News Feature: Climate change from a wholistic
perspective
By Venus L. Garcia
BUTUAN CITY, July 22 (PIA) – The environmental
change that may affect more migration, both internally and internationally, for
people to seek safer grounds; the environmental risk drivers; changes in annual
mean temperature/rainfall and sea level rise; the quality and extent of coastal
resources; the level of environmental pollution; the overall state of
biodiversity and other determinants have contributed to the underlying impacts
on the progression of climate change from which the need for adaptation capacity
in a wholistic perspective must be put in place.
Climate change affects migration
Taken from a viewpoint of the founding and
current member of the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network Merlie
“Milet” Mendoza who enunciated in details her topic during the Information
Officers’ Summit on Climate Change Advocacy conducted by the Philippine
Information Agency and Department of Environment and Natural Resources Caraga
on Wednesday in this city, she expressed that climate change can be attributed
to both natural and human interventions, therefore, the culpability should not
be indicated to natural causes of climate change alone.
As defined by the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) environmental migrants refer to the persons or groups of
persons, for compelling reasons of sudden or progressive change in the
environment that adversely affects their lives or living conditions, are
obliged to leave their habitual homes.
“There are four paths by which environmental
change may affect migration: intensification of natural disasters; increased
warming and drought that affects agricultural production, reducing people’s
livelihoods and access to clean water; rising sea levels that render coastal
areas uninhabitable; and competition
over natural resources that may lead to conflict, which in turn precipitates
displacement,” enumerated Mendoza.
Mendoza cited that the determining factors for
migration include vulnerability or resilience to these situations, that is, the
capability to cope or adapt to them will determine the degree to which people
are forced to migrate and the availability of alternative livelihoods or other
coping capacities in the affected area generally determines the scale and form
of migration that may take place.
Mendoza likewise explained that the first stage
of climate change-induced migrationor the premigration is when actions to
prevent, mitigate, and help individuals adapt to environmental hazards take
place and “when prevention of the underlying causes of environmentally induced
migration is the most critical need but it will require considerable political
will, time, and resources to take the steps that are needed to protect the
environment.”
Adaptation and disaster risk reduction
As clearly described by Mendoza, adaptation
refers to “initiatives and measures to reduce the vulnerability of natural and
human systems against actual or expected climate change effects while disaster
risk reduction involves systematic efforts to analyze and manage the causal
factors of disasters, including through reduced exposure to hazards, lessened
vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the
environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events.”
“Identifying vulnerabilities is essential in
each case since the “characteristics and circumstances of a community, system
or asset make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard,” said
Mendoza.
Therefore, the challenge is that “attention
needs to be given to both sides of the environment and migration nexus:
identifying adaptation strategies that allow people to remain where they
currently live and work, and identifying resettlement strategies that protect
people’s lives and livelihoods when they are unable to remain.”
Humanitarian perspective of reducing
vulnerabilities
Over two decades of peacebuilding experience,
humanitarian and development worker Milet Mendoza shared that while performing
emergency response, “we shall take into consideration the need to reduce
vulnerabilities and to strengthen the community’s disaster response capacities
and capabilities.”
Mendoza stressed that to the extent possible,
communities shall take active involvement and it is desired for them to get
organized to draw strength within and help each other.
She told the participants of said summit about
how publicity and advocacy activities should be managed. “We shall recognize
disaster victims as dignified humans, not hopeless objects, whose rights must
be upheld at all times. Our presence, work, and assistance shall in no way
cause further harm to, or prolong suffering of the community we seek to serve,”
bared Mendoza.
“When engaging in climate change advocacy,
recognize the role as complement to the primary role of the government in
mitigation and adaptation and disaster and emergency management. We shall
coordinate efforts for the maximum benefit,” Mendoza remarked. (VLG/PIA-Caraga)
TESDA launches Grassroots Participatory
Budgeting in Caraga
By Robert E. Roperos
BUTUAN CITY, July 22 (PIA) - To ensure that
government funds are downloaded at the grassroots level, the regional office of
the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Caraga has
recently launched the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting (GPB).
The activities which were held in separate
venues: Municipalities of Gigaquit and Mainit in Surigao del Norte was graced
with the municipal officials as well as top officials of TESDA-Caraga
spearheaded by regional director Florencio F. Sunico, Jr.
In his speech, TESDA-Surigao del Norte OIC
provincial director Liza B. Budtan said GPB, which was formerly called
“Bottoms-Up Budgeting” in 2012 where during this time, the Technical-Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) Programs was not yet included and only in 2013
where the said program was given one of the priority programs of the Aquino
administration.
Budtan said the GPB was made possible through
the efforts of the respective local government units in empowering their
constituents by providing them with skills training to be productive citizens
in their locality and will be given the opportunity to work and earn a living.
The official also said five out of 20
municipalities and one city in Surigao del Norte have identified TVET component
under the 2014 GPB: Gigaquit, Mainit, Sison, Dapa and Surigao City.
Budtan likewise explained that with this
program, TESDA was able to identify more people who will be trained.
“We are trying the best we can to implement the
accessible TVET where more people especially the youths will be trained for we
believe that the best legacy that we can give to the people is developing their
skills and potentials,” Budtan said.
By accessible, Budtan added “we mean education
and trainings must be brought near the public, without the need for relocating
themselves so that they can go to schools and Technical Vocational Institutions
(TVIs) that are usually located in cities.”
In the municipality of Mainit, 57 beneficiaries
will undergo training in Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) and 30 for Cookery,
while in Gigaquit, 30 will be trained in SMAW and 100 for body massage.
In a related development, Sunico emphasized that
for 2014, the GPB allocation for Caraga Region is P13 million.
Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was
signed between TESDA and the local government units of Gigaquit and Mainit to
ensure proper implementation of the program in the region.
To date, Sunico said the schedule of program
launching in other municipalities from other provinces in the region is now in
place. (TESDA-13/PIA-Caraga)
CSC first grade eligibility sought for elected
barangay officials
By Aimee B. Sienes
BUTUAN CITY, July 22 (PIA) - All elected
barangay officials may soon be granted first grade civil service eligibility
who have rendered three consecutive terms of service and a bachelor’s degree
holder.
This is now being sought by the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan for Cong. Erlpe John M. Amante of the second district of Agusan
del Norte to pass a bill in congress to make the move a reality.
The Civil Service Commission (CSC), as of date,
grants sub-professional eligibility to all elected and appointed officials who
are able to render three consecutive terms of service regardless of their
educational attainment.
Provincial Board Member Benjamin D. Lim, Jr.,
chairman of the Committee on Barangay Affairs, pushed for the passage and
approval of Sanggunian Resolution No. 146-2014, requesting Cong. Amante for the
passage of the said bill in congress.
Lim expressed that it is only fitting and proper
to grant first grade civil service eligibility to all barangay elected
officials who have completed three consecutive terms of service and holding a
bachelor’s degree considering the enormous tasks that they are performing in
their respective local government units (LGUs) for public service to ensure
effective delivery of basic services and facilities to their constituents.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved said
Sanggunian Resolution No. 146-2014 during its 48th Regular Session. (LGU-Agusan
del Norte/PIA-Agusan del Norte)
SP seeks conversion of honorarium of barangay
officials into basic salary
By Aimee B. Sienes
BUTUAN CITY, July 22 (PIA) - The Sangguniang
Panlalawigan of Agusan del Norte headed by vice governor Ramon A.G. Bungabong,
earnestly requested Cong. Erlpe John M. Amante of the second district of Agusan
del Norte, to pass a bill helping the plight of the barangay elected and
appointed officials.
This is the conversion of their honorariums into
basic salaries and amending for that purpose pertinent provisions of Republic
Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991.
Provincial Board Member Benjamin D. Lim, Jr,
chairman of the Committee on Barangay Affairs, who pushed for the approval of
the said move, manifested that converting their honorariums into basic salaries
will boost their morale and will give them the opportunity to become qualified
members of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and avail all the
benefits that the said government agency would give to its members.
This is also pursuant to Section 521 of the
Local Government Code of 1991 which states that the Congress shall undertake a
mandatory review of the code at least once every five years and as often as it
may deem necessary, with the primary objective of providing a more responsive
and accountable local government structure.
The barangays are the smallest political units
of the government and frontliners in the delivery of basic services to the
people. (LGU-Agusan del Norte/PIA-Agusan del Norte)
Four-month SSS collections in Mindanao jump 13
percent to P3.2-B
DIPOLOG CITY, Zamboanga del Norte, July 22 – The Social Security System (SSS) has
collected P3.2 billion in members’ contributions in Mindanao from January to
April this year, up by 13 percent from P2.9 billion over the same period in
2013, with nearly 80 percent of overall collections coming from the employed
sector.
Atty. Rodrigo Filoteo, SSS Assistant Vice
President for Western Mindanao, said the contributions from regular and
household employers from Mindanao rose by 13 percent to P2.5 billion. About
P1.6 billion of these payments were from “large account” employers, or
businesses with at least 100 workers.
“Meanwhile, contributions from the smaller
‘branch account' employers reached P959 million during the four-month period.
Double-digit collection growths were attained for both large and branch
employer accounts in Mindanao at 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively, which
attests to the sustained efforts of SSS branch offices to promote employer
compliance in the area,” he noted.
Filoteo, along with other senior officials
headed by SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio de Quiros, Jr., are
in Dipolog City on July 21 and 22 to meet employers, branch heads and employees
in Western Mindanao as part of management's continuing drive to promote closer
ties between SSS and its stakeholders.
The SSS has over 135,000 registered employers in
Mindanao, of which 99 percent – including some 33,000 household employers –
fall under branch accounts, while about 1,400 employers are classified as large
accounts. In terms of number of covered employees in the area, 2.9 million
members are employed by businesses, and about 7,300 more are household workers.
Collections from self-employed and voluntary
members amounted to P698 million, reflecting an increase of 13 percent from the
P618 million within the first four months of 2013. The SSS has 1.2 million
covered self-employed and voluntary members in Mindanao.
The AlkanSSSya Program helped contribute to the
increase in collections from informal sector workers, who are covered as
self-employed members. As of April 2014, a total of 110 informal sector groups
representing 11,735 workers in Mindanao have already joined the AlkanSSSya.
Workers enrolled in the program are given their own secure compartment in their
organization's AlkanSSSya unit, where they can store their daily SSS savings
until these are collected, counted and remitted by their ISG to an SSS branch
or collection partner at the end of each month.
Filoteo said another option for interested ISGs
or associations is to enroll in the e-AlkanSSSya Program, which entails the
automatic deduction of contributions from workers' salaries and wages that will
be remitted monthly by the organization to the SSS.
“The e-AlkanSSSya Program addresses the social
protection needs of job order and contractual workers in barangays and other
government offices who are excluded from the mandated coverage of social
security institutions for regular public sector employees,” he explained.
The SSS has 31 branch and representative offices
as well as eight Service Offices in Mindanao. Its operations in the area are
supervised by four SSS division offices stationed in the cities of Cagayan de
Oro (Mindanao North), Davao (Mindanao South 1), General Santos (Mindanao South
2) and Zamboanga (Mindanao West). (SSS/PIA-Caraga)
PNP confirms move to unmask identity of 'killed
NPA rebels behind Prosperidad incident' buried in SurSur
By Greg Tataro Jr.
TANDAG CITY, July 22 (PIA) – Surigao del Sur
Officer-In-Charge (OIC) provincial director P/SSupt. Narciso Verdadero admitted
that his office is trying to exert efforts to unmask the identities of buried
New People’s Army (NPA) rebels slain in botched attack on July 15 in
Prosperidad town, Agusan del Sur.
Verdadero said that he was tipped by
intelligence agents that some nine dead bodies believed to have been among
those who participated during the attack in Prosperidad, have been buried,
particularly, in San Miguel and Tago towns.
The provincial chief PNP indicated that such
matter is a police concern that requires a thorough investigation.
It will be recalled that right after what
happened, Army 401st Brigade Commander Col. Gregory Cayetano appealed on the
relatives of the slain rebels to coordinate with barangay local government
units (LGUs) in their respective localities in order to give their “dead” a
decent burial.
Besides, the army officer also wanted all
injured NPA rebels to be brought to hospitals for medical treatment.
Cayetano bared that the rebels who attacked the
house of Datu Calpit Egua in Prosperidad, including those who were ordered to
set up blockades, with estimated combined strength of four platoons, were
groups coming from various guerilla fronts (GFs) whose other members hail from
several towns in Surigao del Sur, citing San Miguel and Tago, aside from other
rebel-influenced areas in the province, hence he was confident that these
people will return to their places of abode.
During the incident, 18 were confirmed killed,
13 of which were NPA rebels, four were baganis or Indigenous Peoples’ (IP)
warriors, while one was an army soldier.
Reportedly, there were also a lot who were
believed to have been fatally wounded on the side of the enemy forces.
Meanwhile, Verdadero added that his order to all
police units to be in full alert status stays until revoked. (NGBT/Radyo ng
Bayan/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
Cagdianao gets fire truck from BFP
By Ma. Jane Mayola
CAGDIANAO, Dinagat Islands, July 22 (PIA) - Mayor
Marc Adelson Longos on Monday, July 21 received for and in behalf of the local
government unit a fire truck from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) during
the flag raising ceremony at the Cagdianao Municipal Building, here.
The turn-over of fire truck was said to be the
first step of installation of fire station in the said municipality.
In his message, Mayor Longos was thankful for
the realization of the BFP's project and the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG) "not only to have a quick response during fire incidents
but also to uplift fire safety and prevention."
Also, Dinagat Islands BFP Provincial Fire
Marshall F/Insp. Ellafil Libarnes revealed that aside from the fire truck being
donated in Cagdianao, another unit of fire truck will be donated to the
municipality of Tubajon within this year. (SDR/PIO Dinagat Islands/PIA-Dinagat
Islands)
SurSur extends tax amnesty
By Greg Tataro Jr.
TANDAG CITY, July 22 (PIA) – The amnesty program
for real property taxes in Surigao del Sur has been extended until the year
2014 ends.
Provincial Treasurer Wenifreda Perez said that
this is by virtue of Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution No. 457 Series of 2014
passed on July 1, 2014 entitled “Extending the tax amnesty on the payment of
interest, basic and special education fund (SEF) of real property tax
delinquencies in the province of Surigao del Sur from January 1 to June 30,
2014 to July 1 to December 31, 2014.”
The granting of the same has been in effect since
the start of this year through Resolution No. 73 dated September 9, 2013.
However, Perez claimed that while on the one
hand such move is indeed favorable to their tax collection campaign, citing 79
percent accomplishment of the P82 million 2014 real property tax goal with yet
five municipalities left to submit report for the first half, but on the other
hand, it also brings tremendous burden on their part to hit their tax goal for
the ensuing year.
The five municipalities that have yet to submit
their respective data to complete the whole picture for the first half are
Carrascal, Carmen, Cagwait in the First District; Hinatuan and Tagbina in the
Second District, she bared. (NGBT/Radyo ng Bayan/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
Tagalog News: Gobyerno hinihikayat lahat ng
Pilipino sa Libya na umuwi
AGUSAN DEL SUR, Hulyo 22 (PIA) - Hinikayat ng gobyerno noong Lunes ang lahat
ng Pilipino na nasa Libya na bumalik na sa bansa dahil sa sobrang di matatag na
pampulitika at seguridad na kalagayan doon.
Sa isang pahayag na pinadala sa mga miyembro ng
Malakanyang media, sinabi ni Presidential Communications Operations Office
Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. na itinaas na sa level 4 ng Department of
Foreign Affairs ang Alert Level sa Libya.
Sa ilalim ng Alert Level 4, pina-iiral ang
sapilitang paglipat ng mga mamamayang Pilipino.
“Inuulit ng DFA ang kanyang panawagan sa lahat
ng mga naiwang Pilipino sa Libya na umuwi kaagad dahil hindi na ligtas ang
manatili pa sa Libya,” sabi ni Secretary Coloma.
Dagdag pa niya na nagpadala na ang DFA ng Rapid
Response Team kasama na ang augmentation team sa Libya para tumulong sa
Embahada ng Pilipinas sa Tripoli sa mga paglilikas.
Lahat ng Pilipino sa Libya ay pinayuhan na
tumawag agad sa Embahada ng Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng mga numero sa telepono
na (00218) 918-244-208 at (00218) 911061166 at mga e-mail address na:
Tripoli.pe@gmail.com at Tripoli.pe@dfa.gov.ph.
Ang Embahada ng Pilipinas sa Libya ay
matatagpuan sa KM 7 Gargaresh Road, Abu Nawas, P.O. Box 12508 Tripoli.
“Ayon sa DFA, nagtakda rin sila ng 24 oras na
hotline para sa mga pamilya ng OFW sa Libya,” dagdag ni Coloma.
Sabi niya na iyong may mga tanong at balisa
tungkol sa kalagayan ng kanilang mga kamag-anak sa Libya ay maaring tumawag sa
hotline numero (02) 552-7105 o (02) 834-4685. Maari ring ipadala ng mga pamilya
ang kanilang mga tanong sa pamamagitan ng e-mail sa: oumwa@dfa.gov.ph.
Pinatupad rin ng DFA noong Linggo ang sapilitang
paglikas ng mga mamamayang Pilipino sa Gaza Strip kasunod ng pagtaas ng
tensiyon sa pagitan ng Israel at mga militanteng Hamas. (DMS/PIA-Agusan del
Sur)
Cebuano News: Gross income sa merkado publiko
misaka karong tuiga
SURIGAO CITY, Hulyo 22 (PIA) – Misaka ang
kinatibuk-ang kita sa merkado publiko sugod sa bulan sa Enero hangtod Hunyo
karong tuiga kumpara niadtong niaging tuig 2013.
Sumala sa gibutyag ni Surigao City Public Market
supervisor Albert T. Lustiva, misaka ang ilang nahimong kinatibuk-ang kita diha
na sa sulod sa merkado publiko diin kini mikantidad sa P8,633,000 sugod sa
bulan sa Enero hangtod Hunyo 2014 diin kini misaka sa kantidad P287,810.00
kumpara sa miaging tuig sa susamang
bulan nga aduna lamang kinatibuk-ang kantidad nga P8,345,770.25.
Samtang sa bahin sa lokal nga pangagamhanan sa
syudad ubos sa pagdumala ni city mayor Ernesto T. Matugas dako gyud ang kalipay
niini sa dihang iyang nasayran nga mitaas ang gross income sa City Public
Market.
Matud ni mayor Matugas nga dako gyud ang
mahitabang sa maong kita tungod kay kini mao man ang gamiton alang na sa
pagpahigayon sa mga proyekto ug programa nga nagpadayon hangtod karon aron
mapalambo pa ug mamahimong limpyo ug hapsay ang dagan diha sa maong merkado.
(SDR/MICO-Surigao City/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
