One Mindanao - May 5, 2015

EDITORIAL ADVISERS

SEC. SONNY B. COLOMAPresidential Communications Operations Office

JOSE MARI M. OQUIÑENA Director General Philippine Information Agency

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

EFREN F. ELBANBUENACluster Head, Southern, Western and Central MindanaoRegional Director, PIA Region XI

MANAGING EDITOR ABNER M. CAGACluster Head, Northern & Northeastern MindanaoRegional Director - PIA Caraga Region

REGIONAL DESK EDITORS FRANKLIN P. GUMAPON, PIA Region IX

ALMA L. TINGCANG, PIA Region IX ELAINE O. RATUNIL, PIA Region X RUDOLPH IAN G. ALAMA, PIA Region XI DANNY E. DOGUILES, PIA Region XII FRYAN E. ABKILAN, PIA Caraga Region

COPY EDITORS

FRYAN E. ABKILAN, PIA Caraga Region NORA C. LANUZA MOLDE, PIA Caraga Region

VENUS L. GARCIA, PIA Caraga Region

SENIOR GRAPHICS LAYOUT ARTIST

GERIE MAE G. COCO, PIA Caraga Region

Western Mindanao (Zamboanga Peninsula)

P. Urro Street, San Francisco DistrictPagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur 7016Telephone no. (062) 215-1480 / 925-0038Cellphone no. 0919-9994516E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]: www.piazampen.blogspot.comFacebook: PIA WesMin Info BlizTwitter: https://twitter.com/PIAIX

SOCCSKSARGEN Region

Bautista Bldg., Zulueta St.Koronadal City, South Cotabato 9506Telephone no. (083) 520-0249Telefax no. (083) 228-9736 / 228-9739 / 520-0100Cellphone no. 0921-6873373 / 0928-5204307E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Northern Mindanao

Graces’ Building, Antonio Luna StreetCagayan de Oro City 9000Telephone no. (088) 856-8178 / 729-594Telefax no. (08822) 72-66-83Cellphone no. 0928-5204305, 0917-3084969E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]: www.pia-10.blogspot.com Northeastern Mindanao (Caraga)

J. Rosales Avenue, Butuan CityTelephone no. (085) 341-5285Telefax no. (085) 341-2370Cellphone no. 0917-7188834Email: [email protected] , [email protected],phWebsite: www.piacaraga.comFacebook: PIA Caraga Updates, PIA Agusan del Norte, Pia Agusan del Sur, Pia Surigao del Norte, Pia Surigao del Sur, Pia Dinagat Islands Power FM - CaragaTwitter: https://twitter.com/PIACaraga

Southern Mindanao (Davao Region)

Ground Floor Kanto Motors Bldg.,Quimpo Blvd., New MatinaDavao City 8000Telephone no. (082) 297-0991 / 301-8580Telefax no. (082) 297-0992 / 304-2044Cellphone no. 0917-7053606 / 0918-9202950E-mail: [email protected]

LAYOUT ARTISTS

EMMANUEL D. TAGHOY, PIA Region IX RETCHIE TOLINERO, PIA Region X

ZENER DUMAGUING, PIA Region X

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

NOEMI B. EDAGARegional Director, PIA Region IX

THELMA B. OLIVERRegional Director, PIA Region X

OLIVIA T. SUDARIARegional Director, PIA Region XII

EDITORIAL BOARD

PIA REGIONAL OFFICESOne Mindanao

New bus terminal in Zambo. to open as soon as personnel are available - Orendain

Helmet for motorcycle riders set for strict enforcement in Tandag City

South Cotabato trades rice for rat tails

126 PNP Scouts turned over to the 13th RPSB

OWWA IT program produces 66 new graduates in ARMM

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PhilRice Agusan holds Palayabangan: The 10-5 Challenge

GSIS opens scholarship slots to dependents of PWDs, IPs, solo parents

2015 Palarong Pambansa kicks off in Tagum City

Domestic liquidity growth accelerates in MarchMisOr participates in competitiveness survey validation

By: DepEd

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By: Dave G. Malcampo

By: Greg Tataro Jr.

By: Danilo E. Doguiles

By: Noel B. Najarro

By: Oliver Ross V. Rivera

By: Loraine C. Brillantes

By: BSP

Cover Story

CARAGA

WESTERN NORTHERN

INFOCUS

SOCCSKSARGEN

SOUTHERN

NATIONAL

21 Following Mary Jane Veloso temporary reprieve, human-trafficking awareness campaign heightenedBy: Joey Sem G. Dalumpines

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OUR COVER

Contents

By: Lacheln O. Rafallo

4 MAY 5, 2015One Mindanao

Cover Story

The Philippine Rice Research Institute Agusan Experiment Station (PhilRice Agusan) held the Annual Palayabangan:

The 10-5 Challenge Field Day and Farmer’s Forum recently at Brgy. Basilisa, RT Romualdez, Agusan del Norte.

PhilRice Agusan holdsPalayabangan: The 10-5 ChallengeBy: Lacheln O. Rafallo

5MAY 5, 2015 One Mindanao

The 10-5 Challenge aims to raise the rice production standard to 10 tons per hectare yield at P5.00 input cost for every kilogram of Palay produced. The current average yield in the country is about 4 tons/ha while input cost is about P11.00/kg of Palay.

“As conceptualized by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Integration to promote free trade between country members, the initiative also aims to provide opportunities for all players in the rice sector to show what they can do to improve the yield and production cost,” said Dr. Corsennie A. Mabayag, Senior Science Research Specialist of PhilRice Agusan.

“Palayabangan: The 10-5 Challenge supports the goal of the Food Staple Sufficiency Program of the country and the advocacies of the National Year of Rice to help increase the farmer’s productivity, make them globally competitive, and

boost their morale,” Dr. Mabayag added.

The 4th Palayabangan Challenge reached its largest number of participants this year, as it is joined by nine agriculture-based establishments, namely: Bayer CropScience Inc., Agusan Greenfields Resources and Agrotech Corp., FMC Agricultural Solutions, NextGen Global Alliance Corp., Jeels Masagana Farm Supply, Texicon Agriventures Corp., Global Green Organic Fert. Inc., Syngenta Philippines, and SL Agritech Corporation. All participants were given opportunity to demonstrate products and technologies to the farmers.

“On 2014, participants of Palayabangan: The 10-5 Challenge reached the average yield of 6.9 tons/ha and an input cost of PhP 15.00-19.00. We are expecting improvement this year, with the mechanization of their farming methods, “ Dr. Mabayag said.


Bautista appointed as Commission on Elections chair

MANILA - Malacañang on Monday announced the appointment of Atty. J. Andres D. Bautista as the new chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). In a statement, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the appointment papers of Bautista and two others were signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III on April 28.

Bautista, who chairs the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), will take over the post vacated by Sixto Brillantes, Jr., who retired last February.


Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon and Sheriff M. Abas were also named as Comelec commissioners, replacing Lucenito Tagle and Elias R. Yusoph, respectively.

All three will serve until February 2, 2022.

Bautista, 51, finished his law degree at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1990 as class valedictorian and earned a Master of Law degree from

Harvard Law School in the US in 1993.

Born in Quezon City, Bautista was a former dean of the Far Eastern University’s Institute of Law. He was a candidate for Supreme Court chief justice in 2012.

Bautista served as president and chief executive officer of Shangri-La Properties from 2006 to 2010, prior to his appointment as PCGG chairman. (PCOO/PND)


GSIS opens scholarship slots to dependents of PWDs, IPs, solo parents

MANILA - State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced this year’s allocation of 20 of the 200 GSIS Scholarship Program (GSP) slots for qualified dependents of persons with disabilities (PWDs), indigenous peoples (IPs), and solo or single parents. The enhanced GSP guidelines alloting 10 percent of the total program slots for said special sectors were issued in recognition of their need for educational assistance, as well as in support of the national

government’s effort to raise the number of college graduates in the country, GSIS said in a statement.

According to GSIS President and General Manager Robert


G. Vergara, deserving and underprivileged dependents of PWDs, IPs, and single parents defined under Republic Act 8972 (Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000) now have more chances to fulfill their dream of earning a college degree from schools that provide quality education.

Under the program, GSIS shall shoulder the actual cost of scholars’ tuition and miscellaneous fees not to exceed P40,000 per academic year. They also get a monthly stipend of P2,000.

GSP is open to all active

GSIS members who, at the time of application, have paid premium contributions for the last six months; are permanent government employees for at least three years; have salary grade of 24 or below or its equivalent job level; and whose dependents are incoming college freshmen accepted in any four- or five-year course, or in priority courses identified by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The application period is from May 4 to June 11, 2015. Application forms may be obtained from any GSIS branch office or downloadable from the GSIS website, www.gsis.gov.ph (GSIS)


2015 Palarong Pambansa kicks off in Tagum City

The Department of Education (DepEd) together with the provincial host Davao del Norte (DavNor) officially welcomed yesterday more than 12,000 delegates including student athletes, coaches and officials representing different regions all over the country to the opening of the country’s most-awaited sporting event - Palarong Pambansa 2015. The surrounding setting of festivity was buzzing at the Davao del Norte Sports & Tourism Complex (DNSTC) as Palaro’s opening ceremonies started with the parade of friendship and camaraderie, followed by an exhibition of the Philippine Army

paratroopers and the singing of the national anthem by The Voice Philippines Season 1 finalist, Thor Dulay.

Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas graced the event in behalf of President Benigno


Simeon Aquino III. In an interview, Roxas said that sucess is not measured by merely winning the games. “Ang tagumpay at ang kadakilaan ng isang atleta ay wala doon sa event mismo pero nasa araw araw na pagsasakripisyo, pagpupursige, para maabot nila ang excellence na nasa angking talento nila,” he said.

Traditions, such as the turn-over and the hoisting of the Palarong Pambansa banner were observed elatedly.

“The dream culminates today as we open the Palarong Pambansa 2015. It is therefore an honor for us to prepare the stakes for our young athletes to make the dreams come true. In all our preparations, we have put our young athletes the centre of the Palarong Pambansa 2015. They are the reason for the existence of the National Games, thus we have spared no effort in expense to ensure their safety and convenience, so they will have the best experience that they can get here in DavNor.” said DavNor Governor Rodolfo P. Del Rosario in his welcoming speech.

The program was cut short when DepEd Secretary Br. Armin Luistro yelled “Class Dismissed!” as rain started to pour on the sports complex. Nevertheless, Palaro was declared opened and the youth of DavNor continued to showcase their many talents as the sky cleared up. The different sports competitions will be held at several locations across the city between May 3 to 9. Events include Archery, Arnis, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Chess, Football, Gymnastics, Sepak Takraw, Softball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Volleyball, Billiards, Futsal, Wushu, Wrestling, Special Events and Beach Volleyball.

IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay – To empower the youth as the most vulnerable sector of the society, a leadership convergence camp was held here on May 1-3 with 70 student-leaders from various schools and colleges as well as indigenous people (IP) youth leaders in attendance.

Sibugay leadership convergence camp held in Ipil town By: Emmanuel D. Taghoy

D u b b e d “Sibugay Leadership Convergence Camp 1.0 series of 2015,” the said activity was a

joint effort of the local government unit of Ipil, USAID-Mindanao Health ZamPen, USAID-Enhanc ing


Governance, Accountability and Engagement (ENGAGE) Project, Generation Peace, Philippine Youth Leadership Program, and Zamboanga Sibugay Police Provincial Office (ZSPPO). “What is unique about this leadership convergence is that we integrated the IPs as one of the participants of the activity per mandate of our office,” Ms. Cecille A. La Plana of USAID-MindaHealth ZamPen said. The IP participants come from the Kalibugan and Subanen tribes. “We give them what is not being taught in school, and we focus mainly on workshops and less on theories and lectures,” explained Ms. La Plana. The topics discussed during the three-day activity were adolescent youth and reproductive health, peace and order, anti-kidnapping awareness and several others. “Early pregnancy among the youth is one of the major concerns in our society nowadays. This is one of the root causes of poverty because our youth lack knowledge and don’t know the possible consequences of premarital sex,” said Ms. La Plana. Police Senior Superintendent

Jose Bayani L. Gucela, acting provincial director of Sibugay Provincial Police Office gave a lecture on internal security and kidnapping, as one of the burning issues Zamboanga Peninsula region is facing following the recent kidnaping incidents in Zamboanga Sibugay province. Most of the activities on the first and third day were conducted at Marcelo Spinola School. The second day was spent visiting Buluan Island marine sanctuary. “The activity was a huge success and we might be conducting another convergence camp this coming December, as requested by the students since it will be vacation by then and they can surely participate,” concluded La Plana.


Orendain said that the only thing holding back the terminal’s operation is the provision of personnel. “They will man the terminal 24/7,” he said. “They will be covering four shifts of 6 hours each”. He shared that he already talked with Dr. Jane Bascar of the Human Resources Department to help look for vacancies in other departments, which can be used to fill in all the 55 required personnel for the IBT. “We will also be hiring security and janitorial staff,” Orendain said. According to Orendain, bus operators such as Rural Transit were already brought

to the new terminal for familiarization last week. “We already gave them a walkthrough of the facilities,” he said The new terminal will have facilities such as air conditioning and an x-ray machine for enhanced security. Meanwhile, the City Administrator’s Office has received a total of approximately 1,100 applications for lease for the bus terminal’s 17 stalls. Orendain assured that the bus terminal committee has set up a system to fairly choose the 17 concessionaires.

ZAMBOANGA CITY – City Administrator Antonio Orendain Jr. yesterday (May 4) said that the new integrated bus terminal in Divisoria would be operational as soon as the personnel needed for its operations will have been hired.

New bus terminal in Zambo. to open as soon as personnel are available - Orendain By Dave G. Malcampo

CDO Labor Day Mega Job Fair opens over 10,000job vacanciesCAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The Department of Labor and Employment - region 10 (DOLE-10) held its 113th Labor Day Mega Job Fair with approximately 10,000 to 15,000 job vacancies on May 1, 2015.

by Erika Carmela B. Inovero

D O L E - 1 0 Regional Statistician and Focal Person for Employment Bernie Boy Salinas said among the 100 participating companies solicited, Salinas said that 84 private companies and six government agencies have around 4,110 local

job vacancies such as customer service representatives (300 positions); candidate soldiers (150); security guards (100); product support r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s (100); officer candidate course (80); officer preparatory course (80);


revenue officers (56); business transcribers (50); proofreaders (50); administrative assistants (27); and retail sales team or business developers (25). Meanwhile, approximately 5,000 jobs were open for overseas opportunities which include service crew (500); delivery drivers (500); security guards (265); janitors (250); food servers (200); carpenters (200); and nurses (100) needed for the 10 recruitment agencies that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) handled. The Mega Job Fair was DOLE’s response to the call of Filipino job seekers who needed avenues and opportunities for quality employment. “Its target was to hire at least 80% of qualified applicants and hopefully plenty will be hired on the spot because what we look for and aim for in the Job Fair,” Salinas added. Participating job seekers must have first filled-out the registration form with basic information and the attendance sheet which served as a record of DOLE-10, then they must have claimed their referral forms from the 12 referral people assigned to handle the companies, and finally they should have undergone the

interview. Technical Education and Skills Development Authority - region 10 (TESDA-10) also facilitated a Skills Demo for the participants during the event. Furthermore, there were various Government One-Stop Shop services available, such as issuance of birth certificates, clearances, and PhilHealth cards from DOLE’s partner agencies – Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Civil Service Commission, PhilHealth, Pag-ibig and POEA. Other partner agencies of DOLE were members of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) that comprised DOLE’s attached agencies -- Regional wtivity Board (RWTPB), National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), National Conciliation Mediation Board (NCMB), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Employees Compensation Commission (ECC), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), among others.


Domestic liquidity growth accelerates in March

On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, M3 increased by 2.1 percent. According to the BSP, the accelerated domestic liquidity growth during the month was due in part to the slower increase in placements of trust entities in the Central Bank’s special deposit account (SDA) facility relative to the previous month. The M3 growth in March 2015 also reflects statistical base effects associated with the significant increase in domestic liquidity a year ago of 35.3 percent, following the operational adjustments involving access of trust entities to the BSP SDA facility, which were completed in November 2013. Meanwhile, money supply continued to increase due largely to sustained demand for credit. Domestic claims grew by 10.4 percent in March from 10.0 percent in February as credits to the private sector expanded at a slightly faster pace relative to the previous month.

The bulk of bank loans during the month was channeled to key production sectors such as real estate, renting, and business services, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, financial intermediation, and utilities. Net public sector credit, on the other hand, contracted by 6.5 percent in March after declining by 4.5 percent a month earlier. Net foreign assets (NFA) in peso terms rose at a faster pace of 8.3 percent in March from 7.3 percent in the previous month. The BSP’s NFA position expanded during the month, after contracting since July 2014, on the back of continued robust foreign exchange inflows coming mostly from overseas Filipinos’ remittances and business process outsourcing receipts. The NFA of banks likewise increased as banks’ foreign assets expanded, while their foreign liabilities contracted. Banks’ foreign assets increased due mainly to the

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- Domestic liquidity (M3) grew by 9.4 percent year-on-year in March 2015 to reach P7.7 trillion faster than the 8.5-percent expansion recorded in February, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.


growth in their investments in marketable debt securities and deposits with other banks, while banks’ foreign liabilities decreased on account of lower placements made by foreign banks with their local branches. The BSP said continued expansion in domestic liquidity

during the month indicates sufficient liquidity to sustain the economy’s growth momentum. With this, the BSP will closely monitor monetary conditions to ensure that liquidity in the financial system remains in line with the BSP’s price and financial stability objectives.(BSP)

MisOr participates in competitiveness survey validationby Loraine C. Brillantes

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, May 4 (PIA) -- Three cities and 23 municipalities of Misamis Oriental participated in the validation of the competitiveness survey conducted by the Capitol University School of Business and Management on April 1 and 21, 2015 respectively. Participating local government units (LGUs) will be ranked according to economic dynamism, government efficiency and infrastructure. Validated data will be submitted to the Regional Competitiveness Council (RCC) then to the National Competitiveness Council (NCC). Results will determine the most competitive city, municipality or province in country. Announcement of top ranking LGUs is expected at the 2nd half of this year.

There are only two categories for municipalities namely: 1st-2nd class municipality and 3rd-6th class municipality. For cities the following categories are: highly urbanized cities and component cities. The activity was done in two batches. First batch was conducted on April 1, 2015 at the DTI Negosyo Center Training Room while the 2nd batch happened on April 21, 2015 at Padayon Pilipino Hall, Provincial Training Center Capitol Grounds.


Palaro field demo perform-ers draw cheers though soaked in rain

TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte- The stamina and energy of some 1,400 field demonstration performers cheerfully closed the 2015 Palar-ong Pambansa opening rites drenched in rain that came pouring at about 5:00 p.m. Coming from the Department of Educa-tion (DepEd) schools division in the cities of Tagum, Panabo, Island Garden City of Samal and Davao del Norte, the high school students per-formed a 45-minute field demonstration practiced in about two months. Soaked in rain, they just went well as choreo-graphed and ended their performance smiling as they bowed in front of the grandstand where the very important per-sonalities (VIPs) attend-ing the Palaro opening rites, were seated. Student-participants interviewed commonly said they enjoyed per-

forming under the rains than under the sun as they felt energized and not got tired. “Mas lingaw, walay kapoy; murag nagdula lang sa ulan. (It’s enjoy-able, I don’t feel tired; it seems like playing under the rain.), said Angelica Abarca of Tagum City Comprehensive National High School. Tagum City National High School student Mar-vin Dela Cruz confided a bit teary-eyed while dancing under the rain saying the experience was “very memorable” citing it as a once in a lifetime performance for a Palarong Pambansa. He felt least tired but energized because the rains refreshed his skin and his face unlike performing under the heat of the sun. “Mas lingaw jud. (It’s more enjoyable.),” he said The field demon-stration was the only portion of the opening rites that was not made


in a hurry but according to its pacing and length of time as rehearsed. Light rains that went moderate pushed fast the torch lighting cere-mony that was done after the Palaro delegates were advised to proceed to their respective areas to take shelter. Palaro keynote speaker Inte-rior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas forwent his speech and DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro just directed the athletes to disperse from their formation to avoid get-ting possibly sick. (Jeanevive Duron-Abangan, PIA 11)


Following Mary Jane Veloso temporary reprieve, human-trafficking awareness campaign heightened

DAVAO CITY- Non-government organization Global Impact will conduct a series of concerts dubbed Freedom-Philippines in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, and Davao City, respectively to spur the awareness-campaign against human-trafficking. Pastor Amy Muranko-Gahan of the Global Impact said in the light of the Mary Jane Veloso case which was given a temporary reprieve from death penalty in Indonesia, over-seas Filipino workers must be given the right education for them to be equipped with tools to be aware and to be safe abroad. She said advocacy is needed for them to be wise and to be given the right choices given that there are op-portunities brought about by working overseas. Muranko-Gahan said the cam-paign has been going for a year and a half and cases have been reported since human trafficking has been in-tensified. She observed that the level of knowledge is still minimal given the reactions from ordinary people. “Trafficking is often associated with the flow of traffic on the road,” Muranko-Gahan said.

“Rescue and help those victim-ize. But awareness must be built for them to make wiser decision to work locally or overseas,” she said. Muranko-Gahan welcomed the government’s last ditch effort to seek for Mary Jane Veloso’s reprieve from the execution of her death penalty in Indonesia. She lauded the efforts currently done to ease the welfare of overseas workers in distress. (PIA 11-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)

1,434 applicants hired in Gensan Labor Day job fair -- DOLE 12

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato, May 5 -- More than half of the applicants inter-viewed during the Labor Day Job Fair in General Santos City on Friday were hired –on-the-spot.

By: Danilo E. Doguiles

The Department of Labor and Em-ployment (DOLE) 12 reported Monday that 1,434 of the 2,759 applicants who qualified for interview at the job fair, went home assured of work.

Among them, 1,242 were employed by local employees while 192 were hired for overseas deployment.

Some 1,028 other applicants have the chance of clinching the jobs they applied for, pending further interviews and other processes required by the employers, the same report noted.

The Araw ng Manggagawa Job Fair in SOCCKSARGEN Region was held inside KCC Mall of Gensan and SM City Gensan with over 200 companies offering job vacancies.

In an interview on April 29, DOLE 12 Re-gional Director Ofelia Domingo informed members of the media that these compa-nies offered at least 20,000 job vacancies,


mostly for overseas employ-ment that were also available in job fairs held in fairs in other regions.

Domingo advised newly hired individuals to perform at their best as new employ-ees, when in situations where they land in jobs or positions that are not aligned with the degrees they earned or lesser in level than those that they de-

sired.They

should consider the job as a stepping stone to improve their skills and knowl-edge, prove their worth, and move up the ranks, she em-phasized.

RD Do-mingo also noted that the un-employ-ment rate in SOCC-SKSARGEN Region has

remained at around 4 percent.SOCCSKSARGEN Region cov-

ers the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sa-rangani and Sultan Kuda-rat and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan, and Cotabato. (DE-Doguiles-PIA 12)


South Cotabato trades rice for rat tailsBy: Danilo E. Doguiles

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato May 5 -- Farmers and villag-ers in South Cotabato get rice in exchange of rat tails.

Provincial agriculture officer Justina Navarrete, said the Office of the Provincial Agri-culturist recently distributed about 12 sacks of rice to villag-ers in Tboli town in exchange of more than 5,000 tails of rats that the agriculture tech-nicians in the area have col-lected from farmers.

“We exchange ten rat tails with 1 kilogram rice,” Navarre-te said.

Earlier, the OPAg proposed to the provincial government of South Cotabato a Food-for-Work scheme where rat tails are exchanged with rice.

This is a means to mitigate the effects of the weak El Niño, particularly on farm produc-tion. This initiative also boosts the campaign against rat in-festation that is most likely to occur during dry seasons, she explained further.

“To avail of the rat tail-for-rice project, villagers are ad-vised to bring the collected

tails to their local agriculture office or assigned technician, who will, in turn, coordinate with the OPAg as to the num-ber of rat tails collected and the volume of rice that the OPAg should deliver,” she said.

“We are calling on farmers to cut off the tails of the rats they kill from their farms and submit these as proofs to the technicians in their areas so that they can avail of this incentive.”

As of press time, only the municipality of Tboli has ex-changed rat tails for rice. (DEDoguiles-PIA 12)


OWWA IT program produces 66 new graduates in ARMM

COTABATO CITY, May 5 – Some 66 Overseas Filipino Workers and dependents in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao finished one-month basic computer courses under the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration-Information Technology Program.

By: Oliver Ross V. Rivera

The 66 new graduates re-ceived their certificates of com-pletion from OWWA-ARMM last April 30. They comprised batch-es 49, 50 and 51 of the OWWA-IT program.

OWWA-ARMM OIC Uga Sulai-man said the free skills training aimes to capacitate OFWs and their dependents with knowl-edge in the field of information technology which they can use to enhance their skills and find better job opportunities. This also help bridge the physical divide between OFWs and their families at home.

The OWWA-IT program gives technology based trainings to OFWs and their dependents to enable them to find better job opportunities and also help bridge the primary issue of fam-ily disintegration, Sulaiman said.

The trainees were taught ba-

sic computer courses such as computer fundamentals I, com-puter fundamentals II, Internet and the world wide web, digital media fundamentals, presenta-tion fundamentals, web design fundamentals, word processing fundamentals and spread sheet fundamentals.

Since the initiation of the OWWA IT program in 2010, more and more OFWs from the autonomous region have applied to avail the said skills training, Sulaiman added.

OWWA continues to provide better opportunities through Education and Skills Training Programs to help develop OFWs and their beneficiaries to be competitive in a fast rising tech-nical world. (ORVRivera-PIA12)


Going beyond talents through capability building workshop for effective IPEd implementationBy: Dr. Jonas H. Jomonong

BUTUAN CITY - To further capacitate stakeholders in the effective Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) implementation, the Department o Education (DepEd) Division of Butuan City has recently conducted a 3-day Capacity Building on Supervision and SIP Enhancement for IP Education for education program supervisors, selected division personnel, district supervisors,


Dr. Ma. Dinah D. Abalos, Education Program Supervisor in English and the interim Curriculum Implementation Division (CID) said that there is a great need to capacitate school heads on instructional supervision on IPEd implementation.

Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) Arsenio T. Cornites Jr. bared that capacitating school heads, supervisor and teachers on the IPEd implementation is very critical and essential in filling up the gaps through handling vulnerable and sensitive people in the community. “Capacity building is achieving the goal for self-development programs and creating arena for self-confidence programs

in IPEd implementation,” he emphasized. Furthermore, Cornites discussed the six ways to go beyond talent which include passion (energizing one’s talent, creating fire); courage (testing one’s talent, molding the heart, seeking change); teachability (expanding one’s talent, about attitudes); relationship (influencing one’s talent, surrounding with positive people); responsibility (strengthening one’s talent); and teamwork (multiplying efforts). He also added the three things to prepare in capacity building which are prepare yourself; set up yourself; and accelerate. “If you want to have results for one year, plant a corn. If you want to have results for a decade, plant trees. If you want to have results for a lifetime, invest in people because human resources are the biggest and the most important investment an organization could have,” Cornites emphasized. Participants were properly capacitated on the different concepts, principles and processes on IPEd including its

school heads and teachers with IP learners on April 28-30, 2015 at Veranda 1, Carmen, Agusan del Norte.


legal bases on its implementation through a comprehensive power point presentations, workshops and group activities facilitated by the different speakers of the said training. This 3-day training-workshop aims to level-off on common principles, processes and tools in supervision, discuss Indigenous Learning System (ILS) and Indigenous Knowledge, Systems and Practices (IKSPs), discuss the interface between ILS/IKSPs with the national education system and the implications of supervision, identify key principles to guide supervision for IP education and discuss the implications of the principles on the processes and

tools for supervision. Furthermore, the training provides an avenue to enhance existing supervision tools to be appropriate for IP education, discuss the principles, processes and content in School Improvement Plan (SIP) formulation, discuss emerging principles in community engagement and the implications for the planning process, discuss the field testing for the AD-based SIP, discuss the parts of the SIP to be enhanced and the specific enhancements to be done for each part and identify the needed pre-requisites for the effective implementation of the enhanced SIP.


Helmet for motorcycle riders set for strict enforcement in Tandag CityBy: Greg Tataro Jr.

TANDAG CITY - Mayor Roxanne Pimentel here issued an announcement last week, particularly to motorcycle riders, on the use of standard protective helmet effective May 15, 2015.

Citing “a spike of motorcycle-related accidents in the city recently,” the lady city chief executive said “This renewed enforcement therefore is to secure and safeguard Tandaganons, particularly the operators or drivers of motorcycles and their passengers, from fatal or life-threatening accidents and crashes.” “The City Government of Tandag will strictly enforce the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009,” she pointed out. “Joint teams composed of the CHPG, LTO, Traffic Management Group (TMG) and the Tandag City PNP will enforce

this order in all streets and thoroughfares within the City,” Mayor Pimentel added. Defiance shall mean penalties as provided for by law, she warned. It can be recalled that a couple of years back, the use of protective helmet for motorcycle riders here has been relaxed due to string of shooting incidents involving “riding in tandem” felons who hide behind helmets in committing crimes and going scot-free. Sad to note, nobody has ever been held liable or accountable for these crimes, Provincial Prosecutor Florito Cuartero confirmed.


According to PSupt. Martin M. Gamba, in an interview, that the PNP Scouts had just finished their 45-days training at the Regional Special Training Unit at Santiago town in Agusan del Norte on April 29. The PNP Scouts were received by PSSupt. Joseph D. Plaza, the battalion commander of the 13th RPSB from the RSTU Training Director PSSupt. Adolph Almendra. Gamba said that the newly-trained police scouts will be at the 13th RPSB regional

headquarters for a period of briefing and orientation before turning them over to the lower units such as the 131st Regional Public Safety Company, 132nd Regional Public Safety Company and the 133rd Regional Public Safety Company based in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, Carascal, Surigao del Sur and Cutlog, Barobo also in Surigao del Sur. The 13th RPSB and the RPSCs are the mobile units of the regional police, Gamba said.

BUTUAN CITY - One hundred and twenty-six (126) Philippine National Police (PNP) Scouts who had just ended their PNP Scout Training were turned over to the 13th Regional Public Safety Battalion at their headquarters at Camp Rafael C. Rodriguez on Monday.

126 PNP Scouts turned over to the 13th RPSB By: Noel B. Najarro




Documents

One Mindanao - May 5, 2015