AgNor ELCAC Task
Force intensifies campaign vs CNTs
By Nora
C. Lanuza
BUTUAN
CITY, Feb. 26 (PIA) – “The province of Agusan del Norte is now in full swing in
the implementation of Executive Order NO. 70,” says Department of the Interior
and Local Government (DILG) provincial director Ellen Vee P. Chua, in an
interview, during the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting held Wednesday,
here.
A
convergence of efforts has been done to realize the order of President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte to end local communist armed conflict (ELCAC) in the country, Chua
said. The members of the ELCAC Provincial Task Force headed by provincial
governor Dale B. Corvera, national government agencies and local government
units, military, policemen and even private sectors have joined hands to solve
the insurgency problem of the province through the conduct of community
immersions by providing different services, consultations, fora, and many more.
According
to director Chua, 90 percent of the municipalities of the province and 97
percent of its barangays have already organized their local ELCAC task forces.
"They are now conducting different activities especially those
insurgent-affected areas," Chua added.
Meanwhile,
following the assessment through the series of campaigns made by the 23rd
Infantry (Masigasig) Battalion (23IB), Philippine Army headed by commanding
officer Ltc. Francisco L. Molina, Jr. that the influence of the New People’s
Army (NPA) has already reached inside campuses in both elementary and high
school in the province. Ltc. Molina described the situation as alarming.
Because
of this, the 23IB in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd)
Agusan del Norte and with the support of second district representative Ma.
Angelica Rosedell M. Amante-Matba has conducted a series of information
drive to the different schools to counter the NPAs propaganda and in their
recruitment of the youth.
Molina
said the information drive has also enlightened the youth on the true intention
of the NPAs because they usually disguise as their friends. (NCLM/PIA Agusan
del Norte)
Value adding through
chocolate making
BUTUAN
CITY, Feb. 26 -- Start small but dream big! This was the message of Marinus
Heemskerk, Resource Speaker during the Chocolate Making Training conducted by
the Caraga Cacao Industry Council in coordination with the Department of
Agriculture (DA)-Caraga, Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), Mindanao
Development Authority (MinDA), Department of Trade and Industry, Department of
Science and Technology and DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI).
“Learn
to crawl first before you start to run,” he told the participants who were
mostly cacao growers and “tableya” processors.
Heemskerk
is a food technologist and chocolate processor from the Netherlands. He
discussed the process of chocolate making explaining the importance of each
step.
The
two-day training was held at the ATI Training Complex on February 21 and 22.
Caraga
Cacao Industry Council Chairman Christopher Lindo said they organized the
training to present cacao farmers another opportunity they can tap from their
cacao production. He also said the training is also in line with the pursuit of
the DA to encourage farmers to go into value-adding.
“Hopefully
after this training, new chocolatiers will emerge in the region,” he
said.
On the
other hand, another Resource Speaker, Mary Grace Belviz, facilitated the demo
on actual chocolate making.
Belviz
is a chocolatier from Davao City. She and her husband Emmanuel own Rosario’s
Chocolate. She shared that they too started small but gradually, through hard
work and perseverance, their chocolate making business is now growing.
“Chocolate
making requires a lot of patience so you have to put your heart into it,” she
said.
Further,
Belviz emphasized that making good quality chocolates starts with using quality
cacao beans. She encouraged the farmers to follow good farming practices to
meet the demands of the market and command higher prices for their products.
On the
other hand, Istanislao O. Basalo, a cacao grower and tableya processor from
Tagbina, Surigao del Sur said he was thankful for the opportunity to attend the
training because he gained new learnings that he hopes to make use of soon.
Cacao
is one of Caraga region’s priority commodities. It is also the main ingredient
in chocolate making. (Vanessa P. Sanchez, DA Caraga/PIA Caraga)
Bishop: Communist
ideology not compatible with Christian faith
By 1Lt.
Krisjuper Andreo Punsalan
BAYUGAN
CITY, Agusan del Sur, Feb. 26 – “Espousing the communist ideology is not
compatible with Christian faith.”
This
was the statement of Most Rev. Cosme Damian R. Almedilla, D.D., Bishop of
Butuan, during a courtesy call of Brigadier General Lincoln Francisco T. Tagle,
Armed Forces of the Philippines, Special Forces Regiment Commander, held
recently at the Bishop’s House at St. Peter Seminary, Ampayon, Butuan City.
Bishop
Almedilla bared that based on theology, communism is an atheistic ideology and
in its sense, is anti-religious. He stressed that the communists in the country
have been using religion or Christian faith's credibility not really for faith,
but as a material and front to gain more sympathizers.
Meanwhile,
BGen. Lincoln Francisco T. Tagle emphasized that the Church and other
religious groups should also be protected from the deceptive tactics of the
Communist NPA Terrorists (CNTs) who are taking undue advantage on the
kind-heartedness of our religious leaders.
The
3rd Special Forces “Arrowhead” Battalion, the unit that covers the area of
conflict-affected IP Communities of from Lianga to the Southern part of San
Miguel, Surigao del Sur, sought an advice to the Bishop on the proper
approaches to promote reconciliation to end insurgency.
“We
really need to have a unified partnership with the religious sector because
they are the subject matter experts in promoting reconciliation which can help
induce more peaceful surrenders in the future,” said Lieutenant Colonel Joey
B. Baybayan, 3SFBn commanding officer.
Moreover,
the Army was alarmed through the revelations of former rebels that some
religious groups in Lianga were the ones backing the alleged
CNT-affiliated militant and anti-government group, the Malahutayong Pakigbisog
alang sa mga Sumusunod (MAPASU) to request the Surigao Province to stop the
Community Support Program and the implementation of Executive Order No. 70 to
End Local Communist Armed Conflict in the area.
Bishop
Almedilla reminded the diocesan and missionary religious groups on the
teachings of the Lord on reconciliation to attain genuine peace and encouraged
them to focus on ministering faith and not an ideology.
“We
need a new expression of solidarity and the poor and this should not be related
to the communist ideology,“ the bishop exclaimed. (CMO officer,
3SFBn/PIA-Agusan del Sur)
Caraga RTF-ELCAC to
provide better access for legal services
By
Doreen Marielle N. Rosales
BUTUAN
CITY, Feb. 26 (PIA) -- In the recent 3rd Regular Meeting of the Legal
Cooperation Cluster (LCC) of Caraga Regional Task Force to End Local Communist
Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) held recently here, the said cluster vows to better
the provision of legal services especially during service caravans, as agreed
upon by its members.
LCC
chairperson and regional prosecutor Atty. John S. Magdaraog called for the
members of the cluster to discuss the programs and plans for the current year
2020.
One of
the major discussions in the meeting is the creation of a more organized
comprehensive database of incidents and criminal cases involving the communist
terrorist groups (CTGs).
Atty.
Magdaraog said that there is an observed incongruence of the data submitted by
the Philippine National Police (PNP) Caraga with that possessed by the
Prosecutors Office (PO).
In
response, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Caraga regional
director Ferdausi Cerna and PNP Caraga representative PCapt. Junalyn Suan
agreed to collaborate to produce a more accurate data for the issue.
Cases
involving CTGs
According
to the data presented during the meeting, a total of 1,137 cases have been
reported in the region, comprising of 300 cases filed from the province of
Agusan del Sur; 348 cases in Agusan del Norte; 252 cases in Surigao del Sur
and; 233 cases in Surigao del Norte yet only over 766 cases have been duly
filed in the Prosecutors Office.
In
Agusan del Norte, only 280 cases were officially documented, 155 of which were
duly filed. Only about 91 cases were validated by the cluster’s Secretariat as
of December 31, 2019. Over 10 of these complaints were withdrawn during the
preliminary investigation (PI); one complaint was partially dismissed during
PI. Eighty complaints were filed during the preliminary investigation.
Moreover,
53 complaints are awaiting trial, 23 have been archived and four were
dismissed.
Among
the total number of cases from the specified province, 131 complaints involved
murder/homicide, both frustrated and attempted; seven complaints involved
arson; one complaint involved kidnapping; two complaints involved robbery; one
complaint involved trafficking in person (TIP) and; one complaint involved
inciting in sedition.
With
the improved comprehensive database, the cluster can handle cases against CTGs
better, especially with the strengthened implementation of the Executive Order
No. 70 in the country.
LCC
2020 plans and projects
Magdaraog
also raised the issue concerning the lack of beneficiaries of their legal
services, as observed during the recent 4th RTF-ELCAC Peace Caravan in
Brgy. Mt. Carmel, Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur.
As
such, the cluster has proposed of erecting a booth exclusive for legal services
provided by LCC and intensified awareness campaign by distributing information,
education and communication campaign (IEC) materials with the cooperation of
the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga.
In
addition, the airing of a Legal Hour radio program was also proposed, wherein
line agencies are able to inform the public of the legalities of certain issues
relating to their respective mandates. (DMNR/VLG/PIA-Caraga)
DSWD Caraga’s FMS is
2019 PRAISE Best Knowledge Management Initiative
BUTUAN
CITY, Feb. 26 -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field
Office Caraga is again on the spotlight for its innovative systems during the
recently concluded DSWD 69th Anniversary held at the DSWD Central Office in
Quezon City.
The
Field Office bagged the Best Knowledge Management Initiative during the Program
on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE) Awards 2019 for its
Integrated Financial Monitoring System (INFIMOS) and Text Query System,
designed and developed by the Financial Management Division (FMD).
INFIMOS
is a management tool used to monitor funds utilization. It is an advanced
computerized system used by DSWD Caraga’s Accounting, Budget, and Cash Sections
for the recording of details of the transactions of all funds, programs, and
services.
DSWD
Caraga is the only Field Office in the country that has this kind of automated
financial system.
The
INFIMOS, which was initially introduced in 2014, has been the workhorse of FMD
Caraga since then.
Due to
its benefits, the said system has been used by DSWD Caraga until the present.
The nominated team/system developers have been continuously adding new features
and functionality resulting to a more useful and powerful system that truly
supports the implementation of various programs in its financial management and
many more ways.
INFIMOS
has stored 1,661,348 pages of digital images of 62,708 vouchers and supporting
documents. These digitized file storage of INFIMOS resulted in savings on
office supplies. The 1,661,348 pages of digital files amount to 3,322 reams of
paper. The office had saved about P764,000.00 because of this.
Due to
INFIMOS, it has become less daunting to account, analyze, report, manage the
numerous accounts covering the P2.5-billion budget of DSWD Caraga for its 36
programs and projects, 45 responsibility centers, 11 bank accounts, and more
than 1,000 employees.
Among
the benefits of INFIMOS are accuracy of records and reports; reconciled records
of Accounting, Budget, and Cash Sections; shorten processing time and reduce
the burden of heavy workload on the staff; status and whereabouts of vouchers
are tracked; and data and files are ensured from loss since they are digitized
and backed up.
Moreover,
another best initiative of DSWD Caraga is the Text Query System, which is a
facility for use of staff, vendors, and service providers to get information,
about the status of their claims and payment made, thru text message. The
system is fully automated to provide information upon the request of staff,
vendors, and service providers – 24/7.
It is a
facility for FO Staff, Vendors and Service providers – makes use of tracking of
claims and status of payment and whereabouts of Suppliers and Service Providers’
claim in the INFIMOS to autonomously respond to their queries.
With
information on details of payment, vendors and suppliers can claim the payment
as soon as check or ADA is made. Thereby, it hastens the payment and with OR
issued, the transaction’s voucher can be submitted to COA early.
The
PRAISE or the Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence is
designed to encourage creativity, innovativeness, efficiency, integrity, and
productivity in the public service by recognizing and rewarding officials and
employees, individually or groups, by providing incentives and rewards for
their suggestions, inventions, superior enhancement, efficiency, economy or
other improvement in government operations/service. (DSWD-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
AgNor ELCAC task force puspusan ang
ginagawang kampanya laban sa CNTs
By Nora
C. Lanuza
LUNGSOD
NG BUTUAN, Pebrero 26 (PIA) -- Tulong-tulong ang pagsagawa ng mga aktibidad ang
iba’t ibang myembro ng provincial task force to end local communist armed
conflict (PTF-ELCAC) sa probinsya ng Agusan del Norte, kasama ang mga local
government units, mga sundalo, pulis at maging mga pribadong ahensya upang
tuluyang maresolba ang problema ng insurhensiya.
Ayon
kay Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Agusan del Norte
provincial director Ellen Vee Chua, nasa 90 porsyento na ang mga munisipyo at
97 porsyento na rin ang mga barangays na may local task force, lahat na mga ito
ay may mga aktibidad na ginagawa kagaya ng mga community immersion sa mga lugar
na apektado ng insurhensiya.
Puspusan
din ang ginagawang information drive ng 23rd Infantry Batallion (23IB) ng
Philippine Army kasama ang Department of Education sa mga malalayong paaalan sa
Agusan del Norte ukol sa banta at panlilinlang ng New People's Army.Ito ay kasunod
ng ulat ng umano'y pagrerecruit ng NPAs sa mga paaralan.
Bahagi
rin ito ng hakbang ng PTF-ELCAC sa probinsya para tuluyang maresolba ang
problema ng insurhensiya.
Sa
ginawang information drive, pinakiusapan din ni second district representative
Maria Angelica Rosedell Amante-Matba ang mga guro na tumulong na protektahan
ang mga mag-aaral sa mga masamang hangarin ng mga NPAs.
Binigyan
ng 23IB ng kaalaman ang mga guro at estudyante hinggil sa mga malateroristang
gawain nga mga NPAs at maaring pagrerecruit sa kanila upang maliwanagan ang mga
ito sa tutuong hangarin at pagkatao ng mga NPAs. (NCLM/PIA Agusan del Norte)
