(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.


Friday, October 24, 2014

SurSur District Jail joins 20th National Correctional Consciousness Week celebration

By Greg Tataro Jr.

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, Oct. 24 (PIA) – The Surigao del Sur District Jail (SDSDJ) under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) headed by Jail Warden Senior Jail Officer 4 (SJO4) Andres Espinoza, Jr. joins the celebration of the 20th National Correctional Consciousness Week (NACOCOW) 2014. 

With the theme “Bawat Isa’y Mahalaga sa Maayos na Pamamahala ng Piitan at Pagtahak sa Matuwid na Daan,” the District Jail here has lined-up several activities to highlight the occasion on October 25-31.

According to Espinoza, the week-long celebration that will be participated in by inmates includes the “Holy Mass, Sportsfest, Medical and Dental Mission, Legal Counseling, Parlor Games, Presong Henyo, Talentadong SDSDJ-Inmate, and Search for Mr. SDSDJ-Tandag 2014.”

During the opening program on October 25, both Editha Lemosionero, chief, Parole and Probation Office (PPA) and Atty. Porferio Baluran, Jr., district public attorney, Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), all based in the province, are going to deliver their respective messages during the affair. (NGBT/Radyo ng Bayan/PIA-Surigao del Sur)


DENR Caraga releases captured tarsier to natural habitat

By Maria Catherine M. Gonzaga

BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 24 (PIA) – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Caraga Regional Director Nonito M. Tamayo has advised the residents at the perimeters of the Promontory Park in Barangay Bood, Pinamanculan, this city to protect the first tarsier released by the DENR in the area where it will make its natural habitat for the rest of his life.

The DENR Protected Areas and Wildlife Division (PAWD) personnel headed by regional technical director Ronilo Salac have freed the tarsier on October 5 at the said park.

The tarsier was captured by Felix Lambigit, an abacca worker in Sitio Kadahon-dahunan, Barangay 2, Poblacion, Santiago, Agusan del Norte.

“It was my first time to see a tarsier. I thought it was an “evil” creature when I hit it. I tried to sell it to a friend to earn extra income,” he said.

On October 4, 2014, a call from his friend informed him that the tarsier would be turned over to the DENR. “We were told that selling the animal is prohibited by Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act,” he added.

On the following day, the PAWD technical staff namely, Rex Plaza, Rolly Caballero and Jestoni Peras released the 37.5 cm. tall tarsier to the park so that the male tarsier could live.

The Philippine tarsier, (Tarsius syrichta) is one of the smallest known primates. They are mostly active at night and lives on a diet of insects. According to DENR Administrative Order No. 2004-15, the Philippine tarsier is under the “other threatened species” conservation status.

“Tarsiers are very sensitive to a life in captivity. They commit suicide due to trauma caused by touching and loud noise. This is why releasing them back to their habitat is the best thing we can do to protect them,” a PAWD technical staff said. (NCLM/DENR-13/PIA-Caraga)


AgNor PNP launches public info center

By Noel B. Najarro

BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 24 (PIA) - Aiming to be an accessible and transparent provincial police, the Agusan del Norte Provincial Police Office launched on Thursday morning, its public information office at the Resource and Learning Center, 2nd floor Agusan del Norte Provincial Police Office, Camp Rafael C. Rodriguez, this city.

The activity was attended by PSInsp. Marife M. Farol, OIC PPO Public Information, PSInsp. Danilo B. Palen, OIC, ADMIN/HRDD, PInsp. Analie Enriquez, OIC, Provincial Tactical Operations Center (PTOC), and local media practitioners.

In her message and also during the open forum, PSInsp. Farol said that Agusan del Norte Police Provincial Director PSSupt. Rommel Francisco D. Marbil had given his instructions to make Agusan del Norte PPO be transparent, accessible to the media and the public for information as long as it will not impede police tactical operations. SSupt. Marbil also instructed the provincial police to be very responsive to any concerns or complains from the public needing police assistance whenever and wherever in the province, Farol said.

Farol assured the members of the media that the instructions of the police provincial director will be implemented down, even to the municipal police stations. The official also had given her assurance that timely information of their accomplishments, activities and other newsworthy materials will be available the soonest time possible.

SInsp. Farol also said that the launching of their police information office were among the “firsts” of the said provincial police office. The others include their police watchtower at Kitcharao Municipal Police Station, in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte, which was considered the first police watchtower of its kind in the region. The structure according to her was built with the assistance of the Agusan del Norte local government unit headed by Gov. Ma. Angelica Rosedell Amante-Matba. Then, they have their police mascot “General A.M.A.N.T.E.” (Absolute Mentoring and Nurturing Towards Excellence) which became a crowd drawer particularly the children, during public dialogues and other forums initiated by the police. (PNA/PIA-Agusan del Norte)


DENR Caraga reports NGPs status of accomplishments

By Maria Catherine M. Gonzaga

BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 24 (PIA) - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Caraga reported that the reforestation efforts in the region has been successful as reflected in the results of the on-going validation made in September 2014.

Survival rates of National Greening Program (NGP) sites from 2011 to 2013 has improved and hit the benchmark of 85 percent set by the government.

A survival rate of 97 percent or 2,181,293 seedlings planted in 4,514.41 hectares was noted in the 2011 re-planting catch-up plan and 99 percent or 6,232,898 seedlings planted in 8,503.83 hectares in 2012.

A 100 percent accomplishment in the status of maintenance and protection was noted during the validation done in the second quarter this year which includes the 9,384 hectares of NGP sites in 2012 and 13,019 hectares of NGP sites in 2013.

An ongoing 2013 NGP site validation is being done by the Regional Office to determine the survival rate of the seedlings planted in the sites. Based on the latest data, the teams have already validated a total of 35 percent or 2,842,976 seedlings planted in 6,548.70 hectares out of the 18,525.70 hectares target. An initial survival rate of 81.60 percent had been noted.

As of September, DENR officials have positive outlooks on the implementation of NGP in 2014. This was supported by the fact that it has already marked a 90 percent seedling production or 7,977,570 seedlings out of the 8,817,439 seedlings target and 76 percent area development or 12,400 hectares out of the 16,292 hectares target.

“The construction of the Mechanized Nursery in Bislig, Surigao del Sur which is expected to be fully operational next year will augment the supply of seedlings needed for the fulfillment of the program. The nursery is now 89.3 percent done and we are looking forward for its completion as soon as possible,” DENR Caraga regional director Nonito M. Tamayo said.

President Benigno Aquino III issued Executive Order No. 26 or the National Greening Program on February 2011 to serve as a tool to fight climate change and provide a sustainable income for the Filipinos. The program targets to plant 1.5 billion trees covering 1.5 million hectares of land from 2011 to 2016 in the Philippines.

“The NGP reforestation project was implemented by contracted people organizations and beneficiaries who will not only plant trees but ensure the survival of the seedlings planted for the duration of three years," Tamayo said. (NCLM/DENR-13/PIA-Caraga)


City LGU, DILG to meet with city CSOs

By Noel B. Najarro

BUTUAN CITY, Oct. 24 (PIA) - The city government here in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Butuan City has set an assembly with the city civil society organizations (CSOs).

The CSO assembly is set on October 29, 2014 from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at a local convention center, this city.

DILG city director Romeo A. Solis said that the assembly is in consonance with the Philippine Development Plan’s goal of inclusive growth and poverty reduction, and promoting good governance at the local level.

Solis also said that the city government of Butuan in coordination of the DILG Butuan City through the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting (GPB) formerly known as the Bottoms-up Budgeting (BUB), will be starting to draft its Local Poverty Reduction Action Plan (LPRAP) for 2016.

According to Solis that part of the preliminary process is the civil society organization (CSO) assembly wherein the objectives are to orient the CSOs on their role in the local governance and selection of CSO representatives in the Local Poverty Reduction Action Team (LPRAT) guided by Joint Memorandum Circular No. 5. (PNA/PIA-Caraga)