(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Wednesday, 27 March 2024) Easterlies affecting the eastern section of the country. Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur will experience Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to Easterlies / Localized Thunderstorms. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms.


PIA News Service - Sunday, August 19, 2012

Regl Gawad KALASAG Awarding Ceremony held in Butuan City

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 19 (PIA) -- Awardees of this year’s Regional Gawad KALASAG received cash prize and plaque of appreciation on Friday at the Almont Hotel’s Inland Resort here.

The Gawad KALASAG stands for KAlamidad at Sakuna LAbanan SAriling Galing ang Kaligtasan or Fight for Calamity and Accidents, Self Excellence for safety.

The activity is spearheaded by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) chaired by Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga Regional Director Blanche Gobenciong.

In her speech, Dir. Gobenciong congratulated all the winners and encouraged other schools and LGUs in the region to actively participate and take part in this campaign by establishing their own best practices on DRRM.

For the Highly Urbanized City Category, the local government of Butuan City was awarded as Best City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. City Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr., received the cash prize of P50,000 with a plaque of appreciation.

Winners for the 1st to 3rd Class Municipalities Category are as follows: 1st Place – MDRRMC Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur; 2nd Place – MDRRMC Esperanza, Agusan del Sur; and 3rd Place – MDRRMC Sibagat, Agusan del Sur. All winners received cash prize with plaque of appreciation.

Mr. Victor Manpatilan of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur received the award as Best in Heroic Act on Humanitarian Assistance.

For Urban Secondary School Category, Agusan National High School of Butuan City awarded the 1st place, and 2nd place to Surigao City National High School in Surigao City, Surigao del Norte.

Two winners from the province of Surigao del Norte were awarded for the Rural Secondary School Category: 1st place – Placer National High School, and 2nd place – Ipil National High School, both in Surigao City.

Surigao City Pilot Central School in Surigao City, province of Surigao ddel Norte was the lone winner for the Urban Complete Elementary School Category.

Also, for the Rural Multi-grade Elementary School Category, the 1st place was awarded to Hinimbangan Elementary School in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte; and 2nd place to Arturo Borja Elementary School in Surigao City, Surigao del Norte.

Finally, the Mat-I Elementary School in Surigao City, Surigao del Norte was the lone winner for the Rural Complete Elementary School Category.

Along with the awarding of the said winners, government agencies which participated during the month-long celebration of the National Disaster Consciousness Month last July were also given certificate of appreciation.

Meanwhile, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Caraga Regional Dir. Lilibeth Famacion, one of the vice chairpersons of DRRMC cited the importance of being prepared at all times 'since it is the best way to survival in times of disasters'. She also commended the efforts of the LGUs and schools that are constantly practicing DRRM.

Gawad Kalasag is the recognition scheme of OCD in its search for excellence on disaster risk management and humanitarian assistance. It aims to recognize the outstanding performance of Local Disaster Coordinating Centers (LDCC's), private volunteer organizations, non-government organizations, donor agencies, and other stakeholders, in providing humanitarian response and assistance to affected communities. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)


Reg’l Police slams rebels for the ambush of 3 tribal chieftain guards

BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 19 (PIA) -- The regional police strongly condemned the rebels for staging an ambush against the three guards of an ancestral domain claim of a tribal chieftain located at the hinterlands of a southern province in the region, noontime Tuesday.

In a press statement signed by PSupt Martin M. Gamba, Caraga Police regional information officer quoted the new police acting regional director Chief Supt Carmelo E. Valmoria as saying that “The whole force of Police Regional Office 13 slams the recent atrocity of the CPP-NPA-NDF (CNN) as it create an atmosphere of fear to the populace and put their lives at risk.”

The same statement quoted the newly-assumed police regional director as calling the human rights advocates to conduct an investigation on the incident and to condemn also such acts of treachery.

Police reports said the guards of tribal chieftain Calpito Egua also known in the locality as Datu Calpit in Brgy. Purisima, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, identified as Dodoy R. Perez, Lating R. Brital and Erpe Bucales were on board a Honda TMX Motorcycle and were traveling on their way to Brgy. Sta. Irene, when a group of rebels under Guerilla Front 19A of the Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC) set up an ambush by placing an improvised explosive device (IED) along the guards’ route, blasted it and subsequently fired high-caliber firearms at their direction.

The guards who were then thrown out off their motorcycle due to the impact of the blast, were still able to regroup and to fight back. The firefight according to police reports lasted for over an hour until the rebels withdrew back towards their mountain lairs.

Perez who was wounded during the firefight was rushed to D.O. Plaza Memorial Hospital at Patin-ay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur. His companions were said to be unharmed. (Noel B. Najarro/NCLM/PIA-Caraga)