DOST orients Ifugao entrepreneurs on packaging and labeling

LAMUT, Ifugao, June 29 (PIA)- - The Department of Science and Technology- Cordillera Administrative Region (DOST-CAR) oriented 50 entrepreneurs of this province on its  Packaging and Labeling Services in  forum at the Ifugao State University (IFSU) here.

Dr. Pita Picpican of DOST-CAR said the agency recognizes the urgency and critical role of proper packaging and label designs that will enable the local Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the region to compete in the local and international markets.

She said that these services are conducted by their artist-designer who provides designs of product packaging and labeling materials for MSMEs in the region and which are also offered in coordination with the Packaging Technology Division of the Industrial Technology Development Institute, an attached agency of the DOST based in Bicutan, Taguig City.

Picipican also informed that Packaging and Labeling Seminars/Trainings or technical assistance can also be provided based on the request of the MSMEs region-wide on arranged schedule in coordination with the Provincial Science and Technology Centers (PSTCs).

To avail of these services, there must be requests or project proposals for the activities from the DOST-CAR through the PSTCs addressed to the DOST Regional Director or the PSTC director and if the request is granted, coordination between the PSTCs and the proponent will be done to finalize the arrangement such as the venue, schedule and others.

Those who can avail of these services are the DOST-CAR assisted cooperators and other qualified MSMEs in the region. (JDP/DBC- PIA CAR, Ifugao)

BCDA–JHMC reports accomplishments; expresses confidence good governance in JHSEZ to continue in the next admin

BAGUIO CITY, June 29 (PIA) - - The John Hay Management Corporation reports an overboard accomplishment inside the John Hay Special Economic Zone during the term of President Benigno Aquino III and expressed confidence that good governance and development will continue in the next administration.

JHMC president Dr. Jamie Eloise Agbayani, in a kapihan media forum at the Bell House Monday, affirms that under the Aquino administration and the guidance of the Bases Conversion Development Authority headed by President Arnel Casanova, they have elevated the level of public service inside Camp John Hay in terms of business climate, job generation and environmental protection, among others.

Agbayani disclosed that from negative financial outlook when they assumed in 2011, they have turned around the business climate in one- year time and brought in income.

From the 78 business enterprises in 2011, JHSEZ already has 118 locators who continue to gain confidence in JHMC’s leadership. In 2015, the locators gave the corporation 96 percent satisfaction rating, Agbayani reported.

For contribution in poverty reduction, she bared that job generation inside JHSEZ increased by 261% from 1,410 in 2011 to 5,090 in 2015.

For community development,   a housing project in Scout Barrio has been completed and their barangay segregation program is on track guided by the Board of Directors’ signed Executive Order for such purpose.

Agbayani also proudly affirmed that with their Forest and Environment Management program, they maintained good air quality rating inside Camp John Hay and continues to preserve the forest cover in the reservation, which attributes to 53% of the total forest cover of Baguio.

JHMC also signed a mini-hydro project that will generate an estimated 3 megawatts of clean and renewable energy.

Agbayani iterates that they have really elevated the level of government service inside the camp with its ISO certification as she expressed hope that this will be pursued by the next administration.

Casanova, in the same forum, also affirmed that in addition to JHSEZ accomplishments, the BCDA as a whole recorded significant milestones and exceeded their targets.

He also expressed optimism that the good governance style of leadership will continue with the next administration. (JDP/CCD-PIA CAR) 

CHED orients HEIs on grants for displaced workers

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, June 29(PIA) --- Around 140 representatives from various higher education institutions (HEIs) and government line agencies in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) attended the orientation on Instruction, Research and Sectoral Engagement (IRSE) grants and  a workshop on the K-12 Transition Scholarship Nomination held recently.

Spearheaded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the activity aimed to assist HEIs in creating and submitting nominations for prospective faculty and staff scholars, as well as   clarifying issues   to ensure complete submissions of requirements within timeline. The activity was seen as an opportunity for faculty members to upgrade their qualifications.

CHED said the implementation of the K-12 program will result to a decrease in the number of enrolment in tertiary education schools as students are required to enter senior high school instead of going straight to college. With this, faculty members will then have less teaching loads and thus will have more free time to engage in and pursue higher learning through IRSE grants.

CHED-CAR Regional Director Romulo Malvar encouraged the various HEIs in the region to recommend their personnel to avail of the various grants according to their transition plans. With their transition plans, faculty members in both private and public institutions have longer time table to pursue graduate studies, engage in research, and even get involved in sector engagements like industry, government and civil society.

“Exposure to industry immersion makes them updated and when they go back to their institutions, they teach with expertise,” Malvar added.

The participants were also given updates on scholarship for graduate studies, senior high school support grants, institutional innovation programs, professional advancement and foreign scholarships. (JDP/JBZ- PIA CAR)  

DENR-CAR readies for NGP implementation in 2017

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-CAR has downloaded funds in preparation for the implementation of the expanded National Greening Program in 2017.

An amount of P11,032,000 from the DENR Central Office-Based Fund has been downloaded by DENR-CAR to its field offices for the conduct of site assessment of NGP planting areas for 2017.

The site assessment and submission of reports should be accomplished before the end of September this year.

The DENR-CAR has a target area of 24,515 hectares to be planted on 2017. The target area is distributed in the different provinces across the region. Of which, 7,571 hectares is in Abra; 2,803 hectares in Apayao; 4,654 hectares in Benguet; 1,452 hectares in Ifugao; 4,644 hectares in Kalinga; and 3,391 hectares in Mt. Province.

The fund was accordingly distributed in the Provincial and Community Environment and Natural Resources based on their target areas.

The planting areas for 2017 shall be identified by the PENROs and CENROs in coordination with the local government units and villages that have potential areas for reforestation, bamboo, high value crops and agroforestry plantations.

The areas to be identified should be at least 50 hectares and should not fall within alienable and disposable lands so as to prevent overlapping of sites already covered by other projects.

As much as possible, the identified areas should be free of dispute relative to political boundaries. If any, such should be reconciled by concerned local government units or village officials.

In addition, the sites should be properly assessed as to what are the suitable commodities that can be planted in them.

Although a combination of four commodities may be planted in an area, they should not be purely bamboo, high value crops or fruit trees. The commodities should be varied to harvest more benefits in the future. 

As part of the assessment, shapefiles with complete attributes, commodity map and geotagged photos of areas should be submitted within the set deadline.

Apart from the site’s profile, the PENROs and CENROs shall identify and assess potential partner people’s organization within the village of proposed planting sites.

An education, information and communication campaign shall likewise be conducted for the POs and community people for appreciation and acceptance of the project.(Giovani Joy N. Fontanilla)

168 avail of DFA mobile passporting in Tabuk City

TABUK CITY, Kalinga, June 28 (PIA) – One hundred sixty eight applicants of the city availed of the mobile passporting service by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) - Region 02, here.

The DFA out-of-town service was part of the highlights of the city 9th founding anniversary and 16th Matagoan Festival celebration last June 17-25.

It was a tie-up project between DFA and the city local government through the Public Employment Service Office (PESO). 

Under the project, DFA extends out-reach services to applicants in the grassroots in a bid to bring down government action right to where the clients are.

Francis Biag of the CIty PESO said applicants pay the regular processing fee but are saved from other incidental costs than when they go and apply at DFA processing centers. 

He advised those interested to apply in future mobile passporting services to take advantage of the project by submitting required documents to avoid stale applications. 

Through the request of the city-LGU, the program started here in 2013. (JDP/LL—PIA CAR, Kalinga) 

Defend Ilocos Challenges EMB-1 to File Charges Against Erring LGUs

EXPRESSES WILLINGNESS TO TAKE COOPERATIVE ACTION WITH BASURA PATROLLERS

Open dumsite in Bgry. Baybayabas operated by the local government of Santiago, Ilocos Sur.

The Ilocos Network for the Environment (Defend Ilocos) challenged the officials of the Environmental Management Bureau’s (EMB) in Region 1 to file appropriate charges against local governments who continue to violate the Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003). This came after the bureau deployed 13 “basura patrollers” to monitor the implementation of the law among the 125 municipalities in the region.

“We commend EMB’s effort to institute mechanism to monitor the implementation of the law. The success of this campaign however depends on its will to pursue charges against erring local governments and the closure of open dumpsites,” points Sherwin De Vera, Regional Coordinator of the group.

According to EMB-1 Environmental Education and Information Section Chief Ma. Venus Junio, the basura patrollers were hired to inspect if LGUs are complying with the law. They are mandated to check their ascribed areas of responsibilities and take real-time geo-tagged images of solid waste management violations. Service of the patrollers will be from June to December this year with a P12,000 monthly salaray. Cases will be filed against LGUs to the office of the Environmental Ombudsman.

De Vera said that last February, the Environmental Ombudsman announced that the office is set to investigate 800 local officials in 13 regions in relation to violation of RA 9003. He expressed dismay that no local government units were included in the charge, pointing that many LGUs in the region are still disposing unsegregated wastes and operates open dumpsites. Despite the bureau’s short comings, he said that his group is willing to extend assistance to the program.

“Our network will keep tag of the development of this program and will initiate parallel actions for furtherance of the laws implementation. We will get in touch with the field patrollers to pursue cases against open dumpsites operated by LGUs,” De Vera said. 

Gov. Imee Marcos sworn into office, thanks Ilocano supporters

Hon. Imee R. Marcos sworn in today, June 28, 2016, as the Governor of Ilocos Norte through a mass inauguration of elected provincial officials held at the Plaza del Norte Convention Center in Laoag City.

Following her oath-taking administered by Judge Philip Salvador, Governor Imee immediately addressed the crowd and expressed her gratitude for the all-out support of the Ilocanos despite her running unopposed during the elections.

“Agyamanak kadakayo amin gapu ti napalaus nga ayat ken suportayo kaniak itay napalabas nga eleksiyon. Iti maikadua a gundaway, saanyo manen nga inpalubos nga adda kinabalubal ko,” beamed Governor Imee.

(“I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for the love and support you have given me in the recent elections. For the second time, you made it possible for me to run unopposed.”)

Solid North and ‘Uppat a Pato’

In her short speech, Governor Marcos also thanked those who supported her mother and youngest son, third-termer Ilocos Norte Second District Representative Imelda R. Marcos and first-termer Provincial Board Member Matthew Marcos-Manotoc, respectively.

“Sabi sa Manila, may tatlong bibe, kaming tatlo (Governor Imee, Congresswoman Imelda, Board Member Matthew) na iyon,” added Governor Imee referring to the viral children’s song in social media ‘Ang Tatlong Bibe.’

She, however, highlighted that the Ilocano version of the viral song does not only have three but four ducks, saying, “Sa atin dito sa Ilocos ‘uppat a pato’ (four ducks). So paparating na ang pang-apat na pato (duck) na ang kapatid ko na si (Senator) Bongbong (Marcos).”

Priding on the unique Ilocano culture of ‘timpuyog’ or unity, Governor Marcos expressed her full gratitude to the Solid North for helping the Vice Presidential bid of his brother Senator Bongbong in the recent national elections.

“Saan pay a nalpas ti laban. Agbiag ti Solid North!” said by Governor Marcos.

(The fight is not yet over. Long live Solid North!)

First elected in 2010, Governor Marcos pushed for the overall transformation and inclusive progress in the province with her projects focusing on the development of the agriculture, manufacturing and tourism industries.

Governor Marcos also prioritized the creation of thousand jobs for Ilocanos by bringing in investors in the province noteworthy of which is the establishment of the delivery centers of major Business Process Outsourcing companies like Accenture and Expert Global Solutions which are set to offer an estimated of 8,000 jobs in the next years.

Set to begin her third term, Governor Marcos reaffirmed her commitment to finish what she started and pledged to improve the lives of every Ilocano especially the youth, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and indigenous people.—John Michael Mugas, PGIN-CMO