vision for
our energy affairs in order to deliver the objectives of Dutertenomics,
particularly in identifying energy projects that need to be built and
constructed on schedule.”
He further emphasized that “the longer the
processing of energy projects gets, the more expensive it becomes, which could
also impact on the delivery of energy services and their affordability.”
The EO provides that government agencies concerned
with energy projects should presume other agencies were able to act upon and
issue their respective permits within a 30-day period.
“Given that energy investors have complete
requirements, cutting down the period of issuance of permits will certainly
speed up the realization of energy projects,” Cusi said.
The EICC will be chaired by the DOE and shall be
composed of representatives from various national government agencies and
relevant energy institutions (e.g. Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, Department of Finance, Department of Justice, Department of
Transportation, National Electrification Administration, National Grid Corp. of
the Philippines, National Power Corp., National Transmission Corp., Housing and
Land Use Regulatory Board, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development and
other relevant government agencies). (DOE/PIA-Caraga)
US, PH officials attend proliferation security
initiative engagement
BUTUAN CITY, July 5 – Representatives from the
governments of the Philippines and the United States (US) recently convened to
discuss ways of preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
(WMD), their delivery systems, and related materials during the first bilateral
proliferation security initiative (PSI) engagement
The US Department of Defense and the Philippines
Anti-Terrorism Council-Program Management Center led a whole-of-government
discussion wherein participants sought to examine national and international
legal authorities which enable WMD interdictions; exercise whole-of-government decision-making
processes; discuss challenges in countering WMD proliferation when only limited
or ambiguous information is available; demonstrate the benefits of cooperation
within the PSI context; and consider our mutual role in implementing relevant United
Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions.
"The challenges in preventing WMD
proliferation are not getting any easier, with bad actors seeking to acquire
dual-use materials to advance their WMD or missile programs, disguising the
transactions, and using front companies to hide the end users. We are pleased that the Philippines
government partnered with us to explore these issues and to demonstrate their
continued commitment to PSI's statement of interdiction principles," said
Andrea Yaffe, the US lead for the event.
Meanwhile, MGen Danilo M. Servando (Ret), head of
Philippine delegation also said in his opening statement that "PSI is an
area of increased cooperative engagement, not only between the US and
Philippine government, but also with other PSI partner countries as we perform
our international obligations under the UN Security Council mandates.”
The PSI is an international cooperative effort
endorsed by 105 countries to stop trafficking in WMD, their delivery systems,
and related materials to and from State and non-state actors of proliferation
concern. PSI is designed to counter the
threat posed by WMD proliferation through international cooperation and
information sharing, and when necessary, coordinated action. The PSI is an activity, not an organization,
and participation is voluntary: each participating state decides whether and
how to engage in PSI activities on a case-by-case basis.
Participating countries demonstrate their
commitment to the PSI statement of interdiction principles by undertaking
actions consistent with their national legal authorities and relevant
international law and legal frameworks. (U.S. Embassy/PIA-Caraga)
DOST-FPRDI’s 60th anniv highlights ‘Pistahan sa
Gubat’ exhibit
BUTUAN CITY, July 5 (PIA) - As part of its 60th
anniversary celebration, the DOST-Forest Products Research and Development
Institute (DOST-FPRDI) is holding a ‘Pistahan sa Gubat’, an exhibit and trade
fair featuring furniture pieces, handicrafts and other products manufactured by
forest-based and related enterprises, at the DOST-FPRDI Compound, Forestry
Campus, UP Los BaΓ±os which will run until July 6, 2017.
The Pistahan sa Gubat celebrates local
craftsmanship by bringing in forest products artisans and small and medium
enterprises together. It allows a venue for local artists and entrepreneurs to
have an exchange of knowledge as well as display and sell their products.
Likewise, the institute will showcase some of its
technologies and services through technology demonstrations, laboratory visits and
exhibits. Techno demo topics include charcoal briquetting, water hyacinth
processing, handmade papermaking, engineered bamboo, wood bending, finishing
and dyeing, and foldable and do-it-yourself (DIY) bamboo shelters.
This year’s milestone anniversary will highlight
how DOST-FPRDI, through appropriate technologies and services, has empowered
the country’s forest-based industries and communities over the last six
decades.
Aside from Pistahan sa Gubat, a Research Chair
Lecture was also held on July 4 with the topic: “Improving the Utilization of
Bamboo for Engineered Products Manufacture,” discussed by Dr. Rico J. Cabangon
of the Engineered Products Development Section, Technology Innovation Division.
(DOST-STII/PIA-Caraga)
PSA gears up for 2017 National Demographic and
Health Survey
BUTUAN CITY, July 5 - The Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA) will conduct the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey
(NDHS) from August 7 to September 23, this year.
The 2017 NDHS is the eleventh in a series of
national demographic and health surveys undertaken in the Philippines since
1968. This is a national sample survey designed to provide information on
population, family planning, maternal and child health, child survival,
HIV/AIDS, and reproductive health in the Philippines.
The NDHS is undertaken as part of the worldwide
Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) Program. The international DHS Program is
designed to: a) assist countries in conducting household sample surveys to
periodically monitor changes in population, health, and nutrition; and b)
provide database that can be used by researchers investigating topics related
to population, health, and nutrition.
The survey will involve interviewing a randomly
selected group of respondents who are between 15 and 49 years of age. These
respondents will be asked questions about their background, the children they
have given birth to, their knowledge and use of family planning methods, the
health of their children, their awareness of HIV/AIDS, and other information
that will be helpful to policy ma
kers and administrators in health and family
planning fields. The survey will also collect data on Violence Against Women.
A total of about 30,832 households throughout the
country have been scientifically selected from the sample Enumeration Areas.
Each of these households will be visited and interviewed using the Household
Questionnaire. All women aged 15 to 49 years in the sample households will be
interviewed using the Individual Woman’s Questionnaire. In Caraga, our Field
Interviewers will be visiting around 1,720 households.
The PSA Field Staff and trained Field Interviewers
in Caraga will do comprehensive door-to-door interview to the sample households
during enumeration period. All information provided by the households will be
kept strictly confidential as stipulated under Article 55 of RA 10625.
(PSA-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
