(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 - Friday, August 30, 2013

Activities for this years Natl Crime Prevention Week in Butuan all set

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 30 -- This year's National Crime Prevention Week (NCPW) celebration here will kick-off on September 2, with several activities to mark the event.

Among the activities are motorcade around the city thoroughfares and a press conference on September 2 with government officials and Peace and Order Councils (Regional Peace and Order Council, Provincial Peace and Order Council, City Peace and Order Council) at the Capitol Covered Court.

The Butuan City Police Office (BCPO) will be holding the Awareness Drive on Crime Prevention on September 3,1:00 p.m. with students of St. Joseph Institute of Technology (SJIT), this city. Speakers will be coming from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), among others.

On September 4, the Department of Education (DepEd) Caraga will be spearheading the conduct of Information Drive on Crime Prevention at the Libertad Elementary School, Butuan City with grades 5 and 6 pupils as participants, while on September 5, DepEd will conduct the same activity with students of Agusan National High School (ANHS). Speakers will be coming from different concerned government agencies.

Also, as part of the week-long activities, the city government here with the PNP will be conducting the activity dubbed "A Day with the Street Children" on September 6 at the Kapihan sa Datu, Sports Complex. Along with the program is the distribution of shoes to selected street children.

The public is encouraged to support and participate in the lined-up activities since peace and order is everyone’s concern. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)


NGCP announces scheduled power interruption in parts of Surigao Sur

By Nida Grace B. Tranquilan

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, August 30 (PIA) -- The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced the scheduled shutdown of the transmission facilities in the Lianga to Tandag City areas from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31.

In a written communication received from the office of the Surigao del Sur Electric Cooperative II (SURSECO II), the scheduled power interruption will pave way for the conduct of a rehabilitation of the 50 critical and dilapidated structures along the municipalities of Barobo - Cagwait and Tandag City Transmission line.
According to SURSECO II, the power interruption will affect some areas under the first district of this province, these are the municipalities of Lianga; San Agustin; Marihatag; Cagwait; Bayabas; Tago; San Miguel, Cortes and Tandag City.

The normal operations will immediately resume after work completion and power will be restored anytime without prior notice.

With this, the public is advised to take necessary preparations and precautions for the anticipated scheduled shutdown. (NGBT/PIA-Surigao del Sur)


Butuan city council to pass CCTV ordinance

By Johny S. Natad

BUTUAN CITY, August 30 (PIA) -- The Sangguniang Panglusod (SP) of this city will approve next week an ordinance requiring all private establishments to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

Chair on Police and Public Safety councilor Jaime Cembrano, Jr. during the Butuan City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) meeting held recently revealed that once approved the city government will now require all private companies and commercial establishments in the city to install CCTV cameras for security purposes.

"The SP will finally approve the ordinance requiring all private establishments in the city to install CCTV cameras to secure Butuan from any forms of criminality. We will be working with the PNP for the installation of the CCTV cameras to all private establishments to ensure the quality of its installation," Cembrano said.

Meanwhile, PSSupt Nerio Bermudo, city director of Butuan City Police Office (BCPO) bared that the BCPO has already installed 20 units of CCTV cameras within the strategic places of the city.

"As part of our 'Oplan Kalinaw Butuan', which aims to ensure the city from any terrorist activities and other threats, we have installed a total of 20 units of CCTV surveillance system which was completely finished after two phases of installation," Bermudo said. (FEA/JSN/PIA-Caraga)


Caraga local legislators gather to craft rice self-sufficiency policy

By Johny S. Natad

BUTUAN CITY, August 30 (PIA) -- The Chairpersons of the Committee on Agriculture of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, and Sangguniang Panglungsod/Bayan from five provinces of the region gathered here during the Rise for Rice Support the National Year of Rice (NYR) Legislators’ Congress on August 29 to formulate strategies and tackle relevant issues about rice productivity.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Caraga Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Division (RAFID) OIC Rebecca Atega said the activity is the right time and venue where local legislators as policy makers are gathered together to discuss and collaborate in crafting viable and feasible agricultural policies that will boost production and conservation of agricultural resources in relation to the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP).

"In the Presidential Proclamation 494, the challenges is for the policy makers to be able to come up with important legislations that would boost farmers' morale, and make rice production a more worthy enterprise. Furthermore, important legislation must be promulgated to tackle rice conservation and responsible rice consumption," Atega said.

Meantime, Butuan City Vice Mayor Angie Calo encouraged co-legislators to truly solve the problems of rice farmers as one of significant strategies to ensure rice self-sufficiency.

Calo said that the problem is that most farmers opted to borrow funds from loan sharks "while there are some unscrupulous traders who manipulated our farmers and the local prices." Thus he said the need to squarely address the problems faced by farmers..

PhilRice Central Experiment Station Science Research Specialist Shereen Razon bared that the national government is very serious on the rice sufficiency program in the country emphasizing that the government will not import rice if not needed and put strategies to harvest stable palay production here in our country for public consumption.

Razon recognized the need to improve palay harvest and increase farmers’ income to ensure "Sapat na bigas, kaya ng Pinas" and the need to establish a workable policies to facilitate the needs of the farmers.

On the same occasion, Surigao del Sur Vice Governor Manuel Alameda encouraged co-legislators to make agriculture as the priority program of intervention.

"The LGU must make agriculture development as its main program since most people working in our localities are mostly farmers and fisherfolk. Thus, an increased budget for agriculture and fisheries must be prioritized while the effective policies and local legislative supports must be pursued to make the agriculture program in our locality workable," Alameda said.

Meanwhile, the congress conducted workshop on NYR policy stipulating strategies that support the legislators in making important legislations and related activities that they may implement in respective localities throughout the region. (JSN/PIA-Caraga)


PCL-Dinagat Islands Chapter elects new sets of officers

SURIGAO CITY, Aug.  30 (PIA) -- The Philippine Councilors League (PCL) Dinagat Islands Chapter elected recently its new sets of officers and board of directors at the Philippine Gateway Hotel, this city.

The newly-elected 2013-2016 officers are Councilor Rochelyn S. Libor of San Jose for President, Vice President: Councilor Meindrado P. Salarda of Dinagat; Secretary General: Councilor Menchu G. Bacol of Dinagat; Treasurer: Councilor Jessie D. Ecleo of San Jose; Auditor: Councilor Liberato B. Ruyeras of Dinagat; P.R.O: Councilor Epifanio G. Sepe, Jr. of San Jose; Business Manager: Palermo E Lisondra, Jr. of Dinagat. Federation board of directors are San Jose Councilor Ricardo E. Olacio, Jr.; Cagdianao Councilor Leonides B. Laluna; San Jose Councilor Rodrigo O. Reponte; Dinagat Councilor Lilibeth D. Edradan; Libjo Councilor Aldrin B. Garay; Dinagat Councilor Ferdinand O. Dalar; Basilisa Councilor Rodrigo M. Roma and Councilor Carlos P Bua of Libjo.

In her message, elected PCL President Rochelyn S. Libor thanked her fellow councilors for the support and assured that her administration will try its best to serve the Dinagatnons regardlesss of their political affiliation.

PCL-National Vice Chairman for Mindanao Jaime Cembrano, Jr. and PCL Nat’l Public Relations Officer Ariel Arceo officiated the oath-taking of the newly-elected officers of PCL-Dinagat Islands Chapter.

The PCL obtained its official status as a local government association when it was accredited by the then Department of Local Government on September 3, 1990, and subsequently registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 17, 1990.

The PCL notched another milestone when Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, recognized the existence of the Federations of other Elective Local Officials.  On January 16, 1992, the Department of the Interior and Local Government issued a Memorandum Circular No. 92 -03 mandating that the existing PCL as organized in 1990, be reconstituted and its existing Constitution and By-Laws be modified in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the said Code. (SDR/PIA-Surigao del Norte)


DA bares rice sufficiency in Caraga

BUTUAN CITY, August 30 (PIA) -- Department of Agriculture - Regional Field Unit (DA-RFU) Caraga revealed that the region has a sufficient production of palay and positive rice sufficiency level.

Caraga DA-RFU Operations and LGU Support Regional Technical Director Edgardo Dahino during the Rise for Rice Support the National Year of Rice Legislators’ Congress on August 29 said the region has rice sufficiency level of 78.33 in 2011 and remarkably increased to 86.89 in 2012 and the subsequent years.

"Based on the Caraga Rice Sufficiency Level and Utilization data from 2011-216 with a  population of 2,429,224 and growth rate of 1.5 percent based on 2010 NCSB Survey, the region will have 100.24 sufficiency level in 2013 and expected to increase on the following years under normal condition," Dahino added.

Dahino said the region has a rice sufficiency level starting in 2013 and will rise to 111.90 in 2014; 112.22 in 2015; and 111.08 in 2016 granting that all variables like weather condition, population, increase of harvested area, palay production and yield and other agricultural factors are considered.

It was revealed that there was low productivity of palay in 2011 and 2012 since the region was affected by the typhoons Sendong and Pablo. In 2012, the Caraga has a total harvested area of 155,041 hectares that actually produced a total of 469,205 metric tons (mt.) of palay which yield at 3.03 mt. per hectare. Data presented shows that in 2012, Agusan del Sur has the highest palay production of 240,381 mt. followed by Surigao del Sur with 84,550 mt., Agusan del Norte with 73,595 mt., Surigao del Norte with 64,852 mt. and Dinagat Province with 5,827 mt.

The 2013 Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP) of the DA Caraga has a target of 547,484 mt. In the first semester of 2013, the actual production reached to 315,568 mt.

"With a good weather condition, we have our second semester FSS production target of 231,916 mt. which has an incremental target of 35,612 mt. compared to the 2012 second semester actual production of 196,304 mt.," Dahino added.

He revealed that the DA Caraga has already prepared strategies and interventions in order to achieve the increased palay production and its yield and rice sufficiency in the region like through the openning of new areas of 3,383 hectares for rice production; the restoration of 3,733 hectares rice areas; the ratooning of 11,518 hectares; the provision of high quality seeds (HQS) to irrigators associations (IAs) and farmers association (FAs) under pay now pay later (PNPL) plan with hybrid seeds, certified seeds (CS), and registered seeds; the CS subsidy from LGUs; the availment of weather-based (WB) insurance; and the provision of farm inputs like Zinc Chelate, Rodenticide, and Bactericide. (FEA/JSN/PIA-Caraga)