Friday, October 22, 2021

Bislig leads service orientation, employment facilitation

BISLIG CITY, Surigao del Sur – The city government of Bislig through the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) conducted an orientation on government services and employment facilitation program in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Surigao del Sur Provincial Office on October 15, 2021, at Bonsai Riverview Inn, Brgy. Poblacion, this city.

Representatives from the 24 city barangays, different local establishments, livelihood associations, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and media joined in the activity.

Josel Ann Dua discussed the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) - Tulong Panghanapbuhay Para sa Mga Disadvantaged/ Displaced Workers (TUPAD) and Government Internship Program (GIP)) while Ritchel Butao, Regional Office Head of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) - Caraga shared the Pre-employment Orientation Seminar and POEA Updates. Also, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Caraga, represented by Lorie Ann Hilongos discussed the agency's employment programs.

Meanwhile, City Information Officer Napoleon L. Velez also gave a message.

The minimum health protocols were strictly observed throughout the orientation to ensure the safety of the attendees and personnel involved. (CIO-Bislig/PIA-Surigao del Sur)

Thursday, October 21, 2021

TESDA showcases skills in 2021 Regional Skills Competition

BUTUAN CITY -- The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Caraga will hold the 2021 Regional Skills Competition (RSC) on October 28-29, 2021 at the Agusan Del Sur School of Arts and Trades, Patin-ay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur with the following skills areas to be competed include: Welding with two competitors from Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur; Electrical Installation with one competitor from Agusan del Sur; Cooking with two competitors from Agusan del Sur; and Restaurant Services with two competitors from Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte. 

The RSC is in line with TESDA’s mandate to organize and conduct Skills Competition with a view of participating in international skills competition as stipulated under Section 30 of R.A. 7796, otherwise known as the TESDA Law. This activity aims to promote quality skills development in the country.

The RSC generally aims to showcase and recognize the work excellence of young skilled workers and the industry workers in a competitive setting; provide the technical-vocational education and training system with an objective and precise means of measuring the comparative and collective quality of its output; promote cooperation between and among institutions in the TESD stakeholders; magnetize the attention and sustain the interest of young people towards occupations; instill self-esteem and pride among those who chose the blue–collar vocation, by advocating through the competition activities, the vital role of skilled workers in nation-building; and cultivate the cooperative spirit of the various stakeholders in the development of middle-level technical workforce.

The winners of the 2021 RSC who will pass the standard points set by the WorldSkills International will compete in the Philippine National Skills Competition on December 2021 using a Hybrid approach wherein some competitors compete in a Face-to-Face setting while some will have to do the competition via online approach.

It can be noted that Caraga sent participants to the ASEAN Skills Competition (ASC) on 2016 – the 11th ASC in Malaysia under Welding; 2018 – the 12th ASC in Bangkok, Thailand under Graphics Design; and supposedly 2020 under Electrical Installation, but the pandemic hit the world and the ASEAN Skills Competition was postponed to 2023. (Chiselo Joiada R. Bernaldez, TESDA Caraga/PIA Caraga)

 

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Sta. Josefa town in AgSur develops new projects for locals

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY – Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the local government unit (LGU) of Sta. Josefa in the province of Agusan del Sur continued to create and establish developmental projects that benefited the populace of said municipality.

When asked about these projects during the Network Briefing News hosted by Secretary Martin Andanar of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), Mayor Symond Otacan Caguiat of Sta. Josefa said that they have started the construction of a new public market which is bigger and more spacious. 

“The validation is ongoing for our tenants and renters. We also upgraded our old market which is 30 years old and dilapidated already, so that others could still use it and sell different products. Hopefully by November we can fully operationalize the new public market in the municipality,” said Caguiat.

Apart from the public market, the LGU is also working on establishing a stable drinking water system. “The Sta. Josefa water system is my priority project. We have an existing water system, a deep well pump, which has high operating expenses and the water quality is not that great, the reason why we came up with other alternative to address this concern,” Caguiat said.

“We discovered a good water source in one of our barangays so I had a plan drawn up and we saw that it was a viable source of potable drinking water. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) granted us almost P50 million that we used for the project,” the mayor added.

It was also learned that the project costs P200 million and an initial fund of P50 million was already used to implement up to Phase 4 of the said project.

With these developments, Mayor Caguiat expressed hopes that the locals would support the LGU’s endeavors and properly utilize and sustain all these projects. (JPG/PIA-Agusan del Sur) 

 

Thursday, October 21, 2021

AgSur town POs promote Tilapia hatchery

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY – The people’s organizations (POs) from the municipality of Sta. Josefa in the province of Agusan del Sur have engaged in Tilapia fingerlings and were able to receive assistance from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Caraga and the provincial government.

During the Network Briefing News hosted by Secretary Martin Andanar of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Wednesday, Mayor Symond Otacan Caguiat of Sta. Josefa bared that almost 90% of the municipality’s  population are engaged with farming as their main source of livelihood.

“The provincial government through BFAR provides strong support to our small fisherfolks. The LGU has established a tilapia hatchery for our people's organizations so they can access free tilapia fingerlings,” said Caguiat.

The mayor added that there were 25 POs that had benefitted from this hatchery, including individuals who need tilapia fingerlings. “We also give them feeds and other equipment needed to raise tilapia,” he added. 

Mayor Caguiat also emphasized that the LGU will re-operate its farm-level trade centers for their farm produce like organic rice, corn, and cacao beans and support it with post-harvest facilities. 

“We'll also fully operationalize our water irrigation with appropriate schedules for the 11 barangays here in the municipality. We plan to set aside funds to buy the palay and corn from our farmers and we've started doing this already but we lack the capital, hence, we need additional support from other concerned agencies,” he said.

Sta. Josefa is a third-class municipality located in the southern part of Agusan del Sur and part of district two; you can reach us through land travel from Davao City and if flying in from Butuan City airport, we are also accessible through land travel. The said municipality consists of 26,422 inhabitants and has an area of 341.8 square kilometers. (JPG/PIA-Agusan del Sur)

 

Thursday, October 21, 2021

TESDA AgNor conducts skills training to women’s association

BUTUAN CITY –The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) of Agusan del Norte through the Northern Mindanao School of Fisheries recently initiated a dialogue with Ata-atahon Rural Improvement Club (ARIC) in Brgy. Ata-Atahon, Nasipit to identify TESDA interventions suitable to the needs of the organization.

ARIC is a women’s organization producing locally made processed fish products. This has been their main source of income and livelihood to which they heavily rely on.

TESDA will assist and help ARIC in improving their products as well as to expand their business through the skills training and livelihood programs the agency offers for free.

Important agreements were made which include the following:

· TESDA through the NMSF will conduct skills training on Smoked Bangus, Marinated Deboned Bangus, and Spanish Sardines;

· TESDA will donate fabricated foldable Smoke House;

· TESDA through the NMSF will also conduct training on food handling techniques;

· TESDA will coordinate with DOST to conduct training on product  packaging and food preservation techniques; and

· TESDA will coordinate and tie-up with CReATE, Inc. and One Town One Product (OTOP) in Gaisano Mall and Robinsons Place Butuan for product marketing.

TESDA’s support to small business organizations is in line with Secretary Isidro S. Lapeña’s thrust, “TESDA Abot Lahat” and TESDA Caraga’s mantra “CaragaCARES” headed by Regional Director Tarhata S. Mapandi.

The said activity was participated in by TESDA-AgNor Provincial Director, Rey M. Cueva together with NMSF headed by the Acting Vocational School Administrator, Ms. Nancy C. De Guzman, Barangay Captain, Hon. Wilfredo C. Pabatang, and Ata-atahon Rural Improvement Club headed by their President, Ms. Gena D. Dueñas. (TESDA Agusan del Norte/PIA Agusan del Norte)