PCOO chief recognizes
AgSur guv as action-oriented official
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 6 (PIA) -- During his Network Briefing on Tuesday with Governor Santiago Cane, Jr., Secretary Martin Andanar of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) recognized the latter for being an action-oriented official in the province of Agusan del Sur.
“Governor Cane, I’m very impressed that you are an action-oriented
official. I’ve seen on your social media page where there was a constituent who
asked you on a particular concern and you immediately respond. And even prior
to this, you have also received a complaint from a senior citizen and you also
responded,” said Andanar.
When asked by Secretary Andanar about his relationship with the local
constituents, Governor Cane bared that he, being in public service, is always
about people -- providing them what they need.
“Public service is about serving the people. We have to perform the
functions and responsibilities as an official, as we took an oath that we have
to serve them any time of the day -- no holidays, rainy days or sunny days. All
the days, we have to serve our people the best that we could,” he underlined.
Cane also highlighted that using the social media platform is one of the
fastest ways of communicating with the people. “Should people need to raise
relevant issues and concerns in our province, I give time to respond for them
to know the necessary actions undertaken by the provincial government and to
keep them well-informed at all times,” added Cane.
Sec. Andanar acknowledged all the efforts of the provincial government
not only in addressing the ongoing crisis on COVID-19, but also in continuously
providing relevant programs and services to its people in Agusan del Sur.
(JPG/PIA-Agusan del Sur)
AgSur provides aid to
agri sector amid COVID-19 pandemic
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 6 (PIA) -- Amid the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic, the provincial government of Agusan del Sur continues to provide
assistance and other interventions to address the need of the different sectors
particularly the agriculture.
According to Agusan del Sur Governor Santiago Cane, Jr., so far as to
the food production is concerned, the provincial government has implemented the
distribution of seedlings, along with the donations from PhilRice, and some
30,000 chickens to the different municipalities. “This program is ongoing. As
soon as supply will come, we will immediately dispose or disperse them to the
different people identified as the poorest of the poor,” he said.
“We also distributed packs of seeds for those deserving people. We’re
also able to distribute banana plantlets for the farmers and even tilapia
fingerlings. Agriculture farm machineries worth P72-million were also
distributed to the different farm irrigators associations, as well as farmers
associations in the province of Agusan del Sur,” cited Cane.
Cane also revealed that farmers are disheartened by the price of palay
which has gone down while the price of milled rice has remained high. “So, we
thought that it’s about time that the Department of Agriculture through the
National Food Authority will have to do something so that farmers could survive
despite that we have produce more than enough for the provincial needs. As a
matter of fact, during the last planting season, we have an excess of
production of about 5,000 bags of milled rice which caused our rice millers to
worry on the overproduction,” he recalled.
This situation, according to the governor, is also applicable and
existing in other parts of the country.
Knowing this concern, Governor Cane called on the different concerned
agencies to continue to work closely with the local government units and give
due attention to the needs of the affected sectors particularly in agriculture.
“The provincial government will never stop providing the necessary and
appropriate programs to the different sectors that could help uplift their
lives especially during this crisis,” said Cane. (JPG/PIA-Agusan del Sur)
AgSur officials distribute free face masks, face shields to locals in public places
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 6 (PIA) -- As part of the preventive measures to prevent
the increasing number of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive cases
in Caraga region particularly in Agusan del Sur, the provincial government and
its local officials are working together in the implementation of different
initiatives to keep people safe from the infection.
During the Network Briefing hosted by Secretary Martin Andanar of the
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), Agusan del Sur Governor
Santiago Cane, Jr., recalled that when the Department of Health (DOH) informed
the provincial government of the local transmission happening in the province
particularly in the municipality of San Francisco, the local government units
then made several preventive measures to contain the virus.
“We approved the Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force’s request that the
municipality of San Francisco be put under the Modified Enhanced Community
Quarantine. So, I held a special meeting for that purpose. And for the granular
lockdown, we also approved it and Mayor Solomon Rufila immediately implemented
it,” said Cane.
The governor further revealed that the provincial government has
turned-over the 10,000 face masks to the municipality of San Francisco, which
will be distributed for free to the locals who usually go to the public market,
terminal, and commercial establishments.
“We are also preparing face shield which we will give for free to the
locals not only in San Francisco, but including other municipalities.
Congressman Adolph Edward Plaza told me that he already ordered some 25,000
face shields to complement the face masks that we have provided the
municipality of San Francisco and other LGUs,” Cane added.
Gov. Cane emphasized that the LGUs make sure that crowded places like
the public market are closely monitored, and people buying their basic
necessities wear their face masks and face shields. “We want people to know
especially those who could not afford to buy, that the LGUs provide free face
mask and face shields for them, so they would be protected from the spread of
COVID-19,” he said.
“Congressman Plaza and I, together with Congressman Alfelito Bascug,
agreed that we have to get the money from our own pockets just to facilitate
the procurement of these because if we will get from the government’s fund to
pay for these, it would really take time,” underscored Cane. (JPG/PIA-Agusan
del Sur)
AgSur guv prioritizes establishment of isolation facilities vs COVID-19
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 6 (PIA) -- “With the help of the Department of Public
Works and Highways, the provincial government of Agusan del Sur could soon
utilize the 50-bed capacity isolation center for asymptomatic patients as it is
expected to be completed this month of October.”
This was revealed by Agusan del Sur Governor Santiago Cane, Jr., during
the Network Briefing hosted by Secretary Martin Andanar of the Presidential
Communications Operations Office (PCCO).
“We were also able to establish holding areas in our entrances of the
province, where we could get the personal details of those coming in the
province, so that in case they will be found out to have infected with the
virus, we could easily track them down. And our other facilities here include
the one at the 401st Brigade. We also contracted some hotels, one in
Bayugan City, one in San Francisco, and Prosperidad to be used as isolation
centers for asymptomatic COVID-19 victims,” bared Gov. Cane.
The governor also emphasized that the provincial government is thankful
with the assistance of the DPWH for the construction of the needed isolation
facilities in the province.
“We are already preparing for the manpower requirements of our facility
to operate fully and we are putting into readiness our maintenance and other
operating expenses to run the facility,” he said.
Concerning the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction
(RT-PCR) Molecular Laboratory in the province, Gov. Cane said per contractors’
assessment, the building is now at 80 percent complete. “We are expecting that
by the end of this month, the building will also be completed and we are also
preparing for the facilities needed such as the RT-PCR machines and other
equipment,” he added.
With these developments, Governor Cane called on the Agusanons to
continue to follow health protocols and limit their movement particularly in
going to public places/ commercial establishments so as to limit their exposure
to the virus. (JPG/PIA-Agusan del Sur)
Caraga RTF forgoes launching of projects, activities amid health crisis
By Doreen Marielle N. Rosales
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 6 (PIA) -- While the whole nation continues to battle
with containing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Caraga
Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) was able
to forgo its various projects, plans, and activities to address the pressing
issues on the local insurgency situation in Caraga.
The task force, through the Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG), launched 302 million pesos’ worth of projects, which include roads,
water systems, evacuation centers, flood control, public market, canal, and
abaca development, in 91 priority barangays across the region funded under
various local projects.
With the closure of the Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del
Sur (TRIFPPS) and Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and
Livelihood Development (ALCADEV), lumad schools that were allegedly used by the
Communist New People’s Army (NPA) terrorists (CNTs) as training grounds for
child rebels, two Department of Education (DepEd)-accredited schools were
established in select areas in the province of Surigao del Sur.
The Locnodon Elementary School of Living Tradition, located at Sitio
Lucnodon, Mahaba village in Marihatag town, and the Simowao Elementary School
of Living Tradition, located at Sitio Simowao in Brgy. Diatagon in Lianga town,
were successfully inaugurated on September 16, 2020. The said schools will
serve displaced students in the area.
As of September 28, 2020, the IP school in Sitio Lucnodon now has a
total of 20 enrollees while that in Sitio Simowao has 70 enrollees.
The task force is now eyeing the establishment of more indigenous people
(IP) schools in replacement of the nine schools established in different areas
wherein the TRIFPPS and ALCADEV are operating.
Despite the health crisis, the number of rebel surrenders has grown
substantially, now totaling to 175 as of September 30, 2020. Various forms of
assistance were provided by the task force through the Enhanced Comprehensive
Local Integration Program (ECLIP).
Per DILG Caraga’s data, a total of P12,514,000 was awarded for the
livelihood, immediate, and reintegration assistance and P4,451,800 for the
firearms remuneration to the former rebels (FRs).
As part of intensified actions towards building sustainable peace and
order in the entire country, Executive Director of the National Task Force to
End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Secretary Allen Capuyan personally visited select IP
communities in Caraga to address the concerns of the communities, which the
member agencies were able to facilitate successfully.
Among the primary concerns raised were hastening the application process
of the communities’ Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT), complaints
lodged against appointed IP Mandatory Representatives (IPMRs), and securing
peace and order within the community.
In addition to the national task force’s efforts to address their
concerns, community members were advised to raise their concerns to the Office
of the President (OP) through the Presidential Complaint Center (PCC) and the
Bantay Korupsyon Program of the DILG. Members of IP communities can now report
to the national authorities on any incident involving government officials’
misuse, abuse, and non-use of authority for private gain by dialing 8888, the
Citizen’s Complaint Hotline.
While travel and movement restrictions remain a concern for the task
force, this will not hamper their delivery of needed services to citizens and
communities that are greatly affected by insurgency, especially those in the
far-flung areas.
Through the continuous support of the national government, the process
of identifying more barangays to include in the list of target villages that
will benefit from the PPAs is on-going. Member agencies also continue to convene
to identify appropriate PPAs to be implemented in the said barangays.
(DMNR/PIA-Caraga)
Farmers, fisherfolk
urged to enlist in enterprise registry system
BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 6 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) is encouraging
all farmers and fisherfolk to register in the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise
Development Information System (FFEDIS), another avenue to help further boost
their productivity and enterprise.
FFEDIS, which is under the Sagip Saka Act, is a web-based information
system or database of registered farmers and fisherfolk enterprise. It aims to
further assist the farmers and fisherfolk.
The database, which is now operational, contains a list of possible and
implemented programs and projects, a registry of agricultural and fisheries
enterprises, and a list of private companies that are engaged in agri-fishery
enterprises.
DA is calling all farmers and fisherfolk enterprise to register at the FFEDIS. (DA-RFO XIII, RAFIS/VLG/PIA-Caraga)
