NIA turns Pantabangan barangay cogon lands into fertile farms after 40 years

PANTABANGAN, Nueva Ecija, June 15, 2011-Ironically, a God forsaken barangay in the home of the giant Pantabangan Dam has finally received irrigation after almost half-a-century with the installation by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) of a mini-dam which turned an initial 170 hectares of purely cogonal lands into verdant and fertile farms.

NIA regional irrigation manager for Central Luzon Manuel Collado said that a total of 650 hectares of farmlands will be supplied with irrigation upon completion of a P298-million Teruvian Dam (TD) which initially watered areas planted to palay in Barangay Conversion, saying that the TD refers to a free-fall dam wherein irrigation water falls freely from a mini-dam and connected to a stilling pool using high-density polyethylene pipes.

“This type of dam is most suited in Conversion because the current there is strong and the slopes are stiffer,” Marcelino Santos, assistant regional director said.

Conversion, Pantabangan’s largest barangay covering an area of 6,000 hectares, belong to the original barangays of the old township which was submerged to pave the way for the construction of the World bank-funded Pantabangan Dam in the 70s. The dam now irrigates 102,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Central Luzon but not a single drop of water flows to Conversion which was relocated one kilometer upstream and was isolated from the rest of the barangays.

Conversion is now more accessible eight kilometers from Carranglan municipality when the rest of this town’s barangays can be reached by passing through Rizal and San Jose City.

Antonio Reyes, former president of the NIA Employees Association and a resident of this town said that because Conversion was made an “outcast” from the Pantabangan Dam, he and other officials of the association asked NIA last year to finance the construction of the mini-dam so farmers in the rain-fed area would receive irrigation.

Collado and then-NIA administrator Carlos Salazar approved the funding for the project which was finally realized when Antonio Nangel was appointed NIA administrator by President Aquino.

Nangel released P110 million for the project’s three phases. Pantabangan Mayor Romeo Borja Sr. also provided a counterpart funding from the municipal government equivalent to 30% of the project’s direct cost.

Last January 2010 when the dam construction started then a test run conducted by NIA officials and engineers yielded positive results as water flowed in the area nine months later.           

Juanito Jampil, NIA provincial irrigation officer for Nueva Ecija,  recalled that before it was constructed, some farmers in Conversion were skeptical about the project’s viability since water from the dam would be sourced from the Diaman River in Nueva Vizcaya which is below the project area. Water from the river would be made to flow through connecting pipes and impounded in a stilling pool located two kilometers away.

Wilfredo Riparip, barangay chairman of Conversion, said that the farmers, like the proverbial Doubting Thomases, could not believe water would climb from the river to the stilling pool.

He said one of them, Eladio Carpio even bragged he would have his body amputated if water could flow in the stilling pool from the dam. “Believe me, I would have by waist cut if water will come out from the dam,” he quoted Carpio as saying in Tagalog.

When the mini-dam finally flushed out water, Riparip said Carpio was nowhere to be found.

Engineer Martin Eduarte, NIA regional designer explained that this is made possible by force of gravity which pulls water from the river upward into the stilling pool.

“The farmers harvest an average of 100 cavans per hectare during the dry season from what once were desolate lands, so isolated these were dubbed Conversion’s version of “Marlboro Country,” in mock reference to a place in a popular TV ad of a leading cigarette brand showing a cowboy negotiating a dusty, isolated place,” Eduarte said.

Engineer Roberto Pascual, manager of the merged Bulacan, Aurora and Nueva irrigation management offices said that from cogon country, Conversion is now palay country because of the project and turned lush and green.

Billy Soriano, president of the irrigators’ association in Conversion said 98 farmers now benefit from the project and they are now planning to venture into onions with water now available. He said up to 200 farmers in the area will benefit eventually once the irrigation facility’s two other phases, are fully completed.

Meanwhile, to assist farmers in their post-production, Nangel has promised to provide post harvest facilities to uplift their source of livelihood. (Jason de Asis)

Recto urges intensified trade and investments with Phl-China

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, June 14, 2011-In the midst of the controversies between China and the Philippines, Senator Ralph G. Recto yesterday said that the country’s trade with China is bigger than the United States (US) that boycotting everything “Made In China” is foolish and ill-advised, saying that the country should do the reverse by engaging in China through intensified trade and investments instead of boycotting their products.

Recto reacted on the statement of Albay Governor Joey Salceda who is a staunched advocate to boycott the China-made products in retaliation to China’s bullying in the disputed Spratly’s and in Western Palawan, adding that the retaliation through trade against China’s repeated intrusions in Spratly Islands and the West Palawan Sea has become the only viable alternative to ordinary Filpinos since military provocation was not an option.

“China is our biggest trading neighbor,” Recto said, explaining that the right response is to increase our trade and investments with China and wait for the proper time to find the right growth formula to settle the issue in Spratly Island.

“If the country would be able to close its $900-million trade deficit with China, it would be scoring a “big economic victory" more meaningful than trying to sink one of their vessels,” Recto said, adding that the country imported $7 billion worth of goods from China in 2010 while shipping a little over $6 billion goods to China.

“The country should act accordingly and should not boycott as China is part of the emerging economies and touted by respected global bodies to be in the Top 25 countries with strong economies by 2025,” Recto said, advising the government that we should engage in China diplomatically and business trade sound relations should be maintained.

Recto furthered that the country should start modernizing its armed services not to engage China or any country laying claim to Spratly militarily, but to protect its fishermen, ships and cargoes and territorial waters, explaining that there is a need to build the AFP not for arms race but to protect our coral reefs and fishermen.

“You need to do it. You have to start somewhere,” Recto stressed, saying that to protect the country’s territorial sovereignty gains importance more than ever now that the disputed Reed Bank in Western Palawan has been renamed as “Recto Bank” in honor of his grandfather, nationalist Claro M. Recto.

“The AFP led by the Philippine Navy should start buying modern equipment and fleet. We should start buying some of these equipment and I don’t care if we buy them from China,” Recto added. (Jason de Asis)

Nueva Ecija classrooms reduced by 50% shortage

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija, June 13, 2011-Governor Aurelio Matias Umali revealed that the hundreds construction of brand new classrooms initiated by the provincial government, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the local government units (LGU) have been reduced by more than half the classroom shortage in the 700 elementary schools and high schools provincewide, explaining that the classroom shortage placed at 1,070 in both the 604 elementary schools and 98 high schools are now down to only 565 after the provincial government, through the local school board he chaired, bankrolled the construction of 342 classrooms worth P325 million.

In the midst of criticisms that various schools in the province continue to suffer from acute shortage of classrooms even as classes for both primary and secondary education opened last Monday, Umali said that they are exerting fullest efforts to ease the problem and is not sleeping on it.

“Classroom shortage is nationwide in scale and is not unique here in Nueva Ecija,” Umali said, saying that the provincial government is doing its part to reduce this problem by financing the construction of more classrooms particularly in areas where they found in great need.

“The 342 provincial government funded classrooms were sourced through the school board’s Special Education Funds and through loans from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP),” Umali said.

Vice Governor Jose Gay Padiernos recently passed a resolution at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan which authorized Umali to enter into a loan agreement with DBP for the additional classrooms for the province.

Dr. Tarcila Javier, DepEd superintendent of schools and co-chairman of the local school board said that the 342 classrooms are on top of the 115 classrooms constructed by the department through the Basic Education, Facilities and Furnitures (BEEF) project.

“DepEd project costs P63 million and the second biggest classroom allocation here in Central Luzon,” she said, adding that there are also classrooms built through local government initiatives.

Javier cited the 48 classrooms in Cabiao town which were negotiated by Mayor Gloria Congco with the help of the Ateneo School of Government and Security Bank.

“The reported shortage of classrooms in the province is being addressed fast by Umali who manifested that schools are his topmost priority and other local chief executives who have responded positively to the DepEd’s appeal for intervention during an educational summit they held last May 18,” Javier said.

Mr. Orlando de Leon, DepEd Nueva Ecija planning officer said that the province has 1,771 existing classrooms in high school and 5,371 classrooms in elementary schools right now.

“Based on a ratio of one classroom per 30 students, the province is still short of 779 classrooms in high school. In the case of elementary schools and based on a ratio of one classroom per 40 students, the province is still short of 291 classrooms in the elementary level,” De Leon said, however, he stressed that the computation in high school has been based on a ratio of 40:1 or 40 students per one classroom, the shortage would only have been around 200 classrooms.

He furthered that among with the biggest high school classrooms backlog were the Nueva Ecija High School which needs 94 classrooms, Bongabon National High school (60) and Cabiao National High School (45), saying that the DepEd through the BEFF and the provincial government are now putting up classrooms to help bring down the backlog.

“The shortage in the elementary is not as severe as most schools only lack between two to four classrooms, mostly in areas holding multi-grade classes,” De Leon said, citing that the Guimba East Central School was short of 10 classrooms but this was reduced to only three due to the construction of seven additional classrooms by the DepEd and the provincial government.

He furthered that four additional classrooms were provided by the provincial government and the Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the Santo Cristo Elementary School in the municipality of Quezon. (Jason de Asis)

Nueva Ecija is the Phl role model of effective disaster management risk reduction

PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija, June 12, 2011-Nueva Ecija province has emerged as a role model of disaster management and risk reduction among local government units in the country with its participatory approach and systematic handling of irrigation systems to mitigate the impact of calamities, resulting in minimal casualties and damage to property during typhoons, floods and landslides.

Governor Aurelio Umali told newsmen that the province has effectively handled past calamities with vigilance and foresight, consistently monitoring low pressure areas and releasing water from the Pantabangan Dam and other irrigation systems way ahead of the coming typhoons so that there would be no floods in known flood-prone areas.

Umali, who chairs the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council cited that during typhoon “Ondoy,” the province suffered zero casualty because the National Irrigation Administration’s Upper Pampanga river Integrated Irrigation Systems (NIAUPRIIS) released water from Pantabangan Dam several days before the typhoon came.

“The province’s management of disasters is participatory in that the Department of the Interior and Local Government takes a pro-active role,” Umali said,” remembering the past when he first became governor in 2007, he involved the DILG in disaster preparedness when he appointed its provincial director, Dr. Abraham Pascua as council co-chairman.

“In 2007, the rationale of my having appointed Director Pascua was because I have few allies among the mayors so I wanted the DILG to become a conduit of the provincial government with regards to disaster mitigation and to disabuse the minds of the local chief executives of politics. As a result, the mayors responded and now, they have been cooperating with us ever since,” Umali said.

He said that in areas beyond his reach, there’s a man of the hour calling the shots, convening emergency meetings and leading the conduct of training seminars on geo-hazards and the risks of landslides and floods. 

“The provincial government did its task of mitigating disasters without relying on the national government too much. We will only seek help when we are no longer capable. But we have shown we are capable in dealing with disasters,” he added; thus, the Spanish government extended 3.4 million euros (P203.2 million) worth of grant to the provincial government to further strengthen its capability to respond to disaster and calamity situations and implement rehabilitation programs. “They want to capitalize on our efforts,” he said.

“The grant was extended by the Spanish Cooperation Agency for Development (AECID) which entered into a project partnership agreement with the Local Government Academy - an attached agency of the DILG - to strengthen local governments' disaster preparedness and response,” Umali said, adding that the grant is now being used to fund the training component, infrastructure and livelihood components of the program in selected cities and municipalities of the province.

“Thanks to the Spanish government for extending assistance to the province and the Philippines which, he said, both have historical ties with Spain after whom they were named after,” Umali furthered.

The program aimed to help in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of communities affected by supertyphoon “Pepeng,” being implemented in partnership with the Office of Project Development Service (OPDS) of the DILG and DILG provincial office which constitute the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) project steering committee.

Various projects are now being undertaken in the pilot municipalities of Carranglan, Llanera, Rizal and Pantabangan and in San Jose City aimed at strengthening their respective DRRM and response, improve inter-municipal networking, raise disaster risk reduction awareness and provide support and access to basic social and productive infrastructures and jobs.

LGA executive director Marivel Sacendocillo, the program's director, said that the province was chosen as pilot area by the donor country in recognition of Umali's leadership in mitigating disasters. She also cited the crucial role played by Pascua for overseeing disaster rescue, relief and rehab efforts along with Umali.

Pascua said that the province was effective against calamities because Umali was always on top of the situation, micro-managing and presiding over the inspection of damaged areas and in the distribution of relief goods to affected families.

“The governor risked his life, even going to landslide-prone areas and braving floodwaters in low-lying areas to oversee our disaster mitigation, rescue and relief efforts. He was not only visible. He was personally involved,” he said.

“The province formulated a comprehensive disaster risk reduction contingency plan involving the pre-positioning of evacuation centers and relief goods and assignment of focal persons in these areas,” Pascua said, adding that the council have five command posts and four advanced command posts in strategic areas of the province where personnel, heavy equipment, medicines and goods are deployed and stockpiled in advance in anticipation of a forthcoming typhoon.

Pascua said disaster management in the province has become a total team effort with the NIA, the Army, the Philippine National Police and the Department of Public Works and Highways which actively involved in all aspects of disaster mitigation.

“NIA effectively regulated the flow and release of water from the dam to prevent flooding during heavy rains brought by typhoons,” Pascua said.

At the height of “Pepeng” in 2009, Pascua recalled that then-UPRIIS operations manager and now NIA administrator Antonio Nangel and Freddie Tuquero, chief of the dam's reservoir division, consistently monitored the water level at the dam and released water prior to the onset of the supertyphoon, thus, preventing the Pantabangan Dam from reaching spilling level.

“During a four-day period in October last year at the height of typhoon “Juan,” water level at the dam was recorded at only between 194 meters to 197 meters, way below the spillway level of 221 meters because UPRIIS already released water before the typhoon came,” he recalled, explaining that if you can see, the disaster mitigation efforts of Nueva Ecija is very unique because you not only cope with calamities but also the water at the Pantabangan Dam. If you don't manage the dam well enough and its water release, then you will surely end in disaster,” he said, recalling the experience that befell Pangasinan when water overflowing from the San Roque Dam caused massive flooding.

“702^nd IB, Brigade Commander Army Col. Felicito Trinidad constantly communicated on a 24/7 basis with the council for possible deployment of his men  in areas affected by the calamity ahead of the other government agencies,” Pascua recalled. (Jason de Asis)

P100-M CamSur-like tourism park and watersports complex to rise in Nueva Ecija

PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija, June 12, 2011-Governor Aurelio Umali said that the provincial government of Nueva Ecija is constructing a P100-million tourism park and watersports complex in this provincial capital aimed at converting the province into a sports-adventure zone and tourist mecca in the country.

Umali said that the tourism project centers on the development of the Aulo Dam irrigation project as the nerve center of water sports activities, taking a cue from the CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC), easily the country’s biggest tourist draw because of its water sporting events.

The development of the P295-million, 27-meter high Aulo Dam, which irrigates 810 hectares, will be undertaken by the provincial government through a P100-million loan package in collaboration with the Department of National Defense (DND), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

“This development of the Aulo Dam is very much like CamSur except that what we are developing is a dam, unlike CamSur which developed a man-made lake,” Umali said. He said the provincial government has hired CamSur Gov. Luis Raymond “LRay” Villafuerte as consultant in developing the tourism park and sports complex.

Umali said he, Vice Gov. Jose Gay Padiernos and other local officials in the province recently visited CamSur and were awed by its success story in tourism which propelled it into greater economic heights.

He said that prior to the establishment of its water sports complex, CamSur was mired as the 39^th poorest province in the country but has since emerged as the 10^th richest province.

Today, the CamSur local government is the only eco-tourism zone in the country endorsed by the Department of Trade and Industry’s special attached agency, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. 

“It’s amazing how tourists now go gaga over CamSur. We have to learn from its experience and take it from there to carve a niche for Nueva Ecija as an emerging tourist mecca,” he said.

The CWC features a world-class six-hectare complex with a six-point cable ski system for cable skiing, wakeboarding, knee boarding, water skiing and wake skating. It is now widely known as the best cable park in Asia.

Across the road from the CWC is the Lago del Rey family entertainment and water sports facility where a giant man-made lake features water slides, an aqua obstacle course and boat-towed wakeboarding and skiing. Families can go swimming, kayaking, dragon boating, aqua wall climbing or play water volleyball and water polo.            

Tourists and water sports enthusiasts from around the world have flocked to seek out adventures in CamSur, which will host the 22^nd Philippine Advertising Congress in November. It has hosted several high-profile events, including the annual Summit Water CamSur Marathon and the Ultimate Wake Championship, two of the country’s most important sporting events which include athletes from as far as the United States, Europe, South Africa and from all over Asia.

Umali said that the Aulo Development Park will feature zipline, zafari and zoo and offer activities for wakeboarding, motorbiking, mountain trailing and camping site.

“Nueva Ecija is the next big thing to Metro Manila and we will capitalize on our water resources to breathe life to tourism because water is life,” he said.

He said the provincial government’s tourism enterprise will be eco-friendly with only e-vehicles allowed to come inside the facility. (Jason de Asis)

Aurora cops seminar highlights values and techniques of news writing and broadcasting

BALER, Aurora, June 11, 2011-To uphold true broadcast and journalistic values, Aurora provincial director, Police Senior Supt. Ervin “Jojo” B. Gumban led a two day enhancement training on news writing and broadcasting for the 35 Philippine National Police (PNP) newly designated as police information officers here at Camp Captain Victor Ravina, Brgy. Sabang last June 9 to 10, 2011.

Cops participants highlighted the need of upholding the high values of journalism, especially within the new security environment in which there is a clear danger of losing the truth and credibility when faced with violence and hostile ground realities.

The views were put across during the workshop organized by SPO2 Desiderio “Ding” M. Noora, Aurora over-all PNP spokesman in collaboration with the different point of views of the police, saying that the true journalistic values had been compromised a bit since each media outlet constantly tries to outshine others in the race of broadcasting breaking news; however, the police agreed that in the face of tremendous challenges face by the media, there are still journalists out there who do not compromise on facts and truths and those are the real unsung heroes and flag-bearers of the profession.

The participants said that determining the national interest was too important business to be left with the security institutions to protect the welfare of the people in the province.

They said that the parliament, civil society and the media must get together to evolve a consensus over what constitutes national interest. Cops participants also highlighted the dilemma of how some stakeholders, through their vested interests, tried to influence media through money and advertisement revenues.

Noora believes that the freedom of speech and freedom to write is a responsibility. Without responsibility and accountability, freedom and independence could become harmful. 

“There are numerous factors out there which hamper the pursuit of truth and threaten the journalists’ integrity,” Noora said, explaining that the Aurora cops realized to establish police spokesman to give the truest information to the people without fear.

Noora said that the seminar is intended for the creation of Aurora PNP press corps, the creation of radio program on DZJO FM which is run by the catholic and the establishment of “Pulis Silangan” a police news letter to be circulated in the entire province next month.

He furthered that the seminar will also serve as the central source of information release by the police; assist the media in covering routine news stories; prepare and distribute news releases; arrange for, and assist at, news/press conference; coordinate the release of information that concerns confidential police operations and/or investigation; provide information openly and honestly to contribute confidence, trust and respect in the police force among others.

“I think this is the first province which has been organized here in central Luzon to disseminate information to the public from the police force,” Noora ended. (Jason de Asis)

Trillanes calls for in-depth study on the ambitious K+12 of DepEd

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, June 10, 2011-Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV bats for the investigation about the ambitious Enhanced Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K+12) program of the Department of Education (DepEd) which seeks to expand basic education to 13 years from the current 10 years, describing the DepEd program intend to implement next school year as a big, costly and potentially disastrous experiment that would only worsen the existing problems confronting the education sector in the lack of teachers and classrooms in the country.

Trillanes said that the DepEd revealed that severe shortage estimated to around 103,000 elementary and high school teachers plus 27,000 Kindergarten teachers and an equally severe shortage of classrooms estimated at around 90,000.

“Why are our education officials proposing to adopt a system which will obviously result to an aggravation of the already severe shortage in teaching personnel and classrooms?,” he asked, pointing out that most public schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) have 76 to 79 students, a far cry from the ideal ratio of 45 students per classroom.

“The national average class size in Philippine secondary schools is 56 students per classroom and can be considered overcrowded when compared to Malaysia’s 34, South Korea’s 35.1 and Thailand’s 41.5,” Trillanes furthered, citing that the case of Batasan National High School, which has three shifts of classes daily and where some students go to school as early as 5:30 in the morning and will go home as late as 7:20 in the evening.

He asked that if we implement DepEd’s K + 12 system, are we going to add a fourth shift and require our students to wake up earlier, say at 3:00 a.m. or maybe go home at midnight? Are we going to pack our students even more tightly with 150 students per class?

“The program would entail additional costs not only to the government but most especially to the parents. Parents who are barely able to make both ends meet. The same parents who must now bear the burden of the rising cost not only of education but of almost everything else from food to utilities and from gasoline to LPG,” Trillanes said.

“Under the present basic education system, the  K+12 program would only result to more dropouts, noting that for every 100 students who enter Grade 1, only 43 manage to finish high school and only 14 graduate from college,” Trillanes revealed.

Trillanes said that the dropout rate would further increase if the government extended the 10-year basic education by two more years, where he debunked DepEd’s claim that the program would improve the quality of basic education and address youth unemployment.

Former Education Deputy Minister Abraham Felipe and Dr. Carolina Porio recent study showed that there is no correlation between the number of years of basic education and the overall quality of education.

Trillanes mentioned the case of students from Singapore who performed best in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) from among 50 countries which have the same length of high school cycle as the Philippines, saying that the countries that have longer high school cycles such as South Africa, Chile, Palestine, Morocco and Saudi Arabia belong to the group that have low-performing high school students.

Trillanes asked that if thousands upon thousands of college degree holders now cannot find employment, what makes the DepEd believe that they can solve our unemployment problem by producing ‘employable’ high school graduates?

“Parents have sacrificed much so that their children would finish even high school only, why there is a need for the additional two years for the elementary and for the secondary where in fact there is no clear manifestation that the country will benefit from the proposed educational program,” the young senator said. (Jason de Asis)

Legarda bats to investigate the massive fishkill in Taal Lake

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, June 9, 2011-Senator Loren Legarda has filed Senate Resolution 498 directing the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Food, Environment and Natural Resources, and Climate Change for the immediate investigation of the recent massive fishkill in Taal Lake.

Since May 26, there were over 700 metric tons of milkfish and tilapia, worth approximately Php57.226-million that died in the different fish cages which surrounded in Taal Lake.

Legarda revealed that with the massive fish kill, consumers and fishermen are affected. The fishkill reportedly affected as much as 27% of the fish supply of Metro Manila and will certainly affect majority of the fisherfolks from the lakeside communities of Taal who depend primarily on fishing as the source of their livelihood.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reported that the fishkill was caused by an overturn wherein moderate to heavy rains made the surface water of Taal Lake cold and dense which in turn forced the deep hot bottom water containing pollutants to rise, heating the fish cages thereby depriving the fish of dissolved oxygen.

BFAR revealed that the recent fishkill in the Kakiputan Channel in the towns of Bolinao and Anda in Pangasinan were also caused by these changes in temperature.

Legarda said that the sudden drop in temperature and the heavy rains which led to the overturned may have been caused by the extreme shift of weather brought about by climate change, adding that there have been reports to BFAR that the run-off from the Baleter River leading to Taal Lake was discolored and contained animal waste.

Legarda said that there is a need to determine the various and interrelated causes of this disastrous fishkill in the place to protect our ecosystem, the livelihood of the communities surrounding these bodies of water, as well as the consumers who may be affected by the same; thus, she filed resolution directing the committees to conduct an immediate investigation in aid of legislation on the cause of the massive fishkill in Taal Lake.

Prior to this, BFAR already warned that improper aquaculture practices such as intensive feeding, overcrowding of fish cages and overstocking of tilapia fry, as well as the presence of unconsumed fish feeds, urine, domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes in the lake may have contributed to its high levels of hydrogen sulphide and ammonia way back 2008, the decomposition of which consumes oxygen. (Jason de Asis)

2011 Miss Philippines Earth could be Aurora governor

Ms. Athena Mae Imperial, Miss Earth Philippines 2011.

CASIGURAN, Aurora, June 8, 2011-Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo lauded Miss Philippines Earth 2011 Athena Imperial who won the prestigious title during the two-hour pageant at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum, Sunday.

“From Miss Philippines-Earth to Aurora Governor Imperial,” Angara-Castillo said, expressing that    she was impressed with Imperial’s gift of gab and of being smart.

Imperial, who hails from this town, was feted by Angara-Castillo who led a small group of Aurorans in cheering for their bet, who also placed as a semifinalist     during the 2009 Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant held in Baler. She is a Communication Research graduate of the University of the Philippines.

Angara-Castillo said that Imperial has the gut and feels that the hometown heroine will make a good politician someday, and even follow her footsteps.

“Every time I heard her speak, I tell myself that one day she will become governor of Aurora,” Angara-Castillo said of Imperial where she immediately offered Imperial a job in the provincial Capitol, adding that someday, the latter will make good as a political leader.

“Imperial’s victory is another feather in the cap of the province as this will also promote tourism and environmental awareness as Miss Earth winners are considered ambassadors of nature,” the lady governor said.

Imperial, who works as researcher for GMA News TV, bested nine other finalists in the pageant for the right to represent the country in the Miss Earth pageant set this November in Thailand. The pageant promotes environmental protection.

The crowds were impressed when she rejected the use of nuclear energy for the country. She said there are other more viable sources of energy such as hydroelectric, solar and wind which are safer than nuclear.

Meanwhile, a dance party is being planned in this town to celebrate Imperial’s victory in its town fiesta on June 12 and 13 says Angara-Castillo. (Jason de Asis) 

Legarda bats for national census of indigenous ethnic origin groups

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, June 7, 2011-To better address the needs of indigenous peoples (IP) groups, Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities has proposed the inclusion of information on ethnic origin in the conduct of national census under Senate Bill 2858 that would allow the inclusion of ethnic origin in the national survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Legarda believed that this measure would be useful in determining the specific concerns of IPs in various areas and finding suitable solutions to address the exact data on them, explaining that the successful implementation of laws will be meaningful if it is anchored on the possession of relevant and accurate data which is the basis of sound policies that in turn are translated into effective and targeted action.

“Until now the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) relies on estimates based on outdated figures and more than a decade has passed since the recognition of the rights of IPs through the passage of the landmark legislation Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA), but there is still a dearth of information and disaggregated data on the exact population of our indigenous brothers and sisters,” Legarda said.

The NSO shall include ethnic origin in its national survey and national census starting the year 2011 under the proposed measure. To serve as guides of NSO enumerators are NCIP employees, who must be knowledgeable of the different ethno-linguistic groups of the Philippines, and must know the dialect and appropriate manner of talking/asking culturally-sensitive questions to members of indigenous cultural communities (ICCs).

Legarda said that the proposed bill seeks to remedy the absence of information on members of IP groups by formally including the ethnicity and ethno-linguistic variable in the country’s national census in order to make effective policies that will promote and address them. (Jason de Asis)

2011 Miss Earth Philippines from Casiguran Aurora deserves as queen

BALER, Aurora, June 6, 2011-Once again Aurorans proved in the province history that eventhough Aurora is one of the smallest provinces in the country the brain and beauty still prevailed no matter what and deserved to be the queen.

It’s really wonderful to see that our provincemate Athena Mae Imperial who hails from Casiguran town won in the recent coronation of 2011 Miss Earth Philippines which was held in Puerto Princesa, Palawan yesterday night.

Among the 48 candidates, Imperial was proclaimed as big winner although she was the shortest among the top 10 finalists, adding that she did not get any special awards even the minor ones. She was also not so tall in the contest but still proved that there’s a chance to be a beauty queen.

Imperial became a semi-finalist in the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2009 and kept going in joining the pageant. Now, it’s her victory. She is not tall enough for international competition    but she really is the Goddess of the Earth and deserves to be Miss Philippines Earth 2011.

As an Auroran, we congratulate Imperial for winning in the contest the title Miss Earth and must be proud of her now that she is representing the country in the coming Miss Earth 2011 beauty pageant in Pattaya, Thailand.

Imperial’s accomplishment will surely win the country’s television networks and other big companies which have seen her potentials to be their partner in the industry. It’s amazing and I mean it! (Jason de Asis)

Ms. Athena Mae Imperial crowned as Miss Earth Philippines 2011. Another pride of Aurorans. (Jason de Asis)

Phl to host GOPAC 2013 conference against corruption

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, June 5, 2011-After the Senate steering committee hearing, Senator Edgardo J. Angara said that the country will be hosting the 2013 Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) conference here in Manila  where Malacañang manifests full support with the same mission  on strong anti-corruption policy.

“GOPAC is an international network where its mission is perfectly fit with the Aquino administration’s anti-corruption policy. The global community also recognizes us that we are serious about stamping out corruption,” Angara said, adding that there are more than 900 parliamentarians from over 90 different countries dedicated to good governance and combating corruption under GOPAC.

Angara reported that about 300 to 500 international parliamentarians are expected to attend. About a quarter of the participants will be from the Philippines but the bulk of the guests will fly in from abroad where the three-day conference has been scheduled tentatively for January 31 to February 1 and 2 to include workshops, forums and plenary meetings.

GOPAC's Philippine Steering Committee involves stakeholders from government agencies, private sector, nongovernmental organizations and academe where the participants are Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara; Sen. Franklin M. Drilon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance; former Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban; Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy, also the SEAPAC secretary; Tourism Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon Enerio; and Atty. Tess Herbosa, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other members of the steering committee are Dean Marivic Leonen, UP College of Law; Dean Cesar L. Villanueva, Ateneo Law School; Dean Antonio A. Agustin, MLQU College of Law; Dean Amado D. Valdez, University of the East College of Law and president of the Philippine Association of Law Schools; Atty. Avelino V. Cruz, founding partner of ACCRA Law; Atty. Raoul R. Angangco, senior parter at CVC Law; Atty. Roan Libarios, president-elect of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and Dr. Georgina R. Encanto, president of Transparency International-Philippines.

Aside from SEAPAC, GOPAC's other active regional chapters are in Latin America (LAPAC), Arab Region (ARPAC) and Africa (APNAC), and they are all expected to join the Manila conference in 2013. 

Angara is the Asian representative in the GOPAC executive board as well as the founding president of the Southeast Asian Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC), one of the active regional chapters and was elected as GOPAC's vice-chairman during the conference held in Mexico City Last March 11 to 13. (Jason de Asis)

Senate approved bill for state workers retirement benefits immediate release

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, June 4, 2011-Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes senate bill 2748 that seeks the expeditious and timely release of benefits, pension and gratuities of government workers retiring from the service has unanimously approved on third and final reading here in the Senate by the 18 senators who voted for its approval.

No one cast a negative vote on the proposed measure which was principally authored by Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV wherein the bill calls for the release of retirement benefits within a 30-day period, except for benefits from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) that would be released on the last working day of the retiring government employee.

“As of second quarter of 2010, our Government is still the largest employer nationwide with some 1,312,508 employees. Sadly, it is sometimes referred to as the employer of last resort due to uncompetitive pay schedule and minimal promotion opportunities compared to the private sector,” Trillanes lamented, saying that our colleagues in the government service soldier on, toiling and laboring with salaries and benefits barely enough to meet their personal and family needs.  

“This is unacceptable, they spend the best and most productive years of their lives serving the public and the country despite the Spartan pay and measly benefits they receive, often foregoing more lucrative opportunities in the private sector,” Trillanes said, citing the case of public school teachers, who are underpaid and overworked.

“They are the molder of our youth whose hands lay the future of the country, we rely on them serving elections often with great risks to their lives and well-being and yet, we pay them a salary barely enough to meet the basic needs of their families,” he added, saying that often times, when these public servants retire, they are made to wait for unreasonable periods, sometimes years, before they are paid their modest retirement pay, pensions, gratuities and other benefits which are really offensive.

 
“In recognition of their many years, if not decades of faithful, loyal and dedicated service to the government, we have to ensure retiring government employees to receive their retirement pay, pensions, gratuities and other retirement benefits immediately or at least within a fixed and reasonable time after their retirement, adding that they should not be made to wait, much less grovel and beg, for what is actually due them under the law,” Trillanes said.

The Senator added that there is a need to penalize officials who would cause undue delay on the release of these benefits, saying that these erring officials after hearings and due proceedings shall be subjected to administrative disciplinary action and to be penalized with suspension from service without pay from six months to one year at the discretion of the disciplining authority, except in cases of force majeure and other insuperable cases.

“Some agencies violated the law due to lack of penal provision punishing the agency for its non-compliance that’s why we should put teeth into our existing law for better enforcement of its provisions,” Trillanes ended. (Jason de Asis)

Angara bats for the creation of elite enforcers to protect Phl aquatic territory

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, June 3, 2011-In the recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Senator Edgardo J. Angara, who is a former Secretary of Agriculture  urged the government for the creation of elite enforcers who will be tasked to protect the country’s aquatic territory. 

Angara explained that the country’s archipelago is one of the richest, most bio-diverse and extensive coastal areas in the world but we don’t possess enough resources to protect it where poaching exotic corals and wildlife has become a very lucrative business around the world, saying that the destruction of rare flora and fauna has already caused un-repairable damage to the country’s marine ecosystems.

He said that the country has very good laws against poaching and other destructive activities but insufficient in manpower and technical resources to police our huge territory, adding that the national coast guard cannot provide all the manpower needed; thus, Angara suggested that there is a need to tap the local government units or LGUs to train their own bantay-dagat teams to serve as the guardians of the sea.

“They already established bantay-dagat and maybe we can establish an elite force among these ranks who will be dedicated in enforcing our marine laws,” Angara said.

“I urged the government to act fast and be more proactive on this matter, adding that the destruction of our country’s rich natural heritage is a race against time, which we may have already lost,” he said, calling on concerned government agencies to work together to solve and to mitigate a national problem.

Angara said that to channel their efforts into action-oriented plans and measures, there is a need for a comprehensive framework to unite all government agencies with jurisdiction over the country’s marine and aquatic resources. (Jason de Asis)