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DAVAO CITY – Except for the first few weeks after martial law was first declared in Mindanao due to negative impression, Davao Region's trade and investments recovered even more robust until 2018.

"I think initially we thought this (martial law) would be detrimental to growth but because investors see that the President (Rodrigo Duterte) is serious in terms of bringing about lasting change, their interest remains bullish regarding Mindanao. In fact, more business delegations have expressed their interest in visiting Davao next year," said Ronald Go, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII).

The DCCCII, which has over 300 businessmen and firms as members, has supported President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law to resolve old conflicts especially in Mindanao.

"Our president is unlike those in the past who perceived the threats in Mindanao as just a petty disturbance that could be taken care of with little money. They tried to use band aid fixes for wounds which were long infected," Go said, emphasizing that the Philippines cannot move forward as a nation until these are handled with seriousness.

Go pointed out that other Asian nations became progressive once the elements which tried to sow division among them were dealt with decisively.

"We need to band together to quell any movement that seeks to divide us as a nation. If martial law is a means to that end then I think we all need to be patient and let things take their course," Go added.

Go's prospects for the region is confirmed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) XI based on statistics as a good indicator that "it's business as usual in Davao."

DTI is bullish to overshoot targets at the end of the year. DTI XI regional director Ma. Belenda Ambi pointed out that peace and security is a strategy to develop industries.

She said that despite the President's extended martial law from July to December, no significant change had been observed that caused the business climate to deteriorate.

While martial law had an impact on the tourism industry, Ambi said the sector quickly recovered few weeks after its declaration in May.

In fact, Ambi said, hotels were always fully-booked. "Our martial law is different. There is no fear that the military will abuse," she said.

There could be increase in the prices of commodities but these are still within the suggested price set by DTI, Ambi added.

Investments

In its preliminary annual report, DTI XI reported that investments in Davao region hit P7.62 billion as of the third quarter of the year with Davao City registering with the biggest total investments at P4.9 billion.

Davao del Sur's registered investments is pegged at PhP1.78 billion followed by Davao del Norte with P546.81 million and Compostela Valley province with P386.74 million.

Davao Region's top ten Board of Investments (BOI)-registered companies as of the third quarter are San Miguel Foods in Davao del Sur; Communities Davao, Inc in Davao City; 8990 Housing Development Corporation in Davao City; Davao Corrugated Packaging Company Inc.; Agri-Tech Corporation in Davao del Sur; Prestige Homes and Realty Development Corporation in Davao City; Primeland Properties in Dvaao City; Filinvest Land in Davao City; Ahya Coco Organic Food Manufacturing Corporation in Davao City; and Agrotech Integrated Farms Inc. in Compostela Valley.

The whole year in 2015, Davao Region has a total investments of P4.708 billion and in 2016 at 10.266 billion.

DTI said that the three-year investment performance is P7.531 billion with 2015 as the base year.

There is 118 percent increase in investment in 2016 while 62 percent in 2017, DTI reported.

The top industries in terms of project cost are real estate projects; manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and fishing; and, electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply. In terms of employment are agriculture, forestry and fishing; real estate projects; and, electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply.

Bullish

Ambi is bullish on local and foreign investments next year. She said investments would continue to increase considering the strong promotion and marketing of Davao.

Romeo Castanaga, provincial director of DTI-Davao del Norte, said he looks forward to two industrial estates in Davao del Norte, the launching of the P1 billion township project, and another project by Anflocor in partnership with UPLB for commercial and institutional project under PEZA.

For Compostela Valley, Lucky Siegfred Ballegue, said Torre Lorenzo is set to open to the public its project in Kopiat, Mabini town.

The beach club project is already 80 percent complete. There is also a 184-room hotel.

DTI-Davao Oriental is also looking forward to the P24 billion industrial park project in Maputi, Banaybanay.

Sec. Datu Hj. Abul Khayr Alonto, chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), said the swift action of the President to end terrorism in Mindanao had once and for all yielded positive results.

He said Mindanao continues to receive investment interests from various local and foreign investors.

Alonto bared that major infrastructure projects are being approved and rolled out as well.

"Rest assured that there is no letting up in our pursuit for economic progress and sustainable peace in the island-region, even in the midst of a martial law declaration," Alonto said. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan – Police arrested on Dec. 30 a suspect in the murder of two Japanese nationals in Culion town, Palawan six months ago in Tarlac.

Palawan Provincial Legal Officer, lawyer Teodoro Jose Matta, confirmed Saturday afternoon the arrest of Sonny Anicete, alias "Tatan," in Barangay Poblacion 1, Pura town, Tarlac by police personnel from the PRO 3 Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB).

Matta said the manhunt for Anicete was supported by Palawan provincial government under its peace and order initiative.

Reported to be the founder of the Palawan-based "Commando" group, Anicete is now detained in a jail facility in Tarlac l. His arrest warrant was issued by Judge Arnel Cesar of Branch 49, Regional Trial Court (RTC).

"We're trying to see if he can be sent back to Puerto Princesa within the holidays. If not, maybe the first week of January next year, to be surrendered to the RTC," Matta said.

He said there is a possibility to recommend Anicete's incarceration at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) where he could not escape.

"I am inclined to recommend that he be detained in Iwahig. He is very influential underground and can run away again if detained anywhere else. This goes to show too, that if you commit a crime in Palawan, it does not mean that you would go unpunished. Finally, the wheels of justice can now turn on this murder case," he said..

Anicete, who has been on the run since June this year, was reported to be the recruiter of the suspected killers of Japanese nationals Itani Masaru, 59, and Arai Yoshihiru, 24.

The victims were shot and their bodies dismembered before being dumped into the water in a remote island located west of Galoc Island in Culion town, Palawan.

Those who have already been charged in the murder case were Hiroyuki Nagahama, 55, the supposed mastermind; and co-conspirators Reynante Labampa, Jovis Viscarra, alias "Jun", and an alias "Bando." (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- Thirty-eight fishermen, who were driven off the vicinity of Mangsee Island, Balabac, by Tropical Storm "Vinta" were greeted back in their homes by their relatives and families Saturday afternoon from Tawi-Tawi.

The fishermen were reported missing on December 24 after Vinta's strong winds pushed their fishing vessels away from the shoreline of Mangsee where they had originally sought shelter.

Abdelnasser Gregana, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office (MDRRMO) head of Mapun, said the rescued fishermen were transported to Rizal municipality in southern Palawan and were met there by relatives.

"Nandiyan na sila, 'yong sa Rizal tapos 'yong sa Mangsee unang sinundo ng lantsa ay walo bago sumunod ay anim (They are already there, 24 are from Rizal, and those from Mangsee, the first first survivors who were fetched were eight, then followed by six)," Gregana said.

Gregana related that upon their rescue, the fishermen were provided with medical attention as some had sustained wounds while struggling to survive the storm.

Bojie Lorenzo, MDRRMO of Rizal, said the fishermen were welcomed by their families who have been patiently waiting since Friday.

"They arrived here safely, bringing relief goods that were given to them by the local government. They were helped there in Mapun," he claimed.

Search and rescue operations, according to Gregana, are continuously being done in Mapun since the survivors have told them many are still lost at sea. (PNA)
DECEMBER 2018
 



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COTABATO CITY -- Hours before the New Year ushers in, the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 12 reported 18 cases of firecracker-related injuries Sunday.

Jenny Ventura, DOH-12 "Iwas Paputok" campaign focal person, said as of 6 a.m. Sunday (December 31) 18 persons were reported hurt by firecrackers in the provinces of North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and the cities of Cotabato, Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal and General Santos.

The DOH monitoring on firecracker-related injuries started on December 21.

Ventura said the figure is 5 percent lower during the same period last year.

South Cotabato had the highest number of firecracker victims with 11, three in North Cotabato, two in Sarangani, one each in Sultan Kudarat and Gen. Santos City.

Ventura said 17 of the victims were male and one female. Twelve of whom were children and six were adults.

She said that four had eye injuries and one victim had to undergo amputation on one of his toes. Of the number of victims, five used legal and government recognize firecracker while 13 used illegal firecrackers like "kwitis," "piccolo," "5-star," "boga," and "triangle."

Five remained in the hospital while 13 were sent home, Ventura said.

The latest incidents of firecracker-related injuries came despite massive information campaign regarding the use and control of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.

The drive aims to lessen if not totally eliminate the incidence of firecracker-related injuries or death and damage to properties during the holiday celebrations. Monitoring period is from December 21- January 4.

Through this year's theme "OPLAN: Iwas Paputok, Fireworks Display ang Patok! Makiisa sa Fireworks Display sa Inyong Lugar," DOH-12 asked local government units to organize community fireworks to ensure the use of safer alternative noise-makers in welcoming the holiday season.

Ventura remained hopeful that with the public's cooperation the number of victims will be reduced than the previous years.

President Rodrigo Duterte on June 20 this year signed Executive Order No. 28 regulating the use of firecrackers and establishing community fireworks display. (PNA) JANUARY 2018



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TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte -- The Presidential Communications Operation Office (PCOO) will establish the Provincial Communications Officers Network (PCO Net), a network of government communicators to ensure the efficient flow of information to the communities.

PCO Net, which is already established in several provinces like Surigao, Agusan, General Santos, Sarangani, Pangasinan, Cordillera, Siquijor, and Dumaguete, will be launched in other areas in Mindanao.

Virginia Agtay, Director of the News and Information Bureau (NIB), said PCO Net will be established in Compostela Valley sometime next year.

She said PCOO has been going to the provinces to launch the network.

The PCO Net is one of the PCOO's initiatives to ensure that plans of the Duterte administration are communicated to every Filipino. This is also with the help of the members of media.

"We all play a vital role in cascading information to the grassroots," she said, adding, "We are instruments in making or breaking the future."

Agtay highlighted the PCOO's aim to upgrade all provincial stations next year and build a Mindanao communications hub.

PCOO, she said will ground break the Mindanao hub which will house the state-owned Radyo Pilipinas, PTV, Philippine Information Agency (PIA), and the Philippine News Agency (PNA), a bureau under NIB.

She announced that Davao City is being positioned to be the broadcasting hub of Mindanao with a state of the art broadcasting facility.

During the Press–ComVal Information Officers Assembly dubbed "strength in Convergence" on Friday night held in Big 8, Tagum City, Agtay, who represented Presidential Secretary Martin Andanar, also highlighted the rebirth of PNA in October.

PNA also launched the first webcast -- English daily newscast which provides a public rundown of stories.

All initiatives of the PCOO, Agtay said is in line with the government's transparency policy.

"Transparency will always become the cornerstone of this government for the people," she stressed.

She also underscored the need to let the public know what is going on and deepen public understanding of the thrust current administration.

Government communicators are tasked to counter fake news, which is prevalent especially with the advent of the social media. Fake news which has plagued the country and placed the Filipinos at a disadvantage because others do not play fair.

"We cannot allow this thing to prevail that is why it is imperative for us to work harder to ensure the solidity of the communication network as we bring further our fight for accurate, truthful, and empowering news and information to the public," she added.

She pointed to the spread of messages on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms that discredit the good objectives of the President (Rodrigo Duterte) and other public officials in the national, provincial and local governments.

"We cannot allow this to happen because as journalists it is our duty to tell the true story," she told participants of the Assembly.

Also part of the revitalization is the national convention of public information officers, provincial government communicators, and community influencers.

Agtay said it will be hosted by PCOO in February. The program broadens grassroots level to the provinces to help counter negative and fake information.

She urged communicators and journalists as the catalyst of genuine change because the Filipino people deserve nothing less.

Agtay urged them to remain committed to upholding the truth at all times and help banner the change of what the President has initiated. (PNA) JANUARY 2018



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TACLOBAN CITY -- The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) regional office here urged media persons in Eastern Visayas to help in the promotion of AmBisyon Natin 2040, which represents the vision and aspirations of the Filipino people for themselves and for the country in the next 25 years.

NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy said people should always be reminded of their own aspirations and urged them to work with the government to achieve the long-term vision of a better living condition.

"NEDA and the Regional Development Council believe of the media's power in advancing the development efforts aligned with the vision of Filipinos in the next 25 years," Uy said in a recent year-end gathering of journalists here.

The official emphasized the important role of their partnership with the media as marketing arm in disseminating information and government policies.

"We understand the significance of media in attaining progress by shaping public perception, thereby, putting plans into concrete actions," Uy said.

To help map out communication plans, the NEDA regional office hired staff with communication backgrounds and listed a broadcaster and officials from the Philippine Information Agency as members of the region's highest policy-making body.

AmBisyon Natin 2040 is the result of a long-term visioning process that began in 2015. More than 300 citizens participated in focus group discussions and close to 10,000 answered the national survey, according to NEDA.

Technical studies were prepared to identify strategic options for realizing the vision articulated by citizens.

The exercise benefitted from the guidance of an Advisory Committee composed of the government, private sector, academe, and civil society.

Under the vision, all Filipinos by 2040 will enjoy a stable and comfortable lifestyle, secured in the knowledge that each one has enough for their daily needs and unexpected expenses, plan and prepare for their own and their children's future.

The blueprint's goal is for Filipino families to live together in a place of their own, and have the freedom to go where they desire, protected and enabled by a clean, efficient, and fair government. (PNA)

JANUARY 2018

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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- For the first time, the celebration of New Year's Eve in this city did not record any incident or casualty due to firecrackers, and the police credit President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order (EO) No. 28.

Based on the information gathered by the police from hospitals in the city, no firecracker- or firework-related injury was brought for treatment on or before the eve of the New Year celebrations.

"We checked with the hospitals, particularly Ospital ng Palawan, and no one was brought for any firecracker-related injury. The celebration of the New Year was really peaceful in Puerto Princesa," said Police Sr. Insp. Pearl Lamban-Marzo, spokesperson of City Police Office (CPO), Monday morning.  

"We think President Duterte's executive order really helped a lot in preventing any firework-related injury. We could say it's generally a peaceful celebration of the New Year," she added.

Except for the confiscation of two pieces of "boga" (traditional noisemaker canon made from PVC pipe using piezo igniter) and pieces of five-star from young boys, no other seizure of any banned firework was recorded.

"There were still violations, meaning people still using banned fireworks inside their home perimeters, but generally, no injury was recorded. The confiscations of the 'boga' were from kids who probably do not know they're banned," she added.

The CPO thanked city barangay officials and residents for heeding the EO that was issued by President Duterte in June 2017.

The EO regulates the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices. (PNA)

JANUARY 2018

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BACOLOD CITY -- Several police stations in Negros Occidental seized and destroyed illegal firecrackers on New Year's eve as shown in posts in their respective social media accounts.

Around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, personnel of Escalante City Police Station in the north, together with a team of from the Bureau of Fire Protection, destroyed the confiscated items in front of the station.

Late afternoon of the same day, a team from Kabankalan City Police Station in the south seized firecrackers without permits in Barangay Magballo.

Personnel led by Senior Inspector Edgar Tonico Jr., deputy chief of police for administration, found the illegal firecrackers with an estimated street value of PHP30,000 around 3 p.m.

The firecrackers included small "trianggulos," "five star," "super lolo" "bawang," "camara," whistle bomb, "kwitis," and "katay." The confiscated items were also destroyed.

Around 10:30 p.m., In Manapla town, also in the north, the police led by officer-in-charge Senior Inspector Julius Caesar Colado took possession of the firecrackers sold outside the designated firecracker selling area in Barangay 2.

The Philippine National Police had earlier identified Piccolo, Pop Pop, Goodbye Philippines or Crying Bading, Yolanda or Goodbye Napoles, Watusi, Pla-Pla and Giant Kuwitis as illegal firecrackers.
These firecrackers, except for watusi, have explosives content of more than 0.2 grams. (PNA) JANUARY 2018

Photo courtesy of Escalante City Police Station FB page 



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DAGUPAN CITY -- At least 25 people, including 12 children, were hurt when baby rockets also known as "kwitis" misfired during a community fireworks display in Barangay Calmay here on New Year's Eve.

All the injured were transported by boat across the Calmay river and then rushed by ambulances of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to the Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) for treatment.

Calmay is one of the island barangays of Dagupan.

Twenty-four of the injured were admitted to R1MC as out-patients and one was hospitalized after doctors found blood coming out from one of his ears.

All those injured were to watch a fireworks display in their village when the baby rocket bombs failed to go up in the air but instead fired horizontally, hitting the crowd.

Before this incident, two others were treated for firecracker eye-related injuries at R1MC.

Before noon of Monday, the number of firecracker victims rushed to R1MC was placed at 40 coming from various parts of Pangasinan.

Ten victims -- either blast, burns, and amputation -- were brought to the same hospital from midnight to 7 a.m. of New Year's Day. (PNA)

JANUARY 2018

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IMUS CITY, Cavite – Two persons were hit by stray bullets from indiscriminate firing while nine others were injured by assorted firecrackers in various parts of Cavite while celebrating and welcoming the New Year 2018 on Monday.

Cavite police identified a victim of stray bullet as Marilyn Bationg, 47, resident of Malagasang 1-A in Imus City, who was hit on her foot while swinging at a hammock around 6:40 p.m. on New Year's eve.

Police said Bationg, while waiting for other family members for the revelry, felt her foot went numb and blood oozed from the bullet wound on her foot.

 Family members rushed her to the Kalayaan Hospital in Kawit, but was later transferred to the Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Hospital in Trece Martires City where she underwent surgery due to the bullet that entered through her foot and exited near her knee.

The other stray bullet victim was identified as 22 year-old Jhon Samarro Clenn, a vendor and a resident of Phase 4 Barangay Paliparan 3 in Dasmariñas City.

City Police Officers SPO1 Sean G Francisco and SPO1 Michael Dela Pena reported that Clenn fired his gun indiscriminatedly outside his home  while creating alarming and scandalous behavior at about 3 a.m. Monday.

A De La Salle United Medical Center security guard confirmed to the Dasmariñas City Police Station that Clenn actually discharged his improvised shotgun, locally know as "sumpak," which accidentally hit  his left arm.

Police arrested Clenn in the hospital where he was confined. The arresting officer failed to recover the suspects improvised
Shotgun (Rogelio Limpin)PNA
JANUARY 2018

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LAOAG CITY -- Except for eight firecracker-related injuries, there were no reports of indiscriminate firing and stray bullet victims in Ilocos Norte in bidding goodbye to 2017, police here said Monday.

In a press statement released on New Year's Day, Police Chief Insp. Dexter Diovic Corpuz, chief public information officer of the Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office, said the Philippine National Police (PNP) has succeeded in keeping the province safe and generally peaceful in welcoming 2018.

"Overall, this year's celebration of New Year is considered peaceful.

This was made possible through the concerted efforts of the PNP, Community and supportive friends from the media who helped in the massive dissemination of the Executive Order No. 28," said Corpuz.

President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 28 which provides regulation and control of the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnics devices.

This is the third straight year that Ilocos Norte has zero incident of stray bullet. The last reported two victims were in 2015.

For indiscriminate firing, this is the first time that there were no reported cases. There were three in 2015 and one case in 2016, the statement said.

However, the number of firecracker-related injuries rose as eight were reported for 2017, six for 2016 and 19 for 2015. 

The eight minor firecracker-related injuries during the 2017 new year's celebration included Edilburg Bailon, 33, a construction worker from Bulbulalala, Vintar, Ilocos Norte who was reportedly intoxicated when he ignited a firecracker given by a friend. He sustained minor right ear injury.

Another reported injury involved Joseph Tacubong, 27 of Nagsanga, Pasuquin town who injured his right hand when he picked up a piccolo which suddenly exploded. (PNA) JANUARY 2018



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BAGUIO CITY -- Some 68 personnel and volunteers of an organization helping internally displaced persons in Marawi on Saturday joined the commemoration of the 121st Rizal Day in this city.

Salic Ibrahim, chief executive officer of the Maranao People Development Center Inc (MARADECA), said the visit is part of the ongoing psycho social intervention for their personnel who during the Marawi siege served their fellow residents at the evacuation centers.

"We are also displaced like the others from Marawi but we came together and decided to help because there were others who needed help. Maraming may kailangan ng tulong at dahil kami rin ayaw naming manghina (There were many who needed help and we wanted to also boost our morale)," he said on the sidelines of the commemoration activity.

He explained that for many months, their people aided others to continue on hoping for the best, giving them morale support.

With the end of Marawi conflict, the group decided to take advantage of the holidays for them to rest and relax, and to join the city's celebration of the martyrdom of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

"Victims din kami, marami sa amin nawalan ng bahay, nasunog, nadisplace, na loot ang mga bahay at nawalan ng importanteng mga gamit," (We are also victims, many of us lost their homes through fire and were displaced, we lost our valuables when they were looted)" but they continued to gain strength from their situation by helping fellow Maranaos recover from the emotional and psychological effect brought about by the war.

From Marawi, they travelled to the northern part of the country, dropped by Alaminos in Pangasinan, Vigan City in Ilocos Sur, Laoag City in Ilocos Norte and they arrived in Baguio after midnight of December 30.

"We decided to come to the north para maiba naman ang ating atmosphere (we decided to visit the North as a change in atmosphere) and also connect with other people outside our place."

He said that the psycho-social intervention activity, specifically the trip to the northern part of the Philippines is jointly funded by MARADECA donors and from the personal fund of those who were able to join the trip, aimed at rejuvenating the drive of their personnel and members to continue doing community service.

MARADECA has 168 staff members but some were unable to join in Baguio City.

In the city, the group will be toured by a counterpart non-government organization to the different tourist attractions like the Philippine Military Academy and at the strawberry farms in La Trinidad, Benguet.

In the evening of December 31, they will travel back to Manila straight to Marawi for the new year. (PNA)

PNA photo by Liza Agoot

DECEMBER 2017

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DAVAO CITY – Except for the first few weeks after martial law was first declared in Mindanao due to negative impression, Davao Region's trade and investments recovered even more robust until 2018.

"I think initially we thought this (martial law) would be detrimental to growth but because investors see that the President (Rodrigo Duterte) is serious in terms of bringing about lasting change, their interest remains bullish regarding Mindanao. In fact, more business delegations have expressed their interest in visiting Davao next year," said Ronald Go, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII).

The DCCCII, which has over 300 businessmen and firms as members, has supported President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law to resolve old conflicts especially in Mindanao.

"Our president is unlike those in the past who perceived the threats in Mindanao as just a petty disturbance that could be taken care of with little money. They tried to use band aid fixes for wounds which were long infected," Go said, emphasizing that the Philippines cannot move forward as a nation until these are handled with seriousness.

Go pointed out that other Asian nations became progressive once the elements which tried to sow division among them were dealt with decisively.

"We need to band together to quell any movement that seeks to divide us as a nation. If martial law is a means to that end then I think we all need to be patient and let things take their course," Go added.

Go's prospects for the region is confirmed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) XI based on statistics as a good indicator that "it's business as usual in Davao."

DTI is bullish to overshoot targets at the end of the year. DTI XI regional director Ma. Belenda Ambi pointed out that peace and security is a strategy to develop industries.

She said that despite the President's extended martial law from July to December, no significant change had been observed that caused the business climate to deteriorate.

While martial law had an impact on the tourism industry, Ambi said the sector quickly recovered few weeks after its declaration in May.

In fact, Ambi said, hotels were always fully-booked. "Our martial law is different. There is no fear that the military will abuse," she said.

There could be increase in the prices of commodities but these are still within the suggested price set by DTI, Ambi added.

Investments

In its preliminary annual report, DTI XI reported that investments in Davao region hit P7.62 billion as of the third quarter of the year with Davao City registering with the biggest total investments at P4.9 billion.

Davao del Sur's registered investments is pegged at PhP1.78 billion followed by Davao del Norte with P546.81 million and Compostela Valley province with P386.74 million.

Davao Region's top ten Board of Investments (BOI)-registered companies as of the third quarter are San Miguel Foods in Davao del Sur; Communities Davao, Inc in Davao City; 8990 Housing Development Corporation in Davao City; Davao Corrugated Packaging Company Inc.; Agri-Tech Corporation in Davao del Sur; Prestige Homes and Realty Development Corporation in Davao City; Primeland Properties in Dvaao City; Filinvest Land in Davao City; Ahya Coco Organic Food Manufacturing Corporation in Davao City; and Agrotech Integrated Farms Inc. in Compostela Valley.

The whole year in 2015, Davao Region has a total investments of P4.708 billion and in 2016 at 10.266 billion.

DTI said that the three-year investment performance is P7.531 billion with 2015 as the base year.

There is 118 percent increase in investment in 2016 while 62 percent in 2017, DTI reported.

The top industries in terms of project cost are real estate projects; manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and fishing; and, electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply. In terms of employment are agriculture, forestry and fishing; real estate projects; and, electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply.

Bullish

Ambi is bullish on local and foreign investments next year. She said investments would continue to increase considering the strong promotion and marketing of Davao.

Romeo Castanaga, provincial director of DTI-Davao del Norte, said he looks forward to two industrial estates in Davao del Norte, the launching of the P1 billion township project, and another project by Anflocor in partnership with UPLB for commercial and institutional project under PEZA.

For Compostela Valley, Lucky Siegfred Ballegue, said Torre Lorenzo is set to open to the public its project in Kopiat, Mabini town.

The beach club project is already 80 percent complete. There is also a 184-room hotel.

DTI-Davao Oriental is also looking forward to the P24 billion industrial park project in Maputi, Banaybanay.

Sec. Datu Hj. Abul Khayr Alonto, chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), said the swift action of the President to end terrorism in Mindanao had once and for all yielded positive results.

He said Mindanao continues to receive investment interests from various local and foreign investors.

Alonto bared that major infrastructure projects are being approved and rolled out as well.

"Rest assured that there is no letting up in our pursuit for economic progress and sustainable peace in the island-region, even in the midst of a martial law declaration," Alonto said. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan – Police arrested on Dec. 30 a suspect in the murder of two Japanese nationals in Culion town, Palawan six months ago in Tarlac.

Palawan Provincial Legal Officer, lawyer Teodoro Jose Matta, confirmed Saturday afternoon the arrest of Sonny Anicete, alias "Tatan," in Barangay Poblacion 1, Pura town, Tarlac by police personnel from the PRO 3 Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB).

Matta said the manhunt for Anicete was supported by Palawan provincial government under its peace and order initiative.

Reported to be the founder of the Palawan-based "Commando" group, Anicete is now detained in a jail facility in Tarlac l. His arrest warrant was issued by Judge Arnel Cesar of Branch 49, Regional Trial Court (RTC).

"We're trying to see if he can be sent back to Puerto Princesa within the holidays. If not, maybe the first week of January next year, to be surrendered to the RTC," Matta said.

He said there is a possibility to recommend Anicete's incarceration at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) where he could not escape.

"I am inclined to recommend that he be detained in Iwahig. He is very influential underground and can run away again if detained anywhere else. This goes to show too, that if you commit a crime in Palawan, it does not mean that you would go unpunished. Finally, the wheels of justice can now turn on this murder case," he said..

Anicete, who has been on the run since June this year, was reported to be the recruiter of the suspected killers of Japanese nationals Itani Masaru, 59, and Arai Yoshihiru, 24.

The victims were shot and their bodies dismembered before being dumped into the water in a remote island located west of Galoc Island in Culion town, Palawan.

Those who have already been charged in the murder case were Hiroyuki Nagahama, 55, the supposed mastermind; and co-conspirators Reynante Labampa, Jovis Viscarra, alias "Jun", and an alias "Bando." (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- Thirty-eight fishermen, who were driven off the vicinity of Mangsee Island, Balabac, by Tropical Storm "Vinta" were greeted back in their homes by their relatives and families Saturday afternoon from Tawi-Tawi.

The fishermen were reported missing on December 24 after Vinta's strong winds pushed their fishing vessels away from the shoreline of Mangsee where they had originally sought shelter.

Abdelnasser Gregana, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office (MDRRMO) head of Mapun, said the rescued fishermen were transported to Rizal municipality in southern Palawan and were met there by relatives.

"Nandiyan na sila, 'yong sa Rizal tapos 'yong sa Mangsee unang sinundo ng lantsa ay walo bago sumunod ay anim (They are already there, 24 are from Rizal, and those from Mangsee, the first first survivors who were fetched were eight, then followed by six)," Gregana said.

Gregana related that upon their rescue, the fishermen were provided with medical attention as some had sustained wounds while struggling to survive the storm.

Bojie Lorenzo, MDRRMO of Rizal, said the fishermen were welcomed by their families who have been patiently waiting since Friday.

"They arrived here safely, bringing relief goods that were given to them by the local government. They were helped there in Mapun," he claimed.

Search and rescue operations, according to Gregana, are continuously being done in Mapun since the survivors have told them many are still lost at sea. (PNA)
DECEMBER 2017
 



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COTABATO CITY -- Hours before the New Year ushers in, the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 12 reported 18 cases of firecracker-related injuries Sunday.

Jenny Ventura, DOH-12 "Iwas Paputok" campaign focal person, said as of 6 a.m. Sunday (December 31) 18 persons were reported hurt by firecrackers in the provinces of North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and the cities of Cotabato, Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal and General Santos.

The DOH monitoring on firecracker-related injuries started on December 21.

Ventura said the figure is 5 percent lower during the same period last year.

South Cotabato had the highest number of firecracker victims with 11, three in North Cotabato, two in Sarangani, one each in Sultan Kudarat and Gen. Santos City.

Ventura said 17 of the victims were male and one female. Twelve of whom were children and six were adults.

She said that four had eye injuries and one victim had to undergo amputation on one of his toes. Of the number of victims, five used legal and government recognize firecracker while 13 used illegal firecrackers like "kwitis," "piccolo," "5-star," "boga," and "triangle."

Five remained in the hospital while 13 were sent home, Ventura said.

The latest incidents of firecracker-related injuries came despite massive information campaign regarding the use and control of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.

The drive aims to lessen if not totally eliminate the incidence of firecracker-related injuries or death and damage to properties during the holiday celebrations. Monitoring period is from December 21- January 4.

Through this year's theme "OPLAN: Iwas Paputok, Fireworks Display ang Patok! Makiisa sa Fireworks Display sa Inyong Lugar," DOH-12 asked local government units to organize community fireworks to ensure the use of safer alternative noise-makers in welcoming the holiday season.

Ventura remained hopeful that with the public's cooperation the number of victims will be reduced than the previous years.

President Rodrigo Duterte on June 20 this year signed Executive Order No. 28 regulating the use of firecrackers and establishing community fireworks display. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte -- The Presidential Communications Operation Office (PCOO) will establish the Provincial Communications Officers Network (PCO Net), a network of government communicators to ensure the efficient flow of information to the communities.

PCO Net, which is already established in several provinces like Surigao, Agusan, General Santos, Sarangani, Pangasinan, Cordillera, Siquijor, and Dumaguete, will be launched in other areas in Mindanao.

Virginia Agtay, Director of the News and Information Bureau (NIB), said PCO Net will be established in Compostela Valley sometime next year.

She said PCOO has been going to the provinces to launch the network.

The PCO Net is one of the PCOO's initiatives to ensure that plans of the Duterte administration are communicated to every Filipino. This is also with the help of the members of media.

"We all play a vital role in cascading information to the grassroots," she said, adding, "We are instruments in making or breaking the future."

Agtay highlighted the PCOO's aim to upgrade all provincial stations next year and build a Mindanao communications hub.

PCOO, she said will ground break the Mindanao hub which will house the state-owned Radyo Pilipinas, PTV, Philippine Information Agency (PIA), and the Philippine News Agency (PNA), a bureau under NIB.

She announced that Davao City is being positioned to be the broadcasting hub of Mindanao with a state of the art broadcasting facility.

During the Press–ComVal Information Officers Assembly dubbed "strength in Convergence" on Friday night held in Big 8, Tagum City, Agtay, who represented Presidential Secretary Martin Andanar, also highlighted the rebirth of PNA in October.

PNA also launched the first webcast -- English daily newscast which provides a public rundown of stories.

All initiatives of the PCOO, Agtay said is in line with the government's transparency policy.

"Transparency will always become the cornerstone of this government for the people," she stressed.

She also underscored the need to let the public know what is going on and deepen public understanding of the thrust current administration.

Government communicators are tasked to counter fake news, which is prevalent especially with the advent of the social media. Fake news which has plagued the country and placed the Filipinos at a disadvantage because others do not play fair.

"We cannot allow this thing to prevail that is why it is imperative for us to work harder to ensure the solidity of the communication network as we bring further our fight for accurate, truthful, and empowering news and information to the public," she added.

She pointed to the spread of messages on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms that discredit the good objectives of the President (Rodrigo Duterte) and other public officials in the national, provincial and local governments.

"We cannot allow this to happen because as journalists it is our duty to tell the true story," she told participants of the Assembly.

Also part of the revitalization is the national convention of public information officers, provincial government communicators, and community influencers.

Agtay said it will be hosted by PCOO in February. The program broadens grassroots level to the provinces to help counter negative and fake information.

She urged communicators and journalists as the catalyst of genuine change because the Filipino people deserve nothing less.

Agtay urged them to remain committed to upholding the truth at all times and help banner the change of what the President has initiated. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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TACLOBAN CITY -- The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) regional office here urged media persons in Eastern Visayas to help in the promotion of AmBisyon Natin 2040, which represents the vision and aspirations of the Filipino people for themselves and for the country in the next 25 years.

NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy said people should always be reminded of their own aspirations and urged them to work with the government to achieve the long-term vision of a better living condition.

"NEDA and the Regional Development Council believe of the media's power in advancing the development efforts aligned with the vision of Filipinos in the next 25 years," Uy said in a recent year-end gathering of journalists here.

The official emphasized the important role of their partnership with the media as marketing arm in disseminating information and government policies.

"We understand the significance of media in attaining progress by shaping public perception, thereby, putting plans into concrete actions," Uy said.

To help map out communication plans, the NEDA regional office hired staff with communication backgrounds and listed a broadcaster and officials from the Philippine Information Agency as members of the region's highest policy-making body.

AmBisyon Natin 2040 is the result of a long-term visioning process that began in 2015. More than 300 citizens participated in focus group discussions and close to 10,000 answered the national survey, according to NEDA.

Technical studies were prepared to identify strategic options for realizing the vision articulated by citizens.

The exercise benefitted from the guidance of an Advisory Committee composed of the government, private sector, academe, and civil society.

Under the vision, all Filipinos by 2040 will enjoy a stable and comfortable lifestyle, secured in the knowledge that each one has enough for their daily needs and unexpected expenses, plan and prepare for their own and their children's future.

The blueprint's goal is for Filipino families to live together in a place of their own, and have the freedom to go where they desire, protected and enabled by a clean, efficient, and fair government. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- For the first time, the celebration of New Year's Eve in this city did not record any incident or casualty due to firecrackers, and the police credit President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order (EO) No. 28.

Based on the information gathered by the police from hospitals in the city, no firecracker- or firework-related injury was brought for treatment on or before the eve of the New Year celebrations.

"We checked with the hospitals, particularly Ospital ng Palawan, and no one was brought for any firecracker-related injury. The celebration of the New Year was really peaceful in Puerto Princesa," said Police Sr. Insp. Pearl Lamban-Marzo, spokesperson of City Police Office (CPO), Monday morning.  

"We think President Duterte's executive order really helped a lot in preventing any firework-related injury. We could say it's generally a peaceful celebration of the New Year," she added.

Except for the confiscation of two pieces of "boga" (traditional noisemaker canon made from PVC pipe using piezo igniter) and pieces of five-star from young boys, no other seizure of any banned firework was recorded.

"There were still violations, meaning people still using banned fireworks inside their home perimeters, but generally, no injury was recorded. The confiscations of the 'boga' were from kids who probably do not know they're banned," she added.

The CPO thanked city barangay officials and residents for heeding the EO that was issued by President Duterte in June 2017.

The EO regulates the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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BACOLOD CITY -- Several police stations in Negros Occidental seized and destroyed illegal firecrackers on New Year's eve as shown in posts in their respective social media accounts.

Around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, personnel of Escalante City Police Station in the north, together with a team of from the Bureau of Fire Protection, destroyed the confiscated items in front of the station.

Late afternoon of the same day, a team from Kabankalan City Police Station in the south seized firecrackers without permits in Barangay Magballo.

Personnel led by Senior Inspector Edgar Tonico Jr., deputy chief of police for administration, found the illegal firecrackers with an estimated street value of PHP30,000 around 3 p.m.

The firecrackers included small "trianggulos," "five star," "super lolo" "bawang," "camara," whistle bomb, "kwitis," and "katay." The confiscated items were also destroyed.

Around 10:30 p.m., In Manapla town, also in the north, the police led by officer-in-charge Senior Inspector Julius Caesar Colado took possession of the firecrackers sold outside the designated firecracker selling area in Barangay 2.

The Philippine National Police had earlier identified Piccolo, Pop Pop, Goodbye Philippines or Crying Bading, Yolanda or Goodbye Napoles, Watusi, Pla-Pla and Giant Kuwitis as illegal firecrackers.
These firecrackers, except for watusi, have explosives content of more than 0.2 grams. (PNA)

Photo courtesy of Escalante City Police Station FB page 

DECEMBER 2017

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TACLOBAN CITY -- The Department of Health has dismissed reports that a girl was hospitalized after receiving the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine in the region, saying the patient was immunized in Luzon.

DOH regional information officer John Paul Roca said on Friday the 12-year-old girl, one of the vaccine recipients reportedly admitted at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) after suffering dengue, was given Dengvaxia in Bulacan province.

Her family visited their hometown in Catbalogan City in Samar for the Christmas holidays.

"She was first admitted at the Samar Provincial Hospital then transferred to EVRMC, where she was monitored. Good thing that her blood platelet count became normal and was already discharged from the hospital," Roca said on Friday.

The DOH maintained that no one received the controversial vaccine in the region based on monitoring both in state-run hospitals and privately-owned facilities.

The health department also reminded everyone that whether or not a person have been vaccinated by Dengvaxia, there is high possibility of suffering severe dengue once bitten by a dengue virus-carrier mosquito.

"A clean environment and in your homes are ways to prevent acquiring dengue," he added.

Dengvaxia developed by Sanofi Pasteur, is a live recombinant tetravalent dengue vaccine, based on the yellow fever 17D vaccine strain, given as a three-dose series with six months between each dose.

The vaccine has four components, encoding for antigens of the four dengue virus strains. It is the first dengue vaccine to be licensed, according to the World Health Organization.

The vaccine became controversial after its manufacturer admitted that 10 percent of over 800,000 students who were immunized with Dengvaxia, but did not have a prior dengue infection, now face contracting a "severe disease."

The issue forced the DOH to halt its nationwide dengue immunization program and it was followed with investigations by the House of Representatives. (With reports from Mary Fatima T. Berongoy, OJT/PNA DECEMBER 2017



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CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- Central Luzon demonstrated economic vibrancy in 2017 fueled by the significant growth of major productive sectors in the region.

Severino Santos, regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the industry sector is the biggest contributor to the growth, putting Central Luzon among the fastest growing regions in the country.

Santos said the region registered the second fastest economic growth in the country with 9.5 percent gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2016.

He said that among the industry subsectors, manufacturing and construction have posted an accelerated growth this year.

Santos said the upward trend in the manufacturing sector resulted in significant growth in exports while in the construction sector which can be attributed to the various infrastructure projects being implemented by the government in the region.

"This generates employment and the increase in the number of employed population in the region contributed to economic growth," he said.

He also attributed the impressive growth of the regional economy this year to the favorable weather condition throughout the year.

Agriculture

However, the agriculture sector in the region slowed down due to the bird flu outbreak that hit the provinces of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija last August.

An outbreak of H5N6 strain or avian flu was first confirmed in San Luis, Pampanga last August 11. A week later, the occurrence of bird flu was reported in Jaen and San Isidro towns, Nueva Ecija, forcing the authorities to cull more than 600,000 chickens, ducks and quails in the affected areas.

To prevent the spread of the bird flu virus, a quarantine zone was imposed within one kilometer radius and was extended as far as seven kilometers.

The Department of Agriculture imposed a temporary ban against transporting birds and poultry products from Pampanga and Nueva Ecija to other parts of Luzon as well as banned the transfer of live poultry and poultry products from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao to prevent the spread of the disease.

The bird flu outbreak was officially declared over in September but re-emergence of the virus was reported in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija last November where some 42,000 chickens were culled.

However, the NEDA director said that the bird flu outbreak has minimal effect in the overall agricultural sector.

Santos said the growth in the region's farm output has cushioned the slowdown in the livestock sub-sector.

Aside from the favorable weather condition that prevailed in the region which resulted in bountiful agricultural harvests, he said the planting of hybrid rice seeds as well as the modern agriculture technology, research and development being offered by the government contributed to the good agricultural output.

Investments and job opportunities

The vibrant economy of the region was also strengthened by the impressive performance of the three freeports in the region, namely Subic, Clark and Freeport Area of Bataan.

In fact, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone was named the "fastest growing free trade zone" by the London-based International Finance Magazine (IFM), a financial market information group.

SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma said the award recognized the emergence of Subic as a flagship of the Philippine economy and a catalyst of growth in Central Luzon.

To date, the Subic Bay Freeport has a total of more than 126,000 workers employed by a total of 2,897 companies variously engaged in shipbuilding and other marine-related business, tourism, information communications technology, manufacturing and services.

With committed investments surpassing the USD1.4-billion mark in the first quarter of this year, Subic is expected to make more strides in the Philippine economy in the coming years.

Clark Freeport Zone, on the other hand, is considered to be the next economic hub of the Philippines.

At present, there is a total of 107,694 number of workforce employed in 943 locators inside the Clark Freeport.

Clark Development Corporation (CDC) president and chief executive officer Noel Manankil said the employment increase reflects a continuing sound business climate which prompted big companies to expand operations in the Freeport.

Likewise, the CDC's foreign direct investment commitment in the third quarter of the year alone was PHP1.064 billion, a significant increase from its 2016 figure of PHP79.418 million.

Meanwhile, the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) is known as the one of the fashion manufacturing hubs of the Philippines, as it possesses a budding cluster of companies producing high-end brands of garments, apparel, shoes and accessories.

Foreign investment pledges from FAB in the third quarter of this year alone was pegged at PHP142.194 million, a big surge against its last year's P7.004 million.

At present, there are 95 locators operating in FAB with more than 30,000 workers in various sectors.

Tourism

Improved infrastructures lead to an increased in tourist arrivals in Central Luzon.

The integration of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the upgrading and modernization of the Clark International Airport paved the way for an improved and easier travel to and from the Central Luzon provinces which is a come-on for businessmen and tourists.

Data from the Department of Tourism-Region 3 showed 4.1 million tourist arrivals for 2016 with Subic and Clark topping the list of destinations.

The country's hosting of the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings also gave a big boost to the tourism industry in the region, particularly the Clark Freeport.

Alex Cauguiran, acting president of Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC), said the viability of Clark Airport was proven to national and international travelers and other stakeholders with the smooth and safe arrival of the ASEAN leaders and their dialogue partners.

Economic outlook for 2018

The NEDA is confident that 2018 would be another good year for the region's economy.

Its forecast stemmed from the continuous implementation of the massive infrastructure projects in the region. 

Santos said that some PHP50-billion budget was alloted for big tickets projects in Central Luzon next year under the Duterte administration's "Build, Build, Build" program which is seen to spur more development in the region.

He said these projects include the new passenger terminal building at the Clark International Airport; Central Luzon Link Expressway; and the Balog-Balog Multi-Purpose Project in Tarlac.

"These are some of the infrastructure projects which will give multiplier effect that could help sustain the vibrant economy of Central Luzon," he added. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga -- The number of workers inside this Freeport has reached an all-time high total of 107,694 this year, according to the Clark Development Corporation (CDC).

A report submitted to CDC president and CEO Noel F. Manankil, showed that actual employment in Clark as of November this year was derived from 943 registered enterprises, including some government agencies.

The figure also represents a 12-percent increase as compared to the 93,467 total workers in the same period in 2016.

This is the highest number of workers inside the economic zone since the conversion of Clark Freeport from military facility into a productive commercial complex that started in 1993.

At the peak of stay of American troops in Clark, there were only about 20,000 workers inside the former US military facility, Manankil said.

The increase in manpower is being attributed to the sound investment climate and economic policies of the Duterte administration.

Among the biggest contributor of jobs here are Japanese-owned Nanox Philippines with 7,926 workers; Sutherland Global Services Philippines, Inc. with 6,071; iQor Philippines, Inc. with 5,857; L&T International Group, Phils. Inc. with 5,200; and Yokohama Tire Phils. Inc with 2,858. 

The Japanese semiconductor firm Nanox attributed its increase in employment to the signed agreement with CDC and Clark International Airport Corporation for its PHP731-million expansion project here two years ago.

Industrial firms employ the biggest number of workers with 49,055 or 46 percent of the total number of workers while the ICT/business process outsourcing (BOO) firms are the second largest employment contributor with 22,883 or 21 percent. 

The employment generation is also expected to increase significantly once the components of the New Clark City project of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) get implemented in the coming years.

New Clark City is the country's newest development project that will feature mixed-use real estate developments for housing, a business continuity center that would also house national government agencies, an agro-industrial park that will provide a platform for research and development, and the Philippine Sports City inside 9,450-hectare at Clark Special Economic Zone.

Under the "Build, Build, Build" mantra of President Rodrigo Duterte, the BCDA  started the construction of PHP9.3-billion passenger terminal project at the Clark International Airport last December 20. 

The project is being implemented in partnership with Department of Transportation, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Finance and Department of Budget and Management. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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LOS BAÑOS, Laguna - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) CALABARZON has driven developments for the so-called science and technology (S&T) regional ecosystem in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon through various programs, projects and services. 

Dr. Alexander Madrigal, DOST CALABARZON Regional Director, said that S&T developments are taking place in various sectors such as disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM), education, health, enterprise, livelihood, tourism and industries.

"Through our vicious cycle of innovation we have sustained to serve as living engines of science and technology who function to adapt to this speedy-transforming society in the region," Madrigal said during the DOST Calabarzon's 54th founding anniversary celebration of the regional office on Dec. 11.

He outlined smart systems they have developed in making CALABARZON disaster ready region such as a system that standardizes data gathering, monitoring and sharing practices from all DOST Regional offices known as Data Analytics-Ready Info Unified System (DARIUS).

The Center for Hazard and Environment Resource Mapping (CHERM) has been established which provides mapping services and a composite picture of communities for surveillance, monitoring, resources assessment, and emergency response to local government units (LGUs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), line agencies  and other groups.

Madrigal also reported that other related projects included the adaptation of the Tsunami Early Warning Systems (TEWS) in partnership with Batangas State University and in collaboration with Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHILVOCS) and Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI), which monitors potential tsunami occurrences.

Also, the regional S&T agency has developed the Infrastructure Audit Manual which capacitates local government units to assess buildings, bridges and public structures' resilience and integrity against earthquake and natural calamities.

To strengthen international and local linkages, the agency has established functional Regional and Provincial Food Safety teams and the institutionalization of international linkages with Temasek Foundation International (TFI) and Nanyang Polytechnic International (NYPi) in Singapore.

Local linkages with Nestle Philippines established in 2016 resulted in the partnerships with several DOST Regional Standards and Testing Laboratories (RSTLs) microbiological testing, now on its finalization stage.

The inauguration of the Halal Verification Laboratory (HVL) that uses the most advance technology in detection of haram (forbidden by Islamic law) and mushbooh (doubtful or suspect foods in Islam) food products, highlighted the 54th anniversary celebration.

The Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) has financed the project in a bid to strengthen and promote the Halal industry in the country as well as the international market estimated at USD 2.3 trillion.

The DOST's Enhanced Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (ECEST) Program also resulted in the development of the Value Chain Approach on Island Economy,  as approved by Regional Development Council (RDC) through Resolution No. IV-A 112-2017).

This strategy aims to develop island economy to uplift communities among municipalities with the highest poverty incidence in 23 Local Government Units (LGUs) classified as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) , especially in Quezon province.

"The DOST footprints have made its way into the far-flung islands and poor municipalities of Quezon," Madrigal said.

In addition, the town of Alabat in Quezon has been established as "Makapuno Island" and with the application and grant of the Makapuno Trademark, opened trade opportunities for "makapuno" products to the international market and trading expositions.

These products were showcased during the 20-day Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Outbound Trade and Business Mission in Canada and United States in November and December this year in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) CALABARZON and MSMEs in the region.

Likewise, the CALABARZON Food Solutions Hub (CFosH) has been enhanced through the acquisition of freeze drying technology and equipment from Thailand and now serves local entrepreneurs in strengthening their production capability and pave ways to commercialization of newly developed products by the food MSMEs.

The food hub project was developed through the DOST CALABARZON's partnership with DTI CALABARZON, Association of Laguna Food Processors (ALAFOP) and Laguna State Polytechnic University-Sta. Cruz.

On health and education sectors, Madrigal said that the agency has deployed and supervised RxBox Telehealth devices to health care-services-deprived communities since 2016.

DOST also initiated a PHP 12 million project that transformed traditional classrooms with innovative learning modules and advanced technologies equipped with laptops and computers, tablets, and smart TVs for student learning outcomes known as 21st Century Skills Upgrading and Enhancement Learning Abode (21stSkUELA).

The agency has awarded the Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosk Stations (STARBOOKS), which are one-stop repositories for science and technology and livelihood information, to 27 institutional beneficiaries.

Madrigal, who heads the Los Baños Science Community Foundation Inc. (LBSCFI, also forged a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Department of Education (DepEd) regional agencies for the promotion of tourism industry of this town through science and technology under the brand "Science Tourism".

For its continuous commitment to public service, DOST CALABARZON was awarded Very Innovative Person Award from the Career Executive Service Board (CESB); Gawad Kalasag Award from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD IV-A); and PAGASA Award.

In its "payback" to various stakeholders, the DOST CALABARZON also acknowledged the contributions of the various regional sectors, media and project beneficiaries through the Tambuli Media Awards, Best  Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) Adoptors and SETUP Graduates; and  Science Documentary Contests for students.

Madrigal upheld the commitment of the agency towards bringing science and technology and innovations closer to the people citing "behind all these, the root is science practiced by human nation through pro-people programs, projects and services." (PNA)
DECEMBER 2017


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DAGUPAN CITY -- The city council, in its special session on Thursday, passed an ordinance enlarging the size of each fish cage that may be allowed in the city rivers to enable concessionaires from poor families to earn.

The council approved Draft Ordinance No,0-637 that amended Ordinance No. ‎248-2015 which prohibits the construction of fish pens but permits the construction of fish cages measuring five meters by five meters.

Noting petitions from coastal barangays of the city, where concessionaires said the five meters by five meters fish cage is not economically viable, the city council enlarged the size per fish cage to seven meters by 10 meters to enable them to earn.

Mayor Belen T. Fernandez called for the special session so the size per allowable fish cage can be revised to jibe with the start of the issuance by the city government of Aquatic Lease Agreement (ALA) to concessionaires starting January 2.

Those who petitioned for the amendment of the ordinance are fish farmers from Barangays Lomboy, Salapingao, Pugaro-Suit and Lucao.  

Fish cages are structures whose nets are left hanging in the water and do not touch the floors of rivers, whereas the nets of fish pens extend up to the bottom of rivers, thus hinder water flow and aggravate water pollution.

The city council deemed that fish cages are environment-friendly, whereas fish pens are not.

Only marginal fishermen who are among the poorest of the poor and members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are allowed to apply for ALA for a fee of PHP500 from the previous PHP1,000.

Those who will be given ALA must conform with all the regulations set by the City Agriculture Office, one of which is the stocking only of fishes that do not need commercial feeds to grow.

The fishes that can be stocked in fish cages include malaga (siganid), grouper (lapu-lapu), sea bass, pampano and others. Milkfish or bangus is not allowed because it needs commercial feeds.

Mayor Fernandez vowed to start issuing ALA to barangay folks who could meet all the requirements early next year.

All those who will build fish cages and raise fish will be assisted by the City Agriculture Office headed by Emma Molina.  (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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DUMAGUETE CITY -- The Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 30 in Negros Oriental, a special drug court, has reported that for the whole of 2017, it has promulgated 100 drug-related cases, 47 for the first semester and 53 for the second half.

Out of the 100 cases, three were acquitted and one case was dismissed, or a conviction rate of 96 percent.

Records will show that of the convictions, 48 accused were meted life terms, and the rest were convicted to suffer a penalty of 12 years and one day to a maximum of 14 years imprisonment. 

Judge Rafael Crescencio Tan, Jr. said the court expects a deluge of cases next year, as soon as the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement units resume the anti-drugs campaign in January.

Tan said he will come up with a training module for police operatives on how to prepare affidavits, how to document the flow of cases from the suspect's arrest up to the submission of the complaint before the prosecutor's office.

This is aimed at making sure a "good catch" will not be dismissed because of technicality.  (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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ILOILO CITY -- From driver to regional director in one day.

This happened to Reynaldo Tejero who served as regional director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for a day on Thursday, a break from his official designation as the agency's driver for 17 years.

Tejero's designation as regional director was part of the "Bida Boss" program that is unique only in DTI-Western Visayas, said regional director Rebecca Rascon. It is part of the non-monetary benefit extended by the regional office to performing employees.

The "boss of the day" will hold office in the Office of the Regional Director, take immediate action on all official communications and perform necessary functions except the authority to sign.

It is an on-the-spot recognition to 25 percent employees in the region based on their Final Individual Performance Rating (FIPR), 360 degrees rating where they will be rated by their peers and the supervisor's rating.

"This is our way of recognizing people that hinges on the culture of DTI, which is coaching and mentoring," said Rascon, who was behind the initiative.

We coach people, we mentor them to be ready to move up the organization ladder, she added.

Tejero's first order of the day was to send a memorandum to all drivers in the five provincial offices of DTI to submit a report on the amount spent for the fuel and maintenance of their vehicles in 2017.

Each province has one vehicle while the regional office has three, he said during an interview Thursday afternoon.

He hoped that at the end of the day, his officemates will remember him as being efficient in exercising his task as regional director.

Tejero belongs to the Mythical 5 of the DTI Sprint Award, which recognizes top performing employees of the department at the national level.

Tejero is the only non-technical person of the four employees of the DTI 6 who were included in the national mythical 5 percent. The three others include two senior trade and industry development specialist from Aklan and Capiz and the human resource management officer of the regional office. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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BACOLOD CITY -- Former Philippine News Agency (PNA) Bacolod bureau chief Rolando "Rolly" Espina passed away on December 28 at the age of 84 at his home here.

The Negros Press Club (NPC) joined colleagues here in mourning the death of the veteran journalist, who once served as the president of the country's oldest press club.

"The NPC mourns the passing of one of its past presidents, Rolly Espina. We express our deepest sympathies and condolences to his family and relatives," said current club president Renato Duran in a statement on Friday.

Duran said "the club recognizes the significant contributions of Espina to the media industry. He is one of the most respected journalists in the province."

"The NPC will always remember and forever be thankful for the service he rendered to the club and its members," he added.

According to a statement from his family, Espina died peacefully surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

Born on August 23, 1933, in Escalante City, Negros Occidental, Espina was a journalist for more than 50 years, from the pre-Martial Law Manila Chronicle to bureau chief of PNA, the Philippine Star, to correspondent of various wire agencies and foreign periodicals.

He was also one of the founders of The Visayan Daily Star and was chairman of the Negros Daily Bulletin. Both are community papers based in Bacolod.

Espina was also twice vice president of the National Press Club during the dual terms of his close friend and later National Democratic Front officer Antonio Zumel.

A noted civic leader, Espina was the charter president of the Bacolod Capital Lions Club and was a recipient of several awards in recognition of his professional and civic accomplishments, including the Ang Banwahanon Award from the City of Bacolod.

Espina was the eldest of six children of Fulgencio Espina, an artist from Cebu, and Gracia Lopez, a niece of national hero Graciano Lopez Jaena.

He was married to the late pediatrician Lourdes Llavore of Fabrica, Sagay City with whom he had 11 children and, at last count, 23 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Dr. Lourdes Espina passed away in September 2000.

He is survived by his children Grace and Manuel Engallado, Nonoy and Leny, Inday Espina-Varona, Malou, Toto and Jocelyn, Mary Anne, Maté, Nenen, May and Ramon, Junjun and Merci, and Jay and Bingbing.

Espina's remains lie in state at the Faith 3 and 4 halls of the Rolling Hills Memorial Chapels here.

Interment is scheduled on January 6, after a 9 a.m. mass, at the Rolling Hills Memorial Park. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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LEGAZPI CITY --- Heavy rains for the past four days caused floods and landslides in nine towns of Camarines Sur, resulting in the evacuation of 2,267 families or 9,322 individuals, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol said Friday.

OCD Regional Director Claudia Yucot said flooding was reported in the towns of Ragay, Lupi, Bato, Sangay, Lagonoy, Tinambac and Garchitorena while landslides hit the towns of Bato, Caramoan and Sagnay.

Yucot said the heavy rains were brought by the tailend of a cold front prevailing over the Bicol region.

In her report, she said flooding as high as 1.5 meters was reported in three barangays in Lupi town when a spillway overflowed, forcing villagers to use boats as mode of transportation.

In Albay, Governor Al Francis Bichara on Friday also ordered the evacuation of villagers living in flood- and landslide-prone areas in the towns and cities situated at the eastern seaboard of the province affected by intense rains. However, no figure was given as to the number of evacuees.

Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Public Safety Emergency and Management Office (APSEMO), in an interview said the evacuation order was a preemptive disaster mitigating measure.

He said intense rains have overly saturated the soils in Albay, noting that "continuous 8mm rainfall per hour could saturate the soil that can trigger flooding and land mass to cascade down mountain slopes."

Melody Azur of the Legazpi City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMC) said floodwaters from one foot to shoulder-deep inundated several low-lying villages in the city's business district as well as in the northern district.

She blamed the flooding to the wrong garbage disposal practice of residents that has resulted in clogged drainage systems.

Rivers, according to Azur, are now silted and constricted because of the waste thrown by residents along the channels. (PNA)
DECEMBER 2017


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DAVAO CITY – Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio backed off from direct involvement in the ongoing investigation of the fire that razed down the homegrown New City Commercial Center (NCCC) after some people questioned her integrity and impartiality.

"I don't want to talk about the investigation," the city mayor told reporters in a press briefing Friday at City Hall. The mayor is also going on leave from December 30 to January 1 to attend to her children.

But the mayor assured of the city's cooperation. The city's Central 911 and the City Engineer's Office (CEO) will be on hand to give information on the city's response operation and building plans of the NCCC should the national government's investigation team need them.

This as Duterte-Carpio backed off from her earlier offer to include the city government representation in the special multi-agency task force investigating the mall fire incident.

She said some people have questioned her integrity and impartiality on the NCCC Mall investigation given her commitment as an endorser of Choice Mart, another brand of the NCCC supermarket. There was a suggestion for her to inhibit from the investigation.

"For the record, I am not part of the investigation team. I have never presented myself to investigate the mall fire and under normal circumstances, a City Mayor does not sign fire investigation reports of the BFP," Duterte-Carpio earlier said in a press statement.

"Nobody can question how I did my work as Mayor in helping the family of the victims, the BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection, the NCCC, and SSI (Survey Sampling International) officials," the mayor quipped.

Duterte-Carpio pointed out that the staff and the City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO) handled everything during the evening of December 23 to the present prevented chaos and hysteria among the victims and Dabawenyos in general.

During the press briefing Friday, Duterte-Carpio already asked media to direct all their questions on the investigation to the team looking into the incident.

The special multi-agency task force composed of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) as the lead agency, the BFP national office, Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO), the Philippine National Police (PNP) has already started its investigation into the incident and already visited the site on Thursday.

DILG Assistant Secretary for Public Safety Nestor Quinsay said BFP team continues to look for pieces of evidence to determine the cause of the fire.

He said each member-agencies are closely coordinating in gathering witnesses who were actually inside the mall when the fire incident happened on December 23.

Quinsay is looking at two to three weeks to complete its investigation.

Part of the investigation is the alarm system of NCCC mall.

BFP Davao Fire Marshall Supt. Fritz Alagano said the cause of the fire will be one of the issues that will be investigated by the Task Force created to investigate the fire incident.

The other issues are the failure of the water sprinklers and the alarm.Alagano said SSI has its own emergency alarm.

BFP Davao has already submitted all reports to its national office prior to the arrival of the investing team in Davao.

A third-party investigator is still expected as offered by Duterte-Carpio. This will be recommended by the families of the victims but professional fees will be covered by the city government. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)



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BAGUIO CITY — The city, being one of the top favorite destinations in the country not only during peak tourism season but even as a weekend destination, requires that the local government exert more effort to address the traffic situation.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan, in a recorded interview aired over a community television channel, on Thursday said the city government is awaiting the city council's approval for its increased budget from PHP1.779 billion to PHP2.06 billion for 2018, which will be highly utilized to put in place infrastructures that will address the worsening traffic situation.

He said that the eight-storey multi-level parking building at the city-owned lot beside Justice Hall has been allocated with a PHP210-million budget and was identified as a priority project for 2018, to help reduce overcrowding of motor vehicles.

Earlier, Councilor Mylene Yaranon, chairman of the committee on infrastructure at the city council, proposed an ordinance mandating the construction of the multi-level parking building in the vacant lot near the fire department.

Domogan explained that one of the identified solutions to address the insufficient parking areas within the central business district area is the construction of multi-level parking structures in suitable areas around the city.

The mayor added that improvement of barangay roads to be used as alternative routes in order to address congestion on main roads is also among the priority infrastructure projects for the coming year.

He mentioned of the Balsigan barangay road that connects Marcos Highway to the Camp 8 portion of Kennon Road as among those on top of the list.

He said that with barangay roads being utilized, the commuters need not proceed to the central business district when going to other villages, which will help declog the traffic at the central business area.

However, with some of the barangay roads still to be improved, their utilization is lean, as some of the vehicle owners have difficulty traversing the highly inclined roads aside from their bad condition.

He pointed out that the traffic issue has become a problem in the city, especially during the weekends and peak tourism season when vehicles double in number.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Regional Director Marie Venus Tan, in an earlier interview, said that in helping the city solve its traffic woes, they are also urging tourists to just walk around when in Baguio.

She said they are urging vehicle owners to leave their cars in the hotels and enjoy the cool weather while walking in going to the parks and other tourism destinations.

Tan added that walking is a healthy habit which is very appropriate in the city considering the short distance to and from the different destinations to the central business district and the city market where tourists can buy souvenir items.

At present, all efforts are being exhausted to ease the traffic in the city that reaches its peak during national holidays.

Baguio City Police Office Director Senior Superintendent Ramil Saculles said that through the mayor's office, they asked for the use of the public school grounds as parking, to prevent vehicle owners from using the roads as their parking spaces.

The city government also sought the Government Service Insurance System's permission to use its vacant lot located at DPS Compound in Marcoville Barangay as a temporary parking space from December 20, 2017 to January 6, 2018, to accommodate the enormous increase in the number of vehicles.  (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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BAGUIO CITY— The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) here is batting for a total ban on the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics as a deterrent to fire incidents and injuries.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Camilo Balancia Jr., BFP-Baguio information officer, on Thursday said that while the law only provides for a regulation of the manufacture and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics, they are hoping that it would totally be banned.

He said that they are glad nobody used firecrackers or pyrotechnics before and during the Christmas Day celebration. "We are happy we did not hear any sound of firecrackers or pyroctehcnics unlike in the previous years when weeks or even months before Christmas, there were already some people lighting them."

Balancia said they attribute this to the strong campaign of the local government of Baguio and supported by different agencies involved that advocate the non-use of pyrotechnics and firecrackers.

City Mayor Mauricio Domogan, for four years now, has resolved not to sign any permit for the sale of firecrackers and urged the residents not to light any due to the many negative effects it causes.

Balancia said that there were incidents in the past where the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics did not just cause injuries to people especially children, but led to fire incidents.

He said the BFP is supportive of the total ban citing three reasons – to prevent any incidents of fire, the smoke emitted is bad for the health and causes pollution and it generates so much waste, affecting in the environment.

During the launching presscon of the "Iwas paputok" campaign early this month, the Health Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) of the Department of Health reported that there were 22 victims of firecracker incidents in the Cordillera in 2016, most of them  children. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- The Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPPO) succeeded in meeting its self-imposed deadline to make the whole province 100 percent drug-cleared before the end of 2017.

This was disclosed on Friday by Chief Inspector Norman Florentino, head of the Police Community Relations of PPPO, who said San Carlos City and San Fabian became the latest of the 47 towns and cities in Pangasinan that were already cleared of drugs by the police.   

Barangay Tandoc in San Carlos City and Aramal in San Fabian were actually the last of the 1,271 drug-affected barangays, from among the 1,364 barangays in the province, already cleared by the police of illegal drugs.   

The clearing of the two barangays enabled PPPO to meet its target to have all 47 towns and cities in Pangasinan cleared of drugs this year, said Florentino. 

Excluded in the list is the town of Sto. Tomas which is the only one in Pangasinan considered as drug-unaffected.

Florentino said 13 of these towns and city were already validated by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) while nine others were newly submitted for validation.

Those submitted recently for validation are Bayambang, Mangatarem, Rosales, San Manuel, Bautista, Binalonan, Bugallon, Calasiao and Lingayen. 

Already declared drug-free by PDEA are  623 barangays in 13 towns and one city in Pangasinan namely,  Laoac, Agno, Anda, Dasol, Burgos, Mabini, Natividad, San Nicolas, Alcala, Malasiqui, Sta. Maria, Mapandan, Sto. Tomas and Alaminos City.

The drug-cleared towns will still undergo validation by PDEA and the Regional Oversight Committee (ROC) composed of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Health and other government agencies and if their documents are complete, they will be declared drug-free.  (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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LUBAO, Pampanga — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the local government unit here on Friday opened the Negosyo Center at the municipal hall compound in Barangay San Nicolas 1st in this town to assist micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Trade and Industry officials led by DTI Region 3 Director Judith Angeles, Pampanga Director Elenita Ordoño, and Pampanga Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council chairperson Teresa Carlos and Vice Mayor Robertito Diaz, led the ceremonial cutting ceremony for the Negosyo Center office.

This is the 11th Negosyo Center opened in Pampanga which aims to promote "ease of doing business and facilitating access to services for MSMEs within its jurisdiction."  

Its services include business registration assistance; business advisory services; business information and advocacy; and monitoring and recommending business-process improvement for MSMEs, among others. 

The LGU provided the space where the Negosyo Center will be housed free of charge.

Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab, in a statement, said the opening of the Negosyo Center was timely as the LGU was expecting business owners to renew or apply for new business permits at the start of the fiscal year 2018.

DTI business name registration is a prerequisite in opening a new business venture.

Cayabyab also said that the opening of the Negosyo Center in this town will provide more convenience to businessmen who usually make a 30-minute travel to the capital City of San Fernando for their business name registration.

"We thank the DTI and the MSMED Council for establishing this Negosyo Center in our town. This is a testament of the government's effort in empowering small-scale businesses who provide employment  to many of our cabalen as well as contribute to government coffers by means of their taxes," she added. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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CAMP PANTALEON GARCIA, Imus City -- A case of double-murder was filed against the suspect in the killing of a seaman's wife Ruby Benalla Gamos and daughter Shaina Nicole, who were found in advanced stage of decomposition in their residence in Lancaster Subdivision, Barangay Navarro in General Trias City, Cavite on Dec.11.

As of press time, the Cavite provincial police office took custody of the suspect , who confessed to the killing of the victims and fled to Samar province where he was arrested by joint police operatives.

Suspect Ruel Cabatingan, 36 was flown in from Samar and directly turned over to the Cavite provincial police headquarters in this city and was presented during a media conference by Police Regional Office (PRO4A-CALABARZON) Director Chief Supt. Ma. O R. Aplasca.

Ruby's husband Marlon Gamos has already filed a case of murder against the suspect before the Imus Prosecutors Office which was docketed under IS No. Iv-03-inv-12L-4481.

Investigation by the joint elements of the Cavite Provincial Intelligence Branch, General Trias Police Station and Cavite Criminal Investigation Group (CIDG led to the immediate identification of the suspect, an alleged lover of Ruby Gamos.

According to Cavite Provincial Legal Chief lawyer Arvie Bueno, the suspect has no lawyer yet, but said they are in contact with the Provincial Attorney's Office (PAO) for legal assistance.

"If the suspect has no lawyer, he might be released temporarily. But he is under custody and jurisdiction of the authorities now, because he voluntarily surrendered and there was no hot pursuit involved," Bueno added.

Initial evidence gathered that the victim Ruby Gamos was raped before she was killed by the suspect based on the sperm and urine of the suspect that was recovered at the scene, while the Gamos daughter was suffocated using a pillow.

Ruby's husband said he has forgiven his wife for what might have transpired between her and the alleged extra-marital affairs she has committed.  But, Marlon expects justice to be served for his wife and daughter and that the full force of the law should be applied to suspect Cabatingan.

It was also gathered that the suspect and Ruby were schoolmates in high school.

Police investigation also revealed that the suspect left the crime scene carting away the victim's personal belongings including a television and a red Toyota Wigo as the getaway car, which was later recovered by the Cavite cops abandoned in front of the Rita Samson Memorial Cemetery in Barangay Alapan 2A in this city.

Cavite Police Provincial Director Supt. William Segun, who formed and activated a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) has tracked down the suspect with joint police operatives in Samar during the manhunt operations.

Segun also assured the families of the victims that the Cavite police force will exert all possible efforts for immediate solution of the case.

Further police probe also disclosed that the suspect and Ruby were renting a house in Barangay Alapan in Imus City where they had a living-in arrangement together with Gamos daughter Shaina Nicole from January to June 2017.

Recently, the suspect was also seen by the victim's neighbors staying in their house in Lancaster Subdivision, Cavite, where the SOCO Team also recovered pieces of evidence from the crime scene which are now undergoing laboratory examination. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017

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TACLOBAN CITY -- Capitol employees of Leyte province are set to receive PHP20,000 bonus.

Out of the amount, PHP15,000 is for the Collection Negotiation Agreement (CNA) incentive while the additional PHP5,000 is for the Performance Enhancement Incentive (PEI).

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said during Thursday night's Christmas party at the capitol that employees deserve more than their bonus for working hard in helping the provincial government perform well this year.

"I am proud to say I am your leader here in the province, because I have you as employees who work well and do their best so we can provide the services our people need," Petilla said.

He said that although the province did not earn the Seal of Good Local Governance this year, due to intensified qualifications, it was still recognized for its Good Financial Housekeeping by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

This should instead become a source of inspiration to do better next year and earn that seal, the governor said.

He likewise lauded the employees in their effort in making sure the success of several projects initiated under his administration.

Capitol employees welcomed the release of the signing bonus. Last year, the provincial government provided extra cash gift of PHP15,000 while in 2015 employees were given PHP20,000.

Job order employees will also receive PHP8,000 this year.

Capitol employees just received their salary adjustment this year pursuant to the approved Salary Standardization Law. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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BORONGAN, Eastern Samar -- Four existing timber bridges in the towns of Maslog and Dolores, Eastern Samar will soon be replaced with permanent bridges, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

DPWH Eastern Samar district engineering office chief Manolo Rojas said on Thursday, they would soon construct four concrete projects along Hinolaso, Dolores-Maslog Road.

The bridges to be constructed include the PHP43.69-million Hinolaso Bridge III, PHP20-million Hinolaso Bridge, PHP17.77-million Hinolaso Bridge I, and PHP14.63-million Villahermosa Bridge.

The improvements of these four bridges connecting Hinolaso village, Dolores town to the interior town of Maslog, will result to higher farm productivity, transportation efficiency for agriculture products and consumers' access to affordable, healthy and safe goods, said Rojas.

It has been observed that heavy vehicles don't reach Maslog town due to absence of concrete bridges.

Maslog is a fifth-class town with 5,407 population. It can be reached by a four-hour motorboat ride.

Maslog is also a recipient of the government's Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan project. The projects include the rehabilitation of a major road connecting Maslog to the national road and neighboring towns and provision of livelihood support to farmers. (PNA)

Photo courtesy of DPWH

DECEMBER 2017

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- Some 31,000 persons were given medical services and another 21,000, dental services by the Pangasinan "Kalusugan" caravan, a mobile team of health workers that visited different barangays or villages of the province this year.

Dr. Anna Ma. Teresa de Guzman, provincial health officer, said the caravan, spearheaded by Mrs. Carina Espino, wife of Governor Amado Espino III, brought medical and dental services to the communities, especially the poor ones.

The caravan was joined by doctors, nurses and other health professionals from the PHO as well as from the 14 public hospitals operated by the provincial government.

Gov. Espino, who launched the project when he assumed office in July 2016, directed the caravan to prioritize remote, far-flung and depressed barangays whose residents have no easy access to medical and dental care.

People suffering tuberculosis were given medicines while pregnant women were directed to give birth in hospitals where they and their infants would be given proper medical care.

Those diagnosed needing surgical operations or confinement were fetched from their respective homes by ambulances and brought to hospitals of the province.

De Guzman said aside from giving medical and dental services as well as medicines, the caravan also conducted health education that taught residents how to stay away from dengue as well as rabies.

Local residents, she said, were encouraged by nurses to clean their homes and surroundings in order to drive away mosquitoes that carry dengue.

They also distributed larvicidal solutions that could be sprayed to breeding places of mosquitoes.

Anti-rabies education was also prioritized due to the fact that 14 persons died of rabies in Pangasinan in 2016. (Ahicam Pasion/PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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ARITAO, Nueva Vizcaya -- Round-the-clock police patrol of Aritao's business district and bus terminal will be conducted to ensure the safety of the people visiting here, especially this Christmas season.

Chief Inspector Joberman A. Videz, Aritao police chief, said Friday that the 24-hour patrol is effective in deterring crimes.

Policemen and barangay tanods are also posted in strategic areas such as the public market.

Videz said the influx of visitors to the town was the primary reason for the increased police visibility for them to feel safe and secure while visiting even during the peak of the Christmas celebration and New Year's Day.

Police checkpoints and mobile patrols from the Police Regional Office 2 (PRO2) were also activated to monitor motorists coming in and out of the Cagayan Valley. (PNA) DECEMBER2017



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DAVAO CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte has commissioned the newly-acquired floating assets of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) that will operate in offshore areas and high seas to combat poaching, unreported and unregulated fishing.

The two floating assets – BRP Lapu-Lapu and BRP Francisco Dagohoy -- are made by Filipino shipbuilders at P250 million each. If bought abroad, each ship is pegged at P750 million, thus, the government saved P1 billion.

Duterte said the commissioning of the BRP Lapu-Lapu and BRP Francisco Dagohoy will strengthen the government's programs against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) and to intensify fisheries law enforcement operations.

"Our activities today are proof of the government's resolve to empower and protect our country's farmers and fisherfolk," Duterte said in his speech during the commissioning ceremony in Sasa Wharf, this city.

The BRP Lapu-Lapu and BRP Francisco Dagohoy are multi-mission vessels which will operate to transport food to places anywhere in the Philippines in times of hunger and famine and for rescue in times of disaster.

They will also be utilized for research and survey operations, livelihood support to far-flung island coastal communities.

Lapu-Lapu and Dagohoy are two known Visayans who fought against the Spanish invasion and Spanish colonial government.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol has proposed to President Duterte to build two multi-mission vessels each year starting 2019 so that by the end of the Duterte's term there will be 10 vessels.

Currently, DA-BFAR has 16 vessels which safeguard the country's fishing grounds. According to Pinol, the Philippine loses USD33 billion from poaching every year.

He said the number of losses will decrease as the government strengthens and effectively monitor the country's fishing grounds now with new floating assets.

He also said that the country incurs 40 percent losses in fish production due to poaching and illegal fishing.
Pinol said the BRP Lapu-Lapu and BRP Francisco Dagohoy are additions to the existing floating assets of DA-BFAR.

The vessels and their superstructure are built to withstand 24-hour continuous, multi-purpose operations and capable of remaining on station for 30 days. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- Ten towns in this province have been placed on the watchlist for dengue due to increased number of cases.

This was disclosed by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Anna Ma. Teresa de Guzman, who called on the public to take the necessary precautionary measures as dengue continues to wreak havoc in the province.

The PHO registered 5,010 cases of dengue from January 1 to December 18 this year or an increase of 27 percent from 3,952 cases registered for the same period last year.

Placed on the watchlist due to their high number of dengue cases were Bayambang, 494; San Carlos City, 378; Malasiqui, 301; Urdaneta City, 289; Lingayen, 270; Bugallon, 205; Binmaley, 177; Sta. Barbara, 167; Pozorrubio, 148; and Calasiao, 145.

De Guzman earlier assured that no children enrolled in public schools in Pangasinan were vaccinated with the controversial Dengvaxia as no such vaccine was ever sent to the province by the Department of Health.

She said, however, the Dengvaxia may have been administered by doctors in private clinics who purchased this kind of vaccine from the manufacturer.

She said her office is now tracing those who may have been administered the vaccine to help them in case there is negative reaction of the vaccine on their bodies. 

Meanwhile, the PHO confirmed  that diarrhea is another big concern in Pangasinan as 43 persons already died from this as of December 18 this year.

PHO already recorded 9,150 cases of diarrhea  from January 1 this year and most of those afflicted are in the age group of five  months to four years old.

In the diarrhea watchlist are: San Carlos City, 850;  Calasiao, 623; Bayambang, 599; Malasiqui, 548; Sta. Barbara, 402; Lingayen, 401, Bolinao, 367, Mangaldan, 361; Pozorrubio, 324 and Binmaley, 319. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – As severe Tropical Storm Vinta made a landfall in Davao Oriental early Friday morning, hundreds of families residing in flood-prone areas here left their homes and sought shelter in the city's evacuation centers.

As of Friday morning, the City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) said around 503 families or 1,719 individuals have been evacuated and are staying at 27 evacuation centers due to the rising water level in the Cagayan de Oro and Iponan rivers.

The flood waters caused by the heavy rains in Bukidnon inundated the waterways and villages, where flooding brought by past weather disturbances such as Sendong and Pablo, once flowed through.

At least three bridges here were closed off to vehicular traffic after the water level of Cagayan de Oro river continued to rise Friday morning.

The city government declared "code red" Thursday, forcing residents to leave their homes and seek evacuation shelters in their respective villages.

The rising floodwaters inundated the facilities of the Cagayan de Oro Water District, prompting the utility to shut down several of its production wells in barangays Macasandig and Balulang. The two villages badly hit by Sendong in 2011.

The shutdown of these pumping stations, the COWD said in a statement, "is necessary to avoid contamination of water supply to safeguard public health."

The COWD also advised its customers to store water while it remains available.

"Do not forget to include water in your emergency kits, ideally one gallon of water per person for three days. COWD shall be providing regular water supply advisories and updates," the company said. (Jigger J. Jerusalem/PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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LAOAG CITY — Residents of Ilocos Norte continue to enjoy generally peaceful communities with no monitored atrocity by communist rebels in the province so far. 

Lt. Col. Eugenio Julio Osias, commanding officer of the Philippine Army's 81st Infantry Battalion, reported this on Friday during the joint Peace and Order Council and Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council Meeting held at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Session Hall, this city.

Though there had been threats in Ilocos Norte's neighboring provinces such as in Ilocos Sur and Abra, Osias said there had been no armed recruitment in the province.

Osias warned that with President Rodrigo Duterte's earlier declaration of war against the New People's Army (NPA), any one who assists its members in any way shall be charged for cuddling terrorists.

Nonetheless, Vice Governor Eugenio Angelo Marcos Barba, who presided the meeting, urged concerned local authorities and residents here not to be complacent and to report any suspicious activity happening in their respective area of jurisdiction.

Earlier this year, the Philippine Army reported that at least 26 rebels with NPA-issued firearms surrendered to the local authorities in Region 1. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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DAVAO CITY – A Davao-born international tenor artist will be performing before the Dabawenyos Friday night at the Grand Regal Hotel.

During his concert dubbed TenoRRfic, Abdul Candao will be awarded by the city government of Davao as the first Dabawenyo International Artist.

Candao comes home every two years to perform before his kababayans. This will be his fifth time to hold a concert for the Davao audience.

Proceeds of the show will benefit the Davao Lady Lawyers Association with their advocacy on Violence Against Women and Children.

Abdul has popularized his craft for 27 years in Europe where classical music is always associated with culture.

"There is an audience for this type of music in the Philippines and I have also seen potentials among the young ones," he said.

"In Manila such specific audience for classical music is there but this has still to be established in the provinces even as there is an improvement on the appreciation of such music outside of the capital," he said.

In Europe, he said that if you are a performer of classical music, the artist is supported by the government as if you are employed by the state.

"They really put premium on it by supporting the artists because culture is very important to them," he said.

Abdul won first prize in 1982 at the National Music Competitions for Young Artists in Manila while he was a member of the Philippine Saringhimig under his first voice teacher, George Hernandez. He was also part of the Kayumangging Kaligatan, a seven-member vocal ensemble under the late National Artist Prof. Emani Cuenco.

Candao then became a student and personal scholar of Prof. Irman Potenciano at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music. He earned his Diploma from the Opera Class of the Vienna Conservatory of Music in 1995 under KS Waldemar Kmentt and has studied with KS Walter Berry and Maestro Vahan Mirakian.

After finishing school, he got Baron Huebner in the Austrian musical "Elizabeth" at the Theater an der Wien.

Since then, he has sung opera, operetta, and concerts in Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.

Some of his representative roles included Cavaradossi, Chateauneuf, Faust, Fernando, the Governor in "Candide", Graf von Luxemburg, Max the Prince in "Rusalka", Prince Sou Chong, Radames, and Zarewitsch.

He has also created two leading roles in the operas: "Jush-Tush" and "Arrest" in Vienna.

Among Candao's important performances were in 2008's Cavaradossi at the Teatro Castro Alves in Salvador, Brazil; in 2009 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Staatsoper in Munich, and the Muziktheater in Amsterdam in Christoph Schingensiet's "Mea Culpa".

In 2010 he sang at the Seville at the Oper im Berg Summer Festival in Salzburg Austria and in 2011 he sang at the Osterklang Festival of the Theater an der Wien in Bernstein's "Mass".

And in January 2012 he sang Prince Sou Chong at the Grosses Festpielhaus in Salzburg Austria. And that same year, he sang Don Jose in the latest Production in Manila directed by Laurice Guillen.

The Filipino tenor continues to peform in theaters and is currently based in Vienna, Austria. (Digna D. Banzon/PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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BUTUAN CITY—The New People's Army (NPA) released on Wednesday the two policemen they abducted in Surigao del Norte over a month ago.

NPA guerillas freed Police Officers 2 Alfredo Degamon Jr. and John Paul Doverte after 36 days in captivity.

They were received by Surigao del Norte Vice Governor Carlos Egay and Surigao City Vice Mayor Alfonso Casura in Brgy. Mahanob, Gigaquit town, Surigao del Norte.

Degamon and Doverte were then brought to the Philippine National Police's regional headquarters in Butuan City, where they were met by Police Chief Supt. Noli A. Romana, PNP-Caraga regional director, and BGen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, commander of the Army's 402nd Brigade.

NPA guerillas posing as law enforcement agents snatched the two police officers from a police box in a busy intersection in Placer town, Surigao del Norte, on November 13.
Speaking to the media, Degamon said he was set to marry his girlfriend in January. He said their wedding may be postponed as he is about to undergo a long period of medication, debriefing and re-training.

Meanwhile, Doverte said his wife was four-months pregnant at the time of the abduction, and that he was overjoyed to gain his freedom before the birth of their new baby .

Superintendent Romana lauded the combined efforts of the government's security forces, local government units, the crisis management committee of the Surigao del Norte, and the third party facilitators who negotiated the policemen's release.

The PNP-Caraga chief also reiterated his condemnation of the NPA for the abduction incident, and reminded policemen throughout the region to be more vigilant. (Noel B. Najarro/PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga -- Police arrested nine wanted persons in separate manhunt operations conducted Thursday throughout Central Luzon.

Seven of those arrested are from Bulacan, namely: Christopher Sablada of Guiguinto; Elimar Ferrer of the City of San Jose del Monte; Christian Bucasas of Malolos City; Renato Zabala of San Miguel; Stephanie Reyes of Balagtas; Rany Culianan of Meycauayan City; and Maria Victoria Mandanas of Sta. Maria.

The remaining two are Eizabeth Reyes of Hermosa, Bataan and Eddiemar Miranda of Cabiao, Nueva Ecija.

Chief Superintendent Amador V. Corpus, director of the Police Regional Office 3, said that all these wanted persons were arrested by virtue of warrants of arrest for different law violations such as murder, rape and robbery.

Corpus said their intensified campaign to put lawless elements and wanted persons behind bars will continue. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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BALANGA CITY, Bataan -- Bishop Ruperto Santos on Friday lauded the ceasefire declaration of President Rodrigo Duterte with the communist rebels effective Dec. 24, 2017 to January 2, 2018.

"We appreciate the good intentions of government in exerting all efforts to forge peace. For peace is our best Christmas gift to one another," the bishop of the Diocese of Balanga said.

His diocese covers 237 barangays of 11 towns and a city in the Bataan peninsula.

Santos, who is chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, urged everyone to always work for peace and to give it (peace) a chance.

"The CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army) must take advantage of this and respect the ceasefire. They should be sincere as partners for peace," he said.

The Bataan prelate urged the communists to denounce violence and atrocities. "Armed struggles will only lead to division and death. It will never solve anything but will just create hatred and foment destructions," he said.

Today, Friday, the rebel group also declared its own truce effective 6 p.m. of December 23 to 6 p.m. of December 26; and 6 p.m. of December 30 to 6 p.m. of January 2, 2018. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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BACOLOD CITY -- Mayor Evelio Leonardia here is optimistic that this capital city of Negros Occidental will continue attracting investors to bring in more developments especially in the real estate sector.

Reacting to reports of Colliers International Philippines that Bacolod is one of the notable locations for hotel and commercial offices development in the country, Leonardia said he valued this recognition as it plays an important role in terms of attracting more businesses.

"In effect, you are given the presumption of being good; thus, we should take this seriously, avail and ride on this momentum every time we have positive news like this," he added.

The global services company reported last week that in terms of commercial offices, Bacolod as well as areas like Quezon, Pampanga, Cebu, Davao, and Iloilo are considered notable locations primarily for co-working space, SM malls, and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO).

Colliers also listed Bacolod City along with Cebu and Palawan as notable locations for hotel development.

Bacolod's performance is in fact projected to increase next year especially with trends like three- to four-star hotels and resort-oriented developments, the company said.

Leonardia cited the local government's determined effort to cut red tape as one measure to make it easy for business to grow in this city.

"In our business platform, we emphasized that business should rapidly grow," Leonardia said, adding that "we can see the signs of the times because all big players are here now."

Among these players include SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land Inc., Megaworld Corp., Double Dragon Properties, and Robinsons Land Corp.

Their presence is an indicator that they see something in Bacolod, the mayor said.

Leonardia added that Bacolod with a population of almost 593,000 only, is the sixth biggest city outside Metro Manila next to Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and General Santos.

The city is smaller compared to other cities but the economy here is on an uptrend, he added. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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CALBAYOG CITY, Samar -- The Department of Public Works and Highways has closed a section of a primary highway that links Samar province to Luzon Island after a massive rock fall hit this city.

"Boulders as huge as houses fell Thursday night and we're thankful that the incident happened far from residential areas," said DPWH Samar first district engineer Alvin Ignacio on Friday.

Ignacio said that the area has a history of rock fall, but Thursday's incident is the most devastating so far as boulders blocked the entire four-lane road.

Heavy rains in the province since last week triggered the rock fall.

The DPWH advised motorists going to the north and south to take the Catarman-Calbayog via Lope de Vega route.

On Friday morning, the DPWH made a detour road for the motorists to pass along the said area, but still limit the passage of vehicles.

"Some motorists still want to pass on the area despite our advisory to take the Lope de Vega route, so we just made a detour road for them to pass but controlled and scheduled," Ignacio added.

However, in its advisory issued late Friday afternoon, the DPWH field office said the portion of the rock fall-hit road will be temporarily closed to traffic to all types of vehicles.

"The clearing operations and the continuing repair or improvement of the constructed detour road will be temporarily stopped due to darkness and the danger of another rock fall," the DPWH said in a statement.

The Calbayog-Allen Road is a vital link of Luzon-bound vehicles from Mindanao and Eastern Visayas regions. It leads to a roll-on roll-off (RoRo) port in Allen, Northern Samar.

For decades, RoRo ferries cross the San Bernardino Strait, transporting passengers and vehicles to and from Allen Port and Matnog Port in Sorsogon. With a distance 28 kilometers, the average travel time is one hour and 30 minutes. (PNA)

PNA photo by Jennifer Allegado 

DECEMBER 2017

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ILOILO CITY -- A search operation is ongoing for a man who went missing after their boat capsized in the waters of Carles, Iloilo on December 19.

The missing man was identified as Johncel Condello, 33, resident of South Gigantes Island, Carles, Iloilo.

Commander Lt. Ramil Palabrica of the Philippine Coast Guard- Iloilo said Thursday that joint teams of the Coast Guard Sub-station of the towns of Carles and Estancia are relentlessly conducting search and rescue operations for the missing man.

Palabrica said the victim together with two other men, Ricky Bolahado, 18 and Rowel Mahusay, 22 departed Tuesday around 10:00 a.m on board a motorized banca from Bancal Port bound for Nabunut Island when they were battered by strong winds and big waves.

Palabrica said that the capsized boat was owned by Fernan Hermogila who asked assistance from Coast Guard for the search of the missing man. The owner revealed that the boat was loaded with 15 boxes of crushed ice that the victims bought from the town proper.

While tropical storm "Vinta" is expected to pass parts of Iloilo and Negros in the coming days, Palabrica said that small fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea.

He added "Oplan Ligtas Biyahe" has been activated in preparation for the influx of passengers this holiday season.

Police assistance desks are active in ports and terminals to attend to the concerns of passengers. (PNA)

PNA photo by Cindy Ferrer

DECEMBER 2017

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ILOILO CITY -- Members of the pre-disaster risk assessment (PDRA) of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) convened Thursday to determine preparations for tropical storm "Vinta".

Portions of Western Visayas, particularly southern Negros, southern Iloilo and Guimaras, are expected to feel the impact of the tropical storm.

Joseph Paul Nogra, chief operations officer of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), said that there is a 70 percent chance that portions of Western Visayas would be hit by the eye of the typhoon.

Nogra said the people should not be complacent and must be on the lookout for the impact of the heavy rains induced by "Vinta" such as flooding and landslide. He said the focus would be on Negros Occidental and Guimaras.

The Department of Interior and Local Government has already ordered the activation of provincial and city monitoring systems and to convene the "listo" team composed of the personnel from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and local disaster risk reduction management offices.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau supervising geologist Leilani G. Suerte warned of flooding and landslide as a result of heavy rains.
In southern Negros Occidental, she warned of possible flooding in coastal areas and landslide in mountainous areas. She said that there are loose soils and tunnels in Sipalay and Hinobaan in Negros Occidental because these are mining areas.

Suerte warned of risky travels, landslide and flash floods in southern part of Iloilo and Antique. She recommended the evacuation in areas with thick population.

Evangeline A. Felicio, assistant regional director for administration designate of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), said that quick response teams of provinces that may possibly be hit by the typhoon are on a "standby status."

She added that 17,732 family food packs are now on standby at the regional office. DSWD has a standby fund of PHP3 million at the regional office.

In Negros Occidental 2,500 family food packs have been prepositioned on top of 600 sacks ready to be withdrawn from the National Food Authority (NFA).

Felicio, said they would reiterate their memorandum to the Quick Response Team in Negros Occidental to be on standby.

Lt. Commander Ramil Palabrica of the Philippine Coast Guard-Iloilo said they have deployable response teams equipped with rubber and aluminum boats. In areas that are not accessible to land vehicles, then the boats can be utilized to distribute relief goods.

Also on standby are the Philippine Red Cross with its mobile kitchen and rescue facilities and generator set, Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Science and Technology among others.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Administration in its severe weather bulletin number 5 said "Vinta" has maintained its speed and direction as it continues to move toward Eastern Mindanao.

It is expected to bring scattered to widespread moderate to heavy rains over Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, Davao Region and Northern Mindanao within 24 hours. (PNA)

PNA photo by Perla Lena 

DECEMBER 2017

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TACLOBAN CITY -- The Biliran Electric Cooperative (Bileco) has restored electricity supply to 65 out of 117 villages in province after tropical storm "Urduja" damaged power lines.

In a statement released Thursday, Bileco said of all the seven towns connected to the main grid, only the town of Kawayan is now experiencing power outage since the storm pummeled the region last week.

"Restoration works have been hampered by mobility as some roads are still inaccessible due to landslides and damaged bridges. Our priority is to repair the backbone leading to Kawayan town to attain 100 percent energization in all covered towns," the electric cooperative said in statement issued Thursday noon.

Bileco, the sole power service provider in Biliran province, has 34,066 household connections in 117 villages.

In an advisory issued on December 18, the NGCP said power transmission operations in Visayas are back to normal operations as the firm successfully completed the restoration of lines damaged by the storm.

The cooperative's initial report showed that more than a hundred electric poles were toppled or with damage cost of primary lines pegged at PHP11 million as of December 18.

Early this week, the Bileco board of directors passed several resolutions to avail of calamity loan from the National Electrification Administration and approve the emergency purchase of rehabilitation materials after the local government declared Biliran province under a state of calamity. (PNA)

Photo courtesy of Biliran Electric Cooperative

DECEMBER 2017

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TAGBILARAN CITY -- All sea vessel trips from this city were cancelled Thursday as Storm Signal No. 1 has been hoisted over the province due to the approaching tropical storm "Vinta"

As of 11 a.m. Thursday, the Philippine Atmospheric,Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration placed Bohol under Signal No. 1 together with other neighboring provinces projected to be within the reach of storm Vinta starting tonight.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has started preparing for the possible impact of the storm to the province.

PDRRMO head Anthony Damalerio said his office has been on alert level since last week when tropical storm Urduja brought torrential rains in Bohol.

Early Thursday afternoon, the Tagbilaran City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office also discussed its own action plan at a local restaurant here,said city administrator Leones Borja. (Dave Albarado/PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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TACLOBAN CITY -- The Philippine Army has recognized the bravery of wounded soldiers who fought the New People's Army (NPA) who attacked humanitarian response team in Catubig, Northern Samar.

Brig. Gen. Mario Lacurom, 803rd brigade commander, pinned the wounded personnel medal to Corporal Yzazel Laure and Pfc. Ronald Gomez on Thursday while in confinement. The Northern Samar provincial government awarded PHP40,000 cash and grocery packs to each soldier.

Gomez suffered a bullet wound in the buttocks while Laure was hit in the belly when about 50 rebels attacked them, triggering an hour-long firefight Sunday afternoon in Hinagonoyan village, Catubig town.

The military was heading to flooded communities to help bring residents to higher grounds and transport relief goods.

Top military officials condemned the attack of NPA terrorists against soldiers delivering food relief to families affected by Tropical Storm "Urduja", calling it cowardly and inhuman.

Despite the attack, Lacurom promised that the military will continue serving the people especially in times of calamities. He branded the attack as a clear violation of the International Humanitarian Law.

"We deplore this kind of act of terrorist NPA that instead of helping the victims of disasters, they are making the disaster response complicated to the detriment of those who are already affected," Lacurom said.

Despite the recent declaration of President Rodrigo Duterte to suspend military operations against the New People's Army, the military in Northern Samar will remain vigilant and mindful of their safety during the holiday truce, according to Lacurom.

The ceasefire would run from Dec. 24, 2017 to Jan. 2, 2018 and the Palace expects the communist rebels to return the favor. (PNA)

Photo courtesy of Army 803rd Brigade

DECEMBER 2017

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BAGUIO CITY -- The Department of Tourism (DOT) in the Cordillera Administrative Region said Thursday Baguio could reach the 1.4-million tourist arrival mark by the end of December. 

Marie Venus Tan, DOT Cordillera regional director, said the city breached the one-million tourist arrival target for 2017 as early as September.

The tourist arrivals could further increase as Baguio becomes more accessible to Metro Manila.

Travel time from Manila to Baguio and vice versa is now only 3.5 hours, from the previous 4.5 to 5 hours, via the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) which connects the central and northern Luzon provinces to Manila via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

Tan also said that with the holding of the month-long 2018 Baguio Flower Festival in February, and the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) alumni homecoming and graduation also on the same month, tourist arrival is expected to further increase. 

City Mayor Mauricio Domogan in a press conference on Wednesday confirmed the DOT's statement, saying that Baguio has proposed a PHP2-billion budget for 2018, which it would be able to get generally from business taxes of tourism-related establishments.

He said: "The city is getting its share in tourism arrivals. This tells us the importance of the tourism aspect."

He noted of the many conference organizations, offices and networks with big number of participants being held in Baguio, not just during the peak of tourism season but all year round.

The heavy traffic being experienced in the city is another proof of the skyrocketing number of arrivals, the reason the local government here is prioritizing the rehabilitation of barangay or village roads which are being eyed as alternative roads inside the city.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in the Cordillera also reported high collection of taxes from the business sector, particularly from tourism-related establishments, which it attributes to the good revenue derived by the robust industry. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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BAGUIO CITY -- The opening of the Pozorrubio exit of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union expressway (TPLEX) would further boost tourism in Baguio and the rest of northern Luzon, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on Thursday.

Marie Venus Tan, DOT-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) regional director, said: "It makes Baguio now much closer, it is more convenient for people travelling up north."

The TPLEX connects the central and northern Luzon provinces to Manila via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

The 10.1-kilometer segment of TPLEX in Binalonan to Pozorrubio in Pangasinan was opened last December 6, cutting travel time by about 45 minutes from Tarlac.

The last section of TPLEX – the 10.92-km road from Pozzorubio in Pangasinan to Rosario in La Union is set to be completed in June 2019.

Tan said that with the opening of the Pozorrubio exit and Saytan in Rosario, La Union, the entrance to Kennon Road is just 15 minutes away.

"It is not just Baguio that will benefit but there will also be a spill over towards Ilocos," she said.

Tan added that Baguio's boosted connectivity to Metro Manila also makes the city more attractive to investors, aside from the local tourists travelling even for the weekend. (PNA)
DECEMBER 2017


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LAOAG CITY — At least six secondary schools in Ilocos Norte offering elective subjects on food and beverage, bread and pastry making and cookery have entered into a memorandum of agreement with two giant food chains in this city for the students' immersion program.

These schools are the Sacritan Integrated School in Pinili; Adriano P. Arzadon National High School in Nueva Era, Sarrat National High School, Nagrebcan National High School in Badoc, Pagsanahan National High School in Badoc, and the Cadaratan National High School in Bacarra.

George Emman Manuel, Project Development Officer II of the Schools Division of Ilocos Norte, said Thursday that under the agreement with McDonald's and Max's Restaurant, senior high school students taking up elective subjects shall render a total of 80 hours restaurant-related services as part of their hands-on training program.

Manuel said the school-industry partnership is necessary to effectively deliver Senior High School instructions to be applied immediately in proper venue and practical expertise.

Earlier, the Schools Division of Ilocos Norte represented by Superintendent Vilma Eda signed the memorandum of agreement with McDonald's represented by Gloria Paraiso, in-charge of the Human Resource Business Partner and Cristina Sebastian, restaurant manager.

Manuel added that the work immersion partnership is a part of the private companies' corporate social responsibility to create a positive impact on the young people in the community. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- Tropical Depression Urduja left a housewife dead in the southern Palawan town of Brooke's Point before exiting Tuesday morning.

Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) officer-in-charge Cruzalde Ablaña confirmed Wednesday that 38-year-old Lupetya Arpenio drowned on Tuesday morning as she and her husband were crossing a river in Sitio Kabulnucan, Barangay Imulnod.

"It is confirmed that she drowned and died after crossing the Imulnod River in Brooke's Point. Her husband was rescued, but her body was found and recovered in Barangay Pangobilian, also in the said town," Ablaña said.

Unable to provide the name of the husband, he added that another companion of the Arpenios had related that the housewife was swept by strong river currents brought about by heavy rains.

"We were never short of always reminding residents not to cross rivers or seas when there is a typhoon. Unfortunately and just when 'Urduja' was about to exit, something like this happens," he added.

Ablaña said more than a hundred families were preemptively evacuated Tuesday afternoon from low-lying areas of Narra town due to expected moderate to heavy rains over the southern part of the province.

"We've prepositioned relief goods there earlier for distribution to families that might be affected. So, the Narra evacuees are continuously being helped," he said.

In Puerto Princesa, classes have returned to normal since Tuesday despite the light to moderate rains. Tours to the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), however, remained cancelled. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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TABUK CITY, Kalinga -- Jollibee Foods Corporation has announced it is hiring 200 locals in time for the opening of the Filipino food chain's first store here and in the entire province on February 18, next year, a company representative told officials in this city on Wednesday.

Franklin Papala, a representative of the company, said that local recruitment was held on Monday at the city's Public Employment Service Office, with the aim to hire 200 service crew members for the store.

He said that the applicants also attended an orientation where details of the work were provided as well as the compensation that the workers would receive.

The Jollibee store in Tabuk that will be located in Barangay Bulanao is a company-owned branch, not a franchise.

 It will operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will have a drive-thru, catering and party services and with dine in and take out for both small and big orders.

Papala said a service crew is paid PHP290 daily or PHP36.25 per hour for a maximum of eight hours work per day. He also said that as part of their requirements, applicants for service crew should at least be high school graduate or college undergraduate.

Papala pointed out that the company does not discriminate as to age as long as the applicant is flexible, can work long hours, willing to work in shifts, competent and honest.

He said that the first batch of service crew and store managers hired in July 2016, who had undergone training at Jollibee branches in Roxas, Tuguegarao City and Manila would still be interviewed, oriented and trained.

The opening of the Jollibee store in Tabuk is a much awaited event in the province.

The nearest branch of the popular food chain is still some three hours away, in Tuguegarao, Cagayan. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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LAOAG CITY—In the spirit of Christmas, the provincial government distributed on Monday Noche Buena packages to 2,000 poor families in the northern part of Ilocos Norte. 

 

Governor Ma. Imelda Josefa Marcos led the distribution in the towns of Pasuquin, Burgos, Bangui and Pagudpud.

 

She also paid tribute to senior citizens who are celebrating their birthday this month and gave them personalized cake together with the grocery items.

 

Every year, the provincial government distributes Noche Buena items to ensure that every family will be feel the spirit of Christmas.

 

The selected beneficiaries, according to Edwin Cariño of the Sustainable Development Office, were not included in the 4Ps or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program which beneficiaries get regular assistance from the national government.

 

Cariño said they chose those who live in highly vulnerable areas and most of them were hard-hit by previous typhoons and have not recovered their losses yet. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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BAGUIO CITY - The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) has ratified this city's Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) which charts the city's physical and economic development from 2013-2023, Mayor Mauricio Domogan told the PNA in an interview on Monday.

 

Domogan, who presented the plan to the HLURB in November, said the Board through Resolution No. 959 series of 2017 dated Nov. 27, unanimously approved the plan and its implementing ordinance, giving the city the imprimatur to implement the same.

 

The CLUP, its sectoral studies for year 2013-2023 and the amended zoning ordinance entitled "Adopting the Revised Comprehensive Zoning Regulations for the City of Baguio and Providing for the Administration, Enforcement and Amendment thereof and for the Repeal of all Ordinances in Conflict therewith" which serves as the CLUP's implementing tool, were approved by the city council in 2016.

 

The mayor said the CLUP emphasized the development policies and regulations and maintenance of the geo-physical integrity of the city pursuing sustainable development at levels following resources carrying capacities.

 

Also included in the CLUP is the enhancement or improvement of the natural landscape and aesthetics of the area as a primary consideration in the introduction of any land uses, structures and other developments; preservation and enhancement of natural resources (air, water, forest) to their best and sustainable uses; preservation or restoration of cultural heritage or historical or scientific sites and resources at their pristine status; 

 

Decongestion of highly dense areas following standard levels; provision of efficient and effective circulation or access and other urban development services or facilities or utilities in all governance units in accordance to their roles and functions in the overall city development; and land uses shall conform or complement the development roles of adjacent municipalities in the province of Benguet and the region in general.

Baguio is bounded by the municipalities of La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay (LISTT).

 

City planning and development officer Evelyn Cayat earlier said the CLUP which was the product of years of study and consultations with the various sectors of society, aside from gearing toward attaining sustainable development, also guides, controls and regulates the "development of the city, protects the character of the different identified zones, promotes and protects the health, safety, peace, comfort and convenience and the general welfare of our people as well as our unique environment."

 

Under the CLUP, land uses were designated and were zoned as residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, watersheds or forest reservation, parks and others.

 

The permitted uses of each zone were also spelled out in the plan.

 

To decongest the central business district, commercial zones were designated at the outskirts like in Naguilian Road, Marcos Highway and Barangays Irisan and Camp 7.

There were also rules for the preservation of the watershed and forest reservations.

 

Moreover, the plan enhanced the disaster risk reduction management of the city with vulnerability profiling which describes the city's topography and slope, drainage, flood points location, geology, landslide susceptibility and sinkholes and all were analyzed in coming up with the land use  flood points location, geology, landslide susceptibility and sinkholes and all were analyzed in coming up with the land use map.

 

The city's land use plan is implemented through the zoning ordinance which was also approved by the city council through Ordinance No. 63 series of 2016. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga -- Police personnel in Central Luzon have been strictly warned against indiscriminate firing of guns this holiday season.

 

"Police who will be caught firing their weapons indiscriminately during the long holidays will not be exempted from arrest," Chief Superintendent Amador V. Corpus, the head of the Police Regional Office 3, said.

 

Corpus likewise ordered the entire Central Luzon police force to crack down on those who will indiscriminately fire their guns.

 

"These include our own men, our brothers in the military, security guards, and civilian firearm holders. Those caught firing their firearms indiscriminately to welcome Christmas and the New Year will be arrested and charged as well as the immediate relief from post of their respective chiefs of police," he said.

 

On the other hand, the annual sealing of gun muzzles of police personnel was foregone as ordered by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa.

 

Meanwhile, in support to the "Oplan: IwasPaputok, Fireworks Display ang Patok! Makiisa Fireworks Display sa Inyong Lugar" of the Department of Health, Corpus ordered the Police Regional Office 3 as well as the different provincial/city police offices all over the region to coordinate with their barangay officials for the establishment of common firecracker zones in their areas.

 

"We continue to conduct series of inspections among firecracker stores within the region to prevent the selling of prohibited firecrackers which pose danger to the public," he said.

 

Corpus also asked the public to be extra cautious so as not to be victimized by lawless elements.

 

"We will intensify our efforts to prevent any unscrupulous activities to take place so that all may enjoy the festivities," he said. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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DUMAGUETE CITY – With less than two weeks to close the year 2017, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Sub-port of Dumaguete reported a continuous climb in its revenue collections for the whole year with close to Php 1.7 billion already as of December 11.

 

The latest 2017 comparative collection report of the Dumaguete Customs office showed that its target collection for this year as set by its central office is pegged at a little more than Php 1.3 billion.

 

But the sub-port's gains of almost PHP1.7 billion as of latest count has already exceeded the target by some Php 371.944 million or a 28.4 percent increase, records show.

 

Dumaguete Customs Collector Fe Lluelyn Ganir Toring disclosed that her office is also expecting about Php 122 million more before the year is over as there some more shipments from major exporters arriving within the period.

 

The three key contributors to the gains earned by the Dumaguete Customs Sub-port due to importation are Fil Oil for petroleum products, DUCOMI for palm olein, and Pryce Gas for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Toring said.

 

During the first quarter of this year (covering the months of January, February, and March), the Dumaguete Sub-port office reported an actual collection of some P443.464 million, or some 83.76 percent higher than its target of Php 241.322 million.

 

In the second quarter (April, May, and June), the Sub-port also reported excess in revenues earned, with an actual collection of Php 425.147 million versus its target of Php 333.852 million, or a variance of 27.35 percent.

 

The Dumaguete Sub-port in the 3rd quarter months of July, August, and September continued its uphill climb with an actual collection of Php 521.120 million, or 25.40 percent higher than its targeted collection of Php 415.556 million plus.

 

In the final quarter, just under three weeks to the end of the year, its actual tax collection was pegged at more than Php 285.596 million as opposed to its target of Php 312.654 million.

 

But Customs Collector Toring said they are confident that even in the fourth quarter, they would still surpass its target collection because of the coming importation from its key clients.

 

She disclosed that because of the consistent gains by the Dumaguete Customs office in previous years, the BOC main office had increased their target collection for this year.

 

In 2016, the Dumaguete Sub-port's target collection was set at only Php 378 million, however, the office reported of excess earnings for the whole of last year, pegged at more than Php 1.154 billion.

 

Because of this remarkable performance, the BOC upped the Dumaguete Sub-port's target collection for this year by almost triple the number.

 

Toring had previously admitted it was a challenge to meet or exceed such a steep increase in their target revenue collection but she is thankful that with the growing economy of Dumaguete City and the province of Negros Oriental, her office has earned more than expected.

 

The local Customs chief said their office here will be giving citations to major key players as well as other contributors and partners, during their annual Christmas party Monday evening.

 

While shy about saying whether the Dumaguete Sub-port will once again be cited by the BOC because of its exemplary performance, Toring said the office has been a consistent awardee over the years.

 

She thanked the people who work for and with her at the local Customs Office, saying that her office wouldn't have possibly made it this year without everyone's support and cooperation. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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DAVAO CITY -- The Compostela Valley provincial government with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) turned over P5.7 million worth of Potable Water System at Barangay Kapatagan in Laak, Compostela Valley.

This was announced by the Compostela Valley provincial information office on Monday. The project was implemented through the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) which was implemented by the province.

Barangay Captain Moises Doca together with his constituents thanked the provincial government and the officials of the DILG-PAMANA for the project.

The funds used for the project was part of the P15 million allocated funds from the DILG-PAMANA through President Rodrigo Duterte which is divided into two Water System Projects in Laak town.

Based on the latest report, the other Water System project is now 95 percent complete located at Barangay Poblacion, Laak as part of the DILG-PAMANA projects.

PAMANA is the government's flagship program for peace and development aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions in areas affected and vulnerable to armed conflict.

The PAMANA program helped addressed the needs of the people in conflict-affected communities.

The DILG earlier reported that 2012 PAMANA program has a total of 280 completed out of 287 projects; 96 out of 98 projects have been completed in 2013 program; 110 projects in 2014; 79 of the 115 projects have been completed in 2015; and 136 projects in 2016. (Armando Fenequito Jr/PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- Chief Supt. Romulo E. Sapitula, newly designated police regional director of the Ilocos region, has called on all police personnel in Pangasinan to enhance their service to the people.

Sapitula spoke before rank and file members of the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office when he came to the province on Saturday, his first ever command visit since assuming the post of Police Regional Office 1 (PRO1) director.

He was welcomed by Senior Supt. Ronald O. Lee, Pangasinan Police Provincial director and his staff.

Chief Supt. Sapitula used to be the director of the Eastern Police District before replacing Chief Supt. Charlo Collado.

"We should work harder so that we can enhance our service to the people," he said, adding that he intends to start some projects in Pangasinan soon.

"I would like to ask for your help. Since we are all policemen, we should help each other. The uniformed and non-uniformed personnel must be one in helping the people," he said.

In his first command conference with police officials in Pangasinan, Sapitula initially called for stronger anti-crime measures, noting there were 185 murder cases recorded by the police this year. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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MANILA -- Former Garchitorena, Camarines Sur Mayor Jesus Rico Sarmiento was imposed a PHP2,000 fine after pleading guilty before the anti-graft court for violating the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees."

The probe showed that from January to October 2014, Sarmiento repeatedly used two private vehicles owned by a contractor with several ongoing projects in the municipality.

Upon arraignment on Oct. 27, 2017, the accused, assisted by legal counsel, voluntarily entered a plea of guilty before the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division.

The accused was fully apprised of the consequences of his plea in open court.

In clear terms, Sarmiento stated that he understood the nature of his plea; that if he pleaded guilty to the charge, he is deemed to have admitted all the accusations in the information.

The Sandiganbayan imposed the penalty of a PHP2,000 fine, having appreciated in Sarmiento's favor, the mitigating circumstance of plea of guilty.

Under Republic Act No. 6713, or the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees," government officials and employees shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office. (Ombudsman PR) DECEMBER 2017



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CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- Giant and brightly-colored lanterns lit up the evening sky as this year's 'Ligligan ng Parul' took center stage Saturday at the Robinsons Starmills here.

Thousands of local and foreign tourists flocked here to witness the annual festival that gave the city the distinction of being the Christmas Capital of the Philippines.

The spectators were all eyes as the parol makers from barangays Dolores, Sta Lucia, Telebastagan, Sindalan, San Juan, San Nicolas, Calulut, San Jose, Del Pilar and Del Rosario showed their creativity and craftsmanship for the yearly competition of the best and grandest giant lanterns.

Loud cheers filled the air as the audience saw the grand display of spectacular lights, the interplay of colors and kaleidoscopic patterns of the giant lanterns to the beat of lively music.

"Every year, we are here to witness this spectacular festival. It is really amazing to see and watch those giant lanterns which bring to us the warmth and joys of Christmas," said Susan Malgapo from Cabiao, Nueva Ecija.

"The giant lantern festival has been around for years, but I can still feel the burst of excitement every time I see each lantern designed with intricate and unique patterns that you can only find in this province," said Rogelio Sampang from Arayat town.

Maylene Gamboa, an overseas Filipino worker from Singapore, said "this is my first time to watch this Giant Lantern Festival and it is really different. I do miss Filipino Christmas traditions such as this."

"My friends and I traveled all the way from Olongapo City and it is really exciting to see those huge brightly-colored lanterns. Those are all nice and beautiful," Nora Gorospe said.

But only one stood the best among the 10 entries.

Barangay Dolores once again emerged as this year's champion for its fourth consecutive victory since 2014. This was followed by Barangay San Jose which landed as first runner-up and Barangay Del Pilar as second runner-up.

After the competition, there will be lantern exhibitions from December 17-21, December 25 and 30 and January 1-2 at the Robinsons Starmills.

The 20-foot-tall manually-operated lanterns will also be exhibited in Barangay Telabastagan here on December 22; Greenfields Subdivision in Barangay Sindalan (December 23) and in front of the City Hall (December 24).

The lanterns will also be brought to the Marquee Mall in Angeles City on December 28 and 29. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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DAVAO CITY -- All boxers from Davao City advanced to the quarterfinals of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)-Pacquiao Amateur Boxing Cup Mindanao Leg that opened Saturday at the Robinsons Place in General Santos City.

"Puro kasi sila nag bye after the draw of lots today" (All of them bid goodbye after the draw of lots today), said Philippine Sports Commission technical supervisor Rogelio Fortaleza.

Seeing action in the quarterfinals on Feb. 10-11 in Kidapawan City are Emmanuel Canubas (Junior boys 44-46 kg.), Reymond Albupera (Junior boys light flyweight 48 kg.), Cyril Ivan Revilla (Junior boys 50 kg.), John Ednoel Prevendido (Youth boys light flyweight 46-49 kg.), Curt Nelgy Manigsasa (Youth boys flyweight 52 kg.), Joshua Padual (Youth boys 56 kg.) and John Alvin Gonzales (Youth boys lightweight 60 kg.).

Three bouts were held during the opening day. James Errol Gahaton of Brgy.Labangal-Gensan took on Kim Jade Sagrado in the Junior boys (44-46 kg.) division, followed by Ben John Rey Yagahon against Alvin John Sumodalayon in the Junior boys flyweight (48 kg.).

Saturday night's fight pitted Alfred Gomez of Malungon and Jayson Brillo of Sultan Kudarat for the Junior boys flyweight (48 kg.).

Six bouts were slated Sunday featuring Ariel Almamento vs. Ferdinand Melegrito (Youth 46-49 kg.), Christian Lanutan vs. Jake Sone Saludar (46-49 kg.), Arceboy Barangan vs. Carl Joshua Rafael (52 kg.), John Ignatius Macas vs. Nino Kongkong (52 kg.), Nichole Jhon Lucas vs. Criz Sander Laurente (52 kg.) and Zaldy Recopuerto vs. Remark Brillo (56 kg.).

The winners will advance into the semifinals on March 3 in Cagayan de Oro City while the Mindanao Finals is set on March 24 in Davao City. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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DAVAO CITY -- The number of tourist arrivals in Davao City could hit about 170,000 to celebrate Christmas or 10,000 more compared with last year.

Even without firecrackers or display of pyrotechnics, the city has become a destination for domestic tourism because of its month-long Pasko Fiesta.

Davao City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) chief Generose Tecson said the city is targeting around 170,000 tourists who will be coming to the city to celebrate Christmas.

"We know that our fellow Dabawenyos are the ones who invited their friends and relatives to experience the celebration of Christmas here in the city, " she said.

She said tourists can experience the activities of the Pasko Fiesta sa Davao such as the "Kaan sa Davao" or the food festival along Palma Gil Street and kan anan sa Tribo at the Magsaysay Park's Kadayawan Village where people can experience the different indigenous food of the city's tribes.

"We want them to experience how we celebrate as people. Despite our differences in our culture and traditions we still unite and that's our difference from other places," she said.

She said the visitors can also enjoy the lantern parade and the choral competition at City Hall.

Last year, Tecson said the number of city visitors reached 160,000 based on the hotel occupancy. That was even the year when a bomb exploded at the Roxas night market.

"We are really targeting last year's arrivals. We've seen the trend that after the declaration of martial law our tourist arrivals decreased," she said.

"However, it was surprising that in July our tourist arrivals increased and during Kadayawan that was really terrific because there are many people who came to Davao," Tecson added. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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DAVAO CITY -- Three military camps in the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental joined this year's awardees of Gulayan Achievers by the Department of Agriculture-High Value Crops Development Program (DA-HVCDP).

This year's big winners in Gulayan sa Kampo (GSK) are the 71st Infantry (Kaibigan) Battalion in Mawab, Compostela Valley, 25th Infantry (Fireball) Battalion in Monkayo, also in Compostela Valley, and the 28th Infantry (Kamagong) Battalion in Mati City, Davao Oriental.

They were among the ‎2017-2018 Gulayan Achievers of DA.

DA 11 Director Ricardo Oñate Jr. lauded the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for their commitment to support DA's advocacy to provide available and affordable food.

"Malaking tulong ang ini-extend ng ating military men dahil nagle-lecture na din sila sa ating farmers on vegetable farming at the same time sa pagma-mapping natin sa agricultural lands sa Region 11," Oñate said.

HVCDP coordinator Melani Provido also thanked the participating schools for their continued support to the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP).

"Our teachers became the second parent of our child and their influence plays a big role in molding their development. The time the teachers integrate the GPP program in their school, the students can now understand that they too can produce quality and nutritious foods," Provido said.

On the other hand, the Best School Garden implementers for ‎2017-2018 in the elementary container garden category are: San Roque Elementary School in Davao City -- first place; Mawab Central Elementary School in Mawab, Compostela Valley Province -- second place; and, Don Ricardo Briz Central Elementary School in Tagum City, Davao del Norte -- third place.

For elementary field garden category, the winners are New Bantayan Elementary School in Asuncion, Davao del Norte -- first place; Cadalian Elementary School in Davao City -- second place; and the New Albay Elementary School in Maragusan, Compostela Valley province -- third place.

For high school container garden category, the winners are Andili National High School in Compostela Valley province -- first place; Dujali National High School in B.E. Dujali, Davao del Norte -- second place; and, Puntalinao National High School in Banaybanay, Davao Oriental -- third place.

The winners for the high school field garden category are Manat National High School in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley province -- first place; Manuel B. Guiñez National High School in Banaybanay, Davao Oriental -- second place; and, Sacub National High School in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur -- third place.

DA is also thankful for the strong support of the Department of Education (DepEd) to the GPP program.

"With our partnership, we can attain the government's thrust to provide affordable and available food for everybody," Provido said.

First-time winner Ellen Estacaan, GPP coordinator of San Roque Central Elementary School, said the school is rejoicing for winning the first place in the container garden category.

"We've been participating for four years and we won third place in ‎2015-2016 and we're so happy that we have grabbed the first place for regional level for ‎2017-2018," Estacaan said.

Filipinas Samblingo, San Roque District supervisor, lauded the efforts of DA in helping the DepEd to combat malnutrition among schoolchildren.

She said GPP helped a lot in the feeding program of nine schools under the San Roque District.

"The program helped improve the nutritional status of our school as the prevalence rate of malnourished schoolchildren decreased," Samblingo added.

The GPP program and GSK continue to expand vegetable garden projects in schools and military camps to address malnutrition so as to help school children to get better nutrition as well as the neighboring communities. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- A 15-foot whale was eventually pulled back into the sea Saturday afternoon after a team of environment, maritime, and coast guard authorities spent several hours to rescue it in Honda Bay here.

The large whale, suspected to be either a Bryde's or Omura's, was trapped on the sandy beach of Luli Island, a popular island spot in the said bay in Barangay Sta. Lourdes.

Vivian Obligar-Soriano, senior ecosystems management specialist of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office, said joint teams from the PNP-Maritime Special Operations Unit, Philippine Coast Guard, local Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff safely herded the whale back to a deeper part of the waters of the bay shortly before 2:30 p.m.

"We successfully released it back to the deeper part of the bay, and we didn't see it again. We requested these authorities to keep a close watch on the marine mammal so, that when it comes back we can do something," Soriano told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

The shallow area on Luli Island, where it was shoved by waves and trapped, was cordoned off to keep away people from the place during the rescue.

She added that the wounds that were spotted on the tail of the whale were not serious and that it was strong enough to swim away after its rescue.

"Its wounds were superficial; it probably got them when its tail hit the sands and some rocks on the island due to low-tide," she said, adding they are now clarifying the species of the whale to the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines.

The latest stranding was the fifth recorded in Palawan this year. The first one said to be a 7-footer pygmy sperm whale was stranded in the northern municipality of Roxas in April. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017

 



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ILOILO CITY -- A total of 496 families have been displaced in Panay island as tropical storm 'Urduja' battered the region over the weekend.

In a press conference Sunday afternoon, Jose Roberto Nuñez, chairman of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management 6 (RDRRMC-6) said there are currently 496 families, composed of 2,190 persons, affected in the region.

Out of the 496 families, a total of 256 families were forced to move to evacuation centers due to the continuous flooding.

Specifically, 236 families of the said evacuated families are in the province of Capiz while 20 families are in Tambaliza Island in Concepcion, Iloilo.

The affected families include 295 in Capiz; 174, Concepcion, Iloilo; and 27 in Aklan.

According to Nuñez, the towns of Dumalag, Sigma, Maayon, Pan-ay and Roxas City are currently flooded.

But he assured that all national and provincial roads and bridges in the region are currently "normal and passable."

He also assured that the local DRRMC of the affected areas are attending to the needs of the displaced families.

As of the moment, Nuñez said that there is zero casualty in the region.

"RDRRMC 6 is currently on red alert status in order to facilitate a coordinated monitoring and response operations in the whole of Western Visayas," Nuñez said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Coast Guard-Iloilo (PCG-Iloilo) Commander Lt. Ramil Palabrica said that a total of 1,524 passengers are currently stranded in the different ports and terminals as all boat trips were still canceled in the region, except boats traveling from Iloilo to Guimaras, vice versa.

He said that boat capacity has been reduced to 75 percent to secure the safety of the passengers.

Among the stranded include 847 stranded passengers in Caticlan port going to Boracay island; 355 stranded passengers in Lapuz Port going Bacolod City; 108 stranded passengers in Fort San Pedro Terminal going to Manila, Cebu City and Cagayan de Oro; 198 stranded passengers in Dumangas

Port going to Bacolod City; nine stranded passengers in Semirara Wharf; and seven stranded passengers in Libertad wharf in the province of Antique going to Caluya.

Palabrica said that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 6 on Sunday morning has provided 40 family food packs for the 108 stranded passengers in Fort San Pedro terminal.

Palabrica said that they cooked the food at the office of PCG that is beside the said terminal and served them to the passengers during lunch.

He added that they have also provided packed breakfast to the passengers this morning as some private groups and individuals donated some food packs.

Palabrica said that the DSWD-6 is continuously conducting an assessment of the different ports and terminals in the region to provide the stranded passengers of their needs.

The trips of the boat will resume once the tropical storm signal will be lifted in the affected areas here, Palabrica said.

Chief Inspector Louie Barrientos, focal person for disaster of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) said that they are also currently on "full alert" status to provide assistance to the public especially to the displaced families in the region.

As of 2 p.m Sunday, Nuñez said that the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo are still under the tropical cyclone signal no.1 based on the state weather bureau, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration.

While Urduja is expected to pass by the vicinity of Boracay island at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nuñez assured that the local DRRMC of Boracay is currently doing all the necessary preparations to secure the safety of the residents.(PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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DAVAO CITY -- As Christmas Day is just around the corner, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 has stepped up monitoring against the sale and use of firecrackers, indiscriminate use of firearms in Davao Region with close to 3,000 police personnel deployed for Yuletide season.

As of Sunday, Davao region has zero incidents on illegal possession, use and sale of firecrackers and other firecracker-related cases, stray bullet, and indiscriminate firing.

PRO 11 spokesperson, Chief Inspector Andrea dela Cerna, revealed that overall, Davao region has zero incidents.

All police units in region remain on full alert status to provide maximum security coverage and intensify anti-crime campaign in Davao region.

Aside from police personnel, PRO 11 also tapped force multipliers like the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Teams and other stakeholders to ensure public safety.

PRO 11 Director, Chief Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, said more police officers are out securing churches, malls, ports, terminals, and other places of convergence.

"We will strengthen all police operations and will employ all our resources and manpower just to make sure that holidays will be peaceful and safe," Gaerlan said in a press statement released Sunday.

He said the police are also working hand in hand with the Department of Health, Bureau of Fire Protection, local government units and other government agencies to minimize if not to stop firecracker-related incidents in Davao Region during the celebration.

As this developed, Gaerlan further asked the public to be vigilant at all times and report any suspicious bags/luggage, vehicles, personalities and activities to the nearest police station or security officers in the area. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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TACLOBAN CITY -- Tropical Storm Urduja left at least 27 people while 24 others were reported missing due to landslides and flooding in several areas in Biliran province.

Initial reports on Sunday showed that 16 of the fatalities were from Caibiran, a municipality surrounded by rivers.

Lolita Rosel, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) officer, said the fatalities perished after landslide debris buried nine houses in Cabibihan village Saturday night.

Seven bodies were already recovered and identified during the retrieval operations, Rosel said in a telephone interview.

The fatalities were identified as Ronald Español, 27; his common-law-wife Jessebel Mandaue, 25; their children James Ron, 4; and Judy Ann, 2.

Also killed were their neighbors Mylene Bendicion, 33; Manuel Lambunao, 5; and Merlan Sancap, 37.

Retrieval operations are ongoing to recover the bodies of other victims.

"The local government unit will no longer allow about 30 families to return to their old homes located in a landslide-prone community," Rosel told the Philippine News Agency.

Affected residents will temporarily stay in an evacuation center in Cabibihan village while waiting for their transfer to permanent shelter to be built by the National Housing Authority.

In Almeria town, four were killed when massive landslide buried houses in Iyusan village. The fatalities were Jimmy Jorge, 2; Winnie, 55; Wilma, 12; and Maribeth, 50, all surnamed Garbo.

In Naval town, MDRRM officer Raoul Villordon confirmed that six people died in a landslide and 21 others still missing in Locsoon village.

The town of Biliran also reported one death, three missing persons, and eight injured due to widespread flooding.

The massive floods brought about by the tropical storm destroyed bridges, isolating several towns.

The national highway from Biliran town to the provincial capital of Naval rendered impassable after the collapse of Caraycaray Bridge.

The Department of Public Works and Highways estimated the infrastructure damage at PHP200 million in Biliran after Urduja's powerful winds and heavy rains ravaged one of the country's smallest province.

The typhoon also destroyed two elementary schools in Naval town with an estimated damage of PHP30 million as reported by the Department of Education. (PNA)

Photo courtesy by Biliran Electric Cooperative

DECEMBER 2017

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DAVAO CITY -- President Rodrigo Duterte assured on Sunday that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community would not suffer from discrimination, oppression and bigotry under his administration.

Duterte gave his assurance as he graced the 7th LGBT Davao's Year-end Gathering at the Tent Azuela Cove here.

"Let me just say thank you for the celebration and you have my guarantee that everybody, at least during my term, will be protected and nurtured as a human being," Duterte said.

"There will be no oppression and we will recognize your importance in society," he added.

The President said he is willing to accept members of the LGBT community to become part of his administration as long as they are qualified.

He then encouraged the LGBT group to nominate a representative who will serve as one of the commissioners of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP).

"I'd like a gay there somewhere or a lesbian. And mag-usap kayong lahat all over the Philippines. You nominate somebody who is honest, hardworking. And I would like to show that any, ma-bakla man o ma-tomboy, can always work just like an ordinary human being," he said.

Duterte said he would give the LGBT community until the second week of January next year to submit their nomination.

The President dismissed all the commissioners of PCUP including its chairman Terry Ridon for alleged unnecessary trips and supposed failure to hold regular meetings as a collegial body.

Duterte also renewed his commitment to the LGBT community that he would try to solve the major problems besetting the country such as corruption and illegal drugs during his term.

He also issued a strong message to people engaged in human trafficking and slavery.

"Slavery must stop. I will take a strong stand against this. I will not tolerate it. I said, kayong mga kidnappers 'pag nahuli ko kayo I will treat you just like a drug lord," he said.

Meanwhile, the President said he would visit the areas devastated by Tropical Storm Urduja on Monday, December 18.

"There's so much destruction there. There are places na-cut 'yung bridge. And I would like to see for myself what government can do better than what they are --- these guys there are doing now," he said. (PND

DECEMBER 2017

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PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan (1st Update) -- The provincial and city offices of the Department of Education (DepEd) have cancelled classes in northern Palawan and in this city Monday morning after tropical depression Urduja made a landfall.

"Urduja" (international name Kai-tak), which packs maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour and gustiness of 90 kilometers per hour, made a landfall in Taytay, Palawan Monday morning, state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

In its weather advisory issued at 8 a.m., PAGASA said "Urduja" has maximum winds of up to 55 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 90 kph. It is forecast to move west at 18 kph.

Tropical storm warning signal number 1 is hoisted over Palawan. Scattered rains will continue over the province. The state weather bureau has advised against sea travel over the seaboards of Palawan.

Daisy Anne Atretro, spokesperson of the DepEd-Palawan, said all classes in elementary in the municipality of Araceli in the northern area of the province have been cancelled as early as 6 a.m., as well as all kinder classes in Magsaysay.

"Selected cancellations in Magsaysay and Araceli while in other municipalities in the north, from kinder to Grade 12, all classes have also been cancelled. El Nido, Taytay, Coron, Culion – due to Urduja," Atrero said.

There is no cancellation of classes, she added, in the southern part of the province due to the absence of rain. In Puerto Princesa, Richard Ligad, chief of the City Information Office (CIO), said all classes in elementary, secondary and tertiary levels have also been cancelled as of 7:00 a.m. as lingering rains have flooded

"It's automatic. It's been raining since yesterday," Ligad said in media interviews, adding employees of the city government, except the first responders, have also been told to not report anymore.

City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) chief Earl Timbancaya warned residents living in low-lying and near coastal areas to take precautionary measures against landslides and strong waves that can endanger their lives.

"The Napsan-Aporawan road going to the west coast and Aborlan is already impassable," Timbancaya said, as he cautions residents of flood- and landslide-prone areas.

The barangays that have been reported to be flooded are barangays San Jose, Tiniguiban, San Manuel, Tagburos, and San Pedro. Floods have also been recorded in some parts of Irawan.

As of press time, the national highway traversing San Manuel and San Jose is already inundated with knee-high flood waters, based on social media posts by residents.

"Baha at trapik na po dito sa amin sa San Manuel (San Manuel is now flooded and traffic is bad)," said Mel Callejo, a resident of the barangay.

"Pasok na ang baha sa bahay namin (Flood is now inside our home)," said tricycly driver June Ruiz.

Paddle boat tours to the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), meanwhile, have been cancelled too, said Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) management spokesperson Jan Elmer Badilla.

"Sad to say, tours in the PPUR today, December 18, is cancelled due to bad weather condition. The jungle trail has been closed to tourists too, because of continuous rains," Badilla said.

[http://media]

Flooded road in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan due to tropical depression Urduja. (Photo courtesy of Sancho Paderes Sanchez)

 

In northern Palawan, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Cruzalde Ablaña, said four families have been evacuated so far, in Barangay Buenavista, Coron town in the Calamianes Islands Group that has been placed under Tropical Storm Signal 1.

"The sun has come out in the Calamianes area. It rained yesterday but no untoward incident has been reported. The four families are temporarily seeking shelter in a daycare center," he said.

In El Nido, a popular tourist destination north of Palawan, strong waves swept boats and other debris to the shore, causing minor damages, according to resident Judith Distal. However, she said it is no longer raining in the town.

Urduja is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) early Wednesday, according to PAGASA. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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TACLOBAN CITY-- The Biliran government has placed the province under a state of calamity after Tropical Storm Urduja destroyed bridges and caused landslides.

"We have been hit by strong typhoons in the past such as super-typhoon Yolanda, but 'Urduja' is the most damaging storm," said Biliran Governor Gerardo Espina, Jr Monday morning.

"The extent of damage was unexpected with 'Urduja's' maximum winds of less than 100 kilometers, but its heavy rains dumped three days before its landfall was very destructive," the governor added.
Landslides have occurred in the towns of Naval, Caibiran, and Almeria.

Floodwaters cut off Caraycaray and Catmon Bridges, making Biliran town inaccessible to the provincial capital of Naval.

The governor also confirmed that President Rodrigo Duterte and some of his Cabinet members will visit the typhoon-wrecked province on Monday to assess the damage caused by "Urduja".

He said the President will arrive around 2:30 p.m. at the Naval State University in the capital town.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, and Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol will be with the Chief Executive.

"We are upbeat about this visit for them to personally see the urgency to address the needs of our people and rehabilitate damaged infrastructure," Espina said in a video interview posted on Biliran Island Facebook page.

The governor said at least 26 were confirmed dead but only 23 bodies been retrieved as of Monday morning. At least 28 people are still missing.

Biliran is one of the country's smallest provinces with a land area of 536 square kilometers and a population of 171,612 as of 2015. Formerly a sub-province of Leyte, it became an independent province in 1992. (PNA)

Photo courtesy of Biliran Island.com

DECEMBER 2017

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TACLOBAN CITY -- Top military officials condemned the attack of New People's Army (NPA) terrorists against soldiers delivering food relief to families affected by Tropical Storm "Urduja" in Catubig, Northern Samar, calling it cowardly and inhuman.

"It is unfortunate and sad that our soldiers were fired upon by terrorist NPAs while serving the people," said Col. George Domingo, commander of the Army's 20th Infantry Battalion based in Catubig in a message sent to Philippine News Agency Sunday night.

"This activity is a clear violation of the International Humanitarian Law and we call upon the people to act against these atrocities," he added.

Pfc. Roland Gomez suffered a bullet wound in the buttocks while Corporal Yzazel Laure was hit in the belly when rebels attacked them, triggering an hour-long firefight Sunday afternoon in Hinagonoyan village, Catubig town.

Maj. Gen. Raul Farnacio, commander of the Army's 8th Infantry Division (8ID), also condemned the attack against soldiers.

"This recent attack on our soldiers who are responding to the needs of the communities affected by the typhoon is another testament that the NPAs have no regards on the welfare of the people who are already suffering from a disaster," Farnacio said.

"The 8ID will remain steadfast in helping communities in times of calamities despite the atrocities inflicted by the terrorist NPAs," he added.

A total of 7,500 families or 28,900 individuals from 47 villages of Catubig town were displaced by widespread flooding after the tropical storm dumped heavy rains for three days last week.

The local government has placed Catubig town under a state of calamity. The third-class municipality with a population of more than 33,000 is about 305 kilometers north of Tacloban, the regional capital. (PNA)

Photo courtesy of Philippine Army 8th Infantry Division 

DECEMBER 2017

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Anticipated "Misa de Gallo" masses are  being celebrated  5 pm. daily at the provincial capitol to give government employees a chance to attend the "Simbang Gabi" after office hours.  

Now on its fourth day, the Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi is part of the Filipino Christmas tradition, where the Catholic faithful attend the Holy Mass in key churches nationwide from 4 to 5 a.m. daily starting December 16 until the 24th. 

Here in Pangasinan, former Governor Amado Espino Jr., now congressman of the Fifth District, started the holding of anticipated Misa de Gallo masses at the capitol building, and continued by his son, incumbent Governor Amado Espino III, in partnership with the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.  

On Monday, Gov. Espino invited the people of Lingayen, the capital town of Pangasinan, to also attend the devotional nine-day masses. 

The Provincial Information Office said the public is also enjoined to take part in the Christmas Eve Mass on December 24, 7 p.m. at the Capitol Plaza, and the New Year's Eve Mass or "Misa de Aguinaldo" on December 31, 7 p.m.  

Meanwhile, the provincial capitol was transformed into a Christmas village with the installation of vibrant lights and lanterns along Maramba Boulevard and within the Capitol Complex. 

Adding beauty to the Christmas village is a 48-foot-tall Christmas tree adorned with colorful trimmings, lights, and images depicting Yuletide traditions for the public to enjoy at night.  

Adjacent to the giant Christmas tree is a Nativity scene (belen) with life-sized statues that depict the birth of Jesus Christ -- a must-see for visitors. 

A 12-foot-tall lantern (parol) has also been installed at the middle of the Capitol building that illuminates the Capitol Plaza at night. 

The people could also view another Nativity scene placed at the Urduja House, the official residence of the Pangasinan Governor. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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TACLOBAN CITY -- Death toll due to the onslaught of "Urduja" in Eastern Visayas climbed to 32 while 29 others remain missing, the Philippine National Police Region 8 reported Monday.

Tropical depression "Urduja" caused flooding in 268 villages and 26 landslides. At least 12 people were reported injured.

Of the 32 deaths, 27 are from Biliran, two from Ormoc City, two from Samar, and one from Leyte. Most of the victims were buried alive by the landslides, reports said.

Landslides have been reported in Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Tacloban City, and Ormoc City.

In a separate report, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) said the storm has displaced 52,428 families in Eastern Visayas with 41,024 families in evacuation centers, as of Monday morning.

Collapsed bridges, severe flooding and landslides have closed several sections of roads in the provinces of Biliran, Leyte, Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar.

A section of a road in Leyte, which was closed for two days due to mudslides, was cleared Monday morning, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported.

In a report by the DPWH 2nd Leyte engineering district, the highway, which is located along the historic Breakneck Ridge, suffered collapsed slope protection early on December 16 which rendered half of its the lane impassable.

However, another landslide which occurred later on the same day, after  "Urduja" brought incessant rains to the area, rendered the highway totally blocked to all types of vehicles.

Four of the region's six provinces have been placed under state of calamity. At least 11 cities and towns also issued the same declaration. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan -- The provincial government of Bulacan continues to reap what it sows in the field of public service and good governance.

After bagging the Seal of Good Local Governance last month, the National Nutrition Council awarded the province of Bulacan its First Year CROWN (Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition) Maintenance Award for the year 2016 during the national nutrition awarding ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Tuesday.

The award was given to the province in recognition of its efficient and effective implementation and management of its provincial nutrition program which resulted in the improvement of the nutrition situation in the province especially among its young children.

Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado personally received the certificate of recognition and PHP100,000 cash incentive.

"Good health condition cannot be equaled by wealth that is why we are continuously thinking of ways and programs to support it. Good health is a blessing of God. We can do more for the province and for the good of others if we are healthy," Alvarado said.

For his part, Vice Governor Daniel Fernando said such recognition would inspire them to give their best in serving the province and Bulakenyos.

Meanwhile, provincial social welfare and development officer Rowena Joson Tiongson shared that the province has an intense advocacy on breastfeeding especially during the first 100 days of infants' life.

"We have breastfeeding stations, information fora, support groups in the barangays and most of them are volunteer workers who are trained in infant and young child feeding. We are also partnering with other organizations such as Breastfeeding Bulakenyas," Tiongson said.

She added that the province is propagating "malunggay" to encourage the public to plant it not only for meal purposes but also because it is good for lactating moms.

"We are also implementing feeding programs and we are doing that to prevent, not treat malnutrition because it has been a long time that the cases of malnutrition in the province is indeed too low," Tiongson said.

According to the PSWDO, among the 310,059 children aged 0-71 months old weighed last year, 303,217 or 97.79 percent had normal weight while a total of 4,749 or 1.53 percent underweight and severely underweight children were recorded as compared to 1.56 percent in 2015.

Prior to this, the province received the Most Outstanding Green Banner Award in ‎2013-2014 and CROWN Award in 2015. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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LAOAG CITY -- The Hannah's Beach Resort and Convention Center (HBRCC) in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte was again awarded the 2017 Most Outstanding Tourist Destination in the Philippines by the Gawad Amerika Foundation (GAF), an organization of Filipinos based in the United States and supported by various American non-profit groups.

Known for advocating eco-tourism by being a constant host to international beauty pageants for a cause, the seven-hectare Hannah's beach resort property nestled at the foot of a mountain overlooking the blue lagoon and powdery white sand of Maira-ira Cove in Balaoi village, Pagudpud town continues to reap local and international awards as a major tourist destination in this northern gateway of Luzon.

Retired Col. Ricardo Nolasco Jr. of the Philippine Air Force, owner of Hannah's resort, received the award recently from GAF during the Gawad Amerika Awards Night held in Hollywood, California.

The citation states: "the success and remarkable achievements of Hannah's Beach Resort and Convention Center, locally and internationally, have been recognized not only by this organization, but most of all by the local community."

Fresh from the United States, Nolasco said Wednesday he is grateful for the prestigious award which manifests Hannah's corporate social responsibility on environment protection and preservation while creating a sustainable livelihood for the locals.

Launched in September 2002, the Gawad Amerika Awards Night is an annual event to honor the excellent performance of individuals and entrepreneurs even above and beyond their area of specialization.

Hannah's Beach Resort is close to becoming a Hall of Famer in the Gawad Amerika Award as it also received similar recognitions in 2014 and 2015. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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DUMAGUETE CITY - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is testing the waters whether to establish an extension office in Dumaguete City or not, for it to better serve the public.

SEC Director Jose Aquino of SEC Enforcement and Investor Protection Department disclosed Tuesday the commission is in the process of trying to identify different provinces where they can establish an extension office and Dumaguete City is among those being considered.

While in the city, SEC officials conducted trainings and seminars on the role of gender and development in the capital market, company registration system, how to deal and detect investment scams including microfinance and lending.

SEC enjoins local government units to be partners with them in cases of corporations wanting to acquire business permits in certain localities that among the requirements would be a registration with the SEC or with the Department of Trade and Industry, especially for single proprietorship.

Director Aquino had sought the cooperation of the city to require corporations applying for before business permits to present first their SEC registration to make sure such corporations are of good standing and that they are not among those corporations being monitored for violations.

He also cautioned the public against investing in fly-by-night corporations and not to be pressured into putting their money because of greed for quick higher returns.

The SEC official said scammers nowadays are trying to ride on to anything new; they would ride on the human desires for wealth the easy way without doing anything other than giving money.

Finally, the SEC said that anybody who wants to engage in business would have to register with them so that they could also protect those that are dealing with them. (PNA)DECEMBER 2019



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GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Department of Health (DOH) in Region 12 is hoping to finally achieve "zero casualty" in terms of firecracker-related injuries this coming Christmas and New Year holidays, with the rollout of an executive order (EO) that regulates the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.

Jenny Ventura, coordinator of DOH-12's Iwas Paputok Program, said Wednesday they expect the full compliance by residents of EO 28, which mainly limits the use of firecrackers and related devices in the entire country.

"We've been campaigning for this every year but there were still residents who keep using firecrackers. Hopefully, this will stop with the new EO," she said.

Under EO 28, which was signed last June by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Ventura said the use of firecrackers is now prohibited in households.

She said it specifically provided that "the use of firecrackers shall henceforth be confined to community fireworks display."

Such move was aimed to minimize the risk of injuries and casualties, especially during the Christmas and New Year revelries, she said.

Ventura said they are currently coordinating with local government units in the region for the identification of community fireworks display areas.

She said the proposed sites should pass the assessment of the Bureau of Fire Protection and local police units.

On Tuesday, the DOH-12 formally launched its region-wide campaign for zero firecracker-related injuries in line with the start of their monitoring period on Friday, Dec. 15.

As in the previous years, the agency's monitoring, in close coordination with rural health units, will run until the New Year.

Last year, DOH-12 recorded a total of 48 firecracker-related injuries, a significant drop from the 193 cases in 2015.

South Cotabato province posted the most number of injuries with 31, followed by this city with six, North Cotabato and Sarangani with four each and Sultan Kudarat with three.
Banned firecracker piccolo caused most of the injuries, especially among children, and majority of the victims were males.

The youngest recorded victim was a 2 month-old baby who was injured on the eyes by a wayward firecracker, DOH-12 said.

Aside from the regulated use of firecrackers, its selling is also prohibited in all public areas like markets and business establishments.

Supt. Roldan Daniel, chief of the Police Regional Office-12's civil security unit, said violators may face a fine of P20,000 to P30,000 and other penalties.

"That's regardless of the amount of firecrackers they are selling," he said.

He said police units in the region have started their monitoring and enforcement activities for the possible entry of illegal firecrackers.(PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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ZAMBOANGA CITY -- President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed a new regional director for the Department of Science and Technology-9 (DOST-9) based in this city, an official announced on Wednesday.

Appointed as DOST-9 director is Martin Wee, who has served for almost 11 months as officer-in-charge since former Regional Director Brenda Nazareth-Manzano, was named earlier this year as the agency's undersecretary for regional operations.

DOST Regional Information Officer Thelma Diego on Wednesday said President Duterte signed the appointment papers of Wee on Monday, December 11.

She said Wee took his oath on Tuesday before DOST Secretary Fortunato Dela Pena, which was witnessed by other top officials of the agency.

Wee has served as the assistant regional director for finance, administrative services, and technical services prior to his appointment as regional director.

Wee has been with the DOST for the past 26 years. He finished Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and graduated as Magna Cum Laude in 1985 at the Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology.

In 2001, he finished a master course in Bioprocess Technology at Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.

Wee, as Zamboangueño is married to Editha Wee and blessed with two sons namely Ken Marvin and Karl Rensis. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Former Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group head, Chief Supt. Marcelo Morales, formally assumed on Wednesday as the new chief of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-12.

Morales, who was assigned to his new post effective Dec. 11, took over the PRO-12 leadership in a simple turnover ceremony held at the regional headquarters in Barangay Tambler here.

He replaced Chief Supt. Cedrick Train, who was promoted as director of the Directorate of Integrated Police Operations (DIPO) in Western Mindanao.

The two were among the six top police officers who received new assignments last Monday in another PNP leadership reshuffle.

Train, who headed the PRO-12 for one year and six months, said their reassignments were part of a regular movement of top police officers as set by the PNP central office.

His promotion to the DIPO-Western Mindanao mainly came as a result of the retirement of its former head Police Director Manuel Felix.

"This is a big challenge for me. But I will still be around as my new assignment still covers our region," he said.

Train urged PRO-12 personnel and local stakeholders to extend their full support to the leadership of Morales, who served as deputy regional director for administration in Davao Region before heading the PNP Maritime Group last May.

He attributed his "successful" stint as PRO-12 chief to the cooperation extended by various sectors, especially the local chief executives.

"We made a lot of accomplishments because of your support. The people of Soccsksargen was our inspiration," he said.

For his part, Morales vowed to continue with the reforms started by Train, especially in the improvement of the PRO-12 operational and administrative functions.

He specifically cited the continuing training of personnel and the strengthening local police stations and units.

"We will continue with the implementation of the existing programs and projects as well as initiate more improvements," he said.

Under Train's leadership, PRO-12 emerged as the top implementer in Mindanao of the PNP's anti-drug campaign operation plan or Oplan Double Barrel.

The regional police launched a total of 1,590 anti-drug operations, arrested some 2,063 suspects and recovered around P23.5 million worth of illegal drugs.

Train initiated major improvements at the PRO-12 headquarters that led to the establishment of a modern regional training center, learning resource center, information and communication technology hub, disaster preparedness center, library and the peace and security coordination center.

Train had also served as city police director here, which was highlighted by the unit being adjudged as the best in the country for two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011.(PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Anti-drug operatives arrested a fugitive drug pusher in an operation at the city airport here on Tuesday afternoon.

Valente Cariño, acting head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region 12, said they arrested suspect Felixberto Perbillo VI alias "Moi-Moi" while about to leave for Manila at 2:55 p.m.

He said they initially subjected the suspect to a buy-bust operation at his home in Lower Osmeña Street in Koronadal City on Monday night but managed to escape and to elude arrest.

During the buy-bust, he said Perbillo yielded two sachets of suspected metamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu weighing 0.2 grams and a pack of dried marijuana leaves weighing three grams that were all worth P2,500.

But Cariño said the 21 year-old suspect, a college student, "eluded arrest when his relatives and friends freed him from the arresting officers."

"They hid the suspect inside a relative's house and blocked the entry of other operatives," he said in a statement.

The official said they searched the area along with elements from the Koronadal City police station but eventually failed to locate and arrest the suspect.

On Tuesday morning, Cariño said they received information that the suspect would be flying to Manila in the afternoon, prompting them to immediately coordinate with the airport police unit headed by Chief Insp. Marlou Dolar.

"The suspect was finally apprehended by our operatives while he was about to board the plane," he said.

He said Perbillo, who is detained at the PDEA-12 headquarters here, would be charged for violation of Section 5 and 11 or sale and possession of dangerous drugs, under Article II of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.(PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Wednesday opened another Negosyo Center in this city to further address the needs of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The Negosyo Center, which is the fourth, is situated in Barangay Curuan, located 50 kilometers east of this city.

The other three are located at the DTI provincial office on Veterans Avenue; Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College; and, Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone in the west coast.

DTI officials, led by DTI-IX Director Sitti Amina M. Jain and DTI-ZCO Provincial Director Ceferino J. Rubio, as well as barangay officials of Curuan attended the launch on Wednesday, December 13.

The event was also attended by other concerned stakeholders.

"Considering the immense size of Zamboanga City and the distance to and from the city center, transportation is one of the major concerns of our MSMEs in far-flung barangays. With the establishment of a Negosyo Center in Barangay Curuan, government services will now be brought closer to MSMEs in the area in order to promote their growth and development," Rubio said.

The creation of the Negosyo Centers is pursuant to Republic Act No. 10644 otherwise known as the "Go Negosyo Act" that stipulates for the establishment of Negosyo Centers in all provinces, cities and municipalities.

The basic policy of R.A. 10644 is to foster national development, promote inclusive growth, and reduce poverty by encouraging the establishment of MSMEs that facilitate local job creation, production and trade in the country.

The functions of the center are business registration assistance; business advisory services; business information and advocacy; monitoring and evaluation; and, other functions that may be assigned by the MSMED Council as germane to RA 10644 and other related laws.

"As a one-stop-shop for existing and potential MSMEs, the Curuan Negosyo Center will facilitate and expedite the business application process of MSMEs in the east coast in coordination with the local governments and other concerned agencies and will provide assistance in the availment of technology transfer, production, and management training programs and marketing assistance of the DTI and other government agencies," Rubio added. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has partnered with the city government for the expansion in the area of its innovative Knowledge Resource Network (KRN).

BSP and the local government formally signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Wednesday morning for the rollout of the KRN through the city public library.

City Mayor Ronnel Rivera signed the agrement on behalf of the city government and deputy regional director, lawyer Thelma Pantig, for the BSP.

Pantig said the KRN is an information and knowledge sharing initiative that aims to enhance the public's understanding on the BSP's functions, programs and activities.

It seeks to help educate residents on economic and financial concepts and issues and empower them to contribute more meaningfully to economic development, she said.

Under the program, BSP will set up a Knowledge Resource Collection at the city library that will house updated BSP publications such as books, reports, guides, manuals, primers and brochures.

It will also provide access to online publications and research assistance services that will be made available for free.

Rivera lauded the BSP for choosing and partnering with the city as among its expansion sites for the KRN.

"This will enable our constituents to learn more what the BSP has been doing," he said during the MOU signing.

Aside from the regular public users, the mayor said they would extend the use of the KRN to city personnel.

In a project briefer, BSP said it "envisions KRN to be a catalyst for economic development by empowering the public to make informed and better economic and financial decision through easy access to information and services."

It said the program involves the: setting up of a BSP Resource Collection in each partner library where agency publications would be displayed.

BSP will train its partner librarians to maximize the use of information resources and facilitate resource sharing.

The agency will specifically provide free updated BSP publications, signage and BSP logo for the resource collections, conduct free training/briefing sessions on online publications.

It will also conduct research/statistical databases available on its website, and provide reference and research service assistance to partner libraries on subjects related to economics and finance.(PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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ILOILO CITY -- Tax incentives await those willing to open or expand their businesses in Guimaras following the enactment of its Investment Code.

"With the enactment of our 2017 Investment Code, we really encourage investors to come and visit Guimaras because we have package for incoming investors," said Guimaras Vice Governor John Edward Gando.

The Guimaras Investment Code offers fiscal and non-fiscal incentives both to existing enterprises or those presently located in the province, and expansion projects to include modernization and upgrading, increase of existing capitalization and increase of stores of the same owner and new investors.

The code covers investments on tourism, manufacturing, agri-business, services, real estate development, infrastructure and development sector and information and communications technology (ICT).

Investments may range from PHP3-5 million for small scale, PHP15 million but not more than PHP100 million for medium scale, and PHP100 million and above for large-scale business projects, exclusive of land cost, to qualify for incentives.

The amount of capitalization must be based on the total project cost as stated in the investors' project study submitted to and approved by the Guimaras Investment Board.

Also exemption from the real property tax for period of three years will only be for the 35 percent of the province share.

Those who are qualified may avail of 100 percent exemption during the first year of operations, 75 percent in the second year and 50 percent in the third year.

Other fiscal incentives may be offered by the municipality where they intend to establish their investment.

"This is the next big thing in the province of Guimaras. With this we can proudly say that guests can now be accommodated," Gando said, adding that the investment is expected to complement the agri-tourism drive of the province.

Gando said that there are also other investors who signified their intention to pour their investments in the province.

To strengthen its drive of enticing more investors, Gando said the Guimaras Electric Company (Guimelco) had availed of a more than PHP100 million loan for the upgrading of its 69 KVA power lines.

"Before the (2018) Manggahan Festival we can see the upgrading of our electric lines and we are optimistic that we can address the power concern of Guimaras," Gando said.

The current demand of the province is close to eight megawatts.

In terms of connectivity, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company has started to lay down fiber optic lines in the province and is already available up to the provincial capitol area in San Miguel, Jordan.

"I am very hopeful that the problem on connectivity will be resolved the soonest," Gando said. (PNA)

PNA photo by Perla Lena 

DECEMBER 2017

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IMUS CITY, Cavite – The Regional Development Council (RDC)-CALABARZON has crafted a five-year traffic management plan to address the worsening traffic situation in the region's urban centers.

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in CALABARZON, in its report on Thursday, said Batangas Governor and RDC Chairperson Hermilando I. Mandanas steered the council's 4th quarter meeting in Batangas City on the strategies of CALABARZON Traffic Management Plan 2017-2022 such as the construction of bypass and diversion roads.

CALABARZON is comprised of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.

The RDC also endorsed the conduct of feasibility studies and subsequent funding by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) of the Teresa-Marikina-Infanta-Manila East Road and STAR Tollway Tambo-Lipa Exit Flyovers.

The RDC meeting on Dec. 5 at the Provincial Capitol Bulwagang Batangan focused discussions on strategic actions and outcomes of the development policies and projects implemented by the council members during the 3rd full council meeting.

It also passed various resolutions like the formulation of the Calabarzon Regional Statistical Development Program 2018-2023; support to the continued tax exemption of cooperatives; and the Calabarzon Expanded Results Matrices 2017-2022, an adjunct document of the Regional Development Plan.

RDC essential operations were also approved such as the 2018 RDC priority thrusts and activities; 2018 RDC calendar of activities; 2017 Regional Development Report Guidelines; and 2019 RDC Budget Review Guidelines.

The RDC meeting also recognized various agencies and individuals for exemplary acts or services which contributed to the development of the region.

The RDC, as a multi-sector council of government and private sector members, serves as the highest regional socio-economic policy making body which crafts, reviews, assess and endorse or approve development plans, programs and projects for the region. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017

 



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GUIMBA, Nueva Ecija -- A Nueva Ecija legislator has assailed Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of the controversial anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, for its alleged continuous effort to conceal the drug's real condition and ill-effect to patients. 

Rep. Estrellita Suansing wants Sanofi punished for the problems the vaccine caused to the public, particularly the children who received it and their parents.

She, however, believes that government officials involved in the haste should also be punished. 

"And what is bad is that Sanofi is not recognizing that there are problems. And what they are saying is it is safe and effective," Suansing, who authored House Resolution 480 that called for investigation of the Sanofi contract with the Department of Health (DOH), said. 

She also wants Sanofi to lay down corrective actions such as provision of vitamins to those vaccinated. 

"Those responsible should be held accountable," Suansing said, adding that she would dig deeper into the contract entered into by the DOH and Sanofi for possible criminal prosecution when the hearing resumes next year. 

She said while she understands Sanofi as product seller, the DOH should be held more liable.

 "Anybody can offer products. So it is the one who decided to buy so let us ask the DOH on why they did it buy?" she added. 

This, as Suansing revealed that a grade six pupil is now confined at the Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center (PJGMRRMC) in Cabanatuan City for severe nose bleeding. 

The girl, who hails from an indigent family in Quezon town that falls within her district, received the complete three doses of Dengvaxia when she was in grade four, according to the lawmaker. 

Suansing also expressed belief former President Benigno Aquino III was not given enough briefing on the anti-dengue vaccine by his officials. It was the desire to address the dengue problem that may have pushed him to allow procurement of the vaccine, she said. (PNA)DECEMBER 2017

 



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DAGUPAN CITY – The Malued Elementary School in Dagupan was declared as Ilocos champion in the regional stage of the 2017 National Search for Sustainable and Eco-Friendly School, elementary category. 

The school received the award from Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 1 Director Maria Victoria V. Abrera during the regional awarding ceremony held at the Ariana Hotel in Bauang, La Union on Wednesday. 

The EMB, an agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, sponsored the search along with the Department of Education.

The school was evaluated based on its best eco-friendly works, such as the mini-mouse plastic containers in its garden made of recycled mineral water bottles, colorful plant pots made of worn-out tires, light made out of one-liter plastic bottles, and the community's participation in making the school eco-friendly. 

Mayor Belen T. Fernandez, who earlier this week received Dagupan's Seal of Good Local Governance and the Plaque of Recognition as finalist in the 2016 Presidential Award for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities, rushed to Bauang, La Union to be with the teaching force of Malued Elementary School in receiving the award. 

Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, Fernandez said the regional award for the elementary school is one "that will continue to inspire us". 

The award makes Malued Elementary School one of the finalists in the national search for sustainable and eco-friendly schools. 

The school will serve as a model for all of schools in Dagupan and the entire region, the mayor said. 

As elementary champion in the regional search for sustainable and eco-friendly schools, Malued Elementary School will receive a cash prize of PHP35,000. (PNA)
DECEMBER 2018

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LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- In recognition of their continued work to promote the rights of children to survival, development, protection and participation, five villages here were recognized as the town's most Child-Friendly Barangays.

The awardees are: Barangays Ambiong, first place; Alno, second; Alapang, third; Lubas, fourth; and Tawang, fifth place. 

Mayor Romeo Salda on Wednesday said the search for the Child-Friendly Barangays is part of the Children's Month celebration every December. 

It is in consonance with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. ‎2002-121 mandating the creation of council in the city, municipality and barangay levels for the protection of children. This is also to ensure that the Child Welfare Act is fully implemented down to the grassroots. 

The theme of this year's National Children's Month is "Bata Iligtas sa Droga." 

Barangay Ambiong has retained its status for two consecutive years as champion in the search for the most child-friendly barangay of La Trinidad. 

Ambiong village chief Teddy Quintos said activities like Information Education Campaign on child's basic rights and needs were institutionalized to make their citizenry aware. There are other activities related to children's protection against dangerous drugs. 

"We believe that our children are our future. That's why we are trying our best to come up with programs to protect our children and their future," Quintos said.   

The winning barangays received the following cash prizes: PHP75,000 for the first place; PHP55,000 for second; PHP55,000 for third; PHP45,000 for fourth; and PHP35,000 for fifth place. They also received a plaque and certificate of appreciation. 

Special awards for "Best barangay with the most packaged and innovative programs" were also given to Pico and Lubas villages. 

Salda said they acknowledge all the efforts and programs of work of the barangays as he committed the municipal government's financial support for activities aimed at ensuring the welfare of children. 

"I'm encouraging all our barangay officials and other stakeholders to do their best, to protect our children especially from dangerous drugs because they are our future. Doing this, we can build a good community and ensure better future for our children and our country," the mayor said. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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CAMP NAKAR, Lucena City – Assorted high-powered firearms were recovered after a gunfight between government troops and seven mebers of New People's Army (NPA) in Purok 7, Barangay Banase in Baleno, Masbate province on Dec. 8.

According to a report released on Thursday by the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM), the military offensives against the communists were conducted by troops of the 2nd Infantry Battalion (2IB), 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army (PA) and the Police Regional Office (PRO5) and Regional Intelligence Unit (RIU) operatives at about 5:35 a.m.  

Lt. Col. John Oliver Gabun, Army's 2IB commanding officer said the encounter happened when the army troopers led by 2nd Lieutenant Orville Jos Daniel B. Latap conducted their combat operation after a tip by a civilian informant on the presence of armed NPAs in the area extorting money from the villagers.

Colonel Greg T. Almerol, Army commander of the 903rd Infantry Brigade reported that "the 2IB troops recovered two M-16 rifles, a rifle grenade, a long magazine of 10 rounds of live ammunitions for M-16 rifle and subversive documents.

A number of NPAs were also wounded during the firefight.

Following the armed encounter by the combined military and police forces, Brigadier General Ernesto V. Ravina Jr, acting SOLCOM Commander, said government forces "will intensify our Internal Security Operations (ISO) against all security threats particularly with the CPP-NPA-NDF."

CPP is the Communist Party of the Philippines and NDF is the National Democratic Front.

Ravina also assured SOLCOM's full support to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's latest pronouncements in tagging the CCP-NPA as a terrorist group.

 "All our operations are within the framework of the rule of law and respect for human rights to protect the Filipino People and to ensure stable security conditions in the area," he stressed. (Pau Mojar/PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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MARAGONDON, Cavite - Terra Verde Ecofarm and Resort started as a 'prescription' to his brother's medical condition 11 years ago, but its owner has gone beyond that by "glamorizing" it.

Terra Verde Ecofarm and Resort owner Eric Atanacio said on Thursday that he had the farm transformed and "glamourized" and now emerged as a pioneering accredited site under the Department of Tourism (DOT) agri-tourism program in this upland Cavite town.

Atanacio added that his eco-farm and resort is also a certified learning site of Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), an extension and training arm of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

"Let's glamourize farming that creates impact and shun from the norms that farming is for the poor, the dirty, and those who cannot afford a college education," he shared.

Born with a 'silver spoon,' Atanacio is one of the heirs to the family-run National College of Science and Technology (NCST), a tertiary private academic institution in Cavite with campuses along the Emilio Aguinaldo Highway and near the Congressional Avenue East in the university city of Dasmariñas.

He shared that through his brother, Emerson's gift of vision, the family decided to buy the forested lot in Maragondon they spotted at the buy and sell ads, and from there they started their journey as farmers.

He looked back to see their agriculture venture of the  Terra Verde Ecofarm, which now offers 100 percent fresh, natural and safe food harvests and a perfect venue for educational tours, team building, parties and farm-stay.

In an interview, the agri-preneur also shared the Advantages of being an agri-tourism site with both the DOT and ATI assistance in developing the learning and eco-farm sites.

Atanacio said they adopted the business model "3E within an E" referring to the E-named brothers and their father and shaped the business into the 3Es to entertain through agri-tourism, educate through agri-education and eco-farm within the context of enterprise development.

"Sinasama ko nalang ipromote sa mga (I include) tourism promotions, school tours, and for other guests such as one of the host sites for the ASEAN Senior Officials' events in Tagaytay City," he sasid.

He also posed the challenge for those who aspire in agri-tourism ventures to lead the way for others through a knowledge and learning-sharing environment.

"Calabarzon has a very cohesive community, we don't see each other as competitions, we help each other, we nurture each other like sharing and learning from me because it is not only about the features of the farm that make it unique, but also the experience," the agri-tourism farmer-businessman shared.

His eco-farm resort is now an ideal site where one could spend a day experiencing a laid-back farm lifestyle or better yet spend a night in the tiny houses called "kubins" and commune with nature.

The agri-tourism farm also offers the experience to stargaze at night while on bonfire and have a front row seat early in the morning for a concert of birds.

It is also an agricultural school on safe food production and integrated diversified organic farming system.

He also divulged that they have hired graduates because "they display very promising attitude, very competent and their display of enthusiasm" and also act as a force multiplier to ATI who calibrate what needs to be taught.

He hopes that farming will be reintegrated in the school curriculum like during his time until he thought that it was stopped when the country ushered in the computerization which shifted the interests of. the people to modernization.

He also offered advice to farmers to have fallback other than the monocrop because a disaster may strike and damage their farms and for students to pursue relevant courses under the TESDA given the good support from the government.

Citing subdivisions with open fields, Atanacio said that those not cultivated by the developers may be transformed into community gardens to level that people are given equity, for instance, cultivating, cleaning, watering and guarding the communal garden as a good start.

The successful agri-tourism entrepreneur advised "just enjoy what you're doing, don't aim for something instantly big and don't be afraid to start from scratch, it's a long journey but you have to start." (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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DUMAGUETE CITY – Various local government and non-government entities have banded together to intensify efforts to reforest the mangrove area in Barangay San Isidro in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental.

As of latest count, at least 150,000 mangrove seedlings or propagules have been planted, with some having grown as high as six feet already. 

Planting was done over a period of two years in an area of 15 hectares. 

The mangrove forest is now fast spreading out to sea in the mud flats in San Isidro, which is adjacent to the famous Tanjay Boardwalk, a premiere tourism draw. 

According to Sidney Lee, who heads the Negros Oriental ROTC Association of Corps Commanders (NORACC), the massive sea reforestation was initiated Oct. 4, 2015 by the Tanjay local government unit headed by Mayor Rey Concepcion and non-government partners. 

He explained that the mangrove reforestation project was conceptualized following observations of the slowly vanishing mangroves due to humans cutting them down for firewood and lumber. 

After a partnership was forged with the Tanjay City LGU, the city allocated an initial 10 hectares of its northern shores for mangrove planting, said Lee. 

Protected Area Rangers led by Danilo Saycon ensured that the mangroves planted were protected, and soon after, other non-government and environmentalist groups followed suit. 

Friends of Earth, Mangroves Sea Grasses Vital Synergy, the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, Cartronix Logistics and Transport Corporation, New BianYek Commercial Inc. Group of Companies, and the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry joined the mangrove reforestation project, according to Lee. 

He said they have attributed the success rate of the growth of the mangroves to Saycon for his "diligent care and replacement planting done on a weekly basis." 

The list of partner groups with the corresponding number of mangroves planted are as follows: 79th Infantry Battalion, 10,000; Cartronix Logistics and Transport Corporation (a NOCCI member), 10,000; Friends of Earth, 30,000; Mangroves Sea Grasses Vital Synergy, 30,000; NORACC, 30,000; Tanjay City, 30,000. 

Lee said they are committed to continue planting more mangrove propagules in Tanjay City, also as part of their partnership with the 10M Trees in 10 Years for a Greener Negros Movement (10M in 10), which recently celebrated its second year anniversary. 

The 10M in 10, initiated by geothermal leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC) in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), various local governments and the private and non-government sectors, with about 150 partners, is a massive forest restoration movement in Negros Island for a sustainable green future. 

While still on its second year, latest available records show that the movement, through its partners, have already planted four million trees, way ahead of its schedule of planting one million trees each year. (PNA) DECEMBER 2017



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NARVACAN, Ilocos Sur – The advantages of a federal form of government, which gives more power to the provinces through the so-called bottoms-up decision-making and no-nonsense leadership, were highlighted in a federalism summit held at the open court of this town's municipal hall on Wednesday afternoon. 

The local government unit (LGU) of Narvacan, led by Mayor Zuriel Zaragoza, hosted the summit in support of President Rodrigo Duterte's advocacy to implement real change.

it was attended by more than 1,500 participants. 

Zaragoza said the decentralization and devolution of powers and authority from the national government to the LGUs would enable the latter to become self-reliant, making them an effective partner in attaining national goals and in nation building. 

He reiterated that this could only be achieved through timely transition from the present form of government to a federal one. 

Meanwile, citing the top four agenda of the Duterte administration -- anti-criminality and corruption, rule of law, peace and order, and poverty alleviation -- Undersecretary Joel Egco, Executive Director of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, urged Ilocos residents to support the President for "he is our last card, our last hope" to achieve change.

As a former activist himself, Egco said only under the Duterte administration has he felt the sincerity of a leader to implement change. 

Expressing support for a revolutionary government towards federalism, Elmer Bumanglag, 58, of Napo village in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, said he believes a new form of government would do more good for the common people. 

"I like it because it will benefit the future generation. With federalism, all regional states will have their own set of governance and 80 percent of the taxation will remain at the local level and 20 percent will go to the national level. If this pushes through, corruption will be eliminated," said Bumanglag as he joined other members of the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte--National Executive Coordinating Committee, Ilocos Norte Chapter in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur during the federalism summit. 

For a young farmer-engineer, John Lei Ganiron of Batac City, federalism could probably be the Filipinos' last hope to solve corruption and the many ills of the government today.

"We need one supreme power from a leader who knows how to lead the country in the right way. We trust our leader and we are confident he can make it for the common good," Ganiron said on Wednesday. 

The first-of-its-kind federalism summit in the second district of Ilocos Sur also kicked off a week-long celebration of the Bagnet Festival of Narvacan in time for the town's 141st foundation anniversary. 

Aside from Egco, other Cabinet undersecretaries who joined the summit were Emilie Padilla for Legislative Liason and Special Concerns of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Virginia Orogo for special concerns of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Office. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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BAY, Laguna – Life of a "bakwit" (evacuee) from the Mindanao State University (MSU) in its Marawi City campus at the height of the scourge of the five-month war was really "devastating" but there are still "treasured" recollections according to an MSU graduate.

In an interview with the PNA, 22-year-old Lyka Amethyst Casamayor, a born-again Christian from Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, who studied at the Mindanao State University (MSU) Marawi City Campus revealed "I missed Marawi, the people, the beautiful places, the culture and artifacts the people have preserved through the years."

Lyka narrated her ordeal how spending four years and completing her thesis for the A.B. Communication and Media Studies major in Journalism course and slated to graduate third week of June this year was marred by fear during the Marawi seige that bean on May 23.  This led her to become a 'bakwit' (evacuee). 

She was among the nearly 2,000 graduates of MSU Marawi Campus whose graduation rite was moved to July 13, 2017 in two venues - one at the De La Salle University in Iligan City and another batch at the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology (IIT) at the height of the skirmish.

Now, she and co-graduates are referred to as the "Bakwit" Batch 2017.

A scholar of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (MRI) in San Pablo City, Lyka was called in to join the company only last Sept. 25 as corporate communication assistant in the Corporate Communications Department without a transcript of records (TOR) to show except a resumé.

Her latest assignment with CARD MRI was to coordinate with media practitioners from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao who participated in the 4-day "Lakbay Aral" (study tour) sponsored by the company from December 6-9, 2017 in San Pablo City.

It was at the culminating event of the study tour held at the Jardin de Julieta in Tranca Village (barangay) here that Lyka narrated her ordeal at the start of the Marawi City siege.

The Marawi City siege and her way out

"It was about 2:00 p.m. on May 23, I was reading my thesis papers inside my room at the dormitory, when I heard sounds of guns reverberating throughout the campus," Lyka recalled.

 "My roommates and I at first dismissed the incident as ordinary occurrence in the campus until there were successive gun fires in varied intensity and bomb explosions filled the air. We realized something unusual was going on," she narrated.

Text messages spread like wildfire informing them that government forces were having intense firefight with the Maute terrorist group in the city and they were asked to get ready with important things and few clothes to carry as evacuation was evident, she said.

On May 24, Lyka, carrying her back pack bag containing her thesis materials and two pairs of clothes, went outside to the 7th Street together with roommates to buy foods with prices soaring to doubled or tripled than usual.

 "We cannot cook our foods. We just softened rice and noodles with water before we ate them, "she recounted.

While in the dorm, they were told through text messages not to wear something black or they might be wrongly identified as members of terrorist group who wore black outfit; to keep low and stay away from the window; to close all doors; and not to entertain strangers.

Then, a power glitch plunged the area into darkness prompting Lyka and the "Lakas Angkan" Ministry members to pray silently in the dark and then she hid inside a blanket while texting for updates outside for as long as their batteries can sustain.

Luckily, she said, she was able to contact her mother Leticia, 42, and father Elmer, 45, assuring her of possible rescue and their way out from harm's way. Deafening sounds of gun fires and bomb explosions were heard throughout the once peaceful campus, and lulled during heavy downpour.

 "Ten men clad in military uniforms came looking for me, but hesitated to take me out because they could not assure the safety of the other 80 students who were with me at that time who also wanted to leave the dormitory, and they left," she narrated her ordeal.

Dawn of May 25, they decided to move out stealthily from the dormitory by several groups towards the administration building which was used as the evacuation staging ground as they joined 300 more students waiting for a ride towards MSU-IIT in Iligan City as their designated temporary refuge.

On May 26, Lyka arrived at the MSU-IIT campus along with other students with a sigh of relief and waited for money coming from her parents for her ride back home in Agusan del Sur.

"While waiting for the fare money, I continued reviewing my thesis papers in the evacuation center . I also noticed other students reviewing their thesis materials as well," she related with a smile.

At 3 p.m. on May 28, Lyka was finally home in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur after a 15-hour bus ride from Iligan City.

It was a tearful reunion with her mother who is a member and center chief of CARD MRI and her father, a security guard, as well as her siblings. She is the second among six siblings.

Thesis works through online instructions

As the battle to liberate Marawi City continued, Lyka had to finish her 5-chapter thesis through online communications with her instructors.

"There were series of online instructions for the corrections and revisions of my thesis materials which were at the concluding chapter then," she explained.

According to Lyka, her thesis was about errors on Rappler articles based on the 13-point evaluation questions approved by her instructors which required her to be constantly connected to the Internet.

Finally, she made it as candidate for graduation although the submission of the final book bound copy of her thesis is still pending until today.

Life after "Bakwit" graduation

"Our graduation was somewhat confusing since there were two venues for the 2,000 "Bakwit" Batch 2017. It was already in the afternoon of July 13 at the De La Salle Iligan Campus that I finally joined the rite," she said.

 After the ceremony, she and her disheartened parents proceeded back home on board a rented van, as she described how her parents had heavy hearts as we travelled back home for not being able to come up on stage to put a lei on me.

She said, she was reluctant to apply for work because she had no transcript of records (TOR) to show as  her credentials but she felt relieved when a call from CARD MRI told her to report for work at its main office in San Pablo City on September 25, 2017, bringing only a resumé to present.

After the two-week training at CARD MRI Baguio, Lyka is currently working as a corporate communication assistant at the CARD MRI Corporate Communications Department at its main office.

Lyka has been thankful to CARD MRI for supporting her college education and the chance to practice her profession in the corporate communications department of the company.

She looked back to her life in Marawi City as "a memorable and enjoyable one" before the siege and was enthused after learning she will be going back to Marawi City in 2018 for her upcoming assignments at CARD MRI branches in Mindanao.

She knew that the trauma of her ordeal still haunts her but she is fighting it out with prayers, happy thoughts and with the help of the CARD MRI family who supported her all along without reservations.

"I loved to watch fireworks display even when I was younger. But now, hearing an explosion makes me shiver. The trauma of my ordeal is still within me," she paused.

Thinking about the place which was my second home for four years, makes me wonder if I could still see the places where I used to go with friends and the artifacts, I missed them," Lyka, member of MSU Marawi "Bakwit" Batch 2017 concluded. (Zen Trinidad/PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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DUMAGUETE CITY – Additional floating assets will arrive for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) station in Dumaguete City, the provincial capital of Negros Oriental, by next year.

Coast Guard Dumaguete station commander Lt. Junior Grade Donna Liza Ramacho confirmed Wednesday that more weapons and personnel are also expected.

She said they await the share of aluminum boats or speedboats and even jet skis, including the fast boats similar to those of the Philippine Navy, for the Coast Guard.

According to her, the creation of an additional coast guard district is not a challenge but a room for so many opportunities for them to render service more effectively and efficiently.

The Philippine Coast Guard created the Coast Guard Southern Visayas District in line with its thrust of reaching out and deliver services to the countryside, on top of its traditional services that include safety of life and property, marine environmental protection, maritime security and enforcement of maritime laws.

The first Coast Guard Southern Visayas District commander is Capt. Artemio Manalo Abu, who paid a visit early this week to the Coast Guard station in Dumaguete.

The first order of the day was for coast guard personnel in the entire district to be vigilant due to the big challenges and opportunities ahead of them. (PNA)

DECEMBER 2017

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