RDRRMC member-agencies ready for NDCM 2013 celeb
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, June 19 (PIA) -- The Regional
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) in Caraga has lined-up
activities for the National Disaster Consciousness Month (NDCM) celebration.
Regional Director Lisa Mazo of the Office of
Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga and RDRRMC chairperson encouraged the government
agencies to display tarpaulins or streamers on the said affair to enhance
public awareness.
“As the celebration kicks-off on July 1, a
Thanksgiving Mass will be conducted at the St. Ignatius Chapel, Camp Rafael
Rodriguez inside the Philippine National Police (PNP) Caraga Regional Office
here. Motorcade will then follow,” Mazo said.
On the same day, the Philippine Information
Agency (PIA) Caraga will spearhead the press conference with the RDRRMC
Executive Committee members and will be aired live over Power FM - PIA’s radio
station.
Mazo further said that on July 4-5, the Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) Orientation on Cluster
Approach, Information Management and Assessment will be held in Prosperidad,
Agusan del Sur.
On July 10-12, the newly-elected officials in
various local government units will be attending the Regional Summit on DRRM to
be held at LJ Mega Convention Hall in Gumamela St., St. Joseph Subdivision,
this city.
Also, among other activities included the
conduct of Incident Command System Basic/Intermediate Course in Bislig City,
Surigao del Sur on July 24-26, 2013.
Meanwhile, the month-long celebration will
culminate on July 31 with a program and Regional Awarding of Gawad KALASAG
2013. This will be held at the Almont Hotel’s Inland Resort, Butuan City.
(JPG/PIA-Caraga)
Agusan del Norte dad emphasizes dev’t; takes
oath as 2nd Dist. Congressman-elect
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, June 19 (PIA) – Some 1,000 people
composed of government officials, employees and supporters gathered Monday at
the Agusan del Norte Provincial Covered Court here and witnessed Governor Erlpe
John Amante's State of the Province Address (SOPA). It was also in time with
the 15th Sangguniang Panlalawigan's 8th Special Session.
Amante bared during his SOPA that the first in
his Six-Point Agenda is the Efficient and Effective Delivery of Basic Services.
"Our efforts of ensuring that quality education is available for all
ushered a very promising opportunity for our schoolchildren. From Athletics to
the National Achievement Test, Agusan del Norte has always been in the
forefront of achievers and has been bannered as Caraga's best in
education," he said.
To further enhance and make our education
readily responsive to the needs of industries, and to prepare the children to
face life as well, the training endeavors followed the Enrollment to Employment
Strategy. "Last year, the provincial government and Technical Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) enrolled for training 29,344 individuals that
resulted to about 27,000 trainees graduating from different courses,"
Amante emphasized.
Amante also mentioned that scholarship slots
were provided through funds given from the Priority Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF) of Hon. Angelica Rosedell Amante-Matba of the 2nd Congressional District
of Agusan del Norte, and now the incoming governor, in the amount of P4.3
million. The province added P1 million. Overall, with funds coming from TESDA
at P10 million the Scholarship Funding Support totaled P15.3 million.
Economic Growth, as the second in his Six-Point
Agenda, Amante bared that the province bested many economies in Southeast Asia
by the growth we achieved as well as the investment upgrades we received.
"The volume of exports recorded by the Customs, reached over 2.7B
kilograms valued at $152.3M. The tariff levy was $5M. In the same vein, our
imports totaled 4.7M kilograms valued at $36.2M," he said.
Amante further stressed that Peace, Order and
Security is the third in his Six-Point Agenda. "For the past years, the
province has steadily arrested the volume of crime. Crime Clearance
dramatically improved from 28 percent in 2010 to 44.89 percent last year.
Similarly, Crime Solution Efficiency has also improved from 40percent in 2010
to 67.75 percent last year," he said.
Also, the Environmental Protection and
Rehabilitation as the fourth in his Six-Point Agenda, Amante reported that in
2012, the provincial government planted some 106,000 propagules in 32 hectares
of mangrove areas and distributed for planting 6,260 rubber seedlings, fruit
trees and forest trees to 36 Integrated Social Forestry sites covering 60
hectares. "This continuing effort is aimed at recovering the vegetation of
our forest areas," he said.
“This administration always believes in the
complementary roles of plans and budget. The Fiscal Capability and
Self-Reliance as the fifth in our Six-Point Agenda, out of our traditional
receipts, we generated as direct incomes and fund reflows the amount of P78.5
million. Our hospitals were the highest contributor at P42.6 million followed
by the ENRO at P7.5 million. Also, the total collection reported by our
Treasurer amounted to P658.2M, P549.7M of which came from our share of the
Internal Revenue Allotment. It can be gleaned that as our IRA increased, our
local revenue also increased proportionally," highlighted Amante.
The last in his Six-Point Agenda is the Dynamic
and Responsive Administrative Capability Mechanism. Amante revealed that the
province has garnered different awards that recognized its efforts in
instituting good governance. These awards included the following: 1) Gawad
Pamana Ng Lahi with a prize of P3M; 2) Performance Challenge Fund with a cash
prize of P7M; and 3) Seal of Good Housekeeping with cash prize of P10M.
"With these funds, we were able to implement seven peace and development
and good governance support projects," he said.
The good governor who is now the 2nd district
congressman-elect also expressed his effort of bringing electrification to
far-flung sitios that also gained strong headway with a funding assistance from
President Benigno S. Aquino. Some 761 households located in unlighted far-flung
sitios were already provided with electricity. Project cost was P20.8M.
The province of Agusan del Norte is 1 of the recipients
of the national poverty reduction program or 'Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program' (4Ps). Since it was implemented in 2009, a very remarkable impact was
shown in the increase of Enrollees/Attendance Rate of Students as well as in
the numbers of parents visiting Health Centers. As of December 2012, 20,840
households were already registered in the program.
Meanwhile, also highlighted during the SOPA was
the oath-taking of the newly-elected officials in the municipalities and
province of Agusan del Norte which include Amante himself as the 2nd District
Congressman-elect and his sister 1st District Governor-elect of Angelica
Rosedell Amante-Matba. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)
RDC-Caraga calls for DOJ to designate prosecutor
to handle environmental cases
By Robert E. Roperos
BUTUAN CITY, June 19 (PIA) – The Regional
Development Council (RDC) in Caraga through the Development Administrative
Committee (DAC) is calling on the Justice Department to designate a prosecutor
to handle environmental cases in each city or provincial prosecutor’s offices
in the region.
Citing the need for a prosecutor to handle such
cases concerning environment, Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) Forestry Development Chief Forester Norman Asugan said this development
came after the DENR records show that there are 64 cases of illegal logging
activities filed in court from 2010 to 2013, of which three cases were
dismissed by the courts and 13 cases dismissed at the Prosecutor’s Office, but
however, there is no record of conviction.
Asugan added this happened because for the part
of DENR, the agency has only one lawyer who is handling these cases and
majority of the prosecution team are graduates of Bachelor of Laws (LLB).
“These graduates cannot represent the agency at
the court. Aside from this, lawyers will not apply for plantilla position in
the agency since salaries of items intended for lawyers are not competitive,”
he said.
The official further pointed out that the lack
of personnel and expertise by the law enforcement agencies on the rules,
procedures and processes involved in gathering of evidence and filing of cases
against perpetrators contributed to the dismissal of the above-mentioned cases.
While the Supreme Court has already designated
Green Courts in the region to try environmental cases, Forester Asugan said
there is no designated prosecutor to specifically handle environmental-related
cases in each city or provincial prosecutor’s office.
“The office of the Prosecutor is handling
environmental cases on top of other cases, causing the delay in the prosecution
process,” he said.
Having seen the need for the DOJ to designate a
prosecutor who will focus on environmental-related cases and provide legal
assistance to the law enforcement agencies on matters concerning the gathering
of evidence, preparation and filing of airtight complaints and in vigorously
pursuing cases filed in court, the committee unanimously approved for the
endorsement of the same to the RDC Full Council.
In July, the RDC Full Council chaired by Surigao
del Norte Sol F. Matugas will conduct its regular meeting where this issue will
be discussed, it was gathered. (RER/PIA-Caraga)
RDC requests PNP to fast track creation of
tourist police force in Caraga
By Robert E. Roperos
BUTUAN CITY, June 19 (PIA) – Caraga Region’s
Regional Development Council-Development Administration Committee (RDC-DAC) has
requested the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the region to fast track the
creation of tourist police force.
During the second quarter meeting of RDC-DAC
held Tuesday in one of the local establishments here, committee members
composed of government agencies and chaired by Mayor Ferdinand Amante, Jr. and
represented by National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Caraga
Assistant Regional Director Ma. Aurora Faye Carino, unanimously asked the
region’s police to fast track tourist police force creation to boost the
tourism industry of the region.
ARD Carino emphasized that since Caraga Region
was given the important position in the country’s tourism map, it is but
necessary to give tourists an assurance of peace and security.
“This is one way of drawing number of local and
foreign tourists to come and visit the region, uplifting the economic condition
of Caraganons through the tourism industry,” Carino said.
It can be recalled that during the earlier
interview with Department of Tourism (DOT)-Caraga Regional Director Leticia
Tan, the official emphasized that travel advisory orders issued before by
foreign embassies putting the country in the negative side must be reviewed.
Tan further explained that foreign embassies
should specify what particular places in Mindanao where there is high threat of
peace and security.
“Through this, regions that are promoting
tourism industry like the Caraga Region will not be affected with these travel
advisories banning their countrymen to visit in Mindanao,” Tan said.
Dir. Carino said with the proposed creation of
tourism police force, Caraganons can ensure the tourists that they are safe
while they are staying here.
Section 135 of the Tourism Act of 2009’s
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) pointed out that a tourism security
force and a tourism police assistance shall be established by the PNP to assist
in maintaining peace and order within areas of high tourism traffic.
It also mandated the DOT to coordinate with the
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in training the members
of the tourism security force and tourism assistance desks on cultural
sensitivity, languages and relevant laws.
The mission of the tourist police force is to
respond to the emerging demands in the tourism industry by ensuring the safety
and security of tourists in various tourism destinations and proactively
prevent the commission of crimes directed against tourists and expeditiously
solve tourist-related cases.
In view of this, the PNP in coordination with
DOT shall identify areas with high tourism traffic in the region. Subsequently,
the PNP shall create, organize and train a dedicated unit to be called “Tourist
Police Force” and deploy them accordingly. In addition, Tourism Police
Assistance Desks shall be established in every unit or police station in the
said areas. (RER/PIA-Caraga)
Caraga’s dev’t council endorses issuance of
DENR-DILG joint mngt agreement on forest lands
By Robert E. Roperos
BUTUAN CITY, June 19 (PIA) – The Development
Administration Committee (DAC) of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in
Caraga has endorsed to RDC Full Council to fast track the issuance of the Dept.
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Dept. of the Interior and
Local Government (DILG’s) co-management agreement of forest lands to resume the
processing of the co-management program applications nationwide.
Speaking before the council members on Tuesday
during its 2nd quarter meeting here, Alex Garay of the Agusan del Norte
Provincial Economic Enterprise and Development Management Office (PEEDMO) said
the DENR is currently reviewing the operation of co-management agreements
within forest lands and protected areas to ensure a uniform application of an
agreement throughout the country vis-à-vis the inherent functions of DENR and
the local government units based on existing laws, rules and regulations.
Garay also said that as an output of the review,
the DENR and the DILG issued a joint memorandum circular entitled “Clarifying
and Strengthening the Collaboration and Partnership between the DENR and LGU in
the Management, Protection, and Development of forest Lands the Resource
Therein and Establishing Guidelines on Partnership and Co-Management of Forest
Lands.”
The official further stressed that one of the
affected areas in the province is the Las Nieves-Buenavista-Carmen
(LASBUENASCAR) Co-Management Project.
Garay explained that considered to have a
potential for plantation of crops, the LASBUENASCAR co-management area has
attracted various investors who expressed interest for joint ventures with the
province of Agusan del Norte.
However, Garay said due to the conduct of the
review, the activities of the co-management program of LASBUENASCAR have been
suspended. The suspension is costly to the LGU in terms of lost opportunities.
With these developments, Garay said the
provincial government of Agusan del Norte appeals for support from the RDC-DAC
for the speedy issuance of the said DENR-DILG Memorandum Circular on
Co-Management Agreement of Forest Lands to clear up issues and to facilitate
efficient operation of the LASBUENASCAR Co-Management Project.
Meanwhile, National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA)-Caraga Assistant Regional Director Myla Faye Carino who
presided the meeting said that for the part of the committee,
member-stakeholders are hoping that the endorsement will result to positive
result. (RER/PIA-Caraga)
Surigao Norte stakeholders oriented on local
flood early warning system
By Susil D. Ragas
SURIGAO CITY, June 19 (PIA) -- Personnel from
different concerned government agencies, national line agencies, non-government
organizations, socio-civic organizations and barangay officials here have
attended an orientation seminar on Local Flood Early Warning System (LFEWS).
The two-day activity, spearheaded by the
Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte, is in line with the LFEWS project
of the GIZ here in the Philippines which aimed to provide the stakeholders with
proper understanding of the basics of LFEWS.
Agencies involved were the Provincial Disaster
Risk Reduction Management Office and the German International Cooperation
(GIZ), a non-government organization.
“The orientation seeks to increase knowledge of
the flood hazard and risks in their respective communities, level-off
understanding about the roles and cooperation of stakeholders and the
institutional working arrangement in implementing LFEWS, and identify key
urgent activities and tasks in the next three months,” said Walter Dino
Alquiza, advisor of GIZ-Disaster Risk Management.
Alquiza also said that LFEWS project was aimed
to combat the adverse effect of climate change for sustainable development,
food security and well-being of the people.
On her part, PDRRMO Officer in Charge Engr.
Marlyn Pono thanked and lauded the officials of GIZ for making the province a
recipient of the LFEWS project and hoped that the system would help save
numerous lives and property and provide a solid framework for the effective
management of floods in the province.
Activities and topics which were highlighted
during the workshop were the introduction of GIZ and its programs in Caraga,
development and evolution of LFEWS, key relevant disaster risk management
policies, basic concepts of LFEWS, understanding hazards and risks, monitoring
hazard and warning decision, workshop on hazard risk assessment, response
capability, sharing of experiences and best practices by the MDRRMO of St.
Bernard, Southern Leyte, and LFEWS stakeholders’ roles and institutional
working arrangement for LFEWS project. (SDR/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
Fishermen in Siargao asked to preserve and
protect marine lives
By Eric F. Gallego
SURIGAO CITY, June 19 (PIA) – The Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) official strongly advised Thursday
fishermen in the rich-fishing town of Siargao in Surigao del Norte to preserve
and protect the marine resources amidst a growing tourism industry in the area.
“I am happy to know that the fishermen in this
remote island have improved their level of awareness on marine life protection
in the midst of a booming tourists owing to the surfing sports and game fish
activities in this place,” DENR-13 OIC-Regional Executive Director (RED) Nonito
M. Tamayo said.
A Pacific green turtle was caught entangled on
the net of a fisherman who was fishing on weekend near the shore of Barangay
Union, in Dapa, Surigao del Norte at sunrise. “I thought I caught a big fish
after I felt the net was too heavy only to find it was a sea turtle” Maximo
Sunday, 56, a resident of Barangay Union said.
The fisherman said that he quickly thought of
the DENR authorities when he learned of the hapless giant turtle trapped on his
fishing net.
CENR Officer Teodoro Abucejo said the green
turtle must have laid eggs on the beach and probably returning back to her
feeding sites when it was entangled on the fishing net. He said the DENR put a
tag on the flip of the turtle before it was released back to the sea.
RED Tamayo gave a cash reward to the fisherman
in a show of compassion to the poor fisherman who wished that his worn out net
be replenished to earn a living.
Green sea turtles migrate long distances between
feeding sites and nesting sites; some swim more than 2,600 kilometers (to reach
their spawning grounds. Mature turtles often return to the exact beach from
which they hatched. Females usually mate every two to four years. Males, on the
other hand, visit the breeding areas every year, attempting to mate. In the
tropics, green turtles nest throughout the year, although some subpopulations
prefer particular times of the year. (NCLM/DENR-13/PIA-Caraga)
LGUs along Agusan River to undergo multi-hazard
maps training
By Florian Faith Jr. P. Bayawa
BUTUAN CITY, June 19 (PIA) -- Local government
units (LGUs) along the Agusan River Basin (ARB) will undergo a Multi-Hazard
Maps training this month of July in order to provide them with knowledge in
understanding the uses and application of hazard maps available in their areas.
The Department of the Interior and Local
Government – Region 13 (CARAGA) will provide the Training on Understanding
Multi-Hazard Maps as part of its unyielding commitment of building
disaster-resilient LGUs and communities in the region. Moreover, as vice-chair
of disaster preparedness of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Council (NDRRMC), the Department aims to equip readiness among the people,
particularly those who reside in hazard-prone areas.
The training will tackle use of hazard maps for
mitigating the impact of natural calamities and disasters. Interpreting the
hazard maps and updating of the community risk profile are the expected outputs
of the undertaking. As a result, the LGUs will manage the underlying risks in
their areas and they will be able to strategize their local development plans.
Target participants for this training are the
Punong Barangays, Brgy. Secretaries or Brgy. Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management (DRRM) Officers, City/Municipal DRRMOs, Provincial DRRMOs,
City/Municipal Mayors, Provincial Governors, DILG City/Municipal Local
Government Operations Officers, and DILG Provincial/City Directors of the
seventeen (17) LGUs along the ARB.
The LGUs included in the training are the
Provinces of Agusan del Norte (ADN) and Agusan del Sur (ADS); Municipalities of
Buenavista, Las Nieves, Bunawan, Esperanza, La Paz, Loreto, Prosperidad,
Rosario, San Francisco, San Luis, Talacogon, Trento, Veruela; and the Cities of
Bayugan and Butuan. These LGUs are those located along the Agusan River Basin
and identified by the River Basin Central Office (RBCO) of the Department of
the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as high risk areas.
This training is one of the activities
identified in the 2013 celebration of the National Disaster Consciousness Month
this July. (NCLM/DILG-13/PIA-Caraga)
DILG 13 to conduct training for 2013
newly-elected officials
BUTUAN CITY, June 19 (PIA) -- The Department of
the Interior and Local Government (DILG) – Region 13 (Caraga) will train
newly-elected local officials in the region to build their capability as local
government leaders.
The Newly-Elected Officials (NEO) Program aims
to improve the institutional and individual capacities of LGUs to better serve
their constituents.
NEO Program consists of four (4) components,
namely: (1) Reinventing Public Service; (2) Looking Forward to Better
Governance; (3) Specialized Courses; and (4) Enhancing LGU Performance. This
program is for the newly-minted (new to the position), re-elected, and
come-backing (those who were elected before) local officials.
The first component involves the entire
transition period from the time of the newly-elected official’s assumption to
office up to the point when they are ready to enact their governance platform
on a practical level. A major highlight of the first component is the coaching
on the duties, powers, responsibilities and accountabilities of local
officials. The major output is the formulation of the local government’s
“Social Contract” with the people and the crafting of the
“Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA)”, which shall include the formulation of
the competency-based capacity development agenda using the Systems for
Competency Assessment of Local Government (SCALOG). This will run from the
months of June to September.
The second component of the NEO program consists
of providing assistance to LGUs in operationalizing their ELA through a
financial planning, mapping out of strategic actions through building
partnerships and alliances through the formation of “Alliance Building” and
instilling performance management. Target date for this is slated from October
to December.
Third component is composed of “Specialized
Courses”, which aims to build on the specific competency-needs identified by
the LGUs as included in their capacity development agenda. Among the different
programs offered are on the areas of climate change adaptive and disaster
resilient LGUs, business-friendly and competitive LGUs, socially protective
LGUs and the accountable, transparent, participative and effective local
governance. This component will run throughout the year beginning June.
Lastly, the fourth component is an approach of
enhancing LGU performance composed of LGU Profiling Audits and the conferment
of incentives and awards by the DILG, which runs from year 2014 onwards. This
is a metric-centered approach of evaluating and recognizing LGUs to increase
their performance.
The NEO Program is conceived by the DILG through
the Local Government Academy (LGA) in partnership with the Leagues of Local
Governments, Local Resource Institutions (LRIs), National Government Agencies
(NGAs), non-government organizations (NGOs), development partners and other
local government stakeholders to enhance the competencies of the elected
officials in implementing their term-based development roadmap in addressing
local needs. (NCLM/DILG-13/PIA-Caraga)
